Heroes Rise and Fall (Tales of Grandeur Book 1)

by C. J. Strong

  “Hi little guy,” Gallagher said as he reached out his hand to pet it. After a few quick strokes the bear snapped at him catching him by surprise and biting down on his middle finger.

  “Owe! I use that for important communication skills,” he said as he pulled his finger from the bear’s mouth. Looking towards Valdar something caught his eye. There had been something or someone hiding behind Valdar this entire time. As soon as Gallagher inched closer to Valdar, it appeared to move. “Hey, what’s with that growth on your leg?”

  “…That’s my son,” Valdar said as Gallagher took a second look and watched as a child peaked out from behind Valdar’s lion pelt. The bear cub then looked back and bawled a soothing tone towards the child.

  “See, he’s telling you it’s okay,” Gallagher said.

  “I’d like you to meet Valden the Small,” Valdar told Gallagher as his son stepped out into the open. He appeared to be a frail little child, not much more than 10 years of age.

  “The names Gallagher, Gallagher White. But you can call me Gally,” he said while bending down and holding out his hand. After looking at him with a bewildered look on his face, Valden reached in and bit Gallagher by the finger. The same middle finger that had just been bitten not moments ago. Gally yanked his hand away and held it close before smiling as Valdar laughed.

  “You see, friends already!” Valdar said.

  Gallagher held out his hand once more teasing both the bear and Valden, but they didn’t bite on it. “So why exactly did you have me come here, besides to be a chew toy?” He asked.

  “I’d like for you to be exactly that. A chew toy, and a training partner,” Valdar said as he began to leave the courtyard.

  “Training partner?” Gallagher asked.

  Turning back to the three of them; Valdar began to speak, “I’m far too big to be a sparring partner for the two of them, but you’re the perfect size. Why else do you think I bought you? You sure aren’t worth a shit as a housekeeper I can tell ya that much.”

  “But…” Gallagher began before being interrupted by the little kid.

  “You don’t want to play with us Mister?” Valden said with the cutest look on his face.

  “Listen. I’m not going to be around forever, and I need someone I can trust to look after my kid while I’m at war,” Valdar said.

  “I can’t believe what I am hearing. You actually trust me?” Gallagher asked.

  “Not yet,” Valdar paused. “…But eventually I might.”

  “Alright, I’ll do it,” Gallagher said as he pat Valden on the head. “One question though. What’s with the pet bear?”

  “You really don’t know? By the Ancestors you Márnamians are thick,” Valdar said shaking his head. “It’s getting dark, I just wanted to introduce the three of you for tonight. Come Valden, it is time for bed.”

  “Marnawhat?” Gallagher asked.

  Valden nodded to his father and so he and the bear cub started to leave. “Nice meetin’ ya Gally.”

  “Hey! I demand answers damn it,” Gallagher shouted as Valdar stayed close behind his child. “I’m serious!” He shouted again as they left the courtyard without him.

  “To bed Gallagher the White, or else,” Valdar commanded.

  Chapter 7

  After the band of wolf-like Tilturians left in fear of spirits speaking out from the Forest of Sorrows, it was revealed to the heroes that it in fact was only trickery. A small group of people came from the direction of the voices and greeted Andrum and his gang.

  “We heard the commotion from a far and decided to help our Nifflarian brothers and sister by pretending to be the spirits of the forest,” A female said as she approached Andrum. “My name is Yuralia.” She was a thin and fit young woman with braided hair down to her bottom. Her face shined in the moonlight showcasing her natural beauty as her eyes complimented her mouth which in turn complimented her nose, all matching with perfect symmetry.

  “Other Niffs that exist outside the city?” Andrum asked while shaking hands with their saviors and noticing the goddess that stood before him. He had never seen a more beautiful woman than Yuralia before. Andrum was disappointed that no spirits actually came to save them, but the only information he had on communicating to spirits was from a fictitious children’s book.

  “Actually, I read somewhere that a small section of our people split from Ulteria just before Xurion’s tyranny ended,” Uriella said as she met with Yuralia’s group.

  “Yes Uriella, you are correct.” Yuralia said.

  “You know who we are?” Andrum asked.

  “Ye be friend, or foe?” Ashurd said as he placed his hand onto his blade handle, ready for a fight once more.

  “They saved us from those horrid creatures, Ashurd. They must be our allies,” Andrum said.

  “We mean to cause no harm to the Council of Magniffs. My people have been keeping tabs on Ulteria since we left it centuries ago,” Yuralia said as her and her allies passed by the trio and sat near the campfire.

  “Why didn’t you ever return home?” Uriella asked as she kept a watchful eye on them.

  “These forests and grasslands are our home now and have been for generations,” Yuralia answered.

  “How many Nifflarians are out here?” Andrum said.

  “We are of the Salker Tribe, but there are Niffs stretched out all across the borders of the Eternal Lands,” Yuralia explained. “But we should head back to our village before Wulder the Alpha and his clan come back. It was good to finally meet the Magniffs though, good luck on your journey,” She said as her and her companions got up to leave.

  “Wait, we would like to learn more about you and your people,” Andrum said.

  “I’m sorry but I cannot say anymore,” Yuralia said before her eyes turned a crystal blue and summoned a conjuring book. The others around her did the same, as they wrote something in the books with their fingers. After only just seconds, they conjured odd mechanical transportation devices and rode off on them. Stunned by this development Andrum, Ashurd, and Uriella all turned to each other and nodded before giving chase.

  “I can’t believe it!” Andrum yelled as he followed them.

  “Me neither, my stories were right about other Nifflarians existing outside of Ulteria all along!” Uriella shouted as they attempted to catch up to the riders.

  “I’m kind of disappointed that they weren’t actually spirits,” Ashurd said as he led the pack in the chase.

  “Don’t worry Ashurd, maybe they know a way to communicate with the spirits anyway,” Andrum said. “After all, they still possess their conjuring abilities so that’s something.”

  “Yes, and they seem quite skilled and clever as well. Never have I read anything about conjuring machines such as those,” Uriella said as the motorized sounds faded in the distance with the heroes far behind.

  “Even I am impressed. Those machines must be at least 10x faster than riding a horse,” Ashurd said.

  After tracking the tire trails for nearly an hour, the Magniffs finally arrived just one mile from the woodlander’s camp. Tired and out of breath, they stopped before examining it in the distance.

  “We’ve found it at last,” Andrum said while reaching down and resting his hands on his legs, taking in some deep and heavy breaths.

  “Ayye we have. Not as impressive as I had hoped,” Ashurd said.

  “Now when we get there…” Uriella began to say before two Niffs jumped from a nearby tree and landed behind the three of them. Both held spears and spoke in foreign tongue grunting and pointing their spear heads at the heroes. Ashurd and Uriella turned to Andrum who began to put his hands up innocently.

  “We come in peace,” he said as the two spear holders yelled again.

  “Maybe they want to take us in to the village?” Uriella asked as she turned around with her hands in the air facing the nearby settlement.

  “Yeah… as prisoners,” Ashurd said while putting his hands behind his back. Andrum and Uriella did the same. The spear-holding N
ifflarians grunted one last time and then tied each of the trio’s hands together.

  “I suppose we should get a move on then,” Andrum said as he was poked in the back by a spear.

  The three of them then traveled single file through the forest being poked and prodded by the strangers until eventually arriving at the village gates.

  “Goon-Tak!” One of them yelled and the gates opened.

  “I never heard of Nifflarians speaking a different language before,” Uriella said.

  “My scouts reported before that some northern Tilturians had developed a battle code they used in combat but nothing like an entirely different language,” Ashurd said as they entered the encampment.

  With hands tied behind their backs, they were guided through the village as they looked around, watching countless Nifflarian people of every shape and color working in harmony together. Most every house and building were humbly designed, only taking up as much room as was needed with nothing extravagant surrounding them.

  “Sure doesn’t compare to back home now does it?” Andrum asked his friends as they were brought in to the village square and pushed down to their knees.

  In front of them stood a tall perfectly tanned woman with unfashionably poufy dark hair. Her face seemed strangely familiar to the gang, yet her exact age was a mystery.

  “Are these the trespassers I was informed of earlier?” She asked in a proud voice to one of the spear holders as the entire village gathered to watched on.

  “Oh good, she speaks our language,” Andrum said “This is all one big—“

  “Yes Mistress Ondull.” The capturer stated in common Nifflarian tongue before pounding his chest and bowing.

  “Very good. You two may return to your posts,” She said as she leaned down and grabbed Andrum by the face, turning his head back and forth and examining him.

  He quickly pulled away and said, “We are Nifflarians just like you, not animals.”

  “You may be Nifflarians, but you are nothing like my people,” The lady said before she reached her hand back and slapped Andrum to the ground.

  “Andrum!” Ashurd and Uriella shouted.

  “Pathetic, the lot of you. The Magniffs were once the most proud and prestigious leaders in all of the lands. Now look at you, captured by a few low level guards. You bring dishonor to your name,” She said before drawing a magnificent engraved sword from her scabbard.

  “To be fair, they literally had the drop on us,” Ashurd said as he attempted to wiggle out of his restraints.

  “If you know who we are then why are you treating us like this?!” Andrum shouted as he pushed himself from the ground back onto his knees.

  “Isn’t it obvious? She is working for Zorm,” Ashurd said before a group of Nifflarians broke through the crowd.

  “Ashurd, you think everything evil is related to Zorm. Zorm died nearly a millennia ago, and although some of your family has claimed to have seen him since, he is nothing more than ancient history,” Uriella said.

  “Not the time or place to argue you two, we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment,” Andrum said.

  “Mother!” A familiar face shouted out.

  “Stay out of this Yuralia,” Ondull said as she put her blade against Andrum’s throat.

  “They mean us no harm Mother, they are only in search of a way to get their powers back,” Yuralia said, approaching Ondull after pushing her way through the guards.

  “I know exactly why they are here child, one must keep close tabs on our enemies.”

  “Enemies?!” Uriella said as she attempted to stand to her feet. “We did not even know of your existence until just a few hours ago.”

  “Exactly, and once your people hear of any kind of life existing outside your precious city, you attempt to exterminate it,” Ondull said as she motioned towards a guard behind them and he kicked Uriella’s legs out, making her fall back into position. “Your people speak of peace, yet all you do is destroy. Go ahead, ask Ashurd about how his ‘honorable’ brother helped the Tilturian people against the Márnamians for greed and glory.”

  With a sword in his face, Andrum turned his attention from Ondull over towards Ashurd, who was visibly flustered over the topic. “Listen lady, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about but you are going to let us go before things get bloody,” Ashurd said before ripping out of his holdings and jumping to his feet, towering over Ondull and most of her guards. “Now release your sword from Andrum’s throat, or feel the power of a true Nifflarian warrior!”

  Andrum felt lost at this point, whatever research this Nifflarian tribe had done on Ulteria, it was nothing like the history books he had read. Regardless of what did or did not happen with Ashurd’s family, Andrum was on his side no matter what.

  Ondull turned her blade from Andrum, nicking his neck just barely, and pointed it towards Ashurd. For whatever reason, the guards didn’t deem it necessary to strip the heroes of their weapons, so Ashurd was able to draw his sword and match it against Ondull’s.

  “Mother, don’t!” Yuralia said, but it seemed as though the time for reasoning had come to an end.

  “Not only do you scoundrels kidnap us and bring us in as prisoners, but then you attempt to dishonor my family name?!” Ashurd screamed as he swung his sword back and forth, causing the entire crowd to take a few steps back. “Ondull, if you indeed pride yourself on being a Nifflarian, then I am sure you are familiar with our customs.”

  “Ashurd, don’t do it. None of us are any match without our conjuring abilities!” Uriella said as Ondull cracked a grin.

  “It’s the only way any of us are going to escape with our lives. Ondull, leader of the Salker Tribe, I challenge you to Ult-Dak-Fin,” Ashurd said with his sword temporarily lowered.

  “Ult-Dak-Fin?” Andrum asked Uriella.

  “Ult-Dak-Fin is the ancient tradition the Nifflarian people founded in order to settle unresolvable disputes. It is a truly barbaric act in which two Niffs face off in combat until one either accepts defeat or dies. If the one who loses does survive, they must pledge an unwavering devotion to the victor as their eternal slave,” Yuralia said as she untied both Andrum and Uriella.

  “Eternal?” Andrum asked. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Yes I have read about this, even after death the loser is honor bound to serve their master. Rumor has it, it was how Zorm first became so powerful,” Uriella said as she stood and dusted herself off, thanking Yuralia with a bow.

  “I’ve learned more Nifflarian history in five minutes than my dad ever taught me,” Andrum said.

  “He wanted it that way,” Uriella explained. “The less you knew, the better. After all, none of us ever expected you to become Head of the Magniffs.”

  “Well that’s reassuring,” Andrum said before returning his focus to the proposed duel.

  “What are your terms, Ashurd?” Mistress Ondull asked while still smiling.

  “Win or lose, you let my friends go so that they may continue our quest,” Ashurd said as guards around them began to push everyone aside, spreading out and barricading a radius for the coming battle.

  “Deal. In return, when I take your head I shall stake it at my village gates, warding off all who oppose me,” Ondull agreed. “Is this a suitable battleground for you?”

  “As long as you don’t mind getting slaughtered in front of all your people,” He said as he nodded towards Andrum and Uriella to get back. “Ready when you are, hag. Prepare to write, fight, and die!”

  “Then let us begin,” Ondull yelled as she charged towards Ashurd.

  Back and forth their swords clashed, sending sparks flying all around them. After defending an enormous strike, Ondull sunk her back foot into the soil of the ground. Gripping her sword horizontally by both ends after dropping to one knee, she began to push back and pressed Ashurd’s sword high above hers and quickly sliced at his belly. She then rolled away from his counter strike gracefully and smiled, hopping from one area to the next as he swung furiously
.

  “You may be stronger, but I am quicker,” She said as she avoided each attack.

  “That may be true, but your blade lacks purpose!” Ashurd yelled as he leapt into the air and came down just inches from his opponent, slicing off a few of her hairs in the process.

  Again he swung at full power as Ondull attempted to counter. Matching slashes for swipes, Ondull’s nimble speed was met with Ashurd’s brute force and unwavering will. But just as the tension was rising, Ashurd stopped the chase and dug his blade straight down into the dirt.

  With his sword sticking out from the ground, he yelled, “Enough of this cat and mouse game, fight me like a true warrior!”

  Laughing and mocking the brute, Ondull stuck her middle finger out from a safe distance. In the blink of an eye, the unarmed fighter raced over and tackled her to the ground. He quickly grabbed the sword from her hands and tossed it aside, chinking against dirt and rocks as it slid past his. Pinning her to the ground with her only weapon now gone he screamed, “Give up now before things get bloody!”

  “Oh they’re about to…” Ondull whispered as she sneakily pulled a dagger from her ankle and jammed it into Ashurd’s ribs.

  He groaned and rolled off of her as the crowd cheered. Swiftly, she raced after her sword, but before she could reach it Ashurd pulled the dagger from his side and chucked it at her as he laid bleeding on the ground. The dagger twirled through the air before stabbing directly into Ondull’s calf. She dropped to her knees and started crawling, determined to get her sword. Ashurd yelled out a warrior’s cry as he too began a trek for his weapon. Running as fast as he could while holding his side, he arrived at his sword still stuck in the ground just as Ondull inched forward reaching for hers. Ashurd ripped his weapon from the ground causing chunks of dirt to fly as Ondull rolled over with her sword in hand. The warrior angrily smashed his now filthy sword into his downed opponent’s as she clutched it for dear life. The vibrations from the clash broke loose a piece of clay that was caked on to the middle of Ashurd’s sword and dirt sprayed into the face of Ondull.