October 4th, Year 110
Town of Lucina
09:25
The town of Lucina has taught me much of what I know now. It taught me what I needed to survive; how to fight, forge, and build. Now it was time to move and follow my dream. The town was shoddy, with a relatively small population of around sixty people, far from other villages. The place was in the middle of nowhere, and our whole town had to fend for itself. The newspaper only came by every six months, so outside information within the country was entirely unknown to us.
It was because of the newspaper that I found my dream possible. A notice from the capital, Kysora would pay loads of money for the jobs offered. The capital was expanding its size to accommodate the growing population. It promised the best-paying jobs I had seen in a newspaper. It was perfect because I wanted to enrich Lucina and provide new wealth to the town. I wished the ones I grew up with lived happily and comfortably.
I sat in my room, where I had grown up my whole life. My grandparents took me in after the death of my parents, who fell during a quest as adventurers. My room kept a cold allure, feeling empty now that I had packed up my personal belongings into a small bag. All the old stuff I couldn't bring was left packed in boxes to either; donate or keep around.
After packing everything, I went outside my room and into the front door of the old townhouse to speak with my grandparents to say my goodbyes.
"Hey, pops, ma, I'm ready to take off to Kysora," I said.
My grandparents had struggled to smile without drawing tears. Their wrinkles deepened as they were overwhelmed with bitter sadness.
My ma wept, "We will miss you so much, my dear boy."
Pops furrowed his eyebrows and squinted, "Grandson, please be safe out there. Kysora has been quite the madhouse lately; keep your wits about you, and be sure to have your sword ready. We love you dearly. Goodbye." he rasped.
"I'll be sure to visit sometime in the future. For now, I love you both; thank you for the support. Goodbye!" I replied. I picked up my bag, holstered my sword, and grabbed my canteen. I waved goodbye and set off to Kysora.
The forest greeted me with cloudy skies, thriving yet fading wildlife, and a cool breeze as the autumnal leaves fell from the trees, giving the emerald green conifers a chance in the spotlight. I stepped onto a faded path that received little use and care and into the dense forest to begin my new adventure.
The Trip Begins
Three Days Later | October 7th, Year 110
16:40
The trip would take a long time on foot. If I had a horse, the trip would be significantly shorter. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible with only a dozen copper coins. I only had enough for a cheap meal, not anything special.
The trees were even denser within this region. The forest my village resided in was the Forest of Isolation. The area had very sparse populations and many isolated towns within it. Lucina was the furthest out of the way on the right end of the continent. Although dense, the cold temperatures of late fall left numerous light shafts within the forest. The conifers were not a large portion of the woods, but they remained as shade for me to rest.
I sat down in the partially dead grass along the tree line. I pulled out my map to see how much further I needed to go. I had already traveled around 218 kilometers, and there was still a bit over 2030 to go.
"The trip itself was going to take over a month at my current pace. I might as well take a rest," I said.
The area I rested was just alongside the road; the trees blocked the sun's rays from hitting where I slept. I placed my bag behind my head as a pillow, resting it against a conifer, and I closed my eyes for the day to come.
Three Hours Later | 19:59
I woke up to a sudden shaking. My eyes opened slowly, and my vision blurred. I saw a silhouette of a man. Once my sight focused, it was a short man. He had a big beard, carried two swords, and wore iron armor. His face showed his calmness, a mug without blemishes other than the wrinkles of old age.
He grumbled, "Beware, young traveler, there was a commotion up ahead; bandits are near. They have attacked many travelers like you."
I took note of the warning, "Thank you for the advice; I'm sure if I had slept any longer, I would've been a target. It's time for me to move along anyways."
Another figure came into view, following close behind. It was a tall and lean man with a short sword in leather armor. He seemed frantic.
"Syrn! The bandits took Diavanus!" He exclaimed.
The old man's eyes widened, "Bandits were traveling behind us as well? Those damned bandits will pay for taking her!" He turned back, facing me. The calm old man was frightened now, "Young man, would you help us take on the bandits? I'd appreciate the help since they took my daughter, Diavanus."
I knew it would set me back a bit, but I wasn't in a crazy hurry, and I couldn't just let them deal with this on their own.
"I'll help you guys out," I replied.
We went off to the site where the bandits kidnapped his daughter. They had left a trail of footprints off the road and into the forest. I picked up some tattered clothes in the overgrowth of grass. I looked in the direction of the debris and saw a cove nearby, which I then pointed to, "Hey, I think the bandits set up over there."
"Let's go, Sancto," Syrn commanded his friend.
We moved into the clearing and the cove. There was smoke in the air, showing recent signs of a campsite. We hid on a rock overlooking the site. I observed a few bandits guarding the cave opening.
The slender guy, Sancto, pulled out a bow and readied a shot at one of the bandits. Syrn pulled out a throwing knife.
I whispered, "What are you guys doing? It isn't going to work. Syrn should go down to the left, and I'll take the right side. Sancto, shoot any person leaving the lair."
Syrn put away the knife and did as I ordered. I went down the rock and onto the ground. I crept towards them and hugged the wall; I readied a dagger to kill the bandit before me. I waited for Syrn to be in position.
We nodded, and then I punctured the bandit in his vitals from behind. Both the bandits fell to the ground; I checked the one for any clues. In the middle of searching, a group of bandits came out of the cave. Three arrows flew by my face and killed two of the bandits; the third arrow missed the last's vitals entirely and punctured his left shoulder.
"Gahhhh! You bastards!" The bandit tried pulling out the arrow, but it remained embedded in his shoulder.
I quickly grabbed my sword and cut him down. I signaled Sancto to come down. We proceeded cautiously through the dark cavern, hearing muffled cries to our left. A bandit appeared in front of us. I pushed him down, covered his mouth, and stabbed him.
As we pushed forward, we noticed a small building. There were around a dozen bandits outside the building. We saw prisoners lined up against the wall with wraps around their mouths, feet, and hands. Splotches of blood were plastered all over the walls behind them.
"I see Diavanus. These bloody bandits will pay!" Syrn rushed towards them.
"Syrn, what are you doing?!" I said. It looked like stealth was no longer an option. I grabbed my sword and ran over to them.
"You're surrounded, scum! You can't take us all at once!!" one of the bandits shouted to me as more appeared around me.
As they closed in, charging with their swords, I kicked a barrel next to me into them. Once they were down, I backed away and headed towards Syrn.
"Syrn! Behind you!" Sancto yelled.
Syrn's armor had cracked from the blow of a warhammer. He fell to the ground and coughed blood from the shock. His ribs fractured from the power behind the impact. A giant emerged from the shadows carrying the warhammer that struck him. I assumed he was one of the higher-ups in this cave. I rushed towards him and swung my sword.
My vision went black, and a burning pain in my gut began. I was knocked away by the giant's warhammer. I flew and broke several crates placed against the cavern wall. The giant went on to finish off the injured Syrn. He went to deliver the finishing blow as an arrow went into his right eye, the tip sticking out of the back of the giant's head.
He screamed in pain and looked towards Sancto, "You'll pay for that," he shouted.
As the giant turned away, I charged him from behind and sliced his back with my blade. "Sancto, deal with the bandits – I got this guy," I commanded.
The giant turned, grabbed me by the head, and started to squeeze. I winced, but I used his body to wrap my legs around his arm and used my dagger to cut his wrist halfway through; the blade stuck in his bone.
"Ah! Damn you," the giant raged. The pain he experienced allowed me to be released, and I took the opportunity to strike with my sword.
I dealt the final blow to the giant and pierced his heart. After he fell to the ground, I heard Sancto yell. I turned to see him on the dirt, about to be killed.
"Help!"
I turned to see Syrn also about to be killed by another bandit. The extension of help now became a choice for me. I would attempt to save both.
I rammed into the bandit that was going to kill Syrn. I slit his throat then I went to save Sancto. But, as I turned, Sancto had a blade through his skull. Blood spewed from his lifeless body as the bandits kept cutting him up.
I helped Syrn up, and we readied ourselves for combat. I signaled Syrn to take the ones on the right. I charged in, drove my sword into one bandit's body, and cut upward. I pulled my sword and spun around to slice the other's head off. Finally, I jumped up and charged my blade into another bandit's chest.
Syrn's targets were dead. We looked at Sancto's corpse, and Syrn trembled. Tears rushed down his face.
"My best friend is dead...Why'd you choose me?! Why not Sancto?" He looked back up at me with a face of guilt, his tears glistening from the torch's light hitting his face.
"I thought I could get you both. I'm so sorry." I replied to the saddened warrior.
We looked at the prisoners and headed toward them. As we moved past the small building, the door opened. A figure appeared from the building. It was a big, bulky, and angry man.
"Who is making all this ruckus?!" The man exclaimed. He looked at both of us and grunted. "You two are the ones that took out everyone here? It seems that I'll have to deal with you myself."
He charged into Syrn using his side and knocked him into the cave wall; he turned and punched me in the face. I fell to the ground, and my sword flew out of my hand.
"You're left without your weapon, weakling. Try to kill me now. Gahaha!" he mocked as he approached me.
I got up and kicked him in his legs so he would trip. Once he did, I drove my fist into his side. I jumped up and slammed my fists down on his head, indenting the ground under him. I shuffled back and reached for my sword to deliver a final attack.
"Don't think you can kill me so easily, scum." he stood back up and charged toward me.
I turned around to attack him, but he was already staring into my eyes. He caught me off guard as he threw me into the small building, entirely destroying one of its walls. The impact left my ribs broken.
I barely withstood the damage, but I got back up panting, blood dripping down my head onto the dirt, and severe cuts appeared on my body, having been thrown into a building. The bandit leader charged toward me, but Syrn used his two swords and sliced the charging beast of a man into three pieces.
"Easy enough, damn bandit," Syrn snarled. He sat down on the ground; his shoulder plates and chest piece had broken.
My clothing had tattered, and I had broken multiple ribs. I stepped out of the building and went to the prisoners. I cut all the wraps and removed the mouth covers, "You're all free now – Syrn here can help you go back to your families."
I was happy to be able to help these people, although it was unfortunate that I couldn't save Sancto. I needed to do better. I needed to be better to prevent something like that from happening again.
Syrn wanted to get everyone back home safely, so we followed the road to Syrn's town. It was along the path to Kysora, so it was convenient for me to travel with the group. We ended up traveling for another six kilometers.
Stopping at the entrance of the town, Syrn spoke, "Thank you so much for saving my daughter and the countless others who came from this town. It was a big problem in Arlis; it was why we went looking for the missing people."
Although Syrn had thanked me, I experienced overwhelming guilt. I replied, saddened, "I'm sorry I couldn't save Sancto, Syrn."
"It wasn't your fault; you don't have to apologize for anything. Because of you, I have my daughter, these people can go back to their families, and you saved me as well. You're one person, don't be so hard on yourself for something that was out of your control. All we can do is keep doing our best to move forward," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
The guilt I felt wouldn't go away immediately, but I understood the importance of his words. I responded to him, "Thanks for that, Syrn. I really needed that." I looked to the road, envisioning my path forward, and stated, "I have a long journey ahead of me, and I'll do my best to reach the end."
"That's more like it, uh, what was your name? Did I never catch that?" Syrn asked, scratching his head.
"Lux. My name's Lux," I replied.
He looked up at me and said, "Thank you for everything, Lux. You will always be welcomed in this town."
I turned and headed along the path, holding the pain from my injuries. I didn't want to trouble the town. They needed to reunite with their families, not to worry about my wounds. It was time for them to be happy. And so, the bandits of Arlis marked the beginning of my journey.