The Wandering Mage (Sequel To The Last Mage)

Chapter 5

 The rain had cleared away, revealing the bright shining sun which caused the soft sand to glitter. The waves ran across the sand, trying to escape the newly calmed ocean. Further along the beach, planks of wood and random cargo was scattered all about, showing the signs of the ruined ship which, by now, was mostly at the bottom of the sea.  As the clouds passed and the soft wind blew, a young golden haired boy could be seen laying face first, only just rising from his slumber.

 Cedric groaned as he picked himself up, only going so far as to sit up on his knees. He wiped the sweat, or water whichever it was, from his face and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. Where in the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was the ship blowing up and... that vision he had. Looking in front of him Cedric saw a lush forest of bright green with the ground looking like it was made purely out of grass, as it fully covered the brown dirt underneath. The mage stood up and stretched his tired muscles, then felt himself for his belongings. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt that he still had his sword and gold pouch. His food was gone, but he could always buy more.

 As much as the boy wanted to stand around in the sun all day, he decided against it in favor of looking for any survivors. Walking among the scrapped ship he hollered out to no one in particular, hoping to catch someone's attention and receive a response. It appeared to be in vain as about an hour had passed and he had neither seen or heard anyone. Sighing, he took one last chance and sprinted down the beach, kicking sand into the wind which immediately swept it away. As he ran, he caught a glimpse of the sun reflecting off something up ahead, so he picked up the pace and quickly closed the distance. He gasped as he saw Messa laying there in a pool of her own dried blood, a long, broken piece of wood protruding through her stomach. Rushing to her side he saw her sword still strapped to her side. That must have been what was reflecting in the sun.

 Cedric didn't bother trying to heal her, she was already long dead, but he did decide to take her eye patch as a reminder of a great warrior and an even greater captain. Still, as the boy sat beside her, he was reminded of all the people who he had failed to save, and all of the people he had ever killed. How he had done it without remorse, and how he was an assassin. Looking back now he was disgusted and a little bit horrified at how he used to feel, well, nothing. He looked over at Messa and shuddered. 'I'm sorry, Messa. I wish I could have protected you and everyone else, but I couldn't. I'm sorry. I will remember you.' Cedric stood up and went to put the hood of his cloak up, but then noticed that it wasn't there. He frantically felt his back but it was no use. His cloak was gone, meaning that he was exposed if anyone saw him.

 Cursing, Cedric still had no choice but to try to find a village and stock up on food, even if that meant having to show the people who he was. Already having been around the beach a fair bit, he decided to go into the forest and try to find his way around. So off he went, making his way through the thick foliage and being careful not to trip over any loose roots. As he walked, he went through everything in his head. They had already been close to Bathon, so he must have washed up on the shore somewhere. He was the only survivor, so it was up to him to tell someone if there was a shipwreck or not. Before he did that however, he would have to do some digging around for information first. The whole point of coming to Bathon was to find the Leader, so that's what he was going to do. If his hunch was also right, he... well, he didn't know what he would do then.

 Before he could think any further, Cedric was suddenly smashed into a tree with immense force. He bounced off and rolled on the dirt, coughing up a small amount of blood. Looking up Cedric saw what could only be described as a monstrosity.  Humanoid in shape, it stood a good two feet above the boy. It's skin was a grayish color and seemed to pulsate all over. It had humongous muscles and the only thing it wore was a torn cloth around its waist. It stared at Cedric with crimson eyes and snarled, revealing a set of cracked and jagged teeth. It let out a roar of some sort and ran at the mage, swiping with razor sharp claws. Cedric rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the strike. Brandishing his sword, the metal hissing against the soft leather, he jumped forwards and slashed the monster across its back, then immediately jumped back in case of a counter attack. The creature roared again and thrashed about in rage, obviously angered at being struck. Seeing his opportunity, Cedric raised his hand up and summoned a sharp pillar of earth to tear diagonally through the behemoth's chest. Screeching out in pain, it continued to swing its arms about even though it couldn't reach the boy.

 'What the hell?' Cedric thought. 'Usually that would instantly kill, well, anything. What in the world is this thing? It looks almost human but obviously it isn't. So what the hell-'

 Cedric snapped out of his thoughts as the creature somehow broke the pillar and ran towards the mage, the top half of the earth still inside it's chest. The boy quickly swiped the air with his middle and index finger, sending out a crescent of wind aimed for the monster's neck. It connected, stopping the beast in it's tracks, and after it looked to be struggling to rip through, it finally did tearing it's head off in a spray of blood. It fell to the ground with a thump, quickly followed by the body itself. Cedric, after looking around for anymore of those things, sheathed his sword and leaned against a tree. His back hurt but other than that he wasn't seriously injured as far as he could tell. That monster though... it could take a lot of what he had and more. If more of those things popped up he would definitely have a challenge taking that them down.

 He would have to think more about this on the way however. He couldn't stop for a break now, he had to find a town or village of some sort. Cedric continued to walk in no particular direction and, fortunately, found himself on the outskirts of a small town. The houses were all made out of wood and were surrounded by plowed fields and small ponds. There was a small mill to his right and a forge to his left. As he made his way into town he braced himself for the amount of people that were about to come running up to him, asking him why he was there. However, after a few minutes, that didn't happen. The adults of the village were giving him soft smiles and waves as he passed, A group of children passed by him, commenting on his dark clothes and shiny sword.

 'This is a... different reaction from what I expected.' The boy though as he returned the smiles. 'Why aren't they at least giving me weird looks?' Then, he thought about it logically. 'Maybe they don't even know who I am! It would make sense. I haven't been king for that long, and I have never even been outside of my own country before. The only way these people could have heard that there was a new king would be through talk along.' Cedric smiled as he entered a tavern. 'This will work to my advantage. I won't have to try to hide from people, and won't be targeted for being royalty either. This is extremely lucky.'

 Walking up to the counter, Cedric requested supplies for at least a weeks journey. He didn't know how long he would be here, so he wanted to be prepared. When the innkeeper came back, he inquired about what he needed to know.

 "Sorry if this is a bit of an odd question," He started, leaning on the wood and smiling. "but would you happen to know about any caves around here perhaps? Or even if anything weird has been going on around here as of late?"

 They scratched their head in thought, then shook it. "Sorry, but we are a very quiet town. Nothing strange ever happens around here or I'd know. As for caves, that also comes up zero. We are fortunate to not have to deal with any of those or the denizens that dwell within. However, if you really need to find one, if you follow this map," they pulled it out and laid it on the counter. "then you should be able to get to a city called Vyron. If you need anything strange that would be the place to ask, and I believe that it is surrounded by old forts and caves, so you should have some luck there."

 "Thank you, this is extremely nice of you. I won't forget this. I'll be sure to find what I need with what you have told me."

 The innkeeper waved a dismissive hand, "Don't mention it. I'm just trying to help out a traveler who looks to be in need. Just be careful on the journey, and make sure if you stay anywhere it's a safe place."

 Cedric smiled and laid a few gold coins on the counter. "I'm sure this place is safe, right?"

 Laughing, the innkeeper nodded, taking the coins and leading him up to his room which he had paid for. Cedric thanked them again and put his stuff beside his bed, where he laid down to rest off his injuries and the shock of being shipwrecked. Hopefully tonight, he wouldn't be haunted by any strange visions.