They crawl like a snake through the wall, dark and hungry for the soul they growl in sinister darkness. Like wolves they are, circling their prey for an opportunity to feast.
Barricading in circles, they hammer their shields, fortifying a defensive wall. And the moment they compressed themselves, ancient runes slowly glow from their shield.
"Hey, bitch it works!" Akatosh shouts.
While they were traveling, Amaragnum gave a sprinkle on how to deal with spectral and spirit monsters. Carving strange ruins, the dwarves and Torval were silent watching him as he silently chiles runes they didn't know.
Just as the shadow demon charge, the dwarves quickly bash their shields. Swiftly the enemies turn into dust but, in return, they created two more of their clones.
After quickly dealing with the five shadow demons, a new problem arises When the five enemies are multiplied by two. returning to their formation they clash again, bashing their shields and cracking their blunt weapons. They manage to end eight shades, though suffer one of their comrades.
Their claws were like daggers colliding from the shield of the dwarves, it screeches like metal, piercing to the ears. having miscalculated, three more shadow demons emerge from the columns and walls.
"Do it!" Amaragnum shouts.
Relaying the message Akatosh shouts at Torval and quickly Torval brought out a flask and smash it to the ground creating a light enough to whiten the place.
As a string, they could see a dark mist of string connecting the three shadow demons that had just emerged.
While the shining light is still in effect stunning the enemies, the group charge through where the dark strings lead them to. Not far, Torval smashed another flask creating light for their paths to be visible. Taking only a minute, they came across an object... an urn designed in a dwarven model.
Close to their objective, hundreds of shadow demons were brimming their red glowing eyes at the group. Cornered and facing death they were, a sudden surge of chaos they felt. And in a blink of an eye, the shadow demons were shrieking as they deformed and vanished into thin air.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!... Finally, some good fucking energy to eat!" The stillmage shouts as he sips away the energy stored on the urn.
Confused, stunned, and amazed by what happened they were mystified by the sudden vanish of their enemies.
"Bloody hell?! Be I dead?" One of the dwarfs implores.
Having heard him said, one of his companions kick him, hard enough to make him tumble on the floor.
"Blasted bloody fool!"
While busy making a commotion, Torval once again takes his direction toward Akatosh. For he knew all of them didn't have the power to suddenly end the situation. Silent, he was now firmly averting his eyes towards Akatosh, who was silently looking around the corridors of the tunneled dwarven road.
Spending three more days on the tunnel for reinforcement to come. And from those days’ prince Vuldrig questions Akatosh.
"Yer tha first human ta nae accept a large sum o' gold. Tell me 'en what other offers that I kinna grant ye."
"Hmm... I don't know, I think I'll have to hold my boon for a while." Akatosh smiles as they sip a bottle of dwarven ale.
After scouring the place, and purging undead creatures. Mapping out tunnels while recovering some treasures and lost equipment. Not only did they unearth some lost things but, they also recover a sum amount of knowledge the ancient dwarves had. There Akatosh didn't hesitate to write down using borrowed scraps of papers and their unusual type of pencil.
A day passed and with it came reinforcement among them, was a King Durvod Duhlgerlun. greetings from the royal family came first, after that the king then goes towards Akatosh.
The dwarven king measures him for a second and implores his gratitude for saving his son. And in the same way, the king asks him for a boon which Akatosh replies similar as he has done to his son.
Soon the place was then reclaimed by the dwarves. And with their help, they were teleported to the border edge of Ravalind. And with a temporary farewell, the dwarves gave them gold and some magical equipment.
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At the prestigious castle of Ravalind, a royal man was sincerely being guarded and treated like a king. His clothes were that of a royal one, and along with him were five slaves with a collar embedded on their neck.
Surprisingly Ashalain and fellow adventurers were the ones who were bodyguarding the wealthy man. Keeping distant monitoring, Ashalain didn't like guarding the man she sees, it was by the order of the king and his father, however.
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After the talk with the king, the royal man then set out to explore the kingdom. And him and his self-esteem of arrogance.
"Duke Oreson, I wasn't able to find one single slave merchant."
"What?" The duke surprisingly responds.
"I'm sorry my duke I tried searching and asking the locals if there were any slave traders around here."
When Ashalain hears what they're talking about and when she observes his five human slaves. Ashalain realizes that all five of them were different, she could tell that the youngest slave girl was a northerner. The two belong to a nomadic tribe that she knows from her encounters. And the other two seems to be common human but have well-built body good for carrying goods and supplies.
"A kingdom free of slaves... bah forget it." The duke says. "Hey, you there." He called one of the adventurers that were guarding him. "Take me to where your merchants are."
"Sir..." Just as the adventurers implore the word 'sir' the duke felt disrespectful. "I'm just new here, I think one of my fellow adventurers might know some good merchants around here." He continues.
Wearing a helmet to mask her face, Ashalain sighs and asks the duke to be the one to tour.
"My lord, I know a place which is good for your taste."
As they began walking around the city, his slaves were slowly burdened by the number of items the duke was buying. And as they continue, Ashalain couldn't bear to see the young northern girl struggling to carry his master's things.
Without hesitation, Ashalain took the load from the girl, and that time her eyes deadlock at the duke.
"Do as you wish." The duke bluntly said.
After that day, the northern girl heartily gave her gratitude towards Ashalain. With a smile, Ashalain patted her head as she heals some of her injuries. Seeing her ragged clothes and bare injured feet Ashalain's heart sank in pity as she looks at her northern blue eyes.
A few minutes as the girl went inside to her respective place. Ashalain swiftly dashes away, and when she came home not at her father's manor but his sister's villa. There she takes out her savings from her past quest, an allowance from her father. After taking her time accounting for every coin, she was able to have 13 gold coins and 92 silver coins.
"This should be enough, right?" She thought to herself, for she wasn't 100% sure if the duke could surrender his slaves.
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"So… this is where we part." Akatosh implores.
"If you need some assistance in the future, you're always welcome to come to me," Torval replies after they had spent drinking at a local tavern on the heart of Ravalind.
Taking a small bit of time, Akatosh wonders his mind. How far he had passed time at his new life, how he manages to avoid his second death. But by far his emotion directs him was himself, for he unearths only a spec of his newly mysterious existence.
They return to their hideout, where Akatosh sleeps in silence. Once morning came, he recalls his guild. Deciding to leave, he quickly gears up and with a cloak, they then return.
Waking up late, Sheena finds his sister sleeping on a desk with a dozen pouches of coin lying on her desk. It was not the first time she has seen this, for she thrice saw Ashalain freed a slave when they were a child.
Shaking her sister, Ashalain took his time moaning for a second till she remembers her work as an adventurer.
"Get dress, I'll take care of these."
After equipping, Sheena was already finished stacking the coins and with a sprinkle of her magic, she then stores it on a scroll. And before she went out, Ashalain tightly hugs her sister as she recalls the northern girl's eyes.
Using a teleportation stone which only royals have the privilege of utilizing, she hastily runs where the duke was. And to her eyes met cold blood.
Before the setback, Akatosh was strolling around the kingdom. That's when he heard a commotion, curious he then follows. To his surprise, he saw a broken vase and scattered priceless items scattered on the muddy ground. And the center of attraction was the duke lashing the girl in cold hatred.
"Please! My lord, I haven't eaten for--" Without continuing a cruel lash her words.
"You useless northerner slave, those things worth more than your petty life!"
"I'm sorry." The girl cried in pain as the duke continues his beating. "Please, I'm sorry."
"Your sorry is not worth the things you destroy!" The duke implores grabbing the girl's neck shifting to strangling.
It was a cruel sight, yet only the bystanders could do was ignore the commotion for they knew their social status so was his. Even the adventurers that were assigned to protect the duke could only look away from the disgusting sight. It was a slight second when Akatosh came and from the moment he saw the girl bleeding time suddenly stops.
"You see this..." Comes the stillmage. "Funny isn't it, this is the humanity that those bastard heroes desperately protected and preserved. What a shit, how these hundreds of people could gather together in hopes of saving that girl but let's face it. These folks here were all full of shit, that they are obeying laws to be a good citizen. Even some of these powerful people and adventurers are ignoring, where they can smack that clown in seconds. Look, even other races don't bother the situation. Saying that they're avoiding it because they are a different race and it would bring them disaster and shame. In the end, they all follow the life of an illusion than face reality."
When the girl lost conciseness, Ashalain came where she watched the girl at the duke's hand. Her whole body and soul were filled with hatred, malice to kill the duke.
"Oh, looks like we got someone with a good intention but cage by the law." The stillmage says pointing towards Ashalain.
Without hesitation, Akatosh asks Amaragnum to cast a spell that froze the people except for the duke so they can watch his actions.
"Well, you got it, my dear customer." The stillmage says, casting his desired spell.
Lost in misery, all Ashalain could do was watch the girl. She had the power to end the man's life yet didn't want to involve herself or the people living in this kingdom. But suddenly she felt her body freeze, she couldn't move but she can see a man walking towards the duke and that man was Akatosh.
The dukes' royal servants and bodyguards tried their best to move to no avail.
Revealing his equipment and the claw gauntlet, the duke could see Akatosh's murdering eyes. The duke tried to run away but, he was stopped by an invisible wall.
"Stay back! Do you know who I am!" The duke shouts. "I am Duke Oreson brother of King Reynfred Dryden II of Endregar--"
With a sudden slash, the duke's right hand was cut. The duke screamed in pain, but Akatosh wasn't done as he dragged Oreson on the muddy ground scrubbing his face at his scattered things as if he was a rag.
Just as he released his grip on the duke's clothing, right away Oreson catapults towards his bodyguards.
"HELP ME!" Oreson cried at his frozen servants and guards. "I SAID HELP ME! WHY AREN'T YOU MOVING!"
Grabbing the duke's hair, a swift of magic energy enters through his body for him not to faint from the pain inflicted. Twisting his arm, Akatosh with his claw gauntlet and buffed strength rips his mouth separating the jaws from his head. Not contented, Akatosh cut his head and even carved out the duke's heart. And there on forth the macabre continues at the sight of a crowd.