Reborn: Demon Core

by D. W. Jackson

  After a small rest the five continued through the door to the twenty-fifth floor. The floor looked like an old abandoned fort with crumbling and moss covered walls. The air in the halls were musty and carried the stench of death. Just as when Ash fought alone, the group stuck to the right most paths as they tried to make their way to the end of the level. After they had made their second turn, they came across a large man standing a little over six foot tall wearing ebony armor.

  “Death Knight,” Halon said with a sneer.

  “No…not a Death Knight,” Lillanis said, looking over the enemy in front of them. “It is only a Dark Knight…It doesn’t have the barbed armor of a Death Knight.”

  The Dark Knight seemed intimidating to Ash, but he was slightly interested in the difference between it and a Death Knight. Sadly though before he could voice his questions the Dark Knight charged, swinging its massive two handed sword at Halon.

  The strength of the Dark Knight’s strike forced Halon to his knees. Before Halon could regain his footing, the Dark Knight brought his sword back up and began to strike again. A flash of fear flashed through Halon’s eyes, but the second before the Death Knights sword struck him, Ash hit the tang of the larger blade with his sword diverting it just enough so that it struck Halon in the shoulder instead of the head.

  As soon as the sword glanced off Halon’s shoulder and hit the ground, Ash followed through, hitting the Dark Knight with multiple hits but the knight’s heavy armor blocked each of his strikes. As Lillanis and Shina pulled Halon back, Ash jumped back and used Shadow Whip.

  As the black whip hit the knight, it was thrown to the side and hit the far wall heavily. The only noise that was made as the knight was thrown was the sound of its armor as it struck the wall. As a large -155 appeared above the knight’s head it turned its large purple burning eyes to stare at Ash. As soon as Ash looked at its eyes, a flash of pain erupted through his head and his vision blurred.

  As pain wracked his body, Ash dropped down to his knees. When the ringing in his ears subsided, Ash looked up to find that the Dark Knight’s heavy sword descending toward his head. As the sword descended, Ash could hear people screaming his name, but he didn’t even have time to blink. The blade stopped a millimeter from Ash’s nose as a blue light flashed absorbing the sword’s strike.

  Surprised, Ash could do nothing but stare at the knight as it raised its sword for another strike. Ash had had plenty of close calls before, but this was the first time his death had seemed so clear to him. Ash couldn’t help but look down at the hand that held his sword and noticed that his hand was trembling slightly.

  Ash was pulled from his own thoughts by another scream as Shina launched herself into the Death Knight. As Shina impacted with the creature, sparks flew as her daggers searched for any opening. As if tossing off a bug, the knight threw Shina off his and to the ground and quickly advanced on her. Seeing Shina in danger, Ash tightened his grip on his sword and activated Shadow Whip, once again throwing the creature into the far wall. Lining his sword up with his elbow, Ash charged, shoving the blade through the dark knight’s visor.

  “That was bad,” Ash said holding out his hand to help Shina to her feet.

  Shina didn’t even seem as if she noticed Ash’s offered hand instead she jumped to her feet, as tears freely flowed from her eyes and clung to Ash. “Master…Master…Master,” Shina said over and over as she clung to his waist.

  After Shina had calmed down, the five sat recovering from the battle. While they rested they talked about the best way to fight against Dark Knights. Unlike most monsters Dark and Death Knights fell under both undead and specter categories much like a Lich. This meant that while they had a physical body, they could also use spiritual and mind attacks. While this made them dangerous, it also came with drawbacks. Because they fell under dual undead types, they were also very vulnerable to any form of white magic or blessed weapons. Everything had happened so fast that neither Ash nor Lillanis had time to prepare and thus they were forced to fight without the aid of either.

  Lillanis only had two spells that would work; Scour Soul and Release. Release was the weaker of the two and was used to purify weaker undead. Against a Dark Knight it would only confuse it for a few seconds. Scour Soul on the other hand took a great deal of mana but could kill a single Dark Knight. The real problem beside the mana cost was that if either Ash or Jacob got hit by the spell, they would receive a great deal of damage as well. If not for the drawbacks it would be the prefect weapon against the Dark Knight but instead it was decided that it would be saved unless needed.

  While they rested, Ash applied his blessing to everyone’s weapons so that they would cut more into the Dark Knight’s armor which was created by its soul force. Lillanis could bless weapons as well, but since Ash’s ability was god granted and hers was a skill that just wrapped weapons in white magical energy, his was more effective and lasted longer.

  “Ready?” Ash asked as he tried to shake Shina from his arm. Ever since the end of the battle, Shina hadn’t moved more than half a foot away from Ash. Lillanis had moved close to his as well, but she wasn’t near as clingy as Shina.

  With everyone rested, the five once again made their way through the hallways of the labyrinth. It wasn’t long until they ran into another Dark Knight, this time though they were ready. This time Ash focused on blocking the knight’s attacks while the others dealt damage to it. Ash found it slightly hard to keep from looking in the creatures eyes while he fought, but after the previous experience, he wasn’t keen on suffering through another mental attack.

  Thanks to the blessed weapons and the new attack patterns, the knight fell within a few moments. As the knight died, Ash picked up a piece of dark cloth that was left behind.

  [Dark Cloth: cloth made from the essence of death. Used most often to make robes for necromancers and dark mages.]

  Ash handed the cloth to Lillanis since it was the first monster drop. After the first encounter with a Dark Knight the second one seemed almost disappointingly easy. Once Ash absorbed the knight, the group moved forward to continue their fighting.

  6-9

  It was slightly after midday by the time Ash and the others fought their way to the boss room and exited the labyrinth. Once they were outside, Ash and Shina headed toward the west exit while the others headed back toward the Adventure’s Guild to sell their goods.

  Almost as soon as Ash and Shina arrived at the area being cleared for the fort, Huck found them. Without a word, the old man started helping as Ash and Shina began to cut down trees.

  Ash wanted to hurry and fight gnomes so that he could hopefully get a skill that would be more useful in the construction of the fort, but he knew forcing it would only invite disaster. He also knew that the main work of the earth mages wouldn’t start until a large portion of the woods had been cleared, so he didn’t feel a need to rush either.

  After two hours of work and eight trees, they took a small break. Huck wanted to take a break after the first hour, but Ash refused his request.

  As they sat once again they ate food that Shina had prepared. Ash wanted to ask Shina how she knew that they would need them, but from the look in her eye he knew that the answer would be something surprisingly simply so he pushed the thought aside.

  As they ate, Huck once again began telling a story in hopes of making the break slightly longer. Ash didn’t care much for another story, but when he looked at Shina he left it alone. No matter how he thought about it, Shina in no way acted her age.

  “Have you ever heard about the king of rags?” Huck asked Shina as he slowly ate his food. When Shina shook her head, Huck let out a thin smile.

  “Long ago in a kingdom now forgotten to time there was a young king. He had wealth, power, and women, but still he felt empty, so each day he would go out amongst the people searching. One day the king was approached by a young merchant who showed him a small multicolored egg. He told the king that it was the egg of a phoenix. The king quickly bought the egg at
an extravagant price and took it home.”

  “Days passed and the egg didn’t hatch. After months passed the king once again searched out the merchant and had him brought to him in chains. He asked why the egg had yet to hatch. The merchant told the king that for a phoenix to hatch it required that the egg be heated by molten rock only found deep within the earth.”

  “The king was furious with the news, but he ordered his people to dig. For three years the people of the land toiled as they dug into the earth until finally they dug deep enough for the earth to turn into fire. The king had the egg placed in the molten earth and two days later the phoenix flew into the air.”

  “The phoenix was unlike anything the king had seen before. It was just as he had heard in legend. It was bright red and its wings burned a bright blue as it soared through the skies. The phoenix lived in the small pit where it was born, but it quickly started to die. The king once again called upon the merchant and was told that phoenix had to eat a strange liquid that looked like liquid silver to live. The king searched far and wide and bought all the liquid silver he could find nearly emptying the kingdom’s coffers. While the country died, the phoenix lived until a neighboring kingdom attacked. The king called upon his army, but their weapons had been sold to pay for the phoenix’s food and they ran from the invading army. The king called upon his people but they refused to heed his call. With no other choice, the king preyed to the phoenix, but the creature cared little for the worries of man and flew off to find a new home.”

  “The king who had everything had given everything away for the sake of a creature that in the end held no love for him leaving him with no people, gold, or country.”

  “I don’t get it,” Ash said as Huck finished his story. “What was the meaning behind the story?”

  “What do you mean? Not every story has to have a meaning, but if I had to give it one it would be not to neglect your duties for pleasure.”

  Ash rolled his eyes and returned to work. After they had worked for a few more hours, Huck told another story but this time instead of listening, Ash continued to work while the other two rested.

  When they were finished for the day and received their pay, Ash headed to Emelia’s while Shina returned home. She had wanted to stay with him, but Ash quickly refused her request. Tonight he wanted to spend time with Emelia alone.

  Ash was greeted at the gate and quickly ushered not to the study, but the small meeting room. Ash was slightly surprised when he was forced to take a bath and then moved through the back halls and sat beside Emelia. “What is going on?” Ash asked as soon as his wife embraced him.

  “The knight captain arrived today. He has been waiting all day for a meeting, but I wanted to wait until you arrived. I sent a letter to your residence, but I figured you would already be gone before it arrived.”

  Shortly after Ash was seated, a large man in his late fifties and a young girl in her mid-twenties were brought into the room. The man was introduced as the knight captain Condrey and the young lady was scout Marilyn.

  “Milady, it is a pleasure that you could see me at such short notice,” Condrey said bowing his head.

  “I am glad that you received my summons, but why is it that less than ten knights arrived with you?”

  “Milady, the rest of the knights are currently dispatched throughout the duchy to keep order and to search for squires. I thought it would be more prudent to come myself and see why you requested us to appear?”

  “Then you decided to take it upon yourself to countermand my direct order?” Emelia asked her voice dropping an octave.

  “I did what I thought was best for the duchy,” Condrey said without backing down. “Your father trusted me for years and I would expect you to follow him in that regard. If you think I have made an error though, I will gladly step aside and let one of the younger bucks take my place.”

  “Condrey, can we drop all the playing around,” Emelia said with a warm smile letting go of her stone face. “Ash, go ahead and explain the reason why we have called the knights back.”

  “Umm…Yes,” Ash said feeling nervous. Ash quickly explained his plan to the two knights. When he was finished Condrey rubbed his chin then nodded his head.

  “It would be nice to have a place to call home instead of living out of inns. The main question is, if everyone is based in Tellian, what do we do about the rest of the Hawkwing lands?”

  “How long would it take you to reach the farthest place within the duchy?” Ash asked.

  “Twelve days if it was clear weather,” Condrey responded after giving it a little thought.

  Ash had looked at a map but having not had much experience traveling, it was slightly more time than he expected. “If everything goes to plan and you are able to train and keep more knights then having the knights’ work on a rotation would be best.”

  “I see. For now the knights with new squires will need to train. If they had a place better suited for it that didn’t constantly drain coin, then it would allow for more knights in the long run. I will bring in half the knights right now, but the others will still need to patrol the King’s road otherwise bandits will come out of the woodwork. Will that be enough?”

  “If you think it is for the best,” Ash said without hesitation.

  “Marilyn, you will work as the liaison between the knights and Lord and Lady Hawkwing. I will start bringing in our brothers and sisters. Lord Hawkwing, I think it would be best if you learned a bit more about the knights. Thus I wish you to keep scout Marilyn with you. Her group is in the city and I hope that in the coming months you will work with them.”

  “Why?” Ash asked skeptically. He was already busy with the labyrinth exploration and the building of the fort and did not look to add more to his already full plate.

  “I think it will help you understand who the knights are and what we need,” Condrey replied with a sly smile. “Also, I always find it interesting to see nobles crawl through the mud with the knights.”

  “Sir Condrey, if I didn’t know you better I would think that you were doing this to spite me,” Emelia said as she looked over the young scout. She was short at only five foot two inches with long brown hair. The young woman was thin but she had curves where most men liked them. Looking at her, Emelia felt as she had been challenged. When Ash brought back Lillanis, Emelia felt a little worried as she was a rare beauty, but Emelia didn’t see her as threat for some reason.

  “Milady Hawkwing, I would never think of doing anything against you,” Condrey said though the fact that he bowed his head to hide his smile didn’t help convince Ash that he had only good intentions.

  “Then scout Marilyn can meet with my husband in the morning. One of the maids will give her directions to his estate. I think you will find that my husband is no lay about. I hope that your young scout can keep pace with him.”

  “Then until duty requires us to meet again, I shall return to my duties,” Condrey said with another short bow.

  After the two left, Emelia let out a long string of curses. Ash was sure that the knights could hear her words since it was unlikely that they had yet to leave the building. Seeing Emelia so worked up, Ash couldn’t help to laugh slightly. Ash had seen many sides of Emelia since he had met her. She was strong willed but also weak, but this was the first time he had seen her truly agitated and for some reason it struck a chord in him.

  “That is far from the worst meeting I have seen you in,” Ash said teasingly. “Why did you get so worked up?”

  “Condrey was a friend of my fathers,” Emelia said after letting out a deep breath. “Ever since I was a child, he has liked to tease me and no matter what I do or say, he always gets the better of me.”

  “I thought that other women didn’t bother you?” Ash asked, still clueless to what had happened during the meeting to get her so mad.

  “It would be one thing if it was just another woman, but he chose Marilyn for a reason,” Emelia spat. “She is his youngest daughter and also one that was broug
ht over often to play with me. We were friends and not friends at the same time. It is complicated.”

  Seeing the annoyed look on Emelia’s face, Ash didn’t press her for any more details. Instead he simply wrapped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her in tight to his side. Emelia squeezed his shoulder, but remained silent as they took the back hallway to eat in the bedroom.

  “How is everything going with the fort?” Emelia asked, breaking the warm yet silent atmosphere that had filled the room.

  “It is going well, though a lot slower than I had expected,” Ash said as he sat his empty plate aside. “It will take months before enough of the forest is cleared for the real work to even be started.” Ash’s voice trailed off when he turned his head and noticed that Emelia had slipped out of her dress and lay bare upon the bed with a wicked smile on her face.

  6-10

  “Morning,” Emelia said looking down at Ash as she was propped up on her elbow.

  “Morning,” Ash replied, sitting up and looking out the window. The sky was still dark so he felt no need to hurry.

  After a casual breakfast with Emelia, Ash made his way back home to find Marilyn waiting on him in his own garden, along with another young lady. The other person wore the same badge as Marilyn, but was slightly taller and her hair was not as fine.

  Neither woman noticed Ash as he entered. Marilyn was sitting under the small cherry tree. She was drawing something while eating a small pastry. The other woman was looking down at the paper Marilyn was scribbling on with a look of barely concealed anticipation on her face.

  Ash didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to intrude on the two so he quietly edged closer to them. “Mar…Art hurry. I want to see it,” the other woman said with a thin smile.

  “Marie give me a moment to finish it,” Marilyn said as she took a nibble off the pastry.