The Oathsworn

by Liandra Jake

  They turned down the docks. "What's the first part?" Arend asked.

  "Training your body. The other three are technique, philosophy, and survivability. Since Arend already has an insane defense, I'll sprinkle in the finer details as we go along and as Arend develops new weapons and Exo-Suits for himself." Richard replied.

  "I take it philosophy is the whole 'Responsibility of the gifted' and 'I think I can' spiel?" Corenden asked.

  "More or less." Richard replied.

  As the trio worked their way farther into the city, they discussed possible ways of training. "So we'll essentially be cramming all we can of the world into our heads as we build up our bodies." Arend said.

  "A rather blunt summary, but no less accurate. People are tired of your ignorance, and I'm sure Corenden could use a bit of work as well." Richard replied. "The Guild should be right around the corner."

  Richard hurried around the corner of a brick apartment building. An empty lot filled with smoldering lumber and cracked cement rested between two heavily damaged buildings. Construction workers were busy repairing the buildings and removing the charred remains of a building.

  Richard was surprised. "What happened to Styx Fix?" He asked a nearby construction worker.

  "It got demolished a few days ago by the Harbor Masters. Felix disobeyed an order to leave and they responded swiftly. Felix was tossed in a cell along with who didn't surrender." He replied before returning to work.

  "Can they do that?" Corenden asked, glancing at Richard.

  "Apparently so." Richard replied.

  "Think we should check on your friend?" Corenden asked.

  "I Don't know. Getting involved may prove dangerous." Richard replied.

  Arend' sneakers squealed as he took a sharp 180 and bolted down the street in the direction they came from. "Arend! Where are you going!?" Richard yelled down at him.

  Corenden and Arend pointed skywards with one hand. Richard looked up. A large dirigible was floating over the city. A display flashed in many colors.

  Felix's execution at the main square this afternoon. Free food and drinks will be provided.

  Richard's eyebrows narrowed. 'What's going on?'

  Arend and Corenden flew skyward. Richard asked around until someone pointed him to the main square. A large crowd had already gathered. Richard waved Corenden down from the edge.

  "It seems this city has become a Guild-run City-State." Richard said as Arend touched down. "Any Guild opposing them is destroyed, and their leader executed."

  A man in a flamboyant, blue sparkly cloak slid down on a cable from the dirigible. His cinnamon hair was neatly greased back and trimmed at an angle. His eyes were a light hazel with specks off orange. Sixteen armed guards joined him, one carrying a bleach blonde man who was bound and gagged.

  "I see all my fine subjects have made an appearance at this upcoming spectacle!" The cloaked man called out to the crowd. They replied with an empty roar.

  Arend worked his way to the front of the crowd. "Damn it Arend…" Richard groaned under his breath as he hurried after him.

  Corenden still remained on Arend' back. "Who are you!?" Arend called out to the man.

  The crowd grew silent, backing away from Arend. "You must be a tourist. I am the Guild Master of the great Harbor Masters." He replied.

  "Are you really going to kill him?" Arend asked, pointing at Felix.

  "You must be from Sareville, or some other soft-bellied city. I must show what happens to people who oppose me." He replied, teasing a lock of hair that had drifted down.

  "Fair enough, but the question is; why aren't you respectable enough to have no one oppose you?" Arend asked. The man paused, letting the lock of hair fall straight down.

  "I suggest you watch your tongue." Someone whispered from the crowd.

  Arend replied by crossing his eyes and giving them a raspberry. "Your execution may be next if you keep asking such dangerous questions." The man warned as he turned to Felix and returned to fixing his hair.

  "Like a bunch of pansies like you could take me down." Arend said. The man twitched, another bunch of hair falling limp.

  "What was that?" He asked, slowly turning back to Arend. The guards raised their weapons.

  "Are you as stupid as you are ugly?" Arend asked.

  The crowd flinched. The man's eye twitched. "Kill him." The man ordered as he turned to fix his hair.

  Arend pulled a modified meat tenderizer from his bag. He made it so he could crack the shell of a Matrix and leave the Korvan intact. Arend hardly used it. Three of the guards chuckled as they brought up riot shields and electrified batons. Arend didn't hold back, shattering the shields and snatching up the Korvan that fell from the remains of the Matrices. He easily disarmed the limp-wristed guards and collected the batons as well.

  Arend spun the meat tenderizer in his fingers. "Did ya really think I couldn't break your armor?" He asked with a grin.

  "For fuck's sake! SHOOT HIM!" The cloaked man exclaimed, frantically coating his head in gel.

  The sixteen guards drew heavy muzzled handguns. "Blimp." Arend said curtly before dropping to the ground.

  The guards glanced up. Corenden had cut large holes in the dirigibles with Arend' L-tool, sending the half collapsed frame down on the center of the square. A few seconds before impact, it veered off slightly and only buried the farthest pair of guards. While they were distracted, Richard flew over Arend, delivering a mid-air spinning roundhouse to the three shieldless guards. Arend rolled forward and grabbed their handguns.

  In the brief instant before they brought up their shields, Arend shot the guns out of half the guards' hands. They returned fire tenfold. Arend stepped in front of Richard as a white aura appeared around him. It hungrily sucked up the shots.

  "WOOP WOOP!" Arend exclaimed "I got the shield working!"

  "Why is that a surprise?" Richard asked darkly as he finished off the guards.

  Arend jammed the barrel of one of the hand guns under the sparkly man's neck and the other into his chest. "A simple and successful rescue." Arend said as Richard untied Felix.

  The man chuckled. "What makes you think you can out run the Harbor Masters?"

  In quick succession, Arend whipped him with each pistol and kicked him to the ground. The man spat out the blood in his mouth and glared up at Arend. Arend turned down the pistols' power by fidgeting with the Matrices. He pointed both at the man's face.

  "Who says we're running?" Arend asked before unleashing all the shots he could before the pistols exploded in his hands. He tossed them at the feet of the now unconscious man.

  "You okay Felix?" Richard asked.

  Felix ripped the tattered gag from his mouth. "Who the hell is that kid?" He asked.

  "Have you heard of Arend Myshcell?" Richard asked as he helped Felix to his feet.

  "The guy who took on the Black Monster? Is that really him?" Felix asked, pointing at Arend, who was scrounging all he could from both the dirigible and the broken weapons. Corenden had returned his L-tool and waited back with Richard.

  Richard nodded. "I'm trying to train him, but I'm going to need a Guild to stay in."

  "I don't think rebuilding it in this city would be a good idea." Felix replied, looking around at the confused crowd.

  They were unsure if what just happened was a good thing. "You can take back your city now." Arend said to part of the crowd as he bound the man and his guards.

  There was a low murmur. "C'mon! More lively!" Arend exclaimed, throwing his arms up into the air.

  A rock flew out of the crowd and bounced off Arend' shield. "You doomed us all!" Someone shouted out.

  A few more rocks flew past Arend. He caught one of them, sending it back to the man who threw it, bouncing off his head and leaving a bruise. "If you don't like it, then come fight me directly. It's lame to throw rocks." Arend said with crossed arms.

  "Take your pet and leave!" A woman shouted.

  "I am not his pet!" Corenden shouted angrily.

&n
bsp; "Corenden, Arend, let's go!" Richard called out over the din of the crowd.

  As Arend and Corenden grudgingly obeyed and turned away from the crowd, a man was hurrying through the crowd, not caring who he elbowed. "CRIOS! CRIOS MYSHCELL!" He yelled out at an incredible volume.

  "Hmm!?" Arend exclaimed, looking back.

  He had a large brown hiking backpack on his back. A large blue sleeping bag was rolled and tied to the top. He was wearing a circular fishing hat with large spaced mesh to let in air. His face was extremely tanned, and he had the same bleach blonde hair that Felix had. The sleeves of his long sleeved button-up shirt were rolled past his elbows and were stained by sweat and dust. He had a pair of specially crafted black pants, or else he would have died from the heat. His icy-blue eyes sparkled excitedly as he ran up to Arend.

  "My name is Michael Fastern. I'm a traveling writer who has interests in every aspect of Guild life. Think you could let me interview you on your experiences in Dragon's Den and with the Black Monster?" He asked.

  A second murmur went through the crowd. They seemed to know who Arend was.

  "You are the Shadow Hunter Master Kruxsetter Arend Myshcell right?" Michael asked.

  Arend tapped the emblems on his hat. "These should be proof enough."

  "It's best we don't stay here." Felix cut in. "I have an old hut we can continue this in."

  Arend nodded at Michael and followed Felix with Richard and Corenden. Michael followed closely as the group left the city. Felix led them to what looked like a mix between a hut and a cabin. Wood beams and a thick stemmed plant were weaved to form the disintegrating walls, and a grass/leaf roof sat askew atop them. It rested in small patch of vegetation a few feet from a short cliff and a beach cove.

  Waves breaking on the beach could be heard as Felix forced open the door. Corenden stayed outside, taking a nap on the roof. The cabin was dark, extremely humid, and reeked of mold. Felix kicked the rotting furniture into the dankest corner. He pulled out a small Lite Korvan lantern and hung it from the dangling pieces of the roof. Its soft glow illuminated every corner of the small cabin.

  "It's not home, but it's all I got right now." Felix said as the group settled in as best as they could.

  Felix and Richard caught up as Michael began to talk to Arend. "So tell me, why is it you decided to side with King when fighting with the Black Monster?" Michael asked.

  "Because he didn't want to kill my parents when I was a kid, and he wasn't the cause of their deaths." Arend replied.

  "Ah, I see." Michael said as he scribbled something into his notes.

  Arend sighed. "I don't think this interview will really pan out." Michael paused. "I've already answered numerous questions on the subject, add in footage and the numerous witness accounts, the story of my life has been covered in great detail."

  "I…see." Michael said, obviously disappointed.

  "If it's worth anything, an interview after this four month training adventure would prove a better story, if today is any clue to what comes next." Arend said.

  "Training? Is that why you are travelling?" Michael asked.

  "Yeah, that and I need to get a new weapon." Arend replied.

  "I take it you're looking for the parts, and not a specific weapon?" Michael asked.

  Arend nodded. "I'm not sure on the design, but I'm going to need a stronger blade and even stronger machine parts."

  Michael paused and thought for a while. He sighed. "I know a place where you can get parts like that. I can't guarantee they'll be cheap, but I know they'll never fail you."

  "Really?" Arend asked, intrigued.

  "Only, it's sorta out of the way."

  "How far exactly?" Richard asked, cutting in.

  "In the Thousand-Mile Canyon." Michael replied.

  Felix raised his eyebrows. "That's a dangerous place to go with just your word."

  "But that's the thing; I'd have to go with you." Michael replied.

  "Why is that?" Arend asked.

  "The nomadic people who can make the parts move quickly. I'm the only one who would know where they would set up." Michael said to Felix, ignoring Arend.

  "How would you know that?" Felix asked.

  "Because my sister lives with them as one of the smiths." Michael replied.

  "Why would your sister be living with nomads?" Richard asked.

  "It's complicated! No more questions about me!" Michael exclaimed, quite flustered by this point.

  Corenden snorted, rolling over in his sleep. "Do you have an example of their work?" Arend asked.

  Michael frowned for a moment, before pulling out a locket from his under his shirt. Arend didn't wait for him to pull it off his neck and inspected both the chain and the locket.

  "So what do you think?" Richard asked "It's ultimately your decision."

  Arend paused briefly before biting the locket. "The hell!?" Felix exclaimed.

  Arend dropped it, nodding. "Like I thought, Tricross Sediment. It doesn't become metallic under anything less than 10,000 degrees Celsius and an expert smith. This is the place we need to go." Arend replied.

  "So it's decided. We will get moving soon. I suggest you prepare yourselves." Richard said.

  Michael pulled out a map of the area. Chewek was to the far top right corner, the coastline was cut off at the sides of the map with the exception of the southernmost point, where it dipped past a mountain range before turning back north. The Chewek area was surrounded by a dense forest with a few hills sketched in.

  Felix looked the map over. "This is very well drawn."

  "I took a few lessons under Aegith while in the Clockwork Jungle area." Michael replied.

  "Clockwork Jungle?" Arend asked.

  "One of the many remnants of the Great Wars." Richard replied, poking an area near the center of the map. "A First War cruiser crashed in the area. Aegith is a semi-famous explorer who maps areas like that. The jungle was named that because parts of the cruiser still function, and chime every day at noon, dusk, and dawn."

  Felix was ready to suggest a route to take. Corenden was woken to listen in. "First you need to work your way to Loushin, you should be able to rent a desert prepped buggy there. I'd suggest avoiding Yitkin unless you have business there."

  "Oh!" Arend exclaimed. "I know a guy in Yitkin!"

  "What?" Felix said with a raised eyebrow.

  "He asked me about low-power hyper-speed hydraulics." Arend said.

  "They do a lot of rock breaking and foundry work there. It's most likely what they would need it for." Corenden said, reading from a thick atlas.

  "I think his name was Tommori. Yeah, defiantly Tommori." Arend said, tapping his chin.

  "Tommori is the head of the mining slums. How the hell can you know him?" Felix asked.

  "I don't call myself a Master Kruxsetter for nothing. I can fix just about anything." Arend replied.

  "Well anyway, whether or not you go to Yitkin, you need to go through the pass just near there, and it should be a straight shot to the canyon." Felix said, sliding his finger on the map.

  "Be wary of bandits and dust storms. It's a mild desert, but when the wind stops it can become a nightmare to the unprepared. Corenden would have trouble with the heat, but fly high enough, and you should find a pocket of cold air that rests above the desert. Avoid the scale steppes as much as possible." Felix continued, circling an unmapped area cut in half near the center of the canyon.

  "That shouldn't be a problem, once we reach this point, I can direct us straight to where we need to go." Michael said, poking a mesa just north of the eastern empty patch next to the long canyon.

  "Let's get going. We don't have a second to waste." Richard said as he got to his feet.

  "Good luck. By the time you return, I should have this place fixed up and livable." Felix said as Michael put away his map.

  "Good luck!" Arend called back as he stepped out the door, and it fell to the floor.

  Richard, Corenden, and Michael followed close behind just in case th
e rest of the cabin collapsed.

  "So we're going to walk though most of that forest?" Arend asked as he followed Richard around the cabin. Corenden took his usual spot on Arend' shoulders.

  "Yes, but it isn't all untamed wilderness, we have a path we can follow." Richard replied.

  "Okay." Arend replied. He looked up at the sky. It was a lighter shade of blue than the ocean, and stretched just as far. A lone cloud tumbled across its serenity. 'I wonder what they're doing back at Dragon's Den.' Arend thought to himself.