Protector. Guardian. Hunter.

[Celtic8824]

Footsteps.
Caelian’s eyes darted open, their owner awakened from his nightly sleep by twigs and leaves on the forest floor snapping and crunching under the pressure of six men, all dressed in boiled leather and chain with their blades, bows, and hammers readied and looking for blood. He knew why they were there. The same reason he’s been on the run throughout the length of the sword coast.

They were here for her.

As soon as his eyes had focused, Caelian’s instincts grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him to his feet. He reached for his spear that was lodged into the ground by the spot in which he slept. “Sarah!” he said in a loud whisper, attempting to wake the beautiful bard without setting off the bounty hunters on their trail. “Sarah, wake up now!”

Her emerald green eyes opened and slid from Caelian to his spear and back to Caelian, and she smiled at him. “What? You’re up already? We’ve got plenty of food. There’s no need to hunt, Cael. Just come back to bed.” She patted the big pad of soft leaves that the two of them had used as a bed the night before. The footsteps were getting closer, and he could almost hear the chain scratching against itself and the leather. He grabbed the hunting knife from his mail that he had laid off to the side of their campsite.

They saw them. The hunters yelled wordlessly as they charged toward the lovers.

“Sarah, Run! Now! Don’t look back, I’ll find you!” Caelian screamed at the top of his lungs as his beautiful bride ran off the other way. He wished he could follow her. He wished he could watch her go. But he knew he couldn’t. The most he could do was keep her safe. He was a guardian now. Her protector. These men could never have her. He would make sure of that.

He heaved the primitive spear at the one hunter that was armed with a bow. The sound it made was both grotesque and perfect at the same time. The archer was not wearing chainmail. The sharpened stone spear head tore right through the leather and continued its trajectory into the victim’s heart. He notched arrow flew wildly into the trees, and the man fell with a sickening thump.

Five Left. And they looked pissed.

The first one to reach Caelian was a dirty, one-eyed man with a battleaxe. He made the mistake of using the momentum of his charge to attempt a heavy-handed downward chop on the druid’s right shoulder. Caelian, wearing no armor and armed only with his knife, was easily able to shake his shoulder back, and dodge the attack. He spun around and brought the knife upward across the man’s neck, slicing through the man’s throat like a wounded deer’s. Blood sprayed like a waterfall into the air and onto Caelian’s body as he turned to face the rest of the attackers. His adrenaline rush was thrown off as he doubled over and fell to his knees. He felt as though an ogre had just reeled back and punched him in the gut. Everything went black as he felt his face hit the cold ground.

Rolling over onto his back and opening his eyes, Caelian saw a hulk of a man wielding a large two-handed maul. He was grinning with large yellowed teeth, and seemed to be taking his time before finishing the red-haired woodsman.

Then he heard her scream.
He rolled over onto his side in time to see two of the hunters carrying Sarah off into the distance. He tried to get up, but when he tried to move his arms, nothing happened. He tried to holler to her. Tell her that everything was going to be alright, but it just came out as a cough that sent blood flying onto the brute’s feet. He watched them take her back the way they came. It was only a minute before they were out of his sight. But it felt like he was watching for hours. He had failed her. He couldn’t protect her. He didn’t guard her. He let her down.

He rolled onto his stomach, bracing himself against the ground and slowly lifting himself to a position on all fours.

He was not a protector anymore. He had failed in providing protection to the one person in this world who depended on it.

He forced himself onto one knee, coughing again… this time covering his brown leather and cloth pants in his own blood. The mauler was taunting him. Something about a rich man and his daughter. Caelian didn’t care.

He was not a guardian anymore. He had nothing left to guard. His body meant nothing to him, not when they had stolen his heart. Ripped apart his soul.

He stood to his feet. Staring the mauler in his face. The hulking man looked both surprised that a man could take such a blow, and excited that he would get to deal more suffering to the broken druid.

He was a hunter again.

The mauler opened his mouth to taunt Caelian, but the words never came out. The druid spit blood into his assailant’s face, burning his eyes and catching him off guard. Reaching down for his knife, Caelian planted the knife in the man’s heart.
Twice.
Three Times.
He pulled the blade out with such force that the brute was almost forced forward on top of him. He looked around at the situation.

Two left. And they look worried.

They charged Caelian once more. The first one to reach him was unarmed. The man’s speed worked as his own enemy when Caelian’s fist met his jaw like a ton of bricks. Knocked off of his feet, the man struggled to all fours. When the pugilist had finally worked his way up to a kneeling position, Caelian reached down and grabbed his chin with one hand, and the back of his head with the other. He wrenched them both clockwise, snapping the man’s neck, killing him instantly.

One left. And he looks terrified.

Caelian picked up the mauler’s hammer and walked toward the terrified man. The coward attempted to fight, and before he could raise his sword, Caelian swung the hammer and connected with the man’s chest, knocking him to the ground. Lifting the maul high above his head, he let it crash down on the man’s right leg, shattering it to pieces. The scream pierced the forest. But it didn’t pierce like Sarah’s had. Caelian dropped the maul.

“I’m going to let you live.” The druid growled.

The man looked confused. ”… What?”

“You’re going to go back to whoever the hell sent you, and you’re going to let them know that I’m coming for her. I’m going to hunt them down to wherever they took her, and I’m going to find her. And if anyone gets in my way, gods help me, I’ll send them to whatever Deity that they please.”[

The man started crawling to his feet and began limping off.

“Wait.” Caelian commanded as he walked to his scale mail and drew his scimitar from the sheath. He walked to the man, and skillfully used one movement to open his broken leg for blood. Then he leaned back his head, letting out a feral howl that was returned by half a dozen more from the forest. He looked at the man and growled…

“You better hurry. Sounds like they’re hungry.”