Varnoth- the Black Blade 2

by Lavelle Jackson

That statement seemed to strike a chord with Langston. He spat on the dirt and had a hard grimace on his face. Bryce was pissed off.

  “Well, you have been causing a great deal of trouble. You are responsible for dozens of murders of the Derelict gang and their leader Atlas, who happened to be a friend of mine. You see, Atlas was misunderstood. There were lots of lies going around about things he had done. It is all fabricated bullshit. You fell for that shit and killed an innocent man.”

  It took a moment for Varnoth to process what Bryce was saying.

  An innocent man?

  “I knew about you being in his pocket and turning a blind eye to the horrors he committed. You are as much to blame as he is. You are supposed to be a protector of the innocent in this region. You are nothing but a criminal yourself.”

  The crowd gasped at what the cat man was saying about the garrison. Most everyone knew that Langston was corrupt. They may not have known the level of corruptness. They did now.

  “Handcuff the cat and take him to a cell where he will await trial for his crimes.”

  Eight of the guards pulled their swords and began to approach Varnoth in a defensive stance. Suddenly, John slammed his hammertar on the ground and screamed, “Back the hell up, Varnoth ain’t going nowhere. You will have to go through me first, you scrawny lady men!”

  Varnoth placed his paw on the shoulder of the orc and said, “Its fine John. There is no need to get yourself locked up as well. I need you to gather up the refugees and return them to Darthill. That is non-negotiable, That is what we came to do. Promise me you will get that done. Those people have been through enough.”

  “Ay, I promise I will return them,” replied John solemnly.

  Varnoth knelt and put his paws behind his head. One of the guards stepped behind him and cuffed the shadow panther. He lifted him from the dirt, and they began to make their way toward the garrison’s office.

  “I will be ok, John. Do as I say. Get them to Darthill,” Varnoth said while walking away. John nodded and gave a thumbs up.

  Flynn, the Black Blade stood on the upstairs balcony of his home with his arms crossed. He was going to pay a visit to the good ole garrison.

  CHAPTER 13

  The cold steel bars slammed behind Varnoth in the Drangar Jail. Varnoth was in a cell by himself, but there were other prisoners scattered in other cells. There were eight cells. Six of the cells were empty. The cell directly across from him had two inmates. Varnoth’s cell was very small with a fragile straw mattress on the floor and a bucket in the corner for him to relieve himself. The cell smelled of piss and shit. The bucket had not been cleaned out from the previous inmate. A voice came from the cell across from his.

  “Hey kitty, kitty, it’s a shame you are in there by yourself. Me and my partner here would love to rub your fuzzy little neck,” said the prisoner.

  The cellmate that Varnoth couldn’t see was cackling in the corner of the cell.

  “Bob, that is just nasty. I ain’t rubbing no cat man’s neck. I wouldn’t mind stomping on his head a bit. You hear that, cat?” asked the other prisoner as he stepped into view.

  He was a fat, bearded man. He wore no shirt and just a pair of pants that were barely holding together.

  “Hey Cat, has the cat got your tongue? Hey Bob, did you see what I did there? Hey, you damn dumbass cat, you talk to me when I speak to you. You ain’t safe over there. These doors don’t always stay locked you see. Certain guards allow certain things to happen from time to time.”

  Varnoth stood quietly and stared into the fat man’s eyes.

  “Keep on giving me that look and see what happens,” the prisoner said as Bob handed him something.

  Suddenly the fat man swung their waste bucket, and excrement and piss flew across the hallway into Varnoth’s cell. Varnoth was able to react in time to not get drenched, but he did get a few splatters on his foot. The shadow panther gagged at the wretched scene. Both men were laughing so hard they couldn’t catch their breath.

  “I think I got some on him! At the very least, his cell is going to smell like shit and piss. They won’t come and wash it off. To hell with you cat! I bet your dumb ass wishes you had spoke to me, huh?” said the fat man.

  Suddenly the fat man sensed something appear above his head. It was a black cloud that suddenly began spinning around at a high rate of speed. Black daggers rained out of the darkness and impaled the fat man multiple times. Blood splattered the floors and the walls. Bob was drenched in gore as he sat in shock in the corner of the cell. The fat prisoner lay on the filthy floor like a pile of offal from the butcher. After the carnage stopped, Bob screamed in terror and vomited violently in the cell. Varnoth watched as the frantic man slipped on blood and adipose tissue and fell flat on his back.

  “What the hell did you do to him? You killed Dan! How the hell….GUARD!! HELP!!” screamed Bob as he began slamming the waste bucket on the steel bars.

  A young guard came stomping down the hallway.

  “Shut the hell up! What do you waaaa…HELP! I NEED HELP!” the guard exclaimed as he saw the gore from the horrific scene.

  Three additional guards came charging in and stopped in their tracks as they took in the macabre scene.

  “This cat killed Dan! He freaking killed him!”

  The guards turned from the corpse and looked at Varnoth in confusion.

  “How in the name of the gods could I be locked in here and do that to him over there? I saw the whole thing. Bob killed him in cold blood. It was horrible,” said Varnoth coldly.

  One of the guards turned back toward Bob and yelled “Go back to the wall. We are coming in! You need to drop whatever weapon you have in there!”

  Varnoth couldn’t help but smile at the situation. The guards attempted to step over the explosion of gore, but it was of no use. There wasn’t one spot on the floor that wasn’t desecrated.

  “Turn around and put your hands on the back of your head! Now!” yelled a guard as he kicked Bob. Bob knelt in a large puddle of blood and spilled urine and excrement.

  Varnoth turned his attention to another person entering the fray. It was Langston.

  “Gods! What in the hell happened here?”

  “Bob killed Dan. I don’t mean just a little bit killed him. He mutilated that man worse than I have ever seen in my life. It is an ungodly mess in here,” replied a guard.

  “Just how did he have a weapon capable of such an act in his cell?” asked Langston.

  “We can’t find anything, sir!”

  “I watched him throw a blade out of the window to a third party below. He told the person to take the blade and get rid of it,” said Varnoth.

  “That’s a damn lie! I ain’t killed nobody! That cat used some kind of magic spell or something!” exclaimed Bob.

  “Take Bob outside or somewhere to wash him off. Some of you stay behind and get the body out of here and clean up this mess!” said Langston.

  “This Varnoth is a killer, but he ain’t no mage capable of killing someone in a jail cell across a hallway,” Langston said as he turned toward Varnoth, “I suggest you sit your furry ass down on that mattress. I don’t want to hear another peep out of you.”

  Varnoth held up both paws and sat down on the mattress. His butt sank to the stone floor. There may as well have been no mattress. Guards brought in buckets of water and mops to get started on the cleanup. The guard picked up the body and put it in a wheelbarrow. All the guards gagged and dry heaved throughout the entire process.

  Varnoth heard a guard announce that Langston had a visitor.

  CHAPTER 14

  Varnoth regretted killing Dan, the fat prisoner. It wasn’t because he took a life, it was because the prison stunk even worse than before. Footsteps approached the dark filthy cell.

  “Come with me. The garrison wants to see you in his office,” said a guard.

  “Alright, lead the way.”

  The guard inserted a large, rusty key into the ancient lock. There was a loud click, and the heavy s
teel door opened slowly. Another guard stood with a sword drawn in an attack stance.

  “You aren’t going to do anything stupid, are you?” asked the frightened guard as his shivering hands caused the sword to shake.

  “I am only here because I choose to be here. Lead the way,” Varnoth said with a demonic gaze.

  Scared to death, the guard nodded his head and led him out of the holding area. Varnoth looked at his surroundings in the event he needed to escape the hell hole in the future. Varnoth wanted to get out of this situation without any more violence if possible. While he was not afraid of Langston, it would be a pain in his ass to have a garrison as an enemy. All he wanted to do was get back to Darthill to make sure the new refugees were ok and to see how the estate had advanced. A guard stood in front of the office of the garrison and guided him in.

  “I am sick and tired of saving your furry ass,” Flynn the Black Blade said sarcastically with a smirk.

  Flynn leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room, and Langston sat behind his desk.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “Well, I was relaxing out on my balcony when I saw your little confrontation with the garrison here. I gotta hand it to you Varnoth; you played that much cooler than I would have. Langston here has had what we call a change of heart,” Flynn replied, “Isn’t that right, garrison?”

  Langston gritted his teeth and pulled the obsidian daggers out of his desk drawer and slammed them on the desk. Perplexed, Varnoth reached for the daggers. Langston grabbed him by the paw and looked Varnoth in the face with rage-filled eyes.

  “Take your cat ass and get the hell out of my town. Do you hear me?” asked Langston.

  “You will let go of my paw right now, or I will stick a dagger in your eye socket. Don’t tell me what I will or will not do,” Varnoth gnashed his teeth and jerked his paw away from the garrison.

  “Let’s get out of here, Varnoth,” Flynn said as he walked toward the doorway, “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

  Langston didn't give a response, only a death gaze. As the Black Blades walked down the hallway, they heard a loud crash in the garrison's office. He had taken his frustration out on something in his office. Varnoth and Flynn glanced at each other and laughed.

  The two Black Blades made it out of the jail onto the street. The bright sun pained Varnoth’s large eyes. The jail had been very dark.

  “Do you want to fill me in on what just happened in there?” asked Varnoth.

  “Come on back to my place, and I’ll go into more detail about what just happened.”

  The shadow panther gave Flynn a quick nod, and they picked up the pace toward his home. Flynn didn’t use the front door like a normal person. He climbed up the building beside his home, and then jumped to the second-floor balcony. Flynn made the climb in the blink of an eye. Varnoth followed, but not as gracefully as his predecessor.

  “Well, are you ready to tell me now?” asked Varnoth.

  “OK, one of my lesser-known talents as a Black Blade is the art of blackmail. Let’s just say, the garrison’s wife wouldn’t be too happy to find out that her husband loves whores. She would be even more shocked to find out that Langston has a thing for male whores. I am pretty tight with the whore house owners in Drangar. They were happy to make me aware of the garrison’s secret escapades,” Flynn said with a chuckle. "This kind of knowledge is always useful."

  “I appreciate your help. You didn’t have to do that,” said Varnoth.

  “No worries, my conscience was still giving me a hard time for letting Atlas beat you up. Hopefully, this will help to make things right between us.”

  “Whatever the reasoning was, I appreciate your help. I would like to ask for some additional help as well. I retrieved two obsidian shards from my battle at Darthill Keep. I would like you to upgrade my daggers to +2,” Varnoth requested.

  “I think I can handle that for you.”

  Varnoth handed his daggers and obsidian shards to the dark elf and smiled. After retrieving the crafting tools, he needed from a chest, Flynn upgraded the shadow panther's daggers. The aura around the daggers pulsed bright purple.

  You have upgraded Obsidian Dagger +1 x 2 to Obsidian Dagger +2 x 2!

  “Perfect, thank you!” exclaimed Varnoth as he took a closer look at the daggers.

  “No problem,” replied Flynn as he poured two shots of whiskey. He handed one to Varnoth and held the glass up, “May the gods favor shine upon the Black Blades.”

  Varnoth nodded. They tapped their glasses together and drank the whiskey in one gulp. The whiskey burned Varnoth’s throat as he swallowed. The warmth carried to his stomach.

  “Where are you headed from here?” asked Flynn.

  “I am the new Overseer of Darthill, and I want to get back there to check on things.”

  “Overseer? That is quite a change to your normal routine,” replied Flynn.

  “Well, it wasn’t something I expected either. It is very foreign to me. I came here to bring back the Gufaross refugees. I am hoping my friend, John was able to get them all and begin the journey back.”

  “Ah, yeah the big ass orc. I saw him headed toward the camp outside the gates on the north side of town. Langston rounded up all the folks and put them outside like a bunch of dogs, at least he has been supplying them with food and water. When they found out about Gufaross burning to the ground, it almost killed them. The not knowing what happened to their loved ones. They are going to be thrilled to be headed to Darthill,” said the dark elf.

  “I plan to get the gem mine up and running again. That will provide the coin to build Darthill into a large, thriving community. That is my hope at least. Thank the gods we had that place to go.”

  “Sounds like a fine plan to me. Atlas was a dumbass to blow it up during a hissy fit. At the same time, Atlas would have been a larger pain in the ass with all the proceeds from a working gem mine,” said Flynn as he poured them both another glass of whiskey.

  “What are your plans if I may ask?”

  “Eh, I have sat on my ass long enough. I am ready to get back to questing. I plan to head west of here toward Tottenham. My advice to you is to head over to Finnmork which is a short distance west of Darthill. You are going to need some help getting that mine entrance open. Finnmork is half the size of Drangar, but that is still a sizable town. I am sure you can get some advice on the best way to open that back up. A lot of folks that live in Finnmork used to work at the gem mine. The Derelicts are gone, but you still need to grow eyes in the back of your head. Greed is a strong motivator. If you get that mine up and running, folks may want to get a part of the action if you know what I mean,” replied Flynn.

  “Good advice, I appreciate any help you can give.”

  “Listen, I know that you are Overseer and all, but you needn’t forget to level yourself. You need to remember; when you get to level twenty you can select an additional Black Blade ability. Also, I would steer clear of Drangar for a while. Langston will hold a grudge, and I won’t be here to get you out of the jailhouse,” Flynn said as he patted Varnoth on the shoulder.

  The Black Blades drank a final glass of whiskey, and Varnoth headed toward the door.

  “Thanks again for your help. It’s good to have allies around when you need them,” said Varnoth.

  “No worries, take care of yourself. Another piece of advice, when you go to Finnmork, visit an alchemy shop owned by a pyromancer named Owyn. He can craft you a home stone ring. With that, you can teleport back to Darthill whenever you like. It looks like this,” Flynn held up his hand to show a golden ring with a brilliant emerald.

  “I will do that, thank you,” replied Varnoth as he walked out the door to the street.

  Varnoth

  Level 15

  Shadow Panther

  Black Blade Legendary Class

  Attributes:

  Strength – 90

  Dexterity – 98

  Intelligence – 54

  Vital
ity – 105

  Skills:

  Stealth Shade

  Black Rain + 1

  Blade Shield

  Spell of Affliction

  Passives:

  Acrobatics

  Night Vision

  Detection

  Executioner

  CHAPTER 15

  As Varnoth exited the north gate of Drangar, he saw that John had done what he said he was going to do. The refugees were gone. The speed in which they left must have been a combination of excitement and the lack of personal belongings to pack up. Varnoth had hoped to leave with them, but that was not meant to be. He certainly had not expected to spend hours upon hours in a putrid jail cell.

  “Sir, they left several hours ago. Were you staying at the camp?” asked a teenage boy.

  “No, I am happy to see they are headed back to their loved ones. Did they leave on foot? Did they have any wagons?”

  “Yes sir, they were donated six horses and three large wagons. The majority of the townsfolk here were furious that the garrison made them go outside of the gates. Once there was news that they would be leaving, a few of the citizens offered them wagons and horses. They also provided food and water for their long trip.”

  “That was very kind. I wish there was more of that in Albattara,” replied Varnoth.

  “Tell me about it. Good day, sir.”

  The boy waved and continued about his business. Varnoth wanted to get a message to William back at Darthill about their progress. He also wanted to tell them about John, so he would be welcomed with open arms. William had mentioned there was a place in Drangar where you could send messages to distant places by fowl, Albattara Post.

  After getting directions to the Albattara Post, Varnoth headed in that direction. His thoughts were with the refugees, but he wanted to make most of his time in Drangar. He also wanted to make it out sooner rather than later. He was in no hurry to get locked up in a jail cell again. Flynn had mentioned steering clear of the city for a while.

  Albattara Post was much smaller than Varnoth expected. The shadow panther almost passed by the building. The Post looked much like the other businesses within the city limits. Dark wood and stone were the main materials used in their construction. As Varnoth walked toward the door, he was startled by five birds screeching out of the roof of the building. They weren’t ordinary birds. These birds were fast. They were so fast that Varnoth could not even decipher the color. He just saw a blur. Varnoth entered a large iron door. After he entered, he heard tweeting and chirping all around. Behind a long, shiny wood desk he saw many cages filled with birds. Most of the birds were solid black, with black beaks and talons. There were a few that were blue and green. A male human stood behind the desk filling out some sort of paperwork. He appeared to be older. His hair was white, and he wore glasses. After a couple of moments, the man looked at the shadow panther.