Chapter 2: Selflessness
There was water everywhere. Xzarik had arrived at the town center soaked through. He had asked to see the lord of the land but was told by his secretary to go home. Apparently it was "safer for little boys to stay inside". At that point the roof collapsed and water poured from a gutter onto the secretary's face. He was being pinned to the floor by the ceiling on top of his legs. Xzarik pushed the secretary's head away from the flow of water to stop the man from swallowing too much. He started towards the door that led into the lords' office.
"Hey! You!" shouted the secretary "You're not going to leave me here are you? Hey! Hey!"
"Where is the lord of the land?" said Xzarik.
"In his chambers. Now get me away from this place" replied the secretary in a voice that was competing with the rain.
"Thank you" said Xzarik simply and he turned and walked to the far side of the room. There he walked through a door without looking back at the helpless man on the floor.
He entered a large antechamber. It was filled with soft furniture and carpets. Two large doors lined the other side of the room. They were painted in red. The type worn by nobility. Two guards were standing on either side of the doors and they wore polished armor. This was unusual, as the lord of the land only owned a small village.
"The secretary said I could see the lord of the land. It's really important," he said confidently.
As one they took the door handles and pulled them open swiftly. The lord of the land was sitting in a soft armchair with a large book by the fire. He was desperately searching through the pages for something.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my chambers?" snapped the lord. "I did not send for you."
"You won't find the spell in there. It was cut from every book in the world." Said Xzarik.
"What are you talking about?" said the lord quietly. The doors were closed now so the guards could not see what was going on.
"The spell. It isn't in there. Last time it was used the weather patterns for the entire of this world were unbalanced. It took years of experiments to put them straight." He said, walking to the fire.
"What makes you think I was looking for a spell?" questioned the old man. He was talking even quieter now.
"Because it says 'booke of spiels' on the cover." He replied warming his hands by the fire. "And of course any good lord would not want any of his faithful servants dying in a storm."
Just then the reinforced riverbanks burst. There was a rushing of water. It was almost deafening. The town center was very near the river.
"Quick, go to the top floor of this house!" shouted Xzarik. The guards swung the doors open with their halberds pointed at the ready. The looked around for the fight.
"Who are you to order me about? I am the lord of the land and you cannot tell me what to do!" said the lord pompously. The guards shifted their weapons in their hands, not wanting to hurt a child.
"Die then." said Xzarik simply and darted between the legs of the guards.
When he reached the streets there were people all over the place. They were putting bags of sand by their doors or looking to see what the noise was. Some were just panicking.
There was a terrible groaning from near the river and a house was swaying. There was a woman running away from the riverbank. She was very familiar to him. The problem was he could not properly see her in the gloom. The house started to topple over.
"Look out!" screamed Xzarik.
The house fell and the woman narrowly avoided the bulk of the debris. She slipped and fell. The rain was coming down hard now and the current of water flowing down the street was massive. Everyone in the street suddenly stopped screaming and as one they darted into their houses slamming their doors. Xzarik glanced over his shoulder to see up the long street. A huge rush of water was surging between the buildings. He looked up through the droplets of rain and saw a sign. He swung his sword from over his shoulder and smashed it into the wooden board. It hit the floor with a clatter and he launched himself upwards, catching himself on the jutting pole. The water rushed past underneath him.
The woman was not as lucky as he was though. She was trying to cling on to a mooring post as the water hit. Xzarik saw this and edged himself along the window ledges lining the walls. The woman was holding on tightly. This gave him some time. He looked into the window. It was a boatsmith. Smashing the window with the butt of his sword he jumped into the room and glanced over the tabletops. He grabbed a piece of rope and ran to the window. The window ledge was slippery but he risked it and jumped onto the bit that looked the least wet.
"Grab this!" he shouted over the noise of the downpour.
The woman looked up and saw a rope being thrown her way. She made one single attempt to catch a hold of it. Success. Xzarik tied the other end to a sturdy looking window frame. He then pulled as hard as he could on it and to his surprise the rope was coming towards him. Had the woman been swept away? No; she was still holding fast. She found a handhold in a wall and held on tightly.
At that moment Xzarik lost his footing and slipped. The falling seemed to last for hours until he hit the water. The combined coldness of the water and the sheer impact winded him. He lost all sense of where he was and went unconscious.
Then blackness.
There was water everywhere. Xzarik had arrived at the town center soaked through. He had asked to see the lord of the land but was told by his secretary to go home. Apparently it was "safer for little boys to stay inside". At that point the roof collapsed and water poured from a gutter onto the secretary's face. He was being pinned to the floor by the ceiling on top of his legs. Xzarik pushed the secretary's head away from the flow of water to stop the man from swallowing too much. He started towards the door that led into the lords' office.
"Hey! You!" shouted the secretary "You're not going to leave me here are you? Hey! Hey!"
"Where is the lord of the land?" said Xzarik.
"In his chambers. Now get me away from this place" replied the secretary in a voice that was competing with the rain.
"Thank you" said Xzarik simply and he turned and walked to the far side of the room. There he walked through a door without looking back at the helpless man on the floor.
He entered a large antechamber. It was filled with soft furniture and carpets. Two large doors lined the other side of the room. They were painted in red. The type worn by nobility. Two guards were standing on either side of the doors and they wore polished armor. This was unusual, as the lord of the land only owned a small village.
"The secretary said I could see the lord of the land. It's really important," he said confidently.
As one they took the door handles and pulled them open swiftly. The lord of the land was sitting in a soft armchair with a large book by the fire. He was desperately searching through the pages for something.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my chambers?" snapped the lord. "I did not send for you."
"You won't find the spell in there. It was cut from every book in the world." Said Xzarik.
"What are you talking about?" said the lord quietly. The doors were closed now so the guards could not see what was going on.
"The spell. It isn't in there. Last time it was used the weather patterns for the entire of this world were unbalanced. It took years of experiments to put them straight." He said, walking to the fire.
"What makes you think I was looking for a spell?" questioned the old man. He was talking even quieter now.
"Because it says 'booke of spiels' on the cover." He replied warming his hands by the fire. "And of course any good lord would not want any of his faithful servants dying in a storm."
Just then the reinforced riverbanks burst. There was a rushing of water. It was almost deafening. The town center was very near the river.
"Quick, go to the top floor of this house!" shouted Xzarik. The guards swung the doors open with their halberds pointed at the ready. The looked around for the fight.
"Who are you to order me about? I am the lord of the land and you cannot tell me what to do!" said the lord pompously. The guards shifted their weapons in their hands, not wanting to hurt a child.
"Die then." said Xzarik simply and darted between the legs of the guards.
When he reached the streets there were people all over the place. They were putting bags of sand by their doors or looking to see what the noise was. Some were just panicking.
There was a terrible groaning from near the river and a house was swaying. There was a woman running away from the riverbank. She was very familiar to him. The problem was he could not properly see her in the gloom. The house started to topple over.
"Look out!" screamed Xzarik.
The house fell and the woman narrowly avoided the bulk of the debris. She slipped and fell. The rain was coming down hard now and the current of water flowing down the street was massive. Everyone in the street suddenly stopped screaming and as one they darted into their houses slamming their doors. Xzarik glanced over his shoulder to see up the long street. A huge rush of water was surging between the buildings. He looked up through the droplets of rain and saw a sign. He swung his sword from over his shoulder and smashed it into the wooden board. It hit the floor with a clatter and he launched himself upwards, catching himself on the jutting pole. The water rushed past underneath him.
The woman was not as lucky as he was though. She was trying to cling on to a mooring post as the water hit. Xzarik saw this and edged himself along the window ledges lining the walls. The woman was holding on tightly. This gave him some time. He looked into the window. It was a boatsmith. Smashing the window with the butt of his sword he jumped into the room and glanced over the tabletops. He grabbed a piece of rope and ran to the window. The window ledge was slippery but he risked it and jumped onto the bit that looked the least wet.
"Grab this!" he shouted over the noise of the downpour.
The woman looked up and saw a rope being thrown her way. She made one single attempt to catch a hold of it. Success. Xzarik tied the other end to a sturdy looking window frame. He then pulled as hard as he could on it and to his surprise the rope was coming towards him. Had the woman been swept away? No; she was still holding fast. She found a handhold in a wall and held on tightly.
At that moment Xzarik lost his footing and slipped. The falling seemed to last for hours until he hit the water. The combined coldness of the water and the sheer impact winded him. He lost all sense of where he was and went unconscious.
Then blackness.