Rhumeim: Episode Five (Original Horror Story) *Trigger Warning*

a tremendous greeting to you strong warrior if you've received this letter it means the my little helpers were successful in properly tracking down an individual of considerable brawn fortitude and wit consider this an official invitation to the argenian royal castle for an audience with me queen jade the meeting will be tomorrow at noon and try your best to attend and show the guards at the gate this letter i have a job for you that will pay incredibly well on completion and we will discuss thi

s in full during the audience i thank you for your time and look forward to working with you my brave adventurer yours truly queen jade argynia of the royal castle well if there's any ticket back into the castle this would be it there's a major problem here though i deserved it from the military about 10 years ago i have to keep my promise to dana that sweet ginger halfling girl i came here looking for the bounty board and a way to abandon the poor decisions that i made within the last week bein

g abandoned remember what the hell were you thinking my throat was literally slit and i was thrown into a ditch by the gods if dana wasn't there i'd have died i owe everything to her really i made a large handful of coins during my time at the stables turns out it pays pretty well it might be about time that i clean myself up you know by this point of about six four and weigh in the upwards of 250 pounds my stomach is flat and my forearms are the width of a club my signature blonde hair is strin

gy and runs past my shoulders to splay out and frazzle mess which by the way i'm super self-conscious about all of that there isn't a single aspect of me that i wouldn't freak out over if somebody complimented me on it wow you're so strong i'd say something like yeah bread is pretty cool never get me wrong i am shy and scared and i hold up a scary front so people think that i'm cool stop that it'll get me killed now argenia has a location called the penta market this is a merchant tile hotspot f

or those who wish to do business and celebrate various festivities that argenia has to offer the name derives from the five roads that come to a point where stone statue of a knight represents those who have fallen during the war the statue is faceless to represent the mass identity of soldiers of war there are taverns a famous blacksmith an apothecary the world's largest library a hunter's lodge and a hospital of sorts there's also pottery vendors jewelry stands and pastry makers what i mean to

say by this is that it's a tourist trap and i'm too poor to shop here i will however visit a few of the stores around the market to ensure that i look presentable to the queen well with my pockets now basically empty my hair cut and my ego inflated i have spent a total of two hours damn this is gonna take a while [Applause] i suppose it's a park bench and a bed roll for me maybe a drink in between depends on what's cheap and what's not water with any luck it's both not just one of those things

i suppose the fastest way to accomplish my boredom and moving along the rest of my my day is to skip to the important bits i spent the last all of last night polishing my new armor picking at my teeth playing cards and choking down some cheap drink argunia is [ __ ] huge large enough to the point where 30 miles is something accomplishable in an entire day worth of travel a whole freaking day and that's moving at quite the moderate speed the city is longer than it is wider more like a semi oval t

han a circle there's a huge wrap around near the organian bay area where the traders and fishermen swarmed the docks you can see some of the largest ships in your entire life here i hear that the going rate for reserving dock space is very high and what i mean to say by this is that i spent many hours walking from the [ __ ] penta market to the castle last night i did not sleep in and in as the only commercial taverns near the castle are owned by the high-end aristocracy i doubt they let me in i

f i was late among notable events along the way my attention was diverted to a commotion going on near one of the taverns being forcefully shoved out of the doors of a fine establishment was a figure that i've never seen before he was a rather large turtle humanoid that ungracefully battered his feet into the ground to keep balance around 5'2 the first thing that i noticed about the creature was a shell it had an aggressive array of dulled spikes and spines that protrude from the base his face l

ooks strikingly similar to a theater personality that i've seen on the posters around the penta market sir daniel devicio wide brimmed glasses and tufts of wiry hair that seemed to have been glued on the side of his head he was followed by a burly looking butcher cleaver in hand and a leather apron blowing gently by the breeze of a pissed-off man his hair was black and his beard was full and don't you waste our [ __ ] time again trash the last thing i noticed is the burly man kicking the turtle

humanoid in the chest sending him flying backwards onto his shell he let out a disheveled yell and struggle to get back onto his feet his jaw snapped and his arms flailed essentially throwing a tantrum the butcher spat at him and slammed the door the creature took a few more seconds before noticing me and pointing can you give me a hand you shiny noodle man i reached my hand out to grab his it's dry and tough furrowing my brow and pushing my nose where it didn't belong i asked what are you doing

here i was trying to calm my nerves before going to see the queen but so much for that the queen yeah the queen some little chicken nugget of a boy squiggled on up to me and said that my shell was neat gave me a letter the fancy wax seal didn't taste like my mom's but i'm sure that you can understand anyway the queen of aquinia wants to see me tomorrow because i'm a strong hero or something money involved i'm gonna buy big tubs so i can actually take a bubble bath the right way painfully aware

of the consequences i asked him how he bathed before well before i would climb onto my tub and my shell would catch on either side of me and i would try to turtle paddle myself all clean but i just ended up looking like a greasy muffin well that's nice um anyway i have a letter from the queen too looks like we met each other early i reach my hand out once more and he returns the gesture dramatically my name is roman it's nice to meet you [Music] my name is franklin stanklin i read a lot of books

and fight a lot of crooks i lied i don't fight crooks not yet i'm practicing things to say to people in fact i'm pretty good with the sword and i'm pretty good with my brain and my mouth magic [ __ ] you know what i'm saying i'm looking for orange tree what you know what never mind you're a lot let's see if we can find somewhere to sleep for the night have you eaten heck yeah noodle friend i have this bag of tree nuts i picked myself i have a walnut i have a acorn i have a peach i have a metal

ball that i suck on every once in a nightly wonderful i slept on the ground beneath a tree about 400 feet from the castle i was woken up and asked to move twice by the night guards i see this is how they handle the homeless population franklin and i were fortunately able to sleep the night away and kill the time i woke up before him and i noticed something strange while we were sleeping there was a tiny drop of water coming from atop a building he was falling directly onto the bottom part of his

shell franklin's response to this was to gently wiggle back and forth he was still asleep eventually we did wake up and began our morning rituals just enough time before we all met at the castle moat it seems the sun has yet to steal the morning dew light push-ups arm stretches that's what i did franklin stood up and body slammed a tree oh but goodness that one really hit my totally spot i've been it's an all day night on that one i ignored him i suppose this would be something i would tune out

in the end but for now i cannot i suppose that franklin is somewhat of a friend now we would be on the same mission from the queen we both gather our gear and made our way to the castle the morning smells of freshly worked iron and lavender permeate the air the metals flake off into the wind and remind me of the time that i spent in the military here the sounds of steel slamming together is generously nostalgic goats bleet as their owners attempt to auction them off to the mercantile denizens o

f the wealthy district as we walk up to the castle bridge we are met with what i assume to be our fellow warriors the first individual that catches my eye is a half work on his forehead appears to be a branded rune put backwards a straight line with a triangle in the center of it facing to the left as opposed to the correct right a symbol of betrayal it seems or exile possibly either way it's a prominent scar on his olive green skin there are white orcish markings on the entirety of his body whi

ch is covered with a set of leather armor that has been wrapped in various furs his tusks are rounded and dulled filed down to the size of a small cork his eyes are dark but empty not in a soulless way but more of a drool running down the side of his chin sort of way he carries with him a set of matching hand axes with ribbons at the bottom of the handle he might not be the best person to piss off he's very muscular the next individual that i notice is a shorter half elf standing at around five

foot five i might have mistaken him for a drow how had i ever seen one before he sports flowing black hair and with silver eyes he boasts an air of superiority with a glance that could kill the mightiest of owlbear this elven figure wears a set of darkened studded leather armor and an elven long sword at the ready despite being in the city next to the guards he holds it over his shoulder competently this is strange however his figure is wildly scrawning and thin i'm not sure that he knows how to

use that thing but i could also be very wrong it'd be wise of me to scope out the party here and figure out who i can make laugh as quickly as possible this man is certainly someone i should never underestimate three more individuals remain and two of them seem to be an obvious pair the leader between the two is a very young woman with blonde hair pulled into a tight braided bun she wears a set of darkened steel blade armor with red accented undertones sheathed and at the ready is a matching lo

ng sword with runic inscriptions her demeanor is calm and collected juggling superiority and respect among her peers she is the lower ranking knight of the royal organian military someone whom i instantly have respect towards she's leagues above where i was years ago the individual at her side is obviously her retainer a younger man with a soft face and gentle curly brown hair his eyes are pure and his smile instantly upgrades the intimidation factor on his royal boss the impurities on his face

suggest he's no older than 17 at the most this little warrior has a buckler and a mace alongside a set of leather armor in situations like these young aspiring soldiers are sometimes granted the boon of following around a much higher official to train and assist them with their needs a squire at first it confused me as to why she was here and not on duty with the military somewhere it was then that i realized she was a freelance militia unit serving active duty on any call to arms when needed ot

herwise she was free to wander around as she pleases within the quarter of law bringing the final individual here is an austere grim woman she stands somewhat taller than the knight at her side but it's obvious that she's the odd one out of the whole group she wears a set of black leather armor that functions as an assassin's jumpsuit providing the maximum protection for the maximum range of motion she has decorative metal blades on her shoulders and knees she wears a matching set of metal gaunt

lets that trail to her hands and have sharp interlocking plates that cover her fingers on her thighs are multiple daggers as well as a cloak that hides her obvious set of weapons at her hip these are entirely obscured her lips are pale as well as her skin with dark purple war makeup around her eyes her figure is very seductive she takes a deep breath and ignores all of us clutching the letter in her hands crossing her arms and waiting i would be able to make out what she wields if the cloak didn

't entirely conceal them if i'll be honest she terrifies me and i should be cautious with this the seven of us awkwardly gather together and begin small talk quietly understanding we will be working together on whatever the queen wants from us taking the initiative i begin to shake everyone's hand hey uh my name is room and uh i'm looking forward to working with you all my wrinkly friend wiggles his shell and tap dances the best his sharp little feet will let him my name is franklin stinklin and

i make a mean gumbo the kind that'll leave your precious little mouthies craving for more also my mouth is magic it helps you strong ass scary ass black hair have an ass sharp nose dark armor edgy ass type people ass the half elf takes a deep breath in and purses his lips raising his chin slightly good morning to all of you my name is aylem and that's all you need to know for me right now it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance the half-orc behemoth jetson my name is thok if i hit something h

ard enough i split it in half that's bones and skulls blood and pain also i like long walks on the beach and gumbo please make me gumbo the knight and her retainer stand tall and shake everyone's hands hello my name is alta and it's a pleasure to meet you all i'm a freelance royal knight for the queen here this is my student the young man nods and shakes her hands wildly well hello everybody my name is alexander but you can just call me alex it's a pleasure to meet you all and i look forward to

working with you guys the scary onyx hair girl finally speaks directing everyone's attention at once my name is evelyn and that's all i'm not looking to make friends and i'm not looking to make enemies thawk the half orc and franklin the turtle exchange a goofy looking response with this we exchange small talk and theorize on what's to happen when we need the queen the most popular idea is that there's a big old monster harassing a farm that we need to kill with this the gate guards alert us tha

t it's officially time for us to enter the castle he checks the validity of each of our personalized letters and nods the drawbridge begins to lower with heavy creaking and mechanical clicking as we cross over the bridge i glance towards the crystal clear water beneath us in the moat falling in there might be deadly the outside of the castle is white with the holy colors of the accenting red the banners of the city flap on either side of the entrance the symbol is that of a boar with wings simil

ar to what i have as we walk inside the place seems to be the source of the floral sin throughout the district and of the city there are lavender planter boxes aligning the sides of the walls beneath our feet lay a long velvet carpet over a gentle birch colored wooden floor royal guards stand at the ready stationed in pairs of twos the queen is incredibly well protected here the main chamber is maybe 30 feet long leading up to the throne where queen jade sits atop which is adorned with several j

ewels and gold threading on either side of the walkway there are tables with various nobles militants and diplomatic representatives discussing various aspects of settlements queen jade sits before us with her hands on her lap her chocolate brown hair restorated onto her shoulders and trails down her back she wears a lavender purple dress with gold lace around the trim as well as an elaborate silver necklace that stretches across her collarbone fitted with a large sapphire jewel in the center sh

e smiles at us and quietly analyzes us franklin whispers well golly that necklace is worth more than i've ever spent in a brothel actually i think i might be able to buy one with it i glance over shh don't be rude have you ever actually been to a brothel no but my previous statement still stands fair enough i reply with this alum the half elf takes a quick bow and drops to a knee soon after altzer and alex do the same as well cueing all of us to follow suit i'd be lying if i wasn't a little nerv

ous to be back in the city with the whole deserting from the military thing it'll be fine don't worry about it you know what i'm definitely going to worry about it but i'll be quiet about it queen jade touches her fingertips together good afternoon my warriors i have requested for your audience today to discuss a matter of business that ends with a grand reward as many of you may have heard i wish to end the war i promised 200 gold pieces to each one of you who participates and succeeds in my ta

sk i wish for you to protect and deliver my prince blake as well as the letter of truce to the ruler of my thaw king onvir your task is simple to be the bodyguards and witness to a change in history it is urgent that we deliver this letter and that you all work together that's why i have elected that you start to get to know each other for this journey i have set it up with one of the finer establishments argenia has to offer for you to spend the night there are rooms for you to stay in that wou

ld otherwise be pricey to avoid consider it my treat each of us looked at each other with bewilderment understanding the much larger task at hand and appreciating her benevolence we will be leaving tomorrow at approximately 9 00 am you will have two hooded carts and these will be camouflaged i am aware of the dangers of the road so we will have purposefully beaten up the cars to give it the visage of a carriage that's not covered in gold you could catch my draft was that it that was pretty to th

e point queen jade claps her hands together and out pops her tiny assistant mira a petite brown haired girl in a fine dress she approaches with a tiny box full of tokens it seems we are told to give this to the receptionist of the blue moon in for a free night of logic i am beside myself in appreciation alter the night bows and thanks the queen to which we all follow some similar gesture of appreciation and respect as we're being escorted out franklin turns to evelyn and says 200 gold pieces do

you know how much pink lipstick and perfume you could buy the angry dark shadow lady turns to him and squints her eyes do you know how much more money i could make selling turtle do man i really hope that i go for more than a few copper pieces because am i worth like three copper a bite alum the half elf looks over and says well if we invest at least a few hundred gold pieces into a restaurant we could exclusively sell turtle soup while supplies last all y'all [ __ ] ain't totally enough for the

turtle club over the next few minutes everyone hits it off with everybody else in a similar banter while i tune it out and think of the course of action over the next few days we would be part of something that would be historically catastrophic we would end the war by the gods everything that i thought over the last few weeks would finally happen and i would be the one doing it in fact i tuned out the entirety of the stay of the at the end the room was fantastic and so was the food it felt sup

er awkward being there it's been itchy beds and dirty floors for most of my life these sheets are satin thank you jade [Music] by the next morning we were already at the castle again in front of the queen the night had gone by so quickly i hadn't even realized in any case we were escorted to the royal stables where we were introduced to our friends for this trip there are two royal guards who have been dressed up in what some might call common gear this is supposed to be a covert operation so i

suppose that i understand the necessary poor precautions if we were to travel across the forest as a beacon of gold and wealth we might be attacked the guards are rather sizable considering the condition that they used to be in the paint has been scratched off and the wheels have been chipped overall it seems like any old hooded cart the inside however is the same as it was plush seating plenty of leg room wonderful the two guards hop down from the coach and introduce themselves the differences

in age are staggering the first to speak is a fine gentleman with a sporting white mustache the wrinkles in his brow and scars on his arm indicate years of service truly a veteran to the queen he has a large spear and splinter armor smiling wide beneath his facial hair he says good morning to all of you my name is marcus and i will be helming the princess god if you need anything from me all you need to do is ask i'll see what these old bones can do we all shook his hand and introduced ourselves

the other guard is a much younger individual with shorter brown hair he's a little older than alex but similar in vibe this young man wears a set of chain male armor with a short sword of the ready his face just his face is soft but rigid in a heroic sort of way his bright blue eyes sing youth and hope this is absolutely the mission for him hey guys thank you all for joining us on this journey my name is fenton and it's a pleasure to meet all of you i'll be steering your card here don't you wor

ry about a thing we've got your back through all of this he pumps his fist and slaps the side of the hooded wagon waiting on him for support thought the half work pipes up so how will this work when do we meet the prints and uh how many of how many of us per cart oh you know what that's wonderful that you asked um everyone will be in one card and prince blake will be in this one he points to the other caravan which is identical in appearance except for the fact that there's a door in the back of

it and the inside seems to be a tiny room as opposed to benches he also said that he'll be staying there until nightfall alam the half elf shifts on his feet and crosses his arms so you're expecting us to escort the prince a few dozen miles south without seeing him first that sounds a bit rude i might add i don't know that i would trust starting off a quest like this without fully meeting our client especially if 200 gold pieces are on the line for this that's just unreasonable at this point do

i sound uptight about this anyone surely someone would agree with me fenton stammers for a few seconds and his face looks pale franklin rests his hand on the palm of his sheathed sword and pushes it back and forth swinging it wildly past his hips yeah no uh no i totally agree with edgy here this is a whole lot of moolah and i wouldn't take kindly to being lied to would it be lying if he didn't talk to us alter the freelance dark knight speaks up well if i shall say something quick the prince is

free to do whatever the prince so chooses to do and if that includes dillying off and ignoring us the whole time all i would do is harp on our relationship with him and taint our reliability on each other how could we be expected to have the back of someone who treats us as dirt for anything beyond the money we receive at the end of it that would leave us regretting and unwilling i have met the prince before but i will not speak on his behalf he is but a boy expected to be an adult he will make

the decisions he chooses now i'm not defending not dampening the kid but he's going to have to make a choice eventually not the cost of his protection fueled with passion not money evelyn raises her eyebrows slightly and bobs her head agreeing with alter alex seems to have stars in his eyes listening to his idol speak speaking of myself i say i agree how walter holds herself as indicative of her status as a royal knight and a wise woman i really don't see why we should force ourselves upon this

since we get paid in the end anyway we have a war to stop and civilians to save and this is our one opportunity to fix something for the thousands of innocents who have been caught up in the scenery let's move out everyone alum the half elf twitches his nose indicating that he's upset with the outcome but accepting valtter's words alright fine we should discuss the strategy while we are traveling to best suit the possible outcomes and be prepared for the rebel on the road sounds good thuck repl

ies staring at the horses who dig impatiently at the cobbled stone beneath them with this we find ourselves seating inside the cart with the light crack of a whip we are on our way out of the city and into the lush forests i used to call home i feel hopeful at the moment this could be our chance to change the region forever after discussing our current party it has come down to this all of us are melee fighters thought alex evelyn and i are short-range combatants halter and alam are medium-range

spell swords utilizing some offensive magic and a weapon franklin is our support capable of using a sword and casting magic that might help us in battle as far as our melee capability goes thok is a frontline fighter a berserker who wields axes i use a longsword alex uses a mason shield while evelyn uses daggers and stripes from surprise alum wields a long sword and casts evocation magic as he is so confident about alter does precisely the same franklin uses a short sword but also many supporti

ng spells like healing word if needed thought can throw the axes and evelyn can throw the knives not the best case scenario against archer bandits but it should be alright especially against landlocked monsters we talked about this for a few hours and made small talk we haven't known each other for long enough to talk about deeper more revealing topics but it certainly passes the time having a bunch of us over the course of today's travels it is wildly boring and i saw a deer once with the sky d

arkening we eventually veer off into the woods into a wide old campsite the coals in the pit are cold and the campsite is generally neglected leaves are blown all over the place and moss covers the sitting logs the two guards hop off the cart and immediately get to work they open the door of the closed car with the princes and they come out to start assembling a ginormous tent in between events they start to clean up the camp sifting the fireplace and wiping their brow with sweat it hasn't even

been a minute and they're multitasking to high hell i blinked maybe twice and half of the campsite was already ready to go despite the seven of us stretching our legs the small fire crackles under the fuel of the dried campsite leaves these guys are practically sprinting franklin stretches backwards and yawns y'all need to slow down a crunch you're moving faster than me on a tuesday [ __ ] looks over puzzled what are you doing on tuesday bingo oh soon after the door of the caravan opens and out

walks a young teenage boy around maybe 15. he wears a fine set of clothes different shades of muted red his hair is short and blond well his eyes are a bright blue good afternoon everyone you all did a splendid job on your first night save your rations for all i have a treat for all of you for the first night and the first night only we will provide food for you you can thank me later sit back and protect me like you were hired to do guards is my tent ready marcus replies with a heavy sigh he sa

ys yes my prince alam looks as though he's going to poop himself and evelyn rolls her eyes hardcore alter takes a seat on one of the moss benches and smiles lightly as if to audibly say yeah i know not long after fenton prepares the now roaring fire with a cauldron he begins to assemble the ingredients needed for a beef stew that would feed a dozen prince blake marches his little ass into the 10 foot long tent and shuffles around his belongings after a few seconds of silence i glance over to fen

ton and catch the look of utter exhaustion they were being worked to death this is unacceptable so i stood up and took a deep breath [Music] all right listen up guys this is enough fenton marcus sit down you guys have done plenty and should take the night off we aren't just bodyguards and i can't expect the two of you to do literally everything around here i'll handle cooking the food i want two people on collecting firewood one person on setting up bed rolls one person to scout out the area ano

ther just to collect some water from me in the camp and the other to remain on sentry duty thock nods his head aggressively and gestures for them to stop working i'll do firewood with franklin i nodded to him and looked at fenton who quietly weeps a thank you and collapse into the sitting log marcus shakes my hand and mutters something about the youngins he's working with me and a lot more helpful than his own kids evelyn agrees to scouting alum situate every situates everyone's betting alex is

working on water and altar stands alert for century duty this makes me happy everyone willing to be productive and helpful where they can right off the bat we seem to unite on two things prince blake is an [ __ ] and the guards can't do all the work pretty soon the sound of cicadas echo through the woods and the gentle forest breeze rattles our bones every once in a while i have to smack a mosquito off of me but the smoke does a really great job of preventing that the scent of stew fills the air

and the collective grumble of stomachs warms my heart thought and franklin came back with a freaking deer he claims to have thrown an axe at it which is evident by the deep laceration in his net in its neck the damn thing died quick i laugh it off and between the two of us we ration out the meat for the next few days this should be enough to feed us for the rest of the trip there we divide up our watch for the night and conclude and conclude this evening's rest successfully and quietly as the e

arly morning birds sing their songs a gentle do collects on our campsite stretches and early morning routines lead to the packing up of our camp and the continuation of our journey it was only a few hours into our travels when i heard something that made my heart drop the cart comes to a grinding stop greetings travelers you look seem new around here and with that we have come to say hello we do not wish to harm you in any way we have just come to take your caravan and leave so how about it your

white caterpillar that was nauseous you're kidding me right this is a nightmare and i'm still dreaming while i was shaking i sat there frozen sweating bullets and swallowing hard it couldn't be thought made a huge frown and drew his weapons stepping out of the caravan and onto the battlefield soon after the rest of us flooded out and dispersed throughout the attack looking at the ambush there's about 15 of them in total men who all seem to be human all of them are in heavily worn and slightly d

amaged gear they're covered head to toe in dirty wet and rugged leather and metal armor two of these individuals stick out as the obvious muscle they have maces taller than everybody else but everybody else seems to have dented a rusted scimitars all of them looked like they needed a bath weeks ago but pose a deadly threat regardless we're outnumbered so if a fight broke out we would be toast i held my longsword and squeezed the handle as hard as i could gritting my teeth evelyn lowers her head

slightly and unbuckles the cloak obscuring her main weapons she draws forth a dual set of bone white daggers in the shape of a great beast's tooth they are razor sharp and glimmery crimson sheen indicating these are obviously enchanted they're huge too the damn things must weigh a lot what seems to be the leader of the shoddy bandit steps forward the man is half elven wearing a tan set of leather armor donning multiple slash marks engraved into the hide on his braces are tallies of different car

vings his hair is a disgusting blonde caked in a layer of dirt grime and grease his nose is massive and crooked on his sunken in accentuated features his chin is pointed and his jawline is cut his smile produces a corn yellow cracked set of orange and black teeth stained from years of alcohol and tobacco he's well over six foot tall lean and broad all over his skin are scars this is [ __ ] magnus the man who killed my mother well aren't you a beautiful set of weirdos might i make myself clear i

asked for your stuff and i won't kill you perhaps you're a little light in the air hell there's a couple of cuties among you would be a hell of a shame if we got do ya marcus drew his weapon and holds out his hands i'm afraid that i can't do that for you you need to reevaluate your thinking and move on boy you don't want to do this boy what do i look like to you listen up your [ __ ] i got a family to feed and you're my prey you're in my web bug it's the end of the line for you you've got to the

count of three to drop your weapon oh there's gonna be blood one all of us brace ourselves and look around around the battlefield the bandits are dispersed evenly through the tree line and with some high ground in between there's six archers two brutes six swords and magnus i currently stand on the right side of the caravan exit with magnus to my back to the bandits knock their arrows and aim it at us franklin mutters a few arcane words and gently touches thought with a feather not a second lat

er does his green skin glimmer with a brief yellow glow and veins on his entire body bulge he takes a deep breath in and billows out in a furious war cry raising his two axes and throwing them at the same time at once they fly through the air and split the freaking chest open of one of the archers and split the skull of one of the swordsmen spraying the area with blood as they crumple down onto the ground he laughs explosively and the battle is on arrows fly through the air an arrow whizzes past

my ear and bounces off a franklin's shell one of them sinks into fox's arm but he doesn't even notice the clang of metal is heard as alter's sword whips through the air and deflects the arrow towards the dirt instantly we spread out and single out who we can i have two on me alem with one thuck with one of the brutes altar and alex with the other brute franklin and evelyn attempted to kill the archers while fighting off the remaining bandits fenton demarcus take either side of the entrance of b

lake's cavern with the remaining bandits on them magnus draws his weapon slowly and walks forward analyzing the situation the second round of arrows a yell is heard as one of them pierces through alum's leg and he drops down one knee one of them sinks into my breastplate but is stopped short before reaching my chest i shot out a curse and snapped the arrow fighting off the relentless blows from the bandits my sword smashes into another guiding the blade down into the dirt i quickly glance over a

s thok is trying desperately to collect his axes a second goes by as he looks away and at once the brute clobbers the absolute [ __ ] out of him with the mace a snap is heard as the weapon bludgeons his arm he shouts out in pain and rage ripping the dripping axes out of the human carcass and trades blows once more franklin quickly swipes away another swipe and shoots his gaze over an altar who is fighting next to him alright my nighty night oh bark no bite show me what you could really do with t

he blade in your boobs for a moment alter seems inspired and challenged by his words and thrusts her sword forward slashing the arm of the brute and dancing around the wild swing of the mace as franklin is talking to altar a scimitar comes down and cuts deep into his chest dripping blood onto the ground oh holy crap my good golly gosh you son of a [ __ ] you're a real [ __ ] have some bitch-ass spicy air you [ __ ] not a second later do his eyes flash red and the bandit is instantly ignited into

flames he screams out and drops his sword falling to the ground and clogging at his skin the screams quickly fade away as he withers away into a pile of ash some of the bandits are leery of this and step away from him as they cry out to the archers franklin clutches his chest as a [ __ ] ton of arrows sink deep into the turtle and he falls unconscious bleeding out onto the ground hey franklin is down i shall alum desperately raises his heavy sword to block blow after blow he struggles to swing

the sword wildly missing strike after strike sweat pours down his brow as he heaves through as of right now they're just fighting behind thought in the brute the behemoth of a bandit drops his mace for a second and shoves thought back a few feet and slams into the cart causing him to swear and grit his teeth the brute spins around and grabs alan by the back of his neck lifting him up a few feet and slamming down onto the ground alum shouts and coughs blood unto himself as he holds his hands up t

o the bandit who starts kicking him in the ribs he doubles over and groans hey alum's down now too evelyn easily ducks around the feeble swings of a dagger as her own fang dagger sinks deep into the chest of the archer dropping him down onto the ground she spins around and charges towards another archer who looses an arrow into thought this time he must have felt that one as he drops down one knee wounded the brute picks up his mace again and goes for another blow this time the orchard's berserk

er cannot deflect this one and crumbles under the crushing blow of the bludgeon alex shouts out the stalk is down guys altar cleaves the stomach of the brute she is fighting with the tip of her longsword about halfway through the swing she shouts out an incantation and the runes on her on her sword glow at crimson red from the tip the blade shoots a flume of fire then incinerates the [ __ ] out of the brute and cauterizes the wound as it cuts alex then instantly jumps forward and punches him in

the jaw with the butt of his shield shooting the bird's head backwards and knocking him unconscious i glanced back towards my contenders and dropped one knee spear handing spear heading the tip of my blade into the thin part of the armor dropping them down onto the ground the others remain fixated on me where we continue to trade back back and forth as of right now four archers one brood and three swords remain franklin alum and [ __ ] are down right now [ __ ] i shoot my gaze backwards to see f

enton and marcus fighting magnus he batters into them with a flurry of dual-wielding strikes that quickly befall fenton marcus calls out to everyone that he has fallen moments before receiving a palm strike to the nose knocking him unconscious into a pool of blood i relay this information to everybody where magnus jumps over the cart and towards alter uh alter on your left i am suddenly interrupted with an arrow in my chest and a sword denting my gauntlet into a bruise i curse and lash my fist o

ut clocking him in the side of the face and knocking him to the ground i snap the arrow off and turn to my friends where magnus jumps down onto altar from the top of the caravan flesh tears as she screams in pain falling to the ground on one knee alex take this opportunity to rush over to franklin and bandage him up as quickly as he can tearing off pieces of his shirt to stabilize some of the bleeding i charge over the magnus and jump on jump into the air planting my metal boots clean into his n

asty [ __ ] face drop kicking him into a tree that [ __ ] hurt you [ __ ] head collected myself i jumped back up and readied my weapon leaning forward into a haymaker that densed the side of his cheekbone locking eyes with him and staring into his soul i spat by the gods around us i thought i'd never hear your damned voice again evelyn shakes her head and grits her teeth fine is this how we're gonna play this now [ __ ] you all she takes her daggers and slams the pommels together muttering to he

rself the word iksen her daggers instantly ignite into a blowtorch-style angelically white flame the daggers hiss with an eruptive fire as she lashes out with another attack towards the remaining archers her blade sinks into the archer's neck causing the flesh to rapidly incinerate and flick away into a pile of dust within seconds the man screams out in pain as he withers away into nothing she darts around with an extreme speed using the ground to acrobatically launch herself into the chest of t

he brute and stabilize herself by sinking the daggers into either side of a shoulder meat the fire sears his flesh and she finished him off by slamming her forehead into the bridge of his nose breaking it in the process and withering away his body if i had the time i would be horrified alam still being kicked and beaten whispers a plea out like a frightened child for a moment he flashes a glance of surprise on his face and attempts to brush away the dirt in his eyes his nose is bleeding and his

whole body is covered in a thick layer of bruises his left arm is broken and his shin seems caved in the half elf glares up at the bandit and snarls his eyes flash purple for a second as he shoots his hand forward and etherealizes a mass of swirling kinetic energy that blasts force and slams into the bandit's face causing an explosion of brain matter and bones that kick his armor and wounds he seems both horrified and excited at the same time he cackles maniacally and smiles wide between the des

perate attempts at breathing armed limp and doubled over in agony alam raises his hand once more and releases more of these kinetic purple blasts of energy that slam into the remaining bandits and cause an equivalent amount of mayhem rendering them in bloody pieces or unconscious all the while he explodes into evil laughter and excitement with alum and evelyn's efforts all that remain is magnus while he recovers from my fist i shout to everyone else tender their wounds and make sure everyone's o

kay leave him to me alum twitches and falls to his knee passing out onto the dirt this leaves alex and evelyn to stay to stabilize everyone now again now tell me this kid why in the bloody places would i remember you magnus recovers and unleashes a whirlwind of strikes blow after blow i redirect and dodge before he throws his one scimitar into the air drops to one knee and draws a jagged dagger that punctures the back of my leg he leaves it there and catches his flying sword i take this opportun

ity to go to go on to the offensive and land a blow on the side of his face i grit my teeth and sink my fist into his mouth again terensian two decades ago you killed my [ __ ] mother do you have any idea what that did to me you're that pissant who stabbed me you just don't bloody leave do you oh i spared your life and you came back to bite me in the ass when i had my way with your mother i thought i'd settle things maybe you'd disappear into the city and stay there maybe dying a gutter for all

the shits that i give but [ __ ] me if i find my goddamn son at the end of the blade man you're a freaking headache you know that i took a step back for a moment my eyes went wide what do you mean means i'm dear old pop the father that you never had whatever wish i wasn't and i won't be for long the hell did you expect your mother was quite the looker are you gonna tell me that you never actually knew rometa didn't tell ya thought it was quite obvious really mom and boy made a creep mother fight

s him off complains about me taking advantage again blah blah blah the works if you know what i mean honestly if you didn't see it coming you deserve to be heard by it with this he kicks the dagger in my leg and drops me to my knee i flare my nostrils and grit my teeth magnus cuts deep past my armor and sent shards flying to the ground i yell in pain she was harassing me to take up responsibility but i didn't feel like doing that it doesn't work that way in my eyes just kind of suck it up i gues

s study annoying the [ __ ] thing it's just a [ __ ] kid no big deal oh i've got plenty of those came back to the town to clean up the loose ends and there you were with your glass you caught me deep kid go [ __ ] yourself rounded up the local boys and party like hell after we burned the place to the ground there were hundreds of things that i wanted to say things that could cut deep things to retaliate with but i couldn't manage a single one i was trapped in my head between a blind rage and ven

geance for my mother the best that i could manage to respond with is nothing silence i launch myself upwards fighting through the pain and choking back the tears that sting worse than any of my wounds my long sword plunges through his stomach and out the other side embedding itself into the tree behind him while he struggles there pinned in place i ball my fist and slam them into his teeth my knuckles are broken and bleeding but i pump my rage one after another pulverizing his face with each str

ike everything is numb tears stream down my face as i remain uncomfortably silent eventually his head deflates beneath my feeble blows silence falls upon the forest as the wildlife rears in horror into my absolution the squelching of my knuckles battering into the pulp of my father echo through my through the road my ears ring and my mind is flooded with memories of my mother what could have been the hugs that i'll never get again i subbed myself as evelyn pulls me off of him and bullies my fury

into further disassociation though i can't even hear her shaky breaths and an overall numbness i whisper i love you mom you