9 The Threat of Ravan the Great

Ravan kept in the shadows as much as he could and took his time to approach the near center of the base where the records building stood silent and sturdy. He found a side of the building where few centurions were around and he scaled the wall to reach a shutter at the top floor. Here he used a knife to jimmy the shutters open, then climbed inside the darkness of an office. He worked as quickly as he could before any centurions could come around and spot him.

Ravan closed the shutters behind him and lit all the lamps and torches in the room at once. A simple, light brown desk sat at one end of the office while cubbies of scrolls lined two walls adjacent to it. Ravan hardly knew where to begin, so he figured he might as well begin in this office and search through each scroll he could find. Upon reading his fifth scroll, Ravan learned that these were the records of a number of training units in the North Division, which was nowhere near what he was looking for.

So Ravan snuffed out the lights in the office and warily peered out into the hallway for any patrolling centurions before he stepped out. With a small flame at the tip of his finger, Ravan read the wooden plaques nailed outside of each office to gage what he may find inside. Once he arrived at an office which was designated, “Private Service Records,” he figured he had hit the jackpot. Ravan quietly entered the office and lit all candles and torches in the room after gently closing the door behind him

There were more cubbies in this rather larger office, which also had a total of five desks. Fortunately, the cubbies were also labeled, “North,” “South,” “West,” and “East.” Rivas was located in the southern part of Arderé, so Ravan thought to search through that cubby for the private army belonging to the Baron of Rivas. When he looked closer, Ravan was pleased to find that each shelf was labeled with the names of all noblemen in Southern Arderé, and he located the four shelves full of scrolls about the private army owned by the Baron of Rivas. It took much searching through the scrolls for information on the soldiers themselves, and any scroll which didn’t give him the information he required Ravan tossed to the floor without rolling it back up. So far, all the scrolls he searched through were mostly about reports on everything the centurions witnessed or carried out. The moment Ravan stopped on the report for the execution of his family, he could physically feel his mood flip from desperately anxious to severely depressed. There was the date, his address, and the captain’s own signature. Ravan hesitated a moment, wondering if he really desired to know the captain’s perspective of what had taken place on the worst night of Ravan’s life. Then Ravan realized if he didn’t read it, he would spend the rest of his days wondering what it said. So he took a seat at the closest desk, and read the report:

395.29.05

N.46.27

Per the Orders of the Honorable Lord Myer, Baron of Rivas;

On Sueño 29, 395 at approximately Northern Time 26.27 I, Captain Fadi of Rivas, arrived along with my unit at the cottage on the outskirts of Ignis, which belonged to the subject of the Baron’s case, Ravan of Rivas. At the time Ravan was using the alias, Nebune of Mael. Upon arrival we discovered Ravan leaving the cottage with his family: his wife Evietta of Rivas, and his daughter Braelyn of Ignis. We, Unit Five, lit our torches before they could flee the property. I questioned Ravan on his intentions and he failed to answer me. I asked Ravan if he had the money he owed the Baron and Ravan answered he had. Ravan tossed me his coin bag and I had my subordinate, Corporal Castro of Rivas, count the money. My corporal informed me that there were only four hundred sixty-seven pieces inside; evidence of the subject attempting to swindle His Lordship. The subject’s wife dared to speak and suggested His Lordship would allow such crimes to go unpunished. I made it clear to her that this was not the case indeed, and I informed the subject of his crimes before exacting the punishment administered by The Honorable Baron of Rivas. The subject’s daughter was executed first, and then his wife. As per His Lordship’s commands, the subject, Ravan, was left untouched. We destroyed his belongings and slaughtered his horse, the money he had was delivered to the Baron. We can confirm that the subject, Ravan of Rivas, has served his sentence, has been brought down to submission, and will not be a further concern in the future. The mission of Ravan of Rivas was completed successfully without any hindrance at approximately Northern Time 47.23.

Captain Fadi of Rivas

The Honorable, Lord Myer

Baron of Rivas

Much of what was mentioned in the captain’s report reignited an explosion of rage within Ravan, which only steadily burned stronger as long as he held the scroll in his hands. “Swindle?” “Crimes?” “Brought down to submission?” Well now, Ravan had names; he wanted to see if he could get addresses. He threw the report onto the desk and returned to the cubbies to continue to search for a document with everyone’s information on it. About four scrolls in, Ravan found just the document. He sent the flame that was on his finger to the candlestick on the desk, and scrambled for a quill and ink bottle. Then he quickly copied every name and address into his journal with emphasis on Captain Fadi of Rivas, and Baron Myer of Rivas.

Just before he finished scrolling down the last address, Ravan heard muffled voices coming from down the corridor outside. He blew on the page to dry the ink and snuffed the candle out before he dove beneath the desk and waited for the centurions outside to pass over him. Once they had, Ravan finished scribbling down the last name and address before he approached the window behind the desk. He glanced down to ascertain the number of centurions below and surmised there were too many to make his escape this way. Ravan dove beneath the desk again when he heard the centurions outside in the corridor make their way back. He waited patiently for them to pass one last time before pocketing his notebook and leaving to find a window out of which to egress.

Ravan had to peer out a couple windows before he found one with no centurions below and he wasted no time scaling down the wall to the ground. Of course, once he was grounded, a couple of centurions rounded the corner and spotted him almost immediately. A rush of adrenaline shot through Ravan and he didn’t hesitate to take off in the direction from which he came. At the same time, the centurions called for backup.

It wasn’t long before the entire base was alerted to the presence of an intruder and numerous centurions ran into Ravan’s path. Ravan flew up the wall of a nearby building and ran along its awning before he continued up to the building’s rooftop. One thing he hadn’t anticipated were the arrows which were suddenly shot his way. Fortunately, they all missed him, but Ravan quickly needed to change course before his luck ran out and the fun ended. He spotted a flagpole up ahead and decided to use it to his advantage. He propelled himself from the rooftop, snatched the rope which held the Arderian flag, and swung himself onto another rooftop where he continued his flight toward the wall which protected the base. The roof of this building failed to lead him there, however.

Ravan jumped from the roof of the new building down to another awning, and then to the ground to bolt toward the wall, but alas his luck was starting to run out when two centurions came at him with spears. Ravan dodged one and grabbed it, then twisted it out of the centurion’s hands to parry the second spear. This allowed him to take the second spear and run both centurions through before he continued onward. At long last, before any other soldiers could step in his path, Ravan finally reached the wall of the base.

Ravan used all his momentum to run three steps up the wall, pushed himself away to utilize an adjacent building, and continued to jump back and forth to reach the top at expert speed. From here, Ravan would lead these soldiers on the glorious chase he had prepared. He grinned down at his enemies in amplified anticipation before he dropped to the ground outside the base and ran into the streets of Rivas.

~~~

The government-owned stables were conveniently built in such a way as to provide Ravan the ability to exploit the structure and its surroundings as an elaborate obstacle course against the centurions chasing after him. As it stood strong and quiet on this still, silent night, the wind whispered around the white fence and against the palm trees while the horses inside snored softly. But the peaceful lull of the night was disturbed all at once when Ravan brought the angry army with him. He jumped onto a fence post and launched himself to the rooftop of the first structure, then swung through a window into the stables, effectively startling the horses from their slumber. As the excitement surged through his limbs, Ravan quickly got to work unlocking the stalls and he made it halfway through before numerous soldiers entered behind him.

The stables provided only enough room for a few people to fight efficiently while the army quickly piled up behind. Ravan drew his sword and released the saddles strung up above the stalls for them to tumble onto some of the centurions and cause others to trip and fall. Any soldier who made it through, Ravan fought with surprising skill. Indeed he had learned much from Captain Ilya, and this only provided him an opportunity for more growth.

Ravan failed to open every stall or release every saddle, but the job was sufficient enough. He exited the stables and danced around the posts in the small courtyard to keep distance between himself and the centurions as he cut them down one by one. All the noise, commotion, and flickering torch-light upset the horses so that they grew agitated quickly and began to exit their stalls in a violent ruckus to escape the nuisance. They galloped out of the stables whining, neighing, kicking up their hind legs and distracting many of the centurions who fought to get out of the way. Ravan took this opportunity to hop onto one of the horses and headed to the next stop on his centurion trap.

With triumphant glee, Ravan rode a short ways out to the country toward another quiet, lifeless structure set at the base of a small vineyard. He glanced over his shoulder to see only a handful of centurions giving chase on horseback. They must not have anticipated needing horses to catch their surprise intruder, which was good news for Ravan — this would be easier than he had expected. He swung off the horse, kicked open the tall double doors, and hid among some vessels of wine in a far corner of the winery.

The centurions entered not too far behind Ravan and paused in the doorway to listen for movement.

“Split up,” Ravan heard one say. “Search the premises.”

Ravan was pleased to hear that the men would be splitting up and he waited patiently for them to be far apart from one another. Soon, he slowly emerged from his hiding place and inched his way to a rope he had strategically tied above one of the large pyramids of vessels set between two of the many arched pillars. Whenever he heard a centurion come around, he quickly hid behind a pillar or one of the pyramids — he wasn’t ready to strike just yet.

Ravan finally arrived at his chosen post and remained stationary behind a pyramid of vessels where he waited for any centurion to approach. The moment one passed by, he drew his sword and plunged the blade through the man’s abdomen.

“He’s over here!” the soldier grunted before he collapsed to the floor, and all his fellow centurions scrambled in the direction of where they heard the call.

Ravan happily engaged them, wielding his sword in such a way that it appeared like a bright orange beam surrounding him as it reflected the firelight from the torches. At first Ravan swung against one sword, then two, and then three swords, and the loud clanging echoed off the walls in the vast open space leading more centurions his way. He threw them against pillars and kicked one against a pyramid of wine basins, effectively causing the pyramid to crumble on top of the centurion. While some basins simply rolled away, others broke and spilled wine all over the limestone floor.

With a wicked grin claiming his face, Ravan ignored all the resulting commotion and cut two more soldiers down just as more arrived to join the battle. Here, Ravan ran up a pillar and propelled himself to the rope above his pyramid of choice. He knocked the wine basins down and watched most of them roll toward the small group of centurions. Ravan then proceeded to climb up the rope and exit the winery out of one of the windows placed just beneath the ceiling where he clambered up to the rooftop to gage the status of his situation. There were only a few more soldiers galloping his way, so Ravan figured he’d lead them to his final stop.

Ravan commandeered one of the centurion’s horses and galloped into town where he approached the Rivas Apothecary located immediately beside the public cemetery. He had made sure beforehand that the doors to the cellar were unlocked and he rapidly descended the stairs, making sure to avoid the many bottles and vials he had set on the steps earlier. Once he reached the floor, Ravan snatched up one purple and one pink bottle which he had set aside on a counter, smashed the purple bottle onto the ground, and took off up the set of stairs which led to the tiny apothecary shop. Once there, he swiftly soared out an open window and posted himself at the corner of the building where he listened to the activity beyond. The enraged and frustrated centurions threw open the doors to the cellar and rushed inside where they each tripped over the bottles and vials, and fell the rest of the way down.

Ravan immediately bolted to the cellar, carefully descended a couple steps, and threw the bottle of pink fluid down against the purple mess with a force to be sure that the bottle shattered. At once an orange cloud exploded and enveloped the centurions who suddenly screamed altogether in agony. Ravan shut and locked the doors to the cellar so that they couldn’t escape the acidic cloud. He didn’t wait around though. Ravan rushed into the cemetery where he climbed to the top of a white marble mausoleum with weeping angel statues, and harps and trumpets carved into the frieze. There he waited, crouched and ready for any more centurions to come after him. He had no more traps ready; if any soldier came Ravan would have to fight him the old-fashioned way with a sword. But no one came. The air was quiet, even the screams of the centurions in the apothecary had faded. After another long moment, Ravan concluded that the chase was over for the night and he made his way back to the belfry.

~~~

“How does one person successfully breach our walls?” boomed the centurion general as he stormed down the corridor of the Records Bureau. He wore extensive, decorative armor which appeared to be designed more for looks rather than protection. “I want to know how and I want to know why, and the only way to get those answers is to know who. I imagine he is either a spy or whatever this is, is personal. From which window did he jump down?”

“We don’t know, sir,” said the corporal beside him. “He wasn’t spotted until he was already on the ground.”

“General!” called a centurion from behind them. Everyone stopped and turned to address him. “There’s a mess of scrolls in here. I think he may have been searching for something.”

The general and his two attendees (the corporal and a lieutenant) entered the office where a captain read over the report on Ravan’s family’s execution. The general scanned over the scrolls tossed on the floor with no reaction, and then he glanced up at the captain.

“What do you have there?” he asked.

“Captain Fadi’s report on the execution of the Ravan of Rivas Family,” the captain answered.

The general approached to take the report in hand and looked over it himself. The lieutenant lifted the second scroll of addresses off the desk to review it.

“Was Ravan of Rivas executed with them?” the lieutenant asked.

“No, sir.”

“So we can assume this was Ravan’s doing,” said the general.

“Do you suspect he came here for revenge, sir?” asked the corporal.

“Captain Fadi’s unit isn’t stationed here,” the captain answered.

“So what did he come here for?”

“He was clearly searching for something,” said the general as he set the report back down on the desk.

“It would appear he’s found it,” said the lieutenant. He held the scroll out to the general. “This is Captain Fadi’s unit, is it not?”

The general took the scroll and reviewed it. “Indeed,” he answered with a heavy sigh.

“Is this the man known as, ‘Ravan the Great?’” asked the corporal.

“That’s the one,” said the captain.

“Send an alert to everyone on this scroll to be aware that this Ravan of Rivas may be coming after them,” said the general as he handed the scroll back to the lieutenant.

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied. “How great of a threat do we believe him to be?”

“He is only one man,” said the general.

“One man who killed nine centurions and injured seventeen, sir,” the corporal informed.

The general stared at the corporal, his face expressionless but his silence speaking volumes. “I beg your pardon?” he finally asked.

“Nine men are dead, seventeen are injured,” the corporal repeated. “Three more are not expected to survive long.”

Silence filled the room once again before the captain said, “So Ravan the Great has learned to wield a sword in the past three years, has he?”

“Among other things it would appear,” the corporal added.

“How do you mean?” asked the general. The corporal took too long to search for the words. “Show me then.”

The corporal escorted the general and the lieutenant to the stables first. There they found a couple carriages parked outside a bloody battle scene which poured out from the stable doors into the tiny courtyard. Disfigured bodies were scattered about and blood stained the walls and pillars. A number of centurions packed up the injured and dead while others returned horses to their stalls. The three visitors trotted up on horseback and approached the lieutenant on site, who paused in giving commands to address them.

“General,” said the lieutenant.

“How many casualties have we here, Lieutenant?” asked the general over the groaning of the wounded.

“Fourteen, sir. Twelve injured and two dead. Three of those injured aren’t doing well.”

“One man achieved all this?” the general asked.

“He recruited the help of the horses, sir,” the lieutenant explained. “He spooked them and set them free. Most of the casualties were caused by the horses. The two dead were at Ravan’s hand.”

The general pursed his lips as he scanned the trampled bodies on the crimson ground. He faced the corporal. “You provided a different number of casualties. Where are the rest of them?”

“Two other locations, General,” the corporal answered. “Follow me this way and I’ll show you.”

The three of them arrived at the winery next where two more carriages were being loaded with more dead and wounded soldiers. The general approached the lieutenant here.

“Oy, General!” shouted one of the wounded soldiers in a carriage.

The general turned to find the soldier waving at him and grinning widely despite the fact that his leg had been broken in several places. “It’s a pleasure to have you as our honored guest at this gala! We’ve had quite a celebration thus far; it is after all Leandro’s birthday!”

A second soldier waved at the general and hiccupped. “It’s my birthday.”

The general faced the lieutenant. “Are they drunk?”

The lieutenant nodded. “This is a winery, General. Some were drinking to dull their pain.”

“How many casualties?”

“Eleven,” the lieutenant answered. “Three dead by the sword.”

The general nodded his head in receiving this news. “How were the other injuries sustained?”

“Some were by the sword as well, but most were the work of multiple wine vessels tumbling on top of them.”

“Ravan caused a tower of vessels to fall on eight or nine men,” the captain clarified.

The general couldn’t help but wonder how the centurions couldn’t see that coming and he gnashed his teeth in frustration. He sucked in a deep breath in an effort to control his temper and said, “Where to next, Corporal?”

The corporal could hear the irritation in the general’s voice and warily replied, “This way,” then led them to the apothecary. Here, the bodies of Ravan’s last four victims were laid out on the ground beside each other with tarps covering them.

“These are the last four casualties, sir,” the corporal explained. “They were burned to death by a chemical cloud created by some of the elixirs in the apothecary.”

The general watched the final carriage arrive to pick up the bodies. He dismounted his horse to approach one of the bodies where he lifted the tarp just enough to view but a fraction of the damage caused by the chemical agent. The soldier’s skin was badly blistered and cherry red, his eyes black and wide open in the terror of his last minutes alive.

“Organize a manhunt for this Ravan of Rivas,” the general demanded. “All centurions are to take part. We will increase the days and hours of training that new recruits are to receive. The fact that our soldiers are incapable of handling this one man is unacceptable. Ravan of Rivas to be apprehended and made an example of.”

~~~

The following day, Earl Rajashekar read about the security breach in the morning pamphlet and was severely displeased to begin his day with such grievous news. He immediately called for his coach and made his way to the baron’s estate without the courtesy of notifying him ahead of time.

“The Most Honorable Earl of Rivas demands an audience with the baron,” said the earl’s chauffeur once they arrived.

The sentries at the entrance appeared unsettled by this sudden and early visit, but they opened the double doors for the noble guest. The earl didn’t wait for his chauffeur to open the door of the coach for him. The very moment a sentry’s hand reached for the knob he stepped out of the coach and stormed into the mansion without a word. One of the sentries had to jog in order to catch up to him to show him the way, after which he escorted the earl to the drawing room.

“Where’s the baron?” demanded the earl.

“In his chambers, my Lord,” the sentry replied. “Alva will fetch him for you.”

“No, take me to his chambers.”

The sentry hesitated. “Very well, my Lord.” He gestured to the butler. “He wishes to be taken to see His Lordship immediately.”

The dwarf butler approached. “Of course. Follow me, my Lord.”

Alva, the dwarf butler, led the impatient Earl Rajashekar up to the baron’s chambers as quickly as he could without running. Once they arrived, the earl let himself in.

“I thought you said you had it handled,” the earl stated simply.

The baron quickly closed his bathrobe and faced the earl. “I beg your pardon, what’s the meaning of this?”

“A thousand apologies, my Lord,” said Alva timidly.

“When Ravan escaped the slaughterhouse, you told me you would take care of it,” said the earl.

“I’m not certain this is the time or place —”

“It most certainly is the time and place,” Rajashekar argued as he stepped farther into the chambers. Alva decided he should take his leave here and shut the doors behind him. “Have you read this morning’s pamphlet?”

“Not yet, but any issues involving Ravan I do have taken care of,” the baron insisted.

“No, ‘taken care of,’ means you executed Ravan along with his family. But since you left him alive, he breached the Rivas Centurion Base and undoubtedly obtained all the information on you and your private army.”

The baron paused. “Well… forgive me if things didn’t go as planned.”

“Yes, that tends to happen when you leave loose ends lying around. Do you realize what you’ve done, Lord Myer? Do you understand the gravity of your mishap?”

“Yes, yes!” the baron exclaimed with his hands in the air.

“You’ve enraged him and created a monster! A man with nothing more to lose is invincible! He will leave chaos in his wake, and you can rest assured that he will include you among the destruction. If you find yourself unsuited to correct this, heed my advice: consider yourself next on his list. I know I will.”

With that, Earl Rajashekar quit the baron’s chambers and returned to Firebrush Manor. Moments after he left, Alva stepped back in and at first assessed his Lord’s mood.

“Can I help you, Alva?” the baron snapped.

“Forgive me, my Lord,” Alva replied. “But Captain Fadi would like to have a word with you.”

“Very well, but after this last visitor I am taking my bath.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Alva stepped aside to let the captain enter who clutched his helmet in front of him and took too long to speak.

“What is it, Captain?” coaxed the baron.

“I’m assuming you’ve heard about Ravan,” the captain finally said.

“At this point, I’m sure everyone has,” said the baron.

“Yes, well, as I’m sure you’re also aware, I’m most likely at the top of his list.”

“Oh I am — do you have a point, Captain?”

“I come seeking protection, my Lord,” the captain confessed.

“Protection?” The baron almost laughed. “A centurion captain is requesting bodyguards to protect him against one man? Do you doubt your skill so much?”

“My Lord, he killed almost a dozen men on his own.”

“So you do doubt your own skill. You fear that this man who only possesses two or three years of training has bested your level of blade-wielding, is that it?”

“He cheats, my Lord,” the captain argued. “He knows nothing of an honorable fight, he only seeks to destroy.”

“So beat him at his own game, Captain. Hunt the man down before he hunts you down, and destroy him first, whatever it takes.”

Captain Fadi visibly considered the baron’s words for a moment, but at no point did he appear comfortable with them. He swallowed hard before he finally replied, “Yes, my Lord.” A plot of some sort appeared to brew in his mind as he slowly meandered out of Baron Myer’s chambers and gently closed the door behind him. It had never occurred to the captain that there would be a day where he might be justified to fight dirty…