Reverse Chronicles

The First Trial

The northern part of Lyane was where its wealthiest citizens lived. Mansions and villas faced one another as they lined on the street. It was there where the products and services catered to the super wealthy. The red-light district was also in the northern section of the city. From the southwest, the red-light district and the wealthy subdivisions were beside each other.

I walked on the streets of the district. Brothels and inns lined the street. They served not the tourists and the common people, but the wealthy merchants and powerful adventurers that lived in the next district. I came across a girl, who wore exotic clothes just outside of a brothel. She was flirting with someone who appears to be an archer, who wore armor that were polished like a mirror and a bow that was intricately designed.

On the next block, I saw a man with his entirety exposed, except for his genitals which were covered with a towel. He was conversing with an older woman who wore a gown with intricate designs and jewelry that sparkled so vividly. The next building were three men with naked tops, they were dancing in front of a group of men, who smoked giant cigars and wore necklaces of gold.

I have to find that merchant. What was his name again? Jess Magghus?

“Are you lost, baby?” a man approached me. From the looks of it, he was a wealthy merchant. His golden necklaces looped around his neck as if they were rope. He had rings with jewels and gems. Even his scent signified wealth and power. “Why don’t you come with me? We can have a great time.”

I was paralyzed on the spot. My mouth could not say a word nor can I find the words to say. I just looked at his eyes and stature, memorizing his features as time passed by. He had a large body build. He was taller than Franz and was more muscular.

“Lost in thought? You would get in trouble for that,” the man laughed, clearly he is a misogynist. “I see you have a sword there. You must be the adventurous type. Well, why don’t we go on an adventure together?”

“Excuse me,” I finally found the words, “but I’m looking for someone else.”

“You wound me, baby. How could you look for someone else, when you are in the presence of the greatest merchant in Lyane?” he started to brag. He got a pouch of gold coins from his pocket and threw them at the middle of the road. Everyone in the area scrambled to get the gold coins. Some were hurt while some were even hit by the horses and carriages that passed by. “Look at them go! They are all pigs who want gold.”

“Jess Magghus,” I uttered.

“Yes?”

“I’m looking for a man named Jess Magghus.”

“This must be your lucky day,” he put his hands on my shoulders, “for the man before you is the great Jess Magghus himself!”

I am stunned. This is Jess Magghus? No wonder Jennifer wants him dead. He’s a jerk!

“So, shall we get going?” he grabbed me by my shoulders. He was strong. I could barely resist his pull.

“Let’s go,” I began to act interested.

Jess took me to a restaurant at the high-end district, where he treated me to a luxurious course. It was an exciting meal, I should say. The appetizers were delicious, the main dish was superb, and the dessert was an explosion of flavor. Jess ate as if he owned the place. When he was finished with dessert, he purposely poured wine on his pants so that the waitress would wipe it for him.

How inhumane! No one deserves to be treated like that.

The moment, however, gave rise to a plan.

“Step aside,” I pushed the waitress aside and began to wipe the spill myself. If I could fool him into thinking that I am into him, I might be able to finish the job before sundown.

“That’s it, baby!” He guided my hand up to his crotch, where he poured more wine and made me wipe more.

What have I gotten myself into?

“Sir, you are making our other customers uncomfortable,” the owner finally came and put an end to this disgraceful and humiliating act. Jess argued at first, but he followed and we both left the restaurant.

He invited me to his mansion, where he had actors perform in a theatre in his living room.

“I wrote this play,” he bragged. “It is a masterpiece.”

The play started. It was about the most powerful man’s decisions on which woman to take as his wife. He had five choices. He loved each one equally, but he could only pick one, as dictated by his family and the family of the other five. In the end, he took all of the women as his wives and had all the members of his family and their families ended. It was a twisted story, which could only be thought of by the most twisted of minds.

As the play was ending, he suddenly moved his hands across my shoulders. He slowly moved it down and started fondling my breast. I was already annoyed, and I was furious, when he started relieving himself in front of me.

That’s it! I’m going to finish this trial.

“Oh,” he suddenly stopped. “I remembered something. Please wait here.”

I waited for him in the living room when suddenly, I began to feel faint. The air around me became heavier. I bolted out of the house and tried to regain my senses on the streets. My head was spinning. I could hardly keep my balance. I stumbled. The last thing I saw was someone walking towards me.

I can hear water dripping. The air was cold, but the floor was warm. My eyes were blindfolded, my hands and legs were all tied up. I can hear people clamoring.

“Hurry, you filthy scum!” I can hear a man’s raspy voice shouting. “Pack them all. Leave nothing behind!”

I tried to squirm, but the rope that bound my hands were tied tightly. However, with my knowledge of fire magic, I slowly burned the rope. A flame not too big that the people around me could notice, and not too small that it would not burn the rope.

“So, you’re finally awake,” a familiar voice approached me. I have been found out! My blindfolds were removed, and I saw Jess Magghus. I was in a cellar of sorts. There was no light, except for the flame from the torches and lamps. There were men who carried the torches and people who were packing a sort of herb inside a sack. “Now that you have seen this, you will never again be free!”

“No!” I screamed. “What do you want from me?”

“From you?” he laughed maniacally, “everything that you have to offer. I’m a business man. I will make use of everything that you have.”

“Let me go, please!”

“Now, now, we still have a caravan to catch to Syracre. Just be silent and you may survive the trip.”

“No! I had it with you. Break these bonds and I will smack that ugly face of yours on the floor.”

“Smack me? You won’t be able to touch me.” He turned his back to me and talked to two men. “Break her,” he said.

There was no holding back now. I cast Fireball and burned the rope in seconds. I was free, yet I was surrounded. My sword is gone, but I still have magic. I must use it to escape. The two men were of huge build, but they were slow. They tried to catch me, but I was able to dodge their every move. I cast Quicksand and trapped the two on the ground.

My worries were not yet over, as other foes noticed the struggle. There were eight of them. They all had huge builds, and just like the two men before them, they were slow. I cast Douse and tried to make them slip, but they were able to maintain their balance. I went on the offensive and tried Wind Blade, but my low magic strength was not enough to pierce their metal armor. I cast Fireball, taking two down, but there were still six others.

Two on my left finally caught up to me. They grabbed my shoulder and my left leg, but I repelled them using Rock Javelin. Without a second to spare, I turned to the other four which had already surrounded me. Before I knew it, they grabbed my hand preventing me to cast any spells. It was over.

Suddenly, one of my captors suddenly fainted. He was hit in the head by a Rock Javelin. Soon, Rock Javelins barraged on my captors. The immense number of rocks penetrated their metal armor blasting them against the wall. I looked to the source of the spell; it was the people. They all fought back seeing how I fought against them.

A girl walked up to me and reached out her hand. She was smiling and her face was bright with hope. I accepted her hand and got up. Along with the girl were countless other girls and boys who were packing herbs inside sacks.

“We have to get out of here,” I said, and they all followed. We traversed the room and found a staircase. I was right, we were in a basement of sorts. We climbed up the staircase to find ourselves in the middle of Jess Magghus’ mansion.

“Where do you think, you’re going?” Jess was waiting for us. He wielded a razor blade. A boy suddenly ran towards the exit. He ran towards the boy and struck him down with the blade. He jumped back when I cast Fireball. I ran towards the boy and healed him as much as I could.

“All of you are free to go out, however, be wary of my hand. It just moves on its own,” Jess laughed.

Then, I noticed something hanging from his wall. A blade that I thought, I would never see again, Whisperer. I distracted Jess, by sending Rock Javelins on his way. I ran towards Whisperer and retrieved it. I finally have it back.

“Oh, so now you have it back. But what more can you do? You are too weak to face me.”

“She is not alone.” The door suddenly broke and in came Franz and Keith. “Jess Magghus, we will fight you together.”

“Oh, how sweet. A knight in shining armor came in to rescue the damsel in distress.”

“She is no damsel in distress,” Franz answered. “She is stronger than any girl, I have ever met, and she will defeat you here and now.”

Franz rushed Jess and the two engaged. Their speeds were the same, but Jess had a larger build than Franz, making his sword swings more powerful than the latter. When Franz was repelled, I quickly entered the bout dodging and moving as fast as I could.

“Quick, get all the people out of here!” I shouted to Keith and he blasted the entire doorway open letting the people out. Jess caught me off guard. He moved in while I had my attention on the people. Whisperer flung from my hands and he moved in with his sword positioned to pierce my stomach. I closed my eyes, then suddenly, I felt a hand shoving me away. I opened my eyes to see it was Franz. He pushed me to safety. And now, he is gravely injured. I gathered my strength and cast Wind Blade to blow Jess away. “Oh no, this is all my fault.” I cast Heal. “Keith! Take care of him.”

“I will never let him go!” Keith spoke with utmost determination and began casting Restore, a stronger healing spell.

“See, I told you. Even if you three and all the people fought against me, you will never win.”

“We’ll see about that.” I grabbed Whisperer. I looked at Franz and saw how I dragged him into this. This shouldn’t have happened, if I was stronger. He would never have been gravely injured, if I was strong enough to go alone.

Suddenly, I could hear Marcus whispering on my ear, “You are stronger than you know.” I felt power flowing into me. I charged. Strangely, I could see how Jess would move, even before he made the move. It was like I could see moments into the future and because of that I was able to dodge his every strike. I dodged his every swing and attacked his blind spots. As time passed, his movements became slower. My attacks are working.

“This can’t be happening,” he took a step back. “It seems I have to fight at full strength.” A terrifying air suddenly filled the room. Jess was powered up. His muscles grew larger and he was faster, too. “Can you defeat a Warrior at full strength?”

“Josh,” Marcus words whispered to me again, “you are an Outsider, which means you can beat anyone.”

Jess charged at me. I dodged. He rushed me again. I jumped and parried his swing which came after me. In that short instant, I saw his next move and a red ribbon tied to his hand. I was able to dodge his strike.

A red ribbon? But there is no red ribbon on his hand.

 He charged at me again, only to destroy the last furniture that he had. His house was literally broken down. The curtains were tattered, the windows and the glasses were broken, and every decoration had been reduced to smithereens. The walls had holes, the floor was broken, and the ceiling had an opening.

He became mindless, charging incessantly at me. Whenever, he did I could always see his next move enabling me to dodge and also at that moment, I could see a red ribbon tied around his right arm, where he wielded his razor blade.

At his next charge, I did a Feint Attack and attacked his right arm, slicing through it as if it was paper. He bled and the razor blade that he wielded fell to the ground in a loud bang. He could no longer lift it. When he would, the wound in his right arm would open. As a last resort, he tackled me and ran towards the door to escape, but Keith bound his legs with Shadow Strangle, immobilizing him.

“This can’t be happening!” he shouted. “I can’t be defeated here. You!” he turned to me. “This is all your fault if only you did not come here in the first place. This is all your fault, scum!”

“My name is not scum,” I punched him in the face, laying him unconscious. “It’s Josh, remember it.”

The people that I rescued cheered. They all made it out safely. I helped Keith and cast Heal. Eventually, the city guard came and asked the people that we rescued what happened. They apprehended Jess and took Franz to their infirmary, where Keith and I, and the mage guards healed him.

“How did it go?” Franz finally regained consciousness.

“I won,” I smiled. My tears slowly streamed down. I was happy that Franz was finally okay, but my tears could not stop. “Thanks to you!”

“I knew you could do it. You are strong, after all.”