As Clive finished drinking the water, King Anthor Approached.
“Hero Clive, if you would be so kind as to walk with me we will get you to the castle for the feast and so you can rest, no doubt today's events have tired us all.”
King Anthor whispered something to one of the members in silver armor. The silver armored man started chanting ~douve aldra noveske taint verde bove~ A brown color of mana swept out from the mages finger tips while one of the giant trees forming the structure of the Spire opened itself, revealing a pathway out into the dark forest.
Clive watched the mage work in awe stepping close behind, never having seen magic himself he wondered, “I wonder if I will ever be able to do something like that”,
Clive then turned to Frank, “I will go along with the King Frank but uh I am not going first into the dark. I also don’t want you throwing another one of those stones at me… ever... that would have at least broken my leg if it had hit.” Clive commented looking back towards the craters the thrown people created earlier.
Frank thought it curious that Clive who could kick the head off a person might be scared of the dark and certainly did not plan on hurting him now that his so-called Destiny was tied to Clives. “You have nothing to worry about here, Hero Clive.” Clive just stared back at Frank just like any Donkey stares at a human void of any signs of emotion, looking kinda dumb.
Frank decided to break the silence that permeated, “My King, Hero Clive accepts as long as he is not leading the way.”
King Anthor laughed and turned towards Clive,
“No worries Hero Clive the members of the Green Blades will be escorting us through the forest to the castle it is not far, while the mages of Silver’s Creed will illuminate our way.”
The Green Armored men took that as their cue, pulling spears out and going to the perimeter as everyone else gathered in a line. King Anthor wanted to speak with the Hero and had actually planned several grand speeches, sights, and a history lesson on the way to the castle if the ritual actually worked but all that planning and thought was thrown out the moment the hero turned out to be a Donkey. As he was trying to figure out what to say everyone naturally started forming ranks.
King Anthor was in front with Clive, Frank and Dave who was being carried by two of the church's upper ritual members. Two of the Silver mages were out front of the Armored Green Blades chanting some illuminating spell that lit the path about 20 yards in front, while there were two in back and two on each side.
The King, still in contemplation not really knowing what to stay, started walking forward. The entire group slowly started their journey through the Dark Forest towards the castle. The forest was enchanted so one could not see the castle but it was an hours walk once you were an hour away the enchantment ended and you could see the castle walls only 300 yards away.
As they slowly walked, no one said anything this whole situation was new but the hero donkey Clive was with the King no one dared to put themselves before the king especially with the being that is supposed to save them.
Clive, finally able to clearly see everyone up close, started looking around. The first he noticed Frank’s sword. It was almost as tall as Frank was and almost as thick as Clive was wide. Clive thought, “That thing could easily cut me in half if it just fell on me, why the hell would someone carry a sword that big?” Frank himself was a dark haired brute of a man, he was the tallest one in the Spire and probably the Tallest person Clive had ever met. He had various scars on his arms and hands obviously from some hard fought battles. The thing that stood out to Clive wasFrank had a Dark Cloak. You could tell that its color wasn’t actually black it was just covered in dirt and grime, underneath it was some sort of dark green color. Clive got a whiff of wind that passed over the cloak, the putrid smell of dried blood and guts permeated his nostrils. The real reason the cloak was dark was the old dried blood and guts that had never been washed off of it.
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The King had asked Frank several times to wash or get a new cloak but Frank always replied that the dark color of it made it easier to be stealthy when needed, and when dealing with civilized people, it made him more intimidating so he liked it the way it was.
Frank noticed the king in contemplation and decided not to comment on Clives gazing at his sword and scars.
Clive then looked towards King Anthor. The king had thinning gray hair which contrasted greatly against his bright red robe. The robe was huge on the king's frail frame, dragging about 4 feet on the ground behind him. Clive wondered how the heck it was so clean especially in comparison to Franks. The other thing that stood out about the king was his hands were very calloused and swollen while each of his four fingers had a different ring.
King Anthor realized they had been walking about 10 minutes now with only the sound of footsteps and armored men marching and knew he had to say something… anything. The king finally settled on trying to ask something practical for tonight.
“Do you have a favorite bedding type Clive?”
Everyone listened intently when the King broke the silence, his voice was the only thing around even the insects seemed to be silenced on this awkward walk.
Clive, confused by the question started stepping away from the King with a strange look asked, “Frank he doesn’t….. Uh well he uhm does your king uh...he couldn't possibly fancy animals could he?”
Frank was stunned by the question and stopped walking for a second before catching himself. If anyone else had asked or even insinuated that the king would fancy a donkey he would have been forced to Chop them in half. It was obvious for any knight to protect the honor of the King but no one had ever been brave, no not brave, foolish enough to try and talk that bad about the king.
“..... The king is asking so we can provide for your needs tonight as best as we can.”
Clive realizing the mistake in thinking let out a sigh of relief, “Phew I was very worried for a moment there… I prefer soft grass over dirt if that's what your asking?”
“Hero Clive likes soft bedding your Majesty.” Frank replied, not knowing what kind of life Clive had led to him thinking the King of Vera would ever fancy an animal.
The king laughed, “A man, er Hero of taste as well I see, we will provide the largest bed in the castle for you tonight hahaaha…. I am not sure how much you know about this world or what the God of Destiny has told you but it may be best to hear it from us yourself rather.”
“I am the King of Vera City Of Hope. We are the largest city in the world home of the human race. That may not seem like much at the moment as you can not see it yourself but once we are out of the forest I hope to show you our home it is quite amazing if I say so myself. The City itself is ancient far more so than the races of man. Our ancestors in the fight against the old horrors found the City. Most of the main structures were already here abandoned by some ancient races. We have spent countless years trying to find answers of how this city came to be but have come up empty handed. What we did find is that it was the location of the last stand of an immense battle that changed the fate of the world.”
Clive listened intently hoping to find a reason for his being here and being turning into some sort of Hero instead of being free to relax and eat.
“The city is the last refuge for us humans, dwarves, and fairies who once thrived throughout the land. We welcome all into our arms in hope of a better future hence the name.” King Anthor was smiling with pride over that last part and then looked down the smile fading
“It is the last refuge for us as we have nowhere else to go. It is the last stand for our races…..”