Last Light in the Darktide

Chapter 5: Victory and Loss

In the castle of the human kingdom an old man sat atop his throne and a shadowy figure stood in front of him and said. "It has been far too long since I have gazed upon this kingdom with my own eyes, your family seems to have done well for yourselves in my absence, my king." The king grunted and said. "Why have you come here, what do you want?" The figure simply said. "To serve you, just as I served your family in ancient times, my king." The figure bowed before the king and the king then said. "Well you have good timing then, I will accept your aid then." That is when a dark pact was reignited.

It had been a few months and more people of other races had flocked to Koramahr, the dwarves had expanded and reinforced the walls, the beastmen and some human allies built more homes to accommodate the influx of people, the elves established watchtowers and organized patrol routes, other races came to support us as well gnomes, half-folk, orcs, and many more. One day the chief called me to his office and said. "I'm sending you out on a scouting mission with one of the scouting parties since the rest of your team is busy supporting the city and our troops." I nodded and said. "Yes sir, where am I going?" He replied. "You will be heading to the fields far west of here, the land is good and can make for a decent place to settle a new town." I nodded and headed out and met up with my team. When I arrived at the meeting spot I was approached by the scout leader, an elven woman of conviction, she said. "Greetings ma'am, we will follow your lead in this mission." I nodded and we set out for the western fields several miles away. After a few days we arrived in the fields and began scouting the area, then out of nowhere a dark mist had settled over the field, we formed up and saw a combination of human soldiers and undead emerge weapons at the ready. We were surrounded and tried to fend them off, but before I knew it my scout team lay dead and I was surrounded on all sides. I stood my ground defending myself against them, but I knew I couldn't win alone. While I was thinking of what to do, a human soldier tried to strike me from behind, but I heard a scream of pain from the soldier and felt a familiar presence behind me. I turned and saw the half-demon who beat me previously, he spoke. "Do not mistake my intentions child, we will fight again, but at this moment we must deal with these pests." I nodded and we fought back to back against the enemy, after what felt like an eternity the enemy fled as they knew they couldn't win.

After the fight the half-demon man began walking away, but I called out to him. "Wait, who are you and what do you want?!" He stopped, turned to face me, and said. "I am Zarxie Flamehoof and I want nothing more than to die a warrior's death. You have improved your skills from when we last met, a bit more training and you might be capable of giving me such a death." I looked at him confused and asked. "You are so strong, so why do you want to die?" He replied. "I have nothing else in this world, my wife and child were taken from me, but I got vengeance for that so now I wish to die in battle with an equal." I took a deep breath and said. "Then let's make a deal Zarxie, if you help me and my people with our current situation then when it is all said and done we can fight one last time to the death!" He gave me an inquisitive look and said. "So if I give you aid in the coming fight then you will duel me to the death, with no interuptions?" I nodded and extended my hand waiting for his response. He approached me and said. "I see you have gotten stronger and even strengthened your mind since the last time we met. I agree to your terms warrior, I will give you and your people aid and when this war is over we will fight." He shook my hand and said. "Give me three days to prepare for the coming storm." I nodded and we went our separate ways. After a few days I returned to the city alone dragging the corpses of the fallen scout team. I was approached by the chief who asked what happened and I said. "We were ambushed by the human kingdom and the Darktide." His face went pale as I said that and he told me to go rest. When I arrived home I was greeted by Suki, Fey, and Yuko who I held tightly with tears in my eyes. I was worried for the safety of the three girls I had come to call my sisters.