Adventure of Boffo Hardbottle 1

Sawyer Krump stands in the road, red-faced and square-shouldered, while the woods behind him thump with heavy boots. The first cry from the trees is close enough to raise every neck in the lane.

Boffo Hardbottle pushes past the shirriff, angling for the village center and the nearest doorways, where a warning can spread fastest.

From the treeline, an arrow hisses into a fence post. Beyond it, dark shapes break through the leaves, and the road suddenly feels far too short.

Sawyer's protest dies as he sees the moving shapes. The path to Greenfields is open at last, but only if Boffo can turn fear into action before the raiders reach the farms.

Boffo Hardbottle breaks from the road shoulder, but the damp verge grabs his boots and steals his speed.

His cry goes up, sharp and clear, yet the lane swallows half of it as he lurches sideways to keep from falling.

Sawyer reels back from the treeline, and the fence post shudders where the arrow still hangs.

Beyond them, the first raiders push into view through the brush, while farther off the hidden shouts answer and spread through the wood.

Boffo regains his feet short of the village road, but the way to Greenfields is no longer empty, and Sawyer is forced to choose whether to flee, stand, or cry out.

Boffo’s cry carries farther this time, slicing past the lane and into the trees.

Ahead, Sawyer’s face hardens, and the fear in it turns outward toward the brush.

The first raiders step fully from the treeline, and the hidden answering shouts roll closer behind them.

Boffo’s warning is plain now, meant for road and village alike.

Sawyer pivots toward Greenfields, half-reaching as if to hail anyone within earshot, while the fence post quivers with the lodged arrow.