Chapter two and three of X1

The Arrival: Chapter 2 Kyle

 

The man stumbled in through the fort’s gate, judging by his demeanor and general smell Kyle guessed that the man had been traveling for some time without stopping to change or bathe. The man emanated the smell of decomposing leaves and appeared worse for the wear. His face was smudged with sweat and grime, his clothes were torn and looked as if he hadn’t used the old roads but rather traveled through the dense undergrowth of the forest or floundered his way through a cess pit. The pit would certainly account for the smell. However, Kyle had seen worse and was not the least bit put off by the smell as he approached the man to ask him his business at Fort Rainier.

 

“What’s your name stranger?” Asked Kyle.

 

“My name?” The man appeared to think for just a second “My name is Leo.”

 

“Well Leo, why are you here? Not that we don’t welcome visitors.”

 

“I’m not a visitor. I have a message for Verin, I believe he is the one in charge here and you are not him.” The man spoke as though he were Kyle’s superior.

 

“Well sir, we have a protocol here and you will have to be searched before I even consider going to get the Captain.”

 

“Alright, I’ll save you the trouble. On my right leg you will find a K-Bar knife and two throwing knives, on both of my arms there are more throwing knives and rounds for a shotgun which I lost along the way. On my back you will find two pistols. In my backpack there are two small boxes of shells for the pistols and a satchel which is to be delivered to the Captain.”

 

Kyle took a few steps back, was this guy serious, did he really have all that on him beneath those rags? The man turned to face him and slowly put his hands up his sleeves and withdrew six throwing knives and placed them on the ground, he then undid his ankle harness and put it and the two guns he drew from behind his back on the ground. Kyle’s eyes moved from the man to the pile of weapons then to the man then back to the pile, eventually he decided to stare at the man and asked, “Where on earth did you get all of that?”

 

“It comes standard when you work for who I do.”

 

“And just who would that be?”

 

“Well if you hurry up, you can take me to him, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the Captain.”

 

Kyle simply nodded and motioned the man to follow him. As they walked through the fort Kyle wondered, who was this man and what in the hell did he do for the Captain?

 

Kyle had spent most of his life in the fortress town, but had never heard of this Leo. Then again the Captain was new to the town and had only just arrived last month.

 

End of Chapter 2

 

Chapter 3: The Meeting Leo

 

            Eventually the two of them reached a large round building set in the center of the fort. It, like the rest of the buildings in the area, was made of both stone and wood but nothing that would suggest it had been around from before. Before they entered into the building Kyle took the time to tell Leo all bout what the Captain had done in the past year, Leo listened with polite admiration.

 

He was calm and relaxed, but his influence could be seen in the faces of his soldiers, each one stood straight with their eyes unwaveringly trained on Leo. The second Leo stepped into that room, he was sure that if  he did anything that even resembled an act of hostility he was likely to be silenced in an unpleasant manner. It was like he was standing in a circle of wolves. It wasn’t the guards that worried him for they were neither fierce in appearance or in possession of anything more then a handgun. No it was the man behind the desk sitting in a relaxed manner with cold blue eyes starring at him from under the brim of a beaten hat. It was in the way that those eyes bored into him that he knew he was dealing with a predator, one that would if given a reason rip out his throat simply because it could. In short Verin was the single person man or woman that had ever given Leo immediate cause to wish to run fast and far away. He was also Leo’s former Captain and they shared a common history together.

 

Leo stood in the doorway only a moment before he was called to the desk. 

 

“I hear you have something for me old friend.”

 

“Yes, err… I have something that might be of interest to you.” Leo said with as much confidence as I could muster given the circumstance.

 

“Well, lets see it then. I assume it’s in that bag you’re carrying.” His words were conversational but his tone was all business.

 

“I found it outside of Tyre, the village that was destroyed last month.” Leo responded and put the bag on the desk.  Verin continued to stare at Leo, his blue eyes were cold and commanding.

 

“Are you going to open it? Or are we going to sit here all day?” Leo fumbled with the clasp on the bag as he rushed to open it.

 

            Once he’d undone the clasps he flipped the bag over and let it’s contents spill onto the Captain’s desk. Inside had been reports regarding the recent incursions by both Mah’rocks and Ravens. The Mah’rock reports and sightings however greatly outweighed that of the gang. Amongst all the reports was a leather-bound journal. The worn cover bore no markings other than an eagle with wings widespread. On the inside cover was something that took the breath out of the Captain’s lungs. Written with fluid strokes was the name Dr. Mad.

 

            Verin glanced from the book to Leo and back again before ordering the room to be cleared out. He had decided to retire early to his office for what would no doubt be a long night of reading.