Chapter 20 : A nice little city ?
Hey guys, Agithos here for another chapter. Personnal thanks to CC-6776 for letting me use his OC's Ben and Ricka. And also personnal thanks to those who responded to me for the two years anniversary chapter of the story. And for the last information, I decided to put the CPB at the end of each chapter instead of putting in a chapter alone. Without further ado, let's go for the chapter.
Present time, Home, Ayumi's POV
After we enjoyed the dinner, we all went into our respective room. Before going to sleep, Mickael made our bed larger by crafting another one and putting them next to each other. It was past midnight, Mickael was sleeping soundly and the others were probably doing the same right now. As for me, I couldn't. I was thinking about my lover. He just came back two days ago and he was already leaving for a two week mission, and, on the top of that, I couldn't even follow him.
I was turning in my bed when I heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen.
« Huh ? What is happening downstairs ? » I asked to myself.
I wanted to think it was just one of us who just wanted to drink some water but my instincts and my experience forced me to get up and check. I carefully avoided to wake Mickael up as I got up from the bed and left our bedroom. I tried to make as little noise as I could as I walked into the hallway. I began to walk down the stairs until I noticed Andr. She was in the kitchen, pulling a fish out from one of our chests before hidding it under her coat. Then, she teleported outside the house and entered the forest.
« Andr ? What is she up to ? » I thought.
I quickly decided to follow her through the dark night. I stepped outside the house and entered the forest as well. She was walking quickly and with the occasional teleports. I nearly lost her track more than once. After three or four minutes, she stopped in front of, what looked like, a small doghouse. After checking her surroundings, she went on one knee and pulled the fish out from her coat.
« Hey there twinkle, sorry I couldn't come sooner ! » Andr said.
« Twinkle ? » I thought before seeing a cat going out of the doghouse. It was a small black cat with a white dot on its forehead. The dot was looking like a star.
I knew I saw this cat somewhere. It took me some time, but I finally remembered. It was the cat Andr showed us the day before Hayden joined us.
« Did she take care of it during all that time ? »
The cat began to eat the fish while Andr was strocking its back. I decided to show myself
« Hi Andr ! »
« GAAAAAH » She screamed as she tried to hide the cat behind her, in vein.
« Don't try to hide it. I have been following you since I saw you picking up that fish out of the chest ! » I said with a smile.
Maybe I chose the wrong words because Andr began to panick.
« Oh Notch. I am so sorry, Ayumi. It's just that...I couldn't bring myself to leave him alone into the wild. I usually feed him things that I found myself but I didn't have the time yesterday, so I... »
« Calm down Andr ! » I interrupted her « I am not scolding you ! »
She stopped speaking.
« You can take care of whatever animal you want, but...why didn't you tell us about him ? » I asked.
« Well, I was kinda anxious about Mickael and Cupa's reaction if they happened to learn that I was taking care of a cat behind your back ! » Andr answered.
The cat just finished eating the fish. He walked toward me and rubbed himself on my legs.
« I am sure they would have thought nothing of it. Beside... » I said as I picked up the cat in my arms « He is such a cutie ! »
Andr giggled and nodded. I put Twinkle in front of his house and turned toward Andr.
« As long as you don't bring it back home, there shouldn't be any problem. That will be our little secret ! »
« Yes ! »
We returned to the house and said goodnight to each other. Upon entering in my bedroom, I found that Mickael was still sleeping. I giggled as I saw him hugging his pillow in his arms. He looked like he was having a nice dream. I lied on the bed and fell asleep.
The next morning, Home, Mickeal POV
« Is everything ready ? » I asked.
« Yes ! » Ari replied « Now we just he to wait for the others ! »
This morning, after taking breakfirst, we formed the group that would go to the city to try and convince the king the threat is real. Ari and I would be going to the village where we would pick up Jade, the daughter of the village's chief, on the way. Cupa was also coming with us into the village but she wouldn't follow us into the city. Now we just needed to wait for the two other members of the group to rejoin us.
A strange sound came from the portal we placed behind the house. A few seconds later, we saw two persons coming from around the corner.
« Hi everyone ! » Charloette greeted
« Hey, long time no see ! » Menos said as he looked at me.
« Same here, guys ! » I replied, grinning before asking « Are you ready to go ? »
« Yes ! » They answered at the same time.
« YAY ! » Cupa jumped happily « Let's go ! »
« Good luck, you two ! » Yaebi continued.
I noticed Ayumi staring at me. I walked toward and held by her sides. She looked at me in the eyes
« Don't worry, as I promised, we will take a few days for ourselves after this mission ! » I said.
« Then come back as soon as possible ! » Ayumi replied.
« Maybe a goodbye kiss will make my travel go faster ! » I grinned.
Ayumi giggled before kissing me on the lips. After a brief moment, we pulled away. We said one last goodbye to each other before I rejoined the other four.
« So, where are we going ? » Menos asked.
« We need to pass by the village to pick up someone and take some food. I also need to pick up a sword I left at the forge. Then, we will go to the city ! » I answered.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived in front of the village's gates. The two guards from before were still there. Upon seeing us, one of them spoke up.
« Halt ! State your name ! »
« My name is Mickael and these are my friends ! » I answered, following Hayden's speech from last time.
« Mickael ? Ah, yes. Jade told us about you. You are free to enter ! »
The guards opened the doors and we entered the villages. The reconstruction was still the main occupation of the villagers.
« Alright, first stop : Krystal's forge ! » I said to the others.
We walked toward where I left my sword. After a minute, we arrived in front of Krystal's forge.
« Hey Krystal ! » I greeted her.
« Oh, hi Mickael. I guess you came here to recover your sword, right ? » She greeted back.
« Yes ! »
« Alright, stay here ! » She said before going into her storage room. While, she was inside of it, I heard her shout « Well, I tried to fix your sword, but there were...complications ! »
« Complications ? What do you mean ? » I asked while she kept searching for my sword.
« To make it simple, your weapon was much more damaged than I thought. The blade itself was fine but the handle was nearly broken. A few more hits and you would have found yourself with just the that part in your hand ! »
« Notch, did you really give me a broken sword ? » I asked to the entity in my head.
« No...I think my brother probably did something more than just cut it in half when you fought him ! »
« Just great...What am I supposed to do now ? »
« For the moment, let's just see if she managed to fix it ! » Notch answered.
Krystal stepped outside of her storage room with, what looked like, a piece of armor for an arm. She placed it on her workbench. I looked behind me to see that Cupa, Ari, Menos and Charloette had the same puzzled look as me. I turned toward Krystal, she wore a proud smile on her face.
« Hum Krystal ? I asked for my sword, not a piece of armor ! »
That being said, Krystal just picked the armor and pushed a small button on the side of the front arm. Suddenly, a blade as long as a arm quickly came out of it.
« Wow ! »
« Since the handle was nearly broken, I removed it and placed the blade inside a gauntlet. What you have in front of you is the very first prototype of an arm blade. One press of this little button and this piece of armor will transform into a lethal weapon ! » She explained before smiling « This is one of my creation I am the most proud of ! »
Then she handed me the gauntlet
« This armor is made in reinforced iron. In theory, a normal sword won't be able to cut through ! »
« In theorie ? » I asked
« Well, it's the first time made something with that kind of iron. Making a reinforced iron armor can prove to be very difficult for a begginer. Also it's more expensive since it need three time the normal amount of iron for the same piece of armor ! »
« Interesting... »
« Humm, a blade like this should have a name. How do you want to call it ? » Menos asked.
« Mickael ? »
« Yes ? »
« It's not my sword anymore. You said Exbarelyburn was a lame name. Let's see if you can find a better one ! »
« Just you wait Notch ! » I replied.
I removed my iron gauntlet and put my hand into the one Krystal forged for me. I pressed the button and the sword came out. The blade was about a arm long starting from just above my elbow. It was covering all my front arm.
« A name...I know. I am going to name it 'Nightfall' ! »
« Nightfall ? Why ? » Cupa asked. Looks like she was hopping for a big history lesson around that name. Truth to be told, there was none.
« ...I don't know...it sounded...cool ! » I replied, scratching the back of my hand in embarrassment.
« ... »
« What ? You have something to say ? » I asked Notch.
« ...No ! »
« Glad you like it Mickael. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do ! » Krystal said.
« Alright. I'll see you later Krystal ! » I replied.
Cupa began to walk away from the forge but bumped into something heavy. She looked up to see an iron golem starint right into her eyes. Cupa began to panic and sweat. I placed my hand on the side of the gauntlet, ready to step in if things got out of hands.
« I see you have met Eve ! » I heard Krystal say as she runned toward us.
« Eve ? » I asked.
« Yes, she is a sentient iron golem I built after the attack. I used the corpse of our destroyed iron golem and I repaired it. She is not like the other iron golem, she can have some feelings of her own and even remember things from her past life ! »
« Is she dangerous ? »
« Only if your are a monster ! » Krystal answered « Come on, Eve, say hello to our visitors ! »
The iron golem continued to stare at Cupa.
« Hello ! » She greeted with a feminine robotic voice.
« Humm...hi ! » Cupa replied
Suddenly, the arms of the iron golem reached out for Cupa and gripped her shoulders. I saw Cupa trying to resist. I turned toward Krystal.
« Krystal, make her stop ! »
« Don't worry. Just look ! »
I looked back at Eve to see she was hugging Cupa. I couldn't believe it with my own eyes : An iron golem hugging a creeper. That wouldn't have happened in the game.
« I am sorry for throwing you against the gate ! » Eve apologized.
I could tell that Cupa was a little nervous to be hugged by an iron golem. Her arms were slightly shaking.
« That-That's ok...don't worry ! »
The golem released Cupa and went on her own way. Our creeper friend looked a little shocked.
« Are you alright Cupa ? » Charloette asked as she sat next to her.
« Y-Yes...I am fine ! »
« Heh, sorry about that. I guess I still have to teach her how to say goodbye ! » Krystal chuckled.
« Thanks for everything Krystal. We will be on our way, now ! » I replied.
We said goodbye to Krystal as she returned to her work. The sun was getting high up into the sky. We needed to get to Jade fast or we would be late for the rendezvous. We runned a little until we arrived in front of the chief's house. Jade was already waiting for us with some horses by her side. On the horses, were bags full of supplies for the travel.
« You are almost late ! » She said as she saw us approaching.
« Sorry about that, we had to make a detour ! » I explained as I showed her Nightfall.
Jade sighed
« I already packed the food supplies. Everything is ready on my side. What about you ? »
« We are ready ! » Charloette answered.
« Then we don't have time to waste. Let's go, you will present your new friends to me on the way ! »
I nodded. After we said goodbye to Cupa and I asked her to take care of Ayumi for me. We left the village, each one of us on a horse. I didn't have any training in mounting a horse and it proved to be kind of difficult. I was anxious it would go crazy.
« Calm down Mickael ! » Jade asked me « Animals can feel your fear, the more you will be anxious, they more they will be too ! »
« Humm...Alright ! » I tried to calm down.
« So, how are we going to get to the city ? » Ari asked behind me.
« To reach the city of Azlenta, we will need to go through some dangerous places : The desert of fire. One hour without water in here and you are done for. The toundra of icespike were dozens of frozen corpses are discovered each year. And finally, the swamp of the swallowed which hold the record for the number of missing persons. Believe me, it will be a very dangerous task and I just hope we will all make it through alive ! » She explained as we entered the forest.
The rest of us just looked at each other. This travel seemed far more dangerous than we thought it would be...
1 week later, In front of Azlenta, Mickael POV
« We finally did it, we are at Azlenta ! » I heard Jade say in front of me.
« That was fast ! » Ari remarked.
We all got down from our horses and picked up the nearly empty bags of food supplies.
« I am glad we finally arrived. It was a long travel ! » I sighed.
« Well, I didn't see it pass by ! » Ari continued
« My dress is all dirty now ! » Charloette pouted in her boyfriend arms.
We were in front of Azlenta, the city was in the middle of a plain surrounded by snowy mountain. The big stone walls around the city showed some kind of power and respect. Above the wall, we could see a very high tower. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ari sat against a tree to take a nap.
« Damn, when you said a 'a big city', I didn't imagined it would be this big ! » I said.
« It's one of the most powerful human city there is out there. It's also the one with the most influence du to its military and commercial power. If the noble who runs the city turn his back on the emperor, then the whole economy would be broken. That's why the emperor accept most of the noble's requests ! » Jade explained
« And what is his name ? » Menos asked.
« No one knows expect his family... » The green dressed woman answered « He doesn't want to be called by his name. He wants to be called as 'The son and heir of the Gods' ! »
« I already don't like him ! »
« Yes, me neither... »
« There is another thing I need to warn you about ! » Jade began « This city is also inhabited by mobs but... »
« But ? » We asked at the same time.
« ...They are reduced as slaves ! »
« Slaves ? How can they do that ? Why the noble don't do anything against it ?» I was dumbfounded.
« Because...it's the noble that decided it. You see, two years ago, it wasn't like that. It was one of the only cities where mobs and humans would live peacefully together. When the noble arrived on the throne, after his father's death, he made all mobs slaves. Some human tried to rebel against it but they were quickly executed ! »
« That's horrible...Notch, we have to do something ! » I said in my head.
« I agree, Mickael but you have a mission : convince the king of this city. If something happens to him, the city would fall into anachy and the military power would be seriously weakened. We will take care of those mobs after Herobrine defeat. Understood ? »
« Yes but...no, I can't let this slavery continue ! »
« Mickael ! Don't you dare do something stupid. If you act like that, you could shatter all hope of making an alliance ! »
« Fine... » I sighed in my head.
I saw Jade turning toward Charloette and Menos. As for Ari, she was still sleeping against her tree.
« You mustn't stay alone. You must always be by my or Mickael's sides. If you can't, you will have to hide. Otherwise, the guards will take you for a free mob and will capture you ! »
« Yes, we understand ! » Menos said.
« Good. Now let's go ! »
That being said, I walked toward the sleeping spider girl. I was thinking how I could wake her up the most diabolical way.
« Mickael... »
« Ok, ok...grumpy old man ! »
I put my hand on Ari's shoulder and gently shaked it. I saw her open one eye before she yawn.
« Is it done ? » She asked as I facepalmed.
« No...we are waiting for you to enter the city ! » I explained with a hint of annoyance in my voice.
« Oh, ok ! » She responded while getting on her feet.
Now that all of us were ready, we approached the front gates. They were opened with two guards next to them. From where we stood, we saw that the city was very active. Many people were walking on the street. But, as soon as we entered into the city, I noticed they all seemed either anxious or sad. All the mobs I saw were chained with a collar or close to a human. Ari was also looking at them with sad eyes. She whispered to me
« Mickael, do you think we should...help them ? »
« As much as I would love to...we have an important mission to accomplish ! »
Ari stared at the ground. I tried to cheer her up.
« Don't worry, when all of this will be over. We will save them all ! »
Upon hearing that, she just nodded and a small smile formed on her lips. Considering what happened to her in the past, it was normal for her to feel pity toward these mobs.
« We need to go to the palace to see the noble ! » Jade said as she pointed the tower, deep within the city.
« Yeah, let's go ! » Menos responded.
As we walked toward the palace through the main street. I noticed all the guards we met were staring at us, some giving us death stare. I thought about glaring at them to show them that they would better not touch my friends, but that wouldn't have done any good, exept bring more tension. I looked around to see the buildings were quite dirty and some were on the verge of collapsing.
« Hey Jade, why are all the houses like this ? » I asked
« We actually are into the Lower part of the city. This were the lower classes citizen and their slaves live. Once we reach the end of the main street, we will be able to go to the higher part of the city ! » She explained.
« I see ! »
Just as I finished speaking, I noticed Ari being bumped by someone on the shoulder. Ari, being as she is, turned toward the person who bumped her.
« Hey ! You could, at least, say sorry ! » She nearly shouted at him
The person in question was as tall as Ari. He was wearing a sort of black iron armor with red lines on it. He slightly turned his head toward Ari and I could finally see his face. He was a tanned man with blue eyes. He looked quite young.
« I have no business with you. Get lost ! » He simply said.
Ari was stunned for a moment. Then she rolled up her sweater and began to walk toward the man, only to be restrained by Jade and I.
« RELEASE ME, I'LL MAKE HIM EAT HIS OWN WORDS ! » Ari yelled
« Calm down Ari, he is not worth it ! » Jade responded as she tried to calm her down « Plus, you draining the attention toward us, see ? » She pointed at some guard whose hands were on the handle of their swords. They were staring at us.
Seeing all the attention turned toward us, Ari began to calm down a little but I could still see she was gritting her teeth. One of the guards approached us.
« Hey you, you should put a leash on that mob, unless you want her to be executed ! »
« Is that a threat ? » I asked, annoyed.
« No...more like a warning ! » He answered before turning his back to us. I also turned around to see that the man in iron armor was gone without leaving a single trace.
« Who was that guy ? He didn't seem like the other guards ! » I thought.
Deciding it was time to move, Jade sighed before she speaks up :
« Alright, we don't have much time ahead of us, we need to meet the king as soon as possible ! »
« I agree ! » Menos added.
We walked toward the castle. We passed through the Higher part of the city where the rich citizens would live. It was true that it seemed more wealthy but for the slaves, it was another story. They looked even more miserable, they had chains around their necks and wrists. Some even had a tatoo on their shoulder to show everyone they belongued to a master. After a few minutes of walking, we arrived in front of the gate of the palace. A nearby guard put himself in front of us.
« Halt, what are you doing here ? » He asked.
« We need to see the 'Son and heir of the Gods' ! » Jade answered.
« The king doesn't receive anyone for today ! »
« Please ! » Jade pleaded « We need to see him right away. It's very important ! »
The guard seemed to think about it for a few second before he responded back.
« Fine...You can enter, but I am not the one who let you in, understood ? »
« Yes, thank you sir ! »
We entered the castle and made our way to the throne room. The guards we passed by were shooting glances at us, looked like they were ready to act in case their king was in danger. When we arrived in front of the door, Jade spoke up :
« So, Mickael, Charloette and I will go to in front of the king. Menos and Ari, you stay outside and cover the door. If something go wrong, we should be able to escape quickly. Are you okay with that ? »
In response, we all nodded.
« Then, let's go ! »
Jade, Charloette and I opened the door and we all entered inside the throne room. It was...immense, to say the least. Inside of it were multiples torches hanging from the stone's walls. There was also a red and yellow carpet leading to the throne made of gold blocks. On the throne was a man a little taller than a midget, probably around 5 feet tall. He was bald exept for the strands of white hair of the sides of his head. He looked like around 40 or maybe 50 years old. He was currently eating a sort of pastry. Upon seeing us, he frowned.
« You again ? I thought I already made clear I won't send soldiers to face a threat that doesn't even probably exist ! »
« Please 'Son and heir of the Gods', you have to believe me. The threat is real and I have the living proof here ! » Jade insisted.
« Then where is it ? » The king asked.
I walked forward presented myself to the noble.
« My name is Mickael Tabor, your majesty. I came into this world to warn you that Herobrine returned from the grave. He plans to destroy all life on Minecraftia by making creating some monsters. Notch asked me to stop this threat, but I won't be able to do it without assistance from the human empire. That's why we came to you. We need your help ! » I said.
The noble smiled and began to laugh
« Herobrine...returned ? Notch asking for help to a mere citizen ?...HAHAHAHAHA, I didn't hear anything more absurd in my entire life ! » Then, he took a more serious expression « Now, go away, I don't have time for these kind of stupidity and if you ever come back, I'll send you straight into a dungeon ! » He continued as he picked up another pastry from a plate.
I gritted my teeth and my fists tightened.
« Hey, Notch...can I... »
« ...Do what you want... » I heard him sighing in my mind.
Following what Notch told me, I began to walk toward the throne. As I went toward to him, the noble tried to call some guards to block my way.
« Guards, stop him ! »
Without saying a word, I removed my eye patch and stared at them with my yellow cat eye. The guards who were running toward me were petrified by fear. They didn't move a single muscle. In a few second, I found myself right in front of the king.
« S-Stay away from me, you monster ! » He nearly shouted.
« Oh really ? » I said as I began to laugh « I am the monster now. Listen you, the real monsters are outside of your walls right now. But I can promise, when they will attack, you will regret to not have listened to us in the first place. Don't you understand, the lives of your citizen is between your hands right now. Either you listen to us and you will be able to save them or you don't take us seriously and you will die like mere insects. Also remember one things, even if we all get out of this possible end of the world alive, I will find you and... »
« ENOUGH MICKAEL ! » I heard the voice of Jade shout behind me. When I turned around, I saw her sighing « You did your part, go with Ari and Menos. You can visit the city while we are speaking with the 'Son and heir of the Gods'. We will meet you back outside the city ! »
I put my eye patch back on and rejoined Jade and Charloette. The noble was still shocked by my little performance. I could see sweat dripping from his forehead and his skin was even whiter than Charloette's dress.
« Don't you think you went a little too far ? » Notch asked me.
« Well, he deserved it ! » I answered.
I exited the throne and nearly slammed the door behind me. Outside, I rejoined Ari and Menos.
« So, how did it go ? » The ghast asked.
« It is not going anywhere for the moment. The noble doesn't want to understand that if we do nothing, it will be the apocalypse ! » I answered.
« What can we do ? » Ari continued.
« Nothing, we just have to wait. Jade suggested we should explore the city while they are discussing with the king ! »
« Good idea. It is getting boring to wait for you guys ! » My spider friend said.
« I don't know, Charloette is still inside...I would feel bad for leaving her alone ! » Menos responded.
« Oh, don't worry about her. She is a grown up girl plus, she is with Jade. Nothing will happen to her ! » Ari replied.
« Yes...I guess you are right ! »
That being said, Ari, Menos and I left the palace to visit the city. The higher part of the city was smaller than the lower part, by far. From my point of view, it looked like only a hundred of people could live there. The center of this part of the city was a small square where we saw rich people struting around with their slaves, occasionally shooting glares at Ari and Menos. At one point, a young woman around 20 years old walked toward me with her slave. Unlike the other, this one didn't have any collar arouund his neck.
« I see you don't chain your slaves ! » She said.
« These are not my slaves, they are my friends ! » I replied, annoyed.
« So, you are friends with mobs ? » She asked.
« Yes ! Is that a problem ? »
« Not at all ! » She responded.
Suddenly, her face got closer to mine and she whispered in my ears :
« If you are not like the others, meet us tonight, in the forest outside the city, when the moon will get above the mountain ! »
« Huh ? » I said, surprised.
Without another word, the woman walked away with her slave and disappeared around a corner. I stand there, wondering what just happened. I was brought back to reality when Ari snapped her finger in front of me.
« Hey, Mickael, we are talking to you ! »
« What ? »
« What was that with that woman ! »
« I-I don't really know myself... »
Despite this troubling event, we decided to continue our visit of the city. To lighten the mood a little, I decided to ask Menos :
« So, when will you two be finally married ? »
« Hum, in three weeks or so ! »
« Well, I wish you two the best of luck ! » I replied.
« Thanks, Mickael, I hope things will go perfectly between you and Ayumi ! »
« Are you kidding ? Of course it will go perfectly, they are meant to be with each other ! » Ari responded as she jumped on my back.
« Well I... »
« Mickael, something is wrong. I have the feeling someone is watching us ! » Notch suddenly spoke up.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw something moving in a nearby dark alley. It was small and was moving fast. I saw it disappear around a corner. I decided to take a look.
« Ari, Menos...Follow me ! » I murmured to them.
They nodded and we all walked toward the alley. Despite being in day time, the alley was still dark. I wondered how it would be like at night. I removed my eye patch and, thanks to my mob eye, I could finally see better. I learned during my travel that my eye allowed to see better in the dark, a sort of incorporated Night vision. I pressed the button on my gauntlet and Nightfall came out of the arm armor. I prefered to have it ready in case something attack us. Again, I saw the shadow casting a glance at us from around a corner, exept, this time, with my mob eye, I finally saw what it was.
« A child ? » I thought.
Indeed, it was a little girl. She had a tanned skin, blue eyes and black hair which were partially hidden by a hat. She looked around 9 or 10 years old. I began to walk toward her but she instantly backed away from me. When I turned at the corner, I saw that she was in a dead end, she was trying to climb up the wall with little to no success. Menos and Ari joined me a few seconds later, they were as surprised as me when they discovered who was watching us.
« A little girl ? » Ari asked « Is that why we are here ? »
« She was watching us from this alley ! »
Upon hearing our voices, the little girl pulled a knife from one of her pocket and turned to face us.
« Does she seriously wants to fight ? » Ari whispered to me.
« I hope not ! »
« I am serious, back off or my big brother will kick your asses ! » The little girl spoke up.
Menos, Ari and I looked at each other. This is when I noticed that Nightfall was out of its sheath. Probably not the easiest way to show to someone you are friendly. One button pressed later, the blade was right back in the armor. I went on one knee to speak to the little girl.
« Hey there, little one, don't worry, we won't harm you. We just wanted to know why you were spying on us ! »
The little girl looked at the ground and rubbed the stone with her right foot.
« I-I wasn't spying on you, I-I was just looking for my big brother. I know he is here but I wasn't able to find him yet ! »
« Do you want us to help you find him ? » Menos asked.
« You would do this ? »
« Well, I guess we have time to kill after all ! » I thought
We all looked at each other and nodded.
« Say, little one, what is your name ? » I asked
« It's Ricka ! »
« Well Ricka, I am Mickael and this Menos and Ari...»
« Hey ! » They both said at the same time.
« ...And we are going to help you find your big brother. What does he look like ? »
« Well, Ben is like me, he have a tanned skin with blue eyes. Last time I saw him, he was wearing his iron armor with red lines on it ! »
« Wait a minute...We already saw that guy ! »
« Yes, he was the one that bumped into Ari a few minutes after you entered the city ! » Notch responded in my head.
I looked toward the direction of my spider friend to see she was wearing a slightly annoyed expression on her face. I wonder what she was thinking at this precise moment...well, knowing Ari, it was probably something like « When I see him again, I will show him a piece of my mind ! ». I decided to tell the truth to Ricka.
« Wait...So, this guy is your brother ? »
« Do you know him ? » She asked back.
« Yes ! » I answered « We bumped into him when we entered the city. We were in the lower part of the city ! » I continued.
« Then, let's go ! » The little girl said happily as she wore a big bright smile.
With the company of Ricka, we got out of the dark alley and we walked toward the lower part of the city.
« So Ricka, do you live here ? » Ari asked her
« No, my big brother came here for work, and I followed him ! » She answered.
« What does he do for a living ? »
« I don't think I am allowed to say, but my brother is the strongest one in the world. When I grow up, I want to be like him !»
« Well, it's true he seemed strong ! » I thought as I remembered our encounter.
We walked for a few minutes and we finally arrived in the poor part of the city. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it was approximately five pm. Upon entering in this part, we all noticed something strange. Everybody was gone, there was no one walking on the main street.
« Where is everybody ? » I asked out loud.
Suddenly, we heard someone shouting from a nearby street. We runned to the source of the scream and we arrived in front of a intriguing scene. A man in black armor was in front of five other in complete iron armor. Four of them had their bows drew toward the one in black armor. There was no possible doubt about it. The man in black armor was Ben and the others were some guards from the city. I also noticed the guard in the middle had golden shoudler pad on his armor, meaning he was probably a captain.
« BIG...hmpf ! » Ricka began to shout just before I placed my hand in front of her mouth.
« Stay calm, Ricka. If you don't, we are going to get spotted ! » I said as Menos, Ari and I quickly hid behind a house.
« So, there you are intruder. You will come with us and you tell us who send you ! » The captain said.
« No...You don't have the power to make me do anything. Now, if you don't let me pass, your blood will cover the ground of this street ! » Ben replied, annoying the captain.
« How dare you ? How would you kill us ? You have nothing expect your fist against our bows... »
« No... » Ben interrupted the captain « You have arrows and the hope I will be dead after you all shot, because if it isn't the case, you will die before you can even reload another one ! »
« That's it, you have crossed the line. All, shoot at him ! » The captain ordered.
The four other guards complied and fired their arrows at the man in black armor in front of them. With inhuman reflexes, Ben avoided three of the four arrows while the last one just bounced off his armor.
« I-Impossible ! »
« My turn ! »
I noticed two blade coming out of his wrists. He quickly runned toward the first guard and stabbed him in the neck. The guard made a few gurgles and fell on the ground, dead. Then he turned to the second one and, with a swift movement of his arm, sliced the throat of his opponent. Just before the third one could pick up an arrow in his quiver, Ben jumped on him and dived one of his wrist balde into the skull of the guard. They both fell on the ground, with Ben on top of the corpse of the third guard. Seeing the last one beginning to reload his bow, the tan skinned man rolled on the ground to arrive in front of him. Then, he proceed to stab him in his torso, one time, two times, five times, ten times...The guard coughed a lot of blood and began to fell on the ground but Ben catched him and throwed him against the captain.
With the force of the throw, the captain of the fallen guards fell on the ground. Ben walked toward him and put one of his blades next to the captain's neck.
« P-Please, dont kill me, I have a wife and kids to take care of ! »
His opponent said nothing for a few second. Eventually, he sighed and got off the guard.
« This is the last time I spear your live. Now get up and prey whoever you believe in that you don't cross my way again ! »
Then Ben just continued to his way to where he was going to in the first place. Having his back turned to the captain, he didn't notice him picking up up a bow and an arrow from the closest dead guard. He drew back his bow and shot at Ben. The arrow penetrated Ben armor and arrived in his flesh. The captain was laughing but the black armored man didn't even seem fazed by this. He simply put his hand next to his leg armor almost as if he was searching for something
« Huh ? » The captain asked just before a knife entered his forehead. He stand still for a few seconds before falling on the ground dead. Ben walked toward the corpse and picked up the knife which was covered in blood.
On our side, Ari, Menos and I were dumbfounded by what happened. That man just took out five guards by himself.
« Who-Who is that guy ? » I asked myself.
TO BE CONTINUED Yeah...like he said, who is that guy...apart for being Ricka's big brother obviously. So as always PM or review to tell me what you think of the story : good or bad. And if you have any suggestion for the story, feel free to contact me. See you next time
So now, here is the CPB of chapter 19
This is how it works. Each time I'll post a new chapter, I'll also post the "Chapter Progression Bar" for the next one. Also, when I'll write the chapter on my computer, I'll update the CBP at the end of the day, so you can know how fast the chapter is progressing. Don't worry, when I'll finish one chapter, the "CPB" of that same chapter will be removed and replaced by the chapter itself.
The CBP will consist of 2 lines going from 0 to 100% and two line with just In progress or Done
-Imagination - This consist of what the chapter will be about and what I'll say in it. If it reach 100% then, I got all that I need to write a chapter
-Writing - Well, you know what that means, if it reachs 100% then I finished to write the chapter in question. If the line is on 99 it means I have reached my minimum of 5K word but the chapter is not finished yet.
-Final Finition - This consist of all the détails I can put to make the story better or more coherent. I can work on it before even finishing the writing
-Correction - This one is pretty much useless because, normally, I don't wait tomorrow to put the correction on a chapter but you never know. But it also mean correcting some part that may be illogical or confusing in the chapter. Like with the Final Finition part, I can work on it before even finishing the writing
So now for the Chapter Progression Bar of Chapter 19
-Imagination - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Writing - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Final detail - In progress- Done /
-Correction - In progress- Done /
Well, that was all I wanted to say. See you guys on the next chapter ;)
