Alex reached the clearing where he and his uncle had set up camp, coming to a complete stop. Seeing Jack standing surrounded by several of the undead that was seemingly led by a man dressed in a black robe with a hood covering his face and two daggers, which he was using along with his undead minions attacking the old man. Although seeing the undead of myths and legends often spoken of by mother's trying to scare their children, the thing that terrified Alex was the state his Uncle was in. With countless cuts all over his body it was a clear sign that the battle had gone on for quite some time and that Jack did not have much longer without help.

Having only seconds to make a decision Alex drew his sword and ran towards the nearest of the blackened monsters, in a flurry of motion he let his uncle's training flow through him as he took down one monster after another. He heard swishing sounds coming from around him as arrows flew from Cian's bow with deadly accuracy, together they took down all but one of the foul monsters.

Alex turned to see where the old man was so he could help him only to see Jack being stabbed through the chest by the black robe leader. With a surge of energy fueled by anger and frustration Alex launched himself towards the robed man. Mustering all his strength he swung his sword as the man tried to raise his dagger up to guard himself, when the two blades met Alex sword having already taken a beating from the battle against the monsters broke into two pieces. The top part flying off into the brush and the bottom part of the blade sank right through the man's neck killing him instantly.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Feeling the adrenaline leave him, he had just enough strength to make it to his uncle's barely breathing body. When their eyes met Jack began to say as he coughed up blood, "You have to...'cough' take the doc...'cough' documents in my...'cough' saddle...'cough' bag to the captain...'cough' of black promise me....'cough' promise…"

With those words, Jack von Merzer took his last breath and left the speechless young man sitting, trying to understand what just happened. How could one of the best Swordsman in the world have been beaten so easily, what did he mean about the captain of the black? Could he have meant the captain of the black order as in one of the orders of the tower guard. The old man had made it clear several times that he disliked the tower guards. There were still so many questions Alex had about his family, or that strange boy, or even the reason why they've been traveling. Without a chance to get any answers Alex realized he was alone for the first time, before he knew tears started running down his cheeks. If it hadn't been for the gentle hand resting on his shoulder, he would have been sitting there until he followed his uncle into the fields of the storyless. After a long silence between the two friends, the older of the two spoke, "He was a good man, a strong man, who deserves to get a good burial. However I fear there may be more of these 'Baleros', we cannot remain here or will face the same fate."

All Alex could do was nod, before taking a hold of his uncle's sword and begin to stand up on unsteady feet. With stumbling steps he made his way to his uncle's dead horse and managed to get the documents the old man had talked about. With a final look toward the only father figure he had ever known, Alex raised the man's sword and swore on the blade that he would find whoever was responsible for this and take revenge.