The Light and the Dark: Chapter 3
Sarah made her way through the busy town. It was far more crowded than it had been when she entered it the day before. But this was morning, so everyone wanted to get to the merchants first, she figured.
The city of Camlon itself was very expansive. To the point that a person could become lost among the many similarly constructed wooden buildings that inhabited it. Beyond the peasant area of the city, the castle of Camlon stood. Not as grand as any fairy tale castle, but still a testament to strength.
Sarah followed through the crowd. The streets were littered with makeshift stands for merchants, each with their own respective owner preaching about the unbelievable quality of their items. Unbelievable was an under-statement for what they were selling.
Sarah re-adjusted the strap on her shoulder which held the brown bag at her side aloft. It was filled with some provisions she had decided to buy the day before, just in case Nicholas had expected she bring her own.
She eventually made it to the entrance of town, after having to zig zag through clogged streets to find her way out for longer than she expected.
Nicholas stood at the open gates, two others hanging around near him. The two he hired, she deduced.
The Dark Dragon smiled upon seeing her and waved for her to come.
She nodded and complied. As she approached she looked over the two next to him.
One was huge, and his features were distinctive enough. He was a member of the Smith clan whose craftsmanship of all things metallic was legendary.
The Smith stood tall, the handle of a large metal hammer in his firm grip. It was slung upon his mighty shoulder in a carrying position. His other hand held the strap to a rucksack of such size that it would be as large as any normal human if compared. His Muscles were huge, even for one of his clan. She wondered if his brown tanned skin would rip if he had anymore sinew. He wore only worn blue shorts with rips and tears all throughout them, and a thick brown strap across his chest.
His face was rather flat, adorned with a thick black and grey beard. He looked at her with a stern, defiant gaze that made him appear akin to a statue. Yet the gaze bore a sense of malice that few statues possessed.
Next to the behemoth of muscle, stood a young human man. He stood with arms crossed. His short brown hair was matted and unkempt, slightly spiked out from sweat. His face was rather clean, save for a smudge of what looked like dried grease on the corners of his mouth. Probably from scarfing down a quick meal, Sarah thought. He looked her over with his brown eyes, smiling at her as she approached. For some reason his posture and smile reminded her of Ryu, slightly.
He wore loose fitting brown clothes that had hints of leather on the shoulders and sides of the pants. Attached to his belt was a Hand and a Half sword, sheathed in it's black scabbard. A few sheathed knives strapped along the calves of both legs were also visible.
Nicholas smiled as Sarah reached the three. "I'm glad you came. I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."
Sarah pushed back a few stray strands of hair. "Sorry, I bought some things. I didn't think it would take so long to find my way through the city."
Nicholas waved a hand in dismissal. "It's no problem. We'll just have to walk a little faster now." He chuckled and nodded in the direction of the two next to him. "These are the two I hired." He pointed out the Smith. "That's Moose."
Moose vaguely nodded at her.
Then he pointed out the human. "And that's Wilfred."
Wilfred smiled at Sarah. "Hi'ya. Just call me Wil."
Sarah nodded and smiled. "It's good to meet you Wil. And you too Moose."
Moose simply looked at her with contempt. Sarah's smile faded as the Smith continued his visual assault.
"Don't mind him." Wil said from behind Sarah.
She jumped, startled. She hadn't even seen him move.
Wil continued, a small smirk on his lips at her reaction. "He's like this with some people." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled, holding back laughter. "He's actually a teddy bear once you get to know him!" His laughter exploded.
Sarah giggled. She didn't know why he was laughing, but it was infectious.
Moose grunted and glared at Wil, ceasing the human's laughter.
"Well." Nicholas spoke up from the side. "We should get going. It should only take us a day and a half to get to the cave." He walked out the town's exited, black robes fluttering as a wind swept through. It made him look slightly mystic as he began to trudge along the grass plains.
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They walked until night's arrival seemed imminent. They quickly set up camp a good distance from the main trail. The campsite had a lot of rocks, mostly small but there were a few large ones that they used for seats.
Star speckled in the sea of the dark sky like beacons, guiding travelers home. The hoots of owls, singing of crickets, and the roaring fire were the only sounds that stood out through the night. Nicholas had decided to go to sleep early, insisting the others to do the same. Moose had gone to fetch some more fire wood after brooding around for a few hours. Wil and Sarah sat outside around the fire.
Wil had been the life of the party during the whole day of walking. He had cracked jokes and told stories a good deal of the way.
Nicholas had remained silent most of the time, except when something needed to be said.
Moose had said nothing at all and simply followed Nicholas.
Sarah had spent most of the time listening to Wil's stories and jokes.
He's just like Ryu, she thought as she glanced at Wil. He sat with a long, sharp looking dagger, trying to get something out from under his pinky's finger nail.
She missed being home in Drogen. The cackling flames of the camp fire reminded her of the small fireplace she had in her own house. Sitting in front of it alone, just staring at the flames and rocking in the old creaking chair. The house cat jumping into her lap as she would always doze off. Ryu causing a ruckus upstairs as he explained why he didn't have sleep at bedtime to their mother.
"Say," She said. "Do you have a family?"
He glanced up at her and shook his head with a smirk. "No." He said bluntly. "You?"
She nodded. "Yes, I have my mom and my younger brother back home in Drogen." She smiled. "You're actually like an adult version of him. My brother I mean."
He looked up and smiled. "May the god's have mercy on the world then. One of me causes enough trouble." He said jokingly.
Sarah giggled. In her isolated life in Drogen, she had never met someone like him, other than Ryu. But that was different.
"What about your mom? What's she like?" He asked.
Sarah glanced at the fire, then back at him. "Well....she..." She cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say.
Wil chuckled, already understanding. "I see." He laid the dagger to the side. "What about your dad?"
Sarah didn't say anything for a few moments. "Well, I never knew him very well. He vanished when I was around six years old." She smiled. "I remember that he was kind. And gentle. He was just sorta, always there for you if you needed anything. And he loved helping people. He'd go out of his way to help anyone and everyone he could."
Wil looked at her briefly and smiled. "Sounds like you knew him pretty well after all, then."
Sarah smiled back. She quickly glanced outside the firelight as sounds of branches breaking flew through the air. A large, dark figure lumbered towards the camp.
Wil moved his gaze back to his dagger and started picking again, seemingly unaffected by whatever danger approached. "Back already, eh big guy?"
Moose walked into the fire light and dropped a huge bundle of logs. He glanced at Sarah and snorted, walking to and sitting on a large rock. He slumped over and began throwing some of the wood into the fire.
Sarah wasn't fond of the Smith. He seemed to look down at her with Prejudice at every turn. She had tried many times to start a conversation with him, but he'd always just shrug her off, never saying a word. Every time she saw his eyes, she kept feeling a deep sense of a burning hate from within him. Like he was just barley able to restrain himself from attacking her. She didn't want to be alone around him for any length of time.
She looked at the Smith, and he looked back at her slowly with his death gaze. She shuddered.
"I think i'm going to go to sleep now." She said and stood up from her small rock.
Wil looked up at her. "Ok, G'night. Don't worry, me and Moose'll keep night watch."
Sarah nodded and walked to her own sleeping bag, glancing at Moose as she laid down and shuddered.
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They awoke early the next morning at daybreak and quickly packed up the camp. They trudged across the long dirt trail for a a good three hours. They stopped as Wil had spotted something off the side of the road.
Wil was hunkered over what he had found. Sarah walked over to see his discovery, but quickly backed off and placed her hand over her mouth after she saw.
The corpse of a human, a merchant most likely. It was mutilated, it's throat ripped clean out, as well as many other, far more numerous bloody bite marks all over it's body.
Wil shook his head. "We're getting close to that cave." He stood up and patted dust off his pants. "He must have been killed sometime during the night. The blood's still kinda fresh."
Sarah looked at the corpse grimly. "We...should bury it and perform the rights." She said to the nearby Nicholas.
He nodded. "Should I do them or you?"
"I'll do them." She replied solemnly.
Nicholas nodded. "Moose? Think you can dig a grave?"
Moose gave a quick head gesture. Yes. He set the large rucksack on the ground and pulled out a shovel.
The grave was dug quickly and Wil placed the corpse inside, then the burial place was filled with black dirt. Nicholas made a cross from two sticks he tied together and placed it at the head of the site.
Sarah stood at the edge of the grave and placed a hand out. "Ladon, our creator and savior, guide this soul to the realm of the dead." A soft white glow emmenated from her hand. The soft light left her hand and fell like a feather through the air, and penetrated the ground.
"Alright." Nicholas said as the ceremony was finished. "Let's get going."
The others nodded and left the grave site.
Nicholas stayed behind along with Sarah. He moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to find more corpses when we get to the cave. We don't have time to perform the rights on all of them."
Sarah nodded grimly. "I understand."
Nicholas patted her shoulder and joined the others.
Sarah stayed behind a bit longer, looking solemnly at the grave. "This isn't right."
Sarah made her way through the busy town. It was far more crowded than it had been when she entered it the day before. But this was morning, so everyone wanted to get to the merchants first, she figured.
The city of Camlon itself was very expansive. To the point that a person could become lost among the many similarly constructed wooden buildings that inhabited it. Beyond the peasant area of the city, the castle of Camlon stood. Not as grand as any fairy tale castle, but still a testament to strength.
Sarah followed through the crowd. The streets were littered with makeshift stands for merchants, each with their own respective owner preaching about the unbelievable quality of their items. Unbelievable was an under-statement for what they were selling.
Sarah re-adjusted the strap on her shoulder which held the brown bag at her side aloft. It was filled with some provisions she had decided to buy the day before, just in case Nicholas had expected she bring her own.
She eventually made it to the entrance of town, after having to zig zag through clogged streets to find her way out for longer than she expected.
Nicholas stood at the open gates, two others hanging around near him. The two he hired, she deduced.
The Dark Dragon smiled upon seeing her and waved for her to come.
She nodded and complied. As she approached she looked over the two next to him.
One was huge, and his features were distinctive enough. He was a member of the Smith clan whose craftsmanship of all things metallic was legendary.
The Smith stood tall, the handle of a large metal hammer in his firm grip. It was slung upon his mighty shoulder in a carrying position. His other hand held the strap to a rucksack of such size that it would be as large as any normal human if compared. His Muscles were huge, even for one of his clan. She wondered if his brown tanned skin would rip if he had anymore sinew. He wore only worn blue shorts with rips and tears all throughout them, and a thick brown strap across his chest.
His face was rather flat, adorned with a thick black and grey beard. He looked at her with a stern, defiant gaze that made him appear akin to a statue. Yet the gaze bore a sense of malice that few statues possessed.
Next to the behemoth of muscle, stood a young human man. He stood with arms crossed. His short brown hair was matted and unkempt, slightly spiked out from sweat. His face was rather clean, save for a smudge of what looked like dried grease on the corners of his mouth. Probably from scarfing down a quick meal, Sarah thought. He looked her over with his brown eyes, smiling at her as she approached. For some reason his posture and smile reminded her of Ryu, slightly.
He wore loose fitting brown clothes that had hints of leather on the shoulders and sides of the pants. Attached to his belt was a Hand and a Half sword, sheathed in it's black scabbard. A few sheathed knives strapped along the calves of both legs were also visible.
Nicholas smiled as Sarah reached the three. "I'm glad you came. I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."
Sarah pushed back a few stray strands of hair. "Sorry, I bought some things. I didn't think it would take so long to find my way through the city."
Nicholas waved a hand in dismissal. "It's no problem. We'll just have to walk a little faster now." He chuckled and nodded in the direction of the two next to him. "These are the two I hired." He pointed out the Smith. "That's Moose."
Moose vaguely nodded at her.
Then he pointed out the human. "And that's Wilfred."
Wilfred smiled at Sarah. "Hi'ya. Just call me Wil."
Sarah nodded and smiled. "It's good to meet you Wil. And you too Moose."
Moose simply looked at her with contempt. Sarah's smile faded as the Smith continued his visual assault.
"Don't mind him." Wil said from behind Sarah.
She jumped, startled. She hadn't even seen him move.
Wil continued, a small smirk on his lips at her reaction. "He's like this with some people." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled, holding back laughter. "He's actually a teddy bear once you get to know him!" His laughter exploded.
Sarah giggled. She didn't know why he was laughing, but it was infectious.
Moose grunted and glared at Wil, ceasing the human's laughter.
"Well." Nicholas spoke up from the side. "We should get going. It should only take us a day and a half to get to the cave." He walked out the town's exited, black robes fluttering as a wind swept through. It made him look slightly mystic as he began to trudge along the grass plains.
-----------------------------------------------
They walked until night's arrival seemed imminent. They quickly set up camp a good distance from the main trail. The campsite had a lot of rocks, mostly small but there were a few large ones that they used for seats.
Star speckled in the sea of the dark sky like beacons, guiding travelers home. The hoots of owls, singing of crickets, and the roaring fire were the only sounds that stood out through the night. Nicholas had decided to go to sleep early, insisting the others to do the same. Moose had gone to fetch some more fire wood after brooding around for a few hours. Wil and Sarah sat outside around the fire.
Wil had been the life of the party during the whole day of walking. He had cracked jokes and told stories a good deal of the way.
Nicholas had remained silent most of the time, except when something needed to be said.
Moose had said nothing at all and simply followed Nicholas.
Sarah had spent most of the time listening to Wil's stories and jokes.
He's just like Ryu, she thought as she glanced at Wil. He sat with a long, sharp looking dagger, trying to get something out from under his pinky's finger nail.
She missed being home in Drogen. The cackling flames of the camp fire reminded her of the small fireplace she had in her own house. Sitting in front of it alone, just staring at the flames and rocking in the old creaking chair. The house cat jumping into her lap as she would always doze off. Ryu causing a ruckus upstairs as he explained why he didn't have sleep at bedtime to their mother.
"Say," She said. "Do you have a family?"
He glanced up at her and shook his head with a smirk. "No." He said bluntly. "You?"
She nodded. "Yes, I have my mom and my younger brother back home in Drogen." She smiled. "You're actually like an adult version of him. My brother I mean."
He looked up and smiled. "May the god's have mercy on the world then. One of me causes enough trouble." He said jokingly.
Sarah giggled. In her isolated life in Drogen, she had never met someone like him, other than Ryu. But that was different.
"What about your mom? What's she like?" He asked.
Sarah glanced at the fire, then back at him. "Well....she..." She cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say.
Wil chuckled, already understanding. "I see." He laid the dagger to the side. "What about your dad?"
Sarah didn't say anything for a few moments. "Well, I never knew him very well. He vanished when I was around six years old." She smiled. "I remember that he was kind. And gentle. He was just sorta, always there for you if you needed anything. And he loved helping people. He'd go out of his way to help anyone and everyone he could."
Wil looked at her briefly and smiled. "Sounds like you knew him pretty well after all, then."
Sarah smiled back. She quickly glanced outside the firelight as sounds of branches breaking flew through the air. A large, dark figure lumbered towards the camp.
Wil moved his gaze back to his dagger and started picking again, seemingly unaffected by whatever danger approached. "Back already, eh big guy?"
Moose walked into the fire light and dropped a huge bundle of logs. He glanced at Sarah and snorted, walking to and sitting on a large rock. He slumped over and began throwing some of the wood into the fire.
Sarah wasn't fond of the Smith. He seemed to look down at her with Prejudice at every turn. She had tried many times to start a conversation with him, but he'd always just shrug her off, never saying a word. Every time she saw his eyes, she kept feeling a deep sense of a burning hate from within him. Like he was just barley able to restrain himself from attacking her. She didn't want to be alone around him for any length of time.
She looked at the Smith, and he looked back at her slowly with his death gaze. She shuddered.
"I think i'm going to go to sleep now." She said and stood up from her small rock.
Wil looked up at her. "Ok, G'night. Don't worry, me and Moose'll keep night watch."
Sarah nodded and walked to her own sleeping bag, glancing at Moose as she laid down and shuddered.
--------------------------------------------------------
They awoke early the next morning at daybreak and quickly packed up the camp. They trudged across the long dirt trail for a a good three hours. They stopped as Wil had spotted something off the side of the road.
Wil was hunkered over what he had found. Sarah walked over to see his discovery, but quickly backed off and placed her hand over her mouth after she saw.
The corpse of a human, a merchant most likely. It was mutilated, it's throat ripped clean out, as well as many other, far more numerous bloody bite marks all over it's body.
Wil shook his head. "We're getting close to that cave." He stood up and patted dust off his pants. "He must have been killed sometime during the night. The blood's still kinda fresh."
Sarah looked at the corpse grimly. "We...should bury it and perform the rights." She said to the nearby Nicholas.
He nodded. "Should I do them or you?"
"I'll do them." She replied solemnly.
Nicholas nodded. "Moose? Think you can dig a grave?"
Moose gave a quick head gesture. Yes. He set the large rucksack on the ground and pulled out a shovel.
The grave was dug quickly and Wil placed the corpse inside, then the burial place was filled with black dirt. Nicholas made a cross from two sticks he tied together and placed it at the head of the site.
Sarah stood at the edge of the grave and placed a hand out. "Ladon, our creator and savior, guide this soul to the realm of the dead." A soft white glow emmenated from her hand. The soft light left her hand and fell like a feather through the air, and penetrated the ground.
"Alright." Nicholas said as the ceremony was finished. "Let's get going."
The others nodded and left the grave site.
Nicholas stayed behind along with Sarah. He moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to find more corpses when we get to the cave. We don't have time to perform the rights on all of them."
Sarah nodded grimly. "I understand."
Nicholas patted her shoulder and joined the others.
Sarah stayed behind a bit longer, looking solemnly at the grave. "This isn't right."