Ch. 3
The group traveled south from the mountains and straight into the city of Treqment. They had to slow down when they ran into a party of Maliryuth, but they found a different way around. Although the way was steeper and more dangerous, it was just as quick. At one point Milani had almost fallen from the side of a cliff that circled around the mountain, but Relok caught her before she fell.
When they reached Treqment, only a little light could push through the thick clouds above them, but in the distance the clouds broke, and Serias could see blue sky. They entered the boundaries of the city and began walking down the road, under Aler's lead, to the stables.
Treqment was a small city of mostly small stone buildings. To the north of the city were the Silent Mountains; to the south were the vast plains of Milotia, which stretched from Treqment and Enis all the way down to the southern coast. To the west was Dragon Country, and to the east the mighty Milotian city of Enis.
They continued down the cobblestone street at a good pace. Ahead of them the sign for the stables stuck out from the other buildings. The large wooden horse on top of it drew all the attention from passerby. It was also one of the few wood buildings.
The group walked into the small main shop of the stables. All sorts of equipment hung from nails in the wooden walls. At the counter a large man sat and drank from a large mug. As they approached he slammed the glass down and burped.
"What do you want?" He asked sharply.
"We're looking to buy some horses," Serias replied.
"Well, you're in the right place," The shopkeeper said, and stood up.
He walked to the back door and turned to them.
"Well, follow me," He said.
They followed the man through the stables, past the horses that stood inside.
"Tell me if you see any that you might want," He said.
Serias looked around at the horses that were available. He finally stopped at one in the far corner. It was a beautiful colt with a white and brown body that bore many different designs. The creature was also muscular, and looked stronger than the other horses here. It lay on the ground and napped until Serias approached it. The colt stood and eyed him with a bit of suspicion.
"You don't need to worry," He said to the creature.
The colt seemed to believe him, and lay down again.
"Is this one for sale?" He asked the shopkeeper.
"For five hundred gold it is," the man said, "This horse is the finest of any that we have,"
It was then that Serias realized that they had no money.
"Is there anyway to earn these horses from you?" He asked.
"Well, I have been having trouble with some thieves stealing my horses. If you can find them and kill their leader, I'll give you seven of my better horses, including this beauty," The shopkeeper said.
"We'll be back," Serias said, and left the shop, followed by his friends. Quickly Serias began walking towards the center of the city.
"How exactly do you plan to find those thieves?" Aler asked as he struggled to keep up with Serias's fast pace.
"I used to be part of their group," He said with a smile, "and I think I know where they are,"
He picked up his pace even faster.
"If they are still changing their meeting place every six months that should be …." He stopped in the city's center plaza.
"There," He pointed down the road into the flat plains outside the city.
"Now finding the base will be easy," He said.
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Two hours later the little group walked over the golden hills with no luck on finding the base.
"Maybe they changed the way of choosing new bases," He said.
To the west the sun sank low in the sky.
"Serias, I think we should head back to Treqment," Nalor yelled from another hill.
"Why?" Serias yelled back.
"Maliryuth to the west!"
Serias ran full speed, trailed by Cassi and Halath, to the spot where Nalor was. Serias looked the way that Nalor was pointing.
Smoke rose in a small column to block part of the sun.
"That's not Maliryuth," Serias said, "That's the fire from a camp!"
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By the time the companions reached the small camp the sun had hidden itself behind the mountains. Serias quietly stepped behind a bush and ducked down. He watched through the bush, 6 men around the fire work on various things. He turned his head to find possible hiding spots. He spotted a couple more bushes to his left that were out of sight of the men.
He snuck back to where his group stood, about 100 yards from the fire.
"Alright, Cassi, Nalor, you go to the right and wait for Milani to cast a spell. Milani, go to the left, when you see me cast my light spell, go. Relok and Aler will come with me. Don't try to kill them, just knock them unconscious," He looked around at the group, "Let's go,"
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A short battle later the companions searched the small camp for any indication of where the main base was, but they could find no letters, maps, or anything else useful. The battle had been quick and all six thieves now lay on the ground, unconscious.
Serias opened one of the six tents and looked around. Not much caught his eye except for some gold, which he took, and then set back down. He wasn't a thief anymore.
"Hey Serias," He heard Halath yell, "Come out here!"
Serias pushed the tents flap back and noticed his group was circled around one of the thieves. He saw the young man's eyes open and a low moan escaped his throat. The thieve was only a young kid, probably no more than 17 or 18 years old.
Once the kid realized where he was he sat straight up and reached for a sword. Relok kicked him back, connecting with his rib cage.
"Don't even think about it," He growled.
The kid rolled over in pain, "What do you want?" He asked through a gasp.
Where is your base?" Milani asked.
"Wait a second Milani," Serias said. He leaned down next to the kid and asked, "First, what's your name," He asked him.
Their prisoner was silent for a moment, and then he turned over again, still rubbing his chest. He sat calmly and studied each of them.
"My name is Kayes Stave, and as you seem to know, I'm a member of the Peltist thieves, but…..
"Let me guess," Serias interrupted, "you joined to earn some quick money, but now they won't let you leave,"
"How did you know?" The young man asked.
"The same thing happened to me," Serias explained, "but I managed to get away," he studied the boy, looking for any scars, "It looks like you haven't tried yet,"
"Not yet," Kayes responded, "I've been to scared,"
"And you have a right to be, with a large crime syndicate like the Peltists," Serias said, "It isn't a bright idea to get involved with them in the first place, but there are ways of getting out,"
"Can you help me?" Kayes asked.
"Only if you can help us first,"
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"I don't think this is a good idea," Milani told Serias quietly, "I don't trust him,"
The group hid on the top of a hill that gave them a perfect view of the base.
The small stone entrance blended in perfectly with the surroundings. At first glance you would never know it was there. At second glance you would realize that there was a compound in this small valley, and at third glance you would notice there was a hill that stretched from the entrance to the compound out, indicating that the base stretched further than it seemed into the ground.
Because of the darkness nobody could tell if anyone was guarding it, but they heard people. Every now and then they'd hear a soft whisper.
"O.K. everyone," Serias said in the quietist voice that he could, "we're going to act as though we are Kayes's prisoners. He's going to lead us to their leader, Jascel. We're going to take them out from the inside,"
Kayes stood up, followed by the rest of them, and then they made their way down the hill towards the small valley. Just before they got to the guards Kayes turned to them and quietly said, "Wait, leave your weapons here,"
Reluctantly they dropped their weapons on the ground.
Kayes led them to the entrance. They didn't see the guards until they emerged from the shadows behind them.
"These people wish to speak with Jascel," Kayes said, "They are interested in joining the Peltist thieves,"
Serias looked back at Milani, who gave him and I-told- you-so look.
"Go ahead," One of them said.
The warriors and Kayes entered the dark passageways of the compound. The dim light from the fires was the only thing keeping the companions on their feet, with all the cracks and rocks on the ground.
They took a left turn and the passageway opened into a dining room. At least that's what it looked like.
"Why did you change the plan?" Serias whispered in Kayes's ear.
"There are seven of you and one of me. If I were a guard and one person brought in 7 un-cuffed prisoners, I'd be suspicious,"
"Good point," Serias said, seeing the logic in it, "Thanks,"
They left the dining room into more dark passageways. They continued for about a hour, taking quick breaks every half an hour or so.
"How long does this base go?" Cassi complained.
"The tunnels stretch for miles under the plains," Serias said, "There are even rumors that the tunnels stretch into Sunlace,"
"That's over a hundred miles," Nalor said.
"No way," Aler said.
"How would they move people that far?" Milani asked.
Serias shrugged.
"You are lucky I know a shorter way out from the throne room," Kayes said.
Suddenly Kayes stopped by one of the doors. The sudden halt caused Nalor to trip over his sister's feet and fall on the hard floor.
"Be more careful," Serias said.
Nalor grumbled something under his breath, but Serias chose to ignore it.
Kayes reached for the handle and opened the door. The large door slid open and revealed an open chamber lit by an eerie white glow that began as small fires on the wall.
The room was about 50ft high and the floor stretched about 30ft by 120. At the end of the long room was a short throne. On the seat an old man sat. He had long red- orange hair, but his skin was wrinkled. The man's sharp green eyes were trained on the new people who dared to enter his domain.
"Who goes there?" His weak voice said,"
The sound echoed throughout the room.
"This is Jascel," Kayes whispered, "It is Kayes Stave! I have brought new recruits!"
"What is he doing?" Milani hissed in Serias's ear.
"Just trust him," Serias said.
"We need to be able to get close enough to attack him," Kayes said, "Do you see that chest?" He asked, "It's magic, it will contain anything that you ask. Think of weapons,"
Serias nodded. Finally they reached the bottom of the throne.
"GO!" Kayes yelled, and dove at the Peltist regional leader, but before he hit the Peltist Kayes was hit by a beam of white light.
"What?" Serias asked as he turned.
But the shot had not come from Milani. Behind them, from the entrance to the room twenty Maliryuth had followed them in.
"Get to the chest!" Milani yelled, and threw a spell into the center on the room.
As the spell hit the floor it exploded into a smokescreen. Soon the entire room saw filled with a thick black smoke. Serias quickly ran through the smoke to where he thought the chest was. He could hear the sounds of spells being cast all around the room.
Serias found the chest and pulled it open. Inside there was a beautifully crafted longsword. The blade was made with a great metal and there were small jewels buried in the hilt.
When he turned around the smoke started to clear. The Peltist leader stood on the throne.
"Kill them!" He yelled at the Maliryuth.
Serias ran to where the Maliryuth stood. When he reached them he chose one to fight and threw the fist blow.
The blow struck the Maliryuth in the head. It went down, but the Serias was plunged into combat with a second one.
Milani stood by Kayes's body and cast any spells she could to help.
Cassi and Nalor worked as a team to kill the Maliryuth. Aler and Halath teamed up to kill a particularly large pair of Maliryuth. Relok had no problem with his two Maliryuth.
Serias stabbed a third in the chest and shoved it down. He tore his sword from its chest and used a fire ball spell to kill another. He looked around for others, and saw only one who was not fighting. Serias took a step just in time to dodge a lightning bolt from another Maliryuth. He recognized the one that was not fighting. It was the same one he had fought in the mountains.
By this time Serias's companions had finished off their Maliryuth. The leader raised his right hand and all of the them were thrown against the walls of the room. Leaving them alone.
"We meet again half-elf," The Maliryuth said to him.
"Who are you?" Serias asked once again.
The Maliryuth sighed.
"I might as well tell you that I am Vadre Baltist the general of the maliryuthian army," He said, "and I am also the death of you. Last time your friends were there to help you, but this time…. Well, you can see for yourself,"
Serias looked around at his friends and then held his sword up to the Maliryuth.
Vadre scoffed, and took his sword from under his robe.
The Maliryuth struck with amazing speed, and Serias barely had enough time to defend himself.
For a while the two swordsman fought, eyes locked, neither daring to take a risk.
Finally the Maliryuth knocked Serias over with a quick spell.
"This has been a good warm-up Serias," Vadre said, "but now show me what you can really do,"
"What do you want with me?" Serias asked.
"That is exceedingly simple Serias," Vadre said,
"I want you dead,"