Killing Monsters

by R T Islington

  The elves had also communicated with Yoshihiro secretly, this was a surprise to Hiroki as the elves keep themselves secluded behind their high walls and tend to shun other races, however Yoshihiro’s ex-love was an elf, the beautiful Vanya.

  Yoshihiro had met Vanya during his teenage years on Swordsman Shores and though elves prefer seclusion, due to the famed swordsman tutorage of this island they were known to send small numbers here to train. Yoshihiro had spoken of Vanya many times to Hiroki and it seemed as though they were madly in love, however their relationship was shattered when Vanya returned to the elven homelands and Yoshihiro walked his own path to become a swordsman.

  Hiroki had met Vanya several times, he liked her as she was beautiful and intelligent, she was also kind and a counter to Yoshihiro’s primal nature and savagery.

  “I didn’t know you still spoke to her. Is she okay?” asked Hiroki curiously?

  “We have our ways of communication via elven artefacts. Yes, she’s fine,” responded Yoshihiro bluntly.

  It was clear he still harboured feelings for her so Hiroki decided to allow Yoshihiro to continue, not wanting to stir up emotions.

  Yoshihiro explained throughout the years the war in the East had become more barbaric day by day and one of the rival kings would soon seize victory, then no doubt set their sights on the centre.

  The conversation branched off into more present matters regarding the meeting with the warlord Darius in the morning.

  “Tatsuya told me about Darius murdering his family many years ago. How do you intend on killing him within his own walls?” Hiroki’s tone was both curious and excitable.

  Yoshihiro replied and laid out his plans clearly. “Tatsuya was supposed to keep that private and I’m surprised he told you of that tale, no matter it can’t be helped. It’s true, Darius killed Tatsuya’s family and I promised him justice. I can read Darius like a book, as like all warlords, he’s greedy and selfish and this makes him predictable. I know of what Darius will ask and I will use him before killing him!” Yoshihiro smiled, a villainous smile of a man that lived for the thrill of battle.

  “How are we going to do it?

  “There are two rival warlords who are growing in power and numbers and I have no doubt Darius wants us to eradicate the rival threats for him. Darius has a respectable small army, but not big enough to risk in an all-out battle against rivals. We will earn his trust and pose to carry out these tasks, we may well even see them through to completion depending on the reward, and then Tatsuya will slaughter Darius and I will take his settlement, it will become a base for the War Hogs.”

  The cunning and savage plan that was presented by Yoshihiro had also been disclosed to his commanders during the night and the rest of the soldiers would be told in the morning. Hiroki knew such a sneaky tactic was out of character for the proud warrior Yoshihiro. That being said, Darius was a monster, and Hiroki had heard tales of evil acts carried out by this warlord. Darius and his small army rule over a small territory and own all the small villages within the area, it meant they owned the people too.

  Darius was a child trafficker and kidnapped children so they could be sold as slaves. Even worse, he was a slave trader and pillaged whenever he could and took the women of his murdered enemies as trophies. Over the years, Darius had built a fair fortune and had grown his army to respectable numbers, he had also used the services of the War Hogs on many occasions over the years and he and Yoshihiro were well acquainted, though Yoshihiro despised him.

  “You used to serve Darius many years ago, didn’t you?” asked Hiroki carefully, he knew Yoshihiro despised this period of his life.

  “Yes, I did what I had to to fulfil my own goals. I have watched Darius carry out unspeakable acts, but I’ve allowed him to prosper as he provided a steady income of rewards for our services, I look forward to ridding the Centre Plate of him shortly.”

  “I hope Tatsuya gets his vengeance,” declared Hiroki.

  Yoshihiro rose, so did Hiroki, Yoshihiro placed his arm around Hiroki’s shoulder and embraced him before warning him of the horrors he will witness when they enter Darius’s territory in the morning. “You are going to see things that will haunt you tomorrow. There will be slaves, beaten and abused children, brothels with hookers on every corner and con men and pickpockets ready to pounce as well as back alley cutthroats. Keep your guard up and don’t let it cloud your thoughts. When we meet Darius, do not engage him, he will antagonise you and prey on your youthful innocence, leave the talking to me. You will learn quickly why they call his territory Cutthroat’s Grasp.”

  “I will be on my guard.” Hiroki spoke assertively. “I must leave now; the night is drawing to an end and I’ve yet to speak to Angelika.”

  Yoshihiro placed both hands on Hiroki’s shoulders. “Go my boy, tomorrow we shape the future.”

  Hiroki and Thunder left Yoshihiro and had begun to make their way to the old barn where Hiroki duelled Yoshihiro earlier which was just outside the War Hogs encampment, this is where Angelika awaited Hiroki’s attendance. Hiroki was looking forward to seeing his childhood friend but again his shy thoughts occupied his mind. Why am I nervous about meeting her tonight? My heart beats fast when I think of her and my stomach turns, what is this I’m feeling?

  Chapter 13:

  Angelika Storm

  Hiroki and Thunder had wandered into the centre of the War Hogs’ encampment, they had to pass through to reach Angelika. The night was coming to an end and many warriors had either drunk too much and had collapsed in a drunken mess or had taken a whore back to their tent, no doubt sensing this could be their last night in some time to enjoy the comfort of a woman.

  The smells of different seasoned meats had vanished, no doubt the food had been consumed and what was left instead was the burning smells of wood and coal, Hiroki liked this smell, it reminded him of Yoshihiro’s cooking in the summer nights. Clay pots of honey wine and apple cider were littered throughout the camp and Hiroki couldn’t help but think there sure has been a lot of drinking tonight, it seems as though they have consumed half the wine of Centre Plate!

  Hiroki couldn’t help but laugh at some of the drunken sights, one man was half naked laying on the floor passed out with his trousers down to his ankles, a pork sausage had been squeezed in-between his ass cheeks, no doubt that prank would shock him in the morning! Hiroki laughed uncontrollably at this sight and many more, another man was vomiting violently, the sick was secreting from his nostrils as well as his mouth, he turned to Hiroki and smiled, his smile was met with more laughter from Hiroki. Groans of pleasure were heard from several tents and due to the candlelight from within the tents, shadowy silhouettes were seen in acts of sexual pleasure.

  Hiroki passed one tent to hear a warrior pleading with a woman of the night. “Wait give me one more minute, this never happens I swear.”

  “Oh, sod off, you're pissed as a fiddle, no wonder you can’t get it up! What a waste of time.”

  Hiroki couldn’t control himself and roared with laughter, it was the laugh of a mischievous young man, though being a fearsome warrior, Hiroki still displayed his youth in such ways. To think all these men are ferocious warriors, you wouldn’t think it after watching this mad night of celebrations. They’ve earned it though; Yoshihiro is not any easy leader to follow Thought Hiroki.

  As Hiroki and Thunder made their way closer to the barn to meet Angelika, Hiroki noticed his baby dragon yawning. “You know I think you should fly back to the tent Thunder, you're tired. I have no doubt it’s been an eventful night for you as well, besides . . . I have a secret plan for us tomorrow.”

  Hiroki looked round to make sure nobody was listening and continued, only this time whispering to his loyal dragon companion. “I don’t trust Darius, he’s a cunt. I know I said I didn’t want to drag you into any wars, but I may need you to watch over us, you may be called into action. Will you lend me your power?”

  Surprisingly, this revelation didn’t seem to shock the dragon at all, and
instead it was met with excitement. “Finally, I get to fight too! I’m ready! I can fly better, and my fire is getting stronger! Say the word and I’ll kill him!”

  Hiroki was happy to see how eager Thunder was to join him in battle and it reminded him of how he felt the first time he fought alongside Yoshihiro, but this wasn’t what Hiroki wanted. For many years Hiroki and pledged never to use his dragon as a weapon of war, but now the threat from the East has been revealed Hiroki was no fool, he knew he would have to train Thunder to soar through the skies fiercely, burn enemies to cinders violently and crash into battle without fear.

  Hiroki petted Thunder, his thoughts began consuming him again. I will never let anything bad happen to him, I won’t use him as a weapon of war, but I will train him to defend what I love and prevent further wars. If we must kill hundreds to save thousands . . . then so be it.

  “All will be revealed tomorrow Thunder, now go and sleep. One more sleep equals another day’s growth for you, and more power.”

  Thunder yelped cutely with excitement, small bursts of dragon fire spouted from his nose and mouth, he licked Hiroki and flew back to the tent. Hiroki looked on in admiration at the golden scales of his dragon as the dragonling took flight, Hiroki still found it hard to believe he had bonded with such a creature.

  Hiroki took several steps forward before hearing a voice, Angelika’s voice telepathically. “Hiroki can you hear me? Hurry up, I’ve been waiting.”

  She sounded excited and Hiroki was shocked, he hadn’t known Angelika had mastered telepathic speech, only he and Yoshihiro exercised these ancient human powers. Humans cannot wield magic freely like elves or mages however they were the first to discover ‘Aura’ which is a life energy inside all living things and through years of dedication to meditation and fine tuning their spiritual senses, they can now sense whether somebody has a pure or evil spirit and communicate telepathically with fellow aura wielders. It is said that the skill to sense aura is a skill that even the elves are envious of, and those practitioners of aura sensing can also communicate telepathically with close friends and loved ones. Not all humans practice aura sensing and those that don’t usually regret not learning this power.

  Pleased but in shock, Hiroki responded, “Angelika! I didn’t know you practiced aura . . . since when?”

  “I have many skills you don’t know of, Hiroki, but if you must know, Yoshihiro taught me. Anyway, it’s fucking cold, hurry up. And bring something warm. I’m inside the barn near where you duelled Yoshihiro in the morning, it’s quiet here and I’ve made a fire.” Angelika sounded playful and excited.

  “Great, I’ll have to find some wolf pelts to keep us warm and lug them around!” Groaned Yoshihiro disappointingly.

  “Well, you’d better jump on a horse then Mr swordsman!” Angelika laughed playfully; her voice vanished.

  Hiroki knew he could take a horse from the mobile horse paddock; he made his way there frantically to mount the fastest Destrier he could get.

  Hiroki made his way to Angelika as fast as the destrier took him. He picked the first horse he laid eyes on not wanting to lose more time. The Destrier was strong and ran fast, the horses colours consisted of a dark tan tone with white patches throughout the body, there was a white stripe running down the horses head and Hiroki found himself wondering whether the horses Jessie bred could match the horse he had mounted at this moment.

  The night had turned chilly and Hiroki had quickly stopped off at this tent to gather his thick wolf pelt to keep him warm, he bought another one for Angelika.

  The horse ran fast, the impact from the horse’s gallops sounded like thunder, a powerful stride was always a good sign for any war horse and this horse seemed to be enjoying the brisk journey in the night. The horse galloped and navigated the uneven ground well and soon Hiroki could make out Angelika’s whereabouts.

  Hiroki neared the barn opposite the area of his morning duel and noticed it was emitting a light, the doors were open, no doubt Angelika had made a fire to keep warm as the night air turned cold.

  Hiroki approached the barn, the horse grunted. “Good boy,” whispered Hiroki into the horse’s ear.

  Hiroki tied the horse to a tree which was practically next the barn on the right, he removed an oak bucket that he had attached to the horses carrying saddle and he filled the bucket with oats that the horse had also carried, he placed two ripe red apples in the bucket and left the horse to feed, not before taking the spare wolf pelt for Angelika. Hiroki turned back once more to glance at the destrier that had taken him to the barn, the horse was wearing a thick winter pelt that had been tailor made for the horse to keep it warm and Hiroki thought of Astaroth. I understand why Astaroth loves them, magnificent beasts. I will have my own one day. Hiroki continued his walk and entered the barn.

  Angelika was sat down by the campfire she had made within the barn, the fire burned brightly, and she had clearly been keeping the fire fed with logs, the warmth hit Hiroki as soon as he had entered. Angelika smiled at Hiroki, it was a smile of friendship and trust and perhaps even love. Hiroki couldn’t help but notice her beauty, Angelika looked gorgeous, her raven black hair seemed to shine as the light from the fire illuminated her, her piercing blue eyes were sparkling, and her cute button nose and freckles completed her unique look. Angelika must have bathed as Hiroki had noticed a shine to her long black hair, she had changed her clothes too and was dressed in black. Her attire consisted of black leather trousers with matching black knee-high boots and a black tunic, but she still kept her green cloak.

  “Finally! You know how to keep a woman waiting, Mr Mitsue!” She rose and began walking towards him. “Let me guess you fucker, now you’re a swordsman, you have no need for me?!” she giggled and laughed, Hiroki looked embarrassed. “That was a joke. You’re getting more like Yoshihiro by the day, you are!”

  They both shared a laugh and Hiroki presented her with the spare wolf pelt. “Here, for you . . . as you commanded woman.”

  Angelika kissed Hiroki on the cheek and took the pelt. “Thanks, come let’s sit.”

  Angelika opened her right palm and conjured a small fireball, she threw the ball of fire into the campfire she had made earlier and then blasted it with a blaze of fire with her left hand which further warmed the area. Hiroki watched with amazement at this display of basic mage magic.

  Hiroki followed her to the campfire, they sat down and cuddled. The warmth from the fire seemed to bring out Angelika’s favourite scent, it was a mix of strawberries and ginger, Hiroki had always liked this mix, it smelt fresh and strong and relaxed him.

  The barn was in a perfect location, secluded and quiet as if it stood in a world of its own and Hiroki and Angelika both knew this was to be the last night of peace before Yoshihiro’s new plans were to be unravelled.

  Hiroki looked up to see a surprisingly well aged roof with timber rafters secure and in place, there was no signs of rot and the barn had been clearly well built and maintained, the were multiple stacks of old hay that was no doubt used to bed horses and old farming equipment was neatly tucked away in the corner.

  The barn was spacious, and Angelika asked curiously. “Why do you think this was abandoned? Strange isn’t it . . . do you think the owners died?”

  “No,” said Hiroki honestly, “roaming cutthroats probably murdered them and took everything of worth, you wouldn’t invest so much labour and care into something like this then leave. It’s the story of the real world . . . if your weak, evil will crush you.”

  Those comments were met with silence until Angelika spoke again. “I can tell you’re a swordsman . . . always thinking the worst with your guard up. I understand though. Yoshihiro has told me about the East and the evil that could descend upon us, the evil you just referred to is nothing compared to what we could face, not to mention two grand dragons being commanded by the warring kings. These are fragile times, Hiroki.”

  Hiroki hugged Angelika tightly. “I would never let anything happen to you.”

  A
ngelika turned into Hiroki and kissed him, this was their first kiss, a kiss of passion and love between two true childhood sweethearts that had been orphaned and grown up together. Angelika’s parents had also been killed, poisoned along with her entire village by a warlord many years ago, she too was then taken in by the passing War Hogs. Yoshihiro had sensed she was a mage, a rare type of human who could wield magic and offered her sanctuary. Angelika and Hiroki were of the same age and grew up together and as time went on their feelings became stronger, though neither ever had the bravery to speak of this openly. During Hiroki’s intensive training and after battles, she was always there to heal him back to health with her magic.

  Hiroki continued to kiss her back, he felt strange as his nervousness had left him and what he thought would be awkward due to his shyness turned into something that was easy and felt loving. Angelika’s lips were soft, her tongue was like silk and her sweet scent was intoxicating.

  Hiroki pulled away, and at long last decided to speak his heart to the love of his life. “That felt nice . . . I’ve wanted that for many years.” They both smiled and laughed like two nervous children. “Angelika, I’ve always loved you, you’ve been everything to me. Whenever the training was tough or whenever my life flashed before me in battle it was your voice, your eyes, your scent that pushed me on and gave me strength to fight.”

  “A swordsman with a heart! Looks like I have bagged myself a rare catch!” Angelika giggled. “And yes, I . . . I love you too.”

  Hiroki continued, “I had thought of a life with you, a peaceful one free from war and battle, but now the evil from the East knocks at our door I’m terrified . . . terrified I could lose you.”