Reborn- Journeyman

by Luka Petrov

  Yves was not back yet, I hoped she was all right. Agnes jumped into the action again. She grasped at the king’s arm. As she did that, she summoned a violent amount of electricity through herself and entering the body of the Mad King. The iron crown on top of his head only amplified the electricity surge she generated. I watched as King Hylar fell to the ground.

  It was now Agnes’ turn. Agnes used her final spell slot to cast shocking grasp. Grabbing the kings arm, a huge jolt of electricity courses through his body, dealing 6 points of lightning damage. The Mad King was kneeling down, he made a death save to no avail.

  This was my chance, yet, I did not want to take it. I respected King Harold, but despised King Hylar. I knew that there was no more King Harold. He had been transformed. My dream was true and there was nothing left to do. Knowing what the outcome would be once I cast this spell, I proceeded anyway. I cast Dispel Magic, the crown of iron thorns fell off his head, and the king disintegrated into the ground.

  Edward casts dispel magic on him removing the crown of madness spell. Ending the battle with the king dead.

  The group gains 80xp each.

  “Ed! You did it!” Agnes shouted.

  I corrected, “No, we did it. Now let’s find Yves!”

  All three of us rushed into Gilmore, heading south, and looking for Yves. “Where do you think she is?”

  “I have no idea, I don’t see any of the minions either,” I replied. We continued to walk, attempting not to look suspicious. The villagers were all on edge as the recent rampage of the demon horde and barreled through here.

  I looked up to figure out where we were precisely. “Hey! I know where we are!” I exclaimed. I read the street sign that said Whiskey Lane and realized that we were right by the bookstore that I used to work out. “Come on guys! This way! We can get some information before we meet up with Yves!”

  Something was pulling me toward the bookstore, and I yielded to the call. As I approached the store, I spotted a group of minions who seemed to notice who we were.

  “Run!” I yelled both at Agnes and Walter. Agnes helped Walter hobble as his broken ankle was not able to bear any weight.

  I pounded the door while Agnes and Walter were on their way. “Bradan! It’s me, Ed. Please open the door!” I was hoping he was in his store and would open the door for me. Agnes and Walter were almost at the door, and despite their slow pace they still managed to outpace the minions.

  Almost ready to lose hope, the door began to unlatch. “Ed! Is that really you!” Bradan’s voice comforted my anxiety. I gave him quick embrace before ushering Walter and Agnes inside.

  Bradan quickly shut the door and I put up a barrier around the store. Usually, that was Agnes’ job, however she was out of spells for the day, so I used up my last one.

  The minions chomped at the bit while we were in the bookstore. “Ed! It’s great to see you! I’ve heard your issue with the Demon Lord, but before that, your parents said that you had been doing exceptionally well at Draererth,” Bradan said as if he were a proud dad.

  “Yes, I have been doing well, but this whole Demon Lord situation has really complicated things,” I attempted to make light of the situation.

  I paused and said, “I had something pulling me here. I convinced both Walt and Agnes to stop our search for Yves so we could come in here, but I’m not sure why?” I admitted, not knowing the reason to something bothered me.

  “You’re looking for something. You know not to look for Yves because she is fine. You’re being guided. What is it that you seek?” Bradan asked.

  “I’m not sure. We need to find an archmage that we ran into in the Abyss. We save him. I realize this is sounding far-fetched,” I explained.

  “No, not at all. Go on. You need to find an archmage. Do you know where they live?” asked Bradan.

  “No, but we are sure that he is around the Dragon Tomb, because he was missing his skin, so he couldn’t go too far,” I elaborated.

  “What else?”

  “We also need to find Cecily, and to figure out the exact location of the portal that goes to the Demon Lord’s tower. I also need to figure out how to master these spells in case we can’t find the archmage. Oh yeah, and we have to find Yves as soon as we are done here.” Whew! That was a lot, but I was sure glad I could articulate what we needed to storm the Demon Lord’s tower.

  “Well, I have this ancient book that no one knows how to read. Earlier today a few beasts came in the store and asked for this book specifically. I thought it was odd, so I said that we sold it yesterday. Gilmore has been on high alert ever since the Demon Lord realized that the boy who volunteered himself as the chosen one wasn’t really the chosen one…Hey, was that you?” Bradan asked as he turned to Walter.

  Walter nodded, confirming Bradan’s assertions.

  “Yes, we rescued him just now. Well, let me see this book.”

  Bradan went to his storage room and office behind the counter. He re-emerged with a worn, large, burgundy tome that had runes written in gold embossed on the cover. Bradan handed it to me and I held it in my hands. Right away, I felt power vibrating from it to me. The vibrations overpowered me. After holding the book, I was certain that the answers were within its pages and there was a reason minions were wanting the book earlier today. Not to mention, the strange pull I adhered to toward the store.

  I flipped open the pages. The pages were made out of thin linen. The runes were some sort of ancient language that I had never seen before.

  “What language do you think this is?” I asked Bradan.

  He shook his head, “No idea. None of the scholars I used knew either.”

  I kept flipping through the pages and some power overcame me. After turning the pages, mindlessly, I could read and understand what the runes said. The ancients wrote this book in Draconic. One of the oldest forms of communication. This Draconic tome probably was influence by dwarves, as some of those runes are similar to each other.

  Agnes asked, “Ed, can you read it.” I was in a deep, meditative state an only responded to her by nodding my head. The information I was getting from this tome was enlightening. I read further and further and realized why I could do any of the spells from the magic spell book with no name. That book was explicitly referenced in this book. I needed to focus on the love of my family and friends. By doing so, I would activate an energy within that would unlock the power that the magic spell book and the Magi Staff could conjure. Much more powerful than the level that I was at. I had to focus on a time where I felt an undying love for someone. As I read that part of the instructions, I turned to Walter. Tears formed in my eyes, and I wiped them away as I continued to read.

  “I figured out how to do the spells, now” I reported.

  “Great,” Agnes encouraged.

  “Fantastic,” Walther enthused.

  I kept reading. I turned several more pages to try and figure out where the portal was. Where the portal would be when we would not see minions coming in and out of it.

  Finally, I found what I was looking for, and not a moment too soon. Those minions were about to break through the barrier and break into the store. I found it. The exact place where the portal would be and how to open it once we were at the location.

  As my gaze sifted through each page, there were some words that were beyond my comprehension however there were a few that I understood and then I found it. There was a map within the book and a location that was circled with the words Evil Tower printed next to the circle.

  That’s where we had to go.

  “Right here, it’s outside Gilmore and almost to the Enchanted Forest.” I pointed at the map and dragged my finger to our location which was in the village of Gilmore.

  The three of them leaned toward the book to have a better look at the map. Although both of them were on the weaker side in terms of magic, they were ready to commit to the plan we had once we found the location. And now that we knew where to go there was no other choice but for us to storm there.

/>   Everything the book stated was true. This tower replicated the levels of the Abyss, but in the opposite direction.

  I needed to have with me the Magi Staff, and I needed to point the head toward the west while focusing all of my energy. From there, my vibration would change, allowing me and my party to cross the threshold of the portal, unannounced. “Found it!” I shouted.

  The minions were through the barrier, and we needed to leave. Brandan yelled, “Ed, go through the back door. I’ll stop these pests.”

  The three of us wasted no time going through the back door and running down the cobble-stoned street. I feared for my life, Agnes’, and Walters as we fled, still heading south, hoping to run into Yves.

  We ran, but we were stopped by an angry demonic horde. There must have been five hundred of these wretched, scaly, beasts with long fangs, oozing slime from their flesh. An adaptation they acquired so their skin would not dry out.

  The horde separated us three. As I glanced over the heads, I looked for Yves. Hoping to see some sign of her, that she was all right. All I saw were a set of minions, prepared to do the bidding of the Demon Lord.

  All of us, out of spell slots for the day, we were required to utilize our fighting tactics.

  I told myself, “she’ll be fine. Yves is always fine. You’re just over thinking things because…you’re tired, and worried. But there’s literally nothing to be worried about, Ed. You’re just being you!”

  She was the feistiest member of our group. There was nothing that she couldn’t do. Agnes yelled, “Ed! Walter is gone!”

  “Walter is what?” I heard her but did not believe her.

  “Gone,” she kindly repeated. I could barely make her out as the horde ripped at our clothing. I put the Bag of Holding around my front, guarding it as if my life depended on it, because it did. In the sea of minions I tried to keep my eye on Agnes, but after a while, I lost sight of her.

  The minions filled the village square, and there was so much commotion going on, that none of them knew what was going on.

  Nothing but chaos filled the streets of Gilmore. The Mad King was dead, and perhaps that was the reason for the chaotic nature in the streets. Their general could not organize the troops, instead, the minions ran amuck, doing what they thought they should do.

  Killing the Mad King was like killing the head of the snake, without the head, the rest of the body moved and wiggled without purpose.

  I made my way to the side of the street, where the crowd seemed to dissipate. From there, I stood atop of a statue, looking at the crowd. Looking for Walter. Looking for Agnes. Looking for Yves.

  I scoured the sea of minions and so none of the three. I bowed my head in defeat. I was nothing without my friend.

  Then, something caught my eye. It was the strawberry blonde hair of Agnes. I saw it for an instant, and then it disappeared. She’s made it. Agnes made it and was on her way to me.

  But, the closer to the town square, I got, the more I realized that was not true. Thick, black plumes of smoke drifted from the place where the shops surrounding the town square rested. I could see them even at a distance. A lone bell tolled occasionally, but it didn’t sound like a victory chime.

  It was loud and heavy, like a city proclaiming its defeat. Like one last heave of sound from dying lungs. Like an announcement to Lord Abraxas – we’re here, and we did what you asked. Come get us, come get us, come get us.

  And as the town square finally came into view from the thinning of the demon horde, I realized that I my eyes played tricks on me.

  Because that was the flag of the Demon Lord hanging on Gilmore’s castle and was flown from the mast, I knew that I should expect the worst.

  After the horde disappeared, I came down from my perch, down on the floor of the town square. There she was. Agnes. Her body, flayed and slain, laying against a store front. She looked peaceful as she laid there.

  Tears filled my eyes. What do I do now? I cried and sobbed. As I wailed, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I jumped out of fear that it was another minion, ready to finish me.

  Instead, the hand belonged to Yves. She had been hiding nearby when the crowd of minions flooded the town square. “She’s at peace, Edward,” she whispered while she kissed my cheek.

  “Where’s Walter?” I asked.

  “You found Walter?” Yves said excitedly. She was not privy that I had rescued him.

  “Yes, he was with Agnes and I. Agnes said that he disappeared before they killed her,” I explained.

  She was my friend and confidant. She believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself. At least she pretended she did, which was all I needed. She kept us going, but—the cost was too great.

  And at that moment, I knew, deep in my heart, without question, without doubt, prophecy be damned, magic is forgotten—it would be my magic that slew the demon lord.

  Mine, and no others.

  “What do we do now?” Yves asked.

  “Think I know?” I retorted. Angry at what happened to Agnes. Her slain body laid there, peaceful, yet stiff. Walter gone.

  “Help me get Agnes’ body on to my shoulders,” I implored of Yves. We lifted my dear friend up, and Yves helped me square her corpse on my shoulders.

  “Where are we going now?” Yves asked.

  “My home.”

  We walked the few blocks to the house I lived in before going to Draererth. Devasted by the loss of my dear friend, I became excited about seeing my parents.

  I had Yves knock on the door while I held Agnes.

  My mom opened the door, “Yes?” She looked startled to see me, a friend, and a lifeless body over my shoulders. “Ed? Is that you?” she asked.

  “Mom! Can we come in?”

  “Yes, yes of course. Hurry, before anyone sees you.” I went through the door with a blink of an eye.

  “Who’s the girl? Is she all right?” my mom asked.

  “No. She died just now,” Yves chimed in.

  “Died? What happened?”

  “We were mobbed by the demon horde just now. I’m sure you saw it,” I answered.

  “Oh yeah, that looked dangerous. The stormed the square and were rioting all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off.”

  “Right, they nabbed our friend, Walter, again. And killed Agnes. They were trying to get me too, but I stood on a statue and allowed them to go by,” I explained.

  I laid Agnes down on our floor and folded her hands pretty as she laid there. I tried to imagine her lying there, sleeping.

  “Where’s dad?” I asked, looking around.

  “Ed. There is something I must tell you,” my mom started off.

  Tears flooded my eyes; I knew what she was going to say. He got caught for helping us escape that night.

  My mom continued, “Ed, I’m so sorry. King Harold had him beheaded right after he helped you escape.”

  “No!” I shouted. I fell to my knees and sobbed. My head right next to Agnes’ body, I could still smell her. The stench of death and rigor had not set in. Instead I smelled her scent of rose buds and lavender, her favorite flower.

  Emptiness filled my body. I couldn’t move. Overcome with shock, horror, and rage I laid on the floor, helpless.

  Yves comforted me by rubbing my back. “Ed, we are going to be all right. We are going to save Walter and avenge your dad’s and Agnes’ death. All of this is because of him.

  I sobbed. All I thought about was the last time that I saw my dad. Riddled with guilt, I realized King Harold beheaded my father before the Demon Lord transformed him into King Hylar. King Harold, who was all that was just, lawful, and right beheaded my dad for helping me escape. A man that spoke no higher of him, and who was a member of his staff and shoed his war horses, for him and his father. King Harold beheaded that man. I no longer felt bad for seeing that evil king take his last breath.

  “Ed. We are all going to be all right. Nothing is as it should be, and we need to make the best of it. I want you to escape Gilmore. Flee this
village and live the rest of your life in hiding. Don’t worry about me, I will be fine,” my mom pleaded.

  “What do we do with Agnes?” I asked.

  “I will have her buried in the morning. I will have the neighbors help me bury her in the Gilmore Graveyard. The tombstone won’t have her name on it, but I will mark it with one of your dad’s iron workings, so you could visit her before you get out of town. Ed! Promise me that you will leave.”

  I nodded, but I was aware of the business that I had to take care of.

  Chapter Nine

  The grief that consumed me was reminiscent of the demons that hounded me day in and day out. I could feel it rip at my flesh and sink into my bones until it settled perfectly under my skin.

  Even as Agnes’, my dear friend, her burial had passed I remained unmoved. Shaken. The thought of my dad, being held down by soldiers as the executioner swung his ax only moved me to panic attacks. The tears had not shed but that did not mean my sadness had nowhere else to go. The burden from the weight of the guilt within my heart was too much for me to bear. Perhaps Yves had known that because I felt her gentle touch on my arm.

  I wanted to smile at her, to show her that I was doing fine but out came a grimace on my thinly pressed lips. A hardened expression that I had for such a long time despite the fact that I had always tried to lighten up but to no avail. I could feel the vein against my temple thumping as a headache came around for no good reason. Probably to aggravate me even during her death day. The facade of happiness I wanted to show had vanished along with Agnes’ life. Her death would haunt me and would never leave.

  Because I knew it was my fault.

  However, it seemed I wasn’t allowed to mull in my thoughts for too long because this solitary time was being intruded. I could see the gaze that Yves had for me, despite her eyes tinted red from the tears that she had shed that I could not. I assumed Yves had cried in private so as not to make me flustered, she was a strong-will girl who did not allow herself to show weakness. But she knew that I had to succumb to such weak feelings. Although I know that she would argue that it was a strength in me as well.