Chapter 2: Episode 1 Forest of the Dead - Part 1
"Linda! Hey, Linda!"
A clear, high voice called out. He had thought he had whispered it softly. But the boy's voice, unexpectedly, rang out high among the silent trees of the forest.
"Shh! You're an idiot, you know that?"
The girl spat sharply. Remus puffed out his cheeks and fell silent. But Linda still wasn't satisfied.
"You're such an unthinker... have you forgotten where we are? It's the Forest of Ludes, still the territory of the Ruthless King of Gora."
"You know, I thought Linda might have gone away."
The boy said something. And at the same time he stretched out his head and looked out over the bushes.
"Don't worry. I think the cavalry's gone."
Linda, too, stretched out her head from a neighboring bush. Seeing that her brother's unintentional scream had not attracted the attention of a passing band of mounted warriors, and that the surrounding area was silent, she set about the difficult task of crawling out of the bushes.
The bush is a vasya tree whose fruit is considered to be the best food for comforting the palate. It has thorny leaves and even its bark is covered with thorns. Linda carefully pushed aside the leaves, stretched out her two slender white arms, clamped down on the thorn-laden branches, and expertly slipped out of her hiding place. Following the glorious platinum blonde hair, the crisp, bare shoulders, and the immature, lush, thin torso, stretched out as easily as a boy's, legs wrapped in long leather boots, emerged from their thorny dwelling for the day and night.
"Oh, my God. My whole body hurts and I'm shaking."
Linda said, holding up her hands and stretching. But soon she heard her brother's little scream and ran toward him.
Remus did not fare so well with his hostile lair as Linda did. He struggled with the thorny leaves and branches that clawed at his tender limbs, leaving him poor and bruised.
"You're such an idiot. There's nothing you can do, is there?"
Linda, commenting without reserve, removed a branch of vasja tangled in the boy's platinum blond hair with her slender, dexterous fingertips and helped him to stand safely on the ground.
And so, standing side by side, hand in hand, they looked strangely alike - not surprising, since they were twins, but still, like two pearls, they were as alike as two ludes. In the forest undergrowth they wore the same short leather boy's clothes, the same leather boots, the same silver dagger at their waists, the same curly platinum blond hair, the same pretty face--Linda's face was full of eager determination, and her brother Remus's was more innocent and blank. The difference is that Linda's face is full of innocent expression, and her brother Remus has a more innocent expression, but the beautiful face, and the same big violet eyes, standing there is as beautiful as two spirits of the forest, and no one is watching them. It was a pity that there was no one to see them.
However, they themselves did not have the time to worry about such things.
"Hey, Linda-- what are you going to do now? I'm starving."
Remus rubbed his thorn-scarred hands and feet with resentment and began to listen. Linda felt around her waist. The thick leather belt that cinched their waists tightly held a dagger case and a soft leather glove compartment, but she could not find anything in it that would be of use to them at the moment.
"It never occurred to me to carry rations. It's no use, we're in the middle of a riot."
"Then we must hunt and find food."
"No."
Linda decided mercilessly.
"We're not on a picnic in the Forest of Ludes. How many times do I have to tell you what will happen if we hunt animals and the men from Fort Staphorus find us? And you can't build a fire with what you have anyway. You can eat the meat raw if you like, Remus, but I won't."
"But I'm so hungry I think I'm going to collapse."
"It's me, too.
Linda said angrily, but then she suddenly looked around.
"Can you hear anything?"
"Nothing."
"It's the sound of hooves. It's the horsemen from back there!"
Linda stopped her brother from saying anything and suddenly jumped into the bushes of Vasya. She didn't mind being rubbed by the thorns. It was obvious to everyone that she would grow up to be a dazzling beauty, but she was not yet old enough to pay attention to her own beauty or to the extraordinary smoothness of her skin.
"Remus! Quickly!"
Linda shouted at her brother, who remained standing in disbelief, and the boy rushed to follow his sister into the bushes of Vasya.
But it was too late. Suddenly a troop of black-clad horsemen appeared on a rough road, which could not be called a road, leading into the forest of the Ruud. A sharp command came from the mouth of the leader, who wore a black helmet with a black tassel fluttering over his head and whose face was covered with a mask.
"We have to go, Remus!
Linda screamed. At that moment, however, one of the men in black grabbed Remus by the thin arm as he gave up his attempt to duck into the bushes and ran swiftly deeper into the forest.
"Let go of me!"
Remus screamed and struggled. His pretty face blazed with a proud rage that only truly noble blood and a noble heart can possess.
The captain in the tasseled helmet gave a stern command. The words were not unknown to the sisters, of course, but they were spoken with such a strong frontier accent that they would have been inaudible if they had been careless. The men went to the bushes of Vasya, and, not caring for Remus's cries of rage or for Linda's shrinking further into the depths of the bushes, they put their iron-caged hands into the bushes and dragged her out like a cat's paw.
Of course they were not inclined to thorns, and Linda was dragged out screaming by the thorns that pierced her hair and skin. As she was thrown out onto the grass, trying to hold her hair back, her body and face were covered with scratches, and she was gasping for breath, crying out in pain.
"Savages! Beasts! Swine of Gora!"
Linda cursed loudly, her violet eyes blazing with anger.
"Why are you doing this to us? The Gora dogs took everything from us! I hope Janus' lightning strikes you all and scorches you black."
The black-robed knights looked down coldly at the girl with tears of anger in her eyes and her slender body shaking. The captain laughed in a coarse voice, and suddenly stepped forward. He raises his iron-covered hand, catches Linda by the chin, and peers into her face. The captain's intentions were clear.
"Let Linda go!"
Remus screamed and flailed. But the men's hands held him firmly in place. Linda suddenly spat in the face of the captain, who was armoured with a face-cheek, and jumped agilely and drew the dagger at her waist.
She looked as boisterous and proud as an angry bobcat. But the dagger in her hand was nothing more than a slender, crafted piece of silver. The men hooted and hollered, and the captain approached the girl with a broad grin. Linda stepped back with her sword in her hand. The captain caught up with her.
Her foot caught on a grass root as she stepped back again. Linda screamed and fell, and the captain jumped on top of her.
"Linda!"
Remus screamed. Linda was pinned down, but she refused to give in, and continued to fight fiercely. But her strength and energy were quickly running out.
"Linda--"
Screaming once more, the boy struggled to wrench free of the men's steel-like hands and jump out, but then--
Suddenly, all eyes were wide open in astonishment!
The captain froze in place as he rolled off Linda. His eyes were white with disbelief and fear as they widened in his cheeks. Linda's feeble scream of terror died away in the horrible silence.
Slowly, slowly, it emerged from the trees and approached.
His hands were held out in front of him, and he walked in a dazed and foreboding manner, as if he were a dead man walking unaided. Their feet trembled, but as they drew nearer to us, their steps seemed to grow more steady.
"What--what the hell was that?"
One of the knights said in a trembling voice. Even the knight who said it may not have realized that he had said something.
"It's the Rude Fiend!"
"Dead Zoner Spirit Bee: ..."
"It's a monster."
For a moment, there was a murmur among the knights. It was approaching slowly through the trees, and it had the aspect of a nightmare distracted by reality, enough to shake the superstitious minds of the knights.
"God of Janus! Help me!"
The feeble one ranted and rushed towards horse. That broke the spell of the knights who had been frozen. They threw Remus aside and ran to the horse.
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