He decided that being on horseback was a better option for him and he accepted the offer. “I’ll take the horse.”
The man jumped to action. He brought his leg up and sprang from the horse onto the man closest to him, knocking him down. Garinor wasted no time. He took the horse’s reins and, barely knowing what to do, he hoisted himself up and wrenched the horse’s head around, then snapped the reins to action.
Behind him the scuffle broke out in a mass of yelling and shouting. They were too close for swords and so they wrestled each other angrily into the dirt. The third rider, however, wasn’t idle. He sheathed his sword after watching his companions for a minute and then he leaped into pursuit.
Garinor’s experience with horses was poorly limited. He fought desperately to hold on and to steer the horse at all. But the other man was a skilled rider and it wasn’t long before he caught up to the boy. He seemed as if he was enjoying the little excursion and he spent a few minutes taunting Garinor instead of taking him down.
“Aww, look at that, can’t even keep himself upright. Hey boy, I bet you fall and break your neck before I kill you myself. Look out for those rocks there. You might stumble. I wouldn’t go into the trees if I were you; that horse hates a good forest.”
Garinor shuffled his weight around and managed a better hold on the horse. He gripped the reins tightly and though the horse protested at first, it finally gave in and increased its speed.
Laughter echoed after him and moments later a sharp, searing pain cut into his back as a thrown dagger impaled him. He dropping to the ground in a gasping heap.
The rider trotted over to retrieve the other horse and then he swooped down and pulled the dagger from Garinor’s back. The boy’s eyes clouded over in pain and as he drifted into darkness, the rider laughed again and returned to his companions.