“Oh, that is quite sad… How did you handle it at such a young age? I am sure it must have been difficult.”
“Well, yes it was. I would rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”
That was quite uncharacteristic of me. But I really didn’t feel like talking about my parents at that point, although I felt that I had come to terms with their deaths long back.
Olmot spoke in a solemn tone, having noticed it as well. “Of course. I apologize for asking. I sometimes forget that there are emotions that do not change, irrespective of where I am. I should have been more sensitive.”
There really was no reason for him to fret.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said casually.
But he seemed constantly dejected after that, and didn’t try to start any further conversations. I realized that the next day. So I spoke to him a bit more after that. I had to stay in his good books if I had any chance of getting him to talk about the legends.
We reached the edge of the village to see a strange sight. Parshtel, Frederik, Parshtel’s brother, and Johotei along with four other village guards seemed to be hurrying towards the hills. I hadn’t seen the village guard assemble in years.
Chapter 6: The full perspective
Eric looked up.
“That was a really… really long explanation, Dev. How, or more importantly, why would you ever talk for that long? It was a simple question. How did you and Karn meet? You really didn’t have to give me such a long explanation. Although it was entertaining in bits, especially the parts with master Grim. I knew he was a great man, but I didn’t know he was this amazing.
“But seriously, thank God! I am so happy that I didn’t ask you about your time with Forresgrim. Otherwise we would have heard you speak continuously till end of our days.”
“End of your days, for sure,” Karn added. Eric looked at him with some severity, but said nothing.
The man with an unknown name, who was to be called by many names in the time to come, Devrath, Astrashir, Ärligen being some of them, replied, “Well, it is helpful for you to get the full perspective. I am sure there are aspects of my story that even you didn’t know, did you, Karn?”
Karn opened one eye as he lay on a low hanging branch. “There might have been, if I was listening. Eric is right. You really stretch your stories. The only parts I did listen to, were the ones with Grim in them. He is truly awesome. Although the bits where your stupidity shines are also amazing.”
Dev frowned. “Some people would find my naivety charming. What do you think Eric?”
Eric looked tired. “Look I would rather not have any more monologues from you. I would have asked you to shut up long back, if not for Karn asking me not to stop you. He said you wouldn’t quit until you are done. So I agree with your opinion—your naivety is charming. Can we call it a day and get some rest?”
Dev shook his head. “No way! I still haven’t reached the part of the story of how I came to leave the village and how I met Karn, which is what you asked.”
Eric and Karn let out a collective sigh and let the young man continue his tale.
Chapter 7: The shadow of the world
The village guard in Villasboro was a mostly irrelevant entity.
Worse than every other support service in the village. They met once every week and practiced some defense formations and drills. The village guard had never used any of those skills. But they continued as a group mostly with Johotei forcing them to come together for the drill every week. All of the village guard members had never been seen together outside these drills. As I saw them approach, I saw that they all looked a little worried. Parshtel also looked a little tensed, more so than when he had come to our shop a few days back.
Parshtel saw Grim from a distance and seemed genuinely relieved. And so did the rest of the village guard. Then their expressions changed. There was confusion and resentment visible on their faces as they saw Olmot.
“Grim!” shouted Parshtel. “Am I relieved to see you!”
He pointed at Olmot. “What are you doing with this, this newcomer?”
There was no way anyone could miss the disgust in Parshtel’s voice when he spoke of Olmot. It was unsettlingly uncharacteristic of him. Grim responded, not displaying any emotion he might have felt at Parshtel’s tone.
“Why the relief in your tone, Parshtel? And why is the village guard together? Did the squirrel army invade the village again from the North?”
This got Johotei angry. It was almost a legendary joke. A couple of decades back, Johotei’s father, probably the village’s only genuinely high-strung man in its entire history, had led the village guard to charge at some “disturbance” near the North exit, which turned out to be a large number of squirrels feasting on a substantial amount of fruit accidentally left by some villager.
“Not a time for jokes Grim!” Johotei said angrily. “This man seems to be bringing his friends into our village and we want to know why! First, he appears out of the blue and stays for a couple of years. Now he asks some of his friends to move in. What does he want? What are you planning old man?” The last question was for Olmot.
Olmot seemed perplexed. “My friends? I… no one knows I am here, let alone my ‘friends…’ I don’t know what you are talking about. I have come here to lead a peaceful life and that’s what I have done in the past year and a half.”
Grim spoke. “Perhaps it would be better if one of you could explain what is going on.”
Parshtel replied, “Of course. Let me start from the beginning. When I left your shop a few days back, I thought you would get back to me with some information about this new comer and things would be clearer. A weight was lifted off my shoulders. But then, a couple of days later, Johotei told me that three more strangers had turned up. They were shifty looking and spoke quite rudely to all. Johotei agreed to observe them for a couple of days while I searched for you. Neither you, nor your assistant were anywhere to be found. In the meanwhile, these strangers were moving around the village, asking for an old man, with a piece of paper that had a painting of this man’s face.” He pointed a thumb at Olmot’s face.
“After they were rough with some of the villagers, Johotei, Fred and I went up to them to talk things out. They seemed to become polite when they saw all of us together. They said they were friends of this old man and were looking for him as he was in some trouble. Although we didn’t believe them, we still decided to help and search for this old man, so that all of them could leave. We got the guard together also and headed out searching for the old man. We combed the village, but couldn’t find him. Then we decided to head out towards the hills when we found you three together. That’s the situation we are in right now.”
The story was interesting, but I saw nothing alarming. Maybe I was missing something. Maybe these newcomers were really intimidating.
Parshtel now looked at Olmot and asked. “Now, can you tell us what is going on? Who are these people? What do you and those three want?”
Olmot rubbed his temples. “What do these people look like? I can assure you there is no trouble I bring to this village.”
Grim chipped in. “I have spent some time with this man, who now goes by the name Olmot. I do not know his past, but I know that he is of no harm to anyone. You should all stop worrying about him. Let us all go meet these three newcomers and understand what they want.”
Once Grim spoke in support of Olmot, everyone, even Johotei seemed to relax. Everyone trusted Grim’s judgement.
Johotei spoke, sounding less paranoid. “Sure, Grim. If you trust him, we trust him. Let’s all go and talk to these strangers. They were in the bar when we last saw them.”
So all of us headed back, a company of ten. As we walked back, some tension seemed to return as both Parshtel and Johotei seemed to be worried about facing these three strangers. Olmot also seemed worried, probably about what these three newcomers wanted from him.
We reached the bar in a couple of hours. As we entered, I
saw the newcomers. Everyone had given them a wide berth.
They were nothing like Olmot.
They were clad in dark robes, with their hoods drawn up. There wasn’t much else I could discern. They were drinking the bar’s signature drink, Gree Whisky, which was odd as it was just late afternoon, not a time for such expensive drinks.
Parshtel called out to them as soon as we entered. “Hey folks! Hey you three! We found your friend.”
All three turned slowly, as their faces came into view. They were definitely a lot younger than Olmot. Their faces were scarred. They rose, almost in unison, lifted their hoods and moved carefully towards our group.
All three of them were lean but well-built. They had an extremely intimidating feel about them, with their robes and their scarred faces. No wonder Parshtel and Johotei were worried.
Olmot seemed scared and confused. “Who… who are you people? And how do you know me? I have… never met you in my life.”
The one nearest to us spoke in a silky, friendly voice but with a clear and threatening tone. “My apologies friend. It is unfortunate you don’t recognize us. We were together during your time with the army in the Capitol Hills. Do you recognize us now?”
Olmot’s demeanor changed as soon as he heard the man speak. He no longer looked scared or confused. He seemed… determined somehow. I wasn’t sure for what.
“I see. I do know who you three are. Do you want to talk outside?”
The man turned towards the exit. “As you wish.”
Olmot turned to us, and with the same steely look, said, “This doesn’t concern you all. You all should relax here. There is nothing for any of you to worry about. I’ll just have a chat with these three outside.”
Something seemed irregular, off. The four of them stepped out and walked for a bit. I looked at Grim, who also looked a little concerned. I decided that I wasn’t going to let Olmot just walk off. Apparently, my master felt the same as he moved out before me. I followed him. The rest of the company followed us.
Olmot was just standing a few paces from the bar, as the three walked a little ahead. All I could see was his back.
Then, it was as if time slowed down. I felt my master run ahead, as all three strangers turned at once. They moved their arms in a fluid arc, as if to throw something from their hips. Olmot let out the slightest of grunt. And then he was falling to the ground. I felt the village guards, Parshtel and Fred draw whatever weapons they had. And I just stood there. Frozen.
My brain jolted back into action as Grim reached Olmot, scooping him up with one arm while he thrashed his other arm around. The three, as soon as they saw Grim and the others approach, unleashed a volley of what seemed like large darts. I was immediately worried for Grim who was retreating with Olmot in one hand and using his other hand to block the darts to the best of his ability. The other seven stepped in front of him, and tried to attack the three. But it seemed they couldn’t stand up to the volley of darts. They seemed to be using their weapons, which were mostly short swords and hammers to defend themselves from the darts being thrown at them.
Grim handed over Olmot to me, shouted to me and rushed ahead. “Take care of him.” A quick glance showed Grim had at least a dozen darts stuck on his forearm. I held my friend of days in my arms, and saw what had happened to him. He had been struck across his chest by six darts. Within a few seconds of him having taken the hit, all his clothes were soaked in blood. This was the second time in my life, I held someone who was to die. I was equally helpless. My body froze again, with only my eyes brimming with tears.
Olmot said to me, as he struggled to breathe. “The shadow of this world has fallen upon me…. You are… a good kid… Please… stay… safe.”
The man whom I had known for so little, and yet had shared so much, a man who wanted to forget his own name, had just died in my arms and used his dying breath to tell me to stay safe. I wanted to ask him so many things, about his past, about the legends, about the revolution. Now I could not ask anything. I didn’t even have the chance to ask him his real name. He was Olmot to me, and was to remain Olmot forever.
As I then looked ahead, I saw what had unfolded in front of me in the seconds that had passed. All five of the village guards were down on the ground, including Johotei. Parshtel and Fred were the only ones standing. That too barely. Grim had grabbed an axe from one of the fallen, a sword from another and was steadily progressing towards the three. His left hand was full of darts, but no other part of his body was injured. The three, who seemed to have murdered six people with ease, now had a worried look on their faces. As he closed in on them, I wanted to help him.
I ran towards the three, picking up a sword from another fallen member, screaming at the top of my lungs. It seemed to distract Grim, who had closed in on the man who spoke earlier. The man pulled out a longer dagger from his belt and tried to stab Grim, who blocked it at the last minute with his sword. The sword shattered. And Grim was stabbed in his right shoulder by that dagger.
When I saw this as I ran towards the other two, I was beside myself in rage. My earlier scream also seemed to distract the two men I was charging towards, who had stopped moving. I lifted my sword at the two, who started to move again, aiming their darts at Grim, when I heard Grim bellow. I had never heard anything scarier. The other two murderers and I were transfixed at our places as we saw what happened.
Grim bellowed in rage as he threw his axe to the ground, held the first assassin with his left hand and swung his right. There was a loud crack as the man’s skull and neck shattered. He fell to the ground, lifeless. Grim turned towards the other two, who, just looking at Grim’s ferocity and sheer strength, turned and ran as fast as they could.
I was inspired by the fate that Grim had brought upon the dead assassin and ran behind the other two as they ran straight for the forests beyond the Southern exit. I heard Grim shout, “Noooo, kid!” but I ignored him in my rage. I couldn’t hear anyone’s footsteps following me, so it seemed like I was the only one in pursuit. I didn’t care. I had to get them. I would kill them just like Grim had. They had to feel the pain that Olmot must have felt.
The pain the village guards must have felt as they died…
Chapter 8: Into the woods
There was a single clear path for a few hundred meters into the forest.
After this, the forest was too dense for running. But the two murderers were clearly adept at running in such surroundings. As soon as the clearing ended, they jumped up and began to travel through the dense forests at a surprisingly high pace. They seemed to find the right footing every time and used the tree trunks and branches as support to rush through. They were using their daggers, to cut through the dense foliage in their path.
I wasn’t having as much success in moving through the trees as I chased them. After the initial clearing, I also jumped into the dense forests. I knew the forests well, at least the first kilometer or so, so I was able to follow them based on sight and the sound they were making as they moved through the forest. I used the sword in my hand to cut through the foliage as well. The foliage seemed to move sufficiently out of the way to allow me maintain speed. But after a while, I couldn’t see them at all, and their sounds grew fainter. In about half an hour, I couldn’t hear anything but for the sounds of the forest.
I tried to pick the direction from where I had last heard the murderers and follow them. It was impossible. The density of the forest did not allow me to travel in any one direction, let alone a direction of my choice. Soon enough I had no idea where I was, where I was going, if I was going farther into the forest or coming out of it.
My rage did not leave me for a long time. It wasn’t an emotion I had experienced often, and now that I was angry, I did not know how to let go. I still was furiously cutting the foliage in front of me, pushing ahead in some direction. All that was going through my mind was revenge, for what those murderers did. I didn’t even remember their faces properly, only their hoods and the fact that their faces w
ere scarred. I continued to cut and move ahead. I continued till my arms hurt, and body was scratched all over. I continued till I could move no more. And then, as I kept moving forward, tiredness and pain took over my body. My rage did not sustain me any longer. Overcome by exhaustion, I fell suddenly, unconscious.
When I got up, it was night time. The forest was completely dark, and alive with all its nocturnal creatures. It might have just been my imagination, but I felt that the forest was livelier at night than it was during the day. I couldn’t see anything. There was no moonlight, or even if there was, none of it was reaching the forest floor, where I lay. My whole body ached. I checked my body, to see if there was any large wound I had sustained due to my fall. I just felt the ache in my shoulders and arms as I moved them. Otherwise I seemed reasonably unhurt. The sword was also near me and I got hold of it as I felt around.
“The higher I go the safer I would be,” is what I thought, as I started to climb the closest tree I could feel. It took me a while, but I reached the highest point of the tree to try and see if there was any moonlight. As I moved up, I could see moonlight streaming in, which made my task easier. I sat on top of the highest branch I could find. I looked around to see the forest canopy coated with moonlight. As a mild wind blew past my aching body, the beauty around me was almost surreal. I would have been delighted to see that sight, had I not been so sad. I had just seen another death, and I had let the murderers escape. Now I was lost. I felt so useless and pathetic.
I tried to calm myself. There was no point of doing anything now. It was too dark to see anything below the canopy. All I could do was wait for the sun to rise and then continue my pursuit. That was all I could think of. But I wasn’t sure how I was going to pursue them. One way was to try and identify which direction the foliage was broken in, to try and pin point the direction of their movement. That was the only plan of action I could come up with as I lay on top of the forest canopy, trying to sleep under the moonlight.
Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium Page 8