Death Knight Box Set

by Michael Chatfield

  A wall of light shot through the city; people screamed as it passed through homes and buildings as if they didn’t exist. Though instead of being hurt, people felt the power moving through their body but didn’t notice any changes.

  The courtroom unfolded once again and the judges were visible.

  Tysien thought that they looked less life-like, as if the power holding them there had weakened.

  “Next!” Anthony said.

  People started to move around as they realized that they were okay. They had more questions than answers as they looked up at the judges.

  Anthony cleared his throat as people started to get rowdy.

  “That was a spell to break the curse that was affecting everyone. With the curse now lifted, you will be able to use healing spells or medical concoctions and they should work. Guards, bring me barrels of fresh filtered water.”

  Guards looked to the guard captain, who nodded to them.

  They came back a few minutes later.

  The elven judge stood over the barrels and used a spell on the water.

  “Distribute the water to the people here and then pass to the Black Rags to distribute,” Anthony said.

  Again the guards looked at their guard captain.

  “Get to it,” the guard captain said.

  The guards took the water and started to distribute it as people moved forward to have this blessed water.

  Anthony’s hammer smacked on the table and everyone calmed down and looked at him.

  “Form lines. Only one serving per person. You don’t need any more,” Anthony said.

  People were organized and those who had the water started to head home to tell others and bring them to the square.

  “The next accused,” Anthony said, looking at the guard captain.

  People were brought out of their carriages one by one to stand in front of the judges.

  “Please don’t kill me!” a large panther kin with a scar down the side of his face said.

  “The judgement passed down must be agreed upon by the court. The death penalty is rare,” the pig kin said.

  Tysien was at the back of the crowd as people were brought out into the court. Many of them were innocent of their crimes; they had been unwittingly used as part of the ploy. As more people were brought forward, a story was revealed.

  The Agents of Chaos were brought into the city by an underground group who set them up with different hidden locations. They also got them access to the city. The Agents of Chaos had made contact with people inside the city. For months, they had been building their power base. They promised Count Lemar and those who were displeased with the state of Skalafell the position of city lord. The city lord would die and then they would take over. To show their magnanimity, they would then uncover the elven plot and build people’s anger toward the people in the Deepwood.

  Some were just treacherous; others actively knew that the poison was due to them. They used it on the rival noble families and then spread it through the streets with their carriages.

  They were people of Skalafell and the beast kin, so although their crimes were revealed to all, Anthony left their punishment to be determined by the beast kin judicial system at a later date. They were all bound with the purple chains to make sure that they wouldn’t be able to get away.

  People from Skalafell were coming to drink the cleansing water. People on stretchers were brought out by the Black Rags; others took the barrels of cleansing water and distributed it to those who weren’t strong enough to leave their homes.

  The crimes were read out as the judges and Anthony worked tirelessly. They went through tens of people before Count Lemar was brought onto the stage. At this point, everyone knew the crimes he had committed by his conspirators’ confessions.

  “Count Lemar.” Anthony looked at the man. He stood tall, no regret in his eyes as he looked Anthony in the eyes, defiant.

  “You are accused of working with Agents of Chaos against the people of Dena, for breaking your vow and the vow of your family to assist and help those under the protection of Skalafell. You are accused of poisoning your brother and the people of Skalafell.” Anthony sounded tired reading out the charges. “How do you plead?”

  “Guilty.”

  “For what reasons did you carry out this malicious act?” Anthony looked on Count Lemar. The courtyard was largely silent, all straining to listen.

  Count Lemar’s eyes were in a daze, but there was a sneer on his face. “City lord, that dog? That was meant to be my position! My father took him in and gave him our resources, but he forgets his position! Standing above me, taking the woman I love! I would remove him from power, take his seat. Then I would be able to slowly take his wife for my own. I would right how I was wronged and take back the position I deserve! He looked down on me, would send over gifts for the family, make it seem like he was a caring, brotherly figure but he was just doing it to shame me!”

  The dazed look disappeared. As he looked around, there was no repentance on his face.

  People in the crowd barely held onto their anger. Anthony and the judges glanced at them all, silencing them.

  “Count Lemar, your crimes are grave and I don’t know if there is a way that you can possibly atone for them.” The pig kin’s voice sounded like distant thunder; people felt their bloodlines quivering.

  “Your personal fate will be figured out by the people of Dena. As a clan spirit, I render this judgement.” The pig kin looked at the other judges; they gestured that they would take a step backward.

  “You have stained your very bloodline. From now on, you and your conspirators will no longer stain the great heritage of your bloodline.” The pig kin clan spirit held out his hand.

  Those already charged let out pained noises. Count Lemar coughed blood and dropped to his knees, a look of panic in his eyes.

  The pig kin twisted his hand and pulled. Blood was spat from the different accused’s mouths. The blood mist formed different beasts in mid-air and they all rushed toward the pig kin’s hand.

  They gathered together, galloping or roaming around the pig kin, who lowered his hand. “You will remain kin-less. Any children you sire will not have their ancestors’ bloodline.”

  The mist beasts took off into the skies. Lemar seemed to shrink as his powerful body was greatly weakened.

  Tysien and the other beast kin in the square all felt a chill run through them.

  Someone can remove a bloodline like that? With being unable to pass on their bloodline, their later generations will never be able to increase their strength. They will have to pass a bloodline trial in order to get a bloodline, which is incredibly difficult and there is a high chance of dying.

  “This brings our court to a close.” Anthony stood. He looked at the people in the square. “Black Rags, make sure that the water gets to the worst affected first and tell the medical staff that they should start using their spells and concoctions to help those in the open-air hospitals.”

  The city had largely fallen under the Black Rags’ control. Working with the guards, they could distribute the cleansing water the fastest.

  Did he have this in mind when he created the Black Rags? Tysien moved forward. She was verified by the guards and she took barrels, loading them onto her mount. They rushed off to one of the open-air hospitals that was farther away.

  She saw a messenger running at full speed, reaching the guard captain and forcing out his words.

  A look of panic appeared on his face as he ran up to Anthony.

  They jumped onto beasts. The guards released their reins as they raced up the streets toward the castle. The guard captain’s voice boomed through the streets, madness in his eyes.

  Chapter: A New Skalafell

  Anthony let out a sigh as he pinched the front of his helmet. He looked over to the guard captain and shook his head.

  The guard captain set his jaw and looked at the door.

  Keze was on the other side of the door, playing with her maids, not sure
what all the commotion was about.

  “She must’ve got more of the plague than we thought. She fell into a sleep, tired from it all,” Anthony said.

  She looked so peaceful lying beside her husband. His breathing had leveled out and he was showing signs of recovery.

  “The city lord?” the guard captain asked.

  “He’ll survive,” Anthony confirmed and stood up.

  Some servants were in the corner, crying to one another.

  “Thank you,” the guard captain said.

  Anthony nodded and headed out of the room.

  “Hey, you’re the tree knight!” Keze said as he exited the room.

  Anthony’s heart twisted as he looked over at the girl. She was half hiding behind one of her maids, who were looking at Anthony to pick out clues of what was happening behind the door.

  “That I am, little miss,” Anthony said.

  “My mommy said that you might look all scary but that you’re really working hard to help out people,” Keze said.

  Anthony stood there, not sure what to say. “That’s kind of her to say,” he finally choked out.

  “I’m sorry if I made any trouble,” Keze said with an uneasy expression. She held her hands behind her back as she moved back and forth.

  “It’s all okay now.” Anthony couldn’t even picture how crushed she would be in just minutes. He wanted to hug her and protect her from that pain, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to.

  Keze beamed as she looked at Anthony.

  “Stay strong, little one,” Anthony said in a small voice. He took one last look at her before he turned and walked away.

  An image appeared in his mind’s eye, of a man and a woman who had died defending the other. A simple cloak covered them both as a younger Anthony dropped to his knees. There were no tears, no feelings—just noise in his head. He’d snuck out and had been wandering around, knowing he needed to go home but he didn’t want to face his parents’ anger. He knew they would be okay after some time.

  He had been thinking of what he would say to them when he ran into a ranger who was friends with his parents. He took him back to their isolated home when he saw the door smashed open.

  He found Anthony’s parents and put his cloak over them.

  Anthony felt like it was a dream, as if it couldn’t possibly be real.

  Anthony headed out of the castle and Solomon appeared.

  “Take me to the worst cases,” Anthony said in a grim voice.

  He rode on the mount he had come in on.

  Solomon guided him through the city. Anthony expended his mana again and again, recovering while he was on his mount, moving across Skalafell to render aid to those he could.

  ***

  Ex-Count Lemar sat in his cell, looking at the bars. He had been doing this for the people, doing this for justice. His brother had to have used underhanded methods to get his position, to make Tissis his wife.

  Why was it that he took everything that I desire? Still, he is too far gone and I have been giving him more poison every time I see him with the healing concoctions I provided. No healer should be able to save him now.

  There was a vindictive light in his eyes as he heard the door to the dungeon open. He looked up as he saw the guard captain appear.

  “Come to beat a count?” Lemar sneered.

  “Tissis died from the plague.”

  Those five words were more powerful than losing his bloodline.

  Lemar’s thoughts turned chaotic as the guard captain left.

  “You’re lying! I didn’t poison her!” Lemar jumped up and grabbed the bars.

  “You brought the plague into the city, these Agents of Chaos. Does it matter? You’ll stand trial for her murder.” The guard captain continued to walk.

  “I didn’t want her to die! I loved her!”

  “No, you just wanted to have what your brother had, while he only wanted your recognition.” The guard captain had served three city lords, had looked after their families and come to know them closely. He barely contained his rage as Lemar was left there in shock and pain.

  “You’re lying!” Lemar yelled, grabbing and shaking the bars. He felt as though he were losing his mind. “Come back here and tell the truth!” Lemar screamed out as the door closed and locked. Lemar continued yelling but there were no answers.

  ***

  Tommie rubbed his face, covered in dirt and grime. He needed a bath and sleep. Like everyone else, he had seen the wall of light that had spread through Skalafell. They had sent in messages, fearing that it was some kind of attack spell.

  They got mixed messages, telling them about a trial, then about a curse being lifted.

  As more messages went back and forth, they started to get a clear idea of what was happening in the city.

  In the last two days since the end of the trial, the Black Rags and the guards had been working together, bringing supplies to those in need, caring for the worst affected, organizing funerals.

  For some, the cure didn’t come soon enough, but it looked like the majority of people would recover.

  As people were healed, they would then turn around and help out the Black Rags. Supplies were distributed fairly to the nobles and the common folk.

  The legion kept on helping with the traders.

  They were shipping in their own medical supplies as they were helping those affected.

  Anthony ran from place to place. He had gone through several mounts. The guards and Black Rags worked together to get him to the sickest people. He would heal them so that they had a higher chance of surviving, then flop onto his mount and go to the next place.

  It was unknown how many people he had used his healing spells on.

  He consumed mana-concentrated training aids as if they were candy. There were fewer people who needed aid as time went on and Anthony’s critical heals weren’t needed that much.

  “Gnome, we have an issue with one of the winches!” a beast kin said.

  “Coming,” Tommie said. His whole body was aching, his skin itchy and unwashed but he didn’t stop working.

  ***

  Anthony sat on Skalafell’s wall. Solomon appeared beside him before disappearing into his leg.

  He stood and stretched as he saw Tysien approaching with the leaders of the Black Rags. The guard captain was with them.

  “Everything going well?” Anthony asked.

  “People are recovering across the city. With the curse lifted, people are able to begin healing. The plague is under control and people should be back to normal in a few days. We’ve been talking to the legion. They’re going to send in some people to check on people’s conditions. Then they can allow us to open the city gates and they’ll take the accused to Bracegar, where all of the clans are and their sentences will be given out,” Tysien said.

  “Looks like you’ve got everything sorted.” Anthony nodded.

  “Thank you for your help,” the guard captain said.

  “I didn’t do much. These three did much more than me, and didn’t sleep much the entire time.” Anthony looked at Ubi, Mai, and Jun, who still wore their Black Rags. But they had them around their necks instead of covering their faces.

  The trio had a mix of emotions on their faces before they bowed.

  “Thank you for placing your trust in us and guiding us!” Jun yelled out so his voice wouldn’t get choked up.

  “Come on, guys. I might have helped you a little bit, but you put in the work,” Anthony said.

  The trio slowly came out of their bow.

  “What do we do with the Black Rags now?” Mai asked.

  “Help the people of Dena and Skalafell. There won’t always be a plague but if you can help one another, you can become stronger than before. If it stays around, make sure that you are a force of good, or disband the group,” Anthony said.

  Ubi, Jun, and Mai clasped their fists as there was a noise from the other side of the wall.

  “Seems it’s about time to go. Watch out—there are for
ces of chaos in the shadows and it looks like they’re ramping up their efforts,” Anthony said as he walked toward the other side of the wall.

  “Stay classy.” Anthony tripped and fell over the wall. He let out a shriek as he windmilled his arms and legs, slamming into the ground.

  “Could you stop falling all over the place,” Aila hissed as she looked around.

  “I didn’t mean to.” Anthony pushed up off the ground, mud stuck in his helmet.

  Aila gave Anthony a skeptical look. “Come on, let’s go,” Aila said finally.

  “A nice comfortable bed, a warm path, and stew—I could go for some stew. Nice and thick broth, with big chunks of meat and veggies,” Tommie said.

  “Hello to you, too, my gnomish friend,” Anthony said, and looked at Aila.

  “Hey Anthony, wake me up when we get there.” Tommie leaned forward and little snoring sounds came from him.

  “Hasn’t slept most of the time,” Aila explained.

  “Sleep riding—this should be good. Aren’t we going on the road again? Why is he talking about warm water?” Anthony patted old Ramona, who let out a pleased noise as he got up into his saddle and they started forward.

  “Well, I might not have told him that we’re going right back on the road to not draw attention,” Aila said awkwardly in her low voice.

  Tommie snorted, muttering in his sleep. “No, that’s too much, need more charcoal.”

  Anthony turned and waved to the people on the wall. “Not the most elegant departure. Thought it would be kind of badass,” Anthony muttered.

  “There is nothing graceful about you, Anthony.” Aila leaned forward, lying on her beast. “Keep watch.”

  “Just because I don’t need sleep doesn’t mean I want to take watch every time,” Anthony complained. He looked over.

  Aila was already asleep.

  “Well, Ramona, it’s just you and me! So how have you and the twins been? Have you been eating well?” Anthony asked in a dopey voice as he gave Ramona scratches.

  Chapter: Beauty Isn’t Skin Deep