The Blades of Apocalypse

Chapter 7: Dinner with the Lorc Family

The mother and sons are safe and sound. We managed to tie up the bandits using the ropes the traveling family have. The Blade Wielder made sure that the said bandits doesn't have anything to cut the ropes with by stripping them naked. He then hog tied them together so they can't bite each other's ropes. I found this act a tab overboard.

The family had a signal flares that we used to signal authorities of our location and capture the bandits. While we wait, the family invited us for dinner as thanks for saving them.

As it was getting dark, I took their offer. The Blade Wielder didn't wish to participate on the other hand, but the children grabbed him by the robes, looked him in the eyes, and in unison asked the Blade Wielder "Pleas stay, sir."

I thought at first that he would still leave, but for some reason the Blade Wielder decided to stay until the authorities get there. As the night starts to blanket the skies, the family gather their fire woods and set it a blaze with their flame stone, a cheap magic stone that lets any one shoot out short range fire for up to six times.

We huddled up over the camp fire as the mother made soup. They introduced themselves to us at this time. The mother's name is Lora Lorc, a homely looking woman and a goods trader from Dracage, a town Northeast of the Hegiyet kingdom. Her son's are Bandi who is seven years old, and Danra who is five years old.

They told us they were travelling to Carcasa to meet up with her husband, Badrigi Lorc, to sell their goods, which are dried meat and spices. They were informed by her husband via magic radio however that there's a commotion in the city, and that it would be safer to stay where they were until the said commotion is over. That's when they were attacked by the bandits and where we saved them.

I eyed the Blade Wielder, who was part of the reason the small family had to stop and be attacked by the bandits. The Blade Wielder, meanwhile averts my gaze as he looks up in the night sky and whistles, as if in the know that he is partly to blame for the incident, and feigning ignorance to avoid being blamed.

The Children have really taken a liking to the Blade Wielder. They were at awe of how he took down the two bandits without even coming down from the cliff. I then pointed out "I thought you didn't want to come down here, Mr cliffside rock thrower." I said this with a bit of jealousy in my voice, since Cannonball and I took down the other four bandits. "Careful. That green shade of envy isn't a good complexion on you." The Blade Wielder said. "Becides, that horse and I have a score to settle. I'm not letting him go untill I thoroughly beat him." The Blade Wielder continued as he eyes my steed while he eats the horse feeds the family gave us.

Bandi then asked the Blade Wielder " Where are you guys going?" The boy's eyes beaming with joy and curiosity. "... I'm going to the Forest of Shadows that's in the kingdom of Mayinkov." The Blade Wielder said in a hesitant voice.

All our expressions turned from smiles to fearful gasps when we heard what the Blade Wielder said. The Forest of Shadows is one of the most notoriously dreaded place in the world. This place is one of two places where the remnants of the Dark Army of Apocalypse can be found.

At the end of the Apocalypse War, it is said that the monsters left alive retreated to this forest and concentrated their last dark powers in it. No one found out about the gathering of monsters in this forest for almost two years after the war.

The Kingdoms tried to purge the monsters, but at this time, the Gods have already left the world and returned to their relm, never to be seen again. And the Mages that first helped in the war now refuses to help in the subjugation because of unknown reasons. Even with the lack of magical support, the kingdoms were confident they could win.

The attacks on the monsters proved unsuccessful,however. Even when the soldiers were armed with magic weapons They were being beaten because they couldn't attack properly within the dark forest. With Dark miasma surounding the forest, it's impossible to burn it because the dark powers can snuffs out flames. And none of the soldiers that entered the said forest ever returned, assuring their demise.

Because of this, the forest has been closed of from the rest of the world. there are still some people repported to have gone in the Forest of Shadows from time to time, and none of them ever returned.

Danra then asked "Isn't that please really scary? Why would you go to such a bad, scary place, mister?" The Blade Wielder then gave a warm smile to the boy, something I didn't know he was capable of, and said "I'm going to kill all the scary things in that forest, so you and your brother will have nothing to be scared of it anymore."

The boys' expressions turned from frightened scowls, to in awed smiles to the Blade Wielder once again, as if there's nothing this man can't do. Lora then told us of a short cut we can take to get to the Forest of Shadows faster.

She said that the mines that were in the Great Hegiyet Mountains were refasioned in to a tunnel five years ago and goes dirrectly to the town of Dederka, the first town in the Mayinkov kingdom.

After a few hours of talking and eating, the authorities came to both take the bandits in to custody, and to escort the Lorc family to Carcasa. Before they left, the two boys hugged both me and the Blade Wielder good bye, The Blade Wielder being careful that the boys don't touch any of the blades he have by accident.

We decided to stay and camp there for the night, the Blade Wielder saying that since it was a tie he will let us acompany him on his journey, but he will not answer any of my questions. With a heavy heart, I agreed with the terms, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be asking him anything. In fact, I'll keep asking the questions I want until he breaks. That was the plan. After all, even the hardest marble stone can be cracked with enough hits.

The shortcut Lora gave us will cut a regular travel from three months to just a little over a month. And since in our journey, the Blade Wielder and Cannonball kept having races with each other, the two appearing to have the same unnatural staminal with in them, we mannaged to reach the town of Dederka in just eight days.

In those Eight days, the Blade Wielder and Cannonball raced each other sixteen times. Ten were draws, three were won by Cannonball, and three were won by the Blade Wielder. These races were especialy hard on me, since Cannonball's running were a nightmare for my pelvis and legs.

They were probably running at speeds of around a houndred and thirty kilometers per hour, in a four hour duration each race. These are insane races that shouldn't be possible even with magic inhancements, but I am on the back of the horse that's having these races , so there's no denying my new reality.

At times, when we were not doing impossible races, we rested for one to two hourse to eat and regain our stamina or camp and sleep for the night. In these times of rest, I would ask the Blade Wielder a multitude of questions, most of them he would ignor. There were times, however, where he would answer some of my question, like what the guardian monks were like, and how they pass the time, and what they eat, etc,

The Blade Wielder only spoke of two monks, though he never gave me their names. The one male monks was stern and strict with his teachings. He taught the Blade Wielder a majority of the fighting arts he uses, and instilled in him the philosophy that in combat, he has to show little to no remorse to the enemy.

The Female monk on the other hand taught the Blade Wielder how to have fun and relax, as the monk taught him knowledge of the world, stories of the six kingdoms, Qi manupulation, and as the female monk mentioned is the most inportant thing in life, how to have a sense of humor. This Would explain the practical jokes He's been pulling on me, like one of my socks missing only to turn up worn on Cannonball's tail, the Blade Wielder giggling silently once he saw my expression. Looks like he like practical humor more than spoken ones.

Once we reached the town, we restocked our suplies. The Forest of Shadows is just twenty nine Kilometers Northwest of this town, so the Blade Wielder said that we should go there right away.

We reached the edge of the Forest of Shadows in under two hours. The Blade Wielder, not wanting to waste his stamina before he entered the dangerous place, decided not to have a race with Cannonball. That's why it took us longer to travel. He told me to stay behind and take care of Cannonball, whom he has dubbed his "racing opponent."

I however, insisted that our deal stipulates that I go to all his journeys, and that even if he leaves me, I will still go in. With an exasperated huff, the Blade Wielder led us in the Forest of Shadows.

As we entered, the Dark miasma that surrounded the forest, engulfed us with it's smokey embrace. It's a good thing I'm wearing the Light Amulet that have been passed down in our family for generations. My ancestor, a soldier named Kumran Pakesh, fought in the Apocalypse war, and was given this amulet to prevent the power of the miasma from killing him when he went to the Odsidian Castle. I am greatful to my ancestor for giving me this opportunity to keep witnessing more of the Blade Wielder's exploits.

Within the miasma, I can see almost nothing but black. I can vaguely see the shape of the Blade Wielder as we walk in a stright line,Cannonball cautiously trudging beside me. Within this darkness, we can hear the disembodied voices of people in pain, telling us to turn back from where we came. Their pained and sorrowful moans reverberates in my ears.

These cries would have normally urged me to run out of this accursed forest, but seeing the Blade Wielder's back reminded me of why I must push through along with him.

We finally managed to make our way out of the thick miasma, and find ourselves in the middle of the forest. The forest has a lot of stops clear of trees, and in these clearings, you can find mountains of corpses.

Before us, are corpses piled atop one another to make a sick mockery of a mound. These corpses are in ancient armours, used in a war long passed. We've found what remains of the soldiers that died trying to destroy the monsters within this forest.

The Blade Wielder started to rummage through the corpses, much to my chagrin. "What in the Gods' name are you doing?" I asked the Blade Wielder with the look of disgust on my face.

He pulled out a rapier from the mound of corpses, handed it to me and said "Take this. You're gonna need it if you want to survive what's going to come next."

I was hesitant to touch it, knowing where it came from, but upon closer inspection I understood why he wanted me to have it. "This is a magic sword, isn't it?" I said after I pulled out the blade from it's scabbared. It's blade faintly shining from the power within. "Yes." The Blade Wielder said. "One that can kill a Gadrone." He continued.

A Gadrone is a fourarmed humanoid type monster created by the Dark God in the Apocalypse war. They are vicious man eating monsters that are impervious to man made weapons. The only way to kill them is to use a magical weapons infused by the Gods' light magic (or direct light magic used by high mages). The same type of magic sword the Blade Wielder just gave me.

I fastened the magic sword on the left side of my belt as we walked deeper in the forest. As we continued to wlak, we came upon a ruins of an ancient town. And in the meddle of said ruins are hundreds upon hundreds of Gadrones

The Gadrones seems to be in a state of hibernation, just standing stationary in their gathering. However, they start to stir in place, as if they sense our presence. The Blade Wielder orders me and Cannonball to hide in the ruin of a house to our right, to which I complied.

Through the window of the house Cannonball and I are hiding in, I can see the Blade Wielder tossing his satchel in the other window of this house, and arming himself with the Dragon Glaive that Jorvinlax gave him.

The Gadrones all looked at the direction of the Blade Wielder and shrieked in unison, filling the forest with high pitch and painful sounding wails. After screaming, the fouramred monsters charged at the Blade Wielder, ready to rip him to pieces.

However, it looks like extending isn't the only power of the glaive have, fore when the Blade Wielder swung his glaive, he was able to decapitate three Gadrones, killing them instantly.

This didn't stop the onslaught of the on coming monstrosities, however. So this forced the Blade Wielder do the unthinkable. The Blade Wielder slung his glaive on his right shoulder, and grasped the red dagger on his right hip with his left hand. As red mist emerges from the Blade Wielder's body, I knew, War was approaching