A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

and dropped
them on the grass. Reece reached out, grabbed one, drank from it, then handed
it to O’Connor, who drank and handed it to Thor. Thor drank and drank, the
water dripping down his chin and chest. The water felt amazing. He breathed
hard as he handed it back to Reece.
    “How
long can this go on?” he asked.
    Reece
shook his head, gasping. “I don’t know.”
    “I
swear they’re trying to kill us,” came a voice. Thor turned and saw Elden, who
had come up and sat beside him. Thor was surprised to see him there, and it
sank in that Elden truly wanted to be friends. It was odd to see such a change
in his behavior.
    “Boys!”
Kolk yelled, walking slowly between them. “More of you are missing your marks
now, late in the day. As you can see, it is harder to be accurate when you’re
tired. That’s the point. During battle, you will not be fresh. You will be
exhausted. Some battles can go on for days. Especially if you are attacking a
castle. And it is when you’re at your most tired that you must make your most
accurate throw. Often you will be forced to throw whatever weapon is at your
disposal. You must be an expert in every weapon, and in every state of
exhaustion. Is that understood?”
    “YES
SIR!” they shouted back.
    “Some
of you can throw a knife, or a spear. But that same person is missing with a
hammer or axe. Do you think you can survive by throwing one weapon?”
    “NO
SIR!”
    “Do
you think this is just a game?”
    “NO
SIR!”
    Kolk
grimaced as he paced, kicking boys in the back who he felt were not sitting up
straight enough.
    “You’ve
rested long enough,” he said. “Back on your feet!”
    Thor
scrambled to his feet with the others, his legs weary, not sure how much more
of this he could stand.
    “There
are two sides to distance fighting,” Kolk continued. “You can throw—but so can
your enemy. He may not be safe at thirty paces away—but you may not be, either.
You must learn how to defend yourself at thirty paces. Is that understood?”
    “YES
SIR!”
    “To
defend yourself from a throwing object, you will need to not only be aware and
quick on your feet, to duck, or roll, or dodge—but to also be adept at
protecting yourself with a large shield.”
    Kolk
gestured, and a soldier brought out a huge, heavy shield. Thor was amazed: it
was nearly twice his size.
    “Do
I have a volunteer?” Kolk asked.
    The
group of boys was quiet, hesitant, and without thinking, Thor, swept up in the
moment, raised his hand.
    Kolk
nodded, and Thor hurried forward.
    “Good,”
Kolk said. “At least one of you is dumb enough to volunteer. I like your
spirit, boy. A stupid decision. But good.”
    Thor
was beginning to wonder if he had made a bad decision as Kolk handed him the
huge metal shield. He fastened it to one arm, and could not believe how heavy
it was. He was barely able to lift it.
    “Thor,
your mission is to run from this end of the field to the other. Unscathed. See
those fifty boys facing you?” Kolk said to Thor. “They are all going to throw
weapons at you. Real weapons. Do you understand? If you do not use your shield
to protect you, you may die before you make it to the other side.”
    Thor
stared back, unbelieving. The crowd of boys grew very quiet.
    “This
is not a game,” Kolk continued. “This is very serious. Battle is serious. It is
life-and-death. Are you sure you still want to volunteer?”
    Thor
nodded, too frozen in terror to say anything else. He could hardly change his
mind at this point, not in front of everyone.
    “Good.”
    Kolk
gestured to an attendant, who stepped forward and blew a horn.
    “Run!”
Kolk screamed.
    Thor
hoisted the heavy shield with two hands, grasping it with all that he had. As
he did, he felt a resounding thud, so severe it shook his skull. It must have
been a metal hammer. It didn’t pierce the shield, but it sent an awful shock
throughout his system. He nearly dropped the shield, but forced himself to
grasp it and move on.
    Thor
began to run, hobbling as fast as he could with the shield. As weapons and
missiles flew past him, he forced himself to huddle within the shield as best
he could. The shield was his lifeline. And as he ran, he learned how to stay
within it.
    An
arrow flew by him, missing him by a fraction of an inch, and he pulled his chin
back tighter. Another heavy object slammed against the shield, hitting him so
hard he stumbled back several feet and collapsed to the ground. But Thor he got
back on his