Chapter 230: Back to the Roots (1/2)
Ilea quickly checked through the remaining notifications in her mind but found none of her skills or classes had leveled from her encounters with the demons. The lone traveler soon came upon a city, its gates closed, guards patrolling on the walls. The sounds and smells that she perceived even from the hundred meter distance made her slow down and walk off the road onto the field of grass. She could see a single mage flying above the wall, following her along the defenses as she ran and circled the city.
Lucky for you I’m no elf. Passing the town walls, she continued on the same road, jumping over a river and ignoring a road leading north. Having looked over her map she had decided to go north from Riverwatch to avoid getting caught up in the war raging through the empire or the constant conflicts in the northern plains she had heard about. Ilea was pretty sure Kroll was smaller than the empire but she had no idea where it started or ended. The suns would rise soon and she hoped to see Karth at that point. Maybe I should learn where some of the stars are to orient myself.
It was an idea she previously had but never actually cared to learn about. A class in the Shadow’s Hand might’ve been the right decision but Ilea didn’t want to end up hidden away in a library like Dagon. The man had of course fought on the fields of Ravenhall to retake the city so she had to give credit where it was due.
The road soon diverged again, several paths leading in different directions. Ilea chose to follow the road to Karth. Running along the neglected road, she soon saw light on the horizon. Her buffs raised to the max when she realized it wasn’t sunlight but fire instead. The scent of smoke soon filled the air, Ilea ignoring the dangerous environment and rushing towards the origin of the fires.
A town? She thought when she passed destroyed walls, looking at the husks of destroyed houses built with wood and stone. All of it looked simple. Her lungs were filled with smoke but she resisted the slight urge to cough, finding it an easy thing. Perhaps her training with William hadn’t just been beneficial for underwater scenarios, although her skill only mentioned liquids.
A big square opened up, Ilea walking out into the open as a massive beam of wood came loose from a nearby building, shattering on the ground as it sent fiery sparks onto the dirt. Corpses. She thought and walked towards the wooden platform, finding several people dead, wounds from both weapons and claws it seemed but the headless corpse bound to a stake confused her a little, an ax biting into the wood above where the neck ended.
An execution? Some of the corpses looked like guards, at least very badly equipped ones. She found the head of the judged lying a couple meters away, eyes open and a look of anguish staring back at her. She chucked it away and continued looking around the burning village. Flying up, she found that the place was much smaller than she first thought, the raging fires hid the village’s ordinary nature, clothing it in a last spectacle.
Sounds of battle made her focus and glance at a patch of forest to the west. Quickly rushing over, she followed a trail of blood, corpses of soldiers, guards and what looked like civilians left behind before she came out into a small clearing, four armored warriors staring down a young woman, black lightning zapping the leaves and trees around her as she clutched the bleeding wound on her belly.
“Let her bleed out…,” One of the soldiers said, his spear pointed at her before he went to one knee, wincing in pain. Lightning cracked and sent the man backwards, smoke coming from his head as he landed close to Ilea. She was about to intervene and at least find out who they were when the woman cried out in pain.
Lightning crackled, scorching the ground around her before she coughed up blood. “You fucking dogs… I will kill all of you.”
The mentensed up. “Careful, don’t let your guard down.”
Ilea checked the soldier lying in front of her but found him dead and gone, instead walking towards the thoroughly distracted group before she spoke, “Who are you?”
Two of them turned right away, the woman coughing again and stumbling against the tree behind her as she smiled towards Ilea. A resigned look, her eyes closing with a pain stricken face. “A Shadow! Good, this one practices dark magics, you’ve seen it yourself. We were sent to take care of them.”
“Them? The dead man on the square?” Ilea asked and listened to the whispers coming from the woman.
“Charles, I will soon join you.”
“Yes, the whole village was corrupted, death magic.” The soldier who had spoken before answered her.
“So you came and killed them all, burnt down the village to cleanse it?” Ilea asked, trying to get a reaction out of him that might explain some of it.
“Exactly. She’s the last one of the wretches.” He said and twirled his blade.
Ilea really didn’t want to be in this situation but she wasn’t as cold as to just vanish without at least seeing it through. “What kind of rituals did they do?”
The soldier looked confused, the other two approaching the woman who seemed to have given up completely. “Didn’t you listen, she practices dark magic.”
Know a guy or two who do that too. Ilea thought and watched them start beating her. “Just kill her and be done with it.”
The man shook his head. “No. She must suffer. An example to those who would chose to serve these kinds of gods.” Quiet moans of pain filled her ears as she watched them throw the woman in the mud, kicking at her side with heavy boots, bones breaking with each hit.
“I said kill her and be done with it.” Ilea said but the man just smiled at her, turning his attention to the others. “Alright, your stupid decision not to listen to me.” Ilea added and appeared between the two men, her fists hitting each of their faces, breaking a jaw and a nose. “Now fuck off.”
The man behind her raised his sword and pointed it at her. “Why would you interfere, are you on a mission Shadow? These are the king’s laws and you stand between them. Would you really go against a whole kingdom?”
Ash surged out, gripping around the struggling soldiers next to her as her mana pushed into them, their feeble resistance cracking before another two tendrils sent wave of ember into them, both of them dying while she walked up to the man, his sword lashing out as he screamed. The blade stopped at her armored shoulder before she gripped his hand. “Why would they care about some shit soldiers like you?”
A kick sent the man stumbling, his hip bone broken. He crawled on the ground in pain before she appeared above him, her armored boot crushing his skull with a clean blow. The woman on the ground was barely conscious when healing mana started flowing through her and took care of her heavy injuries.
“I can take you out of the kingdom, to the west.” Ilea said, the healed woman remaining on the ground as she cried.