Chapter 1: Introducing Mikael
"Hey, boy! Mikael! Where are you?"
A solid looking man, short brown hair and a bushy beard stepped out of a simple house, which seemed to be just erected recently and without much thought to the aesthetics.
The walls of the small hut were build with a mixture of dirt, water, dung and other ingredients which got into it in the process of making.
A thatch roof covered the top, and from a small window escaped some smoke.
"MIKAEL!"
The thundering voice traveled far, enhanced by the callused hands which formed a funnel around the muscular mans mouth.
Worry mixed in with a slight arousal of anger.
His eyes wandered around the settlement in front of him. They settled down on a small hill area, high enough to see more easily and farther than normal, but also closer to the forest.
Their little hut was already the bare minimum one could call a building, but the small number of huts before his eyes where not even close.
Barely holding roofs, leaky and not properly bundled together. Walls with either holes created on purpose or as a result of lacking craftsmanship.
"What's going on, Brom? Escaped your rascal of a son your big clutches again?" chuckled a elderly
woman, her hands resting on her hips, the other holding a basket filled with wild herbs.
"Worry not, as I saw him playing with Nina around the river."
"Alone?" Brom asked her ,as even regularly visited, the river was still a dangerous place, especially as they had no time to properly search the surroundings for possible hidden dangers.
"Of course not, silly bear. Some other woman were there washing, and two young boys stood guard."
As not many man where in this hamlet, Brom listed all young man in his head.
"Can you remember who was it?"
The Woman relieved his worries with a wink.
"Reliable young man. Cedrik and Klein, you know, the boys of old Torik."
"Then it's alright. But When he is not back by noon, I will get him here, and Nina as well."
He cracked some of his fingers as a intimidation, even if it was for naught as the person threatened was not even there.
"Do what you like, but beware of hurting Nina even as a scolding." She warned him while walking along a simple path, avoiding small puddles formed by a recent rain.
'How can she still smile like that?' Brom wondered, following her walking along the stony area with not so elegant movement, and then letting his sight wander towards the direction of the river.
From his place, he could only vaguely make out the riverbank, next to a small patch of trees.
"Well, there should be nothing dangerous. At most some critters hid in some holes."
He shook his head, his beard following his movement while limping back into his hut, sitting down on a tree stump that functioned as a chair. He then took out a small carving knife from his only pocket and his other grabbed a piece of wood.
Skillfully he proceed to chip away the bark, and a spoon took a rough shape.
"Missed, missed again. You suck Mikael, you know that?"
A girl in knee length trousers and a simple brown tunic said, shifting her position slightly to make the stick that functioned as a sword miss her abdomen.
Her sharp eyes rested only a moment on the stick, then wandered to the legs of the boy in front of her.
She executed a small lunge, using her own long branch to hit his calf, making him lose his balance.
Her shoulder length blond hair following, she then closed the distance and tried to conclude the brawl.
"I hate when you do this." Mikael said in pain, as he got down on one knee as the result to the strike.
'But you are to simple, too'.
With a quick motion, he grabbed the branch that was well within his reach, pulled hard and succeeded in surprising Nina.
"Woah!" was all she exclaimed. She fell towards Mikael, unable to control her body.
Following was a small thud, accompanied with the groaning of both of them as they rubbed their forehead.
A group of woman that washed and dried of clothes watched as the two children played, not really worried that they could hurt each other.
They laughed hearty as the match concluded, consoling both of them.
"Nice moves, Nina, but you should really help us here." Said a woman rubbing a cloth in a bucket, wringing it out and laying it on the ground to dry in the stronger getting sun.
The girl got up, replying:" Don't want to. Washing is so boring and it hurts my wrists. Hitting someone is much more fun."
She reached out a hand to the boy, which still held his forehead.
"Come on, Mikael, that didn't even hurt that much." Nina scolded, forcefully grabbing his hand and pulling him up.
He stood a bit shorter than her, also in simple brown pants and a greenish tunic.
He ruffled through his own brown hair that was as uncombed as it is dirty.
"I'm just a bit dizzy, wait a moment." he replied.
'Ouch, my leg hurts.' Mikael inwardly wailed.
"How can you let a girl get the better of you man. Don't embarrass yourself."
A tall guy said in a jokingly tone which implied he doesn't really mean it. Resting in a half squatting position, he followed their duel while watching the surroundings.
His simple makeshift spear that had a crude metal point rested on his lap.
The other man stood at the other end from the group, sitting on a stone that let him gaze better at the small wood and other side from the river.
As the trees stood tall and leaning in the wind, the sound of leafs, branches and bushed mixed together, making it difficult to recognize possible threats by sound.
He looked not nearly as relaxed as his brother, as his eyes just gazed around vigilant, not even glancing at the two kids.
He just sternly said:" You shouldn't risk injuries. Not now, not here."
Although he didn't talk as loud as he should have, the squatting guy heard him nonetheless.
He just sighed.
"He is right, even if I a bit overly careful. How is your leg?"
Asking that, he got up from his position, walking over to Mikaels side and tapping his calf with the blunt side of the spear.
"It doesn't hurt that m..." he wanted to say, but he had to hold back to sharply inhale, fighting back his welling tears.
Nina stood next to him, worrying she may have hurt him to much.
"Are you really alright? Does it hurt much?" She asked him, not daring to touch him anymore than she already did, thinking how she pulled him back to his feet.
"Nothing serious, I guess, but I'm no healer." He patted Mikaels shoulder, then lifting him under his armpit and helping him limping to a rock.
"At least you can walk, wouldn't like to make another Brom out of you." he joked.
"Sit down here till we go back, it's almost dinner time anyway."
Mikael sat down, followed by Nina, which laid down on the grass next to him.
She did not say anything, but he knew she was worried about him.
"It really doesn't hurt as much as before already." he tried to console her.
Wanting to reassure her, he lightly stood up, burdening his leg with his weight.
But to his disappointment the following pain forced him to sit back down, saying nothing more and looking at his friend.
She looked back at him, her smile making him wonder.
"Next time, just be better than me, than you won't get hurt by something so small."
'So she's is fine.' he thought.
"Was just luck on your part, otherwise I would never get hurt by a puny attack like that."
"Say what?" she exclaimed, but they both chuckled afterwards, quickly forgetting their little accident and just rested till the woman finished their work.
"Get up you two."
The taller one of the guys went to call the children, which were playing in the grass a simple string game to pass the time.
"Finally, it got boring after our little princess here got hurt."
Nina jabbed at Mikael. He annoyed replied:" I'm not a princess, and you said yourself that your hand hurts after I pulled you."
"That was to comfort you." she said, hiding her hands behind her back.
'Sure it was.' he thought, not believing it.
"Can you walk again?"
Mikael nodded, carefully putting some weight on his leg
"Still hurts, but no problem with walking back."
"Good, then get going, the others are waiting." he motioned with his thump at his back, where the woman packed up the last clothes and the other guy got up from the rock.
"Ready to move Cedrik? Mikael can walk, so you don't need to carry him."
"Why should I even do that." he said annoyed.
"It's not to far away either way."
The group then shortly afterwards went towards the hill to their little hamlet. Nina stayed by Mikaels side all along the way, but not without pocking fun at him once in a while.