[Aspect]
[Name: Talasin Ward]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Apprentice Crimson Hunter of the Fifth Order]
[Abilities]
- [Alchemical Invocation] (Tier 1)
- [Two-handed Sword Master] (Tier 1)
- [Agility Boost] (Elixir: 24 hr duration)
- [Stamina Boost] (Elixir: 24 hr duration)
Talasin stood on the edge of the night bazaar in the western district of the city of K'rith Vatali. It was his first assignment since his old Master had been murdered in front of him and the zombie had fled Astraeus.
Thunder roared in the distance, the sound muffled by the crowd. Talasin glanced up at the sky. It looked like it could rain any second, but that had done nothing to deter the city folk. They came out from every corner of the city, to fill their bellies with roasted meats and spiced wine, to buy or sell golden trinkets, to make business deals and gossip.
The crowd swelled as Talasin watched and waited. His job was simple: protect the K’rith Vatali head councilor's daughter, Garnet Tarklos, while she did her shopping and then escort her back home.
He hated every moment of the job. He'd joined the order to hunt demon's, and now he was a glorified bodyguard.
He’d been given two elixirs by the Fourth Order Alchemists for this job. He thought the elixirs were overkill for a simple protection mission, but the counselor had paid for them, so he happily obliged and drank them.
He’d left his own alchemy pouch back in Astraeus, he wouldn't need it for such a mundane assignment.
The Talamasca had a rule that apprentices were not allowed to hunt demons without a Master being present. His Master Garrick was lying six feet underground in an unmarked grave - that was to prevent necromancers from using his corpse in whatever the hell they got up to.
Which all meant that Talasin was on babysitter duty until a new Master could be found for him.
Garnet Tarklos, his assignment, walked through the crowd with confidence and grace. She wore a green silk dress bedecked in scintillating jewels and she wore it well. Her red hair was pinned up in a bun, and she carried a ceremonial long sword on her hip.
She smiled at everyone who spoke to her, she seemed to know them all and made sure they knew she knew them. She was every bit the politician her father was.
She was a beautiful woman. Her skin was a rich ochre, much like the mellow-brown light from the lamps that bathed the bazaar, her lips full and red, her body was athletic and her breasts full. She was fierce, beautiful and charismatic but those things werent enough to make Talasin like her. She was a spoilt rich girl that he was forced to protect.
Talasin’s two companions Velkos and Imogen flanked the girl on either side. He was on point-duty.
He didn't get that job because he was the most powerful of the three apprentices; he wasn't even the strongest or the quickest, and he definitely was not the best fighter.
He was just the most stubborn. If he was going to do this crap job, he didn't want to spend another moment watching some girl shop for a few hours.
He'd rather be up front, scanning the crowd-not for potential threats. Nobody was stupid enough to threaten the councilors' daughter in her own city. No, he was looking for the zombie girl. He'd searched for her for weeks and found no leads. But he was not about to give up. He'd find her and have his revenge.
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When they reached the far end of the bazaar. Garnet stopped to hug an elderly woman, selling flowers.
“Hey!” shouted Talasin. “We can't protect you when you’re hugging people. One of them could slip a knife between your ribs before we could even react.”
Garnet released the elder woman and smiled at her before turning to face Talasin.
“Listen here, bodyguard. I'm not going to stop caring about people just so you can do your job. I didn't want a bodyguard in the first place.”
She smiled at a passing group of merchants and then turned back to him and frowned when they had passed by. “Your job, Talasin, is to stand up front and look brooding, and my job is to care for the people.”
Talasin glared at her and then shook his head, “Whatever, princess,” he said. “But if you get stabbed, the only sympathy you’ll hear from me will be a fat ‘I told you so.”
Garnet laughed, “Whatever, Order boy, just do your job.”
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It happened the moment they turned and began heading back to the palace. First there was a scuffle in the road between two drunk men.
Velkos and Imogen moved to break up the fight, and just at that moment a woman selling hotcakes passed by and blocked Talasin's view of the councilors' daughter. He looked back and Garnet was gone.
"They took the girl!" he yelled as he ran to the tallest building to get a better view of the market square.
He leapt against the wall then kicked off and twisted in the air, catching the edge of the roof. The large two-handed sword strapped to his back clanged against the tiles as he pulled his body up and over the edge and onto the roof.
Velkos and Imogen followed him and climbed the roof with as much dexterity and more grace than he did.
Talasin perched on the edge of the roof and scanned the crowd. It was a sea of faces and swishing cloaks.
He searched for the familiar green dress and red hair. With each minute that passed, the likelihood of finding the girl grew slimmer.
"There! A flash of green," said Velkos pointing on the east side of the bazaar.
Talasin spotted her then being led away from the market by two burly men wearing brown priest robes. He sprang into motion, following the direction of her flight.
The three companions raced along the rooftops, leaping across gaps and bounding from one rooftop to the next.
Talasin felt the strength flowing from his muscles, and he could hear the sound of his heart thudding in his chest.
He spotted the priests again. Running down a narrow alley heading towards the docks.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"If she reaches the docks, we've lost her for good!" Velkos yelled as he kept pace with Talasin.
Not for the first time, Talasin wished he had some of his old Master’s magic, but he was only an apprentice and his magic was limited to invocation spells used for activating alchemical reagents. He had no ethereal armament, and he had not been trained in the Fifth Order’s secret arts.
"You two stay on their track," said Talasin. "I'll try to cut them off at Beltane's Bridge."
Velkos and Imogen nodded and shot off across the rooftops in pursuit. Talasin paused for a moment, thinking of the fastest way to get to the bridge. If they were heading to the docks, then all paths would lead to the bridge. There was no other way across the river Keth.
He decided to follow the alley that led directly to the bridge. He leapt off the rooftop and hit the ground running.
The alley was dark and narrow, with only a few torches burning along its length.
Thunder roared again, and the sky opened up, and the rain poured down. He ducked under a low hanging drainage pipe and sprinted towards the bridge.
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He reached the bridge out of breath and panting heavily, and waited, unsure if he'd made it there first or if the kidnappers had already crossed.
Moments passed, and then he heard the heavy thud of boots on stone drawing nearer. He drew his two-handed sword and stepped back into the shadow of a nearby building.
Four figures emerged out of the rain. They were all dressed in brown priest robes and iron manacles with chains cut glinted on their wrists.
They are escaped prisoners.
There was no sign of the councilor’s daughter.
As soon as the men crossed the bridge, their eyes flicked in unison over to his hiding spot. There was no way they could have seen him, but they sprung into action.
The first man drew a wooden club out of his long robes, and the second drew two daggers. The third and fourth men fought with wooden quarter staves.
"Silence the witness," they said in unison.
Their voices were lifeless and void of any emotion. The sound sent a cold chill down Talasin’s spine.
Talasin had been trained to fight against multiple opponents, but he didn't like his odds. He needed to be on the offensive and take them out before they could coordinate their attacks.
The club wielder swung and Talasin blocked the blow, and then he spun around into a low kick that swept the legs out from under the first man.
The second man stabbed low and missed, and then followed his attack with two fast slashes at Talasin's face.
The third and fourth shot forward and jabbed at Talasin's stomach.
Talasin’s training kicked in, and he dodged each attack. The dagger wielder lunged and overextended. Talasin’s sword crushed the man's pelvis.
A quarterstaff clipped Talasin’s arm, and he spun around and hit the ground. The staves beat him repeatedly, and he tasted blood in his mouth. He rolled out of the way and raised his sword to block a follow-up attack.
The wooden club hit the ground where his head had been moments earlier, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
Through the cloud, Talasin caught sight of some creature on the man’s head. If not for the dust, it would have been invisible. It looked like a jellyfish, with its tendrils wrapped around the man’s temples and running down his necks.
"A Tormentor," Talasin breathed.
Why the hell are demons after the councilor's daughter?
"What do you want?" Talasin asked as he backed away from the four men, even the man with the crushed pelvis stumbled towards him.
"Kill the witness," they said in the same deadpan tone as before.
The club wielder swung, and Talasin ducked under the blow and sliced open the man's stomach. The prisoner fell forward into a pool of his own blood.
[Human Cut purse Killed - Progress Towards Next Ascension: 17%]
Talasin thanked the goddess for her wisdom, and the aspect of the goddess vanished from his mind.
Talasin leapt over the man's body and slashed low. It sliced through a prisoner's staff, and the second man jumped back in time and dodged the blow.
The club wielder hit the sword out of Talasin’s hands and advanced on him with his club raised high.
Talasin’s hand fumbled for his silver dagger. It was a weapon his Master had given him and was meant for demon hunting.
A thrown dagger flew out of the dark and caught the club wielder at the nap of his neck. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
A sword glinted as it cut off the next man's leg. Garnet stepped into the light and thrust her sword through the prisoner's chest.
The Tormentor howled in fury as its host died.
"What the hell!" yelled Garnet as the ghostly jellyfish demon outlined by the falling rain floated away.
"I'm going after it!" shouted Talasin.
"Wait," said Garnet. "You can't leave me here alone with demons about."
"I'm a demon hunter, it's my job to kill them, not to guard spoiled princesses."
“I saved your life,” she said hotly.
Talasin eyed her sword, so it wasn't ceremonial after all.
“I owe you one,” he said, and then he drew his silver dagger and sprinted after the demon.
It wasn't that he wanted to be a hero. He had questions for the demon, but the Order had made it near impossible for him to get anywhere near the servants of the dark.
There was something he had seen the day his Master had died. One thing that he didn't understand. The zombie girl hadn't been alone. He'd seen a shadowy figure standing beside her with his Master bleeding at their feet.
The figure had stepped through a rift and vanished. That was high tier magic, not something a common demon, let alone a zombie, could perform.
There was more to the zombie girl than what met the eye. She was deeply involved with the demons, and Talasin was going to find out why.
Talasin heard soft footsteps behind him, and he looked back and saw Garnet chasing after him. She was faster than he’d given her credit for.
He slowed down a fraction until she was right behind him. The Tormentor outlined by the falling rain was still ahead of them, but they were catching up.
They rounded a corner and ran straight into trouble.
Talasin saw the Demented first. The demon was massive, its shoulders touched the sides of the alley, and it stood twice Talasin’s height.
It had reddish gray skin, crisscrossed in scars and a pair of ram horns sprouting out of its giant head. In each of its colossal hands, it held a butcher's cleaver. One of those cleavers was swinging right at Talasin’s head.
“Get down!” Talasin shouted as he dropped low and slid under the attack.
Garnet was not so lucky. The cleaver hit her hard and sent her flying into the wall, cracking the stone.
She staggered to her knees and clutched at her side where a deep wound opened. She grimaced in pain and tried to stand up, but collapsed again.
The Demented turned and raised its cleavers and roared with anger and hatred.
The rain poured down around them, and Talasin saw the Tormentor floating behind the Demented, watching them.
Beneath the Tormentor were the crumpled forms of Imogen and Velkos. The pools of blood surrounding them indicated that they were already dead.
Light! What the hell is going on here?
A Demented should not have been in the city. They were only seen on the fields of war, on the front lines of hell’s army. And how had his companions managed to reach there before him. It didn't make sense, none of this did.
All this information passed through Talasin's head in a second as he stared in horror at his dead companions and the injured form of the councilor’s daughter.
There was no chance in hell that he could face this demon and live. The one weakness a Demented had was its lack of speed.
Talasin flipped onto his feet and dodged a cleaver swinging at his head. He ducked low, scooped Garnet into his arms, and then shot down the alley.
A cleaver exploded against the wall beside him, and rocks and mortar flew in all directions.
Talasin lowered his head and kept running, too afraid to look back. He knew the demon would catch up soon. He had speed, but he didn't have the strength to carry Garnet far.
He could feel the vibrations rolling through the ground as the Demented closed in on them. Talasin’s arms burnt and his legs grew weaker. He’d reached his limits. He knew that the iron cleaver would cut through him at any moment.
He looked down at Garnet’s blood soaked body. Her eyes were closed, but he could still feel her faint heartbeat.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He should have listened to her. If she died, her blood would be on his hands.
Talasin stepped onto the bridge and heard the pounding footsteps growing nearer. He risked looking back and as he did, he saw the demon raise its cleaver, ready to hurl it straight at them.
“Goddess protect us,” he shouted as he tossed Garnet into the river.
He ducked low as the cleaver flew over his head. He looked back one final time before he dived into the water after her.
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