Burden of the Cursed -- Chapter One

It was windy, cold and wet as the heavens unleashed a furious storm down upon the lands of Bo‘resent. The trees of the vast golden forest waved violently in the surging tempest and the chilling rain poured down from overhead in fury.

A lone horse carrying two travellers struggled through the squall along the main country road as they braved through the unsettling weather. The horse would pause once in a while as its hooves became stuck in the thick mud, before becoming free and repeating once again a few steps on.

The two travellers, who were sat cradled on the saddle, were covered with cloaks to protect them from the stormy conditions. They had been travelling for almost a full day now and were seeking shelter along the main road.

“I thought you said there was an Inn around here?” The smallest traveller, the one at the back called out. The other managed to turn slightly so his voice would travel more smoothly into the wind.

“It’s around here somewhere…” He called, his grip on the horse’s reins were beginning to slip as they started to descend a small hill into the darkness.

The smallest traveller held tightly to the waist of his companion as they continued on, battling through the harsh weather, it was only then as they arrived at the bottom of the hill did they see the distant sight of a building.

“There it is!”


Even with the bleak weather, the building was extremely beautiful; it was built upon a stone mason with wooden walls and a sturdy hay roof. Only having three rooms however, its lack of size was easily accommodated by the service from the tavern downstairs. The horse approached the small stable hidden at the rear of the building and was secured safely inside, leaving the two travellers a moment to catch their breath.

The tallest man removed the hood covering his face, revealing a handsome, red-cheeked man with the age approaching his early 20’s. He pulled his fair-coloured hair free of the cloak and tussled with it to dry the dew. He then began to rummage through the two small bags which were attached to the horse’s saddle in hopes that some of the supplies survived the weather.

The smallest traveller, who too was now off the poor horse’s back turned towards the other with a gentle pace as he hovered there and watched his progress.

“Did everything survive Adam?” The smaller boy said; his voice was young yet gruff from the storm.
“Well, some of the food is useless….the bread has moulded, the cheese too…And, Oh! The map!” He cried; his attention drew to a rolled up parchment with soaked edges. His dismay caused the youngest journeyman to unravel his face from his hood and look with almost innocent eyes.

He was perhaps no more than eighteen years old, his face was childish and accompanied with inhuman ears which seemed to mimic more of a cat. His black hair obscured them from sight but not enough that it wasn’t noticed upon closer inspection. Among that, something else was also inhuman about his appearance but that was much more harder to hide and even underneath the full body cloak, people could still try and see the slow wagging tail which would normally belong to a fully grown lion.

In truth, the younger boy was a member of a tribal species called the Savag. A prideful race of hybrid humans/lions that was renowned for their stamina and fortitude. Unfortunately their homeland was situated within a distant continent which was war-torn and broken thanks to a neighbouring Human city. The Savag fought against the resident Humans for many years, a long and bloody war with no possible end in sight; soon a huge grudge was formed that had travelled the long oceans and led to beliefs for execution of any Savag seen within the public eye as a spy.

“Can you still read it?” The boy asked, his cat ears dipped slightly to triple the concern noticed on both his tone and face. Adam sighed; unravelling the scroll resulted in a display off murky ink and indecipherable directions. He tossed it to the ground, frustrated he decided to take his anger out on a solitary bucket, kicking it a good distance across the stables until it landed within a stack of hay. Then he whirled, facing the Savag and taking a deep breathe.

“I’m sorry Tinnus…”
“Adam, it will be all right. Couldn’t we just ask for directions inside?”
“I suppose that’s the only thing we can do now…” His voice was serious, his tone aggravated as he recalled the orders he was given by his Guild Master.

“Arrive at the city of Medenral in the east and speak to the Fighter’s Guild Master there, he has a desperate mission to accomplish and presents no free agents to hire off his own. I have written to him explaining that you are the best candidate for the job and he’s expecting you within the next three days”

“Medenral is about two days travel along the Old Meadow Road and through the Golden Forest. It’s certainly difficult to find if you’ve never been before so I’m providing you with this map and directions just in case. Is there any questions Adam?”

They had arrived so far however, but now without a map; things could become difficult from here on. Still though, there was always hope and Tinnus was kind enough to remind him of that.

“You said to me you stayed at this Inn before, is it nice?” Tinnus asked as he helped with the last satchel and watched the fighter collect his hold on the scabbard for his long sword.
“It is nice, though that was about three years ago, things could be different now. I know they do some nice brandy. But that’s not going to interest you.”

Adam fastened the last of his armour and was finally ready as they left the shelter of the stables into the storm; however Adam grabbed the back of Tinnus’ shoulder and gently pulled him close.

“You forget something?” He said softly as he reached behind the boy’s head and started to lift the hood upwards. They shared a silent stare for the moment before Adam kissed him gently on the forehead.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry” He added as Tinnus’ eyes dropped a bit.

It was difficult for him, understandably; having to hide all the time whenever people appeared, having to hide his face as much as possible and uncomfortably tying his tail around his waist so that no one would suspect; so that he could pass as human, but the only problem with that was simple. He wasn’t human. He was Savag and though he was young, he was still proud to be what he was.

In truth though, if it hadn’t had been for Adam almost a year ago now, he would be dead by now. He could still recall that day perfectly, being smuggled on board that pirate ship after escaping his war-torn country; arriving at the port town of Huna and becoming nothing more than a common thief in order to survive.

It wasn’t long until people noticed a Savag was on the loose throughout the streets and issued an order by the local Fighter’s Guild to locate and arrest him. Adam was the one put in charge of the mission, and after finding out more about the 18-year-old Savag boy and the *things* he had had to do in order to survive, when he was finally located, he wasn’t arrested, instead Adam took pity upon him and promised that he would help him survive as best he could, even attempting to seek passage back to his homeland.

They would meet up every three nights at the back of the local temple; Adam would supply the poor boy food in exchange that he would stop his criminal behaviour and go into hiding. The plan seemed to work for a while, the thefts in the local area seemed to drop; but after two weeks worth later, as Adam arrived at the site with fresh meat and rum, the Savag boy did not.

Believing at the time that he had either being captured or had decided to leave the city, Adam remained confident that the young boy would be safe.

It was only until after being granted with a new mission to arrest a known pirate named Trinstain whom had recently come to port did Adam find out what happened to the Savag.

Boarding the captain’s boat, Adam, whom was nothing more than a lowly Guild Member at the time was met with unbridled resistance and during his ambush, was knocked unconscious. Regaining his awareness in the brig of the ship, he found the Savag boy; naked, tied, gagged and presented in a fashion which almost broke the young fighter’s heart.

“He’s only a child…” Adam thought as his bindings forced him to watch one of the sailors arrive, in need for a “stress-reliever”. His rage was almost uncontrollable as he watched the sailors treat him as nothing more than a punching bag. He even pleaded and begged for them to assault him instead, that way he didn’t have to watch the poor boy suffer.

Savag or not, he was still just a child.

The next morn as the sun broke, Adam watched the young boy stir from his position, his face was pale and his tail had gone limp. He saw within his small blue eyes, that the boy had given up all hope and was just waiting to die. His stare begged him for release, if not by their hands, but by his.

He promised the boy an escape from their incarceration, begging him to hold on just a bit more. It was that very morning, just as one of the guards arrived for breakfast when Adam struck. He killed almost seven pirates that morning alone and took great pleasure in beating Trinstain to within an inch of his life before arresting him to complete his contract.

Tinnus was then rescued, and Adam overlooked his recovery in secret. It was difficult for the first few nights, balancing his guild duties as well as secretly leaving every once in a while to head into the oldest part of the town, where the abandoned dock-warehouses stood which was where he had safely hidden Tinnus.

Over the next couple of weeks, after Adam was forced to help Tinnus flee from the warehouses after it was decommissioned, the old arrangement continued again, hiding within the shadows and secretly arranging meetings for food in exchange for good behaviour. It seemed to work for a while, until Tinnus became more fluent in his surroundings and human behaviour and became more confident, leaving the dark to explore and even attempting to track and follow Adam down. It was only when Adam was secretly forced to “employ” Tinnus to help for one of his latest contracts, involving a smuggling operation that required stealthier recon then Adam could provide; where they finally expressed their close friendship to one another.



Even now, a year onwards; Adam looks into Tinnus’ eyes and sees the same sorrow and anguish he had been witnessing for his entire occupation on this isle. Fear; of having to hide his true nature, not only for his own sake now but also because of his growing affection to his only friend and companion. For if he was discovered, he would no doubt be executed on sight, along with Adam for harbouring him in secret.

The chilling airs around the stable fragranced the environment with the strong smell of damp hay and moist wood, Adam broke his stare with Tinnus in order for them to move on and finally enter the warmth of the Inn. Carrying their supplies, they both slowly left the stables and approached the entrance to the small building.