The Zarareth's Legacy Chapter 2

With that Dash and I charged forward, swinging as we went. The guard followed closely behind us, and it wasn't long before the rest of the attacking force was eliminated. Now that the battle was over I could finally assess the damages. Three fourths of the guard was dead, and many villagers were mutilated on the ground. The wounded, from both sides, could be heard moaning from all around. I came up to one of the wounded Shloski, his hand was gone and he had a huge cut across his stomach. The crimson colored liquid that was pouring out matched the blood on my armor and sword. With a flick of my blade I ended the creatures suffering. It seemed that I was being too merciful by putting them out of their misery. I should have been letting them suffer.

I detached myself from the group and headed to my house to check on my family. It was now apparent to me that some of the Shloski had slipped past into the town. Buildings were aflame, and destroyed. I was almost to my house when I could hear crying, I started to run. I arrived outside my house and saw my mother laying on the ground with a pool of blood around her. Next to her laid the body of a Shloski with a knife protruding from his neck. I wanted to cry but I swallowed my tears, and went to find the source of the crying. I went through the door and into the house to find my little brother crying. He must have seen mom.

"Lance, are you okay," I called out to him, but he looked up at me and started to back away crying. "Lance it's me, Slate, your brother." He just kept backing away from me, and I realized it must be my armor, covered in blood, that was scaring him. "Lance everythings going to be okay. I'm here now and I'm not leaving." I began to take the armor off and he started to calm down realizing that I wasn't some scary monster. Lance is only seven and he's normally acting tough, however it must have been very difficult to see his mother dead. Then the thought finally hit me, I don't know what to do with him now. We are now without parents and I can't leave the organization. I guess I will have to take him with me to the Council back in Shaben and figure out what to do from there.

I walked over to Lance, and this time he didn't back away, instead he reached out with his arms like he used to when he was scared. I picked him up with ease and took him over to his bed. "Lance you need to sleep, you've had a rough day."

"I don't think I can! Mommy won't wake up, she's covered in something red, and that big huge scary monster was asking were you were!"

"Can you tell me what happened," at this point I figured if he can't sleep I might as well try to figure out what happened. "What happened while I was gone and the big scary monster showed up?"

"Well, Mommy was cooking dinner and then we heard screaming. She told me to stay put and she went outside. She came back and she was breathing really heavy. She told me to hide under the bed so I did."

"And?"

"Well then the big monster came and kicked the door open and Mommy stood there with her cooking knife. You know the one you bought her last year for her birthday!"

"Yes, yes I know, but what happened!"

"Well the monster started asking where you were, and Mommy kept saying that she didn't know, which is true because we never know where you go! Then the monster said she was lying, and attacked her, I closed my eyes after that and all I heard was crashing and mom gasp and a loud deep roar."

"Thank you, now go to sleep Lance."

I tucked him into the bed and sat in one of the only chairs that was not broken, until he fell asleep. While I waited I was trying to digest what he had said. The Shloski were looking for me, and I had no clue why. Since when did Shloski attack for reason? We've always believed that they attack just to pillage, not for a target. I have to contact the Council, which means I must leave Shobuski and head to Shaben. However, there is something that I needed to do before I could leave. I needed to bury Mom.

I could now hear Lance snoring, so I decided I would head back outside. I grabbed my armor and put it back on, then walked out the door past my Mother's body, I would take care of that later. I walked through the town, the cobblestone streets were covered in blood, and the crackling of fire within the burning town could be heard everywhere. I could still hear the screams of the wounded, the bucket teams yelling, and loved ones weeping over their losses. I needed to check up on the guard to see if they were performing the cleanup.

Sure enough when I reached the guard station the head captain was barking out orders, and bodies were being moved. The Shloski's bodies were being moved outside the town and being prepared to burn. All of the townspeople's bodies were being laid out to be identified, if they could be, and buried at the cemetery.

"Horrid is it not?"

"Dash, why is it that this happens?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do the Shloski attack the towns, and why do they kill innocent people?"

"I don't know, but they have been much more aggressive, and especially at this site."

"I can see that, but I don't understand."

"They came here to raid and that's all."

"Sure they did."

"I don't know what's on your mind, but I have to travel to Shaben, I believe you have some things to do here. I can assume that you will meet me there?"

"I do have some things to take care of here, and then I will meet you in Shaben."

"Until next time Slate, take care."

I watched Dash ride into the distance towards Shaben. Once he was out of sight, I turned my attention toward the Captain of the gaurd. He seemed to have the cleanup well underway. You could tell he was tired, the Captain normally stood straight and at attention all the time. He was a very dedicated man. He was normally a cheerful and lighthearted fellow. Now his normally cheerful eyes screamed sadness. He was slouched in defeat, and he gave orders with a rather gloomy voice.

"Captain!" I called, "How is the cleanup going?"

He turned slowly and replied, "It's going well, despite the losses."

"How bad is it?"

"Terrible, three fourths the gaurd is dead, and we have no idea on how many civilians."

"That is bad."

"Yes it is. Do you think you could mention our situation to the Council?"

"I will mention it, I am actually headed to Shaben soon. I need to take care of a few things here first."

"I understand."

With that I turned and walked back to my house. It was growing late and I didn't want to wake up Lance, so I just went around the house to the tool shed. When I opened it I reached for the three tools that I would be needing. I grabbed an axe, a shovel, and finally a lantern. With one more glance at the house, I turned and head to the cemetery. From there I found the grave and the plot I was looking for. I figured I'd bury Mom right next to Dad. It was a painstakingly difficult task to dig the grave. Not because of the physical demands, but the mental ones. I had always prided myself on my ability to stay tough and stone cold, but now I found myself feeling weak. I wanted nothing more than to cry. My Mother had been the only parent I really had. My Dad was killed in action when I was very young. He too had been a member of the Zarareth, perhaps one of the greatest the organization had known.