A Tale of Two Knights

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ludo came back disappointed, and in a gloomy state. The Lich he was so close to ending, found his escape. How was he going to tell Gandel on how he failed?

Millions of thoughts filled Ludo's head all at once, and he started to get very dizzy.

The rain went plit plat, splattity splat and once Ludo found his way into Gandels home, he found the entire house just gone. At this time, it was a very early morning, with a grey sky, and the rain making a satisfying plat whenever it hit the ground.

Ludo found a letter sealed with a brown-reddish wax sealing the envelope shut. The paper was a little yellow in color, and smelled of old paper made from perhaps an elder tree from the ancient forests . Ludo also found a tart covered in a napkin with the letter addressed to him.

Ludo ripped open the wax seal with some difficulty, and took out the paper inside. The wizard's handwriting looked quite messy, but neat, and like calligraphy in his style. The letter said

Dear Ludovicus,

By the time you have read this message, I will already be on the mainland attending some business I have to do. In order to get to the mainland, you must go to the city of Astoria. This is the only way. You must seek a friend of mine, ole Shep the merchant. He is seen near the Astorian fountain of the city. He will help you cross, in what way, I cannot tell. By the way, I have put in the envelope a necklace that I had put the mana from 5 Elder cones into. This way, you won't run out of mana until you reach the mainland. I hope you will get there.

P.s I have prepared a pastry tart made of elderberries. I hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Gandel

Ludo looked inside the envelope, and indeed saw a golden necklace, with a gemstone that was swirling with mana inside. A small golden eagle was carved inside the necklace, and it held the gemstone with its talons.

Ludo then took off his armet, and took a bite out of the tart. It was not too sweet, and not too sour. It was just right.

Ludo put on the necklace, and hit it under his plate armour. Immediately, he felt a mystical swirl of energy in his body. He closed his eyes, and felt the mana coursing through his veins. He was immediately awakened from his once drowsy state, and was energized.

Now, he had to find a way into Astoria.

That's all the way in Lastborough Ludo thought. It takes an extremely long time to get there. Just to find some merchant guy.

Astoria was extremely far away, basically near the middle of the mainland. The ancient land. The ancient capital of Estonia. Where the fierce Astorian Arch knights reside to protect their Monarch, the mystical land of the amphitheater, divine forests, fire breathing drakes, and others.

Ludo burned the paper with his pyromantic blade, and headed for Astoria. He knew exactly where Astoria was, as he was very familiar with it. Too familiar He thought. Ludo had used to be an Arch knight.

With the Astorian Armour, came power and wealth,

But comes in a great responsibility that only few can handle

Ludo shivered at the memories of his past. Arch knights were really no joke. If Ludo was going to travel to Astoria, he really had to be prepared and careful.

...

A trail of thick black blood ran from a messy line in the snow. The snow absorbed much of the blood, sealing the damage from the untrained eye.

Before the blood trail, there were footprints of blood of the same type, in neat patterns of a leather shoe, with the imprints of a knight's sabaton embedded in the snow, with blood dripping from the edges, melting the snow through its sheer heat.

The blood belonged to a young apprentice who had on an attire of a dark green cloak. The boy couldn't have been older than the age of 13, and his hair was dark brown. The cloak's hood hid much of the boy's face, and he was crawling over the snow.

Frostbite covered the boy's bloody hands, and he desperately tried to crawl away. From something

The dark trees barely hid any of the light that appeared at the very moment. A few hours ago, something drastic had changed the boy's life, forever. His family dead, brother hanged on a rope, his mother's dead body raped by filthy brutes, animals that had no sense of humanity in them. His father long dead, who had accidentally killed himself in a drunken rage. The boy could almost picture his father, coming into the small house with a beer glass, smashing the bottle on his mothers head before tripping and landing his neck on the broken beer bottles sharp edge.

The boy couldn't even remember his name. He could barely remember his memories. Why he was in the snow like this right now was a great mystery to himself even. I was fleeing from the capture of the town, and ye- He had remembered. In a flash, he regained all his memories. There was a capture of the village of Axis in Fabril. He and his guild ran far away, but it was impossible to escape without separation, and the boy had lost his guild members.

They were being chased by a bounty hunter. A bounty hunter, yes that was what it was. A knight with a great helm with horns on it. An great-axe for a weapon, the man with the fur and steel armour,

He probably killed everyone The boy thought, tears streaming out of his face.

A cold windy breeze came over the boy, and it blew the hood off the boy. What was shown was a pair of pointy ears, red at the tip. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him... Something wasn't right.

The boy stayed deathly silent in horror, as his heart raced. The footsteps may come from one of my guild members, he thought, however, it wouldn't make sense. He had been separated from them for over 5 hours. How did they find him now?

Then he heard the breathing. Ragged breaths, in a pattern, one exhale, two inhales, it was always this pattern. The Bounty hunter Always breathed in this pattern.

A silver gauntlet grabbed the elf boy by the hood and then turned the boy around, and all he could do while this happened was scream.