"Argh…." I tried to feel the back of my head only to find my arms and legs tied together. Great. Just absolutely fantastic. Try help a damsel in distress and get kidnapped instead. This was all Marley's fault for wanting sandwiches. No it was Earnest's fault for hitting me with his bloody sword. Going back further however, it really was my fault for asking in the first place. I sighed.
"And what are you sighing for?"
I looked up and in the silhouette of a nearby torch 'Faith' was standing with her arms folded. My expression immediately soured as I took in my surroundings. A bunch of random goods looted from people who probably weren't even alive anymore. Boxes, clothing, weapons, money, they were thrown around me haphazardly. A single torch lit up what looked like the cave and Faith stood at the entrance.
"What, cat got your tongue or are you still too stunned to speak?" she smiled haughtily.
I looked her in the eyes, "You're not going to kill me?"
She laughed, "Don't worry we'll get around to it. You're still useful for now." Slowly she walked up to where I was tied to the ground and crouched. She was still wearing the Hero's clothes. Things the Hero had been given in good faith. I jerked my body to move but the rope held and only proved to dig into my skin.
She whispered in my ear in a voice that surprised me, "Don't move. They're still watching." Her smugness was gone and a serious concern replaced it. "I'm really sorry but they're forcing me to do this. I can't help you right now but if you're friends are still alive we might be able to do something. Just promise not to leave without me… please." My eyes widened in confusion. Just what was she saying?
"I-," my mouth opened.
She stepped back and released a tremendous cackle, "By the Goddess did you just believe me? Seriously just a few words and you were back to being putty in my hands. Maybe I should have really gone into acting."
My frown returned, "Have you had your fun yet?"
"Oh plenty of it," she curtsied mockingly. "I hope you enjoyed my performance. Next I think I'll perform again in front of your friends." Friends was a bit of a strong word there but I let it slide. "Let's see how should I do it? Maybe the old, 'I couldn't stand waiting.', or the, 'Oh no they captured me again'. I bet the girl with the white hair would fall for either of those."
My muscles tensed involuntarily. The Hero as naïve as she was would definitely fall for that.
Her lips curled viciously, "Wow, did you just react to that? Have special feelings for her? Don't worry we'll be sure to spend time with her before we gut her like the rest."
I looked at the loot around me, "You really killed them all?"
"Of course we did. Trying to sell people these days is far too much work, better to just cut and run. Not that we don't have our fun first." She crouched down again and held my chin towards her. "You though I might keep. You're actually pretty cute, very much my type."
"Just kill me." No seriously please kill me. It might take a few days and some tedious work but I'd get my revenge.
"We'll see," she smiled. "Anyway have fun while we kill your friends. Bye bye." With a light skip she exited the cave taking the torch with her. There was a solid thunk of a door being closed around the corner. Great so I was locked in as well.
With nothing to do I tried shimmy out of my bindings. It only served to cut my skin raw. Without the light I couldn't make out a thing. It was complete darkness. There were weapons around the room but I was tied to the ground and from what I had seen they were too far away. If I could use magic I'd probably be doing better but there was no chance of that. There was one other option I could take, kill myself. The rock beneath me was hard and if I slammed my head into it a few times I'd probably die. While the idea may have seemed innovative I quickly pushed it to the back of my mind. For one there was no telling what killing myself would do. It might not even bring me back. On the other hand the Hero and her party were still alive. Knowing how strong they were, my rescue could be coming any minute.
In the end I waited. The minutes ticked by and the cold began to seep into my body. Even with the fine clothes I was wearing, the cold was eventually getting the better of me. Bored, I sat in silence straining my ears for any sound. Then to my surprise there was a patter of feet.
"Hey!" I yelled as loud as I could betting on the chance it wasn't a bandit. "Anyone out there? Hello?"
The footsteps stopped and there was suddenly a loud snap of wood. Light entered the cave as a heavy wooden door collided with the wall in front of me. An orb of white light hovered into view and closely behind it the smooth strands of hair reflecting in the same colour.
"Rain?" the Hero looked at me surprised as I did to her. Her armour was scratched all over and there clear signs of black blood dried against her clothes. Monster blood.
"Hero," I smiled. "Could you please give me a hand?"
"Y-yeah," she immediately set to cutting me free. "What are you doing here?"
"Turns out 'Faith' was working with the bandits. She led them right to us," I rubbed my wrists tenderly as the thick rope fell apart.
"I…," the Hero frowned in disbelief but she nodded. Apparently my trust was high enough. "What about Taylor?"
"She managed to get away with carriage. I was taken here," I looked around the room again and quickly found what I was looking for. My bow and some arrows. "What are you doing here, where are the others?"
"We were split up," she became dejected. "When we arrived the bandits let loose a horde of monsters at us. During it all I fell through a hole and ended up down here. I don't know where the others are…."
"They'll be fine," I said on reflex. "I-I mean they're all strong and Ronalt's with them."
"You're right," she nodded vigorously, confirming to herself her hopes. "We need to get out of here first. Can you walk?"
"I believe so," I patted the dirt off my clothes. "I'll follow you."
"Your wrists," she looked down at the bloodied marks. "I-."
"Don't worry," I hid them from sight. Unlike Marley the Hero wasn't gifted in healing. It was unfortunately the one type of magic she couldn't grasp. If she could, then their might not have been a reason for any of us. "They don't hurt too much. Let's just get out of here."
It was clear she was conflicted, but in the end she knew what she couldn't do, "This way then." The orb of light shifted and lit the way ahead.
Well I had to admit not killing myself was a great idea. In a grand stroke of luck I had the Hero, in other words the strongest human on the continent and maybe even the world. I followed her easily. There was hardly anything that posed a real threat to her… then again as I thought back to it the Monster was one. Surely there couldn't be more than one of them right? Looking around however the system of caves were definitely much older than the bandits had been using them. There was no telling what creatures could actually live there.
"Do you hear that?" the Hero suddenly stopped and whispered.
I narrowly avoided walking into her back, "I think so." After straining my hearing I could make out the agitated voices of people talking up ahead. Slowly the Hero and I moved forward sticking to the darkness as she extinguished her light.
"What do you mean they killed all the monsters!?" it was Faith's voice. "And you're sure none of them died or were injured?"
"W-well the one with the white hair fell and disappeared," a bandit replied. "But there's no way she could survive that."
Faith groaned, "Then where are they now?"
"They're on their way here. We're trying to kill them but nothing is working. We've almost ran out of everything."
"Shit! Those monsters took forever to capture."
"We still have the 'that' one."
"You want us to all die? That 'thing' stays where it is."
They finally came into view. It was a large cavern filled with tables and chairs. More than a dozen bandits including Faith stood in the centre. Across from us was another entrance and in the corner a large iron portcullis blocked something. An array of runes I couldn't understand spread across the walls beside it. The much newer words 'Do not open' were plastered on top of it.
"Boss at this rate they'll make it here," another bandit spoke nervously.
"Damn it," Faith cursed. "Jackson go get the hostage. We'll use him as bait here and once they arrive we'll sick that 'thing' on them. Even they won't get out alive."
"B-but who's going to open the gate?" his words were filled with fear. Whatever they had was something I didn't want to meet.
Faith's voice lowered dangerously, "If you keep talking, it might be you."
Jackson ran off towards us but as soon as he had turned the corner the Hero knocked him unconscious. She let his body slump to the floor.
"You were right," she looked towards Faith disappointed. "It was all a trap to begin with."
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"Let's wait. I'm getting a really bad feeling about whatever's behind those bars."
"If it's enough to make you feeling anxious, shouldn't we stop them before they can open it?" At closer inspection the iron used to seal the area off was much older than the rest of the objects in the room. Whatever was trapped there had been trapped long before the bandits came here. Worse still the more I looked towards it, the more the feeling of apprehension in my chest grew. It was as if whatever was on the other side was something that didn't quite belong.
The Hero went still. It was only then that I noticed the line of sweat on her brow. She was anxious. Of course she was, if it weren't for the number of times I had died I would be as well. Just knowing the fact I would come back settled my heart but for her, every moment could be her last. As powerful as she may be she was still just one girl.
"You're right," her voice jittered. "Now is our best chance."
I didn't know what to say. Did I have the right to comfort her? To tell her what to do, to try lift her spirits, to tell her that she would be okay? Instead my mouth opened and closed with no words to say and I just nodded.
"Follow my lead." The Hero stepped out from the shadows and I behind her. We were in full sight.
Faith noticed us first, "Y-you." She paused unsure and turned to her men, "Kill them!"
The Hero took a deep breath as I readied my bow. The first bandit came and with a simple motion she batted him away. The sight of his body flying through the air and crashing against the tables looked almost comical. The others froze.
"Stand down," the Hero gestured her blade towards them.
"Surround and shoot her you idiots!" Faith screamed and grabbed a crossbow from the ground. The bolt released but missed as the Hero dodged by simply moving her head. The other bandits however kicked into gear and began to fire at her. She stayed still, knocking them from the air with scary precision. It was clear she wasn't moving because of me behind her.
"I said stop!" the Hero let out her voice and stomped the ground. The floor shook and the clutter on the floor bounced. A pressure spread through the air.
"Don't be fooled. If you're captured here it's a life in prison or death. Fight for your lives and with everything you've got!" Faith rallied the bandits, playing on their fears as they began to yell in a strange fervour.
The Hero frowned as the bandits lunged at her. They attacked her in groups overcoming her with sheer numbers and slowly pushing her. The problem was she was holding back. If she wanted to, a single sweep of her sword might just kill them all. There was a clear hesitation to kill them in her eyes. I shot my bow and a bandit fell to the ground an arrow in his knee. Their attention turned to me as the Hero was pressed away.
I shot another arrow but I was never good at speed shooting. I was raised not to waste arrows and get it done in one shot. As the few bandits who targeted me charged I started to regret that teaching. I also began to regret not taking a sword before. One of them reached me. He was big, covered in dirt and had a shaggy beard. What chilled me however were his eyes. There was a bloodlust there mixed with panic and a half crazed will to live. I had never seen eyes like that up so close.
"Rain!" the Hero screamed my name. A burst of white light surrounded her and the bandits were flung away. She appeared in front of me as my assailant's blade fell and was knocked aside with ease. Seeing her and how she was really did make me feel insignificant.
"Screw this bitch!" a bandit yelled and rain off to the corner of the room. My eyes locked on to him as the Hero beat away the others. He was heading for the iron seal.
"Stop!" Faith called to him but the man was delirious. He grabbed hold of the mechanism and began to turn the iron gate up as it groaned and a light began to shine from the bars. Whatever was there I didn't want to know and immediately fired an arrow. It flew true and pierced his back knocking him to the floor. The gate which had risen a quarter of the way slammed back done and relief spread through me. Then the sound of it opening came once more. I looked up but the man was still on the ground. There was no one to open it, on this side at least. The gate was being opened from the inside. All of us in the room noticed it. A shadowed hand with white claws holding the bottom of the gate was forcing it up. The runes lit up and whatever was behind it screeched. The sound pierced my ears and forced me to the floor. Only the Hero stood unfazed. No, I was wrong, her hands was shaking.
Suddenly the iron bars split apart and from the darkness beyond something emerged. A cold assaulted my heart freezing my body motionless. The shadowed beast entered the room. It stood tall with long arms attached to overly large hands. Its head jittered with no clear shape but a single fade of light defined its mouth. It reminded me of a denizen of the night but was so much more. With an abrupt snap its head and neck flew down and the man I had shot earlier could only scream as he was eaten.
Well damn it. I was going to die. There was no way anyone could fight that thing. We'd all die. The Hero would die. Ronalt, Ardent, Earnest, Marley, they'd all die and when it was done it would leave here and kill everyone else. My instincts were telling me to run but my body would have none of it as it struggled even to breath.
"Rain!" the Hero's voice knocked my senses back into order. "It's okay just don't let it into your head."
Someone else screamed in terror as the monster's hand clawed through his body and ate the parts left behind. The sight finally got the other bandits moving as they tried to run but the nightmare continued as it came after them with surprising speed.
"May my light guide me and my will never waver," the Hero whispered to herself in determination. Her hair seemed to glow and a warmth entered my heart. Then she charged forward with a powerful grunt. The monster looked at her and they collided. A burst of force threw the clutter around them into the air. What followed I couldn't even fathom as the pair turned against each other and the Hero fought at full strength. When she swung her sword fire leapt out. When her feet hit the ground ice sprang from the floor. When her voice let out the monster would reel back. This was the true power of the Hero and I was stunned.
The creature however was eager to win and seemed to grow in size. Its hand whipped out and caught the Hero's side. She gasped in pain and rolled to the ground breaking the tables and chairs she ploughed through. My body moved and with as much will as I could muster I drew my bow and fired. The monster moved to assault her but my arrow pierced through its body. Such a simple shot would do nothing but there was a clink as it passed through and without warning it pounced at me.
I didn't even have time to draw an arrow let alone dodge. Up close, as it raised its arm to strike me down, I felt what it was. Like the denizens of night it wasn't something normal to this world. It was something that shouldn't exist here. More so than the Monster at the border this thing wasn't natural. Stranger still it felt familiar. Then its arm descended and I di-.
"Stay behind me!" the Hero yelled and blocked the arm. The rock beneath her feet cracked as an enormous pressure built between them. Her body was covered in light and sparked as powerful ripples spread through her body but the nightmare bore down on her even more determined.
Think Rain! How do we kill this thing? When the Hero attacked it before most her strikes passed through its body. Other than its arms and head the rest of it was just a blur of darkness. Yet when I had shot it there was something else there. A core. The knowledge entered my brain. This creature had a core, but where?
I drew my bow as the Hero groaned and was slowly pushed back towards me. The wall behind us was only feet away. There was nowhere to retreat to. Focus. My eyes scanned the dark mist of its body. Somewhere there was something. To have any hope of breaking it I needed to hit it directly. I pulled my bow as far back as possible, feeling the strain in the wood and my arms. There! On the upper right side of its chest beneath its neck something shifted. My arrow flew true and the monster was forced back as it collided with whatever was inside. For a moment its body shifted and revealed an orb. The Hero didn't let up and with a valiant strike swung her sword breaking it to pieces.
The nightmarish creature began to collapse in on itself, screaming as the darkness around it was sucked up and disappeared. The sound strained itself as it fell apart becoming a hiss and finally an eerie sob as if the creature itself cried. Then with a clink all that was left were the white of its claws and a shattered orb. It was over.
The Hero fell to her knees and breathed out in ragged rasps. The entire cavern was a mess with large chunks missing and no resemblance of order. The fact I was somehow uninjured was a testimony to how well the Hero had protected me. If it was just her and the nightmare without anyone to protect, I had the feeling she could have won herself.
"Kill her quickly!" Faith commanded the remaining bandits. Out of the bandits that had been in the room only three were left alive excluding herself. The others had been torn apart by the dark creature and consumed. "She's tired, do it now."
They hesitated. Of course they would after what they had just seen. Still under the pressure they picked up their weapons. The Hero managed to stand and with a single glare they froze.
"Enough," she didn't yell but her voice was tired giving it a cold glaze. "Please just surrender."
Faith's expression crumbled, "F-fine we give up."
"B-boss?" the bandits looked at her confused.
"We've lost," she sighed. "Put down your weapons." They did as they were told and stood as a group as the Hero and I came closer.
The Hero looked at them with a sympathetic melancholy, "Why would you do all this?"
"Does it look like we wanted to?" Faith said as if cursing herself. "We're not rich, we're not like you. No one would accept any of us so we had to fend for ourselves."
"You kidnapped, stole and killed people," the Hero frowned. "By the Kingdom's law you should be imprisoned for life or face death."
Faith kneeled and after a pause so did the other bandits, "I'm sor-, no what we did was unforgiveable. Killing us here… it's what we deserve." She laughed at herself, "After all that's happened to us, to think this is where it ends."
The Hero sheathed her sword, "I… I'm not going to kill you."
"What?" Faith stared at her with wide eyes. "But after what we've done-,"
"Bad things happen to people and sometimes we end up doing things we don't want to," the Hero smiled, though a little weak. "This is your chance to start a new life. Take it."
Faith began to tear up, "I'm truly sorry for all I've done. I promise you we'll change!"
"Come on Rain, we're done here," the Hero gestured me to follow and together we left the bandits to clean up the mess of what remained.
For several minutes we walked in silence while looking for Ronalt and the others. The system of tunnels looked the same but the Hero was somehow able to guide us with relative ease. I on the other hand was forcing my brain to remember every turn and passage. Finally the tunnel began to widen and it opened up to the forest above. Though the sky was covered in clouds the light was refreshing to my eyes.
"Oh no," I searched my body.
"What is it?" the Hero looked at me in concern.
"I dropped something," I began to walk back into the cave. "Don't worry I'll be right back just wait there."
"Hang on, I'll come wit-,"
"I know the way and there's no more danger so just wait here in case the others show up," I smiled reassuringly and left before she could say another word.