Lore/Story The Magic Of Gavel - Story Of Wynn's Past

Spoiler: Front Cover

I'm new to this style of art, so please give me some tips :3 Thx.

Spoiler: Blurb

The villagers of Gavel are sailing toward the province of Wynn in search of wealth. And when faced with the horrors of Wynn's war, they decide to share their knowledge of magic with the soldiers entrusted in protecting them, in return for the emeralds found in the province. But will the villager's basic magic be enough to stop the growing horde of monsters from destroying the great city of Ragni?

Spoiler: Chapter 1 - The Boats

Chapter I
The Boats​

Word of the boats, steadily closing in on the province of Wynn, had reached throughout the land. In response, the great cities of Ragni and Troms had sent forth as many soldiers as they could spare, to guard the port town of Nemract from the approaching strangers.

Lief Gaunt was one of these soldiers. He was a master warrior, and he always kept his spear slung across his back. Lief was a leen and tall man, who tended to tower above others, he had strong chiseled features and light brown hair, which stood a curly mess above his head. He rode north at a trot, toward the coastal trail. He was followed by three of his soldiers. They were all strong and had done a lot for the Wynn forces throughout the endless wars plaguing the province, nothing seemed to be enough to dispell evil from the land. Brom, a knight rode alongside Lief, and the two were good friends. Behind rode Rien the assassin, and Daniev the archer. The group came to a stop at the foot at the path leading up to Katoa Ranch.

"You three stay here, I'm going to get some food for the journey." Said Lief, dismounting his brown horse, he patted it's nose with affection, then began the climb up to the ranch.

The path to Nemract's wasn't that long by horse, but the four soldiers had left rather late, and were already starting to get hungry. Lief considered the fact that a bit of lunch on the beach could help calm their nerves, the boats were a worrying topic.

He came to the top of the hill, and walked between the animal infested grazing patches, to a small market stall. It was built off of a humble barn, and had a man sitting inside it. He had a straw hat on and was chewing on a bit of wheat. The man came to his feet on Lief's arrival.

"Ahh, Lief! Welcome back! What would you like?"

"Can I have four strips of beef?" Lief replied.

"Those are rationed thin, you okay with that?" The man asked.

"It's fine, if need be, my team and I can fill up at Nemract." Lief replied.

"Fair enough, so yer heading to Nemract eh. Whatever for Lief my boy?"

Lief's reply was brief and harsh, "The boats."

The man's friendly smile faded. "I see, I guess I'll give you a discount then!" He forced the smile back into his face, "Only three emeralds my friend!"

Lief payed the money and walked away with an unenthusiastic "Thanks". The farmers smile faded again as Lief turned his back, and he let out a sigh of distress. The boats worried everyone.

Lief returned to the group, his face grim. He mounted his horse without a word and began heading north again. Brom noticed his friends distress, but knew not to press on it.
As they rode down the coastal trail they occasionally looked out over the clear blue water, past two uninhabited islands to the group of dots in the distance; boats steadily closing in on Nemract. As of yet nobody had any idea of the purpose of the incoming sailors, they may be friendly, and everyone hope for it to be so. But the possibility that they could be a threat sent a wave of dread throughout the province. If they turned out to be friendly then Ragni's and Troms' forces must act as their guards. If not then they must kill them. Lief hoped for the former, if these foreigners could help with the war, then maybe the Wynn forces could turn the tides.
The group stopped off an hour into the trip for lunch. They dismounted and sat in the sand. Lief took out the meat he had bought at Katoa Ranch and distributed it among the four of them. He sat their in silence as he ate, letting the others talk among themselves. When they had finished he got up and brushed the sand of his leather trousers, then mounted his horse. The others followed, somewhat reluctantly, and they began to follow the trail again. Lief spaced himself from the others.
Why us? He thought as he rode, these boats are the biggest cause for concern in Wynn at the moment, excluding the horde of course, but barely anyone knew about that so it wasn't spoken of. But the boats, all of the worries and fears of the province had been hefted onto his shoulders, and the burden was a heavy one. Brom came up next to him.

"Lief, just leave it for now, we have time to worry when it's worthwhile, but for now let's just try to keep a clear conscience and deal with threats as they come."

Lief just nodded, still refusing to speak, but Brom seemed satisfied with his pep talk and fell back again.

* * *​

Lief and his group crossed through Nemract's borders, under the shadow of Mt Wynn, they put their horses in a stable on the west side of the town and handed the keeper four emeralds as payment, which the man took greedily. After that the group made their way over to an inn, The Old Whisky, ignoring the stares of the townsmen in awe at the war heroes. At the inn they asked for two of rooms and payed for a months stay. The boats were scheduled to arrive in three weeks, but Lief wanted to play it safe. Daniev and Rien went up to rest in their room after the three hour journey, but Brom stayed.

He was the complete opposite of Lief, quite short, a broad figure covered in muscle from head to toe. He wielded a great broadsword which rivaled the length of most spears. Lief and Brom walked together down to the port, Lief managing conversation now, but both felt worried about the incoming boats, and no amount of anything could hide it. They came to the port, newly finished with the smell of fresh paint mingling with the salty air, and looked out to the distant boats, dots on the horizon. The sailors and traders that scurried around the dock also kept glancing out to sea, with concern in their faces.

Lief sat there in thought, the sailors of Nemract had travelled out far north into the ocean but only found uninhabited islands, how far out must these strangers have come from? They clearly weren't pirates from the bay further east, they had different boats, but what if the pirates had found something, maybe stirred up more enemies? It was definitely a possibility, Lief needed to find out. Brom glanced over at him and noticed Lief's stern face. "What are you thinking Lief?" He asked, intrigued. Lief was a smart guy, and Brom enjoyed listening to his friends thoughts, he found them interesting.

The spearman looked over at his friend, "Go back to the inn and tell the others to prepare for a trip further east."

Brom looked flustered, "But the land further east of here is not under the Wynn force's control, it's beyond the army's borders! What could be worth that risk?" Brom's voice was desperate and fearful.

Lief only smiled and looked back out to sea. "There is good reason, I've got a hunch. I'll tell all of you together later."

Brom never questioned his friend's hunches, so he just nodded and headed back to the inn. Lief waited until Brom was out of sight then stood and headed over to the healer's building.
Tomorrow is going to be rough he thought as he walked over to buy some medical supplies for the journey ahead, and the pirates aren't always friendly either. He just hoped the treacherous journey wouldn't be for nothing, he wanted something to shove in Troms' face when they arrived, and laughed inwardly at the thought, plus it will give him something to do rather than just wait in distress.

Spoiler: Chapter 2 - Into the Wilderness

Chapter II
Into the Wilderness​

Lief walked through a newly painted oak door to the room he shared with Brom, the rest of the group had already gathered, anxious to find out about their new adventure. He came in to find them sitting cross legged on the floor, playing a card game, probably Rummy, he thought.
They turned to look at Lief as he walked in, with worried but curious expressions. Their gear was gathered in the corner of the room, the leather and chain-mail polished, a bright light against the dark spruce floor. Lief began to make his way over to a table, placed up against the wall to his right.

“I’m sure you want to hear what I want to say, so sit with me.” He said as he walked.

The rest got up to follow him, eagerly. Lief took his seat and let out a sigh, forcing away his concern, as the others sat in their own seats.
He looked up at his comrades with light brown eyes, almost orange, and began to speak…

“Okay, so. I was thinking about the boats. They clearly aren't pirate ships, they're completely foreign. However Nemract’s sailors have travelled far out to the North, but still have not come across any inhabited islands. Because of this I assume our mystery visitors are from another mainland, opposite our own, maybe even another province. This means they probably have a strong military, which could be either good out bad. But that aside, why have they come? I considered this for a while but there are just too many possibilities.”

“Yes, okay, and what does this mean about going south?” Asked Brom inquisitively.

“Well I think The Pirates may be involved in some way, but if not I feel certain they will have some kind of information.”

Rien looked at him, seemingly conflicted. “But even if we follow the coastal trail, we are sure to be overwhelmed by the enemy, there are just too many of them!” she cried, but Lief didn't seem flustered.

“Well, about that. I'm not really sure if I should tell you this, but I will anyway. There is a horde gathering at the Eastern entrance to Nivla Forest, in preparation to attack Ragni.”

Lief looked at the horrified faces of his comrades.

“But how do you know this?” Asked Rien, almost cooking on the words.

“The King gathered all of the highest ranking soldiers in Ragni's army, for a top priority meeting. He told us of the horde, he had received reports from some of Ragni's most skilled hunters” Lief replied.

“Damn, why didn't I check East Nivla on my last scouting.” Daniev muttered under his breath.
“How long till they will attack?” He asked, clearly agitated.

“The King estimated three months from now. It will take a force of at least sixteen-thousand to breach Ragni’s walls, yesterday morning they only had three-thousand” replied Lief.

“But what does this mean for our journey south?” asked Brom, still confused.

Lief smirked with triumph. “The enemies will be moving south to gather with the horde, away from the coastal path. Of course some will remain, but not enough to cause us much harm”

The group sat back, attempting to process the horrifying information that had just been shared. Rien forced a smile onto her face.

“Let's do this!” she cried, then she got up from the table. “ I'm going to check on the horses, you three get some rest,” she said, then proceeded to leave the room.

Lief got up to follow, but Daniev stopped him.

“Let her go Lief, this is her way to calm down. She will come back when she's ready.”

He then got up and walked toward the door, he picked up his and Rien's gear and turned around and faced the two remaining soldiers,

“I'll get some rest, and take Rien's stuff to our room. See you tomorrow.” then he was gone, leaving Lief and Brom.

“You sure about this Lief?” Asked Brom.

“Yes, you know full well that I am. It's you who isn't sure Brom. Just trust me.”

“You're right Lief, and I guess I don't really have much choice.” Brom admitted.

Lief laughed, “Of course you have a choice Brom! It's just that you can't bring yourself to leave me to go into the dangerous situations alone.”

“Right again.” Brom mumbled getting up. “I'm going to get to bed, big day tomorrow.”

Lief nodded and watched him go. After sitting down for another ten minutes he got up to clean his armour and spear.

* * *​

Lief, Rien and Daniev sat at the stable, fully clad in their armour. They were waiting for Brom who always managed to turn up late. Lief was tapping the butt of his spear into the muddy ground of the stable, the miniature golden spearhead picking up grit as it stabbed the earth. The long, sturdy shaft was made of oak wood, taken from the Nivla Forest. The main blade was fifty centimeters on it's own, and made from stainless steel with meticulous accuracy, it shined bright in the morning sun. The spear was nearly as tall as Lief when strait, but when it was strapped diagonally across his back, it only went to the backs of his knees. The weapon was Lief's pride and joy. It has been passed down to him by his father, before he left the city and never returned. It was the only thing that Lief had left to remember him by.

The weapon was called Ragni's Spear, and hand the name embroidered near the bottom.

“You took your time!” Rien called out, as Brom turned the corner.

“Are you getting too fat for your armour?” Lief asked jokingly as Brom approached group.

“Nah, the inn just took their sweet old time with breakfast.” He replied, patting his stomach.

Everyone laughed as they began to mount their horses, putting the fear behind them.

They rode out of the stables and began to move East through the port town. The newly laid gravel crunching loudly under the horses' hooves. The dark wooden buildings of the rebuilt port town rose on either side of the group, pedestrians parted to let the riders pass through, gauntlets expressions of disbelief as they saw the faces of the high ranking soldiers from Ragni.

They passed the inn, then came to the bridge, there was a gaping hole in the center, sharp planks sticking out like teeth, ready to gobble you up into the deadly rapids of the river, it was probably there for defensive reasons. The enemy wasn't too smart or that agile, so they gap would prove a difficult obstacle, but the horses could clear it without any issues.

The group stayed well clear from the ruins of Old Nemract, knowing well enough that they would be teeming with enemies. Instead they continued down the coastal trail, now oblivious to the boats out to sea, they were instead looking out for enemies.

They rode for an hour without incident, making good time, they let their guards slack and began to think there were no enemies on the trail at all, already a quarter of the way there. But then a volley of arrows plunged into the horses, which let out cries of pain, throwing their riders into the sand. The group looked to their right, through sand covered eye lashes, to see a small horde of monsters.

Spoiler: Chapter 3 - Latent Power

Chapter III
Latent Power​

Before them stood seven zombies - with bits of skull showing and flesh dripping off their bodies like slime - and five skeletons, which were a mess of brown bones except for the odd scrap of decaying flesh, clinging on by a thread. The zombies wielded an array of different swords, probably stolen from soldiers, and the skeletons all had bows, held loosely in their long slender fingers.

Quickly, out of instinct more than anything, the four soldiers took cover behind their dying horses, forcing themselves to ignore the animals’ cries of pain. The zip of arrows filled the air, as the skeletal archers fire round after round of arrows towards them. Lief felt a fire begin to burn deep within his chest, it was exhilarating; and it felt powerful, then an orange flame began to radiate from his chest. He rose, charging into the the wall of arrows, a trail of flames trailing behind him, he spun his spear so quickly it seemed to form a solid circle, and deflected them. The skeletons began to concentrate their fire on Lief, desperately trying to keep him back.

Rien quietly rose, and began to stalk around the battlefield, unnoticed by all.

Then Daniev rose from behind his cover, letting out a purple smoke, no longer being targeted, and began to fire arrows at the zombies, a green goo began to drip from the wound, as thick as syrup, the zombies let out horrific gurgling sounds as they fell and turned to dust. But the skeletons caught on, and began firing at Daniev, forcing him to go back behind cover, after managing to take down three. This gave Brom the opportunity to charge the small horde of monsters, the orange fire following him as well.

Rien continued to move in silence, a darkness enveloping her, keeping her invisible in the shadows.

As Brom clashed blades with one of the zombies, shattering it’s sword, Rien emerged from the shadows, letting the dark aura surrounding her explode out in a powerful rush and sliced through the spinal cords of all five skeletons, as if they were made of butter, sending them toppling to the ground in a pile of bones, and disintegrating. Three of the remaining zombies suddenly sprang at Rien, she brought up her daggers but couldn’t deflect all the strikes.

“This isn’t good!” Lief cried as he sprinted towards Rien’s falling body.

Brom quickly dispensed of the defenseless zombie in front of him, ignoring the gooey blood that sprayed his face, and followed suit. But they weren’t going to make it. One of the zombies raised its sword and struck down at her chest.

* * *​

Daniev let out a cry, and fired an arrow at the zombie’s blade, the arrow was smothered in the purple smoke, and knocked the blade with so much force that it was sliced in two, but the zombie persisted and stabbed down with the remaining end of the blade. It had been knocked slightly to the right, but the blade still plunged into the right side of Rien’s body. She cried out in pain as Lief and Brom dived in slashing the zombies to pieces in blind rage, their entire bodies shrouded in a mass of flame, until all that was left was a pile of ash. Then the fire was gone, as was Daniev’s smoke, and Rien's darkness.

Lief began to pant as he took his bag off his back.

“Here, take this. It will numb the pain” Lief said, placing some strange purple leaves into a vial of water. All Rien could do was nod, her face contorted in the effort to suppress crying out. Lief poured a third of the now pink liquid into her mouth, then put the vial back into his bag, making sure not to look at the pool of blood congregating around Rien’s abdomen.

“Brom, can you get something for her to bite down on?” Lief asked, his voice shaky.

Brom nodded wordlessly and moved toward a tree, breathing heavily. Daniev came over, also seeming to be completely worn out after the short confrontation. Lief was flustered, what was that power he had felt? Where had it come from? Why emerge now, and in all of them? They were all questions he could not answer.

Brom returned with a thick stick and gave in to Lief. Lief thanked him then placed it in Riens mouth.

“When you feel the pain bite down on this, it’ll help.” He then retrieved the strange vial from his bag and poured the remainder onto the deep gash through her side, Rien screamed out in pain, biting down extremely hard on the wood.

“Okay, all done, I got rid of the infection in the wound, now we just need to stitch it up!” He said, attempting to sound enthusiastic. Rien nodded and closes her eyes, as Lief took a needle and thread from his bag and handed it to Daniev.

“I trust you on this, hunter” He said.

And Daniev took the needle and thread from Lief’s hand, and began to stitch up Rien’s wound. It was at least three centimeters deep all the way through, and there was blood everywhere. But he ignored his hands, becoming red with his friend’s blood and just continued to work.

The process took five minutes, and afterward Lief removed the stick from her mouth, she had bit down at least half a centimeter into it, leaving cracks in the bark. The three men lifted her out of the pool of blood and onto a small hill.

“That hurt like a bitch” Rien groaned, fighting the urge to itch at the newly stitched wound.

“Well you shouldn’t of got yourself stabbed in the first place!” Daniev joked, Rien glared at him.

“Now don’t you go acting mister hero because you stitched me up!”

Daniev laughed, tears in his eyes.

“Oh yeah? If it wasn’t for me that blade would have gone into your chest!”

Rien replied with a dissatisfied “humph” and laid back, her skin looking pale in the evening sun.

“I’m going to get some sleep, I feel really tired after that.”

The others agreed. And sat back as well, all except Daniev who went off to get firewood.

“It was that strange power wasn’t it.” Lief said matter of factly.

“Yeh I think your right, you get some rest, i’ll take watch until Daniev returns.”

Lief agreed gladly and laid down on the grass floor, his head resting on his bag, he was asleep almost instantly.

Spoiler: Chapter 4 - Pirates

Chapter IV
Pirates​

Lief was shook awake, the crescent moon throwing a blanket of eerie grey over the surrounding grasslands. Daniev stooped over him, the Hunter’s pale blue eyes shining brightly against his tanned face.

“Lief, there is a large group of zombies nearby, we need to move.” He said, pulling a large beige hood over his head, sending his face into darkness under the pale light.

Lief nodded and got up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He picked up his bag and spear, rubbing his aching shoulder, as he walked over to Brom. He shook the knight awake and relayed what Daniev had told him. After Daniev had awoken Rien, who moaned in pain as she rose, clutching at her side. The group set out, rather groggily, following Daniev.

“I spotted them about a kilometer to the South-East, heading this way, I think they spotted the smoke, and it brought us to their attention. I put out the fire instantly and aroused Lief.”

The three soldiers nodded, forcing themselves awake. Daniev led them further East, keeping to the hills, at least a hundred metres from the beaches, slowing down for Rien when necessary, but she was determined to keep up and retorted when he stopped for her. Occasionally he would look out east and alter their pace slightly. The others followed his gaze but only saw the night's gloom.

They were now a long way from Nemract, horseless and with an injured member. But Lief reassured himself that it would work out. After all, most of the enemies were heading south, but still, the stragglers were still dangerous. They continued on in silence, on edge after the last attack. When the moon collapsed under the horizon, and the sun began to climb into the sky, the group had been walking non stop for eight hours, and Daniev finally brought them to a stop. Brom and Lief fell to the floor instantly, relishing in the break. Rien eased herself down slowly, careful not to inflame her wound, and sighed in relief as she laid back on the grass. Daniev looked over at them seemingly unaffected.

“We've lost them for now, but they will pick up our scent eventually, we'll rest here for a couple of hours then keep moving, we can't afford to lose ground.”

The others nodded absent mindedly, mostly concerned with the fact that Daniev wasn't even tired. Lief closed his eyes against the world outside, the same question pulsing through a his head like a painful throb, can all of this effort’s purpose really be hanging on the trust of pirates?

* * *​

After resting, the group rose, forcing themselves to move forward. Daniev led, slowing down to let them catch up when necessary, no longer as tense as before. After two hours of continuous marching Daniev informed the group that the horde had picked up their scent and had begun to follow.

“ How can you tell?” Brom asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

“My eyesight and senses have always been above average, that is why I was selected to become a hunter.” Replied Daniev.

Rien nodded in confirmation.

“No, Daniev. Your senses aren't above average. They're supernatural.” Lief exclaimed.

Daniev laughed, “If you say so Lief”

They then picked up the pace. Not wanting the horde to come anywhere near them.

“How can they sense us?” Rien asked.

“You.” Replied Brom, matter of factly.

He laughed at Rien's horrified face. “It's because of your injury, they picked up the scent of your blood and will follow it until they are killed or they pick up another scent.”

Rien nodded, concern coming across her face.

“I shouldn't have been so reckless, I'm sorry.” She mumbled.

Brom came up beside her and placed a large hand on her shoulder, “No Rein, if it wasn't for you, I'm not sure if we would have pulled through.” He said reassuringly.

Rien smiled in thanks, and Brom goes back up to his normal pace. Lief smiled, remembering when Brom cheered him up on the journey to Nemract, for a big muscly man, he had a lot of heart. After another two hours of walking the group came up on Pirate’s cove.

A large hole in the cliff face, the surroundings barren, with the grass flattened from dragging heavy crates around the cove. There was a rickety stairway descending down the steep cliff face, leading into the Pirate's base. There were about five large ships in the port, their sails tied down to the mast, empty chests laid out across the deck, in wait of treasure to fill themselves up with.

There was one man, dressed in dark rags, with an eye-patch and a triangular hat. His skin was dark with soot and mud, and he was dragging a crate of gold across the sand toward a cave in the cliff face. He looked up, subconsciously, and saw the four soldiers out if the corner of his eye. The pirate looked back to the cave and began to shout.

“Intruders! There are intruders!”

Within seconds about thirty pirates flooded the beach, looking up toward where the man was pointing. They all had swords, and wore faces of greed and hate, some were sneering.

“Take em!” One called pointing his chipped blade toward the four soldiers. The pirates let out a cry and began to run up the steps.

Spoiler: Chapter 5 - Magic

Chapter V
Magic​

A sea of scruffy men surged up the steps toward the four soldiers, volleys of crude remarks and threats thrashed at them, sending an impulse of fear through all except Daniev. He pulled the other three back behind him, and thrust his hands out toward the approaching Pirates in an act of submission.

“We come in peace, we only want your assistance!” He cried, using every ounce of his willpower to keep the desperation out of his voice.

A tall figure shoved through the crowd, a towering mass of muscle. He was the most stereotypical Pirate imaginable, with crooked yellow teeth, dark, windswept skin, and a thick black beard clinging to his chest. The Pirate wore a sneer of triumph as he looked down on Daniev. Lief stumbled back, looking up in horror at the cruel face, but Daniev held steadfast, looking straight at the Pirate's face, however the man's eyes were directed at Lief, the spearman saw then forced the fear from his mind, resheathing his spear, and staring back.

Silence suddenly collapsed over the crowd like a thick blanket, leaving Lief feeling isolated , the calming presence of Brom being his only comfort.

“We wish to know of the boats!” Declared Lief, his voice authoritative, every ounce of fear that had once been present was diminished.

The Pirate laughed, and it didn't seem forced, the sound boomed over the silence like a tsunami, crashing into Lief, leaving him stripped of his defences, of his confidence and his dignity.

“Ye come to Pirates, and ye ask, for our help? Who do ye think we are? Your servants?” The man chuckled.

Brom, noticing Lief’s discomfort intervened, “We only ask for your help, just tell us what you want in return, we know that you are no charity.”

“Hmmm, this information seems important to you. So how about this, I will fight this young gentleman here, and if he wins ye get your knowledge, if we have it that is, or he dies.” The pirate was pointing at Lief.

Brom began to step forward, but Lief stopped him, and looked back up at the Pirate.

“Very well, we shall fight.” His face was brimming with renewed confidence and expectation.

* * *​

They were escorted down the stairs leading into the cove, the smell of sweat filling the air. The Pirates bantered and laughed among themselves, but aggression was maintained towards the soldiers, and they felt countless eyes piercing their backs. The Captain walked in front, almost in glee. As they came down the the beach, the Pirates backed away, dragging everyone but Lief and the Captain with them, it was at this moment, as Lief stared up at the Captain, that he deeply regretted his decision. There’s no way that he could beat this beast of a man, not even, if by chance, the strange power re-emerged.

As if sensing Lief’s fright, the Captain laughed, “And they call ye a high ranking soldier? Ha! At this rate I’m not gunni be telling ye anythin’ about those villagers.”

“Huh, they’re called villagers are they? I knew you would know something.” Lief replied, the veil of fear again lifted.

Then, to the surprise of the Captain, Lief charged, with his spear raised high for a strike. But the Captain reacted quickly, and drew his Cutlass, blocking Lief’s powerful strike, then swinging around it in counter. The battle continued, with block after block and counter after counter, the crowd cheered every time the Captain won a confrontation, but Lief didn’t hear, adrenaline blocked out his ears, he was completely focused on the battle. But then the Captain shoved Lief back.

“Enough games kid, no this gets serious!”

Lief paused in surprise, what did he mean? Had he been going easy this whole time? Then the Captain sprinted in, a flash of blue as he slashed with his blade. Lief reacted without realising, his spear coming up and exploding in flames, then the two forces clashed, sending the fighters flying in opposite directions to the edge of the ring. The audience stared in silence and disbelief as they got back up. Does the magic respond to other magic? Lief wondered, what does that mean for the zombies that they had faced before, had they somehow become stronger? Lief shook away the thoughts, he had to learn of the villagers, if this Pirate knew magic, then maybe he had learnt it from them. He charged back in.

“No, wait!” Cried the Captain.

Lief staggered to a halt.

“I’ll tell ye of the villagers, ye know of magic, or at least ye are naturally connected to it, ye need to know.”

“So the villagers know of this power?” Lief asked.

“Aye, follow me, I will explain, your friends stay here.”

Lief looked toward them, to see Daniev nod.

“Very well, I will come, just promise me that my friends will be safe.”

“Aye, ye have my word.”
And with that Lief followed the Captain into the Pirate’s cave.

Spoiler: Chapter 6 - Of the Villagers

Chapter VI
Of the Villagers​

Lief walked a few places behind the pirate, sand collapsing underneath his feet, and the salty air refreshing him. They came to a cave and walked through and the darkness collapsed over them. The only light being the flicker of fire, casting weird shadows across the rocky walls of the cavern. They crossed over toward the central fire, countless bundles of gold and emerald littering the floor on either side.

The pirate sat down on a log, gesturing for Lief to sit across from him. Lief looked into the Pirate's face, and the dark shadows dancing across it.

“What do you know of the villagers?” He asked.

“First let me ask ye a question,” replied the pirate, “How do you know about magic?”

“To be honest I really don't, it just appears randomly, it's the same for my friends.” Lief replied, hiding his worry about speaking such truths to a pirate.

“Hmm, I guess I should tell ye then.” The pirate sighed reluctantly. “It started a couple of weeks ago when the ships were first spotted, me and me crew decided to set sail and take some loot from them.”

I thought this would happen Lief thought, his face contorted in anger.

“But when we came to their ship and began to attack, the seas around our ship began to swell, the ships belonging to the villagers were unaffected. We begged mercy and asked them to train us, and they agreed in return for all the loot on our ship ironically. They let us onboard, and greedily took our money. They began to teach us, of the magic, it's origins and how to controll it, we were with them for a week training before they told us we had got what we paid for. On our departure they said to tell any wielders of magic we come across of them.”

Lief was astounded at the story, control over the sea? But that did explain why the seas had calmed recently. “What did they teach you of magic?” Lief asked eagerly.

The Pirate only laughed, “I'll tell you this much, it comes from the earth's elements, and each person is born to harness a certain part of the magic.”

Lief nodded gratefully, “Now let me tell you something of importance.” The Pirate sat forward in interest, “There is a small horde of monsters heading towards us, and they're fast.”

* * *​

The Pirate emerged from the cave at a sprint, closely followed by Lief, and they both sprinted upward, toward the makeshift defensive barrier used by the pirates, Daniev was there also.

“I see them, they're different to normal monsters though, they're faster and smarter.”

“Aye, I see them too, they have a red aura, that's what's different.” replied the pirate as he came up beside Daniev

“Now that you mention it I see a faint glow, similar to what you and Lief looked like in your fight. I think the ones we faced on the beach had it too…”

“Does that mean our magic flared up in response?” Asked Brom as he walked over with Rien, escorted by some pirates. The captain only smirked.

“Prepare the cannons ye scum!” He cried, “We're under attack, and our guests are gunnu help us fight back! Aren't they.” He said looking at the soldiers. They all nodded. Around them pirates were dragging cannons to the walls, along with barrels of ammunition, at astounding pace. While Brom and Lief looked on aghast at the people around them, Rien and Daniev looked out over the plains, watching the coast dissapear over the horizon. Then the monsters came into Rien's view also.

“I see them! I see them!” She cried pointing out to the distance.

Lief and Brom then came over beside her and were astounded by what they saw. The monsters were around a kilometer away, their features just coming to light. They were more hideous than any other monster they had seen, flesh dripping, eye's a devilish red. They sprinted toward them, like tanks, their run like a sped up limp.

“FIRE!” Cried the Captain, the the explosion of cannon fire roared around them.

Spoiler: Chapter 7 - The Battle for Pirate Cove

Chapter VII
The Battle for Pirate Cove​

The cannon balls rained over the coastal plains, smoke filling the air around the cove making it hard for anyone to breath. The monsters seemed to be unfazed by the cannon-fire, they seemed to be exponentially more agile than any other monster that had been seen, they were somehow even more evil as well. Despite the zombies dodging the cannon balls with ease, Daniev was firing them down with insane accuracy, but the shots took time to line up and could barely deplete the approaching force. As the small horde can within one-hundred meters the cannons began to hit their targets, but it was too little too late and within seconds the monsters were upon the cove’s barricade. The captain looked down at the monsters and laughed.

“For the cove and it’s booty!” He cried and he jumped down, closely followed by his pirates.

The four soldiers caught on quick and jumped down after the pirates. Around them blades clashed, but it apparent through the cries that the Pirates weren’t making much progress, and were dying out quick. The four soldiers pushed through to the front, weapons readied. Out of nowhere some zombies jumped on top of them, a read aura flashing around their body. Instinctively the four blocked the strikes, straining against the zombie’s surprisingly great strength. Then all of a sudden their aura exploded out in retaliation, throwing the zombies back in pieces. Everyone stepped back in shock, the soldiers included. They stared at each other in wonder, noticing the aura surrounding them all, they were all panting, despite the lack of exercise. The zombies pushed past their surprise in seconds, and jumped back on the human forces. The pirates attacks seemed to do nothing against the monsters, and they were cut down with little trouble. The only people able to damage them were of the Captain’s first crew and the soldiers of Ragni, the people with magic.

“This is not normal!” Cried Rien from the midst of battle.

She seemed to be targeted most, constantly having five zombies around her. She ducked and dived across the grass, slowly but surely weakening her attackers, but the use of magic was taking it’s toll on her. Daniev noticed her struggle and rushed in to help, firing rounds of arrows into the zombies surrounding her. But as one fell it was instantly replaced by another, Daniev leapt in anyway, smashing at their slimy faces with his bow.

“I don’t need your help.” Rien panted in defiance.

“Yes you do, don’t be silly.” Moaned Daniev in response, swinging wildly as a zombie jumped at him.

* * *​

Lief and Brom fought at the front, their flames punching through zombies as they pushed up the field, gradually making their way toward the skeletons at the rear. The captain fought alongside them, bright yellow light flashing from his blade as he sliced. The constant dodging of arrows and use of magic was draining their stamina fast, and they were slowly losing strength. When they finally broke through the zombies last line of defense the barely had the strength to avoid the arrows, but the fire was diverted to them, allowing the Pirates to finish off the zombies and charge in. With that Rien the snuck in behind and begin picking them off, then Daniev fired in and within seconds all of the skeletons were nothing but dust. With that the four soldiers collapsed with exhaustion, and they dragged themselves toward each other, the magic yet again extinguished. The Captain walked over to them, seemingly amused by their discomfort.

“Yer business here is done, now go away to yer little safe haven.” He grunted and then he began to walk back to the cove, followed by the rest of the Pirates.

“We had better get back to Nemract.” said Lief through rugged breaths.

The others replied with nods and they began to slowly make their way back down the coastal trail under the chill of the night.

“Brom was right wasn’t he.” Said Daniev, looking at Lief as they walked.

“Yeh, I think he was. But not only that, this means that the monsters have gained strength somehow, what could have changed?” Replied Lief.

“Maybe the travellers would know.” Said Brom hopefully.

“Nah, they wouldn’t know about what goes on here. Lief?” Rien asked.

“The travellers are called Villagers, and they know about magic, so they may have an idea of what’s going on.” Replied Lief.

“That’s what the Pirate said?” Asked Daniev.

“Yes.” Confirmed Lief.

“Pah, why trust a Pirate?” Asked Rien in a flush of anger.

“Who said I trusted him? That’s just all we have to go off.” Replied Lief.

With that they walked in silence until morning, lost in thought. When they reached the bridge on Nemract, they were forced to run away from some zombies, they were too tired to fight, and they were the normal kind, so it wasn’t hard to outrun them. Upon arrival they collapsed onto their beds, and slept until midday.

Spoiler: Chapter 8 - The Soldiers of Troms

Chapter VIII
The Soldiers of Troms
​

The group woke up in time for lunch and so congregated at the Inn’s bar to converse over the dealings of the previous day. They were all relieved to be back inside friendly territory, and to be able to relax. The smells of freshly cooked meat wafting up from their plates was a warm welcome.

“So, that magic came out to play again.” Said Rien, breaking the silence.

“Yeh, it those monsters, they are the ones triggering it.” Replied Lief.

“No, remember yours flared up in response to the Captain.” Pointed out Daniev.

“But what was similar between the Captain and the zombies, that we had never experienced in the past.”

“The zombies we encountered had a magic of there own, so did the captain.” Said Daniev.

“So their magic triggered ours, that makes sense. Except how are they able to use magic as they wish?” Asked Lief.

“Didn't the Captain train under the Villagers though?” Questioned Brom.

“Yes, he did. But the zombies definitely didn't.” Said Lief.

“Doesn't that mean there is another master of magic that is already in Wynn!” Said Brom in excitement.

“Pfft. If that guy is giving magic to zombies I don't want anything to do with him!” Cried Rien.

“She has a point.” Said Daniev, matter of factly.

“Waiting for the villagers is our best bet.” Said Lief under his breath.

“The soldiers from Troms arrive in four days, we'll wait for them and see what they say.” Said Brom.

“But they're just going to showboat, Troms is overrated.”

“Don't underestimate them Rien.” Warned Daniev.

And with that they waited their time in Nemract, helping out around the docks and watching the borders. Four days passed and the Troms soldiers arrived as promised.

* * *​

They came into the town atop great black horses, iron armour gleeming under the morning sun. They were cheered into the town, people celebrating the arrival of their heros.

“Told you.” Puffed Rien.

Brom laughed, “They're just riding down the road.”

“Whatever.”

Then soldiers came to ride over to them, waving as if they were friends.

“Any news of the horde?” Asked Lief, waving back.

“Yes, their numbers are growing slower than before, but the monsters seem far stronger than any we’ve experienced previously.” Said the first in the group.

“Waaaiiit, you fought some of them?” Asked Rien

The second came forward, “Yes, we killed a few but then they caught onto us and we were forced to flee.”

“Hold on, do you know magic?” Cried Brom in excitement.

“What are you talking about?” The first asked.

“He's right, the only way to kill those zombies is using magic.”

A third Troms soldier came forward, the last one keeping the crowd away from the conversing men. He looked awkwardly at his friends then spoke. “What do you know of magic?”

“First let's move somewhere more private, we'll take you to the Inn.” Said Lief.

And with that the Troms soldiers followed atop their horses, looking rather nervous beneath their fake smiles.

Spoiler: Chapter 9 - Counter Attack

Chapter IX
Counter Attack​

The group sat in Lief’s room, sitting around the table. Other chairs from around the room had been dragged over, along with a coffee table in order to fit everyone together. The Troms soldiers sat opposite the Ragni soldiers, not one smile was on anyone’s face. Lief sat there staring, desperately trying to run the fact that Troms soldiers know about magic through his head.

“So, let us introduce ourselves; I’m Leonardo” Said the first, then the others followed with their own names, from left to right. Geane, Tremone and Kilambi. The four from Ragni proceed to do the same, rather nervously recognising the strength of the four sat in front of them.

“Now we’re acquainted, answer my question, what do you know about magic?” Asked Tremone, sitting forward in his seat.

Lief looked over at Daniev, silently asking for validation to speak. Daniev closed his eyes in confirmation and so Lief committed.

“We have worked out that it flares up in response to other magic, and that it’s elemental.”

“So you don’t know how to control it.” Said Leonardo, seemingly relieved.

“Ha, I knew there were people who control magic in Wynn!” Cried Brom, only to get piercing stares from the seven other soldiers in return. He sulked back into his seat.

“Can you control magic?” Asked Daniev.

“Yes, we can, but enough about us, what have you learnt about the sailors?” Asked Geane, her three comrades looked over the table in curiosity.

“They control the sea, have strong magic and like money.” Said Rien, listing off each point on her fingers. She sat back in her seat, letting it rock back dangerously.

“Perhaps they can be bribed into peace.” Leonardo thought out loud.

“That’s definitely a possibility, they agreed to train pirates in return for emeralds.” Said Daniev, as to confirm Leonardo’s point.

“How do you know this?” Asked Kilambi, speaking for the first time.

“We went to the pirates because Lief worked out that they may know something about the villagers!” Said Brom, excited to have something else to say.

“You shouldn’t have left Nemract without us.” Said Tremone, shaking his head.

“Ugh, shut up! We went out and got this information, be happy!” Cried Rien

Kilambi was about to retaliate when there was a knocking on the door.

* * *​

All heads turned to Lief as he got up and walked over.

“Who is it?” He asked, putting his head to the door.

“A messenger from the front line sir.” Came the reply.

Lief pulled the door open and a Ragni solder stumbled in, becoming stiff as glue at the sight of the Troms soldiers. He corrected his hat and spoke:
“The front line is losing massive ground, unkillable zombies are breaking through, Nemract will be lost within the hour!”

Lief stared disbelievingly, Nemract lost? How could they get to the villagers?

“We need to defend the town.” Said Lief, to himself more than anyone else.

“I’m afraid that isn’t an option Lief, this town is defenceless, it is new and had not yet been fortified, we need to evacuate.” Said Leonardo empathetically, seeing the despair in Lief’s eyes.

“Okay, you retreat with us to Ragni, and train us in the use of magic, then when we are ready we train the city with the basics and fight back.” Declared Daniev.

The Troms soldiers looked over at each other nervously, but in the end gave in to the logic, knowing Troms alone couldn’t defend the whole of Western Wynn.

“Fine, you had better not let us down.” Spat Kilambi, striding out of the door, leaving the messenger dazed.

“Magic? Should I tell the King?” He asked.

“No, we’ll do that, just retreat to Ragni with everyone else.” Said Lief putting his hand on the messenger’s soldier.

The youngster jumped at the touch, “Yes Sir!” He cried the scurried out of the room.

Everyone just shrugged, remembering their younger days, and left also.

Chapter nine is out, I will begin on chapter ten soon, half term is pretty much over, so the updates won't be as often from now :(.
Please enjoy and vote in the poll, Thanks!
-TheCDGamer

My other story "Lost Light" is here:
https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/lost-light-chapter-i.201906/

 

More! More! We want MORE!

 

Added chapter two and blurb.
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Added chapter three.
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Just finished editing chapter one and two, hope you enjoy, will be updating chapter three soon as well.

Sorry if all of the changes annoy u, But I'm kinda a perfectionist and if it can be improved I will improve it.

Sidenote - Deleted random changes comments :P

Enjoy, and plz give feedback, I wanna know what you guys think of the story so far before I do Chapter Four, thanks!

 

Edited all three chapters! I will start chapter four as soon as I get more feedback on the story so far, Thanks!

 

Bumpity Bumb

 

Chapter Four has been added, enjoy and give feedback!

 

Added Chapter 5, enjoy!

 

Hmm

Interesting..



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Thanks! The support is really appreciated.

 

Added Front Cover, it's a new art style for me so please give me some feedback and tips if u have them, thanks.

 

Chapter six has been released :3
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Added Chapter 7, enjoy!

 

Innovation at its finest.

 

Added Chapter 8

 

Chapter Nine is out! - I have also fixed some of the paragraph spacing in chapter one, and changed the thread title up a bit :P.
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