The Lost Freedom - Chapter 4 Nearly Complete

[Bassa]

[center]Hello, Kenichi here. I am writing this story at the moment and I would lke to be an author when I leave College. I hope you like my story. Constructive Criticism always helps me. Thanks.

[spoiler=Chapter 1 - Weary Dreams][i]M29-34

He stared into the midnight breeze and waited, waited for what he knew was there. He stared at the stars, all the millions of them as they began to move, seeming to follow him as he moved. He knew the creature was coming by the vibrations in the air. All he could do now was to wait, and keep his Bow ready. Why did this always happen to him? Why not anybody else? But this was no time for questions, he needed to act fast. Or, wait to act.
Then he felt it, it was only faint at first as the creature grew steadily closer. He thought back to his home, his wonderful family, sitting down for Evening Supper by now, but he doubted they would be tonight. He hoped they would be looking for him but then again he didn’t know if this was the real world or not.
He could feel, once again, the creature getting ever closer. He turned sharply, and there it was, a shadow rose from the distance and stared at him with dark red eyes, he couldn’t make out any of the features and as the creature got closer, he still couldn’t see any, it was as if the creature was just as it looked, without a face, without a life, just a black shadow.
He raised his bow at the creature which continued forward, and got an arrow ready. If the creature came too close he would fire straight into the creature’s heart. But perhaps this creature had a heart in some other position or maybe no heart at all.
All he could do was hope. The creature suddenly stopped and picked something off the ground…
[/i]
Dagra woke suddenly from his dream, sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall in the distant mountains of Callar. He was wearing the usual clothes of a young warrior, ripped shorts and a plain white top. He had no idea where the tradition came from but he knew it was important, somewhere from the past. He looked up at the ceiling and stopped, this was the second time this same dream had come to him in the last week. He had only mentioned it to his mum as he knew she would keep it a secret. If the High Lords discovered his dreams, visions as they may call it, he may be exiled for being a Dark Mage.
He called out for his mum but nobody answered. All was quiet, peaceful in fact. But perhaps too peaceful, more, silent. He stared around the room and saw nothing but a few rags and his chest. Everything seemed to have been taken. He rose from his chair and ran to the door, suddenly realising that this was very bad.
He stopped abruptly as he reached the door, and looked round the edge. There were two men dressed in robes holding Banai, Dagra’s best friend. They seemed to be trying to take his ruby sword.
He couldn’t allow this. He ran over to his chest, hoping they hadn’t searched it and opened the lock. The chain slipped from his hand and banged on the floor. If that didn’t catch their attention nothing would. He cursed under his breath and proceeded to search for his Short Sword. He lifted a piece of cloth which revealed the blade.
The Sword had been given to him by his Grandfather only a few years ago when Dagra reached ‘Manhood’. The handle was made of pure Silver and engraved on it were the words “Manos de lire pras”, which he later translated to “Somewhere you only know”. Strange he thought, as the robed men entered the doorway.
They were holding Banai by the arms; he appeared to have cuts and bruises all over his face. What had they done to him?
Then one of the men lifted his robe to reveal a green skin which was only cursed upon the Orks. But what were they doing here?
Suddenly and without warning, Banai lashed out and spat in one of the Orks faces. The Ork turned round and smiled at the young boy, showing his sharp, yellow teeth. He produced a small dagger and thrust it into Bandai’s stomach, twisted it and lifted it up through his chest. The boy screamed before slumping forward, dead.
Dagra cried out and lunged towards the first Ork who wasn’t expecting the attack, felt the point of Dagra’s blade pierce his stomach. He let out an agonising shriek and fell to the floor. The other Ork dropped the body of Bandai and jumped at Dagra who leapt out of the way before rolling back to his feet. Making an attack of his own he jumped into the Orks legs, throwing him to the ground, Dagra then slashed at the creature’s throat. The Ork parried the sword with his arm, the blade only piercing the skin. The Ork then kicked out with his legs sending Dagra to the floor, the Ork returned to his feet and walked over to Dagra.
“Your time is up, brave little boy.” He said as an arrow pieced through his skull. Then another arrow flew into the nearby wall with a note attached. Dagra turned to see who had saved his life, but only heard the rustling of trees.
He turned to the body of his friend, and rushed over to see if he was okay. He was dead and there was nothing anyone could do. He needed to give his friend a good burial and find out why everyone was missing. He turned back to the note and opened it up. It read:

[font="Garamond"]Dear Dagra,

Late last night your village was attacked by an Ork army, and your people were captured and taken as slaves by the most fearful army in the world. They were all taken except for you and a few others, who were all lucky enough to be in a safe place when they attacked. If you ever want to see your family alive again, you must come to the Willow Forest 5 years from today. I can help you save them.

Good luck[/font]

He pushed the letter into his T-Shirt pocket and began to concentrate on his friend’s burial.[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Chapter 2 - Losses]“Get his body into a safe place; we will look for the materials.” Everyone knew that to use magic, certain precautions were needed so as not to provoke a Daemon or to be tainted by Dark Forces. He needed to do everything perfectly for this and he knew it wouldn’t be easy to find such things. The main thing he needed was the blood of a goat and as he didn’t have any available, he would need to hunt one down.
He crouched in some bushes, bow in hand, staring intently at the small creature before him. The goat was only 50 yards in front, he guessed. He raised his bow above his shoulder and aimed at the creature. This was his last arrow after what the Orks had taken, this shot had to count. He pulled the string back and fired the arrow, but the small goat simply moved out of the way when he saw the arrow heading for his skull. Now Dagra knew hand to hand, or rather, hand to hoof combat was needed. He pulled out his short sword and charged at the goat which turned and head butted him in the chest, sending him flying through the air. A searing pain coursed through his body as he knew instantly that he was severely winded. The goat charged at him again, his horns aimed for Dagra’s chest.
Without thinking Dagra grabbed the sword next to him and lashed out, catching the goat across the neck. The goat slowly began to wobble and fell down, dead. That was lucky thought Dagra as he began the tough journey back, with the goat slung over his shoulder.

As he approached the village, the rest were preparing the other things needed; they laid down chalk in various shapes and patterns, like protection fields. If you were inside one of these nothing else could get in, or so they said. Dagra wasn’t completely sure whether to believe such stories about The Tainted. They were people who had used Dark Magic without protection and been turned into a beast of Chaos, they had been known to go completely mad that they killed, the Mothers, Fathers, Children and their wives. He was sure some of it was true but, he was not sure how much. He stared around him at the village that was once his home. The houses were brown and smoking, pieces of dark wood slowly falling from the buildings. His home was almost no more, shards of metallic walls burnt to a crisp. But that was all in the past now, he needed to concentrate of the job in hand. Burying his friend.

Bandai’s cold body was laid down gently by Dagra and the remaining survivors. The dead boy’s body was pale and it seemed to be almost white, like the snows of Mount Kilmore. Several personal belongings were placed beside him in his coffin.
It had been 2 days since the attack on their village, and people were starting to realise that this was probably how it was going to be for a long time to come, and all they could do was hope.
Dagra turned to the others and clasped his hands together ready to say the prayer that helps dead friends through to the afterlife.

“Seela mon de frinces bor la seemod, Let life guide you…”

As the prayer continued the sky above Bandai began to turn to a dark purple. The sky began to rain down upon the village as Bandai’s body was lifted through the air for what seemed an eternity.
This was where he would greet the afterlife and Dagra had given him the best chance. Most people were burned and then left by themselves to burn into the afterlife, but certain people with the Gift of Rua could send them with Dark Magic. Dagra had been learning the arts from his late father who was intrigued at how quickly Dagra had picked the skills up; only he and a few others, such as the group behind him, knew about this. They were all sworn to secrecy. As the body began to fade in the distant, Bandai began to break up into smaller pieces, which then broke into even smaller bits. Before long Bandai’s body was no more. Dagra returned to his room, slumped on the bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Chapter 3 - Willow Forest][i]M29-39

It seemed like a stone. But he wasn’t quite sure if he understood what he was seeing. It was a sort of stone like gem. He had never recalled hearing anything about it before, although, he remembered that, there was a tale about the object the creature was holding. It was a bright red gem, about the size of an average mans palm and it was encased in a thin metallic strip, which seemed like silver, although he was sure it was some other metal he was not familiar with.
Then the creature began to move towards him again. As he approached slower than before, Dagra didn’t seem scared by the presence of such dark sorcery, but then suddenly he froze. Perhaps he was being tainted, perhaps this was all a trap and the Dark Forces were attacking him in his sleep.
He tried to move away from the creature but his limbs didn’t react as if controlled by another owner. He tried to scream, to shout out for help, but he knew nobody would hear him. He was all alone, scared, and with no protection…[/i]

He woke, staring up at the roof of his shelter. Or what should have been his shelter. Instead there stood the face of Jasro, the person who was going to drive Dagra to the Willow Forest. Dagra had decided to take a few companions with him for protection and, even with Jasro’s hate of too many people in his cart, had been agreed.
Jasro was looking at him deeply trying to say something.
“What is it Jasro?” Dagra said. Surprised at how rude he had been, and seeing Jasro turn way, he quickly apologised. This was not the time to be annoying the person who was willing to help you on what might be a wild goose chase.
“I have just come to see if you are ready. You know, ‘cause I am excited about being part of an adventure.” Jasro replied, an excited look on his face.
“This may not be an adventure. It could just be some idiot from the next village playing a prank…” Dagra replied, interrupted by a familiar voice.
“And you think some boy would come and play a joke on you, when a horde of Orks are massacring, and kill an Ork with a finely crafted bow and arrow.” Jade replied. She was another person who was coming along with Dagra. She walked over to him
and chuckled.
“I think there is some truth in that message…” She continued.
“Yes, I suppose you are right. I suppose I am just hoping it is a goose chase, because…I am scared.”
That silenced everybody. Dagra had never really expressed how he was feeling; he rarely even talked about any other people’s emotion let alone his own. This was a first.
Jasro broke the silence… “Shall we be leaving? My coach and other guests are waiting, collect your belongings and let’s head out of here.” He said turning towards the door.
“Other guests?” Replied Jade, a puzzled look on here face.
“Oh yes, I am taking some nice Dwarfs over to Willow Forest as well, they are going Boare hunting, a sport they most enjoy. I am not sure why but, everyone has there opinions…” He walked out of the room towards his cart mumbling quietly to himself.
“Get up then!” Jade bellowed, and with that Dagra was fully awake, and ready for what lay ahead.

“Warlock Lord Strikes Again!” Screeched Mrs Lorf, the Dwarf, reading the newspaper in front of her face. “What silly people we have these days, and I thought sorcery was banned.’
‘Apparently he has been spotted by some weirdo’s living out in the forest. Seems like a good hunt my dear…”
“You can’t seriously expect us to hunt that. Boar is what we hunt not powerful Mages like him…”
Dagra was suddenly scared, as he listened to the Dwarf couple talking. He could sense his friends fear as they talked about possibly hunting the most evil mage in this whole time period. It was a chilling thought and he could sense his friends felt the same way. Then Crago, the other person who was accompanying Dagra and Jade, spoke over the Dwarfs and said, “We had better get some rest.”
Dagra couldn’t disagree with that, they would need all the strength they had in the coming days. He laid down his head on the soft cushion behind him and slowly drifted of to sleep.

[i]…He needed to escape from the terror, the darkness that loomed before him. He needed to run and never look back, to get away from what this creature represented, but his legs wouldn’t respond. He tried to resist the spell the creature was creating inside his head. But it was no good, the creature turned away for a moment, as if looking for another presence. Perhaps someone had heard his call and was coming to help him. Perhaps he would be saved from the shadow. Then the creature turned back and continued coming. Dagra’s heart sank sank so low it nearly touched the ground. Nobody was coming that was clear now from the way the creature seemed to disregard whatever he had heard. The creature moved within a breaths distance and Dagra could feel the warm stench of his mouth. He could still not make out any features; the creature truly did not have a face at all. Suddenly the creature spoke softly in his ear…[/i]

“Dagra, Dagra. Wake up. We have arrived.” The gentle voice of Jade erupted around his ears. He looked out of the cart and saw the huge forest in front of them. The trees towered above them and cast a dreary shadow over them. The shrubs in front of them appeared old and rotten like someone had poisoned the soil beneath them. It was a daunting though, knowing you would soon be inside, looking for a potentially dangerous stranger. They didn’t even know where this man would be. They would travel to a regular meeting place for hunters and hope he had the same idea. If he wasn’t there they would think of what to do then.
Dagra grabbed his belongings and jumped from the coach to meet Jade and Crago who where already ready to go. There was no point in wasting time here. If there was a chance that this man knew where there parents were, he wanted to find out as soon as possible. They started for the forest and soon they reached its edge. Dagra looked up and breathed deeply. This was it. Then he fell, he felt the earth beneath him pull him down to the ground. Suddenly the gravity became to strong, he couldn’t resist. He plunged into the darkness.

[i]"Help"[/i]

The light returned to his eyes and Dagra woke. He was on the back of Crago’s back. He looked forward and found they were deep into the forest now. He guessed from the dim light that they had been travelling for some time now but this could be the trees blocking out the sun. He quickly made himself clear to Crago. He didn’t want Crago to carry him too far. That would just waste his energy. And anyway, Dagra could walk well enough.
“Nice to see you could join us…” Jade said, turning to Dagra. “We were starting to wonder if you were just faking to make us carry you. Like you used to when we went hunting in the hills.” She laughed.
“What happened to me?” Dagra asked.
“Just after the Dwarf couple departed you collapsed. Jasro said that it was just the stress of such an important journey and offered to carry you until you woke up, but Crago said he would and we departed.” Jade replied.
“Yes and what a bloomin’ lump you are too.” Crago bellowed, dropping Dagra to the ground.
“Thanks.” Dagra replied sarcastically. He was used to Crago’s humour and got on with it, not taking it seriously.
“How long have we been travelling for?” He continued.
“About an hour now, we are nearly at the meeting place.”
Dagra swallowed hard. He continued along side his friends and said nothing. He was grateful that his mates had come along with him. It meant a lot to him and he hoped that they could see that. They had come a long way in the last few years after the attack on there village. He would be with his friends forever, he promised himself. He needed them and they knew it. Just how much he needed them they weren’t sure of.
He looked up at the treetops and saw the light peering through the leaves. The light then flooded in allowing them to see quite a way forward and there, about 50 yards in front of them, was the meeting place. Nobody was there. Had this been some wicked game or a trap? What had he done? His friends could be in danger and it was all his fault. He wanted to tell them to go back but Crago and Jade were already approaching the wooden hut as if this was not even scaring them. He ran after them and inspected the hut.
It was clearly made out of a wood found abroad. No wood in this land would be able to survive the harsh winters. It was on a little scratched and the paint was peeling in a few places but it seemed in pretty good condition. He sat down inside and looked at all the carvings on the side. They were clearly Dwarf symbols but what they meant Dagra could not be sure. He assumed they were a form of communication between the hunters. Some of the markings seemed to have been made quite recently. They had not been covered in the Moss that often grew here. These must have been made within the last few hours. Hopefully there were some people in this forest that were friends.
He looked out of the hut and saw Jade standing as still as a statue looking at the tress in front of her. Her face was white and he lips were trembling. Her hair was blowing in the wind, perhaps she was just cold. Dagra took of his jacket, walked over to her and put it round her shoulders.
“There you go. You really should have brought some more clothes. You knew this jour…” He stopped. Jade held out her shaking hand and pointed. That was when he saw it.[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Chapter 4 - Shadows (Unfinished)]The thing moved quickly as Jade and Dagra tried to keep up with its movements. By now Crago had noticed that something was not right and had unsheathed his sword. He kept it close to his body so as not to be suddenly disarmed by whatever this thing was. Dagra did the same and kept himself close to Jade. Was this the person they were here for or was this the trap. That was when the creature revealed itself. It crawled from the shadows and lunged for the back of Crago. It struck his back and sent him flying until he hit a tree in front of him. The creature was a giant Spider. What was this thing? The Spider charged towards Crago, preparing its fangs ready for the final strike. Dagra charged for it and lashed out with his sword. It caught the creature on the leg and Dagra continued his strike, determined to remove one of the Spiders legs, but the skin was too tough and his sword would not penetrate it. A sense of realism struck him; he had attacked this huge beast. Almost knowing his sword would not work, why hadn’t he run? The creature turned to him and brushed him aside. It walked over to him. The creature was defiantly a spider. The hairs on its legs, the size of his hand were roped along the creature’s body. The Spider’s teeth were a dim yellow colour and he could see the remains of the creature’s last meal. He could smell the Spider’s breathe. He resisted the urge to gag and tried to get up. As he struggled to escape the Spider lunged for him again. Dagra sliced behind him, hoping to hear the tear of veins and cartilage and then the crack of the bone, but he knew it would not come. Dagra stumbled over a branch and fought for balance, a fight he lost, and tumbled over. The Spider raised its fangs for the final bite and Dagra could see the liquid on its teeth, poisonous, he guessed.
Then he saw the edge of a sword through the creature’s stomach. The creature reeled back in pain and screeched. The sound went straight through Dagra and he remembered the sound of nails on a blackboard. The creature fell backwards and revealed a robed figure, looking at him. The spider, now on its back, continued the sound until it finally passed from this foul planet.
“Are you the man who wrote this letter?” Dagra asked, producing it to the stranger and getting up, starting for Crago without waiting for an answer.
“Questions later…” He said and walked over the hut.
Crago looked dazed but not injured. He had taken much more than that before, Dagra hoped. The both started to make there way over the Jade who was already inspecting their saviour.
“Thanks for saving us um…”
“Saron.”
“…Saron, what was that thing?” Crago continued.
“It was a Sirox, one of the foulest beings of this earth. A creature that dwelled in the depths of the Underworld until being released by the Warlock Lord…” Saron replied. Dagra wanted to ask the man so many questions like where were his parents and why his sword could kill the creature so easily but he knew this was not the time.
“Look.” Saron continued. “Let’s get straight down to why I want you here. To the North of the border there is the great castle of Avaron, a place that no mortal man returns from. It is where the hordes of Orks dwindle, making plans for war and raids on villages. You families are locked there, in the tower of Crack. If you wish to save them you need to get there and fast, the plan to execute your family three weeks from now. Go first to the town west of here and meet a Dwarf called Thim. He will tell you what you need to do then, you will know where it is.
And remember, don’t turn left.” The man got up from his seat and strode into the depths of the forest. Jade turned to the boys.
“Well, that was weird.”[/spoiler]


I hope you enjoy it...

[/center]

[Bassa]

Bumpity Bump.