Fire and smoke, corpses burned beyond recognition, blood splattered streets. It was all around him, he stood in the middle of a burning village, watching as more people were butchered by the horsemen. Arrows plunged into some, while others were struck down with swords. The boy did nothing, only staring in horror at the scene which played before him. A group of horsemen started to approach him, he watched as they got closer and closer, the boy thought of running, but his legs wouldn't move. He was frozen, he was afraid, he would soon be dead as well. The horsemen stopped, and their leas dismounted and approached him, the reflection of the flames danced along the silver longsword in hand. The boy stared wide-eyed at him, he was an intimidating figure, larger than any man he had ever seen, with a long scar running diagonally across his face, stretching from his right eye to the side of his mouth. The man grinned as he lifted the longsword with one hand and swung down with it.
Kemari awoke suddenly, his heart was pounding in his chest and he was drenched with sweat. He sat up in his bed and put his right hand over his face then screamed loudly into it. He stopped and caught his breath for a minute before swinging his legs off the tiny bed, looking around at the wooden room he sighed. It was tiny and the only furniture were the bed crammed up against the wall which he slept in and a small chest tucked away in a corner, above it hung a small cracked mirror. Kemari got up and tentatively walked towards the mirror and looked at himself. He stared at his reflection for a while, waiting for his heart rate and breathing to steady. He brushed his locks out of his face and tied it behind his head, leaving two strands to remain at the front. His two crimson eyes stared back at him, and as usual he felt like he was sharing his vision with something else, as if there was someone else inside him using his eyes. He ran his hand over a long scar that stretched from his shoulder to the middle of his chest, images from his nightmare flashed before him making him sigh. He admired his dark brown complexion for a minute before opening the chest and getting dressed in his purple Mage's robe.
"Time for another day of failures and being dependent on Isadora" he mumbled.
The Dragon's Tongue was a small run-down Inn and Tavern situated in the slums of Traliseth's royal capital. It was a place only frequented by the poor as well as a variety of unsavoury types, it was here Kemari called home. For unlike all the others who were members of the Adventurer's Guild, he was incapable of earning enough gold to get himself a room in the richer districts, this was something Kemari despised and always swore he would have to change. He sat in a corner, alone, with a book laid before him on the table, the common room was lively as server girls carried meals and ale to various tables of loud customers. A server walked by him and the smell coming from the tray made him gag. How do they eat that filth? He thought to himself shaking his head. He was about to start reading when a rusty iron sword impaled his book and lodged itself in the table. Kemari heard laughter from around the room as he looked at his book in horror, blue mist rose from it in a puff of smoke as the contents spilled out of the book as if it were bleeding.
"What the fuck!" he heard a figure beside him exclaim. Kemari looked up to see the man who was holding the sword, he was muscular looking fellow who wore a rag tied like a mask around his neck, and was wearing tattered clothing under a rusted iron chestplate, which had its fair share of dents. "do you have any idea how much this book cost me?" Kemari said as he clenched his fists. The man looked at him and laughed "would you look at this fool, boys" his laughter was echoed by the other people in the room "ha, looks like he wants to fight you" a voice snickered.
"yea? Is that true, brat?" he lowered his body into a crouch and stared into Kemari's eyes "you want to fight, you little weakling?"
"Go fuck yourself" Kemari spat in his face.
"Argh!" the brute grabbed him by his temples and yanked him from his chair then threw him across the room in one fluid motion. Kemari crashed into chairs and tables as he flew through the room, and coming to a stop as he slammed against the wall with a thud. His assailant pulled his sword out of the table and pointed it at him "I think it's time you learned your fucking place, trash." He walked forward slashing his sword through the air as he moved. "You might not have realised it as you were coasting through life in your peaceful little village, but we live in a world where the strong eat the weak" he paused slightly then continued "There's no place in it for pitiful, weaklings...... except for food that is. So do tell me mage" he was grinning madly by this point "WHAT. PURPOSE. DO. YOU. SERVE?" he punctuated each pause with a slash of his sword as he stopped over Kemari, who was now propped up against the wall holding a hand to his side while his other began to move in motion weaving a spell.
Despite all that had happened, Kemari was not afraid, for he had faced down bigger and more dangerous enemies and lived...never mind it being because he was saved by a certain someone most of those times. He held his hand before him and smirked as the spell was completed, he was shocked however, when the brute grabbed his arm and forced it downward right as an ethereal arrow shot out from his palm. He grimaced as he suddenly felt a kick to the gut, Kemari doubled over in pain and coughed up blood. His assailant released his arm and placed the sword against his neck. Kemari glanced around the room, hoping someone would come to his rescue, he soon realized that would not happen as he saw the twisted smiles on everyone's face.
"That's enough Ivan" Kemari's head snapped in shock towards the rotund bartender who had spoken. Unlike the others his face was written with concern. "....I think the child has had enough of your lesson" he hesitated
"Is that so?" Ivan punctuated his question with a severe kick to Kemari's side, causing him to hit the floor. "Well what do you all say?" his question was directed at the other occupants of the room and Kemari cringed as he heard their replies: "kill him", "rip his guts out", "show him who's boss", "Finish him off" they cried.
"As you command" Ivan sneered as he raised his sword. Just then a figure wearing a black hooded cloak broke from the crowd and walked towards them, Kemari laughed as he noticed it.
"What's so funny?" Ivan said, his sword still held high.
Kemari heard the bartender sigh "You done fucked up now Ivan"
"Huh?" that was all he managed before the figure slammed a powerful kick into his neck causing him to drop the sword as he skidded sideward before falling. "You ok Kemari?" it's feminine voice asked without looking away from Ivan who was already back on his feet and holding his neck.
"yea" Kemari wheezed "Nothing a little healing magic can't fix...and thanks by the way, Isadora"
"good and don't mention it, just stay right there and watch as the greatest monk in all of Traliseth kick ass" the figure giggled.
"Didn't you drop out of your training?" Kemari smiled.
"SHUT UP!" she took a fighting stance "it was a mutual agreement"
The two laughed as everyone stared at them in bewilderment. Ivan, who had finally recovered from the blow looked at the figure as they sized up each other. "who the fuck are you?" he finally asked the figure.
"irrelevant"
"you sound like a woman"
"I should hope"
"that was a magnificent kick, for a lady of course" he rubbed his neck and grinned at her
"Wow, that was a bit sexist don't you think?"
"Sex what?" He shot a glare at Kemari who had laughed a little at his question.
"are we going to fight or not?" she asked sounding irritated.
"heh, I wouldn't want to break your fragile little bones miss" Ivan smiled and the crowd chuckled, the bartender only shook his head. Kemari sighed to himself as he saw her dash toward Ivan with uncanny speed, he was barely fast enough to block the kick that was aimed at his face. Isadora spun and delivered a kick to Ivan's abdomen which forced him back a few steps, before he knew it she was on him again, firing a quick jab to his nose followed by a myriad of blows to his face and upper body. Ivan wobbled as the hits connected, he was unable to block, dodge or even see them. The onlookers watched in awe as Ivan was beaten, unable to defend himself against the sheer powers of his enemy's blows. Kemari, who was now back on his feet fully healed looked on smiling as his friend finished the fight by palming Ivan square in the chest then walking away towards Kemari. As he looked he noticed the man's chestplate was even more dented than it was before and there was a hole in it where he had gotten the last hit, his face was twisted and bloody. As she walked by him, he turned to follow her and heard a metallic clank as if Ivan's body had finally registered that it was no longer living. The people moved to the side as Isadora walked past with Kemari in tow, they stopped by the counter where she fished a coin purse from somewhere in her cloak an handed it to the barkeep.
"Sorry for the disturbance big guy."
"No worries little one" the bartender replied.
The two walked down the streets of the slum districts. People in tattered clothes walked along as if they had no purpose, while others looked out from alleyways and the insides of broken down houses looking for unsuspecting prey to rob, abduct or kill. They walked in silence as they passed by buildings clumped together, some even looked as if they were about to topple. They stopped as a group of boys ran out In front of them chasing after a smaller one who was running with a huge rat in his hands. Isadora started walking again as Kemari stared after the children as they caught up to the boy and took they rat from him then proceeded to beat him.
"Same age" he said before following after her
His friend looked at him as he caught up with her "said something?" she asked
"I was just thinking...." He paused "those children just now, they don't look that much older than we were at that time..."
"What does that have to do with anything?" she was curious, Kemari rarely mentioned anything about their past. He tried not to show it, but she could tell that it still haunted him.
"...It isn't right" his voice quivered and was almost a whisper "children are supposed to be safe, they shouldn't be exposed to these harsh realities at such a young age"
"Better now than when they're older and are incapable of dealing with the shit the world throws at them, because of the sheltered pampered life they lived" Her reply was blunt and harsh, yet He knew she had a point. He had lived a sheltered life while she was always fighting for what she wanted, and now years later she was an accomplished Monk despite being a 'failure' to her mentors as well as a 'B' ranked adventurer while he was stuck at 'F' the weakest rank there was.
"I wish it didn't have to be that way" she suddenly continued "But this is the way of life. With death lurking around every corner, we can't afford to be weak" she looked to the sky as she spoke.
"Like me Huh?" Kemari chuckled lightly
"Pretty much" she laughed and punched Kemari in the shoulder, he flinched as she hit him and that only made her laugh harder. He rubbed his shoulder as they continued their walk in mostly silence.
It was almost noon by the time they reached their destination; the Adventurer's Guild. It was a large imposing structure which stood at the top of a grand marble staircase, Kemari stopped and stared in awe at the high walls that shined in the midday sun. No matter how many times he visited, the sheer beauty of it always caught his eyes . He smiled and walked up the steps where Isadora waited. They approached the large Oak double doors together which swung open as they got close, stepping inside Kemari looked around the huge open area they now stood in. The floors were made of a dark reflective surface that absorbed mana from it's occupants, making them weaker the longer they stayed, which Kemari believed to be weird, but apparently the GuildMaster had done this to prevent fighting in his hall "can't fight if you can't freely manipulate your body's ambient mana" the receptionists would repeat. The room was filled with a variety of adventuring folk; some wore bulky, heavy armor and carrying massive swords while others dressed lighter, wielding bows, staves, or much smaller swords. Two adventurers caught his eye, as they seemed to be out of place, one of them was a green slightly muscular being Kemari assumed to be a Half-Orc who leaned against the wall with a heavy looking broadsword leaned up next to him, and was wearing a brown tunic over black leather pants and boots, on top of that he also wore a pair of silver pauldrons and and a half chestplate, His hair was a greenish untamed mess from what Kemari could see. The other person was the second most beautiful girl he had ever seen, an Elf with long silver hair tied up in a ponytail.
"So that's your type hmm?" His attention was drawn from her before he had a chance to observe her fully. He turned to see Isadora staring at him intensely with a huge grin on her face.
"No, that wasn't....that's not..." Kemari stumbled to find words.
"Don't worry my dear sweet companion." Isadora laughed as she leaned in close and covered her mouth as if to whisper to him "I SHIP!" She bellowed, attracting the attention of the entire room.
Kemari looked around nervously and hissed "what are you doing, you idiot?"
"why I'm just so proud of you Kemari" she spread her arms wide and squealed "You're finally interested in exploring the lush flesh of a -" she issued a yelp as Kemari grabbed her cloak and dragged her away to the reception area. He blushed slightly as he stormed past snickering adventurers. The reception area was a long counter towards the back of the room, behind it stood the guild's receptionists, all of which were identical women. The two approached the one closest and exchanged greetings, it wasn't until then that Isadora removed her hood, revealing her face. Her skin was a smooth almond complexion and her light brown hair was cut short in a close cropped style with the sides faded, her eyes always took Kemari's breath away, they were also a light brown with matched her skin tone and hair colour and always seemed to sparkle. "keep staring at me like that and I'll steal your heart" he was so engrossed in admiring her that he didn't notice that she had stopped talking to the receptionist and was now starting at him smirking. "And I meant that literally" she said teasingly before returning to her conversation.
Kemari gulped and then sighed as he went about observing the room once more. He looked around at the occupants who were all embroiled in conversation amongst their companions, the elf he had seen was no longer there, but the Half-Orc stood the same place leaning against the wall; this time he was staring right back at Kemari who quickly turned away. In the centre of the hall was a giant golden statue of the legendary GuildMaster himself: Gaelin Branandor, who had faced down the Black Dragon in the Arena pits, gaining his freedom from slavery in the process. The statue featured Gaelin in nothing but a loin cloth, with a broken sword in his left hand and the dragon's head in the other. The statue was of a powerfully built man, with long golden hair hung low behind his back. That looks nothing like the old fool Kemari thought to himself as he shifted his attention in scorn. The walls were a chalk white, and were decorated with long portraits of the Twelve Knights of Traliseth; the only 'S' ranked heroes Traliseth had to offer. They were the strongest and their names carried a lot of weight. Kemari only knew three of them: Markus The Bear, who was a savage Hulk of a man who never wore anything apart from his brown fur loincloth and the pelt of some unknown beast around his shoulders. He was known to tear his foes to pieces with nothing but his bare hands. Next was Lucien Arengar, leader of the kingdom's Dragon Knights which was an elite unit tasked with high priority quests from the Crown itself, he wore his signature red and gold armour with his sword held high and his shield to his side. The last was the rogue, the assassin, and the fastest of all the 12......fuck, what was his name again?. Kemari stared at the portrait of the man who stood completely clad in black and covered completely, hiding his features.
"Brinn, I think" Isadora said from beside him. She had turned towards him and noticed him staring with a puzzled look on his face.
"Thanks, don't know why I keep forgetting his name" Kemari replied "You finished?"
"Yuuup" she bounced and grinned
"Great, let's go then" he stretched and started to walk away when Isadora grabbed his robes
"Not so fast, my dashing knight"
"What now?" Kemari sighed
"The GuildMaster has something for us"
Kemari's demeanor changed upon hearing that, he spun around and grabbed Isadora's shoulders, she shuddered when she saw the cold look on Kemari's face.
"Did they find him" he tried to ask as calmly as he could, but his voice was instead cold and tainted with anger. She nodded and turned then waved towards the receptionist who was weaving a spell, she smiled and in an instant they were standing in an empty blueish space which only had a small desk and a few chairs in the middle.
Kemari rushed towards the desk leaving his friend behind, he caught a glimpse of a giant ogre wearing full plate armour as it vanished from the room. Kemari stopped at the desk and stared at the small sinewy man behind it. The man wore a black vest over a white buttoned down shirt, his head was completely bald and he seemed to be well over 100 years old. "You stare too much Kephirian" the man said without looking up from a paper he was scribbling on before him.
"Where is he!" Kemari slammed his hands on the desk
"Have a seat first" the man gestured at a chair before the desk "you too monk"
Kemari looked and noticed she was right next to him now, she plopped into the chair and placed her feet on the desk, which evoked a glare from the man who made to say something before shaking his head and changing his mind. "please?" He looked at Kemari this time, who sighed and sat in his chair.
"Who was that just now, GuildMaster?" Isadora spoke first
Gaelin set down his quill and leaned back in his chair for a few moments before he finally responded "Targoth IronHorn....." he hesitated, pondering how to continue "He looks for the same man as you do"
"Did.....did you tell him what he wanted to know?" Isadora glanced at Kemari as she asked
"I did"
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME" Kemari flared up "WHAT THE FUCK? WE HAD AN AGREEMENT YOU OLD FART" He reached across the table and grabbed Gaelin by his shirt collar.
"THAT'S ENOUGH KEMARI" Isadora shot up and took his arm, he looked at her briefly and saw the disappointed way she looked at him. He grunted as he let go and paced around the room "Great, so now we competition...."
"Does it matter Kemari?" She paused then continued "We just want him dead, so we....you can be free from your burden."
Kemari stood still with his fists clenched "How in the world would that relieve me of my burdens?" he looked at Isadora and said firmly "I have to be the one who kills him.....I won't be at peace unless I am. Why do you seem to have a problem with that? You. Kill. All. The. Time.....so what's the fucking difference here" she didn't answer, and the room stood in silence, waiting, before it was finally broken.
"You're a fragile one, Kephirian..." The GuildMaster smiled "Do you honestly believe you have what it takes to kill this monster on your own, or will you need the monk to do it for you?"
"....." Kemari stood there in silence unable to answer.
"Nevertheless, we have a deal. The man you're looking for is known as 'Vanther The Bold', everything you need to know is in this" he handed Isadora a small scroll.
She muttered a 'Thank You' as she turned to leave
"Oh, and one more thing" he said stopping the duo in their tracks "There was another person besides the Orc who came for information on him, so you might want to hurry"
Kemari and Isadora then vanished as they once again teleported elsewhere.