Chapter two

Chapter two

“What have you planned for me my lord? I can take a small group of our stronger forces to hunt the king down if you wish.”

                “No. I don’t believe that is a wise decision. Let him run and hide, but make sure that he builds up an army. I want to see the hope rise as I set ablaze their precious dreams.”

                “My lord, I think you will also be happy that we have successfully taken over Evalena and are now going to start our conquest to the north starting with Broden.”

                “Very good. I trust that you and your men haven’t sustained many losses? I hear that the Evalena attack was a great success.”

                “Yes that is true your lordship. Our forces seem to be intact for the most part. We slaughtered the Evalenian army as if it were nothing.”

                “Good. Now go and prepare the army for what’s to come. And remember; the king shall live to set up a rebellion. We can handle anything that they throw at us.”

                “As you wish my lord.”

 

                “Warrior Hawthorne, please enlighten me on what we are facing. I am intrigued on the reports that you gave my cleric.” King Ethelred motioned me to enter his coach as we stopped to take a break from the road for the night. We set up camp about fifteen paces away from the road with the coaches blocking the road and tents formed inside of the ring that the coaches provided. The main tent was set up for the actual royal family, on the left side of the main tent was the remaining Royal Entourage’s tent including workers, maids and body guards. Flanking the right side of the main tent was the tent that my men and I were staying in. We formed a kind of pentagon with the main tent making the point and the surrounding tents and coaches acting as the sides. I followed the king into his coach so that the workers and maids were able to set up the tent as they saw fit.

                “Please sit down. Would you care for anything to drink son?” the king asked hospitably.

                “I’m fine my king but thank you. You wanted me to tell you about our attackers?”

                “Yes please do. I heard only rumors from the citizens in the main hall and from Cleric Borese, but other than that I have been kept in the dark.”

                “Well my lord, these things are incredibly fast. They are larger than any human, even larger than you. The strength that they possessed was inhumane. I have never seen anything like it. I did notice that our blades were able to pierce their skin and our arrows knocked them down as any other living creature. Unfortunately I was not able to see a leader among them either. The insignia on their uniform was totally unknown to me too.”

                “They had an insignia? What did it look like?” The king took a peculiar interest in this last bit of information.

                “It was hard to pick out since I was so far up but it looked like they wore black tunics with three red triangles in a circle; two triangles were facing up side by side while the other was pointing down right underneath them. I’ve never seen anything like it and had no idea who it might belong to.”

                The king seemed to pale as this knowledge was passed on to him. He slowly stood up and started to pace around the room as if deep in thought.

                “I never thought I would be alive to see this day.”           

                I looked at him with a crazed look in my eyes. The king knew this day would come and knew what we were up against. But why? How did he have this knowledge and why did he look so worried. This is the same Ethelred that defeated the Korpbites in the War of Jewels. No one should be able to scare him.

                “Hawthorne, what is your first name?”

                “Gravin, my lord.”

                “Well, Gravin, I’m going to tell you a story that happened a long time ago. This may help you in the defeat of this army.

                “When I was a young soldier, about your age, I was training with my unit sergeant, Sergeant Fanril, when a mysterious man came up to us. The sky was starting to get dark and it was hard to see this man. What I did notice was that he had a hunch as if his back was deformed. His hair was a greasy, matted mess that came down in black and grey streaks. The robe that he wore was soiled from days living out in the streets and the stench that came off him will still haunt me from this day.

                The look in his eyes gave me the impression that drugs had been the result of his misfortune and soiled state. As soon as our eyes met, his body composure took a straighter look and a sense of urgency crept into him. He grabbed me by the arms with such strength that it took me off guard. Do you know what he said to me? He said ‘You! Ethelred, son of Bendelred, prepare yourself! Prepare for the forthcoming of the end! The world will discover a new threat that will test the bonds and strength of all mankind. The Murden will come to power and you won’t be able to stop them!’ He stared into my eyes with such ferocity that I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. It wasn’t until Sergeant Fanril took him by the arm and threw him off of me that I realized what was going on.

He just told me the fate of all mankind but I didn’t want to believe him. He was some drug addict that had gone crazy, why would I ever believe him? The thing that scared me the most was that he knew my name. Never once had I seen this mysterious man so how did he know who I was? Fanril pulled me aside and talked to me about what had happened. I was noticeably shaken up and he wanted to make sure that I was alright. He told me that I shouldn’t worry too much about it. I was a young kid and had a lot more to think about than some old guy telling me fable stories. I didn’t think much of it after that because he was right; my whole military career was just beginning. I didn’t need to stress myself out because some drug addict told me that the whole of the human race was going to perish by these ‘Murden’. I remember him whispering in my ear before he was thrown off of me that I need to look out for the red triangles in a white ring. I had no idea what that meant at the time until you said something.”

                “What does this mean though? How will we defend against these Murden?’ I asked, astonished from this overwhelming news.

                “I’m not entirely sure. I do know this though; these Murden are going to do all they can to make sure that we are wiped out. Whatever they are, they have a leader, someone who is ruthless and hates our kind more than anything.”

                I thought about what this could mean for us. For one, our country needed to mobilize the rest of our troops and start a rebellion. The sooner this crisis is adhered to the more likely the human race will survive. For two, we needed to develop something that could help us. Something more than just the average human because these things fought ruthlessly. I kept thinking about what we might be able to do but thought of nothing. How in the world would we be able to defeat something so incredibly fast and deadly when we were so slow and pitiful?

                “I have some things to attend to Hawthorne. This will not be the last time we talk and I do mean to declare you leader of your own unit. You have proven your leadership and I need someone who is quick witted and smart to help fend off these Murden.”

                The king dismissed me and I took my leave from his tent. As soon as I started to step out through the tent the king called for me once more.

                “Hawthorne!” I turned to look at the king, “Go see my cleric, Borese. I believe you two met in the castle. He said he had something to talk to you about.”

                “Yes my lord. I’ll see to it at once.”

                With that I took my leave and headed to cleric Borese’s tent. His tent was kind of off to the side of the King’s tent. He liked to have his privacy and keep to his own schedule.

                “Cleric Borese?” I called as I entered through the tent flap. “You wanted to speak with me?”

                “Yes yes come in my boy. I’ve been told you are pretty good with that bow you carry along your side.” He gestured to my bow that was slung across my back with my quiver of arrows right next to it.

                “And you have also trained with the Elite Warriors that Evalena has to offer. This means that you are no push-over with a sword am I correct?”

                “Yes sir that is correct. I am new to this army though and haven’t had much time to train with the others but I have gone to that Warrior school up north and I was put on the Elite Archers unit because of my skill with a bow.”

                “These are very admirable traits and ones that aren’t found very often. I believe the other two that came with you have just as good capabilities or at least ones similar?”

                “Yes that is true. We all came from the same unit and all met the same requirements that it took to be a part of the Elite Archers unit.”

                “Good. Here is my proposition for you boys, you let me train you and don’t ask questions. I will teach you secrets of the world but only if you let your mind and body, do as I say.”

                Was this guy serious? He was like eighty years old how could he teach us anything other than falling asleep?

                “No offense cleric, but how can you help us? You probably haven’t touched a sword in ages and you want my men and I to just let you teach us the secrets of the world? I hate to break it to you but this isn’t the Old Days. We don’t have magic anymore, dragons are long extinct, and elves don’t walk this earth anymore. I’m sorry but what could you teach me that I haven’t already been taught?”

                “You are so naïve and foolish young man. So full of pride and cockiness.”

                As soon as he finished that sentence something hit me with such force in my stomach that it brought me to my knees. Spots started to appear in my vision and my breath came in slow and shallow breaths. I laid on the floor curled up in a ball to try and let the pain die down. What in the world hit me? How did I not see it? I saw the cleric walk towards me from my right side. Right side? I thought he was right in front of me? Oh it doesn’t matter just stop the pain.

                “Like I said, you are so naïve and foolish.”

                The world turned dark and I succumbed to the numbing sensation that was spreading through my body from my stomach. What the hell happened?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                Blinding light poured over me and washed behind my eyes. I could hear whispers and footsteps in the background. Huh that’s weird, I didn’t know angels wore sandals. How come I can’t open my eyes either? If this is how death is it sure is going to suck.

                “Wake up Hawthorne, you’re mumbling nonsense and I’m tired of watching you squirm on the ground.”

                My eyes shot open as I realized that I was not in heaven, but laying on my cot in our tent. I immediately regretted that decision as my searing pain shot into my eyes from the intense light that was pouring in to the tent.

                “Ow! That is so bright! Someone please turn that off.”

                “Oh quit your whining. Get up and get ready. We are heading out and don’t have time for you to be sleeping all day.” Replied Vasquez.

                I sat up in my cot and regained my consciousness. My hands ran across my face and I took a deep breath as I thought what exactly happened last night. My mind was racing through all kinds of scenarios and I had no idea what to think. What in the world happened in that tent? I had to go talk to Borese. That crazy old man must have done something to me.

                “Are you going to sit there all day or are we going to leave? Come on lets go.” Vasquez was beginning to get impatient as he noticed that the maids and servants were already disassembling their tents and we hadn’t even begun to pack. I slowly got to my feet and tested my joints and muscles. Everything seemed to be working in good order but something just didn’t feel right. Hopefully this feeling will go away as we commence our travels. Vasquez and James walked outside and started working on breaking down our simple tent. I put my leather Evalena boots on and strapped my sword across my waist. Before I left I grabbed my bow and quiver and quickly threw it across my shoulder as I noticed Vasquez and James were close to collapsing the tent and I did not want to be caught up inside of there. I hurried out of the tent and went on a hunt for Cleric Borese. I seriously needed to figure out what happened during our meeting and find out what he was up to. Something just didn’t feel right with that guy.

                No matter where I looked though, I could not find him anywhere. It is as if he just disappeared. None of the journey members had spotted him either. This was definitely peculiar because he is never too far from the King. Speaking of which, where was the King? I haven’t seen him either this morning. Hopefully the King and the Cleric are off walking close by talking about the situations to come. I put the whole thing in the back of my mind and headed over to where James was packing the tent amongst the horses.

                “Hey Hawthorne, you better eat something before we head out. I heard we are going to try to make up the time that was lost during the night so that we can get to Winfard in the next day or so.” James said, pointing to the mess carriage.

                “Thanks James. Have you and Vasquez already eaten?”

                “Yeah we grabbed some when you were still asleep.”

                “Alright I will head over there before they close down. My mind is still racing about yesterday’s attack. How did we lose so fast?”

                “I know I can barely believe it either. Do you ever regret being put on this mission? You know, because we were able to get out before we were overrun?”

                “No, why would I? I mean think about it; our fellow brothers gave their lives so that we would have enough time to recuperate and come back even stronger. We have to defeat these demons, these Murden, to honor their sacrifice.”

                “What is a Murden?”

                “I had a conversation with the king and he told me that was what they were called. Some homeless man came up to him when he was just a private like us and told him that these Murden would come to kill all of humanity.”

                “The king knew about this and didn’t set something up that would be able to defend against such things? What was going through his head?”

                “I’m not sure. He said that he wasn’t concerned about the Murden because it was brought up by a crazy man. I guess he just never gave it any thought until we roused up the castle in the middle of the night.”

                “What are we going to do? Do you honestly think that we will be able to raise an army that could defeat these things?”

                “I do. We are Evalena warriors! There is nothing that should be able to defeat us.”

                “Yeah, I just wish that I had your confidence.”

                A loud whistle was heard above the hum of the working parties that declared we would be leaving soon. I quickly ran over to the mess carriage and snagged a roll and some butter before they closed up shop.

                I spotted Vasquez tending to the horses and decided that having a chat with him about all this might set my mind at ease.

                “Hey Vasquez, mind if we have a little talk on the road? I have some stuff I would like to talk about.”     

                “Sure. Just don’t expect me to do this all of the time. I can only handle so much of your talking.” He stated with a flat stare.

                I waited until we were underway to fill Vasquez in on what I thought happened with Borese last night. My memory was slowly starting to return and I wanted to hear someone else’s opinion on this.

                “OK so you know how I went to talk to the King last night right?”

                “Yeah.” Vasquez replied.

                “Well Cleric Borese called me to his tent and asked to speak to me alone after my conversation with the King.”

                “Well good for you. What is so significant about that?” Vasquez replied.

                “I’m getting there now shut up and stop interrupting. Anyways, Borese was talking about some foolish things about him teaching us some ancient trick to make us faster and stronger than humanly possible.”

                “Well what did you say? He is old enough, he probably created the technique himself.”

                “I thought he was crazy. The guy is like eighty years old I didn’t honestly take him seriously. I told him I thought he was mad and didn’t take him up on his offer. It all just seemed so unreal to me.”

                “You have got to be kidding me. How in the world did you ever become in a leadership position? You don’t realize that he might have been able to possess such techniques?”

                “I was skeptical okay? I had no idea what he was talking about and I didn’t know what to think. But the thing is it is true. Why do you think I was just curled up in a ball last night groaning about unintelligible nonsense? That old man did something to me and I have no idea what. All I remember was that he looked very displeased with my decision and the next thing I knew, I was falling down and he had crossed to the other room.”

                “You have to talk to him then. Take him up on his offer and make sure that you keep me in the loop. I can’t have you being the top dog in this group.”

                “Yeah yeah, whatever you say.”

                The conversation soon died after that and we kept our silence until we stopped about midday for a chance to eat again. I realized that this journey to Winfard was going to take longer than I thought. I never knew how much time the royal family needed to rest and recuperate from the long journey. The men and I walked over to the mess tent and fixed ourselves with some lunch and sat down to set up our plan of attack against these new creatures.

                James looked to me and asked, “Hawthorne, what’s the plan when we reach Fort Winfard? I mean what can we do if the enemy was able to take out our city like it was nothing, what will they do with a city that is even weaker?”

                “I thought about that,” I answered. “At this point though, all I’m concerned about is just getting everyone to Winfard and letting them decide what to do. All we are doing is being escorts.”

                “What if that’s not all we are?” Replied James. “They are going to want to know everything we know to help them stop these guys so we are going to be the strategists helping them plan out this war.”

                I turned to look at James and said, “We will do what is asked of us. We are the best trained soldiers in all the lands. Because of that, we need to act the best and adapt to anything that is thrown at us. As long as we get the Royal Entourage to safety, then our mission right now will be complete. Anything after that is not our concern.”

                James seemed disconcerted with this answer but didn’t press the issue. I looked around the camp and noticed that everyone was packing up. Confused, I went over to where the King was barking orders to the maids and servicers.

                “What is going on Milord? Why the sudden rush?”

                “We are wasting too much time with these side trips.” He replied. “The enemy cannot be too far behind us while we keep stopping because someone needs to stretch. We are pressing on.” He paused and said in a louder voice, making it clear to everyone,

“From now on, food will be on your own. We will not stop unless it is to rest and that is final.” Once he said that he was off to his carriage to talk strategy with his counselor. I looked around to locate the men that I was sent with but they had already left to tend to their horses. I walked around the convoy to where my horse was tied up to a tree on the outskirts of the woods when I started to hear hushed voices. Slowly, I came around a carriage and saw Vasquez talking with the princess, Arema! They looked as if they were in a very heated conversation but I could not hear what they were saying. Being cautious to make my presence unknown, I snuck around to the other side of the carriage so that I would be able to hear well.

                “Michael, we can’t do this. I need someone in my life that I don’t have to worry about dying every time they step out of our door. Plus what would my father say? ‘The princess of Evalena marrying a soldier?’ I-I just don’t know Michael.”

                “So you mean to tell me that what we had means nothing to you? My love for you is just something you can toy with because you were bred by a king? I’m glad I finally know how you truly feel about me. Good-bye, princess.”  Vasquez stormed away leaving the princess standing their looking bewildered and hurt. I wanted to say something but realized that I probably shouldn’t let them know that I was eavesdropping on their conversation. I turned to leave but found myself face to face with Cleric Borese.