Luran Raiya stepped up to the ledge on one side of a raised walkway, and looked over it. There were runners below, building something, with wood framing of some kind. He was about to throw a flare over the rail, when one looked up, and gave a horrible screech. Luran grabbed Hiro and began running with him across the way.

  “Don't look back. Don't look back. We've got to get across the river.”

  It took a few minutes to get through the winding passages of the woods on the city's northern lakeshore. All about them was mud and grime and the poorer citizens' houses. There were none in the city, Luran had been told – but he and Hiro were forced to fight young runners, and some soldiers. They slashed and stabbed their way through a veritable horde of evil servants. At last, Hiro was excited – the courage that had served him well in the War Quests returned to him, and Hiro was able to test his mettle. A knight came up out of the murky blackness surrounding the central district. It was one of their own, clad in iron armor and sable clothing; Hiro knew it was a champion's wear. He'd sold his own set long ago – he'd been too young and not strong enough to bear its weight. The knight sidestepped him many times, and seemed fond of parrying Hiro's strikes, moving about with ease.

  Luran wanted desperately to help, but he knew this was an integral challenge – a rite of passage, maybe. Hiro did not seem to need his help. His feet were deep in the mud, but Hiro was still able to hold his own, and he had a good sword to bear. The knight was heavier, and it was worse for him. The knight's own sword blows were parried. Hiro eventually found an opening and drove his own into the knight's thigh. He swung the blade again after pulling back and deflecting another blow. The knight made no sound of speech, but stared into his foe's eyes. The blood flowing from its wounds was as black as ink, and putrid.

  Hiro beheaded the enemy; he thought to take the helm, at the very least. When he removed the helm from the decapitated head, however, Hiro saw the knight had been slashed in the face. The flesh was ripped to the bone across the cheek and one of its eyes was missing. It wasn't a knight, it had been given knight's wear. Hiro retched. The Runner's stench was strong. He dropped the helm and carried on through the muck. When Luran caught up, for he'd also had a hard time with the terrain, he saw the terror in the young man's face. Hiro shook his head; his face was bloody, drenched in sweat, his eyes blood-shot.

  Luran pointed the way through the district. Ahead of them was the citadel. The river was wider here. They'd have to cross the lower bridge; it went over the water. The wooden footbridge ran parallel to, and was directly under the higher one; the larger bridge allowed supply carts to travel along tracks across the river directly onto the top of the hill. Luran knew without a shred of doubt: the bridge would have been beset with traps, and sealing spells. On the other side was the walled northern district which flanked the citadel's eastern side. Brick structures loomed up at them. Another fell knight was patrolling with a pack of seven runners – Luran counted them all, or most. There was no way to be certain there were not more in hiding.

  “I should have helped. You did well, though.”

  Hiro grunted disgustedly. “Did I? I killed one of our own – he was disfigured by something. His wound was getting worse, but why couldn't he fight against whatever held sway over him?”

  The Raiiya knight said nothing at first; he continued on when he saw the enemy had moved on with his patrol. “This way, through the houses. We'll pass through the yards; I'd expect any pets to have been taken out during the evacuation drill – but we need to kill any we see. No telling if the enemy could turn them against us or not.”

  Hiro and Luran kept going, through the dark sector, using only fire for lighting their way – there was plenty of fire, and smoke to choke on. It was hot even in the darker parts of the city, and their flesh was chafing. Luran drew his saber as they walked on and cut down a distracted runner he found looting a house. It made no difference, but he relished the conflict. There was a dead body inside, probably one of the civilians who didn't heed the warnings to evacuate. Hiro searched, and the implications of why it would be there disturbed him. He finally vomited. The woman's throat had been slashed, too. They continued searching houses for things to take – food, and supplies.

  Luran and Hiro didn't check the knight he'd killed thoroughly enough to find anything to take. His pack was on his back, but there were no ration pouches in it; Hiro didn't even know if these new enemies even needed food. Luran was up ahead. Hiro whistled once, and pointed up. This sector was tiered – the hills weren't steep, but there were railings along each rise; the houses were built up that way for the better part of fifty years. Hiro moved over a fence quickly. Luran managed to clamber over the top near a blocked gate.

  There was another road leading around the bend, but the layout was the same: houses, empty, some barred or barricaded up by fleeing residents expecting to return after the latest false alarm or drill. The bridge was overhead; they were forced to walk up the ramp. Another knight was waiting. Hiro wondered if it was one they'd seen while crossing the foot bridge – this time, Luran fought, and his mastery of the northern style was impressive to Hiro, and so Hiro thought, unparalleled. Luran killed the enemy swiftly with only a few slashes, cutting off the enemy warrior's hand after dodging to the side. They were on cobblestone roads now, and the enemy in knight's armor was yet another runner, not a properly trained soldier. Luran took the enemy's belt pouch and checked for anything they could use, only finding muddy and bloody charts of the local area, which both men already knew well enough. Still, the ex-farmer took them, and stuffed them in his rucksack. Hiro fended off most of the runners easily enough, getting slashed across the chest for the effort. The cut was shallow, and Hiro did not try to attend to it yet. He could not do much, even if he'd wanted to stop for the task.

  It wasn't long before Luran took down the other three remaining ones. Hiro killed his last target and ran up the last stretch of the ramp as best he could, and cleaned his sword on a strip of a tunic he tore off one of the dead runners. He ignored the dread in his heart and made his way past the checkpoint leading to the bridge. The guard post there was empty, the gate barred from the other side.

  A screeching pierced the night. Luran helped the wounded Hiro get past the barricades; both slipped past the broken iron bars; he was right in thinking there'd be more runners. They left muddy prints as they ran on, stopping to kill the swifter enemies. Hiro and his companion climbed over the barrier, their swords bloody and covered in a smoking black sludge. Luran almost feared the substance. He had heard of it, but Luran said nothing to Hiro about it, and felt thankful. The farmer hadn't asked questions. They stopped after clearing out the remaining enemies.

  The bridge was ahead of them, but it was on the other side of the wall. Luran could hear better – he thought there was something making music nearby, and went to investigate. A flutist was playing, he thought, but Luran hoped that might have been a hallucination caused by his sleep deprived consciousness. It wasn't, but it wasn't a flute, either; there was a strange beast there in the road. Luran did not have a crossbow. He also had little time to decide. He held a finger to his mouth, then pointed repeatedly at the city wall. The beast was calling still. With it was a massive, terrifying brute of a man, likely its handler.

  Luran backed away from the road, into a yard, and beckoned Hiro; they both climbed silently through a house's window, checking the room beyond it, which was barely lit. Luran was not afraid, but the wall was high – they'd have to sneak through the houses after all, double back, and cross the bridge on the upper level.

  Hiro followed clumsily after his companion. He was even more tired than Luran, and weaker, and still walking wounded. His shoulder was cut deeply. The dark room unnerved Hiro, and the farmer crouched low and opened the doors slowly as he went. The beast's terrible call was almost lulling the two to sleep – it was melodic in a way. Hiro wondered how the handler was coping, if the sound affected him as well. It must have affected him. Luran kept up, leaving more drying mud on the house's carpeted floors. They exited the rear door of the stifling kitchen after Luran checked the yard for enemies. There was a gate at the back into the dark alley.

  Luran was exhausted and impatient, and fully expecting the gate hinges to creak, he gripped the wood planks tightly. It didn't. The knight winced and slowly opened it until he pushed it the rest of the way, and it went so far as to press up against the outside of the fence. Both checked each end of the alley without moving from their location, but saw nothing. They were still on the wrong side of the river. The bridge was ahead, but they were still near many enemies. The final part of the sector was close. They had a few more roads to traverse, uphill.

  “Get out of the yard, and go right, looks like there's a maintenance path intersecting the main row at the end. It doesn't lead past the wall, access to the river was blocked in this district. Too many children getting snatched by rakan beasts, or drowning.”

  Hiro shook his head. He grunted. Hiro had heard of the rakan beasts – he'd even killed several. “They escaped the warren under the arena, then. Very well, where do we go from there? Up? Any ladders?”

  “Hmph. Bred out of control. No, no ladders, not in the North. The council was paid well to improve this part of the city; we aren't in central anymore, technically. Well then, go cross the main road, and turn right up the ramp―damn it.”

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “It's coming in this direction, Luran.”

  “I saw. Fine, stay low. They can shoot stings from their tails and hit accurately from about ten meters away. I'll throw this flare if it turns.”

  “You know what those are, then?” asked Hiro.

  Luran stared down the path, looking toward the other end of the street where the enemy was. “This is what runners turn into, yes. The older ones. Maybe, I do not know much about them. We need to go. It's dark enough, so they won't see us.

  “Don't draw your weapon against it, keep going. The man leading the beast is Hollan, I think. Stupid commoners said he'd been killed. Go, now. We'll stay behind it, and climb up when it's gone.”

  Hiro crossed the road once the beast was out of sight, and didn't wait for Luran; he kept walking up the steep ramp, his shoulder brushing along the brick wall to his left. The next road wound up the hill, around the back of the bridge supports, and back up toward the main road on the far side of the hill.

  Luran caught up with him and made him slow his pace. They did not know if there would be any more enemies.

  “We're near the end of the road,” said Hiro. “We can rest at the top of the citadel. They can't face the archers and crossbow users with only one beast.”

  “Don't get complacent, pup. I told you who he was. I do not want to face him. Go on. The wound on your shoulder is bad. I thought the beast might smell your blood and a frenzy would come upon it.”

  Hiro continued on, drawing his sword as they rounded the bend; they reached the second level of the hill, and there were runners in the road. He counted three, silently. The road was clear otherwise. He did not want to face the enemy either, but if they could not kill the runners without a sound, they'd have to. He readied his sword as Luran was coming up. The knight nodded, and drew his own slowly. He also drew a dagger from his belt, and went up behind the runner, plunging it into the back of its neck, and slashed the other runner, beheading it. Hiro took on the third, driving his sword through the air. He was able to slay the runner without it making too much of a struggle. Another head was taken. The farmhand tore off part of the rags his enemy wore, and wiped the blade of his sword. Luran turned suddenly at the sound of the ripping fabric. He muttered in the Raiiya language, hoping others did not hear his companion's foolish effort. No others came.

  Hiro sheathed his sword and scurried past the houses. Luran followed and they reached the next street. There were no other runners in the road. The bridge's shadows were eerie. There weren't any enemies, but it was still frightening the farmer, and the knight was not entirely lucid himself. The knight thought to check his weapon. It was definitely being damaged every time he killed a runner. Their black slime, exuded from wounds, was damaging his blade. There couldn't be very many left up on the hill top. They had avoided Hollan and his pet, but the runners were certainly being controlled by something, perhaps an extremely intelligent strategist from another faction.

  It isn't Hollan doing it. The brute can barely organize the bandit gangs.

  Luran strode up to Hiro and pointed to an alleyway barred by a gate. “Look, there. You see it? Something's beyond the gate. Watching us.”

  Hiro stared. He couldn't see anything. Then it moved closer – a figure in a tan covering; he wore a black mask; there were no slits to see out of, and it was metal, painted, with face markings on it. The stranger shed the tan cloak and his head tilted as he gazed at them. The figure was male; he did not approach but slowly drew something from a bag slung over his back, something small. The man twisted the object, and some mechanism caused it to shoot smoke; he threw it in the air and retreated. The flare rose spinning into the air, and exploded into a radiant white light, illuminating their surroundings. Hiro was not distracted; the man turned and walked back into the alley, where two others were waiting. There were other flares being deployed in the eastern part of the city; lights were dropping down from the sky everywhere.

  Hiro turned to Luran, who only shook his head and shoved him toward the end of the road. “Ignore it, they didn't attack us.”

  They reached the last part of their journey: the bridge was ahead, and the fortified bunker where many officers slept. The city's first guildhall, it was very similar to the one Hiro was assigned to, the southern 'Blue' Guildhall. The symbol on the banners of his own was a raven skull. This one's device seemed to be of a very stylized image, perhaps a sword and shield. Hiro walked up to the main gate. All beyond was dark, and the bridge was unopposed. He heard nothing at first, but then there were many shrieking things bursting from buildings on the opposing side of the hill, coming up the ramp. With them was the sickliest looking man Hiro had ever gazed upon. He was wearing a dark red coat, limping as he went on moving towards them, and there were many glyphs drawn onto it in black ink. The man looked terrible. He had many royal adornments on him, and a crown.

  Hiro ran at the sight of him, and did not slow until he passed the bridge's entrance. He went crashing through the gate to get away. The bridge was high, and Hiro was afraid of heights. He ran ignoring his fear, and overtook Luran, but turned back when he reached safety at the barricades in the middle of the bridge. Luran took out his own flare. The enemy drew a saber of his own – he waited to see if Luran would attack, but the knight backed away, and twisted the cap on his flare. Hiro watched him throw it toward the enemy leader – for there could not be any doubt as to what this man was. He was too well-adorned to be a lesser servant. There was a wide smile on his hideous face when he and Hiro looked upon each other.

  The enemy raised his left hand and the runners began moving onto the bridge. These even had their own weapons. Luran threw the flare down, in the enemy's direction, and it burst into spiraling flames, which spread outward across the bridge's width. Even from the middle of the bridge, Hiro felt its heat – the fires spread quickly, fueled by the homes around the gatehouse and beyond. He was far away from the flames. The enemy backed up and retreated – his runners were on the bridge still, nearly thirty of them passing into the flames and dying. The others already on the bridge, around fifteen or so in number, gave chase to Luran, and he fought them with Hiro by his side.

  The night sky was veiled by thick palls of smoke. The Black Fog only made it worse. The two battered and wounded men defended themselves against the enemies following them across the high bridge. Luran stopped three times, only to attack the few runners closest to them. One of their enemies was thrown over the side into the wide river below. The next was cut across the throat by Luran's sword-work, and it took ten minutes for them to stop the rest. More came up the sides of the bridge. Luring them close to the end of the structure, where there were allies in wait, was not too difficult. Archers were posted on the top of the hill in the distance. Their leader took notice of the runners by their horrible screeches. He did not have to give the order to shoot – his companions let loose a volley of arrows as Hiro and Luran passed through the third and final checkpoint barrier. Luran wiped his blade and began moving across the rest of the bridge, worried about the terrible foe they'd faced on the other side of the district.

  What was he? Some kind of new corruption? The farm boy could not have managed to kill him, and what was on his head, a crown? Such a horrid fiend.

  Luran sheathed his saber. It was a Raiiya style of weapon made for use against rebels and bandits; he knew it did nothing against the native race. They'd had to enchant their weapons to have a chance against the natives' rock-like armor and rough-looking bodies. These runners were not bred from native men, and yet their fouled blood was still damaging his blade. He would need to buy or steal another one soon. The knight reached the other side of the bridge after slaying another pack of runners clambering up along the posts from the lower foot bridge. The last one was shot by an archer above. Luran looked up – Hiro was already across the bridge by the time he won his way there, halfway up the winding stairs. These led, he knew, to one of many buildings on the side of the hill.

  Most were not constructed of wood, but were stony, hollowed-out structures. The buildings were a part of the hill's rocky outcrops and had withstood many sieges – there were no other rival forces withing marching distance; or at least, none led by men stupid enough to attack the capital of Etirran. Or so Luran thought – he reached Hiro after having to stop every few feet to attack a runner bearing down on him. The archers finished off the remaining foes swarming up the side of the bridge by climbing the north pillar. When Luran reached his companion, Hiro was coughing up some disgusting black sputum – the Fog was known for causing this, but the deadlands were the only place where it could be found, Luran believed. The two men had lost their pursuers at last, and slowly climbed up the stairs to safety. They did not look back at the city they'd escaped.

  Hiro had gotten clawed again, and his shoulder was bleeding; a healer came down to the first landing to meet them, and helped Hiro get up to a dilapidated structure – it was a barricaded infirmary beyond the first gatehouse. Luran was in no hurry now; he entered the gatehouse on his own and searched the rooms for any available supplies, before returning to his shivering companion empty handed. The healer looked as careworn and expended as they did. Luran waved off another with bluster and many thanks. After the first healer attended to Hiro, he directed them further up the hill, but they did not exit the infirmary by the outer doors. Instead, the healer opened a secret passage, a dark tunnel. Hiro still did not learn his name, but it was the same healer he'd met at the guildhall many days prior; the healer did not follow. Beyond the tunnel there was a passage leading up yet another set of stairs.

  There was another floor; it was built into the hill itself – indeed, when they looked, Hiro noticed the walls were made of bare stone. He'd never actually been to the imposing, and ominous looking citadel, not being a part of the city guard – but there was no one to tell him he couldn't come up anymore. Many heavy wood pillars were all over the room. Some had been knocked out of the way.

  Rusted chains dangled from the ceilings, and there were a few armor stands along the wall, and racks of swords and other weapons. The chains rattled occasionally – Luran felt faint, when they did, as though a spell was causing the movement, and there were some vibrations shaking the foundations once or twice. It made him dizzy, and he nearly vomited again as he had earlier in the night. Another healer spotted Luran, but he waved him off and continued following his companion. There was another staircase on the other side of the room, this one less steep. Luran was directed to follow the path by an impatient sentry man at the staircase's lower end; it took a while for the screaming of wounded soldiers, and the yells of healers, to stop reaching their ears.

  Series Preface

  space ranger sorry, "Relic Hunter", actually DO? What was in the mysterious note that our handsome protagonist Shiden received from his mum at the end of Chapter 2? Why did Cinar Raiya attack our heroes in the first place? Who is the mysterious fire wielder that burned down Hiro's epic starter base? Who was creepily watching the gallant Captain Aurien from the woods around his daughter's house? Where would the civilians of Etirran even go for safety during an attack? Why was the capital so full of smug, black-armored, elitist jerks?! - and what the h*ck are Runners, anyway? Find out next time on...okay, we won't do that reference. I just wanted to avoid spoiling anything, this is only the first chapter. You're gonna stick around, right?

  Volume 1's 20 Chapter Limited Edition on Ko-Fi - 150 epub copies

  Volume 1's 17-chapter Standard Edition