Chapter 4: Shattered Oath
They immediately went back to the town, bought supplies and head home, much to Baulks' surprise and disappointment.
As they were just about to leave, "Uh oh, I forgot my pack in the shop" Osrik suddenly remembered.
"Hurry up and get it." grunted his father, obviously eager to leave after what had happened.
Osrik ran back to the town he saw many of the townsfolk were busy with their daily business as if nothing was wrong.
As he made his way through the crowd, he heard the people in front of him gasp and move apart.
When he finally got through the line of people, he could see a familiar figure walking through the crowd.
The figures armor clanked in a precise pattern that showed the continuity of her stride.
The claymore moved in at steady oblivious to the stares and whispers of the people as she walked by.
While she got closer Osrik wondered what he should do, now knowing why the warriors were treated like pariahs.
Fear in his mind of the being in the forest and the memory of the incident at the inn both clashed in his mind.
As he mulled over the thoughts the people beside him started whispering "Tch that damn silver eyed witch is still here.", "Yeah those monsters give me the creeps.".
A feeling of anger suddenly rose up in him, 'She's protecting these people and this is the thanks she gets.' he thought.
That cinched it, once Osrik went in the middle of the crowd and approached the claymore more whispers arose.
She looked at him with her silvery gaze as he neared, no matter how many times he saw them those eyes always fascinated him.
"Hi nice to see you again, since your here I guess that thing is still on the loose. Good luck in killing it we're counting on you." Osrik said warmly as he returned her gaze.
"Either my corpse or the yoma's will show up in this town soon." she replied as he looked at him indifferently.
Suddenly felling his anger rising again he shouted "Don't say that!! You fight for us to protect us from those things, I know that you aren't technically all human-"
"- but you still fight against yoma for our sake, so please don't talk like that" he blurted out in a rush.
He thought he saw surprise in her eyes for a moment before they reverted back to their emotionless state, she stood silently.
After a moment, Osrik remembered why he was here " I need to get back to my family, so I hope we can meet again someday" he said as he moved to retrieve his pack.
After finding his pack, he joined his family and they headed back home.
They made it back before nightfall, as they entered the house "Dear is that you?"
"Yeah, it's us, we're back honey" his father replied wearily from fatigue from to their trek back.
During dinner no one spoke as they were all tired and ate their meals silently.
As Osrik was getting ready for bed his mind returned to the claymore, 'I wonder how she's doing now.'.
As he curled up under his blanket, his eyes slowly began to close from the lack of energy.
Osrik woke up a little irritated, he had been sleeping fitfully when the urge to get a drink of water finally got the better of him.
Groaning as he got to his feet, his tired body telling him to go back to sleep.
He opened the door to his room and went into the hall towards the stairs to get a drink.
The house was dark but there was enough light for him to distinguish the shapes of objects.
As he walked by he noticed a small noise coming from one of the rooms where the door was slightly ajar.
The noise itself sounded like something like a twig being snapped multiple times.
'Odd', why are his parents awake at this hour?' he wondered as he walked up to the door.
As he peered into the crack he saw something move in the darkness on their parent's bed.
But he still was still unable to distinguish who the figure was in the poor light.
He moved closer to the bed to get a better look when his foot bumped against something.
Looking down to see what it was, the figures outline was barely clear enough to make out in the partial darkness.
His fathers head gazed up at him with a look of shock written across his face, Osrik could only back away from the sight.
Once he had backed towards the door he fell backwards into the hall, the shape in the room immediately stopped at the sound.
Growling softly, it began to shift its bulk, slowly turning around to face him.
Two familiar large yellow orbs peered at him hungrily, and for a moment, he could only stare back at the yoma.
The next he was running down the hallway towards the stairs not looking back for fear of seeing the thing following him.
Quickly hid in the small space under the staircase, stopping quickly so as not to make any unnecessary noise.
He almost jumped when he heard the footsteps, each closer to approaching his hiding place.
Its breathing was almost audible in his ear, the sound was dwarfed though by the sound of his pounding heart
His heart skipped a beat when the yoma stepped on the stair step directly above him and stepped.
Osrik felt a surge of panic rising in him, hoping desperately that it couldn't detect him.
Sweat fell from his forehead and he willed himself to be completely silent, his body ached from being in such a cramped space
Then the sounds started again, slowly moving towards the top of the stairs before disappearing.
A long moment of silence had passed before he risked moving, slowly moving out from under the stairs.
He cautiously glanced around, checking for any signs of movement in the darkness.
Upon finding no signs of its presence, he slowly got up and slowly moved towards the door.
He almost screamed when something suddenly touched his back halfway to the door.
Then he realized that if it were the yoma it would have ripped him apart instead of touching him.
He turned to find Baulk rubbing his eyes, a tired look on his face showing he had recently woken up.
"I heard something outs-" began but was quickly quieted by Osrik.
"We're leaving Baulk, right now quietly" he ordered silently as he could, listen for any sounds.
Seeing his brothers face Baulk quickly clammed up and nodded his head slowly.
The both of them made it to the door without making a sound, now came the tricky part.
His father had designed the door to make a loud metallic sound when it was opened, apparently as a warning against intruders.
'I guess it didn't help us here dad' Osrik thought grimly, he now had two options.
One was to open the door and make a break for it before the yoma could catch them.
Another was to go the back door which was on the other side of the house and went by the stairs.
He opted for the former, the more time they took to escape, the sooner that thing would finish its grisly meal.
Motioning to baulk he mouthed the words "On three", this was met by a nod from his brother.
He braced his feet and prepared himself to run, getting a firm grip on the door handle.
"One...two. Three" he whispered as he pulled on the door with all his strength.
As expected the door let out a grinding metallic sound as its hinges moved.
With the door now open they ran into the forest not once looking back.
Braches whipped at him as he sprinted by, his hard breathing filled most of his hearing.
Sweat poured from his forehead to his eyes, somewhat obscuring his vision.
When they had ran for ten minutes into a small clearing, Osrik checked to see if the thing was following him.
The path was dead silent, whatever it was back in the house hadn't followed them.
Exhausted for the run he put his hands on his needs and recovered his breath for a moment.
After he had regained his wind he ventured speaking to his brother "Alright I think we're ok, now that we just have to--".
As he turned he saw his brother wasn't listening, instead he seemed to growing larger quite rapidly.
The sounds of sinew cracking filled the air, and his eyes shone a familiar yellow.
"...but how?" was all Osrik could say as the yoma finished his transformation.
It had a small head compared to the rest of its bulky body, its long clawed arms stretching down it its waist.
When it had finished, it looked at him with an amused expression, grinning widely as he stared at the boy for a moment before it answered.
Looking at him, it replied "Heh, Didn't you know we can take on the forms of people we've eaten as outer skins.--"
"--taking their thoughts and behaviors, that's why you humans are so easily fooled." it finished.
As he took in the yoma's words, he realized "But that means--" Osrik began.
It interrupted "That's right, I ate your brother insides then, by that lake, and borrowed his form that's how I found you all" if finished with a mocking laugh.
Both despair and rage vied for priority in Osrik's mind, but rage soon won out, looking around he found a gnarled branch nearby.
Grabbing the narrow end, he blindly rushed the yoma using the branch as a club.
As he neared his target, he twisted himself sideways a bit, bringing the club to his side.
The yoma merely stood grinning, no even moving from his spot as the boy approached.
At the last moment Osrik twisted his upper body, back into position, letting his momentum fuel the club's swing.
It caught his blow in one hand as if the strike had no force at all, then it proceeded to give in him a small backhand blow which sent him into a tree twenty feet away.
He slammed into the tree with his back, surges of searing pain running over his body.
It gave a small chuckle "Not bad kid, you almost scratched the skin of my palm there. But I think that's enough fun for today, I'm getting hungry again.
The yoma then clenched the fist holding the branch, causing it to explode in a small cloud of splinters.
Osrik couldn't move both form pain and fatigue as the yoma walked towards him.
"At least I hit it once." Osrik thought as the pain began to numb his body, his thoughts inching closer to unconsciousness.
Once the yoma was three feet away, he thought he saw a flash of light appear near its head.
The yoma stopped in mid-step, for a moment it just stood there transfixed.
Then in a smooth motion, its head slid odd at and angle to a cut that had been made in its head.
After its body fell lifeless to the ground, he saw the claymore that was in town standing behind him.
Her long blade was now coated with its blood, and she had the same detached look on her face.
Her face was the last thing he saw as he finally lost the battle for unconsciousness.
"When I came to, was in the town's clinic being nursed back to health." intoned Osrik, still looking at the fire the whole time.
"The Warrior that saved my life had apparently paid the fees and left for another job... I didn't even get the chance the thank her" He finished.
"I see, so that's how it was" Miria answered still watching him intently, "But why go to such lengths for something that happened that long ago?" she asked.
Again a saddened look ran over his eyes, he answered slowly "The warrior who saved me died...a while back".
Miria arched an eyebrow, "Yoma?" she probed quickly"
Osrik shook his head, "No, she...hit her limit...and was executed." he said somberly
After a moment of silence, Miria spoke "Sorry, it appears as if I've made you recall some unpleasant memories.".
He looked at her a bit surprised, then turned he warmed into a smile "No need, I've come to terms with all that's happened".
"I plan on repaying the fallen warrior by helping other warriors as best I could.", he concluded, looking her straight in the eye.
"...so?", he asked sincerely "Does that answer your first question?."
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Woot Finally done both chapters, I hope all those of you reading this fan fic enjoyed the story so far I'll try and update for new adventures.
Please R&R after you read this, if only so I know this is a story so other people enjoy reading.
Until next chapter: City of the Sword