The Sufferer's Chronicle_Book 1_The Soul Prison

by Derek Hampton

  “What do you mean?”

  “There should have been no confusion in that.”

  Thinking back on what had been said earlier, Ari was right. No warlord fought for the greater good or valiance. They only fought for themselves and Ravious was no exception. Though, he still wanted to believe in Horas. He still wanted to believe good could come to the country.

  “How do you even know if anything is under Relothra?”

  “The knowledge is founded on many texts that my scholars and I have gathered over the years on the Nienilef.”

  “Nienilef stuff? Oh, please. Ari's spent the last three years dedicating his life to learning everything he can about them.”

  A spark ignited within the two pits that were the warlord’s eyes. He fixed his gaze on the Elf, tilting his head slightly.

  “What do you know of the Nienilef?”

  “Not as much as he thinks. I can read a few things in their language. I've explored the deeper parts of a handful of their ruins.”

  “So you're familiar with their mechanisms?”

  “Yeah, he totally is! Get us out of these chains and he can help you out!”

  Ari jabbed Dedricus in the side. He was revealing far too much information to the most dangerous man in the Highlands. Ravious stepped away, rummaging through the mess of notes around. Stomping back, he brought a book and shoved it in the Elf’s face.

  “What does this line say?” asked the giant, pointing to one line.

  It was a jumble of symbols completely foreign to Dedricus, who hopped over to take a look for himself. Ari raised a finger to it, the chains snagging his wrist before he could touch the book. He squinted a bit, before opening his mouth.

  “It just says ‘Magic rules over all’, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “You weren’t lying then. Another test, if you will.”

  Setting the book down on his desk, he pulled a single sheet of parchment off it. There was little more than a collection of random scribbles. Even the Elf cocked his head back, looking on in mystery. Once more he focused and tried to decipher the mess.

  “It’s a lot, but it seems like it’s talking about the ruins. The inner chamber? The astral locks, I think?”

  “Call me impressed. You’ve accrued the same amount of knowledge in three years that it took my scholars a quarter of a century to achieve. Perhaps you can be of use to me.”

  “And what about me? I’m free to go, right?” asked Dedricus, halfway joking.

  “Hmmmm. I don’t think so. You’ll be executed in the morning.”

  The mercenary was totally paralyzed. He was to be killed, despite revealing Ari’s skills. As Ravious called for his guard to take his friend away, the Elf threatened him.

  “No, no! If you kill him, I stay quiet!”

  “Silly half-breed. Don’t be like that. I have ways of making people cooperate.”

  The armored men entered the tent, grabbing the chains that bound Dedricus. Before he could get a word of protest in, they began dragging him away. He tripped and fell, sliding along the floor, as they continued to pull him out of the tent.

  Just outside the camp, the guards dragged him to a tree. He fought and kicked as they tried to wrap his chains around it. Eventually, one of the men had enough. Striking him over the head with a plated fist, everything went black for the young man. He could only make out the guards laughing as his chin scraped against the bark of the tree. Not even the humiliation of defeat and the fear of impending death could keep him from passing out.

  Chapter 7

  It was dark when Dedricus awoke. His neck hurt from having been rest up against the tree. Trying to reposition himself, he was yanked back from the tightly bound restraints. He groaned as he slammed back and forth in a vain attempt to break free.

  He stopped the battle with his hands to raise them to his face. His eyes were dry and thick with a layer of crust. The only way it didn’t hurt to keep his eyes open was to squint. Even then, it was uncomfortable. Being stuck against a tree was uncomfortable.

  Never had he imagined he’d die in such a manner. His involvement in the power struggle started and ended with a quiet support of Horas. Not once did he actually fight for one of the warlords. The most he had ever done in real support of one were his actions the day prior, revealing Ari's knowledge to Ravious.

  Worst of all, he was starving. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in almost a full day. His mouth was dry and his stomach roared as he let his forehead rest against the bark of the tree. It was torture, though he was to die anyway. They had no reason to keep him nourished.

  A mildly horrifying realization dawned on him as he questioned when he had even fallen asleep. The pain, then black. Would that be what death was like? Or were the tales of the Gods true?

  Religion was a tedious subject for him. His mother was a fanatic of Theldrim. Her constant praises towards the God of Light pushed a younger Dedricus far away from the teachings of the church and the pantheon. Achieving perfection, solely through death, made no sense. At that hour, it pained him, being nearly godless.

  He was thinking too hard on it. Getting some more sleep would probably be for the best. Wriggling around, he found a comfortable spot and closed his eyes. The darkness took over once more as he slowly fell asleep.

  “It’s time!” was the simple phrase that awoke him.

  Night had passed and he slept through to the morning. At his side was one of Kode’s soldiers, ready to wake him. Upon realizing he was stirring, the man kicked him lightly. Stalling would do nothing.

  “I’m up. I’m up.” Dedricus groaned, trying to sit as best he could.

  There were three men he could hear behind him. One of the armored guards was undoing his chains on the other side of the tree, totaling five men. It was curious that Ravious had sent so many, just to oversee the execution of a nobody.

  “This is gonna be good.”

  “Pft, hardly. Ravious is having him taken out with a sword. Axes make for the best messes.”

  “Hey, guys? Still alive over here!”

  “Saying you’re still alive is a stretch Kid.”

  Ravious’ armored guard now held his chains, tugging him further into the woods. The other men trailed behind, laughing and snickering, as their “excitement” would soon begin. Their reputation as fanatics of Ravious certainly exceeded them. They really were just soldiers.

  Deeper in the woods they found a stump. This would serve as the chopping block for Dedricus’ execution. He swallowed nervously as he took a good look at it. It was all that remained of a fallen pine tree, with roots embedded deep in the earth. There were worse ways to go. The four soldiers took post, turned to see the show, while the executioner guided his prisoner to before the stump.

  “Any final words?”

  “Not really.” Dedricus sighed, just trying to clear his mind, “Let's just get this on with.”

  “Then your final rite will be invoked. You're fortunate that you're not being sacrificed.”

  Producing a small book, the executioner began to read. He spoke in a language completely foreign to the blade. The soldiers all bowed their heads in reverence as they listened. Dedricus did not.

  “You got no respect Boy?” asked one of the men, having caught his gaze and disrupting the sermon.

  “Surely you could understand why I'm not too thrilled about all this.”

  “So it's like that, eh? No respect. He doesn't deserve rites. Put him on the block!” one of the other men spewed as the others cheered.

  The armored guard angrily shut his book with one hand. With a great force, he yanked the chained mercenary, causing him to stumble forward. The spectators were in an uproar as the executioner revealed the longsword that would take his life.

  Driven down to the block, his head hanging over it, all Dedricus could do was pray. He prayed to the five Gods: Avanna, Golmag, Orinth, Theldrim, and Vinera. The sound of a rising sword would be the final melody he ever heard. His eyes tightened shut as he let go. Death was
to come next.

  A loud whistling sound exploded into a burst of energy that he felt behind him. The angered shouts all around sent him into a state of panic. Two more explosions sounded off, prompting him to cover his ears. He rolled off the block and curled into a ball as the unknown maelstrom carried on.

  There was no telling if he was still alive or not. He felt alive, though that meant nothing. Perhaps dying was just really loud; he didn’t know. Finally, the chaos stopped and with it came an eerie silence. A hand placed on his arm caused him to force his eyes open.

  Over Dedricus stood the girl from a couple days ago. She wore the same tattered robes, minus the frayed bonds that he had cut. With a large smile, she extended a hand and helped him up. As he used his legs to push himself up, she used a small flare of white light to destroy the irons that bound him. He was shocked to see her, especially so close to Ravious’ camp.

  “Looks like I made it juuuuust in time.” she sang, a certain sweetness to her voice.

  “You’re telling me. Nice save.”

  “Thanks. Figured I owed you one.”

  Passing a glance to the area, the girl had completely obliterated the soldiers set to execute him. Their corpses were left with a white glow from whatever magic she unleashed upon them. This revelation certainly made the warlord’s interest in her add up.

  The young woman insisted they be going, as Ravious’ men would be expected to return shortly. Despite agreeing with her, Dedricus couldn’t pass up the opportunity to arm himself and snatched up a decent looking sword. The two retreated into the woods, fleeing from certain death.

  Chapter 8

  “Uh… Thanks. Again again.” said Dedricus, ducking forward and placing his hands on his knees.

  “You’re welcome. Again again. Really, it’s no problem.” replied the girl, coming to a stop as well.

  Both were panting and completely out of breath. Seeing as the soldiers had taken his belongings, he had nothing. No armor or supplies. To make it worse, they were far from any cities or towns, leaving them to find food, shelter, and water.

  “My name is Dedricus, by the way.”

  “Kasyra. Pleasure to save you.”

  “Hilarious. You think we're safe to take a break here?”

  Looking back from the way they came, then to him, she gave a confident nod. Dedricus found a shady tree and plopped down at its base. The whole turn of events still had him shaken and he needed a moment to rest. The young woman took a seat nearby, facing him.

  She was tall and curvy with a slim waist. Poofy brown hair, kept in a bundled ponytail, was thrown over her right shoulder and draped down to her stomach. Even with the unkempt robes, there was a certain beauty to the girl.

  “It’s rude to stare, ya know?” Kasyra laughed, taking notice of Dedricus inspecting her.

  “Sorry. Figured I’d get a good look at the person who saved my life.”

  “What was that all about anyway? Why were they going to kill you? And what happened to your friend, the Elf? ”

  The mercenary sighed before getting into his exchange with Ravious. He went on to explain how he told the warlord of Ari’s knowledge and was given the “mercy” of death for the cooperation. By a curious stroke of luck, she then arrived to save him.

  “Sounds about right then. I was staying a ways south of Boranth when Ravious approached me about my magic.”

  For reasons unknown to her, the warlord had his men take her by force. They followed back roads, avoiding suspicion, and nearly had her to the ruins. When Dedricus and Ari freed her, getting themselves caught in process, she decided to stalk the soldiers. She was forced to wait, with the immediate entrance into their leader’s tent.

  That morning, having found the familiar prisoner that was to be executed, she decided to wait until the men were distracted. At their most vulnerable moment, when the armored guard was ready to swing true and the others were riled by the thought of blood, she opened up on them all from the trees.

  “What was that? Those powers of yours? I’ve never seen magic like that before.”

  “I try to hide it and I don’t really know much about it, just that I can use it.” she said, her voice full of apprehension, “And keep quiet about it!”

  “Weird. He said you were the only one who could stop him.”

  Kasyra gave him an odd expression, as if she had no idea what he meant. Shaking her head from side to side, she swore she didn't have any knowledge on it. Even then, she barely understood her own powers. As to what she could do against someone like Ravious was beyond the two of them.

  Dedricus stood up, ready to move on and save Ari. His friend was undoubtedly being kept in good shape for the warlord’s plans. As for what came after, that was completely up in the air. They’d have to act quickly if they were to stop him and save the Half-Elf.

  “Do you have a death wish? You really want to go back there?”

  “I mean, yeah! I’m not just gonna leave him hanging like that. Sucks, but he’s all the family I got. I’d bleed for him.”

  Kasyra curled her lips in and sucked air through her teeth. Her expression was one of pure aversion. The blade understood why she’d be hesitant towards going back, but had a personal responsibility to save his friend.

  Whether or not she was going, he’d be off to rescue Ari. He stood up and started walking towards the direction they had come from. Before he passed through the overgrowth, she called for him to stop.

  “Thank you for saving me, but you’re not gonna stop me.” he replied swiftly.

  “No. Let’s go get your friend. If Ravious’ soldiers captured me, and got you with your friend, just think of what they’ll do to you alone.”

  “That's an awful high horse you're on. I haven’t survived as a mercenary for the last three years by just sitting around. I know how to use a weapon.”

  “Well, Mr. High Horse, put your money where your mouth is. Let's go.”

  Dedricus forced his brows down and smiled with amusement. This girl was something; calling her unique was a severe understatement. Reluctantly, the two pushed through the brush and followed the trail back from where they came.

  Chapter 9

  Ravious’ camp had been dismantled and packed up. Dedricus knew Kode and his group had left the night before, and Kasyra had taken out four soldiers. This left only the one armored guard and three troops. They already knew he'd be at the center structure.

  Silently, they snuck around the ruins. The three troops remaining were making their rounds. Taking them out would be easy enough, but they needed a plan. Behind a fallen pillar, they gained a vantage point to the center.

  The remaining armored guard kept watch over the center structure. He stood solemn, wielding a hefty two-handed scimitar. Runes, inscribed along the blade’s edge, shone with a red glow. The sword caught Dedricus’ eye, though Kasyra remained wary.

  “I've seen those before. They're magic-infused weapons. Really dangerous.”

  “Funny to see Ravious pulled out the big toys just for us.”

  “I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s probably not because of us. More like he doesn’t want anyone interrupting.”

  “What do we do? I could try to distract him while you hit him with a quick spell.”

  “I'm gonna hit the perimeter. Take out any guards I find, then get a vantage point to finish him off. Toy with him while I get ready.”

  Both agreed and head off separate ways. Really, he was unsure of what to do. He could face the armored guard head on and possibly kill him in direct combat. Another option was to wait for an opening and attack. On second thought, it didn't seem possible as he remained still as stone.

  Dedricus gave it a moment, looking up the daunting staircase. At the top was a worthy adversary. A test of his power. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't say he longed for a good fight.

  The mercenary unsheathed the stolen longsword and ascended. Perhaps driven by his own pride, the armored man paid him no mind until he was at the upper platform. The two
stared one another down.

  Dedricus got into a defensive position, keeping his legs apart and the weapon at a curve. Though he could only imagine his opponent was more powerful, he had to play it safe until Kasyra got her opening. The guard licked his lips in amusement, seeing the young man before him possessed a certain amount of skill.

  With little hesitation, he went in for a low slash. The mercenary blocked, but was staggered by the hit. In a flurry of strikes, the guard jabbed the pointed end of the sword at him. He meagerly deflected each hit, finding it hard to keep up.

  As Ravious’ minion drove forward once more, his opponent took a step to the side. A gout of flame erupted from the man’s gaping maw. Dedricus raised his left hand and pushed against the incoming fire with an arc of shadowy energy.

  He rushed ahead, keeping his sword close to his chest. The guard performed a series of acrobatic moves, twirling the scimitar around wildly. With his foe nearby, he swung the blade upward, launching a fireball. It quickly gained mass as it soared through the air.

  Eating it head on was not an option. At that point, seeing its massive size, dodging wouldn’t be possible for Dedricus either. He’d be incinerated if he didn’t play it right. Making a circular motion with his open palm, a phantasmal disk appeared before him.

  An eruption of intense heat knocked him away. The armored guard approached slowly, as the area had become shrouded in thick black smoke. Unable to defend fast enough, he had been impaled. An iron blade jutted out from a gap in his chestplate, oozing black blood from the wound.

  Before him, stood Dedricus, forcing the iron blade through. The man fought violently, swinging him about as he tried to rip the blade free. Despite the wound only growing worse, he didn’t seem to care at all. His tolerance to pain was almost supernatural. As they fought, the smoke cleared.

  The two wrestled about, falling to the floor, finally leading to a thrown fist from the guard. He struck the young man across the face and knocked him off. With the blade still in his gut, he rose, his scimitar tightly in his grasp. Scarlet beams glistened from under his helmet, as he harnessed a power unnatural to their world.