Chapter the First: A Journey in the...

CHAPTER THE FIRST:

A JOURNEY IN THE KEY OF DEATH

Year of our Lord: Eighteen ninety

Season: Spring

Month: May

Day: Monday

Date: Fifth

Time: Four o' clock in the afternoon

A deceptive noise traveled through the air. It appeared to only sound like thumping, but there was actually more to it than that. It was the footsteps of six people walking side by side on an old dirt road. They were dressed in black clothes and cloaks with hoods attached to them. The hoods were covering their heads and most of their faces right now. A concealed sword and sheath rested at each of their sides. To the left and right of them was a forest of mighty oak trees. They were playgrounds for one's imagination as to what could have been lurking inside them.

It was late in the afternoon, so the sun was beginning to set. It still managed to bestow its bounty of light upon the world nonetheless. A few clouds in the sky quietly watched them with an almost obsessive interest. There was also the faint sound of a stream, which was somewhere deep within the forest. As they were walking, one of them noticed something on the right side of the road. He stopped to look at it while the other kept on moving. He whistled to the others and then they headed over to where he was. Once they got close enough, they looked at the carving too. It was some words and they said "In nature there are predators...and there is prey."

They scrunched their eyebrows a little and looked at each other. Then they looked around for more carvings but couldn't find any. They figured it wasn't important anyway, so they headed back to the road and continued on their way.

Not long after, a man stepped out from the left side of the woods. He walked onto the road and then turned to face them. He was stout, had a rugged appearance, and his clothes were tattered. There was also this unsettling twinkle in his eyes. The group of men could see him, but they were too far away to make out any of his details.

"Why, hello there," said the man as he clapped his hands together. "I noticed you read my message. As you may already know, predators and prey can come in many forms. In this case you're the latter."

He then removed his sword from his sheath and pointed it at them.

"I know this because I'm your predator," he said. "Oh excuse me, I mean I'm one of your predators."

He snapped his fingers and seven more men emerged from the woods. They were all different shapes and sizes, but looked like rejects from the lowest pits of Hell. Their clothes were battered and they looked homely. The most interesting thing about them though was their grimaces. They removed their swords from their sheaths as they walked.

"I'd like to introduce you all to my men," he said. "We've been together for quite some time now. I'd say...two years. During our time together, we've killed and robbed our fair share of people. We wish we could tell you the exact number, but we've lost track. I guess you could say we have some experience in this particular 'industry'."

The six people didn't say anything. They just stared at their opponents.

"What?" asked the man. "Don't any of you have something to say? You're about to be killed."

They didn't respond.

"Are you six mute," he asked, "or are you just being stubborn?"

The six men still didn't respond.

"Whatever," he said. "The reason doesn't matter. In case you don't know this, dead men remain silent forever."

A slight breeze blew through the area and made the cloaks of the six men flutter gently. It also kicked up some dirt and dust from the ground. Then they started to walk back over to the tree with the carving on it. One of them pulled out a throwing knife and began to carve something else into it. The rest of them took turns watching their associate work and keeping an eye on the other group of men. Once he finished, he put his knife away and the six of them went back onto the road.

         "Hmm," said the man as he scratched his chin. "I wasn't expecting that, but I'm flattered. Now let's see what you did."

He started to walk to the tree and gestured for his men to meet him there. When they reached it, they took turns looking at the carving and watching their targets. It now said: "In nature there are predators...and there is prey. Right now, you can either fuck off or we can fuck you up. Pick one."

The robbers shared a hardy laugh for a while. After a few seconds, their leader spoke.

"You honestly think you can stop us?" he asked. "Don't be foolish and try to fight us. Just let us make your deaths as quick and painless as possible. That's the best option you have in this situation. I highly suggest you choose it."

They then headed back to the road. They positioned themselves side by side, except for the leader. He took his place in front of them and laid his eyes upon them.

"So," he asked, "are you ready to tear our victims limb from limb?"

"Yes!" they yelled in unison.

The six warriors just gazed at them without any expressions on their faces. They just emitted thousand-yard stares. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a little stone. He held it up so they could see it.

"I'd like to introduce you all to the item," he said, "that'll start your destruction. I'm going to throw this skyward and when it comes back to the ground, you're going to die. Do you understand?"

Again, they said nothing. They shook their heads up and down to show compliance instead.

"Good," he said, "you're fast learners. I also must commend you all on how nonchalant you're being about this. It's almost as if you don't care you're going to die. Are you ready? Your demises begin..."

He lowered his arm and then flung it high into the sky. Everybody watched it with immense anticipation. It wasn't that sunny outside, so they could see it rather easily. Time was now appearing to crawl at an unbearably slow pace. After a few seconds, it started its decent. As their eyes stayed fixated on it, it hit the ground and bounced around a little before stopping. Then they looked at each other in a void of silence.

"...now!" yelled the man.

One of them charged one of the six warriors with his sword. The thirst for blood was strong within him. When he got within a couple of feet of his target, he raised his sword and swung it down. The warrior stepped to the side and evaded the vicious attack. He then removed his sword from his sheath and plunged it right into the mugger's chest. It went into his heart and then out the other side of his body. The man wiggled around on the sword for a few seconds, but then went limp. The warrior tried to pull it out, but to no avail. He then lifted his leg and pushed the corpse off it. The body hit the ground and blood started to ooze out of the wound.

"Shit!" yelled the leader of the muggers. "I'll see you rot in Hell for this!"

He then looked around at his men.

"I want their bodies unrecognizable!" he screamed.

All the muggers ran towards the six warriors in one fantastical charge. The six warriors just stood there watching them get closer. They were so focused on their opponents they appeared to be running in slow motion. Once the hellhounds got within proximity, the rest of them drew their swords for battle.

One of the muggers flung his sword down at one of them. The warrior blocked his attack with a horizontal slash. Then they kept their weapons locked and pushed on each other's to break their stance. The will to hold their ground was evident in their eyes as they looked at each other. Then the warrior quickly cocked his head back and thrust it right into the mugger's face. The bone in his nose made a horrid sound as it cracked in half.

"Ahhhh!" he yelled as he stumbled backward with blood gushing from it.

The warrior positioned the tip of his sword at the man's neck. With a mighty thrust, he sent it through the area until it came out the other end. The man's spine was severed so he died instantly. Then the warrior pulled his sword out of him and he fell to the ground on his stomach. Blood continued to leak out of his nose and neck wounds.

During this, another one of the six warriors was fighting another one of the muggers. Their adrenaline was rising higher with every passing second. This made their attacks harder and faster.

"Come on and die already!" yelled the mugger.

He did a horizontal slash but the warrior ducked under it. He stood back up and then circled behind him. He pulled out his sheath and horizontally swung it at a spot right below the man's neck. It connected and broke his spine in two. The mugger died instantly and toppled over onto the ground like a ragdoll.

Another mugger tripped over the body of the second mugger who was killed. He fell onto his left side. All of a sudden, one of the warriors shoved his sword right through his neck and into the ground. A stream of blood began to flow out of his mouth like a red waterfall. He then pulled it out. The mugger's head moved up with it until the sword came out. Then it fell back to the ground with a small thud.

"These guys are really good," the leader thought. "I underestimated them."

He looked around at the remainder of his men.

"Keep on fighting!" he yelled. "We can defeat them!"

Somebody crashed into his back from out of nowhere. It knocked him down onto his side. He then looked at the person who collided with him. It was the lifeless body of one of his men with a wound on the front and back of his head. A few seconds later, he shifted his eyes towards the fighter who disposed of him. He was standing a couple of feet away from the body, looking at him as well.

"Damn you!" screamed the leader. "Damn you all to Hell!"

He stood up and tried to impale the warrior with his sword. He stepped to his right side and slammed his sword down onto the leader's one. It went into the ground. Then the warrior raised his leg and did a forward kick at the leader's chest. It knocked him back a little.

"Now you're just playing with me," he said.

He then lunged at him.

While this was going on, another mugger was engaging another one of the six warriors.

"You're so dead you asshole," said the mugger as he was swinging his sword at him.

He was easily evading the random slashes of the mugger's sword. In between one of his attacks, he pulled out his sheath and smashed it into his face.

"Ahhh!" he yelled in pain as he spun around.

When he finally turned all the way around, the warrior put his sword right up to his neck. Then with a confident grin, he dragged it horizontally across it. Blood began to pour out of his wound, so he put his hands over it as he fell to his knees. Not long after, he fell to the ground on his stomach like a stone.

Meanwhile, the leader kept swinging his sword like a madman at the warrior. The warrior was able to block every one of his attacks though.

The leader paused after one of his swings, so the warrior went for a decapitation strike. However, he rolled underneath it and stood back up.

"Fall back!" he yelled to the last remaining member of his group.

They ran the other way as dust shot into the air. Once they were far enough away from their opponents, they came to a halt.

"Should we just get the fuck out of here?" asked the man.

"No," said the leader. "We have to accomplish our mission. We also have to avenge our fallen comrades."

The other man thought about this for a moment.

"You're right," he said. "So, how do you plan on doing this?"

"Okay," said the leader as he looked right into his eyes, "this is what we're going to do. You..."

A sword flew right through the man's head. Blood exploded out of the exit wound onto the leader's face. There was also some brain matter on the tip of the sword. The leader just looked at him with a horrified expression on his face. Just seconds ago his comrade exhibited the flame of life...and now it was gone. It had been extinguished without mercy. The mugger fell backward onto the ground and then the leader wiped the blood off his face. He took at it before flicking it off. With fire in his eyes now, he laid them upon the warriors.

"You killed all my men!" he screamed.

They just stood there silently and looked at him without any expressions on their faces. There was no need for them to say anything because their actions said it all.

"Even if I can't kill one of you," he screamed, "I'll sure as hell try!"

He grabbed the sword in his comrade's head and pulled it out.

One of the warriors then flew at him with impeccable speed. The warrior swung his sword at him, but he crossed his two swords together and blocked it. The warrior then lifted his leg and kicked his knee.

"Crap!" he yelled as he lowered his swords and fell onto his other one.

The warrior raised his sword and flung it down to cut his head in half. However, the leader blocked it with his swords. The warrior then hit him in the head with his knee. The leader yelled in pain as he dropped his swords and flew onto his back. The warrior went up to him and put his foot on his throat. Then he pressed down on it. Once again the leader yelled in pain.

"I don't know who in the hell you guys are or where you come from," said the leader as he looked at him, "but I do know this. I won't die this easily. You're going to have to do much better than this."

He grabbed the warrior's foot and pushed it upward with all of his force. He jumped back to prevent himself from losing his balance. The leader quickly grabbed one of the swords and sat up.  Then he tried to stab him with it. The warrior parried the attack and then cut off the leader's hand. The dismembered body part fell to the ground along with the sword.

"Ahhh!" yelled the leader as he looked at his injured arm.

The warrior then took his sword and decapitated him. However, he did it so fast the leader's head remained on his body for a few moments. Then it fell off and hit the ground. Next, his body fell over and it landed on his head. Blood started to flow from his wounds like how a fine wine starts to flow after its bottle has been opened.

The warrior who threw his sword through the mugger's head went up to the leader's body and reclaimed it. Then the six warriors walked off the road and went into the woods to find the stream. Once they found it, they rinsed the blood off themselves and their weapons. Then they went back onto the road and cleared the bodies off it. This was one of those times where they thought being courteous to others was the right thing to do. Afterwards, they basked in their newfound victory while resuming their trek to the city of Vallone.

POEM THE FIRST:

THE ROAD OF DEATH

On the road of death they walked

With ears paying close attention, no one talked

Then men of evil entered my friend

All of them did meet their end