Ch4: The White Wolf
Night had fallen on the country of Rolburr. But none of the girls could sleep. They all sat in their beds replaying the conversation they had a few hours ago..
"Welcome back you two." "Thanks Cassidy." Staring in awe and slight confusion, the three girls gazed around the massive room they had just entered. The high ceiling carried their voices up while they spoke. Large chandeliers dotted along the ceiling, giving the room a warm feeling to it. Several rows of chairs and luxurious couches stretched across the room. Large windows showed the evening light, and one overlooked a huge garden to the South of the castle. "Is this your first time in a castle?" The girls simply nodded, still in awe over everything. "You there! How dare you stare at the princess!" A guard who had been walking by ran towards Brissa. "Do not stare at her majesty like th-" A glint of steel flashed through the room, quickly followed by dead silence. Tye's sword had swung up to the guard's neck. "Stand down soldier." "W-Who are you! And how dare you call me a 'soldier!'" Tye stepped away from the man and quickly sheathed his blade. "You look like a soldier to me. A pretty stupid one in fact." A dash of red popped up on the guard's face. "How dare you! I am Captain Moshiri of the fifth battalion!" "And he," chimed in Cassidy, "is the White Wolf." "White wolf?" Aubrey repeated, tilting her head towards her boyfriend. "Mhm. Tye has become quite famous within the last few days." Now all three girls were glued to the 'White Wolf.' "I'll explain later." Returning his attention to the Captain, who was also in disbelief, Tye laughed. "Don't look so surprised Captain. Alot of people don't know my identity. And it'd be best if no one else found out. Understand?" The Captain gulped and nodded slightly. He then bowed to the princess and hurriedly disappeared around the corner. "Now then. What can I do for you?" Alex nervously scratched the back of his head and nudged Tye. "Cassidy, can you please explain to these three why we all ended up here?" "Certainly. Have a seat." Following her command, the three sat down and anxiously waited for her to start while the boys leaned against the arms of the couches.
"Well, to put it bluntly. My father and the other Kings believe you all are the chosen heroes and heroines of an ancient prophecy. But many noblemen think you're just ordinary commoners who have been hiding until now. Also, the King of the desert has most likely heard of your arrival. So I assume he will send his men after you. But while you're here, my father wants to train you all so you'll be able to stand and fight for us in the upcoming battles."
"Um...So are Tye and Alex apart of your army?"
"Not necessarily. They're more like mercenaries. Tye refuses to be apart of any army, but he'll work for money." Glancing over to Tye, the girls gave him a cold look. "What? I don't like being told what to do by some wannabe fighter who cares more about his status then his skill." "So you and Alex are mercenaries?" Asked Kyrie. "Yep. We're already pretty famous in Rolburr and Tellius." Cassidy quietly nodded in agreement with him as she sat down across from the group. "So, any other questions?" Brissa nervously raised her hand and nodded. "I'm still a little confused about the whole 'training' thing. You want us to learn how to fight?" "That's right. You see, the only enforcements of the law are the King's soldiers. But must of them are either away in another Kingdom or at the barracks on the outskirts of the city. So towns are constantly plagued by bandits and slave masters. In order to protect the people, hundreds of men and women have become mercenaries so they can protect those towns." "So what'd you say girls? Wanna learn how to fight?" Glancing back to Tye, Kyrie smirked and stood. "Hell yeah!" Standing up also, Aubrey walked over to Tye and gently pecked him on the cheek. "Only if I get to stay with you Tye." Laughing some, Tye wrapped his arm around Aubrey's shoulder. "Of course." Plopping onto the couch next to Brissa, Alex nudged her and grinned. "Come on B. It's not like you'll be fighting by yourself. We're all gonna be here with you." Grinning back, Brissa shoved Alex off the couch. "I know. I was going to say yes anyways."
"Then it's settled. Girls, you'll start your training within the next few days. In the meantime, why don't you go get some sleep and tomorrow I'll show you around the city."
And so here they were. Lying in their huge room in some foreign place. But, somehow, they felt different than usual. They were all nervous, obviously. Yet all three of them felt a kind of excitement they had never felt before. Soon the girls had fallen asleep, and their minds drifted away; fantasizing about their training and adventures they will most likely have.
Meanwhile, next door, Tye and Alex sat in their room thinking. Much like the girls' room, their room was rather large. The decor in both rooms was the same; three large beds, several chairs and couches, a long desk sat snug in the corner. The only difference between the rooms was the shape. The boys had a rectangle-shaped room, while the girls' room was more like a square.
Sitting on one of the couches, Alex leafed through a stack of papers on the small table in front of him. "Hey what about this one Tye? They're offering 4,000 Gold Pieces for killing off a couple thugs." Standing in front of a large mirror, Tye closely examined his shirtless torso. Several bruises covered his chest. A long scratch ran down the side of his abs, but Tye was more occupied on something else. On the left side of his chest, right where his heart is, a large paw-shaped scar had formed onto his skin. His mind faded out to the night he had acquired the scar, as well as his nickname: The White Wolf..
"Are you Tye?" "Yeah." "I heard from the Commander that you're a mercenary. I have a job for you." "Alright. What is it?" "I need you to capture a wanted man. He's been hiding out in a small town to the North of here. His name is Mason. I'll pay you 100,000 if you bring him back alive." "What if I kill him?" "Then I'll give you half of that." "Fair enough. Ok, I'll do it." "One more thing Tye. I want only you to go. You can't take your friend with you."
What a jackass..
Sitting atop a large hill, Tye examined the town below him. Night had fallen. The wind picked up, causing Tye's trench coat to fly back. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a large piece of paper. Even though he had read it numerous times, he scanned the page once again.
WANTED:
Mason Hughes
Charges: Murder, Theft, Slavery,Arsenic,Rape and Kidnapping
Reward:
Alive: 100,000
Dead: 50,000
"Damn..If I could kill this bastard I would..But he's worth more alive." Tye let out a small sigh, returning the piece of parchment to his pocket. Suddenly, a loud scream shot out from the village, followed by a loud smashing noise. "Well, better get to work." Standing up, Tye stretched a bit. He cracked his knuckles and jumped off the hill, landing near the bottom, and ran towards the center of town.
Once he had reached the center, he made a hard right towards the sound of another scream. Running through the open street, the wind whipping by his face, Tye couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time; even if the risk was incredibly high, he didn't care. Taking another hard right, Tye quieted himself and focused on the task at hand. I need to knock this guy out and bring him back as fast as I can. I don't want this thing to get bloody. "Help!" "Huh?" Turning around, Tye spotted a woman lying on the ground. She looked to be in her mid twenties. Her clothes had been ripped off, and her naked body was covered in something sticky. Blood ran down the side of her head, and as he helped her to her feet, he noticed she had a large gash on her back. "Where'd he go?" Sniffling, the woman shook her head. "I...I don't know..When he was done with me..He just ran off..I-I'm sorry.." "It's alright. Get inside and get cleaned up. I'll deal with this bastard." Tye waited until the woman had safely gotten inside, then unsheathed his sword and dashed down the street.
After about twenty minutes of searching, Tye finally caught up to his target. He was in the middle of raping another girl; this one looked younger than the first. Clutching the hilt of his blade, Tye ran forward. In a flash, Mason had been knocked out. Tye helped the young girl to her feet before turning his attention back to the bounty. "Mason Hughes. You, my sad little friend, are going to jail." Tye kneeled down next to the unconscious body. He pulled out a rope and hog tied Hughes' arms and legs. Bashing him across the head once again, just to be sure, Tye pulled the bounty to his feet. He let out a sharp whistle, and half dragged, half walked, Mason towards his approaching horse. He was met, however, by another horse. This one had a rider. "You! What are you doing with that man?" Tye glanced to Hughes, then back to the rider. "He's a criminal. I'm taking him to jail." "No you aren't! That's my brother!" The rider jumped off his horse and pulled the large axe off his back. "Oh great. So there's two of you?" "Let him go, and I won't kill you, ok bounty hunter?" Laughing, Tye dropped Mason to the floor. "I'm no bounty hunter. Just doing some work for a little extra cash." "It doesn't matter. I won't let you take him away from here!" Charging at Tye, the man wildly swung his axe around.
Tye sidestepped, then ducked, followed by a quick flip backwards. The man was fast but lacked a sense of direction, giving Tye the chance to easily dodge and counter each of his attacks. Steel clashed with steel. The man swung his axe from above, and Tye held up his sword to block it. But the man's strength was stronger than Tye had thought. His axe snapped Tye's blade in two, which knocked the mercenary back against a wall. The axe wielder swung for Tye's head. The boy ducked and rolled between his opponents legs. Shit! This isn't good! Dodging another swing, Tye staggered back while the man continued to hack away at him. For several minutes, all Tye could do was dodge. He had no other weapons, and didn't have enough time to run for Mason's axe. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Tye caught a glimpse of something. He could hardly tell what it was, but he knew it was something he could use.
Tye patiently waited for the right moment to grab the object. Soon, that moment came. The man swung his axe down for his legs, and Tye jumped up, landing on the axe itself. In a split second, he kicked his enemy dead in the face, knocking the man into a nearby pile of boxes. Turning, Tye rushed for the object. When he got to it, he was shocked to find a tome. It was far older than any spell book he had ever seen. The ridges were made of pure silver. The pages were old and tarnished. An engraving was written in dark black lettering, but Tye couldn't read it. Leafing through the pages, he tried to find anything that might help him fight. "Come on! There's gotta be one spell I can read in here!" Near the end of the book, he saw it. A single line that he understood. It was in the same font and language as the rest of the book, but for some odd reason Tye knew what it said. "This'll have to do!" Looking over his shoulder, he caught sight of the axe man pulling himself out of the broken pile of boxes. Tye hurriedly read over the phrase before he spoke it aloud.
"Fangs of the moon, claws of the earth! Beast from heaven, I call for your rebirth!"
Nothing. Tye looked around. Are you kidding me! Nothing had happened. The spell was a dud. By this time, Tye's enemy had already freed himself from the pile and was making his way towards the boy. "Haha! You think some little enchantment will help you? You have no weapon, and you're all alone! You're DEAD!"
"Not yet!" Jumping away from the lunging axe, Tye ran towards one of the houses. Running up the wall, he grabbed a hold of the roof and pulled himself up. He then ran along the roofs of the homes, occasionally having to jump from one to another. He knew that right behind him, the crazed axe swinger was trying to cut his legs off. Jumping onto another roof, Tye felt a small burst of adrenaline kick in. He dropped down and took off running towards the maniac behind him. I just need to get behind him.. His speed picked up. He could feel the extra boost of energy surge through his body. His muscles tightened and his heart raced faster as he inched closer to his enemy. "You think you'll win with just your fists? Don't make me laugh!" Swinging his axe down on top of Tye, the man laughed loudly. To Tye, however, the axe seemed incredibly slower than usual. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush? Maybe the man had tired out? Tye didn't care, all he knew was that he was faster than his opponent, and he could win. Sidestepping past the axe, Tye spun around and kicked his foot up. His heel collided with the man's head, sending him flying into a large tree.
Tye froze in his tracks. His eyes were wide, and mouth a jar. He not only kicked the man into the tree, but broke the tree and three others behind it in the process. The axe wielder had flown through four trees before hitting a large boulder. "Gah!" Clutching his chest, Tye fell to his knees. He began to cough up blood, and his heart felt like it was being torn in two. His breathing became heavy, and his mind grew fuzzy. A loud ringing echoed through his ears. He screamed, but didn't hear anything. Falling over, Tye tore off his shirt. A large paw print had been burned onto his chest, and the searing pain only grew worse. The ringing became louder, his head felt like it was about to split open. It felt like a large foot was stepping on him. He couldn't move or breathe. Then, another stab of searing pain. His mind had blanked out. He felt his heart being ripped apart inside his chest. Another loud scream. This time though, he heard it.
"AHHHHHHH!"