Dark Sun Rising, Original part 2

[Please be aware that some of the grammar may be sloppy, I haven't had the chance to grammar check this bad boy, so if you could please just gimme that :3 That would be nice. Enjoy the new piece! :D And leave comments and rate it.]





These are recalled chapters from each side. Papers have been recovered, and memory juice has been pooled in a bowl. Journals are found, and tales are told. Assassins, scouts, thieves and soldiers. Family, friends, generals and captains. All kept journals, stories, and little clips of their lives. Some of these people that are noted have died during their task. Some clips were not finished, and illegible due to ink, or other fluids. We of the Lore Seekers now give you are best known tales, as this is what you seek. Our connections are few, and the artifacts they uncover are priceless. We have come across many writings, so please enjoy what we have. Engulf yourselves in the tales of the 6th war. Yes, it happened, as did four more wars. Though no one remembers them; they were but small skirmishes, and rebellions. Read on, to see who won the glory. Read death, victory, and riches. The lore you seek is put a page away. Read.


Andreas the Wicked; Assassin for the Cretan Family

The heat from the forge burned my black leather armor, my cowl was covered in salty sweat. The little drips that fell from me sizzled as they hit the steel, Bellaforge was my final mission, or so I thought.
I slinked through the cramped halls of the forge below the city, the guards never patrolled this deep below the castle. I had surveyed the grounds for days. I knew their patrols. I had been a peasant for this agonizing steak-out. But, it seems peasants are actually treated well. Hmm; well, -WE- give the peasants shelter and food. All goes to show who the better family is.
Creeping along the bottom, I tried to view the few escape routes. It was tough with all my hair in my eyes. It was too hot, and not bathing in three days did my body no good. My greasy hair stuck to my forehead. I had almost given up hope. Just then, I saw the ladder that climbed one hundred feet into the air, before it broke. The three rungs to the latch, before the sewers was ten feet above the ladder. This was my only way up. My plan was destroyed. I needed to find another way up. I thought for a moment. I connected what I could do, with what I couldn't. I decided to climb. It was better to die down here, than return to the king with bad news.
I started my climb. The metal rungs burned my hands. The heat was getting unbearable. The forge heat rose, so at the top, it was a terror far worse than death. My skin boiled, and popped. My skin stuck to the steel. I was pulling leather and flesh from the rungs. The leather started to blister, and crack. I cringed in pain as I reached the last rung of the ladder. I was having trouble breathing, as the air was so thick. I had to find a way to get ten feet higher.
While I stood on the ladder, it popped into my head. The rope I packed would be able to do the trick. It was still at my side. Unraveling it, I tested its length. It would be fine for the situation. I was able to bend and break a piece of metal to form a hook. With my rope attached, I quickly threw my crude grappling onto the rung ten feet above, after a couple tries. With blistered hands, I steadily climbed the tough rope, till I had reached the top. I gripped the bars once more, till I was on op of the platform, before I painstakingly rolled up the rope, and re-lashed it to my belt. With a sigh of relief, I opened the trap door, and climbed into the abandoned sewers.
The sewers haven't been used for many ages, and dead animal bones, trash, and strange go were littered about as I ran through the stone pits. I couldn't hear any voices above me; I was still far below the palace. Perhaps, if I was lucky, I could get to another ladder before day-break; these sewers were starting to stink. The decaying flesh and rotting bones didn't add to any of my pleasures. I kill for profit, not for this.
After crawling through the muddy, rank waters for hours, I made it to a large door. The iron gate that led to freedom from this unsanitary place was locked, and I was ill prepared for this situation. I had no picks, and the only way out was through this door. I had to rummage around the ill-begotten trash for a little bit, to find a bone worth using. I had to jam the lock. With my hopes low, I sharpened the tip upon a chunk of broken rock, and guided it into the keyhole. Propping it up, I hit the palm of my hand onto the bone, thrusting it deep into the hole. I heard a strange clicking sound, and knew I was almost there. I stepped back, and placed a swift kick to the piece of bone. With a crunch, the bone shattered in the lock, and the door swung open to the castle. The first part of my job was complete. I was in.
The servants bustled about with plates and dishes in their arms. The guards, dressed in hellish plate, stood like statues across the halls. Every now and then, they would shout at the poor slaves, and beat them in the corners. The halls were filled with trash and blood, not like -OUR- mighty palace. The guards patrolled with their heads held high, and glared at the shadows. I had taken a hiding spot behind the tapestries, and was ready to make my move. No more disguises for me, I was sick of smelling body odor. It was -just- my luck that three of the idiots had stopped before my hiding spot, and started to talk about how they went to the bathroom, and how good it felt. Then! Oh god, then they started to talk about their wives, or food. Whatever it was that they were talking about, it was disturbing to my ears. They finally wished each other a good rest, before walking off. I crept from my tapestry and ran across the hall, to the next one. This one was of a picture of a horse. What a wonderful picture. In my opinion, it was a wonderful idea to waste cloth and space over a useless riding implement.
Pots and pans flew out of the corridor as a servant ran down the hall, her dress waving with every step. The guards, with their smashing of plate were not far behind her, damn pigs. She ran, screaming and hollering till their torchlight dimmed, and the screaming faded. They must have gotten her with a pan or something. With that, I ran from this place to the closest door I could find. With a quick step, I opened the door, and went in. The room was empty, save a man, sleeping in his bed. I was already bending over him, ready to kill the old fool when the door, mysteriously none the less, flew open. The man jolted up. I had sprung to his headboard, while he looked out, yelling at the cat and dog which were now running across the room. The mans blonde hair was matted to the side of his head, as though he had been sleeping for awhile. His pale skin was still below the blankets. All he wore was a white shirt, or all I could see. He grumbled sleepily when the door shut, and the animals left. My arms and legs ached as I stood above this man. He was young, but needed rest. He fell to his head with a thud, and fell right asleep. But, my sweat had dripped down, off my face, and onto his. He crinkled his nose; I didn't move. I couldn't, I was too afraid. He didn't seem to notice, but it must have hit his mind. He opened his eyes, only to look at me above his bed. His eyes grew big, like melons. His mouth fell agape. He couldn't even scream. He was more afraid of me than I had thought. He soiled himself, I could smell it. He just lay there, motionless. My senses snapped back to me. I threw my dagger at his face, which struck true. I could hear the slicing noise as it split his skin, and dug into his skull. His eyes, now blood red, quivered. Blood trickled from his skull, lips and eyes. Blood spatter had found its way to my boots. It was warm; I could feel it seep through the leather. Gracefully, I jumped down from the bed and blew out the candle at his bedside. I quickly turned on my heel, and took my leave of the room.
My travels in the travels lead me to the women's chamber of the slaves. They were slaves, but who am I to give up a woman or death? I tried the door but it was locked, I wanted to get in now. I tried the door once more; my hands were shaking to kill now. I heard voices coming in my direction, I had to stay away. The filthy swine didn't see me in the shadows as three of them walked past me. The fourth was far off, the rest had entered the room when the fourth girl came running along. I put my foot out of the shadows and watched her fall to the ground. I sprung onto her back and put my blade to her throat, and with a smooth and gentle motion I pulled it across her neck, from ear to ear. I covered her mouth as I did this but I could still her blood gurgling. The warm blood spread across the stone, she wasn't worth it. I dropped her head into the blood and watched her hair soak it up. I wiped what little blood was on my gloves onto her dress and then turned towards the door. I drew my crossbow, all the while knowing I could cause some damage. I loaded my weapon as I stood over the dead woman, her blood now seeping into my boots, but it soon faded as I walked over to the door.
I listened at the door before I pressed my palm to the steel knob. I forced the wooden door open and fixed my eyes on the first and closest slave I could find. They all looked at me in one motion, all five of them. I raised my crossbow to them and fired off my first bolt into the skull of the unsuspecting slave that was unlucky enough to be close to me. The bolt cracked her skull as she slammed to the ground. They all screamed, but I dulled out the noise when I slammed the door shut. My head was now pounding as the adrenaline pumped through me. I loaded my crossbow as my veins surged with this powering serum. One servant kneeled before me, begging for her life, her tears streaming down her pretty face. I smiled behind my cowl, and as she looked down, pointed my crossbow to her skull. She looked up at me again, just fast enough to see my face before I pulled the trigger. Her eyes grew as big as the bolt that now flew into her head. Blood splashed everywhere as she crumpled to the ground. The servants now raised weapons and readied themselves for the end of their lives. One lifted a candle holder; the other two took legs to a chair. They ran at me with their weapons flailing, tears in their eyes and yells echoing through the whole room.
I tossed my crossbow into the crowd, hitting one of them in the arm. She grunted, but I didn't do any damage. It would seem she had been beaten ten times worse, what I was going to do to her wasn't close to what she had experienced. I had just enough time to draw my rapier before one flung the chair leg at my face. It caught my cheek and with a grunt of pain I spun around and hit into the wall behind me. I could still feel the handle to my blade, but that is all that ever really matters. I turned around and faced them, swinging my blade at the first woman I saw. She screamed as her arm fell to the ground and squirted blood. I took a chance, the only good one I could ever get and thrust my sword into her chest. She convulsed before she toppled down to the ground next to her arm. The other two just ran over her, the woman with the candle swinging at my head. I quickly raised my sword and blocked the attack, the sound echoing through the room. I swung my sword but she was too fast, she twirled out of the way and waited for the other girl with the chair leg. She didn't swing for my face but for my shin. Caught off guard I was unable to block, so I jumped into the air. I was able to slam my sword down, the blade striking true. The blade hit so hard into the woman that it didn't come out. Blood oozed all over the floor, her hair and my weapon. I looked up; the candle woman was ready for me, a one on one.
She glared at me, her dark brown hair in a puffy ball like an afro. She was of darker skin than the rest, not native to this land. She took the candle stick and swung it at my head when I looked up. I could hear the ring of brass as it cracked my head when I fell to the ground. I could taste a tangy copper flavor in my mouth as I slowly opened my eyes. I was on the ground next to the woman I had just killed, her blood covering my back. I shook my head and looked up, but now the woman was calling out the door for the guards. I moved my hand around, I could barely feel it, I could barely feel the wooden handle of my crossbow. My bolts were at my side, or so I knew, I couldn't tell if they fell. I fumbled for the crossbow and knocked back the string. I found my pouch and slowly took out a bolt, placing it into the crossbow. I can remember the last words the woman said well as I whistled a high pitched sound. Her expression was beyond all, perhaps my greatest kill in my life. She turned her head to me; her large brown eyes grew as large as apples. She dropped her arms and screamed, "Oh Sh..." She never had a chance to finish the sentence; my crossbow bolt flew straight to her skull and pinned her against the wall, her blood and brains smeared across it. She slumped in a crumpled heap within seconds after she hit the wall.
But now I could hear the guards running down the hall, I was no match for those fools with armor. I couldn't move, so I moved the two women's bodies that fell beside me over me, their weight gently crushing my body. The guards blasted in as soon as I was done. They looked around the room slowly, their swords drawn and at the ready to kill me. They kicked the bodies above me but in this poor light they weren't able to see my dark armor. They sounded the warning and left the room to go look for me. I saw my chance and climbed out from under the bodies, blood covered me from my whole body. I looked around and spied the window; it was left open to air out the room before I came in. I searched the room one last time for any valuables but was only able to make away with a key from the table. I then began my descent down the castle; I had caused enough havoc in the Malgan palace for today.
Well, the fire light is dim and my eyes are heavy. My pen is old and my ink is low. I must leave f or tonight, I hope I can continue this more. But I can smell sweet pines and my bed looks so soft, this inn really knows how to treat a guest. I shall see you tomorrow, goodnight.