The Jela Mueseum

Prologue

"There," said Jaeson rather admiringly.

Then as quietly as he could Jaeson crept out of the post office into the bustling street. He mounted his horse and headed south. After a few hours of hard riding, Jaeson had to stop and rest. He pulled off the path to a small stream. After taking a drink he noticed a red tinge in the water. Being a little antsy Jaeson decided to explore. After walking only a few feet into the reeds he found the source of the blood.

A dead soldier. And not just any soldier either. He was the recruiter for the Persian army.

"Oh my," said Jaeson startling himself at the sound of his own voice.

The soldier had deep knife wounds all down his back. There were even 2 arrows lodged in his back up out of him.

The two archers who shot him did not kill him, somebody had come up behind, stabbing him multiple times.

Remounting his horse Jaeson continued on the path. Finally, he saw it. A large oak. It looked like an oak tree of unnatural size from far away at least. Up close, however, you could make out a well-disguised door. This was the recruiter's office.

Jaeson opened the door.

"Hello?"

Complete silence.

"Hello!"

Still silence.

"Sergeant Fairront!"

"Cough"

"Hey who's there?"

"Are you the Cannore boy or one of the assassins back to finish the job?" someone questioned in a weak voice.

"It's me Jaeson. What happened? I can't see a thing."

"I got attacked yesterday or at least I think it was yesterday," said the voice faintly. "I think it was an angry cult's assassins. They're cowards though. Came while I was sleeping."

"Yeah, they must've. They got to the Persian recruiter though," said Jaeson thoughtfully. "Though they might come back and make sure that the job is finished. Unless they're a confident bunch of prisses"

"Hey, Jaeson I need a hand. There's a navy ship departing around twelve ish," the Sargent said hoarsely.

"Um, don't know if you knew," said Jaeson, looking up toward the sun "but that means it is leaving in about 30 minutes so we better get going!"

Jaeson hitched his horse to the small cart in the Sergeant's shed. In the shed, he also found two short swords, one longbow, 34 arrows, three large shields, and a small black leather satchel with a plain silver coat of arms. It sounded like there was something fragile in it so he opened it. Only some coal.

"Queer," he thought.

He heaved everything but the satchel in the cart. Then he walked in to assist the injured Sergeant. The moment everything was loaded they were on their way to the west port.

***

"Sir, that boy. He and the Sergeant are heading west," a bandit said to me through the howling wind.

"WHY DOES THAT STUPID KID HAVE TO START GETTING IN OUR WAY" I shrieked. "I mean we went 20 years, 20 YEARS! With nothing stopping us and then we try and change the war just a little and this blasted kid comes along and gets in our way."

"But sir we did manage to kill the Persian recruiter," pointed out the bandit.

"Well, then all we did was make the rebels win and that defeats the purpose," I said void of the statement "Oh, and tell the pirates that they are to sink any ship that leaves the harbor for the next day and a half."