Chapter 3
Kerra looked up into the stars for hours that night. She felt so ashamed and weak at the same time that she couldn't sleep. What she said to Elethin echoed in her mind the whole night making her feel worse and worse, how could she say she was sorry for what she had said to him? The things she said to Elethin weren't true. The only reason she said them was because of the state she was in. A tear inched its way down her cheek as she thought about him. She wanted to hug him tight and tell him she was sorry but that seemed imposable. As though the thought of Elethin was enough to make her cry, what happened to Edward made everything worse than it already was. Even though he was a perverted man he didn't deserve what happened to him. She couldn't bare it anymore. Edward deserved to be buried, no one deserved to rot on the surface no matter how perverse they may be.
Kerra left her window sill and put on the boots she wore that night, she strapped her quiver over her shoulder and rested her bow on her other shoulder so she could defend herself. She snuck out of the window in her kitchen and quietly went into the shed to retrieve the shovel. She thought over renting a horse but decided she needed to walk and think. The sound of animals filled the night air and seemed to carry itself on the gentle breeze making the tree's sway in the darkness of the night. She walked the familiar path knowing what she was going to see preparing herself for the grotesque site ahead of her.
After an hour or so of walking the smell of blood filled her lungs. She felt sick and wanted to run but she couldn't hide. She had to do this. The outline of the giants corpse could faintly be seen in the night, the giant wasn't what she was here for she was here to bury Edward so she pushed forward toward the patch of tree's further on. Before she could catch herself she fell into the giants footstep. A grunt left her throat as she tumbled to the ground face first eating dirt as she hit the ground, she got on her knees and spat out the dirt as the outline of a figure suddenly made its way into her sight. Kerra stumbled back in shock she reached for her bow but she fumbled, the figure only held out its hand to help her up.
She stopped fumbling with her bow and reached for her shovel and held it ready to strike if the figure made one wrong move " Who are you?"
" Trust me lady if I was going to hurt you I would have already done so by now so you can lower your shovel."
From the sound of his voice he seemed to be a little older than her but how could he have seen the shovel? it was almost pitch black out.
" I will lower the shovel when I know for sure that I am safe so answer my question. Who are you?"
The man sighed as though in deep thought and great confusion.
" To tell you the truth lady I don't know the answer to your question myself."
Kerra looked up at the outline of the man in confusion.
" Are you here to bury that man back there if so there is no need, I did it myself so you can go back home now."
The man strode forward but Kerra caught his leg.
" Where are you heading?"
" Wherever my heart takes me, what is your name?"
" Kerra".
" Kerra, that's a nice name I like it, I would tell you my name but I don't know what it is. Do you know if there is a inn in the town ahead I have traveled hard and long and am in need of a good nights rest."
" There is but the innkeeper takes his chances of ripping travelers off for we don't get many travelers since we are surrounded by the mountains."
The man reached to his side and rattled a pouch that clattered with a few coins " I am a bit short on coins. Maybe then you can tell me of a stable or something I can sleep with the horses." Kerra couldn't allow that " I will allow you to rest in my home for free maybe then I can get to know you a little more but the second you touch me your dead."
" Fair." He held out his hand again only this time Kerra reached for his hand and let him pull her up.
***
It was almost dawn by the time they reached her house. When they were walking to her house they talked about some of the places he had been and some of the perils he faced on his journey thus far. His stories amazed her. The places the man described took her breath away, she wished she could see some of the keeps and dungeons he had seen. The stories got her wanting to see some of these places with her own eyes, she wanted to see all the different cultures and see how they lived. She wanted away from this tiny town. When they got into her room she quietly shut the door so she wouldn't wake her father and mother up. The man was very attractive and unique. He had shoulder length red hair that seemed to branch out into spikes that ran down the back of his shoulder and matched with his red eyes. His face almost seemed unmarked and seemed to shine in her eyes. For some reason Kerra wanted to know more about him, she walked across her small room and set two chairs for them to sit in. The man unbuckled his sheath and sword and laid it on the floor next to him as he took a seat. Kerra sat in the other chair across from him.
They sat and talked more about his journey's as the hours slipped by. The thought of leaving grew more and more exciting but she couldn't because she would likely die on her own.
" I wish I could go on a quest myself I'm tired of being cramped in this town. All I do is hunt and work around the house." The man stood up and walked over to the map that hung on her wall. " Where are we on this map?"
Kerra got up and showed him where the mountains were and pointed at the tiny plain that the mountains surrounded " We're right in here in the country of Hemloss. You see there are three country's to the north is the country of Zalkah and to the east Bardune. The man studied the map for a moment.
" My heart tells me I should head to the east possibly I will find something about myself on the way."
" Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
" No not at all Kerra, what do you want to know?"
" Why don't you know who you are and where you came from?" The man only shrugged from the question. " So you wander aimlessly hoping to find answers about yourself?"
" Yeah"
Kerra took the map off the wall and rolled it up then tied it with a leather thong handing it over to him. " Here take this map with you so then when you feel that your lost you can look at it to see if you can make a clue out of where you are and where you want to go next." The man took it and slipped it into his dirt stained traveling cloak " Thank you Kerra I deeply appreciate the gift but I have a question. Why are you being so nice and generous to a mere stranger such as myself?"
" Because I feel sorry for you. It must be sad not to know who you are or why you don't know who you are." The man smiled.
" Thank you Kerra but I need some rest I will sleep on the floor." Kerra had forgotten that the man was tired and moved the chairs so he could lie down. " Before you go to sleep do you mind if I give you a name that you can call yourself by until you remember your own?" The man looked up at her from the floor.
"Sure, I never thought about naming myself." Kerra thought for a moment then she looked at his hair then to his eyes and took notice to how they both shimmered like a jewel.
" How does Ruby strike you?" The man rubbed his chin as he considered the name for a moment then grinned.
" I like it, ill call myself Ruby until I find my true name but now I am going to sleep. My muscles ache from my journey and are in need of rest." Kerra bade Ruby goodnight and walked over to her bed so she could get some sleep herself.
***
Kerra jumped out of her bed when she heard the heavy knock on the door. It was her father. She rushed to go answer it but then it came to her, she couldn't just open the door, not with Ruby laying on the floor. Kerra glanced to the floor to wake Ruby up but found that he was gone. After the sigh of relief left her lungs she opened the door to her father.
" This friend of yours is quiet a character dear. He cooked us breakfast and a mighty good one I may add and his stories are truly magnificent." Kerra couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was amazing that she didn't get smacked for having a complete stranger sleep at the house, in her room too, any normal parents would have beaten her black and blue.
" Now Kerra this friend of yours is the type of man your mother and I prefer to find a liking in. Not that Elethin elf." It struck her as though it hit her right on the nose. Elethin. How could she forget about Elethin? What made the situation worse is remembering what she said to him and she never got around to saying sorry. She had to do it now. Kerra ran and threw on some pants and a shirt and rushed past her father and out of the house without saying a word. Running barefoot to Elethin's house at full bolt was hard on her because of the lack of sleep but she pushed her legs to move.
As she reached the clock tower her legs gave out. She tumbled to the ground and rolled a few feet before she caught herself again. She jumped back to her feet and ran at full sprint not taking the moment to wipe the dirt off of her. When she reached the steps to Elethin's house she took notice to the door open and figured he was home and walked in. When she entered the room the door slammed shut. She jumped and looked back to see two filthy men dressed in rags each holding a dagger. Now she was in trouble. She was unarmed and in simple clothes in a room with two thugs who's intentions were most definitely rape. She turned around so she was facing them and staggered back as they both took a step forward. One of them was small and skinny and the other was tall and very overweight but both held the same ugly grin as they showed their missing teeth.
" Hmm, well, well Buck we were expecting that stupid elf that got our friends the other day but to our luck we got a delicious morsel instead now aren't we the lucky bunch of bandits today?" The overweight thug grinned so wide it looked as though his face was going to rip.
" Ha I would say so Mook. So which part of her you want first her bottom half or her top half because I will take either."
Mook instantly lunged forward and shoved Kerra into the wall knocking the wind out of her. Mook licked her face like the animal he was. The door opened and Ruby poked his head through and glanced at both of the bandits. They both looked at him and held their daggers up indicating that they weren't scared of him. Buck threw his dagger with incredible speed for the weight the man carried but Ruby was faster and shot his head out the door before the dagger stuck into the door frame where Ruby's face had once been. After a moment of silence the door burst through its hinges and clattered as it fell to the floor. Both of the bandits stared as Ruby grabbed the knife and pulled it from the doorframe.
" I believe that this knife was yours lard."
Buck had no time to act. The knife left Ruby's hand in a moment and flew towards Buck at an alarming speed. Then there was a thud. Buck grabbed at his chest then fell to his death on the floor. The knife handle was the only part that was sticking out of Buck the rest was in the big mans heart. Mook shook for a minuet then shot toward Ruby with his dagger ready to strike but Ruby was faster and ran towards Mook with his sword unsheathed. Mook was the first to strike but Ruby moved as though he were deaths shadow easily side stepping the strike. Mook didn't see the blade coming as it came slashing through the top of his skull. Ruby slowly sheathed his sword until it was near the hilt he stopped for a moment then he sheathed the rest of it. As it clicked Mook's top portion of his head slid from the rest of it and fell to the ground. Mook's corpse fell to it's knee's as blood sprayed from his head creating a sickening mist of blood that filled the air in the house. Kerra wanted to vomit but couldn't find the material in her stomach to. Instead she stared in horror. She looked into Ruby's eyes. They showed no emotion. Ruby walked over to her pushing Mook face first onto the slippery floor. Blood continued to spurt from the bandits head onto the floor making a vast puddle. Ruby wiped the tear's from Kerra's eyes and looked deep into them as though he was diving into her soul. He grabbed her with his rough but tender hand and walked her out of the small house and sat her on the steps on Elethin's front porch. He knelt down beside her putting a hand on her shoulder.
" Did they hurt you? Are you alright?"
Kerra slowly looked over into his eyes again seeming to get lost in their wonder. " No Ruby but if you hadn't come at the time you did they would have raped me." Ruby rubbed her shoulder for a moment then began down the steps not saying a word. Kerra stood up quickly and jogged until she reached Ruby. " Are you leaving Ruby?" Kerra asked but knew the answer in advance as Ruby nodded his head. Kerra grabbed his arm and brought him to a dead halt. " Ruby can me and you go to the tavern first before you leave, I want to reward your bravery with a drink." Ruby rubbed his chin in thought for a moment then agreed but only if he got the pleasure of paying for the drinks. The drinks weren't on Kerra's mind at the moment, Her true intentions were to find out where Elethin was heading and to see if possibly she could talk Ruby into heading the way Elethin went. She had to find Elethin and beg for his forgiveness. A question came out of Kerra's clouded thoughts and had to find out the answer to it. " Ruby why did you follow me to Elethin's house?" Ruby looked down into her eyes as they continued to walk to the tavern not taking the time to stop. He smiled a smile so great at her it caused her knees to buckle but she held herself steady not wanting to make a fool of herself.
" I wanted to thank you for what you have done for me so I followed your tracks to the house then I saw those bandits thinking they were friends of yours but the thrown dagger proved that theory wrong." Kerra felt close to Ruby, She safe with him as she felt with Elethin. No not like Elethin, Elethin was like her brother but something about Ruby was different. Something about his smile, something about his eyes made her fall in love with him fast.
Kerra whipped back into reality quickly as an ear splitting scream came from close by. Ruby instantly withdrew his sword and held it at arms ready to strike. Ruby, Kerra and the villagers that were close enough to see looked to the south from which the scream came from. As though they came from out of thin air there were four goblins stabbing the woman with short spears as the woman fell to her demise on the cold road beneath her. The goblins laughed uncontrollably then took note of Ruby.
Without a word said the goblins charged forth with their spears raised. Ruby showing no sign of emotion waited until the goblins came in reach. Ruby swung his large but apparently light blade taking off two of the goblins heads. One of the goblins threw their spear at close range at a slow speed. Ruby rolled to the side as it flew passed his head. Kerra ran and tackled the one that had thrown the spear knocking him to the ground. They rolled until the goblin was on top of her. The goblin withdrew a tiny dagger and held it ready to stab her. The goblin just began to thrust down when the other goblin screamed its last scream then fell to the ground with a thud.
The goblin head rolled right next to Kerra then there was a shadow. The goblin looked up to find Ruby's blade come crashing down right through the goblin. The goblin split in two as the blade swiftly slid through the goblin, His face showed no sign of emotion as a line of blood squirted onto his face from his helpless adversary. They were definitely goblins. There had to be more of them, goblins never raided alone. The shrill screams from the goblins raiding the town loudly echoed past them. Smoke filled the air as fire began to spread throughout the town. Kerra without saying a word bolted for her house.
A trail of smoke shot high into the sky as the fire began to spread faster. Ruby with his weapon drawn ran into a group of oncoming goblins. "Bide me just a little bit of time Ruby I am defenseless!" Without a word Ruby swung at the first goblin to reach him with a bone crackling blow. Ruby's incredible strength and swift speed took down three with one swipe of his sword. The goblin blood shot into the air as Ruby cut through the tiny raiders.
Kerra ran at full speed to reach her house. Her father was an archer for the hunt at one time and was able to fend the house well. A goblin tackled her from behind. Ruby must have missed one Kerra thought to herself. She fell to the ground hard. The blow crushed the air out of her as she hit the road. She could feel the goblin reach for Its weapon quickly while it had the advantage. Kerra was in trouble If she didn't act fast her throat would be slit. Her elbow quickly found the groin. There was a crunch and a wailing groan as the goblin grabbed his crushed crotch.
Kerra rolled around knocking the screaming beast off her back onto the soft grass. She grabbed the dagger and pulled the goblins head back holding the dagger to it's throat. " Why have you come to our village!?" The goblin didn't answer only groaned as it still held its crotch. She was only wasting time, Ruby needed her help. With a swift movement the goblins throat was slit. Kerra started again at full pace for her house.
When she reached the house it looked as though a mighty battle had taken place. There were goblin corpses everywhere, the stench of death ran through the air but her mother and father were nowhere to be seen. She disregarded this for now because she knew they could both fend for themselves. Kerra quickly ran into her room to find three goblins cornering her mother in a corner of her room. The goblins looked at Kerra as she grabbed her sword and lunged forward killing impaling one of the filthy green creatures. Kerra's mother quickly lunged forward and began to strangle one of the off guard beasts and in its surprise it dropped its weapon.
Kerra aided her mother and swung as hard as she could chopping the goblin in half. The last goblin lunged forward with its short sword ready to strike. Just as the goblin was about to strike an arrow shot through the goblins head killing it within a second. The arrow had come from her father, he was badly wounded and his body was covered in both his and goblin blood. He fell to the ground in agony holding a deep gash on his chest as blood dripped to the ground beneath him. "Father!" She screamed as she ran over to him.
There was no way to heal the wound he had he was going to die this day. Suddenly there was great flash of darkness and then her mothers scream. Kerra looked back as her mother was aflame on the ground in convulsions and next to her was a gnome with a staff. Kerra stared in horror as both of her parents were dieing and there was nothing she could do about it. The gnome smiled and pointed his staff at her father. There was another quick flash of black as her father began to glow a bright red Then instantly exploded into thousands of pieces sending blood, bone and organ tissue everywhere covering Kerra in it. Rage filled Kerra's heart. Her soul screamed in anger as she ran forward at the gnome. The gnome pointed its staff at her as he muttered a few words. She swung her sword but the spell hit her first sending her flying back at a great speed. She smacked into the tree a few feet behind her knocking her unconscious all she saw before it all went black was the gnome point his staff at her again to finish her off. The last thought that entered her mind when the darkness filled her mind and her sight was she was dead for sure this time.
***
Kerra awoke to the turning pain in her stomach. She opened her eyes to see the town healer Clair stroking her hair. Kerra tried to sit up quickly but the pain from the previous incident was too painful, it felt as though her muscles were torn apart. " You should feel well soon Kerra, you should also count your blessings. If it were not for the red haired warrior you would be dead now."
Although it hurt Kerra she forced herself to speak. " What of the village? How many are left?" Clair looked down to the floor and shook her head towards twelve beds over to the right of them. " There had to be hundreds of goblins in the raid if it weren't for that red haired warrior we would all be dead now my dear." Kerra knew that Ruby was a well formed fighter but its physically impossible to take on hundreds by oneself even if they were goblins it was still unbelievable. Kerra looked to find Ruby sleeping in one of the beds he was unharmed, not one scratch. " He came to your rescue Kerra, That gnome wizard tried to finish you off but he jumped in the way, It was as though the magic simply bounced off of him. As though he was immune to it."
" It cant be possible Clair he had to have been affected in one way or the other that wizard was most definitely powerful trust me I felt the vibes coming from him." Clair frowned and eyed Ruby in confusion. " No he is not injured at all in any shape or form not even exhausted it is as though this battle was a mere thread of his power, the wizard saw this as well and disappeared into thin air. He was the one who carried you here. He thought he would wait for you to heal before he left, he said he happened to like you." Kerra smiled inside, she didn't want to smile on the outside for what happened here this day was catastrophic. She looked around to find that the clinic was half very torn and crumbled. Today could not get any worse in her eyes, at least Elethin had left so he was safe. She was so depressed she couldn't form enough tears to take the pain away. She would get her revenge if it cost her life than she would do it. " Clair you need to tend to your other patients but before you go, what was it they came for? Why did they have to do this to us? It would be easier to explain if they had been without a leader bur they were ordered to attack us."
Clair bit her nails as though fearing she was going to ask this question. " Well, Kerra they were looking for two things one was some ancient dagger of some sort. The other was Elethin, I suppose it was true what everyone said about him, he was nothing but trouble. He brought this down upon us." Kerra was wrong her day just became ten times worse. " Clair can you please wake Ruby I want to speak with him." Clair nodded and did as she asked. Ruby stretched and yawned and walked over to Kerra and put his hand on her shoulder. " How are you feeling Kerra? Better I hope." She quickly tried to grab his hand and pulled him forward. " Hear me well Ruby I want the wizard the next time I cross him did he tell you any trace of where he was going?"
Ruby smiled as though excited. " He told me to head north east to the island of Ismorah to find my heritage. He also told me he will be waiting for me there. If you wish to come with me then you may but I will not let you fight that wizard, He used a simple spell on you and it nearly killed you, it would only be suicide to fight him. The rage from before swelled in her heart once more but the touch of his hand calmed her and she did not argue. " We will leave when you heal in a few hours wake me when you are ready." Ruby walked over to the bed he was laying in before and went back to sleep.
Kerra closed her eyes and awakened the rage once more. She would kill that wizard. Even if she had to sell her soul to do it.
Kerra looked up into the stars for hours that night. She felt so ashamed and weak at the same time that she couldn't sleep. What she said to Elethin echoed in her mind the whole night making her feel worse and worse, how could she say she was sorry for what she had said to him? The things she said to Elethin weren't true. The only reason she said them was because of the state she was in. A tear inched its way down her cheek as she thought about him. She wanted to hug him tight and tell him she was sorry but that seemed imposable. As though the thought of Elethin was enough to make her cry, what happened to Edward made everything worse than it already was. Even though he was a perverted man he didn't deserve what happened to him. She couldn't bare it anymore. Edward deserved to be buried, no one deserved to rot on the surface no matter how perverse they may be.
Kerra left her window sill and put on the boots she wore that night, she strapped her quiver over her shoulder and rested her bow on her other shoulder so she could defend herself. She snuck out of the window in her kitchen and quietly went into the shed to retrieve the shovel. She thought over renting a horse but decided she needed to walk and think. The sound of animals filled the night air and seemed to carry itself on the gentle breeze making the tree's sway in the darkness of the night. She walked the familiar path knowing what she was going to see preparing herself for the grotesque site ahead of her.
After an hour or so of walking the smell of blood filled her lungs. She felt sick and wanted to run but she couldn't hide. She had to do this. The outline of the giants corpse could faintly be seen in the night, the giant wasn't what she was here for she was here to bury Edward so she pushed forward toward the patch of tree's further on. Before she could catch herself she fell into the giants footstep. A grunt left her throat as she tumbled to the ground face first eating dirt as she hit the ground, she got on her knees and spat out the dirt as the outline of a figure suddenly made its way into her sight. Kerra stumbled back in shock she reached for her bow but she fumbled, the figure only held out its hand to help her up.
She stopped fumbling with her bow and reached for her shovel and held it ready to strike if the figure made one wrong move " Who are you?"
" Trust me lady if I was going to hurt you I would have already done so by now so you can lower your shovel."
From the sound of his voice he seemed to be a little older than her but how could he have seen the shovel? it was almost pitch black out.
" I will lower the shovel when I know for sure that I am safe so answer my question. Who are you?"
The man sighed as though in deep thought and great confusion.
" To tell you the truth lady I don't know the answer to your question myself."
Kerra looked up at the outline of the man in confusion.
" Are you here to bury that man back there if so there is no need, I did it myself so you can go back home now."
The man strode forward but Kerra caught his leg.
" Where are you heading?"
" Wherever my heart takes me, what is your name?"
" Kerra".
" Kerra, that's a nice name I like it, I would tell you my name but I don't know what it is. Do you know if there is a inn in the town ahead I have traveled hard and long and am in need of a good nights rest."
" There is but the innkeeper takes his chances of ripping travelers off for we don't get many travelers since we are surrounded by the mountains."
The man reached to his side and rattled a pouch that clattered with a few coins " I am a bit short on coins. Maybe then you can tell me of a stable or something I can sleep with the horses." Kerra couldn't allow that " I will allow you to rest in my home for free maybe then I can get to know you a little more but the second you touch me your dead."
" Fair." He held out his hand again only this time Kerra reached for his hand and let him pull her up.
***
It was almost dawn by the time they reached her house. When they were walking to her house they talked about some of the places he had been and some of the perils he faced on his journey thus far. His stories amazed her. The places the man described took her breath away, she wished she could see some of the keeps and dungeons he had seen. The stories got her wanting to see some of these places with her own eyes, she wanted to see all the different cultures and see how they lived. She wanted away from this tiny town. When they got into her room she quietly shut the door so she wouldn't wake her father and mother up. The man was very attractive and unique. He had shoulder length red hair that seemed to branch out into spikes that ran down the back of his shoulder and matched with his red eyes. His face almost seemed unmarked and seemed to shine in her eyes. For some reason Kerra wanted to know more about him, she walked across her small room and set two chairs for them to sit in. The man unbuckled his sheath and sword and laid it on the floor next to him as he took a seat. Kerra sat in the other chair across from him.
They sat and talked more about his journey's as the hours slipped by. The thought of leaving grew more and more exciting but she couldn't because she would likely die on her own.
" I wish I could go on a quest myself I'm tired of being cramped in this town. All I do is hunt and work around the house." The man stood up and walked over to the map that hung on her wall. " Where are we on this map?"
Kerra got up and showed him where the mountains were and pointed at the tiny plain that the mountains surrounded " We're right in here in the country of Hemloss. You see there are three country's to the north is the country of Zalkah and to the east Bardune. The man studied the map for a moment.
" My heart tells me I should head to the east possibly I will find something about myself on the way."
" Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
" No not at all Kerra, what do you want to know?"
" Why don't you know who you are and where you came from?" The man only shrugged from the question. " So you wander aimlessly hoping to find answers about yourself?"
" Yeah"
Kerra took the map off the wall and rolled it up then tied it with a leather thong handing it over to him. " Here take this map with you so then when you feel that your lost you can look at it to see if you can make a clue out of where you are and where you want to go next." The man took it and slipped it into his dirt stained traveling cloak " Thank you Kerra I deeply appreciate the gift but I have a question. Why are you being so nice and generous to a mere stranger such as myself?"
" Because I feel sorry for you. It must be sad not to know who you are or why you don't know who you are." The man smiled.
" Thank you Kerra but I need some rest I will sleep on the floor." Kerra had forgotten that the man was tired and moved the chairs so he could lie down. " Before you go to sleep do you mind if I give you a name that you can call yourself by until you remember your own?" The man looked up at her from the floor.
"Sure, I never thought about naming myself." Kerra thought for a moment then she looked at his hair then to his eyes and took notice to how they both shimmered like a jewel.
" How does Ruby strike you?" The man rubbed his chin as he considered the name for a moment then grinned.
" I like it, ill call myself Ruby until I find my true name but now I am going to sleep. My muscles ache from my journey and are in need of rest." Kerra bade Ruby goodnight and walked over to her bed so she could get some sleep herself.
***
Kerra jumped out of her bed when she heard the heavy knock on the door. It was her father. She rushed to go answer it but then it came to her, she couldn't just open the door, not with Ruby laying on the floor. Kerra glanced to the floor to wake Ruby up but found that he was gone. After the sigh of relief left her lungs she opened the door to her father.
" This friend of yours is quiet a character dear. He cooked us breakfast and a mighty good one I may add and his stories are truly magnificent." Kerra couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was amazing that she didn't get smacked for having a complete stranger sleep at the house, in her room too, any normal parents would have beaten her black and blue.
" Now Kerra this friend of yours is the type of man your mother and I prefer to find a liking in. Not that Elethin elf." It struck her as though it hit her right on the nose. Elethin. How could she forget about Elethin? What made the situation worse is remembering what she said to him and she never got around to saying sorry. She had to do it now. Kerra ran and threw on some pants and a shirt and rushed past her father and out of the house without saying a word. Running barefoot to Elethin's house at full bolt was hard on her because of the lack of sleep but she pushed her legs to move.
As she reached the clock tower her legs gave out. She tumbled to the ground and rolled a few feet before she caught herself again. She jumped back to her feet and ran at full sprint not taking the moment to wipe the dirt off of her. When she reached the steps to Elethin's house she took notice to the door open and figured he was home and walked in. When she entered the room the door slammed shut. She jumped and looked back to see two filthy men dressed in rags each holding a dagger. Now she was in trouble. She was unarmed and in simple clothes in a room with two thugs who's intentions were most definitely rape. She turned around so she was facing them and staggered back as they both took a step forward. One of them was small and skinny and the other was tall and very overweight but both held the same ugly grin as they showed their missing teeth.
" Hmm, well, well Buck we were expecting that stupid elf that got our friends the other day but to our luck we got a delicious morsel instead now aren't we the lucky bunch of bandits today?" The overweight thug grinned so wide it looked as though his face was going to rip.
" Ha I would say so Mook. So which part of her you want first her bottom half or her top half because I will take either."
Mook instantly lunged forward and shoved Kerra into the wall knocking the wind out of her. Mook licked her face like the animal he was. The door opened and Ruby poked his head through and glanced at both of the bandits. They both looked at him and held their daggers up indicating that they weren't scared of him. Buck threw his dagger with incredible speed for the weight the man carried but Ruby was faster and shot his head out the door before the dagger stuck into the door frame where Ruby's face had once been. After a moment of silence the door burst through its hinges and clattered as it fell to the floor. Both of the bandits stared as Ruby grabbed the knife and pulled it from the doorframe.
" I believe that this knife was yours lard."
Buck had no time to act. The knife left Ruby's hand in a moment and flew towards Buck at an alarming speed. Then there was a thud. Buck grabbed at his chest then fell to his death on the floor. The knife handle was the only part that was sticking out of Buck the rest was in the big mans heart. Mook shook for a minuet then shot toward Ruby with his dagger ready to strike but Ruby was faster and ran towards Mook with his sword unsheathed. Mook was the first to strike but Ruby moved as though he were deaths shadow easily side stepping the strike. Mook didn't see the blade coming as it came slashing through the top of his skull. Ruby slowly sheathed his sword until it was near the hilt he stopped for a moment then he sheathed the rest of it. As it clicked Mook's top portion of his head slid from the rest of it and fell to the ground. Mook's corpse fell to it's knee's as blood sprayed from his head creating a sickening mist of blood that filled the air in the house. Kerra wanted to vomit but couldn't find the material in her stomach to. Instead she stared in horror. She looked into Ruby's eyes. They showed no emotion. Ruby walked over to her pushing Mook face first onto the slippery floor. Blood continued to spurt from the bandits head onto the floor making a vast puddle. Ruby wiped the tear's from Kerra's eyes and looked deep into them as though he was diving into her soul. He grabbed her with his rough but tender hand and walked her out of the small house and sat her on the steps on Elethin's front porch. He knelt down beside her putting a hand on her shoulder.
" Did they hurt you? Are you alright?"
Kerra slowly looked over into his eyes again seeming to get lost in their wonder. " No Ruby but if you hadn't come at the time you did they would have raped me." Ruby rubbed her shoulder for a moment then began down the steps not saying a word. Kerra stood up quickly and jogged until she reached Ruby. " Are you leaving Ruby?" Kerra asked but knew the answer in advance as Ruby nodded his head. Kerra grabbed his arm and brought him to a dead halt. " Ruby can me and you go to the tavern first before you leave, I want to reward your bravery with a drink." Ruby rubbed his chin in thought for a moment then agreed but only if he got the pleasure of paying for the drinks. The drinks weren't on Kerra's mind at the moment, Her true intentions were to find out where Elethin was heading and to see if possibly she could talk Ruby into heading the way Elethin went. She had to find Elethin and beg for his forgiveness. A question came out of Kerra's clouded thoughts and had to find out the answer to it. " Ruby why did you follow me to Elethin's house?" Ruby looked down into her eyes as they continued to walk to the tavern not taking the time to stop. He smiled a smile so great at her it caused her knees to buckle but she held herself steady not wanting to make a fool of herself.
" I wanted to thank you for what you have done for me so I followed your tracks to the house then I saw those bandits thinking they were friends of yours but the thrown dagger proved that theory wrong." Kerra felt close to Ruby, She safe with him as she felt with Elethin. No not like Elethin, Elethin was like her brother but something about Ruby was different. Something about his smile, something about his eyes made her fall in love with him fast.
Kerra whipped back into reality quickly as an ear splitting scream came from close by. Ruby instantly withdrew his sword and held it at arms ready to strike. Ruby, Kerra and the villagers that were close enough to see looked to the south from which the scream came from. As though they came from out of thin air there were four goblins stabbing the woman with short spears as the woman fell to her demise on the cold road beneath her. The goblins laughed uncontrollably then took note of Ruby.
Without a word said the goblins charged forth with their spears raised. Ruby showing no sign of emotion waited until the goblins came in reach. Ruby swung his large but apparently light blade taking off two of the goblins heads. One of the goblins threw their spear at close range at a slow speed. Ruby rolled to the side as it flew passed his head. Kerra ran and tackled the one that had thrown the spear knocking him to the ground. They rolled until the goblin was on top of her. The goblin withdrew a tiny dagger and held it ready to stab her. The goblin just began to thrust down when the other goblin screamed its last scream then fell to the ground with a thud.
The goblin head rolled right next to Kerra then there was a shadow. The goblin looked up to find Ruby's blade come crashing down right through the goblin. The goblin split in two as the blade swiftly slid through the goblin, His face showed no sign of emotion as a line of blood squirted onto his face from his helpless adversary. They were definitely goblins. There had to be more of them, goblins never raided alone. The shrill screams from the goblins raiding the town loudly echoed past them. Smoke filled the air as fire began to spread throughout the town. Kerra without saying a word bolted for her house.
A trail of smoke shot high into the sky as the fire began to spread faster. Ruby with his weapon drawn ran into a group of oncoming goblins. "Bide me just a little bit of time Ruby I am defenseless!" Without a word Ruby swung at the first goblin to reach him with a bone crackling blow. Ruby's incredible strength and swift speed took down three with one swipe of his sword. The goblin blood shot into the air as Ruby cut through the tiny raiders.
Kerra ran at full speed to reach her house. Her father was an archer for the hunt at one time and was able to fend the house well. A goblin tackled her from behind. Ruby must have missed one Kerra thought to herself. She fell to the ground hard. The blow crushed the air out of her as she hit the road. She could feel the goblin reach for Its weapon quickly while it had the advantage. Kerra was in trouble If she didn't act fast her throat would be slit. Her elbow quickly found the groin. There was a crunch and a wailing groan as the goblin grabbed his crushed crotch.
Kerra rolled around knocking the screaming beast off her back onto the soft grass. She grabbed the dagger and pulled the goblins head back holding the dagger to it's throat. " Why have you come to our village!?" The goblin didn't answer only groaned as it still held its crotch. She was only wasting time, Ruby needed her help. With a swift movement the goblins throat was slit. Kerra started again at full pace for her house.
When she reached the house it looked as though a mighty battle had taken place. There were goblin corpses everywhere, the stench of death ran through the air but her mother and father were nowhere to be seen. She disregarded this for now because she knew they could both fend for themselves. Kerra quickly ran into her room to find three goblins cornering her mother in a corner of her room. The goblins looked at Kerra as she grabbed her sword and lunged forward killing impaling one of the filthy green creatures. Kerra's mother quickly lunged forward and began to strangle one of the off guard beasts and in its surprise it dropped its weapon.
Kerra aided her mother and swung as hard as she could chopping the goblin in half. The last goblin lunged forward with its short sword ready to strike. Just as the goblin was about to strike an arrow shot through the goblins head killing it within a second. The arrow had come from her father, he was badly wounded and his body was covered in both his and goblin blood. He fell to the ground in agony holding a deep gash on his chest as blood dripped to the ground beneath him. "Father!" She screamed as she ran over to him.
There was no way to heal the wound he had he was going to die this day. Suddenly there was great flash of darkness and then her mothers scream. Kerra looked back as her mother was aflame on the ground in convulsions and next to her was a gnome with a staff. Kerra stared in horror as both of her parents were dieing and there was nothing she could do about it. The gnome smiled and pointed his staff at her father. There was another quick flash of black as her father began to glow a bright red Then instantly exploded into thousands of pieces sending blood, bone and organ tissue everywhere covering Kerra in it. Rage filled Kerra's heart. Her soul screamed in anger as she ran forward at the gnome. The gnome pointed its staff at her as he muttered a few words. She swung her sword but the spell hit her first sending her flying back at a great speed. She smacked into the tree a few feet behind her knocking her unconscious all she saw before it all went black was the gnome point his staff at her again to finish her off. The last thought that entered her mind when the darkness filled her mind and her sight was she was dead for sure this time.
***
Kerra awoke to the turning pain in her stomach. She opened her eyes to see the town healer Clair stroking her hair. Kerra tried to sit up quickly but the pain from the previous incident was too painful, it felt as though her muscles were torn apart. " You should feel well soon Kerra, you should also count your blessings. If it were not for the red haired warrior you would be dead now."
Although it hurt Kerra she forced herself to speak. " What of the village? How many are left?" Clair looked down to the floor and shook her head towards twelve beds over to the right of them. " There had to be hundreds of goblins in the raid if it weren't for that red haired warrior we would all be dead now my dear." Kerra knew that Ruby was a well formed fighter but its physically impossible to take on hundreds by oneself even if they were goblins it was still unbelievable. Kerra looked to find Ruby sleeping in one of the beds he was unharmed, not one scratch. " He came to your rescue Kerra, That gnome wizard tried to finish you off but he jumped in the way, It was as though the magic simply bounced off of him. As though he was immune to it."
" It cant be possible Clair he had to have been affected in one way or the other that wizard was most definitely powerful trust me I felt the vibes coming from him." Clair frowned and eyed Ruby in confusion. " No he is not injured at all in any shape or form not even exhausted it is as though this battle was a mere thread of his power, the wizard saw this as well and disappeared into thin air. He was the one who carried you here. He thought he would wait for you to heal before he left, he said he happened to like you." Kerra smiled inside, she didn't want to smile on the outside for what happened here this day was catastrophic. She looked around to find that the clinic was half very torn and crumbled. Today could not get any worse in her eyes, at least Elethin had left so he was safe. She was so depressed she couldn't form enough tears to take the pain away. She would get her revenge if it cost her life than she would do it. " Clair you need to tend to your other patients but before you go, what was it they came for? Why did they have to do this to us? It would be easier to explain if they had been without a leader bur they were ordered to attack us."
Clair bit her nails as though fearing she was going to ask this question. " Well, Kerra they were looking for two things one was some ancient dagger of some sort. The other was Elethin, I suppose it was true what everyone said about him, he was nothing but trouble. He brought this down upon us." Kerra was wrong her day just became ten times worse. " Clair can you please wake Ruby I want to speak with him." Clair nodded and did as she asked. Ruby stretched and yawned and walked over to Kerra and put his hand on her shoulder. " How are you feeling Kerra? Better I hope." She quickly tried to grab his hand and pulled him forward. " Hear me well Ruby I want the wizard the next time I cross him did he tell you any trace of where he was going?"
Ruby smiled as though excited. " He told me to head north east to the island of Ismorah to find my heritage. He also told me he will be waiting for me there. If you wish to come with me then you may but I will not let you fight that wizard, He used a simple spell on you and it nearly killed you, it would only be suicide to fight him. The rage from before swelled in her heart once more but the touch of his hand calmed her and she did not argue. " We will leave when you heal in a few hours wake me when you are ready." Ruby walked over to the bed he was laying in before and went back to sleep.
Kerra closed her eyes and awakened the rage once more. She would kill that wizard. Even if she had to sell her soul to do it.