The Hero of Vengeance

Chapter 3: Legacy

As we moved further and further into the mines, I felt pleasantly surprised at the lack of living things down here. My father seemed to be somewhat on edge, however.

I wasn't sure how to feel. Should I have been happy that nothing was jumping out at us? Or should I have been worried about that, instead?

The mine was in a state of eerie silence. I couldn't hear anything besides the sound of our footsteps and the low clanking of our armor.

Suddenly, my father stopped dead in his tracks and stared further on. There had been torches lighting the way on the walls so far, but up ahead there weren't any at all.

"These tunnels have been explored extensively. What happened to the lights?" My father said.

I couldn't speak. I honestly didn't know what to think. I began to feel that same sinister feeling of being watched creep up on me once more. It felt like we were in danger...

"Does it feel like we're being watched?" I asked.

"Yeah. I thought I was going nuts, but it's not just me it seems," he replied.

He spoke with a determined tone as he unsheathed his sword and stood at the ready.

We hadn't gone too far down from the gates, thankfully. If we turned and ran, we might still make it before whatever was down here grabbed us.

I reached my hand down to my sword and pulled it from its sheath. I stood at the ready with my buckler shield up.

Ugh...I can't stop shaking.

Fear began to creep over me.

"We should probably get out of here..."

"Quiet, Mizik. Please. Listen."

He turned his head and leaned towards the dark abyss. I tried to listen as well.

The silence was deafening.

I closed my eyes and focused all of my attention on hearing.

I heard faint breathing.

The breathing of something that was far from being human.

"Fast light!" My father cast a spell and a ball of light shot from his hand and stopped partway down the tunnel. Upon first noticing that there wasn't anything in the tunnel, I was relieved.

But then I noticed the walls.

The same substance on the tree from earlier seemed to be in scattered blotches on the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"What the hell? What is this!?" My father shouted.

My father had a look of surprised disgust as he stared at the twisting substance. He held his hand out and the light came back to it.

"Lantern Light," he said. In response, the light brightened and hovered above his shoulder.

"Wait, you're not going down there, are you?" I said.

I'm afraid...afraid we'll die if we go any further.

"Duty means to press onward even if you're terrified. I don't know what this stuff is, but it feels evil...and dangerous. I'm going further. You're welcome to wait at the surface if you feel afraid, Mizik. I won't think less of you," my father said.

"That's crazy! I'm not going to leave you behind! I'll try to stay out of your way, but I'm coming with you!" I said.

I wasn't about to just abandon my father down here. Was he insane?

"I raised you well. I'm proud of your courage. However, if it gets too bad, leave me behind. I'll manage on my own."

"Dad, please-"

"No buts. That's an order."

As I slowly nodded in response, the only thing on my mind was the hope that we'd make it out of here alive.

He's all I've got.

I was taught everything I knew from him. Unlike most children of nobility, I was born here in Lorelei. Away from our family home. I never had a noble education. I didn't know proper manners, etiquette, or anything.

I couldn't make friends with the other kids because they wanted nothing to do with me. I was caught between worlds. My mother, although wonderful, was a commoner woman, seen as unfitting for my father.

My father, while an honorable knight, was a nobleman. The high end of society.

And there was me. A child belonging to neither.

I wasn't even an adult yet... Where would I go? How would I survive? I could barely fight!

"If something happens here, I want you to wait at home until the guards come back. Tell them what went down and go back home with them. Even if it's dangerous, you should be safe. Do you remember where the family documents and seal are?" My father said.

"I do..."

"Good. Things might be difficult for you in Kalsa, but I believe you'll manage."

We started walking through the now-illuminated tunnel. The further we got, the more covered the walls seemed to be by the dark substance. Not even five minutes after we started walking, we came into a large open cavern. I looked at my Dad and he seemed shocked.

"What...? Where did this cavern come from? There aren't any caverns down here!" My father exclaimed.

"Didn't the reports mention something about caves opening and closing? Would it be strange for a cavern to open up the same way?" I asked.

I was curious if the events were linked.

My father pondered the idea for a moment before nodding.

The smell was dank. Almost like something was rotting. The air felt heavy.

By the way, the sinister feeling of being watched hadn't gone away. It had increased greatly. It felt as though we were being watched from multiple angles.

There was a heavy feeling of impending doom, as well.

There was a sort of pressure...

An overwhelming presence of supreme power.

I felt like a cornered mouse looking around for the lion that was about to eat me.

Still, the cavern was silent. There was no sound at all aside from mine and my father's breathing.

Dad moved the light into his hand and threw it upwards.

"Grand illumination!"

The light sparked and illuminated the entire cavern. It was quite spacious. At least two hundred feet in diameter and towards the back there was a wide-open chasm.

And beside the chasm...

Was a massive seven-headed black dragon.

I immediately froze in shock.

Oh...BY THE GODS!!!

It seemed like the black substance was coming from its feet. The entire cavern was covered in it.

The dragon's heads were all staring directly at me. Completely ignoring my father. Its scales reflected a dull purple light from the orb floating at the ceiling. The dragon's eyes glowed dark purple.

It just sat there. Watching.

And if I didn't know any better, I would have said that it was directing its rage at me.

A minute passed.

Two minutes.

Dad just stared at the dragon.

And the dragon wouldn't stop staring at me.

Why are you looking at me? Stop it. You're already terrifying enough!

My father looked at me from the side without turning away from the dragon.

"Mizik," he whispered. "Run, get help, now!"

At that moment, all seven of the dragon's heads let out a deafening roar that echoed around the cavern.

GRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

It lowered its heads and charged directly at me. As I braced to be trampled, a loud clang was heard.

My father caught the beast's claw with his shield.

"MIZIK! RUN!" He shouted.

My legs began to move on their own. I needed to get help. I turned and ran with everything I had back into the tunnel that led us here. I bolted up the dark passage and grabbed an unlit torch.

Holding the torch in my hand I held my palm over the top.

"Ember!"

The torch lit up with a blaze and I continued running full speed up the tunnel. Within minutes, I arrived at the lit-up section and the wooden gates.

I burst through them and saw the group of knights standing there staring in surprise.

They looked somewhat startled as well. But clearly not from me.

"Y-you again? What's going on? What was that roar just now? Explain yourself!" The knight captain shouted.

"M-m-monster! Th-there's a monster! Dragon! My father is fighting it! Please! Help him! If you don't, he'll die!" I stammered.

The knight, who only looked somewhat startled, was now terrified.

"Evacuate the mines. Go!" He shouted to the others who were standing nearby.

"Wait! Where are you going!? We have to kill the dragon!" I shouted.

"Kid, do you have any idea how hard it is to kill a dragon? A beast of that size and strength is on a different level from mortals! Your father is probably just buying time for everyone to get out of the mines. You ought to help us out so that his efforts aren't wasted!" The knight captain said.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He clearly had no intention to help in any way. Even if he couldn't kill the dragon, we should still go get him!

This is my father we're talking about!

"If I help you, will you help me get him out of there?" I asked angrily.

"Of course! I would never let a hero like that die to some foul beast! I can't help him kill it, but you have my word on my honor as a knight of Lorelei. I will help you save your father."

He seemed convincing enough. I didn't trust him, but if I wanted any chance of saving my Dad, I had to help them evacuate.

"Fine. Just tell me what you need me to do," I said.

"Good, come with me!" The captain said.

The knight led me into another section of caves. There weren't very many branching areas this close to the surface but there were still a few places.

I ran ahead of him and started shouting to the miners to get out of the caves because a dragon had been sighted deeper down.

As soon as they heard the word 'dragon', they immediately threw down their tools and bolted back up through the tunnels.

I ran around to as many of the areas as I could, shouting about the dragon. Eventually, we returned to the surface. The mine entrance in the quarry.

"It looks like everyone is accounted for," said the knight captain.

"Yes, sir. All thirty men have left the mines," another said.

"Good. Get the battlemages down here and collapse the cave system. We need to make sure that creature stays buried," the knight captain said.

My heart sank deep into my chest.

"Wait! You said you would help my father get out of there! You bastard!" I screamed.

The knight captain turned to me and tilted his head.

"You said he's down there fighting a dragon? That was at least twenty minutes ago. He's probably dead by now. You'd be better off moving on, kid. Sorry," he said with a condescending look.

YOU SICK BASTARD!!! YOU HAVE NO HONOR!!!

I moved my hand down to my short sword. Maybe I could gut this asshole before they struck me down.

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Do you honestly believe you stand a chance against a knight captain with nothing more than that cheap armor and a glorified kitchen knife? If you want to save your father so bad, run down there and get him. The battlemages will be here any minute. You'd best hurry, kid," he said.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Killing him would solve nothing and drawing my weapon would only mean my death. I turned and ran full speed down into the mines.

I made sure to grab a fresh torch off the wall on my way down. Running full speed, I felt my foot slam into a rock and went tumbling face-first into the ground. It caused my helmet to fly off and clatter down the slope.

I rolled for a bit and stopped. I felt something warm trickle down the front of my face, but I didn't care. I stood up and shakily grabbed the torch, then started running as quickly as I could manage at this point. Soon, I made it to the cavern.

I was shocked to find my father still alive. However, there was no sign of the dragon.

My Dad's armor was broken in several places. His helmet was off and his normally well-kept dark brown hair was messy. He had blood running from his mouth. Actually from several places on his body. He was barely standing, leaning against a rock near the center of the room.

I ran over to him.

"Dad! You're alive! Come on, we have to get out of here, the battlemages are going to collapse the cave system!"

He looked somewhat dazed. His face had mixed emotions on it. He was happy to see me, but on the other hand...

"Mizik, I thought I told you to get help. Why are you back here alone!?" He said.

He spoke while panting heavily.

"They won't come, Dad! They're cowards! Every last one of them! They're afraid to fight the dragon!" I said.

"Heh...they really are a spineless bunch, aren't they?

The usual demeanor of his speech was gone. It was like a man resigned to die. He smiled wearily.

"You said they plan to collapse the mines, right?" He asked.

"That's right! We need to move now! If we run, we might still make it."

"Mizik, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be running anytime soon," he said as he glanced at his lower right.

I didn't notice because of the angle at which I approached him. He had his sword in the ground on his right to keep himself balanced as he leaned his back against the rock.

His right leg was missing.

As soon as I saw it, I felt the tears start streaming down my face.

Why!? Why is this happening to me!? First my mom and now my dad too!? There must be something we can do. Something I can do.

"W-we just need to let them know! The dragon is gone! No need to collapse the mines, right? If I tell them you're alive and the dragon is-"

"Mizik, stop. Please. The dragon isn't dead."

At those words, I felt even more hopeless.

"It bit down on my leg and I stabbed it in the eye. After it tore my leg off, it retreated down the hole. I started to feel that evil sensation moments before you came back. It'll be here soon. Likely before you could return with help. You need to accept this Mizik."

My vision was blurry with the tears. I couldn't just leave him. I had to stay!

"How can I just...walk away!?" I managed to say while crying.

"Steel yourself. One foot in front of the other. We rehearsed this. Worst case scenario."

"..."

He reached down and undid the clasp of his satchel from his waist. He handed it to me.

"I don't trust safes or lockboxes. Unattended valuables are begging to be stolen. Keep that with you at all times," he said while pulling a cord around his neck. The cord snapped and he handed me a key.

"That'll unlock the satchel. There's valuable items in there that you can sell for money. Don't sell the paperweight, you'll need it. There are a few notes and letters as well. Follow the instructions on the one titled 'for a rainy day'. Lastly, don't throw away the old coupons. Trust me. And one more thing..."

He took the key and unlocked the satchel. Then he reached into his inventory and pulled out a pouch. He placed it inside and locked it just before letting go.

I accepted everything and stared at him. My mind was going blank. I couldn't focus. I wanted so badly for him to live.

"You really do look so much like your mother, Mizik. Your face and your hair color remind me of her. And your eyes are mine. You are the personification of our union. You are our legacy. Mizik, I love you so much...more than anything in the entire world. You made these past thirteen years some of the happiest of my life. But sometimes, we have to say goodbye to those we love..."

As he spoke, he started to tear up. My usually strong-willed father was on the verge of crying just like I had been.

"Dammit...I told myself if I could talk to you one last time, I wouldn't cry. Here I am losing it!"

As he spoke I felt a rumble.

Something was climbing the chasm. Without a doubt, the dragon was about to return.

"It looks like I'm out of time. You need to go."

"I don't want to! I refuse to leave you behind!" I screamed.

You idiot! How can I just abandon my own father!?

"I am choosing to give my life so that you can live yours, Mizik. I've already lived a good life and I want you to continue living for me. Would you throw that away?"

I had no response. If I was to honor his wishes, the best I could do was to keep living.

"I love you Mizik. You're the best son a man could ask for. Be strong, be brave, and stay alive. No matter what happens," he spoke softly with a warm smile. "Now go!"

I turned and ran towards the cavern entrance as the dragon emerged, wings spread out from the chasm. It looked at me for a moment just before it was hit on one of its heads with a spear of light.

"Easy prey that doesn't fight back is hardly worth the effort, right? Leave the boy alone and COME AT ME, YOU UGLY BASTARD! I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!!!"

My father roared with everything he had as the dragon turned its attention to him and roared in response.

The last thing I saw of him was his eye looking at me from the right. A huge toothy grin on his face.

I could almost tell what he was thinking...

'Go! Live on! My legacy!'

I ran up through the tunnels with everything I had without stopping.