Korren tried to forget his parents and focus on his own survival but it was difficult for him. He had watched his parents vanish into the wild and his revenge would make the soldiers wish they had never been born…
Perched in trees above the soldier, Korren tried to keep from laughing. “And when I find you, your death will be long!” the soldier panted.
A sheriff appeared and tied a wanted poster to a tree. Korren waited until was alone to gracefully descend the oak tree and cut the poster down. He tore the poster to shreds before he silently vanished into the thicket.
At 5:00 the next morning, it was raining. Korren shivered as the trees rustled. He was grateful that he had time to find shelter. The lightning had forced him to descend from the treetops and on the ground, he knew he was helpless.
He took refuge in a tangle of buckthorn to reduce the chances of being found, but the searchers must have had given up due to the dreary conditions. Korren watched in dismal silence as his clothing began dripping water. The campfire had long gone out. Korren mixed the ashes with a stick. He spotted another wanted poster and picked up his bow. Five seconds later, an arrow sliced through the air and cut the thin string from fifty feet away in the bramble. The poster fluttered to the ground and he grinned as he watched it dissolve in the rain.
Korren’s supplies were running low and he couldn't live on deer. The towns folk were probably sleeping and the guards were likely to be avoiding the rain. He could use the conditions to his advantage.
Korren carefully picked his way out of the buckthorn thicket he had camped in. His footsteps were washed away by the torrents of water and so was the extinguished campfire. All he left behind was one long slender arrow sticking out of a tree in the bramble.
By an old flickering street lamp a guard stood. Or rather snored under a ledge. And above the snoring guard was a slim, agile figure. Korren slipped his hand into the sleeping guard’s pocket and withdrew his loot. Fifteen dollars and a sleek ivory knife. In the next pocket there was nothing but pocket lint. Korren handcuffed the guard with the handcuffs he had found. By the end of his visit to town, he had collected : Two knives, 135$, a flashlight, paracord, matches, and food. He climbed to the roofs and then Korren was gone. Out of the town and into the trees.
The rain had stopped and the townspeople were rioting. Korren knew that they had woken to find their guards stripped of supplies and chained to fence posts or streetlamps.
“That outlaw sure caused a lot of trouble last night.” said a child’s voice below him. Korren looked down. A small girl and boy were walking through the edge of the woods carrying a wicker basket. The children had dark brown hair and darker brown hiking sticks.
“I bet we could fight him!” said the boy.
“No way,” said the other child, “Mom didn't even want us to come near the woods!”
“But how else would we find our acorns?” said the boy.
Korren hung his weapons in the tree. He picked up a stick and dropped to the ground in front of the boy. The boy backed up and then raised his hiking stick,
“Whoa! How did you do that?” he asked.
“Magic,” Korren smiled. “It’s a secret!”
“Teach me NOW!!!” said the girl while the boy brandished his stick threateningly.
“Is that your wand?” the boy asked.
“Here,” said Korren, "let me show you how I use it.” and vanished.
Korren climbed the oak tree and quickly leaped from branch to branch with the stick, knocking down acorns on the children.
“He made it rain acorns for us!” said the girl.
“I did,” said Korren, standing about a foot behind the child. “Did you like it?”
Then Korren collected his weapons and leapt through the canopy into the deepest parts of the woods.
-------------------------
That afternoon was warm and sunny. The air smelled musky, like dirt and grass. A slight breeze kept the mosquitoes away and the soldiers' search efforts intensified. Korren was forced to retreat deeper and deeper into the forest and he knew that he could not hide forever in these woods.
But he had plans. He intended to move northwest and find a forest too large to be mapped. Korren wanted to stay safe in the canopy as long as he could.
So he organized his supplies and dried his equipment in the sun. The next morning he would leave this town in chaos. Korren moved logs and dug pits. He stole ropes and gloves and he set up an exit that the town would never forget… Then he found a tall tree in the middle of the woods, surrounded by thorns and he slept.
The next morning was perfect for traveling. Cool, breezy, sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky. Korren woke up and brought his pack to the edge of the forest that was facing away from the large town. On his way towards town he left a match box in a tree for later use. Then he waited for his work to pay off…
The guard tower began to clang. Guards and officers and soldiers poured out of the town and thundered towards the trees in a cloud of dust. A lone figure stood on a rock in front of them. The dust cloud grew nearer and nearer and then stopped…
Korren was gone. The group charged into the woods firing arrows and bullets at random through the trees. They would burn the woods to the ground if it meant killing Korren.
Korren watched calmly as they chased the straw dummy into the woods. He knew that few of the soldiers would come back out. The traps he had set would ensnare them, drive them mad searching for him while he stripped the empty town of all its riches.
He climbed into the town on the rooftops and raced towards the town square.
He broke windows and tipped garbage cans, stole vases then smashed them in the streets. Korren left the town looking similar to a garbage dump. And he never looked back.
When he reached the town square Korren laid the sack of gunpowder by the fountain. He grabbed a match and lit the bag, and then he sprinted as fast as he could out of the ruined town’s square. BOOM!!! Behind him, the guard towers stopped ringing. Chunks of rock and wood smashed holes in walls surrounding the square. The air filled with dust. By the outer edges of the town, garbage and glass covered the ground. Korren climbed the church's spire. Gazing upon the ruins, he ripped the silver cross off the top of the spire. He knew all the townspeople had been locked in the bomb shelter when the bells started to ring. But the silenced bells would draw them back out.
Korren threw the cross to the ground and jogged through the dust, out of the town and into their legends, for the last time.
The guard tower began to clang. Guards and officers and soldiers poured out of the town and thundered towards the trees in a cloud of dust. A lone figure stood on a rock in front of them. The dust cloud grew nearer and nearer and then stopped…
Korren was gone. The group charged into the woods firing arrows and bullets at random through the trees. They would burn the woods to the ground if it meant killing Korren.
Korren watched calmly as they chased the straw dummy into the woods. He knew that few of the soldiers would come back out. The traps he had set would ensnare them, drive them mad searching for him while he stripped the empty town of all its riches.
He climbed into the town on the rooftops and raced towards the town square.
He broke windows and tipped garbage cans, stole vases then smashed them in the streets. Korren left the town looking similar to a garbage dump. And he never looked back.
When he reached the town square Korren laid the sack of gunpowder by the fountain. He grabbed a match and lit the bag, and then he sprinted as fast as he could out of the ruined town’s square. BOOM!!! Behind him, the guard towers stopped ringing. Chunks of rock and wood smashed holes in walls surrounding the square. The air filled with dust. By the outer edges of the town, garbage and glass covered the ground. Korren climbed the church's spire. Gazing upon the ruins, he ripped the silver cross off the top of the spire. He knew all the townspeople had been locked in the bomb shelter when the bells started to ring. But the silenced bells would draw them back out.
Korren threw the cross to the ground and jogged through the dust, out of the town and into their legends, for the last time.
