TravelingDog

Chapter 2 - Crimson Blossoms

​

     Noro returned to town after talking to the priest and his words put a smile on her face. She knew that she shouldn’t get upset so easily but she was glad that she had the priests at the temple and all of the townspeople to be there for her when she really needed it.

     She made her way to the northern part of town, even past the guard tower. Just before getting to the tunnel in the side of the cliff that led out of the village was Noro’s home, a small farmstead that she’d lived in with her parents since she could remember.

     As Noro opened the door into the dark house, she was reminded of the fact that she’d be spending the rest of the evening alone. Noro didn’t remember leaving the curtains on the windows shut to make it so dark, but she sighed and continued on like normal as she lit a contraption near the door that was built by her father. The small flame caused a chain reaction and lit up the candles all throughout the main room.

     “SURPRISE!” Noro was shocked when people called out as the lights came on, revealing a very large number of people scattered around the house. Looking around, Noro was shocked to see her best friend, Leora, a dark skinned half-elf, and Dauff standing in the center of the room clearly having instigated this surprise.

     As her feathers slowly settled once again, realizing that there was no danger, she looked around the room in amazement and said in bewilderment “Everyone!” From her friends to Alons, to Old Lady Copperapple, to Priest Malax, and even Chief Thresh and the twins from the general store, plus many others, they were all there.

     “Happy Birthday, Noro!” Leora toasted as she held up a goblet.

     “Here, here!” Everyone else cheered in agreement as they each held up their own drink.

 

     Noro went around to everyone, thanking them for the happy birthday wishes before Leora, Dauff, and her all stood together to talk.

      “I can’t believe you planned all this!” Noro commented amazed as she continued to look around.

      “I thought everyone would like to tell you happy birthday, so I figured why not do it all at the same time? Plus, I know how upset you get, knowing that your parents aren’t here to celebrate with you.” Leona explained.

     “Well, it’s a great idea.” Noro laughed.

     “Speaking of, this is from both of us.” Dauff suddenly said as he held out a parcel wrapped in a cloth.

Noro was shocked by this “You guys shouldn’t have, getting everyone here was already plenty!” Noro insisted.

     “Trust us, you’ll like this even more.” Leona insisted so hesitantly Noro reached out and accepted it. As she undid the cloth wrapped around it, she found a strange shirt made with an uncommon, purple material that had several chains connecting the pieces of fabric together.

     “One of the merchant ships that came into port not long ago was selling this style, we thought it was perfect for you.” Dauff explained.

     “We know you don’t like to show your arms all that much, but your wings make it hard for you to wear any of the usual stuff.” Leona got into further detail “I was the one who found it and Dauff helped me pay for it.”

     “You guys, I love it!” Noro exclaimed gratefully throwing her arms around both of them at the same time, causing the two to laugh.

     “I do hope that I didn’t scare you too much though.” Leona suddenly commented as Noro released her grasp on the two and backed up. Noro was confused by this so she explained “When I had to cancel our other plans in order to throw this together I mean.”

     Noro was surprised by this but shook her head after a moment and explained “Actually, someone reminded me that you probably had a good reason for cancelling… and of course he was right!” Noro suddenly realized as she thought back to the White Priest. Even though she was thrilled to have this feast with everyone she cared for, she suddenly realized that she really wanted to express her gratitude to him for his words. “Umm, guys. I’m sorry, but, I forgot something.” Noro suddenly said, surprising them. “I have to go tell someone something, but, I’ll be right back, okay?”

     “Alright, if it’s that important.” Leona nodded in understanding and Dauff did the same. With a grateful smile, Noro turned back to the door with haste.

     Dauff called out after her “Hurry back!”

​

     It was well into the night now and the moon sat high in the sky. The temple was extremely empty as the priest lay in the vacant common quarters that they shared and stared up at the domed roof.

     The Priest let out a heavy sigh, unable to sleep as his thoughts had drifted back to his companion. ‘Could it really be true?’ This thought continued to circle in his mind and he wound up gritting his teeth to keep from swearing aloud, despite the fact that he was the only one in the room.

     Suddenly, a loud bang resounded throughout the temple as doors were thrown open, drawing the priest from his thoughts. Judging by the heavy weight of the clash, the White Priest realized that they must have been the doors to the Hall of the Gods in the back of the temple. The priest sat up quickly, wary of any trouble as he listened closely for the slightest noise out of the ordinary.

     He didn’t have to listen hard however when an unfamiliar voice yelled out “Come out, come out wherever you are, Blood Mage!” The priest was shocked by these words and quickly stood, knowing that it was no one from the town. Not having the time to equip his priest attire, the White Priest made his way out of the room in nothing but his casual leggings. “Come on Blood Mage, we know you’re here! We saw you in town yesterday! Had to “persuade” a couple of  locals to tell us what they knew. Don’t tell us they lied!” The voice continued to echo throughout the corridors as Shakkal neared the Hall of the Gods, until he was standing in the doorway. There, he saw four men standing in the hall between the pews, each holding a unique weapon, with the exception of one who had nothing in his hands. From what the priest could tell, they appeared to be simple bandits.  

     “My goodness you're noisy.” Shakkal said casually as he stood in the archway, causing them to turn back to him in surprise. “What should I do with such noisy guests? You’re disrupting the gods’ slumber.” The priest began walking towards them.

     “Haha, yeah you’re definitely him.” The bandit with no weapons smirked “Cut the act, we know who you are Shakkal the Blood Mage, leader of the Blood Guild! Although, we haven’t heard about an eye patch, that’s a nice touch to your disguise.” the bandit continued to taunt as the priest, Shakkal, continued to approach them, now with a glare. This bandit, evidently the leader since he spoke so much, suddenly snapped his fingers, causing Shakkal to stop in his tracks cautiously just before the room was suddenly engulfed in a sea of flames. Seeing the room go up in flames angered Shakkal. He had spent so long in the temple, it felt like a home to him.

      “I see you got well prepared before luring me here.” Shakkal noted aloud, not a trace of panic in his voice. “What are you, a pyromance? A warlock?” I can’t imagine you're a mage in your line of work.”

     “I’m glad to hear you aren’t denying your identity, however my class is none of your concern.” The bandit smirked. “Tell me, is that pretty little necklace that you wear so boldly the “Tear” that I’ve heard so much about? I hear it sells for an unimaginable price.” The bandits slowly began taking a couple steps closer to him as they prepared to engage him in battle. “No matter if not though. You’re head is what we’re after.” The bandit sneered as the roaring flames around them continued to consume the room further “After all, with a huge bounty like yours, how could we just let you go once we saw you?”

     “Priest…”

    Shakkal turned around in shock, his attention being drawn from the bandits “Noro?!”. Noro stood in the doorway as she looked on at the scene in shock while sparks crackled and floated through the air.  “Get out of here!”

    “No need to chase the kid out so fast, Bloodmage.” One of the larger bandits laughed as they moved in towards him.

    “Bloodmage?!” Noro repeated shocked.

    “You’ve really kept the town in the dark for three whole years?! You must have pulled off quite the act to fool them into not realizing who you truly are Shakkal the Bloodmage.” The bandit leader now laughed. Noro was astonished when she realized that she had both heard and seen this name before, having seen it on the top of one of the wanted posters hanging in the guard tower.

    “Enough of this! Noro, get out of here now!” Shakkal instructed once again, this time with more urgency as the support beams creaked above. The warning came too late though as the ravenous flames ate away the strength of the beams and it came falling down, directly above Noro. Noro could do little but raise her arms defensively to protect herself. Seeing the beam ahead of time, Shakkal was more prepared and quickly rushed to her, tearing off his necklace and tackling her to the ground. Noro hadn’t been expecting the impact from the side when she was knocked to the ground by Shakkal and wound up hitting her head on the stone floor. Though Noro felt the impact from Shakkal’s tackle, which scraped up her wings a little, she felt no impact from the falling beam.

     Noro’s head was heavy and spun, she could tell she was losing consciousness fast from the blow to her head, but she struggled to open her eyes. Noro’s vision was blurry, but she could just barely make out his silhouette above her, along with something else behind him as well. Just as Noro lost consciousness, she had a brief, fleeting thought that she recognized the form of wings.

     As Noro passed out below him from the impact, anger began to rise in Shakkal once again as he thought of what would have happened had he not gotten there in time; though this time the anger was much greater. The flames were little more than a light sting to him as he supported the burning beams with two large, leathery wings that had appeared when he allowed himself to transform after removing the protective necklace. Shakkal pushed off the beam with little difficulty and stood up.

      “What the hell?!” The bandits were shocked by the sight. Shakkal picked up Noro’s small, light body and set her off to the side under the stone archway where he knew she would be safe from further falling debris and left his precious necklace next to her. “What kind of monster are you?!”

     Shakkal turned back to the bandits now, annoyance apparent on his face and in his gleaming red eye. “As you said. I am a blood mage,” Shakkal said as he gripped the small blade on his side tightly, causing blood to seep from a fresh gash across his hand. Now, in one swift movement, no longer having his usual restraint, he moved up directly in front of the leader of the four bandits. The bandits were all shocked by the sudden disappearance of the gap between them and placed his wounded hand on the bandit’s face “And yet, I am so much more.”

     The blood from his hand quickly enveloped the leader’s face, causing him to clutch desperately at Shakkal’s arm in an attempt to pry him off. The bandits were still in shock by his swift actions, but attempted to recollect themselves as the other three charged in at Shakkal. “Daemon!”

     Though the bandits began a charge, Shakkal’s large ears could just make out the sound of townsfolk beginning to approach the temple from the bottom of the massive hill. “Let’s take this out back.” Shakkal said simply, having complete control of the fight as he fleeted out the back doors and followed the edge of the cliff until they were near the orchard where he had been with Noro just hours before.

     The bandit that Shakkal still had in his lock had stopped struggling altogether and was at that point merely dead weight hanging limply from Shakkal’s bloody grasp. Shakkal peered down at the limp body with a mild expression of disgust when the other three bandits at last caught up to him.

     “Monster! Release him!” One of the bandits now yelled as they approached him.

     “Sure thing.” Shakkal threw the body over the ledge of the cliff, the blood accumulating from the man’s face into a very loose and unstable sphere not far from Shakkal’s hand.

     “Bastard!!” The first bandit who got to Shakkal wielded a great axe bringing it down heavily on the place where Shakkal stood. He dodged the slow weapon with ease and the bandit attempted to cover his face with one arm, prepared for the same assault as before that the leader hadn’t been expecting, however Shakkal went in closer to the large bandit’s torso, the sphere sharpening into a lance-like form in front of his hand. As Shakkal shoved his palm up against the bandit’s torso, the blood pierced through his chest, the force sending the large bandit backwards.

     Just as Shakkal had his palm against the first of the three bandits, another bandit with a one-handed sword came up on their side and swung expertly at him. The first bandit being sent flying back, Shakkal’s blood was withdrawn from the icicle-like form and became loose once again. The blood maintained it’s long and thin form however, as Shakkal brought it around and like a whip, wrapped it around the man’s arm, pulling him towards the ledge as well. The second of the final three bandits yelled as he went over the edge and the blood solidified once again, slicing completely through his wrist.

     The final bandit came up behind him now with some kind of rogue’s shadow step in one swift movement as Shakkal faced the cliff’s edge. Shakkal’s blood was too far away and moving too slowly at that point to get to the final member in time, Shakkal being well aware of this fact. Instead, Shakkal extended one of his wings and stretched it out behind the man who had just come up behind him, then used it to push him forward and off balance, and into Shakkal’s reach.

     Releasing his control over the blood manipulation, Shakkal reached quickly to the blade by his side once again with one hand, but this time grabbed it by the hilt while he reached out with his other hand and grabbed the last bandit, bringing him in close. With the bandit in a headlock, Shakkal swiftly used the little blade to slice the last bandits neck, and then pushed him toward the ledge as well where the body went limp and stumbled over the edge.

Shakkal stood at the cliff’s edge now, his pale skin plastered with blood was illuminated by the moon’s light. “Hmph, that’s all? Hardly worth it.” Shakkal scoffed as he placed the small dagger back into a sheathe by his side and looked over to the last, massive body that he still had to throw over the cliff to be rid of. As his gaze trailed to the area around him that had been splattered with blood, his gaze rested on several small apple blossoms that had fallen to the ground. The once white and red blossoms were now stained entirely with crimson. This triggered something in Shakkal as he came to his senses, holding his face in his hand, realizing fully that he was not acting as he usually did. It was then that he suddenly recalled Noro and hurried to throw the last body over, before rushing back into the building.

     As Shakkal got back inside the building, he saw that several more beams had fallen, but looking past the debris, he spotted Noro still leaned up against the wall where he left her in the safety of the stone archway. He made his way through the flames over to her, unaffected by them, but still cautious not to let any catch onto his pant legs. Approaching Noro, he found that she was still out cold. Shakkal first took a moment to relax and regain control over his form, once again concealing his wings, though the transformation was painful. He then proceeded to once again pick up the necklace, retying the freshly torn leather string securely once again. As soon as the necklace was once again in place, a sense of tranquility rushed through Shakkal as he let out a heavy breath. At last, Shakkal once again picked up Noro and made his way towards the front of the temple where he could hear voices frantically attempting to drown the flames.

     “Thank you for everything, Malax.” Shakkal and Priest Malax stood in front of the temple entrance, facing one another.

     “Are you sure you wish to leave?” Priest Malax asked once again.

     “I am.” Shakkal nodded “The fire was only a reminder that I cannot stay here forever. I have a past that I have to… rediscover.”

     “Very well. But please remember, You will always have a place here in Memorial, should you ever wish to return, Shakkal.” Shocked by Priest Malax’s words, Shakkal smiled, amused by the wise Priest’s knowledge. It would have been one thing had he called him “Shakka” like Noro always did, but no, he had used his proper name. “I wish you luck in “rediscovering” your past.”

     It was early the morning after the fire when Shakkal left, making his way down the hill and through town, headed north. Because it was so early in the morning, no one was out around town. Shakkal was just nearing the outskirts of town when he stopped suddenly. There, standing in the center of the trail, was Noro.

     “Noro…” Shakkal hadn’t seen her since the night before when he’d pulled her from the chapel and Priest Malax brought her back to her home to recover.

     “Last night…” Noro said this quietly with her head hanging low. Shakkal became anxious as he wasn’t sure what it was she remembered about the night before. “Those men, they said that you were a wanted criminal, with a major bounty on your head…” Shakkal couldn’t help but let out a small breath he’d been holding out of relief. Had she remembered his transformation, then it would have been the first thing she asked about.

     “That is what they said…” Shakkal said simply, not wanting to confirm or deny it. Shakkal was disappointed as he realized that Noro knowing the truth would likely cause her to fear him.

     “Then that means that you are strong!” Shakkal was shocked by Noro’s sudden exclamation and newfound energy. “Help me get revenge on the monster who killed my parents!”

     “Noro…” Shakkal was even more bewildered by this.

     “If you don’t take me with you, I will tell the village who you really are!” Noro threatened, shocking him further. “You want to keep this place as a safe haven, right? So then it would be bad for you if everyone knew the truth!”

      At last, Shakkal sighed “You are right about that. Alright. You win. You can come with and I will help you get your revenge.”