Run

Nox and his crew of guards quickly left the small settlement and began travelling along the long road towards the Capital.

Being a small, peripheral region in the kingdom, his home region of Alara had very little in the way of infrastructure. Compared to larger settlements, the roads were small and often overgrown with brambles or fallen trees. They were mostly made from smoothed dirt and didn't have any proper construction.

Unfortunately, this meant that the muddy ground was prone to waterlogging. A heavy downpour emerged a half a day into the journey and mercilessly dampened everyone's spirits. Not only were they forced to trek on whilst drenched, but the Bull-horses had a tendency to kick mud everywhere.

This wasn't much of a problem for Aaron who led the platoon, but for Nox who was amidst the guards' formation, he quickly grew frustrated at being caked with mud. For a moment, he entertained the idea of heading to the front alongside his uncle, but caution urged him not to.

While not as dangerous as some areas, the forested region certainly wasn't safe. The large forest spanned the area of several regions and was largely uninhabited. This meant, however, that it contained many dungeons that were poorly maintained.

The neighbouring regions all sent out soldiers and hired mercenaries where possible, but they were simply spread too thin. They had enough trouble just dealing with their own territories. All of this led to regular dungeon breaks, making the forest the home of countless monsters.

Nox's years of training gave him a little confidence in taking on the most basic of Rank 1 beasts, but ultimately, he was way too weak. Without the Gift, he stood no chance if anything stronger appeared.

His uncle could protect him from most threats, but if something jumped out suddenly and he couldn't react, Nox's life was forfeit. In the end, he decided to grit his teeth and bear with things for now. He could only pray that the rain would cease soon.

Sadly, his prayers fell on deaf ears. The rain didn't relent all day and night.

Hastily making camp for the night amidst a small clearing, everyone quickly pitched their tents made of various beast leathers. Everyone was eager to get into the dry, and with the guards' physical prowess, shelter was soon erected.

Nox sighed in relief as he entered his tent alongside Uncle Aaron. In order to reach the Capital as soon as possible, the platoon had limited their baggage, reserving two people per tent. Reluctantly, Nox crawled into his woollen bed roll while trying to drown out the deafening snoring that shook the tent.

Aaron was deep in slumber before Nox even had time to shed his wet clothes. He couldn't help but shake his head at how irresponsible his uncle was. As the captain, shouldn't he have directed the others into forming night watches and whatnot? What if they were attacked in the night?

Just as he debated waking the man up, a duo of guards appeared at the entrance to the tent,

"You don't have to worry about him. I know he looks out of it, but I can promise you he isn't as unaware as he looks. At his rank, his senses are so sensitive that he could pick up the snap of a branch several hundred meters away. Nothing will get past him, even while he's sleeping. In fact, I'm sure he can hear us perfectly well, even now."

A small, rotund guard reassured him. The man wielded a large halberd easily twice his height, yet it didn't seem to give him much trouble.

His companion was a fairly young, tall man with a sheathed longsword and a warm smile.

The duo seemed well adjusted to Aaron's antics, so Nox could only concede this time.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll see you in the morning then."

"Night kid."

Nox tried his best to get some sleep that night, but between his excitement for the journey ahead and Aaron's incessant snoring, he slept very little. At least he was accustomed to staying awake all night by now. A little sleep deprivation wouldn't do him much harm.

As the morning sun rose, Nox smelled the sweet aroma of grilling meat. It seemed the camp had managed to go all night without incident.

Hastily donning his clothes, he left the tent, leaving Aaron to continue sleeping in.

Around a large fire, the two guards from last night and Rana were preparing some breakfast. Well, the guards prepared the food whilst Rana drooled everywhere at the delicious smell.

Above the fire, a makeshift spit had been made to roast a large, winged pig. The beast was very peculiar. It had a hulking, bulgingly fat body that sported two small, delicate wings from its back. The logistics of this creature simply made no sense unless magic was involved.

"Is that a Ranked Beast? Where did you guys get it?"

Turning to face him, the guards were sat on some large rocks around the fire with their helmets removed. The tall man looked like a rather regular human in his thirties: dark hair and eyes, unassuming features. On the other hand, the small man had compressed features and haggard, hairy eyebrows and a matching brown beard.

A dwarf. Nox was visibly surprised. He had assumed the man was just a rather small human.

"We had a little hunting trip this morning into the woods and caught this beauty. She's a Rank 2 Angel Pig. They have a light attunement and are surprisingly crafty little buggers. They pack some punch for Rank 2 beasts, but they were nothing much for us" the dwarf bragged, flexing his arms.

His companion just shook his head and looked down in embarrassment.

Seeing Nox remain silent with an incredulous look towards the man, he grunted,

"What's the matter kid? Never seen a dwarf before?"

Shaking his head, Nox responded,

"You're my first. I thought most dwarves worked as craftsmen in the larger, more developed regions, if they even stayed in this world at all. I was just surprised that my father would have one as a guard."

With a wide grin, the dwarf chuckled,

"Well, your dad did me a big favour back in the day. Saved my wife and I from a Deathkin attack. Sadly, my wife was just a normal human. Us dwarves are pretty long-lived. We had a good life together, but eventually I had to move on. When your dad heard about my wife's death, he reached out and offered me a position, and here I am."

Nox was amazed. Dwarves were a commodity in extremely high demand in the human world.

Humans excelled in no particular area. Putting it nicely, they are highly adaptable. Putting it not so nicely, they are useless at everything.

Dwarves on the other hand, were blessed with extraordinary strength and endurance. They packed a lot of power in their small frames which made them great guards or soldiers. Moreover, many dwarves were highly gifted craftsmen, being renowned through all the worlds for their abilities in blacksmithing and engineering.

For those with unsavoury tastes, dwarves made great slaves, toiling away in dumb labour roles like mining and hauling around goods with far more efficiency than any human ever could.

The fact that his father had managed to recruit one was a big shock to Nox. They mostly stayed in their own world, feeling out of place in the openness of the human world. When they did come out, they were often abrasive and stubborn, making them hard to negotiate with, at least that's what his books had said growing up.

Nox felt that his books may have been rather biased after meeting this man: he hardly seemed either of those things.

Nox decided to sit with the duo and partake in the meal. The Angel Pig's meat was tender and strangely refreshing, making for a great breakfast. Slowly, the other guards awoke and joined them as the dwarf, Dugar, regaled them with tales of his home world. The others often jumped in with their own tales and bickered animatedly.

They all shared in a brief moment of relaxation after the harsh first day of their journey. Nox truly felt at home with these people.

When the sun was firmly in the sky, Aaron finally awoke and had everyone pack away their supplies to continue on. All of the guards shed their calm and joyful demeanours and regained their impressive staidness that Nox had witnessed before.

This time, however, Nox was especially impressed at how they could switch between the two modes so suddenly. He felt such a thing must come with experience, and a lot of training.

The following days of travel were largely uneventful. The weather held up through the journey, much to Nox's relief.

Along the way, they briefly stopped by a few small villages. Most people that lived in these places looked to be struggling. They lived in dilapidated homes riddled with holes and wore little more than rags.

A few monster corpses were piled up by the side of the road and a little behind them, several mounds of disturbed dirt forbode the dire conditions of the village. It seems they lost their fair share of lives against the beasts.

Nox pitied these people. He often thought back on the smiling faces of those in his own region, and silently appreciated his father's efforts at keeping his home safe.

Soldiering on, the platoon made camp once again by a large stream, around halfway through their journey.

In the middle of the night, Nox had once again struggled to get to sleep, his thoughts spinning wildly.

Suddenly, however, a cold energy seemed to seep into his heart as it began to race with panic. He desperately tried to catch his breath as his throat went hoarse and his back was drenched with sweat.

Before Nox could properly react to what was happening, Aaron, who had appeared dead to the world, shot to his feet. An azure light surged around his figure as his bare chest was abruptly covered with plate armour. His bearded axe in hand, he erupted from the tent and roared,

"ENEMY ATTACK! IT'S THE DEATHKIN!"

The other guards similarly shot from their tents, fully equipped in their gear. Nox was dragged by Aaron with one hand and hauled into the centre of a defensive ring formation, alongside Rana and the Bull-Horses.

He could barely react. A Deathkin attack? Where?

Nox wasn't kept waiting for long though as he heard the dull groaning of voices through the foliage. With only a subdued campfire for light, he had a hard time discerning the enemies amongst the trees.

The others, however, seemed to not have this problem. The only knight who wielded a ranged weapon, a longbow, drew back the drawstring with a mighty heave. Just the tension in that string threatened to rip Nox in half.

An azure light shone on the bow as an ethereal arrow materialised, nocked into the bow. With a loud whistle, the man loosed the arrow into the dark expanse. Amidst the sounds of trees snapping in half, countless furious grunts could be heard.

Aaron examined the situation,

"Looks like a low-Rank zombie horde. We should have a Necromancer on our hands. Let's just pray that he isn't holding back anything stronger."

After a few seconds more, even Nox could see their enemies. They mostly resembled humans except they had ominous looking claws protruding from their nails, strange discoloured skin and bulging, bloodshot eyes. They stumbled over one another mindlessly as they charged towards the group with furious bloodlust.

"Engage!" Aaron shouted, to which the other guards silently charged forward.

Nox had never seen anyone be killed before, in this life or his last. He wasn't exactly sure if Zombies counted, but right now, he was witness to a massacre.

The undead were helpless in front of the trained regiment.

The cold flash of Aaron's white axe shone and sent several heads flying with each swing. His swings would form subtle shockwaves in the air that carried on for several meters and created a zone of pure destruction around him.

The dwarf guard impaled three zombies onto a tree with his halberd and, with a gruesome twist, ripped his weapon from their bisected corpses. Blood and guts drooped down the tree as it creaked wearily, threatening to fall apart. When a zombie snuck up from behind him, he didn't even react, letting the claws scratch at his skin, only to be brushed off casually. The cold clink of metal was all the zombie heard before its head exploded.

The younger guard brandished his longsword with a swift elegance. An azure light covered his feet and his figure blurred. Zombies would stumble forward, only to swiftly lose their arms, legs and their heads, slumping to the floor. The man dismembered each zombie that came within range until only a pile of body parts was left.

Nox was thoroughly impressed at their efficiency. With guards like these, he felt very little danger.

Things rapidly changed, however, as the horde retreated. Before anyone could react, they were set upon by seven dark figures.

Each one had haphazard armour and large greatswords. Their figures were decrepit and dead like the zombies, but their eyes possessed an eerie awareness.

Before they charged, they all opened their mouths and simultaneously screeched into the air. The soundwaves made everyone present halt in their movements and hold their heads in agony.

"Draugrs! Bastards! This is no low Rank Necromancer!" Aaron cursed as he engaged his opponent.

While he seemed to fair well, the other guards struggled. Many of them were overwhelmed by the Draugrs' incredible strength, especially when they were already disoriented from their sound attack.

Nox was on the ground, cradling his head in his hands. Blood flowed violently from all of his orifices, his thoughts in complete disarray.

The guard with the bow was forced to drop his weapon and defend with a backup longsword, but with each exchange, he grew weary against the greatsword's weight. His arms sagged after receiving a long gash and prevented him from properly defending the next strike. He managed to raise his sword in time, but the immense force launched him from his feet and into the woods several meters away.

With a gap in the defence, Aaron desperately looked around for a means of stopping the Draugr but there was none. All of the guards were barely hanging on. The Bull-Horses and Rana were just low Rank beasts and stood no chance against them.

In the end, he did the only thing he could. He shouted into the air,

"Nox! Run!"