3.1.6.5. Attractions and Distractions

Robert’s party continues their journey through Yggdrasil’s Forest in Thyrine due West to the Thyrine-Escudia border. Lavennia Iris the female elf archer leads the way, but she walks almost like dancing along the path, showing off her flexibility and agility in slipping through narrow passages, while Christopher always lags behind, with his heavy armor and provision backpack as burdens. To his annoyance, Iris always talks along the way, and dominates all discussions, so the rest of the party then choose to be silent and concentrate on the tricky way ahead. The guide doesn’t lead them to easier paths, but at least they are going the right way – they hope. As they arrive at a clearing, Iris is going to walk on, but Robert insists that the party needs rest. Snorting to mock humans’ lesser stamina than elves, Iris ultimately agrees. They come to a halt near a small creek and set their camp there. Robert’s party gathers round the campfire, but without cheerful chats and jokes as usual. They only sit there silently, minding their own businesses. Iris tries to cheer the situation up by telling about herself.

‘I gladly volunteered for this task, you know. Being the best summoner, enchanter, dancer and archer in Thyrine, I was appointed as a guardian of Yggdrasil, The Tree of Life. I was the youngest among them, you know.’

‘But, guarding Yggdrasil is a boring job, I only free when not on my shift, so when our queen gathered the best elves as guides for the chosen heroes, I was the first volunteer, and here I am, guarding you and your gloomy-looking party for this mission.’

Andreas suddenly becomes curious and asks, ‘Well, who else are chosen for this mission? Any well-known heroes among them?’

Iris puts her finger on her temple, and looks up, thinking. Then she quickly says, ‘I’m not supposed to tell you, but yeah, I guess I will if it helps. I only know most of them, especially the very famous ones. Vadis’ champions, to be exact.’

‘Don Hernan y Parvaez, the flamboyant fencer from Escudia. Owner of the Enchanted Mythril Armor.

Viscount Adler von Bachmann from Borgia. He specializes in two-hand swords, so we better be extra careful with him; he is most likely the “heir”.

Paliades, the rich nobleman in Parthenia who employs Eidos Crydias, the most powerful chronomage in Aurelia and an all-resourceful scientist who can construct golems and airships.

Kyflynn, the dark elf assassin with his hunting party.

And of course, the most famous of them all, the crown prince of Arcadia, Alexis Deveraux.’

Robert, Carolyn and Christopher are shocked on hearing Alexis’ name. Robert even mutters ‘Alexis...’ in a vengeful way. It was him who slain Duke Walthorn. Robert pats his trusty steed Paeldagrin and remembers how Duke Walthorn died in battle. As it was done in a battle, Robert can’t help thinking about why one nation claims others, and use force by war for those who won’t submit? What use are conflicts? If it’s for greater prosperity, fair trade can give better results to it. Robert is deep in his thoughts about what he will do if he meets Alexis. Will he kill or be killed by Alexis for vengeance? Will he pretend that he doesn’t know Alexis, or just forgive him and blame the war for it?

Robert is very much distracted by his own dilemmas that he doesn’t pay attention as Iris talks on.

‘The dark forces should’ve sent their champions and hordes. Releasing and unsealing their dark lord is their primary mission. So, besides the traps set by our Enian comrades, we must also fight dark monsters and champions there.’

Iris looks at Robert inquiringly, saying, ‘Robert, are you listening to what I’ve said? This is important!’

‘Yes,’ Robert says. ‘So all we will meet there are our enemies. We don’t know whether our fellow chosen ones really intend to protect the sword, or claim the Deathblade for their own. The “heir” might be one of us. So we need to be extra careful.’

Chris nods disipiritedly, ‘Yeah’. Carolyn doesn’t respond at all, she just stares at Chris with a worried look on her face. The observant Andreas notices this, but before anyone else realizes what’s going on with Chris and Carol, he talks, ‘Well, we are in better grounds now knowing who we’ll be facing. So now, let’s…’

Before he can finish his words, Andreas feels an arrow flies right past the right side of his face. Then, he hears a ‘thud’ and a beastly scream. Andreas looks back instantly, and he sees a cockatrice, an overgrown rooster-like creature being pinned on a tree by an arrow through its throat and unmistakably dead.

Then, still surprised, he quickly looks in front of him, and he sees Robert aiming his crossbow towards him with a bolt on it and Lavennia Iris with an arrowless bow. Andreas is amazed, saying,

‘A cockatrice, here? And you two – just killed it?’

Robert sighs and puts his crossbow and bolt back in his backpack, saying, ‘Ah, Iris shoots faster than me. Who can beat 80 years of training and experience?’

Unexpectedly, Iris tries to be modest. ‘Ah, it’s nothing. Compared to other elves, mine is slow. Anyway, I heard you’re an accomplished swordsman, Robert – in which I’m not. So, shall we move on? We’re getting out of time now.’

Robert’s party moves on, with thoughts in heir heads, to the dangers ahead, to the heart of the sun.

End of Chapter Six

3.1.6.4. The Call of Heroes Part 2 - Adler's Call

In another place, in a castle near Borgian Capital, Freidle, a man is alone, in his training room. He is well-built, as seen clearly with him being bare-chested. He has a very long, blonde hair. One may mistake him as a lady if he sees his back when he wears a robe. He has a handsome, serious and arrogant-looking face, but with a pair of blue eyes that are full of concentration and determination, just like Robert’s.

The training room itself is very sophisticated. There are eight full armors there, including two suspended and stuffed for sword practice. People say that the armors used for practice once belonged to the lord of this castle’s enemies, and those displayed are favourites for his collection or his own use.

Various weapons are hanging on the wall and are kept on stands : Halberds, spears, axes, clubs, morning stars, short and long swords and bows, and the jewel of his collections : numerous two-hand swords, Claymores*) and Flamberges**). It seems he favors two-hand swords above all else in his arsenal and now he trains with one of it.

He slashes and swings Ulcergash, his Flamberge in different ways and variations. Enough with basic moves, he starts to practice his special skills.

Firstly, he swings his Flamberge in rotations, making a whirlwind effect just like Christopher’s: Whirlwind Slash. The effect itself is much greater and more effective with two-hand swords, providing both defense and offense in the same time.

Footnote :

(* Claymore: A broad great sword, can be used for hitting beside slashing. Made for power not art, Claymore is quite blunt and rough in its making. It is also known as ‘Horse-Splitter’, literally, with the rider and his armor also count.

(** Flamberge: A great sword with a rather wriggly blade like a big kris dagger. Named so because it looks like a flame as its blade. Those who are stabbed or slashed by its wriggly blade will get ulcers and infections on their wounds in addition of the damage by blade.

Then, he swings his Flamberge horizontally from his overhead forwards very quickly, making five lines of sharp energy blows spreading into five directions – Fingers of the Blade.

Satisfied with the result of this, he continues with the style that originally used for two one-hand swords – Phoenix Wings. He runs forwards slashing his Flamberge multiple times left and right. He sighs a bit after he finished – he still can’t reach the speed desired to make the effect tighter and unblockable. Maybe I must try two swords instead… Ah well, more practice then…

Then he tries several quick thrusts: Tusks of Myriad Elephants; Pouncing Tiger Bash, a finishing jumping overhead bash, and lastly, a beautiful combo of all the skills he practiced earlier, which he named: The Shattering of Heaven and Earth. This combo is so lethal and unavoidable, unless you have wings and flies beyond the clouds or dig your way down to the core of the earth. After all those spectacular moves, the long-haired man still stands tall and firm, he doesn’t pant at all. Of course he is only refining his techniques and only using twenty percent of his power, because if he puts full force on any of his moves, he will have to renovate or build another training room.

Just then he hears knocking sounds at the door. The man immediately yells, ‘Is that you, Jorgand?’

‘Yes, master Adler. A guest is waiting for you at the front door.’

Adler cuts in, ‘Have you asked for his name, occupation and business?’

‘Of course, master. Every time. His name is Orlevant, a lieutenant-general and noble elf from Thyrine, and he comes to give you a letter from Queen Carolyn of Thyrine and receives your answer in return.’

‘Hmm… good enough. Let him in, and tell him to wait for me in the front room. I need to change my clothes first.’

‘Your biddings will be done, master.’

Soon afterwards, Jorgand the butler escorts Orlevant the elf messenger into the front room, where he waits for quite some time. Then Adler comes into the room, wearing his daily tunic. The elf salutes Adler very politely and gracefully, but Adler doesn’t gesture back before surveying the elf with his eyes for a couple of seconds. Adler salutes back after he’s satisfied, and says, ‘Please take a seat.’

The elf doesn’t respond with the rudeness in Adler’s tone, but he sits immediately and carefully waits for Adler to sit and talk again.

‘Well, noble elf. What tidings do you bring, honoring me with your visit?’

‘I bring a message from Queen Carolyn of Thyrine to Viscount Adler von Bachmann, Lord of the Thull-Bergam district in The Kingdom of Borgia. May I presume that you are him, Lord Adler?’

‘I am Adler, noble elf. Now please relate the message to me.’

‘Here it is. Please read this letter first, and then give your answer to our queen.’

Orlevant hands Adler the red envelope with the same Vadis’ holy seal on the letter inside. Adler receives it with a mild surprise on his eyes but hides it with a serious expression on his face. Adler opens the letter, and reads the contents which are the same with Robert’s and Hernan’s. After a long while, Adler rubs his chin as though contemplating, and then says,

‘This is a mission from Thyrine, while I am an officer of Borgia. I am not a subject of Queen Carolyn and any foreign kingdoms and she can’t ask my aid unless the king of Borgia gave her permission to do so.’

‘Forgive my impoliteness, Lord Adler, but the seal and contents are all from The Holy Unison of Vadis and Enia itself. Queen Carolyn only relayed the message from the Pope Xylen to me, as I relayed it to you, and she has appointed me as your guide to enter Enia’s Sanctum and pass through the traps within. The Pope doesn’t need permission from kings because we are spiritually subject to The Pope, as we are the followers of the light.’

‘Hmm… very well then. Although I’m not quite a Vadis-Enia follower, I’ll take this mission and try my best to prevent the so-called “heir” from claiming the sword. A Zweihänder***)… Deathblade, or in elvish, Kraal’Shazar. A legendary sword once wield by a Borgian, although that man has dishonored and tainted Borgian history by his foul doings.’

‘May Enia’s blessings be with you, Lord Adler.’

‘And you will be my guide, right? We’ll set off tomorrow morning then. It’s good to travel again and put my training to a good use.’

(*** Zweihänder: Borgian terminology for two-hand great swords.

3.1.6.4. The Call of Heroes (Part 1) - Hernan's Call

Somewhere in a forest, a man is standing in front of a band of gnolls, brutal half-human monsters with heads like horses. The man is tall, handsome, with a neatly trimmed moustache, beard and ponytail. He’s wearing a fine blue tunic, making his appearance more like a flamboyant nobleman than a traveler. The gnolls snarl fiercely, and without a word, the man rushes swiftly towards them with a rapier on his hand.

One gnoll throws a boomerang at him, and he deflects it almost lazily with his rapier. Then another gnoll leaps high, and darts towards the man, rolling its body, making a spiraling move with its short sword held in front of it. But before the short sword reaches the man, it stops in mid-air. Apparently, the rapier already went into the gnoll’s throat, a superbly accurate thrust from the man.

More gnolls rush closer to attack the man together. Now it’s impossible for the man to attack the gnolls one-by-one, so with a word, ‘Tchah!’ he launches his killing blow, Requiem of the Tides, a multiple high-precision lunges to the fatal spots the opponents with no unnecessary moves. With water elemental property in that blow, it creates visual effect as though a huge ocean wave that can wreck large ships and even sever rocks during a hurricane. The blow’s sound effect is so melodious, like a requiem for the ones it sent off this world, sometimes accompanied by the screams of death from the victims of this deadly tune – these gnolls for instance.

Soon the path is filled with dead gnolls laying scattered, hanging on the trees, some with severed heads and body parts. The single blow alone slew six gnolls, leaving one survivor. The surviving gnoll is obviously terrified and immediately turns and runs away, screaming, to save its life. But the man who has killed all its comrades in no more than a blink of an eye doesn’t intend to spare any mercy to this half-human, horse-headed monster. No mercy for those who don’t give mercy.

With that thought the man springs forward, turning his body, making the spiraling move and lunges his rapier forward. And the rapier finds its target on the gnoll’s back, and the tip of it sticks out from its chest. The gnoll is still a gnoll, except now it’s dead.

The man immediately pulls his rapier out, and wipes the bloody tip with a cloth he brings with him at all times, thinking, this trick I just learned is not quite accurate and waste lots of energy but the power of the thrust is amplified threefold. I think I’ll refine this move and name it… Whirlpool Polonaise Thrust. Yeah, that’s it for the moment. Then he moves towards someone standing by a tree there, apparently it’s the damsel he saved just now. The damsel wears a green riding hood, and she instantly removes her hood to show her fair face and long pointy ears – an elf.

The man is surprised, but the elf instantly tries to calm him by saying, ‘Thank you for saving me, Don Hernan y Parvaez. Pretty impressive display with your Albatross Rapier, I daresay. And before you say anything else, let me explain first by this letter for you here.’

And she hands Hernan a red envelope.

‘You can consider this your reward, wearer of the Mythril Armor of Eil’thanath. I’ll accompany and guide you if you agree to do this mission.’

Without further ado, Hernan opens his envelope and reads the letter inside it. The letter is the same as Robert’s, except of the recipient’s name.

‘Very well, I’ll do it.’

‘May Enia’s blessings be with you.’

‘Haha. With a divinely beautiful elf like you to accompany me, I’ll go even to the hell and fight Sodomos himself.’

Having known Hernan’s reputation for flirting any pretty girl he encounters although he’s married, and preferring male elves than men, the elf responds with a cold smile, and starts to walk away, saying, ‘This way then. Follow me.’

Hernan follows her eagerly. Then he sees his own tunic and finds some more rips on it, revealing parts of the impenetrable, yet lightweight and cloth-like armor, the Escudo (Mythril) Armor of Eil’thanath.

‘But first I need a new tunic. This one is ruined,’ says Hernan.

‘Suit yourself,’ the elf responds coldly, avoiding Hernan’s flirting gaze upon her.

3.1.6.3. Temperance Saves the Fool (Part 2)

Chris is shocked and tries to slash through it, but two other imps seize Chris’ hands. As death is very, very near, suddenly something sticks out from the imp’s mouth. It’s an arrow. The imp is dead before it can scream. Before Chris can even blink a shower of arrows comes and finds its targets. The imps surrounding Chris fall like dry leaves from the trees.

Chris is amazed, and knowing that he’s given a chance, he holds his Wyrthal with two hands, launches multiple slashes while rotating his body several times, creating a whirlwind around his body, accurately cutting several imps into pieces.

The rest of the imps are terrified and run away, scattering everywhere. Chris sighs in relief. It seems someone saved his life. Before he can see who his savior is, Chris hears someone clapping hands in a distance.

Chris turns back and he sees a girl sitting on a tree branch. Chris approaches, trying to get a better look on her. The girl looks like in her early teens, beautiful, clad in a beautiful dress that also functions as armor with shoulder pads. She has a unique green hair with two ponytails, and a pair of beautiful, big, green eyes. And she is apparently not a girl at all; she’s a she-elf. Her long, pointy ears flutters as she talks loudly,

‘Whirlwind Slash! Bravo, very impressive! I didn’t reckon any human can do that, did I?’

She swings her legs playfully and lazily.

Chris is surprised on this remark, but he decides to be polite in front of this beautiful elf.

‘Er, thank you for saving my life, miss...’

‘Iris. Lavennia Iris’ the name. And you?’

‘Cristo... er, Christopher.’

‘No family name?’

‘Er... no, just call me Chris.’

‘I thought humans ought to have family names. Christopher, Chris... what a DREADFUL name for a handsome man like you.’

Chris blushes as Iris pauses in thought and then she continues,

‘Hmmm.... maybe Ariel, yeah. Ariel should be perfect.’

‘Eww... If you don’t mind, Miss Iris, Ariel’s great, but I prefer my own name. It’s more familiar.’

Iris’ face changes at once. She glares at Chris and says curtly, ‘Your name’s Ariel! I deliberately took it from our Great Defender, The Archangel Avariel! Don’t you dare insult my judgment!’

‘Ok! Ok! I got it. Ariel. Yeah.’

‘Well, now that I saved your life, I need you to do several things for me to return the favor. The first thing I need you to do is, collect all the arrows you can find around here and give them to me. I’ve enchanted them, so I’ll need them again, you know!’

Hadn’t she saved Chris’ life earlier, Chris would utter curses to her and call her ‘a lazy mommy’s girl’. So, naturally, the curses never come out from Chris’ mouth, and without speaking or showing any protest, Chris goes on plucking each and every arrow from the imps’ carcasses. And Iris just leans back, resting her shoulders lazily on the tree trunk.

And suddenly Iris’ long ears are fluttering again. It seems she hears noises from afar. Judging that the noises are not hostile, she leans back, watching Chris wearily tries to pull out the enchanted arrows that penetrated deep in the dead imps. Her long ears flutter again, and Iris smiles with satisfaction, thinking, those must be Ariel’s friends.

And she is right. Iris sees Chiel the micha cheerfully flies towards her and then perches on her outstretched hands and open palms. Iris speaks softly and in a friendly way,

‘Hello again, cute little micha, darling of Yggdrasil.’

Chiel responds to her affectionately, ‘Chi... chichi... chiii!’

‘Your master’s right there, safe and sound as I promised.’ Iris points at Christopher.

Chiel immediatley flies towards Christopher, lands on top of Chris’ head. And the micha’s body begins to glow and the energy ring appears again on top of its head, a soft, serene glow with an effect to rejuvenate and invigorate the whole body from weariness and minor injuries.

Chris’ wounds are totally healed, and he doesn’t feel hungry and tired anymore. But instead of thanking Chiel, Chris grumbles, ‘I should’ve known,’ and goes on collecting the arrows, ignoring Chiel altogether. Chiel puts on a sad face, and returns to Iris for comfort. Iris pats Chiel as though it is her pet, saying, ‘Don’t worry. Your master loves you, and I kinda like him too.’

As soon as it is said, Robert, Carolyn and Andreas arrive at the spot and cannot believe their eyes: Dead imps all over the place, and Chris collecting arrows from the carcasses.

Carolyn yells, ‘CHRISTOPHER! What are you doing here?’

Christopher doesn’t turn towards Carolyn and doesn’t answer, only points upwards to the trees. Carolyn and the others are confused, and Robert intuitively looks upon the trees and finds Lavennia Iris the elf is still sitting there.

Iris smiles on seeing Robert and says, ‘Praise Enia, we meet at last, Robert Chandler. I’m your agent and guide.’

Robert only stares at Iris without showing any surprise or excitement, only a cold face, and he feels a bit irritated. Iris leaps down from the tree with a double somersault to wrap the show up. Iris looks around for anyone clapping hands at her spectacular move or staring at ther with awe, but no one is doing either of it. So, with a sour face she talks on.

‘Hmph. Looks like I’m going to work with boring people here.’

Carolyn reacts on seeing Iris, ‘Who said you’re going to work with us, you swindlin’ boyfriend-snatcher!?’

Iris looks at Carolyn mockingly. ‘Well, isn’t this my dear ex-friend, Carolyn? What are you doing here, sticking with these bore-me-to-death guys? Somebody wiped out all your boyfriends in Thyrine?’

Carolyn is real angry with Iris and says, ‘Yeah, you did! Every time I was close to anybody, you always stepped in and charmed them away! Uuh, you really deserve a lesson! Agnios!’

Carolyn points her magic stick towards Iris and shots at Iris with a fireball. Iris wards it off easily with a lazy flick of her hand that created a wind that blew it off midway. Iris chuckles amusingly, saying, ‘What, only this? Several years of hiding in Valanis only for this? You didn’t show this when you return to Thyrine, you just ran away after I beat you in charming boys. How pathetic!’

Carolyn reaches the peak of her anger and is about to cast a more powerful spell, saying ‘Pyroagni...’ as Robert moves in front of her, saying, ‘STOP THAT, Carol!’

Ashamed with herself, Carolyn withdraws her magic stick and only stares at Iris with anger. ‘Let me deal with her,’ says Robert diplomatically. Then he turns towards Iris and says,

‘Miss Iris, we thank you for finding our friend Christopher and... saving him as well. As for your task to guide us to Enia’s Sanctum, please tell your queen that we are not interested. You can guide other hunters for this mission.’

With a disappointed look on her face, Iris responds, ‘But, you don’t understand the importance of this mission, Robert. You’re right on one thing, the risk is too high and the percentage of success is near to naught, but mind that the future of our world depends on it. If we fail to stop the heir, he will swarm this world with scourge and darkness, and your next missions will be guaranteed more risky and death-assuring than this. The spirit of Vordac cannot depart to the underworld where Sodomos already rule supreme. He is meant for this world only, and he can possess anyone or anything and able to select his body at will. No one can find a way to destroy him completely until now, so the only way is to contain him in a relic and guards it with the very best measures we can find, and the efforts of all the heroes of light can bring. Think about your loved ones, protect them, their survival depend on you. So, what say you?’

Andreas says, ‘She’s right. The future and safety of our world is in our hands. Vadis and Enia provide the way, the means – and the guide – to do this, but the thing that really counts is our efforts. We were chosen, so we have no other choice but to do our best; and may Vadis and Enia bless us so we can accomplish this mission safe and sound.’

Carolyn nods. Chris, who just finished collecting the arrows, joins in and listening to all this and adds a comment, ‘This is not only a golden chance to gain fame and glory, this is a struggle to keep the good things going, and I’m already at it all the way although I’m not chosen. So you guys, please help me.’

Robert puts his hand on this chin, and after thinking for a while he decides, ‘Very well, then. Iris, please guide us to Enia’s Sanctum. Although I smell something fishy about this mission and I foresee a trap, but traps won’t stop us. So keep your eyes open, keep yourselves alive and don’t sacrifice your life unless it’s worth it.’

Iris says, ‘Well said, Robert Chandler. We better set off now; we’re running out of time. Follow me, I’ll find you a shelter safe enough to rest for the day, safe from the monsters that desecrate Yggdrasil’s Forest. Oh, yeah, Chris,’ she receives the arrows Chris collected and puts them back in her quiver. ‘Thanks for collecting the arrows for me. It’s really nice of you.’

Iris hugs Chris with one hand and kisses Chris on his lips. Chris is shocked, but a moment later he seems to enjoy it. It’s more shocking for Robert and Andreas, especially Carolyn. Iris must’ve thought that Chris is Carolyn’s new boyfriend from the similarities of their hairs end eyes, so Iris is going to snatch this ‘boyfriend’ away and makes Carolyn jealous on purpose. If it is really so, well, Iris kissed the wrong guy because Carolyn prefers Robert as her ideal kind of man compared with Christopher, ‘the sore loser’. Carolyn tries not to pay attention by giving an apple to Chiel the micha as a reward for its success in tracking Christopher down. Chiel receives the apple happily, but as it can’t hold it in its two tiny, short hands, it swallows the whole apple, inflating its body like an apple-shaped balloon. That makes Carolyn laugh.

3.1.6.3. Temperance Saves the Fool (Part 1)

It’s a dark, dense forest. The forest seems different than the Lumien Forest in Lore. The trees are much bigger, and grow in very tight formations, only leaving narrow passages and gaps between them. And it’s of course darker there than Lumien, as the sunlight is more shaded. It’s darker now that it’s almost evening, and one should wish to find himself a good and secure shelter before he can’t see a thing around him at night.

So, the one who dares to tread in the dark forest full of wild animals and savage monsters alone, without sufficient equipments, provisions and even a torch is indeed foolish. And the one who’s foolish enough to do so is Christopher. It’s been three days since he left Robert and his friends in Ingvhus.

Chris is wondering why he came into this place. He had followed the map carefully: walk due south from Borgia, and then as you find a dense forest below the mountains, walk due West, following the mountains. As Chris can’t see the sun in the dense forest and he doesn’t have a compass (Carolyn’s magic staff and Chiel can also function as a magical compass), he should’ve found himself a guide and not relying on the map alone. So, at the end of the day, Chris realizes that he’s lost. He sees the sun sets, but not in front of him, but on his right. So all day he only walk farther south, not west.

Now he’s real frustrated. His rations are depleted, he’s too fatigued he can’t hunt, the trees are too high and large to reach by his sword – they are not fruit trees anyway. Soon he will only depend on leaves, worms and dew to live on. Here he is in the middle of nowhere, penniless, hungry, alone, and pretty much helpless.

Chris is too exhausted, so he sits on a gigantic root of a very large tree, drinking what’s left in his water bottle – and grunts because of unquenched thirst. He wishes he is somewhere else, in a place of comfort and love, a place he can call home rather than this maze of trees full of uncertainty and danger.

Darn, I’m lost, Christopher thinks. I don’t know where to go from here. It all looks the same everywhere. He leans against the big tree and closes his eyes with gritted teeth. Chris, you’re doomed.

Chris tries to take a rest, while he is still deep in regret and distress. He is quite unaware of anything around him, particularly several blinking eyes watching him in the darkness, under the bushes, on top of the trees and in the darker parts of the forest. As Chris closes his eyes for a while, the watchers think that he’s fast asleep and they spring out from their hiding places.

Apparently, the watchers are forest imps, monkey-like monsters with odd-shaped faces and ears, large mouth, sharp fangs, and abnormally long tails and tongues. Their tails are extremely useful to hang on trees, catch their preys and strangle them to death, and move from a tree to another. They’re carnivorous and very savage. They prey on anything or anyone as long as it’s fleshy, and tend to be cannibals when food is very scarce. There are about 30-40 of them, moving silently from above and under the trees and past the bushes towards Chris.

As they loom closer, they bare their fangs, ready to deliver a deadly surprise. A second later, nearly in unison, they scream – a deafening, eerie scream – that means food for them and death for the others.

Chris is startled and terror-struck to see such multitude. He draws his sword Wyrthal as quickly as he can, but he barely swipes it as the imps jump on him from every direction, scratching, and biting. Lucikly their teeth cannot pierce into Chris’ armor, but now they’re aiming for the unprotected parts of Chris’ body – the head and the neck.

Chris swipes his Wyrthal in every direction, and manages to cut an imp’s tail strangling his neck. Under such pressure, he forgets to use his newly trained defensive move, Whirlwind Slash against them. Then suddenly one imp leaps towards Chris right in front of his face, baring its fangs as though is going to swallow Chris’ head as a whole.

3.1.6.2. The Red Envelope and the Treasure Map (Part Two)

Meanwhile, Robert has just finished his bath in the inn bathroom and walks to his room. His face looks a bit relaxed, but he can’t stop thinking why a girl can make him adapt a healthy, clean lifestyle he hated, that was compelled to him during his service to Duke Walthorn and his days in the Marlham Palace.

‘Bathing at least once a day is for royalties, for Vadis’ sake. For us commoners and adventurers, once a week or once a month is just satisfactory for a perfect health. And this “cooked well done” meal policy... In the forests, the options are only “medium rare” or “burnt black”. Huh, are you a royalty or something? Just loosen yourself, will you, and learn the ways of the hunter.’ Robert once said that in an argument with Carolyn.

To this, Carolyn responded with, ‘This is for your own good, Rob. A healthy habit will max up your hunting performance. You need to stand against the competition and face danger every day, right? Get the job done before anybody else. You need to be thankful that I didn’t force you to be a vegetarian.’

‘But, I’m at the max of my performance!’

‘No, you’re not. Remember Grad.’

Andreas who was listening to them at that time added a comment, ‘Aye, she’s got a point, you know.’

Robert plainly can’t make up any more excuses to win the argument. His face expression stayed cool, and he kisses his ring habitually.

‘I take that as “agreed”,’ said Carolyn in triumph.

Robert’s recollection ends as he reaches the door to his room. Sighing, he opens the door and goes inside. As he rubs his towel on his hair to make sure his hair is dry enough, he glimpses onto his table and surprise comes on his face.

He sees a strange red envelope lying there. Robert comes closer and although his face resumes being expressionless as usual, Robert does feel curious and cautious to go near the envelope, even to open it. The envelope has the name ‘Robert Chandler, Monster Hunter’ written on it. Robert tears the envelope open. Only a piece of parchment is inside. The parchment is blank, but then dots of ink appear on it, forming a series of words. Robert thinks this must be an enchanted letter, a very important letter written and sent by a very important person. Only kings and anyone important than a king use this.

So, as the words are complete, Robert reads the letter. There’s no signature and sender’s name on it. No seal or anything. Robert reads the letter anyway, and then his eyes are widened, his expression changes to a mild surprise. Robert then closes the letter and takes it with him as he walks out from his room towards Father Andreas’ room.

He hears Father Andreas in there with Carolyn. They are praying with murmuring voices. Robert can’t hear what they say clearly, although anyone can pray to Vadis with any language he or she is fluent with. Robert just stands in front of the room, and waits there because it is inappropriate to interrupt a praying in progress. Maybe this is the answer of their prayer, Robert thinks, staring at the envelope on his hand.

The praying finishes in a while. Robert comes in and finds Father Andreas and Carolyn on their knees on the floor. Andreas sees Robert and says, ‘Hi, Rob, what’s up?’

Robert answers, ‘Hmm. The next time you two want to pray together, be sure to call me, okay? We’re a party, and we’re like a family. So I have the right to know what’s going on...’

Andreas interrupts him hastily, saying, ‘Oh, ‘twas nothing, really. Carolyn just came here to ask about... er... some Vadisian dogmas. Just a little thirst to quench, it’s no big deal. So, what’s on your mind?’

Robert feels that Andreas is trying to hide something from him, but he decides not to inquire about this any further, as there’s a more pressing matter at hand. He talks,

‘I just found a letter in a red envelope on my desk, with my name on it. It has no sender’s name, and I think we’ve got a job from a mysterious person. Here, take a look.’

Robert puts the envelope on the table. Carolyn picks it up and is going to read it, but she sees no word on it. She exclaims with surprise,

‘Hey, this letter is blank! And you said you’ve read it?’

‘Yes. The letters appeared by the time I saw it.’

Andreas says with a nod, ‘Hmm. This letter is enchanted. Only the person it is addressed can read this. We apply this magic in Valanis. I happened to write this sort of letter, by Pope Xylen’s order. But anyone other than the pope can send this letter. She never used red envelopes before.’

‘It seems I have to read it to you guys,’ Robert concludes, taking the letter and reads it to his comrades. The letter says,

To whom this may concern;

We hereby ask you to undertake this urgent task of great importance. This concerns the future and the people of Aurelia. The great sword of Deathblade Zweihänder is known as the confinement of the vanquished Dark Lord Vordac’s spirit. We just heard a rumor that a person that is appointed by The Dark Lord as his ‘heir’ is attempting to retrieve the sword, use it, free The Dark Lord’s spirit and become Vordac’s new host.

So, please stop him. Kill him, as he is as corrupted as Adair, the Sodomos himself. The sword is kept in Enia’s Sanctum, in a dormant volcano in Western Aurelia. One of our agents will find you, give you directions and guide you there. If you succeed, you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams by the grace of Vadis and Enia.

May Vadis’ blessing be with you and takes you to safety and success in your mission.

The letter has The Pope of Valanis’ seal on its bottom. Carolyn reacts after Robert finished reading the letter, ‘Enia’s Sanctum! Enia, the Mother of Eternia! I was from Thyrine, and my mother sent me to Valanis to learn Vadisian instead of Enian! And this place, even we Thyrinians don’t know where it is! These ‘agents’ must be the selected few who actually know where the place is! We MUST do this mission – just skip the rewards – by Vadis’ sake!’

Andreas puts his hand on his chin, rubbing his beard with his fingers. He is thoughtful at the moment, trying to recall any information in his memory and link this to this matter at hand. Robert and Carolyn is thoughtful too, they must calculate every risk and prepare for anything.

‘This Vordac’s heir must be powerful,’ Robert says.

‘But no one, even the sender knows not who he is. So they invite each and every possible person with power, and one among them must be him,’ says Andreas.

‘But how can we determine Vordac’s heir among the invitees? Remember, they all will go there to “protect” the sword.’

‘It’s a mystery. The heir can be you or me. The answer is there, hidden in our hearts. I think our best bet is anyone who wants to use the sword. The Deathblade is known as an all-powerful enchanted two-hand sword, once wielded by the Invader of Arcadia, Duke Mildred Urganon, bastard son of The Archmage of Chaos, Mandrach Urganon. A jet-black sword, with a winged devil carved on its hilt. A true rival for the Angelic Sword of Justice with an angel carved on its hilt.’ Andreas keeps trying to recall anything he knows about Deathblade Zweihänder and its grim history.

Carolyn cuts in, ‘So, the Deathblade itself can be the reward, right? I mean, the heir may only free Vordac’s spirit without wanting to use the sword. Without Vordac’s spirit, the sword can be used by anyone without having to be Vordac’s heir. So, the only way we can find out is to go there and choose which side we wanted to be in: sword protectors or sword claimers. I heard some traps are also set there too, and some powerful monsters also guard it.’

Robert responds, ‘So, we can choose to stay out of this responsibility and resume our lives and professions, no matter how good or how bad the situation may get.’

Carolyn nods. ‘Yes, we can let the others do the dirty job ‘for mankind’ and get the whole package of glory, wealth and fame. But I’m afraid Chris won’t stay out of this. He’ll go for the sword, with or without us.’

Andreas sighs, ‘Ah, that greedy chap is going to be our doom. Anyway, we haven’t seen him since morning. I wonder where he is now.’

Carolyn snorts, ‘No need to worry about him. He’s a big boy, he’ll be home when all his pocket money are all spent, fooling around in the town.’

‘Uh-huh. All we have to do now is prepare for anything, and wait for the so-called ‘agent’ to find us, and then we can say to him that we’re not interested to take the mission. It’s settled then.’ Robert finally made a decision.

‘But we have to tell Chris about this too, because – like it or not – he’s one of us.’ Andreas reminds them.

As soon as they finished talking about it and change to another subject: whether they should leave town tomorrow or take a job or two again, the door springs open. It’s Chris. He hurriedly comes in and talks real fast and gasps, as though he’s out of breath.

‘Oh, here you are, Rob. And you guys too! Man, I’ve searched in your rooms! Guys, check this out! This is the quest of our lifetime!’ Chris takes out something from his pocket and spreads it in front of his comrades.

‘What is this? A treasure map or something?’ says Carolyn.

‘This IS a treasure map!’

‘It’s a bad children’s drawing if you ask me, a bad phony map to fool babies.’ says Andreas.

‘Hey, I paid a fortune for this, you know! I know this map is for real!’

‘How much did you pay for this, Chris?’ Robert asks patiently.

‘Well... eleven crowns.’

‘WHAT?’ Carolyn looks enraged. ‘That’s almost all your pocket money for this month! How come you can be so stupid?’

‘Gee, that geezer who sold me this map said it’s worth fifty crowns, but I said I only have ten, so after much haggling he finally gave up and sold me this map.’

Robert asks again, ‘Did he tell you what sort of treasure plotted in this map?’

‘Errr... honestly I didn’t hear him quite clearly, I was heavily drunk at that time. He did mention something about an ancient sword... once wielded by a king... and it’s worth a zillion times more than the ten crowns I’ve spent.’

‘Hmmm... This is interesting.’ Robert puts his hand below his chin on hearing this. ‘Maybe he’s the “agent” we’re looking for.’

‘Huh? What agent? Is there something I don’t know?’

‘And now we’re telling you about it, and sooner if you didn’t come late.’

Robert tells Chris all about the letter with the red envelope, and the mysterious mission.

‘And now that we’ve got the map from the agent, what are we waiting for? Let’s search for it, and guard it from the so-called “heir of a devil”. And if in any case the spirit is freed from it, we can still use the sword, right? Or sell it for a fortune.’ Chris is as excited as a schoolboy as he says it.

‘No, Chris. We’re not going to undertake it.’ says Robert.

Chris is open-mouthed with disbelief, and he protests...

‘How can you guys make such decision? I’ve paid a fortune for this map! And this is the big thing we’ve been waiting for since our escape from Grad! I say we take it, and follow this map!’

‘No, Chris. I smell something fishy about this mission. We don’t know from whom we received this letter. What if the sender neglects to give us the reward if we succeed? And the odds will be a million to zero, that if we can still be alive. Think, Chris! Another big job will come sooner or later, and we better be straight and safe for now. Hunting down Sheena Mekh’ta is our top priority right now. Sorry for your allowance, but the answer is still no.’

Chris can’t contain himself any longer. He bangs the table, shouting,

‘THAT’S IT! I’m sick and tired of you! Yippin’ and yappin’ all around, but when a big opportunity comes, you guys just back off? Some hunting party! Huh! I’m outta here!’

Saying that, Chris snatches the map from Andreas’ hand and hurriedly gets out from the room, slamming the door behind him. Robert is indifferent; Carolyn and Andreas get up and try to stop him. But Chris already locked himself inside his room. Andreas sighs and says, ‘Hmph. Maybe a night’s sleep will get Chris back to his senses.’ Carolyn shakes her head disapprovingly.

‘I won’t count on that. Trust me, he won’t. He’ll go daringly, searching the sword by himself, I know him’.

‘But it’s not wise to break the door, barge into his room and make a fuss to force him to change his mind. It won’t get any better but worse.’

‘You’re right, father.’ Carolyn sighs, ‘Oh well, guess we’ll have to wait until morning so he’ll be in a cooler head by then.’

==oOo==

The next day, early in the morning, Carolyn goes to Christopher’s room. She knocks the door, saying, ‘Wake up, Chris! Hey, wake up!’

There’s no answer.

‘Get your lazy butt up now! We’ve decided to leave town today to avoid the agents as far away as possible, and you better get prepared now! We’ll leave at seven!’ *)

(* Note that this story uses time measurement that’s similar to modern Earth time, thanks to the Parthenian time mages who invented it.)

Still no answer.

Carolyn eventually loses her patience and she starts to bang on the door, and the door opens as she does that. It’s not locked. Carolyn goes in, and finds no one there. She is highly furious and walks out from Chris’ door, stamping her feet as Robert comes near. He asks Carolyn without showing any surprise on his face.

‘What’s going on, Carol? You look mad!’

‘Chris is gone! He has deserted us!’

‘What?’ Robert is a bit surprised. ‘No way. Maybe he’s taking a morning stroll to clear his mind.’

‘No, no. Believe me, he’s gone! I knew him. And he took all his things too! And no farewell note!’

‘That’s a very stupid thing to do. It’s a sheer suicide, going there without proper qualifications or very strong companions.’ Andreas says that, arriving at the spot on hearing Carolyn’s yells.

Robert says, ‘Naturally, other people will see him as a liability and let him go to his doom. But I have chosen him; I’ve sworn to guide him so he can be independent and dependable. So we better search for him.’

Andreas replies, ‘You’re right. A liability or not, he’s one of us. The only trouble is, we don’t know where to start. The map is with him.’

‘And without me to point the directions, Chris will be lost anywhere he goes.’ Suddenly Carolyn comes up with an idea. ‘Hey, we can use Chiel to track him down. He can sense Chris’ aura from a great distance, so we can follow him.’

Andreas claps his hands in awe. ‘Haha, good idea, Carol. Fabulous animal, that Micha. I was right to entrust him to you, after all.’

No sooner than it’s said, Chiel the micha comes flying into the corridor, with a loud, continuous ‘chi, chi, chiii...’ voice as though it wants Robert, Andreas and Carol to follow it.

‘...and great instinct, too.’ Andreas’ eyes are widened. ‘C’mon, let’s pack, don’t waste any more time, let’s follow him!’

They quickly pack their things, settle the payments at the front desk and walk quickly to follow Chiel. Andreas talks on with awe, ‘He must’ve followed Chris at a distance, and returned to us when he’s sure where Chris is going to.’

3.1.6.2. The Red Envelope and the Treasure Map (Part One)

Two months after their escape from Grad, Robert Chandler and his hunting party keep on doing hunting jobs in Borgia. With a new addition, Andreas Marvellini the healer, Robert’s party becomes more active and they can finish their hunts a lot quicker and easier than before. Andreas Marvellini’s good nature and a fair sense of humor also add cheerfulness in their journeys.

There’s still no lead or clue whatsoever of Sheena Mekh’ta’s whereabouts. They don’t know about Sheena’s defeat against Kyflynn’s party. No clues in the taverns either, because Sheena’s party avoided the towns and returned straight to their hideout to regroup with her remaining gang members.

So, here they are, Robert, Carolyn, Chris and Andreas, hunting monsters and criminals for bounty, or simply to help the helpless. Chris’ swordplay is getting better and better, thanks to Robert’s constant training and motivation boost from Andreas. He gradually gains better ground in spars with Robert, now that he mastered Sword Bash and Three-point Chain Strike skill.

One clear day, Robert and Andreas come into the hunters’ guild at Ingvhus, a newly developed town in Borgia that enjoys fast progress because it is located at the trade route and between Arcadia, Borgia, Thyrine and Regia. They are carrying two large sacks. They go directly into the proof collection room, and take out the contents of their sacks - goblin and dire wolf’s heads - on the floor.

The clerks count them, a total of seven goblin’s heads and five dire wolf’s heads, and an ample supply of dire wolf ankle bones. Another clerk scribbles and signs a receipt and hands it to Andreas to be exchanged with money at the cashier. And soon they come out from the guild with a small purse of money. They deposit part of the money in Melchior Safehouse and Warehouse, and bring back the rest for daily use.

They go back to the inn and take a rest for the day before browsing for the next job tomorrow or go to the next city in pursuit and search of Sheena Mekh’ta and her gang.

Carolyn is already there in the inn. As the bookkeeper of the party, she is responsible of managing finances, allowances, and supplies. She is scribbling something in her ledger, as Andreas puts the money in the table in front of her, saying, ‘I can use some money. My staff needs polishing.’

Carolyn says, ‘Of course.’ She counts the money, writes in her ledger, and gives some to Andreas with a smile on her face. That’s how the management work in Robert’s hunting party.

However, the discipline doesn’t work for everyone. Christopher, on the other hand, doesn’t quite follow the routines and do any of those errands except from cleaning his trusty sword Wyrthal. He strolls around the town and looks around for taverns and any place of leisure, to entertain himself in his day off today. His mind is quite disturbed with the fact that her cousin Carolyn gives more attention to Robert and her own tasks than to him. Also, he feels dead bored of hunting monsters without a real challenge since their misadventure in Grad.

He doesn’t face much difficulty in slaying monsters anymore, and now it seems like a daily routine for him. Sometimes he longed for home, but a thought of his father who favors his elder brother more than him blows his longing away.

Chris asks around, and he finally arrives at a tavern in Ingvhus town, called ‘Damor’ülan’ in ancient Borgian language, and it was more frequently called, ‘The Two Spurs’. It’s a filthy, damp tavern, much like the Golden Ram tavern-inn in Rand, Lore.

Chris goes straight to the bar. The bar keeper is a woman in her forties. She wears a tight dress, which has a broad opening in the front, showing a black butterfly tattoo on top of her breast. Judging from her appearances, some may think she must be quite pretty and attractive in her youth, and assume that she was a tavern maid, then got married with the tavern master and after her husband died, she inherited all his property, tavern and money. As a matter of fact, that kind of assumption is nearly true, except for her appearance. She only tries to look as bitchly attractive and sexy as possible in spite of her obviously plain face.

The bar mistress looks at Chris with interest. But as she notices Chris’ childish behavior, she pretends to look to another direction and busy. Chris didn’t notice that, but as he sits on the bar he feels like the bar mistress ignores him. Chris is upset, and talks with a loud voice to the bar mistress. ‘Excuse me, ma’am. Some service, please.’

The bar mistress responds lazily. ‘Yeah, kiddo. whaddya want?’

‘A bottle of your best ale, for starters.’

‘Ale? A-le? Well, kiddo, you must be new in town, eh? The best drink here is not ale. Ale is for kids and losers. Try our special, Barabus, the drink of champions. Of course, if you’re not tough enough...’

Hearing the name ‘Barabus’ mentioned, all tavern guests start to shout together. ‘Ba-ra-bus! Ba-ra-bus!’ and some even chant about ‘Barabus’ in a poem.

For the toughest amongst us,

For he who tamed a Pegasus,

Just prove yourself to us,

Drink the Barabus

Ale and rum are for fungus,

Nothing than to make a fuss,

If your name is in an opus,

Drink the Barabus

The more Chris looks hesitated, the louder and louder the shouting and chanting becomes. Under the sheer pressure of it, Chris finally says, ‘All right! All right! Barabus it is! Just stop the shouts already! I just want a bit of entertainment for a change.’

The bar mistress starts pouring and mixing, and she seems applying all sorts of liquids she can find into one in a wooden mixing cup. She covers the cup with another cup and starts mixing its contents vigorously and gracefully. The process lasts about a few minutes, and then she pours the mixture into another wooden cup and pushes the cup to Chris. Chris looks into the goblet, and he is astounded to see the color of the so-called ‘Barabus’ drink.

It’s a mixture of yellowish-green-aquamarine liquid with bubbles popping out of it. It looks like a rainbow-colored lava pit. And the smell is strong like any common alchemy potion or some corrosive acid. Chris winces a bit, partly by disgust, partly insecure, and partly afraid.

‘Go on. Drink it,’ says the bar mistress. ‘If you can drink it to the bottom, you don’t have to pay for it.’

Chris reacts at this statement as though he just wakes up from a nightmare upon this prospect and says, ‘Okay, okay!’

He holds the cup with shaky hands. And slowly, hesitantly, he draws it towards his mouth. He frowns with his eyes shut; bearing the strong stench that enters through his nostrils. Then he opens his mouth and let a little amount of liquid from the cup flow into his mouth. Then he lets out a sudden jerk, a shock like someone being poisoned, with his tongue stuck out. The bar mistress laughs loudly.

‘Hahaha! “Barabus” is too strong for ye, kiddo! Five Crowns! Pay it up and get outta here before... ‘

‘WOW! This tastes GREAT!’

The bar mistress didn’t expect that reaction from Chris. Chris goes for a big gulp on his drink, and cleans up his cup with one more.

‘AWESOME! Do you have any more? Make it again!’

The bar mistress is shocked. This little kid said ‘Barabus’ is delicious! She hesitates a little bit, whether to make another cup or not, and then after a long pause she talks,

‘Just one free cup per customer, nosiree!’

‘Aw, man! That’s too bad because I’m just ready for more!’

The bar mistress tries to prevent Chris from drinking Barabus again, for she will suffer more loss if she has to give away more of that most expensive drink for free.

‘Well, er... no need! No need! You’ve proven yourself a champion! A real man! By the way, my name’s Frida, my lad. Well, what do you want to drink now? Some more ale, perhaps?’

Chris answers, ‘Ah, no, thanks. I think I’ll just stroll around the town and ... er, looking at things.’

‘Ah, that’s too bad. You see, our ale is the best in town. No one ever leave this tavern without tasting our ale. Or... ah, perhaps the ‘Barabus’ gave you a kick already?’

‘Oh, no, no, no! By all means, no!’ Says Chris hastily. ‘It’s just... just... the ambience, you know. I think I’ll spend the rest of my day in some quiet, natural place like that nice food stall around the corner ...’ Chris twitches his lips aside, making a strange, stupid smile. At this, Frida only sighs and says,

‘Oh well, if you insist. Just as I began to enjoy this conversation with a handsome man like you.’

‘Thanks for the compliment and the “Barabus”, ma’am. Gotta roll now. Bye!’

Without waiting for an answer, Chris hastily goes out from the tavern. Frida only watches him leave, and after Chris is out, she makes a sign towards the guests. And one of them, an ugly, elderly man wearing shabby clothes with bald patches on his head among his grayish-white hair, approaches the bar. Frida frowns a bit, trying to avoid smelling the stench of that man. But she quickly composes herself again and talks,

‘You see that red-haired lad just now, Angus? He managed to drink my “Barabus” for free. Follow him and do your thing. He’ll be all too easy now.’

‘Oh yea, ma’am! Leave it to ol’ Angus ‘ere! Hak, hak, hak... !’

Angus immediately pulls his hood covering his head, and walks outside the tavern. The way he walks is so weird that one may mistake him with an oversized penguin.

==oOo==

Chris walks hurriedly on the road from the tavern, and as he is at a good distance away, he turns into a narrow alley. And then he throws up. Profusely, as though all the things he ate today also come out with the indigestible part of ‘Barabus’. It seems the ‘Barabus’ effect has started to work on him, and he looks very sick and of course, drunk. It was a good thing that he got out from Frida’s tavern and Frida refused to give him another free batch of that horrible, inhumane, filthy ‘drink of the champions’, or matters would be far worse.

After a long while, after emptying up the contents of his stomach and the ‘Barabus’ in his body, Chris drops himself, sitting on the alleyway a bit away from the vomited stuff on the ground, trying to recover himself, half-conscious and half-sleeping.

People avoid going near him and even turning around if they already got in the alleyway, cursing at Chris and the filth and stench he caused. Only a man approaches him. A thin, hooded man with shabby clothes who walks like a penguin – Angus. Angus shakes Chris and tries to wake him up, yelling,

‘Hey, you! Wake up! WAKE UP!’

But Chris snores instead. He’s already asleep.

Running out of patience, Angus slaps Chris. This time Chris lets out a loud, ‘YEOOW!!!’ and curses, ‘What the hell... ! Who slapped me?’ and seizes and is going to hit the one who did that.

Angus is bewildered and pleads to Chris to release him, saying, ‘It’s me, me! Please release me, mister. I meant ye no harm.’

‘No harm, eh? The slap enough was harmful! At least fer ye!’

‘Please, sir. Please, mercy for this old soul. If I didn’t wake you, you’ll be a sitting duck for all the pickpockets, robbers and ruffians in this town!’

Chris has not recovered from his nausea, and Angus’ stench and filthy appearance only makes it worse. Repulsively, Chris says, ‘What do you want? Leave me! Get you hand off me!’

Angus replies, ‘Hey, easy, easy, lad. I’m no tryin’ ter rob ye or anythin’! Just want ter ask ye a favor... ‘

‘Huh, most likely!’ Chris snorts.

‘And give ye the chance o’ yer lifetime! Hak, hak, hak!’

‘Don’t talk rubbish, filthy old man! I’m leaving!’

Chris tries to get up and leave, but he falls halfway. The Barabus’ effect is still strong within him.

‘Now, now, yeh’re still weak, lad. Just lemme finish me words, an’ I’ll split, dig!?’

Without waiting for Chris’ answer, Angus talks on in a hushed up voice. ‘Now listen ... ‘

3.1.6. Deathblade Part One : The Spirit of Temperance

3.1.6. Deathblade Part One : The Spirit of Temperance
Originally uploaded by vadis.

CHAPTER SIX

DEATHBLADE PART I:

THE SPIRIT OF TEMPERANCE

It is Time

It is time.

A woman wakes up from her bed, startled, as though hearing voices from afar.

Time to rise again.

The voice is getting clearer and clearer. It’s not a dream.

My heir is coming. He’ll break me free from this prison.

It’s a telepathic message – a spiritual message. The woman holds her head with her two hands. She is in pain, mentally.

It’s time. I’m coming.

The woman have a very long, silky, sky blue hair. She is extremely beautiful, and the pupils on her eyes are sparkling, like sapphires in her eyes. And her face looks dreadfully worried. She murmurs, ‘The volcano is about to erupt. I must do something.’

She gets up from her bed, and goes out from her large bedroom still wearing her overly long night gown, elaborately made for royalty. And it was made of a thin, rare fabric, softer and thinner than silk, its color is white with gold linings.

‘Something must be done now.’