Cinders
Chapter Two - Exodus
Felix began to feel the warm earth under him again.. "Am I alive?" He thought… A pain in his right arm told him he was, although the pain had dulled since his fall into the river. It had dulled far too quickly, someone must have healed him.
"I think the kid's waking up."
An unfamiliar voice; he sounded like an older man, but no one he had ever met.
"Oh is he? Good. I'm sick of dragging dead weight."
That one sounded like a woman… Who were these people?
"Felix, it's okay. Wake up, dear."
"Mom?"
"That's right son, we're safe; everyone is okay."
A wave of relief spread through his body. He was alive, and nobody else was hurt. But who had saved him?
"That's right, Felix, everything is okay, thanks to these travelers."
As Felix's sight began to return to him, he saw his mother and father standing overhead, and Kyle, Isaac's father, sitting by a small campfire.
Across from him, he noticed two people he'd never seen before. They looked strange; the man's skin was blue, and the woman's red. He noticed they even had something that looked like scales along their shoulders and necks.. And their ears were abnormally long and pointed. They both carried weapons, a sword and… A scythe? What type of traveler used a weapon so fierce?
"Oh, no need to thank us. It was just lucky we saw your bodies in the river, or you might have never seen the light of day." The woman spoke with a calm tone, but her voice seemed sharp. She seemed very tense for a simple traveler.
"That's right, you owe us your lives, so you'd best do as we say." This time it was the man who spoke. He seemed harsh.
"I'd best not get on his bad side, though the woman seems kind enough, I suppose." Felix thought to himself.
The two travelers introduced themselves as "Saturos and Menardi". Felix had never seen anyone like them in Vale, or even when he left the town on rare occasions. They looked more reptilian than human, the hard scales covering their shoulders, and probably a great deal more of their bodies, made him a little uneasy.
Their looks didn't really bother him though, and he knew better than to stare. They had saved him after all.
The blue one, Saturos, was speaking to his partner. His voice was hushed, and he spoke with a wide grin across his face. The woman followed suit, and he couldn't help but think the two were planning something…
Suddenly, Saturos turned to face Felix and the others – "We're leaving, and you're coming with us."
Menardi stood next to him, holding her weapon in hand. "And if you try anything, I won't hesitate to cut you all to ribbons." She hissed, glaring at each of them in turn, her eyes resting on Felix's for a particularly long time.
"Now hold on just a minute – " Saturos cut off Kyle's interjection with a swift punch to his side – he heard a crack as his rib shattered and he fell to the ground.
"Do not force our hand. Gather your things, we're leaving immediately."
Felix clutched the hilt of his small sword as he followed closely behind the two strangers who had taken him from his home, but also saved his life. It was the only possession he had left, other than the clothes on his back and his scarf, a gift from his sister. He had never used the sword for more than simple chores; his father had done any necessary hunting with Psynergy.
Neither had anyone ever taught him how to correctly wield it. The only use a blade had ever been to him was to cut wood or herbs, or meat that was already dead; He never thought he would need to rely on it to save his own life.
After they had left the woods outside of Vale, the party was ambushed by a group of thieves along the southern road. The men, at least five or six, had come along the road and confronted them; Saturos and Menardi were not amused.
The fight was over before Felix realized it had started. He heard the clash of steel and saw a burst of flame, and it was over. The pair then proceeded to usher the group onward and wipe the blood from their weapons.
"I really wouldn't want to get on their bad side." Felix thought.
As they continued along the road, they passed through the town of Vault and headed east through a cave in the mountains, and then began heading north. They soon passed through yet another cavern, and emerged to a blinding sea of white and grey.
Felix had never seen so much snow. The layer of white covered the land in its entirety, and the sun was blotted out by a completely white sky. "I never thought I'd see so much snow…" Felix said out loud, greeted by Menardi's laughter. "Pfft, You haven't seen anything yet, brat." Saturos nodded, and shot a quick glance at Felix.
"Indeed. You and your family best prepare yourselves for the journey. We have a natural resistance to the cold, so the northern climate doesn't affect us. But you southerners… You'll be dead within an hour if you don't cover yourselves before we enter the northern reaches."
Felix didn't fully understand what Saturos had meant. Did such a hostile place really exist, and did people really live there?
The thoughts of that place were quickly replaced with awe as Felix and the others approached the northern coast and looked out upon a vast expanse of water. "That's the ocean, Felix. This is your first time seeing it, isn't it?" Felix's mother said as she saw her son staring wide-eyed across the endless water. "Yeah…" Could there really be so much water in one place? Felix was always used to dry ground beneath his feet and his connection to Weyard, the thought of endless ocean around and below him was unsettling.
The group continued along the coast and to the west, where Menardi claimed to have anchored her ship.
Felix had never been so exhausted or walked such a distance without rest in his life. It seemed they had traveled halfway across Weyard in only a day. He could see he was not the only one at his limits; even his parents and Kyle seemed to be struggling to keep up. Saturos and Menardi, however, seemed to have unending reserves of energy. "They could walk all the way back to Vale without a rest, I bet." Felix thought, although he was nearly sure that was impossible. "They are human… Right?"
Saturos suddenly stopped and turned towards him, taking a deep breath and eyeing each of the group in turn.
"We'll be stopping in Imil for the night, and setting out for the northern reaches tomorrow at sunrise. Menardi and I will be watching you; so don't try anything while we're there. You are to stay at the Inn and prepare for the journey, do you understand?"
Felix nodded, and his parents both gave a sigh of relief. Even Menardi seemed relieved to hear that they would be stopping for the night, but Saturos maintained his air of command and dignity.
Imil was a very quaint little town, Felix thought, and the cold wasn't as unbearable as he had expected. The inn held a warm fire and a much-needed bed for each of them. Saturos had left to speak with the healer and buy supplies, while Menardi stayed at the inn to keep watch. "It's not like any of us is going to try anything…" Felix thought to himself, "They could blow us to pieces before we made it out the village gates."
Nevertheless, they kept a strict watch while Kyle, Felix and his family were confined to their rooms for the night.
Felix quickly stripped his uncomfortable leather travel wear and let himself fall into the warm bed. Although he had no idea what the morning would bring, Felix had hopes that it would all be over soon, and that they would be allowed to return home.
Little did he know how very wrong he had been.
Chapter 2 - Up! Chapter 3 - On the way! Rate/Review Puh-Leeze.
