Lore/Story Maddox - A Story For Hypixel Skyblock - Chapters 1-5

I sat at the edge of the bar, slowly sipping on my drink, staring off into the distance. It was still early in the day, but I felt like I needed it, based on the events of the day so far.
"Another one of those cases again, hrmm?" asked the bartender, while cleaning out the inside of a glass with an old rag.
"Yep. Necromancer this time. I've been searching for hours and nothing at all. The only last place to go is some old house in the back of the village, but if I had to go face to face with this necromancer, I'll surely lose." I took another swig of my drink. "Half of this is just me needing a drink, and the other half is me trying to psyche myself up to enter the house."
"You shouldn't need to worry about combat. Here, I'll tell you a little secret." The bartender leaned in closely and began to whisper. "There's an old monster hunter who lives in the basement, and he's a bit like a mercenary. His rates are high, but i can assure you he is very much worth it."
"A monster hunter, huh? What's his name?"
"He's never told us his name, but the regulars around here call him... Maddox. Maddox the Slayer."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hey everyone, this is a story that was originally written as a Skyblock-based story about an NPC whose story I thought was rather curious, so I made an entire story about him. I hope you enjoy it!

Spoiler: Chapter 1 - The Slayer

I slowly sipped my drink for a few minutes while I thought about the bartender’s proposal. Customers would come and go, and eventually I decided that I would be better off with the monster slayer than without. I slid some coins across the counter to pay for the drink, then stood up and made my way to the back of the bar. Just like the bartender had said, there was a small staircase leading down underneath the bar. No one was even paying attention to me, so I slipped down the stairs.

Quickly, I discovered that the basement of the bar was a lot less well-kept than the rest of the building. Cobwebs were everywhere, in every corner and space that they could possibly be in. Books were scattered around on the floor, and many chairs and tables were haphazardly thrown to the side to make room in this space. The only table still upright had a single chair next to it, with who appeared to be a middle-aged man resting in it. He wore simple clothing, and the only armor he wore was a dull golden mask that covered his entire head, hiding his facial features.

He looked up as I entered the room and traversed through the messy interior. Then, like he had likely done many times before, he leaned forward onto the table and said, in a rather deep and gruff voice, “I assume you’ve come here for my services, correct? My price is high, but I can assure you that it is worthwhile.”

“So I’ve been told. I assume you are Maddox?”

“My name does not concern you, boy. Let’s cut to the chase. What are you here for?”

“I have been tasked by mayor Diana to find and capture someone who is believed to be using a powerful form of-“ I looked around before continuing. “-death magic.”

Maddox snorted. “You mean necromancy? I can’t say I haven’t dabbled in that area myself.” He gestured to a large, menacing scythe leaning against the wall, one of the only things in the room that was completely spotless. Next to it was a golden-colored bow with thin silver wings, and a pristine reddish-purple orb resting on a shelf. My eyes drifted off of them and onto the many relics and weapons that he had collected… and there were a lot. A wooden, splintery sword, several talismans and accessories, and the decapitated head of some undead beast.

I was snapped out of my wonder when Maddox snapped his fingers in my face. “Hey! Are you here to do business, or to gawk at my weapons?”

“Ah, yes. Like I said, I’m after a powerful necromancer. Name your price.”

“That’s more like it.” He thought for a few seconds. “Twenty-five thousand.”

I gulped. That was over half of the amount I had been given by Diana to take this mission. Reluctantly, I gave him the amount he requested, and he stood up from his seat. “Excellent. Give me a moment to prepare my armor.” He pulled out a set of crystallized armor from a large sack by his side, as well as the monster head I was looking at earlier. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he was magically wearing the entire set, and his golden mask was resting on the table. He placed it onto a sort of stand on a nearby shelf, then picked up his massive scythe.

“We’ll have to fight necromancy with necromancy,” he said and began to walk out of the room.

“Woah woah,” I said. “You’re rushing through this way too fast. I don’t know truly how powerful he is, so we’ll need to make a plan first.”

Maddox stared at me for a few moments, then gave a sigh of defeat. “I do suppose you are right.” He turned around and sat back down in his seat. I grabbed a nearby chair, dusted the cobwebs off of it, and pulled it upright, then placed it next to the table and sat on it. I fished out a map from my pouch, and spread it out over the table. It was a map of the whole village they were in, and every house and road was detailed.

“We are here,” I said, pointing to a house on the very edge of the village. “The building where the necrotic activity occurred is here.” I moved my finger and pointed to another house, this one just bordering the graveyard. It was in a hidden back corner of the village, and I hadn’t even known it existed until I had been sent on this quest. “We’re going to have to sneak in at night. I don’t know what kind of defenses he has, and nighttime is the only time when we will be able to sneak in unnoticed.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Maddox said. He snapped his fingers, and he was back to wearing his regular mask again. “Meet with me again at dusk. I have an old friend who owes me a favor, and he’s especially good at stealth and secrecy.”

I nodded and rolled up the map, then stood up again. I made my way back up the stairs and through the bar, back out into the open village. After some thought, I decided to head back to the “Community Center” to report back to Diana.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



When I reached the community center, Diana was just outside waiting for me. She wasted no time getting through small talk, and went right to the point. “Have you made any progress on neutralizing the target, yet?”

I thought about telling her about Maddox, but then I decided that that probably wasn’t the best idea. Instead, I simply replied. “Not yet, ma’am.”

“Well keep working, then. You can’t waste any time finding and capturing him. I fear he will grow significantly stronger the longer you wait.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I left Diana to her mayoral duties, and stepped back outside the Community Center. There was still an hour until dusk, so I had time to spare before meeting up with Maddox again. I looked around the village, which was bustling with crowds of people, and spotted the farmer’s house in the distance. I decided to head there for the rest of the afternoon, and made my way through the crowds to get there.

The farmer’s house was owned by my younger brother Jacob and his wife Anita, who ran the farm with clockwork efficiency. In fact, they were so efficient that they often had tons of extra time to spend, and they organized farming contests between the townsfolk every few days. Their house was all the way by the farm, away from the rest of the village. As I approached, the crowd got thinner and thinner until there was just an open path in front of me.

I made my way on this path to the farm. As I walked by the wheat fields, they seemed to almost be full again, so likely another harvest would be in order by tomorrow. I neared the house, and began to break into a light jog as I spotted Jacob relaxing on the porch of his house. He looked up as I approached, and his mouth broke into a wide smile.

“Liam!” He cried, and leapt up from his seat. He sprinted up to me and gave me a large hug as we met. He hugged me for an uncomfortably long amount of time before letting go, and standing a few paces away. Jacob was the most cheerful and happy person I knew, and that included Mayor Diana’s younger sister, Foxy.

“How’s it going?” I asked, my mouth as bug a grin as his.

“It’s going amazing,” Jacob said. “Our crops are doing excellent as always, and Anita and I have been able to focus on decorating the house and making it look nice.”

“I wish I could say the same,” I said wistfully. My house was near the other end of the village, along with a cluster of many other small houses. I didn’t have the room to fit any nice furniture or decorations, it was barely large enough to live in.

“Let me tell you, the carpenter works wonders. I don’t know where he got the skill, but he is a master. Anita absolutely loves the decoration we have now.”

“So I’ve heard. Speaking of, where is your wife?”

“She’s inside, cooking dinner. Would you like to join us?”
“I would love to.”

I followed my brother into his house, where the aroma of grilled chicken filled the air. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calmly inhaling the smell. I was like this for several moments before Jacob shook me out of my trance. “Smells good, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s almost finished, so take a seat.”

I pulled out a chair from under their table, and sat on it. With how the chair was positioned, it gave me full view into the kitchen where dinner was being prepared. I took a few moments to watch Anita cooking the chicken, and thought about how lucky my brother was to end up with a woman like Anita. I didn’t have a wife myself, not that I didn’t want one, but because I just hadn’t felt I had found the right one.

Then, I noticed something rather curious. I didn’t see Anita much, so I didn’t have anything to go off of, but her belly seemed… larger, almost. I chalked it up to eating more, but something prompted me to point it out to Jacob. He laughed a jolly laugh when I told him, and turned to look at his wife. “No, it isn’t fat.”

“Then, what is it?” I asked, just as I realized the answer. Jacob just smiled, as I whispered, under my breath, “She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“Yep. Almost three months now.”

“Really? Congratulations!” I said, loud enough that Anita heard me from in the kitchen. She smiled and waved at me, then turned back to the furnace, and pulled out a tray holding a large, delicious-looking cooked chicken. She walked over and set it on the table, then pulled out a kitchen knife and began to cut the chicken into thick slices.

“I’ll go get the plates,” Jacob said, getting up from his chair and over to a cupboard. He opened it, and pulled out several plates along with a handful of forks and knives. He set them out on the table, one at my position, and two across the table. He sat down at one seat, and as Anita finished cutting the chicken, she sat down at another.

We each took a slice of chicken, set it on our respective plate, and dug into the meal with gusto. Within minutes, we were all finished with our food. “That was amazing,” I said. Jacob echoed my compliment and put his arm around Anita, who giggled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I wish I could stay for longer, but it’s almost dusk and I have a lot to do.” I said, standing up from my chair.

“Is is another one of those missions Diana keeps sending you on?” Anita asked.

“Yeah.”

“I wish she could stop with that. They’re getting in the way of your life, and you’d be better off without them.”

“Well, it pays the bills. And besides, I enjoy doing some of them.”

Anita sighed, and her frown indicated her displeasure. “Well, bye I suppose,” she said, and Jacob replied after with a quick goodbye. I in turn said my goodbyes as well, and left my brother’s house. I looked out towards the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to set. With a steeled mind and prepared soul, I made my way through the village and back to the bar.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There were significantly less people around this time in the village, but the bar, in exchange, was full of customers chatting and laughing. Fortunately, that meant I received almost no attention as I weaved through the building. I slipped down the stairs, and entered back into the room where Maddox was. Like he promised, he was sitting at the only upright table, mask on his head. In addition, There was a skinny figure wearing some extremely fine and fancy clothing.

“So… this is the man who owes you a favor?”

Maddox looked up at me. “Yes. His name is Sirius.” His tone was monotonous, almost as if he was bored.

“Sirius?” I asked. I had never heard that name before, and I had been all over the village. Perhaps he was someone from outside the village?

“Yes,” the well-dressed man replied. “I run a black market outside of the village. The mayors let me do it as long as they receive some of the money and it doesn’t directly hurt anyone.” His voice had a professional air to it, and he spoke calmly and matter-of-factly.

“I was the one who gave him the money to start the black market in the first place,” Maddox said. “He has a few special items that will allow us to sneak into the necromancer’s house unnoticed.” He nodded to Sirius, who reached into a small pouch and pulled out a scroll that definitely should not have been able to fit inside it. Then, he pulled out two small vials and set them on the table.

“What are these?”

“This,” Sirius said, holding up the scroll, “is a teleportation scroll. It will teleport you directly to the place you want to, assuming there are no magical barriers. These,” he set the scroll down and picked up the vials, “are invisibility potions. They will allow you to sneak inside unnoticed. Be careful with them, because they have a very short duration.”

I nodded in understanding. Then plan was simple enough. Maddox and I each were to drink one of the Invisibility potions. Then, use the scroll to teleport in or near the house. If the necromancer was inside, then capture and/or kill him. If he wasn’t, then we needed to search the house for information.

Maddox snapped his fingers, and he was magically back in his crystal armor. I snapped my own fingers, and my armor was transferred onto me. My armor was nowhere near as powerful as Maddox’s, but it was still respectable. Crafted from raw diamonds, I wore a full set of hardened diamond armor, and a special one-of-a-kind axe, the Raider Axe, was hanging from a loop on my belt. It had been given to me as a gift from an old Viking in the forest after I rescued his daughter, but that’s a story for another time.

Maddox scoffed at my choice in gear, but he picked up his scythe and sheathed it onto his back without a comment. We both picked up a vial, as Sirius added a quick note, “You’ll still be able to see each other while you are Invisible, so you won’t have to worry about coordinating problems.” Maddox nodded his approval, then uncorked the bottle and drank it in one quick gulp. I did the same, and Maddox grabbed the scroll.

“Be careful,” he said. “This might feel a little strange.”

“What do you me-“

Maddox opened the scroll before I could finish my sentence, and a blinding light filled the room. Suddenly, we were standing in front of the Necromancer’s house. I stumbled due to the transition, and nearly fell over. My stomach churned inside of me, as if I had just finished a minecart ride. Fortunately, the feeling went away after a moment, and I looked up at the house. A fished out a keyring from one of my pockets, something that Diana had given to me to hold the many keys she had given me. I quickly found a certain key, walked up to the door, and opened it without a problem.

I pushed the door open without a sound, and entered the house into a hallway. It was almost completely empty, save for a few mundane paintings hanging on the walls. I walked down the hallway with Maddox in tow, and peeked into the first doorway. There was nothing but a few pieces of furniture, and I couldn’t see anything that would be of any importance, so I keep walking. The next room, was similar, but the next room was significantly more interesting.

Right in the center of the room was a large wooden desk with papers strewn about upon it. Nearby was a large fishtank, and several statues. In addition, there was a large doorway to another room and a staircase leading downwards. Maddox headed straight to the desk and began sifting through the various papers, while I decided to check out the fishtank. Curiously, it did not contain any actual fish. Instead, several small blue and orange creatures swam around inside it. It took me a few moments to recognize what they were.

“Guardians?” I whispered. “But how did he manage to get them so small?”

The guardians didn’t even notice my presence, and simply swam about without a care in the world. I lost myself for a moment in inspecting the guardians, before I heard a quiet “Ahem.” from Maddox. “Hmm?” I asked, moving away from the tank.

“You need to see this,” Maddox said, and gestured a paper that he had isolated from the others.

“What is it?”

“Come and see.”

I walked over to where Maddox was and took a look at the paper. It was a map of the island the village was on, and included even the forest, mountain, and ruins. Interestingly, that wasn’t the only thing on the map. Several other island were scattered around our island, with different notes on them to indicate what they were.

“Blazing Fortress?” I murmured. “Mushroom Desert? Deeper Caverns? The End? I’ve never heard of any of those before.”

“I’ve heard of them from legends and myths,” Maddox said. “They contain many monsters and resources that the people here couldn’t even dream of.

“Like what?”

“Well, mushrooms for example. And magma cubes, endermites, and netherrack.”

“Wow.” I inspected the map some more. “Wait... what are these swords drawn on the edges of the map?”

“There is an ancient tale, even older than generations and generations of our ancestors ago, that tells of four powerful swords, that when combined, could control the very universe itself. Each one alone is stronger than every item I have, combined. Which, is why they were split into shards which were scattered across the islands.”

“How did they have the power to do that?”

“Our ancestors had armor and weapons much more powerful that ours. There are stories of a great smithing clan who forged the first set of Perfect Armor. There is a tale a weapon crafted straight from the soul of a dragon. There is even a legend about a great sword made of pure fire, that is the very essence of the Blazing Fortress.”

“I don’t. They’re just stories.”

“How do you know the stories?”
“My father and my father’s father and his father, and many generations beyond, passed down the story through my bloodline down to me.”

“Wow. Your family must be huge.”
“Unfortunately, the only ones of us still living are me and my brother, Aatrox, whom I have not heard from in years. Everyone else was killed it the Cataclysm.”

Now, the Cataclysm I had heard of. Just over 100 years ago, there was a Great War between the armies of the living and the dead. They clashed, and millions were slaughtered, until finally, the undead were defeated and forced into the Catacombs to be sealed away for eternity.

“But enough of that, now,” Maddox said. “If the legend of the swords is true, and this necromancer has the power to search for them, then he needs to be stopped.”

“What are the names of the sw-“

Before I could finish, there was a loud creaking sound, like that of a gate opening, followed by the groan of many creatures at once.

“No time!” Maddox said, rolling up the map and stuffing it in his pouch. “We need to leave. Now!”

Just as he said that, an army of zombies began lumbering up the stirs and straight towards us. I quickly backpedaled out of the room, fumbling for my axe, and Maddox got into a battle stance and slowly inched his way towards the door.

“Come on!” I said, as I finally got a grip on my axe. The first zombies reached Maddox, and I saw a glint of his true ability. Before the first zombie could react, Maddox swung his scythe from its sheath in one smooth motion and decapitated it. This swung moved fluidly into the next, slicing though the chest of another. Maddox kept with this whirlwind of death for a few moments before the amount of zombies began to become overwhelming. Maddox sheathed his scythe and jogged out of the room and down the hall. I swung my axe quickly in against a zombie in front of me to buy a few seconds, then jolted down the hall and out the door, where Maddox was waiting.

I frantically grabbed my keychain, slammed the door shut, and locked it. I sat against the wall and let out a deep exhale, thankful to have escaped alive. After I few seconds, I looked up at Maddox and repeated my earlier question. “What are the names of the weapons?”

“This may be a bit outdated, so I might be wrong, but the names of the weapons are,” he took a deep breath. “Their names are Scylla, Hyperion, Astraea, and Valkyrie.”

Spoiler: Chapter 2 - The Ritual

I took a few moments to commit those names to memory. “Scylla, Hyperion, Astraea, and Valkyrie,” I repeated under my breath a few times, until the weapons were firmly stuck in my mind. I looked up at Maddox, who was patiently waiting for me to finish. “If you’re finished muttering,” he said, “we best get back to the bar.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I suppose that’s all the work you’ll need to do. Enjoy your payment.”

“Oh, no,” Maddox said. “This is on a scale much larger than any other task I’ve been sent on. Besides, it was the most exciting out of anything else I’ve done.”

Maddox clearly had a low standard on what “exciting” was, but I supposed that when you get sent on simple killing missions on a weekly basis, that kind of lowers your standards. I didn’t say this out loud, instead replying with, “Of course. Your help will be very appreciated.”

Maddox said nothing and nodded, then opened his pouch and pulled out another scroll like the one he had used before. Once again, there was a loud flash of light, and we were standing back in the basement of the bar. This time, I managed to keep my balance, although it was again very disorienting. Strangely, Sirius was nowhere to be seen, although he was probably back at his black market, wherever that was.

I left Maddox to be by himself, as he snapped his fingers and ended up back in his golden mask yet again. I snapped my own armor off, then made my way up the stairs, where the bar was nearly empty, save for several extremely drunk townsfolk who were almost unconscious in their seats. I gave each of them a wide berth until I was free from the cramped space of the bar and into the village night. I followed the main road as best as I could in the darkness until I reached my house on the far side of town. I quickly unlocked my door, walked inside, and trudged over to my bed. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the mattress.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



I awoke in the morning to the sounds of songbirds chirping and tweeting outside my window. I angrily closed the curtains to block them out, then tried my best to fall back asleep, and just couldn’t. So, I grudgingly got out of bed, made my way to my small dining area, and opened one of the cabinets there. Inside were several loaves of bread, each cut into slices. I took a few of these slices out and ate them standing up, while I contemplated what I was going to do today.

I was nearly done eating when I remembered what I was going to get done. Every day that I did nothing, the necromancer gets closer to his goal, so I needed to get started quickly. Fortunately, I knew someone who had much nicer gear than what I had, and that was the mayor, Diana. Although I wasn’t 100% sure about it, I had heard one of the other mayoral candidates, Cole, mention that she had the ability to create a sort of ritual, although I didn’t know what exactly it would do, but it would sure help.

On top of that, I figured now that Maddox was fully prepared to be a part of this mission, there was no harm in telling Diana about how he was helping me. Satisfied with the plan for today, I finished my last slice of bread and made my way out of my house and into the open. Or, at least as open as it could get here in the back edge of the village. Through the winding streets I went, until I was finally back out in the main area of the village.

I made a beeline to the Community Center as soon as I saw it, passing around the large fountain in the middle of the town. I could see Diana inside, talking with the clerk, Seraphine, a former mayor who managed all of the funds for the village. Likely, they were discussing how to set up the next election, which would begin in just a few days, as it was nearing the end of the year.

I entered the building, and Diana turned to see me. “Hello, Liam. Have you made any progress against the necromancer yet?”

I hesitated a moment. “Erm, a bit. Could we find a private room? I need to discuss something.”

“Of course,” Diana waved her hand, and made her way through the community center, with me following behind, until we were near the back of the building. Inside was simply a table with two chairs. “We typically use this room for interrogations,” Diana said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat on it, “but it will do for this. What is it that you wanted to discuss?”

I close the door behind me as I entered and sat on the other chair. “I did make some headway on the necromancer, but… not in the most excellent fashion.” I told Diana about Maddox and my commission, and strangely, she didn’t even seem surprised.

“Maddox isn’t the most moral person, but he can be counted on in situations like yours. Did you discover anything while in the necromancer’s house?”

“Yes, and it is… a bit worrisome. He had a map of the entire island, and not just that, but on the map were many other islands as well, off in the distance.” I looked up at Diana to make sure she was following along, and she nodded and said, “Continue.”

I nodded. “Additionally, it seems the necromancer is after several mythical weapons, also on the map. If I remember correctly, their names are…” I racked my brain, trying to remember the names. “Scylla, Hyperion, Althaea, and Valkyrie.”

“Astraea,” Diana corrected me. “I’ve heard of them before, and I’m not surprised that Maddox has. If the necromancer is after these weapons, and is capable of obtaining them, that could spell disaster for all of the islands.”

“Yes. S-“

Diana interrupted me before I could even begin. “Let me guess. You need some help stopping the necromancer, or at least, you need better gear to stand a chance.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but then thought about it. That was pretty much exactly what I needed. I couldn’t count on Maddox to kill everything for me all the time. I needed to be able to hold my own. “Yes. Could you help?”

“Absolutely. I’m sure you’ve heard of the ritual I can create. It allows me to summon powerful creatures through the earth, that have very powerful effects.”

“So that’s what it does.”

“Yep.” Diana stood up. “We should probably collect your new bounty hunter friend for this, I’m sure even he could find some usefulness out of the monsters I can summon.”

Diana’s ritual creatures would likely be the most powerful thing Maddox had fought in a while, so I was sure he would. I stood up as well, and followed Diana out of the room, and out of the community center. Through the village we went, until we were at the bar. Without hesitation, Diana went inside, and everyone instantly turned towards us. Diana just ignored them, heading to the back and down the stairs, where Maddox was waiting.

Maddox was in the middle of sharpening his scythe when we entered. He looked up as soon as we entered, just as if the aura we gave off instantly caused him to know that we were there. His eyes, or at least, his mask, drifted towards Diana, and the two seemed to have a full conversation just by staring at each other. I suddenly felt very awkward, and moved into the corner during the exchange.

After a few moments of the two staring perfectly still, Maddox nodded and stood up, placing this scythe on the wall. “Very well,” he said. “I will take pert in the ritual. It will give me something to do, as my collection has been feeling more and more diminishing over time, and it needs something new.” Diana seemed reluctant at that, but let the slayer continue. “I suppose I will take my bow. I need a change of attire for this event.”

Maddox snapped his fingers, and suddenly he appeared to be a giant spider, which turned out to be a set of armor made entirely out of spider skin and silk, including the mask, which like everything else he wore, completely obscured his face. He picked up the golden winged bow against the wall, and the wings fluttered slightly as he lifted it up.

Diana snapped her own fingers, and a large golden axe appeared in her hand. It was inscribed with various symbols that shimmered in and out of existence, and each symbol vaguely looked like a letter. Previously unarmored, she now wore a set of white-blue armor, minus the helmet, that looked nothing incredibly lightweight and very strong.

Finally, I snapped my fingers, causing my hardened diamond armor to appear on me again, along with my Raider Axe. Diana looked around, making sure everyone was in their gear. “Are you both ready?”

Both Maddox and I nodded, and Diana made her way up the stairs and out of the bar. This time, we drew even more looks, with out fancy armor and weapons, although most of the attention was directed to Maddox, who paid absolutely no attention to them. We followed Diana out of the bar and out of the village, through the oaks until we emerged in an open clearing. TO one side was the mountain, towering over everything, and to the other was the ruins of some old civilization, which I now knew was overrun with wolves.

I was eager to continue, but Diana stopped and paused. “There is just one more thing I need to do before I can begin the ritual,” she said, and took a deep breath. Then, she put her fingers up to her mouth and let out a shrill whistle that could likely be heard on the other side of the island. There was silence for several moments, and I began to have doubts. Then, suddenly, roaring out of the sky came a large beast the size of a carriage.

The beast was covered in white feathers and had talons and a beak, although it did not appear to be anything like a bird. It had a body like a horse, and had large wings that spread out immensely. As it landed, it let out a roar and the ground shook. Neither Diana nor Maddox seemed fazed by the massive beast, and Diana even reached out to pet the creature’s forehead. Noticing my expression of shock and confusion, Diana clarified what the creature was. “This is a griffin, one of the last of its kind. It will help us search for abandoned burrows, which contain ancient monsters.”

The griffin snorted as if in confirmation. “But that’s not the only thing we need. I have most of the other components, but there is still one last thing I need.”

“What are the components?” Maddox asked, speaking for the first time. I nearly jumped at the sound of his voice, his quiet nature making me almost forget he was there.

“A wooden shovel, several valuable enchanted jewels, and a magical creature to breathe magic into the ritual, all of which I have. The final component is a vial of magical blood, which I don’t happen to have on me right now.”

“What about the griffin’s blood?” I asked, and instantly realized that was not a good thing to say. The griffin stamped its taloned claw into the ground, sending a mini earthquake at me which knocked me to the ground.

“Holly here has made it quite clear that no-one is to use any part of her for anything.” Diana said, stifling a laugh.

I groaned and stood up, my back aching from the sudden landing. Fortunately, my armor had absorbed most of the impact, but it still hurt. I looked over at Maddox, who was currently sifting through his pouch, and eventually he pulled out a small vial of red liquid. “This is the blood of the Packmaster,” he said. “It is a powerful wolf that lives up in the ruins and leads the packs.”

Diana nodded. “It will do nicely.” She carefully took the vial and opened it, sprinkling the blood on the ground. Then, she pulled out of her own pouch a shovel and several emeralds and diamonds. She arranged them on the ground in a pattern, with the shovel in the middle. Finally, Holly turned her head and opened her beak, then let out a breath onto the shovel.

The shovel began to vibrate and shake, and it rose up from the ground. There, it spun around on its end rapidly, and the gemstones began to swirl around it. Then, with a loud crash, they all merged together, creating a wooden shovel encrusted with jewels. Diana picked it up out of the air, and it began to hum and glow.

“What now?” I asked. “How are we going to find the monsters?”

“Like this.” Diana held the spade out in front of her, and it began to hum louder. It began to tug away from her towards somewhere in front of her, and she let it, walking at a rather fast pace. Incredibly confused, I followed behind until the shovel was pulsing brightly as Diana stood over a patch of ground. Then, she raised the shovel, and began to dig. The shovel dug faster than something made of wood should have, and soon, a large pit was dug.

I waited in anticipation as Diana dug almost 6 feet into the ground. Then, it happened. A large bull-like humanoid creature leapt out of the ground and up into the air, roaring in a frenzy. It landed and sought out its first target, which turned out to be me. It stared at me with red, enraged and maddened eyes, but before it could even move another muscle, an arrow imbedded itself in one of those eyes, and it fell to the ground and disintegrated into dust. All that remained of the monster were two sharp claws, which Diana picked up after leaping out of the pit and placed into another pouch.

Interestingly, Diana never used her axe during the entire scene, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the symbols on the axe now spelled out “GRIFFIN”. I figured it had something to do with the powers of the axe or Holly. I had never even seen either of them before today, so I had no idea what powers they could even have. However, a more pressing question needed to be answered.

“What was that thing?!” I exclaimed.

“That was a minotaur, one of the creatures summoned by my ritual. In fact, it is one of the weakest.”

Great, I thought. Even though Maddox had bested it easily, I had no doubt that the stronger ones would be far harder to kill, especially for me and my gear. Diana filled the hole back up with dirt, and it magically transformed into the same terrain as the rest of the area, instantly growing back grass and even a small flower. I wondered what the purpose of doing that was, and decided not to question Diana’s decision.

Diana walked over and handed the shovel to Maddox, who, following Diana’s example from earlier, held it out in front of him and let it bring him to another spot, rather close to the ruins. He dug a hole similar to Diana , and like before, dirt sprayed everywhere as a minotaur leapt out of the pit. Except this time, it clearly wasn’t a minotaur.

What appeared to be a giant stone golem jumped out of the pit and nearly three feet into the air before slamming into the ground. Maddox quickly fired an arrow at the golem, but it harmlessly bounced off of its stony skin. Diana, however, dealt a lot more damage. Her form a blur, she struck the stone golem in several places all around its body. The golem too sluggish to react, it soon collapsed from all of its wounds and like the minotaur, disintegrated into dust.

As Diana knelt down to pick up the remains, the ground began to shake and I scrambled and fell to the ground, along with Maddox. I couldn’t get up and I couldn’t even see what was causing the quake. Then, it stopped. I looked up, and Diana was gone. The shovel was lying on the ground, along with her pouch. A lone griffin feather slowly drifted down to the ground as well. I stood up, shocked, and Maddox took a moment to let it all sink in.

“Where- where’s Diana?” I squeaked, my hands and Raider Axe shaking. Maddox drew an arrow from his quiver and got into a ready position, prepared to fire at anything that moved. I knelt down near the things that were left behind, and discovered that I had a few claws, a feather, some diamonds and emeralds, and a giant spoon to work with. I didn’t feel like that was going to get me very far.

I picked everything up and held them in my hands, hoping something would happen like what had occurred with the shovel earlier. To my surprise, they did, leaping out of my hands and merging with each other. I fell back in shock as the shovel began to spin faster and faster until it was just a blur, and the various items merged into it.

Then, it stopped spinning, and the shovel fell to the ground. Well, it wasn’t really a shovel anymore if it had a hilt and large blade, was it? I picked it up off the ground and held it in my hand, and despite the fact that it was made out of wood, it felt rather strong and nicely balanced. Except that it started trying to pull me away, towards some location near the edge of the island. I tried to resist, but Maddox’s voice stopped me.

“Let it pull you. I have a feeling it could lead us to Diana.”

I too a moment to let his words sink in. I looked at the sword in my hand, then up at Maddox. I took at deep breath in, and then relaxed, and let the sword do what it needed. It slowly guided me near the edge of the island, and to a large cave in the wall of a cliff. Maddox followed, after picking up Diana’s pouch. It was nearly pitch black inside, but apparently, the sword had a solution for that. It began to glow, and continued to pull me inside.

I let it, and made my way through the twisting tunnels, with Maddox not far behind. It was several minutes before we stumbled upon a large chamber that was almost like a dungeon. There were several cells right across from me, and two of them held Diana and Holly. I began to rush in, but Diana put her hand out to tell me to stop. I did, and then she put a finger to her lips and pointed around the corner where I couldn’t see. I leaned over to see what it was she was pointing at, and nearly fell over in shock when I saw it.

It was like a cross between a minotaur and the large golem beast we had encountered. It stood nearly 12 feet tall and looked like it could bench press 5 tons. I started to sweat, doubting how I could ever possibly defeat such a beast. Then, my sword, believing as if leading me here and glowing wasn’t enough, decided to speak to me though telepathy.

Do not worry, Liam. I am your blade, the Sword of Revelations. I will guide you through this battle, and we will emerge victorious.

I was shocked for a second, but then regained my wits and decided not to question the talking sword. Or, Sword of Revelations, as it had called itself.

I am a he.

This day just keeps on getting stranger and stranger, didn’t it.

It will if you keep up that attitude.

Can you just shut up and let me think? I thought back to the sword. Fortunately, he did as I requested, and I was able to think of a battle plan. I needed to get the monster focused on something that wasn’t me. For a moment I thought about using Maddox, but I doubted he would be on board with that idea, so I came up with something different and whispered it to Maddox. He nodded in agreement, and we got into position.

I stood right where the cave merged into the large room, and Maddox stood back and drew an arrow. He stood silent for a few moments, then released, firing the arrow against the wall of the cave right opposite to where I was. The monster clearly heard, according to the angry footsteps I heard marching towards me. I told my sword to dim itself, and it did, turning the cave into pitch black. I heard the minotaur stops right in front of me, and I could smell a rancid stench coming off from it. It snorted angrily, and I prepared my attack.

I thrust out the Sword of Revelations in front of me and thought Now! to it, all a part of the plan I had devised. If this monster had been living here in this cave with no outside contact for so long, then it would likely not have seen any bright light in years. So, we were going to do just that. My sword instantly shone like the sun, radiating a light that nearly hurt my eyes. But to the minotaur-golem, it was so much worse.

It fell backwards with a loud cry, clawing at its eyes in pain, and slammed into the cave wall. I lunged forward with both of my weapons and sunk them into the monster’s exposed chest, shoving them in as far as they could go. The minotaur’s roaring turned into strained gasping, and finally, silence.

It had all happened in nearly in instant. I was breathing heavily, staring at my two swords plunged deep into the body of the monster. I yanked then out, and they were incredibly bloody, so I wiped them off on the skin of the monster. I looked over to where Diana was, and the cell she was in had magically opened, and I gave a sigh of relief. She gave me a smile to let me know she was perfectly okay, and Holly followed with a small nod.

“We should probably get out of here,” I said, already tired of the caves. In response, Maddox began to chuckle, and Diana joined in. Even my sword started to laugh in my mind. This turned into full-on laughter, while I just stood there dumbfounded. “What?” I asked. “What’s so funny?”

Diana managed to regain her composure first. “Every cave like this have all sorts of loot inside it. If we just left right now, we’d be leaving all that loot behind!”

I felt like an idiot. Of course there was loot. There was always loot, but I had been so desperate to leave this cave that I had forgotten about the loot entirely. “Of course,” I said. “Let’s go check it out.”

The loot was located right in the back of the small alcove we were in. Most of it was a rather large amount of coins, totaling up to over 100,000 coins, which the three of us split evenly. Diana tried to give me all the money, but I declined. Also in the pile of loot were two other things, an enchantment book and a rather fancy stone. Diana took the stone, saying it was a valuable component she could use in another ritual, and put in her pouch, which Maddox had just given back to her.

The enchantment book, however, had a much more powerful aura to it, and I took a hold of it. Inscribed across the cover was the word “Chimera”, with a large number “5” beneath it. I had never seen an enchantment book like this, and so I asked Diana what it was.

“Chimera is an enchantment that acts similar to my axe,” Diana said, holding out her axe, which she likely had the entire time. “It gives special buffs depending on what your companion is. For example, Holly is my companion.

I nodded in understanding. “How do I apply it to my weapon?”

“The same way you apply a normal enchantment book. Just think about combining the two together. However, I wouldn’t do it now, I would wait until you have a companion of your own and know what weapon you will apply it to. Choose wisely, because it can only be applied once.”

I sheathed my weapons, and pocketed the enchanted book. Then, the four of us made our way out of the cave and back out into the open plains. I spread my arms and looked up into the sky, eager to experience the fresh air again. Diana did the same, and Holly seemed to relax a little. However, this moment of peace didn’t last for long, as suddenly Holly began to shake and stumble, and she collapsed onto her knees. Diana rushed over and placed her hand near where Holly’s heart would be, and felt a little. Then, her eyes widened. “Oh god,” she whispered.

“What?” Maddox and I both asked at the same time. Diana turned to us. “The eggs… she’s almost ready.”

Both of us rushed over and began to assist Diana help Holly up onto her legs again. “Her nest is just on the side of the mountain,” Diana said. “We just need to help her there.”

Maddox and I nodded, and began to support and guide Holly towards the mountain. As we approached, I began to see a large cavern located at the side. We stopped at the entrance, and let Holly go inside. She slowly made her way inside and around a corner, where we heard a loud thumping noise. Then, there was silence for a few moments, and our anticipation grew. Diana especially became nervous, and had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down.

Then, another griffin strode up into the entrance. This griffin was stronger and larger, and looked more masculine, so I assumed it was Holly’s mate. He bowed his head towards us, and Diana bowed back. I quickly bowed as well, followed by Maddox. Diana walked up to the griffin and whispered something in its ear. I couldn’t hear what it was, but the griffin seemed to hesitate a bit before giving a slight nod. The griffin went inside, and Diana followed, likely to check up on Holly. But what could she have asked the griffin.

My answer came a few seconds later, when Diana came out cradling a head-sized egg, that was white and covered in light gray specks. She walked up to me and carefully handed the egg to me. “Holly and Cilan have granted me permission to have one of their eggs. Keep it safe, and protect it.”

A little shocked by this, I managed to regain my composure and say, “I promise.”

“Good. You should probably get back to your house and get it warm and safe. I have mayoral duties to attend to, and Maddox, you should… do whatever you do when you aren’t out killing things.”

I complied with Diana’s wished and carefully made my way back to my house. There, I carefully set the griffin egg on a soft cushion and wrapped a blanket around. I set it on my nightstand, and shuttered both of my windows to assure that no one would be able to see it. Then, I sat down on my bed and began to relax and think. It was still midday, so I had a lot of time to spare. As I looked at the new weapon I had strapped to my belt, I realized I knew exactly what to do.

Spoiler: Chapter 3 -The Tactitian

I prepared my Sword of Revelations, holding it out in a ready stance to attack the wooden dummy just in front of me. I swung my blade, prepared to strike the dummy and “defeat” it, but instead, the wooden sword that was my blade missed completely, causing me to stumble over and land in the dirt.

I sighed, laying on the ground for a few moments, before pushing myself back up to try again. I just couldn’t get the hang of using this sword, and his sarcastic comments weren’t helping.

Wow, you’re the greatest swords master of all time!

Go on! Get those dummies!

Yawn. Have you started training yet?

I had to mentally force the sword to shut up and let me focus on my attacks, but even that couldn’t help me figure out how to use it. I sighed and gave up, plopping myself down on a nearby bench and throwing the sword onto it. I was a bout to be completely done for the day when something in my pocket began to buzz and vibrate.

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out what appeared to be a piece of lightweight metal, that folded open. A symbol of Maddox’s helmet was imprinted onto the metal, allowing me to easily guess who had snuck this item to me. There were two buttons on the metal, one green and one red, and I pressed the green button curiously.

Then, as if by magic, Maddox’s voice began to speak through the strange object. I had no clue how this was happening, but this was Maddox, so it was possible he had somehow devised this item.

“Liam, I have important news about the quest. I believe I have deciphered the location of the first shard. Meet me near the graveyard so we can discuss more.”

Immediately following this, there was absolute silence, and I let Maddox’s words sink in. Quest… First shard… Then I remembered about the necromancer. With the events of the past few hours I had completely forgotten! I immediately picked up the Sword of Revelations and sheathed it before getting up and running away from the training yard and towards the graveyard.

When I got there, Maddox was waiting, already decked out in his crystallized armor and zombie mask. I was still in my hardened diamond, leagues behind Maddox’s armor, but I hoped it would be enough for wherever we were going. Maddox saw me as I approached, and gave a small nod. “Excellent,” he said. “It seems you got my message. I was hoping it would work.” Then, I realized he was holding a piece of metal very similar to the one he had “messaged” me with, but he quickly pocketed it.

“As you probably heard me say, I have discovered the location of the first shard we need. In fact, it’s in the same weapon as someone who can help you train with that wooden weapon of yours.”

“Where is it?”

Maddox pointed over the tree line of the nearby oak forest and off into the distance. It took me a few moments to realize he was not pointing over the forest, but rather, into the forest. “From what I can tell, the hilt of Scylla was placed into the hands of a shaman in the woods. While we are there, I know an old friend of mine, a swordsmaster, who is exceptionally skilled with wooden weapons.” He spat out the word “wooden” as if it were inferior.

“Alright,” I said. “While we’re there, I suppose I could take some time to see some of my old friends as well.”

Maddox nodded, and set off towards the forest. I followed close behind, both excited and gloomy about where we were going and what we were going to do. We trekked through the forest, a nice path already set out for us to use as we made our way to where we were going. Soon, the Oak forest became a Birch one, which turned into snowy Spruce woods. After climbing up a few hills, we made it through a thicket of Dark Oak and out into the hilltops of Acacia.

“So is this where the ‘swordsmaster’ is?” I asked. I looked around, but didn’t see anything except a small tent that seemed dangerously close to the edge of the island.

“Yes. He typically stays in that tent over there.”

“Oh.” I should have figured that out easily in the first place.

Maddox sighed, then had me follow him over to the tent. He rung a little bell that was hanging from one of the tent poles, then waited for a few seconds. Soon, a head popped out of the tent flap. I supposed this was the “swordmaster” but he didn’t look like one. His hair stuck out everywhere and he wore rather large goggles that didn’t seem to actually accomplish anything, judging from the dust that covered his entire body, including somehow the inside of the goggles. When he saw us, his lips split open into a wide grin, which had several teeth missing.

“Hey, Maddy!” he said, stepping out of the tent and giving Maddox a bear hug. “Where ya been, buddy?”

“Fine,” Maddox said, in the most monotone voice I had ever heard.

The dusty, apparent “weapon master” stepped back. “That didn’t answer my question, but its good to see ya anyways!”

Maddox ignored his comment entirely. “Liam, this is Funk. He’s a-“

“That’s Master Tactitian Funk to you!” Funk said distastefully. Once again, he was ignored by Maddox.

“Like I was going to say, Funk here is skilled with wooden weapons, and apparently has devised some sort of singularity or buff for them, even. In my opinion, its all bullshit, but I suppose it might be worth a shot for you to try. Just… bear with him, he can be a bit dense sometimes.”

“Dense? Just like my wooden singularity! I’ll go fetch it right now!” Funk ducked back into his tent, and from what I could tell form the sounds of clanking metal, was rummaging through a chest for his “wooden singularity”. “See what I mean?” Maddox said with a sigh.

“I don’t.” Funk reappeared out of his tent, holding a small wooden cube about the size of an apple. “Look what I found! It’s my wooden singularity!”

Maddox slapped it out of his hand and onto the grass. “Funk. I need you to focus.”
“But I am focusing!”

“No, you aren’t. I need you to help Liam with weapons training.”

“Ooooooooohhhhh,” Funk said, drawing out the single syllable. “Why didn’t you say that before?”

“Because you weren’t focusing.”

“Oh, right, yes. Anyway, what does this young lad need training with?”

“I have this wooden weapon that I need help learning how to use,” I said, drawing out my Sword of Revelations from its sheath.

Hey! He said, I am not a sword! I am a sophisticated killing machine!

Shut up. I thought back to the sword.

Funk looked at the Sword of Revelations curiously. “Here,” he said, picking up the wooden singularity and handing it to me. “Combine this with your wooden sword. It should make it stronger.”

“You’re really just… giving this to me?”

“Yep!” Funk said eagerly, as Maddox watched the conversation with interest. “I want to see what will happen!”

Not like that was ominous or anything. Taking a deep breath, I held my sword and the singularity together. Liam? The sword asked, What are you doing? What is this thing? Why are you holding it next to me? Liam? LIAM!

The two items combined with a bright flash of light, merging together into a single sword. Although it still was the Sword of Revelations, it looked… thicker, and sharper, much stronger. I admired my new blade with satisfaction, and apparently he did the same. Wow, Liam. This is awesome. I feel like I could run a mile!

You don’t have legs, Sword of Revelation.

I know. But I still have that feeling! I want to run a mile!

I decided not to question my sword’s desire to have legs, and lifted my gaze up to Funk, who was sporting a massive, rather disturbing grin, staring at my sword in delight. He looked up at me and grinned even wider. “Bravo, Lime! I was expecting something cool, but certainly not that!”

“What happened?”

Funk started giggling like a madman. “Your sword has merged with the singularity, making it incredibly stronger!”

“Really?” I asked. I swung the sword around a bit. “It doesn’t feel any different.”

“That’s because you don’t know much about wooden weapons. Come with me, and I can teach you.”

Funk ran off almost as soon as he finished that sentence. I rushed over to catch up, and found him standing at a training field. He looked at me as I approached, his manic gleam now replaced with a steely stare. “If you’re ready, Liam,” he said. “Then the training will begin.”

 

Spoiler: Chapter 4 - The Song

Two hours later, I realized why Funk was called “Master Tactitian”. In every single sparring match we had, it always ended with him standing over me, pointing his “Tactitian’s Sword” at my chest. Maddox disappeared about halfway through, gone to who knows where to do slayer business or whatever, but whatever it was, it was probably more successful than what I was doing. At least I was starting to improve, but not by much. At least my Sword of Revelations didn’t taunt me.

We were on our 24th match, and for the first time that day, I was able to hit Funk, but that quick feeling of joy was extinguished as I was knocked flat onto my back by Funk’s returning swing. I laid on the ground for a few seconds, moaning in pain, before Funk had me stand up again. “You’re improving,” he said, probably the best compliment I could hope for at this moment. He put his sword away, and it took me a few moments to realize that he had swapped out for a regular wooden sword at some point, making my defeats all the more humiliating.

“Well then,” he continued. “I suppose we should probably get started on some basic sword moves. Do you have any other weapons?”

“Yeah,” I said, unsheathing my Raider Axe. “This is what I used to use.”

Funk quickly inspected the axe. “Show me a basic attack with it.”

“Alright.” Here goes nothing. I thought, clutching my Raider Axe in both hands, after sheathing my Sword of Revelations. I lifted the axe up, and swung downwards in a shaky arc, stumbling forward a bit from the weight. Funk stood still for a few moments, staring at me, then shook his head and sighed. “Clearly, we have a lot of work to do. Come on now, there’s no time to waste.”

Rather reluctantly, I re-sheathed by Raider Axe and took out my Sword of Revelations again. Just how long are we going to be here? He asked. I want to get back to your house. It was nice and cozy there.

“Just a bit longer, hopefully,” Funk said, causing me to stop right in my tracks. “What?” he asked. “Don’t think I can’t hear you and your sword talking. I have an affinity for wooden weapons, and you two are rather loud.”

I took a moment to process that information. Funk can hear me and my sword talking? What else can he hear? Can he hear this? I looked up at Funk, who seemed to be incredibly interested in a bird on a nearby tree. Looks like he can’t.

Funk unfocused from the bird, and turned to look back at me. “Now then, I should probably get around to teaching you, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah,” I said, mentally and physically preparing for the next segment of training. My muscles still hadn’t recovered from our sparring, but I hoped they would be up to the task of training a bit more.

“There are several rules of battle,” Funk said, stopping and letting me walk up to him. “that you must learn before you can truly become adept with your blade.”

I looked at him patiently, waiting for him to share the first rule, when I suddenly found myself falling down to the ground. The man had swung his leg out in front of him and tripped me over onto my back. I landed hard, and as I laid there, I already knew what was coming. “The first rule of battle,” Funk commented, leaning over me. “is this: Never let your guard down. Always be prepared.”

“Very… clever… Funk,” I groaned out, taking deep breaths after the impact.

He snorted. “You think that’s clever? Just wait until you’re out on the battlefield, and someone surprise attacks you from behind. You’d be dead before you hit the ground. Now would you think that’s clever?”

I blinked, not expecting that level of ferocity from the tactitian. “Uh, no sir.”

“Good. Now get up.” I did so, still shocked and startled by the sudden sharpness of Funk. “Now, I’m going to show you some sword moves.”
“Wait, what happened to the second rule?”
“Sword moves are the second rule.” Funk glared at me. “And the third rule, and the fourth rule, and every rule after that. Never forget it.”

“Yes sir.”
“Excellent. First of all, the most important thing to know about sword moves with wooden weapons is that they are significantly lighter than weapons made of, say, stone or iron. This comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, and you need to be aware of all of them.”
I nodded, and Funk continued. “If you want to effectively use a wooden weapon, you need to be light on your feet. The weight of your blade makes it easy for opponents to knock it away, so you need to flow with your sword. If you ever lose control of the sword, you lose the battle, and likely, your life.”

Funk glared harder at me. “The art of weapon training is not a simple laughing matter. It could be the difference between life and death for you, between winning and losing a war. Remember that.”
I gulped. “Yes sir,” I repeated, trying to seem as confident as possible, even though I was scared half to death by Funk, and the other half of me was going to be destroyed in sparring.

The next half an hour was spent with Funk teaching me various sword moves, which were a massive pain, but at least this time he wasn’t hitting me with them. Of course, that quickly diminished when after no more than ten minutes, Funk decided it was time for another match. Once again, I was thrown to the ground. My head hit the ground hard, and I laid, dazed for a few moments, when I heard a voice. Strangely, it seemed like i recognized it, although it clearly wasn’t Maddox of Funk.

“Hey! What are you doing to him?!”

“We’re just trainin’, but it seems here like he’s a lost cause.”

Wow, thanks Funk. Great motivation.

“Like hell you are! That’s an easy excuse! I bet you’re just beating him up!” The voice got closer.

“I can assure you that I am no-“

“Quiet!” The voice seemed to come form almost right above me, and it seemed, interestingly, feminine. I felt myself being lifted into a seated position. My eyes fluttered open, and as everything came into focus I realized why I had recognized the voice. Right in front of me was a familiar face, the face of a girl who I remembered specifically: Melody.

She smiled when she saw my eyes open and she grabbed my hand and lifted me up onto my feet. I stood, almost paralyzed, as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. It took me several moments to process what was happening, and I slowly put my arms around her as well. After some time, Melody pushed herself away from the hug and looked at me.

Her eyes shone like the sun, clearly joyful that I was here, and her wide smile expressed her emotions. Her purple hair swept over her head and shoulders like an ocean wave, and it almost shone in the sunlight. She wore a simple dress, with a pattern of harps, her favorite instrument, covering it. “It’s been a while since I last saw you,” she said. “I’ve missed you.”
I smiled too. “I’ve missed you too,” I said.

“What brought you here? Did Diana send you on a mission?”

“That’s part of the reason, but I mostly came here to train.”
“Oh.” Melody looked back at Funk. “So he isn’t beating you up?”

“No, although it sometimes feels like he is,” I said.

Melody stifled a giggle. “Was I interrupting anything? You should probably get back to training.”

“No, it’s alright. I’d rather be with you than training here.”

This sentence processed in my mind for a quick moment, and I realized what I had said, but by then it was too late to take it back. Melody’s eyes widened, and her face turned beet red. She started staring off in different directions, unable to look right at me. The same happened to me, and what was originally a sweet moment turned into an awkward situation.

We remained like this for several moments before Melody broke the silence. “So,” she said, still blushing, “I learned a new song on my harp. Do you want to come hear it?”
“Sure,” I said instantly, causing both of us to blush even more.

“My harp is still at the house, though. Mind if I quickly go to fetch it?”

“Of course not,” I said. “I’m fine with waiting.”

“Alright!” she said, and started running off towards her father’s house. “Meet me by the squid pond!”

“Absolutely!”

I stood, smiling, for a few moments, before remembering what I had to do. I quickly gathered up my weapons and strapped them to my belt, before heading off towards the squid pond. The squid pond was located located in the birch park next to a small cliff, and it was quite a bit of a walk, so I got moving as quickly as possible.

As I ran, I took the time to remember the last time I had been here. During my visit, an old Viking had desperately tasked me with finding his missing daughter, who turned out to have fallen in a hole and couldn’t get out, so I had to help her out, and her father gave me my Raider Axe as a reward. Interestingly, looking back, I never thought I would see her again, but now that I’ve returned, I realized just how much I had missed Melody.

Just as I reached the squid pond, Melody ran up, almost out of breath, carrying a huge harp in her hands. She nearly fell into me as she arrived, and she took a few moments to catch her breath before she looked up at me and gave me a sweet smile. “You ready to listen?”

“Of course,” I said. “I would love to.”

“Alright.” She set her harp down and sat down on the grass, and took a deep breath. “This song is called ‘La Vie En Rose’, and I just learned it, so please be patient with me if I get some things wrong, okay?”

“I will.”

Melody rung out her hands quickly before placing her hands on the strings, and began to play the song. Instantly, it felt like there was complete peace in the world. Every note was perfect, like a chorus of angels in the sky. I looked on in awe as Melody played the song beautifully, and I closed my eyes to hear it, until I heard a very loud and off-key note. I opened my eyes instantly, and realized Melody’s hand had slipped during the song, causing it to be messed up. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

“I’m such a bad harp player,” she whispered in her crying. “I can’t even play this one song!”

I moved close to her and put my arms around her, bringing her into a hug. “It’s alright,” I whispered. “You’re not terrible. You’re the best harp player I’ve ever seen. Can you play the song again for me?”

Melody looked up at me, her eyes already puffy from crying, and wiped away her tears with her sleeve. “Really? Alright,” she said, taking several deep breaths to calm herself, and placed her hands on the strings again. This time, she played absolutely flawlessly and completed the entire song. It was beautiful, and i was almost disappointed when it ended. I was about to tell Melody how perfect it was when I was interrupted by a deep voice from behind me.

“I believe I have found the location of the first shard.”

Maddox’s voice nearly caused me to jump out of my skin, and Melody completely froze, her eyes wide and afraid to turn around. I carefully placed my hand on her shoulder, which calmed her down a bit, and then I stood up and turned around to face Maddox. “Can’t you see that I’m a little busy?”

“This is far more important than a simple date.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then realized that Maddox was probably right. Melody had stood up by now, and was now nervously standing next to me, almost trying to hide from Maddox.

“In fact, we’re almost right by it. There should be an alcove in the cliff up there, that should lead us to a cave where we will find the first shard.”

“What?” Melody shouted. Both Maddox and I looked at her in surprise. “You can’t go in there!”

“Why not?” Maddox asked, folding his arms over his chestplate.

“There’s something, a terrible monster, that lives in there. I you go in, you’ll awaken it!”

Maddox snorted. “We can deal with something like that, easily. Come with me, Liam.”

I gulped, and reluctantly followed. Then, I heard Melody run up behind me, and say defiantly to Maddox, “Well if you’re taking Liam with you, then I’m coming too!”

“Fine with me,” he said. “But I would recommend staying back, or you might hurt yourself.” He let out a soft snicker, and Melody growled in fury. Fortunately, I managed to restrain her before she could attack Maddox, and managed to calm her down. She relaxed, and continued walking with me, maintaining a tight grip on my hand.

We made our way up towards a small crevice in the cliff that I originally didn’t even see, and all three of us climbed inside. Maddox activated some device on a belt he was wearing, and a light illuminated the whole cave. What I saw was not what I expected. About 4 feet in, the rocky cave turned into a stone-built temple-like area, with ornate columns and smooth walls. It gave off an ominous effect, further amplified by the echoes of our footsteps.

Suddenly, the scene in front of me changed. I was standing in front of a little wood area, and it was all burning. It only appeared for an instant before I was back in the cave. I took a deep breath, steeling myself. That was just a… hallucination. I told myself, trying not to think too hard. I took another step, and it happened again, except this time, Melody’s house was burning. I started to feel woozy.

Another step, and now the forest was burning. Then the village. I started to stumble, and my vision grew blurry. My hand slipped out of Melody’s, and I saw one last scene, where the entire island had turned into a blazing hell. Then everything went dark.

Spoiler: Chapter 5 - The Phoenix

Melody​

I wasn’t sure what had happened to him. All of a sudden, he had just collapsed in the cave. He didn’t appear to be breathing, and his entire body was still. I didn’t know exactly what had happened to him, but I believed it might have had something to do with… what happened the last time he was here. I don’t want him to experience that trauma again, I thought as I looked over him.

Maddox had carried him to a table of sorts in the cave, where Liam was now laying. He’s probably dead, some part of me thought, but I pushed it away. Liam had to still be alive, I had to have hope. Then I heard the wolves…

Maddox​

Something wasn’t right about this place. Nowhere else I had even been exuded pure despair and hopelessness like this place did. Then, as if things couldn’t get stranger, I heard a howl echo through the cave, indicating the presence of wolves. I carefully drew my scythe from its sheath and held the blade in my hands, ready for whatever attack was about to occur.

Another howl erupted, this time closer and louder than the previous one. I began to hear the footsteps of the wolves, rumbling through the cave. I stepped in front of where Liam lay, and motioned for Melody to stay back. I was taking no chances.

Melody​

I took a few timid steps backward as Maddox motioned for me to do, but never took my eyes off of Liam. At least, until I saw the wolves turn the corner. I hid behind the table, shutting my eyes and covering my ears, expecting to hear the sounds of battle in the cavern. Strangely, I didn’t hear any sounds of battle, so I slowly peeked my head around the side of the table to see what was going on.

Maddox stood, scythe in hand, in front of a rather large wolf that almost seemed… ghost-like. There were several more of these wolves, but none of them as large as the leader. I tried to stay as hidden as I could, but the pack leader spotted me and bounded over to where I was, and locked eyes with me. Melody, I heard her speak in my mind, in a soft, caring tone. Why are you here? You know what happened the last time you were here.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, on the verge of tears. “I tried to warn them, but they wouldn’t listen. Now Liam is-“

Liam is here? The wolf’s eyes widened. What has happened to him?

“H-he’s unconscious, and he was muttering something about flames and burning before he collapsed.”

A sense of urgency entered the wolf’s eyes. Oh, no. If what you say is true… she drifted off in thought before snapping back to reality. We have no time to waste! We need to get him to safety, NOW!

I suddenly felt even more fearful for Liam. I quickly stood up, and, using all of my strength, carefully picked up Liam’s limp body and cradled him in my arms. The wolf nodded, and sprinted over to Maddox before locking eyes with him. But I couldn’t think about that right now, I just needed to know that Liam was safe…

Maddox​

I certainly wasn’t expecting a pack of wolf spirits to turn the corner, and I most definitely was not expecting the leader to have what appeared to be a conversation with Melody behind the table. I kept a watchful eye on the wolf the entire encounter, but fortunately it made no threatening movements. Once Melody stood up and picked up Liam, the wolf bounded back over to me and stared right at me.

Follow me, she said, seemingly in my mind, before sprinting away, the rest of her pack following closely behind. I turned to look at Melody, somehow managing to hold Liam in her arms, and she nodded timidly. I sheathed my scythe, but kept a hand on it in case of emergency, and quickly sprinted to catch up with the pack, Melody doing her best to stay right behind me.

Liam, ???​

“Where am I?” I looked around, but saw nothing but inky darkness all around me. I looked down, but it seemed like I was just floating in an ocean of nothingness. “Is this the afterlife?” I started to run, or at least, I tried to. As dar as I could tell, I wasn’t actually going anywhere in this infinite sheet of black. My voice grew desperate. “Is anyone there?”

“Relax, human.” a calm voice said from behind me. I spun around rapidly, trying to find the source of the sound, and my eyes rested on a ghost-like wolf that seemed to emanate light from itself. “You are not dead. At least, not yet, but you are close to it. Your mind has been shattered by forgotten memories.”

“What do you mean? What memories?”

“Do you remember about 24 moons, or 2 years in your human time, ago?” I searched my mind to find the memory. “Wasn’t that about the time when I got my axe?”

“Yes, from the Viking. Do you remember how you got it?”

“He sent me to find Melody, because she had been gone for a long time. It turned out she had fallen in a hole.” I looked towards the wolf quizzically. “But what does that have to do with this?”

The wolf inhaled sharply. “That… isn’t exactly the sequence of events that occurred.”

“What do you mean?”

“To put it simply, the real events caused so much trauma to your mind that they had to be… repressed for the sake of your sanity, and even your life.”

I gulped. What could have possibly been so traumatizing that the events had to be removed from my mind? I stood thoughtfully for a few moments, until I came to a resolute conclusion. “I need to know what happened. I’m not going to be lied to any longer.” “Very well,” the spirit said. “I will return you to the physical world once the memory is over. I fear that your friends may not have much time.” “You mean Melody and Maddox? What’s going on? What dang-“ my sentence was cut off by a loud sound like a gust of wind, and everything was gone.

Melody​

The wolf led us to a large chamber about the size of a house, and told me to set down Liam on an intricately carved rune on the floor of the cave. She pranced around him for a few moments, carefully analyzing him before looking up at me. He will live, but he is on the ledge between life and death. All we can do now is wait, and protect him while he is in this state.

I nodded, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Liam had to be going through right now. I wasn’t able to take my eyes off him, and several tears crept unbidden into my eyes. I had to hope…

Maddox​

While I understood the pain Melody was going through - I had lost several people dear to me as well - I knew there were more important matters at hand, and it seemed the pack leader knew this as well. I don’t believe we’ve ever had a proper introduction, she spoke in my mind. My name is Lupa, pack leader of the spirit wolves. What brings you here to this place?

“I come in search of an artifact, a shard of a powerful weapon, named Scylla. Would you happen to know where it might be?”

The wolf, Lupa, I corrected myself, cocked her head in confusion, before snapping back in remembrance. Do you mean the Hilt of the Wind?

It was my turn to be confused, then realized that the wolves would likely see artifacts in different ways than we did. “Yes,” I said. “The Hilt of the Wind.”

Lupa’s expression grew pained. The hilt used to be in possession of a shaman, said in wolf tales to be as old as time itself, but when the necromancers attacked, he was slain, and the hilt lost to who knows where. I suspect that the only reason it has not yet been found is that it is concealed by powerful illusion magic.

I breathed a small sigh of relief when Lupa said that the necromancers did not yet have the hilt. Yes, the illusion magic would make it harder to find, but anything was better than letting it fall into the hands of the necromancers. If they had obtained it, we had already lost this fight.

Liam​

The flames of my mind receded, and I experienced one of my own memories. I couldn’t control anything, I was just a spectator in my own mind. In all honesty, it was probably better that it stay that way.

My host, or rather, me, was venturing through a large tunnel not unlike the one I had just went through. I had searched the whole island for Melody at this point, and she was nowhere to be seen, and this was the last place to look, as much as I didn’t want to enter.

The cavern seemed to go on for miles, digging deeper into the earth, and I finally exited into a large chamber, and even through my memory, it was unnerving. It didn’t take long to figure out why. Many cages ringed the edge of the chamber, several with people inside. The real danger, though, was the massive altar in the center of the chamber, drenched in blood. Some of it was even still dripping, indicating that it had been used recently.

Several necromancers were standing around it, wearing long black robes and chanting. A black beacon of energy radiated from the altar and directed towards somewhere outside the chamber. It seemed the necrotic energy was being funneled towards someone else, maybe a more powerful necromancer?

Melody was sitting in a chamber on the other side of the room, eyes puffy from crying and watching the previous victims. She didn’t even seem to notice me, and I couldn’t do anything to get her to see me, or else the necromancers might notice me as well.

In an instant, they stopped chanting, and began to move away from the altar, likely to grab their next victim. My heart stopped for a moment as I realized they were moving towards Melody. She fell back in horror, and her eyes glanced at me for the first time. her eyes widened, causing the necrotic mages to stop and turn around. By the time they saw me, it was far too late for them. Something awakened inside of me, and although I couldn’t see it myself, the necromancers saw my eyes glow with untamed fire.

From outside the memory, I heard a voice, the same one of the wolf that had spoken to me. For the first time in your life, you awoke the powers within you at the sight of this cruelty. Something that was always a part of you, you just couldn’t see it. Your fire became one with you, and you became… The Phoenix.

Melody​

Maddox had gone away to look for the hilt, leaving me alone with Liam and the wolves. As afraid as I should have been, I felt a strange calm. The wolves ferociously guarded us, and I carefully tended to him. But, even after several minutes, he still didn’t wake up. I tried shaking his body, holding him, even kissing his forehead. Nothing.

At least I knew that we were safe from any dangers that could face us. But I still begged, hoped, prayed that Liam was still alive, that he could return to me. I couldn’t live the lies any longer. I loved him.

I began to hear footsteps from an outside tunnel, loud metal clanking on the ground. Had Maddox returned from his quest? But as they turned the corner, it was the exact opposite.

???​

Miles away, an egg began to shake, and crack. Soon, it burst apart, leaving a red-and-orange colored bird. It took no time to admire its surroundings, because of what it felt within. “Danger!” the soul of the bird screeched, and it burst through the door and over the village. “Master! Master is in danger!”

Liam​

But… what could that have to do with my memories being repressed? I asked, looking upon the now frozen scene in front of me.

To know that, I will need to show you another moment of this battle. Prepare yourself. This may be a bit disorienting.

I suddenly felt myself being pulled into another window in time, another fragment of memory. Somehow, the scene in front of me had gotten worse. Flames filled the chamber, and there was the sound of sobbing behind me, probably Melody, but my host didn’t turn around to look. Instead, I was focused on something else. Only one necromancer was left standing, but he was standing over a large fire-colored bird the size of the altar, which he had managed to restrain with one hand. In the other he held a dagger, and it was clear what his intention was. Before I could react, he plunged the dagger down, and I felt a bit of my soul break apart.

I clutched my chest in agony, and a pair of arms wrapped around me from the back, and I heard Melody’s comforting voice. “Liam, we need to go. I know you’re hurting, but If we don’t go, then we’ll also die. Please, Liam.”

“They- they killed- the phoenix. Me. My soul. It hurts,” My breath was staggering now, and Melody forcibly pulled me to my feet and dragged me along. I tried to plea, but Melody was determined to save me. As Melody pulled me up the tunnel, the memory slowly faded away, putting me back in the soul world with the wolf.

Before I could even speak, I was interrupted by the wolf. I understand you are confused, Liam. I will do my best to explain to you have you have just witnessed.

That phoenix was part of your life force. In a way, it was you. When it died, it was like a piece of your spirit was ripped out. The mental trauma was too much for you, so the memories had to be repressed.

“Then why aren’t I experiencing this trauma now? How did I even survive?”

You are forgetting the most important part about a phoenix. The core being, the soul of a phoenix, never truly dies. It just is reborn.

“Then why has my phoenix not returned to me? Shouldn’t it have already returned?”

The wolf bared her fangs in what seemed to be a sly smile. It already has.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand!” I tried shouting, but the scene was already fading away, and no voice came out. Then, I woke up.

Melody​

It was like history repeating itself. Except, this time, there would be no valiant hero to save me, no white knight to rescue me. The necromancers had won from the very beginning. They had brought us to some sort of aboveground altar on the very top of the jungle mountain, where I was now. The wolves had done their best to help, but they were just souls, exactly what necromancers had control over, and they had been easily dispatched by the necromancers. I remembered the howls of pain, and shut my eyes trying to force it out. It hurt, everything hurt.

Not even Maddox could help. The necromancers had found him long before he had discovered the artifact, and it turned out that they had already found it long ago, and were just biding their time for us to fall straight into their trap. It had taken four mages to restrain him with necrotic chains, and even then he still fought to get free. Me? I had resigned myself to this fate, but I still hoped there would be one last glimmer of hope, something that could save us. But I knew it was impossible.

Liam​

I woke up with a start, quickly sitting up and breathing heavily. I reached out for Melody, but there was nothing there but blank, empty stone less than a meter in front of me. I looked around, looking for her, but found nothing. It seemed I was trapped in one of those cages I had seen in my memories. Two undead guards stood out front, but it seemed they didn’t notice my presence yet, which was a relief.

But that relief didn’t last long as I realized I was trapped here. There was no way out, and I couldn’t do anything. I tried to summon the fire as I had done in my vision, but there was nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, as I heard a loud echoing screech from a tunnel. The guards instantly readied their weapons, preparing for whatever was coming.

When a small red bird popped out of the tunnel, they relaxed. But none of us was prepared for what the bird did next. It unleashed an even louder screech, and flew towards the nearest guard at an incredible speed, slashing out with razor-sharp talons and rending the guard, bringing it to second death. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, it did the same to the second.

Then, with intelligence unthinkable for a bird, it picked up a key from one of the bodies and used it to open my cage. I was free, all thanks to… well, what was it, actually? I spared it a glance, and it looked at me right in the same moment. Our eyes met, and I felt something. A fire in my bones, restoring strength and power. Then, somehow, we fused in an instant, and I became some sort of phoenix-human hybrid. I roared a powerful bellow, feeling like i could kill a god, all the power within me.

I looked at my hands, and they were blazing with scorching fire, but I felt no pain. It actually felt good, like an adrenalin rush of pure energy. I loved it. I found my weapons, which were fortunately nearby, and picked them up. They blazed as well, but they didn’t burn or melt, instead becoming even stronger tools of battle, and I breathed with a ferocity I had never known before.

Knowing exactly where to go, I looked up and breathed a beacon of fire into the earth, which somehow began to melt and even evaporate, burning away in an instant. This was exhilarating. I could get used to this. With renewed vigor, I flew up and plowed through the earth, flames filling the tunnel I made. As one, both me and the phoenix felt it. We were going to save Melody.

Maddox​

I tried to wrench my arm free of the magical bonds that held me, but they held strong. Still, the mage holding them in place grunted a bit, so I was assured that I could break out if I had enough time. But that would be time I did not have.

Already, Melody was being dragged to the altar, and I could do nothing. I fought harder and harder, but the chains held. I was just about to give up hope when some sort of star shot up from the ground. Except, it wasn’t a star, it was a massive ball of fire, and inside it seemed to be… Liam?

All of the necromancers stopped to look at the amazing sight. For an instant, my restraints broke, but that was all the time I needed. Calling my scythe to me, I cut through one of my captors before they could even react. Liam, noticing my freedom, landed on the mountain, drawing out two flaming weapons that I recognized as his Raider Axe and Sword Of Revelations. We shared a look, and that was all that was needed. We began to battle.

My scythe swung in a deadly arc, ripping through necromancer robes and flesh without any resistance whatsoever. Liam had similar success, igniting his enemies with a touch, and cutting limbs free. The necromancers were powerless to stop us at our strongest, and within minutes, the whole group was dead. Melody had wisely gotten out of the way to witness this mass destruction.

Both Liam and I stopped our destruction, and Melody had started to look in wonder at Liam. I decided to let the two lovebirds have their way this time, and began to loot the bodies.

Melody​

I couldn’t believe my eyes. One moment I was almost about to be sacrificed, and the next, Maddox becomes a whirlwind of death, along with, to my incredibly surprise, Liam. not only was he here, awake, but he had somehow become some sort of being of pure fire. I stood up in wonder as he stopped his massacre, and he smiled at me lovingly.

Suddenly, his body began to glow a blinding light, and he returned to his normal human form, no flames, although with one major difference. A small orange bird was perched on his shoulder, and it crowed with victory.

I rushed up and hugged him, throwing my arms around him in a massive bear hug. I pressed myself up to his chest, and, in such a way so that only he and I could hear, whispered, “I love you.”

He smiled, ruffled my hair, and said the words I knew I had always wanted to hear back. “I love you too.”

 

yes 10char

 

waht en pee see?