Aldrich met Sir Andrius at the city gates at dawn as he had instructed. Andrius was waiting for him with his own horse.
"Did anyone see you leave?" Andrius asked. Aldrich shook his head. "Okay, let's set off. It'll take the day to make it there."
His father would be furious once he found out Aldrich was gone. But, better to ask for forgiveness than permission. They rode in silence until Aldrich couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.
"So, what exactly is happening in the South Province?"
Andrius gave him a look of disbelief. "You insisted on coming without even knowing what you were walking into?"
"I know... enough," Aldrich defended. "I'd just like to know a bit more. Especially about dragons, I thought they were just fairy tales."
Andrius shook his head. "Less of a fairy tale and more of a legend. About a century ago, dragons roamed this land. Vile creatures who hunted humans for fun. Burnt whole villages to the ground on a whim, they seemed to revel in destruction. The worst of them being Abaddon the fell dragon, their king."
He paused to take a breath before continuing. "A group of warriors, the first of the virtued, banded together and challenged Abaddon. They emerged victorious and scattered the dragon's soul across the land."
Aldrich had heard all this before, his mother used to tell him the tale before bed when he was younger. "But what does this have to do with the South Province?"
Andrius sighed. "What the legend doesn't say is that though its soul was scattered, that does not mean it died. Remnants of its soul have resurfaced over the years in various places, bringing death and destruction to them. According to the king, one of said fragments has surfaced in the South province. The largest one he's sensed ever before."
"Wait so, there's a chance we run into a creature that dangerous," Aldrich asked nervously. "And you were going to face it alone?"
A small laugh escaped Andrius' lips. "Having second thoughts about tagging along? I work better alone, other people would just slow me down."
His eyes were directly on Aldrich as he mentioned the slowing down part.
"There's no need to worry. This is merely a reconnaissance mission. If what we find proves too much for even I to handle, we will return to the kingdom for cavalry."
Andrius' confidence was reassuring. He was a Knight commander, after all. He was very good friends with Aldrich's father and over the years had even helped in his sword training from time to time. But Aldrich had never seen him in a serious fight. He wasn't quite sure about his Virtue either.
Aldrich lost himself in thought, and they travelled the rest of the way in silence.
×
There was a shift in the atmosphere as they neared the South province early the next day. A chill ran down Aldrich's spine. Andrius seemed to have felt it, too.
"Keep your weapon at the ready," Andrius warned. His voice grave. "This may be more dangerous than I anticipated."
Aldrich swallowed and nodded nervously. He had brought one of his father's swords with him. It was strapped to his back in a scabbard.
The horses began to grow more restless the closer they got until they could no longer control them. Andrius instructed him to get down, they'd walk the rest of the way. They tied the horses to a nearby tree to keep them from running away and set off on foot.
The first thing to hut Aldrich as they entered the town was the smell. He almost gagged on the smell of burnt flesh. And then he saw it, a corpse. One of many, littering the streets of the town. They were beyond recognising. Most seemed to have been almost melted by some kind of fluid. Aldrich held a hand to his mouth to keep from throwing up.
Andrius' eyes narrowed as he observed the situation. "Stay here, whatever did this could still be around. I will continue alone."
Stay here? Alone? When whatever slaughtered these people could still be around. But Aldrich just nodded instead of voicing his fears. He hadn't come all the way here just to be a burden on Sir Andrius.
He watched as Sir Andrius walked past the bodies, deeper into the town. Soon, he was out of sight, and Aldrich stood alone. The dead silence was eerie. He slid his sword out of its scabbard and gripped its hilt tightly.
A voice came from behind him. "Oh, a human. And they're still alive."
Aldrich almost jumped out of his skin. He left back and brought his sword forward. In front of him was... a boy.
"Woah," the boy said, pushing Aldrich's sword out of his face. "Be careful with that."
"Sorry about that." Aldrich replied as he lowered it. So there was a survivor, Aldrich sighed with relief. He could at least protect this boy till Andrius came back, if nothing else. But then he looked closer at the boy, there was something a little off about him.
He was a bit shorter than Aldrich, with short brown hair, which seemed to be turning white at the tips on one side. But the most curious thing was his left eye, which was a luminescent green while his other was brown. Its pupil also seemed thinner than usual, almost reptilian.
The boy spoke. "Yes I know, but we can't just leave him alone out here.... No, we can't.... okay fine, we'll go in a second."
"Who are you-..." Aldrich asked, confused.
The strange boy ignored his question. "It's dangerous here."
Aldrich straightened up and cleared his throat. "Yes it is, which is exactly why I'm here. I am Aldrich, a uh, knight from the capital. Don't worry, now that we're here, you'll be safe."
The boy tilted his head. "We? There's another one around here?"
Aldrich nodded, "Yes. But more importantly, what happened here. What attacked you people. Was it... the fell dragon?"
"Well, in a way, you could say so." The boy replied.
Aldrich had been hoping for a negative answer, but even so, he continued with a follow-up question. "And where is it now?"
The boy spoke, but once again, not to him. "Fine, but only until you retrieve the fragment. And don't try to seal me away again."
Then his head dropped suddenly, as if he had lost consciousness. Aldrich extended a hand slowly, "Are you okay? The fell dragon, where is it now?"
The boy raised his head once more. But something was different, his almost shy expression had changed. Now he wore a large, devilish grin. The white in the tips of his hair started spread, until all of it had turned white. Aldrich retracted his hand quickly.
"Humans these days. Don't even know when they're in the presence of greatness." The boy said, but he sounded different. "You're looking right at him, boy."
×
Aldrich stared at the boy bewildered. What had he just said? Aldrich reached out a hand onto his shoulder.
"You must have hit your head. Don't worry, I'll take care of you. And we can get you some medical treatment back at the capital."
The boy stared at Aldrich's hand on his shoulder with a completely unamused expression. "You dare lay a hand on me? The audacity."
Aldrich dropped to the ground. It felt as if a massive weight had been dropped onto his back. It suddenly became harder to breathe.
Above him, the boy let out a cruel laugh, which seemed to echo in Aldrich's ears. "That's more like it.... What? I haven't even touched him. It's just a little pressure, not my fault humans are so fragile... fine, whatever."
After those words, the pressure seemed to lift, and Aldrich's breathing returned to normal. He got back to his feet and took a few steps back from the boy.
"Who a-are you," he got out in-between heavy breaths.
"Are you slow, boy?," the boy replied. "I go by many names. But I believe you humans call me 'Abaddon'."
"Oh, okay." Aldrich answered. And then he felt himself falling as the world turned black.