CHAPTER 6 - FREEDOM - Part 3

Cullen was asleep and dreaming. The massive silver Dragon was telling him a story about her kind when suddenly she stopped and her head shot up as though she was listening.
“Cullen,” she said abruptly, “You must wake. There is trouble.”
Cullen was willing but didn’t know how to wake himself quickly. He closed his eyes and thought intensely about waking. He squeezed his fists until he could feel his nails digging into his palms.
“WAKE UP!” Stormungandr yelled.
He was awake. He heard shouting and then a scream and he leaped to his feet, grabbed his Sword and Shield and ran out of the tent. The Kingsguard were all awake and staring off into the rest of camp. Fires were blooming in different places and Cullen could feel the spiritual pressure of other swords at work.
He saw a tall dark figure step in front of the flames and release magic out of his half moon pike and ice covered a Xho fighter and he fell like a stone to the ground. Another figure shot liquid fire from his oddly curved sword and another tent burst into flames.
Cullen raised his own Weapon and slashed through the air, gathering his own spiritual power and sending the force towards them directed in small form, just as he had against the last Queen.
Both Champions saw him and raised their weapons to block. Both of them got nasty cuts on their arms but they didn’t die. Then they ran at Cullen. They each fired their magic at him and he raised his Shield to defend.
Using the spiritual pressure of the Shield, Cullen raised a wall of force to protect himself and those around him. The lava from the sword crashed into his Shield and knocked him back. Then ice covered the Shield and made his arm cold.
Cullen slashed at his Shield with his katana and brushed away the ice. Then the two Champions were close enough to use their weapons normally. Now he had to fight with all the training he’d had, using the Shield to block and defend and using the Sword to attack.
All three were moving fast, their motions a blur to those around them. Cullen saw the Kingsguard gather and they started pointing arrows at the Dark Fae Champions. As they did, the Champions would fire lava or ice at them and only the quick reactions of the Asrai saved them.
“Don’t interfere!” Cullen shouted, wanting to keep them out of the battle. He caught another high attack with his Shield and he swung low at the one wielding the half moon pike, but the Fae leaped over it and dodged the attack.
From the edges of his vision, he saw another Champion coming, and he knew he couldn’t fight all three. He was barely holding on to two.
“Tris’tan!” he shouted. “Use the Bow!” Then he saw the purple arrow of spiritual energy shoot through the night sky and hit the third Champion. He fell and then stood back up again and slashed his sword.
A heavy wind hit the three fighters, blowing all of them awkwardly back. Cullen stumbled as he backed up and the one with the crooked sword attacked. Cullen tried to raise his Shield in time but he was too slow. He winced as he prepared himself for the blow.
He heard the sound of metal on metal and he opened his eyes to see Aki standing before him, blocking the attack with his own Sword.
“You are not alone!” Aki said. Then he stood up straight and pushed his power through his sword and blinded the two Champions and anyone else who wasn’t prepared for the magic.
Cullen hated to fight dirty, but against these enemies, he felt he had no choice. He swiped his Sword through the air and the spiritual force knocked both Champions off their feet and onto their backs in the sand.
Cullen leaped ahead and caught the first one unbalanced and struggling to get back up. Cullen cut down and was blocked by the lava sword. He focused his own Sword’s power and soaked up the new skill into his Weapon. Then he raised it again and with directed pressure he smashed through the cursed sword and his blade sunk into the chest of the Champion.
The second one had regained his feet and blindly swiped his weapon through the air covering the space around him with ice. Cullen raised his Shield but ice covered the Shield, his arm and one leg.
Tris’tan had been fired energy arrows at the third Dark Fae to keep his back, but he kept using the sword’s power over wind to blow back the attacks. He was getting closer.
Cullen closed his eyes and focused on the new power in his Sword. He let the spiritual energy heat up to make fire and he lit his Sword to melt the ice. He broke free and attacked the Champion closest to him.
Using enhanced strength and force, he smashed through the half moon weapon and dug into the Dark Fae’s throat, cutting the Champion down to bleed in the sand. Two weapons had been destroyed and Cullen turned to face the last threat.
Wind assaulted him from the front, intense breezes slashing through his armor. He raised his Shield to defend and cut the air between them with his Sword. A wave of fire and force swept across the desert and slammed into the Champion.
Bleeding and broken, he fell to one knee and snarled his hatred. Cullen sheathed his Sword and pulled out his white dagger, the weapon specifically designed to send the undead to a final death.
He ran ahead, using the Shield’s power to force the champion down like a wall had been dropped on him. Then he thrust his dagger through the wall of force and punctured the Dar Fae’s chest, striking the heart in one blow.
The Champion fell dead and Cullen wiped the dagger clean, drew free his Sword again and shattered the weapon the Dar Fae had been using. He knew now that the cursed weapons also used spiritual energy but they were made for evil purposes. He would rather see them destroyed.
As the camp rushed around putting out fires and helping the wounded, the Kingsguard and the Faeries gathered around Cullen.
“So they attacked us before we reached the final city,” Roarr said gruffly. “Makes sense.”
“What bothers me though, is there were five Champions in total,” Cullen reminded them. “Where are the other two?”
No one could answer that except to assume they would be found in the city when they attacked there. Cullen never imagined they would be anywhere else.

***

Tik ran to dodge the stones that came flying at him from one of the Dark Champions. One was using a war hammer that had the power to move stone and sand, while the other one wielded a Bhuj and had the power of enhanced strength. Tik had no shield, so he was using his agility to keep from being hit and his own sword’s power to attack.
He slashed his sword through the air and willed its spiritual energy to arc through the space between himself and the attackers with fire and force. The one with the Bhuj got smashed and fell back against the dunes, while the other one lifted sand and stone before him to block the attack.
Tik rushed forward, trying to catch the one that fell off guard, but he attacked from his back, swinging his staff weapon around to stop Tik from getting close enough. Tik had to avoid a direct clash with him since he was so much stronger with the weapon.
The second Champion lifted a cloud of sand and directed it at Tik, hoping to blind him. But he used his own sword’s power to wash away the cloud and he ran at his opponent unexpectedly.
The Dark Fae raised his war hammer and Tik found that when he was this close, it was one weapon against the other, without the added magic. He slashed and cut and stabbed, trying to break through the Fae’s defense before the other one got to his feet.
Tik managed to cut the Champion’s leg, pretty deeply, but he sensed the other one was coming behind him even before he heard Sonia’s scream.
“Behind you,” she yelled.
Tik dove away and he charged and rolled through the sand to come back up on his feet and slashing with the weapon he directed the force like a surgeons knife to cut the back of the one who just tried to attack him.
The Dark Fae with the Bhuj got cut badly across his back and he stumbled towards the other one. Instead of helping his fellow warrior, the Champion let him fall and came on towards Tik again, leading with circling stones and sand.
He directed the stones at Tik and Tik decided to face them instead of run. He slashed his sword through the air, focusing the spiritual power like a chisel and he smashed the stones to pieces.
Then he ran ahead to close the distance between them again. He used his greater sword ability against this warrior with the hammer, to cut him repeatedly. His anger at being attacked grew and the sword made greater cuts with more force.
As he thought about protecting Sonia, he and the sword became better connected, and fire and force was just leaking out of the blade, to slash and cut the hammer. Finally he smashed his way through the handle, cutting deeply into the Champion’s chest, breaking the weapon and his opponent.
The other Fae was writing on the ground and Tik walked up to him carefully and dispatched him quickly. Then he shattered the second weapon as well, choosing to not carry them home with him.
Sonia ran up to him and embraced him, but he felt distant and aloof. The feeling of wielding the sword was greater than embracing Sonia. He felt at peace with its spiritual power and pressure as it coursed through his body.
Sonia looked up into his face as he looked down towards her and she gasped at how dark his eyes had become. She backed away from him and he sheathed the sword. Then they both looked at his hands and they were black as though he was been holding a sooty tool to clean a fireplace.
Shrugging it off, Tik made sure the guides were safe and calmed them down and soon they were ready to lie down again until morning. Sonia didn’t speak and she hoped that the next morning would show the strange symptoms to be gone.
She worried that the sword had a strange effect on Tik, but it wasn’t time to worry about it now. She would see how he looked tomorrow and when the day was bright and new, she thought he would look better again.

***

Captain Cezar dug into the peat bricks of the small hut again. He was using the only tool the Rathians let them have, the necklace from Aegidius’s neck. The design of the tree where God was hung was made of metal and had a sharp edge to it. It was perfect for digging through the mud mortar.
It had taken two months for them to decide to try and break free. They were still guarded by five Rathians who sat outside the hut and played dice or cards all day while guarding a shack with only one exit.
They did not check on the prisoners except at mealtimes and only once did the Rathian chieftain Abjorn come in to inform them that High King Remus had been killed and now King Nicu was High King of the Realm.
Cezar had heard the guards talking about the mystery of where Grimm had gone. Apparently he had escaped somewhere and Cezar bet he would try to find Cullen, the High King’s son.
He had discussed it with Aegidius and they agreed that they should try to escape. So they had started digging out the bricks of the back and tonight they were almost done. The guards wouldn’t open the cell to check on them until morning when they came with new food, so they had a few hours to make good their escape.
“It’s done!” Cezar whispered, waking the dozing Priest.
“Are you sure?” the High Priest asked in a hush.
Cezar started wiggling one of the bricks on top free, and then it was easy to take each one off, one at a time until there was a man sized hole in the back wall and a pile of bricks in the hut.
Cezar looked outside and was glad to see that the water was high. They should be able to slip in without any sound. Cezar started removing his clothes and motioned for the Priest to take off his robe.
“We’ll keep our clothes dry this way,” he informed the Priest. “Its fall and the water will be cold, but with dry clothes we should be alright.”
Soon the two men were in their small clothes and Cezar crawled through the hole, hung onto the deck that went all the way around the house and lowered his body into the water. With one hand above holding his clothes in a bundle, he let go and slipped into the water without a sound.
Aegidius followed his motions exactly and was soon paddling in the water with him. The night was dark and only a few torches were out lighting the wooden paths within the stilt city.
Cezar swam away from the hut where he had been trapped, followed by the shivering Priest. They swam under the docks and wooden walkways, headed towards the pieces of land created for the main road that led away from the city. They swam through the water without making any noise and soon found themselves past the city limits.
Cezar led the way out of the water and the two men climbed the hill that led to the road the High King had built to conquer the city. In a few minutes they were walking down the road in their small clothes, shivering and hoping the walk would heat them back up.
They put on their clothes to help and the Priest finally spoke. “Do we know where we’re going?” he asked.
Cezar shook his head. “We’ll start in Holdfast and see if anyone knows what direct Grimm left in and we’ll go from there. We’ll have to use our head and find him.”
“Maybe we should just wait at the foot of the mountains. Didn’t the King’s son travel over the Everwinter Mountains?”
“That’s what I heard. Maybe we could wait there, but we’ll know more when we get to Holdfast.”
Then the two men started walking down the road. They walked for about an hour, openly discussing their escape and how surprised the Rathians would be in the morning, when suddenly the road lit up in a flare of light and all Cezar could see was the dark figures of someone, or rather, many someones surrounding them.
They had been found!

***

Captain Oana had been released from captivity and made to work in the mines with the Vessians that worked there finding gold. It was hard work, but it made him strong and he made friends with the men who worked their by choice.
They knew who he was and knew why he was there and they tried to make things easier for him, but he worked just as hard as they did each day.
After two months, they no longer watched him carefully and he decided it was time to go. He knew that Grimm had escaped because it was common gossip, that he would return with the High King’s son to push out the Rathians.
Life in the city had returned to normal, if you didn’t count the higher taxes to Rath and the Rathians that walked through the city like they owned it, causing trouble everywhere they went.
Oana thought they were a crude people, hardly better than the savages they were called. They were a people that didn’t know what to do with their new power and it went to their heads.
They were supposedly there to keep the peace the way the Kingsguard once did, but they were ruffians and thugs, harassing store owners for a peace of their profits in order to keep them safe, but the only threat was the Rathians themselves.
Oana had come to love the city of Vess and he hated to see it brought so low. He had told the other miners that he lived with that he was going to walk out of the city one day and go find Grimm.
They cheered him on, knowing he was the last Kingsguard left and they hoped he could in fact find the old warrior and bring back peace. So that evening, he dressed in someone else’s clothes, took a small sack of supplies and he walked towards the city gate.
The gate was guarded by Rathians but they didn’t bother to check every man that came or went, since they were really only watching for larger trouble. One man wasn’t enough to be counted as a threat.
Oana walked right past the group of them, playing stones or dice and drinking on the job. None of them would recognize him especially well, since he wasn’t wearing his Kingsguard uniform anymore.
It had been nerve wracking but he got through the gate and walked down the road, headed towards Holdfast where he thought he might start. He also had heard the Cullen crossed the mountains and he had decided he would wait for him there if he had to.
He walked for four hours without trouble but he realized as the night grew darker that something had eyes on him. Something that went beyond his training, some sixth sense warned him he was being watched.
Finally he stopped in the road and looked all around him. He thought he saw shadows at the edge of his vision, but nothing sure.
“Come on out!” he finally shouted. “I know you’re out there! Face me then!” With only a knife he knew he wouldn’t put up much of a fight, but if it was Rathians he would be sure to take some down with him.
The trees near him ruffled and he turned to see a figure step out into the moonlight. And his eyes grew wide with surprise. He never thought he’d see one!

***

Captain Ion had been using his time in the dark cell the best way he knew how. Every day he worked on his forms and his body, even though he worked in the pitch black dark, he still did push-ups and sit-ups, and he even found a stone sticking out so he could do pull-ups.
Each day he worked, keeping his body fit and his mind sharp, knowing that one day, they would send only one guard and that one guard would be lax in his attention, since Ion always acted so fallen and downtrodden.
When they came with his meals, he sat against the stone, on the floor and stared at nothing. He ate but he looked off like his was searching the distance instead of focusing on his food. He acted addled instead of sharp.
And today he heard, in the dark a step of footsteps coming. He also heard no conversation between two men as someone walked down the steps to his cell. Then he saw the torchlight and he could see it was only one man.
This was the time he was waiting for! He took his place on the floor and sat against the wall. He lowered his head so that it would seem he was staring off at nothing. He placed his old food bowl against the far side of the cell, so that the man would have to enter the cell to retrieve it.
And he waited. The Rathian came slowly down the steps, walking carefully in the dark with just his single torch to light the way. He entered the hallway where the cells were all positioned and he hooked the torch into a holder outside the cell.
The torch cast long shadows and the guard could see Ion sitting there staring at nothing. He held a bowl of food in his other hand and he unlocked the cell and entered. He placed the bowl on the floor just inside the cell and looked for the other one.
Seeing it, he stepped further into the cell to cross in front of Ion. As soon as he was a little past him, Ion exploded into action. He grabbed the closest arm of the Rathian and shot a kick with his right leg to hit the man in the back of both legs.
He fell to the floor while Ion held onto his arm. He placed a foot against the man shoulder and wrenched his arm out of socket. The man screamed in pain and Ion dropped his arm, squatted near the floor and grabbed the man’s head, locking his arms around his neck in a choke hold.
Within a few seconds the man was out cold. Ion took the man’s knife and sword and armor, what little Rathians wore. Then he walked out of the cell, and locked the cell door. Then he took the torch and instead of walking up the steps he walked further into the hallway where the cells were lined up along one wall.
Because he was the Kingsguard Captain, and because he had worked at castle Seawatch for most of his life, he had been told about the secret escape tunnel that the King could use if the castle was ever taken.
The door to that secret tunnel was in the last cell of the block. Ion walked carefully down the hallway ad entered the last cell he found. He walked to the back wall and felt along the whole wall looking for a switch.
He was pressing as he went along and he felt a section push in and something clicked loudly. He pushed the wall and it cleverly swiveled inward. He didn’t see how it was counter balanced, but it worked and almost silently too.
He stepped through the door into another tunnel that was just tall enough to grant him space and he let the wall go back, listening to it click shut and relatch. That Rathian Captain would never know how he escaped.
He dropped the keys to the cell he had been trapped in inside the tunnel so they would have to cut the man free he had trapped in his old cell and he walked along the tunnel as it led him towards the sea.
The tunnel opened up, with another clever door that swiveled to let him out on a small beach. The smell and sound of the sea brought a tear to his eye, knowing that he was free again.
He planned to go to Holdfast and look for clues to finding Grimm and eventually Cullen. Cullen was the rightful High King now and he would need his Captains to help organize a force that could fight the Rathians.
He walked along the beach for a few miles and then climbed up the cliff face until he was back on Seawatch land again. Then he walked until he found the road and he turned west to follow it to holdfast.
It was dark but the moon was out and he could se well enough to travel. He walked for maybe six miles and was thinking about stopping for a rest when suddenly there was light everywhere.
He couldn’t see, except for figures all around. He was totally surrounded. He pulled free his stolen sward and promised himself to kill as many Rathian as he could before they took him down.
But how did they know he would escape tonight, he wondered?

***

Captain Emil had been confined to his own barracks for months. He had been informed that the High King was dead and that Nicu was now High King of the Realm. He knew that he had to escape and help form a resistance. He waited until security was lazy and when the men stopped coming in to boast and tease him about losing the Kingdom.
In the far back of the barracks, his men had once cut out an escape hatch to go gambling in the Rathian campsite around the hill. Emil had eventually discovered it and boarded it back up, but he knew it existed and what was once there, he could uncover again.
It took the two months he waited to finally get the boards loose enough, but it had been worth the wait. He ate his last meal and wandered to the back of the barracks and waited for nightfall.
When the small city was quiet, he moved the boards out of the way and crawled free of the building. He stayed low and snuck away to the edge of the hill. Then he climbed over the side and prayed that no one would look up and see him climbing in the moonlight.
It was a hard a treacherous climb, but slowly, bit by bit, he made his way down to the bottom of the hill. Then he snuck through the high grasses until he reached one of the man Rathian camps that surrounded the hill.
He managed to steal some food, a spear and a blanket before he crawled away from the camp and found his way through the tall grasses past the guards that watched the perimeter of camp.
It had taken most of the night, just to get past the camps, but finally he could stand up straight and walk through the grasses towards the west. He would stay hidden until he had made it a few miles distant, and then he would try to walk one of the roads that cut through the Sea of Grass.
He figured he had gotten some distance and he could see the sky was staring to lighten as the sun was coming up and he stopped to look up to gage when he thought dawn would actually arrive.
Then he heard a sound somewhere behind him and he crouched down in worry. He leveled the spear towards the sound and waited. He had the blanket over his back like a cape and he tried to look through the grasses beyond just a few feet.
“Be at ease Kingsguard,” a voice suddenly said from somewhere ahead of him. “We are not your enemies if you oppose the Rathians.”
“Who’s there?” Emil said loudly. “Come out where I can see you!”
The grass before him started to rustle and a figure stepped clear and stood before the Captain. It was something he never thought he would see in his lifetime, but there was no mistaking it.
Standing in front of him was an elf! He was colored a tan shade of grown, almost exactly like the color of the fall grasses and he wore delicate looking armor that only served to make him more beautiful. His eyes were a startling green and they seemed to penetrate him.
“You know who I am?” Emil asked, stunned by this event.
“You are the Kingsguard Captain, Emil. Yes, we know who you are,” the elf replied, his voice musical in complexity.
“We?” he asked stupidly.
The grass moved again and Emil saw that he was surrounded by Faeries. He lowered his spear and looked around. Most of them were colored to blend in with the grass and all of them were armed with more than one weapon.
“So what now? You found me escaping Nicu’s camp.”
The first elf laughed and it was more musical that before, a nice sound that made Emil smile even though he was sure he was the joke.
“If you’d like, we can guide you to where your rightful King will be when he returns to this Realm.”
“Cullen? You know where he’ll be?” Emil asked, again feeling quite dumb.
“He crossed the mountain where the Dwarves live. It is assumed he will return that way as well. Grimm waits for him there.”
“Yes! Take me to where Grimm is! That’s where I wanted to go.”
“We know human,” the elf laughed again. “Follow us and move quickly.”

***

Captain Cezar and Aegidius found themselves surrounded by elves. Both of them were stunned by this and neither knew what to say.
“Well, humans, you are stumbling around in the dark, making far too much noise. Where are you headed?” the tallest elf asked. He was bright green, with yellow eyes and he wore silver armor that sparkled in the strange light that surrounded them.
“We were going to Holdfast to try and find word of Grimm,” Cezar answered honestly. He didn’t think to lie or keep a secret from these strange beings. And as he thought about it, he remembered that Cullen was connected to Faeries in some way. Perhaps they would know where Cullen was.
“We could take you directly to Grimm, if you like,” the elf said. Cezar looked at the Priest, who was nodding with a silly expression on his face.
“You mean you know where Grimm can be found?” Cezar asked, realizing that was probably a rather stupid question.
“Yes. We helped him escape the Rathians, just as we can help you escape. We expect Cullen to return and take charge of this human mess.”
“Oh please, yes, take us to where Grimm is!” Cezar said. “We would be grateful to you!”
“Then come this way Captain, we have a long way to go.” The rest of the elves vanished into the night, but the lead elf carried a staff that had the light attached to it somehow and the two men followed that.

***

Oana was dumbfounded and couldn’t find the words to respond to the group of Faeries that stood before him. There were various colors and well armored, carrying swords and bows of exquisite make.
“I’m sorry, but why are you here?” he asked.
“We are watching the city, since Cullen will want to know everything he can when he finally returns and settles this human mess you’re in,” the leader of the elves responded, as if it was a stupid question.
“Cullen has not retuned?” Oana asked next.
“He has not. But we can take you to where he will be. You are Captain of the Kingsguard, are you not?” the elf asked with a small sneer on his face.
“How do you know that?” the Captain asked.
“As I said, we’ve been watching. We know much and more human. We will take you to Grimm. He’s your leader, is that right as well?”
“Yes! You know where Grimm is! Yes, please take me there, I must speak with him.” The Captain realized that the elves were doing the grunt work and starting their own system of information. Cullen would know everything he needed to when he returned.
“Do you know when Cullen will be back?”
“We do not,” the elf answered. “We have had no word from him since he left. But we are actively trying to find him, so that he can return and solve this problem.”
Oana nodded and motioned that he was ready. The elves quickly disappeared into the woods around him, except the lead elf that walked with him towards the west. He was glad they had found him and glad someone was already thinking of ways to fight back.

***

Captain Ion discovered he was caught by elves just as the other Captains had been. They explained to him that they had been watching the castle and the surrounding area for weeks, seeing who came and went and trying to get intelligence for the war effort to have something set up for Cullen’s return.
The elves informed him that Cullen was not returned yet, but that they had Grimm and the Dreamweaver and they could lead him there in order to plan. He was surprised to have been caught and further alarmed to be in the company of elves but he knew Cullen had dealt with them and they had worked to the Realm’s benefit before.
“Please, yes, take me to Grimm and the Dreamweaver. And if Cullen is not returned by then, perhaps we can go after him. He must hurry home!”
Ion followed the group of elves further down the road, glad that he had been found by allies and was safely on his way to his commander.