Chapter Two: Tolling of the bells
A bell was ringing out loud and long; the world seemed to shake from its power. The church bell, this was an emergency. Arth looked up from where he sat panicked. He knew the protocol, get to the church, no stopping no resting, no matter what get to the church. The last time that bell and rang he was but a newborn babe, still he could remember it, an A class monster had attacked: level-two-hundred and requiring a team of A class adventurers to fight it off. Not before what basically amounted to an armoured fire breathing bear the size of a house had demolished eight buildings and killed two whole families who were not fast enough to reach the church along with its holy wards.
“What the hell?” Cillia questioned looking out of the window.
“We need to go now!” Arth yelled standing up. The movement was too fast, He felt his body quiver, pain launching through his chest, like fire, before stumbling backwards. Cillia looked on in shock before grabbing him and lowering him to the floor back resting against the wall.
“Relax don’t push yourself we can figure this out.” She looked towards Naulo.
“We should stay put for now, we have no idea what’s out there, if we rush in we could be killed.” Arth spluttered shaking his head.
“The church is our only hope, we wait to long we may not get the chance later.”
“We can’t!” Naulo yelled slamming his fist down. Both Arth and Cillia looked to him in shock – Naulo never raised his voice, never shouted, was never aggressive, even if he was obnoxious.
“Calm down.” Cillia ordered looking at the pair of them “Naulo you’ll attract whatever’s out there and Arth if you stress yourself you’ll end up hurting yourself even worse.” She supported him, helping him to his feet and handing him his cane. “Okay then Naulo your idea: explain.” Naulo looked shocked for a movement before gaining a bitter look and speaking.
“It’s simple, we stay put, whatever is out their could be some monster or some dark wizard, staying put here would be safer than risking going out there where we could be seen and indiscriminately attacked.” Naulo slammed his hand against the table.
“Okay Arth go.” She ordered. He cleared his throat looking at the two.
“We don’t know what we’ll face out there so first lets look over what we know. One: whatever is out there is dangerous enough the church will be erecting its barriers. Two: We have no knowledge of what is out their, it could be a monster or bandits, we don’t know anything other than we stand no chance of fighting it. Three: If it is a monster or bandits then we’ll have to wait for the kingdom or guild to send aid and the only place we’d be able to hold up that long is the church with its barrier. Taking this one risk is far safer than constantly risking our lives by remaining.”
“But let’s say whatever it is doesn’t plan on staying.” Naulo countered “we haven’t heard a giant monster yet have we, and I can’t see any bandits, whatever it is, is probably smart enough to know not to stay here for too long it’d be better to just wait.” Naulo smiled, the smile of a handy victory. Arth glared at him and sat down.
“Okay we’ll stay here for now, but if it is a monster or bandits we run to the church.”
“We have at most ten minutes before the bell stops ringing and the ward is erected.” Arth warned shaking his head. That was when the sound drew near. The beating of hooves, and the low bustle of many men and horses.
Cillia moved towards the window looking out into the street below. “It’s soldiers.” She whispered moving away from the window and urging them to do the same.
“Then we run.” Arth chucled
“Are you kidding, do you think we can fight trained soldiers, or even evade them?” Naulo hissed, he seemed frightened and panicked; understandable. Arth glared coldly at the pair of them
“We have no choice, if there are soldiers then this is an occupation. The bells only rang a couple of moments ago, this is an advance force, they came from the North east, that means the cultivators found a way through the Andell mountains that protect us. They’ll use this place as a foothold for an invasion. We need to move now!” Arth yelled striking his cane against the floor. His eyes bulged in his head, as he was wracked by heavy coughing, falling to his knees.
Blood splattered against the floorboards, Cillia stifled a cry and grasped him to her.
“Don’t push yourself!” She ordered as he continued to cough. Naulo placed a hand on his back.
“We need to get you back to your mother, you’ve used up all your energy today haven’t you.” Naulo sighed glaring at Arth. Arth nodded pulling out the medical pack he always carried with him. Three health potions lay within. He drank one immediately.
“I’ll have roughly half an hour before I collapse.” He muttered to the others. His stamina had hit zero and the only way for him to recuperate it would be to take a stamina potion or sleep. Neither was an option.
“Cillia you carry Arth, I’ll deal with anyone we meet let’s go.” Cillia nodded grabbing Arth supporting his left side. They snuck downstairs; silent barely a creak or a groan from the floorboards below, but what little sound there was from passing footfalls seemed magnified till it droned and boomed in their ears. Naulo stopped at the door easing open the latch.
“Get on.” Cillia ordered squatting down in front of him ordering him to climb onto her back. He slid his cane into his belt and climbed on. “At least you’re light.” She sighed walking towards the door, adjusting and redistributing their combined weight.
“I’ll check outside.” Naulo ordered. He walked into the street turning left and right. He waved around as if trying to signal anyone there. Nothing happened and he nodded to them
They broke from the house in a jog leaping into a side street and slowing down. Arth was still trying to fight his weariness that continual sapped his strength; the exertion was wearing on him, even without any strenuous activity. Soon they had crossed several streets. Naulo stepping out to check if anyone was there. But the stress, the tension the constant fear of death and discovery were fraying the minds of his companions. They stopped in an alleyway, which connected to the main square the church not far away, the bell still tolling. Arth guessed they had less than three minutes to get there before the wards were raised and they were shut out and condemned to death.
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Cillia was panting nearly collapsed in the alleyway. Naulo was looking around frantic, enraged his eyes flickering back and forth as if looking for an escape while Arth sat upon a wooden crate watching it all unfold.
“We can’t stay here.” Arth hissed. “The longer we dawdle here the less chance of making it out alive.” He spoke in a low tone serious eyes pleading “I know we’re running a large risk here, just trust me, we need to make our brake now.”
“No we should wait and recover a little longer.” Naulo countered
“We need to go.” Arth implored.
“I said we stay!” Naulo yelled. The two stared at each other, they had never fought each other unlike most, how could they in a battle of sinew Naulo was his unmatched superior and in a competition of wits, Arth held similar ground over Naulo.
“Guys let’s go we can do this.” Cillia mentioned picking Arth up in both arms.
If he were honest the entire thing was rather emasculating but he couldn’t complain now, one day he’d become strong and she wouldn’t have to worry about him like this, but for now he had to rely on her. Cillia leapt from the alley before Naulo could stop her and rushed towards the church. But they were immediately halted, a cultivator stood in front of the church carrying a crossbow about to fling the doors open a couple of soldiers stood drinking from canteens each with a spear in hand sharpened steel gleaming in the light. Cillia halted for a second.
“The spell!” Arth hissed into her ear as the first cultivator spun around levelling his crossbow. Cillia got out the spell first letting Arth’s legs drop and casting the runic inscription into the air. He felt the pulse of her mana but it wasn’t enough. Arth realised it then his blunder.
In increasing the complexity of the inscription Arth had increased the mana cost. It had been meant to increase the overall affect and balance it with the original mana cost making it more efficient but he’d inadvertently increased both the affect and the cost.
“No.” He whispered beneath his breath standing strait. in an attempt to cover her from the blow. Cillia pushed harder forcing mana into the runes it wasn’t working. The cultivator fired the bolt cut through Arth’s shoulder striking the bone shattering it but it was enough to deflect the bolt from Cillia. He panted grasping another health potion and applying it to the wound, for an increased localised affect as the pain flared in his limb drawing him near instantly to his death. he coughed a mass of blood staining his front. The spearmen had lowered there tools and were blocking the gate when Naulo approached raising his arms. The Cultivator had prepared another quarrel and this one was glowing. He’d infused it with his own mana Arth believed they called it qi or something similar in their region.
“Stop!” Naulo yelled. The guards looked up for a second he took his chance. Maybe if he could just add a little extra power to the rune which was now lying on the floor they’d be safe. Still weary and tired from his injury which had already healed, due to the health potions influence, Arth pushed his will towards the piece of paper, it wasn’t enough barely anything. he was weak as he always had been what use was all his mana if he couldn’t use it. he cursed himself as he tried again.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
For some reason they weren’t dead though the cultivators hadn’t fired at them again. Naulo was walking towards them. Did he intend to fight them? Confusion was ringing through Arth’s mind when suddenly a small mana spark left his fingers. The piece of paper exploded in a pillar of flame.
“Now!” He yelled grabbing Cillias wrist and pushing past towards the church. The cultivators were entranced, falling back from the pillar of flames. Arth was pushing himself far past his limit; he was going to collapse again. Before he did Naulo cursed barging past the men they all tumbled into the church before many faces looked to greet them, weary down trodden injuries here and there, woe.
As above them toll of the bell ended and the ward began to rise from the ground barely visible casting a strange rose hue through the air. It covered the entrance of the church for a brief instant before it passed over like a pulse vanishing and it appeared as if nothing had changed. But the Crossbowman was up on his feet again aiming at the three children. He fired but the quarrel was stopped mid-flight bouncing off the barrier now in place.
For now they were safe
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Naulo Aubask
He sat there looking as everyone huddled together quite alone and afraid. The basement of the church had been reinforced with magic and almost any attack at least once. Though that wasn’t its main specification, The Bunker drew in free energy from the surroundings and allowed for people to stay hidden within for months. Though here that wouldn’t be an option. He cursed his situation looking at those gathered beneath the church sat on small benches or in side rooms. The side rooms were warm comfortable places but the bunker itself felt like a larder, the air was cool and his breath steamed in the air.
“No!” he heard Arth yell, he knew it was Arth due to the heavy coughing that followed. He walked over; he friend was kneeling next to Mrs Felcite who lay in one of the side-wings meant for patients. Apparently she’d been poisoned in the attack. Naulo grit his teeth, it was all-his fault. Arth’s mother was injured, horrifically so, and Arth himself had a broken arm from the crossbow bolt.
“Don’t worry kid, your mothers tough.” Macho mentioned. “She’s a healer.” What the burly man meant and said were two completely different things. His tough exterior contained a far warmer message ‘you’re mothers strong and she’s a healer this couldn’t kill someone like her.’ or at least something similar. Naulo saw him kneeling there a large wooden box strapped to his back. He remembered now, His mother demanded they store one of her ‘first aid’ kits in the churches bunker for him. A fortune of potions held within. Arth’s mother was a skilled healer and knew the basics of alchemy; she had to, to understand the makeup of the human and how to care of it so, of course she knew. She was the towns main supplier of potions its how they lived an easy life: her higher-grade potions could go for roughly twenty-five gold each Arth had enough of those potions on his back to buy him a medium sized house in the city and fund him for a couple years after. She really was a doting mother.
He passed by and headed towards the kitchen in the small underground complex. Of course it was nothing fancy just a section of chairs surrounding a stove where a couple of mothers seemed to be cooking though Dojar the owner of the villages little inn The budding flower was overseeing everything, he was in truth a good cook despite the fact he was covered in hair except, strangely enough, for his head which showed a polished sheen. Naulo smiled loosely.
He sat down on one of the chairs setting up another two facing him. Cillia quickly took the prompt bringing over two bowls of soup passing one to him before placing a second on the chair beside her before leaving to get another. She eventually returned with a sigh.
“You seem tense.” she sighed
“Can you blame me?” Naulo questioned with a grim smile.
“Fair enough… You know I heard the Father is attempting to create a teleportation spell.”
“Oh yeah, isn’t that magic really complicated, they need entire kingdoms to work together to use that kind of magic.” Naulo replied, it seemed ridiculous to even consider it.
“Yeah but that’s regular teleportation and is meant for hundreds of uses a day between cities, this is just eighty or so people at once, plus he’s using holy magic so it’s a lot easier.” she shrugged.
“I never really understand you magic types, in my opinion as long as you’ve got a good sword you’ll be fine.” he smirked at her
“Oh shut it. Arth’s probably going to check over the spell later.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, He ruined your spell earlier.” She shook her head at his statement.
“No, I could never have made anything like that, besides Arth isn’t a mage; he doesn’t have a head for how much mana a person can use. I should have noticed.” he sighed leaning backwards
“How did it come to this?”
“Hey remember when we first met Arth, he was a bit of a scatter brain back then as well.” She mentioned smiling at me. Naulo nodded
“It was five years ago right, we’d just left school.” She nodded. Even now, weary and bedraggled, He thought she was beautiful
“Yeah just abouts.”
He remembered it quite vividly actually. They were both young and didn’t really know each other but he’d heard from his father about the entire event that had started this. “Really she’s stopped making potions?” his father had exclaimed.
“And she’s refusing to heal anyone at all.”
“A good percent of the towns business is exporting her goods, this won’t do why has this happened.” The town’s head merchant Ottar Fardel, was a thin rat-like man, he had a kind enough disposition most of the time but he was always scheming to squeeze every last penny out of a transaction. Naulo had never trusted him.
“Do you mean Miss Anna?” He’d always called her that; their last name had always been a bit of a tongue twister for him.
“Ah indeed.” His father replied, “So Fardel what caused this, she must have a reason.”
“Apparently a neighbour hood kid struck her son unconscious and she flew into a rage, and refused to heal their son of his broken arm. When they tried to pressure her she cut off service for the whole town. It was alright for the first few days but it’s been nearly a weak now and she still doesn’t help anyone.”
“Ah I nearly forgot she had a son.” Mr Aubask (Naulo’s father) had yawned. “How did that little twig of a boy break someone’s arm?”
“Do you mean the skinny one with really dark hair?” Naulo had asked. “He was really weak, Mason didn’t even hit him that hard.”
“You were there?” his father had asked. Naulo nodded.
“I broke Mason’s arm, it was an accident, he’d hit the weak boy with the scary eyes so I pushed him down a hill.” Mr Aubask had considered this for a while
“Maybe if we can’t work through the mother we can work through the children, He’s a close friend with the Hayder sisters right. Why don’t we send the kids around for a meet?”
“I still can’t believe my father set all that up.” Naulo sighed.
“Still we gained a friend out of it.” Cillia put in with a smile finishing her meal.
“Yeah we did.” Naulo sighed. It was then that Arth chose the serendipitous moment to appear. He looked pale, He’d always been unhealthy but his days spent lying in the sunshine when he wasn’t studying had combated that to give him a rough tan though now he had turned sallow and sickly.
“I think I’m going to go to take a nap the warp should be complete in a couple of hours wake me up when it’s done, I’m really tired.”
“You need to eat first.” Cillia ordered looking up at him. He smiled then turned to go. “Hey!” she yelled standing up and grabbing his shoulder, she was shorter than him by nearly a foot but she was still fifteen times stronger than him, (and that was literal) It was an amusing sight “Don’t blow me off, your Mother told me to look after you remember, Now eat before a spoon feed you, ya big baby.” She sat back down Arth sighing and giving in. Naulo looked at the two as they began to talk to each other, it was as if he wasn’t there. It was as if she only had eyes for him. It was then He knew what he had to do, do just as his father told him.
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Arth Felcite
“It’s ready!” Father Ottoban yelled. He had created the magic circle in roughly five hours, but that still wasn’t enough time, Arth could already here the thunder of men above beating against the wards. The Father was the first to attempt to use the portal in case there was any danger in or beyond it. He stepped into the ring his body softly glowing before he seemed to vanish after turning into light. less than ten seconds later he returned to gesture the others to follow. They did in perfect silence eyes cast down. Arth remained watching as everyone left, he wanted to make sure his mother got through safely before he followed and she was at the back of the line held by a group of men atop a litter.
“Tallia?” Mrs Hayder called looking around frantic. “Tallia!” She called. “Has anyone seen Tallia?” She looked at everyone crowded around, none replied. Arth tried to recollect if he’d seen her. He came up blank.
“I’ll go look for her.” He proclaimed before hobbling away his cane clattering against the hard stone floor. No one moved to stop him so he just left.
One would have thought that the immense box on his back would have weighed him down but in truth it was weightless enchanted to be incredibly light. Arth had never had a real need to use it, so he’d never seen what his mother had put inside he only knew it took her roughly a week to restock the whole thing every year, not including the time it took to gather the rare ingredients. His mother was a former adventurer and probably the wealthiest person in the little village, which was why she’d never actually gone to work and was able to home school Arth not that he needed it.
He clambered up the stairs short of breath and began to look around. He saw Tallia sitting behind the barricade of pews at the far end of the hall just before the doors. She looked out curious but frightened.
“Tallia we have to go.” He said rapping his cane on the ground. “Old man Arth.” She said turning around. Arth cringed at the nickname Nimmia had given him due to the fact he needed a cane to walk. She’d later tried to change it to ‘Brother Arth’ but now it just came out as ‘Brother; Old Man Arth’ or some random variation made by rearranging the words. When she said it, it was innocent; when her sister said it she’d have receive what she disserved.
“What’s out there?” She questioned.
“Scary men.” He replied moving forwards “Come on your Mother and big sister are waiting on us you know we have to leave.”
“Oh ok.” She said happily. She walked up to him before taking his left hand I moved towards the stairs. He winced slightly. He’d bandaged the arm but using one of the potions specialised to re-grow bones would have caused the bones to fuse back together, but without them being properly set he’d have ended up with a useless arm that would need re-breaking
Then everything behind them exploded, sound and light, crimson flames dancing through the air likes flower petals on the breeze. In that instant Arth reacted his body moved as if under its own volition once again, he moved without thought of the consequences to him taking up the girl in both arms. As he ran he saw the glimpse of a figure passing through the flames hands plunged into its pockets treating the wholesale destruction like some minor triviality.
Arth was afraid, he was frightened as he rushed down the stairs; that man was powerful and he was dangerous. Maybe he could escape if he let go Tallia…
He held her tighter.
If he let her go now, he’d no longer be Arth Felcite, just a monster who didn’t know right from wrong, who killed only for their own benefit.
“Everything’s going to be okay.” Arth promised blood leaking from the corner of his lips. He felt like his body was being plunged through the flames of prugatory as he descended the steps. On reaching the basement floor he heard a crack. His ankle snapped.
He couldn’t stop though he could hear the heavy footsteps of the man behind him. He pushed on. Rising he slunk towards the room containing the teleportation sigil. He didn’t have much time left. Fire bloomed in the corridor behind him bursting into the room and turning it into a sauna scorching his back raw. He pushed on towards the sigil room, screaming as he went.
“What’s going on damn it!” Naulo yelled taking Tallia from Him and placing her in the sigil. Arth fell to his knees watching as the little girl was placed in the pale blue ring of magic.
She vanished turning into light and reappearing somewhere else.
“Bastards!” Naulo yelled before mumbling something under his breath. He looked down pulling a sword from the ground. Arth looked at him in hope as he laid his hand upon his shoulder.
“I’m sorry.” he whispered. He wouldn’t look Arth in the eye, staring over him. “I’m sorry, but this is for my family… and for Cillia.”
He stood his sword raised. Arth looked up in shock. It was impossible, they’d known each other for years, they were friends, no they were more than that; they were brothers… And he was going to kill him, fear clutched at his heart. Arth felt the light breeze of the blade against his neck, Naulo had stopping short of the fatal blow. “Sorry.” He jammed the sword into Arth’s shoulder, his scream pierced the stones themselves, before pulling it loose the blood staining the walls. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, to see you off.” his voice was cold nearly mocking, but strained. He walked into the circle refusing to look Arth in the eyes. Naulo stood there for roughly three seconds before tossing his sword into the air. The weapon seemed to be made from mist as it flew already half converted into light before it reached its zenith and fell striking the earth slicing through the sigil. The magical light spluttered out only half of the sword remaining.
Arth was alone.
Arth was afraid.
Arth was doomed.