Luck in the new country 2
A black-haired man sat quietly in the carriage, staring out from behind the curtains. He thought he wouldn't see any difference once they left Lacris and crossed the border with Rinsel, but was wrong. He could sense their passage without even being informed, and Shane knew the feeling wouldn't get any better unless he gets use to it.
The further they went, the more heaviness filled the air, and he felt himself getting weaker. It wasn't just a physical weakness, he was exhausted in every way. His eyelids were closing and for the first time he experienced what the Lacrisans who visited Rinsel meant by saying that he needs to adapt before feeling normally.
After a while, Shane fell asleep and didn't wake up until night. Their carriage kept going as if the local soldiers didn't even need a break, and Shane began to wonder if it wouldn't be better if he jumped out and walked back. However, he knew that it wouldn´t solve anything, he knew that he currently wasn´t welcome in Lacris, and needed to fulfill his duties that he had been given.
He just sighed, leaned out and shouted at the guard on the horse: "Where are we?" he wondered.
"Lucky Mines." he answered.
"By the capital?" he was surprised how quickly they got here and tried to see the mines in the dark.
Lucky mines weren´t at all what their name sounded like. It was a vast group of mountains, stretching around the capital city with several other regions of Rinsel, where the ore that Lacris was after was mined. The stone in them did all sorts of things. Like absorbing luck...or bad luck if they were worn by a person of Rinsel. However, Rinselans weren´t those who mainly used them in their rough form. Most of them were sent to Lacris, where the government turned them into an ideal business.
They filled the stones with luck, which all Lacrisans had in surplus and then sold them back to Rinsel. At least that´s what people believed in. But Shane knew there was more to it...as always.
When the stones were filled with luck, they became yellow stones, beneficial to Rinsel. However, when filled with bad luck, they were called black...and those were useful to Lacris...more than the Rinselans could have imagined. Therefore, the trade between the countries was stable, and it was supposed to work until there was the supply of stones.
However, their pure form served to produce one more thing no one in the world could move without. Actually Lacrisan could, since they didn´t mind if they weren´t aware of how much luck was filling them and where its best form was waiting. But for the Rinselans it was a matter of life and death. Likewise for the people of Equil. Although they couldn´t change the state of their luck, at least it was useful to them for the awareness how to act in life.
Shane pulled his golden compass out of his pocket, trying to find out how his luck had changed since he came here. He placed his thumb on the tiny square with a needle on its bottom. A small drop of blood touched the stone beneath before he withdrew his finger. He watched the thin hands move for a moment before they stopped. The golden one gently waved in his direction, as if to guide him back to whence he had come from, while the black one headed straight ahead. Shane sighed deeply.
He knew that his luck wasn´t where the carriage was taking them but he couldn´t just turn back, so after a while he closed the compass. At least thanks to the color of the stone in the middle, he found that he had enough luck. He believed it would stay that way, at least until some disgusting Rinselan took it from him and let it to recharge again. He had absolutely no desire to share it with anyone and was absolutely not looking forward to this duty. Yet again, he knew he couldn't do anything about it.
He supported his head with his hand and looked outside. No sooner had he done so than the carriage shook violently. He straightened himself cautiously, but the rough tremors continued as if they were going down a very rough road. Just when he thought Rinsel had sloppy architects, the carriage stopped abruptly. He almost fell forward as he was jolted before the neighing of startled horses brought him back to reality. The shouting of the guards, punctuated by the sound of clashing blades, made Shane move his hand to his sword.
"What's going on?!" He tried to look out of the window, when suddenly one of the guards fell from his horse straight at him. If he hadn't thrown himself in the carriage, his neck would have been slashed by the sword.
Shane looked in shock at the lifeless guy on the ground, while another man took his place in the fight against an unknown enemy. Several men on horseback moved back the way they had come, several men crushed into the carriage as they fell and nearly overturned it.
Shane grasped the sword beside him in a second and got up. He didn't plan to leave his life in the hands of soldiers who can't even protect themselves. But as soon as he approached the door, a horse rammed in the carriage and threw him off his feet.
"Ah!" Shane fell to the ground and tried to get up but the vehicle rolled over completely.
For a second he realized that there was a hill by the side of the way and so it´s not a good idea to stay in. Yet had no opportunity to get out. The carriage overturned again, a sharp hit from the side flipped it once more. As soon as Shane had caught a glimpse of the stars from the window which was now above him, the carriage sped down the hill.
The moment it hit the first tree and its back wall shattered, Shane tried to jump. Although he didn't succeed, he lucked out on his next flip. Before rolling down, he violently grabbed a nearby branch and looked at the carriage, which ended up in a deep ditch. The wood shattered into pieces, all the things he brought with him ended up in a pile of rocks, and Shane just took a deep breath as he was close to death in this disgusting land.
Truly a lucky country.
He slowly crawled back along the branches and assessed the situation. He knelt for a moment before getting up and looking around. The bloody bodies of the guards on the ground together with the motionless horses filled almost the entire road, and if it wasn't for the fact that he had seen similar scenes many times, he would have felt sick.
As soon as he took a step, his foot sink into the soft clay, which had already managed to soak up the smell of iron. The snapping of branches forced him to move his hand to his sword, which he luckily caught before it fell.
,,There's one more left!" he suddenly heard in the treetops, where he sharply turned his gaze.
Shane failed to measure the number of enemies due to the darkness, therefore he decided that fighting was a very bad choice. He turned to get away as fast as possible. However, one of the men jumped down right in front of him and forced him to act.
Shane drew his sword in a second and swung forward. The guy's chest was slashed, and barely before the man make a sound, all Shane could see was his lifeless body on the ground. He really didn't feel like killing anyone, he didn't feel like making trouble on his first day here and doing extra work, but he couldn´t get himself killed either.
"Boy, you are a cute one!" a guy twice as tall as the enemy he took down jumped in front of him. Shane looked at him and drew his sword closer.
,,Who are you? All the valuables ended up in the ditch, you killed them unnecessarily." he clarified.
"Valuables!" laughed the guy, "We didn't come for those little things."
"We heard that a valuable Lacrisan is being transported today." he heard from behind him, therefore he moved to the side and backed away.
Shana didn't like his tone, but he didn't have much of a chance to react when he heard another voice behind him: "I think we found him, boss."
"I can see myself." he said.
"We're no goods." Shane growled irritably, causing the group to laugh.
Shane shivered realizing for the first time how many people were around. He was completely surrounded.
"You're going to be fun," said the leader of the criminals, nodding at his guys, "catch him alive."
Shane cursed inwardly how he couldn't believe his unlucky state after he barely made it to this country. A couple of guys ran at him, he ducked while his blade cut through their fingers, and before they know it, with more violent lunges he reduced them to a pair of bloody corpses on the road. However, he didn´t have time to dwell on them as foreign swords were aimed at him. His only advantage was that they wanted him alive, so he didn't have to worry about his life and could focus on getting away from them.
In the end, it wasn't as difficult as he feared. Although the enemy force was considerable, Shane was getting exhausted and his sword was slippery with blood up to the hilt, yet he didn't feel like going to be caught at all. It was even funny at times. Some of the men slipped on the bodies of their own kind, a few had their swords caught in tree branches, and Shane had the impression that they were fooling around. He had never fought the Rinselans before, but he respected them in battle as they had the strongest army. He thought they would be a problem, he thought his skills wouldn't be enough.
All the countries were afraid of the Rinsel´s army, they all avoided war and kept a truce, knowing that they wouldn´t stand a chance. Although luck wasn´t on their side, for some reason they were always the strongest in battle. However, it probably didn't apply to common criminals, and Shane calmed down a bit as he started to win.
But the moment he cut through a few guys and got to a more open path, his efforts to escape ended. A pair of rough hands grabbed his clothes from behind and dragged him back.
"Agh!" he fell painfully to the ground. He tried to support himself, but only caught a bloody limb when the guy from behind was already standing infront of him.
"Do I really have to do everything myself? Can't you handle one Lacrisan?!" shouted the boss, and before Shane could back off, he pulled him into the air again.
Shane gritted his teeth as he choked him with a motion and tried to fight him off with his sword. The blade dug into the man's hand, but it didn't go deep enough as the criminal aggressively pulled it out.
Shane lost his weapon. The second the enemy seized him with his other hand, he kicked forward sharply in an attempt to at least hit the man in the stomach. His kick was well aimed, and although the guy told himself that he wouldn't be defeated by a light physical attack, he foolishly underestimated the young man.
Lacrisan fell to the ground as the man released him in pain. Shane coughed loudly, but immediately grabbed his sword from the ground and tried to get away.
However, another group of criminals crossed his path, and Shane just backed off in displeasure. He heard movement behind him, but he couldn't swing his sword fast enough. A strong hit to the side sent him to the ground. Painfully clutching his nearly broken ribs, he tried to heave. Yet a hard kick from below knocked him over several times until his body slammed against a hard boulder. The sharp pain took his breath away and for a moment he wondered if they really wanted to keep him alive.
He didn't even have time to recover when the guy walked up to him and kicked him again from above. Shane grabbed his stomach, but before that the criminal stomped on him with even more strength, causing the young man to cry out in pain. He felt as if his insides were being crushed.
,,Boss! Stop it, you'll kill him! We all want to enjoy him!" one of the guys shouted, whereupon the commander looked at him. He took a deep breath and just let his foot on Shane to stop him from running away.
"This was the first time someone kicked me like that, bitch." he growled and pressed his foot into Shan's stomach, forcing the young man to open his mouth and gasp in pain.
,,Ahh! Nghh!" he gritted his teeth and tried to somehow slip out from under him. He wasn't sure how he got into this situation, but he confirmed that the Rinselans were indeed barbaric lunatics. He glanced at the guy who was still torturing him and tried to catch his leg.
"See, he's still trying!" he laughed and slowly leaned towards him.
Shane closed his eyelids again as the guy simply lifted him off the ground. He didn't have the energy to kick him again, so he just cleared his throat as he started to feel blood in his mouth.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." he said and knocked him unconscious with a sharp blow.
Shan was no stranger to danger, he was used to doing all kinds of work that his prince gave him. He did things quickly, exemplary and without any mistake. And although he didn't want to believe that he should have bad luck in Rinsel like Lacrisan on the very first day, his compass was obviously lying today. Luck really wasn't on his side.