Chapter 3: Journey Through Darkwood (Part 1)

The day had finally come for Roy to leave for the guild. The boy had been waiting his entire life for this moment. His mother had left behind all apprehension about letting her son out into someone else's care.

The hero that arrived to accompany the boy through Darkwood had just recently himself graduated from the Guild. He was known as Rouge, and wielded a rusty katana. He was dressed in simple leather armor and a fisherman's hat. He approached Roy, kneeled down, and spoke to him. "So, you're the whelp the guild sent me to retrieve? Well, be warned: Darkwood is very dangerous. I brought you some simple gear to get you through." Rouge then handed the young boy a burlap sack. Roy opened it to find a yew bow, an iron short sword, ten blocks of tofu and some padded villager's clothing. "You won't be able to, say, take down a Balvarine," continued the hero, "but if you stay close to me, you should make it through without any problem."

Roy then dawned his new clothing and weapons, his sword girded about his hip, and his bow and quiver strapped to his back. The padding on the clothes masked the boy's scrawny features, but he was still visibly thin. He could hardly hold up the sword he was given, but the gloves he wore gave him a little more stability while handling the weapon. After he was ready, Roy approached Rouge, and stood respectfully, his hands behind his back. "Well, you don't really fill out those clothes very well." The hero said in slight disappointment. "I thought you'd have more muscle than that. Oh well. You'll survive."

Roy and Rouge walked toward the exit to Oakvale. There, gathered under the bridge, was every person who was living in the town. They had come to see Roy off, as he set out on the greatest adventure of his young life. Roy passed by his mother, who gave a simple wave as he walked by. Then the two, Rouge and Roy, left Oakvale behind, and entered Darkwood by way of Barrow Fields.

Roy walked silently alongside Rouge as they traveled down the dark path. All the trees in there had long ago died. There were moss-covered stones that made a path through the trees. Every ten yards or so, there would be a single lamppost, with a simple wax candle burning inside. The lampposts, Roy had heard, were placed there by the guild many years ago. The Balvarine attacks on that road had become so frequent, that the guild enchanted the candles, so that they could never be extinguished. The wax never melted, and the wicks never burned, but the candles stayed lit.

The trek through Darkwood was nearly over. Night had fallen, and Rouge decided to stop and stay at Darkwood Camp for the night. Hobbes, Balvarines and Fairies tended to emerge at nightfall, and Rouge was not nearly strong enough to do battle with either of the latter. The traders were kind enough. A few were around during the time where Deathbringer was still unheard of. One of the elder traders was actually escorted through Darkwood by Deathbringer himself. But at that time, he had also taken the title of Rouge. The trader told of Deathbringer's heroic stand against a wave of Hobbes, and how he had effortlessly slaughtered a trader-turned-Balvarine near the end of their trail. At that time, Deathbringer wore normal leather armor, and wielded an iron long sword.

The traders and Rouge continued to sit around the fire and talk, but Roy was exhausted, and pulled out his mat and went to sleep. It had been a long enough walk for him through the dank and monotonous Darkwood. He and Rouge had been walking, literally, from noon until sundown. It was currently the later spring months, so that walk could've easily been seven or eight hours. Roy's mind wandered and drifted as he fell to sleep. He envisioned all the things he would be doing at the guild: sword-play with other guild apprentices, fist-fighting with some of those who were closer to his own age, and learning the ways of the will. However, Roy happened suddenly upon what his mother had told him. "I don't want you to be a hero." The words dashed his wonderful dream just as quickly as it had arrived. Soon Roy's mind went blank, as he sleep became deeper and deeper.

Roy was awakened suddenly, by a violent shaking and the cracking voice of Rouge echoing in his ears. Roy sat up quickly, and instinctively grasped for his sword that was laying beside him. His eyes darted about quickly, but soon centered upon Rouge. The leather armor was covered in blood, and in one hand he held his sword, which was coated to match. There were deep gouges in the hero's face, and he was shaking violently.

"Did you hear me, boy!" Rouge's voice again cracked.

"What?"

"I said to get dressed, and quickly!"

Roy sprang into action, quickly throwing on his trousers and his shoes. Within a minute's time, the boy was packed and ready, and looking for further direction from Rouge. "Do you see that, boy?" Rogue was pointing out into the tents. Lying inside were the bodies of the traders.

"During the night, several Balvarines entered the camp. They've already killed all the traders, and I was barely able to fend them off. Unfortunately, though, I've already been bitten." Rouge's face contorted in pain as he peeled away the blood-soaked armor, to reveal a massive set of tooth marks on his side, which were still bleeding heavily. Rouge continued, "You have to escape, boy. If you don't, you will die along side these men and I."

Roy was shocked, but kept silent. "Here, take this." Rouge handed the boy his own sack full of supplies. "That has what's left of my potions. There's an enchantment potion inside that will render you invisible for a short amount of time. Once you drink from it, you will remain invisible for about ten minutes. If you save it for the last second, you should be able to make it out of Darkwood alive." Roy looked inside the bag to see four red potions, two blue ones, a single green one (this one he took was the enchantment potion), and a small bag of gold. Roy put his own supplies within the sack, took the green potion out, and slung the bag over his shoulder. "Now hurry and leave! The Balvarines are returning!" A bone-chilling howl was heard a short distance away, and Roy ducked into some nearby bushes.

Roy heard some rapid foot-steps, several grunts, and saw three Balvarines entering the vicinity of the camp. They immediately surrounded Rouge, and crouched in an aggressive position. Rouge began to waver slightly, and it was obvious he was becoming dizzy from blood loss. One of the Balvarines roared and leapt forward, going for Rouge's head. But the hero swung his blade clumsily, and lopped off the beast's head. The head rolled into the forest, and the body fell stiff upon the ground. Another Balvarine let out a feral cry, and attacked, this time, making contact with Rouges gut. Five massive gashes in his stomach let spill even more blood and Rouge collapsed to one knee. The Balvarines then stood nearly upright, and slowly closed in upon the ruined hero. Summoning the last of his strength, Rouge thrust his blade forward, and ran one of the Balvarines through with his rusty katana. The beast let out a shriek of pain, blood bubbling from it's gullet, and collapsed as well. Rouge smirked, looked the last remaining Balvarine in the eye, and spat in it's face. The Balvarine let out a ferocious roar, and bit clean through the hero's neck. Roy looked away, tears in his eyes, and heard the body of the brave hero collapse on the ground.

The Balvarine began to devour the hero's body, and Roy took the opportunity afforded him, slipping quietly down the road, headed in the direction of the Guild. Roy began to think back to what he had seen near the graveyard in Oakvale just days before. He remembered some of what the voice had spoken to him, about the Guild and about a Hero. These thoughts chilled Roy to his very core, and he set off in a run toward the end of the wood.