by Riker Kane
“Hey! What’s going on here? The curfew is in order—”
“Relax.” Clayton stepped out of the forest. “Those are the children who’ve been abducted. We rescued them.”
“You rescued them?”
“Hmm… I should be offended you’re so surprised but yeah, I saved ‘em.” The guards gave the children a closer look. “Look at how dirty and malnourished they are. They just wanna go home. Let them go.”
The lead guard sighed then reluctantly nodded. “I suppose you’ll tell me who abducted these children. Have you found the whereabouts of the assassin?”
Rena had her hood down, which was more than enough to fool the guards into thinking she wasn’t the one they were looking for.
“I know who was responsible for all of the crime in this city.” Clayton walked by the guards with his party in tow. “I plan on dealing with them right now.”
He didn’t waste any time in getting to the mayor’s mansion. The two knights standing guard were dispatched with little effort. Clayton kicked the door into splinters and was greeted with another set of guards.
“Where is he?” Clayton shouted. “You can’t save him!”
He fought with an energy like he never had before. The image of the children working, broken and beaten, stayed burned within his thoughts as he cut down the guards. They managed to slam their swords into him, even slashing through his armor, but Clayton fought alongside his party until a path of defeated guards littered the lavish mansion toward the quiet room where he knew Morrison was waiting.
Clayton stepped into the room to find the mayor sitting in front of a fireplace. The chubby old man had his head down, his eyes focused on his book. Given how loud and violent the scene was just outside, Clayton was surprised to see how calm the mayor was.
“Mayor Morrison…”
“Ah… I’ve been expecting you.” Morrison peeked his head up from his book then closed it. He got up from his seat and paced back and forth slowly. “Do you know what this is? It’s Dober’s records.”
“Dober?”
“The previous mayor,” Rena said. “The one he murdered.”
“I didn’t murder Dober,” Morrison barked. “He and I simply had a disagreement on how to go about things.”
“What are you talking about?” Clayton brandished his sword, eager to hear an answer but counting the seconds until he was going to strike.
“Mayor Dober and I discovered the mines not too long ago. It takes a lot of work to prepare a mine for excavation. Dober was so worried of invaders, he didn’t tell many people about it. The process was long and arduous but eventually, he managed to get things rolling. Things weren’t rolling quite fast enough though.”
“So you decided to kill him and take everything. Now you’re using children for what? So you can outfit your guards in golden armor and weapons they don’t even need?”
“I did what I had to do for Lancaster! I’m trying to help these people! As soon as I get my share, the rest of the town will benefit from it!”
“And what exactly is your share? How big of a house will you build? How many children will be taken from their homes so you can live in the lap of luxury?”
“You’re in no position to question me. And I don’t have to answer to you.”
“It’s over, Morrison. I’ve freed all the children from the mines. Your guards have been defeated. Those still alive will see you for what you are. You’re all alone.”
“Not quite.” He snapped his fingers, a smug smirk coming across his face.
The party turned around to see Nym standing there. The archer Sheril stood by his side and the menacing knight Yokic held his greatsword over his shoulder.
“You,” Morrison said. “Take care of this man and these women and I will give you as big a bounty as you’re able to carry.”
“It looks like our time together has come to an end.” The sorcerer raised a hand up and readied a spell inside of it. “I gave you a chance to leave. You should’ve taken it.”
“I’ll leave.” Clayton took a step forward. “I’ll leave right after I take care of you!” Clayton charged, trying to catch the sorcerer off guard but a blast of energy knocked him back. Clayton went flying through the window of the mansion and tumbled over the grass.
“Clayton!” Jalise rushed out after him but was forced to block another spell from the sorcerer.
“Kill them!” Morrison shouted.
Kailani, Rena and Mirella rushed forward at the imposing knight. He swept his sword at them, forcing them to back off.
“There’s not much room to maneuver in here…” Kailani looked around then leaped up to the chandelier above. She hopped off and aimed her bone daggers down at the knight but a spell from Nym knocked her off balance, sending her out the window next to Clayton.
Mirella and Rena continued their assault, stabbing and dancing around Yokic. The knight’s armor was sturdy enough to deflect their glancing blows but he was too slow to hit either one of them.
Jalise avoided another arrow and was finally able to make it outside of the mansion. A healing spell helped Kailani back to her feet. She quickly gave Clayton the same assistance, grabbing his arm and helping him up.
“Are you all right?”
Clayton shook his head and watched as Sheril and Nym stepped out of the mansion. “I’m fine. I’ll deal with the spellcaster. You two handle the archer.”
Sheril nocked four more arrows and aimed them right at Kailani. She leaped out of the way.
“Look out!” Clayton saw the sorcerer getting ready to cast another spell and knock her out of the air. He quickly dashed forward, swinging his sword into Nym’s gut and knocking the sorcerer back. “How does it feel, buddy?”
Nym shook off his daze and gave the Ferrum a smirk. “I’m glad you’re putting up a fight. That will only make it more satisfying when I end you.”
Clayton held his sword in front of him and focused his energy, water cascading around the blade. “Let’s rock.” He fired a blast of water right at Nym. The mage fired back with white energy, knocking the water away.
“Don’t fight fire with fire… Fight your own fight…” Clayton dashed forward and aimed for Nym’s midsection. The mage vanished from where he stood then reappeared behind Clayton. Another hard blast of white energy caught Clayton on the back and sent him tumbling forward.
“And here I thought you would be a worthy challenge.”
“Ungh…” Clayton got back to his feet and shook his head. “I hate when assholes like you talk trash before the fight is over.”
“But it is over. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
“We’ll see about that.” Clayton dodged another blast then leaped into the air. He gathered all of his strength, crashing down toward Nym. The mage just managed to get out of the way but the leaping thrust was so powerful, the ground shook and knocked him off balance.
“Now!” Clayton kicked the mage as hard as he could. He caught him between the legs and made him crumple to his knees. The agony on Nym’s face made Clayton smirk with satisfaction. “No magic for that.” He swung his sword hard and low, catching the mage in the midsection. But just as he felt the sorcerer’s body beginning to give, he vanished, leaving nothing but the dark robes he wore in tatters on the ground.
Clayton looked around frantically but there was no trace of Nym. “What the hell?” He shook off the moment of disbelief to find Kailani and Jalise still engaged with the archer.
Sheril moved with a swiftness that rivaled any fighter he’d ever seen. Kailani’s throwing knives. Jalise’s fireballs. Sheril tumbled out of the way of everything aimed at him and responded with arrows. Clayton moved to join them, slashing his sword but his lack of dexterity resulted in flailing whiffs.
“Yokic!” Sheril barked. “Nym has left! It’s time to retreat! This bounty is not worth it!”
The massive knight knocked Rena and Mirella away then lumbered out of the mayor’s mansion. Sheril held his fingers to his mouth and whis
tled. Two horses approached and the men galloped away.
“We have to go after them!” Kailani said. “We can’t let them get away!”
“No.” Clayton put his hand up. “Let them go. We’ve done what we needed to for Lancaster. The truth is out. There’s no place for them here.”
Clayton looked at his companions. They breathed hard, sweating, bruised and somewhat bloodied. But they were all on their feet.
“Let’s put an end to this.” Clayton walked back into the mansion where Morrison was waiting.
The mayor leaned against the wall, his face red with anger and a crossbow in his hands. “Everything was perfect until you came along. I was the best thing this town had ever seen. Then you had to ruin it.”
“You only have yourself to blame for this, Morrison.”
“I only blame myself for not killing you when I first saw you. I think I’ll make up for it now.”
Clayton’s eyes widened as he saw the mayor’s finger twitch. Clayton dashed forward as fast as he could and sank his sword into Morrison’s heart. The old man’s jaw dropped, a gasp of pain stuck in his throat.
“You’ve paid for your crimes…” Clayton stared into the mayor’s eyes and watched the life disappear.
As he felt Morrison’s life fading, something else happened. The Zeal Blade pulsed in his palm. He looked down and saw the energy radiating around the blade and inside of Morrison.
“What…” Clayton looked into Morrison’s eyes and saw they were empty except a flashing bright blue. The blue slowly faded as Morrison took his last breaths.
Clayton pulled his sword out and the body slumped to the floor. He didn’t get a chance to recover, as a black mist began forming off to the side of the room. The mist took shape into a figure. Steel armor. A blackened face. A sinister smile. And eyes as blue as the ones he’d just seen.
“Belenoth.”
“Some people just have it in them.” Belenoth looked down at Morrison’s dead body and shook his head. “It makes them so much easier to corrupt.”
“You… You’re responsible for all of this.”
“I’m not responsible for anything. I only allowed him to harness what was already inside of him.”
“You can’t get away with this. I won’t allow it.”
“You’ve grown significantly since our last encounter. I approve. Gather your strength. Gather your strength so that I may take it from you, Ferrum.”
“The only thing you’re taking from me is this!” Clayton swung as hard as he could. But his sword hit nothing. Belenoth had vanished completely, returning to the mist from where he came.
Clayton looked around the room and sighed in disappointment. “What is it with people disappearing in front of me?”
Jalise put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right. Let’s focus on putting things back to normal here. Our time with the Maledict will come.”
~ ~ ~
Josef smile beamed underneath the sun as his son sat peacefully in the grass.
“Thank you. I can’t thank you enough. I didn’t think I would ever see him again.”
“You can’t lose hope,” Clayton said. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
“You’re right. Those nights my wife and I stayed up… I’m glad they’re over. I’ll never take my eyes off Ralph again.”
“Will the town be all right?”
“If the villagers take your word for it, they will. And they should, seeing as how you brought every child back. To think that Morrison would be so greedy to use children to hoard all of the gold for himself.”
“What will happen? You have no mayor—”
“Lancaster’s an old town. It’s been around longer than me and I’m as old as dirt. The town will be just fine. The curfew’s over. The guards you didn’t kill aren’t on the mayor’s payroll. We can mine the gold correctly. And we don’t have to worry about an assassin out there.” He eyeballed Rena and winked at her.
The elf walked up to him and bowed her head. “I apologize for taking your grain. When everything was over, I intended on paying you back.”
“Nonsense! What good is grain if you’re not gonna eat it? I’m glad someone was making good use of it.” He looked at the rest of the party. “You all seem to have a good heart. It’s nice to have folks like you around. Though I imagine you won’t be sticking around here much longer.”
“We’re headed for the Great Horn Mountains,” Clayton said. “I have business to take care of.”
“The Great Horn Mountains. The base isn’t too far from here. But if you’re thinking about scaling those things…”
“Tough?”
“Weather. Vicious animals. Not to mention whatever else you might find up there. All of that talk about ancients and mumbo jumbo. It’s not exactly a walk in the park.”
“I’ll have to take my chances.” Clayton chuckled, already knowing how hard of a time it would be.
“I can’t be of much help to you but maybe I can do something.” Josef walked over to a chest next to the side of his barn. “Take these with you. Never had much use for ‘em myself.”
Clayton looked at the two green vials in his palm and smiled. “The last time someone gave me some potions, they saved my life.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again.” Josef held his head high and nodded. “You’re destined for something amazing. I don’t know what it is but I can sense it. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Thank you, Josef.” Clayton shook the old man’s hand then stepped back to where the others were waiting for him.
“It looks like things are back to normal,” Kailani said. “Nice little village here.”
“It is a shame they had to endure what they did,” Mirella said.
“These people will be fine.” Clayton looked around and felt a sense of pride knowing what he’d done to help. “We should stock up on as many provisions as we can.” He looked in the distance and could see his destination even over the trees. “It’s time to head for the Great Horn Mountains.”
Chapter 36
Clayton Brooks
Essence Level 77
Available Points 3
Hit Points 800
Stamina 100
Strength 23
Constitution 21
Agility 20
Dexterity 17
Wisdom 15
“Jalise?”
“I did some reading to understand the landscape of Green Terra. But most of it covered the terrain disputed by warring factions. I cannot tell you much about the mountains, only that they are treacherous.”
Clayton stood at the foot of the Great Horn Mountains. They stretched for miles in both directions. The peaks were so high at some points, they poked through the clouds above. A cool breeze blew against his face as if warning him of what was to come.
“Three points doesn’t seem like it’ll make a difference. I should save them until I’m sure I know what to do. It’s not like I’ll die and lose them.”
He smiled confidently at Jalise and the sage was in agreement. “I will be by your side. None of us have any intention of watching you fall.”
“With all of you, I know I won’t.” He sheathed the Zeal Blade and took the first few steps up the mountain path. “At least it’s sunny…”
After the long night in Lancaster, the group said goodbye to Josef and the other townsfolk early in the morning. The trek through what remained of Fortune Forest was short and they arrived at the mountains with the sun not yet at its apex.
Clayton kept his weapon sheathed as he climbed up the mountain.
“I remember the first time I had to scale a mountain when I had to get the Zeal Blade. The hills weren’t as big as this but I remember getting winded. I’m not struggling as much as before, even with all this armor. Then again, I didn’t really need any armor back then… What kinda beasts you think roam these mountains?”
“I’m sure there are a wide variety of wild creatures,” Jalise said. “Bears. Lions
. Boars and tigers. Hawks and eagles. Perhaps even some bandits make their home on the plateaus.”
“No problem. As long as there aren’t any coyotes?”
“Coyotes?” Mirella said. “That is not the first time you mentioned them. Would they cause us much trouble?”
“Ha!” Kailani didn’t bother holding back her snicker. “I think BB here has a little problem with coyotes and—”
“Hey!” Clayton raised his voice and aimed his finger at her. “Save your breath for when we need it.” Jalise covered her mouth to hide her smile while Kailani grinned as wide as she could. Even Rena looked like she was having trouble keeping a straight face. Mirella raised an eyebrow at Clayton. “Haven’t even walked for a minute and you’re already giving me a hard time.”
The party regained their focus as they traversed up the mountain. The rocky trail ascended higher and the forest below grew farther in the distance. Clayton felt a chill despite how bright the sun was shining. He rested his hand on his pommel, ready to draw his weapon at the sight or sound of any danger.
They turned the corner on the mountain and found the path led to a small plateau. “Sweet,” Clayton sighed. “Finally some level land to walk on. Climbing uphill can be a real pain—”
He cut himself off, stopping in his tracks when he saw a group of vultures huddled around one another. They pecked and poked with their sharp beaks, undoubtedly gnawing on their latest kill.
“Vultures,” Clayton whispered. “The trick with them is to get ‘em before they’re flying.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” Kailani said. “I remember you with the bats.”
Clayton held back his retort and instead unsheathed the Zeal Blade. He looked at Jalise and nodded. The two of them readied fire spells and shot at the birds. Clayton’s improved abilities allowed him to engulf two of the vultures in flames while Jalise turned another to ash. There were still several more remaining, each of them flapping their wings wildly as they ascended.