Chapter One

Janus De Vesques

Pain laced through his entire being as he hobbled down the stairs and away from the girl who had crushed his ankle and stabbed both his legs with arrows. Janus grunted in agony as he supported himself on the railing, every step bringing the pain within to new heights. At least, Janus thought to himself, the pesky archer girl wouldn't follow him anymore. He had broken her arm in a desperate attempt to escape unhindered.

In the first place, all he wanted was to escape from Swynvort. To be free from the Pilgrim and the League of Sorcerers. To leave everything behind. But the girl wouldn't let him. She was good, having learnt from their previous fight in Quodrun, and she had left him no choice as they were too well matched. He was desperate to get away, and had no choice but to resort to such a barbaric technique to ensure his unimpeded escape.

Limping as fast as he could, he pushed open the door which led out of Swynvort Tower. Outside, he hobbled towards the squad of mercenaries waiting for him with horses. He had instructed the Knights of Vengeance to help him ready his stallion while he engaged the archer girl.

Janus clung to the side of his horse, letting his legs sink beneath him. He reached into the bag strapped to the horse's side. Removing a small needle and a vial containing a transparent liquid, he carefully prepared the injection as fast as he could. Then, he jabbed the needle into his leg and grimaced. Pulling the needle out, he tossed it away and attempted to stand on his two feet without support. His legs wobbled for a moment and then stabilized.

"What are you all waiting for?" Janus glanced round at the Knights who were silently watching him from their mounts. Then, he remembered that his face was now exposed and everyone was seeing their commander unmasked for the first time, and Janus felt embarrassed. Now everyone could see the long scar on his face.

"I told you that once we were out of Swynvort and I had returned, you're all free to go." Janus said sharply.

"Where can we go?" One of the Knights said.

"The League is all we have ever known."

"We all agreed to pledge our loyalty to you."

Janus looked round at the fifteen mercenaries before him. The rest of the Knights had already fled into the forest, scattered the moment Janus had given the order in Swynvort to abandon the Pilgrim to her own devices.

"No." Janus shook his head. "I don't want followers. It'll be easier for our enemies to track us down if we're in such a big group. We should all split up. You're all better off on your own."

"Prometheus," one of the Knights said. "We're sworn to protect you now."

"I don't need bodyguards." Janus said.

"We won't leave you."

Glancing round, Janus knew that there was no time to argue with them. They had all made up their minds to follow him and the best he could make of the situation was to lead them out of the forest first. He could decide what to do with them later. Mounting up, he sat astride his stallion. He grunted and motioned for the Knights to follow him.

###

The journey through the forest was an immensely taxing one. Six days had already passed, and the band of mercenaries were nowhere near the end. Eight of the Knights had already been left behind. Three were stragglers who simply could not go on, another two had horses who had gone wild when the wolves had shown up in the night and no one knew what had happened to them, and the other three had been picked off by wolves lurking about in the forest.

Now, only seven of the Knights and Janus remained. The painkiller Janus had administered to himself had long since run out, and now he had to endure the unrelenting pain on the long and unforgiving journey. There was no way to know when they would emerge from the forest and end up on the other side. Before, the Pilgrim had always expedited the journey by using her magic to teleport them wherever they needed to be. But now, Janus was on his own, having abandoned the Pilgrim to her own resources.

As he sat by the fire with the remaining seven Knights, he warmed his ungloved hands and thought silently about what he had done. Had he made the right decision to leave the League? As soon as he thought that, he knew the answer. Of course it was the right one. He hadn't forgotten how the Pilgrim had treated him.

When she had first found him three years ago in Bruvesqk, she had enticed him with an exorbitant sum of money for his elite services. Janus, knowing that it was too good an offer to refuse, had accepted, and left his hometown of Bruvesqk behind to join the League of Sorcerers. However, as time passed, he had begun questioning his allegiance to her. The witch was an extremely cruel and demanding client, having lashed out at him multiple times for things he couldn't have predicted. After all, he was only human. She sometimes forgot that not everyone had magical powers like her.

Janus had endured too much while working with the Pilgrim, both mentally and physically. He even had a long scar on his face as proof. That was when he had started wearing the mask and hood to cover up the evidence of his mistake. Then when the Pilgrim had set her sights on the Snow Queen from Arendelle, he had begun to feel hesitant about his role in her capture. Nevertheless, he had obeyed the Pilgrim and aided in a mission to observe her in action. He was utterly impressed by the one who he came to know as Queen Elsa, and some time later, he was tasked to stage a raid in Arendelle two months later to evaluate her abilities in combat.

Finally, he had been instrumental in ambushing and drugging Elsa, and transporting her to Swynvort's dungeons at the Pilgrim's command. He had been utterly uneasy on that mission, but as usual, he followed her orders without question. After all, he was being paid handsomely for his services. A mercenary like himself knew better than to think about the moral implications. However, for the first time since he took up the profession of being a mercenary, he had begun to feel like what he was doing was wrong. Maybe it was because he had sympathy for Elsa. Or maybe it was because she had seen through his mask. She was the first person to see him as more than just a hired killer, and something about her sparked a strange feeling inside him. He didn't know what to make of it at all.

She had helped him realize that he wanted to be free from the Pilgrim too, and all he had to do was bail. He had wrestled with that thought for a while, and finally when the Pilgrim ordered him to draw blood from Elsa and attack her family and friends, he decided that that was the last straw. If there was one thing he was certain about, it was his policy. He would not put a target's family in the crossfire. Elsa's sister was out of the question, and so was Elsa. He would not be a part of it anymore.

At the right moment, he had ordered the Knights to abandon the Pilgrim. It was surprising, since the Knights had sworn their allegiance to the League. They had somehow gravitated towards him instead over the course of his time with them, and had followed him in escaping Swynvort. He no longer wanted to be a part of whatever the Pilgrim was doing.

And now, Janus and the remaining Knights were stuck in the forest, with no way of knowing when they would come out on the other side. By now, he was sure that no one was following him. Except for wolves, of course, which in fact posed a much greater threat. In his injured state and his lack of weapons, he wasn't sure he would actually make it out of the forest alive. Already, he had lost eight mercenaries.

"Prometheus."

Janus snapped out of his thoughts.

"What are we going to do for food?" One of the Knights asked. "We can't possibly kill another horse."

Janus grimaced. They had already ran out of canned food days ago, and had resorted to hunting to keep themselves going. When that had failed, they had no choice but to turn to their horses for sustenance. That meant that some of the Knights had to pair up and share horses on their journey through the forest. Janus had instructed them to ration their horse meat as best as they could, as they were already running out of options. As for fresh water, they had to resort to nearby streams and brooks, which were incredibly hard to find. This could not go on. Any more, and they would have to go the rest of the journey on foot, which was certainly not an option for Janus, given his broken ankle.

"We'll try foraging again tomorrow." Janus said. "We can't afford to go on foot. Not when we're close to finally finding civilization outside of this wretched forest."

"How can you be sure that we're close?" Another Knight asked.

Ignoring him, Janus turned back to the fire. He was right. There was no way to know for sure, but he had to keep up appearances in the hope that they were indeed nearing the end of their journey.

The next day was arguably even harsher. The cold winds grew bitter, and the horses had begun to slow due to lack of fodder, some refusing to move for long periods of time. Janus had almost killed his in exasperation when it had stubbornly refused to leap across a stream. They were running out of time. The forest seemed to be thinning out, but there was still no visible end to it.

Another Knight had collapsed due to exhaustion, and had to be left behind since there was no more room to carry him with them. Only six Knights remained, and Janus was growing more desperate by the hour. The sun was hidden behind the clouds for the entire day, refusing to grant them any warmth at all. He had pulled up the hood to cover his head as best as he could, but even the cloth could not provide much protection against the cold winds. His ankle burned as usual, and by now he had gotten used to the pain, though it was still excruciating whenever he dismounted.

"We'll make camp here." Janus instructed. It had gotten dark already, and they couldn't go on for fear of hungry wolves. A fire was hastily built in a small clearing, and the remaining survivors set their things down.

"Two of you." Janus pointed at two of the Knights. "Look for food. Berries, squirrels, anything. We can't kill any more horses. We're down to four."

The two Knights headed off into the dark with flaming torches to forage, and Janus sat down, removing his gloves. He sighed and rubbed his numb hands together. This really could not go on for much longer. They would either die of starvation or eventually, the wolves would get the better of them.

"WOLVES!" One of the two Knights clambered back to the camp, and collapsed, his clothes stained with a splash of red.

Janus got up hastily. "Where's your partner?"

"Gone," the survivor shook his head vigorously and stared up at Janus with wide eyes. "They were lying in wait for us."

"Get up." Janus commanded with an air of urgency, and the remaining five Knights scrambled up from their rest. "Form a circle, facing outwards, swords at the ready." His eyes darted around, unable to see past where the weak fire illuminated. "We're not dying here tonight."

The mercenaries muttered amongst themselves in low panicky voices as they raised their swords and stood together in a tight circle formation, with as little gaps between them as humanly possible.

"Stay calm." Janus said quietly. "They can sense fear." He stood at one of the sides, his katana unsheathed and in hand. He steadied himself as best as he could and waited. The low growls could be heard coming from his left. They were getting louder.

Suddenly, the wolves pounced and shrieks of rage and terror rang out throughout the forest. The Knights and Janus slashed at the wolves, fending them off as best as they could, but yet another Knight fell and was dragged off into the dark. Another few wolves chomped down on the legs of the horses which had been tied to the trees, devouring them where they stood.

Janus watched helplessly, shouting to the remaining four to maintain their formation. Better the horses then themselves. But there was nothing they could do to stop the wolves. The predators dragged the thrashing horses off into the dark, and soon the forest fell back into silence. The wolves had had their fill.

"We'll have to keep watch." Janus glanced round at the faces of despair.

"We're not going to make it out of here, are we?"

"I don't know," Janus said truthfully, bloodied katana in hand. "But we have to try. For as long as we can."

Morning eventually came, although it felt like it had taken an eternity. The remaining four Knights and Janus resumed their journey, but this time on foot, since no horses had been left alive. After what seemed like hours of trekking, Janus dropped to the ground in relief. They had finally emerged from the forest and were now on the other side of the island. A small village stood by the coast, where there were numerous boats.

After the mercenaries got to the village and had their fill of meat and drink, Janus looked round at the four remaining Knights.

"Our journey together has come to an end." Janus announced. "It's time we went our separate ways."

"But Prometheus, we have nowhere else to go." One of the four said.

Janus shook his head. "You cannot follow me anymore. You're better off without me."

"But-"

"Look what happened to the rest of your friends." Janus growled. "Do you want to end up like them?"

Silence.

"Farewell," Janus stood up, hobbling. Alone, he made his way slowly down to the bustling pier, where he met and paid a boat captain a handsome sum.

"Where to?" The boat captain pocketed the money gratefully.

"Bruvesqk." Janus sat down, nursing his swollen ankle. After three years, it was at long last time to return home.

Author's Commentary:

This story picks up moments after the big fight between Prometheus and Melody in Swynvort, during the events of the League of Sorcerers. I know there must be quite a few questions raised about the enigmatic mercenary in the hood and mask. This novella is written from the perspective of Prometheus, to give more of an insight into his life as a mercenary and what happens to him after the Warriors attack and dismantle the Pilgrim's plan.

This serves as a short Book 2.5, if you will, set before the events of Book 3 which is now in the 2nd draft stage. Prometheus will be making an appearance in Book 3 of course.

The Man Under the Hood is a western stylized action flick which features tons of action from start to finish. We get to break the boundaries a little for the violence, because this story belongs to Janus De Vesques. It is still set in the same world as the Warriors, but this one will be slightly more action packed, spy-like and darker. Enjoy, and leave a comment if you like it!