Lost years Chapter 4-Y

Chapter 4 Great losses, Great Loves

Our horses where tired from there flight down the mountain and they collapsed to the ground once we found a good camp. There big bodies rose and fell in a rhymatic way and there snorts where hypnotic. As I stared at the horses as the rest started a fire I thought of something, something rather important. Borrow was out in the woods gathering fire wood she was in her normal form as I approached her. Her black hood covering her snowy white hair. She saw me comeing and asked “Yes”. I looked at her and said verey pointedly “When we where rideing they shot your horse?” I asked. “Yes” She said innocently. “This was there first shot…..Why didn’t they shoot you” I asked. She looked at me her eyes hurt by what I had said “You think I led us into a ambush? Look I’m sorry that you you…” she said trying to walk past me. “Borrow I don’t want to belive it its just that” I said why did I come here did I really think she whould do that. “Willim I whould never do something like that I” she said letting it hang there “Have to go” she said pushing past me. “Borrow I’m sorry” I said limply as she pushed past. “I’m such a fool” I said looking at the forest wishing something could pop out and eat me already.

As I lay there in front of the stars I vaguely remembered what my teacher told me once “The stars Willim tell you more about what your thinking than even a spell” he was an odd man with many quirks one of those being he was always annoyingly vague. “How so” I asked a young boy. “Just look up at the stars and see what you see up there” I’d then go out side and look up and see tiny balls of light. “I see a great warrior slaying a dragon” I’d say wide eyed imagine one day fighting those firey beast with my great magic. He whould look at me his weathred face smileing and then he whould say “Willim you dream of becoming great” he whould look up and laugh. “What do you see?” I whould ask. “Well I see a young wizard slaying a dragon” he said looking at me “I dream of you becoming great” he whould then say abruptly “Go sweep the floors there getting dirty” he whould laugh as a broom whould burst out the door walking on its own. A dust pan soon followed. My teacher died a while back he never saw me slay a dragon, I thought looking up at the stars. “What do you see Willim” i thought “I see a girl and a dragon they seemed to be chained together” I thought. Then slowly it came to me “I dream of freeing the girl and slaying the dragon”. With that I fell asleep to Mitos, Sidrick, Alegred and Elacron all signging a song of a grumpy old troll that lived under a bridge.

I looked at the room the large dome room had many colorful windows on the walls shining the room with many colors. As far as we could tell they depicted heros of there religion. There glassy emotionless faces stared down at the massacre that had happened. The stone floor was covred in blood red fresh blood. It seeaped down the stairs and stained my boots. There was a message scrawled on the wall in blood it read THIS IS WHAT BEFALLS THOSE WHO DISOBEY THE DEMON LORD. I looked at the room, stacks of elf bodies lined the walls. I looked spotting a old fat elf his face used to be jolly. He was the baker, Burt, he cooked sweat cakes out of acorn bread. He slathered a delicious syrup on them and whould leave them cooling out side of his tree. The smell drifted through the trees and it was always a celebration when he cooked them. He laughed as he handed them out his wife standing at his side smileing. They had no children but to them all kids where there children. Whenever we whould stop by he whould give us one or two of his cakes or even better when he whould let us help him make a big batch. We whould stir the pot the syrup bubbling as his wife Lilly whould add the secret ingrident to the mixture. The cakes whould be done and we whould spoon on the syrup. As they cooled he whould tell us a story about how he battled a thousand pirates to get the recipe but he had to burn it so the cakes whould not go into the wrong hands. I never learned the secret ingrident and now I never whould. His face was cold nothing of his old self left. A large gash came down his face and across his stomach. I could see his guts falling out like raw sasuages that he whould cook to perfection. Hot wet tears pourd down my face as I stumbled across the room face after face of people I knew and loved. People I saw every day for a 100 years gone just like that no warning no legacy just gone. I dropped to my knees my hands in my face my knees covred in blood. There where people hanging from the celing there bodies held up by giant metal spikes. “Oh God oh god please don’t let this be true please let me be dreaming let me be asleep and find this is only a nightmare” I stammer as I slowly open my eyes takeing my hands away. I stare face to face with a child. At least half of it the other half lay somewhere else. It was the head it’s open eyes stared at me a expression of horror on its face. I could see in the distance a alter. Remebering my quest I staggred towards it determined to get there I needed to aveange them. Faces so many faces that I can’t tell them to you so many friends I grew up yet, kids I played with, then I stumbled apon Saria’s parents. They where tossed limply on a pile of more dead. The man had a single arrow threw his head. His name was Eric I remember when I had to ask his permission. He told me “If you ever hurt my girl I will take my sword and make it verey hard for you to find another”. The woman had her throat slit open and her cloths where tore off. “Saria” I whispered.

I finnaly made it to the blood stained alter. Its golden etched figures looked like men burning in hell. The blood splattered on it resembling flickering flames. The alter was a complex dark red wood box with a intricet patern of symbols we never understood on the out side. On top of the box was a gold plate with the words “Peace shall rain washing away the corruption and the Hatred all shall be washed clean” I laughed at those words. “Right now there seems to be no light” I said to my self as I grabed the heavy plate. I lifted it up the gold plate lifted easily. We had tried many times to open the box but to no avail. Inside the box was another box this one was made of steal it sat dully on the bottom of the box. I picked up the small metal box and opened it slowly. A deep smell of old paper blew into my face and I saw the source a pice of paper sat simply. My shakey had grasped the paper and dumbly unfolded it. In front of my eyes lay the way to the cave of wonders. It lay across the river. This paper was a map of the entire forst ourlined was the route to the cave of wonders. The ghost girl looked at me as I came down “Told you don’t go up there” she said looking at the ground. “Go child, leave this place go to where you belong with your family” I said. “Sir where my parents are I can’t follow” she said. “What do you mean” I asked the ghost girl he pale figure fadeing. “They are still alive some made it” she said a smile played on her face “What was that one girls name the pretty one who whould give me flowers I liked her” she said fading into nothing the tears gone as well. “I hope you find where you belong my friend” I said a tear rolled down my already wet cheek.

The king lived in Laprive. I had never been there before but I had heard stories. Stories of it being such a big city that they had to cut a whole mountain to build it. I heard its buildings soared up into the sky like stairs towards heaven. I heard the merchants sold every kind of fruit, vegetable or item one could ever need. I heard that the wall was so bit a giant whould have to stand on his toes to see over it. Well let me tell you it surpassed all of those in one mind blowing second. We got onto the main road near the city. It was on a plain like most but in the far distantce you could see the mountains and the other way you could see the great sea. Our backs to the mountains we approached the city. The path was well made and verey wide. The city had a large trench the size of a city in its own right spanning it. It had only 3 exits. Ours was the west exit, a giant door stood in our way its heavy doors stared down at us. The path was busy with caravans and travelers alike surging in. Our horses todded fast into the city and entred the main market. Alegred turned towards me “We’d be needing a place to put our horses”. Borrow looked at me and said “I’ll go and find us a stable”. We got off our horses and began to walk towards the inner castle. The bazzars smells where unbarible though. As we walked I noticed that there was thousands of food stands, some sold fish of every species, others sold a rainbow of fruits, yet others sold meaty slices of beef. Mitos stopped at a meat stand and stared amazed at a big leg from a cow and said “I didn’t even know they had cows that big” his eyes stared hungeirly at the leg his large mouth opend wide. “Common you big lug we don’t have time for this” Alegred said pushing him on. Sidrick turned towards Alegred “The head chapel for the curch of the iron fist his here might we go see our brothers” Sidrick asked. “Well okay just um…” he paused “We’ll meet (He pulled out a map of the city he had on him) here” he said pointing one of his fatty fingers at a large fountain. Its called the fountain of sorrow. With that Sidrick and his clancky armour walked off with Mitos to go see there brothers. We walked a bit getting into the more urban settlement. We walked in lanes now not through millions of shops each one yelling at you there wares. The hourses all looked identacil but I noticed something. There was several big towers five infact. “What are those” I asked Alegred. “That be the five guild towers” Alegred said “Magic, Faith, Combat, Archery and well I don’t know what the last ones fore”. Elacron looked at it and said “It was the rouge guild but uhm rouges don’t do one spot where a lot of angery villigers can burn them down. No now the rouges have a secret guild.” He said calmly hood pulled back his eyes darting but a smile on his face. “You love this place don’t you” I said to the man. “That I do this is where my old party and I met” he said his eyes gleaming as if in some far off place “We travled together and fought many a deadly foes. I owe my life to one in particular” he said. “Well hopefully we can carve our own history” I said my eyes thinking about the starie dragon. “Hopefully we will” Alegred said.

It was dark and I needed sleep. I slowly walked out of the temple and down the dark stairs. Lionday looked at me and immediately tried to confort me. “Lion…….I’m sorry I shouldn’t have come here” I said. It looked at me and he nudged me “Lion its just I lost everything I cared about…” I looked down at him he wore a pendant with a tusk on its string. On it was carved Lionday. It was his mothers tusk I found her dead and Lionday alive. “Lion you lost your mother and your father” I said softly. The boar snorted and looked at the ground softly touching it “I know you never knew them but you still have me and I have you” I said it knodded its head. We slept on the steps looking at the stars.

The kings palace was a splendid place carved for beauty not for protection. Infact the whole place was barely fortified the walls where there more for gradeur than anything else. This carelessness wasn’t without reason the last real battle we had was almost 50 years ago. The place was a beautiful place with large open arches that supported the place and a large stone scene of a market was on top of the building. There was one arch that a few people where intering so we went throught that arch as well. Inside the building was several desk with men sitting at them they whould ask “Nature of your visit” then they’d show the person where to go. We where in a line to see the king It led to a fat man with a small pointed beared and greasy hair. His belle kept him a good couple of feet away from the table the large fatty ball shaked when he talked or moved or did anything really. It seemed to be constantly moveing to a beat that no one could remember. As we approached him the dwarf said “He’s gonna be a though mine”. Elacron looked at the man and said “I’ve delt with worse but Willim here will get us in right?” patting me on my back. I knodded and both laughed at how scared I was. We where up the man looked at us menacingly. I sat down in the wooden chair at the desk. It was hard and unmoveing just like the man I was talking to. “Yeeeesssss What do you want” The man said his pudgy fingers tapping the desk each one making a pernouced sound. “We want to see the king” I said regaing a little confidance. “And why whould you do that” he asked both eyes locked on mine. “We um….We belive that Orcs are playing an attack” I said. The man laughed “ORCS your BIG threat is ORCs, that’s funny right that’s real hilarious” he said his belle shaking vigorously in and out. “So can we go and…” I said then he cut me off with a “No”. I looked down helplessly. I heard a thunk and looked up and saw the fat man holding a pouch counting the money “Mhmmm Well orcs do lower propertie value and stuff like that” he said waveing us off. “That’s how you do it” Alegred said. “But how much money was that” I asked. “No idea however much the noble I picked it off of had” Elacron said happily. “And Badly at that” Elacron laughed. The king was behind a set of wooden doors. They where good wood and where light as we opened it into the kings waiting chamber. We gasped in horror at what we saw in side of there.