Clbaez

Grakgrom

I stretched as I got out of bed, and pumped my fist in excitement. Only one week until I'm a full fledged ranger! I thought excitedly and got dressed. I ate breakfast and then put on my weapons. I was about to go outside and train but Korz stopped me. "I have a mission for you. I know you've proven yourself in the past, but I'm required to do this before you can become a full fledged ranger," he said. "What mission?" I asked him, curious and excited. "I need you to hunt down Grakgrom, the cyclops," he said. The color drained from my face. "Another cyclops?" I asked horrified, the last battle with a cyclops now fresh in my mind. "Yes. It's a task that is hard, but I know you can do it. That's why it's your graduation mission," Korz explained. I nodded, but still didn't want to do it. I set out and went to the new nearest village(the other having been destroyed) to get information. I asked around and found out that he was a raider that pillaged and destroyed towns and villages singlehandedly. I found out that his last sighting was at Horchton, a village ten miles away. "Let's go Lightning," I said and rode off. We went at a fast but steady pace and got there by noon. The village was destroyed completely. I got off of Lightning and searched until I found his footprints. They were huge, as I had suspected. He won't be hard to track down, I thought, and got back on Lightning. We went at a trot, I didn't want to let him know we were here before we knew he was there, so we went slow. We stopped at dusk and I fed and watered Lightning and then had my own meal. Korz had always taught me to take care of my horse before myself. I got back on and we continued. I wanted to go two hours after sunset, so that we could cover more ground. About an hour after dark I saw a single tent with a fire. I got off of Lightning and signaled to stay, and he whinnied softly in consent. I went forward, using the trees to keep myself hidden. I saw a cloaked figure sitting next to the fire, warming their hands. I inched closer to see who it was, and I was surprised to see who it was. "Nicelle?" I muttered under my breath, and she looked up. "Who's there?" She said and picked up her staff. I came out of the shadows. "It's just me," I said, hands in the air. "Oh it's just you," she said. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, and signaled for Lightning to come forward. "I was expecting some creature or something, I don't know," she replied. "Clbaez, right? Isn't that your name?" "Yeah," I said. Lightning came out of the darkness and I walked over to my horse. "What are you going out here?" I asked, rummaging through the saddlebags. "I'm trying to kill Grakgrom," Nicelle replied. "The cyclops?" I asked as I pulled out a tent. "Yes, how did you know?" She said. "I was assigned to kill the same Cyclops," I replied. "Mind if I share your campsite?" "Not at all. I guess we could work together to kill Grakgrom since we were both assigned to kill him," she answered. I set up my tent and then sat by the campfire with Nicelle. "We made a good team fighting Baukshkol," I said. "Yeah, we did. I couldn't have defeated him without your help," she said. "Thanks. I would've died if you didn't show up," I told her. I stared into the fire for quite a while and vaguely noticed Nicelle go to sleep. The fire reduced to coals and I finally went to bed.

I sat up in bed gasping. Just a nightmare, I thought. I really don't want to fight Grakgrom but it'll be much easier with Nicelle's help, I continued thinking. I put my weapons on and went outside the tent. The sun had yet to rise but there was a glow at the horizon, so I knew it would soon. I put up the tent and put it back in the saddlebags. I ate some dried meat and an apple for breakfast, after taking care of Lightning. "Nicelle, we should get going," I said. I heard stirring in her tent and I sat by the previous night's fire. She came out and picked up her staff. Then Nicelle waved it at her tent and other items and it put itself away then folded into almost nothing. "Lucky you, I had to put my things away manually," I said with a smile. Nicelle smiled and put the tiny package in her pocket. "Have you been traveling on foot?" I asked her. "No, but it would've less tiring," she said. "How?" I asked confused. "I'll show you," Nicelle said. She muttered a spell under her breath and a horse formed out of her shadow. "Woah," I said in awe. We got on our horses and rode following the tracks. We went at a trot, like I had the day before. We would've gone faster because Nicelle can sense him, but it exhausted her faster the faster she went. We traveled until noon and gained some ground on Grakgrom, but not much. We stopped and ate, and Nicelle rested. We continued on until nightfall and gained a little more ground. We made camp and started a campfire. "We're not gaining on him very fast. It could take more than a week to actually catch up," I said. "How could we go any faster? I would teleport but I've never been here, so I can't," Nicelle said. We could both ride on lightning, I thought. The ranger horse could support us both and still go at a fast pace for nearly all day, but I discarded the thought. "Can't ranger horses hold up more weight than normal horses?" Nicelle asked. "Yeah, they can. They can also keep going fast for quite a while," I told her. Nicelle stayed silent, pondering. She but her lip and then seemed to come to a conclusion. "Couldn't we.......never mind," she said. "What was your idea? It might be a good one," I encouraged. "Nothing, its stupid," she said and looked away. She stayed silent for a while and then decided to speak up again. "Couldn't we both ride on your horse?" She asked. "It would sure be a lot faster," I said. We sat by the fire for a while and then went to bed.

I woke up in cold sweat, gasping. Another nightmare about Grakgrom, I thought. I got out of bed and put on my weapons. I went outside and Nicelle was already up eating. I started to put away my tent and I heard a sound behind me. "Let me," Nicelle said and my tent and other things folded up into a tiny package, like she had done with hers. I put it in the saddlebags and then fed and watered Lightning. I ate and then put out the fire. I got on Lightning and to my surprise Nicelle got on behind me. "Let's get going Lightning," I said and we started off at a medium gallop. We kept this pace all day and we didn't have to stop at all until sunset. We gained a good amount of ground on Grakgrom, and I estimated two more days until we found him, which left two more until the end of the week. We set off earlier the next morning and by nightfall we were not far behind him. Nicelle started to get off, but I stopped her. "If we keep going we should be able to get to him in about an hour," I said. "So we'll kill him when he least expects it. I like it," She replied and got back on. We rode for a while and then Lightning stopped. He pawed at the ground nervously and we got off. "He's really close," Nicelle whispered softly. I pulled back an arrow and Nicelle raised her staff. We inched forward quietly and we saw a huge sleeping figure. Nicelle whispered a spell and the tip of my arrow turned into magma. I went around him and found his eye. I let it loose and it sank straight into his eye and I heard a sizzling sound. "AAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!!" He yelled and got up frantically, his one eye boiling and steaming. "WHO DID THIS!!!!" He yelled at the top of his voice. "We did!" Nicelle yelled behind him and he turned around. She blasted him with fire and he screamed in pain. He fell to the side, burning brightly, dead. "Are we done here?" Nicelle asked. "Yes."