Chapter 9

Tristram looked almost as run down as Tridosios. It also looked almost exactly like her home. She saw a big burly man, with a big curly orange beard. He was taller than her with big muscles, like that of a workingman. She walked up to the man. He looked to be the blacksmith of the town. He looked up at her as she walked up.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen a woman by the name of Raven?" The man nodded and pointed to the Tavern. She walked into the tavern that looked quite similar to Agden's place. She saw a man at the counter. She recognized him immediately. It was Ogden, Agden's brother. She walked up to the counter.

"Hello Ogden. It has been a long time",

"Adrianna is that you? My you look the same but older. I sure missed you. Welcome to my humble abode". The man smiled at her. He was Agden's twin brother. With the same black hair and blue eyes. The same muscle builds, tall and thin. Ogden wore glasses.

"What brings you to Tristram?"

"Well actually I am looking for a fellow Rogue, my friend Raven. Have you seen her?" The man nodded and pointed a finger towards the bar.

"She's in there I believe". Thanking the man, Adrianna turned and walked into the tavern. The Rogue looked up as Adrianna walked in. Raven gave a small smile as she got up. Adrianna walked up to her and the two hugged. Raven had been brought to the Monastery two years after Adrianna had arrived. Raven was the daughter of a powerful druid. In an accident, her parents were killed. She had always been close to nature and made sure she fought all her battles in nature.

"Well well, I never expected to see you show up here. I have been fighting demons in the wilderness, trying to find a demon hideaway. What have you turned up?"

"I have been exploring an ancient forgotten cathedral on the edge of town with some warriors from other lands. Cain, a knowledgeable man has told us that we were the Sacred five sent to find Messiahs that can defeat this evil. He gave us special weapons and armour to fight with. I believe the source of evil to be there".

"Yes Akara will want to know. I don't believe that I shall find much more in this rundown town, so I shall head back to the Monastery. Do you wish to accompany me? We could bring back up." Adrianna thought about this. Here she had a chance to go home. She thought about Lothar, Jayalm and Derek. They needed her. She had promised to return and help. She could not abandon them now. She turned to her friend.

"I feel that my work in Tridosios is not yet complete, therefore I must return. Tell Akara of my finds and tell her to look into the sacred legends and see if there is anything to do with the sacred five".

"Very well my friend, I shall miss you". Raven bravely smiled and the two friends hugged. Then Raven turned back to the tavern and Adrianna turned and left and went to the tarvern for the night. It had only taken a few hours to venture here. So she figured it would only take her a couple hours to get back. She would be back around the afternoon sometime.

As she walked she thought about that old woman. What had she meant and why did her prediction have such an effect on her?

The day the old woman came, was the day Adrianna decided for the first time that she wanted to be a warrior. She was only ten. The old woman was very wise. She was tall and skinny. She had long grey hair with black steaks in it. She wore a golden circlet upon her hair. A tiny red gem fixed to the front. She wore a green cloak that concealed the clothes she was wearing. She wore normal black leather boots and held a wooden gnarled staff. Her face was oval and she looked noble. She had deep dark eyes that seemed to penetrate into one's mind. She had thin red lips and spoke softly. Though she was old, she seemed to walk with incredible grace.

Adrianna had been playing a game with Laura, Agden, Ogden and Derek. Accompanying the old woman was a young child that was about Adrianna's age. She was small and frail and had big round brown innocent eyes. She had long raven black hair. She too wore a gold circlet, but lacked a small gem. She wore a short green dress and wore black leather boots. She seemed to cling to the old woman her brown eyes round in nervousness and fear at so many strange people. She spoke not to the people of this town. The old woman gazed around. She focused her gaze on Adrianna and then she gazed behind her at the blacksmith's son, Derek. She smiled minutely, and beckoned the children over. She had arrived in early morn and was staying in a make shift hut on the edge of town. The old woman sat down upon a tree stump. The little girl, sat down timidly beside her. The children of Tridosios sat down in front of the old woman, Adrianna and Derek in the front interested in what they had to say. Today she would tell another tale as she had done for the last couple days. She had told many tales of far away lands and they fascinated Adrianna. This story would be no exception.

"As you all know I come from far away jungles. I practice magic with many of my kind. It was long ago predicted that one old woman would travel beyond her jungle home to several small towns to tell the children of an old story of much importance. Our elders predicted an evil event that will change our world forever. Many years from now, a warrior shall arise and with the help of other warriors alike, will come down upon the land and smite the evil that will descend upon us. Much blood will be shed and much life lost, but in the end, the world will be a better place. These warriors will have the power to stop the most evil of all evils in this world. I can tell no more than what I have told you. I do know that children from this town and many others will rise one day as great warriors". She placed her hands on both Adrianna and Derek's head and there was a strange blue glimmer coming from her hands as she again spoke.

"After this day, I will be no more and my child shall ride on without me and will be guided by the gods, but she will be witness of this event and pass on my legacy to other's and make them understand what I preach to you this day, now farewell children. Live well and may light shine holy upon your path.

That woman she now knew had been one of the rare sorceresses of Kurast called the Zann Esu. They focused their energies upon the elemental magics of ice, fire and lightning. She had learned about them in books found in a library in Upper Kurast. The woman's predictions seemed to be coming true, for an evil had arisen and warriors had come from many small towns to destroy this evil. She now believed that she, Derek, Jayalm, Lothar and Daniel had been assigned this task long before their births. Quickening her steps Adrianna rushed to get back to town as she saw the tall tower of the tavern rise above the trees.

She arrived in town at dusk, a little later than what she had planned. She wondered if the men would be staying in the cathedral this night or if they had managed to get to town. There was no sign of her companions. So she went to her inn room and decided to relax while she waited for them. She let down her long brown hair and began to brush it with her brush. She heard the clatter of metal on the stairs as Lothar, Jayalm and Daniel ascended the steps. They seemed to be exhausted, so she let them be. She decided to turn her armour over to Derek to repair. She slipped off the bulky plate mail, the plated boots and plated gloves. They had been damaged when she had been attacked by the fallen on her way here. Indeed there were demons in the wilderness now. She was now wearing the lighter chain mail underneath. It reached her hips and then angled down the front and back, leaving her legs bare. The chain mail had no sleeves as the plate mail covered her arms. She was only wearing leather boots upon her feet. She gathered her armour and slipped as quietly as she could down the stairs not wanting to disturb the others. She slipped out into the cool night. The moon once again shone dimly upon the deserted, dead land. She saw a light on in the blacksmith shop as she neared it. Peeking around the corner, she saw Derek hammering away at something. His back was turned to her. He was not wearing a shirt. It was very hot in there even she was sweating. She saw the sweat running down his back as his muscles heaved and bulged with his every movement. She heard the metal clang of the hammer hitting metal. On the table were four sets of armour. She slipped into the shop. The heat in this room was almost unbearable as she carefully put her armour down on the bench. Derek glanced back at her momentarily and then went back to his work. She felt suddenly nervous standing there. She mustered up her words thinking carefully of what to say.

"Hello Derek. I have returned from Tristram with some rather interesting news", she started hoping to get some interest out of him. Unfortunately, all he did was shrug, so she continued.

"I visited my friend Raven who was stationed in Tristram. She has said that there is an increased amount of evil out in the wilderness. It is true as I came across some fallen out there. Some animals have been turned against humans, and she has returned to the Monastery bearing news that there is trouble in the wilderness and this cathedral".

"Good for you, you should go tell the old man", Derek rumbled out over his shoulder. Something was wrong. His tone was somewhat hostile, but then again he had been like that since she arrived, it seemed intensified a hundred fold. Adrianna decided to ask about the catacombs.

"So how were your explorations in the catacombs?" she asked nervously trying to change to a subject that he could respond to.

"They were the same as usual. We cleaned out the fifth floor just the four of us. It was very easy, we found we don't need you". Adrianna coughed back the tears that were suddenly welling up inside. So they didn't need her. She had told her friend that she was needed here and now all they could say, or all he could say was that they didn't need her. Maybe she should leave the town. She should have never come. She felt rejected. No one seemed to realize that she felt hurt, depressed, angered and guilty. This was not what she had wanted for her family. She had always been welcomed wherever she went. Did Derek hate her so much that he could never ever show her the respect that she had given him when they were younger? Her next words came out shaky, and there was a tone of hostility in her own voice, enough to match his cruelty.

"Well I see you don't need me, anymore. No one seems to need me anymore…sorry I bothered you", she said with acid in her voice. She turned to go and glanced at her armour. She didn't need it anymore. She took the bow from her back. Her magic bow, the bow Cain gave her. In that instant, her dream of being a warrior suddenly faded into darkness. What is it to be a warrior and be without friends? Raven her friend, how would she accept a failure like Adrianna? Glimpsing the ring that Derek had given her, she pulled it off and put it on the table. It seemed to be a symbol of her giving up all that she had worked for. No one seemed to care about her reasons for leaving. Her whole life seemed pointless now.

Her quest was incomplete, therefore she could not return to the Rogue Monastery. She was not wanted there if she could not finish what she had started. She placed the bow and quiver on the bench. Derek seemed to be in the background as she choked back her anger, her depression and her loneliness. She tried to take no notice of him. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he had stopped working and had his head bent down towards his workbench. His hands rested on the table, the hammer beside his hand. She turned and stormed out, unable to stand looking at this man who reminded her so much of her loss. She remembered all the times when the children of the town played games. It seemed all far away now. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her in the direction of the river. She ran across it into the forest, not daring to look behind her. Angry tears stung her eyes and streamed down her face. She roughly tried to brush them away. She came to a tree in the midst of a grove. All she had treasured was now in this place. Despite the dead trees around it, the tree still lived, the brown trunk reaching up into the sky. The deep green round, pointed leaves were in abundance growing along the long reaching branches. She remembered this place well.

She sat listening to the birds chirping as they flew from tree to tree. She was all alone sitting by the trunk of this tree. It would be the last time she came to this tree. It was her hideaway. The place she could be alone to herself. Within its trunk was a box that contained all her treasures. The box held many things. She bent down and reached within the tree pulling out her box. Its contents held many treasures deemed special to her. There was a glittering silver ring her grandmother had given her, a dagger that her father had given her, a heart shaped pendant that her mother had given her and a feather that her best friend Agden had given her. It was from a bird called a Raven. This night Adrianna visited this box to see an old beige scroll with a red ribbon tied around it.

It contained the tale of the old woman and her prediction. Within her hand, Adrianna now held a different scroll. It was the scroll confirming her future marriage to Derek. It had cost her parents a lot of money just to get it. Adrianna could not bring herself to destroy it, so she had decided to bury it in her secret box. It would remain hidden here for as long as she wished it to be. She placed the scroll in the box. She dug into her bag. She pulled out a small object. It was a small chain lacking a pendant. Derek had given it to her in an act of friendship. She placed it in the box, closed it and placed it back in the tree. She stood, recalling the ancient enchantment that the old woman had taught her years before. She spoke out the proper words, waving her hands as she spoke. The tree glittered and shone bright momentarily. No matter what happened to the forest around the tree would live and never die. It would protect her safe haven. She turned and continued on her way out of town.

Adrianna fell on her knees as she sat in front of her tree. The enchantment had worked. She looked up at the tree following the trunk down until it reached her secret place. She reached forward hesitantly and pulled out the box. She opened her box and tears came to her eyes as she gazed at the contents. Her past came back to her. She had given up so much and for what? She had been foolish to let the old woman give her this vision of becoming a warrior. She had misled herself. She felt safe in this place. She was not sheltered from the pain she felt however. She heard footsteps behind her. She did not dare to look back. She picked up the necklace that her mother had given her and clenched it in her fist as she put her face in her hands, the necklace dangling from her left hand. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She looked up, teary-eyed. It was Derek and he looked to be surprised and guilty. His angry determined look had faded and softened. What surprised her more was he then hung his head. He moved his hands to her shoulders and kneeled down beside her. He looked at the contents of her box, not daring to touch anything, almost as if he was afraid of it.

"It is the box where I keep my most treasured belongings; things that people have given me; my mom's necklace, my father's dagger, my grandmother's ring, Agden's Raven feather and the scroll that the old woman gave me. I believed her story. I wanted so much to be a warrior. I have been blinded by my own determination, but of course you will never believe me. No one ever will. I am the brat with no home, as you said. I chose that life. You said I was selfish; well you are right I am. I just wanted to be a warrior, see far away places and learn what I could about the world and help my home in time of need. Now my home is in need, but I am too late. My parents are long dead. Why didn't the Rogues see this sooner?" Adrianna turned away from Derek and looked at her box. Derek suddenly reached into the box and pulled out the chain he had given her so long ago. He was surprised to see it. He remembered that he had given it to her as an act of friendship, but then she had left. She considered her friendships very serious and she could never have thrown it away.

"I would have thought you would have discarded this. I never thought I was a friend to you".

"I wanted to be your friend, but then the whole marriage thing and then my dream to be a warrior got in the way".

"Adrianna I believe you. I have believed you since Agden told me days after you left and how you promised to return, but over the years I lost all hope of you returning. I witnessed the pain your parents felt and the pain my father felt. Then I saw them all die. My father killed, your father killed, and then your innocent mother killed. It hardened my heart, because I knew you were out there in that big world somewhere and had absolutely no idea what had happened. I figured you forgot about us. When you left home, our town seemed to die. A bright light in our lives was lost. When you returned, the light came back, but the light was bittersweet because the town was dead, much was changed, so many people dead for some unknown purpose. Our childhood games seemed to be of no fun. I am sorry that I have hurt you. I didn't see that you felt pain as well. I ask you now to forgive what I have done. When you left to see Raven my mood darkened. We had a hard time in the catacombs. Lothar and Jayalm seemed preoccupied. Daniel was somewhat defiant and ignored everyone. I myself could feel the darkness closing in on me. I lied and I am not quite sure why, maybe I was trying to hide the fact that I missed you. I can understand if you hate me. After what I have done to you, I don't blame you if you do". Adrianna smiled as she threw her arms around Derek in the manner that she had hugged Raven. Derek seemed surprised.

"If you can forgive me, then I can forgive you". She smiled then and took the chain from Derek. She slipped it around her neck, then closed her box and returned it to its place. She held up the chain, as if to prove she meant what she said. Perhaps maybe now Derek wouldn't be so hostile and they could finally get to the bottom of this evil. Together, Adrianna and Derek went back to town. Derek went back to work on his blacksmithing and Adrianna sat on a stool and re-strung her bow. The Rogues had been taught how to fix their bows so they were almost completely independent. She enjoyed sitting and relaxing in the cool freshness of the night air as she wove the string and then put it in the bow. It was so much easier to repair her bow when she had the proper tools to do so.

Derek pounded away on the weapon he was repairing which happened to be Daniel's hammer. He was vaguely aware that a beautiful, kind brunette was watching him. He had to admit that this woman was incredibly beautiful. His father had made a good choice, but all that was in the past. His past seemed so long ago. It seemed he was in a nightmare and it seemed as if Adrianna might be the only light in this eternal nightmare. Deep down he knew that she hurt with all the memories and pain and Derek knew that marriage between them could never be. The document binding their future marriage was lost, perhaps destroyed. Still at least he could be a friend to her and maybe their feud would end and they could work together peacefully. He found it hard to accept that she was a warrior, capable of taking care of herself. He still felt bad about the way he had treated her and he knew the reason she went to Tristram, to see her friend, someone who would not hate her or dislike her as he and Daniel had done. Jayalm and Lothar seemed to be very friendly towards her and she seemed to like them better. Perhaps both he and Adrianna could mend the damage done to their friendship.

Derek worked late into the night repairing armour and weapons. He was just about done when he remembered that Adrianna was still behind him. He looked around only to see that she was fast asleep on the stool. Her long slender legs loosely crossed at her ankles as her feet reached out in front of her. She was leaning against the wall; her soft delicate hands fell at her sides, one draped loosely over her lap. Her head was tipped to the side, her face facing him. Her face seemed one of an angel in the dim light of the shop. Her long beautiful hair fell loosely around her face. Delicate features and beautiful eyelashes fluttered once in while, indicating she was in some far off dream world. Indeed she did look like an angel. Derek carefully placed his hammer down without a sound and walked over to her. Stepping up to her quietly, he put one arm around her back and the other under her knees and lifted her up. How light she felt, yet so strong. Her head tipped forward to rest on his chest. The feeling of her head touching his skin sent strange shivers up his spine. He trembled with the odd sensation. He tried to ignore the strange feeling. He figured that the inn would be closed so he took her upstairs to his room. He placed her on his bed and she suddenly shivered. He pulled the covers over her slim body, resting it just under her chin. He reached down reluctantly and touched her head and then running his fingers through her soft delicate brown hair, he whispered good night. He had a strange urge then to kiss those beautiful soft lips, but forcing it back he then turned and shut the door and went back down to his shop to work.

About an hour later Derek finished up his work and went inside for some much needed sleep. He decided that since there was a beautiful woman sleeping in his room that he should sleep elsewhere and pulled out a cot and slept on that for the night. He drifted to sleep at ease knowing that all repairs were complete and that Adrianna was safe in town and not in some other town consumed in much evil.

Dim light filtered in the window. Morning had come and it was time to get up and fight yet more demons and plunge even deeper into this Labyrinth of evil. Adrianna opened her eyes and gasped. This was not her inn room that Agden had given her. She was somewhere else. She got up and looked out the window. The horizon was in a different position. The features of the countryside had shifted over. She leaned really close to the glass and she glimpsed the inn on the far left of the window. She remembered the night before and knew what had happened. She was in Derek's house. She had probably fallen asleep in his shop, and he had probably brought her here. That was very nice of him, but where was Derek? The room she noticed was very clean. At least he valued cleanliness. The bed was of queen size, and there was a very nice flowered quilt on it. There was a table beside the bed with a lamp on it. The flame was out. There was a wooden chest of drawers on the opposite side of the room and a brown fur rug on the wooden floor. She slipped over to the door of the room and opened it slightly. She noticed that the hinges were well oiled, as the door did not make a sound. It made it so much easier to creep out of a room without being noticed.

She walked quietly down the stairs and onto the main floor. She turned the corner and saw that Derek was sleeping on one of the cots that she had seen in Lithious' house. She tiptoed past him and stopped at his front door. She looked back at his handsome face. His face held nobility, strength, and courage even in sleep. He was a special person to have endured so much pain and still be sane. Whispering her thanks she turned and opened the door slowly and walked out quietly shutting the door carefully behind her. She walked in the dim light of day. She missed the days of beautiful sunshine and warm breezes rushing through her hair kissing her face with its gentle kiss. She walked to the inn. She was a Rogue; she could pick locks and unarm traps, so climbing up to her window should not be a problem. She grabbed onto the wooden panels scaling the wall. She climbed up the wall coming up to her window. She pushed open her window, which she deliberately left open just in case she hadn't arrived home in time. She gripped the wall above and swung her long legs into the window. Once inside, she brushed her hair and put it in its usual ponytail and washed her face. Grabbing her bag, she slipped across the room climbed outside the window, closed it and managed to inch her way down the wall. It was early morn, just past dawn, as she sprinted through town. She ran thinking along the way. She wondered so many things. Why hadn't the Rogues seen this evil sooner? Perhaps their predictions were somewhat off. She stopped running as she came to the cathedral. A chill ran from her neck to her feet as she looked up at the crumbling walls. The ground crunched beneath her feet as she walked past the rows of gravestones. She was in the cathedral cemetery looking for two headstones. She bent down as a familiar name caught her eye. She reached out reluctantly towards the stones. She brushed away the dust that had covered the names. The names of both her mother and father stood out plainly, engraved on the crumbling stone. "Rest in Peace" the stone said. She sat there awhile, thinking. She vowed that day as she looked up at the grey sky that she would avenge her parent's deaths by killing the evil source that caused so much death among the world. She had saved but one creature. A small little kitten that now roamed freely in Agden's inn. She was too busy to care for this kitten, so she allowed Agden to take care of her. She rose from her kneeling position, turned and walked back to town.