FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (56 page)

     Ray sends a Heat Burst into the back of another assassin as this assassin springs up from a patch of tall grass and tries to stab Minvian Farhan in the back. The assassin lets out a cry of agony and collapses to the ground, dead. Ray sets out to follow Minvian Farhan. The uninjured Royal Guard stays back to protect his blind comrades and calls out for help.

     A spread of Airblades comes flying towards Ray and Minvian Farhan again. Ray raises another Stone Wall to protect himself. Minvian Farhan, meanwhile, dives to the ground. Ray then sends off a spread of Pebble Darts into the darkness where he suspects the assassins are. A yell of pain informs him that he has hit one of the remaining assassins.

     “I need fire over there
!
” shouts Minvian Farhan as he points to an area 20 paces in front of him.

     Ray sends a series of Heat Bursts to where Minvian Farhan had pointed, illuminating the entire area. Two assassins charge towards Ray and Minvian Farhan. The last assassin continues to run towards the city.

     The first assassin charges at Minvian Farhan, throwing a series of Airblades along the way. Minvian Farhan dives to the ground and rolls side to side to avoid them.

     The second assassin and Ray close in on each other. The second assassin raises his sword up to do a Vertical Downwards Cut at Ray. Ray slows down to a walking pace and then unexpectedly drops his oil lantern, sprints forward and slightly to his right side; and grabs the handle of the assassin’s sword with his left hand. Ray then stabs the assassin in the neck with the dagger in his right hand. The second assassin gives out a moan of pain before he falls lifelessly to the ground.

     Meanwhile, Minvian Farhan gets back on his feet. The first assassin attacks with a Right Horizontal Cut, to which Minvian Farhan blocks with his sword. The Royal Guard then does a small clockwise circular motion and swings the tip of his sword forward just enough to cut the back of the assassin’s left wrist. The assassin screams out in pain and swings his sword, using his right hand only, in a Right Diagonal Downwards Cut, to which Minvian Farhan knocks far out of the way and follows up with a Vertical Downwards Cut, killing the assassin instantly.

     Ray catches up with Minvian Farhan. The duo then run in search of the last assassin. A few heartbeats go by, then suddenly they hear a horrible scream of agony. Ray sends a series of Heat Bursts in the direction of the scream. The duo sees something unexpected. They see a tall, dark, human-like figure with long claws choking the life out of the last assassin. This dark figure turns to face the duo. Ray examines its features. It is dressed like a warrior, but Ray recognises not its uniform. It wears a red sleeveless thick canvas shirt, which has epaulettes on its shoulder straps. The epaulettes have shiny, metallic trims along their outlines and four shiny stars embroidered on each of them. A round cap made of wolf’s fur wraps around its head. Its pants are red canvas bloused into black leather boots. Its face is almost human like, except for the pale greyish skin, the slit in its forehead and its crimson eyes.

     The creature flexes its pale and greyish muscular arms. Its leathery wings fold neatly at its back.

     “Elementhar, please allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Deathclaw. It is an honour to finally meet you, face to face. I have followed your progress for a long time. You have killed many of my kind. You are a worthy adversary. But I am not here to fight you tonight. You and your friend may walk away,” says the demon as it extracts a cloth-wrapped rectangular object from the dead assassin’s body.

     Ray feels confused. Why did the demon kill the assassin
?
Why does the demon want the cloth-wrapped object
?
What
is
the object
?
Ray is not sure, but feels that it could be a small book of some kind.

     “Demon _ you are of this and your kind know not the meaning of honour. Book _ of this, what does a demon need it for
?
” asks Ray.

     “That is none of your business, Elementhar Iddell
!
” replies Lord Deathclaw as it throws the dead body of the assassin as if it is a rag doll and keeps the object in one of the many pockets of its shirt.

     “Go to hell
!
” shouts Minvian Farhan as he lunges forward to stab the demon.

     Lord Deathclaw parries Minvian Farhan’s thrust with its own sword, which was a curved, jagged and evil-looking blade; and slaps him with its free hand, sending him sprawling to the ground. Ray thrusts his fingers forward and sends a Heat Burst towards Lord Deathclaw. In a casual swing, the demon’s sword makes contact with the sphere of flames and absorbs it completely.

     “Sword _ yours of it is a Sorcerised Item
!
Possible _ it is not of this, for only Elementhars are able to create such an item, so how is it that you have one in your possession, demon
?
” says Ray, feeling shocked and surprised.

     “Ah
!
Elementhar Iddell, as how you have killed
many
of
my
kind, so have I killed
many
of
your
kind; and I have taken possession of their belongings,” explains Lord Deathclaw.

     Suddenly, an Airblade cuts into the neck of the demon, causing it to scream in pain. Minvian Farhan lets out a shout of triumph, for it is he who had retrieved the Airblade from the body of the last assassin and sent it flying at the demon. To Ray and Minvian Farhan’s surprise, Lord Deathclaw casually pulls the Airblade out from its neck and the wound seals into a black clot within moments.

     “The benefits of being of my kind,” explains the demon.

     Ray is at a lost. As long as Lord Deathclaw has the sorcerised sword, no spell of Ray’s can harm it. And Minvian Farhan’s effort proves that the demon cannot be harmed by common weapons. But before Ray can formulate a plan, Minvian Farhan yells and charges at the demon again. ‘No
!
’ is all Ray has the chance to say as a Dark Orb bursts forth from the slit on Lord Deathclaw’s forehead and slam into Minvian Farhan’s chest, and sends him flying five paces backwards.

     “Soldiers
!
Tssk
!
Tssk
!
Brave, but stupid
!
At least you Elementhars do not underestimate the supremacy of demons. Anyway, I bid you farewell, Elementhar Iddell,” says Lord Deathclaw as it bowed, spread out its leathery wings and flies off into the dark sky above.

     Ray is left standing dumbfounded. He carelessly drops Minvian Farhan’s dagger onto the ground. He shakes his head… and admits defeat
!

     Ray took a few slow steps to where Minvian Farhan lay. The Royal Guard looked at peace. If not for the gaping hole in his breastplate, he looked like he was sleeping. Moments later, a river of Royal Guards arrived. The convian-in-charge said nothing. He asked no questions. He and his subordinates bowed to their dead superior and then bore the minvian’s body back to the palace. Ray followed behind like a dazed, confused fool. That was how he felt like, anyway.

     It was morning, but it looked like twilight. The heavy rain had not relented since midnight. Ray sat down on his balcony, looking out at the gloomy sky. There was a knock on the door.

     “Enter
!
” he said.

     The door opened and Prince Eagle Patrum entered the room. Ray was surprised to see the prince and made a motion to get up, but the prince raised a hand to stop him. The prince then pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ray.

     “I read the reports. You did the best you could. Minvian Farhan was a good soldier. He was a true patriot. He never gave up, even when the situation seemed hopeless. His family will be arriving this evening and we shall be conducting his funeral tomorrow morning. It is the only thing that we can do for him,” said Prince Patrum.

     Ray sat silent, but nodded his head.

     “Do demons normally have Sorcerised Items
?
” asked the prince.

     “No. Sorcerised Items _ demons are not suppose to have of these, for only a highly skilled Elementhar knows how to create them, and no one else,” answered Ray.

     “Can a demon use Sorcerised Items
?
” asked Prince Patrum.

     “No. Sorcerised Items _ to use of these, one must have some basic skills in Elemental Sorcery to activate the items, otherwise they would not work,” answered Ray.

     Now Prince Patrum was beginning to see what really troubled Ray. It was not about Minvian Farhan’s death. Ray was a seasoned Elementhar and had seen more than his fair share of death. It was about the Sorcerised Item that Lord Deathclaw had, and more importantly, could use.

     “An Elementhar taught Lord Deathclaw some basic Elemental Sorcery, did he not
?
” concluded the prince.

     “Yes,” confirmed Ray.

     This conclusion was mind-blowing to the both of them. Prince Patrum was stunned, probably just as much as Ray was.

     “Do you think that the demon took the Sorcerised Item from an Elementhar whom it had killed
?
” asked the prince, although he could guess the answer.

     “No
!
Sword _ its of it was too sinister looking for any Elementhar to ever have. Sword _ its of it was its own and an Elementhar had sorcerised it,” answered Ray.

     Prince Patrum shook his head in disbelief. How could this have happened
?
Who could have done such an unimaginable thing as this
?

     “We have searched the entire palace. We have conducted interviews throughout the night. No one is missing any sort of book. What book do you think it was that the demon took
?
” he asked.

     “Know _ I do not of this, nor do I know of its contents; but it was important enough for the demon to kill for. Lord Deathclaw _ of it, it is the first demon I have encountered who kills for a strategic reason instead of the need to feed. Development _ this is a strange and alarming one of this, for it means that they are more intelligent than what we thought was possible,” answered Ray.

     Ray and Prince Patrum sat silent for a while. Both men were in deep thought. They were deeply troubled by this development. But the prince was also seeing an opportunity he was hoping to take advantage of.

     “Men and swords are familiar to us, Elementhar Iddell. Arrows, poisons and even crushing boulders from catapults are familiar to us. But how do we handle this
?
Demons with Sorcerised Items
!
Rogue, traitorous Elementhars helping demons
!
Teach us, Elementhar Iddell. Join us and teach us how to deal with this threat
!
I have got a feeling we will be seeing more of Lord Deathclaw. What do the military do when we encounter it next
?
How can we deal with it without your help
?
” reasoned Prince Patrum.

     Ray sat silent. Externally, he looked calm. But internally, he was in turmoil. There were so many factors to consider. He needed to do the right thing, but what was right
?
On one hand, the Fourth Law of Elementhar Administration clearly stated that he should remain apolitical, therefore he should be as uninvolved with the government as possible. On the other hand, he needed to hunt down the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan and kill Lord Deathclaw, and both these purposes would be better served if he collaborated with the government.

     Ray had always realised that hunting down the assassins on his own was beyond his capabilities. And to find out that there was a demon out there who had a Sorcerised Item and a rogue Elementhar helping it, somehow, it would be self-defeating if he did not join the government.    

     “Help _ I shall do of this to you. Train _ I shall do of this to your soldiers, but only if you promise that you will do only what is best for Free Falls, and that you will do your utmost best to protect and take care of its people,” agreed Ray finally.

     “I accept your help with great gratitude, Elementhar Iddell. And I give you my word and thus my bond that I shall do what is best for Free Falls and its people. Tell me what are the facilities you require and I shall arrange it,” said Prince Eagle Patrum.

     “Require _ of this, I do of barracks, an administration building, a meditation hall, some open space similar to an archery range, a military liaison officer and 300 odd of your best men and women,” said Ray.