Six Warriors

The Castle and the Chapel - (Ethan)

So that was the guy, Ethan thought, that was the vampire. On his side he had some sort of servant with a strange, grim face. 

"So, adventurer, will you do me the honor of knowing your name?" Asked Vald, Vald insisted "anyone capable of wielding Teresa must be a valiant warrior."

"Teresa?" Ethan asked.

"The sword you are carrying, Teresa, the sword of the old paladin Richard Bratsliev. Come on, come with me, we have a lot to talk about." 

Elza looked very weak and Ethan was all she had to keep her from falling to the ground, meanwhile, Ethan himself felt his knees getting weaker, he leaned on his sword like a cane and it was at that moment that he realized. Beneath the armor, the knight bearing the sword was a mere skeleton. So this was Richard Bratsliev, a dead knight.

"You look weak, friend. That old hag poisoned you two with that soup she used to make, if you weren't a brave enough warrior to pull Teresa out, they would have done horrible things to you, they're my vassals, but they're nothing less than savages and barbarians. Vollrat, help our friends." Ethan growled at that. Vald gave a smile that looked a little ironic. "Adventurer, you didn't believe that old hag's stories about me did you? Anyway, you don't have many allies here and you and your girlfriend need help, or the poison will sap your strength until there's nothing left and that's when the old hag and her minions will be ready to get you."

...

A cadaverous black hand, blurred so that it appeared to be controlling shadows against a blood-red background. This was Lord Vald's standard, who had under his command just over ten guards to command and who looked like mere mercenaries to boot.

"My family has gone downhill a lot." Vald said. "We were lords of many fields and valleys, but now I have what little land this village includes. I am the last of the Sepet line." Vald said as they walked over the moat across the bridge.

"I am really sorry." Ethan replied.

"Yes indeed it's a shame, but I don't whine about my fate, I try to control my destine in my own way."

"What about the old lord and his family? Is that what you did? Did you control your destiny with your own hands?"

"You are brave to provoke your only benefactor in your own home, but your sincerity is proof of your character. Yes, former Lord Richard Bratsliev was the one who ruled the old lands of my family now, I had to do what was done, you can judge me for that, adventurer, but I did what was most practical. Besides, your family was going to be killed by the old witch Lybiuca and her fanatical religious minions, and Lybiuca is very cruel, I gave them a peaceful and painless death. "

"Putting the corpses in cages seems pretty cruel of you for me."

"The corpses... I, more than anyone, have a lot of respect for corpses, but Lybiuca is in favor of dread, she's a friend of Brusque, the gravedigger, they took the bodies out of the graves I made and put them on display in the city , both Richard, and his family, and his men. I can't do much, as you can see my guard is pretty limited and I only have enough to defend myself. The castle shelters me, but I no longer govern the village, Lybiuca does and there is still another small portion of villagers who are not under the old witch's judgment, they take shelter in the temple, but they hate me as much as the old witch. As you see, this land hates me, I am not a very beloved lord. But come on, you and your girlfriend need a rest and an antidote."

Elza was going to be put in a room to recover, but Ethan still didn't trust that lord, so they placed her in one of the armchairs in one of the castle's living rooms, where a warm fireplace crackled and Ethan and the lord remained there, sword, Teresa , now rested n***d on the boy's lap.

"You managed to wield Teresa," said Vald, as Vollrat handed the sword scabbard to the young man, it was brass and had various motifs carved into its body and they were shaped like acanthus leaves. "You need to help me, adventurer, it's almost as if the gods or fate put you on this path."

"I don't know if I should, I still don't know if your motives are just or not, starting with the fact that you deposed the former lord of these lands through the conquest of the war."

"Why would that be wrong? But didn't you understand when I told you that these lands belonged to my family in the past? My father's generation was dispossessed of the lands of our ancestors by the so-called honorable Sir Richard Bratsliev... may he rest in peace. Help me, noble adventurer, and I'll reward you for it, wasn't I the one to save you from the clutches of that insane sorceress Lyubica? That old lady's poison would paralyze you agonizingly, your body would still feel all the pain and then they would t*****e you and probably cut your flesh to eat, as I said, they are wild and crazy, influenced by Lyubica. ""

"So what do you want? For me to defeat the old hag?"

"No. Lyubica is a threat, but a lesser threat, there is an even more dangerous in the underground in this land, the old priest of the god of justice, the venerable Hadriel, he is the real menace to our people."

"A priest? Is your menace a priest?"

"Don't be fooled by those who claim to speak for the gods, adventurer, I don't doubt that Hadriel was once an honorable man, a servant of what he believed, but he went mad with power from the moment Bratsliev ruled this land, Lyubica and his minions are fanatical about the ancestral powers of forest and earth, but they are no match for the power and fanaticism of Hadriel himself and his acolytes."

"What threat does he pose to you?"

"Every possible threat! Boy, Hadriel and Richard Bratsliev were very close allies, after all they both praised the same god of justice, Handdle, but Bratsliev was an illegitimate ruler of my family's land, when I took back what was mine by right, Hadriel rebelled and locked himself in his chapel, for you to realize that Hadriel is someone who would do anything for power, that old priest should be dead, but with unholy magic he stays alive in an unnatural way and yearns for the day when you'll have my head on a stake."

Ethan thought for a while. In a way what the guy had said was true, he'd been the one to help him and Elza in that inhospitable place, plus the ringing of bells in Ethan's head had stopped once he was in the presence of this man and your servant, that must mean something.

"Very well, I'll help you, tell me what my mission is. But let me know in advance, I want something in return."

Vald smiled in response to that.

"It's only fair. Very well, young man, first of all, tell me what your name is and what your wish is, and then we'll discuss your mission while we enjoy a delicious dinner."

Ethan said and his name and what he wanted, information about his fellow travelers Glabro, Aretha and also Julian, who had seen him before but lost him again and hoped for his safety. Vald agreed to this and the two headed to the dining room. Unlike the other rooms, this one was well lit. The table was richly decorated with a crimson cloth adorned with bronze, the silverware gleamed in the light of the candles, which were richly suspended by solid gold sconces. Vald was sitting calmly in a cherry wood armchair, upholstered in red and black. He held a scepter of iron and wood, with an obsidian at the end, as if he were a king, and he smiled proudly. Some servants were serving the food, although Ethan had eaten before, he was still hungry as he hadn't eaten all the soup served by Lyubica.

"The Stone of Death-Life, that's what keeps Hadriel in an eternal near-life, yes, he's a disgusting undead now, but he retains all his powers, without the stone, however, he's just rotten flesh, just a corpse. Ethan, your task is to bring me the stone, so Hadriel will have her end and her acolytes will no longer have the power to oppose, so taking down Lyubica will be easy, very easy. I believe that with your skills and the holy sword Teresa, you will be able to successfully accomplish the task, yet Hadriel is cunning and has set traps through the chapel's catacombs, so I will send Vollrat with you, he is an expert in traps, but not so good at battles."

"So I just need to bring this magical stone for you?"

"Exactly, do this, and we'll find your friends, even the one Lyubica captured. She and her fanatics like to do everything in a very ritualistic way, so I believe your friend still has two days to live. You can rest today, after dinner and regain your strength. If you want a bath, I can even make one of my maids available for that." Vald gave a suggestive smile.

Ethan must have looked excited by this last proposal, because Vald seemed to understand and then nodded to his maids and called out:

"Durnia, our guest is up for a bath and maybe you can relax him with your famous massages?"

Ethan expected a beauty, but all that appeared was a very ugly maid with features that resembled an old troll. The boy made a face of disappointment.

"You know what? I think I'll pass." He said.

"Believe me Ethan, Durnia is our most…hot servant." And then Vald laughed as if he'd said some kind of inside joke that only he and his guards understood.

...

Ethan slept in a relatively comfortable room, although the stone walls of that castle were often cold. Despite that the place looked eerie and isolated, the boy was tired enough to sleep well...

But only until he started hearing the bells again, and then he woke up, in the middle of the night. When he opened his eyes, Ethan was startled. A pale child dressed in a white nightgown looked at him with interest. At first Ethan thought it emanated a pale ghostly glow, but he realized he was wrong.

"Fear not, knight, I am not the source of evil in this land." Said the girl in a sweet, soft voice.

"What do you mean? Who are you? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I am Alicia, knight, and I have been wandering this house for a long time, too long, knight."

"Okay Alicia, what do you want?"

"Follow me, knight, follow me so that your heart decides whom it should help, that the scales of your heart tip in favor of the just."

Ethan didn't know why, but he just got out of bed and followed the girl, for some reason he felt it was something really important.

"What are you doing in this house, Alicia?" Ethan asked breaking the strange atmosphere that hung there, everything was dark, except for the dim light of the old women that the girl took with her in a candle holder.

"I am... a servant. Forever."

"Do you like living here?"

"Before I was very scared of everything, but now all emotions are gone, positive emotions, negative emotions... everything is gone."

What did she mean by that? Ethan wondered.

The girl took Ethan down enough stairs to reach some sort of basement or dungeon, luckily somehow they didn't see any guards there, as if Alicia had some mysterious power of invisibility. The girl then pointed to the dungeon entrance, she said it was up to Ethan to make the fairest decision based on the truth. Ever since Alicia had appeared, the bells in Ethan's head had been ringing loudly. Ethan figured there would be people trapped like a dungeon, but what he saw was worse. He went to where the little girl had pointed. It was a kind of door on the floor and he had a hard time opening it. Alicia however opened it easily and Ethan was annoyed by it. He then entered the room which was darker than all the other parts of the house and had a horrible smell. Alicia entered with Ethan and the dim candlelight made him see. She managed not to scream. Several heads were arranged on shelves, now rotting, now fully decomposed. Not only that, impaled by hooks on the walls, several dismembered bodies, limbs suspended like meat in a butcher's shop. It was a huge room and it was crammed with bodies. The chosen one thought he had a strong stomach, but in front of that he felt that he was about to vomit all the dinner from before.

"B-but what's going on here?" Ethan asked perplexed, his stomach still churning, even after the reflux.

"Knight, I know where your friends are, knight, your friends aren't well."

"W...what? Tell me, please, where are they?"

But she alerted Ethan to the fact that she heard footsteps.

"Knight, be careful... he's here..." Alicia whispered. A wind blew, even there in the room, bringing the strong smell of corpses with it, the candles went out. Ethan then tried to focus light magic to illuminate there, but he was still struggling. He then unsheathed Teresa and the faint reddish glow of the sword proved that he was now alone there, Alicia had vanished as the light from her old ladies had gone out when the cold, fetid breeze blew. Judging by the sound of approaching footsteps, the boy wouldn't be alone for long.

Ethan came out of the dungeon, Teresa still in hand, and then he saw that Vald was there, a cynical half-smile on his face lit by the light of a candlestick.

"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan, don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

"You bastard! What are you? What have you done to all those people?" Snarled Ethan, pointing his sword at Vald.

"It surprises me to have such willpower having gone through such a traumatic experience for those not used to my kind of... art."

"I'm not afraid of you!"

"The courage of a lion, no wonder you wielded Teresa."

"Our deal is over, villain, I'm going to end your reign of madness and terror!"

Ethan then advanced with his sword drawn, but Vald seemed very calm about it, even though he was unarmed and only when Ethan was very close to striking him did the lord raised his hand and still with a cynical smile said:

"I don't think so, Ethan, our partnership isn't over. Remember, I'm with your friends."

Ethan then stopped the course of the attack, just millimeters from the lord's neck.

"That's right Ethan, both the blonde girl and the big boy are with me, they were with me the whole time, including the other one who ended up running away due to my men's carelessness. It doesn't matter now, however, I have you and you go to get what I want. Remember, whatever you have to do, however horrible it may seem, you will do, after all, it's your friends we're talking about and you most certainly don't want to see them in the state they were the bodies you saw in my dungeon."

"Bastard!" Ethan growled.

"Do my bidding and you and your friends can continue your little adventure."

...

Ethan followed by Vollrat's side, he was a mercenary expert in exploring dungeons, more preferably it would be to say that he was a tomb robber and therefore he was professional in the art of defusing traps.

As always, the environment in that village was one of gray skies covered with clouds and a mist hanging in the air. Ethan wore armor, basically a coat of mail and steel gauntlets. He and Vollrat stopped in front of the wooden doors of the temple of the god of justice, the chapel and they were watched by the villagers throughout the journey.

"Open the doors, only he who bears Teresa is able to open the doors of the Temple of Handle." said Vollrat.

Ethan unsheathed his sword with its faint reddish glow and it glowed more brightly, the temple doors opened, the musty smell indicating that the place was stuffy and not open for long. It was empty. Vollrat ran to the altar like a mouse runs to cheese, he took the equipment out of its case, it was all kinds of break-in items, things like that, Vollrat called it a "thief's kit". He looked for secret entrance mechanisms at the altar and didn't seem to have much trouble opening the secret passage, which led to a stairway leading down to the place, probably underground catacombs. The place was very dark and still smelled stuffy, Teresa was the only source of light, but Vollrat turned on one of those old oil lanterns and even though it was still dark they could see things around clearly. This was a sinister place, and there were some bodies buried there, according to Vollrat, bodies of ancient priests and knights sworn to Handdle's order.

There were many traps along the way, traps that fired bolts, that made sharp spikes of steel sprout from the ground, that spit fire or poison, but Vollrat identified them all and deactivated them before they suffered any kind of injury or wound.

Things were relatively quiet, until they arrived in a kind of armored hall, Vollrat looked around as if that was uncomfortable for him.

"Dude, I really could wear these armors," Ethan said, looking at the armor closely, "they look better than the one I wear, although they should be a little heavier."

"No, don't touch them!" Vollrat asked with a strange accent, but it was too late, Ethan had already touched the breastplate of one of the armors and in the next moment he felt a strong blow delivered with a mace right in the middle of his chest, the boy was thrown back and knocked to the ground. The entrances and exits to the room closed, the armor began to come alive and were ready to attack. Still on the ground and whimpering in pain, Ethan heard Vollrat asking for help when he found himself surrounded by two of those walking armors, they were ready to attack with swords, when the chosen youth overcame his own pain and cast his defense magic.

"SPARKLING WALL!!" The crystal wall prevented the creatures from attacking the marauder and Vollrat was protected, but seeing that Ethan was a bigger threat, the armors turned towards the still-fallen youth and then headed for him... who already thought he would have too much trouble, already that another four armors were now surrounding him. Ethan rose quickly or he was in trouble and watched the attacks, the sword 'Teresa' at the ready. An intense fight ensued, one of the armors attacked with a mace, Ethan dodged the blow and hit the enemy in the head, or rather in the helmet, the armor staggered but had not been defeated, Ethan rolled and then fired other quick cuts at others Angles with the sword he wielded and the bewitched armor disassembled in a cascade of steel. Ethan had defeated one and the magic sword definitely helped, but there were still five armors standing and ready to kill him. The young man gripped the hilt of the sword and took a deep breath, he almost involuntarily concentrated his magical powers and somehow Teresa responded to that, so Ethan realized that being a magic sword, Teresa would be a good conductor of his own magic. "LIGHT ATTACK CROSS!!" He fired Ethan and that cruciform sword almost served as a mold of his illuminated magic that was also cruciform, with the difference that without the sword, Ethan's attack always came out in a white and gold color, but this time it came out in a white and red light. the attack hit one of the armor squarely and made it stagger, but it didn't completely knock it down, so Ethan fired his magic a second time on the same armor and it fell apart, making a noise of metal falling to the ground. One of the armors took advantage of Ethan's distraction with its counterpart and attempted a cut against the boy, who dodged and then attacked with a horizontal cut right between the gorget and the helmet, that is, between the neck and the head, the helm was immediately separated from the rest of the armor and it cascaded to steel, dismounting completely. Another armor attacked with his sword, Ethan blocked the blow and with that he realized that Teresa radiated in magic and power, her red light burning bright as if she was excited to destroy any of her enemies. The armor tried one more attack and Ethan attacked at the same time, the two blades collided which caused red sparks to erupt from Teresa's blade, the sword of the walking armor was broken in half and after that a mystical force radiated from Teresa , pushing the armor away and causing it to crash into a wall, which completely dismantled it. Teresa radiated a lot of power now and a certain heat was emitted from that light, the other remaining armor seemed to react to that and dismantled without any fight.

"Without a doubt you are a warrior of great power, boy!" Celebrated Vollrat, while he was scared and huddled in a corner throughout the entire battle.

Ethan and the stalker followed the path when the passageway door opened, but the young man was startled to see that another armor awaited him there and this one looked far more powerful and dangerous than the others, an orange glow like fire glowing inside that steel. well crafted and wrought, it had ornaments, a broadsword and a great shield. Everything about that artificial being of steel and magic exuded terror and menace, he looked like a great danger, but when Ethan prepared for a difficult battle, the armor only turned to the side and made way for the young man.

"It's Teresa, they must recognize you as the bearer of Teresa now, that makes things a lot easier." Vollrat said with an ugly smile.

The chosen youth went on his way, Vollrat beside him and then they saw what appeared to be a small colony of villagers who lived there, they looked miserable and pale, but they still looked better than those on the surface, they looked at Ethan like a kind of hero, which was weird.

"A traveler, an adventurer from far away lands, a warrior honored enough to be able to bear Teresa, the sword of our ancient and benevolent lord." Ethan heard a voice say haughtily, though it was decrepit as someone very, very old. A being was there, sitting in a wheelchair made of rotting wood and it was someone very strange. He was an old man, yes, but an old man with emaciated skin, no color or sign of blood in that body, his face was almost at the level of a skull and his body was mutilated, without arms and without legs, one of them only went as far as the knee, the old man's face also lacked an eye and part of his left ear was cut off, he also had many scars all over his face and his strange body.

"Forgive me for this appearance, I just..."

"It's him, adventurer!" exclaimed Vollrat, pointing in awe at the old man, "he is the undead cleric my lord spoke of, he is the Hadriel!"

"The undead cleric" Ethan looked at Hadriel and gripped Teresa's hilt tightly.

"What are you waiting for?" growled Vollrat, "kill him! Come on, kill him with your magic sword!"

But for some reason, Ethan hesitated to attack this decrepit figure who still exuded dignity.

"Damn it, I have to do everything around here, you coward!" Vollrat snarled and drew his crossbow, pointing at Hadriel, "I shoot and you take this wretch's stone!"

When the looter was about to shoot the cleric, who remained calm throughout the entire situation, someone blocked the course of the attack, giving Vollrat a ground kick and the crossbow bolts was thrown away from the cleric as the crossbow fell to the ground with him. of its owner. A figure rose, the figure that had tripped Vollrat nimbly and precisely. It was Julian and he had a serious expression on his face. Seeing Ethan's stunned expression, Julian just said,

"We have a lot to talk."