A loud hiss accompanied the steam given off as the red hot blade was plunged into the barrel of water. Markus watched the blade carefully as the red slowly turned into grey as the blade cooled. When he was satisfied that the blade had cooled, Markus withdrew it from the barrel and laid it on the work bench and started to inspect it. There where a few dents and scratches here and there but overall the blade appeared in very good condition. He continued to turn and tilt the blade as he peered at it, that was until he was interrupted by a gruff voice.
"Oi, lad. Come give me a hand with this lot."
He turned to see the blacksmith, a large man with a fiery red beard which went down to his waist and tucked into his belt, clutching a large assortment of swords. Markus got up and followed the blacksmith into the shop.
"You really should stop calling me boy, I'm turning 22 this harvest."
The swords clattered to the ground as they were dropped into a pile in the middle of the shop floor. They added to the ever growing piles of old weapons and armour around the shop.
"Aye, you're right. You've changed a lot from the young boy whom I helped look after. Grown a fair bit, in height and mind. Although you've avoided growing much hair!"
The blacksmith laughed at his own joke as he set about organizing the swords into smaller piles.
"Just because I've got hair on the top of my head rather than my face."
As he said this Markus pointed at the mess of brown hair which sat untidily a top of his head and hung down to his eyebrows. The blacksmith just glanced at him with a big smile before they both got back to sorting the swords.
Several hours past and once the pile was sorted, Markus went back to working the forge whilst the blacksmith started on sharpening the swords. The sound of steel grinding on stone could be heard in the shop and down the streets which it sat near. The store sat on a cross roads near the edge of the city, although there was no real end to the city since there was no wall. Buildings just became less frequent and smaller and the grass plains and fields became a more common sight.
The city itself was large and sprawling and didn't seem to have a really plan to how it was built. There where was a main road which ran from the north to the south. The road went straight as the crow flies and even went straight through the royal palace, although no one was aloud along that part. As for the rest of the roads, there was no constant size and most hardly went straight for more than a meter.
Getting lost was a common occurrence and a valid excuse, even if you were trying to get to a neighbour who was only a few doors down.
It was mid afternoon when Markus left the blacksmiths. He wasn't even meant to be working today but he had nothing better to do and enjoyed some company as he worked. Markus set off down the street heading somewhat towards the main road. People got on with their business as he walked along. They were doing their daily shop or going to meet with others at one of the many pubs dotted around the city. Once he reached the main road, about 30 meters further along than he thought he was going to appear, it was already bustling with people all slowly making there way towards the royal palace.
Most of them were either clutching weapons and wearing armour or carrying around a large book and had a small pouch attached to there waist. The first where warriors of sorts and the others where mages, a general term for all those who use magic. Markus' hand went to his waist to rest it on the hilt of his sword and swore. He had only gone and left the bloody thing in the blacksmiths. He would have to remember to go get it later.
He set off down the street and joined the every growing crowd pushing its way towards the palace and the small stage which had been set up in front of it. Being mid range in height, markus had to stand on tiptoes to see over the crowd and try and find the reason why he was here. As he peered around and over the many forms of man, dwarf, elf and orc in armour and robes he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He spun around to see a tall female elf, with flowing black hair which went down to her shoulders. She wore light blue robes which seemed to be slightly too big for her with a small leather belt around her waist, attached to it was a small pouch and a battered book. A sliver pendant shaped as a dragon hung from around her neck. The star ruby for its eye glinted in the slowly sinking sun.
"Lost some one?" she asked with a small smile appearing on her face.
"I think i just found them, no thanks to you Julia" he said whilst dropping off tiptoes. "I mean who wears the same thing as everyone else to watch the king announce another ridiculous task." Markus smiled at her before ducking his head just as she swatted at him.
The two continued walking towards the the palace at an ever slowing rate until they were tightly packed and close enough to the stage so that they would be able to see what was going on as well as hear. About an hour or so past as the crowd grew in size and impatiences. Adventruly a dwarf came up on stage and placed a box down before standing on it. A hush fell over the crowd as the dwarf cleared his throat.
"Soon the king shall arrive and reveal the items for the red hunt." his voice boomed across the packed square and road. "I am here to remind you that only citizens of Fargus are allowed to enter. If you are not a citizen of this country i shall remind you that the other four kingdoms hold their trials at different times during the year so you are able to go and apply in your home country. Each mage is allowed to be accompanied by two people of their choosing. There are limited spaces so make sure you get back as quick as possible to have a higher chance of being chosen."
After finishing the list of rules and warnings the dwarf jumped off the box and dragged it behind him as he wandered off the stage. A few seconds later two men climbed on stage accompanied by several knights wearing red garbs over their armour. Markus recognised the first almost instantly as the king of Fargus. Maybe it was the crown and royal robes which gave it away but he had seen that man plenty of times before.
The second man took him a little longer, though once he figured out who it was he knew Julia would of known almost instantly. He was dressed in red and purple robes, a small book hung by a chain which attached to the leather belt which he wore around his waist. In his left hand he appeared to be clutching what looked a bit like a walking stick, however it wasn't being used to help him walk, it was being held like a sword still in its sheath. The most noticeable thing however was the colour of the man's eyes, an emerald green which seemed to glow, even though one of them was hidden behind the fringe of the man's soot black hair. He was of course the Arch Mage and head of the Kings Mages and also a well renowned professor at the university of magically study and the man in charge of organising the whole red hunt.
As the King droned on with the formalities Markus got to thinking about what items would be needed to complete the Red hunt. The tradition was for there to be 5 items which had to be collected. The first 3 tended to be herbs and alchemical ingredients, but that didn't mean they would be easy to find. At least one was near the far reaches of the kingdom, well beyond the taint barrier. Another tended to be some part of a monster or tainted animal which would be easy to come by out past the taint barrier but difficult to actually acquire. Then there was the last one. This one tended to be a wild card. If he could remember correctly last year they the contestants had to go to a monastery and receive a blessed flower. The year before that, about 200 enchanted forks had been scattered across the kingdom for them to find.
"For this red hunt, you must present: a petal from a green Dragonsnap flower, a sleeping tree root about a finger in length, a hand full of nightrot berries, a tainted claw from any creature and an item of great importance to yourself. Bring these items back to this square in a months time and you would of proven your worth to become a King's Mage and if we have places left you will be asked to join."
At the end of the speech the crowd burst into cheer and chanting, however as the Arch Mage stepped forward the crowd fell silent again. He gazed over the crowded and appeared to be mumbling to himself. He suddenly straightened up and a voiced boomed over them.
"Remember that we can err.." there was a pause as he glanced off into the distance. "oh yes! It is easy to tell, well for those who are smart enough at any rate, that what items are not true. Be careful in what path you fly, and please note a dead mage is not a useful one and clearly a bad one at that. And one final thing, there is always a bigger fish or some i'm constantly told."
Archmage Arinath seemed to still be talking as he turned away but no one could hear what was being said. The King then stepped forward and declared the red hunt to have started before leaving the stage followed by the knights. At this the crowd started to disperse and the sound of excited pupils and curios mages talking about the objects was all that could be heard.
Markus turned his head as Julia grabbed his arm and started to drag him down the street. She was yelling something about having to get a head start and where on earth she would find a sleeping tree let alone a green Dragonsnap at this time of year. Markus managed to get his arm free just before they went past the turning for the blacksmiths.
"What's up? I thought we but all our stuff ready to go in the inn? Supplies, tent, gold even some bits of armour for you!"
Markus just gestured towards the space on his hip which was had a rather large absence of a sword. Julia glanced at where he was pointing before spinning on her heel and continued walking.
"Fine, ill wait at the inn. guess there's not much point setting of tonight any way. I'm leaving at sunrise tomorrow with or with out you!"
Markus sighed as he watched her march off going further down the street. He refrained from pointing out that it had been her who had forced him to agree to go on the insane trip any way. Just as he reached the store he saw Ulfrad beginning to lock up. Noticing Markus coming towards him, the blacksmith stopped and grabbed the sword and a shield which were at his feet and chucked them. Markus just managed to catch the sword and practically dropped the shield on his own foot.
"Thought you might be coming back for those lad! And before you say anything that shield is a gift from me. A good luck gift if ya wish. Let's hope you don't need it!"
Markus smiled and thanked the blacksmith before turning and heading for the tavern and the so called adventure which awaited him.