End of the story

Finally, the first part of the story ends. Does this mean the end of the story? Of course not, for this is just the first part of the story. There are still many yet to come, and this adventure haven't ended yet.

Keep on coming for more update!

Chapter 11 : Ambush

Tom and Leo moved together with Frivlus, and the rest of the company. They moved through the ruined city, and Tom can see most of the soldiers face changed from awareness to sadness. This is after all, their homeland and their city. To see their city being destroyed like this, Tom fully understands their sadness. For a few minutes, there is a mournful aura in the company, and Tom himself thinks back on what have become of Levogard, his family and Hagol.

This though came to an abrupt end when suddenly Frivlus hissed.

“Scrown in front”

Everybody wake from the trance, and quickly hide behind anything that can conceal their presence. True enough, in front of them is six Scrown soldiers walking among the ruin while laughing.

Frivlus whisper to Tom, “You two should stay put and see how we work.”

Tom and Leo nodded.

Frivlus whisper something to the man beside him, that man nodded and taking a few men with him, moved stealthy through the ruin without being spotted by the six soldiers, and as Tom watched, they are already ahead of those four soldiers, disappearing in the ruins.

“Now we move onto them. Rouen, prepare your bow, and shoot when I signaled!” Frivlus said.

The man named Rouen nodded, and in a few second, his bow is already in his left hand, and his right hand has fitted an arrow onto the bowstring.

“The rest of you, except Tom, Leo and Rouen, follow me.”

So Tom and Leo stay in their position, while Rouen has already aim his bow onto his intended target.

Frivlus and another four of his men moved stealthy onto the Scrown soldiers, still unaware of the fate that will soon befall them. They settled behind a small well just a few meters in front of the Scrown soldiers.

Frivlus raised his hand, and Rouen released the arrow. It flies quickly and hit a Scrown soldier right at his neck. That man fall to the ground. Before his other friends can react, Frivlus and the rest of his men has sprung from their hideout, Frivlus himself cutting down one man in front of him, while his men cut down the other two. It quickly become a battle of two against five, so the remaining Scrown soldiers feel that they have done enough, and run away quickly, but before another one is shot down by another arrow from Rouen, straight at his head.

The last Scown soldier runs straight onto another three Thales soldiers that already await them in front. Soon, he is cut down too.

Tom, Leo and Rouen moved to join Frivlus group.

“Do you understand how we work now, Tom and Leo?”

Tom and Leo nodded, their eyes full of awe.

They spend the rest of the morning and noon, killing all the Scrown soldiers in sight. Tom and Leo quickly adept to such kind of fighting style, and soon they already join the fray. By afternoon, the group have reached the edge of the forest. Around the wall of Thales, a good number of Scrown soldiers body lay everywhere. Tom do not count, but he guessed they have killed at least fifty Scrown soldiers. Not without a price though. When attacking one of the patrol, another patrol sighted them, and the ambush become a chaotic fight. They won, but lost three members of the group. Two other is badly injured, and must retreat back to the camp, with Leo escorting them. Frivlus send Leo back to the camp to bring another five soldiers to the group. So, now only five members, including Frivlus, remain.

Because of this, the effectiveness of the fighting force decreased, and everybody stamina is decreasing very quickly. And now they are resting at the edge of the forest, in a ground surrounded by lot of bushes. None of them speak, they are trying to recover as quickly as they can, and because they fear the enemy might hear them talking and know their position.

Suddenly there is a movement behind them. Rouen peeped from their position.

“That is Haldir from Frolham group. What is he doing alone? Why. . . He is hurt!”

The group moved quickly to Haldir. When Haldir sees them, he immediately runs toward them.

“What happened?” Frivlus asked.

“We are sweeping the western part of the city when one of the patrols spotted us and run to alert their friends . . . Frolham ordered a chase, so we chase them until out of the city, and we are ambushed. It seems the enemy knows of our plan . . . We try to stand and fight, but they outnumbered us five to one, and soon we are cut down one by one . . . Frolham ordered me to run and look for help. The last time I look back, only he remains.”

“It might already be too late for them, but we must go and see if we can do anything.” Frivlus said.

With Haldir as their guide, the group moved quickly to Frolham last stand. Frivlus looks very troubled. Tom asked him about this, and Frivlus said “I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about this, ready your weapon Tom.”

They almost reached the spot when suddenly an arrow fly and hit Haldir on his head. He falls to the ground almost immediately.

All around them, Scrown soldiers are closing in. They are encircling them. There is nowhere to escape for Tom and the group.

From the circle stepped out . . . Frolham!

“Frolham! What is the meaning of this?” Frivlus shouted at him.

“The meaning is very simple, just like what you see in front of you. I am never your man from the very beginning, because I am Flolham Bellamy, one of the Five Purist Warrior. Now, don’t that make you remember something Tom?”

“You! You are the same as Renshaw!” Tom said, still unable to believe his eyes.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, Renshaw is my brother by oath, so I have heard a lot about you, so have our great lord, and he is very interested in you. . . “

“Everyone, on my signal, we will rush behind to where we came from. Remember, we are not seeking victory, just an escape. And remember everyone, don’t die.” Frivlus whispered as Frolham keep on talking.

Everybody nodded and tighten their grip on their weapon, including Rouen who have switched to a short sword.

“. . . and so, I am ordered here to see that His wish is carried out.” Frolham ended his long speech.

“Now!” Frivlus shouted, and charged back toward the enemy behind him. Everyone follow suit.

“Kill them all!” Frivlus shouted, and every Scrown soldier moved toward them.

Frivlus opened the way. Tom sees every Scrown soldiers that tries to stop him fall immediately. Tom show his prowess too. He hacked here and there, and leave a dozen of Scrown soldiers dead or injured at the ground. Untill he recognize Renshaw Bellamy in front of them.

Renshaw struck a blow onto Frivlus, and Frivlus fall to the side. He strike another one, and that man fall to the ground with his head severed. But that is not important. Haven’t Hagol take care of him? If he survives, then that means . . . Now there is no one between Renshw and Tom.

“Renshaw!” Tom charged. His head is full of rage.

Renshaw blocked the first blow, and another, and another. He steps back gradually. When one of Scrown soldiers tried to hit Tom from behind, Renshaw screamed “He is mine! Nobody interfere!”

And he sends a very powerful sweep to Tom. Tom managed to block that sweep, but the tide has turned. It is Renshaw now who has the advantage, and he pressed on. Tom keeps on stepping back while blocking any incoming attack. The duel goes on until they moved out of the battlefield, through a small wood, and finally, by the river of Grengel.

Renshaw stopped his attack.

“This ends here, Tom.” Renshaw said.

“Yes, and it is you who are going to die!” Tom bellowed, and charged forward. “Blesetgratcrown!” Renshaw blocked and give a very powerful sweep onto Tom. Tom tried to block the attack, but his sword is broken from the blow. Renshaw sword cut him in the chest, and he is thrown back by the force of that attack . . . into the river.

Chapter 10 : A Strange Dream

Tom got himself a sword, after that he wear a wooden helmet and slings a wooden shield behind his back. Leo pick a mace filled with thorns on its head, a helmet and he also slings a shield to his back. Then, they go out of the tent.

“Splendid.” Frivlus said. “Now, the Lord has placed you two under my order, so remember this, no action from you both until I said so.” At this his face grew stern. “Now that there is no threat from Scrown, you two shall follow my party and patrol around the city.”

“Yes Sir!”

“However, because none of you are fit enough for a real battle, you must rest now. We are not short of manpower right now because we are not mounting any attack, so use this time wisely. Rest and let your body be healed so when the time comes, you can perform as well as you could. Now. . . Cogent!”

One of the tent guards move. “What is it sir?”

“Show them the tents for the Elite Militia.” The guard nodded. Frivlus turned to them. “This guard will show you the way. Rest now, and I will find you tomorrow. But now, I have other matters to attend to. So, until then.”

Frivlus walked away. Cogent the guard walks toward them. “Please follow me.”

They walked through a lot of tent until they finally reach several tents grouped together near the edge of the encampment, which Tom guess must be the place nearest to the battlefield ahead.

The guard checked something on the plank hung near a tree. He looked at it for a while, before marking something in the edge of the plank. Then they walked to the smallest tent at the edge of the group.“This tent is empty, please use it well.” The guard said.

Tom and Leo entered the tent. Inside the tent is three small bed made of hay covered with blanket and in the middle, a small firewood is burning. Feeling weariness overcome them suddenly, Tom and Leo moved to the nearest beds and slept at once.

The next morning, Tom wakes up suddenly.

Tom looked around. Leo is still sleeping so peacefully, with some occasional snore. The fire has died out. The third bed is still not occupied. Outside the tent the sky at the eastern horizon begins to brighten up. He do not know why he wakes up so suddenly. The last thing he could remember is his dream has turned to something strange. He dreamed about Levogard again. He could see Leona and his children, all looking so scared while running. He wanted to help them, but he realized that he couldn’t move as he wanted. Feeling very helpless, he tried to call out for them, but his voice won’t come out. Then he saw Renshaw, and how he killed his wife with his sword, then his children. Tom wants to cry, but even his tears won’t come out. Suddenly everything turns black and in front of him stands an old man he doesn’t even know. The last word the old man said is “power”, as if echoing his thought. And he wakes up.

Tom can still feel his hand trembling. “Damn it, how can I end up like this? I must be strong.” Yet he doesn’t feel any urge to sleep anymore. So he just sits by the fireplace until Leo wakes up.

“You did not sleep, Tom?”

“I did, but guess I wake up quicker than you.”

“Ah. . . Well I guess. . . I am hungry. Is there any food?”

“You will get your food, but later. There is a bucket of water here, use it to wash yourselves first, and then put on this clothes, for your garment is not fit anymore. When you are done, come out and meet me.” Frivlus said, entering through the tent door, followed by a soldier who is carrying a bucket of water and another soldier carrying two pieces of shirt and two pieces of pant.

“Ah well, thank you, sir.” Leo said

Frivlus gave them a nod, and walk out of the tent, followed by the soldiers after putting down the bucket and clothes.

They quickly wash themselves and put into their new clothes, their old one they throw onto their own bed. After that, they walked out of the tent, where Frivlus has waited for them.

“Let’s move, I will introduce you to the rest of the team, then brief all of you for the mission.”

So they move out. After walking out of the encampment, Frivlus whistled loudly, soon a handful of men are already gathered around them.

“Men, I want to introduce you to these two new recruits in our rank. Tom Burfoot,” at this he pointed at Tom, “and Leo Baldric.” He pointed to Leo.

The men nodded, but Tom realizes none of them are smiling.

Frivlus continued. “I don’t think I need to introduce you two to each of our men, so I will just tell you the important one. This is Randy Backwater, my vice captain,” he pointed to a man with big stature and great beard on his chin, his back hung a very big axe. The man saluted them. “In other word, he will take on my position should anything happen to me, so you two should listen to his order if I do not give you any. This is Frolham the Bold, no surname for he does not wish to say,” he pointed to another man with slim stature and an average height, his face is clean, who are holding a great long sword in his right hand. The man raises his left hand in acknowledgement. “He is the champion of this unit, so maybe I will sometimes assign you to serve under his command for a while. I guess that’s all. Now, for the mission.”

They all stand closer.

“As you know, we have defeated the first wave of Scrown Army. However, the king believes that they are regrouping and will launch another attack soon. So, while the main army prepares the defense, we will move out and seek their rally point, eliminating any Scrown soldiers in the way. Our hope is to weaken them so severely so that when they launch another attack, if they are stupid enough to do so, they will surely fail and be driven back from this realm. For this task, I will divide this unit into three groups, under the command of Randy, Frolham and me myself. Randy group will scour the eastern part of the city, while Frolham group will sweep the western part of the city. My group will sweep the area outside the wall and around the forest. Are you all clear?”

Everyone nodded.

“Ok, team leaders, pick your members. Everyone should pick ten men for this mission. The rest should stay behind and watch for any intruders. Tom and Leo, you are with me.”

The picking begins. After every groups have ten men, eleven plus the leader of the group, Frivlus continued.

“Every teams already get enough man? Good! Now, we all shall have some food before moving out. To the kitchen quarter everyone.”

Everybody move to the quarter, including Tom and Leo. The quarter is located at the middle of the main encampment; it is made up of several tents and a small bakery, with several bonfires that keeps burning in the middle of the quarter. Two people in white clothes are cooking at each bonfire. At there, everyone is given two pieces of bread with butter, and a mug of strange drink that Tom never tasted, but it refreshes him, chasing away any last bit of sleepiness in him. They eat their breakfast quickly. After that, Frivlus continued.

“Everyone have their fill? Good! Begin the mission!”

And everyone move out to their destination, eyes warily searching for any unlucky Scrown soldiers who might bump into them.

Chapter 9 : The King’s Audience

“So, the king of yours that we are going to meet, what kind of man is he?” Leo asked.

“He is a great man,” Frivlus said, “whose knowledge is wide. He is also fair and straightforward person, and also liked such kind of person, for he himself is also one. If you have anything to say, speak freely, however, you must remember that he is still a king, and if there is any disrespect from you,” at this his voice grew sterner, “I shall personally make you realize your mistake.”

“We won’t forget.” Tom said.

They keep walking until they reached the refugee camp once more. At here, Frivlus take another path through the camp, with Tom and Leo at his tail. They walked on until they reached what seems to be a large encampment, and Frivlus led them to the largest tent in that encampment. The tent is guarded by several soldiers. Frivlus signaled them to go in after him.

“Remember, you may speak anything, but keep your manner.”

They walked in, and a man beside the tent suddenly shouted “announcing the coming of Captain Frivlus and the two prisoners!” Leo wanted to tell off the man for calling them prisoners, but Tom stomped his foot first, causing Leo to give a muffled groan. “Let it be, Leo!” Tom said.

Leo muttered something about injustice, but nobody heard him, except Tom, who in turn hissed “have you forgotten what Frivlus told us? Keep your manner!” Leo said nothing, and they move on until they are in front of a man who sits in a rather grand chair. This man seem to be pretty old already, maybe around forty or fifty, his hair is white, and around his face there are many sign of old age. But his eyes seem to shine brightly as he eyed them both. Beside this man are two more soldiers who wear uniform similar to one that Frivlus wears.

“My lord, your humble servant has brings the two men in question. They await your decision on both of them.” Frivlus said, while bowing.

“Yes, back to your post, captain. I want to question them myself.” the man said, and stands from his chair. He gazed at them intently, as if trying to look into them, while Frivlus retreated from there.

“Your names are…?” the man said.

“I am Tom Burfoot.”

“I am Leo Baldric.”

The man gazed at them intently again, before saying “I am Reynold Locksley, lord of this city. I heard from my captain that you are from Levogard, is that true?”

“Yes.”

“I have heard your story a little from my captain, but I wished to know more. Would you mind telling me how you ended up in here?”

“Not at all.” And they begin to tell their story again, just like what they have told to Frivlus and Lorenze. Lord Locksley listened intently, his eyes fixed onto both of them. After they finished the story, Lord Locksley gazed on them emptily, as if in his own thought.

“Your tale that you have told. . . They are very interesting. If it is true, we may be facing some very great peril in times ahead. Yet I see no lie in your eyes, and without boasting about myself, I seldom fail to recognize a lie. Yes, I can see that you tell the truth.”

At this word, Tom and Leo brighten up. If the king believe them, there should not be any problem anymore.

Lord Locksley continued.

“You have come across some very great adventure, filled with loss and regret. For that, I feel sorry for you all. If there is anything in my realm that can reduce your loss, just say it. I will try my best to fulfill it. In the meantime, if you feel that your need for revenge are too overwhelming, I am always pleased to welcome two of such a find soldier into my rank.”

At this word Tom said, “Please, kind lord. Just by believing our story, you have done a very great deed for us, these two humble men who have lost his home city. You even welcome us into your army, giving us a chance to satisfy a little our hunger for revenge. But please, can you give us some time to consider this generous offer?”

“Yes, please take your time, and discuss with Leo for a while. If you need a private space. . . “

“No, kind sir. We will just do it here. In the corner maybe, if you allow”

“A place that I will not suggest to my guest, but if you think that is the best, so be it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Tom and Leo walked to the corner of the tent. The guard that is standing there makes his move away from there, giving Leo and Tom a quite large private space.

“Well, Leo. . . What do you think?”

“I don’t know, but if I knew you well enough, I daresay that you are really interested in his offer, don’t you?”

“Yes, the offer is really good. Think about it. We have a place to recuperate our wound. We got supply of food by becoming his soldiers, even if just for a while. And if Hagol passed this region, just like what we did and I am pretty sure he will, we will surely know. Look at what happened to us when we passed this place.”

“Yes, I see what you mean. And personally, I will welcome a fight or two with those Scrown Purist Army once more. My hand twitches at the thought of meeting them again. Don’t you feel it too, Tom? A desire inside that is burning so strong?”

“Yes, I do. I just can’t forget them, even thought I know killing them won’t bring back my family. . . Still, this feels like a right thing to do. This anger and madness. . . Will never subside as long as Renshaw is still alive!”

“Yes, well. . . You told him then?”

“Ok, I will”

“Fine by me then. Let’s do it.”

So Tom and Leo walked back to their place, in front of Lord Locksley.

Tom says, “We have decided.”

“And what is your decision?” Lord Locksley asked them.

Both Tom and Leo knelled.

“I, Tom Burfoot, place my strength and my soul for you, milord!”

“I, Leo Baldric, place my strength and soul for you, milord!”

“And I shall receive your service. May you serve with great loyalty and honor, and prove yourself as a bane for my enemies. Rise now, my good warrior.”

Tom and Leo stand again.

“I place you both under the command of Captain Frivlus. Now, you shall come with Frivlus to the armory. He will provide you with the suitable gears.”

“Yes, milord.”

Lord Locksley nodded to them, and then signaled Frivlus to bring them to the armory.

They made their way to the armory, which is located near the edge of the camp. The armory is a small workshop, where several blacksmiths are making weapons and armors, and beside the workshop is a small tent where the gears are stored.

“So, we will be fighting together. I look forward to see your ability in combat.” Frivlus said.

“We won’t disappoint you.”

“Go into the tent, and pick the gears of your liking. I will brief you two when you are all dressed up.”

Chapter 8 : The Medical Man

Tom entered first, followed by Leo. Almost at once, a great fragrance caught them in surprise. The scent is very calming and makes everybody who inhaled it feel great peace inside his mind. For a while, the thought of war and revenge leave their minds for a while. This goes on for several second until a sound suddenly break the silence.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Tom and Leo are awaken from their trance. The man in front of him is a middle aged man. His hair is black, but at here and there are some patch of white hair. He wears a red robe, so Tom guessed he must also be one of the healers. “Sorry. I thought…, anyway I am Tom Burfoot and this guy beside me is Leo Baldric. We are here to look for aid for our wound. Are you the healer here?” Tom asked.

“Yes, I am. Lorenze Hazrael is my name. Now…”

“You are a Hazrael? Do you mean to say you are Hagol Hazrael kin?” Leo interrupted suddenly.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Although we are not very close, but he helped me once in search of some rare herb. Why?”

“Then did you see Hagol recently? I mean…this past three or four day?” Tom asked.

“No, what happened to him?” Lorenze asked back.

So Tom told him the story of Hagol, just as he has told Frivlus the story.

“It can’t be…, how can it be? But…of course he isn’t dead yet. Hagol that I knew won’t die so easily. He is very strong.” Lorenze said.

“That’s what we think too. But we haven’t seen him and feel rather worried.” Tom said.

“Don’t you worry. I knew he is still alive. But, now back to business. Let me see your wound.”

Lorenze examined Tom wound closely. “Hmm, some bruise and minor cut.” He pressed his finger onto several area of Tom body. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really” Tom said.

“That’s mean you are pretty all right. Just need to brush your wound with some wine and let your body do the work.” Lorenze rummage around the table. “Here is the wine. Wash your wound with it yourself. Now, it’s your turn Leo.”

He turned his attention to Leo and begins to unwrap the bandage. “My…my, your wound sure is deadlier. How could you survive? That wound could have killed a normal person!”

“Fortunately I am an extraordinary person. So, how will you cure this?” Leo said.

“I need to mix some herb to cover your wound. Bentane extract, alcool extract, and crushed kapuk leaf. Alas! I am out of kapuk leaves. That leaf is on high demand now because it can stop bleeding.”

“What does it looks like? The leaf, I mean.” Tom said.

“It is just like any other ordinary leaf, but when you crushed it, it became white in color.”

“Is this it?” Tom said, taking out some leaf that he has found in the farmhouse.

“By Crossus! You have found it! Here, let me have it. I will begin working at once.”

Tom handed the leaves to Lorenze, and Lorenze begin to crush the leaves in his hand. He then brewed some water in a small cauldron. He then put in the crushed leaves, and pours in two other liquid into the warm water. After that, he stirred the content. “You will have to wait for a while.” Lorenze said.

“That’s all right.” Leo said.

“Do you know what book is this?” Tom said, handing over a book that he has found in the farmhouse too.

Lorenze examined the book cover and flip some of the pages. “This is the book named “Herb as Medicine” one of the earliest available book about herbs, this kind of book is believed to be aged about seven hundred years already. I have a copy of this book once, but I have long lost it. It contains more than three hundred kind of herbs information. ”

“Then you may have that book. I am sure it will be much more useful for you.” Tom said.

“Really? I can have the book?” Lorenze asked.

“Yes. Actually that book is not mine too. The owner of this book has been killed by those Scrown soldiers.” Tom said.

“Oh…, is it ok then?”

“Well, I guess so. Anyway, what is this great smell that seems to revitalize us?” Tom asked.

“This is the smell of Yenerence, commonly referred as miles fragrance, because of its main characteristic to generate great fragrance that can revitalize body and mind when boiled.” Lorenze said.

“You sure know a lot, how do you do that?” Leo asked.

“Well, you think too highly of me. I am just an apprentice of books. Those who write the books, they are the real master of knowledge.” Lorenze said.

“You sure are pretty humble. Are you always eager for knowledge?” Tom asked..

“As a matter of fact, yes indeed. And the books are my best teacher. You can learn a lot from books. Yet once there are still many great sages who have all the great knowledge. That is indeed a golden era for those who is always desperate for new knowledge. At that time, often the great sages will sit down to discuss great matters. From that kind of discussions, books are created to record down their finding, including the one that you have just given to me. It is so sad that such an era had long passed.”

“How did such a great era is lost?” Tom asked.

“Because of war, just like this war we are facing. But it is rather an irony that it is knowledge too who has evolved war to a new level, and brings destruction to the advancement. The discovery of iron has brought many benefits to this world, but it also caused weapon to become much more dangerous than what it used to be. War sure is different when we still fight with stone and wood.” Lorenze said.

“The great era that you are talking, when is that? If it is indeed so great, why haven’t I heard a story about that? And do you mean to say that once there are wars fought with stone and wood? Sounds very strange to me.” Tom said.

“It may sounds pretty strange to you, but if you can go back in time and tell the people about sword made from iron, those people will think like you. At that time, there was no sword, or any other item made from iron. Everything is made from stone, wood and hay. There are even times when we still live in the cave and use only hand as the primary tool. I can tell you the story, but it will take days, and the herb is now ready.” Lorenze said, and move to the cauldron to scope up the herbs.

He now applied the herbs, which look like mud, only this one has more reddish color, onto Leo wounded area. After he applied it, he wrapped it with white clean bandage. “There, it is done. I guess you should go out and meet Captain Glock now. He…”

“I have one more question.” Tom interrupted. “This medical tent, is it the product of the golden era too?”

“No, it is Lord Locksley who has invented this system. He did it in order to increase the soldiers’ possibility to live on after he was wounded. Why?”

“Well, I am just curious because this system is pretty simple yet very useful.”

“Yes, indeed Lord Locksley is one of greatest lord in the region. He is brave, intelligent and kind to his subjects. Thales becomes more prosperous and stronger under his rule. Now, I think you should move along. Captain Glock should be waiting outside the tent by now.”

So Leo and Tom walked out of tent. But in his way, he thinks on his own city. The last sentence of Lorenze makes he compare Thales to Levogard. If Levogard had been ruled by one capable lord, just like Thales, will it still stand proud until now? Is having a lord that leads a city is really so important? And how are their elders doing? Did they survive the attack? These questions keep pondering him, that he do not see where he is heading and bumped into Frivlus.

“Ouch! Oh, I am sorry; I did not see where I was going because I am thinking of Levogard.” Tom explained.

“It’s ok, are you all right now?” Frivlus asked.

“Yes, we feel better already.” Leo and Tom said.

“Ok, then let’s move on. Lord Locksley is waiting. Follow me.” Frivlus said.

So they move on.

Chapter 7 : The Burning City

“The city…has also been attacked just like Levogard, what should we do then?” Leo asked Tom.

“We should just enter, and see what we could do.” Tom replied.

“Well, then let’s go.”

So they both walked through the broken wooden gate. At this point, they could see that this is the first place where a real battle had taken place. Bodies of dead Scrown and Thales soldiers lies everywhere. And judging from their positions, the battle here had been very savage.

They walked on. Burning houses with the body of their owner lying in front of the houses. Tom and Leo become silent. The situation is just like Levogard, and it makes their heart want to cry. But they carry on walking, until they see some Scrown soldiers scavenging a broken house.

“Look Tom, I think this is the time to let out some of our hatred.” Leo said.

“I can not agree better. Let’s do it.” Tom said, and with that draw out his sword.

As they prepare to charge, suddenly there are other sounds.

“For the glory of Lord Locksley and our homeland, charge! Spare no one!”

And suddenly, the Scrown soldiers found themselves being surrounded by a handful of Thales soldiers. In a matter of second, those Scrown soldiers are killed.

“Wow, I have never seen such a quick battle, these Thales soldiers sure are elites!” Leo said.

“Well, it seems this city hasn’t been defeated yet. Let us go and meet them.” Tom said.

They walked to the Thales soldiers group. But before they come any nearer, one of the Thales soldiers spotted them.

“In the name of Lord Locksley, halt!”

The other soldiers quickly turn their head, weapon ready in hand.

“Hey! We mean no harm, we just wish to…” Leo said

“Silence! Why do you think we should trust you? Hands in the air, now!” one of the soldiers interrupted.

“We will have to comply, Leo. I don’t see why they should trust us anyway. If I am him, I would do the same.” Tom said, putting his hand on the air.

Leo look very dissatisfied, but he put up his hand too.

“Take away their weapon!” the first soldier that interrupted Leo said. Judging from his attitude and apparel, this man is the leader of this group.

One of the soldiers takes away their weapon, and gives it to that man.

“Very good, now I think you better talk, who are you two and what are your intentions.” the man said.

“I am Tom Burfoot and this guy beside me…” Tom begins.

“…is Leo Baldric.” Leo finished the sentence.

“Our intention is to ask for aid from you two. As you could see, my friend here is wounded, and we do not have any proper medicine save some bandage to cover the wound, so we…” Tom said.

“Where are you two from?” that man asked again.

“We are from Levogard.” Tom answered.

“Levogard? The city to the west of here? Why are you here then?”

“As we have just said, we are looking for aid.”

“And why don’t you look for it in your own land?”

“Because…” Tom is unable to finish the sentence.

“Our homeland had been destroyed, ravaged by the same people that have also attacked your city.” Leo finished the sentence for Tom.

“What? Do you mean to say that Levogard had been defeated? Impossible! I knew some people there. They are very good fighters.”

“Yes, but the enemy outnumber and outwitted us. Anyway, who do you know in Levogard? Maybe we know where he is.” Tom said.

“His name is Hagol Hazrael.” the man said.

“Hagol…Hazrael? You know Hagol?” Leo and Tom said.

“Yes, and he is a very good fighter. I still don’t see how…” the man said.

“Not to worry, I knew he is still alive, although we expect to see him here in Thales.” Tom said.

“No, he is not here. Anyway, what is your connection with Hagol?”

“He is our friend, of course! What do you think?” Leo said.

“Tell me the whole story! Why you are here and where is Hagol!” the man demanded.

So Tom tell about the story of how Scrown soldiers sabotaged and attacked Levogard, how they fight to defend the city, the great fight against Renshaw Bellamy, and finally how Hagol bravely stood alone against Renshaw so that Leo and Tom who have been bruised badly can retreat from there to heal their wound. Leo sometimes nods in agreement or put in some details that Tom forgot to say.

“… and that’s why we came here. Because we think that Hagol will come here too.” Tom finishes the story.

“I still can not believe it, but what you have told about Hagol is indeed true. He is a very brave man and a really great friend. I think you have earned my trust, but one must be much more careful in this dangerous time. You shall have your help, but after that you must meet Lord Locksley, for he is the one who can decide on your fate. For a start, let me tell you my name. I am Frivlus Glock, captain of Thales Elite Militia. Now, let us move on.”

So, Leo and Tom followed Frivlus Glock and the rest of the company. Although Frivlus said that he trusted them, but he still show some carefulness by assigning five men to guard Tom and Leo rear. Frivlus himself walked in front of them with three other men accompanying him. The rest of the company are split into two group, one group on the front, another on their flank.

They walked through and go deeper into the burning city. But at some point Tom begin to realize that this city is not defeated yet. They have reached a part of the city where everything is still intact, and there are several Thales militia patrolling. They keep on walking until they reached a point which seems to be a refugee camp. At this point, the company halted.

“Okay, everyone. Back to your post. Disband!” Frivlus ordered.

All the men immediately leave that place. Now there are only Tom, Leo and Frivlus there.

“Okay, so now here we are. Follow me. I will take you to the medical tent.” Frivlus said, and as he said that, begin to walk away.

Tom and Leo followed. “Medical tent? What is that?” Leo asked Tom.

“Beats me too. But we better get going too.” Tom said.

They walked on for another few minutes before they saw a rather large tent in front of them. Two soldiers are guarding the entrance. Beside the tent is the banner with a word “T” on the banner. Around the banner, several wounded soldiers are sitting, some are tended by a man in red robe which Tom guessed must be a healer.

“What is this place?” Tom asked Frivlus.

“This is medical tent, as what I have said earlier.” Frivlus replied.

“What is that?” Leo asked.

“I will answer that later. You should get into the tent quickly and have your wound tended to.” Frivlus said. “I will come back later to fetch you. I have to report to Lord Locksley about you and it will be his decision then.” After he finished the word, he walked to the tent guards, and talked to them for a while. The two guards nodded and Frivlus walked away.

Tom and Leo walked to the tent and stopped in front of the guards, expecting to be halted. But one of the guards say “All of you are expected, please, come in.”

And so, Tom and Leo walked into the tent.

Chapter 6 : Journey To Thales

This question struck Tom by surprise. That’s right. What should they do next?

“I think we should just…” Tom wants to say to wait for Hagol, but he realized Hagol word should be heed. Leo wound is not light either. What if it becomes infected? “…I think we should find a place for us to recuperate and heal your wound first.”

“What? You mean to abandon Hagol?” Leo said, surprised.

“No, I do not mean to abandon him, but we should have priority, and the priority right now is to find a place for your wound to recover. I think it is the most sensible things to do anyway.”

“My wound is nothing!” Leo jumped up, but that action caused his wound to hurt very much again, and he sits down almost instantly with a groan.

“See? What we should do is to heal our wound first. Or we would not survive another encounter with those Scrown soldier again. Ah look, your bleeding hasn’t stopped. Here, cover your wound with this.” Tom said, while producing a clean cloth he has hidden in his clothes, as a preparation against emergency.

“…I guess that’s all we can do for now.” Leo said, wrapping the cloth around his wounded area. “But where should we go?”

“Let’s see, if I my memory serve me well, if we follow the path to the east, there is another city much same like Levogard, I think it is called Thales, or something like that. Never been there, but I guess that’s the nearest place we can go for now.” Tom said.

“All right, let’s set out for Thales then!” Leo said in enthusiasm tone.

They begin to walk the only path that is there, and move into a small wood. When they meet an intersection, they took the left path, which is the path to the eastern side of Levogard. They meet no one at the road, so their journey is relatively smooth.

“I never come to this place before, do you think we are on the right track?” Tom asked.

“I guess so, we took the road to the east, didn’t we? Leo said.

They keep on walking, and soon enough reaches a fork, all heading to east.

“Where should we go next?” Leo asked.

“Don’t know, let’s try to find some clues. Look at there, there is a signpost!” Tom said.

Sure enough, there is a signpost in the middle of the fork. They come closer to read it. Although they are rather illiterate, they could still read some words. The one pointing to the left read something like “Carreban”, the one pointing to the middle read “Thales”, and the one pointing to the right side of them read “Calilax.”

“I guess that’s mean we should take the middle path?” Leo said.

“Yes, that’s right. Let’s go then.” Tom said.

They take the middle path, and walked again. All around them is trees of various kinds. It is pretty interesting to watch so many kind of trees that they never saw before, and they tried to guess what kind of tree is that. They do not need to worry about food too, because there are plenty of fruits, and sometimes they could snare a rabbit. But after three days, thing are beginning to get rather boring. On the fourth day since their journey, the rain began to fall.

“I wonder how far Thales is? I sure hope is pretty near already, we are already walking for about four days, and the scenery is still the same. This wound is really slowing me down, and it is now worsening because of this damned rain.” Leo said.

“We must bear with it, Leo. I am also trying my best to shelter myself, and that’s the only thing we can do. I am just wondering about Hagol. Where is he now?” Tom said.

“Don’t know, but I sure hope he is also going to Thales. And…, it seems like we are beginning to leave the forest. The trees are beginning to get fewer.”

“Ah yes, look! I can see a small farmhouse just outside this forest. Let’s get to there first, to ask about direction and shelter.” Tom said.

“Nice idea, let’s go!” Leo said eagerly.

They move quickly to the farmhouse, half-walking, half-running. When they arrived at the house, they find out that the gate is unlocked, so they just walk to the house front door and knocked.

“Anybody home? Would any of…, hey! the door is also unlocked!” Tom said, surprised, and true enough, the door swings open as they knock.

“Guess that’s mean we should make ourselves at home, then?” Leo said.

“Maybe, let’s go in then.” Tom said. But as he step in, he smelled something very familiar to him. The smell of blood.

“Damn! Leo, prepare your weapon!” Tom said in a rather low voice.

Both of them walked into the house slowly. And then they saw what they dreaded. Table broken, cupboard half destroyed. The owner of this house, together with his family, have been killed, all of them headless. And worse of all, a baby has been stuck to the wall with a spear. On the wall is the word “The Slave of Scrown, A Tribute to Skelcrown” written using blood.

Leo cursed madly at the Scrown, while Tom head is becoming very heavy. Tears are rolling down his cheek when he sees the scene. Scrown, they shall pay dearly for everything that they have done. For a moment, he has an urge to run back to Levogard and slay every Scrown soldiers he sees, but then he calmed down for a while. There are only two of them, and to add up to that, beaten badly. What can they do? So Tom gritted his teeth and sit down.

“I think we should get back to business, why are we coming here?” Tom said.

“To get shelter from the rain, and if possible, some medicine for our wound.” Leo replied.

“Then I guess we should help ourselves, considering…” Tom is unable to continue the word.

“Yes, I guess so. Let’s search the house.” Leo said.

So they two ransacked the house. Leo found some clean cloth to replace his old cloth covering the wound. Tom found some bread and a flask of ale. Something he hasn’t eaten for days. He also found a pretty interesting book, a small sized book, along with a jar beside the book. Although he can not really read, but it seems to have a word “Herbs” and other words like “Medicine”, something that they might need eventually. Tom takes the book and some of the jar content.

“Here Leo, we should eat first!” Tom said, while flinging some bread and the ale onto Leo. Leo caught it and begins to eat.

After both of them have eaten their share, they resumed their journey to Thales again. The rain had stopped. This time with more determination, their speed are doubled. But then they saw something that undermine their spirit again. Smoke.

“What the…?” Leo said, surprised.

“No time for asking! Let’s check it!” Tom said, running to the smoke. Leo followed behind as quick as he could.

They are getting closer and closer to the smoke. As he ran, Tom has a very uneasy feeling. The image of Levogard burned come to his mind again, and he sure hoped Thales won’t become the second Levogard.

But soon he knows his hope is failing him. Around him, bodies of dead men, women and children, lies everywhere. This city has been assaulted, too. The question now is whether the city can survive it or not.

And they are getting closer to the answer.

City of Thales stood in front of them, in fire.