I was looking around the net and found a story based on minecraft and found that it was very interesting and sad, but it's fan made. Just remember this is PG rating(my opinion) as it has violence so yeah I'll just copy and paste it but I hope you guys like it coz I liked it Blood and the Ashes I Anguish Chapters : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Prologue Spike walked through the wasteland. Around him was cracked ground and infinite plains, filled only with ragged rocks.Spike has already covered a mile without a single piece of a meal, or a single drop of water to nourish him. But now, Spike felt like he was on his limit. His lips were cracked, and his whole body felt stiff. He stumbled on a rock, as he fell to his knees. Cursing out loudly, he lied against the burning, hot rock. His skin ached, but he didn't care. He didn't seem to care about anything after that horrible day... He took out his canteen. He unscrambled the cap, unleashing what he would thought would be a purifying stream of water. But fortune didn't smile at him. Instead, she spited at Spike's face. All what came out of the canteen, was but a single drop. "Single damn drop" Spike quietly said in vain. It all could have been different. But it wasn't, and he could do nothing to change it. Therefore, he wouldn't care. It was all over for him. He closed his eyes. The hot rock burned at his skin. He wouldn't move. He thought about ending it right now. He couldn't even answer himself. He stared to think of his past... his past before that bloody day happened... top ^ Chapter 1 My name is Constantine. I was in my hut, elevated from ground. Rather humble but comforting, it had a clean-made table out of wood, a rough chair what I pieced together while the village was first settling in, and my bed with my pillows, made out of wool. There was no need of sheets, since the air was always warm even at night. I sat back at my chair, sighing with relax. I lived at the big village (or rather a small town) of Goodswill. As the name suggested, it was a very safe place, and unlike many other villages and towns, it was bound to be successful from start. Goodswill was build with an architectural order. It was build to form a circle, with each but eight of the houses having two layers. The eight one-leveled houses were the guard houses, and they ensured what the town could defend itself, even being attacked from all sides. The regular houses at the ground level were shops and other places of business, at which, when day reigned, life and motion was bound. But at night, if the houses would be attacked, and if the defenses of the guard houses would be broken, the villagers would be all at the upper levels, shooting cascades of arrows down at the attackers. There were only two ways to get to the upper level: two staircases in the middle of the village, which connected the ground to a sky-bridge. Inside the houses had no other connections between the ground and the upper levels. Also, even at night the village was filled with campfires and torches, ensuring what only the most curious and dumbest beasts would dare to come near the place. An addition to that, the guards were equipped with iron swords, and the finest quality leather armor, and all of the civilians knew how to shoot a bow. I smiled, thinking of how nothing can stop our life in here, and how our defenses were unbreakable. The life here was good. I was an adventurer at the town, meaning I had the standard guard equipment, and my regular duties are to explore the surroundings and support the guards and miners then needed. Of course, in my duties I had a couple of close ones, but nether less the life here was almost perfect. There were always people to talk to, like Derek - the local blacksmith or Elza the milkmaid. We knew each other perfectly, and the conflicts were at their minimum - the worst what could happened was Brom hitting Edward across the face with a stool, while at the bar drunk. It was still dark outside, but I did not feel like sleeping. I emptied the glass of milk into myself, and exited my hut for a walk. top ^ Chapter 2 As I exited the hut, I immediately felt the presence of a fresh mountain air. I inhaled deeply, slowly exhaling. Nature was the thing I loved the most. Even the natural cubeness of my world couldn't overcome the magnificence of steep cliffs, the beauty of the clear blue sky, and the grace of the streams and rivers. Since the village was located in between of hills and cliffs, it was easy just to take a look around and see the wonders of nature. I was slowly walking through the sky bridge. I smiled as I remembered what I have helped building the bridge with my own hands. Being the part of the original settlers, I came here with Derek the blacksmith, from far away, the city Shoresburry. We had to make a difficult trek across the eastern plains, but it was worth it. On our way there, we encountered lots of other settlers, and decided to make the village right here. I slowly strolled down the stairs. Everywhere the lights were out - everyone has already went to the upper levels for sleep. Only little hammering was heard from the blacksmith shop. I chuckled - Derek was sort of a workaholic. "So you aren't sleeping too, huh?" I turned around seeing Brom standing against Elizabeth's General Store. "Yes, Brom. Just taking a relaxed walk. What are you up to?" Brom was a 40 year old lumberjack. One time he was a miner, but he fell down a shaft after the creeper's explosion and damaged his leg. Now, he can only walk by dragging it after him. The incident hurt him much, and so sometimes you can see him dumping his misery in wine. He likes wearing his old, dirty miner tunic, and sometimes he might look menacing. Fortunately, he is a good man at heart, and can give some damn good advice. "Aye, just was thinking where this village is going." Brom grinned, and snorted " Y'know, the village is just here, and I'm collecting wood, someone's selling something in a shop... its boring. But then, there are miners. They live with thrill of finding diamonds under the huge layers stone. And there are adventurers like you... now, let me ask you this: Where are our lives going in this village? And there are yours?" I understood what he was talking about. Brom was a man of adventure and he hated boring life of a lumberjack, but chopping wood was closest he could do to grinding stone. He also never understood the shop-keepers. Why sit all day flat on their arses and offer goods to people who barely care? And, of course he envied me and others - we had a life filled with adventure and thrills. I felt sad for Brom. " Brom... I understand what for you the life in this village is going to come to nothing, simply because you are doing something you hate... but look. There are things what change your life to the best. Have you ever... thought of women? "Women?" Brom raised his eyebrow "Who to the hell would choose me as a pig I am?" "Ahh, Brom. You and your self criticism," I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Forget it. Just stop th..." A loud "BAM" erupted at the distance. top ^ Chapter 3 Just one second passed, but Goodswill changed. Guards darted out of their guardhouses, villagers jumped out of their beds, and even Derek peeked out of his smithy. "Bloody hell..." I looked up to see Joe, the mayor stumble out of his house above me, and letting out a string of curses. Meanwhile, all the villagers were soon at the ground level. "It sounded like it came from the cliffs to the west!" "It's the invasion!" "Damned creepers found us!" It was all chaos. Everyone was busy screaming over each other in panic. Mayor was just standing there, sleepily, having no power to scream at the crowd so they could shut their jaws. I glanced at Brom. He looked surprised. I wouldn't blame him. I turned to see Edward scratching his chin. He, for one was actually thinking. I ran up to him. "Edward, what do you think?" I gave him a questioning glance so he could understand what I want the information now. Edward is someone you could call a "shady character" I would guess. He isn't very bright, and only talks then he has too. Seeing him smile is like seeing Derek slacking off. I remember how I met him. He was sitting on a rock, while our small caravan made its way through the plains. We first thought he was a madman. Then I asked him if he was alright, he asked me why the bloody hell I care. Then I proposed what he should join our trek, and he started thinking. He told us what then he builds his mind, he will find us. How could a footman catch-up to a caravan of horses? We continued moving... just to see Edward catch up to us next day. "Hail. I just thought... Vera, she went to the west..." Edward was still in his thinking process. "Why the hell didn't you say that to the mayor?!?" Vera was the second adventurer, like me. She always had a mind full of clever ideas, and shared many of her thoughts with her only colleague, me. Also, she was the most beautiful woman of Goodswill, having a extremely black hair, a albino-white skin, small but elegantly curved nose, and graceful legs. You would think many already tried to establish romantic relationship to her, but Goodswill, even being a safe place it is, had tons of problems, so not much people would put winning her heart over solving those problems. If Vera is in trouble... well, then its going to be my duty to help her. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to win her either, but she is a damn good companion. I think what she has the best aim in this village. "It's just... damnit. She told me she found some... burned structure made out of obsidian there... blast this! If we don't act right now she might be in some trouble... but damn, Constantine, listen! You do understand that structure might be dangerous? I we go now, half of the village might get destroyed by the same thing what probably hurt Vera..." Edward was in a state I never seen him in before... It's like he actually cared about someone in his life. I guess the true feelings show right then something bad like this happens. I grabbed Edward by the shoulder. "Look... if its really dangerous we will have to investigate anyways! Lets go report to the mayor immediately!" "I guess you're right... damn... let's go." We ran through the crowd, pushing away various villagers. We have finally reached the mayor who just begun trying to talk sense into this chaotic crowd.We explained the situation to him. Joe was angry - if we would lose Vera, that would mean we would lose a useful member of Goodswill. After a half an hour, he made an order: Edward, I, himself and 4 guards would go to the direction of the blast. We set out, carrying bandages, healing powder and some provision in case if Vera really needs help. There were couple of zombies and spiders in the way, but they were shot down by the bows we carried. Then we finally stopped, we saw a huge arch made out of obsidian near a huge smoking crater. And at the center of the crater was Vera's lifeless body. top ^ Chapter 4 The smell was not helping the situation. The stench in the air was of a mixture of blood and ashes. Blood and Ashes... I darted towards the center of the crater. I picked her up, and felt what she was still breathing. "Get some medicine here, damn you!" I screamed at Joe and Edward. Hopefully that will speed them up. One of the guards helped me take off her leather armor. Underneath was the tunic, but it was enough. We could already see the wounds. Her left side was burned badly, her right hand was all bruised and her left leg bore a massive jagged scar. I reached out and carefully touched it. Not very deep, but damn it is long. I stood up and turned around. In a front of me were Edward and Joe, already with the medical supplies. Joe gave me a questioning look and asked "How's she?" "It's bad... she isn't bleeding too heavily, but the wound needs to be stitched, after the medicine is applied," I spoke with a grim shade in my voice "Also, the burns. They probably need to be treated with some kind of a salve; Which we don't have. And, her right hand is probably broken, too. " Edward already sat down next to Vera and started treating the wound. "How did she... what happened to her?" Joe seemed really worried. I took a look around. Aha. The area was surrounded by small cliffs. The obsidian arch was right below one. I looked up and saw another, smaller crater on a top of the hill. Also, some blood on the face of the said cliff. Also, several long sticks, down here, near the obsidian arch. A picture started to appear into my mind: Vera set an explosive in a front of the obsidian arch. She climbed up the cliff, and shot an arrow from her bow to trigger an explosive, but as she just shot an arrow, a creeper exploded behind her. She let go of her bow, which fell down and broke. As she fell, her leg hit against the sharp rock on a face of a cliff, and that's where the scar comes in. Then she fell, she rolled into the crater... the burns might be either because of a creeper explosion or the TNT charges... "BASTARD SON OF A..." I turned and saw a young guard, Lloyd, being grabbed from behind by a zombie. Edward quickly drew his small hand crossbow and shot at the zombies head. Pieces of brain and skull shot out of the punctured rotten head, creating a bloody cascade over Lloyd. The young guard breathed heavily and slowly sat on the floor. Other guard ran up to him to console him. "Nice aim" I complimented Edward. I received a stiff nod. I explained my theory to Joe. He said it was rather believable. "Edward, come here," I wanted to investigate the structure "Do you think that's the thing she was talking about?" "I'm almost positively sure," He walked up to it, putting the hand on the surface "this definitely looks like obsidian." "Well, then we will have to ask Vera... when she recovers" I really didn't wanted to say "if". I think it we spent about a hour collecting the our things and making a make shift stretcher. Then we set out, the dawn was breaking. top ^ Chapter 5 We begun to make our way back to Goodswill. It seemed somewhat more optimistic on our way back - probably because seeing skeletons burn at the distance is always a good sign. Sometimes Vera would open her mouth and groan, but never open her eyes. We would just stop and pour some water into her mouth. After some time, her skin seemed less pale and she inhaled more deeply. Once we finally reached the town, all the guards and villagers came out and started cheering for us. I smiled. It's just a damn good thing what everything ended for the better. As I thought, Joe seemed concerned about the salve. "I will tell Angela to prepare the salve." He said as we passed near the Alchemy shop. Angela had a great knowledge of herbs and roots. She is about 30, but already seen lots of things going on in her life. She made various potions and powders for both treating wounds and eliminating diseases. Also, she always seemed to be sort of a town doctor - she would fix some wounded soldiers up if she had to. After we settled Vera into Angela's house, I retreated back to my hut for some wine. I just realized what I did not sleep for practically the whole night, and so after I finished with the drink, I collapsed on a bed almost instantly. ~~~~~ It was 2 days now what we investigated the source of the explosion and got Vera out of there. Today the mayor came in, telling me what she opened her eyes. I put my clothes on and went to Angela's house. Immediately as I came in, I was blasted away by the stench of medicine. Huge amounts of roots and dried leafs were hanging from the ceiling of the hut. Because of the powerful smell, my eyes started to develop tears. "Come now, don't be a big baby!" For a reason I don't understand, Joe decided to make a rather idiotic comment. "You don't want Vera to see you like that, no?" Now, if Joe wouldn't be Joe the mayor, at this very moment he could have become Joe the one-dead-eye. But instead, the most I could do is to give him a raised eyebrow and continue walking. "Here you are!" I recognized Angela's voice "Came to see your colleague?" "And a valuable dependant!" Mayor spoke up for me. "Well, then, she is at the door on the left side." Angela gave us a smile before disappearing into the room on the right. We walked into Vera's small quarters. She was reading a book, and didn't even see us come in. "Looks like you aren't in mood of seeing visitors, are you?" I said it with a slight chuckle. She looked up at us, smiling. "No, not at all," She said with her melodically soft voice. "In fact, I really wanted to see you" "Nice to hear that. How's your wounds?" Joe asked. "Well, I don't remember much of them, since I were unconscious, but I can move my arms fine, ... I still can see the burns though. They don't hurt. And I appear to have a scar on my leg." "Well, I am surprised it healed that quickly. Did Edward see you?" I was surprised to not see him here. "Aye, he came in a hour before you two did... you know him, he wakes up as early as the guards do, he was already dresse..." Derek ran in, excused himself, and showed Joe a note. "Sorry. Duties. See you" he said, before walking out of the room. This was good. A good time to ask Vera about the obsidian gate. I sat on an edge of Vera's bed. "Vera... that gate. The obsidian arch. What the hell was it?" "Oh, that bloody thing... well, that was nothing but an attempt to make an experiment. I wanted to make sure what the stuff is really obsidian. So, I set up some dynamite near the gate, to see if it would hold... did it?" "Aye. That thing didn't even get a scratch. Who build it anyways? And what is the purpose?" "I don't know... I don't really want to talk about the thing anyways..." " I see. Also..." I wanted to ask her something else " I don't want to sound...jealous, but... why exactly did you only tell Edward about the arch?" "Oh, that!" She started laughing "you see... even you might have told someone. I needed someone who can tell the folks later, in case if trouble happens. And of course, someone who wouldn't tell anyone else unless its needed. I didn't want anyone being harmed by the gate in any way." "I see. Well, I hope Angela takes a good care of you." "Hope I will be in action soon." I smiled to her, and closed the door. As I was walking on the sky bridge I though about Angela. She made a burn-treating salve in just three hours, and made such a huge wound become a scar in less then two days! Suddenly, I stopped where I was, frozen with fear. Angela. A potential doctor. Why the hell didn't Joe ordered Angela to come with us? top ^ Chapter 6 Alright. It is all alright. Simple mistake. Besides, he was sleepy... But damn. Thirty minutes of thinking? No. This can't be right... My brain erupted with hundreds of different possibilities. Could he mean me or Vera harm? He still told us to pack the medicine... My head ached for answers. I should tell this to someone... but whom? It's better to keep Vera out of this, I shouldn't load her up with all of those things, especially then she is in the this state. But damn, I should let all of this out. This is way too strange... Brom. Derek might be more understanding, but he might tell someone. Edward wouldn't listen. Elza is too simple for all of this...Yes Brom would be an ideal choice. I hurried down the staircase. "Constantine!" I spun around. Derek. "Why in such a hurry?" "Just want to talk to a friend. How are your projects?" I walked up to him and hugged the big, sweaty blacksmith. I remembered the times when we decided we should move out of Shoresburry. Good times. "Ha! There are none. All the guards ask are the standards - iron swords! Made tons of those past those few years" He said, lifting me up like a teddy bear. "Indeed you have! And you're good at it too," I said, and nervously looked down "Erm... put me down now, will you?" "Sure. Come back every-once in a while, we can talk over a drink" "Aye. See you Derek" I run out of the village, climbed a hill, and started looking around if I could find Brom. To the north I saw the small mine, to the south a great lake. Here he was, cutting down trees with his handy hatchet, right near the mines. After a short 20 minute walk I reached him. He was sitting on a stump of a tree he just cut down. He glanced at me. "So, you came to visit old Brom, huh?" "Yes. I have something to tell you, actually..." I have explained it all to Brom. Then I finished, he took out the canteen from his pocket and drunk from it. "Well, there's something in this, kid. Something in this mess. But I suggest you don't stick yourself into it." "Brom, please, don't act like I am a child just because I am sixteen years younger then you. "Well...look, I'm sorry. I know what you are worried about yourself and the girl and all. But you are young. You have your life ahead of you. So listen. If you don't want to spoil your reputation in a front of the mayor, or, heavens forbid, even die, then don't investigate further. Just remember what happened - he didn't send Angela with you, right? So, if he really did it on purpose, trust me, his next action is going to have a connection. If not - it was but a mistake. Do you understand?" I trusted Brom. It indeed sounded like a good thing to do. "Yes, Brom. Thank you," I looked up, at the sky. The sky was orange and blue. It was a beautiful sight of the day coming down, and night taking its reign "It's getting late. We should probably go" Brom nodded. Together we came to Goodswill, and I immediately hurried to my hut to get some sleep. I still have so much questions. top ^ Chapter 7 Next three days were quite uneventful. On the next day, however, I started seeing a new face at the village - Vera, she was finally back. I saw her as soon as I came out from my hut at noon. She was practicing archery, and Edward, Lloyd (who immediately received a knock from one of the guards for slacking off. Poor boy.) and surprisingly even Derek watched her. Of course, I came up to her. "I'm seeing the injuries didn't leave a mark on your aim, did they?" I patted her on her shoulder "Welcome back" "Thanks, Constantine. You know, there's a place I wanted us to scout together." Vera had leather armor on, as always as well as a dagger. She always preferred daggers over swords. "Sure. What's that?" "You see, I was checking how my body feels after the injury, and so I did a test-run by climbing cliffs to north-west. What I saw was pretty bad. I saw smoke coming from the direction where Rockford lies." Rockford is a small town to north-west of here. We sometimes trade, but many natural landslides prevent us from having a direct, safe road to it. But we were in a fairly close proximity from each other, so if anything bad happens to Rockford... it's going to happen to us. "Aye, I understand, it's important. When are we going?" "Right now." She walked up to the practice targets, and picked up the arrows. We left the town almost immediately after that. I always wore my equipment inside the Goodswill. We traveled through cliffs and hills and slowly but truly made our way to Rockford. I never seen Rockford, but Derek told me it was little bigger and less organized then Goodswill. I was eager to find out what happened to the town. We could already see the huge smoke trail. Vera told me what it would take us three quarters of a day to get there, so soon we had to camp by an old method our ancestors used for a quick protection against the night. We would dig out a small room vertically into the ground, seal the entrance, and place a stone at the direction of north, so we won't be clueless of what direction we are facing then we dig ourselves out. As soon as we settled in our small hole we placed torches and some soft sheets so we could sleep on them. Vera always reads before sleeping, so she pulled out a book out of her small bag. I fell asleep almost instantly. At the morning we continued our journey. We came upon a hill, and Vera told me that the village was right after it, and that if we climb the hill, we could see the whole village. We did, and we saw Rockford. Or what was left of it. top ^ Chapter 8 The town of Rockford lied in ruins in a front of our eyes. In the air there was a smell of death and burning. Of blood and ashes. Huge mill was on fire. The church's windows were broken and smeared with blood. We saw a spear sticking out of the ground. It had intestines tied up on to its bloody shaft. Corpses of people were everywhere. We saw a person sitting helpless on the ground, still alive. The problem was what someone let his guts out, and left him to die. This barbaric scene of pillage and murder would make anyone at least twitch. But I saw something what was the most horrible in the whole slaughter. The pile of dead human babies, right at the entrance. My eyes begun to get misty. I'm hearing Vera wept. Then, I saw a shadow. Someone short and slim, with small horns, walking outside of the burning village. More of them. Kobolds. Every one of us knew those creatures. They appeared several thousand years ago, and went far west. They were told to be of barbaric nature, and pillaged many towns and villages. They were weaker then the humans, but their ferocity, speed, and big numbers allowed them to overcome hundreds of towns and even bigger cities. But no one ever thought they were this close to the civilized lands of the east. We had to warn Goodswill. I putted my arm around Vera and said quietly "Come... before they see us!" She nodded her head, her face in tears. I couldn't blame her. We ran back, as fast as we could to Goodswill. We had to stop the same way we did the first day. Vera seemed alright. I gave her some water to wash of her tears, so we went to sleep. At the night I woke up because of the sounds of heavy breathing. I turned and saw Vera with an expression of terrible fright on her face. She had a hysteria, and needed to be consoled. I took some water and poured into, her mouth, so it would wash off the taste of tears which went into her mouth. Then, I took her by the hand. "Look...I won't... We won't let this happen to Goodswill. I promise," I touched her cheek with a side of my hand. "Now, you will need to calm down. I know what it's hard after seeing this... but you have to. You will need your strength for tomorrow. Do you understand?" "Ye...yes" She nod her head. I nodded back, and went to my improvised bed to sleep. I saw her roll up into the extra sheet she brought, and I was glad what we are going to have a peaceful sleep today. top ^ Chapter 9 Next morning we left our hideout too early. A zombie grabbed me by the neck as soon as my head popped out from the hole. I struggled in vain against the grip as he lifted me up, reaching desperately for a sword. A dagger cut an air near my head, stubbing itself into the zombie's eye. It begun to leak, but he didn't seem to mind. What it did though is switched his attention from me to Vera. He threw me by the neck and I landed on my back. He turned to Vera and begun making several steps towards her. She kicked the undead, who fell down, dagger still in his eye. As soon as Vera reached out to take out her dagger, the dawn broke, setting the zombie son of a whore on fire. He vanished, dagger with him. "Thanks!" I called, still on the ground. "No problem... my damn dagger" Vera seemed to be recovered from yesterday. "Don't worry, they are expandable. Derek will quickly make a new one for you!' I stood up and stretched. "Aye. Let's go, partner" We started traveling to Goodswill. I must say I was quite worried what Vera would misunderstand my actions yesterday. She might have thought it was a sign of love, but now what she called me "partner" she understands what I just tried to calm her down. Then we finally reached Goodswill we came straight to Joe to report what we have seen. Then we finished telling him what happened he was in shock. "Blast this!" Joe had a confused and a dumbfounded expression on his face. He sighed. "I will notify the others on the meeting. I will also tell Derek to make some defenses... damn. The whole town... whipped out." After a half of an hour, all the villagers were standing at the center of the village. The mayor spoke up. "Dear citizens of Goodswill! There are grave news to be heard and urgent decisions to be made. Our two best scouts, Constantine and Vera, have found out what the town of Rockford is destroyed by the huge horde of Kobolds." People in the crowd begun to gasp. The mayor raised his arm to silence them. "We cannot relocate. To the north there are dense forests, to the south there is a great lake, and to the east we are going to struggle in the extreme temperatures of the great eastern plains! And so, we shall do our best to resist the horde. Derek will plan the defenses, Angela will take care of medical supplied, and Elizabeth and Elza are in charge of the provision." "Sir, we also must send someone across the plains to warn Shoresburry and the other cities!" Vera spoke up. "Yes, I already have thought of that. Edward! Will you go journey across the plains?" Edward gave a stiff nod. Joe made a right choice - if someone would make it across the plains alone, that would be Edward. "You are going to receive extra provision and supplies. You shall embark at dawn. For now, citizens, go and get a good night's sleep. You will need it for the coming days." Wishing good night to Vera, I went to my hut. After two days in a dirty, earthy hole, my humble cloth bed seemed like a blessing. top ^ Chapter 10 Next day was un-eventful, but the day after that I woke up because of the sound of hammering. I dressed, refreshed myself, and took a peek outside. What I seen was a small segment of a wall made out of cobblestone, with wooden supports and wood spikes underneath the walls. I came down and walked up to the workers. I saw Derek commanding some miners where to put blocks. Right now, the wall only ran about 15 blocks long, but I like how it was build. The spikes were actually in a pit under the wall, so only the most agile enemy could climb the walls without getting the motor nerves in their legs cut. I decided to greet the workers. "Aye, Derek." "Aye! Constantine, welcome!" The big man turned around "do you like our little defense?" "It looks menacing. May I climb it?" "Yes, but be careful. I made an error in the design, so if you walk on the area that's not supported it might not hold your weight!" I climbed the ladder. The wall was tall, about 5 blocks high. Then I climbed, I saw Joe at the other side of the wall, about 10 blocks away from me. He looked like he was inspecting the wall. It was little strange since I don't believe I saw him then I took a look at the wall from my hut. "Nice to see the mayor!" I cried from across the wall, and also waved to him. "Oh, Constantine! Came to see the wall?" He didn't appear to hear me, but he saw my wave. "I like it very much. Derek has golden hands!" "What? I can't hear you!" I smiled. He was about 35, but I never would think he had such a bad hearing. I made several steps towards him before I heard a "CRACK" "Damnit, I told you to be careful!" But it was too late. Only a small section of the wall slide off, but I lost my balance. "CONSTANTINE!" It was the last thing I heard before I fell onto the spikes. top ^ Chapter 11 I slowly opened my eyes. Around me was a simple wooden room. Am I in Goodswill? I sniffed the air. Yes, the terrible stench of dried grass. I am probably at Angela's. My vision is little blurred. I tried to wink several times. It Didn't help. I guess I am still weak. Tried to lift myself to see the room... and felt sharp pain in my left arm. I let out a scream of pain and dropped myself to my original position on a bed. "Hey, don't hurt yourself, little one." An unknown voice said. Then I saw some... face staring at me at the corner of the room. It had 6 strange eyes, a face filled with brown fur, and it was standing about 12 feet tall. I screamed, and lost conscience because of fright. ~~~~~ Then I woke up, the monster was gone. Instead, I clearly saw Angela's face. She smiled. "Finally! You woke up." "I... where is it? Where is that thing?" I tried to lift myself up but felt pain. Not the sharp one like before, but still quite sensible. I groaned. "Shh! Don't move, you don't want to rip the stitches. And what "thing" are you talking about?" "Tall... brown fur..." Angela started thinking with a rather dumbfounded expression. Then she looked like she thought of something and started laughing. "What?" I didn't understand. "Hahaha... it was... it was Derek!" "Derek?!?" "Of course it was, stupid! You were weak, and your vision was splitting things into 3!" "But... he was huge!" "Then one is weak, and lying down and someone is standing right near him, wouldn't one think he is huge?" It took one second to soak all the information in, before I started laughing. Wait a second, what about my arm? "Angela... why is my arm hurt?" "Oh, you pierced it on the spike. You were lucky what your arm landed flat on it - otherwise the spike would've pull your skin and tear your arm apart." "How long will it take it to heal completely? And for how much time was I out even?" "It would take nearly the whole week for it to heal completely. I have to make sure the stitches won't rip, or you will be in trouble. And you've been out for good 2 days. Or, rather bad 2 days. Angela filled me in on what happened while I was out. The wall is one-third ready, and Vera spended some time with some guards to spy on Kobolds. Apparently, for now they are staying inside the ruins of Rockford. After some time, I felt sleepy and Angela applied new badges on my arm, and I fell asleep. ~~~~~ 5 days passed, and many people started coming in. Elza kept on telling me of how Lloyd is cute, Vera sharing news about Kobolds, and Derek apologizing for the accident. One time Brom came in, and said "This is your first major injury, kid. But it's going to heal soon, so you might as well be proud of it. Your arm was impaled, right? Well, then. Wear your new name proudly: Spike. Spike. This then they started calling me Spike. Also, on the 6th day, Vera came again. She had some important news. Kobolds started being quite noisy. Both I and Vera were clueless. Why so much commotion today? If they want to advance, then why they started today? Netherless, it was my seventh day on the bed. I was happy, knowing what soon Angela would come in and remove the bandage. But, instead I got a scream from the outside: "THEY ARE COMING!" top ^ Chapter 12 I jumped out of my bed. I looked through the room in a search of a drawer or a chest. Here it was: a wardrobe. I opened it, and put my armor on. I took my bow and my sword and darted out of the room. I sprinted outside, through what looked like oceans of dried roots. Finally, I found a door which I opened. I looked around. Guards, Vera, Brom and Derek (last two were armed with an axe and a war-hammer respectively) were on the walls, while the rest of the villagers were on the sky-bridge, their bows drawn. I ran to the north gates, and stood next to Vera. She saw me and nodded, saying "Good to have you back" with a grave voice. In a front of the gates were hundreds of kobolds, armed with sickles (very handy for a kobold, since it was both short and light) and even javelins. One of them stood in a front of the others. He seemed really old because he walked slowly, and because he was supported by another kobold. The old kobold carried a staff in one hand and a round object in the other. I looked around. The archers were taking aim, but didn't seem to be about to shoot yet. Alright then. We can wait. Finally, then the old kobold walked to about 5 blocks in a front of the gates, he started talking. "You underessstimated usss, human. We already sssurrounded the territoriesss around your village. From eassst, too." He threw the round object in a front of him, letting it roll. The object was a severed human head. Edward's head. "Sick bastards..." Vera whispered beside me. Everyone of us looked at the kobolds with hatred. We can't wait. "FIRE!" A huge cascade of arrows flied up in the air, pinning the kobolds behind the old one down to the ground. I didn't understand why, but I found myself maniacally laughing. I guess I just wanted the damn bastards to die. But I understood one thing. That old one, he can get something he will remember for the rest of his existence. "TAKE THE ONE AT THE FRONT ALIVE" I shouted, and everyone cheered. Vera pierced the lung of the kobold helping the old one with an arrow. The kobold grinned, and made strange gestures at the air. At one second, nothing happened. But then... our bows were set on fire. We quickly threw the fiery sticks away. All of us who were on walls darted out of the gates to face the enemy in brutal melee combat. 40 guards, myself, Vera, Brom and Derek charged in against hundreds of kobolds. I stumbled upon the old kobold. With one move I hit him with the pummel of my sword, and then I threw him at the gates. Hopefully someone will pick him up. I want to have some time with that bastard. We continued to charge in, but the front layer of kobolds ducked down, letting their brothers with javelins throw them. In our first row all 19 guards had a shield to protect themselves. But Derek wasn't a guard. We jumped at kobolds, slicing and slashing everywhere. We saw their devilish red bodies everywhere, and we slashed at them as fast and as strong as we could. It was chaos. I couldn't even tell where I was anymore. To the left of me I saw Vera dual wielding a dagger and a sword, to chop of the head of one, and automatically stub the other between the ribs. I covered her, chopping at the little devil behind her. His head and upper body were split into two dangling segments . To the right I saw Brom, back to back with a guard, chopping left and right with his axe. He didn't see how a tall kobold slashed the guard's neck and then climbed him, stubbing Brom in the shoulder with a sickle. I back-stubbed him, letting the stream of curses out. I made a step to the right. If they want to kill Brom, they will have to come through me. Two of the kobolds jumped at me. I parried one, and dodged another, grabbing him in mid-air with an empty hand and slamming him into the ground. I slashed at the second one's legs, and then at his hand, sending the severed part to sail in an ark. Then I finished off the one at the ground. I saw Brom stand up and hold his shoulder. I looked around: kobolds were too busy fighting, so they wouldn't have bother Brom. "Brom, go the the city. Your wounded. Ask Angela to help you." "I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE" roared Brom. "Damnit, Brom! Look... that old bastard who killed Edward. I don't want him to escape. Do you understand?" Brom grinned and ran to the gates. That will take care of him and the kobold. Somewhere I saw a guard die, so I took his spot. In a front of me were a group of four kobolds. I jumped at one, slicing him in half. I leg sweeped two other ones, and stubbed the fourth one at the groin. The whole battle was like this. Chaotic, confusing, it was more like a desperate struggle. It was the kobolds who underestimated us. They underestimated the human's sense of redemption. They thought they were ferocious. We showed them just how we can be barbaric if they slaughter someone we loved. I didn't know how much time passed. It was just all over at some point. At some point, both sides just lowered their weapons and look at the eyes of their enemies. One of kobolds then stepped forward. He spoke "I am the son of the great elder, Rahjuu. He wasss old, so I knew you would kill him. He didn't lisssten. But I care not if it wasss hisss fault. Tomorrow we shhhall ssslaughter you like the animalsss you are." We didn't answer. We didn't attack him. We were just breathing heavily. We were too tired to even move and I was surprised none of us collapsed because of simple standing. Kobolds left. I looked around, counting the people who survived. 15 guards, myself, Vera, and Brom back at Goodswill... Rest in peace Derek. I will never forget you. I wanted to cry, but I was too tired too. Lloyd, who was with us, was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, shaking. He was sitting in the pile of kobold intestines. I felt sad for him. I felt sad for all of those 26 souls that were lost today. I looked at Vera. Her un-emotional but tough gaze met mine. We didn't say anything. As all of us came back to the gates we never said anything to each other. But we knew one thing. Tomorrow we are all going to die. Overrun by those little damn demons. I spitted to the ground. Then we passed the gates we found everyone standing in the center of the village. They formed a circle. In the center was the kobold elder. His hands were tight up. I walked through the crowd. The old kobold probably was scared, seeing my eyes burning with hate. I took out my sword, with kobold blood smeared on it. I carefully punctured an artery on Kobold's foot. He yelped. "Why?" He didn't understand so I twisted the tip of the blade in the cut I just made. "Speak" top ^ Chapter 13 The Story of the Kobold Elder: Our raccce dessscccended from the world of Nether. For thousssandsss of yearsss we would worshhhip the great White Onesss, the overlordsss of the nether. Every month we would sssend them a sssacrificcce of our brethren. We did that, until 5 thousssand yearsss ago. A foolishhh elder named Razziekiel' disssressspected the great White Onesss, and refusssed to give them sssacrificeee. Angry, the great White Onesss ssstarted a massssacre on our raccce. Ssso, the Kobold councccil used their magic to conjure obsssidian. It wasss a hard material so they used their magic again, thisss time to pieccce together the great gate, which we usssed to essscape the wrath of the great White Onesss. We appeared out of the portal, in a location wessst of here. You have probably found it, you humansss are too ignorant and foolishhh. Anywaysss, we traveled far wessst, to sssettle there. It wasss not long before our eldersss came with a plan. We wanted to shhhow the great White Onesss what we are not ussselesss, and ssso we decccided to gather out forccces and massssacre the large part of the humansss, asss a sssacrificcce. We alssso needed to find our firssst, original gate. A gate to nether-world build by a human isss no ussse to usss - only a portal build with the original kobold magic can let a kobold through. And we lossst the ssspell needed to bind the portal ssso we could not make another one. Thisss isss why we ssstarted making our way here. We are far from finishhhed. All the sssacrificcces we skipped mean we have to kill 2346 more humansss. Even if you kill me, nothing can stop the horde. Nothing. top ^ Chapter 14 The Kobold stopped talking. I hit him on the head so he will lose his conscience. I cleaned my sword against the grass. It all made sense now... well, some of it. "He told us everything. Let's kill him." Brom's voice ripped me away from my thoughts. Joe was just standing there, thinking. "What are you waiting for?" Brom started growing impatient. Suddenly, I had a thought. I started whispering into the mayor's ear. After I was done, Joe said "We will let him live." "What?!?" Brom cried. "We will die anyway. They think the elder is dead, but then they see him they will try to rescue him. And be blown to pieces with a trap" I explained. "Ghh... I would've just killed him now... for the ones he killed." Brom seemed upset. We tied the Kobold elder inside the southern guard house, and told Lloyd to guard him. We set up a dynamite trap. If anything steps on a pressure plate near the pole, the whole guard house is going to hell. Lloyd didn't seem to mind - even the poor boy knew what tomorrow, we are going to die. After this, it was already dusk and so everyone went to their houses. Brom was just sitting outside, out in the fresh air, drunk. I was about to go sleep too, then Joe called me to his house. Then I stepped inside, I saw him weeping. "Joe? What the hell?" Our mayor was a strong person. He was a person least expected to cry. "Constantine... or is it Spike now?" His voice was shaking "Listen. I am sorry. I will tell you something. Please just listen. Alright?" I nodded. "I left Shoresburry because of my wife. She ran off with some adventurer. She needed a... "colorful" life. Unfortunately it didn't... work out for her. She died, together with him, killed by a skeleton. After that incident I... decided to start a new life. But this incident left a big impact. From time to time I had the outbursts of aggression towards the people...the people like you. I'm sorry. It was I who followed and pushed Brom down the shaft. And then I couldn't directly oppose any of you... I did everything to prevent your survival" "Angela..."It all came to me now. "Yes. I told you to get supplies, but deep inside me prayed for her to die. Because people like her cause my wife to...die. Also, I knew what that area of the wall was un-supported, so then I saw you walking towards it, I tried to make the situation kill you... Again, those were only short outbreaks of hatred. After they were gone I felt sorry. You know why I didn't visit you after you got your name... Spike? I was in shame. I... just thought I would ask you to forgive me... since tomorrow it's going to be all over for us... I'm sorry." "I forgive you" I putted my hand on his shoulder. I didn't know what else to say. So much things just opened to me now... I just left him there. I decided to stop at the skybridge. I sighed. The nature was still beautiful, even though what surrounded it wasn't. I twitched as I thought of piles of gore outside the village. "Constantine" I recognized the voice at instant. Vera. She called me by my real name. "I want to tell you," Her voice was little worried "I just understood something. Tomorrow, we will be fighting to our death, and at least one of us will be gone forever..." I wanted to say no. To re-assure her. But it was just so damn good to listen to her voice. "I understood what... tomorrow, I won't fight for the village. Not even...not even for myself, you listen? I am going to be fighting for you.... Today I understood what you are the dearest I have." Without saying a world I turned around. Then we kissed. We kissed passionately, under the dark abode filled with beautiful skies. It seemed like an infinity. It was the most complete feeling. For some time, we just didn't care about what's going happen tomorrow. We had each-other. That's what mattered. Then the kiss finally stopped we embraced. It was the love through partnership, through trust. Yet it seemed so unnatural. I guess this is how it all happens. I felt like an egoist there, carrying only about myself and her. But for now, there was one thing I felt was dominant: We have each other. That's all what matters. top ^ Chapter 15 That night, the great Elder Rahjuu had a plan. Humans were foolish. There were spells what were not activated through gestures. Lloyd glanced at the prisoner through the glass in fear. The strange creature's red, warty skin looked menacing. The horns... Rahjuu started chanting: "Aghau-aji-aui-alu Aghu-milo-hjjj." He repeated the phrase two times. Something hit Lloyd from inside. A flash of light, burning in his mind. Suddenly, he felt sad for this strange creature. It was probably hungry right now, and needed water. Rahjuu carefully hit the side of a chair with his tied hands. Then again. Lloyd shivered because of the sudden noise. Was the creature calling him? He carefully opened the door, asking "Wh...what?" The creature answered. It said "W....water...human, pleassse... I need water..." Lloyd's eyes were misty. He felt so sad for the kobold...just dying here. He ran to the storage-house, where they kept TNT, water, and all kinds of supplies. He took a bucket of water and ran back to the kobold. Carefully, not to set out the pressure plates, he brought the bucket of water to the kobold. "Look... I'm going to release your hands, just a little. But don't try anything, alright?" Lloyd weakened the ropes surroundings kobold's hands, and felt a sharp talon striking him in the neck. The kobold cut Lloyd's neck open. Rejoicing, the great Elder Rahjuu stood up. He soon will be re-united with his son. He would teach him to never underestimate the power of the great Elder. But the second he stood on the pressure plate, he understood. He would re-unite with his kin. In hell. A big flash erupted the peaceful night of Goodswill. Villagers came out and saw what happened. They were in even deeper sadness, because of two reasons: Lloyd was dead, and because they couldn't kill any kobolds in the explosion. ~~~~~ Next morning, then I just exited my hut, I knew what soon all hell will break lose. Joe ran into me, and said something what was, ultimately, the reason why are we all doomed. "They brought siege equipment!!!" They wouldn't even give us a chance. top ^ Chapter 16 I could already see it. They had a siege crossbow, and a catapult. This time, the kobolds all had short swords, daggers and even leather armor. And now, they had archers. With short bows and flaming arrows. It was our end. I was looking at this all in disbelief, and then saw the absence of Brom. Everyone else were already at the gate. Except our archers, who were ready to shoot, but not from the sky-bridge, but from their hut's windows. "Where the hell is Brom?" "I don't know... who cares, anyways?" Joe was not upset in anyway. I guess he already accepted his fate. We all accepted it. But for me, and Vera it was the hardest. I walked up near her. At least we can die together. Then the kobolds finally crossed the hill, charged their machines with ammunition, and drew their bows, we saw a figure running out of the bushes. It was Brom, and he had dynamite tied to him. Then there was a flash. I didn't even twitch. The assault crossbow lost one of its huge wheels, and started rolling towards the kobold archers, killing six. The blast took lives of 20 kobolds. And it took the life of Brom. We charged. Just as the last battle, it was nothing but a desperate melee. This time, kobolds were better equipped, and we lost men left and right. I heard an explosion. The catapult probably hit the storage room. Our archers shot at theirs. Our men chopped at their men. But, just like the last time, everything ended abruptly. At the end, Me and Vera were just standing there. All around us, were kobolds, slowly closing in, taking delight from our situation. But then I heard a long whistle. Everyone turned around. On the gates, only one archer stood. He stood in a front of HIS burning village. Joe decided to repay us. He shot an arrow, with a stick of dynamite tied to it, aiming behind the horde. The catapult exploded, sending smoke everywhere. The smoke, which we used to escape. ~~~~~ We ran north-west, evading kobolds in the forest, until we could make a run towards the eastern plains. All we had on us was some basic provision, which we always had then we embarked, but it would run out quickly at the dunes. It didn't matter. We had each other. We finally stopped near the eastern edge of the forest. "I... I did not know that is going to happen" I said, looking straight in her eyes. "He... why?" "What?" "Why did he do it?" She seemed upset. I understand. Joe gave his life for her. For us. I stroke her beautiful hair, and told her about Joe's. She was shocked. I asked her "Do you forgive him?" She said "Yes. He repaid us well." ~~~~~ Then we finally reached the eastern plains, we thought what everything was going to be alright. We would cross the plains, and then we would come and rest in Shoresburry. We would warn them of the kobolds, and then... A flash of light appeared in a front of us, spitting out 8 kobolds. I drew my sword instantly, but one of them put his hand up. "Lisssten, human. I am Rahjuu'sss apprenticcce. He wasssn't the only kobold who possssessssed the art of magic, you ssslivering foolsss! PREPARE TO DIE!" Damnit! The apprentice clapped his hands, and a ball of lighting erupted from his fingers. I closed my eyes, knowing it would hit me. It didn't. Vera collapsed. Next second, five kobolds were on top of her. No. Two of them jumped at me, I saw them in the corner of my eyes. One slashed me across the face with a sickle. I didn't respond. The kobolds striked at Vera while she was on ground. Slash. Slash. Slash no No NO NO NO I roared, throwing my sword at the kobold apprentice. It struck him, and the sand behind him was smeared with his blood. The kobolds turned to me. I grabbed my attackers with my bare hand, crushing their throats. I then took another and bit his neck open. I dodged the blow, and grabbed one by the shoulder, lifting him up and smacking his back against my leg, causing his spine to break. The other two begun running away. I took two sickles from the falling bodies of their brethren and threw it at them. The only kobold alive by this point was the apprentice. My blade in his chest, he was coughing out blood. I walked towards him. He tried to scramble away, but the blade cut his insides, so he fell flat on the ground. I put my hand around his his head. "Is she dead? ANSWER!" He was just coughing out. Damnit. He was useless to me. I jammed his soft skull through the brain, tearing his head apart. Then I looked at Vera. Her sides were gushing out blood. I kneeled near her. Putting my head against her chest I started crying, tearing my own dark hair with both of my hands. For the other people I would be too tired to cry. But not for her. I buried her on the edge of the forest. Under a birch. Epilogue Spike opened his eyes. It took him to remember all of what happened to understand how much he hates kobolds. He had a change of heart. He wouldn't die here, at this god-forsaken wasteland. He will come to Shoresburry, and fight on the side of the king. He will do all of that, just to kill more of those bastards. Spike stood up. Although before, he was ready to die, but the realization made him filled with strength. He would struggle, just so he would kill all kobolds. Spike reached Shoresburry next day. ~~~~~ THE END By: XxCyber_MasterxX