The Wanderer's Path: Return of the Beasts

Chapter 9

A light rap against the thick wooden door woke Reaper from his slumber. He rose quickly and fluidly after the best night’s rest he could remember in years.  It’s been too long since I’ve slept in a decent bed, and had a good meal beforehand too. It seemed the Elves had still maintained their once unmatched hospitality despite their decrease in visitors.

The room they had given him was filled with elven opulence fit for a prince. Strange golden gems glowed warmth into the room, their light timed by the rise and fall of the sun. Plush ruby quilts covered the goose down mattress that felt as if he had slept on a cloud. A small library filled the far side of the room, and on the other was a large table that also seemed to grow out from the floor below. It was covered in an array of sweet wines and fresh fruits. Another light rap on the door followed as Reaper pulled on his black leather armour over ragged undergarments.

“Elder Feladriel has requested that I guide you to Zas’fier Goondul master… ahhh-”

“- Kinslayer,” Reaper answered for her. “That’s what I am to you people,” he muttered as he strode to the door.

He opened the door to reveal the beautiful elven servant from last night. “Isn’t that right Alara?” He growled looking down at her. He eyes widened slightly at his sudden attention, but she quickly masked her surprise and nodded in agreement.

“So they say Kinslayer,” she replied.

Reaper grasped the hilt of his treasured bastard sword Kael and swung it over his back to clip the hilt in place. Alara’s eyes burned as she watched the swords movement with vivid focus.

“You can’t leave here with that sword Kinslayer,” Alara warned. Reaper shot her a dark glare. I said I wouldn’t use it. They treat me like a child.

“The Elder’s instructed I am not to guide you to the holy grounds unless you leave the sword here.” Alara replied softly. “He instructed me to tell you, they would ensure it will be buried with your remains Kinslayer.” She continued after seeing Reaper’s mood unchanged.

“Fine,” he replied as he unclipped the sword and rested it back against the wall.

“Let’s go,” he grunted impatiently.  

Reaper followed after the small dark haired elven girl as she led him through a maze of interconnected walkways and bridges that connected the vast forest city. Passing elves jeered and snarled at him, some even spitting at his feet as he walked past them. Reaper thought about throwing one of them off the bridge, but there was little point. The only death that matters today is mine.

Alara brought him down through a winding path that crossed hundreds of trees and other off shooting walkways until Reaper suddenly found himself on a lone path with Alara being the only sign of life around him. Even the usual sounds of the forest had disappeared, Reaper could no longer hear any birds or even the buzz of insects as if life itself were afraid of encroaching on the land they were about to enter.

The once enormous trees that blanketed the lands had now shrunk and withered into small dilapidated shrubs in comparison. The every present gloom of the forest had also withered, bathing the ground in a strange murky grey as the sunlight fought to break the death that flooded the lands.

Reaper followed the winding path down to the forest floor as it opened into a wide clearance covered in white ash. The surrounding trees were a multitude of shades, displaying their fiery death scars likely hundreds of years after their demise. I hope that I can stand so proudly in death.

What looked like half a battalion of armoured Elven warriors lined both sides of the clearance, creating a golden walled path to where he would battle their God Liandreth’iel. Most of the warriors were far too young for Reaper to consider them experienced, yet he saw a determination in their eyes that gave him credence to their display of competence. Some of the older elves had also made the trek, deciding to watch from a distance, Reaper could see them lining the edges of the forest as if a miniature forest had started to sprout from within the white ash that filled the lands.