Upon reaching the stone paved path, at the entrance before the city gates, they both continued forward, with the fog seemingly staying behind them.

As the vision was getting clearer, the usual image of the city gates was fully visible, but with two unknown smoking objects. Getting closer to them, Maldwyn identified them to be the guardsmen. He immediately pulled Adrian behind him.

"What happened."

"Don't look! Stay behind me." Urged Maldwyn as he put down all of his things on the ground while equipping the knife.

Maldwyn slowly closed the distance between himself and the lying figures. Upon closer inspection he realized that their bodies were scorched from inside of the armor. Maldwyn tried to examine them further but realized upon reaching his hand forward that the armor is still intensely hot and he would get burned.

"Seven hells, who could've done this to you Otto." He said gloomily.

"M- Maldwyn…" Said Adrian while stuttering.

Maldwyn turned around and saw Adrian pointing towards the city. Following his pointing direction Maldwyn saw what was otherwise obscured by the focus he has been giving to the lifeless corpses nearby. The now seemingly closed city gates were utterly destroyed with debris lying around making way to anyone who made them so.

"Lyra!" Gasped Maldwyn as he began running towards the city but as soon as he made the first step, he stopped and looked at scared Adrian standing behind him.

Maldwyn's judgement was torn between whether he should leave him here or take Adrian with him.

"What do I do, I can't take him with me, the thing that caused all of this is dangerous. But I can't leave him here, there can still be someone dangerous lingering around. I could also take him and run but the mist is too dangerous and I can't leave Lyraalonebutishouldn'ttake-"

His train of thoughts was suddenly stopped.

"Maldwyn! We can't just stay here and do nothing, we need to go save Mom!"

"I- I am not sure, I don't know what to do. You can't go inside."

"I can and I will, with or without you." Adrian gazed at him angrily.

Trembling Maldwyn gathered up courage and said to himself: "You are so lucky to have raised such a brave guy Lyra, don't worry, we are coming to save you."

"Did you say something?"

"…no. But I need to make this very clear, you need to stay right by my side at all times. And if things go bad and I won't be able to help you-" Maldwyn paused while grabbing Adrian’s shoulders to make him properly see eye to eye. "-you must run, anywhere, just away from here. You promise?"

"Okay."

"Do you promise?!" He asked again with a more serious tone.

"Yes, I promise."

"Alright then, let's go."

Walking through the rampaged city was showing a horrible scenery of buildings destroyed, doors and windows broken, with every other wooden structure on fire, but no soul, friendly or hostile, to be found. They've decided not to try their luck and continue by sneaking in between the buildings, until they've finally reached Adrian and Lyra's home without any problems. But just like any other building it was pillaged. Not giving up hope about finding Lyra hiding, they've entered the building.

Soft creaking of the wooden floor following their footsteps was the only sound heard throughout the inside of the house as they were carefully and silently searching for any signs of life. They've continued upstairs to Adrian's room, but to no avail as Lyra was nowhere to be found. While Maldwyn was walking around the room, he noticed something when looking out of a window. A figure in a hooded robe holding a torch was walking down the street.

"Adrian do not move and be careful not to make a sound." Whispered Maldwyn urgently while cautiously watching the seemingly dangerous person, so that he or she won't notice him.

"Probably a patrol, judging by the direction, he came from the centre of the city. I should go take a look there."

"Adrian stay here. It seems that they have already checked all the buildings and won't come inside, it should be safe if you stay here. I shall continue alone, it's too dangerous. If I won't be back in 15 minutes, go out of the city and find help… merchant, traveller, nearby village, anything."

"No, I am coming with you! I can help!"

"Stay here, that's an order!"

"I don't take orders from you!"

Maldwyn clenched his fist.

"I can't afford to have such a liability accompany me in this case of life and death!"

"…liability?" Said Adrian as his knees got suddenly weak making him sit on his bed.

"I am sorry but it's too dangerous for a kid." Said Maldwyn coldly as he made his way downstairs leaving Adrian alone.

Tears started running down Adrian's cheeks as he was quietly sobbing while holding his head with his arm. Opening his eyes for a while, he noticed his plush toy sitting on the bed next to him, reminding him of all the times he acted and was treated like a child. Anger filled his heart making him grab the bear by limbs and tear him apart. Adrian threw his head into the pillow silencing his loud wailing.

Few minutes have passed and suddenly a loud male scream was heard throughout the city immediately taking Adrian's attention and stopping his trail of tears. Suspecting that they belonged to Maldwyn, he went downstairs and checked if the street was clear all while having his order on his mind. Upon making sure it was safe, Adrian rushed towards the city gates with having his bow and few arrows still on him. But then he immediately stopped because he thought that this was his chance at doing the right, manly thing. With this mindset, he changed the direction of his way towards the town centre.

While making his way down the street, all of a sudden he saw the hooded figure appear far in front of him. Adrian froze and drew his bow since he didn’t seem to notice him. Second after that, something grabbed and pulled him behind the building while covering his mouth.

"What are you doing here!" Said the man who pulled him angrily but quietly.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Adrian recognized Maldwyn's voice and calmed down.

"Are you ok? I heard a scream and I thought that something-"

"No, it was someone else but I told you to run if anything happened to me, why did you come this way?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be alone, I was scared. I know I am a liability but I didn't want to lose you too." Said teary eyed Adrian.

Maldwyn embraced him tightly and said: "Don't say those words, you haven't lost anyone yet, we will find Lyra… together. And look, I didn't mean it like that, you are a brave kid I just don't want you to go in a dangers way."

"Yeah, I know."

"Let's continue then, hopefully the guy left al-"

While turning his back on Adrian, trying to look around the corner, Maldwyn froze after which a small explosion was heard. His giant body all of a sudden lost balance and leaned against a nearby wooden wall, slowly sliding down into a sitting position. Revealed before Adrian's eyes was the hooded person holding his still steaming and bloody hand in front of him. Trying to process what just happened, Adrian looked at Maldwyn whose throat was burned out with parts of his face under his nose died red.

"I knew I saw something." Said the hooded figure as he began to walk towards Adrian who jumped few lengths back.

Feeling fear and anger, Adrian drew his bow and started yelling at him:

"Don't you dare come any closer! What did you do to him?! SPEAK!"

"Tsk, stop screaming, I didn't go on a patrol to listen to more annoying kids." Said the unknown person without complying to any of Adrian's terms.

"I said stop!" Adrian's shot went straight towards him but with a swift hand gesture, the arrow changed its trajectory and ended up stuck in the nearby wall.

"H-how, what are you…"

Adrian's questioning was interrupted by the enemy throwing the torch aside and grabbing him by the neck, with both arms pinning him against a wall. Being pulled so high that his feet were not touching the ground, he dropped his weapon.

"I am someone who needs to shut you up, and don't worry you won't end up like your friend here unless you won't give me a reason to make you two alike."

Struggling for his life, with seconds feeling like minutes, Adrian tried his best to get out of his grasp. Kicking, punching, scraping with his nails but nothing worked. The world before him was slowly getting darker as he tried to look at Maldwyn one last time. Few seconds before losing consciousness, a knife appeared in the enemy's shoulder who yelled out of pain and lost a great amount of strength in his arm. Within this few second window, Adrian saw Maldwyn in a throwing position, barely keeping himself together, and tried to get a hold of this situation. He pushed himself with all limbs off of the wall he was pinned against, tipping the balance against the enemy making them both fall down. With Adrian on top, he took Maldwyn's knife from the shoulder and strongly held it with both hands above him. Remembering Maldwyn showing the vital points on himself, Adrian plunged the blade with all the strength and speed he had, into the hooded man's chest. Seeing how he was still looking alive, adrenaline driven Adrian repeated this action numerous times, with no pausing, so fast that the blood drops, which dripped down the pulled out knife, managed to be splattered over the oncoming blade again. In between that, Adrian was loudly panting from trying to catch a breath which calmed down only after dealing the last stab into the already dead and bloody corpse which was, with now revealed face, still looking at him. Without any movement the face of a man scarred by some crystal kept staring into Adrian's soul who immediately started feeling sick to his stomach and vomited. After calming down he rushed to Maldwyn who was barely alive with his throat still searing. With tears in his eyes Adrian was panicking:

"I don't know what to do. Please don't leave me! I-"

"…a hau ue…" Tried to say Maldwyn but nothing else came out of him, just grunts. Learning that talking won't work, he extended his hand onto Adrian's head and patted him while smiling.

Adrian burst into tears as he held his hand with his own. But then, all of a sudden, the weight of Maldwyn's hand got stronger. Adrian tried to hold it harder in his bloody arms, but it kept slipping until the hand fell on the ground. Giving him his last hug, Adrian said to him:

"I'm sorry, all of this is my fault. If I stayed in the house this wouldn't have happened." Judged Adrian himself as he was trying to stop his tears.

"But I have to be brave right? Be a hero for Mom… I swear I'll bring her back, so please watch over us."

Guilt, fear, anger and many other emotions were running through Adrian, giving him the much needed driving force, as he grabbed Maldwyn's dagger and his bow and pushed forward.

Meanwhile in the centre of the city, citizens were being round up into groups. The first group consisted of only children, and the second one of all the remaining adults that didn't resist, including Lyra. Children were being tied up with those more energetic knocked out. Some of the robed kidnappers were pushing down the adults to the kneeling position, slitting their throats one by one, leaving them to bleed out. Lyra, being one of the last ones in the line, closed her eyes so that she couldn't see what horror awaited her. Trying to quiet the screams she let many thougths run through he mind:

"I hope Adrian and Maldwyn are somewhere safe… but I wish they would come to save us… save me… I don't want to die… Please at least let me see my son one last time."

When the turn was hers, the executioner pulled her head back by the hair, bringing the knife to her exposed neck. Lyra was praying her hardest, trying to escape her fate any way possible.

Then out of nowhere an arrow flies through the executioner’s arm where he held the knife.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

Adrian's bloodlust yell caught everyone's attention.

"Adrian!" Shouted Lyra out of both happiness for herself and fear for him.

"Ah, it hurts like a bitch! I thought we got rid of everyone! What is he doing here?"

"Don't move or the next one is going in your head!" Threatened Adrian as he nocked another arrow, while aware of it being the last.

"Oh, you're on punk." Replied the executioner as he began to walk towards Adrian.

"Hold. Go finish your job I’ll take care of him." Said another robed enemy switching places with him.

"Stop!" Shouted Adrian on the executioner returning to Lyra after which he shot the arrow towards him.

But just like before, the arrow was deflected by the other robed man. Unbeknownst to him, Adrian had already charged towards him wielding Maldwyn's knife. The distance was long but his target didn't seem to have any weapons on him.

Despite that, the robed kidnapper pointed his hands towards a sword, near a guards corpse. In the moment, he started to glow all over seemingly making the sword fly. All of a sudden the weapon increased in speed towards incoming Adrian with the blade impaling him through the chest and reversing his direction, propelling him backwards. With the heavy blade being now part of his body, Adrian had no other choice but to succumb to it's trajectory, flinging him towards the ground. With the sounds of flesh and steel scraping the stone road, his body came to a stop. Within his last few moments, he saw his mother crawling towards him, with the executioner on following her. She looked like she was calling out to him, but Adrian’s ears heard only noise. His vision, of the knife getting close to her neck, was degrading rapidly, until it was pitch black. His consciousness went away with the last sound heard clearly. A sound of a slice.

Darkness.

Silence.

Those were the only things Adrian could perceive, until his ears caught a faint sound of waves mildly battling the shore. The fresh sound was getting louder and louder as he began to wake up trying to open his eyes. Though he could operate both of them, his right eye was getting poked by grass on which he laid. With the little strength he had, he barely moved his head to see his whereabouts. Discovering that he was lying on shore of a river in the middle of the forest, with his feet still at the mercy of the river's flow. With the clothes being wet and torn everywhere, he began crawling away towards the small glowing patch of grass, being allowed by the forest to be shone on by the afternoon sun.

Starting with his right arm, he grabbed onto the ground and pulled himself forward. Repeating the movement, he told his body to extend his left arm and grab onto the ground, but there was nothing in front of him. With his expectations unfulfilled, Adrian turned his head to the left. His arm was gone all the way to the middle of the upper part, where the limb ended with bits of skin and flesh intertwined with the cloth of his torn shirt. Being frozen through and through, he couldn't feel anything despite missing his limb. Adrian wanted to scream, and he even tried, but all that escaped his mouth was a silent air gently caressing the grass blades in front of him. He resumed his path towards the warm patch while calling out:

"...somebody help...please...help...help...help..." Repeating over and over again, unsure whether the words actually make it outside or if he just hears them in his mind.

Shortly before reaching the desired place, a shadowy character appeared, whose appearance was blocked by the sun. Adrian continued to beg for help as he reached his hand out towards the dark figure. Being at his wit's end, Adrian didn't care about the intent the stranger had.

"Don't worry, you're safe now." Said the stranger as he followed on Adrian's gesture by grabbing his cold hands.

Adrian was overcome with safeness being felt from the warm hand offering him salvation, as the darkness once again embraced his mind.