“Yes” answered the boy, grinning from the pain.
“With that sword?”
“Yes, I have found it on the cave floor and it saved my life. Although I have never seen a blade like this” He gave it to Agaroth, who pulled the blade out and inspected it for a few seconds.
“Could this be? Could this be what I think it is?” he murmured.
“It glowed when I pierced it into the monster’s heart”
“Then, there is no doubt. This, my friend, might be the only one you will ever see. Even I am not sure about this because barely anyone seen it. This‘blade’, which is certainly not a fitting title for something like this, is one of the great Trokhaiswords. Made by the Blacksmith himself. This, is a very rare blade”he raised the sword, pointing at every side and detail“You see this? This, on the handle, is a rune. To be exact, a rune writing. Its words are infused with powerful magic, one, which cannot take or give from it. Unfortunately it is in a long and forgotten language. Rhakain. I believe that’s what it says, in our language it means ‘Storm bringer’. We could visit a library next time. Maybe we’ll find something. It is quite interesting. It is not only the rune, but there are other writings along the spine of the blade and the guards, which are sharpened so that the enemy can’t hold onto it. The pommel is also very sharp and is in a diamond shape so that it could also be used as a weapon. Each side is dangerous and there is no fault anywhere at all, other than the leather, which is still in amazing condition. I must say, this is unbelievable. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life and I thought I’ll never will. Protect this with your life”
“Can I have it?” asked Burdõl “No” answered Agaroth, fast, before Arkain could do anything.
But Arkain didn’t want to finish.“But why is this blade so special? What is it made from?”
“Tell you on the way back. Can you walk?”
“I can manage”
“These kind of blades are apparently made from dragon bone and some kind of other metal which is a secret mixture. Dragon bones are hard enough on their own but if you add a metal to it then there is no stopping the blade. Even an elven sword could not stop it. It would break in half. The great mystery is that no-one knows where the Blacksmith lives, how he looks like or how he does all of this. You cannot work with dragon bone because you need something even stronger than that to at least make a fracture in it. I am afraid that there is no metal or tool in this world that could do something like that”
The closer they have got to the village the worse the weather got. Eventually, it started raining and the puddles around them, started growing and growing. Some connected, some made their way into a river. The trees were mostly scattered around, so they could not provide complete protection. In the distance, smoke clouds could be seen, most likely from burning wood. They have stretched far up, into the sky giving exact directions to the three travellers. Soon, they have reached the clearing which hosted the group of houses. Everything seemed quiet. Just as quiet as when they have first come here. It was dead silence again, just like before. Some of the bodies which kept walking before the three of them went to the cave, now were laying on the ground and motionless. They were scattered around the place. Despite the situation, Arkain, Agaroth and Burdõlneeded to get rest. For this, they needed a shelter and this was the only place they could find one. The three of them went back to the same house, opened the door and walked in. The man was still sitting there. His hands were covering his face and his body was shaking. Through deep within his hands came a sound. The sound was rapidly increasing, then slowing down and if one were to inspect the man’s hands, he could see that there was water flowing down. He was crying and there were no doubt about that. When he heard the creaking door, his hands fell and his eyes, which were now normal, stared at the visitors.“What happened?” he asked with the same crushed voice which echoed in the silence. He mentioned the dead bodies and that he saw the dead children too. No-one escaped. He explained that there were people disappearing every night. When they have finally noticed this, a group of men decided to stand guard. A creature could be seen flying towards the houses once at dawn by a soldier, which immediately warned the others to hunt it down. They have successfully scared it into a cave and cut its wings so that it could not fly anymore but no-one came out after they went into the tunnel. Everyone died and soon people continued to disappear. Chains were hanged on doors and windows were barricaded but there was no stopping the monster. Then, it all went dark. One night, when he heard that it was trying to bash through a house to get to a mother who was protecting its child, he went out to get the beast but everything went dark. It was like his vision and mind have been buried deep underground. Just a few minutes later he got it back.“I wished that I would have stayed that way!”Seeing that he was broken, Agaroth tried to be sensitive about the agreement. The old man told them that they can have everything but help him burn the corpses. At least allow the dead to have a proper funeral, because as soon as he regained his vision and went out he could not face the chaos and ran back inside.“Have you seen your face yet?” asked the traveller.
“No, I did not”
When hearing this, Agaroth decided not to worsen the moment and continued on.“I am afraid you are going to die soon. You don’t have much time. Is there anything that we can do for you?”
“What exactly? You have got rid of that foul beast. That is enough for me”
All of a sudden, they have heard someone crying. It was a high pitched voice, but silent and came from outside. Arkain and Burdõlwas horrified when they have heard that it was a child’s. All of them rushed outside and saw a girl, lying on the cold hard ground. Her hair was brown and her clothes were dirty. Her face was not as bad as the man’s but still horrifying. The old farmer quickly ran to her. He grabbed her with both of his bony hands and held her, tried to talk nicely and tried calm the girl down but it was all for nothing.“It hurts” she cried.
“I know. I know, but it is not going to hurt for long”Now, the farmer started crying as well.“We are going to a better place Bella”
“Where is mommy?” the crying intensified but was still silent.
“Mommy is waiting for us. We are going to meet her soon. Just close your eyes and think of her”
The girl continued to cry and made everyone around her demolished except Agaroth. He seemed to have closed his eyes as well, murmuring some kind of a chant. Arkain was tearing up and Burdõl was on his knees, holding his helmet. A few short seconds later, the girl became quiet and her body stopped shaking. Her muscles weren’t flexed anymore and her mouth stopped. Her chest froze as the man was screaming. Holding it even tighter, he did not want to release her, but soon, his hands became weak, and could not do anything. A few seconds later, he fell too and moved no more. Agaroth left and Burdõlwent into one of the houses but Arkain stayed there for a very long time. It became dark, when the traveller came back with wood in his hand. Desolated by the sight Arkain still couldn’t leave and when Agaroth told him to get some rest, he refused.“I cannot let this happen again. They were innocent. They deserved better” he said when the bonfire was being lighted.
“You cannot save everyone” answered Agaroth, making the boy realize the reality of the situation. After a long period of silence he spoke again.
“Arkain, you cannot save everyone you run into. Some people don’t even want to be saved, but you have a potential to save other lives if you do this right. You cannot change the past, but you can change the future” he said it as he started throwing the bodies onto the heat. Arkain, shortly joined and before they knew it Burdõlwas on the case too. Having smoked quite a lot since the girl’s death, he could handle all of this a bit easier. By midnight they were done, and the bodies were being claimed by the flames. The ripped off clothes flew up into the air, and the ashes followed them. Despite the rain, the bodies caught fire rapidly.“Let’s go in” said Burdõlafter staying out in the freezing weather for a long time to pay respect.“Come on
in, you cannot stay here forever. You get cold and then we’ll see who will carry who” Slowly but eventually, the boy followed the dwarf into a house, which stood near the fire but far away so it doesn’t go up in flames. The windows were painted bright by the light inside, which was given off by candles, which the dwarf collected from other houses. The interior wasn’t big or special but there were beds inside and a dry area. Agaroth have even managed to find bread, which was barely mouldy, and dried meat.
They were quickly eaten and the beds were quickly being used. The candles were blown out and they went to sleep, or at least eventually, because Arkain couldn’t sleep. When he turned around he could see that Burdõl was in the same situation. The dwarf moved and moved but could not get into a comfortable position. I promise I am not going to let anyone die in my presence ever again. If I can do something, I will help, even if I have to sacrifice myself. Who would miss me? The world wouldn’t change if I was gone would it? He looked around again. It was all dark and only the fire from outside showed little sign of light, a light which he did not want to see, so he closed his eyes. The dreams could not be stopped, and after a time, the boy got so far into thinking that his eyes closed and his body went into a deep slumber.
Chapter 15: Off we go
Thump. Thump. Thump. The room was cold and dry. It was all quiet until he woke up. Small droplets of molten clouds were knocking on the windows. When liquid and wood touched, the liquid got the worse end. It have turned into many shrapnel and slithered down leaving long lines behind it. Each thump, each crash pulled the boy back further and further from his dream into the harsh world of reality. He raised his head, slowly, trying to sustain the pain on a bearable level. From his mouth, came long mist when he opened it to breathe out. Like coming out onto the surface from a deep lake, he came out from his slumber grabbing for air. Everything looked cold in the house. The beds had frostbites on them and cupboards were crackling. The door slightly was open and Agaroth was standing there, outside under bit of roof, safe from rain. Even though it was loud, and did not look like it is going to stop, it felt like it was completely quiet. Arkain, looked around again and sat up. His sword was next to him, close, and in reach so that he could use it at any moment. His hand grabbed the cold but grippy leather and pulled the blade out of the holder. It was silent as the cold steel was revealed. Its clean surface reflected anything and everything around. Light shined upon it and bounced off like it was a game. The edges, sharp as any edge could be, in an aggressive but elegant position, ready to follow every command. He raised the blade up to his face to see his own reflection. It showed a face, a worn face which did not show much expression. His eyes were brown and his hair was black. His eyebrows stretched across above his eyes, two for each. His nose was in the middle with his mouth below it. He looked away for a moment. The rain increased and increased. Became louder and louder. Puddles started to form, others started to grow. Agaroth just stood there, motionless. Wonder what he is thinking? There was no point in holding the sword anymore. He saw himself and that is it. He should get ready. He turned his head, slowly towards the blade but his eyes froze when he looked at it. It was a reflection, nothing like he has ever seen before, only once, just once. In the reflection, a wolf could be seen with black fur and menacing head. Its eyes were yellow with a black dot inside. It was directly looking at him. Arkain’s heartbeat redoubled. This ‘wolf’ did not look like it was one of the others that followed the three of them. It was a lot bigger, even from his head, it could be seen that it is enormous. The boy could not hold his eyes anymore and blinked. He opened his eyes again, but the reflection was gone and was now not showing anything. It was blank. There wasn’t anything in it anymore, just the colour of metal. However hard he tried to focus the light on it, it didn’t show anything. He tried it for a few minutes, then gave up, and placed the sword back in its sheath, which he tied around his waist as soon as he got up. Burdõlwas still asleep. Trying to not waking him up, the boy walked outside. He opened the door, which answered with a long creak, and walked outside. He stood beside the traveller who looked towards the trees.“Morning”murmured Arkain with little power in his voice, dusting off the cobwebs that were stuck to his throat. Agaroth replied with the same tone but quickly started a conversation with it.“We need to leave soon. There is no point in waiting for the rain to stop because it won’t. If we start walking too late, then we will not be able to reach the city until dusk. We need to go now” he said and the boy believed him. They have waited a few moments and woke up Burdõl. Agaroth quickly grabbed a few useful items from the houses and went back to the cave for clothes. Arkain and Agaroth was steadily waiting for Agaroth to return and once they saw him, they walked up to him and took off. Their clothes were warm because Agaroth managed to grab some thick capes. They quickly tied them around their back to protect their body from the rain. This worked, but only slightly. After a while, when the village was far in the distance and most of it was covered up by the long pine trees, their clothes inevitably started to get wet, but relentless of this, they kept going, trying to reach a road which would have led to the city they were all eager to reach. The short word meant warmth and proper food for them. This was harder than one would think. Everything around them, once they got deep inside, was covered up by shrubs and long wood. The trees had no leafs on them that could provide protection and there weren’t any clearings or empty fields of grass. Travelling was made harder by the thick brushes and twigs on the ground that sometimes covered their way. Sometimes, they even stopped the three of them from moving and caused the travellers to grab their blades and start chopping. With every swing, the dwarf was more eagerly looking Arkain’s sword, and by the end he almost looked menacing. Realizing that he would be in the same situation as the dwarf, he handed the sword to him, allowing his eagerness to decrease. While the dwarf was borrowing it, he was using a small axe. The difference could immediately be felt, because the rough axe did not cut through the forest as easily as the other blade. He needed to chop the bigger pieces of wood a few times before they have decided to fall down. On the other hand, Burdõl was enjoying it like never before. His eagerness increased as the blades edges melted through anything that came in its path. This nearly made the boy regret his choice but didn’t bother. His hands got used to it quickly and as soon as they had a clear path, the weapons were swapped back, with great sadness, and the three of them continued on forward. The mountain behind them completely disappeared along with hills and tall rocks, trees and small ponds, and lakes. The only thing that managed to catch up with them was a river. A small river which compared to its size was fast and raging along the way. Although it wasn’t big they did not dare to cross it. Later on they have found a fallen, dead tree which they have managed to use as a make-do bridge, and then continue on. By then, the rain was horrible and managed to soak through all their clothes while the sun danced towards the south. Still, they have kept trooping on and on through soaked and wet lands as puddles started to fill up and mud started to form after their footsteps. Even some of the grass came out from the ground as its ground soaked up. The monotone pounding of the rain continued on and on eventually syncing with the travellers’ footsteps. All the animals were long gone, hiding, away from danger and all. There were no birds and even insects or bugs. Everything was gone except the cobwebs that were left behind. Each string collected a drop each creating a jewel of reflective liquid. Everything was far away from civilization and far from human contact. This was especially good, according to Agaroth who talked about how some people might try to get Arkain. The boy was warned to look out for soldiers, petty thieves and anyone that has the potential of capturing him. Even though they haven’t been to a civilization in a long time, the people didn’t forget about him and there is still money placed on his head. There was no exception, if it was necessary, Burdõland Agaroth would have been killed too.“Can’t we have enough of that?” asked Burdõlwith great annoyance“Of course, this is all true, but don’t mind that! Mind
the rain! I would rather fight for hours than withstand another day of this rain!” As impossible as it was, it had been raining for days now. The same monotone tap on their shoulders continued on and on without even a sight of stopping. The situation got worse and worse. The soaked up land made it harder to travel and rivers plummeted down from north with great speed to cause flood. Some of the forest’s greatest areas got so flooded that they needed to walk around. The sign that they would reach the city soon had started to fade whenever Agaroth turned around and went to the opposite way. Each footstep they took left a muddy mark behind and felt like they have turned into puddles immediately. Whenever they wanted to settle down, the fire could not be lit and by the morning half of their site had turned into liquid nearly trapping them. Days have passed until the forest started to become thinner and, what looked like a clear path, stretched across the view. They looked around to see if that really was the dirt road that would have defied everything, but there was not much to see. They listened carefully and tried to work out whether it was worth checking it out. A few seconds had gone by when the monotone rain had started to become something else, no, not something else. The turn of wheels and the thumping of horse shoes could be heard from a distance.“There is a carriage in front of us! Can you hear it?” shouted Arkain but Burdõlquickly told him that it was nothing. Agaroth could not be fooled though. He listened carefully as well to see if the boy was telling the truth. Out of nowhere he jumped for it and started running towards the sound with the others catching up. Arkain sprinted as fast as he could, to see if he was right. He jumped over tree barks, sticks and leaped over muddy ponds before he got to it. He jumped out onto the road that was in front of him. In the front were two horses, carrying a heavy carriage speeding towards the three of them. The coachman was shouting, hurrying the horses to be faster and faster. Only in the last minute did he see the three strangers standing in front of him. He looked to the left and he looked to the right but there was no way of going around. If he goes through them, the horses will get injured. All he could do is stop and grab his sword. In the last minute, he pulled back the leather that was holding the horses and shouted“Whoa!”As soon as he stopped, his hands grabbed a sword which was pointed towards the strangers.“What do you want?!” he asked with a rather loud tone.
With Blades and Flames: Awakening Page 14
