by C Woodward
Jerak was hanging around outside of the warehouse, “So, get any leads?”
I smiled, but the gesture was useless due to my helmet, “Yes, let’s go to the harbor.” Under my helmet, I inhaled the smell of the sea. I saw a swell come into the harbor. The harbor was filled with ships and more warehouses surrounded the docks. We saw a large crowd of dock workers busy hauling crates, barrels, and sacks; going on and coming off the ships. There were a few old men sitting on an empty pier, holding simple fishing poles. They looked quite relaxed and it made me want to just take it easy and join them. But, I had much more important things to attend to.
“So, the north gate, right?” Jerak confirmed. I stared north of the pier and saw a tower by a distant wall.
Without saying a word, I turned that way, “Keep an eye out for him, ok?” Jerak nodded, “Of course. Oh, look at that.” I turned and glanced over. He was looking at an elf girl who was busy with a basket full of fish. I laughed, but had to admit that she was quite a looker. Jerak had already walked up to her. I rolled my eyes and moved toward the pier.
There wasn’t much to on the road to the tower; a few taverns and simple fish shops likely selling bait. I saw were a few kids running around. A group was chasing after another kid who had a ball made out of rags and twine. It was nice to hear them yelling and laughing as they played. I was kind of a surprised when they tackled each other to get the ball, just to have others chase them down again. They were so into their game that the boy with the ball ran into me. They stopped playing and stared at me. The kid with the ball was bleeding on his forehead, nothing serious, but he put his hand on his head.
I knelt down, “Are you ok?”
He looked at me, “S s sorry, sir!”
I laughed, “You should get that wound cleaned.”
I glanced around and apart from a lone person walking, there were no adults.
“Are you a bad guy?” one of the younger kids standing away asked me.
I shook my head, “No I am not, but I stop bad guys.”
A little girl chimed in, “Then why you have dark armor?”
Laughing, I answered, “The color of my armor doesn’t make me a bad guy.”
A boy yelled, “Where did you get that neat armor?”
I answered, “My wife gave it to me.”
A few of them laughed. “Nuh uh!” another little girl said. She carried a simple looking doll and stared at me, “Do you serve in a castle?”
A boy mocked her, “Dark knights don’t serve in a castle!” The girl protested, “Ya uh! They can so serve a castle!” The kids argued a bit. I sighed and stood up. No sense sticking around here. I took a few steps and realized I now had a group of kids tagging along behind me.
They kept asking random questions. I guess a dark knight was a highlight of their day. “Have you ever fought monsters?” one asked. I answered and end up telling them of a few monsters I had fought. They were impressed. I enjoyed sharing a story or two. But, I really need to get them away and safe in case I find Forren.
A boy, who appeared to be about four years old, tugged on my cape. He stood looking up at me and asked, “Have you seen a dragon?”
I nodded, “Yes, I have.”
The boy stated, “My dad said that there is a dragon up north that flies and breathes fire.”
I nodded and continues scanning, “He is correct.”
He tugged on my cape again, “I once saw a lizard that might be a baby dragon.”
I laughed and humored him, “Oh, really?” The boy nodded.
Another boy interrupted, “That’s not a baby dragon!”
The little boy disagreed, “It could be!” They argued again. I looked around and saw no sign of Jerak. Now, where did he go?
The older boy shouted at the younger one, “Don’t lie! Or Talestria will take away your tongue!” The younger boy covered his mouth and looked scared.
I laughed, “Talestria wouldn’t do that.”
The older boy spoke, “I heard she will take your tongue if you lie, and make a stew from it.” I couldn’t help myself, “Talestria doesn’t do that sort of thing. She is nice.” A few kids stared at me shook their head and a few others cried, “No!” I laughed, “I know her and she doesn’t hurt nice kids such as yourselves.”
The older boy pointed at me, “Liar!” Jerak showed up just then, with a red mark on his face.
“Shouldn’t we be looking for that guy?” he asked.
I stared at him, “Don’t go wandering off like that.” Jerak protested, “Hey, I was asking everyone if they had seen him!” I knew he was lying. Somehow talking to these kids isn’t that far from talking with Jerak.
The oldest boy asked Jerak, “He never met Talestria, right?”
Jerak looked at him, then at me and then smiled, “Oh, he did more than that, he married her!” A few kids stared at me. I could see that some believed it and some were skeptical. I nodded my head. Jerak laughed, “So, don’t annoy him or he will send her after you.” A few kids ran away.
I stared at Jerak, “Really? I would prefer kids weren’t afraid of her.”
Jerak laughed, “Ah, don’t worry. They will forget all about this in a day or two.”
I shook my head, “You’re a dingus.” A few kids stood by watching as we walked away. I guess it was good that Jerak told them that, since it kept them away. I just wished he hadn’t given them more to fear about my wife. I was glad she wasn’t here. I know she would be a bit hurt hearing such things from the children. Also, she would zap Jerak for saying what he did!
I hope she was doing alright back in Trawlast. At least she could keep busy there. At times like this, it made me wish we had a contact stone. She thought about making a replacement for the broken one, but never had the chance. I would feel better if I could speak with her but, maybe I’m still too lovey-dovey. Jerak poked me as we reached the northeast gate. The tower I saw earlier was actually a lighthouse. We saw barracks across the way which made me feel safe but at the same time, paranoid.
We trudged through the gate and spotted a few travelers, but not who we were looking for. Jerak sat down on the nearest bench, “This is annoying.” I kept looking around. My anxiety was still high as I glanced at the guards, who were watching me. Perhaps, they were wondering as if I was up to no good. The only people I saw were a few older women in a small group. I saw one of the old men who had been fishing earlier, and an old man in a black robe. It wasn’t a frequently used gate. I didn’t seeing anyone who could be Forren.
Jerak kicked at a tiny pebble, “I am going to check the back alleys over there. I’ll be right back.” I nodded and took his seat on the bench. The old women were loud and gossiped about petty things. The old man in the black robe stopped in the middle of the road after passing through the gate. He looked quite sickly, with long, dirty white hair. His complexion was very pale and he was covered up in his black robe looking as if the sun would fry him. The old fisherman tipped his hat at the women and began to flirt with them. I sighed. Then, I saw a small group of strange-looking people walking towards the old man in the black robe.
My heart started beating faster. The first thing that caught my attention was a large ogre decked out in heavy, plate armor. I hadn’t seen any ogres in the area, so he greatly stood out. Another man walked up behind the ogre. He was middle-aged and wore fancy, grey clothing, as well as a large breastplate, which looked more decorative than practical. He had an arrogant expression on his face and spoke to the old man in the black robe. The ogre stood expressionless, and acted a bit submissive around the rich, middle aged guy. I had a strange feeling about this. This fancy guy must be him!
I strained to hear their conversation, but they were too far to hear a word. The more I watched, the more I became convinced it was Forren, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Another figure showed up from outside the gate. I could almost smell him; it was that druid guy! Oh, that was most definitely Forren, but now what do I do? I couldn’t just walk up to him and beat him to a
pulp. He didn’t appear to be much of a fighter, but that heavily armored ogre meant serious trouble. I knew the druid was a problem. No clue about the old man in the black robe.
Finally, I saw Jerak walking back. He had a bored look of on his face. “Hey, anything happening?”
I shushed him and whispered, “It’s him, over there.”
Jerak looked over and then leaned back. “Which one?”
I muttered, “The guy in grey.”
Jerak shrugged, “Hey, he looks like a pansy, though that ogre looks armored to the teeth. Um, who are the other guys?” “Don’t know. What do you think we should do now?” Stupid me, If Jerak were wise, he would of thought to send one of us get the rest of the guys before we acted.
He simply said, “Let’s go knock his teeth in.” I must admit that I liked that idea, but the two obvious threats and one strange old man made that a bad idea. Plus, the guards might jump in to aid him. I had to think. Then, I saw a few of the kids I met earlier, which gave me an idea.
Three of them walked up to me, waving. I waved back. Maybe I can ask the kids to do some acting for one of the guards. I signaled one of the kids closer and whispered in a friendly tone, “Hey, want to play a funny prank?”
Two of them had an evil smile and I knew they would play along. I lowered my head to their level, “Alright, you see those guards over there?” They nodded,
“Here is the prank. I want you to pretend to cry and tell the guards that the man in grey hurt you.”
The little girl was surprisingly devious, “I can do it.” I smiled, “Good, remember to really cry and tell the guard that he hit you.” The girl nodded her head. I figured this act would put some heat on the guy and might separate him from his goons. I would have a better chance of dealing with him without the others around.
Jerak interrupted my plan, “Um, Blake. That guy in the brown robe is pointing at us.” I quickly turned. Jerak was right; they were all looking in my direction. Goose bumps covered my body as the man in grey had a look of surprise and appeared to be barking an order. I stood up, “Um, kids, we have to go.” I saw the suspicious group coming closer. They weren’t running, but were definitely coming toward us.
Looking at Jerak, I said, “This is bad. We should go get the other guys, now!” I turned again and saw the antagonists were getting closer, but the little girl had already walked up to one of the guards and began the prank. She was crying up a storm and pointing. The guard looked at her and then looked towards the man in grey. The guard looked ticked.
Before I knew it, three guards confronted the man in grey. He looked surprised and confused. I couldn’t help but smile. I couldn’t believe it worked. Jerak and I jogged away. I looked ahead and try to locate the chapel building. It was a fair distance away. We hoped that by the time we got there, the rest of our group would be there. Jerak laughed as we jogged, “Once we get the rest of the group, we can take them on!”
I smiled, “I hope things work out.”
Jerak laughed, “Yeah, and it didn’t look like that Blood Witch was …” He stopped mid-sentence when a whirling blade came flying right at me. The thing nearly hit my face. Then, to my horror, I saw it swiftly spinning back at me. I gasped, “Oh, crap!” The Blood Witch stood on the roof of a building, staring, wearing her creepy mask. I drew my sword and stood, looking at her. My legs were shaking. In the blink of an eye, she made an acrobatic jump right at me. Her scythe blade clashed on my sword as I parried. I saw her eyes through her mask. I could feel the hatred and the insanity. We stared at each other while pressing our blades against each other.
Now Jerak moved in and took a swing at her. She saw him at the last second and jumped to the side. She spun around and made a wild swing at him. Her blade hit nothing but a few strands of Jerak’s hair. He let out a vulgarity while he dodged the attack.
I moved in and charged with a thrusting motion of my blade. She leaned back enough and let the blade pass through the air. The palm of her other hand pressed against me and I heard an evil chuckle. A second later, a burst of electricity jolted me. The impact sent me back onto the ground a couple feet. My side felt like it was burning. I came back to reality as she turned her full attention to me.
“Calooby!” Jerak yelled as he charged her. She turned and blocked his mace attack. He swung with his buckler but, she tilted the handle of her scythe and parried that as well. I quickly got up and grabbed my sword. I moved around and tried to attack her from another angle. She laughed maniacally before she jumped back and did a flip to get away from us. Jerak yelled, “That was crazy!”
She swung her scythe causing it to spin right at us. We jumped out of the way. She let out a single, “Ha!” and, to my surprise, a surge of electricity flew from the chain of the blade and arched towards us. I got hit which sent me to the ground again.
I glanced over and saw Jerak lying on the ground. He was twitching. I could hardly breathe at the moment, and searched and found my sword. My body was twitching as I reached for it. The Witch drew her weapon and walked over to me. She chuckled in a most sinister way. I took deep breaths and tried to overcome the pain as I got myself up. I made it only as far as my knees before she reached me. She lifted her blade and laughed as she aimed at me.
I tried to stand again as I watched her aim. Her blade began to glow red and she took her time. Her arms moved a little when I managed to stand. She quickly slashed at me. I parried, but her blade created a wider slash than I expected and it slashed through my sword, severing it from the hilt.
The blade also slashed through my helmet. A second later, I felt a rush of pain. Quickly, I dropped as she cut deeply at my face. I felt it from the middle of my nose and along my right cheek. Blood spewed all over my helmet. I yelled out, reacting to the pain, as I scrambled back to my feet. The pain was unbearable. I tried to look up but the blood blinded me. Gritting my teeth, I groaned. My only feelings were pain and the fear that this will be the end of me.
Over my struggles of pain, I heard some loud, booming voices. I could hear Rejun’s voice. I don’t know how, but I felt someone grab my left arm and pull. I heard more laughter from the Blood Witch. “Let’s get you out of here!” Jerak said. I could now see that he was the one pulling me.
I tried to help but kept fumbling. He spoke again, “Teltar and Rejun are here. We got your back!” That made me so glad, I almost cried but it could be the unbearable pain I was feeling. Jerak helped me to stand. I sensed he was feeling very concerned. We both started to run. “You are bleeding a lot, man!” he said. I couldn’t utter a word and any movement brought more pain. All I could do was run and breathe.
“The guards are helping out now! Good!” Jerak said with a sign of hope. I couldn’t see what was happening. Jerak shoved me over something that caused me to fall on some bags or something. The fall caused my helmet to hit my face and extracted more pain. “Sorry!” Jerak apologized. I only moaned loudly. It was getting harder to breath. I wouldn’t be surprised that I was losing a lot of blood. It didn’t take long before I faded out.
I woke up to the sound of birds and the ocean. It was peaceful until my brain woke up enough to feel the pain again. My face hurt a lot. I could only manage to open my left eye. Everything was blurry. I was facing a wood ceiling. I tried to speak but even breathing hurt. Slowly, I felt bandages on my face. They covered all but my left eye.
I heard a familiar voice; it was Jerak. “Oh, you’re awake!” I just blinked. He came into view, “It is good that you are fine. You were bleeding quite a bit.” An unfamiliar man came into view. He held my helmet and showed it to me, “You took quite a beating! You are lucky that the wound wasn’t any deeper.” I stared at it, silently. The helmet had a big gash through it as if made of cardboard. When she faced me the first time, her blade wasn’t able to do that. It must have been that red glow. I closed my eye and drifted off again.
Opening my eye again, the pain was still there. I could hear Jerak speaking to someone, but couldn’t make out what is being said. Bre
athing though my nose hurt and it felt like I was sniffing in blood, so I tried breathing though my mouth. My head was swimming and everything was spinning.
Jerak showed up. “Oh, you’re up!” he said cheerfully. He looked closer at me, “You are still bleeding, but not badly. Don’t worry! I am sure you will recover from this in no time!”
Another voice boomed in, “I don’t think a wound that deep will ever fully heal. It will take a long time.”
Jerak laughed and said to the man, “You don’t know who this is, do you?”
The man asked as he came into view, “Oh? Who is he?”
Jerak laughed, “This is Blake!”
The man peered over me again. I stared at him and blinked. “You jest!” the man said doubtfully.
Jerak spoke loudly, “No, really, it is him! He is a good friend of mine, and he will heal from this faster than you know!”
The man sighed, “If you say so.” I lay there, staring at the ceiling, feeling a crazy amount of pain and a bit dizzy. I had no doubt that I lost a lot of blood. I closed my eye and tried to rest, but the pain kept coming to haunt me. I wondered what happened when I was injured. I remember hearing Rejun shout and I’m was sure Teltar was there to help out. The fact the guards showed up made me feel a little better.
There was no way the Blood Witch stuck around to fight all of them. I wonder where I am. From what I could see, the ceiling was made of wood, the floors as well. I wonder if the strange man was a doctor of some sort.
Jerak came in. He had some food with him but I couldn’t smell anything. He held a bowl and ladled out something with a small wooden spoon. He lifted a little of it in my direction, “It’s not that good, but it’s the only mushy food I could find.”
Jerak stuck the spoon into my mouth. I slowly swallowed it. I might have been some kind of oatmeal, but I could be wrong. It really had no taste. Man, I hope I didn’t lose that sense as well.
“Can you move at all?” Jerak asked. I twitched my fingers and slowly lifted my hand. It felt heavy but I think I could feed myself. I slowly reached for the spoon and took over.
