Chapter 4 - The Shadow
Ahyrios stretched awake and got out of his bed, he squinted his eyes whenever the sunlight hit it and he pulled the blanket off himself and went toward the river beside the campsite to wash. Ahyrios tore off his clothes and dived into the freezing cold water, he shivered as he attempted to clean himself in the chilly stream. Ahyrios didn’t even know why he was so keen to start the day. `Always the same` he though to himself `just guarding the trees, watching to see if anyone rich enough to steal from comes by`. Ahyrios tried to be a nice nobleman, but it doesn't work out like that when you have no family and no-one to look out for you. He had joined up with this group of thieves just over a month ago, and he spent his time either being bored, hungry, scared or tired, still it was better than anything else he had ever done. The rest of the group were kind to him, as kind as thieves can be. Ahyrios finished his short bathe and emerged from the creek, struggleing to find something to dry himself. He eventually dried himself with the shirt he had worn for the last week, only having two to wear he wasn’t spoilt for choice. Ahyrios despite his meagre riches managed to look fairly good most of the time, his long blond hair and his deep blue eyes had given him a look that suggested more than he actually was. When he once stumbled upon a chest of clothes that had once belonged to a noble but had been discarded, he managed to convince some of the women in the nearest village that he was a noble and he slept his way through all the women in the village. `That was a fun week` he thought to himself, the settlement in question was a very small community. Ahyrios’ memories of the past was then disturbed, some of the rest of the group he came to settle with were waking up. “Are you making something to eat?” one of them growled to Ahyrios, he didn’t see who it was and it could have been any of them as their voices all sound raw and gruff first thing. “If you‘re hungry you make something” he snapped back as he put on his best pair of trousers, brown with only one rip which was in the leg. Ahyrios then stood up and took his other shirt to the river and began to wash it. Feeling amongst the group was particularly low and this was because of several things. There had been no-one to steal from for almost a week now, it was getting to the point where they may have to steal from somewhere like a market, but they had heard about the last group that tried to steal from Minorell market and they all ended up locked in the king’s dungeons, all apart from one who ended up dead. The night’s had seemed a lot colder recently and Ahyrios had to toil to get any sleep at all. Then there was the rumours of the masked killer. Ahyrios had brushed them off at first, the legend of the warrior that rode around wearing a mask had been going on for at least five years now. The warrior went around killing an assortment of people such as thieves. ex-soldiers and anyone who got in the way so no-one was sure whether the masked slayer was good or evil. The nickname of `The Shadow Of Death` quickly spread among the people. It had not really bothered Ahyrios as it was only a legend, problem was that the number of sightings had grown, in the last year The Shadow had been spotted no less than a hundred times. Ahyrios then splashed some water on his face and ran his fingers through his air as he tried not to think about it. Ahyrios walked back over to where his tent was and felt the boredom creeping in allready. “What's the plan today then?..” he said to anyone that was listening “...sit around waiting for starvation or are we actually gonna do some work” he said with a hint of infuriation.
“You wanna work so bad fix me something to eat” came the same voice as before.
“That's the problem, we have no food”
“We have no food?!” and with that a stout man stumbled out of his bed and went to the bag where the supplies were kept “why didn‘t you tell me? this is an emergency”.
“Calm down Nandir, something will come up” he said not believing his own words “and if not, we‘ll have to find it ourselves”
“and what, they‘re just going to give it to us?” came a voice from behind Ahyrios, it was Ghreid, the wisest of the group. He wasn't overly intelligent just smarter than the others, which wasn't hard. “If you believe that I say” Ghreid paused and searched for the right words “let me have the ale you are clearly drinking”. Ahyrios stood a while in thought “What about the markets?” he eventually said.
“You heard what happened, too risky, I don’t want to spend time in the dungeons of the king” said Ghreid cautiously.
“What’s so wrong with the dungeons, as long as we don’t hurt anyone we will spend about six months in the dungeons, and they have two meals a day”
“Two meals a day?” said Nandir licking his lips “sounds good to me”.
“For once Nandir, I‘m begging you, think with your head and not your mouth” Ghreid said with only the slightest hint of intolerance. “However” Ghreid said continuing “Ahyrios does have a point, we will starve within a week, so its a risk worth taking as far as I'm concerned, you‘re gonna have to wake Arjen and Hellstrom and ask them whether they want any part of it” said Ghreid, talking about the two who remained asleep. Nandir, desperate for something to eat for it had been almost two hours since he had woken early and ate the few remaining supplies and he was starting to think he was wasting away roused Arjen and Hellstrom quickly and one they had agreed to do it Ahyrios explained the plan to the other four men. “We do not go directly into the market for that is too busy, and you‘re more likely to be seen” he paused “what we do, is wait by the market entrance, then we pounce when a suitably rich sucker comes along, simple really. Any questions?” Nandir raised his hand, but Ahyrios pre-empted the question and gave the answer before Nandir had a chance to ask it “you can eat after we rob whoever comes along” he said rolling his eyes. The five thieves set about packing whatever they could into their knapsacks for there was a chance they might not return. Ahyrios had somehow, without knowing taken over leading the group, a task he was not really up too as he would be the first to get blamed when something inevitably went wrong, he almost preferred it when they couldn't remember his name. The closest market to where they were camping was Tuerak, not as renowned as the bigger markets such as Redihn or Minorell, but still there was a more than likely chance they would be feeding well that night. Ahyrios led pack of thieves through the forest they had made camp too the town of Tuerak. Ahyrios had the advantage of knowing the ins and outs of the town quite well, so the odds of anything going wrong diminished slightly. The market square was directly in the centre of the town, Ahyrios’ plan was to get the distraction of anyone coming through, then Arjen, Nandir, Hellstrom and Ghreid could pounce, two from either side. There was one flaw with Ahyrios’ plan, it required patience and he had a severe lack of it. Ahyrios waited by the trees for anyone ripe enough for an attack walked by. He was waiting a long time, the boredom played on his mind fiercely. Then came the paranoia, it was his own fault, he got thinking about The Shadow again, it made him shiver with fear, for a while he was sure he was being watched. Ahyrios had his prayers answered when he saw a carriage in the distance leaving the market `carriage eh` he thought to himself `must be very rich indeed` he wet his lips in anticipation and moved out of the trees and headed in the direction of the carriage. It had briefly occurred to Ahyrios that he had not thought of a way to distract the, in this case driver of the carriage, he figured he would think about it later and now he was out of time and ideas. He thought about throwing a rock at one of the horses, but the idea of then being trampled by them didn't appeal to him. Now it was too late, he was approaching them fast, he would have to think on his feet. Ahyrios motioned for the driver to stop, and he did so `maybe this will be easy` thought Ahyrios as he approached the driver. “I have to warn you, there are too many thieves along this trail, what you want to do...” he paused and admired his quick thinking for a second “.. where are you heading?” he asked.
“We are headed for Khailis” said the driver. Ahyrios paused while he recalled his geographic knowledge. “Well Khailis is on the other side of the forest ahead” he said thinking aloud “the forest has become too dangerous, just turning left or right and going around it should be fine” he paused “however you will arrive in Khailis without a few things”.
“Like what?” said the confused carriage driver. Ahyrios punched him hard in the face, knocking him out. “Like your teeth” he said to the unconscious driver as he steadied the horses and gave the signal to the other four that it was time to take care of whoever was inside. A ravenous Nandir using his bulk and brute strength to rip the door off the carriage and pick up one of the passengers, a noblewoman. The young noblewoman froze in fear as Nandir passed her to Arjen, who started to gag her and remove any extravagant jewels she had. “Jackpot!!” Hellstrom exclaimed with glee as he examined the contents of the carriage, Ahyrios jumped to the floor and went inside the carriage via the open door way that Nandir had created earlier. Inside was an average size chest of jewels, enough to keep them well fed for months. Nandir saw this and grabbed Ahyrios, hugging him as a way of thanking him, but he was crushing him. “You can eat now” Ahyrios said, muffled slightly but Nandir heard the word “eat” and immediately released Ahyrios. “Lets get out of here, we can find somewhere to eat in another village and eat like kings”. The five thieves gathered up everything they could, Nandir placed the woman back into the carriage and attempted to fix the door, but he couldn't and in frustration just placed it on the seat opposite the noblewoman. Ahyrios, with the help of Arjen helped the driver back into position atop the carriage and they then ran off, heading for the forest. Ahyrios was in a jubilant mood now `I'm going to have fun like there is no tomorrow` he thought to himself `I might even go into the village and go to a brothel, it has been a while` the smile on his face was huge. The five ran deep into the lush forest until they got to a place where it would be safe to open the chest and count up their plunder. They sat and counted, the mood jolly and euphoric. The air grew cold around them but they did not care. Ahyrios looked around, the sky was becoming very black very fast, but only around them, in the distance it was blue sky in every direction. Ahyrios got the feeling of being watched again. The others hadn't noticed what he had and they didn't pay much attention when he stood up and began too look around. A sudden cry of pain made him turn around, a crossbow bolt had pierced the burly chest of Nandir, closely followed by a second, fatally wounding him. Hellstrom and Ghreid then began to cry loudly in pain, they clutched at their heart as blood began to flow from their mouth. `What sorcery is this?` Ahyrios thought to himself as he felt something move behind him, he turned to see what it was and heard another dying groan, this time it was Arjen. Ahyrios was frozen in fear, the sky above was pitch-black and he heard rumbles of thunder and lightning, he then saw what he had hoped to never see, the huge figure of The Shadow. It was exactly as the legends had said, a dark mask completely covering the face on both sides, a huge blackened chest plate and a cape that went down to the floor, it was black and flowed in the wind, the lining was a dark purple. Ahyrios did not see The Shadow move, but he felt something enter him and he was soon in complete agony. The last thing he saw was The Shadow draw a dagger and throw it in his direction.
The afternoon air was cool, Shadow was exploring the forest, searching it for someone. Shadow’s quest had gone on long enough for anyone to forget, but the memory of it was etched into Shadow’s memory. Shadow wasn’t even there when it had happened. Stories had been told and Shadow listened, knowing that one day the one they call The Shadow of Death would get vengeance. Shadow’s father was killed, about a decade ago, but by whom Shadow never found out. Shadow never was a fighter, far from it, was once very peaceful, with hopes of getting married and raising a family. Shadow took on the mask to strike fear into everyone. To make those who do evil live in fear. This was not achieved as Shadow went on to kill good men, men with families, all in the quest for retribution. Shadow only donned the mask when it was necessary and most of the time lived among the people who were completely oblivious to Shadow’s true identity. Years passed though, wasted years, Shadow found nothing to get revenge on the murderer of Shadow’s father so the mask was worn more often, and more blood was spilt. More years passed and still no closer to finding the truth, but Shadow could feel that it was close. Shadow watched from the trees as a group of thieves awoke. `How many fathers will they kill?` Shadow thought as one of the thieves stripped and took a bath in the stream. Shadow could have struck there and then, put them all out of their misery, but no move was made, Shadow stood perfectly balanced on a thick branch, just observing them. One by one they awoke until there were three and they started to have some inane conversation about food and their apparent lack of it. It seemed that they were to hijack someone at a local market and take all their money, but not hurt anyone. `Thieves with a conscience, how strange` Shadow thought while watching their movements. Shadow stayed out of sight while they got ready and silently and agilely jumped from tree to tree, moving from branch to branch like an expert ninja. As they approached the edge of the forest Shadow watched as the group of five split into three groups. Two men would wait on the left hand side of the road, two the other and the visible leader of the group waited in the bushes directly below where Shadow was perched. Shadow watched the leader waiting predator like, waiting for suitable prey to come along. A strange voice entered Shadow’s head `I know your secrets, your quest for vengeance, I can give it to you` and Shadow was enveloped by darkness.
Raiguarde looked into the mirror, his face looked worse than he felt. He had been organising the troops for a mass search of the land, as soon as prince Valandt got back from spending the night at Palestar castle. He ran his fingers through his hair, he had hardly slept since king Gyraicus had disappeared and it showed. It was almost mid morning and he had altogether got about an hours sleep. He kept having strange dreams about Astral the elf queen and some strange, almost lizard like man in a black robe. He accounted it to stress and surrendered any idea of getting any sleep. Raiguarde had been sitting on his bed lost in his thoughts for almost an hour now. He just about managed to get his thoughts together long enough to walk to find a mirror and examine himself. He was a wreck, his hair was a in total disarray and his eyes were bloodshot and in need of serious rest. Raiguarde went to a sink and cupped his hands in it, splashing the water all over his face, it refreshed him and cooled him down slightly. Raiguarde strolled down looking for someone to talk to, someone to take his mind off things. Schard the wizard had left a while ago now and the silence was eating at him. Raiguarde eventually found salvation when he found one of the messengers he sent to find anything they could in a particular village. “Is there any news from Tuerak?” Raiguarde asked the messenger.
“Only about the masked warrior, the one they call The Shadow Of Death” said the messenger. `The last thing I need is more problems` Raiguarde thought.
“And what of him?” Raiguarde asked.
“He hath been spotted several times, many men have tried to kill him and failed, our swordsmen refuse to search the woods in fear of him”
“Do you think he could be holding the king?” asked Raiguarde.
“It is quite possible” replied the messenger “however no ransom demand has been made, and it is not likely that one man, however strong could get in and out of the castle with the king and have no-one see him” the messenger paused. “Do you know of the legend of Goreoth sir?” the messenger said with a hint of fear.
“I know parts” Raiguarde replied.
“There is talk among the men that this is the beginning of the end sir. The prophecy speaks of the disappearance of a king as the sign of preparation for Goreoth’s return”
“Are you saying that the god of war took him? even if the legends are true man, he is sealed underground and cannot break that prison”
“I guess you are right sir” said the messenger and he started to walk off.
“Pass the word on to the troops” Raiguarde said stopping him.
“Yes sir?”
“I want this Shadow Of Death brought in, alive.” said Raiguarde, aware that this was not likely to happen at all and Raiguarde headed off, so that the messenger had no chance to protest. `Let us see what this Shadow Of Death is really like, if he even exists` thought Raiguarde to himself as he headed for the armoury, Raiguarde was going to get a piece of The Shadow himself.
When Shadow’s eyes opened and he was back into the depths of the forest, at least twenty yards had been covered in seconds. In front of Shadow was a strange looking man, covered head to toe in a black robe apart from his face, which had a discolouration and looked like a pale green. “My name is Kaiazal”
the strange man said to Shadow “I know all about you”.
“All?” said Shadow. Kaiazal nodded. “Wait a minute, did you say your name was Kaiazal, wasn‘t he..”.
“One of the disciples of Goreoth” Kaiazal said coolly, cutting Shadow off mid-sentence.
“But isn‘t all that just a legend” said Shadow.
“You of all people should know the truth in legends Shadow” Kaiazal had a point.
“I do not care whether you are a legend or real, what do you want with me” Shadow said sharply.
“I can give you the man who killed your father” Kaiazal could sense Shadow’s eyes widen from inside the dark mask. “And in return?” Shadow said reluctantly.
“You are the best killer in this land, I need someone killed”
“Who?” asked Shadow
“Prince Valandt”. Shadow laughed loud.
“You must be kidding me” Shadow looked into the blackened eyes of Kaiazal and shivered for a moment with fear “No deal, I will find my father‘s killer on my own” Shadow started to walk off. “There are too many that will not co-operate in this land” Shadow heard Kaiazal say. Kaiazal then clicked his fingers and five men surrounded Shadow. “I wonder if you are as good as the legends say” Kaiazal said, and with that the five started their attack. Shadow drew his blade and spun around twice, when the spinning ceased, five corpses lay on the ground, all of their throats slashed. “It seems the people of this land are not quite the pushover they once were” Kaiazal said to himself. “I am offering you the chance to join us” he paused “I rarely give second chances”. Shadow stood silent.
“And if I decline?”
“I will show you” said Kaiazal, he then disappeared. Shadow sensed someone coming and dived into the bushes. The five thieves Shadow had been watching appeared, and they had gotten their loot, what looked to be a chest full of jewels. Shadow watched as they, in joyous mood celebrated. The sky then began to change above them, growing darker and with it an icy breeze cut though the forest. None of the thieves had become aware of this apart from their leader. He stood and started to walk around, turning his back on the other four. Shadow then saw three black demon like creatures go for the bodies of the men sitting down. Shadow had no choice but to kill the men and loaded two crossbow bolts and fired them quickly at the obese member of the thieves. Shadow could not prevent the demons entering the bodies of the other two and watched as they writhed in agony, blood dripping from their mouths. Another demon like creature went for the thief sitting too far away for Shadow, who ran at him and tried to slash his throat to save him from the grizzly death that the demon had planned. Shadow was too late and watched as he collapsed at his feet, dead. The leader finally turned to face Shadow, a look of horror on his face. The leader examined Shadow in detail and awe for a while before Shadow noticed a demon enter the man from behind him. `Damn shame` Shadow thought and drew a dagger, launching it into his throat. Kaiazal appeared behind Shadow, who jumped and turned to face him. “That is the fate that awaits you unless you join” Kaiazal laughed softly. “Tis not a hard decision, either slow death or eternal life, I can give you great gifts Shadow, gifts beyond this world”. Shadow considered it for a split second then “I refuse to fight for the cause of evil, I have my own fight”.
“Then you shall perish with the rest of humanity” came Kaiazal’s voice inside Shadow’s head, followed by booming laughter, Shadow looked all around, Kaiazal had dissapeared. Shadow gathered some composure and headed in the direction of Swarzaria, the city renowned for its weapon makers and blacksmiths, for Shadow had some unfinished business.