I
Plans to add writing features?It had been days since the two inquisitors had sailed, they had finally reached the shores of the Duchy of Nazaire. When they landed, they saw hundreds of spearhead ships hooked in the same place as him. Unloading their goods, they rented a horse cart waiting for customers on the coast. They sat in the back of the wagon with their belongings, waiting to reach their destination.
"What's new in Nazaire lately, coachman?" Jurko started the conversation.
"New?" The person muttered for a moment. "Nothing new it seems. What's wrong?"
"Just out of curiosity, we haven't been here in a long time."
"Masters, where did you come from?"
"Far, very far."
"Sorry to displease you. But Nazaire hasn't been that big of a place lately. Of course after Uthgaard's massive attack on a spearhead mercenary hideout."
"What?" Jurko approached the coachman. "Spearhead?"
"No! I mean, i think so. Yes. Right."
Jurko glanced at the equally surprised Nazeir.
"Fuck it," Jurko clenched his fists hard. "Can you make this horse faster."
"Sorry, but I can't."
"Then we shall buy the horse."
The cart stopped in the middle of the road by the coachman. The two inquisitors were astonished.
"Where do you want to go quickly?"
"Our house, of course."
Jurko who was looking at the person, could feel something strange with the coachman. He grabbed the man's collar and saw a small iron pin in the shape of a lion's head.
"Fucker is an Uthgaardian spy," the old inquisitor pulled out his dagger and stabbed the coachman dead. Blood started dripping from his neck, and Jurko threw the body down from the coachman's seat.
"Why did Uthgaard attack us?" the old inquisitor wondered.
Shortly after the person was stabbed, an arrow landed right in front of the wagon. The two inquisitors saw it and sensed something was coming. They heard the sound of galloping horse hooves approaching in the distance. Hearing this, they immediately jumped down from the cart and severed the horse's rope.
"They are coming. Bastards!" Jurko cursed. "Nazeir. This horse has no saddle!"
"Damn it!"
In the distance, the smoke of dust could be seen approaching. Dozens of cavalrymen came, watching the two inquisitors from a distance. Jurko and Nazeir started to get ready, facing the Uthgaardian soldiers. Outnumbered, the two inquisitors didn't know what to do. Stressed and not understanding what was happening to their army, they finally chose to ride the horse bareback with no saddle.
Nazeir and Jurko started running from the dozens of cavalry chasing after them, knowing they would be caught in the end if they didn't come up with a plan.
"How many!" Jurko asked.
"Thirty? Forty?"
While being blown by the air while riding fast, the soldiers behind him began to approach. Jurko took a pebble from his pocket.
"What are we going to do?"
"Fight of course."
"You're serious?"
"We disperse. You take him to the forest, I take them to the swamp."
"And what happened after that?"
"Shit, I haven't thought that long. How did we meet at your girl friend's tavern."
"Okay," Nazeir gave a thumbs up, the old inquisitor replied with a thumbs up.
The two men separated, and the soldiers also dispersed.
Nazeir looked behind him, there were dozens of soldiers chasing him. They wore cold steel armor, the same as the horses. A soldier began to approach, when he was right beside the inquisitor, he swung the sword. The inquisitor parried it with his scimitar and cut off the back of the soldier's leg. The back of his leg which was not covered in armor was cut off by Nazeir's sword.
The soldier fell to the ground, and his other leg entangled on the horse saddle was dragged away by his horse which was still galloping on the road. Nazeir knew that the other soldiers would get closer in time, and the forest is nowhere to be seen. The inquisitor started kicking his horse harder. Out of sight, the forest he was looking for came into view.
A cavalry approached. Sword drawn, swinging in attack. The weapon didn't hit Nazeir, but the horse. The inquisitor fell on his horse, launching to the rough ground. The soldiers who attacked came back to finish him. Nazeir parried and pulled the attacker down from the horse. The soldier lay down, Nazeir pulled out his dagger and stabbed him in the throat.
Nazeir saw the other horsemen watching Nazeir return from a distance. They don't attack, they just look at his execution of their comrade. He ran from the soldiers, and they followed him. Running into the forest, the cavalrymen stopped right in front of the tree lines. They dismounted and began to chase the inquisitor on foot. However, that person disappeared into the dense forest.
"Order, commander?" a soldier asked his leader.
His body was large with iron armor covering his head and face to his feet. He wielded a long sword that was sharp on both sides. They walked into the forest, and the leader spotted a tree that could be the inquisitor's hiding place. Not seeing him, the commander plunged the tip of his sword into the ground.
"Find him!"
"Ready!" the soldiers shouted.
The soldiers began to disperse in groups looking for the inquisitor.
"You'll die today, Nazeir!" the commander's shout made all the animals that heard it run away.
In a group of soldiers searching for the inquisitor, their hearts began to beat fast.
"This is bad, very bad!" one soldier started to panic.
"Shut up! He hears us if you keep talking!"
"Hey!" reprimand his friend. "Keep your voice down."
"This-" the soldier choked.
When his comrade saw the last man on the group line, he saw the inquisitor plunged a dagger into his throat. The dagger was pulled out, and his hands were covered in blood. In his right hand was a sword, in his left was a sharp dagger.
The soldier panicked and began to hear the sound of metal clashing.
Hearing that voice, the commander started running to his soldiers. Upon arriving, he saw five of his soldiers' bodies covered in blood and sword wounds. A soldier was still alive with his legs started to twitch. The commander let him die when he heard the same voice in the distance.
He ran back in his armor and looked back at the corpses of soldiers. He started to get furious and exceeded his limit of anger. When he heard the third sound of battle, the commander called for the rest of his soldiers to reunite with him. Now he and his six soldiers together looked in every direction for the inquisitor's sign.
Suddenly, it was extremely quiet in the forest. They can hear everything, from the leafs to small animals who were making noises. The inquisitor was nowhere to be found, making it a lot harder to kill him. The commander was still on high alert with his men, going around the forest in tight formation, not letting the inquisitor to have the upper hand on them.
From the trees above them, the inquisitor jumped down and pounced on a soldier below him. Everyone started to panic, and Nazeir started attacking the others. The commander swung his sword, but the inquisitor was too agile with his movements. They had a five-man fight, and the inquisitor was still outnumbered.
The commander swung his sword guard at the inquisitor. Nazeir was hit hard by it, knocking him down. While checking his own body that got pummeled, he felt his armor bent inside near his ribs. As he looked in front of him, the commander's boots stomped him right in the chest. The man staggered on the ground, he could see the big commander walking towards him.
"You're dead now."
The commander strangled and lifted Nazeir off the ground with his body completely limp.
"Shit, you're strong," said Nazeir as he choked up. Nazeir is still bigger than the commander, yet he can feel his body being lifted with his feet still touching the ground.
The commander laughed under his helmet as Nazeir pathetic attempt to smack his arm which was strangling him. When Nazeir's vision began to darken, he felt his life start to leave his body. He felt as if the commander just dropped him dead on the ground. Lying on the ground he didn't feel the choke anymore, the fading vision began to return.
Nazeir saw the commander lost both his hands, blood started to come out of his elbows. He screamed in pain, then another soldier was fighting someone... or something. He saw a face, and the person checked the inquisitor. When his vision cleared, he saw the Lady of the Forest in her dress pressing her head on Nazeir's chest.
"Nazeir? Nazeir!" she waved her hand in front of the inquisitor. When she saw that Nazeir was still alive, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, you're still alive," the woman hugged him. "Get up, Nazeir. Your friends-"
The forest lady's words were cut off. The commander pushed the woman down into the grass with his big body. He lifted his feet to step on the woman. At the end of the second, Nazeir came and speared him down.
The inquisitor restrained the commander from standing. He was not wearing his helmet, the inquisitor recognized his face.
"Handless and still alive. What are you made of, warden?"
The warden who was imprisoned by Nazeir, Jurko and Adrian back in Luden growled. The inquisitor picked up a rock and lifted it high. The two men shouted loudly until the veins were visible, then Nazeir got headbutted in the face making him lose balance. Nazeir grabbed his nose and looked at the warden trying to get up while losing blood even more. Nazeir sat there and rested for three seconds before going back to finish him. He punched the warden with his last remaining strength, and the two were exhausted. Nazeir took a breather while the warden laughed with bloodied arms and face. The inquisitor was dumbfounded, and that's the last time the warden laughed before Nazeir slammed his head with a rock. The sound of bones cracking could be heard clearly, and the Lady of the Forest came to see Nazeir whose armor was covered in blood.
The woman held the blood, feeling the liquid in her hand.
"I've never felt anything like this. And this body beats fast," he clutched her chest, feeling her heart beat start to go fast. "Why do I suddenly feel-" the woman leaned against the tree in pure shock. When she was about to fall, the inquisitor caught her.
"Don't breathe too fast. Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly."
"How!?" her body is weakening.
"No need to panic. Calm down, you're okay," Nazeir leaned her under into a more comfortable position and put her hand to her chest. "Feel it? You have a heart, start breathing slowly."
The forest rangers in the form of stone men came to see Nazeir calming the woman. The woman began to calm herself, leaning over to look at the inquisitor.
"Your friend-" she gulped. "They're fighting near Lake Rendanau. Get over there quickly. Let me stay here for a while," she let out her breath. "I want to calm myself down."
The man stood and saw the woman closing her eyes. He came out of the forest, mounted an Uthgaardian horse and galloped toward Tara's tavern to meet up with Jurko.
II
Nazeir jumped off the horse. Tara was sitting outside the tavern with Omar sleeping on the bench. When the woman saw Nazeir, she immediately stood up to greet him happily.
"Nazeir! You came."
"I'm not here long," he said as he walked over to the woman. "Where's Jurko?"
"I-I didn't see him," the woman looked at Nazeir who was getting restless. "What's the matter, Nazeir. You look-"
"Tabot and everyone is in danger. I have to hurry with Jurko there."
"Calm down, Nazeir. Maybe you need to rest. You are at home now, I will prepare-" while speaking, the man walked back and forth not listening to her. Tara approached the man and looked at him angrily. "At least you can hear what I have to say, Nazeir."
The man stopped walking and looked at Tara.
"I can't think of you when THOUSANDS of lives are at the sword's edge! If they die, everything is over, you, I, Jurko, all of them will die in the next few days!"
On the street, Nazeir could see Jurko riding on the horse of the warrior he had killed. He stopped right in front of the inquisitor.
"Okay, I've been thinking about it. We'd better go to the hideout and see for-"
"They're at Lake Rendanau. Fighting the Uthgaardian army."
Jurko's face began to look full of determination.
"How'd you know that?"
"If these trees could talk, the Lady of the Forest told me. She knew about the locations of the spearhead."
"Then get on your horse, we'll gallop there."
Nazeir immediately jumped on and rode with Jurko to his destination. Tara only saw the two men who hadn't been to the tavern in months, and when they arrived, it only took seconds just to exchange words.
Omar who was asleep immediately woke up when he heard the hooves of the horse running away. He looked around him, Tara standing in front of him facing the empty street.
"What happened!" He said waking up startled.
III
The two of them rode fast, the wind was pressing against their faces as fast as the horse ran. As they approached the lake, they could hear screams and metal clashing. Hearing that, they knew that the battle was continuing fiercely.
Approaching the origin of the sound, they finally saw a battle unfolding. Uthgaard's troops hurled their rock catapult, sending a line of spearhead soldiers launched off or squashed under the rock. Jurko on the other hand fired a metal tube that spat flames. Uthgaardian soldiers who was in the area of the flame spray burned inside their armor. The onlookers panicked and fled from the fire spray distance.
The two inquisitorssped up to the catapult. Uthgaardian soldiers who saw him immediately moved quickly, summoning his elite detachment who had been waiting for action to stop the two men.
Nazeir and Jurko took out a magic stone from their respective pockets. The stone was placed on their drawn sword, and disappeared like it was sucked in by the iron of the sword. Nazeir with scimitar, Jurko with longsword, both of them prepared for a fight.
The soldiers made a wall out of their shields. As they began to approach the wall of soldiers, the two of them began to stand on their respective horses. The horsepower hit the soldiers hard, and the two inquisitors jumped off their horses, hitting anyone in their landing path. Some of the soldiers pushed off and some were trampled by the horse's hoofs, and those who were crushed by the inquisitors were killed by their swords.
Crowded by dozens of soldiers, the inquisitors continued to fight despite being outnumbered. Their swords swung smoothly, hitting every part of the soldiers' bodies with ease. With a sword strengthened with magic stones, each of the armors of the Uthgaard warriors could be pierced through like a sharp knife through butter. Out of experience with the two inquisitors, the Uthgaardian soldier finally ran away from them. They were surrounded by piles of corpses of Uthgaardian soldiers.
In the distance, a man could be seen cursing at the soldiers who ran away from the two inquisitors. Nazeir patted Jurko on the back, pointing to the person in the Uthgaard army camp.
"You'll do it alone. I need to destroy the catapult," Jurko pointed the tip of his sword at the line of catapults that threw stones at the line of spearhead soldiers.
The two of them attacked their targeted prey, Nazeir wiped his bloody blade on a corpse before killing its prey. He ran to the man, and when the man saw him he brought his five guards. They were knights in shining armor, with yellow cloaks on their backs.
"Death is coming towards you, inquisitor," the soldier's voice echoed in his helmet.
The two sides walked closer together, and the inquisitor fought the five guards. The swords made a loud sound, a snorting sound rang out as the warriors swung their swords wide.
A swing hit Nazeir's back. The armor absorbed the energy from the swing, and Nazeir fell to his knees. While kneeling, he drew a symbol on the ground. The soldier who attacked him again swung his sword at close range, Nazeir dodged and pulled the man towards the symbol he had drawn. The moment the guard's feet stepped on, the earth swallowed him alive. He shouted, and when the earth finished swallowing him, only a hand could be seen on the ground.
The other four soldiers who saw their comrade die horribly, started thinking about their attack on the inquisitor.
And simultaneously they finally attacked. Nazeir began to spin like a mad man and cut the bodies of the four people in one swing. The magic fused sword pierced through the person's armor cleanly. As the soldier lay lifeless on the ground, a smoke could be seen emitting from the traces of the inquisitor's sword swing.
Nazeir turned his gaze back to the man in the armor. He swung his sword swiftly, and the blood on his sword was swept away. The two of them faced each other, the atmosphere starting to tense up as they drew closer to each other.
The man was wearing armor of steel, wielding a battle hamace in his right hand and a shield in his left. Slow steps start to become fast, fast steps start to run. The two people hit each other. Nazeir attacked the man who was hiding behind his shield. When the sword cut through the shield with ease, he began to change his tactics.
"I've never had a fight with an inquisitor. And it looks like you, master inquisitor, are the first for me," he laughed under his helmet.
"I think this is the last time you will breathe, Robert," Nazeir recognized the voice of the person behind the helmet.
"Those ears are still sharp, inquisitor. But not as sharp as what my ears can hear. I know about your soldiers who helped Brindorum on the northern expedition. And the warden from Luden told me that you imprisoned him. Of course, this was helped by Lord Adrian. Too bad he have fallen before what will happen to you," he began to play with the hammer.
Robert attacked Nazeir and the inquisitor slipped out of the marshal's swift swing. When he swung his sword at Robert, the man slipped away from the inquisitor's swing. Robert raised his hammer, Nazeir prepared to step aside. However, the marshal faked his attack, catching Nazeir off guard. Nazeir's arm was hit hard by the blunt tip of the hammer, releasing his sword from his hand.
Robert smirked as he hit Nazeir in his armor. The inquisitor lost his balance and fell to the ground. As Robert approached, he rolled away from the blow of the war hammer. The marshal growled, and began to charge at Nazeir. The inquisitor just dodged the marshal's swings of anger. When Robert got too close to him, Nazeir made the man slip to the ground. As he lay down, the inquisitor pressed the man down and began to remove the marshal's helmet.
Robert spat at him, and Nazeir retaliated by hitting him. Robert covered his face that was hit with his hand, when he wasn't tired, the marshal pushed Nazeir to the ground. It was his turn to smack Nazeir in sheer rage. When the inquisitor saw the opening, he immediately hit his throat. Robert fell down holding his neck. This time he couldn't fight back, Nazeir beat him so badly he couldn't see his face. The dagger was pulled out, and he stabbed the marshal in the stomach multiple times and ended up slitting his throat.
"You bastard, I'll kill every single Uthgaardian in this field. I'll SLAUGHTER them all!
Nazeir shouted in hatred and anger. He began to bleed from his skin, drenching his entire body in red. The soldiers who saw the death of Robert and the inquisitor covered in blood began to make them tremble in fear. Nazeir stood up and took his sword. The sword was spun around, he looked at the soldiers who were watching him start to scatter away from him. They dropped their swords, running from the camp as fast as they could.
The inquisitor walked towards the battlefield, he could see the spearhead soldier was still fighting with Uthgaardian much larger army.
A soldier did not run when he saw the inquisitor walking slowly. He sensed the strangeness of that person he didn't know. When a Uthgaard soldier saw his comrade frozen in fear, he forced the soldier to flee from the battle.
"What are you doing? Get out of here before he sees you!" warned the soldier comrade.
"Something wasn't right about him. He wasn't hurt, but blood was pouring out of him. It was as if he was like a..."