The Hero of Man And Travel

"I am known as Krashna." The goblin said with a nod of her head. Osseus nodded once more, and stood, finished with his looting of the corpses. He looked down, and noticed that he was still clutching the wyvern egg close to his chest. He stood, thinking for a moment, and took a bag off one of the slain adventures hips. Opening it revealed the severed ears of many monsters, including goblins. Some were still dripping blood. With a quick thrust of his sword, Osseus stabbed into the nearest adventurer's corpse. After wiping the blood off his blade, he dug a small grave, and laid the ears to rest. After covering the hole, he began to stuff the now empty bag with leaves and other soft materials, until it was almost full. With deft motions of his fingers, he tied the end in a knot, sealing it. In his hands he held an impromptu cushion, which he placed on the ground. Taking off his newly acquired chainmail, and the sturdy leather armor underneath, he took the cushion and placed it on his pelvic bone. With steady hands, he placed the egg onto it. The egg was cradled by his ribcage, sharing the space with the dark orb that occupied his chest. He then re-equipped his armor, shielding the egg from further harm. Krashna watched all of this, with a slight look of disbelief on her face.

"To think an undead like yourself would be so gentle..." She shook her head with wonder, then cleared her throat. "The nearest human settlement in the forest is week on foot from here. I believe it was from there that these adventurers came from."

Osseus replied with a short, "Is that so?" accompanied by the sound of grinding teeth. "Then that is where we will go first."

Donovan road down the main road, the very air itself shaking with with the raucous applause of a million thundering hands. The entire population of humanities capital, Victoria, had gathered to welcome back their hero, who had struck down the evil necromancer, and saved humanity. Utop his proud warhorse, Donovan was bathed in the cheers, his brilliant smile dazzling the crowds. His companions rode slightly behind him, all waving to the crowd. Soon, they reached the Castle of Man, a glorious and beautiful construction that glittered in morning light. Awaiting them at the castle doors was a man who exuded regal aplomb. He stood in a golden robe that glittered with a magical aura, and a crown that shown with an holy inner light. He was the King Of Man, the one who had united mankind against the threat of monsters, and had personally raised the hero. He was Augustus Pallastin, the greatest king humanity ever had.

"Welcome back, my brave Heroes!" The Kings voice echoed through the city, and the cheering reached an entire new level. Augustus raised his arms, and the crowd began to quiet down. Once the sound had reached a reasonable level, he began to speak once more, his deep and rich voice flowing over the masses like melted chocolate.

"You have gone, uniting our different peoples, and defeating the greatest threat to us in recorded history!" The crowd once again began their frenzied cheering, and Augustus's sapphire blue eyes gazed out into his people, a slight smile on his face. With open arms, he led the four heroes that had defeated the greatest evil into the opulent main hall. All around them were spotless walls were covered with beautiful works of art in gilded frames, as well as statues of the former kings. They walked, approaching another set of doors, which were opened by the kings maids. They five of them entered a room even more extravagant than the last. Each weapon that adorned the walls appeared to cost that of an entire nation's wealth, and many exuded an aura of strength.

"You must regale me of the countless horrors you must have must have faced whilst fighting Vhudol." The King smiled, the many laugh lines on his face deepening. The heroes talked of their trials, while the king listened with rapt attention. They reached their goal, the large throne in the center of the room. It was made of solid gold, with exquisitely carved depictions of humans slaying many different types of monsters. As the heroes approached, the monsters almost looked as though they were fleeing from their presence. The King sat, and all four heroes knelt.

"Rise, Saviors. You have done what all deemed impossible, and secured safety for us all." All four heroes looked to the king and smiled, their joy obvious.

"There will be a massive ceremony, where we shall officially celebrate your victory!" With that, the King clapped once, and more maids rushed out, opening a door to the left of the throne.

"Please, take this time to rest and regain your strength. We shall hold the celebration in three days."

The heroes, with weary looks of appreciation on their faces, began to walk to the maids and the open doors. As they turned to go, Augustus rose from his throne, and approached one of the heroes.

"Ah, Zomari, may I stall you a moment before you go? I wanted to talk to you in detail about that last spell Vhudol created…"

Krashna stabbed down, her dagger burying itself in the rabbits neck. It gave a squeal, and fell dead, the ground drinking its blood. She picked it up by the antlers on its head, and walked back to her campsite. Osseus sat, cleaning his sword by the fire he built. With a quick smile to the skeleton, she began to gut and skin the rabbit, careful to keep the skin intact. Osseus gave her a nod in return, and went back to cleaning his sword, fully cleaning it of the specks of blood that had dried to the blade. Krashna, finished with the rabbit skin, began to gut and clean the corpse. After she was done, she took the meat and sat next next to Osseus, piercing the meat and hanging it over the fire.

"...Osseus, what do you plan on doing?"

He looked up from his work, his head tilted in a questioning manner.

"I plan on saving monsterkind."

Krashna laughed, the mirth not reaching her eyes.

"What do you plan on doing once we reach the human village?" She asked him. "These humans brought an army headed by adventures, and almost wiped out my entire village! Do you plan to just walk in and kill all of them?" She laughed, a quick bark that ended fast. "I have no doubt that you are strong Osseus, but an entire village?" She looked at him, hands curled into fists, and kept talking, "I was a scout for my village, and the meat I brought back would help to feed my family. I was away often because of it, and I didn't see my family much. I had just left on a scouting trip for new hunting grounds when those men had captured me. I didn't have time to say goodbye to them when I left. I didn't think the last goodbye would be to their butchered bodies."

Osseus sat silently, appearing to all the world a skeleton statue. He nodded, having heard her tale once before. He stood and looked down at the small goblin, and began to speak

"I plan to save monster kind. I will cut down whatever stands in my way, man, women, or child, This is the last command from my master, and I will follow it to the end. This town is in my way, and I will cut through it." Krashna looked up, her eyes glistening.

"I hope you can Osseus, I hope you can." She wiped her face, her face clearing. She sat back down and pulled the rabbit from the fire. Blowing on a few times, she began to eat. Osseus stood for a moment more, and sits, and continues to sharpen his sword. They sit in silence for a while, than Krashna spoke again; "Hey Osseus?"

"Yes?"

"How did you survive that humans last hit?"

The sharpening stopped once again, as Osseus stopped to think.

"It's an Art I learned." He finally answered.

"You learned an art that fast? It usually takes at least a year to learn one!" She said, clearly impressed. Osseus looked down at the large ring on his forefinger, its large black stone shining with a dark radiance in the fire light.

"It was a gift, that allowed me to learn the Art much faster."

The pair was silent for another moment of too, than Krashna, with a slight smile on her face, asked, "What is it called?" Osseus cocked his head to the side, not understanding. "An Art needs a name to be complete. Without one, it will never reach its full potential." She explained.

"A name…" Osseus trailed off, thinking of what would be best.

"It doesn't need a name now, but keep it in mind. Tomorrow we will reach the human village Osseus. Are you ready for what we will see there?" Osseus responded with a short nod, and finally put his sword away. With no more words to share between them, Krashna turned over to sleep. Osseus sat once again statue like, pondering the future and Arts.