Harbinger: The Four Knights

A Successful Expedition

The group delayed the expedition for another day since their blacksmith has to make certain weapons for them the moment they gathered more than enough Dragon’s bane ore. “Wow! Is that it?! The blade of the sword is glowing a red color! Will that really injure dragons heavily?” Curio said as he inspects the weapon that Kaseki made. “You don’t anything because you are human but if you put that near a dragon, it will certainly react differently.” Kaseki said as he wipes the sweat from his face after finishing everything in the middle of the night without any break.

               “Here, have some water first before you start speaking. You’ve been working the entire day that you even skipped eating, we saved an entire boar leg for you.” The guild leader said as he points to the makeshift table that they made. “I’m really famished so thanks. By the way, I created weapons that are mostly long ranged. We may have acquired the dragons’ bane but it wouldn’t hurt to be safe.” He said before he left to eat at the table.

               The others marvel at their shiny weapons, Kaseki mostly made arrows for heavy crossbows that are mostly used in siege and bows alike for marksmen and made just a few numbers of sword and the rest of the ore are made as shields. “Wow! I can’t believe we get to have something like this- isn’t this a limited edition?” Marcus said as he looks at the sword that he personally ask Kaseki to make for him. “What is limited edition big brother?” Amon ask out of curiosity after hearing what Marcus said.

               “It means these are the only ones in the entire world. Think of it as a privilege to be having these kind of weapons.” Marcus said as he wipes his new weapon. “What surprise me the most is how the blacksmith made this loads of arrows for the heavy crossbows and bows. I did not think that it would be this much, if people sees this, they will think that we are going to war.” Abel said as he covers his mouth in surprise while looking at the mountain of arrows in front of him. [I am mainly a bow user so I can understand how important it is to have enough arrows to take down an enemy but this is just excessive no matter how I look at it.] he thought to himself as he takes a bow and inspects it.

               [Wow! When demons create a bow, it will scream excellence but that blacksmith created something as close as the demons back home. It may not be as good as what we have at home but it is an excellent bow no matter how you look at it.] Abel continues to inspect the bow while Kaseki is enjoying the sight of everyone looking at his creation in excitement. [Wow- I never thought I would get to see a sight such as this again. How long was it been since I saw a similar sight as this?] he thought to himself as he scans back in his memories. [Ah! It was the same expedition as this- the last dragons’ lair expedition, I hope it will not turn out like that time where the former guild leader died, the current guild leader’s master.] Kaseki bit his lip after recalling everything that happened the last time he had seen the same sight after a decade.

               During that expedition, the current guild leader was still a novice at everything and is learning from his master, Harry is a stray that the former guild leader adopted. Everyone was ignorant of the fact that they are using weapons made with dragon’s bane ore and so they ventured into the dragons’ lair but unbeknownst to them, there is a flaw in Kaseki’s crafted weapons. The swords are made of pure dragon’s bane ore which is not durable compared to other metals and ended up breaking the first time it hit the dragon’s skin, Kaseki realized his flaw but it was too late, the entire group is slowly getting annihilated by the numerous dragons that even the ones running away are getting swept and dragged by the dragons’ sharp claws. The former guild leader protected Harry and Kaseki in exchange for his life.

               Kaseki and Harry ended up hiding in the cave where other monsters reside and wait until the dragons leave and a while later, the dragons left the area leaving nothing, not even a trace of people that had ventured in that area. The devastated Kaseki and Harry walked away with nothing but memories filled with despair and terror.

               The memories came flashing back to Kaseki, memories that he wanted to forget but still haunts him to this very day. [Dragon’s bane ore is certainly a weapon that can injure a dragon but to humans, it is something that is considered ominous. It is a sign that a human is about to face death, that is why I did not create the weapons using only dragon’s bane ore and instead mixed it with the strongest ores that we dug out while searching for the Dragon’s bane ore. That way, the weapons will not break easily like they did last time.] Kaseki continued eating after thinking back in the past.

               Harry saw this and remembered the nightmare that they encountered a few years back. [Surely it will be different than last time, and this time. I promised to avenge you master.] he grips his fist as he swore to his deceased master’s name to seek revenge.

               Morning came and everyone had already prepared the things that they needed, everyone of them had weapons that Kaseki made, the ones with dimensional rings were obliged to have heavy crossbows as well as numerous arrows with them while the others are equipped with shields and swords. Before they leave the camp, they all talked about the strategy that they are going to play.

               “Listen carefully, this how the plan is going to be. First, let’s make sure that the dragon’s bane weapons that old man Kaseki made is effective.” He pointed at Abel after seeing his exceptional marksmanship during at the testing room. “You are going to shoot an arrow at the center of the lair while we watch the reactions of the dragons, if it is effective then you are to hide immediately behind the shields that were crafted by old man Kaseki, that way you are not going to be targeted by them while we set up the heavy crossbows to take them down immediately, but remember to take out the dragons using the heavy crossbow which you think will die in one shot otherwise we will be in big trouble and by that time when the others started shooting out using the heavy crossbows, I want you to cover for the others in case other dragons came to attack them. Second, once the dragons have fallen down, finish them off with the swords, a strike with a sword between their eyes should do it.”

               All of them realize how dangerous the expedition would be and listened carefully to Harry who even repeated what he just said so that everyone could remember it clearly. “Everyone that should deliver the finishing blow should be fast, and when I say fast, I mean really fast and that would fall to the both of you, newbie 1 and Curio, you are both currently the fastest in our group, newbie 2 can be with you but he will be covering for the crossbow users while the rest of us distract the other dragons with our shields, that way their attention would be divided and they will not notice other dragons falling for our plan.” The other members agreed to the plan and right after arriving at the site, they immediately carried out the first part of the plan.

               [This is going to be our first time fighting dragons this is getting me really excited!] Abel told himself as he points his arrow in the middle of the cave and shoot it in the center.

               FWOOOOOSH!

               The small red light that the tip of the arrow emitted slightly illuminated the inside of the cave and revealed the dragons nesting at the ceiling, looking intensely at the bright red arrow that struck the ground.

               RAWWWWWRRR!

               The dragons then immediately reacted the instant the arrow appeared before them and shook the ground with their stomp.

               RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

               The other members then proceeded to place themselves in places that dragons would find hard to detect while having the best place to snipe them off one by one, while the others who are equipped with swords and shields went straight inside the cave but as Nero threw an artifact that would brighten up the entire cave, a huge rumbling caught their ear. They all looked at each other in surprise but non of then knew what was going on when all of the sudden, the dragons swarmed the entrance of the cave and flew away. Nero’s group along with the guild leader were swept on the ground, the wind that the dragons produce were strong enough to throw them away outside, the dragons sees them but ignores them immediately after seeing that they are equipped with Dragon’s bane weapons.

               “Now!” the guild leader sees this as a perfect opportunity to strike when they are currently disorientated and so, Marcus and the other heavy crossbow users fired and manage to shoot down three dragons to the ground, Amon and Curio then went and delivered the finishing blows before the dragons could even stand up and try to fly away again.

               Marcus and the others are about to reload and shoot another round of arrows but the dragons were too far away and the probability of shooting a single dragon would be impossible but nonetheless, they were able to take down three which was impressive given with their numbers.

               “Yeah!” they cheered on their successful expedition and immediately run towards the dragons but Harry and Kaseki sensed that something is wrong. Amon turned his head to the cave where the dragons came from and muttered. “It’s not over, they were not running away from us, they are running away from something.” Amon immediately tells the others to hide before their shields after sensing a huge fluctuation of mana from the cave. “Hide in your shield-s!” when all of the sudden, the cave’s entrance crumbled down as the stomping of something even larger than the dragons they just saw reached their ears.

               RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! CRASH! RAWWWWWWR!

                A huge dragon with rings around it’s eye and what it seems to be a crown looking horns on its head appeared from the cave with red scales covering its entire body that almost resembled like an armor. After seeing the giant dragon, the other members immediately raise their shields when it looked like the dragon is about to breathe fire.

               FSSSSSH!

               The shields kept them safe from the flames but everything behind them were turned to ashes. “Hic! What the hell?!” one of them cried in terror after seeing the damage that the dragon can do to the surroundings but instead of panicking, Nero told them to focus on the dragon itself. The dragon was surprised that they were able to survive its breathe of flames and it’s eyes squinted after realizing that the shields are made of Dragon’s bane, it immediately used it’s tail to blow Nero and the others away from their shields.

               PWAAAK! BAM!

               A single sweep of the dragon’s tail blew Nero and the others away and separated them from their shields that can protect them from the flames but before the dragon could breathe fire again, Abel fired a volley of arrows inside the dragon’s mouth in order to delay it’s attack and give him enough time to heal the others who are wounded by its recent attack.

               SHHHHHHH!

               “Hurry and get away immediately!” Abel shouted as Marcus fires a shot from his heavy crossbow and manage to hit the neck of the dragon and further delay it’s breathe of fire but it’s sweeping tail continues to stop everyone from approaching closer.

               WOOOSH! WOOOOSH! WOOOSH! SCREEEECH!

               But even with the tail blocking the way, Amon pushed further and drop all the bracers on his body so that he can more efficiently and make his way through the dragon’s defenses. The dragon senses this and slammed it’s tail to where Amon was but Amon was not there and successfully nail the sword made of Dragon’s ban inside it’s tail.

               [What the hell? He baited the dragon into slamming it’s tail to run a sword inside? What a terrifyingly reckless move and yet perceptive. That kid really is a wonder just like the head merchant said!] the guild leader told himself when a smile appeared on his face after seeing the dragon screech in intense pain.

               SCREEECH! ROAAAR!

               The dragon unleashed it’s fire breathe yet again but everyone was ready for it and had their shields back up again for the attack thanks to the delay that Amon, Marcus and Abel did, everyone survived the attack yet again. Pissed of the result of its attack, the dragon flapped its wings to blow them all away with the wind, everyone did not see this coming at all and before they knew it, they were already flying towards the burned trees.

               FWOOOSH!

               “AH!” everyone flew like dusts in the air but thankfully the three who trained for days using Marcus’ barrier kept everyone safe from getting any heavy injuries by surrounding everyone with their new-found barrier type.

               SLAM! BAM! BAM! PLOP!

               Some of them landed on water while some crashed to the rocks and boulders while others crash unto the burned trees but to their surprise, none of them suffered any injuries and when they look at themselves, they see a faint aura covering themselves. “Phew! Thankfully we learned big brother’s barrier type, otherwise most of us should be dead right now.” Amon muttered as he got up but their sing of praises for being safe is short lived, the dragon is ready to unleash its fire attack once again.

               Amon reacted immediately and grabbed the nearest sword and threw it powerfully towards the dragon’s mouth and struck the underside of it’s mouth which made it close it’s mouth but Marcus and other heavy crossbow users did not waste that window of opening and shot a round of heavy crossbows, piercing the dragon’s skin immediately after contact.

               SCREECH! RAWWWR!

               The dragon screamed in pain as numerous large arrows pierced it’s thick hide but when it turns to the direction where the arrows came from, another set and volley of arrows struck near it’s eye with a single arrow actually pierced it’s eyeball.

               The dragon screech in pain once again after suffering another set on injuries and the ones holding swords did not waste the opportunity and buried their swords at every part of the dragon they can reach, with the number of new injuries, the dragon had gotten slower than it was before, it was weakened by the number of Dragon’s bane inside it’s body. Marcus had an idea and grabbed one of the heavy crossbows from one of the users.

               “Let me barrow this, thanks!” he said as he swiped it off from one of the adventurer’s hands. “Hey! That’s mine! You should not use it to shoot with your hands!” the adventurer yelled but Marcus is already far away from him to hear his scream. “Hey Amon, do you think you can throw me right at the top of that thing?” Amon is clueless as to what his big brother want to do but at the same time excited as to what he is going to pull off. “I can’t guarantee it but I can throw you as strong as I can!” Amon replied as Marcus nods his head. “That would be enough!” he immediately offered his hand while running towards Amon and immediately covered his body with everything he had trained for the past few days.

               Amon grabbed his hand held his hips before throwing Marcus with everything he had.

               PYOOOOW!

               Amon is only able to throw Marcus just above the dragon’s head but it was more than enough to Marcus to do what he has in mind.

               SHING!

               Marcus armed himself with two loaded heavy crossbows and pointed it in the middle of the dragon’s eyes. “Hehe! You will be my core!” Marcus shoots both of the crossbows and struck the dragon in the head with a heavy blow as it slowly fell on the ground but Marcus on the other hand did not get away unscathed, the recoil from the heavy crossbow broke the entire bones on both of his arms and even twisted all of his joints. [Fxck! I did not expect my reinforcement would not be enough to negate the effects. I overestimated myself here.] he thought to himself as he grit his mouth in pain.

               “ARGGG!” Marcus screamed in pain but before he can experience the searing and unfathomable pain on his arms, Abel healed him as Curio caught him mid air. “That was some balls kid! Haha!” Curio said with a smile as they landed on the ground. Everyone was on the edge after seeing the giant dragon appear from inside the cave and they were still breathless even after what Marcus pulled off but after seeing that he is okay, they all shouted their cheers to the one that delivered the final blow.

               “Yeah! Woohooo!” they all jumped in joy after taking down a monster that they did not expect to appear. Harry and Kaseki shed tears and embraced each other after their successful expedition. “Thank god! Thank god it did not end up like what happened last time!” Kaseki muttered while crying his heart out. Harry on the other hand is quietly sobbing out under Kaseki’s embrace. [Master, we are able to avenge you all!] all of them are celebrating when all of the sudden a sudden chill in the air engulfed the entire land. They all looked up in the sky and saw that the dragons were coming back, the guild leader immediately absorbed the dragons inside his ring and told everyone to hide. He immediately felt the heaviness of the ring after storing the dragons that they manage to defeat.

               They saw the dragons circling above the cave as it to see if there are people nearby, one of them descended to the ground and stare at the cave, the entrance was covered in rubble and there is no way for them to get inside. After seeing what happened to the entrance of the cave, the dragon flew and left with the others. The expedition team waited until it was clear that the dragons have left and went back to the entrance. “Were they expecting to come back to their lair?” Nero asked but none of them could answer his question.

               “Well, let’s find out.” Marcus said as he stores most of the rubble that covered the entire entrance as his hand immediately fell on the ground along with his body.

               “This is freaking heavy!” he muttered as he release everything he store on the space behind him and it immediately looked like something moved the rubble on the side.

               RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

               The entrance of the cave can now be entered but it was not the same as before, only a third of the opening is left which is more than enough for a human and a dragon to enter. Inside, they saw that there are a lot of eggs  on the ceiling and on the walls of the cave but all of them were smashed maybe due to the giant dragon making the entrance collapse and the dragon’s panicking earlier.

               “No wonder they went to check it out earlier, this was their breeding grounds.” Kaseki said after observing the place. “Let’s leave before we encounter more dragons.” One of the veterans said after finding it useless to stay any more. Everyone felt the same thing and left the dragon’s lair and retreated to a safe place a little far away. Some of them suffered some light injuries like a piece of wood piercing their flesh and some graze, everyone that crash on rocks and boulders as well as burned trees are the ones to received injuries but the ones who were thrown into the water were safe but were shaking in the cold breeze.

               “Are you sure  you don’t want me to heal all of them completely?” Abel asked harry who immediately nods his head. “Yes and that is what they want as well we can’t have others to be suspicious of how we manage to survive after all and besides, it looks like they want to have a parting gift from the expedition.” Harry said as he turns to the others who looks at their wounds like they are some sort of trophies.

               Meanwhile

               “Dear, it has already been a few days after those kids left. Can you please just ask why they are taking so long?” Kassandra said to Mark who was getting ready to leave. “That I will do since I am going to the guild myself.” He said with a reassuring tone. [What are those kids up to?] he thought to himself.

               A few minutes later

               “They what?!” Mark exclaimed in utter shocked after learning that the three of them joined the expedition towards the dragons’ lair. “Why the hell am I not informed of this?!” Mark almost went into a rampage but then remembered to control his temper. “Please keep yourself calm my lord.” Kayla said with a haggard expression but then Mark’s anger shoot up again. “How can I be calm miss Kayla when I know that-“ Mark was not able to continue speaking when Kayla closed his mouth. “Please calm down, I have already received a word that they are coming back, all of them.” She said with a weak tone.

               [All of them? Is she saying that they successfully survived the expedition?]

               A few days later, the expedition team arrived back in the land and were greeted by silence while most adventurers stare at them with an utterly shocked expressions. “No way- they were able to survive that expedition with that numbers?” one of the adventurers that refused to join muttered to himself as Harry and the others are delighted to return home safe.