Ruins

Nathan Fletcher glanced down at his trusty compass, checking his map a final time. He was in the middle of Wales, lost in some mountainous scrubland. Somewhere, ahead of him he hoped, were the ruins of a small castle that he had been sent to find. He hoped it wasn’t much further either. His feet were beginning to ache and he still needed to complete his business and make the return trip.

He was conscious of the time too. He didn’t want to be out there after dark. Not with the business he was there for.

A hiker had been attacked. He’d been found hysterical and bloodied on a road leading to a farm three miles away, rambling about a monster in the ruins of a castle he had taken shelter in. The villagers who had taken him in had settled on the explanation some homeless man living rough in the hills had decided to try to rob the poor hiker and gotten carried away. Nathan had a different interpretation of the story.

Deserted ruins were often inhabited by redcaps, a nasty species of goblin named after their hats. Yet Nathan knew the name was not entirely accurate. The distinctive hats the goblins wore were not red. Rather they were a rusty brown from the blood they were dyed with. That was the reason he thought the hiker had been attacked. Redcaps had a hierarchical society in which the blood your hat was dyed in decided your status. There was a complex ordering of every type of animal, every species, to decide what blood placed a redcap where on the social ladder but Nathan knew human was near the top. That hiker had been lucky to survive if Nathan was right.

Reaching the brow of the hill, Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. There was a small plateau leading to an intense set of brambles. Behind them he could see a stone wall. He put down his gym bag, stretching his limbs as he basked in the sight of the place. And then he got to work. He unzipped the gym bag he had lugged all the way, reaching inside. His bow was waiting for him, fully strung and ready to be used at a moment’s notice. He swung on his quiver and grabbed the dagger nestled in the gym bag, hooking its scabbard into the belt loops of his jeans.

Any other creature and he might have attempted to pretend he was a normal teenaged boy, try to throw it off guard. He didn’t see the point with a redcap, especially not when he was invading its turf. It wasn’t going to hesitate.

Nathan circled the ruins. He kept an arrow nocked, keen eyes running up and down the building to ensure he could dodge if a rock was hurled his way. All that remained of the castle was the tower, a large square about the size of a house with irregular rocks packed together with whatever counted as cement in medieval times. It was probably 13th century, Nathan mused, from the conquest of Wales. Nathan could see a well-trodden path leading through the overgrown surroundings to a stone archway. His gut told him that was the work of the redcap, making the castle look like a nice, inviting place to rest or explore. Easier to lure in an unsuspecting hiker that way.

Nathan strode inside.

The castle had no roof and all that remained of the second storey was a cracking stone walkway with warped metal. Nathan raised an eyebrow at them, supposing someone had once tried to make the castle into a local tourist attraction. He could see why their plan had failed. There was no one local to visit it.

Rubbish had collected on the dirt floor of the castle. Crass graffiti covered the walls. The faint indication there might have once been dividers carved out rooms. The stone stairs to the second floor were tucked just by the arched doorway with a rusted metal banister with sharp edges.

“Okay. You going to come out and show yourself?” Nathan called.

A whistle echoed through the air. For a moment Nathan thought it was wind rushing through the ruins. But there was a tune to it, steady and rhythmic, growing louder and louder.

Someone was coming.

Nathan raced to the door, peering out. A man with dark hair was trudging up the hill, whistling to himself. The rucksack on his back was bulging and he had a camera hanging around his neck.

Nathan felt his stomach drop. The last thing he wanted was a civilian blundering into the middle of his quest. He could be hurt or worse. Nathan nocked an arrow, drawing in a calming breath. He knew he would be able to make the shot. He was on the golden line of Robin Hood, magically imbued with all his skills. He never missed. Still, there was always a small spark of terror that ran through him when he was forced to fire an arrow at a civilian.

He let the arrow fly. It raced through the air, slicing easily through one of the rucksack’s straining straps. The sudden shift of the weight surprised the man. The rucksack almost came loose from his shoulders. The arrow continued its journey into the undergrowth entirely undetected as the man struggled to stop his bag from falling off. Nathan nocked another arrow, prepared to sever the second strap of the bag but the man turned away. He swung off his bag, inspecting the damage.

Relieved to see he had more time until the man came into the castle, Nathan turned back to look around. A snatch of grey stole his attention. It exploded into him, tackling him to the ground. Black smudges blurred his vision as his head impacted on the stone floor. Nathan felt his bow being torn from his grip, the arrows from his quiver scattering on the ground beneath him.

A flash of silver cut through the dark spots. A small voice in the back of Nathan’s mind urged him to move, warned him that the light was something to be feared. He rolled to the side despite the way his limbs protested and felt a hand grabbing at his arm. His momentum ripped him out of the grasp of his attacker, drawing blood.

Rubbish was crushed beneath Nathan as he tried to put distance between himself and his attacker. Once he was far enough, he got unsteadily to his feet, his stomach churning, and stared down the attacker.

It was definitely a redcap. Nathan recognised it instantly. Grey, leathery skin, littered with scars, the skeleton underneath on full display. A ridge of warts ran up one of its arms. In one four-fingered hand, it held a dagger. Nathan couldn’t help but notice that it was beyond something a redcap could make. It had to have taken it from some poor soul.

Nathan realised the redcap was standing between him and his bow. He grimaced. Close quarters combat was fine but Nathan would have much rather had his bow, especially after such a nasty blow to the head.

Still, he knew he couldn’t be picky. He grabbed the dagger from his belt, taking a few steps toward the redcap. The creature snarled, spittle flying, and then it threw itself toward Nathan. He raised one arm to block the swinging dagger and threw a fist, catching the creature in the throat. Letting out a strangled cry, the redcap slashed wildly. Nathan stepped away, struggling to keep his balance on the uneven ground as he did so. The redcap surged forward again, desperate to catch the young man when he was unbalanced. Nathan leapt to the side, dodging the blade. He lashed out with his own dagger, determined to drive the redcap back, to give himself some chance to actually move. Immediately the redcap retreated.

“Can’t imagine you get many visitors all the way out here,” Nathan remarked.

The redcap didn’t respond. Nathan hadn’t expected it to. Redcaps were never particularly talkative.

“Probably doesn’t help that you tried to kill your last visitor.”

The redcap pounced again. Nathan dodged, managing to trip the creature as it passed. It stumbled, hurtling into the wall of the castle. The impact jarred the dagger from its hands.

Nathan raced to his bow, snatching it up with as many arrows as he could. He threw the arrows into his quiver, nocking one and firing it at the redcap as the creature looked around for his blade. It caught the redcap’s arm, spilling a nasty green blood.

The injury stole the fight from the redcap. It glanced around and darted toward Nathan, trying to get to the door. Nathan nocked another arrow, menacingly. Backing away, the redcap turned to the wall and began to scamper up. The creature shrieked and screeched as it clawed its way up the wall. Nathan shook his head. Then he turned to the stone stairway. He hurried up it, reaching the metal barriers of the second floor just as the redcap was trying to manoeuvre its way onto the platform. Nathan calmly walked over, reaching into his pocket. He found two loose zip-ties, spinning them about his finger as he approached.

“Come on. You know I’m not going to let you run after you almost killed someone and neither of us want to have to chase all over Wales.”

The redcap’s shoulders sagged. It offered out its hands.

“Thank you,” Nathan smiled.

Within moments he had secured the makeshift handcuffs, sitting the redcap down. Nathan moved to a window, frowning as he saw the man had tied the broken strap of his bag and was continuing to make his way over to the castle.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” Nathan told the redcap, putting down his bow. “Sit tight.”

Nathan put on a pronounced limp as he hobbled out of the castle. He watched as shock fell on the face of the man approaching the ruins.

“Thank goodness! I was beginning to worry no one was ever going to come here!”

“Are you alright?” the man said. “Come on, sit down. Sit down.”

He helped Nathan toward the doorway of the castle, sitting him down on the stone front step. Nathan glanced back, checking the restrained redcap was not visible from where he sat.

“I sprained my ankle,” Nathan said. “Came here for some shelter but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back alone. Was worried I was going to have to spend the night here.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” the man said. “Do you want me to take a look at it?”

“Could you walk me back to the nearest village please? Or even a farmhouse? Just so I can call someone. There’s no signal for miles.”

The man looked past him and longingly stared at the castle. Nathan began to prepare an excuse as to why they had to leave immediately.

“I suppose I had better. Your parents will be worried sick if it gets dark and they don’t know where you are.”“Yes. Thank you. I’m sorry about-”

“Think nothing off it,” the man shrugged. “If my son was out some place like this, I’d like to think someone would help him.”He guided Nathan to his feet, letting him rest an arm over his shoulders.

“I’m Nathan, by the way,” Nathan smiled.

Nathan called the Round Table as he raced back to the castle, alerting them to the fact he was going to need someone to pick up the redcap. It had gotten dark and he was glad to report the man he had encountered had decided to leave his plans to document the ruins until the next day, leaving Nathan with a good window to get the redcap out of the way.

He reached the castle, taking the stairs two at a time. Then he came to a stop, using his phone torch to illuminate the platform he found himself on. He scanned his light along, looking for his bow.

It wasn’t there.

Nathan looked around, wondering if it might have fallen over or been knocked somewhere. It hadn’t been. His bow was gone.

He grimaced. His eyes passed over to where he had left the redcap. He could see the cut remnants of the black zip-ties he had used to restrain the creature but the redcap had disappeared.

“You have got to be kidding me.”