Castlehood by Mach Neil

Author:Mach, Neil [Mach, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Rockfinch the synan half-stumbled and half-bounded after his donkey and away from the dangerous sinkhole. He realised that without his humble mount, however sluggish the animal might be, he would not reach the castle before the multitude of pikemen and yeoman in the adjacent valley got back. If he didn’t return to Cærdamoon before them, he will have failed his mission. So, it was imperative that he caught his beast. Berating himself for not having the common sense he was born with, he ran after the animal, hoping to coax it back with promises of water and carrots.

Disaster struck when he was half a furlong from the creature. Rockfinch took a misstep, tripped over a larger chunk of rock, staggered, stumbled, and then crashed to the ground, a large stone causing a regretful, forceful impact that knocked the wind from his solar plexus. Fortunately, he hadn’t hit his head on other rocks, but the unforeseen fall shocked him. He tried to calm down and take a deep breath, but he was in too much pain. He was unable to get back up and recover properly. So he lay still, holding his knees and groaning loudly as his head turned dizzy. After a count to twenty and reciting ‘Our Father,’ he broke from his foetal position and tried to sit himself into a crouched posture, to help his muscles relax, though his ribs ached like crazy. Once the dazed feeling gradually wore off, he couldn’t believe his eyes. At first he thought he must be hallucinating, then he attributed what he saw in front of him to confusion caused by disorientation. For a brief moment, he even thought he was dead and had been carried to heaven! Perhaps this was a dream? But when he rubbed his eyes with gritty fingers, massaged his temples, squinted to see better, and the truth revealed itself. Yes, directly in front of him were two donkeys. Not just one. And the ‘new’ jackass was strapped with equipment, including leather harnesses, ropes, and buckles. ‘His’ old donkey now stood an arm’s length from the ‘new’ cuddy, and both animals had found spiny lobes of thistle, which they chewed upon.

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