Clandestine Prequel Volume 2: The Silver Fang

Chapter 6: Legacy, Full Circle

                   "A family that live at the edge of town? The Tavern owner said that the father used to own a weaponsmith shop before he..." Sivore trailed off in his thought as he followed behind Vlad. In this current situation, he was merely talking to himself anyway.

                  "It's not that much of a surprise though, people don't usually abandon their homes and life's work even if the head of the household dies," Vlad said sadly, surprising Sivore a bit.

"Maybe we can give them a bit of a peace of mind while we're here," Sivore said as they crossed down a small path. They had both decided that one cup of ale each was enough before continuing their journey but, they had decided to leave the horse in a stable outside the saloon.

                   "Hopefully we have enough of a lead against the enemy," Sivore mumbled to himself. He sighed walking with downcast eyes when suddenly, something caught his attention....

                    "Vlad, watch out!" He said as he pushed the young ruler out of the way. Vlad whipped his head around, he was about to yell at the young man when he spotted what Sivore was so focused on, sliding along the ground, was a vine on fire! Vlad rolled onto his knees as the vine suddenly rose up and tried to wrap around his ankle, Sivore grabbed the sword from its sheath on his back and dashed forward snapping the vine in two. "Eeeeyyyah!" The two thought they were out of trouble but instead, the two ends of the vine sprung up from the ground, one end tried to wrap around Vlad's ankle again while the other snapped Sivore across the wrist making him drop his weapon. "Arrrghh...! RUN!" He grabbed Vlad's shoulder and ran with him over to what looked like a makeshift table.

                    'What is going on....'  Vlad wondered as the two of them hid. Suddenly, one of the vines snuck around the side of the table and grabbed his arm, the other wrapped around his only free arm spreading him out like a plank "Aoweeeeea!!!" He growled as He clenched his fists trying to pull away. Sivore tried to reach for one of the vines to free his friend when another one slid over and wrapped itself around his waist constricting him... "Oawwwaaahhh!" The two struggled against their restraints when all of the sudden they heard something from around the corner.

                    "That's enough!" The voice was deep and gruff, it sounded like it belonged to an elderly gentleman. "Alma, enough, release our guests!"

'Alma...... wait.... There's a person behind this?!'

                    As if on cue the vines dropped suddenly, first the one around Sivore's waist but the ones restraining Vlad stayed burning the young man's skin... He bit his lower lip trying to stifle a scream. "Both of them Alma!" The gruff voice growled. Slowly, the vines released his arms making Vlad slide down onto his knees holding his wrists at that point though, the skin had already begun to heal. Vlad sighed as he got up from behind the makeshift table, that's when he saw her. The woman with hair as black as the night sky, bangs swooped across her forehead and eyes like a deep coral reef. Vlad had to admit, he was a little taken aback, but as she turned his way, she gave him a look that made his throat burn in nervousness. 

                    "Please forgive my granddaughter." Came the gruff voice again. That's when Vlad finally caught sight of the source. An old man made his way over to them from the bottom of the small house. The wrinkles around the old man made him look tired and almost.... sad. He stepped with a limp only held straight by a walking stick in his right hand. Vlad saw as the young woman crossed her arms over her chest as she turned her back to them. "Come, there is a lot to discuss, we shall look over those burns as well." The old man said calmly as he ushered the two young men towards the house.

                    "Thank you for your hospitality, Sir. But we are looking for....-"

"You've found them young man." The old man said cutting Vlad off.

"Uhh.." A sound of confusion was all that the young ruler could utter at the moment. First off, none of his subjects had ever called him "young man" before. It was unheard of, even for his age a regal greeting was always put forth. Secondly, other than the young woman who had apparently tried to burn them alive, these people seemed rather, normal. He had expected them to be eccentric, like his father.