1

From on up the road, two young men, who looked to be about the age of 25, were riding a fancy, dolled up cart through the forest. The path ahead was bumpy, a nuisance for travel, but they had no time to worry about that. They were on their way to conduct important business. And that business was east of a town called Beros. Some place known as Madamada city. A place where many 'merchants' such as themselves connected.

“Our jobs sure are nasty ones sometimes Ivory,” said the silver haired one. “But I’ll tell you what. It’ll all be worth it once we’ve had our slice of the pie.”

“You can say that again Rowling,” agreed the one with the shaven head and the unbearable, thick cockney accent. “To think. We’re giving away such a beauty though, I wish boss would have kept her around.”

“It’s the eventuality of all their kind,” Rowling never sugar-coated reality. “It’s literally our job to sell, so don’t go getting sentimental over her. Besides, I hear this guy is stinkin rich. Boss is sure to give us a huge cut for doing such a good job.”

“Oy, the bigger cut, the bigger the spending. One day I’m going to earn enough to buy one just like her.”

Rowling scoffed. “You’re just a pervert.”

Ivory took offense and belted back. “Am not.”

He chuckled in response. “Yes you are, you freak.”

“Oh you condescending prick. Just let up why don’t ya?”

Rowling was having a good laugh. He had gotten under Ivory’s skin, and that brought him glee. But his laughter was quickly interrupted. He took pause and focused on the street before him as he noticed something peculiar. Further on down the path, there was something or someone standing in the middle of the crossroads.

“What in the blazing blue hell?” Rowling cursed as he started to slow his horse to a halt. As they came upon the person blocking their way, they took notice that it was a butt naked man urinating on the road. They didn’t know it yet, but the person they had run into was Crest Evermore.

2

Rowling’s face twisted in disgust. “What in the bloody hell is wrong with you man! Put that thing away!”

“Yeah!” Agreed the equally revolted Ivory.

Crest kept on peeing though. Hell, it didn’t even look like he noticed them.

“ARE YOU LISTENING TO US!?” The duo asked in unison.

“Oh,” Crest blinked out of his stupor. “OH!” Suddenly he became aware of his surroundings. As he finished urinating, he pulled his pants up. He waved and smiled at them like an idiot. “Howdy!”

“GET OUT OF THE DAMN ROAD!” The two riders yelled in synchronization. Sadly, they were on a narrow road and there was no way around the stupid bastard.

Crest’s jaw puffed up like balloons. “Hey….just give me a second alright. Where are you guys headed in such a rush anyway?”

“That’s none of your damn business pal,” said Rowling grinding his teeth. “Now move. Get on. Get.”

Ignoring the demand, Crest wagged his finger and continued to pester the two. “Come on now, don’t play hard ball with me. I don’t want to have to take a hands-on approach. And trust and believe, there’s not a chance in Hell that either of you can take me on. I’m not you’re average Joe, just for the record.”

The two men looked unimpressed.

“Uh, Rowling,” Ivory pressed his hand against his lip as he whispered into his cohort’s ear. “I think this guy is an idiot.”

“No kidding,” he mumbled back in response. “But it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. Let’s just play along. The sooner we can get this guy out of our way, the quicker we can get going. Follow my lead.”

“Hey!” Crest shouted. “What are you two whispering about up there?”

“NOTHING! Nothing.” Rowling assured. He continued. “Ah…uh…yes. Well, if you must know who we are. We’re merchants for uh….food and supplies. Yes! Haha….that would be it.”

Crest coddled his chin. “Merchants you say?”

“Yes,” Ivory endorsed Rowling’s claims. “We travel far and wide providing folks our goods and we we’re just headed to a city called Madamada to set up shop with the wealthy locals.”

“Ah I see,” Crest nodded. He seemed intrigued. His own mother had, had a similar business, in that she would often go around town selling clothes she had tailored for money. It had been her only job outside of cooking and cleaning for the house. He admired those that worked from their wagons. They were just a small part of the overall market.

Thankful that their business with Crest was almost done, Rowling was quick to speak in haste. “Appeased now? Good. Get out of the wa—"

“Let me take a look,” Crest patted his money pouch. “I might want to buy something off you guys.”

The two riders started to sweat, their eyes growing buggy.

“What do we do Rowling?” Ivory murmured.

Rowling’s teeth chattered. Allowing Crest to see what was in the back of that wagon was a no-go, but this guy wasn’t standing down. What to do? What to do? It took him a minute, but he finally thought of a plan. A good plan. Rowling’s chattering teeth then formed into a smile. It was elementary; dupe the sucker and then run off.

Ignoring Ivory, he continued. “Why of course you can take a look.”

“BUT ROWLING WHAT ABOUT THE—” Rowling quickly covered Ivory’s big, fat mouth.

“Go ahead,” Rowling insisted. “Take a look.”

Crest looked puzzled at first, but shrugged in response. Without another word, he circled around the back.

As Crest was making his way around, Rowling slowly removed his hand from Ivory’s mouth.

“Rowling!” Ivory whisper yelled his cohort’s name. “What are you thinking?”

“Don’t worry,” he pulled the horse’s reins. “We’re taking off before he knows what’s what.”

“Okay guys let’s see what you got!” Crest called out as he reached the back of the cart.

But unfortunately for Crest, Rowling wouldn’t give him a chance to find out what they had. “I don’t think so punk.” He said with spite. Whipping the horse’s straps, Rowling laughed vigorously. The horse whinnied and the cart started to move.

“We got that sucker good!” Rowling exclaimed.

“HA….haha!” Ivory expressed how impressed he was with Rowling’s quick thinking with nervous laughter. “We sure did pal, let’s get out of here.”

The two seemed overly thrilled to be on their way. It was if that guy had gotten on every last nerve they ever had. Now that they had left him in the dust, they wouldn’t be subject to his snooping. They were home free.

Or were they?

Their laughing ended. Their faces looked bewildered. Their horse was moving, but it was going nowhere. The horse eventually stopped.

Oh no.

Oh no.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

“Whoopsie daisy,” said the voice that was quickly becoming haunting to them. “Your wagon was starting to move guys. Good thing I stopped it.”

The two cohorts looked at each other, flabbergasted that this guy wouldn’t leave them alone. He had stopped the cart with his bare hands of all things. What the hell was this guy?

Didn’t matter.

There was only one option left. Kill him.

They drew their swords, hopped out of the front seat and headed around the back.

“Now let’s see here,” Crest said pulling back the curtains that covered the wagon. He was still blissfully ignorant of what was going on. But he wouldn’t be for long. As he was pulling the wagon’s sheets, he took notice of something peculiar. In the back of the wagon, there wasn’t any sacks of food or bundles of clothes, but a large, clunky device, rectangular in shape. “Wait…. what?” Holy shit, Crest thought as he took a closer look. It wasn’t just any device that he was looking at. It was a piece of banned magic tech, called an extraction chamber. There was a long ropey tube that ran down the side that contained a needle for producing holy stones and a peer through glass on the front. Inside, to his horror was a woman. A brown skinned girl, no older than twenty with pink hair, and a nasty, stitched up scar across one of her eyes. She wasn’t conscious.

Crest immediately sobered up. “Slavers.”

Sounds of footsteps approached.

Behind him was the duo of Rowling and Ivory with swords. But he knew them as nothing more than evil slave owners.

“You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could ya’?” Rowling pointed his sword at Crest. “Well now we’ll just have to do you in.”

“Yeah!” Ivory echoed his sentiments.

Screaming they jumped in the air, attempting to kill Crest with overhead strikes.

Unamused, Crest held out his hands. Their necks fell into his grip. He didn’t even have to reach for them. Now he was holding them by their scrawny throats. Crest was angry. He began to transform. His shadow enveloped him and he became his beast self. The two fools tried to let out screams, but couldn’t.

“Who…. who the hell are you?” cried Rowling.

Crest was happy to oblige his curiosity. “I’m Crest Evermore, of the Drunken Tankard, also known as the Black Knight, or equally as infamous…the Rogue Shadow.”

Gasping for air, they wiggled in his grasp, until he tossed them down on the ground.

They landed flat.

As they hit the ground, Crest held out his hand and began to chant words. They were magic words.

“Az ram, kunai, kosai, naz ram,” as he spoke, a green flame started to form in his palm. It looked like a powerful attack, but the two slavers had no intention of finding out.

“What’s he doing now?!” Ivory bellowed.

“I don’t know,” admitted Rowling. “But we need to get the Hell out of here.”

Rowling was off and running before his buddy Ivory.

“Wha-” Ivory looked on shocked as his friend escaped. “Wait for meeee!” He squealed as he ran in behind them.

They weren’t out of sight just yet. Crest finished the incantation. “Heed my command and destroy my enemies. POISON!” The attack went flying.

The pair hollered out as it just barely missed them, the green flame turning into a chaotic wall of embers that blocked them from coming back. They kept running, but they were no longer headed towards Madamada, they were headed back the way they had came.

Staring on angrily as they skedaddled, Crest waited until they were out of sight to breath a sigh of relief. Now he could attend to the girl.

Crest hopped in the back of the wagon, and with his great strength heaved the extraction chamber out of the cart. Getting out of the wagon, he noticed that the machine had a lock on its side. Obviously he had no sort of key. He then prepared his sword that he didn’t use during the scuffle. Taking one last look at the girl before breaking her prison in two, he was covered with shame. The poor thing didn’t even have any clothes. This whole thing might not have been any of his business in the first place, but just as he felt it necessary to save her, he now found it his obligation to find the girl some clothes and some shelter. Breaking the glass with the brunt of his sword, he then pulled her naked body out and began to carry her over his shoulder.