Hello, Dasfg5 with chapter 2 of my thrilling story.
Since I've just started please bare with me and talk to me, since I'm a total noob to this site. XD So, if you have questions or concerns please, please tell me, it helps alot. Thank you.
Chapter 2: Maria the Farm girl.
Deep outside the town of Daryth, Martin and Sarkanto awoke with a brief yawn. They gazed up at the sky which was the surface of a glass of water as clear and as bright. The two stood up and stretched, letting the sun warm their bodies while listening to the soothing sounds of the birds chirping. They gathered their supplies and began to walk down the trail without a word having to be said.
Martin walked gingerly along the road after experiencing a good night's sleep which was rather odd due to the noise and the sudden thunderstorm from yesterday. Sarkanto followed while reading a book on sword techniques and combination attacks with a partner. After a few more steps he stopped in place.
" Interesting.. Say, Martin can you perform a 360-degree spin?" he asked suddenly, catching Martin off guard as he nearly tripped over a small pebble.
" What? Why do you ask?" he replied rubbing his head in embarrassment.
" Well I was reading this book and it talks about combination attacks where the partner performs a 360-degree spin while casting fireballs which pin the opponent into a tree, wall, or the ground, and the other partner goes up and finishes the opponent with a stab to the chest," he explained, while glancing up at Martin, instantly making eye contact. Martin smiled and placed his hand on his chin.
" That's a bit interesting... But, you do realize that I would have to do a midair spin while pinning the opponent down if we tried it on the ground," Martin answered thoughtfully.
" Of course!" Sarkanto exclaimed as he returned Martin's smile. After which they continued their promenade down the path, with Martin as happy as ever, while Sarkanto gazed around at the plants and flowers, suddenly losing interest in his book. Martin stopped suddenly and spotted an invisible silk being connected by two trees and exclaimed,
" Wait! There's a trap!" but Sarkanto paid him no mind and bumped into his friend, causing the two of them to trip over the rope and be pulled up by a net.
" Sar! Now look what you did!" Martin scolded attempting to reach his tome as to cast a spell and burn down the net. While Sarkanto glanced around.
" Huh? Oh, I'll just cut this," Sarkanto answered putting away his book and reaching for his sword, he unsheathed it with ease and proceeded to cut with the limited space he had. It was rather tough and he almost struck Martin's head against his hilt.
Martin looked around and observed their surroundings, they were trapped in a huge net six feet from the ground and the rope was made of a very hard material. The trap seemed simple enough, the victims would trip over the silk thread, thus triggering the rope to pull up on them and encase them in a cage like ball with limited space, leaving them dangling above the ground until someone came by to help or if they somehow destroyed the material. After a few moments of cutting Sarkanto frowned.
" I don't think it's working," he said bluntly as his sword was barely cutting the rope at all, " Oh, no, really?" Martin replied sarcastically, as he finally took out his tome which almost knocked Sarkanto in the face due to them being nearly squished together. Martin began to chant slowly and carefully, until he reached the final word.
" All right.. Rotar!" he exclaimed as he read from his tome sending a ring of fire which sliced right through the net. The rest of the rope lit on fire and collapsed to the ground releasing them quite easily. Martin was putting away his tome and dusting off his robes while Sarkanto studied the rope.
" Martin, this rope was put by bandits.. A couple of hours ago judging by the rope.. It's made from a special type of material found in certain plants," Sarkanto told him, " Bandits? Ugh.. Just great," Martin replied tiredly, ignoring the part about the plants.
" Hmm," Sarkanto murmured as he looked over in the direction of where the road extended to only a few yards away. Once it ended there was a small brown barn with three old straw huts. Beyond this there were huge, plowed fields with cows grazing and eating grass. The air gave a musty smell around the farm and a seventeen-year-old girl stood at the entrance of the barn. She had long blue, gorgeous hair, and wore a bright blue shirt and skirt. She had a determined look on her face, that seemed to attract the attention of anyone, especially men.
Sarkanto stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, as if mesmerized by her beauty.
" Hey a barn!" Martin cried out startling Sarkanto.
" Oh, yea.. Let's go over there," he replied closing his eyes embarrassed.
Martin nodded, ignoring his awkwardness as he ran ahead with Sarkanto following along until he finally caught up, the two of them ran down the road side by side like two cavaliers running to their horses, until they had reached an area with a few trees and bushes. Sarkanto stopped Martin and spotted something moving towards the barn. The two hid behind the trees and bushes, while observing what was about to unfold.
" Oh! What do we have here?" a voice called. It was coming from a very ugly looking bandit along with about ten or so other, equally ugly, freaks. The girl stood there, unmoving.
" Get out of here! This is my mother's and grandmother's farm and I'm protecting it until they get back!" the girl replied taking out here mace and glaring at the bandit leader.
The leader chortled at the thought, showing broken, blacked teeth along with some bleeding gums. His mouth was just a dental disaster waiting to happen.
" A little girl like you? Haha!! How sad for you, but if you surrender, I'll promise to let you go," the bandit explained grinning.
" You bastard!" the girl shouted as she slapped the bandit across the face.
" Why you little!! I'm Yorick the Great, and you shall show me some respect!" the man shouted as he took out his axe, his forehead growing quite tense. He was definitely outraged.
Maria stood her ground and stared back at the man defiantly. Yorick returned the look with a hardened glare of his own, he smirked letting his axe lie on his shoulder.
" You leave us no choice! Men attack and destroy the farm! Loot and burn whatever is valuable," he commanded, " Now I'll show you some respect!" he shouted. They crowed back in agreement. Suddenly a bandit in the back fell down in pain,
" What!?" Yorick turned around.
" Leave her alone!" Sarkanto commanded as he emerged in front of the bandit's corpse. The other bandits turned to gape at him, drool oozing out of their mouths like giant babies.
They finally realized what was going on and took out their axes,
" Oh? Why should I listen to some red haired little boy like you?" the leader mocked,
" Because if you don't I'll tear you all to shreds!" Sarkanto shouted back, glaring angrily. A fireball emerged knocking another bandit down and into the dirt.
" Sar, don't forget about me!" Martin added as he emerged from the trees, his green cape flowing in the light breeze.
" Oh," Maria touched her gold necklace with surprise at the site of help from two strangers, she especially stared at Sarkanto.
His eyes are so beautiful and calm even when he's angry, she thought grinning, she snapped back to reality and noticed the bandit leader's back turned to her. She smirked as she struck at the man's back. That's for being so rude. She whispered
" Ugh!", he turned and slashed at Maria, " You little brats!" he screamed outraged.
Maria dodged with ease and struck this time at the man's stomach. He nearly choked and fell backward in pain. The other bandits grew tense and turned to face Sarkanto and Martin and then after a short pause they ran forward and attacked, their eyes filled with intense hatred and longing to do harm. Sarkanto blocked two attacks from the side and withdrew his swords causing the bandits to lose balance and then, while they were unstable, he stabbed the two in the chest. They went down with ease staining the ground with blood. Another bandit went after Martin throwing his axe like a boomerang at the Mage, " Why is it that I always get into these kind of situations?" he thought nearly dodging the axe.
His sandals pushed on the ground as he regained balanced, he took out his tome deftly and chanted, quickly, creating a small fireball, after he had finished chanting he unleashed it and struck at the bandit's chest. The bandit screamed as his dirty tang top lit on fire. He ran around in circles like a blubbering idiot not noticing his axe coming back for him, it struck the back of his head sending him down onto the ground. Martin laughed, silently, running over to help Sarkanto and Maria, but of course another bandit had gotten in his way, " Arggh!" he reached for his tome in frustration only to have it struck right out of his hands without his magic he was defenseless, he had other tomes but didn't bother reaching for them as it would be pointless to have his other tomes knocked right out of his hand like before,
" Umm.. Sar, I need some help over here," he called out. Sarkanto was busy sparing a bandit that was guarding the boss whom Maria fought. Sarkanto pushed back with his swords, forcing the man to drop his axe, while his guard was down he performed a horizontal strike across the man's chest and then he jumped up and performed a vertical slash across his skull sending him several feet away, he made sure the man was dead and then glanced over to where Martin was and ran to his aid. The bandit made his way closer, enjoying the fear he was striking into his prey, all Martin could do was back away until he had reached a tree.
The bandit grinned as he prepared to strike the little mage down. As if on cue his attack was blocked by a sword, Martin smiled, " About time," he murmured, " Heh, you can count on me" Sarkanto replied, with his other arm he grabbed Martin's tome and tossed it to him. Martin grinned as he opened it and side stepped to the left, sending a fireball into the bandit's side, with that Sarkanto sliced at the man's stomach causing him to collapse on the ground.
Meanwhile Maria and Yorick were locked in an intense showdown, Maria had gotten in a few blows, but Yorick was known for his incredible endurance, not to mention his strength.
" Stupid girl!! You're going to die now!" the leader shouted swinging his axe rapidly and striking down on Maria's breast, " Ah!" she screamed as the attack caused her to break down, blood spilling all over from her wound, " I said, leave her alone!" Sarkanto shouted glaring at the man, his eyes filled with hatred. The swordsman charged straight into the bandit leader his focus clouded by the need to spill blood, he was aiming for the man's heart.
All time seemed to slow as he stabbed at the man's chest and through his hate he managed not only to stab his heart, but he also sliced the man's right arm off.
" Arggh!! No!! I..must not...ugh," Yorick spoke as his other arm fell limp to his side, he fell dead, not uttering another word as his spirit seemed to slip away from his body. Sarkanto stared down at him, it seemed that it wasn't enough, he wanted to destroy the body. Raising his swords he made a X, ready cut up the body to pieces.
" Sar!!" Martin shouted, he ran up to his friend and grasped his right arm.
" Martin?" he replied as his eyes snapped back to focus no longer glazed with blood lust.
Maria stood up clutching her wound as she glanced up at Sarkanto, their eyes met instantly.
" I'm.. I'm Sarkanto," he spoke after a brief silence.
" I'm Maria, Thank you so much, Sarkanto," she replied, smiling, despite her wound.
The sun shone on the two and the birds began to chirp brightly. Sarkanto reached out to stroke her cheek.
" Here I'll heal that wound," Martin offered taking out his staff while ignoring the brief moment between the two. Sarkanto retreated his hand while Maria nodded as Martin held his staff over her wound.
There was a blue light emitted from the staff and after a few seconds it faded and the wound slowly began to close as if by magic. In fact it was magic.
" I'm Martin, by the way," the Mage said after the wound was fully healed.
" I'm Maria" she explained with a smile.
" Maria, why were you here all alone?" Sarkanto asked as he knelt down in front of them.
She paused before answering and began, " My mother and Grandmother recently went to town for some supplies.. I stayed behind to protect the farm as usual, but lately bandits have been ransacking farms and villages nearby so I had to be more careful now, you know?," she explained placing her hands on her lap.
" Oh.. That might be, because.." Martin paused.
" Because?"
" You see Yetzer invaded Daryth unexpectedly... They attacked the village throwing great chaos into the country. That may have caused the bandits to appear from their hideouts. With the country in peril most of Daryth's soldiers are out protecting the capital and driving off Yetzer's soldiers, thus leaving villages and farms unprotected." Martin explained. Maria furrowed her eyebrows and glared at the thought.
" Why would Yetzer do such a thing? They wouldn't possibly wage war without consulting Spartezar, their sister country, not to mention without Ochilotar's signed permission," she replied. At the mention of Spartezar Sarkanto cringed a little, hoping the others didn't notice this.
" I don't know.. You're right, though, it isn't like them,"
" So what are you two doing all the way out here anyway?" Maria asked.
" We're heading to the capital to check things out there. We think that the Dark Lord may have something to do with this," Martin replied casually.
" Martin!" Sarkanto scolded. Maria glanced at them with a questioning look.
" Dark Lord? You mean that inhuman creature that waged war with the entire continent five years ago? The one that wiped out an entire clan and devastated practically the whole continent?" Maria exclaimed, the topic was peaking her interest.
" The entire clan wasn't wiped out," Sarkanto said simply, lowering his head.
" Sar," Martin whispered, concern showing in his voice, this kind of discussion was striking a raw spot.
" What do you mean? There were no survivors..."
" There was.. I survived," Sarkanto told her. Maria was shocked at the thought of a dead clan instead being near extinction, the idea was simple blasphemy, " Impossible!! The clan was completely outnumbered!! The entire area was completely swallowed up, by the earth!" she exclaimed.
" I see... Well all of that is correct, but I did survive and I'll prove it," he replied solemnly, unsheathing one of his swords, " Only members of my tribe can do this," he stated, with a deep breath his sword lit immediately on fire, retaining its shape magically. She stared at it, as understanding was shown right at her face. That means...Oh, I made a dreadful mistake..
" You... No... I.. I'm sorry," Maria replied, sitting back down and lowering her gaze.
" I didn't know. No one was ever told of a survivor, everyone assumed the entire clan was dead.. But of course that means the Dark Lord wasn't as powerful as we thought," she added looking up hopeful. Sarkanto sheathed his swords, getting ready to argue with this.
" Sar, we should get going," Martin told him cutting in. Sarkanto sighed.
" Wait!" she exclaimed rising to her feet.
" I want... I want to go with you," she added.
Martin and Sarkanto looked at each other in disbelief.
" But, I thought you had to stay here with your mother and grandmother to protect the farm," Martin reasoned
" It's okay.. I'll leave them a message, it hasn't been the first time I've left home before.
They'll understand," she explained. Martin glanced at Sar, who was merely smiling.
" All right, we'll wait for you," Sarkanto said.
" Thanks! I won't take long!" she exclaimed, running to over to her farm. Martin stared at Sarkanto and then back at the girl that they had just met.. It seems that Sarkanto was right..
She ran forward, on the outside she seemed like in a rush, but on the inside she was as happy as happy could be. Her heart was racing and she could barely stop to catch a breath, but she finally gave in and stopped in front of the three huts that were about the size of a large room, these were used as bedrooms for her and her family. She ran into the one on the far left and closed the door loudly. Glancing about, Maria rummaged through her wooden dresser and drawers, her room was rather simple, a bed, a dresser, a desk, and a bunch of straw lay all around the back of the room making it smell like cow dung. She ran through her dresser taking out her large bag and stuffing it with her clothes, healing items, toiletries, and of course, her weapons. After going through her dresser she opened her desk drawer and found one of her most prized possessions.. Her Grandmother's Technique book. Careful not to drop it she held it with closed fingers, wrapping around it.
On the front cover, a note was attached. She took it out and opened it, letting nostalgia fill her mind, she seemed to travel back in time to where she first had read the letter..
Dearest Maria,
You fill my heart with pride with your determination to wield the mace like so many before your mother and I.
The mace is an unyielding weapon and yet it seems to be the perfect weapon for you, just like it was for your mother. For this very reason, I've decided that you are old enough to accept this book. This book has been passed down from my ancestors all the way back to when Daryth was first founded, it holds secret techniques that only mace wielders, like yourself, can only dream of.. With this book you will be able to perform great feats that will lead you to success..
Oh, but this book isn't your only gift, along with this box, there is a another one which I have wrapped up my special warriors garb, that was once worn by the great Poseidon, when the day comes you shall wear this garb like I have in my prime, and protect all others , as it is are sworn duty.. Oh, If only I could live to see the day.. The day where everything shall come to place.. I would feel so happy... But, I'm getting ahead of myself.. Anyway, remember to keep these possessions safe at all cost, and make sure you hang onto that medallion! Remember, I will always love you no matter what happens..
Love Grandmother,
Maria held the book against her chest as a tear passed down her cheek. After a few moments of reminiscing, she placed the book on the bed and then returned her attention back to her dresser, she searched through it to find the box that had contained the sacred garb. It had been years and yet she still hadn't opened it. She smiled at it and laid it down next to the box that contained her book, but what she really was looking for was a pen and a piece of parchment. She dug even deeper into the depths of her rather messy and disorganized desk, throwing out feathers, old pieces of paper, and a small bear plushy, after she had made a complete mess of her room she had found the quill and parchment and carefully, yet swiftly, began to write her goodbye to the life of being a simple farm girl. With a heavy heart she packed up her stuff, carefully, and walked to the door. With a backward glance, she stepped outside to embrace the sunshine.
Her note remained on her bed, and soon enough her mother and grandmother would find it.
" Are you sure about this, Sar?"
" Of course we could really use some help plus I'm sure she knows her way around"
" You do too.. I do. We've lived on this continent five years ago..." Martin replied and then added, " That's not the reason."
" No.. You're right, but.."
" You like her don't you, Sar?" Martin asked, smirking.
" No!!" Sarkanto stammered growing red in the face. Martin laughed,
" You do realize what you're getting her into though.. Right?" he asked with a straight face.
" I do. I know that she will be a good addition to our group," he paused,
" Trust me," he added looking back at his friend.
" I always do," he replied as Maria approached them carrying the same large bag filled with supplies,
" I'm ready!" she told them, turning to face the road ahead, the road to the capital known as Carnot, their next destination. With that they walked forward, with a brief smile from Sarkanto, Maria heaved her pack onto her back and walked ahead. After they had reached the end of the path, Martin had stopped them.
" We'll have to go through the Forest of Destruction," Martin reminded them, Sarkanto and Maria nodded in anticipation and the three of them turned to face the vast, dark green, forest that was awaiting to devour their bodies.
" All right, let's go!" Sarkanto announced running into the forest.
" Wait for me!" Maria called running after the eager Sarkanto her long black boots making clicking sounds.
" Sar!! Maria!!" Martin called, " Ugh.. Why does Sar have to be so reckless?" he asked to no one in particular as he followed the two of them.
Upon entering the forest, the three of them were overcome by a terrible odor of rotting flesh and bone, " Repulsive!!" Maria exclaimed pointing to a pair of bones that laid by an old demon like tree. The forest itself seemed hostile as vines began to devour the bones instantly while millions of insects roamed the forest floor, concealed beneath the plants.
"Careful! This forest is known for monsters!" Martin pointed out, dodging ants and spiders.
" Monsters? You mean like centaurs and giant spiders?" Maria asked almost tripping over a vine.
"Martin!" Sarkanto scolded, " It's all right we'll be fine if any monsters show up I'll handle them," he told Maria stopping as a long root wrapped around his blue boot. He tugged at his leg to free himself but the root wouldn't let go as it slowly began to wrap around his entire boot..
" Get off!" Martin shouted casting a fireball and burning the root. The plant swirled up by the sudden attack, " A little paranoid aren't we?" Maria teased.
" You have to kill them right as they wrap around you, otherwise they will slowly wrap around the rest of your body until they reach your neck.. After that well," he paused,
" You die," he finished, sending a chill through the three. Maria spoke up at this,
" Die? No wonder they call it ' The Forest of Destruction'," she commented.
" Many people have ventured in here before.. Most survive, but others," Sarkanto began.
A sudden roar was heard in the distance of the forest. The trio looked around but it was barely visible, since the canopy covered up so much sunlight, " What..What was that?" Maria stammered, taking out her mace. The forest grew still.
" It was just a wolf I'm sure," Martin reassured, but reached for his tome just in case.
" No... That wasn't a wolf," Sarkanto said, unsheathing his swords. The roar was heard again, this time it was much more clearer. The insects scurried away.
" Does it seem closer to you guys?" Maria asked hearing the roar again this time it was much louder than ever before, " Calm down everyone, whatever it is I'm sure we can handle it," Martin said calmly as the forest suddenly grew even darker, " Great! Now it's even harder to see!" Martin commented.
" Stay close together!" Sarkanto commanded Maria and Martin obeyed immediately while sticking closer to Sarkanto, " If the enemy approaches I can heal and attack behind you while you hold of the monsters," Martin explained, Sarkanto nodded, as they heard a sudden rushing of leaves and broken twigs. It stopped suddenly as a cold mist shrouded the area.
" Martin, what's with the mist?" Maria asked strangely calm.
" Hmm.. Must be from the plants, when there's less sunlight and it gets colder some of the plants' release a mist into the air.. Usually its night time when that happens," he explained.
Sarkanto remained silent.
" But wasn't it daytime," Maria stopped as she was cut off by a sudden screech.