《The life of a Soldier》


 Chapter 1 : A weird family

    ¡°Hey Dorian,¡± A rough voice rang in his ears ¡°Time to wake up, come on we have work to do.¡±


    Drowsily Dorian opened his eyes to see a familiar bearded face. His father was a simple man, he used to be an adventurer, now he was just the local smith. A rough looking face with a thick salt and pepper beard. Scars crisscrossing his body, showed the type of man he was.


    Working in the forge is how he and his father earned their daily bread. Being fifteen now closing on sixteen he reached the age where he could work together with his father. His mother had a different job she worked at the school. She ran the school actually, The people in the town had gotten used to the school and gladly sent their children to attend. It was however only a local occurrence. As far as Dorian knew none of the nearby towns had anything like a school.


    ¡°Stop daydreaming we got stuff to do.¡± His father told him motioning Dorian to move.


    Following his father he entered the forge his father had built just outside their house. The house was a simple, yet cozy cottage. Handmade by his father and mother, it was his home. The only place he could remember living in. The oaken beams and the straw roof were the first things he saw when waking up, and the last things before he went to sleep.


    The forge itself was handmade just like the rest of the house. Stones from the surrounding countryside made the oven. This very oven is what he was fervently trying to heat up. Putting the coal into the forge he added some firewood then started the fire. He used the bellows to pump air into the furnace to heat the coals as much as he could.


    He took the iron ingots from the pile in the corner and used a metallic tong to put the iron into the oven. They would then wait for the iron to liquidize before pouring it into a mold of, in this case, a shovel Once the iron was red hot and ready to be shaped, his father would take out the iron and then start hammering it into form. Mostly they would do barrel fittings, horse shoes, cart wheels, and the like.


    On some rare occasions they would get a customer that would order a weapon. Which his father was somewhat proficient in, his father was after all a renowned weapons smith. Usually these weapons were only boar spears or axes. Used by the lumberjacks and the local hunters. Living out here on the edge of the wilderness, meant there were plenty of animals to be hunted. The locals took full advantage, more often than not it would be their prey that the hunters brought in, that ended up on the dinner table.


    Dorian had repeated the movements and small rituals at the forge often enough that he could now do them without tasking his mind. He could just dream on about whatever took his fancy while steadily working away at the forge.


    After all it wasn''t that difficult to put something in the oven, heat it, then repeat it. It was not that he disliked this kind of mundane task. He rather enjoyed the simple labor. It gave him time to be with his thoughts.


    His father wasn''t much of a talker so his thoughts could roam undisturbed. Every other day he and his father would switch tasks. Now he was the one heating the fire. Tomorrow it would be his father and he would be the one creating the barrel fittings and horseshoes.


    The act of creating something from an iron ingot was something Dorian took pride in. Creating something from something else, it just had something, for the lack of a better word, magical to it.


    Today however they had a customer Dorian had never seen around these parts before. The man wore a dark cloak snuggly fitted around armour that had seen some usage. The armor was still in good condition however. Whoever this man was he did take good care of his possesions.


    Surprising actually, if you looked at how haggard the man was. The contrast between the haggard man, his well kept horse and the armaments in good condition was simply astounding.


    ¡°I''m needin'' a new blade.¡± The stranger rasped with an accent unfamiliar to Dorian.


    ¡°What kind of blade do you need?¡± His father asked.


    The hooded man licked his lips and took a blade from the horses saddlebags and put them in front of Dorian''s father. The blade was straight, yet slightly curved at the edge. Only on side was sharpened ¡°Like this, different steel possible?¡±


    ¡°Let me see this steel.¡± His father said leaning forward.


    The stranger took something else from his horses saddlebags. This time it was two pieces of an extremely dark steel. The steel was different from any kind of steel Dorian had seen before. It was pitch black. It was almost as if the steel absorbed light, the area around the steel was somehow darker.


    His father''s face however kept its neutral look. ¡°Won''t be a problem.¡± He informed the stranger.


    The stranger stared at his father for a few seconds before nodding and putting the steel on the counter together with the broken blade. After a moments thought the stranger added a pouch to the items on the table.


    ¡°Could i ask for some special additions to the blade?¡± The stranger asked. His father nodded and the two started discussing the peculiarities of the blade and smithing techniques. Dorian having heard these conversations more times than he could count went back to the oven and started heating more iron.


    A blade like that, his father would leave until the end of the day. He would tell the stranger that the blade would be ready for pick-up tomorrow. His father always did weapons requests last. If there was any particular reason for this Dorian didn''t know. What he did know however was that when creating a weapon he did it with even more care than he would make the usual items.


    This in itself was saying something. His father created every item he made with extreme care. Sometimes even people from other villages would come to his smithy to get something fixed. Mostly because his father''s iron made barrels lasted longer than the ones made by any of the other nearby smiths. The wheels he made took longer to break.


    For the hunters the most important thing was that the boar spears never broke when they were being used. More to the point, they asked his father to check their weapons before they went out on a hunt. If his father told them the weapons were in good condition they would head out with their minds at ease.


    It had become a local tradition of sorts. Hunters would ask his father to give their tools and weapons a one over before heading out. It had become a lucky charm. One that had never failed them before. This was more than enough reason for the hunters to keep coming for their check ups.


    His father didn''t ask any payment when doing this. It didn''t take him long to do either. If it helped the hunters come home safely after a day''s or sometimes a week''s worth of work. Then he would gladly do so.


    A day''s work at the forge would vary in length depending on the amount of work that had to be done. Today they finished the last of the orders around noon, the only thing that remained was the blade.


    The blade however had been a special order and required a certain special ingredient. This special ingredient could only be provided by one person, Dorian''s mother. Yes, she may be a teacher at the local school. More importantly, she was a sorceress, and one that was quite powerful.


    She was already heading down to the forge. He could see her walking down the street with her eye catching fiery hair. His mother was quite the looker people kept telling him. Of course seeing as she was his mother Dorian never really noticed. Mothers would stay mothers no matter how good-looking they seemed to others. Their children would always view them the same, perhaps there were exceptions out there. None that Dorian had any knowledge of, so as far as he was concerned did not exist.


    Mother''s will do what mothers do. Usually this would involve a lot of worry, a bit of nagging, and way to many rules. His mother, although lenient in most cases, was no different. His mother set the rules in the house. Normally this would mean the husband enforced them. In some cases the husband also set the rules but that would depend on the family.


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    In his family his mother definitely needed no assistance in enforcing the rules. She was a walking cataclysmic event when she was angry. She and his dad had a fight once when he was younger and his mother had really lost her temper. The result? Well lets just say that the house needed to be rebuilt after.


    This of course was noticed by the people around town. Everyone made sure not to anger the short fire haired sorceress. Now that he thought about it, her hair fit her personality. Strange how he hadn''t really thought about it that much. Perhaps a sorceress hair would change color depending on her element. But that was food for later thought


    ¡°So what are these two handsome fellows up to,¡± His mother said with waggling eyebrows.


    His father greeted her with a warm smile. ¡°Somehow you always know when i need an extra hand at the forge.¡±


    ¡°What can i say, a woman''s intuition is the most potent of magics¡± His mother said giving his father a teasing wink.


    Rolling his eyes his father turned back to the forge hiding a small smile. Dorian put his finger in his mouth and made a puking gesture at the flirting of his parents. Before being able to finish the gesture his mother sent a kick his way. Deftly avoiding it he stuck his tongue out at his mom. His mom reacted by jumping on his back and smacking him on his head. Running around wildly while trying to avoid the tiny fists of his mom. He started laughing.


    With a sudden tackle the laugh was cut of short as both he and his mother hit the ground, courtesy of his father. With the 3 of them wrestling around in the dirt the other villagers that happened to be passing by just chuckled and watched them go at it.


    It wasn''t the first time this had happened and it hopefully wouldn''t be the last. It didn''t take long before a small crowd was looking on at the families wrestling match. Most of them were even cheering them on. The family was quite popular in the village with his fathers help for the hunters his mothers school and their way of treating everyone else.


    After a few minutes of wrestling a flash of light occurred and Dorian and his father were sent flying through the air before landing in ridiculous poses a good distance away from where they had been. His mother stood up grinning and made muscle flexing poses at the crowd who were all whistling and cheering at her display.


    ¡°Every time!¡± His father muttered under his breath. ¡°Damn magic is so unfair!¡±


    Laughing Dorian patted his dad on the back and gave him a hand in getting up. ¡°Without that magic though we wouldn''t have nearly as much profit as we do now!¡±


    ¡°True enough, but one day i will beat your mother at wrestling, although in bed shes helpless!¡± His father said with a booming laugh.


    Dorian looked at his father and tried to erase those words from memory. Imagining his parents having sex was definitely NOT on the list of things he wanted to do today.


    The crowd was already dispersing with a mood turned for the better. The Liftfuor family had that affect on people. Walking back to the forge after exchanging some words and jabs with his mother his father asked her to take a look at the metal the stranger had brought in.


    His mothers hands glowed for a moment as she swept her hands across the dark black metal as she was studying its properties and peculiarities. It only took her a few minutes before she nodded to her husband and started chanting some words. With a flash of light and a wave of her hand she spread a white hot flame over the coals.


    The coals immediately started lighting up more than they ever would under the pumping of the bellows. The flame had also changed its properties now that magic was involved. It now seemed like someone had put a rainbow inside of the furnace and had managed to set it on fire.


    The colorful flames spread themselves over the coals with ease, lighting up the furnace and sending incredible heat waves throughout the smithy. His father now took a special set of tongs from his tool bag and put the black metal into the furnace.


    After a few painfully long minutes he could take the glowing metal out of the furnace and start his work on it. Dorian never ceased to be amazed when he saw his parents do this kind of work. As of yet this work was far beyond him. His parents moved around each other and did things together with a sense of harmony he only hoped he could find in someone.


    His fathers muscles and his mothers magic always managed to create things that he could not call anything else than small human made miracles. He knew that the weapons his parents forged were near priceless and the strangers who arrived here for the weapons knew exactly who they came to see.


    He was pretty sure that his parents must be extremely famous in the world of smiths. The money that they got from these weapons was more than enough proof of that. The money they got from one of these weapons was more than enough to finance the entire population of the village for a year.


    Of course they never really did tell anyone about this because it would cause quite the commotion. His mother used those funds to finance her school as well. She even gave some small magic classes to the very few locals that had any talent in magic.


    Although his mothers specialty was in fire magic she was more than knowledgeable enough to teach others about the other basic elements as well.


    It took longer than usual for his parents to finish the blade. Before the sun was entirely down the blade had been completed. The weapon they had created this time was strangely entrancing even to Dorian who had seen weapons of extremely high caliber more than a few times.


    The blade as dark as the night had silver-ish engravings running along the blade. His father gave the exotic looking blade a few test swings which sent small slashes of air into the ground leaving gashes in the earth. Nodding with a sense of content he put the blade into the sheath the stranger had given him and it fit in there nice and snug.


    The blade would be picked up by the man tomorrow. Before the days end however there were still some things that would need to be done.


    His father sent him a glance and grinned. Dorian sighed heavily, now that it was nearing the night it was time for him and his father to have another practice match. It had become a bit of a family tradition over the years. Every night while his mother was cooking dinner his father would drag him out to the forest and they would practice the arts of combat.


    The art of combat at least was how his father referred to the way they fought. For the last 7 years every day he would get his ass kicked by his father with a wooden blade. The next day without fail he would wake up with sore muscles and a few new bruises.


    His father however seemed to take great pleasure in teaching his son how to fight. More to the point his father was extremely good at it. Moving through the forest, stealth, tracking, reactive instincts and reflexes had been honed in Dorian for years.


    Although he had yet to test his mettle against any real fighters he knew that apart from his father, and perhaps his mom, there was no one in the area that could defeat him in a fight.


    But tonight he would get his ass kicked.


    Again.

 Chapter 2 Setting out

    Feet softly touching the ground Dorian moved as quietly as he could through the forest. His father had a head start and was most likely laying in ambush further ahead. He kept his eyes roaming nonstop looking for any hint of his father, he filtered the sounds of the forest from any sounds that were out of place.


    Stepping forward carefully he started scanning the treetops looking for his father or any traps. Placing one foot in front of the other, slowly and with precision. He was taught to move his body with the sway of the branches. He synchronized his movements with the gusts of wind that rustled the leaves.


    Heart pounding in his ears Dorian meticulously made his way through the forest. Hand on his knife sheathed on his lower back he kept his other hand open. That was the way his father had taught him to move. With an open hand he could use said hand to deflect incoming attacks and then use the hand with the knife to react.


    For now the knife was kept in its sheath. The metallic shine could otherwise give his position away. Dorian knew that he had no chance of sneaking up on his father. But letting his guard down for even a split second was out of the question. The more alert and prepared he was, the less bruises he was going to get.


    People who have been in forests would know, there are twigs everywhere. Stepping on one would give his position away. Because of this the way he walked was rather peculiar. Instead of just stepping down as one normally would. He would place the ball of his foot on the ground and smoothly slide it forward until his whole foot made contact.


    This would make a soft rustle sound true, but it was far less noticeable than then when you broke a twig. Dorian could feel a shift in the air currents behind him and he swiftly tucked a leg in and managed to roll out of the way. There stood his father, his usual grin was nowhere to be seen.


    Whenever they were training his father was deadly serious. The aura and blood lust that drifted around his body was almost palpable. Dorian, not wasting anytime, rolled back on his feet and drew his knife. Waiting for his father to make the next move Dorian prepared himself.


    Without any warning his father moved again. A swift jab aimed at his throat was pushed away with the open palm. Dorian countered by rotating the blade in his hand and making a stabbing motion towards his dad''s side. Right at a vital point, The liver.


    His father smoothly moved a bit to the side so the knife narrowly missed its mark. He used the movement of the dodge to smoothly transfer into a head butt. Dorian reacted by pulling his father towards him, letting himself fall to the ground.


    He pressed his legs against his fathers stomach and vaulted him to the back. Using the kicking motion to roll and stand on his feet again he turned around. Nothing, his father had disappeared.


    Dorian once more changed to a ready stance and surveyed the area around him. Slowly turning his head listening for any sound, looking for any movement, out of place. Heart pounding in his chest he could feel himself shaking because of the adrenaline rush.


    He hated to admit it but he really liked these training sessions with his dad. Even now he had a hard time keeping an excited smile from his face. Keeping his breathing even despite how exited he was, had become nothing more than an easily mastered trick after all this practice.


    Then another shift in the air currents and his father appeared from the side this time. The jab came from low, aimed at his side. Smoothly turning around he used his open hand to make a slap towards his fathers ear.


    His father flowed out of the blows way, but Dorian kept twisting his body and now the blade swept towards his fathers face. His father leaned in a way that shouldn''t be humanly possible and used a foot to kick at one of Dorian''s ankles.


    Having his feet swept from under him he landed on his back and a blink of the eye later and his father was on top of him with his fist just short of Dorian''s face.


    ¡°Once more, you are dead.¡± His father said. The usual grin had returned to his face, he stuck out his hand and helped his son to his feet.


    Dorian stretched his muscles feeling the familiar ache spreading its way through out his body. This wasn''t the first sparring match he and his father had done today. He already had a gathering of bruises all over his body.


    Slowly but surely however they were becoming less and less in number. He was improving, he knew that. But somehow he never felt even the slightest bit closer to being able to fight on even ground with his father. Let alone defeat him.


    His father patted him on the back. ¡°You had some good moves there though my boy, You almost make a father proud.¡± he said teasing his son a bit.


    ¡°One day i will be able to wipe that grin off your face!¡± Dorian vowed grinning back at his father.


    His father laughed loudly and exclaimed. ¡°If you ever manage to beat me kid, you wouldn''t be able to make me stop grinning!¡± his father told him with a hint of pride. ¡°You got the talent, i taught you well. You don''t have any real, life or death experiences however. Trust me on this, that experience makes all the difference.¡±


    It wasn''t the first time his father had told him about the importance of fighting experience. Dorian agreed with his father on that. Thats why tomorrow would be such an exciting day. Tomorrow he would turn 16. He and his parents had been discussing it for a long time now but Dorian had decided to join the Aethling Legion. His father was completely behind this decision and even if his mother would rather not see him go, she had in the end agreed.


    Tomorrow he and his father would make their way to the city so he could enlist. The minimum age before one could enlist was 16. Tomorrow would be his 16th birthday. He and his father had decided not to waste any time and enlist as soon as he had became of age.


    Luckily the Aethling Empire was so huge that there would always be a new battalion every week. Dorian would be lying if he said that he was not looking forward to joining the Legion. He had always felt the urge to leave home.


    His parents who wholeheartedly supported him would secretly be sad to see him go. He knew this, but his parents also knew that he had to make his own choices. If he did not create his own life to live. He would feel as if he had never really accomplished anything.


    It was not really spoken about, but he was sure his parents were peculiar cases themselves. As far as Dorian knew he had no other family members. His parents never talked about their heritage either. He had no idea where his parents came from or how they had ended up in this small village.


    He and his father finally exited the forest after some time. Once they left the forest they started to run. It was still a good 2 hours of running before they would reach the village. As usual his father set a swift yet steady pace and headed for home.


    Maybe at one point the running had been exhausting, but after all these years of running the distance twice a day.  He wasn''t even breathing heavily once they entered the village. The villagers greeted them once they saw them running back into the village.


    Those that were still outside saw them coming home like this every day. In a small village everyone knew each other. Hopefully that meant everyone was on friendly terms as well. At the very least greetings would be exchanged. This was polite and was how things should be done. That was what he was taught anyways.


    When they were close to home they could see the smoke coming out of the chimney. The closer they got the more they could smell the delicious aroma of his mothers cooking. Nearly starting to drool he and his father picked up their pace.


    After a split second they broke into a sprint and all but crashed right through the door. Shutting it behind them they dove into their chairs at the table. From the kitchen his mother arrived with a smile on her face.


    Every day exactly when they took their seats his mother would come from the kitchen with a fresh and deliciously made meal. How she managed to time it perfectly every time was a mystery to Dorian. Whenever he asked his mother about it she would just wink teasingly and tell him it was all just a pinch of magic.


    As soon as his mother set the plates in front of them, Dorian and his father ravenously dug in. A sigh of extacy left their mouths. Their mothers cooking was incredible. He doubted any other cook in the world would be able to  replace this kind of cooking.


    ¡°I''m going to miss this once i leave to enlist¡± Dorian told his mother with his mouthful, making sure to fully savor every bite.


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    Dorian was so focused on his meal that he didn''t see the flash of sadness that appeared on his mothers face. What mother wouldn''t be worried to see her son enlist. War was a dangerous thing, and there would always be a war to fight.


    The rest of the meal was passed in silence. Dorian and his father were to hungry and focused on the meal, to really say anything, his mother didn''t really feel like talking so dinner was spent in more silence than it usually would.


    After dinner as usual Dorian would spend his time meditating and studying some parts of magic with his mother. He did not have a great deal of talent for magic. Magic could be separated into its different elements. Runic, Order, Chaos, Shadow, Light, Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Enchanting and last but not least Internal. His mother was strongest in 3 Element types. Fire, Chaos and Enchanting.


    Dorian had some talent in Fire and this is what his mother focused on teaching. He also had a good amount of talent in Internal, or so he was told. His mother however had no clue about this peculiar element so she could not teach him about it.


    The few magic tricks he could do with fire were useful to be sure but not even close to the level his mother had. He could light a fire, heat up his food, even shoot a small fire bolt but that was the extent of his magical skills.


    His mother told him that meditating and focusing on his inner mana pool was the to increase it. The reasoning behind it was to use up all your mana and then force yourself to continue for the few bare seconds later. This would put strain on the mana pool and force it to grow a little.


    Just like the training with his father he had been doing this every day for years. With the small talent in fire he had he could not manage any big spells. But with the magic pool he had, he could use whatever little magic he could, for as long as he wanted.


    His favorite trick was using the fire magic to warm his own body. He could spread the magic to the layers between his skin and let it smolder there so to speak. This way he would never get cold, he had no need for a coat or warm winter clothes when the snow''s started falling. The cold never bothered him anyway.


    Another trick that he had gained from that was that he could heat up his knuckles or other bones to the point were heat waves would flow from his body. If he forced a good deal of mana into his knuckles at the point of impact he could increase the damage one would take by a punch a great deal.


    This he never used in sparring however. There was this unspoken rule Dorian and his father had that when they sparred. It should be their own pure muscle power, techniques and experience that won them the fight. The raw physical fight was something both of them enjoyed.


    His mother smiled a bit as he noticed how his thoughts were roaming across whatever places he was creating in his mind. He tended to do that quite often. When Dorian was doing something mundane or something were he didn''t have the need to concentrate, his mind would roam any which way.


    The meditating went on for a while until he fell asleep, even though he was still sitting upright. Another of the peculiar traits Dorian had. He could fall asleep almost anywhere doing anything if he didn''t focus himself on doing anything else.


    His mother looked on at his slowly rising and falling chest, she sighed deeply. Her husband who had just walked into the room put a hand on her shoulder comforting her. She put her hands over his and for a moment they just stood there watching their child sleeping with his legs cross legged as if it was the most comfortable position in the world.


    His father took soft deliberate steps toward Dorian to pick him up and haul him to bed. His wife stopped him with a hand and walked forward herself. Lifting the boy that was easily a head taller than her as if he weighed nothing she carefully walked him to his room and tucked him into his bed.


    She knew that he was actually to old to still be carried to bed and normally they would do no such thing and just leave him sleeping there until he woke up again and moved himself to his bed. Tonight however she was feeling sentimental. She was remembering the years she had spent fostering and caring for her son.


    Breastfeeding him, giving a slap on the back of the head whenever he did something he was not supposed to. Cooking for him, teaching him how to read and write, teaching him magic, Meditating together. So much different little things went into raising a child.


    To both her and her husband this boy was something beyond precious to them. Their dark pasts had brightened immensely when a small child had joined their family. They put their previous occupations behind them and moved to a remote village to raise their son. To start the happy little family neither of them had ever expected to be able to have.


    Life had a weird way of sorting itself out if you looked at it like that. Closing the door the red headed mother led her husband to their bed were they snuggled up against each other letting sleep take their consciousness.


    The next day breakfast was a lively thing. Dorian was packing his bags for whatever little belongings he could take with him. His mother and father were teasing and arguing about little things, an all for good fun nature as they so often did.


    Breakfast was full of laughter and stupid jokes. The light hearted mood was good for ones soul. Every little bit of laughter would make the world a slightly better place his mother had always told him. Once breakfast was done Dorian swung his bag over his shoulder and walked out the front door, mother on his heels.


    Once outside he could see his father waiting there with 2 horses. His father would go with him to the city until he had enlisted. Dorian himself had never really left to see a city and had always lived out here, in the remote countryside. So without a proper guide like his father who knew where he would end up.


    ¡°One last thing before you go.¡± His mother said grabbing his hands into one of her own. Her hands as always were warm to the touch. One of those hands was behind her back. She put something in his hands.


    The item she put into his hands was a knife. It was a short straight blade with a diagonally sharpened edge. The side of the blade with the lower sharpened edge was also sharpened. The knife was only sharpened on that one edge so it could stab but would be most efficient in slashing.


    The knife had no guard but went straight from the blade into the hilt. His fathers expert smithing techniques could be seen. There was no extravagance or markings on the blade at all. This would have fit neither him or his father. There was beauty in simplicity. This was something they both agreed on.


    The sheath was made of simple yet sturdy black leather and was made with a belt with a few pouches in it that fit around his waist leaving the knife on his lower back. The place where he preferred the blade to be.


    The blade itself was most peculiar however. It was pitch black, so dark in fact that the light from the sun seemed to dim a little around it. He was certain that the area around him had gotten darker as soon as he had removed the knife from the sheath.


    He had seen enough of the weapons his parents had created to know that even amongst the highest grade weapons, when they had created this knife. They made something else entirely. The knife felt ominous to the touch but familiar at the same time. The knife fit his hand so perfectly that he could tell it had been created especially for him.


    ¡°A parting gift from me and your father, we hope it will keep you safe.¡± His mother told him looking him in the eyes, trembling slightly.


    ¡°This knife is something rather special it is made from a material you will never be able to find anywhere else. Its a piece of another weapon that i used to make this with. Its a unique knife and it may have some properties, magical ones perhaps, that even we are not aware of. Handle it with care.¡± His father told him with a stern face.


    His mother nodded franticly embedding the words in his mind. Then with a swift step forward she hugged him as hard as she could.


    ¡°Be careful,¡± She whispered. ¡°make sure you come back to me in one piece.¡±


    Saying her last goodbyes to her son she watched him get on the horse together with his father. Give his mother one last wave he and his father urged the horses forward. Disappearing from her eyesight over the horizon his mother stayed in her spot staring at them for a few long minutes before going back inside.


    The next chapter of Dorians life was now being set in motion.

 Chapter 3 Enlistment

    Dorian and his father had quite the distance to travel. It would take them at least 3 weeks to reach the city on horse. The Aethling empire was as huge as its army. The population of the Aethling empire exceeded the 10 billion.


    The empire stretched across the land. It could take you more than a year to reach the nearest city from the furthest outposts of the empire. The Aethling legion consisted of around the 6 million soldiers. A number that may seem small in comparison with the sheer amount of people living in the country, But the country was not at war, in wartime the amount of soldiers would increase exponentially.


    There was also a separate group that monitored the streets and took care of civilian safety and brought the fight against criminality. The group was simply referred to as ''The Guard'' and could be seen at any of the larger towns or cities.


    The army was separated into divisions of sorts. A Company consisted of 10 Battalions, Each Battalion consisted of 2 Cohorts, and each Cohort consisted of 10 Centuries, a single Centurie consisted of 100 soldiers. Which meant that each Company had 20.000 Legionnaires.


    The Aethling had 300 of these companies. Dorian knew the numbers of the aethling army in his head but he could just not imagine such a vast amount of people gathering in one place. And all of them soldiers, Armed to the teeth.


    He could almost see the rows upon rows of legionnaires crashing down on their enemies. The file and rank of the Aethling empire visible as far as his eyes could see. To be a part of such an army filled him with a strange sense of pride and joy. He could feel his mind slipping away into daydreams of glorious battle.


    The empire may be huge, and their armies powerful and intimidating. The Aethling Empire however did not have a lust for war. Despite the size of the empire there was no wish to expand. They already had all the resources and land they could occupy.


    Having no need for conquest the army was mostly stationed at key points to defend against raids or attempts at conquests from other neighboring countries.


    The travel along the road got boring quick. His father was cutting through area''s to take the shortest route they could instead of traveling by road. He often heard that monsters attacked any traveler brave or stupid enough to do this.


    After 2 weeks pushing their way through forests and grasslands he started to doubt these stories. After all this time he had not seen even a single monster. Animals he had also seen very few of. It was as if all creatures steered clear from this area.


    He and his father barely talked at all during the trip. Both of them were men of few words and since they were father and son, they had spent Dorians entire life together so there was not a lot to tell each all stories had been told before.


    Finally his father told him they would see the city soon. Honestly his fingers where itching for something else to do than hunt and ride the horse. His father had already told him he would take him straight to the cities Enlisting Station, help him enlist and then be on his merry way back home.


    Soon enough Dorian saw the tall stone walls of the city appearing before him. It was humongous. Nowhere near the size of his village. The city far expanded beyond the limits of his imagination. The walls moved out to both sides as far as his eyes could see.


    "So the Capital is this big!" Dorian exclaimed.


    "Don''t be so ignorant." His father said smirking. "This is just one of the normal cities. The capital is many times larger than this. In the capital it will take you near a week to reach one edge of the city from the other."


    A city that took a week to pass through? Dorian couldn''t even begin to grasp the sheer size of the capital. This "minor city" was already larger than he had imagined. The capital huh. Now that was a place he yearned to visit.


    Once they got on the road that led to one of the city gates he saw other people again. The sheer number of people was insane. It was mind-boggling how many people could be together in one place.


    At second glance he noticed that he couldn''t even call them people. There where many other races he could see. The pointed ears of the elves, the small bearded frames of the dwarves. One or two of the towering Entmen could be seen as well. Beastmen crowded the roads. But the Aethlings themselves far outnumbered any of the other races.


    Dorian himself was human. A not uncommon race to be found in nearly any empire or country. The empire was a mixed country and did not have any separate laws for the separate races. That does of course not mean that there was no discrimination.


    As long as there were differences in people there would be people who would look down on others. It took Dorian a few moments to get used to the press of bodies. Even the smell was nearly enough to overwhelm him. Nobody had told him about the stench that appeared when such a huge number of people lived close to each other. He could feel the sweat of thousands of different individuals penetrating his nostrils with their unpleasant oder.


    Then something strange happened, his vision went hazy for a second as he looked at a particular man walking down the street. The sides of his head were shaved and he had the rest of his hair tied back in a tight braid. A magnificent bronze colored beard decorated the mans face, accompanied with some savage and tribal looking tattoo''s.


    A strange sense of recognition grasped his heart as he stared at the man. He felt like he knew the barbarian. He felt connected in a way that he could not explain through words, he felt trusting. The word ''brother'' came to mind when looking at the man, a brother forged in battle but not one from blood.


    Before he could approach the man the sweeping of the crowd took him away, leaving him with so many unanswered questions. He tried standing as tall as he could to gaze over the crowd but he did not spot the man again. His father dragged him further through the crowd to avoid being separated from him.


    Following the flow of the river of people they eventually came to the gate. The gate itself was humongous standing at over 25 meters tall. The flow of people were allowed in without any problems or searches.


    Once in a while guards would pull over a random cart or ask a citizen if they could look through their possessions. Random searches for contraband was the way they did things here it seemed. It would indeed require a considerable amount of manpower to check every person who wanted to enter this city.


    The city guard his father told him. Were not even under the same command as the men of the legion. They were separately conscripted men and women who lived in the city itself. Much like the militia his own village had.


    City guards were not as well trained or armed as the average legionary but they were still not to be underestimated.


    Getting into the city without any problems his father led him through the streets as if he knew exactly where to go. It seemed actually that his father did know exactly where to go. He had been in the city multiple times for some special requests he received. Sometimes he would be gone for a month or so at a time. But he would never accept more than one of these requests a year. He wanted to spend most of his time with his family after all.


    The buildings of the city were pressed close together. There was no space between the houses at all as there would be in the village. Also all the houses had multiple floors. Something he rarely saw in his hometown. Why build up when you could just build to the sides, it was after all considerably easier.


    The architecture of the city was simple. There were no real points of interest on the majority of the buildings. Just dark brown blocks that people lived in. It was a bit disappointing really, Dorian expected the city to have a vast arrange of architecture with structures he could not even have dreamed of. Then Dorian started to wonder what they did with all the sewage.


    But then he saw the metallic pipes running past the houses and over their heads the pipes seemed to have some kind of enchantment engraved on them and he assumed that some kind of magic was used to pump human waste through the pipes and into wherever it was headed.


    An invention he realized, that was sorely necessary in a city of this size. He imagined what would happen if the people had no way to remove their waste and it just gathered on the streets. The image growing in his mind turned his face pale. He quickly brought his mind to more pleasant and enjoyable pastures.


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    And then he finally reached the Enlistment Station. The building was a good deal larger than the others around it and had a squadron of proud legionnaires posted outside. The legionaries each had a spear in one hand and a tower shield in the other. There was a short sword to be seen on their hips.


    The armour they wore was dark plate with copper colored linings. The plates had no sleeves and were just placed around the torso. They also had gauntlets to protect their arms that came attached with leather gloves. They had boots of the same leather that was attached to the same bronze greaves.


    Each Legionnaire stood straight and proud and swept their eyes over the crowd. They had this professional aura that was a great deal more intimidating than the city guard. He noticed that each of these Legionnaires was an Aethling.


    Aethlings looked a lot like humans except for their slanted eyes and their blue, grey, or even green hair. Their skin was also a bit peculiar. You could see a soft outline of their veins pulsing beneath the skin.


    His father stepped into the Enlistment Station not giving any particular attention to the guards. The guards didn''t give him any attention in return either. Other than a quick up and down to asses the threat. Once inside the Enlistment station he saw that it was rather spacey. Although it hadn''t looked very big on the outside, once inside it turned out to be rather large.


    Wooden counters with both male and female clerks behind them took up most of the space. Each of these booths had a line. The lines were filled with young men and women who wanted to enlist into the legion. On second glance he noticed that not all of them were young. Some of the people looking to enlist had already passed the age of his father.


    The legion did care who entered its ranks. If they did not manage to pass the training then they were not ready to be enlisted. Any of them who passed was good enough for the legion no matter age,sex or religion. This was the simple doctrine that the Legion followed.


    The line slowly moved forward, there was a little space behind each person that was first in line. People preferred to have a little privacy in moments like these. The line slowly yet steadily moved forward as the clerks took their jobs seriously and worked diligently.


    Soldiers discipline he supposed. At long last it was their turn, the clerk that helped them was a younger lady maybe 20 years of age. She was pretty as well with her dark eyes and thick lashes. The dark curly hair that framed her head did her face justice.


    There it was again, that strange sense of familiarity. He felt like he could trust this woman, like he had fought with this woman. The unexplained feelings made him a bit uncomfortable , then the woman spoke up and he was snapped out of his line of thought.


    "Name, age and place of birth please." The clerk asked them as soon as they stepped forward.


    Dorian opened his mouth to answer but a gesture from his father stopped him.


    "His age is 16, Place of birth is Walmont Village, Name is Dorian Storsworn." His father told the clerk. Storsworn? Who the hell was Storsworn? The family name was Liftfuor not Storsworn. Dorian knowing that his father always did things for a good reason he tried to keep his face neutral and blank of any doubt. Luckily, the clerk wasn''t paying him any particular attention


    "Ok wait for a minute while i fill in the forms" The clerk told them. After a few seconds of scribbling the clerk looked at them again and asked. "Preferred area of expertize?"


    "Excuse me what?" Dorian asked the clerk.


    The clerk didn''t even blink at the question and immediately started explaining what she meant. "The army naturally has groups specialized in different areas. Here read this form that will explain the different positions and what they do."


    Dorian took the piece of parchment that the clerk handed him and started reading.


    Infantry : The foot soldiers of the army they form the backbone of the Legion. They will be the first In the fight and the last out. They will clash with the enemies of the Empire face to face. With their comrades by sides.


    Archers : Pelting the enemies from a safe distance with sharpened projectiles. Raining death on the enemies that dare attack the Empire. Using the infantry as a shield they increase casualties in the further ranks of the enemies reducing the amount the front lines would have to face.


    Calvary : The mounted fighters are specialized and trained together with their mounts. Fighting together with another creature has its advantages. Especially when large groups of them drive themselves into the core of the enemy forces. (has increased pay and a longer training)


    Administrative duties : Even the army needs to keep its finances and other paper work in order. The clerk you are speaking with now is someone who has chosen administrative duties. You will make sure the items arrive at the right spot at the right time. If you have any further questions about this job please address the clerk.


    Logistic Duties : If supplies and working in a warehouse is more your fort¨¦ than fighting the enemies in the field then this this is the place for you. You do not have to fight, to do your part for the empire!


    "Well i would like the infantry then" Dorian told the clerk. His reasoning was simple. He had never worked with a bow so archery was out of the question, he would prefer fighting on his own feet in the dirt like he did with his father than on a mount. And naturally he did want a position in where he could fight so the only thing left was the infantry


    The Clerk nodded and started scribbling some things on her parchment again. After a minute or 2 of writing she finished up and looked up. "Dorian Storsworn you may now exit through the door there in the back" She told him pointing at a door in the back of the building.


    "A legionnaire will take you and the rest of your group to the bunks were you will stay until training starts. You happen to be in luck the training will start tomorrow so you will not have to wait long."


    Happy to hear that he could get started soon he looked at his father once more. His father looked him in the eyes and stuck out his hand. Dorian grasped his fathers hand and gave him a firm handshake.


    "Do me proud boy" He told him.


    Dorian nodded and headed out through the door. Although the question about the change in his surname was still in his head he didn''t ask his father about it .He would simply call himself Storsworn from now on. The reasoning didn''t matter. He had more than enough faith in his father to follow the things he did without question.


    Following instructions without question was the mark of a good soldier after all, was it not?


    Walking through the door he saw the legionnaire that nodded at him and told him. "Very well you are the last one, everyone follow me!" The legionnaire said striding away without looking back obviously expecting everyone to follow him.


    And so follow him they did, pacing through the alley behind the building they were led through the streets and eventually they headed out of the city. After a good while of walking some people had started talking to the ones walking next to them.


    The Legionnaire discouraged this with a gruff remark about how they should start learning now, how to be silent. Glancing at each other they just shrugged and followed the grumpy legionnaire.


    After about an hour of walking they finally reached the camp.

 Chapter 4 The recruits

    Although he called it a camp it was more like a village. The buildings there where grey and square and placed in neatly formed rows. Most of the buildings had 2 floors, there were a few exceptions here and there but otherwise everything was dual floored.


    The order of a disciplined army could be seen in the formation of this camp. The legionair led them through the camp until they where in the center square. The square had the flag of the Aethling Empire standing proud in the middle.


    The aethling empire flag was one with a purple background with a white flower called the Nerium Oleander. Which somehow resembled something they called the Star of David. No one really know why the flower was the royal mark but it had been so for millenia so no one bothered questioning it.


    They were ordered to form lines by a rough and experienced looking drill sergeant. The lines they formed were nowhere near organized. At the end when they finished creating their formation they were standing roughly in a square formation.


    "Today! You will be led to your bunks, it is getting dark outside and the real training will be held tomorrow!" The sergeant declared with a loud and clear voice. "I will now form you in groups of six,You and the other 5 members will form a squadron! You will remain such until the end of training. Should one of your squadron members fail the tests they will be removed from the camp!"


    "The missing member will then be replaced by other members of a squadron that is no longer whole! There will at all times be 6 members in your squadron unless circumstances require otherwise! I will now call your names. If you hear your names step forward and follow the legionair assigned to you."


    The legionair started calling forth names. There was no specific order in the way he called the names. After about a minute of waiting Dorian heard his own name.


    "Dorian Storsworn!"


    Dorian quickly stepped forward and joined the legionair his group had been assigned. It seemed he was the first of his squadron so he paid attention to the names the Sergeant called after his own.


    "Blaitz Gordonfell"


    A tigerlike beastmen of about his own age stepped forward and quickly made his way to Dorian and the legionary. His arms and some of his head was covered in red/orange fur that had dark stripes running through it here and there. The boy had a sturdy build much like his own and his golden predator eyes seemed to be alert for any movement. He gave Dorian a nod and stood next to him keeping silent.


    "Vorkolimi¨¢ri S¨¦tra ¨¦verwoud"


    Now that name was a complete mouthful. This time a huge Entman of at least 2 and a half meters stepped forward and made his way to Dorian, and Blaitz. His steps heavy he was an impressive sight by himself. His skin resembled bark and looked tough and cracked here and there. His eyes had the green of the forest in him and his hair looked like grass growing out of his skull.


    He bowed formally before Dorian and Blaitz who were surprised by the gesture but awkwardly bowed back. The Entman stepped next to Dorian, who felt like a dwarf standing next to the huge entman.


    "¨ªstril von ¨¦llenmare"


    This time it was a female elf that stepped forward and walked towards them. Stepping may have been the wrong word for her. She somehow gracefully glided towards them. Her golden hair flowing behind her, wearing a simple but elegant white dress that framed her figure exquisitely she drew the eyes of even the Sergeant who was distracted for the tiniest of moments.


    With her smooth skin and golden eyes she made quite the impression as she joined the group giving them the slightest dip of her head in greeting.


    Well it seemed the Legion did not care about gender and would just bunk all of them together. A rather unnerving thought to Dorian. He did not have alot of experience with women and the one standing close by was in no way any less sensual than anything he had ever fantasized about. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he heard the next name.


    "Gladiel Karvin"


    A handsome looking Aethling with wavy hair that reached his forwards made his way forward with a bit of a cocky or maybe just confident stroll. His blue eyes matched his blue hair, his build was lanky and lacked any form of decent muscle.


    Once Gladiel joined the group he gave ¨ªstril a seductive wink. Which she completely ignored, not even bothered by the rejection in the slightest he joined the rest of the group giving Dorian a jolly grin.


    So cocky, perhaps. But he seemed like a good enough fellow.


    "Arin Daughter of Grimligur"


    This time it was a female dwarf that made her way to them. She had brown hair tucked in a tight braid, and brown eyes full of humor to match it. Walking towards them with quick steps she gave the group a wave and joined them. The rest nodded in response.


    "Follow me." The legionair said leading them away from the square.


    Leading them into one of the square buildings once through the door they went immediately up the stairs, then down the hallway the door at the end was theirs so it would seem.


    "Your possessions you can put in the chests at the feet of your bed. The closets you see are for legion property only, we will not rummage through the possessions in the chest but anything in the closet is fair game. But you will get that explained in the morning. Just remember! Private possessions in the chest. Trust me on this guys." The legionair earnestly pressed them.


    The group nodded to his words and thanked him for the advice. Dorian took a look in the room and saw 3 bunk beds. 2 on each side of the room and one at the end. The room actually had more space than he expected.


    There was also a bit of privacy for them, Each bed had a curtain that they could close around their bed to get some privacy.


    "Id say the girls go together in one of the bunkbeds." Dorian said looking at the rest of the group.


    "Awwwh, and there goes my plan of enjoyment." Said Gladiel putting on an obviously fake pouting face.


    "I wouldn''t really mind, but im fine sleeping with beautiful over there." Arin said grinning.


    "This would be adequate" ¨ªstril said with a cold note audible in her voice.


    After the quick arranging of the beds Gladiel would sleep on the upper bunk bed with Vorkolimi¨¢ri below him. Dorian would take the other bed with Blaitz in the bed above him. After dividing the bed they introduced each other.


    "I am Dorian Storsworn." Dorian told them. "16 years of age, i come from the northern village Walmont near the border forests of Cumplai. I guess im here to get more combat experience and see the life of a Legionair." With that he finished his own introduction


    "Blaitz Gordonfell, I come from the Savannah''s in the south from the nomadic tribe of Esterfol. We dont really stay in one place so wouldn''t say i live anywhere in particular. Joined the army because i was tired of the simple life of a nomad and wanted to do something more exciting." Blaits told them with his cheerful voice


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    " Vorkolimi¨¢ri S¨¦tra ¨¦verwoud, is the name by which i am called. I understand the name is a bit harsh for the average commoner to speak so i would accept simply being called Vor. I hail from the Lush forests of Tolr¨ªm in the west. I am the second born of my generation and according to custom i join the legionaries to protect the empire in which we reside." Vor rumbled, his voice was extremely deep and gave Dorian the impression of a horde of bumblebees.


    " ¨ªstril von ¨¦llenmare, i am here to escape forced marriage, the only way i could break the bonds between me and my family was to join the legion." She stated indifferently, Shocking the rest of the group into silence for a bit.


    Gladiel who was apparently feeling the awkward silence pitched in to break it. "Gladiel Karvin, a most dear pleasure to make your acquaintance. I jolly well came from the City Washmorth we just left. I just up and decided to change my life and join the legion. Pitch in to protect our mighty empire and all that" The group recovered from their shocks with his positive attitude and they even laughed a bit.


    "Real pleasure to make your acquaintance dear Gladiel, sir. I am Arin daughter of Grimligur. Basically I''ve always wanted to join the legion and so here i am. I come from the dwarven city of Krokilum. You guys seem like a good bunch of folks so let''s get along and graduate together!"


    After having introduced themselves to each other they started making some small talk. Learning about each of them, They would be spending the next few years together and would save each others lives if things went the way they should.


    Dorian quite enjoyed the conversations with the rest of the group. They got along pretty well, although they couldn''t have been more diverse if they had tried. Maybe being so diverse is wat they enjoyed about each other. Each of them had stories about their race that none of the others had heard before.


    Telling stories like this it did not take long before the sky turned dark and the moon shone through the window signalling the squad that it was time to hit the sack. Getting into their beds the girls closed their curtains to undress and change into their sleeping outfits.


    Once they had changed their clothes they kept the curtains shut. The guys didn''t bother doing anything of the sort and just pulled of their clothes untill they were in their underwear and jumped in bed then and there. Vor did it a bit differently the green robe he was wearing he neatly folded and put into chest.


    The lower bunk bed he was using was way larger than the ones the rest was using. It seemed the people in the camp had expected the Entman and had prepared a bed big enough for him to use. Although this automatically made Gladiel''s bed extremely big it didn''t bother him. Gave him some room to twist and turn he told them.


    And just like that the day''s end had come and they soon fell into slumber. Most of them excited about wat would happen tomorrow.


    In the morning the loud yelling of the drill sergeant woke them up.


    "You guys have 5 mins to dress yourselves, get outside and line up! Hurry it up!" He roared pounding on all the doors in the dorm.


    Quickly waiting up Dorian leaped out of bed and put on his clothes in quick movements. The rest of his squad was fast in doing so aswell. ¨ªstril had just slipped on her dress and jumped out, Vor had some trouble with his robes but with some help he was quickly done aswell. The squad hurried down the stairs and outside to the square. Once they were lined up in formation the sergeant spoke again.


    "It took you guys 7 and a half minutes to get down here and get ready! Go back to your rooms take of your clothes and get back in bed!" He roared at them infuriated.


    Some people grumbled but everyone made their way back to the dorm took of their clothes and got into bed. The sergeant walked past the dorm rooms to check and see if everyone was back in their beds. Once he confirmed that everyone was in bed he roared out once more.


    "4 Minutes and I want to see everyone outside and lined up! In the same places you were just now!"


    Rushing to put on his clothes Dorian and his squad did so once again and ran outside lining up in the same formation as they had been before. Some people didn''t remember where they were before and decided to just fill the gaps.


    "This is not the same bloody formation you guys had just now! I will teach you runts how to do this properly. ONCE! You better get it right or ill make the day hell for you!"


    The sergeant then proceeded to roughly line up the squadrons and put them in formation there were exactly 200 recruits in their group so he lined them up in 10 rows and 20 colums. He told them to put their heels together stand up straight and put their right fist to the shoulder of the one next to them. The distance should be exactly enough for the first line to reach the shoulders of the ones next to them with their arms stretched out.


    The people in the first row all seemed to be about the same height and breadth so the lines became pretty much even. The distance between each row was made by putting the left fist against the left shoulder of the one in front of you. But only the first in each row did this and the rest adjusted themselves to the distance of that 1 recruit.


    After having positioned themselves the sergeant once more told them to get back in bed. Once he once more confirmed that everyone was in bed. . He roared his command at them everyone hurried to put on their clothes and get in line. But once more, not everyone was in time. The getting in formation simply took to long to get everything done in 4 minutes.


    The sergeant of course didn''t care about petty things like that and ordered them to get back in bed once more. After confirming they were in bed he yet again roared his order. This time everyone was in a deadsman rush to get outside and in formation. And yet the same slow people weren''t in time. The annoyance of the whole group could be felt as they started to glare at the slower individuals.


    The sergeant still didnt;t care about their plights and ordered them to get back in to their beds. This pattern repeated itself for nearly the entire morning. The group was starting to get hungry but the sergeant was still screaming at them that they would not get breakfast untill they finally got this right.


    "IS it that bloody hard for you maggots to get into line?!!" He roared at them, Dorian could almost see foam spraying from the mans mouth that was how angry he was. "I can be here all divine damned day!" The sergeant took out a lunch box and the legionairs that were with him on instructing duty did the same.


    By now it was near noon so everyone was really hungry. Especially after all the running around and getting in and out of their clothes and beds the entire morning. The sergeant told them to get back into their beds for wat felt like the 100th time.


    "This is bullshit!" One of the recruits roared at the sergeant. "I came here to be a soldier not get in and out of bed for the entire day! I want to learn how to fight not how to line op like pretty little toys!"


    Here and there a mumble of agreement could be heard from the other recruits. Dorian saw that the legionairs around him were showing a slight smile. It seemed they had been waiting for this. So that is why they kept having to repeat this exercise. Dorian thought to himself.


    They were testing the tolerance limits of the recruits and putting down a statement. What happened next only confirmed what Dorian had thought.


    "CENTURY!" The sergeant suddenly roared. "BEHIND ME, FORMATION!"


    The surrounding legionaires rushed forward in their full armor and within 30 seconds the 50 on watching legionaries were standing behind him in perfect formations. Shields slanted at exactly the right angle. All of them forming neat lines.


    "You think this is a game recruit?" The sergeant said suddenly lowering his voice. Even though he had lowered his voice the words were clearly audible throughout the square. "You think you can be a proper legionair if you cannot even from ranks properly?"


    "If that is how you think feel free to leave. Anyone who feels this way is completely free to leave. But make sure you never come back into my training camp." The drill sergeant threatened them letting his gaze roam over the now nervous recruits.


    But no one left. His message had been conveyed and the recruit that had talked out was shut up. So here they were once more getting into bed to get out of it again and stand in formation. Even with the message the sergeant had given them it still took another good 3 hours before they finally got done in time.


    "Alright this time it was barely good enough to pass" The sergeant said. The wave of relief going through the group was incredible. Who would have thought getting out of bed could be this stressful.


    "You guys have only barely deserved your lunch. Follow us to the Cantine." The sergeant told them, the words were received by the growling stomaches of the recruits who by now were very, very hungry.


    So this is wat legionair training is like. Dorian thought to himself. Not quite wat i expected but it sure is interesting.

 Chapter 5 First day complete

    Dorian and the rest of the recruits followed the sergeant into the Cantine. The cantine was the largest building of all, Made sense because everyone in the camp would congregate here at the same time of day. Even a legionair needs food after all.


    The building was the same dull gray as the rest of the buildings, and the same boring square architecture. Inside there were rows upon rows upon rows of tables and benches. Although now it was deserted except for the kitchen staff. Which as he understood it was working 24/7, most likely in shifts he thought. Although it was possible for some races to go without sleep for months or even years.


    Apparently the sergeant had sent word ahead that his group of recruits would be done soon. Otherwise it was beyond explanation how the kitchen staff had 250 meals waiting for them as soon as they entered.


    The sergeant had never let them leave their formation either. He had made them bend off in rows of 2 to enter the cantine. The cantine was a bit peculiar in the fact that upon entering there were counters on either side of the hallway so they could serve twice the amount of legionnaires at once. He supposed it meant they had 2 kitchens as well.


    Waiting in line was testing everyone''s patience to the max. The people in the front lines had it easy, or so they had thought. They were allowed to pick up their plates and take place in the cantine but they would not be allowed to eat untill everyone had gotten their food.


    With the hunger and the exhaustion from the repeated exercises building up frustration was reaching higher levels in record time. Yet another test, Dorian thought to himself. The first day and they are already pushing us to our limits. Testing us to see how far we are capable of going.


    As if hunger is gonna break me just because i didn''t have breakfast yet, Dorian thought. The rest of his squad didn''t seem to have a problem with it. Well that may not have been entirely accurate. ¨ªstril seemed to have trouble keeping her knees from shaking. He could see her tremble ever so slightly. It was honestly barely noticeable, he could only se eit because he was the one standing behind her.


    Even so he was sure that there would not be a trace of exertion on her face. She would stand there with that cold look on her face, her pride keeping her from showing any weakness. Wherever ¨ªstril came from he was pretty sure that she was used to getting meals whenever she so desired. She had this kind of noble air around her that made her seem like royalty.


    Blaitz seemed to be having trouble aswell. Standing right next to him it was kind of hard not to hear the continued growls of his stomach. They were near the end of the line so the standing still, with growling stomaches was starting to become more and more taxing.


    But at last it was their turn. They walked up to the kitchen staff who handed each of them a plate filled with some kind of thick white liquid with chunks of wat seemed to be a type of bread in them. Not the most delicious looking or smelling food he had ever seen. In fact as used as he was to his mothers cooking this was borderline disgusting.


    Thing was he was so hungry he didn''t really care wat he ate. Going about a day without food would do that to you. None of the recruits had eaten since enlisting. He was glad he had had a bite to eat before he entered the city or he would have been even worse off.


    Siting down at the table with the rest of squadron he took place on the end of the bench. Vor sat down on the other side of the bench nearly launching Dorian through the air and landing on the stone floor, this to the amusement of the other recruits around him. Even the legionaries had to stifle their laughter.


    Not really bothered by it dorian just shook his head a bit in surprised. Vor stood up awkwardly moving his hands trying to help Dorian up telling him he was sorry over and over.


    "Dont worry about it neither of us expected it, we''ll just take it as a lesson for the next time we sit down!" Dorian told him giving him a pat on the shoulder, well the pat was more on the side of Vor''s arm than anything, the shoulders were rather out of reach.


    "I will take care the next time i seat myself" Vor said with that deep rumble of his.


    Vor decided to sit on the floor, something he told them he was very used to. Even sitting on the floor Vor easily reached the same height as the rest of them on the benches. Dorian put the bench back were it was and sta in the same place as before, lucky for him he had placed his plate on the table and didn''t keep it in his hands.


    It took a few more minutes for everyone to have been given their food. After wat seemed like an eternity the Sergeant gave them the go ahead to eat. Ravished all of the recruits swiftly dug into their meal. Even though the look of the food was not particularly pleasing the taste was honestly pretty good. A little bland but the hunger more than made up for that.


    While eating the weird porridge he could feel the energy seeping back into his body. Fueling his body with his favourite resource of food he spooned the porridge into his mouth at lightning speed, barely taking the time to taste it properly. It wasn''t just him that acted this way the rest of the recruits were favouring speed over savouring aswell.


    Thus it did not take long for the meal to end. At the end of the meal the sergeant stood up demanding their attention.


    "Ok we will now go back to the square and get in formation we will then be heading to the armory to give each of you a practice legionairy set. You will get a proper set of armour fitted to your body once you have completed the basic training!"


    "Untill then you will have to make due with these. It will take some time for your body to get used to the weight of the armor. Although it is not the same as the armour you will later receive the weight is nearly the exact same. The rest of the day we will practice getting in formation and marching. This will continue for the next few weeks. Only once you recruits have mastered this will we move on to combat training!"


    "That will be all, now follow me" As the sergeant ended his short speech he made a gesture with his hands and the other legionnaires got up and followed him in neat formation to the square.


    After leading everyone to the square he made them stand again in the same formation. By now all of them knew where to stand. Repeating something for over 50 times made it pretty easy to remember. To his left was Blaitz and to the right ¨ªstril. Blaitz had become his assigned buddy.


    The legionnaires had a wat they called a buddy system. A legionary would be paired with another Legionair and they would be joined at the hips throughout their army career. That is assuming the both of them managed to finish training.


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    The way they had gotten buddied up was rather simple, The sergeant had just started from the beginning of the line had had said that every one in this column would be buddied up with his neighbour in this column. Blaitz had coincidently been the one to stand next to him at the time so they became buddys.


    ¨ªstril was buddied up with Vor,Arin with Gladiel. The latter seemed to be rather the troublemaker pair. It hadn''t taken long for the rest of the group to notice this. Both of them were optimistic jesters. Something that Dorian rather enjoyed even if he kept it to himself, who didn''t like a good joke now and then after all.


    Once everyone was back in square formation the Sergeant led them through the camp in a 5 man thick formation. For now the walking was not fussed about and they could just follow the sergeant at their own pace.


    The armory was another of the larger buildings in the camp and just as much of a boring gray square as the rest. The recruits moved 5 in a line and a old gruntled looking quartermaster gave gruff orders to those under his command. Taking a single look at a row of legionnaires and sending them out to get the sizes that were appropriate.


    Even when it was Vor''s turn the veteran quartermaster wasn''t phased in the slightest and just gave another of his short commands. Within the matter of an hour the quarter master had amazingly managed to get all of the recruits a fitting set of armour.


    Fitted with the armour the sergeant led them away again to an area just outside the camp. The are had trackmarks all over it. They probably practiced marching here over the years. You could see the ground actually being a bit lower than the rest of the area here. I guess centuries of marching legionnaires would do that to an area, Dorian thought.


    The Sergeant had them take a 6 man thick formation this time. A squadron in each row. He then told them to line up properly the way he had taught them to do before. After having done so he took the lead.


    "Everytime you hear me your left heel should be hitting the ground understood!?" The sergeant told them.


    A few yesses and nods could be seen throughout the formation.


    "I EXPECT AN ANSWER DAMN YOU AND IT HAD BETTER COME AS A YES SERGEAN!" He suddenly roared at them making a few of the closer recruits jump.


    "Yes sergeant!" The recruits said.


    "I CANT BLOODY HEAR YOU"


    "Yes Sergeant!!" The recruits said louder this time.


    "YOU BUNCH OF SISSIES, MAKE SOME NOISE DAMN IT" He berated them with that loud drill sergeant roar.


    "YES SERGEANT!!" this time there was a harmonized roar coming from the recruits. Nearly all of them roaring at the top of their lungs, Dorian included.


    "Better" The sergeant said calming down. "Now follow me and keep the same pace!"


    He started marching at a steady pace and every time his left heel hit the floor he would roar some word that Dorian couldn''t make out. After a few minutes of the exercise people were starting to get the hang of it.


    Soon enough the sound of footsteps started to harmonize. The sound of two hundred and fifty boots hitting the ground at the same time had something enchanting to it. It just felt so, Good. That was the only word he had for it, the harmony of all the footsteps simply felt good.


    He didn''t think he was the only one others seemed to sink in a sort of trance as they marched. Before the trance could sink in however the Sergeant ordered the group to halt.


    The order came a bit unexpected causing some people to collide with the ones in front.


    "Now that i have your attention back! We will now start making turns, the people on the inner side of the turn will make small steps in place and turn the way i am moving! Those between the inner and outer side will need to make smaller steps to stay in line with the rest of their squadron. Thos on the outside will just maintain the marching pace and make the turn!."


    Sounded easy enough Dorian thought. But yet again things did not go as expected. It seemed that not everyone was able to keep the pace or fully understood wat the sergeant meant. This however did not seem to bother the sergeant in the slightest.


    Normally he seemed like the type of man who would roar at them at the slightest mishap. It seemed that marching was a bit of an exception even for the Sergeant..


    The day melted away while they were practicing the marching. They started to practice different orders aswell. Such as stopping in formation or making 180 degree turns. The sergeant even had them walk in a circle for a while closing in untill they just made a complete circle of marching legionnaires that could maintain pace without colliding.


    The hours flew by because of the harmonized marching. Somehow even the constant marching was not as tiring as the morning exercise they had done. He thought that a great majority of the group even took pleasure in the marching.


    Soon enough it was time for dinner and the sergeant made them all head back to the cantina. Dinner this time was potatoes with some meat that he didn''t know the name of and what seemed to be a weird kind of carrot, this carrot was green for some reason. It also tasted differently.


    Besides the green carrot dinner was unremarkable. After dinner the sergeant took them out to the marching fields again where they marched untill the sun had long since went down and the moon had risen high in the sky.


    At long last the first day of training came to an end and the sergeant marched them back to the square lining them up for the last time today.


    "This was the first day of training and the days after this one will be mostly the same. Your weeks will be filled with marching untill i decide that it is good enough for you to move on to the next phase of the training."


    "Untill then make sure you get a good nights rest because tomorrow will feel remarkably harder than today because of the accumulated amount of stress!."


    Sending them off to bed with those last words the sergeant somehow reminded him of his dad. Rough around the edges but at the end of the day doing wat he thought was best for his kid. The sergeant had the same kind of tough love fatherly feel to Dorian.


    Heading back to the dorms rather tired after the long day of work each of them removed their armour and placed them in the closet in the therefore designed hanging standards. Then they collapsed in bed and drifted into deep slumber.


    First day completed.


    <hr />


    Well i make these at the end of my day normally so there will still be some mistakes here and there even though me and my tired eyes checked for them. Also my days tend to shift because im awake about 16 hours and sleep 10 so the exact time of posts wont be the same but they will be posted each 2 of my days!


    And thanx for everyone who has read it so far! Hope you like it, if you ahve critisism about my story let me know!


    Now off to bed for me, Ciaos!

 Chapter 6 : Combat training

    Waking up the next day to the screams of the sergeant wasn''t even a surprise. The sun however wasn''t even up yet. Something that he would have to get used to, Working at the forge, his father had always said, should always be done in the bright light. That way you can better see wat you are doing and create better quality work.


    Dorian and his squad quickly leapt out of bed and got dressed. Running outside to get into formation. The halls were filled with recruits dressed and in a hurry. It barely took them any time at all to get outside and in neat formation.


    Luckily people seemed to pick things up quickly and already had no trouble forming ranks at the break of dawn. The sergeant gave them a slight approving nod before leading them to the marching grounds. Were once more they would pound their boots on the grass bent by morning dew.


    The sergeant started with simply rehearsing things from the night before, turns and stopping in order untill it seemed the century had it down. After finishing the simple drills they started moving on to more complicated manuevers. They had to form different formations in an instant. The sergeant took his time putting them in place and giving them directions who had to go where the first time they did these.


    The second time however he expected the formations to be done quickly. Naturally at first it was still a bit messy. People stumbling into each other and nowhere near the harmonious synchronisation seen by the veteran legionaries who were showing them how to do the drills before they themselves were made to do them.


    The morning was spent marching, soon enough the lack of sustenance got to the recruits. The thirst was the more obvious but a stomach rumbling its complaints and begging for food didn''t help in the slightest.


    Then at long last it was time for breakfast. Soon enough they found themselves lining up at the cantina making their way to their tables with their bowls of porridge. The cantina this time was filled with other legionaries. The noise a place could make with so many men and woman who were talking at once was astounding.


    The low buzz of voices was something new to Dorian, Sure he had noticed the same thing in the city but most people then were simply walking to get somewhere. Here in the cantina nearly everyone was holding conversations. Here and there you could pick up a sliver of a story, or a rumor about a commanding officer if you looked for it.


    Not being interested in the latest gossip however, mostly because the hunger was really kicking in, the squad made their way to a table and sat down. Vor taking place at the head of the table and just sitting himself down on the ground.


    As soon as they sat down they began spooning the porridge inside again. The thick white porridge really hit the spot. He could feel energy storing itself throughout his body. Recharging himself with the gruel he sighed deeply, enjoying the food.


    The other people around the table also silently enjoyed their food, here and there with a smacking of the lips, or a deep sigh rivaling his own. The recruits felt a lot better now that they had a good foundation to work on.


    After the sergeant took them outside again the recruits went at the training exercises with renewed enthusiasm. After more hours of marching and formations, it was lunch, and then after even more of the same it was already time for dinner.


    The days passed by like this with remarkable speed. Well at least for Dorian it felt as if the days were passing by swiftly. A few of the recruits had quit after the first 3 weeks. Only a handful to be accurate. Most of them had stayed.


    In those weeks however a surprising event had happened. One of the recruits had speculated how they could march all day out in the sun, with only three meals a day. The recruit in question came from on of the desert areas of the empire and knew a lot about the importance of water.


    This had raised questions in a lot of the recruits. It was indeed weird that they could go on this long without drinking water every hour or so. The amount of water they were sweating was no where near the amount of water they were drinking. At least that is how it seemed to the recruits.


    The answer was then answered, unexpectedly, by the sergeant. As it turned out a mage with a high affinity for the element of water worked in the kitchen. He somehow managed to imbue his energy in the breakfast porridge that they had eaten every day. This magical porridge was wat had been sustaining them throughout the day.


    The sergeant even mentioned that it would be quite possible to last a whole day on just the magical breakfast porridge if one had a normal schedule. But since they were training day in day out the porridge was a sturdy foundation keeping the legionaries on their feet and up and at it the entire day.


    It seemed that this porridge was served at nearly every camp and there was a chef academy that these special mages had gone to that focused on the integration of magic into food. The result was both delicious and practical. Making it extremely popular with the legion who would be gone out of reach from a city and good food for most of their careers.


    These specially educated chefs were the delight of any legionary. The positions it seemed payed extremely well and there was quite a bit of prestige to said chefs. The position was well sought after and many water mages took this direction as it offered a steady and well payed employment option.


    The magical porridge however was the only thing that had really differed from the same boring routine the recruits went through every day. The squad had gotten to know each other quite well over the last 3 weeks.


    Although they hadn''t pried to deep into each others lives as off now they had gained a lot of common knowledge about each other. Getting used to each other and forming bonds of comradery was something that as deemed necessary for a squadron. Or even a century as a whole.


    Friendship''s had started to sprout all around the century. Recruits getting to know other recruits from other squadrons. Some squadrons didn''t get on to well with each other but all in all nothing worth noted had happened.


    Yet today was finally the day all of them had been waiting for.


    Combat training!


    The sergeant took them to the armory once more where the quartermaster handed out swords and propriety sized shields for all the recruits.Once more the effective quarter master showed his expertise and efficiency when he eyed a soldier and got the right sizes for them on the first try.


    Having the actually quite heavy tower shield on his left arm actually made a bit of a difference when marching. The shield could entangle in the feet of the one marching next to you and could cause a collision that sent the whole row tumbling to the ground.


    The sergeant showed them a way of holding the shield that kept the shield slighty slanted to their side. This required a bit of arm strength but kept other people from stumbling on your shield. People who lacked in arm strength however were still having trouble keeping the shield upright. ¨ªstril being one of these. Although the girl had proven during marching that she had impressive stamina her arm strength was severely lacking.


    It did not take long for her and others to be unable to hold their shields properly. Some of them weren''t even capable of keeping their arms upright till they had marched to the practice grounds.


    Once they had reached said grounds. Most people leaned their shields on the ground breathing heavily. The sergeant however allowed them no such respite and soon had them in a looser formation than usual each facing the front.


    The sergeant then had them go through a series of slashing and stabbing motions with the sword they had been issued. Called a Gladius by the legionaries. The gladius itself was a rather unremarkable short sword that wasnt very heavy on the arms. At least in Dorians experience, of course having worked at a forge for half his life his arms were a good deal stronger than those of the average person.


    The sergeant kept them moving through the formations again and again. Unlike the marching which they had gotten used to quickly, Recruits were starting to have real trouble keeping up with the sergeants pace now. Swinging again and again in full armour having a heavy tower shield on the other hand was extremely exhausting.


    The short little respites they had gotten between each marching formation was dearly missed here. After a few minutes of these exercises people were starting to be unable to move their arms. Especially those with the weaker arm strength were having alot of trouble moving their heavy tower shields with each strike.


    He could see ¨ªstril trying her hardest to move the arm that was dangling at her side now completely refusing the orders she was so fervently trying to give it. Face red with effort her long golden hair matted and plastered to her forehead. Gladiel aswell was having trouble moving his shield arm by now. Arin,Blaits,Vor and Dorian hadn''t had the slightest trouble with the heavy equipment so far.


    The difference in body strength had been long apparent to the group however. Especially Vor who however not fast, was easily the strongest recruit in the Century. His shield was even bigger than the ones the rest of them had been issued but Vor swung the thing around as if it was a piece of paper latched onto a stick.


    No matter how tired the recruits were getting the sergeant would not let them pause. Swing,swing and stab. Swing,Swing and stab. Again and again the recruits repeated the motions. The first recruit collapsed unable to lift her arms anymore she sank to her knees sweat rolling down her face finding its way to the ground.


    Her squadmates moved to help her to her feet but the sergeant screamed at them to return to their positions and so they kept on swinging. One after another the recruits were dropping now. ¨ªstril did her utmost to remain standing and you could see the effort she was making to move her arms again. But any energy she had left had been depleted and other than slight tremors the shield did not move.


    Gladiel was on his hands and feet on the ground gasping for breath, he aswell was no longer able to keep his shield raised and his blade swinging. The recruits were dropping like flies now, soon even the more able-bodied recruits were starting to hit the grass.


    After a few minutes there was but a handful of recruits still swinging. Some of the others who had fallen before had tried to join the ones still swinging but after a few swings their muscles once again refused to move. After one or two of these attempts most of them gave up and sat down on the ground to catch their breath.


    ¨ªstril however showed more determination, refusing to drop to her knees she continued to try to swing her blade. The effort was noted by the sergeant but unfortunately she was still unable to get the blade and shield to move.


    At long last the next of Dorians squadmates dropped. Blaitz, his fur plastered to his skin, dripping with sweat could no longer swing his blade. Another 2 recruits dropped before Arin aswell was no longer able to continue.


    Finally there were only 3 of them left, One recruit that Dorian did not know, he seemed to be a human male but his size left doubt in his head. The man was huge, bald and sweaty his bulging muscles still swung the sword and shield in the motions the sergeant showed them. The sergeant aswell had been swinging his weapons with the rest of the recruits the entire time.


    Although the sergeant had a sheen of sweat upon his forehead his muscles did not seem to have any trouble swinging the shield and blade. Vor, Dorian and the bald man continued swinging together with the sergeant, they must have been at it for over an hour now. Dorian who''s body was used to wielding his fathers heavy hammers and other equipment at the forge, was although drenched in sweat still able to swing the blade and shield.


    At long last the sergeant gave them the signal to stop, breathing heavily Dorian let the sword and shield hang at his sides. The bald man aswell was breathing heavily and stretching the muscles in his arms to get the knots out of them. Vor was the most disturbing, no sweat, not even breathing heavily the exercise seemed to have had no tiring effect on the Entman at all.


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    This exhausting exercise had been nothing but a morning warm-up the sergeant told them as he led them to the cantina for breakfast. The recruits poured the porridge down their throats as fast as they could. Hoping the magic in it would restore some sense of feeling back into their limbs. No such luck however.


    After breakfast the exercise continued once again untill only 3 remained. Once they were done swinging, it was time for a light jog as the sergeant called it. 20 kilometers in full armour was nowhere near a light jog, even Dorian who had run a bunch with his father found it extremely tiring when done in full armour.


    Next was more muscle-building exercise, which moved onto team-building exercises, which moved onto swimming exercises. One after another they were made to do things that pressed their bodies to the limit.


    At the end of the day even the bald man and Dorian could no longer swing their swords and shields. Vor however still had no trouble with anything, except swimming it seemed. For some reason however the sergeant didn''t make him swim. Later they found out that Entmen as a race could not swim. It was just not physically possible for them.


    Finally it was time to head to their beds, tired as they were Dorian and his squad went to sleep without any further conversation. They simply did not have the energy for it. Stripping of their armour and falling into bed was the only thing they had energy left for. Blaitz, Arin and Gladiel couldn''t even climb into their beds anymore that was how exhausted their muscles were.


    With a friendly smile Vor offered to lift them up to their beds. The 3 had no choice but to accept his offer and although a bit humiliating they were too tired to complain about it and as soon as they had tucked themselves in they fell into deep slumber.


    The next day the sergeant woke them but there was a slight difference in how they usually would be woken up. This time they had half an hour to get ready. The muscle aches the recruits were going through made it apparent why the sergeant had done so. Barely anyone could still move properly.


    Gladiel tried to climb out of bed and when his muscles refused to do as he expected of them he fell with his smugly handsome face straight onto the cold stone floor. The rest all took seats on the bottom bunks to rest for a minute.


    "How does the sergeant expect us to move with muscle aches like these" ¨ªstril questioned looking at the rest of the squad.


    ''Hells if i know" Said Blaitz sprawled over the bed wishing he could sleep some more.


    "I might actually be able to help with that" Dorian said looking his squadmates in the eye in turn. "I could use some of my fire magic to aid in a massage that would ease the strain on your muscles."


    The rest of squad looked at him in surprise. "Wait you can use magic?" Gladiel asked stunned by the words. "And you didn''t go to a mage academy?"


    "Well i only have small potential in fire, the only reason i can do anything with it at all is because my mother spent a lot of time teaching me how to use it." Dorian stated.


    "But more to the point" ¨ªstril said ending the conversation. "You can do something so our muscles will work properly again?"


    "At the very least it will relieve the pain a bit" Dorian said nodding.


    "Then please do so." Istril said motioning Dorian to do his thing.


    Dorian then asked ¨ªstril to lie down on the bedface first. He sat still next to her for a while, taking his time to gather the magical energies surging through his body and focusing them on his finger tips. Causing the skin to glow red and heat to emanate from them in waves.


    The rest of the squad just looked at his fingers in amazement seeing the slight fluctuations in the air the heat was causing. He then pressed his fingers to her arm running them across the muscles with a bit of pressure. First ¨ªstril flinched a bit in pain at the pressure on her muscles before letting out a small moan of relief as the heat seeped into her muscles mending the tears a bit and dulling the pain.


    Expertly moving his fingers along the muscles and nerves he pressed at some points and traced line on others. From arms to legs and then finally to the muscles in her back he used his magic to heal as much of the muscle ache as he could. After a minute or 2 Dorian was done and ¨ªstril let out one more sigh of relief as she stood up testing her muscles.


    "Incredible" She murmured looking at Dorian while tenderly squatting to the floor and standing back up without her muscles collapsing back on her. "You have got to teach me that."


    "If we have the time i will make sure to do so" Dorian said smiling at her. "It would help me aswell since i can only do this on others and not on myself, Well then who next?"


    The other 3 all raised their hands excitedly, Arin dove on the bed not giving the others a chance to be first.


    "Put those fingers of yours to good use, Hot thing that you are" She jested, shaking her but a little teasing him.


    Laughing, Dorian once again gather his energies and went to work. Although the difference in build between a dwarf and a human was alot different from an elf and a human, Dorian was still able to successfully get rid of most of the muscle aches.


    After Arin it was Blaitz turn, Although having the same build as any human getting to the muscles on a beastman was harder than Dorian had expected. You had no idea how much fur got in the way of finding pressure points. Thus it took longer than with the girls to get the massage done and over with.


    Last but not least it was Gladiels turn. He was the most tricky of all because of his Aethling body. Aethlings do not have muscles and nerves and organs in the same way humans,dwarfs or elves have. They have a heart-like organ that is in the center of their chest. This ''heart'' pulsates in a beat like any normal human heart. The difference was however instead of sending blood through the veins it sent some kind of magical energies through them.


    The muscles of an Aethlings body were made of these same strange magical energies. He could not heal Gladiel''s body in the same way as he had healed those of the others. He let his magic seep into the tears in these magical muscles and then used his own magical supply to mend the tears in these magical muscles.


    Surprisingly this was easier than wat he had done with the other 3 he could just press his fingers in the middle of Gladiel''s chest and then send his magical energy throughout the body to do its work. All in all the way he healed Gladiels body was even better than those of the others. As good as new he could even say.


    Gladiel stood up and moved his body around in surprise. "I don''t even feel a thing!" He exclaimed excited about the discovery. "It''s as if i never went through yesterday at all, this is amazing!" Bouncing around and jumping to test his muscles, Gladiel seemed extatic about the way his body had healed.


    The rest just looked on in surprise as to how the difference could be this big between the change they felt and to Gladiels apparent change. Dorian quickly explained to them the difference between an Aethlings body and their bodies, and how he had used his magical energies mend the tears in the magical muscles of the Aethling.


    The group was surprised with the discovery of the difference in anatomy between themselves and the Aethlings. A discussion erupted between them as they wanted to figure out the differences between Gladiel, Vor and themselves.


    Before they could get deeper into the topic however an other recruit knocked on their door signaling them that it was time to get in formation again.


    <hr />


    Sorry for the delay guys! I was sick the last few days, More accurately my medicine had run out and was giving me trouble. Anyways excuses excuses! I will make it up to you guys by making the next few chapters a good bit bigger [th_096_K.gif] , as i did with this one. Hope u guys are still reading!


    And if you are, Thanx once again for reading! hope you enjoy the story so far!


    Sayl OUT!  [th_084_.gif]

 Chapter 7 : A trip into the city pt1

    Days turned to weeks and then weeks to months. The training went on and the sergeant never let up. Soon enough near half of the starting group had quit. Now there were only about 120 recruits left. Today however was a day they had been waiting for. A day off! The recruits would be allowed to spend the day in the city.


    After the last 3 months of training the recruits had put on some decent muscles and they could work together and fight to an extent. The biggest difference Dorian noticed in the legionary training and the training he had gone through with his father is that the fighting moves themselves were very simple.


    Raise shield, Block to protect the person to your right. Stab to protect the person to your right. Always keep the person on your right alive as best you can. Take the opening the enemy leaves when he tries to kill your buddy. Stab at the opening, kill the attacker, Close formation. That was all there was to the legionary fighting methods. although very simple it was extremely effective.


    Most of all it was built on the trust between you and your fellow legionaries. Protect each other even if you have to leave yourself open to attack. Even if you are open to attack your fellow legionaries will protect you. This fighting style although simple would require alot of willpower, discipline and stamina. This is wat the sergeant focused on building in them.


    As thus the individual fighting capacities of the legionaries wasn''t particularly high. Tough, Resilient, but not very skilled in fighting techniques. These are the words Dorian would use to describe the average legionary.


    Today however they could go to the city. As the squad was dressing themselves in more casual clothes Dorian took a look at himself in the mirror. Dark eyes looked back at him framed with even darker hair. He had a rather rough jaw line that he had inherited from his father.


    He wore a simple black shirt without sleeves, with a pants of the same colour. To not make the whole outfit seem to dark he had a yellow coulered braided string that he used as a belt and a leather satchel that he wore across his shoulders.


    He took his fathers blade from the chest and fastened it to his back.His body build was rather stocky, lean and muscular. He wouldn''t call himself overly tall, he probably topped out at 180 centimeters.


    The biggest reason he didn''t consider himself tall was because he had gotten used to Vor with his 2 and a half meters. "Any of you got plans for the day?" Dorian asked his friends looking around the room.


    "Not really i can''t go home to my family even if i wanted to, our nomadic tribe is hundreds if not thousands of miles to the south. Im thinking of just exploring the city for a bit." Blaitz answered.


    "I have no prior engagements to uphold this day" Vor rumbled.


    "None of us do i think, most of us dont have family or relatives living close by, and those that do, Namely myself, Damn sure dont want to see them" Gladiel answered


    "Then shall we go through the city as a group? It would make seeing the sights a lot more fun" Dorian said. "Probably" he quickly added with a small smile.


    " Sure, I for one have gotten so used to having you jolly lot around that it might actually feel strange to be separated." Gladiel said with a wide grin.


    "I myself would feel more at ease with your company" ¨ªstril told them. "I doubt my family has stopped their search for me." She continued visibly ill at ease about the topic.


    "Not to worry princess!" Arin said giving her a pat on the back. The pat was a bit to hard as Arin was apt to do, knocking ¨ªstril a few steps forward. "We ain''t letting anyone take you from us, wat would we do without this here pretty lass!" She said encouragingly.


    ¨ªstril looked around at the group whom returned her gaze with a smile.


    "Besides, I would like to see them try, Watching Vor smack them with those tree trunks he calls hands would be extremely amusing." Blaitz said with a wolflike grin.


    The rest laughed at Blaitz''s remark, the little jest putting ¨ªstril at ease and improving the overall mood of the group. Once dressed in their clothes they headed out for the city for the first free weekend since the start of training.


    Happily engaging in discussions and conversation the group headed over to the city. The walk itself took a couple of hours. After wat felt like the shortest of moments the group had arrived at the gate. It was funny how despite having been unseperated for the last 3 months the group still had an endless list of things to talk about.


    Then they started to think about where they should go first. No one really had any good ideas so Dorian stepped up. "I''ve actually always wondered wat the big city blacksmiths were like, does anyone have an objection to seeing a weapon smith?"


    Surprisingly the whole group seemed to be rather interested in going to see a weaponsmith. He guessed that now that they had been clad in armour and wielding the same shortsword night and day had gotten rather boring and that they would be interested seeing the different types of weapons and weapon quality that was actually available for purchase.


    Dorian headed to one of the information kiosks placed around the city and asked for directions to a top quality weapon smith. The clerk, a rather cute aethling girl gave him a big smile and handed him a map showing him the ledger it had with the different sights and how they were marked on the map.


    The clerk talked for longer than would be necesarry Dorian thought but he patiently waited for the enthusiastic clerk to finish her story. Smiling back patiently and every now and then bobbing his head in answer he listened to her tell him about the different blacksmiths in the city and which ones were famous and which ones had just started.


    Eventually she started to talk about clothes and magical shops and a whole list of things. The group waiting on Dorian to get the map was getting impatient and ¨ªstril put a hand on Dorians shoulder and asked him if he had found wat they were looking for.


    The pretty clerk gave ¨ªstril a long look before sighing deeply and handing Dorian a map, It seemed she had lost most of her enthusiasm when ¨ªstril showed up. Then it suddenly hit him, the girl was flirting with him. How had he not noticed that, he had assumed she was just doing her job and took pleasure in the work.


    Dorian sighed to himself. All that time in the legion had dulled his senses a bit. He had become so used to Arins playfully jests and ¨ªstril''s cold, but gracious charm that he hadn''t even noticed the girl acting out of the ordinary. Shaking his head he returned to the group and told them there was a weaponsmith of some renown a little distance further in the city.


    The group continued their walk down the crowded street following the directions on the map as they swerved their way throughout the city.


    "Has anyone else noticed that we are harmonizing our pace." Gladiel suddenly piped up while he was looking at the ground.


    The rest froze for a moment and then looked at each other and started laughing.


    "Wow they really get you used to this don''t they, i honestly hadn''t even noticed i was doing it." Blaitz said with a grin.


    "Now it also makes more sense that people were getting out of our way." Arin added.


    Indeed it did add up. Without noticing they had been marching as a group. Moving two by two, even though they were talking to each other their harmonized pace and the way they moved the exact same distance from each other must have let the people in the street think they were legionairs.


    "Well it does make for a faster pace so im not complaining!" Arin said with a jovial smile.


    They continued walking to the weaponsmith keeping the same marching rhythm because there really was no reason not to. After a few more minutes of moving through the streets they found themselves at the weaponsmith. The Glorious Blades of Magnesius was the name of the rather large establishment.


    Indeed the smithy itself was far larger than the one Dorian and his father worked in. There were atleast 20 smiths at work here at the same time. Multiple furnaces burned leaving the familiar scent of coal, iron and smoke in the air. The muscular and sweaty worksman of the smithy pounded away on their anvil the rings echoing throughout the street. This all happened to the left of the establishment.


    It seemed the owner of this smithy was one of the people who thought that seeing a craftsman at work would attract more attention and clientel into his store. There was nothing to prove otherwise. The store itself had quite a few customers in it. All of them neatly clothed in fancy and colourfull robes.


    The shine of gold on their wrists and fingers. The rich showing of their wealth, something which they so very proudly did. Gladiel rolled his eyes at all the wealthy merchants and lords and entered the store.


    The store was filled with glass cases which held weapons. Racks of them had been added to the wall aswell. The glint of the light on all the different kinds of weapons gave the room a bit of a strange atmosphere. The reflected sunlight shining its spots all around the room.


    The group moved to one of the weapon cases which held a decorated sword. The sword was a thin gleaming steel long sword. The pommel held a lion''s head with rubies for eyes. A golden snake made for the guard with heads at both sides while the body of the golden snake also made for the hilt. Even the blade of the long sword was engraved and then filled with gold.


    "Wow this is an amazing blade!" Blaitz exclaimed excitedly looking at it. "It is so beautiful, The way the gold shines in the light. It must feel magnificent to wield such a blade in battle."


    The others nodded their consent looking at the majestic blade. "It is indeed quite a sight." ¨ªstril said.


    "Completely unpractical, the blade is flawed, the engraving is to deep and filling it with gold will unbalance the swing. The golden hilt will become slippery when the hand is sweaty and all that shiny gold will only attract unwanted attention. That blade would most likely break in half at its maiden battle." Dorian said looking at the blade with disgust.


    The group stared at Dorian with their eyes wide. That was quite a harsh assessment of the blade. Nor had any of them ever seen Dorian with this kind of attitude.


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    "Lets go somewhere else, These weapons do not interest me." He continued turning to leave the store.


    Before he could leave the store however a voice stopped him. "You have downgraded my weapon quite alot there boy!" The shopowner appeared. He was a medium sized Aethling who had a stomache that bulged over his belt. The man waddled over to Dorian and tried to look down on him in contempt.


    However it was not very succesful due to the man being at least 15 centimeters shorter than Dorian.


    "You have no eye for good work boy, This blade is a masterpiece and will be sold for more money than you will ever hold in those commoner hands of yours."


    The harsh words caused Blaitz to step forward angrily to defend his friend. Vor and Gladiel stopped him before he could say anything. He looked at them questioningly, wondered why they would stop him from stepping up. Gladiel just shook his head at him and motioned to Dorian.


    Dorians face was completely neutral, it seemed the words of the cocky weaponsmith had no affect on him at all. "I have seen hundreds of blades that were made better than these disgraceful weapons you dare call a masterpiece. I''ve made dozens of weapons more worthy to be called masterpieces than this." Dorian retorted


    "HA! Dont confuse your farmer village smithing with the work of a real weaponsmith, boy. I will have you know that these weapons were made with imbued magic! Don''t come into my shop talking like you know anything about creating works of art." The fat smith told him scornfully.


    "My father has taught me about smithing, he is a master of the craft and the weapons he created would outdo yours easily." Dorian told the man.


    "Hmpf, that hilbilly you call a father knows nothing, i bet he can hardly make a straight hoof to nail onto a cows foot. A degenerate like that has no business teaching anyone about the art of the forge." The man said with a cocky grin on his face.


    Dorian froze, he looked at the cocky fat little man and his anger started to reach a level were he would no longer be able to contain it. Dorian decided to do something with it and stormed out the door to the smithy were the worksmen were still hard at work. He started rummaging through the equipment they had hanging on the wall looking for the right tools.


    "HA! Are you going to show me that farmhand smithing of yours boy!? Be my quest but you will pay for the materials before you get to making a lump of metal you call a weapon!" He yelled at Dorian.


    Dorian patted his pants looking for the money before he realised that he didnt;t have any money in his possession at all. Frustrated by the fact that he could no longer show the fat man wat he was worth he started pacing back and forth.


    "So a peasant like you doesn;t even have money for the materials, you boy are a shame to any smith!" The weaponsmith insulted.


    Gladiel couldn''t stop himself any longer and stepped forward angrily, slamming down a bag on the counter that jingled with the sound of coins in it. "I will pay for my freind!" Gladiel announced staring the smith in his eyes. Dorian moved to stop him but Gladiel stared him down. "Just show him wat you can do Dorian!"


    Dorian nodded his head and went back to the wall with equipment picking up individual tools and weighing them in his hands.


    "So you need to resort to begging to get anything done at all, completely pathetic these country folk." The Weaponsmith said continuing to insult Dorian.


    This time it was Vor that stepped forward. "It would be in you best interest, to refrain from uttering any further words" He rumbled at the weaponsmith. The fat mans face turned white at the hinted threat in Vor''s words. No one sane would look for a fight with an Entman, Their combat capabilities were legendary.


    Dorian was now weighing hammers, he picked up one hammer after the other and frowned. Somehow these hammers just didn''t feel right in his hands. One of the worksman had noticed the frown and stepped forward.


    "Cant find a hammer you would like to use?" The workman offered with sincere curiosity. Dorian shook his head.


    "They are all to light, not the kind of hammer i am used to wielding."


    "Wait for one minute." The worksman told Dorian before walking into the shop to the back and returning with a hammer, the material used to make the head of this particular hammer was a lot darker than those of the other hammers. "Perhaps this would do?" He said offering the hammer to Dorian.


    The fat weaponsmith looked to be in anguish when the worksman handed the hammer to Dorian. He wanted to stop Dorian from taking the hammer but the look of Gladiel and Vor standing close by stopped him.


    Dorian took the hammer in his hands, the hammer felt heavy, firm, solid. It felt so familiar in to his hands. "Its perfect!" Dorian said with a smile. "Thank you" he said to the worksman.


    "Dont thank me yet young man. You still have a weapon to make." He said with a friendly smile on his face.


    Dorian nodded and put the hammer on the counter with the other tools he would be using in the process. He took some simple steel ingots from the pile of materials and put them in the furnace whilst pumping up the heat. Once the steel melted he got the mold and carefully poured the molten steel in.


    He then allowed the steel to settle into the form and then waited patiently for it to cool. Once the molten steel had solidified again he carefully picked it up with his tongs and put into the furnace. He reached for the bellows to up the heat again but big rough hands stopped him. The worksman that had gotten him the hammer smiled at him and started working on the bellows slowly but efficiently pumping the air into the furnace to up the heat.


    After a while Dorian took the steel out of the furnace again and put it on the anvil. Uptil now everything had been done the same as any smith would have done it. But now things turned interesting. A chill went through the crowd that had come to watch the affair. Alot of people had apparently heard about the fight between the weaponsmith and the commoner and had come to look.


    The other worksmen however were not paying attention till now. After all they had work to do and money to earn. A farmerboy using the forge would not keep them from their work. That was atleast until Dorian started striking the steel.


    The first hammer strike a clear sound of collision rang through the workspace. Then Dorian started humming a song. Something he never noticed that he did, he always started humming when he was in a trance. His father had noticed however that whenever Dorian fell into this trance and starting swinging his hammer to the tunes the weapons he created were top-notch.


    Striking the redhot steel with his hammer his pacing started to harmonise with the song he was humming. That was not all however, Dorians eyes started to emit a red light. The sparks erupting from the steel went from orange to a deep, dark crimson. Soon enough Dorians humming increased in volume untill the viewers could hear nothing else except the song.


    They aswell were starting to be entranced by the song, the worksmen dropped their tools to look on at wat Dorian was doing. People that walked through the nearby streets started to crowd around the smithy to look at wat was going on. Interested by the sound the crowd kept increasing. As the crowd increased so did the volume of Dorians song.


    Then the song hit its high and sent a wave of chills through the crowd making their skin crawl. The song turned deep, it sounded like a moving avalanche or a thousand bumblebees moving throughout the air. The air itself became thicker and thicker untill it became harder to breathe. But still the onlookers could not bear to leave the spectacle.


    Dorian made the finishing hits on the blade then started to attach the hilt, guard and pommel using simple steel and leather. He was completely oblivious to the entranced crowd.


    Suddenly without warning the song stopped and Dorian put his blade on the counter showing it to the people around him. The blade itself would have seemed like any other usual blade if there didn''t seem to be a dark crimson glow in the steel. The sword just felt like death would come soon for the people looking at it.


    Then Dorian spoke up looking the Weaponsmith in the eyes. "The creation of a weapon is not the art of making a masterpiece, It is the birth of an instrument of death." His words rang through the crowd shocking them to silence. Even the cocky weapon smith had no words to counter with this time.


    "I would like to buy that weapon!" An onlooker suddenly yelled. "I''ll offer you 10 gold pieces!"


    "10? That is blasphemous! I offer 20!"Another onlooker yelled. "I offer 30!" Yet another yelled.


    The onlookers soon went into a fullfrenzied auction everyone screaming their offers. The worksman who had helped Dorian out soon quited the lot of them and created order. He started selling the weapon as if he were a professional auctioneer.


    In the end the sword sold for a staggering 780 gold coins. The amount was insane. The buyer rushed to the bank to come back with the coins handing a Dorian a few slates would could be traded at the bank for their worth in coins. Dorian somewhat surprised took the slates. He and his group then took their leave and left the smithy without any further ado. Dorian made sure to thank the worksman who had been so helpful before he left.


    "You sure know how to pick a fight with the wrong people, Slukil" The worksman told the weaponsmith.


    "But grandmaster Yigril, how was i ever to know that the boy had such astounding talent." The man hurriedly replied.


    "You weren''t, I expect however that you just had a shout-out with the son of Rorun Liftfuor. I would recognize that method of smithing anywhere."


    The Weaponsmith''s face turned a deadly white when he realized who exactly he had been insulting just now.


    <hr />


    I had alot of fun writing this chapter, I hope you guys like it! And to the guy who gave me a 3 star rating. You broke my heart man  [th_0g.gif].


    If you give me that low a rating atleast tell me why so i can improve it.

 Chapter 7 : A trip into the city pt1 (aftermath)

    Dorian made swift paces leaving the weaponsmith in a somewhat confused state. He had to admit that he was somewhat unsure of wat had happened. Well one thing he was sure off, he had just made a bucketload of money. Making a sword his father would have said wasn''t that bad. That maybe in 15 more years he''d be at the same level as his father.


    Dorian had always thought his smithing skills to be decent but nothing more. Yet the amount of money he had gotten for that 1 blade was beyond belief. Well, he concluded, at least he wouldn''t have to worry about money problems in his life. Ever.


    "Wat in the blazes just happened?!" Arin exclaimed catching up to Dorian. "You smith better than most of the bloody dwarven blacksmiths. You better share that money with us by the by!" She said grinning at him in excitement.


    "Uuuhm yea sure, wouldn''t know wat to do with the money anyways." Dorian said still not quite back to his normal self.


    "Well." Gladiel said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Atleast i now know it the investment was totally worth it!" Laughing he gave Dorian a good pat on his back. "Did you see the look on the smiths face when the crowd starting auctioning for the sword like crazy." He sighed deeply and continued in a softer voice. "God that was so much fun, should definitely find another place to do this."


    "It wouldn''t be fun to spend our free days in the city with me forging a few weapons" Dorian quickly said before Gladiel let his imagination and moneymaking schemes grow to much for the rest to handle. Gladiel was like that, according to him he had an healthy obsession with making good money.


    The story was that he had become a legionary so he could fight off people who came to steal his wealth once he started implementing one of his many schemes. One thing the group knew however, Gladiel knew his way around money, the dark side of town was somewhere were he felt at ease and he could make easy money. He could also haggle the virginity away from a nun! In a matter of speaking ofcourse.


    "You have however made me quite curious as to how you have learned such expertise in the creation of weaponry." ¨ªstril piped in breaking Dorians line of thought.


    "Well my father has a forge and i''ve been working in it for aslong as i can remember. He taught me alot of things besides working a forge aswell. Hunting, foraging and fighting, i guess i had a rather educational childhood." Dorian said grinning at the rest.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Blaitz just shook his head and muttered. "Talented people who work hard are so far beyond our reach. Would be nice if they fell down the stairs and broke their nose a couple of times. Atleast that way they wouldn''t be handsome aswell." Luckily Dorian was out of earshot of Blaitz''s rantings.


    "Thank you Gladiel, for putting down money so i could defend my fathers name, And thank you Vor for shutting him up, last but not least, Thank you Blaitz for wanting to kick his ass for me." Dorian said looking it his friends with a big grin


    Vor made a polite small bow to express that thanking him was unnecessary. Gladiel and Blaitz slung an arm around his shoulders and grinned at him in amusement. "Couldn''t let you have all the fun now could we"


    "Damn straight we couldn''t, besides wat else are friends for. You make a pretty good investment, i want to keep you in tiptop shape."


    Joking around the group continued down the streets. The girls just walked behind the guys, ¨ªstril gave Arin a look and rolled her eyes. Arin just laughed and tackled the three of them to the floor while doing her best to rub all their heads at the same time.


    The 4 were rolling around in the alley dirt trying to get on top of each other. Vor and ¨ªstril just looked on in amusement. Long since had they gotten used to the abundant energy of the other four. It was safe to say they even felt comfortable with it. Also it lightened the mood when they played around.


    Eventually Vor grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks and put them back on their feet. Looking a bit disheveled the 4 continued on their merry way as if nothing had happened.


    <hr />


    Sorry that this one is a bit short, I just couldnt get into it. I wanted to have something done anyways so i made a short aftermath. :;^^:


    I will get another one done tomorrow, I hope i can get myself back into hype! [th_0fire.gif]

 Chapter 8 : A trip into the city pt2

    The rest of the day was spent going through the store''s, eating good food and last but not least drinking in the tavern. The tavern they found themselves in at the end of the day was named The Waddling Boar. Like its name suggested it was quite a rowdy place with alot of sounds of enjoyment and amusement pouring outside.


    There was no particular reason why they had chosen this tavern to spend the night other than they just happened to be passing it by in the street, that it smelled like good food and last but not least because the sounds of laughter and music made them like the place already.


    They entered the tavern through the traditional swinging double doors that were seen on nearly all the taverns and inns in the city. Entering into the cozy beer hall of the tavern they took a seat at one of the table at the far end of the wall. Beer hall was wat the people called the largest room in a tavern were all the customers came together.


    On the small elevated platform there were a few musicians toggling away at their instruments with a pretty girl singing a song. The girl seemed to be one of the barmaids that worked at the Boar. The song however seemed to be a popular one. Even more so with her being the one singing it. The rowdy customers were drinking and singing as hard as they could. Swinging along arm in arm to the rhythm of the song.


    The song was about a lady of royal standing falling in love with a rough soldier who was refused to let her drag him into a relationship. The girl was a bit entrancing to listen to if Dorian was being completely honest. Her voice made all his trouble seep away, her brown hair swing over her shoulder tied together in a loose double tied pony tail. Dark brown eyes with a promise of laughter sweeping around the hall. A mouth that hinted at a mischievous streak grinned at the costumers singing along with her.


    To soon the song was at an end and the girl told the customers that she had a job to do, that the owner would scold her if she didn''t work properly. The customers booed a bit but eventually let things be and went back to their drinking, dancing and occasional game. The barmaid put on her working apron and started to collect orders, and pass out drinks.


    Another girl came to their table and asked for their order. This girl was on the rather small side at about 160 centimeters and had a long black braid that was only partially visible outside her clothes.


    Black eyes and a pale skin made her cute to look at. The way she spoke only made her seem more fragile than her appearance already made her look.


    "M-may i h-have your orders p-please" She stuttered nervously looking at Vor and Blaitz from the corner of her eyes. Dorian guessed that blaitz with his beastly appearance and Vor with his sheer size would be intimidating for anyone who did not know them.


    "I would deeply appreciate a large sized keg of clear water if you could provide thus." Vor said in his deep rumbling voice. The first time Vor spoke up the poor girl flinched and almost took a step back before controlling herself and paying attention to the order.


    "An Ale for me please!" Blaitz said next with that undertone of a growl he always had. Once again the girl flinched before nodding.


    "O-one water and one A-ale" She said reciting the order so far. Vor and Blaitz nodded at the poor girl, who once again seemed like she was on the verge of fainting. Taking the orders of ¨ªstril and Arin was alot easier for her. They each asked for an Ale, ¨ªstril as it turned out had never had an ale, or an alcoholic beverage of any kind for a fact. So at the insistence of Arin she decided to try out an ale.


    "W-what would you like sir?" She asked Gladiel, who gave her a dramatically flirting look and said. "Anything a beauty such as thyself would deliver upon my table is a beverage i would enjoy to its utmost potential. What would such a divine being such as thyself recommend for a man such as I." Whilst speaking the words Gladiel had grabbed the hand of the girl and placed himself on one knee before her.


    Before it could go any further Dorian grabbed Gladiel by his shirt and put him back down on the bench. "Excuse my idiotic friend, he will have an ale. As for myself i would like a milk if you please."


    The girl stared at him for a minute before nodding and heading to the bar to get their order. "What were you thinking Gladiel!" Dorian said scolding him. "The poor girl was a nervous wreck. Probably her first day on the job and you pull something like that."


    "Well i couldn''t help myself she was really pretty after all." Gladiel said letting the scolding flow over him as if he was a rock in a river. "Besides what is a man to do with all these internal desires welling up inside himself, if one cannot even compliment a flower like that."


    Dorian sighed deeply, he knew very well that his friend did not mean any harm. He actually meant all those absurd sounding compliments he threw around. "Well just try not to give her a heart-attack."


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    When the girl came back with the drinks she handed wat seemed to be a bucket to Vor. The bucket seemed to be something they had especially for larger customers like Vor. Blaitz, Arin and ¨ªstril got their Ale''s aswell. She then gave Dorian his milk before moving to Gladiel. Gladiel reached out his hand to the girl.


    "Might i ask your name, lovely flower" He said in his own dramatic way. The girl panicked when Gladiel grabbed for her hand again and instinctively jumped back. accidentally spilling the contents of Gladiels beverage over Dorians head and shirt. Dorian sat there surprised and completely drenched, his hair soggy over his face and his shirt felt like it was sucking itself onto his skin. Most of all it felt sticky.


    The others at the table stared at Dorian for a few seconds. The girl was trying to apologize but before she could even get the words out the entire table burst out in laughter. Arin burst out in a roaring laughter that she didn''t even try and hold back. Pointing at Dorian and nearly falling out of her seat in laughter. Blaitz was in the same state as her laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.


    Gladiel just stared at Dorian for a second before joining the other 2 in their mirth. Vor seemed to be trying to maintain his stoic composure before he let out a booming laughter that drowned out the sound of the other 3. The sound made even the other customers look at their table, seeing wat had happened they also joined in the laughter.


    ¨ªstril was the only one who seemed to be keeping her composure. That was untill Dorian looked her in the eyes and she started giggling. Eventually the giggling turned into a slapping of the table and gasping for air. Dorian looked at his friends annoyed.


    Meanwhile the girl was still trying to apologize to Dorian. Dorian gave her a freindly smile and told her not to worry about it. Accidents happen after all. If anything he blamed the bluehaired idiot for it and not her.


    The words seemed to put her at ease a bit. She stared guiltily at Dorians hair and wet shirt though.


    That is when the other Barmaid appeared, the one that had been singing before. She introduced herself as Mori, the shy girl was Tolu. Tolu explained what had happened as quickly as she could. Stumbling her way through sentences.


    Mori smiled at the girl and told her these things happened and aslong as the customer wasn''t that troubled by it neither should she. Dorian quickly added that he was not troubled by it at all and that she shouldn''t worry. Tolu nodded and seemed a bit more at ease now.


    "You could let your shirt dry at the fire if you wish, we have a few pegs there exactly for occasions such as this." Mori told him.


    "That would be alot more pleasant than sitting here with a wet sticky shirt." Dorian said with a small smile.


    Dorian put his hands underneath his shirt and pulled it out over his head. Tolu and Mori stared at him while he was doing so. Not that he noticed of course since they were behind him. Eying his body which had a sheen because of the spilt liquid. Dorian had always had a good set of muscles, working in the forge and running 4 hours a day would do that to you. Right now the barmaids were enjoying those hardened muscles with a bit of a blush.


    The blush wasn''t that small on Tolu though, she went red as a beet. Arin and ¨ªstril also saw him taking of his shirt and hanging it on the peg. Their eyes lingered for only a little though as they had seen the guys without shirts often enough.


    After the small event, they simply went on to enjoy the food and the drinks the Boar had to offer. Eventually Arin got into a drinking match with some other costumers and beat them easily. She proudly exclaimed that her dwarven blood would not loose in the terms of processing alcohol!


    Eventually one of the larger customers was brave enough to challenge Vor to an arm wrestling challenge. Vor who seemed to actually be enjoying himself, gladly accepted and about a second after the match had started it was already done. Vor''s power was simply beyond those of any normal person.


    The singing dancing and overall revelry went on long into the night before they finally headed to their rooms to crash into their beds for some long needed rest. The boys went into a larger room with 4 beds. The girls got a separate room with 2 beds.


    It didn''t even take a minute for the tired gang to fall asleep.


    The next morning they were woken by a shriek, Dorian with his reflexes honed by his father was out of his bed and in the hallway in the shortest of moments. His knife in his hand he ran to Mori who was standing in front of a door with her hands pressed against her mouth a deeply shocked expression on her face.


    Dorian rushed to her side and looked inside the room. There was Arin, lying unmoving, in a pool of her own blood.

 Chapter 8 : A trip into the city pt2 (delay)

    Dorian rushed to Arin''s side quickly putting his hand to her neck checking her pulse. The slow barely noticeable beats were still there. The knot in Dorians stomache unraveled a bit and he took a close look at Arin''s body. She had multiple cuts on her hands and arms showing that she had been fighting when she was attacked.


    How Dorian had not woken up from the sounds of the fight was a mystery to him. The most logical explanation was that magic was used to cover up the sounds of the fight. Blaitz, Vor and Gladiel stormed into the room staring at Arin and the pool of blood she was lying in with a mix of anguish, rage and confusion on their faces.


    ¡°I-is she?¡± Gladiel stammered.


    ¡°She''s alive, for now. The biggest concern is that she lost alot of blood. Mori go with Blaitz, get me some cloth, purified water, and needle and thread if you have them.¡±


    Mori stood there shocked for a moment still staring at the blood but when Blaitz tapped her on the shoulder she nodded and they ran downstairs. ¡°Gladiel, you know the city, get a priest here as fast as you can, i will keep her alive as best i can untill then.¡±


    Gladiel gave him a grin look and sprinted down the stairs. ¡°Vor could you watch my back while i work, the first stages i wont be able to move.¡± Vor grunted in response and placed himself in the doorway. The menacing aura emanating from his body would scare any sane minded person away.


    Dorian took a deep breath and focused his magical power. Taking a deep breath he sat down next to Arin and put his fingers on her body. First thing first he needed to make sure that she would not die due to blood loss. Which meant slowing down the heart. The only way he knew how to do that was connecting his heart beat with hers and slowing his down to the point were the bloodflow would be almost completely stalled.


    Putting his hand on her chest he started combining their magical circuits. He focused on her heart beat and his own and slowly yet steadily forced them to harmonise. His body slowly pulsated heat into the room cooling down her body by taking the heat into his own. By lowering her body temperature so much that the heart thought she was on ice would slow down the beat to nearly nothing.


    Doing so was dangerous but the amount of blood Arin had lost was just to much for him to do anything else. Blaitz and Mori were rushing back upstairs, Blaitz holding the bucket and Mori holding a bunch of bandages and needle and thread.


    The scene they walked back into was Dorian sitting in a meditative posture with almost visible heatwaves emanating from his body spreading throughout the room. Arin looked extremely pale as if she was already on deaths door. The 2 took a step forward to tell Dorian that they had the things he asked for but a few words from Vor stopped them.


    ¡°The magic Dorian is performing is best not interrupted, the only thing keeping Arin from bleeding out right now is that trance he is in, It would be best to wait till Gladiel comes back with the priest.¡±


    Blaitz looked at Vor nervously and then to Arin. He knew that magic was not his area of expertise but that Dorian and Vor knew quite a bit about it and that they should be. A large burly man walked up the stairs behind Blaitz and Mori. He looked through the door with a grim look on his face.


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    ¡°Wat kind of degenerate would dare attack the customers of my inn!¡± He grunted angrily. ¡°I will rip their spines out through their mouths, i will cut of their ballsack and make them eat it, I!¡± Mori quickly walked forward to stop the owner from finishing his rant.


    The large muscular man just looked at her for a second and then took a deep breath and calmed himself down. There was still an aura ready to kill hanging around him. The man was just oozing danger. He seemed extremely angry that one of his customers had died under his watch.


    After wat seemed like an eternity Gladiel came back running up the stairs with a  young bald priest in tow. The priest took a quick look at the situation and then after a quick look from Gladiel, Vor let the priest inside. The priest put his hand on Dorian and Arin aswell and joined in their magical little circle.


    Dorian felt another magical presence enter the magical circle he had hastily created. He could sense an overbearing pressure of white magic and immediately concluded that this was the priest he had asked for.


    He quickly led the presence on a tour through Arins body and showed him the injuries. Not all of the injuries were physical some of the injuries were magical and not something that Dorian could do anything about.


    He could feel the presence that was the priest seeping onto the very fabric of Arins existence. He felt the wounds being sown shut and the magical wounds being engulfed in a soft white light. The priest did his job quickly and expertly.


    The ones who were watching the priest work only felt a soft warm glow filling the room. The room temperature being restored to a much more comfortable state. The young priest eventually lifted his hands with a sigh and sat himself against the wall.


    The group swarmed around him doing their best to wait till the priest had caught his breath.


    ¡°You can stop worrying she will survive the ordeal.¡± The priest told him when he saw how anxious they were. A combined sigh of relief went through the room. Everyone was more than happy to know Arin would survive.


    ¡°There is one thing however that i am not able to heal. Nor do i think there is any priest skilled enough to fix. Her eyes will never see light again i''m afraid. My apologies.¡± The priest said bowing to them when he said his apology.


    Mori made a squeaking sound when she heard the news. The rest of the group looked grim and stared at the still unmoving Arin. suddenly they heard someone rushing up the stairs. Tolu walked in followed by a girl Dorian did not recognize. Pale skin, and a angular yet somehow exoticly beautiful face was framed by dark full hair.


    ¡°S-s-she said she saw the people who did this to your friend leave the building!¡±


    Everyone stared at the girl Tolu had brought in. The very air of the room could be felt growing colder as a grim aura started to seep from the 4 young men as they realised they now had people they could hunt.


    <hr />


    Sorry guys. I found something i really liked. (book serie)  And i spent the last week binge reading all of it. I can get obsessed for short perioeds of time like that. Ill try to get back into my rythm now that i finished it. Hope you guys are still around!


    And as always thanx for reading!

 Chapter 9: Revenge

    ¡°T-tell them what you told me¡± Tolu said shyly to the dark haired young woman.


    ¡°About a dozen of men wearing cloaks left this in last night, a few of them were limping. One of them carried a big sack slung over his shoulder. The whole group striked me as suspicious so i followed them. I would have intervened earlier, but there were to many even for my considerable magical talents. That and i am pretty sure they had a mage with them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for following them, it would be a great help to know where they went.¡± Dorian said looking at the girl. ¡°Where did they head?¡±


    ¡°They entered a small shop a few streets down. They never left the shop though, i waited an hour and they did not leave so i assumed they would not leave anytime soon. Then i headed back here, i heard from the barwhench that a girl was kidnapped from this inn and that another one was injured. I thought you would desire this information.¡± She said drawing her hair back over her shoulder with a hand looking at them with slight arrogance.


    ¡°The information is indeed worth a lot to us, i will pay you for it. For the information and your efforts. Ho-¡± Dorian said to the girl before being interrupted.


    ¡°I have no need for those gold coins of yours, i wish merely to accompany you on your rescue attempt. Judging from the look of you and your friends, that is wat you will be doing no?¡± She said tilting her head.


    ¡°Indeed it is but we seek vengeance aswell, are you sure you want to come with us, the retaliation won''t be by the law. If we get caught we could get in a lot of trouble.¡± Dorian said looking at the girl.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter, evil must be punished. No matter the time or place.¡± The girl said with an ice-cold look on her face.


    ¡°Very well, welcome on board then.¡± Dorian said.


    ¡°I will be coming aswell!¡± The huge innkeeper said stepping forward with an angry look on his face.


    ¡°Those who dare ruin the safety of my customers, who dare ruin the sanctity of my inn! They shall face my wrath.¡±


    Well, Dorian thought to himself, He looks like he can handle himself just fine and extra hands won''t hurt. ¡°Very well, let us be going then!¡± Dorian said walking towards the door. ¡°Just a minute if i may.¡± The young priest interjected before he had gotten far. ¡°I would like to join this mission of yours. Fighting and protecting people against evil is in our job description afterall.¡± The priest told him lightheartedly.


    Dorian looked at him then sighed. ¡°Why not, the more the merrier right?¡± He motioned the girl to lead the way and they set out of the inn. Mori and Tolu wished them luck at the door, they had wanted to come at first but the innkeeper had forbidden it. Said that they would be more than enough. So they just waved the group goodbye at the door.


    As they headed down the street in the dark of night the people who were still outdoors quickly made way for the grim looking group as they headed down the streets. They did look rather intimidating with their grim faces and the 2 giant figures walking amongst them.


    It did not take long for the group to reach the store the girl had told them about. The store was more of a shack than anything else, it basically screamed blackmarket or illegal goods to the people in the street. They were no in one of the less wealthy areas of the city after all.


    ¡°I know this store and its owner.¡± Gladiel suddenly said. ¡°Dorian give me some of that gold and i can figure out what happened in no time.¡±


    Dorian gave him a quick look before tossing him all the gold he had made from the sword. Gladiel deftly caught the money and put it in his belt. ¡°You guys should stay here, money will make this man talk more than muscle. You guys look extremely intimidating after the moment and we need to do things fast.¡±


    Dorian just nodded and motioned Gladiel onwards. Gladiel walked inside the store and the rest of the group just waited. After a minute or so gladiel stepped outside and motioned the rest in. As they walked in the store they could see arrays of dark goods and potion flasks on the shelves of the shop. The whole shop had an eery feel to it, Dorian was sure he even saw some bones, human bones, on the shelves.


    They quickly followed Gladiel into the shop, the shop keeper was standing behind the counter wringing his hands nervously, sweat was dripping from his brow. The rat like shop keeper stared at them fearfully stepping as far from them as possible.


    ¡°Right here is a secret passage way that leads into the underground sewer system, that is where the group that has taken ¨ªstril entered. Although the nice shopkeeper here has no idea where they are headed exactly.¡± The shopkeeper fervently shook his head confirming that he indeed did not know anything more than that.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°That will be no problem.¡± The priest suddenly said. ¡°The magic used in the attack is quite easy to follow, i can almost smell the essence left behind.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if you are still able to smell all that when we are in the sewers.¡± Gladiel jested.


    The joke slid off the priest like water off a rock. ¡°The stink of the sewers will in no manner obstruct the trail of essence. But we must make haste, the trail will dissipate if we wait for to long.¡±


    Dorian hurried by the words of the priest motioned for Gladiel to open het secret passage. Gladiel put his hands on one of the bookshelves and pressed somewhere inside. The bookshelf swung inside the wall showing a dark passage headed beneath the city.


    ¡°I also asked the nice shopkeeper for some light, and he handed us these handy torches that never run out. Magic! Isn''t it nice of him.¡± Gladiel said handing out some torches with blue flames that he grabbed from the desk. The shopkeeper smiled nervously and nodded to Gladiel hoping to appease him. ¡°Now lets head into these sewers.¡±


    Walking down the stairs they continued to go deeper and deeper untill they head a sound that resembled the sound of running water. Gladiel led the way with the priest close behind, telling him which way to go. Gladiel didn''t seem bothered in the least by the smell of the sewers he just walked past them without even looking at the junk flowing by. He almost seemed a bit at home here, he took the turns the priest told him to and led the way without any hesitation.


    As for the rest of the group they had some trouble with the stench. Most of them got used to it after a few minutes. But Blaitz simply kept nearly throwing up every time he inhaled. Untill the priest made a small gesture and said some words and plugged his nose with some magic.


    Blaitz thanked the priest and they continued on down the sewer. After some time the priest told them to halt.


    ¡°There are people up ahead, 2 more turns and we will run into them. I would advice that we dim the torches before we head that way.¡±


    ¡°Are these the same men that kidnapped ¨ªstril?¡± Dorian asked


    ¡°No they are not the same group but they are associated with them, the magic has seeped into their skin. Suggesting longtime exposure to the user. Multiple spells have been used on them in the last few years. I can assure they are in the same organisation as the group that did take your friend.¡±


    ¡°Let me go forward and clear the path.¡± Dorian told the rest of the group. ¡°The priest will tell you when it the path is clear and you can move further up.¡±


    ¡°I could use some magic to further decrease risk of detection.¡± The young woman suddenly said. ¡°I can make it so that they will never hear you coming.¡±


    ¡°Anything would help, Do it.¡± Dorian answered.


    The young woman nodded and started whispering words. The shadows around her seemed to flow onto Dorian. The shadows formed themselves around his feet and then spread over the rest of his skin. Dorian skin turned darker untill he nearly resembled a shadow himself. The young woman gave him a one over before nodding approvingly.


    Dorian nodded back to her and drew his dagger. As soon as the blade left the sheath the whole area around Dorian turned to an even darker black than it was before. With the magic from the young woman he was as good as completely invisible in the dark. The priest, young woman and the innkeeper stared at the blade in complete surprise for a minute but said nothing.


    Dorian made his way through the sewers stalking like a beast of the shadows, he silently made his way to the people around the bend. ¡°I can''t even hear him¡± Blaitz whispered troubled. The rest of the group stared at Blaitz in surprise. For even a beastman to be unable to hear you amounted to a level of skill beyond their age. They stared at the young woman in amazement impressed by the amount of cover her magic gave.


    ¡°That amount of silence is not due to the spell i put on your friend. I can dim the sounds a bit but i can not remove them completely. That friend of yours, he is quite the scary one.¡± The young woman said eyeing the rest of the group.


    Gladiel grinned. ¡°To bad for those idiots that they pissed him off then ey?¡± The rest also grinned grimly at his words listening for sounds of combat.


    <hr />


    And we are BAAAAACK in buisness, expect another one tomorrow or the day after. And as usual


    THANKS FOR READING!

 Chapter 10: Moving through the sewers

    Dorian moved forward slowly and ever so steadily. Making sure that he made no sounds that could give him away to the people around the bend. The magic of the knife and whatever the young woman had cast on him made him nothing more than a shadow in the dark.


    In other words he was as good as invisible, so if he was carefull not to make a sound then the guards up ahead would have no idea wat hit them. Dorian moved around the corner looking at the guards ahead. They had a couple of braziers mounted on the wall, but they had not lit the fires. The only fire that was lit was a small campfire in the middle. The fire itself was blue and for some reason there was no sign of smoke coming from the flames.


    Magic fire was indeed the better option in underground complexions. The gasses fire usually emitted would be toxic if they grew to unmanageable levels. The guards were all standing around the fire cooking some kind of meat above it. Terrible guards to be honest they wouldn''t see anyone coming up behind them in this dark. He could stand a meter behind one of them and they would never notice.


    Grimacing in the distaste of the poor professionalism these thugs showed Dorian moved slowly forward. After a while he decided to speed up a bit. They were talking so loudly they wouldn''t hear him coming even if he ran. Soon enough he was right behind the guards. No more than a couple of meters away. He could hear the breathing of the guard now.


    Could smell the food cooking over the fire, hear the bubbling of the fat. Dorian calmed his breathing and tried to calm his heartbeat. To be honest he was rather excited, this would be the first time he would kill a man. He thought that he might hesitate, or have doubts about doing it when the opportunity arrived. He had heard that people never forgot their first kill, that the shock of taking someone elses life would haunt them deeply. That people would hesitate to the last minute before doing wat needed to be done.


    People are so fragile. Dorian thought to himself as he stepped forward grabbing the first man around the mouth and quickly slitting his throat. The other guards stared at Dorian who had just slit the throat of their friend. Shocked at the sudden appearance they did not even react. Not that Dorian gave them any chance to. After slitting the first guys throat he quickly stepped forward stabbing between the ribs of another one piercing his heart cleanly. He used the forward momentum to smoothly transit into a kick landing the back of his heel in the throat of the last guard.


    The guard grabbed at his throat trying his hardest to breath. But he could not his throat had been crushed. The man stared at Dorian with panicked eyes, glistening irises pleading him wordlessly for mercy. Dorian didn''t even hesitate, seeing the state they had left Arin in made him swiftly end the man''s life. Wiping his blade clean on one of the guards tunics he sheathed his blade and continued further in the sewers. Not feeling the least bit distraught at the lives he had just been taken. The only thing he did feel was a sense of purpose.


    He moved forward following the flickering lights and the sound of other thugs that were in the sewer. It was quite easy to guess the way the group that had taken ¨ªstril would take and he just followed his instincts and made his way through the thugs in his path.


    The other so-called guards that inhabited the sewer were no more of a challenge than the first 3, none of them did their jobs properly. None of them lived for more than a second after meeting Dorians blade. Leaving corpses in his wake he made his way through the sewer. Slowly but surely the density of the guards suggested that they were finally getting close to their base of operations.


    The rest of the group just followed Dorian at a distance. Letting him take care of things untill there were too many to take out quietly.


    After stepping past the first campfire the rest of the group looked at Dorians handiwork. ¡°Remind me to never mess with your friend.¡± The priest said looking at the 3 dead guards on the floor. ¡°Their life force disappeared so quickly i doubt they even realised what had happened.¡±


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    ¡°Yes he does do rather quick clean work does he not.¡± The young woman stated. Looking at the inflicted wounds slightly impressed.  ¡°One move for one enemy, quite the scary efficiency, although i suppose this one counts as two moves.¡± She said glancing at the one that had his throat crushed.


    The rest just followed the path of dead bodies that Dorian was leaving them, the priest seeming a bit disconcerted with the amount of people loosing their lives. The rest of the group however did not seem bothered in the least. Blaitz and Gladiel only grimaced in satisfaction every time they saw a new grouping of bodies. Vor didn''t pay the least bit of attention to the dead and just made his way further along the sewers.


    At long last Dorian reached a door that was for once properly guarded. There were lit braziers above the guards watching the door and they had their backs turned to it. This way they could see anyone approaching the door before they could do anything. These guards were visibly better armed and armored than the ones he had run into before.


    They were a great deal more professional than the untrained thugs he had run into before. Dorian made his way back to the rest of the group to let them know that this was as far as stealth would take them. None of them had brought any long-range weapons and the only weapons being used were close ranged. It seemed it was time for them to make an entrance.


    ¡°There seem to finally be a few proper guards up ahead.¡± Dorian said looking at the rest of the group.


    Gladiel smiled at him. ¡°Finally we get to do something, i was getting rather bored.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡± Vor asked


    ¡°6 of them.¡± Dorian answered. ¡°Which means there is one for each of us. I suggest we swiftly kill these and then burst through the door. There will probably be a larger group of them ahead but this way we will have the element of surprise.¡±


    ¡°I agree with your plan, now lets stop standing around and get this over with.¡± The Innkeeper said.


    The rest of the group nodded and they took their places just around the bend. Dorian told them that each would take one and after assigning their victims they burst out of cover and rushed the 6 Guards. The guards blinked in surprise but quickly reacted, unsheathing weapons and getting into stance. Dorian smoothly dodged the spear of his opponent and buried his blade between the ribs of the guard before he even knew wat hit him.


    The rest of the group had no difficulty with their opponents aswell, Blaitz smoothly dodged passed his opponents sword and buried his knife in the guards gut. immediately removing the blade again before expertly applying it to the opponents jugular.


    Dorian didn''t even see how Gladiels opponent died, Gladiel was already removing a dagger from his opponent''s head. Vor just smashed his opponent with one of his huge firsts, crushing his skull with a single swing. As for wat the guard had done, he swung his blade at Vor but the blade barely managed to penetrate an inch into the Entmans skin.


    The priest used the head of his quarterstaff in a swift swing and broke the opponents footing before twirling to use the sharp end of the bladestaff like weapon and burying it in his opponents hand. The innkeeper had brought a huge axe with him and sliced his opponent cleanly into. The young womans opponent was the one that had died as first. Some black shadow had leapt from the young womans hand and had stuffed itself down the throat of her victim.


    It all took about 2 second before all the guards were dead. They quickly busted through the door. Only to find themselves in what seemed to be the enemies cantina. There were at least 3 dozen thugs eating their food as they looked up when Dorian and his group burst in.


    <hr />


    Muahhaha, next chapter will be uploaded tonight. This part looked better to me in 2 shorter chapted than in 1 long one.

 Chapter 11: An even darker place

    Everyone froze for a bare moment before the entire room burst into motion. Dorian wasted no time and dashed to the thug nearest him quickly ended his life. Before he knew it the next one was already attacking him. Dodging with the tiniest of movements Dorian buried his blade in the skull of his assailant.


    Another guard came from the side, Dorian once again smoothly stepped past the sweeping blade. Twirling the blade he made a expertly aimed cut against the wrist of the guard severing his muscles and causing him to drop the blade. He then stepped forward and with a swift stab to the heart finished him. Another one of the thugs came at him from behind with a scream but before he even reached Dorian a fist the size of any normal humans head crashed into the side of the thug. With a loud crunch of breaking ribs he was sent across the room untill he smacked into a wall and hit the ground.


    Not having the time to concentrate on anything else Dorian dodged the axe of yet another of the thugs. A small black bolt flew through the air and shot through the axe-wielders head. With the splash of blood and gore the man hit the ground with a finger sized hole in his head. A thug with a sword was trying to attack the young woman from behind. Dorian caught the axe the thug was using before it hit the ground and with a twirl of his body sent it flying through the air. Hitting the attacking thug square in the chest.


    Yet another guard jumped at Dorian with a knife, Dorian grabbed the wrist of the attacking thug and pulled him forward breaking his balance. Using the falling movement of the assailant Dorian kneed the man in the face with all the strength he could measure. The angle of the blow caused the mans neck to loudly snap. Thus another lifeless body hit the floor.


    A spear wielder thrusted at Dorian from the side, before the tip of the spear could even touch him the innkeeper appeared next to the man with a roar. With an impossibly fast swing of his axe he cut the spearman in 2 blood splashing over Dorians face and here and there a piece of spearman stuck to his clothes.


    Grabbing the spear from the now cut in half warrior, Dorian twisted his body and used the momentum to throw the spear straight through the shoulder of one of the 2 warriors the priest was currently fighting. The spear struck the warrior in the shoulder causing him to get knocked back. The priest made swift use of the surprise of the 2 warriors to twirl his staff and use the blade on the end of it to cut the throat of the one who was still unhurt. He then quickly flowed into another move and used the other end of the staff to crack down on the head of the wounded thug killing him instantly.


    Before they even knew it the fight was over and the dead bodies of the thugs littered the floor. Dorian glanced around at his group, all of them were still standing.  That went rather smoothly, Dorian thought  to himself.


    ¡°Those that are injured come to me, i will take care of the wounds.¡± The priest stated readying his staff for the use of magic.


    ¡°I have no need for restoration.¡± Vor said in his deep voice.


    ¡°Not a scratch on me.¡± Gladiel stated. ¡°Im unhurt aswell, these thugs were nowhere near fast enough to wound me.¡± Blaitz stated.


    ¡°These bastards are a 100 years to young to harm a hair on my head!¡± The innkeeper roared. ¡°Indeed they did not have the skill to cause injury.¡± The young woman stated.


    The priest looked at Dorian in surprise. ¡°I''m unhurt aswell, seems there is no need for your magic.¡± Dorian said giving the man a small smile. The priest shook his head in disbelief ¡±6 against 32 and none of us are harmed.¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Wat kind of people did i get myself involved with.¡±


    Dorian just shrugged when he heard priest''s words and walked through the piles of dead to the door on the other side of the room. Opening the door led into a hallway that had a lot of doors on both sides. After checking the contents of the room he could see that these seemed to be the living quarters of whatever group these thugs were. After the priest told them there were life signs in another of the doors they headed through yet another hallway that led even further down into the ground.


    They broke through the door in a hurry only to find themselves in a dungeon of sorts. There were multiple cells on both sides of the wall. Dorian stepped to one of the cells and found himself staring at the image of a young woman. Her clothes ripped and the signs of physical abuse on her body. Bruises and cuts were all over her skin. The poor woman was not moving and it was obvious to Dorian that she was dead.


    What was even more disconcerting was the small child clutching the leftover rags of the woman and cuddling up against the corpse. Dorian could feel the fury running through his body as he saw the small child pressed up against her mother not even knowing, or at the very least refusing to accept that her parent had died. In white hot rage Dorian broke the lock on the cell and swung the door open.


    The child reacted to the sound in fear. Quickly jumping to the other side of her mother she tried to hide behind it while trying her best to drag the corpse to the corner of the room. As far away from Dorian as she could. Dorian just looked at the child with an ache in his heart. No matter how hard he trained, or what stories he had heard. Nothing had prepared him for this, this vision of a terrified child with her dead abused mother made his heart break.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    He sat back on his heels and put the knife away. He opened his hands palm open to the small child. ¡°I am not here to hurt you, i am here to get you out.¡±  Dorian told the girl, the tiny figure only tried even harder to back away the moment Dorian opened his mouth. The girl with her dirty ragged clothes, messy unkempt brown hair and tear-stained face hurt Dorian to his very core. He sat down on the ground without a word and just grabbed some of the food he had put in his pouches.


    He held the food out to the child, as skinny as she was he was sure that she was not fed properly in this dungeon. The signs of malnourishment were more than obvious, skin tight over her ribs Dorian felt as though he could fit his around the girls body. But he would not dare to use any pressure, he was genuinely afraid he might snap her body.


    After a few minutes of just sitting there the girl started to make small steps forward. Dorian gave her a what he hoped was an encouraging smile as she carefully reached for the bread in Dorians hand. With a swift moment she grabbed the bread and backed off again. Staying out of grabbing range she ate her bread as fast as she could.


    ¡°Not to fast, you could choke.¡± Dorian said. The girl looked at him for a moment before starting to chew a little slower obviously savouring the taste of the food. Dorian grabbed his drinking flask from his belt and held it out to the little girl. She stepped forward and wanted to grab the flask from his hands before she realised the flask was to big for her to hold. She was merely to small to hold the bread and the flask at the same time.


    Noticing it Dorian quickly tilted the flask a little so some water would run out so she could drink. She stared at Dorian suspiciously for a second before her thirst took over and she started gulping down the small stream of water. Dorian made sure to slowly tilt the flask so she would keep getting water. He also made sure not to do it to fast, he was worried she might choke because of the water.


    Once the girl had her fill of water she stepped back again. Most of the fear in her eyes were gone now. Dorian extended his now empty hand to her hoping that she would take it. She stared at his hand for a moment and then slowly extended her small frail hands to his. He tenderly took her hand, as soon as she had grabbed his hand she rushed to him and clutched his leg and started to cry. Dorian put his hand on her head and softly patted the poor girl.


    After a short while the girl sniffed and stepped back from Dorians legg. Dorian looked down at the girl, she looked at the corpse of her mother one last time before wiping the tears from her eyes with the dirty rag she was wearing. It seemed the poor girl was perfectly aware that her mother was dead.


    Dorian took her hand and walked out of the cell with her. The rest of the group was waiting outside, staring at the scene before them in shocked silence.


    Even Gladiel had no smart comments to make now, the look on his face was just as grim as those of the rest. None of the group had moved from their spots while Dorian was interacting with the girl. The young priest looked at the child with sadness in his eyes. He readied his staff and stepped forward extending a hand to the girl. The girl backed away from the hand suspiciously and glanced at Dorian. After a quick nod from Dorian she stepped allowed the priest to touch her.


    The priest''s hand glowed and he spread his healing light over the young girl fixing the bruises the child had. The abuse of the thugs had not spared the poor girl. The girl looked at the light on her skin in childlike wonder. Turning her hands around to see the light spreading across her skin. She tested the skin were the bruises used to be and she looked at Dorian with blessed wonder on her face. The face she was making warmed Dorians heart as he put his hand on the girl''s head again and gave it a rub. The girl gave him a small smile and once again fastened herself to his legg.


    The group checked out the rest of the dungeon. More of the cells were filled, most of them were young to middle aged women. A man here or there, at the end of the dungeon was another door. Walking up to the door Dorian broke the lock and opened it. This cell was different from the others. Here a young woman was chained against the wall. Hands and feet clasped in heavy iron, a battered face peered up at them. Dirty blond locks of hair hanging in front of her face. This woman had suffered a worse fate than the mother of the child.


    Dorian was absolutely positive that this woman had been tortured.


    <hr />


    Wanted to upload this yesterday but i couldn''t gain acces to the site, it kept giving me errors. But here it is!.


    And i had a question for you guys, i wondered if i should put the shorter chapters together with the other ones so it would be a more steady amount per chapter for new readers. Or do you guys say i shouldn''t bother.


    PS : im really excited to hear wat u guys think about this chapter and the story so far!

 Chapter 12: Rescue

    The woman stared at Dorian, Signs of resentment visible in her eyes. Although tortured this women had not yet been broken. Dorian didn''t hesitate for a second. As enraged as he already was he stepped forward with the rage burning in his eyes. The battered woman braced herself for more of the torture she had already been shown. He could see the muscles on her damaged and malnourished body attempting to brace itself for whatever pain she expected to come.


    The pain she was expecting however would never come. Instead the loud clang of breaking metal could be heard as Dorian smashed open the heavy metal cuffs holding her arms and legs in place. With the amount of heat magic that Dorian could use breaking open the metal cuffs became a great deal easier.


    The woman not expecting to be freed from her shackles was caught by surprise and fell forward. As battered as her body was there was not much expectation for the woman to be able to catch herself before hitting the ground. There really was no doubt that she would not have the physical strength to move by herself. She wouldn''t hit the ground however because Dorian had been ready for her to fall and moved to catch her as gently as he could.


    The woman just stared into Dorians eyes for a moment, many unexplained emotions flashing through her eyes before her eyelids drifted shut and she fell into a long needed sleep. Dorian could feel the magic in the shackles and in the cell itself. Magic purposefully constructed to keep prisoners from their sleep. Yet another torture method that would damage the psychological senses of any human being.


    The cruel methods of torture and both mental and physical abuse only stacked ontop of the ire Dorian already felt for the kidnappers of ¨ªstril. He vowed to himself then and there that whatever group was responsible for this kind of treatment to human beings he would bring down. His cleanse would be bloody and fast if he had any say in it. That would have to wait however for now there were more pressing matters to attend to.


    "The magic used in this cell and on these shackles is beyond any normal form of cruelty." The pries said with a pensive expression. "The people who created and used these symbols loved bringing pain to other living beings. It makes me sick to my soul to even see these ugly runes."


    The air around the priest started bristling with energy as his staff started to emit more of the white light. Dorian shielded the child and the woman in his arms from the light and stepped back out of the cell. The priest looked at the marks and passed is staff over the runes, searing them from existence. The priest seemed so insulted by these very marks that it seemed he could not even stand their very existence.


    Dorian turned his back on the working priest and looked at the rest of the group. "Lets get these poor people out of here." Vor moved to the nearest cell with uncontrolled emotions in his eyes and placed his hands around the bars of the cell door. In this particular cell there was a young beastmen family, they looked to be of lion heritage. The family looked at the huge treeman the fear apparent in their eyes. Vor didn''t bother making any consoling words, at the moment he was nowhere near the temperament to console the poor family. With a surge of strength and a ripple of muscles he ripped the door of its hinges and slung it to a corner of the dungeon.


    With a loud exhale he looked at the family and then simply moved to the next cell repeating the move and ripping of another cell door. The family looked at Dorian with fear in their eyes. Then they noticed the tattered child clinging to his legs and the woman in his arms. Confusion coloured their faces. Dorian stepped forward to the family and smiled as calmly and reasurringly as he could.


    "Do not worry, we are here to get you out of this place, we will not harm you any further."


    The family looked at him with disbelief for a few seconds before one of the children walked forward out of grasp of his parents. His father made a quick grasp for the child to drag him back. The child was gone to quickly however, the young boy ran to Dorian and stood in front of him. His father stood behind the boy and seemed ready to move should Dorian dare to lay a harming hand on his son.


    "Can we really go?" The boy said with hope in his voice, dirty face staring up to him with the glimmer in his eyes.


    "Yea" Was all Dorian said looking at the kid. The family still hesitated for a moment and then the boy started crying in relief. The tension snapped as his family started shedding tears aswell. Dorian looked at the family and did his best to keep his emotions from his face. Wat this needed now was not a look of pity but a reassured individual to lead them out of this hell they had been put in.


    The priest seemed to be done with his removal of the marks, he walked towards the family that had just been freed from their cells and moved to heal their wounds. At first the family backed of from the unknown person, instincts kicking in to stay away from anyone they did not know. Not strange after the trauma they had been through.


    "Do not fret, i merely wish to heal your injuries." The priest said calmly looking at the family with a saint like smile. Putting the family at ease in a single smile. A priest was much more effective at offering comfort than a warrior, Dorian thought to himself.


    As the priest moved to heal all the people in the dungeon Vor had finally finished ripping the cell doors of their hinges. The people around the cells started coming out looking at the other captives with a now growing sense of hope in their eyes. Then they saw the priest going around healing the injuries of other captives. Before long people started realising that they would really be free from the hand of the thugs. Tears of joy started to stream down the battered, dirt-stained faces. Some people started to thank Dorian and his group but before it could get out of hand Dorian spoke up.


    "Do not give us your thanks yet, we have to make sure you people get out of here and back to you homes in one piece. We will do our best to keep you safe but lets stay on our toes none the less!" His words made the captives a bit more tense as they started to focus on making it out of here.


    "We should take them to my inn. These people have well deserved a proper meal and a good nights rest after all they have been through. My inn has more than enough space to host this group of people." The inkeeper said to Dorian stepping forward next to him.


    "That would help out a lot, my thanks." Dorian said to the Innkeeper.


    "Do not thank me boy, these people are as much my responsibility as yours. There is no need for you to shoulder those burdens alone."


    Dorian looked at the innkeeper in surprise. To be honest he hadn''t even noticed that he felt like he should take responsibility for these people. He had just done the things he done mostly out of instinct. Having a trustworthy man telling him he would help out however. Lifted a weight from his shoulders he hadn''t even noticed was there before.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Dorian started organizing the people to get them out of the underground maze of sewers. Soon enough the lot of them were moving back through the hallway untill they reached the room where Dorian and his party had pretty much slaughtered the thugs. Seeing the corpses of their tormenters finally let the people realise they were truly free. The now ex-prisoners looked at the corpses of the thugs around them. One woman spotted a larger than average thug on the corpse and started to get tears in here eyes. With the wetness falling down her cheeks she started to kick the corpse of the thug on the ground. Letting out sobs of pain and joy at the same time.


    The other ex-prisoners soon followed suit and started venting their long pent-up anger at the corpses of the thugs sprawled around the room. Dorian thought it would be best to leave the people who needed to vent to their venting. At the very least they had deserved to kick the bodies of their tormenters a bit. The girl clutching Dorians pants looked up at him but did not move to join the other people in their venting. Instead she gave him a smile that sent warmth running through Dorians body. So much of his emotions were soothed with the honest and happy smile of the young girl.


    It was terrible what had happened to Arin, and that ¨ªstril had been taken. But he would be lieng if he said that helping these people was not a balm to his heart. After the people were done venting their anger Dorian led them through the sewer passages untill they finally reached the hatch that led up to the black market store they had entered through.


    Opening the latch and stepping into the store Dorian took a deep breath of fresh air before looking around again. The shopkeeper was still in his store and when he looked at the girl at Dorians feet and the one he was carrying in his arms the mans face turned a pasty white. Dorian stared at the man in a passionate rage but did not act on it. He had a small child attached to him after all. Dorian walked out through the door. Stepping out into the fresh air outside he rolled his shoulders and looked around the blessedly empty street.


    Dorian looked back at the group and saw Gladiel tenderly helping an older man out of the sewerways. Gladiel met Dorians gaze, Dorian motioned with his head for Gladiel to join him. Gladiel joined him and looked at him questiongly.


    "What is it?"


    "That shopkeeper, take care of him." Dorian said looking at Gladiel.


    Gladiel looked at him and said. "If i were to be honest it would be my genuine pleasure." For once there was no jovial smile in the playboys face. The grim face he was showing now would scare the breath out of any average person. Dorian on the other hand wasn''t afraid of Gladiel in the least. He knew the young man was a bit, odd, but he had a surprisingly strong sense of justice. Blaitz and Vor might have had trouble killing an unharmed shopkeeper. But both Dorian and Gladiel had no such reserves, they knew that this whole operation would not have been possible without a corrupt merchant like that shopkeeper in the midst of it.


    Looking back at the rest of the group Dorian led them to The Waddling Boar.


    Once they reached the door the innkeeper stepped forward and unlocked it for them. Mori and Tolu heard the door unlock and rushed down the stairs worried looks on their faces. The girls saw the crowd behind the inkeeper and halted for a moment shocked. Having a bunch of tattered and dirty people arrive at your inn past midnight was not something most people were used to.


    "Dont dawdle girls! We have a lot of food to prepare!" The innkeeper said walking to the kitchen grabbing an apron and throwing it on. "You people take a seat anywhere, it''s about time you got some decent food." The crowd behind him entered the inn and started chattering amongst each other excitedly. They all took their seats at the benches and tables spread around the Boar''s living room.


    Dorian headed upstairs to put the woman in his arms in his bed. He made sure to gently tuck her in beneath the sheets, he looked at her and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Is this wat a city is like? He wondered, how could the guards that work to protect these people allow this to happen. The whole concept that this could be done to people for any reason what so ever was completely lost on Dorian. He would never understand the need to treat innocent civilians like this. The abuse and torture had no use, it served no real purpose and was only done for the enjoyment of deranged people.


    The child tugged at Dorians leg looking up at him worried. Dorian smiled at the girl, here she was having been abused and tormented who knew in wat kind of manner, her mother had been taken from her by the scum of mankind and she was still worried about him rather than herself. There was beauty to be found in man kind, the young child was proof of it. Patting her head Dorian smiled reassuringly at her and headed back to the inn''s living room. He joined the rest of his group at their own table, the little girl tried climbing on the bench but couldn''t quite reach. Dorian smiled softly and picked the girl up and placed her on the bench next to her.


    The girl was so small she could still not look over the edge of the table and see the people sitting on the other side. Dorian picked her up and put her on his lap. The girl then got a proper view around the table and sent the group a gloriously happy beaming smile that eased the hearts of those gathered here. The mood had been grim since they left the sewers. The goal for which they had gone after all had not been accomplished. They had not found ¨ªstril, not even a trace of her was found in the underground sewers.


    Even a magic search by the priest and young woman had amounted to nothing. The smile of the young girl however put their hearts a bit at ease. Even if they had not accomplished their goal they had still done a great deed here. Especially for the people who had been imprisoned.


    The innkeeper started to pass out food to the people they had rescued as they were digging in to their meals with a passion there was a knock on the inndoor.


    "OPEN UP!" someone yelled outside. "This is the city guard!"


    <hr />


    MOOOOOOH, i wass annoyed as fk because the internet died in the house i live in. (i live in a shared house). More things are broken in the bloody building, the washing machine for instance. I had 2 pages done the same day i uploaded the last 1. But then my internet died and i couldnt even send the documents to hotmail or anything because ofc NO INTERNET. So like use an usb right? Would you beleive that i did not have a bloody usb with me !? So i thought use phone as usb. NONONO cant use an iphone to transport word documents. So i made a picture of the wat i had already done and took them with me to my parents house. Alas i am a lazy person and i reallllllllllly hate doing the same work twice, when i shouldn''t have to. But here it is, i didnt wanna leave you guys hanging xD


    (i feel a good bit better after the flamage in here, as always thanks for reading!)

 chapter 13: The Waddling Boar

    Dorian and the group looked at the door, annoyance flashing across the faces of the people present. Afterall the City Guard came here after everything had already been finished. Where were they when Arin and ¨ªstril where attacked. Where were they when these people had been taken from their homes and tormented by an underground group of thugs. Finally when everyone is resting and their hearts had been set at ease and they could enjoy some proper rest and a good meal, that is when the cityguard arrives? It was truly not strange in the least that there was no abundance of warm feelings for the cityguard in this particular inn.


    Nonetheless Dorian stood up and opened the door to the Cityguard. Outside stood atleast 20 armed guards. Showing the white scale male colored with the cities sigil. The leader of this specific group of guards was a middle-aged man with a scar running over his cheek. His angular face and short saved hair gave him a real military vibe. Dorian was pretty sure this man had been in the legion during one point of his life or another. He had removed his helmet and was holding it under one arm. His other hand was resting on the hilt of his sword. More out of habit than anything else, the man wasn''t threatening them. Atleast not on purpose.


    "How may we help?" Dorian said looking at the officer. "Is there something a miss?"


    The leader of the guards stepped forward untill he was standing close to Dorian. He then lowered his voice so it was only audible to Dorian. "I am assuming that you are the leader of the group that cleansed the dungeons just now? No need to answer i know it is you actually. Or else the innkeeper or one of the barmaids would have opened the door."


    Dorian just looked at the man curiously. "Wat exactly do you want from me sir?"


    ¡°My employer would like to have a word with you. About a business opportunity as he called it. He would like to discuss it, well right now.¡± The soldier said looking at him with a somewhat stern gaze in his eyes.


    ¡°Would you mind if we at least had dinner first? We are rather hungry after, certain events. You and your men would be welcome to join us.¡± Dorian said gesturing them to come inside. The soldier looked at him for a few seconds then nodded.


    ¡°Me and the chaps were rather hungry anyway, it would not be to much of a bother if we came a little late¡± A slightly mischievous glint in the mans eyes appeared. Dorian grinned at the soldier and found that he rather liked the man.


    The soldiers walked into the inn and took seats at the remaining tables. Everyone just looked questioningly at Dorian.


    ¡°These poor guards were hungry as well, so i told em they were welcome to join us!¡± Dorian said gesturing over the guards with his arms. The other people just shrugged their shoulders and continued eating and talking with each other in a lighthearted mood. Food really did wonders for anyones temperament


    The innkeeper just looked over the guards and then his eyes met Dorians for a second, Dorian smirked and shrugged his shoulders. The innkeeper smiled a crooked smile and went back to work in the kitchen. After a while everyone had a plate of food in front of them. The innkeeper sent Mori out to the Living room to sing for them. One of the guards was apparently a proficient lute player and joined her on stage to add to the sound. One of the ex-prisoners was a pretty decent flute player and joined in. Soon enough the singing and dancing commenced. The people were just happy to be free once more.


    The guards actually knew what had happened to the people and seemed just as happy as them that they had been freed. Some of the wives and even some husbands headed to the kitchen to help the innkeeper and Tolu prepare food for all the guests. Cooking up food for over 50 guests was quite a bit of work after all.


    The young child Dorian had taken in was bouncing on his leg to the sound of the music. Swinging her body back and forth. The rest of group let themselves smile a bit, the priest was already enjoying the festivities. The young woman mage was sitting in the table with Dorian, Vor ,Blaitz and Gladiel. The 5 of them weren''t in all to much of a jovial mood but kept a smile on their faces nonetheless.


    After a while someone came carefully down the stairs. Arin had woken up due to all the music, Dorian and the rest rushed forward to help her down. They guided her to the table and she sat on the bench. She looked around with her now completely white eyes and smiled.


    ¡°The sound of music and happy people even makes the blind dwarf feel good!¡± Arin said with a smile as if nothing had changed.


    The rest just looked at her with sad smiles. They knew that it had to be tough being unable to see suddenly. Especially after having your best friend taken from you while there was nothing you could do.


    ¡°Dont give me those sad faces, im blind, not stupid! I can smell those sad smiles from here. It happened, i will make due. There are plenty of things i am capable of doing even without my eyes. I bet i could still build a better wall than you guys even without my eyes!¡± Arins lighthearted demeanour honestly did all of them good.


    ¡°But there seem to be more people at the table than just my ugly squadmates. Well to introduce myself to the new people my name is Arin. I am a blind dwarf who now intends to become a master stoneworker. My father did always say i had the talent for it so why the rocks not.¡± Arin said while ''looking'' around the table.


    ¡°Well i myself have not even introduced myself to you people yet. Which is come to think of it very rude of me, although i do suppose we were all a bit preoccupied. My name is Jorin, as for a second name i don''t really have one so just Jorin will have to do.¡± The priest said introducing himself to the group.


    The rest of Dorians squad introduced themselves aswell. Then their gazes turned on the young female mage.  She looked at the rest of the group and then resigned herself to the fact that she would have to tell them her name.


    ¡°I am called, Lalin¡± Was all she had to say.


    ¡°Well now at least we know wat to call each other.¡± Dorian said grinning. ¡°Except for you lil one, wats your name?¡± He said looking down at the girl on his leg. The girl just looked at him questioningly.


    ¡°Do you not have a name?¡± Dorian said raising his eyebrows at the girl. The girl shook her head, long brown hair waving in front of her face. She looked quite cute when doing so if Dorian had to be honest.


    ¡°Then lets think of a name for you shall we?¡± Dorian said smiling down at the girl. She returned the smile with a happy grin and a short excited nod.


    ¡°Can''t we just call her kid?¡± Blaitz said. ¡°Its wat we call kids in our tribe till they come of age, might as well earn your own name if you don''t have one yet.¡±


    She thought it over for a sec but then energetically shook her head. Seems as though that was a no go.


    ¡°How about Lily?¡± Gladiel offered.


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Wilma?¡±


    Another shake. Name after name was offered up but none of them seemed to please.


    ¡°How about my grandmothers name? Mom was always bothered that she couldn''t pass her name on to anyone. She''s called Shiela.¡± The girl thought it over for a sec and then looked at Dorian for a moment. Then her wide beaming grin emerged once more and she happily nodded to the name.


    Dorian rubbed her little head. ¡°Shiela it is then, a strong name for a pretty lil''girl isn''t it.¡± Shiela hugged herself closer to Dorian and rubbed her head against him as if she was a cat. Dorian smiled to himself, seems he had become a childs guardian without really planning for it.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The festivities in the inn continued for some time. The mood started getting better and better, eventually people were dancing and singing. The guards happily joined in, after all they were being payed for being here. Who wouldn''t like to drink, dance and have fun while on duty. As long as their superior officer said so they enjoyed themselves. The only thing the officer told them was that they could not have more than 2 ale''s. Being drunk on duty was naturally a no go.


    After a while Dorian decided to go upstairs and check on the woman they had brought back. Shiela ofcourse decided to go with him, she had stuck to him like glue ever since he had freed her. Dorian didn''t mind he rather enjoyed her enthusiastic company. The positive energy was rather contagious.


    Dorian carefully opened the door and entered softly. The woman however was already awake and just eyed him carefully.  Dorian walked up to her and pulled up a nearby chair. Sitting down he asked. ¡°How you feelin, you had it pretty rough. You could really use some more sleep, an hour or two won''t be enough.¡±


    The woman stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head and sitting up. She pointed at her throat and her adamsapple moved but no sound came out. She then gestured to hear ears and tongue telling him that she could not speak.


    ¡°Did they use magic to cut of your speaking capabilities?¡± Dorian asked.


    The woman nodded. She then made some other gestures but Dorian couldn''t make out the meaning behind them. He looked at her movements pencifully but could not make out wat she was trying to say. Shiela suddenly walked to a nearby desk and started rummaging around. She came back with some parchment and a pen giving them to the woman with a beaming smile. The young woman looked at Shiela for a second and then smiled at her. Dorian gave her another rub of the head and told her wat a smart girl she was.


    Shiela grinned at the praise and hopped back onto his lap. The young woman started writing on the parchment and gave it to him.


    My name is Viyella, i was captured by these people because they thought i had information that i did not have. When they found out that they had captured the wrong person they still did not release me. They were going to sell me and the other prisoners as slaves.


    Dorian read the words and his brows furrowed in anger. The whole idea of slavery enraged him, a human could not be property of someone else. It just did not make sense to him, how people could take away others freedom and feel like whatever they were doing was okay.  Shiela felt the anger stirring inside Dorian and looked up at him questioningly. Dorian forced himself to calm down and gave her a reassuring smile.


    ¡°What they did to you was.¡± Dorian started saying but he was unable to finish the words.


    The young woman grabbed the parchment and started writing again.


    What they did to me has happened, and could happen to any woman caught outside at the wrong time while being in the wrong place. I am just thankful that i have been freed, not all of them were as fortunate.


    Dorian looked over the words and then glanced at Shiela sadly. Viyella seemed to pick up on what that glance meant and looked at Shiela with pity in her eyes. She motioned for Dorian to give her the parchment back and then she started writing again.


    Could you tell me how you came upon me and the other prisoners and what exactly has happened in the sewer. I passed out the instant i was freed from those shackles and am ashamed to say i was not able to stay conscious through the ordeal.


    ¡°There is nothing for you to be shamed for.¡± Dorian said upon reading the words. ¡°That you still had the will to fight proved how mentally strong you were. The lil''one was strong aswell, i suppose that wat they say is true. Woman can be stronger than men, my mom would be ecstatic to hear me say it so never tell her i said so.¡± He said smiling down at the two girls. ¡°As for what happened.¡±


    Dorian explained to Viyella how ¨ªstril had been kidnapped and Arin had been harmed by these people and that Lalin had seen it happen and that they and the priest had gone into the sewers to seek ¨ªstril and avenge Arin. He told her of the fights and the guards they had killed and told her of how he had led the prisoners back into the city and how everyone was now here at The Waddling Boar.


    Viyella listened intently to the story, nodding here and there. When he arrived at the point were the city guard showed up and how they were downstairs with the rest of the people she looked surprised.


    She then asked him if he would help her go downstairs. Her muscles had deteriorated so much over the last few months that she was not sure of her capabilities to walk. Dorian agreed of course  and tenderly put her arm over his shoulder. He had to crouch quite a bit because Viyella wasnt very tall. Shiela did her best to help out aswell. Walking around making sure Viyella didn''t trip. She then rushed forward and opened the door for them. After walking through she struggled to pull it closed aswell.


    Dorian carefull helped her down the stairs. The sound of the music, singing and overall joy of the people brought a small smile to her face. When the people saw her coming down the stairs they carefully made some room for her to cross. Dorian gently put her on the bench were the rest of his squad was still sitting.


    It didn''t take long for the innkeeper to appear with a meal. The juciy meat and the potatoes covered in the meaty juice, made only more delicious by crispy vegetables with a delightful sauce. The very smell of it made the people around her drool again. The innkeeper gave her a wink.


    ¡°Eat up, for today all of it is on the house.¡± The innkeeper smiled at her and then leaned closer to Dorian. ¡°It''s not really on the house your paying for it with that money you got from the blade.¡±


    Dorian grinned at the shopkeeper and nodded. He knew the shopkeeper would pay for alot of it himself but if he payed for everything he would soon be out of a business. Since Dorian had a small fortune he wasn''t really worried about money. A meal like the one the innkeep had just made would cost about 5 coppers. 100 coppers made 1 silver, 100 silver made 1 gold, 10.000 gold made a platinum coin. Dorian had gotten 780 gold from the blade he had made. Which meant he could buy about 80.000 meals.


    He really did have quite the fortune. He and the innkeep watched Viyella dig into the food. The near ecstatic pleasure on her face made both of them feel a good bit better. After a while the leader of the city guards joined their table.


    ¡°We should get to meeting the boss right about now. He''s generally a patient man but we shouldn''t push our luck to far. Wouldn''t want to put him in a bad mood.¡± He said to Dorian. ¡°The rest of your team is invited aswell ofcourse. I think seeing the temperament of you and yours that all of you would be interested in the business opportunity.¡±


    Dorian looked at the rest of the group. They just nodded their agreement and the leader got up and motioned him to follow. He called a few of the guards over to come with him. He told the rest to stay here and watch over the inn.


    ¡°Wouldn''t want the underground groups of the city retaliating on these people after all.¡± The soldier told them. Dorians opinion of the man rose a good bit after he ordered his men to protect the civilians. ¡°They may not look like much but these men are the elite of the city guard. They are well-disciplined and will keep these people safe. There is no need for you to worry about them.


    <hr />


    So im gonna put in another main character in the story. He will have his own chapters, i wanted to start posting them probably after the next chapter. I have most of it written already so it would probably be a chapter a day for the next 2 weeks. Wat would you guys think of having multiple storylines at once. I actually wanted to tell the story of 3 different protagonists and have them unite into one story line later. Let me know your opinions, ill probably do it anyway but knowing wat the readers think helps

 Chapter 14: Decisions

    After reassuring Dorian and his group the soldier lead them down the streets. Dorian still had not gotten over the fact how large a city in the empire actually was. According to what he had heard the city had at least 20 million inhabitants. That was a number that Dorian had trouble imagining. The city itself was huge aswell. Yet still small compared to the capital. It made him wonder wat a gigantic entity the capital would turn out to be.


    Walking in the dark of the night among the tall buildings, the silence hanging around them like a shroud. It felt as if one shouldn''t talk, the dark in the city had something different to it altogether. The silence in a place filled with people was a bit eerie. He was surprised with how empty it was at night here. He would have thought that a city of this size would still be bustling in the night.


    The soldier told them that there was generally a night curfew among civilians. This was implemented to discourage illegal activities that would normally happen at night. It had sounded like a good idea when the governing factor of the city had decided upon it. Weeding out criminals and outlaws in the daylight would be a much easier task.


    Or so they thought. In a city this big how was one to see who was a criminal and who was not. Criminals in a city this size could easily meet each other in the broad daylight and stand on the corner of a street talking about whatever job they had planned next. Who was going to listen in on one of the several hundreds of thousands conversations after all. Nobody had time for that.


    That is how criminals had created a new system for themselves, working out the plans in daylight and in the dark they would carry out these plans. Despite the several changes in the guard rosters and patrol paths the criminals still knew where the patrols would be and when. Corruption in the ranks leaking out information like that.


    The city guard ofcourse had counter measures against that aswell. They sent patrols out on random paths aswell. That way they might  run into thieves doing their work in the night. They also had people working undercover in stores and organisations across the city. However the city was simply to big to be able to handle all the crime. They simply did not have the manpower to be everywhere.


    Criminals knew this and that is why alot of them gathered in the cities and started making underground organisations like the one they had stumbled across.


    This also explained why there was so little crime out in the country. It was a lot easier to capture a criminal in a small village where everyone knew eachother. Thus those with criminal morals and ideas headed to the cities. A gathering of the lowlifes and degenerates, the cities sewers had turned into a cesspool of the cities scum.


    After walking for an hour or two they had finally arrived at their destination.


    ¡°And here we are, our personal headquarters lets head inside.¡± On the outside the building looked just the same as all the ones around it. On the inside however it looked a bit different. Once you opened the door you there was a hallway with a door on either side. Right after entering however there was a staircase that led straight down into the ground.


    That is where the soldier entered. The staircase was incredibly long by now they had been descending for a good 10 minutes. Eventually they entered an underground passage way that was connected to several other staircases. It seems the way they had entered was not the only way into this underground facility.


    The passage way descended even more untill they were finally in a large underground area. All around the area there were p[people training. There must have been at least 200 people here, some were sparring, others were practicing their bowmanship. Others were fighting unarmed flowing from move to move landing punches that even Dorian thought he would have trouble countering.


    Each and every one of the people here was extremely skilled. You could sense it in the way they walked, the way they flowed through their movements. The speed of the draw, and the fluidity of pulling back the string of their bows. The clearly defined and well-trained muscles on the half-naked bodies of the unarmed combatants.


    There was an area where a couple of mages were practicing their craft. Meditating calmly the air around them sizzled of the mysterious energies. This was the first thing that had caught Lalin''s attention. The mage was looking at the energy around those meditating with interest, Dorian somehow felt that she was taking mental notes. The difference in weapons that each of the people here used was huge aswell. Greatsword to rapier, crossbow to composite longbow. Scimitar, claws, chain wips, butterfly swords. The vast diversity made it obvious of the specialization of these people.


    They were all proud and accomplished warriors and mages. He now felt the formidability of the organisation that they had been asked to join. He gave the soldier a better look now noticing the way he moved and carried himself. He now was pretty sure this man was a master at handling the sword he was carrying. Dorian somehow felt that he could not yet defeat the man, his expertise was beyond Dorians.


    The soldier lead them through the area and through yet another door untill they entered yet another hallway. At the end of this hallway was a single door, they entered through it and found themselves in an immaculate room. Everything here was stacked neatly, it was all very organized, giving it the feel of professionalism.


    In the back end of the room there was a dark wooden desk with behind it a man with cropped grey hair. He was marking things down on a piece of parchment and seemed to be engrossed in his work.


    When the man looked up after finishing whatever he was working on a stern face looked up to them. The calm confidence in the eyes of this man gave Dorian the chills, he immediately knew this was a man he should not mess with.


    The way the man held himself had an aura of command to it. This man held authority with his presence alone. He was the kind of man that could walk into any particular place and gather all his attention to himself without saying a word.


    ¡°So you have finally brought that group here Augustin.¡± The man spoke, his voice was deep and his voice like the man itself held a certain weight to it. ¡°I assume my man has already told you that i would like to offer you young ones a business opportunity?¡±


    Dorian stepped forward and looked at the man. ¡°Yes we have been told that is why we were offered to come here, the details of this... job. However we have not been told. Although that we have been invited due to our combat skills is apparent.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well let me explain to you wat we do here.¡± The man said standing up. He was surprisingly small measuring out at barely 1.75. His size did not diminish the mans presence in the least however. ¡°We are cleaning out the scum in this city.¡±


    Dorian looked at the man surprise in his eyes. ¡°Wat do you mean exactly.


    ¡°I mean exactly wat i said, we are killing and removing the criminals in this city from the imagined position of power they believe to have.¡±


    Dorian just stared at the man dumbstruck, just kill all the criminals? What kind of plan was that, killing everyone who breaks the law is way to over the top. But.... We did kill all those men that had something to do with the kidnappings. Dorian thought to himself, people who do the kind of things they did to other human beings. Letting them live was not something Dorian could do.


    He exchanged glances with Gladiel, who gave him a short nod. It seemed Gladiel was in with this mans plan, well he had always had a surprisingly passionate hatred for criminals. He then looked at Vor and Blaitz, Vor was thinking pencifully and Blaitz looked rather excited. He had been excited ever since he had seen the expertise of the warriors in the hall. Blaitz was probably looking forward to clashing with the best warriors. The thrill of the battle, he was the kind of man that enjoyed such a thing.


    Jorin looked Dorian and seemed to be running the same train of thought as him. How many people would they eb able to save by joining with this man. The city was so large a priest could only do so much. Helping all the people in this city by making it a better place to live. Just calculating the amount of people they would help it would be a lot more efficient to do this than heal and help the people as victims one by one. After all wasn''t it better to stop a crime from happening in the first place rather than just helping those hurt by said crime?


    Lalin on the other had a rather bloodthirsty aura around her. It seemed her hatred of these criminals was even greater than Gladiel''s. She was totally on board with wiping these people from the face of the planet. Dorian looked back at the man and thought it through for a few seconds.


    ¡°I cannot decide for the others, the path they choose is their own. I for one will be taking your job offer.¡± Dorian said determined once he had made up his mind.


    ¡°I would like make those pay that have inflicted suffering on innocent people. The strong must protect the weak, that is the kind of man i am hoping to be.¡± Gladiel said stepping forward with a grim determination on his face.


    ¡°I would love to fight those warriors of yours, i think i can learn alot here!¡± Blaitz said with a battle eager grin on his face.


    ¡°I for one have decided to follow my friend Dorian on this. I am not aware of human customs but the way those people were treated enraged a fire in my heart i did not know i possessed. I would like to mete out judgement on the people responsible.¡± Vor said sincerely audible in his words.


    ¡°Working from the shadows to illuminate the dark. That sounds like the kind of thing a priest should be doing in the first place. I believe there are many people i can help in this way. I aswell will join.


    Jorin said joining the rest of the group.


    Lalin just looked eager to get started and also stepped forward. Viyella joined her with just as much of a bloodthirsty face in her eyes as Lalin.  She grabbed a piece of parchment of the desk and passionately scribbled on it.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.I will be joining aswell. I owe these people my life and i would like to join them in their fight. I want to repay those have done this to me with their own blood. Most of all i want to become strong enough so something like this never happens to me again!


    Last but certainly not least Shiela stepped forward. Joining the rest of the group with a beaming smile.


    Dorian stepped to her and looked down. ¡°It would not be a good idea for you Shiela. You can stay with us but you should not be joining us in this kind of work.¡±


    Shiela stubbornly shook her head. If the others were going to be training to use their weapons and preparing to clean the underground than she wanted a part of it to. She had just a good reason to join as the rest. If not a better one.


    Dorian looked at her darkly. ¡°I refuse to let you live a life so unlike a childs. There are things you can study, you can be anything you want. I don''t want you steeped in this darkness any more.¡±


    Shiela just kept staring at him stubbornly while shaking her head.


    ¡°Well the young one seems to have made up her mind. Wouldn''t it be best to atleast let her train here with the rest of you. She will spend a longer time learning because we will not send anyone out there before they have reached a certain age. If she stays with you she will be with people she trusts and she will easily be able to take care of herself after we are done with her.¡±


    Dorian looked from the man to Shiela and grunted in frustration. ¡°Fine!¡± he said looking at her. Training is hard though you will have to work hard so these people won''t regret training you!¡±


    Shiela gave him another of her beaming smiles and nodded. She then clutched his leg again and looked back at the aged man. Dorian rolled his eyes and shook his head, guess he did not have that much of a say in the girl''s life after all.


    ¡°So it seems all of you will be joining, perfect! My name is Graham and i will be your commanding officer from now on. Your centurion will get a message saying that you have been transferred. We may not seem like it at first but we are a part of the government. Although the operations that we do here are not legal we have the governments consent. If we were to be found however they will deny their involvement.¡± Graham stated looking at his new recruits.


    ¡°But i doubt any of you care about that seeing as how you already went and meted out your own judgement on those that had taken your freind. We will be looking for traces of your freind aswell. Eventually we will find her and then we can free her from the bonds of those that would hold her.¡±


    ¡°Untill then you will be here, training will commence right away. After that you will be lead to your dorms. It will take a full year for us to turn you into full-fledged elite soldiers. Now be on your way and lets see wat you are made of!¡± Graham said motioning for them to leave. Augustin lead the way  through the door where they were once more lead to the Training Area.


    The people who had been training before had not stopped. The sheen on their bodies and the glare in their eyes proved both their dedication and concentration. Now that they were on the same side it felt reassuring having such highly skilled people watch your back.


    ¡°Each of you will probably feel an affinity to a certain weapon. Here we do not train in group frontline combat like they do in the legion we are specialists. We specialise ourselves in one particular combat style and spend our lives training to reach a level were we could call ourselves masters. So tell me your weapon preference and combat style preference and we will get started. First of we will start with you.¡± Augustin said pointing at Vor.


    Vor looked at the man for an instant and then started thinking to himself. ¡°I think a large shield and a mace would fit the purpose of the way i wish to do battle.¡± Augustin nodded and then yelled at one of the surrounding warriors to come here. The warriors name was Olgrin. Olgrin came running to them, the man was a dwarf of a muscular build. He had a towershield the size of himself in one hand and a large mace in the other.


    ¡°Then this will be your instructor. Olgrin this is Vor he and his freinds will be joining our organisation. I will leave his training up to you.¡± Olgrin nodded and grinned at Vor.


    ¡°Pleasure to make your acquaintance you oversized flower, let''s get to work!¡± Olgrin said with fierce energy in his voice and led Vor away.


    Next to choose his weapon was Gladiel. Gladiel who had been waiting for the question said he would prefer to use a rapier. A real gentleman''s weapon he called it. The warrior that was going to instruct him had the most magnificent mustache Dorian had ever seen. The man did carry himself with a certain lordly dignity, only affirming wat Gladiel had said about a rapier being a gentleman''s weapon.


    Next up was Blaitz, He wanted to use a scimitar. A scimitar was the weapon his tribes men used and they were quite proficient in them. The man who came forward to teach him was a tiger beastman just like Blaitz, only this man was larger more muscular and was covered in scars. Other than brown pants held up with a red rope the man wore nothing.


    After that it was Jorins turn, he stayed with his light element magic and his trusty staff. The one who came forward to be his instructor was an old man with a beard that reached his stomach. His white beard was braided with some golden ropes which gave him a saint like feel. He didn''t speak and just motioned Jorin to follow him which he did.


    Next up was Lalin, She chose the opposite of  Jorins magic and went for the dark element. As for her weapon she went with unarmed. Augustin recognized something about her and seemed surprised for a while. But when prompted he didn''t say why he had been surprised. He thought for a few seconds then called upon 2 separate people. One of them was a blind elderly man who would teach her unarmed combat. The other was a man presumably that covered himself in a thick black cloak.


    Viyella already had an answer ready and told her she wanted to use a longbow. She asked however if she could be trained with a shortsword aswell. She didn''t want to be useless in short-range combat. Augustin assured her that all archers that trained her also trained in the shortsword so it would not be a problem. The man who was called forward to train her was a blond elf covered in green tribal tatoos. The tatoos looked more like vines than anything else really.


    And then they asked Shiela wat she would like to study. She thought long and hard for a moment then pointed to a man who was wielding a scythe. Dorian looked at her surprised but she just looked up and grinned. Augustin just shrugged and called the sycthe wielder over. The scythe wielder looked at the girl for a moment before bursting out in laughter.


    ¡°Okay young one lets teach you how to wield this thing.¡± The man said with a jovial smile. Shiela looked up to him and beamed. It seemed she liked the man.


    Last one to choose was Dorian. Augustin asked him wat he would like to learn and Dorian thought about it for a few seconds. He then decided that knives like the one his dad had given him would be his preference. Throwing blades he asked to add aswell. Augustin stared at him for a moment before calling out.


    ¡°Shun!¡±


    a whirl in the air was all the warning Dorian got. Suddenly next to Augustin a man in clothed entirely in the blackest of leather appeared. He had belts and pouches running across his tunic and below his cloak. Dorian got sight of multiple knives but was sure that this man had more.


    This so-called Shun looked Dorian over for a moment and then looked at Augustin.


    ¡°Why have i been called.¡± The man asked with a somber voice, he almost sounded lazy.


    ¡°I want you to train him, you could probably tell aswell but the boy has aptitude for Internal magic. We have no one else here who uses it except for you. That and he wishes to learn how to use knives better, throwing knives aswell. He sounds like you so i decided you should train him.¡± Augustin said looking at the dark covered man.


    Shun looked at Augustin for a moment before sniffing. ¡°I do not want to spend my time teaching anyone, i work better alone. The time i spend training a runt will be time i am not out in the field. Doing wat i am good at.¡±


    ¡°Well i wouldn''t ask you to just take him in. Test him.¡± Augustin said folding his hands behind his back and getting an amused look on his face. His words plus the crooked smile caused Dorian to be on edge.


    Shun looked at Augustin for a moment then looked at Dorian. Without so much as a flicker of movement Shun had disappeared. Dorian reacted with lightning fast reflexes and spun around. Drawing his dagger and staring into the bloodthirsty eyes of Shun. The gaze in those eyes promised him swift death. Dorian didn''t hesitate for a moment and transited the turn smoothly into an attack. He aimed right for Shun''s neck.


    Shun was surprised for a moment because of the sudden darkness caused by the knife. He still managed to easily catch Dorians hand though. Dorian used the grab to pull Shun to him and tried to knee him in the face. Once again shun easily caught the attack. Then with a twist of his arm backed of and disappeared back to Augustins side.


    ¡°Well Augustin, you found me an interesting one to train. No hesitation immediately moving into a deadly attack. This boy has already been superbly trained by someone. He is very near the limit of wat a human can learn. Very well, it will be interesting to push him beyond the limits.¡± Shun said, this time with a bit of anticipation in his voice.


    ¡°Boy, i will make you the most fearsome assassin this continent has ever seen!¡±


    <hr />


    Boom! Surprise immediate chapter. From next chapter forward i will introduce the other character. I will continue writing about Dorian at the same time so i should be able to keep posting daily for at least 20 days orso. Imma get myself in that top 50 list!


    And thank you guys for reading! Hope you enjoy

 Chapter 15: The instructors

    Dorian followed Shun as he led the way to wat Shun called his private training chamber. Why he had his own training chamber and did not just train here with the rest of the members was a mystery to him. The thing that bothered him the most was the sheer size of this underground facility. Shun led him through yet another hallway that went even deeper into the earth. Dorian wondered how they had built all of this so deep.


    The dwarves build deep into the ground aswell, but the dwarves had special magic of their own category that they refused to share with any outsiders. The magic was extremely closely guarded and there was even an elite dwarven taskforce that went after all people that tried to expose the secret of this magic. Those that were foolish enough to try soon ended up missing, it was quite obvious to everyone that those that tried would end up dead.


    The number of people that had been willing to risk everything for this magic had dwindled to nonexistence. Arin had told him about all this, she was from one of few families inn the dwarven cities that specialized in this magic. She had told him she would go back home and master this magic. Stone Shaping, is wat she called it. She told him it was actually something that only dwarves could master. They had a connection to the stone, she herself could ussually feel the stone around her. Not with her skin or anything but just sort of sense its presence.


    Maybe this organisation had dwarven ties and could ask for the assistence of the dwarven Stone Shapers. If this is true then the reach and influence of this organization was immense, if they were truly a branch of the Empire that worked in secret to extinguish the underground presence then they would have some of the Empires connections. Having connections with the dwarves of this magnitude was still a bit to much for a group that hunted criminals. Dorian studied the stones around him and looked for the signs that Arin had told him about that could tell him the quality of the stone.


    The stone first of all was seemless, it seemed as if the ground had just melted inwards and created this hallway. This could have been done with extremely powerfull fire magic aswell of course, so the seemless ness was merely one of the signs. Another sign that was present was that there was a shine to the stone. But the stone itself still seemed somewhat dull of colour. Shining yet dull, another of the mysterious after effects of Stone Shaping.


    So this facility had truly been created by the dwarves. Then a second question popped up in his head. Wat if this city was build on the foundations of a dwarven bulwark? It seemed unlikely that the dwarves would build a city so far from the mountains. They generally prefferred having their holds near or in the mountains due to the easier acces to metals and minerals. These were naturally needed, since metalworking and gemstones were the keystone of dwarven economy.


    Drifting his thoughts along the wat he knew of dwarves and their crafts he walked through the hallways. After who knows howlong they finally reached their point of destination. Shun looked at him and smiled.


    ¡°Welcome to my training room.¡± He said while grandiously swinging open the door.


    Dorian immediatly understood why Shun had his own training room. The room was completely filled with wires, strung from one end to the other from the top to the bottem from corner to corner. There was no possible way to run through this. The amount of wires were intense, here and there there might be enough space for one person to be able to stand upright but there was no way to reach these places without crawling.


    ¡°The magic you and i posses is called Internal magic, most people don''t know about it because it is actually a really rare magical talent to have. People who use this magic are often renowned through history. You have heard of Hirmanuculius i assume?¡±


    Of course he had heard of Hirmanuculius, all the children had. Despite that the the warrior had such a difficult to pronounce name nearly all the children would be able to say it. Hirmanuculius was a warrior of legend who was supposed to have strength beyond belief. He had fought against the hordes of Ormunis and killed thousands that dared to cross him. It was said that he could cleave boulders in two with a swing of his mighty sword.


    ¡°Well he was a user of Internal magic, there are more famous names that were also users of this magic. But in my opinion the users that are most dangerous. Are those you have never heard of at all. Men who have mastered the art of subterfuge so well that they might aswell be invisible. After all wat is the mightiest warrior to a blade he can not even see coming. Men, woman, monster, They all have their fatal weakspots in the end.¡± Shun told him in a lecturing tone.


    ¡°I will teach you how to harnass that magic, how to come in contact with it. How to feel the essence of your own body. I can teach you the steps but i can not teach you how to do it. There are differences in the uses of each user. Each of us has our own abilities, some you may be able to use. Others you might not be able to.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°First of all have a seat here with me, fold your legs like thus. This is called meditating.¡± Shun said in his mentoring tone. It was a little annoying how he still hadn''t removed the cloth from his face. Shun''s eyes were visible but the rest of his face was hidden. Yet somehow his voice wasn''t muffled in the least. Dorian decided against telling Shun that he already knew how to meditate. Patience of the pupil leads to patience of the master. His dad had told him things like this before.


    ¡°Breath in with my rythm.¡± Shun said. While Dorian was taking breathing exercies with Shun the rest was doing their own training.


    Vor had taken his huge tower shield and was currently trying to ram the much smaller dwarven warrior with his shield and just run him over. However to Vor''s astonishment the in comparison to him tiny dwarf didn''t budge an inch. Vor rather felt as if he ran into a wall, actually in most occasions the wall would have budged a bit against Vor''s natural strength. Vor pushed with all his might but the dwarf refused to budge. After a few moments Vor stepped back and just looked at the dwarf in amazement.


    The dwarf roared in laughter after seeing his pupils astonished face. ¡°Is that all you got flower?! I''m just a tiny dwarf come on you should be able to knock me over! Again!¡±


    Vor rushed at the dwarf before he had even really finished his sentance.


    A little further down Blaitz was swinging his scimitar with all the strength he could muster against the scarred beastman infront of him. He tried speeding up his swings, using complicated feints to confuse his opponents. None of his hits were even close to hitting their mark. Well in reality they were extremely close, there was perhaps only a hairs breath between his blade and the skin of his instructor. It might aswell have been a mile in distance to how close Blaitz was to actually hitting the man.


    First of all the man had blindfolded himself and had his hands behind his back. He was dodging the swings from Blaitz as if there was a child swinging at him with a sword. Blaitz now infuriated went into full beserk mode and swung with everything he could muster.


    The instructor just ducked under the blow and kicked his feet out from under him. Sending the scimitar flying through the air. Which the instructor skillfully caught despite being blinded.


    ¡°You lose your patience to fast young cub, anger uncotrolled is power that goes unused. Again!¡±


    With a roar Blaitz threw himself in battle once more.


    Viyella took the bow her instructor gave her and he looked at her with a smile. ¡°You already know how to use a bow i gather. Its all told in the muscles. Then come with me.¡±


    Her elven instructor led her to the archery range and placed her a distance of 50 meters from the target. He then picked up his own bow and walked next to the target. He then looked at her with his barely visible eyes and smiled. ¡°Now hit the target.¡±


    ¡°But sir i might hit you! You should not stand so near the target.¡± Viyella scribbled worriedly to the elvish man.


    ¡°No need to worry about me girl. Just shoot.¡± The elf said unconcerned.


    Viyella picked up her bow and aimed carefully at the target. Taking a deep breath and using her utmost concentration she drew back the string. Then timed with the release of her breath she fired.


    The arrow however never hit the mark, the arrow hit the floor halfway. Viyella stared at the arrow in surprise and saw that the arrow was split over 3 quarters by another arrow. She stared at the elf in shock. The man just looked back at her with the same infuriating smile.


    ¡°Wats wrong girl, go ahead. Hit the target!¡±


    All the others of the group were in similar positions. They thought they had been strong, stronger than most of the people. They had rarely if ever met someone that could beat them. Yet here these instructors were. Proving how very, very wrong they had been.


    Dorian was still meditating. It had been hours now, but suddenly he noticed something that he had not noticed before. He noticed a speck of energy inside his body. The speck was tiny however and he was not sure what it was he focused and tried to look at the spec with his minds eye. Instead of being able to see the speck more clearly he saw more specks. More and more, there must be millions of these specks. No atleast billions! More?!


    What were all these specks that in his body?!


    <hr />


    As you can all see i have removed the other protagonist and he will not be coming back. Most of you preffered having only one mc so i would feel like im typing for nothing if its not apreciated. I will now just save the other 2 protagonists for different stories! Ill have to change my plot a bit but it wil be fine! Probably... :D

 Chapter 16: A new outfit

    ¡°I see a lot of, i don''t know what to call them. There must be billions of them, and they are so incredibly small what are they? Some kind of creature?¡± Dorian asked excited.


    Shun laughed and looked at Dorian with some pride in his eyes. ¡°As expected of my disciple so very talented! You can already see billions of them, as for wat they are. They are fundamentally the building blocks of our body. The specks you can see at least, everything in the world as far as i know is made of those building blocks. There is no real name for it as there are only a few aware of their existence. But we call them Atoms.¡±


    ¡°Atoms...¡± Dorian mumbled to himself and looked inside again. The atoms really were incredibly small and now that he looked better there was alot of distance between each of the atoms. Compared to an atom atleast, they were after all insanely small. ¡°These atoms have something to do with our internal magic?¡±


    ¡°They have everything to do with our internal magic! Our ability is to manipulate the atoms inside our body. It is not really magic pers¨¦ but more like a technique of sorts that is only available to us. Hirmanuculius for example could move the atoms on his skin closer together so that his skin became tougher than steel. No blade could penetrate it.¡± Shun explained with enthusiasm.


    Despite looking so much like a cold-blooded assassin, and the fact that he had seemed a lazy person that could not be bothered with anything in particular. When it came to his abilities and passing them on the man was a bundle of energy. The contrast was honestly a bit surprising.


    ¡°For instance you know how i just suddenly appeared next to Augustin when we met? I call that ''Shifting'' i move all my atoms to one spot in the blink of an eye. It takes some getting used to, and it takes a lot of practice. Which is why i have this room! It''s wat i used to train the technique to the point of mastering it.¡±


    Shun disappeared, then suddenly reappeared balancing on one of the wires further away in the air. Standing there with his hands behind his back skillfully balancing on the wire as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Shun raised his voice to continue his lecture.


    ¡°This will take some practice from you but before we begin your training we will need to get you an outfit of your own. You need to get used to wearing the same clothes as much as possible. Once you get more familiar with your clothes and weapons you will be able to shift their atoms along with those of your own body. However the process to get that familiarised with an outfit takes alot of time and concentration. That is why i always wear this same outfit.¡±


    Shun Shifted back infront of Dorian. ¡°Come, lets make you look like a true assassin.¡±


    Shun lead the way through another door untill they came to a stop at what almost seemed like a tailor''s shop. Except that it really was a tailor, the man however did not sell his items he made them for the organisation. He was paid just the same as the rest of the inhabitants of the facility.  The man had a thin curly mustache and held himself as if he was some kind of proud peacock. Honestly a peacock was the perfect way to describe the man in Dorians opinion. It somehow just fit him.


    Shun took the man to one side and started whispering in his ear. Shun had a grin on his face and after a while the man started to smile aswell. It seemed both of them enjoyed making whatever outfit they had planned.


    It took surprisingly long for the two to finish their conversation. Shun waved Dorian to join them and the man stepped in front of the boy and gave him a good hard look. The man stared at him so intensely in fact that it unsettled Dorian quite a bit. Then he rushed back to his desk and grabbed some of the equipment.


    He used said equipment to measure the sizes of all of Dorians limbs, his waist line and neckline, thickness of just about everything. He even snatched down his pants and took a good look at his private bits before nodding to himself. Dorian quickly returned his underwear to its original place glaring at the man. It took several minutes before the man was finally done. He then took a step back and looked at Dorian as if he was imagining something. An eager smile appeared on the mans face.


    ¡°Oui! Thies young man wiell do splendidly for wat you have in mind, he has a precariously enchanting face, strong body lines et un magnific¨¦nt glare! Yes dangerous, beautiful, noble, fearsome. I wiell make you all of these things!¡± The man proclaimed gesturing dramatically with his arms. The man spoked with some weird kind of accent, some words weren''t even the same language. Dorian wondered where the man came from.


    After having theatrically proclaimed how beautiful Dorian was, which caused quite the awkward blush on his cheeks, he and Shun were quickly shooed outside so the man could start his work. The man rushed back into his store mumbling some things that Dorian could just make out.


    ¡°feathers of the black swan... yes... dark engraved metal.... ooooh yes!.... leather from the hallar, darkened by the....¡± The words trailed of as the man walked back inside.


    Dorian just stared at the man in complete shock. Feathers?! They were going to youse bloody feathers in his outfit? Dorian had a sinking feeling about whatever the two had planned. He looked at Shun real quick and noted his outfit which the man wore proudly. The clothes Shun wore looked really good on him, there was a sense of danger. The feeling of a predator oozed out of the man as he walked. The way he walked, only added to the effect.


    Dorian calmed his heart and decided that if this tailor could make Shun look like such a dangerously professional assassin then he would be alright. But still wat would he use the feathers for. Dorian left the tailor with a bit of doubt in his heart.


    Shun ended the days lectures and training there. He told him the tailor did fast work and that he would have finished the outfit by morning. So for now they would head to bed, Shun told Dorian to follow him. apparently he had an extra bed moved to the room he slept in so that it would be easier to wake him up in the morning.


    Shun''s room, which was now also Dorians room, was rather simple really. There had probably been some change but in the middle was a small living room with 2 couches and a table. Behind it was the kitchen. apparently Shun preferred to prepare his own food. No chance of poison that way he said. It was a habit he had since he was young and not one he was going to throw away. Why would one discard a usefull habit.


    On both sides of the kitchen separated by walls there were bedrooms. Both had a simple bed, with a wardrobe in on one side and a night stand at the head of the bed. There was a mirror and a sink on the side of the wall. Which he could use to prepare himself in the morning. The wardrobe so far was empty. Since it was already far past night it was time to sleep. It had really been a long, long day.


    The next day Dorian woke up to the smell of delicious food, he put on his clothes and entered the kitchen. Only to be greeted by the sight of Shun in the same assassins outfit but now wearing an apron. The contrast between the fully black gear and the belts of knives and the apron was really disconcerting. The apron even had a flower on it? Wat was with that? Seriously it was really, unnerving seeing an assasin happily cooking away like a housewife.


    The smell of the food though was delicious, it almost smelled as good as his mother''s home cooked meals. Good thing that Shun is going to be training me harshly. Or else id be worried i might get fat. Dorian thought as he looked at the lavish meal set in front of him on the table. Shun stood on the other side with his hands on his hips looking at him proudly.


    ¡°Dont just stand there like a donkey, dig in!¡± Shun said, with wat Dorian assumed was a smile behind that mask.


    Dorian sat himself down opposite of Shun and took a bite of the prepared food. The food consisted of eggs, sunny side up naturally. There was no other way to cook eggs! Bacon, and some kind of meaty sausage in a bun with sauce and some fried onions, garlic and mushrooms. It was freakishly delicious, Dorian let out a small moan when he tasted the food.


    ¡°You also have to teach me how to cook like this Shun!¡± Dorian said with his mouth full while was wolfing down his food.


    ¡°Young one it would be my genuine pleasure!¡± Shun said enthusiastically.


    Despite having only known each other for a day the 2 had already bonded. Was this because of the rare magical abilities they both shared or for some other reason. Well with the year or more of training they had ahead of them there was plenty of time for the two to bond.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    After finishing every last bit of the lavish breakfast he and Shun headed back for the Tailor. The tailor opened the door excitedly and waved them in.


    ¡°Come, Come! Stand over here and put this on!¡± He said handing Dorian a blindfold. ¡°Would not want to spoil ze surpries!¡±


    Dorian obediently put on the blind fold and awkwardly let the Tailor undress hem and then clad him in the new clothing that had been prepared. There were multiple layers of clothing that he was being dressed in. The first layer felt smooth, soft even to the skin. It was some kind of supple cloth, Dorian noted as he tried moving in it a little. The second layer was a bit heavier, it was a kind of leather unless he missed his guess.


    Then the tailor started adding some belts, Dorian could feel the wait of the weapon belts being added to the clothes. He also felt that the knife his father had gotten him was being added to a new sheath that was tied the same trusty place on his back. The tailor was still not done however, he added a pauldron to his right shoulder aswell as something to his upper arm, also he was given some greaves and some vambraces.


    Last bot not least came the fourth layer. He felt the heavy cloth of a cloak be added to the rest. The Tailor pulled the hood up and stepped back. He loosened the cloth around Dorians eyes with a wave of his hands. Magic? Dorian had not know that this tailor was a mage. Having the clothes done in one day made more sense now. Seeing as wat kind of place this was he was pretty sure the clothes had been enchanted with spells aswell.


    Then Dorian opened his eyes and looked into the tall mirror the tailor had placed infront of him.


    ¡°Woaw¡± Dorian whispered as he stared in shock at the man in the mirror.


    The tailor seemed truly delighted by the reaction as he was rubbing his hands in anticipation intensely studying the expression on Dorians face.


    The man that stared back at Dorian from the mirror didn''t remind Dorian of himself at all. First thing he noticed was the dark cloak, it had inbraided powerful seeming runes running along the edges. The runes were beautifull, there was a sense of nobility in the image just these runes created. The small sense of nobility however was overpowered by the effect the magically runed hood and mask had on his eyes.


    Out from under the hood peeked 2 glinting silver shards, the rest of his eyes were not visible just this 2 glistening silver specks stared back at him from beneath the hood. It was like looking into the eyes of a demon it was rather unnerving. The clothing beneath the cloak was every bit as well made as the cloak. He now had a belt of with 4 well sized knives  strapped unto his chest. The hilt from his own knife was barely visible underneath the clothes and cloak.


    There was a patch in the leather on his left shoulder that had about 10 gleaming metal throwing needles sticking beneath it. On his right shoulder there was an engraved darkened steel pauldron that covered his shoulder, the engravings were done so that they were visible in a slightly lighter tint of steel than the pauldron itself.Attached to the pauldron where some fancy black feathers that stuck our from the sides of the pauldron ever so slightly.


    He rolled his shoulder and noted that the feathers actually also had a practical use. The sound he made while rolling his shoulder was minimal. Someone standing further than 5 meters from him wouldn''t be able to hear it even if they were listening for it. Beneath the pauldron and the belt of knives was a black leather jacket that on inspection had a couple of hidden compartments were one could hide some items.


    While he was inspecting the jacket he felt that his underarms were heavier than they should be because of the vambraces. He felt around and noticed that there was a slender dagger latched to his lower arm that would probably fall into his hands if he was able to unlatch it with his internal magic. He then noticed that there was a cloth band tied to both his pinkies and when he stretched it out he 2 pieces of cloth fell out. At the end of the pieces there was a small thing at what on first glance looked to be a slender adamantine ring attached.


    ¡°Aah.¡± Shun said looking at him, presumably with a grin. ¡°that is something i ordered specifically. Once you will be able to control your own atoms as well as the ones in your armour you will be able to transform those rings. The armour itself will be able to shift with you and you can mildly control the atoms itself but you will not be able to transform it. Strengthen it perhaps but not change it. Those rings however have been given some special bloody juice from yours truly.¡±


    ¡°Which means that you will be able to individually transform those rings and use them for combat or for climbing. Or for any other thing you might be able to think up. They may look like a useless piece of cloth but the enemy will regret underestimating those little rings!¡±


    Dorian looked at himself in the mirror turning and bending to inspect the feel and the look of the armour. It really was a magnificent sight, although he did feel it was a little extravagant for an assassin.


    ¡°Yes, yes i can see in your gaze that the outfit might be a little extravagant for an assassin. Its fixed with ease however. All those that get to see you in that armour are either your allies or your enemies. The first you trust, the second won''t live to tell the tale. It may look a bit over the top but the enchanting on it is top-notch it is at the same time a masterwork of practicality.¡± Shun said as if he had heard wat Dorian was thinking.


    ¡°Mr.Tailor i should really thank you for making this armour for me, it is truly a magnificent piece of work.¡± Dorian said bowing his head slightly to the man to show his thanks.


    ¡°Nonsense boy, it was a pleasure to work on thies for you! It fits you truly well, i am proud of myself for making something this grandiose! Just do me proud and show the enemies wat kind of fear one of my beautiful works can inflict.¡± The man said with the same tone of theatricality


    ¡°Now dear student, lets finally start training in earnest. The sooner you master shifting the sooner you can work on tricks of your own!¡± Shun said excited that he could now start training him in earnest.


    Shun sped of after thanking the tailor and headed back to the training area at a run. Dorian used to running was able to keep up quite easily. Of course if Shun started shifting he would be left behind in the dust. Now that he thought about it if internal magic did not run on the same kind of mana as other magic than wat was the effect of using it? All abilities had to have some kind of effect to using them, nothing could be used without consequence.


    ¡°Wat kind of consequences does using our magic have?¡± Dorian asked Shun while running.


    Shun looked over at him. ¡°Same thing as any other exercise of the body really it tires you out, that is why we will be training stamina along with the use of our abilities. The use of our abilities also generates more stamina for us. Out of all creatures Internal users probably have the most stamina. We can train our stamina pool beyond the limits of wat would be possible for any other being.¡±


    ¡°Depending on the abilities we use they can be extremely powerfull but also extremely exhausting. We are strong, yes, but we are not all powerfull. Magic is our biggest foe, Magic is also wat slew Hirmanuculius. That is why being an assassin, makes us the ebst in the buisness. Who can use magic against you after all if they don''t see you coming.¡±


    Dorian thought it through and recognized the ups and downsides of Iternal magic. It would require an immense amount of concentration and training. Dorian thought about how it might be better to instead make the abilities more efficient. But while he was at it why not make it more efficient and train himself just as hard. After all now he had a new goal he set his eyes on, be able to defeat Shun.


    Then get ¨ªstril back.


    <hr />


    I noticed that i didn''t spellcheck the chapter yesterday, i normally do i swear to god i just miss some mistakes.


    Like The WAT and WHAT


    I know i make this mistake guys get off my back! :D


    Its a mistake that i dont notice when reading because its not a mistake in my language which blinds me to it.


    Im getting less wats and more whats as time passes so have some patience with me.

 chapter 17: Training

    Following Shun into the training area once more he looked at all the wires spread throughout the room. Shun had already taken a meditative position and motioned for him to sit on the floor. Dorian joined him in his meditation and looked deep within himself. The atoms seemed to be cleared now, maybe it had something to do with his knowledge. Now that he knew more about the atoms and his powers he could see the atoms clearer?


    Dorian thought about this, if knowledge also strengthened the power of his abilities then he should learn as much about atoms as he could. But how would he learn more about them it''s not as if there was anything told about them in books as only those with internal magic knew about it and since it was a magic focused on one''s body all the users focused more on the physical aspect of their training and weren''t writers or novelists.


    Self study remained the answer then, learning about the building blocks in your body to improve how well you are able to use them. He looked at the glowing specks in his body and tried his utmost to ''zoom'' into one of the specks in his body. Try as he might however the speck never grew beyond the size of a grain of sand. To small to really study it and its content. He started thinking even deeper about it, if these atoms were the building blocks of the body then what were the atoms made of?


    If the atom was made of its own kind of building blocks what were those made of, and if those building blocks had their own building blocks? Would this continue? How miniscule would one of those blocks be? Just thinking about it gave him a headache, he now already knew that there was more to the build of ones body or anything else for that matter than he had thought. Back to the specks however, he tried moving one individual speck and it took alot of effort to move one, so much in fact that he almost started panting.


    Did moving one atom cost that much energy?! He thought to himself astonished, he tried moving more atoms than 1 at once and to his surprise it was alot easier if he grabbed a whole bunch of them in stead of only using one. Although he called it ''grabbing'' one of them it was more like willing it to move with your mind. A sort of telepathy if you will. He tried moving the atoms on the skin of his arm closer together. He made them gather as densely as he could and then pressed his finger on his skin.


    The skin didn''t budge in the slightest, it felt hard as stone and just as unmovable. He understood how hard it would have been for a normal soldier to kill Hirmanuculius as long as he still had enough stamina. Next on Dorian''s list of things to try was shifting like Shun had done. He tried grabbing hold of all the atoms in his body and moving them. He tried to just imagine all of them moving.


    His body shifted and he moved a few centimeters to the left. The result however was an immense dizziness. His stomach was completely upset and Dorian couldn''t hold it back. He threw up over the stone floor.


    ¡°Aaaah, well yes that will take some getting used to. Eventually it will be as easy as breathing and it won''t leave as much strain on your body. I don''t feel the slightest discomfort anymore. Or else this would be an extremely annoying power to use. No choice but to keep doing it and get used to it kid.¡± Shun told him.


    You could have warned me about it before hand! Dorian thought, but he kept it to himself. For now he took a minute or so to breath and calmed himself. It took a while for his upset stomach to relax and for his head to stop spinning. He sat back in the same meditative posture and looked inside himself again.


    The specks greeted him once more, there were still so infinitely many of them. To control these, he wondered wat he could do with it all. For now however he just had to keep practicing shifting. He breathed in deeply and prepared himself to do it once more. He moved the atoms just the barest of a cm this time. His head spun and his stomach growled its protest, he was able to refrain from throwing up however.


    A deep breath, and another try. The same distance now resulted in less protest from his body. After about a dozen attempts he could move half a cm without feeling nautious anymore. Time to increase the distance then. He shifted himself a cm and his head spun once more and his stomach growled in protest. Only 1 cm and it was as if he had to start all over again. Dorian calmed his mind and concentrated. His father had gotten him used to some harsh training so he would be able to this aswell. He had to.


    After another dozen attempts at moving 1 cm he could do it without feeling nautious. He was panting however and the sweat was rolling down his back. For some reason however the clothes did not stick to his back and the sweat did not cling to his body as it usually should. Dorian focused on his sweat more and noticed that the clothes were actually absorbing his sweat. He looked at his legs and saw that the ground at his feet was getting slightly damp. The dampness pushed away from the cloth however.


    So there were cleanliness spells sewn into the cloth. Incredibly high level ones too, the cloth rejected dirt and damp alike. That meant these clothes would stay clean no matter what that made him feel a good bit better. He waited a minute orso for his breath to calm once more than went back to practicing. 1 cm turned to 2, 2 turned to 4, 4 to, and so on. By the time Shun stopped meditating Dorian was able to shift a good meter and a half.


    Shun looked at him and nodded. ¡°You seem to be getting the hang of it, a couple more days like this and you will be able to shift around. However moving yourself with the utmost precision is an entirely different matter. After a while we will start practicing to shift onto the wires and to be able to stay there. Combat training won''t do you much good because whoever taught you taught you extremely well. I doubt there is anything i could really teach you. Experience will be the only way for you to improve in that area.¡±


    ¡°Of course once you have mastered new abilities your fighting style will change. Although you may be quite skilled at wielding that knife of yours you will need to practice with those needles aswell. Practice unsheathing the blades on the belt aswell as those attached to your arms. The faster you can do it the more dangerous you will become.¡±


    ¡°For now however lets have some lunch, im starving. Also i told that child of yours she could drop by for lunch and dinner. She was giving her instructor a bunch of trouble that she wasn''t able to see you anymore so we made an exception. The rest of your friends need to concentrate however and you will only see them once a week orso.¡± Shun told him while he stretched his body.


    As they moved back to their rooms Dorian took this opportunity to shift aswell. He extended his reach once more by the time they had reached their room. Shiela was already there waiting for him at the door. She saw him coming and ran to him with that beaming smile on her face. She gave him a tackling hugg that Arin had dubbed The Glomp. It had become something Shiela liked doing to the people she felt comfrotable with.


    Dorian caught Shiela mid air and put her on his shoulder were she stayed perched happily. She pointed forward and bounced on his shoulder. Acting as if he was a horse, Dorian laughed and increased his pace. Running with a happy Shiela shrieking in glee.


    After running around with her a bit they entered the room were Shun was already taking out the ingredients. Dorian put Shiela on the ground and looked at her. ¡°Shiela want to help us make lunch? Shun over there is really good at cooking.¡±


    Shiela beamed and nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Mhh!¡± Dorian had noticed over the last day or so that even if Shiela couldn''t talk she could produce sounds of sorts. She could laugh aswell, Dorian wondered why words escaped her though. It probably had something to do with the events that had occurred to her.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Dorian shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and started to help Shun with cutting the vegetables. Shun asked Shiela to knead the dough he needed, he made sure to carefully instruct her how to make the dough more delicious. The 2 seemed to get along famously right from the start. Shiela enjoyed Shun''s company aswell and whenever she thought she was done she would tug on his leg and point to the dough asking if it was done.


    Shun looked over at the dough and then grinned at her. ¡°Ooah! You''re talented at this aren''t you lil one, this dough is great. We can make some yummy food with it!¡± Shiela was nearly shining with pleasure at the compliment and she nodded with another ''Mhm!''


    Dorian noticed that you didn''t need to see Shun''s face to know wat his facial expressions were, you could somehow just tell when he was smiling or grinning. Come to think of it he wondered how Shiela had instantly known that Dorian was Dorian. He had been clad in his outfit after all, hood up and mask covering everything below the eyes. Probably just instinct he thought with a smile.


    He looked over at the door and noticed a sword there. An eastern Longquan sword, A longquan was  a straight rather short sword with a hilt but no gaurd. The end of the beautifully inscribed hilt was a hole that was tied to some red rope knotted in a a complicated pattern. He looked at the sword in confusion. He knew it wasnt;t one of his or Shun''s weapons. Shiela then? He still felt really akward about letting her train with weapons. He was pretty sure the girl wasnt any older than 7.


    But he supposed having a longquan was leagues better than having a scythe. He looked over at the happily cooking Shiela.


    ¡°Shiela did you switch from the scythe to that sword?¡± Dorian asked her.


    Shiela looked up to him and then to the sword at the door. She nodded then grinned and ran over to get the sword. She wasn''t strong enough to lift the sword so she put her effort into dragging it to Dorian.


    She must have been really excited to show him the sword he thought. She would have had to drag the thing all the way over here just to show him. Well he already knew she was a determined little girl, mature beyond her age. Yet the joyful playfulness she displayed at all times was a balm for the heart.


    She dragged the sword over with short tugs, then looked up at to him with a sweaty grin once she had reached him. She then pointed to the sword and then to Dorian. He looked at her with a smile.


    ¡°Is it ok for me to take a look.¡± He asked already knowing the answer.


    She nodded happily and beamed when Dorian picked up the sword. He put his hand around the hilt and looked at the sheath. It really was quite the masterwork this sword, A smith like himself could always appreciate good workmanship. Especially in weapons. He slowly drew the sword and was impressed with the balance. Once Shiela had grown to a size were she would be able to wield the weapon she would probably start practicing insanely hard till she had mastered it. Dorian knew in his soul that was the type of kid she was.


    Once she had mastered this sword she would be able to take care of herself. The commander had been right it really did put his heart at ease a bit. He then suddenly thought to himself, Wait! Aren''t i basically a father now. It took him a moment to let the sensation sink in. He had practically adopted Sheila without even really noticing.


    Aaaah, explaining this to mum is gonna be a task. Dorian thought he then looked over to Shiela who was still looking at him with anticipation. He smiled at her, she is more than worth it though. I have to get stronger faster. I have to make sure i am strong enough to protect her from anything or anyone that wants to harm her. He looked at the blade of the eastern sword seeing his own reflection in the carefully polished metal.


    He gave the sword a few swings and then sheathed it again. He gave the sword back to Shiela. ¡°Once you master this blade you will be one of the strongest women on the continent. But i am sure that you will be the most beautifull¡± He said looking down at her fondly. Although any guy that wants to date her will have to go through me. He added savagely in his head.


    Shiela sent her another one of her beaming smiles and nodded and then gave her best determined face. Telling him she would work very hard to become the woman he had imagined. A strange sense of pride and confidence that she could do it welled up in his chest. He quickly returned to cooking before his emotions got the better of him.


    After a few minutes they were done with making lunch and sat themselves at the table. Shiela jumped onto his lap which seemed to be her favorite place to eat dinner. Digging into her food ravenously she ate as fast as she could. Dorian laughed at the site and told her to calm down and enjoy the food. Shun then proceeded to tell them a story of how he had once eaten lunch by accident in a trolls cave.


    Shiela listened intently to his story gasping in shock or giggling with glee at the highlights. For an assasin Shun really had his way with kids. Even Dorian had to say it was easy to feel connected to Shun. He felt like an uncle to Dorian now, especially with the way he was enjoying telling extravagant stories to the little girl. One story went on to the next and Shiela didn''t seem bored in the least. For that matter neither did Shun. Dorian just sat there enjoying the time they were spending together.


    Lunch took a good bit longer than it should. Eventually Shiela''s teacher came to pick her up so she could practice. It seemed that they would start with unarmed training because she was too small to pick up the sword yet. Shiela''s instructor was an eastern woman in a black dress that fit tightly to her skin. The dress had a distinguishing eastern style to it. It looked beautiful however, even in its simplicity. Maybe more to the point it was beautiful because of its simplicity.


    Shiela didn''t make a fuss when she had to leave as people would have expected. Instead she put on her determined face and marched back with the woman. Her back stiff and proud as if she was going to battle. The sight of the small girl looking so serious made Dorian laugh, he really was glad he met her.


    ¡°Such a good kid¡± Shun said watching them go.


    ¡°Yea and now she might aswell be my kid..¡± Dorian said. ¡°Lets go, there is training to be done.¡± Dorian walked away with a a grimly determined face. Shun looked at him then at Shiela. A father by choice huh. He thought, that will make him stronger.


    <hr />


    Ill try doing a chapter of atleast this size a day guys. Its straining on the brain tho so i might not have the creativity to write every day.


    ps. Does anybody know away to get my story more noticed? I see enough other stories with less chapters but more views and i wanna kick it up a notch so, if you have any tips, please.


    pps. I really enjoy the comments i get, especially when you tell me what you think of a chapter or of the story, it quite literally keeps me going knowing that i get reactions per chapter. Its how i get the drive to do a chapter.


    PPPS, Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 18 , A conversation

    ¡°Im told you found the girl in the dungeons after a group of criminals had mistreated her and her mother.¡± Shun said catching up to him. ¡°Did you ever wonder how she able to smile so much as if nothing had happened. Sure she is a strong girl but that is not all there is to it.¡±


    ¡°We excrete some of our atoms unknowingly, it makes us feel attracted to other internal users who also exrete these atoms. They infect the body of other people so to speak and makes them feel more connected to you. It works faster than any ussual relationship with people would if you tried to bond. It''s part of the reason why your friends are so close to you. It''s also the reason why you may feel so comfrotable around me.¡±


    ¡°As for the girl, you were probably emotionally unbalanced the time you met her and were probably excreting a larger amount than normal. It has for lack of a better word ''infected'' the mind of the young girl. Her memories from before will be clouded, as if they were from a dream instead of having really happened. She also probably thinks you truly are her father, but that is just speculation.¡± Shun suddenly revealed to him.


    ¡°Our powers can do something like that!?¡± Dorian asked him astonished. Now that he thought about it, it did make sense. He bonded with his squadmates faster than most people would have. After a couple of months of being squadmates most people wouldn''t immmediatly break the law for them. It was a bit unnatural.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Jorin and Lalin, had joined them in their quest for revenge and then decided to stay with them to work on cleaning the underground. It really had nothing to do with them and it was unreal how a priest would suddenly enter into combat with complete strangers. A dedicated priest might have helped them heal their wounds, but would not have actually entered into combat alongside them.


    Were these all side effects of the internal magic? Did it really force people around him to do wat he wished them to do. The thought of him forcing his ideals on others was rather upsetting to him. Shun saw the change in demeanor and quickly interjected.


    ¡°You are not forcing people to do what they dont want to do if that is what you are thinking.¡± Shun said looking at him. ¡°They feel connected to you and that is all there is to it, the choices they made they would have made regardless. You just happened to meet a strange group of people whos ideals coincided.¡±


    Shuns words made Dorian feel a bit at ease. Now he could truly foccuse on his training.


    <hr />


    A short chapter to explain some things that may have felt forced. Another chapter will be coming later so this does not count as todays chapter!

 Chapter: 19 Battle

    Months quickly passed where Dorian spent most of his time training. He and Shiela had grown ever closer, she dropped by as often as they would let her. Her new favourite spot was on top of Dorians shoulders. Dorian with all his fatherly love of course made sure that she sat there nearly every day. Soon enough it became a kind of ritual, everytime Shiela would come over to eat lunch and dinner, afterwards he would carry her back to her training area.


    Dorians abilities had grown a lot, he could now shift the maximum distance of 120 meters. Shun said that trying to do further was a terrible idea. It could destabilize the atoms and body parts could go missing or you may outright die. Well, and a father couldn''t risk his life without an incredibly good reason now could he. The term ¡äfather¡ä had taken some getting used to but he now truly thought of himself as Shiela¡äs father.


    There were times were he actually forgot he had adopted her it just felt so natural. He still hadn¡ät seen the rest of the group he had come here with. Two more months till their individual training would be finished and they started doing missions together. The strangest thing was that they had not been training as a group. They had however trained to fight together with all kinds of people. The instructors believed it would be better if they learned how to co-operate well with different types of fighters.


    After all you wouldn¡ät always have the same squadmates to fight by your side. You might suddenly gain an ally or lose one when you least expected it. It would not do to hit your ally by accident after all. The most eventful thing that had happened was that Dorian had started working on a technique of his own. He was taken to a healer once because he had ended with one of his needles straight through his hand.


    Shun, confused by what had happened, and while continuously berating him, rushed him to a priest. He was worried about what a wound to the hand could do. Not being able to use your hand properly was a risk he did not want to take. A cripple assassin isn¡ät a very good one. Dorian was excited hehad been working on the technique for a while, now it was finally time to show it to Shun. They were going to duke it out in a one versus one fight.


    This time they headed to a room without the wires. They would fight one another for the first time since they had met. Apperently the word had spread around and a large crowd had gathered. Shun the great assassin had taken a pupil, this was unheard of in the first place. Not only that but his pupil also possessed the rare internal magic. What kind of warrior would miss a fight like this, just watching it was a good experience.


    His friends were there as well, they had changed quite a bit though. Jorin had grown a bit, he had let his blond hair grow out. It was long and tied into a braid at the bottom of his neck. He wore a simple white robe without any embalsihment on it. His staff was the same , even though it was beautifully carved and wel cared for it was not embellished. He a regal aura flowing around him. The young man looked wise, and saintly.


    Then there was Blaitz, He had gained a large amount of muscle over the past months. It did nothing for his quickness and lither look however. He was not wearing a shirt just like his instructor. There wasn¡ät an ounce of unnecessary fat to be seen on his body. He now wore the scimitar on his belt like it belonged there. He had also let his hair grow, Dorian was unsure whether to call it hair or a mane. His orange fur was topped by dark brown dreadlocks. His hair reached to his lower back. He looked more like a savage beast than a person if Dorian was honest.


    Vor had, believe it or not, actually grown even more. The giant entman was now at least 2,8 unless Dorian misjudged him. His face had hardly changed but his body seemed to have bulked up quite a bit. Although it was hard to tell because Entmen did not have the same muscular structure as other humanoids. His face was as stoic as ever, he somehow seemed even more unmoveable though. As if he had grown roots into the stone on which he was standing. The young entman seemed to be growing a beard aswell. The dark green patch was moss, Dorian was almost certain that it really was moss.


    Viyella was wearing what seemed to be elven armour. Which meant she only had a breastplate covering her breasts. The breastplate was made of some kind of green non-reflective metal. The metal was embroidered somehow with what seemed to be wood. She had a dark green dress beneath it that reached her ankles. The tunic was cut to the hip at the sides as to give her more mobility. She had a new bow on her back that looked to be a masterpiece of elven craftsmanship.


    Lalin stood next to her surprisingly, she was wearing something that was made entirely of different kinds of fur, she looked more like a barbarian than anything else really. Her hair was messy as well and there was a chaotic glaze in her eyes. It was almost like she was suffering from insanity. Suffering from insanity might be the wrong word for it. It seemed that whatever she had she wasn¡ät suffering from it. She was enjoying every damned minute of it. Possibly her training had turned her into a beserker of sorts. One of those people he had heard of that basked in their savagery and let their anger flow.


    Last but not least was Gladiel, He was wearing a duelling hat with a feather sticking out of it. His clothes showed a worksmaship that Dorian suspected were from the same tailor as his own outfit. He had also grown a blue mustache just as magnificent as his tutors, his hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. He honestly seemed like a nobel of sorts.


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    The gallery had formed a ring around the room and at one end of the room stood Shun already waiting for him. Dressed in the same outfit he always wore he stood ready to face him. Dorian walked into the ring and the viewers closed the gap behind him spreading out so everyone could have a good view. They stood opposite each other, they stared each other, aware, ready for movement. The atmosphere tensed as the two fighters prepared to make their moves.


    Without any sign or warning Shun shifted behind Dorian striking out with a powerfull blow. Dorian nimbly dodged the attack and spun into a back heel kick. Just before the kick could connect on the blocking Shun, Dorian shifted to suddenly change the angle of his attack. The kick suddenly came from a totally different angle. Shun however had been prepared and had dropped to a knee he spun to break Dorians balance. Dorian shifted himself in the air just above the kick and spun his other foot into a kick which Shun blocked with a crossed arm guard.


    The two fighters backed off and stared at each other again. The crowd cheered them on watching the awesome display between the two skilled assassins. The exchange between the two had lasted only a second but the adrenaline was pumping its way through their veins. Pupils dilated in excitement the two stared at each other. Shun slowly drew one of his blades balancing it in his hand. Dorian flicked his wrist and a blade dropped in his hand.


    Time to show off my new party trick, Dorian thought to himself with a grin. Shun shifted forward and Dorian focused himself like the point of a needle. Concentration hitting the peak of what was humanly possible he waited for the blade to strike his skin. Shun struck forward swinging for his jugular. No mercy in his cold attack, Dorian was Shun¡äs student and Shun was fully aware that if he did not go about this seriously he would lose.


    The blade came ever closer to Dorians skin, He could feel the flecks of the atoms of the knife in his minds eye. He ¡äsaw¡ä them drawing close to his skin then he moved his atoms. He slowed them and made them flow around, between, over and under the knife. For those that were viewing from the side it seemed as if the knife had just swept through his skin but it had not left a wound. Not a scratch to be found on his neck.


    Shun was just as astonished as the onlookers, he stared at his student in surprise while passing him. Dorian not wasting the chance he had just made delivered a quick palm strike to the solar plexus knocking all air from his lungs. Before Dorian could flow into his next strike Shun had already shifted to distance. Dorian shifted towards him but before he could even finish his attack Shun had already recovered. The control of his atoms he forced his lungs to relax and suck the air back in.


    The two started shifting from one spot to another attacking with movements even the expert eyes of the onlookers had trouble following. Shun made another slash with his knife but yet again it passed straight through Dorian. Dorian had been working on this technique for the last few months and it had gone wrong here and there. One example was the needle through his hand, he had lost concentration halfway through and it had gotten stuck.


    This technique had major drawbacks however. First it needed an intense amount of concentration, second the stamina cost was incredibly heavy as well he could use it perhaps a dozen times before he was at his limits. So he had thought long and hard about how to use it in battle and decided the best way would be to use it at a moment that would leave his opponent open. When fighting multiple opponents he could use it to cause psychological damage on the ones that were watching.


    Fighting an opponent your blades couldn¡ät harm was naturally incredibly taxing on a soldiers mind. Shun however was nowhere near a regular soldier and would not be so easily fazed. It was enough to make the man carefull however. He could hear his friends cheering him on, Blaitzes roar was especially audible. He could see Shiela bouncing around waving her fists cheering him on from the corner of his eyes aswell.


    Taking a deep breath he went back on the attack. The two experts went at each other holding nothing in reserve. Eventually Shun decided to use a trick of his own, a puff of smoke appeared from a little ball he had thrown. The puff quickly encircled the ring, suddenly Dorian could feel the shift in the smoke as something came from behind. Reacting smoothly he moved to face the attack only to see that there was nothing there. Suddenly the gleam of cold metal appeared from his back and pricked softly into his back.


    ¡äGotcha!¡ä Shun said triumphantly.


    ¡äGot you aswell!¡ä Dorian said and then Shun saw the turned back knife pricking the major vein in his legs.


    ¡äAs expected of my student¡ä Shun said laughing happily. Dorian grinned at him.


    The onlookers hadn¡ät seen the exchange but they had seen the outcome. They roared as they saw the two standing there with knives pointed at each other''s vital spots.


    <hr />


    This chapter has been edited by sk8late!


    Much thanks for him for the hard work, mistakes will be less frequent now. Yaaaay for you guys.


    He also had some tips here and there. Most i took, some i changed.


    Thanks for reading hope you liked it!

 Chapter: 20 Friendly faces

    After the fight the people had gathered around the two and were babbling away about how well they had done. Most of the other instructors were teasing Shun about how he had only managed to fight to a draw with his student. Shun just retaliated that his student was just that much more talented than theirs. Which naturally ended in a shouting match, none of the instructors was willing to admit that any of their students were inferior.


    Dorian walked over to his friends grinning. ¡°What did you think of my new party trick?¡±


    ¡°I''m not even going to ask how the hell you did that.¡± Blaitz said walking over with a beastly grin. ¡°It would just give me a headache anyway.¡± Blaitz did however poke him while keeping the grin on his face. ¡°Just making sure you didn''t somehow turn into a ghost!¡±


    The rest of the group laughed, it felt good seeing the others again. Shiela came running from the other side of the ring. and went for her patented diving hug, the legendary Glomp. Dorian caught her and spun her around once before perching her on his shoulders.


    ¡°What did you think Shi, did I do well?¡± Dorian said using the nickname he had given her over the past few months.


    Shiela looked at him and beamed, proceeding to give him a head rub and giggling in glee. Dorian laughed. ¡°Guess that means you¡¯re proud of me!¡± Shiela nodded a few times energetically.


    ¡°You guys sure have changed quite a bit over the last few months. Especially you who Lalin what in the hundred hells happened to you.¡± She used to seem so stoic so the savagery in her eyes really was quite the change.


    ¡°My instructor simply told me there was no need to hide who I am anymore. My people are looked down upon by yours. Here however no one seems to care about where you came from or what your past may be. As long as you have the skills to fit in that is all that is needed.¡± The savage mage told him.


    Dorian looked her in the eyes and grinned. ¡°You never had to hide anything from us you know. I hope you realize that. We are quite the gathering of oddballs after all.¡± The rest of the group merely nodded their agreement while Blaitz slapped her on the back a bit too enthusiastically. Almost causing Lalin to land face first on the stone floor.


    She glared at him angrily which only made him laugh harder. She continued glaring for a moment till she sighed and shrugged. It was after all how Blaitz treated everyone. They soon enough started sharing tales of their instructors and the crazy things they had done to teach them new things. They all looked at Viyella unbelievingly when she told them he had shot her arrows right out of the sky. It seemed like a thing that would only happen in a bard¡¯s tale.


    ¡°Have you heard that they want us to join in on a mission sooner than planned?¡± Gladiel suddenly said disrupting the conversations flow. Dorian knew that Gladiel had done some digging around for information. It seemed to be a passion of his, finding out information he should not have a hold of.


    ¡°Haven''t heard of it yet no, but then again I haven''t really been in contact with anyone much beside Shi and her tutor.¡± Dorian told him.


    ¡°Well there seems to be this human trading organization somewhere in the sewers that they want to clean out. But it seems that the people responsible have quite the amount of thugs under their control. It''s near an army. A number of gangs had come together to set up an underground slave auction. The profits are high so other gangs quickly accepted the offer to join in. It resulted in the operation becoming of a larger size than most people would have thought possible.¡±


    The group''s face had turned with disgust at the mention of a slave auction. Through personal experiences they had gained a hate for slavers. A hate that burned heavy in their hearts, Lalin and Viyella in particular were the most bothered by the news of another slaver organization. Apparently, although it was news to the group, Lalin''s people had often been captured by other kingdoms and empires to be used as slaves.


    She came from one of the northern tribes that gathered in the mountains. The tribes lived separately and had no real contact with each other or the outside world. Which made them easier targets for slaver organizations. After all who was easier to take than people who had no family or representatives in the ''civilized'' world.


    ¡°Do they have any information about ¨ªstril yet?¡± Dorian asked with worry on his face.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Gladiel said annoyance apparent on his face. ¡°The information gatherers are vexed by the lack of information around her. The commander has dug deeper than even he should have done but they found nothing. Honestly it has been covered up to cleanly, there is suspicion of major governing factions being involved.¡±


    If the governing factions of the empire were involved it would make the matter a lot more complicated. Dealing with political problems was not really their strong suit. Some enemies were simply too big to fight. Unless you had a strong power of your own backing you up. That or an army. Although the people of this group were individually extremely skilled they were more suited for subterfuge and smaller scale operations.


    They were nowhere near the danger of a full sized army. Dorian refused to give up hope though, all he needed was a target. The smallest sliver of information would be enough for him to move on. They did however need to get that information first however.


    ¡°We really need some information. Gladiel keep an ear out for it, although this seems like an organization with a straightforward goal we can''t be too careful. Anyone can keep information to themselves for reasons that may not be clear for us at the moment.¡±


    Gladiel nodded. ¡°I was going to keep an ear out regardless. Information is one of the most dangerous weapons. Even for a gentleman such as myself.¡±


    ¡°Well thinking about it for any longer won''t do us any good. Let¡¯s get us some food, I¡¯ll treat you guys to my new found cooking skills.¡± Dorian said grinning at them.


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    The rest of the group excited to change the new food, followed him. Shiela still sat on his shoulders playing drums on his head. Laughing and joking with each other they headed to Dorian''s quarters. Suddenly Vor brought up if they had enough chairs for the lot of them. Dorian shook his head. They had only 4 chairs for their rather small table. Vor rushed off in the distance before reappearing with a pile of chairs and even an extra table.


    The group was too used to his feats of strength to even be surprised anymore. Blaitz did take a few chairs off his hands however to make walking a bit more comfortable. They entered the room with their newfound furniture and set the table. Dorian then headed to the kitchen and took out the olive oil, spices, potatoes vegetables and meat from the magical freezing compartment in one of the walls.


    He started cutting up the vegetables, Shiela who had also become quite proficient with her cooking skills helped out. Helping cook lunch and dinner every day with Shun and Dorian had polished up her cutting and other cooking skills. At the age of 8 She was already a more proficient cook than most average people.


    Dorian put some of the spices in the olive oil and stirred the mixture, which he then added to the slices of potatoes he was baking. The aromatic smell of the food wasted no time wafting into the nostrils of the hungry group. Their stomachs started to grumble with the anticipation of a delicious meal.


    ¡°


    Viyella started putting the plates on the table, while Dorian made some finishing touches to the sauce before putting all the dishes on the table and telling them to dig in. He had made an absurd amount of food because he was well aware of the depth of the holes in the stomaches of his squad mates.


    After a quick thank you they dug into their food ravenously. Happy moans and sighs escaped the group as they enjoyed their food. Shiela watched them eat with a proud squared back before filling their plates immediately with more food once they emptied. Dorian had been right about the amount of food. In fact he was starting to worry that might even not have made enough. Blaitz and Vor were eating so much food that he wondered if they actually digested the stuff or if they had some kind of magical circles in their mouths that made the food mysteriously vanish.


    The mood during dinner was lighthearted and easygoing. Moments like these were unfortunately rare and unfamiliar to the group. Dorian made sure to cherish the sight of it. It was always a treat to see people really enjoying the food you had made. Shiela looked just as proud as he felt watching them make the food disappear.


    Secretly however Dorian was worrying about tomorrow. A all out mission of all the members of right of the bat. It was kind of disturbing how it was necessary to use all 400 members. They had given the organization a name of its own in secret . They couldn''t keep referring to it as the organization after all. It would be extremely suspicious in public.


    As a joke at first they had given it the name ¡®The Table¡¯, surprisingly however the use of it had spread among the senior members as well. It was a safe to use, neutral way to refer to the organization. If you used table in a conversation for instance you could say, how have things been going at The Table? People passing by would not understand what was so special about whatever they were talking about.


    It was rather ingenious, or so the other members thought. Dorian and his group however still could not say it without laughing, at the very least a smile would pop out whenever they said it. It was ridiculous how it seemed to be a normal thing for the other members to call an elite organization The Table.


    Dorian still wondered who exactly sanctioned The Table however. They were a part of the government and they had political support. They were basically just an elite group of the army that operated covertly, both within their own borders and outside them. Eventually they had found out that the cleaning of this city was merely a stand-by order until they had things to do on the other side of the border.


    Their superiors had deemed it a good idea to have them clean up the city while on stand-by. It was a good way to bring the crime to an all-time low. Dorian wondered however if the emperor had knowledge of this or if it was just a political noble faction that sanctioned this without the emperor¡¯s knowledge.


    Dorian sighed deeply and thought how it was actually none of his business. As long as he was able to do things he deemed necessary to protect the country he would do so without hesitation. He was proud of the empire he lived in. Sure there were plenty of things wrong with the country, but which country did not have its flaws. The thing Dorian was most proud of in his country was both its diversity and the government¡¯s tendency to take care of their civilians.


    If there were monster plagues on the country side the people in charge would immediately send a military force to quell the problem. Life in the countryside was generally very peaceful as a result. He had found the underbelly of the Empire however in his new line of work. It was disconcerting but he was happy that there was something being done about it. And that he could be a part of it.


    While Dorian had been lost in thought the rest of his group had finished their plates and were sharing experiences from their past, their respective clans or families and showing off scars that they had. Some of the scars had some really good stories behind them, others were hilarious mishaps. For instance Gladiel had a scar on his butt. It had happened when he had flirted with a girl who had violent tendencies.


    What she had done was ram her fork right into his butt cheek when he was looking admiringly at another girl¡¯s bosom. The story made everyone laugh, Shiela seemed a bit confused by the story but was just happy to see everyone else laughing. That was more than enough for her to laugh along.


    Dorian decided to just enjoy the night. Who knew what tomorrow would hold.


    <hr />


    And another chapter done, More editing by Sk8late aswell!


    Hope you guys enjoyed,


    Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 21

    The next morning they were woken by one of the instructors. It was time for the strategic meeting, they would plan their attack beforehand. They followed the instructor to one of the bigger rooms of the underground complex. What made this particular room so special was the large heavy oaken table placed in the middle. The table was a sight quite of itself, it was at least 8 meters long and about 4 meters in breadth.


    What made this table so special was the many magical spells which had been engraved. This magical masterpiece could create simulations out of the light. One could recreate a city in the light, then mark buildings or sending images of the supposed troops through the streets. It was really an incredible invention. Today would be Dorian''s first time seeing it but he had heard about it from the other soldiers.


    All the members of The Table were present. The commander looked over the room from the slightly elevated platform that he was standing on. There were two of the mages beside him that would control the magical table to form the images. ¡°Today it will be time for one of our largest operations to date. According to our information sources the criminal organization we are fighting against today have a total of 1734 thugs employed. They outnumber us four to one, so it shouldn''t be too hard!¡±


    The on looking soldiers laughed, indeed for these people being outnumbered four to one was a generally easy match-up. However all of them knew they should not let their guards down. Even they would die if they got themselves surrounded and were then peppered with arrows.


    ¡°There are four buildings above the ground that we can enter through. Here, here, here and here.¡± The commander said pointing to images of buildings on the map that had been recreated with the light. ¡°We will have four teams of 18 members each attack these buildings. Teams Six through Ten will be the ones doing the building assault.¡±


    Dorian nodded now really paying attention, according to what he had heard from Gladiel last night they had been placed in team 8. There were some soldiers accompanying them, but the rest consisted of Dorian''s team.


    Dorian¡¯s team would be taking the building on the corner of a dark street at the edge of the city, it was near the city walls. Most of the buildings there were shacks instead of actual stone buildings. The edge of the city was the most criminally active district. Dorian doubted they would have a lot of trouble from the local populace however. The people there had been fighting to survive their entire lives. Most of them could instinctively know how dangerous people were.


    Dorian analyzed the building and the surrounding streets, memorizing the lay-out and any entrance/escape routes. ¡°Dorian you will take lead of Team 8, you up for it?¡± The commander asked him.


    Dorian looked up in surprise before nodding with determination. ¡°Of course commander.¡±


    ¡°Good, once the teams have cleared out the buildings you will move through the underground sewers to meat up at these gathering points. The rest of the teams will be entering through the sewer entrances, there are 13 of these in total. In the end we will have surrounded the underground auction. Once we move in on the underground auction, team six and fourteen will move to secure the slaves.¡±


    ¡°The rest of us will make sure the auction is cleaned up, the auction itself will be where the fighting is thickest. We will use the Rune mages network to signal the start of the attack. Each group will have one rune mage. However you will only have one when you have gathered at one of 5 entrance points. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± was the response of the crowd as they focused on the memorizing the strategy.


    ¡°Once we get inside it will be chaos, be careful to pick your targets. Not everyone inside is an enemy, we have a few informants on the inside. Subdue if possible, kill only if not given any other choice. That was it for the meeting, Dismissed!¡±


    The soldiers left the meeting room and headed to the training area. Dorian raised his voice ¡°Would the members of team 8 please follow me!¡± He wanted to get to know the team he would be commanding as soon as possible. They may be elite soldiers but every person had their own quirks, especially in an organization such as this. All of them were people used to working individually but now they would have to work together.


    Dorian headed to a separate room he had prepared beforehand, he knew the number of members in his team before hand and had wanted to get to know all of them. He had not known he was going to be in command of the team however. He entered the room and took a seat at the end, his squad sat themselves down closest to him. The rest of the team followed suit and sat down on the remaining chairs.


    In the end all of them had taken a seat, Dorian took a look around the table to see the team he would soon be commanding. Before he could start however Shiela burst in as well. Dorian should have expected it but she jumped on his lap staring at the other people around the table. Dorian felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, he had wanted to build the image of a strong confident leader with the soldiers he had not yet got known.


    The soldiers looked at the girl and then at him for a moment. Then the whole lot of them burst into laughter, Dorians squad wasn''t any better even Vor was hiding a grin behind those huge shovels he called hands. Dorian sighed and rubbed Shiela''s head.


    ¡°Well I thought we ought to get to know one another before we commenced the mission. Seems the little one wants in on the chat!¡± He said smiling, trying to make the most of the situation. ¡°Well this is Shiela, and my name is Dorian. I will be the commander of this team, nice to meet the lot of you!¡±


    ¡°Bloody nice to meet you cap''n!¡± A dwarf piped up from the end of the table. ¡°Yea cap''n don''t worry about the little one, she already almost be taller then us beardies!¡± Another dwarf said who was sitting next to his friend, On inspection the two were nearly identical, twins presumably?


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    ¡°Me name is Axe! This is me brother Snax!¡± The dwarf told him, both of them had incredibly long beards. Braided in those complicated dwarven patterns. They had those golden rings intertwined in their beards as well. Probably a dwarven custom of sorts. ¡°Both of us be axe wielders, you chaps need some''ting sliced up, we be your dwarves!¡± Axe proclaimed enthusiastically.


    ¡°Well if siblings are to be the ones who do their introductions first, My name is Farial, and this is my twin sister Firial¡± This time it was an elven man who stood up to introduce himself. The man had long blond hair which he had hanging loose. His sister looked the same as him except for the slightly more feminine bone structure. Her hair however was black compared to his blond.


    They gave a synchronized bow and then sat back down. ¡°It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We specialize in the traditional elven longbow and twin short swords.¡± She finished for the both of them. Dorian looked at them surprised, he had two sets of twins in his team? What were the odds of that, not to mention Elves and dwarves usually did not have many children. Twins were even rarer, they lived longer, they always had someone to look after them which made them stronger.


    Either way it was a question that Dorian would save for another day. After the introduction of the twins Dorians friends stood up to introduce themselves and their abilities. To which Dorian noticed that he had not told them his abilities yet. ¡°I just realized I haven''t told you guys what my abilities and specialization is.¡± Dorian said standing back up.


    ¡°There will be no need for that, you are Shun''s pupil. You are well known amongst us, most of us saw your fight as well so we are aware of your abilities.¡± A young man with a neatly done buzz cut told him.


    ¡°I am Cern, and these are Wazel, Bopul, and Mins. The four of used were a squad of legionnaires until we got into a fight with an underground gang, we were recruited when we killed the gang with just the 4 of us, and if you need a front line we are your men! Pleasure to meet you all.¡± The rest of his squad stood up with Cern and smacked their fists to their chests at nearly the exact same moment.


    Then they sat back down and everyone looked at the last 3 which had not yet introduced themselves. One of them stood up, he was an elderly man who seemed to be blind unless Dorian missed his guess. He had long hair tied neatly into a complicated braid. He had a beard cut close to the chin.


    ¡°I am called Thol, unarmed combat is my specialty. My combat style is called Sung Fi I can swiftly and quietly disperse of our enemies.¡± After the short introduction the elder man sat back down.


    Dorian looked at him a bit in surprise, he was pretty sure this was the same elder that had been teaching Lalin unarmed combat. He quickly looked over to Lalin who nodded, confirming his suspicions.


    ¡°I am called Olgrin, I was Vor''s instructor and am also a dwarf of the front line!¡± The dwarven instructor said. Dorian remembered Vor telling him that he had been unable to even move the much smaller dwarf an inch when he started his training. The dwarf certainly felt like someone you could trust.


    ¡°I am called Yiglif, and I am a mage of the north. Ice would be my specialty. If you need some deep-frozen steak leave it to me!¡± The slender blond woman told them. The joke rang true with the group, causing a few under the breath laughs here and there.


    ¡°We also be hopin'' you could keep our ale nice''n cold!¡± Axe said, or was it Snax. Honestly Dorian was uncertain the two really did look identical.


    ¡°As long as you are willing to share it would be my pleasure!¡± The woman replied with a smile.


    ¡°Axe me boy, I think I she may have takin'' me heart!¡± Snax loudly proclaimed. Causing more laughter across the table.


    ¡°me bro¡±?


    The way the members talked to each other really made Dorian feel a bit more at ease. If they got along well it would be a lot easier. After the introductions had been finished he let the group keep talking about himself. It was about lunch time so he invited everyone over to lunch.


    ¡°You really should come.¡± Lalin told her instructor. ¡°His cooking is exquisite, I have never before tasted its like.¡±


    ¡°Girl I was planning to come either way, make haste. My stomach be a rumblin''!¡± The blind old man said suddenly imitating the dwarves who had head him.


    ¡°Looki here Snax, The elder be a dwarf on the inside like us!¡±


    ¡°Well ain''t that just splendid, I bet here old man would like some taste of our ale as well.¡± Snax replied slapping his brother on the back.


    ¡°Please, it would fill this elders belly quite splendidly.¡±


    After his words the twins ran off to actually get a barrel of ale. Which Yiglif actually started cooling with her ice magic. Once again Dorian was sure he had gotten the weird people in his team. But he didn''t mind at all, the diversity was what made everything so much fun!


    <hr />


    Im working on improving my writing, to make it better it will take some time. There will probably be 1 day delay between now and the enxt chapter. Sorry!


    Again edited by Sk8late!

 Chapter 22

    Dorian paced, holding his hands tightly behind his back. He was observing the building across the street. It had been suspiciously quiet for a while now.


    ¡°Gladiel,¡± he suddenly said, ¡°How much more time left on that sundial of yours.¡±


    Gladiel licked his lips ¡°We still got a few minutes left to go cap''n,¡±


    The groups tension hit a new high, waiting before the fight was always the most nerve wracking. People started checking the edges on their weapons, here and there people were pacing. Trying to prepare himself mentally for any situation Dorian kept staring at the building.


    Viyella was fidgeting with her hair keeping an eye on the building as well. Dorian could almost feel the nerves of the other members.


    I have to do something about it.


    ¡°Snax, Axe you guys have some of that ale with you?¡±


    ¡°But of course cap''n we aint goin anywhere without a sip of our good ol'' ale¡±


    Dorian grinned ¡°How about giving us a taste of that brewing you''re so proud of,¡±


    Snax winked, ¡°As you command cap''n!¡±


    The twins uncovered a small cask each which they had been carrying beneath their cloaks. Axe waggled his eyebrows. ¡°We was prepared for a victory drink, might as well have sip now ay?¡±


    To everyones astonishment the two had actually acquired enough mugs for everyone. Dwarves never really ceased to amaze. Olgrin wasn''t surprised in the least, he had brought a set of mugs himself.


    They held the mugs under the casks and filled a mug each. The mug filled with rich golden liquid and was topped of expertly by the dwarves to form a some clean white foam. Dorian sat himself down against a wall and took a sip, the cold ale made its way down his throat and burned its way down to the stomach. Where it hit with a splash of satisfaction. Warmth spread through his body.


    ¡°That really hits the spot.¡± Dorian said face flushed.


    ¡°Don''t it?¡± Snax said back straight, grinning with pride. The rest of the group stepped forward to get some ale for themselves. Soon enough they were sitting in a circle enjoying themselves over some great dwarven ale. Even the elves among them enjoyed the taste of the ale, and that said something.


    It had worked like a charm, everyones nerves were quelled. Cern was laughing at the foamy mustache on Viyella who had never had any ale or the like before. Soon enough the rest of them joined in the laughter. Viyella blushed and wiped the foam mustache.


    Gladiel refrained from having a mug, he had caught on to what Dorian was doing and kept an eye on the building and the dial in his hands. Gladiel was the most cold-blooded of them all, Dorian felt reassured leaving some tasks in his hands. Which made him think of something.


    ¡°I''d like to make Gladiel my second in command, what do you guys think? ¡°


    Gladiel looked back in surprise, then shrugged and went back to observing the building. The rest of the group just voiced their consent, Cern slapped his shoulder congratulating him. Gladiel checked his sundial one more time, giving Dorian a short nod he got up.


    ¡°Right, Guys time to get to work, lets have some more of that ale once we''re done!¡±


    The group grinned but then joined him in walking to the building. Dorian set himself up on one side of the door, he looked at Farial, Firail and Viyella. They put an arrow on their bows and aimed at the door. He looked everyone over once more, then took a deep breath and kicked the door open.


    Three arrows zoomed past his ears piercing the vital spots of 3 thugs close to the door. Dorian immediately shifted to the back of the room, Grabbing hold of a thugs chin then cleanly slitting his throat. The four legionnaires were the first to rush in together with the 3 dwarves. They made short work of the thugs closest to the door.


    The rest entered soon after, some magic spells went flying throughout the room taking down enemies to far away for the front line. Arrows hissed through the air, Dorian quickly shifted from enemy to enemy taking down those out of the line of sight. Within seconds their were none of the thugs left. No death throes to be heard, every attack had been aimed at a vital spot.


    Dorian took a deep breath and cast a gaze over his team, no injuries to be detected. The entry had been swift and clean. Not wanting to waste time Dorian started the search for the latch that would lead them into the sewers. After a few minutes they found it, Dorian took a deep breath and headed opened the hatch.


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    Before them was the expected hallway, Dorian told the dwarves to lead the way. Dorian and his team carefully made their way down into the sewers. It became dark around them, air pungent. They decided against using torches, favoring the surprise over the extra vision. Lalin made sure to carefully check for life signs using her magic.


    After a few minutes of carefully mapping the labyrinth that was the sewers, they came across another group of the thugs. There weren''t that many of them this time, a dozen at most. Dorian signaled the 3 archers, letting them know they were to take two each, Lalin would take three, Dorian would take the other three himself.


    A deep breath, then he shifted behind one of the thugs. Arrows hissed through the air once more quickly taking care of their targets. Dark stains of shadow flew through the air slipping into the throats of three unaware guards. Who to their horror were suddenly no longer able to breath. As for Dorians targets, a knife to the throat and two thrown needles quickly dispatched of the targets he had picked.


    Cleaning his knife on the enemies tunic, and then retrieving his needles he stood up and looked at the corpses on the ground around him. Even for criminals these people had been terribly armed. Their clothes and armor were worn and tattered. Their weapons had niches and showed signs of rust. He took a closer look at the corpses, they even showed signs of malnourishment. So poor they had didn''t have enough for food. The thought honestly bothered Dorian a bit, he didn;t really blame people for sinking into criminality when they were so hungry their stomach was snipping at their spines.


    Snow, corpses on the floor. Ribs showing, black finger tips.


    Dorian shook his head in an attempt to clear it, visions? Was this an effect of his Internal magic? He would have to ask Shun when he got back to the base. Dorian gave himself a mental slap, he had to focus. He was responsible for his teams lives, he had no time to be distracted.


    He ignored the bodies at his feet and motioned his men further down the sewers, they still had a ways to go before they reached the meeting point. They continued to carefully make their way through the sewers once more.


    After they cleared another group guarded by the thugs Dorian looked at the bodies and the faces of the people at his feet. One of them was a very skinny woman with blond hair and blue eyes. Her eyes had glazed over but her face triggered yet another vision.


    Woman, basket of fishes, offer. Smiles.


    Dorian wondered if he was seeing memories of the people before him. He looked over to a man who was laying face down in a pool of his own blood. He gently turned the corpse over and looked at the face of the surprisingly young man.


    Laughing, throws axe, hits target, triumphant smile.


    The visions felt oddly familiar, a sense of connection with the victims? Another side effect of the excretion of atoms perhaps. It was throwing Dorian of his game. Taking a deep breath he tried to shake off the odd sensation.


    Lalin stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him in concern. He looked back into her savage brown eyes, her pale skin was unusually flushed. Her eyes filled with concern and some unspoken emotions.


    ¡°I''m ok,¡± he whispered, ¡°Just a headache.¡±


    Lalin nodded but the concern did not leave her eyes. Fortunately it was not that much further till the meeting point. The made their way to the crossing, about half of the other teams had already arrived. Dorian joined them with a simple greeting.


    The other soldiers nodded their acknowledgment and went back to preparing themselves for battle.


    The atmosphere was tense, here you saw soldier sharpening his sword with slightly trembling hands. Over there one of them was cleaning a boot that was already showing his reflection. The captains were sitting in a circle, not talking but studying the map on the ground insistently.


    Dorian joined the captains and sat down, the captains didn''t look up and concentrated on the map.


    Now they just had to wait till the others arrived. A waiting game once more, not his favorite thing to do.


    <hr />


    Instead i didn''t let sk8later do his thing. That way i could still post one today. I don''t think i made any mistakes but you never know.


    Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 23

    The waiting took longer than expected, the only reason Dorian could think of for the delay was that one of the teams had run into heavy opposition. That or the rune mage had somehow been killed. The extended waiting period did nothing to raise the spirits.


    Dorian started pacing, keeping his heads locked behind his back he was visualizing the map. Committing the paths and obstacles to heart, imagining where enemies would hide or set traps. Visualizing how they would enter and clear out the area room by room.


    Lalin put a hand on his shoulder, motioning with her head for him to sit down. Dorian sighed, but sat down none the less. Hearing the sound of tapping feet, seeing people rub their hands, sharepning swords that needed no sharpening. Patience was running thin.


    Before Dorian could try to change the atmosphere they finally got the signal they were hoping for. Time to move out, everyone gathered their gear and checked equipment one more time. Then they headed out to the entrance of the largest sewer chamber. This is where intelligence had said the chamber was.


    The group formed a formation, shields at the front. Warriors without shields in the second line, mages and archers in the back. The made their way carefully but steadily to the door, the time for subtle tactics was done. Now the only thing left was a charge, cleaning up the enemy swiftly, before they had time to organize.


    The door was just around the corner, without hesitation the front line charged. The guards at the door froze for the briefest of instants. Then hastily set up a defensive line, fear apparent on their faces. But these people did not waver, did not even think of running. Dorian was impressed with the bravery of these thugs. What was the reason behind their steadfastness.


    No time to ask them, everyone was to busy fighting to survive. The front lines crashed against each other, arrows hissing over his head. Magic was being blasted towards the thugs, they had no magic to respond with. They only aimed their arrows at the mages, that did them no good however.


    The thugs front line actually managed to hold for a few seconds, but they still broke through. After the front line had been crushed it was a slaughter in all but name. Dorian shifted behind one of the archers, the man had impressive reflexes. He managed to turn around just before being stabbed through his liver.


    Disbelief flashed in the mans eyes, ¡°But, why?¡± Was all the man could manage before his eyes glazed over.


    Holding a bow, man adjusts grip. Shoot, hit, pats shoulder. Fatherly smile.


    Dorian aggressively shook his head, the images were getting clearer. How was he able to see through another mans eyes. It was bothering him more than it should, something had started to feel, off. Ever since he had started having these visions. He looked around him at the dead and dying, a deep sense of sorrow filled his heart.


    Smiling faces, men kneeling, loyalty, allegiance, Tall man, fierce looking, bared chested guards, covered in tattoos.


    Why did killing these thugs feel like a terrible thing to do. Guilt and aversion overwhelmed him. He grasped at his chest, it was getting hard to breath. Collapsing to his hands and knees Dorian gasped for air, nothing filled his lungs. Unable to hold himself up, hit the cold stone floor.


    ''Let me through!¡± He heard someone shriek.


    Locks tickled his face, he struggled to open his eyes. Lalin stood above him, tears in her eyes.


    Why would she cry, Dorian remembered thinking. It was unlike her. She always seemed so calm or angry, never emotional like this.


    He felt something slimy run down his throat. Suddenly his chest was pushed outwards. Dorian started convulsing on the floor. The gooey feeling went through his throat again and then out his mouth. Desperate to inhale Dorian sucked in a breath, he could here Lalin''s voice screaming at the people around her. He could barely make out some soldiers restraining her. Then everything went black.


    ¡°Memories! ¡­.. backlash ¡­..... new ones!¡±


    Dorian vaguely heard someone argue, he tried to move but was tied down.


    ¡°Change.... effect.... limited...consequences¡± The man was practically screaming.


    ¡°We need... that he never remembers!¡± That voice sounded like Shun. The voices grew louder as the people arguing moved closer. ¡°We had a deal! I deliver him and the others to you, you make him forget who he is. He will be my subordinate, I did not make this deal so you can screw things up with faulty magic!¡±


    Forget who he is!? The words rang through Dorian''s mind, forget who he is, the others, magic? Dorian tried to make sense of things then suddenly something hit him. Those visions, not theirs but his? Locked up memories? But what others then, he remembered an screaming Lalin, tears falling on his face. Was she involved? He was sure she was on his side though.


    Did that make Shun an enemy? But Shun had been training him for the almost an year. Unless that was also a fake memory! How far back did this thing go, was anything he had a true memory? It would have to be further back than he thought, some of those visions had been of when he was small. Probably as a child, then who had he been fighting?


    Dorians mind was working overtime, doing its best to make sense of things. Dorian made sure not to move however, if they thought he was still unconscious he might find out more.


    ¡°Making him kill his own people, they were tied directly to his memories. Of course something would happen! It was a terrible idea to start with, not to mention unnecessary cruelty!¡± The unfamiliar voice spoke angrily.


    ¡°I made an agreement, you people get those slaves you wanted. I get to do want with him!¡±


    Slaves?! He sold his people into slavery? But the words the unfamiliar man had spoken before had stung his heart even deeper. Killing his own people, those malnourished warriors fighting desperately had been his people. Now he knew why they had seemed so brave and steadfast. They were fighting to keep themselves and their families out of slavery.


    It became very hard for Dorian to keep himself from trying to kill the men in front of him. His rage and guilt warred inside his heart. But he knew if he wanted to do something about it he would need to act. For now he needed to act as if he was unconscious.


    ¡°But why would you wish this fate on your brother?¡±


    Brother... The words rang hollow in Dorian''s ears, Shun was his brother? He had sold his brother and his people into a life of slavery. Dorian felt his heart drop, he had thought it could go no lower yet it fell into a bottomless pit. He had trouble grasping what he now knew was the truth, how could everything he remembered be a lie. The memories were so clear in his mind.


    ¡°Pfa, Brother¡± The word was spoken in disgust, ¡°Why should birth tie me to anyone, he is beneath me. He never saw the way of the civilized. Being content living in the freezing cold, in a mud an stick hut.¡±


    ¡°I want to be someone more than the son of a warlord, the brother of the heir. I will garner power, wealth, women. What use is he or my family to me, they are better of being sold for wealth. They don''t understand how to live their pitiful lives.¡±


    Son of a warlord, that means Dorian was the heir to a tribe in the north. Being sold for some shiny golden coins, betrayed for wealth. The very idea disgusted him, his ''brother'' did not understand that some things were more important than wealth. He supposed that this difference in thinking is what got them here in the firstplace.


    ¡°What about the little girl then,¡± The unfamiliar voice questioned. ¡°What are you going to do with her, she will not be able to hold out for long. The spell of silence together with forcing her to be enthusiastic and happy when around the one she views as her father. Why go through all that, why not just kill her.¡±


    ¡°We have been through this before mage, his memories were to tied to her and that elven girl. You yourself said that trying to remove all memories from the people closest to him would increase the risk.¡± Dorian could almost see Shun tapping his foot in impatience.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Indeed simply changing memories instead of removing them is simpler. But the girl will become a problem, I can guarantee you this.¡±


    ¡°Then we will deal with that when the time comes, for now go get those mage friends of yours. Change those memories!¡± Shun said before stomping away. Dorian could hear the footsteps as he removed himself from the room.


    ¡°Punk kid, once we are done using you.¡± The voice snarled, ¡°We will kill you, you are of no worth to us.¡± The voice cackled, the sound of his laughter like a snake slithering over dried leaves.


    Dorian peeked at the man. He could see a bent over elderly man with greasy grey hair strands sticking from his head. The aging spots and wrinkled skin made the man look like a set of bones wearing a bag. Skinny bony fingers curled around a staff with a skull on top. At least Dorian thought it was a skull, it had a disgusting similarity to a human skull.


    Dorian quickly checked the rest of the room, other than him and the creepy mage there was no one else in the room. Dorian checked his bonds, luckily he felt he would be able to shift through them. Waiting would only make the situation first, Shun had said the creep was to bring his friends. No way he was going to let that happen.


    Dorian shifted out of his bonds behind the creep and with a swift motion grabbed his chin and pulled sideways with all his strength. The mans neck snapped with a loud crack, now powerless body hitting the floor.


    Dorian quickly scanned the room, they were alone. There was a dark leather chair with straps in the center of the room, the chair was in the midst of a complex web of runes that probably made a magical circle of sorts. Possibly to suppress the use of magic for those tied into the chair. Thankfully Dorians ability was not of a magical nature. An oversight perhaps?


    Dorian remembered the conversation of the two, Shiela had been muted with a spell. Shiela was his actual adopted child then, that thought at least did him some good. There was still someone that truly cared for him. He needed to get her out, He would need to find Lalin as well, it was mostly instinct but he was sure the woman was on his side.


    The biggest problem would be traveling through the underground facility unnoticed. He may now how to be an assassin but this was still the base of operations for an elite group of soldiers. Right now the first thing he needed to do was find allies, he needed more information on what had been going on. Dorian hid the body of the mage in one of the many closets in the room, even if it only deterred the enemy for a few minutes it would be worth the trouble. Knowing what to do Dorian quietly slipped through the door and checked the hallway.


    He remembered being to the prison once, just below the meeting room. The only way to get there was through the training area, which was crowded at any time of day. Dorian shifted through the hallways, peering around corners with the utmost caution. He noticed shifting was a bit more difficult. He looked down and now regretted being in these tattered clothes, his outfit was missing. Surprisingly he wanted to find his outfit and wear it once more.


    It may have been made by his enemies but he had still grown rather attached to it. Not to mention ti was a practical creation of clothing. Dorian checked the the corners and peeked into another hallway. Four men were walking through the hall, Dorian recognized them. It was the four legionnaires that had been in his team. He saw that they were talking and strained to listen in.


    ¡°still doesn''t explain what happened to him, they said he was hit by a blast of magic. I''ve never seen magic do that to a man.¡± One of the four said.


    ¡°It was much to an impractical magic to use in a battle, and the way Lalin went berserk when it happened screaming that she would kill us for what we did to him. Not the enemy, there must be a story behind it.¡± Cern said scratching his chin.


    ¡°Non of our business if it is, we work for the empire. We simply follow orders and fight who they tell us to fight. That''s all I''ll be thinking about.¡±


    ¡°I''m still worried about the cap''n that kind of thing should happen to no man.¡± Cern said mouth twisted in distaste.


    So most of the soldiers had no idea that he was being manipulated. The thought calmed Dorian a bit, so even in The Table there was only a small group doing this deception. Still he did not know who he could trust. He shifted into another hallway, avoiding confrontation with the group. Who knows what they would decide to do if they knew the full story. For now he would keep working in the dark, as long as no one found out what he was doing he had the element of surprise.


    After a few minute of careful shifting Dorian walked into a hallway. He was sure he had checked the hallway and he had been listening carefully to see if there was anyone there. It had been empty, he was sure of it. Yet there he stood, Old man Thol. Dorian reminded himself that the old man was blind and decided to just walk past him as if nothing had happened.


    Suddenly Thol spoke out¡°Aah glad to see you on your feet young man.¡±


    ¡°How did you know it was me?¡± Dorian said raising his eyebrows.


    ¡°Everyone has distinct footsteps me boy, and none of them are so quiet as yours. I may be blind but I can hear perfectly fine!¡±


    ¡°I suppose you could, or else fighting would be extremely difficult.¡± Dorian said, his heart was beating in his throat now. Did the old man know? What side would he be on if he did? Could Dorian kill the old man? He had seen him fight and was unsure if he could win, the old man always seemed to know where the next attack would come from.


    ¡°Something is troubling you young one, I can feel it.¡± Thol said, damn! For a blind man he was surprisingly aware of everything. ¡°You are in trouble of sorts? The turmoil of your soul, it is more than it should be from getting hit with some magic. I assume something else entirely is going on.¡±


    Doubt clenched Dorians throat, could he trust the old man. He had liked Thol, the man was surprisingly mischievous for his age. He may have been around 70 years of age but he still acted as a young child. Taking pleasure in anything around him. Dorian made his decision, he was sure the man would not let him go until he had told him what was wrong. If the old man was against him, he would have no choice but to fight. Even if there was little chance of victory,


    Deep breath, ¡°The Table changed my memories, the people we killed in the sewer were my people. They are going to sell all of my people into slavery.¡± Dorian watched carefully for any signs from the old man.


    For a moment nothing happened, then the old man rubbed his head. ¡°So they changed your memories enough, so you would kill your own people... That is beyond simple cruelty.¡± The old mans lip curled.


    Dorian released the breath he had been holding, it seemed the old man was not going to attack him just yet. If the old man held to his moralities it would be possible to win him over. Right now he really needed allies.


    ¡°Shun is my brother it seems, I''m from a northern tribe. I don''t know which one, Shiela was with me when we were captured. Lalin is on my side as well, although I have only instinct to go on.¡±


    ¡°Then our first order of business is to talk with her is it not, she was my pupil after all, for all of 2 months she has been here. They took her to our prison, follow me, I know another way to get there.


    Thol clasped his hands behind his back and began calmly walking down the hallway.


    Dorian stayed on his guard, perhaps the old man was fooling him. He didn''t think it likely but if he got captured again he was sure there would be no second chance.


    <hr />


    I had was actually unsure if i should continue with the plot twist or not, i had been planning it since chapter 3-4 but i got scared of the reactions you guys would have. Then i decided im writing the book i planned on writing, no matter if there are people who dislike it. Sorry if you hate the twist but im still doing it!

 Chapter 24

    Following Thol through the dark underground Dorian didn''t manage to calm his heart. The pounding was audible to his own ears. Being nervous meant he was alert however, something his father had taught him. Then he realized something, was the man he remembered as his father truly his father? The mere thought of it was yet another trouble added to the list.


    For now he just had to find Lalin, unless he guessed wrong she was from the tribe as well. She would have some answers he needed. He really ached to find Shiela , he was worried about her. He knew he could not search for her just yet. He would just endanger her, the best idea he could think of was to take her just before they made their escape. That would be how to put her in the least danger.


    There was also the chance that they would use her as a hostage. The very thought made his blood boil. He clenched his fists, knuckles turning white from the pressure.


    ¡°Something bothering you?¡± Thol said, how he knew something was wrong without even being able to see was a mystery to Dorian. This man''s perception skills were absurd.


    Wringing his hands Dorian said, ¡°I''m worried about my daughter... I was thinking that they may use her as a hostage.¡±


    ¡°Yes I suppose they would be the kind to do that, then we will have to break out rather quickly will we not. Best speed things up before they notice you are gone.¡± True to his word the old man started running. This had to be said, the old mans running speed was insane, Dorian was unable to keep up and had to shift every now and then not be left behind.


    This only reaffirmed in Dorians mind what a monster this old man actually was. Traveling at this speed it did not take long for them to reach the dungeon. Dorian carefully peeked around the corner, as expected there was a duo standing guard. The soldiers standing guard were unfamiliar to him.


    Thol slowed his pace and simply walked up to the guards. Dorian followed him acting as relaxed as he could.


    Thol greeted the guards. ¡°I want to have a chat with one of the prisoners.¡±


    ¡°My apologies master Thol, we have been instructed not to let anyone enter.¡± The soldier said bowing slightly.


    ¡°How about me,¡± Dorian said stepping forward. ¡°One of my subordinates is in prison, I would like to question her about her actions.¡±


    The guard turned to him treating him with the same respect. ¡°My apologies sir but we really cannot let anyone enter, orders are orders.¡±


    Without hesitation Thol''s hands darted forward at lightning speed. The finger tips on on both hands pushed somewhere beneath the chin of the guards. The guards collapsed on their spots like a sack of oatmeal. Dorian hadn''t even been able to follow the hands of the old man, a spark of fear nestled in his heart at seeing the expertize of the blows. Dorian was extremely glad they were on the same side.


    The two guards hit the floor with a thud, Dorian didn''t waste any time. He searched the guards looking for the keys, after fiddling around with their belt a bit he finally found the keys. He tried the different keys on the door, to his horror however none of the keys worked. Frustrated he tried to use all the keys again, but none of them fit.


    ¡°They must have only let the person in charge have the key, that way even if the guards wanted to let people in. They would not be able to, quite clever. Not that it will stop me. ¡° Old man Thol said, suddenly emanating a sense of power. He walked forward to the door, hand still clasped behind his back. Then the man moved, or atleast Dorian thought he moved. He had not seen anything except that the old man twitched a little.


    Suddenly the door smashed on the ground, the hinges cleanly cut off. Dorian stared at the door for a few moments, eyes as wide as they would go. Thol calmly entered the prison, he made his way to a particular cell somewhere in the back. Once more the man twitched, and another door smashed onto the ground.


    Dorian hurried over, what he saw shocked him however. Here was Lalin, but how long had she actually been here? The clothes were tattered, barely covering her skin. Body bruised, cuts here and there. Puddles of dried blood on the floor, the walls. The piece of clothing, which was a disgrace to the name, was a deep crusty red. The dress had been soaked in blood again and again. The piece was now made of more blood then actual clothing.


    Lalin still managed to look up, she even managed to smile. ¡°Glad you''re ok boss..¡± She wispered, even the few words were difficult for her to say. The wounds on her lips split open once more as soon as she spoke. Dorian''s heart clenched at the sight of her, he felt the tears filling his eyes. He walked forward and carefully opened the iron clasps holding her in place against the wall. He brought her down as gently as he could, holding her in his hands the power in his knees left him and he sank to the ground.


    ¡°I''m sorry,. I''m sorry.. Im so so sorry...¡± Dorian said, rocking back and forth, cradling her in his arms. Tears fell down, the cold wet pearls dripping on Lalins cheeks.


    Mustering strength she said ¡°What are you..¡± Deep stuttering inhale, ¡°talking about boss.... keeping you safe..... is my job.¡± She even managed to put on a small smile on her face again. Dorians heart clenched yet again, he felt a deep rage flowing through his body. Rage was not the right word to classify it, hatred. A hatred he had never thought a person could feel for another swept through his body.


    He breathed in sharply, ¡°I promise I will get you out of here, I swear I will make things better.¡±


    Gazing on him her lips twitched, ¡°Know you...will boss... Know you wil....¡± Then she passed out. Dorian clutched her body closer, He breathed in sharply.


    ¡°Young man,¡± Thol said, ¡° Let me treat her, I know a few tricks that will at least lessen her pain.¡±


    The old man which had always had the same small smile on his face, had a twisted grimace on his face now. He could feel the same anger Dorian felt oozing out of the old man like a dark liquid. Dorians doubts left him, no one would be able to fake these kind of emotions.


    He nodded curtly, ¡°I will leave her to you.¡± Dorian said standing up, he glanced at the other cells in the room. He walked up to one of them, then was surprised to see Arin chained here. Dorian grabbed his knife and concentrated his atoms to become more dense, his knife sliced through the lock like a hot knife through butter.


    He kicked open the door, ¡°Arin are you ok?!¡±


    The dwarf looked up in surprise, thats when Dorian saw it, the crudely wrapped bandage around her eyes. The spots were her eyes should be covered in blood. He clenched his fist again, a burst of hatred sweeping through his body once more.


    ¡°If it isn''t the lil warlord!¡± Arin said with a grin, ¡°Finally come to your senses huh, could you let a girl out of these cuffs? I think I''ve had enough of this bondage play for the rest of my life.¡±


    Dorian shook his head, Arin would never change. She was just like he remembered, maybe they had changed his memories but she was definitely still the same person. He opened her cuffs and helped her on her feet. She had a trouble standing for a few seconds, then she hit her thighs a few time with clenched fists. Then she stamped the ground a few times, checking if they could hold her weight.


    After the display she looked up with that mischievous grin of her. ¡°There, all better!¡± she let out some of that dwarven booming laughter. ¡°So how much do you remember lil warlord?¡±


    ¡°I don''t really remember anything, I have overheard that Shun is actually my brother and that he has betrayed me and the rest of my people to a group inside the empire as slaves.¡± Dorian said while helping Arin out of her cell. ¡°As for what I think happened¡±


    Dorian told her the story of what he remembered, joining the legion then going to a bar. How ¨ªstril had been kidnapped and he ended up going to the sewers to free her. How he had found Shiela and Viyella there, released them. Then ended up at The Table, how he had gone on a mission against his own people. How he had slaughtered them without knowing who they were.


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    ¡°These empire bastards really are screwed in the head aren''t they, Well sit down. I will tell you as much as I know of what really happened.¡±


    She told him how he was from a tribe to north west, The tribe called themselves The Vorn, which in there language meant the Winter Born. Although the empire called them a tribe they were much larger than that. Instead of a tribe they were more like a northern kingdom. There were was a collection of tribes that had gathered to form one kingdom. Each tribe had a different title but together they were called The Vorn.


    Dorian was the son of the Leader of this kingdom, although he was the king, the tribes had different


    traditions than the Empire or other kingdoms like it. The tribes were not human, they had a distinct difference. The whole race of The Vorn had the internal magic abilities. They did not have command of the regular types of magic. The only exceptions were halfbloods, When the Vorn had a child with one of another race. A new race was born, these people both had the inherit Internal magic, as well as the capabilities to use normal magic.


    Lalin was an example of such a child, she was born of a Vorn and an elf. Halfbloods were not looked down on in the least, only 1 thing mattered to the Vorn. That was your capabilities, if you were a capable person. Strong, smart, passionate, any one of these could garner respect amongst the Vorn. Even outsiders could earn their place among the tribe if they proved themselves.


    One day the Warlord had gotten a message that some of his people had been captured by a group of slavers. He had sent Dorian to free the people, Shun had come along with him. That and Dorians own warriors. A band that he had gathered himself, people he trusted and respected. He was the leader of a band of 40 warriors. These warriors were all extremely skilled, thus Dorians father felt it would be enough to send this group.


    ¡°Wait one second,¡± Dorian said, ¡°I remember my father to be a smith and warrior. My mother was a fire mage. So my parents are completely different than I remember?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Arin said, ¡°Your father and his clan is well known for their smithing techniques. It''s rather famous in the entire country. The Humming Hammer, that is what the people have named the smithing techniques of your clan. Although you are renowned weapon smiths, armor is not the strong suit of the Vorn.¡±


    ¡°Your father indeed spent a lot of his time training you and your brother to be excellent warriors. And your mother is indeed a fire mage. She is a normal human, even though she is an exceptional mage. Which makes you a half-blood as well, Your mother is extremely respected by the Vorn however. She had some exploits in the war between the Vorn and the empire. That is a story for another time however.¡±


    Arin continued her story of how Dorian and his warriors had set out to find the abducted civilians. Arin had been one of the captured slaves, Dorian and his group had indeed killed the slavers that had taken them captive. However that is were everything had gone wrong. Suddenly members of The Table had appeared, Although Dorians warriors were extremely skilled they were still on the same level as the elites of The Table.


    Perhaps they were the slightest bit stronger, but they had been outnumbered. Arin described the fierce fighting between the two groups of warriors. The battle was stagnated for a while, then it happened. Dorian was stabbed in the back, quite literally, by his brother. Shun had betrayed them and lead them into the ambush. Seeing their respected boss go down Dorians warriors went berserk.


    Lalin in particular who had been close to Dorian, had gone on a rampage. She managed to kill several of the Table elite by herself.


    But then she was knocked out by Shun, Shun it seemed had a long time crush on Lalin. It had turned into a creepy obsession. Dorians other warriors were either captured or killed. There were perhaps a handful of them who had been lucky enough or perhaps unfortunate enough to survive.


    All of them had been thrown in the dungeon, Arin had been caught together with the warriors. She had joined them in the battle and clawed out the eyes of one of their enemies. Her punishment had been to have own eyes gouged out.


    The slaves who had been captured and then had been released had on order of Dorian fled in all directions. That is how Dorian had been captured, then they had changed his memories. His brother had been jealous of Dorian. The thing that probably bothered him most was Lalin''s love and devotion to Dorian. It had eventually caused him to snap. He had been so outraged by the anger Lalin had shown when he had stabbed Dorian that he had locked her up.


    He then started to show his ''love'' to Lalin by torturing her. Although Arin had not seen it for herself she was pretty sure that she had been raped several times as well. Shun had not let anyone touch her, he had tortured her with pleasure. She remembered hearing his cackling laughter as Lalin had screamed out in pain. The very memory made Arin shake in anger, she was quite literally trembling in rage.


    Things had not gone to The Tables plan however. They thought that after they had captured Dorian and his troops the fight would have been over. What they had not been expecting however was the courage of the once captured slaves. The slaves who had been released by Dorian and his troops had been outraged by Shuns treachery. Dorian was widely respected amongst the Vorn, he had come to save his people. But then had been captured by the very brother he trusted to watch his back.


    The slaves who could not stand being able to do nothing, had gathered. They had invaded the sewers of the city and started to launch guerrilla style attacks on the members of The Table. The table at first had merely been annoyed by these hit and run tactics. However they were suffering casualties, a lot more than they had expected. The civilians had gone crazy, they had a near fanatical


    gleam in their eyes. Throwing everything away in an attempt to free Dorian. They had even had the gall to assault The Tables stronghold.


    They had managed to kill about half of The Table''s original members. The table decimated by the losses had quickly started recruiting again. Most of th members now were new members, a lot of them had no idea of the treachery that had been preformed. That was when Shun had come up with his cruel plan, he made magicians forcefully change Dorian''s memories. Then he forced Lalin to come with them and kill her own people. If she did not do what he told her to he would kill Dorian.


    Dorian had attacked the group, along with the rest of the Table. Once he had the backlash of the magic however. The cumulated stress of Dorian passing out and having to kill her own people had caused Lalin to break. She went on a rampage, attempting to kill all the people that were original members. She had however been quickly knocked out.


    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡± Dorian asked.


    ¡°My cell is right next to Lalin''s, Shun tortured her with these conversations all the time. Most of the information I was able to make out from the bits and pieces.¡± Arin said shivering.


    Dorian clenched his hands, he looked around at the other cells. They probably held all the other Vorn that had fought with him. He stood up, his mind already tirelessly at work to come up with a plan.


    <hr />


    Sorry for the delay [th_093.gif]


    I released this chapter a bit late, i will probably, and i said PROBABLY release another chapter today.


    [th_104_.gif] i''ll work hard on the next one! :D


    Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 25

    First thing first, releasing the other prisoners, Thol had meanwhile finished his treatment of Lalin. She still looked as battered at before, but her skin was a bit more flushed than before. He opened a few other cells, to his surprise everyone in the cells was someone he did remember. In one way or another, the pretty clerk that had taken his application into the legion. She was Vorn, apparently she was one of his troops.


    The girl was still in good shape, a bit battered but she still stood strong. She smiled upon seeing him, giving him a hug, a stronger hug than she should have been able to.


    ¡°Glad to have you back boss,¡± She said edge of her mouth turning up into a half smile.


    Another prisoner was the large man he had gone through training with, the only one who had been able to keep up with him and Vor on arm strength alone. He opened another cell, the innkeeper of The Waddling Boar was imprisoned in this one, as were both the Tolu and Mori. The innkeeps name was apparently Urf, Tolu and Mori were his daughters. Both girls hugged him, saying the exact same line as the other troops.


    ¡°Glad to have you back, boss!¡± Urf clasped his arm powerfully after, pulling him into a shoulder hug. Again the same words were repeated. Perhaps they all knew him simply as ''Boss'' or they had given him that nickname. He had to admit he felt a lot better being surrounded by the troops. It was a strange sensation of belonging. He might not remember, but his soul felt at home with these people.


    Eventually he had released all the prisoners, 14 of them had survived. However battered they may seem, their gazes were strong, hands were steady. He looked them in the eyes then nodded to himself, he walked up to Lalin. She had still not woken up, He gently picked her up than swept his gaze over his soldiers.


    ¡°Lets go, we still have a few people to find.¡±


    ¡°More than one boss? The only one we are missing is Shiela.¡± The pretty girl said, her name was Lilin.


    ¡°There are a few people who I am sure would want to know what is going on here. Thol here for instance was unaware of what had been happening here. If we can gain more Allies on the inside then it will be easier for us to fight our way out.¡±


    ¡°First order of business however is recovering Shiela, who knows what these bastards have done to her.¡± Dorian tightened his grip. ¡°Thol if you would please lead the way, you can find Shiela can you not?¡±


    ¡°I most certainly can, Try to keep up young-lings.¡± Speeding up the old man lead the way. Dorian picked gently picked up Lalin and they followed the old man. The old man was obviously slowing down his pace so people could keep up. Even so after a few minutes most of them were panting, after being locked up so long, not getting enough food. Who could really blame them?


    The old man noticed this, of course he did. With that absurd perception of his, he made sure they rested often enough to catch their breath. Soon enough they were drawing close to their destination.


    ¡°She is inside this room.¡± Thol said stopping in front of a wooden door. Dorian gave Lalin to Urf, who gently cradled her in his arms. For a father to see a girl about his daughters age like this, Dorian was sure it did a lot of mental damage to Urf.


    Right now he had to focus, He had to get his own daughter back first. He prepared himself for whatever was going to happen once he went through that door. He carefully opened it, peeking inside. It seemed to be a regular living area, much like the one he remembered sharing with Shun. To his surprise it was Shiela sitting there, calmly eating dinner. Across from her was her longquan sword instructor.


    Dorian looked at the two in surprise, but he didn''t know which side the instructor was on. He took a deep breath then shifted next to Shiela, pulling her away from the instructor. The others burst in, surrounding the instructor. The woman calmly drank her tea looking at them. She sipped her tea slowly then put the cup carefully back down.


    ¡°Took you long enough to get here, did you get your memories back?¡± She said calmly.


    ¡°Uuuhm, not really, but I know whats going on.¡± He said stumbling over his words a bit, he had trouble wrapping his head around the idea that the woman had known, yet was still on his side. He glanced over to Shiela, she saw his gaze then grinned. She hugged him tightly.


    ¡°Glad you''re not insane any more.¡± She said in a silvery sweet voice.


    Dorian was taken aback by actually hearing her voice, but then he grinned rubbing her head.


    ¡°Me too kid, me too¡± He hugged her to himself holding her close for a few moments. His heart finally unclenched a bit, he had been extremely worried. Even more would have liked to admit.


    He looked at the instructor, ¡°Why are you on our side?¡±


    She stood up slowly, straightening out the wrinkles in her dress. She had a strange elegance in every move she made. It was smooth, practiced. She carried herself like a noble, perhaps she was a noble.


    ¡°My name is Lin Shifa sa Todohime, I am the princess of the Lotus empire. Much like yourself I have been imprisoned here. They made this young lady my student, in order to give me something to do. It was done in the hope that I would become more.... cooperative.¡±


    So he encountered a princess, of an empire he had never even heard of. If she was truly a captive then she would wish to escape as well. Dorian glanced over at Thol, who nodded. Dorian had come to trust the old mans instinct quite a bit. He looked back at the lady.


    ¡°You are welcome to join us in our escape, should you wish to do so.¡± Dorian stated.


    She straightened herself and grabbed here longquan sword, a sword that matched her red dress perfectly. She checked the blade, unsheathing it slightly then re-sheathing it.


    ¡°I would follow you, father of my student.¡± Dorian nodded, Shiela clasped his hand. She looked really happy that they were taking her instructor along.


    ¡°You like her?¡±


    Shiela tilted her head, then nodded. ¡°She speaks weird, but she hates the mean soldiers. Likes me! She treated me nice. I''m happy she won''t die.¡±


    Dorian rubbed her head once more, ¡°More than enough reason for me to bring her. Thol I think we should head to the exit, we will no doubt run into more soldiers before we reach it. First we have to get ourselves some weapons. Let us head to the armory. If we meet anyone, We may be able to turn them, we may not be able to. We will escape or fight whichever is necessary¡±


    He then swept his gaze over his new troops, ¡°Lets move out!¡±


    The group follow Thol once more as they were led through the underground labyrinth, he kept his men moving closely, the only ones that had weapons were himself, Shiela and Lin. Old man Thol''s whole body was a weapon so he should be counted as one of those that was armed. Arin moved forward with the old man letting him know here and there that there were people in some of the halls.


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    She used her stone sense to ''hear'' the footsteps of the soldiers on the floor. This time they made their way carefully, after another minute or two they reached the armory.


    ¡°There are 6 people inside, they are sitting I think. ¡° Arin said pressing her ear to the stone.


    ¡°Does it help to press your ear to the stone?¡± Dorian asked


    ¡°Not really, its mostly a habit, it helps me concentrate. Sometimes I think I can hear things clearer when I do. So I see no reason not to!¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Me and old man Thol will enter first, we will rush to whoever is around the table. Lin if you would please follow behind us.¡± The woman nodded slightly, acknowledging the order. ¡°The rest of you follow behind us as fast as you can, Urf, Mori, Tolu and Lilin Will help us surround those inside. The rest of you grab weapons as fast as you can, once you have done so replace the rest so they can equip weapons.¡±


    ¡°Yes Boss.¡± They said softly.


    Dorian looked around once more, checking if everyone was ready. Deep breath in, then slipping open the door and rushing in. He shifted behind the group, Thol was nearly as fast as him closing of one side of the table. Lin shut off the exit to the door, hand held on her sword. The rest quickly rushed in behind them, surrounding those sitting around the table.


    The six men sitting around the table were Cern and the legionnaires, and the twin dwarfs. The looked up surprised, unsure what to make of the people surrounding them. Dorian, Thol and Lin were familiar faces after all. Shiela popped up next to Dorian, the six men looked from Dorian to Shiela and then to the others.


    Cern stood up ¡°Cap''n? Whats all this hassle?¡±


    The other soldiers had taken their weapons, replacing the first group so they could gather theirs. Dorian looked at the soldiers, he remembered the conversation between Cern and his friends, he was sure that they had no idea what had been going on. The dwarves he doubted would know anything about it. They enjoyed their drinks to much, they had once told him that killing women-folk always made their drinks go bad.


    So Dorian gave them the quick explanation of what had happened. The faces of the six turned pale, their mouths turned in distaste. The dwarves especially seemed angry about the treachery, the two enjoyed facing their trouble head on. Dwarves according to them were not made for sneakery, if you had a problem with something fix it with either a mug of ale, or your ax.


    ¡°I need me a solid drink¡± Snax said grabbing the cask he always had with him,


    ¡°Pour me a solid one, I need to drown out my thoughts aswell.¡± Cern said extending his hand for a mug of the ale. Axe filled him one and slid it over to him, he then filled one for himself and drank it all in one go.


    ¡°This be cruel, how could one betray his own brother?!¡± Snax said filling himself another cup.


    Axe smashed his cup back on the table filling himself another mug, ¡°I have no idea dear brother, me would never betray you. Would make the ale taste bad for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°Indeed dear brother, Cheers¡± He said clashing his cups with his brother.


    Cern also seemed troubled by what had happened, Dorian noticed that the other 3 legionnaires, although looking a bit troubled were not as shocked as him and the twins.


    ¡°So I have to ask you, will you come with us. Or stay here, those that stay here we won''t kill you.¡±


    Urf stepped forward, grabbing Dorians shoulder he whispered. ¡°Boss we should kill them, they will otherwise be our enemies in the future. We can''t just let them go.¡±


    ¡°We can''t just kill people for choices they may or may not make. Even if they stay they may notice the things the Table does is beyond what they can do as soldiers.¡± Dorian whispered back, then turned to the men in front of him.


    ¡°Those that stay, we will have to knock you out. But you will only receive a days headache. You will be free to continue life while making your own choices. Just be aware of the kind of group you are working for.¡±


    ¡°We comin'' of course, me ale already tastes bad with what you told me, if I stay here any longer I may start hatin'' me own ale!¡± Snax growled.


    ¡°Seconded.¡± Axe added.


    ¡°Of course we will come, I will not work for an organization that is this morally twisted.¡± Cern said spitting on the floor. ¡°It leaves a taste in my mouth I will never be able to get rid of.¡±


    ¡°Cern, we disagree.¡± One of the other 3 said, his name was Wales? Dorian thought it was Wales. ¡°Their methods may be unmoral, but we are soldiers. We do what the commander says. That is all we need to think about. If they start telling us to kill women and children then perhaps we will quit. This however is not enough for me to quit. I have a family back home, I can''t afford to lose such a steady pay.¡± Wales said rubbing his head, looking at the ground.


    Cern stood up like he wanted to argue, scream some sense in them. Then he saw Wales and the other two with downcast gazes. He realized that he would not be able to convince the others, they had made their choices. Indeed being a fugitive while you had a family was not a choice easily made. Cern was the only one of the four which did not have a family of his own to take care of. He understood their choice, no matter how wrong it may seem to him.


    Cern sighed deeply, he then stuck out his hand to Wales. ¡°Take care of yourself my friend.¡±


    Wales clasped his hand, then smiled sadly. ¡°You too my friend¡± Then he collapsed onto the table, the other two passed out soon after. Thol stood behind them, hands still clasped behind his back as always.


    Dorian swept his gaze over his new allies, then he looked at his old troops. ¡°It''s time for us to get out of here.¡± He turned and walked to the exit, followed by a determined looking group.


    Snax quickly ran back before they got far, he rushed to the armory and came back with a cask of ale. ¡°Can''t leave me ale!¡±


    <hr />


    Boom 2 chapters today, Praise me for my hard work! [th_0v.gif]


    I would like to ask those who have not already done so, If you like this story please make a review! Advanced review would be the best. It helps me get more viewers and also gives me a sense if what i am doing is right or not! Give me that critisism! :sparkle:


    As always Thanks for reading!


    For those that want to know where the story is headed, i will give you a rough idea below.


    BEWARE SPOILER


    I SAID BEWARE


    Sure you want to read this?!


    OK THEN, Dorian will join the legion to become a full fledged soldier on the other side of the continent. He plans to rise through the ranks to reach a level were he can fight back against those who Founded the Table, For that he needs a lot of influence in the Empire. Which means high ranks! Titles of nobility if necesarry!


    Thanks For reading! :bye:

 Chapter 26

    The group set out to leave, Thol and Arin making sure they ran into as few enemies as possible. Snax had taken over the job of leading Arin around. Although she told him she could walk perfectly fine on her own. Snax would have none of it, he said that dwarves had to help each other out. Arin didn''t complain much after that so everyone assumed it was okay.


    Traveling through the underground was extremely nerve-wracking, at every turn they expected to be cut off. They expected that alarms would go off and that they would be surrounded or assaulted. The further they got the more the tension grew. How much time did they have left to roam the halls freely, no one knew. So they picked up as much pace as they could. After what seemed like hours, The alarms finally went off.


    The magical runes spread throughout the labyrinth started transmitting the words of the commander.


    ¡°Prisoners have escaped! All units battle-ready, I repeat Prisoners have escaped.! We have traitors in our midst, kill on sight!¡±


    Dorian clicked his tongue, kill on sight meant that he would not have the opportunity to convince others to join his side. Not unless they disobeyed orders, in an emergency situation like this most people would not have time to think. They would see their targets, and attack. Dorian glanced at Thol who nodded, immediately understanding what was expected of him. The old man dashed forward leaving the others in his dust. Dorian followed the old man, the two of them would clear out the way ahead.


    They were the fasted of the group so the rest should be able to keep running, increasing their overall speed. The first group they ran into was a squad of legionaries who had joined not to long ago. Thol appeared in their midst like smoke. Before the poor men even had time to react he had already incapacitated all four of them. They kept moving, using Thols senses to find the way with the least resistance.


    They ran into less enemies than expected, two small squads was the only thing they had run into. But then things went from bad to worse, Dorian saw Thol glance from hallway to hallway when they came at a cross section. The old man clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    ¡°We have to large groups coming from the left and the right, there is a smaller group in the middle. But that''s what used to be our team. Your choice.¡± Thol said.


    ¡°The middle!¡± Dorian said dashing straight through without a doubt. If they were his old team some of them might hesitate to fight. Which would give them the chance they needed to break through. Perhaps some of them might even be able to come with them. The two of them dashed forward, then there they stood. Dorian''s ''team''.


    Some of them looked surprise to see him and old man Thol together as the escapees. The twin elves as well as Yiglif looked surprised. Those that he used to think were his friends however, did not look surprised at all. Blaitz stepped forward, wielding his scimitar expectantly.


    ¡°Where are you goin cap''n, we still have some missions to complete.¡± He said with that savage grin of his. The rest of them stepped forward as well, smirking. The elves and Yiglif just stared at the exchange between the two groups. Then the rest of Dorian''s group caught up. The addition of the dwarven twins only made the three hesitate more. Then they saw the horribly beaten Lalin in Urf''s arms.


    ¡°We cant let you go, you know that don''t you. Mister princely warlord.¡± Blaitz said stepping forward brandishing his scimitar. ¡°Lets fight!¡±


    Rushing to meet his blade Dorian and Blaitz started their battle, The rest who had been watching till now rushed forward to join the fight as well. Vor rushed forward with heavy steps, only to have his path blocked of by Thol. Entmen were the toughest to handle, their regeneration made fighting against them with blades or blunt weapons near impossible. Most likely this is the reason why Thol, who was the most experienced, as well as the strongest, went up against Vor.


    Olgrin the dwarven instructor rushed to Vor''s aide thinking together they could take on the old man. The beared twins however thought differently, cutting of his advance.


    ¡°You be a disgrace to us dwarves, killin women-folk n children. Enslaving men. Bah! You make me ale taste bad!¡± Axe said angrily.


    Snax who had let Arin stand on her own for now joined his brother, ¡°We getting out of here, Vrugle,¡± He spat out the word like a curse, ¡°You not be able to stop us!¡±


    The older dwarf stroked his beard, ¡°We will see about that.¡±


    He dashed forward, ramming his shield against Axe. Knocking the sturdy dwarf of balance, he continued his advance with a slash of his axe towards the now vulnerable Axe. Axe however did not even blink, he started the counter attack instead of trying to dodge the ax. Slashing his own ax to Olgrins head. As it turned out there was no need for him to block, thats what he had his brother for!


    Snax smoothly stepped in to catch the ax meant for his brother on his shield, Olgrin managed to block Axe''s attack as well. The three separated again and started circling.


    All over the hallway fights like this were spreading out. Jorgin with his staff was fighting Lilin, who had picked up a spear. Gladiel was fighting Mori and Tolu aswell as another of his troops on his own. Viyella had grabbed her shortsword and was currently holding her own against another two of his troops. They outnumbered the group, however this was their only advantage. Most of Dorian''s people were malnourished. Merely shells of their former selves.


    Soon enough another squad of legionnaires joined Blaitz and his, throwing themselves in the battle evening out the odds. The elven twins and Yiglif still had not moved to help either side. If they joined the fight they would be able to turn the tides! The booming strikes of Vor smashing his mace at Thol soon filled the hallways. The old man was smoothly flowing around the strikes like water, smashing his palms against Vor''s great body with the sound of thunder.


    The heavy sounds made by Thol dominated the hallway, the heavy strikes increased the morale of Dorian''s troops. They started pushing their enemies back. Dorian who had been trading strikes with Blaitz until now, suddenly felt something familiar. He looked down the hallway to see the man he least wanted to see. His traitor brother.


    The look on Shun''s face hinted at insanity, he had a smile on his face but he was radiating anger. Shun suddenly shifted behind one of the elven twins and rammed his knife through his body. Farial stared in surprise at the blood-red blade suddenly sprouting from his chest. He tried to grab for it, not understanding what had happened.


    ¡°Farial!? No, no! Noooo!¡± Firial screamed carresing her brother as he fell to the floor. Yiglif seeing one of her friends falling to the floor instantly reacted, sweeping her staff at Shun, while mumbling words ice sprouted out of thin air, she shot the icy spears at Shun with a scream of a magical word. Shun just shifted to a safe distance.


    ¡° We have no need for those who don''t know their allegiances!¡± Shun screamed mouth foaming in rage. ¡°You are weak, you do not know who you serve! Maggots. Maggots!¡± He screamed completely losing control. Dorian felt Lin coming up behind him, he quickly shifted to attack Shun leaving Blaitz to her. He roared at his brother, shifting next to him and going for a killing blow. Shun shifted himself to another area only to be attacked by more icy spears. It seemed Yiglif had chosen her side.


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    Firial was cradling her brother in an embrace, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. It was no use however, Shun knew were to stab. The heart had been penetrated, Dorian saw Farial going limp from the corner of his eyes. His sister felt the life drain out of him, she clutched him. Drops of pearly liquid streaming down her face. She hugged him close to her body, rocking back and forth. Shaking her head as if she hoped that would make it go away, she was mumbling something below her breath.


    Suddenly she stopped rocking she grabbed her brothers bow, thats when she turned her gaze to Shun. Her black hair was a mess her body was in a stance he had never seen before, she unsheathed one of her swords. Then she cut her arm with it, she pressed the wound to her brothers. Then she recited some words in a language Dorian did not understand. Suddenly the blood from her brothers wound and the blood from her own wound started floating. It gathered around her, turning into a sphere of blood.


    The entire thing looked ghastly, it started spinning faster and faster. It sent shivers down Dorians spine. He felt magic pressure on his skin, the hairs on his arms started standing on end. The feeling kept increasing becoming stronger and stronger. All the other soldiers stopped fighting and gazed over at Firial. Only Thol quickly struck out with his hand. Pushing his finger tips into Vor''s core. The entman looked down in surprise then collapsed. Thol turned his gaze at Firial now as well though.


    ¡°Blood magic... This is bad..¡± The old man said.


    Firial became visible through the sphere again. She cocked her head at an abnormal angle and stared at Shun. Then she released a bloodcurdling shriek, those that were near her backed of. Yiglif who was the closest tried to back into the wall. Pressing herself against it for as much distance as possible. Suddenly the sphere of blood dropped to the ground with a splash. Firial moved to Shun so fast that even Thol had trouble following the movement. The blood that had been laying on the ground before rushed after her, causing a crimson streak in the air.


    She swung her blade for Shun''s throat, it all happened so fast that he barely had time to dodge. He shifted further away from the elf who had gone completely berserk. His neck however had a cut in it, he pressed his hand to it looking shocked. Firial gave him no time to rest, she moved forward with the same speed. Slashing at him like lightning, Shun was barely able to dodge. He shifted further away from her.


    ¡°Stop standing still!¡± He shrieked ¡°Help me you bastards!¡± He was trembling, eyes focused on Firial. Hands gripping two daggers now, he was afraid. Afraid for this thing that used to be a person. Dorian was unsure if it counted as a person. Blaitz however rushed Firial to attakc her Dorian shifted and blocked him just before he reached Firial.


    Firials head turned to them, cocking her head at another abnormal angel. She let out a weird clicking noise, the very sound of it sent shivers down his spine. Firial ignored them and continued with her onslaught she kept dashing after Shun, who was now desperately shifting away. She appeared before him once again, slashing for his head. He managed to dodge and thrust his dagger to her abdomen.


    At first Dorian thought he had hit Firial, the blow would have been a killing one. However Shun looked shocked, he tried to move his hand but it was stuck. The blood that until now had only been following Shun had wrapped itself around the dagger and was creeping over his hand. He tried to pull back desperately, releasing the dagger in his other hand to help pull his hand out. The blood did not let him go however, It crept up his arm, and then the screaming started. Shun screamed and wherever the blood was crawling up his arm Dorian could see the skin melting away. Digging itself deeper and deeper into his arm like some kind of acid.


    Then Lirial opened her mouth and shrieked once more, This time spraying blood all over Shun''s face. Shun screamed even louder. Firial moved to cut Shun''s throat, that was when magic blasted her. Reinforcements had arrived, from the area Dorian and his had come from now stood the commander. Along with most of the enemies forces, They blasted Firial with magic until she stopped moving. Yiglif who was the only conscious mage on his side desperately stepped in front of her blocking the magic as best as she could.


    Dorian screamed ¡°Pull out! We are retreating! Lets get the hell out!¡±


    The soldiers pulled away from their opponents running for the exit, the enemy group started to follow them. Gladiel tackled him, wrestling him to the ground. He struggled against his former friends strength he couldn''t shift away when they were interlocked like this. Some of Dorians tropps turned back to help him.


    ¡°Keep Running! I can take care of myself!¡± He yelled to them.


    The men hesitated then turned around and ran, Gladiel pushed himself closer on Dorian. Then he suddenly whispered in his ear.


    ¡°I''m on your side Dorian, but I can''t leave. You need to stab me! I will remain cover here and get you as much information as possible.¡±


    ¡°But, why would.¡± Dorian started to question. Gladiel quickly interrupted him, he grinned at him.


    ¡°No time! Do it, Jorgin will heal me!¡± He said still pretending to wrestle with him. He then attempted to punch him, Dorian sued the chance to grab the dagger and stab him in his stomach. Gladiel rolled of him and started coughing up blood on the floor. Dorian looked up and saw how close the others were, He grabbed Firial and started sprinting after the others. Jorgin quickly rushed to Gladiel. Another price sprinted to the still screaming Shuns side.


    Dorian sprinted through the hall, he saw the soldiers running behind him and realized they would catch up soon enough. He turned his gaze back forward only to notice that Thol had dashed to his side facing the oncoming warriors.


    ¡°Go young one, I shall hold them here.¡± The old man said smiling that little smile of his. Dorian wanted to argue but he knew they had no choice, they would not be able to escape otherwise. He bit his words back and looked at the old man.


    ¡°I wont forget you old man!¡± Dorian yelled as he sprinted further away.


    The old man smiled, he seemed pleased by the words. Suddenly Dorian almost fell over at the pressure of the bloodlust the old man was now radiating. The air around the old man was shimmering with power, he could almost see crimson wisps in the air. Showing the old mans killing intent.


    ¡°Time for one last dance with death.¡± The old man said softly as he stepped forward greeting the opponents.


    <hr />


    Nooooo Old man Thol D: ... I really enjoyed writing this chapter, lately im in the zone so production will probably go up!


    Thanks for Reading! :bye:

 Sacrifice

    Dorian ran catching up to the rest, who were not able to keep up the same speed as as him. Even carrying Firial Dorian was faster than the malnourished and battered troops. Once he caught he up to them the twins glanced over.


    ¡°Where the old man be?¡± Snax asked raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°He is buying us some time, He wont be joining us again.¡± Dorian said with a grim face.


    ¡°Should''ve left im some ale, he be a good man. Good taste in ale.¡± Axe said sadly.


    ¡°Yea, we will miss him..¡± Dorian said, looking over his shoulder.


    Thol walked up to the still screaming Shun, the priest running towards him was cut of by Thol. He ''looked'' over at the screaming boy, in a flash of movement his hand thrust into the ribcage. He wrapped his fingers around the heart and ripped it out of his chest. He then looked at the other warriors, facing him. He crushed the heart, smiling at the warriors with a never before seen bloodthirst.


    ¡°A man like that doesn''t deserve to live longer, especially not after the way he treated that young lady. I had my doubts the other lad would be able to kill his brother, especially not when his memories return. But this is not a bards tale, you see an evil man. You kill him, so... Which of you wants a trip downstairs first!¡± Thol said clasping his now bloody hands behind his back.


    The warriors facing him involuntarily backed of, only the seasoned Augustin and the commander stayed in their places. Thol kept standing there waiting for the warriors to attack him, after all his goal was to stall. He simply stood there oozing danger, waiting for the enemy to work up the courage to face him. The troops still hesitated, they were waiting for orders. However their commanders had not moved from their spots.


    After what seemed an eternity Augustin stepped forward unsheathing his blade. He motioned with his hand for the other soldiers to follow him. They carefully stepped forward, what Thol noticed was that only those who had been with The Table longer stepped forward with Augustin. The rest seemed hesitant to fight him, he was after all a comrade they had fought with before.


    Augustin and his men eventually found the courage and rushed forward, unsheathing their blades and charging the old man. The old man smiled viscously sending shivers down the spines of the charging soldiers. The soldiers having been through many battles however did not falter, they charged the old man with death written all over their faces.


    Thol smoothly flowed underneath Augistin''s strike, flowing behind him he delivered a palm strike on the next soldier incoming. The blow sent the heavily armored man flying through the hallway, a hand-imprint dented into his metal armor. Thol continued moving, flowing between the strikes of the soldiers like water. Delivering strikes that knocked his opponents out on contact. He sent quite a few of them smashing into the ceiling with quite an impact.


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    Man after man fell to Thol''s lightning fast strikes the only one who had so far been desperately able defend against the strikes was Augustin. The commander unsheathed his blade with a grimace, joining the battle. The other soldiers circled around the back, Augustin and the Commander attacked Thol from the front simultaneously. The soldiers tried to attack the old man from behind while he was occupied from the front.


    Thol would not make it that easy however, he sent blows their way that were so fast. They created shock waves that hit the wall, so powerful they even cracked the stone. Thol managed to dodge the attacks from the commander and Augustin. He delivered some strikes to the man behind him when he could, killing them outright. However against so many even the old man could not keep up. A blade pierced his shoulder from behind, the old man reacted by turning around and smashing his fist into the soldiers face.


    The commander and Augustin had been waiting for the opportunity however and pierced his chest and his abdomen with their swords.


    ¡°We win old man, you chose the wrong side!¡± The commander said viscously with a smirking face.


    Thol grabbed the commander by his arms, he looked him in the eye and grinned. ¡°You really think I had been missing my punches?¡± Laughing the old man pulled him towards him jumping a bit further back. Suddenly the ceiling made a crumbling sound, stone and dust hit the floor. The commander looked up shocked, at the exact moment the Commander looked up the ceiling and everything about it came tumbling down.


    With a loud crash Thol, the commander, and all soldiers that had been standing behind Thol were buried in the rubble. The dust washed over the soldiers who had been standing further back, jaws slack with awe. It was not every day you would see the fighting death of a warrior of this magnitude. On the other side a still barely alive Thol looked down at the rest of his body. He had been crushed from the waste down, the blades in his chest sticking out.


    Suddenly the are around him brightened, and he saw a familiar face walking up to him. He looked up at the figure and a gentle look swept over his face. He smiled at the figure ¡°Sorry dear...¡± He said with laboring breaths. ¡°I chose to invest.... in these... children... Instead.. of seeking revenge..¡± He managed to say.


    A smaller figure ran up next to the larger one, holding its hand. Thol smiled up at them, ¡°I think... you would... have been proud..¡± The lights faded from the old mans eyes. He greeted death as any warrior should. With a smile on his face.

 Chapter 27

    Dorian and his group ran out of the entrance gasping for breath. They were near the edge of the city, Dorian looked around trying to orientate himself. He vaguely remembered this area, the gate to the east entrance of the city was close by.


    ¡°Cern, can you and the twins get supplies and meet us outside the city? I doubt we could buy anything without garnering a lot of attention.¡±


    Cern nodded ¡°Will do. Snax, Axe lets go.¡±


    ¡°Will do Cap''n¡± Snax said


    ¡°Leave it to us!¡± Axe added.


    The three of them ran of to the nearest market street, Cern already counting the amount of people and telling the twins the list of things they would need. Arguing they left, Dorian led the rest of the group outside the city. Carefully trying to avoid larger patrols. He didn''t know how far the reach was of The Table. Thol had bought them some time, they needed to make sure they used it as best they could.


    Leaving the city surprisingly went without a hitch, however strange it was. They were carrying two unconscious women after all. Letting the girls distract the guards had been a good plan, even though Tolu had been fuming. She detested having to flirt with these guards. They were not her fitting to her elegant tastes. Or so she claimed.


    Dorian set up camp a few hours walk away from the city, they would have to keep an eye on the city gates to make sure they didn''t miss Cern and the twins. Dorian sent Urf and Tolu to watch the gate. He had wanted to send Mori as well but she was the medical expert of the troops. Dorian had not known this, his memories were still a jumble in his head. Not being sure who was who, more to the point seeing someone and remembering them as someone else was extremely exhausting.


    They had gently placed Lalin and Firial on a sloped hill, Mori was treating Lalin''s injuries. Firial however was a problem, as far as they could see there were no injuries on her body. The cut on her hand and the bruise on her ribs was all that he could see. The only thing that made sense was that it was an after-effect of the magic she had used.


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    Becoming that strong could not be without side-effects. Dorian worried for her, he felt at partly at fault for Farials death. If he and his brother had not been in this city the two could have lived their lives peacefully. Lalins condition, had been slowly improving. Mori said she would just need some rest and would wake up eventually.


    Dorian sat down on the hill gazing at the city. He started filtering the things he knew from the things he thought he knew. Once in a while he would ask one of his troops a question, about his parents, or their tribe. Slowly but certainly he started to form a better picture in his mind of what was real and what was not.


    Then he started to ponder about what to do next. As he saw it he had a few options, going back to the Vorn was the most logical choice. He would be able to get answers there and perhaps his memories could be restored. The problem persisted however that he did not have enough information. Staying close to the city however hoping on word from Gladiel was risky.


    The more he thought about it the more risky other options became, going back to the Vorn was what the enemy would most likely expect him to do. Making it the most risky of options, a plan started to formulate in his mind. At first it seemed crazy, the more h thought about it however the better the plan started to look. Plus it felt as sticking one to The Table, even if that shouldn''t be his main goal it would feel good.


    <hr />


    Sorry guys i seem to be experiencing some writing trouble, i keep writing some things down, then i think its trash and delete it and rewrite something else. I guess this is what they call writers block? Give me a second to get my shit together!


    Thanks ahead of time!

 Not a Chapter, Im Stuck

    Sorry guys i keep trying to write but im not getting anything down. Its like trudging through a thick sludge. It''s extremely demoralizing for me. So im letting you guys know that i wont post anything till i can write something i enjoy again. Because this is not working for me, Sorry for the trouble....


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    I WIL NOT HOWEVER DROP THE STORY! I refuse to drop it!