Chapter 10

Ravnyk walked the now familiar garden of King Abel's castle, his fingers trailing along the edge of a untrimmed hedge. As his fingers grazed the leaves, they began to writher and decay, breaking into dust particles from his slightly touch. The grey clouds above him rumbled threateningly, droplets descended down onto the colorless ground. It has been nearly two months since his bride escaped him, but he had faith she would return back to his side once more, and of her own free will. He smiled maliciously as he paced several of his guardsman, their blank expressions with lifeless eyes stared straight ahead. Taking this kingdom was far too easy. King Abel was weaker than he imagined. Shove a tiny bit of power in a man's face and they drool like the little mutts that they are. He barely had to convince him before he was eating out of the palm of his hand.

He followed the stone path to the front of the castle, the structure standing against the mountain of Kensingtrie. With the darkening sky, the castle appeared ominous and malevolent. A large Orc general approached him from the barracks, his face weathered and scarred from constant battles. He adorned heavy plated armor, a battle ax strapped to his back with dry blood still evident on the blade.

"My King, my squadron is ready to leave at your command." he spoke with a guttural tone, his broken tusks grinding against his broken and rotting teeth. Ravnyk nodded as they stopped their walk at the main gate to the city. He peered down the small hill of houses and the large cathedral. The one building he had yet to touch stood unscathed as if it was rebelling against his rule. Ravnyk only smiled as he drummed his fingers against his thigh.

"Of course, I shouldn't be the only one having my fun." he said as he continued his trek into the city. Goblins and Orcs patrolled the streets, harassing civilians that dared to leave the safety of their homes in order to attempt a living. His eyes land on the black structure standing alone from the rest. A spell had been casted on the door, so none of his own men could open it. He stepped up to the door, his hand jingling the knob for a moment. When it wouldn't fully turn, he pressed the palm of his hand against it and shut his eyes. He remained in that stance for sometime, muting out the grunts and grumbles of the goblins behind him. He finally removes his hand from the door and without saying a single word, he looks back at one of the goblins and points at the door. The goblin peers from him to the door as Ravnyk steps away, hesitating.

"Don't just stand there, do as your King asks." the Orc general shouts, startling the goblin. The Goblin approached the door cautiously, grabbing the door handle and slowly turned it. The door creaked open little by little, the Goblin letting out a breath. There was a faint click, the building erupting into flames. Wood and glass shot through the air, penetrating the Goblins that had stood by to watch. Ravnyk raised a hand as the shrapnel flew toward him and his general. The wood and glass collided into a shimmering force field, clattering to the ground at their feet. Smoke and fire rose up into the sky, darkening it even further than before as rain poured down on them.

"Put the fire out then search the premises. It was set up to explode for a reason." Ravnyk told his general who nodded once before turning to a nearby patrol of Orcs, giving the command in grunts and growls. Ravnyk casted away his shield before turning and walked toward the Cathedral. He admired the beautiful structure as he arrived at the front entrance. It towered over him, but he was unmoved by it. The Orc general joins his side once more, shifting his attention to the marvelous building.

"Before you go, I want you to leave something behind for my dear Rayne. Something to remind her of me." he smiled deviously as he pulled out a parchment from the inside of his vest.

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The sun glared down on their backs as Rayne, Gideon and the Elvish army traveled to Barboulder. It took the large group to finally leave the tall grassy field behind and greeted by the rocky paths through a set of mountains. Though Rayne and Gideon had no issue maneuvering through the terrain, the Elves on the other hand were having a bit harder of a time getting by. Those that were mounted on panthers had a better chance of getting through the trails better than their fellow companions. Those that rode atop bears had minor difficulties, but those that road the large dire wolves on the other hand were struggling worse than the rest. Yet even as the paths became narrower the further in, the beasts maintained steady and for the most part at ease during the travel.

Rayne looked up each side of the mountain path as it started to gradually widen up, signaling her that they were getting closer to their destination. She pulled out the map she took from Xerath days ago, running her finger along the mountain path they took and ran it along until her finger pressed against the small dot that was Barboulder. Hooves sounded beside her and she lifted her gaze to Gideon's.

"Something feels off." Rayne told him as she rolled up the parchment and stashed it away in her satchel. Gideon nodded, looking at the terrain before them.

"I agree. This path is far too narrow for his army to crawl through it. It would take them longer than a couple of weeks to get through with their numbers. We're lucky because we're mounted and have been able to increase our speed nearly tenfold to get to the city in time." Gideon reached down and pulled out his water skin. Rayne watched as a few droplets dripped from his chin as he took a few swigs of it.

"It could have been a small enough group, but even then the Dwarves would have taken them out easily. Even with Barboulder being as small as it sounds, I know the Dwarves. They don't sit back and let anyone stomp over them, especially disgusting Orcs and Goblins." she sneered, lowering her hood and tied her hair up. They returned alongside the others, but kept their space to continue their conversation.

"What do you think then?" Gideon asked her. She inclined her head thoughtfully.

"It could be possible that they went ahead of schedule and departed from the castle earlier than we realized, or they haven't left the castle yet." Rayne let out a heavy sigh. The traveling didn't bother her, but the closer she got to Barboulder, the stronger the pressure came to her head, throbbing itself into existence. She tried to ignore it the best she could with training during rest stops and camping, but each morning she'd awake with the unwanted visitor and it slowly was driving her mad.

"Do you want to rest for a moment?" Gideon suddenly asked her, his blue eyes glimmering in the sunlight. Rayne shook her head.

"No, we're close. Once I know Barboulder is untouched, I'll feel more at ease." she told him, grabbing her own water skin and drank from it.

"Rayne, may I ask you something?" Gideon asked as his eyes searched above them to the cliffs, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. She gave him a soft grunt in response as she put away her water skin, "What was the book that Xerath gave you before we departed?" Rayne shot a glance his way, "I noticed it on my way over to you." Rayne looked away from him, tightening her grasp on her reins. Her stallion tossed his head as he felt her discomfort.

"It's my book." she said, looking back over to him and watched as his jaw set and his brows came together as he moved closer to her.

"Have you read it yet?" he asked her, but she shook her head slowly, "Are you going to?"

"I don't know. I discussed it with Vixen as well." she rubbed the back of her head as it began to throb lightly.

"Then don't read it." Gideon told her, bringing her attention back to him. He faced ahead, sitting up straight, "It's your life at the end of every day. You're writing the story, no one else." he told her. Rayne felt slightly better, but not enough to rid the knot in her stomach.

"What if the solution to killing Ravnyk is in there?" she asked him. He sighed, looking at her sidelong.

"I don't think there is, honestly. That would make this way too easy then." he said, and she slowly nodded. He was right. Why would Xerath give her something with all of the answers when they are going through so much right now?

"Thank you." she muttered to him, kicking the hips of her horse and sends him into a trot to be ahead of the group. Gideon watched her back as she rode off, smiling to himself.

They continued their march until the mountain range split off and they met with an open grassy field with scattered trees. Rayne could hear the Elves let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the new surroundings as she rode up alongside Mel-Darion. He peered out of the corner of his eyes to her before glancing ahead again.

"You have changed, Rayne." he suddenly said, "After you came back from overseas... No, ever since you have been traveling with that knight, you have changed." he said a bit coldly. Rayne rolled her eyes.

"Don't you know that jealously looks ugly on you, Mel." she retorted, but he scoffed at her response.

"Call it what you may, but you have softened up. You are not the same cold blooded mercenary I crossed paths with over a year ago." he said. Rayne opened her mouth to bite back, but he raised a hand to stop her, "You can tell me that you had a sudden change of heart during your travels, or that you bedding that barbarian turned you for better, but it will not change my mind." he said. Rayne stared at him a bit taken aback by his response. She didn't realized she had changed that much.

I can make you stronger...

The distorted voice hissed in her mind, dragging her attention away from Mel-Darion's poor attitude towards her.

Make him see your true strength...

The throbbing slithered down her spine and spread down her arms and legs until her fingertips tingled. Rayne's eyes shut tight as she rubbed her temples. The tingling faded away and when she opened her eyes again, she could make out an outline to a city. Barboulder. From her distance she couldn't see any smoke to show that they had been attacked. Gideon galloped his horse on the other side of her own, spotting the city as well.

"Let's send a few scouts ahead just to be certain it hadn't been raided yet." she spoke, peering over to Mel-Darion. He gave a stiff nod before glancing over his shoulder to the nearest warrior, signaling ahead. The warrior gestured to two others before they rode off toward the city. As the rest of them continued forward, Rayne noticed that the city was built rather close to the mountain that it resided by.

"What type of city was Barboulder?" Rayne asked Gideon. He cocked his head as he rummaged through his thoughts.

"A mining town, nothing truly significant as far as we know." he informed her. She nodded, but something still felt off to her.

The scouts soon returned to their side, each looking to one another in confusion.

"We did not spot anything out of place, your majesty." the lead scout spoke, his voice soft like silk, "In fact, the Dwarves have noticed our arrival and are quite concerned." he looked from Mel-Darion to Rayne and Gideon next, "Would you like us to greet them and explain why we have come?" he asked.

"No. I think it would be best for us three to go on ahead and speak." Gideon told him, "If they were approached by a mix of humans and Elves, they may be more relaxed. No need to startle them further when everyone knows full well that you all don't leave Arakhora." Gideon informed him. The scout inclined his head thoughtfully, looking back toward Mel-Darion. Mel-Darion waved at him dismissively.

"Do you believe they will be kind enough to listen to what we have to say?" Mel-Darion asked sarcastically. He may have been tucked away in his golden towers, but the nature of the Dwarves was common knowledge.

"Absolutely not, which is why I said for us three to go. At least we have a bit of a chance of convincing them." Gideon replied before pressing his heels into his mare's hips, sending her off into a gallop. Rayne watched Mel-Darion seethe for a moment before his bear took off after him.

"Men." she rolled her eyes before following them.

Nearing the town, a small group of Dwarves gathered what they believed was from curiosity until upon closer inspection, several were armed with axes and maces. Rayne moved ahead of the trio, resting her hand on a dagger that was hidden beneath her cloak, coming to a stop just within shouting range.

"We came to speak with your leader. We have news about the Dark Lord and his advancements." she shouted to the gathered crowd. They didn't waiver their weapons, but they did regard one another with questionable looks. An individual stepped forward, holding a large doubled headed battle axe in their hands, through red hair tightly bound in a bun on their head.

"Oy, what do they call you?" the stranger shouted in turn, a woman.

"I am Rayne Winters. What do they call you?"

"Valka. Valka Dokvarn Stormborn. I see you have some of those knife eared bastards with ya." she shouted back. Rayne watched Mel-Darion's shoulders tense up at the insult.

"Not some, I assure you. Enough to push back whatever forces the Dark Lord sends this way." Rayne replied. Valka swung her axe above her head as if trying to prove to them of her strength.

"What makes you think I don't know that its actually you attacking us?" she raised her voice, the people beside her yelling in agreement.

"Trust me, little one, my men would have picked you all off by now." Mel-Darion shouted. Rayne watched Valka's face twist in rage at the comment.

"How may we prove it to you?" Gideon intervened before things actually escalated and a fight did break out. Valka cocked her head at him, smirking and points her stubby finger in his direction.

"You. Me. Drinking contest." she proclaimed. Rayne raised a brow as Gideon dismounted, unsheathing his weapons and tucked them into the saddle safely.

"Are you out of your mind? Liquor runs through their veins. You'll lose." Rayne told him. Gideon smiled and winked at her.

"Are you doubting me? Have some faith." he told her before walking ahead. Rayne dismounted behind him, disarming herself aside from a hidden dagger in her boot. Mel-Darion reached down, grabbing her shoulder to stop her from getting involved.

"Let the fool bury his hatchet." he told her. She glared up at him, pulling her arm free, but didn't follow after Gideon. The knight held up his hands, showing he was unarmed as he got within range of the leader. She held her battle axe out to him, halting him from stepping any further. She nodded to two other Dwarves to search him. He stood still as they attempted to pat him down as well as they could, shrugging when they didn't discover anything hidden. She lowered her axe and waved Rayne and Mel-Darion over. They were searched like Gideon was and luckily, no one felt up her boot where her knife was hiding.

"There's been a lot of work and no play lately." Valka said as she turned and lead them into their small city. Now upon closer inspection, each abode was built from stones they mined from the mountain Nothing to extravagant as she expected. The further in they walked, the more the city came to life. Merchant stands were buzzing, children were running around with one another. Their lives seemed unaffected by what lied beyond the wall of the mountains. Even so, eyes watched them from a safe distance as Valka escorted the group to a large stone building near the center of the city. She pushed aside the thick curtain that was made as a doorway, gesturing them all inside. Rayne glanced around, surprised to see the amount of space that was made. Off in a space that appeared to be a den was a small fireplace, already lit and gently crackling. Furniture sat in a sitting area with cushions and blankets draped across them. A stone staircase lead upstairs, but Rayne stood off to the side. Gideon and Mel-Darion stood slightly off kilter as their heads were just inches from the ceiling. The Dwarf woman stepped into a separate room that was shielded by another curtain until coming back out a moment later holding two mugs and a miniature sized barrel. She slammed them down on the table, her eyes light and a mischievous smile on her lips.

"Let's play." she said, gesturing to the seat across from her as she sits down. Gideon sat down with her while Rayne sat on a bench nearby. Valka poured a caramel colored liquid from the sprout of the barrel, licking her own lips as she handed the mug over to Gideon. He nodded his head, eyeing the drink carefully, even taking a few sniffs of it and wrinkled his nose.

"It's quite strong even without taking a lick of it." he commented. Valka let out a laugh that seemed a little odd to Rayne. It was giddy and flirtatious. Something within her chest stirred, spiraling and flaring up.

"Course it does. This is all natural brew. It's not the fancy shit he drinks back with the talking trees. It's heartier." she proclaimed. Rayne reached over and grabbed Mel-Darion's arm, forcing him to sit beside her as he flinched at her words.

"Just a drinking match to prove we're on the same side, correct?" Rayne asked her. Valka nodded, waving her hand in her direction. Valka tossed her glass back, wiping her mouth and slammed down her mug. Gideon cocked a brow at her before tossing his back. He swallowed a few gulps and when he slammed his mug down, his face twisted slightly.

"Damn woman." he yelled, wiping his lips. She barked a laugh, pouring into his mug again.

"A little bit of heat to keep your ass warm through winter." she said, slamming her drink back again. Gideon shot a quick glance toward Rayne and Mel-Darion before he gulped down his drink, this time a bit slower than her. He set his mug down, wincing after he swallowed. Valka poured him a third mug, amusement on her face.

"Ya got a set of balls on ya, I'll give ya that." she complimented him. Rayne watched Gideon's face flush at her words and the liquor quickly coursing through him. He smiled sweetly, holding up his mug and tapped it against hers.

"Damn straight I do." he replied before downing his drink. Rayne grumbled, looking away and gets to her feet.

"I don't know about you, but I am not here for a fucking game. The Dark Lord is planning to raid and destroy your home and you didn't blink a fucking eye at it." Rayne surprised herself when she shouted. The throbbing intensified, but she ignored it. She wasn't in the mood to deal with what was in her head. Gideon looked at Rayne with a cocked brow, his movements sluggish at this point.

"Relax Rayne." he swung his arm around, spilling some of the liquor. She could smell it on his breath, the mere stench threatening to intoxicate her. She slapped his hand away, spilling more of the drink onto him.

"Don't tell me to relax. I don't have the time to deal with this bullshit. You want to stay here, get wasted and sleep with her, by all means be my guest. There's your answer." she spat at him before storming from the home. Mel-Darion rose to his feet, adjusting his armor and brushed off some dust that gathered. Gideon blinked, looking at the mug and then to Valka who only shrugged, appearing unfazed by the outburst.

"Now I know the Dark Lord didn't send ye." she said as she downed her drink and slid her empty mug away. Gideon pushed his mug away, getting to his feet, but the room spun around him and he staggered to the bench before collapsing onto it. Mel-Darion stared down at the knight, shaking his head in disbelief before following after Rayne. Gideon groaned, closing his eyes so the room would stop spinning.

"You tricked me." he cursed at the Dwarf woman. She shrugged again, getting off of her chair and walked over to him.

"It's not my fault ye can't handle ya liquor." she snorted, patting his cheek before leaving him behind. Gideon groaned, holding his head.

There's my answer.

Her words rocked around his head repeatedly. He rubbed his eyes, searching his boggled mind for a spell he may know to get him through this drunken haze. When one breached the surface, he fell unconscious.