Author's rant

Looks like action's back on the menu boys!

Oh, and magic!

Darn, I just can't keep these rants short. I wonder if your own refreshes counts as views, that would probably explain the 250 average views... 20 people following (Shout-out to you guys! Woo!) aaand.. yeah, 200 refreshes from my side XD

Oh, almost forgot. I am SO shamelessly spoon-feeding you information about magic this time. I'm almost rude to you guys. Sorry about that! I'll try to keep the lecture-chapters to a minimum!

Actual story:

--------------------------------------------------

The first stop on their path is a small town further down the road. Supplies and some additional equipment is needed.

The trio started walking along a dirt road with a large and dark forest on their right side.

Ryko spoke up sometime during the walk to the town. “So… What happened between you two, at the balcony?”

“You knew? Then why did you ask if we spoke?” Lamia asked

Ryko shrugged. “Wouldn’t wanna spoil the fun.”

Lamia sighed. “Just an exchange of ideas and views.”

Ryko nodded “Uhuh, that’s all that was exchanged, huh?”

Kaneis suddenly stopped and held an arm up in front of his companions, stopping both Ryko and Lamia.

“Wait, you’re sa-” Ryko started

“Shh!” Kaneis hastily said.

Kaneis’ eyes darted around.

An unfamiliar and threatening voice spoke up “Ah, you spotted us? Good job.”

A man clad in full chain mail as well as a large sword and a kite shield stepped forward. “I hope you don’t mind sharing your riches.”

Ryko laughed “You are but a single man! and a bandit none the less, you’ll get nothing but cold steel. You are out manned and outmatched, you should surrender yourself!”

The bandit smirked. “I have fifty archers in the woods on your right. You should just surrender before I kill and skin you.”

Kaneis whispered to his fellow travelers. “Five archers in the forest - the rule of thumb is a division by ten. typically people fail to realize that bandits are mostly ex-soldiers - and battle hardened veterans at that. These guys in particular looks like mercenaries gone rogue - they are too nicely equipped for common rabble. This battle is going to be tough, I hope you can handle yourselves. Their first move will be a targeted barrage of arrows. You’ll need to dodge that or die since we don’t have any shields. They already have their bows pointing at us. On three we dash.”

Ryko and Lamia looked at Kaneis in surprise.

Kaneis spoke up in loud words for all the bandits to hear. “I am Mavros. Hero of the past, I will defeat you here. Remember the name in the afterlife and it may grant you glory… THREE!”

All three of them darted to each their side as a barrage of exactly five arrows fell where they had stood.

Kaneis threw his bow at Lamia “They are in the trees! use their own arrows, but don’t get shot!”

Kaneis darted at the bandit in chain mail.

Their swords clashed.

KLING!

“Focus the ranger!” The bandit howled.

Kaneis and the bandits swords locked in place for a moment.

“I am Commander Hawkwood. Remember MY name when you die, pup!”

Kaneis briefly but rapidly glanced behind him to gauge the situation - Ryko and Lamia were locked in a skirmish with the five rangers in the trees - Lamia dodged and shot arrows while Ryko collected them.

“Where are you looking pub?! Ha!”

SMOCK!

Kaneis fell to the ground from an unexpected boot to the stomach.

DING!

Kaneis blocked the sword that was headed for his face. Kaneis rolled to the side and jumped onto his feet.

“Not bad kid.” Hawkwood smiled - a smile filled with bloodlust.

Hawkwood swung his sword at Kaneis who side-stepped.

SWOOSH!

Hawkwood sustained an injury over his eye - had he not retracted his head as fast as he did his skull would have been split open.

“A little help here!” Hawkwood howled.

Kaneis jumped to the side, but was quickly stopped by Hawkwoods attack.

Splosh!

An arrow embedded itself right into Kaneis' right shoulder “Urgh.”

“AARGHH!” A bandit screamed in the woods as he was felled with an arrow.

“We got one!” Lamia cheered.

“Don’t lose focus!” Kaneis howled.

Kaneis swung his sword at Hawkwood who blocked with his own.

SLAM!

a shield slammed into Kaneis’ wounded shoulder, pushing the arrow all the way through.

Kaneis started to bleed profusely.

“Grrr.”

SWEEP!

Kaneis swept his leg under Hawkwood, knocking him to the ground.

KLANG… KLANG… KLANG!

“Die already!” Kaneis yelled, as he pummeled Hawkwood’s shield

A deep dark almost demonic voice sounded. “ARISE!”

The fallen bandit from the forest suddenly stood up with his upper body completely relaxed, almost hanging down. - a very unnatural pose.

Lamia’s voice resounded “Command: KILL!” She held out her arm towards the fallen bandit.

“Yeeessssssss.” the fallen bandit replied before pulling back his bowstring, preparing to fire an arrow.

TWOG!

A bandit fell from the trees.

Splosh splosh splosh.

Three arrows had penetrated the skull of the reanimated bandit. unfazed, he loaded his bow.

Splosh.

Another bandit fell. "We're sitting ducks up here!" one of them yelled in panic.

Kaneis kicked Hawkwood’s shield to the side, and sent a powerful strike into the skull.

Splosh.

Hawkwood was dead.

Splosh.

The last ranger fell from another arrow.

“Command: Die!” Lamia said, as the reanimated corpse fell to the ground.

Kaneis held his hand on his wound.

“Get me some excess cloth, will ya?”

Ryko rapidly came over with a ripped shirt from a dead ranger.

“Nothing to rinse it with? Darn. It’ll have to do for now.” Kaneis used the shirt as a crude bandage.

“Now I really need to get to town. This stuff will be infected faster than you can say command: infect.” Kaneis added. “Speaking of which… What the heck was that?!”

“Uhm…” Ryko started. “It’s a spell we learnt.”

“You mean you can both do that stuff? How long can you hold a corpse like that?” Kaneis seemed uncomfortable, latching an arm onto his other arm across his stomach.

“Is your shoulder okay? you seem pale.” Lamia asked.

“I’m fine, it’s not my shoulder… That stuff you are doing… By torpedo… Brrr.” his hair stood up on his arms.

Lamia looked down in the ground for a moment. Ryko started talking. “We can hold it for an hour or so… each. That’s when mana gets low.”

Kaneis looked at Ryko with a curious look. “What’s mana?”

Ryko sighed. “It’s a long story. Here, I’ll conjure up some so you can see it yourself.”

Ryko opened his hand and focused.

“Do you see this?” he asked.

Kaneis looked at the hand - a shimmer of brief blue flashes of light appeared in Ryko’s hand.

“It’s… Light?”

Ryko sighed. “You really are a savage. This is mana - in its “air” form. It can be like water and snow as well… The more solid it is, the more dense.”

“So… if i made a shield out of mana, I would be-”

“Idiot. It’s not stable like that - you can’t shape it. You’d probably blow up when you applied fire to it.” Ryko said.

Ryko relaxed, and the flashing lights disappeared.

“Mana is used for spells - it’s drawn out of the air as well as a small stockpile inside yourself. Some people can even use life-force.” Ryko explained.

“So that’s what you used?” Kaneis asked.

“Life force? No. Mana? Yes.”

Kaneis pondered for a second.

“What about god-granted abilities? do they use mana? do I use this mana without knowing?”

Ryko sighed. “I have to explain everything to you, don’t I? God-granted abilities use the mana of the god in question - which means there’s no drain on nature or yourself. Additionally, as it’s godly mana, they can create stuff from nothing.”

Kaneis nodded. “I understand... So… You need fire to make fire spells… and you don’t if you are using fire ability from a god… So you are using an ability from a death god, since you are resurrecting the dead from nothing?”

“There’s a corpse first. It’s a spell, use your head.” Ryko sighed

Kaneis nodded “Oh... I think i get it so far… I’ll ask if I’m in doubt... Wait, what about the commands?”

Ryko sighed. "You should be able to guess that by altering parts of a spell you can change properties."

"So you can make the dead bigger and stronger and other cool stuff?"

"Clearly, you don't understand. some can move fire spells with mana. Exactly like that I can command a corpse... With mana."

Kaneis nodded. "I get it... "

"Are you sure?" Ryko sighed. "You seem surprisingly dense for a Hero."

"Thats an odd thing to say, coming from somebody who thinks you can find somebody without a clue." Kaneis retaliated.

"Now now, no need to squabble." Lamia broke in.

Kaneis waved his hand at the dead bandits “Let’s loot them and be on our way. Who gets the chain mail?”

“I guess you’ll be that reckless guy. Perhaps you should use it?” Ryko suggested. Lamia nodded in agreement.

And so the three aquired leather armour, arrows and bows as well as an extra sword and a kite shield plus some chainmail - the three latter items Kaneis would come to wield.

“Let’s head for town quickly, I need some herbs for this stuff.”

Lamia snickered. “Herbs? You really are a rookie.”

--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading!