Requiem for a King [MxM]

The Cost Of Being A Hero

Gavrael headed north through the city, away from the market and onto a street lined with squat stone homes. Gardening tools, buckets and baskets lay strewn across some yards, a testament to the haste with which this place was evacuated. The terrain sloped up to a little hill that offered a view of a manor that took up most of the north side of town.

Gavrael hadn't seen a soul since he split with Quintus, and he feared the netherborne may have wiped the town already. As he started down the hill, he spotted an overturned wagon blocking the road of head. Piles of wooden crates spilled from the back and beneath the torn canopy.

He caught a whiff of something fruity as he walked by, and a muted squeaking reached his ears. He couldn't quite make out the sound, but it was either muffled screaming or the rustling of an animal, and if he remembered right, the netherborne chased away animals first.

"Is anyone here?" he called. The squeaking grew louder, but no easier to pinpoint. He rounded the crate and found more overturned crates and a metal manhole in the middle of the road. The squeaking had intensified the moment he pushed the crate aside.

Gavrael worked the sword in the gap between the metal and stone and pried the manhole up enough to get his fingers under it. The stone was heavy but slid away with ease once he got it over the hole's lip. The musty scent of neglect rose from its depths and flickering light illuminated the ladder leading below.

"Is anyone down there?"

"Help! Help, please!" a small, hoarse voice cried.

"Hang on." Gavrael slid the sword between his bag and his back and descended the manhole's ladder. Shadows danced against the stone walls and blood speckled the floor beneath the ladder. A ways down, he spotted a young boy kneeling beside a guard who was slumped against the wall. It wasn't until he stepped closer that he saw the tiny shrubs growing from the boy's foot and the tree growing from the guard's leg.

The boy looked up at Gavrael with glassy dark eyes illuminated by firelight. His black hair was wet and matted against his forehead and his pants ripped at the bottom. "C-c-can you help Miss Leah, please?"

"Uh, of course." Gavrael next to the guard and vested himself of his bag. The guard's head lulled to one side, her brown hair curtained over one side of her face, and her skin was cold and clammy to the touch. The plates on her armour were broken where the tree had emerged from her leg. Its roots bulged under her skin like oversized veins.

Panic sent Gavrael's heart stuttering, but he swallowed and breathed to pull himself together. Choke the roots, Quintus had said, but if they've already reached her heart.

"Well? Can you help her?" the boy asked again.

"I'll try. What's your name?" Gavrael straightened the guard's head and found tiny roots climbing up her neck. He cursed internally. If they were already up to her neck then... At least he could help the kid.

Gavrael turned to the boy. "Alright, Kalix, can I see your foot?"

"It hurts." The little shrubs completely obscured his foot, but, thank the gods, the roots were only up to his shin.

Gavrael tore a thin strip from the hem of his shirt. "This is going to hurt, but it'll stop the roots from growing, okay?" Kalix winced and hissed in a breath as Gavrael tied the cloth tight around his shin. "There." Something touched his shoulder, and he startled, falling back on his rear so hard, he bit his tongue.

The guard looked at him, brown eyes unfocused. "Who are you?"

It took Gavrael a moment to find his voice. "My friend and I were camping outside the town. We came to help. What happened? How long have you been stuck under here?"

"Doesn't matter," she answered in between laboured breaths. She coughed, and her breath stank of potpourri. "Take the young Master to safety." She pulled a chain from under her breastplate and broke it free from her neck. "Follow the tunnel, it'll take you to the manor." She put the chain in his hand. Dangling from one end was a silver key.

Gavrael nodded and put a hand over his heart. "On my honour. Kalix, we gotta go."

"Wh-what?" the boy stammered. "We can't leave Miss Leah here. There are monsters."

"Kalix," Leah said, her voice a little louder. "It's okay. I'm sure your mom is worried sick about you. I'll be fine. Just send someone back to get me, alright?"

Kalix bit his trembling bottom lip and nodded, fresh tears filling his eyes.

"Go on now. And be good." She gave him a weak approximation of a smile.

Gavrael had to hide his scowl. Dammit. If only he'd found this place sooner. No wonder Quintus hated playing hero. "Come on Kalix. You can ride on my back." He knelt so the boy could climb on and scooped his bag and sword from the ground.

"I'll make sure someone comes back for you," he said to Leah. By the grim look on her face, her thoughts matched his. Whoever help came would be picking up a corpse. He swallowed as he turned his back on her and started down the tunnel.