Tatsuya looked up at Crow, clearly taken back by the support from his comrades, perhaps Tatsuya didn’t expect his story to be met with such sympathy, he knew they hated him, and he couldn’t argue against why.
Throughout the years Tatsuya had shunned them all and used the War Hogs for his own selfish gain, perhaps this could be the dawn of a new time for him and maybe killing Darius will bring the closure Tatsuya dreamt off, maybe then he could begin to rebuild relationships with his fellow warriors. “None of you have to get involved, myself and Yoshihiro can take care of this.”
“No Tatsuya, Crow is right.” Jadar seemed impassioned. “This is a matter of honour; besides, we are all stronger together, not split. I will help you avenge your family.”
“You don’t have too, I wouldn’t expect—”
Jadar would not have any more of Tatsuya’s refusal and interjected, “No! I said fucking no!” Roared Jadar who seemed empowered. “I too have been abused and damaged by monsters! Not anymore! We have the power to stop this now, never again will anyone here fall victim to cunts like Darius! I say, it’s time to start killing monsters!
Tatsuya embraced Jadar. “You have no reason to care, yet there you stand, willing to risk your life to help a cold bitter ninja. When this is done, if all goes well, I will return the favour, I promise!”
Archie glanced at Yoshihiro who had an uneasy look on his face, Hiroki felt this too and Archie addressed Yoshihiro’s uncharacteristic uneasiness. “What is it Yoshihiro? What else is there?”
Tatsuya looked across at Yoshihiro. “What? You getting second thoughts? You promised me. Don’t betray me now, I’ve waited years for this moment.”
Yoshihiro enraged roared back at Tatsuya. “Do not accuse me of breaking an oath to a brother! Darius will die I promise you. But there is something that has come to light, something we may need first.”
“Like what?” responded Crow. “What could possibly halt a promise made between two fellow warriors?”
This was met with Archie’s curiosity. “I feel a twist in this plot. Continue Yoshihiro.”
Yoshihiro did as requested. “Archie is right. Darius claims one of the rival warlords also has an artefact of great importance, something Darius craves. He said we can have all the riches of the combined warlords after successfully slaughtering them, and their lands, but the artefact is his!”
Ragrim leaned in. “We're not gonna like this are we Yoshihiro.”
Yoshihiro answered honestly. “No. Tell me, have any of you heard of the power cubes?”
A silence surrounded the commanders which was then met with laughter from Tatsuya. “Don’t be silly, that old myth! It's Bullshit.”
“Oh, it’s no myth Tatsuya! It’s true . . . listen well.” Ragrim told of an old forgotten gargoyle tale.
Ragrim told a story that had been much forgotten, a tale involving an ancient race of beings that inhabited Dragons Continent long before Storm and the first dragons showed up. This race of beings was human-like in appearance but could wield magic and boasted incredible powers. They were small in numbers but lived happily amongst each other and from time to time small tribes of them would journey to new lands to seed life and create culture.
“Ancient walkers!” declared Hiroki. “Astaroth would tell me this story! The gargoyles write about them. They call them ancient walkers and they were the first inhabitants of Dragons Continent.”
“That’s right,” confirmed Ragrim. “Well the story is, they created four cubes of magical energy and when gathered, the cubes can be used to summon a great power, and that power would grant one wish upon the lucky individual.”
“Okay, if that’s true, what did these ancient people use the cubes for?” asked Crow.
“That’s the thing, they never did use them!” concluded Ragrim. “They were to only be used in a time of great danger. The ancient walkers disappeared around the same time the first dragons appeared and were never seen again.”
“Did the dragons kill them?” asked Tatsuya.
Ragrim smiled. “No, not at all. Storm protected life, he wouldn’t wipe out an entire race of beings.”
“Then what happened?” asked Crow.
Hiroki answered as Astaroth had told him of this tale. “They are one with the world, if there is no life, they grow weak and perish. They ventured here and found nothing, by the time the dragons showed up, they had all but perished.”
“That makes sense,” declared Yoshihiro. “There were no humans, dwarves, elves or even vampires hundreds of years ago. If they depend on life and the auras of all living things to survive, then yes, they would have been alone and grown weak . . . they would have died.”
Hiroki continued, “The gargoyles believe some survived but used their magics to enter a deep sleep, a hibernation, if you like. They hoped when they woke, there would be life and they could then thrive, ultimately waking upon a new world.”
“Hiroki knows his Gargolic history,” cheered Ragrim. “Astaroth didn’t tell you the most important thing though did he!”
“Go on.” urged Yoshihiro.
“Well, the power that the cubes summon and bestow upon the lucky ones that secure the cubes . . . it's . . . well it’s only a rumour but it’s said to be a dragon! An ancient dragon that sleeps and waits to be woken by the cubes so it can grant the wish of the beings that summon it.”
Tatsuya laughed wildly. “That’s absolute bullshit, I don’t believe it, Storm was the first dragon.”
“No!” argued Ragrim. “The gargoyles believe it to be true, the dragon is said to be as big as a mountain and powerful too!
Tatsuya jousted back, “Does the dragon make you grow taller, and make your cock bigger too?” he roared with laughter at Ragrim’s expense, the dwarf looked furious.
“Enough! I grow bored of children’s tales!” roared Yoshihiro.
Archie asked curiously. “So, what does this myth have to do with Darius?”
Yoshihiro replied in a frustrated tone. “Darius claims one of the warlords is in possession of a power cube!”
Tatsuya bellowed a sigh of frustration. “FUCK . . . why now . . . I’m so close.”
Yoshihiro smiled. “Do not worry Tatsuya, provisions are in place. We will meet with Darius at Cutthroat’s Grasp and earn his trust, luring him in with a false sense of security, and then we will march on Darius’s rivals and slaughter them. When Darius hears of this, he will be pleased.”
Jadar concluded Yoshihiro’s plan. “Then when we return under the guise of handing over the power cube, we will slaughter him!”
Hiroki couldn’t help but ask, “Our army will be fatigued and there will be many wounded after the battle against the rival warlords, how will we then attack again so soon?”
Yoshihiro smiled, only this seemed to be a more loving smile. “Vanya has agreed to aid us and attack Darius with her dragon and elven cavalry.”
This revelation shocked the commanders and explained Yoshihiro’s loving smile, they all knew of Yoshihiro’s love for the elven warrior and that they had fallen madly in love on Swordsman Shores many years ago when training as young teens, however upon completing their combat training fate seemed to pull them apart.
Vanya returned to the elven lands of Storms Wrath and Yoshihiro began slashing his way through every opponent he could find, testing his skills fight after fight. To this day the two had remained close, though Yoshihiro and Vanya had not met for some time and elves, naturally viewing other races as lowly life forms, clearly would not approve of such a union, this would pose a problem for Vanya as she served her king and queen directly. Yoshihiro and Vanya met in secret, but over time, that seemed to stop as well.
“Why would the elves help us?” asked Ragrim.
Yoshihiro responded, “I’ve promised them the power cube.”
The commanders sat in silence pondering on current events until Hiroki said, “This plan seems perfect. We will go to Darius now as planned, earn his trust and march on his rivals, slaughtering all in our wa
y. When we return, we will attack Darius alongside Vanya, and Tatsuya will have his revenge.”
Tatsuya smiled. “The boy has a taste for blood now, you trained him well Yoshihiro.”
“No,” declared Hiroki. “I have a taste for justice. The rewards are worth the risk, we wipe out three evil warlords, take our riches, free the innocent currently being tortured under Darius’s reign and then after, when all this is done, we can unite the centre and prepare for the East!”
“You sound like a leader, young boy!” said Yoshihiro happily. “Okay, it shall be done.”
“I don’t think Vanya will even be needed either,” declared Hiroki as he patted Thunder on his head.
“And why is that boy?” asked Yoshihiro.
“Because my dragon will be fighting with us!” Hiroki explained to his fellow War Hogs of Thunders desire to join them in battle, his lust for battle seemed to be at a point that could no longer be held back and with Thunder now flying and spouting powerful dragon fire, the time had come to unleash his power. It seemed as though Thunder had reached a point of maturity and now this dragonling would indeed follow in the footsteps of many dragons before him and prove why the dragons are to be feared and why they are the true rulers of Dragons Continent.
Thunder spoke, the maturing dragon's golden scales began to glow. “I’ll burn them all, and any warlord that dares challenge us. I will become a grand dragon, the greatest that has ever lived, and through my green fire and all of your skills we will bring the peace Dragons Continent craves.”
Hiroki continued Thunder’s empowering speech. “The time has come to rid the centre of evil, unify the races and meet the East head on.”
Hiroki stood before his commanders and Yoshihiro and declared, “The time is now, let us leave to meet Darius and plot his demise. We will rid the centre of all the warlords and free the innocent they torment so happily! The legacy of the War Hogs has only just begun! It’s time to start killing monsters.”
Hiroki and his allies exited the tent. The War Hogs began making their way to Darius’s settlement and some marched further out to lay down blockades and defences in preparation for the rival warlords who loomed. Yoshihiro, Hiroki and the Cursed Bastards arrived at a spiralling pathway which lead to Cutthroat’s Grasp
Chapter 17:
Cutthroat’s Grasp
Hiroki, Yoshihiro, and the commanders had begun walking a spiralled path and gates of Cutthroat’s Grasp were in sight. The path had been laid to guide visitors to the gates of entry, the path floor was wide and laid with small stones which were shades of greys and whites which crunched upon every step, no different to stones one would find on coastal beach, however this was no beach and Hiroki knew he was about to enter a somewhat unpleasant location.
Leading up to the gates of entry along the path, either side of the spiralling walkway were decapitated heads that had been placed upon timber spikes, the heads had been there for some time though Hiroki could still make out the looks of anguish upon the aged flesh. The cheeks, eyes and tongues were missing. No doubt the crows have had their fill, thought Hiroki as he gazed upon them. The flesh had started to rot and turn green and Hiroki stared upon the heads, the heads of what were once living breathing human beings.
Hiroki glanced at each head as he passed; one head was of middle aged man, bald headed with battle scars, possibly an enemy of Darius’s, imagined Hiroki; another, an elderly man, whose grey hair blew in the morning breeze. No doubt a common thief, Hiroki told himself, and deep within the eye sockets festered newly hatched maggots which were eating away at the rotten flesh. Hiroki passed another head; this head was of a woman and looked fresher than the others. The cheeks, eyes and tongue were still in place, no doubt that crows would come to fill their bellies shortly. The lifeless head of the woman displayed bruises and cuts. She must have been beaten beforehand, thought Hiroki.
As Hiroki and his allies made their way up the path, it was clear nobody was safe from Darius’s rage as the heads varied from man to woman and old to young, the closer to the gates they got, the fresher the heads became, and it seemed as though the lazy guards would use the spikes closest to the entrance with seemingly none of them wanting to walk further along the path of horrors to place the heads upon the free headless spikes, as that would mean a longer walk past rows upon rows of decapitated victims.
Hiroki gazed at Yoshihiro for a few seconds, the decapitated heads didn’t even faze the great swordsman, nor did he even acknowledge them, the other commanders were the same, they were unfazed and focused on the gates ahead and no doubt had seen these types of horrors before.
As they approached the last rows of spikes Hiroki gasped and halted, to his horror were the heads of children that could have been no older than eight years of age, the heads were fresh and looks of confusion and fear were visible on the anguish-soaked faces of the youths.
Yoshihiro and his commanders noticed the look of horror on Hiroki’s face. “I warned you boy, you will see things you will not like . . . numb yourself and walk forward,” commanded Yoshihiro.
Ragrim patted Hiroki on the shoulder. “Come lad, almost there.”
They had almost approached the gates and the sounds of what seemed like a busy market echoed behind the entrance. As they approached, the common tongues of market sellers became clearer as well as the sounds of a mass gathering signalling a huge crowd.
“Sounds like a market,” confirmed Hiroki.
Crow confirmed Hiroki’s thoughts. “Yeah, the market at Cutthroat’s Grasp is famous. There’s nothing you can’t buy here!”
Ragrim’s ears began to burn. “I hear the sound of a smithing station behind those walls, probably shit workmanship and even worse pricing.”
Crow laughed. “Ragrim my brother, let’s be honest here, compared to your work, I’d say most blacksmithing is shit. Don’t compare people to your legendary standards.”
Archie joined in. “Correct Crow! Ragrim, don’t be so harsh on the poor competition. A lion wouldn’t compare its strength to a sheep now would it?
“Too fucking right,” declared Ragrim.
“Sheep indeed,” said Yoshihiro. “And Darius is the shepherd here. Keep your guards up.”
Hiroki and his comrades had made it to the entrance and Yoshihiro signalled them to halt as they made it to the fortified entrance of Cutthroat’s Grasp. It seemed as though the guards had been awaiting them and more appeared from the wall towers looking down at them, the guards looked down upon Hiroki and his friends armed with spears, shields, and crossbows and guards who were on watch at ground level began to approach. Cutthroat’s Grasp was one of the biggest known warlord owned settlements on Centre Plate.
The settlement was surrounded by an impressive defensive wall of thick grey bricks that were solid and weatherproof, the walls were high enough to prevent mass raids and barrages from cavalry and multiple square wall towers adjoined to the walls. The wall towers were unusually big, and it was somewhat impressive that a warlord had managed to acquire and build this much safety, the settlement was indeed a reflection of the power Darius now held. The wall towers no doubt provided an ideal view with guards being able to see any approach from afar and there were bricked square holes in the wall towers for crossbows to be fired from and bigger gaps for bow and shieldman to fire arrows and defend.
Hiroki looked up, he noticed flags mounted on the walls via iron poles and tapestries hanging down the wall towers which bore Cutthroat’s Grasps sigil which was a rat with a blade grasped within its mouth sewn in yellow on black. The gated entrance was of a black cast iron detail that looked thick and sturdy, the sigil had been painted and engraved onto the gate.
Jadar chuckled and whispered to her allies. “A rat, how fitting for you Darius.”
“Enough,” declared Yoshihiro. “Now is the time for calm. The guard’s approach, calm yourselves.”
Tatsuya spoke with a vengeful excitement. “When I get my hands on this cunt, he’s a dead man, I’ll poison this entire fuckin
g shithole too!”
Archie interjected, “Tatsuya, we know of your losses at the hands of this tyrant but there are innocent people here as well.”
Tatsuya didn’t have time to respond as two guards approached. The guards were armoured in half helms, chain mail and bore leather jerkins over their mail which had their sigil sewn in upon the top right corner of their jerkins. The two guards were armed with spears, one was tall and stood at six five, he was yellow toothed with scars visible on his face and was of a broad build, the other was slightly shorter though stood at what must have been a few inches short of six one, he was of a more plump build but looked like a brute, broad chested and stocky.
The shorter guard spoke a commoner’s tongue, Hiroki noticed his two front teeth were missing. “Darius is not fucking happy! He’s been waiting on you for days. If it was anyone else, I’d take your fucking heads!”
Yoshihiro smiled pleasantly and sighed before speaking softly. “Apologies, we were busy celebrating. My apprentice here has now earned his black headband and has proven himself quite the swordsman. We made haste as fast as we could.”
The taller guard stepped forward and scoffed at Yoshihiro, he too spoke in a common tongue. “You fucking swordsman think you’re so great with ya flash katanas and ya girly headbands. Id shit the fucking lot of ya!” The tall brute turned his attention to Hiroki. “You’re a bit young ain’t ya to have one of those black headbands, ya very pretty too, beautiful eyes.”
Hiroki glared at the brute and spoke with a calming tone but with an undertone of rage. “Well I was trained by Yoshihiro Hiroto, the greatest swordsman the Centre Plate has ever seen. I take it even you two knuckle draggers have heard stories of my skills and the endeavours of the War Hogs. Tatsuya smirked, as did Yoshihiro seemingly pleased by the sharp response from the young swordsman.
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