C’mon,” Jason whispered to himself as he aimed at a deer with his crossbow.
“I got ‘em,” Arthur said happily.
“What did you get?” Jason asked turning toward Arthur.
“I shot a deer,” Arthur replied.
“That was my deer,” Jason said. “Alright lets go home then.”
“Are you going to help me with the deer?” Arthur asked.
“No. If you kill it you have to carry it. You know the rules,” Jason replied as he climbed onto his horse.
A few hours later Jason and Arthur returned home. Jason lives in a small town, in a small house with his mother and best friend Arthur. In addition, Jason is 26 years old and unmarried. Their home is made of stone walls, a wooden roof, and straw on top. The interior is usually covered in fur in the winter and warmed by the fireplace.  During the summer all of the fur is put away. Jason’s chamber is the door to the right and Arthur’s chamber is to the left. Their village has a population of one hundred and is in northern Europe. To the west of the village there is a forest where Arthur and Jason hunt. It is about a mile away from the village. In every other direction there are other villages twice the size of the village Jason lives in.
“What did you guys get today?” Jason’s mother asked
“We got deer,” Arthur replied.
Jason’s mother prepared the deer meat for dinner and the boys got washed up.  Huddled around the fireplace after dinner, the three of them engaged in light conversation. As Jason and Arthur walked into their bedrooms, Jason’s mother stayed to put out the fire. A loud bang came from the door.  As the mother went to open the door, Jason overheard her exchange a few words with someone.
“What are you doing here?!  Jason help!”  yelled his mother.
Jason runs out and sees his mother getting dragged out to a carriage by a group of bandits. Jason grabbed his sword and ran out to help his mom but the carriage took off before he got there. Jason told Arthur to get the horses ready so that they can go and rescue his mother.  Not too far behind the bandits, Jason and Arthur kept a safe distance and followed them to their base. 
The bandits’ base is west of their village in the forest where Jason and Arthur hunt. It is a large, tall structure made of stone and has a large wooden door. The front of the base has two archer towers with an archer on each tower guarding the base.  Inside are about twenty bandits counting their coins and drinking ale. The base also consists of many rooms: six sleeping chambers, a sparring room, a dining hall, conference room, a room for armor, and holding cells in the basement. The largest room is the boss’s room. No one is allowed inside except for the boss and his henchmen.  Outside nearby, hiding in the forest, Jason and Arthur set up camp.
“So what is the plan?” asked Arthur.
“We are going to need a crew. We can't just run in there. We’ll get killed.” Jason replied.
“Why are we here then?” Arthur asked.
“We are here to get a layout of the bandits base so that we can rescue mother,” Jason replied.
“Do you have anybody in mind?” Arthur asked him.
“Yes, I do. For now we will get some rest.” Jason replied.
At early dawn, Jason and Arthur pack up and head back to their village to recruit some friends for the rescue.  First they go to their friend Nicholas’ home. Nicholas is one of the best swordsman that Jason knows. Nicholas is 25 years old, unmarried and lives alone. Jason explains his situation and Nicholas agreed to join the rescue effort. Next, they go to their friend Leonardo’s home.  Leonardo is the best archer in the village. He is 27 and married with a 2 year old child. He agreed, without hesitation, to join them. He bids his wife and son goodbye and told them not to worry and that he will be home soon. The group discussed their plan: Take out the guards in the tower with arrows. Leonardo will cover the others as they find their way into the compound. Once inside, Jason will then cautiously locate his mother and rescue her.
In the forest outside the bandits base, the four boys go over the rescue plan again. The plan commenced. With his arrows, Leonardo took out the two guards in the tower as Arthur and Nicholas attacked the ground patrolling bandits. Jason sneaks off  and enters a room where guards are sparring.
“How did you get in here?” One of the bandits asked.
“I will deal with this one!” said the bandit. “Do you know who I am? I am Michael, The leader of this place! Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I am Jason and you kidnapped my mom,” Jason replied.
“Oh yeah, the famous explorer, Jason. If you beat me in a sword fight I will let you and your mother go. If you lose I kill you and keep her,”  Michael said.
“All right!” Jason responded.
Michael starts off offensive striking with speed and agility. With every strike Michael delivered Jason countered it. After many failed attempts, Michael starts to play defense. Michael could block most attacks, but Jason overwhelmed him. They clashed swords one last time and Jason knocked the sword out of Michael’s hand.
“Now, where is my mother?!” Jason demanded. “Take me to her!”
“Attack him!” Michael yelled to his henchmen.
Jason hit the guard and knocked him out. Michael tried to get a cheap shot by hitting Jason from behind with his sword. Michael swung his sword and was about to hit Jason but fell to the ground. Leonardo got there just in time to shoot Michael with an arrow.
“Now where is my mother?!” Jason stated.
Michael pointed to a door in the back. Jason ran to the door, opened it and saw his mother locked up in a cell. He unchained her, grabbed her and gave her a long hug. 
“I knew you would come rescue me!” cried his mother.
As the five of them walked out into the courtyard a carriage pulled up. A burly man stepped out and saw all the other bandits on the ground. The man pulled out his sword and looked at Jason with an angry face. Jason, feeling intimidated, pulled out his sword. Leonardo aimed his bow. Arthur and Nicholas both prepared their sword and got into their fighting position.
“Who do you think you are, attacking my base?” The man said.
“I thought Michael ran this place,” Jason asked.
“Michael runs the place, but I am the person who is in charge!”  The man replies as he attacks Jason.  Three henchmen jump out of the carriage and start to attack Jason’s friends. Fighting off Michael seemed so easy compared to fighting the burly man. Defending himself seemed almost impossible because the man was quick and strong.  Amidst the chaos, Leonardo places Jason’s mother into the carriage.
“Go straight home! Do not worry about Jason, I will watch out and take good care of him,”  he told her.
Leonardo joins the fight.   During the fight, their swords clash and Jason falls face down to the ground. The man also falls and land a few feet from Jason. Both men lose their swords.  As Jason slowly tries to get up, the man is already up and searches for his sword. Finding it he walks over to Jason who is now on his back and in pain. 
“You think you are stronger and quicker than me? You are not! No one can defeat me!” the man said as he raised his sword to strike.
Gathering all his strength within, Jason kicks the man.  Moaning from the kick, the man falls backwards and strikes his head on the ground. Too weak to get up, Jason passes out.
Jason woke up in bed a week later. He looked at his scar on his left leg. Jason tried to stand up but could only use his right leg. Jason walks into the main room where he sees his mother, Arthur, Nicholas, and Leonardo. Looking at him in amazement, Jason’s friends give him a cheer.
“What is going on? What happened to my leg?” Jason asked.
“Do you not remember?” his mom asked.
“No, I don't remember,” Jason replied.
“What do you last remember?” Leonardo asked.
“The last thing I remember was fighting that man.” Jason replied.
“Which man?” Leonardo asked.
“Michael’s boss,” Jason replied.
“Here is what happened …” Leonardo said.
As Leonardo and the rest of the guys explained what happened, Jason’s mother thanks them by preparing them a feast.  During dinner the men spoke about making a defense to protect the villagers from future attacks; they decided to arrange a village meeting to discuss how they can combat  bandits. They trained local villagers to become soldiers and they built a fort around the village with armed defenses. Their community was now protected.
A few years later, the bandits became disassembled due to the lack of members since many of the members fled the surrounding villages. Nicholas met a woman who worked as a nurse caring for Jason. They married and had one child, a boy.  Nicholas was appointed a position in the village military in which he trained all the soldiers to fight.   Leonardo returned home to his wife and son. They have now added a set of twin girls to their family.  He and his wife started an archery school for the youth in their village.  Arthur eventually got married and lives in his own house not far from Jason.  His wife did not want him to join the soldiers, so they opened a market where he sold and traded his prizes from hunting. Jason married a woman that was a friend of Nicholas’ wife.  He is in charge of the village military.  His mom, who still lives with him, takes care of the village elders. Jason and his crew are hailed by the villagers.  The villagers considered them as heroes for saving and protecting their community.