《Sellsword》


 Prologue: Dance In The Rain

    ¡°This is not good¡­¡±


    The man scratched his rugged face while staring at them.


    Them, yes, ¡°Those pesky plated buggers who had been squashed like beetles¡± he remembered he called them by that name a few hours ago, in a road-side tavern.


    And now they stood uncomfortably close in front of him with whatever they have as weapons in their hands.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, lads, it¡¯s just a bad joke¡­¡± He gulped while he noticed a mace, a long sword and a hard, wooden pike with metal tip approached along their angry wielders, crossing through the curtain woven by sky-fallen water drops.


    ¡°Yeah, we get that, but we just don¡¯t handle jokers like ye nicely.¡± Said the tallest man among the three attackers, then spat on the muddy ground, he wrapped himself in gray iron plates, banded with stripes, fixed on a hard leather shirt.


    He reached for his back, he wished he still had that piece of old scrap that he called a sword with him, unfortunately it was no longer with him, traded for a bowl of hot stew and a cup of ale.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why don¡¯t ye joke yer way out of this, ye clown, dare to insult the brothers of the ¡®Grey Banner¡¯, now you pay the price.¡± The tall one gave out a horrible smug, pointed his mace toward the man in embarrassing distress.


    ¡°I¡¯m no clown you buggers.¡± He mumbled as rains seeped through his shirt.


    ¡°What¡¯d ye say?¡± The tall man stepped closer, grabbed his opponent by the collar.


    ¡°I said, I¡¯m no clown, you bugger.¡± Said the man who then combed his hair, raven in color and straight in shape:¡±I am Alwyrn of the Eilan.¡±


    ¡°Why by Ja¡¯shan¡¯s lumps should we know ye, mister Alwyrn? ¡±


    There was a moment of awkward silence between the two, it seemed Alwyrn was totally embarrassed by the scenario, except he wasn¡¯t.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m going to take you buggers out by surprise.¡± A grave smile climbed upon the seemed to be doomed man''s face.


    From the back of his belt, hidden under his jacket, the grabbed man drew out a knife, no bigger than a kitchen cutter but curved like the one of the moons. He spun the dagger faster than a tornado arisen from empty field, a deep breath he took and drove his knife into the tall one¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Bppuuuurrrghhh!!!!¡±


    The tall one was not killed, but blood and saliva spilled from his mouth and his wound, before his throat found more blur sounds to produce, the curved dagger slit open his windpipe, dividing that knot on his neck into two bloody halves.


    ¡°Well, well, isn¡¯t that messy¡­¡± Alwyrn pulled the dead man¡¯s hand away from his collar, he picked up the mace then set his sight upon the sword-wielding man:¡±Nice sword you¡¯ve got, citadel forged good stuff, fine by me.¡±


    The remaining two soldiers of the ¡°Grey Banner¡± looked into each other¡¯s eyes, dashed toward the killer of their comrade at the same time.


    Alwyrn, swung his knife holding left arm, gentle and elegant he always lacked, throw the curved small blade while turning away from incoming spear tips. The projectile cut open some drops until it hit the swordman, he immediately fell and knelt into the mud, burying that dagger deeper into his stomach.


    The spearman, on the other hand, dashed too quick to notice his comrade¡¯s peril, also, too quick to notice the rugged faced man waved that mace in front of his calf.


    ¡°Crack!!¡±


    ¡°I know you Grey banners like to dash like some headless fly but this is beyond my imagination.¡± Looked down to the blood stained mace, Alwyrn mocked his victims before he raised the mace again, and again, delivering relentless blows upon the half-dead soldier¡¯s head.


    When he finally dropped that deformed mace, he sighed.


    ¡°What a waste¡­¡±


    Pitiful looks he cast, upon the broken helm of the spearman, pasted with damaged brain tissue.


    ¡°Mercy,I beg of you, kind mister, mercy¡­¡±


    Plead the swordman with a dagger in his belly, he threw away his sword, giving away his two arms and begged for mercy.


    ¡°I get it.¡± Alwyrn fetched the spear, the wooden shaft of the spear felt sticky with blood and mud on it.


    ¡°But I just don¡¯t handle buggers like you nicely.¡±


    A thrust he delivered, straight through the swordsman''s head the spear went. The head that just begged for mercy lowered along with those arms until the spear shaft held it with the other side of its stick against the ground.


    ¡°Now where did he throw his sword¡­¡±


    The sole survivor of this showdown padded the lowered head of that swordman, started to searching for that good steel sword he set his greedy amber-colored eyes upon a few moments ago.

 Chaptor 1

    Oh, good stranger, what a way to start our story¡­


    Alwyrn was no robber, whenever he was asked of his profession, he usually described it as ¡°an honest living by dealing with unwanted buggers for a modest payment.¡± In other words, a sellsword, he was, you may say, or, a cutthroat, if you hail from people with ¡°higher¡± moral standards.


    Being a sellsword was hardly considered a decent job, but if you reside in a world full of tyrants, warlords and other just only comparatively less obnoxious rulers comparing to their worse counterparts, living your life on the edge of a knife would be slightly better than dying in a farm, sweating on lands you own but wouldn¡¯t produce for you.


    What? Who am I, you asked? I¡¯m merely another sorry soul dwells in this woeful world. The world has been long forsaken by the gods, we fought in their names in that horrid strife known as ¡°The War of Thousands¡±, yet in return, we can¡¯t even feed our body under their grace, leave alone our souls.


    Anyway, where were we? Oh, the fight with the Brothers in Grey, ah, yes.


    The sellsword strolled down the muddy road, it rained annoyingly, the air felt heavy, all he wanted was another inn or tavern, maybe also some whispers, maybe something about one lord was going to fight another.


    ¡°Rain¡­Always raining¡­It has been raining since like¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Alwyrn complaint to himself, while dragging his legs, he knew not where he was, though he should have, he had spent several hours on the road, of course, that next tavern with a simple sellsword job offered he had wished for, would not be found.


    Pulling his legs, persuading them to keep on walking, he started to regret not stripping those dead soldiers¡¯ body for food or coin, no, bloodstained food never tasted good even once, but coin¡­Well, coins are coins¡­


    The lone man smiled at the thoughts of coins, the warm of them glowing while placed in the light, the sweet and bitter taste of that rust while putting in his mouth.


    ¡°Eh¡­Where the heck am I?¡± He raised his head, gawking at the unfamiliar locale: marshes randomly placed alongside the stone-fenced road, dense but far from thriving leafy trees occupied the border of his sight.


    The road ended with a walled town, its ashen-red walls made it quite eye-catching amongst the less awe-inspiring surroundings. He suddenly started to remember, trails of his whereabouts.


    He shouldn¡¯t have taken part in that drinking contest held in Glewyire, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t take that carriage and being so drunk that he barely noticed he fell out of it in middle of nowhere the day before he ended up stuck with some Brothers of Grey in a roadside tavern.


    ¡°It won¡¯t hurt to go inside.¡± He thought, so down along the road he went.


    When he walked closer to the ashen-red walls, he noticed there were some unpleasant ornaments by roadside: A giant monstrous humanoid figure, other than a few impaled with several sticks to a larger and thicker pole; the figure was born with greyish sharp scales as well as snake shaped head; its limbs strong and armed with claws.


    ¡°Hydraliscians¡­¡± He whispered that noun in spite, he had heard of these creatures, sailors and traveling merchants spoke ill of them, called them robbers and outright monsters.


    Alwyrn controlled himself not to notice the fishy blood seeped through the dead creature¡¯s bites, the smell, on the other hand, was totally unbearable, it felt like someone poured a basket of dead fish which has been bathed in sun for days.


    Fastened his steps towards the city gate, he was asked to wait in line to enter the city, though he had no idea which city he was going to enter.


    ¡°Aye, can one of you fine lads tell me what place is this? ¡± Our dizzy sellsword turned his help-seeking sight to a couple of farmer-looking young men, but they simply spoke in a tongue he hardly acquainted with.


    ¡°Oh, buggers¡­I can¡¯t even understand¡¯ em.¡± He covered his forehead with right palm, Alwyrn was not happy about the situation, but there was nothing he could do but wait. He waited for a few minutes but the line remained still.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    As some of you may know, sellswords are not known for their patience, an impression also applied to Alwyrn, who was not only a sellsword but also someone who had been showering in this unstoppable irritating rain.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± He stepped forward to the spot where the line holds, there stood a towering man whose broad shoulder reminded Alwyrn of armour holder made of wooden sticks, on his back, hanged a majestic greatsword. Beside the young man, a slim, hooded figure leaning to a long mace was trying to calm the broad-shouldered arguer.


    ¡°I¡¯m not expecting a kiss from ye, but I do expect a full payment for me labour of hounting that monstrous lizard man, ye haughty spoiled brat!¡± The tall man was clearly in an ill mood, clutching his armoured fists in front of him, his dark brown hair wavered as he was yelling at a lady, striking an impatient gesture.


    ¡°Your labour, brute, has already been properly compensated, 50 silver Corals as we have discussed.¡± The lady who was arguing with the tall one was obviously highly ranked for other soldiers who shared her pattern of attire stood quietly behind her. ¡±Begone from my sight, or I will have you removed.¡±


    Noticing the possibility of further dispute, the hooded figure, clearly a man judging from his voice, reached out to his companion, he spoke with an amusing voice:¡±Please forgive my companion, he¡¯s a reasonable man, it must be this rain that is clouding his mind and makes him grumpy, we will excuse ourselves from your presence now.¡± His voice seemed to be canned in a jar due to his ridiculous mask, a mask shaped like the beak of a crow.


    The lady captain frowned with a scent of unpleasant, her fair brows locked deep while her plumy lips trembling, clearly, she was considering whether she would have these two grabbed and threw them in jail. And that was the moment Alwyrn stepped in.


    ¡°Eh¡­I¡¯m sorry for interrupting whatever scene you people are in, but, you see, your little quarrel is jamming the line.¡±


    Those tightly locked brows of the woman spread, perhaps she realized she might have spent too much time dealing with that broad-shouldered man, she sighed, after an awkward moment of silence, she turned her head to her soldiers:¡±Throw this man 5 more silver Corals and let them pass.¡±


    Another officer fetched 5 silver coins from his pocket and threw those shiny round bits on the ground, though the towering guy seemed to possess the intention of starting a fight, but before he could open his mouth to unearth his stash of curses, his friend quickly bent down to collect all 5 coins and dragged him all the way across the gate pass.


    Alwyrn followed behind the duo, after they stepped far enough from the guard post, the hooded man turned to him:¡±Thank you, good sir, your interference was right on time, otherwise my bulky friend was going to have two of us involved into another unpleasant event with the local authority.¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­Just wanted to get into this city anyway.¡± The rugged faced sellsword shook his head, then he realized this man had knowledge of common tongue, Alwyrn eagerly asked the masked guy if he would share his knowledge of their where about.


    Perhaps being shocked at such unusual request, the masked man stared at that rugged faced man with whatever expression one might have upon the condition, however, due to his mask, none could tell if he was stunned or simply restraining himself from burst into laughter:¡°Intriguing...It''s kinda uncommon to see someone lost his awareness of location, I assume¡­¡± Not even the ragged hood of him could block away that sour embarrassment he felt from this dizzy sellsword in front of him.


    ¡°Uh¡­Alright, I got drunk in that bloody fort in Glewyire and got dumped on a traveling cart, I''m pretty sure that was some kind of stupid drunk joke those lads in my battalion pulled at my expense.¡±Alwyrn covered his forehead in his palms, desperately trying to recall any sign or monument he might recognize he saw.


    ¡°Fret not, mate, ye may be far from home but ye seem to be a nice and capable bloke, why don¡¯t ye join mey and me crow-faced friend here?¡± The broad-shouldered man padded Alwyrn by the shoulder while making what he considered to be an undeniable offer in his muffled accent.


    It was a good idea if you were some novice wanderer who seek glory eagerly enough or intended to have yourself chained and be sold as slaves on some exotic marketplaces, Alwryn, born and grew up in places where all kinds of treachery being practiced regularly, it presented him nothing but suspicious scent.


    ¡°Yeah, why not?¡±Still, the clueless sellsword nodded, though with caution in his mind. Alwyrn set his eyes upon the locale behind the ashen red walls.


    Most buildings in the city were constructed in similar fashion, being unusually narrow in shape but also placed in considerate pattern as if they were some sort of legion stationing in a dense formation. These ¡°soldiers¡± made of ashen bricks lined up alongside the web-like canals crawling through the streets, reflecting the broken images of riverside establishments distorted by air-borne watery drops.


    ¡°Welcome, my good man, to the maze city of Krelis-hout.¡± That canned voice seemed to be trapped inside a jar reached the confusing sellsword¡¯s ear:¡±My name is Helix, an impoverished Brother Healer, if you ever find yourself injured or in need of potion, you need only to reach out.


    ¡±Don¡¯t be fooled by ¡®im, mate, the only potions he¡¯s good¡¯at mixing up are them which would burn through yer pants.¡± Helix''s height privileged companion chuckled in delight.


    ¡°Would you kindly not to sass me for my imperfection in certain field of profession, Duke.¡± The self-proclaimed cleric shoved his giggling friend.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Duke? What did you mean by Duke? Is he a noble or something?¡± Alwyrn slowly moved his eyes around that swordman Helix referred as ¡°Duke¡±.


    Noticing the confused eyes set upon himself, the towering swordman laughed:¡°Ney, mate, it¡¯s just me name, all me boys love to make fun of it, I¡¯m sure you would join¡®em too.¡±


    ¡°By that, he meant everyone he met.¡± The mockery came from the bird masked man:¡±And he doesn¡¯t have ¡®boys¡¯, his sole friend now stands in front of you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really a funny bunch, the name¡¯s Alwyrn, I know it¡¯s difficult to pronounce, just call me Al would be fine.¡± Alwyrn, though amused by the company they made, still he blamed himself for losing track of his own location:¡±Krelis-hout¡­Why in the name of the Thousands I ended up here¡­¡± He turned to the landscape, the city, was constructed on a rare solid ground standing in the midst the vast bog areas, slightly differed from the ashen walls, most buildings were rust of colour, perhaps it was the polluted salt that seeps into the earth where the bricks were made from. He had heard of this city, a strange and barely natural combination indeed, the city somehow stood upon the only fresh water spring in the region.


    ¡°Cursed! Condemned! ALL OF YOU!!!!¡± Grave shout-outs broke him from his thought, a skeleton-like man in his middle age marched along the street, he wore nothing but shredded rags coiling his likely hunger tormented figure, yet something beyond reasoning was blazing in his eyes.


    ¡°You brought this upon yourself, vile and corrupted deeds roam this city while you bathed in their stained odour, ALL OF YOU!¡± the presenter of the warning proceed:¡±You lost your children, Krelis-hout, for the foul play of the powerful and the rich, you lost your hope, Krelis-hout, for the ignorance and impurity of those who dance in the night and sleep during the day while others suffer and perished on the streets! ALL OF YOU!!!¡±


    ¡°Doomsayers? Really? Just when I thought my day couldn¡¯t be worse.¡± Alwyrn buried his face back into palms again.


    ¡°Careful, my good man, he¡¯s not just any doomsayer.¡± Helix cleared his throat to stop the sellsword from giving out more comments.


    ¡°Ironically, that pile of walking bones probably stands as one of the most powerful men in the city.¡± Duke spat on the ground as if he just saw a collection of decomposing unpleasant.


    ¡°So, a merchant of hellish terror, is he not?¡± the sellsword unearthed his face from his hands, staring at Helix.


    Helix covered his mouth as if he could actually cover his joy-twisted lips:¡°I like your metaphor, but please keep them to yourself if you intend not of trouble.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me for something I always fail miserably, lad.¡± Alwyrn shrugged his shoulders, the next thing he noticed was the approaching presence of the doomsayer.


    ¡°Are you taking the piss!?I¡¯ll be damned if he heard what I just said...¡± He thought.


    The walking dire warning in human shape got closer, those flaring sights seemed to penetrated Alwyrn through his brain, however, the man in rag spoke not to the sellsword, but to the bird masked man.


    ¡°I see you still have trouble in creating a better company for yourself, brother Helix.¡± He grinned, revealing a set of unnerving bucked teeth:¡±Sinister as you and your family has already been known for, the error of your way doesn''t even bother me anymore.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Master Jevour, your presence humbled me and my unworthy company.¡± Though just been insulted, Helix still remained tame and polite as if he knew nothing of anger or worldly rage.


    ¡°Unworthy, yes, that is at least what you can be.¡±


    ¡°Oi. goat face, I don¡¯t care if ye¡¯re sum keind of big deal¡®round the city, but if ye mess with me matie, I would have words with ye, perhaps bones to pick, and ye won¡¯t have any of them remain after I¡¯m dun.¡± You may consider his accent ridiculously hilarious, yet you sure won¡¯t ignore the warning from such a visually awe-inspiring man.


    ¡°You will keep your tongue to yourself, young Mister Duke Malius, or you will have none when I¡¯m done.¡± Difficult to tell if the unpleasant doomsayer was irritated or simply impatient, he didn¡¯t even bother to look at Duke¡¯s direction.


    Even the calm and cold appearance of Helix¡¯s mask could not conceal his anxiety for Alwyrn noticed of the sudden changing in tone of the healer. He struggled to bar off his ¡°matie¡± in a set of motions which could only be described as twitching, waving his hands in front of that doomsayer :¡±Alas, Master Jevour, I was just thinking, since the church was preparing for actions against the Hydraliscian vagabonds in the city, we could just hire some mercenaries? I mean, look at him, a man who illustrates little investment in manner and relent, he definitely will have no problem of hunting down those scaled thugs.¡±


    ¡°Your proposition is noted, Brother Helix, I would see you later.¡± Fortunately, Master Jevour was not in the mood of lingering in this section of the city, he turned his back, walked his saddles back onto the main road, kept giving out his dire warnings again.


    ¡°Hooh¡­Thought he¡¯s going to have my hide.¡± Helix holds himself in his arms, Alwyrn could swear he saw Helix was sweating on his mask.


    Unlike his companion who was apparently in terror, Duke simply laid his gloved hands on his waist:¡±That would be a good riddance for ye, there¡¯s lots of jobs ye can take outside.¡±


    ¡°Like hunting down giant humanoid lizards who actually did nothing to put this cute little city of ours in peril but we kill them off anyway?¡± Helix raised his voice a little bit, but clearly, he didn¡¯t want anyone other than his companion to hear.


    ¡°Wait, you two killed that big lizard on the road over there?¡± Pointing his finger to the road he traveled down earlier outside the walls, Arwyrn seemed to realiszed what had happened.


    ¡°Yeah¡­We¡¯re¡­Some sort of crook, you may say¡­Anyway, the city governor published a marshal law that all able-bodied citizens can track down and kill any Hydraliscian they suspect of conducting indecent deeds, children abduction especially, for a reward of 50 silver corals, and those whose kills are confirmed of suspicious activities would be rewarded even more.¡± The masked physician cleared his throat and lean to a wall behind him:¡±Oh yes, I know, it¡¯s awful, sinister, but it¡¯s a business, right? And you seem like someone who has no problem of committing unethical deeds, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Guilty as charged.¡± The rugged faced swordman smirked then he looked upon that masked face of Helix¡¯s:¡±Well, let¡¯s go find some scaled buggers to kill.¡±


    Just when Alwyrn pulled up his right leg to move on, he heard screams, shivering, heart-rending screams.


    You may imagine Alwyrn would, just like any other heroes in the stories, dashed into the scene of horror and try to figure out what had happened, but this is not that type of story. On the contrary, our sellsword didn''t bother to even look at that direction, he just turned his head, started to walk away.


    ¡°Uh¡­where¡¯re you going, mate?¡± Helix grabbed him by his sleeve.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to leg it, what else?¡± Alwyrn looked back to the healer in a confused gaze.


    ¡°There might be people, probably looking for help! Or, you know, lizards for us to kill, more coins to make!¡± Helix seemed more excited by the thought of killing and bounty collecting instead of helping.


    ¡°Or there could be a dozen of angry lizard men who were looking for two idiots responsible for killing their kin.¡± Alwyrn looked into those coin-lusting eyes shining behind a bird mask, he knew his words were nothing.


    ¡°Or ladies! Damsels in distress! Even better!!!!¡± The towering two-hander lift Alwyrn with one arm, walking towards the direction which screams came from while Alwyrn struggling on his shoulder like a sack of living sparrows.