Valtorex at the Academy: A New Beginning
It’s always darkest before dawn, so march forth into the night.
Valtorex, now at the age of sixteen, is on a boat headed towards East Port. The long trip from the border to the Academy is giving him time to think. He realizes that up to this point in his life, anger and hatred have guided his actions. He has come to accept that anger and hatred lead down dark paths, but he can not let go of the anger and hatred. He has had a burning hatred of demons and most other fell creatures since he saw his mother killed by a demon. He has carried the anger from being unable to save her with him since. He again looks around his cabin. There are two elves in the corner one male one female, both appear to be rangers. In another corner is a large human, sharpening a greatsword. On the bunk across from his is a female human. Everything about her is pretty much usual, except for one attribute. He focuses on her hair, trying to figure out what color it is. At first, he thinks it is black, but then he notices that it has a bluish tint. He comes to the conclusion it is a deep ocean blue. The woman looks up and sees he is staring. When he continues, she becomes annoyed. She shoots across the room at him, “It’s not polite to stare.” Valtorex’s reaction catches her off guard. “I know, but I’m curious about your hair. It’s such an odd shade; I’m trying to figure out if it’s natural.” The male elf in the corner laughs. The woman shoots him a look that quiets him quickly. She then does something unexpected. She stands, walks over to Valtorex’s bunk, and sits down. She says, “It’s natural. Pretty stupid thing to say though.” Valtorex, caught slightly off guard replies, “Yes, but by my standard, that wasn’t that stupid. Stupid is when you comment on an interrogator’s breath.” The woman laughs and says, “I’m Valrie.” Valtorex says, “That’s odd, my name is Valtorex.” The male elf and other human in the room look at them. The elf says, “That is a very odd coincidence. I’m Valen.” The human says, “I’m Valinor.” The female elf stands up and says, “Valen, I have to go. See you tomorrow.” Valen stands up too and says, “Alright, see you tomorrow.” Valen, Valinor, Valrie, and Valtorex spend the next few hours talking. Valtorex discovers that, like him, Valen, Valinor, and Valrie never knew their fathers. They begin discussing why they are there.
Valrie says, “I’m going to the Academy because I have nowhere else to go. My mother abandoned me because I’m ‘Too Lawful and Self Righteous’. She’s a pirate, but I just can’t do it. I just don’t feel right plundering and robbing from defenseless merchants and civilians. She finally got sick of me and abandoned me in Tria-Guil.”
Valinor says, “I’m going to the Academy to be trained. I want to become the greatest warrior to ever live so I can avenge my people. I lived in the Mercenary Empire, in a small mining village near Silver Spine. Orcs raided the village and killed everyone. I was hunting at the time, so the orcs didn’t get me. When I returned, I found my mother in the burnt out shell of our hut. She told me about the raid and she also told me the orcs came from the same clan that killed my father. I told her I would avenge her and the village, but she begged me not to. Then she was quiet for a while and just looked at me. She said, ‘If you must get revenge, at least be trained first. Go to the Draconic Academy; it was your father’s wish.’ She told me to go to a cave nearby; then she said I am like my father. Then she died. I went to the cave and found this.”
He pulls out an ancient coin with writing in an unknown language. It is exactly like the one Valtorex’s mother gave him when he found her. Valrie gasps, “My mother threw a coin like that at me before she left.” She goes over to her bag and digs through it. She takes out the coin and exclaims, “Here it is!” Valen looks at the coin and takes off his boot. He upturns it and a coin falls out. Valtorex pulls his coin from his pocket.
Valinor looks at the coins and says, “Maybe we were meant to be in the same cabin. But like I was saying, I want revenge for what the orcs did. That is why I am going to the Academy.” Valtorex shakes his head. “I suggest you return to the Mercenary Empire then. Revenge is not a wise path.” Valinor stands and yells, “And what do you know! My mother, my village were killed by those damn orcs! I must avenge them! I will avenge them!”
Valtorex responds quietly, “Sit back down. I’ll tell you my story; then you may understand.” Valtorex retells the story of what put him on his present path. He begins, “My mother was the leader of my village. Six years ago, my village was attacked by orcs. We were well prepared and drove the orcs off. A few weeks later, they returned with a demon at their head. We fought, but could not beat them. The orcs burned the manor and took my mother prisoner. They told us they would return in two years and we could get her back if we paid a ransom of one hundred thousand gold pieces. We could not get the money and decided instead to rescue her. The two years went by and I trained everyday to fight. The orcs returned with the demon and my mother. We fought and won, but the demon escaped with my mother. I left my village in pursuit. Over the next two years, I fought through orc territory until I finally tracked down the demon. He was held up in an orc village of one thousand. Three hundred males and the rest were women and children. Most of the males left on a raid, leaving a small force defending the village. I attacked and slaughtered the unprepared guards. Then I found the demon. We fought briefly before he ran. My mother was not in the village, so I followed the demon. I chased him to the top of a plateau. When I reached the top, I saw a skeleton chained to a rock. He looked straight at me and said, ‘You came all this way for your mother. Here she is.’ He pointed at the skeleton and began laughing. I charged him and hacked at him with my sword. He seemed to be caught off guard, but then he knocked me back. His blood was on my sword and my hands. That is when I found out demon blood is acidic. He taunted me about my mother, oblivious to the fact he was bleeding. Then I got up and charged him again, but this time I didn’t stop when I hit him. I continued on and we both went off the plateau. I plunged my sword into him, wanting to ensure he was dead. Then we hit the ground, but somehow I survived. My sword was destroyed, but he was wearing one. I took his sword. His words hung in my head. Telling me what my mother went through; then telling me the other things he’d done. Then the things I’d seen the orcs do went through my head. I was pissed. I went back to the village with the orc women and children hiding in their huts. I caught the huts on fire and used the sword to kill any that came out. I showed no mercy. They didn’t stand a chance. Afterwards, I realized what I had done. The images of that day have haunted my dreams ever since. I spent the next two years as a mercenary. Then I decided I needed a new beginning, which is why I’m going to the Academy.”
The others are stunned into silence. Valinor says, after a time, “I understand what you mean, but I still must avenge my village.” Valtorex nods his head and says, “Yes, I know, but only get your revenge on those responsible. Otherwise, you will become nothing more than them.” Valinor nods his head. Valen pipes up, “Wow, I don’t have a story like that. I just got bored in Illidain, so I decided to join the Academy.” Valtorex smiles, “And philosophy hour is over.” The group laughs, except for Valinor, who seems lost in thought. Valinor retreats back to the corner while the other three talk about their past and plans for the future. Valrie plans to be a diplomat, Valtorex plans to be an elite in the Draconic Army, and Valen plans to go ‘where the wind takes him’.
That night, after they have been asleep for hours, they are awakened by a sudden commotion from the deck. A sailor yells through the door, “Pirates! Get whatever weapons you have and get on deck.” Valen pulls an Elven Longbow from his trunk, Valinor gets out his greatsword, and Valrie pulls some daggers and a rapier from hers. They look at Valtorex, who says, “Go ahead, I’ll be along shortly.” Valrie shakes her head and runs out the door. Valinor looks disappointed and follows. Valen looks at him and says, “You’ll be missing a great fight.” Valtorex replies, “I won’t miss a thing.” Valen leaves and Valtorex goes over to his trunk. He opens it and mutters a few words. His hardened black leather armor and blood red robe float up from the trunk and help him put them on quickly. Then his weapons, two longswords, a heavy crossbow, four daggers, and a staff levitate out. The longswords are attached to his belt, there is a dagger on each leg and two on his belt, the crossbow hangs at his side, and the staff is on his back. He leaves the room and runs up to the deck. He sees Valen, Valinor, Valrie, the crew, and other passengers looking at a ship in the distance. Valen looks at him and suddenly exclaims, “Look who decided to join the party!” The rest look at him and see how he is armed. Valrie comments, “And that explains what took you so long.” Valtorex strides over to the rail to look at the ship. He asks, “Does anyone have a container of water?” A sailor tosses him a flask. Valtorex asks, “Do you mind if this is lost? I need to cut off a side for a spell.” The sailor replies, “Nah, it’s just somethin’ I picked up at port for a coppa.” Valtorex nods and mutters a few words. The edges of one side glow and smoke. Valtorex pries off the side and looks at the contents. Oddly, the sailor really did have water in the flask. Valtorex casts a spell of scrying on the approaching ship, with the receiving substance being the water. Valrie shakes her head, “And a mage too.” The ship appears in the water, but much more detailed. The ship’s deck is covered with rough looking men. Amid them is a woman wearing a captain’s hat. When Valrie looks into the water, she gasps. Valtorex asks her what it is and she replies, “That woman, the captain, she’s my mother.” Valtorex asks, “Are you sure? The detail isn’t that great.” Valrie replies, “I’m sure. How many other female pirate captains that fit the description could there be in the area?” Valen pulls out his bow and draws it. He looks at the water and sees the position of Valrie’s mother. He asks Valrie, “Would you like me you take her out? I can get a quick, clean headshot from here.” Valrie yells, “No!” Valen replies, “Alright. Alternative target?” Valrie looks at the water. She points at a particularly mean looking man and says, “That’s Thorbus, her first mate. He said some pretty bad things to me when my mother wasn’t around. You can take him.” Valen looks at the water, nods, moves his bow slightly, and releases. The arrow flies towards the ship, which is still one mile away. The magic and superior craftsmanship of the bow allow the arrow to travel much farther than it normally would. Moments later, and arrow embeds itself into the chest of Thorbus, who staggers forward and falls over the rail. Valen swears, “Damn, I missed. Oh well, the job still got done.” Valrie’s mother has a look of shock on her face. The pirates back up or duck down. Valtorex uses Message and says, “Turn back or we will continue to fire. You are a mile away; I wonder how many we’ll be able to take out before you even get here?” Valrie’s mother responds, “We mean no harm. We would like to know who fired an arrow so well. May we come closer to communicate face to face?” Valtorex looks at the captain who looks at Valrie and asks, “She’s your mother; can we trust her?” Valrie replies, “Normally no, but Valen scared the hell out of her. She won’t try anything as long as Valen keeps his bow on her.” The captain looks at Valtorex and nods. Valtorex says to Valrie’s mother, “Yes, but remember, we can kill you at anytime.” To emphasize the point, Valtorex has Valen fire an arrow that embeds in the railing right in front of her. She nods; then says, “Alright.”
Twenty minutes later, the two ships are side by side. Valrie’s mother yells across the water to the captain, negotiating terms. The captain says to Valtorex, Valen, Valinor, and Valrie, “The pirate wants to see you on her ship. She’ll let us go if you cross over. We may see you in East Port.” Valtorex nods and levitates over to the pirate ship. Valen jumps the gap and lands on the deck. Valrie takes a rope from the mast and swings across, Valinor follows suit. As soon as they are across, the captain yells for the men to get the boat moving. The boat moves away swiftly. The group watches Valrie’s mother carefully as she sizes them up. She notices that Valrie stands close to Valtorex and Valen and Valinor stand slightly behind him and to his side. She comments, addressing the group, “So, he’s the leader.” Now addressing Valrie she says, “You’ve been on your own for what, one month, and you’re already clinging to someone? Pathetic, and so like you.” Valrie notices what see is doing and quickly steps away from Valtorex. Valinor steps forward to be at Valtorex’s side and Valen jumps back onto the railing. Valrie’s mother laughs at this and says, “Ah yes, I remember my awkward teenage years. Always following someone somewhere. That’s how I ended up on a pirate ship and eventually became captain. Then I met her father and ended up with a weakling child.” Valtorex steps forward and stares straight into her eyes. Valrie’s mother stares back for a moment, then unconsciously steps back. He says, “I thought so. Too cowardly to meet the eyes of an ‘Awkward teenager’.” Valrie’s mother gives a nervous laugh and says, “You can call me Tritana. What are your names?” Valtorex steps back and says, “I am Valtorex, of the Nūmën.” Valinor says, “I am Valinor of the Silver Spine Miners.”, Valen says, “I am Valen of the Forest Roamers.”, and Valrie says, “And you know who I am, Mother.” Tritana seems a bit annoyed by her daughter calling her that. She says, “Well, it is nice to meet the three of you.” She looks coldly at Valrie. “I hope we can get to know each other better. Where were you three headed?” Valtorex, taking this opportunity to make a bad situation worse says, “The four of us, meaning Valen, Valinor, your daughter and I, are headed to East Port, and from there, the Draconic Academy.” Tritana grits her teeth. “You would be wise to not trifle with me.” Valtorex calmly replies, “And you would be wise to acknowledge your daughter.” Tritana yells, “Take them to the brig!” Valtorex whispers to Valrie, “That was a stupid thing to say. See what I meant about my standards for stupid things to say?” A group of pirates advance and try to grab them. Valinor throws his off the boat. Valen jumps up and climbs out of reach of his. Valtorex just looks at his and they back off, although the fireball in his hand may be a motivator. Valrie, however, does not evade hers. She doesn’t try. She says, “Valtorex, Valen, Valinor, we will not be able to fight off an entire ship of pirates.” Valtorex replies, “I know, but between Valinor’s strength, Valen’s arrows, your naval expertise and my magic, we’d probably be able to sink it.” This gets a chuckle from Valinor and a full laugh from Valen. Tritana says, “He is right, of course. Maybe some motivation is in order.” She nods to one of the pirates holding Valrie. He draws a rusty knife and places it against Valrie’s throat. Valtorex just looks at him and says, “Drop it.” The pirate doesn’t move. Valtorex says, “Well, I gave you the option of the easy way. Drop it or it will be embedded in your throat at the end of the count of three. The pirate laughs. Valtorex says, “Valen, count please.” “One.” Valtorex moves forward in a blur and grabs the pirate’s hand. “Two.” Valtorex yanks the pirate’s hand towards him and knocks Valrie out of the way. “Three.” Valtorex turns the blade on the pirate and forces it inwards, right into his larynx. The pirate staggers back, wheezing and clutching at the knife handle protruding from his throat. The pirate hits the rail of the ship and Valtorex calmly strides forward and pushes him over. The pirate falls into the sea and the body floats away. Valtorex turns and faces Tritana. “I’d advise against threatening us. It will not end well for your crew.” Tritana is angry at Valtorex now, but still in awe of his skill. Valrie gets up and walks over to Valtorex. She whispers, “Thanks.” Valtorex whispers back, “Any time.”
Tritana says, “You will go to the brig now! If you continue to refuse, you will be killed.” Valtorex says, “Alright, I’ll go, but I won’t speak for them.” Valtorex turns and walks to the stairs going. He goes below deck and walks over to an iron cage. A pirate is standing in front of the door. Valtorex says, “I assume this is the brig.” The pirate nods, and to his surprise, Valtorex opens the door, walks in, and closes it behind him. Valrie is the next down and she walks over to the cage. The pirate, recognizing her, says, “I though you was kicked off, ya lawfer’ piece a…” Before he can finish his sentence, he is rolling on the ground. Valtorex had gone up behind him and punched him in the kidney. Valtorex opens the door to the cage and Valrie steps in. “Thanks again. Not necessary though.” Then Valinor walks in. He sees the pirate on the floor and Valtorex and Valrie in the cage. They both still have their weapons. Valinor has a puzzled look on his face and Valtorex just shrugs in response. Valinor walks over and opens the door to the cage. He walks in and shuts it behind him. About twenty minutes later, they drag Valen down below. He is tied up with rope and gagged. The pirate, who has by this time recovered from the punch, opens the door to the cage and two others throw Valen in. After the pirate slams the door shut and locks it, Valtorex pulls out a dagger and cuts Valen free. When he removes Valen’s gag, he begins laughing. Valtorex, already having gotten a feel for Valen’s character, asks, “What did you do?” Valen, once he has finished laughing, replies, “Unlike you three, I didn’t go quietly. I climbed the mast and it took them fifteen minutes and the entire crew to catch me.” Valtorex then asks, “How many did you kill?” Valen, becoming serious, says, “None, intentionally. I knocked a few off the ropes if they got too close and some fell on their own. A few fell into the ocean, and I don’t know if they survived. Besides for a few ropes I cut and some minor damage to the mast, there wasn’t much structural damage.” Valtorex, noticing his back asks, “What happened to your bow?” Valen replies, “They confiscated it when they caught me. I think the captain claimed it.” Just then, Tritana walks below deck and says, “That I did. How are the accommodations?” Her eyes grow wide when she sees that except for Valen, the prisoners still have their weapons. “How? How did you get in without the guard taking your weapons?” The guard, who has been watching this says, “‘ell, I don’ kno’, tha ‘un in red let ‘im self in. The lawfer’ wench follad ‘im. Don’ kno’ how the u’er ‘un got in. Didn’ see ‘im.” Tritana yells, “What’s wrong with you? What type of guard allows the prisoners to keep their weapons?” Valtorex inputs, “A bad one. Like him.” Tritana says to the guard, “Fine! You are relieved of your guard duties. You’re lucky don’t throw you in the brig with them.” To Valtorex and the rest she says, “Hand over your weapons.” Valtorex, deciding to be a smartass replies, “We’ll probably have some trouble getting them through the bars. You’ll need to come in and get them.” Tritana laughs. She reaches into her blouse and pulls out a chain necklace with two keys on it. She says, “One key is to the cage, the other is to my cabin. Let’s see how loyal your leader is. Valtorex, is it? You can take the key to the cage and let the little rat that was so hard to catch and the barbarian out, or you can take the one to my cabin and spend the rest of the trip there. Which will it be?” Valtorex continues with the smartass route and says, “Although I am tempted by the offer of your cabin, I wouldn’t be able to get there even if I had the key. I’m in the cage too. So I’ll take the key to the cage.” Tritana puts the keys back and says, “I would have let you out of the cage if you picked the cabin.”
Valtorex laughs as he strides forward. He touches the lock on the door and commands, “Open.” The lock clicks and Valtorex pushes the door open. Valtorex says, “Who needs keys?” Tritana yells, “Guards! Guards!” and she begins backing up. Valtorex says, “Valen, subdue the prisoner.” Valen darts out of the cage and tackles Tritana. She is wearing a sash as a belt and Valen uses that to bind her hands. Valinor and Valrie step out of the cage and Valen tosses her in. Valtorex walks into the cage. He says, “We’ll be taking the keys now.” Tritana takes over being the smartass and says, “My hands are tied. Get them yourself.” Valtorex says, “Ok. I’ll levitate them out. You’d better hope I got a good image of them, otherwise they may take part of you with them.” Tritana’s eyes grow wide with fear. Valtorex sarcastically assures her, “You have nothing to worry about. I haven’t accidentally removed any vital organs with this spell in years. Flesh wounds, sure, but your heart and lungs are safe.” Tritana is now very afraid. The rest are enjoying every second of it, except for Valrie, which she thinks is odd. Valtorex suddenly yells, “Levitate!” The keys are yanked up and through the air to Valtorex. The spell works perfectly, but Valtorex’s memory didn’t. He forgot about the chain. Tritana is dragged along the ground by the chain until Valtorex catches the keys. Valtorex says, “Sorry about that.” Then he realizes that Tritana is face down, the chain is about one foot long, and the ground is about four feet down from his hand. He thinks, “Well that explains the gurgling noise.” Valtorex drops the chain and lets her fall to the ground. He then bends down and removes the chain over her head. He leaves the cage and shuts the door behind him, ensuring it locks. He says, “Alright, now to get Valen’s bow. Valinor and Valrie, guard the prisoner. We’ll be back shortly.”
Valtorex and Valen go on deck. The crew stops working and look at them. Valtorex ignores the crew and Valen decides to continue following him. They end up at the Captain’s Cabin. Valtorex uses the key to unlock the door and they go in. At first the crew is too dumb struck to realize what is happening, but when the crew sees them enter Tritana’s cabin, they decide to attack. Valtorex and Valen enter the cabin to see a bed against the back wall, a cabinet along one wall, and a desk with various maps and charts. On the cabinet is Valen’s bow. Valen walks over, picks up his bow, and replaces it on his back. Just then, the pirates run through the door, yelling. Valtorex draws his swords and Valen rolls behind the desk and pulls out his bow. He begins firing and Valtorex begins fighting. In a few seconds, the fight is over. The pirates retreat, some with minor injuries. A few seriously injured or dead pirates are on the floor. Valtorex calmly kills all of the ones that are still alive. Valen is sickened and asks, “Why?” Valtorex replies, “Because, if they survive, they will be enemies in the future. If they don’t they will be in horrible pain until they bleed out. One way, I’m protecting myself; the other, I’m lessening the amount of pain they have to endure.” Valen says, “That…That makes sense.” Valtorex then realizes what the pirates are doing. He says, “We have to get to Valinor and Valrie. The pirates will go there next.” They leave the cabin and head to the brig. They find Valinor and Valrie fighting a group of pirates. Valtorex yells, “Leave or I will throw the brig keys off the ship.” A man says behind him, “No you won’t. You will die before you get there.” Valtorex half turns to see a group of pirates standing behind him. In the middle is a particularly fierce looking one. He says, “Now hand over the keys like a good boy.” Valtorex fully turns now and faces the pirate. He says, “I think not.” The pirate says, “That was the wrong answer.” The pirate then punches Valtorex so fast and so hard it knocks him out. Valen is next. The pirate says to Valinor and Valrie, “Drop your weapons.” Valinor and Valrie realize they can’t win. Valrie drops her weapon. Valinor continues holding his. The pirate says, “Drop it, boy.” Valinor holds his sword at the ready. Valrie is grabbed by two pirates who restrain her. The pirate steps forward and says again, “Drop it, boy.” Valinor swings at him, but the pirate catches the blade in his leather gauntlet. The pirate rips the sword out of Valinor’s hands and use the handle like a club to knock him out. The pirate then walks over to Valrie and knocks her out similarly.
Later, Valtorex wakes up to find Valen, Valrie, and Valinor unconscious near him. They are in the cage and their weapons are gone. Tritana says, “Finally, you’re awake. That pirate that knocked you out led my crew in a mutiny.” Valtorex is about to speak and Tritana guesses what he is going to say, probably something along the lines of, “Well, what can you expect? You associate with pirates.” She heads him off and says, “Before you say anything, no, he was not part of my crew.” Valtorex nods. He says, “Alright, as soon as the others wake up, we’ll need to come up with a way to escape and retake the ship.” Tritana says mockingly, “Oh, you’d do that for me?” Valtorex replies, “No, truthfully, I’d rather see you and your whole ship burn, but we need to get to East Port, and unless we can find alternative means of transportation, we’re stuck here.” Then, Valinor begins to stir. Valinor sits up and immediately goes for his weapon, which isn’t there. Valtorex says, “The pirates have mutinied. Once the others wake, we can break out and take the ship over.” Then, Valen groans. Valen sits up and Valtorex explains to him what happened. He says, “As soon as Valrie wakes up, we can break out of here and cause some trouble for our captors. You up for it?” Valen’s response is, “Finally, some fun!” A few minutes later, Valrie wakes. After explaining to her that the pirates mutinied, he says, “And now, we can make our escape.” Tritana says, “You realize they took the keys, right?” Valtorex replies, “Remember last time? By the way, why do pirates never seem to guard the prisoners? What else is there to guard?” Valrie says, “The rum.” Valen begins laughing, Tritana shrugs in admittance, Valinor chuckles, and Valtorex seems somehow pleased. “Good, drunks make the easiest enemies, especially secure drunks.” Valtorex walks over to the door and commands, “Open!” Nothing happens. Tritana laughs, “Where’s your magic now?” Valtorex replies, “Well, it was worth a shot. I hope you don’t mind buying a new door at port.” Valtorex places his hand on the lock and commands, “Burn!” The iron of the lock glows red, the white hot. Valtorex yells, “Burn!” and some of the iron liquefies and runs down the door. Valtorex then backs up and kicks the door. The lock bursts and the door swings wide open. Valtorex walks through and asks over his shoulder, “Coming?” Valen, Valrie, and Valinor follow him. Tritana shrugs and goes too.
They walk on deck to find most of the pirates drunk and the rest are shocked by their escape. Tritana yells, “What? You dogs thought you could be rid of me that easily? All who wish to live, come over here!” The pirate walks out from the Captain’s Cabin. He says, “And you see, I can’t let you do that. The age of free-lance piracy is over. All of the captains will be given this choice, ‘Join the Dark Navy, or die?’ The majority of the captains so far presented with this question have chosen the former. You see, your crew didn’t mutiny out of disloyalty. They removed your captainship because they knew you’d pick the latter, but now, I’ll give you the choice. Join or die?” Tritana replies, “Men, if you are truly loyal, take this man to the brig!” Valtorex comments, “The brig is out of service. I suggest you throw him over.” Tritana says, “Excellent idea. Men, throw him over!” The pirates move forward and grab him. They lift him up and carry him to the railing. At the signal from Tritana, they throw him off the boat. Valtorex says, “I wish we had figured out where he put our weapons before throwing him over. Oh well, I’ll check the cabin. Valen, you check the rigging and crow’s nest. Valrie and Valinor, check storage.” Valtorex finds Valrie’s rapier and Valen’s bow in the cabin. For some reason, Valinor’s greatsword was in the crow’s nest. Valrie and Valinor find Valtorex’s longswords, the knives, and the daggers in storage. They meet back on deck. Tritana has reestablished order at this point. Tritana says to them, “I guess I have to thank you. I’ll take you to East Port.” It is decided the group will sleep with the crew below deck.
That night, Valtorex is awoken by a feeling of sadness. Somehow, he knows it is Valrie. He follows the feeling and ends up on deck. He sees Valrie leaning against the rail, illuminated by the moon. He can tell that she is crying. Valrie notices him and quickly composes herself. She turns and faces him. “What?” Valtorex replies, “You were crying, which means you’re either in pain or distressed. Seeing as you have no illness or injury, I’m assuming you’re distressed. So, what’s wrong?” Valrie, upset that he disturbed her and figured out she was distressed so easily snaps, “Nothing! Nothing’s wrong, so leave me alone, ok?” Valtorex shrugs, “Alright, I guess nothing’s wrong. See you tomorrow.” As he is walking away, Valrie thinks, “How dense is he? He could tell I was crying, but he believed me when I told him nothing was wrong. And then, he always says the stupidest things. Was he dropped on his head as a child?” At the same time, Valtorex is thinking, “Well, something’s obviously wrong, but she doesn’t want me to help, so I think I’ll just stay out of it for now. She’s just lucky I’m giving her a break.” The rest of the night passes uneventfully. The ship continues on its way to East Port. Valtorex is woken up the next night by the feeling of distress. This time when he walks on deck and finds Valrie crying, he just says, “If something is wrong, admit it and I’ll help you. If you’re not ready to admit anything’s wrong, then I won’t push you. If you decide you want to talk to someone, you know where to find me.” Then he returns below deck. Valrie is confused by this. She’s used to people just ignoring her, but Valtorex acknowledges her and then leaves her alone. It’s infuriating and oddly comforting at the same time. Valtorex thinks it’s odd for someone to not admit when something is wrong, even though they can’t deal with it on their own. The ship continues across the ocean to East Port, and every night, Valtorex is woken up by the feeling of distress, but he ignores it.
One day, another ship is spotted in the distance. Tritana pulls out a spyglass and looks at the ship. Her face loses color. Valtorex, who was standing nearby asks, “What is it?” Tritana says, “It’s a pirate ship, but they’re flying a flag.” Valtorex asks, “Privateers?” “No. It is no flag I know of. It is a skull with a sword plunged through it. On one side of the skull is a shattered orb, on the other, a headless dragon.” Valtorex remembers back to a band of orcs and humans that had an emblem similar to that. The human leader said, right before Valtorex crushed his skull, “In one year’s time, we will begin taking over the oceans. The pirates will unite and the navies will be terrified to leave port. The Dark Empire shall claim this world.” Valtorex had attributed it to the ravings of a mad man. Now he’s not so sure. He says, “I know that flag. I fought a brigand of bandits a year ago that used that flag. This may get bad fast.” The ship turns towards them and draws closer. Tritana says, as the ship gets closer, “I recognize that ship. It’s called the Widow Maker. It has over one hundred kills to its name. The captain is an ex-paladin named Timothy Shadow-Fire. Tritana hoists a white flag to call a peaceful meeting. The ship reaches them and pulls alongside. The captain, a grizzled pirate that stands taller than all of the pirates on his ship yells across, “Tritana! Why do you not fly the colors? Have they not reached you yet?” Tritana yells back, “I assume you are talking about the man that tried to mutiny my ship. We threw him overboard. He was babbling about some ‘Dark Navy’.” Shadow-Fire yells, “You fool! You’ve doomed yourself and your men! I’ll come across and try to talk some sense into you!” Shadow-Fire backs up and runs. He jumps and lands on the rail and jumps forward. He clears the gap and grabs onto Tritana’s ship’s rail. He pulls himself up. He says, “Long time no…” His eyes grow wide when he spots Valtorex. “You! I know that robe from the description. You have a death order of Ten-Thousand gold on your head!” Valtorex replies, with mild bemusement, “Really? What did I do? A month ago it was only a thousand.” Shadow-Fire responds, “One year ago, you destroyed the First Brigade of the Dark Empire. They put a one thousand gold bounty on you for that. Recently, you left the area without a trace, so they upped the bounty hoping more would become interested. I’ve heard that if they don’t find you soon they’ll decuple it again.” Valtorex laughs and says, “Ya, good luck to ‘em. I’m headed to the Academy. No assassin will be able to get me there.” Shadow-Fire’s face takes on a serious look, “But you aren’t there yet. I bet if I take you alive they will go ahead and decuple the award for me.” Valtorex says, “Really? They want me that badly? All I did was kill a ragtag group of bandits. I was only paid a hundred gold for the kill.” Shadow-Fire is shocked. “Did you not hear me? I’m going to capture you and sell you to them.” Valtorex just looks at him before saying, “No, you’re not. You are going to get back on your boat with your pirates and sail away. We will not encounter you or any of the other members of this Dark Navy. If you do not leave immediately, your dismembered corpse will provide food for scavengers. Do you understand?” Shadow-Fire says, “Then we shall fight. Ten-Thousand gold for a corpse is better than nothing.” Valtorex replies, “Then draw your sword, fallen paladin.”
Shadow-Fire yanks his twisted Holy Avenger from its sheathe and backs up. Valtorex draws his longswords in one fluid motion. Shadow-Fire charges at him and swings his sword. Valtorex blocks using both of his swords. As the blades crash together, Valtorex feels a malevolent chill pass through his swords and up his arms. Valtorex and Shadow-Fire stay there, pushing their blades together, until Valtorex feels his strength ebb and he is forced to jump away. As he is going back, however, he slashes with one of his swords and cuts Shadow-Fire’s cheek. A trickle of blood rolls down from the cut. Shadow-Fire backs up, now wary of Valtorex. He raises his left hand and begins chanting in Archon. An orb of darkness begins to form there. Valtorex shakes his head, “Why? I knew you were stupid, but this? I wear this robe for a reason.” Valtorex sheathes his swords and moves his hands together. He closes his eyes and begins to concentrate. A ball of fire quickly forms between his hands and grows. Shadow-Fire finishes his spell and throws his orb of darkness at Valtorex. Valtorex looks up and laughs before launching the ball of fire right at him. The ball of fire hits the orb of darkness and consumes it. Shadow-Fire quickly throws up a shield he had prepared. The ball of fire collides with it and the shield collapses. The fire dissipates, leaving Shadow-Fire a bit singed. The crew, Tritana, and the rest decide to leave them alone and let them fight. They realize they would just get in the way and get themselves killed. However, Valen decides to go into the crow’s nest with his bow, just in case Valtorex needs some help.
Shadow-Fire prepares another spell, Chain of Darkness. Valtorex uses one of his personal spell, Fire Whip. Both finish at the same time. Shadow-Fire shoots his chain straight at Valtorex and Valtorex swings his whip at him. The whip and chain meet in the middle and coil around each other. Shadow-Fire tries to pull on the chain to bring Valtorex off balance, but Valtorex dispels his whip. Shadow-Fire pulls his chain and meets no resistance. His chain flies in and hits him in the face. Sensing flesh, the chain coils around his head. Valtorex launches a bolt of fire at him while he is distracted. Shadow-Fire dispels his chain in time to bring up a shield. The shield cuts the bolt in half, but the half that gets through hits him. Shadow-Fire clutches his chest where the fire hit him. He is not used to being hit. Valtorex takes this lapse in concentration to begin casting Flaming Serpent. Shadow-Fire looks up to see Valtorex preparing a spell. Knowing kit is too late to counter, he begins bolstering his shield. The spell takes longer than he expects, so he thinks it is a very complex spell. He prepares a counter spell, assuming he still has over ten seconds. It’ll take him five seconds to prepare his spell, so he begins. It turns out he over-estimated his time by about times ten. Three seconds in to Shadow-Fire’s spell, Valtorex finishes his. The Flaming Serpent lashes out and strikes Shadow-Fire’s shield. The shield wavers, but still stands. In one seconds time it rears back and strikes again. This time the shield breaks. Another second later, Shadow-Fire finishes his spell and flings and orb of darkness at Valtorex. The Flaming Serpent strikes at the spell and engulfs it. Valtorex focuses all of his energy on the Serpent. The Serpent grows larger and burns brighter. The Serpent rears back and strikes. Shadow-Fire throws up a shield that the Serpent crashes into. The shield nearly explodes and Shadow-Fire is flung back. Shadow-Fire hits the rail and breaks through it. He falls into the sea below. Valtorex goes over to the edge and sees him climbing up ropes on the side of his ship. Valtorex contemplates crushing him with the Serpent, but instead dismisses it. He waits for Shadow-Fire to get back on his deck before yelling across, “Now leave us in peace or I will destroy you!”
Shadow-Fire yells to his men, “Attack!” Tritana yells to her men, “Defend the ship! Repel them then attack their ship!” Shadow-Fire’s pirates begin swinging across. Valen, who had earlier gone up into the crow’s nest begins picking off Shadow-Fire’s pirates with his bow. Valtorex draws his swords just in time to kill a pirate that tries to land on him. Tritana uses a cutlass to fight the boarders. Valinor is at the rail with his greatsword hacking away at pirates as they swing across. Valrie uses her rapier to slice at Shadow-Fire’s pirates. Tritana’s pirates do a decent job of taking care of their opponents. Valtorex yells, “Valinor, Valrie! I think Tritana can handle things here! Let’s head across! Valen, keep sniping them!” Valtorex kills another pirate as he’s crossing and takes his rope. Valtorex swings across and climbs up the rope enough to ensure he doesn’t hit the side of the ship. He lands on the other ship’s deck. Valinor lands about ten feet to his right. Valrie lands five feet to his left. They are immediately swarmed by pirates. On pirate gets a lucky cut on Valinor, who is forced back against the rail. A pirate is about to take off his head when and arrow shoots through the pirate’s neck. Valrie is forced back and to the left so Valen begins focusing on her pirates. Between Valrie and Valen, Valrie cuts a path through the pirates to Valtorex. Valrie and Valtorex begin hacking through the pirates until they reach Valinor. Once the three of them are together, they begin killing a lot of pirates. They seem unstoppable until and green bolt of magic narrowly misses Valinor. Valtorex looks up to see a black robed figure on the crow’s nest. Valtorex cuts a path to the mast. The battle is nearly over with most of Shadow-Fire’s pirates dead or wounded. Shadow-Fire is nowhere to be seen. The mage starts launching the green bolts at Tritana’s ship. Her pirates begin to fall as quickly as Shadow-Fire’s. Valtorex reaches the mast and begins climbing. Valinor and Valrie continue fighting and try not to get separated. Valen keeps shooting, trying to kill more than the mage. Valtorex reaches the crow’s nest and climbs in. The mage turns to face him and Valtorex sees its face. The mage is just a skeleton in robes. Valtorex takes out his swords and slashes the skeleton. The robes are ripped by the blades and the bones fall apart. A wand falls out of each sleeve. Valtorex realizes the skeleton was just a puppet uses the wands to kill in substitute for a mage. Valtorex levitates the wands over to Valen. Valen grabs the wands and decides to use them if he runs out of arrows. He thinks to himself, “I’m down to about twenty. I might need these.”
Valtorex climbs down and lets himself drop. Valen continues picking off Shadow-Fire’s pirates. Valtorex lands on the deck. He fights his way to the captain’s cabin and busts down the door. The cabin is empty. Valtorex turns to find his path blocked by Shadow-Fire. Shadow-Fire swings his Unholy Avenger at him. Valtorex barely gets his longswords up in time to block. The Unholy Avenger crashes against Valtorex’s blades and the force of impact sends him flying back. Valtorex hits a self on the wall of the cabin. The glass and clay in the self are smashed by him, cutting him and leaving debris on the floor. Valtorex slumps to the ground. Shadow-Fire walks into the cabin fully and says, “It seems the tables have turned.” Valtorex, still dazed from the impact, groggily replies, “Ya…sure…you can beat me if…you take me by surprise…and knock me into a shelf… Even then, I doubt you’ll win.” Shadow-Fire swings the Unholy Avenger at him, but Valtorex rolls to the side. The blade embeds in the wood. Valtorex springs forward with his longswords crossed. Shadow-Fire looks at the gleam of the blades scissored around him. For a brief moment, time freezes. Shadow-Fire and Valtorex make eye contact. Shadow-Fire’s eyes plead for Valtorex to spare him. For the first time in years, his humanity comes out. His eyes show everything, even though his body shows no fear. Valtorex’s eyes show pity and a bit of mourning. Then time starts up again. Valtorex pulls the blades across each other. Shadow-Fire’s blood rushes out of the mortal wound. He falls to the ground and his vision begins fading. Before everything goes black, Valtorex says, “This is the path you chose when you broke your vow. Hopefully Palanthos will accept you; if not, may Tristen have mercy on your soul.” Then, Shadow-Fire falls into darkness and his soul leaves the Material Plane.
Valtorex cleans his blades and leaves the cabin to find the battle over. Valrie and Valinor are standing on the deck. Killed and wounded pirates lie all around them. A group of Shadow-Fire’s pirates surrendered and they are in a corner of the deck, afraid of them. When he walks out onto the deck, Valrie looks at him and appears as if she is about to say something. Then she notices the blood on his clothes and the haunted look on his face and thinks better of it. Tritana swings over and lands on the deck. She looks around and says, “Hmm. This ship will bring a good price at port. I think we have enough men to get it to East Port.” The first order of business is pushing the dead off the ships. Then, Tritana assigns her crew to the ships and asks Shadow-Fire’s pirates to join. Faced with joining or being left behind, all of them choose to join. The ships set off for East Port at nightfall. That night, images of Shadow-Fire’s eyes flash through Valtorex’s dreams. He sees and feels the panic in those eyes, right before the life was extinguished from them. Below his dream, however, is the familiar sadness he has felt throughout the journey. He wakes up, and not being in the best of moods, finally decides to confront Valrie about what is troubling her.
Valtorex walks out onto the deck to see Valrie outlined against the moon, which is now full. Valtorex walks up beside her and leans against the railing. From the corner of his eye he can see a tear running down her cheek. Valtorex says, “If you don’t tell me what’s troubling you, I won’t be able to help.” Valrie replies, “I don’t want help from you. You’re just a butcher like my mother.” Valtorex says, “A butcher? Don’t give people titles unless you know what the title means.” Valrie replies, “I know what it means! My mother butchers innocent merchants and travelers! You butchered that other pirate today! I saw the body! The cut was so precise, so clean, so calculated! That wasn’t a fight, it was a murder!” She breaks down into tears and Valtorex gathers what is upsetting her. He asks, “You’ve been on this ship your whole life, haven’t you? Your mother raised you around murder and death, and you want it to end, don’t you?” Valrie looks at him through the tears and nods. Valtorex says, “Well, I don’t know about your mother, but I never wanted to be like this. You know my story. I became this way to survive. It would be great if all of the killing and bloodshed stopped, but it won’t, at least not yet. All we can do is learn to live with it and try to limit it the best we can.” Valrie half asks, have cries, “But why? Why does there have to be killing? Why did my father have to die? Why does my mother kill? Why do you kill?” she begins crying harder. Valtorex, against his common sense, logic, and even his very survival instincts wraps his arms around Valrie. He says, “The killing happens because there is good and evil. Evil kills because of greed, desire, and the other primal reasons, and sometimes, just for the sake of evil. Good kills to combat evil. As for why I kill, it is because I must. Why do you think I killed Shadow-Fire?” Valrie, who finally stopped crying while he was speaking, looks up at his face and says, “I don’t know.” Valtorex replies, “That is the root of the problem. Shadow-Fire wanted to capture me to turn me in for the bounty on me. When I refused, he decided to kill me and get the reward. I killed him to stop him.” Valrie asks, “Why did you have the bounty?” Valtorex says, “That’s the problem. The bounty’s on me because I killed a brigand of bandits and the person behind them wants me dead for it. So, in effect, killing led to killing and bloodshed led to bloodshed.” Valrie just looks into his eyes. What she expects to see is rage and hatred. The rage and hatred that leads to killing. Instead of rage and hatred in his eyes, she sees nothing. Darkness, absolute and total, a complete absence of emotion. She pulls from his arms and turns away. Valtorex noticed what she was doing and expected the outcome. He says, “If you want to see happiness and emotion, don’t look into my eyes. You won’t find any of that there. I’ve been trained to kill my emotion.” Valrie at first thinks he’s boasting. Then she realizes he’s serious. She asks, “How?” Valtorex replies, with some sadness in his voice, “When someone dies, the emotion leaves their eyes. When I look into the eyes of someone I’ve fought and killed, part of me dies with them. The harder the fight, the more that is lost, the more of me that goes with them.” Valrie looks at him and looks into his eyes again. “You really don’t like to kill, do you?” Valtorex replies, “No, but I love what I kill for.” Valrie, not sensing he’s baiting her for a joke, asks, “And that is?” Valtorex responds, “Actually, I kill for gold, which I use to buy the things I love, equipment and weaponry to go further, supplies to live long enough to get there, and access to knowledge to increase my magical skill. My goal is to become the best I can be. Then I will find someone better and get myself killed fighting them.” Valrie is shocked and is about to storm off when Valtorex says, “But, that is behind me now. I am looking for a higher calling to get myself killed for. Which is why I’m joining the Academy. I figure there must be one cause that I can die for and others will think me more noble somehow. I personally think dying is dying and it only matters how and why you die, not who or what’s name you chant.” Valrie asks, “How can you have such a dark view of the world and not be depressed?” Valtorex half humphs half laughs. He says, “It is not my view that is dark, only your view of it.” Valrie doesn’t understand what he means. Valtorex says, “It’s getting late. I’m going back to sleep. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
Valrie is left standing there, pondering his words. “It’s not my view that is dark, only your view of it.” That phrase keeps running through her head. She turns it inside out and upside down, but she just can’t get what he meant. She is abruptly taken out of this thought when her mother says, “You fought well today. Seeing as we will be fighting more pirates than merchants, I think you would be useful. So, do you want to come back, or are you happy following Valtorex?” Valrie doesn’t answer her. She wants dearly to be with her mother, but she still feels betrayed by her. Tritana says, “Well, just think it over. We’re a good week from port. You have until then to make your decision.” She returns to her cabin. Valrie spends the rest of the night thinking about the offer and Valtorex’s words. She eventually drifts off to sleep.
Valtorex wakes up two hours before sun rise for the first time in a year. He thinks it is odd, but decides to take advantage of it. He goes out on deck to find Valrie slumped over the rail, fast asleep. He doesn’t want to wake her, so he casts a spell of deafness on her. Valtorex summons two astral swords with real enough edges. He draws his swords and orders the astral swords to attack him. He parries and blocks the swords to the best of his ability. Due to the adaptive nature of the spell, however, the swords get better the entire time. Valtorex soon begins sweating and his strength is flagging. He knows he should dispel the swords or he could be seriously hurt, but he decides to keep going. The swords spin around him, forcing him to keep in constant motion. He imagines how tough it would be if there were more. So he calls of the swords and summons another. He then has all three begin attacking him. This is just too much and he is soon forced back against the railing. This would work against a mortal opponent, but flying swords aren’t affected by things like being suspended over the ocean. One sword finally gets through and cuts him. He is forced to call off the swords. He combines the swords into one large sword and proceeds to fight it. He realizes that the sword has all of the power of the original three, without the slowness one expects of a sword that size. Valtorex fights the sword with his all, but his reduced strength from the first sparring match, coupled with the sheer power of the sword, causes him to fall back. He dries desperately to hold his ground and tries to meet the sword with his best defense. When his swords fall out of his hands he is forced to call the sword off. He dispels the sword and removes the spell from Valrie.
Tritana walks out of the shadow made by her cabin entrance and says, “You have a lot of skill, but you’re stupid. You went too far in that training. If you weren’t so lucky, you’d be dead. I could use someone like you on my crew.” Valtorex is not surprised by this and Tritana is not surprised by his answer. “As much as I’d love to be a pirate, I have more important things to do. I need to go to the Academy so I can join the Draconic Army. Then I can defend the borders from bandits or some other threat until I have advanced enough to retire, settle down, and watch my children do the same stupid things I’m doing now. That is if my luck holds. Otherwise, I’ll be joining the Draconic Army for the nice tombstone I get if they recover my body. If not, well, it’ll be fun.” Tritana says, “Would it change your mind if I told you my daughter is considering joining up again? I made the offer last night and I think she may join, especially if you do.” Valtorex asks, “So are you using her to get me or me to get her?” Tritana laughs at his observation. “A bit of both, I guess.” Valtorex replies, “Well, I will consider it. I am going to the Academy, but afterwards, I’ll need something to do.” Tritana realizes that there is no way she can get him for the next four years, even if she gets her daughter. She feels malicious so she says, “So, it doesn’t matter to you if my daughter joins?” Valtorex, now a bit insulted for some odd reason, says, “Oh, it does matter to me. It matters to me that Valrie may join back up with her manipulative mother who will most likely dump her off at port again whenever she stops being convenient. It matters to me that you are setting up this entire ploy to get Valrie and I to join, just so you can have a stronger crew, with no care for what anyone else wants to do. It matters to me that you are already trying to use Valrie to benefit you by manipulating her to get what you want. Now, I suggest you leave Valrie alone. Four years from now, I’ll consider joining, but I am going to the Academy. I don’t know if Valrie is considering joining, but if I were you, I would let her go to the Academy too.”
Tritana glares at him before yelling, “You have no right to tell me what to do with my daughter! She is not yet of age, so I still own her!” Valtorex feels a strong urge to walk forward and slap her. He instead says, “That is exactly why you should let her go. You’re right; she has not yet come of age by some standards. It appears you use those standards. And, yet, you still abandoned her at port, to let who knows what happen to her. I know you found her out here last night. I heard you talking to her. Didn’t you think it odd she was standing out here? When I came out to talk to her, she was crying. She’s been like that this entire trip. I don’t know how long before that. You hurt her deeply when you abandoned her. It would be best if you left her alone long enough for her to stop hating you and questioning her own usefulness.” Tritana laughs, “And let her go with you? You’re a mercenary! I know your type. You will bring her along, through battle after battle. You will convince her to let you handle the gold. Then you’ll convince her to take these stupid jobs that’ll get her killed. Then you’ll leave her to die.” Valtorex lunges forward and draws his swords in one fluid motion. Before Tritana can even raise her hands, Valtorex’s swords are crossed at her throat. His voice becomes very quiet, very dark, and very dangerous. He says, “I have never left a man behind. I would not do so with your daughter. That is if I were still a mercenary. As for joining your ship, the answer is no.” Valtorex pulls his swords back and puts them away.
Valrie, who had actually been awake during this exchange, stands up and looks at them. She shakes her head sadly and goes below deck. Tritana glares at Valtorex. She turns and storms off. Valtorex thinks, “That could have gone better. Oh well, I have another week on this ship.” A few days pass and Valtorex is not woken up by Valrie. Their communication is limited to a few niceties and brief conversations here and there. Tritana avoids Valtorex totally. Valtorex continues waking up early and practicing with the swords. He tries to go up to four swords, but he still can’t hold his own against two of them. He continues trying against the large sword, but it is still too strong for him.
The last night of the journey, Valtorex is woken up by Valrie. He goes out on deck to see her. He realizes this is his last chance to convince Valrie to go to the Academy. When she hears someone on deck behind her, she looks over her shoulder. When she sees it is Valtorex, she asks, “Why did you come out? You haven’t been out here for the past week.” Valtorex replies, “That’s because you haven’t woken me up for the past week.” Valrie is about to call him an ass, then she stops and thinks about it. She asks, “What do you mean I haven’t woken you up?” Valtorex replies, “What, you thought I just get up at random times every night to help people with problems? For some reason, when you’re sad, I can tell. And for some reason, it bugs me so much I wake up, and I have to complement you on that alone because that is no small task.” Valrie smiles a bit at that; then realizes what he said before. “So my emotions wake you up?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, I think we’ve established that.” Valrie says, “I just think it’s odd because I’ve been out here every night still.” Valtorex says, with a hint of wise ego, “I guessed as much. You’ve been blocking your emotions. The eyes of the dead keeping you up?” Valrie nods. Valtorex says, “Ya, that happens. You haven’t killed much before, have you?” Valrie replies, “I have.” Valtorex asks, “Is the number of people you’ve slain in the double digits?” Valrie nods. Valtorex says, cryptically, “Give it time. You’ll remember back to this day when you could say that.” Valrie asks, “How many have you…?” Valtorex responds, “Somewhere in the middle triple digits…I think. But let’s talk about something else. This is the last night of the trip, have you made a decision yet?” Valrie replies, “Yes, I have. I’m going to rejoin my mother.” Valtorex asks, “Why?” Valrie responds, “Because of who will be at the Academy. There’ll be cold, distant mercenaries like you, psychos like Valen, revenge driven killers like Valinor, and success addicted perfectionists. That does not sound like the place I want to be.” Valtorex laughs. “You really think that? Alright, it looks like I have to prove my merits to you somehow. Now, how do I prove a mercenary, a psychopath, and a killer you have to see occasionally are better than being stuck at sea for months with a group of pirates?” Valrie laughs at him, but then returns to being serious, “I just don’t think I want to turn into that type of person. I’d rather not be a pirate but I have nowhere else to go.” Valtorex shrugs, “Alright, your choice. I’m not going to force you.”
Valtorex goes below deck and tries to return to sleep. After about thirty minutes, he gives up. He goes back on deck and sees that Valrie is still there. He says, “Ok, if you’re not going to go to the Academy, do you mind if I teach you a few things? They might just bring your survival time in a battle to somewhere above ten seconds.” Valrie is pissed; then she realizes he’s joking. She turns around and says, “Alright, let me get my sword.” Valtorex follows her and gets his swords and staff. They go back onto deck and Valtorex draws his staff. He says, “Alright, let’s see how you are at blocking.” Valrie brings up her rapier in a defensive position. Valtorex readies his staff. Before she even has time to register it, Valtorex has charged forward and smashed her rapier to the side. He backs up and readies his staff again. Valtorex says, “Pick up your sword and get ready.” Valrie picks up her sword and goes back into the defensive stance. The same thing is repeated. Valtorex says, “Ok, who taught you that?” Valrie replies, “My mother.” Valtorex says, “Ok, don’t do that. Go into whatever position is natural for you. You don’t have the discipline to use a disciplined stance.” Valrie relaxes her grip. Valtorex says, “Remember, go with whatever feels right. Don’t second guess yourself; you’ll rarely have time for the first one.” Valtorex charges forward, but this time, Valrie parries and jumps to the side.” Valtorex says, “Good, you have the basics.” He punctuates his sentence by swinging at Valrie. Valrie brings her sword up in time and blocks, but Valtorex is too strong and Valrie’s blade is knocked out of her hand. Valtorex chides, “Remember two things, always be ready and never try to block a weapon that is bigger than yours, especially when wielded by someone stronger than you.” Valrie lunges for her weapon and grabs it. She springs up and slashes wildly at Valtorex. He easily blocks and then knocks her sword out of her hand. “Also, don’t attack someone who is teaching you. Odds are, they’ll win. Now pick up your sword.” Valrie bends down to pick up her sword, all the time keeping an eye on Valtorex so she can make a snap move to block him. Valtorex sees this and decides to test her. He swings down and Valrie snaps up with her sword. She throws up her guard, but Valtorex’s swing brings it down. As the sword is going down, it slightly cuts Valrie’s arm. She clutches at the wound, cringing a bit. Valtorex slaps her hand away from the wound with his staff. “For minor wounds like that, it’s better to not touch them and let the bleeding stop on its own. Your hands have dirt and various contagions on them that will cause infection.” Valtorex looks into Valrie’s eyes. He can see she is angry. “Alright, get your sword and come at me. If I knock it out of your hand, get it and keep trying. Remember, use that anger.” Valrie grabs her sword and lunges at him. Valtorex blocks it and knocks her back. She slashes at him wildly, savagely. He is hard pressed to block all of her attack, but he does get an opening and pushes her back. She swings at him and her swings at her sword. The rapier and the staff meet in mid swing and the sword is sent flying. Valrie rolls away and grabs her sword. Valtorex prepares to block, and is caught off guard when she lunges low and slashes at his feet. He manages to block, but that puts him out of position to fully block her slash at his chest. She makes a shallow cut along his torso.
Valrie expects him to go down, but instead he tosses away the staff and draws a longsword. He says, “Do that again.” Valrie, thinking that a longsword is slower than her rapier, stabs at him. Valtorex easily blocks and forces her to drop her weapon. He kicks her weapon away and holds his blade to her throat. He says, “If you did something like that in an actual battle, your head would be on the ground and I would now be killing your allies.” Valrie jumps for her sword, but Valtorex slaps her back with the flat of his blade. She falls to the ground rubbing her back. Valtorex laughs and says, “You’re lucky I didn’t slit your throat. That move was suicidal. Get up, get your weapon, and come at me with respect for my weapon.” Valrie gets her weapon and moves at him. Valtorex nods at her. Valrie jumps forward and slashes down. Valtorex parries her sword to the side; then he moves his sword to her neck. Valtorex says, “Going against a sword is different than going against a staff. Staffs you can just swing more than they can block. With a sword, you have to block all of their hits too. If one hit gets through your guard, the fight is over. Remember that.” Valrie tries again, this time blocking all of his attacks. Valtorex keeps knocking her sword out of her hand or pushing her back, but eventually, Valrie comes through with a small cut to his leg. Valtorex draws his second longsword. “Let’s see how you do now.” Valrie tries the same maneuvers she used before. Valtorex blocks her attack with one sword; then uses his other sword to check her. Valrie keeps trying the same moves and Valtorex keeps checking her. Eventually, Valtorex gets bored and throws her back while knocking away her sword. She lands on her butt with a dumbstruck look on her face. Valtorex laughs at the image. Then he says, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t bear to beat you that badly. I’m using two swords. It’s no longer a contest of skill; it’s a contest of patience. You need to block all of my hits and wait for me to over-extend myself. Then you can try an attack. Just remember, I’m faster than you with one sword. With two, my speed is effectively doubled.” Valrie gets up and grabs her sword. She takes his advice and begins blocking, occasionally trying a slash. She keeps this up for awhile, but with no luck. Soon she is exhausted and jumps back. She says, “Wait, I can’t go anymore.” Valtorex replies, “So?” She notices he is covered in sweat and looks about to collapse. “You’re barely standing! Neither of us can go on.” Valtorex lunges forward and swings at her. She blocks both of his blades and realizes this isn’t a contest of skill; it is a contest of endurance. One she knows she will lose. They continue until they reach the point of the absurd. Valtorex can’t swing anymore and Valrie can’t block anymore. Valtorex knows he used way too much energy restraining himself and making stupid, pointless attacks. He knows he will collapse soon, but he wants Valrie to go first. Valrie knows she can’t keep it up much longer, but her fear of what Valtorex will do makes her want him to go first. This motivation, on both sides, gives them a new burst of strength, which is quickly expended. Finally, Valrie falls back onto the deck, exhausted.
Valtorex sheathes his swords and extends his hand to her. She takes his hand and he tries to lift her up. Instead of her going up, he just brings himself down on top of her. He rolls off of her and lies on his back. He begins laughing weakly. Valrie starts too. “That was…pretty…stupid.” Valtorex says between laughs and gasps. Valrie tries to speak, but she is too tired. They stop laughing after awhile. They lie there talking for awhile. Valrie begins nodding off. Soon, she is in a deep, dreamless sleep; well, dreamless except for one. She sees herself, or at least she thinks it’s herself by the hair, dancing at some type of celebration with a mage, judging by the robe, with long black hair. The mage’s robe is blood red, although there is black leather below it, and his eyes are as bright and red as fire. This is all she remembers of the dream, the robe and the eyes. That morning, when she wakes up, an elf’s face fills her vision. He says, “Wow, you and Valtorex must have really gone at it, you’re a mess and he’s covered in blood.” Valrie recognizes him. She says, “Valen, please leave me alone. Valtorex taught me enough last night to gut you.” Valtorex’s voice comes from somewhere behind her, “No, he’s too fast for even me. Plus that bow of his. You wouldn’t stand a chance.” Valrie sits up and looks around. She sees the pirates working as if nothing is going on, Valinor is in a corner being Valinor, Valen is looking down on her, her mother is shouting orders, and Valtorex is leaning against the rail, watching her. She stands and stretches. “Aren’t you tired? You were nearly dead last night.” Valtorex replies, “Yes, but I slept and got over it. And I’m kind of used to training harder than that.” Valrie mumbles something about him being invincible. Valtorex hears her and says, “I’m not invincible, just well trained. Now, do you want me to show you what real training is?” Valrie is a bit afraid of what it might be, but still she says, “Yes.” Valtorex says, “Good, I thought you might.” He then yells, “Valinor, how about you get that sword out so we can show these two what real warriors are like?”
Valinor breaks out in a grin and pulls his greatsword from his back. Valtorex draws his longswords and they begin circling each other, getting closer and closer. Finally, Valinor jumps into the air and brings his greatsword smashing down to the deck. Valtorex blocks and is knocked down. Valinor quickly recovers and swings down. Valtorex blocks and rolls away. He springs up and slashes at Valinor with both blades. Valinor uses the length of his greatsword to block both. Valtorex jumps back, followed by a slash from Valinor. Valtorex feints, then he lunges up. Valinor stumbles back, but quickly recovers. Valrie is a bit shocked that neither of them have been killed. Valen is enjoying every second. The fight continues, with Valinor using his superior strength and Valtorex using his superior speed. Inevitably, Valtorex’s superior training comes in and he manages to take a blow from Valinor without falling and he puts his left sword at Valinor’s neck. Valtorex sheathes his swords and Valinor replaces his. Valtorex bandages the gash on the shoulder he took form Valinor. Valinor comments, “That was amazing! How did you keep standing? That blow always brings my opponent to the ground, usually dead.” Valtorex replies, “Training. I think you broke my right shoulder though.” Valinor laughs, thinking it’s a joke; when he notices Valtorex isn’t laughing he asks, “You’re serious?” Valtorex responds, “Yes, I’m serious. I can barely move my arm.” Valrie runs over to him and checks him over. She says, “You’ll be fine, but you should lie down.” Valtorex laughs. “No, I think I’ll be fine.” He yells to Tritana, “When will we reach port?” Tritana, who had been watching the fight with the rest of the pirates, yells back, “About two hours. I suggest you at least immobilize it. If it doesn’t set properly, you’ll lose it.”
Valtorex yells, “Thank you, everyone, for the concern, but I’ll be fine! I’ll even prove it; I’ll take on anyone who thinks I’m not fit for combat!” A few pirates, thinking this’ll be an easy fight move forward, one with a cutlass, one with a rapier, one with dual daggers, and one with a scimitar. The pirate with the rapier charges him. Valtorex easily avoids him and whacks him in the back of the head with the flat of his blade. Valtorex asks, “So, are you going to try that again. Next time you’ll head will go.” The pirate stands up and slashes at him. Valtorex blocks and kicks the pirate in the stomach. The pirate staggers back and Valtorex rushes forward and kicks him in the chest. The pirate falls back against the rail. The pirate comes back up, to meet Valtorex’s blade at his throat. Valtorex turns and walks away. The pirate runs off. The pirate with the cutlass realizes it’s not worth it and leaves. The pirate with the scimitar steps forward. Valtorex bows to him. The pirate charges forward with a yell. Valtorex snaps up in timer to deflect the scimitar with his sword. Valtorex hits the pirate in the gut with the flat of his blade. The pirate bends over, the wind knocked out of him. Valtorex places his sword on the pirate’s neck and says, “Those who break code end up broken. Take this as a lesson.”
Valtorex looks at the last pirate inquiringly. The pirate nods and strides forward. Valtorex salutes him, and the pirate makes an odd gesture with his blades that Valtorex assumes is a type of salute. Valtorex prepares himself to fight when the pirate does something unexpected. He begins chanting in Archon. Valtorex feels his left arm go numb and he hears his sword hit the deck. The pirate turned assassin walks up to him and says, “Now, I will kill you and collect the reward.” Valtorex feels the numbness spread through his chest, soon his legs are paralyzed. Valtorex says, “You don’t deserve the reward. If you would face me fairly, then I would be more than happy for you to get the reward. All you are proving now is that you are afraid of me. I have one broken arm and I’ve been in three fights already today, and you still have to paralyze me? How pathetic.” The assassin smiles, “I don’t have to prove I’m better than you, I just have to kill you.” He stabs Valtorex in the gut with one of his daggers. Valtorex gasps then coughs out some blood. Valrie runs forward and pulls out her rapier. The assassin turns on her and begins chanting in Archon. Valrie’s legs go numb and she lands flat on her face. Valtorex, through the red haze covering his eyes, sees the assassin nearing Valrie, with his dagger ready to strike. Valtorex yells, “Get away from her!” The assassin looks at him and asks, “Or what?” he sees Valen moving towards his bow and he yells in Archon. Valen freezes. The assassin pulls a scroll from beneath his scroll. He opens it and reads it. Valinor runs at him, but right before he can reach him, he falls over, paralyzed. Everyone on the ship, except for the assassin, is paralyzed. Valtorex is acutely aware of the blood pouring out of his stomach.
The assassin asks to no one in particular, “Where was I? Oh yes, that’s right.” He holds his dagger above Valrie, who is now fully paralyzed. Valtorex warns in a low voice that’s nearly a growl, “Stay away from her.” The assassin laughs, “Again, or what? You can’t move, you can’t fight, and you’re all trapped on this boat with nowhere to go. I think I’ll take my time killing you each one by one.” He bends down and presses the point of his dagger into Valrie’s back. He pulls back the dagger so Valtorex can see the blood. Valtorex tries to yell at him, but he finds his vocal cords are now paralyzed. The assassin asks, “So, should I start with her fingers or should I just cut?” Valtorex feels dizzy, from blood loss or anger, he can’t tell. The assassin lifts up Valrie’s hand and holds the dagger to one of her fingers. He comments, “She can feel everything, by the way.” Valtorex tries to yell at him, but all that comes out is a growl. The assassin is surprised nonetheless. He looks at Valtorex and says, “The impotent rage is killing you more than any poison I could use. How does it feel to know I’m going to kill her and the rest of the people here and you can’t stop me?” Valtorex feels the rage filling him and he thinks to himself, “No. I can’t let the rage take over. It’d be better to die.” A voice asks him, “But is it worth letting them die? Yes the rage will inevitably destroy your soul, but is that not an acceptable price to pay?” Valtorex decides it is. He falls back into the rage, and his eyes darken to blood red. The assassin notices the change and becomes afraid. He tries to tell himself Valtorex is paralyzed and can’t hurt him, but when Valtorex roars out his anger, he realizes he can’t win. He pulls out a scroll and reads from it. Valtorex breaks out of his paralyzed state. He grabs his sword charges at the assassin. The assassin finishes reading the scroll. Valtorex slashes with all of his fury at the assassin. The blade rips through the assassin’s robe and blood comes out with it. The assassin falls to his knees, but the spell he cast teleports him away.
The assassin’s spell wears off and the crew, Tritana, Valrie, Valen, and Valinor get up. None of them saw what happened, but they heard it. When they see Valtorex’s sword dripping blood they look for a body. Valtorex, his eyes returning to normal, says, “He’s gone, he teleported away.” Tritana yells to her men, “Are there any more surprises? So far, there’s been a mutiny, a battle, and an assassination attempt. Does anyone have anything else to spring upon me?” The ship continues its voyage. Valrie rushes to bandage Valtorex before he passes out or dies. She’s amazed to find he is completely fine, even his shoulder is unbroken. About an hour later, they spot land. The ship continues on until they reach port. At East Port, a customs official boards the ship.
The customs official says, “We have received word that this a pirate vessel.” Tritana says, “It is. Is there any problem?” The official replies, “Yes, a new decree has been passed. All pirate ships are to be impounded and their crews are to be imprisoned.” Tritana demands, “And why is that? The pirates and Draconic Empire have been at peace for decades.” The official replies, “Not that I have to explain it to you, but a new faction called the Dark Navy has been formed among the pirates. They have declared war on the Draconic Empire, the Elven Kingdoms, and the Mercenary Empire. All pirates are now being apprehended for questioning.” Tritana is about to yell at him when Valtorex steps forward. He says, “Then you are making a big mistake. Freelance pirates are the greatest ally against the Dark Navy. We recently fought a Dark Navy ship. The Dark Navy is putting all of the freelance pirates to the sword. They can either join or die. An alliance with the freelance pirates would be for the best against the Dark Navy. If you attack the freelancers, then you will just end up with more enemies, and they, having nowhere to go, will be forced to join the Dark Navy.” The official responds, “That sounds good in theory, but how do we know the difference between freelance pirates and Dark Navy vessels?” Valtorex describes the flag of the dark Navy and assures him the Dark Navy vessels will have those flags. The official comments, “And how do I know you are not a Dark Navy agent?” Valtorex replies, “Easy, you are still alive.” The customs official asks, “Are you threatening me?” Valtorex replies, “Only if I need to.” The customs official says, “Threatening an Imperial Officer is a severe crime. Do you want to spend the next ten years in a labor prison in the Mercenary Empire?” Valtorex responds, “I would rather not. Good thing you aren’t an Imperial Officer, huh? You’re just a customs official. I know the rankings. You are at about the same level as a cook’s assistant, right?” The official is livid now. He warns, “Improve your tone or you will be in prison a very long time.” Valtorex says, “May I speak with your superior, not the cook, but the dock manager.” The official yells, “the only one you’ll be seeing is the warden! Come with me!” The official turns and stalks off the ship. Valen asks, “Does he really think you’ll go with him?” Valtorex shrugs and leaves the ship. He walks up behind the official and kicks him in the back. He flails wildly before falling into the water. Just then, the dock manager comes along.
“You’d better have good reason for kicking my employee into the water.” Valtorex replies, “Sure I do. He’s an ass that’s too full of himself for his position.” The dock manager laughs. “True enough. Why was he bothering you?” Valtorex replies, “We arrived via pirate ship and he tried to take us to prison. This is after we explained we’re enemies of the Dark Navy, as are all remaining freelance pirates.” The manager says, “You realize that’s the law?” Valtorex responds, “Oh, I’m sure it is, but it’s a bad one. Imprisoning the freelance pirates alienates allies. The Dark Navy is giving the pirate captains the ultimatum of ‘Join or die’. An alliance with the pirates would be beneficial in fighting the Dark Navy. Declaring war on the pirates will leave them with no place to go except for the Dark Navy.” The manager nods. “Makes sense. I’ll pass it up. What inn are you staying at?” Valtorex replies, “I wasn’t intending on staying for long. I’m headed to the Academy.” Valrie, Valinor, and Valen leave the ship and join them. The manager takes one look at Valrie before saying, “You’re Trit’s kid, right?” Tritana yells down, “That she is Garet.” Garet’s face lights up a bit when he sees Tritana. “Hey, Trit. It’s been boring without you here to cause trouble. How long you in port?” Tritana sighs, “Probably quite awhile. It’s not safe for freelancers out there anymore.” Garet replies, “So the mage has told me. What inn are you staying at?” Tritana replies, “The usual one.” Garet nods. “The Drunken Mule, probably the best place to go to find some fun. Well, I’ll just assume everything’s in order.” He winks at Tritana before continuing. “Have fun introducing these four to the Docks.”
Later, Tritana is leading Valtorex, Valrie, Valen, and Valinor through the street. Valtorex says, “By the way he said ‘the Docks’, I’m assuming it’s a crime infested slum.” Tritana replies, “Of course. Do you have a problem with that?” Valtorex laughs. “I’ll be kicked out by tomorrow morning.” They arrive at the Drunken Mule. Living up to its name, it looks like it was put together by and serves as a stable for drunken mules. They walk in. Most of the people in the inn turn and look at them. Some go back to their drinks, but the rest stare at Tritana, some with admiration, some with fear. She walks over to a table in the corner, currently occupied by a drunk and commands, “Out.” The drunk ignores her. The barkeeper yells, “Tritana, nice to see ya. That drunk taking your seat?” Tritana replies, “Nice to see you too Jack. Yes, but I don’t think it will be a problem.” She turns to Valtorex. She says, “You seem strong enough to handle a drunk. Get him out of my seat.” Valtorex replies, “He was there first. If you want the seat, fight him for it yourself. I’m happy standing.” Valen is upset there’s no violence, Valinor is unmoved, and Valrie thinks it is noble for him to take that stand. Tritana replies, “Very well. You’ve consigned him to death.” She draws a long knife from her belt. Valtorex interposes himself between the knife and drunk. “I’ll handle it.” Valtorex turns to the drunk and commands, “Burn!” The liquor the drunk has in his glass catches aflame. The drunk throws the glass into the air and jumps back, and out of the seat. Valtorex neatly catches the glass and places it on the table. Tritana sits down and motions for them to join her at the round table. Valen sits as does Valrie. After some hesitation, Valtorex and Valinor sit. A barmaid that looks like the inn comes to their table. She asks, “What will ya have ta drink?” Tritana replies, “Dwarf Spirits for me and water for the girl.” Valrie interjects, “Ale.” The barmaid shrugs and decides on the more expensive of the two. Valinor says, “I’ve always wanted to try Draconian Rum. I’ll have that.” Valen asks, “Do you carry Elven Wine of any type?” The barmaid shakes her head. Valen shrugs, “I guess I’ll have Dwarf Spirits also.” The barmaid looks at Valtorex expectantly. The entire group imagine what Valtorex will get. Valinor thinks Draconian Rum, Valen thinks Alchemist’s Fire, Valrie thinks he’ll go for Ale, Tritana is stuck between Dwarf Spirits and blood. What Valtorex says surprises them, “Water for me please.” The barmaid looks at him, a bit confused. Tritana moves past it and says, “And of course, meals for five.” When the barmaid leaves Valen asks, “Water?” Valinor and Tritana repeat the sentiment. Valrie doesn’t know whether to be disappointed or happy. Valtorex replies, “Just wait. You’ll see my drink tops all of yours.”
About ten minutes later, their drinks com e out. Valrie sips at her ale nervously. She grimaces at the taste. Valtorex asks, “First time?” Valrie nods. Valtorex cautions, “Don’t drink too fast, you might wake up in a troll’s cave with a halfling and a gnome.” Valinor raises his eyebrow, Tritana understands the sentiment but thinks it is a weird analogy, and Valen blurts out, “What in the Abyss are you talking about?” Valtorex replies with a laugh, “It’s a good story, but I can’t tell the lead up in mixed company. I’ll just suffice to say it involves a sorceress, a rouge, a bard, a rather large bounty, and two barrels of cheap rum.” Tritana nods in understanding, Valen laughs, Valinor just looks at him, amused, and Valrie can’t really figure out what he is implying. Valen takes a drink of his liquor and tears up. Valinor drinks some of the Draconic Rum and coughs. Tritana takes a swig of the Dwarf Spirits and is unfazed. Valtorex takes his water and commands, “Boil!” The water begins boiling. He takes a pouch out of his robe and reaches in. He pulls out a pinch of powder, which he drops into the glass. The bubbling water turns a fiery red. Valtorex takes a drink and his eyes widen, slightly. Valen asks, “What is that?” Valtorex replies, although wheezing a bit, “Basically, it’s a non-alcoholic form of Draconic Rum mixed with a small amount of Alchemist’s Fire.” Tritana raises an eyebrow. She asks, “Non-alcoholic?” Valtorex responds, “Yes, I don’t drink. I like the burn, but I hate the weakness alcohol brings.” He turns to Valen. “You want to try some?” Valen nods and takes the glass. He takes a drink and immediately drops it. Valtorex manages to catch it, however. Valen clutches at his throat while choking. Valtorex turns to Valinor. Valinor shrugs and takes the cup. When he takes a drink, he quickly places the cup back on the table before gagging. Valtorex turns to Tritana, who thinks she’ll be able to handle any drink Valtorex can, although Alchemist’s Fire may be a bit much. She gulps down a large amount of it and slams it down on the table triumphantly. She then feels the burn in her throat and begins sweating. Then the coughing begins. She ends up holding her throat, gasping for water. Valtorex laughs and takes another drink. Valrie coughs lightly and Valtorex looks at her questioningly. She looks at the glass. Valtorex says, “Let me guess, you want some.” Valrie nods. Valtorex says, “No, not yet. You can’t even take the taste of ale. This will probably kill you.” Valrie realizes he’s probably right, though exaggerating, but her pride won’t let her turn it down. She asks, “Just once?” Valtorex decides she needs to learn a lesson in logic overcoming bravado. He shrugs and hands her the glass. Valrie takes a sip, and sure enough, her mouth and throat are on fire in seconds. Valtorex takes the cup back and watches as Valrie now begins to cough. Valen and Valinor are fine now and watch her. Tritana is still choking.
Valtorex says, “It’s really good for sterilizing wounds and making people talk.” Tritana finally settles down, although Valrie has already recovered. She notices the tears on Valrie’s cheeks and she admonishes, “Why did you let her do that? You know she’s not ready for liquor, especially not that strong.” Valrie interjects, “Mother, he tried to talk me out of it. I wouldn’t listen.” They continue drinking until their food arrives twenty minutes later. Once they are done with their food and about five glasses each, they decide to break up the party. Valrie, not being used to alcohol, is stumbling about and humming an unidentifiable song. Tritana takes her up to her room, although they both nearly fall down the stairs several times. Valen and Valinor, in their drunken haze, decide to roam the streets and find a fight. Valtorex, knowing Valinor’s judgment is shot and Valen is too drunk to aim, follows them, hoping to avert any conflict. Valen and Valinor stumble into the inn in the middle of the night and stumble up to their rooms. Valtorex strides in behind them, resets the upturned chairs, and goes up to his room. The next morning, Valtorex wakes up early and goes downstairs.
He finds a young woman down there washing tables. She looks at him and says, “You’re up early, especially for someone who comes here.” Valtorex replies, nonchalantly, “Yes, but unlike most of the people that show up here, I don’t drink till I drop.” She laughs at this. Then she asks, “Do you want anything to eat?” Valtorex thinks for a moment then responds, “No, thank you though. Do you want any help?” The woman replies, somewhat surprised, “Sure. Thanks.” Valtorex grabs a rag and begins wiping down the tables. After a few minutes, the woman says, “I thought everyone considered this ‘woman’s work’. Why are you helping?” Valtorex thinks for a moment, then says, “It’s maintenance. I believe it is everyone’s duty to maintain, regardless of sex.” The woman is taken aback by this. She says, “But you’re not being paid.” Valtorex responds, “Sure I am. I get to do something when otherwise I would be doing nothing. That in its self is enough.” The woman shakes her head and mutters something about him being insane. Valtorex finishes wiping the tables and stands up. He says, “Well, I guess it’s time for me to leave. My friends should be down sometime after sun-up. The girl about our age, Valrie, is a first timer, so she’s going to be pretty hung over. Also, she’s pretty good with a sword, so you may want to keep a lookout on her.” The woman nods. Valtorex leaves the inn and walks down the street in the darkness before dawn. Valtorex thinks, “Well, the sun will be up in about two hours. I should be back at the inn by then. I guess I’ll buy supplies.” Valtorex roams the streets, looking for a store that is actually open at this time of night. Eventually, his search brings him to the worst part of the worst part of town. He ends up in the slums of the Docks.
Valtorex is walking through the streets when he hears an high pitched elven voice coming from an alley. Valtorex hears panic in the voice and casually turns and goes down the alley. He sees a beautiful elf at the back of the alley, trapped by six large thugs and an average sized man Valtorex guesses to be their leader. The man says, “Now now, little elf, you wouldn’t want to attract attention. There are a lot worse people than us prowling the night. Just imagine what would happen if a band of orcs found you, or a minotaur slaver ship, eh? You wouldn’t want that now, would ya? So just let my boys and I have our fun and we’ll go on our way.” Valtorex speaks, “You were right about one thing. There are a lot worse people prowling in the night. Unfortunately for you, some of them don’t like scum like you.” The man and thugs turn to see Valtorex, with crossbow drawn and bolt in place. The man says, “Bad move. Although, I think I could use you. Put away your crossbow and you have a job, right after we’re done with this elf.” Valtorex replies by shooting a bolt through the head of the nearest thug. The man says, “Have it your way.” Valtorex puts another bolt in his crossbow and says, “Don’t move.” The man laughs. “What? You think you can kill all of us with that?” Valtorex replies, “No, I can kill you and one of your men with this, light two on fire, and kill the last two with my swords. Should only take thirty seconds.” The man looks into Valtorex’s eyes and sees the truth. He jumps back and produces a dagger from his cloak. He grabs the elf and places the blade against her neck. Valtorex says, “Well, I guess you just added another five seconds to my estimate. And you moved.” Valtorex fires his crossbow. The man is about to kill the elf when the bolt hits her. The bolt goes through her left shoulder and hits his heart. The bolt passes through the elf and she falls forward. The man is too stunned to do anything but drop the dagger and clutch at the bolt protruding slightly from his chest. Valtorex quickly reloads and fires at the thug nearest him. The thug drops and Valtorex drops his crossbow into its sling. He looks at two thugs and commands, “Burn!” The thugs’ hair are caught on fire. They start trying to pat down their heads while the last two thugs run forward. Valtorex pulls his swords free and quickly disables one and disembowels the other. Valtorex finishes the fight in one quick movement that brings one sword into the stomach of one thug and through the throat of the other.
Valtorex sheathes his swords and strides forward. The elf has gotten up and is cowering against the back wall. Valtorex stops about three feet from her and asks, “Are you capable of speech?” The elf nods, a bit confused. Valtorex asks, “Apparently you’re not. I’m Valtorex. Who are you?” The elf, mustering up her courage replies, “I’m Myrstaline.” Valtorex says, “That’s better. Why are you out this late?” Myrstaline, remembering her shoulder, asks, “Why would I tell you? You shot me!”Valtorex replies, “Of course. It was either shoot you through the shoulder for a clean kill or waste time getting his guard down where he could of killed you.” Myrstaline, seeing the logic, although wary of the cold and calculated nature of it, replies, “After the boat, I haven’t been able to sleep. I’ve taken to roaming around at night.” Valtorex asks, “Ok, I can understand that. But why in the worst part of the worst part of town? You can’t protect yourself, as I’ve seen, so I’m assuming you’re suicidal.” Myrstaline seems a bit angered by this. “What do you mean I can’t protect myself? I was outnumbered seven against one?” Valtorex laughs before saying, “So was I.” Myrstaline looks at the bodies littering the alley floor and realizes the carnage around her. Then she retches. Valtorex, feeling an odd sensation to go comfort her, manages to control himself. He stands there and lets her finish. Valtorex turns and walks out of the alley. He casually tosses over his shoulder, “I’m headed back to my inn. You might want to come with, or you can stay with the bodies.” A few moments later, Valtorex hears light footsteps behind him. Myrstaline catches up with him. Valtorex says, “You never answered my question. Why were you in that place?” Myrstaline replies, “It was the closest place to my inn. All of the enrollees in the Draconic Academy are staying there.” Valtorex chuckles slightly then says, “Not all. Remember when the pirates came and took four of the enrollees?” Myrstaline says, “Yes, I remember. I wonder what happened to them?” Then it clicks. “How did you survive?” Valtorex responds by pointing behind them. Myrstaline remembers back to him saying that she couldn’t protect herself. She stops suddenly. She says, “Wait! I am going to prove I can defend myself.” Valtorex turns and says with a smile on his face, “Anytime.” Myrstaline looks around and backs into an alley. She says, “Right here, right now.” Valtorex shrugs and walks into the alley.
Myrstaline goes into a stance Valtorex vaguely remembers as a traditional elven court battle stance. Valtorex says, “So you’ve been trained as a noble. Let’s see if you have the strict movement of one.” Valtorex jumps to the right and then quickly jumps to the left before lashing out with his right foot. Myrstaline is completely caught off guard by this and the blow lands unblocked against her torso. She is knocked against the wall and the breath is forced out of her. Valtorex bends down and helps her up. He asks, “Shall we try again?” Myrstaline is panting heavily and he can see the pain on her face. He is worried he may have broken her rib. So worried in fact, that he pulls his punch to only knock her of her feet. He speaks down to her, “All you have to do is admit defeat.” Valtorex then helps her up. Myrstaline, a bruise already showing form the punch, replies, “I heard that the Academy doesn’t accept surrender. I might as well start now.” She performs a weird motion with her hands and begins speaking in elven. Valtorex realizes she is casting a spell and considers humoring her. Then he thinks better of it and commands, “Silence!” Myrstaline is shocked as her lips keep moving but no words come out. He then commands, “Stop!” and she suddenly stops moving. She tries to move her arms, but an invisible force seems to stop her. Valtorex shakes his head. “Even someone with below average willpower can stop simple attacks like that. Try to get around my spells without using magic. I’m going to eat breakfast; you’re welcome to join me. My inn is just around the corner. Bye.” Valtorex leaves and goes to the Drunken Mule.
When he walks in, he finds Valrie, Valen, Valinor, and Tritana at the corner table. They all look the worse for wear, especially Valrie. Valtorex decides to have some fun. He sits down and, trying to make as much noise as possible, greets them all, by name, and pronouncing every syllable. They clutch their heads and Valen begins cursing him, almost as fluently as Valrie. Valtorex laughs at them. He sees the young woman he met earlier and calls her over. She says cheerily, “Good morning. What can I get you?” Valtorex replies, also cheerily, “I’ll have some raw eggs, uncooked bacon, a slab of raw beef, some bread, a kettle of water and six cups. Oh, I guess I’ll need two iron or steel trays.” The woman is pretty surprised by this. Valtorex just shrugs and says, “I like to do my own cooking.” The woman goes off to the kitchen. The rest of them just sit there groaning while Valtorex whistles a merry tune. Tritana mutters, “Stop or I’ll gut ya.” Valtorex replies, “I think not.” Then he goes back to whistling. Tritana pulls out a dagger and holds it threateningly. Valtorex looks at the dagger and says, “You won’t try it. Attacking me will only make more noise, which you won’t like. Then, attacking me will get you killed, which you really won’t like.” Just then, the woman comes back with the two trays, the top laden with Valtorex’s requested items. She sets it on the table and looks at him expectantly. Valtorex asks, “Do you want to see me cook?” The woman nods.
“Alright.” He removes the items and places them on the table. Valtorex commands, “Levitate!” and the upper tray floats about six inches off of the lower. Valtorex then commands, “Burn!” A small fire appears on the lower tray. “Valtorex stares into the fire and begins focusing his power. The fire grows until the lower tray is covered. Valtorex then asks, “How does everyone like there meat?” He places the five pound slab of meat on the upper tray. While he waits for that, he cracks the eggs onto the tray. He asks the woman, “Can we have some plates?” The woman runs off and quickly returns with the plates. The eggs are ready by now and Valtorex levitates them onto the plates. He throws the bacon on and turns the beef. He places the kettle on the tray. Valtorex takes out a dagger and cuts two slices of beef off and puts one on Valinor plate and one on his. The kettle begins steaming. Valtorex takes the kettle off and fills the glasses. He pours his mixture into each and they turn afire red. Valtorex hands out the drinks and tells everyone to drink on three. The group, figuring it can’t be much worse, drink. They are quickly jolted out of their hangover by the intense fire in their throats. Valtorex comments, “Good for getting rid of hangovers, too.” Valtorex then cuts off another piece of steak and puts it on Tritana’s plate. The woman, seeing the result, decides not to drink the strange mixture. Next, Valtorex pulls the bacon off and puts it on the plates. Valtorex waits awhile before cutting off two more pieces and placing them on Valrie and the woman’s plates. Valtorex throws the bread on and waits. Finally, Valtorex takes the last piece and puts it on Valen’s plate before taking off the bread and distributing it. Valtorex finishes by slamming the top tray down and forcing the fire out. Valtorex says, “Let’s eat.” They begin eating, although everyone but Valtorex shies away from their drinks. When they are almost finished with their meals, and bruised and angry Myrstaline stalks through the door.
She immediately singles out Valtorex and yells, “You bastard! How dare you treat me like that! I could have died in that state, I couldn’t even yell for help.” Valtorex stands and faces her. He calmly responds, “I see you have broken the spell. Congratulations, it only took you about three hours. Did you enjoy the time to think?” Myrstaline is furious. She begins hissing in elven. Valen recognizes the spell. He yells, “Valtorex, she’s going to gut you!” Valtorex says, “She’s going to try.” Myrstaline finishes the spell and Valtorex yawns for effect. “Are you done yet?” Myrstaline is stunned. Valtorex just laughs. “This is what I meant. Focusing on magic to fight magic fails. You need to train your will also. I was able to easily avoid your spell because you’re weak minded. That’s why it took you so long to beat a simple influence spell. Now if you’re finished huffing out your impotent rage, will you please leave me alone?” Myrstaline is broken. Valtorex can tell by the look on her face. Magic is what set her above all of the other kids, made her special. By defeating her so easily, he knocked her back to the commoners. He normally feels elated when he can do this, but for some reason, he feels bad about it. He feels the urge to comfort her, to apologize. Instead, he offers her something to eat or drink. She just stands there, broken. Valtorex gets annoyed and brings over his cup. He holds it to her mouth and says drink. Before she realizes what she’s doing, she has swallowed some of the liquid. Then her broken state of mind is quickly replaced by a horrible fire. Valtorex guides her to a seat while the rest of the group decide whether to laugh or scold Valtorex. Once Myrstaline has calmed down, Valtorex asks her, “All joking aside, you understand why I did that, right?” Myrstaline, even more furious than before replies, “Because you’re a sadistic bastard?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, in part. But mainly because I don’t want you to die. The Academy will be a lot tougher than anything I’ve put you through so far. It would be best if you focus on defending yourself. There’s no way you’ll survive until you can put up a good defense. Now, go back to your inn. I think today’s the day to leave.” Myrstaline is about to put up an argument when she finds herself standing, aided by Valtorex. She is about to protest when she finds herself across the room. She is about to scream when she finds herself on the street with Valtorex watching her form the inn. She humphs and leaves. Valtorex goes back to the table and sits down. He says, “Ok, today is the day we set off for the Academy. We need to buy supplies, pack, and say our goodbyes to whoever we need to say goodbye to.”
Valtorex emphasizes this by standing up and going to his room. He comes down five minutes later with his pack. The barkeeper asks, “I hope you don’t intend on leaving without paying.” Valtorex responds, “Of course not.” He reaches into his robe and pulls out a bag. He opens it up and counts out twenty gold pieces. He walks over and places them on the counter. He asks, “Will this cover it?” The barkeeper’s eyes shine as they stare at the gold. He nods. Valtorex says, “Good.” He turns to the woman. “Catch!” She is stunned as he throws the entire bag at her. She catches it and bows to him. “Thank you so much.” Valtorex replies, “You provided great service and I place little value in gold. I only like the steel it buys.” He then walks out of the inn. Valen, Valinor, and Valrie grab their packs and meet him on the street. Valtorex says, “Alright, we’ll need two things, supplies and equipment. Valen and I will go for equipment, Valinor and Valrie, you two will get the supplies. Any complaints?” Valen and Valinor are fine with it. Valtorex gets a list of equipment from them and gives them a list of supplies. He reaches into his pouch and pulls out a sack of coins. He tosses it to Valrie. She catches the bag. The two groups part ways.
Valtorex and Valen end up in a weapons shop. The middle aged man behind the counter looks uninterested when they walk in. He says, “Daggers, one gold. Knives five silver. I don’t sell poison.” When he sees Valtorex’s longswords, he perks up. Valtorex says, “Greetings, I am in the market for rapiers, greatswords, crossbows, daggers, and knives. Can you help us with any of these?” The shop keeper replies, “Certainly. I have the best weapons in the Docks, if you have the gold, that is. Valtorex reaches into his pack and pulls out a sack. He tosses it on the counter. The shop keeper opens the sack and sees the gold. Valtorex says, “I would like your finest rapier, your largest and strongest greatsword, and your best knives and daggers.” The shop keeper says, “This is good, but won’t be enough. My finest rapier is a mithril blade with Keen and Feather enchantments. My greatsword is made of adamantium with a Meteor Crush enchantment. I have four sets of four knives, each with Keen. I also have eight daggers with Piercing and Keen.” Valtorex says, “Good, I’ll take those. I would also like two longswords, two repeating crossbows, a large hunting or combat knife, and Valen?” He looks at Valen. Valen asks, “Do you have any elven longbows?” The shop keeper’s eyes widen at this. His face becomes red and he sputters, “Do you take me for a fool? No one in the Docks could afford that!” Valtorex sighs. He reaches into his pack and brings out two more sacks and tosses them on the counter. He says, “Ok, that’s three hundred gold. Will you listen now?” The shop keeper is stunned. Valtorex says, “I’m a mercenary and bounty hunter, and I’m very successful. I can afford it.” The shop keeper nods. He says, “Aye, I just got one in. It has a precision string to provide more accuracy and it has some type of enchantment that makes it easier to draw to give it more power. It also grants the Piercing effect to its arrows. Would you like it?” Valen says, “Yes, definitely. I also need about two hundred more arrows. And can I have a long knife also?” The shop keeper says, “I have a long knife with Keen. Crafted by elves, too.” The shop keeper remembers Valtorex’s query and says, “Oh yes, I almost forgot. I have plenty of longswords. I only have two repeating crossbows. And I have a combat knife I recently bought from a hunter. He said he found it in some ruins, but he has no use for it. As far as I can tell, it has no enchantments. Will that be all?”
Valtorex says, “I think so. How much will it all be?” The shop keeper runs up some numbers in his head before pulling the arbitrary and outrageous price of 500,000 gold out of his head. He expects Valtorex to try to barter him down, but instead Valtorex takes off his pack and opens it up. He takes out a chest and places it on the counter. He opens it up and it is full of drakes. Valtorex says, “If I remember right, one drake is 10,000 gold, so…” Valtorex counts out 50 drakes and hands them to the shop keeper, who has only seen a drake once. The shop keeper asks, “How many do you have?” Valtorex replies, “Well, minus the fifty, I have 950 left.” Valtorex closes the chest and replaces it. The shop keeper says, “Alright, well those items I talked about aren’t exactly enchanted yet. I have a mage I go to. It’s usually best not to have enchanted items lying around in this area, you understand right?” Valtorex says, “Yes, I agree. But sense you are going to get them enchanted, can you have the longswords enchanted with Keen and Fire on one and Lightning on the other, the crossbows enchanted with Piercing, and the knife enchanted with Keen? Oh, and I need barbed bolts, 200should do it.” Valen asks, “Can you have the bow enchanted with Poison too?” The shop keeper, ecstatic at this huge amount of money flowing into his pocket, says, “Oh, yes, of course. Just write down a list and I’ll get it to you in two hours.” Valtorex thinks about it, and as he writes the list he adds Acid to the greatsword and Ice to the rapier. He hands it over to the shop keeper who looks it over, notes the changes, and writes the total at the bottom. Valtorex looks at the total. He takes back the gold and returns it to his pack. He takes the chest back out and removes 50 more drakes. He hands them to the shop keeper. The shop keeper looks curious because Valtorex overpaid him. Valtorex says, “For discretion. I don’t want to deal with the massive amount of thieves that would try to claim this.” The shop keeper nods, understanding. Valtorex and Valen leave the store and walk out onto the street.
They run into Valrie and Valinor who are laden with boxes of supplies. Valrie makes to hand a bag to Valtorex, but Valtorex says, “Keep it. You never know when you will need some spare cash.” Valrie says, “But it’s a lot of money. How can you afford it?” Valen decides to use discretion also and keeps the information about the drakes to himself. Valtorex suffices to say, “I have plenty of gold, and I hold no value in it. I do not think you could stomach hearing how I’ve gotten it.” Valrie thinks back to him telling about how he was a mercenary for two years. See decides she probably couldn’t stomach the stories. Valtorex says, “Let’s go find some new armor and clothes. We have two hours to kill and I see no better way to do it.” They travel down the road until they find a clothier. They walk in and an elderly woman behind the counter asks, “How may I help you.” She sees their weapons and adds, “I don’t want any trouble.” Valtorex says, “Neither do we. We are going to the Draconic Academy and figured we would need some more clothing.” The woman is visibly relieved. “I was afraid you were more thugs trying to shake me down.” Valtorex assures her, “No, we just want some clothing and armor and we’ll be on our way.” The woman seems to think about something before saying, “My son’s an armor smith. If you write down your measurements and what you want, I’m sure we’ll be able find what you need. We’ll even do it for free, within reason, if you deal with a little problem.” Valtorex is intrigued, “Which is?” She says, “Those thugs I told you about. They live in the house down the street. You can’t miss it, it’s the all black one. Please help us. I’m afraid they’ll go to far and hurt my son or I.” Valtorex glances at the group before saying, “We’ll do it.”
They leave the shop and go down the road. They see the house and walk up the path to the porch. They go up the steps and Valtorex knocks on the door. A voice on the other side demands, “Who is it?” Valtorex responds, “The people who are going to kill you and your bandit friends.” The voice laughs, “That’s a good one. You can’t kill us. I bet you can’t even get in.” Valtorex shrugs as if to say, “It was worth a shot.” He then kicks the door. The door shakes a bit, but nothing else happens. They hear laughter inside the house. Valinor steps up and kicks. Nothing happens. Valtorex and Valinor alternate between each other, kicking the door so it is under a nearly constant bombardment. Finally, they hear a crack. Both of them brace to kick and count to three. They kick simultaneously and the door goes down. Valtorex runs through the door and pulls out his longswords. He slashes at a figure that runs up to him. The figure goes down quickly. The other three follow him in. From the main room, there are two connecting rooms, stairs going down, and stairs going up. Valtorex points at Valrie and points to the left. He points Valinor to the room on the right. He motions Valen up. Valtorex goes down the stairs.
Once he gets to the basement, he hears battle going on above him. He hears an old woman cackling around the corner. Valtorex turns the corner to see the old woman from the clothier flanked by two beautiful young women. The old woman says, “Welcome to my house, little man. You played so well into my trap.” Valtorex asks, “So the clothier was just a front?” The old woman replies, “Yes and no. You will get the armor you requested, if you pass a test. You must fight my guardians without weapons. Your friends will be doing the same. If you succeed you will go free and get the armor. If you fail, then you shall join my house. I am particularly interested in that girl. She will make a fine daughter. Shall we begin?” Valtorex says, “Whenever you want to die, come at me.” The old woman says, “My daughters capture him.” Valtorex finds his weapons missing. It appears she will leave nothing to chance. Valtorex laughs without mirth at the irony. He then begins meditating while the two young women advance. They reach him and stand on either side. When they grab his shoulders, their hands burst into flame. Valtorex then turns and yells, “Burn!” The woman he is facing erupts in flames and goes down with a long scream. He turns to the other just as she produces a dagger from under her robe. “Apparently the no weapon rule is one sided.” Valtorex just punches her in the face. She goes down and writhes on the floor. Valtorex steps over the squirming mass and advances on the old woman.
She says, “The magic wasn’t fair.” Valtorex counters, “Neither was the dagger.” The woman says, “The fights are over. Unfortunately, your entire group won. Oh, except for the girl. Well, I guess I’ll give you the armor and weapons. Bye.” Valtorex feels his weapons return and finds himself in the black leather with black banded steel armor he ordered with his blood red robes over them. He takes out the staff and strides forward. He calmly swings the staff and snaps her neck. She goes down with a thud. He hears the young woman get up and turn s to face her. Instead, he sees the old woman. “I take it you do not approve of me taking the girl?” Valtorex responds, “I can break your neck again to reinforce the point.” The old woman says, “Alright, I’ll give you the girl. In her place, I’ll take all of your weapons except for the daggers and that staff. Is this agreeable?” Valtorex, barely keeping himself from laughing, says, “Yes, of course.” The next thing he knows, they are standing in the street, Valrie in a dark blue dress with black leather reinforcement, Valen in a camouflaged hunter’s suit, and Valinor in a steel plate suit. Valtorex says, “That was a weird waste of time. Oh well, at least we got armor, had a few fights, and got rid of those weapons we’re replacing anyway. Now we don’t have to carry them around or sell them. We can leave sooner.” They return to the weapons shop.
When they enter, they find the shop keeper behind the counter, looking around nervously. He is elated to see them. “Welcome! I am so glad you are here. I was afraid thieves would attack. Your weapons are right here.” They all move forward to get their respective weapons. When Valinor sees what Valtorex bought him, he nearly crushes him in an embrace. “Thank you, my friend! This is an amazing sword!” Valrie sees the rapier, she immediately says, “Valtorex, you shouldn’t have. This must have cost a fortune.” The shop keeper says, “Well, it made me a fortune.” Valrie hugs Valtorex and says, “Thank you so much.” Valinor asks, “So how much did it cost?” Valtorex decides to ignore the question, but Valen says, “100,000 gold.” Valinor’s mouth drops open and Valrie’s eyes go wide. “Really?” they ask in unison. The shop keeper bursts out happily, “Really! That’s more than I usually make in 4 years! I am so grateful for your party!” Valtorex says, “Seriously, how many times do I have to say it? I have a lot of gold from my mercenary days, I only value gold as much as the steel it buys, and I want to do anything I can to help my friends. Now, can we please leave already?” They all agree. They leave the city and head west to the Draconic Academy.
They travel for two days without incident. They talk about each others’ pasts and get to know each other more. On the third day, at noon, they run into a group of bandits. There are four humans, six goblins, eight orcs, two dwarves, a half-elf, and a gnome. The gnome, however, is lying on the ground with a slit throat. The bandits are joking about how annoying gnomes are and how much it squealed when they stuck it. Valen is going to shoot when Valtorex motions him into a stand of trees. Once Valen is concealed, Valtorex draws his longswords and yells, “Valinor! That bread was mine and you know it! I’ll gut ya for that!” Valinor, taking the hint, yells back, “Valtorex, you arrogant windbag! I’m going to deflate you!” Valinor draws his greatsword and swings at him. Valtorex blocks and they proceed to fight. All the while, Valrie is pleading with them to stop. Valtorex and Valinor stab, slash, and block until they are at the bandits. The half-elf says, “Look boys, a show.” Then seeing Valrie, he adds, “And some after show entertainment.” The group laughs at this. They keep laughing until Valtorex “misses” and slices into one of the goblins. Immediately afterwards, Valinor “misses” too and a human goes down. The bandits attack Valtorex and Valinor, who are no longer making any pretense of fighting each other and are just slaughtering the bandits. The half-elf goes to secure the “entertainment”. He reaches out to grab Valrie, when he finds his hand missing. Valrie’s rapier has a streak of blood on it. Valinor takes down an orc and Valtorex slays two goblins. Valen fires an arrow that punches through a human’s skull. The half-elf is staring at his stump when Valrie turns his neck into one. Valtorex kills two orcs and Valinor takes down a dwarf. Valen fires an arrow that scratches a human on the neck. The bandits retreat and the group lets them run.
They rest for awhile before continuing on. Thirty minutes after they start, they find the body of the human Valen shot, killed by the poison. They continue on for two days. As they near the Crossroads of Draconia, Valtorex feels uneasy. At twilight, they reach it. They can see the bandits standing there, waiting. More bandits have joined them, six humans, two orcs, four dwarves, seven goblins, and two elves. There is also another figure, standing away from them, dressed in all black. Valtorex can tell one elf is a ranger, the other a spell caster. Valtorex tells Valen to take out the ranger at the sign. Valen stays in the brush and Valtorex, Valinor, and Valrie walk forward. They stop in front of the bandits and Valtorex finally realizes why he feels uneasy. “They’re not bandits. They’re bounty hunters. After me.” A human walks forward and smiles. “That’s right, Valtorex. We’re going to kill you and the three you travel with, unless you surrender. Then we’ll bring you in alive and let your party go.” Valtorex smiles back. “And if I resist?” The human’s face becomes serious. “You’d be a fool. Even if you kill us, you’re dead. You see that man over there, in the black? He’s a highly trained assassin from the Hand of the Dark Lord. You won’t stand a chance.” Valtorex says, “Probably not, but my companions will escape this fight. You will not.” The human is about to laugh at him and even opens his mouth, but after the whir of a crossbow, all that comes out is a gurgle. He falls to the ground with five bolts protruding from his gut. The same happens to the elven mage. The elven ranger goes down quickly from an arrow to the throat. Valtorex, having just turned his crossbows on his belt, lets them go and pulls his swords free. Valinor pulls his greatsword off his back and Valrie unsheathes her rapier. The remaining bandits attack. The orcs go for Valinor, the goblins go for Valrie, and the dwarves and humans go for Valtorex. Valtorex slashes in a blur with both swords; slicing, shocking, and burning his way through the opponents. Soon, the number of the both dwarves and humans is dropped to three. Valrie’s blade flurries through the goblins, quickly dropping four. Valinor takes down three orcs. Valen helps by dropping two goblins and wounding another. One of the orcs gets through and slashes Valinor. The blade only scratches his plate, however. Valrie is overwhelmed by the goblins and they bring her down by weight alone. Valtorex holds his ground against the humans and dwarves. Valinor takes down two more orcs and his acid blade breaks the blade of another. The goblin Valen wounded drops from the poison. Valrie takes the dagger from her leg and stabs one of the goblins in the eye. Valen drops another goblin with an arrow in the brain. Valtorex kills one human, whose body jerks on the ground from the electricity, and one dwarf, whose neck is smoking from the flame sword. The bandits try to retreat. Valtorex presses the attack and kills the two humans. Valrie throws her dagger and hits the last goblin in the back and it falls down. Valinor hacks the weaponless orc in the back and drops it. Valtorex finishes off the human and dwarf by skewering them. Valen fires an arrow into the back of the last orc. It keeps running, but they know the poison will take care of it so they don’t follow. Valrie retrieves her dagger.
The man in black looks at them. He is wearing a black leather body and black leather pants. A dark, sinister, almost snakelike voice comes from beneath the shadowed cowl, “Valtorex, you have managed to kill those babies. You should have listened to the man. Now you will die along with your companions. For your crimes against the Dark Empire, I sentence you to death in the name of the Dark Lord, Master of All Evil, King of Oblivion, Bringer of Eternal Darkness. Do you have any last words?” Valtorex replies, completely calm, devoid of emotion, “Yes, four: You talk too much.” Valtorex puts his swords in the ready position as the man draws a long, curved blade with the edge on the inside. The assassin stalks forward with the kukri raised above his head. Valtorex can feel pure evil radiating from the blade. Valinor and Valrie move beside him, but he says, “No, I brought this upon myself. I must do this alone.” Valinor understands and backs off, ready to give assistance if needed. When Valrie makes no move, Valinor grabs her and drags her back. Valtorex feels a tug at his awareness coming from the knife at his belt. He doesn’t know why, but he puts his swords away and takes up the knife. He immediately knows its name, the Knife of the Ancestors. The knife takes on a soft reddish glow, almost as with pleasure when he holds it at the ready. The assassin lunges forward, but the knife blocks. Valtorex helps. Valtorex and the assassin spend the next few minutes going back and forth until Valtorex falls back panting. The assassin says, “Your knife may protect you, but you can only go for so long. As soon as I’m done with you, I will kill the barbarian, and then the elf in the trees. I’ll save the girl for last. Valtorex feels anger stirring within him and his strength returns. At first he fights it, but the knife urges him to accept the anger. Valtorex lets the anger flow through him and into the knife. So does his fear, his lust for battle, all of his emotions. They all flow into the knife and he becomes clear, peaceful. The assassin looks into his eyes. Valtorex sees the utter darkness of Oblivion in the assassin’s eyes; the assassin sees the unquenchable fire of the Abyss in his. The assassin, knowing no fear, springs at Valtorex. Valtorex, having given up his fear, lunges forward.
The assassin and Valtorex stand there looking into each other’s eyes. Neither of them missed. Valtorex’s armor stopped the main part of the attack, so he only got a scratch. The assassin wasn’t so lucky. The Keen weapon sliced through his armor like a hot knife through butter. Valtorex can see Oblivion fading from the assassin’s eyes as his blood pours out. The assassin can see the fires of the Abyss growing hotter in Valtorex’s eyes. The assassin coughs; he whispers, “Unfortunately… for you…the kukri’s poisoned.” Valtorex feels the poison burning through his body. He knows once it reaches his heart he’s dead. The assassin coughs once more before falling back. The knife seems to become normal and all of his emotion flows back to him, including his anger, which is intensified by the wound and the poison. As the wound grows hotter from the poison, so does his heart. Valtorex knows he will be able to hold off the poison for awhile. As he turns to leave, the assassin hisses, “More will come.” before dying. Valtorex knows it is true and thinks back to what the assassin said about killing his three friends. Valtorex knows that even if he dies, the assassins won’t stop. His friends have heard too much. The assassins won’t be happy until they are all dead. Thinking of Valrie, Valen, and Valinor being harried by assassins all of their lives angers him. Thinking of how it’s all his fault angers him. His eyes get brighter and brighter and his heart gets hotter and hotter as his rage snowballs. The poison reaches his heart, but instead of killing him, it burns off against the heat. It still hurts… a lot.
Valtorex collapses. Valrie runs forward to help him. Valinor strides forward, knowing enough about poisons that there is nothing they can do to help. Valen, sensing the scene is safe, leaves cover and goes to him. Valen keeps thinking he should have fired, but Valinor’s behavior and some weird feeling stopped him. When he reaches Valtorex he kneels down and says, “My friend, I’m sorry I didn’t take the shot.” Valtorex rolls over with a groan. He says, with a grimace, “I’m not dead…just in pain.” He struggles to his feet. He looks at Valen and says, “I didn’t want you to take the shot. It was my battle.” Valtorex begins hobbling down the road. Valinor, realizing Valtorex doesn’t want pity, follows. Valrie, slightly hurt at Valtorex’s seeming indifference to her concern, follows. Valen, with a shrug, goes down the road. Although the poison is burnt away from his heart, it is still weakening him. Valtorex feels his strength ebbing, but he resolutely pushes on. Eventually, at about Dark Watch, Valtorex collapses. Valen, extremely tired at this point, decides he has a good idea. Valinor decides this is a s good as place as any to camp. Valrie does her best to make sure Valtorex is ok. When she comes up to him to put a blanket on him, he says, “Seriously, thank you for the concern, but I don’t need it. I’m not dead, so I’ll get over it.” Valrie is upset about him so bluntly refusing her help, so she decides to just let him suffer. The group goes to bed, although they have the foresight to set a watch.
The next morning, they wake up and set out for the Academy. They walk until dusk and then make camp. They do this for two more days without incident. On the third day, they reach the Academy. The Academy is a massive compound. The grounds consist a 25 square mile square, all enclosed within a 50 foot tall, 20 foot thick solid ruby wall, known as the Wall of Blood. All they can see is the massive, wall and the giant gate made of solid draconium. They approach the gate, but are stopped by the sole guard standing in front of it. He orders, “Stop, in the name of the Emperor!” Valtorex stops immediately. Valrie, Valen, and Valinor stop also. The guard orders, “State your purpose.” Valtorex replies, “We are here to enroll for training, sir.” The guard says, “You lie. The new recruits aren’t set to arrive until two days from now. I think you are spies.” Valtorex counters, “If we were spies, sir, then we would either be with the group or we would not announce our presence.” The guard says, “No, you are spies. I will be confiscating your weaponry.” He walks forward and says to Valrie, “And I’ll need to search you for hidden weapons.” Valtorex warns in a low voice, almost a growl, “Stay away from her…sir.” The guard laughs, “Or what spy? Who will believe you? Speaking slander against an agent of the Empire will get you on the gallows.” The guard grabs Valrie’s arm. She goes for the dagger on her leg, but the guard slaps her. “I would suggest against that wench.” Valtorex says, “Valrie, leave it. Sir, step away from her.” The guard asks, “Why should I? I can do anything I want. You can’t stop me.” He sees Valrie going for her dagger and slaps her again, this time harder. Valtorex says, “Alright, I’ve had enough of this. I tried to let it be, but you are currently molesting and assaulting one of my companions, and you are slowing us down considerably. Just let her go and let us through.” The guard laughs. “For that, I’ll make sure you get the worst cell in the prison.” Valtorex shakes his head before saying, “I don’t have time for this.” He proceeds to draw his sword, slice off the guard’s arm, then stab the guard in the gut. The wounds smoke from the fire as the guard stares down at his stump. Valtorex sheathes his sword and turns. He then walks up to the gate and knocks. The other three are stunned by Valtorex’s actions.
“Who’s there?” asks a reptile like voice on the other side of the gate. Valtorex replies, “Four new enrollees. By the way, you may want to send a medic for the guard out here. The voice says, “Kill him, we don’t have a guard out there. I’ll let you in once it’s done.” Valtorex smiles. He turns to Valrie with a grin and a nod.” Valrie beams. She draws her rapier. The guard, who has not bled out because of the fire cauterizing the wounds, falls to his knees and pleads, “Please, spare me! I’ll do anything! Please, I beg you!” Valrie is now indecisive do to her caring nature. Valtorex says, “Kill him or I will. And I guarantee I will not be as swift.” Valrie, knowing he is telling the truth, closes her eyes and swings. She feels the resistance of his flesh and then his bones slowing; then stopping her rapier. She opens her eyes to see she missed and hit his arm. Valtorex says, “Keep your eyes open. You’re just going to make it worse for him by not looking.” Valrie nods and swallows. The guard is switching between pleading and sobbing now. Valrie swings again, but hits his stomach. He is bleeding a lot now, but he won’t die for a few more minutes. Valrie is about to retch. She holds up her sword to swing again when she hears a whoosh beside her. She looks at the guard to see and arrow protruding from his forehead. Valen apologizes, “I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t take any more. At the rate she was going, we wouldn’t get in until tomorrow.”
The gates open and they see a draconian standing there. He looks them over before saying, “Alright, you’re in. Follow this path to the main hall and sign in. Be quick or I’ll gut you.” They go down the path until they reach a large white marble building they assume to be the main hall. The walk up the long stairs and finally reach the door, made of draconium. Valtorex knocks and the doors swing open. They see a room full of clerks behinds desks and aides running from place to place with papers. A clerk looks up and takes one look at them. He says, “Head Master’s office, down the hall at the back of the room.” The clerk points at the hall directly in front of them. They walk through the room and trip up aides who are not watching where they’re going. They go down the hall and come to a large oaken door flanked by two draconians. Valtorex bows to them. Valinor imitates, as does Valrie and Valen. The draconians knock on the door. The doors fly open and a voice calls, “Come in, come in.” Valtorex walks through the door and sees an old, wise looking man behind a sturdy oak desk. The old man has a look of peace on his face even as the people down the hall rush about frantically, probably preparing for the coming students. Valtorex immediately takes a liking to him. The old man looks at Valtorex somewhat familiarly. He says, “So you’ve arrived. I am the Head Master of the Draconic Academy. I heard there was some trouble on the road. An assassin of the ‘Hand of the Dark Lord’, right?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, that is what he said.” The Head Master nods. “I thought I recognized you. A man in black robes came by here a week ago with a picture of you. He said you were wanted for High Treason against ‘the Dark Lord’, although I have never heard of such a person. You are here to join the Academy, correct?” Valtorex says, “Yes Head Master, if you will permit it.” The Head Master chuckles, “Only if you are capable of getting in. Are those three with you?” Valtorex replies, “Yes sir. The elf is Valen, he is Valinor, and she is Valrie, I am Valtorex.” Recognition flashes through the Head Master’s eyes briefly before he says, “Very well. Anyone who can hold their own against a trained assassin is welcome to try to qualify. I will have an aide come for you to bring you to your cabin, if you don’t mind boarding together?” Valtorex says, “Not at all, Head Master, they’ve bared with me thus far, I don’t think they’ll mind a few more nights.” They nod their assent. The Head Master says, “Good. You are welcome to go to the training field and practice until an aide is freed up to help you. You’ll find it behind this building.
They go to the training field and find that it is a 100 by 100 foot square made of granite. Valtorex asks, “So. Who’s up first?” Valen volunteers. Valtorex reminds him, “No, ranged weapons.” Valen asks, “Oh, why? That’s what I’m here to learn.” Valtorex responds, “And I’m here to learn magic. Do you want me to use it?” Valen says, “Alright, I get your point. Valrie and Valinor wouldn’t stand a chance.” Valrie steps forward and says, “I’ll prove you otherwise.” Valen says, “Ok, it’s on.” They walk into the center of the arena and face each other. Valrie draws her rapier and Valen draws his long knife and one of his daggers. They fight for awhile, with Valrie using her training with Valtorex to initially get the upper hand, but eventually, Valen’s dual wielding and superior dexterity wear her down. While they are fighting, Valinor says, “I’ll take winner.” Valen wears Valrie down to the point where her guard slips and he places his knife at her throat. She replaces her rapier and leaves the field. Valinor walks onto the granite and draws his greatsword. Valinor rushes Valen. Valen makes the mistake of trying to block him. The obvious weight difference, plus Valinor’s Meteor Crush enchantment utterly destroy Valen’s defense. The battle is over that quickly. Valtorex walks onto the field and draws his swords while Valen stalks off. Valinor tries the same tactic, but with a far different result. Valtorex succeeds in blocking and acid, embers, and sparks fly. Valtorex jumps back and readies himself. Valinor charges again and Valtorex blocks one handed, a dumb move he knows he’ll regret tomorrow, but now he’s more concerned with winning. Valtorex winces at the pain from the blow, but he slashes with his other sword at Valinor’s exposed stomach. He hits the plate. Valtorex jumps back and then springs forward and catches Valinor off guard. One sword breaks Valinor’s hasty defense and the other scratches his armor. Valinor brings his greatsword down and Valtorex blocks with both swords. Valtorex forces Valinor’s sword to the side and goes in with a thrust. The blade scratches the steel and a small amount of discomfort flashes across Valinor’s face. Valinor brings his sword back and Valtorex has to move fast to block it. They go back and forth like this for nearly twenty minutes until a young man comes along and coughs. They stop and return their swords. The young man says, “I am Gerard, the Head Master has sent me to bring you to your cabin.
They follow Gerard and he brings them to a row of cabins. He brings them through the row to the very end. He says, “This is your cabin. There are food and spare clothing inside, four bunks, and a storage closet. Also, the Head Master instructed me to give you this.” Gerard hands Valtorex a package. Gerard leaves. Valtorex goes into the cabin and finds it is much as Gerard said. There is one room, with four bunks, two on the bottom, two on the top, lining the left wall, the back wall has a door leading to either a pantry or the storage closet and the right wall has a door leading to the other. In the center of the room is a wooden table with four chairs. There is an iron cauldron on the table. There is clothing on their bunks. Valtorex says, “Ok, I’ll get a fire started, Valen figure out what’s in the back closest, Valinor you take the other, Valrie start unpacking. They do their given jobs, Valen finding out the back closet is a pantry, Valinor finding out the right closet is the storage closet, Valrie opening the packs and placing food in one area, everything else in another, and Valtorex going out to find wood. Valtorex comes back in five minutes later and says, “Weirdest thing. There’s a forest behind the cabins now.” Thinking he’s lost it, the other three go out and find that, sure enough, there is now a forest. Valtorex says, “Valinor, I’m ill-prepared to cut down a tree, can you help?” Valinor nods and pulls out his greatsword. He picks a relatively short tree, only about ten feet, and hits the trunk.
Amazingly, the trunk isn’t even scratched. Valtorex decides to try his luck. He draws his swords and scissors it. Other than some blackening from the fire, the tree is unscathed. Valtorex curses. He replaces his swords and draws his staff. Not expecting anything, he whacks the tree. Not surprisingly, all that happens is a dull thud. Then Valinor remembers the storage closet. He says, “I’ll be right back.” He runs into the cabin and goes to the closet. He sees an axe lying on the floor and grabs it. He walks out of the cabin and goes up to the tree. He takes a swing and cuts into the wood. He spends about thirty minutes hacking into the wood until he hears cracking. Valtorex realizes they made a mistake when he notices the tree will fall on the cabin. Valtorex shoves Valinor out of the way and pushes against the tree. Valinor recovers and sees what Valtorex is doing. He joins him. The tree begins tipping towards them, even as they push against it. Valen joins them, then Valrie. The four of them push against the tree, but still it moves slowly towards the cabin. Valtorex realizes they are fighting a losing battle and that if they don’t move they’ll be crushed. He yells, “To the right! Push it to the right!” The begin pushing it to the right. The tree keeps moving down, but now it is also going right. Once Valtorex is satisfied it won’t hit the cabin he gets the res to move away. He is the last to let go. The tree, without anything resisting it, falls quickly. It hits the cabin next to theirs, but surprisingly, the cabin stands strong. Valen says, “Huh, must be made of the same wood.”
Valinor takes the axe and begins chopping the tree’s base. Once he has cut off the base, the tree slides down and he starts on that. Valtorex takes the base and carries it inside. He places it in the iron cauldron. Valtorex begins focusing his energy. Soon, a point on the wood begins to glow. The glowing becomes brighter and begins to emanate heat. After five more minutes, Valtorex commands, “Burn!” and the point catches aflame. The fire slowly spreads over the wood. Valtorex goes outside to see Valinor has cut halfway through the next piece. Valtorex can see Valinor’s strength is ebbing and he offers to take over. Valinor says, “Let me finish this piece, then you’re more than welcome to take it.” Valtorex waits for Valinor to finish cutting that piece. When he is done, he hands the axe off to Valtorex. Valtorex figures they only need three more cuts to finish it. Valtorex hacks at the tree for half an hour before he hears it crack. He begins hitting harder. Soon, the tree breaks from the cut to the end of the trunk. That section of the tree falls down and Valtorex pushes it away. The tree slides down more and Valinor moves up. Valinor repeats the process and about thirty minutes later, that section is cut. Valtorex moves forward to make the final cut. After about fifteen minutes, he hears a crack, but not from the tree. Valtorex stops chopping and sees that the axe shaft is beginning to splinter. Valtorex knew it was only a matter of time.
He continues cutting and about fifteen minutes later, both the tree and the shaft crack. The tree falls down into two equal sections and the axe head goes flying. Valtorex fetches the top half of the axe. He tells Valinor, “Bring the wood inside and stack it in a corner. I’ll be in shortly.” Valtorex looks down at the axe half and something strange happens. The ring connecting the blade to the shaft opens at the back and the head drops off. Valtorex drops the useless wood and goes inside. He finds Valen inside sawing merrily at the wood. He has already cut one of the six sections into bricks. Valtorex guesses he found the saw in the storage closet. Valtorex notices the fire has grown large and strong since he left. He also notices the wood is barely burnt by it. Valtorex takes one of the bricks and pulls out his knife. He begins carving the wood, shaving it down until it is roughly cylindrical. Valtorex spends about an hour and a half doing this while Valen saws wood. Valrie and Valinor busy themselves by fighting with their daggers. Once Valtorex has finished carving it, he places the new shaft in the open ring of the axe head. The ring snaps shut and the axe is repaired. Valtorex replaces the axe in the closet.
Valtorex suggests, “Maybe we should eat and go to sleep. We’ll need our rest to train tomorrow.” They all agree and Valtorex goes to the pantry. He finds Valrie stocked it with the provisions they brought with them. He takes out some dried beef and some bread. He places the food on the table and goes over to the storage closet. He rummages around until he finds a steel bucket. He says, “Go ahead and start. I’m going to look for a source of water.” Valtorex goes into the woods and walks until he hears running water. He follows the sound until he finds a brook flowing out of a cave. He follows the brook into the cave and finds a natural spring. Valtorex fills the bucket and notes the location. He returns to the cabin and tells them about the spring. Valrie produces cups from somewhere and they fill them with the water. After dinner, Valrie stands and says, “I’m going to the spring.” She walks over and gets some clothes. She also takes her rapier and her daggers. When Valen asks why the weapons, she says, “In case I run into a wild animal…or one of you three.” She walks out the door. As soon as she’s gone, Valtorex bursts out laughing. Valen asks, “What? Is there no spring?” Valtorex, in between laughs, says, “No…there’s a spring…the funny thing is…the sun’s going down.” Valen asks, “Why is that funny?” Valinor answers for him, “You are used to the elven forests where it is always warm. In the Mercenary Empire or the southern areas, at night it gets below freezing. Valtorex is laughing at the fact Valrie is choosing to bathe at night, in this area, at this time of year.” Valtorex adds, “Especially because the water is frigid below the surface. The top foot is moderate, so she’ll test that and thinks the water’s warm. She’ll probably walk right in.
Sure enough, forty minutes later, Valrie walks in shivering. Valtorex asks, “Did you have a nice swim?” Valen and Valinor crack up. Valrie slaps him. “You bastard! You knew!” Valtorex replies happily, “Of course I knew.” Valrie asks, angrily, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have frozen!” Valtorex replies, “If you freeze to death from cold water ten minutes away from a warm cabin, you kinda deserve it. Besides, if I had told you, you wouldn’t have gone and we would have missed out on all this fun.” Valtorex takes pity on her and gets up. He goes over and guides her to a chair. She sits in front of the fire and warms up. Valtorex says, “I think we should call it a night. We need to get up early tomorrow so we can train.” Valen and Valinor go to their bunks at the top and bottom left, respectively, and lie down. Valtorex sits down next to Valrie at the table. He says, “Sorry about laughing. You just looked so funny when you came in like that.” Valrie says, “It’s ok, I guess. I probably would have laughed too.” Valtorex asks, “So, did you actually get your bath?” Valrie replies, “Are you insane? The water was freezing.” Valtorex nods. He says, “I can heat the water with my magic.” He takes out a dagger and places the blade in the fire. He closes his eyes and concentrates. The blade grows hotter and hotter, first red, then white hot. Valtorex takes it out and commands, “Stay.” The heat stays in the blade. He hands the dagger to Valrie and says, “This will remain hot for about an hour. Just toss it into the water and it should heat it enough. Just leave it and I’ll get it tomorrow. Valrie takes the dagger and is amazed by the heat radiating off it. She thanks him and goes out the door. Valtorex heads to bed in the top right bunk.
The next morning, Valtorex wakes them up before the sun. He says, “Well, now’s as good a time as any to begin training, so let’s get started.” They spend the next two days training. Valen goes into the woods all day and practices archery. Valtorex, Valrie, and Valinor train by fighting one on one and the winner takes whoever wasn’t in the last fight. At night, Valtorex practices his magic alone in the woods. He meditates and tries to center himself, but he just can’t seem to get three people out of his mind. Valen and Valinor are part, but the one distracting him the most is Valrie. At the end of the two days, the rest of the students arrive. Once the students have been brought to their cabins and have settled in, aides come along and summon everyone to the Hall of Trial. The large group of over a hundred students, all about Valtorex’s age, head to the back of the Academy complex and arrive at the obsidian building. They enter, ushered through by draconian guards. At the back of the hall is the Head Master. As soon as everyone is in, his voice booms throughout the room, “Welcome to the Draconic Academy. I am the Head Master. Most of you know why you are here, but for those of you who don’t, you are here to pick schools. At the tables lining this hall, there are 17 schools represented. The schools represented are: The Brotherhood of Shadow, The School of Diplomacy, The School of Dueling, The Society of Lore, The Tower of the Arcane, The Temple of the Divine, The Circle of the Earth, The Guild of Warriors, The School of Archery, The School of Survival, The Eldritch Knighthood, The Order of Steel, The Band of Bards, The School of the Healing Arts, Mobility Training, The Guild of Shadows, and finally, the newest addition, The Cult of Fire Dawning. You may also sign up for Elite Training, but due to the 40% fatality rate, I would not recommend it for the light of heart. Now, sign up, but remember, don’t overload yourselves. Each school expects four hours a day, so no more than four.”
The students disperse and go to the tables to get more information. Valtorex goes straight to the Circle of The Earth’s table. He sees a druid sitting behind a table that has few students around it. He walks up to the table and asks, “Does the school teach the wielding of natural magic?” The druid nods. Valtorex grabs the quill out of the ink well and signs the registration paper. He returns the quill and leaves. Then he goes to the Tower of the Arcane’s table and signs up. Next he goes to the Order of Steel and asks about them. The knight in shining draconium plate answers, “The Order of Steel is the junior group for the Draconic Knights. It does recruiting and training for the knighthood. Entering the Order of Steel allows you to skip the four years of being a page before becoming an apprentice in the Knighthood.” Valtorex decides to sign up. He then goes to the Guild of Warriors and signs up. Finally, he goes to the Elite Training table and asks about the fatality rating. The man behind the table says, “Yes, 40%. Down from previous years. Used to be 70%, but then we started getting fewer people once the Head Master started giving that warning. But, there are no drop-outs, so we usually have six graduates every year. Elite Training allows you to enter the Elite’s School in your fifth year. Graduating as an elite guarantees you a position as assistant general in the army, assistant admiral in the navy, or knight in the Knighthood. Are you suicidal enough to join?” Valtorex responds, “Yes, but I can’t I’m already signed up for four.” The man asks, “Which ones?” Valtorex tells him and the man whistles before saying, “Pretty tall order there. Fortunately, you’ll only make it into three. None of the three schools of magic allow members from the other schools in. I’ll go ahead and sign you up.” Valtorex thanks him and goes back into the center of the hall. Once everyone has finished signing up, the Head Master booms out, “Now, go to bed. You need to wake up early tomorrow. All of the schools are testing simultaneously, but there are four slots in the day, each taking up four hours. The first testing period is at dawn. Be there.”
Valtorex, Valen, Valrie, and Valinor return to their cabin. On the way, they discuss what schools they’ve joined. Valinor says, “I am in the Order of Steel, Elite Training, The Guild of Warriors, and The School of Survival.” Valen comments, “Not surprising. I’m in Archery, Survival, Mobility, and Elite Training.” Valrie inputs, “I’m in Diplomacy, Dueling, Mobility, and The Guild of Shadows.” The three of them look at Valtorex expectantly. He says, “I am in The Tower of the Arcane, The Circle of the Earth, The Guild of Warriors, The Order of Steel, and Elite Training.” Valen says, incredulous, “You’re kidding right? That’s twenty hours.” Valtorex responds, “I know, but the Elite Training recruiter insisted on putting me down even after I told him I was in four schools. He says you can’t be in two schools of magic at once.” Valen says, “That’s not true, this elf, Myrstaline is in all three of them.” Valtorex thinks that’s odd, but then they arrive at their cabin. They go in and find papers telling them where the schools are meeting. Valtorex and Valinor agree to go to Warrior testing first. Valen and Valrie will go to Mobility first. They go to sleep.
The next morning, they wake up. Valinor and Valtorex set off for warrior training. When they arrive at the training field, they find a few other recruits there. The students wait for about fifteen minutes until a large man in full adamantium plate arrives. He introduces himself as Sergeant Tyberus. He yells, “Your test will be to fight me. I will decide whether or not you pass, you may not argue. If you do so, you will miss the remainder of your tests in the infirmary, is that understood?” Valtorex and Valinor immediately yell, “Yes sir!” The rest of the students catch on and follow them. There are seven students present. Tyberus points to a random student, a large half-orc and commands, “Come at me!” The half-orc pulls a greataxe off his back and charges Tyberus with a roar. Tyberus draws his sword, a greatsword that appears to be adamantium like his armor, and easily blocks the swing. He then proceeds to mercilessly attack the half-orc. First he swings at the arm and hits, oddly not spilling any blood, but an audible snap is heard. The half-orc drops the axe. He then swings at the leg and breaks that. The half-orc goes down. Tyberus points at another student and orders him to attack. The elf runs forward. After a brief tussle, Tyberus knocks him down. Tyberus goes through the students until only Valinor and Valtorex are left. Tyberus points at Valinor. Valinor draws his greatsword and charges. Valinor and Tyberus fight for fifteen minutes, neither landing a blow. Finally, Tyberus gets through and hits Valinor in the left leg. Valinor hits him in the helm. Tyberus says, “Enough. You! You’re next.” He points at Valtorex, who strides forward, calmly drawing his longswords. Valtorex bows to Tyberus before going into the ready stance. Tyberus nods and Valtorex begins. Valtorex rushes forward and jumps. Tyberus expects this to be over easily, since jumping at your opponent is incredibly stupid, but Valtorex surprises him. Valtorex blocks Tyberus’s attack, which would have crushed his stomach, and is forced back. Valtorex lands with all of the grace of having planned it. While Tyberus is recoiling from the unexpected block, Valtorex lunges forward and manages to hit Tyberus in the stomach. His swords are of course deflected by the armor. Tyberus recovers and swings with all his force at Valtorex. Valtorex blocks and is sent skidding back. They go at it for twenty minutes until Valtorex gets both lucky and unlucky. Valtorex rushes at Tyberus. Tyberus, forgetting himself, raises his sword above his head. Valtorex dodging, a feinting slash, crosses his swords at Tyberus’s neck, unfortunately, Tyberus had recovered and is bringing his sword down again. When Tyberus realizes what he is doing, he tries to stop, but it is too late. All he can do is slow the downward slash that brings his greatsword up against Valtorex’s skull. Valtorex falls to the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Tyberus sends one of his students to the infirmary to get a healer. Minutes later, the student comes running back with an old woman. She sees Valtorex lying there and quickly goes about the process of healing him. About half an hour later, Valtorex wakes up. He finds a bandage wrapped tightly around his head. The healer is already gone. Valinor says, quite seriously, “The bandage is to keep your brains in. You almost died.” Valtorex nods and gets up. He instantly regrets it. Tyberus says, “Congratulations, you were one of the four that made it in. I suggest you take one of your less physical tests next, your friend wasn’t entirely joking about the bandage.” Valtorex bows to him, another move he regrets. He and Valinor leave the training ground. Valinor says, “Well, you’ll be taking one of your magic tests next. How about we take the Order of Steel’s test third so you can recover? I’m taking Elite Training last, otherwise I would move the Order of Steel then.” Valtorex replies, “That’s fine. I’ll see you then.”
Valtorex arrives at the Tower of the Arcane in the northwest corner of the Academy. Valtorex sees a group of students, all in robes, mostly black but a few white, red, and grey, standing in front of the tower. Valtorex joins them and they wait. He sees some of them muttering to themselves and others pouring through spell books. After about an hour and a half, the doors open. A wizard in black robes is standing in the doorway. He ushers them into the tower and introduces himself as Arch-Mage Rōdenthall. The students move forward. Rōdenthall leads them through the dark halls until they arrive at a ritual chamber. In the chamber is a wall of darkness. Rōdenthall says, “I will call you up one at a time. You will be given fifteen minutes to cast spells at this wall. The wall absorbs magical energy. This is a test of inherent power, so do not worry about being inexperienced. Rōdenthall calls up the students one by one and they each try their best spells against it. Finally it is Valtorex’s turn. When he goes up, Rōdenthall notices his lack of spell book, components, and the bandage on his head. Rōdenthall sneers before contemptuously saying, “Oh, it looks like a barbarian wondered into the tower. Let’s watch him punch the wall.” Valtorex is highly insulted by this. Valtorex yells, “Fire!” A gout of flame erupts from his hand and strike the wall. Rōdenthall scornfully says, “Oh no, not a barbarian, the barbarian form of a magic user.” Valtorex is driven into a rage as the room erupts into laughter. The laughter stops when he raises both hands and practically roars, “Fire! Burn!” and a massive burst of flame bursts from his hands and strikes the wall. The fires keeps pouring out until he is spent. Rōdenthall says, “You have five minutes left before we throw you out.” Valtorex says, “Not that I particularly like you, but I would like to make a case for why I should stay.” Rōdenthall says, “Use real magic and that will be case enough.” Valtorex says, “Alright, I’ll appease you.” Valtorex sinks into a meditative state and begins chanting in Archon, then surprisingly, he switches to Kelestra, then he sinks into Draconic, finally, he moves on to a language none of them know. He raises his hand and points it at the wall. Just before Rōdenthall calls time, thinking Valtorex is just doing this for show, a massive fireball bursts from his palm. The fireball strikes the wall and it dissipates. Rōdenthall is about to call him out for using natural magic again, when he decides to test it. He casts a detection spell and discovers it was in fact Arcane…a very high level of Arcane. He says, “Alright, you’re in. Go to your next class.” Valtorex leaves the tower feeling completely drained.
Valtorex goes to the Keep, along the south wall of the Academy. There he meets up with Valinor. A few students are waiting outside to gain entrance. After about thirty minutes, the gate opens and the knight in draconium plate from the day before is there. He introduces himself as Weapons Master Derith. He orders them in and they immediately follow him. He leads them to a small training field and says, “Your test will be to fight veteran Knights of Draconia. Those of you who are lucky enough may be apprenticed to one of these knights. Now, it appears there are five of you. Good.” Four nights come out of the keep. An elf with twin short swords at his sides, a dwarf with a greataxe on his back, a man with a claymore on his back, and a woman with a staff in her hand. The knights pick students to fight. The woman picks Valtorex and Derith picks Valinor. The woman introduces herself as Lady Arianna. She says, “I can tell you are a magic user. I can also tell you are spent from the mages’ test and physically exhausted from the warriors’ test. That is good. It will simulate real battle conditions. The weapons will be magic and staves only. Is this agreeable?” Valtorex responds, “Yes, lady.” “Good.” Valtorex salutes to her and she returns the salute. She ends her salutes and Valtorex ends his. He readies his staff. She casts a spell. Valtorex doesn’t recognize it, but quickly figures it out when she flashes across the field and swings her staff at him. The staff is a blur, but so is his. Unfortunately, his isn’t as much of one. Arianna’s staff smashes into Valtorex’s ribcage and he thinks he hears a crack. When he tries to swing, his thought is confirmed. His weak swing is easily blocked by Arianna. She then hits him in one leg, then the other. Valtorex can barely stand or breathe, but he is determined not to quit. Arianna says, “All you have to do is say the word, and the fight will end.” Valtorex’s response is a swing of his staff. Arianna smiles as she blocks. She knocks him away with a few deft moves of her staff. She says, “Shall we test your magic?” Valtorex responds by replacing his staff on his back. He goes into his meditative stance and Arianna closes her eyes and focuses. She can’t decide between squeezing his stomach or punching his kidney from the inside. Thus, she is taken by mild surprise when she feels a burning sensation on her hands. She opens her eyes to see her staff is on fire. With one word she puts it out, with another she heals her hands. She closes her eyes again and decides on the kidney. Valtorex doubles over in pain as he feels a sharp blow inside him. Arianna decides to attack his lungs next. Valtorex begins coughing up blood when Arianna cuts one of his lungs. He goes to the ground. Arianna, thinking the fight is over, prepares to heal him. Then he coughs out a few words in a language she doesn’t know. Suddenly, she is attacked by severe pain all over her body. She is disciplined enough to ignore it, and she dispels the spell. Valtorex tries to speak, but he goes unconscious. Arianna heals him and restores his energy. Valtorex stands up and apologizes, “I am sorry I was too weak, lady.” Arianna looks around and sees all of the other fights are already over. She says, “You outlasted all of the other students. I’m going to have to pass you. Plus you fought to the very end, which always says something. By the way, I am unfamiliar with that spell. What was it?” Valtorex replies, “I am sorry, lady, but I do not know. In battle I often speak in an unknown language and something beneficial happens. I do not know how or why.” “Odd, very odd. Very well, continue on to your next test.” Valtorex bows and goes to the forest behind the cabins for his last test.
He arrives to find the druid sitting on a rock, meditating.” The druid looks up and says, “Ah, my last student. I was wondering when you would show up. Your test is to make this tree grow.” The druid tosses him a seed. The druid says, “You must be completely peaceful and let the power of nature overwhelm you. You must connect with the seed and become one with it. Only then can you urge it to grow. Valtorex plants the seed and sits in front of the mound of dirt. He closes his eyes and begins meditating. At first, Valrie shows up in his thoughts. The druid senses this and says, “You must let go of all obstacles.” Valtorex tries, and eventually, Valrie fades from his mind. Then she returns with Valen and Valinor. An assassin lurks behind them. Valtorex panics and tries to call out to them. The druid cautions “Do not let the problems of the world distract you. You must seek harmony with nature, or you will forever be a flame.” Valtorex focuses and the images fade. He is at peace for the first time in years. Then his past attacks him. He sees charred bodies, razed villages. The eyes of those he’s killed flash through his mind. His thoughts just go darker from there. Suddenly, the druid yells, “Stop! You are an abomination! You have no part in nature! Leave now!” Valtorex opens his eyes and before him is a tree. It is a dark, twisted thing. It seems to cry out in agony. The worst part is the eyes; the eyes of those he’s slain are frozen onto the tree. The tree suddenly shrieks and blood leaks from its branches. The druid repeats his command, “Out! Now! Never return!” Valtorex is horrified by the sight of the tree he created. He tries to burn it, but finds he can’t bring himself to do it. All the while, he is being yelled at by the druid. He turns and leaves in fright and anger. He does not see it, but the tree gets a little more twisted.
Valtorex, haunted by the sight of the tree, walks. He remembers the location of the Elite’s test and thinks he has just enough time to make it. He arrives at the Hall of Trials just as the Head Master is bringing students in. Valtorex rushes through the doors before they are shut. The Head Master turns and looks at him. “Ah, you must be Valtorex, I remember you from my office. I saw you were enrolled in five schools and was afraid you skipped this one. You’re just in time, but you’re missing the Circle of the Earth’s test.” Valtorex says, “I already took it. Twenty minutes in, the druid began shrieking and ordered me out of the grove and to never return. I created a horrible looking tree.” The Head Master is surprised. He says, “Very well. Let us begin the test.” The Head Master yells, “Open!” and a portal opens wide. Through the portal, Valtorex can see a place full of flames and the screams of tortured souls. The Head Master says, “Your test is to go in there and retrieve an artifact from a temple. If you are wondering, this is the Abyss.” Just then, the doors open and Valrie walks in. She bows her head meekly and the Head Master asks, “Why are you here?” Valrie says, “I was enrolled for the Guild of Shadows, but I cannot do what they ask. Two of my companions,” she sees Valtorex, “Three of my companions, are taking this test. I was hoping I could enroll.” The Head Master says, “Yes, if your companions will vouch for you.” Valen says, “Yes, I vouch for her.” Valinor repeats the sentiments. Valtorex says, “I would rather her not go to the Abyss, but if that is what she wants, so be it.” The Head Master nods approvingly. He says, “You have loyal friends. Now, you are the eighth to join us, so I will make it a bit more interesting. Two groups of four, you four against the rest of those being tested. Now go!” The two teams walk through the portal.
On the other side, they are assaulted by extreme heat. They can see the temple, about a mile away. They resign themselves to fight through the flame and the demons to get there. The other team goes off, led by a mage, but with three barbarians, Valtorex doesn’t see them succeeding. Valen says, “Let’s go!” Valtorex agrees and they charge with weapons drawn. Valtorex yells, “I’ll take point. Valrie, you’re in middle, then Valen. Valinor, take up the back. Make sure Valen is safe. They run through the flaming planes and hack through demons. The go about half a mile before the find the other team. The barbarians are dead and the mage is in the fetal position. The demons are laughing at the mage and throwing rocks at her. Valtorex lashes out at the nearest demon and decapitates it. More demons come and it quickly devolves into a frenzied melee. After about forty minutes straight of brutal conflict, the demons fall back. Valinor picks up two bodies. Valtorex takes the mage and the last body. The continue on, now Valrie and Valen fighting the demons. They are one hundred feet from the temple when a large demon appears before them. Valtorex hands the mage to Valrie and the body to Valen. He draws his swords and rushes the demon. He yells for them to get to the temple. Valtorex slashes and hacks, but the demon is just too powerful. The demon knocks Valtorex down and summons a massive Abyssal sword. Valtorex is about to get up when the demon plunges the sword through his chest. As the light of life fades from his eyes, Valtorex looks and sees his companions entering the temple. There is a great flash of light and Valtorex finds himself lying on the floor of the Hall of Trial. The Head Master is standing over him and his friends are around him. Valtorex notices there is no hole in his armor, or chest. He stands and the Head Master says, “Congratulations! Four of you passed. I’m afraid she has failed,” he gestures at the mage, “But you four are in. Three of you completed your mission, while protecting the bodies of your fallen comrades. The fourth, well, you sacrificed yourself for your team. That is the type of suicidal heroics the Elites look for.” The Head Master seems lost in thought for a moment, then he says, “All four of your look exhausted, and you Valtorex, look like you just died.” He chuckles a bit at his own joke before continuing, “You four have had a rough day. You should go back to your cabin and rest. Classes start tomorrow, and I doubt you will get much sleep tonight, so take advantage of all of the time you have. I must talk to the druid about a certain matter. Tomorrow, you will meet in all the same places as you tested today. I will not be your teacher, I’m afraid. I only do the testing. Lord Kemos does the actual training. Leave the mage in here. A nurse will be along shortly. Farewell.” The Head Master walks out the door. Valtorex, Valrie, Valinor, and Valen head back to their cabin. Before going to sleep, they try to discuss their plans for the future, but all they can do is think about tomorrow. They decide to take it one day at a time before they fall asleep. As they sleep, a dark shadow watches over them, waiting for its time to strike. At about Dark Watch, the bell rings and all through the cabins, shadows like this move in.
Tags: Chronicles of Valtorex, fantasy, fiction, Jeff Patterson, JPAT, Valtorex
