A New Beginning: A Fantasy Adventure (The White Chronicles Book 1)

by J. E. Thompson

  “What’s that over there?” Kaylin asked.

  Vexx looked over and squinted. Something seemed to flash in the distance; a reflection caught by the morning light. After a moment, he saw movement, a knight in gleaming platemail and another figure in a dingy brown robe behind him, clambering their way up through the Lifeless Hills.

  “Who cares,” Vexx said. “It has nothing to do with us.”

  “They’ve spotted us,” Kaylin said a moment later. “It seems they’ve changed their course a bit to meet us.”

  Vexx shrugged, but he felt a rising sense of danger as he looked below, watching the two strangers moving over to meet them. They look pretty experienced to me…at least, the knight is. Much more experienced than us, like he’s on an entirely different level. You can’t get platemail like that for cheap, and he seems strong enough to wear it without any problem.

  Shy sniffed. “Those two positively reek of righteous fervor. Master, I…I would advise caution.”

  Vexx gritted his teeth. They’re heading straight toward us, but why?

  “Hey, you down there!” Vexx shouted. “Where are you headed?”

  The knight paused, his helmet shimmering in the light as he looked up. There were two massive wings on both ends with blue decorations. After a moment, he took the helmet off and glared at the party of tired dungeoneers.

  “Those are the holy relics of Cloudbury in your satchels, or am I wrong? Do not think to deceive me.”

  “They are…but we have reclaimed them. The quest was posted in Cloudbury, and we accepted the bounty.”

  The paladin scoffed. “Nonsense. I see you there, demon, baring all your flesh and corrupting those who look upon you. Consorting with an elf and a warlock? I care not to think how you’ve already befouled these holy relics.”

  Vexx spread his arms out wide. “I think we have a misunderstanding here. You see—”

  “Know now, you lost, foul souls,” the paladin proclaimed, “That it is I, the Holy Knight Mantaneal Thurmon, the legendary paladin and demon slayer, who sends you to your hells. My faithful servant and I have come to exact vengeance on you heretics for stealing the sacred relics of Cloudbury. You should know this before you are vanquished,” he concluded, setting his heavy helmet back on his head.

  61

  A Giant Misunderstanding

  “Mantaneal Thurmon?” Kaylin repeated slowly as the paladin trudged up the hill, the cleric hurrying along beside him.

  “Mantaneal…” Vexx sounded out, furrowing his brow. “Oh yes, I’ve heard of him! He went monster hunting a few times with Dred Wyrm!”

  “I don’t know who either of those two are, darling, but I do think you two should begin firing while we have the advantage,” Shyola pointed out, materializing her glowing orange whip and readying herself.

  “Oh, no.” Vexx smiled. “This has all been just a giant misunderstanding. You see, we were actually—”

  The cleric raised his staff in the air, the crystal at the top glowed brightly with energy, and a wave of sparkling magic circled around the paladin. He seemed to move a half-step faster, raising his sword up high, a solid shield guarding his left side.

  “Accept your deaths!”

  “They mean it, Vexx!” Kaylin cried in alarm, loosing an arrow at Sir Thurmon. The holy knight raised his shield almost contemptuously, catching it on his oaken crest.

  Vexx cursed, but sprang into action, firing a gout of flames into the grass and rock just ahead of Sir Thurmon. The flames rose, a wall of fire blocking the paladin’s path, and Vexx took a deep breath.

  “Like I was saying, your quarrel is not with us!”

  A dark figure emerged behind the flames, then strode straight through, a shimmering magical shield flickered a myriad of colors as it struggled to protect the paladin. Sir Thurmon slowed, then continued his unstoppable march forward. “My quarrel,” he boomed out, echoing from behind his helmet, “is with enemies of the church. Such as you!”

  Another arrow soared out, this one impaling itself in a small gap in the gleaming armor, but it barely seemed to affect the paladin as he strode forward.

  “Fuck!” Vexx snapped, glancing down at the cleric, still keeping some distance away as he chanted. “Kaylin, keep this guy busy!” he said, dashing to the side.

  “Wh—what?” the elf replied, stumbling back a step as she tried to put more distance between her and the paladin. “Uh, how?”

  “Just keep shooting! Shy, with me! Let’s kill the cleric.”

  “Ooh, you’re speaking my language,” Shy purred as she sprinted down the cliffside. Vexx struggled to keep up and kept an eye on Kaylin as she squealed and backed away from the approaching paladin. We’ll be back for you soon. Don’t die now!

  Vexx gritted his teeth and summoned a fireball around his fist. He punched forward, the fireball sailing down to the cleric, who spun his staff in an attempt to deflect the fireball. It slammed into him, but disappeared as he whirled his magic staff, leaving scorch marks on his brown robe. The cleric staggered back a pace or two. He coughed, then slammed the staff into the ground, reaching for something in his satchel.

  Shy lunged and struck, her orange whip slicing through the air and rending the cleric clean in half just as he raised his fist in the air. The cleric’s eyes widened, his mouth half open—and then the top and bottom halves of the dead man dropped to the ground with a sickening thud.

  Shyola grinned over. “He’s not so tough.”

  “Vexx!” Kaylin shouted, farther uphill.

  “We’re coming!” Vexx shouted back, sinking down, his hands on his knees as he breathed in and out. He was exhausted. What I wouldn’t give for a potion right now. “Just…just hold him off!”

  “No, Vexx!” she shouted, and he heard the sharp clank of an arrow glancing off of platemail not very far away. “He’s coming for you!”

  Vexx and Shyola turned, and to their combined horror, they saw the paladin barreling down towards them. “Brother Bernard!” he screamed. “Noooo!”

  62

  The Verge of Death

  “Fuck,” was all Vexx could manage as the paladin charged at him, his sword upraised in an underhand grip, the single moment stretching into an eternity. Vexx fired a rushed fireball at the charging knight and was rewarded with a grunt—and then Vexx screamed as pain lanced through him. His eyes dropped to his stomach and he stared dumbly at the protruding hilt of the paladin’s sword, the blade buried deep in his abdomen.

  “Don’t kill my Master, dickbag!” Shyola shouted, and then Vexx dimly heard the snapping of her whip. The helmet looked left and then a plated boot planted itself on Vexx’s chest and the paladin forced his sword free.

  Vexx collapsed to the ground and couldn’t stop himself from rolling a short distance down the hill. He rolled a couple times before getting wedged somewhere, finally motionless. Vexx gritted his teeth and clenched both hands to the spreading wetness in his stomach, gasping as he felt for the jagged hole the longsword had left inside him.

  This…Vexx raised his left hand up, his glove drenched in dripping blood, his vision flickering. Is this what death feels like? He groaned, looking to his side, trying to block out the pain as he took stock of his surroundings. There was a dim clatter of fighting, and then a spinning arrow sailing past, as if it had been deflected. But around him…

  Vexx felt the peculiar softness of the ground around him, and realized he was lying beside the corpse of Brother Bernard. Or part of him. Fitting, I suppose. But Vexx summoned a last burst of strength, half-turning and gripping the dead cleric’s leather satchel with his two blood-soaked gloves.

  I’m not dying yet. Fuck that!

  He groped around desperately for the leather satchel, fumbling it open when he finally had it in his grasp. He didn’t dare hope as he heard the familiar clanking of glass vials within it. Vexx stuck his left hand in and grabbed several potions. As he pulled them out of the satchel, his vision swam and he squinted, trying to make sense of the potions. Vexx felt his pul
se slow and his energy seemed to slip away.

  That…that one’s red!

  He gripped the potion with the last of his strength, bloodying it as his fingers slipped over the slick glass. Fighting the panic and desperation, he gripped the cork, his fumbling fingers feeling like lead and he struggled to raise it to his lips. Vexx gritted his teeth and wrenched it open before greedily pouring it into his mouth, drinking it up, gurgling weakly as the potent mixture made its way inside him. His agony intensified as the magic worked within him.

  Drained in a moment, the last thing Vexx remembered was watching the vial slip out of his hand and hearing the distant sound of glass as it shattered on the rocks below.

  63

  Fighting Together

  The sounds seemed to come from a great distance. The grunt of a man’s voice, as if recoiling from an impact. The steady thrum of a bow. The snap of a whip.

  “Vexx…”

  My mother’s voice? I haven’t heard her voice in years, not since the plague that took her.

  “Vexx, my boy!”

  Father’s voice! Vexx grinned weakly, but his smile quickly faded. He’ll be so disappointed that I got expelled. And after all their sacrifices…he coughed, rolling over to one side, his hand falling to where the longsword had impaled him. His robe was wet, though the wound had somehow closed itself up. Vexx groaned as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

  “Watch out, Shy!”

  Slowly, Vexx’s foggy head cleared, and he heard the shouts and clatter of the fight uphill. He glanced upward as he staggered to his knees. They need my help. But first…Vexx grabbed the dead cleric’s remaining potions and took stock of the few different potions before taking a big gulp of a swirling blue fluid. He felt a rush of energy around him and put his palm just above the dead cleric’s head.

  You won’t be too helpful now, but every bit counts, Vexx thought as he cast his necromantic energy downward. The cleric’s eyes shot open, the glowing green orbs a welcome sight. Vexx got to his feet, already summoning the energy for a fireball, watching as Shy desperately darted away from the paladin’s swing. Kaylin loosed an arrow behind him, sticking into the man’s back, but the paladin continued pursuing the succubus.

  “Over here, you asshole!” Vexx shouted as he fired a fireball at him. The blast exploded on the paladin’s sturdy left pauldron, knocking him off balance for a moment and buying Shyola the time to dart away, but still, the paladin advanced as calmly as ever. But their efforts were rewarded: his armor was scorched, a few arrows stuck up out of him, and fresh cuts on his armor showed where Shy’s whip had left its marks.

  He could butcher each one of us in a one-on-one fight. But together? We still have a chance.

  Vexx put another heavy burst of magic into the Scorching Missile that he sent flying over to the paladin. It streamed forward in a reddish orange haze, bursting on the paladin’s armor. The paladin stopped this time, roaring in pain and rage, waving away the spreading flames on his armor. Shy leaped forward and slammed her whip into the paladin’s unguarded side, and Kaylin cheered as the paladin rolled down the hill. His armor clanked and clattered as he rolled end over end a half dozen times.

  Then, Sir Thurmon’s armored hand grasped a stray branch, the slim branch somehow enough to hold him in place. He clambered to his feet, brushing away the last smoldering embers, and looked over at Vexx.

  “Just give up,” the paladin boomed from behind his helmet. He paused, fumbling for his satchel, and his plated hand brought out a gigantic jug of red health potion. He raised it up to his helmet, tilting his head back and then—

  An arrow sailed toward it, buffeted to the side by the wind, but curving an instant later and taking the jug square in the center. Glass shattered everywhere, red liquid splashing against the paladin’s helmet and platemail.

  “Hey!” the paladin shouted. “You asshole! Who does that?”

  “He’s weak,” Shy called out as the paladin reached down into his satchel again. “It’s now or never! Hit him with everything you’ve got!”

  As if snapping out of a trance, Vexx stepped forward, his two hands extended. He punched forward, left then right, sending blistering fireball after fireball. The paladin staggered back, his shield taking part of the blow, but his footing wasn’t secure here. Rocks clattered from uphill, and Vexx glanced up as his energy drained, seeing Kaylin and Shyola rushing down.

  “I’ll snare him,” Kaylin shouted as they ran. “Keep him busy, Shy!”

  “You got it,” she replied, slashing her whip downward. Sir Thurmon jerked his head to the side, and the whip severed one of his helmet’s decorative wings. He tossed his charred and smoldering shield to the ground, grabbing his battered longsword with both hands. He stepped aside, somehow dodging another one of Vexx’s fireballs, even as he parried Shy’s whip with his sword. Sir Thurmon’s left hand shot out toward Vexx as he readied another fireball.

  “Paralyze!” the paladin shouted, and in an instant, Vexx froze in place. Then the paladin barreled forward, harrying the succubus, drawing blood with a quick stab. Two quick slashes and he was on her, sword raised high. “Begone, foul dem—gah!”

  Kaylin had snared him with her trap, the net circled around the single remaining wing of his helmet, and she jerked it back as he struggled against it. The helmet slid up, and then Sir Thurmon pushed it off, whirling around and catching it. Instead of letting go, he pulled back on the rope, grabbing and dragging Kaylin forward. She reeled back and stumbled down the sloping hill just as the paladin’s wild swing cut through where she had been.

  64

  Paralyzed

  “Kay…inn!” Vexx choked out, straining against the paralyzing spell. He could wiggle his toes now, though that was little relief, as the red-faced paladin strode to the elf as she stumbled away. With his unkept blond hair and splotchy face, he looked like an annoyed logger under all of that shiny armor. Vexx’s fingers twitched, and he felt a bit more sensation in his body.

  Just a bit more…

  “Come here, you,” the paladin rasped as he pulled her in, the scene strangely reminiscent of a fisherman reeling in a fish. “Get over he—”

  A flashing whip scythed through the net trap and sent the paladin and the elf staggering back, the wounded Shyola glaring as she slashed her whip back. The paladin lurched forward, stopping only to parry the whip aside and then continued his attack on Kaylin.

  “By all the saints,” Sir Thurmon huffed, “you’re an annoying bunch. Just…give…up!” he shouted, swinging his sword up above Kaylin.

  Shyola prowled close, knocking the blade away with a powerful slash, then turned to Kaylin. “Get out of here, elf!” she yelled, slapping Kaylin’s butt with an empowered spank and launching her in the air to fall a dozen paces away. Sir Thurmun slammed her in the chest with the pommel of his sword, driving her back, then with another wild swing, he sent the succubus tumbling down the hill.

  Groaning, the paladin turned, just as Vexx flexed one hand and then the other. The spell is wearing off! The paladin looked a mess, his armor chipped and askew, and part of it was burnt away to reveal angry, red skin underneath. He looked flustered, blood dripping from Sir Thurmon’s broken nose, and his angry red face latched itself onto Vexx. The paladin took one step forward, then another.

  Fucking hells! How much does it take to kill this guy?

  “You! This is all your fault,” Sir Mantaneal Thurmon spat, baring his teeth and stomping forward as Vexx tried desperately to form a fireball in his half-frozen hand. Come on, come on, almost there! A faint spark appeared in front of Vexx’s extended hand. “It’s your fault Brother Bernard—”

  The paladin lunged forward and inexplicably tripped, falling in a crash of metal. Slowly, he looked back. The undead corpse of Brother Bernard—the top half, anyway—had grasped him firmly by the ankle.

  “Unhand me, Brother!” the paladin roared, turning back and chopping off the hand with a heavy swing. Then Vexx breathed in, summoning all his energy reserves,
and fired a full blast of flames right into Sir Thurmon’s exposed face. The gout of fire mercifully blocked out Vexx’s vision as the spray of flames continued, licking at the paladin’s platemail and charring it, the armor at the top glowing orange as if at a blacksmith’s forge—and then it faded away, Vexx’s energy was completely spent. He gasped and would have collapsed if the paralyzing spell had faded away entirely, but as it was, he just hung limply in the air.

  Sir Thurmon wasn’t so lucky.

  The paladin dropped to the ground, a smoking ruin where his head had been, trails of smoke rising through the gaps in his armor as if it was a makeshift oven. The orange glow around his neck slowly faded away, even as it continued smoldering. The sounds of loose rock and dirt sliding away announced the return of Shyola and Kaylin. Vexx craned his neck to look up at them.

  They look worse for wear. We all do. Vexx’s eyes flicked down to the dead paladin. But it could be worse.

  Suddenly, the paralyzing spell faded away, and Vexx dropped groaning to the ground. He pushed himself up to see Shyola reaching a hand down. In silence, Vexx gripped the outstretched hand, and she hauled him to his feet. Kaylin approached, gingerly rubbing her butt.

  “My ass is still red,” Kaylin complained. “I think you left a mark.”

  “Well, I saved that ass of yours,” Shy pointed out.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The moment lingered. It’s not much, but at least they’re working together. After a second, Vexx realized he should break the silence, and he coughed. “So…should we loot the body?”

  65

  All Downhill from Here