《Blade of Crom》


 Prologue

    A loud explosion, which seemed to rock the entire earth around them, shattered the bedrock wall of thecave.


    The mage who had cast the fiery magic collapsed as the spell had drained him of all hismana.


    Thegnollwewerefighting was screaming in pain as the hot flames burned his body before the ceiling above him collapsed and buried his body.


    "Jared!", Nalia yelled as she saw the boy topple over. She rushed to his side as largechunksof rock scattered in every direction from the volatile explosion.


    Matthewliftedhis shield to block a giant boulder which was propelled forward by the explosion. The impact numbed his arms as they took the full blow of force as it impacted his shield. It pushed him back several feet butiheld on as behind me a dark cliff loomed into the dark below.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.Luckily he stopped just a few inches away from the edge with the giantboulderin frontof me.


    As hepeekedpast the rockin frontof him, he saw that Nalia was healing the scratches on her arms from the fight we had with thegnolland the impact of rocks from the explosion. Jared hovered on the edge of consciousness as the backlash ofrunningout ofmana had hit him hard.

 The meeting

    The figure had a quick stride in his step since he didn¡¯t plan to stay out in this light drizzle for to long. He looked around himself to see if anyone was nearby and ducked around a building when he spotted no other people around.


    He made his way around the structure towards a small wooden building next to the outer wall of the village. He looked around again before making a patterned series of knocks on the door.


    ¡°Armed to the teeth¡± a female voice spoke from behind the door ¡°and waist high in gold¡± spoke the man.


    The man heard a latch behind the door being moved and the door opened. A pair of deep green eyes glossed over the man to confirm his identity. The eyes darted across the street to make sure he was alone before she stepped aside to let him pass into the building.


    The building only had 2 rooms but that was enough for the plans of the hooded figures. The female figure closed the door and resealed it with the latch. The first room had no windows so ones you entered it wouldn¡¯t be an easy escape. It also prevented outsiders from looking inside, secrecy was of importance.


    The man opened the door to the second room and stepped inside followed by the woman.


    The second room was decorated by a big wooden table a few chairs and a large cupboard. A light crystal was hung above the table to illuminate the map that was on top of it. A third hooded figure was standing next to the cupboard with a pitcher as he poured 3 cups of it and place them on the table.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.The woman took her cups and took of sip of the poured liquid as did the man that gave it to them. The first man lifted his cup and swirled the liquid inside before taking a sip of his own. The familiar taste peeked his senses. It was obvious that it had been a troubled task to procure a product of this quality and the man would endure great hardship if it was found out he had taken it from it¡¯s rightful owner.


    The other man waved his hand over the light crystal to make it shine brighter and illuminate more of the room. He removed his hood to reveal the face of a boy around 16 years old with brown eye and short dark brown to match ¡°Jared the Blazing Arcanist, answers the call to adventure¡±.


    Like the boy before her the female removed her hood. The hood gave way for her young face with dark blonde hair, cut to her shoulders, complimenting her beautiful dark green eyes ¡°Nalia the Holy Spear Maiden, answers the call to adventure¡±.


    Lastly he removed his own hood to reveal his own boyish face with dark hair tied in a short ponytail ¡°Matthew the Shield of Cromwall, answers the call for adventure¡±.


    And with that Cromwalls Band of Adventurers started to plan their next grand adventure.

 Gathering of the Band

    But they had dreams of the luxuries and exciting life of being an adventurer. Out on the open road in this big world doing heroic deeds and gaining valuable treasures. So they started their own guild, Cromwalls Band of Adventurers. It only had 3 members, but they made it seem like a grand spectacle. Secret knocks and meeting places and names befitting a renowned adventurer.


    They went on adventures to slay epic monster (they hunted small game), traverse long-lost ruins (they explored caves) and assisted the common folk with their troubles (they did chores for their neighbors).


    Jared the Blazing Arcanist.


    His father was the towns alchemist and somewhere along the family tree someone used to be a Wizard. This gave him control over blazing fire spells. Well he could conjure fire and with decent control use it as an offensive spell. Mostly it was just used to light fires. No real Wizards existed anymore. The mana that is needed to cast spells had been greatly reduced in the population compared to the Wizards of old when they summoned might rains or fire and brimstone to burn their enemies. Wizards today were just called Casters and only held a fraction of that power.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.He also used a sling when they hunted, since at one time he almost started a forest fire with a miscast fire spell.


    Nalia the Holy Spear Maiden.


    Her parent looked after the local church. Blessed by their righteousness she was imbued with an array of holy powers. Just like Jared this was only a fraction of the power of heroes long gone. She could heal small wounds like cuts and bruises and cure poison and diseases, as long as they were of the ate something bad or bee sting variety. And so she learned how to wield a spear and use her Holy powers after their epic adventures.


    Matthew the Shield of Cromwall.


    His father was the local blacksmith. This gave him a more muscled tone as he needed to help out around the furnace. He chopped and brought burning logs to the furnace so his father could do his work. And more regularly than not he was his fathers delivery boy for the item he had made or repaired. Only when he couldn¡¯t lift the item would his father come with him.


    He had a big wooden shield and an iron sword which he had made himself. He felt the need to protect Jared, the frail indoor type, who was the back line and Nalia since powerful knights are supposed to protect maidens.


    And so did they establish their powerful trinity of mighty adventurers.

 On patrol

    It was a warm spring afternoon as the Band was patrolling the woods around the village. The sun that was shining through the leaves felt nice as did the slightly warm breeze. Most of the spring was always wet and cloudy so this was a welcome bonus on their patrol.


    They checked that rabbit traps they had set for caught prey and were delighted they had count 2 of the creatures.


    Their attitude changed at the latest trap they came across. The trap had obviously been triggered but no sign of its captive, if a larger creature got a hold of it there would have been clear marks next to the trap.


    ¡°Lets spread out and look for clues or tracks¡± Matthew said as he eyed some tracks in the underbrush. ¡°But be careful whatever took it might still be nearby¡±.


    Jared and Nalia nodded to his words, and they set out to check the nearby bushes.


    A pair of just visible tracks lead him through the underbrush and into a small ditch next to a bush. He followed the trail for a bit longer when he heard Nalia call them over.


    As they got to her location they saw traces of blood and tufts of fur littered around the area.


    The creature who got their rabbit seemed to have eaten it on the spot with the skin still attached. Clear tracks could be seen leading away from the site into a deeper and darker part of the forest away from the village. They departed if they should follow the tracks forward. But as any righteous Band of Adventurers they went ahead to face danger and adventure.


    The tracks lead them not far through the forest. They arrived at the bottom of a cliff side. The side of the cliff was overgrown with vines and shrubbery. They followed the cliff side looking for where the creature had made it¡¯s home.


    No obvious monster den was found but Matthew had this nagging feeling is his mind. The place ¡°felt¡± familiar but why? They had never explored this part of the forest before, still something nagged at him.


    He tried to focus on this lingering feeling he even closed his eyes to make himself focus. And then a brief glimpse of a tree appeared in his mind. A small dark figure looked behind itself at a hole below a tree. Then he saw the creature look at the same cliff they were standing next to and bolt off into the forest.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.He felt like he got hit in the head by something and his senses snapped back to reality.


    What happened just now? What did he see? How and why did he even see it? His head felt heavy and his chest was throbbing. He tried to shake those feelings and focused again on what he''d seen in his mind.


    The creature had the cliff side on its left-hand so that meant it came from the opposite direction of where they were searching.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a look at the opposite side. Keep a look out for a hole near a tree¡± he said to his companions, which left them in a semi confused state.


    As he circled back the other way he tried to call back the image in his mind but it was blurry. But then he spotted it, the tree in his mind. He drew his sword and moved closer to it, ready for if the small dark creature might still be around.


    This was definitely the place they were looking for. He lowered himself into the hole beneath the trees roots and the inside was much bigger than you would expect from the outside. The opening was littered here and there with the bones from other small animals the creature had caught and eaten. It also had a very distinct smell, and then eh knew what had taken their rabbit, a kobold.


    Nasty little creatures but not something they couldn¡¯t handle in the open. But the problem was that they were looking for it in its lair. The space wasn¡¯t cramped, but they¡¯d be hard-pressed to fight in here. They could set an ambush outside, but they had to get home soon. While he looked around the hole he saw a passage behind a set of rocks leading deeper inside.


    He left the hole under the tree and went to meet up with his companions. They all came back to the hole under the tree to decide their plan of action. They agreed to explore the passage leading deeper inside, but they¡¯d need to make preparations for it. They¡¯d need food, water and torches. And thus they left the hole in the ground and went back to the village.

 Lair underneath the tree.

    It took them a while to find a suitable date for their dungeon exploration. They did after all still have chores that needed doing. So they told their parents they would go camping in the woods for the night. They had gone camping before so it didn''t raise any suspicion about their true plan, entering thekobold dungeon.


    They stocked up on food, water and some torches.


    Jared brought the various potions he had made during the training session with his father. Thou they may not be the most potent version, since he was still a novice alchemist, they could still cure some poison and related effects. And a few very minor healing potions in case anyone got seriously hurt.


    The Band set out early in the morning on their campaign to cleanse the kobold lair as their parents waved them of from the city gate. Oblivious of the plan their offspring had.


    They arrived at the location of the tree in a few hours. They first checked to see if the entrance of the cave had been disturbed to confirm the creature was still living inside the cave. The patches of trampled grass in front of the entrance confirmed that it still used the cave as it''s lair.


    They set up their camp a few miles away from the cave. As Nalia and Jared set up their tents Matthew kept on eye on the entrance from the safety of the bushes in the treeline. They suspected it to be a kobold, but they needed to make sure it was also unclear if there was more than one of the creatures.


    They switched out the person watching the entrance every few hours. Jared and Matthew were resting at the camp. The sun was already starting to set and still no sign of the creature.Jared was getting up to take over from Nalia one of the branches on a nearby sapling started to rustle. This was the sign something was happening at the lookout spot. They had tied a piece of rope to the sapling, if something happened the lookout would tug the rope a few time so the sapling would rustle to alert the other members.


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    The boys made their way over to Nalia.Something''s moving in the bushes near the entranceshe said as they approached her. They looked in the direction the girl was pointing a small figure stepped out. It''s had a short lanky demeanor and brown furry skin. The big snout was a dead giveaway that this was indeed a kobold. It held a crude stone knife in its right hand and the corpse of a hare in the other. It looked around the for a sign of a thread and the scurried into the cave with its meal for the day.


    They retreated back to their camping, now knowing their target was present in the cave. They had a meal to bolster their fatigue and waited for evening to fall. The monster would most likely be asleep after having that hare for dinner, which would make it an easier target then charging headlong into it''s lair.


    The made their way towards the lair underneath the tree. Jared had a dimly lit lantern just bright enough as to make out the lay of the land but too weak to be spotted from inside unless the creature was directly looking outside. They quickly went over their usual battle plan. Matthew would keep the creature occupied with his sword and shield, Nalia would use his frame and shield as cover so it wouldn''t see her spear jabs coming directly and Jared would provide ranged support. Their plan in order and their resolve steeled, they entered the lair underneath the tree.

 Mystery in the dark

    The entrance was dark as expected. They gave their eyes a minute to adjust to the new light setting.


    The kobold they saw enter the cave wasn''t in this first section of the cave. Matthew in front sword and shield at the ready moved around the large stone in the back of the cave. It wasn''t there either so it had to have gone down the dark tunnel he was now facing.


    They lit one of their torches, even with their adjusted eyes the lack of any natural light made it impossible for them to see what lay ahead. The tunnel had jagged edges, and they could only fit inside it single file. With Matthew being the front liner, Jared was going to hold the torch in the middle of the formation. This gave Nalia the rear position, if anything wouldpop outbehind them in the darkness Jared wouldn''t be instantly overwhelmed with the two frontline fighters stuck ahead of him.


    They followed the straight tunnel ahead. Which was weird because natural tunnels aren''t straight. They have holes, other paths, drip stones and rocks for small creatures to make their home around. But this tunnel was straight with almost no deviation. This wasn''t a natural cave tunnel, someone or something has carved it into the bedrock.


    Who and why? But maybe more important what would the find at the end of it? This quest to slay a lone kobold suddenly became a lot more intruding.


    After shuffling through the tunnel for a few minutes they found a larger space more open space at the end of the tunnel. This part seemed to actually look like a natural cave. Boulders dotted the landscape and there were plenty of drip stone formation to be seen. They stood on a plateau with a dark steep cliff to their left and the cave wall on their right. The plateau seemed to continue on ahead of them.


    A few bats that made their home nearby flew of when the light of the torch revealed their location, after that the cave was silent ones more. The only sound they could hear was their own breathing, the crackling of the torch and sound of dripping water the echoed somewhere from deeper inside the cave.


    ~HIsssss~


    The sudden sound startled our adventurers. Jared frantically spun around using the torch he held to try to illuminate as much of the plateau as possible to determine where the ominous hissing sound came from.


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    ~Rwaaar~


    The little creature was standing on a rock next to the band and jumped of launching himself towards Jared. He was too slow to dodge as the creature pounced upon him and knocked him over. He flailed around the torch at the creature on his chest trying to knock it of. It tried to claw and scratch him, but he wasn''t getting close enough as it was actively avoiding the hot end of the torch.


    SHIIIIELD BAAASSHHHHMatthew cried out as he struck the creature hard in its side with his huge shield. The force of the impact send the creature flying across the cave as it landedaway and rolled a few feet more along the cave floor.


    Are you oke?he asked his friend while Nalia took the vanguard position between them and the creature.


    Yeaoke, just startled when it suddenly jumped me. Matthew held out his hand for his friend, who eagerly grasped it and was promptly pulled on his feet ready to continue their fight.


    Nalia had no problem keeping the lone creature at bay, the long reach of her spear and sweeping attack pattern gave the creature no chance to close the gap between them. A few futile attempts rewarded it with a few cuts and gashes from the spear''s tip.


    The little kobold let out an angry scream and the spear maiden, infuriated at the reach of her weapon. Its little ears twitched and a crude smile appeared on its ugly face. Nalia was slightly taken aback by it and tried to find the reason her opponent was suddenly smiling. And then she noticed the sound of footsteps coming closer.Guys, we have a problem!, as at the edge of her vision 2 more of the little bugger showed up.


    A tad smaller and scrawny one was holding a crude spear of its own while the other one was slightly bigger than her current target and was wielding a bone club. And not just a small bone but a BIG bone, almost the same size of the creature that was holding it. The way it was holding it made it look more like a two handed war hammer than an actual bone.

 Dangers of the deep

    The sudden appearance of reinforcements made her somewhat unfocused, as knife and bonetriedto get past her reach, spear had taken a somewhat sideways position and stabbed at her with its weapon. The strike didn''t hit any of her vital parts or even her non-vital parts put it left a nasty gash on her forearm. Looking at the weapon the wound would definitely need to be cured of any lingering diseases the weapon might have inflicted.


    Matthew joined her at the front line. He positioned himself between knife and bone so Nalia could focus on the one on one with spear. His shield could block it but his sword reach would make it a stalemate. So the best option was to have the two long weapon wielders duke it out while he held the two short ranged ones at bay.


    No sooner had he positioned himself or the heavy bone weapon came sailing through the air aimed at his head. He raised his shield to block the attack and was promptly pushed back. His arm felt numb from the far heavier blow than he was expecting the creature would have. Knife went in for a strike on his other flank while he was still recovering from the blow. He easily deflected this far cruder attack with his sword.


    It let out a defying roar followed by a scream of pain. A red glowing rock had ht the creature right in the side of its head while it was taunting. With all the fighters focussed on the melee, Jared had set down the torch and was using his sling to chuck rocks at the kobolds. He first placed the rock inside the with steel reinforced pocket of the sling. By channeling a small amount of his fire magic into the rock it would heat up rapidly, so in addition to the blunt force impact from the rock it would also deal minor fire damage to his targets. It''s his own special attack he dubbed, Magma Bullets.


    With the creature bent over holding his now seared scalp Matthew went in with a horizontal slash at the creature. It twisted its body to avoid the blade cutting his head clean of its shoulders, but this exposed it''s back and the blade hit true. Leaving a long gash on the creatures back it slunk away behind its bone wielding companion.


    Seeing his fellow kobold get smacked around like that it went into a fit of rage. It slammed the bone on the ground a few times screaming at Matthew pumping itself up with rage.


    Jared threw another bullet to the creature but that got deflected by the bone club, and the creature lunged itself forward. He braced himself for the impact of the heavy weapon and took a shield stance totry andabsorb as much of the impact into the ground and not his joints. He dropped his sword and gripped the second strap on his shield anddroppedto one knee."Shield Wall"he quietly whispered as if to empower his defense. The heavy strike impacted his shield head on and the impact send a shock through all of his bones. The hyped up swing had a lot more impact than the first one unleashed by the creature.


    All he could do was wither the storm of heavy blows the creature was landing on his shield. Jared threw two more bullets but the creature shrugged them of since they didn''t hit any important part of it''s body. It raised the bone high above its head coming in for a long arced hit. Matthew needed to move and avoid this hit, even if his shield could probably take the attack, his body surely wouldn''t.


    Seeing his bullets have no impact Jared resorted to conjuring an actual flame with his magic. The damage would be minimal, but he hoped it would at least let up the relentless assault the creature was unleashing on his friend. He never finished the spell. At the apex of the creatures swing a silver reflecting shot through the air.


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    Nalia''s spear punctured the creature in its very exposed armpit. The spear tip met minimal resistance and punctured the creatures'' heart. The bone fell from it limp hands and onto the ground with a heavy thud. It tried to scream out in pain but only managed the spit out blood as it leaked from its heart into his lungs. It took a staggering step forward and then collapsed on its knees. Only the angle and impalement of the spear keeping it from falling over.


    The spear wielding goblin was slumped again the cave wall. Each hand clutching one half of its weapon with a long vertical gash across its chest and belly. Nalia had launched an overhead attack more akin to a club strike than a swipe or stab from a spear. The creature tried to block it with the shaft of his own spear which proved far too flimsy to block her strike. Both shafts collided and the creatures shaft broke into two and thespear bladecut deep into its flesh.


    The knife kobold had tried to crawl away from his attackers after hiding behind bone but it only got few feet far. Shallow breaths were gasping for air as the strike on it''s back had hit an artery and it was bleeding out on the cave floor. It took a deep long breath its eyes twitching in its skull. It tried to inhale again in short huffs and stopped moving as the lack of blood couldn''t sustain its body anymore.


    The band sighed in unison. This battle was more taxing than they had expected. Instead of only one creature they ran into a group of them instead. Jared picked up the torch and walked over to his companions. Matthew dropped his shield and sat down, rubbing his aching muscles.


    Nalia put her foot again the creatures should and pulled out her spear. Her hands trembled as she did so. They had killed animals before but nothing compared to actually killing a creature in an actual fight for life and death. She tried to steady her hands and sat down next to Matthew.


    Jared pulled out a vial with a purple colored liquid and a rag from his backpack. He applied the liquid to the rag and grabbed Nalia''s arm. She winched as he rubbed the cloth across the gash on her arm. Normally she''d use her healing magic to clean the wound but that wasn''t possible with her shaking hands. So he applied some of his lesser potion of clear disease instead. This potion was one of his own creations. He had mixed in parts of the ingredients for the lesser healing potion as well. The wound already looked better as the healing components slowly mended her flesh as well as clear any diseases left behind by the filth on the crude spear that had hit her.


    They sat there in silence for a few minutes overlooking the battlefield in front of them. It was a hard fought battle, but they cleared their own quest in the end. The creature living here was dead, even if it turned out to be three creatures instead.


    Nalia cast a fortitude spell on Matthew to help out with his arching muscles. He instantly feltssome swelling and soreness being removed as the warm light and touch of Nalia washed over him. They picked up their gear ready to leave this place behind. They had done enough adventuring for the next couple of months at least having survived this ordeal. Jared grabbed the torch and turned around to face the tunnel they entered from. Instead of facing the darkness on the tunnel he faced a pair of eyes in the darkness instead.

 Staring down into darkness

    The eyes in the darkness looked straight at him and blinked.


    A smile filled with razor sharp teeth could be seen as the light of the torch bounced of the yellow white. This new creature n the dark let out a laughing roar as it stepped further into the light. Standing at a height of roughly7 feet, walking on two feet with slightly forward bending knees and the face of dog there was no mistake about it. The creature that stepped out of the darkness was gnoll! It let out another laughter like growl and eyed the band up and down.


    It''s not a surprise to see gnolls and kobolds sharing a den. The cowardly kobolds flock around a strong gnoll for semi protection, they could always still get eaten, and the gnoll got some lackeys to do his bidding.


    Matthew got in front of his mage friend to protect him from a sudden attack as well as trying to somewhat intimidate the gnoll. Though not highly intelligent, it had enough smarts to not fight opponents it couldn''t beat in a direct fight.


    It was wearing a crude type of leather armor around its torso and legs. It was riled with holes and cuts probably obtained right before the previous owner parted with the set. The most daunting part of its gear was the actual steel sword it held in its hand as well as the dagger on his waist. Its other hand was holding a wooden kite shield.


    As both fighters were eyeing each other up the gnolls sight shifted between the two men and then noticed the third person slightly behind the skinny man and this was no man, this was a woman. The gnolls face switched to an evil grin as he eyed Nalia. Both parties at a standstill each waiting for the other to make a move.


    A small salamander scurried along the cave wall knocking over some pebbles. The sound which would otherwise go unnoticed now sounded like a thunder strike and signalled the start of combat.


    The gnoll lashed out with his shield, a heavy thud was heard as both shield collided with each other. It had the height advantage and the shield slam came in from a higher angle. Whileboth shield were locked in combat the gnolls sword swept underneath his shield trying to get a clean cut across his abdomen. Luckily the strike was shallow and barely missed him.


    Matthew pushed of his shield to break the deadlock and put some distance between the two fighters. The gnoll instantly put tension on his leg muscles and launched himself forward again. Matthew caught the strike on his shield and pushed the blade to the right side as he lined up a heavy punch with his left fist. He was almost in full swing before he had to cancel his attack. The gnoll brought up its own shield and the impact of bone on shield would have definitely broken a few bones.


    "Spear of light", the tip of Nalia''s spear emitted a quick glow of light to blind the gnoll as she thrust it forward. Partially hidden behind his shield the gnoll was mostly unaffected by the light and adjusted to intercept, but the light spots in its vision didn''t see the correct path as the spear graced the shield and nicked the flesh of its shoulder.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.It spun around it axis trying to bring the full force of the sword down onto her but was intercepted by the blade of the shield bearer. It roared in fury not expecting these interlopers to put up such a fight.


    Itstill held the upper hand, the light of the torch was growing weaker and with no light to see it would have the advantage.Itwas also blocking them from running into the tunnel and back to the surface. They could go deeper inside but there was something down there even it knew was sure to get them killed.


    The glow of the torch he thought was dying soon became stronger, no not the torch it was the third person! He was conjuring some ball of fire, it didn''t like fire! It swapped the shield to its sword arm and pulled the dagger on its belt.


    Matthew tried to block and Nalia tried to call out but it was too late. Jared was solely focussed on his magic spell that he never saw the dagger the gnoll had thrown. It might have been enough to kill him outright butthecut the gnoll received earlier in the fight to its shoulder made the dagger fly somewhat of target. The blade bit into Jared''s shoulder instead of his neck where the gnoll had aimed the blade. The sudden influx of pain made him lose his concentration as he was pouring manainto his spell. Without his focus to only use the needed amount it was like a dam bursting open and all his mana was poured into the spell and shot it forward.


    A loud explosion, which seemed to rock the entire earth around them, shattered the bedrock wall of the cave.


    The mage who had cast the fiery magic collapsed as the spell had drained him of all his mana.


    The gnoll we were fighting was screaming in pain as the hot flames burned his body before the ceiling above him collapsed and buried his body.


    "Jared!", Nalia yelled as she saw the boy topple over. She rushed to his side as large chunks of rock scattered in every direction from the volatile explosion.


    Matthew lifted his shield to block a giant boulder which was propelled forward by the explosion. The impact numbed his arms as they took the full blow of force as it impacted his shield. It pushed him back several feet butiheld on as behind me a dark cliff loomed into the dark below.


    Luckily he stopped just a few inches away from the edge with the giant boulder in front of me.


    As he peeked past the rock in front of him, he saw that Nalia was healing the scratches on her arms from the impact of rocks from the explosion. Jared hovered on the edge of consciousness as the backlash of running out of mana had hit him hard.


    "At least they are safe"he thought to himself as the floor below him caved under the weight of both him and the boulder, and he fell towards the darkness.

 Hidden past, part 1.

    Matthew slowly opened his eye. The last thing he remembered was the floor giving in to the weight of the boulder and that he fell into the dark ravine. "Damn" he suddenly remembered that Jared and Nalia were still there on top of the plateau.


    "JARED, NALIE" he yelled out but his voice echoed of the brick walls.


    What? Brick walls in a cave? The artificial cave entrance was already puzzling but now a brick building. He looked around the room to determine where he was.


    The walls were maybe of solid red bricks, high columns supported the roof above. The windows in the high walls showed nothing but blackness outside. The building was completely empty as far as he could tell. No visible door either, how did he get inside? Clearly he didn''t fall through the roof, if he did the floor would be littered with roofing materials and the roof above him was intact as well. The fact he was completely fine after his fall was another matter to wonder about.


    The more he looked around the building the more he recognized it. The walls were made of a different material and the color was different as well, but this building looked exactly like the church in town. But all the items that stood in the town church were nowhere to be seen nor any of the towns people.


    "Hello!'' he tried calling out again but his voice just echoed of the walls again. He got up from the floor and noticed both his sword and shield were missing as well. Did someone capture him at the bottom of the cave and lock him up?


    All these questions made his head hurt more and more. He felt the pressure in his head tighten around his brain. His ears were ringing, and he dropped to his knees clutching his head. The ringing seems to go on forever and suddenly just stopped and the pressure on his brains stopped. Like someone just popped the bubble he was in.


    Suddenly a torch on his right ignited in a red flame followed by an identical torch on his left. Two more torches ignite on the next column and a few seconds later two more on the ones behind that. He saw the vague outline of an alter right before 2 braziers next to it ignited in purple flames, if anything look ominous about all of this that was it. He wanted to leave this weird place but there was no door behind him or in the side walls. The only place he could go was forward towards the ominous alter.


    The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up. His ears picked up the faintest of calls in a hushed voice "Come closer". He tried to shake of the goose bump but it wasn''t doing anything. Slowly he made his way forward, keeping out an eye for anything that might jump him in the eerie church. But nothing appeared and as he stood before the alter all he could see laying on top, was the tip of a broken blade. It looked to still hold an edge and that edge was every so slightly coated in a purple haze. He could feel this broken blade call out to him, he knew it but how? He''d never seen this blade before not this eerie place.


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    "You''ve seen me before, although it was the briefest of moments". Matthew took a fighting stance startled by the sudden voice. He scanned around but like before the building was completely empty.


    "Don''t be frightened, it''s just the two of us in here". Wait, he didn''t her the voice with his ears, he heard it with his mind. The voice directly projected it inside his mind.


    "Who are you, show yourself" he called out to the voice without a body.


    "I''m right here on the altar next to you" Frightened he looked at the altar but only say the broken blade part. He was confused could a blade even talk?


    "Normally no, but I''m a special case" it gave as answer er to his thought. "How do you know what I''m thinking?''. "That''s the easy part, it''s because I''m a part of you. And we''re inside your mindscape."


    "How is that even possible, I''ve never seen you in my life" he stated again his hand moved over to touch the blade part and images rushed into his mind.


    A dark creature holding something, a forest rushing by as if he was running, the sudden light of the sun a river in the background and another dark creature, rain and thunder, shouting voices then darkness.


    He fell to the floor gasping for breath his mind still reeling from the sudden flow of images. "What was that?! What did i just see?".


    "That would be the day we met some eleven years ago, at least shards of what happened since your mind wasn''t ready to receive the information. Would you like me to show you how exactly it happened?"


    "Will it hurt like what i saw just now?


    "Learning the information could be slightly uncomfortable. The impact of the memories itself might have some unpleasant side effects."


    He thought about it a moment wondering if this blade could be trusted, but it could seemingly read his mind without a problem. "Fine, show me this meeting then, but first tell me who you are".


    "I''m just a sword, i have no name of my own. I was simple called after the one that wielded me, the blade of Crom.

 Hidden past, part 2.

    "Wait, wait, wait. Crom as in the legendary knight who lived hundreds of years ago?


    "Yes, one and the same. Why are you surprised?"


    "How does the blade of a legend end up inside me? How did you even end up here? What even are you?" A torrent of questions unleashed at the casual introduction of the blade.


    "Which part would you like to know first?"


    "Tell me about the last questions first."


    "Alright. It happened in master Crom''s golden years. Long after the defeated the demon invasion of the kingdom. Master Crom was getting older, and he looked for a place to settle down in the autumn of his life. He met a girl after the war and the two of them decide to find a place far away from the public to live out their lives in peace. That when he found your village, Cromwell. A bit egotistic naming the town after himself butidigress. People moved into the new town and all was well for a few years. Then some cattle started going missing and a gloom aura seemed to fill the air in the forest around town. Master Crom new all too well what this gloomy aura meant, a demon had made its home nearby.


    So brave master Crom once again called upon my services in the hunt for this looming thread.


    We tracked the aura to this mountain a good distance away from the village. Using his magical power he carved a tunnel into the mountain wanting to surprise the demon with an attack from behind. They fought a fierce battle for hours eventually master Crom got the better of the demon and with the last and greatest force he could muster drove me into the heart of the foul monster. Part of me broke of at that moment and was lodged deep inside the demon. Master Crom decided that would be my final resting place, lodged into the demon''s hearth."


    "So this is the same cave me and my friends entered? Where Crom killed the demon?


    "It would seem so, yes. It would most certainly explain why I''ve awoken since my shard is now close to the main body of my blade."


    "So if your shard was lodged into the demon, how did you get here then?


    "Like all corpses those demons also decay over time. Eventually my shard just fell out."


    "And that is how we start the story of our own encounter. Just relax your mind and let me show you this story"


    CLANG


    The blade tip fell to the ground finally freed from the demons foul innards. Only to be picked up by the greedy paws of something else. The kobold picked up the shard and greedily eyed it. Its gnoll master would want to have this, it wanted all the shiny object. He wanted it for itself, to hold it, to feel and to kill with it. It eyed that dark cave behind it where his master made its den and bolted in the opposite direction. I followed the cave tunnels up to the service and into a very familiar unnatural tunnel. It shot out from the lair beneath the tree just like he saw in his earlier vision but instead of a dark creature he now saw what actually ran past. It ran through the forest trying to put as much distance between its new shiny and its old master. It could hear the river up ahead. It would stop for quick drink and then continue on.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.It jumped through the last bush and its eyes grew wide. For there next to the river on the other side of the bush stood a human child. Instinctively it pointed its new shiny at the child thinking about the delicious meal he was about to have. Failing to notice that the child was holding a dagger. Its rampage through the forest had put it on alert and it drew a weapon.


    But it was too late, as the kobold landed on the child the dagger entered it throat at the same time as it impaled the child through chest with the shiny. The last thing the creature saw was a little girl crying and screaming.


    He opened his eyes and saw a dark sky. Rain was pouring down on his body his chest on fire where he got stabbed by the kobold. He tried to get up but his body wouldn''t move. His consciousness then slipped away


    He felt a familiar touch as big hands carried his limp body through the rain. He saw the face of his father "Must hurry..." the sound of thunder drowned out the rest of his sentence, and he slept again.


    A warm touch filled his body "..andhope for the best" and then he slept.


    Matthew opened his eyes again, and he was back inside the dark church with the sword tip in his hand.


    "That was me right? I got stabbed in the chest with you by the kobold. Why don''tiremember any of that?"


    "The mind has a way to forget traumatic event especially for young children.


    "And no one ever spoke of it to me either".


    "Would you like to remind a child of a traumatic event it clearly seemed it had forgotten himself


    "That''s a fair point. And now thatiknow what happened, how doileave this place?"


    "Asisaid this before this is your mindspace. All you need to do is find the will to leave."


    "Will you still be here afterileave?"


    "I will be here, all you need to do is call out to me.


    Matthew closed his eyes again. He tried to feel his own body outside his mind. And when he did he simply stepped out of the church.


    Whenhe opened his eyes again he found himself on the bank of an underground river. He must have fallen into it from the plateau and the current pushed him onto the shore. His shield washed up a few feet away from his position, it''s made of wood after all. His metal sword likely lost on the bottom of the river. He thought about the shard and wondered if he dreamed the whole ordeal.


    "Shard, can you hear me?"


    "I''m right here master Matthew" he heard the shard say in his mind. "I suggest you get your bearings and search for an exit".


    "Why doineed to find an exit?"


    "Becauseican feel that the other part of me is getting closer"


    A hyena like laugh could be heard from the dark tunnels that connected to the river.

 Reunited

    Nalia was at a loss. Jared was in a bad shape after he unleashed the massive spell and drained all of his mana. Matthew fell down into the ravine. She didn''t know how far down it went or if he was even still alive.


    She wanted to find a way down but what if even more creatures called this place their home? The fight with the Gnoll just now had proven how they weren''t prepared to deal with such creatures. The kobold three was asurprise, but they managed it but that gnoll was on a whole other level. So she took the only most logical action possible, making sure she got her friend and herself to safety. She''d get to town tell them what had happened and hope that Matthew was still alive by the time she got back with reinforcements.


    She got Jared on his feet and brought him to the tunnel entrance and jutted him against the wall. Naliawalked back for their supplies and the torch. With a final look at the dark ravine and with tears in her eyes she turned around towards the tunnel entrance and Jared. Having regained some of his mana and mobility he leaned on her shoulder as they made their way back through the tunnel and back to the surface.


    Glowing moss slightly illuminated the dark cave around him. With no visible way up and the river in his back Matthew had nowhere to go. The sound of footsteps echoed closer to his location. With only his shield and without a weapon it would only be a matter of time before whatever creature would pop out overwhelm him and end his life. He only had two real options. Either find a weapon or a place to hide. Neither of which seemed to be a valid option.


    He could try his luck in the river to find his sword but that would only be possible if he fell into it right here and since he had blacked out and woke up on the river bed the chances he''d find it were practically zero.


    So that left him with the hiding and hope the creature would find him and move on. Shallow crevices would hide him enough and holes that looked like tunnels weretoosmall for him to fit through. He eyed the walls to see if climbing was an option but the moisture on the rocks would make it a difficult climb even if he was in full daylight. One wrong move would not only make it impossible to get away it would also mean that if he had an unlucky fall he''d be in an even worse shape if he had to fight.


    He could try his luck behind one of the large boulders but that blocked his line of sight for any form of sneak attack. Think!


    What could he do to get out of his situation? Was there anything, anything at all he could use as a weapon? Anything you could even remotely consider a weapon was nowhere to be found. Either a savaging creature took it with them or the river washed it away.


    The footsteps sounded only yards away, but he now had a good idea of where the sound was coming from. But how did that even help him he only had his shield and that would only help whim to fend of attacks and not allow him to attack back, unless


    He got into position and faced the direction his opponent would almost certainly appear from. Both his hands grabbed one of the straps on the back of his shield, and he planted his feet in the ground. He tensed up the muscles in his back leg and waited.


    He took deep but silent breaths as he stood there waiting, prepared to take on anything that would come out to face him. His plan was simple and he only had one shot. The moment the creature showed itself he''d rush it, knock it down and hopefully that would give him enough time to either steal its weapon or overpower it.


    The waiting seemed to go on for ages as eh stood there waiting, and then thesilhouetteof a gnoll stepped out into the dim moss light. He released all the tension on his back leg, and he charged forward, the heavy shield in his hand converted into a solid battering ram. And he let out a primal roar hoping it would be stunned by the sudden loud and aggressive situation.


    He closed the distance almost instantly and slammed the shield into his opponent. He felt his opponent being pushed back, and he''d only need to topple it, but it didn''t. The creature stood firm on the ground all momentum of the impact lost. A heavy blow impacted his shield, and he was pushed back instead. Only then did he notice the gnoll he thought he was fighting wasn''t a gnoll at all. Well maybe it used to be a gnoll at one point in its life but its head had 2 demonic horn growing out of the side. One of its eyes had turn from black to red with a dark pupil and part of its flesh seemed to have warped and twisted into something else. The creature was converting into a demon spawn.


    It licked its lips with what was now a serpentine tong and it hissed out words he didn''t understand. How the hell did this thing turn into a demon spawn?


    Most likely that its made the corpse of the demon me and master Crom killed into its den and the corrupted energies has twisted its body and mindthe blade tip answer to his question.


    Well that''s just great, how caneven defeat a demon spawn? Even the fight with a regular gnoll would have been hard fought.


    ''You might have a chance, but it''s heavily dependent on this creature. Even if it does whathope it does, you''re not going to like my solution


    So what does it need to do then?


    I can feel it has the other part of me with it. If it draws me as a weapon you might have a chance.


    His mind partially absent while he was conversing with the blade tip in his mind he wasslowto block the mutated fist punch the demon threw at him. He caught it on his shield but the force of the blow left him of balance.Hetook a few extra steps back and refocused himself took up a defensive position.


    Try to avoid the punches instead of blocking them. Demons like it when they hurt something else so missed attacksthem of., once it''sof its fist won''t suffice hopefully he''ll switch to the sword.


    ''s what Matthew did. He danced around the punches only blocking them when he absolutely needed to and kept falling back out of punching range and ''dancing'' around the demon. Each punch the demon threw and missed his target seemed to indeed make it angry. Its nose flared up with each breath after a missed punch and it started muttering it its, what Matthew assumed was, demon tongue. Then it did what they hoped for it drew the broken sword blade.


    ''Oke, it drew the sword and now what?he asked now actively blocking the heavy sword blows with this shield.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Now comes the part you''re really not going to like. You''ll have to get stabbed by the blade in the chest near the scar you have from our first encounter.


    ''I HAVE TO WHAT!?


    Get stabbed.I can reattach my part to the blade we can win this fight. But it was to be near the scar to give me the best chance.


    And you''re sure this will work?


    In theory it could. Either way if we don''t at least try it will kill you anyway.


    The blade shard had a point. There was no way he''d win this fight, if he was going to die anyway might as well put all his faith into the legendary sword. Getting stabbed by the broken blade wasn''t going to be the problem the demon wasn''t giving up its relentless assault. But how was he going to manage to get stabbed in the chest?


    He had to angle it right enough. If he was to get stabbed he''d have to leave an opening for the demon but make it so a slashing attack wouldn''t work. He thought back on his own sword training and decided his plan of action.


    The demonusedan alternation of left and right side swings. Each coming from the side the weapon was after the previous one. He would do it on the next left sided slash attack.


    The demon slashed from right to left, and he let the attack slide of his shield. Coming back from the left side he side stepped the attack. The force behind the swing and the lack of an object to transfer it to make the swing reach its apex later than the creature expected this small gap between strike gave him enough room to get into his position. AS the slash was coming down he stepped forward and knocked the sword away. He purposefully overextended so he was beyond the slashing point. With its target right in front of him and inside his slash range the demon pulled the sword back and crooked its elbow. Just as planned, the creature now only had the option for a forward thrust. Ignoring all his training the muscle memory Matthew twisted his body to expose his chest area to the broken blade.


    Getting stabbed felt really weird. It wasn''t a feeling of pain but it was really discomforting. He also didn''t feel any pain from his back where the broken sword would have exited his torso. He looked down to his chest and the broken blade, almost the entire blade up to the guard was inside him. The demon tried to pull out the broken blade but it was firmly stuck inside of hi. A light glow started to envelope the guard and crept its way onto the handle. The demon held onto the broken blade still trying to get it free from its victim. And then t it vanished in a burst of purple light.


    Matthew fell to the ground gasping for air. The sudden outburst had left him breathless as the demon staggered backwards. Now lacking a weapon the demon took a quick step forward and threw a hasty and weak punch. The punch hit him in the side of his arm and still knocked him backwards and over.


    Now what?he called out to the shard.


    Now focus on the form of my completed. Picture it in your mind. Image that you''re holding it, firmly in your hands.


    He closed his eyes and focussed. The world around him seemed to stop, and he was back in the church.he once saw a blade shard on an altar he now saw a completed blade. A light purple aura surrounding it as if all the power it contained was leaking out.


    Now grasp the blade, imagine how it will feel in your hand. The size of it, the weight of it and last the power of it. Will yourself to feel it all. Will yourself to wield it!


    Hegraspedthe sword handle. The handle felt good his hands could easily grip it. He gave it a swing, the balance more towards the front of the blade signifying it was better at wide sweeping attacks where the extra weight would increase it''s power. Then the aura also enveloped his fingers, then his hand and finally his arm. He felt it there in his mind the true power of this weapon.


    He opened his eyes seeing the demon in full swing. The punch aimed at this head. Instinctively he raised his shield to intercept and caught it on the edge just in time. Thinking he still held the sword he slashed out with his other arm and promptly cut through the demons arm withnow completed, legendary blade in his hand. The demon reeled back unable to understand how it just lost its weapon and an arm. Matthew didn''t miss the opportunity of the demon''s absent mind. He slashed wide binging the full force of the blade down and struck the demon across the chest. As it staggered backwards he dropped his shield and double gripped the sword. With a mighty thrust it paid the demon back in kind and ran the sword through its chest.


    With the demon dead at his feet, sword still stuck in the demon''s chest he sat down to take down all the things that had just happened, aa few minutes he pulled the sword out of the demon''s corpse.


    Thank youhe said to the sword.It seems your crazy idea worked out. The sword remained silent. He called out a few more times with his own voice as well as with his mind but the sword didn''t speak back. Using the purple aura of the sword as a makeshift torch he started to make his way out of the dark caves hoping his two friends were still alive.


    It took him a few hours to find his way back to the plateau with the tunnel they had used to enter. Maybe caves turned out dead ends. Luckily he encountered no other gnolls or kobolds. As he made his way through the tunnel and into the lair beneath the tree night had already fallen. A blue colored ribbon was tied to the bush next to the entrance, a sign left by Nalia indicating they safely left the caves as well. He was going over his option to either camp out here or try to navigate the forest at night. Then he saw the flicker of torch lights through the trees.


    He started making his way towards the light when a figure burst from the treeline aiming straight for him. He wanted to raise his new sword in defense but found it missing from his hand. As he saw the form more clearly he realized he didn''t need a sword for what would sound pounce him. He met it with open arms as Nalia jumped onto him.


    She held him tight as tears rolled down her cheeks?''m so glad you''re alive!. He held her tight and kissed her forehead ''And I''m glad the two of you made it out as well.Let''s go to meet the others and head back to town. I''ll tell you all about what happened tomorrow.Alrightshe said as she wiped away the tears, and they went to meet the others.

 End of Ark one

    Hello readers!


    Thank you for reading my first work of fiction.


    It was a new experience for me and really gave me a new insight on how it can be really difficult to transfer a mental image into words.


    As stated in the synopses this was intended to be a short story and it still is. I had this entire ark (mostly) planned out in my head before I started writing it. This also means I haven''t thought about the direction I want to take the story in for the future. While I like my characters and the limited world I build them I won''t revisit this world anytime soon.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    If you have any thought or suggestions please leave them in the comments down below.


    Thank you again for reading and perhaps we''ll meet again in the future.