FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (109 page)

     “Stop _ you must do of this
!
” insisted Clover.

     The three chefs shrug their shoulders and pretended that Ray and Clover are not there. The first chef raises his club to strike again, but Ray catches hold of it and throws a punch straight into the chef’s nose. A clear and loud crack signifies that the first chef’s nose is broken. The first chef falls backwards and lands on his buttocks.

     “What are you doing
!?
Are you crazy
!?
Get out of here
!
” says the second chef as he raises his club to strike Ray.

     Clover intercepts the second chef by raising her elbow and slamming it straight into the man’s nose. The ensuing crack affirms the breakage of the man’s nose. He too stumbles backwards and falls flat on his back.

     “Minvians Iddell and Genox, stop
!
What are you two doing
?
” says Sky.

     “Doing _ what are we of this
!?
” replied an angry and disgusted Ray.

     “Yes
!
What are you doing
!?
” said Sky in an accusing tone.

     Ray ignored Sky and the third chef, who had already laid down his club. He took out his knife and cut the sack at the point where it was tied up. Down fell a medium sized dog, who was bleeding profusely. It was whimpering and yet it tried to growl and tried to bare its teeth, but the pain was just too overwhelming. Blood was oozing from it eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Its whole body was contorted and disfigured with massive swells. Ray tried to approach it, but it ran away. The pitiful creature ran but a few paces before it collapsed and died. The poor, pitiful
light-brown furred
dog. Its final yelp was not that of fear or pain, but of relief, for finally it had found some measure of mercy. It was not the salvation that he had prayed for, but it was salvation nevertheless.

     Ray shed a tear for the dead dog. Clover shed many. But Sky just laughed. Ray turned around and slammed his fist straight into Sky’s face and sent him sprawling to the ground. The third chef just raised his hands and walked away. The innkeeper, meanwhile, had just arrived.

     “What is wrong with you, Minvian Iddell
?
” asked Sky as he struggled to get back on his feet.

     “Amusing _ of this, do you find it to be of the senseless murder of this innocent creature
!?
” replied Ray rhetorically.

     “Senseless murder
?
They were just preparing my dinner
!
They were supposed to barbeque this creature after beating it up to tender the meat
!
What is the matter, do you not eat
dogs?
” asked Sky unassumingly.

     Flames were being produced at Ray’s fingertips. A Heat Spear Spell was being generated and was about to be cast. Sky was seriously taken aback. Then Clover placed her hand on Ray’s shoulder and shook her head.

     “Kill _ please, master, do not do of this to Minvian Proest; for he is still our colleague,” pleaded Clover.

     Ray was trembling with rage. He stood still for several moments, unsure of whether to kill Sky or not. Finally, he decided to disperse the gathered energy harmlessly. But he gave Sky a look that sent shivers down Sky’s spine. It was the look of anger, disgust and vengeance all rolled into one. The look on Clover’s face was no less hostile.

     “Dear sirs and madam, is there a problem
?
” asked the innkeeper.

     “There is no problem, innkeeper. My colleagues are just unacquainted with our town’s culinary tastes. I shall endeavour to educate them. Everything is all right
!
Nothing to worry about
!
” assured Sky, despite his bruised eye.

     The innkeeper bowed to Sky and walked away with his two injured chefs in tow.

     Ray stood silently. A battle was raging on within him. He would feel no guilt whatsoever in striking Sky down where he stood. But he was a man of ethics. The Law of Elementhars required that of him. And he was bounded by this law.

     “Leave _ we are doing of this now
!
” said Ray resolutely.

     “Leave
!?
Ray, you are over-reacting
!
Calm down, will you not
!?
” insisted Sky.

     Ray ignored Sky altogether. He stormed right into the in-house restaurant and gathered his belongings. Clover followed right behind him. Sky was left standing alone in the dimly lit backstreet. He shook his head in disbelief.

     A few moments later, Ray and Clover emerged with their belongings and the tied up Channeller. Miraculously, the Channeller did not try to escape when the trio had left him alone. Ray took out a towel from his backpack and gently wrapped the corpse of the dead, light-brown furred dog with it. He slung his backpack, picked up the dog and cradled it like a baby. He then stormed through the kitchen door and through the in-house restaurant to the front entrance of the inn where their horses were. Clover dragged the reluctant Channeller along. The patrons of the restaurant seemed to ignore the Elementhars. Some even sniggered while a few laughed out loud and gave insulting remarks. But Ray ignored them. So did Clover. Their anger and disgust were too consuming to allow any sort of response.

     Ray and Clover mounted their horses and galloped out of town. Sky dashed into the in-house restaurant to gather his belongings. He then mounted his horse and chased after them. He finally caught up to them as they reached the outer limits of the town. Sky rode along silently. He knew his two colleagues were upset, but he did not understand the reason behind their emotions. It was after all just a dog, no different than any other dog that he had eaten all these years.

     Upon reaching the top of a very large and distant hill overseeing Southgust, Ray stopped and dismounted. So did Clover. She dragged the Channeller to a huge tree and secured him to its trunk. Sky dismounted and sat next to the tied up Channeller, watching the weird antics of his colleagues. Ray laid the body of the dog gently to the soft ground by the side of the road and took out his hunter’s knife and a small cooking pot from his backpack. Clover did the same with her military-issued dagger and cooking pot. Then Ray picked a spot in the clearing by the roadside and drew a rectangular outline on the ground. Ray began stab-gouging the ground with his knife to loosen the soil. Clover followed suit. Then the both of them started scooping the loosened soil with their cooking pots, effectively digging a grave. For some reason, neither Elementhar had chosen to use their Elemental Sorcery skills. Perhaps they were too enraged to properly control their powers. Sky shook his head in disbelief, but held his tongue.

     Ray gently lowered the dead dog into the grave.

     “Rest _ do easy of this, friend, for your troubles are over; and may you find peace and happiness in your next life and may it be that your next life is found in the higher planes of existence,” Ray expressed out as his hope and prayer.

     “Rest _ do easy of this, friend, for your troubles are over; and may you never suffer such cruelty or be reborn in the lower planes of existence ever again,” said Clover as her hope and prayer.

     Using their cooking pots again, Ray and Clover covered up the grave. They then sat by the roadside, staring emptily at the ground. Tears were streaming from Clover’s eyes.

     After a long while, Sky finally summoned up the courage to speak to his two Sollenthar companions.

     “Was what I did wrong
?
” he asked.

     “Wrong _ it was absolutely of this
!
” replied Clover firmly.

     Ray did not even bother to respond. Some forms of stupidity were so obvious that it deserved no explanation
!

     “All right
!
Why is it wrong
?
” challenged Sky.

     “Kill _ you had no right to do of this to any living being, not even for food; let alone to kill in such a cruel and evil way
!
” replied Clover firmly.

     “But why is this so
?
” asked Sky.

     “Line _ there is one of this that divides good and evil, and it is divided based on the ‘live and let live’ principle verses the ‘kill and/or be killed’ principle; and you chose the latter, the path that causes other beings to suffer and in return, you too shall be made to suffer when nature’s law catches up to you,” explained Clover in an impatient tone.

     Sky snorted at Clover’s remarks.

     “I do not believe in such things, Minvian Genox, and neither does the entire population of Southgust. It is in our culture to eat dogs, cats, monkey’s brains and whatever else we like, so we, the people of Southgust, will keep eating whatever we like. You keep your stupid beliefs to yourselves
!
” defended Sky.

     “Belief _ of this it is insignificant; for it will affect you whether you believe in it or not, since this law is a law of physics and not just a theoretical concept,” explained Clover.

     “Really
?
You mean there is some sort of justice in this world
?
Some sort of judgement system
?
So you are saying that one day I will be caught in a sack and be beaten up like how that dog was
!
Is that it
!?
” asked Sky cynically.

     “Yes
!
” stated Clover firmly.

     “You Elementhars are ridiculous
!
” disputed Sky.

     The look on Ray’s face was of pure rage and disgust. Clover looked shocked beyond words. Sky looked straight into Clover’s eyes and gave her an arrogant look. Suddenly, the earth began to vibrate at their feet. The leaves began to shake, sounding as though a strong breeze was blowing through. Then the vibration became sharp and violent. Dried leaves began showering them from above. Dried up tree branches snapped away from their trunks and fell to the ground. The trio began losing their balance.

     “Stop it
!
” shouted Sky at Ray.

     “I _ it is not of me,” said Ray.

     “I am serious, Ray
!
Stop doing this
!
” demanded Sky.

     “Truth _ Minvian Iddell is speaking of this, for no Elementhar is powerful enough to do this
!
” explained Clover.

     Back in Southgust, a mother woke up. Her world was spinning around. She could hardly stand. The loud rumbling confused her senses further. Was she hallucinating, or was this really an earthquake
?
No matter, she decided that she should grab her two children and her three month old infant and try to run out of the house. The oil lamp that lit the bedroom fell onto the floor. Flames spread out instantly. She screamed out of panic and fear. She called out to her two children. She heard desperate cries calling out to her in return. She ran to the cradle so that she could pick up her baby.

    
Crack!
A huge beam broke off and fell onto her. She cried out in pain as the huge piece of lumber crushed her spine and pinned her down. She called for her two children to come to her. A cute pair of siblings appeared at the doorway of the room, but tried as they might, they could not enter. The flames from the broken oil lamp barred their way. They called out to their mother, crying and screaming. The mother called out to them, spitting blood with every breath. The flames engulfed the whole room by now. The baby began crying in the cradle. The heat was hurting it. The mother instructed the pair of children to run out of the house. They refused. She commanded them again. Reluctantly, they obeyed, but it was too late. A portion of the ceiling broke off and crushed them right before their mother’s eyes. It was a silent death. The baby’s cry was now loud and desperate. The flames have begun consuming the cradle….

     A father woke up from sleep. Something was wrong. The whole bedroom was shaking. Things were falling off the table. He woke his wife up. His three children ran into the bedroom, calling for him. They jumped onto the bed and hugged him. He could see clearly the fear in their eyes. His wife had just begun to wake up. She screamed in panic when she finally realised what was going on. She hugged her husband in fear as well. The father tried to calm his wife and children. The oil lamp in their bedroom smashed onto the floor. The flames grew almost instantly into a hideous, all consuming monster. The father grabbed his three children and threw them out of the bedroom window, one by one. There was no room for gentleness. Time was of the essence. The first child landed badly and cried out in pain as he grabbed at his dislocated kneecap. The second child, a girl, fell on top of her brother and was uninjured. The third child, the youngest girl in the group, was carried out through the window frame and laid down gently by her father. The father then jumped back into the house, grabbed his wife and told her to jump out the window. But it was too late. The ceiling came crashing down and killed them both. The children cried out for their parents. But there was nothing they could do. Their guardians and protectors were buried under a huge heap of flaming rubble.