As the sight was not of use, only his ears could aid him in the darkness, no Guide to lead the way, no Light to illuminate the path, He was all on his own, in this lightless wasteland.
"I see no path, nor do I see hope, this Journey of mine seems to have no end, For no matter how long I walk, I see none but Void, yet I hear faint whisper from the far distance. and they are getting louder the more I walk, as if no matter where I go, they get louder, maybe they linger not in the distance, but within my head, With this knowledge in mind. this seems not like a mere journey, but a race against madness" said as he was wandering in the nowhere.
However, After some distance traveled, something beneath the cloud of darkness started to form, am eerie pair of giant, slender hands menacingly approached to the ground before him, and the entire thing started to gradually unfold, the deformed face of a creature burning with a pale white flames and many demonic glowing eyes across its face emerged from the darkness, Its mouth emitted Dark Vapor as it was Exhaling with a malevolent voice:
"No one will hear thy prayers, No God will aid thy soul, for The Ancient One will Consume thy world. and the sky of thee will submerge into this very Darkness, As for thee, the flames of mine will soon drive thou mad, Unless thou fulfill thy true fate, Until then, the soul of thee shall see no harmony. and find no peace, Heed my words, Old soul, For I will linger within, Not until death, but for all of eternity"
The creature done its talk, and the darkness covered it once more, as if it was sent back into oblivion, But Danger felt near, chills ran down his spine, as the twisted laughter of the many crawled to his ears. and this very laughter gradually morphed into tortured screams.
His eyes opened in an unimaginable shock, Baron, terrified, woke up from that nightmare, confused of everything around him, the sunlight from the window next to him calms him down, he finds himself in a room full of light, he's no longer Submerged in that pitch darkness, He sighed in relief.
He tilted his head to his right where a jar of water and a cup are place on a table, his dry throat beckoned him to pour himself a cup, which tasted weird, a mixture similar to the taste of blood and iron hit his tongue, he was puzzled, so he poured another one to make sure of it, but the taste was washed off, this made Baron realize that the taste was inside his mouth, not in the water,
"Sigh, My mouth has nothing wrong, it's most likely because of the fight yesterday" He said concerned, moments of spacing out later, he remembered Yesterday's incident of him and Vince, He checked on himself to see if his wounds have healed, but to his surprise, There was nothing on his skin, No scars, no bruises, no wounds, no nothing, He was puzzled from this scene, because the last thing he remembers was being stabbed and severely wounded, Now since thinking about his wounds whereabouts consumes his mindpower, he decided to let it go and got up from his bed, Some quick stretches have become a necessity to ease his stiff muscles, after finishing stretching he walked to the door to see the outside, His Eyes were greeted by a rather - bizarre - scene, Vince, was sitting on the couch of Baron's house, Wrapped in bandages and plasters, Hysterically Crying in terror, there was nothing in Baron's Mind to describe the state that Vince was in, However, there was also Baron's Father, Standing in from of Vince with his palm on his head, Baron Looked from the corner of the room as The Father Murmured some words in a language the Baron knows not, Ending his chants with the words "Be Not Afraid".
Vince's pale face suddenly flourished, His shivering body calmed and his expressions turned to normal once again, The father closed Vince's eyes with his hand and gently pushed him to sleep,
He walked to Baron after finishing that miraculous "healing" work:
-"Oh, Baron, you're finally awake, I thought you'd sleep for at least two more days, didn't expect you to wake up this early"
-"I feel it has already been too long, my bones feel stiff as if they were forged together, how long have I been asleep ?"
-"a day and a half, or around 47 hours, I guess"
-"by Hydia !!, that's too much time, that's enough sleep for the entire next week, and what's up with him ? Why was he like that ?"
-"I found you two lying on the ground in the middle of the royal square two days ago, he was covered in injuries and he bled too much, while you, you were unharmed and.. how do I put it, let's just say.. [grunts] you lacked 'cover' if you know what I mean"
-"you mean I had nothing on ?"
_"ah, yeah, completely.., nothing"
-"how come that I didn't get Injured ? I'm pretty sure I was slain by a crimson assassin back then, I can still remember the blade slicing through my throat.., how could this possibly happen?"
-"you expect me to know what YOU did yesterday?, Are you serious?"
Baron sighed as his father left the living room to his, he and his father are so used to do their businesses without telling a thing to each other ,the testimony of his father left him confused, and his confusion only raised more as he looked at Vince's bloody bandages, "how bad could that day's battle be ?" he thought, as he was slowly covering Vince with a blanket, The time on the tall wooden clock in the room caught his attention, it's 13 in the morning,
"13 ?!, I already wasted too much time sleeping, I can't let the other 17 hours slip away"
Baron left the house heading outside, the warm sunlight was first to greet him as he covered his head to look at the sun, the garden of his family's house opposes the beauty of the distant tshasylia forest, a scene that Baron used to see since he was born, this very scene, calmed his disturbed soul, deep within, he could hear a voice say "this is home, it's safe now" Baron looked around him with a sigh of relief, then took a deep breath
"Hah, everything looks good, It's time to get back to work again, I'll go find something to do in the city while Vince wakes up, It might take a few hours, maybe days, I don't know.."
Baron then walked to the city, with "something" on his mind,
The Voices of the city remained the same, street vendors shouting, people communicating, the Voice of life echoes across the streets of Guirith, which Baron used to hear almost every day, walking down the street, he was thinking about how he will live with this "new circumstances" and his next step, what will he do next ? Will he figure out a way to enrich himself away from the Crimson Brotherhood's targets, Or will he clash with them head on ? Or maybe .. He has another way around ?, Baron's Mind is a wild world to explore, so No one will ever expect his next move, as he was sinking in his thoughts while walking, he bumped into someone 'accidentally', Baron locked eyes with the man, who was noticeably taller than him, and said "Hey, so sorry, man", the man looked back and replied "don't mention it, it's alright..",
His dark blue eyes as blue as the ocean, The Eye patch on his left eye the pair of glasses he wears, his cloak with that weird owl-like symbol on the top of the back and that small sized bag on his side,
they all caught Baron's attention, "I know a mage when I see one, keep the good work, mister" he said as he walked away, the mage replied "A good Eye you have.. Baron Maverick.., take care", Baron was surprised hearing his name coming from a stranger, he turned around to see the mage again, but he was nowhere to be seen, vanished with no trace, as if he was a ghost of some sort, Baron sighed out of confusion, but he didn't think much of it, "Probably another one of my father's weird friends" he said before continuing his walk, because such matter doesn't deserve thinking for more than 5 minutes, as he believes,
The destination is his old shop, or at least what it once was, now it's just ruins, as he saw it last time, however, Baron doesn't view the incident as a problem, but rather he sees something completely different,
"I think I have over exaggerated a little when I talked to Vince back then, I still have some things under my control, I have a few thousands of Rebiels left and a piece of land in the middle of the royal square, and most importantly, I'm still in once piece, I have everything I need.." Baron thought as he was approaching his ruined shop, but he also remembered that the only thing that stands between him and his income, the group that destroyed his businesses multiple times, the crimson brotherhood, He froze for a moment and slapped his forehead after realizing
"ah yes, the brotherhood…. I guess I'll need to figure a way out to dispose of them before I can do anything, hah, I hope I won't have to go back to my old ways to finish this business"
As he was standing like that, a man from the crowd around approached him with condolences for his loss
"I can't believe your shop was destroyed, Boss man, you were the finest blacksmith out here, I hope you'll recover from this loss as soon as possible, the market indeed needs you"
Baron, Sarcastically replied "Well, in that case you either find another blacksmith for your dear market or head to the royal forgery, My shop is officially closed"
The man said to Baron as he was walking away "what a loss, man, we will have tough time trying to compensate your absence"
"you will, soon" said Baron as he walked towards a nearby inn he used to visit after his workdays, he walked through the crowd to the inn's door, reminiscing about the times when he used to get here after a long work day to chill with some friends, the only difference is that he used to go there after the sunset, while now he sees himself walking there midday, a new yet welcome experience to him,
The voice of the singing bard at the corner welcomes his ears, the sight of the sunlight passing through the windows to light up the hall greets his eyes, the smell of the freshly made, tasty food invites him to the table where he used to sit, and he did so, as his old friend, Breyolt, greeted him "Coming Early today, Baron ?",
-"I don't have much to do, I'm just trying to get my thoughts together", Baron replied,
-"Indeed, I heard what happened a few days ago, I'm sorry to hear that"
-"It's not a big deal, it happened many times before"
Breyolt paused for a moment then asked Baron "The usual ?", which Baron nodded positively to, there isn't much dialogue between the two, but they both understand each other without the need for a lot, Baron patiently waited for his meal as it was being prepared, and looked at Breyolt surrounded by spices and Meat hanged from the low ceiling, He used to eat from that man's cooking since he was 14 when he first started working in the square.
Breyolt, Intending to entertain Baron while the food is made
-"So, what's your plan ?, any idea how you'll find a way out ?"
-"I don't know, really, but I'm not completely lost, I do have a few Rebiels on my side and a plot of land in the royal square that can sell for a fortune"
-"Oh, So you're saying you'll sell the land of the shop, Eh ?, and how do you plan to get your Shop's worth Back ?"
-"I won't go all in right now, I'll take it easy for now, stressing ain't getting me nowhere"
-"Hah, This calm attitude of yours never fails to impress me, I must admit"
Baron, Smirked at Breyolt's statement, then he remembered the owl symbol on that Mage he met, Thinking that Breyolt might have some answers, He asked
-"Hey, Breyolt, do you have any owl-related news ?"
-"Owls ? The only time I saw an owl was when the traveling pet merchant came here, He had some owls for around 4000 Rebiels, I could only watch, unfortunately, because the price was too high for me, but why would you ask ? I didn't figure you'd have an interest in animals"
-"Not really, I saw an owl shaped symbol somewhere, I've seen something like that before, So I thought you'd have a clue"
Breyolt froze for a moment, He didn't say anything, he stood still as Baron was looking at the back of his bald head,
The food is ready, Cooking's over,
Breyolt said as he was putting the final touches and Walking towards Baron with his meal: "Owl symbol, I see where this is going, -Sighs- there's a group of merchants who settled in the royal palace a few days ago, maybe this was what you saw back then"
Baron's meal has arrived, Hot grilled seasoned Ribs with honey and Boiled Potato slices, and for the drink of choice, a dense mix of Orange and Lemon Juice is his favorite, He used to eat this after a long workday to energize himself, But this time he came to eat it to cheer himself up,
Baron prayed in silence as he usually does before every meal, and began his feast, "Enjoy your meal, Man of morals" Breyolt said as he slid a medal under Baron's meal,
Baron paused chewing, the position of his mouth stopped mid chewing too, He looked at the medal which had the exact same symbol as the one he saw on that mage's cloak, then he looked at Breyolt, he kept looking back and forth between the two for a while,
Breyolt said "I believe those merchants might pique your interest, I hope so" as he was looking around then he knocked with his finger thrice on the table,
Baron slowly took the medal in his pocket while swallowing, it appears that Baron 'understood' the message, He hummed and nodded before continuing eating.
around half an hour has passed since Baron started, He finally finished his meal, He paid what he owes to Breyolt, which is 250 Rebiels and thanked him for the meal, Breyolt Said goodbye to him as he was leaving the Inn,
Baron walked through the streets of the city passing by other people, in the distance, two girls were walking in the opposite direction of his, Baron, not wanting trouble, looked down to the ground as he was passing by them, the two girls peeked at his back, blushing,
He reached a narrow path on the right side of the street, He walked down their to the dead end, He stopped there.
"Hiding your Massive Aura, You don't seem to be capable of that, Stranger" Baron said to the Mage standing behind him from distance, It's the same mage the bumped into him before,
"This power of yours, you can't convince me that you're just a regular blacksmith, I know what kind of man you are, Baron Maverick" the mage said as he was slowly approaching Baron
-"Oh, you're approaching me, Mage ?"
-"I can't clearly state myself without getting closer, Baron"
The two slowly walked towards each other, until they stopped at few steps of distance, Baron asked
-"Who sent you here, Mr. Mage ? If you're here to sell some weird ass potion that turns you into a winged frog when you dap an imp during moon eclipse, Then I'm not interested"
-"Haha, I like your sense of humor, But unfortunately, I'm not a man of trades, I came for the Medal you possess, Baron"
-"Mhm, yes, I have it, if you want to take it, then you can only dream of this, It's mine now"
-"No, Baron, I'm here to aid you Baron, to test you, Baron, The emblem you're carrying isn't an ordinary piece of metal, it's a sign of honor, Tell me, Baron, Are you Worthy of carrying this honor in your hands ?"
-"Whatever, man, Look, I don't have anything to do right now, So I might give your test a chance, but if it has anything to do with buying stuff, I ain't buying nothing, is that clear ?"
-"hahaha, Don't worry, I'm not a Merchant of any kind, But I believe you're up to take the test, I've seen you before, so don't disappoint me"
-"Alright, I accept your test, I don't have much fun to do anyways-"
Before Baron could finish his sentence, The Mage Charged with lightning speed at him with a powerful smack that sent Baron flying, into the wall, "Great, then the test starts now" he said as he Took off his cloak which disappeared in his hand.
Baron got up and put away the dirt from himself saying "Ouch, that was too early, But I'll take it anyway, Alright then" he took a fighting stance and clinched his fists and continued "Let's dance !!".
The mage Commented "The flexible change of attitude, this is exactly what I want" as he took his fighting stance too,
He added "Before we Proceed any further, My Name is Görbbe Mannors, and I'm honored to fight someone with strength like yours"
Baron replied "The honor is mine, Görbbe Mannors"
The two charged at each other with exceptional Power and speed and neither of them is intending to hold back, The test of strength and willpower has begun...
To be Continued