The Seeds of Evermore

by Andrew Haines

  “I think we need to find some work around the village, since we have little money until we get to the city, we need to find a bounty board.” Tuomas responded standing up from the stool he had been sitting on.

  All six of them headed out of the Inn, and searched for the town’s bounty board to see what they could do for the rest of the day. It took them a short time to find the board and took the request notes to accept the two requests they felt they could handle: Kill the five wolves in the fields to the north, and harvest fifteen herbs for the town herbalist. Scott showed them he already had the one he grabbed this morning, so they only needed fourteen more to complete it.

  They all made their way to the edge of the forest, where Scott had been earlier. They all stood there on the edge of the forest. The wind began to howl and the all looked at each other for conformation that they had each other’s backs. After a brief second, they all headed into the forest. Alissa and Nick began to search for the herbs while the other four scoured the area for wolves.

  Soon enough they found a small opening that led into a valley where there were deer grazing along a riverbank. The grass was almost three feet tall in some places, a good place for them to be ambushed by the wolves. They heard a howl and saw a pack of five wolves make their way to attack a lone deer. Tuomas set up a stance to fire his bow as Donovan.

  Scott and Charlotte rushed the pack. Donovan had his battle hammer in both hands ready to swing like a baseball bat. Charlotte had her shield out in front of her and her sword ready to swing. Scott had his one sword drawn and the small crossbow in his off hand. An arrow zipped past Scott’s right ear and penetrated the pack leader’s hide. The wolf gave out a howl and changed its course toward the warriors, and the other wolves followed. They were ready. Donovan brought his hammer down upon a wolf who jumped at him. A loud crack came from the wolves back, as it hit the ground whimpering. He quickly put it out of its misery, with the piked end of his hammer and moved into a defensive stance.

  Charlotte sliced the side of a wolf as she sidestepped its attack at her. The wolf howled, slid, and tumbled. Charlotte moved her attention to another wolf that she and Donovan teamed up on. She took a quick glance to see Scott dealing with the pack leader and one other wolf.

  Scott sliced at the alpha wolf, the hound pounced back and snarled at him. Scott rose his crossbow and fired a shot at the wolf. The bolt penetrated the hide of the beast; the cry it let out was deafening. God damn this thing is tough. Scott could feel the adrenaline pumping from the throbbing in his head.

  Another arrow zipped across the field and into another wolf that Donovan was fighting. They heard a scream of pain. Scott looked to see a wolf biting into Charlotte’s sword arm. He slid to a stop and almost fell over as he tried to change directions to go and help her. But before he could do anything the alpha wolf pounced him and brought him to the ground. He released his sword and crossbow, and they slid just out of arms reach. Scott refocused on the wolf on him wrestling its jaws so it could not bite his neck. He could feel the weight of the wolf overpowering him; he was becoming too strained to hold out against the wolf’s force. He quickly let go with his left hand and reached for his stashed dagger on his lower leg. Scott could tell his right arm was about to give as his shoved the dagger into the side of the wolf’s head. The wolf went limp and fell on top of him. He pushed with all the strength he had left and rolled the wolf off of himself.

  When the wolf fell, the two remaining wolves ran off at the loss of the Alpha. Scott laid on the ground breathing hard for a moment until he remembered that Charlotte had been bitten. He got up as fast as his body would let him and he looked for her. Donovan was pulling out bandage wraps and Charlotte putting pressure on her forearm with her good hand. He made his way over to her to assist Donovan as Tuomas took watch to make sure the wolves didn’t return.

  Scott quickly helped Donovan wrap the bandage over Charlotte’s bare arm to help stop the bleeding. Charlotte had tears of pain in her eyes, as Scott looked into them, “You’re going to be okay, alright, we’ve got you.”

  She looked at him and tried to smile through the pain. Tuomas handed her what looked to be the bark of an aspen tree, “This should dull the pain; it’s some bark. Eat it, it will help dull the pain.”

  With her free hand, Charlotte took the root and put it into her mouth. It was bitter but she swallowed after a few moments. “What happened?” Scott asked.

  Charlotte looked at him, “I thought I had killed a wolf and turned my gaze on another and it got me.”

  Scott was angry but he was also upset. His emotions felt blank, as there was no expression that could deal what his head was thinking it had been a long time since he had started to really care for someone other than himself. To the others it seemed he did not care at that point but they understood what he was feeling, at least they thought they did. He feared he was treading into territory he was not prepared for since he lost his last lover.

  Tuomas grabbed Scott’s arm and turned with him so they were facing away from Donovan and Charlotte, “You care, don’t you? More than you think you do.”

  Scott nodded but stayed silent. Tuomas continued his thought, “I need you to stay strong. You are the key here you know that? I picked you for a reason, and you know that reason. I know what happened to you but you have to use that to help here.”

  Once again, Scott nodded staying silent. Tuomas noticed that some of his equipment was missing, “Go find your sword and crossbow, clear you mind, we will handle this.”

  Scott looked back over at Charlotte and then looked to where he dropped one of his swords and his crossbow. He walked over to them, thinking and contemplating, Tuomas’ words digging around in his mind. Scott knew what he had been talking about. He wondered how much longer he could hide his past from the rest of the group.

  Tuomas turned back around and faced Donovan and Charlotte. Charlotte opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Tuomas cut her off, “Give him a minute. Trust me. Let him think it out.”

  Charlotte slowly closed her mouth and nodded. Her eyes were red and she felt stuffy from her body reacting to the wound. She watched as Scott walked away from them, he was not walking straight, his arms were dangling on each side, flopping around as he moved side to side. Charlotte looked back at Donovan who was still putting pressure on her arm. She saw his lips moving, as if counting how long he had been holding her arm.

  Scott was lost in his own mind trying to keep it together, they could die here. He stopped in front of his sword and kneeled to pick it up. He placed his hand on the hilt but did not grip it. He did not want to. He was finally thinking about it all as truth not some hoax that has been played on them. Scott stayed there on his knees and looked away from the sword, up towards a tree line and past that a mountain range. He was trying to keep his eyes from tearing. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, Damn it, I’m better than this, why do I feel this way. I had all those therapy sessions for nothing if I can’t keep it together.

  He felt an arm lay upon his left shoulder; he didn’t look, but instead continued to look down at the sword. The hand lifted then he felt two arms wrap around him and a head push up against his backside. “Together, we will be strong.” Charlotte whispered to him.

  He placed his right hand on top of Charlotte’s hands that were centered on his chest. He gripped the sword in his left hand, then sheathed it. Reaching for the crossbow he smiled and took a deep breath. Standing up slowly, Charlotte let go and stood up with him. Scott hooked his crossbow and turned to face her. He smiled, he offered his hand to her, “Together.”

  Accepting his hand, she smiled back and nodded, “Together.”

  Scott let go of her hand looking over her shoulder he saw the others making their way to them. From the corner of his eye he saw the remaining two wolves that decided to return to finish the fight. The two wolves howled and rushed into them. Scott drew his second two swords and pushed Charlotte aside trying to protect her. The first wolf jumped at him; Scot
t’s adrenaline peaked, he sliced up into the wolf’s hide cutting it open. The wolf’s insides spirt out over him and upon the ground and the creature lay upon the ground lifeless. Scott spit out some of the blood that got into his mouth, and coughed. He looked over to see Donovan’s hammer imbedded inside the skull of the other one, as Tuomas was moving Charlotte to safety. So much blood, the smell is unreal…

  Scott was breathing hard and fell to his knees as the adrenaline started to wear off. The fatigue of the two combats over took him. He could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins. This feeling, he knew it before, and he didn’t like it. There was no way he would want to do it all over again. The air was still clean, he could smell the flowers in the distance, but the smell of the insides of the wolf that he was covered in was overwhelming him. He wiped sweat and blood from his brow and tried to slow his breathing. He sniffled and let go of his swords to rummage through his pack for a rag to wipe his face with.

  Tuomas stopped and stared at him and under his breath, “He will be the reason we survive. Even if his past comes back to haunt us.”

  Charlotte ran back over to Scott, and helped him to his feet, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I will be fine, what about your arm?”

  “It’ll be okay,” Charlotte responded to him.

  “That’s all of them, do we need trophies to prove they are dead?” Scott asked Tuomas.

  “Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to do so.” Tuomas answered him moving to one of the wolves pulling out a dagger to skin some of the wolf.

  The other three nodded and aided Tuomas in claiming the hides of the wolves.

  8:

  The group made their way back to the town after they skinned the wolves they had killed. They met Alissa and Nick with the herbs and flowers for their quest. They exchanged what had happened to Charlotte and the brutal power Scott seemed to have locked away in himself.

  The group arrived at the bounty board to see where they needed to bring each set of items they had gotten and noticed a new person standing at the board. Nick and Donovan spilt and went to the respected place they needed to turn in and receive the rewards, Leaving Tuomas, Scott, Alissa, and Charlotte at the bounty board.

  While the two were gone Tuomas approached the man, who was garbed in steel plate armor with his sword in the ground seeming to be awaiting some sort of interaction. “Excuse me.” Tuomas said to him.

  “Yes?” the man responded.

  Tuomas asked, “May I ask what you are doing here sir?”

  “I am looking for some strong warriors to help kill a beast who has overrun a kingdom outpost not far from here, you wouldn’t be interested in that would you?”

  Tuomas responded, “Quite possibly, my five other companions and I are mercenaries that could help you with your problem.”

  “Quite tempting, but there are four of you here, were the other two that were here moments ago with you as well?” the man asked.

  “Yes, they were just turning in the requests off the bounty board here.”

  “Very well, I shall hire your services. I will pay you five thousand gold upon return with proof of death of the beast.”

  “Very well, when do you need it done?”

  The man looked at him, “As soon as you see fit, but I recommend sooner than later, those people in the outlying villages need supplies, including this one.”

  “How so?”

  “The draw bridge fort that links the outpost to the overlying villages is up and we are on this side of it.”

  “We need to prepare for one night and then we will go and kill your beast at the outpost,” Tuomas acknowledged.

  The others behind Tuomas agreed at those words and nodded to the fact they would kill the beast. The man nodded and spoke, “Do well and free this land.”

  Nick and Donovan showed back up from the collection with coin in hand. They handed the bag to Tuomas. They made it back into the Inn where they were greeted once again by the barmaid, “You’re back, are you all staying another night?”

  Tuomas nodded, “Yep, and we have your money right here.”

  He handed her a small canvas pouch with a leather knot holding the bag shut.

  The barmaid took the bag and opened it up, and she replied, “Alright then, this also covers your meal for the night too.”

  Tuomas acknowledged her and made his way back to the party who had made their way to a table for a lunch. Scott was looking over Charlotte’s wound with Alissa watching over, and rewrapped it so it would stay clean and wouldn’t get infected. Nick was quiet, he was watching the other patrons. Donovan waved down the barmaid. She made her way over and took everyone’s orders, which was still the special from the night before.

  They chatted for a bit Donovan and Tuomas talking about the wolves to Nick and Alissa and how they were a lot easier than they thought they would have been, “I mean it would have gone worse if we didn’t know how to work together,” Donovan said to them.

  Alissa looked over at Charlotte, “So what about Charlotte?”

  The others stopped, they had not accounted for her injury. “Crap…” Nick said, giving Scott a glance.

  “Why the hell are you looking at me?” Scott asked.

  Nick glared at him. “Oh no, you are not pinning this on me.” Scott scolded him.

  “Hey, it was my own fault.” Charlotte butted in, “I was careless and paid the price, I will know better for next time. We all will, we have to check our kills.”

  Nick folded his arms and remained quiet. Tuomas looked around the table, “Now that this has been dealt with, back to what we are going to do to defeat this beast. We don’t have too many details about what we will be facing. I’m guessing it’s going to be something large, but it most likely won’t be alone.”

  “We need to figure out what it is first,” Alissa stated, looking around at them

  Scott nodded, “Yeah the guard conveniently left out what it was when we took the job.”

  Tuomas acknowledged, “We all goofed there, it’s my fault I didn’t ask though, I was leading the conversation. But it did seem like he didn’t know a whole lot about it either, like he is trapped here with us. They heraldry from his armor suggests that he is part of the city guard. He had a plume on his helmet which mean that he is of higher rank.”

  Donovan piped up, diverting Tuomas from the description of the guardsman, “Wait Tuomas didn't you design this world? Shouldn’t you know what is in it?”

  Tuomas sighed, “Yes and no. Yes, I develop the platform A.I. that built the world itself. No because I wasn’t part if the world building itself, well for the most part, I designed the city we are going to, otherwise this would be a hell of a lot easier for us.”

  “That's fair.” Charlotte interjected trying to wrap her head around it.

  Scott began to compile what kind if options they had, “So…”

  The others turned and looked towards him, “Let's do a process of elimination then.”

  The others weren't following his thoughts, “How so?” Alissa asked.

  “Think about it, what do we know about this world?” he glanced around at them, “Fantasy but not steampunk, so we can eliminate some possibilities. We were told beast, which takes demons and humans and humanoid creatures such as elves and dwarves, off the board.”

  The other finally grasped what Scott was piecing together. “So we can narrow it down to a small group of possibilities and work from that?” Nick asked trying to have some input in the conversation.

  “Yes, exactly that. We can pool our knowledge from fantasy games to come down to small list.”

  “So, what were you thinking Scott?” Charlotte asked.

  “Dragon, Chimera, or Troll being.”

  “What about Minotaurs?” Alissa added.

  “Probably not, a lot if the recent games have had Minotaur packs not solo runners,” Donovan said, finally adding something since his question.

  “Hmmm, I guess on the timeframe this A.I. is pulling info from.” Cha
rlotte challenged.

  Tuomas interrupted, “Theoretically it is pulling from all digitized information it can get.”

  “So, all four then for the time being.” Scott added, he placed his hand down on the table in front of him.

  They sat in silence trying to think of ways that they could go about what to do if any of the options. Scott tapped his fingers upon the wooden table. He glanced around at the others, Tuomas was the only one who looked like he was about to give up. Tuomas looked back at him, looking as to bait Scott into giving the first answer. “Does anyone have any rough ideas then?” Tuomas broke the table’s silence.

  Everyone remained silent; the all looked around at each other. Scott sighed, he took the bait, “I think I may have something that could work, but…” He put emphases on his pause, “But it would only work if it was any of them except the dragon.”

  Everyone remained as quiet as they could, as they knew this would either make or break this group, Tuomas gestured for Scott to proceed. Scott began to describe a plan as if he were leading a raid group in an MMO, step by step he singled out strengths and weaknesses in everyone, from the weapons they used, to how they worked with others within the group.

  He could feel the pressure rise around the table, but he knew this would be the only way they would all come out of the outpost alive, he looked around still, injured, but alive. He finished his plan; half the table looked like they were about to jump and kill him where he stood. They didn’t because they knew he was right. Alissa was the first to break the minute tension, “So what you are implying is that not all of us should even fight the beast at all?”

  “Yes.” Scott answered sternly.

  “Why?” She rebutted, upset at his words.

  “Right, so when you play certain games, the main character usually has a quirk for some specific style. We are like that too,” He pointed at Nick, “Nick is much more of an in the shadows kinda guy, he works well alone, and in the dark. Listening, picking up information, or items for that matter. Whereas Donovan is much more brutish, the tank. A hulking figure, bouncer type, no one wants to pick on him because of the aura he naturally gives off.”