Kade reached out a hand and a dozen spears of energy were propelled forward, lancing into the four armed, ape-like monsters that charged recklessly toward the nearby village. They let out hacking grunts of pain, and the front line collapsed into one another, falling in a chaotic mess of limbs and fur. Instantly, Cen was there, flipping over the first ape in line, then landing gracefully on the next, his long daggers slicing the creature's throat. Before that one could even react, Cen had danced between two attacks from nearby apes, then slid on the ground to slice through delicate tendons.
Kade shook his head in equal parts disbelief and admiration, before joining the man in the frey. He couldn’t match Cen’s seemingly effortless agility yet, but he’d been given enough pointers over the last few weeks that he could at least make a good showing of himself. Being able to incorporate his chains helped make up for the difference, and Kade was soon fighting upside down, Relentless Pursuit allowing him to orient himself on the web of interlocking steel hovering over the battlefield. As twin longswords carved through the ranks, the apes tried desperately to meet the attack, even making the mistake of trying to join Kade by reaching up to grip his chains. They found no purchase on the horrifically bladed lengths, and uniformly fell back down to the ground, severed fingers joining them.
Olus was making a better showing of himself as well, his solitary Bond being strength, where his twin brother’s was speed. The long hours spent practicing with Kade has shifted his clumsy fighting style into a more precise application of his prodigious might, and his war hammer swung through the enraged creatures without pause. Drake still needed to support the brothers with expertly-timed silver shields, as well as the occasional emergency exit granted by a discreet chain pulling them out of harm’s way, but Kade had to admit the boys had remarkable talent–Tal had chosen them well.
The false-Keeper was also there of course, though he’d staunchly refused to engage with Kade in the weeks since they’d begun their unusual multi-village tour. His own fighting style could only be described as brutish, as two maces crashed into the apes one after another, powered by his only unsealed ability: Ancient Might, something he shared with Edwin. The man looked furious, as he always did when fighting. Kade had learned from his apprentices that anger was almost all that drove the man, who still raged against the Keepers for kicking him out almost a century prior, though Cen and Olus still didn’t know the reason for his expulsion.
The nearly endless fighting of the last month had helped transform Kade from an eager recruit into something resembling a true warrior, and he found that these low-tier monsters barely challenged him anymore. He expertly unleashed a wave of pure Chaos that tore through more than ten of the apes at once, though this horde was shockingly large, and more simply replaced those he’d slaughtered. Kade wasn’t deterred, and his superior speed and strength allowed him to meet the charge head-on, blades tearing through his targets. Still, every battle was an opportunity for growth, and Kade wouldn’t waste this one. Even if these slow, ponderous apes would likely fall to his swords alone, he still fought with everything he had.
He leapt forward and planted two feet in the chest of one of the larger beasts, sending it slamming back into several apes behind it, and also an energy construct of spikes that sprang up to impale them all. Without pausing to watch the grizzly display, Kade continued his unstoppable charge, leaping from chain to chain, shifting his orientation continuously to attack from every conceivable angle. One of his more recent discoveries was the effectiveness of leaving some slack in a number of his chains, allowing him to bounce between them, continuously building momentum as if they were rubber bands. The result was that he could be almost anywhere on the battlefield at once, slingshotting from target to target while delivering swift death.
As he took greater and greater chances, trying to push himself to the limit of what his body and skills were capable of, the persistent apes managed to get closer and closer to catching him. While they were lumbering beasts and quite slow, their strength was immense, and having four arms meant for a near-endless number of powerful clawed hands reaching out for him from every direction. It seemed like an inevitability when one of those hands finally caught his left ankle, and he immediately felt himself slammed unceremoniously into the ground.
The horde was on him instantly, and it felt like he was struck a thousand times in mere moments, the apes pounding their fists down with abandon. Kade lamented his lack of armor, and not for the first time. He was grateful that his new physiology didn’t seem to scar, as he’d made enough amateurish mistakes in these past weeks to leave his body in ruins otherwise. He wasn’t completely without his tricks though, as spiked chains fired out at his attackers, and he even managed to create some hasty energy constructs that effectively turned him into a glowing porcupine.
The danger was real, however, as Kade’s combat style was still largely dependent on not getting hit, and he was about to call Drake in desperation when the punishment came to an abrupt end. He had time to look up and see thin blades pierce through the necks of several apes, before the entire group was swept away by a massive warhammer. Cen and Olus had arrived, and they held nothing back as they saved him. Even lying on the ground, bleeding from dozens of wounds, Kade couldn’t help but smile.
He realized now that he’d been far from his right mind when he’d placed the chain collars around the necks of the men he now fought beside. Still, three weeks and nearly a hundred battles later, and he honestly didn’t know what else he could have done that wouldn’t have cost either his principles or the lives of innocents. What came next had been a complete surprise to him, however. He’d told Festus what he could, assuring him that the special treatment of these so-called Keepers was over, but that he would personally ensure that the villages remained protected. Then the four began their remarkably awkward road trip that started about as well as could be expected.
Tal had tried to murder him the first and second nights, and Kade wasn’t surprised. The first attempt had left Tal spending the night upside down in a tree, suspended by silver chains and watched by a diligent Drake. The second attempt had left him on the ground gasping, the bladed chain around his throat having tightened the moment he moved against Kade. The collars were working better than expected, but they still took a great deal of adjustments and refinements that Kade had known would take time. He couldn’t make them react to anything he didn’t know, so he essentially had to learn the hard way how to make them react to murderous impulses, and anything else that was meant to trigger their dark purpose.
That was a large part of why Kade had forced the odd party onto the road, as ultimately he didn’t trust the men to be the arbiters of what controlled their collars at all. He needed to see and understand the reactions of those who’d been hurt by them to make his plan work, and it had taken what felt like countless encounters with terrified and disgusted villagers to ensure the chains would tighten whenever anyone was made to feel like a victim of the false Keepers. It wasn’t remotely perfect, but it didn’t need to be–the three just needed to believe it enough to do their jobs and stop taking advantage.
Tal’s reaction was no surprise though, and Kade didn’t even begrudge the man the attempted murder; a big part of him was disgusted with himself for taking the measure he had, and he knew he’d crossed a line that would leave him forever changed. He still found himself glaring at the older warrior occasionally, blaming him for forcing Kade to become someone who controlled people with the threat of pain and death. But it was Cel and Olus whose reactions Kade hadn’t been prepared for.
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The two worshiped him, almost from the moment Drake had released them back in the courtyard. Apparently for all of Talnius’ rage against the Keepers, he’d nonetheless held them in remarkable esteem, and had spent decades telling his apprentices stories of their power and nobility. When the two had seen the novelty of Kade’s abilities, and Drake especially, they’d been completely in awe. They had begged him to teach them–and Kade had kept the fact that he’d been in training for less than two months a secret, seeing the opportunity for what it was.
He’d been grateful and surprised to find that he did actually have something to teach. The men had no formal training, as Tal could barely be considered capable himself, and the three had mostly used ambush tactics and enthusiasm to take on small groups of beasts. They were entirely unprepared for the increasing size of the hordes that approached from the North–the direction Kade knew he’d be traveling in just over a week with the rest of the Keepers. Kade had encouraged the willing apprentices to lean into their respective strengths, and helped them develop techniques to meld their fighting styles with their Soul Powers.
Cen had Awakened Blade, and combined with his speed Bond he fought similarly to Kade–minus the chains and Chaos. He could conjure blades much like Edwin could with axes, but he hadn’t known it was possible to do anything more than use them in his hands. As several daggers materialized and flew into an Ape that had gotten close to Kade’s back, he smiled at how far the young man had come. The speedy youth had also been overjoyed when Kade had asked for tips on moving effectively through combat. It wasn’t quite the martial arts training that Cerano had recommended, but in a few short weeks Kade had taken great strides in incorporating the graceful movements into his own combat style.
Olus had been more difficult to help, as his Soul power was actually the Plow. The man had apparently been quite content with his future as a farmer, even as his brother had been obsessed with becoming a soldier. When their parents had been killed, however, Talnius had taken them both in, and Olus had largely ignored his Awakened Soul Core in favor of emulating Tal’s brutal fighting style. Now though, the man threw his impressive strength against a monstrous contraption that looked like six old fashioned plows welded together, the front of which were covered in a nightmare collection of jagged metal. As he tore into the ranks of ape-creatures, it was clear that the man was still a farmer at heart, he’d just turned the monsters into his field.
Kade had been hesitant to grow attached to the two enthusiastic youths, of course. He had assumed the two were as guilty as Tal was when it came to the mistreatment of the villagers–especially the young women. But once more the situation had turned out to be more complicated than Kade had expected. They’d visited nine separate villages since the unusual journey had begun, and while it was clear the twins had been taking full advantage of the attention their roles garnered them, it didn’t appear to be what Kade had feared.
The twins seemed to have girls flocking them wherever they went, and while they obviously enjoyed the attention, they also knew the names of every last one, and the interest didn’t appear feigned. The two were actually likable and handsome, and received hero’s welcomes from grateful villagers who truly saw them as saviors. For the first week Kade had said nothing, simply standing back and watching for any sign of falsehood or fear in the eyes of their supposed admirers, but after the third village, Kade had no admit that the two had no need to take advantage. They certainly enjoyed themselves, and monogamy was a distant concept to them, but they acted far more like celebrities than criminals.
At last Kade had confronted them one night at camp, asking them point-blank whether they’d ever taken advantage. The men had looked crestfallen, nearly heartbroken to be confronted and accused by someone they’d already begun to think of as a mentor, but they’d also shared a shameful glance at one another that had almost prompted Kade to tighten their collars. Cen had spoken first, “It’s not like that. It’s really not; I swear, Kade! I swear on the graves of my ma and da.” The quieter Olus had nodded vigorously at that, though there was clearly still guilt on both of their faces.
Kade waited a long moment before simply responding: “But?” and the men had looked to Tal, who was sleeping on the other side of the camp, then back down at their feet, unwilling to make eye contact. Finally Cen spoke up again.
“But…things are more complicated with Master Talnius. He’s been doing this a long time, and we’ve heard people talk. I think it started out well, just a few ambitious women looking to marry…or just seduce the local hero. But after a while he just sort of started expecting it, you know? And when the locals realized he wasn’t interested in anything permanent, the offers dried up. Problem was, Tal decides where he goes and when, and if he doesn’t have a…a good time when he’s there, he might not come as quick when they need him.” Olus picked up where Cen left off, clearly attached to their flawed master.
“I’ve never seen him force himself on anyone, he’s not like that. He’s just…he’s old and he’s tired, and he’s angry. He still helps people, he just…he just…” the man trailed off, seeming to hate defending the man, but still not being entirely willing to discard the one who had effectively raised him after they’d lost their parents. Kade had nodded, and let the twins go for the moment.
Inwardly he was equally relieved and frustrated. He found he believed the two, and he even let himself entertain hope for the first time since learning about this horrible situation. But at the same time, part of him didn’t want to see Tal as even more complicated. The man was clearly broken, and Kade despised him for the bad that he’d done, but there were simply no easy answers about what to do with him. Whether he executed the man or left him to this life with what checks and balances Kade could create, he knew that what he did here would follow him for the rest of his life.
The battle was slowly coming to a close, and Kade left the remaining apes to the other three as he withdrew a white spear he’d been allowed to borrow from Alara. They were technically named after their inventor–some difficult to pronounce name that Alara couldn’t even recall–but everyone just called them Dalton Spears, and they were what the Keepers had stabbed the Elder with to turn its dying energies into usable items. Tal stared at him with undisguised greed and hunger as Kade started the lengthy task of draining what he could from every fallen ape.
The spears were shockingly expensive, eclipsing even Bond Fragments as they were nearly impossible to make outside of Dalton, and were almost the only way to acquire many of the magical items that made Keepers possible. It took the energies of countless beasts of this level to produce anything useful, but the group had been actively seeking out hordes day after day, and Kade had made a few useful discoveries. He felt Tal’s gaze upon him as the white spear’s glow grew brighter and brighter, and looked back at the man until the false-Keeper looked away, fury clear on his features.
Kade sighed as the white spear rose and fell. He was running out of time; he needed to return to Karthas by tomorrow at the latest to give himself enough prep time for the exam, and that was already counting on a lot of things going right. While potential Keepers did often leave for private training, they weren’t typically gone for weeks at a time, and certainly not right before their entry exam. Worse, Kade knew that he needed to have a very dangerous conversation with Salarus before they left. He’d grown used to hurling around Chaos out here on the frontier, as he had no concern that his three companions would recognize it, but he needed to consult an expert before trying it around true Keepers.
At last the apes were finally dealt with, both slayed and drained, and Kade gathered the group to discuss their next destination. “This is truly the last horde that’s been spotted in the area?” he asked.
“There’s always beasts or monsters this far North,” Cen answered, “but no one has mentioned any other groups large enough to cause real problems for the villages.”
“Then it looks like we only have one last stop. You guys have mentioned there’s another village nearby…Bolos, I think it was?” The three men shared sad looks before nodding resignedly. Kade raised an eyebrow, “You’ve been pretty quiet about this one, what’s wrong with the place?” It was Tal who answered, which was rare.
“People avoid Bolos,” the dark haired man declared in a cold voice. “It’s the closest village to the Chaos border, and it only has one real purpose. Almost everyone there has Chaos Sickness; it’s a village for the dead.”