Chapter 2
The first thing I noticed when I entered Oaklore was the manahunters, and The Rose banners. I approached Maya.
"Welcome to Oaklore Keep, home of the Pactogonal Table and members of the Rose…"
She then noticed who I was, "Oh my, is it really you, Intex?"
"It's me" Then I relayed Rolith's message to her.
"What?!" She screamed, gaining the attention of some manahunters.
"Ahem. I mean… What?" She whispered now, the manahunters turned away.
"You actually saw Captain Rolith? I'm so glad his okay!"
"He left when… when King Alteon ordered him to garrison The Rose members here"
So King Alteon sided with The Rose, stopping them from getting rid of all magic just got a little harder.
"Patrols have been coming back since then with… headaches… I thought that might have been him!"
"He told me to stay in case other heroes came looking… Do you remember anything that happened?"
I did remember everything, clearly. It was all I thought about as I was incased in
that damned ice, not knowing if I will ever escape.
"If not, you can use your Book of Lore to read about your pre-frozen adventures!"
"I tried to be as accurate as possible when writing the Book about your past heroism!"
"Looking at the Book of Lore should be like reliving your adventures!"
"You can use the Book of Lore to keep up with all the latest news in the kingdom too!" I tuned her out by then.
I had a book? Which had all my adventures in it? Awesome! At least once I die people can read this and remember me. They will remember the hero named, Intex. The person who has saved this world time and time again. I was thinking more of a statue, but this is better! That when I die at least I won't be forgotten… lost in time as new heroes come forward to take my place.
At least… when I die, the people I leave behind will have something to hold on too… It's a dangerous job, and anything can happen… but someone has to do it. I don't regret it… I've never regretted it. When I chose to become a hero, everyday became an adventure, I traveled over Lore, I've saved millions of lives, made many friends… found a few more people to call family and more importantly… met Sepulchure.
So I'm content… I won't die anytime soon that's for sure, and definitely not without a fight but at least… my memory… my legacy… shall remain, as selfish as that wish was. I noticed Maya stopped talking, she looked worried. I smiled and shook my head, I said goodbye to her and headed to Falconreach.
As I walked through a familiar forest, a gang of manahunters jumped out. I defeated them and continued my merry way, until I reached a familiar bridge. I greeted Sir Pent, who was surprised to see me. He told me about the new dungeon, that's full of zombie hydras. I told him I would check it out when I had the time, and continued on my way. When I reached the bridge I saw a man, just finished repairs on the bridge.
"Hm…" He stood up.
"Yep, I think that does it"
"Guess I can go tell the folks in Oaklore that their bridge is fixed, and collect my pay!"
A weird sound came from the waters, "That was a weird noise"
"…" I had a bad feeling about this.
True enough a huge zombie hydra head appeared out of the water, and destroyed the newly fixed bridge. The man was then thrown into the air.
"!"
"Man you are ugly" I told it calmly.
"Aww come on!" He said, as he flew through the air and into the water.
I attacked the hydra, and defeated it. The hydra fell in exactly the right way that I was able to cross. When I entered Falconreach, I smiled. It was nice to be home, nothing changed much. There were more magical creatures here though, must be seeking shelter from The Rose. That made me frown, how much power do they have? Why is no one fighting back? I noticed Alina's shop sign and entered.
"Intex! You're back!" She said after the initial shock wore off.
"Yup, and it's great to be back!"
"Have you seen Rolith by any chance?"
"Yea, he saved me from manahunters when I got out…"
"That's good" She said in relief.
"Here" She handed me two mana potions.
"It's been harder to get the ingredient nowadays"
"Thanks" I said goodbye and left the store. I entered Reen's store, which was beside Alina's.
Intex!" She looked like she saw a ghost.
"I knew you would be back!" I grinned.
"Here" She handed me two health potions.
I said goodbye to her and continued on to the center of town, when I reached there I saw a man with brown hair and eyes.
"Ash?" I asked the man, unsure if it was really him.
He turned around and I saw his eyes lit up with recognition.
"Intex!" He hugged me, and I hugged him back.
"I… I am so happy to see you again! Lore itself has missed you"
He was all grown up now, he even smelled like aftershave. I always thought of Ash as my goofy younger brother, now he seemed like a capable young man. I was so proud of him, though a part of me will miss the goofy newb I knew.
"It's been a hard few years since you've been frozen. I tried to be the best hero I could be, following your example"
The guilt returned as well as happiness that he tried to follow my example, though not a very good one I must say.
"I follow the way of the light. My princess has even returned… at least, she's reaching out from the realm of light through my sword"
I was glad, that he followed the light. Though the thought of Ash falling into darkness, never crossed my mind. He was just too… pure.
"I don't trust these Rose members… you should watch out for them, Intex"
I agreed with him, I don't trust them either.
"Oh I have a letter for you, it's from Warlic…"
"Warlic?!" I took the letter from him, and started reading.
Dear Intex,
I hope this letter finds you safe and thawed. The Rose has grown into a great power during the time we were frozen and… it is all my fault.
I cannot face this new world where magic is hated because of my mistakes. I have to find a way to atone for them… I have to make it up to her. Until I do, I shall remain locked in my tower.
Sincerely,
Warlic
I sighed, I'll leave him be for now. It seemed like he needed time to think, and just brood. I'll check up on him later. Suddenly my thoughts were disturbed when someone shouted my name.
