The Legend of Alexandros: Belen (5 page)

The merchant jokingly yelled at the warrior centaur, “What is the matter, not quick enough with those cheap horse shoes?” Only angering the centaur more, causing the centaur to run faster. The merchant and the centaur ran until they were not seen anymore.

“What on earth was that about? Why would they chase that kind old man down the road?” Elora asked.

“My lady, that blasted merchant sold my people extremely cheap horse shoes; it caused some to have permanent injury.”

“Oh, dear…” She said to herself.

“Let us not waste time or our energy on him anymore and return ourselves to more important matters,” said Tobias. “Goblins…they never work alone; they are stupid pitiful creatures with little brains. They are cowards as well, and they live in the lands of Heshuezo. If you travel there you will surely find them. Your journey will be one that is not easy; you will need all the help you can receive. Please allow my son to join you, Belen. He is an amazing young warrior, and he shall not get in your way.”

Alexandros agreed to this simple request. One man against an army of goblins would be suicide, not to mention if it was indeed true that the goblins had a secret ally, Alexandros would need all the help he could find. Tobias sent for his son.

“Belen,” said Tobias. “My son is about your age now and is great in battle; you will do well together on your quest.”

Princess Elora gasped as the incredibly handsome young centaur approached them.

“This is my son…Raphael,” Tobias said with delight.

Raphael stood gracefully in front of them. He was as tall as his father; his skin was beautifully tanned; he had long black hair tied up in a ponytail, and his chest was perfectly chiseled; His eyes were clear light green; he had full lips with a strong chin. The horse half was dark brown, and his tail black like his hair.

“Raphael, this is Belen, son of the great Mabruk,” said Tobias. “I need you to travel with him to Heshuezo; together the two of you will protect one another.”

“Very well father, I will not fail you,” Raphael said to Tobias without question. “But who is this precious young beauty?” Raphael asked as he stepped toward the Princess Elora. He took her hand and gently kissed it. “I am Raphael. What might your name be?”

Alexandros stepped in front of Elora, and before she could answer, he said, “She is the Princess Elora of Siruac, and she does not need man nor centaur throwing themselves at her.”

A loud booming laugh came from Tobias. “You two will get along just fine.” He handed his son a sword with a gold trim around the handle and a large round gold shield to match. Raphael’s muscles flexed as he held them. “Now the three of you watch out for each other, for on the road you are all you have…and I shall see you again soon.”

“Tobias,” Alexandros said as he shook Tobias’ hand. “I thank you for your help and kindness. My father thought highly of you, and now I do, too.”

“I am much honored to have met you, Belen…now go while the sun is still in the sky; this journey will not be a short one.”

Alexandros, Princess Elora, and the centaur Raphael bade them farewell and exited the centaur village Ezadcir.

The three traveled many miles down the road heading to Heshuezo, land of the goblins. With Raphael as their scout, they wished to make it passed the centaur lands before dark.

“I will scout on ahead to assure its safe for you to pass, my lady,” said Raphael and raced off.

“This centaur is unbelievable,” said Alexandros.

“Do not be so hard on him, Belen, he only wishes to prove himself worthy to his father,” said Elora said defending Raphael.

At that moment Raphael returned. “There is a bridge at the canyon up ahead. Once we cross it we pass the centaur area and into our neighboring village.”

Alexandros, Elora, and Raphael soon reached the old flimsy bridge at the canyon. The afternoon sun was beginning to set, and the woods surrounding the road ended at the canyon. At the bottom of the canyon was a blue, rapidly flowing river.

“Careful as you cross. This bridge seems extremely old and parts may even be rotted out,” Alexandros warned Elora.

As they began to cross, five dirty thieves in grey peasant rags stormed out of the forest.

“It is twenty dinars to cross over the bridge!” they cried. “And if you pay us no harm will befall you travelers; choose not to and we shall have to teach the three of you a hard lesson.”

One drunken thief fought hard to stand straight up.

“If you leave now, no harm shall befall on you; choose to attack us and suffer greatly,” said Alexandros.

An old toothless thief pulled at Princess Elora’s gown. “You look rather tasty, my dear…” he said; his breath smelled of ale.

Alexandros stepped in front of Elora and pie-faced the dirty old thief, causing him to fall back hard on his back.

“Princess…we shall meet you on the other side of the canyon,” Alexandros told her firmly. The princess turned and ran cautiously across the old flimsy bridge.

Alexandros and Raphael then stepped in front of the bridge, blocking the path from the thieves.

“One last time…leave now,” Raphael demanded.

The toothless thief wobbled back up to his feet and charged at Alexandros, with a thunderous punch. Alexandros struck the thief in the face knocking his three remaining teeth out. Alexandros then grabbed him by the throat, turned towards the canyon, and, with a swift powerful kick, knocked the thief off the edge sending him falling to his death. Another ragged thief yanked on Alexandros’ arm. Raphael leaped forward and hacked his arm clean off. Screaming in agony, the thief held on to his shoulder, which now had a gaping hole. Bleeding badly he fell to the ground shaking. The three remaining thieves grabbed their wounded friend and took off cowardly down the road. Alexandros picked up the severed arm and tossed it down the canyon.

Raphael then crossed the flimsy bridge, followed by Alexandros. The sun had now completely set when they reached the opposite side of the canyon. Elora approached them when they reached the land.

“Did they listen to reason, Belen?” she asked nervously.

“…of course, my lady.”

“Not only that, but they also gave us a helping hand as well,” added Raphael with a chuckle.

Alexandros smirked. “Let’s go. The village cannot be far now.”

The walk to the village took much longer than they had realized, so Raphael placed the princess on his back and allowed her to ride side-saddled the rest of the way, which allowed the group travel faster.

“Thank you for allowing me to ride.”

“Problem at all, my lady,” Raphael said. “So may I ask, how did you meet Belen Alexandros?”

“Belen…saved my life, centaur prince. He helped me when no one else would. I escaped from my kingdom lost for many days, and no one would stop and help…until I met Belen.”

Raphael smiled as he saw the passionate look on her face as she gazed at Alexandros. “Hmm, I see…”

With the moon high in the sky, they made their way down a dark wooded road. Alexandros could not escape the thoughts of his village and family. The sorrow-filled thoughts made him want to seek revenge even more.

“I’m going to kill them all,” he thought, “every last one of those demon goblins.”

“Look,” Raphael said pointing towards an orange light.

“Torches,” Elora added softly.

The villagers of BueHoov were friendly towards the centaurs. Many years ago a warlord had wished to reduce the villagers to slaves, but the centaurs stepped forward and protected the villagers. The Centaurs fought off the warlord and his dreadful army. As a “thank you,” the people of the village named the village BueHoov in honor of the centaurs.

Hard rain began to fall as Ralphael, Elora, and Alexandros entered the village. Alexandros helped Elora off of Raphael’s back, and they walked quickly into the BueHoov tavern. They burst in to find a large number of dwarves drinking and having a great old time.

“Welcome strangers!” cried the dwarves.

CHAPTER IV

BUEHOOV

T
HE TYPICAL DWARF
is short in nature, long bearded, and skilled at mining and metallurgy. A dwarf is often depicted as having a low affinity for most magical abilities or a resistance to magic. Dwarves are known best for their tempers, if made extremely angry they can unleash a force like no other.

T
he tavern was large and square and made of thick strong wood, which had the scent of the most powerful liquor. The bar was filled with about a dozen or so dwarves. Large round wooden tables and chairs were thrown around, and the dwarves drank and danced

“Please help!” a voice said through the heavy noise of the dwarves. A teenaged boy ran towards the group. He was tall and lanky; he had short blonde hair and was dressed in peasant clothes. His clothes were covered with food and drinks. The dwarves were tossing things at him every time he asked them to leave.

“What on earth is going on here?” Alexandros shouted over the noise.

“They came, drank and will not leave. Please help me get them out before my father returns,” said the teen in a panic.

Raphael, wanting to prove his intimidating strength to the dwarves, stomped his front hooves.

“Silence!” he cried.

The dwarves placed their drinks down and looked up at the centaur prince.

“Why are you here?” Raphael demanded.

The dwarves drunkenly stumbled and fell around the tavern. “Shut up centaur, and pull up a chair if you can find one.”

“They are here to kill the evil Dragon that has been causing trouble,” the young boy answered, looking toward Raphael.

Alexandros turned to Elora. “My lady, we will find another…” Before he could finish, he found the princess sitting with a dwarf, drinking.

“Princess!”

“Belen, he is such a kind dwarf; he is sharing his drink with me,” Elora said with a smile; her peaceful voice took over the room for a moment. “His name is Bixbin. He and his clan are here to slay a Dragon …or so I am told.”

“Did you say Dragon?” asked Alexandros.

“Yes,” she answered. “My new friend told me that a Dragon has been causing some trouble in the village. So the villagers hired these noble warriors to face the creature, but apparently they became side-tracked when they saw the tavern.”

Alexandros asked the dwarf, “Is this true? Is there a Dragon in the area?”

Bixbin stood from the chair and answered. “Of course, and we are here to stop it!” The dwarf had a booming deep voice. Bixbin was the youngest of the group, even though he was about to reach the age of thirty. He stood about four-foot-four and was round and stumpy with a thick long luscious brown beard that hid his mouth. His nose was fat and round; his eyebrows were thick and dark; his eyes were a light grey. He wore big black boots; his armor was dark silver. He carried a large hammer with a sharp horn at the top. Bixbin’s arms were muscular and toned from carrying the mighty hammer. He also wore a helmet with two long antlers, the tips sharpened.

“We are here to slay the Dragon!” Bixbin shouted, causing all the dwarves in the room to chant and raise their drinks.

Alexandros rolled his eyes and turned to Raphael, only to find that the dwarves had him tied down and were pouring drinks down his throat.

“Alexandros…get them off!” he yelled with a struggled as they poured drinks in his mouth and laughed.

“Come on, centaur. Have some fun. Drink! Drink!” The dwarves cheered.

Alexandros drew his sword and stomped his foot incredibly hard. “That is enough! I want everyone in this tavern to leave at once!” His voice echoed throughout the room. He grabbed one of the dwarves that held down Raphael and hurled him out of the tavern.

The drunken looks on the dwarves turned to fierce expressions.

“You should not make yourself an enemy wanderer; we are not to be taken lightly,” an older dwarf snarled.

“Release my friend and go…”

The dwarves released Raphael and began to leave the tavern. “Come Bixbin!”

“I must join my companions now, my lady, farewell,” Bixbin said to Elora.