Broken Blades Don't Sing (Tales of Ashkar Book One) (11 page)

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Samantha watched as her men downed their ale and
slammed their steins onto the counter, cheering heartily in
song.

"Another round!" yelled one of them to the
barkeep, and several others joined in.

She supposed the bartender wasn't about to argue
from all the coin he was amassing. Just like all the rest of the
towns, Bellis was a quiet village nestled in the middle of Farrin
Forest. The forest began to the south and continued to stretch
northeast around Nokle Road, and much like her home town, the
villagers lived simple lives.

One general goods shop. One tavern. One
leatherworker. One blacksmith.

One everything.

Each family excelled at a trade, and that's how
they sustained their lives as a small community. Crime was scarce
and the villagers lived relatively safely, yet the rumors of
monsters continued to intensify. The scariest threats most of these
townsfolk had ever seen were bloodthirsty bandits. To entertain
rumors of monsters lent to the notion that boredom was the new
pandemic.

She looked around at her men's joyous faces. In
peaceful times like these, drinking ale and cheering drunkenly were
the only ways to cope with such an uneventful duty. She looked down
at her plate of food and cup of water. The aroma of freshly cooked
meat flooded her senses. Samantha took in a deep breath, sighed,
and forked up a bite. It was delicious—cooked perfectly to a tender
explosion of flavor. Still, her mind wandered to battle. As much as
she cherished life and devoted herself to protect the defenseless,
she yearned for an opportunity to use what she had spent years of
her life learning. Something. Anything.

The door to the tavern swung completely open,
the sound of it slamming against the wall drowning out all other
noise for a brief moment. The tavern suddenly silenced—the cheers
of carefree soldiers vanishing abruptly as they all turned their
attention toward the door. Samantha continued to stare down at her
plate and eat her meal unperturbed.

The figure stepped forward, his armored feet
clinking on the floor.

"Ma’am, may I have a moment with you?" the man
asked, saluting.

Samantha placed her fork on the empty plate and
pushed herself up. "Very well, Sergeant Graf". She returned the
salute as she walked past him and out the door. Once outside, she
looked up to a clear blue sky, and the sun's hot rays bore into her
face. Being fully coated in armor didn't quite help either. She
looked around, watching the townspeople mull about their business.
Children played games and laughed happily. She turned to meet
Graf's stern visage. "Let's find somewhere quiet and with some
shade."

"Yes, ma’am", he said, leading the way outside
of the village toward a collection of trees and bushes behind the
tavern. They stepped into cool, refreshing shade and stood there
momentarily in silence. Samantha glanced around, then crossed her
arms and looked expectantly at Graf. He shifted his gaze
left-to-right, making sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"Ma’am, Scout Haro has not returned for his
regular report on Farrin Forest”, said the Sergeant. “He was due
nearly six hours ago, and the sun will be setting soon."

Samantha shifted her head south to where Nokle
road twisted and turned and eventually gave way to the quiet
forest.

It could have been a wild animal, or a
bandit, or...

She sighed.

Losing soldiers was never easy to deal with, but
if these so-called 'Executioners' were indeed true, then perhaps
her men were in over their heads. Mostly young, inexperienced
soldiers, Samantha knew that they were assigned to this duty for a
reason. They could handle common thieves and thugs, sure, but if
something far more sinister was truly out there then that boded ill
for them. Even so, they were soldiers of the Order of the Faith,
and they were trained to defend the innocent. She would not
hesitate if she had to remind them of that.

Like her, Samantha knew that they yearned for
battle, but she hoped that they would not become careless.

"Shall I send others for Haro, ma’am?" asked
Graf, bringing Samantha out of her thoughts. His face was gaunt,
and she knew that the loss of life also took its toll on him
despite their line of duty. Haro was young, full of energy and
optimism. She looked down in contemplation. She didn't want her men
to die, much less die under her command.

"Do not fret, Sammy", said a voice from inside
her head. “Trust in your abilities, and you will not lead your men
nor yourself astray. Besides, the dead are not the ones that
suffer.”

Kavem was always there to lend his aid. She had
grown fond of him, and the two shared a powerful bond together.
Even though she had risen up the ranks quickly, she understood that
she was young and still had much to learn. Kavem always guided her
on the right path and abolished her doubts.

"No", Samantha said boldly. "Haro was a good
man, but we cannot risk more lives until we know the exact
situation. For now, we stay in Bellis until we figure this out."
She glanced south again. Everything was quiet, save for the
bustling of the village. Farrin was a very peaceful forest.
Naturally, there were wild animals, but hardly anything that would
cause such rampant rumors and apprehension.

Though, there was the mystical tale of Dyraunt,
the so-called ‘Great Bear Spirit’ that lived in the forest. She had
heard it from a young age as she was growing up in Enorra.
According to the old tale, Dyraunt was a malicious spirit in the
form of a bear that haunted Farrin and ate unsuspecting people that
wandered into the forest.

It was as if a regular bear wasn't enough to
dissuade the curious children of Bellis and the other villages.
Still, that was quite different than the whispers of 'Executioners'
and 'demons' that now ran rampant amongst the village people.

Samantha turned back to Graf, who was still
looking at her expectantly. He had more than likely surmised that
she had more orders to give. He was used to it by now. She looked
at the tavern and back to the sergeant. "No more ale until further
notice."

That seemed to be what Graf was waiting for. He
saluted and hastily walked away, disappearing out of sight as he
made his way around the building. Samantha heard the door open wide
again and the shouts of a disgruntled old man all the way from
where she stood.

What's worse than young and inexperienced
soldiers? Young and inexperienced soldiers that are too drunk to
hold a sword properly.

She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, looking
up at nothing in particular and losing herself in her thoughts. Her
regiment was the only trained group of soldiers that patrolled
Nokle road; if not for her men, then it was up to each town's
militia to defend themselves in times of necessity. The townsfolk
looked up to Samantha and her men for protection, and she wasn't
going to let ghost bears, demons, or warriors from hell have their
way—

The rustling of leaves pulled her out of her
thoughts. Alerted, she moved her hand to her side where her blade
rested and quickly glanced to the right where the sound was coming
from. Samantha let loose a sigh of relief and relaxed. The cause of
the sound—a little boy playing alone—had almost compelled her to
unsheathe her blade. Such was the harsh training that the Order of
the Faith employed.

"Hello", Samantha said softly as she neared the
child.

"Hi", he responded simply as he looked up at her
and smiled toothily before resuming his activity.

She looked at what the boy was doing and noticed
that he was squashing Farrin Inibs—small insects that had eight
long limbs. They lived together in colonies by the thousands, and
when one such colony was disturbed they charged out many at a time
to meet the aggressor.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the boy
was playing a game with the insects. He allowed a few inibs to rush
out before squashing them all. He would then wait for twice as much
to come out before squashing them again. He kept repeating the
pattern until the insects started to rise faster than he could
quell them. Overwhelmed, he quickly stood up and ran back toward
the village grounds.

Samantha smiled and watched the boy as he
trailed off in the distance before vanishing from sight. She looked
back at the swarming inibs. While just small insects, they
coordinated with each other when defending and attacking. If given
ample room, their numbers could pose a threat to much larger
animals.

Children... their curiosity is limitless.

Samantha headed back toward the tavern, but as
she made her way to the village she noticed a peculiar-looking
caravan that was stopped in the heart of Bellis. A small crowd was
gathered around it, and Samantha walked over to it to investigate.
Upon nearing the crowd, she discovered a large sign that was posted
next to the caravan:

‘
Come and see the incredible wrestler, The
Ujok! The infamous fighter will accept any challenger for only
fifty coins! Right here, any time! You want it, you got
it!
’

Following the message was a rather well-drawn
picture of a masked man. The mask was colored in blue save for a
yellow 'X' that marked the front.

"What's all this about?" Samantha asked to a
villager next to her.

"Seems like a famous performer traveling from
Merchant's Keep", replied the man.

That was no surprise. The infamous city had its
fair share of creative people trying to make a living, and there
were no limits to what they would try to sell. From odd, new gizmos
that were touted as the next best thing, to seers claiming to be
fortune-tellers, Merchant’s Keep was a strange city inhabited by
even stranger people.

How odd to come all the way here, though.

Samantha figured there probably weren't any
townsfolk that would take the challenge, save for her men; by now,
they would most likely do anything to pass the time, even if it was
something as absurd as challenging a costumed man to a fight.

In any case, Samantha turned around and headed
back to the tavern. By this time, her men were piling out, their
movements still revealing their drunken stupor. Graf continued to
bark at them remorselessly, attempting to get them into a proper
formation.

As she neared, they noticed her presence and
scuttled frantically—as if a rigid sergeant wasn't enough to compel
them. Perhaps it was her stern visage that triggered some form of
discipline, but she would be damned if she wasn’t ready for
anything.

“The time for negligence is over”, ordered
Samantha. “We have a town to protect.”

Chapter 7

346th Dawn of the 4999th Age of Rimas

"Maybe this time they'll actually present a
challenge", Raxxil jeered. He shifted his stance and raised his
fists.

"BURN THEM ALL TO ASHES!" yelled Vrand from
within.

The hellish beasts snarled, and this time they
seemed even angrier than normal. Somehow they had returned to be
much larger and more ferocious than they had been before, and their
flames raged even more fiercely. All the better. He would kill them
a thousand times if that meant they would actually offer more than
just petty punching bags.

Raxxil stepped forward, fists clenched and body
tensed ready to meet his foes.

The beasts charged at the trio, preparing to
lunge—

They stopped abruptly as the sound of a door
slamming shut echoed from behind them. Raxxil looked past the
burning dogs and glimpsed a figure standing just outside of the
house. The women waved in their direction and then walked briskly
toward them. Strangely enough, the beasts looked her way, softened,
and then sat on their hind legs waiting patiently like trained
dogs.

As she neared, Raxxil noticed her features more
clearly. She wore a black garb that exposed her shoulders,
accentuated her feminine curves, and even displayed her
well-endowed bosom partially. The dress cascaded past her slim
waist and down her legs, but stopped just above her ankles. She
also wore a pointed black hat with a circular brim. Much like her
vestment, her straight, voluminous black hair flowed well past her
shoulders. Her attractive complexion was pale aside from her
slightly rosy cheeks. She had a sharp nose, thick brows, full lips,
and bright blue eyes.

"Bad dogs!" she yelled at the beasts with
furrowed brows.

They looked down in shame, and their raging
fires subsided to reveal furry, black hides.

She pointed toward the back of the house, and
when they did not budge placed her hands on her hips. She waited
expectantly, but the beasts only whined. The woman stomped the
ground with one foot, her expression contorting into a menacing
scowl.

Even Raxxil was almost taken aback.

Apparently frightened at what would follow if
they continued to be disobedient, the five pets scuttled away
frantically toward the back of the house and eventually vanished
from sight. Satisfied, the woman then focused her attention on the
newcomers.