Hugo also knows that he doesn’t have much choice in the matter because his friend is only half the problem: the rest of the men of the community are far larger and stronger than he. If they decided to try and attack him during his patrol, he would be helpless and unable to fight back effectively. Not wanting to have to worry about that happening, Hugo decides to stay quiet and watch until he sees who is coming towards him, so he can prepare for whatever might happen. After watching for several minutes, Hugo hears another set of footsteps approaching from somewhere else in the woods. The newcomer sounds heavy breathing and Hugo notices how slow they are walking, trying to cover a lot of ground as quietly as possible. He decides to stay completely silent himself. If this man wants to approach him, Hugo is going to show him that he’s not afraid and that he can be very deadly when necessary. When the second man is directly in front of Hugo, he waits for a moment to see what he will do next. The man doesn’t seem to notice Hugo so Hugo keeps watching closely until he spots it, a flash of red moving swiftly through the trees towards him. Hugo ducks and rolls as fast as he can. The dagger flies over Hugo’s shoulder and embeds itself in the trunk of a tree close by. Hugo scrambles to his feet and runs toward the spot he rolled away from. When he finds a rock he’s hiding under, he drops into a crouch just in time to see the man coming toward him. This time he doesn’t duck, instead he rises up to his full height and throws a punch, connecting solidly with the mans cheek. He hits the ground with a loud thud as Hugo pulls back his fist. Hugo watches closely as he struggles to rise to his feet but soon gives up. He lies still on the ground, blood trickling down his mouth from where he fell. Hugo can tell the man is unconscious from here, but there is nothing he can do about it. He glances around for the nearest entrance to the camp and decides that the back entrance will lead him outside.
“Well that was unexpected.” A familiar voice says suddenly in surprise. Hugo spins around to see the speaker standing behind him, staring at him with wide eyes. It’s Hector. Hugo frowns and glances away, embarrassed to have been caught attacking someone and hoping the guard didn’t recognize him. It took Hugo longer than it should’ve to get used to his identity. It seemed like years ago that he came to the village, wearing nothing but rags that couldn’t possibly fit over his head in those days. Now here he was in the middle of the desert, dressed in clothing that would be considered a little bit more formal if his clothes were worn on the streets. But it’s not everyday you see a man with a black cape and red gloves fighting for his life. His friends will probably be thrilled to know who it is that is helping them.
“Uh, yeah, guess so.” Hugo responds nervously as Hector steps closer and leans against the tree next to Hugo.
Hector raises his eyebrows as he looks at Hugo. “Wow. You’re really out here fighting for real, aren’t you?” Hector asks as he tilts his head slightly.
“Yeah, I guess so…” Hugo answers awkwardly. He can feel Hector staring at him, so he continues to look away and stares off in the distance instead. Hector lets out a deep breath and then speaks up again.
“Do me a favor and don’t kill anyone tonight. They’ll just come looking for you later.” He turns and grabs the handle on one of his weapons and starts to walk away.
“Hey, Hector, wait! Why would they be looking for me anyways? Shouldn’t the camp just have to deal with everything that happens?” Hugo calls out to Hector.
Hector stops walking for a minute and turns to look back at him, holding his weapon tightly. “The people of this settlement know of you but don’t know why exactly. And I doubt it would be wise to go asking for their help when we’re in the middle of a rebellion…” Hector mumbles the last part quietly, almost as though he isn't sure if he’s allowed to say it. Hugo nods and Hector turns to walk away once more. As the man approaches the opening of the alleyway that leads out of the camp, Hugo takes the opportunity to run for the edge of the clearing. Just as he is about to jump over the fence, Hugo hears voices coming from the opposite side of the clearing.
“Alright everyone, we won’t have enough guards for everyone anyway so just leave it up to us! We’ll be taking the ones we have left with us tomorrow anyway. We’ll start gathering up the bandits in the morning, okay?” The owner of the voice states and laughs loudly. Everyone else agrees and Hugo can hear the crowd shuffling around and packing their belongings up. Hugo watches as some of the bandits carry boxes and carts of supplies into the woods. He doesn’t understand why all of the bandits are leaving