《Agents of the Lord》


 Chapter 1: Dont take potions from strangers.

    The sun shone brightly up in the sky, uninterested in the world below; The wind softly blew between the trees and shrubs carrying the spring''s fresh scent. Ignoring the beauty of life all around them, stood 3 men squatting behind some brushes, their eyes making it clear they weren''t just travellers taking a break, in their callous hands, chipped swords and axes, clashing against the whetstones in a rain of sparkles.


    Soon the faint sound of whistling reached their ears carried by the wind, they perked up and stealthily took a glance from behind the brushes. A lonesome traveller wearing commoner''s clothes and with a bag on his back was walking the path leading straight to their ambush. The trio gripped their weapons harder and prepared to give a meaning to the day.


    Finally, the unaware wanderer reached that bush and, without wasting the chance, the bandits jumped out of their hiding spot blocking the way forward and the way back. The poor victim looked with startled eyes to the men and noticing the weapons in their hands he realized they weren''t just looking for a fright.


    The tallest of the three took a step forward, his dagger aimed at the throat of the victim; However, before he could speak or do anything else, the traveller threw both of his hands to the air and kneeled down. ¡°Please milord, don''t hurt me! I''m just a novice alchemist, travelling to the capital to sell some potions!¡± his head bent down as he pleaded, too afraid to even look at his aggressors in the eyes.


    The bandit leader was taken aback for a moment; they were robbing an alchemist! If anyone were to know of this, knights would be dispatched immediately to hunt them down to hell if necessary. With some regret the bandit leader sheathed back his chipped sword and gestured his men to do the same, they were here for some easy money, killing a few farmers wouldn''t attract any troubles, however, an alchemist was akin to a noble in status.


    ¡°Milord, please... No need to kneel down like this, we mean no harm, right guys?¡± the leader immediately tried to somehow fix the situation; the alchemist raised his head and stared at the bandits now armed with awkward smiles instead of daggers and greed.


    ¡°Weren''t you trying to rob me just now?¡± spoke the alchemist with a slightly shaky voice, and to answer him the bandit behind him almost cursed his damn curiosity out loud. ¡°Of course not! Hahaha...¡± some cold sweat dripped out of his forehead, ¡°It''s just a misunderstanding, we are actually farmers from a nearby village. A few days ago a thief stole some of our crops and we heard he was passing by here today, so we wanted to confront him and get our crops back, unfortunately, we mistook you for him!¡± with an ''it''s all just a big mistake'' face, the bandit lied through his teeth.


    The na?ve alchemist nodded through the story muttering ¡° I see, I see...¡±, he looked thoroughly convinced as he stood up dusting off his pants with a few pats. ¡°I''m really sorry I doubted your reasons, as an apology,¡± he picked his bag and took out a vial of milky liquid ¡°Let me offer you one of my potions, it can grant a man the strength of a bear for up to a month!¡± he exclaimed excitedly while extending the vial to the bandits'' leader.


    ¡°I- I cannot accept such a precious gift!¡± the bandit leader wasn''t an idiot, what if that was poison? Who would be stupid enough to drink a mysterious liquid offered by a stranger?


    ¡°I insist! You are obviously good and righteous people fighting to make a living, how could I remain passive and not help you? There is enough for the three of you, and if you are still feeling bad, in exchange you can give me one of your weapons. After all, I''m but a defenceless traveller, who knows who or worse, what, I might meet on these dangerous roads...¡±


    Unable to contain his greed for power any longer, one of the bandits stepped forward and took the vial. Under the expectant gaze of the alchemist and the worried eyes of his friends, he took a quick sip; the lukewarm white liquid was witness to the ability of a leather bag to absorb and retain the sun''s warmth.


    A weird feeling spread from his throat, like a wave of fire it engulfed his whole body; his heart started beating faster like a drum as adrenalin was produced, throwing his head in a state of euphoria. Veins swelled up on his body like snakes coiling around a skinny tree, even his skin got a little redder under the influence of the accelerated blood circulation.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    The other two bandits looked at their friend in worry, ready to take out their weapons to avenge him, however, against their worries a big smile widened on his face, ¡°Dvartos be damned! i feel like a new man. You have to try this!¡± the buffed bandit threw the leader the vial and then unable to stay put any longer, he threw himself on the ground doing push-ups like a madman, sweat was already in his eyes but he didn''t even notice, he felt too energetic and had to do something, anything to waste that energy.


    ¡°I see it''s working already.¡± The alchemist was watching in interest the effect of his concoction on another human. The other two bandits seeing the state of their friend were convinced decided to drink the rest of the potion; soon they were all either running around like kids high on sugar or punching the trees. Under their dreamy status, they didn''t notice how their knuckles had actually got broken by hitting the trees, the pain thankfully suppressed by the adrenaline.


    Meanwhile, the alchemist didn''t move away, he took out a metallic watch and started writing notes on a notebook while checking the trio. After a few minutes, they finally seemed to be running out of juice as they collapsed under the shade of a tree breathing heavily. The alchemist approached them and started asking questions every few minutes.


    ¡°How much is five plus five?¡± To which the bandits would answer between a heavy breath and another, ¡°Ten of course!¡±


    Five minutes later "How much is three plus three?¡±, the bandits took a second before replying ¡°Five... no six!¡± he noted down something and waited a few more minutes.


    ¡°How much is two plus two?¡± The bandits just stared blankly at him trying to find an answer, ¡°Seven!¡± answered one after pondering deeply and the others seemed to agree nodding sagely. This continued until they could no longer answer coherently.


    ¡°After 30 minutes the asphyxia has reached the extreme level, two of them have fainted outright. Meanwhile, the last subject is still able to fight it off, probably due to his stronger looking physique.¡± The alchemist muttered while checking the time on his watch, he took their pulses and timed the breathing, ¡°Rapid pulse, check. Hypertension, check. Coma, check.¡± he slapped the still conscious leader with enough force to leave a red mark on his cheek, but he still couldn''t muster enough strength to fight back, just staring at the alchemist with his pale face, his purple lips tried to move and ask something but in the end, he remained mute. ¡°Paralysis, check.¡± He noted down with a wicked smile.


    Finally after some convulsions two of the bandits stopped breathing, their leader instead was slowly regaining colour and consciousness, ¡°The mortality rate has been found to be around 66%, need more testing samples and variables to confirm its effects.¡± taking a dagger he had rummaged from one of the corpses, he slit the throat of the bandit leader, a red jet of blood shoot forward missing the alchemist who started to rummage the rest of their belongings without giving the trio another look.


    After gathering some money and food he stood up and extended his right arm, ¡°progress bar.¡± he spoke drily to the air, and suddenly some numbers appeared in the air like magic.


    [579801] [0] [3]


    He sighed in a tired manner and resumed his travel to the capital while muttering curses to someone called Var''Kharzot. From inside his bag, the noise from dozens of vials clinking together was the only music following him.


    -------------------------------


    ¡°Ahhhh, finally here,¡± I exclaimed in a joyful tone, from my starting point it had taken me three whole days to find the fucking city in front of me. Giant walls made from white marble surrounded the city like the arms of a guardian deity intersecting in a gate wide enough for three carriages to pass through side by side. The archers on top of the gate were laughing and pointing to the people passing below while their colleagues on the ground were grimly checking the people''s belongings.


    A merchant I met while coming here told me it was illegal to bring any kind of weapon inside the city without registering it at the gates. Luckily for me, I had no such things, nor I needed them, I had other stronger means than steel to kill.


    I approached the gate and as expected one of the guards stopped me. ¡°Your name and the reason for coming here?¡± he spoke in the monotone voice of someone who asked the same thing too many times, I felt a little pity for him.


    ¡°Hello milord, my name is Adrian and I''m here to sell a batch of potions in the market.¡± The guard straightened his back upon hearing my mention of potions, apparently, around here alchemists were treated like Vip, ¡°What kind of potions? If I''m allowed to inquire.¡± his tone already getting more respectful.


    ¡°Oh, nothing much, some low tier healing potions, with a nasty side effect of causing impotence.¡± I added the last line as a joke, but I could see he was affected by the way his grip on the spear tightened.


    ¡°W-what kind of side effect is that?¡± He asked in a slightly upset voice. Chuckling inside I answered, ¡°Just a precaution in case of theft. My potions are meant for women, and if a man tries to steal any of them... hehehe.¡± I could see his face pale as he took a step back, he even had to cough once to regain his composure, ¡°You are free to come inside, as long as you can pay the toll of four grindias or 5% of your merchandise, also remember to pay your share of the sales to the city administration.¡± I took out 4 middle-sized coins from the bandit leader''s pouch and placed them on the guard''s hands, from the way he smiled I understood I had given him more than the actually required toll, and that he was gonna keep the change as a tip.


    He stepped aside and I finally walked inside while winking at him; the sight of marble roads and buildings immediately assaulted my eyes. I had imagined a more standard medieval city with dirt roads and people throwing poop from the windows; but I wasn''t that disappointed in being wrong for once.


    Ok, priorities; first, find a place to stay. After walking around aimlessly I finally found an inn with a nice name ¡°the drunk cow¡±, the first floor was basically a tavern with people drinking away their problems or spitting on the ground while the second and third floor had rooms to sleep in. Paying the owner, a middle-aged man named Horace, with all the money I had stolen from the bandits I had managed to rent the room for a week, no meals or mead included, tch, cheapskate.


    I finally entered my room, but instead of going to rest it was time to work, as the saying goes ¡°Evil never rests.¡±, I placed all my vials on the ground building a nice little castle of crystal. ¡°Time to work.¡± I said with a toothy grin.

 Chapter 2: Panem et circenses (part1)

    Chapter 2: Panem et circenses (part1)


    Creating whatever my sick mind could imagine proved to be much easier thanks to my tools: 5 main vials containing 5 means of diffusion for my little plague and dozens of other vials filled with various diseases I could extract attributes from. The translucent vials glitteringiridescent mixtures attracted my eyes like a plateau of naked women, piquing my childish desire to play and experiment.


    I had used this wondrous mobile laboratory only once before when I created my little kill-drug/bacteria which I dubbed heroin. Once in your body, it would convert oxygen from the blood flow into epinephrine. As the bacteria reproduced, the oxygen percentage would lower leading to an oxygen deficiency that would just get worse as the epinephrine forced your body to perform high oxygen-consuming tasks. All in all a perfect trap that would steal oxygen whilst making you feel likeinvincibleuntil the last breath.


    My next creation would be a bit trickier. As much as heroin was a nice way to murder, it lacked the means of spreading over to more people, it barely counted as a virus and was more of a deadly poison. Thus my next creation would need to be able to indefinitely reproduce and spread from host to host.


    After a whole day of considering my options and mixing together attributes, I stared down at my masterpiece. The slightly yellow liquid floated without a care in the crystal vial I concocted it in. A Cheshire smile widened on my face, the only thing lacking now was test subjects. Restraining my enthusiasm for a few minutes, I decided to put my little ¡°cupid''s bow¡± (temporary name for the virus) away and produced a small vaccine. God forbids my mission ends before it even began due to the lack of precautions.


    I walked out of the tavern, as I was unwilling to compromise my base of operations so soon.


    The sun was already setting on the white city and a jubilant atmosphere spread all around me, street stalls selling unknown meat were sprouting everywhere like mushrooms whilst wandering minstrels and bards filled the streets with music and stories. I mixed myself in the crowds, blending in thanks to my commoner''s clothes and stupified expression worthy of a country bumpkin.


    Wondering what kind of occasion would reel in so many people, I tried to eavesdrop on other people''s conversations. Unfortunately, just by listening to the random chatter around me I was unable to pinpoint the exact cause, all I knew was that today, someone from the Solaris'' church or whatever it was called, would be visiting the city and this was causing the people around me to wet their pants in excitement, ''Heh, let''s see how wet they''ll be after my show goes live.'' The people had finally finished preparing the streets for the night, the soft light deriving from coloured paper lanterns finally substituted the sun''s natural light, bathing the city and its inhabitants inthe myriads hues of the rainbow.


    As I walked around, wandering by the stalls, I sprinkled a few drops of my lovely concoction on food and beverages being as careful as possible to not be seen, already giggling inside to the thoughts of what was to come. From where I came from this would be called bioterrorism, but I doubted the citizens of this world had any knowledge or experience of it, seeing as how no one saw alchemists as the potential threats they actually were; -Luckily for them, tonight will be a pink reminder of what a man with a glass vial can do.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Little side note, the food here can basically be divided into two categories, medieval: rye beer, black bread and seed porridge, which I found either disgusting or/and hard to eat. And fantasy-like: fried wyvern''s tendons, slime jelly soup, yan-tzi-tzi drumstick and my personal favourite, mosswine steak. Eating meat that would ooze wine while being chewed turned my concept of tasty food totally upside down


    Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly. Maybe I would even need to go back and prepare more cupid''s bow to elevate the party further. However, as to prove me wrong a guard suddenly approached me with the eyes of someone not looking for directions. ¡°I saw you putting something in that beer!¡± he yelled, and, with a backhand slap he threw the sophisticated drink to the ground, I threw an awkward look in his direction, I probably looked like a kid caught with his hands in the jar. Before I could say anything in my defence, his hands moved like lighting and his sword found its way to my neck, just a hair''s breadth from my skin. mm


    I gulped down feeling nervous, this wasn''t in the plans! ¡°Calm down, I can explain!¡± I said, slowly taking out my last vial of cupid''s bow, ¡°You see, inside this vial there is just-¡± before completing my sentence, I threw the whole content of the vial to his face, and, turning around, fled the scene. I wasn''t sure what would happen upon contact to an undiluted portion of my lovely virus, but, I was sure I didn''t want to stay there one more moment.


    Even if I kept running amidst seas of people, somehow the guards would keep showing up, chasing me in the maze they called home. As I jumped down from the second floor of a restaurant, trying to shake off my chasers, I could feel some kind of change in the festival


    In front of a smithy called the rusted stallion, sitting in one of the many food stalls, a boy and a woman way older than him were engaged in a fierce staring competition. The first to turn away its gaze would lose.


    Not even sparing a glance to the food being served to them, the two continued mechanically shoving food inside their mouths while watching themselves being reflected in the partner''s eyes. Unbeknownst to them, the food they were eating was not the chicken tikka masala they had ordered; Well, it was, but with a little special addition.


    As they ate, something started feeling weird. A warmth spread from their stomach to their faces and slowly made its way down to their nether regions; The boy less experienced than the older woman started sweating cold while feeling his pants stretch under an unstoppable force. Gulping down some beer hoping to quench the growing fire, his resolute gaze wavered, almost moving down to the twin peaks of the woman.


    They kept staring at each other in silence until, with a quiet moan, the silence was broken by the woman. Like a spark landing on gunpowder, that little moan ignited the desire of the boy who, while still staring at the woman''s cloudy eyes, leapt forward like a lion on its prey. Their bodies intertwined on a public road under the gazes of hundred of people, but all they had eyes for were each other.


    What had started maybe, as a drunk, isolated, act, soon spread like wildfire, couples jumped in each other arms, creating small islands of depravity amidst a sea of judgemental stares. Some lonesome men affected by the invisible hand of cupid, assaulted nearby women, spreading the love, and like magic, more islands popped. Some balanced, between couples, others with many different bodies defying the anatomy rules, and bringing to this world the ¡°cubist perspective¡±.


    One certain guard had been buried by women of many colours, his desire for flesh couldn''t be satiated as he used his advanced spear techniques to defeat foe after foe. The more he defeated, the more would come after him, fascinated by his ability and everlasting stamina. Unfortunately, a human was still a human, and after too much exertion, his heart collapsed, much to the disappointment of the dozen women hoping for another ''spar''. To some, the destiny of dying young and healthy might seem cruel, however, watching the smile plastered on his face, even those who knew nothing of him understood he had died with no regrets.


    Soon the islands had formed continents, with more and more people joining in. And like this, without anyone noticing, a small virus had declared his dominion over the streets

 Chapter 2: Panem et circenses (part2)

    Chapter 2: Panem et circenses (part2)


    I was seriously impressed by how quickly my little virus had spread. The streets had totally devolved into a chaotic mess of lust and pleasure, the loud buzzing of chatter and laughter had become moans of pleasure and fatigued grunts.


    It was supposed to spread through bodily fluids, but I didn''t actually expect it to spread through sweat, just by coming in contact with it would allow the virus to infiltrate your body trough skin. My idea was to create a stimulant, the infected would feel an uncontrollable sexual need and by trying to relieve it, they would spread the pathogen.


    But I think I hadunderestimatedthe growth rate of the disease, people should have devolved to mindless sexual beast only after a week or two, otherwise, they would get a heart attack before spreading my virus enough. Ugh, something must have gone wrong, maybe the virus had somehow mutated because of the environment?


    Anyway, you couldn''t even imagine the satisfaction I was feeling. Mind not to assume it was because I had joined the party, my satisfaction was purely scientific, like a father seeing his own chil- wow! are those natural g-cups?


    My attention was stolen by a redhead ''riding a stallion'', her perfect mountains hanging down like ripe fruits. I had to slap my face twice to sober up.


    Thankfully the guards had given up on chasing me, I guessed they had more pressing matters to take care of. I took advantage of my freedom by going around collecting samples, whose nature I will not disclose, this way maybe I will understand why the virus had spread so quickly.


    By the way, let''s see how much it has progressed. I extended my right arm and whispered ¡°progress bar¡±.


    [579256] [541] [7]


    To tell the truth I was impressed. While compared to my goal it was still a drop in the bucket, it was progress, and a very good one as well!


    I whistled happily while wandering the streets, most of the healthy people had already fled the scene leaving the infected to themselves. Tch, party poppers, already realizing the risk of getting infected and joining their fellow citizens on the ground.


    Suddenly, as I was observing a boy thrusting himself like crazy inside an apple pie, a bright light glowed in the sky from the southern part of the city, disappearing after a moment.


    I waited a few moments and the light was back again for another flash, and then another. Suddenly a suspicion arose inside me and I checked my progress bar. Confirmingmy fears, my progress bar had changed.


    [579294] [495] [15]


    -------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°What madness is this?!¡±


    Yelled a middle-aged man clad in white scale mail. His cylindrical helmet hanging from the back like a hood, revealing a bald head and a pair of perfectly groomed moustache. His hands twitched around the handle of the sword on his waist, he had just left the temple and found people having intercourse on the steps of the temple.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    He kicked down a man from on top of a woman with the steel of his toe, sending him rolling down the stairs sprawling on the ground. His spiteful gaze then locked on the woman gasping for air, her whole body shuddered feeling his piercing eyes on her body.


    ¡°I''ll have all of your heads for the sin of sullying sacred grounds!¡± Finally, with a gleam, the silvery sword escaped its scabbard. As he was about to bring down the cold metal on the soft neck of the woman, a loud voice came from behind the doors of the temple.


    ¡°What do you think YOU are doing?!¡± Came from behind him halting his movements, a woman on her thirties at most stepped out from the temple, her golden hair flowing behind her like a mantle coordinated with her white gown. ¡°Paladin Damsey explain yourself, why were you about to execute a defenceless woman?¡± she asked in an angry and demanding tone; the people around them had all stopped for a moment to watch her, but as if being forced by an invisible hand, they resumed the loud thumping, lust being stronger than fear or curiosity. The only exception was the woman who was about to get executed, who taking advantage of the moment scuttled away.


    ¡°Mother Haley, look at them, they are just like animals in heat, not giving our god any face! relieving their beastly instincts on our steps.¡± Mother Haley gave a look to the people on the ground and her eyes glowed in a yellow light. ¡°I''m disappointed, you have been a holy paladin for how many years? And yet you rush to the sword before understanding the situation,¡± she pointed to the passionate lovers a few steps away and asked, ¡°why do you think they are still doing it under the threat of death?¡±


    Paladin Damsey looked taken aback for a moment, and as if realizing something he looked back at the shameless masses, his eyes glowing yellow like Haley just a moment ago. ¡°They are sick...¡± he muttered in disbelief.


    ¡°I see you finally realized, some kind corruption has made its way inside their bodies and it''s forcing them to act like this.¡± she took a few steps forward to the closest couple. ¡°What are you-¡± Tried asking Damsey, but he was ignored as she knelt down and touched the man on the shoulder, dirtying her hand with sweat.


    ¡°It''s inside the sweat as well.¡± She murmured in thought. Her eyes glowed yellow and she observed the virus infiltrate her body and spread in the blood flow. Her cheeks turned rosy as a wave of heat tempted her to take off her tunic and relieve herself. Her eyes closed, trying to steady her mind she alterned inhaling and exhaling deeply; after a few moments of silence, she opened her eyes again, ¡°Got you¡± she murmured in a low voice, and after another breath, ¡°CLEANSE¡± she yelled.


    A golden light, proof of the existence of god, wrapped around her body, the weird craving disappeared and so did the virus from her body. A few whiffs of white smoke were expelled from her pores as the holy light burned the criminal cells out of her body.


    She turned her head around and with another shout, a mass cleanse was cast. A blinding light engulfed the whole plaza in front of the church, groups of people simultaneously started to scream in pain as pillars of smoke escaped their corrupted bodies, most of them fainted with a few dropping dead as the virus had already corrupted too much to be safely removed.


    Haley watched the people suffering and dying in pay with a sad look but still kept the spell going, what had to be done had to be done, this was one of the core beliefs she had in her heart. When the plaza was fully cleansed she turned to Paladin Damsey. ¡°Take all the Templars and the acolytes of the temple out to cleanse the city. When the sun rises I don''t want even a speck of this aberration still alive. I also declare the city sealed off, no one gets out, no one gets in.¡± her tone hardened as her frail figure exuded an air of authority. She turned her head and called out in direction of the temple. ¡°Paladin Lucas, Paladin Marcus.¡± Two men dressed like Damsey stepped out of the temple and kneeled down in front of Haley.


    ¡°I herebydesign this city as target for the inquisition and appoint you both as temporary inquisitors with the task of finding the culprit who created this plague. Break down every door of the city if necessary. I, want, him, found!¡±


    "YES HIGH INQUISITOR!"

 Chapter 3: Think of the children! (part 1)

    As much as I wanted to go towards the source of the light, I understood it probably wasn''t the brightest of ideas; whatever the light source was, it had the ability to nullify my only weapon, and if my hunch was correct, it would come for me next.


    My first idea was to leave the city, so after going back to the inn and packing my belongings I headed to the northernmost gate, as far as possible from my foe. Some people would say it was a coward''s choice to flee, my reply to those people will one day be my dagger in their backs; it''s not the bravest warrior who wins the war, it is the one who survives for last.


    The streets were mostly empty, the joyous festivities had been utterly ruined by my intervention. The stark contrast between the brightly coloured decorations left behind and the empty streets generated a gloomy post-apocalyptic atmosphere.


    As I walked the empty streets the sound of hooves against the marble floor echoed in my ears. I turned around and a frightful scene presented itself to my eyes; four horsemen clad in white mail were riding towards me, their faces totally hiding under bucket helmets save for their eyes, burning light embers in a moonless night.


    For a moment I dreaded the horsemen of apocalypse had come to this world, but such was not the case thankfully. One of them pointed at me, and for the first time in my life, I saw magic.


    "CLEANSE!" The air around me fizzled and turned golden, I heard something in my backpack shattering however decided against my instincts to turn around. The templar looking horsemen didn''t spare me another glance and rode away.


    Finally, I could let go of the breath I didn''t know I was holding; Avoiding the giant golden light was definitely the best choice I had taken all night long. I checked my bag and noticed the vial In which I had some cupid''s bow left had totally shattered, whatever that spell did was targeted at this particular virus; seeing how the other viruses and bacteria were doing fine i realized a great weakness I could exploit to bring these idiots down, but testing would come later, first I need to leave the city.


    I resumed my trip to the north gate noticing a few bodies on the sides of the road, most were alive, others not so much. In just one glance I could see that all of them had died of hemorrhagic stroke, the pink liquid flowing out of their nose proof that their blood vessels had ruptured inside the brain.


    Thinking back to the effect that spell had on my crystal vial it wasn''t hard to guess what had happened to them.


    Finally, I reached the north gate, a crowd of people was here as well, probably trying to flee the city for a few days until things went back to normal. Unfortunately for them and me, the gate had been closed off, archers stood on top of it with their bows ready to pull and release a rain of arrows on the citizens; I''m loving this place more by the minute.


    Amidst the rank of archers stood a bald man clad in chain mail, his hawk-like eyes surveyed the crowd below. "By order of her highness the high inquisitor Haley, the city of Marle is from now on under quarantine, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the city until the culprit of tonight happenings will be apprehended. If you want this situation to end soon and without further bloodshed, please assist us in our investigations, we are just trying to help you after all."


    And like that, the crowd exploded in a chorus of angry voices demanding the soldiers to step aside and open the gate. Naturally, the city guards turned deaf ears to the pleas of the people and kept their positions. What was I to do in this situation if not take the chance!


    Hiding between a fat person lashing out loudly picked up a rock and threw it against the archers on the wall; the rock drew a beautiful parable in the air, landing on a poor archer''s nose. Seeing the blood drip down from the archer''s nose sent the crowd into a frenzy and soon, everything that wasn''t nailed down to the ground gained wings for a short period.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The templar guy tried to smoothen things over, but no one bothered to listen to his words, and when a bottle broke against his bald head leaving a cut by the side of his right eye, he ordered the archers to release arrows on the crowd.


    Dry *fhwip* sounds of the bows releasing arrows were soon followed by the wet sound of those same arrows meeting flesh and spilling blood. The angry voices of the crowd turned terrified as they tried to escape the deadly rain; luckily for them, after the first volley, the archers stopped.


    "I love this place so much," I thought with glee, " I feel like a sculptor receiving fresh clay to mould. Now, for my next move..." I pondered while walking back to the tavern, "Soviets would strike the children first to break the spirit of a nation, however, I needed this spirit to ignite and burn the templar looking guys." Suddenly the memory of the dead bodies on the streets came back to my mind. "Eureka!" I exclaimed with my most malicious smile.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    One week had passed since the orgy festival, the total count of deaths had reached slightly more than a hundred, a death rate of around twenty percent of the infected. People were slowly going back to their normal routines; blacksmiths would go back to their forges, merchants would reopen their stalls and children would go back to play on the streets.


    The laughter of innocent voices playing catch echoed through the still half empty alleys as blurry little people ran amok, not intimidated in the slightest by what had happened a few days ago. And this steadfast attitude of theirs leads to the current situation.


    In one of the deserted alleys, a little girl was hiding behind an abandoned crate while holding back her giggles, the other kids she was playing hide and seek with were scattered in the nearby alleys and stores, trying to escape the attentive gaze of the seekers.


    As she had been waiting for some time there, her gaze naturally wandered around bored and suddenly caught a glance of a bright coloured piece of cloth hiding in the shadows. Throwing a look at the entrance to the alley she made sure no one was there and then got up, walking towards the cloth.


    The piece of cloth revealed itself to be a red princess dress being worn by a small toy doll. Squeezing gently the doll she found it to be incredibly soft and so, without thinking twice, she picked it up and hugged it like a long-lost sister, rubbing her face against the soft doll.


    "Found Chiara!" Came from her right, one of the seekers had discovered her hiding spot while she was hugging the doll; she tried to outrun him to "home", however, the boy was faster and soon Chiara was out of the games.


    "I hate you, Clint!" said Chiara while brooding over her loss, the doll still tight in her arms. Clint just laughed her hate off while showing a toothy smile, as toothy as a smile missing 4 teeth could be. "What do you have there?" Finally noticing the doll in Chiara''s hands his laugh stopped, he then inched closer trying to take a look, however, the new owner of the doll had other ideas, and turning around she shielded the doll from the boy''s avaricious eyes.


    "I just want to take a look!" Clint didn''t back off, trying to take the doll with force; Chiara offered a fierce opposition, but suddenly, another pair of hands joined the fray snatching the doll from her arms.


    "Franz!" Another boy was now holding the doll while guffawing, "What a nice doll you have here Chiara." Franz held the doll by one of her legs upside down while peeking below her skirt. "Give it back!" Chiara hurled herself at him trying to get her doll back, however, Franz was faster and he threw the doll at Clint who snatched it out of the air and swung it around mocking Chiara. "Help me, mommy! This dastardly handsome boy is holding me hostage, maybe if you gave him a kiss he would release me!" he said imitating a girly high pitch.


    "Give it back." A cold voice cut the boy''s fun with an air of authority; A older girl, around fifteen years old appeared with her arms crossed and an icy glare in her eyes. Clint relented offering the doll back to Chiara who immediately hugged her back. "Sorry big sis Anna." he apologized in a weak tone with his head bent down.


    The peace was quickly restored upon the arrival of the older girl. As time passed more and more boys and girl of every age came to play under the watchful gaze of some overprotective parents, the event of the day was the doll found by Chiara, so all of the kids had a pass at holding it, even for just moment each.


    Unbeknownst to them, similar dolls had been found around the city, in total around a dozen, with more still waiting for someone to pick them up.


    A single man sat on a bed in his room, surrounding him dolls of various sizes; As he laughed madly he stared at 3 numbers made of light softly floating in the air, and to the growing digits of the middle one.

 Chapter 3: Think of the children! (part 2)

    Under the dim light of a candle sat in a sombre atmosphere 3 men and a woman around a round table. "Give me your reports, paladin Damsey, you first." Said seriously the woman, a few strands of blonde hair dangled to the wind in front of her forehead, dancing together with the flickering flame of the candle.


    Paladin Damsey stood up, his eyes sunk in darkly as proof of how hard he had worked in these past few days. "No one has left or entered the city; due to some minor revolts we were forced to react violently causing more than fifty deaths and more injured." He sat back again, flinching under the hard gaze that was being sent his way. "Were those deaths necessary?" Asked Haley with burning eyes.


    "Absolutely, they had become violent. Even I received a small injury while quelling the revolters." He justified himself. While it was true he had been injured by a glass bottle, it had only been a minor cut that healed in less than a day. Had he actually used some of his paladin''s skills he could have stopped the revolters without causing or receiving injuries. Unfortunately, he had hailed from a noble family, the notion of peasants lives being expendable being deeply rooted in his head; that''s why killing a few revolters sounded sweeter to his ears than just scaring them off.


    Haley pursed him no further, turning her gaze to a young man on her right, their blue eyes met for half a second before he stood up. "My men are kicking down doors and interrogating people as we speak." he took a breath and picked a piece of parchment on the table. "According to various witnesses, one of the guards had accused a man of putting something in someone else''s beer; said guard has unfortunately passed away during that faithful night due to... extreme fatigue *cough*." Noticing he was the only one flustered about that guard''s death he avoided the other''s eyes and read from the parchment. "According to the gathered testimonies the man had dark blonde hair, green eyes and well-built body over one point ninety meters; his whereabouts are currently unknown." He concluded sitting down.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Haley pondered on the gathered intel while stroking her chin, "good job paladin Lucas; have your men detain any man found corresponding to that description, I''ll interrogate them personally." she then turned to the last man in the room. "paladin Marcus, will you?" she said gesturing with her hand for him to speak.


    The last man stood up, his wavy black hair went in front of his face and he had to fix them before speaking. "I have nothing new to report to this table about that man, however," he took a doll from the pouch he had on his waist. "My men found some of these dolls around the city, mostly in green areas and deserted alleys; while there is nothing particularly suspicious about the doll itself, we found too many to be a mere coincidence." he placed the doll on the table, "I tried using my eyes of truth but nothing popped up, maybe you will have more luck." he said before sitting down as well.


    One after another the paladin''s eyes glowed yellow as they checked the doll from various angles, however even after opening up her belly they found nothing. The last to give it a look was high inquisitor Haley; she observed in silence for a moment before her eyes turned horrified. She took off her gloves and squeezed the doll, as her body warmed it up she could see a small cloud of gas leaving the doll.


    "May sol''har save us... Quick, take anyone you can and divide them into two teams, one will look and destroy these dolls as soon as possible," she stopped talking as a shiver ran up to her spine.


    "And the other one?" asked Damsey.


    "The second team needs to visit every family with children," she took another pause. "and cleanse them all." The paladins around the table finally realized what was going on, their faces paled in horror. "Quick! There is no time to waste."

 Chapter 3: Think of the Children! (part 3)

    A lone man ran across the deserted streets and alley of Marle, his boots heavily stomping on the marble pavement producing loud thumping sounds echoing in the silence of a terrified city. Suddenly the man would scream on top his lungs every ten or so steps, ¡°Hide the children! The church is coming to kill them!¡± he would repeat to no one in particular; some people peeked out of their windows to check on the commotion, however, no one judged his claims as more than drunk ramblings or flat-earther theory.


    The people that woke up because of by him went to bed ready to fall asleep, however, before the Sandman could visit them the sound of hooves against the ground and doors getting torn down reached their ears. Those who had children suddenly remembered what the crazy man went about shouting and rushed to hide their children; most of them could at most hide them below their beds, inside closets or dirty laundry, it''s not like anyone was expecting the inquisition to show up in the middle of the night.


    In one of the many houses that were being invaded, a retired veteran had locked the door to his three children''s room and kept the key on himself, in his right hand a shield with a painted six-legged white bear on it, on his left hand a steel sword perfectly maintained and sharpened. The man waited in the shadows, hiding in one corner of the house, right behind the door, as a steel boot kicked down the door two armoured templars quickly made their way inside followed by an acolyte in his brownish robe.


    The veteran waited no further and leapt forward slashing down on the defenceless acolyte, before the severed head of the acolyte could hit the ground the man was already leaping forward, thrusting his sword in the intersection between the neck armour and the helmet of the closest templar. Unfortunately for him, he misjudged the reaction time of the two holy soldiers and his sword screeched powerlessly against the side of the helmet bringing no harm besides some discomfort to everyone''s ear.


    At that moment the head of the acolyte hit the ground followed by a jet of hot blood pumped by the heart who still hadn''t noticed it was over for its owner''s body; one of the templars noticed the dead man and stared in a daze at the expanding pool of blood below his body, while he was distracted a shield bashed violently against his head sending him to the ground with the loud clank of heavy armour. The second more experienced templar swung down his great sword on the man''s head who sidestepped the attack and countered it.


    The duel between the two men lasted for some more time, the speed of the light clothed man vastly superior to a heavily armoured templar, unfortunately as slow as the heavy armour was it was impenetrable and eventually the great sword drew blood. The poor father kneeled down while grasping the gash in his abdomen, he could feel the blood spilling out from between his fingers and the organs pushing to escape through the tear in their fleshy prison; his last ounce of strength was stripped out of him when a steel boot hit the side of his head forcing his injured and strained body to the ground.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    From there he could see the templar helping his friend get up from the ground and going towards his children''s room, he watched in horror as they brought down the door and a metal gauntlet slapped his wife to the ground, lastly he passed away, never to wake up, as his two children were dragged outside to be cleansed by the acolytes, encased by a golden light they screamed like possessed.


    Scenes like that repeated in many houses, some fought, others opened the door to the inquisition, others yet tried to escape on foot; still all of them were cleansed the same way, screams and the fire arising from some houses served as a warning for the furthest houses that something horrible was coming. What the templars didn''t notice in their frenzy was that all of the cleansed children actually died under their spells, their small and immature faces twisted in pain as their brains exploded and leaked out of their small noses.


    Amidst all of this, a single man kept running while shouting warnings, his tired face unable to hide the glee in his eyes as he looked back to the burning houses. ''Soon the whole city would know that the church had gone on a kid-killing spree, let''s see who would help in their little inquisition then.'' he thought while planning his next moves ahead.


    Hours later the whole city had turned into a battlefield, while some people escaped with their children to some secret locations within the walls, their neighbours had put in motion a remarkable resistance. Pieces of furniture such as tables, beds, wardrobes and everything else that could be moved were being thrown out from their houses creating small barricades spanning from side to side of the narrow medieval streets. On top of the barricades stood friends, relatives, neighbours and concerned citizens that couldn''t allow the inquisition to drown the city in innocent blood.


    Battles erupted around these barricades, the mounted templars had to get down of their horses and climb the piles of furniture while being showered in arrows, bricks and anything else the poor citizens could get their hands on. When the templars would reach the top of one barricade the people would hastily retreat to the next one and once again harass them. Even the city militia had joined the fray, sworn defenders of the citizens they could tolerate the church treating the city like their playground.


    With the addition of the city armed troops the inquisition forces were receiving heavy casualties, that was until the three inquisitors took the floor, each of them invested by their god with enough power to rival an army. Leading them was the bloodthirsty paladin Damsey, he pointed his sword at a barricade guarded by a dozen people and with grave voice muttered a single word. ¡°SMITE!¡±


    A ray of light dropped down from the heaven like a fallen angel and landed on the barricade, everything it came in contact burned and became ashes under its terrifying power, the defenders didn''t even have a chance to scream as their skin and flesh evaporated in less than a second, leaving brittle scorched skeletons on a bed of ashes.


    Splitting themselves barricade after barricade turned in ash, hundreds of people dying unable to even slow down the three inquisitors, however, their sacrifices weren''t pointless as the children were finally brought to a safe location, away from the cleansing flame of the church. Unbeknownst to the normal people and to the church, everyone had acted like the pawns on a certain alchemist''s chessboard.

 Chapter 4: The greatest super fight of all times

    I watched, with a great amount of awe, the power of paladins mow down peasants and city soldiers like stalks of grain during harvest time. I stupidly entertained the thought of a solar cream 9999 able to stop the deadly sun rays. (I was thinking of making a joke about Jews, but I think this novel is already lit enough.)


    (and this is how I either lose my followers or get a whole bunch of them, cheers!)


    An arrow whistled as it rushed towards the bald head of Mr sun mortar, few centimetres from its target, just when I thought I could collect a new body to conduct experiments, the arrow disintegrated into fine dust; upon closer inspection the guy''s body was surrounded by a small golden membrane, it reminded me of when in the past i tried watching a distant point in an incredibly hot day.


    The bald head retaliated by firing his deadly smite on top of the archer hiding place, which was inside a two-story house. The sunray cut through the roof like butter, smiting to dust everything and everyone who was stupid enough to hide in there. When the light dissipated nothing remained standing in a four-meter radius, floors, walls, corpses... ashes to ashes. Soon the house collapsed in itself burying those poor guys lucky enough to have avoided the deadly light.


    Feeling kinda nauseated by the smell of burning fat I walked away from the scene towards the gates of the city; if the guards were here and the templars as well, then who was there to stop me from leaving this god-forsaken place? But of course myself!


    The city right now was like an orchard full of ripe fruits; gold, jewels, incredible weapons and arcane knowledge, everything was mine to take if only I could find them. Besides, leaving a job halfway had never been in my style. So, first stop: the church. While the templars and paladins were busy massacring my decoy I should be able to get in and get some easy rewards, no?


    As I walked the long way to the temple I thought back on how I caused all of this, first I looted a great number of luxury dolls from a shop left unattended since the night of the orgy, then I created a new kind of bioweapon, a special kind of fungi that would hibernate until enough heat was supplied to it, like the body heat of a child for example. Then remained only a problem, how to infect someone once the fungi were awakened?


    The solution came in the form of spores, by squeezing the doll the accumulated spores of the fungi would become airborne, easily being breathed in by oblivious children. The last and most difficult part was how to direct the spores to the brain, which was basically the whole point of creating this weapon. In the end, I decided to make the fungi need potassium and specific proteins especially rich in the brain, this way the spores would grow towards the brain. I admit that I didn''t expect the templars to discover the little trick inside the dolls so soon, especially after all the effort I had put into making the disease invisible until enough body heat and force were applied together.


    Fortunately enough the rest went as I planned, the templars, unaware of my ruse, rushed to cleanse the children and their families, and since trying to cleanse something inside the cranium was akin to an execution, they effectively ended up killing all the infected and those who protected them. The best part of my plan? My little dirty weapon had absolutely no effect on humans! If kids started to drop dead one after another while the templars tried to save them I would just reinforce their heroic figure, however having them kill perfectly healthy people... hehe, what can I say, I''m smart, I''m evil and above all, I''m handsome.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I checked how closer I had gotten to my goal by checking my wrist.


    [577716] [1658] [430]


    I whistled happily while crossing the streets; if French people had bombardiers during the revolution it would have resembled the road I was striving to walk without stumbling on half burned pieces of wood. Giant craters covered the road as a testimony of the people valiantly defending themselves against an overwhelming enemy. Suddenly from below a collapsed building I saw a kid, his blue eyes impressed me, they remained pure and untouched even though his whole head from chin to hair was covered in grey dust and specks of blood.


    I approached the little survivor and kneeled down in front of him, placing my hands on either side of his head our eyes met, blue mixing with green; we stood silently like this for a moment, interrupted when I brutally snapped his neck, his brittle bones breaking between my hands. After killing so many what was one more life? Just a number, another victim of a war where normal humans were simple targets. And with his death, I could finally add infanticide to my list of sin, or at least the direct ones.


    He had been lucky, at least now he won''t have to witness what was gonna happen to this world, what I was gonna do to it. It was the least I could do for him, the most extreme piety I had shown anyone in months.


    Finally I could see the church, no sign of the bloodshed had reached here, the plaza was totally clean and empty, just when I thought everyone had abandoned this place a single silhouette caught my eyes, she wore a white robe engraved in gold patterns, from her head a cascade of golden hair covered her back as she prayed kneeled on the ground.


    Suddenly I felt a voice in my head, thundering like an explosion in a sealed off room, ¡°Enemy agent individuated, new priority target added to the mission goals.¡± as she could hear what happened in my mind her eyes opened, her calm expression transformed in an extremely enraged one. ¡°IT''S YOU!¡± she yelled in my direction.


    ¡°Oh, do I already have fans in this world?¡± I tried to joke it off to gather some time while walking towards her it didn''t work as expected though; she raised her right arm and pointing at me she started to yell an activation phrase. ¡°Heavenly Smit-¡± ¡°wait!¡± I interrupted her, raising my arms in the air.


    ¡°B-before I die... can I ask you something first?¡± Barely containing her rage she nodded, lovely heroine kind of character. From what I saw she could complete the spell in less than one second, this meant I needed to use my trump card. While still walking towards her I reached for something I kept inside my pants ( ;p). ¡°What do you think it''s faster,¡± I started to ask as I felt the cold metal in my hands. ¡°The speed of light or,¡± I took a hold of the handle, feeling it in my hands made me feel a little more secure. ¡°The speed of a bullet?¡± She looked at me weirdly, ¡°What even is a-¡± BANG. Taking advantage of her confusion and her mouth being busy, I took out my gun and shoot her straight to the chest. I had crossed over fifty meters while stalling for time, everything just to get close enough to raise my chances of success.


    The bullet flew faster than what she had ever seen, before even being able to realize what was happening the bullet hit her, the force of the metal destroying her balance and sending her to the ground. As I approached I could see she was still alive, her mouth full of blood and gurgling something, probably some very nasty spell of hers, thankfully speaking with a punctured lung was not an easy feat. ¡°The answer is: depends on who shoots first.¡±


    Maybe it didn''t totally make sense, but damn if I felt cool saying it; If stares could kill hers would have ground me to dust, unfortunately for her stares could not, but my fists hitting her fair and beautiful face could, I''d shoot her brain out, however I only had 8 bullets left and five hundred thousands something more people to kill. After turning the little saintess to a bloody pulp and hanging her from the bell tower I finally had some time to loot the place. May her body remind everyone not to mess with me.


    I know it was kinda anti-climatic as fight, however this was real life, kill or be killed, everything happened in a split moment, no matter if you can turn a mountain to dust with a sneeze, as long as your flesh is human a few grams of very fast metal could kill you the same as everyone.

 Chapter 5: Adventure time!

    Chapter 5: Adventure time!


    One has to admit it, of all the places where I took a shit in this world, the confession booth of this church tops them all, I can really say it took a heavy load off me. Besides the surprisingly comfortable confession booth, this church gave me many pleasant surprises, such as an entire room full of books and maps; finally I obtained an idea of where the hell I am and where to go!


    Unfortunately, since I could not decipher the weird looking books the church-people left behind, at least not in the forty-eight seconds I spared them, I decided to set them on fire like any other good Samaritan would in front of such wicked looking arcane texts. I even left a ¡°No need to thank me ¡± note on the metal door of the library, kind and humble, that''s who I am.


    The armoury left a deeper impression on me, rows of neatly organized plate and chain armours, swords, war-hammers, spears and even what resembled a wizard staff. The shaft was made of silver with golden runes scribbled all over and a beautiful red gem on top. As I tried to touch the staff, definitely not hoping I could start shooting off light beams while shouting ¡°Take my lazer!¡±, my hand hissed on contact to the staff, I could see a line of smoke rising from where my hand had touched the staff with blisters already forming. ¡°Not cool.¡±


    "You definitely shouldn''t have done that." I went a little bit back, took a mighty war-hammer and swung it at the staff who fell powerlessly to the ground. ¡°Not so tough anymore, huh!¡± I kept swinging the head of the hammer where the crystal intersected with the golden staff, and after reducing me to a huffing sweaty tired little piece of shit, the crystal finally detached from the staff and I could collect it, after spitting one last time at the headless staff.


    I wanted to bring one of the giant amours with me, however, tens of thousands of war simulations never prepared me to how heavy those fuckers were.


    Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The library I had left on fire had somehow spread the flames to the whole church, how was I supposed to know fire could spread from room to room? Was the note I left the Templars still ok? Honest to Sol''har, I did try putting out the fire, if pissing on the burning statue of a god could not count as firefighting then what could?


    In the end, with much regret, I was forced to leave the premise of the church. My mood heavy, probably weighted down by all the money I had stolen from the charity boxes, the loot was seriously heavy; these homeless orphans were so lucky, who ever gathered charity money to support me, eh?!


    Jokes asides, as I left the plaza I could see the bald, the ugly and the handsome paladins rushing towards the church. I decided to wait and see what they would think of my work, Mr blue puppy eyes kneeled to the ground and started crying upon noticing the hanged woman swaying with the wind as the fire tried to catch her. Baldy just stared at the scene with disbelief painted all over his face, from the trembling lips to his wide open eyes. The last paladin rushed to the flames while shouting ¡°High inquisitor Haley!¡±. Two minutes after he entered the flaming hell I was pretty sure he had died, flames aside, no human can survive that long without oxygen. Bored of the show I left the plaza and wandered the streets hoping for some inspiration, however...Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ''I''m officially bored of this city'', the empty husk of Marle could give me nothing else, the people were either gone or dead, the once vibrant with life streets were now animated only by the wind dancing amidst the ashes or howling through the broken houses. I officially left the city through the northernmost gate, purposelessly to check if I could find any survivors to travel with, unfortunately, the only living soul I found belonged to a jackal trying to loot a house, upon seeing me he somehow thought he could rob me.


    Silly boy, after side-stepping his first punch and smashing a brick on the side of his head, I poured some man-eating bacteria in his eyes, I thought of it like karma, since he could not recognize an untouchable, it was my right to take away his sight. As revenge, he later on spread stories about me and gathered men to hunt me down.


    Nah, kidding, after seeing how well the bacteria worked I stomped his skull until my boots produced a squelching sound, who knows when a person might come back to bite you in the ass. Rule n¡ã1 when you do something bad, leave no witnesses, if you kill them, go after their families as well, children can grow into unexpected existences when fuelled by the desire for revenge.


    Finally i left the city upon a horse i had found in a stable, poor guy had been left all alone.


    In the next few weeks I followed a map of this kingdom to various farming villages. While during the day I would tell the story of how the church had spread diseases in the city of Marle as an excuse to execute people and gain power, during the night I had fun spreading crops destroying parasites and other nasty viruses.


    And so my fun-tour in the kingdom of Barlone begun.


    In the small town of Selene, I poisoned the wells with a stock of altered cholera: Poor infected people would spray infectious ¡°liquids¡± from all of their orifices, leading to death by dehydration.


    In the village of Rayleigh, I spread flesh-eating bacteria inside their food storages. As you ate the food, the food ate you back.


    In the village of Sturm, I gave hundred of cows rabies. Hundreds howling pieces of cattle mooed while assaulting their previous masters, the scene reminded me of the great bull run of Pamplona, just with four-meter tall cows instead of bulls.


    My latest addition to my adventures was the pyre I had joined today, after killing all the children in an orphanage and pushing the blame on the head of the institution. I assisted on the swift hand of social justice as the angry villagers dragged the poor guy to a pyre and burned him alive, the fun part was I had laced the wood with an experimental substance, its poisonous green vapours would probably kill most, if not all, of the people who were at the pyre. Ass-holes killed an innocent man, they should be ready to be punished.


    I noted down all my ¡°karmic visits¡± inside my trusted diary, keeper of my secrets and dreams, like the one I had the other night. I was back to my real home, my beloved girlfriend lazying around on the couch as I cooked dinner; suddenly I was no longer cutting vegetables, celery was substituted by a heart as I kept chopping; I turned around and found her standing behind me, her eyes empty like the hole in her chest where the heart was supposed to be, still oozing blood. She only muttered one soundless word I could deduct from the way her pale lips moved. ¡°Why?¡± And that''s when I woke up.


    I laid down on the grass, the sound of the first houses waking up to vomit blood barely reached my ears, but did not manage to catch my attention. I gazed upon this alien sky and felt nothing, I remember doing this often as a kid, just laying somewhere and wonder what more was to the world, counting the stars, looking for comets or UFOs, a sense of wonder and hope filling me as my immagination wandered the void. Now it felt empty, as if the magic of the stars had been sucked away, or maybe it was me that had become blind to it. To distract myself I decided to check my progress.


    [509.821] [64.000] [5980]


    As a smile was forming on my face i suddenly heard something move behind me, ''Shit, if anyone sees this...'' "Who is there?!" I yelled, however i never would expect to see him. "M-my Lord!"

 Chapter 6: New friends (Part 1)

    Chapter 6: New friends (Part 1)


    Did you ever feel utter despair and fear? An emotion strong enough to freeze you in the spot as your heart feels like exploding, this is what I felt the moment I saw him, Var''Kharzot, My lord.


    He dauntlessly stood a few steps away from me, the wind softly blowing his long, black, wavy hair; He did nothing more than smile at me and yet I felt like the sky was falling unto my back, the pressure forced me to kneel down in submission and lower my unworthy gaze to the ground, even if I could not see him anymore I could feel his gaze over my back, like the tongue of a tiger tasting its prey.


    ¡°Good evening Adrian, I see you''ve been doing well.¡± His polite tone didn''t betray his true nature, if anything it felt natural, like a well-educated gentleman from a good lineage, however, I knew who he really was, every word that reached my ears made me shudder. I wondered why he was here, I had been a good servant, hadn''t I?


    ¡°Oh Adrian, that''s what I like of you, you are a man of action, not wasting any time in chit-chat, going straight to the point.¡± I felt the pressure on my shoulders decreasing and I could finally rise my head, he was still in the same spot, smiling at me with the moonlight revealing some of his features. ¡°You''ve done surprisingly good achievements on this mission, especially with that little Sol''Har''s whore, you knew she was one of the three most powerful casters on the planet? Of course you didn''t, because you killed her in cold blood before she could do anything hahahahah.¡± He started to laugh, suddenly a flashback of the same laugh appeared in my mind, my body started shaking involuntarily as it remembered the pain of having its flesh being ripped out by hundreds of sharp fangs.


    ¡°I''m so proud of you, still at your sixth mission and already able to kill one enemy agent.¡± He did look at me with the air of a proud father, but I still could not shake off the feeling of the many tortures he made me go through. ¡°And this is why I decided to give you a little reward,¡± he pointed to a random direction and said: ¡°five kilometres that way you are going to find a cave, deep inside you will find one of my shrines, talk to the shrine-maiden she has your reward.¡±


    I looked at the pointed direction, and saw nothing but a dense forest clad in darkness; turning back my gaze I could not see my lord anymore, he had disappeared out of thin air, or maybe he had just turned invisible. I shuddered at the thought of him being around me while invisible. Finally free of the pressure I could get up and decided to immediately head to the shrine, thankfully I had an electric torch inside my backpack, so even in the deep darkness of the forest, I could at least see where my feet were.


    As a child I used to go deep in the woods with my friends, we would look for abandoned houses hoping to catch sight of ghosts or just scare the shit out of each other with weird courage tests, one of those tests had left a deep impression on me, ''turn off your light and wait here for two hours'' they told me to.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Same as that time I was totally alone in a forest, the pitch black darkness stripping away the comforting beauty of the nature and revealing its true cruelty, away from me I could hear the struggle of life, insects and smaller animals running and fighting to survive another night, something I could not help but deeply admire, it was this same survival instinct that led me to meet Var''Kharzot to become his servant.


    As I went deeper and deeper I finally found the ¡°cave¡±, it was basically a hole on a small hill. Some roots acted as the frame for the entrance from where I could smell something foul coming from its depths, unfortunately, I had to choice but to go. The moment I stepped in I already regretted it, four different growling sounds came from slightly deeper, I took a step back and following me the growls approached the entrance, I pointed my light at them and I could see four enormous black wolves, their little evil eyes shining thanks to my torch.


    I had no chance to run away, they would catch me. Fighting was the only option, maybe I could take one by myself without my body being torn apart, but four were three too many. Taking out a poisoned dagger from my belt I prepared to die while taking them all down with me, and that''s when a whistling sound came from the depths of the cave, the wolves immediately stopped growling and sat down.


    I stared at the entrance and soon a hooded figure emerged from the bowels of the earth with the aid of a curved cane, the tattered robe was probably being worn by a mature woman, at least judging by her voluptuous, *cough* shapes. ¡°Our Lord told me you were coming.¡± She suddenly kneeled down. ¡°Welcome to my humble shrine.¡± I looked at her curiously, she was supposed to be the shrine maiden the Lord told me about.


    ¡°Please esteemed agent, follow me inside.¡± she turned around and descended into the darkness, I gave a sigh and unwillingly followed her downstairs. Murals of ancient history covered the spiralling stairs, sometimes I saw wolves or dragons attacking men, others, war amongst men clad in light and a tentacular beast, this murals etched in the walls gave me something to look while descending.


    Soon I reached the shrine, a statue of lord Var''Kharzot stood on one side, lazily illuminated by the four torches in the four corners of the otherwise empty room. Miss tattered robes stood on one side of the statue and another girl was kneeling down in front of it, her gaze locked on the statue as if she was staring at something far away. ¡°What do you see?¡± Asked the hooded woman to the younger one.


    She seemed to struggle while figuring out an answer ¡°A-a woman-¡± before she could finish speaking the cane of the robed woman hit her head, ¡°look at the statue better, what do you see?¡± asked again. ¡°A child?¡± She answered and again another hit of the cane. Every time the young girl looked away, the statue would change appearance, at least to her untrained eyes, the robed woman and I could see it was always the same man.


    I decided to step forward and give her a hand, patting her back I pointed at his eyes. ¡°Look in its eyes, let them dig inside you without resisting, only then you''ll be able to see him.¡± She seemed startled from being touched by an unknown man but nodded once and tried again, suddenly her shoulders trembled and tears came out of her eyes, ¡°N-no please.¡± she tried to turn her head but I prevented her to do so. After some more shaking she finally stopped.


    The robed woman, unfazed by the scene asked again ¡°what do you see?¡±, this time the girl replied with confidence. ¡°A man, black hair and eyes, he is smiling at me.¡±

 chapter 6: New friends (Part 2)

    I patted the girl''s head, her soft hair parted ways and my fingers sank until her scalp, she squirmed a little under my hand but didn''t dare say anything. ¡°You''ve done well,¡± I said smiling, ¡°you are one of us now.¡± I could feel her shake, an absolutely normal reaction after what she went through; when we accept Var''Kharzot as lord he steals a little piece of our soul, that is how he can always read our minds and punish those who disobey.


    The process in itself is painless, however, the feeling of something icy being coiled around your heart is hard to get used to. Not vomiting on the ground is already a great achievement.


    Calming down, the frightened girl extended both of her hands towards the statue. I stared in astonishment as on her hands appeared a ball of pure black surrounded by a bright white halo, her cupped hands closed on it and when she opened them again a card had substituted the sphere.


    I stared at the card, it depicted a kneeling knight in full armour turned porcupine by dozens of arrows, below him stood a mountain of corpses and two words: ¡°The sacrifice.¡± By memory, I knew what this was, whenever the lord felt particularly satisfied with a servant he would reward them with one of these cards, each of them contained immense power and once absorbed would accompany one until his death.


    If I didn''t know what power was contained inside this card I would have stolen it right now and absorbed it myself, however, I finally understood what the Lord''s plan was and that my gift wasn''t the card, it was the girl! She looked at me with a pitiful expression, like a starved slave finding some bread on the ground and asking permission from his master to eat it. ¡°Go ahead, the Lord gave it to you.¡±


    As the card approached her chest, where it would fuse with her, a hand stopped her. The shrine maiden had leapt forward to stop the little girl, her eyes fixed on the card. ¡°She doesn''t deserve it!¡± she screamed at me. ¡°I served the Lord for fifteen years and received nothing. Where is my reward!¡± I could see the little girl terrified by her mentor looking away and trying to pull the card to her chest, however, the woman was stronger than her and little by little gaining advantage.


    I sighed, why do I always have to deal with this bullshit. Taking a dagger from my belt I gripped it in reverse and plunged it straight to the woman''s unprotected neck, she was so focused on the card she didn''t notice the approaching steel until a jet of blood escaped her body. She clutched the spot where the cold metal had bit her, however, a lacerated carotid was an inescapable fate, she had only a few seconds left.


    Fear pushed away the previous madness as she fell to the ground, she extended her hands towards the statue, however for the first time in many years the statue didn''t look back at her. ¡°Trying to steal that card you betrayed our Lord, don''t expect him to help you.¡± And like this, she died.


    I looked back at the little girl, she didn''t even spare a glance at her mentor and finally pushed the card in her chest, maybe afraid someone else would try stealing it. Like a hot blade in butter, the card easily entered her body disappearing without leaving even a reddened spot on her clavicle.


    She sighed in relief, however, the peace didn''t last much, maybe smelling the blood, the wolves upstairs howled in sorrow and were rushing downstairs. ¡°Quick drink this!¡± I threw her a small crystal bottle, luckily her reflexes and obedience were good enough, she snatched the bottle out of the air and downed it in one go. She tried taking a defensive stance, however, the potion she gulped took effect quickly and she slumped on the ground.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Sorry, I had to give you a sleeping mixture, it''s not yet time for you to show the world your power.¡± she fell asleep hearing my words.


    Now for the doggies, I pored some man-eating bacteria first on my clothes and then on my dagger, the little colony of parasites immediately consumed the leftover blood of the shrine-maiden, ¡°Hope you enjoyed the appetizer, here comes the main dish.¡± the first wolf entered the room and leaped forward, trying to bite me, I jumped aside and slashed at his front leg.


    The slash successfully cut through his fur, as the parasites entered the flesh and spread he would be dead meat in five minutes. Unfortunately, my grip on the dagger wasn''t steady enough and I lost it in the confrontation before I could try to take it back the second and third wolves entered the room and tried to bite me, one came from my left and the other from the right.


    I gave a kick to the right one hitting him on the snout and then turning my body like a tornado delivered a hook kick to the left one. Before I could leap forward and try to deliver one more hit, the injured wolf attacked me from the back pushing me to the ground.


    I felt his claws dig into my back. Withstanding the pain I felt hundreds of time when the lord personally disciplined me I used my elbow to hit his maw as he tried to bite my neck from behind. My intuition of what he was gonna do proved to be right and my elbow knocked him off my back and with a quick turn I avoided the teeth of the fourth wolf, I supposed, that came for my face straight after getting in the room.


    I managed to jump on my feet and found myself surrounded by four wolves and with a superficial injury in my back. Hot blood trickled down my back mixing with sweat, my head hurt and I felt like throwing up. ¡°I love fighting.¡± people who never experienced such near-death encounters could never understand what it meant.


    I personally believed that life and death were just two slates of white and black linked by a slate of various shades of grey, and ourselves just paper dolls placed on the slate of life. As we approached the death slate we would finally start to see our contours, defined by the stark contrast of white on black, the more we approached the more we would understand ourselves.


    The stall lasted a few more seconds until with a growl one wolf initiated the attack, being ready I sidestepped the wolf and grabbed his head, before the others could intervene I poked out his eyes, the jelly-like organs easily got squashed after my nails penetrated them.


    Howling in pain he blindly ran forward smashing unto the wall and collapsing with a low yelp of pain. One of the others, the one I had cut in the beginning tried to leap towards me, however, his leg couldn''t support the effort and like rotten wood, it broke off with a disgusting wet sound. One wolf had fainted and another one was yelping in pain as worm-like parasites devoured him from the inside, even if I died now it would still be a good result.


    The last two circled me like sharks, waiting for a chance to attack, I calmly walked towards the middle of the room where I had spotted my fallen dagger, as I crouched to take it, the wolves thought it was an opportunity and attacked at the same time. Immediately turning and using the centrifugal force I trusted the dagger to the hilt in the skull of the closer wolf, before I could take it out the second one had closed his mouth on my left arm, pain assaulted me as he turned his head trying to rip my arm off.


    I let go of the dagger stuck in the wolf''s skull and used my free hand to try pry open the wolf''s bite, however he was way stronger than me, with a semi wrestling-like move I threw both of us to the ground and coiled my legs around his head trying to stop him from moving too much, my plan half-worked, as his head got stuck he tried to use his claws to break free.


    Like a trapped beast he fought with all he had, his claws ripped a few fresh cuts on my face and chest, finally after a dozen seconds of dogfight on the ground, his jaw went soft, the bacteria I had spread over my clothes ate away his jaw-muscles and tongue. Taking advantage of the moment, I freed my arm and ripped away the lower jaw.


    The last wolf finally fell. The lower half of his jaw was gone revealing his rotten tongue dangling down powerlessly.

 Phoenix

    Here''s the thing. We are about halfway of the first arc, however i skipped over way too many events i wanted to insert, and now it''s kinda late.


    That''s why, i''m gonna start all over again, i''ll rewrite and upgrade the old scenes we all love and also add a loooot of new contents.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I know some of you will hate me for this, i get it, however sometimes to take a step forward you have to take one back first, and i think starting from scratches will give me the chance to reorganize and polish the story.


    If you have anything to say, like you noticed plot holes or have ideas you would like to see just post below.


    I''ll post the "new chapters" in a "lil bit", see you there!

 Chapter 1: Dont accept potions from strangers

    The sun shone brightly up in the sky, uninterested in the world below; The wind softly blew between the trees and shrubs carrying the spring''s fresh scent. Ignoring the beauty of life all around them, stood 3 men squatting behind some brushes, their eyes making it clear they weren''t just travellers taking a break; in their callous hands, chipped swords and axes, clashing against the whetstones in a rain of sparkles.


    Soon the faint sound of whistling reached their ears carried by the wind, their ears perked up in expectation and trying not to expose themselves they took a glance from behind the brushes. A lonesome traveller wearing commoner''s clothes and with a bag on his back was walking the path leading straight to their ambush. The trio gripped their weapons harder and prepared to give a meaning to the day.


    Finally, the unaware wanderer reached that bush and, without wasting the chance, the bandits jumped out of their hiding spot blocking the way forward and the way back. The poor victim looked with startled eyes to the men and noticing the weapons in their hands he realized they weren''t just looking for a fright.


    The tallest of the three took a step forward, his dagger aimed at the throat of the victim; However, before he could speak out his demands or do anything else, the traveller threw both of his hands to the air and kneeled down. ¡°Please milord, don''t hurt me! I''m just a novice alchemist, travelling to the capital to sell some potions!¡± his head bent down as he pleaded, too afraid to even look at his aggressors in the eyes.


    The bandits were taken aback for a moment; they were robbing an alchemist! If anyone were to know of this, knights would be dispatched immediately to hunt them down to hell if necessary. The trio exchanged glances and with a faint trace of regret the bandits sheathed back their rusty old weapons. They were here for some easy money, killing a few farmers wouldn''t attract any troubles, however, killing an alchemist was akin to taking a bath in honey and jumping in a bear''s cave.


    ¡°Milord, please..." Said the biggest of the bandits offering his hand to the alchemist, "No need to kneel down like this, I swear we mean no harm, right guys?¡± the leader immediately tried to somehow fix the situation by appeasing him. The alchemist raised his head and stared at the bandits now armed with awkward smiles instead of daggers and greed.


    ¡°Pardon me, but weren''t you trying to rob me just now?¡± spoke the alchemist with a slightly shaky and dubious voice, and to answer him the bandit behind him almost cursed his damn curiosity out loud. ¡°Of course not! Hahaha...¡± some cold sweat dripped out of his forehead, ¡°It''s just a misunderstanding, we are actually farmers from a nearby village. Days ago, our small village''s miller fell out with his wife and murdered her. As he has relatives living in Marle we thought of intercepting him on the way there, unfortunately, we mistook you for him!¡± with an ''it''s all just a big mistake'' face, the bandit lied through his teeth.


    The na?ve alchemist nodded through the story muttering ¡° I see, I see...¡±, he looked thoroughly convinced as he stood up dusting off his pants with a few pats. ¡°I''m really sorry I doubted your reasons, as an apology,¡± He picked his bag and took out a vial of milky liquid ¡°Let me offer you one of my potions, it can grant a man the strength of a bear for up to a month!¡± he exclaimed excitedly while extending the vial to the bandits'' leader.


    ¡°I- I cannot accept such a precious gift!¡± The bandit leader was no idiot, what if that was poison? Who would be stupid enough to drink a mysterious liquid offered by a stranger?


    ¡°I insist! You are obviously good and righteous people fighting to uphold justice, how could I remain passive and not help you? There is enough for the three of you, and if you are still feeling bad, in exchange you can give me one of your weapons. After all, I''m but a defenceless traveller, who knows who or worse; what I might meet on these dangerous roads...¡±


    Unable to contain his greed for power any longer, one of the bandits stepped forward and snatched the vial. Under the expectant gaze of the alchemist and the worried eyes of his friends, he took a quick sip; the lukewarm white liquid flowed down his throat like water and was soon absorbed by the body.


    A weird feeling spread from his throat, like a wave of fire it engulfed the whole body; his heart started beating faster like a drum as adrenalin was produced throwing his head in a state of euphoria. Veins swelled up on his body like snakes coiling around a skinny tree, even his skin got a little redder under the influence of the accelerated blood circulation.


    The other two bandits looked at their friend in worry, ready to take out their weapons to avenge him, however, against their worries a big smile widened on his face, ¡°Dvartos be damned! I feel like a new man. You have to try this!¡± the buffed bandit threw the leader the vial and then unable to stay put any longer, he threw himself on the ground doing push-ups like a madman, sweat was already dripping down his eyes but he didn''t even care or notice, he felt too energetic and had to do something; anything to waste that energy.


    ¡°I see it''s working already.¡± The alchemist was watching with interest the effect of his concoction on another human. The other two bandits seeing the state of their friend were convinced to drink the rest of the potion. Soon they were all either running around like kids high on sugar or punching the trees. Under their dreamy status, they didn''t notice how their knuckles had actually got bruised and broken by hitting the trees, the pain thankfully suppressed by the adrenaline.


    Meanwhile, the alchemist didn''t move away, he took out a metallic watch and started writing notes while checking the trio. After a few minutes, they finally seemed to be running out of juice as they collapsed under the shade of a tree breathing heavily. The alchemist approached them and started asking questions every few minutes.


    ¡°How much is five plus five?¡± To which the bandits would answer between a heavy breath and another, ¡°Ten of course!¡± somehow they didn''t seem to care about the previously shy alchemist now asking questions with a monotone.


    Five minutes later "How much is three plus three?¡±, the bandits took a second before replying ¡°Five... no six!¡± he noted down something and waited a few more minutes.


    ¡°How much is two plus two?¡± The bandits just stared blankly at him trying to find an answer, ¡°Seven!¡± answered one after pondering deeply and the others seemed to agree nodding sagely. This continued until they could no longer answer coherently.


    ¡°After 30 minutes the asphyxia has reached the extreme level, two of them have fainted outright. Meanwhile, the last subject is still able to fight it off, probably due to his stronger looking physique.¡± The alchemist muttered while checking the time on his watch, he took their pulses and timed the breathing, ¡°Rapid pulse, check. Hypertension, check. Coma, check.¡± he slapped the still conscious leader with enough force to leave a red mark on his cheek, but he still couldn''t muster enough strength to fight back, just staring at the alchemist with his pale face, his purple lips tried to move and ask something but in the end, he remained mute. ¡°Paralysis, check.¡± He noted down with a wicked smile.


    Finally after some convulsions two of the bandits stopped breathing, their leader instead was slowly regaining colour, his consciousness still faint, ¡°The mortality rate has been found to be around 66%, need more testing samples and variables to confirm its effects. End of day 1 experimental journal. Adriano. M¡± he finally signed his journal. Placing the journal back in his backpack, he took a dagger he had rummaged from one of the corpses, and slit the throat of the bandit leader; a red jet of blood shoot forward missing the alchemist who started to rummage the rest of their belongings without giving the trio another look.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    After gathering some money and food he stood up and extended his right arm, ¡°Progress bar.¡± he spoke drily to the air, and suddenly some numbers appeared in the air like magic.


    [579801] [0] [3]


    He sighed in a tired manner and resumed his travel to the capital while muttering curses to someone called Var''Kharzot. From inside his bag, the noise from dozens of vials clinking together was the only music following him.


    ------------------------------------


    The day had almost come to an end, the last sunrays peeked out of the horizon waving goodbye to the world. Adriano had somehow reached a small village before sunset, a few wooden huts and a slightly bigger building were all the testimony of human presence in this forlorn forest until now.


    Under the curious gazes of the locals, he walked to the bigger building; if his eyes weren''t deceiving him, the wormy symbols above the door meant "Inn" in this world''s language. He stood in front of the door, pondering whether to knock or to just push the door when, a burly fellow wearing some leather clothes, pushed him aside and went inside with a sneer.


    Adriano suppressed his disdain and, wearing an innocent smile entered the inn. Inside he was greeted by a fifty years old looking woman, her tired eyes and bruises showed how happy she was with her life choices, however, she maintained an almost professional attitude welcoming him inside and sitting him at one of the only two tables inside the inn.


    Sitting with him were another five men drinking ale while ignoring the newcomer, "I arrive from far away lands hoping for something warm to relinquish the fatigue and the hunger, what do you have?" the waitress pondered a little, her mind occupied figuring out what relinquish meant; finally giving up she listed a few soups and vegetables broths. "I''ll trouble you for a potato soup and a room for tonight then. Thank you very much." She took the order, nodded and left.


    Not even a moment after the older waitress left a younger one immediately approached Adriano, "Hi! I''m Lucy, I heard you come from faraway lands, would you like telling me about them?" a childish curiosity burned in the emerald eyes of the petite girl, Adriano sighed as if giving up and nodded; the little girl cheered up even more and sat down next to him, even the men that ignored him just a moment ago perked up and eavesdropped on him.


    "I came from the far away north, from the lands of Skyrim where peasant just like you and me have to face countless dangers to survive, such as: giants, demons and wyverns!" using more emphasis on the last word he proceeded to tell the tale of great Nordic warriors such as the Dragonborn, the demon worshippers that could turn into werewolves and the war between men and wyverns.


    All the people in the tavern slowly quieting down and listening to the epic tales, when the last part about the final battle between Alduin and the Dovahkiin came, everybody was listening in rapture and shock. "And like this, he came down with his sword on Alduin''s neck, severing his head and saving the world." The whole inn sighed in relief, someone clapped others questioned the authenticity of the story and why none of the gods had intervened earlier.


    "I call bullshit on this!" The burly man that earlier had pushed away Adriano suddenly walked towards him, each of his steps made the low-quality wooden floor creak in displeasure. "I never even heard of a place called ''Skyrim''!" he said in displeasure, actually he wasn''t mad about the story, secretly he had praised it in his heart, however when Lucy placed her hand on Adriano''s arm during one of the scary moments, his fun had been instantly spoiled. By contesting Adriano he hoped to get Lucy''s affection or, at least to prevent Adriano from doing anything to her.


    "It''s not my fault if you skipped studying geography," Replied Adriano with a sneer. "go back to study, then we can talk." Everyone chuckled at the reply, everyone but the burly guy; he took one more step and grabbed Adriano''s arm. "I suggest you to unhand me this instant." Calmly spoke Adriano secretly rejoiced, in a moment he would get to teach an idiot. "What if I don''t?" Sneered back the burly guy, Adriano was slightly taller than him, however, he was at least twice as wide, every inch of his sunburn skin covered in muscles.


    "Then you give me no choice... FUS, RO," the burly guy faltered for a moment, ''those are the same magic words of the Dovahkiin, could he be...'', as he thought that something hit his feet and he suddenly lost his balance; as the world reversed in his eyes, a hand took hold of his head and slammed it with violence on the table. "RAH, idiot."


    The only one that knew what happened was Adriano, while everyone was checking on the burly guy he spoke nonsense to distract him, and when he least expected it, he kicked his foot and pulled him in. Holding the guy''s head against the table Adriano thought for a moment then took out a dagger, the same he used to kill the bandit earlier that same day. "Since you don''t like to listen to others, you are not gonna need this anymore, right?" He placed the dagger behind the ear and before anyone could intervene, he cut it off in a quick motion.


    "GAHH!" Screamed the guy in pain, feeling satisfied, Adriano pushed him to the floor where his friends took a hold of him and carried him out, too scared to even take revenge.


    "So, as I was saying, After Alduin died..." Adriano calmly continued the story while cleaning the dagger against the ruddy table-cloth, the other people in the tavern kept listening to him with a hint of fear and awe.


    ----------------------------


    A series of light knocks came on Adriano''s door as he was preparing to sleep, he got up and carrying the dagger behind his back he went to the door. "Who''s there?" he questioned in a slightly annoyed tone. "It''s me Sir, Lucy..." Intrigued he opened the door.


    Lucy stood in front of the door with her arms behind her back and a faint blush on her rosy cheeks. "Can I do anything for you?" He asked in a sly tone that made her blush deepen. "I-I was wondering if you had more stories to tell..." Adriano smiled while taking a step back, "Of course my dear, come in, please." sitting on the bed he kept telling her stories about the incredible places he had seen.


    "And from the top of the world, on the rim of the sky, I witnessed the heaven''s frozen tears softly covering the world below in a blanket of white. And from up there I witnessed the clearest moon that has ever been seen by mortals, bright like the sun, reflecting on the snow below and turning the frozen land into light." As he spoke those words, Lucy, unable to contain herself anymore kissed him.


    Not surprised, Adriano''s skilful hands quickly stripped her under the gaze of the moon, the only witness of the fusion of flesh.

 Chapter 2: Evil always wake up early

    I woke up before dawn, even the moon had disappeared from the sky and the room was in a total state of darkness. Something warm squirmed next to me and suddenly all that happened yesterday night came back to my mind like a flash; I inched closer and inhaled the fragrance of her hair. ''mmmhhh smell like morning dew.''


    As much as I wanted to lay in bed with a beautiful woman and enjoy her some more, I had work to do, as thanks for the great night, I took an experimental concoction from my bag and, opening her tiny lips with my fingers, poured it in, she coughed a little but ended up swallowing it.


    I waited a few minutes while checking her pulse, her rhythmic heartbeat skipped a beat, then another and then finally stopped; she didn''t even wake up, her expression upon death was as peaceful as a newlywed bride.


    I crossed the daily good action off my mental list and dressed up, brown from the shoes to my jacket and then a white shirt beneath. I walked downstairs while everyone was sleeping, the floor creaked at each of my steps, the sound reverberating in the silent hall.


    Approaching the bar counter I located the barrels full of ale and added a special ingredient to the mix; my mother always said to show your gratitude to people who treat you well. I would have spiced up some food stuff too, however, I heard footsteps coming from upstairs, I grabbed my belongings and went out of the inn, shame I won''t see the effects of "Frenzy".


    As the sun hadn''t still made an appearance I was forced to walk the first kilometre totally in the dark, luckily I had a flashlight and could at least see where I was placing my feet.


    Beastly roars and preys'' laments echoed amongst the woods but I continued marching forward, the sensations from the night before still on my lips and skin, I indulged my memories until the sun finally came out in all his majesty sending the shadows back to whence they came from.


    Hours later I found a merchant''s caravan and asked for directions towards the closest city, after that, I suggested them to try the ale in the inn I had spent the night and then wished them safe travels.


    -------------------------------


    ¡°Ahhhh, finally here,¡± I exclaimed in a relieved tone, from the inn p it had taken me three whole days to find the fucking city in front of me, thankfully I had found small villages on the way where to spend the night and try some of my toys.


    Giant walls made from white marble surrounded the city like the arms of a guardian deity intersecting in a gate wide enough for three carriages to pass through side by side. The archers on top of the gate slacked off, laughing and pointing to the people passing below while their colleagues on the ground were seriously checking the people''s belongings.


    A merchant I met while coming here told me it was illegal to bring any kind of weapon inside the city without registering it at the gates; luckily for me, I had no such things nor I needed them.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I approached the gate and as expected one of the guards stopped me. ¡°Your name and the reason for coming here?¡± He spoke in the monotone voice of someone who asked the same thing too many times, I felt a little pity for him. He wore a uniform made of tanned leather with a circle sewed on his chest, probably the city guard''s emblem here.


    ¡°Hello milord, my name is Adrian and I''m here to sell a batch of potions in the market.¡± The guard straightened his back upon hearing my mention of potions, apparently, even around here alchemists were treated like Vip, ¡°What kind of potions? If I''m allowed to inquire.¡± his tone already getting more respectful after realizing I was no poor farmer.


    ¡°Oh, nothing much, some low tier healing potions, with a nasty side effect of causing impotence,¡± I added the last line as a joke, but I could see he was affected by the way his grip on the spear tightened.


    ¡°W-what kind of side effect is that?¡± He asked in a slightly upset voice. Chuckling inside I answered, ¡°Just a precaution in case of theft. My potions are meant for women, and if a man tries to steal any of them... hehehe.¡± I could see his face pale as he took a step back, he even had to cough once to regain his composure. "Do you have any weapons on yourself or in your bag?" Naturally, he ended up checking my belongings, naturally finding nothing he gave it back to me and stepped aside.


    ¡°You are free to come inside, as long as you can pay the toll of four grindias or 5% of your merchandise, also remember to pay your share of the sales to the city administration.¡± I took out 4 middle-sized coins from the bandit leader''s pouch and placed them on the guard''s hands, from the way he smiled I understood I had given him more than the actually required toll, and that he was gonna keep the change as a tip.


    He wished me a nice stay and I finally walked inside while winking at him; the sight of marble roads and buildings immediately caught my eyes. I had imagined a more standard medieval city with dirt roads and people throwing poop from the windows, but I wasn''t that disappointed in being wrong for once.


    People were busily walking around hanging decorations and setting up stalls, I found them to be actually amusing, the only thing missing now was music and we could have shot "High city musical". Then inspiration hit me, lots of people interacting with each other in close space? This is one of the most important ingredients when cooking a mass pandemic!


    Ok, priorities; first, find a place to stay. After walking around aimlessly I finally found an inn with a nice name: ¡°the drunk cow¡±, the first floor was basically a tavern with people drinking away their problems or spitting on the ground, a fireplace in the middle of the room gave illumination to the room while also providing the means for a nice barbeque.


    On the second and third floor, I found rooms to sleep in. Paying the owner, a middle-aged man named Horace, with all the money I had stolen from the bandits I had managed to rent the room for a week, no meals or mead included, tch, cheapskate.


    I finally entered my room, the barrenness of the interior left me kinda disappointed, no pictures hanging on the walls, no windows and a simple candle on the side of the bed as illumination. I felt kinda tired after walking for three days, however, instead of going to rest it was time to work, as the saying goes ¡°Evil never rests.¡±, I placed all my vials on the ground building a nice little castle of crystal. ¡°Time to work,¡± I said with a toothy grin.


    As I raised the first vial to my face I suddenly wondered how the villages I had ''visited'' were holding up.

 Side Story: The Beer of Peace

    In the darkness hid a family of four, father, mother and two kids; the light of torches penetrated between the gaps in the wall, providing barely enough illumination to see each other.


    They had been there, holding their breath for the past hours, since the merchant''s guards had gone berzerker, without any reasons they suddenly pulled out their weapons and hacked to pieces everyone in the inn indiscriminately, after that, they started fighting against themselves. Wilfred and his wife hoped that by hiding for a little they would avoid the danger, "just a little bit more" they kept thinking while hiding.


    In the silence of the room suddenly echoed a low growl, the father turned around and saw Giovanni, his best friend, standing up from the hay pile he had been sleeping in after getting drunk. His hair was dishevelled and a few strands of hay peeked out from his hair and clothes.


    Giovanni kept growling like an enraged animal, to reassure his family the father cautiously approached him, "Giovanni? it''s me, Wilfred, are you okay?" he said taking a few more steps in his direction, suddenly the flames of the torches outside flickered and just for a second dispersed the darkness hiding Giovanni''s face.


    Wilfred took a good look at his friend before darkness could hide him again, what he saw terrified him; pink-ish foam dripped down from his mouth to his clothes and his usually clear blue eyes were puffy and reddened. "Shit! They got him too, Run!" Wilfred backed away as fast as he could, however Giovanni as if awakened by his scream leapt forward catching his leg, they both tumbled down while the rest of the family ran out of the shed, one of the kid screamed "Dad!" but was pulled away by the mother.


    On the ground, a fierce fight occurred between the two, Giovanni ferociously clawed with his nails and bit as fast as he could like a stray dog, on the other hand, Wilfred was stronger, he used his advantaged position to kick Giovanni''s head, the heel cap of the boot leaving bloody marks on his skull.


    "Let go of me! Gaaaah!" With a good-angled bite, Giovanni''s teeth sank deep inside the leg, warm blood mixed with the foam hid the wound completely; urged by the pain Wilfred kicked again using all his force and more, the heel managed to break the skull and Giovanni went limp below his boot.


    Hot tears menaced to pour out of his eyes, if for grief or pain even he didn''t know. Giovanni''s teeth had sunk very deep, it took him everything he had to withstand the pain and open his old friend''s mouth enough to remove his leg.


    Even after removing his leg, the bleeding didn''t stop, if anything, it got even worse, thankfully for his mental state he didn''t notice the yellow liquid bleeding out together with the blood. After getting free he limped out of the shed and saw his wife waving at him from the edge of the village, she was hiding with the children in some bushes on the opposite side of the inn, he turned his head towards the inn and realized where the light that allowed him to see Giovanni''s face came from; the inn was burning, bright red flames rose from the first floor to the roof, casting shadows whenever a hut or a shed obstructed their light.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "May Dravos save their souls." He offered his prayers to the dead and reached his family, his head pulsing with pain felt like someone hammering steel inside his skull, at each strike he would trip and eat mud. When he reached his family they sat him down on a rock, his wife cleaning his wound with the helm of her dress.


    "What happened in there? We heard you screaming, is Giovanni...?" For some reason that question acted like a spark igniting a deep anger deep down inside him, ''why does she care about him?'' anger kept burning stronger and stronger.


    "Go away woman!" he kicked her away with his healthy leg, she looked shocked, "But.. your wounds are not yet clean, I have to-" "SHUT UP!" she couldn''t even complete her sentence that an angry yell reached her ears, "SHUT YOUR COCK TRAP, I KNOW WHAT I''M DOING!!"


    The kids backed away a little and started crying, the loud wailing of children elevating the pain in his head even further, "SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" he heaved and huffed like a tired animal, the wrath in his chest burning and moving synched with the hammers in his head.


    Suddenly he caught his wife with the tail of the eye as she inched closer to the crying children, ''Is she trying to run away?'' his reasoning had been eroded and only a blind rage remained, he leapt forward, just like his best friend had done earlier before, and tackled his wife to the ground.


    "What are you- NO!" He grabbed a rock beside her and with a "WAAAH" smashed it down on her face, once, twice, thrice; he didn''t stop even when his wife went limp or when her face got flattened to the ground, he kept smacking down the rock until his rage subsided.


    In horror he stared at what remained of her wife''s head, just a splatter of skull chips, hair and flesh; a few steps away, the children started crying "mommy, mommy!" and like magic, the anger came back...


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


    The morning after.


    A soldier dispatchment arrived at the village on a dozen horses, they had been alerted by a line of smoke coming from the village and rode all night from Marle to check on the situation.


    "Captain," A short soldier came running from the burned inn and kneeled down in front of an older looking rider. "we just finished examining the village, please follow me." He led the soldiers to the burning inn, "I think a bandit warband came to this inn and started drinking," he pointed to some burned corpses with weapons and metal cups in their hands, "then seeing them under the effect of alcohol the peasants thought they could beat them and tried to fight back. Or maybe the drunk bandits just went into a frenzy for no reason, that''s also possible." he pointed to some other corpses who held burned tools, probably pitchforks or maces.


    "Then while fighting the peasants someone set fire to the inn, someone, probably bandits managed to get out in time and..." Again he led the soldiers to a shed where they found a man with a crushed skull, "found a family hiding in here, killed the father by beating him to death, and then probably rape-killed the wife and children in those bushes," he pointed to some bushes a little further down the road. " I suggest you don''t go there, it''s not a nice show."


    "Did you find proof of rape on the children?" Asked the captain. "Well, we actually didn''t; neither on the woman, nor on the children, but why else would they drag them there?" pondered the young soldier, he then remembered something, "Maybe they ran away while the father fought against the bandit?" the old soldier nodded and walked towards the bushes where he found three corpses beaten to paste.


    Suddenly he noticed a trail of blood leading deeper into the woods, he followed it and found a tree with a big red bloodstain on its trunk and a dead man hugging that tree. Approaching the tree he immediately guessed what happened, the man had headbutted the tree to death.