Open scene on the next day probably. It is morning, we see the paladins walking through the mist covered trail that winds through the giant tree roots. The band is worn and bloody. Of the roughly forty paladins that had joined Erasmus on this journey, only half of them remained. They were all worn, tattered and bloodied. But none more-so than the two men who had stood in the front of every clash along the road, mauling any goblin-man or mercenary runner that had tried to break through them.

Erasmus was practically carrying the half-conscious Pike, calling on all his reserves of strength just to put one foot in front of the other. But Pike, though still gripping common loot sword, was doing all he could he stay alive. His flesh was corpse cold.

As they passed under an arching root, they stepped out into morning light. “Pike…” muttered Erasmus, looking up in awe. “Wake up. I think we’ve made it.”

Pike blinked in the sunlight, having spent so long in the gloom beneath the Deep Weald’s colossal canopies. They had entered into a massive, circular clearing. In the centre, stood what I can only describe as like, a bunch of the giant trees fused together to create wide mound. Thin streams trickled out from openings on the gnarled face of the outer wall.

Behind them, the faint echoes of stamping feet and muffled voices came to Erasmus’ ears. “We’d better hurry…”

As they drew closer, many rangers came out to greet them, Ruadh and Conn among them.

“Erasmus! You made it!” said Conn.

“And the bounty killer too,” muttered Ruadh.

At this point, Pike removed his arm from around Erasmus’ shoulders and stood before Ruadh, tossing the old sword to the side.

“Well…” he wheezed. “I’ve fought for you… and now I’ll die along with the rest of you. Now… I want to see her.”

Ruadh frowned. “That is for her to decide. But for the blood-price… your life is yours to keep. But not your freedom.”

A ranger stepped forward with a rope in his hand. Pike did not protest as his wrists were bound. But in a moment, Pike’s strength at last gave out, and he went toppling to the ground. Ruadh bade two men to carry the wounded man through the gates that yawned before them.

Through a dark tunnel of roots, they entered a strange world of earthen walls and trailing roots. Some force over nature had shaped a great hall before the land sloped upwards to another doorway. The place was red with lamplight. Weapons and innocuous barrels were everywhere, amongst which sat rangers, all of whom wore bandages and grim faces.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Erasmus looked back past the gates. He could see shapes beginning to amass where he and the paladins had emerged into the clearing. With a shuddering groan, the gates were closed behind them. This then, was truly the final stand. This place, was to be their tomb.

Pike awoke in a musty chamber. Fresh bandages were wrapped around him, and his mouth tasted of something sour. Every bone and muscle in his body seemed to ache. Cutting to the chase, Erda was sat beside him, haloed by the light of a candle behind her. Her eyes were darkly lidded from lack of sleep, but even in the grief that clouded them, there was a light there that flashed bright as ever.

“Erda…” muttered Pike.

“Pike,” she replied, cutting the cord that she was using to sew a wound close. But Pike did not feel the pain.

Pike looked away. “You shouldn’t do that. I’ll probably end up dying anyway.”

“I cannot say I know you well Pike. But no one can deny how fiercely you struggle for life.”

“That doesn’t matter. They all think I’m a traitor. And I can’t say they’re wrong. You shouldn’t have wasted your time on me.”

“Which time, Pike?”

Pike stayed silent for a moment, not daring to look into her eyes, for the tears welling up in his own. “I’ve fucked up. I wanted to show up Erasmus and the others. I knew I could have saved you. But the first sign of the easy way out… and I took it. I promised them that I’d kill Ruadh. Cut down Wudu because she stood in my way. Crossed swords with Erasmus. I’ve done worse things… but… its gnawing at me. I can’t take it anymore… I just want to die.”

Erda, setting down the cord and needle, took Pike’s hand in her own.

“That day at winter’s end, so long ago now, on the banks of the river, I made a vow that I would mend your wounds. Ruadh said I was too hasty… and perhaps it was. But as Erasmus would say… sometimes it’s not so bad a thing to be a little foolish. I believe that you were meant to receive that potion. And for you to be here…”

“You mean Fate? Then you ought to curse it. I’m no saint. I’m a… a monster.”

“I know,” she said, running a hand through his hair. “But I can’t hate you. Tragedy surrounds you, I can see that.”

Pike nodded. “There’s was another woman I loved. Kidnapped by slavers when we were young. I wanted nothing else but to rescue her. I lead a band of pirates to raid the fort and save her. But I only ended up destroying her family. I don’t know if she recognised me… but… they way she looked at me. Before I could even get close, she threw herself into the sea…”

Erda laid a hand on Pike’s cheek and made him face her. She leant forward and kissed him. “I still love you Pike. I will fight for you, even when no one else will. I won’t leave you to die alone in the cold.”

“Erda…”

Pike sat up, and Erda embraced him in her arms. Her heart hurt to feel the coldness of his skin. They held each-other in their arms. Pike, felt the warmth of her body, the beating of her heart. Drowning in a sea of warmth, he felt years of hardness in his muscles slip from him. Like falling into a warm sea, a dreamless sleep overcame him, and he surrendered himself to it.