Young Writers Society

Note: This was modified after I was unhappy with the change of POV, so while this takes place at 11:30ish in the timeline, the scene with the three kings and Raye's scene will be pushed back for the sake of completeness. Next chapter will show a battle between the Cardinal and Tenji, hopefully it will be more promising then the scenes in 5, 6 and 9 which were all fake fights with one party going in to lose. It will finally be a kill or be killed one. Not too much here, just moving the characters along and setting up the details for the fight.

If this was Bleach/Naruto/DBZ this chapter would comprise an entire episode.

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Chapter 10

Leaus ran through the mud and dirt towards the entrance of the temple, the rain soaking him through, but he cared not. His stubby fingers flung open the door and he ran inside shouting at the top of his lungs, “Master Raquil! Master Neex! MASTER RAQUIL! MASTER NEEX!”

Neex's footsteps on the stone filled the hallway as he came running towards Leaus, “Is it over already?”

Leaus grabbed his soiled cloak and dragged him towards the door by the hem, “The Cardinal was a fake, I am not sure what is going on, but Tenji says we need to run into the swamps.”

Neex's eyes saw the pile of bodies and he clenched his teeth, “You realize how much we are going to lose by this?”

“I know! I know! At least grab the chest as you go, I can't carry it!”

“But what about-”

“I need to get Master Raquil! Just go!” Leaus pushed Neex outside, “Its time to save our own skins, forget about Leo. I'm sure Raquil can carry him. Now go!”

Neex stepped out into the rain and ran towards the tents to grab Neex's box, wondering how much silver and gold coins were left in the pile of corpses on the ring. Slipping and falling into the muddy earth, he clawed at the ground and shot again at the tent, like a track runner. Spotting the wooden chest on the table he grabbed it as he ran past and took off at full run down the hill towards the swamps, the figures of three people disappearing into the thicket showed him the way as he cried out, “Wait! Wait! I'm coming.”

Rushing down the corridors, Leaus started pounding on each of the cell doors, crying out “Master Raquil!” The banging stirred Raquil from his bed just as he had laid down, the voice of Leaus was troubling and he rushed for the door and called out, “What is wrong?”

On the far end, Leaus saw Raquil's door open and he stopped cold, turning back and fleeing towards the entrance, “Tenji came, run into the swamps! We need to get out of here now. If you can't move, kill yourself! If you can, get Leo from the morgue and Case from under the main tent! Good luck!”

“Wait, what?” Raquil shouted at the fleeing man.

“Forget it, just get out of here. NOW!” Leaus cried out as he disappeared behind the thick walls of the temple.

With a look back to his trunk, Raquil through on his leather clothes before opening up the locks to free Hilga.

“I thought you were going to carry me in this thing,” she laughed, “I can't walk.”

Placing his hand on her broke leg, Raquil pushed down with all his weight. Hilga let a weak cry of pain and quickly kicked her legs at Raquil, “Damn, that hurts you know. Hey... how did you-”

“I'll explain on the way,” Raquil ran out the door, “Don't forget your armor, its at the morgue.”

Hilga growled as she ran after Raquil, her own speed overtaking him just a quarter of the way down the long corridor. The woman was like lightning on her feet, a sprinter beyond compare with control over her muscles to give seemingly unlimited endurance. Her naked behind, mocked his slowness as she disappeared down the end of the hall and luckily towards the morgue on the right.

As he raced after her, Hilga quickly found her armor and began throwing it on over her body, the cold steel spreading goosebumps over every pore on her arms and legs. The chainmail clung uncomfortably to her exposed breast and her legs would protest in agony as she tried to pull them on with one good hand. Somehow she managed to accomplish it through impressive dexterity of her hand and still grab her sword and dagger. And all before Raquil managed to clear the hallway!

Now, weighed down by her armor, her speed was still twice that of the hulking Raquil, yet she caught up with Raquil and stayed by his side, “You seriously can't do any faster then this? Yet, you are a bastard of nobility?”

“Wrong bloodline, I'm as common as a garden snake. I can just force muscle and bone together by concentrating on it.”

“Sounds fishy,” Hilga laughed, “Well, whatever you are. Thanks. We'd be dead if you had to carry me.”

“It's going to be tough going through the swampland. Speed means nothing in that muck. Even if we are expected, heavy armored knights cannot stand up if they fall. Drown in the mud.”

Hilga slapped him on the back, directly over her stab wound, “You better not let that happen to me.”

“Of course not!”

The two ran out of the temple and into a patch of thick grass down the hill, the stalks breaking as they tore through them. Raquil' massive frame sunk down into the mud and muck as soon as he hit the swamp and Hilga stopped cold, her hand extended to help him up, “Thanks, my lady.”

“Don't mention it,” the pale moonlight barely illuminating her face, just bright enough to see her smile.

The disgusting water was host to innumerable tangled roots, pads and reeds from the shore to the dark depths of the center. Up to their knees in the muck and mess, the sounds of horses broke through the rain and occasional rumble of thunder, inaudible shouts of orders echoed in the swamp and torch lights guided their way. The first units had arrived, no doubt trying to trap the Ebon Masters in the temple until the main force arrived. Slowly the two slipped away under the cover of darkness towards the great barrier jungle separating Frae and Fegoria.

Two kilometers away, the main force of the Temple Knights marched forward towards the temple. Two columns three men thick occupied the two roads to the temple. One to the south, headed to Jiken, and one to the northeast, towards the capital Rocheim. A torch in one hand and a spear in the other, the scarred faces of a ruthless army encroached upon their holy lands with metal studded jackboots and the exposed scars of prior battles made into medals of valor. Cardinal Belrusi had saw personally the success of this mission and stood on the banks of the swamp which was surrounded by the knights. The ultimate opponent of his funnel was the most powerful of all, himself and his two SS retainers, Amar and Kelric.

Trained assassins, Amar and Kelric represented the right and left arm of the Cardinal's power. Like marionettes controlled by a masterful puppeteer, their movements were fluid and unbound by the perceived limits of the body. Amar's body was fragile and thin under the bulky black cloak lined with an arsenal of swords, daggers and spears. He could provide an entire division of men with ample weapons if they had been all laid out. His beady eyes and hook nose made him resemble Neex, in about the same way a rat looks like a possum, both were ugly as sin and smelled just as bad.

Kelric was a man's man, a lumberjack beyond compare with a towering sword made for cleaving through horses and their riders in combat. Legs the size of tree trunks, and the strength of a raging bull, his flaming red hair made him appear to be a deity of all that was man. His black robe strained itself against his muscles, for even the slightest flex seemed ready to tear the cotton from its seams. His rough red beard covered the majority of his face from sight and his hood did much to hide all but his black eyes from the moonlight.

Resting their backs against the trees, the two watched the swamp without the aid of torchlight. Men of this caliber preferred to fight battles with every advantage in their favor, and when it was not, force an advantage. Their ears picked up the sounds of Tenji, Kek and Griff moving through the water first, and they simply waited to spring the trap upon the three when the moment was right, like an alligator, one lethal strike at their prey would mean the difference between success or failure.