Tales of Neoxarde [Vol. 1] (3/3)

Chapter 7

Jen's finger trembled as she fumbled for the next arrow. The smoke in the air

burned her eyes. The immense heat of the fire slowly consuming the forest alive.

“Whatever you do, human. Do not leave my side!” ordered Malmune. She knew

that the smoke was coming from Lyforgia and the Galloping Forest. Suddenly, lightning

bolts rained down on them. Malmune slashed his battle ax at a hooded creature. It

retreated into the shadows and faded away.

“Hell Lords,” muttered Malmune. “Human, you must go back! Hurry before they

attack again!

Jen shook her head and shouted over the crackling flames, “No way, you're coming

with me, Malmune!”

Malmune took his strong arm and held hers. “Listen, you will die! I'm the protector

of this forest, not you. I will stall them with all my strength so hurry, human!”

Jen stepped back slowly and then ran toward the exit of Galloping Forest. She

heard crackling wood and gulped in smoke and she choked as tears formed in her eyes.

Malmune's cry in pain bellowed throughout the forest. Then it was quiet. Jen shivered as

she frantically looked around the forest. She raised her bow and arrow at the shadows,

but the quivers on the arrow was shaking too hard so she could not aim correctly.

Then it hit her. First she felt like she floated 200 feet into the air then she felt the

intense pain shoot through every pore in her body. She screamed as she dropped to her

knees and her bow and arrow fell to her side. She saw the hooded creatures forming a

circle around her. She suddenly felt cold and heartless. They came closer now as their

cloaks enclosing around her and the darkness slowly blocked out the sunlight that

pierced through the Galloping Forest. Then it was quiet.

*******

Zeath and Largo saw them riding through the forest. One was a male human

kneeling down holding onto an unconscious witch.

What the hell? There’s a human and a witch together?

“Shall we go and meet them?” asked Largo as he peeked through the bushes.

Zeath watched the witch. She seemed to be beaten up badly. “Yeah, it's safe. One

of them is injured,” answered Zeath as he grasped the hilt of his blade. They came out of

their hiding place and advanced towards them.

*******

They were like ghosts that just came out of a wall. Two paladins walked towards

them, confidently. Biggie slowly stood up from the ground, looking coldly at them. Biggie

stared them down until the paladin with a scar running down his cheek broke the

silence.

“Greetings,” the scarface paladin said in a gruff voice.

Julie slowly opened her eyes and sat up, whimpering at her wounds. Her eyes

grew wide when she saw the two paladins looking down on her. Julie slowly stood up

and bowed in respect. Her body shook with fright. Paladins were nightmares to witches.

“I'm Zeath and this is Largo. We want the witch,” said the other paladin with

sideburns running down his face. The paladin called Zeath was well built and was

slimmer than Largo but they both looked dangerous to Biggie.

Biggie gulped and said, “This witch is mine. She's leading the way to Slave

Factory. Go find your own witch.”

“Ahh, what coincidence! We are heading that way too so you won't mind if we join

you, right?” Largo asked, ignoring Biggie's words and faked a smile. Biggie didn't like the

idea. He had heard paladins were trouble if they wanted to “join” along.

“I think you just want the witch,” Biggie said and his right eye twitched. The

paladins had their hands on the hilt of their swords.

Zeath smirked and sighed, “Well, you're not as stupid as we thought.” He drew his

sword. “So we will have to take her by force or can you be a good fellow and give her

up?"

Biggie was ready for this. He knew that crooked paladins like these would cause

trouble to him. He pulled out his sword, just as the paladin Largo pulled his out. Julie

limped behind the Hyfilla, trembling with fear and watched the battle unfold.

Biggie waved his sword and stood his ground. The two paladins smiled as they

pointed their swords at him.

“You made a foolish mistake, my friend,” chuckled Largo as he came closer, his

sword ready to strike.

“No. You, my friend made a big mistake,” smiled Biggie as he swung is sword at

Largo and stepped back as metal clashed together.

Zeath came from the right, slightly dodging the edge of the sword as Biggie

swung again at both of them. Largo dodged and swung his sword around and clashed

unto Biggie's. Suddenly, Zeath's sword began to glow white and shot out a glowing

projectile that left Biggie frozen in sudden pain.

“Oh shit...” Biggie mumbled as he steadied himself to keep himself from falling. He

had heard of paladins using holy magic but now that he had felt it for the first time, he

began to feel afraid. Biggie remembered that a paladin's basic magic was Holy Bolt, a

projectile made of pure energy from the heavens.

Largo hit Biggie in the jaw, making him fall to his face. He couldn't move. Suddenly

his anger grew inside of him when he spotted Julie behind the Hyfilla.

“Damn it, Julie! Cast a spell, you dumb bitch!” yelled Biggie as he tried to shift his

numb legs.

Julie put her fingers on her lips and shook violently as the paladins slowly

advanced towards her. Then she spread her palms and mumbled a spell in Lamia Lingua

(Witch language). Suddenly, a rush of adrenaline chilled her spine and her legs felt like

jelly. Black energy began to form in her palms and she closed her eyes and released

the energy aimed at the paladins. A giant ball of pure fire burst towards Zeath which he

quickly dodged but burning his sleeve then it hit Largo directly on his chest, sending him

flying over seven feet.

Silence filled the forest. Only Julie's harsh gasps and the Hyfilla breathing heavily

echoed through the trees. Biggie shook off the Holy Bolt's effect and dusted his clothes

off. Zeath was holding his right arm with his mouth dropped open. Largo slowly stood up

back and got to his feet, his sword tightly held by his hand. His suprised face was

ashen with tremendous shock.

Biggie looked back at Julie. She had tears forming in her eyes and she began to

hide herself behind the Hyfilla again. He knew Julie was in trouble and he gritted his

teeth, attempting to show his anger towards the paladins.

“Now you're dead, you whore,” said Largo coldly as he started toward Julie.

Witches were not supposed to hurt or even yet touch a paladin. Julie now realizing her

mistake, whimpered as she backed away but tripped on a root and fell on her rear.

Biggie blocked Largo's way but he threw a holy bolt, knocking him down to the ground.

He looked down at Julie and pointed his sword at her.

“Don't,” said Zeath coolly and winced at his burnt arm. “You're a paladin, Largo.

Don't forget that.”

Largo looked at him angrily and looked down at Julie again where she was on her

side, cowered and sobbing quietly awaiting her death.

“You're one lucky bitch,” snarled Largo at Julie and spat on the ground.

Largo ferociously put his sword back in his sheath and grabbed Julie's hair and

forced her up. Largo fumbled out a steel wire and tied it around Julie's hands. Angrily, he

tightened the line and Julie winced in pain as the line dug into her wrists. She felt the

warm blood trickle down her fingers and she looked down on the ground ashamed of

what she had done.

Satisfied of the tightness of the steel wire, Largo pushed her to get moving. Julie

limped but the push caused her to fall to her knees and Largo grabbed her hair again to

pull her up. She whimpered in pain as she struggled to get up on her crushed ankles

from the Beat-Down torture back at the Elvin camp.

“Shut up!” shouted Largo and forced to move faster.

“Well, we will be taking the witch now. Have a nice day,” said Zeath blankly to

Biggie and put his blade back into its sheath. Then he placed his hand toward the burn

on his arm. His hand gave a sudden faint glow and Biggie watched in amazement


as the wound healed. Largo did the same thing.

Biggie stood up, his body shaking uncontrollably and whispered loudly, “You're not

going anywhere with her. She's mine.”

Zeath put his hands across his chest, smiling. “You can't defeat us. You can join

us or either walk away now with nothing."

Biggie knew he was right. He forced his legs to move and withdrew his sword back

in his sheath. He went to the Hyfilla and hit the right of side of its neck. It crooned and

then dashed away out of sight, probably back to its home. Biggie knew he could not risk

taking his Hyfilla along.

Zeath extended his hand which Biggie looked at it and smiled weakly. He took

his hand and shook it as he introduced himself. “I'm Biggie and the witch is Julie.”

Largo's nose flared as he pushed Julie again to get moving again. Biggie went a

alongside with Zeath as they walked down the path toward the Slave Factory.

“Julie, eh?” laughed Zeath as he averted his eyes towards Julie. "Never knew that

witches had names in the first place."

Chapter 8

They camped out in the Joh Village Inn, ten miles away from the Slave Factory.

Biggie had become very friendly with Zeath and Largo during their few hours of walking.

At first, they did not talk much but then they soon started talking, chattering like old

friends after a topic was raised in question. They spent their evenings in bars and old-

fashioned restaurants until they were too tired and decided to pick out an inn for the

night. Zeath and Biggie were having the most intense conversation until Biggie realized

Largo was missing.

“Good night, man,” said Biggie to Zeath. “Hey, do you know where Largo went?”

Right on queue, he entered the inn and patted his pillow.

“Where were you?” asked Zeath raising an eyebrow.

Largo cracked his neck and sighed. “I chained the witch to a metal pole. It looks

like she will be sleeping outside tonight.”

Biggie sat up in bed, his eyes widened with disbelief. “Are you crazy? It is twenty

degrees outside! She will -”

“The innkeeper won't let her in so I had no choice,” interrupted Largo calmly and

lay on his bed.

Biggie shifted his body in his bed and sighed, “You know, this isn't right. Why is

everyone so cruel to witches? They are humans too, right? It's not like they are any

different from women in town.

Largo yawned and stretched his legs and grunted, “First of all, they are ugly.”

Zeath scoffed and laughed softly. “Second, we hate them and it is already a fact. If you

are uncomfortable with it you can go overthrow the king or something.”

Biggie looked at him and then faced the ceiling. He was too tired to argue back. It

became quiet and only sound was the wind outside howling like ghastly wolves. He

thought of Julie out there in the cold. He turned side to side on his bed uncomfortably.

Suddenly, Zeath was mumbled something to Largo and Biggie turned his head to

eavesdrop.

“Hey guys, I'm bored here,” whispered Biggie turning to Zeath's side. “What are

you guys talking about?

“You don't want to know what we are talking about,” answered Zeath, his back still

turned to Biggie.

“Well, I think I do,” shot back Biggie.

Zeath turned to Biggie with an serious face and his lips closed in a thin line.

Biggie thought he was going to burst out shouting like a crazy

maniac or just drop dead on the floor.

“We are discussing if prostitutes are really better than witches.”

Biggie and Largo burst out laughing and giggling so loudly that some people that

were sleeping near them, looked at them annoyed.

“I think that witch is pretty cute,” Zeath whispered to himself dreamily before he

closed his eyes.

*******

Biggie groaned as Largo shook him awake. It was early in the morning and

Biggie's body was sore from walking so many miles. He wiped his eyes and yawned

as he watched Largo and Zeath pack their things. Zeath opened the door and shuddered

as the cold wind entered the warm inn. They all went out with Biggie shivering and

cursing the cold atmosphere. Then he saw Julie.

In front of them, Julie was laying down beneath the pole, her wrists still bounded

and her ankles were chained to it. She was asleep but she shivered and gasped as she

slept from the cold air filling her lungs. Largo kicked Julie and she jumped, startled and

looked at us in dismay. Largo unchained her and told her to stand and walk.

“Largo is always grumpy in the morning,” Zeath whispered and slightly smiled at

Biggie. “It won't be long before we see the Slave Factory. I think you'll love it there.”

Biggie smiled back and they followed Largo towards the Slave Factory. This was

what he was waiting for.

Zeath was the first to see the rooftops of the Slave Factory. It loomed dark in the

shadows and it looked like a giant castle ready to devour anyone or anything that dared

to approach it. Two skeletal guards stood at the entrance gate and glared at the

paladins as they approached the gate. The two skeletal guards blocked them with their

pole arms and asked them who they were and Biggie heard Julie gulp loudly.

“It's obvious we are paladins and this is a witch,” explained Largo for the third time.

“We are bringing this witch in for attempts of escape.”

Finally, the skeletal guards nodded at each other and moved out of the way as the

gate slowly opened, creaking at every movement from the rust. Biggie immediately

spotted the statue of Zscharchas and the Legendary Paladin in the middle of a giant

power house and saw that Zeath and Largo turned their heads to glance at it also. Julie

whimpered quietly as they lead her to the Inferior Hall. Two Orcs moved to the side and

welcomed them in. It was not a pretty sight.

Skulls and headless faces hung from the walls and the carpet was so dark, it was

like they were floating in darkness. A river of blood flowed gently beside the carpet as

they walked in. They entered another room and Zeath coughed at the coppery taste of

blood. The room was scarlet and people were all over the place, talking and shouting at

each other. It was much like a ballroom, but it had many doorways. A short, bald man

staggered toward them as if they were old comrades.

“Hello! Looks like you have a witch. Go straight and turn right and you'll find the

Witch Formation Center. Good day,” exclaimed the old man and walked away.

Zeath raised his eyebrow at Largo and he shrugged back. They did what the old

man said and soon they found themselves in a room with four tables at each corner.

“May I help you?” asked a chubby woman with red hair in a business suit from the

left corner of the room. Largo pushed Julie to speed up the pace and they sat down

between the woman and the table.

“Well, looks like you caught a witch? Or escape attempt?”

“Yes, attempt of escape and attacking the higher class.”

“Please give me her name.”

“Julie Haisha.”

The woman looked at her stack of files and thought for a moment. “Hmm, yes.

Julie Haisha. I've found her but I can't find any information about her records in the Slave

Factory.”

Biggie glanced at Largo confused and Largo gave him the "What-The-Hell-Is-Going-

On" look. Julie only lowered her head and stayed silent.

“Ma'am, we are sure Julie was established in the Slave Factory. Even she says it's

true,” explained Zeath.

Julie slowly nodded agreeing to his protest. The woman looked at the files for a

long time and looked at them in frustration.

“I'm sorry, but Julie's files were never here. It says she was supposed to attend a

special meeting and it's confidential of what is going to happen to her from now on.”

The woman leered at Julie, staring her down. It was obvious, she didn't like witches

either. Largo seemed confused with the process.

“What about the punishment? Is it the death penalty?” asked Largo.

The woman had a fake smile on her face but she was obviously annoyed. She

replied quickly in a squeaky voice, “We will take care of her and you kind gentlemen

don't need to worry about a thing.”

Largo scratched his head and mumbled, “Oh...OK then. Thank you for your time.”

Largo walked off followed by Zeath. Biggie looked back at Julie as two guards took

hold of her and led her to a doorway. Then Biggie turned and ran to catch up to Zeath

and Largo. He didn't know what was actually going on but he felt he had just lost

something very important.

Chapter 9

The guards pushed Julie roughly inside the cargo. She knew she was going to be

sold into slavery again. She was also confused about her missing records from the Slave

Factory. For several years, she served in the Slave Factory but now her records were

suddenly clean. As they closed the door, Julie crawled to a corner and sobbed. Being

stuck in a small, enclosed room reminded her of a time when she was locked in a closet

in her past school years.

Every ten years, the Tapionica Moon rises from the North to the South. Legend

had it that the Tapionica Moon gave people good luck by it's beautiful ghostly glow. Julie

always wanted to see the moon hoping for some good luck. She wanted the good luck

to find some pennies on the ground for her dinner. But the children surged around her,

tied her up and slapped tape on her mouth and threw in the dark closet. She heard the

children gasp and shouts of amazement as tears flowed down her face. They had

forgotten about Julie and she ended up spending the night in the school until the janitor

found her sleeping inside the closet covered with old clothing as blankets. Even though

Julie's life was hell, she had learned how to cope with her feelings. Flashbacks suddenly

began to glow in her mind:

When she was born, her family found out she was The Outcast. The Outcast was

the social punishment of the humans, Orcs, elves towards the witches. The Outcast was

a chosen witch that represented dishonor and disrespect to the family. Julie was the first

to be chosen. She never had birthdays and was never invited to any parties. Not even

her sister's birthday parties. She was locked in her own room and Julie would put her

ears at the door from time to time to hear laughter outside.

When she turned seven, she was forced to clean the house, wash the dishes, and

take out the trash. One of her sister used to scare her by chasing her with a knife and

locking Julie up in her own room for punishment. The other sister put her down with

harsh words and abused her physically and verbally.

“You're a loser and ugly. No one will like you. Who would? You're pathetic,” her

sisters would say.

The brother didn't speak much to Julie and she barely remember his face anymore.

It felt as if she never existed. Her father left when she wasn't even born and her mother

hated her for being chosen as The Outcast. During her boarding school years, she was

bullied many times and the age of 11, she was sold into slavery by her mother. She

already felt as if her life had crumbled apart.

Julie sniffed and yelped as the cargo started to move. The sudden jolt had awaken

herself from her own memories. She shifted her body uncomfortably and laid her back

against the wall. She felt her eyelids slowly weigh down on her eyes and dozed off into a

dreamless sleep.

The muffled voices woke Julie up. Suddenly, the doors swung open and the bright

lights emitted throughout the small cell she was contained in.

“C'mon witch, we are late for the gathering,” said a guard as he pulled her towards

him. She looked around. She was surprised they had gotten far to the West. She was

sure they were in Shurban Desert City. A city that was surrounded by the Shurban

Desert. It was unknown how the city survived sandstorms and droughts thought it was

famous for natural disasters. She saw the sea of sand through the entrance gate. They

forced her to move and people passed them without notice.

They entered a big jail cell that looked like a large factory. Inside was dusty and

hot. Julie coughed at the dusty dungeon as she heard distant prisoners groan and moan

for help. A jail keeper swung around a corner and spotted them. He quickly trotted

towards them. “Hello, hello, welcome!” he smiled.

The impassive guards greeted him back without much interest but the jail keeper

only became more enthusiastic. “What do we have here? Isn’t she a lovely lady?”

The guards laughed. “She's a witch. We are selling her to you.”

The jail keeper furrowed his brow, creating wrinkles on his forehead. “But...it's a

woman...I'm afraid we don't take women.”

The jail keeper saw a guard pull out a sack of gold and quickly changed his mind.

“Unless under special circumstances and I think today is a perfect day,” explained the

jail keeper as he eyed the sack of gold greedily.

“Fetch, you greedy mutt and take her. We are on our way now,” grunted a guard

and motioned the others to follow him. The jail keeper led Julie to her cell, talking

excessively about his life but she didn't hear him. She just stared at the ground. As the

jail keeper locked the cell door, she sat in the corner and grieved for her life.

Julie must have dozed off again because she was awaken by the jail keeper’s

voice. “Get up now, sweetie. It's time to present the slaves and you are one of them.”

Julie obeyed and was led up to a trap door. The jail keeper opened the trap door

and light filled the underground dungeon. She went up and saw huge crowds staring at

her. She was standing on a stage and people crowded around it waving gold sacks and

bills. She blushed and tried to go back in but the jail keeper urged her to stay on the

stage. She saw more prisoners coming up the trap door. They were different kinds of

creatures: centaurs, Orcs, fawns, and other creatures. They were all males. She realized

she was the only female slave. The slaves lined up horizontally, facing the crowd and

she quietly joined them. People talked and argued who to buy or who was going to get

the slave they wanted. Julie became tired after an hour in the sun so she sat on a bench

at the edge of the stage. The bench was shaded by a giant tree that grew right next to

the stage. It was not long before a faun came towards her and she thought the fawn was

very beautiful.

“Ehh? you must be the only female here. What brings you here, young lady?” the

faun's voice was pleasant and friendly.

Julie blushed and didn't answer back. The faun repeated the question twice before

Julie had enough courage to say something.

“I'm a witch...and they didn't have any records of me in the Slave Factory...so they

just sent me here, I guess,” Julie laughed nervously, playing with the chains on her

wrists.

The faun nodded. “Oh really? My village was massacred and enslaved by forest

savages. They had no use for me so I was sent here. By the way, I didn't get your

name.”

Julie's trance broke and quickly whispered, “Oh...umm...J-Julie.”

“The name's Carl.”

Julie slightly bowed in respect and Carol bowed back then smiled.

Just then, a guard called out Julie to come to the stand. A man with a dark cloak

and a hood covering his face was standing with the jail keeper, talking quietly to each

other. It seemed they were in the middle of a serious conversation. As Julie drew closer,

she looked back at Carl and waved. He waved back.

”There are many other strong slaves here. You wouldn't want the girl.”

“I believe I do. I think a woman slave will make me very happy.”

“Well, I'll lower your price...because she's probably the weakest -”

“No, I'll pay the full price. Thank you.”

The man gave the jail keeper the amount of gold and the jail keeper nodded at a

guard. He grabbed Julie's arms and unlocked her chain which fell to the wooden

platform. She saw the crowd staring at her as she became free. Her wrists were still felt

heavy. The man led her down the stairs and off the platform and they started walking

quickly towards a watermelon stand. Julie looked back for a final good-bye to Carl. He

was not there.

“When I say go, I want you to run for your life. Run towards the exit gate, no

exceptions,” whispered the man suddenly in a cold voice.

Julie was surprised and shocked. “But...mister...I mean, master...you bought me,

why would you free me?”

“This is for your own good. Now go!” hissed the man more violently.

Julie hesitated and then she ran for her life. Guards patrolling the dusty streets

spotted her and shouted her to stop. But she kept running until she felt the hot sand

between her toes.

The guards stopped, catching their breath and gasped, “She'll die in the desert in

two days. The bitch is buzzard food.”

Julie looked back, still running and saw the gate getting smaller and smaller. She

couldn't see the man that helped her escape. She slowed down, breathing heavily and

saw a lizard skip through the sand dunes. It was hot. She squinted through the shining

sun. It was in the Sea of Sand. She was back in the Shurban Desert.