Chapter Three: Of Allies and Thieves
Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok and I never will.
I thank all those who reviewed. That makes two.
Stare walked of as the sun rose behind him. The journey to his uncle's house would be three days to the west. His uncle lived in a small town near Prontera. Though it was not very well defended it had not suffered a single bandit raid since its founding.
Stare didn't bring much with him. He just brought his mother's sword and shield, his swordsman's gear and whatever coins he found on the road. His load made the journey tiring. By the end of the first day he had covered a small distance because he was still tired. He stopped near a spring and fell asleep.
The next day Stare woke up feeling refreshed and energetic. This was altogether negated once he remembered his mother's death, though. He picked up his gear and started walking. Suddenly, an arrow zoomed past jus two inches from his head. He turned his head to where the arrow had come from. There stood a swordsman, two thieves, an archer and a merchant. Among them the merchant stood out. He was praying fervently and looked like he would have a heart attack.
The swordsman strode up to him and looked him in the eye. His shirt had written on it in bold letters the words: Tax Collector of the Forest. "Listen up kid, we want money and we want it now. So either you just hand it to us or we take it from you" said the swordsman. Stare thought for a moment. "It's really just the same," he said. "If I give you the coins it means that you have compelled me by means of threats to surrender my money, if you take it from me I'll still have lost my money to you" he said. The swordsman considered this. "Alright," he said. "So what do you propose we do?" "Well, to begin with take off those shirts. You are obviously not tax collectors of the forest. There isn't a single forest within three miles. Second you leave me alone." Stare said. This angered the swordsman greatly. "You are asking for a fight!" he said. He drew his sword and pointed it at Stare. "Draw your sword or die unequipped!" Stare drew his sword.
The swordsman swung his sword. Stare parried. He immediately flicked his sword up and thrust it at his enemy. The swordsman jumped back and then ran forward. He slashed. Stare raised his sword and caught the blade with his own. Suddenly the combatants heard a cry. They both jumped back and looked at the rest of the thieves. One of them had fallen to the ground clutching an arrow that protruded from his throat. Suddenly an assassin appeared and stabbed the next thief. The merchant reacted. He took an axe from his bag and chopped the archer's head off. Stare looked at his opponent and saw that he was in shock. He lopped the swordsman's head off.
Stare approached the warriors who helped him. Suddenly an archer appeared out of thin air a few metres away. Strangely though he had two javelins on his back. He approached the group.
"Greetings young warrior" he said, addressing Stare. "Hi." Stare said. "I'm Stare Arrough from Arrathlorien"
The archer examined Stare for a while. "Stare... Is that your real name?"
"No, but I never give my real name. Too long" Stare replied. "Okay," the archer said.
"Well I' m Robert. Call me Spak; I always hated the name Robert. Come to think of it though I don't like Spak either. Like it more than the other, though."
Stare looked at the assassin. "And you are...?"
The assassin looked at him, his eyes piecing Stare's soul. "I don't like introductions, but what the heck. My name is Reiji Ricdeau. I'm an assassin from Fayon, the city of Constellations."
The merchant spoke up. "I'm Bergen Isilfjorder. I come from a line of distinguished merchants." He said, smiling proudly. "My goods are known far and wide for their quality and price."
Spak snickered. "Yeah, low quality, high price" he said.
The merchant glared at him. "The quality's high, too..." he muttered.
"Well," Spak said. "What brings you here?"
"My mother was killed in a raid. I'm heading towards my uncle's house in the Pronteran prefecture." Stare replied.
Spak thought for a while. "I know! Why don't we go with you?" Spak said. "I mean it's along our way and we might get to rest in a real room for once this month."
"Spak, don't forget we have a duty to fulfil." Reiji said. "This boy may need help but there are deaths to justify."
"C'mon. You know it's not out of the way. Just because you don't like another's company you shouldn't reject helping him."
"You are so stubborn," said Reiji, shaking his head in disapproval.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. They reached the town soon but it was not a welcome sight. It was worse than what happened at Stare's town. At the gate was a man in battle armor.
The group approached him. They asked about what happened and got this information: The town had been attacked by "a creature of ice". The guards had tried to stop the creature but had failed. It mauled most of them and ate a few but mysteriously departed after a while.
"This is it," whispered Reiji. "The clue we need to find Garm. Let's go, Spak."
"All right. Well, see you Stare. Bergen! You coming?"
"I think I'll stay here......where it's safe. Besides, I ran out of money for mamonite when we killed those willows." Bergen said.
That's all for now. I still need more names/characters and please R&R.
I said that's all for now. Don't you have a life to live or something? Sheesh, readers these days...