The Tales of Neroman: The Silver Savior

by Tom Burton

  “No, please no,” Luke whispers to himself.

  He walks toward the robber, his eyes still changing from red to brown. Luke then spots the mage standing by a wall on the other side of the tavern.

  Kill him, the woman whispers in his head.

  Luke’s eyes fix on red. Luke then drops the rope and unsheathes his knife. He picks the robber up by tightly gripping his neck, then stabs him in the stomach, repeatedly. The patrons and barmaids around him scream in horror; some begin to flee the tavern. Luke, his eyes still red, drops the robber, who dies on the tavern floor. Some of the witnesses then begin to close ranks and come for Luke. As they approach, Luke thrusts and slashes his knife, defending himself against them.

  Outside, Jon and his horse gallop back to the tavern. Hearing the screams and watching patrons rushing out of the tavern in fear, he quickly dismounts the horse and runs into the building. As he rushes in, he sees innocent people lying dead on the floor. He continues further to find Luke choking the last survivor.

  “What have you done?”

  Jon sets his hand on the hilt of his sword. Luke hears him and lets go of his victim. As the victim falls to the floor, Luke turns, only to find Jon. The young guard notices the red in Luke’s eyes; slowly, he draws closer. He watches as Luke’s eyes begin to flicker back to their normal brown…then Luke falls to the floor, his eyes closed.

  Jon stops. He keeps his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  Luke slowly opens his eyes. Jon notices that they have turned back to brown. Luke slowly looks around. He sees everyone around him — men, women and children — killed by him.

  “No…no….” Luke whispers to himself.

  He begins to cry. He turns to Jon, but Jon scowls back at him.

  “I need to go…” Luke tells Jon.

  Jon refuses to let him go. He draws his sword on him. Luke charges at Jon and shoves him out of way. Jon sheathes his sword and chases after him.

  Luke runs toward the stables. Once he reaches them, he mounts Skylight and whistles. The horse gallops on toward the main street, Luke tightly holding onto the reins.

  Jon watches Luke leave with Skylight. He draws a knife and throws it at them. The tip of the knife plunges into Skylight’s neck, Skylight falls down writhing in pain, throwing Luke off at the same time. Once he is back on his feet, Luke looks back over at Skylight. The knife is still stuck in the horse’s neck. Luke rushes over to Skylight and starts crying again.

  “Please no, stay with me, stay with me!” Luke cries out. Skylight neighs weakly as Luke strokes him. He closes his eyes and leans his head against Skylight’s neck as the blood-soaked animal breathes his last.

  At that moment, Jon approaches Luke and draws his sword behind him.

  Humanity betrayed you, the Mage whispers in Luke’s head.

  Luke lifts his head from Skylight and opens his eyes. They are red once again. His emotions turn from sadness to anger as he draws his knife and stands up to face Jon. The next moment, he charges straight toward him.

  The fight immediately becomes a mismatch. In a matter of seconds, Luke disarms Jon then breaks his leg, forcing Jon to his knees. Luke then steps behind Jon and, placing the blade of his knife beneath the other man’s chin, slices Jon’s throat.

  Luke looks over the body lying dead in the street. His eyes remain red as he sheathes his knife. Men and women on the street see Luke and quickly take cover, ducking into buildings, abandoning the street.

  The mage walks up behind Luke.

  “Your time has now come,” she tells him. She places her hand on the back of Luke’s shoulder. “He will want to see you,” she whispers.

  The next moment she conjures a spell to transport the two of them out of Greyshore, abandoning Skylight’s and Jon’s bodies on the street..

  They reappear a moment later outside of a run-down stronghold in the North. The two look up to see blackened gates closed in front of them.

  “Welcome to Redlock,” the mage tells Luke.

  Luke looks back at the mage plainly. The mage walks toward the gate, then raises her arm. The gates slowly open for them.

  Luke follows the mage into the empty city of Redlock.

  As they walk through the castle inside Redlock, Luke hears croaky noises all around them. He looks, trying to determine where the noises are coming from, but cannot find a source.

  “Ignore them,” the mage says, “they are not ready yet.”

  The two then walk into the throne room. The mage closes the door behind them.

  They walk to the center of the room, where the mage goes down on one knee.

  “My king,” the mage whispers.

  A figure walks out of a dark corner of the room. A hood covers his face.

  “I have brought a gift for you, Mutaro.”

  Mutaro lifts his arm angrily, silencing the mage. The wizard slowly approaches Luke, who remains standing, his hands behind his back.

  Mutaro sees the red in Luke’s eyes. He stands face-to-face before him. Mutaro slowly presses three fingers against the cheeks on Lukes face. The redness in Luke’s eyes suddenly drains from the tops of the pupils; the draining color visibly follows his veins, spreading throughout his body.

  “This is who you are now,” Mutaro tells Luke. His great, booming voice echoes around the room.

  Luke nods.

  “Yes…my king,” he whispers.

  Luke pulls himself out of the trance. He breathes heavily, his hands still firmly gripping the chair he has been sitting on for hours.

  Feel the power that flows within you….

  Mutaro’s voice booms around the house. It runs through Luke, coursing over his veins, his blood, his heart. He stands from the chair and approaches the dagger on the table. He strokes the blade and puts it into a sheath on his belt.

  As soon as the dagger is in place, Luke hears the croaking noises of orcs approaching the house. Their voices get louder and louder. Luke turns toward the door at the front of the house, standing and waiting for them.

  A few moments pass. Two orcs open the door and drag a prisoner into the house. They throw the prisoner onto the floor.

  “My lord, we have someone you might like to speak to,” one of the orcs tells Luke.

  Luke walks up to the prisoner. The bag over the prisoner’s head makes it difficult for him to breathe. As the prisoner gasps for air, Luke squats down and removes the bag. Luke recognizes him.

  “Welcome, Lord Fuller,” Luke says sarcastically. His smile grows greater all the while.

  Lord Fuller looks up at Luke, stunned.

  “Traitor!” Lord Fuller yells.

  Luke simply laughs. Then he stands and walks back to the table.

  Lord Fuller slowly struggles to his knees.

  “It was humanity that turned their back on me,” Luke explains. “I soon realized that they are not the victims, they are the culprits. I see this, and the orcs see this.”

  Standing before the table he pours a glass of wine. He picks it up and turns to offer it to Lord Fuller. Lord Fuller scoffs and looks away. Luke shrugs, sets the glass back to the table, and walks back to Lord Fuller.

  “I have a situation that you may be able to help me out with,” Luke suggests.

  Lord Fuller ignores this suggestion. He struggles against the ties around his wrists. Luke grabs his chair and places it in front of Lord Fuller, then sits down above him.

  “I encountered a group of men, north of the Crown Lands, venturing toward our homeland. Two of these men came from the West. Who are they?” Luke kindly asks Lord Fuller.

  “How would I know?” Lord Fuller asks. “I cannot monitor every person in my domain and their travels.”

  But Luke is unconvinced.

  “I know a lot more than you think. I know that you guys hate the crown so much that you built yourselves a bridge, and that to cros
s it requires approval from the Lord of the West.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” Lord Fuller replies.

  Luke only smiles.

  “Lying will only cause more pain for your people,” Luke warns.

  He stands from his chair and signals to one of the orcs. The orc leaves the house but returns quickly, dragging another prisoner in. The woman does not have a bag on her head; instead, she has a rope around her mouth.

  “Here’s what will happen. You are going to tell me who the two are…or I kill her.”

  One of the orcs unsheathes a dirty curved knife and presses it against the woman’s throat. The woman looks desperately back at Lord Fuller.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Lord Fuller chokes up, then looks down as tears roll off his face. Luke nods at the orc…and the orc slices the woman’s throat.

  Lord Fuller looks away in horror. Blood pours onto the floor beside him. The orcs drag the woman’s lifeless body out of the house. Soon after, the other orcs bring another prisoner into the house. This time it’s a young boy.

  “If you don’t give me the answers I need…I will kill every man, woman, and child in this damned country, and you will die last.”

  Lord Fuller closes his eyes.

  “Okay,” he submits, “I will tell you.”

  Luke looks over to Lord Fuller keenly.

  “Aaron Silver…and Daniel Rane,” Lord Fuller finally mutters.

  “Rane?” Luke asks Lord Fuller.

  Lord Fuller nods his head.

  Luke then looks to the orc; he, too, nods his head.

  The orc unsheathes the same knife and slices the young boy’s throat.

  “No!” Lord Fuller exclaims.

  Once again the blood pours out in front of him. Luke then marches over to Lord Fuller. He grabs the back of Lord Fuller’s neck and pushes him out of the house. Outside, Lord Fuller sees that there are hundreds of prisoners, all lined up in single file, legions of orcs surrounding them.

  “Just to make you aware of the weight your answers carry,” Luke warns. He throws Lord Fuller back into the house. The lord rolls across the floor, finally, on his back, struggling to move.

  Luke comes slowly back into the house as the two orcs remain standing by the entrance.

  “So, Daniel and Aaron…what is their purpose?” Luke shouts at Lord Fuller.

  Lord Fuller tries to get up, but the pain forces him to remain lying on the floor.

  “They told me they were heading to the capital, for exploration and research,” Lord Fuller weakly answers. He clutches painfully at his stomach.

  “You didn’t think to ask anything else?” Luke rhetorically asks.

  Lord Fuller ignores this. Luke rolls his eyes in frustration.

  “Did they say where they were from?” Luke asks, with a firm grip on the back of his chair.

  Lord Fuller slowly shakes his head. Luke then picks up the chair and throws it into the fire in frustration.

  “You want to me to bring more of your people in here?” Luke raises his voice.

  Lord Fuller looks across to him.

  “I swear! I don’t know!” Lord Fuller shouts back.

  Luke merely stares at him. After a few moments, he takes a huge breath, calming himself; then he slowly walks up to Lord Fuller and punches him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious.

  “Take him back to his cell, along with the others,” Luke orders.

  The orcs nervously step around Luke to pick up the body. They quickly leave the house.

  When the orcs have gone, Luke slowly walks toward the wet blood soaking into the floor beneath him. He looks down at it for a few seconds, and then walks out of the house.

  Outside, the orcs part way for Luke to walk past, and then drag the humans back into their orc made, bone-structured cells. Eventually, Luke walks over to a campfire where numerous orcs have grown rowdy, shoving each other and grunting vigorously. But when Luke appears, the roughhousing dies down.

  “Commander,” Luke says, walking over to an orc slightly bigger than the others. “At first light, you are to storm the nearby villages, search for anyone who knows of an Aaron Silver or a Daniel Rane.”

  The commander grunts in assent at Luke’s order.

  “Kill the others,” Luke instructs them before walking away.

  In the early hours of the next morning, the commander musters the orcs and begins to attack the small villages. The orcs show no mercy toward the villagers: they simply begin to round them up. At any given village, hundreds of villagers would be gathered and a small orc army surrounded them. The orc commander would then appear, shouting questions at the humans.

  “Aaron Silver? Daniel Rane?” he would shout.

  The humans would not respond.

  “Aaron Silver? Daniel Rane?” the commander would repeat more loudly.

  Again, the humans would not respond.

  The commander then would look over to his company of orcs and simply grunt at them. The orcs would then approach the captured villagers—and slaughter them. Some orcs would cut the throats of any villager who fought back, of which there were few. Some of the orcs would stab the women and children in the stomach, over and over until they fell. However, most orcs, including the commander hanged their victims: a slow, painful death that fed the orcs’ desire for human suffering. Thereafter, they placed their bodies all over the villages they destroyed—a message for any human who walked past.

  The following night, the orcs rally back to the campsite. Although not offering Luke any good news, they bring back plenty of stolen horses and cows for meat. They continue their celebrations, their dominance in the West continuing to grow. They cook the horse and cows they have gathered and eat their full across a great fire they build in the camp.

  Luke, however, stays in the house. He sits by the fire as he had the night before, and he looks to the fire for a few moments; he then slowly closes his eyes,

  “Master? Master?” he calls out. But he receives no response.

  Moments later, an orc charges into the house.

  “My lord?”

  The orc approaches Luke.

  “What is it?” Luke asks irritably.

  The orc notices Luke’s annoyance and starts to back off.

  “We’ve caught a human…he says he knows where Aaron Silver is.”

  Luke slowly stands up and walks toward the orc.

  “Where is he?” Luke asks in much calmer tones.

  The orc then leaves the house to go to the captured human. Luke follows swiftly behind.

  Across the camp, a human whose wrists and ankles are tied with rope is being pushed around by the orcs. Eventually, the man falls to the ground. The orcs molest and pester him while he is on his back. He begins to kick them, over and over again. Luke sees this from a distance and begins to race toward them.

  “Leave him!” Luke shouts, shoving some of the orcs out of the way. “Leave, now!” he tells the orcs. They quickly depart and disappear from sight.

  Luke picks the man up. “I’m sorry about them, they can be a little wild.”

  Luke says this softly, but the man ignores him.

  “They tell me you know where Aaron is?” Luke suggests.

  The man stares at Luke. He shows him the ties around his wrists and ankles. Luke unsheathes his knife and cuts the ties. The man then rubs the painful marks around his wrists.

  “Aaron Silver lived in Greyshore,” the man informs Luke. “Daniel Rane lived there also.”

  “How do you know this?” Luke asks.

  “The two men spent a night in my tavern in Volgate. It’s safe to say they caused a little bit of a stir. I overheard them talking about living in Greyshore, and that they need to travel to the capital quickly.”

  Luke smiles at the information being provided. Some of t
he orcs edge closer to the conversation.

  “Where are they now?” Luke demands.

  The man stares at him, bemused.

  “Uh, I’m not sure.”

  Luke’s smile slowly drops. A moment later, he punches the man viciously in the jaw.

  The man falls to the ground.

  “Let’s try again,” Luke says.

  The orcs draw closer. The man stands up slowly, fearing what will happen next.

  “Where are they now?” Luke asks slowly and intimidatingly.

  The man slowly shakes his head, not being able to provide an answer. Luke immediately draws his sword and stabs the man in the stomach. He twists the sword left and right, making the man suffer before he dies.

  The orcs then pull the body away and take it to the fire.

  “Pack everything here…we head for Greyshore at first light!” Luke orders.

  The orcs cheer loudly—more loudly than they did before— as Luke walks back to his house.

  Inside, Luke immediately sits by the fire. He slowly closes his eyes, as he did before.

  “My master?” he whispers.

  A wind blows into the house.

  What is your progress, Snow? Mutaro’s booming voice echoes around the house.

  Luke breathes a sigh of relief.

  “The Pioneer we spoke of, his name is Aaron Silver. He lived in Greyshore before he ventured to the capital.”

  Mutaro takes a few moments before responding,

  He will have sought refuge in the capital, and the humans who know of our existence will also know that Dellmoor is the safest place to be when we attack.

  “My king, he may have gone back to his home, he will have family to look out for there.”

  Once again, Mutaro takes long to respond.

  Be quick about it! Head back to Redlock as soon as you are finished!