The night had passed and it was dawn. Before Yuria could yell out a warning, a beast was waiting in the shadows and lunged at Felkin. Without looking, he extended his blade and it burst through its skull, killing it in an instant. Felkin sat down and was facing Siegmund’s remains. Yuria looked at the last patch of fur that she tied to the straps of her clothes and took them, healing Metas’ wounds. The fire that spread was now extinguished and the locals stared at the scene in the morning light.
They dragged the wolf carcasses to the alleys and began to dismantle them. They looked at their work and saw the flesh of the wolf disintegrating in the sunlight. “This is too much; we can’t bring this all.” Said Metas. “Well, you could always leave them with me.” Said the old man who returned from hiding. “Where will you go now?” asked Yuria. “Well, the damage isn’t too bad.” As he said those words the building crumbled to the ground.
“I think I have a place somewhere that I can bring these things to.” Metas looked at the hide of the wolf laid on the ground. “Aren’t you going to wear that?” She responded: “No, I don’t think I will.” Felkin chuckled, but he didn't know why he found that funny. “How are you going to carry all this stuff?” He asked. She grabbed the bones, laid them on the hide, grabbed a piece of rope and tied the hide with the bones inside. “There.” She slung it over her shoulder. She exhaled and a puff of mist went along with it. “Aren’t you cold?” Said Ellyn. “Is there a place in town where we can buy some clothes?” Asked Metas.
They entered through a small quaint shop, Metas was in a middle of conversation with the others as they went through the door. The shopkeeper caught a part of it as they entered. “Don’t spend too much. You’ll make me run out of coin. We’ve already spent enough buying the inn room we never actually used.”
The shop had two small isles separated by a rack of clothes. Shelves of clothes lined the walls and cobwebs and worn wooden walls were apparent throughout. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with fine clothes. He was blowing a pipe. Even though the place like most of the town was rundown, the clothes were mostly dust-free and kept clean.
Yuria went first and walked slowly but excitedly. “Can I help you, young madam?” It was evident that she had not much clothes that she had ever worn in her life. Felkin wore a worn brown tunic and some leather armor, he had leather gauntlets, a leather vest, leather pads on his pants. Felkin had well-worn clothes, which of he did not remember where he got them from, but he decided he was still going to keep them.
Metas entered third and talked to the shopkeeper while Felkin and Yuria were busy looking at the wares. “We’re looking to buy a few clothes.” Yuria was sampling and touching the various dresses and clothing like a child in a toy store. “I was thinking of something… More practical.” Metas went towards a variety of cloaks and thought of buying them. “If we wore these we would be as gloomy as you.” Said Yuria.
Metas thought of a realistic purpose, as they would soon depart and are still on the run. Felkin realized this and began toward the cloaks and started checking them if any matched his size. Ellyn entered the shop last, as the other three rushed in and went first. The shopkeeper addressed Ellyn as she walked through. “Are these your friends?” “Just fellow travelers.” Felkin chuckled remembering their previous exchange. “Well, as long as they have the coins, I have the product.” The shopkeeper remarked.
Yuria also began checking the cloaks as well, grabbing one and trying it. Metas scrounged up a few silver coins and paid for the purchase. As they walked out with the items, Metas jokingly asked: “Do you by chance, have an eyepatch?” “Oh yes. We do, actually...” He stood up from his seat and opened a door behind him. “Some guests like to pay premium if they want something custom made. Some of those products had copies that weren’t accepted or left over.” “Hmph…” Metas grumbled as he gave more coins to the shopkeeper.
Felkin grabbed the piece of black cloth and removed the bandage, and with one eye closed he put it on. He did it quickly and this quite frightened the other members of the party while the shopkeeper remained unconcerned. It rested comfortably on his face. Then Yuria spotted something out of the corner of her eye inside the backroom.
The shopkeeper who was generally calm and uncaring jumped at the chance of another purchase. “Oh this, are you interested?” He held up a pointed cloth hat which had a black color. Its point was crumpled but it still interested Yuria so. It had a dark blue band of cloth around the base of the point. Metas supposed that it was cheaper than to buy multiple expensive pieces of clothing.
As they exited, Ellyn was already outside and waited for them, and then they walked down the street. Daylight shone brightly on the snow covered ground. “Where to next?” asked Felkin. “Is there a map of this area?” said Metas. As they were walking, Ellyn brought out a map that had little detail, but had a few marks of areas. They stopped near a small building and opened the map to read. “So, this our village, Norbon. Though only these old maps call it that. Most people don't even know the place's name nowadays.” She then pointed to a snowy area in the map. “The snowy lands extend from this village and recede in two places. One towards the northeast in the desolate wetlands, and one from here to the cities in the southwest.”
“The cities, huh…” Metas was in thought. Felkin thought about how they had killed a compatriot of his. And they were now on the run. Him and Yuria were outcasts with no ties, but they had cost Metas of his own. Metas stood solemnly. “We should go to this city, here. Lodeleth. It’s my birthplace, I might find more answers there.” Felkin looked at Metas’ expression. They made him abandon who he was, to save their lives. Still, if he hadn’t intervened, Metas would be most likely dead.
Ellyn was pointing out other nearby locations when they heard a yell from down the street. “Bandits!” “Just our luck...” Grumbled Metas as he retrieved his spear. “They don’t usually attack this part of the lands.” Said Ellyn grabbing bolts from a quiver on her back and setting up the crossbow which had been retracted atop her arm. “Aren’t there any guards here? Knights?” asked Yuria bringing out the bag of bones from her cloak. “The bandits usually run things in this region. Besides as for knights, we killed the last one around here.” Said Ellyn.
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Felkin pulled out the sword from his cloak. He raised it, the weapon casting a shadow onto the ground. He read the inscription again, “infinity.” The townsfolk rushed into their houses, dragging children, closing doors, and hiding valuables in haste. “Well, we can’t run now.” Said Metas. “Let them come.” Felkin replied.
The bandits howled as they ran across the street, brandishing sharp makeshift tools and daggers. Some also had torches which they intended to use to enforce their rule. One bandit knocked furiously at a home and threatened to burn it down. His torch fell on the snow, and so did he. The party ran through the snow. The midday sun shone on the snow and made the scene look like a strange dream.
Felkin slashed through bandit after bandit like mowing wheat in a field. Extending segments of his sword proved unpredictable as he could instantly pierce through multiple bandits at once and dispatch them with ease. Metas did the same, throwing his spear and swinging it around, slashing through them before they could even reach him. He used his spark of flame to blind a bandit and strike him down the next second.
Some of the bandits had bottles of oil and rudimentary bows to try and shoot down their targets. Yuria made sure to use minimal parts of the wolf as possible and using small sharp tendrils like arrows to take down enemies with ease. Ellyn fired her crossbow multiple times, loading and picking up the bolts after use. She imagined the attackers as beasts though they were men, with rags on their face to serve as hoods and masks.
The first time she took a human life was the night before. She wondered how inhuman the other three were as they coldly dispatched the evildoers. When dozens of them lay dead in the streets Metas thought about how Siegmund could have easily killed them, and if there was a competent force in the area, they could have wiped them all out.
They then spotted a figure walking down the street, a hulking man with cloth rags covering his face and mouth like the other bandits. Metas quickly sensed something was different. The figure walked over the corpses, paying them no heed and even with a covering on, he could see the man grinned from ear to ear. Felkin slashed at him with his sword but it stopped mid-air and was blown back with twice the force, temporarily knocking him down.
“You know.” The figure spoke in a booming voice. “All these bandits, all these ruffians, they don’t have any imagination. So, I crushed them.” He held a purple jewel in his hand. “These men, these pigs, they follow who is the strongest and claw at each other trying to get to the top. I control them. My name –“The party stood watching him, but Felkin stood back up and the blade of his sword shot out like a flash of lightning. The bandit leader raised his rotting arm, affected by the jewel and the blade stopped again. In a swift motion, he pulled it towards him dragging Felkin to him in an instant.
Yuria, Metas and Ellyn attacked, Metas’ spear and the bolts of the crossbow bounced off harmlessly and even their magic did not emerge in the area nearby the bandit. “I am Uzon, remember it before you die.” He had foul smelling breath and yellowed teeth, he held the stone in his hands, on a string attached to it. Felkin was paralyzed as a purple energy covered the nearby area. Uzon took away his sword and began examining it and found out he could not manipulate it as Felkin did. “Another new toy! I found this one in the ruins in the snowy lands.” The bandit leader showed Felkin the strange glowing jewel.
As Felkin was brought closer, he noticed sickly features in the man. Particularly the hand that held the gem had rotted. Yuria felt a sense of aversion and attraction to the magical artifact. More bandits appeared and surrounded them. The party picked off a few, but more emerged for each one they killed. They encircled them; their numbers where overwhelming but with each kill they were momentarily kept at bay. Uzon dropped Felkin’s sword to the ground. “Surrender and we’ll let go of your friend.”
They stood; weapons aimed at the ever-growing bandits. The citizens peeked out their windows in fear and nervous anticipation. The leader of the bandits lowered his hands and the purple glow abated, he still had Felkin clutched in one hand. Felkin managed to free one hand and Uzon laughed. “What are you going to do now huh?” Felkin gritted his teeth in anger. Metas noticed Felkin glow the same way he did previously in the cave.
“How’s this for some creativity?” He punched the bandit leader in the face and his face caved in. He fell to the ground, dropping Felkin. The bandits stood in silence as their leader lay dead on the snow, his skull cracked in two. They had no choice but to attack. The party ran as the multitude of bandits ran after them, Felkin picked up the strange stone but felt pain and threw it away. Yuria caught it and stared at it, entranced.
Metas pulled her forward and she tucked the stone into her cloak, holding onto her hat as they ran. Metas stood in the rear and Ellyn led them forward. “Here!” she yelled as they approached the end of town and into the forest. Arrows flew after them and one struck Ellyn in the shoulder as they went in through the trees.
They progressed deeper but the bandits dared not follow. The group stopped, tired and exhausted as they sat beneath towering greenery. Ellyn pulled the arrow out, it had struck her wooden prosthetic arm. “And here I thought we could enjoy civilization a while longer.” Said Yuria holding on to her hat. “Are we safe?” asked Metas. “Its fine, they won’t follow us here. Besides, they’ll be busy arguing over who'll be the new leader to chase after us.” Answered Ellyn.
Suddenly they spotted a figure in the shadows. Ellyn pointed her arm, but they saw it was the old man. “Old man! I almost killed you! What are you doing here?” whispered Ellyn. “Oh, I surmised the possibility of you leaving, and I thought you can’t get too much help.” “So, why are you here?” Asked Ellyn. “I uh, sifted through the wreckage and got some good stuff that I’d think would be more useful with you.” “I thought you wanted to keep them with you?” “Oh, if I had them, they would stay there rotting until I croak. Well, here you go.” He gave her a new arm; it was polished dark wood with metal gears and strings within the insides of the arm.
“I meant to give you this on your birthday, but the opportunity presented itself so…” She received the gift and hugged the old man tightly, trying to hold back tears and conceal the emotion from her face. They went on for a few minutes, carefully removing the old arm and replacing it with the other. The old man adjusted and fitted the arm with his minimal tools. “Now go, back to town old man! Its dangerous here.” “I know, I know. I’m just going to leave this here.” The old man remarked.
He dropped off a sack of goodies and went back, slowly walking through the trees. Ellyn inspected her arm; it had a compartment that fed the bolts directly onto the crossbow to fire. She unfurled the compacted crossbow and put a few bolts in the compartment. It fired the bolts rapidly in quick succession and hit a tree startling the others. After Ellyn retrieved the bolts and folded in the crossbow, she brought out the map for them to use again.