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[Hazael]

Hello and welcome again! This is the second in the Legends of Giginlolor, a world which the Legend of Lagdon came from! (the first legend.)

I strongly recommend reading the Legend of Lagdon (if you haven't already.) This legend is very closely related to it, and you won't have the full picture, as this legend talks about many of the subjects found in the first legend.

Anyways, without further ado, I present to you:


The Legend of Rubin Sybounheuan

This is the genealogy descending from Orrin and Kien, formal duke and duchess of The Little Villa, Klymaestra.
Orrin, son of Oblivion, one of the seven ancient kings of Klymaestra, was known for his exploits and adventures to expel the goblin sieges, as well as firmly establish the kingdom in his father’s grasp. During his reign in The Little Villa, Orrin fathered Wyatt. After his reign, Orrin lived with his wife and children, and had other sons and daughters.
When Wyatt reached adulthood, he set his sights firmly on bringing the remaining people of The Little Villa up out of the dust. He was known for founding the first known court in The Little Villa, as well as many other improvements to the villa’s housing. While he was conducting the reforms, Wyatt fathered Earle, and had many other sons and daughters.
When Earle reached adulthood, he continued pursuing the goals which his father had set before him. He continued to strengthen the villa; eventually turning it into a city. He also married Jessica Preusia, and built a mansion for her along the coastal shores, taking ore and wood from the mountains in order to complete the construction. The mines in the mountains, also known as the mines of Preusia, were later abandoned, due to an unseen presence. Earle fathered Ezra, and had many other sons and daughters.
When Ezra had reached adulthood, he started to focus more on the judgment system of the city. During his reign, a large group of migrants arrived from the west, due to harsh conditions. Ezra seized this opportunity to strengthen the main court, effectively making it a Supreme Court. He also limited the power of the nobles and aristocrats, since they were extorting money from the people. During Ezra’s reign, the city’s size tripled. Due to such a massive city, Ezra appointed several nobles to go throughout the city and build ample defenses and city walls, as well as create individual courts, spread out among the land. Ezra effectively earned his right as a ruler over his people, and the city was named after him. During his reign, Ezra also fathered Arnulfo, and had many other sons and daughters.
When Arnulfo had reached adulthood, he was cast out of his seat of power by his brothers and moved out to live in the mines of Preusia. Presently, he came into contact with Abe Altiery, a cave troll who lived near the base of the mountains. After making friends with him, the two went back down to reclaim the throne for Arnulfo. However, Arnulfo died during the rebellion. His son, Leopoldo, was cared for by Abe, who went back into the mountains.
When Leopoldo had reached adulthood, he snuck back into the city Ezra, and stayed there until he died. During his stay, Leopoldo fathered Boris, and had many other sons and daughters.
When Boris had reached adulthood, he married Shara Zamiera, ruler of Aiesta, a country that bordered Ezra. With her help, Boris went back to the land of his fathers, and retook the palace, claiming the throne as his own. During that time, he fathered Kareen, and had many other sons and daughters as well. After that, Shara and he combined the territories of Aiesta and Ezra, and named the large kingdom Aria, since it wasn’t a part of the kingdom of Klymaestra.
When Kareen had reached adulthood, he set about to fortify the land, building several trading cities and adding walls around the existing cities. He strengthened the power of the Supreme Court and added military to execute and conduct laws given by the Supreme Court. During his reforms, Kareen fathered Rubin, saying; “May he bring peace to our nation.” After Rubin, Kareen had many other sons and daughters. Kareen lived for twenty years after the birth of Rubin, and then he died.

Now, the kingdom of Klymaestra was very well populated, and its borders stretched out all the way from Aria’s edge to the desert of Darkness. But invaders rose up against it. They plagued the country for five years, during the reign of Kareen. Each time, the city’s capital weakened by a little. Then, Kareen sent men over to Klymaestra, and, after a year, they expelled the raiders from the area.
Suddenly, ships from the north of Klymaestra sweep in, and soldiers lay siege to the cities inside the country. Klymaestra’s capital is besieged, and, suddenly, Klymaestra comes under the rule of a new world power: Sehira.
During the reign of Kareen, Salamandastra, the commander of the armed sehirian forces present in Klymaestra, invades Aria. The kingdom of Aria instantly falls to violence and warfare. Until his death, Kareen and Salamandastra meet many times on the battlefield.
Then, Kareen dies, and Aria also falls to Sehira. Without anyone to side by him, young Rubin is caught in the woods by sehirian soldiers. Their commander, Escobar Sybounheuan, takes him and adopts him as his own child, and takes him on a ship back to Roa, capital of Sehira.

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

So many Sons and Daughters lol, Very long introduction. But without it I'd probally be lost in the future updates. Awaiting more.

[Hazael]

(cot'd)
On the outskirts of Roa, Sehira
“Beautiful,” Rubin said. “Just beautiful.”
“What is it?” Creer asked. “You broke your pick again?”
They were in an underground tunnel, where the air was thick and musty, and where the stench of certain rotting chunks of certain unfortunate beings lingered. These were the old abandoned dwarven mines of Kruta. No one bold enough and in his right mind had ever dared to venture down there in years. That, of course, explains why these two were there.
Creer laughed. “We’re crazy.” He said. “Hey look! I found troll vomit!”
“Whatever,” Rubin said, digging away at a rock with a piece of wood. There was something lodged deep inside the stone. Rubin, as a very ambitious secret treasure hunter, wanted to obtain anything worth something on the market, contrary to his father’s approval. Normally, it was he who did the thinking. Creer was more of a comical type.
“Look! It’s fresh! Oh boy, your dad’s going to kill us when he finds out what we’ve been walking through!”
Rubin ignored him, prying at the smooth red object he’d found wedged. Presently, the object broke free, and Rubin fell back, a mound of black dust rising around him.
“You know, I wonder; what exactly were the trolls thinking when they arrived here? Do you think maybe they were looking for treasure like we are right now? What if-oh look! Oh, jolly good, I just found me a brand new pair of dead man’s leggings.” He held up the severed limbs, one in each hand.
Rubin watched him. “I hope you die from plague,” he said, then turned to inspecting the small red disk he’d obtained. It appeared to be smeared, and had multiple notable cracks in it, but, otherwise, it was a jewel. This was, however, not a big find.
Pocketing the jewel, He grabbed his torch and continued down the hall. Creer followed him. Soon, they reached a large chamber filled with abandoned silverware and tools. This must’ve been a dining room.
“Oh, would you look at that!” Creer said. “Looks like they were having quite a heavy discussion.” He pointed at the broken chairs, almost as if they’d been crushed by weight.
Rubin snorted. “Dwarves don’t weigh that much. These are cedar chairs. I think two trolls decided to have a sit here once.”
Creer poked at one of the crushed chairs experimentally. “Oh dear, talk about a wide load.”
He went towards the back of the bar. Rubin stayed near the front, gathering the pickaxes and tools inside his backpack. Then, he proceeded to demolishing the tables and chairs completely, tearing them apart to look for treasure. Most goblins stored their treasures in safes under objects such as tabletops and chairs. His suspicions were rewarded. One of the tables had a small wooden box nailed under it. Using the sharpened end of a pickaxe, Rubin pried it open, and out fell a piece of parchment. He carefully caught it with both hands.
“Hey,” Creer came out of the back with a grin. “Look! It’s the complete suit collection to Miners United, limited edition only!”
Rubin glanced at him. He was wearing a full mining suit, complete with a large helmet that looked like a potholder.
“You look ridiculous,” Rubin said.
“Don’t be jealous.” Creer said. “There’s another suit in there for you.”
“Whatever. I refuse to play your game.”
He grinned. “I think I might actually wear this outside. You know; maybe catch a little breeze in this thing. Oh, and just think! All those girls and guys envying this awesome piece of trash I’m wearing!”
“I’ll pretend I never knew you.” Rubin said. “You idiot.”
He saw the piece of parchment in my hands and lumbered over. “Say, what’s that?” he asked curiously, poking his nose into my face. “Is that a treasure map I see?”
Rubin glanced at him. “Do you know how to read this?”
“That was a stupid question Rubin.”
“I know; I can’t believe how insane I just sounded.”
“It’s okay!” he said with a grin. “Nobody in their right mind would ever want to come down here! So don’t worry; we’re not the only insane ones down here.” Like that was very reassuring.
Of course, neither Rubin nor Creer knew that, at this very moment, they were staring at something that would change their lives. But, since they didn’t know it, they dismissed it.
“Can’t read it,” Rubin shrugged. He pocketed the old piece of parchment. Creer glanced at his torch, which was starting to burn out.
“I think we should go,” he said.
The two started back up the way they came, before coming to a gap. The opening of the tunnel was right in front of them, and they could see the sun out high in the sky outside. It was still midday. However, they had a problem. The bridge which they’d used to cross into the mines just earlier had collapsed. Now, about ten feet of chasm separated the two from the exit.
Creer turned to Rubin. “Anymore bad ideas?” he asked.
Rubin shrugged. “This is just elementary. The gap’s not that wide; let’s jump over it.”
“Are you serious? You want me to jump over the gap?”
“Yeah; what are you so scared about?”
“I don’t think you fully comprehend the gravity of this situation.”
“You’re the one who-hey, why are you still wearing that dumb suit? Of course you wouldn’t be able to make the jump in that heavy suit!”
Creer took a step back. “But it’s cool! It must be worth at least a thousand on the antique market.”
“Antique market my-”
“Hey,” Creer said suddenly, eyes lighting up. “We could toss this suit over to the other side! In fact, we could toss all of our stuff over and then jump! That way, we get to keep our stuff, and have a better chance of not falling screaming down to our deaths.”
Rubin didn’t say anything. He had a point, after all. That was the way with Creer; you couldn’t tell whether he was being smart or being an idiot. But idiots always thought up smart stuff from time to time.
“Alright,” he said exasperatedly. “Let’s give it a try.”
Together, the two worked at heaving the large suit over to the other side. Creer let out a whoop as it landed on the other side, far away from the edge. Then, they continued with their other items, until finally all of their things were safe.
“Alright,” Creer grinned, stretching his legs. “Showtime.”
“If for any absurd reason we do not make it,” Rubin said. “I call dibs on the ps3 in heaven.”
“Fine then!” Creer shrugged. “Now let’s do this!”
The two made it over to the other side. It wasn’t really that much of a jump, considering how the ledge both had started on was higher than the other side. So, no risks there. And, after they had put on all of their belongings, the two adventurers headed back to their home; Roa.

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

Ha I like how DF people know of PS3's lol

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
The city of Roa was built right next to the sea. A part of it was located, in fact, on sandy beach. The fortified half of the city, the half behind walls, had two gates; one towards the sea, and one opposite it.
Upon entering the glorious capital city Roa, one’s first impression was always first awe, and then space. The roads were paved with fine stone carvings, with statues of marble and golden banners lining the roadsides. Most of the city was flat areas, areas with monuments dedicated to the heroes of Sehira. Salamandastra, commander of the armed sehirian forces, was also portrayed in many of the monuments and religious sites. Guards patrolled the city; some mounted on the backs of tamed gryphons, all wielding the traditional Tara scepter; a long spear made of frozen solid ice and embalmed with Blue Orb dust, a mystical substance acquired from enchanted glowing rock under the sea. Some of the guards carried Icicle crossbows; crossbows that had chambers in them which froze the moisture in the very air to use as ammunition.
The heart of the city itself was lined with buildings. However, the buildings in Roa were different than in any other city. When the population exceeded the amount of housing available in the buildings, the people didn’t build more buildings. They made their existing ones taller. Hence, this is where many modernized countries get their famous word for tall sky-high buildings: skyscrapers. For, truly, these magnificent buildings of Roa dominated the sky.
Many citizens spent their entire lives living in the sky. Large platforms and steel walkways were built. Glass was manufactured at an alarming rate and also with an abnormal quality. The architecture of the sehirians outdid those of the surrounding countries; so much because the buildings prevailed against the elements. With all their daily necessities provided for them in the sky, some sehirians never ever even saw the earth in their lifetime.
Large glass elevators were constructed, using levitation pods obtained also from the enchanted blue rock under the sea, which caused things around it to rise up in the air as well, for air was constantly emitted out of it. Now, those were one of the many things which caught the eyes of foreign technicians, who became jealous of Roa’s superior technology.

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
The sehirians themselves were not demigods, contrary to popular belief, but humans; humans trained from birth. The Sehirians were divided into two major branches; Science and Military. Youths wanting to participate in the military started off training at very young ages. Upon reaching adulthood, the teens were asked again if they wanted to continue in a career in the military. If they agreed, they were sent to serve immediately. If not, they would become farmers and construction workers and took other homeland jobs. Poor people were nonexistent. Everyone played his part in Sehirian society and not one was left out.
The branch of Science was a different matter. Students began studying also at very young ages. The students were still instructed to exercise regularly. Once each student completed his or her education, they were given the choice to choose an area to focus their studies on, such as weaponry, environmental science, and energy. They were also given the choice to become farmers and take on regular homeland jobs. No matter; they would still be fed equally. The labor was spread out evenly amongst all jobs; none were more powerful than the rest.
As a soldier-in-training, Rubin was required to complete precisely four hours of training in combat skills, as well as one additional hour of academics; work requiring brains, basically. Creer was Rubin’s brother, and was also required to take such courses. However, as Creer was more of a wisecrack then a professional fighter, he had to rely on his quick responses to anger his foes into making mistakes. Rubin, of course, was one who never truly cowered away from a fight. His agile and quick accurate and precise movements disarmed his opponents rather quickly.
Rubin and Creer, laden with the amount of loot they were carrying, made it to their little storage shack at around four in the afternoon, by the time of the magnet watches they carried. After they stored their loot, they continued on home. Home was on a rather large military academy styled building. The two boys lived in the school that they took lessons from, for their father owned the entire estate the academy was built on.
The two boys snuck in from behind the school, where the front of the theatre was, adjacent to the road.
“Do you think he noticed we were gone?” Creer asked.
Rubin shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he did.”
“Huh? That means we’re getting another whipping.”
“You won’t have to worry,” Rubin said with a grin. “Girls don’t get whipped.”
“Get some better jokes, Rube.”
The front of the theatre was made entirely of glass, with steel beams running along it, supporting the individual glass planes. Rubin and Creer, when they were younger and stupid, would try to race against each other and see who could break the most glass planes in under a set of time. Now, both were much older.

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

I like the idea of the ice crossbows I might steal that idea

[Hazael]

I like the idea of the ice crossbows I might steal that idea

You're welcome to do it! 

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
Rubin grinned. “Are you afraid of the lash?”
Creer shrugged. “No; I’ve actually gotten used to it. However, I don’t want him to confiscate our loot again like he did last time.”
“‘The Last Time?’ You mean that time five years ago?”
“Well, as you pretty well know, Dad was quite the interrogator back in those days.”
Rubin and Creer were actually twins. However, due to Creer’s lack of seriousness and being a wisecrack, many thought that Rubin was older. He wasn’t. Rubin and Creer were both fifteen; Rubin was only older by a few days.
“And, don’t forget, any mention of our ventures will earn you a free decapitation from Mr. Sumo Wrestler the Third.”
“Dad’s not fat,” Rubin said.
“I know, but the amount he weighs automatically qualifies him as a professional sumo wrestler.”
“Dad,” or Escobar Sybounheuan, was really Rubin’s adopted father. Rubin, however, had been adopted at a very young age and knew nothing about where he truly originated from. Escobar was a large man, with short hair and looked like a natural born commander. His right hand had been taken during his fight with a sea serpent on the Calm Belt. Now he attached certain items to that hand, such as a whip for whipping two certain troublemakers.
“This was insane,” Rubin said, as he stepped through the sliding glass doors. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
“You wouldn’t have even bothered to look through mother earth’s butthole if I hadn’t first told you about it.”
“You, out of all the creeps that roam the world, would say something like that. ‘Mother earth’s Butthole.’ Very intelligent. I see now why you never made it to second grade.”
“Now, don’t you get started on my study habits,” Creer said. “‘Mr. Ap.’”
“I don’t take advanced college courses,” Rubin said. “Get your facts straight.”
“Oh really? You know, every single time I step inside your room I only remember the moment that I walk back out of it,” Creer said. “You’re lucky Dad doesn’t turn you in for housing massive quantities of geekademic gas in your room.”
“Or for the amount of stupidity I get every time I enter your room?”
“You’ve got jokes, man.”
They were inside the school now. The academy was locked for the day. The boys’ rooms were in a tower jutting out of the edge of a building. Once inside, they had a whole view of the countryside. However, getting to it would mean passing through Escobar’s office, and the two boys weren’t too enthusiastic about that.
“Okay,” Rubin whispered once they’d arrived near the office. “I’ll go on ahead and check to see if the coast is clear.”
Creer grinned. “May Amrok be with you, brave noble warrior.”
“Shuttup!”
He started edging his way to the office. But he didn’t make it halfway when suddenly a huge arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed him by the throat.
And that huge arm belonged to a white yeti.

“Oh my-” Creer started when the large white arm swung right into his head. Rubin, who was also yelling, was thrown into the wall. The yeti let out a bellow ad charged right at Creer, who was up on his feet again.
“How the hell did this thing get in?” Creer yelled.
“You tell me!” Rubin shouted back. “I didn’t think yetis existed at all in this climate!”
“What do I do?” Creer cried. “You’re Mr. AP; think of something before I knock this guy out!”
“But Dad will be mad!” Rubin yelled. “When he finds out that you’ve been beating up monsters again on his carpet, it’s up the river for both of us!”
“Then do something!” Creer yelled. “Never mind, it’s too late!”
With a roar, the yeti swung one paw with razor sharp claws on end at Creer. Creer instantly did a flip in midair, somersaulting over the stunned yeti. Then, before the yeti could react, Creer swung his fist around and landed a heavy blow on the backside of the yeti’s neck. With a loud roar of pain, the yeti swung his paw around to claw my brother’s face off.

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

Ah putting rabid yetis in the freshmens rooms those are the days

[Hazael]

Sorry guys, due to low grades, this story will be postponed.  However, as I will still be working on it in my spare time and tweaking it, the story will be much better. Also, Hugo or any other dwarf intended on using any of the ideas presented within this story, feel free to use it on your side stories or on any mods you're working on! 
Sorry again! 

[Hazael]

Sorry again, guys! Due to me making a recent bone-headed move on my part, I'm going to fire a rapid succession of updates now. (Sorry again, Toady!)

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
With a loud roar of pain, the yeti swung his paw around to claw my brother’s face off. However, he missed by just a hair’s breadth away from the skin of Creer’s nose. Creer swung again and threw the yeti against the wall. The yeti struggled to pull himself up, but was knocked down.
Creer towered over him, cracking his knuckles loudly.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said as the yeti pulled a paw back in a feeble attempt to strike him.
“It’s over,” Rubin said. “You’ve got him.”
“Wonder where dad went,” Creer said.
“He’ll be pissed. Either way, we’re both going to go up the river when he finds out-”
Rubin never finished his sentence, when suddenly the yeti sprang up, with sudden and frightening agility, and latched on to Creer’s throat. Creer let out a muffled scream of surprise. His left arm instantly landed a punch in the creature’s stomach, but he held on. On instinct, Creer’s two hands shot up and grabbed the neck of the yeti, and pushed him away from him. And then…and then…
Rubin watched in horror as his brother’s throat was torn right out of his neck. Creer was killed instantly, his eyes still open and his hands still clenched around the yeti’s neck, as if unable to register the fact that he was dead.
With a merciless fury, the yeti tore at Creer’s dead body, ripping the arms off of his neck and tearing his limbs off two at a time. He then proceeded to disemboweling and dissecting the remaining body. This was too much for Rubin.
In a rage, Rubin hurled the stone he’d found in the mines at the creature. It sailed harmlessly over his head, but the creature looked up. And then, as if it had only just noticed Rubin was there, the yeti stood up immediately and went bounding down the hallway. With his only intent on tearing the wretched damned creature to pieces, Rubin took off after him.
They reached a dead end, and the yeti turned back to face him. Rubin’s eyes were of death himself.
“Why are you chasing me?” The yeti asked, in a voice sounding so human that Rubin was stunned.
“I-You killed my brother…” Rubin could only say.
“Wrong,” the yeti replied. “Not your brother. Definitely not your brother.”
 “What do you mean?”
“You are like me in this: we have nothing in common with these humans.”
“Bullcrap,” Rubin said. “Tell me, what are you? Yeti? You don’t look at all like-”
“I am a goblin half-breed,” the yeti replied. “A troll.”
“You don’t-”
But then he stopped in midsentence. The yeti had stepped into the light to reveal a face that Rubin had grown to recognize. It was his father, with white fur all over him, and a belt with a sword strapped to his side.
Rubin was shocked. All his anger instantly melted away into confusion. “But…” he whispered. “Why…how…”
“Why I killed Creer?” the swordsman asked. “Why? Because he’s not your brother. And I’m definitely not your father.”
Rubin couldn’t believe it. “But…then who are you?” he asked. “If you’re not his father, then who…”
Just then, they heard the blare of horns and alarms outside.
The swordsman stepped forward instantly. “No time, no time,” he said. “They will be here. And they will kill both of us, because they will find out…”
“Find out what?” Rubin cried. “What is it they want from me?”
“If they find out you’re not a sehirian, they will kill you,” The swordsman said. Trembling, he placed his fur-covered hands on Rubin’s face, and, in the light, Rubin saw his father was crying. “Go. Now. I have protected you long enough. Now you must go. Follow your destiny. Take back what Sehira stole from you. The village in Ender, I know a man there, go to it! Go through the forest. Avoid the desert.”
“W-will I ever see you again?” Rubin whispered.
“I dearly hope so,” his father said. “There is so much I meant to tell you. Everything that you know about this world is about to change.”
“He’s there!” A loud voice boomed across the hallway. “Stop! You traitors of the crown.”
Rubin’s father gave him one last look. “Go!” he cried. “Save yourself!”
Sobbing, Rubin ran down the hallway and out of the door, just when he heard the clash of blades and the screeches of the ice bolts flying through the air. Not looking back, he ran through the line of the trees, and into the dark forest and unknown.

And, now, we leave him there. Rubin was a good guy. He was very brave; a talented, proficient swordsman; a novice in the arts, and fluent in three languages. But, as he was running, a new fear had crept through him. It’s the kind of fear of being alone. His brother had just died before his very own eyes at his very own father’s hand, and now even his father was probably dead. Worse; his own people were now trying to kill him. But we’ve got to give him the credit for being brave, and sticking to his path, even through a situation like that.
Now, a word about me. I was an orphan, being raised on the streets of the town Kean off of the work of my hands. What I could not make, I grew. What I could not grow, I stole. And, what I couldn’t steal, I…well, you get the point.
Anyways, I was minding my business one Saturday, when I saw a man standing among the people, just walking around. I’d seen him many times before, actually, but this time he caught my attention. I’d been looking around at the other peasants milling about, looking for a potential steal, when my eyes fell on him. Sure, he was poorly dressed, and looked to be about forty, what with his dark beard and hair streaking grey. He wore the typical peasant clothing; a shirt and pants made of cotton, both of which looked like they were “just his size,” and a leather belt to pull it all together.
I surveyed him for a while, and my opinion of him slowly changed. From a first glance, you’d barely notice a difference from him and any other ordinary peasant. But, at a closer look, I saw how strong he looked; how, even though age was starting to take a toll on his skin and hair, he carried an aura-like air around him, with an energetic look in his eyes. His walk was like that of…like, well, a noble. No, not even that; like a king. His structure looked firm, and his neck held inlaid muscle.
He saw me watching him and gave me an acknowledging smile. I instantly forgot I was planning to rob him, because, when he smiled at me, it reminded me of that look my auntie used to give me before she died. It was a look of love. Not husband-wife affection, mind you, but more of…the way a father looks at his son. I at that time didn’t know who he truly was. But I found him very different, and so I ran up to meet him.
I found out his name was Orrin, and that he lived in a quiet area near the town of Ender. Naturally, I followed him back home. Then, he adopted me as his brother. Of course, this was complete irony, as you’ll read later, but, at that moment, I was dumb as a brick, and didn’t try to figure out anything else about the man. I just followed him and did what he told me as if he were my older brother. We travelled around a lot; selling and buying products off the market and selling items we’d occasionally find to merchants.
Living with the man, I found out that he was very merciful, and compassionate; all those great high king qualities. He’d always stop by near beggars and offer them what food he could spare. When I caught a thief one day in our house, instead of turning the poor man in, Orrin gave him what he tried to steal as a gift of goodwill. That young man eventually became one of our close friends. Orrin had a great reputation among all the people of the land, both great and small. Some even offered to elect him governor, but Orrin refused and gave the position instead to Gary, the man who’d tried to steal from our house. Gary had gotten a job from one of the chief merchants in the town, and had made off in a great amount of surplus. He gave much of his wealth to the poor, and followed Orrin’s example. When Orrin offered him the opportunity, he was also inclined to reject, but, after thinking it through, reluctantly accepted the position. The people, who also knew Gary of his exploits, followed him around. They didn’t follow Orrin, as he’d pleaded them not to. Thus, Orrin became like a secret hero; in the hearts of many but yet seldom spoken about.
I followed along with Orrin, as he allowed me to because I hadn’t known him for what he’d done. I myself was pretty hopeless as well, suffice to say.
Anyways, I wasn’t too surprised one day when Orrin and I found a boy about my age slumped near our well one evening. The boy was cut and bruised. He looked like he’d come from the capital of Sehira, or Roa. He had the tan of skin of the sehirians who lived in that region. But it surprised me that Orrin looked like he’d been expecting this boy.
“Jason,” he said (that was my name.), “Go get me some water. From the back storeroom.”
I hurried off to do his bidding. When I got back, I found Orrin had carried him into the house and had him laid on the bed. I immediately set the water down and ran over.
“Is he still alive?” I asked.
“Barely,” Orrin said, “This child had been through a lot. But he may survive.”
He rose up. “I’ll have to get some stew. Tell me when he wakes up, Jason.”
“Al-righty.” Orrin was no fighter. He looked like the type who worked the field all day; hardly a swordsman. He was no literary monster either. But he did know street smarts. And he did know what kinds of plants to eat what not to eat in the forest (None of the plants in a forest are edible. The ones that are host appendages that can kill you. Speaking from personal experience here.).
He woke up, alright. I called Orrin, who walked back in with a bowl of mushroom stew inside. He set the bowl down and knelt by the boy’s side.
“What’s your name?” the boy asked. “Who are you? Where am I?”
“Ender,” I said with a grin. “Welcome!”
“Thanks,” the boy managed. He really looked sick. “But I’m looking for someone. Do any of you know Escobar?”
A look crossed Orrin’s face; one I’d never seen before. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do. How is he?”
The boy coughed. “I’m his son, Rubin. He told me to come here to find…someone…”
Orrin straightened. “Then, you’ve come to the right place. I am that someone, Rubin Sybounheuan.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me before, Orrin? You know a sehirian named Escobar?”
“I did,” Orrin said in a grave tone of voice. “Is he…?”
“Yes,” Rubin said. “He’s gone. The sehirian guard got to him.”
Orrin sighed. “It would come down to this. May you rest in peace, old friend.”
“He told me you’d explain everything,” Rubin said. “And I need answers.”
“As do I,” I said.
Orrin waved me off. “I’ll explain later, but I must first answer Rubin, as he is…” he cleared his throat. “…of more importance at the moment.”
“Thanks for letting me know that.”
But Orrin continued as if nothing had happened at all. “Rubin, you’ve probably figured it out now: you’re not the son of Escobar.”
Rubin nodded slowly. The poor guy looked like he’d been placed on a tripwire three miles above the world. Cuts and bruises dotted his body. I wasn’t too thrilled about travelling through the forest again, after taking an inventory of his face and arms. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came up with a few scars from whatever he’d gotten himself through.
“Then, if Escobar is not my father, who is he?”
Orrin took in a deep breath. “You’ve read your history, hopefully. So, tell me; in the family tree of the deity Oblivion over Klymaestra, who was the one casted out of his seat of power and moved to the mines of Preusia?”
“Arnulfo, but-”
“And who was the one he’d come into contact with, prior to his escape from his brothers?”
Rubin, never good at history, had to think through, as he’d studied over the line of reigning powers in Klymaestra. Then, his eyes brightened. “The cave troll Abe Altiery!” he exclaimed.
Orrin nodded. “The legends have it wrong, though. Any ordinary troll would’ve crushed Arnulfo and simply would’ve eaten him for dinner. But this one was different. A hybrid between…”
“…goblin and troll,” Rubin finished, the realization dawning on his face. “A were-goblin!”
Orrin nodded. “The were-goblins were more human than anyone ever could know. They could transform from their monstrous forms into human-like bodies, providing the proper cover and defense to live among the natives, who were more human.”
Rubin nodded. “And, Escobar…”
“…was also a were-goblin.” Orrin nodded. “Yes, that’s correct. Escobar, a direct descendent of Altiery, was elected from among the civilization of were-goblins to properly care for you, continuing his ancestor’s legacy. He snuck in the sehirian palace, and disguised himself as a general, and killed off the general and his family, but left one boy alive.”
“Creer,” Rubin whispered. “Creer was the only one he spared!”
“That’s right,” Orrin replied. “Escobar just couldn’t bring himself to kill the boy, who was too little and innocent. But then something happened.
“The sehirian guard found something out of place among you, and they started to investigate. They appointed one boy similar to your brother and replaced him, in an effort to investigate on Escobar more carefully. Of course, Escobar realized what was happening a bit too late. The sehirians came for him, but not before he killed Azi; the boy who was impersonating Creer.”
Rubin was trembling now. “What about my brother? What about Creer? Do you know what happened to him?”
Orrin shrugged. “Who knows? Probably locked up somewhere; the poor kid. But we can’t do anything about it. As I said; Creer was replaced at an early age, so he might not even know who you are.”
“Oh, man,” I said. “This means also that they’re gonna come after us too?”
Orrin nodded solemnly. “Afraid so, brave warrior. We can’t stay here without endangering the other people living here.”
“Wait a minute,” Rubin said. “Why do the sehirians want to kill me? And why did Escobar try to protect me with his life?”
Orrin grinned at him. “Because you’re a direct descendent of Oblivion.”
We finally packed our things completely and headed out while it was still dark. For some reason, I felt as if we would never ever see our home again. But I was used to the thought, since, for me, the real adventure was outside. Rubin was also healing up well, and recovered completely before we’d even entered the forest, which was amazing, even though I’d seen my share of amazing things.
“I have to free Klymaestra from under the grip of Sehira,” Rubin said.
Orrin grinned. “You’ll need a band for that.”
“Then, I don’t suppose you’ll agree to come with me?”
Orrin glanced at me. I shrugged.
“Why not?” I asked. “It’s better than doing all the boring stuff we do,”
So, there we were. We’d successfully formed a band of three people. But I knew we needed more than that. Orrin and Rubin knew it too.
“How are we going to find more people?” I asked.
“By the standards,” Orrin said. “You need a reputation first. All band leaders need one. Thing is, you’ll need to earn it.”
“Okay,” Rubin nodded. “Sounds easy enough. I’ll earn it by killing bandits and sehirians.”
Orrin grinned. “The old guerilla style? I love it. Let’s be off!”
“I heard of an old villa near the town Mullod,” I said, trying to remember what I’d heard from local gossip there a few weeks ago. “An old lady there spoke about a bandit camp not far from it called the Kutsmob Bosteb, or ‘The Menace of Matching.’ It’s a rather small bandit camp, though, as it only just started out.”
Rubin nodded. “Perfect,” he said with a grin. “But do you…”
“Don’t worry,” Orrin said with a grin. “We can take care of ourselves.”
“Alright!” I said with a grin. “Let’s go kick some Matching behind!”

And now, while we, the brave adventurers that we were, set out to conquer further lands, something else was happening. Back in Roa, in the palace of Sehira, the great king Eliameka was on his bed, coughing with every breath the he took. Doctors and physicians had been sent to find out a way of healing him and couriers stood around his bedside. The master physician bowed before the king.
“My lord,” he said. “We have found out the source of this disease and are expelling it out. You will recover shortly.”
But Eliameka waved him away. “I need the divine help of the gods,” he whispered. “Yours does not assure me.”
He looked to the servants. Among them was one of fine stature named Hazael, with his head bowed like the rest. Eliameka gestured to the man, and instructed him; “You, go inquire to the prophet Gabriel whether I will recover from this wound or not.”
Hazael went to meet Gabriel, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Sehira. He went in and stood before him, and said, "Your son Eliameka king of Sehira has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"
He answered, “Go and say to him: ‘You will certainly recover.’ But the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed. Then, the prophet began to weep.
“Why is my lord weeping?” Hazael asked.
The prophet met his gaze. “Because I know what you will do to the people of Klymaestra. You will tear down their cities and set fire to their homes, put their young men to the sword, dash their younglings on the ground, rip open their pregnant women, and burn their dwellings to the ground.”
Hazael responded, “How could a nobody like me accomplish such a great feat?”
“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Sehira.” Gabriel replied.
Then, Hazael left Gabriel and returned to Eliameka. When the king asked him, “What was his response?” Hazael replied, “You will certainly recover.”
Then, in the dead of night, when all the couriers of the king had departed to their homes, Hazael walked in and threw a large piece of wet cloth over the king’s face, so that he suffocated and died. The next morning, when the king’s attendants discovered he was dead, they panicked and the city of Roa was thrown into turmoil. Hazael chose this moment to step up and rallied the people against the remaining house of the king and those loyal to Eliameka. Then, the throne of Sehira became under Hazael’s control.

Thousands were gathered during the great coronation of Hazael. The sehirians flooded the streets and rooftops of buildings. On a balcony overlooking the entire crowd stood Hazael’s chief adviser, Cerberus, who readied himself as millions of eyes fell on him.
“My fellow Sehirians!” he boomed, and the crowd screamed back at him in response. “We are victorious! The question now is: who will receive the throne?”
As Hazael stepped out from behind the panel, he felt the roar of the crowd as their eyes sighted him. He felt the tremors in the ground as the crowd chanted his name; “Hazael! Hazael! Hazael!”
“That’s right!” Cerberus shouted above all the other voices. “Your dignitary! Your superior! The one who freed you from the yoke of your oppressor!” The crowd was deafening now, and their screams echoed off of the walls. The vibrations intensified as Cerberus finished his line.
“HAZAEL!”
As Hazael looked down at the screaming sea of people, he saw the flashes of glistering sunlight as the sehirians waved their weapons in the air, chanting his name as they screamed. A shiver ran down his spine; one of excitement. Now was his time.
“My good people,” he said, and the noise instantly died away. All was silent, except for the ringing and throbbing pain in his ears. But he ignored it, as all eyes were upon him. “The time has come now! Sehira has been known for its victories and vast lands. We are a world power.
He clenched his fist. “But we are still plagued with the parasites of other nations feeding on our borders! We need to rise above that! We need to wipe them out completely!
He threw up his hands as if to receive the crowd. “Give me your power! Give me your might! Give me your loyalty! And I will use it to conquer the rest of the nations; to purge this plague and disease amidst our being! And I will never betray you!”
The crowd had started to chant his name again. Now it intensified. With thunderous applause.

“There,” I said. “There it is. Our little ‘Menace of Matching.’”
“Doesn’t look the part,” Rubin observed.
He was right. The area was pretty much empty (just a clearing.) save a few tents and weapons and other belongings scattered around a campfire. In short, it looked more like a little temporary camping spot, instead of a bandit hideout. Now, when I saw weapons, I don’t mean tribal primate weapons like stone hammers or sling shots. That was the only indication that we were dealing with actual bandits. There were some curved brass scimitars, a few iron axes (steel weapons were used by bigger bandit groups or higher classmen.), and a few green lancer spears. The camp itself was right next to the ruins of an old stone monument site or something.
We approached cautiously. Not one single soul was in sight, even when I stepped into the clearing. Orrin stepped around me and went to the opposite of the campsite, peering into the ruins, dark because of the late night. Rubin followed him, as we investigated the tents and their belongings. Nothing, no traps at all.
“That’s impossible,” I said. “No bandit would ever be stupid enough to leave all of their things in the middle of a clearing without first trapping it in some way.”
“Perhaps they’ve rigged explosives?” Rubin suggested.
“No,” Orrin replied. “I checked the bushes. If they’d buried them underground, we’d be dead already. No, this is something different-”
He never finished his sentence. Because I saw dark shapes appear out of the forest. They’d come out of nowhere. Out of the bushes. Out of the simply thin air. As they stepped closer, I saw that each wore red robes overlaid with steel armor plating and swords.
“Magicians,” Orrin said. “I thought this camp was too easily defended.”
“Man,” I groaned. “This means we can’t use any of their loot, since it’s specialized for magicians.”
One of the tallest magicians chuckled. He had thin slanted eyebrows, and small almond-shaped eyes. “You have trespassed onto Caston Territory. Don’t bother struggling…we’ll give you each a free decapitation.”
The other magicians chuckled darkly as if it was really funny (which, in a way, was, depending on your state of mind.). We drew our swords.
“There’s too many of them,” Rubin said. “They outnumber us at least three to one.”
“You’re right,” I said, brandishing my saber. “We’ll have to make more coffins.”
But as soon as those words left my mouth, I found myself knocked to the ground, with a magician towering over me. Yelling, I grabbed my saber and swung at his legs. But he was not there anymore. He’d jumped to one side, and was coming at me with a stab. I swung to meet his blow, but the contact never happened. He’d feinted to one side, but I was too overstretched to do anything as his blade connected with my shoulder.
It wasn’t too deep of a cut, but still felt like someone had poked me with a branding iron. I let out a bellow in pain and lashed out at him. But he wasn’t there. Then, I felt a wall of something smash into me, knocking me to the ground. My saber flew out of my hands and landed somewhere in the bushes. Glancing back, I saw Rubin on the ground as well, his hands tied behind his back.
That left Orrin standing. Orrin, with his fishing knife. He was the only one of us who didn’t pick up a weapon from the pile. I and Rubin-our weapons that we’d used were from the camp.
Orrin was the only thing in the way of the nine magicians, who were grinning wickedly. “What are you going to do with that little knife, old man?” one of them asked.
“Enough that neither you nor any other sorcerers could ever conjure in a lifetime.” Orrin said.
The one in the lead laughed. “I saw the look on your face when we attacked.” He said. “That look…not one of a mere peasant. And that stance…not even the elite of the sehirians know how to perfect it. No one without years of training in the ways of the swordsman could ever even learn the way to deflect our blades. And yet you somehow escaped unscathed without even lifting an eyebrow. I knew there was something different about you.”
Orrin laughed. “You don’t know a thing about me.”
And then he attacked. I’d never seen anything like it. He actually attacked. Orrin. And he executed an array of thrusts, slashes, jabs, and parries so fluid and so in sync with each other, and did it as if it seemed like second nature to him. This was Orrin, the man I’d known for years, who never once during my stay ever pick up a sword to fight. This was the Orrin who never ever picked a fight with anyone, and, if he did, always ended up being the one on the ground.
The magicians, too, seemed shocked by the ferocity of his attack, and some couldn’t dodge it. In one smooth motion, Orrin had cut down five of them. The other four spread out around him in a circle. The two in the back tried to flank him with their attacks, as did the one in the front. The lead magician himself hesitated to engage the old man. (If I do say myself, I’d been living with Orrin for about ten years, and he was somewhere between fifty and sixty years old now.) This action may have very well saved his life.
In an instant, not breaking the rhythm of his attack, Orrin swung his body around, twisting it as he swirled his blade. Up, down, up, down it went, severing the limbs of the three magicians one by one, and loping off their heads as if decapitation was as easy as cutting through vines. In the next second, all three of the magicians and their severed body parts were scattered in a bloody circle around Orrin, who was still wielding the same fishing knife.
The lead magician stared at him in disbelief and shock, then terror filled his face, and he fell on his knees, shaking with fear, his sword clattering on the floor next to him. His eyes looked like those of a frightened rabbit’s.
“Please,” he begged. “Let me live.”
“Lay down your sword and go!” Orrin said.
The magician didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately took off into the green forest, leaving his sword on the ground.
I stared in awe at Orrin, who was wiping the blood off of his blade. I was completely amazed. Of course, as luck would have it, this was just the beginning of a rapid turn of events and other nasty surprises along the way. But it still shocked me. I always thought of Orrin as an old-timer farmer type who couldn’t wield a sword, and not as a grandmaster in the art of the blade. And yet, when I saw him slashing away at the magicians like it was no big deal, somehow he fitted the role perfectly. And then my view towards him changed completely. I’d thought of him as my brother, but now I started thinking of him as my own father.
Rubin was not stunned at all. I guess it was probably because he hadn’t known Orrin like I had, and thought that he was some kind of retired war hero or something like that.
“Orrin…” I started. “How…”
He smiled. “Don’t ever judge a book by its cover.” He said. “Remember that. It could save you in the future.”
“You never told me you were…”
“You just never asked.”
I slapped my forehead. Of course! Stupid me for not asking. But I could care less. Right now, I suddenly had a few unrelated questions to ask.
“Alright, we killed the dumb magicians,” I said. “What do we do now?”
Having been raised on the street, I had full knowledge that every single town had its own share of troubles. And, since gossip was one of the many cancerous things that plagued the country, each town knew about each other town’s troubles. And, now, I had a feeling on what we were going to do next.
“We’re going to go to Anderhall,” Rubin said. “I remember that place. There are lots of stories there. We might be able to get a quest or two from them.”
“Rubin, you and I both know that we’re not exactly grade-A material,” I said. Which was true, as we’d both been taken out by two magicians in one blow. “We need someone to help us. So, Orrin, can you somehow train us?”
Orrin grinned. “I might be able to teach you a thing or two.” He said. “On the contrary, it will take much time, and time is what we don’t have.”
Rubin nodded. “The sehirians are after me now,” he said. “I might be a wanted man right now. But if we can get a large enough group of people, we just might…”
“Tell you what,” Orrin said. “Let’s kill two Kobolds with one hook. I’ll train you through the use of enemies whose whereabouts the towns will provide. That way, we’ll soon have you both strong enough and ready to lead and a small army to accompany you.”
“Alright!” I said with a grin. “I smell adventure! Let’s be off again!”

Anderhall took a whole day to reach. When we’d gotten to the city, night was falling. However, the town’s tavern was still open, and there were a few people milling about. We reported our success to the natives, and the word quickly spread. The townspeople began to pour out their problems to us. Orrin, thank goodness, sorted out the ones that seemed too difficult for us at the moment. However, he kept them nevertheless. It’s important to keep your options high when going on a large questing campaign.
Our first stop was at the Glowing Night Tavern, which was an abandoned villa south of Anderhall. Our task was to decapitate a screaming Haunted Bride, called Veronivaska the Bane of Shadows, who was a nightmarish creature gone mad and on a killing rampage. Orrin decided that this activity would best suit us at our starting skill level.

The haunted house was built on an open field with few trees except for the crags that surrounded the plot like a natural barrier. The moon rose high in the sky, and we could see owls in the treetops. There was little grass growing on the mostly dirt ground, with ominous scars of black charred ash all over them.
“Here it is,” I said.
Orrin turned to us. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. You, Jason, are going to prevent the creature from escaping. Rubin, you’re going to slay it. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be watching, and I’ll come save you immediately.”
I grinned. “Fair enough,” I said. “You two have fun; I’ll be helping myself to their loot.” They headed off into the house.
I, however, took the longer route towards the back entrance. They say that bandits keep their loot in their camps, dragons keep them in lairs, but wild beasts keep them in secret places, such as in the back storage room. And that is where I went.
The mansion had an overhang that stretched around the back like a balcony, and leaves and mossy vines grew near the sides, and hanging spider webs and ant nests were attached to it. A scorpion scuttled along the balcony’s edge, dropping among the stacks of hay and pots and pans that piled in front of the backdoor. I drew my saber, and advanced towards the battered rotted wooden door. I could hear rustling from within, as if there were thousands of creatures locked within the storehouse.
Slowly, I brought my saber up to the knob, and then pushed the door ever so slightly open. I froze as I heard the creak of a hundred-year old wooden door opening.
A moment later, I found myself pinned to the ground by a massive rogue wolf spider, staring right at his mandibles, only inches from my face.
With a yell, I rolled away from under the hideous creature, picked up a pot from the pile, and hurled it at the spider. The pot struck the spider in the eye, bruising the muscle. The spider hissed and stepped back slowly, stunned momentarily. This was all I needed.
With another yell, I slashed my saber in the side of the spider, ripping through the thick fur and letting out a small stream of green blood. The spider, enraged, let out another loud hiss and rammed into me, determined to rip my head off with its sharp mandibles. It pushed me into the pile of pots and pans, and I collapsed on my back. Snatching the closest pot, I managed to drive its handle into the spider’s maw to keep it from goring me alive.
With a burst of energy, I threw the spider away from me, and grabbed my saber. The spider shot down, ready to pounce on me again. But this time, I was ready. I brought up my green-stained sword just as the spider leapt on me, and felt the blade slide through the skin and felt the hilt jam against the spider’s fur.
Trembling, I threw the spider to the side, pulling my blade out. The spider landed upside down, and bended its knees inward, dead. Wiping the greasy spider blood off of my blade, I peered inside the backdoor.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was so much gold stored inside that I could feel my eyes turn to amber. There were gold necklaces, gold coins, golden goblets, teapots made of gold and silver; you name it. I was almost speechless.
“Jackpot…” I said. “THIS IS SO AMAZING!”
“I know, right?” said a voice behind me, which nearly made me jump fifty feet into the air.
“Who are you?” I spun around; my sword pointed, and found myself face to face with a grinning Rubin.
“How did-” I started.
“I followed you!” Rubin said. “There wasn’t anything in the front of the mansion. We searched the whole area, and then heard you fighting in the back. So we came to investigate.”
“You and Orrin?” I said. “But where’s Orrin?”
Rubin looked behind him, as if expecting someone to be there. He looked surprised. “That’s funny. He was right behind me.”
I looked around the back. “Perhaps he took the longer way around?”
Rubin frowned. “No, I actually followed him here. I pulled ahead of him at the last second.”
I grinned. “Let’s just get some of this treasure and get back inside before-”
I heard a horrifying wail coming from inside the mansion.
I looked to Rubin. “That can’t be good.”
Rubin nodded. “Quick; let’s go!”
We hurried into the mansion. The house was much bigger on the inside. Three stories of rooms surrounded a massive living room with inner balconies and an overwatch in the center. And standing right on the overwatch was…
The most hideous, wretched creature I’d ever seen. It looked like a green gnarly old lady butchered up and stitched back together again. The claws on the monster were twisted and gnarly, and the teeth were sharp and looked like those of a saber tooth tiger’s.
“Yep,” I said. “This is our guy.”
The monster let out another loud wail, and jumped off the balcony. We scattered as the Bane of Shadows landed on top of the wooden table in the center of the room, smashing the old cracked clay pots and cups.
“I am Veronivaska the Bane of Shadows!” The screaming haunted bride roared. “Slayer of Azokimos and The Obliteration Band! Annihilator of The Seven Siren Brothers! PREPARE TO DIE!”
“Tempting offer, mind you,” I said with a grin. “How about discussing this matter over tea?”
Apparently the Bane of Shadows didn’t like the thought of tea. With another shriek, she jumped at me. Swearing loudly, I swung the hilt of my saber into her face, cracking against her skull loudly. With all the ferocity of a wild beast, she swung her claw at me, grazing my forehead just barely. I ducked around her arm just in time, bringing my blade to her leg. I felt it cut through nothing. The Nightmare had leapt over me.
Rubin, coming up from behind me, let out a cry of surprise as the dark object slammed into him. I saw the claws come on his face, as the monster tore at his cheeks and ripped his right eye out. Rubin staggered back, bleeding and slashing blindly with his sword using his one good remaining eye. But I charged right at the beast.
“You want death?” I yelled. “WELL DEATH HAS ARRIVED!”
I swung my sword straight at the small, bony neck of the Bane of Shadows. No way could she’ve dodged it. I felt the short pause of the blade before it followed through, loping off the head of the goddamned creature.
The body flailed for around half a second, spraying green blood everywhere. Some of the monster’s blood landed on my face and clothes. I stared in silence as Rubin groped around for his missing eye. He found it, and pocketed it with one hand, holding his bleeding socket closed with the other. We were silent.
“Let’s go,” I finally said.

[thechosenone456]

THIS is amazing. I like how the main character looses his eye! Does he loose his foot too?

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
“Let’s go,” I finally said.

We found Orrin outside, waiting for us. His sword was in its sheath, and his expression was grim. When he saw Rubin’s eye socket, he growled.
“May the witch burn in the planes of Oblivion,”
“Where were you?” I asked. “Where did you go when we needed you?”
Orrin closed his eyes. “Listen; both of you. What you did in there was amazing. Even by my standards, you’ve progressed far. That hag in there was no ordinary hag. She was a spider queen.”
I froze. Because then I remembered the large spider in the back of the mansion. Whoa! Who keeps a spider in the back of their mansion? I felt so stupid; I wanted to slap myself for not realizing it. No wonder Orrin disappeared! He’d been…
“The nest…” I realized.
“Yes,” Orrin said. “That was no mansion. It was a massive spider web.”
“But how?” I asked. I had started using pieces of torn cloth from Rubin’s shirt to bandage his eye, which had stopped bleeding. Orrin didn’t answer my question. Instead, he looked over his shoulder, as if expecting someone to arrive.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go somewhere safer.”

We settled in a small hamlet just before it hit dark. Rubin’s eye had stopped bleeding, and Orrin bought him a patch for his right eye (lucky.). Me, I listened to Orrin talk about spiders.
It wasn’t really as simple a subject as I thought it would be. Orrin, unlike me, had an interest in the behavior of multiple species of creatures. He’d learned to track down spiders, and their military strategies and behavior and habits.
Each spider, from the treesapper to the great overwatch, had its own web. Some certain species of spiders, such as the nightmare spider queen we’d fought back at the “mansion,” dwelled instead in large groups. However, that didn’t mean that they shared housing space. Each spider still had its own web. However, all these webs were linked together to form one huge massive nest, with the center being the dwelling of the queen. The larger the nest, the more complex the society. The centermost dwellings marked those of the upperclassmen, or “nobles.” The outermost layers were the bottomfeeders, or the “peasants.” This was just an outline Orrin gave me; different spider nests have different caste systems. The bigger the nest, the more the castes.
Of course each nest needed its own military division. These were sometimes reserved in a large portion of the nest, or in multiple districts, most of the time close to the center. Again: different nests had different military systems and branches. The one we’d just attacked was only a small nest; the mansion was made of thick multi-colored webbing spun by a deviser, so referred by Orrin.
Most of the spiders had gone into hiding underground, where the nest was located. Orrin had gone into the nest, slaughtered the spiders, and burnt the entire nest to the ground. The fire had been spreading to the top when we’d rendezvoused with Orrin, so we didn’t see any smoke, of course.
None of us sensed any fire or anything out of the ordinary, apart from the mansion itself and the webcrawler, because the “floor” of the mansion had been so thick laden with webbing that it had appeared as almost solid rock. In a way, I admired the artistic ability of the devisers, as the rug and pans and pots and rotting wood had appeared as real as life, just like the floor.
And what struck me even more so was how the giant spider I’d fought in the store room had seemed way too big to fit in the tiny space. I realized that the spider had, in fact, leapt through the webbing. After all, the entire house was made completely of webbing, so that left plenty of room for the webcrawlers to move about unseen. It struck me of the possibility that there could’ve been hundreds of spiders watching us, and we wouldn’t have been able to see even one of them.
I at first criticized Orrin for dropping the bombshell on us, as, from even my own eyes, we weren’t the sort of people to be prepared for such a thing. But Orrin simply waved it away and said that “we needed to exceed our potential” and that the spider nest was “nothing.”
Try saying that to a guy who’d just lost his right eye in a spider nest.

The next day, I found out that Orrin had recruited five people, from the hamlet, into our group: Auzza, Leon, Hale, Ussef, and Kyle. Auzza was very squat and wide and built like a bulldog, and always wore a serious look on his face. Leon and Hale were brothers; both were fishermen and built, and would always disagree with each other, as Rubin and I would later find out. Ussef was thin and had short dark hair and green eyes, and appeared the most timid of the group, as he was only a mere boy. Kyle was an energetic one; long hair, blue eyes, a hunter, and prone to doing stupid things.
We set off. Since most of our band had experience in combat, we decided to take on a larger target; a bandit camp.
Northridge was located near Anderhall, where the bandits terrorized the natives. The band had grown to a good dozen, and their hoard was great. The leader was Kozak, brother of Azokimos and an ally of The Obliteration Band. However, now that The Obliteration Band had been wiped out, Kozak and his allies had grabbed what they could and had gathered at Northridge. There, they got into a big fight over the division of Azokimos’s spoils. In the end, Kozak had prevailed, and led the remaining dozen of the best fighters of Northridge to plague the residents of Anderhall. And we were going to teach him a lesson.
Orrin told us that he was going to “sit this one out.” We had no problem about it. Orrin seemed to be an unfair advantage in our struggle against the empire, so relied on him only to teach us how to fight. We did the fighting ourselves.
Halfway to the bandit camp, Orrin left us. He said he was going to visit some relatives, and told us to keep on with the band and make decisions for ourselves. So we did.
We arrived at the camp just at sunset. The camp was positioned halfway inside a cave, with the hoard probably located inside. There were no guards around, but I assumed that they’d be hiding in ambush. There were a few tents and cooking fires located around the camp, and several men gathered around the fires and talking.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Rubin said. “We need someone to distract the men by setting fire to their tents. The rest of us’ll slip in and kill everyone while the distraction holds.”
Kyle grinned. “I’ve got it, boss!” He leapt over the ridge before we could say anything.
I shook my head. “That idiot’s gonna get himself killed.”
Rubin grinned. “That’ll still be a good enough distraction. Let’s go.”
We slipped among the bushes silently towards the camp. Kyle had run into a tent. The bandits had seen him. Some were yelling and firing arrows at him. A few were unsheathing their blades and running towards the tent.
“Now, while they’re distracted.” I said.
Yelling, I ran at the bandits, who were focused on Kyle at the moment. My yell caught them completely by surprise. In a second, we were upon them. The bandits turned around, realizing a bit too late that they were being ambushed. My saber passed cleanly through one’s neck, decapitating him instantly. Three other swordsmen jumped around the tents, locked in combat with our fishermen and Auzza the Half-Dwarf, who was knocking people left and right with his large hammer. I kicked over a pile of embers, setting a tent of fire.
“Hale!” I shouted above the fighting. “Sent the damned tents on fire!”
Soon, the whole camp was ablaze. Some unfortunate bandits had been caught in the blazing tents and were writhing around like beings made of fire. Our men Hale and Leon and Auzza were running around, pouncing on the confused bandits. The ones who weren’t rallied themselves against us.
I saw one crippled swordsman take arms against me. In his hastily woven time, he’d attached a scimitar to the end of a long wooden pole. Yelling, he swung it at me. I threw myself to ground level, as the spear thrusted into the fires of a burning tent. The swordsman swung the burning tent in my direction, but I flipped away just in time. I turned around to see a barrier of fire separating me from the swordsman, who hurled his spear at me.
I didn’t see the spear until it had passed through the barrier to my face, but I instinctively swung my saber upward, knocking the spear into the sky. With a yell, I gave it a kick, and it sailed straight into the swordsman, who’d had no time to grab any other defense. The barrier fire had died down, and I could see the swordsman pinned against a weapon rack.
Nearby, Rubin was fighting with a mace man, who swung his club at Rubin’s head, in an attempt to dash his brains out. Rubin dodged to the side and slashed at the mace man’s side. The man bellowed, enraged, and swung his club back at Rubin at a terrifying speed. Rubin jumped back, tripped over a tent pole, and fell to the floor. The mace man brought up his club to finish Rubin.
I didn’t think twice before throwing my saber with all my might at him.
Sabers aren’t supposed to be thrown. Their handles and curvature prevent that and dent their accuracy. However, for some miraculous reason, my saber curved at such an angle that it somehow found its place in the man’s chest. The mace man stared stupidly at the handle sticking out of his chest, and then collapsed on the floor.
I helped Rubin to his feet. “Thanks,” he said with a grin. “Thought I was flatbread there, for a second.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I said, which was an understatement. Rubin looked like he could fill a bucket with all the water he was sweating out.