“What do you wish to know about the ring?”
“We used the ring to revive me with no issues, but we attempted to use it on a zombie, and it didn’t work. What are the conditions of it working?”
“The legend must be true then…” the man said, thoughtfully.
“What do you mean?” Kenrich asked. His mind was now thrust off of their captors' impending deaths and put on the ring.
“Ancient texts that were passed down stated that the only circumstance where the ring would have no effect would be when used on a member of the undead. These ancient texts haven’t existed for hundreds of years, so these words had only been passed by word of mouth, but if what you said is fact, then it must be true.”
“Is that so?” Kenrich asked. “So, what about if someone dies of old age, or if someone loses their limbs?”
“Again, this is only what has been spread through word of mouth, but it was said that if you die of old age, your body gets reset by ten years once the ring is used on you. It was also said that no matter what, you will be brought back whole again. Whether that means you grow new limbs, or the old ones reattach, I do not know.”
“If the ring can undo not only premature death, but old age as well…” Kenrich said.
“A tyrannical ruler could reign for eternity…” Violet said.
“That is exactly why the ring must be in the hands of people who will protect it,” the man said. “Our founder would never let it fall into the clutches of any country’s government. You two cannot protect the ring on your own.”
“We’ve done a pretty good job protecting it so far,” Violet said. “Besides, we aren’t traveling aimlessly. We have a plan.”
“Plan or not, you will be found, and you will be killed.”
“Good thing the ring undoes death then, huh? Now, how did you find us?”
“Like I said before, information travels very quickly within the coalition. We knew of your acquisition of the ring only a day after you escaped from Millin. We tracked your movements from Lampeer to Fril, then Fril to Forge, and it was easy to tell which road you’d taken from there. You’re going to Aquarium, right?”
“H-how do you know that?” Kenrich asked.
“Those uneducated in politics always believe that Queen Puri is just and wants nothing more than to protect her citizens along with the rest of the world. They believe that Aquarium is a safe place. They believe that it would keep out the hands of foreign influence. But none of these facts are true. If you bring the ring to Aquarium, it would be no better than giving it to the Admian military! Queen Puri is no saint!”
“It’s still the only chance we have,” Violet said. “The only thing I know for certain is that handing over the ring to Admia, or to you guys, would bring unfathomable destruction to this world.”
“You are misguided. We only wish to keep it out of government hands.”
“Like I’d believe that it would be so simple. Just like everyone else, your motives aren’t pure like you claim them to be. No government, or organization should be able to wield such power. We will keep this out of the hands of you, and everyone else who would use it to create more destruction,” Violet said. “Now, I believe you answered all of our questions. You’ve earned yourselves painless deaths. Did you have questions for them, Kenrich?”
Kenrich thought long and hard. He was not sure they would get an opportunity to ask members of the coalition point blank questions again. Especially a member as knowledgeable as this ‘Alfie’. He observed their uniforms for a second and a question that seemed useless at first was asked anyway for no reason other than curiosity.
“Can you explain these emblems on your masks?” Kenrich asked. “This one only has a small white curve on the edge of the front, but yours is larger. They just don’t make sense to me.”
“The masks are based on the phases of the moon. Our lowest soldiers have only a crescent moon, while those higher in rank have moons that appear more full due to their skill and position.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Seems you’re all ranked pretty low,” Violet said. “That man we met on the road to Fril though, his mask was almost completely white.”
“C-completely full?” the man said with a slight excitement. “Has he seen your faces? He must have. I suppose the ring will be in the coalition’s custody soon then.”
“What do you mean?” Kenrich asked.
“If someone with a moon that full wants you dead, then you will die. It doesn’t matter if they take both of you on alone with no magic stones, they’d crush you easily.”
Violet felt a cold fear run over her. She noticed that the first fight they had lost, the masked men all only had crescent moons, and the fight today that they barely won, was the same minus the commander’s whose was only slightly fuller. It was not even at half. If they had to face warriors even more skilled than these…What chance would they have? Kenrich felt similarly. The freeze stone was the only reason they were able to worry about this to begin with. Without it, they would already be dead.
“It’s cute of you to worry about us, but I promise that we’ll be fine,” Violet said, trying to appear confident for the sake of both Kenrich and her. “Well, this was a nice chat, but we should really be getting back on the road.” Violet looked over at Kenrich. “Go get Atlas ready…” Kenrich nodded. He knew what was about to happen. He started walking and tried to push out the sounds that were happening behind him.
“Is there truly no way you can let her go?” the man said.
“You know I can’t. I’ll make it quick. You will both know peace,” Violet said, unwavering.
Violet took out her broadsword. Iris opened her eyes after hearing the blade being pulled out of the sheath. She let out a small, defeated whimper, and her eyes locked with Violet’s. Violet could see intense feelings of fear and loathing in her eyes. She did not hesitate. The swing of her blade was strong, elegant, and true. The sound of the young woman’s head hitting the grass was the only sound anyone heard. The man gave out a guttural moan with tears welling up in his eyes. He looked up at Violet. Violet saw no fear and loathing though, only sadness and a small hint of gratefulness.
“Thank you…” he said softly. “I didn’t want her to see me die first. I appreciate you making it painless. She’s been through a lot in her short life. She doesn't deserve any more suffering. Now, go ahead…I’m rea-”
Before he could finish his sentence, Violet performed another quick slash. His head hit the grass and rolled right next to Iris’s. Violet took a deep breath and went back towards Kenrich after picking up the weapons and gems of each of the fallen members of the coalition, except the one that Kenrich had killed. Their body was too deformed, and their clothing had melted into their skin, so looting them was too much trouble in Violet’s mind.
“Are we going to bury them?” Kenrich asked, holding Atlas’s reigns.
“We have no time. I’m sure we can count on their comrades to give them proper burials if they truly are as honorable as that man believes. Now, let’s go. We should make it to Aquarium within the next couple days.” Kenrich nodded, but he hated that they left them out there like that.
They finished packing up their campsite and went back to traveling towards Aquarium. They learned a lot during this unlucky encounter. Violet and Kenrich’s minds were so full of new information and new fears that they stayed silent for the first entire day of traveling. Kenrich thought over and over about how they killed those people, and that the ring could truly undo any death as long as a corpse had not been reanimated. Violet’s mind was full of the same fears of not being a strong enough warrior, and the fear of the Coalition of the Full Moon’s members who had been tracking them during the majority of their journey. She knew they would meet again, and she knew that the next meeting could easily be their last. Over the next few days, Violet trained Kenrich harder than ever and he was now as competent with the blade as Violet could ask of him. She had taught him just about everything that she knew. All that was left was to hone those skills until they became instinct. This required time that they did not have any more though.
They were now only an hour away from Aquarium. Kenrich could see the massive wall that surrounded the border, likely to discourage an Admian siege, and became nervous about what might lie ahead past those walls. Violet sensed this nervousness and did her best to lighten the mood.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to your new hillbilly look, Ken. You look more like a vagrant every day with that hole in your face.”
“I’m glad you find it so humorous. Eating has been a huge pain in the ass.”
“I’m sure. Give up on being a vampire because no one would take a vampire with one fang seriously.”
“That was never an aspiration of mine…”
“Vampires are real, y’know? Who wouldn’t want to be immortal! That’s the whole reason we’re the most popular people in the world, right? Why don’t they just get bit by vampires?”
“I don’t think people like the idea of having to change their entire diet from tasty food to nasty blood. Blood tastes awful. Besides, aren’t they weak to like thirty different things? Also, since they’re undead, they won’t even be able to use the ring to revive themselves.”
“Those are all fair points but consider this…you could turn into a bat and fly! That’s worth the risks, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Well, we can get you bit once this is all over. You’re not getting any of my blood though.”
“What if I get thirsty?”
“Deal with it on your own! I’m not going to become your personal feeding bag!”
“You’re so selfish…” Violet pouted.
Violet was a strange girl. Kenrich had never met anyone with two very distinct sides like this. One where she’s a coldblooded killer, and one where she jokes around and gets easily flustered. It was hard to gauge which personality was really her. Kenrich was just happy to be having lighthearted conversations again though. It was something they were going to need before the journey ahead. If there was one thing the masked man was right about, it was that Aquarium is not nearly as safe as it seems.