“Hunters! But what kind I don’t know. I have never seen armour like that”revealed the man“They were trying to get to you! And they are not the only ones. That is why we need to hurry!”
“What?! To me?! Why?!”
“I don’t know” implied the man and continued running, then he turned right and went onto a small path. Arkain started thinking about what Agaroth told him. It did not make any sense. Hunters?! I am being hunted?! Why? What have I done?!
“You said that you were going to take me to the people that can help me. What did you mean by that?” questioned Arkain.
“Exactly. I was asked to help you reach them. Don’t ask any more questions, you will have answers for everything” as he said that he stopped running and whistled twice into the air. After a few seconds two stallions walked out from within the trees. One of them was Sefgyand the other a brown horse that had a white stripe on its head. It was a bit rounder and robust.“Here take him” announced the man and handed a lead to Arkain who pulled the horse away and tried to jump up. It took him a few goes but he managed to stay on it. Both of his hands were holding onto the animal and his mind was focusing as hard as it could. This is going to be interesting. “Can you ride one?”asked Agaroth and received a very distinctive“No”. To this he replied with a“Good”and a“Follow me”and started galloping forward relying on the other horse to follow him. And so it did from which Arkain received quite a fright. He didn’t know whether it was his doing or the horse’s but he just tried to keep upright. Once they travelled a bit more it all became easier though his whole body started aching. The traveller had continued the road through the forest than going back. There was no time and they were getting closer and closer by the heartbeat. He was at the front carving a way for the boy. It was mighty dark but Arkain’s eyes got used to it after a minute of ongoing and now he could see well. Well enough to see a starving road that laid towards, what looked like the middle of the massive wood gathering, and lead their way. It was straight first, then curvy, then curved again, only to become straight after. Although this reign did not have walls it could have easily be mistaken for an endless labyrinth, which if you get lost in, you might never find a way out. Your body would disappear into the ground. Through the night they rode even when everything seemed lost and started to become hopeless. Through the fight with sleepiness and the wind they kept going until night had turned into day. Arkain kept holding onto the horse, trying to stay awake. Eventually they had to slow down, galloping became trotting and soon Agaroth had to admit that they needed to rest. Sometime later in the day they have found a small cave. It was a wide open place that provided cover from the potential rain or snow. Agaroth decided to get fire wood while Arkain took care of the horses and gathered stone and picked up a few twigs. The forest was the instrument but the wind was the player.
Agaroth was sitting in front of the fire-pit that he dug and surrounded with small rocks. A few hours later it started snowing and from a half-dream, half-awake state the boy looked up into the sky. What is this? It is white and small and it is everywhere like rain. Wait, it is snow. Snow. Has a weird name. “We are going to stay here until morning”announced Agaroth as soon as he had the ability to sustain the orange flames. His eyes kept staring at the bouncing ling stripes while he sat in front of the cave’s wall. The fire was just a few steps inside it so it could reflect heat but allow enough space for the smoke to get away. Arkain’s sword was on the ground mirroring the light beams that came off of the flames. Just a little sleep. It couldn’t hurt could it? At least he is back on the road again.
There were five dark people in front. All trying to surround the wolf while it tried to get away. Pointless, there was no escape. One of them started laughing then the others followed with an otherworldly demonic voice. Then, the middle one took his sword out, lifted his hand and charged at the wolf with great power. Just before it hit its skin everything became dark and he fell into the abyss once more.
“Get out of here!” shouted Agaroth towards a group of people that stood before him. They were also shouting and laughing trying to reason with the man. The boy opened his eyes and stood up, holding the newly given sword in his right palm. There were six, six rugged men that wore ripped clothes on their skinny body. They also wore daggers and swords which they had in their hands. Long, rusty metal swords. Then in a matter of quick seconds a fight broke out and everyone was rushing against them. Given that Agaroth was the closest to them four of the men had attacked him first while the other two went for the boy. I can’t fight!Everything seemed to happen so fast, Arkain grabbed a stone from the fire and threw it at the bandits’ head but it didn’t hit anything. The first bandit attacked and Arkain held up his sword which stopped the blade from hitting his body. In the background Agaroth was fighting too but with haste and his sword out in the front offending. Even he looked like he wasn’t going to make it but his sword was faster than anything Arkain had ever seen so far. In a split second it cut through one of the enemies’ legs and kill the other. The boy wasn’t that good though, he was cornered and the two bandits were playing with him, cursing and spitting wherever he stepped. Then, the one that was on the left hand side surprised him by sneaking behind. Without realizing the boy had no defence from the back and his head got smashed with a handle from which he fell on to the floor dizzy and hurt.“Leave him! We can still sell him!” laughed one of the attackers and turned to fight with Agaroth who got overwhelmed. He was fighting with five people but one person fell every minute. He was a good fighter and this didn’t cause him to sweat at all but the fight required time. A shout and a person is down, another one and it ran away. The boy could barely see anything from his blurry vision. The bandit attacked and Agaroth pulled the sword out of its hands then smashed him in the stomach which stopped him from breathing. There were now three left standing. The traveller fought with all of his might and defeated the strongest. One, two and he was down from which the other stopped and ran away. Agaroth stood there for a second and ran to Arkain who was still on the floor.“Arkain? Are you all right?”he asked but before the boy could answer he saw that one of the bandits that was on the floor now got up with a dagger in its hand and was rushing towards Agaroth without the traveller noticing it.“Look out!” shouted Arkain and jumped up in the way of the steel which pierced his side. When the blade got into his blood he yelled from the infamous pain. Everything became slow and each breath made it even worse. His body was giving up along with his mind and he fell with the cold iron embedded in him. Agaroth turned around and threw the bandit away, then grabbed one of the swords that was on the floor and threw it into its heart.
Let the light guide you!
Boom. Boom. Boom. The quick footsteps have echoed through the large corridor. It have kept bouncing back from the high paintings, large angled windows and the chandeliers. Long beams of light have crept through each block in the window illuminating the wide, red carpet that stretched across the ground. In the middle, somewhat of a small man had walked hastily. Across the walls there were many windows and sometimes even a small colourful painting or two. At the end there were two corridors, one leading left, the other to the right. On the right hand side there was a door couple of steps away. It was decorated with small metal leafs and had a big round knock, with a small handle that opened it. The small man knocked three times and asked for permission to enter. He did not receive an answer but it did not matter, he opened the door anyway. A big round room had welcomed him that was completely dark with a little light stroke breaking through the large curtains. The room had also have big bed that would have been enough for even a horse. On the sides there were bookshelves that held volumes of all colour but also unlit candles. All from bronze with detailed engravings. Beside the bed was a small altar decorated with statues and shiny objects, in front of it was a great pillow for the knee. A person dressed in blinding white was using it, his right hand was on the altar and his left on his heart. He was wearing a big white zuchettos alongside a m
ozettaand a golden ring on his left hand, his hair as white as the freshly fallen snow but also rare.“How many times did I tell you not to bother me?”he asked with a menacing voice. The small man had come closer and dropped down onto his knees with his hands in front of his head on the ground.“Many times! Many times indeed highness!” he replied. His voice was breaking and distant. The highness had walked up to him and raised his left hand just a tiny bit but enough for the servant to kiss it. The ring was circular and contained a small writing which went, Summus Pontifex Mennendis.“Long live your highness and your belief shall live forever”whispered the servant“The execution is ready and the Council have gathered”and hurried away. The High Pope lived on the south end of his castle in a tower. Every now and then he would come out to the balcony, which wasn’t far, to see his world and the things he have built up. This time he walked out through the entrance along the corridor just as the servant did before but took a right turn which lead outside into a balcony that was far up on the side of the stone wall beyond anyone’s reach. The sun was shining behind the tall towers of Aurum Solitudo. On the outside a row of stairs connected each of the balconies together and the one that he was looking for which would have provided the perfect view.“I hereby declare that Wansent Dohlralwill be executed for treason and betrayal of our holy highness”announced a man in a brown cassock above the commoners next to the executional. The three of them were on a wooden platform which had a piece of wood in the middle high enough to allow one to put their head and neck across it. This is what the prisoner did, his hands were tied down with chains and his head was held down. With a paper the announcer was yelling as loud as he could so that everyone could hear it expressing the contents of the papyrus to the crowd. All of them were in muddy, brown garments that could easily refer to a blind that they are poor. The High Pope just stood there without batting, looking at his garden’s fruit. Above the prisoner’s short and curly hair an axe was hanging, held up by a man with a dark coal mask.“Are you ready to go to the inferos?!”shouted the announcer and continued the declaratory. When he finished his eyes shifted towards where the pope was standing. He waited for approval which he shortly received in the form of a simple wave.“Let Murilead him to the barrows of darkness” he announced and the executioner lifted his axe. Everyone looked at him while he made his target then in a wide swing he released it. Crows started flying towards the scene over buildings and chimneys, through wind and smoke loudly applauding. They came quickly and leapt onto the basket and the body that was now lying motionless. They came here to eat.
“No! We are out and cannot afford anymore! We have taken too much of the metals already without mining others!”argued one of the councillors on his seat in on a table that was circular. Except for one bit which was more detailed than any of the others, it hosted a bigger, more comfortable chare with red paddings. The table was divided by metal lines into mostly equal parts so that each council member gets to be treated the same way. Each had their own area except one.“What?! If we are going to try and start a revolution then we might as well introduce new taxes! That’ll calm them down!” said the other.
“Gentleman!”walked in the High Pope with a welcoming and warm tone. He took big steps up to that one peculiar and especially different seat and sat down. As soon as he entered everything became silent.“Calm down. For thou shall be calm in no time. I have brought medicine to our scars and food for our poor! Tell me, what is the problem thou children of the land?”
“We are out of metals which means we cannot get supplies for our army! Tell me‘thou’highness, what are you planning to do?” answered the same person that started it. He was annoyed and spoke in a very disrespectful voice which the Highness didn’t like. Worse, he was offended by it and quickly started to repair it.
“You shall NOT shout with me! Do you understand Grendel?!”yelled the pope and stood up from his seat. He stared at the man for a while then sat back down changing his tone into a child’s.“Now, what has happened with the mines?”
“They are completely deplete you highness” replied another one in a blue tunic with gold linings around his waist and neck.
“And what is with the towns? Don’t they have anymore?” asked the High Pope.
“No, I am afraid that we…” tried to answer a person to the left.
“You?! You are‘afraid’?! And what happened to the plates and forks?! What happened to the anvils and swords?!”the High Pope was once again exploding from rage“You think that they don’t have anymore?! Take everything that is made of metal! I am finished because you have dared to waste my time yet again! You would have been more useful if you shat on my carpet!”he finished and started walking out leaving great scuffle behind him. He was just about to close the door completely when a slim man walked out.“What do you want?” asked the Pope.
“My men…”started the man“have heard of a mine that the Insurrection is using to supply their demand of weapons and armour. It is rich of minerals because once it was a dwarf mine in the north of us, miles away from Ferrum Montem. Do you want me to send someone to search for it? They would be quick and silent”The pope’s eyes have lifted and he started smiling.
“Thaul, what would I do without you? Take as many men as you want but no more than a handful. If we can truly find this place that you have talked about it could help us in the attack”
Chapter 5: And men will lead but heroes will fall
It was a long and hideous walk for Agaroth. When Arkain fell he bandaged him and threw him up onto Sefgy. Since then he was trying to get to his goal as fast as possible because the boy’s life was on stake. He needed medicines and supplies that could heal his scar which he did not have on him. Every minute counted and he made sure that it wasn’t wasted. The boy stayed unconscious in the meanwhile. He did save the traveller’s life and there is no doubt about that. This just made it more complicated than he have expected it to be and now he is in a dilemma. The boy deserves to be treated the same way. His condition was getting worse along with the weather. It newly started to snow yet again and made the roads invisible. Every step would lead into a bigger pile of white powder. Sometimes one could see small footprints in it mostly from wildlife. The other horse was released before the traveller continued on, there was no point keeping it and it would have just slowed them down. The road was hard and they needed to stop for the night to replenish their stamina. Fire can no longer be sparked from the cold and the wind so they needed to spend night without warmth. Every once in a while the man would be in the middle of night to see the storm raging on and feel the cold slowly get to him. When the sun had risen Agaroth woke up, dropping the snow that gathered up on him throughout the night. With great speed they have got ready and were already on their way. It will not take long to get there. The bandits must have come from the city which meant that they were close. His path had preceded forward like a snake.“Come on Sefgy. We are not far” Now he had to climb a hill which proved to be hard from the thick snow that swallowed his legs with each step. Here it was slippery, there it was too deep, and over there was dangerous, too dangerous for the horse which carried the most weight. If it were to slip than Arkain would die with it. Agaroth had to use quite the bit of force to support his horse but they have eventually reached the top. There was a big rock next to them and on its side were two big tree. In the distance of the white land towers could be picked out which connected to a bigger city below it. Smoke clouds have been paired up with the wind and dim lights could be seen in the darkness. Agaroth had travelled two long days until he have reached Raldon. Around the city it was plain farming land which hasn’t been used for a while. A few houses stood outside but were completely taken apart. Everyone was inside the city walls being protected from the bad weather. Now running Agaroth knew that he was out of time. The scar’s infection is spreading and someone needed to stop it. He pulled the horse harder and harder but also tried to keep the boy on it. In a little while he grasped the two enormous wooden gates and kicked int
o them three times. A small hatch was opened and a man’s head appeared behind it.“Wha’dwan’” asked the soldier and yawned.
“Open the gates! I want to enter!” demanded the traveller.
“All right but I am going to need something to remember how to open these big boys! You do know how easy it easy to forget a person in the middle of the night!”
“Fine, let me in and I’ll pay you. If you don’t then you will not get any. Let me in first then I can pay you or I will find another way”he tried to trick the person. The gates opened and he walked in, then grabbed a few coins from his pocket and threw it at the soldier.“You didn’t see anything”he said and continued on while the mercenary starting chewing on the cold metals with a smile on his face.“I love this job”he whispered it to himself and walked into a small building next to the get that was built into the wall. It was small but provided a safe place to be. Silence ruled across the long alleyways and small streets. A couple of windows were bright with light but most were as dark as the sky. Normal humans would be asleep by now. Only the horse’s shoes could be heard hitting against the cat-like pavement. They took a turn right and then to the left onto a higher lever to which a small staircase lead with houses on both sides. To the right was a house with square windows in an area that was darker than any other in the city. If a person would decide to walk across it he would not be seen no matter what. The traveller was no more than a shadow. He walked up to the door and knocked on it. A few seconds later clicking and clanking could be heard and the door opened by a woman who wore a light green dress. Her hair was coal and her face troubled.“Agaroth?” she whispered.
With Blades and Flames: Awakening Page 4