OoO( 3 )OoO
The warrior stood in the cold air with the snow falling around him, the smoldering fire next to him dwindling to nothing. The mage stared at him with a smile as they watched each other. Walking forward, the hero approached his old friend, the sent him to the ground stunned, as he struck him across the face. Shaking his head, the warrior moved the hair from his face, then got to his feet and threw a punch back, sending the mage rolling through the snow.
People from the village cheered and ran towards the two. When they saw the man standing, they all gasped. The most surprised was Alex. She fell to her knees as she saw the face of the man before her. He stood tall and strong, his body as if it were etched from stone. His white hair blended with the snow as it blew loosely in the wind. His face showed piercing blue eyes and three scars across his cheek.
The mage rose again and glared at the man. "Do you realize how long we have been looking for you?" he asked in a deadly tone.
"Even longer if it hadn't been for that creature." he said as he turned his back and started to walk away. Suddenly, a lightning bolt hit the ground at his feet, sending snow flying. He stopped as he heard the tone again.
"Don't turn your back on me you coward." said the mage. Lyle turned around and glared again. "You think you can just run away from something and make it go away?" he asked still holding a glowing hand aimed at the former hero. Lyle walked slowly forward and took Van's hand, then put it to his chest.
"If you are going to hit me, then do it. Don't make empty threats." he said as he stared his old friends in the eyes. Van smirked, then Lyle flew back, his body alive with electricity. He flexed and spasmed on the ground before the weaker spell wore off. Getting to his feet, he furiously looked at the mage. "You actually hit me!" he shouted.
Van shrugged carelessly. "I don't like to make empty threats." he said with a smirk. His smirk faded as the former hero dove onto the mage and began to grapple with him. The crowd laughed loudly as the two wrestled each other down to the ground. Even the heroes from the guild were cheering them on like in the old days.
OoOoO
"What happened to your tattoo?" asked Van as he stared at Lyle's chest where there used to be a dragon design imprinted into his skin.
"Are you sure you want to know the answer to that question?" asked the warrior as he ate from a bowl of stew. Van nodded and Lyle stood. "Ever heard of a 'Cleansing' of the body?" he asked.
"It sounds vaguely familiar, but enlighten me. " said the mage as he leaned back in his chair.
"It's a ritual where you clean your body of anything and everything that poisons it, or shouldn't be there in the first place. It's used by the shamans of the native tribes running around Albion . It's where they take a blade, and cut out anything that shouldn't belong in the human body, such as tattoos or body disfigurations for example. They cut it out, while applying healing magic at the same time to make sure your body doesn't get even more disfigured by the act." he said leaning over the table and smirking at the shocked look on Van's face.
"That sounds really painful..." he said as he leaned forward also.
"It was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life." he said, then looked at the wall. "Well, physical pain anyway. But it got rid of that god defying tattoo." he said.
"Why did you get rid of it? It gave you the power to summon something that hasn't been seen in almost a millennia." asked the mage.
"No, that demon gave me the power. The tattoo was my promise to my father to kill Jack. It only brought that...thing...into existence and nearly destroyed the world. I got my revenge on Jack and there was no reason for me to keep it. All it was was a reminder of two friends and a father that I lost to that bastard..." he said as he glared down at the table.
Van flinched slightly when he realized that he had to tell Lyle that Jack was alive. "Ummmm...Lyle?" he said, causing the warrior to look up at his friend. "About that..."
Suddenly, the door swung open and Alex stood in the door, staring at him through tear stained eyes. He spun around and looked at her, but as soon as he did, he felt a dagger of sadness sink into his heart. "Alex..." he said as she walked towards him. He saw it coming, but he did nothing to move. His face stung as her hand slapped him. Keeping his eyes to the floor, he felt her staring at him.
Alex glared at him through her tear drenched eyes, her own hand slightly stinging from the slap she gave him. Finally, she broke and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. "Where have you been?" she asked.
"That's a good question actually...where were you? We searched all over Albion for you and couldn't find you anywhere." asked Van from his chair.
Lyle didn't even look at Van as he said, "And you couldn't even find me when I was in front of you. So how could you expect to find me in an entire country?" he asked. Van opened his mouth to retort, but closed it.
"You are right. That wolfskin was a good disguise. But what I mean, is after you left what happened?" he asked.
"That's a tale for later..." said Lyle as he hugged Alex back, then released her. "But right now I believe you had something to tell me. " he said looking at the mage. Van looked at him questioningly. "You were about to tell me something about my revenge on Jack when Alex came in. What was it?" he asked him impatiently.
"Oh...yes..." said Van as he looked at Alex. Alex nodded and left the house. Van stood and stared at Lyle. "Lyle, Jack isn't dead." he said staring into the hero's eyes. Lyle merely stared at him as if in disbelief.
"I saw his body torn to shreds. I did it with my own hands! How can he not be dead!?" shouted Lyle.
"We don't know, but your sister had another dream. She said that if he hasn't already emerged again, then he will soon." he said.
"Where?" asked Lyle, now gripping the table roughly.
"The only thing that we can confirm at this moment is that it's not in Albion . We believe we know the location but aren't positive on it." he said. Lyle was about to ask another question, but was cut off. "It's a village called Snowspire. It's the center of numerous temples and shrines from the time of Archon's rule. It was his fortress, and now we believe that some cult somewhere over there is trying to revive Jack." he said.
Lyle punched the thick table in anger. "Dammit!" he shouted.
"Lyle! Get ahold of yourself!" shouted Van and hit him over the head. Lyle stared at him a moment before grabbing his collar and dragging him across the table.
OoOoO
All anybody heard outside the house was slamming and breaking furniture. When the two heroes finally came out, they were both covered in bruises and laughing. The site of the two friends back together cheered the entire city up. Everyone was walking by happily, greeting Lyle with polite nods and handshakes. They walked to the cullis gate and headed back to the guild with Alex, Cara, Aerika, and Elizabeth following them.
When they arrived, they immediately ran into the guildmaster in the map room. He looked up and a look of shock appeared on his face, which turned to delight at seeing Lyle in his presence again, then into horror at the condition he was in. "Good heavens! What happened to you? You look like you got pounded by a troll!" said the guildmaster as he gave his assistant a wave, and telling them to summon the healers.
"Not quite as strong, but twice as ugly." said Lyle, causing the group to laugh. Van gave Lyle a shove as he smirked at the insult. Lyle walked forward into the light of the room and looked down at the map. It showed the shore of a sea, with a city inland of the water. The city was surrounded by many ruins and graveyards.
"It's Snowspire. We have a contact from the guild over there named Scythe. He is a seer in his own way, and also says that he feels Jack's evil rising again." said Van.
"You told Lyle already?" asked the guildmaster. Van nodded, and he smiled. "Good, that saves time. We had a hunch that Jack had his source of power somewhere in Snowspire, however it was prophecized that you would defeat him before we discovered it. So we stopped looking." said the older man.
Lyle stared at the location on the map. "How will we find it?" he asked.
"I have seen the place. I will guide you there." said a voice behind them. Lyle stood up straight, his eyes wide as he heard the voice of his sister. Turning around, he looked at her. She wore white robes with gold trim, her sword still attached to her hip. Lyle stared at her. She was beautiful. Her white hair fell to her shoulders, the white cloth tied across her eyes and her young features placed perfectly.
"Sis..." he said.
"Don't worry Lyle, I understand why you had to leave. So no need to explain." she said, smiling as she heard a sigh of relief from the warrior. "As I was saying, I will be your guide to the tomb where he waits." She said.
A guild apprentice suddenly approached the group with an urgent expression. He leaned towards the guild master and whispered in his ear. "Oh my…" said the older man. Everyone looked at him as the apprentice left. "It seems that the mayors youngest son has been kidnapped…" he said worriedly. "Thunder has requested someone from the guild to come and help with the investigation."
Van spoke up first. "Can't you send another hero? Or perhaps a senior apprentice?" he asked.
"Normally I would, but if Thunder himself is asking for assistance then it tells me that the mission is beyond the capabilities of a junior member of the guild." Said the guildmaster.
"I'll do it." Everybody in the room looked at Lyle. "It's been a while since I've had to use a sword. I could do with some practice before I try and take on Jack again." He said. The guildmaster nodded as Lyle pulled the sword from Hook Coast in front of him.
OoOoO
The sun was falling from the sky in Knothole Glade as the giant of a man sat in the house with the mayor. His foot was jittering up and down in impatience. "Sir, I don't see why we have to rely on someone from the guild! I am perfectly capable of getting rid of the people who are threatening your son."
The man shook his head. "Thunder, you and I are old friends. I know from experience that you are capable of handling the bandits, but what worries me is your aggressiveness might get my son injured or worse." He said as he took a tiny cup from his servant and drank the tea from it. "He is the future of this city, and I can't have him harmed in any way…" he continued, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Thunder stood immediately and said, "I'll get it. No telling who might be at the door…" he said and the mayor nodded. The dark knight walked over to the door and pulled on the ring, then swiftly held his sword up to block the attack of another swinging sword. The blade on the sword was very large, causing Thunder to be pushed back a few feet. The mayor, thinking it was an assassin dove behind a table.
Thunder got his grip on the floor back and halted the assault. Looking at the attacker, he gasped. "L…Lyle?" he asked. Lyle smirked and the dropped blades.
"Nice block there Thunder. Almost had you though, should work on that." He said as he held his hand up. Thunder smirked at the warrior and took his hand, then jerked him forward, headbutting him and sending him backwards stunned.
"Let your guard down. Maybe you should work on that." He said amused. Lyle shook his head then stood up laughing. "Good to see you again farmboy. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever crawl out of the hole you were in." he said, actually shaking his hand this time.
Lyle scratched his head and laughed. "Well, technically I didn't crawl, I was kinda dragged. But that aside, it actually feels good to be back." He said, then looked over at the man peeking at them from behind an overturned table. "Is he alright?" he asked.
Thunder turned around, then signaled for the mayor to come out of hiding. The man stumbled out into the open and walked, with what dignity he had left towards them. "Ahem. I am the mayor of this town. And you are Lyle the Saber I presume." He said holding his hand out to the ex hero.
Lyle shook his head. "No, its just Lyle."
"More like Lyle the Glave with that monster on your back." Said Thunder, earning him a glare from the warrior. He chuckled. "Sorry, back to business. You are the one who took the quest from the guild?" he asked and Lyle nodded. "Good. We will need experience on this mission. The mayors son, Michael, has been kidnapped by bandits. We haven't found the other son either, but the only one confirmed was the youngest. He is being held in captivity by a group of bandits, a rather organized group if you ask me…" he said as he briefed the hero.
Lyle nodded. "Alright. And its my job to return your son in one piece?" he asked. The mayor nodded.
"Yes, offer them the gold in trade for my son. That's what they asked for, so they'll have no reason to harm him will they?" asked the man worriedly. Lyle looked at Thunder, who looked back at the warrior. They nodded to each other, knowing that offering the gold was out of the question.
"Where is the gold?" asked the white haired warrior.
"It's in a cart out back. The city guards are tending it, making sure nobody steals from the cart." Said the mayor as he sat down again.
Lyle quickly looked at Thunder. "And who is tending them?" he asked. Thunder and Lyle ran outside into the darkness and around the corner of the house. Lyle stopped and laughed expectantly. Three of the guards were out cold on the ground and the cart was missing. The wheel impressions led to the front of the city. "Looks like some of your city guards didn't think they were getting paid enough." Said the warrior.
The mayor fell to his knees. "How will we get my son back now?" he asked in shock.
"Don't worry mayor, I'll get your gold and your son back before morning." He said, then looked up at Thunder. "You coming?" he asked, knowing the man couldn't resist.
"Of course! I wouldn't miss this for the world." Said the dark knight as they began following the tracks together...