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Brother of Heroes

Prolouge

”Don’t you dare come back here until you have become a hero like your brothers!”
That was the last thing my mom shouted to me when I suddenly got thrown out of my own home in the rain. That makes you wonder “Why did she do that? That was uncalled for!” well I may have the answer. You see.. being a hero is kind of in the family..
Let me explain this more clearly. I have 3 older brothers who all have become very successful on their adventures over the continent of Rubra. My oldest brother managed to slay a dragon all on his own, when it normally takes several adventurer teams for the task at hand. He took the money and settled down somewhere across the sea, he said he is going after the rumored gargantuan beasts of the south, he sends us letters from time to time though . The horns from the dragon he slained are hanging over the stove right now though. Perfect as a decoration, that my mom uses to brag to our neighbors and also surprisingly enough, perfect to dry our clothes on.
Lets move on to my second oldest brother who have explored the whole continent and found several rare magical treasures who people thought have been lost for eternity and he also founded one of the most successful and famous adventure guilds on the continent. He is still busy being a guildleader but he is the one of my brothers who visits me and mom the most here on the farm. So he atleast keeps in touch with us.
Oh don’t forget the second youngest brother of mine, he is only 2 years older than me but I can’t understand how he managed to save a princess from your typical gang of bandits and she fell for him without any questions or objections. By the way, their royal wedding will be held in some months from now.
And so there is me, Cassander, the normal one. I can’t really say I have any outstanding features like my older brothers.. I am not very brave, not a very good fighter and I am definitely not very charismatic if you compare me with them, I suck at getting attention, my looks aren’t nothing to brag about either even though they could have been worse. I have lived on this farm my whole life, haven’t done anything else than the necessary chores for daily life . And that is the reason my beloved mother tugs my clothes and threw me out in the rainstorm. That lady is stronger than she look that’s for sure. She probably thought it was my turn to take my steps out in the world becoming as famous and respected as my brothers. Yeah sure like that could happen to me.. She was at least kind enough to throw out some bread and money through the window for me to take. I didn’t have a choice than to start a adventure or I would never be able to come home again. When my mom said something she meant it to!
“Okay Cass calm down, you have heard enough stories about adventurers to become one yourself right?.. It can’t be that hard, finding a party.. doing quests..slaying dragons, rescue princesses. That’s a piece of cake! But the first thing I have to do is to get to the neighboring village and find some place to stay before I get completely soaked.” I told myself. We didn’t have any horses left though.. so going there by foot would take about 3 hours. Okay forget the part about “before getting soaked” I am glad if I get there without getting a cold to boot. But I was rather walking in the rain getting somewhere than to just stand there getting cold for nothing. So I took my things.., the bread, the little bag with money, an old rusty knife and then turned my head to the farm I have called home for 18 years. “Goodbye then.. I come back someday..and then I do I will be famous and a hero, just like my brothers, just wait and see” I said with a determined look in my face and then took sturdy steps from my homegrounds. Not being sure if this was a very good idea.

Chapter 1

The sun shone so brightly so it was easy to forget that it was a complete rainstorm last night. A storm I had to walk in for over 3 hours from home to finally get to the tavern in the village called Little Root, that have gotten its name from the large quantity of edible roots from the trees growing in the area. The village was famous for the beer they managed to make out of those brown blistered roots. Not that I had any clue on how they managed to do it.

Now wasn’t the time to wonder about cheap beer anyways. I had no clue of what I should do next from here. There wasn’t really any time to plan anything because I got kicked out of home so suddenly. It was a miracle that I managed to get to the village without getting attacked by any animal considering that I am armed with nothing but a rusty little pocket knife. That was probably the most important thing to do today, getting myself a real weapon. And I must also get information on where the closest “Adventurers guild” base where too. Did I have enough money for lifting on a carriage? I opened the little pouch to find 15 silver coins and 25 copper coins. Atleast I could by myself a proper knife and a decent cloak but the rest wouldn’t be enough for a carriage ride. And it also made me wonder when my mom managed to save up this money, for how long have she planned to force me on this trip anyways? But wondering about that would only consume time, it was better to make my way downstairs for some breakfast and information.

The innkeeper seemed very busy considering it being so early in the morning. Something about there were leaks in the roof. But I sat down at a empty table waiting for anyone to come and ask for my order. There was one waitress buzzing around the room serving their newly awake customers. She was pretty cute, probably around 16 years old with freckles on her face. The problem here was that she ran past my table several times but never stopped by to ask for my order. I didn’t want to seem rude so I waited for her to notice me and come to my table but had enough of it when I had waited for over 40 minutes without any service so I made a small cough that she immediately noticed and hurried over to my table. “Good morning, did you wait long?” she asked with a brilliant smile, I was about to tell her about how I waited for her in over 40 minutes but I kept quiet about it instead and said. “Not that long, what can you offer from the kitchen?” I asked. Before I even got a answer did she run in a hurry to the kitchen soon coming out with some fresh chicken-stew and mashed roots and placed on the table. “Have a nice meal” she added with a professional smile and then hurried to the next table with a pretty handsome villager waiting to order. I sighed tiredly, this always happened as fast I actually visited villages, and that wasn’t often . I am not the type that people easily remember the face on or pay attention to. I would rather say it is easy to forget me. One time when I was young did even my own mother forget me in the marketplace so I had to walk home by myself. She didn’t notice a thing she thought I was playing on the fields like I always did. I still remember how embarrassed she looked when I showed up there at the door all muddy and bruised after running home.

The taverns food was a bit tasteless but it kept me from going hungry at least. I left the payment on the table and then went outside to look for a weapon shop or a blacksmith. After asking around for locations did a nice old lady show me to Little Roots blacksmith.



The blacksmith looked a bit suspiciously at me, like he wondered why I even was there. “What do you want, kid?” he grunted while observing me. “I would like a weapon please, do you have any cheap swords or good sharpened daggers?” he rose his eyebrow hearing my question and looked at me again. “You look like you never used a sword before, why would you need that for?” he muttered. I swallowed and tried to look as determined as possible. “I will become an adventurer” the blacksmith grunted hearing this statement. “Adventurer you say? Sorry kid but the life of an adventurer wont suit you, you will be killed immediately if you stepped out into the wilds, besides..my swords are the heavy twohanded types, you probably won’t be able to lift them. I got newly made dagger though that maybe fits your tastes more, but I will only sell it if you prove you won’t cut of your fingers with it” he said with a sharp glance at me. I understood his worry, many farmers convinced themselves they would be good adventurers, most of the time they would get killed by animals or by their own weapons. I was a bit disappointed he wouldn’t even let me look at the swords but he laid the dagger in my hand and led me to his backyard where some scarecrows were standing. He took out some glowing dust from his pockets and blew it at the scarecrows and they suddenly started moving, the blacksmith pointed at the moving scarecrows and grunted “Let me see how you cut them down and I consider selling that dagger to you for a good price” he grunted. I nodded and turned to the scarecrows. “Okay Cass you can do this, it is like fending of the critters form the crops at home or defending yourself against a wolf” I thought to myself as I found a good stance. The dagger was way different from that rusty old knife I am used to wielding, this dagger was sharp, light and could probably cut my own throat if I were not careful while wielding it. I suddenly lashed out at the scarecrow at the left aiming for its wooden arm, I only had to do one quick slash and the arm fell off. I smiled feeling I actually could do this and continued to slash efficiently against the scarecrows. The swung their wooden arms against me but I dodged and then aimed for their legs. One of the few good features I have are my quick hands, one scarecrow have gotten right behind me now and I saw an opporunity so I immediatly stretched out my leg on the ground for the scarecrow in a attempt to make it trip so it lost its balance and when it started to wobble to regain it .I took the chance and aimed a high kick on it so the scarecrow that it toppled over and fell at the ground as I slashed against its head with the dagger held firmly. “Hey kid stop stop! Its mincemeat..mincewood anyway.” The blacksmith shouted to me after some minutes and I stopped as he walked to my side. “Not that bad for a beginner, your stance is a bit shaky and you need some serious training in where to aim but you won’t kill yourself at least if I sell that dagger to you. You would definitely need a teacher to train under if you want to improve and get a proper class for your adventure..I know some thieves in the area that are pretty good and..” he said but I looked at him doubtfully. “Thief..? no wait I don’t want to become a thief..thieves only sneak around and steal money they aren’t good as heroes, people don't notice them” I complained but the blacksmith just grunted again. “Thats the point of it, so you said you will become a hero huh? Sorry kid but if you want to survive in the adventurer business then you should pick a class that suits you the best, You are good with a dagger, you focus on agile moves rather than powerful ones. That kick you did was a perfect feint and you don’t need a genius to see that you are quick with your hands to. And I bet you got a good sense for money to. Ever tried pick-pocketing? You get the hang of it I am sure of it.” He said looking determined. But not as determined as me! Seriously I don’t want to become a thief! And there was nobody here that would tell me what I could become. But I needed a weapon, and the blacksmith offered the dagger for nearly no money at all. The thoughts about what class I should take echoed in my head.., choosing a class is essential for becoming an adventurer. Its your profession, what you specialize in. There are so many classes and specializations I can barely count all of them. But I have never studied under a teacher..I don’t know anything for any class. The blacksmith claimed I would become a good thief, but being a warrior or a knight was more in my mind than sneaking around in the shadows. Becoming a mage or a cleric was out of the question. I would probably have no talent at all in magic and my faith in god wasn’t strong enough to even make a single prayer work. Besides, my heroic brothers were warrior,knight and warrior. It runs in the family I bet I also have the ability to become one under the right teacher.



I was quite absentminded when I made my way to the clothing store the blacksmith recommended to me after buying the dagger that now was firmly attached to my belt. I would need something warm and sturdy if I should continue to travel. Getting a armor was out of the question, that costs a lot of money. I would need to earn some money by doing quests first. But affording new clothes was a possibility at least and the old lady tending to the store smiled at me as I entered. “Welcome dear, would you like a cloak with sewn raven feathers on? Its half the original price” she said as she showed me a black cloak with large black feathers around the hood. But her warm smile didn’t fool me, the cloak was a fake. Those so called raven feathers were the feathers belonging to a black rooster I saw outside my window this morning, there were some spots where its feathers were gone and now probably all were placed on that tacky cloak. I don’t have a lot of money and I would like to spend it on something more dependable. “No thank you, I would like a new jacket and pants, that would be enough” I answered politely and the old lady looked quite disappointed that she couldn’t squeeze more money out of me. My mom always told me that I was the stingiest out of my brothers.. But I didn’t really see it as a bad thing..

I left the store now dressed in a thick moss green shirt with a black vest and sturdy black trousers and newly repaired boots,my brand new dagger was firmly attached to my belt and my clothes wouldn’t break that easily. I had a map and my room in the inn have been paid for, there was time to continue to the adventurers guild for now. I looked ready for a adventure now and I felt ready too but it is never easy to leave a place calmly, isn’t it?



Loud screams and swearing could be heard a bit farther away from me and I could catch the glance of a brown horse running amok in the center of the village. It was kicking and bucking like crazy, remembered me of when I tried to feed the old mare on our farm with moms leftovers. The reaction was the same. There wasn’t anyone in sight who actually did anything to stop the horse, the situation could turn sour anytime soon, somebody could get kicked in the head! Suddenly did one idea strike me like lightning, why didn’t I stop the horse? One good deed of many to start on the path of the hero. Actually thinking it over for more than 3 times, it was a good idea. So I decided that I should help out, it was the right thing to o. There were some barrels in the corner of the square that I climbed upon unnoticed by the upset villagers and waited for my chance, for the wild horse to get close enough. I didn’t have to wait for long, as fast as it got close to the barrels did I out of nowhere jump from them landing on its flank and surprised shouts could be heard from the villagers. I remembered about what I did when our own old horse did the same as this wild mare, I leaned over and grabbed its mane and forced my entire body-weight back making her head bend upwards, this was a trick that definitely would have worked if there weren’t for one little detail...I had forgot to sheathe my dagger..that got pointed right into the horses side. Of course it would get even more crazy! And boy if it did, it neighed loudly and started to run uncontrollably through the main raid out of town. I couldn’t do anything else than to hold on for my dear life hoping the horse would calm down because I was stupid enough to not jump off in time. So there I was..stuck on a horse running like crazy into the forest..good job Cass! Wasn’t this considered horse theft? I did not want to see the villagers expressions like me, they must be angry! And here comes the guilt that follows to..Good job..



“Father where is the horse?” a girl shouted sounding worried. The farmer stood there at the square still astonished by what he saw. “That stupid mare got scared by a snake and went berserk!” he grunted but his daughter seemed doubtful. “But where is she?” she asked him. “That is the problem! She got stolen! A young man swung himself onto her back jumping form those barrels over there and took off from town so fast that no one could stop him” he said and another villager joined into the conversation. “Yes I saw him too! That thief knew what he was doing that’s for sure, give it up Johnson with thieves like that is the chance of getting your horse back close to zero.” He said but the farmer’s daughter looked annoyed. “Did you see the culprits face? Just ask a guard or a adventurer to catch him” she said. “Dearie..Many of us saw him..but I can’t remember how his face looked like, and that mare looks like any other mare out there, with a normal brown colour. The chance of finding them is slim” and with that said did the persistent daughter give up on the thought of ever getting their horse back from the thief that actually just wanted to help them out..but hey..he won’t need to walk anymore atleast!

Chapter 2

I found myself in a forest clearing looking through my possesions, I was afraid that the wild horse ride may have damaged anything so I had to check to be sure. Not that I had a lot in my backpack anyways, there was the money pouch, some roots from the village, my canteen filled with some water and some necessary equipment like some ropes and tools for making a fire, my dagger was now properly sheathed after that accident with accidently stabbing the horse. Can I call that a beginners misstake or something? Probably not..
Now when I am talking about the horse, she was grazing on a patch of grass some meters away from me. Unaware of all that trouble she caused me just some hours earlier. It was hard ot believe that this calm horse were going berserk a while earlier. But there was no denial that it was a good horse, fast and with good endurance. Her rampage carried me quite far into the forest and I had a feeling that there was no one after us. Even though I had been checking around for guards the two last hours terrified they would arrest me for horse theft if they found me. This was not a very good start on my adventuring career...

Now was the question: Should I keep the horse? Or give her back?

Giving her back would be the best choice if I wanted to be a hero, my first official good deed as an adventurer since the last attempt didnt go that well.. But it would be more practical to keep it. I would save tons of money, horses arent cheap to buy you know and I would like to not empty my money pouch on the start of my adventure. So what do I do then? I can just say..stinginess and practical thinking wins over the "right way of thinking" so I decided to keep the horse. Even though my inner voice screamed that this wasn't the act of a hero! The feelings of guilt can come and haunt me later I have to get out of the forest and to the next village. According to the map I got from Little Root were there a small branch of the adventurers guild there so I could take on a mission and earn some money. Preferrably to buy a sadle and reins for the horse and to get some more equipment and food. I had the roots but they would only be enough for dinner tonight so I had to hurry...but as fast as I turned my head around did I see that sneaky mare poking her muzzle into my bag chewing on the roots inside. "Hey stop that! Its my dinner not yours!" I shouted pushing her away but it was to late. My future dinner was gone, maybe it was for the best I found the taste of those roots way to bitter anyways. But now it was even more important to get into the village before the night came so I took some of the rope and tied it around her head like reins so I could lead her without any troubles. Luckily was the horse obedient so there was no trouble walking with her through the thick forest. Now what should I call her? It would be much easier if my horse had a name. I was about to think of some more grand names for her when the thought of her eating my roots flashed through my head and I sighed saying. "I will call you Root since you ate my roots, I was about to give you a better name but you ate my dinner and I am hungry", now maybe you would call me petty with that lame punishment but it seemed to work because Root gave me a stare that kind of said "are you kidding me!?" but I dont know if it was because of the name or because that horses normally look like that.

We had been walking for hours and the sun were setting so I was starting to get worried because I havent caught the sight of the village yet. And everyone knows that most of the nasty creatures become active after dusk. Several rustlings could be heard in the bushes and I braced myself for the worst, carefully drawing my dagger. Normally would it just be a animal that rushes past you and you think " Oh silly me how could i think that was dangerous?"...I was not quite that lucky because there was not rabbits or foxes that sprang out from the bushes. They were goblins!

Goblins, green nasty creatures with grabby hands and a intellect matching a child or worse. the only clever thing they did was attacking in groups. It was impossible to count their numbers but I had to defend myself and immediatly slashed after the goblins daring to step to close to me, I cut it right in the face so blood were spouting out but that didnt scare the other goblins as they continued to jump at me and I kicked them away but it wasnt me they were attacking..it was my backpack! I could see in the ruckus that 3 of the goblins had jumped up on Roots back who bucked like crazy trying to get them off. I managed to cut down another goblin but then they blew some kind of dust into my face and I couldn't move at all. My limbs were completly stiff. It was paralyzing pollen! There was a plant called Stilling Daffodil that produced such pollen that were strong enough to make a man unable to move for atleast 15 minutes. The goblins made loud noises to celebrate their victory, grabbed my bag and jumped up on Root's back and kicked her so hard that the stupid mare started to run into the forest with the gang of goblins leading her.

The anger was boiling inside of me, no one steals my possesions like that! Those little vermins even took my dagger that I started getting a liking to. My practical thinking told me to forget it, move to the village and try to get new equipment there. But I didnt listen to the practical thinking this time, I was going to get back my things from those little bastards if it was the last thing i did! The pollen soon released me out of its grip and I could move again immediatly following the footprints that were clearly seen in the mud. Thank god that goblins were stupid enough to not cover their tracks after them. And it have only been 15 minutes after they left so I was positive I would find them. But what in the world could I do when I found them? they had my weapon and going in unarmed is not a wise decision..but lets think of that later I am to busy tracking them right now. It was surprisingly easy to find their camp. No it was not because i am a skilled tracker it was more because the traces were way to obvious to ignore.

There were so many goblins surrounding the camp that consisted of a large fireplace, some cages and actually a treasure chest in the end of the camp. I could see Root tied to a firm tree together with three other horses who probably have been robbed of their owners as well. I could not do much without a weapon so it was better to hide there in the thick bushes waiting for the right opportunity to strike. And that opportunity came so early that it didnt feel like a mere coincidence.
I could hear Goblins screaming and running around but couldnt see much through the branches but it seemed to be that they had ofund a intruder, but that intruder was not me. A man's voice could be heard in the camp. "You cowardly little creatures, I am afraid that I have to take your treasure chest, its belongings belongs to the travelers and farmers in the area that you have robbed." he said, the voice seemed calm. But the goblins didn't seem to like this intruder as several screams could be heard as they probably attacked him. I had to have a look and carefully lifted some of the branches to see a knight swing his sword with such a accuracy and power that any goblin that attacked him met an instant death. Well he had to be a knight atleast! He wore a simple but functional armor, that still looked stylish, he had white pants and shirt though, how in the world were there not a single speck of dust or blood at them!? It had to be enchanted. The knight's hair was light blonde and and his sword were a onehanded type. I had never seen such a impressive man before except for my brothers..that guy had to be a hero aswell..

"Cass you dont have the time to admire every knight in a goblin camp you see ,take the opportunity and get your things back!" I reminded myself as I carefully started to sneak through the edges of the camp. Every goblin were so busy with battling the knight that no one noticed me. There was not any good place to hide their goods than in the treasure chest so I made my way to it immediatly. But it was locked ofcourse and it was a sturdy oak chest. The key was probably on one of the goblins in the battle, so how should I get in? This was something more fitting for a thief than me.. but I had to try atleast. There were several scraps of iron on the ground that seemed thin enough to fit into the keyhole so I grabbed one and pulled it into the lock, no that didnt work so good but I started to get used to the small hand motions to open the lock so i took another iron scrap and carefully bent it alittle on the tip and tried again. "Come on, come on..." I muttered as I continued to lockpick the treasure chest. The screams started to fade, there were probably not many goblins left but I was to busy to open the chest to look. Suddenly a "click" sound could be heard and I realised it was open.
There was a lot of stuff in the chest, money purses, weapons, moldy old bread and a lot of things, but I immediatly noticed my backpack and my dagger, grabbed them and then sneaked closer to the horses. Root neighed slightly seeing me, good horse recognising her new owner. I cut her loose and lead herinto the woods leaving the goblin camp behind me. So silent that no one actually realised I had even been there.

The knight sighed as he made his way over the goblin corpses as he walked to the treasure chest. A large lock was laying on the ground and there was signs of it being looked through and there were signs of one the horses were freed. "How strange..how could anyone do this in such a short timespan unnoticed?" he mumbled to himself. He had caught a short glimpse on a young man near the treasure chest but it was a glimpse so brief that the knight thought he had imagined it. "What kind of thief opens a treasure chest and leaves almost everything there is in it?" he asked himself, the only ones who heard his question were the dead goblins though. There were foosteps leading from the camp in the direction to the village on the edge of the forest and the knight smiled. He would probably meet this mysterious thief soon again.

Chapter 3

It was completly dark outside as I looked out of the inns window eating a bowl of steaming hot soup ,that was just what I needed to calm myself down after that little goblin incident that happened during the afternoon. Luck really was on my side because my backpack was unharmed and every item was there untouched. I was glad that the money I had was still there or I would probably have to sleep outside for the night. Not really the best option for a guy without the proper tools or comrades to share a camp with. Anyways,I didnt see that much of the village when I arrived here because the innkeeper, a burly but kind looking man, saw me and shoved me inside before I could have a good look, it was dark anyway so it was nothing to see anyways. The inn itself was a pretty large building with big clear windows and a cozy feeling to it, and I should add that the prize was pretty cheap to.

"The adventurers guild base? Oh there is one belonging to the Red Eagles and it's allies, just go across the street and down the road and stop at a big building with a red roof, you can't miss it" said the innkeeper when I asked for the directions to the adventurers guild. He smiled at me and handed me another serving of soup, I really hope he wont charge me extra for that.. "are you going to request a mission or something? You said something about being robbed by goblins when you came here" the innkeeper said but I shook my head. " I am going to take a mission, not request one, besides I already got my stuff back from the goblins anyways" the innkeeper smiled at me again while I finished the soup. "So you are a adventurer huh?" he asked me a little while later. "I am more like a beginner, I hope I can get my first mission after applying to the guild" I answered him, the innkeeper smiled but I could see that he had a look of doubt in his face as he walked away to clean the tables. But it was something I had to ignore for now. The first step would start tomorrow when I visit the adventurers guild. It was to sleep anyways it was quite late so maybe it was for the best to go back to the room I have rented. Some loud shouts could be heard form the corner of the room as I saw the innkeeper serving two large muscular men, they were obviously drunk though and they didn't seem to be the calm type either.

"Listen here you old fart bring us more ale, now!" one of the men shouted, the old innkeeper didn't seem to be scared by the rowdy customers and calmly said. "For the last time, I don't have any ale left, You drank all of it already, and you still have to pay!" he claimed with a stern look. That did not seem to please the men as they just growled and drew their swords. This situation was not good at all, the innkeeper is in danger! I couldn't just stand there doing nothing, even though it would have be the smartest to leave them alone...But I have never said I always make smart choices..

"Leave him alone!", I shouted as I walked over to their corner with firm steps, trying to seem bigger than I was and it wasnt easy if you have to compare me with those brutes who probably was about twice my size. Sadly enough they didn't seem to listen to me at all.The second man just laughed looking at me, his breath reeked of alcohol. " And what would you do about it. runt?" as he grabbed my collar and lifted me over the ground. Now don't think I was not able to dodge, I just dodged to the way his hand reached for my neck..., his grip was strong though, there were no way for me to get down either as the brutes laughed and swung me around like a ragdoll. The innkeeper couldn't do a thing to help me either because he would probably be the next if this continued, the old man actually ran outside of the tavern leaving me alone with the thugs as they continued to throw me around like they pleased. Good for him, bad for me. There was no damage to me..yet, mostly because I bent my head and squirmed as fast the head was dangerously close to a table or a chair. It was only a matter of time before they would hit something with me, and yes that will hurt a lot on my part..

I were starting to feel dizzy as it started to get hazy in front of my eyes. Thats when a shout could be heard. The voice belonged to the innkeeper. "There they are! please get them out of here!" could be heard. A light sound of rustling metal echoed through the tavern and I managed to catch a glimpse of a steel clad boot right before the brutes stopped swinging me around, they were glaring at someone. Finally everything was still! the dizziness was fading and I managed to see who they were staring at. It was a knight, the same knight that I encountered this afternoon! It was not easy to forget the armor, the blonde hair or that he slaughtered dozens of goblins so easily. It was quite obvious that the drunkards did not know that fact as they gave the knight a death glare as he spoke to them. "Can you leave this inn please? and put the youngster down too, the innkeeper told me you were bothering his guests, get out of here or bare the consequences" he said with a stern look . "Oh youre wearing an armor, were so scared" they laughed with sarcasm in their voices. I may be hanging upside down but I pulled my captors shirt a little. "...you should be scared", I whispered to them, I may just have seen him in action for a brief moment but anyone could see that you dont mess with such a knight. The man in question just shrugged a little. " so be it then..., I won't even need my sword to deal with thugs of your caliber" but that did seem to anger the brutes as the one who had his hands free launched a punch agaiinst the knights face. " You cheeky little..." he started right before a punch got launched right into the drunkards face as he crashed right into the table. The knight actually smiled a little. "I told you so." he said, that was an impressive punch alright. Not that I have anything to say about it I am normally not used to seeing fist fighting but even a idiot could see that this was a brawl these thugs wouldn't win. But that did not hinder my captor for trying to swing me again like a weapon, seriously!? Do I weight that little!?.. but the knight simply dodged it and punched the brute right in the stomach so hard that he immediatly dropped me and tried to catch his breath. The first one who got punched that had crashed into the table pulled his friend towwards the door with a "lets get out of here!" and so they disappeared out from the inn.

"Are you alright?" the knight asked me while he helped me up from the floor. I nodded to him while brushing some dust of my clothes. This was a good chance of taking a good look on him, he was probably around his early twenties and his face was of the kind that would make any lady swoon as fast as they saw him...in opposite to me, to put it lightly. He was tall and well built as well, he looked like a typical hero type, he remembered me a bit of my brothers both in how he moved and how he acted. The innkeeper sighed seeing the broken table and the empty bottles left, I could understand his disapointment. The thugs never paid the bill.., but that look soon shifted to worry and a bit of anger as he looked at me smacking my head, hardly. " Kid what were you thinking!? I have been in this business for 25 years I know how to deal with drunkards! I couldn't do a thing because you had to insist on becoming a living mace! you should be greatful that I went to fetch Gavin to fix this mess" he scolded me as I turned to the knight, so his name was Gavin.., he did'nt look at me with a scolding look like the innkeeper. It was more a look of relief. " I am glad you are alright, I am sorry for the damage George, I pay for it, for their bill too" he said but innkeeper George immedialty protested. " Absolutely not! It is very noble of you but my business can handle some blows like this...even though I won't have the money to refill the stock for a while.." he said with a loud sigh. "I think I have a solution to this problem"I said as I walked to the innkeepers side and handed him a leather pouch that was scrambling with coins. "its not my money! It belongs to the thugs..I accidently grabbed onto it when they swung me around" I explained. The innkeeper nodded with a bright smile, that money would absolutely cover the costs of the broken furniture and to refill the stock. I bid them goodnight and then ran to my room, before anything else would happen to me this time. I felt a bit uneasy being in the same room as the knight.

Gavin smiled faintly as he made his way out from the inn. "Pickpocketing while being thrown around, lockpicking a goblin lock on his second try, sneaking past a pack of goblins undetected, George said he was a newbie, no guild yet..that means..I wonder.." he mumbled while walking through the chilly night, what was in the white knights mind?

"So you are here to seek an application?", the woman asked me as she handed me some documents. "Cassander was your name right?, you need to fill in these documents and then you will be able to take on some missions, becoming a member of the adventurers guild collective means that you will get access to all missions we get requested of, you can get support form other adventurers who also work for the guild and you have to pay a yearly fee of 10 gold coins" she said as she geastured me to move out of the way for other adventurers errands. The adventurers guild base was pretty grand looking on the inside, with the walls being painted in scarlet red and some fancy monster ornaments fastened on the wall. I could see lion heads, wolf heads, even a dragons horn hanging on the wall. they also had a second floor that was for lodging adventurers of the guild. And this was just a small base handling mission requests. Right when I was about to sign the documents did the door open up and I saw Gavin come inside walking to the counter in the room. The woman turned red seeing him. "Ga.gavin youre here.. I have a urgent mission for you, since you are already handling the goblin problems in this area, a child have gotten abducted by the goblins and been taken to their den." she explained to him, I couldnt help but listen to their conversation, the paperwork could wait. The woman looked a bit doubtful on the knight though. "Are you sure you can do this alone? A goblins den is not like a camp, you may have to fight over hundreds of goblins, on your own, I could request other adventurers in the area to help you but they are not oblieged to do it..since you are a free lancer and all", that did surprise me actually. Free lancers are adventurers not working with a guild, they can take missions from their bases and they don't pay a fee but it is a lonely type of work. Almost everyone works with the adventurers guild but free lancers are kind of excluded, they are not in a position to request for help, normally they wont get any back up either. People say that the strong people work as free lancers, some others say that its foolish. It is easy to understand the hardships of a free lancer, espicially listening to this conversation. A goblins den is not something you raid by yourself.

"Besides, you have to bring the child out of there unharmed, wont be easy if you will fight the goblins" the woman continued. But Gavin seemed calm about it, almost to calm about it. "It won't be a problem for this mission, I am not alone" he said with a calm smile and turned his head to me. There was a big warning signal flashing in my head. "Why are you looking ta me for?" I asked a bit nervously. "You haven't signed up for the adventurers guild yet, right?" he asked. "No I haven't...not yet.." I mumbled. "It is okay to bring other free lancers on this mission, since he doesnt belong to the guild, I am not breaking any rules" Gavin said and the woman nodded, she tried to avoid looking at his face. "It is not rule breaking for free lancers to work together.." she stuttered as she handed him a map of the goblins den. "Wait I am not a free lancer!..I dont even have a class!, you don't even know my name! besides..I am a newbie" I complained as Gavin dragged me out of the base. "well aren't you a thief? I saw you in the goblins camp yesterday..even though you probably did not want to be seen, I need a thiefs help on this mission and I thought you were the right guy for the job, I am sure you can get the child out of the den, and no one will notice. You can join the guild afterwards I promise" he explained to me. Was that guy insane? He thought this up just over one night!? And he have misunderstood so much too, how in the world oculd he think I am a skilled thief? But I am not stupid, I understand clearly why a thief would be ideal for this kind of mission. My second oldest brother have told me this before. They are the people that easily can sneak inside the den without being detected, being a good lockpick would be important if the child was imprisoned in a cage, goblins don't kill children just after2-3 days so it was a chance it was alive. There was not any time to loose. Besides this was exactly what I wanted, my first mission, rescuing a child from a hoarde of goblins is considered heroic...right? I have to do this..no screwing up now Cass.., this will be alright. I have a knight on my side..even though his decisions are not that reassuring..raiding a goblens den wouldn't be that hard..right?

Chapter 4

My first mission as an adventurer and it turns out to be a goblin raid. A pretty high obstacle to climb for a beginner if you ask me. Not that I was in a position to complain.. even though I kind of got dragged along on this against my will by a certain knight who doesn't seem to understand the concept of "No I don't want to!". The knight in question was just some steps ahead of me as we were on our way to the goblins den located near some cliffs. It was pretty close to the village so we could leave our horses in the stable for safekeeping. I was kind of glad for that because I did not want Root to get hurt if things turned sour. Our little trip to the den was pretty quiet for the moment, Gavin probably focused on a plan to approach the den and you could probably guess that I was not in the mood to talk. But he turned his head towards me after a while in a attempt to start a conversation. "Your name was..Cassander right?" and I nodded. He must have seen it on the document I was about to hand in tot he adventurers guild right before he dragged me away. "Yes..but I am normally called Cass", Gavin smiled at me and nodded. "Okay then Cass, I will look forward to work with you" I couldn't help but smile back at him even though I wanted to say the opposite. His smile was contagious and calming. I couldn't help but notice a slight accent in his speech which made his tone go up a little sometimes. "Are you from Lison Highlands perhaps?" I asked curiously. Gavin actually looked surprised hearing my question. " Yes I am..how in the world did you notice that? I barely have the accent anymore" he said. I couldn't help but smile a little for my myself because I noticed it, it feels good to be right about something But now I actually could picture out his background more clearly even if it was mostly guessing. The Lison Highlands were located to the north of the country close to the border. A cold area with severe winds and not many cliffs or trees to take shelter behind. It is famous for its massive fortress, The Lison fortress have never been taken over by enemy forces and all of its personel are highclass, everything from knights to archers, even people like stable masters or cooks there are also the best you can find around there, and larger battles are common around there because of the constant invasions across the border, but the People from the Lison Highlands gets educated in selfdefense early and a lot of people turn out as knights for the fortress. I have heard the knights of Lison Fortress are one of the best in the whole kingdom because of the constant fighting and the strict education they get from a young age. Even the common folks around there are hardy and independent and not people you should mess with without any reason. Oh I should mention that a lot of heroes I have heard about actually come from the Lison Highlands!

Now don't ask how I know things like this, its more like common knowledge. And to chat with a farmer from the Lison Highlands when I was young also helps out with filling out my memory.

"Were you a knight from Lison fortress?" I asked, still being curious,and Gavin nodded. "Yes, but I left about 2 years ago" he said. That was a short answer and it was way to obvious that he didn't want to tell me more about it instead did he try to redirect the conversation. " What about you? Where are you from? and which thief is your teacher?". The question pissed me of a little. I have never said that I was a thief don't come to your own conclusions! "I am not a thief Gavin, I don't have a teacher yet and I don't have a class or a profession either. I have no idea why you even dragged me along on this mission." he looked at me with a wondering expression. " Well I have been observing you a little since the goblin camp and I was convinced that you was a skilled thief..I didn't know you haven't chosen anything yet..I am sorry.. " even though I could feel myself being a bit lit up when he said I was skilled in something. That is not something you hear everyday if you are me. No Gavin don't give me such a disapointed look! I have never said that I would leave afterall. "But Cass why do you want to be adventurer then?" I swallowed as I told him my goal for all of this. "I have to become a hero" and I prepared myself for the doubtful look, the laugh or the questioning look that other people have gave me this far when i explained my goal for this whole adventure. But those looks never came, he actually gave me a gentle smile and said "Good luck, need any help with that goal?", It got quiet for a while, I was so surprised of that answer that I didnt know what to say. Gavin didn't seem to be bothered or confused by my reaction, it didnt sound like it had any hint of sarcasm in it, he just continued walking on through the forest after saying that. He didn't even ask why I wanted to be a hero, its normal for a person to ask atleast why when they hear something like " I want to be a hero"..but I probably shouldnt beg for people who will doubt me anyways..hey why am I even complaining about this in the first place?

The smell was starting to become foul and the goblins gibberish was getting closer to us. We were closing in on the den now, it was quite obvious. And there it was! the entrance to the goblins den. It was pretty large hole straight into the mountain with a goblin camp in front with a large fire and some chests and some bones and metal spread on the ground and ofcourse a large group of goblins running around the fireplace making grunting squeaks. Why can't a goblin camp be empty for once!? would make this a lot easier. We were here now..but what are we supposed to do next? rush in there and kill every goblin in sight? I actually prepared myself for that, unsheathing my dagger holding it as firm as I could..even though my body was shaking. I'm scared actually! Gavin seemed to notice it because he laid a hand on my dagger and looked at me. "You will be fine Cass, don't be afraid this will be easy if we move according to plan" he whispered. "What plan?" I answered. "Listen, I will attack the goblin camp at the entrance, the ruckus will probably attract more goblins from inside the den. Take this opportunity and sneak inside and find the child and get her out of the den." he explained and I nodded..it seemedlike most of the responsibility to save the child lied on my shoulders. I really, really hope Gavin does'nt overestimate my abilities now because I can surely say that I have never sneaked into a goblins den before. This was not the time to doubt myself, a hero never doubts himself..I think.., I waited for Gavins signal to move and it came quickly as he suddenly rushed out of the woods straight into the camp beheading a very surprised goblin with a quick slash of his sword. Poor goblin it never knew what was coming.., the other goblins in the camp made a loud squeaky roar and lashed themselves at Gavin who dodged their grabby hands with ease as he made another move to attack the creatures. He turned his head towards me who was still hiding in the bushes and made a very brief nod. That was my signal! I quickly made my way through the bushes and moved towards the dens entrance, hidden by the shadows from the trees next to the cliffs.

I had to be careful, Gavin may have the attention of the goblins who continued to rush out of the den for a early death by his sword but that doesn't mean that I won't be noticed by them if I am careless. There were not many goblins rushing out of the den now, this was my chance! I quickly ran inside straight into the darkness. Keeping myself close to the walls in case more goblins appeared. The stench was horrible! I could feel some bones under my boots as I kept walking through the tunnel, the only light source was some lumiscient moss on the walls and some light in the distance that indicated that it was a larger cave ahead. Some echoes of a crying voice was heard through the tunnel. That must be the child! if not a Goblin had hit its head in a frying pan or something..that hurts I promise that! Noises could be heard and quick steps were coming towards me. "Crap reinforcements already!?" I thought and quickly ran the other way trying to find some place to hide before they noticed I was there. Luck must be on my side today, there was a smaller tunnel right next to me and I immediatly crawled inside, holding my breath as the myriads of goblins passed by, because of the stench and the fact that I was completly terrified that they would find me! but no one noticed..no one stopped by and dragged me out before probably pulling a knife into my head.. was I invisible or something?..maybe my low charisma not just works on waitresses and my mother, it maybe works on monsters to!..even though it was a bit sad to be completly ignored by goblins aswell..would be fun to use my dagger once.. anyways the goblins passed by and I continued through the tunnels towards the light and so I arrived into the den..

It was a very large cave, lit up by tons of lanterns and another large bonfire in the middle of the cave with some ragged tents and some food crates placed around the cave. I noticed some large cages placed very close to the fire and there I saw the child, a little girl, probably not more than 7 years old. Looked like it atleast from my hiding place that was quite far away, thank god they have not eaten her yet! But they would soon if I did not get her out in time..lets see the cave was not flooded with goblins, thanks to Gavins slaughter back at the entrance. But they still were to many for me to handle if it turned out to become a fight. It was important that they wouldn't detect, and not important like "You are allowed to fail" more like important "you are dead if youre caught". It's better to handle this logically, I could sneak closer to the cage as more goblins left as reinforcement to fight Gavin, and wish that the cage was not hardly locked..back when I lockpicked that goblin lock..I had actually no idea how I did it.. anyways its not the time to think about that. More goblins moved to the tunnel, this was my chance to go closer to the cage! I quickly moved towards the food crates and ducked immediatly when the goblins looked my way. they didn't notice me yet. The remaining goblins moved farther away from the cage looking into one of their treasure chests, i took the chance and ran behind a tent. My heart was beating like crazy, a combination of fear, adrenaline and actually quite a bit of excitement..a feeling i have never felt before. I never knew sneaking around like this in a goblins den gave you such a thrill.. the cavern was nearly empty now because another goblin group moved towards the entrance. Just a few goblins left, that kept themselves busy with squabbling over some scraps of meat on the ground. I was right behind the cage now, the little girl still cried until she gave a surprised gasp noticing me behind the cage. "Schhh, its okay, I will get you out" I whispered so quietly she probably didn't even hear it. But it was a clever little girl who kept quiet as I slowly sneaked over to the lock..yes it was locked alright. Stupid goblin locks..and I don't have any lockpicks either.. no metal scraps on the ground either..what should I do!? the cage was in metal and I couldn't dawdle around any longer, they would notice me! That was when I noticed a hair clip in the little girls hair and pointed to it immediatly, geasturing that she would give it to me, the little girl looked reluctant at first but quickly took the hair pin and handed it to me through the cage, I bent it over making it look quite deformed and put it without any hesitation straight into the keyhole and did my third attempt ever on lockpicking. But it started to feel familiar as I twisted around the pin in the hole with big concentration. Suddenly the lock clicked and the door opened with a loud squeak..and it was that squeak that made the remaining goblins immediatly turn their heads noticing the intruder, me.

"Not good not good!" I thought in panic but it only took a second to decide what to do next, I couldn't fight them, that would put the girl in danger of getting hurt. We had to run, I immediatly picked up the little girl and started to run with all the strength I could muster, the goblins roared and ran after me some second after, realising that I was getting away. Now don't be surprised that I could carry a healthy seven year old despite my obvious lack of muscle and body mass, she didn't weight more than a sack of grain anyways, a weight I was very much used to from my time at the farm. I was more worried about my speed, we were halway through the tunnel now to the entrance and the goblins were catching up to me! should I fight them? no that was not a good choice..the odds would be quite bad, I am tired, carrying a child in my arms and its one versus..atleast 14 goblins. No I have to keep running, just a little more until the entrance and Gavin..if Gavin was still there, maybe he would have been defeated..it was not a small amount of goblins he had to fight afterall. Or maybe he had left already. But my doubts were not fullfilled because there in the entrance was Gavin, his armor was stained by blood and his sword aswell but he himself did not look hurt, just some minor scratches. "So there were some goblins left.." he said as he lifted his sword once again, I did not care about that at all, I darted past him like crazy into the outside with no intention of stopping until I reached the bushes. That did not seem to bother Gavin though as he solely focused on the goblins who threw themselves at him without any hesitation..and fell down just some seconds afterwards. Not that I saw it myself I just heard the sound of slashes and blood splattering over the ground. I was busy catching my breath panting like crazy, the girl was on the ground next to me patting my back looking worried. Gavins steel boots made some noises as he walked over the heaps of goblin bodies in the camp as he walked to us hiding in the bushes. He kneeled down to the little girl and smiled a little. "Are you okay little miss?" he asked and she nodded, he turned to me next. "Good job Cass, I knew you could do it" and I grinned a little before I had to gasp after air again. Okay I seriously have to train after this! The little girl who we saved grabbed Gavins arm firmly and we made our way back to the village.

It was a very greatful mother who greeted us when we arrived into the village, she cried hugging her daughter and thanked us for about thousand times. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for saving my daughter sir knight!" she said with her eyes filled with tears. Her gratitude mostly focused on gavin..not me. "I am glad that your daughter is okay" Gavin said. The girls father walked up to us and said "I can't believe you raided a goblins den on your own" but Gavin smiled a little and dragged me close to him pointing at me. " I was not alone, it was this person who got your daughter out of the den, i just defeated the goblins in our way" he said and looked at me proudly, I couldn't help but feel proud to, my smile felt so wide I feared my face would crack from it. The girls mother nodded at me. "I see, thank you as well" she said with a greatful bow, even though she still focused on Gavin..that was a bit unfair, yes he may have slaughtered all of the goblins but it was me who got the girl out of the cave!..but this was not the time to feel petty about stuff like that. The child was alright, my first mission was a success and my first step on the road of the hero had begun. It definitely felt worth it when I heard the little girl run outside of the house waving her hand towards us shouting "Thank you sir knight!..thank you mister thief!" I felt so happy about that, that I even forgot she called me a thief aswell.

The sun was setting when me and Gavin made our way to the stable, I looked at the white knight just some steps ahead of me and said "I guess we did a pretty good job back then...we were a good team.." I said and Gavin smiled and nodded. "Yes.. I look forward to work with you from now on" he made it sound like we were in the same group already...wait a minute now..Gavin is a freelancer..if you do your first mission with a freelancer..you also become a freelancer..no way the guild would accept my appplication now! How could I forget that!? did Gavin plot this from the beginning?..damn..I guess I have to stick to him for the moment..atleast I may find a way to apply to another adventurers guild..this is my typical luck alright..

Chapter 5

I ducked frenetically when the sword aimed after me another time. One misstake and I would get hit, I must disturb his balance..or make him drop the sword. The sword came after me again, this time aiming for my arm but I managed to block it this time and tried to get a hit on his legs to make him fall.but there was the loud crack and I got a hard smack in the head..it was over...

"Cass how many times have I told you already? You get hit if you try to do that, focus!" Gavin shouted at me holding the wooden branch firmly like he would have held a real sword. I sighed rubbing my sore head looking at my own branch in my hands that was clearly broken. "I can't help that it breaks after one hit!" but Gavin shook his head. "We have been training the whole afternoon, you have broken 11 branches, this is still my first branch you know. It won't break if you are skilled enough to wield it" those words stung. We have been traveling together for about 5 days now and Gavin insisted on teaching me how to fight so everytimee we set up a camp did we look for sturdy wooden branches and started fencing the whole evening..and I have to admit I have not made any progress. Even though I got so frustrated one time that I drew my dagger and jumped straight at Gavin who easily defeated me with that stupid piece of wood.. after that I learned that it is no use to argue with Gavin. The branch was useless now so it got a honorable end in the fireplace as we decided it was for the best to take a break. There was a roasted rabbit just waiting to be eaten by us. Neither me or Gavin were outstanding cooks but the food tasted okay and it filled our stomachs. can't ask for more I guess. My new traveling companion had some good equipment and such even though I suspected he preferred sleeping inside a house than outside under the stars because noone of us had a tent.

I heard a scrambling noise behind us and immediatly jumped up afraid it would be goblins or something poking around in my bag, but no it weren't goblins. It was something worse. It was Root! "You stupid mare stop poking your muzzle where it doesn't belong!" I shouted at her and she immediatly ran off behind Gavins horse Avalanche who calmly grazed on some grass next to the tree. He was a large,majestic horse with a white coat and a little patches of black in his mane. It was obvious that it was a horse breed to carry knights and heavy equipment. Root have taken a liking to him or rather for his protection whenever her owner got angry at her for touching the bag. No one touches my belongings without my permission! not even my horse! She seemed to chew on something though and I noticed that the large red apple I had saved for dinner was gone. "..stupid horse.." I muttered as I sat down next to Gavin who chuckled a little. "She is a clever one, no matter how hard you tie her up she always escapes and she knows where you keep the good snacks" but I just muttered as a answer to it. Gavin patted me a little on the head to cheer me up. Some people may see it as degrading or embarrasing but I didn't mind that much. My older brothers normally did that to me in a attempt to cheer me up when we were young. I have started to get used to Gavin through these 5 days, still being a bit bitter about becoming a freelancer but it was not that bad after he explained the benefits of not paying any fees to the adventurers guild. But we have not tried any more missions since the goblin raid. Gavin told me we were heading to a larger city named Riade, a town well known for its large variety of healing herbs and a lot of skilled herbalists and alchemists often went there to gain supplies or to share knowledge. It seemed to be a good place to stay for a while and to get a mission or two. But Riade were atleast 3 more days away even on horseback. A loud yawn could be heard, from my mouth and Gavin chuckled again. Maybe it was time to get some sleep we still had a long journey in front of us.

"Is it really true your mother kicked you out? and you can't come home until you have become a hero, that your 3 older brothers all succeded with?" Gavins questions made me sigh once again. We have been on horseback the whole morning and it made me feel a bit grumpy. Some people shouldn't wake up early and I am one of those people. But it was the first time he asked me about my family or my hero dream, I have explained about it briefly on our second day together but we never talked more about it. "Are they such great heroes as..ah maybe as Davian the dragon slayer, I have heard the man, a lonely warrior. Walked straight into a dragons den and slained it barehanded coming outside carrying those enormous horns of the beast. I guess that is one of the more popular stories among the adventurers who travel alone nowadays" he explained. But that example made me smile. "ehumm...thats my oldest brother you know..and he wasnt barehanded, his sword got used as the dragons chewing toy so he took one of the stalactites in the cave and used it as a giant mace. those horns are great for drying the laundry, just the right size and the clothes never fall off" that was the first time I have seen Gavin have a shocked expression in his face. Davian went out on adventures when he only was 15 and barely was home, he have always been quiet and with a physical strength that no one can rival..even though he have nothing to say when our dear mother gets mad at him.. I haven't seen the guy for a while now, he is out adventuring in the wilds of the southern continent. I bet Gavin was quite surprised of hearing of such celebrities in my family, he laughed a little nervously and tried to steer away the conversation from my brothers in fear it would make me uncomfortable. "ehm..have you heard that the kings daughter will get married in two months? it haven't been a royal wedding for atleast 20 years, royals and adventurers all over the continent have been invited..would have been nice to go there.." he said. So Gavin actually knows some gossip aswell? But I couldnt help but smile again. "The groom is also a brother of mine..the second youngest to be exact,girls have always been a bit weak for Harley..should I mention that I am probably invited to the wedding?" and I heard that deep sigh again. Hah nothing seems to surprise Gavin anymore after this. Well sorry for having famous relatives then..I would love to be somebody to but it is this whole "becoming a hero" business first. "What about the last one? please don't say that he is the head of the magic academy or army general or a guild leader, because that would be hard for you to beat.." he said. "Actually he is..." I started right when a large bronze coloured bull ran out of the bushes scarying the horses. Root immediatly reared so high I nearly fell of, but Gavin quickly grabbed her reins form avalanche's back and led her away from the bull. "A brass bull..this will get tricky.." he said. "Why?" I asked, being a bit frightened. Come on who can blame me, a huge bull with rock hard muscles, enormous horns and glowing red eyes were rampaging right in front of us. "They got very hard skin, it normally takes a team to take it down, atleast with one magician too.. Cass take the horses I will fight it" he said and was about to jump off right when a large icicle and a barrage of arrows came flying out of the bushes. The arrows all hit the bull's leg and the icicle made such an impact that the bull got pierced into the ground. It didnt seem to be that injured but it was enraged and was immobilized. A girl in a blue robe and a guy with a large bow ran out of the bushes. The girls staff glowed, she seemed to be ready to fire another spell. "Reinard its all yours!" the archer shouted as a man in a bright red light chain armour ran out of nowhere chopping of the bulls head with ease. What in the world happened right now!? the group defeated the raging bull so easily that it seemed ridicolus, and even Gavin was hesitant to fight the monster too. Those people were strong..very strong.. the knight in the red armour looked at us. "Are you two oka..." his eyes widened as he looked at me. And I was pretty sure my eyes got quite wide aswell. The archer shook the knights arm a little. "Reinard, Reinard whats wrong?", gavin looked a bit worried at me aswell even though he also seemed surprised. "Thats the guild leader of the Red Eagles..said to be the best guild in the whole country.." he whispered. I didn't answer him though because I was busy staring at the red knight. "It comes..it comes.." I whispered. Gavin looked confused. "What comes?" just when he asked that did the red knight run towards me,dragging my arm so hard that I fell of Roots back, and got a hug so hard I nearly broke my ribs. "Cassander what the hell are you doing out here!?" he shouted at me, still not letting me go, his voice was filled with both a bit anger,confusion and a lot of excitement too. Our comrades just looked confused at us as I nervously laughed a little trying to break free from his grip. "Hello big brother...long time no see.."

Chapter 6

"Reinard..my ribs! you are crushing my ribs!" I shouted as my armored older brother finally let go of me. He smiled a little at me but frowned a little though. "Seriously Cass what are you doing out here? Did mom ask you to get something, is the knght escorting you home?" he asked throwing a glance at Gavin. Reinard's comrades. The archer and the mage girl looked at me and started whispering to eachother. They did not seem convinced..probably believing their leader was pulling a prank. A normal reaction if you ask me because me and Reinard don't really look alike. He got rich chestnut brown hair nicely..mine more looks like someone permanently mixed dust into it. And our faces look pretty different even though our eyes are very similar, this is actually for all 4 of us, the biggest thing that differs between us is probably his leadership abilities. People always listened ot what he had to say. It was normally Reinard who decided what we would play back when we were children. Anyways the thing is that I am a pale shadow compared to him in almost anything I do..but the funny thing is that out of all people out there is it probably Reinard that gives me full attention, which is a miracle if you have noticed how people does not notice me. But this tends to make him a bit...overprotective...

"No Reinard...mom threw me out, I am an adventurer right now" I explained to him. His eyes widened and he looked shocked. " Please say you atleast are in a guild that can look after you..." he said. Once again I had to make him disapointed. "No..I am a freelancer.. but I am not working alone though!" I said and pointed at Gavin. My brother turned quiet for a while and turned away from us, he was probably thinking right now. His comrades walked over to us to introduce themselves. "So you are the leaders little brother huh? Nice to meet you I'm Neil" the archer said throwing me a hearty smile shaking my hand. The girl in blue clothes seemed to be a bit shy though just waving her hand to us. "I'm Tania" Gavin shaked Neils hand. " My name is Gavin, may I ask where you are heading? because I doubt you chased the brass bull all the way here" Neil shook his head and grinned. He seemed to be the carefree type, they get along well with my brother, what am I saying most people get along well with my brother. "The bull just came out of nowhere attacking us so we thought we could beat it" he said. Tania joined in on the conversation looking serious in difference to the archer. " A patrol of holy knights have requested our guilds help of capturing a blood mage who is causing trouble in the area. Blood mages are one of the most dangerous mage types so they requested the leader to come in person to deal with it" she explained. Even though I did not get that much wiser of hearing her explonation. Mages and magic are unfamiliar to me.. She seemed to see my confusion because she showed a faint smile before explaining to me. "Blood mages are considered to be on the top of dark magic, next to devil summoners or necromancers. A blood mage is able to control the living, they can steer your body like they please with the help of the blood flowing in the targets bodies, the really skilled ones can even influence a persons thoughts, make us see things that does not exist or make them do deicisions they don't want to, tamper with memories to if they please. A normal mage finds power from magic itself, blood mages are different..they need blood as their power source. They have absolutely no respect for any living being, everyone are just puppets for them to control Not that we have a lot of information on them, not even the magicians academys library have a lot of information on them. thats why it is so urgent to catch the blood mage" I nodded to her explanation showing I have understood. We couldn't really talk about anything more because my brother have returned and looked at me. "Cass, you are going home, I will talk to our mother. I don't think you should adventure on your own, its way to dangerous to you!"

There it came..the overprotective brother mode. If Reinard would decide then I probably can't do anything he considers dangerous. He never liked it when I left the farm, not even just going to play with the neighbourhood kids. This is what happens when you are the youngest brother, you seem weak, needed to be protected, and also the one who always should obey. Not that I am good at obeying Reinard, have never been.

"I just have to prove it then" I said with a shrug. Reinard stared at me with a stern face. He doesn't like when people talk against him. "Prove it..how?" he muttered. Neil raised his hand. "Oh, back at the guild we decide if a person is strong enough for solo missions with the help of duels" he shouted but got a big smack in the head by Tania. "Neil be quiet!" and the archer shut up immediatly. Reinard seemed to give the idea a approving nod though. " A duel huh?...okay Cass I give you a chance to prove yourself, a duel, you and me, tomorrow at this glade. If you win..then you can go adventuring without any objections from me. But if you loose I personally drag you home no matter what either you or mother says." both of his comrades seemed to nod approvingly of this idea but Gavin objected immediatly looking worriedly at me. " Stop it is not a fair fight! Cass barely knows the basics in combat, and you expect him to win against a guild leader like yourself!? Let me fight in his place instead!" and Reinard looked at him, inspecting him. "Hmm.. Gavin was your name right? now when I think of it don't you have quite a reputation among the freelancers? Its such a shame you are not allowed to join any guilds you would have been a great member in the Red Eagles, I know you are strong, but you can't look after yourself and my brother at the same time, but I fight you if my brother says so, he may need a handicap" I was honestly surprised that Gavin stood up for me. If he fought in my place..yes my chances to win would be much higher but I couldn't let him do that. Gavin may be a splendid knight but my brother is a guild leader and a knight of high caliber. My white knight comrade will have it difficult versus the Red Eagle. Besides, I know things about Reinard no one else knows..just got to use the information in the right places. And the last thing, I wouldn't be a good hero if I let someone fight my battles all the time! So I shook my head to Gavin. "No, I fight, tomorrrow at noon?" I asked and Reinard nodded. Tania dragged the guild leaders arm and led him away from us. "Reinard don't forget we have a mission to complete! Sure have a duel with your little brother tomorrow but don't you dare slack off until then, we have to patrol the area" Neil laughed and ran after Tania and their leader and waved a hand to us again. " See you tomorrow, don't break any bones kid! Its Reinard you are facing afterall!" he shouted and so they disappeared into the woods. Gavin immediatly laid a hand on my shoulder. "Cass, lets go train, I am not going to loose my first freelancer comrade when I just got one!"

My dagger got kicked away from my hands for the 29th time as I laid panting on the ground with a impatient Gavin in front of me. "Come on Cass don't just lay around! You won't be able to beat Reinard with those kind of fencing skills!" he said sternly and I sighed. He was right about that. I am still way to inexperienced when it comes to fighting to go into a full fledged duel like this. Not that I had a choice..sure i would love to come home again. But if I came home being dragged by my brother, without fullfilling the goal. It wouldn't feel right, like I was cheating. No this is a duel I don't want to loose. But what can I do about it? It was already dusk and we would only have the night left to train. I would love to just go to sleep but Gavin would not let me. We have to train the whole night if he decides. Atleast he gave me some breaks like right now. That was the moment I heard a loud neigh that obviously came from Root and I immediatly ran to the horses seeing the mare on the ground with her legs all tangled up in rope. I couldn't help but grin a little, no don't think I am such a horrible person! Its just that I saw my bag right next to her and figured out that she was after my snacks again, got tangled up and fell. Serves her right for trying to take my belongings again. I bent down to help her get free when Gavin appeared hearing the ruckus and smiled slightly. "She must have been so focused on the snacks that she never looked at the rope and got caught".. I listened to what he said and suddenly it hit. "I GOT IT!" I screamed right out into the chilly evening air. I got an idea that actually might work! I immediatly freed Root from the ropes, took it and ran into the woods. Gavin led Root back to to the tree where they had tied her and Avalanche up. "He either have gone crazy..or he got a plan" Gavin muttered for himself.

Cass barely returned to camp that night. Gavin noticed how a shadow sneaked around all the time, collecting ropes, some metal scraps and other things from their equipment. He once returned with something that smelled horribly and also realised strange white mushrooms were placed in one of the baskets but Gavin knew better than to eat them. What was he doing anyways? maybe it was not so wise letting him run around at night all alone.. Cass really was good at sneaking. The only thing that indicated that he was in the camp was a low neigh from Root everytime. To bad he denied the skills he actually was exceptional in. This was how the night continued, still having no idea what Cass was doing..it was just to wait and see the result during the duel tomorrow.

"Cass are you sure you are okay? you look so tired" Gavin said to me with a worried glance. I had pretty large bags under my eyes because of last night, but I managed to get some sleep when I returned in the morning and slept until noon. The time of the duel. I was quite nervous even after preparing the whole night. With what? you may ask..well you just have to wait and see. Reinard and his comrades were right on time because they were already standing in the glade waiting for us. My brother looked glad to see me even though I saw how he restrained himself from trying to hug me. Thank god for that my ribs are still sore! He walked to me and said " Tania is pretty decent in healing spells so don't be worried about getting any larger injuries. And we have decided the rules, we just have to make eachother drop our weapon... Cass are you getting enough sleep? you were so worried about the duel you were having nightmares? dont worry I will hold back" noticing my large eye-bags thinking I have been scared all night. Yes I may have been worried, nervous and not a little bit scared but I have never gotten nightmares before! Geez Reinard stop underestimating me. I just grunted something unhearable as a reply and all of us prepared for the duel. Gavin laid a hand on my shoulder saying "good luck, I know you can do it", he looked worried but not doubtful. He trusted my abilities..the few I had atleast. I could see from Reinards impatient look that he wanted this duel to be over with, I wanted that to. He drew his sword, a simple but strong looking sword with the handle carved in the shape of an eagle. He was ready. Neil who sat on a stone right between us looked at us a few times to see if we were ready, I drew my dagger..that looked incredubly small compared to my brothers. And so it started when the archer on the stone yelled "Begin!"

Reinard was fast, almost inhumanly fast! It just took a few seconds before he was right in front of aiming for a cut. I immediatly kneeled down to dodge the sword and aimed my dagger for his arm that he easily blocked. Our weapons were only locked for a second before he pushed it away with such a strength that I flew backwards but never let go of the dagger. He came after me again..I could see how his eyes were dead locked on me. No one noticed it, not Reinard, not his comrades..maybe Gavin.., they could not notice the faint smile I showed. My plan was in motion as I continued to dodge, thank god Reinard baby me so much, I would be dead if he did not hold back a smuch as he did. And it also proved how concentrated he was. A concentration that may be his downfall.

"That Cass barely attacks anymore" Neil complained as the duel continued. Tania sighed hearing her comrades complaint. "No surprise, he probably gives everything he has right now just to dodge. It will be useless in the long run, sooner or later he will loose" she said. Gavin looked at the duel once again. It sure was intense with how reinard chased after Cass with cut after cut, but he must say that Cass sure is agile. He got some scratches and brief cuts from the sword but still seemed to be fine. But Cass never looked scared or in panic, he seemed fully focused on what he was doing. Gavin may have only known him for a short time but knew that Cass knows how to think, and this seemed to move according to his plan. And that was when Gavin realised it. What Cass was doing. "He is leading him to the edge of the glade..!"

Just a little more! I was starting to get tired, it sure took a lot of energy to dodge Reinards attacks like that, I have ducked, jumped, squirmed, crawled. Doing whatever to not loose my dagger out of my hands. To bad my brother just looked like we have started the duel. He didn't seem tired at all. But that did not bother me. He haven't talked at all since we started the battle. It was a good sign. I started to glance at the ground after something not visible for Reinard. I panted and stopped running. Reinard threw me a gentle smile and raised his sword. The finishing blow huh? Right when he was about to do the last cut I moved out of the way and saw how he stepped on something large and white on the ground that exploded into a large cloud of white smoke. Reinard looked a little surprised, but not much as he was about to look at me again..the problem was, I was not in his field of vision.

What just happened!? a white curtain of smoke placed itself over the edge of the glade as the 3 spectators looked very confused. Neil seemed to get what happened though. " A alabaster spore mushroom, the spores are harmless but the amount of spore the mushroom releases are so great it is great for obscuring vision. They also taste great in soup!" he joked with another smack from Tania. " A smokebomb huh, I am afraid it wont help much against Reinard.." she said but Gavin smiled a little. "So that was your plan huh, Cass?..Tania I think youre wrong, this is just the beginning for the kid's counterattack"

I could see how desperatly Reinard tried to see me in the thick white smoke. "Over here!" I shouted and he immediatly turned around and ran in my direction. He saw a brief glimpse of me before I moved out of his field of vision again. A large squish was heard and a foul smell spread through the glade. "Seems like he stepped on the swamp nettle this time" I thought with a little grin. They are very sticky and smelly plants which are stuck on a long time with long clingy roots, their smell is very distracting. But it didn't bother Reinard at all as he continued to try to locate me again. His boots made loud squishy noises when he walked. He may not know where I am but I heard his whereabouts loud and clear now because of the swamp nettle. Despite the smell and stickiness did he not loose his cool. Thats my brother all right! He moved like I predicted, now it was time for the final step. Now it was important to move quickly. I jumped straight out of the smoke fully visible for Reinard who smiled again. "Got you now" he said and rushed towards me again, not noticing the rope in my hand. I immediatly dragged the rope straining a line right in front of my opponents feet but he noticed the rope and jumped right over it. "Traps like this does not work cass!" he shouted right before he fell flat on the ground with a loud swear. The smoke was clearing up now so the rope was fully visible. And now you could see how the swamp nettle on Reinards boots were all tangled into the rope. I knew that he would notice it and jump but never counted with the plants getting stuck instead. His sword lied on the ground next to him, Reinard dropped it when he fell! "Big brother, I think i won this duel" my smile were of the kind that threatened to crack my face again. I am not made for smiling that much. Surprised shouts could be heard from a distance. Reinards comrades and Gavin have realised who was on the ground by now when the smoke was gone. Neil and Tania helped my brother up at once when they saw him, he brushed of some dust and let them take of the swamp nettle while he looked at me. Both surprised but in defeat. "I guess you won then.. I didn't think you would win actually.." he said. "I know you better than you think, you always focus so hard on just one thing and never look at your surroundings. You focused so much on holding back to not injure me that you only had eyes on me and not these petty traps I prepared for you." I explained to him. Gavin patted my shoulder and looked quite proud. "Good job Cass, keep your promise now Reinard. Cass won't need ot go home..right?" and my second oldest brother lowered his head in defeat. "Okay then..Cass..please continue on your adventure" stretching out a hand to me. I was about to shake it when he suddenly dragged my arm against him giving me another rib crushing hug. Why do I always believe that he won't do that!? Reinard grinned in his little victory. Tania and Neil have gotten him free from the swamp nettle by now so he quickly released me, with another set of sore ribs.. and started to walk of. " We must continue our patrol now, I hope I see you soon again" he shouted to me, as the group of three disappeared once again into the woods.

It was for the best to continue our trip to the city of Riade so we made our way back to the camp to ready the horses. Gavin looked proudly at me while we were walking. " I am impressed Cass, you got a knack for trap making too" he said and I looked at him with gloomy eyes and those dark circles still fully visible. "I will never make these kinds of traps again!" I exclaimed. "Why?" he asked. Being afraid he would have hurt my feelings again or making me uncomfortable noting that I have such skills equal to a thief. No that was not it."Because looking for swamp nettle in the middle of the night stinks!! Literally!" a answer that made Gavin laugh heartily all the way back to our camp.

Chapter 7

We were probably just an hour away from the city of Riade now, it is hard to express the relief I felt from that thought. I never thought we would get anywhere because of a certail distraction called my big brother. But I was in a very good mood because I won the duel against him, something I normally never would aquire before. Maybe this adventure would do me good afterall, maybe I would be as strong as my brothers in the end of this journey. I still have the money from the goblin raid mission that I split with Gavin, it was enough to get myself a good sword or buy something nice to myself, maybe a extra set of clothes..the ones I had were abit smelly since I spent the night looking for swamp nettle, we met some travelers on the way and they immediatly backed away when they felt the smell. I really need a bath..how in the world does Gavin do to not even look sweaty even though we have been on horseback all day in this harsh sunlight!He steered Avalanche closer to me and Root in a attempt to discuss our plans. “We should probably look for an inn the first thing we do when we arrive in Riade, and get some healing herbs aswell, some healing potions to.. besides finding a good mission, what do you want to do? Escorting? Slaughtering a wild beast? Maybe save another child, oh it was a long time since I chased a bounty” his examples were many and they all made me stunned. How in the world do you choose these stuff!? But Gavin seemed excited about it, well being a freelancer gives you a larger variety of missions than being tied with a guild that chooses the missions provided for their members. He is more experienced than me so I trust his decisions. But damn him if he choose a goblin raid again!! Right when the white walls of Riade were in sight did we hear a loud scream, just a little bit away from the road into the forest. Gavin immediatly reacted and turned Avalanche in a elegeant U-turn and ran into the forest. Root were not as majestic as I made her turn after them but I can't be that picky with her.

“Gavin wait up!” I shouted as Root started to pick up their pace, and right when I said that did he jump of his horse as we heard the ruckus close by now. Gavin signaled to me that I had to be quiet and pointed to a rough looking group of men. Must be bandits, and it seemed like they were picking a fight with somebody already. Being to occupied to notice us. There were about 5 or 6 of them surrounding someone clad in a orange cloak. “What did you call us, you little wench!?” one of them growled, towering over the cloaked person who looked al ot shorter in comparison. But it didn't back of. “Whats wrong with calling you stupid bucketloads of filth? It clearly fits and you wonderful filthy brutes havent told me any other name to adress you with” the person said. The voice was smoth and had a light tone to it, it was difficult to tell if it belonged to a male or a female. The person spoke again. “Besides, you stupid bucketloads of filth are even more stupid have gotten one more thing wrong..and that is not just your ugly mugs and failed career choice” it was very obvious what happened after that provocation. The bandits all roared and drew their weapons attacking the cloaked one. I noticed that Gavin drew his sword and was just about to rush into the fight. “We can't let that group gang up on one lonely traveler, despite that it seemed that she started it, Cass try to drag her out of the fight while I deal with the thugs” it seemed like a good plan and we were just about to go into the fight to help out when everything turned quiet. Something was wrong, there was a kind of omnious pressure on my chest I have never felt before, I tried to move but I couldn't..because I was scared. Gavin stopped aswell, he was actually shivering a little but held a hostile expression on his face gritting his teeth. “Blood magic..” he spitted out. His eyes were focused on the one in the orange cloak who were muttering something moving its hands like it was directing something. And there I saw it, the thugs were screaming in dismay as they turned around walking away, with strange stiff motions on their legs and their faces looked like they had no control of their actions. They looked very confused actually, no idea on what was happening as they disappeared out of our sights into the thick bushes. Still screaming. The cloeaked person laughed so heavily that the hood fell off. “Unintelligent brutes calling me a wench when it is obvious that I am a male” I heard the person mutter. Spotting scarlet coloured hair that reached down to his shoulders now when the hood was gone. The pressure was gone and I felt that I could move again and was just about to sneak away. I felt that this person was dangerous, suddenly I heard and saw Gavin who seemed to have nailed his sword right into the tree being stuck. But he didn't let go of it, that was when I realised that he couldn't let go of it. “Geez so savage! Swinging a sword at me like that! Be glad that I fixed the problem for you, will probably take a while to get it out” Gavin remained quiet with his eyes staring at the tree, he couldn't turn his head I realised. “Me being savage? You are a blood mage! You practioners of the dark have nothing to gain from here” he growled. The blood mage sneered a little. “ I didn't know there were monopoly on healing herbs nowadays! Besides the security of Riade is so low I can do my errands without being bothered.” Gavin gritted his teeth again and tried to break free from the spell, he seemed to be in pain, it showed in his face. I felt the omnious pressure again as the blood mage looked at me and I looked into one of the most beatiful faces I ever seen. I know the mage have said he was male, I heard him say it but it was easy to doubt because he seemed so..petite and slender. It was difficult to tell which gender he was. He was shorter than me but that didnt stop him to stare into my face, his stared at me with emerald green eyes that seemed to flash like lightning. “Listen closely, you are the servant of that knight right? If he raises his sword at me again I promise that our next meeting won't end well. I HATE getting my hands bloody but I show no mercy on fighting crazy knights who haven't learned their lession. I am not afraid of you, not as long as I can do whatever I want with you with just a little twitch of my finger” and so the blood mage muttered something and the pressure became heavier and heavier, my head felt dizzy and suddenly everything turned black.

“Cass, Wake up! Wake up!”, Gavins voice pierced through my head like needles. Ouch what a headache! My head wouldn't stop ringing. I opened my eyes and looked at the white knight who also looked a bit dizzy. The sword was still stuck in the tree trunk but he have gotten free from the grip atleast. I remembered what happened, and that we encountered a blood mage. One of the most dangerous mage types. It controlled Gavin, and those bandits. And made me faint. I was upset..but not because of that. “ He called me a servant...” I may have been ignored many times, underestimated and more. But no one have ever said I was someones servant. Never! But Gavin seemed to misstake my anger. “Don't be sad, blood mages have a extremly high bounty, its not someone a freelancer duo can take on. Its nothing shameful with fainting” he comforted me. To bad I didn't need comforting of that kind. For the moment we should focus on freeing Gavins sword from the tree before going into Riade. It was no use thinking of the blood mage anymore, he have probably disappeared into the city walls already.

“It tok 1 hour to get the sword out, its ridicoulus! How did you get it in so deep!?” I complained slamming my cup into the table and Gavin sighed. “My arms were controlled Cass, I couldn't control my strength, the blood mage completly averted my attack changing the direction I was swinging and everything.” He said quietly geasturing I should do the same. We were resting in a inn behind the city walls of Riade and I must say that it sure was the city of herbs. Felt like walking into a pot of herbal tea as fast we passed the city gates. The city itself were mostly wooden buildings with long clingy plants on most of the walls that made it feel like we still were out in the forest instead of being inside the city. My ears were still ringing and my head felt heavy. Not even the herbal tea we got from the inn helped against iit. “Probably an aftereffect from the blood magic he cast on us, the victims often feel a sharp headache for a while afterwards. Thats the best way to see if somebody is under their control. I think it lifts after about 2 or 3 days” Gavin reassured me. He seemed to have calmed down now and we were discussing what to do next now when the horses were placed in the stable and our room was rented. It got decided then that I was going to do some shopping and Gavin would look for possible missions at the adventurers guild. He mentioned something about going to the blacksmith for a while so I expected he would be gone for about 3 hours. Time for some shopping.

“Are you sure these roots are fresh? Seems strange to sell a week old roots for the same price as newly picked ones” the shopkeeper frowned at my questions. She seemed very displeased with that I complained on her wares. “Excuse me for trying to make a good affair” I thought for myself with a mutter as I stared at the roots once again trying to pick a good one. I noticed the basket with roots next to the basket I was looking in. Completly fresh, must have been picked this morning. They looked big and nutritious..much better than the sorry looking ones in my hands, I couldnt help but move my hand towards the basket. I was just going to touch them to compare thats all! My touch was just silent and so quick that the shop lady never noticed..thats all.

I left the shop with those not so fresh roots I had to buy anyways, my haggling for a lower price did not go so well this time. Stubborn shop lady.. That was when I realised there was something in my pocket. Over 5 large juicy fresh herbal roots lied there. “How did they get there??” I thought and discreetly placed them in my bag with the other roots. Was it really me who took them? Maybe they fell in the bag by accident. Ehumm..maybe better to not think about it. I got more roots and I didn't have to spend another coin on it. Nothing to complain about. There was another person coming to the herb stall so I moved a little so he could get some room to look at the wares. The orange cloak seemed very familiar and I froze slowly turning my head towards the cloaked one who didn't seem to notice that it was me. He did not joke when he said he had errands to do in Riade! Where was the guards? Or the adventurers? So that they could apprehend him already! Not that it seemed he was up ot no good, He was so focused at the herbs. There was a little boy in rags dragging in the blood mage's robe pointing at the different herbs in a hurry. “Mrs Ferian which herb will cure my mother?” he asked looking very worried. The blood mage sneered a little. “It is mister Ferian, not miss! And I have already told you my magic will cure your mother, the herbs are to cure the aftereffect” he said as he made a quick purchase of some herbs and quickly walked off with the little boy right after him. It would have been wise to just turn around and walk back to the inn. To not focus on the blood mage..that was rude enough to misstake me for a ismple servant! Besides being a blood mage is a criminal act in itself. Catching him may be a huge shortcut to being a hero, they may call me a hero just by catching him. So I did something very stupid, I followed them! Walking right into the slum quarters of the city of Riade.

Chapter 8

The smell of herbs got heavier and heavier as the blood mage and the boy went further and further into the town of Riade into a street that looked like belonging to the slums. The houses here were old and looked like they would topple over any moment now and those large clingy herbs I saw on the walls on the other buildings were so great in numbers that these old racks looked like they were made solely out of plants. Where were they heading? And why was I following them? Now thinking about it a second time made my idea to seem pretty reckless and stupid. How in the world do I capture a blood mage that can control my body in the blink of an eye!? The tables would be turned immediatly the moment he noticed me. Shouldn't I tell the guards about this? Or rather the adventurers guild located in town they maybe had people capable of dealing with the blood mage. But I should thank my luck for not being discovered yet as I sneaked after them. Not even the people on the street paid me any attention, but the ones I saw here in the slums seemed pretty miserable. The inhabitants here were dirty beyond compare and their hands were sore and some looked almost bloody and looked around with blank expressions. But most of these people were busy with their own business to notice a simple guy like me sneaking close to the walls of these rough buildings following the little boy and the colorful orange cloak belonging to the blood mage. I shouldn't complain about this but..why in the world is he wearing something so easy to distuingish when he is a criminal!? Staying out of attention must be the most ideal. But ofcourse i don't know much about blood mages, maybe he mixter with peoples perception of him. Not that I am going to ask him in person anyways.








They suddenly stopped, in the furthest end of the slums right in front of a small shack completly overgrown by thorns. The little boy immediatly opene the door and ran inside. ”Mother, mother! I found someone that can cure you!” he shouted and waved to the blood mage as he walked inside outside of my field of vision. This would be a good turning point, turn away and go back ot the main street and tell the adventurers guild where the blood mage resided and probably get a small sum for the information. But there was a lingering curiousity for me, what will he do next? Sounded like he would help the boy's mother. But with what? I really wanted to know that so I silently got closer to the small window of the little shack careful to not be seen through it and continued to observe. Still having that ringing headache that felt like it was stabbing my brain with needles.








There was only a small table, some chairs and a bed in the little house. A bowl with water stod on the table with a towel next to it and some moldy bread to. The little ragged boy sat next to the bed and I saw a woman on it, she seemed rather weak though, she breathed heavily and looked very pale, she did not even seem to know what was going on around her. She must be very sick, the worried expression on the boys face confirmed my suspicions. ”Miss Ferian please heal her!, you said you could do it!” the boy said and the blood mage frowned at him. ”I have told you already, say mister Ferian you little brat! Ehumm..Lets have a look at your mother then” he said. I thought he would do a incantation or something, something that made that omnious pressure return. But no, he just placed a hand on the womans forehead, checked her temeperature and observed her breathing. ” She have weak lungs doesn't she? She can't process enough oxygen for her whole body and now her heart is about to give up aswell. Correct?” he asked and the boy nodded. ”I have asked the doctors but they couldn't do anything without the right herbs which are way to expensive for us..i tried earning them by working on the herbal field but the pay was to bad, and the clerics and healers barely leave the churches and the clerics in the adventurrs guild are way to busy for a simple beggar family, mister Ferian please you are the last one I can ask” the boy cried. The blood mage, Ferian, patted him on the shoulder with a gloom expression. ”Listen here brat, I have told you already, blood magic can solve this problem, I will slowly control the blood flow in her body so enough oxygen will be spread through her body and I will do my best to strengthen her heart and lungs by controlloing them to pump by my power instead of by their own until they get strong enough to function without my help, but the risks are big, the aftereffects are severe and may kill her in this weak condition. Are you still willing to take the risk? You won't have to pay me if I succeed but I take no responsibility if I fail” He said. The smooth voice of his was serious as the grave and the little boy seemed to understand it and gave a silent nod. ”Well then, lets begin, kid don't interfere no matter how much your mother screams! Mash up some herbs for her to drink and stay out of my way” Ferian commanded and the boy immediatly ran to the corner of the shack and started to mash herbs. Seems like that guy doesn't need to use blood magic all the time to make people obey him.








I could feel the heavy dark pressure return and that blasted headache were starting to get more severe again, it weren't nails pounded into my head anymore, felt more like a dozen of copies of Gavins sword were plunged into my head but I resisted the urge to scream. I could hear the blood mages smooth voice mumble something that sounded like an incantation with a hand over the womans chest which was rising slowly as Ferian continued the incantation, she whimpered all the time but were to weak to scream as the spell continued. I barely looked through the window right now, leaning agains't the wall as the pain in my head continued. Was this the aftereffects Gavin spoke about? Or was it the result of being to close to strong blood magic? No matter what it was, it hurt! I don't know how long this continued, but after a while that must be about 2 hours did the mumbling stop and I heard the boy shout. ”Why did you stop!? Are you done?” the answer came as a sneer from the blood mage. ”No, I am just halfway done, but she needs some herbs to lighten the pain, you can feed her don't you?” and swift steps were heard. I guess it must been a yes then. After a while I heard his smooth voice again. ”Kid, place a little bowl of herbs outside the door” and the boy asked ”why? Is it for the ritual?” but Ferian chuckled. ”No, it is for the idiot hiding beneath your window. He have been stalking us the whole afternoon” the boy did not argue against him and placed a bowl of herbs outside the door looking around. It took him a while to notice me because I was hidden behind the thornbush. I should have panicked by now fleeing if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't move right now. The kid went inside again after giving me the bowl and I heard Ferian's voice again. ”Information for our dear stalker out there, your headache will lift a little after eating those herbs but not fully, serves you right for following me like that when I have a important job to do! Besides, you were pretty good at hiding if it weren't for those moaning sounds you started to make an hour ago. Not able to take a little blood magic huh?” he chuckled and I gritted my teeth slowly eating those herbs I got and I immediatly felt the headache just become a slight pounding in my head. It felt so much better now! The door opened and the scarlet head stuck out his head. ”Are you going to lie around there all day like trash or are you coming inside? By the way, no is not an option” he said with a grin and I felt how my body rose, but it was not me who did that! I felt how my body walked inside, despite that I wanted to do the complete opposite thing! He placed me on a chair and turned to the boy. ”Kid, say hi to stalker, stalker say hi to kid” he said and returned to the woman. ”I have to return to my work now but the stalker will keep you company kid, he will go with you to the market and buy more herbs, with his own money!” and pointed a finger at me and my body immediatly rose. ”The spell works for about an hour, his body will listen to anything you say under that time so hurry to the market. I take care of your mom” I felt that heavy blood magic pressure drape itself around my body like a cloak. I couldn't move my body! But my mind didn't feel clouded at all, the headache was even gone and I tried to speak. ”y...you scu..m” I got out and Ferian shrugged. ”You have to come with something better to make me feel offended, my dear stalker” and pointed his finger toward the door and I felt how my body walked towards it, the little ragged boy ran in front of me and opened it for me, how well mannered! And so we made our way to the market on the main street.








”I want 5 harmonic humble root, 12 clint thistles and some moon wilted berries, the best you have in stock, he pays”, the shopkeeper looked a bit suspicious at us but smiled when I felt how my body opened the money pouch. ”That would be 20 silver coins please” he said. My body paid him without any complaints even though my mind was screaming loudly. 20 silver coins!? It was just 12 silver coins just some hours before. What a scumbag trying to extort money from a poor controlled body like this! I want atleast 8 coins back later. Making me pay,literally.. That was low Ferian, very low. Even though the beggar boy seemed happy, so happy he even hugged the bag with ingredients he just got. Well I shouldn't complain if it managed to cure his mother. We quickly got back to the slum street again but there was trouble in the air, there was a greasy old man smelling like mold blocking our way who looked at the beggarboy. ”Hey brat! Why weren't you working at the fields today!? Weren't you so desperate for the payment to save that disease hazard you call mother?” the boy gritted his teeth and took my arm going past the man, who just moved to block our way again. ”I don't need to work on your moldy herbal field ever again! I found someone that can cure my mom” but the mold man just laughed,loudly. ”Hah! How? You know no doctors or healers will come here, no one cares about a pair of dirty beggars like you. Maybe I should pay your so called doctor a visit and ”convince” him or her that its not worth the effort, like I did to all the other doctors you tried to bring here” he said with a large grin showing all of his brown teeth in front of me and turned around quickly walking to the begar familys shack. ”Stop him!”the boy screamed and my body immediatly rushed after him. Not that he needed to control me for that. I wanted to stop him anyways. But it was to late, he already entered the house.








The greasy mold man grinned that ugly smile again when he saw Feriean leaned over the woman still mumbling on his incantation. ”So this little lady is your so called doctor huh? A healing magician? Hah I doubt they even can pay you for this. And that womans treatment takes atleast several days even for healing magic. Don't you have much more important people to cure than these dirty filth? Listen you wench, leave here quietly and I pay you greatly. No use working so hard for these nobodys” but there was no reply from Ferian who continued on his incantation. I could see the anger in the mold mans face. Not the type that likes to be ignored huh? He took Ferians shoulder in a firm grip and probably tried ot shake him in an attempt to disturb the incantation. The boy by my side cried, he must be very scared of that man. And I could still not control my body so we could only helplessly watch as the mold man tried to wreck the cure of the beggar boys mom. Suddenly the mumbling stopped, the mold man smiled triumphantly. ”Looks like your incantation was broken, to bad looks like another person could not save this lady” but Ferian just shook his head, still only focusing his gaze on the woman. ”Looks like this filthbag is very good on being wrong, for the first, I finished my incantation long before you waltzed into here, for the second, I am not a little lady and for the third. These people may be dirty and poor, but they are not filthy, there is a difference. And I must say my good sir, you are one of the filthiest dirtbags I have ever seen! Oh and the fourth thing. Who said I am a healing magician?” and turned his head around to the mold man and us with a large grin filled with malice. He pointed his fingers towards the mold man who immediatly fell on his knees with a scream and held his hands on his head with a expression filled with agony. The omnious pressure was all over the room like a blanket but I felt how the effects of it only affected us a little. Maybe he lessened it thinking of the woman on the bed. ”Listen here you moldy worm of a filthbag, never ever disturb me when I am working with my patients, the stalker over there just watched us, he never bothered me or tried to break my incantation. Do you know what happens when my incantations break?” he asked, still having that malicious grin in his face. But the moldy geezer never answered, obiously! Suddenly he started to scream again, even louder than before as he fell flat on his face. ”Oh come on I just nearly stopped the bloodflow in your body. You won't die from it if I stop my magic now. Well It can kill you but I held back, I HATE getting my hands bloody. Drink a lot of water, eat some medical herbs and never ever bother me or this family again and you will return to normal.” this was the power of a blood mage alright. He had absolute control of the situation and would not hesitate to use his powers to get what he wants. No wonder they are considered to be so dangerous! Would it even be necessary to call any guards? I seriously doubt anyone could catch this guy, not after seeing and even experiencing his powers. I just hope I can get out of this alive before he gets any more ideas to use my body for, or even worse, to make me pay for anything more. Suddenly I felt that omnious dark cloak that stopped my actions were lifted from my body. I hesitantly moved my hand a little and looked at the bloodmage. ”You are letting me go?” I asked him. ” I don't need you anymore and I don't think i have to tamper with your memory, you seem smart enough to not bother me like this fool of a filthbag over here. Besides I need someone to carry out the filthbag out of here, he is way to heavy for the kid and I will NOT touch that pest, who knows where he have been before coming here!” he said with a large frown and pointed at the mold man. So technically I had to go out with the garbage.. I have never liked that chore at alll. Ferian opened the door for me with a smile. ”Be careful on your way out with the garbage my dear stalker” he said with a sweet smile that was way to sweet for a guy in my opinion.Seems like I had no choice than to obey him and sighed when I took one arm and started to drag the mold man outside of the house. But he was way to heavy to drag to the main street and I didn't know where he lived so I did the most necessary thing, I dumped him in a pile of old hay. To the farmer who the pile belongs to, I am really sorry for infesting your hay with mold!


It felt like forever since I was at the inn and breathed out in relief as I took another sip of herbal tea finally getting rid of that dreaded headache. I didn't have to wait for long until Gavin entered through the door and noticed me on the table by the window. ”I am so sorry for being late Cass, I met some old aqquintances of mine among the group of holy knights that just arrived to town and our conversation took longer than expected.” he apologized. But I couldn't help but tilt my head when he mentioned holy knights. Aren't they normally working for the church? ”What are the holy knights doing here in Riade?” I asked and Gavin looked at me with a gloomy expression. ”To capture the blood mage ofcourse, holy knights are nearly immune against their blood magic afterall. It is probably a matter of time before they catch him, all exits out of the city are blocked. I doubt even a blood mage can get out of this” he said but I felt how my heart sank. Will they really catch Ferian?.. I don't know why but I did not want him to get caught. Did he know the holy knights were in the city? Would he fight? Would he use the townspeople as a shield? Should I tell Gavin who I met during this afternoon doing the errands? No not yet. Ow all of these questions in my head gave me a new headache! ”Gavin I am not feeling so well, my headache is killing me, can I go to the room?” I asked and he nodded. ”ofcourse, I tell you if they catch the blood mage” he said with a a calm smile while I walked upstairs to our simple cheap room just to get a huge surprise when I got inside and a explanation why my headache blossomed up again.


”Hello stalker, sorry for following you here but I need to ask you of a favor, without no as a option”, Ferians grin was cold and I felt that i could not move my legs to escape. He must have climbed in through the balcony to get inside of here. He continued to talk to me. ”You probably have heard from your comrade downstairs already but the holy knights are here and they don't sadly enough listen to anything I say, stupid holy element..” he said. ”But why are you here?” I asked him even though I had a thought of what he wanted already. ”I said I wanted to ask you a favor, geez listen already you stalker no-face. You seem like a stealthy guy,good at sneaking, a no-face like you won't get stopped at the gates, so get me out of here right in front of the nose on those pesky holy knights!” and there it came, the ”favor”. How in the world will I get out of this mess!?

Chapter 9

There was no exaggeration to say that I was in quite a pinch here. With a wanted blood mage right in front of my eyes claiming that I have to smuggle him out of the city. Why me of all people!? Can't my normally no-memorable face just make him not notice me as it does for everyone else? But some bad face traits probably doesn't work well on a blood mage. But there was no time to think about that right now, the blood mage in question sat on the chair looking at me with a tense grin. ”So? Will you help me out? I prefer that you say yes because I am not in the mood to use my powers on you again two times in a row for a day” oh damnit. I wonder if I can escape out of the room? I was quite close to the door, but I suspected that Ferian had a spell ready already to fire in any attempt I had on escaping. Well I could just accept his request and get him out of Riade. But there was no guarantee that he would not control me again. Maybe he would take control of me as soon as we have left the town and I have to become his servant for a lifetime. What a dreadful ending!



”I guess your scilence means no..to bad then..” Ferian sighed but right as he said that did the door slam right open and I saw something white rush inside straight at Ferian. ”Gavin!” I shouted, first feeling relief but after that i felt fear. Wouldn't the blood magic be used on him again like last time? Ferian seemed to think the same thing because heimmediatly shouted something directing his hands towards the rapidly approaching Gavin. But nothing happened. ”Why is it not working?” Ferian screamed in terror as he immediatly started to run away. But the windows were closed and locked. Ehumm did I mention I closed them as fast Gavin entered? It seemed like a good idea and I was right. I could see how stressed out Ferian looked. He was heading towards the door but Gavin was faster and before the blood mage could react did he deliver a punch right into his stomach so he crouched into the floor coughing wildly. ”Cass, take this and tie him up immediatly” Gavin commanded sternly and threw me something. It was a necklace with a cross on it. Gavin was wearing one to I putted it on with a little hesitation before quickly taking the rope out of my bag tying up the still coughing Ferian. He managed to look up at us and saw the necklaces. ”You spineless lighthearted cowards seeking help from holy knights!” he hissed towards us still breathing heavily. ”Seems like you have quite a weak body even though your magic is powerful. Maybe you should train a little?” Gavin said with a cold smile and turned to me. ”You okay Cass?” he asked and I could see how worried he was about me. ”Yes I am okay...why were you immune towards the blood magic?” I asked and felt on the cross-necklace, it was quite obvious it was because of them. ”The necklaces are infused with holy element, as long as we wear them are we immune towards the blood magic he uses. There is to much holy element in them, my friend among the holy knights gave them to me” he explained. Seemed reasonable, but these necklaces must be extremly valuable if they were strong enough to withstand the spells of blood magic. Gavin..please don't say what you paid for them I won't be able to take it.








Ferian have stopped coughing now but he glared at us with those emerald green eyes, probably imaginating flaying us alive by now. ”I am a bit surprised about why he approached you so boldly Cass, it was a risky and a very STUPID move” Gavin said looking at our captive, emphasazing the word stupid. Seems like even Gavin can hold osme grudged for the humiliation with the tree in the sword. ”Not as stupid as you, mr ”I am strong enough to throw my sword into a tree but not strong enough to get it out” they will just inprison me, I will break free sooner or later" he sneered at Gavin who gave the captive blood mage a ice cold stare. " The holy knights will be here any minute now to escort you back to Dallarin" he said, the look in Ferians eyes immediatly turned dark as fast as Gavin mentioned that country. "Wait, isn't it the law to imprison or execute any executioner of the dark arts?" I asked Gavin who simply shook his head. "Not if they are from Dallarin, the alliance between our kingdom of Arend and the kingdom of Dallarin says that any practicioner of the dark arts as blood magic or necormancy prooved to be inhabitants of Dallarin must immediatly be sent back to their country to serve their country and their king and will not be executed or be placed under the laws here in Arend." he explained to me. Now I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ferian if he had to be sent to such a dark and hopeless place.








Maybe I should explain the little I know here, the country of Dallarin lies in the north with a large mountainrange that borders between them and the kingdom of Arend and it is said to be a living hell on earth, why? Because almost the whole country is contaminated by dark element, it is in the plants, the water,the ground, everywhere. A lot of monsters and demons that thrive in the dark contamination comes to Dallarin and preys on humans at night. A lot of undead spawn there to because of the dark element in the ground so no one dares to bury their loved ones in Dallarin in fear they will become undead. And that is probably the only country in the world where you can be born with the dark arts when peopel normally learn them from others. So I guess there is a difference with a blood mage form Dallarin and a blood mage you meet here.That is what I know atleast, a dark an dreary country filled with monsters and undead. Not a place where I wanted to live thats for sure.








"I rather be killed than going back, come on you pesky knight stab me with your sword and let me die free atleast" Ferian sneered loudly trying to provoke Gavin to actually deal him another blow. But the white knight just ignored it and turned to me. "Cass I go meet with the holy knights, stay here and keep an eye on Ferian. Don't take of your necklace no matter what! I'll be back soon" and so he left through the door to go downstairs. I threw a glance at Ferian who wriggled like crazy trying to untie himself,without sucess. I can proudly say that my knots are very hard to undo. But I couldn't help but feel curious about him. He did not seem to be as evil as everybody said about blood mages, an why was he so terrified of returning to Dallarin? "..why are you so unhappy to be sent to Dallarin? Isn't that better than to be executed?" I asked him quietly. The blood mage looked at me, his pretty face was not filled with anger anymore..it was filled with sorrow. "You don't get, no one gets it, it is not living in Dallarin that is the problem, I have grown up there without any problems at all, it's working for the king that is the bloody problem!!" he screamed at me and made another attempt to break free from the ropes with no success. ”Well..I would be able to get it if you told me what the problem is” I sneered at him and he looked surprised. ”So you will listen to me,no-face? What if I am trying to lie and trick you to get out of here?” he said looking suspicious but I just shrugged it off. ”I don't think it is fair to judge you before even hearing your part of the story, you better hurry up before the holy knights come” Ferian snorted out a short laugh probably thinking I am stupid, well sorry for being curious! He focused those emerald eyes straight into mine and started to explain. ”Listen here No-face, do you know we blood mages are gold worth over in Dallarin? Because we can control the monsters, even the demons, that haunts the country. If we are strong enough to say. We can avert any monster that attacks the cities or the lone travelers that gets attackedon the road. We can even help out under serious diseases if there are not enough healers. Like I helped that lady in the slums that you saw when you stalked me earlier.” I was just about to protest and say that it wasn't stalking but the frown Ferian gave me made me keep quiet so he could continue. ”I tell you this, no-face, there is one thing a blood-mage fears more than anything else in the world. Can you guess what that is?” he asked me. Well what would a blood magician fear? They can control almost any living being with their magic..what would be able to scare them then?..but so the thought hit me like lightning. ”You fear of being controlled, right?” and he nodded approvingly of my answer. ”Correct, I would clap my hands if they werent bound..you are smarter than you look..the truth is..any blood mage that works for the king is controlled. I don't know how he does it, he has a bunch of necromancers to but I think he bribes them instead.. I just know that something is wrong about this..my master got ordered to work in the service of the king and left me some years ago, something have been different about her ever since then. Her thoughts didn't seem to belong just to her anymore. And the king also claims that the royal dark art users only exist to serve him and Dallarin. Before she left me did she tell me to never become a royal blood mage, despite the easy life, the honour and the status and also the lack of punishments. But being a puppeteer of the living that becomes a puppet to the royal family in return? Its not worth it, what do you think i can do? I can't stay in that goddamn country so I came here and I am not regretting my decision, I rather face execution or live a wanted life here in Arend than going back to Dallarin, not that you people understand. Atleast someone else knows this than me now..better than nothing..” he muttered. A normal person would just laugh or shrug it off thinking it was desperate lies from a captive blood magician. But I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. It was so obvious he was scared despite hiding it very well. I don't think he would be lying. What person shivers like that while lying? Not a person I have met yet atleast.








And so I got a idea, an idea that probably was the worst idea I have ever got, that probably would make Gavin hate me if he found out. But it would not considered heroic to leave someone when it is in trouble...but ofcourse..it i snot considered heroic to free a wanted criminal either.., well that is a problem I deal with later I guess. I drew my dagger, the sunlight that streamed in through the windows gleamed in the sharp metal as I moved closer to the tied up man. My eyes were focused solely on him. ”So you will kill me then?” he asked, almost looking relieved, he couldn't be more misstaken. ”No you idiot, I will free you, I would undo the knots if i could but I am afraid to say that I am way to good at making knots..not undoing them..” I said and quickly cut into the firm ropes. The sharp dagger easily got through the ropes after a little effort and so the blood mage was freed. He stod up a bit shakingly at first but soon he regained his balance and his face broke up in a large grin. ”You must be the most stupid, foolish, puniest idiot to stalker I have ever met for doing something this stupid..and nice” he said with a bright smile . ”Hey, I help you out of town if you stop insulting me” I complained right before we heard several footsteps in the stairs. ”Damnit theyre here! Lets go!”








”Im sorry we are late Cass they will take the blood mage now...” Gavin started as he entered the room accompanied by two holy knights both dressed in the typical uniform and armor of the church. But the room was completly empty. There were some leftovers of a cut off rope on the floor. One of the holy knights. A man named Quint, immediatly analyzed the situation. ”The blood mage must have escaped just some minutes ago, Gavin you said you had a companion watching the blood mage aswell? We can assume that he took off his necklace and the blood mage used the opportunity doing a control spell to free him when he was not under the protection of holy light and os they escaped through the balcony. They could not have gotten far, lets hurry” and the two holy knights made their way outside the inn. Gavin looked at the rom for a few seconds noticing that cass bag was gone aswell. He would never leave it behind if he was thinking clearly ”Cass...please just be controlled and and dont say you are doing this on your own accord..” Gavin thought before he went after the holy knights ot search outside.








It may be true that Cass and Ferian escaped through the balcony, but they were actually only in the neighboring room at the inn. Cass noticed that the plants between the balconies were very easy to climb on so he used them to get to the balcony right next to theirs. It only took some minutes before he got into the next room. The room was luckily enough unlocked so it was just to step in. Even though he had to help Ferian to get inside who obviously seemed to not be good at climbing. They were safe for now..but who knows how long that would last.








”Lets see, we are the rooms located at the back of the inn, not a lot of people pass by here but someone must have seen us climb inside and tell the holy knights, so we can not stay here for long” I thought trying to think up a solution for our situation. Ferian was not any help because he just stretched out on the bed. Blood mage or not he was not a very good help at all! Why was he so easy to spot for!? People will easily notice that scarlet hair or that orange cloak if we just go out of the door. No if we have to coninute from here does he have to get new clothes. There was a dresser in the corner of the room, maybe there would be new clothes in there? But as I got closer to it I noticed that it was locked. ”Why do people lock everything nowadays!?” I complained. Ferian nonchalantly turned his head towards me, still being on the bed waiting fo rme to make our next move. ”Well mr stalker aren't you a thief? Just lockpick it or something” he suggested. I ignored the thiefcomment and went straight ot the point. ”Lockpick it with what? I need something pointy atleast” not that I was completly sure if that was needed to lockpick something. I have seen some thieves lockpick before and they all used lockpicks..I have only used metal scraps and a hairpin this far. I looked through my bag to see if I had something that could work in there and noticed an old bone. A leftover from our dinner some days ago. It looked sharp enough to work and putted it close to the keyhole, it went in! Now lets see if I can open it. I was a lot of wriggling and turning and I listened after any kind of click that indicated if I was close to open it or not. Ferian watched me curiously from the bed. ”Shouldnt you turn it more to the left? Hey it clicked!is it open now? Hey no-face you don't seem to be so good at lockpicking, it looks easy” he commented. Ignore him, ignore him. Ferian when somebody is concentrating don't disturb with rude comments or I will poke your eye with the bone next! Well i wanted to say that but it was probably more clever to keep quiet. Suddenly I heard the familiar clicking sound and I opened the dresser slowly. It worked! Maybe I was getting pretty good at this lockpicking stuff.. I took a look inside the dresser but the only thing were was dresses. ”Ferian I am afraid you have to wear this” I said as I took out a beatiful green silk dress. Must be a rich woman living in this room to have this quality on the clothes. It felt so smooth and the embrodiery was first class. My mother have always complained about that she never get to wear these kind of dresses. Sadly enough did Ferian not appriciate the quality as much as I did. ”Are you out of your mind!? I will not degrade myself so much to wear lowly womens clothing! I have my dignity in difference to you, you damn no-face!” he hissed at me. ”Its either the dress or being dragged back to Dallarin” I said. Oh god I don't want to know what he muttered towards me as he quickly undressed from the orange cloak and the clothes underneath that was a normal shirt and some white trousers into the green dress. And to any of you who doubted the fact that Ferian is male, I am sorry to dissapoint you, he is a guy. Not that I was able to see much of it because he knocked my head into the wall everytime I tried to peek. I took a look at him again, the dress fit him quite well actually, I found a scharf in the dresser and gave it to him to cover up his scarlet hair. His eyes had a glare that could kill me several times a row by now but I was quite content with the outcome. It was a good disguise and I got my little revenge, he degraded me as a servant, I degrade him to a pretty lady. Yes I have the right to feel petty about it! ”Stop glaring at me, you look good” I said to him, he just muttered something. I am glad I wore that holy necklace or who knows what he would do ot me right now.. the door was unlocked aswell so I quickly looked around to see if the coast was clear before leading the extremly beatiful but angry Ferian downstairs. The innkeeper just gave us a quick glance with a little whistle to my ”lady friend” before we made our way outside to the stables and Ferian immediatly frowned as we entered. ”It smells” he complained. ”Its your quick escape” I countered and he kept quiet. Root looked happy to see me as she neighed a sfast I entered the stable. Avalanche neighed a little too even though I tried to hush them. ”Schhhh, don't make your owner notice that we are here” I whispered to the white horse who continued to eat on his hay” Ferian was ofcourse of no help so i had to saddle Root on my own but he immediatly backed off when I led her ot him. ”Are you seriously thinking I will sit up on that skinny, unreliable looking beast!?” he complained. Now it was my turn to frown at him. ” Are you scared of horses?” I asked, he shook his head. ”I just don't like riding on them..” he said. ” Or is it more that you can't ride a horse?” I countered and he turned quiet. I took his silence as a yes and sighed. ”Come on get up, I help you up and lead her to the gates. Just don't fall off, you attract attention already as you are despite being in disguise” I managed to get the disguised blood mage up on Roots back only with a little difficulty, I was afraid of tearing the dress in the process but Ferian was actually quite graceful as he sat up on the horse, but the dress kind of forced him to sit like a lady to and the dagger eyes returned as I chuckled at the sight. I slowly led Root outside the stable to make our way to the nearest gate, I am quite proud of my horse, she was clever and understood that her rider was new to riding so she tried to avoid walking on any large rocks or bumps in the road that probably would make the lady on her back fall off. A group of holy knights passed by us, but they just asked if we have seen a person with scarlet hair and a orange cloak and explained that it was a wanted blood mage and that they were looking for more information about his whereabouts. But they left us soon after that, not even asking the lady on the horseback to remove her scharf revealing that scarlet hair! Maybe we actually could get through this afterall. There was only a little distance left to the gate now, but that was where we got stopped.








”Halt! All gates out of Riade are closed until the blood mage is arrested” the guard said to us. I could see how Ferian frowned at the guard, probably resisting the urge to control him a little ot make us pass without problems. But the problem was that there was some holy knights standing close to the gate aswell. I don't really know how this works but I guess that they will sense if ferian uses any blood magic and then we will get caught. Excuse, I need a good excuse,now!



”I am sorry my good sir but we are not suspicious people, we just want to get home after some shopping in Riade thats all, before it gets to dark to go anywhere” I said, trying to sound as nice as I could. The guard inspected me, my bag was at the approproate size for a small trip. Most of my actual luggage was back at the inn though. He looked more suspiciously at Ferian on roots back. ”And who is this little lady then?” he asked. He actually looked a bit interested. Well who can blame him, Ferian got a pretty face. I was starting to get nervus now, what would a good reply be. A friend? A sister? No instead of saying reasonable stuff like that did I blurt out ”she is my wife!”, the guard backed of from Ferian, who gave me the biggest death glare I have ever experienced in my whole life. If not his freedom was at stake owuld he probably have jumped off the horse, ripped of the holy necklace and give me a lession I would never forget. But he nodded a little to strengthen my lie to the guard. ”Oh your wife then..no offence my friend but how in the world did someone like you get together with someone like her?” that hurt! Even though Ferian chuckled looking at me with a ”serves you right!” look. Is it forbidden to marry beatiful girls nowadays without certain criterias!? Ehumm back to the situation. ”Well..some things just can't be explained, right dear? Please sir we just want to get home already” Ferian said , he smiled but his eyes still looked like they wanted ot flay me alive, he have lightened his smooth voice alittle on purpose to make the disguise more real. The guard coughed a little. ”Well I can't deny a request from such a nice young couple, have a safe trip then” he said and we passed through. I managed to hold my mask all the way through the gate even though I was smiling like a madman inside my head. It worked! The holy knights may have observed us a little but they did not look suspicious. But I never noticed something white coming after us from the inns direction..








We managed to get quite far from the walls of Riade before i finally relaxed. ”I can't believe we made it!” i exclaimed feeling relieved. Ferian muttered something getting of from Root's back. He looked at me tearing of his scharf so the scarlet hair got everyehwere in his face. ”You cheap, cunning, lying, weak little no-face! I skin you alive if you ever force me in a dress again!!” he hissed at me. ”My name is not no-face it is Cassander! Is that the thanks I get from smuggling you out?” I sneered back at him. He muttered something again that I could not hear. Maybe it was for the better to leave him now and go back to Riade. I could always claim that Ferian have controlled me the whole time and probably wouldn't get in such a big trouble for it. I handed him his clothes and said. ”I probably should go back now..be sure to not get caught now after all that effort to prevent you from being caught” and Ferian nodded. ”..yes...thank you then cassander No-face..you are quite useful after all” he said and I laughed right before he grabbed my necklace tearing it off from my neck. ”And very stupid!” he added and that pressure immediatly appeared, my body felt so heavy..I couldn't move it..how stupid could I be wearing the necklace so openly that he could just tear it off. I stood there completly frozen in place while ferian changed back ot his clothes and the orange cloak. ”You are very useful to have around, you can lockpick, people easily believe your lies, oyu are good at sneaking me out, the perfect escape tool as fast as I get in these situations. So I keep you, good right?” he said with a happy grin. Well it was good he was getting fond of me, not good that i was about to become his servant! What do I do now? That was when I heard the sound of very familiar steel boots run up to us. I could not see what happened but I saw a glimpse of Gavin, Ferian and something that was shining with a bright light. ”Not you again! Keep that ugly cross away from me you pesky white knight!” Ferian screamed. ”No way, realease Cass you blood devil!” Gavin shouted, I heard the sound of something that sounded like metal. Chains? And so another scream from ferian before the light faded and that pressure immediatly let go of my body. I saw Ferian on the ground, panting heavily. He was wearing something around his right wrist that looked like a chackle, with a cross carved into it. Gavin stood right next to him also panting, looking furious. ”CASS YOU IDIOT! Do you know what you have done!?” he shouted at me. ”Im sorry! I didnt want him to be caught! I never knew he would tear of my necklace!” I defended myself. I saw something around Gavins left wrist, it was the same chackle that Ferian had around his . ”what is that?” I asked carefully and he stared at me right before I noticed how ferian tried to sneak off but he looked troubled, seemed like he couldnt go out of our sight. ”Holy chackles, i got them from the knights in case I encountered the blood mage, it is pretty powerful magic that prevents the people wearing them from going outside of eachothers sight. So he won't escape while they go to Dallarin. You should be happy I won't kill you, you scum!” he hissed at Ferian whos eyes widened in fear. ”Dont hand him over to them Gavin! You don't know what happens to blood mages in Dallarin” I added. ”did he tell you?” Gavin said sternly and I nodded but added. ”I don't think he lied, Gavin trust me Ferian is not that bad that you think. I have seen him help some beggars in Riade, and he just wanted to take me with him because he probably is lonely. Trust me Gavin!” Gavin looked at me, first coldly but his gaze warmed a little after some minutes. He actually trusted me! ”I trust you Cass..but this guy is a wanted criminal. Who knows when he will use his powers again even though you and I are safe because of the necklaces.” I felt someone tap my shoulder, that was ofcourse Ferian. ”...I promise I won't use my powers if not needed, as long as you and that sorry excuse for a knight won't give me to the holy knights” but Gavin sneered at him. ”You think you are in a position to bargain yourself out of this?” and Ferian just snorted. ”Yes actually” and gave Gavin a death glare. I took Gavin aside for a moment in a attempt to convince him to keep Ferian. Now I may make him sound a little like a pet but its not my fault. Gavin is a very nice guy, he listened fully to my story and explanation about Ferian. He may have frowned alittle about the accusations of Dallarins king but he did not interrupt me. And he started to listen for real when I explained the advantages with having a blood mage with us could give, not that I had that many ideas for it. But we could definitely not leave him to the holy knights. ”Okay we say this, we take him with us for a month and see if he is as good as you say or if he is evil, I decide afterwards if we should hand him over or not.” Gavin said and touched the chackle on his arm a little.



It was a big gamble with this decision and he really hoped that trusting Cass was not the wrong decision. Gavin knew that his companion had a sharp head on his shoulders and would probably have thought this through thouroughly. Ferian muttered something dragging me a little in my shirt. ”Do I seriously have to go with you guys..maybe he should just have killed me” he said. I oculdnt help but grin at him. ” No is not an option, come on up on the horse now, you sit behind Gavin” I said and both Gavin and Ferian looked like they have seen a ghost or something and Ferian clearly screamed ”I have changed my mind, kill me now,kill me now!” right before he got up on Avalanches back behind Gavin who constantly muttered ”This was a bad decision this was a bad decision...” while I got up on Root and so we made our way from the city of Riade. With a wanted blood mage into the group on the run away from home. Why do I have a feeling that this was a big U-turn on my road to be a hero...

14-03-07