"Shadows touched the earth and expanded through the roots of the old trees. With worrying eyes they saw evil itself falling upon them, hungrily and eagerly it feasted on their fears and darkened hearts. The streets filled with them, heads of the doomed. Crushing their skulls with each step, making way, I rise"
Light welcomed my eyes and fresh air filled my lungs. Finally, I've decided to head north after so many detours and foolish side jobs. Yesterday I crossed the town of Saint Dorian; just by the border of the Empire of Roda, from which I cannot return. Thanks to the war that Roda is defending itself from, most of the settlements I may came across will probably be overrun by Roda's army along with the famine and violence of conflict.
Technically speaking, I am now in the territory belonging to the Confederation of the South, which I've never been before except for unmemorable transits. Despite amassing quite the capital before embarking on my quest, I wasn't able to get even one horse… And I don't plan to become a thief and steal a horse or carriage from another person. Anyway, the distance between Saint Dorian and the next town was nothing but a patch of prairies turned into battlefields and thus, wastelands. I passed through, what seemed to be, two towns but they were completely abandoned and destroyed. At last I reached a settlement, a city nonetheless, the city of Franck, that sported a wall surrounding it completely. But, just by making my way around to the main entrance, I could see the banners with the Langedar; the symbol of the faith, that signaled the city had surrendered to Roda.
Tired of wandering I decided to enter the city, I knew I had to keep a low profile because I was still a fugitive from Roda. The military presence was everywhere, every corner and every street had at least one guard. Still, the residents seemed to perform the every day duties. The first thing that really caught my eyes was the sustainable amount of kobolds; tiny lizards, half the sized of a regular human. Their existence was normal in the world but all of the kingdoms of the faith are against the existence of, what they call, 'Lowly sentient creatures' inside their territories. These kobolds were well dressed, considering they were sentient creatures, and went around carrying bags and goods. It looked like they were being tolerated by the Roda occupation force but I don't think it will last. Well… now I had to make my way up north and I needed coin for that, fast… So, to the tavern it is.
Taverns are always a good source for finding someone who needs something done. Entering this one I got instantly hit with smell of ale and that other scent that, for some reason, always seemed to stick to taverns. Always directly to the bar, first thing I noticed was the large amount of Roda's soldiers getting wasted, that and that all the waiters were kobolds too… they really like using kobolds, at least the bartender was a human.
"Welcome… uh, adventurer, what can I get you?", The bartender asked after taking a good look at my attire; which… I admit is what an adventurer would wear.
"Water. Just water", I replied and the bartender rolled his eyes, "Also… say, is there any jobs needed to be done in this city? Any slaying… even delivery?", my question made the bartender raise an eyebrow, "Jobs? I'm a bartender, if you want work here you'll need to speak to the owner. Now, if you mean a job fitted to an adventurer then you need to go the city's guild, just go up the main road, it's by the plaza". I got kind of embarrassed, didn't know about those 'guilds', "I'm not an adventurer! But thanks. Also, what's with all these kobolds?", my curiosity got the better of me and the bartender quickly caught up, "Oh… you're not from here are you? Where you from? Roda?", I quickly shut him up, "Shhh… you could say I am but don't make that public", the bartender laughed as I worryingly gazed around, hoping none of the Roda's soldiers payed attention to me, "Um… so I guess you're not friends with the Empire, well, I'm also not friends with them. As for the kobolds, well, they're really useful, every citizen has at least one, and they can do your deliveries or you could keep them as pets or fuck 'em, It's the same, anything simple or mundane".
I was aware of the kobolds and their uses and I did see some of them before, not in Roda but from the three years I lived in the city of Lindelen, in the north. I didn't want to stay any longer in this city, running the risk of catching the attention of any of the occupation soldiers was a possibility. I immediately went to the guild which stood out from the other buildings in the plaza, especially by the concentration of, what I guess, were adventurers; all of them armed and either in armor or combat attire. Inside the guild I tried to see if they had a work board or something like it, and being unable to find one I went to the receptionist, "Good day. So… I'm not from here and I'm looking for any work involving slaying or delivering… but I cannot find the work board", the receptionist took a large book from under her desk opening up in front of me, "Welcome, well, if you're looking for a job then I'll need your guild's registration number". I raised an eyebrow, "No-no, I'm not an adventurer, I mean, I'm not registered in any 'guild' or company". She closed the book and presented a paper, "Alright, then you must register as an adventurer first to be able to do any work provided by the guild. Fill this with your information to begin". Already a roadblock, I wasn't going to give my name, I couldn't, If I did I would be hunted by every mercenary sent by the Empress of Roda. A fake name maybe? No… I would be too much of hassle and that wasn't my only problem. "I-I can't give my name or anything related to it. Can you just… I don't know, give me the whereabouts of someone needing any job, It could be the most dangerous or most easy, I do not care". The receptionist gave me a tiny smile, "Um, sorry. But unless you're in a party we'll need your data so we can forward you payment and future jobs. Bye bye".
I was already turning to leave but a guy placed a hand on my shoulder before asking, "Hey, you in need of a party? Because I wouldn't mind a companion", I gazed down to see him, he didn't look like an adventurer or a fighter, or nothing of that sort; he was wearing regular civilian attire besides from just a chest plate, that and chipped sword. "What do you say? We can partner up, I'm already registered!", his voice annoyed me but I still needed the coin to make haste in my journey, so I turned to the receptionist who opened the big book again, turning to this guy next to me and asking his name, "I'm Dorlan Limmer. Don't ask me for my registry number though, I'm bad with numbers". He replied and she found him on the book, "Ah yes. So, you wish to make a party with this individual?" She asked him and he nodded, "Alright. Mister Dorlan, do you wish a job like the one we gave you last time, the… rat hunting one?". Rat hunting? This guy was clearly not an adventurer in any shape, way or form, he looked embarrassed by what the receptionist said, "Oh no, no, no… I was thinking something that would leave us more money", he answered and turned to me, "I heard you were looking for slaying work, you must be tough then, let's go with one of those!", the receptionist pulled, what I guess was the work board I was looking for, but in a tiny form, "Well. There's a recent one. Some kobolds have taken refuge on a shack in the slums of the city, there is no actual number of how many, but they've been kidnapping other kobolds. Reports say they are armed". He scoffed, "Ha, kobolds? That is as easy as boiling water", then for a split second turned to me, "That is easy, right? You can do it?", I nodded, obviously it was easy for me but for him?.
He accepted the job and led me outside, "Nice, nice. After this we can go have a drink, what do you say?, I'm Dorlan by the way, wait, you already know that. What's your name?… wait, you don't want anyone to know your name, right? That's fine by me! I can call you… uh… man, or mister? What do you prefer?", he kept yapping and asking, under different circumstances I would just threaten him just to get him to shut up, but I felt obligated to answer at least one question since he allowed me to get one job, "Dorlan. Ask one question and I'll answer it, just one", he thought for a while and then asked, "Ok, ok, then if you're an adventurer why don't you have a sword? Did you scammed me? Please say no… it's going to be the second time it happens. B-but you must be some kind of adventurer, you are wearing chain mail and armor under your cape...", I lifted part of the cape to show the tip of the sheath of my sword, "I have a sword. But I cannot show it around, I might get recognized. And don't worry about the job, I'll take care of the kobolds, you just give me my share, understood?", my answer worked against me as he just seemed even more curious, "Oh… so you're like a… a fugitive? Are you a criminal? Not that I mind. That's fine… 'recognized by my sword', so your sword is like famous or something?", 'It is…' that's what I said inside my head, I didn't answer any further questions as I wanted him to shut up.
Relying on Dorlan to get to the slums was a pain as he would just talk and talk, I focused on what was around me. The city of Franck looked tidy and well kept, no immediate signs of fighting or destruction, something odd as this city had been under siege not too long ago. Leaving downtown and reaching more of the most obscure parts led us into the alleyways, as in most cities these alleyways had people resting on the cobblestone, asking for coin or food, some of them looking half dead, sickly. "They must be from the nearby towns. Refugees…", Dorlan muttered, making comments along the way. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked him, "So… how is the war going? Who's winning?", I could see Dorlan dumb smile before he answered, "Winning?… uh… I dunno. Roda did make good progress here in the Confederation but had to stop in their tracks. The Kingdom of Xion on the west is kicking their butts, so they had to send more reinforcements there. You got that and the fact that Centralia joined a year ago, and now Roda faces a three front war. I'm from Centralia by the way, I would ask where you are from but I respect if you don't want to tell me… Anyway, this city is the only city of the Confederation that remains in Roda's control, further north they're still in battle". So, like always, man is focused in petty wars, all of this just makes me want to go north even faster. Dorlan continued, "I arrived in Franck last year. I didn't want to get drafted into the war, don't judge me! Centralia has this stupid drafting policy of taking every able adult man into war. My hometown was close to the border so I was going to get drafted for sure. Now I'm here and I've been trying to get into this 'adventurer work', you know?"
Dorlan kept on talking until we made it to the slums of the city, like another slum it awfully reeked and had the same ugliness as any other; prostitution, addicts, dead laying on the streets along with feces and rats. Dorlan made his way like he already knew this place by memory, at one point I had to hide because of two Roda soldiers walking around and asking questions, Dorlan picked up on this, "Oh, so you're a fugitive from Roda? Hehehe, don't worry, I'll keep your secret", what a twat. We finally reached a sector that looked like it was only inhabited by kobolds; this place brought back memories from the slave town of Kolkia where I did some work a few years back… some kobolds would constantly approach us and ask if we needed a 'slave', clearly offering themselves, some more than others. "Poor things, most end up here when their masters either discard them or die. I would take one with me but I can hardly maintain myself", Dorlan said as we finally reached quite a large shack, one that seemed to match the description given in the guild. "Must be this one! Alright, let's get ready… uh…", Dorlan unsheathed his sword and a voice from inside the shack alerted, "Humans!!!".
I could feel the danger coming, as I removed my cape a wild arrow came from the shack pointing straight to Dorlan, but my sword is faster, I instantly diverted it to the ground with my blade. Now it was in full display, a two-handed sword with faint red glow, my sword, the Godsword.
"Stay back and hide", I said to Dorlan. Sword in hand I broke inside the shack, first thing that hit me was the putrid smell; there were at least twenty kobolds, all of them armed with daggers and others with swords too large for their tiny bodies. Nasty creatures; on the far side, a group of five was raping one kobold, next to one lacking a leg and an arm that was agonizing against the wall and, not far from that one, rotting limbs and rests of another one. They all turned to me but they were too slow and too daft. I made quick work of them, slicing them was as easy as cutting the wind, some dropped their weapons and begged but I had fulfill the job, if not I wouldn't get paid. It didn't take me more than ten minutes to take them out, cleaning my sword afterwards would take longer. Then I hastily came out, I was afraid that Dorlan might've got himself killed somehow but I was relieved to see him there, just staring at me… the relief was cut short as the two Roda soldiers from before appeared, one of them immediately recognized me. "Is that?… that's the Godsword! Quick, go and report it!", the soldier shouted to his partner who turned to run but, again, my sword is faster, I threw it and pierced his armor, killing him instantly. "Recall", I said under my breath and the sword, making an upward motion, spliced the soldier's upper half and head before darting back to my hand. The other soldier stood frozen, how could he not, I gave him a quick death.
Dorlan was scared, seems my display gave him second thoughts on keeping me as a party companion. It was kind of amusing, walking towards him made him even more afraid but then I felt something hugging my side, it was the kidnapped kobold that was getting raped inside the hut. "T-thank you tho much thir… Limi ith thankful, thankful!", the kobold said with a lisp while brushing his head on me. I realized the kobold was male because the nasty bastard was also brushing his dirty genitals on my thigh, I wanted to kick his head in but contained and just shove him aside. "Refrain from touching me, lizard".
Then Dorlan came to me, "Wow! That was amazing. I knew you were tough. I was right, for once. This kobold must from the ones they kidnapped. Are there others inside, anyone alive?", I took my cape to clean my blade and made sure to sheathed it before replying, "Besides this one? there's another inside, half-dead, It won't make it. The others are completely dead". Dorlan sighed and head to the shack, "Nice, nice. Help me carve their ears out, we'll need 'em as proof of the job", then he turned to the dead soldiers, "What can we do about them though? Two dead Rodians might cause a problem for us". Dorlan had a point and while carving the ears out I had the idea to stick some of the daggers, used by the kobolds, into the soldier's bodies. "Smart. Ok, ok, now we take this back to the guild and get our coin", Dorlan said and then wrapped the surviving kobold in some cloth, "As for you, we'll help you get back to your master, alright?". The kobold, tail wagging, hugged Dorlan legs, "Thank you! Limi wath afraid, now happy thankth to thaviors!".
I remember the first time I saw a kobold, and I understand why some people kept them as pets, their big eyes and submissive demeanor gives them that certain… charm, that and their usefulness, but like a pack of dogs, you leave a handful of kobolds alone and they succumb to their wild side in an instant.
The day was fruitful, we returned the kobold and presented the ears at the guild, we split the profits in half, despite me doing everything… The amount still wasn't enough, I asked around and a carriage to the northern border of the Confederation would be five times the amount I been given. Dorlan sensed my need and offered me half of his profits but I refused, then, seeing night was approaching, he offered me to stay at his house… I humbly accepted.
He bought some ale and we drank, in hindsight I shouldn't have, as I always tend to say more than I should. "So… so, those guys… the soldiers, they said 'Godsword'? That's what they call you? That's so badass. Wish I were called something like that… maybe in the future when I become a famous adventurer...", Dorlan said between hiccups and I bite my lip, knowing I shouldn't but I felt like I owed him at least my name. "No. That's the name of my sword… I told you I could be identified by my sword. My name is Tak", Dorlan was ecstatic and laughed, "T-Tak?! You don't look like a Tak… anyway, nice to meet you Tak… and now that we are opening up, opening up time… where are you from? You're from Roda, right?", Again, I should have kept my mouth shut but he already knew my name so… "Yes and no. I was raised in Roda 'till the age of twelve. I'm actually from the north, I was born in the town of Sonnda. One of the towns ravaged by the Calamity…", Dorlan frowned, "C..Calamity? What is that? Is that a kingdom?".
He didn't know? Did nobody know the danger the world was in? The last three years I've been wandering around Roda I hardly heard the Calamity be mention, and it seems to be the same in the Confederation. I was ready to spill everything out, the Calamity's beginning, the five northern kingdoms, the fall of the Holy City, all the history that was drilled in my head, taught to me as a child in the military orphanage back in Roda. But I just let it go, Dorlan's purpose was different, his war was different, my war was bigger and so was my enemy…
The next day we got ready to go back to the guild and get the coin we both needed, but the city was in disarray. Last night the bodies of the two dead soldiers were discovered and, in the same night, all the masterless kobolds were signaled out by Roda's forces and murdered. It seems framing the kobolds for the killing of the two Roda soldiers caused a bigger issue in the city as Roda occupation soldiers rounded up all the kobolds going around, performing their normal duties, they humiliated them, strip them, beat them and some were killed. Like a wicked domino effect, my mistake led to the killing of innocent kobolds and their deaths stirred resistance from the residents of Franck who, seeing their possession getting killed, acted against the occupation force. In the span of a few hours everything went to the gutter, me and Dorlan agreed to leave the city, he packed his belongings and we left.
Guilt is what I had. My actions caused the death of innocents, a city in flames and Dorlan having to leave his home. The carriage we are taking, that we paid with our coin, can only take us to the city of Seaway, a port city far from the battlegrounds. I hope I can make this right somehow… Still, I cannot forget what my quest is.