The Game of Trust

Chapter 1

Ahara

“Damn!” This was the third time I’ve missed my shot. I’ve been out here in the hot summer forest hunting for hours and I’ve only caught four chickens. Master Wei expects me to hunt at least one deer to sell at the market by this afternoon. 

I crouched in the bushes and started seeking the area for another victim. Then I spotted him. A majestic male deer, eating at a bush of berries. He was far away, and the chances of me making the shot were slim.

Slowly, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and got it prepared. I drew the string back.

I could begin to feel the burden of the bow growing heavy in my arms. The burning in my forearms and shoulders from drawing the string back for too long. Finally ready to shoot, I shut my left eye, relaxed my shoulders, took a deep breath, and let go. 

It was a perfect shot. Satisfied with my archery, I moved to the lifeless animal laying on the grass. It had been a quick death for him, hopefully, a not so painful one too. The arrow seemed to have gone through his left lung and then pierced his heart. With a swift tug, I ripped the arrow out of his flesh and cleaned it off with an old rag. The edge of the arrowhead had been chipped a bit. Maybe from hitting a bone at a wrong angle or maybe just having been worn out.

I stared at the arrow in disappointment. It’s chipped. Once they’re broken, they just get more and more damaged over time. Which sucks considering they’re difficult to make. Especially, when you don’t have much money.

I started heading home after I tied up the deer, with my bundle of animals in one hand and my bow in the other. When I finally got back to the house I saw Master Wei waiting for me on the porch, “is that all you hunted this morning?”

“Yeah there weren’t many animals today, I think they were all scared off by your cold poker face.”

“Joke, very funny.” He says without any sign of emotion, “go to the market and sell your animals. The buck should be worth quite a pretty penny, make sure not to accept anything under 30 silver taels for him.” I nodded in agreement. I quickly placed two hens on the balcony and the other two along with the deer in a large pouch. 

The bag must’ve been well over 200 pounds. However, nothing I couldn’t handle for a 10-minute walk. Before leaving for the village, I grabbed my cloak that was hanging behind the door and laid it on my shoulders. 

As I got close to the market I could start to smell the fresh-baked bread from the main bakery. I put my hood over my head and wandered through the crowd to my small stand. The market was unusually busy today. Men and women roaming within the crowd either trying to find their dinner or lost kids.

I sat down on a short wooden stool trying to catch my breath. I felt sweat soaking through the back of my shirt while I pulled out my dagger. Master Wei had gifted the blade to me on my 10th birthday. I kept it with me at all times, strapped to my thigh with a black leather leg harness. The handle of the knife was made from black stained wood and the crossguards were made from pure silver. The blade of the dagger had the message trust engraved into it in Master Wei’s traditional language, Chinese. He constantly taught me how trust was earned and not given. And the dagger was to constantly remind me of that.

I used his gift to skin the animals. I always hated this part of hunting, probably even more than taking away the life of the creature itself. One by one, I prepared them to be hung up on display. When I finished up, I fastened them up on the hooks and waited for customers to arrive.

While waiting, I noticed a couple of imperial Aantari soldiers in the crowd. That’s strange, nobody from the Royale City would ever come to a poor town like Wytheville on the outer rim.  Everyone scrambled away, trying to keep their distance from the soldiers. 

There appeared to be only two officers. One was a tall boney male, and the other was a short ginger lady. Together, they passed by the stands making snarky comments about the food. They were getting closer so I pulled down my hood trying not to draw any unwanted attention to myself. “Hey, you there,” said the male soldier pointing a finger at me. His voice was croaky and high-pitched.

“Hello sir, what can I help you with?” I respond with the dumbest smile plastered to my face. “Get me all your most expensive meat, and don’t worry, money won’t be an issue.” He added with a grimaced expression. I scoffed lightly at his face and grabbed a bag to package the deer. 

“So, where is the neighbourhood located around these parts of land?” Asked the other one. She seemed very genuine and I felt bad that she was stuck with such a loser. 

“Walk straight and turn left when you see the forests'” I replied, pointing down the path, not even bothering to look up. 

I finished packaging the meat and handed the bag to him. He seemed disgusted but grasped the sack and placed a golden tael on the table. “Keep the change,” he smirked and marched off. I didn’t want his filthy change, but by the time I looked up, they were already within the crowd.

I rolled my eyes and carelessly plucked the gold from my bloodied stand then threw it in a pouch I had around my waist.

 I couldn’t believe how much I got from selling a deer to a couple of rich imperial snobs, Master Wei will be impressed. After selling the two hens, I closed up the stand and counted how much I earned. Ten silver taels and a gold one. I smiled at the coins in my hand, “This will last us weeks,” I mumbled to myself. I tossed the taels into the air and caught them in my little pouch. 

Getting back onto the main path to my neighbourhood was a nightmare. The market was much busier than before and filled with pickpockets. I brought my hand up to my pouch and to no surprise, it was missing. As I frantically patted all my other pockets, a little blond girl burst out of the corner and started to run away. “HEY! Stop that girl!” I hollered, but nobody seemed to care or notice. Rolling my eyes I sprang off a stool gripping the edge of a rusty village roof. I swung my legs up, landing on the roof of the shops. I look around for the little girl and notice her sprinting towards a big old unused water pipe. Barely big enough for her to crawl into and escape. 

My eyes widened as I realized her plan. If she got in there, I wouldn’t get my money back. I began to leap from roof to roof trying to catch up to her. My legs travelled as fast as they could go. With a final jump, I spiral off the roof and make a quick landing on the pipe. The little girl stops dead in her tracks with a face filled with regret. 

“Just hand over my bag and I’ll let it go just this one time,” I sighed. 

The little girl looked down and slowly handed over my bag then dashed. As I watched her disappear in the distance, I opened up my pouch to count the coins. Luckily she didn’t take the money out of my pouch, then I continued on my way.

While I was making my way back home, I heard a loud clanking sound coming from the neighbourhood. My curiosity got the best of me and I ran into the forest to hide in the trees. 

The area was shady and the ground was covered with dead leaves and branches. The only light in sight was the radiance of the sun shimmering past the leaves. I raised my face, letting the golden beams of light dance beyond my skin. Birds sang and the wind was whistling. I inhaled its earthy smell and continued, delighted with the sound of my feet sliding through the newly fallen leaves.

The fresh breeze felt exciting as it passed by. And that was when I spotted an enormous branchy oak tree. Perfect for climbing. 

“This is going to be fun” a giant smile lit up my face.

I located the lowest branch and placed a firm grip with my right hand on it. The tree bark was tough and had some sticky sap. Instantly, I lifted myself upwards using my upper body strength.

As a kid, Master Wei and I would always play hide and seek in the forest. I would always climb the trees because I assumed he was too old to climb them himself to find me. But I underestimated him. Even though he was old, he could do millions of things that the young couldn't. From that day, he instructed me on how to accurately climb a tree and travel through them as well.

Moving from branch to branch swiftly, the neighbourhood came into view just a few meters in front of me. Settling on a thick steady branch high above the ground, I steadied myself and peeked my head through the leaves as they kissed my skin. My smile faded immediately and my eyes swelled in horror.