Ch 13: Changing Sides
Seth glared at his reflection. He could make out every little detail on his face. The mirrored image on the broadsword inched closer to his head, ready to strike him down. Seth gritted his teeth, his body trapped where he layed in pain. The giant blade was now only a second or two from killing him, this fierce Commander. He was about to scream out, but his mouth froze open, not a single sound coming out. The large warrior retracted it's weapon, and stepped back. The fighter fell over onto it's side, a deep gash carved neatly into the body. Seth's gaze went straight for the figure standing behind the now dead corpse. A large scythe was gripped loosely in a pair of gloved hands; the curved blade dripping with the monster's green-ish blood. The form that leaned against the scythe seemed relaxed and calm. A pair of slick black pants covered his legs and hid a good portion of a pair of black boots. A buttoned up black shirt hung over the form's torso. White hair fell over the face that Seth stared at. A pair of gold eyes calmly gazed back at him, a small smirk stretching over the figure's face. Seth sat himself up, still struck with disbelief. "..Roy?" "Hello brother."
XxXxXx
Captain Gorr read over a piece of paper several times before setting it down. He couldn't wrap his mind over this odd news he had just received. Why wasn't he told this sooner? How will this affect the war? A soldier standing guard near the only door in the room glanced down towards the paper. His eyes scanned the letters and words quickly, his mind wondering what made the Captain so concerned.
Captain Gorr,
My name is Roy. You might know me as Ryohei; prince of the Desert Kingdom. I have something that you might be interested in. I am related to one of your commanders. I won't tell you which just yet, but I want you to keep this little bit of information to yourself. I currently have in my possession a stone that your King has been searching for. If you know what I speak of, then keep your men out of the Black Forest to the East for the next four days. After that time, feel free to send them into the forest; just know you won't find anything. I will send another letter directly to you after the four days are up.
Until then,
Ryohei Abarabi
XxXxXx
"What the hell are you doing here.." A soft chuckle escaped the prince as he walked over to Seth. "Father sent me to bring you back." "Tsk. I figured he'd try something sooner or later." Roy knelt down next to his brother, and examined his wound. "Hm. It looks like you got into a load of trouble again." "Don't get any ideas Roy. I can still beat you down if I want too." His brother's once cool composure changed suddenly though, throwing Seth off guard. Roy's eyes motioned behind him, worry stuck in his gaze. Seth leaned over, moaning a painful groan. He could see the outline of a group of guards. They all had large swords that struck the sky above them, and their black armor made them stand out. "Hm..So he brought the Royal Militia." "Seth.." "Hm?" Glancing back to his brother, the Commander's eyes narrowed. Roy looked pale, almost ghost white. His scythe had fallen to the ground and he had balled his hands into fists. "Seth..Uncle Romaro did all this. He's the one behind this damn war." "How do you know?" In almost a whisper, Roy nodded behind them back to the militia. "I overheard one of them talking about him, and how much of a genius he is. Seth, Romaro is going to kill father."
"What!" "Shh! Keep your voice down." Roy helped his brother up to his feet, his eyes still fixated on the gash. "I'm sick of being stuck at home, left out of all this. Romaro kept saying that this was all father's idea, and that it was for the greater good of Selius. What bullshit." Nudging Roy off, Seth straightened up and glared at the guards off in the distance. "So you decided to switch sides huh?" "Yeah. I see now why you did it too." An arm grabbed onto Roy's shoulder and shook him a bit. "So does this mean my brother wants to fight with me?" "Of course." A painful laugh left Seth before his voice dimmed to a more serious tone. "You can't stay with me Roy." "What? Why not?" "If Romaro found out, he'd treat you like a traitor." "I don't care! I want to help you stop this stupid war." Seth gripped Roy's shoulder tightly and stared him dead in the eyes. "Then listen closely. There are six warriors in Rolburr. Each has been gifted with one of the ancient weapons. They can stop this war, but they know nothing about our home. If you want to help me brother, then go to Rolburr, find those six, and lead them to our Kingdom in the Desert. Help them kill Romaro." A smile appeared on Roy's face as he grabbed a hold of Seth's shoulder. The Commander quietly gave his brother the directions to Rolburr, and told him to find Captain Gorr on the way there. "He can help you. He's my right hand man, and I trust him with my life." "Thank you Seth. But..What about them?"
Seth turned to gaze at the militia, who had eased their way closer to the two. A soft laugh left him once more, and he patted Roy's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll deal with them. Just go." "But-" "No buts. Go." Seth pushed Roy off towards the direction of Rolburr, and drew his sword. Noticing this, the militia advanced on Seth, their swords now pointed straight at him. Roy backed away hesitantly, before turning and running off. He stopped short though, when he heard Seth shouting to him. "Roy! One last thing! Be careful!" Roy turned to poke fun at his brother for caring too much, but stopped short. His eyes grew wide, and his mind blacked out as he watched one of the heavy swords run through Seth's body. His brother still moved though, swiping his own blade into the neck of his attacker. "Roy! RUN!" He simply stared at Seth though, his body frozen. He didn't realize his feet had responded to Seth's command, and were running off through the woods. The last thing Roy could see was Seth giving him one last smile, and a short nod. After that, the thicket took the last image of his brother away from Roy, who continued to run.
XxXxXx
Alex and Shawn ran through the castle, leaping over fallen bricks and broken pieces of furniture. "You'd think this place would be a heap of rubble by now!" Laughing, Alex slid under an overturned table that had somehow gotten itself stuck into the wall. He kicked off the ground and dove out an open window, Shawn right behind him. "You go down that way and try to find them. I'll go this way." "Right." Alex took off towards the East side of the city, while Shawn ran down to the West end. Glancing over head, Shawn could see the tail of a large wolf, knocking down the hoards of flying monsters that descended on the city. "How is he able to move?" A stupid look was plastered on Shawn's face for a moment before he shook it off.
Meanwhile, Alex had already ran into trouble. "I don't have any time for you morons! Go away!" Kicking into the all too familiar black armor, Alex hopped over the tumbling soldier and dashed off past them. The bowman heaved a quick sigh as he took a second to examine the damage to the buildings. "I swear, this shit never ends."
Back inside the castle, near the Southern end, three girls fought back the invading soldiers with the help of the castle guards. But the guards did little to help them. None of them could match Brissa's speed with her twin swords, or Aubrey's precision. And none of the guards had any knowledge of magic. They had never seen a mage of any kind actually fight, so it was more of a show for them then a battle. They were in awe at how easily Kyrie blasted away soldier after soldier, despite the fact that she was yards away from them. "I don't think they're going to stop!" "Then we keep fighting them off!" A scowl crossed Kyrie's face as she turned to her sister. "Easy for you to say B. You're not using up all your magic as fast as me!" "What magic?" "Exactly!" "Will you two knock it off!" The girls turned to Aubrey, who had just sent one of her attackers flying out a window. "Honestly, you fight way too much." Both girls frowned at their friend, their quick moment of rest halted by more soldiers. "If we can close the hole in the wall, then they'll stop coming!" "And how do you plan to do that?" Aubrey jumped back to the other two, barely dodging the end of a sword. "Still trying to figure that out!"
While the girls fought, they realized they were being pushed back. The endless numbers of soldiers seemed unreal, yet by the appearances, the girls could tell they weren't dealing with normal enemies. "Is it just me, or do these guys seem different!" Kyrie shouted as she enveloped a handful of them in fire. "No, they're different alright!" The girls struggled to push their attackers back, and thankfully were soon helped when the ceiling caved in and a flash of white dashed by them. Once the smoke had settled, the girls examined the silent room. The hole had been blocked by the fallen brick. Two men stood on top of the rubble. Tye's trench coat fluttered a little with the quick burst of air from the fall. His hand gripped the neck of a man dressed in a black robe that covered his entire frame, including his face. "You my friend, are fucked." Tye tightened his grip on the man, motionless as the hands from the soldier clawed at his own. It took a bit longer than he would have liked, but Tye soon released the man, letting him drop to the floor. His lifeless body rolled over, being buried slightly by some of the loose rubble.
Tye jumped off the now destroyed ceiling, walking over to the girls. "Those things you were fighting are dolls." "Dolls?" Brissa mimicked. "Yep. Only summoners can do something like that." "Is a summoner some type of mage?" Tye tilted his head back, cracking his neck as Aubrey slipped over to his side. "You should lie down Hun." "I'm alright. And yes Kyrie, a Summoner is a type of mage. But they use cursed magic to summon corpses back to life and fight for them." A chill ran down each girl's spine at the sudden thought of what they were fighting. "So..We were fighting zombies?" "Pretty much."
The swordsman clutched his side, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Aubrey gripped his hand tightly, worry easily seen on her face. "Don't worry babe, I'm fine." Giving her a quick smile, Tye sat down on the cool floor. "Alex and Shawn aren't back, so they must still be chasing whoever took Cassidy." Tye nodded, hacking up another mouthful of blood. "They have Marissa too."
Shawn heaved his way past a pile of crumpled brick into what used to be the armory. Dozens of once marvelously crafted weapons now layed battered and broken. He had seen someone run into here, but he couldn't tell if that someone was a friend or foe. Walking around the dimly lit bottom floor, Shawn spied the staircase in the corner. It was still in tact somehow, and as he cautiously made his way up the stairs, he could hear footsteps above his head. The second floor was, oddly enough, in better shape then the level below. There was a gaping hole in the side of the wall, but nothing else. Several weapons were still nestled on the wall. The staircase was gone though, blasted apart by the battle.
Shawn had to climb up the broken down wall, using the loose marble and stone as steps. It didn't take him long to reach the third floor, which was just about gone. He skipped this floor, and pulled himself up to the final level. The floor was slightly unsteady, but Shawn managed to balance himself. Near the center of the floor, two men stuffed their bags full of jewels that had fallen off the various weapons. Neither one of them heard the Cobra's climb up, and Shawn guessed they were probably pretty stupid, since there was no look out. Sitting next to them, tied and gagged, was one of the girls Shawn was looking for. She saw him, and was about to scream out, but he silently shushed her from where he stood. He gave her a quick wink and unhooked the silver whip at his side, taking a step forward.
Alex slumped down onto the dusty floor of the infirmary. It had been blown to pieces, only two of the five floors remaining. The first floor was in good condition, but he regretted to see what the second story looked like. He had already checked the local inn, several homes, the bank, and countless other buildings that he couldn't recognize. The damage to the city was worse then before, and Alex knew it would take a lot of time and effort to rebuild. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver resting at his side and fiddled with it while he caught his breath. The tons of windows lit up the clinic much better than Alex would've thought, and the eerie silence gave him an uneasy feeling. He hushed his rapid breathing for a few seconds, trying to pick up any noises other than his own.
To his delight, he heard a voice echoing right outside one of the windows. Arrow still clutched in his hand, Alex quietly hopped up onto his feet, moving closer to the opened window. It was a long rectangle, so he couldn't duck underneath it. But Alex could use the curtain that was still attached as cover, and as he slid behind it, he gazed outside. A short, muscular man was talking out loud to himself, obviously mad about something. Alex could spy two bags lying on the ground, no doubt full of things the man had stolen. half of a third bag caught the bowman's eye, and he noticed a hand was tied to it. Leaning an inch or so out of his hiding place, Alex spotted the second girl. She hadn't seen him though, and there was no way to get her attention without the thug noticing him. Alex slipped the arrow back into it's quiver and withdrew one of his daggers. He took a couple steps back away from the window and, with a deep breath, hurled himself outside.