After five hours of non-stop hiking in the forest and the sun was already beginning to set, and just a few hours later, the forest was covered with darkness. "It's getting pretty dark. I think we should just set up camp here now. We'll get there in the morning." Trace said.
I glanced around and marked a clearing that followed a stream that was heading towards our objective. "Here, this looks like a clearin'. As long as we follow the stream, there won't be a chance for us goin' dark." I announced.
"Flora, could you set up the lantern?" Trace requested.
Flora didn't answer but, she did look distressed. I have no idea why, but I continued to scan the surrounding area, with my carbine at the low-ready position.
"I'll get some wood for the fire." Keith declared.
"Oh, could you also get some freshwater? I think we're out." Trace stated and Keith wandered off.
"Trace... I think we shouldn't camp out here." Flora informed.
"Huh? What's wrong, Flora?" Trace sought her.
"Keidran have been here... I can smell their scent." She returned.
This isn't good. We're out in the middle of nowhere, near unfriendly territory, in the dark and we got possible hostiles near us. "She's right. We won't make it an hour if there's a possibility of other Keidran in the area." I said.
"Trust me, it'll be fine. We've been through a lot in the past few days. Let's just get some rest." Trace calmly stated and I sighed.
"Yeah... I suppose. The scent was kinda old, anyway. I'm sure we'll be fine for one night... hm? Trace where did you get this book from?" Flora asked.
I turned around and saw she was clutching a book with the Templar emblem on it and with the words "Trace Legacy" printed in cursive on top of the book. "Hey, wait! I can explain that..." Trace stated.
"What does it say?" Flora supplicated.
"Huh... you don't...?"
"I... can't read. I was never taught as a slave."
"Jesus, that's tough, damn..." I noticed.
"Well um... don't worry about this old thing. It's just an old storybook." Trace described.
"Oh, it is?" Flora asked.
"Yes, I found it at the house. Nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure. Well, I'd better continue to set up camp."
"I'll set up security." I declared.
"Okay... do you mind if I go for a walk?" Flora requested.
"Flora, you said it yourself. It's dangerous out there." Trace advised.
"Aww... Don't worry about me, this is my territory."
"I guess if you really want to... but be careful. I'll drag you back by the tail if you get me worried about you."
I jeered unostentatiously and with that, she walked off. I examined the surrounding area and found nothing just a sea of trees covered in the vastness of darkness.
A couple of minutes later, Trace rested in-front of the campfire, learning his book while some kind of blue light glowed around his hands. I sat at the opposite end, checking on my carbine rifle. I suddenly detected footsteps to my right and when I shifted my head to the sound, I saw Flora returning. "You're back early," I stated.
"Yeah... I got tired. I saw some blue light while I was coming back... Was that you, Trace?" She interrogated.
Uh, blue light? No... I... um... had no idea." Trace muttered.
"Ah, okay. I'm just exhausted." She said and sat beside Trace and rested her head on his shoulder. "After this is all over... I just want to go back home and settle down." She commented.
"You and me both," I announced.
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that myself. But we'll have to go our separate ways when that happens." Trace stated.
"Yeah... I know... I think I'm going to bed. Is that my tent over there?" Flora sought.
"Nope, that's Keith's," I informed.
"Oh... but... then where am I suppose to sleep?"
"Well, I haven't actually set up your tent yet, and I'm kinda tired myself. So, I was thinking... If you wanted to... you could always..." Trace uttered as he scratched the back of his head and blushed.
"Y-you mean... you don't kind if I sleep in your tent with you? But... you always yell at me when I try to sleep in your bed..." Flora told.
"Well, it was a little too soon... But we've known each other for a while... and I think it's okay now."
"Ah, okay..."
She then enclosed her arms around Trace and dug her face into his chest as Trace encircled his arms around her too.
"It's about time, Trace!" Flora chirped.
"Heh, I'm still not really sure what's going on. I assume this goes against all the codes of the Templar. But... I don't remember any of that life I once had. And I don't want to." Trace stated.
"I know. I don't want to be involved in this war. I just want to be happy."
"Hey, Trace?"
"Hm, what's up?"
"Are we gonna... well... you know...?"
"Well, erm..."
"Welp, guess it's time for me to head back to my tent. See y'all in the mornin'." I announced.
"Oh, well Goodnight Marcus." Trace stated.
"Night, Marcus!" Flora chirped.
"Night for both of you. And uh... try to keep down the noise, will ya?" I asked and they both blushed. I chuckled and crawled back into my tent and kept my gear, weapons, plate carrier, and pistol holster beside me. After keeping my stuff, I eventually got on my back and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.
Suddenly, I woke up to the sound of a feminine voice crying out to Keith. I quickly sat up-right anticipating the worst to come and seized my plate carrier. I wore it over my head and strapped it onto my torso. I then took my pistol holster and strapped it onto my right thigh as quickly as possible. I then grasped my carbine rifle and wore the two-point sling over my head and racked the charging handle. I was about to leave my tent when I heard Trace's voice outside. "Hello? Who's out here? Keith? Where are you? Flora, stay in the tent. I have a bad feeling about this..."
There was silence for a moment until Trace spoke once again. " Keith...? Hey, whoever you are, show yourself. ...Maybe my imagination's just getting the better of me. Yeah, yeah, no one's out here."
Then all of a sudden, I hear a loud SHING sound like multiple knives being thrown, and then heard Trace groan out in pain. "AGGGH! Who the- gah! Throwing knives?"
And out of nowhere, I heard someone yell "IGNIRAS!" and followed by two loud explosions. I then crawled out of the tent and immediately slid towards a nearby tree, taking over behind it and assessing the situation. We're in contact with an unknown number of hostiles and they're using magic against us. I then heard what sounded like Keidran and the clashing of swords. I took a peek while aiming my carbine and saw Trace in a sword on sword combat with a wolf Keidran. The wolf was covered in brown fur and had long brown hair. The wolf wore a black cape and a blue dress or robe underneath. Looked like Trace had a knife plunged into his right chest area, away from the heart at least.
They were both moving really fast and couldn't get a clean shot. And all of a sudden, the wolf spoke. "My human is not good. But I am called Natani. I kill you today. I am younger of the Magi Brothers."
Magi brothers? That means there's another attacker. I quickly swung my carbine to the side and brought my KA-BAR knife out and saw another wolf, in the same attire as the first wolf, but had shorter hair.
"I am Zen, now you die!" The wolf behind Trace yelled and was about to strike down a blow from his sword but I quickly ran in from the side and blocked the attack with the blade of my KA-BAR and slashed his sword to the side.
"Graah!" The wolf or Zen keened. I extended my left hand out and held the knife with my right hand which was close to my chest, with the blade pointed at the right side. "Not so fuckin' fast!" I said and swung my knife to the right but the wolf was able to dodge the attack. I twirled the knife so the blade was pointing at the left and I swung again but the wolf blocked the attack. He seized my arm and immediately tossed me to a nearby tree.
The wolf then hurled a kick to my head which hurt pretty bad. I recoiled from the hit but was able to recover quickly. He spun around and went for another kick but my reflexes allowed me to duck, avoiding the attack. When the wolf regained his posture, he swung his sword towards me from the right, yet I quickly got ahold of his arm, turned around, and threw him onto the tree.
I then grabbed his wrist and made his grip on the sword weak and delivered a knee kick to the sword and it fell off his hand. I let go of his arm and spun around, slashing my knife at head level, however, the wolf ducked, evading the attack. Once I regained my stance, I twirled the knife and went for a jab, unfortunately, the wolf used both of his hands or paws to clutch my jabbing arm, preventing me to do damage, big mistake.
He was able to get off the wall and pushed me back for a bit but I swiftly twirled the knife to the side and sliced the wolf's wrist, escaping his grip and inflicting damage, getting a bit of his blood on the blade. I lifted my left leg, and blew a frontal kick to the wolf, sending him back. "Now, Flora!" I yelled and saw yellow eyes illuminate from behind Zen, with an audible growl. "Uh..." The wolf uttered and turned around, only to be jumped by Flora. "AH!"
Behind me, I heard the wolf with long hair yell "IGNIRAS!" once again and turned around to see a fireball hit Trace that made him crash towards a tree. "AGH!" Trace groaned in pain. The wolf then turned to me and once again yelled. "IGNIRAS!" and saw the wolf summoned a fireball that flew towards me. "FUCK!"
I was able to run to the side before the Fireball exploded behind me, sending me flying towards the ground. The explosion was loud enough to make my ears ring for about a moment. And combined with the fall and the shockwave, some of my wounds from the previous fight had re-opened, causing me to bleed. "You gotta be shittin' me..." I mumbled weakly.
A sharp pain pierced through my body which prevented me from getting back up, so I just laid there, on the dirt, bleeding, sweating, and panting. Soon, the ringing in my ears faded and I heard a conversation struck between Flora and one of the attackers. "Wait, listen... listen to me! We don't have to fight! Come with us willingly! We were hired to kill you, yes. But... but! We also support the merging of our clans. We don't believe the Keidran can stand up to the humans without it! If you go through with the marriage as planned, there's nothing our leader can do to stop it." The wolf stated.
" I will not marry Sythe! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Flora protested.
"You selfish girl! Think of your people!"
" Oh, for goodness sake, we don't have time for this, Zen! We'll deal with her later. For now... Sleep!" The other wolf said.
I looked up and saw the one with long hair, what looked like casting a spell on Flora, as a blue light swirled around her.
" N-no, I... can't... I won't..." Flora resisted.
"Shouldn't she have fallen asleep by now?" Zen questioned.
"She's resisting the spell! She has a stronger will than I thought. You'll have to take care of her the old fashioned way. I've got to finish off Trace and the other human!" The long-haired wolf ordered.
"Kill her? But Natani..."
"Save it, Zen. I know how you feel about the alliance of the Clans, but let's face it... It's not our job to question things. It's our job to kill things. And you know we really need this job. So just pick up your sword and finish her so we can get out of here."
"...Alright. I'm sorry about this, girl. I really am." Zen said as he picked up his sword. "But as much as I hate it, Natani is right. We Keidran are strong. We will survive against the humans. I will be sure to pray for your spirit's release from this world."
I won't let this fucker kill Flora. The pain had been watered down and so I was able to grab my knife. I crawled on the face, pushing mud with my face and crawled my way to a tree, and used it as support to bring my body up and sit against it. My injuries precluded me from using my carbine so I slid my knife back into its holster and I had to use my M9. I brought it out of my pistol holster and racked the slide.
"Now hurry up and take care of her while I finish this one." The long-haired wolf or Natani said. I took a peek and saw him approach Trace's critically injured body. "I've waited a long time for this, Trace. This is for all of my people— my family that you murdered in cold blood." Natani said.
"Flora... Flora! Listen to me. I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to make it look like I've killed you." Zen whispered and I peeked around the corner and saw them both.
"N-nya?"
"Listen, I know that spell is making you weak. Just be sure to lie still. I became an assassin to fight humans, but I cannot kill someone like this."
"W-what about Trace... a-and Marcus?"
"t's too late for them. Natani's about to finish them off. They're just human anyway."
I then saw Zen lifting his sword, about to strike it down on Flora. "Prepare to die!" He yelled. I quickly aim and was about to fire when all of a sudden, I saw a blade piercing through his chest. "H-Holy shit..." I whispered and blood spilled out from the wound.
Natani turned around and the person behind Zen pulled the sword out. Zen dropped onto his knees and I saw Keith, wielding the bloody sword. He didn't look so good, either, with blood dripping down his forehead, and bruises and cuts all over his face.
When Zen was on the ground, I took aim with one hand, aimed it straight forward, and pulled the trigger. A bullet flew out of the barrel from my pistol at a very high velocity, followed by a loud thunder-like clap and into Zen's chest. Blood splattered as the bullet penetrated his skin and came out his shoulder. The force from the bullet was enough to push Zen to the ground.
Keith was about to strike his sword at Zen but Natani spoke something in Keidran and Zen faded. "What the-" Keith uttered then both Keith and Natani made eye contact.
"You..." Keith muttered.
Natani spoke Keidran which I didn't understand, but I noticed the ground below him was started to... get black? I was confused. How could grass turn black?
I then noticed Trace standing behind Natani, looking more sinister. Natani must've noticed because he immediately turned around and detected Trace. "Ah...! You again! Don't you people ever stay down?!" Natani barked as he took a step back.
Trace took a step but the ground below him cracked open as a Pepsi can, with some kind of black mist coming out of the mini-craters. "What... kind of magic is this? It... it looks just like the magic... The magic of crystals formed from dying earth... But that magic's forbidden! It destroys the mind!" Natani stated.
"It's happening again! But... It's stronger this time! This isn't good..." Flora mumbled.
"You gotta be shittin' me!" I yelled and used the tree I was leaning on to get myself back up. I slid my pistol into my pistol holster stumbled my way towards Flora and saw what was behind Trace and what I saw made my soul come out of my body.
There was a dragon behind Trace, which was the size of the Empire State Building in New York City. The dragon had blood-red eyes, had black scales all around its body that looked like it could survive a nuclear blast. And to add insult to injury, the sky was covered by stormy clouds and lightning came down behind the dragon. "W-what is that?! He... he's summoned a...!" Natani yelled.
Adrenaline rushed throughout my bloodstream and I felt I could run a marathon in a wheelchair. "What the fuck is that?!" I shouted.
Flora ran towards Trace and grabbed ahold of his shoulders and shook him for a bit. "Trace, come on! Snap out of it! Before that thing kills us all! Trace! Don't let it control you... Fight it, Trace! Can't you hear me? It's me, Flora..." Flora said.
"Uuh... F-Flora..." Trace mumbled.
"I'm here, Trace. I'm right here with you, always."
" I-I just can't fight something like that! No amount of gold is worth this!" Natani cried. I turned my head and saw him on the ground. "I have to get out of here..." He said but paused when Keith approached him. "Gah...!" Natani shouted.
"Going somewhere?" Keith asked.
"Trace! Hey, get up! You can't pass out now! This is bad...! I've got to do somethi... huh? Oh no, not again..." Flora said as her attention turned to Keith and Natani.
Natani spoke in Keidran as Keith was getting ready to finish off Natani with his sword when Flora stepped in. "Keith, stop it!" She cried.
"This is my fight, Flora, stay out of it. And tell Trace to back off too, I don't need his help to fight." Keith insisted.
"The dragon! I don't think Trace is in control of it anymore!"
Keith then turned his eyes away from Natani. I was about to turn away but I saw Natani getting back up on his feet. He yelled something in Keidran and yelled "IGNIRAS!"
He summoned a fireball out of his hand but Keith quickly dodged the attack and quickly slashed his sword on Natani, cutting his skin and blood spilled on his blue robe, and forcing him on his knees. Keith just left him there and approached Flora.
To add insult to injury, I stumbled towards Natani and got in front of him. Once I was in front, in one swift move, I spun my entire body around and used my right leg to blow a powerful kick to Natani's face. "GAH!" he groaned. As I finished the kick, I lost balance from the momentum of the spin and fell to the ground. "Fuck..." I rustled and used my arms to get back up on my feet.
"Keith, we have to get out of here! I'm sure that spell of his attracted the dragon's eye. Can you carry Trace?" Flora asked.
"Of course. What about—?"
"Forget about him, just go!"
I saw the dragon about to shoot fire out from its mouth. I took a step back and looked back down and saw Keith carrying Trace's unconscious body and Flora helping Natani up.
"Huff... If it wasn't for the fact that I still need you for my mission... Well... I'd probably still save your ass. But then I wouldn't have an excuse for it." Keith said.
I saw the dragon, finally shooting fire out from its mouth and the trees below didn't stand a chance. A fire erupted, casting black smoke into the atmosphere. This is getting out of control. I ran towards Keith and Trace and slung Trace's other arm over my back and lifted him, helping Keith.
I then heard a loud, ear-piercing roar from the sky behind me which was followed by Trace yelled out in pain. "Fuck! Trace, you good?" I asked.
"Keith, Marcus, we're here!" Flora said behind us. I turned around and saw another dragon fighting the black one. The other dragon was in the skies and was the opposite color, white. I then saw Flora heading towards us and she was with Natani. "Flora- You- why is he with you?!" Keith asked.
"He's the enemy!" I said.
Natani said something in Keidran which prompt Flora to say something in Keidran as well, then switched to English. "What's wrong with Trace?" Flora asked.
"I don't know, I can't get through to him. maybe you should try it. He seems to be in pain." Keith responded.
I turned my attention to the dragon fight in the distance and saw the black dragon sustaining damage from the white one. I assumed that whenever the black dragon gets hurt, Trace was able to feel it.
"Trace, what's wrong?" Flora sought as she got close to him.
"Flora... where are you... I... I can't see..." Trace mumbled.
A few seconds later, Trace started to emit blue light, as his eyes turned completely blue and started to shake uncontrollably. "Ah! What's happening to him?" Flora requested.
"It's that Keidran! I knew you shouldn't have helped him!" Keith yelled. I looked at Natani and saw him holding some sort of blue crystal and blue light swirling around him. Keith picked his sword up and rushed towards him.
He performed a jump and was about to strike down the blade onto Natani but he was able to dodge Keith's attack. Both of them started speaking Keidran until all of a sudden, the ground began to shake. "What the fuck's happenin' now?!" I yelled.
The ground shook for a moment and when it stopped, I looked up and saw Keith falling on top of Natani, and both of them blushing. "Trace, you're awake!" Flora cheered.
"Yeah, I guess. My head hurts though." He said.
"Am I seein' things, or is Keith on top of that wolf?" I asked.
"Oh, so it is. Wow, I had no idea Keith was... ya know, "that way." Flora stated.
" Hey, shut up! I'm not... erm... "that way!" Keith insisted.
"Hm, and I always thought he had a crush on me... But I guess that can't be possible..."
"What?! No, it can! I do! Er... wait... no! I don't..."
"Damn, Keith. When were you gonna tell us you were gonna come out of the closet?" I joked and chuckled.
"Geh... I'm not gay!" He protested.
"Trace, come on! You have to get rid of the dragon you summoned!" Flora begged.
"Hey, get off me... Wha— where the hell did that come from?" Trace asked.
"I told you, you summoned it!"
"Did I? Well... I guess if I summoned it, I can unsummon it. Come on. Let's go, get up."
"Trace, you sound different..."
Trace got up on his feet and reached his right hand out and blue light swirled around his right arm and right hand. "Trace, what are you-" Flora inquired.
"I need to concentrate! I don't really know what I'm doing... But if I cast that thing, I think I can take the energy back!" He explained.
Then, the black dragon proceeded to roar in pain as the monster slowly faded from existence. Then Trace yelled in pain and the dragon became weak. "Trace, what's wrong?" Flora asked.
"Ngh, I-I'm not sure... It feels like I've been burned..." He stated.
Then, I suddenly hear a feminine voice I do not recognize. "Trace, I'll finish him off! Don't go overboard like you usually do...!" The voice said and I saw the white dragon demolished the weaker dragon with a rain of fire.
"Um... Trace did you... hear that...? Trace... th-there's another dragon... and I think it just talked..." Flora mumbled.
"Talking dragons?! Shit's really hit the fan on this one!" I commented.
"I think it's... landing..." Flora said.
"Stay behind me!" Trace ordered and Flora got behind Trace. I then saw Natani holding onto Keith's arm, which was making me suspicious. But nevermind that, I'm seeing a dragon for the first time and holy shit, I've never been this scared before. I grabbed ahold of my carbine rifle and got it into the low-ready position.
"There, now that that's been taken care of... It's been a long time since I've seen you... Have you forgotten about me too, Trace?" The dragon said without opening its mouth.
"Trace, you know this... dragon?" I asked.
"Don't worry, little one..." The dragon stated as it moved its head closer to Trace. "Geh... get back!" He demanded.
"I'm not here to hurt you!" The dragon announced as it licks Trace. I was dumbfounded and scared. "Gah!" Trace recoiled.
"Bleh! You taste like a Keidran. Smell like one too! What have you been doing? Trace...? Are you okay? You look a bit pale. Trace?"
Without a word, Trace fainted on Flora. "Ack! Trace! Ah... I've gotcha. Are you okay?" Then, the dragon got closer to her. "Oh, so you're the Keidran I tasted... Hello, I am known as Lady Nora."
Flora too fainted on the ground without uttering a word. It then moved closer towards me and I slowly lowered my carbine. "You're not going to pass out of me, right you?" it asked.
"F-fuck... this... shit..." I murmured and with my tiredness, combined with my injuries, blood loss, and the sharp pain, my body gave up and everything became dark.
I felt the soft breeze of the wind gently caress through my rough, dirty, and bloody skin. As well as the soft grass on my back. I slowly opened my eyes and it took a second to realize what happened. I quickly got my M9 out and aimed, swaying left and right, only to find I'm out of the woods.
I slowly lowered my pistol and slid it back into the holster and got back up on my feet. I looked around and saw the silhouette of Trace and Flora in the distance and made my way towards them.
Later, I made it back to them, as well as Keith and Natani, the wolf we just fought. I had no idea why he was with us, but it made my hair on my arms go up. "Alright, let's get down to business. Who is wolf boy workin' for?" I asked.
"I asked him. He says he was sent by the wolf king to kill us. But the contract is off." Keith informed.
"And how does he know this?"
Natani spoke in Keidran, which I didn't understand a single thing he said. "What's he sayin'?" I questioned.
"He says he and his brother are mentally linked. He sees and feels whatever his brother, Zen does." Keith explained and I nodded.
He then spoke more Keidran which prompt Flora to speak Keidran and honestly, I didn't understand what they were saying so I just stood there. " I can't understand a word they're saying." Trace stated.
"Oh, Flora's trying to get us killed in our sleep," Keith announced.
"Huh?" I simply responded.
After a Keidran conversation, Natani seemed to turn around and said something in Keidran before walking off. Not even five seconds, the wolf came running back towards us. But he was being followed by three other humans which prompt me to pull my KA-BAR out. "Hey, these Keidran belong to me." Trace announced.
"Oh sorry, we didn't realize." One of the humans apologized.
"You should really have them collared, and stay with them at all times. We're close to the border you know?"
"Alright, we'll be sure to-" I spoke before I was abruptly interrupted by one of the humans. "Hey, wait a minute. I've seen this guy before! He's the one on the wanted posters set up two days ago! That templar who went crazy! And that's his follower and Keidran on the other ones!"
They then showed three wanted posters each one with me, Trace, and Flora on them. Trace had 500,000 gold on his head with the description, "Runaway Templar Trace Legacy. Blue hair, blue eyes, no memories, harmless." "Buh?" Trace uttered.
Flora had 25,000 gold on her head with the description, "Runaway slave known as Flora. Tiger patterned, brown hair, flat-chested." "Flat-chested?!" Flora angrily barked.
I had 1,500,000 gold on my head with the Description, "Runaway follower of Trace Legacy. Black hair, brown eyes, armed, dangerous." "Oh, you gotta be shittin' me!" I shouted.
"Oh, for goodness sake, not another fight already!" Keith yelled.
" Maybe we should try getting away?" Flora suggested.
"Might be a good idea this time." Trace stated.
"Can't risk it!" I yelled and drew my KA-BAR out and extended my left hand out and brought the knife close to me and a human with a spear came towards me. As he was about to jab the swear towards me, I quickly spun around, evading the jab. I grabbed the spear and thumped half of the spear with my knee, snapping it in half. I took the broken part of the spear, whirled it around so that the sharpest part was pointing to the left, and immediately plunged it into the guy's throat, and yanked him onto the dirt.
I dropped the spear and drew my M9, keeping both the knife on my left hand and my M9 on my right hand close to me. I saw one charging towards me with a dagger. He brought the dagger up and was going to strike it down, however, I blocked the attack with my left hand, and at the same time, I jabbed the barrel of the pistol into his chest. Once he was stunned, I then cut his wrist and gashed his neck. I kicked the guy on the groin area for maximum pain and slammed my pistol into the guy's face, forcing him to collapse. Once he was on the dirt, I aimed and fired a round into his head.
I rotated around and heeded the last guy, who was about to jab his dagger into my eye. I pushed the dagger out of the way using the hand I'm holding the knife and in a split second, I moved my knife from his arm and slashed his throat. I flung a sturdy kick to the guy's groin and another to the back of his knee, so he's back would be facing me while he was crouched. I threw one final front kick to his back which sent him to the ground. Blood spilled from his knife would to the throat and he appeared to be drowning in his own blood for about a moment until he laid there, lifeless.
I slid my pistol back into its holster and the same goes for my knife. After this, I returned to the group who had been gazing at me with shocked and nervous expressions. "What? Let's go. We don't wanna stay overnight." I said as I walked past them and a few seconds later, they followed me from behind. "Marcus, remind me to never mess with you." Trace stated.
"Hm? Yeah sure."