September 6, 535
Eldric left the meeting room and immediately saw Michael standing on the other side of the door. He was leaned up against the wall and his arms were crossed.
"I thought you were going to wait outside-" Eldric was interrupted by Michael, who pushed him aside and entered the large room.
"Wait for me at the gate. When I'm finished we're leaving." Without turning around, Michael slammed the doors shut, leaving Eldric alone in the hallway.
There were several guards who stood throughout the long hallway, one of whom escorted Eldric out of the building. As he stepped outside, he looked back at the tower which loomed over him, knowing something was being discussed in the room above. He tried to put it to the back of his head and returned to his room underground to retrieve the duo's items.
* * *
"It's very rude of you to barge your way in without permission, Mikey." Paulek stood tall above Michael as she wiped her brow with her handkerchief. "I thought we agreed that I would talk to Freeman, and that was all you wanted for our deal to go through."
"What did you discuss?" Michael stood defiantly against the large woman, planting his feet firm to the ground. He gripped his gun as he spoke, wary of the direction the conversation might turn.
"So needy, Mikey. Isn't it polite not to ask about others' conversations? What me and Mr. Eldric talked of should be none of your concern."
"Why was it important to talk to him, and not me?"
"You're asking questions of me which I don't feel inclined to answer. Mikey, you should know your tactics won't work against me, like Mr. Eldric."
Michael bit his lip. "Then let's strike another deal!" He exclaimed. "You tell me the details and I'll-"
"No." Michael took a step back. Paulek's voice deepened as she took several large steps towards him. Her large figure shook the ground as she walked, quickly decreasing the distance between the two. When she had gotten as close as she could get, her entire head was directly over Michael, casting a large shadow over his face. "There are no deals to be made. I do not wish to speak with you, nor do you have any right to speak with me. You can't expect everything to be in your realm of knowledge. If Mr. Eldric wishes to speak with you about what we talked about, then he's more than free to disclose it. But you shall get nothing out of me." Her voice lightened as she grew a devilish smile across her face. "Do we understand?"
Michael hesitated but nodded his head. Immediately, Paulek pushed away from Michael, returning to her seat across the room. She shooed him away and Michael turned to open the door. Before he stepped out, he turned back to Paulek. "Don't do anything to Eldric."
Paulek smiled. "Duly noted. I'm hardly the biggest danger to dear Eldric's life, but duly noted."
* * *
When Michael was escorted out of the building, he couldn't find Eldric at the gate like he'd instructed. Instead of looking for him, he walked over to the gate and stood there, waiting for Eldric's arrival.
Several minutes went by before Eldric arrived at the gate carrying two small felt patches. They were in the image of a feline creature with a long curly tail. The patch was entirely black apart from the creature's glowing green eyes. Eldric extended one of the two patches to Michael, who bore a look of confusion as he stared at the patch.
"Otto—sorry—one of the guards gave these to me as a good luck charm. Apparently Reinbose worships these cat creatures like they're gods. It changes its coat of fur to the seasons and it's also a very wise creature. I think it's pretty cool."
Michael swatted Eldric's hand away. "I don't believe in luck."
Eldric didn't respond. He put the patches in his pockets and followed Michael out of Abatu. As the distance between them and the outpost increased, he turned around and saw the large woman Paulek standing on her balcony. He couldn't tell if she was smiling or not, nor what exactly she was doing on the balcony, but he knew she was watching them, waiting for Eldric's reply.
The two walked for some time in silence, and the sun slowly moved overhead. Azure ravens echoed through the wasteland as the dirt beneath their feet crunched. Eldric remained a pace behind Michael as he clutched the patch in his pocket.
Michael is very powerful, and all I am trying to do is issue you a warning. As Eldric looked to the sky, he was taken back to his discussion with Paulek. Michael's been at my side this whole time. Is he as dangerous to me as Paulek makes him out to be? That I'm not manipulated by him and so he wants to learn about me? He turned to Michael as his head swerved in every direction. Working against Michael. What does that mean? Why would she allow him safe passage to Reinbose in that case? Eldric scratched his head vigorously. One of the two is lying to me, but who? Paulek never met me before, so she could be believed because there's nothing for her to lose. At the same time, Michael's never done anything to harm me, much less deceive me. He's been as honest as they come. What do I do?
"Eldric." Michael didn't turn around as he gripped his gun and continued to swivel his head from side to side. Eldric escaped his thoughts as his head jolted up. "What did you discuss with Paulek?"
"Nothing much. She asked me a few questions and I did the same."
"Ah. All right." Michael pressed forward, and the two plunged into silence once again.
"You talked with her too, right?" Eldric caught up with Michael, looking at him from a lower angle. "What'd you two talk about."
Michael rolled his eyes. "We didn't. She didn't want to speak with me at all and kicked me out as soon as I'd gone in."
"Damn. Well, it's not like she's any enjoyable to talk with, right?"
"Sure."
Ahead of them, a school of dust hares popped from the ground and scurried about. They ran into one of the craters nearby and burrowed themselves deep into the dirt and sand. An azure raven swooped in from the skies and began to pick at the hole the hares made.
"I'm curious," Michael put his gun around his shoulder and held onto the strap. "How did you end up in the Land of Solitude? Einrich isn't exactly an easy nation to escape."
Eldric laughed. "I didn't escape, they let me go. As for why-" He looked at the ground. "Unimportant."
"When I met you in Clerud, you'd said that Einrich was following you. Do you still believe that?"
Eldric nodded. "I do. I don't know why they would, but I have a feeling they are."
"And you still believe they know you're coming to Reinbose? What if they assume you wanted to go to the northern countries, like you originally did?"
"If they do, then that's better for me." Eldric looked at Michael and squinted. "Why so inquisitive today?"
Michael shrugged. "It keeps us busy. Nothing more than that."
"So what if I start to ask about you?"
Michael outstretched his arms. "You wouldn't find anything of note, that's for sure."
"So then why did you come to the Land of Solitude?"
Michael's eyes narrowed. "Who knows? It was a long time ago, I don't remember details like that."
"How long ago?"
"I-I don't know, I lost track of the time. It happens when you've been out here for so long."
"That's not what Paulek said."
Michael's head jolted to look at Eldric. "Then what did she say?"
Eldric chuckled. "Nothing at all, I just thought I'd push your buttons."
Michael shoved Eldric. "That wasn't funny."
Eldric laughed as Michael continued on. "Oh, come on! Lighten up a bit. I know you've got a sense of humor; you wouldn't stop laughing at me in Clerud."
"That's because you wouldn't stop saying ridiculous things."
"And I wasn't the only one," Eldric continued as he caught his breath, "you thought my dad was Leo something something!"
Michael stopped walking. He faced Eldric with a serious look on his face, clearly done with joking. Eldric still bore a smile but slowly lost it as the two looked at one another. "He's not Leo something something," Michael yelled, "he's Leodric! He was- No. He is a great man, and you could learn a thing or two from him. He once stopped a battle between a thousand men with a single word from his mouth. Soldier's yearned to live the way Leodric did!"
The two stood against one another as the wind blew through their hair. The azure ravens had stopped their calls briefly, lending near silence between the two. Eldric's smile faded as Michael stood up straight and continued walking.
"Then there's no mistaking it," Eldric mentioned bearing a slight smile on his face. "That man isn't my father at all."
Michael stopped.
"Stopping a battle? Yeah, right. My father sits in a bar all day wishing he could do something as incredible as that. Then, he lets his son go to the army without so much as raising a finger. This Leodric wouldn't've done that, right?" Eldric scoffed. "Well, whatever. Once I'm in Reinbose I can cast that all away."
Michael looked at Eldric. He didn't say anything has he faced forward and pressed on.
* * *
As the two continued for another hour or so, the clear sky lent the sun to roast the ground below them and the air around them. The temperature rose quickly as soon the two began to sweat underneath their clothing. September wasn't usually a hot month, but today it certainly was.
Ahead, Eldric began to see hallucinations and strange lines that levitated over the horizon. He stumbled as he reached for his water, which quickly rejuvenated him to continue pressing. Michael was much better prepared. He constantly rehydrated himself while his head continued to swivel about his neck.
"Michael."
"Yeah?"
"What's this favor you're having me do? You know, since we're getting closer to Reinbose, I thought I'd ask."
"Well-"
As Michael replied to Eldric's question, his ears began ringing as they felt like they were about to jump out of his skull. His brain rattled inside his head as the headache he experienced in Clerud returned. His vision became dizzy as he attempted to stay planted at his feet but to no avail. Eldric crouched to the ground as he screamed out in pain, echoing across the desolate plains.
"What the hell?! Again?!" Michael leaped into action, laying Eldric down and feeding him water. The headache went on for much longer than it had in Clerud, and Michael began to sift through his bag as he tried to calm Eldric down. After another minute of Eldric screaming so loud it could rupture ears, he slowly calmed down as the headache dissipated.
"Seriously. What the hell is that? What's with your head?!" Michael said, slapping Eldric's back as he sat up.
Eldric shook his head. "I don't know. Seriously, I don't. I've never gotten them like this before."
"You need to let me know when this pain is starting. Last time it was hunters, who knows if you called someone to our location this time."
Eldric looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, I'll look into it at Reinbose."
"Shh." Michael put his finger to Eldric's lips as he suddenly jumped to his feet. Michael returned his hand to his gun and pointed it at the horizon. Eldric rose to his feet as well and opened his mouth to ask what he'd seen but remained silent as the merchant carefully aimed his rifle.
Eldric continued to look off at the horizon, and almost on cue a group of horseback riders appeared from the horizon, approaching their location quickly. He tried counting them all, but as soon as the number reached ten he could tell they were at a disadvantage. Eldric glanced at Michael and waited for instructions.
"Fire your gun."
Eldric took a step forward. "At them?"
"No, you dumbass." Michael mumbled his instructions as he continued to point his rifle towards the riders. "Shoot it at the sky, slightly backwards so it doesn't hit anyone when it falls. Universal sign of discussion."
Eldric nodded and did as he was told. He pointed his small gun to the sky, aimed slightly backwards. With a little pressure he squeezed the trigger and a loud boom radiated from the barrel of the pistol. His ears rang as the recoil of the gun shook his arm. He opened his eyes and Michael's aim on the horses continued. Looking off to the horizon once more, he could see the riders nearing as quickly as they were before.
"If they respond in kind, we'll have a civil discussion." Michael spoke with a cautious tone. "If they don't, we gotta fight."
Eldric put his hand on Michael's shoulder but was knocked away. "We're outnumbered twenty times over, we can't fight them."
"And you suggest we run? Just wait for my instructions. Everything will work out." Michael increased his grip on the rifle, still pointed directly at the group of horse riders.
The riders neared the two, enough so that Eldric could see how many. When he finished counting, the number reached twenty-six. They rode in three groups, with one group ahead of the other two. The lead rider wore a dark grey cloak and a hood covered his face. When they reached about two hundred meters from them, Michael fired his gun towards them, missing on purpose and landing on the dirt several meters in front of them. Immediately the group responded by repeating the discussion signal, a gun shot in the air.
Michael lowered his gun and hoisted it around his shoulder. Eldric was instructed to put his gun away and he did so. The two stood firm as the group of horses quickly approached them.
The riders who weren't the leader wore a lighter shade of gray on their cloak with no hood to obscure their faces. Men and women alike rode side by side, each housing a more grim face than the last. When they at last arrived at Michael and Eldric, they surrounded them by creating a circle some meters from their location. The horses stopped and the two groups looked each other down.
After the standoff reached five minutes or so, the leader in the dark grey cloak removed his hood revealing a dark man with a large red scar across his face. He bore a large mustache and long black hair that was tied up out of his face. When he jumped off his horse, the other riders did the same, holding their horses by the mane.
"If I wasn't mistaken, that is Michael Hickhox!" The dark man exclaimed, bearing bright white teeth. "How lucky of us, to investigate an unknown noise and to find the gold treasure himself. It sure has been a while since we've seen you out of your usual habitat, hasn't it?"
"I see your influence has grown since we last crossed paths, Zaorth." Michael remained firmly planted on the ground. His hands shifted into a position where if he needed to he could quickly pull out his rifle. "Don't you know this is Paulek's land? What is The Enclave doing here?"
The dark man Zaorth smiled gleefully. "Oh, we're more than aware, Michael Hickhox. We're under a sort of agreement, a contract of sorts."
"The Paulek I know wouldn't ever make a deal with bandits like you."
Zaorth shrugged. "Times have changed, Hickhox. The Paulek you knew went out of style a decade ago. Deals like ours are made all the time, who else is going to protect all the land she holds?"
Michael bit his tongue.
"That said, you're not the only one getting culture shock. I mean, Michael Hickhox with a companion?!" Zaorth turned to his members who all began to chuckle amongst themselves. "Boy." He began speaking to Eldric. "I don't know what you did, but you did something no one could ever do!"
Michael stepped in front of Eldric. "He's not a companion, we're under an agreement as you are with Paulek. Like you said, times have changed."
Zaorth laughed with his comrades before returning to his serious look once again. "Now, Hickhox." His voice became extremely deep as his forehead cast a shadow across the rest of his face. "Normally, I'd ask if you'd received permission from Paulek for passage to Reinbose, but I'm not concerned with that at the moment. Truth be told, we've received word that several of my lackeys were found dead in Clerud. Now, I'm not one to place blame or anything, but we did have a cordial meeting with you in Clerud only a day or two ago. Now, I find it quite strange that the day we were to have this meeting, with you no less, is the day my friends are seen dead. Quite honestly, Hickhox, I'm about three seconds from killing you. So speak."
"I-"
Before Michael could say anything, Zaorth leapt forward and grabbed his face, slamming him to the ground. The other riders did nothing, looking onward as Michael was pressed by the large man. Eldric took a step back, taking his gun out and pointing it at the dark man.
"You won't." Zaorth mocked Eldric as he bore a large smile on his face.
"Let go of him," Eldric stated.
Zaorth sighed before turning to one of his compatriots. He nodded and immediately the gun was shot out of Eldric's hand. His smile grew larger as the pupils in his eyes dilated. He turned back to Michael who struggled to relinquish himself from Zaorth's grip. Using his other hand, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out a small handgun similar to what Eldric used in the empire. He pointed it at Michael and whispered something in his ear. He pulled his hand away and sat on Michael, putting the gun to his head.
"This is where Michael Hickhox ends, isn't it?"
Michael spat at Zaorth. "Far from it."
Eldric tried to think of something to do. He glanced around at his surroundings, looking for something to aid Michael in any way possible. He couldn't reach his gun without the riders noticing and there wasn't anything except his belongings on him, which wouldn't do anything to the powerful Zaorth. It's hopeless, Eldric thought. Michael will die here and I will follow suit.
"Augh!" Eldric grabbed his head. The raging headache which caused all this returned once more. As he tried to rub the pain out, he opened his eyes. Instantly the pain dissipated as his shock overcame it. The world, which to him was surrounded in browns, yellows, and the blue sky, had become completely monochrome. Everyone around him had seized moving and even the birds were held in place. Eldric glanced around. He could move just fine, but he couldn't move anyone else.
"Hello, Eldric."
A voice came from behind Eldric. A young boy in a white shirt stood before him with a slight smirk.
"You're-"
"It's been some time, a few days! Wow!" The boy jumped in the air in celebration. "Congrats on making it this far, Eldric!"
Eldric stepped forward. "What do you want? Last time you were here you completely ruined everything for me! Are you here to do it again!?"
The boy shook his head. "I'm here to help as I did before. I do owe you for that time in the market, of course."
"Consider your debt repaid. I don't want your 'help' anymore."
"Eldric, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but if I don't help out, Michael Hickhox will die. Of course, if you want that to happen, I can leave things alone and make sure you don't die!"
Eldric's jaw dropped. He looked at Michael and behind him towards Abatu. If he'd returned to the outpost announcing Michael's death, Paulek would certainly do something for him. A full trip to Reinbose without the worries of anyone. He turned back to the boy, who's youthful expression never faded. "How do I help Michael?"
"Well, you'll need to get in the way of Zaorth's handgun without it killing you. Come, let's get you situated." The boy skipped over to Michael and Zaorth and knelt by the two. Eldric did not move and stared at the boy with a look of frustration. "You don't know if you should, isn't that right? Well, look at it this way: I help you, and you get to Reinbose in the span of a short nap!"
"What?"
The boy covered his mouth with both of his small hands. "Sorry, I spoke too much. Just know that helping Michael is the right thing to do!"
Eldric looked at the boy, who's smile had turned into a look of concern. He looked back once more at Paulek's outpost, and back at Michael. He switched his gaze several more times before returning to the boy and nodding. "Alright, let's do it."
The boy's smile returned. "Okie dokie!" He snapped his fingers and instantaneously switched the places of Eldric and Michael. Zaorth's gun was now pointed at Eldric's chest, which send shivers down Eldric's spine. "Alright! It was wonderful to see you as always, Eldric. See ya!"
The boy snapped his fingers and Eldric's headache returned. He went to rub the pain away, but it was completely overcome by a ringing in his ears and a sharp pain in his chest. He'd been shot. As he opened his eyes he saw blood escaping his body at an alarming rate and a look on Zaorth's face of disbelief.
"You-"
Eldric didn't respond. He was too focused on the immense pain stemming from his chest. Michael looked on at the scene. He gripped his own chest and tugged at his shirt. Zaorth quickly rose to his feet and waved his gun around in Michael's direction.
"What the hell did you do?! I knew you were bad but bad enough to sacrifice your own comrade?! You're dead, Hickhox."
As Zaorth leapt once more at Hickhox, who's vision began to narrow. He looked down at Eldric who wasn't moving and back at Zaorth. The Enclave riders whipped their guns out and began to shoot at Michael, but he effortlessly dodged each one. Zaorth neared him and he jumped out of the way, kicking the back of Zaorth's head into the ground. He turned to a group of riders who were reloading their guns and stepped towards them.
"You are the target."
The soldiers stopped for a moment before completing their reloading, and moved their guns to their chin in a trance-like fashion. All at once, they shot themselves through the neck, killing them instantly. The other riders looked on in shock as some dropped their weapons and began scrambling to jump onto their horses. Michael melancholically strided towards Zaorth, who was still picking himself off the ground. Michael grabbed him by the collar and whispered into his ear.
"Shoot your comrades, kill every last one."
Zaorth's pupils dilated once more. His body went limp and he rose to his feet like a marionette tied to strings. He loaded his gun and pointed to the riders, who all began to scream his name. Some ran away. Some continued to scramble to their horses. All of them slain in a matter of seconds.
Awakening from his trance, Zaorth looked around at his fellow soldiers before turning back to Michael. "You demon," he mumbled. "You are the scum of the earth."
"You are the target." Michael locked his eyes with Zaorth as he mumbled his final command. Zaorth's body tensed up as he attempted to defy Michael's commands but was ultimately unsuccessful. He pointed the gun to his chin and fought against his own finger to keep his life.
"You'll pay! YOU'LL PA-" Zaorth's head exploded into a thousand pieces, sending blood and pink secretions everywhere. Michael swatted away the small chunks of his head and took a deep breath. He looked at his surroundings. He saw the people who'd killed themselves, his enemies. Off in the distance, he saw a young soldier running on foot away from the scene. He let him go as consolation. He then remembered. Eldric.
Jolting his head around, he saw Eldric who'd begun spazzing on the ground due to blood loss. He dashed over to him and reached into his bag to pull out a bandage which is wrapped around Eldric's chest. No words were spoken as he did this, Eldric concentrated on his breathing as Michael sat him up to complete the bandage wrapping. When he'd finished, he called over a horse and hoisted Eldric's unconscious body over the back.
"Let's get you to Greenwood," Michael said stoically as he jumped to the horses back and commanded it to run. The horse took off towards Reinbose as the sun neared the horizon.