 Merentha: Armageddon Chapter 1 Chapter 3  |
Chapter 2.....The streets were kept clean. Locals, all gnomes, walked up and down the streets and avenues along houses, gardens, parks, trees, and fences. The air smelled of sea and forest, and the breeze was almost constant. The island of Haven was located off the southwest border of the Asmar continent, which was bigger than the two main continents of Cardania and Atheria combined, 5 times. .....Asmar was mostly forest, but there were natives on the continent which were tough, almost barbaric. These natives had invaded the Atherian Adventurer's town of WhiteStorm and slaughtered dozes, if not hundreds, of innocent adventurers and affiliated wanderers. The four massive attacks, over a period of 4 days, were harsh and brutal. The Asmar force was repelled, but at a great cost to both sides. .....Stealing an artifact, which was later found to be a fake, they destroyed the statue and shattered the lives of all those affected. With hope destroyed and happiness lost, many took to the oceans to avenge the death of comrades, spouses, friends, and those unknown to them. .....After finding the Asmar with the help of Petrarch, the following invasion was as brutal as the Asmar's, with less Atherian deaths. The Asmar locals were unsuspecting and unprepared as, literally, dozens of ships sailed to their unused and old docks, pouring prepared and battle-hardened Atherians onto Asmar soil. .....The Asmars were conquerers, though. They built fortresses and had sentries patrol their cities. Even old Asmar women were nasty and beat people over the head with their heavy purses if someone came too close. .....With Asmar so close, a team of three Jeweled Knights were sent to investigate Haven after quite a few citizens and traders had complained about multi-coloured balloons chasing them halfway across the way to Haven, only to find a fleet of ships not far away. Walking down the streets were two centaurs, a short, runt Centaur and a tall, black Centaur, annd a nymph whose daggers never went far from her hands. .....The small nymph, glanced behind her back yet again. ....."Easy, Miaka, we're not exactly on Asmar." the black Centaur, said in a soft tone. ....."Yes yes...but don't blame me when someone sneaks up behind us!" Miaka spoke back, her tone much more gentle than her touch. ....."If someone sneaks behind us, they'll have quite a few hoof marks, eh Rijer?" said the runt, yawning right after. ....."So true," Rijer grinned. "Sneaking up on a Centaur is not a wise idea, that I agree with. However, the Asmar armour is quite powerful. Unlike the junk they sell in the stores back home, I doubt our hooves would penetrate." ....."Hah! So there, you do need someone looking behind you every now and then," Miaka yelled in a victorious tone, before looking back behind herself again. ....."Easy, Miaka. We haven't had confirmation of any Asmar on Haven yet," Rijer said, glancing behind his back. "Oh great, now I'm doing that Miaka thing." ....."Hey! What's wrong with that?" Miaka roared in her gentle voice. ....."Nothing at all," Rijer grinned.
.....Cory yawned before explaining his report to his comrades. "As you can see...the Asmar are most likely to land on the eastern and northern coast and then travel towards the city. As we approached Haven, you know we saw a few ships off the northern coast." ....."I don't even want to guess. The Asmar are probably going to invade, that's for sure. They have too many warships just sitting there for observation. We can't forget that they might attack by balloon, as well. Their first invasions were by balloon." Rijer said in his usual calm tone. .....In her blackened chainmail, Miaka groaned. Her wings fluttered slightly, shining in the fading sun. "Any idea on how long they wil be here in? I want to spill some Asmar blood!" ....."The Asmar are not as easy as they seem. If we get word out now, we could have some more Knights here in a few hours, or a day if the sea is bad. I don't think we could take on a whole swarm of Asmar's at once...even when the Atherians invaded Asmar, lives were lost while they were in groups," Rijer explained to the somewhat inexperienced Miaka, who did not have a lot of experience with some of the more dedicated Asmars. ....."Having more Knights here incase the Asmar do invade would be a good idea. However, they could be needed elsewhere. The Drow are getting worse by the day. We lost a few Knights to them the other day, and Hiemelia is astonished that someone would actually kill one of their citizens," Cory thought aloud. ....."If the Drow do anymore attacks, Hiemelia could aid our Queendom. We need someone to go back now and tell Simoriah we need more Knights." Rijer glanced at Cory briefly, then at Miaka , and Cory's gaze followed. ....."What! No way. I'm not going back, you smelly Centaur!" Miaka roared in a frustrated tone. ....."Miaka, you aren't experienced enough to match either of us, besides, you'd only be gone for a few hours." Cory explained, handing Miaka a colorful stone from his backpack. ....."Oh alright, but you two owe me so bad," returned the grumpy nymph.
.....Rijer glanced at where the swirling vortex had been. Miaka had disappeared into it moments ago, taking her back to the Atherian continent where she would sail to the Queendom and take the report Rijer had sent with her to Simoriah. .....Suddenly, hooves trotted quickly on the pavement outside the hotel where the 3 were staying at. Looking out the window, Rijer could see Cory trotting full speed towards the Shady Rest. He himself walked down to the lobby, where he ran into the exhausted runt. ....."Balloon...here....they're...locals...eastern!" Cory burst out inbetween deep breaths. ....."Asmar?! Here? Oh great! Just what we need. Where are they?" Rijer groaned at hearing the news. ....."The eastern farms! Hurry..they will be all over the island soon. We need to kill a few before they take us out!" Cory's insane personality was starting to show. Rijer frowned as he thought. Cory had a split personallity where the one half was partially insane and was a murderer. Cory usually kept this part under contrl, but the strong voice in his head was not easy to control, Rijer had thought. ....."Then we go now to warn and kill those who block us from our objective of leaving Haven as fast as we can. I don't think we should desert the residents here, though. We should hide out in the forest for a few days. Hopefully the other Knights will arrive by then." Rijer responded to Cory's exclamation. .....With a scrape of metal on metal, Rijer's twin crystal blades were unsheathed. The hilt on the blades sparkled brightly as a dark magenta orb fiercely pulsed. The long, thin crystal blade, which was very sturdy, was sharp enough to break skin with only a tap. Cory similarialy unsheathed his blades, but his were wider than Rijer's, and shorter. ....."Quickly. We must travel to the adventurer's square." Rijer commaded. ....."Maim! KILL! Slaughter!" Cory roared in a deep voice. Rijer jumped in shock, he had never seen Cory act this way before! .....Walking towards the main street, a tall figure stood there. Roughly a big human, the Asmar growled deeply before cackling. Swinging his sword around in a wide arc, he challenged them to combat. .....Before Rijer could respond, Cory was charging forward at full speed. Blade hit blade, and sparks flew in a shower that hit Rijer. The warrior bashed at Cory with his shield. Blocking the shield with his hilt guard, Cory bucked wildly. The buck slightly startled the warrior while Cory unlocked his blade from his opponents and slashed it across his belly. .....Armour screached and was penetrated, as a stream of sickening blood flowed from the open wound. In a last attempt to hurt his opponent, the warrior slammed his shield into Cory and stunned him, while his blade slashed Cory's horse torso, but did not penetrate the blackened chainmail. Backing away from the doomed warrior, Cory glanced back at Rijer. .....There stood Rijer, sword blocking sword from two Asmar warriors. A cut was visible on Rijer's face, but no pain shown. A stream of red blood flowed down his face and neck. One of the warriors backed away while the other kept the Centaur busy. Cory ran towards the battle with the simple thought of: KILL! .....The warrior which had backed away was now rushing towards Rijer. With a sickening sound of metal on metal, the shield slammed into Rijer's horse torso and send him sprawling to the ground as he gagged and coughed for air. A crystal blade fell from his hand and lodged itself in the dirt. Blood soaked into the dirt from his face and side. That rush had shattered his chainmail and sent the pieces into his side. .....Cory, at the site of his injured comrad, became a wild frenzy of slashes and whirling. The short sword slashed through the Asmar's relatively unprotected throat. A low gurgle was heard as the warrior fell forwards clutching his throat. The other warrior jabbed at the Centaur with his sword, but the armour deflected the blow. Bringing the cornered edge of his shield around, armour met shield, and pain shot through Cory's chest. .....With a spark of light, the warrior stood up for what seemed like hours, then fell foward before Cory. Standing behind the warrior stood an imp, which hovered in midair as her wings kept her afloat. .....The imp was dressed in a dress which fit snugly, and trailed down past her feet. The dress went up to her elbows, and her nose had a wart on the side of it. Her eyes glowed with life, and her hair was fastened together at the back of her head before spreading out in a tangle. Two horns curved out from her hair. ....."Uhh...thanks...I think. Who are you?" Cory asked, trying not to show any pain to this newcomer. ....."They call me Rima," returned the horned beast. ....."And I am Cory. Over there is Rijer," he pointed to the slowly getting up Centaur. ....."Yes...I know Rijer," came the rough growl. ....."Oooh...owwww..." Rijer coughed. Retrieving his sword, he glanced at his side and cursed loudly. ....."Bakeneko is here, Rijer," hissed the imp, in as soft a voice as Cory thought she could manage. ....."Just what I need. You two always manage to appear where I need you." Rijer smiled happily at her. .....Rima grinned back, or at leas Cory thought she grinned. Rima gestured towards the south, where the forest was. "We must get to him quick. The Asmar invasion was quick and has disrupted the entire islands transportation. They have guards located at every corner." .....Rijer nodded, and trotted after her, followed by Cory. As they reached the entrance to the forest, three Asmar warriors stood there. One warrior saw the group and alerted the other two warriors. Rima was not slow in responding. Rima chanted a spell and a massive flash of light streaked out and blew body parts off the Asmar. The three fell down, dead. ....."I hate when they put weaklings into servce." Rima screamed as she wiped a stringy tissue from her dress. ....."You'd think someone would enjoy killing the enemy quickly, but Rima is quite the opposite," Rijer smiled happily. "Maybe that's why I like her, eh?" .....Rima rolled her eyes, then flew into the woods. After a quick journey past a few elks, mooses, beavers, and a bear, they came across a tiny voice. ....."Who goes there!" squeaked something. ....."Bakeneko! It is I, Rijer!" Rijer replied. .....Quickly to that, a small faerie crawled from his hiding place. He glanced over Rima, Cory, and Rijer. "Rijer. Nice to see you, I see your wounded! Those nasty Asmar did that, I bet?" ....."Yeah. Hurts tons," Rijer shrieked in pain as Bakeneko touched the big wound around his broken armour. "Anything you--Ow! That hurts--could do?" ....."Besides make the pain worse?" Bakeneko grinned, making Cory frown. The small faerie chanted a few spells, and Rijer's side stopped bleeding and looked like a wound that was a few weeks old. A few more chants and Rijer's wound disappeared. Bakeneko then concentrated on the cut on Rijer's face, under his right eye. Rijer stopped the faerie in midchant, and shook his head. Bakeneko nodded and shrugged to the other Centaur and Imp. ....."So, Bakeneko, Rima, what brings you two to Haven?" Rijer grinned at Rima, then glanced at Cory. "Its alright, Cory. Very good friends of mine." ....."Came here for a relaxing vacation of slaughering the Asmar. We heard from quite a few adventurer's that the Asmar were invading. While here, Rima sensed that you were nearby and in trouble," squeaked Bakeneko in his high-pitched voice. He fluttered his wings quickly. .....Rijer nodded. "Who told you about the Asmar being about to or having an intention of raiding Haven?" ....."A rather crazy nymph was blurting it all through WhiteStorm as she ran towards the docks," Bakeneko explained, and Rima nodded in agreement. ....."That'd be Miaka," Cory chuckled, then felt pain rise through his chest from the movement. Bakeneko was quickly to his side, chanting a magical saying. All the pain in his body seemed to evaporate in a second. ....."If its one thing we will all admit, its that those darned Asmar hit hard," Bakeneko said with a frown on his face. ....."That's for sure," Cory grumbled. ....."I think we should leave Haven immediately, there is little we can do with no reinforcements. If we leave here right now, we could be at Jewel in an hour or two." Rijer said to the three looking at him. ....."I can do better than that," Rima said. She concentrated deeply and a drop of sweat streaked down the side of her face. A portal was suddenly in the room, casting light upon the woods. "Quickly, enter! It will take you to Simoriah." .....Cory shook his head. "I must remain here on Simoriah's orders." "Bakeneko and I stay to slaughter more Asmar," Rima cackled in a happy tone. ....."Alright, then I'll go alone," Rijer said before quickly trotting into the portal and was almost blinded with a multi-coloured flash of light. He slammed hardly into a stone floor. Rijer quickly got to his feet after realizing they were not in the usual spot where Simoriah spent her day. Glancing around, he saw empty beds, numerous races with different diseases, and vials of medicines and antidotes. One of the beds was occupied by a very weak dwarf. A bandage was wrapped around her arm. .....Suddenly there was a whisper of sound behind them. Rijer turned quickly, and almost screamed as he saw a troll wielding a dagger standing behind him. ....."Simoriah poisoned. Asmar attacked her! Simoriah killed Asmar," the troll grunted. .....Rijer nodded to the troll, who he guessed was Krook. Soft footsteps were heard at the door and a gasp came. Turning his head, the black Centaur saw Abbess standing there. ....."How did you get in here?" Abbess asked curiously. ....."Long story," Rijer sighed.  |
