Of Travelers and Thieves

In the small desert village of Harise, a place where nobody wanted to visit, a wandering traveler walked in. He was pale as a ghost, but you wouldn't see much of his skin anyways. He stood at 6' 3", had an average yet bulky build, and was wearing a long, thick, and gray trench coat, ripped at its ends from constant use, with a longsword at his waist. On his legs were thick, black worker's pants, and his feet had similarly black worker's boots. His trench coat had a gray hood, and he always had it up. On top of all that, he wore brown leather gloves and bandages that covered his entire face and neck.

The man stood out like a sore thumb amongst the common people, a sea of brown clothing and tanned skin. Harise, being in a desert, was incredibly hot, so someone clad in a large coat was a bizarre sight indeed for most people. Wearing thick clothing in the heat of the desert would be a death wish for the average person. However, our traveler wasn't anything like them.

A young man, Dom by name, took notice of this traveler. Dom stood at 5' 8", had short red hair, and was fairly scrawny. Dressed like a poor worker, in loose brown robes, he peeked from the corner of an alley. He decided that a man clad in dark colors in the middle of a desert had quite the story to tell. Unlike others, however, Dom decided to follow this man, as opposed to just leaving him alone out of fear.

Dom approached the man and tried to start a conversation.

"Uhm, Sir, what brings you to Harise? Dom asked. "Also, what's with the getup…"

The traveler stayed silent and continued walking, not even acknowledging Dom's presence. In response, Dom tried to make his presence very known. He poked the traveler and asked him endless questions. After about 30 seconds of this, the traveler finally spoke.

"Annoying," the traveler said.

He spoke in a low voice that halted Dom in his tracks. It was intimidating, but not as hostile as he thought it would be. Dom decided that this man's story was worth hearing, no matter what.

"So, big guy, what're you in Harise for? Not often that a traveler comes to our little desert village," Dom said.

"Duty," the traveler replied.

"Why do you only speak one word?" Dom asked.

"Effort," the traveler said.

The traveler talked in this manner, answering Dom's questions in as few words as possible. After a few minutes of walking, the traveler went into a pub.

"Oh, you here for a drink? Man, the drinks here are-"

The traveler cut Dom off.

"Information," he said.

"Oh, yeah, that too I guess," Dom replied dejectedly. He liked those drinks.

The traveler walked into the pub, with an intimidating air. Dom followed meekly behind him, as the crowd of drunk mercenaries and soldiers quieted down in response to the odd stranger before them. The traveler approached the barkeeper and sat down on a stool.

The pub itself was like any other, except its walls were sandstone. The many monsters in the desert, especially those that breathed fire, necessitated that. The interior had many wooden tables with four to six chairs each. Overall, it was generic but clean and tidy. The barkeeper smiled at the traveler.

"So, stranger, what can I-"

The barkeep was cut off by the traveler. It seemed it was a habit of his.

"Information. City, about 50 miles northeast. What is it like?" the traveler asked.

"Oh, well, that'd be Allk," the barkeep said. "See, we're actually on the border of the desert, and Allk serves as the gateway into a more wooded and green part of the country."

"I see. Thank you," the traveler said.

He put three Avms on the table and got up to leave. As he was leaving, three drunk mercenaries blocked his way.

"Hey, buddy, a stranger like you walking in here is suspicious. Who in the fuck do you think you are?" the first said.

"Out of the way," the traveler said.

"Oh, playing the tough guy, are we? You won't be so tough when we shatter your knees, huh?" the second said.

"Move it," the traveler said, getting more impatient.

"Gods above, that manner of talking makes you look like you're trying too hard! C'mon, take that blindfold off, it's not doing anything!" the third said, seemingly so drunk he mistook Strages' bandages for a blindfold.

"Last warning," the traveler warned.

"Until what, you use that little sword of yours to-"

Before the first one could finish his sentence, the traveler pulled out his sword. It was a standard longsword, but it seemed like it had a mysterious heft to it. He then knocked the man out with the pommel of his sword. The others were too drunk to notice and assumed the traveler had just killed a man.

"I warned you. Now, move."

"H-he killed Greg! You won't get away with this!"

The two other mercenaries pulled out their weapons, ready to fight. However, before they could do anything, the traveler knocked them all out with the pommel of his sword in one fluid movement. Then, as if nothing had happened, he left the pub, while everyone was shocked and silent.

Dom looked at the traveler in horror. He attacked with such ease and little hesitation. How much death had he seen?

"Hey, big guy, wait up!" Dom said.

"Stop following me," the traveler said.

"Hell no!" Dom said. "You expect me to leave someone like you alone, someone who looks like he doesn't care about the heat, who talks like an Orc and kills with no hesitation?"

The traveler turned back to Dom, a serious look on his bandaged face.

"My path isn't for you to walk. Plus, they're not dead," he stated plainly.

"Listen, man, you're alone right?" Dom said. "The desert sucks, what with sandstorms and monsters and little to no food. You need a guide."

"I do not need such a thing. I have crossed this sandy plain myself, I shall finish it myself."

The traveler turned away from Dom and began walking away. Dom, intent on

"Alrighty, fine, but I'm following you. I have nothing left here anyways so I'm gonna figure out what's so odd about you," Dom said.

"The answer is not ideal for you," the traveler said.

"Pfft, what, you gonna say that you eat humans?" Dom asked, sarcastically.

The traveler shrugged.

"I do not need such a thing," the traveler said simply.

"...You don't eat?" Dom asked.

"Indeed," the traveler said.

Dom hesitated for a moment. Doubt began to form in him.

"Why did you say it so upfront?" he asked. "You seemed pretty guarded…"

"You would find out quickly. Saves time," the traveler said.

"I see… Hm…"

While Dom thought about what humanoid things didn't need to eat or drink, the traveler went northeast to go to Allk. Dom followed behind quickly, thinking of yet another question.

"Say, what's your name?" he asked. "Mine's Dom. If we're gonna be traveling together, names are important right?"

"I no longer have a name," the traveler said. "However, those who have seen me have given me an unnecessary nickname."

"And what exactly is that?" Dom asked.

"...Strages," the traveler said.

Dom thought for a moment. Nope, he'd never heard of that name before.

"Weird name, what does it mean?" he asked.

"I know not its meaning, and I care not as well," Strages replied.

"Well alrighty. Off we go! Wait, shouldn't we get a mount?" Dom asked, a bit panicked. The idea of walking across a desert wasn't a good one for him.

"Out of your wallet," Strages said.

"Ya know, walking is healthy huh!" Dom replied, penniless.

...8 hours of mostly silent travel had passed since their journey had begun. It was getting dark, and Dom desperately wanted to rest. Strages, however, showed no signs of being tired.

"Strages… Please, on everything holy… Let's stop here for tonight…" Dom pleaded.

"You are tired, correct?" Strages asked. "Then you may rest here. I shan't be stopping, I do not need rest."

"Dude, you seriously don't need to sleep? Or at least take a breather?" Dom asked.

Strages let out a chuckle.

"Heh, that statement is quite unbefitting of me," he said.

"Did you just laugh? Seriously? You can feel feelings?" Dom asked.

"I'm unsure what gave you the notion that I was unable to," Strages said.

Dom sighed out of frustration, as Strages stopped dead in his tracks, looking around. He put an ear to the ground, counted some numbers, and looked towards the horizon, facing Allk.

"On second thought, I shall be accompanying you on this night," he said.

"Oh, what made you change your mind? Could it be that you care for me?" Dom asked.

"No. It is convenient," Strages said.

Fast forward. It was dusk, about to turn night. Dom sat awkwardly, preparing a fire.

"You could help you know," Dom said.

"Unneeded," Strages said.

Dom, using a flint and steel he had in his rucksack, managed to scrape together a decent fire out of dead shrubbery to cook and sleep next to, since desert nights were freezing. He also managed to catch and begin cooking a lizard. Suddenly, even though he hadn't moved an inch the whole time, Strages spoke up.

"Do you know how to fight?" he asked.

"Come again?" Dom asked.

"It's a simple question. Can you fight?" Strages repeated.

Dom stood up from his self-taught crash course in building a fire.

"I don't know why you would ask, you seem plenty proficient for the both of us. But, not really, my skill set is more of, ah, a stealthy one," Dom said.

"I see, so a thief then," Strages said.

"No! Well, yes, but I had to in order to-"

Dom was cut off by Strages, who raised a hand.

"Stop. I don't care about your petty thievery. You answered my question," he said.

Showing his bad habit of cutting people off, Strages returned to his still nature, while Dom ate the mystery lizard, and tried to figure out what Strages was. While doing this, he put another lizard on the fire. They were quite small.

[So, we have super strength and no need to eat, drink or sleep,] Dom thought. [The only thing that brings to mind is-]

Before Dom could finish his thoughts, he heard distant marching, coming closer. It sounded like hundreds of men, some on horses and some on foot, marching through the desert. Strages got up and dusted himself off.

"They're here," he said.

"Who?" Dom asked.

"We shall see," Strages said.

Dom, perplexed at the lack of an answer, went to follow Strages before he stopped him.

"This matter concerns you not," Strages said. "Either watch from a distance or hide."

Dom, taking both options, hid behind a rock and pulled out a pair of binoculars that he "borrowed" like the rest of his belongings, and watched on whilst eating his lizard.

He first looked at the approaching men. They were all soldiers, bearing the crest of Myria, the country that Allk and Harise were a part of. It was a simple one, with a lion standing up and roaring with two swords crossing behind it. It looked like they were a part of the royal military.

They looked to be about 500 in number. About 50 were on horseback. Certainly not enough for a war, but Dom figured that they were either on a monster hunt, or reinforcements for a fortress; there was one not too far from where they were, if his memory served right.

Leading the group was a large man, bearing a medium-length brown beard and short brown hair. He looked to be a general but also looked quite young. A prodigy? That's what Dom figured.

Dom then looked to Strages. He approached the small force, as if it was of no danger to him, simply lumbering towards the force. When he came within about 30 feet of them, both sides stopped. The leader of the small force spoke in a commanding voice.

"Halt, strange traveler! State your business!"

Strages pointed at the leader.

"I am the one who brings punishment, who seeks revenge. I am vengeance incarnate, raised from the dead to make you answer for your sins," Strages shouted.

Strages flew at the leader and instantly beheaded him. The horse below him began having a violent fit, throwing off the headless body that hit the ground with a lifeless thump. The rest of the force screamed.

"The rest of you may leave," Strages said. "Tell your superiors of me."

"As your vice commander, I, Jerome von Arbroi, command you to kill that freak!" a voice cried out.

"I tried," Strages said.

The men yelled a warcry that shook the ground. Strages responded with his warcry, a howl that pierced one's heart and filled it with fear. The men, now shaken, charged at him.

It was then that Dom learned why it was called a "bloodbath." Blood and guts coated Strages, as he glistened in the moonlight, always killing by cleaving someone in half or beheading, never creating a fatal cut. His sword made streaks of blood around him. Strages moved with such speed, strength, and precision that it made him look like the world's most horrifying ribbon dancer.

Nobody tried to flee. Maybe they thought Strages would pursue them anyways, maybe they thought nobody would believe them. But one thing was for certain; Strages was unharmed.

Dom, who had dropped his lizard out of shock and disgust, looked at the scene. The sand was soaked in blood, covered in desecrated corpses, with a single man standing above it all.

Strages began walking towards the fire, with Dom doing the same. They arrived at about the same time, and Dom simply looked at Strages with a look of horror.

"I told you not to come," Strages said.

"What the hell was that?! And what edgy fanfiction did you pop out of?!" Dom asked.

"Revenge. And I don't know what that is," Strages said.

Dom sighed. Well, cliché or not, Strages was strong and didn't hesitate.

"Why did you kill them all?" Dom asked. It was his burning question.

"I told them to flee," Strages said. "They didn't listen."

"Yeah, I noticed," Dom said.

Yet again, he sighed. Dom could feel a headache forming, but whether that was shock, stress or the stench surrounding Strages was uncertain. Maybe all three.

"Just what are you?" Dom asked. "There aren't many things capable of killing that many people."

"A Revenant," Strages said coldly. He'd given up on hiding anything.

"I knew you'd be an undead, but damn, a Revenant huh," Dom said.

Revenants are undead born of vengeance. They're unusual undead, as even though their heart has stopped, their body regenerates and they have an absurd amount of strength. They don't even rot, just go pale. Their only real weakness is magic, though that weakness is a severe one.

The scent of blood and waste surrounding Strages continued to fill Dom's nose.

"Ok well, I'm just gonna go to sleep and hope this is a nightmare," Dom said.

"I assure you, you are perfectly lucid," Strages said.

"Let a man dream, Strages," Dom said.

Strages turned towards Dom and took a half-joking tone.

"But you're not dreaming," he said.

"Please let me cling to some hope," Dom said.

"Oh, Dom, your lizard," Strages said.

Dom looked at the second lizard he had put on the fire. He left it over the fire during the fight, and it was beginning to burn. He ran over, frantically trying to fix it up, yelling and cursing the whole time.