《The Elemental Swords - Book One: Sunder》


 Prologue

    Howling gale storms ravished the ancient trees, seemingly endless amounts of leaves were being blown into the thick forest. Wood moaned and groaned as they swayed, fighting the relentless winds and providing what little coverage for the lives that lurked in them. Two figures emerged from the forest, and their sacred sanctuary loomed a little ways ahead. A crude small structure riddled with even smaller buildings around it, despite the ruined state it was in, massive walls circled the entire structure as the first means of defense.


    The two individuals fought harder against the battering winds as they approached the structure, without the forest''s protection  it became more of a challenge. One of the two men struggled more than the other, the older of the two leaned his weight over the younger. He released his palm from applying pressure on his abdomen, his hands were covered in his own dry blood. Despite his circumstances, he soldiered on for the sake of those who depended on him. Tripping and losing his support on the man he leant on, he went toppling on the cold-earthy path just in front of the sanctuary gates.


    ¡°Let me catch my breath!¡± Wheezed the older man, struggling to catch his breath.


    He took the silent moment to reflect over everything that happened, everything he had come to know and love was being stripped away from him. Stroking his ring in reverie, he found solace in this possession. Hope. A simple engraving on the simple silver ring, but it was his most precious item that the world could ever provide.


    A scuffle of approaching feet grew louder, approaching from inside the walls a friend came to their aid. The old man relaxed for the first time this whole day, his ordeals proved to be almost too much for anyone to bear.


    Clattering of armours and marching armies almost overpowered the blowing winds back in the forest. War horns bellowed their commands for the armies, and closer yet were the howls of frost wolves excited by the scent of blood as they tracked their targets. The wolves were as much of predators as were their masters - the Mountain.


    The footsteps behind him came to a dead stop, a bewildered woman was surprised with the pandemonium that was approaching.  ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± She asked.


    He struggled to build the strength to speak up, his son noticed the exertion he was putting up.


    The son responded. ¡°We need to leave right away. Get our boy.¡± He said.


    The inevitable question was uttered. ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    A brief silence. ¡°Dead.¡±


    A teardrop rolled down her fine skin, and quivering lips wrinkled her once fair pearly features. There never was a right way to react from losing close companions. However, her constitution was firmer than what the older man had credited her with.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fetch him right away.¡± She was resolute, fully aware that now was not the time to mourn. Grievances would have to wait for another apt time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll gather the others, we¡¯ll escape by way of the caverns below.¡± He added. ¡°Meet up with us at the entrances.¡±


    She ran off to do just as her husband instructed her, time was of the essence. The young man knelt over to help lift the fragile father up.


    ¡°No son.¡± He slapped away his son¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Stop this, father. There¡¯s no time to argue.¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    He stood up on his own, relying on the strength of what is left of his youthhood. The wounds burned as the man tensed his muscles, taxing on the remaining stamina. Despite his condition, the short rest gave him some rejuvenating strength back. But both he and his son knew very well that he would not last long in his current state.


    His son argued his motives. ¡°What are you trying to accomplish by staying here? Revenge? Forget it, you have a family that needs you.¡±


    The ring he held firmly in his hand, passed on to him from his master as an eternal reminder. The single word he meditated on. Hope. It took him a long time to begin grasping the meaning, and he thought he learned after the long training with his master. Back then, it was meant that he was to become a glowing beacon of hope for others. Now however, his understanding has been molded into something else, he himself was not to become the beacon of hope. He was to pave the way for others to take on that task.


    Flickering torchers danced deep in the dark woods, the howling grew louder as the enemies neared ever closer. They were out of time, unless he were to buy them the precious moments they needed.


    ¡°Revenge, no. Hope, yes.¡± The old man replied. ¡°I can¡¯t change what has happened, but perhaps I can change what happens.¡±


    He unstrapped the sheathed sword from his belt, taking a deep breath as he gripped it tightly in his hands. There was no other way he had decided.


    ¡°Go, take this with you. Electum would have done the same.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    He handed his son the sword, a weight seemingly being lifted off his shoulders. The particular weight behind the blade, a weight stemmed from power and responsibility. The son graciously took possession of the sword, and for that moment, all of the rattling commotion and danger dissolved as the passing took place. The old man knew his son grasped the significance of this sword, the perils that loomed over him and the responsibility that was being handed. His own journey may be ending its last chapter, but a new one was being birthed. Even though there was no certainty what that path led to, at least he knew that path clung to hope.


    ¡°How will you hold them off?¡± The son asked worryingly.


    He chuckled. His son always looked up to him, keeping an eye out for his well-being. ¡°You forget, I was among the best in their ranks. My bare fists is all I need.¡±


    His son smiled knowing that there was no use in changing his old man¡¯s mind, once he was determined there was no use in swaying his decision. There was no need to argue any further, no need to make regretful memories.


    ¡°Then take this, at least show them how you are with the blade.¡± His son handed him his own simple sword.


    There were no more exchange words, each other knowing the other¡¯s feelings and left it at that. The son peeled away and ran into the sanctuary, leading a new generation to safety.


    As his son disappeared in the background, the winds intensified. Thunder suddenly crackled, it was as if the earth shook and shuddered from its power. The night sky was bathed in the magnificent glow of dancing lightning. First raindrops began dripping from the dark clouds, obscuring the already difficult to see night.


    The man ripped off his torn up shirt and tied it around his abdominal injury, providing some blockage of the bleeding. Anything he can do to buy himself time and ultimately his family¡¯s. He tensed his toned body¡¯s muscles, ripped from the years of hardship that war has taught him. Even though he had experienced many years of hardship, his lifetime has treated him overall gracefully. His silky black hair was lined with few white strands of hair, rather making him appear older, it made him seem like a much fiercer warrior. The body scars only complimented his already battle-hardened facial features.


    Soldiers streamed out of the forest into the open area in front of him, and taking the lead of the armies stood his two vowed enemies. They held the stolen weapons proudly, weapons of immense power. Power that would change the tides of the Blood War in favor of whoever wielded them, and now they were in the worst hands imaginable.


    The burly large man of the two with a silver leather vest stood ahead of everyone else, he raised his arm signaling the attack of his army. The first front row of soldiers swarmed together, an attempt that many would judge as too excessive for just one old man. But the old man¡¯s enemy was fully aware of his capabilities, and he was not going to risk underestimating him even if just a little.


    Raindrops then began pouring heavily, jumping from the drizzles altogether to a straight-on flash flood. The charging soldiers were deterred a little from the difficulty of rushing through the mud puddles that were being formed. The older man did not hesitate even a little, sloshing puddles of muddy water as he charged straight at his enemies too. Some were taken by surprise that they stopped in their tracks stunned for a brief moment. This proved to be a fatal mistake for some. He tackled the first soldier who foolishly left himself open, propelling him backwards by several meters. The man¡¯s sword then flashed through the air, piercing through the next soldier¡¯s armor beside him. The soldier was killed and toppled to the ground as the sword was drawn out of him. In a swift movement, he whipped around and parried a sword strike that was aimed for his exposed backside. They briefly locked blades but he headbutted the unsuspecting soldier. The headbutt was powerful enough that it dented through the soldier¡¯s helm, the soldier slumped to the ground unconsciously. He swung around to parry another cowardly strike aimed for his blind side, this time the force of his swing reflected his enemy¡¯s sword back through his own helm. That man limped to the swamped ground, a little bit of blood dripped out of the helm.


    Everyone surrounding him took a step back, reanalyzing their now obviously foolish tactic. They had severely underestimated their enemy, someone who took four of them out in a blink of an eye. Their leader took a step forward, everyone shuffled aside as their prized champion took the fronthold of the battle. His blade whipped out in a fancy flurry, an act that was nothing more than a swordsman flexing his skills.


    The vested man lunged at him in a blink of an eye, their swords sparked as they both clashed their swords in a frenzy. Each of them attempting to gain the upper foothold on the soft ground, while trying to parry and land blows.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re not putting as much of a fight as you were a moment ago.¡± The man said.


    With stamina quickly depleting, his minor injuries magnified as the battle drew on. His goal was not to win the fight, but to stall for as long as he can. The battle was an assured defeat from the start. His eyes widened as he saw his opponent¡¯s sword glow an ember red, heat emanated from it and steam formed mists around the blade.


    ¡°No!¡± In a moment of fight or flight instincts, his impulses urged him to fight harder. But his body slowly grew weaker, his blows were lighter with every parry he met.


    In another feeble attempt to knock the weapon away, he crossed blades a final time with an attempt to have the blade on the inside near the neck. At that desperate moment, he sword burned a flame so powerful that it dried the air and ground around him. He was knocked away with one flaming sweep, crashing back down stunned. He lost his grip on the sword that impaled the earth a meter from him, he saw the wedge that the impact made on his sword on the weapons edge. If he had not parried, he would surely be dead.


    Over him loomed his menace, the man who had taken everything and whose own ambitions rivaled to none. Oddly enough, there was no trace of content on his face, disturbingly it appeared he was hurt.


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth.¡± He started. Drawing nearer to the now limp body of the old man, both of them soaked from the downpouring storm. ¡°I respect your convictions. Nothing but determination for you what you believe in. I can¡¯t help but lament such a waste of said conviction, you¡¯re a disgrace to our nation.¡±


    He coughed as he caught his breath. ¡°Good. Any graciousness from you would be a shame for me.¡±


    Without another word, no warning, and anything honorable to be expected in a duel. The man drove his blade through the heart of the defenseless old man. His strength at long last met its rival, having bought as much time he could before stamina got the better of him. In his final breaths he took, there was no regret.


    The impaled sword was drawn out from the dead body, his corpse slunk steadily into the ground and in time that corpse would blend in with nature. Lightning rolled over the skies in eloquent beauty as the storm neared its climax. Despite the temperamental storm that taxed the leader and his soldiers, they trudged into the ruins in search of his prize.


    There is nowhere else to go, they¡¯re cornered just like prey. He thought to himself.

 Prologue (old version)

The Blood War, which countless of lives have been slain and rivers ran red from the blood of the victims. It is unlike any other war remembered; a war that had lasted for over a thousand years.

 Chapter One - Razed

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    Birds chirped during a calm mid-morning, a strong breeze making chimes ring furiously in front of a house in a quiet town. The only disturbance to this tranquility was someone who stepped heavily onto the porch of this house; there was a slow pace to his calm demeanor, even though he was raging on the inside.


    The man who lived in the house heard the footsteps on his porch and guessed what had happened. There was a very hard knock on the door. Sighing, the man got up from his chair next to the crackling fireplace, he went to answer the door passing a couple of bookcases. As he set his hand on the door handle, he let out another annoyed sigh. When he opened the door, he saw a large man dressed in a brown tunic and sagged pants held a boy firmly in his right hand. He tossed the boy around him into the house, and then said, "One of these days he''ll be behind bars, hear that Shavo?"


    Shavo replied, "Don''t worry Marko, you know I do what is needed, but considering you are here now means you caught him before he did anything too stupid."


    Marko turned around to leave, as he left, "If it weren''t your boy, I would have set him behind bars long ago, understood?"


    "I''ll keep that in mind."


    The instant Marko had left, Shavo closed the door and turned around to address the boy. However, he was not there waiting as he should have been. Shavo called his name.


    "Zilian!"


    The boy Marko had tossed in appeared from the kitchen on the right, which he had sneaked into while Shavo was talking. His cream colored, curly hair usually had a dark hue to it, but looked almost black when he was indoors. He was not muscular, athletic or smart; in fact, he was average in height and appearance, standing just under five feet tall and just shy of being considered scrawny. A boy of his stature would make him seem he was innocent, but, looks are often deceiving.


    "Stopped me right before I got out the back door, old man." A note of spite in his tone.


    Shavo well knew he was changing the subject, ignoring his reply as he was used to it. "What was it this time?"


    Zilian just shrugged and stretched his arms. "Well... uh... nothing really."


    Exasperated, Shavo exclaimed, "You did nothing? And yet you managed to get Marko ruffled up, he looked like he stopped a fight between the Jungle Apes and the Frost Lions! Either you tell me and I will make it easy on you or I go to Marko and ask him personally and I''ll be a little harder on you, your choice."


    Zilian thought about it for a moment, weighing the options and chose the first, "Alright, I may or may not was trying to borrow something from the merchants train."


    "Let me guess, by borrowing you mean stealing from those who worked hard to get what they have... why am I not surprised it has come to this?" He dug his forehead in his palm.


    Zilian tried to feebly defend himself, "Technically, I didn''t steal cause Marko stopped me before it got to that. Besides, the merchants were practically begging me to borrow it, because they weren''t even watching their stuff."


    Shavo shifted his right hand under his chin, an awkward silence buzzed in the air, "Who do you want to be? What will you decide to be destined for?"


    Zilian groaned in an exasperated tone and tossed his head back to further emphasize his point, "What are you on about now? Destiny has nothing to do with this!"


    "That is where you''re wrong!" He rose his voice harshly, almost yelling get his point across his son¡¯s thick head. ¡°Destiny is not something can''t change; destiny is more, much more than that." His son needed to learn the lesson he had learned the hard way many years ago.


    "Destiny is..."


    He paused, hearing some shouting outside. Curious about the rising commotion, he looked through his window and was shocked to see several platoons of Mountain soldiers. They were dragging everybody into the center of their town. He grabbed Zilian by the arm half dragging him to the bookcase, and pulled on a book. With a click and squeak of ungreased wheels, the bookcase slid aside.


    Shavo ushered Zilian inside, "Quickly." Shoving him into the hole, then he pointed to the edge of the hole, "See that sword?" The boy nods. "Good, protect it at all costs."


    A series of questions rolled from his mouth, "What''s going on? Why do I have to protect this sword? What is it with this basement?"


    "Mountain Soldiers," he knew that by their armor, a red cross on the helm''s back and a jag decorating the front of their two-piece breastplate, "I don''t have time to explain, just do as I say."


    Shavo closed the entrance to the basement, forcing Zilian to duck out of the way. Making a beeline to his room, he pulled open a panel that was concealed as a wall and took out several sheets of paper as well a few worn books, burning anything the empire might find useful into the fireplace. He was about to make his way to the secret basement when he felt something sharp press up against his back.


    "Make a single move without my command and I¡¯ll shove this through your heart," came a disembodied threat, "Now, you will stand up slowly and head to the clearing."


    Shavo did as he was told and headed out into the clearing outside. As he did, the soldier pushed him into a group of men, arrogantly flaunting his power.


    Shavo noticed immediately that there were two groups were huddled separately, the men and older boys in one group and the women and children in another; Both groups were surrounded by several dozen soldiers. A man stepped forward to address them; he was dressed in fancy red armor and golden-textured breastplate, the lack of helm suggesting his high position on the chain of command.


    Looking out among the crowd, he proclaimed, "This village is now under the protection of the Mountain Empire."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    An uproar broke out, "We don''t need protection, this is a Neutral village. We don''t want you here."


    The men had a fit of outburst, even risking to push off the soldiers, until he rose his hand to silence them. "Now, I don''t want you to expect this protection will be free. All the men of the village will participate in the war while all of the women and children will be taken care of. If any of you choose to resist, you will be branded traitors to the Empire and the punishment will be immediate execution for you and your family."


    At his words, a deathly silence took hold of the crowd, and that was when one man stepped forward and said, "I''ll join." One after another, more men started to follow his lead.


    Shavo picked up a straw hat that laid on a crate near him, he put it on so that it would cover most of his face. He spoke up to get everyone''s attention, "I''ll answer for all these men here! As tempting the offer is, we all would like to respectfully decline."


    The man in the fancy armor scanned the crowd and found Shavo and walked towards him. He could not see the face behind the straw hat, crouching to get a better look under it. Shavo did not flinch under the man''s gaze. "Who might you be to speak on behalf of these people?"


    He countered with a question of his own, stalling for more time, "Is not it not bad manners to ask for someone''s name before giving your own?"


    "Very well then, my name is Garadem Deam. I am Major of this operation. Now I have given my name, what might yours be?"


    "My name is..." He paused, "Shavo Ainn."


    "Shavo?!"


    With swift movements, Shavo palm-pushed Garadem back and reached for his open right-hand sheath, the high ranking soldier stumbling to the ground on his back. A soldier behind him jumps forward, slashing at him from the side. Parrying the attack, Shavo locked blades. Flicking his sword under and unbalancing his opponent¡¯s, he shoves the soldier backwards and parries the upcoming soldier''s sword. Tossing it in the air, takes control of this sword as well.


    Now he is surrounded by five soldiers blocking his way out, except he is not looking for a way out. One of the soldiers comes up on his right and he turns rapidly, blocking the attack then twisting the soldiers blade to his left. He grabs the soldier by the nape of the neck, forcing him down and making a contact with his knee; The soldier falls to the ground out cold. Two soldiers come up from his left and right now, these two more experienced. He exchanges blows with both swords efficiently, until Shavo finishes it by locking blades with both of them at the same time. He crouches low, angling to his right and jabbing the knee of the soldier with the hilt of his right blade. The soldier screamed, falling to his knees. The soldier on his left saw an opening and went for his side, but Shavo had purposefully shown an opening. He twists up to meet the soldier as he draws back, piercing his armor at the belt as blood spatters the ground. He finished with a killing blow back to the screaming soldier, piercing through the metal breastplate as well as the soldier''s heart. Ironically, it was the man who threatened him earlier.


    As another soldier ran up from behind to stab him in the back, Shavo flipped his sword backwards on his right hand and leaned forward, spinning to bounce his blade away. With the man''s back directed towards him, he used the tip to his other blade to pull out a dagger from his right pocket. "Thanks.¡± Flicking the sword with the dusha knife he had stolen from the soldier hooked onto the tip, they flew at the ammunition cart sitting just in front of the entrance to the town - thirty meters away.


    The dagger exploded upon impact, although the small explosion was insignificant compared to that of the ammunition cart as it tossed inflamed debris everywhere. The fire quickly spread, and even Garadem''s carriage started to burn. The townfolk took advantage of the distraction fleeing into the forest.


    Garadem pulled on his hair in irrational distress, "No! Not my carriage! Captain, put out the fire on my carriage now!"


    "Major Deam sir, you told us to leave all our reserve water behind to bring your things. Wouldn''t it be more important to recapture the people?" Suggested the unwilling captain.


    Garadem poked him on his chest, "I wanted to bring my belongings for a good reason. Now I am giving you an order, and you will obey unless you want to be thrown into the fire for insubordination!"


    "Right away, sir!" The Captain complied, immediately gathering several soldiers to douse the burning carriage.


    Shavo gathered everyone he could safely into the forest, Marko approached to offer assistance, "What do you need me to do, Shavo?"


    Shavo replied, "Take care of everybody. Take them to my ally further in the north-east from here. You know who, right?


    Marko said, "Of course. Shouldn''t you come too?"


    "I have to go back for Zilian and I am going to see if there''s anybody else left behind. One thing though, whatever you do, don''t tell Zilian. I am sure he will discover the truth, but I want it to happen when he''s ready, ok?"


    "Will do, just make sure you stay alive."


    "I will." He gripped the man¡¯s shoulder to reassure him.


    Shavo edged around the town scanning the area near his house, he saw the soldiers were still busy with the Major''s carriage; but not for much longer. He took the little time he had left and rushed to the back of his house - the house was on fire too - wood boards creaked then snapped as he pulled on them. With the boards cleared, the way to the the secret basement was open.


    "Zilian!" Shavo called.


    The sound of coughing came from within the smoke, "Right here."


    "Good, come here and bring that sword."


    Zilian exited the basement through the hole with the sword held tightly in his hands; Making sure there weren¡¯t any soldiers around, Shavo grabbed him by the arm and took him into the forest. Once they were safely in the forest, he sat down to rest for a bit. "Look, I have to go back to see if there is anybody else left behind. Wait for me here and stay out of trouble, got it?"


    Zilian replied, "Wait, what if you don''t come back?"


    "Don''t worry, I will, it''ll be just a minute. Never be afraid."


    Shavo left abruptly back to the village, he would not have much time left. He spied from the edge of the forest trying to find anyone, instead he heard a child screaming pleas of rescue. He quickly ran out of the forest toward the sound of the screaming, the cries were loudest just around the corner of a building. The moment he came around the bend he was surrounded by twenty soldiers, a few jumping out from the windows of the house to cut off his escape. Most of the soldiers held automatic crossbow launchers. Garadem stepped forward with the child in his arms, a comical grin painted on his face. He was obviously satisfied that he had trapped Shavo.


    Shavo stepped forward in a stance, holding a blade on both sides, "Let the child go."


    Garadem replied, "What? This cute, innocent girl? Very well then, I was never planning to keep her anyway." He wiped the tears off her innocent face, then let the girl down and allowed her to run off into the forest looking for her parents. Garadem simply said, "I was using her as bait, I knew you couldn''t help but try to rescue her. Now that you are here, Men, take him alive!"


    Several soldiers shot a barrage of arrows at Shavo he evaded by ducking. He launched himself toward a soldier with his blades crossed - a move to block attacks with a follow-up move, but he was entangled in bolas before he touched the ground. Sprawled across the dirt, he desperately attempted to free himself from this bondage.


    Garadem stepped and kicked him down, he leaned forward towering over him, "So after all this time you were alive. I know I can''t possibly break you, but I am pretty sure Emperor Malie would love to meet you in person. Who knows, maybe you''ll be even lucky enough to be taken to the Ai-Kai-Ne prison, where you belong!"


    He called for his Captain, "Take him and lock him up. I want him contained and under constant supervision; he is to be monitored at all times. We will go directly to the Emperor, this is something that cannot be postponed. The Emperor will be very pleased. Who knows, I might even get promoted." And Garadem started laughing hysterically.


    The Captain responded like a well-seasoned soldier, "Of course sir, right away sir."


    As the soldiers left with Shavo, Zilian spied nearby, witnessing everything. Tears streamed along his cheeks, "No, you said you were gonna come back."

 Chapter Two - War Orphan

    Streams of lights splashed his face, wakes him up just when dawn is breaking through the horizon, he can barely glimpse it through the dense forest, he stretched himself from the cold ground and sat up. His mind kept going in circles as he remembered what happened just four days ago - he had an argument with his father, and Mountain soldiers came to claim the town and his father was taken. He can''t think of anything else no matter how hard he tried.


    ~---~


    It had been three days since Zilian had eaten and almost a two days since he had a proper drink of water. He kept on walking until he finally collapsed from exhuastion. He thought, What a way to go, lost in thought and wandering in the unknown until lack of food and water.


    "What is your destiny?... Never be afraid and find your destiny." Zilian shouted "Father! Father! Wait! Don''t go!"


    I guess it would be nice living here.

 Chapter Three - Forest Mist

    The warmth from the sun coursing through his body, unable to not sigh from relaxation. Blissful clear blue skies hang high above as he lays on a bale of hay.


    ~---~


    ~---~


    Art of the Blacksmith, Natural Winds, History of the Regions and The Lost Emblem. Ok, under whose name should I mark these as?"


    Art of Swordplay. He picks it up and asks, "can I borrow this book?"

 Chapter Four - Rebellious Boy

    "We''re back!" Zilian called.


    ~---~


    Zilian grunted laboriously, as he tried to unhook the plow from the bull, with a final clink the plow fell to the ground. Zilian wiping the sweat from his brows, taking deep breaths.


    I''ll get Erica to that, festival, I owe a lot to Farame, but I also owe a lot to Erica.


    ~---~


    Walking in through his bedroom door, he collapsed on his bed taking in deep breaths. After his little commotion with Farame, Farame gave a mountain of farm chores for him to do. He knew it was paypack or to keep him busy so as not to ask him again. Even though he is exuasted, he feels like he is ready to run over and back from a mountain top. While he was weeding the farm, after milking the cows, he finally came with a solution how to get Erica to the Festival. If I can''t convince Farame, all I need to do is convince Erica, He thought.


    ''I am not a little girl anymore.''"


    Plan B to Erica after Farame turns her down. He was going to convince Erica to sneak away this one time, so that she can enjoy herself. She would never say yes until she was rejected. He will show her how he did things when he was back home, in a word, teach her ''rebellion''.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.~---~


    After a long day, from harvesting, milking and organizing the barn. Zilian walks up the front porch, feeling heavy on his feet, exuasted from all the work he did that day. He knows his energy will come right back, that is if all goes well when Erica makes one last aproach to her grandfather.


    And to think, all it took, was a bit of persistance.

 Chapter Five - Fun At Ferdan Festival!

    "Zilian. We''re here. Wake up."


    There''s nobody else to see it, except... me and Erica.


    ya''. Too much time around these two is starting to affect him.


    tag along.


    Be Back token!" the operator grabs the token from the jar and gives it to Erica. "Here you go. Have fun in the Ferdan Festival!"

 Chapter Six - The Old Grudge

    He found himself walking down a long dark tunnel, that seemed endless, the more he walked, the less sure he was of himself. He can not see where he is going; he does not know what time of day it was - or even what day it was. Help! Anybody!. The only reply were the echoes of his own hollowed out words. The tunnel felt hollow, the words felt hollow, he felt hollow. Time seemed to stand still, yet the further he went the more it seemed to have passed. A bright light glowed at the end of this void, this light came fast, too fast. The void that had him trapped, dramaticly changed to him now being engulfed in a bright light. Just as instantaneous, he fell down deep into an unknown.


    Just another bad dream, Zilian says to himself.


    sigh


    How could anybody could eat that? He may never know, but he did not mind Farame eating it, cause that seems to be all he eats, which in turn meant more food for him. Zilian grabbed his plate, devouring his food in rather ravished manner. Another benefit being on his own, he did not have to worry about manners.


    I''m sorry sounded adequate. Although, he knew that wouldn''t mean much of anything at this point. He took a seat on the chair, weighing in what Farame truly had to go through, all he could do was lay his palms on his knees. In a moment of relapse, he realized he has not mourned over losing his father, whereas Farame still held close to what happened to his son.Could it be I am still holding onto hope?

 Chapter Seven - Mystery of the Blade

    The past couple days were busier then usual. Zilian had to fill 40 crates with marillas; harvest the last wheat fields of the season; milk the cows, and with the milk, fill 30 large metal containers. After that, he had to pile up the crates into three large carts, before loading the wheat - he had to grind the wheat into flour with a large grinder near the wheat fields, then pour them into white cloth sacks. The last thing he had to load in the second cart, were 30 large jugs of milk, poured into tin jugs with an air tight clip and seal. There were other products in the last cart that Erica was in charge with; dried hapers, eggs and clothing that Erica sewed herself.


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    "me time".


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    Sword Techniques, was a drawing of man holding a single sword in a stance with legs apart and sword angled downwards with the hilt at shoulder level. In the next page were two diagrams - side by side - one holding the sword with both hands, right hand holding the sword in an inclined manner instead of a decline, and left hand holding the blade just slightly over his belt; in the second was another man holding one blade angled up infront of him with a single hand instead of two, his free hand was drawed back in a perfect angle just under his shoulder length.


    WieldLighting.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.~---~


    Zilian walks in through the backdoor, just in case if the Mountain soldiers were still around. He could tell there were not around anymore, it was too quiet for them to be possibly there. He walked in as calmly as he could. The roar of thunder still rang in his ears, so it is a little difficult to act normal at this point. When he entered, he found it even harder to pretend to act normal. The house looks like a box storage, he saw Erica packing some dishes in one of the boxes.


    badly I want to tell, but for ya safety, I can''t. What I can tell ya, if I don''t get to the Swamp in time, ya may have no choice but being a part of it."

 Chapter Eight - A Fray On The Farm

    It had been a weary long two days for Zilian. Farame woke him and Erica up yesterday before dawn broke the horizon, and packed up everything that was not needed immediately - heavy things, such as tools, kitchenware and equipment. They were left exhausted by midnight, only to wake up just as early today.


    Today was just as busy if not more, though only a few things left to put away - the rest of their clothes and kitchenware. The last thing they had to do was simply to finish loading the carts. Fortunately there was no short supply on food, one of the many benefits of running a farm. Both carts were filled to the brim, leaving no space unused.


    Zilian jumped out of the cart after securely tying boxes in place, he heaved from landing on the ground, trotting into the house after he had smacked the dirt off his pants. Erica and Farame had just finished storing things they did not need, at least until and if they ever to come back.


    "Ya think we got it all?" Farame asked Erica.


    "Yeah. I think so." She replied, wiping the sweat from her brows.


    It was hotter then usual today and they was a lot of heavy lifting involved. Zilian was shocked to see how strong and resilient Farame was. He always assumed the man was not very capable, until these past two days. He should have known sooner, they were on their own before Farame invited him into the family.


    Farame groaned as he stood upright after tying another box. One does not know how much they have stored, and the memories that go along with them. It has been the hardest on Erica; She wanted to keep everything but was only able to bring a few books.


    Farame waved for Zilian¡¯s attention, "We need to get them last few boxes from upstairs, then we all can go."


    "Before we do that, it is time to eat. It''s already midday." Erica said.


    Farame grunted agreeably, "Very well. Need to keep our strength up."


    "Sounds great to me." Zilian gave his enthused reply, he could not agree any more. He feels like he can munch on anything, even hapers, although he would rather not.


    "We have dried hapers." Erica said.


    Zilian shoulders slumped and jaws dropped, cursed be him and his thought. However, his despair was short-lived when he saw her hand the bowl to Farame - she meant it was for Farame. Erica tossed him a marilla apple, which he aptly caught.


    "Today only have fruits. Cooking pans are packed away, so no freshly cooked food." Erica explained.


    He took a bite into the apple, "No problem. Perfectly fine as long as it''s not hapers for me." He said with his mouth full. The apple sweet to perfection, added with its lustful colors, it just made his mouth water even more.


    Farame retorted to his remark, "Ya wouldn''t dislike''em if ya give it a try."


    "Yeah. I don''t think I will ever do that."


    Erica tried to conceal her laugh, clearly amused by his frank and honest reply. The three of them sat there on the boxes, munching quietly on their food. It seemed so tranquil to Zilian, it was hard to believe there was a war going on outside; A war that lasted almost a thousand years. In fact, these past few months seemed so unrealistic. Forest Mist, the city he went to did not seem to have had troops in it patrolling the streets. As frequently as it was in his old town.


    He remembered how it was back at his old town, with soldiers from the swamp often camping near the town and getting supplies to heal their wounded as they returned from the front lines. Although, in the months prior to the Mountain laying claim to his town, the Swamp slowed to seldom camping nearby and eventually quit coming altogether.


    "Hey Farame, I have question." Zilian implored.


    "Speak it, I can''t guess it." Farame always replied same way when Zilian started his questions like that; he made a mental note to avoid asking to ask again.


    "Why is it Misty Forest didn''t have troops from any of the four empires?"


    Farame spoke with his mouth biting onto another haper, "That''s be because they not part of them."


    "There''s cities like that?"


    "Yeah, granted them be few. There even more villages and colonies like that, although, yet again still a few. Most people who are in them are folks who think this war is pointless and that they want no part of it, others in it to get away from the center of attention, hiding from someone else." He wiped his mouth with the last sentence.


    "I see." Zilian toyed with his half-eaten apple, rolling it between his fingers.


    Noises erupted outside in the front, interrupting their calm lunch. The sound of horses?rhythmic trotting and neighing echoed through the house, Farame stood to see who their unexpected guests were. Wide-eyed from surprise, his eyes looked like they could pop out of their sockets. He signaled, waving his hand low for them to crouch.


    "Them Mountain soldiers. Hopefully this is nothing, but ya best hide upstairs for in case."


    As Farame walked off and straightening himself to greet their unwelcomed visitors, at the time Zilian alongside Erica quickly and silently went upstairs to hide. When upstairs they found that there was nowhere to hide, every room was far too exposed.


    "There is nowhere to hide!" Erica exclaimed quietly.


    That instant they heard the door open and Farame welcoming them with his normal cheerful aptitude. The response was husked and not friendly in return, "We have executive order to search your premises under the authority of the Mountain Empire."


    "We are not part of the Mountain, you''ll need to get the warrant from the Forest Mist vicinity."


    "In that case sir, you''ll find we don''t need permission. Check the house!" He ordered other men.


    He ran to the room located furthest away from the front, they were running out of time. Stepped against the window and lifting it delicately to not make a grating noise, he scanned the immediate area quickly making certain no one would see them. They could walk outside onto the roof and easily hide in a spot where the roof overlapped the next, there they would remain invisible from the troops outside.


    He waved for Erica to step out first, and she understood what he saw. Zilian followed her out,?closing the window in order to not arouse suspicion. He ducked sideways from the window, and soldiers appeared not a moment after he lowered the window. He feared that they had been caught.


    "The whole house looks like it is ready to pick up and go, seems the higher ups were smart sending us out here to double check."


    Zilian tread lightly away from the window to not risk being caught, they did not see him or his shadow. He would have had never known that his stealing skills would have been focused for his own survival. He did not make a single roof board piece creak, sliding carefully onto his side beside Erica.


    After a few heartbeats, "I think we slipped past them."


    "What''s going on?" Erica asked.


    "Don''t know, but I can figure it out."


    "Don''t do anything stupid." Erica eyed him warily.


    "Don''t worry, I am just gonna poke myself on the edge of the roof to see what they''re doing." He assured her.


    He slid himself to the roof on the front of the house, giving himself a clear vantage point and good cover. From there he saw eight horses and a closed-in carriage. The carriage seemed tall enough for someone to stand up straight inside, so he assumed there were at least nine soldiers. He did not want to believe it, but the red cross on their helms confirmed his fear; they were mountain soldiers. He saw two soldiers outside, one standing guard with the horses whereas the other walked inside the carriage.


    He assumed the rest were searching the house and possibly in the barn. Zilian ducked behind the rood, a soldier with red armor exited the front door right under him. He heard Farame grunt as if someone shoved him forward, forcing him to follow. He could just make out the edge of his bald head over the edge.


    "May I ask, what is ya reason to invade my house?"


    "You very well know what our reasons are Farame. Since you insist on playing stupid, you have been caught in act of treachery against the Mountain."


    Zilian was shocked of how they could have known that they knew Farame was relaying information to the Swamp Empire, he was very careful to not get caught. Farame acted coolly, with a exasperated tone that made him sound sincere and innocent.


    "What treachery? I sell ya goods and offer ya my fine wine as ya visit. That¡¯d be what ya talking about? Them have a new policy of no wine?"


    The man was now getting impatient, "No! You''ll be taken to custody and that will be the end of your case."This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Zilian observed his pattern of speech, noted that he was lying - every time he mentioned about treachery he paused and flicked his eye. He was not taking him in for treason, he was taking him in for what he knew. Whatever it is that Farame learned from them a few days ago, it got them wired up into a hasty frenzy. He wedged to poke a sole eye over the edge.


    "So, what''s with all this packing? You''re moving, perhaps even leaving the Mountain¡¯s protection?" The interrogator waved his arm towards the carts.


    "Ya, I be moving. I have grown weary of this placed, lived here for too many years. After the death of my son and his wife... too many memories. I''ve met this man from further south - still in ya territory mind ya, selling this place he claimed to be nice. Checked it out, liked it. Had to have it, before he be changing his mind. It is already a farm, so perfect place for me to continue. I was gonna file them papers to let ya know where I''ll be at."


    "Hmm..." The soldier pondered what he said, he relaxed his shoulders almost convinced. Zilian himself thought he would have believed him if he had not known better. Then again, he knew he did not have the best judgment abilities.


    The door slammed wide opened as a soldier burst outside excitedly, "Captain, look at what we found in one of the dormitories on the second floor!"


    He cursed in his breath, the soldier had his sword which he foolishly forgot all about. The Captain snatched the blade, and stood straighter as he unsheathed it. As he lifted it up and marveled it, took a brief moment reading the engravings on it.


    "Very well. You did good soldier."


    The Captain drawled, "Now Farame,¡± making him sound creepy, ¡°I would like to think you didn''t know anything about this. Now tell me, who are you holding here as your guest? I¡¯d imagine may even be as family."


    Farame played as a fool again, "What ya talking about?"


    "The one who stole this blade from the Mountain. He or she is a fugitive for aiding another fugitive. This fugitive is an accomplice, maybe even from the family of the one who originally stole this blade. I want to know where this person is!" The Captain exclaimed.


    "He is a fugitive?" Farame echoed.


    The captain grinned, "Ah, so it is a he. You didn''t know he was fugitive then. Well then, do tell us where he is and we shall let this transgression slide."


    "I don''t know, he goes out of the house everyday doing something. Pays handsomely for me not minding my business." Farame lied, clearly protecting Zilian.


    "Very well then. Pray we don''t find him in your house, or else you''ll be caught in a lie and would be considered as an accomplice in a conspiracy."


    "Zilian."


    Zilian jumped back, startled hearing his name right behind his ear. It was Erica leaning right next to him.


    "What are we gonna do? You know Farame is not gonna let them take you, but we can''t let them take him either."


    "Don''t worry. It won''t come to either." Zilian reassured her.


    "What does that mean?"


    "It means I better come up with a plan in a few minutes."


    Erica understood that it was now best to stay silent. He needed silence to devise a way to get them out. I could ambush them from the roof, but then everyone inside would come out and I can¡¯t deal with all of them. I could get them from inside, but they¡¯ll have fair amount of warning outside. Either way, I have no armor or weapon so they¡¯ll just slice me up.


    Erica is peered over the edge, watching her grandfather worriedly, "Shame we can''t use a name to make them leave."


    Then an idea popped in Zilian''s head, Erica practically told him what to do. Completely crazy in every way, but it could work.


    "That''s it!" Zilian he remarked excitedly, "You''re a genius Erica. We''ll use a name."


    "How?" Her brows tightened further emphasizing her question.


    "You''ll see soon enough. I¡¯ll be right back. Wait here." He slid down despite he hush objection.


    Sliding further down to the back of the house, he edges over where there is a pile of hay. He checks to make sure nobody is around, since he has to get in motion as soon as he goes down. He topples from the side of the house into the hay and rolls out swiftly, keeping himself low as he moves quickly around the edge and into to the barn.


    When he slips inside the barn, he hears some shuffling among the boxes in the back. He ducks behind a box near the door a moment before he sees the soldier''s helmet. He crawls alongside the walls of the of the barn, sneaking to the ladder towards the rear of the building. When he reaches reached the ladder, he took a quick peek to see if the soldier was in a line of sight. He saw his helmet poking behind several boxes, good he won''t see me.


    Zilian climbs swiftly up the ladder, before the soldier got out from the maze of boxes, allowing him to get to the top without being seeing. We wedges around to where the soldier was - he is preoccupied opening boxes. Zilian grabs a heavy bag filled with flour and looks over the edge of the platform, the soldier is right under his nose. Without hesitation, he dropped the bag over the soldier. It crashed with a muted thud, dumping the flour all around. The soldier groans and topples forward, fortunately not making noise on the way; the last thing he wants is to alert more soldiers.


    With the soldier out of the way, Zilian did not waste anytime going back around to the ladder. He jumps on the pile of boxes, using them like a staircase. He quickly goes to the tool box in the middle and digs through to grab a hammer, a box of matches and a small bottle with lamp oil. With everything he needs, he heads back to the entrance.


    When he comes back outside, he sees the soldiers getting more intense. They overturned the carts and literally ripping the house apart. He sneaks to where the soldiers carriage is at, keeping himself low. Now that he is next to it, he could tell it was an ammunition and armory cart - by the smell of explosive powder and the clumsy clang of metal falling, someone was still inside. He grinned in satisfaction, this would work better then what Zilian originally thought. Stealthily going back to the barn while the rest of the soldiers were still busy, he made his way back to the carriage with a couple sacks of wheat.


    Time for the next phase. He thought to himself.


    Zilian knocks on the door of the carriage, getting the soldier¡¯s attention, "Yes, Captain!" The soldier saw there was no one standing in the entrance, "Kailo. That you?" Zilian did not even make a peep, "I swear, if you''re gonna spook me, I''ll gut you."


    He remained calm as the footsteps of the soldier draw nearer to the door, the instant he saw his foot he swings his hand as hard as he can into soldiers face. Catching the soldier by surprise, his punch knocks the soldier unconscious. Zilian felt proud of himself being able to go this far without being caught, then he felt a throbbing pain with his hand.


    "Ow. Ow. Ow." Zilian wrapped his shirt around his hand, "No more punching guys faces. Hurts a lot. Focus, next part of the plan." He shook his hand to relieve the pain.


    He dragged the soldier outside, then brought in the two bags of flour he has next to the carriage. He grabbed a couple of dusha daggers, both normal and explosive. He hooked the daggers on his strap belt, pulled out his hammer, and smashed open all the tops to the barrels of explosive powder to pour the powder all over.


    After he finished dumping the the powder from every barrel open, he walked out, pouring a trail of his lamp oil. He then lit a match and set the oil on fire a safe distance away from the carriage. It trailed to the carriage with all the explosives set in the open.


    The soldier that Zilian knocked out inside the barn came out just as the fire disappeared into the carriage. He saw Zilian just beyond his fellow soldier sprawled unconscious. He charged Zilian while sounding a vocal alarm, but his run was cut short - knocked down by the deafening explosion when he was a foot away. Zilian himself covered his ears to mute the blast, but it still rang in his head, his hands only able to mute the sound by a bit.


    The smoke from the carriage blanketed a large area, forming a light smokescreen around them. Zilian pulls his collar up blotting out the smoke in the air, then ran to where he heard Farame coughing. He sneaks around past Farame and up to where the Captain. Again he used his honed stealing skills and snatched his blade from the sheath, then ran back to take position in front of the house.


    Let''s see if this show is convincing enough. He hoped for the best, and a bit of luck.


    A gust blows the smokescreen further downwind clearing the area, he can now see all the soldiers are outside was outside with the except for one. All the soldiers were dumbfounded, and surprise was printed on their faces; all except for the Captain who simply grinned in satisfaction - he was saved the effort of needing to recapture the blade, and from nothing more than a young boy at that.


    "What you think you doing boy? Snatching toys from older men like us?" Pointing at the sword now in Zilian''s hand.


    "I don''t like it when you play with my toys." He did not flinch under the Captain¡¯s gaze, he took the stance he remembered reading - blade bent down with hilt over shoulders and legs spread out.


    The man was amused, he cackled, "Do you know what you are saying? That sword was stolen by a fugitive. Are you saying you are his accomplice?"


    "Yes, yes I am."


    As a shadow looms from behind him he reacts almost instinctively, turning around and parrying the sword that almost slashed at his back. He pulls off one of his daggers from his belt and crosses it between the parried sword, he pulls on the knotted swords and tosses the soldier around the front of the house. To further make his statement he then tossed his dusha at the man aiming for his leg, but instead it flies right by his head, barely missing his neck.


    Facing the Captain again, he holds the sword with two hands, "I want you to leave now." Zilian ordered them.


    Captain stares back his eyes burn through him, considering what he should do. The few heartbeats are tense, "How about this, a bargain. You tell me your name, then I will decide if I would to go."


    Jackpot. That is exactly what Zilian wanted to hear, "The name is Zilian Ainn, now go." He said seriously.


    The Captain grinned menacingly, he could tell there was something between Mountain soldiers and their grins, "Very well then. Keep your teeth sharpened, we will be back and when that time comes, you will be dead and that blade will be ours."


    He ordered his men to retreat, taking the few horses they had, a couple shared horses since the carriage was no more then splinters. As quickly as they had come, they all left. Zilian waited another minute to make sure they did not come back to spy on them, only checking on Farame after he was sure they were gone. He dug his sword into the ground, freeing his hands to turn Farame¡¯s body around. For a moment he was worried he had died until he heard cackling.


    "Can''t say if ya smart, or ya stupid. Maybe ya a bit of both."


    He sighed from relief to know Farame is fine, he gave him a hand up. They both looked around, in just a little bit of time the soldiers destroyed just about everything they had. Their carts that were packed up were overturned and their contents tossed about. Even though their house was in disarray, he could see from the frown Farame gave meant something else.


    Farame asserted, "I believe what I know is real now. I have to go, ya have to go another direction without me."


    "What do you mean?" Zilian was baffled, he at first wanted to all go together and now he is saying they should go separate ways. At that same moment Erica came running out of the house into her grandfather''s arm.


    "Ferry, why you scare me like that?" Erica said.


    "Oh Erica, you and your mother so much a like. Worry too much." He stroked her hair back,"Erica, you gonna have to leave me."


    "What?" Erica was also caught off-guard. She pulled back from Farame, the displeasure from her frown demanded an explanation.


    "Them soldiers, them came for what I know, not for what I did. They don''t know what I did, they just coming with excuses. Because of that, I have to go making my trip that more dangerous. To keep ya safe, I want ya to go to Mauris and tell him to take ya to Kenplar estate."


    "No Ferry, you can''t leave me." Tears welled up in her clear blue eyes, she is almost broken-hearten to part ways with her loved grandfather.


    "Don''t worry Erica, you remember the Kenplar''s. Them are nice folk."


    Erica at this point was now sniffing. Farame seemed beat, it was just as painful for him too, "How bout this, we meet at Greyus City, at the Melamel Motel. From then in two weeks, we''ll meet together and leave for Kenplar, together. Sound good to ya?"


    Erica brightened up, "As long if you promise you come back." She hugged him again.


    "Of course, I wouldn''t promise anything less."


    Zilian turned away, remembering how he and Shavo were separated and left on bad terms. Would dad had done the same for me? He wondered. Looking back at Farame and Erica, he hoped that they would not lose what Zilian regretted of not having. He did not wish the same to happen to them, in part because he felt Farame gave him what he had then forsaken and lost.

 Chapter Nine - Final Farewells

    The wind buffeted his face, the curls undone as the wind whipped against him. The sun was already starting to go down, casting long shadows through the forest. They wanted to reach their destination and move on to the next as soon as possible.


    "What is it that Ferry knows!" Erica called out.


    They were galloping on horse, the wind practically silencing their voices.


    "What?!" Zilian replied.


    "I said what do you think Ferry knows?!" She repeated.


    "I don''t know, but obviously something big." That is all he could conclude, it transpired all too fast.


    "I hope he will be safe." She muttered, more for her own self assurance.


    "Of course he will, he promised all will be fine." He assured her.


    He still remember how the elderly man swung his legs on the horse and rode the opposite direction, his final orders were to fetch Mauris then meet up at Greyus. A tangy scent hung heavy in the, he almost knocked both him and Erica off as he did a sudden stop. As he sniffed the air, ¡°strange, smells like¡­¡±


    "That''s smoke!" Erica finished his sentence.


    Fear welled up in him. No, it can''t be happening here too.


    He sprung the horse forward through the brush, ferns and pines. Ignoring the stings that prickled when he crashed through them, then they burst into the edge of the city - Forest Mist. The entire set was set ablaze from the tallest buildings down to the small ones, explosions masked faint indiscernible cries from within the city.


    "No." Erica whispered despairingly.


    Erica''s fears echoed in Zilian¡¯s mind too, but he was not going to give up yet after going this far. He kicked his horse, racing to where Mauris shop was at in the city. He would be quick and see if Mauris was there.


    They passed bodies sprawled everywhere on the streets and entrances to the buildings, but no life seemed to be evident in the immediate area. He wondered if the citizens of the city surrendered, then the victors decided to raze the city. The place seemed to be no more than a ghost city


    "Halt!"


    Zilian halted the horse, and turned to see a Mountain soldier. Of course it was the Mountain! He thought.


    "You are to be escorted into Mountain protection."


    "As if!" Zilian yelled at him. Then more appeared to surround him, two stood in front and two behind. Nowhere he could go, and unable engage them either.


    "If you do not comply," the soldier unsheathed his sword, "You are then to be taken into Mountain custody."


    "I like to see you try." He eyed them defiantly, and will not allow them to bully him.


    Zilian tenses as the soldiers were about to engage him in battle, until suddenly a robed figure came from an alley. He stabs the soldier in front of Zilian in the back, killing him. The soldier next to his fallen ally turned to retaliate on the person who ambushed them, The robed figure blocking his attack. Zilian did not wait to see how this will end. He clicks his tongue in the horse''s ear, the beast reacting by rearing up and kick with its hind legs. The two soldiers behind the horse were kicked with a heavy blow, tossing them high and far in the air.


    He then turns to see what action lays in front, but all he sees is the second soldier already fallen to the blade. The robed figure¡¯s head was covered, the sword in his hands covered in blood. For a moment he was afraid he will will meet the same fate as the soldiers, he does not if he was an ally or a foe. Then he recognized who is behind the hood.


    "Charlee?"


    Charlee pulled back the hood, revealing his face from the cloak, "Zilian?"


    Then Erica cried out, "Charlee!"


    Charlee turned to Erica, he had a look of mixed expressions from surprise, shock and joy, "Erica? What are you two doing here?"


    Zilian answered him, "Looking for Mauris, what you doing here?"


    "I am here as a decoy, holding the troops back while the city finishes evacuating."


    "How many citizens left?" He inquired curiously.


    "Hopefully no one else is left, should be just me and big bro." Charlee alleged.


    "So that means Mauris got out." He let out a relieved sigh.


    A grim frown crossed his face, "Best if you follow me."


    Charlee ran ahead leading the way, while Zilian followed him on the horse. He recognized this as the path that lead to Mauris shop, and shortly after they arrived at their destination. At the same time, they heard the clanging of armor of troops not too far away.


    "Hurry!" Charlee urged them into the shop.


    Erica and Zilian leaped from the horse and strode into the shop, while Zillian pulls the horse inside. Charlee then closes the door as soldiers came around a corner in a group of nine, with one soldier taking the lead. When they had moved a safe distance away, Zilian immediately got to the point.


    "Where''s Mauris?"


    A sound popped from the back, "Yo little bro. That you?" A head peeked from behind a stall.


    "Yeah big bro." Replied Charlee.


    "I see you brought friends, why they didn''t leave yet?" His big brother implored surprisingly.


    "This is Zilian and Erica, remember? Just bad timing, but I guess it is also good timing. Came to find Mauris, he still holding on?"


    "Holding on? What you mean?" Erica cried out, she widened her eyes in worry.


    Charlee''s older brother spoke, "Big man is a fighter, but even fighters find a match they can''t win sometimes. He''s here in the back." He led the way to a backroom.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    They both followed him to the back, passing a pile of Mountain soldiers bodies laying neatly in the back; they were busy. They pulled apart the curtains to the back, revealing the body of Mauris. He was wheezing and heaving in painful groans, barely holding on to life. The man was almost unrecognizable, and his clothes were drenched in blood as he bled from cuts that riddled his body. Zilian¡¯s legs felt like noodles as he wobbled against a beam for support.


    "Uncle!" Erica tossed herself on him, grasping him in her arms.


    "Eri, that you?" Mauris rasped.


    "Yes uncle, it is me." She wept as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her uncle grunted from the pain of being moved. However, he smiled as he recognized his niece.


    "I would ask what you¡¯re doing here..." Mauris coughed, "But I am too happy to see you one last time."


    "Don''t say that!" Erica started to cry, "You''ll be fine, we''ll get you bandaged and..."


    Mauris cut her off, "Eri, stop. Right now, I can feel my strength ebbing." His coughing emphasized how close to death he is.


    Erica let him go, sat back and wiped her tears on her shoulder. She grabbed his hand, Mauris clenching his hand in return. He could see the determination on her face that she was not going to give him up, that he could still fight off death.


    "I want you to tell Ferry, I am sorry. And Eri... I want you, to know... we both, love..." His let out a final breath


    Mauris hand went limp in Erica''s hands.


    "No. No. NO! Mauris!" She held him in her arms again, pleading for him to come back. She wept in despair.


    Zilian shed a tear, but he briskly wipes the tear off and leaves the room. He stepped in front of Charlee, "What happened?" He demanded.


    He explained, "Me and big bro were holding defense at one of the secret emergency tunnels, as the citizens escaped. Mauris was to blow up the hole from the distance so that the Mountain couldn''t follow them in. He got ambushed shortly after detonating the explosives and we rushed to help, but we were quickly out numbered five to one."


    "You fought fifteen on your own?" Anger welled up inside.


    Charlee answered innocently, "Yeah, me and big bro are expert swordsmen, Mauris used the big hammer. We were lucky to get out alive. Well, me and big bro at least..." He peeked back into the back room.


    "Man''s strong," Charlee''s big brother came, "Seems like he held on just to see Erica one last time."


    "Zacke, time for us to go. We can''t hold on here forever, they''re razing the City to the ground." Charlee insisted.


    Zacke conceded, "Yeah, we got to go. Saddle up, we are bringing minimal food and water supplies. We''ll take the money and head for the next closest City." Zacke ordered. He then looked at Zilian.


    Zilian knew what he had to do, he went back to the back room and as much as he hated to say it, he knew it had to be done, "Erica, we have to go." He gently urged her.


    Erica sighed. She caressed her uncle¡¯s hand, stroking it as if she could just rouse him from a sleep. Before he urged her again, she kissed her uncle on the forehead with her final farewell, "Good bye uncle." She whispered.


    They went back into the main room where Charlee and Zacke were packing a couple of bags with canteens, canned food, fire starters and lamp oil.


    "What are we doing?" Zilian asked.


    "Packing your sacks with enough provisions for a week. We have ours already." Charlee replied.


    "Anything I can help with?" Zilian asked.


    "Nope, all done." Zacke replied, tossing the two bags in front of Zilian¡¯s feet.


    "And you''ll be needing this." Zilian caught a small bag that Charlee tossed him, he took a look inside and found it filled with money.


    "Why you giving me this?" He asked.


    "That''s half of Mauris savings, by rights it belongs Erica.¡±


    ¡°If that is so, shouldn¡¯t it all be Erica¡¯s¡± He insisted.


    ¡°Let''s be a little fair here, we are being ambushed and I don''t have any savings now, so I''ll need some too. Consider it as escort fee." Charlee returned.


    "Fair enough." Zilian grins, they needed to lighten the mood, "So what''s the plan?"


    "Well, I was thinking going out from the direction you guys came in from, since you seemed to have met little trouble from that way, that should be our best bet."


    "Wouldn''t it be faster to leave through the East?"


    "Yes, but that''s where they''re strongest at. That leaves your entry point the next closest."


    "You sure nobody left in the city?" Zilian implored.


    "Pretty sure, we scouted three times to be safe."


    "Ok, when we''re leaving?"


    Zacke answered, slapped his sack on his back and buckled his sword in place.


    "Right now."


    ~---~


    Zilian rode on the horse with Erica hanging on tight around his waist, he glances briefly at his sides where both Zacke and Charlee flanked him. They did not have their own means of transportation, but are surprisingly fast and kept step by step alongside him. He could see where the road led to a cross-section, all they need to do was reach the end and turn right to be out of the city.


    "Watch out!"


    Zilian pulls on the reins forcing the horse to rear up, an arrow flew straight for his chest. Because of his quick maneuver, it pierced through the horse''s chest. He fell off as the horse tumbled over, whining in pain. As Zilian rolls back onto his feet, he heard a warning cry.


    "Ambush!" Charlee hollered.


    Zilian grabs Erica by the arm and pulls her into a small enclosed stand, he barely reacts on time as a barrage of arrows streamed from behind them leaving a trail of arrows in their wake. He sees Charlee and Zacke made it safely, on the opposite side of the road. He noticed Charlee pulls an arrow off of his back but besides that, they seemed to be unharmed. Charlee conversed with his brother, and Zacke shook his head. The Big Bro poked his head around the beam, just enough to see so as to not to get hit by a stray arrow. He threw himself back quickly after momentarily peeking and said something to Charlee, Zilian could not hear what it was with all of the crashing of arrows. The arrows clattered and bashed as if it were a thunderstorm pouring on a tin roof.


    Zilian tried to think of a way out of this predicament, he can not fight them with a rain of projectiles and staying here will mean a certain defeat. He checks back to see Charlee and Zacke, he saw they are shuffling among things in the shop they had taken shelter in. They both grabbed a side of a long table and out in the opening shielding themselves from the barrage of arrows, regrouping with Erica and Zilian.


    "Here''s the situation." Zacke explained, "We''re outnumbered, twenty of them against the four of us and they''re closing in slowly. Soon they''re gonna corner us and finish us off."


    "What we going to do?" Zilian asked.


    Charlee answered, "We have two choices. Make a stand here, or Zacke and I hold them off as you guys get away."


    Zilian didn''t like the latter, "Of course we''ll make a stand here. We not gonna leave you."


    Erica also spoke up, "Yes, best if we all stay together."


    Zacke and Charlee exchanged glances.


    Charlee sighed, "Me and Zacke are not asking you. We are gonna die if we stick together, while we can take care of them ourselves if we did not have to worry for you safety."


    Erica bursts in tears, "No! Not you too! Come with us."


    Zacke looked around the corner, "Little bro."


    Charlee ignored him, instead he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a necklace. Zilian recognized it as the one from the Festival except now it didn''t only have a locket, it also has a heart-shaped ring. He handed it over to Erica, she is now bewildered as she held it in her palms.


    "I will come back to see you wear that. I promise." Charlee said.


    Erica seemed to be stunned.


    "Now promise me, you won''t forget I promised." Charlee said.


    Erica did not even move a muscle.


    "Charlee, it''s time." Zacke called.


    "Erica please." Charlee pleaded.


    Erica still a little dazed regained herself, holding the locket close to her, "I promise."


    "Good." Charlee stood up and released his sword from its sheath.


    Zacke spoke now, "Run for the closest city, it has joint protection from both the Volcanic and Swamp. Heavily fortified, so you''ll be safe there. Make a run on my mark."


    "Will do." Zilian replied.


    As they crossed to the edge to prepare themselves. Charlee held Zilian by the shoulder, "Listen, I also want you to promise me something."


    "What is that?"


    "That you will protect Erica, even if it means your life."


    Zilian took a glance at her and back at Charlee, "I promise."


    "Right, now I know you''re a good kid."


    He slid his hands off of Zilians shoulder as Zacke gave the word, Zacke tossed the table up high so that it gives cover fire for Zilian and Erica as they ran off. Zilian held Erica''s hand to keep in pace as they fled, the dirt and grind mixed with the blood from Mauris.


    Zilian took a final glance behind them as the turn around the corner, Zacke and Charlee fought valiantly and selflessly as they held their blades upright and true. Blocking the oncoming barrage and taking down the Mountain soldiers, until they disappeared behind a wall of debris - his spine went cold and shivered. A huge explosion blew up right next to them, his throat swelled from this last image. He has seen Charlee for the last time.

 Chapter Ten - The Emperor

    Echoes of steel scraped steel and grunts reverberated in the large chamber. Two men who were both about the same height and considered tall for an average man sparred with each other solidly, the sweat rolling off their very muscular bodies and forming small puddles on the floor. They both fought fiercely even though they only sparred, and now they paused with a silent but determined glares.


    One of the men wore a red sleeveless doublet, lightened up with golden decor and long black pants bearing similar golden decor. He signaled to his sparring partner, a man wearing an aquatic single sleeved shirt which covered his right arm and long beige pants.


    "That will be enough for now." The man dressed in red announced.


    "Very well, My Lord." The second man replied bowing his head, accepting defeat graciously.


    They both went to opposite sides of the room, rinsing themselves and put on their outer attire. A couple of boys came in to slide the Lord¡¯s long robe on after he put on a black shirt, the robe clinging off his back and almost touching the ground. When he fitted his robe on with an assuring pull from the collar, he gave a final command to the second man who was leaving, having already dressed. He only removed his shirt and put on another that was the same as before, only now he wore a leather harness that held a blade almost as wide and long as he himself.


    "Kain. I wish to have a meeting this evening with the other Generals, so as to oversee the results of the project and campaign." He ordered.


    Kain¡¯s voice was cold as ice in his reply, "Just as you wish, My Lord." The young boys followed closely behind the man as he left the room first.


    As soon he stepped out, a young girl walked into the room. He never learned her true age, but from what he gathered he guessed she could not be older then nineteen. She stepped in front of the Lord and knelt, "You have summoned me, Emperor Malie?"


    The emperor took his time as he washed his face in a clay bowl, after which he dried his hands and face on a rag. "Yes, I was hoping you would bring me compelling results from Kailogos."


    "I bring results, but not ones you favor. I have met the son of Sotor, the Earth Blade user." She kept her head bowed in respect, he knew she did not deem herself worthy even of being in his presence. The only person she truly feared.


    "You have the sword?" Malie inquired hopefully.


    "I have failed to retrieve the sword. It was a replica, probably meant to mislead. I have identified it to be phony, but he has died with the truth." He could hear her hand grate on the ground, she was very frustrated for being tricked so easily. So was Malie, he did not expect her to fail so miserably.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Malie spoke calmly, he has learned from the best warriors that being levelheaded always yielded far better results then even the slightest hint of anger, "Hmm... That is disturbing news. He would never has told us, he is son of Sotor after all. Have you at least been able to pick up a trail?"


    "That also became a failure, seems as if they expected us by at least a couple of days. I suspect the new guardian had already left by then, so any trail would have been thin. I have evidence though, to believe the new guardian is the grandson of Sotor. A guardianship of heritage, as it seems."


    "Agh!" The Emperor knocked down a couple of candles lit on a table, letting out his obvious irritation. Then he composed himself, he would not let this trifle become a thorn in his skin. "You disappoint me Kathryn. You, the Mountain¡¯s Empire General Assassin, leading our ambushes and assuring our frontlines, neutralizing our enemies and bringing justice to those who wreak havoc in the Empire. And yet you could not pick up a small sword, or it''s fresh trail?" He finished with a demeaning tone.


    Kathryn replied sullenly, "I apologize for my failure."


    He knew she had failed and that that was enough of punishment to her. She would never break even if tortured, she was after all his best assassin. He paced in front of her, deciding what to do next.


    "Well, luckily for you,¡± He remarked, ¡°I have news of another Blade. Not long ago, I have received an update from one of our recon units, they have come across the son of Shavo Ainn. They surrendered in order to come back and report its recent discovery."


    "That is excellent, we need that sword for the cause of the Empire." She added.


    "Precisely, which is why I am sending you. This time though, the enemy doesn''t need to be neutralized. I want him alive." He gestured his finger at her.


    Kathryn lifted her head in surprise, "Alive?"


    "Yes, it is a hard and long quest to train anyone to master the blade. Not all have the feel for the swords. We will persuade him to our cause, he will see our way is the only way."


    "As you wish Lord Malie." Kathryn bowed submissively, "Do I have a description of my target?"


    Malie answered, "Yes, a young boy with curled, sandy hair. Unfortunately, that unit only had a glimpse, so that is as good you will get. I trust your instinct, you have not failed me but recently. One of our tracking units have returned to pick up a trail, they have found fresh tracks heading straight towards the Swamp Empire''s Capital. I suspect that to be him. cCatch him before he makes it."


    "I will do just as you said, My Lord." Kathryn replied.


    "Good," He pulled out a couple of scrolls from a pocket in his robe and handed it to her, "These are copies of the full report from the encounters of the recon and tracking teams."


    Kathryn grabbed them from Malie and did not turn to leave until he waved his flatly, officially dismissing her to go on ahead. Before she stepped outside through the narrow stairs however, Malie called out for one last time.


    "Kathryn."


    She stopped and answered, "Yes my Lord?"


    He eyed the double-sided polearm, it hung from a clip harness on her back, "Do not disappoint me again."


    She simply nodded. She never failed before and her Emperor did not take failures lightly, especially when he entrusted a mission personally himself, "Of course, My Lord.¡±

 Chapter Eleven - Hot Pursuit

    Sound of crackling wood burning glowed in a clearing, a boy sat nearby poking the fire with a stick. Accompanying him was another youth hunched on the other side of the fire, her arms wrapped around her bunched up legs. There was nothing to talk about nor a joke to lighten the mood, so instead they just stared blankly into the fire. After the boy pulled out the canteen of water from his sack and taking a sip, he thought it was time he broke this tense silence.


    "We should be in Kartick tomorrow, early in the morning." He commented.


    The only response Erica gave was a slight nod, "You ok Erica?" Zilian asked.


    Erica eyes welled up in tears, "No. Ferry, uncle and Charlee. All gone in one day."


    He wanted to comfort her, "I know how you..."


    Erica cut him off, "No! You do not know how I feel. Do you know how it feels like to lose the only bit of family you have? To lose your home, and friends? All in the same day?!"


    He glanced back at the fire, a feeling of longing grew in his heart. It felt like an insatiable void, every attempt to fill it up was in vain. He learned he could not fill it up, but rather just accept it will be there forever. He answered her accusation, "Yes I do."


    He could feel her gaze burning on him, she never learned of what had happened to him and he preferred it to be that way. Seeing that she was not going to get anything else out of him, Erica pulled a blanket from her sack and positioned her sack as a cushion.


    "I am going to sleep now. Wake me up if you get up first." She requested.


    She covered herself with the blanket and laid her head on the sack, giving a sleepy yawn as she tucked herself in. Zilian did not feel like going to sleep, and instead continued to poke the fire until the tip caught on fire, Zilian sighed and tossed the stick into the fire. Erica was already sound asleep, with the steady breathing as her chest rose up and down.


    I guess I should get tucked in as well. Zilian thought.


    He pulled a blanket from his sack and also used his sack as a cushion. It was quite uncomfortable to sleep on a sack, but it did not seem to matter after a day as tiresome as this one.


    He knew he was having nightmare, but could not wake himself up. The destruction he experienced back in Forest Mist was being relived in detail, and he could smell the tangy smoke that stung his eyes as the buildings being razed. The onslaught of the Mountain that brought about a flood of the dead carcasses littering the streets, he could only imagine the fear and confusion the people of that city experienced. He then dreamed how Mauris, Charlee and Zacke had fought valiantly to save everyone in the city, sacrificing themselves for the benefit of everyone else. His dream then floated off to another place. He could hear an endless movement... was it a river?


    Oh no! His voice echoed.


    Zilian shot straight up, fully awakened now. Nature was calling him because of all the water he drank and had not let out for a long time. He staggers out into the woods with his legs crossed and clenching his groin, now a solitary distance away so that he would not be seen by Erica if she wakes up. As he was about to pull down his pants to release his bladders, he was stopped by some rustling in the ferns not too far away. Zilian instinctively climbs up the tree, pulling himself up the closest branch. Where he was moments before, he hears a sharp muted whistle that ended with triple thuds against the bark. He peers at where he was, there are three dusha knives ingrained on the tree.


    He gulped as he saw a soldier appears out from the ferns to check where Zilian was, to see if they got him successfully. When the soldier sees he was not there, he gives a hushed whistle to his comrade not too far off.


    Zilian, not waiting to lose his chance, grabs on to the branch and swings right into the soldier under him. The soldier crashes to the ground from the impact of his kick, suddenly a loud rustle in the overgrowth closed in on him. He sees the glimmer of a helmet reflecting one of the streams of moonlight, a soldier attempting to flee. Zilian chases the soldier, unwilling to let him escape. He tore through spiderwebs and ferns, and eventually caught up with the soldier. However he was too late, the soldier rode away on a horse and took off, straight to where Zilian and Erica came from - Forest Mist. He figured they probably have had camp of soldiers not too far off, which meant both he and Erica have to get moving now. He could not outrun mounted soldiers, so they need to leave and hide right away.


    He turned back, making a beeline to camp. There, he found some hope. A second horse from to the soldier Zilian knocked out, it was barely visible with its head lowered next to a large boulder. Not wasting a moment, he jumped right on the horse¡¯s back. The horse reared up in surprise, hollering in fear of its new rider.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Zilian whispered in its ear and stroking its neck to soothe the beast, "Good boy, that''s it. It''s ok, I''ll take care of you."


    Trusting its new master, the horse calmed down. The creature sprinted through the wood with a slap to a kick, in just a minute they arrived at the camp. Zilian jumped off the horse and called out to Erica, who is groggily waking up from the sound of the horse.


    "Erica, we have to get moving now!" Zilian urged.


    "Wha-? Where you get that horse?" Erica asked, her eyes flickering as they adjusted to her surroundings.


    He did not have time to explain what had transpired, so he packed all the sacks up, kicked dirt on the fire and picked up Erica, who fought back. "What''s going on? Stop pushing me." She demanded.


    Then came sounds from the distance, he could hear many horses racing through the forest. They ran out of time, and now Erica understood what is was happening. Zilian jumped on the horse and gave Erica a hand up. He kicked the horse on its sides, and the horse reared up with a whining neigh. It then rode straight ahead in the same instant when the Mountain appeared on their horses, exploding from the dense forest wall.


    With their pursuers only a couple of meters right behind them, Zilian hoped this horse was at least as good as the other horses. He would have the advantage if he could keep himself ahead, as the other party could only stop them by either throwing him off or bringing the horse down. An unexpected sharp whistle caught him by surprise as it blew past Zilian''s ear, an arrow striking a tree not too far ahead of him.


    Great, didn''t count on them having arrows. How are they shooting at this speed though? He thought to himself.


    As he took a quick glimpse back and past Erica¡¯s shoulder, he finds that they are using automated arrow launchers. Erica held him on tight as they bounced on the horse.


    ¡°This night just gets better and better!¡± Zilian exclaimed exasperatedly.


    He skimmed the horse slightly to the right, just as another arrow shot. Then, dodging another arrow as he swerves to the left, some action. He did not know for how long his luck would hold out. He ran past a low and long branch, which he grabbed onto and in that brief second where it was pulled out, he let go. The branch whipped back, smacking two pursuers off of their horses. Hoping it would keep them down for a bit and silently wishing it left a sting to remember him by, he turned his attention to the rest of their pursuers who were still chasing. He managed to get more distance between them with that maneuver, but they are gaining that distance back again.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Zilian realized a mistake he has made, he should have headed straight to Kartick for protection right away. He was not thinking about what was best at the time, he just reacted in a panic. He lost all sense of direction without the slightest clue as to where they should head now. His horse would run until it was too tired and the Mountain would overrun them bringing a short lived chase.


    Erica cried out in alarm, "Duck!"


    Zilian did not see it because he was too preoccupied of their predicament; he rode right into a low branch and got knocked off the horse bringing down Erica with him him as well. They fell upon their backs on the hard ground, Zilian groaning as sharp pain coursed up his spine. He saw the horse just keep on running straight ahead, not noticing its fallen riders.


    ¡°Stupid horse.¡± Zilian mumbled.


    They were stunned for a moment, as if fate wanted to affirm his fear, the sound of horses skidding halt came from behind him. He stood up to defend Erica right behind him, the Mountain soldier on the horse is ready to take on his next victim with his sword unsheathed. The horse jolted straight for them, the soldier showing no sign of hesitation. This is apparently his final outcome. Zilian would keep his promise to Charlee and Farame, he would protect Erica even if it cost him his life.


    Even if it means comes at the cost of my life. He repeated to himself.


    Fifty meters, forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters, five meters. As the soldier came upon him, something burst out from the woods. Another man struck his long polearm onto the soldier, knocking the rider off his horse. The Mountain soldier''s blade fell with a metallic clink on the ground, not even a foot away from Zilian.


    Looking up at the new company, he saw the newcomer is wearing armor different from the ones the Mountain wore. This soldier wore a green, smudgy tinted shoulder and chest armor. He did not wear arm braces or helm, rather just a brown turban that provided camouflage within the forest. The overthrown soldier kicked up furiously, and was angrily reproaching the surprising company.


    "Who do you think you are? To interfere..." In recognition, the soldier realized who this person was.


    The rest of the Mountain soldiers regrouped with their fallen brother, and in that same instant appeared more unknown people similarly dressed as the first newcomer. Friend or foe? Zilian thought, Please let it be friend.


    The man who interfered rebuked, "The question is, who do you think you are? You are trespassing into Kartick territory."


    The soldier looked between the two groups, they were evenly matched. He stood there for a moment, in a clear indecisive consideration. Zilian knew what his dilemma was, he did not want to confront a battle that he may or may not win just for a couple of children.


    "We have chased them from the Forest Mist vicinity. Since they made it here, I will let them go. If I catch them outside of city territory, I will show no mercy." The soldier declares, hopping back on his horse to flee.


    The man with the polearm retorted, "Then get out of territory before I get backup. Also as a warning, we will be doubling our patrols, in case you have any unexpected ''interests'' in Kartick. Now go!" He ordered.


    The Mountain soldier sneered at him, then took off with the rest of his troops. The man who saved them turned to Zilian and Erica. "Are you two injured?" He asked.


    Erica nods, "No, now we are fine." She relaxed, her shoulders and head drop in relief.


    Zilian shook his head, "No, I am not."


    "Why is that?" The man rose a brow in surprise and crossed his arms.


    "Is there a bathroom, I need to go badly!"


    All the men present chuckled, clasping each others armor.

 Chapter Twelve - Refuge

    Rays of sunlight cast an aura over and past the plains, the party was greeted with hills and vast fields of crops overlaying the landscape. A smile grew on Zilian¡¯s face from relief, both because of their escape of the Mountain and answering Nature¡¯s call behind a bush. Now they relax that they made it to neutral grounds, the latter of their trip should be no more then a stroll in a park from there on out.


    "You meant every word of it." Erica said cryptically beside him.


    He eyed Erica quizzically. "What?" Zilian asked.


    She rubbed her shoulders under a blanket she wrapped herself in, the early morning air was really cool at this time. "You said we''ll make it to Kartick early in the morning, didn''t think it would have been this early." Erica teased.


    "Yeah well, not soon enough." He replied.


    The duo followed their escort on a dirt path leading straight to the city, he could see the large walls and sentry towers surrounding the city in the horizon. All that popped in his mind is how different it was from everywhere else he had been, the walls, the fields, even the name was indigenous. His shoulders dropped in longing, all of it was foreign to him.


    Fields growing all sorts of crop surrounded all sides of the vast city, they strolled past fields of wheat and corobs. He saw many men harvest ripe crops and plowing over dirt, little time passed when they reached the massive gate doors that stretched twenty meters high.


    The man who led the party saluted the gate guard holding two fingers up his brow, the guard responded with a nod and turned to open the gate. They were greeted with load creaking wood and grating steel hinges, and once inside he was shocked at what was housed behind the walls. An ocean of people sprawled around makeshift tents and buildings, men, women and children hacking, coughing and writhing in pain around them.


    His throat swelled in disgust as he saw all the blood soaked bandage wrapped around most of the people, "What happened?" He directed the question to the leader of their escort.


    His answer was eerily calm, "We took them in. Citizens of Forest Mist came requesting for our aid, so we provided refuge by opening our doors for them."


    His escort signaled Zilian and Erica to follow as he continued walking deeper into the city, while the remainder soldiers went their separate ways. Zilian guessed he and Erica were being led to their own corner in the city, outside somewhere with the rest of the escapees from Misty Forest.


    Erica held Zilian''s arm as they walked past everyone, pain burning in her eyes. Seeing everyone out here who lost their families, homes and everything they had, growing up without knowing what it was like to be free from war. Erica took note of one family who were crying over their seriously injured father, his head was completely wrapped in bandage and his arms tied in a sling.


    Their escort stopped in front of a building that had sign hanging outside , the Mylven Hotel.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Zilian scratched the back of his ear, "What are we doing here?"


    The soldier grinned, ¡°This will be my way of saying thanks for the good laugh this morning. The Head Council of Kartick, have come to an agreement to move some of the folks into hotels. The organizing and processing will be in a couple of days, but I can get you special pass." Zilian did not get to object his offer as he walked way in. He approached to the counter, where a manager made herself comfortable.


    The manager was a young woman in her early twenties. Her long and black hair hung from the sides of her tilted head, laying on the desk as she read a book. She recognized who neared her as she looked up from her book. "Fale!" She ran out from behind the desk and threw herself to the man, he responding by grabbing and swirling her around.


    He greeted her with a particular sweetness in his voice as he let her down, "Hello Kayla."


    "I heard you encountered with the Mountain, I was worried you were hurt or something.¡± Her eyes showed genuine worry.


    "Nah, nothing we couldn''t handle. Truth be told, this boy here should have all the credit." He pointed to Zilian.


    "Huh? Me?" Zilian responded confusingly.


    Fale recounted what Zilian had done before they bumped into each other, and he told her everything. From how he why he woke up early morning that served as a premise of his success, to the horse pursuit through the forest and even the part where he relieved himself behind a bush - that last comment merited a giggly laugh from Kayla.


    "Taking on two squadrons, maybe three. Boy has guts and hint of brains." Fale finished with nudge on Zilian¡¯s side.


    Kayla predicted what he was going to say next, "Now you want to give them a nice place to stay? I guess I can give them that." She gave a reply before it even was requested. She knelt over and kissed both Zilian and Erica on the forehead.


    "My name is Kayla, what is yours?"


    He answered, "I''m Zilian."


    ¡°Erica.¡± She kissed her cheek.


    "Lovely names, here," She remarked, then stepped behind the desk to grab a couple of keys hanging on the wall, "We have a no boys with girls policy, unless you are married which you clearly are not. These two rooms are facing each other, so you''ll be close."


    She walked from the desk and lead Erica, Zilian, and Fale into a hallway, stopping at a door that had the number 137 on the door. She took her key and flicked the lock, opening the door. She turned around to the door across with number 138 and opened that door too.


    She turned to address them both. "Here''s a key for each, the rooms are exactly the same so it doesn''t matter which room you have. We have breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you are welcomed to help yourselves. Now I will leave you guys, so you two can get some rest."


    Rest. Now that is something he almost forgot what it was like to do, absolutely no action whatsoever. He and Erica both went to their separate rooms, he could see she was very tired as well from the black edges around her eyes. Fale and Kayla stood in front each other, Kayla, with her arms wrapped around Fale¡¯s neck and his around her waist. They both kissed each other affectionately.


    "I have to go dear, I have to file this morning¡¯s report. I will, however, be back soon." Fale asserted.


    "Ok, take care. I will save a room for us both when you make it back." Kayla winked at him cryptically. She unwound her arm and went back to the reception desk.


    Fale blushed when he saw that Zilian witnessed it all, "Wives; men would not be anything without them." He paused recomposing, "I''ll meet you tomorrow, lot of pending work for today."


    "Ok,¡± He paused too, ¡°And Fale, thank you.".


    He winked, "Anytime. Just take care."

 Chapter Thirteen - The Conditioned City

    An unwelcome knock tapped the door. Zilian groaned sleepily in bed and turned face up as he heard knocking on the door again. Stretching as he rolled off the bed, he walked to answer the door in his white undershirt and short pale-beige pants. He opened the door to see who it was and found a familiar slender man, with his pointy chin and straightened black hair. A polearm was hooked from his back, but the boy was not intimidated.


    The boy yawned. "Hey Fale, what are you doing up so early?" Zilian asked sleepily.


    "You are up late, it''s midmorning. Erica and me are waiting on you."


    Erica stood behind Fale, she had a fresh set clothes on and all the dirt and grime from yesterday was washed off. Just like himself, she had taken a bath first thing when they settled into their rooms.


    "Waiting for what?" He asked.


    "We are going to have breakfast. After that, I am taking a day off to take a stroll in the city."


    "I didn''t know."


    Fale eyed pointedly towards the ground, Zilian tracing his line of sight to see what he was looking at, a piece of paper under his foot. He stepped back and bent over to pick up the piece of paper, unfolding it to learn that it was a short message:


    <hr>


    I will be giving you a tour of the city tomorrow after having breakfast, be up early.


    ~Fale


    <hr>


    He did not see the message slid under his door yesterday because first thing he did when he got into his room, was take shower and then straight into bed, which is what he wished he was still doing now. However, he could not turn down an offer to view the city, it was not like he had anything better to do.


    "Sorry, I''ll get ready in just a minute." He shut the door and opened his closet, he could not help but find humor that he had a huge closet and only a small bag occupying it. He pulled open his bag and yanked out a short-sleeved blue shirt and knee-long black pants, quickly changing into his fresh clothes and throwing his old ones on the bed.


    Swinging open his door, "Hey guys, what took you so long?" He teased them.


    As he was about to close the door, Fale prevented it from closing as he slid his hand in. Zilian was about to complain, until he saw Fale grab the room key on the table next to the door and tossed the key to Zilian.


    "Don''t forget about your key, you''ll need it to get back in."


    Fale led them down the hallway, opposite from the entrance of the motel. They turned left at the end of the hallway, walking through a decorative door with pillars that had been painted so that it seemed vines and butterflies were growing on it. They entered a large chamber, at the far end of which there was a long table with large containers that held food in them and behind them chefs cooking the morning gourmet.


    "Today¡¯s special is scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausages." Fale announced.


    The tables in here were symmetrical small squares and the one they walked to was in the corner, where Kayla was already seated. Three other chairs on each side of the table remained vacant, with a clear reservation of who was to be seated there.


    Kayla was shuffling through some papers, momentarily lifting them to see Fale approaching and having the same reaction as yesterday. This time however Fale did not lift and spin her around, probably to keep from bumping into the tables. He let her go and pulled out the chair for Kayla to sit down, pushing the chair in as she, repeating the courteous gesture for Erica. As Zilian helped himself to the chair, he looked around and saw almost all the tables were taken, everyone enjoying their breakfast.


    "Should we get up to get food?" Zilian asked.


    No later did the words get out of his mouth than a neatly dressed man arrived with four plates, two in balanced in each arm. He quickly placed a plate in front of each of them as he went around the table, leaving just as spontaneously as he had come.


    "No." Kayla directed her attention to Zilian.


    "What?" He was confused.


    "No, we don''t have to go. This is the best motel in the city, we offer more then what others do. Perhaps even among the best on the continent." She rebuked him, it seemed as if he had offended her.


    Fale clapped his hands together and announced, "Enough chit-chat, lets eat." Zilian welcomed the interruption.


    Everyone at the table picked up their forks and dug in their platters of food, each filled with what was aforementioned - sausage, eggs and biscuits. The man came again, this time holding four cups of juice between his two hands, giving one to each person on the table. Zilian recognized it as marilla juice, from its pale-peachy and violet hue.


    Zilian picked at his sausage with his fork and eyes around at the others, they were all enjoying their meal. He never had a sausage before and it looked disgusting at first sight to him. With some hesitancy he took a couple tempting bites into the spicy and juicy meat. His eyes widened and his jaws dropped, never before had he tasted something even close as good as a sausage. Zilian devoured his plate taking big bites and short breathes, he finished his meal before everyone else. His friends were not even halfway through their plates.


    "You must be hungry." Kayla said.


    "Never had sausage before, it was good." He belched in satisfaction, some nearby guests eyed him in disgust. All he could do was grin awkwardly.


    "In that case, have some more." Kayla lifted a hand. The same man who served them came right away.


    "Yes, my friend would like some more." Kayla said.


    "Anything for the young man."


    "Thank you Meiph." Meiph left to get more servings.


    "You didn''t have to." Zilian said.


    "True, but I wanted to."


    Fale grabbed his attention after taking a bite, "Since you''re done, you probably have questions. Ask and I''ll answer between my bites."


    "Yeah, um... I am curious about how everything is going to be settled with the people from Forest Mist."


    "Mm!" Fale sallowed, "That is a good question, truth is the Council does not know what to do as of this moment. Forest Mist is a tricky situation, and although there are a number of reasons, one of the biggest is because of its neutral status. They would not come here if they hadn''t been chased down by those Mountain dogs!" Some bystanders looked up from their tables towards Fale¡¯s rising tone.


    Kayla calmed him down, "No need to get upset. Fortunately, the casualty was fairly low. Not to mention that it could have been much worse, the Council could have righteously turned a cold shoulder."


    "I know, I know. Just not used to how things are done with a council, it is different from the protocols, laws and honor of the Swamp. A people in need, no matter it''s origin, cannot be shrugged off. However you are right, it could have been worse." Turning back to Zilian, "To answer that question, I do not know. Right now, there is a lot of debate, what I like to call disaccord. For now, they will be accepted and given arrangements in the city province, but they will eventually have to go. There is simply not enough room for everyone."The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Meiph came back with another plate of food for Zilian, he forked at his food to eat. He asked him with a mouthful, "You said it was a tricky situation because of them being neutral, why?"


    "You are the insightful one. Well, this city is under the protection of the Swamp and Volcanic Empires."


    "I don''t understand."


    Fale took a couple of bites and sip of his drink quickly. "This city is what we call a Conditioned City. This city is in this prosperous, fertile land, which is what the Swamp and Volcanic empires seriously lack. The lands I am from, the Swamp have many minerals, herbs and rare plants used for ointments and healing. That is the Swamp¡¯s main source of economy, and for a long time they relied from the resource of vegetables and fruits from cities around here. In fact, for a long time, before I was born and before my father was born and before his father was born and..."


    "I think they get the point." Kayla interrupted pointedly.


    "Yeah, sorry." He cleared his throat, "Anyway, there were a lot of fighting for these territories back then. Everything here was constantly being ravaged and plundered, to the point that the two Empires suffered what they tried to avoid in the end. The citizens in both nations have suffered from starvation, children would go to sleep and not wake up again. Couples, parents and individuals alike suffered in this period. It was not just the hunger that they suffered from."


    Zilian had finished his second serving of food. "What was it?" He asked.


    Fale paused to take another bite, "It was the aftermath of the hunger. Families could not eat because the little food we had in the market had costed drastically more. Fathers sold their daughters in the streets, figuring whoever would buy them would be able to feed them. Families torn apart, going as far as killing each other just for a head of corob. It was a dark time for both Empires, however it also led to this alliance we have now."


    "What do you mean?"


    Zilian finished his last bite at the same time as Fale, "I''ll tell you later, we need to get a head start on the city tour."


    Zilian and Erica stood up as Fale did, Kayla sighed tiredly as she got up from her seat. They walked with them out of the chamber up to the Lobby, she stopped there and sat behind the desk.


    "You''re not coming with us?" Erica asked.


    "I would if I could, but I have to do an inventory check and room assignments. The Council will be assigning groups of people to rooms and on top of that, I have to write out the compensation price to the Council so they reimburse my rooms, so I have my work cut out for me. I''ll meet you guys later."


    Zilian turned to walk out of the room as Fale held the door open. "This way." Fale directed them the opposite direction from where they came from the day before.


    "They''ll be making a record and starting with the assignments by now, So we''ll want to stay out of their way." Fale walked down the wide street.


    This is his first time taking in a clear view of the city. Yesterday was just a blur to him, like a distant memory. After the pursuit from the mountain, he was simply too tired. Now much more attuned to his surroundings, he noticed Kartick¡¯s roads were made of bricks, different from the dirt roads of Forest Mist. This city was much, much bigger then Forest Mist, and the houses were correspondingly larger with larger plots of land around them. It had many more Inns then the Forest Mist - back in Forest Mist he had only seen five, but here there were five in just one block. Buildings stretched at least four flours tall, surpassing the tallest three floors back in Forest Mist. What Zilian now knew, and in more then one way, there was much he has yet to see in the world.


    Fale explained the city¡¯s structure, "All of our large streets lead to the center of the city. Most cities place the building in the center, but we have a different system." They arrived the center of the city. In the center of the city was one large park, with the building surrounding it as one large barrier.


    "Looks like a wall." Zilian commented.


    "Actually, that is the idea." Fale replied, he elaborated more, "The archives show that the original plan of this was to make a city surrounding this haven, so when it is invaded all of the inhabitants can retreat to the center. The only possible way to reach us here is to go through these large roads, and on top of that they have done a lot of tunneling in this area."


    "Digging, why?" Zilian asked.


    Erica, obviously not interested, walked to a patch of flowers nearby with Fale and Zilian keeping close by to her. "This park is inclined, so when they come we have terrain advantage."


    "Did any of the empires ever attack here?" He asked.


    "Of course they did, every city in the four Empires have been attacked by any one the four Empires. Except for the Wind Empire. The Wind have an impenetrable defense up to a certain point, where none of the other Empires have come back to tell."


    "I see." He stared blankly into the park, letting Fale go on.


    "Ten years ago though, the Mountain and Volcanic Empire quit trying to capture this city. The architecture here is rock solid. Wide clear view around the city, plenty of sentry towers, a plan and backup plan, an excellent source of food even during a siege, this is probably one of the best Conditioned Cities that there is."


    "You mentioned that this city has loose relationships with the Swamp and Volcanic Empires."


    "Yes, well, how do I put this? This city is as close to being a neutral city without it being neutral."


    "I don''t think I understand."


    "This city is under it''s own law, so we do not answer to the Swamp or Volcanic. Here, let''s take a seat, this isn¡¯t a short story."


    Fale sat on a bench close by, close enough to where Erica was picking flowers.


    "About eighty years ago, this city along with many others in this area have revolted against their former Empires. They formed a new group they called the Council of Freedom, defending themselves against the Volcanic and Swamp. The Council made choices on the principle of what was best for their people. There were lots of deaths at the time, but the people who were in these cities lived a lot better, even better then the Capitals and the emperors themselves. About sixty years ago, the Council grew tired of the constant sieges of the two empires trying to regain plots of farms. So, they called a summit with the Emperors of the Swamp and Volcanic and came up with an agreement to send them food."


    "This new agreement, had various conditions to it - which is how these cities received the title Conditioned Cities. The agreement was that the Conditioned Cities send resources, namely food, in exchange for protection. This protection included a promise that both Empires would send Masters to train troops of the Conditioned Cities and each Empire has to have a minimum of troops to jointly protect all of these cities, thus ending the starvation in both Empires and a glimpse of a possible allegiance."


    Zilian noticed he left something out, "What did you mean about the loose relationship?"


    "There you go again, asking the right questions. You only see this friendship in these cities, but if these two nations meet each other outside of our boundaries rivalry instantly sparks. These coalitions did nothing to heal the wounds of war, the empires behave almost as if they crave it."


    "I can''t say I understand what you mean," Zilian said, "but, I believe I have an idea of it."


    Fale patted Zilian on the back. "I see you gonna be quite the person when you grow up." Fale stood up and called Erica over, they followed him out of the center of the city and back to the inn.


    ~---~


    Zilian walked back into his bedroom as Fale said his good-byes. "See you tomorrow in the morning." Fale said before departing.


    Zilian slumped in bed and daydreamed. When he was back home with his father, he always wondered what life was like outside of his village. Now he understood why his father did not talk about anything of the world outside - it was more than just a war, it was a blood bath. He imagined everywhere in all the cities, villages and people were tasting the blood as it welled up. The people were getting tired of it, but it seems they also craved it. Every city had been tainted by this war, the people are simply used to it by now.


    I am sorry.


    Zilian nearly jumped off from his bed, he could have sworn he heard. He does not see anyone in the room, he looked outside his window staring into the full moon, forgive me, Erica and forgive Zilian. A shudder coursed down his spine. He slides out of his bed and out of his room, he knocks on Erica¡¯s door.


    A few seconds passed before Erica opened the door. "Something wrong Zilian?" She asked.


    "We have to go, tomorrow."


    "What? Why?" She inquired


    "Best we get to Greyus in a couple of days, better an early start."


    Erica did not understand, but she nodded, "OK, when we''re leaving?"


    "First thing in the morning."


    "What are we gonna say to Fale and Kayla?"


    "I''ll tell them tomorrow."


    She yawned tiredly, "Well then, I am gonna get a head start in my sleep. See you tomorrow."


    Erica shut the door as Zilian turned back into his bedroom, to sleep off his growing worries. He repeated the words to himself as he drifted to sleep, "I am sorry. Forgive me Erica, forgive me Zilian." For some reason he did not think this is his imagination, he just hoped it was nothing important. No matter how many times he repeated it to himself though, he was not convinced. Blood was out for him and it was coming soon, very soon.

 Chapter Fourteen - Forgive Me

    An elderly man sat on a log near a campfire, heat radiated against his skin bringing warmth in the cool exposed night. He poked at the fire with a long stick he had in his hand, spitting dried hapers in the fire. He looked up in the sky and saw the full moon shinning bright, its light barely penetrating through the treetops.


    "Just couple more days," he said to himself, "keep focused Farame."


    It had been a full five days and six nights he had left his farm and his granddaughter Erica, entrusting her to the care of Zilian having the confidence they would be fine for a short time being. He promised he would meet up with them in two weeks, but it seems like it might be a little longer then that. With the bad weather coming on top of him, it seemed to be week to get to the Swamp in a direct route and another week back home - that is not to mention the other approximate five days to Greyus.


    Farame kept on having a stabbing feeling in his heart, that he had lost something dear to him. Nightmares tormented him every night, that he was back at the mountain where he lost his beloved son and step daughter. Every nightmare was about it was he who was clutching to his sons hand over the edge, holding on with all his might knowing what is about to occur.


    "Dad, you have to let go." His sons voice echoed.


    "No, I can''t. I can''t. Hold on, I''ll get ya up." Farame cried. He attempted to pull them up, but the harder he tried the more he felt them slip by.


    "Dad," His stepdaughter said, "you have to let go."


    "I can''t. Your daughter. My granddaughter. She needs her parents, what will she be without ya? She needs ya." He held on tighter, he did not care if it meant him falling off with them too.


    "Dad," Their voice echoed together in perfect harmony, "you have to let go."


    "What about ya daughter, Erica? She needs ya." Farame cried from the pain that boiled up [from] inside.


    "No, she doesn''t. She needs you. We were foolish, it is our price to pay, not hers. She still has someone who she can call a father and she has friends who she can always rely on. We are of no use, so let us go." He could see in their eyes all the love the world could contain, and in that moment he realized they were right. The weight he held on from looking into the past for so long for once felt lighter. In truth, he should have already been looking into the future after all this time, Erica¡¯s future.


    Tranquility grew on him, which he had not experienced since the last time he saw the smiles on their faces. He wished things would have played out differently but they were right, it was time to let go.


    He released his hands, not clutching on to them anymore. He saw them go down the abyss and strangely enough, they smiled in return knowing Farame made the right choice. He sighed, a small hand pressed on his shoulder. He turned his head to find the once young little girl, Erica.


    "Where''s mommy? Where''s daddy?" Erica said in her sweet young voice.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    It always pained Farame when he heard that question, he could never bring himself to tell her what happened. Partly because he blamed his brother and partly because he blamed himself, but mostly because he feared she would think less of him as family if he were to recount the events. He always excused himself abruptly or told her she needed to do chores rather than asking foolish questions, always evading to answer one way or another.


    He lifted up his chin, Time to let go, he thought to himself, that''s it, next time I see her, I will tell her everything, the whole truth. Something else nagged him, something else he needed to let go, ah yes, I will forgive Mauris. We''ll have a big cookout, it''ll be just like old times.


    Snap!


    He heard a branch break, he stood up from his log and scanned his surroundings. It could have been nothing, there were a lot of animals in this part of the forest, the worst the worst of which was being bears. He kept on looking around him, at first not seeing anything. Then he saw a gleam, the moonlight bouncing off a piece smooth and sharp metal. He covered his eye as an intense wind buffeted him, roaring all around him with unbelievable power. In just a second he was blown off his feet and knocked back against a tree.


    He gaped his mouth wide open to breath, the crash in the tree knocking the air out of him. He realized he was not gaping just from the pain of the impact, a sharpened blade impaled him in the abdomen. A young girl stood below him, The wind flayed her blonde hair back, every detail a menace. What he saw must have turned him white; he saw blood, his blood, dripping down from the blade of the double-sided polearm this girl stabbed him with. Her eyes had this feeling of sharp coldness, showing no hint of hesitation.


    Her presence struck fear into him. "Let''s make this quick, shall we." A cold grin grew on her.


    Farame tried to scream for help, but the only sound came was a muffled cough. He could feel his lungs welling up with blood.


    "I am looking for this boy named Zilian Ainn, is he relative of yours?"


    "No..." Farame coughed up blood, he did not want to answer her but he wanted the pain to end.


    "I see you are traveling alone, so your destination matters not to me. Where did he go? East?¡± She read his expressions, ¡°No, West? No? Then he went North. Maybe to Forest Mist." Farames eyes spread wide open, he only said one word and somehow she was grabbing all the intel she wanted. "Since Forest Mist is destroyed, he must have either been captured or taken refuge in the closest city of Kartick."


    His heart raced as he heard that Forest Mist was destroyed, he feared his brother and perhaps even both Erica and Zilian might have been caught. She leaned closer, staring into his eyes as if peering into the truth inside of him.


    "That is not his destination, is it?"


    "I... I am..." Farame started mumbling, he swayed his head in agony as he choked on his own blood.


    "You what? Not gonna say anymore? You said all that I needed to know. Worry not, for I reward those who make it easier on me."


    The next moment, all he saw was a flash of red as he fell down to the cold hard ground. He once heard that in death, everything becomes clear. He never fully understood the meaning behind that phrase, but now Farame could truly grasp the significance in that. It was clear he should have told Erica sooner, it was clear he should have forgiven his brother sooner and it was clear that he had made his final mistake.


    I am sorry. Forgive me Erica, forgive me Zilian. Forgive me Erica for placing a burden on you that took me all of these years to learn, but please learn to let go of me. Forgive me Zilian, for the trouble I have set in your path. I have my faith in you, that you will keep your promise and take care of Erica.


    The last moments of his life were stained in red, and the whistle of the leaves being brushed by the wind. He hoped his prayers had been heard.

 Chapter Fifteen - The Quake, The Cave and The Women

    "Face it, we are lost." Erica spoke in a matter-as-fact tone.


    "No we''re not." Zilian replied exasperatedly.


    "If we are not, how come we are not there yet?"


    ¡°Perhaps it is because we haven''t made it yet. Maybe that''s the why?"


    "Really?" She drawled mockingly, "How bout that trail way back? You should have gone right, into the gorge. That is what Fale said, remember?"


    Memories flooded from earlier today, Zilian mentioned to Fale that they had to meet up with Farame over at Greyus. Fortunately for them, Fale knew that city very well and informed that it was a Conditioned City just four to five days away. On top of that and much to Zilian¡¯s surprise, the owner of that Motel happened to be family of Kayla, which she wrote down a special letter guaranteeing he would have a room saved just for themselves. What was really generously helpful was the horse Fale gave, they tried to decline such a fine beast but he argued saying that could always get another and saw that they needed it more then he did.


    What started this reminiscence was from what Erica said, about the instructions Fale left them, "You will want to go in to the gorge, the gorge leads into a cave that cuts right through the Mountain. That will shorten your trip off by a day or two."


    He repeated the directions to Erica, "I remember; The second gorge, not the first. The first leads to an inevitable dead end and make your journey longer."


    She contended, "That was the second, the first was on the outskirt of the forest, remember?"


    "That sure didn''t look like one to me, maybe a crevice. I can¡¯t even see how a man could fit in it, much less a horse."


    "It does not matter what it looks like, it is what it was. Here, give me the map." She snatched the map out of his pack. He did not fight back and conceded into letting her taking it, anything for some peace and quiet, he thought.


    "Aha!" She shoved the map smack in front in his face, it showed the small crevice in the side of the two mountains and an inscription over it - Hollows Gorge.


    "Now can we turn back and get into that cave before we waste anymore time?"


    He sighed in defeat, "Alright, guess it is it after all." Zilian pulled on the reins of the horse, turning the horse back around.


    The journey up the mountain took almost half the day, and it would be harder riding down then the climb up. When they finally reached down into the entrance of Hollows Gorge, there was not much daylight left. He knew they would have to camp for the night and leave first thing in the morning, he was tired and he could see from the wry look on Erica¡¯s face that she was too.


    "Since we don''t have much time left now, we''ll camp here for the night and leave first thing when the sun comes up."


    "If you would have listened to me in the first place, we would not have wasted that time and been halfway through that cave by now." Every word came out as if it were acid, it burned him from her tone and choice of words.


    He combed his fingers through his hair back in frustration, Erica had been like this ever since their departure from Kartick. She grew more impatient every passing hour, losing her temper easily resulting in snappy retorts. He figured she was just worried about Farame, even more so then he himself. They were expecting Farame to be there in about a week. Even though it had only been two days since they left Kartick, it felt like they had been waiting an aching eternity.


    If she was not mad before, she definitely would be one traversing through the mountain. The mountain was not a single landmass, rather there were two that met up from the countless years of land shifts. Greyus happened to be the main supply of food resource of the Volcanic Empire, resulting into the Volcanic Empire having a strong and large army stationed in various forts near the city.


    Fale had been very descriptive to Zilian about how the city¡¯s defense worked, even mentioning that it was almost effective as Kartick¡¯s. Zilian hoped Farame would make it back safely, he went through a lot of trouble to get this far when they originally planned going with Mauris.


    He needed to change the topic, both to encourage for Erica and to get his mind off of Farame. He was sure the old man would be just fine, or at least he hoped so. "Ahem," He cleared his throat, "So Erica, where is this Kenplar estate?"


    "Kenplar estate is just over a week south of Greyus, inside the territory of the Council of Freedom. I think I have heard he is one of the major contributors to the Council. He was once offered a seat in their parliament from the Council, in the House of Commons. He rejected the offer, but still accepted the position as ambassador."


    "Why?" He raised a brow. He knew to say no to such a position is not something to be taken lightly in these parts.


    She smiled, "He wanted to be with his family, and being ambassador also permitted him to travel into all sorts of lands. Wherever he went, he brought his family with him. They saw the world and ventured in it."


    "How do you know this?"


    "One time, when they got lost, me and Ferry found them in our grounds. They seemed to have wandered in circles for a couple of days and were hungry. Originally, they were only gonna stay for the night, but in the end they were there for two weeks." She scratched her brow, attempting to recall the time.


    "What did they do in those two weeks?"


    She smiled as she remembered her time together with them, he could hear in her voice she enjoyed this reminisce, "Work around the farm. Mr. Kenplar enjoyed doing different things, he even considered working in our farm as one of his grandest adventures." Erica laughed, "funny really, I would never have thought like that. Anyway, we got to know them and they got to know us. They always had an open invitation for us to them at their house anytime, so Ferry took me there twice. Those three times, being with them were the best times of my life." Erica saddened.


    "Well, soon it will be four. In two more weeks, we''ll have lots of fun." The last comment led him looking forward to meeting the man. He forced a smile to comfort her.


    "Thank you." For once today she smiled, genuinely happy.


    Suddenly the ground shook violently, Zilian and Erica were tossed off the horse as it reared up whining in fear. Large boulders and stones from the high wall against the mountain fell dangerously around them, then it stopped as quickly as it has started.


    His legs felt wobbly as he got back up from the surprising quake. Gaining his bearings to see not much other than some big boulders, tree trunks and rocks tossed from the ledge above onto the road where they were at.


    Coughing through the cloud of dust he called out, "Erica." He could hear her coughing close by.


    "I''m here." Came a dry but reassuring response.


    He saw her pulling herself out of a pile of dirt to his right. She knocked the grime off of her<,> clearly disgusted being covered in muck. She staggered further down the road, but he had his attention on securing the horse before it could run off.


    Only when he held the horse he grasped what happened, "Ahem," Zilian cleared his throat, "The road still fine?"


    "You know Zilian, I am gonna kill you one of these days." She replied morbidly.


    He laughed, "You''re not serious, right?" He looked at her, she a scrunched look.


    "Oh come on, you can¡¯t serious... What''s wrong? It''s not like the road is blo..." He stopped midsentence, seeing that the road was indeed blocked. He was unable to see it before, but around the corner a large landslide made the road completely impassable.


    He scratched the back of his head, "Let''s look at the bright side, it could have been a whole lot worse. We could have been down there a minute sooner and directly under that landslide."


    "Let''s just go up to the next cave." She spoke in a eerily calm tone, causing shivers to run down his spine. He knew why she would be upset too, he had made a mistake and now they both are paying for it.


    He sighed, acknowledging that all he had to do was listen to her before, "Yeah, ok." He said in a short sentence, not willing to get into another argument. Ever since he had been orphaned, he learned to truly appreciate survival which was why he was not irrationally upset now.


    Zilian lurched himself back onto the horse and gave Erica a helping hand up as well. Resuming on their former route back up the mountain since their first stop was blocked off meant they would have to go through a short tunnel near the peak of the mountain.


    Zilian stopped to lift his head attentively, their journey paused from a faint wail carried on the wind, "You hear that?" He thought it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. After all, he had just gone through a traumatic experience.


    Erica barely heard as she had herself dug back into the map, "Yeah, sounds like..." her eyes widened, "help!"


    The horse bolted towards the sound as Zilian kicked it forward. The cries sounded as if they were far off, but there was no sure way of telling because as it bounced between the two walls as an echo. Then Erica pointed to a flattened edge of the valley, he heard it too, the call from help came from behind a wall of brush and trees. He slowed the horse to a stride to not risk of toppling over any steep drops. Instead of a drop, they found a cave.


    He gave a Erica a questioned look, and she replied with clear understanding. "No it''s not on the map, but that''s where the sound came from. There''s fresh tracks on the ground."Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    He could barely see it, but there was just the slightest indication of tracks. He and Erica both hopped off to walk inside, Zilian leading the horse by its reins into the cave with them.


    "Help!" A voice echoed from the cave.


    "Hold on! We''re coming!" Zilian did not know if the person heard him or not, but if they did at least now they knew someone heard.


    Erica followed the sound as he tied the horse to a piece of fallen stone, then he followed the trail Erica went down until he came into a wide cave that separated into two directions.


    Before he needed to call out for direction, Erica cried out in alarm. "Zilian! Over here and quickly!"


    He went down in the left passage, and he saw her down in the knees peering over an edge that dropped steeply.


    "Where is he?" He leaned over to see what is it she was looking at.


    "He is a she," the voice boomed in the chamber, "and she is over here!"


    He leaned further over the edge to see who it was, it is then he sees how grave the situation really is. A young woman stood on a ledge no wider then a finger width, she gripped tightly onto the wall against her back, she tangled her hands on short lengths of root that stuck out. However, under her was a fall into complete darkness. Zilian was not keen into finding out how deep it really was but he could hear a stream of moving water.


    "How did you get there?" Zilian asked.


    "I would love to tell you my life story on the edge of my death. Oh wait, no I don''t! Get me up from here you foul smelling stupid mule!" Her voice was full of spite, he could not see her face but by her tone he could imagine her grimacing face.


    Zilian grunted and crossed his arms. "Let¡¯s just leave her."


    "You can''t be serious." He could see that he worried her, her eyes widened in shock.


    "I have to agree with the brilliant little girl, clearly better then you." The woman remarked.


    "Of course I am not serious! We need rope of some sort." He retorted, if were to honestly answer he really would not know himself. But he is here now and she is danger, no need to over think it.


    "I don''t have rope, don''t you?" Erica stated.


    "No, do you have anything we could use?" He combed his sweaty hair back, clearly there is no good options.


    "I have a spool of string and a ball of yarn." She finally declared


    The woman snapped, "Oh sure! Knit me a scarf and pull me up with that! Guess there are two mules helping. Lovely, my life in the hands of a mule. Do mules have hands? No, there paws, or hooves, or both. Whatever, you two get the idea!"


    As much as Zilian despised her attitude, he still looked around to see what he can use to pull her up. The hole was round that went straight up and then down to a stream at the bottom, he saw there are longer vines and roots growing out of the mouth of this hole.


    "I know what to do." Zilian said.


    The woman retorted out again in her annoyingly loud voice, "Then do it!"


    "No one is asking for your opinion, you just hang on!" He was surprised to see Erica outburst like that, he reminded himself not to get on her bad side.


    "Duh, that''s all I can do at this point!" She quarreled.


    "Now what''s the plan." Erica gave him undivided attention, blotting out the rants of the endangered woman.


    "Well," He demonstrated by pulling off a piece of vine from the wall, "we use the the vines to pull her up."


    "That could work but she is at least fifty feet down, we need more than one piece [of that]."


    "Yeah, we grab all of these vines and tie them together. That way it''s longer." He waved his hands around the hole.


    She grabbed a vine, visualizing the knots of one tied to another, "I see, let''s get started." Erica pulled on a piece of vine and started tying them together.


    He yanked down all the vines he could get his hands on, tying them all together forming one long rope. It would have felt like it was just a second to Zilian, but the constant ranting from the woman of how slow and incompetent they were just made it feel even longer.


    When they finished and he was about to toss down the makeshift rope, Erica halted him in his tracks. "Wait." She ordered.


    He complied and she grabbed an end of the line, then went to a stone pillar jutting from the ground. She tied the end to the pillar, yanking on the rope to assure it was tightened and gave a thumbs up.


    "Now we do not have to worry about it slipping through our hands." She said.


    He nodded to respond, unable to believe how badly that could have ended. Zilian tossed the rope over the edge but much to his disappointment, it only reached halfway. They were out of vine so there was no more rope, and he did not know how to help the woman. Erica stepped next to him, she saw the problem as well. She looked around the mouth, rubbing her hands against the walls looking for something.


    He stated the obvious, "There''s no more vines, I took them all."


    Erica replied, "I am not looking for vines, I am pulling on roots."


    Understanding dawned on him of what she is doing, the roots were not the best to use but they can work around with them to make the rope longer. So he went to the other side of the mouth to help tug on them, and together they managed to pile up enough to tie the roots together with the vine. The rope was at least twice as long as before, this time reaching way past the ledge the woman was on.


    "Grab on!" Zilian called down.


    "Yeah! No kidding!" Again with her sarcasm.


    He felt a tug on the rope as she pulled herself up, walking up against the wall. However suddenly, the ground shook for a second time today. Unable to get a stable footing he fell back, Erica was tossed against the wall and held onto the ground tightly.


    A sharp loud shattering crack rang behind him, he turned around to see what it was now. His blood went cold, the stone pillar holding on to the rope was crumbling away. If the woman still had not fallen from the quake then she would certainly drop as the rope failed. He did not think of what to do but except react on pure instinct, staggering to the falling pillar but not in time. The stone column finally gave away and with the ground still trembling, he grabbed the rope as it whipped past him, the sudden weight dragging him to the mouth of the hole. He kicked and flayed all around the ground to grasp on something and prevent their sudden demise, his feet lodged on the edge right when the trembling stopped.


    Blood pulsed heavily through him, he could feel the throbs coursing into his head with hard pumps. Despite the sudden and extreme pressure, he gripped the rope tightly. The weight he held on to now was different, he was not being dragged by the weight instead held on to it stably. Erica recovered from her shock and sprung right next to Zilian, coming to his aid and pulling up the rope as well.


    She was not strong enough to help, but he only needed to hold it long enough. "Check if she''s coming up!" He muttered through his teeth.


    She crawled over the edge to scout, "She fell further down, she''s holding on the very end of the rope." She reported in aghast.


    "Now get me up! Or give me up!" She exclaimed.


    For her, I might just do the latter, he kept the comment himself, he was not ready for another argument. Yet.


    "Erica," Zilian wiped a sweat that was rolling into his eye off on his shoulder, "pull her up with me, we gonna use what''s left of the pillar to pulley her up."


    "Got it." She nodded to confirm.


    As she grabbed the rope in front of him, he set the pace. "OK, on my mark," taking a couple of deep breaths. "Now!"


    Together, Erica and Zilian tugged on the rope, the rope inching up slowly and surely as they both paced their steps. He felt his body strained to the limit, every fiber of muscle burned in aching pain. Zilian grunted as he nearly tripped as he tugged, if he were to fail now he would definitely lose her.


    Finally the shattered pillar stood on their side, "Erica! Wrap it halfway on that pillar, we''ll pull her up the rest of the way!"


    They dexterously wrapped it around the pillar, and they pulled on the rope with considerable ease.


    His mind started going blank until Erica snapped him back into reality, "We got her up!" Erica shouted.


    Just in time too. He admitted secretly.


    Seeing the woman crawling over the edge safely and Erica giving her a hand up, he released the rope letting it snag between a couple of rocks then loosely falling into the pit. He slumped onto the cold, hard, stone ground. After two quakes and saving someone¡¯s life, the hard ground was like a feathered pillow.


    "You ok?" He wheezed in very rapid breaths, his clothes were soaked in his sweat.


    "Ok you ask? What do you think? I nearly saw the gates of death twice in less then an hour. Not to mention I am here left to babysit a couple of children. You think I am ok?" She scolded.


    "You know," he murmured with a cough, "if I weren''t exhausted, I''d push you over myself." His patience was cut short now, after saving her life and she still was unappreciative.


    "Yeah well, seems we all didn''t get what we want. Name''s Sarri, just for your information. Even your manners are lacking." She pouted as she pointedly twisted away from him.


    Erica was the first to break the informality, "Nice to meet you Sarri. I am Erica and this is Zilian." Even though she was polite, her face grimaced. At least he was not the only one to dislike her.


    Sarri coughed dryly and pulled out a canteen taking several large gulps, seeing her drink only reminded him of how desperately dehydrated he is now. He tried to stand up but winced in pain as his legs went limp, Erica quickly came to his side helping him sit properly.


    "Best you rest for a bit, I''ll get you some water." Erica ran back to where Zilian left the horse tied.


    Zilian sat on the ground and rested his head against the wall, and stared across at Sarri. He judged Sarri to be clearly not someone from a city or village. She wore tough blue shorts with shoulder straps and a red-boxed undershirt, her ponytail hair drooping wetly across her back in a mess.


    Zilian heaved, attempting to take slow down controlled breaths, only pausing when Erica came back with his canteen of water and the horse. ¡°Thanks.¡± He said graciously.


    "I have good news and bad news Zilian." Erica said.


    He sighed. What more could happen in one day! "What''s the bad news?" He figured just finish it off with something positive, at the very least.


    "The cave entrance collapsed, so we can not go back out through there."


    Zilian slumped his head back. "Great, what could the good news possibly be to make it close enough to be good enough to make it good?"


    She smirked, "We''re not dead yet."


    "Ha ha, very funny." He chuckled at her humorous attempt to joke, not what he considered as a positive thought but it was a good try.


    "The lass is right," Sarri spoke up, "we are still alive, ripe for adventure. I dare nature to give me its worse!" The ground shook again, but only for a few seconds.


    Zilian said, "When that happens, wait till I am far away from you."


    Sarri replied, "I wouldn''t want me near me either, but here I am."


    "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" Erica asked.


    "You can''t tell?" Sarri asked. Apparently innocently. He really could not read her expression, it seemed she is sincere but it just comes out annoying. He thought it was just her nature. After all, she did drive both him and Erica irate.


    Erica and Zilian exchanged glances. "No, not really." Erica answered.


    "I am a spelunker. I heard about possible fine ore in these caverns, so I set out to look for them."


    Zilian eyes grew heavy from drowsiness, today¡¯s events took a toll on him, "I am willing to bet that it is late now, so we''ll set camp here." He directed a hopeful question towards Sarri, "Do you know the way out of this cavern?"


    "No way small fry. I fell from a higher point, this here is all new for me. I hope I find some fine ore in these parts of the tunnels!" Her eyes gleamed in excitement.


    He moaned tiredly, life loved its surprises. There was only one option that he could consider at this point, and that was sleep. "Then we''ll work out what to do tomorrow." Zilian lay his back down, settling down for the night. Erica pulled out a sheet from his sack to give it to him.


    "No, give it to Sarri." He rejected it.


    As Erica handed it to her, "So you do know some manners, there yet to be hope for. Maybe." It seemed Sarri was naturally mule headed, she had the tongue that bit like a Frost Lion.


    Her response burned under his skin and he flipped his back towards her, no need to put up with her for the night. Eventually sleep got a hold of him and he slowly drifted off into a very much merited rest.

 Chapter Sixteen - Assassins Fifth Order

    ¡°This one is different.¡± She repeated to herself. Hundreds of missions for Malie and even more assassinations, she had not failed even once before. Her keen instinct and honed skills devoted to nothing less than absolute success, yet now she found herself in an unprecedented form for a mission.


    Learning ever since she began training from five years of age, she would be at fault and hence she was never faulty. Last thing she wanted to do was blame the faulty intelligence, in her defense, it was unreasonably vague and misleading.


    Memories of the events that took place a couple days ago surfaced, of the brief interaction with the elderly man and her merciless execution. She had expected to meet this boy named Zilian instead of who she learned to be Farame, she wasted her time going the opposite direction. One of her more useful skills was being able to read emotions written in body language, distinguishing them from the truth, lies and everything else that lay hidden beneath the mask - that included knowing when an individual would stop speaking.


    She smiled as she remembered how she ended his life, drawing her blade out of the elder¡¯s stomach and finished him off by slicing off his throat, revering the fear that burned in his eyes. The humor in it all was his dying breath, the last thing on his mind.


    ¡°Forgive me.¡±


    True, she honestly did not know what he was asking forgiveness for, whether if it was him betraying the Mountain by acquiring and attempting to give a very fragile piece of intelligence to the Swamp. Or if it was him giving up this boy to her, although granted, it was not willingly. Whatever it may have been, she adored the natural reaction of fear from all of her victims squirming desperately for life.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Her next target was not not slated for assassination, it was a Fifth Order mission. Her missions as an assassin varied often, but the one thing that never changed was that assassins were the special operatives. Time to time they fight in the front lines, but only to hunt down high value targets they knew to be in the battle. The Fifth Order was a protocol to bring the directed target alive back to the Capital, either by convincing the possible asset or by force, in that particular order.


    Malie had plans for Zilian and her job was to support him no matter what, though she would honestly prefer to get rid the boy and take his blade then go through all this trouble of seduction. As it was, she needed to find him around where she was not certain of precisely where he was at.


    ¡°He may have a head start, but it is a small advantage. I will succeed and he will join us.¡±


    Since Forest Mist had been razed to the ground, Zilian would have nowhere else to go except towards the east, starting with Kartick. That is where she was headed now, to the great Kartick city. The plan in itself was simple, infiltrate and scout for where he might be and once target is confirmed she would then extract him. Even though it was straightforward, a final detail that every assassin from the Mountain must uphold in any case is to act in absolute secrecy as if they never existed.


    She reached the edge of the forest, just outside of the plots of farm stretching all around the city Kartick, the sun rising from the horizon past the city. A small river that cut through the city flowed out through gated sewers, which she would use to infiltrate the heavily guarded populous. It would not be hard to blend with the people, especially since Kartick was overcrowded with refugees.


    The boy more than likely had already left, she instinctively knew it. However, to get a clue to where he is bound to go next, this was the only place to find out. There were always bread crumbs left behind, and just like always she would find and follow them to the end of the trail.


    This mission will be completed, Malie would not have anything less. She wholeheartedly believe in herself, just as she does in her master.

 Chapter Seventeen - The Mountains Generals

    Hands on top of the desk he leant against, Malie read the various reports of the recent events related to the war. These reports ranged from economic stresses and stability in his empire to minor headings that were unresolved from offices below him. However, despite all the burden of being emperor brought, he truly enjoyed and in fact craved the benefits of being in power. I am the law, the word, the embodiment of the Mountain, he repeated to himself every day. It was customary of a Mountain soldier to chant his role in the empire, what Malie did was nothing less than what his underlings would do regularly.


    He was truly firm and resolute, an unbendable force of ambition. Ever since before the beginning of the Blood War, it had always been clear that the other Regions would retaliate. Nobody could grasp the necessity of the Mountains rule, thus forcing the fate of war in all four Regions.


    That however would not change the ultimate outcome, the Mountain Empire would be the inevitable victors to this war. All that was left at this moment was not a matter of what or how, but when. Every day he does brash shortsided maneuvers in the frontlines. It would seem to the other emperors he was making foolish mistakes but that just showed what little they knew. It was the utmost importance that he classified this project as Sixth Level, a degree of security unheard of even to the predecessor emperors of the Mountain.


    The purpose of the secrecy was because if the other Empires ever to learned even just the existence of such undergoing project and its purpose, it would more than likely force a coalition between them all. Such a scenario would leave the Mountain facing a previously unseen disadvantage before the project even reached its final stages, consequently leading to the demise of the empire.


    For now, he proceeded with the war, making it appear as normal and manipulating the other empires to lay their focus on these other worries. Even if they happened to come across knowledge of the Mountains project, they would simply be dismissing it as an exaggerated rumor.


    He glanced at his giant Master¡¯s Clock the ticked loudly and the far wall, the hands had just turned 2:00. He placed the papers back down, planning to continue reading and signing requests afterwards. He slid open a door and stepped into an adjacent room, the room where they held their meetings. In the center stood the revered Marbled Table. He chose to have his office next to the Marbled Table room, so as to quickly go in between these two rooms without wasting too much time.


    Everyone in the room momentarily bowed their heads in respect when Malie entered the room. All but one of his five generals were present today. It was only Kathryn, the General of the Assassins Division, who was not present in this current meeting.


    Syn Shey, also a General of the Assassin Division second in command after Kathryn. He was known for his rare proficiency mastery in the arts of twin double-sided blades. His favorite wears were sleeveless marsh shirts, having claimed they allowed more flexibility. He never attempted to hide his clear hatred and contempt against Kathryn, a girl half his age who could best him in a duel.


    Argo Tefith, General of the Military. Malie enjoyed training sessions and spars with Argo, and he was a great soldier indeed. Master of the Buster Sword, a blade difficult to master, yet he had built up the flexibility and strength needed to wield such a blade. He wore his usual garment of a single-sleeved, aquatic shirt.


    Kayden Emorif, his apprentice and a recently appointed General of the Military in Second Command. Malie took him under his wing when he had heard of this young boy who was skilled in swordplay, training him to use the triple-bladed sword. That young boy had grown into a man that had been a worthwhile asset for the Empire.


    The most important individual Malie picked was Endein Tegul, the Master Strategist and former General of the Volcanic. A word that Malie would use to describe him, fierce, not with his own strength, but with how he implemented the strength of others in battle. Never had there been a man more wise and experienced then Endein.


    "How are the conditions of the Recruit Campaign?" The Empereor demanded. He never was polite, considering please and thank you a waste of much too valuable time.


    Argo answered, "The recruitment has been over the past year an exasperating success, in just the past month, we have been able to conquer twice as many cities and villages than the fourteen months before then."


    The hand picked generals knew what he wanted to hear and how he wanted it presented, no failures. If there was nothing successful, it is no less than shortening their worth to him. Malie nodded in satisfaction, "Very well, how are the Swamp and Volcanic reacting to the situation?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Endein replied this time, his reports were always short and straight to the point, "They are building up defenses and preparing counter measures."


    "Then I would want us to strengthen the defenses that we have now."


    "Ahem." Endein spoke up.


    Malie did not tolerate disrespect even if it came from his close companions, but he had learned from experience that Endein was rarely wrong. If he had something to say, it meant he knew a better way to go.


    "What is it Endein?" Malie gestured to him, officially acknowledging his input.


    "I believe it is in our best interests if we continue our attacks." He remarked casually. The was no sarcasm or spite in his tone, the same as-a-matter-of-fact attitude he always had.


    "Why would that be so?" Argo challenged him.


    Endein took challenges seriously, when asked how his idea could be better he always goes into depth of how and why each move mattered. "What we want to do is cast a bait. So, we pull out our numbers from the city and leave only a few behind. They will come to recapture our supposedly weakened city, at which point we will have done is taken a portion of our troops and captured the cities behind them. They would be pincered from the front and back, unable to move ahead without losing the city they already captured and unable to go back without facing a battle against overwhelming odds."


    Malie rubbed his chin thoughtfully, accepting this maneuver by spreading his hands in defeat, "Excellent plan. Anyone else see fault in this tactic?"


    Even Argo saw the advantage to this maneuver, it was risky but not enough to deem it unfeasible, "When would we dispatch the woman and children?" Referring to the ones they had just recently captured.


    He nodded in response, clearly having foreseen this inquiry, "Immediately, we will write the records later instead of here and now."


    "I can take a small squadron to keep the eyes and ears for the empire." Syn suggested.


    Kayden agreed, "Yes, this would be much faster, more efficient with less troop needed. I see little room for fault and plenty for leeway."


    Argo conceded reluctantly, "I still don''t like this plan, but even I have to admit, it ties all the loose ends."


    Malie concluded the matter, "Then it is settled, I want this tactic in effect by the week."


    Syn piped up, "Speaking of loose ends. How is our little leak been handled? And, what about this new boy you have taken an interest in?"


    "Shey, you very well know how I handle things when I am questioned. Is this what you are doing now?"


    "By all means no my Lord, I¡¯d never even dream so. I do however question how Kathryn is handling things. According to her last report, she has taken care of our leak, but failed to find our boy with the old man, with our city we recently captured and within Kartick. Call me skeptical, but I believe she is failing all but a bit too much and I don''t think she cares that she fails my Lord."


    Malie¡¯s hands thundered against the two ton table and bounced, risking an expensive fracture. He rose his voice in anger, "I know she has failed me twice already, and I do not tolerate failure lightly but I do not wish to rid the Mountains greatest asset. Once she returns, I will handle the situation as I see fit."


    Striding himself over Syn, towering over him. "And I especially do not need you to question my actions. She is after all twice as more than what you could ever be, or else I will make you suffer the same fate as Kathryn. Do I make myself clear?" His voice echoed loudly.


    Syn lowered his head, "Resoundedly clear, My Lord."


    Pointing to the door to clearly direct him his absence, "Good, now go handle whatever it is that is awaiting your presence."


    After he left the room, Malie returned to his spot.


    "Before we end this, I want a summary of the Centipede."


    Endein answered coolly, unperturbed to his reaction. This was after all the typical interactions between them. "The project goes ahead of schedule. Thanks to the new recruits from Argos campaign, we have been able to speed up the project. There are many issues that have yet to be resolved, but I am working on various possible solutions."


    "Good. The sooner we end this, the sooner the other Empires will kneel down at our feet."


    Endein caught his attention with one last thing to say, "What Syn has said, it has truth to it. Kathryn has failed to find the boy in Kartick, should we not extract her now? We do not want her to fail again, more failures could be disastrous to say the least."


    "Endein, I know very well what Kathryn is capable of. What she suffered was a sad turn of fates, and she has been on the other hand known to defy all what should not have been possible. Anybody else would likely kill him or fail to retrieve him. Kathryn is the only one I know who can follow any order that is given."


    "As you wish then, but do not push to the point of no return Malie."


    Malie knew very well the meaning behind his wisdom, but he also knew Kathryn better than anyone else in this Empire. He dismissed them all, returning to his duties just as everyone else did the same. Kathryn would succeed, or she would die trying.

 Chapter Eighteen - Seperated

    Stirring and rousing from sleep, Zilian stretched his arms and legs, hearing his joints pop back in place while letting out a complimentary yawn. He felt much better, but at the same time ached. The cold hard ground of the cave was unforgiving. Zilian sat up straight, checking on Erica and their new found friend Sarri who still were soundly asleep, making him the first to wake up.


    That''s a first. He remarked to himself, usually he would sleep the whole morning away until someone roused him, namely Erica.


    Yesterdays turn of events took a hefty toll on him. He was already tired from the journey and even more so from the rescue, not to mention the lost time by over passing the shortcut they were supposed to go through. However, he reminded himself that there would have been nobody to save Sarri if they had gone the right way. Not that he really cared at this point, he would had left her after meeting her in person.


    The girls stirred, they would be awake any minute now. He decided to take another quick survey of the cave they had found themselves in, from this point it led down into a drop to what sounded like a stream on the bottom. The drop itself was too steep and slick to climb down, since they exhausted all the rope they made, which meant the only option was to go back.


    Zilian ran back up to the cave once was entrance, searching their ticket out of this hole. When he and Erica had first heard Sarri call for help, there was another entrance to the right. The main entrance was blocked off with huge chunks of rock but the other tunnel was wide open.


    Stepping at mouth of the second tunnel, he felt an incline as well as a small breeze. Wherever air comes from, an entrance could be found. He made way back to share his discovery, seeing that Sarri was already up chugging water from her canteen. Erica stretched herself out on the ground,squinting with tired eyes as she checked her surroundings.


    "You came back? Thought you gave up on us, kinda wish you did." Sarri muttered in her breath. She spoke lowly but not enough for him not to hear her, unsure whether she meant him to hear it or not he decided not to let her get on his nerves again.


    "I think our only choice of getting out of here is going back through this tunnel, then to a different tunnel that goes up." He remarked hopefully.


    "You mean that you came back to tell us that you found out you can''t leave without us?" She contended.


    "You are getting on my nerves! I didn''t have to pull you up from that death pit." He retorted while pointing finger aggressively towards her.


    She retorted back and pushed him away as if he were garbage, "And I didn''t need to accept your help either, you disrespectful young mule! That''s no way to treat a woman."


    "If you even can consider calling yourself a woman. More likely a thorn on my thumb."


    "Zilian, calm down." Erica emphasized.


    Zilian calmed down a bit, but he still was puffed up clenching his fists.


    "You said the other tunnel leads out?" She clearly was trying to change the subject. Zilian forced himself calm down, they would not be getting anywhere by arguing.


    "Maybe. I only checked a bit inside of the other tunnel, there was a breeze leading up. Wherever it leads, it should be out of here."


    "Then what are you waiting for? You¡¯re just wasting our time wanting to start arguments, you have problems kid." She stood and slapped her sack in place.


    Zilian barked, "You''re the one who started it! And I am not the ones with problems! And my name is Zilian!"


    "Whatever kid." She rolled her eyes, all the while grinning.


    Zilian shut his mouth up before he had another fit of outbursts. Deciding on that he will just pack up and go, his stomach growled loudly as he was packing the blankets away. Erica and Sarri turned their heads at him, his face went red in embarrassment because he has not had anything to eat since morning yesterday.


    "Maybe we should get breakfast first." Erica suggested.


    Sarri retorted, "Excellent idea, except for I don''t have breakfast little lady. Unless you are offering me some."


    Zilian face palmed in despair, This is a divine punishment, isn¡¯t it?


    ~---~


    "So when I looked at it, I knew right away it was pure gold. There was a problem, want to guess what it was?" Excitement was emphasized in almost every syllable from Sarri.


    Erica replied, "It was too heavy?" She listened and participated in this woman¡¯s conversations, obviously having no interest in her topics noting from her tone. However, regardless it all, she indulged the woman¡¯s ego.


    "Nah, only one time when an ore we found was too heavy. The problem we had was one of our own double crossed us, but that ended badly for him. I was suspicious of his loose relations with rivaling spelunking guilds, I saw him go meet up with them when we went back to the nearest village to get ourselves restocked to pull the gold out. Good thing I did too, if I hadn''t mentioned it to our overseer, we wouldn''t have left him there right there and then. We rushed back to the gold, used our worn out pickaxes. And when they broke, we pulled on the thing with our bare hands. In less than an hour, we got it loaded in our cart. We rode to the other town on the opposite direction just when we have heard the horses of the guild closing in. We had a narrow escape, but escape we did!"


    Sarri had not quit talking ever since they started their trek into the uncharted tunnels. Zilian felt like they had been stuck here for days, and basing it off that logic he guessed they had only been a couple of hours. Sarri talked and talked and talked about all of her spelunking adventures, that is if you could call them as such. What Sarri called an adventure was to Zilian the start of another head aching argument.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Finally! Zilian thought to himself, no more stupid stories.


    "Now," Sarri responded, "you reminded me of the story of the ore so heavy we couldn''t lift it. Well, it was a warm afternoon..."


    Agh! He screamed in his mind, his fingers ached to yank his ears from their place and toss as far away as humanely possible. He did not know how much more of this he could take, he tugged on his hair in frustration. Sarri and Erica could not see his reaction because he was a few steps behind them. Sarri insisted she knew how to navigate through the caves way better than them, which he begrudgingly permitted her the lead. In the end, he got stuck pulling the horse through a nearly pitchblack cave. Erica held a torch they had made out of solid piece of wood and wrapped in clothe, and again Sarri somehow convinced Erica to take hold of it.


    The walls around them spread open, and they entered a cavern with several tunnels leading into all sorts of directions. The cavern irritated Zilian.


    "Agh!" He screamed, the other two looked at him, "We''ve been here already! Look!" He pointed to his left at the path that led straight down from where they had started.


    "We already took three of these tunnels and they all lead right back here, there has to be a simple way out of here." He grow hot in anger.


    Sarri contended, "You are the one who first planned to follow the breeze, so I followed the breeze and we keep on ending here."


    "Yeah, and you''re the one to go with the breeze. All you did was take us to that slit in the wall that we can''t even slide our bodies through." He returned angrily.


    "Zilian, let''s not start this again." Erica pointed out. Ever since they were trapped here, she seemed to have been calm. Which also irritated him, everyone else was fine with this but him.


    "Come on, we need to get to Greyus. We should be there tomorrow!"


    "Then let''s work on a way to get out of here rather than arguing, again." Her reasoning struck him.


    Zilian sat down to relax, Sarri following his lead, while Erica went to check the tunnel that led to the small slit in the wall. Suddenly he heard noise coming from all directions in the cavern as a deep rumble reverberated against the stone walls. His eyes widened in fear, and before he could warn Erica The earth shook aggressively for a third time. Rocks fell all around as they broke away from the ceiling, and the tunnels one by one were sealed up by the rubble.


    He ran to aid Erica, but a rock stopped him in his tracks as it smacked him in the back of his head. He stumbled to the ground and as he fell he saw the tunnel Erica was in, losing her footing and falling as the entrance closed up in front of her. The world drifted into darkness as he went unconscious.


    "Ow..." Zilian groaned.


    Sitting up straight and looking around him, he found the surroundings were all blurred and hazy for a while until his eyes could focus again. He pressed on his pounding head and grunted in pain, Sarri was helping him sit up against the wall.


    "Take it easy kid, you got hit hard on your head. Got a big bruise but it doesn¡¯t look too bad; I would put some ointment on that though." She remarked.


    "How long was I out?" He asked.


    She answered, "Just five minutes."


    He jolted up ignoring the pain on his head, he remembered the closed up tunnel that Erica was trapped in.


    He tried pulling all the rocks out of place while he called for her, "Erica! Can you hear me?"


    "Yes Zilian, loud and clear." She answered.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He prayed that she was not trapped under a pile of stones.


    ¡°No, I am fine. Just some small cuts and bruises. How about you? Sarri said something about being out cold.¡± He could hear the hint of worry. He sighed, relieved that nothing had happened to her.


    "Never mind me. You think you can pull the rocks out of the way? I will work on this side at the same time."


    Sarri came next to Zilian to help pull on the rocks, he could hear from the other side rocks tumbling, Erica was digging through. They kept on getting rocks out of the way as he asked himself, how much of the ceiling could have fallen? His hands scratched on the rocks he tugged at while Sarri pulled out as pulled on the bigger ones, until finally they opened a hole so they could see Erica again. The hole however was not big enough, just barely big enough to stick a hand through it.


    "Good, now let''s make the hole wider." Sarri ordered.


    Zilian for once agreed with her without a complaint. Erica and Sarri worked on digging the hole wider, while he grabbed onto the bigger rocks from below to make some of it fall down. Dust and dirt sprayed in the air, forcing Erica into a coughing fit.


    "You ok kid? " Asked Sarri, she seemed genuinely worried for her.


    Erica replied, "Yeah, just need something to drink."


    "Yo useless, get my pack in give her my canteen." Ordered Sarri.


    He ran to Sarri¡¯s pack and grabbed her canteen, then handed it to Sarri who proceeded to pass it on to Erica through the hole, and her taking a few sips. Neither of them had had water since yesterday afternoon, so Erica would have been very thirsty by now.


    "Come on kid, while she''s resting we¡¯ll widen this for her."


    Zilian without complaining he put himself back to work and taking no note of time, the hole was wide enough for Erica to squeeze through.


    "That''s good, I can slide through I think." Erica stated.


    Zilian stopped and stood back to let Erica through, Sarri held her by the arms to tug her out. Erica tried to squeeze in it, but it apparently was still too tight of a fit. Sarri pulled on her harder to force her through the small hole.


    "Ow! Ow! Ow! You''re hurting me Sarri." Erica cried.


    She stopped tugging, "Sorry, guess we''ll have to make it wider."


    Erica slid back inside and dug again, Zilian and Sarri continued digging from there side making the hole slowly wider and wider. Sarri pulled on a slate of rock, if she could get this rock out Erica would then fit through. Sarri pulled on it harder, her face went red. Zilian helped pull on it with the little space that there was left. The slate slid an inch then by another inch, until finally with one last haul, both Sarri and Zilian fell onto their backs. Instead of the hole staying in place, more debris from the ceiling fell down.


    "No!" Zilian tried to pull on the much larger stones, however, this time none of them would budge.


    "Zilian, Sarri, Go on without me." Erica voice echoed from behind the debris.


    "We are not going to leave you Erica." Zilian called out.


    "I am not asking you to leave, go on ahead in the cave. Look for help, then come back. No use for us all to die."


    Erica¡¯s logic was sound, but he could not stand to leaving a friend behind. Especially after his promise to Farame and Charlee.


    Sarri called to Zilian, "Let''s go, we need to find another way to get her."


    "Where can we go? Aren¡¯t the other tunnels are blocked too?"


    She pointed up to where there was once a stone ceiling, "We can go through there, use these fallen stones and boulders as steps to get into a different cave system over us."


    Erica called from behind the rock, "Do that, I''ll see if we missed something behind here. Maybe I''ll have a lucky break."


    Without waiting for his reply, Zilian could hear her running through the tunnel on the other side. So like her, she won''t listen to me, he thought. Seemed like he had no choice but to stick to this plan, so Sarri grabbed onto the horse and guided it up the pile of rubble. Zilian grabbed his sack and followed after her, wishing Erica the best of luck.

 Chapter Nineteen - Ultimate Torture, The Woman!

    Buffalos are the most magnificent though, you will be lucky to see one if you do. They live further away then the Wind Empire, was past their boundaries. Their fur sells very well and..."


    Never in Zilian¡¯s worst nightmares, would he ever have imagined someone talking to no end being the most terrible torture. Sarri started talking when they went up the second series of caves, and ever since then she had not even stopped so much as to breath. He thought she would need to quit at some point, but there was no sign of her ending any time soon. Her endless talking did not help ease his worry for Erica either, he promised to take care of her and now he was the farthest away from doing that. He hoped she would find another way out, but feared they were her only chance of getting out.


    "Hey kid, I am talking to you." Sarri waved her hands in Zilians face.


    Zilian snapped, "Sorry for my rudeness! I am only doing something insignificant, like trying to figure out a way to get Erica out. Which could probably mean her life!"


    "Possibly, not probably." She corrected him.


    "What is the difference?" He demanded.


    "Probably is more possible than possible."


    "And the difference being?"


    "I am optimistic, you''re just worrying your hair off. You''ll grow old soon." She grinned.


    Zilian heated up, not because she was wrong but because she was dead right. He regained his calmness, Erica would have told him to and not to get himself worked over something so insignificant.


    "Ahem." He cleared his voice, "Sorry, about that. You know."


    She shook her head, "No, I don''t know. You have to be a bit more specific." A teasing was tone in her speech.


    "I am sorry for snapping at you!" He realized instantly his mistake and yanked his hair.


    "It''s ok kid. There''s nothing wrong with you. Except, you''re nosy, loud..." She smiled, "And stink a little."


    "Hey, I don''t stink!"


    "You are the other two at least."


    Zilian smiled, couldn''t help but laugh. Both he and Sarri laughed together.


    "Well, maybe yes. I am not admitting to it." He said wiping the tears off.


    "If you say so." She patted him on the back reassuringly.


    They kept on walking through the cave, Sarri swung her torch around to see an entrance that lead to a drop straight down. Zilian looked over the edge, this looked a lot like the one they saved Sarri from. He peered harder and saw a small strip of rope on a ledge much further down, this drop definitely was the one they saved Sarri from.


    "Hey Sarri. When you fell into this hole, was that the only cave you were in that there was?"


    "If I understood your question, no. There were many other caves, tunnels and passages connected to the one I was in. I just stayed in the main, larger tunnel."


    "So, if we can find our way in that tunnel of yours, can you find the way out?"


    "Yeah, it''ll be a cinch." She rose a thumb confidently.


    He stepped back from the drop. "Then let''s find that tunnel." He led the way to a tunnel that led up.


    Sarri called at him, "This way kid. That tunnel likely would take you back down."Stolen novel; please report.


    "How do you know?" He asked.


    "We''re in a certain level in this mountain, where to go up, you need to go down and down to go up." She replied.


    That made no sense to him, but he was not going to argue that her logic was messed up. She led the way with the horse to a tunnel that declined; he shrugged, acknowledging that he had no choice but to trust her judgment. She was the spelunker after all, he would expect her to know more than himself. After all, he missed the pass before he saved her.


    "There was this other time. A little rebellious brat, much like you. Figured he knew more, digging down these caves, they went down deep. We must have been searching for several days in there. The kid thought there was nothing, wanted to go back up. I had to disagree."


    He interrupted, "Like always I bet."


    She snapped back, "Hey, you don''t get things done by agreeing with everything someone says. You get things done like the way how I do it."


    "That is doing the most pointless, dangerous and sometimes stupidest way. Right?"


    "That just ¡®bout sums it up." She laughed humorously.


    He smiled despite being trapped, wandering in a cave and worried for Erica. At least he had a moment to not worry, Sarri lighthearted spirit certainly was contagious.


    Sarri went on, "Well, we found a mother load. The most precious gems I have ever seen. They would have set me for life!"


    He raised a brow in query, "That begs the question, why didn''t you set yourself for life?"


    "Because for the love adventure of course! You can''t enjoy life doing nothing. Danger around every corner. Keep your hair standing on end. Oh, and of course it might be partially because when we mined it out, while I was drunk at a tavern, the kid saddled up with the lot of it. Never saw him again."


    "Well, you did say you wanted adventure." He teased.


    "Yeah, I do. I also want a nice horse, carriage, mining equipment."


    He teased her, "Tough luck."


    "Yeah, it might''ve been the only way for me to get dad''s blessing."


    "What do you mean?" He asked.


    She clamped up all of a sudden, tempting only a small excuse, "I really don''t want to talk about it."


    "You? Not wanting to talk? You wouldn''t shut up for the whole time in this cave!" He exclaimed. Obviously shocked at the sudden silent reply.


    "Well, a truly wise person would know when to shut up."


    "Yeah, this coming from the one who got drunk and lost the spelunk find of the year." He said mockingly.


    "Yeah, well, I have moments." She remarked. However, she did suddenly stop talking for the duration.


    She stopped in a wide cavern, several tunnels leading to several different directions. She unpacked her bag and pulled out a map.


    "You had a map this whole time?" He exclaimed.


    "Yeah, but it is only a overhead view on the land above. I know several entrances already that lead into this mountain. I just don''t know where they all lead, so I am taking a guess how deep and where on the map we are. That way if we are close to one of these entrances by accident, I know where to head."


    "Wouldn''t it be best to stick to one plan? You know, to look for the tunnel you already were in." He inquired.


    "We are sticking to that plan, I am just making a back up plan and a back up back up plan." She replied.


    "Now that''s just confusing." He rubbed his temples in confusion.


    "Yeah, what can you say? Great minds are hard for inferiors to comprehend."


    "There may be many thing I don''t know, but I am pretty certain you are not a great mind."


    "Well, that is for me to judge." She packed her map back in the pack.


    "I don''t think that makes sense either."


    "See, great minds aren''t meant for any to comprehend." Remarking more to herself than him this time. She looked at all the tunnels around them. "We''ll camp here for the night." She said decidedly.


    "It''s night time?" He was not tired, he judged day and not by how tired he was. No direct sunlight anywhere also made it difficult to judge if it were day or night, the dark cave made them both all the one and same.


    "Yeah." Her reply was straightforward offering no detail.


    "How do you know? You can''t see much of anything in these caves." He reasoned with her.


    "Kid, I have been at this way longer then you. If you want to go ahead and get lost in these caves, you can go right on ahead. In the meantime, I am gonna get a good nights rest. We''ll get more ground covered if we keep our strength up."


    She pulled a jacket out of bag, using it to cover her and walked to a smooth section off to the side of the cavern. She layer down and set her head on her bag as a cushion, proving she was just going to simply doze off. He sighed, there was no reasoning with her. He led the horse to a boulder sitting on the ground and tied the lead to it. He found a corner smooth enough for him to sleep, admitting that he was at least a bit tired. Wiping little pebbles out of the way, he used his bag as a cushion too. He wondered how Erica fared in the caves alone, as he guiltily drifted to sleep.

 Chapter Twenty - Alone In The Dark

    Erica searched as far as her limited sight allowed, imagining every possible exit there could be. She had already run out of oil to fuel her torch, and now all she could do was press against the wall, using it as her guide.


    She knew it would take Zilian more than three days to get help if he could even find any, the best thing she could do to help herself was to find another way out. Even if they had stayed behind to dig her out, it would still have been in vain for they would certainly have died shortly after. Her only true hope was to find a another way out on her side; the plan was to find a niche or a crack big enough that would lead into another cave.


    She had read books about what happens when quakes occur around mountains, and in them she learned that sometimes new caves and caverns are formed. Even about how sections could get disconnected from each other, whereas new sections formed fresh connections. She knew the chances were slim, but they were better than just sitting around and waiting for death.


    Her resources were limited, only having in stock a bit of food and less than a quarter full in her canteen. She rationed her food for the day, intent on lasting for at least two days if she could not find water sooner. She tried not to think too much about how limited she was between food, water and sight. She was trying to think positive and keep on moving, the last thing she wanted to do was give in to panic which she was very close to doing.


    We have to meet up with Ferry, we can not show up last. She repeated to herself, as she felt her way through by touch.


    Suddenly she felt a dip in the wall, and after patting around some she found a fracture in the wall, possibly opened up during the quake. Pressing herself into the shaft, she felt a definite breeze coming from the other side.


    "Woohoo!" She shouted into the hole, letting a little victorious cry out.


    She stepped back and before entering, strapped her bag tightly around her shoulders as she squeezed her way into the tight hole. She could not help but feel a little claustrophobic being in here, the hole was barely wide enough for her to get through. Her arms scraped against the sharp rock wall as she pushed deeper inside, making it hard to breath as the walls closed in tighter. Well past the point of no return, the walls pressed on too tightly for her to be able to move back. She shifted her bag in front of her to open more space between her and the wall, until she got stuck in the rock.


    Oh no. She could not move forward, trying to squirm to see if she can wedge any further but to no success.


    "Help!" She cried out, "Anyone there? Help!" No one replied to her cries for help, which was to no surprise for Erica. Panic grew as she squirmed more violently, cutting deep gashes on her knees and arms.


    Attempting to regain control of herself, she reassuringly spoke alone, "Ok, calm down. Think Eri, what can I do? Can''t go back, can''t go forward like this and no one here to help. There is surely a way out."Stolen novel; please report.


    Thinking calmly now, trying to decide which one of the two ways she should go. Her reasoning was that if she went back there may not be another way out,forcing her to come back here anyways, whereas if she moved forward she could get stuck and become unable to get out even if help did come.


    After considering all odds, she chose to move ahead since she would end up here either way. She angled her body sideways, managing to open up a bit of space. She used her arms to pull herself forwards, but after several meters it closed in again. She wedged her body through, trying to slide in between the tight rock. Her worst fear starting meeting up with reality again, she was stuck again - and as far as she can tell, there is no escape from this pitch black hole. She held her breath and took a final gut sucking gulp, the best she could do now was one final more lunge. With a final lunge she moved forward and felt the opening to this shaft, her bag plopped onto the ground as she tugged out of the hole.


    She gasped and coughed as she took deep breathes, hope filling her spirit again with the recent turn of events. For a moment she had feared that that hole was going to be her grave. Suddenly she noticed that she had a slight awareness of her surroundings, a dim light coming from high up through a crack on the wall. She smiled upon seeing the rays, happy to see the warm sunlight again.


    Unfortunately, the light was up high on the wall, some fifty feet away. There was no way she could climb up and out of the hole. On the other hand, she could now see a different tunnel. It was not like the fracture she crawled through, this was an actual big and wide tunnel.


    "Only one way to go now." She observed.


    She organized herself then went to traverse through this new tunnel, finding her way using the light behind as well a similar glow further ahead. Even though she doubted it led anywhere outside as it declined, it at least comforted her to see a source of light. Then she entered a new cavern that gave her a better view of her surroundings, a wide hole overhead providing much more light than the previous one. In the round spotlight at ground level was some stone debris, branches and twigs littered all about. On the opposite side, there was another tunnel further declining. Suddenly, the room darkened. She peered up to find the sun was setting and clouds spread in the dusk sky.


    "Guess it is time to set camp for the night." She smiled gleefully. She was not going to sleep in the cold, the cavern was wide and considerably flat making it perfect to set a fire.


    She gathered up the wood and piled them on a side, then built a small stone ring in the center. She gathered twigs in the ring making sure she cleaned the dirt off of them, followed with the thicker branches on the top. She grabbed a couple of specific stones, one that was hard and long that had wedge on the inside of it and another of the smoother variety. She struck the stones once, sending sparks flying across but unable start a fire. Striking again, this time she succeeded as the sparks landed on the dry twigs. Within moments, the fire was burning bright.


    She smiled at her success; all that time reading books had paid off. Settling herself near the fire, she wrapped her arms around her legs. Staring into the warmth of the fire and feeling its heat bouncing on her skin, she wondered how Zilian and Sarri were doing. If she were to guess, he was probably fussing over Sarri''s endless talking. She did not enjoy hearing her talking all the time, but she would not get easily irritated like Zilian did.


    She sighed at the prospect of how worried he was about her, just like how she was worried about them. She loosened her bag, placing it down as a cushion. Gazing at the now clear night, a sky full of beautiful and awe striking stars was revealed. She enjoyed gazing at them for a while, until clouds covered the sky again. Now feeling relaxed after having an exciting day, she knew she would figure out what to do to get out of this pit tomorrow.

 Chapter TwentyOne - Water, What Could Go Wrong?

    "Mmm..." Zilian groaned sleepily. As he stirred, he felt a tingly feeling running down his pants. He rose with a start fearing he had wet himself in sleep, but found only a stream of water coming from the tunnel next to him. The water trickled on the rock, forming pools in the cavern. He decided to step closer and scoop up water to drink, taking advantage of the newfound refreshment.


    "Hah..." He sighed with relief. He couldn''t drink anything last night, they ran out of water.


    He pulled out his canteen and filled it up with water, now he could go on for several more days in these caves now. He walked up to Sarri and nudged her on the shoulders, she moaned tiredly.


    "Sarri, there''s water." He nudged her again.


    She muttered, "No there isn''t kid. Water would likely be in a different section in these caves."


    "But there''s a stream now."


    "What do you mean by a stream now!" She did not wait for a reply, and exclaiming, "On my god. Get your bag, now!"


    "What''s wrong? It''s just water." He asked curiously, what was so harmful of a small stream of water?


    Of course, she was not paying him any attention. She wrapped her bag around her shoulder, ran to untie the horse and jumped right on.


    "What are you waiting for? Get your pack and hop on, we don''t have time!" She continued.


    "What do you mean? What''s wrong?" Insisting for at least an adequate answer.


    Urgency was in her eyes, she pointed at the small stream, "That stream is gonna be a river in minutes, now get on!"


    Zilian still was not understanding but the water suddenly widened, raising the pool into covering the whole ground in this cavern now. Now that he saw the danger coming, he snatched his bag and hopped on the horse behind her. Sarri did not wait to make sure he held on tight, jolting the horse forward into the tunnel where the water was coming from.


    "This is crazy! We''re riding a horse in a pitch black tunnel. What if we fall off a ledge or hit the ceiling?"


    "That is a risk we¡¯ll have to take." She said as she kicked the horse to make it run faster.


    He considered how crazy this was even for Sarri, riding a horse in a nearly pitch black cave away from some possible danger. Where the horse ran, water was sprayed everywhere. Within moments, the flow widened and deepened even more. From their limited viewpoint, it seemed the water was a foot deep now.


    "Why are we running to the water?" He asked.


    "We are down stream, we need to get up past the point of the water resting level."


    The horse stopped in a cavern with crystals that glowed. "Wish I could have been here before I met you guys." She remarked.


    "I wish you would have been here instead too." He agreed with her. Sarri¡¯s reaction however was a rebuking look, but her main focus was on the route ahead.


    She steered the horse to the left where the water was coming from, and what came from there scared him to death. A huge torrent was crashing through the tunnel.


    "We''re too late." He croaked.


    "Hah, and this is where a sense of adventure will trump late." A nerve racking grin grew on her face, which provided no ease of mind whatsoever to him.


    She kicked the horse into another sprint forward, and it galloped into the tunnel where the wave was coming from. Zilian held on tight to avoid falling, nearly losing his grip from how nervous he was. The horse crashed into the first wave, giving its whole might against fighting the wave. The water was now up to the horses neck. Zilian was amazed of this creatures strength; then again, it could have just been the heat of the moment.


    The horse neighed in fear as it began losing its footing, slowing down as the torrential waves crashed harder. Sarri looked around and ahead only to see there was more water up to the ceiling, meaning moving in further was not an option. Through the darkness, she pointed up to the top of a wall on the right.


    "There!" She cried out. The water was up their necks, getting into their mouths.


    Zilian could not at first see what she was pointing up at, but there was a ledge three feet high and safe out of harms way. Next thing he knew, she kicked the horse to move closer to the wall that was just a meter away. The horse kicked forward, edging closer to the ledge until it was right over them.


    "Go!" Sarri ordered.


    He did not need a moment to wait, he jumped off the horse and grabbed on the ledge. Almost losing his grip from the torrent being much more intense then anticipated, but he pulled himself up safely. He unstrapped his sheath and pack from him and tossed it safely inside, then turned around to help Sarri up only to find that she was already safe. She was even holding on to the lead tightly, trying to pull up the horse to safety with them.


    "What are you staring at kid? Get this thing up here!" She commanded him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He helped pull the horse up by its lead, aiding it to get its front hooves over the ledge then use its back hooves to climb up the rest of the way safely up the ledge. Now that they were all on the small platform safely, Zilian noticed there was no exit except from the torrent they had came from.


    "Um, Sarri. We''re stuck here." Zilian stated.


    She explained standing near the ledge staring at the moving water, "No kid, that water gonna drop and we''ll be able to go on."


    Sure[ly] enough, the water started to slow down and drop slowly. Zilian sat on edge, looking at the flood recede. The horse heaved itself to a corner and laid down. Sarri approached the beast and whispered in its ears.


    He barely heard speak, "Good boy. You did great." She purred while patting the horse.


    She sat next to him looking at the water drop too. "I bet dad''s militia school would never have this kind of training." She commented casually.


    Zilian almost could not believe what he heard, her dad is in a militia group. Seems like Sarri quickly realized her mistake too, because she suddenly became quiet again.


    "So, your dad is in a militia?" He probed her temptingly.


    "Well, not really. He... uh... well, perhaps owns a militia." She stuttered.


    "You mean that your dad is a leader of a militia?" Now he could connect some dots, and he was curious to how much more there is to know.


    "Maybe, perhaps two?" She scratched her head insecurely.


    "Two?" He exclaimed in disbelief.


    "See, this why I didn''t want to talk about him." Arguing seemed to be her only drawback and steer attention off the topic at hand.


    "You are the one who stated it first." Contending on the fact he did not start the conversation, again.


    "Yeah, well, I am not saying anything more about him." She declared adamantly.


    He paused for while, "Then why did you leave him?"


    She remained silent for a moment, thinking about her reply carefully, she sighed in defeat, "Because I didn''t like fighting. It was the same thing every day, fight and become stronger. Try to be the best. In the militia, you are not an average soldier, you are a feared seasoned warrior. I didn''t want that, I guess I was an annoying stupid kid then. Either way, I didn''t want that. I wanted to be on adventures, digging and finding things, getting into trouble. Not in war trouble though."


    He thought for a moment, "Well, at least you got what you want. Lots and lots of troubles. Oh, I still think you are annoying and stupid." Teasing her about her self-examination of the past.


    She laughed, "Thanks kid, you are almost decent. Maybe one day you¡¯ll be useful."


    "What''s that supposed to mean? Remember, I had to pull you up from that death pit. If it weren''t for me, you would be a carcass by now."


    She patted him on the head, "Yeah, and thanks for that."


    He was shocked, she said thanks?


    She retorted the look of disbelief on his face, "What? Can''t a girl be allowed to show their gratitude? I didn''t have to say it you know."


    He smiled at seeing the Sarri he knew. The water was finally low enough for them to walk on through the cave ahead, she jumped down and he followed after, picking up his stuff. He splashed in the shallow puddle, then whistled for the horse¡¯s attention, the animal momentarily jumping down to them.


    He asked, "So, where to now?"


    She pointed upstream, "Where the water came from, the source would almost certainly lead us outside."


    Zilian said, "Now that we''re safe from that current of water. Mind explaining what happened?"


    She answered as they walked through the tunnel, "Flash flood, must have been a heavy storm last night. Water would typically settle in area not far from where it first gets in. We are in deep, so that means water broke past its banks. Not to mention that we were on a decline, I knew we need to get up high, such as a platform, ledge or cave where the water wouldn''t settle in."


    "That means that water behind us shows us how close our we were to dying." He observed.


    She mocked, "You catch on pretty quick. Who knows, maybe you might have half a brain."


    "As if you can even tell what half is."


    "Don''t worry, not gonna pick a fight with you. Not while you have a sword at least." She teased slapping him on the back.


    He stopped in his tracks.


    "You really think I would use this on someone?" He asked.


    She stopped too.


    "Well yeah. Why else would you have it? You can''t say you''re pacifist if you''re carrying that thing everywhere."


    "It''s not mine. It''s my dad''s, or at least it might be his."


    "What do you mean?" She stopped to let him explain, evidently she sensed an interesting story where he could not find.


    He looked away unable to tell with a straight face, "He gave this to me the day when he..." Trying to find the right word, "When I lost him." He concluded.


    "Well, sorry about that. Probably was a great warrior." She commented.


    Now he is curious, "How would you know?"


    "I have seen many weapons in the militia camp. In a word, your sword is beautiful, distinct down to the hilt of the blade."


    He nodded curiously, "The thing is, he wasn''t a warrior. He hated fighting and tried to do everything the peaceful way. He was just a dad where I was, then suddenly, he brought this out from a secret compartment, saying I should protect it."


    "Strange request, taking that if he hated fighting." She remarked pointedly.


    "Sometimes I wonder if I even should bother with this. I read a bit how to handle a sword and practiced, but there is something when I unsheath it. I guess in a word, it scares me when I draw it." He did not want to go into detail of what this sword is capable of.


    "Well, that''s why I left the militia."


    "So you''re saying I should throw this away?"


    "Look kid, I am not going to tell you anything. Guess it is my turn, my dad told me to uphold and take responsibility of what I say, even if it costs my life."


    "What does that have to do with this?" Signaling to his sword as he pointedly lifted it.


    "What I am saying is, I will not take responsibility of what I tell you what you should do. Except for this, honor your father''s wishes, even if it is weird or not convenient for you. It is the least you could for him, after all in your young age, you haven''t done much for him. Yet that is."


    He pondered in what she had said, understanding the depth of significance behind it, "I guess you''re right. You told me I should keep it, so that will be on you." He grinned.


    She smiled, "Isn''t it always? Now to adventure!" Tossing her fist in the air, enthusiastic for more.


    While she had taken the lead again, Zilian felt a fire coursing in his bones. What she said was right; whatever his father had wanted him to do with this blade in the future, he would have to figure it out or wait till fate deemed him ready to know.

 Chapter TwentyTwo - She Knits A Pick?

    Erica flipped on her side, and then waking up in a startle as she fell in a small puddle. The water came pouring in from the sky, an unnervingly large amount of water. The cavern she was in had already transformed into a shallow pool, and she was scared to death by what else she saw up above. A large waterfall was pouring into the hole and crashing down to the bottom, just a few meters from her.


    She quickly tossed herself up and grabbed her bag, running down the first cave she saw. However, she could tell it was a mistake the instant she stepped foot inside. The path angled down and she did not want to follow it if the cave was going to fill up. She turned around, but the water had already crashed down and was forcing its way towards her.


    Only one way to go again. She thought to herself.


    She ran down the tunnel, hoping that it would lead out somewhere. She heard the torrents of water crashing against the tunnels walls as she ran in deeper, but she did not dare to look back and just ran through the dimly lit tunnel. She thought she was going to die, there was no way she would be able to go back up against this volume of water. All she could do was move ahead, but even then she was not fast enough, the water was inches behind her heels.


    Then the ground shifted as it flattened and then angled upwards. She could not imagine her luck, but she hoped it would not end yet. Now she needed to outrun the water uphill, and run straight up she did, almost tripping several times. The water foamed aggressively behind her, but she saw dim glow ahead where the tunnel flattened again. She was almost out of breath when she finally made it up to the top, but the sight almost took the last one from her. It was a dead end, with a huge wall and many glowing crystals glowing around everywhere.


    She looked back for the first time, and thought she was going to die in this watery cave. The water splashed as it hit the bank on the edge. She thought the water was going to keep coming, but it just lapped there calmly. She stepped closer to the water, the torrent settling with a couple of thick branches floating at the top.


    She remarked to herself, "I need to reconsider my desires of adventure if I get out of here alive."


    Relieved that this predicament was over, now she was faced with a new problem. She looked at the dead end, a plain wall with crystals peppered on it, and could not shake the feeling that something was was not right. She picked up a small stone from the ground as she walked to the wall, then pressed her ear against it as she tapped it with the stone. Her heart raced when she heard an echo. It was hollow, which meant there was another way out through this wall. She pressed her back against the wall and slid down to sit, she needed to to think of a way through this.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The first thing she did was throw heavy, sharp rocks at it and hoped that would break it, but showed little hope of breaking the wall. She tried pushing against it, only to find that her strength was not enough. Her stomach growled abruptly. Laying her head back, she realized she had not had anything to eat for more than a day. She settled down for a bit to munch on her last bit of food, a mostly beaten up and wet marilla apple. Still she chewed and swallowed longingly, anything at this point was delicious.


    She threw the core of her apple to the water lapping at the far end. She had nothing useful in her bag now, just a ball of yarn and a canteen of water. She suddenly remembered she needed to refill her canteen, so she stepped alongside the water she could barely see the bottom of it. While filling up her canteen, she saw the branch bobbing nearby. An idea came across her now and she grabbed onto it, testing its resilience and how sturdy it was.


    "Yeah, this will do." She commented with a grin.


    Dragging the branch along with her, she looked around for one last item she needed. A crystal that was exceptionally long and wide, and most importantly, one that had a sharp tip. She tried to pull on it and surprisingly, the soil it stuck out from was soft, allowing her to pull it out with ease. She was going to do something which thanks to Sarri had inspired. She was going to knit a pickax, so to speak.


    She sat down and set herself to work, pulling the yarn from her pack. Placing the crystal evenly on the end of the thick part of the branch, she tied the string in a crisscross to make her pickax. She pulled on it tightly so it would not break loose easily, and then stood up next to the wall. She held the handmade pickax up high and swung hard, smashing it against the wall. A cling echoed in the small space she was in and despite the annoying sharp sound, she could see it was working as it left a deep impression on the wall. She redoubled her efforts right away, getting herself in a steady rhythm.


    She never thought this kind of work could be so exhausting, getting tired already after what she guess was an hour. After one more hard swing, the branch shattered. She fell to her knees, only to jump excitedly back up as she spotted one last branch in the water.


    "Great!" She shouted.


    She went to pick it out and used what little string she had left to craft another pickax, she then set herself to pick at the wall again. So far, she managed to pick a wide hole that was about a foot deep. As she was picking at the wall, the new branch shattered just as the first one had done. She stopped and examined the small stick that was left, it was slim, but just enough to hold in her hands. If she was going to pick at the wall, she would only have one shot left at it. She flipped it around and reared her pick up high and gave one final and hard swing, the blow echoing loudly in the room as the last bit of the stick shattered. However at this same instant, the wall started to crumble as well. Erica gave a coughing bout as dust was kicked up in the air, which she waved at to find some respite. What she heard afterwards, was not what she expected but still relieving nonetheless.


    "Erica?"

 Chapter TwentyThree - The Vile Name

    "So we''re lost you said?" Zilian asked as he and Sarri wandered through the tunnels.


    Sarri responded in an irritated tone, "No, I didn''t say we are lost. Just that we are in another layer and that it¡¯s hard to tell where these tunnels will take us." Her explanation was short, due to how many times she had repeated herself.


    "Do we know where to go?" He probed her.


    "No." She answered flatly.


    "Do we know where we are?"


    "No."


    "Do we know how to get back to where came from? Say that other cavern that might''ve led somewhere else?"


    She paused momentarily before admitting in defeat, "No."


    "What else do we need to finally admit we are lost?"


    "Look kid! You want to lead, be my guest. I can promise you won''t have any more luck than me. After all, I am the spelunker on this trip."


    He shrugged and took the lead, "Fine by me, about time I get a turn to choose." Sarri was always quick on taking the front, so this was a rare opportunity for him.


    He sighed in glee, showing how much he loved being the one in charge now instead of Sarri. They have wandered into a section of the caves they could not find their way back from, having been walking in circles for hours at this point. They should have had walked back a long time ago as he suggested to her, but of course she would not listen. Henceforth, even she was not certain on how to get out.


    He paused at a junction and he decided to go to the left, and this tunnel led them back to the cavern that took them in circles. The cavern was tremendously large, with what he guessed were over thirty different tunnels. The tunnels all cross in each other and whatever direction they took, it always brought them back here. They were so confused and turn around at this point, the could not even guess which tunnel would lead them back to one of the caverns they were in before this one.


    "So wise guy, which one would you pick?" Sarri tested him.


    He stepped into the middle of the cavern, getting a good look to all the tunnels but to little help since they all appeared the same at first glance. He just hoped they would not wander in here for days, Erica did not have that much time. One tunnel caught his attention, for whatever reason it felt like the right one. There was nothing about that tunnel to look any different from any of the others, but regardless he walked into that one with Sarri following closely behind him.


    Sarri asked, "So, why do you choose this one?"


    "Just a feeling it is the right one." He shrugged insecurely, he had no particular reason why going down this one tunnel other than a gut feeling.


    "So you guessed?" She teased him, proving that he was not doing much better than her.


    He decided he needed to reason with and came up with something complex to say, "No, I took a intuitive, preliminary, well educated concept of an idea of what seemed to be the most likely solution to our given situation."


    "So.... you guessed?" Her question sounded more like a statement, it was really obvious that he guessed.


    He exclaimed and defended himself, "Yes! Of course I guessed, but it was at least my turn to guess."


    "Kid, we have the same chances at finding a tunnel. Your chance is we are gonna get back to the cavern, at least on your first try." The logic was sound, especially since they really could not tell if they had already been down this tunnel already.


    "Well, at least I guessed..." He added.


    Sarri laughed, "Yes, you had your turn."


    "I have a question, so is it ok I ask?" He wanted to get something off that nagged at him.


    "Was that the question or did you mean you are gonna ask another?" She mocked him.


    He laughed, "Sorry. How can I tell if I ever saw your father''s militia group?"


    "That is an interesting question, why do you ask?" She eyed curiously, it honestly felt a bit freaky to Zilian from the way how the light bounced the walls.


    "Just a curious question." He replied innocently. That was however not the whole truth, he would not put it past the Mountain to look for help from another group to hunt him down if they needed to.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Ok, then. Just make sure if you see them, don''t tell them you know me or where I went." She waited upon his agreement to the terms.


    He agreed, not a hard bargain for him at all, "Fair enough."


    "They have an insignia of a red horned face on the shoulders pads of their armor, as well on the back of their helmets."


    Now he knew who else he wanted to stay clear from.


    "Well kid. Seems like your tunnel doesn''t lead anywhere."


    "Why do you say that?" He asked.


    "We''ve been going down this tunnel for awhile now and it doesn''t seem to stop. Chances are it will lead to a dead end." She explained.


    He stopped in his tracks and now noticed what she said, the tunnel had not crossed any of the others thus so far and they had been in it for quite a while now. He countered her, "I think you are wrong."


    "Huh? Do you know what you are saying? I am never wrong about these caves and tunnels kid."


    He ran ahead, ignoring her startled call from behind, "Hey wait! Where are you running off to?"


    He ran in this surprisingly straight cave and had a great feeling about this, a sparkle danced deep in the darkness at the end. In a matter of minutes, he reached the end that sloped up and ended as a flat surface. It was exactly what he hoped for, a tunnel that led straight out towards sunlight. A couple seconds later, Sarri was right beside him.


    "Not bad kid, you have better luck than me." She looked at the entrance where the light came from, "And it seems we didn''t need to find where I came from after all."


    "Yeah. Seems like it." He felt disheartened.


    Sarri noticed by the chip in his shoulders, "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s just I think we might be too late, for Erica." He commented


    She led to the exit, "Don''t give up. Let''s go get help now."


    He followed, "How will we get her out? Both ways to get to her are blocked off."


    "The best we can do is try and hope for the best." It was cold even for Sarri, but he knew she was right.


    "I wish she would just pop out from a wall." He sighed.


    Just as he finished his sentence, the wall next to them sprayed dust in the air as it collapsed. Zilian wiped the dust out of his eyes and when he opened them, he wiped them again in disbelief. He could not believe it, but here she was. Erica appeared from behind a wall, covered in dust and bruises, her clothing was cut riddled in each which way.


    He was in disbelief, this was too good to be true, "Erica?"


    Erica yelled out in joy, "Zilian!"


    She tossed whatever she had in her hands aside, running to hug both him and Sarri.


    "Never thought I say this, but good to see you Sarri." Tears welled up in her eyes.


    Sarri seemed to be taken a bit aback even with the grim face, "That is quite the entrance lady."


    She heaved sorely, "Yeah, I won¡¯t be going on another adventure for a while. That means we are parting ways Sarri." Zilian could not agree anymore, he had enough of this crazy adventure too.


    She smiled, "Yeah I can''t imagine this kids luck, he said you''d pop out of a wall and here you are. Hey kid, could you say ''crystals will pop from the wall'' for me." A playful smirk hung on her face.


    He shrugged uncaringly, "Crystals will pop from the wall."


    "Well, guess what. There''s crystals in the wall there. Easy to pick out." Erica added.


    "Wait, what? Really?" Zilian exclaimed surprisingly.


    Sarri placed her hand on his shoulder, "Thanks kid, I owe you one."


    His mouth dropped, while Sarri could not wait another moment and stuffed her bag with the crystals. She tossed a single one at him. "Here, finders fee." She teased.


    "I think we deserve more then that, I mean finding this hole and saving your life and putting up with your chatter." He bargained with her.


    Erica interfered, "No, I don''t want to see another crystal for a good while." That left Zilian a bit sour, he had no idea why she did not want crystals for but giving them up to Sarri was crossing a line.


    Sarri smiled and shook hands in agree to the deal, "Nice, you''re an excellent person for me to have business with."


    As soon as the bag was jam packed, she got out of the hole and led the way back to the exit while Zilian and Erica followed close behind. They saw the bare sunlight for the first time in days, which to Zilian had felt like forever. He winced at the brightness, letting his eyes get accustomed to it. A forest was not too far off and much to his relief a path was visible on the edge.


    Sarri pointed at the path, "That would lead you straight to Greyus."


    Erica and Zilian exchanged glances.


    Erica spoke first, "I guess this is it then, right?"


    Sarri answered, "Yeah. Have to say, I enjoyed the little bit of time I spent with you Erica. You are respectful, kind and don''t answer back. Unlike this other kid." Pointing at Zilian.


    He shouted, "Hey! And here I was about to say I was going to miss you too."


    She patted him on the head, "But you are decent enough. Take care."


    He smiled. As annoying she was, he would honestly miss her. Before he could properly say good bye, he turned to see a shouting from behind. He wondered what was all the commotion about, since a group of armored men on horses rode towards.


    "Sarri! Stay right where you are!" The one in the lead shouted as they sped faster to them.


    He turned to look back at Sarri, and before he knew what was going on. She was on their horse and sprinted very quickly away from the soldiers into forest, and she called back before she disappeared. "I owe you another one! Don''t worry, I know you''ll miss me."


    And with that, she rode away. The group that chased her rode right past Zilian and Erica, which he saw an insignia - a red horned face. She was being chased by her father''s militia. He did not care who or what she was running from, there was one thing that crossed his mind and Erica voiced it.


    "Did she just take our horse?"


    He answered flatly, trying to grasp what just happened, "Yes."


    He was going to yell, but Erica surprised him as she shouted first. The one word that would forever leave a bile taste, "Sarri!"

 Chapter TwentyFour - Where Is He?

    "We made it." Erica sighed tiredly.


    Zilian took a deep breathe as well. After being trapped in the caves for several days, they had another day left of travel. Now they had finally had made it to Greyus, and much like the other city Kartick, this city was surrounded by farmlands and massive walls protecting an inner city. The entrance to the city was just past two huge wooden gates which stood firmly right in front of the two.


    The sun had set an hour ago just when they first got out of the forest and upon seeing the city was nearby, they decided to head right to it rather camp another night out in the cold. Zilian stood before the massive doors, grabbed onto a large door knocker and knocked twice.


    A small door barely big enough for a pair of eyes to peep through opened. "Who''s there?" A disgruntled voice demanded.


    "Just a couple of children." He answered nonchalantly.


    "Where do you come from?" The voice asked again in the same tone.


    "From Kartick." This time he sighed loudly to show how tired he was, there really was no need to waste time like this.


    "You have papers?" He asked.


    Zilian was confused, Fale said nothing about this, "Papers?" He asked him confused.


    "Yes, if you came from one of the other Conditioned Cities and visiting another, you would be given papers proving it." He explained.


    "I wasn''t aware of this." Zilian told the mysterious man, this must be some misunderstanding.


    "Kartick is three days off, you would have known when you left."


    "We left Kartick almost a week ago!" He exclaimed annoyingly.


    "A week you say?" He did not wait for a reply, as he slapped the flap shut. He heard some hushed whispering behind the door, and then opened the flap again. "I am afraid we can''t let you in. Without proof of who you really are, we can not risk this city." He asserted their demise.


    Now he was upset and smacked the gate, "Come on! We''re just a couple of kids who want to sleep inside somewhere safe."


    "Don''t you feel safe enough with that sword?" Eyeing the sword tied to his belt.


    Thinking up an excuse real quick, "This is just so I am a little safer out here. You know, war and everything. Or did you forget there''s what¡¯s going on out here?" He figured an argument would annoy the man into letting him in.


    "Like I said, we can''t risk it letting you in here."


    He closed the small door again, obviously dismissing him. He pounded the door, attempting to get their attention again. "Open up! We''re supposed to meet our grandfather here!" Zilian shouted.


    Erica placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let''s camp out here, we don''t have to be inside to meet Ferry. Besides, it''s late Zilian."


    He sighed in defeat, she was right that it was late and he did need to rest. They would have figure out what to do tomorrow. He turned around to leave and find a spot where they could set up camp, but then the voice called out to them as the small flap opened again.


    "What was your name?" The man asked.


    "Why does it matter?" Zilian contended, he found no reason to offer them anything if they would not give something back.


    "Just tell me your name." He replied flatly.


    He hesitated and shrugged, "Zilian." Not like he had anything to lose in giving his name.


    "Zilian? And you lassie?" Asking Erica the same thing.


    She answered freely, "Erica."


    After giving their names, he closed the door followed by the sound receding footsteps from the door. He guessed he only wanted names to go on a report, so Zilian turned to leave again. Suddenly a loud he heard a wooden creak, and upon looking back he saw the large gate doors were opening. A man welcomed them in, shaking their hands feverishly.


    "Welcome to Greyus. Glad you made it, Fale wouldn''t leave us alone until he heard you made it safely." He informed them hastily, his face even seemed a bit blushed from embarrassment.


    He tipped his head up to see eye to eye the tall man, "Fale asked you to wait for us?"


    "Yes. Even had us try to scout for you yesterday."


    "How did he tell you? We''re several days away. He couldn''t have made it before us." It did not seem possible that he would have been worried so soon.


    "I see that you come from a small village. We use Messenger Birds to send reports and messages in cities." He explained briefly.


    He continued, "Anyway, name is Zacke."


    "Zacke you said?" Erica asked.


    "Yeah. Why do you ask, we know each other?" He seemed confused from the puzzled look.


    She drooped sadly, "No, just a friend we used to know."Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "I see. Well, come on inside. You must be tired, we''ll get you to Melamel right away." He urged them inside and closed the door behind that, securing them safely inside the city¡¯s inner barrier.


    "You know where we are going?" He asked because he did not recall telling them their destination.


    "Of course. Fale was very descriptive of what to do." He held both of him and Erica by the shoulder, giving a securing ambiance.


    Zacke led them down the quiet streets of Greyus, only a few roused shop owners stood outside in preparation of the morning business. The lights of bedrooms spilled out onto the streets, further increasing the calm ambiance and relaxing stillness. This city seemed much more decorated which made it more unique. The roads were wide, made from clay bricks and separated from the center by potted plants.


    Zacke waved his hand in Zilian¡¯s face to get his attention. Zilian shook his head back into reality, "Sorry, what did you say?"


    Zacke, clearly annoyed, repeated himself, "I said we''re here. Melamel Inn."


    He looked up and saw the sign that read Melamel Inn. They stepped inside and found a young woman behind the desk, reading through some papers much like back at Kartick. She interrupted her reading to attend her new guests, nudging the papers aside.


    "How may I help you?" She offered.


    Zacke answered, "Here''s the missing kids of Fales."


    Her eyes widened, "Oh! Welcome to Melamel. Good that you''re finally here."


    Zilian asked as he tipped his head puzzled, "Am I really that famous around here?"


    The lady answered, "Nah, just here at Melamel and everyone in the Guards."


    Zacke patted him in the back, "Come on, let''s get you somewhere to sleep."


    The lady grabbed a couple of keys from behind her desk and led them upstairs. He followed her down long hallway, just like the Inn back at Kartick. She stopped at the fourth room on the right, pressed the key in and unlocked the door.


    She handed them their room keys after having opened two rooms, "Here''s your keys. I hope you guys get a good night¡¯s sleep."


    She turned to leave, but Zilian caught her attention.


    "How about paying?"


    She replied, "Don''t worry ¡®bout it, we''ll take care of it tomorrow. I see ya¡¯ll are tired now, so night." She then went down stairs.


    Zacke waved goodbye, "Take care, see you tomorrow maybe."


    "Bye." Zilian waved back as he left.


    Him and Erica both parted ways into their rooms, both too tired to even say good night. Zilian closed and locked his door, settling himself in his new abode. A nice little night dresser sat next to the bed, and a small desk stood under the window. To the right of the night dresser, a small door closet pressed against the wall. Across the room on the other side, a single door led to the bathroom. After taking a quick peek into the bathroom, he found a simple shower and a rack with fresh towels.


    He threw his pack on the desk, unbuckled his sheath and tossed it alongside his pack. He was tired and wanted no more than good night¡¯s rest on a soft bed.


    ~---~


    Zilian finished dressing himself, he only now noticed the state of his apparel, ¡°Erica and I really do need a new set of clothes.¡±


    Since Farame had yet to make it here, they decided to take the time and buy a fresh set of clothes. Something must have seriously kept Farame behind, considering he and Erica were late by several days. However, once he arrived and reunited with the two, everything should play out smoothly. The trip to Kenplar Estate afterwards should be relatively easy.


    He went to the sink and washed his face, trying to wipe off the look of sorrow. Mauris, Charlee, Zacke, all of them gave up their lives to rescue others. Their selflessness was comparable to what his own father had done nearly a year ago. He gave his life for him and the last thing Zilian did was steal and argue with him.


    After wiping his hands and face on the hand-towel hanging from the wall, he stepped back into the main room and buckled his sword that was leaning against the desk. A knock rapped against his door.


    He ran to answer the door and saw Erica waiting there. "This time you got dressed before I knocked." She teased him.


    He smiled lightly, "Yeah. I guess." Shrugging it off since he was usually the last one ready.


    "Something wrong?" She sensed something was bothering him.


    "Nah. Never better, especially since I got a bed finally. Let''s go." He looked away to avoid eye contact, last thing wanted was burden her with his own worries. He had no idea where to start, or how to even explain that the sword was more than what it seemed.


    He nudged the worries aside and stepped alongside Erica, locking the door behind them. They walked out the hall downstairs, then out past the door and into the main street.


    "We are we going?" Erica asked after they had paused and scanned both directions.


    "I don''t know. You''re the one who said you wanted to go somewhere." He replied raising his hand defeatedly.


    "Sheesh, you are so forgetful." She rolled her eyes.


    "You''re testing me? If you don''t know where to go, I''ll just get back to sleep." He threatened by doubling back.


    "We were going to get some clean clothes. This is my first time here in a while, so I do not know where the stores are at. Where do you think they might be?" She argued.


    Zilian stopped a pedestrian that was walking by, "Excuse me sir. Mind telling me and my friend where the stores are at?"


    He grunted and pointed his thumb behind him, then strode on without waiting another moment.


    Zilian pointed down the same direction, "I think it is that way."


    "Of course you do." She poked him hard, making his ribs sting.


    He let Erica lead the way down the road, and after a few minutes of walking they found themselves standing right in front of a clothing store. He stepped inside the windowless store, walking past several armless sculptures. They were made out of wood and wore the clothes they were selling. Zilian found the scene rather bizarre, the faceless and armless things unnervingly lifelike. He turned to check with Erica, but she was busy pressing a dress against herself as she stood in front of a mirror. She then grabbed a blouse from another hanger, comparing them both.


    He could tell she was going to take a long time here, so he helped himself to a fresh set of clothes too. He checked some clothes to try out, grabbing a beige shirt and brown pants. Seeing himself on the mirror, he pressed the shirt against him.


    The day rolled by with Zilian and Erica choosing clothes for themselves. They finished buying what they wanted by dusk. He was wearing a brand new beige shirt and dark blue pants, taking the advantage to buy a spare set of brown pants and an orange shirt. Erica was wearing a blue blouse and black pants, having also bought a long sleeve coat and brown cloak.


    While Erica was taking her time choosing new clothes, he took the opportunity to restock on food and camping supplies as well as a map since the old one they had was soaked. As they return to the Inn and climbed the stairs, before they both went in their rooms, Zilian got an uneasy feeling.


    "I wonder what''s taking Ferry so long." Erica voiced his thoughts.


    "Don''t know, must have been held back by something. He¡¯ll surely be here soon." He answered positively. Despite his optimism, he could not but help feel something had gone seriously wrong and they would not being see him anytime soon.

 Chapter TwentyFive - The Assassin, The Gamble, The Inn

    ¡°Nowhere for him to go this time.¡± Kathryn was now certain she had him. She had stealthily breached Greyus massive walls. To her the defenses of the Council of Freedom were comical. A child could get past their defenses, and it had probably happened.


    Even though she had confirmed just yesterday that a boy named Zilian had arrived, she had not ascertained his exact location he had stationed himself. The timing is odd though; she was certain he would have been here at least two days earlier, but she did not dismiss the fact they could have been delayed due to the quakes. She placed her bet that the best way to find him was through the guards barracks, which were located near the center of the city.


    As she strode through the streets, coolly walking down the road towards her destination. The barracks were surrounded by a large iron fence, which was perhaps the only true defense they had. She turned around a bend and hid, crouching behind a couple of crates next to the building. She had a clear path to the barracks; no one was in sight and she doubted anyone would be up this late of night. And much to her luck, they were not guarding the fence, as if they did not expect anyone to sneak up on them. Of course, it would only take them a second to coincidentally see her dashing over the fence, which she wanted to avoid since it would draw undue attention to herself.


    She saw through a window far across the field inside the barracks, a bunch of the guards were hugging each other in joy. She assumed they were childhood friends. Then they broke up, one turning back to grab a deck of cards from a bookcase, and gathered up around a large table.


    Taking this as her chance, she dashed across the open between her and the fence. When she neared just twenty feet from it, she drew her double-sided polearm. She spun it around and a gust of air formed around her, lifting her over the fence and sending her down rolling to smooth the fall. Then she dashed the rest of the way to the building and as a guard walked by the window, she instantly created another gust around her to fly and land on top of the building.


    Did I make it in time? She asked herself.


    "Guys, I think I just saw someone?" A voice came from the open window.


    A second voice appeared, "Really? I don''t see anyone."


    "I swear, I saw a young girl. I turned my head for a moment, then before I realized what I saw, I checked again and she was gone." The first man said.


    "Don''t know what to tell ya. Either you''re crazy or you had a long day." The voice receded into the background.


    "Guess your right. Where''s the rum?¡± She heard some shuffling and then a sound of glass clinking, ¡°Ah, here it is. Now to get back to business."


    When all the voices faded in the background, she realized she would not get much from this vantage point. She scanned the immediate area and noticed a chimney poking out nearby, she peered down into it saw that it was a hole wide enough for her to fit inside. Going head first, she slid down. Once she was close to the furnace entrance she stopped, now close enough to hear their voices clearly.


    "Sorry folks, full hand wins the house!"


    She heard clinking of coins on a table, and guessed that they were playing bets in a game of cards.


    "One more game?" Challenged the original guard who had momentarily seen her.


    The was a murmur of agreement and then more coins were tossed on the table, seemed like they were going to have a long night. Kathryn hung there and and kept an ear out for anything of importance. Hours passed and the group laughed on their wins, moaned on their losses, but mostly and most importantly talked a lot. Mostly the same old foolish conversation of an adult, talking about how boring their jobs were and that their wives were going to leave them. Until finally, a topic to her interest popped up.


    "What you guys think about that thing?" One spoke groggily.


    A second answered just as smashed as the previous one, "Seems someone has had a little too much to drink, see if he loses this time." He cackled to himself.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Then all of them laughed, but the first guy said, "No, I mean the big issue that Fale made about. He was just about to get a search and rescue party for them."


    The second man who made fun of him agreed, "Oh yes. The boy and girl, what were their names?"


    A third guy answered, "Zilian and Erica, that''s what Fale said."


    "Yeah, them. Have you guys seen them? Heard they had quite the trip through the mountain." First man said.


    "Nope." They all replied uninterested.


    She heard more clinking on the table as they placed more bets.


    "Must be quite the children to catch Fale''s attention." A fourth guy added.


    Third man answered, "I''d say. Fale is someone who only befriends the best of people."


    Second man asked, "Where were they staying at?"


    They all murmured unknowingly except a fifth man remarked, "Wasn¡¯t it at Melamel Inn?"


    Second man agreed, "Sounds right. They got settled in a nice place."


    Suddenly the first man exclaimed, "In the bag again! Thank you for your time and money!" And slapped his cards on the table.


    The third man answered, "That money is in the bag, but not your bag."


    She heard the tap of one card to next tap at the table and then followed by coins being dragged across. "You win some and you lose some and more importantly, I win most."


    Everyone else laughed in the room.


    Kathryn flipped herself upright in the chimney and crawled out, having already gathered the information she needed to accomplish her mission. Once back on top of the rooftop, she got her bearings. She had memorized the entire city; every single store, inn and place of importance clearly imprinted in her memory. She ran on the rooftop in the opposite direction from which she came, able to jump over the fence because of the short gap on this side. She then made her way to the nearest building, climbing to the roof. She traversed between the rooftops of the houses and stores, arriving at the Melamel Inn within half an hour.


    She jumped from the roof down into the alley at the side and walked out casually, the streets now bustling from early risers. The sun started to wake everyone up, meaning she had little time left. She entered the Inn and approached the lady behind the counter.


    "Hello, I am looking for my cousin Zilian Ainn. He said I should meet him here." She had time to think of how to present herself and what to say, and had prepared what to say and do to get to him.


    The counter lady replied casually, "Very well then, let me check through my records. We get plenty of people coming in and out all week."


    She thought she heard footsteps going up the stairs and turned to the stairs, but found that no one was there. The woman was taking a long time looking through her records, Kathryn thought this was odd even though she did mention they had a lot of people go in and out recently. A couple minutes went, building up on her frustration and impatience.


    "I will be able to recognize him if I were to search for him." She assured her impatiently.


    A moment later, a young boy walked down from the stairs. He seemed to match the vague description she received and was accompanied by another young girl. A sister maybe? He turned around, and called to someone up the stairs.


    "See you later mom!"


    The mother up the stairs called back, "Have a good day sweety, and don''t spend all of your allowance in one place."


    "Don''t worry, I won''t." He then turned with his sister, running out the main entrance a bit too excitedly in her opinion.


    She dismissed the possibility. She knew Zilian had no mother. He might be accompanied by someone else but definitely no mother.


    The woman gave her the room, "Ah, here he is room 204. Right there, up the stairs." She turned the book to show her.


    She smiled kindly, maintaining a polite smile so as to not raise suspicion, "Thank you."


    With what she needed, she left and walked up the stairs to the room Zilian was sleeping in. She turned to see the mother as she walked pass her, she had several younger children. The kids whined and fussed as she tried to groom them before she headed out.


    She tested the doorknob and found it was unlocked, poking her head inside only to see that the room was empty. Walking inside silently because he might be awake and still inside, she approached the bathroom cautiously and peered inside and saw no one was there either.


    He must have woken up early and left. She thought.


    She sat behind the door, so that when he returned he would not see her. Sitting with legs crossed, she closed her eyes to get some much needed sleep. She was not worried he would come in to see her asleep, because she had trained her brain to be alert at all times. When he came in she would subdue him swiftly and silently, and then she would then take him to Malie.

 Chapter TwentySix - An Early And Deadly Checkout

    Zilian woke up in a fright after tossing and turning restlessly in bed, he had a nightmare of something terrible happening to Farame and his warning them to flee safely away. Tossing the blanket off him, he climbed out of bed.


    He ran into the bathroom to wash his face, his heart pounded in his chest as the water cooled him down. He was worried because Farame still had not shown up, even after them being delayed from the crazy turn of events in the caves. He jumped as the doorknob suddenly jingled on his door, he was still antsy from his nightmare as he sneaked to the door. He saw that dawn had not even started, since it was still dark outside. The door knob now rattled furiously. Startled, he turned to hide somewhere and looks around wildly, but finds nowhere suitable to hide in. The door then burst wide open, and he turns to see who his invader was.


    A young man stumbled in, he got up clumsily. He looks around confusingly.


    "This. Isn''t my room. Or is it?" He asked incoherently.


    Zilian stood there stunned, the man scared the wits out of him. The man took a step back and looked at the number on the door and his key, seeing they were not the same.


    "Sorry pal. A long night. For me." His garbled speech ended with a hiccup as he left the room, closing the door behind him.


    Zilian went to lock his bedroom door, but finds that the lock was broken and sighed. A ray of light fell across his face as the sun rose over the horizon, forcing him to block the light with a hand. Since Erica would be getting up soon, he decided they would just go out and do something in town as they waited another day for Farame. Tossing on his new set of clothes, he ran down into the lobby to let the lady know about the broken lock. He did not like the idea of going out with an exposed door like that, so he hoped to have it fixed before they got back.


    Before he took the last step heading down the stairs into the lobby, a girl¡¯s voice just in there had sent chills down his spine.


    "Hello. I am looking for my cousin Zilian Ainn, he said I should meet him here."


    Cousin, what is she talking about? He peered around the corner.


    He saw a young girl who was certainly older than him, but not by much. She wore a long hooded, silver cloak and a beautiful long golden-blonde hair that she had tied back, and a white dress with the sides slit open revealing long black pants underneath. She had a long pole-like blade weapon hooked behind her. She definitely was not anyone Zilian recognized, and she could not have been sent by Farame because he knew of no cousins.


    The lady behind the counter replied, "Very well then, let me check through my records, we get plenty of people coming in out all week."


    He knew the lady behind the counter was lying to her, she was also suspicious of this girl.


    That''s it. No more time waiting. He ran back up the stairs down the hallway and into Erica''s bedroom. He burst the door wide open and finds her she combing her hair. She jumped in surprise, clearly startled by Zilian''s sudden dramatic entrance.


    "Goodness Zilian, you scared me. Don''t just open doors without knocking..."


    He cut her off, "Quick, get your bags out. We are leaving."


    "Now? Ferry is here finally?" She put down her comb and eyed him hopefully.


    He shook his head, "No. Just get your things." He ushered her to speed up.


    She did not understand him, but she saw the urgency in his voice. Without wasting a moment, he ran in his room and grabbed his bag wrapping his sword so it would not be noticed. Turning to exit the room, he and Erica met in the hallway at the same time. He realized now that there was no way to get out except through the lobby. He looked down the hallway at the end and saw no one. Near the stairs however, a woman with three young children came out of a room. An idea occured in his head.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Excuse me miss." He approached her.


    "Yes." She answered annoyed as she groomed her children.


    "Mind doing me a favor? Down the stairs, there''s trouble." He asked her hastily, hoping she would not say no.


    She narrowed her eyes, "What kind of trouble?"


    He sighed in relief, at least she did not say no, "Well, I am not so sure. Here, I''ll pay you for this favor." He reached for his pouch of money and pulled out fifty Semps.


    "Not so sure fifty Semps worth making you a small inconvenience?"


    He heard a voice down the stairs, "I am sure I am able to recognize him if I to search for him."


    The counter lady said, "No worries, I am sure to find when this cousin of yours checked in."


    He turned his attention back to the mother and pulled out more coins, "Fine, 500 Semps. Fair?"


    Mother bounced her head back, "Deal. Now what is it you want me to do?" She snatched the money from his hands before he changed his mind.


    "Just as I leave say something to give the impression I am your son, can you do that?" He hoped that the persona would be enough to let him slip past her.


    She shrugged, "I may know a thing or two about children. Go and I will say something." She waved him to get moving.


    Not having time to ask her what she is going to say, he ran down to where the young girl was at. As he came down, he saw the blonde girl eyed him suspiciously. It was as if she believed she found something that was lost. Zilian then looked at the lady at the counter who lifted her eyes to them both without raising her head from the book. She saw clearly now that this girl did not recognize him, so her claims that she would recognize him were proven false. To set his ploy in motion, he called up the stairs.


    "See you later mom!" He called up the stairs to the woman.


    The mother then called back in a sweet tone, as if they were her own children, "Have a good day sweety, don''t spend all of your allowance in one place."


    He could not help but smile, she was a true mother indeed, "Don''t worry, I won''t."


    He turned to leave and noticed the smile on the counter lady, she was obviously laughing in the inside. The blonde girl ignored him, bringing her attention back to the counter lady impatiently.


    "Ah, here he is room 204. Right there, up the stairs." She turned the book to show her, to show she was not lying. Not that it mattered anymore at this point, he would be long gone by the time she learned he had already figured her out.


    The girl replied, "Thank you."


    She went up the stairs, giving him one last doubtful look.


    Zilian waved his good bye and tossed some coins on the desk to pay for his stay, adding a little extra for the help. He ran out for the nearest city gate exit, approaching the guards that let him in a few days ago.


    "Leaving early?" Zacke asked.


    "Yeah, he''s not here so we are gonna meet up with him somewhere else." He fibbed quickly.


    "If you say so." He shrugged uncaringly, it simply did not impact him either way, at least so he thought.


    Without any further questioning, he opened the door to let them out. Zilian followed Erica out through the small door, then took the path that led east to the Kenplar Estate. They followed the path for a short silent while, until Erica finally broke the awkward silence.


    "You going to tell me why we left without Ferry?" She challenged him.


    "You saw that girl before we left the inn?"


    "Yeah, what about it?"


    "I was going down to mention about my handle being broken, and as I was going down before entering the I heard her mention me by name."


    "You''re saying you don''t have extended family?" She remark sounded a bit too accusing, perhaps it was that she did not want to give up Farame just yet.


    "Actually, I have no family left, I am the last one. I doubt I have a secret brother or cousin out there." He stated flatly.


    "Sorry." She stopped in her tracks and drooped her head sadly.


    He stopped too and confused, "For what?"


    "Sorry that you have no family. You must have been lonely before I found you." She sounded a bit sad to have learned he had no family.


    He scratched his head, he felt bad when he lost his dad but now that pain has mostly ebbed away, "Yeah, I guess I was. None of that matters now, since I have you and Ferry."


    They continued walking again and Erica continued the conversation. "So where do you think Ferry is at now?"


    "I don''t know. I have a feeling he won''t be making it to Greyus or Kenplar."


    "Why do you think that? You saying he''s dead." Mixed emotions filled her eyes, fear that she lost her grandfather, sadness that she was alone, anger towards whoever had caused the pain.


    He held his hands out to calm her down, "I am not saying he''s dead, I just have a strange feeling that we won''t see him soon. He should be safe in Swamp Capital, right? Probably held back there with whatever it is that he knows."


    "I hope you are right. I miss him." She said quietly, almost whispering to herself.


    That is if what he knew was not so dangerous that it costed him his life. He remarked to himself.

 Chapter TwentySeven - Failure Is Unacceptable

    Footsteps!


    Her eyes widen after waking from her alert state-like sleep, the sound she long awaited for of the prey walking straight into her claws. Yet something was odd about her prey, it was large, very large. The inn had been over all quiet since her arrival, in fact it had been suspiciously too silent.


    A sharp knock banged on the door, "You are to go with us to the barracks for identifying yourself."


    She knew instantly she had failed again and the worst part was she knew not how she had failed, but this Zilian knew she came and had laid a trap for her. She is the Assassin General of the Mountain Empire, her stealth is of no match and never before has she ever failed. And yet he had outwitted her, something that she hated.


    Clenching her fist, she ran with a furious roar to the window. The door behind her tore open as the guards of the city ran to subdue her. As she leapt out the window, she grabbed on to the window frame and slung herself onto the rooftop. She looked back down to where the guards stood, signaling at her as they called for reinforcement. She was not going to waste her time here, she would kill off the entire city if she had to but that was not her mission and the mission was all that mattered. Time was of the essence, so she sprinted for the nearest gate. They had seen her and so the damage was done, so stealth now no longer mattered.


    She ran across the rooftops as if she were simply tearing through plains of grass. The gate appeared across the horizon of rooftops, she was just a matter of seconds away from escape. Looking down at the road below her, she saw the guards chasing her vigorously even though they were far behind and stood no chance in catching her. She somersaulted down to the road, stably keeping up her speed the whole time despite the maneuver. The guards at gate posts just now took note of the commotion she made, forcing themselves up their seats and hastily closing the door on her.


    If they closes me in here, I will kill them both. She silently swore to herself.


    Unlatching the blade from her back, she spun it and sent a powerful burst of wind that propelled her forwards as an arrow. She slipped right through the doors just as they closed right behind her, increasing her lead as they were trying to open it again to continue chasing after her.


    "They never learn." She commented to herself.


    She continued to attain her distance between her and the city, crossing the fringes of their boundaries so she could make her report. She pulled out a small scroll from her sleeve, writing down an account of the events of the day. It pained her to put into writing how she progressed into nearing the capture of Zilian, but ending with her utter failure in securing him. Rolling up her finished report, she whistled and an eagle swooped from the trees. She stroked his head and secured the message in the pack strapped to the eagle''s back, then the bird swooped away as she lifted her hand high.


    ~---~


    The sound of a sword slicing through the thin air echoed deep in a large hollowed-out chamber, hidden in the grand city atop of the Mountain for training. The potential of the blades were truly unbelievable, leading the other empires to believe them to be no more than a rumor. Just as he intended, the blades and project were kept well hidden.


    Malie holds his right blade up high and flexes, alighting the sword in brilliant flames. The heat radiates out and he flips forward to strike the ground. The fire moves from the sword to the ground, leaving a burning trail in its wake as it moves to a target dummy placed off the distance. It crashes into the target in a burning frenzy, the flames then bursting upwards in an explosion that consumes the unfortunate prop completely.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    He then lifts his left sword and brings forth a pool of water from the sword, and with a flick of his weapon he forms a water barrier of it around him. With another flick to direct the blade, the barrier breaks up and tears forward with intent force. This target is not a wooden dummy, but a solid stone boulder. It crashes into it initially with a large splash, but the stone shatters into rocky splinters and dust.


    Malie is satisfied with his progress thus so far with the blades, sheathing them back into the folds after doing an impressive sword spin in his hand. He walks gracefully back to the stone stairs, taking a break from his training to attend to his duties in the political world. A sole part he now missed after becoming emperor was taking the lead in battle and being revered by his comrades while striking fear into the hearts of the enemy.


    Many unexpected turns of events had occurred in the past year, starting with the capture of Shavo Ainn. The fool had made it impossible to give any information of the sword¡¯s whereabouts or bearer, he would not even tell where he had been. However, that mattered little now since a boy going by his father¡¯s name had claimed to be its bearer, and that was not even a month ago. Not too long after they had learned of the Earth blade¡¯s location, but had failed to attain that one too.


    Those blades were his final roadblock and would certainly prove to be a major hindrance, he wanted to prevent any intervention these blades could become. They had eluded him all these years, but not anymore. That was if Kathryn would clean up the mess she had left ever since failing with the Earth blade¡¯s capture, and the disaster that had happened since the necessary death of a farmer. All that was left now was time, and he expected Kathryn to be on her way back with the boy now.


    As he climbed the stairs and exited, a messenger approached him with a bow and an extended scroll in hand. "My Lord, I come with a sealed messaged from the Assassin General. For your eyes alone it has been sealed."


    He smiled and took the scroll, "Very well, go on." He dismissed him which he bowed again before leaving. After being dismissed, he left to return to his post at the message tower.


    Malie was pleased since Kathryn must have captured the blade and perhaps even the bearer. Breaking the wax seal to unroll the scroll, he read the report in earnest. His pleasure quickly dissipated, she had failed in attaining either the boy or blade and even worse had been discovered.


    "Gra-a-agh!" He growled and tossed the scroll down the stairs he came from.


    He then punched the column to his right, exploding it into thousands of pieces. He lifted his clenched hands in the air, not even a scratch on him and had not felt the least bit of pain. Just anger from the failure of Kathryn, he swore to himself that he would not permit another failure. She had risked everything they had sought to achieve, molding the future for a perfect world.


    He huffed quickly to the war chambers, bursting the doors wide open and interrupting a meeting. He was met with curious and surprised glances, they were not expecting him to be here.


    "Is there a problem Malie?" Asked Endein as he curiously rose a brow.


    He did not bother to explain himself, "Syn," He pointed at him. "You are assigned to track down the blades."


    Syn straightened himself in surprise, "Really? Sorry, I mean, which ones should I go after? The Earth I presume, as Kathryn is chasing the Lighting."


    "You choose whatever you see fit. I want those blades discovered and you are to report to me right away when you do find them and their bearers, do I make myself clear?"


    He bowed his head, "Resoundingly clear, My Lord."


    He noticed the shock in the wide eyes of the other Generals, and he knew why since he usually detailed how he wants things to be done. He rarely left a mission simply to the discretion of others. He gave these privileges to Endein and Kathryn but never before had he done so with Syn. Admittedly, Syn may not had been the best choice for this circumstance, but he was an excellent young General. If this had given Syn anything, it was a chance to prove himself which meant no failures. He left the room feeling secure in the fact that he had made the right call, he needed to regain the lost ground.

 Chapter TwentyEight - The One With The Big Sword

    "This is probably far enough." Zilian stopped in the middle of a forest after running for over an hour.


    After they had exited Greyus that morning, they bolted for the woods and then followed the main path up to the present. He did not allow any deviance from the stride the entire way, even though their pace had faltered a lot in the end.


    They both slumped tiredly against a tree, their clothes clung on to them in a sticky sweaty mess. He felt like he was burning, and would have given just about anything so he could jump into a cool lake right now. But instead he was left heaving in an attempt to catch his breath, he felt like that he was going to faint any moment. After having sat for awhile, his blood flow dropped back to normal and his body cooled down.


    Erica broke the silence after a short while of rest, "So now what?" Her tone was challenging.


    He raised a brow curiously, "Now what ''what''?"


    "I mean why are we here now, as in where are we going now? Ferry didn''t meet us at Greyus, which you decided to leave before he came. We have nowhere to go and know no one else to help us. Are we going to just wander around aimlessly?" Her hands gestured furiously all over the place, demonstrating her growing frustration in delaying the meet with Farame.


    He rested his head back and replied coolly, "No, we are not going to wander."


    Her eyes locked on him and challenged him again, "Ok, then what are we going to do?"


    Lifting his head back up to face her intimidating glare, "We will go to this guy Kenplar. You know him, we were going to go there either way. That is if you know where he is at."


    She sat there pondering for a minute with an occasional thoughtful scratch at the back of her head, "Yeah, I think I know."


    He nodded reassuringly, "That is good enough for me."


    "But what about Ferry?" She asked hopefully.


    He stared back at her and tried to hold back the sweat building up around his neck, "I am guessing he is held up at Swamp, he wouldn''t want us waiting around for him. He''d much rather we be safe at Kenplar." He doubted that was the case, but he could not give up on Farame without conclusive evidence.


    "I guess you are right." She at least agreed with him. "One other thing, who was that girl?" She was referring to the one who was asking for him back in the inn lobby.


    "I have no idea, but she is no family of mine, I am sure of that. I had a strange and eerie sensation about her."


    "And that was?" This time referring to his sensation.


    He answered with a chill coursing down his spine, "Death. Cold. Heartless. And death again." She remained silent, clearly finding nothing more to say in response.


    "So what do we have for lunch?" He asked so as to cheerfully change the subject, even though he was not really hungry at the moment.


    Erica pulled open her sack and peered inside, then stretched out a marilla apple over to him. He took a bite into the sweet and glossy fruit, which had become his favorite snack. Even though he was not hungry, at least you could never go wrong with this apple and the silence gave him a moment to think.


    He did not know the girl, but she knew him. She had an unique blade which he remembered from what he had read about swords, it was a blade used by extremely skilled swordsmen. Swords-girl, he laughed in his mind at that thought. Where would I have met her? Maybe she did know me, but something was definitely dangerous about her. How> did she get my name? Where? Then it dawned upon him, the greatest shock in his short life and the mistake that he was going to have to live with. He had given his name.


    That was the only way she could have known his name and as for how she tracked him, he did not know but that did not matter. She must be with the Mountain Empire and now they were hunting for him, both him and anyone he was with.


    "You ok Zilian?" Erica gave him a worried look, noticing his sudden pace of heavy breathing and his wide scared eyes.


    "I... I think. I did something wrong. We are not safe anymore."


    "What do you mean?" She gave him an opportunity to explain himself.


    "Best I explain what I understand so far." He started his story from the day he was separated from his father. Explaining how he gave him the sword in the turmoil that was going on, how he saw the urgency in his father¡¯s last wish before parting with him. That those who took him were the Mountain Empire, they feared his name. Also making sure to not leave of how Shavo had used his name to scare off those from the farm.


    "I believe she is with the Mountain. That is the only way she could have gotten my name, and now they¡¯re looking for me." He concluded.


    "Why would they being looking for you?" She further inquired, nothing gets by her.


    He raised his blade that was buckled to his belt, "Because of this."


    "Why? What is so special about it?" She looked truly baffled, he did not blame her since the blade seemed no more special than any other fancy sword.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "I do not know." He lied since it was pointless into explaining something he himself had yet to understand. A quick glance at Erica showed that she knew he was lying, but she did not inquire anymore from him.


    "Then that leaves us one choice then." She said determinedly.


    "And that is?"


    "No wandering. We are heading to Kenplar."


    He grunted in agreement. Since they could not afford to wander and bump into the Mountain without protection, Kenplar was their best hope. In fact, at the moment it was their only hope.


    "How far away are we from the Estate?" He asked her, she was the one who read the map after all.


    "I am not sure, but if we can take the road, we should be there in a week." She stated confidently, remembering her previous trips.


    He shook his head, disagreeing of traveling by road, "It is probably best if we stay away from the road, there is no telling who we will bump into."


    "Without a map, it just can not be done." She argued.


    He pulled open his sack and grabbed a rolled-up piece of paper. "A map we have." He waved it in the air.


    "I guess that means we will stay off road." She acknowledged in a defeated sigh.


    ~---~


    The trek through the woods was not as easy as sticking to the road, but they had traveled this way for two days even though it was almost too difficult to bear. They had to climb up sharp cliffs, open grasslands, the tops of narrow valleys and the dense forest growth.


    "How much further now?" Zilian asked as he pushed branches out of his face.


    "A week I think. And you already asked that a minute ago." She sighed in annoyance.


    "How do you know we are on the right direction?"


    She showed him the map, which she was in control of. She was a better navigator and had a keener sense of direction than him. She had her finger pointing over a landmark. "Remember the monumental statue that resembled one of the lords?" She reminded.


    "From when there were Regions and not Empires? Yeah, I remember." He stated as he smacked a fly that buzzed aggressively around his head.


    "We passed this valley, which means a week more to the east."


    "At this rate, we''ll run out of water. I should have bought an extra canteen when we were at Greyus." He reminisced the bed back in the city and running water, he felt like he was going to make a living in staying outdoors.


    "We will stop at a river in a couple more days, till then we just ration our water." She had already told him this for a couple days, but he kept on asking her since he had nothing else to do other than walking.


    "So this guy Kenplar, what is he like?"


    "What do you mean? Like if he is rich? Which he is." She batted a fly away from her.


    "No, I already guessed that much, I mean an estate and everything. What is he like, what is he special at and his favorite things to do?"


    She paused in her track and thought for a moment, "Well, I guess one could say he is smart. Very smart I would say. He is the one that inspired me to read in the first place. He had tutors and masters all from the Volcanic Empire, which is where all the brightest people come from. Also, he has this strange sense of instinct, he knows when something is out of place. He explained to me one time he doesn''t know how is he knows, but he believes it has to do with all his studies being able to subconsciously calculate things in his mind and come up with a solution and resolve a way."


    She turned to face him, he smiled and blinked blankly. "Where did I lose you at?" She asked.


    "I think it was somewhere around about volcano people and they are the shiniest, or something like that."


    She sighed exasperatedly. He sometimes had a hard time following what she said, especially if it was a long sentence. "He is smart, very smart is what you need to know. Also he knows things without knowing them."


    "Sounds creepy to me." He remarked.


    She grunted her agreement, adding as he helped her over a fallen tree trunk, "It is actually. Besides Ferry, he was like a father to me. Very kind, humble and generous."


    "What was his favorite thing to do?"


    "Travel, lots of traveling, and that is how we met him. He found us, remember?"


    He remained silent, recalling of how they met Kenplar was a vague memory now. He remembered Erica telling him once, but did not remember the details. Erica noticed his dumbfounded look too.


    "Don''t tell me you forgot." She glared at him.


    Wow, it is freaky knowing something you don''t know. He thought to himself, not wanting a confrontation with her.


    He was saved from having to give an answer from a sudden twig snap, but now he looked around tensely aware. Being hunted by the Mountain Empire by many directions, he did not know what to expect other than danger. Something big was going through the forest, the thing that made the twig snap aloud. A muffled trotting came from the north, then a horse emerged with a young man riding on top.


    He seemed surprised to find people in the middle of the forest, but he drew his horse next to them, "Excuse me, mind giving me some directions? I am looking for a town named Falos. Seems to be it was a small town a few people have ever heard of, much to my disdain."


    Both Zilian and Erica remained stunned, the huge blade latched on his back gleamed from the rays of sun. His blade is as wide as a man, and the reflection from the edges gave the impression it could cut through two men.


    "Isn''t that heavy?" Erica asked, completely unaware he had asked them a question.


    He glanced at his blade attached to his back, "At first it was, not too much now. Some training helps give you control over it." His face remained unmoved, revealing no emotions to them two.


    "Is it for battle?" Zilian asked him.


    "Of course it is for battle, what other use is there for a sword?" He scoffed at him, clearly annoyed to have to answer such a stupid question.


    "How can you use such a blade at a young age? You can''t be more then five years older then me." Zilian remarked. His face was that of a youth, even though he saw clearly he was a young man.


    He smiled pridefully, "I have my ways."


    "You killed anyone with it?" Erica¡¯s question struck a rough spot on him.


    He frowned and returned back to his emotionless face, "That would be for me to know, now


    do either of you know where Falos is?"


    Zilian pointed to the direction where he and Erica came from, "About two to three weeks that way. Ask around and they''ll keep you in the right direction."


    The stranger looked at the direction, seeing that he had a long journey that awaited. "Very well. Thank you very much." He kicked his horse and rode off.


    After he was out of sight, Zilian ushered Erica through the forest. "Let''s go quickly, before he comes back."


    "What? Why?" She had no choice but to follow him running, and he was certain she was getting more than just annoyed by these sudden urgent getaways, but that did not matter because he knew they were in immediate danger once again.

 Chapter TwentyNine - Encounter Against The Buster

    "Stop!" Erica halted in her tracks and forced the Zilian to do the same.


    Even though they had been able to create a safe distance between them and the stranger, they had only run for a very short while. "We can''t, we got to go." He urged, not feeling confident enough of the distance.


    "Zilian, you can not just jump here and run there! At least not without telling me why we are doing the jumping and running for. So who was he?"


    He stood defiantly reluctant but quickly gave in since he knew he would be wasting time otherwise, "I have no clue who he is exactly, but I suspect he is with the Mountain."


    Erica eyes widened in alert upon hearing the word Mountain, "How do you know? All he wanted to know was where the town Falos is." Her eyes darted back and forth, keeping a wary lookout.


    Zilian shook his head in sorrow, "Was."


    "What?" She queried puzzled.


    He started explaining after a sigh, "Where Falos was, that is where I grew up. The Mountain ambushed the small town, even though it was a neutral town."


    "I see. Was he searching for you?"


    He gave a droopy shrug, "I don''t know. It¡®s possible the villagers returned and the Mountain is sending more troops there."


    "What makes you think he is not from that town?" She reasoned with him.


    He responded with another shake of the head, "It was a small town, I knew everyone there and everyone knew me. No one ever left the village and few ever came."


    "I see what you are saying, he has no reason to be heading there at all. Still, you could have told> me in the first place."


    He gave her a smiling thumbs up, "Then I will try to remember that."


    Seemingly something had caught her attention since she raised her head, he went silent too and thought to himself Did the stranger come back? But he heard nothing.


    "What is it Erica?" He whispered.


    Her reply was not hushed, in fact there was no worry in her tone at all, "I hear water."


    He listened much more carefully and heard it too, the faint sound of rushing water. "You''re right, sound like it is coming from there." He pointed to the east of the woods.


    They approached the sound of churning water, it grew louder it as the closer they approached. The forest then opened up to the base of a grand waterfall, the source of the roar that now seemed to engulf all else. He tilted his head high to see the tip of the fall spilling the waters down, to where it foamed around the constant splash.


    "It¡¯s beautiful." Erica remarked in awe.


    "Yeah, it is amazing." He had to agree that the green grass in this charming basin was very appealing.


    He approached the river and knelt down to take a sip from it, the water tasted sweet and refreshing.


    "I guess we will camp here?" He asked while laying down, relaxing.


    "I guess this is as good it could get for us."


    "Surely beats razor sharp stones and the never ending, story-telling Sarri." He chuckled to himself, glad that that chapter of his life was over.


    "She wasn''t that bad."


    He sighed in disbelief, he could not believe she had just defended Sarri, "She was that bad. Glad that I won''t be needing to see her again." He stood up after having rested a bit, heading back into the forest.


    "Where are you going?" Erica called after him from where she sat.


    He hollered back, "To get some fire wood. Want to have plenty so we stay warm tonight."


    He dug through the scrub, picking up twigs and stick to get kindle started. He was feeling quite confident of himself now, all they needed to do was make it to Kenplar and he would handle everything else. Farame was surely delayed in the Swamp, where he would be safe. Maybe he could ask Kenplar to escort them to the Swamp if it was possible.


    Upon returning to camp, he dumped his pile of wood where he was going to start the fire. He began to panic when he noticed Erica was nowhere to be seen, but he saw her swimming in the pool of the waterfall as he was about to call. He eased up from seeing that, at least she was relaxing, she had been worried far too much about her grandfather.


    He went to gather another arm full of wood, and as he was dropping his second pile of wood a sinister voice came from nowhere.


    "So you thought you could escape my notice?"


    He jolted in a startled jump to confront who it was, Erica splashed out of the water to see who was the intruder too. It was the young man, the same one with the massive buster sword.


    Zilian nervously stammered, "Wha-what do you mean?" He could feel the sweet rolling down his cheeks.


    He pointed at the sheathed sword strapped on Zilian¡¯s buckle, "That does not belong to you, that belongs to my master. Give it to me or else." His voice deepened threateningly.


    Zilian gave his sword a final glance, remembering the promise to his father. "Seems like the ''or else'' is the option I am gonna take."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Without another word, the young man unhooks his sword off his back. Zilian steps aside as the sword swings forward, and Erica yelps sharply in terror. Without thinking much, he dodges the lunge by ducking. He follows up his next move by stepping aside as the youth hit the ground with it like a hammer after lifting it up for another strike, which now kicks up dirt in the air that momentarily blinds him.


    "You are not talented," He taunts Zilian, "No more then just a petty thief."


    "I didn''t steal this." He contends.


    The man replies with a disgruntled growl and shoves him back, "And liar too."


    A series of frenzy blows on all sides led Zilian into blocking all of them, either by dodging or parrying, even though parrying was less effective since he has the weapon advantage over him since it is heavier. Zilian is surprised of how dexterous he is, after he aims a blow on his shoulder he has already set in motion to strike on the other side in a blink of an eye. He was proving to be relentless as blow after blow crashes onto the ground, having not wavered even for a moment from missing.


    Zilian takes a jump back as his enemy does a swift body spin, swinging the blade all around. Even though he dodges the spin, he trips on a log and falls down backwards on his butt cheeks. His sword falls out from his grip, leaving him defenseless as his opponent holds the tip of his sword pressing close towards his forehead. He glances Erica who is hiding behind a tree in her soaked clothes.


    His victor grins in glee, "There is only one way you had attained that blade, and that was if you had slayed Shavo yourself. So this is to avenge Shavo too."


    Zilian¡¯s eyes widen realizing now how mistaken he is, he shouts the short truth that will set straight this confusion, "Shavo was my father!"


    While he shouts the words, the man swings the blade to do a finishing blow against him. Zilian cringes thinking it is over for him, not opening his eyes until realizing he is still breathing after a while. Raising his head to see the man, he holds the blade firm inches from his face. He loosens his muscles and reattaches his blade back on his harness.


    "Heh-heh. Sorry about that." He chuckled awkwardly. He offered him a hand up, which Zilian took with a firm grip.


    Standing upright after all the drama, he exclaimed angrily, "You nearly kill me and all you can say is ''sorry''?"


    He shrugged, "I tend to leap before I think. Didn''t know Shavo had a son, so what is your name?"


    He hesitated since this was a sudden change of character, "Um, Zilian."


    "Zilian? That''s an unusual name."


    He gestured his hands out whatever, "Yeah well, it is my name. Can you at least tell me yours?"


    "Mine''s Blade." Blade smiled proudly.


    "What was that again?" Zilian strained his ears to make sure he heard that right.


    "My name is Blade." He repeated.


    "Now that is a weird name. Your father named you Blade?"


    "Yes. I mean no. That is my name." He held his thumb against himself reassuringly


    "Is that your name name or just a nickname someone gave you?" Zilian pressed.


    "Let''s stop talking about my name, there were two of you. Where is the other one?" He said to completely change the topic.


    Erica sneaked from around a tree, "Here."


    "Hello. Sorry again, for my, uhm..." He scratched the back of his head.


    "Our untimely approach of death." Zilian commented.


    "We''ll be nice and say rudeness." Erica defended as she stood alongside Zilian.


    "We¡¯ll be nice? Ouch." Erica elbowed his ribs. "Yeah, we''ll be nice." No use in arguing with her.


    Blade grabbed Zilian with both of his hands, kneeling apologetically, "Truthfully, I am really sorry. I should have asked who you were first. It is just I was expecting the worst, but since you are here Shavo must be fine, right?" He lifted his head in hopeful expectation.


    "Sorry, but Shavo is not fine." He shook his head sadly in reminisce of what had happened, it felt as if it had occured just yesterday.


    "He is not?" Blade shot straight up, "Tell me what happened! No wait, if happened to him, this is going to be a long story."


    Blade offered to help gather wood since it was getting dark and it will be night soon. When they gathered as much twigs and sticks right when it became dark, they all sat down next to the warm campfire.


    "So you tell me your story first." Blade directed.


    "Shavo was taken many months ago, around the middle of Spring."


    "Who took him?"


    "The Mountain. My village was raided by a man named Garadem."


    Blade grunted in anger, "Should have guessed the Mountain."


    Zilian told what happened that day, of how Shavo bestowed him the responsibility of the blade''s upkeep. Then to how he met Erica and Farame, recounting their narrow escape from the Mountain at the farm. The sad farewell of Farame''s brother, and being chased by the Mountain through the forest when they made it to Kartick. As well as their adventure through the caves with Sarri to reaching their destination of Greyus, and not leaving out the suspicious young girl.


    "That''s why we ran from you. I thought you were from the Mountain." He concluded.


    "And I thought you were the Mountain too." Blade ended.


    Blade went on explaining his story, "See, I was looking for Shavo because my father knew yours many years ago."


    Zilian looked up, "He did? Where is he?"


    He shook his head solemnly, "I am afraid he died in an attempt to allow me and my city to escape the Mountains raid."


    "Oh, I am sorry." Zilian understood how it was to lose someone close.


    Blade gave him an encouraging thumbs up, "No need to, we both knew that day was going to come sooner or later. My training isn''t complete, but you and I together should be able to take on the Mountain." He clenched his fist in the air.


    "Take on the Mountain? You must be crazy, I am trying to stay as far away from them as possible." Zilian exclaimed in surprise.


    Blade''s enthusiasm plummeted, "What do you mean? Shavo should have trained you better then that!"


    Zilian rose a curious brow, Blade was talking about things that made no sense to him, "I don''t know what do you mean about training, but I do know the Mountain is dangerous for me."


    Blade jumped and raised a finger at him angrily, "There were two things I thought when you said you were Shavo''s son, one is that you were shorter then I expected. Second, with the stories of what dad told me, you''d at least be different from your father. But it seems I am wrong, you''re both cowards!"


    Zilian lurched to punch him in the face, but he was tugged back. He turned to see Erica was grabbing his arm to keep him away from pouncing Blade.


    However, he still bellowed back, "Dad wasn''t a coward and neither am I!"


    Blade crossed his arms, "Yeah, you¡¯re doing a great job trying to impress me then. You just a minute ago said you were running from the Mountain. You should be helping me stop them, or what else is that knowledge of the Blades any good to you for?"


    Zilian let his shoulders drop, "Sorry again, but Shavo never told me anything about the Blade. That day he gave me the sword to protect was when I learned about this sword."


    Blade stared, his glare piercing his skin and burning his heart, "I don''t know who is the greater fool then. Your father for not training you, or you even now not knowing what to do." Blade turned towards the forest, where his horse was tied to a tree. He hoisted himself up and accommodated the sword on his back to ease his travel.


    Before Blade left and without turning his head around to even give a proper goodbye, all he said harshly, "We''ll see each other again." He kicked his horse sides, the horse galloped off into the shadow of the dark night.


    "So Zilian, mind explaining me what is special about this sword." Erica asked behind him.


    Zilian''s head drooped in a mix of emotions - anger, fear, frustration. He lost a person who could have revealed his father past but instead ridiculed him, and Erica heard enough to understand there is more going on than what he had shown. He sat down on the log, coughing to clear his head. Maybe Shavo was a coward after all, he had not even so much as mentioned the sword to him.

 Chapter Thirty - Their Heritage

    The pitch black darkness of the long hallway, a barricade that stood between him and the light. Taking a brief glance behind brought nothing but fear, seeing fierce flames approaching in a ferocious angry roar that consumed everything in their path. The fire however did not burn amok, it had itself fixed upon him.


    Even with the considerable gap between them, his bones were being burned by the searing radiance. As the flames set their sights on the boy, he kept his eyes fixed on the light at the end of this long dark hall. But the more he neared the light, the dimmer it shined along with his hope. He kept on running even though he was short on breath, but he realized he had reached the end of the hall as he smashed into the wall. The light glimmered off the wall at a small point, he reached to grab the light and found it was no more than a speck of sand. He held on that speck tightly with the little hope he had left, until the fire blazed all around him and consumed him whole.


    "Ahh!" Zilian screamed as he jolted upright from his nightmare.


    He scanned his surroundings and saw he was safe with Erica on the opposite side of the campfire, so he shook his head to shook off the bad dream. He thought his dream was related with Blade that he had met yesterday, Blade was a piece of that small light but was lost in that same night. Then he heard a trotting followed with the appearance of a horse, recognizing Blade riding atop the beast back into camp.


    "You came back?" Zilian challenged him, still holding a chip on his shoulder in sour spite that stung from yesterday.


    "You seem surprised." He jumped down from the saddle nonchalantly.


    Erica stirred awake and with a couple of sleepy blinks, she recognized him too. She tossed off her blankets and ran to hug him. "Blade! I thought you weren''t coming back." She was clearly pleased at seeing him again.


    "I thought I said I would be back last night?" He gingerly peeled her off.


    Zilian cleared his throat annoyed, "No, you said we''ll see each other again."


    He shrugged in defeat, "All I needed was time to think. Truth is, I wasn''t going to leave you. I too have a promise to keep."


    Zilian eyed him suspiciously, "Oh yeah, and that is?"


    Blade crossed his arms defensively, "To ''stick with him'' is what father told me, and I intend to keep that promise. Even though that is not my only reason, you are alone and I am alone, so no point in going our own separate ways. From here on out we got each others backs." He stretched out his hand to shake.


    Seeing that stretched out welcoming hand had stirred something in him, for the first time Zilian did not feel alone and because of that he smiled. He stood up and took Blade''s hand giving a hesitant grip, hoping they truly had each other''s back.


    "What are you waiting for?" Blade remarked on their prolonged awkward grip.


    "I just wanted to hold the suspense." He grinned and after letting go, they both laughed.


    After the humor died off, Blade inquired from him their goals,"So, where are you guys heading to?"


    Zilian stated, "To Kenplar Estate."


    "Alright then." Blade went next to the fireplace and kicked dirt in it, choking the fire off.


    "What are you doing?" Zilian asked.


    "If it is not obvious enough, I am trying to kick dirt in the fire to turn it off." He taunted in reply.


    Zilian sighed in frustration, "I see that, but why?"


    "It will be dawn soon, so we might as well get on our way now."


    "So that means you are going with us to Kenplar?" He asked on further.


    Blade did not reply right away, instead, went to the river and filled a canteen with water. Only when he stood in front of Zilian he answered. "Yeah I guess, since I had done my part. I found you guys and you guys have your thing to do, whatever it may be, so I will be there to help you accomplish it."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "How ¡®bout stopping the Mountain?"


    "What about it?"


    "You know what I mean." He glared back at him.


    Blade sighed tiredly, "Ok, let me make this clear. Anyone can stop the Mountain, as much as I would like it to be me. My part is elsewhere, so I will keep to it."


    Zilian smiled, satisfied at least he had some support, "Thanks."


    Blade shrugged, "That is what comrades are for."


    "Well, let''s head out now then." Zilian announced.


    He and Erica packed up their things; their blankets and pot. Erica accepted the horse that Blade offered, while Zilian and Blade walked. They chattered through the forest, it felt good for him to speak to someone after all this time. After a while, Erica fell asleep on the horse, and Blade led it by the reins.


    Zilian took a deep breath before he got to the topic that had been bothering him, "So, did your father tell you anything about Shavo? Or how he knew him?"


    He shook his head, "To make things clear, he never knew Shavo. He met him many years ago when he knew Shavo''s father."


    "You¡¯re not making a lot of sense to me." He rubbed his head in ache.


    "My father was one of the guardians of the blades, passed down from my grandfather. Just as yours had been passed down from your great-grandfather."


    He lifted his blade hanging from his side in awe, "This belonged to my great-grandfather?"


    Blade''s eyes widened with shock, "You mean you did not know of your heritage?"


    He shook his head in denial.


    "Oh boy. I do not know where to begin." Blade pondered for a short while, "I guess the best place to start is to mention our forefathers were founding members of the group Rings of Hope, they strove to unite the four Empires and bring closure to the war. In the end, they dissipated because a traitor broke it up from the inside. Your sword and mines are the two only ones that have not fallen into Malie''s hands. I¡¯m guessing you will ask what are so special about these swords next, right?"


    He rose a finger in objection, "Actually, that part I can figure out why." Zilian recounted his experience with his accidental discovery of the power his sword contained.


    "Interesting. You must be very sensitive to its energy." Blade remarked.


    "Does yours shoot out lighting too?" Zilian asked.


    He chuckled lightly, "No. There are eight swords with eight affinities, so mines controls and creates earth, while yours as you now know has power of lighting. The other six are Ice, Crystal, Fire, Water, Plant and Wind. All the blades had been forged with their insignia inscribed on the blade."


    Zilian rubbed his forehead as the migraine built up from digesting all this information, "Ok, this is a lot to take in. You are saying there more of these swords around?"


    "Six more, yes." He answered briefly much to Zilian¡¯s satisfaction.


    "Malie has the other six, why isn''t he using them?"


    Blade shrugged unknowingly, "Father and I asked the same thing, we both could not figure out why either. We believe he has been using them discreetly, but is waiting to unleash their full power."


    "Waiting you say. Why and when?"


    "That is the problem, one question leads to another. Why or when, we do not know. But it must be soon considering how the Mountain is moving around a lot recently."


    "More of a reason for us to leave as soon as possible." Zilian remarked.


    He scoffed mildly, "To where? Across the ocean to another continent? And if we do, what if this war spreads all the way there too? Maybe it is more of a reason for us to make a stand instead."


    Zilian remained silent, Blade was not going to let go of the argument if they contended and frankly, neither would Zilian himself.


    Erica gracefully interrupted the conversation by yawning loudly and stretching, fully awakened at this moment as her joints popped. And not a moment too soon, they finally cleared out of the forest and stood on top a long hill that led to a river. Beyond the other side of that river was another forest, but the trees were different from the ones on this side. They looked like a pine, which was in contrast to the oak that they had been traveling through.


    "Oh!" Erica exclaimed excitedly.


    She opened her pack and dug inside of it searching for something, until she pulled a folded piece of paper. She opened it and traced her finger on it. "We''re almost there!" She said.


    "Kenplar you mean?" He asked.


    "Yes." She affirmed.


    "How much is almost?" He asked carefully, worried he might not like the answer.


    "We''ll be at the front gates of the Estate half a day''s worth of walking and in front of the doors half an hour after that." She assured confidently.


    He turned to face track again, pleased with the news, "Sounds good, so let¡¯s get there now."


    Blade looked up to the sky. "No, I think it is best if we camp here for the night."


    "Why?" He argued.


    He explained, "She said half a day worth. It will be dark in two hours, and navigating the dark through forest on the other side of that river would be difficult and dangerous. Best choice is to wait until early tomorrow."


    Zilian looked up to the sky and saw he had a point, ¡°Then we''ll camp by the river then."


    Blade agreed, "Sounds good to me."


    They walked their way down the hill to the small sandy shore of the river line, setting camp there before they arrive their long awaited destination.

 Chapter ThirtyOne - The Surviving Maiden

    The flame burned in a menacing circle, and he stood in the center of the fire that feasted on his on his agonizing pain. It would not give him the benefit of death, only the pain remained. His arms were hoisted in the air by bulky chains, remaining fixed in place without any strength to break loose. Raising his limp head weakened from the pain, he glimpsed at the source of the flames, the outline of a monster disguised as a human. The darkness of had been spawned, the source overwhelmed him with fear.


    "Zilian." The shadow snarled in a coarse disgruntled voice.


    "Zilian." It repeated with an approach, shaking the ground with hefty steps.


    He. No, the it. It loomed over him from beyond the wall of flames, but Zilian still could not see the appearance of this thing. He had nothing to offer or bargain with the beast, except for the fear in his eyes which it accepted ecstatically.


    "Zilian." Zilian blinked his eyes returning to reality as Blade called him back to his senses. They were traveling through a thick mist in the forest in the late morning, so he was meditating on his dream from the night prior.


    He returned his attention back to Blade, "Sorry, what was it?"


    "I was just saying we are almost at the Estate front gate." Blade pointed aimlessly ahead in the mist.


    "Oh, that is good." He replied blandly.


    "Zilian, you ok?" Erica asked with worried look.


    "Sorry?" He asked confused, his mind was still distracted from his nightmare.


    "You sure you are fine?" Erica repeated herself kindly.


    "Yeah, I am. Why wouldn''t I be?" He grinned.


    "It just seems like something is bothering you. At night you don''t seem to be getting any sleep, and at day you just look miserable." She explained, clearly noting the black lines growing around his eyes.


    Shaking his head defensively, "I don''t have a problem. Just hard to sleep on cold ground and I hope we make it to Kenplar in time to sleep in a warm bed.¡±


    "Well guys, seems like we are in luck to find out soon enough." Blade pointed ahead, this time at a break in the mist not too far away.


    The mist dropped as the sun rose higher in the sky, clearly revealing a giant metal bar gate with even larger walls that stretched far off into both side in the thick forest. However, the entrance was far from seeming secure. The gate was torn and bent from its place, hanging from a single hinge on a side. Zilian¡¯s stomach churned with nausea from a disgusting smell that hung heavy in the air.


    Zilian covered his mouth to blot the taste out, "Something is wrong, my stomach has not felt like this since..."


    "Forest Mist." Erica finished his sentence fearfully and ran over and past the fallen gate.


    "Erica wait! We do not know if it is safe!" Blade called after her.


    He did not wait to see if she heard and returned, and chased after Erica leaving Blade behind. He followed her down the path that led through a dried-out lawn, an odor of death remained dominant everywhere in the air around him. Everywhere he turned his head in this field, he saw patches of blood staining the ground, makeshift barricades torn down and the remains of stained weapons and armor. There had obviously been a big battle here.


    He saw Erica stop in her tracks at the top of the small hill, where he could see the outlines of the massive house rooftop up and beyond. However, he understood that was not what had stopped her, and a gasp escaped his mouth as his heart beat harder from the grim sight. He tried to seek for words to say, but his mouth gaped in silence.


    Blade had caught up with them both, "Do not go off running like that guys. There is no telling what we will..." His voice trailed off and remained in shock too, "My god."


    Neither of them expected to see what they saw, the mansion was the obvious thing to have had expected but the unexpected in front of the mansion is what shocked them. Graves were peppered across the entire front property, and over every dug grave was staked sign over it. Zilian walked with his friends towards the house beyond the graves, he felt as if he were walking through the land of the dead that warned him off.


    "There is someone over there." Blade pointed to a person off the distance in the field.


    Erica gasped and ran off over to the person.


    "What is it with her and running to the first thing she sees?" Blade fussed.


    Zilian did not have the energy to argue with him, instead he followed Erica again. Blade was right about that, they could not just run to whoever they saw here, nobody could be trusted and thus everyone was considered as an enemy. As he neared the unknown being, he noticed it was a young woman. Erica was treading closely to the woman who was digging a grave that was knee deep, probably for the corpse that was wrapped in a sheet next to the hole.


    "Gienna?" Erica asked precariously, seeming to have recognized her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The woman remained fixed into digging the grave in a silent mutter and shiver, apparently completely unaware of her surroundings and newcomers.


    "Gigi." She placed a hand on her shoulders to get her attention.


    She rose her head to see who had interrupted her digging, at first she stared back with a blank look. It took her a short while to recognize who she was seeing, and when she did a tear rolled from her eyes down her cheeks.


    "I knew you would come one of these days, I always knew." She wept uncontrollably.


    Gienna crawled out of the grave and launched herself into Erica¡¯s arms, they both cried and hugged each other from this heartwarming reunion.


    "What happened Gigi?" Erica asked.


    Gienna coughed painfully, "Sorry, let me give him peace first."


    She walked around the grave to where the corpse was and it into the hole, Zilian took the shovel from her upon seeing she was going to use it and fill the hole up with earth.


    "Let me help." He offered.


    She looked into his eyes and nodded appreciatively. Zilian picked into the pile of dirt with the shovel and began burying the body, then Gienna picked up a stake with a sign on it when he had finished burying the corpse. She carved on it with a knife and when she finished, she took the sign and hammered it over the grave.


    The sign read, Terdus Mavollente.


    He noticed the sign was similar to other ones near this one, all followed in a line, Marias Mavollente; Kento Mavollente; Elisse Mavollente.


    "You buried all of them by yourself?" Blade asked. Zilian had not noticed him till now, he had assumed Blade stayed behind.


    With eyes welling up in sadness and a hushed reply, "Yes."


    "Oh Gigi." Erica grabbed her by the arms, feeling her pain too. Zilian sighed knowing that only Erica could feel the pain of others.


    Gienna held her too, however she suddenly starting to give a coughing bout until she had coughed up blood. Losing her grip on Erica, she wiped the blood off of her mouth. Her hands started to tremble before she fell to the ground convulsing violently.


    "Gigi!" Erica cried as she dropped to her knees to her friend¡¯s aid, trying to keep her steady and not jerk herself into anything.


    Zilian was completely dumbfounded and did not know what to do other than stand and watch hopelessly. Even though this was completely out of Zilian¡¯s experience, Blade shoved him aside and firmly picked up Gienna in his arms.


    "We need to get her inside!" He ordered. Blade then ran towards the mansion leaving Zilian with Erica following him into the mansion.


    "Where is a nearest bedroom?" Blade asked when both of them made it inside.


    "This way." Erica led the way to the left main hallway.


    Zilian followed Blade into the second door on the right, which was a decently sized dormitory. It would have seemed even nicer if it were not for someone who came in and ravaged the place, leaving everything tossed around and turned over. Zilian went to lift the mattress back in its place on the bedframe, which Blade then lays Gienna on who was still convulsing.


    "Erica, do you know where he keeps medicine around here?" Blade asked her desperately.


    "Medications, no. But medicinal herbs, yes." She replied reassuringly.


    "Good, show me now." Blade started following her out the room leaving Zilian behind.


    "Wait! I will come too." Zilian told them.


    "No, you stay here." Blade directed briskly.


    "I am going to help you find the medicine." He insisted on helping them in any way he could.


    "I need you to keep her safe, call me if she gets worse."


    Zilian looked at Gienna laying on the bed in a miserable condition, he saw Blade was right, she needed company to watch over her. "Got it. Go quickly." He nodded.


    Blade nodded back and followed Erica to the medicinal herbs storage. Zilian picked up a fallen chair to sit next to the bed on her side, he held her hand to reassure her.


    "It will be alright, Erica will be back with medicine." He told her.


    The convulsing continued and her eyes rolled back showing nothing but white, leaving him a sick feeling in his gut of what she had to go through. Blade and Erica burst back in the room, both with an armful of herbs. Blade grabs a fern-like plant and a root, then crushed them in a wide pot that was in the room.


    Blade turned to Erica and requested, "I need a bucket of water and an extra bowl, but please be quick about it."


    Erica ran out of the room leaving Blade rummaging for something in the rubble left in the room.


    "Tell me what you¡¯re looking for and I''ll find it." Zilian offered.


    "I need something to smash the herbs, to get the pulp extracted from them." He gestured over the pot with his fist.


    It took Zilian only a second looking through the rubble to find it, he saw a glinting edge of something metallic under a pile of papers and books. He shoved the papers aside and pulled out a metal cup, passing it to Blade who was still looking for something in the rubble.


    "Will this do?" He asked him hopefully.


    "Yes, perfect." He snatched it from his hand.


    Blade became focused into mashing the herbs while Erica returned into the room, clearly successful with her task having a bucket of water with a small bowl floating atop. She dropped it next to Blade at which he took the bowl and poured it into the pot he was using in mashing the herbs, he mixed the herbs with the water and then poured it into the cup. He walked to Gienna and lifted her head to pour the drink into her mouth. She gave another cough after swallowing it, but her body had quit convulsing.


    "Hah." She sighed which relieved the group seeing she was doing better.


    Blinking her eyes to adjust to her surrounding, "Where am I?" She asked.


    Erica stepped in front to answer, "Don''t worry, we are taking care of you." She stroked her hair.


    Gienna groaned as she lays her head back, her breathing dropped steadily as she drifted to sleep.


    Zilian turned his attention to Blade, "What was that just now? And I mean both what happened to her and how you knew what to do."


    "How I knew what to do is easy to answer. My father taught me a lot about medicine, so if I were to be an actual battle it would come to use, so that I would not just be limited to fighting. As for what happened to her, I have no idea so we will just have to wait for her to wake up to tell us that herself. I only made a concoction that would stop the convulsions."


    He turned to look at Gienna who slumbered as Erica caressed her head. Zilian swore under his breath, whoever caused all the death he saw outside and brought this pain upon Gienna would pay.

 Chapter ThirtyTwo - Kenplars Chronicles

    The room was eerily silent, a buzz hung in the air that left everyone in the room unsettled from anticipation. Zilian sat in the far corner watching Erica care for Gienna; occasionally helping her to sips of water, puffing her pillow and when not doing anything else, simply holding her hand for reassurance.


    Blade placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, ¡°Zilian. ¡°


    Zilian lifted his head in response, "Yeah?"


    "The sun is going down, it will be dark soon. It will be best if we find some accommodations; some sheets, candles, beds, anything we could use." Blade laid out everything clearly, they were going to stay for a while and it was best to get settled when they could.


    He sighed tiredly. "Yeah, best to do it now before it gets too dark."


    He stood and followed Blade out of the room, trusting Erica would be fine without them for a little while longer. He looked down both ends of the long hallway, one side led back to the main entrance while the other led to the corner.


    Blade left orders of what to do with no uncertainty in his tone whatsoever, "I''ll go get some supplies in the kitchen here to the left, I saw candle sticks and holders in there. While I am there, I will look for any supplies or food we can use. Since there is no need both of us to do the same thing, you can go down there there to the right and find beds. We will sleep in the same room to be safe."


    Zilian nodded in agreement and left for his destination, while Blade went on his way to the kitchen. The first room he went into on the right had a bed tossed aside, just as messy as the one they had left Gienna in. He lifted the bed and dragged it into the hallway back to the room they were in and leaned it straight against the wall. He went back to the same room and dragged out the remaining two beds, bringing them back in the dormitory everyone would be sleeping in.


    Now I just need to get some proper cushions. He said to himself so as not to bother Erica.


    Back into the room that had all the beds, he remembered spotting several pillows on the ground. He returned to the room with the pillows in hand, dropping them on the table. He saw that Blade had already come back into the room with candles and matches as well as a basket filled with fruits that look like they are starting to spoil but were still good to eat placed near the foot of the table.


    Blade lit one of the candles in a candle-holder and handed it to Zilian." Put that somewhere high." He ordered.


    He looked around and found an open and high up shelf on one wall, and upon placing it there the room lit up as the candle light waved around.


    "Give me another." Zilian requested after setting the candle down.


    Blade lit another and handed it to him. He took the small light source and walked back into the dark hallway. The sun was already on its last rays of light, offering little solace for their given predicament.


    "Where are you going?" Blade called after him.


    "Just going to have a check around, since there really isn''t anything else to do except wait in the dark."


    "Alright, just do not do anything stupid, I do not want to have to pull you out of a hole." He seemed a bit too lighthearted in for their current circumstance, which left Zilian a bit unsettled.


    "I doubt there is a hole in the house." He said while walking away.


    He went deeper into the house, past the rooms he was in just minutes ago. All of the rooms he passed were all in same conditions, the deeper he went in the more noticeable of how much damage had been done. He rubbed his hands along the walls, occasionally feeling the grooves which seemed to have come from sword strikes.


    The end of the hall led deeper into the left wing of the house and with a turn to the right, he followed the hallway deeper inside towards the end. He saw a light glimmer at the end of the dark corridor, the final stretch of a dead-end with one room to the right. He looked out the left windows, giving him a clear view of the vast plains that led into the forest.


    Zilian crept slowly towards the end of the hall, noticing the light bouncing in front of the door more clearly as he neared it. He wedged himself silently against the wall, closing in on the door and peering slowly inside to see who was in the room. He saw a large table in the center of the room lit up by a large candle. However, it was almost dead and only a small strip of the wax remained, even now melting away. He opened the door which gave a loud ear-breaking creak. This room was different from every other room he had seen previously, it appeared to be a large study with shelves covering the all four walls and books occupying every inch. The decorations on each shelf portrayed the value these books had been given, a value not necessarily monetary in nature but of a personal love for reading.


    However, his attention was not caught on the countless of books tucked in the shelves, rather the sole large one that had been placed on the table. He walked to the book which appeared old and worn off from age, seemingly made by hand. Upon lifting the book, he saw it was made from a sturdy piece of leather.


    The title to the book was Chronicles. He felt the thickness and quality of each one of the pages, clearly this was a book that was made to last for a long time. From the first pages Zilian read, his eyes widened with excitement. This book was what they needed to find out everything that had happened. He closed it and ran back with the tome tucked in his arms to his friends.


    "Guys, check this out!" He exclaimed excitedly as he burst into the room.


    He dropped the book with a loud and heavy thud on the table, leaving Blade to lift the thick book to read the title aloud.


    "Chronicles. What is this about?" He asked.


    He snatched the book from Blade, "Here, let me read the beginning for you."


    He flipped open the cover to the first page, the pages were faded and the edges were worn. A strong odor spread and left a tangy taste in the air, not unlike how the forest would smell like after a rainstorm.


    He placed his fingers on the top of the page where it started. "It says, Mother said I should write everything down in my life. At least anything important to me and significant for others. I do not know how or why but she says it is the best for me. I did not know where to start, so mother said for me to start with my favorite things. I love reading, I love finding new stuff to learn. I guess I am good at learning, all the local tutors said there is nothing more to teach me, I learned everything from them. I love eating my eggs between two toasted breads, for breakfast and dinner."


    Erica rose from her chair for the first time, intrigued from what Zilian had found, "Is that what I think it is?"


    "Yes, this is Kenplar''s personal journal, it has everything as it says here of significance to him. Starting ever since he was a child."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "How about what happened to him here? There has to be something for us to know what happened here?" She asked hopefully.


    "I was going to get to that. Give me a sec to find the page." He flipped through the pages, getting slightly past the middle of the journal.


    "Ok, this seems to be where it all started.¡±


    ¡°I have heard disturbing reports of the Mountain have had passed our borders, I became more worried as later reports suggested they were on direct routes to some of the villages and cities on edges of our lands. As I readied myself to depart for the Council and deliver these reports myself, the situation took a terrible turn for the worst of the worst. The nearby villagers fled to me, their homes brought down to ashes and their families slain in front of them. I let them all into my Estate, there is no neglecting the pleas of souls in distress, my only regret is that I did not leave sooner for the Council.


    A great crowd entered through my gates, just like the waters to floodgates. Accounted of all that had come, a final count of two-thousand-three-hundred-twenty-five. Men, women, children and elders all made up two-thousand-three-hundred-twenty-five refugees. I immediately sent my medics to attend to the wounded, and I assisted myself as well. Sadly fourty-two passed away shortly after that day and today, as if the hope was all they clung to and to breathe that one extra breath. I worry that some terrible fate looms over us and what might happen next.¡±


    He flipped to the next page.


    ¡°The mourning ends today. Knowing the Mountain''s cold hearts and their driven relentlessness, they will be heading here now. I sent a message to the Council last night requesting for emergency aid, but I fear it may be too late. I estimate the Mountain will be here no less than a week, so I have begun the makings of weapons and armor. They will not be of the finest quality, but they will suffice. I also began training the men and boys of sufficient age and form with various weapons, namely bows, swords, spears and daggers. The women, elderly and children have been tasked to the farms. If the Mountain looks for a fight, a fight will await them.


    The blacksmiths today brought to my attention their inability to complete the task in time, I told them it had to be done or else we would certainly fail. Their trust, along with everyone who came to me for refuge, my family, every living being on my land has laid out their trust on me and I will not betray that trust. I have set up strategies, barricades, sentries and teams today. I have learned two things as well, one that there still is no end to knowledge and when you fight for something you believe in, power you¡¯ve never known you had before will be found. The villagers have learned well and they will fare well in battle.


    It has been a little over of a fortnight since the time the villagers arrived, two weeks and two days. The Mountain made their first appearance, attempting an ambush. The surprise was on them, they were not prepared for retaliation, much less a trained army. We lost few that day, the Mountain lost many. Our count has been one-hundred-twelve perished by the sword and eighty-five injured, the Mountain to our count had three-hundred-thirty-one perished by the sword and a minimum of five-hundred injured. We celebrated over our victory, as well mourned for our brothers that day. We know we must keep our guard up, the Mountain does not take defeat lightly."


    Erica interrupted, "Zilian, can you get to the final entry please? I don''t want to see all the death, I just want to know what happened in the end."


    He saw the weight hanging on her shoulders, the pain in her eyes of the inability to see the suffering of others. Kenplar clearly suffered a lot, considering the amount of graves outside.


    "Right." He nodded.


    He flipped several pages till he found what seemed to be the conclusion of the battle took place here, "This looks like his last entry.¡±


    ¡°These have been the darkest ages I have ever seen, and I fear we have not much time left. So much death and no help, I suspect the Mountain intercepted every one of my messengers. Just more dead souls on my conscience. I would give anything for a surrender, my life, my Estate, just to exchange for the freedom of the remaining villagers. Two-thousand-three-hundred-twenty-five we started with, now we are a mere two-hundred-ninety-one. We have downed a minimum of ten-thousand Mountain soldiers. How did they amass an army so large? I may never know now. Today will be our last stand, and I learned one last lesson in my life. It is about purpose; I used to believe our purpose was for to fight for what we believe, now I know that is not true. My purpose is to fight for the peace and my legacy to live and prosper in those days of peace. My heart is pained, how I wish to tell Gienna how I have failed her as a father. If only I had said ''yes'', but all that is for naught as I failed her. Gienna will live as my legacy. Forgive me, remember I will be by your side forever from this life and past the grave in your heart."


    He looked at his friends and saw that they had nothing to say, simply trying to digest what had just been revealed. Kenplar led a resistance to save these people, but was ultimately unable to prevent the onslaught of the Mountain.


    "Jenson Tensis." They all turned to Gienna who was muttering nearly incomprehensible voice. "Lariat Kaosin. Kenbi Kaosin."


    Erica rolled Gienna''s hair back, "You ok Gigi?"


    She rasped, "Yes, I promised to remember the names of them all." She muttered the names again.


    Zilian looked into the book, turned the page over by one. It had more script to it, This Gienna, I promise to remember the names of them all. They may be perished by life, but they will be remembered through history and I will remember the names of them all to assure their existence in it. Jenson Tensis. Lariat Kaosin. Kenbi Kaosin...


    A deep curiosity welled up him. "Did you remember the names of every last one of them?" Zilian asked.


    "Let her rest, she needs to sleep." Erica scolded him.


    "I need to know, why would you remember the names of them all?" He urged her as he stepped closer to the bed, to be able to hear her more clearly.


    Gienna eyes flickered painfully and her voice was coarse, "They died... All of them..." She clearly had not heard Zilian¡¯s question, instead she dozed off to sleep.


    Blade criticized, "That is a ridiculous thing to do. Why would she remember everyone¡¯s names for? They are all dead, so there is no point in it."


    He eyed Blade and Erica, both of their faces gave the same expression, pity for Gienna to go through that and thinking she had gone mad from this trauma. He backed away with the aged journal tucked under his arms as Erica tucked the pillow under Gienna, departing from the room. Walking down the hallway back in the main entrance, he sat down at the beginning of the ruined stairway and opened the book back at the start of the list naming dead. He began to memorize all the names he read under his breathe, I will remember them too, he promised.


    "Are you going crazy too?" He jumped from Blade who was towering over him, giving the same look he had given Gienna.


    "I could ask you the same." He retorted.


    "I know I have sanity, it may not be much but at least it is something." He grinned, "You on the other hand are doing the exact same thing as Gigi back there. That did not do her too much good and in fact it really does not seem like it did anything to begin with, except for putting more heartache into the pain she already has."


    Zilian slapped the book shut with a loud clap. "It did not waste her time. Not everyone is as strong as you and you very well know that!"


    Blade took an offended step back and spat, "So you are saying remembering a bunch of names makes you strong?"


    "Yes, it does."


    "That seems to be doing her a lot of good, here she is knocked out from exhaustion that perhaps may even be the cause of her deathly state."


    "She lost her father. You will not understand, you never lost anyone important to you."


    "My father is gone too." He crossed his arms defiantly.


    Zilian became hot with anger, having forgotten what he had mentioned when they first met. He did not feel like to lose an argument against him.


    "You never showed that you missed him, and she not only lost her father but her friends and everyone else she befriended here."


    Blade glared back coldly, "And I lost an entire city of family. I believe I have a sense of a feeling of lost."


    His mouth gaped, trying to come up with some witty response, "How do you deal with it? Sleep at night?"


    "How I sleep at night? I just close my eyes and I slumber. How I deal with it is another story in itself, I try to let go of the past. I can not move forward if the memories of my family draw me back, if I hold on to those memories it will sway me from my objective."


    "Let me guess, stop the Mountain Empire and end this war?" Zilian sneered spitefully.


    Blade pushed him back with a finger, setting a foot down to clearly show he was crossing a line, "You may mock me or even others for what they believe. I tell you this, if you mock the belief of others, you in truth are mocking yourself because you yourself do not have a belief and are simply being led by the wind." His words had mighty weight in them, and Blade left him alone with drooped shoulders in the dark room alone to ponder over the significance of what he had said.

 Chapter ThirtyThree - One Last Chance

    The tip of the stick trailed along delicately, as if painting a priceless piece of art. An art not to be forgotten, the names of the of the fallen refugees.


    The last three days had been painstakingly slow for Zilian, leaving him with nothing to do. Even when there was some task to be done it was accomplished easily. He passed the time away by reading the journal constantly these three days, countless hours before break of dawn until past the last flickers of the candle in the middle of the night. Blade was right that he did not have a goal, not even a clue of where to go. All he knew was what to run from, maybe he should just rid the blade so it would not be a burden to him anymore.


    Lifting the stick to reveal his work, he reads aloud the name of one of the many innocent lives taken weeks ago. He scraped his foot across to wipe the name and began writing the next list names on the list, having remembered every name that there was in that book.


    With a final stroke of the last name in the book, he stepped up back to see how Gienna was faring. Her fever spiked up during the night, leaving Erica working tirelessly to aid her bedridden friend.


    "Is she doing better?" Zilian asked while stepping in the room.


    Blade was the one who replied, not holding any apparent grudge of their argument three days ago. Then he saw his eyes, the unforgiving stare because of his thoughtless comments. "No, she seems to be getting worse. She started coughing up blood."


    Erica had been changing a damp rag from Gienna''s forehead, then suddenly gasped as she dropped the bowl of water. Before he could ask what was wrong, she lifted Gienna''s arm out of the blanket. The arm seemed perfectly fine to him, but Blade shifted closer to get a better look. He brought the candle in closer, the light revealed the arm to be riddled with dark pieces of skin as if it were rotting away in decay.


    "What is it?" He asked the obvious question.


    An unsurprising reply from Erica was the response, "I don''t know."


    "One way for us to find out. You two come with me to the library." Blade pointed his finger at them.


    "We can''t leave her alone." Erica protested while holding onto her friend¡¯s arm, unable to break apart.


    Blade tried reasoning with, "We will be right back. We are going to see if this Kenplar has any books of diseases, which I am certain he does."


    "No, she needs someone here." She replied defiantly. Erica had seldom left Gienna''s side ever since they had arrived.


    "We do not have time to argue." Blade shouted angrily.


    "Just bring all the books here, then I can help."


    Blade sighed in defeat, seeing that he could not separate her from her dear friend. "Fine. We will be right back. Come on ZIlian."


    Not waiting for a reply, Blade exited the room. Zilian walked alongside him to the library, the room just as they had left it; dusty, old books tossed all about.


    "What should I look for?" He asked.


    "Anything that has Medication or Symptom written all over it, and I mean it literally."


    Blade went to the back end of the room on the left wall, scanning each book one by one while trailing them with his finger. Zilian went shuffling through the books on the ground, piling them one by one under two categories, ''Will Help Gienna'' and ''Useless''. Before he knew it, they had piled up a couple dozen books, mostly those with the word "Symptoms" written on them. He and Blade took what they could and headed back to Erica with their arms full of books.


    Erica stepped up to give them a hand. "Here, just place them on the floor."


    After settling all the books down, each one of them grabbed one and began to read. The first book Zilian grabbed was titled ''Deadly Jungle Symptoms and Cures'', he had no idea if this was the right place to start but it was just as good a start as any.


    He read disease after disease, its symptoms, and cures. Periodically lifting the book to show Erica a possible match, only to find out it was not what they were looking for. One way or another the diagnosis was off by one symptom or wrong geological area for it to manifest. After a while he kept it to himself, if he was not sure if it was the one, that was a good enough sign telling him it was not.


    After several hours, it had become painstakingly clear that just about everything they read was not even close to what they were looking for. They had to take several trips to the library and back, and before long the room was a library of its own. Finally Zilian stood up after what had felt like an eternity of reading books, hearing his own joints pop into place as he stretched his legs.Stolen novel; please report.


    "What time is it?" He asked with a yawn.


    "About one or two in the morning." Erica replied with her eyes glued to the book she was in. She was the one who read the most, three times more than he and twice as much as Blade. It felt like she was through a book every couple hours.


    "What, we''ve been up for that long?" He exclaimed surprisingly.


    "Yes, we were. We are close, I can feel it. See if you can get more books from the library."


    He shook his head apologetically, "Sorry Erica, but these are it. There¡¯s nothing else in the library on the subject of medicine."


    She glanced at him, "You sure?"


    "Yeah, I''ve checked and rechecked like five or six times." He rubbed his temples tiredly.


    "Then there is something we must have missed something in here." She closed the book she was reading, which she had evidently finished. She shuffled through the piles of books, apparently looking for one she might not have read thoroughly. She looked like she was going to burst into tears again.


    Trying to calm her down, Zilian attempted to console her, "Erica, it will be fine."


    "No! I will not lose her too!"


    He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but her response was to slap his hand away. She cried in her hands, despairing that she was helpless to help her friend.


    "Not to burst your bubble, but I think I found what is wrong with your friend." Blade said.


    Raising her head, Erica composing herself back into reality with a sniffle. "Really?!"


    Unable to wait for a moment longer, she snatched the book from him to see what he was reading. For a moment, her spirit seemed to rise as her chest filled with hope. However, her smile quickly turned into a frown.


    "Wait, this can''t be." She looked at Blade curiously.


    "Yes, it is. I am sorry Erica, but your friend is not going to make it."


    She stared blankly, looking back into the book.


    Zilian exclaimed, "What do you mean? You found out what is wrong with her, all we need to do is make an antidote."


    Blade shook his head sadly, "If only it were that simple. First step was to find out what it was she had. The second is to find out if it is curable. In her case, it is curable. But the pulp is made from the leaves of a rare flower, which is only found naturally on the borders between the Wind and Swamp empires."


    "Is there nowhere else we can find it? Maybe in a city nearby in some vendor shop." He offered hopefully.


    "Zilian, I am sorry, this is not something you find in any shop."


    The shadows emitted from the candle danced from Erica''s sudden excited jumping.


    "Is something wrong Erica?" Blade asked worriedly, apparently fearing the disease caused insanity.


    "No, she is going to be fine! We have everything we need!"


    "You must be out of your mind. The Moonlight flower is nowhere nearby!" He exclaimed.


    "But it is! The Kenplars have a small patch of these flowers on their land."


    Blades jaw dropped and Zilian gawked, it took him a moment to realize what all was left that they needed to do. "That is great Erica, where is it?"


    Her eyes shied away. His joy turned into his frustration, he pulls on his hair yells while spinning, "Can''t anything just be simple? For once I just want a normal life."


    Blade answered, "You know you never going to have anything normal." Slightly insinuating about his predicament with the sword. That struck him in the heart, he knew he had a second meaning for that. Referring to him and the sword he was ''guardian'' of, which was in his opinion against his will. He had no energy left to argue with him, so instead he tried to focus back on to the situation at hand.


    "How much time does she have?" He asked.


    "That is another problem, she should already be dead. I am guessing she was only slightly exposed to it." Blade answered.


    "''Exposed''? You¡¯re not making any sense to me."


    Blade sighed. "She was exposed to a manmade weapon, a rare disease used as a weapon. Typically once exposed to enough of this disease, you die in two to three days. She seems to have survived for much longer than that. That being said, she could die in another week or in an hour. I would not bet on the former though, given her state."


    "Well, we need to start somewhere. Erica," addressing her, "No clue where it might be?"


    "I only remember they had it, I can¡¯t recall where it was, just that it was dark. The flowers normally glow from the light of the moon, so it must be somewhere in the forest or in a cave. I do remember they were not glowing because of the darkness."


    "Not much to work on then." Blade remarked while rising from his crouched position. "So what is your call Zilian? As I see it, we either find the flower or just end her misery."


    With no hesitation he replied, "We are finding that flower."


    Blade grinned, pleased, "Thought so, I would have done the same. At least we have something in common." Blade reached out his hand to shake. Zilian smiled. He was right, they finally found something in common. He grasped his hand and gave a sincere shake.


    The heartwarming moment was interrupted from Gienna¡¯s hacking. Erica swiftly came to her side, grabbing a rag to wipe the sweat off her.


    "She only has a couple of hours." She affirmed. She lifted the rag, revealing the sweat was bloody. "The final sign of death; if she does not get the antidote soon, she will not make it." A tear rolled down her cheek.


    Zilian and Blade both knew what had to be done, so they both ran outside from the main entrance. No need to exchange comments, no need to lay out a plan. They both knew it was somewhere dark, and that it glowed when moon light bounced off of it. Most importantly though, they both knew that time was running out.

 Chapter ThirtyFour - The Moonlight, The Earth and The Flower

    She depends on me, I need to do what I can, Zilian thought to himself. There was no doubt in his mind that Gienna would die unless he got her the Moonlight flower in time.


    Anger and frustration welled up in his core. He was incapable of doing anything to help father, he stood hopelessly over Mauris as he passed away, and the best he could do for Charlee was staying out of his way. This time however, he would make it alright. There was something he could do for someone, and he was going to do everything in his power to save Gienna.


    Zilian and Blade stopped outside of the entrance to the mansion, deciding on a direction to spread out. He pouted over the fact that they only had one clue, the flower could be somewhere in the dark forest. The problem being was that most of the land here was forest anyways, so it is not a clear enough of a direction.


    ¡°You take the east forest,¡± Zilian pointed behind the building, ¡°and I¡¯ll take the north. If we split up, we will cover more ground that way.¡±


    Blade nodded, ¡°I agree on splitting up, buta€|¡±


    Zilian cringed when he said but, his father always face-palmed when he said but. Before he never understood why, now he saw why it was so annoying. Why bother in agreeing if you are going to disagree with them in the end? He was snapped back to reality, literally, Blade was snapping his fingers in his ears.


    He shook his head, clearing those thoughts away, ¡°Uh? What?¡± Blade¡¯s face clearly showed he was annoyed from the scrunched brows and cheesy frown. He was righteously upset, Zilian was not paying him any sort of attention.


    ¡°I said that we do have a minor clue where this flower is at. Erica mentioned that the moon glowed on the flower undisturbed, meaning that the flower must be in at least a small clearing. Those areas are where we want to go first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He exclaimed excitedly, but again reality struck. ¡°But, we need a high vantage point, higher than the mansions roof top. There is no way we could do that.¡±


    Blade grinned as if he had passed gas, Zilian almost chuckled because of his expression. He did not, however, expect Blade to draw the sword from his back, and much less so when he spun it in his palms followed by grasping it in both hands and striking the ground with it. As if it were not enough of a shock already, he furthermore was gawked as the ground shook under his feet.


    ¡°Another quake!¡± He cried out, remembering all too well his recent experience on the mountain.


    Blade just smirked, clearly amused by Zilian¡¯s reaction. The ground suddenly jerked and moved, he stood on a small piece of earth that grew taller and taller. The world around him shrunk, and even the awe-striking mansion looked like a small wood block as they came to a stop. Then the pillar stopped rising, tossing Zilian up a couple inches before he fell back down. He eyed everything wildly and crawled precariously to the edge to see how far they had gone, seeing the world at such a terrifying angle made him nauseating dizzy. He would have toppled over if Blade had not pulled him back by the shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it man, back to the issue at hand.¡± Blade coolly stated.


    A million questions ran in his mind, this experience was not different from when his sword exploded into a living lighting bolt. Why did his blade move the earth? How long did he know? When was he going to tell him?


    These questions will have to wait, so he nodded his agreement with Blade. ¡°Right, so we want to find some clearings.¡±


    He stood up while holding his arms out to get his balance, worried that a sudden gust would knock him over the edge. He had a clear view over the field below, between the realms of land and clouds. A sensation of freedom filled him, this what the birds in the heavens must have felt.


    He could see the entire length to the estate. The open fields to the south and the gate entrance at the west did not have his attention. However, his focus was on the east and north, quickly discerning that the flower could not be towards the north because it was too dense. The east however provided several opportunities, including a gorge that tore through a portion of the forest.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the portion after the gorge, while you do the half that is on this side of it. I will drop you in one of those clearings near the gorge.¡± Blade left orders that he could barely keep up with. The who starts at what point part was discernible, but the ¡®I will drop you in¡¯ part left him confused.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°What did you mean by the I willa€|¡¯¡± He was interrupted as the pillar beneath him began to shift.


    The platform stretched into a smooth earth slide that he skidded down on his back, depositing him in the direction of the gorge. He glanced at Blade who had his Buster sword at the edge of the slide; when he twisted the blade to adjust their headings, the earth followed its movement. He understood somewhat how Blade did it, it seemed like that he controlled the movement of earth with this sword.


    In less than a minute, they had arrived over a clearing near the gorge. Zilian sneaked a peak over the edge to see the treetops less than a foot beneath them, until he felt a shove from behind. He fell over into the clearing onto the mushy marsh of peat.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Zilian grunted in disgust, the peat stained his clothes and smelled as bad as it looked. He gawked back up at the earth slide he was on just a moment ago before tossed off, it continued stretching over and past the gorge.


    ¡°Thanks a lot you pig-head!¡± Zilian berated his offender. He could have sworn that he replied saying ¡®Your welcome!¡¯, but he was too far away to be heard for sure.


    ¡°Well, at least I am here now.¡± He muttered.


    Wasting no time, he ran around in this clearing to find any evidence of the flower. Unsurprisingly to him, he found nothing to suggest anything other than peat grew in this spot. Since he memorized where all the clearings were, he ran on to the next one and repeated the same quick scout, only to yield the same results. He spent several hours from going one to the next with the same tale to each one as he neared the mansion, his hope fell in dismay as he had already gone through about half of the clearings on this side.


    He frantically scurried back deeper in the forest, but it all ended to no avail. He raced alongside the gorge following into another open area until the ground fell from underneath him. He did not see the hole hidden among the dense grass that spread over it.


    ¡°AHH!¡± He yelled as he fell. He attempted to reach out for the ledge instinctively, but he was too slow and slipped down into the hole.


    Zilian bounced against the walls as he fell deeper inside until he dropped into a small opening at the bottom, he lifted himself and then swatted the mud that covered him spraying his immediate surroundings in grime. He looked around to see what kind of a mess he had got himself into this time, from what it seemed he was in a small rift in the gorge providing a small area where more peat grew. The air tasted even worse around this spot; however, he had all but forgotten the stench and mud ridden pit. Excitement ached in his bones, his core burned eagerly, joy painted in his every expression.


    ¡°Blade! Over here man!¡± He did not know if he heard him until he heard reassuring footsteps drawing near him.


    Not bothering to wait a moment longer, he stepped to the edge of the entrance to this rift. Right there at the corner, grew the precious plant ever so delicately and precariously. Its splendor glowed in every bit of beauty that was claimed to be, yet in its inarguable beauty it bowed in humility, coveted to be as the most graceful sight ever seen.


    ¡°You found it!¡± Blade stepped alongside him. His eyes glowed in awe too, the Moonlight flower danced as a breeze passed around it as it glowed in the night sky.


    Since Zilian was stunned in astonishment, Blade took the initiative to grab the flower. He plucked it from the roots and held it carefully in his hands, using his free hand to protect it from damage of the elements.


    ¡°Here, take it.¡± He ordered Zilian.


    He stared the plant as he grabbed it gently from the burly swordsman, then Blade drew his sword for the second time tonight. Pointing the tip to the wall of this steep gorge, he made swiping movements with his sword. Steps formed from the earth took shape, popping out of the wall as the sound of earth grating earth cracked loudly, echoing in the narrow passage.


    He reminded himself to query Blade about his blade later, but for now it really did not matter, he was just grateful it was so helpful at this time. They walked up the makeshift stairs to the top, and then trekked back to the mansions by foot so as not to risk losing or ruining the precious Moonlight. The remainder of their quest was kept in silence.


    They found Erica right where they had left her, sitting alongside her old friend. She had not even notice them come in the room until they stepped in front of the flickering candle, casting long gloomy shadows.


    She looked up at the two boys, ¡°Oh, Zilian! I remembered something, it was in a hole. Oh.¡± Seeing that Zilian was a mess, she saw that he had that part figured out.


    He smiled, she looked like that she was expecting some brash expression or reaction from him. Admittedly, he did not like being in this state, but he felt like he had accomplished something, and that meant a lot to him personally. He gave her the Moonlight flower that he took good care of, and she took it graciously.


    A glint appeared in her eyes, she was about to cry as lips trembled and sob escaped from her. She wiped her face clear and hugged him and then Blade, repeatedly saying Thank-you. Then she went back to the task at hand, pulling out a bowl and mixing the flower with other indigenous herbs and fresh water, she mashed them into a sticky pulp with a wooden rod. After which she took the bowl and helped Gienna drink the antidote, lifting her head up for small sips.


    ¡°Is she getting better now?¡± Zilian asked hopefully.


    Blade answered coldly but as the plain truth, ¡°Only time will tell.¡± She did not appear to have a lot of time left, since she heaved heavily and groaned in pain with each taken breath. All he could do was hope that he had not been to late, he did not know how he would take another failure.

 Chapter ThirtyFive - Heroes and Heroines

    It had been three days and three nights, and the only sign of any improvement to Gienna¡¯s health was her dropping fever. She seemed to still be very ill, giving terrible bouts of coughing and agonizing moans.


    Erica as always sat in her usual spot next to Gienna by the bed. She had hardly slept last night due to her sick friend getting worse, so she helped her by periodically replacing a wet towel on her forehead and feeding her soup by the spoonful.


    She still remembered the fun times she had had many years ago, even though back then to get past the Conditioned Cities were much more difficult, even with Mr Kenplar¡¯s seal. They strolled the gardens in the south and had their mini adventures in the forest, pretending they were heroines fighting in the frontlines and defending the weak from the constant waves of enemies that barged towards them.


    Now she realized that being a heroine was not always just fighting for someone, but sometimes to simply be at the side of their friend at a time of need. Her head jerked back a few times from how tired she was until she finally gave away to sleep, slinking her head forward on the bedside next to her friend. She snoozed tranquilly on Gienna¡¯s lap in peace, until she felt a rub on the back of her head. Raising her head from her nap, she saw what was the source of interruption from her sleep.


    ¡°You still snore like a horn Eri.¡± A teasing tone remarked.


    Eyes well up with tears and rejoice filled her spirit, she leapt and wrapped her arms around her friends neck. She hugged a bit too tightly, sending Gienna squirming painfully from her grip.


    ¡°Ow, ow, Eri.¡± Gienna pushed her away, but after a brief paused moment holding her arms, she pulled Erica back to hug her herself, ¡°Oh, how I missed you Eri. I missed you so much, and I am happy you are here now.¡± She sobbed every word, in sincere joy from reuniting with Erica.


    While she and Gienna wept in each others arms, Zilian and Blade walked into the room laughing. However, as soon they saw the girls in their sisterly embrace, they all fell eerily quiet until Gienna interrupted the silence.


    ¡°Who are your friends, Eri?¡± She inquired.


    Erica smiled, happy to make the proper introductions, ¡°Zilian and Blade,¡± She gestured to them correspondingly, ¡°Gienna. Gienna, Zilian and Blade.¡±


    ¡°Huh, Blade, interesting name. Your parents named you that?¡± She asked.


    He shook his head in response, ¡°No, it is the name I go by.¡±


    Erica could see from Blade¡¯s face that he did not want to delve deeper, and it appeared that Gienna got the gist too. She decided to focus on who saved her.


    ¡°Zilian was the one who found the Moonlight flower, the catalyst to heal you.¡± Erica went on explaining what had happened when she collapsed, and the story Zilian had given her. All the while, Gienna listened intently.


    Gienna seemed to have had been especially interested in hearing that he had learned the names to every last one of the deceased. When Erica had finished the story, she requested Zilian to step closer which he did as asked. Gienna then hugged him firmly, followed by a thankful kiss on the forehead.


    A smile grew on them both, Gienna then asked him an odd question, ¡°Why did you remember the names of all of those folks? You have not even known them as I did.¡±


    He grinned awkwardly, as if Zilian had been expecting this inquiry, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it is right for them to die for nothing, someone needs to remember what they did and why.¡±


    Erica thought that was just plain stupid and was certain Gienna would agree, but she was surprised to see that Gienna nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Good friends you have here Eri, take care of them as you have done with me.¡± She then gave both her and Zilian another firm hug. Blade pointedly stepped back, clearly wanting to avoid any emotional hugs with someone that was just another random person to him.


    Erica however did not care, she was happy her friend is alive and healthy. She was going to cherish every moment with her from here on out.


    ~---~


    Days went by and Gienna¡¯s health was back up to its fullest and despite Erica¡¯s prevention, she continued to work outside in the warm humidity. They had a sisterly and at moments a strong quarrel, but in the end they agreed to let her work as long she did not over exert herself and allowed the rest to assist her in any and everything she did. All Gienna wanted to do was finish burying the bodies, giving them a proper burial site no matter how insignificant it appeared to be.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Erica was working in the front yard near everyone else, finishing in nailing the last tomb with its name. That is when she heard a trot nearing the mansion. She looked at the front gate and saw that there was a hooded figure who rode towards them, he meant danger to her when she saw a longsword strapped on the horse¡¯s side. She did not know who this newcomer was, so she called the alarm out to everyone.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming! Follow me Gigi!¡± Erica and Gienna then ran inside the mansion as previously planned, hiding behind a fake tile wall under the massive stairway Gigi.


    Zilian and Blade took the defense outside at the front, prepared to challenge the intruder also as previously planned. Just in a moments notice, Erica could hear the confrontation outside from inside.


    An enraged tone came from the coming individual, ¡°You swine¡¯s! You foul stench abominations! I will gut you the most painful manor known, you will pay for you deeds!¡±


    Zilian snapped back, ¡°You will pay! You have no honor whatsoever!¡±


    A gasp of recognition escaped from Gienna, Erica eyed her curiously. Does she know who he is? She thought to herself.


    Gienna pushed the loose tile out and ran outside to the entrance, Erica could not stop her so she followed closely behind. The moment her friend stepped outside, she shouted, but not in fear. Her friend was shouting very excitedly and joyfully, and ran forwards to the man who a moment ago was standing his ground threateningly.


    His eyes widened in recognition of the newcomer, and his angered expression quickly changed into a wide smile. ¡°Gia!¡± He called to her.


    He immediately dropped his sword, ignoring the two boys who initially confronted him. He clearly was no danger to them, all he wanted was to see Gienna. However, Erica did not remember in seeing him ever before, so she was at a loss here.


    ¡°Semet!¡± Gienna called his name.


    They both embraced each other and tenderly kissed, leaving everyone else dumbfounded from the transition of events. Gienna stepped away from him, she curled her hair behind her ear to address them.


    Gienna made the introductions, ¡°Guys, this is Semet, my fiance. Semet, these are my friends, Erica, Zilian and Blade. They saved me.¡± She explained briefly.


    He nodded in understanding. Firmly shaking Zilian¡¯s and Blade¡¯s hands, officially shrugging off their initial meet and kissing Erica¡¯s hand.


    He however had his attention back at Gienna, ignoring the rest of the group, ¡°I am terribly sorry for not making it sooner. As soon as I have heard about Mountain forces breaking past the border and cutting off as many of the Conditioned Cities, I tried to make leave to come warn you all. However, I was too late and they had barricaded everyone off from getting in and out. I feared the worst for you and father. Speaking of which, where is father?¡± Apparently talking about Mr. Kenplar himself.


    Tears welled up in Gienna¡¯s eyes as she recalled her painful experience, however she wiped the tears off, ¡°He didn¡¯t make it.¡± She said plainly.


    He shook his head sadly at hearing this, ¡°He would have wanted you to live on anyways. We will remember everything he has done. We do need to leave right away however, there are more soldiers on their way over here and we don¡¯t want to be around when that happens.¡±


    Everyone understood the repercussions of that, and nodded in agreement. Gienna however did argue about one thing.


    ¡°What about my friends? We cannot all fit on two horses.¡± She remarked.


    It was Zilian who spoke up, speaking reassuringly, ¡°Best you go Gigi, take our horse too. We will be going on our own way now.¡±


    Erica wanted to contend with Zilian, the last thing she wanted to do was separate herself from her friend. They had gone through a lot together and thought that it was fitting they would stick together. ¡°Where do we have to go Zilian? Best thing to do is stick with Semet.¡± She countered.


    He scratched the back of his head grinning, ¡°Sorry, I meant to mention this earlier. I will be going with Blade, I have a purpose now and I wanted to do right to everyone that died here. What I mean is I will be going, and you go with Gienna and Semet.¡± He handed out a hand, offering a final farewell shake.


    Erica stared at that hand, gears in her head winded to make a choice. Go with her old friend Gienna or stay with her brother-like friend? She reached her hand out hesitantly as she thought about it, as she was about to grasp his hand, she smacked it away.


    This merited a shocked look on Zilian¡¯s face as he clenched his hand from the sting, at the same while as Gienna and Semet chuckled from seeing her reaction.


    ¡°Ow, why you do that for?¡± He demanded.


    She then pushed on him, which sent him stumbling back a bit and then barked at him, ¡°You know how much I hate good byes! Did you think I would abandon my little brother? No, you are stuck with me whether you like it or not.¡± Even though she sounded a little harsh, she grinned amusingly.


    Zilian also grinned back, ¡°Well, honestly, I was worried you would have said yes. Oh, and technically I am big brother, while you are the little sis.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± She rolled her eyes comically.


    After having a heartwarming laugh the two groups said their good byes and parted ways, ¡°Bye! Take good care of yourself Eri!¡± Gienna¡¯s farewell echoed through the forest as she and her fiance leave the trio by themselves as they stood at the entrance.


    Erica wanted to know what they had planned. ¡°So, what are going to do now?¡± Clearly Zilian had given something some thought without her input, she wanted to know if she would approve it or not.


    Zilian stared out in the forest, ¡°I think it is time I make a change in this war, and to do that I need training. Proper training. Blade suggested we meet a guy a week¡¯s way on foot from here. And I think it is time I tell you something else, but while we are on the way.¡±


    She eyed between him and Blade, the man giving her an assuring thumbs up which was anything but assuring to her. Giving it a brief thought, she smiled. A change in this war. Heroes and heroines. She thought to herself.


    She agreed with him and her pent up excitement grew for an actual adventure, one that would mean something to her personally. ¡°Well, it sounds as good of a plan as any. So what are we standing around and waiting for?¡±

 Chapter ThirtySix - Stones Honor

    She raged from the pent up failure, just utter failure. Never before had Kathryn ever failed so miserably, and yet here she was stepping inside the Royal Palace to her master in failure. He was unforgiving, and especially for such a simple task like the one he had entrusted to her. She had her excuses of course, but those did little to remedy the situation. Ultimately, the failure was on her and she would take full responsibility for it, as was expected from her.


    She climbed the lengthy adorned stairway to the top level of the palace, walking along a short path to the two large wooden doors that served as the entrance of the Meeting Room. As she entered, Syn, the former Master Assassin General, exited the room. Upon seeing her, he crossed his arms and grinned in glee.


    Unsurprisingly to her, he took this opportunity to mock, ¡°My, my, unable to retrieve the small sword Kathryn? Pft, I should have known you were inapt for such a simple task.¡±


    She pointedly turned away and ignored him, there was no need for her to lower herself to his level. Arguments and emotions served very little in times of war, and she knew very well that if it were not for his skill as an assassin he would never have been given such authority. She would be the better man, or rather, the better woman between the two.


    Syn simply shrugged and closed the door behind him, he learnt long ago that she was impossible to provoke. Now it was just her on her knees and her master Malie in the room, who stood at the far end of the large conference hall looking out the window with his back to her.


    There was a silence in the room, and to any normal being the ambiance would have had been nerve racking. She however calmly remained silent, leaving Malie to his thoughts. She knew how his mind worked, and she also knew that he understood how hers worked. One could call this a bond between them two, but this bond lasted only as long her respect of his power remained intact and the same in return.


    Malie stood there without moving so much as muscle, obvious evidence of his extensive training as a great warrior. Until finally he started speaking, revealing what her future held in store for her.


    ¡°You recall the Stone Honor¡¯s purpose?¡± He asked her.


    Bowing her head further to acknowledge that he spoke to her, she replied, ¡°The sole code respected through the past dozen generations, the chant goes ¡®As resolute and true as the Mountain, as eternal as the Stone¡¯s fortitude. The one deemed worthy is that one who remains the greater of the two, and I call that challenge the Stone¡¯s Honor.¡¯¡±


    He turned around and signaled with his hand for her to stand, ¡°Good, you remembered the chant well. However, have you come understand what is its purpose? It is one thing to recall the code of honor, it is another to grasp its purpose.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    She stepped alongside him as he turned to look outside the window, reading his actions as a measure in lowering his guard. Beyond the glass lay the Mountain¡¯s greatest glory of all; their city that rested on top of the Mountain, built throughout the millennia.


    ¡°It¡¯s purpose is for the strong to rule the weak, the weak to be tamed and the tamed to prosper.¡±


    He nodded in agreement, much to Kathryn¡¯s satisfaction. One of the many reasons she chose him as her master was because of their shared ideology. ¡°Exactly. One of the restrictions to the code is that only a true blood of the Mountain can call forth the decree, and we are among the strongest of the strong.¡± He sighed while his gaze pierced outside, ¡°You Kathryn have failed to retrieve both blades and lost the trails to both boys, and now they are on the alert out there somewhere with the element of surprise to their advantage. I very much dislike the unknown that is falling upon me, but that is our predicament nonetheless.¡±


    He finished his sentence, letting Kathryn add some input. She thought carefully before speaking, since it may very well decide her fate.


    ¡°Then do with me as you see fit. I have failed and there is no manner I could think of righting this wrong.¡± She meant every word she spoke, there were always repercussions for failure and it was time she faced hers.


    Frighteningly, Malie smiled. She knew that her fate has been sealed and this day would bring either her demise or retribution.


    ¡°That is what I like about you Kathryn, you are direct. You waste not single bit of my resources to aid or even comprehend a meaning past what you have said, and you are honest with me, that merits some reward.¡±


    She would have smiled if it were not for the fact that she was alongside her master. However, he had not finish speaking, ¡°I will consider on your ordeal in response to the consequences of your actions, after you return from your next mission.¡±


    She raised a brow in surprise, the last thing she had expected was another mission. This was more like a reward than an ordeal, he essentially bought her more time for her to make amends for her mistakes.


    He continued on with what her mission was, ¡°You are to gather and lead a small armada into the Shadow Forest, we have confirmation of what is in there and we need to establish our troops in that area.¡±


    After a short while of another period of silence, Malie dismissed her, ¡°You may go now.¡±


    She nodded her head. Before she stepped outside the door, she felt the need to assure him.


    ¡°Malie, I will not fail. And when the boy shows his face again, I will be the first to respond.¡± She asserted.


    He did not turn around to see her leave, only responding to what she said, ¡°I know you will, as I expect nothing less from you.¡±


    She left the chamber and made her way to gather troops for the siege, the Shadow Forest would be burned to the ground and they would get what they needed there. The future of the war depended on their control of that forest, another chain link needed for the success of the empire.

 Chapter ThirtySeven - That Man In The Woods

    The group traversed the dense and somewhat unnerving, dark forest, the raucous cawing of birds as they fluttered away sounding in time to each step. Despite the cold and rejecting atmosphere, they had traveled deeper into the forest in search of someone important.


    Zilian was excited and worried, and not entirely certain about his decision. The Mountain have had taken so much from him, and he wanted to end their tyranny. He did not want to stop just his own misery, but also to everyone who had been affected by the seemingly unending war. Even now though, he was uncertain about how he would be able to end this war, or if he would even be able to, but he knew if he were to do anything he would need some proper training.


    He approached Blade nearly a week ago about his change of heart, about how he had finally grown tired of being dependent and running away all the time. It was Blade who suggested that if he was to do anything then he would need this training, and so Zilian agreed. And that was why they were in this forest at this moment, searching for a man named Shade. He had the expertise and resources to accomplish just that, while Blade would teach Zilian how to master Lighting.


    ¡°So you can control lighting?¡± Erica asked him. This was not the first time she asked him ever since he confessed everything to her, and now it seemed she had a hard to time to wrap her head around the fact that he could control a force of nature.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I am not so sure of what I can do with it, just that I am able to do something with lighting.¡± He repeated to her in a monotone voice, since this was perhaps her twentieth time asking.


    ¡°And you can control earth?¡± She had pointed her finger at Blade, directing a reply from him.


    Blade was much more confident in his reply, but this was no more than a second time answering her, ¡°More than control. I can shape, shift or manipulate the earth that is around me, and even creating more earth than what is there naturally. On top of that, I coat a layer of earth my sword, then from that coat I am able to do the same shape, shift and manipulation from the regular earth.¡±


    Blade then went on with all the shapes he could give the earth, techniques to speed up travel and the vast potential he had. However, all of this mattered little to Zilian at this point, since he himself was also trying to understand the ramifications of his own power.


    Ever since the turn of events nearly a month ago on the farm, he had many questions as to what his father had intended for him and this sword. There were questions needing answers, and the only answer he felt right was that it was meant for him to make a change.


    His interest perked when Erica¡¯s conversation went back onto the topic of Shade, ¡°So what can this Shade guy teach us? I kinda forgot to ask this earlier, but would he be able to help me get good at anything?¡±


    Blade chuckled, ¡°Could? I¡¯d say he is the wrong guy if he couldn¡¯t. The guy had learned every single fighting style there is to know, and when I say learn I mean that he has mastered perfectly every single last one of them. The guy is one of a kind.¡± His eyes trailed off, as if he was remembering the past.


    ¡°Have you ever met the guy?¡± Zilian queried.


    He rolled his shoulder signaling so-so, ¡°I mean I have once, but that was maybe ten years ago. Dad had him train me for a few months. Doubt the guy would remember me at first glance, but he should remember that time I was here.¡±


    Erica tossed her hands out, stopping everyone in their tracks, ¡°I saw something, over there in the bush.¡± She whispered.


    Zilian tried to peer deeper into the forest, but saw nothing that raised his alarm. He figured she was just imagining things, and even Blade shrugged noncommittally.


    Blade did not even bother to keep his voice low, ¡°It¡¯s too quiet for anyone to be here, I mean, the birds didn¡¯t get startled or anything.¡±


    Suddenly he heard hundreds of wings flapping all around them, black feathers floating down and impairing their vision. When the feathers settled down, they found themselves standing in the middle of a murder of black crows. The birds cawed at them from the branches they were perched on, sounding a menacing warning to leave.


    Erica grabbed Zilian by the arm tightly, fear welling up in her just as it was in him. He tried to reassure her, but his voice came out a bit dry, ¡°Maybe we¡¯re trespassing on their territory?¡± The explanation was odd, but it was the best he could come up with.


    Blade shook his head in disagreement, ¡°No, I hear movement. Zilian, get ready!¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    They both reached for their blades preemptively to fend off the hidden menace, but were caught off guard as the ground underneath them lifted after a sharp snap.


    Erica yelped in surprise after barely falling out of the net trap that the boys got themselves ensnared in, and she reacted by running away into the forest, but fell onto the ground as she bounced against a man who was hiding there.


    ¡°Humph!¡± She groaned from the pain of falling back.


    Zilian tried to use his sword to hastily cut through the net, but he was a moment too slow and caught by surprise as more men appeared. Some ran by foot covered in brush as camouflage, whereas others came swinging in on ropes and jumping from the overhead tree brush. They yipped and yelped excitedly as they overran them, taking his sword away from him through the snare. They did not take Blade¡¯s since it was too big, but Blade could not use it for that same reason.


    A man revealed himself from the group, apparently the leader of the small band, ¡°What do we have here? What is the price for trespass in these parts men?¡± Directing his question to his band.


    ¡°Tax! Tax! Tax!¡± They chanted.


    He shrugged defeated, and stepped forward the net and spun them around. He was just toying with them at this point. ¡°What can I say? My boys love their coins. Of course, what would a few small pesky kids be doing around with money in the middle of nowhere? So you would have to pay with entertainment, yes, a dance for this yay-hearted crowd!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± The group chortled and snickered comically.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Erica was fighting against the man who had a firm grip on her, yet she still fought and flayed herself to release from his grip.


    The leader nodded to grant her wish, and the big man released her. He asked Erica the question that Zilian honestly had wanted to ask him first, ¡°What are you folk doing here?¡± His question was sincere, no threat hung in his words, but his tone merited attention.


    Blade shouted right behind his ear as he tugged on the snare, ¡°Shade you mule-headed fool! Release us now and maybe we can give a less than half interesting story, perhaps your boys might have something to digest!¡±


    He got the man¡¯s attention, ¡°How¡¯d you know that name?¡±


    He grabbed on the snare to see Blade face to face, which Zilian silently thanked as he was getting sick from the constant spinning. He saw the man¡¯s eyes widened in recognition, he chortled and slapped his knees, laughing.


    Breaking from his laughing bout, he spun his finger in signal to someone, ¡°Let these boys loose! They¡¯re not trespassers.¡± A cry of dismaying aww from his men was let out, ¡°They¡¯re our guests!¡± Then the men cried joyfully, hooting their excitement.


    Zilian was wondering what kind of crazies he got himself stuck with this time, before he got too much time to contemplate on it though, the snare snapped and fell to the ground with a loud thump. He pulled himself free from the net and was offered a hand from the leader, he took his hand, pleased for the help up.


    ¡°What in the great heavens are you doing herea€|¡± However, he was interrupted by Blade.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t use my actual name, I am Blade now.¡± He saw a look of plea in his eyes, catching an embarrassed look as his eyes darted between him and Erica.


    Their host scratched his head curiously and then shrugged, ¡°Meh, not my place I guess. I am not surprised you took the name Blade, did you know he wanted to be called Dagger?¡± He asked Zilian.


    He simply shook in surprise, ¡°No, I just thought that was his name.¡±


    He received a gentle slap on the back and was directed into the forest, with Zilian and Erica following him side by side, ¡°Hohoho, great heavens no. Speaking of names, mines would be Shade, so what would yours and your friend¡¯s name be, lad?¡±


    ¡°Zilian, and she¡¯s Erica.¡±


    He waved a hand to Erica and called her on over, ¡°Over here lass, share me your story and how you became the unfortunate friends of Blade here.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Blade barked.


    They ignored him and gave him their story, starting from their escape of the farm. They talked and exchanged their experiences, occasionally having a good laugh with Shade and the other men. Eventually they came across a path and followed it with Shade, that is until they came across a dense vine and brush barrier.


    ¡°Yo Dopey-dope-doper! Let us through!¡± Shade called into the wall.


    Zilian had no idea what he was calling out to, until sound of wood grating on stone groaned. The barrier spread open as if it were a curtain, sliding aside and permitting them to walk past it with ease. Beyond the forest curtain, he was left astonished of the world that was settled beyond.


    An entire village worked and toiled all about, walking on paths crisscrossing the ground and wooden bridges among the treetops. Massive tree houses decorated almost every tree, systems of water flowing through canals and wells stretched past the wooden monstrosities. He saw groups of children playing in different groups, some running after a ball and others huddled together playing something on the ground. It was an average normal world, hidden like a precious jewel in this deep forest.


    There were a few curious looks directed their way by some of the passerby, but no one showed any particular interest. They were probably reassured by Shade¡¯s presence. Shade stepped in front of them and waved his hand across the view, welcoming them to his home.


    ¡°Welcome to our humble abode, everything that is mine is yours.¡± He winked at them as if to prove his sincerity, ¡°And straight down to business lads, what is it you want from me?¡±


    Blade crossed his arms and offered a brief, but straight to the point explanation, ¡°We want to end this war once and for all, and to do that we need your help.¡±


    Shade flexed his fingers together, Zilian heard them all pop loudly. A gleeful smile painted Shade¡¯s face, he deduced down to the heart of the situation. To Zilian, it always seemed everyone else was able to understand everything that he could not.


    He exaggeratedly took a deep breathe, ¡°Nice lads. Let¡¯s get you trained, and together we¡¯ll end this war.¡±

 Epilogue - The Beginning Of The End

    Smoke clung heavily in the air, making it extremely difficult to breathe or see. People coughed everywhere in agony, groaning and wincing as they convulsed in pain. Then suddenly, one person after another and another collapsed. The light in their eyes died out as they did, staring unfazed into the unknown. Then a war cry resounded across the land as soldiers came tearing through the forest onto the open grounds, finishing off the remaining among of the living.


    Two men out of three lifted a young woman who wept over her deceased father, he was among the first to die to the deadly, forbidden poison. Regardless of the grief they all felt, they grabbed her to take her to safety, for their time had run out.


    ¡°Come Gienna! You must hide! There is nothing else left to do.¡± One urged her.


    The words were processed, their sounds received, but it was all one terrible sound. Shouts and cries as men, women and children were chopped down, these sounds fell into the realm of a nightmare. Running merely on instinct and mostly guided by the three men, Gienna and her guardians reached their destination - the secret entryway under the stair.


    They pulled the tile that hid the entrance and shoved her inside, she crawled into the small space and expected them to follow her. However, she was further shocked when they sealed the entry behind her, leaving her securely inside by moving something heavy in front.


    ¡°No!¡± She shrieked, ¡°No, no, no.¡± She fought against the tile, banging it so it would budge free. However, it was all in vain, the only way out was going all the way through.


    She heard an apologetic voice behind the barrier, ¡°Sorry Gienna. We promised your father your safety above all else, and we cannot abandon these people. Do us this one favor, remember us and remember what we have done.¡±


    Before she could even come up with some reply, she heard retreating footsteps fade away into the action and screaming. She wept over the loss as she crawled away from the noise, eventually finding the exit and passing through into a bright light ambiance.


    Gienna opened her eyes, awakening from her recurring nightmare. The noise still rang in her ears, but this time it was not in her dreams. There was large a commotion outside in the streets.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    She stepped out of her bed and slid into her slippers, looking out of the window to see what was going on. Families and individuals alike huddled and bustled down the street, every last one of them ran down the same direction away from the city¡¯s main entrance. She saw that all the buildings were being vacated as soldiers knocked on every door, sounding an alarm.


    Suddenly her room door burst open and saw her fiance standing there. He looked like he was out of breathe and ready to go into battle. ¡°Good, you¡¯re up,¡± he wasted no time and spoke as he packed a few effects into a sack, ¡°just grab your go pack and let¡¯s leave, there¡¯s no time left.¡±


    She did not understand what was going on but she did as she was told, ¡°What is happening out there?¡± She asked briefly.


    ¡°The Mountain is coming and Ironed Thunderers are pointed directly at us.¡±


    Little more needed to be said, she packed up the few things she needed and ran out in her slippers alongside with her fiance. The noise from the crowd reminded her of the Kenplar siege, she was almost reliving the entire scene again. It took her the best of her wits to remain sane and keep from break down. Having Semet right beside her was her sole reassuring security.


    Thunder bellowed in the distance, then a building several houses back exploded as a shell crashed and blew up. Singed and burning debris was tossed everywhere, splintering into the crowds. People screamed in pain and even more screamed in panic, sending the crowds running frantically down the packed road as rats came rolling out of the sewers.


    Gienna struggled to keep up as she held Semet by the hand, making sure that they would not get separated. Then there was another explosion right behind them, forcefully tearing her away from him. She toppled to the ground and struggled to stand up as people ran over her, some even stepping right on top of her.


    ¡°Semet!¡± She called out in fear, worried she had lost her last pillar of hope.


    She saw him a few meters ahead, struggling to get past the opposing crowd. She was about to stand and approach him, until she heard a child wailing just behind her. She looked back and found a little girl struggling to help her parents out of a burning wood post that had a crushed them. Gienna crawled next to the little girl, pressing her finger on the couple necks beside the child, she found them to be dead. Unable to leave the girl behind in good conscience, she lifted her and ran away with the child in securing arms.


    ¡°No! Mommy! Daddy!¡± She girl kicked and screamed as she saw her parents disappear through the rubble.


    Gienna reached Semet and even though he gave a curious brow, he knew best to ask later. An emergency horn bellowed, signaling the Mountain had breached the perimeter. She and Semet held hands once again, escaping with what little they had left as explosive shells bombarded the small city.

 Book Two - Unity - Cover Art and Prologue

    I laid in my usual quiet spot, I guess some would call it my favorite corner. It was bleak, painful, and dark. Honestly, I did not know why I had originally chosen this corner above the other three, but yet it was where they saw me without fail every time they came. I barely twitched as I laid there in fetal position, doing everything I could to conserve energy as they slowly starved me. They had hoped to break my sanity, yet I remained as resilient and stubborn as the wretched day they had brought me in here. Admittedly, I was considerably weaker than what I had been during the days of my glory. My stomach growled, reminding me of my weakness and hunger.


    The sound of creaking steel split my eardrums. I flipped around to find that someone had left a small bowl filled with something that cannot be described as other than muck. My former self would have rejected such a disgusting meal, if you could call it a meal, but nowadays I find myself enjoying these occasional meals. It felt like they fed me perhaps twice a week, but there was no way to tell since I had been holed up in here for so long. I had even forgotten what daylight felt like, the glare of the bright light bouncing off of the beautiful lake of Crescent, the warmth that only a mother could provide.


    I sighed and slowly rose from my corner and crawled to the grilled chain-link wall, at the gate where my small bowl of food sat. Scooping the muck out with my fingers, I struggled to scarf down as much as I could as it dripped back into the plate through my fingers. My hands were covered in grime, in fact, my whole body was grimy. The lack of hygiene was just one other foreign concept to me. It was a wonder that disease had not taken hold of me, but then again I had always been abnormally strong. I retreated back into my corner of solitude after finishing my mucky food, certain that it tasted disgusting but dulled to the taste after so many years.


    I sighed a second time in my favorite corner, where I spent what seemed an eternity in my thoughts, wondering where I had gone wrong. I honestly thought I had done everything right, yet here I was trapped. My cage, a cage I woke to everyday, a constant reminder of my mistake. My mistake, where did I first go wrong? I wish someone would tell me where I went wrong. Perhaps it was my hope. I regret ever having hoped.


    The feeling of the thin, chain-link floor digging in my skin was dulled too, my skin had probably taken the shape of the ground after so many years. But I still just laid on my side, the same posture with my face pointed to the wall. This was the only way I was able to ignore my reminder, the cage of mistaken hope.


    Why did I cling to life? I think it was because of hope I lived on, forever to be damned by my hope which brought about nothing but misery. Why do I hope? What good could there possibly be left for me to live? I knew how to end my life. After all, life was fragile. Perhaps I held on to hope for the sake that someone had to do so, that my time was not to come, at least yet. I felt it, the feeling of purpose, the need to bring about one last gift before I go. Of course, it could all just be a foolish dream from an even bigger fool, but at least it was not a childish dream. Maybe I should let go after all, since there was no evidence of change. The only change that seemed possible was the end, and maybe I should bring about my end.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    However, I remained as foolish and stubborn as I always had been. Admittedly, I did feel disheartened by the chorus the background offered, the outcries of groaning and agonizing wails of other members who shared my grim fate. Then again, maybe their fate was less painful than mines, but that did not satisfy me in the least bit.


    I had never met anyone else in this dark hole except for those who seldom fed me. There was that one fella who was here that I shared conversations with, but I think that was years ago. I had no way to tell, since there was no time in this dreadful pit. Even the lighting was dim, glowing with the same radiance it had for what I assumed were years.


    My greatest fear was that my legacy would end in failure, utter failure. Not that I had cared much about the impression I would leave on the world, but I certainly did not want to be branded as a failure. I guess it brought some comfort to me that I was known to only a few, so that my failure was recognized by those few only if they still lived.


    There were many things I would have had wanted to do before all of this had happened, like to have slept in a bed one last time or maybe spend an entire evening eating nothing but grills. An odd regret maybe, but I now knew what had happened was going to occur sooner or later. That is why I vowed that the first thing I would eat if I ever get out of here was going to be the grills, but that was if I ever got to leave this accursed place. I had little hope left at this point, yet a little was all I needed to live on and perhaps redeem myself. To present that final gift, or at least a better purpose than rotting away in this state of despair.


    I vowed my curse to the traitors, but my vengeance would be carried out by my avenger. My vengeance would be done with justice. My vengeance would be absolute. At least I hoped so, since it seemed that not even a marsh flea would care about my skin and bones. All I could do was sigh and hope on, groan my frustration and remain stubborn. Some may say my stubbornness was childish, but I found it mildly entertaining since it frustrated my enemies. The only bit of retaliation I could present.


    What would I give to have a conversation with someone? I guess that was another thing I wished I had done on my last day. Grills and chatter. Instead, here I am fretting over what I could have and could not have done, stuck in my endless stubborn line of thought.


    I was fully aware that my escape would ruffle up some feathers, so I had made a mental note to finish my business swiftly and effectively before I ran out of time. I would leave one final prick with my downfall.


    The metal doors reverberated somewhere in the distance, then the scuffling and struggling grunts of an individual. I barely twitched, but my intrigue was piqued over this change. For too long they had left me abandoned in this cell all alone, but suddenly my captors gave their new captive a cell right beside mine¡¯s, and as sudden this commotion began they had just as quickly left us alone. There was sobbing as soon as they shut the door behind them. Curious, I thought to myself. Their captive was a boy, a highly unusual circumstance to say the least.


    I flipped around and my eyes confirmed that he was just a mere boy. A boy who somehow earned a cell right beside me. I twisted my head around back at the entrance, eyeing it suspiciously. Momentarily I wondered if this was another ploy from the Mountain, which I had assumed that they had given up doing a long time ago.


    No, this boy was sincere, I could sense his broken spirit. In a way, I saw myself in him, brokenhearted all those years ago. He curled away in the corner just I had done before, balled up in his legs toning out his surroundings. Certainty gripped me that I had never met him before, but there was some sort of familiarity about him. Suddenly it dawned on me.


    ¡°Shavo?¡± I uttered in disbelief. The first words I spoke in ages were trembling in shock, I even doubted my own eyes.


    The boy paused from his crying, staring back at me in the same disbelief. Seeing his eyes removed any doubt, this indeed was Shavo.