2. The Hermit

Matthew Jumps up drenched in sweat. 'Another nightmare, sigh', Aziz kicks in the door 'Matt are you alright!?'. Yeah, yeah Matthew sighed. Just another nightmare, the just won't stop coming I guess. Aziz strokes his beard, "hmm was it that one from the night or something else?" He asked him with interest. 'Well honestly I thought I'd forgotten but I guess that old witch lady from that carnival two years ago was quite right about the tarot cards she gave me.' he said still dazed from his dream. "Well as long as you don't torch my tavern with your magic stuff I'm fine with it, but that sword still gives me the creeps, How did you say you got it again?" Aziz asked staring at it with slight disgust. 'Well supposedly it was in my family's possession for generations, no idea how far back it goes.' Matt said while shrugging. "And that thing still talks to you or has it been silent since that one day?" Aziz asked. 'I think it ran out of juice or something because it hasn't uttered a single word since.' He mumbled. 'In any case I should get up and start my day like the usual.' Matt said almost groaning. "Ah so an ale and depressing music again?" Aziz glanced at Matt with almost a sarcastic tone to it. 'You know me too well' Matt chuckled.

Matthew slowly shuffled to the dim lit corner of the tavern where he started sipping his ice cold ale as he threw up a thumbs up to Aziz the trusty ol tavern keeper. 'Things sure seem quiet today' Matt thought to himself. Time seemed to fly as Matt kept gulping down the ales Aziz brought him. As Matt was wanting to start on his sixth ice cold golden foamy ale, which for some reason never seemed to warm up and stay at a super cold temperature. The door was kicked in and a group of what seemed to be youngsters roughly 18 that were dressed in mercenary clothes. "Give me your best ale yelled one of the group.", Aziz was caught off guard as the group just waltzed in. "Uhm sure kids, any special ale you're looking for or will any do?" he said with a smile. "Do you even know who we are old man? don't mess with me or you'll get it" the apparent leader of the pack snarled at Aziz who was trying to keep a cool head in the rather sudden events. Some of the customers who were looking over their shoulders at the whole ordeal unfolding, most of them got up and left the tavern. "Listen kids Why don't you get a seat and calm down, you're scaring away my customers." Aziz insisted them. Matt had never seen the always calm and thoughtful Aziz like this and came as quite a shock. 'They'd better take the seat and shut up, I'm here for my peace and quiet.

The leader of the pack pulled out a large knife from his belt, "excuse yourself old man? you clearly don't know, we're the Death Knights the most fearsome warriors on the battlefield and I'll have your head if you do not show me the respect I deserve", Aziz looked around him with fear in his eyes. "Well? What's it going to be?" Aziz quickly put three large pints of ale on the bar, 'I...I'm sorry, on the house" He stuttered. The pack walked to a seat laughing and making fun about the poor tavern keep. Being quite taken by the ales and brooding his anger to the point of eruption, Matt slid his hand over the blade of the unnamed blade, letting his fingers glide over the runes. He glanced at Aziz who was almost in tears about the whole ordeal, their eyes met and almost with Aziz having almost a hint of dread and horror in his eyes, as if he was pleading Matt not to do what he was going to do. Matt's eyes turned into a bright almost glowing Blue. Aziz slowly fell to his knees and slid under the cover of the bar. Suddenly the tavern grew darker as if all the lights went out and a shadow fell over it, the pack of smug mercenaries suddenly felt the rush of cold around them as their breath fogged. The flames on the candles and the fireplace started dancing fiercely as they slowly start to discolor into a hellish blue. Matt's footsteps felt like something heavy was dropped, almost an ogre that was stomping around. Out of the dark two piercing glowing blue eyes approached the table of the pack of warriors. As if lost souls talked with him at the same time Matt began to speak. "Foolish little man, you who call yourself a great warrior but does not know the smell of blood, you who does not to end a life." The pack leader backed up in his seat shivering in fear. 'W...Who are you?' He trembled. "You will pay the man and leave and not return or you will find out." The men took their equipment and ran out of the tavern for fear of their lives. "T...this won't be the end of this" the pack-leader yelled reeking of urine. As the pack left the door the tavern suddenly went back to normal as the darkness left together with Matt's conciseness.

'A...are you alright?', Matt slowly opened his eyes being greeted by Aziz's scruffy beard. "Yes? Hungover but other than that I'm doing pretty good." Matt said as if he woke up from a buzz. 'So you don't remember what happened at all?' Aziz asked him scratching his beard. "I don't but one thing's for sure those were some good ales." Matt said dumbfound. 'Matt I'm going to be honest, some really scary shit happened. And don't take this the wrong way, you've become a close friend in these daring times. Especially with you entrusting me with your story, being the sole survivor of the vanishing of FourCreek. But I think it's best for you to hit the road again, you shouldn't be in here drinking yourself to death.' Aziz said with quite a serious tone. "You mean.. you want me gone.. just like the last place I stayed at" He said concerned. 'No, not at all Matt It's best for you, that you find your path and move on. become happy again.

The lands looked so peaceful outside in the morning as Matthew left yet another tavern. 'Well time to hit the road again I guess' Matt said to himself as he stumbled across the road still feeling a bit hungover. The sandy roads went on for miles and miles until it disappeared behind a forest. 'Ugh well good thing Aziz gave me some provisions and my shoes still last.'

Lots of thoughts and emotions swirled through Matt's head as he walked down the seemingly endless road. Depressing haunting memories of the past that followed him in the shadow the burning sun cast beside him. 'Ugh I could use a drink right about now, alcohol isn't the solution to my problems.. but neither is water' he thought to himself, he smirked. The sun slowly started setting as he neared the seemingly menacing forest. 'I should set up camp before the sun's down.

Darkness fell faster than Matt expected it to as he struggled with his tent. "Ugh why won't this thing just fold it self'. Several swear words later Matt finally managed to set up his tent and lay down for some rest. It wasn't long until he was woken by sounds of laughter and festivities. It seemed he placed his tent near an encampment or some of the sorts. Matt got up, and put his gear on as quietly as he humanly could. He snuck towards the sound as it got louder and louder. It was indeed an encampment, there hung large banners bearing some sort of axe with a skull on it. 'I wonder who these people are' Matt thought to himself.

As he got closer it became increasingly more clear that this was the mercenary band called the Death Knights. Upon looking closer he saw a bonfire with people sitting around it, Matt vaguely recalled some. He went in to eavesdrop on the pack of warriors. "I'm telling you dad it was some kind of demon magic, the feeling of dread and terror still chills my bones.", "Listen here Linus we're going to go back to that crap town and raise it to the ground, starting with that crap hole of a tavern, you can have your first with the keeper." A man with a thick black beard and arms like tree logs. 'Aziz!? First!?' Matthew became filled with rage at the sight of the kid named Linus. Slowly the the forest became filled with darkness as his eyes started glowing a hellish blue, his heart starting pounding almost like a beat bringing him into a trance. Faint whispers could be heard all around as wind picked up through the forest making the bonfires dance in the night sky. The flames went up high making the entire legion of mercenaries jump back from the bonfires, they starting shifting into a hellish blue as the moon turned from the friendly yellowish to a pale white cold rock in the sky. "This is it, this is what happened!" spoke Linus to his father with terror in his eyes. "To arms! We're under attack" yelled the gargantuan man.

Matt waddled in trance towards the camp dragging his sword through the ground as it left a trail of ice. "T...t...there he is!!" cried Linus. A group of men armed to the teeth approached the youngman ready to strike. As if being puppeteered Matt swung his sword cleaving right through the soldier's shield, heavy armor and word cutting him clean in half. His foot turned and his seemingly limp body swung in the other direction slicing the next foe diagonal in half as he took a step forward bringing the sword down splitting the third in half. The eyes popped out of the third as pile of body parts and insides fell on the floor, filling the air with the smell of iron. Matt simple step over the pile of gore walking to the next of a seemingly endless army of soldiers. Swing after swing creating more and more gore he waddled forward through the camp leaving a corpse with each step he makes. Magic circles appeared on the ground all over the place creating spouts of flames burning dozens of soldiers with each burst of death. Matt opened his mouth and words came out without him moving his lips. "Ye here who stand before me, cower in fear as your souls will belong to me ever eternal. Your flesh will be my weapon and your souls my nourishment, stand in dread before the devourer of souls, the king of the dead. Feel the everlasting cold of my heart." After a deep inhale a white fog fills the battlefield freezing the soldiers from the waist down. With each slash a faint blue fog envelops the blade as it disappears into the skull on the hilt, from which the eyes started glowing. "Your souls… are mine.." sounds around the camp over the heads of the ever thin growing army. At last the massive man that seems to be the leader of the army steps forward. "Your carnage stops here demon." Yells the man while charging at Matt. Matt swings his sword only to be deflected by a massive skull bearing axe riddled with runes that glow red. 'You will make.. a fine.. Commander' are the words that thunder above the battlefield.

"Die Demon" the man yells swinging his massive axe at Matt. The axe plunges itself into Matt's arm leaving a large gash. "That will slow you down, it will be hard swinging that sword with no tendons." He mumbled. With ease the sword maneuvers around the giant axe slicing the man's arm clean off. As the man falls to his knees he looks upon the marionette Matt."Get it over with" he mumbles. With a clean stab to the heart the man falls on his back leaving a puddle of red. 'It's a shame you lacked the knowledge on how to use your rune axe, could have been a grand battle.' Sounds in whispers. The soldiers cower in terror as they want to flee but are unable to with their frozen limbs.

Linus lays on the ground crying to himself as he takes in all the crying, screaming and flesh rending sounds from beyond the line of tents. It fills him with horror and leaves him frozen from fear. The sounds become less frequent until they stop with a final scream and the sound of blood gushing. Footsteps are coming closer ever still towards Linus as he sobs. From a veil of darkness two piercing blue dots get closer until a puppet Matt steps out of the darkness revealing a twisted smile as he waddles closer. Linus starts crying, as Matt stands before him. 'I guess you were right, this wasn't done yet." leaves Matt's mouth. As Matt's hand lifts high in the air ready to strike the Crying kid Matt's eyes loose it's glow, Making him aware of the situation and the injuries his body has sustained during the fight. "I...I…" Matt stumbles away in the darkness as flames turn to it's normal orange glow, leaving the sounds of the wind blowing and the night critter's rustling and the smell of iron.