Villain found himself surrounded in complete darkness. Floating through this empty space, he could only hear the sounds of screams echoing in his ears. A sense of urgency flowed through him, with each one growing stronger. There was something he absolutely had to do, no matter the cost, but he could not remember what it was or why it was so important. The only thing he could remember was that he had been running.
“Was I running away from something?” he wondered. That didn’t seem right though. It wasn’t the type of urgency you would expect to feel if your life was in danger. As he sifted through the possible scenarios that would cause him to run with such urgency, his frustration began to increase. To make matters worse, the side of his head was steadily and painfully throbbing.
“That man really did a number on me…” Villain mumbled without realizing what he was saying. When the words sank in, an image of the man flashed before his eyes. He grabbed hold of that memory, like tugging on a loose thread, and suddenly found himself recounting everything that had transpired in reverse order. The sense of urgency that had been gnawing at him doubled and he began to panic. They were all gone! Everyone was either killed or taken! He let out a small gasp. I have to save her!
“Lincera!” Villain shot upright in his cot. With wide eyes he spun his head around, unable to recognize any of his surroundings. He found himself lying in what looked like an expensive, but well worn tent, which housed several other cots besides his own. All of which were equally high in quality.
“He’s awake!” Villain shot his eyes in the direction of a man’s voice just in time to watch someone disappear through a flap in the tent. He reached for his knife only to find out it had been taken from him while he was unconscious. Scowling, he rushed over to the flap and peeked through it carefully. Not wanting to draw attention meant that he could only open it about an inch, but it was enough to see that a small group of people were heading straight for him. He quickly closed the flap and scanned the room. There were no obvious places to hide so he ripped the blanket off his cot and tucked himself away in the corner next to the entrance. Luckily, he thought, none of the other cots were occupied at the moment. As the sound of footsteps grew closer Villain sucked in a deep breath and held it, waiting for the first person to enter.
“Just how lo-” Before the man could finish his sentence Villain launched himself onto his back and wrapped his arms around his throat. Squeezing as hard as he could, he hoped that he would be able to take at least one of them down before he made a break for it. Unfortunately for him, however, his strength had not fully returned so he was easily shaken off. Villain was only on the ground for a moment before he pulled himself back to his feet. Ready to fight his way through the group Villain pushed forward, only to stop himself immediately. The one he had jumped onto was none other than Jeck.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Jeck yelled, rubbing his throat. “First you sleep all day and night, and now you’re attacking people without warning!” His face was flushed as he yelled. “Psycho! Did he hit you too hard or something?!”
“What’s going on?!” Villain shouted back, looking at the two men standing behind Jeck with amused expressions. “Why is HE here?!” Villain pointed at the man on his right who he recognized as the one to knock him unconscious in the first place.
“Would you just! Just calm down!” Jeck planted his rear on the nearest cot and leaned forward, resting his elbows on both knees. “A lot has happened. We need to catch you up.” Jeck waved his arm for Villain to sit as well, but he refused.
“No thank you.” He would not take his eyes off the man responsible for his intense headache, just as the man would not take his eyes off of Villain.
“They aren’t our enemies Villain.” Villain immediately shot a dirty look at Jeck and spat out his response.
“You told them our names?! We don’t even know who these people are!” Jeck opened his mouth but the man on the left raised his hand.
“I am Gene, and this here is Vern.” Gene grabbed the back of Vern’s neck and shoved his torso down into a bow. “We apologize for the rough handling, but I assure you we had your best interests at heart.” He held the man there for a moment before releasing him and continuing. “With a name such as yours, I do not blame you for being upset, however I want to assure you that it holds no meaning to any of us.”
“Us?” Villain was quick to pick up on the implication. The number of cots, the size of the tent, and the way the two men were dressed all shouted that they weren’t alone. Gene smiled and held out his arms in a welcoming gesture.
“We are the Travelers.” Villain’s eyes narrowed as he considered what the man was saying for a moment. If it was true, then it would not be outlandish to assume this impressive setup was possible. In fact, he realized, it was the only answer that would make sense. He lowered his arms slightly and took a deep breath.
“I see. What do you mean by a name such as mine?” Jeck shifted uncomfortably as he studied Villain’s face.
“I would assume, and I could be wrong so forgive me, that your parents were what we call ‘Power Seekers’.” When Villain did not react, he continued. “Power Seekers are those that would do whatever it takes in order to obtain even the tiniest sliver of the Immortals’ powers. I myself have come across countless people who have been named things such as Demon, Devil, Evil, Overlord, Ruler, you name it. Cults performing strange rituals, sacrificing children, worshiping Immortals, anything and everything you can imagine. They are desperate for a taste of the terrifying power that they fear so much.” Villain lowered his head as he remembered everything his parents used to talk about. It was as Gene said, a constant quest and hungering for power that they were unable to obtain. Even going so far as to name him Villain before dumping him in some random town, alone.
“So, there are others then?” Gene nodded.
“You are right to guard your name son. There are many people who will associate you with Power Seekers and in doing so they will extend their fear and hatred toward you as well.” Villain looked up once more and met his gaze.
“What about you?” Jeck shifted again, reacting to the underlying challenge in his voice.
“As I said before. We are not bothered by it. A name, to us, is only a name.” After remaining silent for a moment, Villain nodded. Jeck breathed a sigh of relief.
“Will you sit down now?” Villain looked from Jeck, to Gene, to Vern, and back to Jeck before he sighed and plopped down on a nearby cot.
“Where’s my stuff?”
“We’ll return it once we finish.” This time it was Vern who spoke. His voice was much deeper than Villain remembered, most likely because he wasn’t running this time.
“Finish? With what?”
“Catching you up, you idiot. Did you already forget what I said?!” Jeck yelled and shook his fist. Villain smirked slightly as he reminded him of an angry Yvard. Then the image of Yvard on the pillar overlapped his happier one and his mood soured again.
“Catching me up with what? The villagers were killed. Yvard is dead, and Beth, Ahna, and Lincera have all been kidnapped. We’re going after them.” The men in the room all exchanged knowing, nervous glances. When they remained silent for too long Villain became irritated. “We ARE going after them, right?” He turned to face Jeck. “Right?”
“Beth is dead, Villain.” Jeck’s words slapped him in the face. With his mouth hanging open, Villain stared at him.
“What did you say?”
“She’s dead. She’s dead, and the bastards that killed her got away.” Without warning Villain’s ears began ringing quite loudly.
“No, that isn’t true. I-I searched all the bodies before I chased after them. She wasn’t there!” Jeck shook his head.
“So, you really didn’t notice her? I see…”
“What do you mean?”
“Just listen.” Jeck took a deep breath and sat upright. “When the village was attacked, I was passed out drunk. By the time I woke up to the sound of screaming, most of the damage had already been done. I ran around the corner of the west gate and froze when I found myself facing three slavers. They hadn’t noticed me yet, so I turned around and hid myself in the empty watchtower.”
“You ran?! You should have fought them!”
“I panicked Villain! Without a weapon there was nothing I could have done! That’s not the point right now anyway, just listen!” Villain closed his mouth and folded his arms over his chest. He was angry, but whether that anger was due to Jeck’s inaction or his own lateness he was not sure.
“Fine. Continue.”
“When the fighting stopped, I peeked my head over the wall and found at least forty slavers moving out of the village. They had Lincera, Ahna, and a handful of other villagers all tied up in the center of their group. Beth however…” He paused, unable to push the words out of his mouth. After several minutes he took a deep breath and continued. “I don’t know why, but they were dragging her behind them in the rear. Although, it wasn’t just her. It was all of the older villagers. They were treating them all like cargo. It was terrible.” Jeck looked up at the ceiling and blinked several times. “The ones responsible for her group had slowed down so their boss gave the order to cut one loose. They cut her throat and left her lying under the tower.” When Jeck looked back at Villain, he found tears rolling down his face. “There was nothing I could do, Villain. By the time it was safe enough for me to go down and help her, she was already… She had died.”
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Gene walked up to Jeck and placed a hand on his shoulder. The older man’s eyes were distant, somewhere Villain was sure he did not want to be. It was clear that he had suffered his fair share of loss in this life.
“I’ll take it from here kid.” Vern leaned against one of the supporting poles of the tent and faced Villain. “After I knoc-…stopped…you, I followed after them. My intention was to find an opportunity to free your friends, but as Jeck already said there were too many of them. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a group of slavers this large. I had to turn back when they crossed the river, but they shouldn’t be hard to find.” Vern reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metallic object. He tossed it to Villain who barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.
“This is their symbol.” Villain recognized it as the one that was carved into the villagers’ bodies. Vern nodded.
“With this, we know exactly what group is responsible and how to find them.”
“Then what are we waiting for?!” Villain shot to his feet. “Let’s go after them!” Vern shook his head.
“I understand your desire to rescue your friends, and maybe even your desire to get revenge for the old woman but we can’t just rush after them.”
“Why not?!”
“Kid, we’ve got jobs to do. We don’t just travel town to town for shits and giggles. Without the supplies we trade, the entire territory system would collapse, and we’d be sent back into the hundred-year war period.”
“Then why did you even bother doing anything at all?!” Vern placed his hand to his temples, clearly frustrated.
“We aren’t monsters, of course we are going to help if we see innocent people being attacked. We just can’t spare the time or the manpower to go after a group that large, with that much of a head start.” Villain remained fixed in place, quietly stewing over everything that he had heard to this point. After several minutes of silence, and tension, he spoke.
“I’m going, whether you help me or not. I won’t abandon them.” He turned to face Jeck, eyes glaring down at him. “What about you?”
“Did I ever tell you the reason why I wanted to leave the village?” Villain’s face was growing more impatient, but he shook his head anyway. “I wanted to get stronger, so that I could protect everyone. I thought that if I left the village, I would be able to meet someone who could teach me to be stronger, train me how to use a sword properly. When I ran away and hid, I realized that I’m nothing but a coward.” Jeck stood up and clenched his fists in front of him. “I don’t want to be a coward. I don’t want to watch anymore of the people I care about die.” After a moment of staring at his fists, he unclenched them and let his arms fall to his sides. “But they’re right Villain. There is nothing we can do about them right now.” Villain opened his mouth to object, to lash out at Jeck, but Gene stopped him by raising his hand again.
“As I thought, it really did turn out like this.” He scratched his chin and let out a deep sigh. “Villain, after talking with Jeck and assessing the damages to your village we have come to an agreement.” Villain raised his eyebrow skeptically.
“And that is?”
“Your village is done for. The surviving villagers will not be able to rebuild this place with or without you. Afterall, including the two of you, there are only eight of you left. Even if we were to rescue everyone, from what Vern told me that would only leave you with around twenty-five.” Villain’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. The village had been home to nearly a hundred people. To be wiped out to just eight, overnight, was insane to him. He turned to Jeck, who just shook his head, and fell back onto the cot behind him. It wasn’t that he was particularly saddened by the huge losses, as much as he was shocked.
“That many… In one night…” Gene nodded.
“Which is why we have agreed to allow any who are willing to accompany us as far as the next village. If they will not take you in, then we will allow you to continue until we find someone who will.”
“I see.” Villain stared silently at the metallic trinket.
“This is the most we can do kid. With that in your hands, you should be more than capable of finding them if you still wish to do so once you’ve calmed down. For now, I suggest you focus on finding a new home for them to return to.”
“He’s right Villain.” Jeck stood and placed his hand on Villain’s shoulder. “We don’t really have any other choices at the moment.”
When Villain remained silent, the three of them left the tent and allowed him some time to think. No matter how many ways he looked at his situation, Villain could not find a faster way to save Lincera than following them immediately. There was just one major problem with that plan though, and that was his lack of strength. If he went alone, he would die. Even if he managed to convince Jeck, or the entire group of Travelers, they would lose when faced with the carnage those slavers had wrought in just one night. After what seemed like an hour had passed, Jeck stuck his head into the tent.
“It’s time.” Villain looked up, confused.
“For what?”
“The bonfire.”
“Ah.” The bonfire was how they sent off their dead. With all the stories about the undead from the past, it had become common practice to cremate your loved ones as to prevent them from rising again. Villain stood and followed Jeck out of the tent before stopping, sucking in a large breath in shock.
“Most of the village was destroyed in the fires, and what remained has been torn down for the bonfire. There are so many bodies that they don’t think we’ll have enough wood to fully cremate them all.”
“Where are we-” Villain cut his sentence short as he looked around and found a pillar of wood and corpses almost tall enough to rival the elders’ home. It was in what used to be the center of the village.
“I tried to convince them to make a separate fire for Yvard and Beth, but they refused. This is probably how they would want it anyway.”
“Why did they refuse?”
“Same reason I mentioned. Lack of resources.” Villain nodded. He could understand why after seeing just how large the pile really was and had to strain his eyes just to find the pieces of wood shoved between the bodies.
“Are they lighting it now?”
“Yeah.”
“Who is doing it?” Jeck pointed over to a small group of people standing at the base of the pile.
“We are.”
“Ah.” Jeck started toward the pile slowly, Villain following just a step behind. As they drew nearer, they both brought their shirts up over their nose. It had not even been a week but the smell of so many together was overpowering. Villain was almost glad that he had not eaten beforehand, fearing that he might have wasted the food if he had.
“They’re here.” One of the Travelers near the base beckoned for them to come forward and handed them each a lit torch.
“The eight of you, shall send off your loved ones.” Villain looked at the faces around him. Sure enough, all six of the ones with torches were surviving villagers. Thankfully, he thought, they were some of the better ones. That is until he faced the sixth person. A man named Sprigor, who had often taken it upon himself to publicly harass Villain. Whereas most villagers would do the same when he passed by, Sprigor would seek out Villain purposefully whenever he had the chance to do so.
“He doesn’t need one.” Sprigor pointed at Villain’s torch.
“Leave it alone.” Jeck growled. Although Sprigor was many years older than them, in his early thirties, he was much smaller. The man was short statured and twig like. Villain had often attributed his size to his excessively poor personality.
“Hmph.” Sprigor turned away and walked around the pile to the opposite side.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime. He’s all bark anyway.” Jeck laughed quietly. The Traveler standing nearest their group cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Are you ready?” He looked to each of the eight, giving them a moment to resolve themselves. When they had all consented the man turned and addressed the crowd that had been gathering behind them.
“It is all too common in our world today, a tragedy such as this one. If the stories of old are to be believed, then man once lined the horizon with villages and cities far grander than we could imagine. Now we are reduced to far scattered settlements such as this one, and even still we continue to decline. If only it were not so, then we could instead celebrate life. Yet today, we are in mourning. Though we ourselves did not know these people, the eight behind me did. They will light the fires that send their friends and families into the next life, thereby saving them from an existence of suffering servitude.” As his voice trailed off, the eight of them lowered their torches to the wooden base beneath the pile. Villain hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should really be participating, until Jeck nodded in his direction.
“Rest easy Beth, Yvard, and thank you for everything. I swear to you I will save Ahna and pay them back for everything they did to you two.” As the fires spread and the pile began to burn as one, the eight of them stood in place. It did not take long for the heat to become unbearable, yet still they did not move. Each of them searching for the ones they loved within the fires. Only when their skin threatened to sear did they finally submit and step back. The bonfire burned for several hours, with everyone remaining downwind to avoid the stench and debris. When it had finally become a pile of embers, they were relieved to find no trace of the corpses they had burned.
“Care for a drink?” Jeck asked as he approached Villain. He shook his head.
“I’ll be in the tent.” Jeck placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded.
“Take your time, but don’t take too long.”
Once again Villain found himself alone. He was unable to make any progress however, as the only thing he could think of was the sight of burning corpses. One of the surviving villagers, a woman, had been crying the entire time they were standing in front of the pyre and for some reason he could not shake the image from his mind. Frustrated, he began to pace back and forth, desperately trying to focus on the decision he had yet to make. When the pain in his legs became too much, he returned to his cot and continued to run over the situation in his head. It was a no-win situation. They either all became slaves or died, or just the ones that had already been captured would suffer that fate. As Villain was about to rip out a handful of hair, Jeck pushed his way into the tent.
“Hungry?” Villain looked up and found a bowl of steaming soup resting in Jeck’s hand. He had not been paying attention to his stomach but seeing the food made him realize just how long had gone by without him eating.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Villain placed a spoonful of the hot broth into his mouth. Although he slightly burned his tongue, he found his mood slightly uplifted by the delicious flavor. It was only chicken soup, but he had spent so many days of his life eating moss that this might as well have been a delicacy for him.
“It’s good right?” Villain nodded his head.
“If only they could taste it.” The words escaped from his mouth before he realized it, and once again the mood had become sullen. It was silent for several minutes before Villain spoke again.
“Have you made a decision?”
“We either need to recruit a small army or become Immortals.” Nothing short of those two options would let them save everyone in time. It was an exaggeration of course, but that was how he felt.
“Immortals huh?” Jeck grimaced. “You sure it was your parents that were power seekers?” Villain smirked and shrugged.
“You know what I mean though. We aren’t strong enough to do anything with just the two of us, and they clearly aren’t going to do anything more than shepherd us around from one village to another until they can wash their hands of us.”
“I can’t say I blame them. They have a good life honestly. Travelers can come and go as they please between the borders, and they enjoy a lavish lifestyle we could only dream of. If you ask me, staying with them is probably better than joining another village.” At that moment Villain’s eyes widened.
“You’re right Jeck. We should just stick with them.”
“What? Ah, but, no they already said-”
“No, this is it. This is how we save them. We have to convince them to let us stay!”
“How is this-”
“Don’t you get it? This isn’t the first time they’ve ran into this group of slavers, and I figure it won’t be the last. If we stick with them, and get stronger in the meantime, then it should only be a matter of time until we reach them again.”
“What if it is already too late by then?”
“You said it yourself earlier. We don’t have a choice. Even if we went now, right now, we would only get killed or captured ourselves. This is our best chance.” Jeck was silent for awhile as he mulled it over. Finally, he let out a long sigh and stood placing his empty bowl on the cot.
“Lincera, Ahna, everyone. They better hang in there until we reach them.” Villain nodded. As the other survivors began to trickle into the tent for sleep, they decided to pause their conversation.
“Tomorrow.” Villain said, slipping under a blanket. “We’ll continue this then.” Jeck nodded and the two of them, together with the six others, retired for the evening.