The Monarch

Chapter 4

The deep-voiced man, who introduced himself as Alistair, master of the rangers guild, sent me far away from the capital to a forest known as the Baone Woods. The trip was supposed to be stretched and tiresome, so I was given a few days to rest at the capital before leaving.

During my stay, I never found my siblings. We stayed at the same inn, even in neighboring rooms. However, they seemed to disappear after the tournaments had ended. Alistair, by this point, was the most familiar person I knew in the city second to Mrs. Brody.

I spent the short break given to me to experiment with my newfound abilities. After the tournament ended, my body seemed to be able to suddenly break through old limits. I was able to move faster and be stronger. In some cases, the world around me would sometimes slow down, giving me a few seconds of silence before the action continued.

Every day, I ventured outside of the walls, carrying a day's worth of food and the two longswords I kept from the tournament (as a reward for winning). As the hours of the day passed, I repeated rigorous training exercises I believed would strengthen my body even more. When I started, my usual routine was similar to a cross-fit workout back home. However, I soon realized I was able to do more extreme stuff.

I started to use the forest to its full potential. I experimented with how fast I could run, both on the rough terrain of the forest, as I jumped between the tree branches, and on the smooth plains just outside the city. I played with death by holding my breath underwater for several minutes, only coming up if something below spooked me or I had started to seize under the water's surface.

A few days after I had met Alistair it was time for me to leave the city. I was first walked to the guildhall, where Alistair and a few other clerks greeted me kindly. The guildhall smelt warm today as if delicious and fulfilling meals were being prepared in the back with careful hands.

After finishing paperwork between the guild and me, it was finally time for me to leave. Alistair summoned a servant to gather my things from the inn, then showed me the group I would be traveling with.

"Ordinarily, our apprentice rangers would embark on their own to find their masters. However, I've already nudged a group of merchants into town. They aren't your bodyguards, but they will take you to the Baone Woods," Alistair said, "There are five of them in total. Get to know them well."

"Hello!" A cheery voice greeted. I heard footsteps walk closer, then a hand grabbed my own with a soft grip. The man who owned that hand was much taller than me, wearing a fur coat that did nothing to hide the shape of his massive belly. His beard was surprisingly thick, "My name is Gerald. I'm the little leader of our group. I apologize if we don't seem that impressive during our journey, we're not used to escorting others."

"No, that's fine," I insisted, "thank you for escorting me in the first place,"

"That's good to hear," Gerald sighed in relief. Then, he let go of my hand and continued talking, "We'll be leaving three hours. Be sure to arrive by then!"

The merchant's footsteps echoed farther away as he walked back to the carriages. Alistair grabbed me by my shoulder, then pulled it back to the guildhall.

"I've got something to tell you," Alistair said.

Alistair and a few others, including myself, gathered in his office. From what I heard, there were six of us in total. All of the other footsteps felt heavy and defined, carrying a weight of respect with them.

"William," Alistair started, "Do not speak during this meeting. Your presence here has only been permitted due to your future involvement with the Baone Woods."

"What's this about, old man?" a snickering voice asked, to my right. The body it belonged to fit it's voice perfectly. The man was maybe twenty years old, but the scars all across his body seemed to hint at decades of fighting experience. His hair was bright orange and curled down to his shoulders. The man wore a set of pants and a vest that exposed his chest area. All across his body were blue lines of tattoos. The largest one went from his left n****e, up to his neck, then to his ear, and then across both eyes. Alistair hesitated before responding.

"This is about the forest to the north. Most of you know about it: The Baone Woods. I've gathered most of you here because of your famous reputations as rangers and fighters. Last week, a villager visited the guild. She was young but exhausted and feeble. She told stories of crazed men in the forest forming in great numbers, wielding black swords with blood-stained tips and poisoned daggers. Ordinarily, we would've already sent a small squad to the forest to investigate."

"And why didn't you?" A female voice asked from my left. I turned my head, shocked to see a beauty sitting beside me. She had a very curvy body and a purple silk dress that clung tightly to her curves, cutting just above her knees. Her hair was dark black and long. She threw me a glance full of coldness and indifference, then her attention focused on Alistair again.

"The girl who came to us died momentarily after telling us the location of the dangers. Upon examining her body, we found a wound on her back. That wound was caused by a demonic blade."

"Demonic?" A burly voice gasped from behind me. I looked up, enough for my eyes to barely make out the form behind me. The voice belonged to a gigantic man, his muscles bigger than anybody's I've ever seen. He wore a silver chest plate and chainmail pants but kept his arms completely exposed. His black hair and small tusks- tusks? I looked closely, then realized the man did have tusks! He even had green skin and red eyes. I looked back to Alistair after being shocked by the orc.

"This new threat cannot be ignored. I recognize the four of you as powerful rangers who only take orders from the king. However, I beg of you to investigate. If the threat is real, our hopes lie in your hands."

"Don't worry, old man," The snickering voice said, "We're not that greedy. I, for one, will go."

The others agreed, slowly leaving the room until only I and Alistair left. The last one to leave was the last one I hadn't recognized yet. She was a small creature, maybe smaller than me. Her body was the size of a six-year-old but her hair was long enough to fit on an adult. Her clothes were green and large, sagging over her arms and feet as she floated away, suspended in the air. Alistair sighed. I heard the rustling of paper, then the creaking of Alistair standing himself from his chair.

"Soon, you will go to Baone Woods. Watch out for this new threat, to the best of your abilities. When you arrive, search for Katherina Myers. She will be your teacher. Hopefully, you won't ever have to see those four."

A few hours later, after the merchants had prepared their wagon, I spoke privately with Alistair in the front doorway of the guildhall.

"What is it?" He asked calmly. I inhaled, planning my question carefully.

"I came to this city with my siblings, who also attended the tournament. Did they survive?" I asked. I waited for Alistair's reply, but his voice didn't reach my ears. For a moment, I became nervous, hoping that my siblings hadn't died.

"I don't know," Alistair sighed, "I would say it's unlikely they survived. I will look for other Vercotti's in our register. I would advise you to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

"Thank you, Sir!" I said before returning to the carriages, my nervousness unlifted. Gerald welcomed me with a cheery greeting again as he helped me onto the carriage's back seats. The wood that I found myself resting on was hard and cold, much unlike the bedding of the inn or chairs of the guildhall I found myself getting used to. The journey from here to the Baone Woods was supposed to take three weeks.

"You know," Gerald spoke as he released me from his group, "You're rather small for a boy. How old are you?"

"Fourteen years old," I answered. Gerald gasped, along with a few others in the carriage.

"Only fourteen?" Gerald exclaimed with a surprised voice, "William, you certainly surprise me. Your frame is small, even for a boy your age."

"Is that bad?" I asked, becoming self-conscious.

"Well, no." Gerald answered, "no, it's not bad. It's a surprise, that's all. I've heard you're fast. The Arena even gave you the nickname 'lightning flash'. Now I see why!"

For the next few nights, I had nothing but nightmares. I awoke every night drenched in sweat. None of the merchants seemed to notice, or at least they never talked to me about it. I was never able to remember my nightmares, but they always left a confused and frightening impression on me when I woke up the following morning.

Some nights were calm and peaceful. On those nights, I treasured the much-needed rest. For the next few weeks, the merchants passed from town to town, selling and buying wares almost on a whim. Whenever we visited a new town, I would wait in the carriage to not get lost. However, after being secluded in the carriage for several weeks, I spent the time closing my eyes and just listening to the sounds around me. After a while, my ears became tuned and precise. I was able to hear almost every conversation that happened outside of the tarp-covered carriages, as long as it wasn't raining outside. I hated the rain.

Whenever it rained, it seemed that the world around me was being drowned in a storm of anger and rage from some unknown deity. Every droplet would land on the tent's cover, echoing like a drum through my ears. I would spend most nights covering both ears, even if the sky was calm above us. I soon realized that the sudden growth of my physical abilities also affected my senses, as long as I trained them.

At the beginning of the journey, the merchants were very friendly to me. I only ever managed to get Gerald's name, as the others never seemed to introduce themselves. Their voices sounded very kind but their shapes were the opposite. Most of the merchants wore fur coats and hadn't showered in months.

But as the journey ran further along its course, the merchants started to become estranged with me. They started talking to me less and seemed to ignore me whenever I was the first to speak. Soon enough, I started to ignore them until the entire group was separated into two groups: the merchants and me.

The rest of the journey passed along tiresomely. I had no way to tell how far we had come, and my body had started to become exhausted from sitting in one spot for several weeks in a row, only ever moving to go to the bathroom outside of the carriages.

As time passed on, it seemed that my hearing became more precise than ever. I was able to hear things from what seemed like several dozen meters away, even if it was a small insect or the earth rumbling beneath us.

One night, after a storm had passed, I found myself cramped tightly in one of the two carriages, clasping my ears tightly.

However, my hands didn't seem to block out any of the sounds at all.

"So?" one of the merchants asked, "What do you think of him?" I heard from outside the tent. The voices, which I was sure was more than ten meters away, seemed clear enough to be standing right next to me.

"William?" Gerald snickered, his personality suddenly unfamiliar. I shifted uncomfortably in the carriage, "Ms. Myers will like him. Alistair did a good job, choosing him."

"I'm just disappointed I can't train the kid myself. Do you know Alistair actually told me I was up for consideration?" the voice said. A silence passed before Gerald spoke again.

"No, I had no idea. That's awesome!" Gerald exclaimed happily.

"Although the kid is kind of hard to talk to, you know?" the voice asked, "It seems I've already run out of conversation topics to share with him."

"Once he knows that we aren't actually merchants, but soldiers working for Alistair, hopefully, the tension will clear up." Gerald reassured the other 'merchant'

"Yeah, hopefully. Anyways, how long until we're scheduled for arrival?" The voice asked.

"Another week," Gerald sighed, "We should get there by this Sunday."

"But today is Sunday?"

"Exactly. Now, go get some sleep," Gerald ordered the other merchant.

I jumped from my bench, then walked outside the carriage. Gerald saw me, a guilty expression passing over his face. As I walked over to him, Gerald stopped the other merchant in his tracks.

"So you heard us?" Gerald asked. The other merchant, who I believed was named Markus, shared a similar expression as Gerald.

"Yeah," I nodded. The guilty expression on the two merchants grew even more guilty, "Why didn't you tell me you were secretly soldiers?"

"Alistair's orders," Gerald answered, "But now that you know, there's no point in hiding it anymore, is there?"

Gerald and Markus threw up their right arms, slamming their fists into their chests. They threw the other arm behind them, straightening their posture as they did so. It took me a second before I realized they were saluting in their own, unfamiliar, way.

"Reintroductions!" Gerald said, a little loud, "Second Lieutenant Gerald B Rockefeller, of the northern lights battalion, at your service, Sir!"

"Sergeant Markus Z Callum, of the northern lights battalion, at your service, Sir!"

"Sir?" I gasped, bewildered.

"High Ranger Alistair appointed us as your bodyguards, Sir!" Gerald stated, "Even as an apprentice Ranger, you carry more merit than I, Sir!"

"That doesn't feel like it should make much sense," I muttered, "All I did was win a tournament and this is the result? Anyways, don't act all formal. Just call me as you've done before!"

"Thank you," Gerald said. Both he and Markus dropped the salute, "If you're curious, it's more of a traditional thing in the military than an actual rule. Rangers in general do have more merit and outrank my own rank. However, it's always been considered polite and correct to treat an apprentice ranger as a full ranger."

"But I'm still going to be an apprentice ranger for another three years?"

"I've heard those three years will be tougher than my own training. If you survive those years, then you've earned my respect."

"I see," I said, shrugging.

"But," Markus said, "Now that you know, can you consider it?"

"Consider what?" I asked.

"Me training you! I'm a rather skilled fighter myself, and I also have a similar fighting style to your own! There's nothing that can go wrong with this!" Markus asked, looking excited. Gerald looked to the sergeant, then back to me.

"Sure, what can go wrong?"