Live to win
Sam awakened drenched in sweat and delirious. As his eyes began to focus he could work out that he was in a room. Wherever it was, it was comfortable. He sat up in the bed, quickly discarding the covers down its side. Ahead of him was a live fireplace, the sound of crackling embers playing to an otherwise silent room. To his left there was a door.
Sam got up from the bed, treading on the covers he'd haphazardly thrown on the shiny wooden floor, still in the clothes he had on when he left Docksford. Drowsily he'd stumble forward using the cream painted wall to prop him up as his shaky legs struggled to hold. He'd feel his way across the wall before bursting through the slightly ajar door.
He was in some kind of corridor with doors lining both sides, perhaps some kind of hotel but this place was much dirtier than the room he was just in. It was derelict and dark but Sam could hear the clattering of metal in the distance along with chatter.
He'd walk towards the noise, beginning to come to his senses; he recognised one of the voices as that of his brother but there was another. A deep and impressioning voice, the type you'd remember if you heard it, it echoed like a war chief with every word spoken meticulous in pronunciation.
Sam opened a door at the end of the corridor and was immediately hit with light, he'd made it to some kind of living space with a huge grand table and adjoining kitchen space, this was definitely some kind of hotel. Unlike the corridor this room was as well kept as the bedroom, almost extravagant in nature.
"Sam! You hungry?"
He'd look over at his brother who was assisting the other man with cooking at the stove. The guy was probably a bit older than their dad and a lot taller, He had a thick black beard that went down to his chest and dressed in clothes that had been patched up hundreds of times.
He was missing a couple teeth and the ones he did have were yellowed. Overall his appearance was odd for the way that he spoke as he clearly did not care enough to look after himself.
"Ah, Samuel, I have many things I need to tell you. I've just had a similar conversation with your brother here."
He transferred something from a pan to a plate and ushered Sam to sit down with him at the table. Sam hadn't realised but he was famished and would quickly tuck into the plate of sausages that he had been presented with.
"So, you're my dad's friend?"
He'd say through chewing.
He'd look at Sam somewhat disgusted.
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
Sam nodded and kept eating.
"Well Sam, I'm Johnny Thatch and as you said I knew your dad. I got the details from your brother, truth be told I expected you to come in the next couple years which is why the place is still a bit dirty."
Mr Thatch would walk over to the window grabbing at the lead to pull the curtains. He'd smile in anticipation.
"You see, we share somewhat of a history, one that extends even past your lifetime. Well Samuel all I have left to say is… Welcome home to the great city of Finn!"
He'd pull the curtains to reveal darkness? He had originally intended to do the grand reveal while the sun was still up but Sam was completely exhausted and spent the whole time out cold. You could still sort of make out some details though, the limited moonlight showed that the building they were in led out into a street. The building opposite was in disrepair and didn't even have a roof, even with the limited resources you got a decent enough idea of what this town was… Fucked.
Sam made certain to swallow.
"I thought Finn didn't exist anymore, it's not on any maps."
Thatch looked confused.
"What do you mean? it's right here."
He'd grab a scroll from a shelf and would roll it out over the table revealing a map of the continent, he'd then point to an area just north of Docksford called the "Forbidden Forest". Eddie's face dropped.
"You're not allowed to go into The Forbidden Forest, it's in the name."
Thatch smirked.
"It's not called The Forbidden Forest because you can't go in there, It's because the forest is forbidden, it shouldn't be here."
The boys were puzzled.
"You can take all the wood you want from The Forbidden Forest because for some reason it grows back really quickly. It wasn't even here 30 years ago. In fact the state declared war on the forest because they were scared that it was still spreading, they attempt to burn it down every year which is why it is ADVISED to not go into it."
They boys didn't really believe what they had just heard, after all how many meanings are there to the term "forbidden forest" but he was clearly passionate about the subject and they were already fugitives so they let it go.
"You boys should get some sleep now, you have to get up early for your training."
Sam interjected.
"I've only just woken up"
Thatch rebutted.
"That's not my fault."
It was 7am and the sunlight had just started to make its way through the treeline, Thatch was banging violently on the door to Sam's bedroom. He'd come to the door in pyjamas that were far too big for him, Thatch must have thought he'd have been a little taller when he got them.
"You're not even dressed?"
Sam would whinge.
"You've barely let me sleep."
Thatch chuckled.
"You had two days worth of sleep yesterday, now get some clothes on and get outside."
It took him 15 minutes to get to the front door at which point he was met with an impatient Johnny Thatch and no sign of his brother.
"Where's Eddie?"
"Injured."
"But I thought he was a lot better now?"
"Yeah your dad gave him some horse level painkillers it's not going to fix his legs."
"But he said he felt better?"
"Yeah, placebo."
"How long is he going to be out for?"
"I don't know, I'm not a doctor."
Thatch would smile.
Sam gave up and followed Thatch to wherever it was he was so eager to go to. In the daytime there was something somewhat calming about the ruins of Finn. Nature had reclaimed everything it could, vines grew up every wall and moss scattered around the cobbles.
Trees grew everywhere but there was one extraordinary detail to the city of Finn, a solemn tree at the city's centre grew miles into the sky, its branches covering almost every trace of the blue sky above.
"So why did you stay here Johnny?"
Thatch began to reminisce with a warm smile on his face.
"This was where I met my wife and made my fortune."
Johnny was never given a fair chance in life as from a young age he was a mercenary in the capital. As he grew up he went from small scale assassinations to taking out whole gangs by himself, known throughout the lands for his devastating Punch. After amassing quite the retirement fund he retired at 25, moving to the countryside so he could fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming a scholar.
He'd spend the next couple years travelling the world before settling down in a small town which he quickly fell in love with. He started his own school in the town where he'd then go on to meet his wife, and for a long time he was happy.
When disaster struck he was coming home from a shopping trip to Docksford with a cart full of new books from around the world. He left his cart behind when he saw the smoke on the horizon and ran towards Finn. By the time he'd got there it was already over, the city was in ruins.
He spent the next couple of weeks sifting through the rubble of the city, long outlasting the rescue team which saved Samuel. He never did manage to find his wife or even her wedding ring and just like that his whole life had gone up in flames, the forgotten survivor of the Finn Massacre.
It was through those tough times that Thatch needed a purpose and so he dedicated the rest of his life to rebuilding the city. For years he would try his hardest to prepare for the return of the last child of Finn all by himself. Living in a city stuck firmly in the past.
Thatch would shed a tear for his old life before returning to his regular smile.
"And with you here my new life begins, You want to see the place you were born in all its glory right?"
"That would be nice."
Thatch clapped his hands together.
"But right now we have to focus on getting you to a position in which you can save your friends and your family. Welcome to the Finn training ground!"
Before the duo stood a series of crude wooden obstacle courses on a flat square of dirt,at the corner of the field was a shed that would struggle to keep wind out let alone rain.
"When I lived in Venasia I used to sneak into a gym at night so I copied a bunch of their machines that I could remember, they're in that gym over there."
He'd point to the shed.
"And these bits out here are designed to train your agility, Some of them aren't finished but that's because I didn't expect you to come here so soon. Hopefully within a month you'll be able to hold your own in a fight."
"A month! I don't have a month."
Thatch stroked his beard.
"Yeah you probably don't, they tend to have all the paperwork done in about two weeks, It'll probably be even shorter because it's nobility."
Thinking over the situation he'd then continue.
"I'll train with you and we can go as a pair. It's been a long while but I can probably still throw a few punches. I can't have the future of the town dying on me afterall."
Sam hesitated, this man is now in his 50s, but overall it was the best option that he had so he graciously accepted. They had a date, Thatch probably had a plan, now all they need to do is put in the effort.
Over the coming days the two would train from early morning to sunset, they'd do everything from sparring to weight training and would only stop at exhaustion. In the meanwhile Eddie would start learning to cook, providing the others with breakfast in the morning and dinner at night.
By the fourth night they were both considerably sharper, Eddie had read a book on nutrition and Thatch had begun teaching Sam a more basic version of his fighting style. Now even after coming home they'd spar until they slept.
"If you're going to fight someone you have to understand the gravity of the situation. You could die. That is why when you fight you want to be extremely selfish, you may kill someone but at the end of the day they could have killed you."
Thatch threw a right hook towards Sam but was quickly thrown aback when he felt Sam's foot hit into his gut.
"Good lad"
Thatch had begun to regress, years of etiquette lessons were shed over the span of a week with the man opting to return to the slang he used to speak with as a child. Mr. Thatch had gone into hibernation and Sam was now training under the beast which haunted Venasia as a protege to the heavyweight champion of Punch.