One of the men stopped by the edge of the water and used his hand to drink from the stream when he paused and just stared into the water. He slowly slid his hands into the water and with a quick movement jerked them out with a fish firmly in his grasp. He smiled looking at the large trout that he had caught and slapped the fish''s head hard into the ground before taking a bite from its still-moving body as he began to move along the stream once more.
Painin continued to hide amongst the plants along the stream and he recalled his father talking about the men across the ocean that used to raid along the shores before King Refaw came to power and drove them away from the shores of the kingdom. If the stories were to be believed they were animals in battle and cared for nothing outside of battle, loot, and slaves. If the raiders had returned, then he must tell his father as they were all in serious trouble. At last, the group disappeared out of eyesight but still, Painin waited and that wait probably saved his life as one last raider appeared amongst the trees at the edge of the stream.
He was dressed slightly differently from the others and moved along the shadows of the trees never quite exposing himself to his surroundings his head moved as if on a swivel and his bow was held at the ready arrow already on the string. Painin watched him move cautiously always scanning the trees and the far bank as he moved up the stream until he was at last out of sight. Taking a deep breath Painin had not been aware that he had even been holding his breath while the last raider, a scout no doubt, had made his way North.
He had to get back and let his father know about the raiders being back in the kingdom. Gathering up the buckets he filled them and set the pole into their rope handles and with a groan got the pole up and settled onto his shoulder. Painin carried the water buckets back down the path his steps measured so that he wouldn’t lose the precious water as he hurried along the path.
Walking along the path Painin noticed and smelled smoke as it drifted through the trees and panic filled him as he dropped the buckets of water their contents laying forgotten behind him. Shock and horror froze him as he exited the woods and he saw his family’s home and their small barn fully consumed in fire. Climbing over the fenced-in field he ran past the slaughtered animals that littered the ground and upon reaching his home the heat of the flames pushed him backward even as he yelled out for his family. The fire roared out of the open door and windows of the house and he ran around the building looking for signs that his family had escaped the blaze but he failed to find any.
He was filled with a child’s hope that his father would come out and take him into his arms and carry him off and make everything all right. That was not to be the case as he rounded the barn and forge and found his father''s mutilated corpse hanging from a tree by the neck. He stood before his father''s body and noticed the bodies of perhaps half a dozen men laying scattered in front of the forge dressed much the same as the raiders he had seen by the stream. Overcome with rage Painin picked up a length of the broken sword from the ground and began to hack at the bodies of the dead men, he was soon covered in blood and gore as he rained blow after blow on the corpses until his rage passed and exhaustion overtook him.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Painin didn’t remember passing out but as he came awake he became painfully aware of the charred smell of fire hanging in the air. The house that had once been both simple and beautiful had burned down to nothing more than a pile of charred timber. Parts of the building remains still smoldered and Painin picked his way carefully through the remains that had once been his home. Turning over a pile of charred timbers he was overcome by a sickly-sweet smell and he found the bodies of his sister, and mother who had the baby still clutched to her chest. Painin turned his head at the sight and emptied his contents on the ground as he knelt over them and sobbed.
Later he set about moving the bodies out into the field beyond the remains of the house before making his way back to the tree and climbing up cutting through the rope supporting his father with his belt knife. He dragged his father out to the field with the rest of the family and used part of a sword to dig a furrow into the ground. He placed his family into the depression and then dragged rocks over from the forge area to cover the bodies to keep out scavengers working long into the night. The next morning Painin awoke laying on the graves of his family and sobbed as he lay there before collecting himself and praying over the cairns.
“May the earth''s mother shelter you and keep you safe. May she hold you to her bosom and may you become a part of the land that you love.” Painin also asked for forgiveness from the old gods that he had not been able to help his family in their time of need. Wiping tears from his eyes Painin began to search through the ruins of the house, forge, and barn and accumulated a small pile of items that had not been destroyed by the fire. He placed some flint, a whetstone, into the canvas bag that had held the mushrooms along with some food that he had found untouched by the fire.
Swinging the small bag over his shoulder Painin paused once more at the graves to say goodbye to his family before beginning to move along the path that lead along the front of the farm and lead towards the main road beyond. The only option Painin could see for himself was to head North towards his uncle’s farm and hope that the raiders hadn’t moved that far North already. His uncle had always been nice to him when they visited, and he owned a piece of land where he grew food and made his own alcohol.
Painin paused on the edge of the property and looked across the field at the row of mounds in the distance and began to cry. The little farm and his family had been his whole life for the entirety of his life and now suddenly it was gone, and he was alone. Painin almost wished to himself that the raiders would return so that he could kill them all and worse case they would kill him. He began to chuckle at the thought of him facing armored grown men with only his little knife and a hatchet.