The Last Outlaw: Part 1

Helmund and the bar owner faced off at the lone wooden table with metal straps in the middle floor of the bar. 

The owner threw off his dark cloak and revealed a burly chest covered in blackened scars and long, baggy, pocket-covered tan pants, bound together with a rope at his waist.  His face was scrunched up in anger.  He slowly drew a long sword from his belt, the blade made a hissing whisper as it was removed from the sheathe.  All the while, Helmund held his gaze.

Helmund was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and loose fitting black pants.  On either hand he had sturdy metal gauntlets. 

The owner bent down and stretched his back.  He turned his neck from left to right and popping it with a series of clicks in rapid succession.  Then, he proceeded to do the same with the rest of his body as he loosened up.

“Don’t hold back or I am going to break you.” Helmund jeered at him.

The owner shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and slowly brought one foot behind his back. He put his weight on it and brought up his sword, “So be it.” he said as he moves in with a ferocious swipe.

Helmund turned his head in curiosity.

There was a band of players to the right that had an array of instruments. The jaunty toons that brought the bar to life came out of them. They had everything from woodwinds, to percussion, to string instruments in their possession and were quick skilled with them. All of that came to a halt.

Helmund looked over at the band of players.  He reached into his pants, pulled out a coin purse, and tossed it to them. 

“Play something I can swing my fist too.” He said with a winning smile.

The band leader grabbed the purse out of the air, “One, two...” he tapped off, then his band began playing a quick, pumping melody.

Helmund turned his attention back to the owner, “Now, where were we?” and with a quick flick of his hand, as if to swat away light itself, he deflected the sword. To the owner’s amazement, he was unharmed.

The owner rushed again at Helmund.  He dipped and weaved right as he was about to reach him and slashed downwards with the sword.  Helmund parried with one of his gauntlets and the blade clashed against the metal strapped to the table with a shriek that sent sparks flying into the air.  The owner was quick and uppercut slashed at the hand to hand warrior, attempting to catch Helmund from stem all the way to sternum.

Helmund sidestepped to the left just enough and the blade passed a hairs breath from his face. 

Quickly, before the owner could respond with a follow-up, Helmund swiftly punched him twice in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of the owner, stunning him for a brief moment.

The fight had taken Helmund and the owner dangerously close to the edge of the bar and Helmund had his back almost to the wall, despite his counter offensive.

The owner was still open for more attacks though and he was not done.

The quick blow had opened the owner up for another attack and Helmund obliged him, putting a simple sidekick into his stomach, doubling him over.  He then followed that up with a quick rising uppercut.

The crowd watching their fight let out a collective wince for the man.

Taking the opening and using the environment to his advantage, he back flipped onto the wall and pushed off towards the owner. The maneuver sent him front flipping towards his target and just before he reached him, Helmund flattened his body out, feet first.  Instead of colliding with his adversary though, he opted to wrap his feet around his neck instead. 

The maneuver caught the owner off-guard. But as he was recovering his wits, he dropped his weapon and caught Helmund by his shirt.

Helmund gave him an apologetic shrug. As if to say, “sorry” but the owner proceeded to slam him.

Helmund used this momentum in a creative way; instead of being pummeled into the newest table ornament, he swung into his opponent’s open legs. Causing him to lose balance and fall into the nearest support beam. Then, when he was directly behind him. Helmund curled his fist and angled his body towards the ground, as if to assume running position. He charged at the owner one last time driving his knee into his chest.

After taking a swig at his drink one last time, Helmund tipped the band players and made his way to the exit.

“What is your name?” The bar owner asked groggily as he stood to his feet.

“I am Helmund, The Last Outlaw” he said as he left and a ruckus grew in the bar.

Shouts of awe and fear alike filled the air as the realization that the infamous Helmund, slayer of kings, bringer of death, had been nothing but a man all along.

The Last Outlaw: Part 2

Basil was used to these stories by now, but he could never forget how astounded he was the first time he heard one of Helmund’s stories. He spoke of dragons and the giant eels, but recently Basil looked at him as if he were crazy. Basil realized that if he told him about his doubts, Helmund would probably just try to demonstrate one of his heroic feats. He’d crumble under the weight of his ego, that thought made Basil feel less unfortunate given their current situation.

“Which is the way to the pet store, Chosen One,” Basil asked in a not so flattering tone.

“The last time I was here I was being chased by a dragon, so forgive me if I don’t remember every single stone I left unturned”, Helmund exclaimed from up ahead.

It was a misty morning when we left our makeshift shelter, and as soon as we walked out of the entrance you could instantly smell the fresh dew on the grass. We were heading to Forlond, an Elven city near the Sacred Forest to retrieve some of Helmund’s gear from some of his previous ventures. We had to escape to this valley area near a forest for shelter because Helmund said an “old friend” owed him a favor. However, he failed to mention that the old friend was really just a bar owner that he had fought 10 years ago.

It took us about 4 hours to get to the edge of the valley, where the mountain began. The journey went really quickly because of Helmund’s stories, although I had heard some of them plenty of times already. The sun was beginning to shine really strongly on our backs as we were traveling, a stark contrast to the early morning feel of the mist. What felt like miles had passed quicker and we had finally made some progress in our journey.

I was gazing up into the blue cloudless sky and listening to the old man grumble when I spotted some merchants, whom were flying high above me on Argentavis, so I threw out some bread that was left over from an earlier snack. As soon as the bread had hit the floor, the birds had instantly spotted it and they flew down in a kaleidoscopic pattern and landed to feast upon a meal of dry bread.

“Are you looking to buy something boy?” One of the merchants asked with a not so friendly look on his face. “We are in a hurry, we must deliver these supplies to the mainland” , He pointed to the flock of travel birds they had just landed on.

“Not exactly, we’re looking for directions to Forlond, the Elf city'‘ Basil exclaimed. “Helmund and I-”

“HELMUND?” the merchant shouted.

“Do you speak of the treacherous outlaw named Helmund” another chimed in.

Basil had to think quickly, “No…no no no, you see, my grandfather is named Helmund, we were just headed back home when we got lost in this forest. He is very old so he loses his way sometimes.” Basil pointed towards Helmund who was standing near a tree atop a small hill. The lie seemed to convince the traveling merchants, the anger had left their faces.

“Be careful where you say that name boy,” the merchant explained. “The legendary outlaw has made many enemies in his time…”

He looked over at Helmund before he continued, “nobody has seen him in almost 20 years, and his face was lost to time. It’d be a shame if your were to be punished for his crimes, as I doubt he’ll ever have to pay for them.”

Helmund nodded his head once to the merchants and continued down the small hill.

“Listen boy, follow our birds as we fly overhead. Forlond isn’t too far off our path to the mainland.” the merchant said as he began mounting his bird. We’ll go as far as the edge of the forest, you’ll follow the dirt path the rest of the way.”

We followed them to the dirt path, and as we were just about to stop for a rest, the beautiful city of Forlond came into view.

The Last Outlaw: Part 3

She sensed his discerning presence. She had been expecting him for a while; yet was unsure about the time of his arrival. Estel hated that about Helmund, he had this knack for showing up at all the wrong times.

Now here he was again disturbing her peace, and this time he brought a small child with him. I remember the fist time he showed up, strong and beautiful. Now she was his personal item stash; or at least her shop was. How could he be so cruel, so torturous, only showing up to gather his things and then leaving again without any clues as to when he’d return.

“You’ll know when I’m in town” he’d always say.

It’s been 10 years since the last time I’ve seen him, but still I knew it was him the moment I felt it. He seemed more aged now, somewhat tired.

“It’s been a long time Helmund, I’d hate to think you’re in a rush. Come in and have some tea, we can catch up.” Estel had said whilst walking away, not waiting for an answer.

“I’m afraid we-” Helmund began.

“One or two sugar cubes?” Estel interrupted.

“Three please!” Basil exclaimed as he followed Estel to the back of the shop.

Helmund followed shortly after, only stopping for a minute to look around the shop that he had once called a home. Estel was one of the only people he’d me that didn’t know his name or face when they first met. It was refreshing being able to just talk to someone who wasn’t immediately frightened at the mere mention of him. But times have changed, Estel still greeted him with open arms; but it seemed more out of familiarity than wanting.

“We cannot stay long” Helmund explained.

He began to explain the trouble in the mainland, and about how the magic in the land was disappearing. Basil was surprised to hear Helmund tell a story without all the theatrics; he had never seen him so serious. Now that he thought about it, Basil had only seen Helmund serious one time, and that was the day they met. He had been going on about making it to the kingdom because of a prophecy, I had only went with him because he avenged my parents and saved me from capture. I knew basic skills to take care of myself, but in the face of danger I was hopeless.

“What’s your name young man?” Estel said, breaking Basil’s train of thought.

“The boy is called Basil” Helmund spoke up, “ He is the key to freeing the magic, I can feel it.”

Both Basil and Estel looked at him.

He continued, “As I told you, Norlaf has infiltrated the mainland and I believe it is he who is behind this mess.” Helmund paused to take a sip from his tea. “I know of no other being capable of this madness, even the boy’s homeland was left unprotected. Once hidden by magical borders, now left a ruin.”

Basil hadn’t put much thought into it, honestly he didn’t even know what Helmund was talking about. A magical border? That was foreign to Basil, he did live in a small village and they didn’t get many visitors, and the ones that did passby didn’t come very often. Was that because of the barrier that Helmund mentioned?

Estel seemed to not be phased by the news that she was receiving, it was as if this was a common occurrence between the two. Helmund with his terrible news, Estel with tea and an ear for listening.

“How much time do you have to get him to the palace?” Estel asked.

“We need be there in 30 days time, that’s when I suspect all will be lost.” Helmund gulped down the rest of his tea. “I came to collect my things, do you still have them?”

“Yes, they’ve been where you left them since the last time” Estel nodded her head towards a slightly discolored wall in the back of the kitchen.

“Do you mind?” Helmund asked before cutting out what seemed to be canvas from the back wall where the discoloration was.

“I don’t have much of a choice now do I?” Estel sighed

Helmund stuck his hand into the wall and began to pull things out. One by one weapons came out of the wall and onto the kitchen floor, first were some darts, then a couple knives, and then Basil knew exactly what Helmund was looking for, he pulled out a charcoal black sword from the wall, and it had an Ivory dagger, with veins of gold running through both blades, starting from the midnight dark handle.

The Last Outlaw: Part 4

Estel could see little in the darkness, but she could hear them—the snapping of twigs, the crush of leaves, and the brush of grass. There were more than one, more than three, and they were closing in.

“Don’t neither of you move,” a she whispered in a hushed voice from the shop portion of the house. Helmund could hear the sounds of multiple people entering the shop. Their footsteps were quite heavy, so he concluded it could be no less than 6-8 individuals.

“We’ve got arrows aimed at your backs, and we’ll drop you where you stand if you try to run.” One of the mysterious travelers began. “We’re just gonna lighten your load a bit. No one needs to get hurt. Do as I say, and you’ll keep your lives. Don’t—and we’ll take those, too.”

Estel felt her stomach sink, knowing this was her fault. She glanced over at the kitchen, where Helmund sat. Beside him in his ashen gray robes stood a young boy, Basil with his face hidden. His companion’s head was buried and shook slightly. Helmund didn’t need to see his friend’s expression to know what it looked like.
“Sorry young one,” Helmund offered.
Basil said nothing and just continued to shake his head.
Before them stood a wall of fresh-cut canvas blocking their view. On the other side lay the moonlit corridor of empty hallway. Mist pooled in the dips and gullies, and somewhere an unseen stream of water trickled over a tabletop waterfall.

Helmund was clutching his sword in one hand, Basil could just make out the gold veins creeping up the sides of it. They were deep in the valley on the old southern road, engulfed in a long tunnel of oaks and ash whose slender branches reached out overhead, quivering and clacking in the cold autumn wind. Almost a three hour ride from the rest town, Helmund couldn’t recall passing so much as a shed. Yet here they were on their own in the middle of Estel’s Kitchen—being ambushed.

The sound of footsteps grew louder until the thieves finally stepped into the narrow band of moonlight. Basil counted four men with unshaven faces and drawn swords. They wore rough clothes, leather and wool, stained, worn, and filthy. With them was a girl wielding a bow, an arrow nocked and aimed. She was dressed like the rest in pants and boots, her hair a tangled mess. Each was covered in mud, a ground-in grime, as if the whole lot had slept in a dirt burrow.

“They don’t look like they got much money,” a man with a flat nose said. An inch or two taller than Helmund, he was the largest of the party, a stocky brute with a thick neck and large hands. His lower lip looked to have been split about the same time his nose was broken.
“But they’ve got bags of gear,” the girl said. Her voice surprised him. She was young, and—despite the dirt—cute, and almost childlike, but her tone was aggressive, even vicious. “Look at all this stuff they’re carrying. What’s with all the darts?”
Basil was uncertain if she was asking them or her fellows. Either way, he was not about to answer. He considered making a joke, but she did not look like the type he could charm with a compliment and a smile. On top of that, she was pointing the arrow at him and it looked like her arm might be growing tired.
“I claim the big sword that fella has in his hand,” flat-nose said. “Looks right about my size.”
“I’ll take the other two knives he’s carrying.” This came from one with a scar that divided his face at a slight angle, crossing the bridge of his nose just high enough to save his eye.
The girl aimed the point of her arrow at Basil. “I want the little one’s cloak. I’d look good in a fine grey hood like that.”
With deep-set eyes and sunbaked skin, the man behind to the girl appeared to be the oldest. He took a step closer and grabbed hold of her bow slowly. “Be real careful now. We’ve killed plenty of folks along this road. Stupid folks who didn’t listen.” He looked at Basil, “You don’t want to be stupid, do you?”
Basil shook his head.
“Good. Now drop them weapons,” the thief said. “And then step outside.”

Helmund didn’t oblige. Instead he spoke, “Do you know who I am? Perhaps you have heard of my many pseudonyms: Slayer of Kings, Bringer of Death, The OUTLAW.”

The girl with the bow backed up slightly. “You’re lying… he’s been dead for years, or at least believed to be." She raised her bow at Helmund, “How dare you claim his name!” she exclaimed in a sudden rage.

“Who are you talking about?” Flat-nosed asked. “What name did this guy steal?”
Helmund looked over. “I did not steal my name, it was given to me at birth.”
“And that is…?” said the one with the scar.
“Helmund,” Estel finally spoke up. Basil had totally forgotten she was even there.

“He speaks the truth…Arwen” She looked the girl dead in her eyes, “Now put your bow down while in MY shop.”

Arwen pointed her bow at Estel.
“So you’re going to be stubborn.” Estel scoffed
Silence.
Estel spoke up again, “Why do you have to make everything so difficult? Helmund comes back to us and the first thing you do is try to rob him, have you no shame.”

The entire rest of the shop looked around in confusion, and in unison Basil and Flat-Nose let out a much needed “Us?”
“I ain’t got no family,” Arwen replied. “I spent most of my life alone and in the woods.”
“You’re being a brat,” Estel said. “This is why I told you to leave the first time.”
“Either you do as you’re told, or I’ll remove you myself.” Estel emphasized this by pulling a long dagger from behind the counter she was standing at and pointing it towards Arwen.

Once again, silence.
A cold wind howled through the trees, bobbing the branches and stripping away some of that eerie silence. Red and gold leaves flew into the shop swirling in circles. Finally, Arwen lowered her bow.
“Every time you come back home you bring these hooligans with you, now what kind of an older sister would I be if I hadn’t stopped you today.” Estel put down the dagger and walked towards Arwen, wrapping her arms around her, giving the biggest bear-hug she could manage.

“Now, apologise to Basil, the boy looks worried sick that you might try to harm him and Helmund.”

Arwen looked at the boy, then at Helmund. “Where have you been, you said you’d teach me to hunt like you. That you’d take me on an adventure.”

“This boy is the reason for my absence, I apologise little one. It must have been hard.” Helmund spoke.

Before he could continue, Basil realized what he had just heard. At that moment, he guessed Arwen’s crew did as well.

“SISTERS!?” Basil and Flat-Nose exclaimed in unison once again.

“Wait a minute?” one of the thieves asked, “are you THE Helmund, from all the old stories?”

“Indeed.” Helmund proclaimed “Arwen here was my first apprentice, I taught her to use a hunting bow at 5 years old.”

“Enough of that!” Arwen cut in, “Why are you traveling with this child, why did you not come back for me.”

“I was lost child, I went to retrieve a summons from a far away land. When I awoke from my slumber, I found myself in his home”

The Last Outlaw: Part 4.5

The fog surrounding me and my two companions was thick, the air muggy and all sense of the world gone. As we walked on further into the woods it was difficult to know both where we were going and when we would get there. Fear was filling the air, but there was no going back. I had to keep going. I had a summons to attend too and my two companions, I can’t remember their names, pushed forward struggling to breathe as we went. The forest seemed to be endless. There was nowhere to go. We were lost in the middle of a dark black forest with no food no water, shelter, water or heat. That was when I started to worry that I was being misled.

My breath started to stager. It was too hard to keep going. My knees went weak and gave way. It felt as though I was falling. Falling through a deep dark tunnel. I had fainted.

I woke up shortly after with an elderly women slapping my face painfully and shaking me. A look of concern crossed with fear was upon a young boy’s face. Helmund looked toward basil. I tried to sit up but the pain in my stomach was unbearable. Finally I was able to sit up against the tree stump they used as a table. Though as I sat the three of us remained silent. Up further away a wolf cried to the moon. Which was barely visible through the dense fog. It was hard to tell what was more unnerving. The looks on the elderly women’s face or how terrified the boy was.

We sat there for a minute that seemed to go for an eternity. As the trees moved in the aggressive wind, shadows of fighting shapes littered the ground.

I explained to the women about our situation.

The Last Outlaw: Part 5

“I see, so it was your uselessness that has left you stranded for so long.” Arwen said.

Basil could see it in her face that she was glad to see Helmund, ecstatic even. However he didn’t dare to speak on it given their current situation.

It wasn’t unusual for Basil and his trusty travel guide Helmund to find themselves in a dire situation, but this time was different. Helmund had taught this girl before he even met him, Basil figured she could kill him in an instant if she’d wanted, but Helmund’s presence had made her falter. He decided if there was any time to speak, it would be now.

“P-pardon me, but why would you try to rob your own sister.” The sound that came out of Basil’s mouth had sounded more like a whisper than he intended. Nonetheless it got the attention of Arwen.

“I wasn’t going to rob her” Arwen lowered her bow “ I heard rumors throughout the forest that the slayer of kings had returned” she turned and looked at Helmund “ I knew that if it were true he’d come here first like he promised.'‘

“So why is your arrowhead pointed at us” Basil replied, “If anything, shouldn’t you be happy to see that you were correct?”

Basil didn’t quite understand this girl, but if there was one thing he did understand, it was that she was hiding something.

“ I heard other rumors as well” she lowered her bow. “There are signs of a fourth catastrophe, I’m sure you have noticed the lack of magic these days.” Arwen looked to Helmund.

“Precisely little o- Arwen” Helmund finally spoke again, “My sole purpose of leading that trek to his village was because I was hired to investigate the mysterious magic that had been detected in the area.” Helmund stood and walked towards Arwen, carefully taking the bow out of her hands.

“What happened afterwards was completely out of my control, and as I said before. It was the last request of his grandmother that i see to his safe passage to the mainland.” Helmund didn’t notice Basil’s expression as he spoke.

It was the first time in a while that Basil had thought about that day. He had been stripped of his regular life overnight, and had been fighting for it ever since. He still remembered being so confused as to why his grandmother had left him with Helmund, still he didn’t quite understood. There was never any time to reflect on what had happened, he just went with it because his grandmother said he was meant to live this life.

“Be that as it may, I still had to check for myself.” Arwen said in a more relaxed tone. “Lower your weapons men, and I humbly introduce you to the slayer of kings.” She looked Helmund in the eyes.

Her men had dropped their weapons in a fashion that resembled an exasperated ensemble.

The one with the flat nose looked relieved, as if he wasn’t quite ready to see if the legend of the outlaw were true. He and his crew put things back to where they were and handed Helmund back his weapons.

“I must speak with you” Arwen said to Helmund. It was hard to hear what she had said next over the bustling noises of her men’s movements, but it looked like she had said ‘alone’, which I figured was the case when she and Helmund went into the kitchen area, away from the noise.

***

Wind rushed across the cliffs as a dark wall of clouds moved from the sea to the land. There was a coolness to the air that made the birds take off in swarms. It was as if they could sense that whatever was on the horizon would be dire. The cawing echoed across the grassy plains atop the cliffs as they flew away from the storm.

Helmund and his companion, Basil, sat in the kitchen of Estel’s home as they did on many afternoons. It had been a month since Arwen’s visit her warning of the 4th Great Catastrophe hadn’t been just a rumor. As Helmund rocked back and forth in his chair, he grimaced toward the incoming Storm.

“Do you feel that, Basil?”

“What?”

“There’s an ache to the wind and moistness in the air,” declared Helmund.

Basil stood up and walked to a nearby window. The wind carried a fine mist that covered the trees in small droplets of water. A mighty gust shoved the leaves back as the clouds raced toward the shore as the window’s storm guards smashed against the shack. He turned and closed the guards over the glass and latched it.

“I see it now, the ache,” stated Basil.

“That’s the sign of a wicked storm. I must prepare the house.”

The Last Outlaw: Part 6

3 days time, that’s how long Estel said it would take to get to the mainland from Forlond. The storm seemed to ease the more we traveled, as if it were staying in place, or rather staying around us.

“What was the last catastrophe like?” Basil asked

“It’s just as the name suggests, there was nothing but destruction and chaos” Helmund said, not quite eagerly.

“Were you infamous back then as well” Basil had asked the question in jest, but he was also quite curious as to how long Helmund had been living like this.

No. That is the basic and monotone answer that he had received from Helmund. There was something off about him that ade Basil feel uneasy, as if he had been hiding something from him. This had been the first of there many travels where Helmund didn’t bother to tell him a story.

“Tell me a story, one about your time before travels as an outlaw.” Basil usually didn’t care for the dramatic telling of events that Helmund would recount, but this time things were different.

But before Helmund could begin speaking, both of them stopped dead in their tracks.

In front of them was a young man in strange clothes that they had never seen before. Dark rust colored hair matted with dirt and debris, brown skin similar to the color of wet oakwood.

“What is that pouch hanging out of his pocket there?” Basil said as he went to reach for small black wallet.

“Don’t!” Helmund exclaimed, “Let me.” he reached down and picked up the wallet.

Helmund looked through the wallet and to his surprise found strange currency and plastic cards he had never seen before, some even had numbers on them.

“Let me see it!” Basil had never seen such interesting things in his life.

One of the cards that had numbers on them and a picture that was an exact copy of the strange man’s face.

“What is this strange language?” Helmund asked

“I don’t know, it’s not something I’ve ever seen before in my life.” Basil sadly answered.

“Pour some water on him to see if he wakes” Helmund instructed Basil.

As Basil poured some water over his eyes, the young man began to shake his head and cover his face.

“That should be enough” Basil put away the water and looked to the stranger, “Hello there, what is your name?”

The stranger, first startled at his surroundings, then confused, then happy looked up and asked’ “You can understand me?”

“We can” Helmund stated.

“That lady said it would be a while until my brain adjusted to this world’s language, I hope it hasn’t been long” stated the stranger.

“What lady?” Both Helmund and Basil questioned.

“That doesn’t matter right now, I’m guessing you can’t understand what’s on my ID card right?” the stranger said with a smug face.

Basil looked back at the small plastic card he was holding.

“It has my name there, but since you obviously can’t read, it says Maxwell Mercy. But my friends call me Max.”

The Last Outlaw: Finale

I was running in the woods, from someone, or something. I didn't know what it was but all I knew is that I had to keep running. My arms brushed past a one of the branches, I didn't think much of it till I felt a warm liquid run down my arm "shit" I cursed holding onto my arm trying to calm the bleeding even if it's only a little. I heard a low growl coming from behind me, I looked back trying to see where it was coming from, I didn't see anything.

Helmund and Basil sat and listened in bewilderment as they listened to Max’s story.

It wasn’t the first time they’ve heard of someone being chased in the woods before, it even happened to them once or twice. What astonished them was his claim of being from a different world.

Helmund thought to himself silently that surely Norlaf didn’t have that kind of magic, summoning beings from worlds different from their own. If so, was this mysterious boy the cause of all that was happening in Forlond, in the mainland? Was he the cause of the magic crisis the entire world is being threatened by?

“You said you didn’t get a good look at the beast?” Helmund finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Honestly I’m still not sure if I was even being chased to begin with. I don’t have a cut on my arm and I don’t feel fatigued in any way.” Maxwell began to recall the events in his head again, retracing his steps.

“it could be magic” Basil chimed in, “Doesn’t Ms. Estel use magic, could she tell us what happened to him.”

“I suppose, come Maxwell I-” Helmund quickly ducked to the ground, pulling Basil with him.

An arrowhead with a note attached punctured the tree that Maxwell was perched underneath.

Maxwell slowly reached up and took the note off the arrow.

“I can’t read this, It’s not in English”

“Give it here” Helmund says as he reaches for the note.

We have you surrounded, surrender peacefully or suffer fatal consequences. As for King Slayer, If you bring him to us, you may be rewarded your freedom. Choose Wisely, non-compliance will result in a disastrous outcome.

“This is signed by the royal guard, they mean business.” Basil looked at the signature.

Maxwell looked understandably nervous, there were only 3 of them there in the opening, and Helmund had been named as a possible threat. Would he be turned in? Why would the Royal Guard be looking for him?

Before he could continue falling into self given depression, Helmund snapped him out of it.

“Get down, we’ll crawl away from here very slowly. That is our only way out of here alive.”

“You aren’t turning me in?” Maxwell sounded somewhat relieved over this realization.

“I don’t know what they want with you, but I do know that if the Royal Guard is here, they don’t plan on taking you in alive. You can explain your story in full another time when we are safe, but for now, we must escape.”