The Red Cook

Chapter 1: The Happening

This was the day it happen. Where everything changed. The only thing was that I didn't know it yet.

I sat, cross legged in a valley, and mediated. This valley was where I had ambushed several hunting parties before. I thought it might be appropriate for this commander's demise. My face was covered a white mask with slits as eyeholes. I had painted a black spiral to match a local superstition of a ghostly assassin who seeks revenge. As I meditated and tried to ignore the urge to sneeze, I sensed the thousand and some warriors sneaking towards me. Any normal player might not have heard them coming, but with a high listening stat, I was able to hear the muted jangling of armors and the near silent breathing coming from a thousand souls. I felt the sword swinging, something changed in the air motion.

The saber cleaved through the air where I had been a millisecond before. In a fluid motion, I had spun around the attacker and drawn my twin short swords. Thrusting, I punched through the leather armor and pierced the heart. I rapidly blocked the next attack and I beheaded the woman behind it. Spells and arrowed were shot in my direction, creating holes in the fog. I either dodged them or cut through them.

Stab forward.

A groan of pain.

Slash right.

A body hit the wet ground.

Slash left.

The sword cut through the steel armor like a hot knife through butter.

As I felt the frontlines try to get out of the way of my moving blades, I let out a laugh. It started out as a chuckle but then evolved into a full blown laughter. Goosebumps traveled down my arm as I let it out. Hidden behind the mask, I grinned.

"That warm up is done. Now, it's time to get serious."

With that, I replaced the two short swords with a large battle axe. Weighing 45 kilograms, it stood bigger most men on this battlefield. Most people could not wield it. Lifting it, I slammed the handle into the ground. Great tremors ran through the ground, causing people to fall. I spun the axe in my hand and used the momentum to spring myself in the middle of a group of people. I swung the axe at blinding speed and moved again, leaving a circle of bodies in my wake. I continued this method of systematically killing clusters of people until I sensed that I was not near an enemy.

I fell to one knee, fighting for breath. Fog still limited my vision so I continued to use my senses. Groans of agony echoed around, bouncing across the hills. A dark shape appeared in the surrounding fog. Without thinking, I swung and crushed the figure. Blood splattered my bloodied blade and hands. The gasp of air left the body as it fell to the ground and shattered into a myriad of shining shards. The exp gained was barely anything. I suddenly realized that the commander had ordered a retreat.

A loud scraping followed hundreds of waxed bowstrings slapping against leather bracers echoed throughout the valley. The whistling sounds of death cut through the recent silence, as if the world had held its breath in waiting for the slaughter.

I grinned. Quickly, slide my shield off of my back and unequipped. It slide down my arm as I sheathed my sword. Pressing a button, the shield enlarged until it was taller than I was. This was one of my personal contraptions, specifically made for an occasion such as this. I lay down in the mud and covered myself with the shield.

Arrows pelted the shield and the soft earth around me. The metal was gathered by dwarves I had befriended on my travels and smelted by the flames of a fire drake I had captured. The trim were its bones and scales. Even high leveled arrows bounced off like rocks on the metal.

The volley ended as quickly as it came. Acting quickly, I sprung up and began sprinting. The fog had nearly evaporated, wisps still hung in the air. Several unlucky players near me were pincushioned with arrows. Only a very stupid or a very desperate commander would do such a thing, I thought. Perhaps both.

I heard the rasping again. I slide down and repeated my actions. I reached out with my senses and searched for the source of the arrows. I found the direction as the volley slammed into my shield. I quickly got up and start running.

I eyed the command post on the ridge of the valley. Soon, I was too close to the main group of survivors for a large volley of arrows to be used effectively. Shrinking the shield and drawing one of the short swords, I began cutting and shoving soldiers out of my way, spreading confusion among the living as I cut a path towards the commander. Volleys of arrows kept firing, although less than the initial volley. What a terrible commander. Dodging or block each one, I was able to reach the commander's tent with only a small scratch on my arm from a dagger. I ripped out the throat of the last elite guard. The fresh blood ran down my arm as the body fell to the soft earth and dissipated.

The commander's tent loomed ahead. I walked there, the army behind me, afraid of the power that I wielded. The murmurs of the troops echoed around the valley. The Valley of Whispers, I thought. Good name for this place of death.

The army suddenly stopped moving and fell to one knee, their murmurs cut off. The surreal fog swirled around each one, making them look like an army of statues. The sudden silence was replaced by the soft tread of boots and the jangling of armor. I grimaced as a pain shot through my arm, the arm where I had a single scratch. The pain magnified and I cried out in pain. Another lance of pain brought to my knees. The sound of clapping broke through my thoughts of pain.

I looked up to see a man standing in front of me. His black hair was shaved along the sides. The top wavered in the wind. His mouth smiling, wrinkling his beard. However, the warmth of his smile did not appear in his eyes. They were almost black and lacked any warmth. He reached behind him and pulled out a scroll. Smirking, the man cleared his throat.

"By the order of his majesty, King Henry the 5th, and under the blessing of the New Order, the masked killer has been deemed a traitor and a heretic. He has split the blood of our brothers in his excursions. He has followed the paths of the old religion, which has deemed unworthy under our king. He wears the face of mystery, and in that mystery, breeds chaos. If killed, there will be a substantial reward for all those involved. If captured alive, there will be a bonus for that man."

He dropped the scroll, which rolled on the damp earth before dissolving.

"The king has deemed it that upon reading this scroll, all deaths for the Travelers be permanent and that they cannot escape to their world in order to trap the traitor to his fellow men.This shall end when either the murderer dies gets captured or if he changes his mind."

Grinning, the man walked towards me. More pain stabbed me. The cursed poison doing its job, rendering me immobile. The man reached for his weapon and drew it. The early morning light reflected off of the pure white blade of his broadsword. Leaning in, he whispered in my ear.

"I guess I won't be receiving my bonus."

His blade impaled me. Ripping through my organs as it slide into me. Blood began to soak my clothes, staining it a dark crimson, and dripped to the earth. The man pulled the sword from my gut. I lifted my good hand to feel the wound. I removed the now blood-covered hand of mine. I fell to the ground, my cheek hitting the damp earth.The breeze floated around me as I barely heard the sounds around me with the rush of blood pounding my skull. I saw in my vision, my health decrease rapidly. The breeze wrapped around me, tugging at me. I let it take me. Suddenly, I heard the breeze whisper in my ear.

"May the wind forever dance in your glory, chosen one."

Suddenly, the fog-covered valley was replaced with a garden with birds and crickets chirping. I stared right at in the eyes of a rabbit, who was happily munching on a cabbage. Realizing I was not a rock, it ran off. I took off my mask and stowed it in my bag. I heard voices and a door opening. Suddenly they stopped and were replaced by the sound of running. A pair of hands turned me onto my back and I winced as the wound moved more. My consciousness started fading as I stared into the face of woman.