Draft Chap 4

Cole gasped for breath as blood poured out from an array of countless cuts and gashes dotting his body. A trail of blood was left on the desert sand below him with each step he took.

On the ground around him were the bodies of 5 small wolves. At least, they were small compared to the beast that he was currently fighting.

Roughly 10 feet in front of Cole was a two meter tall wolf with a sandy colored pelt and beady, red eyes. It bared its pearly white teeth towards Cole and snarled.

Cole held his sword out in front of his body, facing the wolf. His eyes were locked in a glare directed straight at the wolf in front of him.

"Cole!" Yelled Amy from behind him in a worried voice.

"I'm fine, Amy. Just don't move. If you do, you'll be in danger." Cole yelled back.

Suddenly, the wolf started to sprint towards Cole with a growl. Cole didn't move an inch.

"Cole! What are you doing? Get out of the way or you'll get hurt!" Yelled Amy in fear.

As the wolf approached Cole even further, Cole relaxed his body and stood straight upwards. He then closed his eyes and proceeded to empty his mind.

"Grrrrrrr… Bark! Bark!" The wolf barked at Cole while lunging towards him with its face, opening its mouth to attack.

Cole waited until the last possible moment before dodging. He quickly and quietly sidestepped the wolf and, with his eyes still closed, cut the airborne wolf into two clean pieces.

"Did I get him?" Cole asked Amy.

"Cole! Are you okay?" Yelled Amy back as she ran up to Cole to assess his injuries. She made a mental note of which one's were the most severe and began treatment immediately of a deep gash that ran from Cole's neck all the way down to his waist.

"What did I tell you about closing your eyes in the middle of a fight? You're gonna get yourself killed someday." Said Amy with a sigh.

"It helps me to sense my opponent better! Also, it works well, does it not?" Said Cole, who finally opened his eyes and looked down at Amy.

"I'm glad you're alright… idiot…" Said Amy as she buried her face into Cole's chest to muffle her words.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Come on, let me get you treated."

As Amy treated his wounds, Cole looked off into the distance towards a massive circular wall.

"Finally. Amy, we're almost at the city! That means we're almost a quarter of the way to the forest!" Exclaimed Cole with joy.

"Wait, really?" Asked Amy as her ears perked up.

"Yeah, we just have to walk over there!" Cole said while pointing towards the wall.

Amy didn't respond, instead just groaning as she went back to healing Cole.

"Cmon, it's not that far. We'll be there before you know it!"

"Shut up and let me heal you."

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After what seemed like decades of walking, Amy and Cole were finally at the city. To their right, they saw an entrance with four armored knights guarding it.

"Don't tell me we're gonna have to get past them?" Asked Amy. She and Cole were hiding behind a sand dune off towards the side of the entrance to the city.

"No, our entrance is a little bit more… unconventional. And also highly illegal." Cole responded.

"Are we at risk of getting caught?"

"When are we not at risk of getting caught?"

Cole and Amy waited for a few minutes before Cole looked to his right and saw what looked to be a caravan.

"That's our ticket through the city." Whispered Cole. He looked both ways before quietly walking towards the caravan, holding a large black bag in his right arm.

"I didn't think this would be so heavy…" He groaned as he lugged the bag over.

"No, I strictly told you that I would not trade slaves." Said a voice from inside one of the caravan's cars.

"Who could that be?" Wondered Amy out loud.

"You'll find out soon." Said Cole with a smile as he entered the car.

Inside was an elderly male with white hair who was speaking into a crystal that let off a purple glow.

"Don't you need the cash, though?" Said a voice from the crystal.

"Not so much as to disregard my own personal beliefs and morals."

"Fuck, guess I'll find someone else then." Said the voice in the crystal before the crystal turned clear.

"Hey, Robert." Said Cole.

Robert quickly turned around and started to smile warmly.

"Young master, it's great to see you after all this time." He said with tears in his eyes.

"How long has it been, four years?" Asked Cole.

"I'm so glad you're alright. We could only communicate with the Telegem for such a long time, it's so nice to finally meet you again in person."

"Who is this?" Asked Amy.

"Oh right! You wouldn't know him. He was my butler before… the incident. His name is Robert and he's the one person other than you and my mother that I can trust completely."

"Mother?" Asked Robert with a confused expression.

"Ignore that. Now that we have been reunited, we need to talk business." Said Cole, his expression of joy turning into one of seriousness.

"I have the Dune Wolf King here in this bag. Is that enough for you to smuggle us into the city?"

"Wait- We're being smuggled into the city?" Whispered Amy.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" Cole whispered back.

"No."

"Oh well. Well now you know!"

"Of course it's enough, young master. I'm sorry that I had to make this request of you. It's just that… my funds have decreased significantly, and I wouldn't be able to complete your request without it. I'm ashamed to have to request this of you." Said Robert with an expression of sadness.

"It's alright, Robert. Of course I'd do it for you, you're like a grandfather to me!" Replied Cole, causing Robert to smile once again.

"I'm so glad you think of me that way."

"Also, could you tell that client that you'll transport the slaves? Where we're going, we can take them with us." Said Cole.

"About that, where exactly are you going, young master?"

"The Sacred Forest. We have reason to believe that they will protect us there."

Robert now had a worried look on his face. "Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yes, and even if you try to stop us, we're still going." Replied Cole.

"I wish you the best of luck, young master." Said Robert as the caravan finally started to move.

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In a cave hundreds of meters below sea level was a young lady with red hair. She was sitting down in a chair, and sitting across from her was an older lady with red hair.

From their appearances, one could easily tell that they were related. Their hair and skin colors were the same, they had similar body types, and they even both had a birthmark on their upper right arms.

"Claire… Did you have another prophecy?" Said the older lady. Despite her skin having wrinkles due to age, she was still clearly a good looking woman.

"Yes, grandmother. However, I don't think I can tell you."

"And why is that?"

"Because," Said Claire in a serious tone. "If I tell anyone but the one person it is about, then the world will certainly be doomed."