Embedded Files
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Night. Cold. Quiet.
Those were the words that Lady Izana could describe Ravena's city walls. From what she heard, The Red Blood Regiment refused to give Jericho to The Black Valkyrie Regiment. They could have handled the interrogation even better, in her opinion. She thought that the Red Blood Regiment was too soft - refusing to do the hard hard choices to do what was necessary. She suddenly got puzzled. It is said that in order to judge a group, one can look at their leader. Their former leader was Kindred Osiris - one of the deadliest assassins of the North.
"How can a Master Assassin suddenly turn into a soft soldier?" She said in a low tone.
"Cowardice." A man said, sitting near Izana's side. It was Sir Andrew, arriving after a tailing mission. "Legend has it, that he was the deadliest assassin of his time in The Black Valkyrie Regiment. Then suddenly, poof! He became scared of shifters after an assault on their camp."
Izana nodded, now having a new perspective on the former general. "Hmm..." she uttered. She agreed with Andrew's statement. It would be such a disgrace to stop fighting the enemy and let go of such a high prestige in the royal army.
"A real assassin would continue the assault and kill more of the enemies, but he refused to ensure the protection of his kingdom due to his fear." He said, now looking at the forest from afar.
Leaves. Sounds. Wind.
Izana suddenly heard a disturbance in the environment thanks to her elvish hearing. She suddenly sprang up, trying to look for her brothers and sisters-in-arms. Andrew saw this and signaled his squad to get ready.
"There's something going on in the forest." Andrew said, making his squad stand up and prepare for a sudden enemy. Perhaps it would be an enemy? Perhaps just a late night merchants? No matter. There's something that needed to be dealt with.
"Run!" A voice was heard. It was their general. William arrived, not wearing his uniform, but some kind of peasant uniform. He had a pack on his hand, and some parts of his body were still covered in fur. "We can't fight them at this state. We have to report this to her majesty before they reach the Golden Eagle Guard.
"What about the Red Blood Regiment?" Izana replied.
"One of their squads was assigned to investigate the forest. I don't wish to elaborate what happened to them. That's why we need to report it to them now. Andrew, keep them updated. I will need to go to the castle. Now move!"
The shout of William got the assassins to quickly stand up and head to their positions. Suddenly, the sounds of growls started to flood the forest.
"Screw this..." One of the Black Valkyrie soldiers said. "I'm not as soft as the reds."
"Brother, no!" Shouted Maria, as she watched a couple of her comrades leap from the wall and run towards the forest. She dismissed them, and turned around to follow William to the castle. But then, she stopped.
Screams. Crying. Fear.
Maria's eyes felt like it melted into water, as she heard the voices of her former comrades getting ripped apart.
-----
"Come on, uncle! We got some adventures to do!"
Shouted Thomas, while they were in the bar. Ni Mor watched as the young boy opened the barrel of wine. The scene made him happy.... although.... that's not the same for the people in the bar, who were all tied up in their chairs.
Suddenly, Thomas violently spat out the contents of what he was drinking. "THIS IS BITTER!" He shouted, causing Ni Mor to suddenly look at him. Ni Mor laughed as he walked towards Thomas.
"You poor child. Come on, let's get you some juice instead." He said, before walking towards the outside of the bar, while the people looked at them, still tied to their chairs.
Ni Mor and Thomas went to different places. They went to the market, looking at the different pets that were being sold, and they went to the bards who sang different songs. Suddenly, some members of the Red Blood Regiment arrived. The two shifters got wind of this, and they did not want to risk themselves being caught, so they decided to gently flee. When they got out of the scene, screams were suddenly heard from the market. Thomas wanted to check, but he realized that he was here for a vacation, and not for some kind of serious mission. Thomas suddenly got curious of a tall building in a more quiet part of Ravena. The carpets were purple, and it seemed that a lot of people were gathering around them.
"This is a church, Thomas." Ni Mor pointed out, but Thomas was too curious and wanted to check it out even further.
They sat down at the far end of the seats. There was a large armored man at the front, and a woman dressed in very sturdy metal armor. It was General Ellen, and her assistant golem, Donk Tonk.
"Today we celebrate a day of cleanliness. Solev has been kind to give us the blessing to have our homes back from the filthy heretics - The Shifters." The priest at the altar said.
Ni Mor was bored, while Thomas looked to be more serious and angry.
"A shifter betrayed the High Priestess before the start of the dark ages. And before the First Sun, shifters dominated the kingdoms. It is in their blood to betray and kill, as they are a demonic entity that needs to be exterminated!" The priest fervently yelled, getting the crowd riled up. Thomas's fists clenched tightly, almost wanting him to stand up. Ni Mor saw this and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let's leave. This is making me bored."
-----
The Holy Knights at the front guarded the priests with high respect and honor. Donk Tonk stood as strong as a mountain, perhaps standing too stiff that some thought he was actually a statue. When he moved, some of the people at the front would gasp, and it would sometimes give General Ellen a chuckle.
Due to Donk's height, he saw 2 people dressed in green move out of the church. They did not even finish the ceremony, yet they still wanted to leave? This was heresy. He took a step forward, yet he was quickly stopped by General Ellen.
"Let them be, brother. God will see to it on their punishment." She said.
The ceremony continued with a couple of sermons and lessons. The people sang with the priest, and the feeling was ethereal - as was all masses of The Church of St. Elizabeth. Solev, their God, would not have been more gracious to give them such blessing to sing. It was something that was the beauty of the...
Screams from afar....
Ellen suddenly looked outside of the church to see people running. She looked at Donk Tonk who seemed to also know about the situation. She looked at the window and saw people running frantically. A couple of horses galloped, while still having their saddles on their backs. She then looked at the door which was still opened to the outside.
"Close the door!" She shouted, followed by two holy knights running towards the door and closing it. The people in the mass stood up to watch, bobbing their heads to have a better view of the knights scuttling towards the door, as the screams continued on. Before they could even close the door, some peasants were already trying to get in, but the knights pushed further to defend their church, locking the non-believers out. The door was closed, and all they needed to do was lock it.
Suddenly, a bump pushed the shoulders back a bit. Donk told his mind that the peasants were starting to fight, so he walked towards the entrance to assist in locking the door.
Suddenly, it burst wide open.
Growls
The screams of men, women, and children.
Ellen yelling at the knights to hold the line.
Donk Tonk taking all the hits to protect the people, in letting them escape through the back door.
Ellen sacrifing her life to take one last stand with her men.
The end of her line.
Silence.
-----
Thomas and Ni Mor walked through the streets, but it seemed that the kingdom became quieter than before. Even the birds refused to sing. The only things that were heard, were the trees on the side. Ni Mor continued to walk, now more cautiously. They decided to go to the castle to see if there were people there, but it turned out that the place was littered with Golden Eagle Guards. Ni Mor, being a former admiral of the navy, knew that such sudden height in armament meant that there was something important going on. Thomas meanwhile, was too busy watching the soldiers. Ni Mor then looked at Thomas in a serious manner.
"Uhh..." Thomas said, not knowing what to say to Ni Mor's sudden change in demeanor.
"We need to go." Ni Mor said, making Thomas walk with him towards the city and into the gate.
There was nothing going on in the streets, and the only things they could sense were people in the roofs. "Black Valkyries." Ni Mor noted, prompting Thomas to put his hand on the handle of his sword on his back. Suddenly, there was something in their way. It was growling hard, and acting very erratic. No..... it was a person.
"Wait." Thomas asked himself. "What is that?"
Ni Mor had his grip on his hammer, and he was ready for anything. "Move away, will you?" He said to the erratic person. The rugged man was covered in bites and scratches, and it seemed as if he was beaten to a pulp. Yet, he could still stand well, and was preparing for a fight. Thomas looked up and saw a couple of Black Valkyrie Soldiers running away. However, when he looked back at the erratic man, it seemed like he saw him before.
"Isn't that the one of the guys we saw at the church earlier?" Thomas said.
The two shifters looked to the back of the erratic man, and saw piles of bodies of peasants lying on the ground. The erratic man screamed, prompting Ni Mor to suddenly hit him with his hammer. "Uncle!" Thomas screamed, but this only made the dead bodies rise.
"Thomas." Ni Mor said, looking at him with a concerned face. "The Black Valkyries seem to know something about this."
-----
As the soldiers of the Red Blood Regiment began to flood the streets of Ravena, some were still at the Western camp to guard the main base. With them was General Kai, who called upon General Nathaniel's new faction - The Committee of State Security, which was formerly the Vonturian Expeditionary Force.
Keith saw Aida getting her bow and arrow ready. He visited her on her tent and held her hand. "Jericho's not that far." He said.
"I know." Aida replied. "And his attack today will need to be stopped. I heard he has a lot of men in his sleeve."
"I'll reach out to reason with him." Keith said. "The clan could take more blues for our FOB."
Aida looked at Keith, puzzled. Realizing that his Vonturian vocabulary had slipped again, he then said...
"I'll make sure to make them our allies for the clan."
-----
"Alright comrades, we have information from the Black Valkyrie Regiment that Jericho has ordered an attack on the city." General Kai said, before looking at the CSS-RBR alliance in the camp. "Get inside the city, and secure the position at the park. All clear?"
"Aye!" The Red Blood soldiers said.
"Sir, yes sir!" The CSS responded.
General Nath led the assault towards the park and ordered his men to secure the perimeter. Peasants flooded the area, before heading to their houses to hide. Some were visibly shaken, while some were fully pale. Whatever it was, it was something that they would not wish to keep fighting forever.
General Kai ordered his men to secure to entrance points. However, only 1 entrance point was fully secured. Aida was busy with her bow at the right path, while the other new soldiers were placed on the left. Leon took his bow in his hands, getting his arrow ready on place. The other archers like Xavier watched closely as they were beginning to be concerned about the whole situation.
Whatever the enemy is...
It has no mercy.
A scream erupted from the left path. It was more of a screech of a beast rather than a typical sentient voice. Aida and Leon looked to see from afar to see a dot of a person from the far side of the path. General Nath used his crossbow's scope to check and see what they actually looked like. When his eyes met the target, his body shook a bit, making his hair stand up.
"Get the snipers ready. We're going dark." General Nathaniel said to Henrik, who was now part of the CSS. Henrik's brother from the Red Blood Regiment, Sergeant Lake, saw the look in him and knew that the situation was definitely serious, so he ordered the privates to be ready for anything.
One of them was Private Steven, who got wind of the alert from Lake. He then decided to patrol the area, only to see a bit of movement from afar. Is this a person? No....he's acting erratic. Wait... he's running.
"Leon!" Aida yelled, causing Leon to jump up and dodge anything on his back. It was here.
Aida fired her arrows at the creature, then proceeded to look for the other soldiers in the regiment. It turned out that they were already fighting, as more of these erratic people ran towards the regiment. On the top of one of the houses was Jericho, who was watching the whole scenario. When Aida saw him, she immediately aimed her bow at him. But wait...
Keith.
This thought immediately made Aida lower her bow, and caused her to continue firing at the shifters. "I'm running out of arrows!" Xavier said, while Leon gave him some of his. They all knew that they could not rely on arrows, and the fighters in the regiment were all occupied with the other zombies.
Suddenly...
"Get over here!" Char yelled, releasing a large breath of flame from his hand. This immediately made the shifters burn in agony. Their screams were now similar to the sentient ones. A small part of Aida created some sort of conflict with her.
Jericho watched further, as he took a glass bottle from one of his pockets. Aida looked and saw all the details of Jericho doing his actions. He walked towards a chimney where a lot of evacuated peasants were inside. Aida had to choose. Does she shoot him now? Or does she go with Keith's plan? If she shoots him now, then all of this may come to an end, and maybe his erratic men would surrender?
But...
If she doesn't shoot, Keith could intercept and convince him that The Red Blood Regiment is not an enemy, prompting him to create peace within the two factions. Perhaps if she does not shoot, then all of this would have far more positive consequences. Aida looked back, only to see Jericho dropping the flask on the chimney.
"No!" Aida yelled, only to see Jericho look at her, before running away.
A green explosion of smoke erupted from the house. Aida looked in shock. A smoke bomb? Why?
A ton of peasants banged the doors of the house, some even on the windows. Char felt his hands in pain, as he realized that he had been using magic for too long. "I'm running out of mana." He said.
"We got this." Operator Henrik said, before calling his team to use their crossbows and fire at the enemies. The doors of the house soon cracked, prompting the alliance to then shift their sights on it. Growls and roars soon erupted from the house, making the group look at the house in horror.
It burst open.
"OPEN FIRE!" Operator Henrik said, making the regiment shoot the ones who came out. But it was no use. The arrows were just becoming some sort of nuisance to the bodies of the enemies. "Retreat! Retreat!" Henrik immediately said, causing the CSS to move back while firing. However, someone was not. Henrik almost cursed at the man who was walking forward, but seeing who it was, he suddenly kept his mouth shut.
"Take distance!" He said to his men, causing the man in front of them to suddenly regain his connection to mana. It was General Kai.
"Manus Draconis." He said, and an incredibly large flame broken out of his hand. The fire was so strong, that some parts of the house soon burned to ashes. Every creature in the house soon burned, and was left dead.
"Well he could have done that sooner." Operator Henrik noted.
"You realize you were wearing Mana Nullifiers." General Kai replied.
The CSS nodded, and went to check on the few survivors. Soon, some of the creatures started to move again, but they were slow this time.
Several clouds of smoke erupted throughout the area. And soon, several hooded people in black arrived, decapitating any enemy that they could find. It was a swift finish to the operation. "I hope I wasn't that late?" General William said, before looking at General Kai. A quick gasp was suddenly heard by William, and it made his head turn.
-----
"Get down kid!" Ni Mor shouted in a whispering manner at Thomas, which got them to prone under one of the trees near the scene.
Several men soon arrived, prompting a report on the situation. "What happened?" Thomas said, pointing at the soldiers. Ni Mor looked at Thomas with his eyebrow raised. "Well I don't suppose you, a shifter, suddenly draw attention of one of the most well known shifter hunters of the kingdom to know the answer to that, right?" he said, while they saw William slowly walking towards them.
A large roar soon arrived, and a couple of thumps came from behind the two clan members. Thomas looked in horror as he saw the large creature with animal parts walking to them. When they turned around to the group, they saw William standing near them, but suddenly walking back as he saw the large zombie standing beside them. William was about to attack, but for some reason, it wasn't attacking them, or William. It seemed to be more interested in moving towards the other soldiers in the field. William was puzzled, as he saw the creature lumbering towards his comrades. An arrow suddenly lodged deep into the large zombie's brain, causing it to fall down. When they saw who took the shot, it was none other than Leon.
"At least we know that they won't move again once their heads are shot." He said.
The soldiers of the alliance nodded, while Commander Anno and Commander Oliver were cheering him on silently from afar. General Nath soon saw a large number of the zombies from afar moving towards a given location. Nath's eyes widened, and immediately called upon Henrik to be ready. Along with the people that arrived was Karasu, another shifter who was not part of The Clan of Aeryth, but that matter was not important as there was something more threatening going on.
"Henrik, call an evac on the CSS. We'll need to extract and make a fast rendezvous with the Vonturians." He said, prompting the Ravenians to look at their vocabulary with a massive look of confusion in their faces. Evac? rende-what?
Enough about that, they needed to know what was going on.
-----
The Red Blood Regiment went down the castle to talk about the recent situation. The Black Valkyrie soldiers were all ordered to guard the castle walls, while the Golden Eagle Guard was ordered to make sure that the castle was secure the royal family. General Kai walked through the place and saw a feast going on. "Sir!" Private Steven called, who was in the tavern room. "I wish to show you something."
Aida looked from afar and saw that Kai was going towards Steven. Suddenly, she heard a "psst." sound. When she turned around, it was Keith, hiding below the stairs.
"What are you doing here? Are you crazy?" She said, while walking towards Keith. "This place is only for the alliance, you're going to get yourself be put in the dungeon!"
Keith looked at her in a saddened manner. "What's wrong?" She asked, but Keith looked at her in silence.
"Follow me." He said.
"Hey. You!" A woman suddenly said while walking down from the stairs. It was the new general of the Golden Eagle Guard - General Lynx. "Civilians are not allowed here. I could put you in the dungeon right now-"
She was cut off when a man in full red armor suddenly walked towards her. His helmet went slowly close to her face. With red glowing eyes, and a smoking mouth, she already knew who it was.
"We'll be going now." Aida said while looking at Lynx. "Thank you Gold." She said, while patting his back before holding Keith's hand to walk towards the outside of the castle.
General Lynx scoffed. "You're lucky I still respect your blood, your majesty." she said, before moving on to walk to the bar.
-----
Aida and Keith arrived at the field where they fought the zombies. Aida was puzzled as to why they would come back to the scene at night time. Keith then kneeled at one of the bodies in the field, belonging to one of the zombies. He then looked at Aida with a pale face.
-----
"Yes Steven what is it you want to- OH FOR THE LOVE OF EKAJ!" Kai suddenly said, as he saw Steven with a bunch of corpses beside him. "What is this!?"
"Sir. Look." Steven said, before plucking out one of the corpses eyes from the head. Colonel Alvin covered his mouth as he felt his stomach turn. The same could be said to General Kai.
"The eyes." Steven said.
"Yeah, I can see that." Kai said, not wanting to look at it for a bit, as it looked disgusting. Everyone in the Red Blood Regiment has known what blood looked like, but it was still unnecessary to see one of their soldiers just playing with a corpse.
"No sir. Look." He said, making Kai look at the eye, before suddenly realizing what Steven meant.
-----
"Aida." Keith said, looking at her in horror. "These people.... These people are shifters. They have reflective eyes."
Aida stepped back, realizing what he had just said.
"No. This can't be. But how?" Keith said.
Aida then looked up to him. "The gas..." She said.
-----
Kai held the eye and saw the reflectiveness of it. "Anno, get the men ready. I know who did this."
"Aye sir." He said, before calling upon the men to be ready.
"And I think I know who to go to." General Kai followed.
-----
Aida could do nothing but to sit back at the floor. She could have taken the shot earlier to prevent the peasants from turning into those creatures, but she hesitated, because...
Because...
"Aida... I'm sorry." Keith said, slowly shedding a tear in his eye. "I didn't know. I really didn't."
He tried to walk to Aida, but she slowly backed off. Keith, realizing what Aida did, looked up to her eyes. "Was this the ally you were tasked to have?" Aida glared at him, now with her eyes becoming reflective due to the tears in her eyes. "I trusted you!"
"Ebony didn't know." Keith said, trying to calm her down. "We had the idea that Jericho had an army, but not this!?"
Aida looked at him in a shocked face. A part of her did not want to believe him, but if he was truly trying to manipulate her, then why would he tell him about what actually happened with the zombies?
-----
General William sat by the walls of the kingdom. He was on edge, as he sat on the floor of it. His hood covered most of his face, as was all the other assassins in his regiment. He turned to Izana, who he now called 'Izzy' as her nickname, who was leaning against one of the posts head down and falling asleep. He shuffled over and slowly shook her awake. "Come on we have got to get moving" He spoke as quietly as he could.
"Wha- What happene- Oh" She said looking around in shock and surprise.
"Look." William spoke gesturing toward the other side of the Wooden wall. At the far side of the kingdom were a hoard of shifter zombies marching south west.
"The're headed towards-" Izana said, still looking at the hoard.
"Vontur."
Aida took a deep sigh. This was it. Her decision on her allegiance will be decided. Will she be a loyalist of the Royal Family, or will she stick to what she believed in. She looked at Keith for a bit and then to the bodies.
"Fine." She said. "I trust you."
Keith exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "I'll tell Ebony about this situation, and make sure that she knows about what's happening." Keith said, prompting a nod from Aida.
"And can you escort us to her whereabouts perhaps?" Sir Tarrick arrived while saying this, followed by his general - General Lynx. Aida suddenly stepped back. Keith wanted to run, but he immediately thought of what would happen to Aida if he left.
"Sir Tarrick, arrest him for treason." Lynx said, making Aida suddenly hold her bow. Tarrick stopped, making Lynx a bit surprised.
"Oh. Daring. I like her." She said, before slowly walking towards them both, before suddenly hearing a large flame erupting in the distance. Kai arrived, descending from the sky with fire on his hands, before suddenly landing clumsily to the ground as the fire in his hands suddenly went out. "Stupid nullifiers." He muttered, looking at the shields of the Golden Eagle Guard.
"And what's this?" Lynx asked, making Kai look at Aida and Keith.
"General." Aida said, holding Kai's shoulder. "Keith is going to warn Ebony about the situation. He's going to make sure that the shifters will fight the creatures from earlier."
"He's a traitor, general." Lynx said, while looking at him. "And traitors belong to the sword of justice."
Kai suddenly turned to Aida. He was confused about the situation. He agreed with Lynx, but he also knew that Aida wouldn't be doing this without good reason. And with Aida saying that this could open an opportunity for the Clan of Aeryth to have an alliance with Ravena, then it could work.
"We need allies in this new problem." He said, while looking at the distance. A couple more soldiers from the Red Blood Regiment arrived. "You don't have to call your men to kill him." The red general said.
Lynx saw both her soldiers, and the red blood regiment arriving. If she was going to keep pursuing them both, then this could start a war. She knew that they had a good chance of winning, but it would be at the cost of instability and reckless carnage, especially after the whole problem with the zombies.
"Fine. I won't order my knights to hunt Keith down. Now get out of my sight." Lynx said.
Aida and Keith took a sigh of relief, before Aida put her hand gently on Keith's cheek. "Tell Artemis my regards, alright. And please be safe." She said. Keith nodded, before looking at the standoff between the army. He then walked towards the outside of the gate.
"Oh, and one more thing." Aida said, walking towards Keith.
The clan member watched as his lover walked towards him. Blushing more and more, her head moved closer to him. He suddenly felt his lips press against hers, then quickly away.
"Good luck." She said.
Keith looked shocked, but immediately decided to run away. However, Lynx was looking at them both in a seething manner. She then turned around, walking towards the castle. "So what's the plan, general?" Tarrick said.
"Call the Black Valkyrie Regiment. We're going to order a hit on that man." She said.
"But you agreed to not order your men to attack Keith." He said, looking at her in a concerned manner. The Golden Eagle Guard was known for their honor, so this kind of treachery was unheard of to their regiment.
"Yes." Lynx said, looking at Tarrick straight in the eye. "But the Black Valkyries are not my men." she said.
It was smart, and it was brilliant. It was very nuanced and political. In Tarrick's eyes, it was the perfect loophole to their deal. Tarrick only nodded, before going to the headquarters of the Black Valkyrie Regiment. When he arrived, he then talked to one of them.
"Sir Andrew." he said, showing a piece of paper. "New orders by the royal family. I'm sure you've heard of this man named Keith?"
With that single question, Sir Andrew smiled. "Brothers." He said, while standing up. "We're going hunting."
A smile formed in the squad's face.
-----
Gold stood at the side of the field, looking at Aida. The rest of the Red Blood Regiment were now heading back to the castle basement. Aida only looked at her comrades slowly disappearing as they went out. When all their comrades had moved to the castle, only Gold and Aida remained at the field. The silence from them both was imminent. Normally, Aida would be the first to speak, but she was too flustered from what she has done. Gold raised his head.
"Aida-" He said, his voice echoing through his metal helmet. It was deep, and very dark - it was enough to scare the living hell out of almost any person.
"I know what you're gonna say, ok!?" Aida suddenly burst out. "He's different! He's not a killer who will blindly murder anyone! If you only know who he actually is I swear he-"
She stopped, as she realized that Gold only stared at her. That was not what he meant. His eyes were obvious that he wanted to speak about something else. Aida couldn't help but take her eyes off from Gold. "Why in the world would I assume that?" Her mind said.
"Artemis." He spoke, suddenly making her eyes widen. "I know, Gold. I already knew about her betrayal-."
"Artemis and I." Gold continued to speak, prompting Aida to suddenly stop speaking. "What?" she whispered, making Gold step a bit closer to her.
"Artemis is pregnant." Gold said, making Aida put her hand on her mouth. "And I'm the father."
-----
"COME HERE, BOY!"
Sir Andrew shouted, raining arrows in the forest. Keith ran as fast as he could as more and more arrows winced through the leaves and trees. The Black Valkyrie Regiment was incredibly proficient in traversing the tree tops, and he was only a simple elf. It would only be a matter of time before he would be exhausted from this. Suddenly, he heard growls in one of the bushes.
A shifter zombie suddenly leaped towards him, but he immediately dodged. He saw the zombie through the moonlight sky, and he swore that it was something that ran a chill down his spine. He had heard of Vonturian experiments before, but not as gruesome and abhorrent as this one.
But he had to move...
He quickly ran away, looking back to see the zombie looking back towards the assassins. Shouts and yells were suddenly heard as he continued to run forward. Suddenly, he saw a group of zombies blocking his way.
Turn right.
He dashed sideways and ran diagonally to the right. Suddenly, he saw more zombies crawling out of the shadows.
Turn left.
More zombies started to appear from the treetops.
Turn left.
Turn right.
Turn right.
Turn left.
William sat on the ground, tied in a rope. They successfully captured the general and there were only two that accomplished this. Thomas stared at William, and Ni Mor watched them both. A chill of cold air passed through. The general was still unconscious, and it was the perfect time to rest for a bit. Ni Mor had the idea of using this as some sort of alibi for their vacation. If they captured the general of the Black Valkyrie Regiment, then it would be a great accomplishment to them. Ni Mor snapped out of his thinking, and looked at Thomas, still in his tanuki form, who was just staring at him.
“Alright, I’m heading back to report this to Ebony.” Ni Mor said, breaking the silence. Suddenly, they both heard a grunt from William. He was awake, and he adjusted his eyes to his new position.
William saw who his captors were. It was none other than Ni Mor, the traitor of the Ravenian Royal Navy. But if he’s here, then it only means one thing.
He’s with the Clan of Aeryth…
He quickly remembered the words of Ailyn. They practiced this protocol before. He remembered that if he ever got captured, acting maliciously will just get him killed. He needed to be calm.
“Hey, I’m getting a little cold, could you… Light a fire?” William asked in a low voiced manner, with his body still resting on the hard stone ground.
“I don’t have any wood, or a fire, but…” Thomas looked at him, wondering what he could do instead. “Could I perhaps warm your legs?” Thomas said, shifting back into his Tanuki form, now sitting atop his legs. William seemed surprised. The Clan of Aeryth, being this kind to the Black Valkyrie Regiment? He knew that they were kind to normal people, but he was one of the soldiers inside one of the deadliest regiments of all Selyria. He looked at Ni Mor, who only scoffed at him. There he was reminded that this was indeed their enemy. He did not know how to feel, with the warmth of Thomas, and the coldness of Ni Mor, it was a bit confusing for him. They sat at the small camp for a moment.
“So, uh…” Thomas blurted out, after shifting back to his human form. “Ni mor left some horse meat. You’re hungry right?”
The young boy then offered him some of the meat he was talking about. William stared at it for a while, before feeling his stomach growl in hunger. “Y-yes, I’m rather hungry.” William replied, reluctantly grabbing one of the meat that Thomas was offering. At first bite, William suddenly chomped it off, after getting a taste of the cooked meat. It had been an entire day of watching and guarding the place. It was an entire day of fighting the zombies as well. He realized that he had forgotten to eat. He did not even think about whether or not this was horse meat or not. To him, this was perfect enough.
“Wow, you really are hungry.” Thomas said as he watched him devour the meat until it disappeared in his hands. “Is that your favourite food or something?”
“No, rabbit is.” William responded while the meat was still lodged inside his mouth.
“Rabbit?” Thomas said, before scoffing. “I remember I had a friend that hunted them. But he’s gone now, he died in a fire.”
There was a small stage of silence that passed after he said that. William could see the sadness forming in Thomas’s face. He chewed more slowly, as he processed what the boy was feeling. Hold on-
“But that’s beside the point.” Thomas quickly said, looking at his pouch and tinkering with his tools. “Now choose the serum; Duck or Eagle?”
William raised his head to look back at Thomas. He was speechless. “I…” He spoke, but could not bring out a proper answer.
Thomas quickly brought the two serums out and showed it close to William’s face. Ni Mor also moved closer to William, getting ready to pin him down if he ever tried to resist.
“You’re making this difficult for the both of us here.” He said, with his face now becoming angrier. “Now you will know how it feels to be like us once you return to your friends. Now you will know what it feels to be casted aside just for what you are.”
“But…” .William said, trying to move back, before being held down by Ni Mor. Thomas then was about to choose the duck serum, before he was suddenly stopped by William.
“I’m already a shifter!” he shouted.
Thomas froze, staring at him. His eyes emitted shock, and his mouth was slightly open. He put the serums down, and took some breaths.
“You’re already… A shifter?”
William closed his eyes, suddenly releasing some sort of smoke in his body. His cells moved circular, and his organs evaporated. A riptide of ashes encircled his position, before those particles reanimated themselves into different parts of a wolf. Thomas and Ni Mor were shocked to see this, and saw William transform back again into a human. “I have been, for as long as I can remember.”
“W-what?” Thomas said. “But.. How did you become the General of a regiment that kills them?!”
William pinched his hood and shook it to emphasize his point. “I hid my eyes to prevent them from seeing me. As for my ability…I just never shifted, and the only person that knew I was a shifter died years ago.”
“Wow, that’s…” Thomas replied. completely flabbergasted. He tried to look elsewhere, completely confused. He tried to speak, but nothing else could be said in this predicament.
“Could you untie me then?” William asked, using this opportunity to set him free. Ni Mor was about to bring out his hammer, but his hand was suddenly held by Thomas. The boy then slowly went to William’s wrists and cut them loose.
“Well at least the horse meat was worth it.” William said, while feeling his wrists which he could finally relax. “But it’s always worth it to try and hunt a rabbit. You should try hunting them sometime.”
“I do have experience hunting rabbits.” Thomas said, while finally cutting the ropes on William’s torso. “Y’know, I remember when I was younger, my friend tried to shoot at a rabbit, but he almost shot a villager instead. He was in so much trouble, he couldn’t go outside or use his bow for a week.” Thomas said, finally sitting back to have a proper chat with William. But still looking at the ropes he was working on to properly dispose of them. William however, suddenly became more serious. His face was all neutral, but with his eyebrows a bit close together.
“I…had a similar experience like that.” William responded, then looked at the distance from afar, as if it was to contemplate something..
“You did?”
“Yeah, it played out exactly the same as what you said.”
Thomas suddenly looked at William, and tried to seek for his eyes. He slowly moved close to him, and saw the shine in William’s eyes. “Say, I never got your name.” The Black Valkyrie General said.
“Mine’s Thomas, yours?”
“It’s William.”
The cold wind of the night voiced down through the silence of their stares. They looked at each other in both dread, shock, disbelief, and even interest.
“William? Weren’t we-?” Thomas spoke softly, trying to say something, but slowly becoming overwhelmed.
“No, the Thomas I knew back then died in a fire.”
“But, I thought my William friend died too, he got crushed in the flames.”
“You got crushed by that tree…”
Thomas felt a wave of tears fill his eyes. “William, I…”
William suddenly felt a strong hug coming from Thomas. The boy sobbed, while William hugged him back. The red hair should have been obvious, but he had to be sure. Now, it was finally confirmed. William exhaled, and rubbed his hands gently on Thomas’s back, finally reunited with his seemingly late friend.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse