“I had him!” I called to the Rogue, both of us turning to move towards the remaining bandits.
“You mean before the sun comes up?” Constantine grunted dismissively as he fell in beside me. “You were taking too long!”
“I already killed three of them before you got here!” I challenged, catching a bandit’s blade on my sword and forcing it high, allowing Constantine the opportunity to disembowel the man.
“Congrats. Do you want a shiny sticker?” he shot back at me while stepping forward and shouldering the now bleeding bandit to the ground.
“Oh, I know where I’ll put a sticker alright!” I replied while stabbing the fallen bandit in the chest.
“Is it my butt?” Constantine queried, darting forward to stab a bandit fighting Drace from behind.
“Are you two at it already?” Drace shouted, interrupting our banter as his sword bit deep into the collar of the bandit. “How do you even have the energy? We’ve literally been running all night!”
“I logged off and took a nap. Couldn’t you tell?” Constantine replied, stabbing the bandit a second time. “I feel great!”
“Are you serious?” I thrust a Shocking Touch-charged Razor into the shoulder of the last standing bandit, the others having long since been felled by a volley of magic and arrows.
“That depends,” Constantine shot back, trapping the stunned bandit’s weapon, allowing Drace the time to wind up and cleave into his skull. “How angry will you be if I say yes?”
“Ugh,” I grunted at the Rogue in mock frustration, watching the last bandit fall to the ground as Drace pulled his weapon free.
“We’ve got them on the run,” Sierra called out, trotting over to me while carefully scanning our surroundings. “I’m taking a few of the scouts to see if we can cut them off before they make it into the woods. Constantine, Amaranth, let’s go.”
“On it,” Constantine replied, throwing me a mock salute as he started to move. “Catch you guys later.”
“Rah,” Amaranth cooed in acknowledgment, the familiar’s tongue flicking out as it licked the bloody mess covering its maw.
“You got this, Lyr?” Drace asked me, motioning to the people still cowering under the nearby carts. “We’re going to see if anyone else needs help.”
“Yeah, I should be fine.” I waved at the warrior, watching him spin on his heels and run off with a nod, taking Caius and Halcyon with him.
I turned towards the cart where I had seen the cowering travelers, expecting them to recoil from my appearance. To my surprise, however, none looked away from my face, all watching me intently as hope bloomed in their eyes.
“Don’t worry,” I spoke softly, “you’re safe now.
“Virtus is here.”
Chapter 2
Aldford
I felt the wagon lurch as it rolled over a rough patch of ground, waking me from a light, if fitful sleep. Opening my eyes, I saw that we had finally begun the final approach towards Aldford; the morning sun had risen into the sky and banished the twin moons of the night.
Blinking myself awake, my mind drifted back to the aftermath of the battle, vaguely recalling Sierra’s report that every single Grey Devil bandit they could find had been either captured or killed, followed by Caius’s excited discovery that the caravan that we had just rescued was in fact the second wave of settlers that we had been expecting for the last two weeks.
My memories of the morning blurred into a jumble of new faces as we re-organized the caravan, tending to the wounded and sorting out the dead. The last thing I remembered after the caravan started moving was hopping into the lead wagon of the rescued caravan, and promptly falling asleep, exhausted.
Loosening the fur cloak I had pulled around myself, I brought up a gloved hand to rub my face, grimacing when my fingers touched hard cheekbones, an instant reminder of my now not-so-new condition.
Damn Ætherwarping, I thought, turning my grimace into a scowl as I attempted to shift myself into a more comfortable position. Although a month had passed since my body had been warped under the twin influences of the Annulment Sphere and the raw Æther that Slave-King Abdiel had used to manifest his physical presence in the world, I was still having a hard time adjusting to the physical changes that had altered my body.
Resembling nothing like the body I had first designed in character creation all those weeks ago, it was now withered and gaunt, bereft of any excess fat or muscle. My now beardless face had a slightly feral look to it, the scars that Amaranth had inflicted on me while he was my Nemesis having stretched wide across the side of my head and jaw. The result giving me a rather ghoulish appearance that couldn’t help but make me feel self-conscious every time someone flinched when meeting my eyes.
Despite the changes to my form, I considered myself lucky the transformation hadn’t affected my raw strength, and I had to only make minor adjustments to my fighting style to compensate for my leaner and lighter stature. For what I lost in mass and being able to ‘throw my weight around’, I gained in being almost impossible to keep hold of, and being able to, quite literally, punch above my weight class.
I sighed, looking up at Aldford in the distance. At least we’re back at the village no-
“Is that a tree?” the driver sitting beside me exclaimed, his voice full of awe, having long since gotten used to my presence. “Wait… is it really glowing or have my eyes gone and cracked?”
“Hmm?” The driver’s excitement snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see the now massive Ætherwarped oak tree hanging high over Aldford. “Your eyes aren’t lying to you. We really do have a magic tree growing in the heart of the village.”
“A magic tree?” the driver echoed in disbelief while turning to glance at me. “How?”
“A gigantic magic-infused spider attacked the village one night not too long ago, and on its death, it erupted into a large puddle of glowing ichor,” I explained, my expression completely deadpan as I watched the teamster’s eyes grow wider and wider with every word I spoke. “We had no easy way of cleaning up the mess, so we buried it and tossed an acorn down. By the time the morning rolled around… the tree had sprouted nearly a dozen feet.”
The driver’s mouth hung open for a moment before he shook his head and laughed nervously, “You’re having a laugh at me, aren’t you?”
“Not at all,” I replied. “Ask any of the villagers, and they’ll tell you the same.”
“Ah…” The man looked at me, trying to gauge how serious I was. After a moment, he let out a strangled cough, and turned his attention forward, shaking his head, “…first bandits, now giant spiders and a magic tree… shoulda stayed on the farm.”
I couldn’t help but smile slightly at the teamster’s reaction as I turned my attention towards Aldford, spotting a large crowd waiting for us just outside of the village. We had sent word ahead with a pair of eager scouts to explain the night’s and morning’s events to the Bann as well as give Aldford enough time to prepare to receive a little over two hundred more souls.
The wagon slowly ground to a halt as a pair of Adventurers and a handful of villagers began organizing the incoming vehicles into neat lines where they would not impede progress, while still allowing for the quick unloading of the countless goods the settlers had brought with them.
While the wagons and carts were being secured, the new arrivals travelling on foot were greeted enthusiastically by dozens of waiting villagers and Adventurers, quickly finding themselves overwhelmed by the rushing wave of hospitality as their long journey finally came to an end.
I bid a quick farewell to the driver as he moved to check on the horse pulling the cart, leaping down from the vehicle, happy for the opportunity to stretch and readjust my armor.
“We’re finally back.” Sierra’s tired voice filtered into my ears as she walked between the wagons towards me, Amaranth following close on her heels. “It’s barely noon and it already feels like it’s been a long day. I really need to go take a nap.”
&n
bsp; “I caught a few hours of sleep while we were travelling,” I replied empathetically, taking my gloves off so I could run my hands through Amaranth’s fur, the giant cat immediately moving to rub his face on my hip. “Hopefully that’ll be enough to get me through the day.”
“Are you sure, Lyr?” Sierra asked, pulling off her helmet and running a hand through her bright crimson hair. “You and Constantine have that meeting with the Stream Producers to go to in the afternoon today.”
“Yeah… I’ll be okay.” I shrugged at Sierra before looking back down at Amaranth, who had closed his eyes in bliss once I began scratching his ears. “I managed to get a couple hours before everything… started this morning, and I’ll likely crash into bed early tonight.”
After looking into my eyes for a moment, Sierra eventually nodded her approval, satisfied with what she saw. “Alright, just don’t burn yourself out.”
I couldn’t help but snort at the cat’s logic. “Is that what you call sleeping around all day?”
“Hey!” I yelped as I instinctively pulled my hand free from my familiar’s mouth.
“Sassy cat?” Sierra asked, eyebrow raised.
“Sassy cat,” I confirmed scowling at my wet hand. “He needs to spend less time with Constantine; he’s picking up bad habits.”
Sierra couldn’t help but laugh. “Remember that time he brought you that giant snake?”
“You mean that one that he didn’t actually kill,” I looked at Amaranth sternly, “and let wrap itself around my leg while I was still asleep and in bed?”
The Puma let out a frustrated croak.
“Lyrian!” A stern voice cut short any reply I could give my familiar, causing me to turn in its direction. Searching through the milling group of settlers, I saw Aldwin beckoning me towards him.
“Better go report, Lyr,” Sierra said with a smile. “I’m going to go help the new Adventurers settle in and figure out what they need. See you in a bit.”
“Alright.” I waved goodbye to the scout as I turned to walk towards a bewildered Aldwin looking out at the arriving wave of settlers. Amaranth led the way, with me following close behind, the giant cat’s presence and my intimidating appearance allowing the two of us to easily cut through the crowd.
“Lyrian…” The knight looked at me incredulously, completely at a loss for words. “I know you sent word ahead, but…I’d rather hear it again straight from your mouth…”
“Well, as you can see… we haven’t been abandoned,” I told the Bann, watching a wave of relief wash through the older man, “but I haven’t had a chance to talk with the settlers yet, so I have no idea what has happened in Eberia over the last month.”
Aldwin gave me a grim nod. “Do you think this was just simple banditry?”
“Adventurers rarely make anything simple,” I replied shaking my head as my mind went back to the events of the previous night, “but from what we could tell, their motivation was purely greed.”
“Tell me what happened after you left,” Aldwin said, struggling to keep his voice even. “All I remember was a flurry of shouting when Bax returned… then you all practically sprinted out of the village as if hell itself was chasing after you.”
“I didn’t feel like Bax’s report could wait,” I began to explain, referring to the surviving scoutmaster of the ill-fated Eberian Mage’s Guild Expedition we had rescued a month ago. “We had him and a handful of others scouting out the southeastern approach towards Aldford, to see if there was any reason why we hadn’t seen anyone out this way over the last few weeks.”
“From the little we’ve learned so far, a fairly large group of Adventurers split off from Coldscar and were preying on anyone making their way towards Aldford or further north into the Fens.” I paused to take a breath. “They found themselves a grotto that was practically impossible to spot from a distance, unless you happened to know that it was there, and set up a camp.”
“From there it seems they raided more than a dozen caravans coming our way, cutting us off from the rest of the world.”
“Gods,” Aldwin cursed, clenching his fists in rage. “Please tell me you put an end to them. All of them.”
“We did,” I replied softly. “But not at their camp.”
“Oh?”
“We missed the bandits by an hour.”
“Missed them?” The Bann looked at me with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”
“They went out raiding,” I replied with a sigh, “only leaving a handful behind to watch over their hideout.”
“Then they must have known the settlers were coming,” Aldwin stated, turning to gaze at all of the new arrivals. I could see his eyes searching through the crowd, pausing when they landed on bloodstained clothes and damaged vehicles.
“We took their camp and captured those left behind easily enough. Its strength was better suited to not being found, rather than being a defensible location.” I nodded as I continued my explanation. “We think they’ve been there at least three weeks. We found a rather substantial stash of goods that they’ve looted.”
Aldwin closed his eyes momentarily as he absorbed the information. “Were there any survivors?”
“From their earlier raids?” I queried, before shaking my head sadly. “No. At least, none that we could find.”
“Damn.” Aldwin let out a deep sigh before motioning for me to continue.
“We didn’t linger for too long at the bandit camp once we realized that their main force had moved out. The little information we were able to get out of the captured bandits was that they had left to intercept a huge caravan on the way here.” I motioned to the settlers behind me. “The bandits had quite a bit of a head start on us, but left a trail that even a blind man could follow.”
“We were lucky that the moons were out today too,” I added. “It gave us enough light to move at a fast pace and make up for lost time; we managed to find them only a few minutes after the attack had started…”
Aldwin fell silent, looking over the nervous settlers as they slowly began to unwind from their journey. There was a hesitant motion to their actions as they tried to come to grips with their brutal introduction to frontier life. They were quickly realizing that the only safety they would find here would be in the strength of their arms and from the friends standing beside them.
“How many casualties were there?” Aldwin asked hesitantly.
“Ten amongst all the caravan guards, and eight settlers,” I replied, remembering the dead. “Plus at least nine Adventurers, but we can’t be completely sure in their case.”
“And the bandits?” Aldwin’s voice took on a hard tone.
“At least ninety,” I couldn’t help but reply cheerfully.
“We also managed to take a few prisoners as well.” I nodded towards the wagons. “I have the guild watching them for the time being.”
“Which I will have to request that you remand into my custody,” an unfamiliar voice spoke over my shoulder, startling me with how close it was behind me.
Turning around, I found myself staring into a featureless grey helmet that completely obscured the upper half of the speaker’s face. Flinching involuntarily, I took a step backward, creating space between me and a tall armor-clad man.
“Ah…” Any reply I had, died in my throat as I realized the man’s armor was full plate.
And that he had just snuck up on both Amaranth and I while wearing it.
I sent back to the cat, swallowing hard as I noticed dry bloodstains streaked along the man’s hands and chest, marring the otherwise immaculate grey-tinted armor. The man stood formally, hands clasped in front of him, presumably staring directly at me, though with no visor or eye sockets in the helmet, it was impossible to tell.
How does he even see? My mind had frozen itself at the man’s mysterious stare, leaving my mouth hanging open.
Fortunately for me, Aldwin’s tongue didn’t suffer the same sort of paralysis that had gripped mine. He saluted the man standing before us. “Justicar! You honor us with your presence!”
“It is you who honor me, Sir Aldwin,” the man spoke, shifting to bow slightly before the knight, then turning to do the same towards Amaranth and me. “I am Justicar Joseph Dyre and I have been Called to enforce the Rule of Law in Aldford. My apologies for startling you two with my arrival.”
“We are to receive a Justicar?” Aldwin’s eyes immediately widened on hearing the man’s words. “So soon? I had thought it would be years before the gods graced us with one of your order, if ever!”
“I do not presume to know the gods plans,” the Justicar spoke with a neutral tone. “I only live to serve.”
“Erm,” I cleared my throat, my brain finally having had a chance to catch up with the conversation. “What, exactly, is a Justicar?”
Aldwin looked at me incredulously. “You have never heard of a Justicar?”
“I really haven’t,” I replied while looking over Dyre’s armor. “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered seeing such… unique armor.”
“The Justicars are a sect of warrior-monks and paladins that hold a special place within Eberian society,” Aldwin spoke with a tone boarding on reverence. “Without them we would have surely torn ourselves apart shortly after arriving on this continent.”
Legacy of the Fallen Page 2