Chapter Two
Though it had been a month to the day that he and several people that he trusted, set off to the Harvest Temple to find out the fate of Kuunavang, it had felt much longer for I Evil Arrow I. Especialy with the groups of Afflicted patrolling; they were Shiro's eyes and ears, and the same applied for what Shiro was for Abaddon in Cantha. They were lucky with the fact that they didn't face too many of them, anymore and I Evil Arrow I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if just one Afflicted managed to escape the battle and tell their master. It was something that didn't bear thinking about.
Many had questioned I Evil Arrow I for this plan of his. They were fine with the plan, but they weren't too keen on the fact he was the one that was leading the group. Since he was the one that the Kurzicks and Luxons now followed. He had managed to unite both of the warring factions when Shiro returned the first time, and when Shiro returned with a little help from Abaddon, both of the factions agreed to unite if only I Evil Arrow I would agree to be the one that led them. He wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but he eventually agreed.
He made sure that the Alliance Battles were kept going, it was one way for both sides to get some battle practice. And the areas the Alliance Battles took place were one of the few areas that Shiro had yet to find. But but they knew he would eventually, so they would do as much as they humanly could to prevent it for as long as they could.
His thoughts soon went back to the task at hand, he looked down at his Dune Lizard, who had been by his side since the moment he charmed her many years ago. True he could have had any animal he wished as a pet, he knew someone who had a Snow Wolf, but for him, his Dune Lizard was what he was looking for.
As they left the outskirts of the Kurzicks Forest, and set foot onto the Jade Sea for what could be the final time, I Evil Arrow I fought the urge to look up into the sky, since all there was to see was an inky blackness covering the entire sky. With no chance of anything penetrating it. It had been like that since Abaddon and his cronies returned, and the only way it would return tothe way it was, was by killing Abaddon.
"We'll rest here for an hour," he shouted out. He could sense a feeling of tiredness coming from the group. He had made sure to scout the land for any signs of enemies before giving the order. Everyone immediately sat down the moment he gave the word to do so. He stayed standing up, feeling a bit of ambivlience as he looked around: he wanted to see some Afflicted to slay to up the groups morale, but he also didn't want to see any for fear they would run and tell Shiro where they are. That would put the whole plan to pieces.
"You ok?" a voice asked behind him. He looked round and saw it was Danika zu Heltzer. Since her father died, she was the one who took his place as leader of the Kurzicks, now she followed I Evil Arrow I. She had did a good job keeping the groups injuries from getting any worse, but they also weren't getting any better. They needed someone who had more experience at dealing with the sorts of wounds they had: cuts and scars from battles with the Afflicted that no matter how much they tried, just weren't healing. The other Monk they had, wasn't having much luck either healing the wounds.
He nodded. "I'm ok, just a bit worried about the groups morale, and if Shiro knows we are heading to the Harvest Temple. And he is just standing there waiting for us." He took a long drawn out drink from his water pouch before offering it to Danika, who politely refused it.
"We haven't left any Afflicted we have met alive," Danika reminded him. "So any chance of Shiro knowing could be slim."
He looked Danika in the eyes. "But what about the Afflicted we haven't seen? That is what is bothering me the most. It's been over a week since we last saw one. And who is to say that Shiro hasn't decided to teach them some new tricks? He was the Emperor's Personal Bodyguard at one point, remember? He didn't get to that status without knowing a few things."
He left Danika alone while he checked on the ones that had been left scarred during attacks by the Afflicted. He did wish that Mhenlo had joined them on this journey, but he was needed somewhere else.
"How you holding up?" He asked the Luxon.
"I've been better," the Luxon said, making a fist with his hand a few times, just to be sure he still had life in it. "The scar hasn't been as painful over the past few days."
I Evil Arrow I smiled. "Hopefully that means that it's healing at last." He offered some water to the Luxon, who gladly accepted it.
Once the hour was up, they continued on their journey. Making sure that they left no trace or hint that they were ever there. I Evil Arrow I kept one eye on the Luxon with the scar on his arm. He had this feeling that something was up with him, but he couldn't just quite put his finger onto what it was. He gestured over to another of the group, and they picked up their pace to walk beside I Evil Arrow I.
"Keep an eye on him would you," he whispered. "I've got this feeling in my gut that something is up with him." They nodded and returned to their place in the group. A couple of minutes went by, and the top of the Harvest Temple soon came into view. I Evil Arrow I had a go, but he couldn't see anything within the Temple from this distance.
"Scan the area around the Temple for anything Shiro might have in store for us. Be it Afflicted, Shiro'ken or even just a Creeping Carp. I want to know!" I Evil Arrow I told the group. All their scouting, and all they could see was several Creeping Carp. So they continued on their journey to the Unwaking Waters
"You do realise that we could be walking into a trap?" Danika asked I Evil Arrow I.
He nodded. "The thought had ocurred to me."
"Then why are we continuing on? We should turn back now so we can get some medical attention for those two."
He looked at Danika for a second before turning to face the group. "Who here wants to turn back?" he asked the group. No one said a word as they looked at each other. "Thats what I thought," he said before looking at Danika one more time. "So long as I know they want to continue on, then so will I."
Danika was about to say something, but she was stopped by a groaning coming from one of the group. It was coming from the Luxon with the scar on his arm. He was making inhuman noises and holding onto his arm, it looked as if he was in great pain. I Evil Arrow I looked at everyone else, he didn't even have to say a word and they got their weapons ready.
"What are you doing?" Danika asked. I Evil Arrow I ignored her.
"Give us the word, and we will end your suffering right here," I Evil Arrow I told the Luxon.
The Luxon looked down at the ground, he stopped convulsing and he looked at I Evil Arrow I. Only it was no longer the Luxon he knew, he wore the face of someone who was completly mad. He looked at the group through souless eyes.
"Praise to Lord Abaddon and my Master Shiro," the voice coming out of the Luxon said. "Sooner or later, Abaddon will crush your little rebellion, but you will not live long enough to see it." The Luxon looked up into the sky and screamed, if the Afflicted didn't know where they were, they were just given a huge clue. The scream coming from the Luxon was cut short as one of the Kurzicks drew their axe and in one swift move, removed the head of the Luxon. The body fell to the ground, while the head rolled off somewhere.
"Start running and don't look back," said I Evil Arrow I, who started running the moment he finished the sentence. Everyone else soon followed.
"What happened there?" Danika asked I Evil Arrow I.
"He was turning into an Afflicted," he said, not bothering to look at Danika.
"How long have you known?" she asked.
"I had a feeling," said I Evil Arrow I. A scout I sent out a few weeks back told me about what happened to some of those scarred in battle with the Afflicted."
"Some?"
"The Afflicted seem to choose who they want to infect. Even if you are scarred in battle, it doesn't meant that you will become one of them. The only way of knowing if someone is turning is how you saw back then."
"You knew about this and you didn't tell me?!" Danika couldn't believe that he withheld that information from her,
"I told those who are facing the Afflicted on a daily basis. And last I checked, you're not on that list."
They soon set foot onto the area surrounding the Harvest Temple, the Creeping Carp spotted them and decided to go after them. The Rangers who were in the group began firing arrows at them, not stopping to aim. It was merely to keep them at bay while they went past them. The sounds of Afflicted began to fill the air, no one dared turned around to see just how many there were, and no one even thought about stating that they would have to fight through them to leave the Harvest Temple.
"Start setting traps," I Evil Arrow I told three of the Rangers in the group as they reached the stairs to the Harvest Temple. The rest of the group ran up the stairs. "Only stop setting traps when the Afflicted or whatever Shiro is throwing at us gets to close for comfort." he told the 3 who would be staying behind before running up the stairs himself."
I Evil Arrow I reached the top of the temple, it had been a long time since he set foot within the temple. It was once kept in great condition by whichever alliance of guilds held it at the time. If you looked at it from the outside, it would look like nothing was wrong with it - inside it was a different story. The were signs of a battle all around it, blood splattered against the walls, ceiling and floor, the stench of rotting corspes filled the air, and none of them resembled anything human. There was no sign of the dragon Kuunavang, and the thought of the corpses being Kuunavang had begun to creep into I Evil Arrow I's mind.
"Look at this," said Danika. A peice of paper was pinned to the wall, held in place by a dagger. The paper bore the mark of the Betrayer. "Shiro was here."
Thanks for stating the obvious, I Evil Arrow I thought to himself. He tore the paper from the dagger's grasp and looked at the back of it. There was some more writing, I Evil Arrow I began reading it out.
"Welcome to your final resting place. Thats all it says," said I Evil Arrow I.
"What does he mean by that?" asked one of the Luxons as the 3 rangers who set traps at the bottom of the stairs appeared.
"That is what he means." One of them said as they pointed outside the Harvest Temple. What looked to be a sea of Afflicted came from all around. Within minutes the Harvest Temple would be surrounded by them, and no doubt they would probably start climbing the stairs.
I Evil Arrow I looked at everyone. No words needed to be said, they knew that this could be the end of the line for them. But one thing was certain: they weren't going to go down without a fight.
"Prepare yourselves, for what could be our final battle!" he shouted as he prepared his bow and aimed at any Afflicted that took his fancy. Time seemed to slow down as he picked his target, waiting a second before releasing the arrow.