The Beginning of an Unforgettable Journey

Rill followed the duo of bandit leaders as they led her away from where her comrades were facing down their king, a ball of anxiety sitting in her belly. Maybe I should have brought Tark along, she thought, then shook her head to dispel such doubts. No, he is really skilled, but they need all the help they can get over there. I can do this!

All around, the battle waged, shouts and clashes of steel echoing across the tidy rows of canvas tents. However, the area where they now stood was abandoned; the perfect site for a duel.

There was no warning as Nervin spun and stabbed at her midsection with his daggers, and Rill snapped back into the present as she deftly deflected the attack with her sword. The man stumbled aside, only to be followed up by a wild swing of Tirel’s axe, which she easily blocked. He pushed against her, trying to overpower her as he had in their last fight, and his eyes went wide as he realized that she was easily holding him back.

He jumped out of range and regarded her with a doubtful expression, and Rill sneered at him, taunting, “What? Not so tough now that we’re on even footing, are you?”

Nervin circled her, looking for an opening as he mused, “It’s been less than two months since we fought. How have you gained so much strength in such a short time? That shouldn’t be possible.”

Normally, he would be right. However, the day after she had been healed by Nora, Rill had awoken reinvigorated, and decided to spar against Julius. That was when she had discovered that Leo had quite literally shared some of his strength with her, and she was now able to fight at a level far beyond what she had been capable of, before. Holding up her hand to show them the insignia tattooed upon it, she explained, “You aren’t dealing with your average sword maiden anymore, idiots! I’m the first dragon rider in hundreds of years, and I’ve got the strength to prove it!”

Nervin scoffed at her response, while Tirel furrowed his brow and dropped into a low stance, growling, “Whatever. There’s still two of us and only one of you. I don’t care how much stronger you’ve become, it won’t be enough to save you!”

He launched himself at her, striking with his axe. But she was able to follow the motion, and react before the blade met her stomach, casually bringing her sword up into a side guard to defend against it. The force of the blow sent her skidding across the uneven dirt, but she held her stance as Nervin flowed in from the opposite direction, attacking her with his daggers in quick succession. She easily parried each one of his attacks with her blade, ducking as Tirel’s axe aimed at the back of her neck.

She felt a tug as several of her hairs were cut in half, and rolled aside before Nervin’s downward strike could skewer her. Springing back to her feet, she danced around the two as they attacked in unison, barely able to hold her own against the onslaught. She might have gained enough strength to match either one of them individually, but it was quickly becoming clear that fighting the two of them together was still beyond her abilities.

As she fought, her body reacting on its own to her opponents’ attacks as it always had, her mind retreated inward, filled with uneasy thoughts. I can’t keep this up for much longer. All they really need to do is wear me down to the point where I slip up. I can’t even get an attack in edgewise!

She gritted her teeth as Tirel’s boot caught her in the ribs and sent her staggering to the side, recovering mere instants before Nervin’s dagger would have gouged out her eye. She batted the attack aside as the two pushed her on the defensive, their attacks gaining speed and ferocity. They might have looked down on her before, but it seemed that this time they were fighting seriously.

Darn it! Leo and the others trusted me to handle this on my own. They need my help! I can’t let it end here!

Rill dug deep within herself, searching for more strength, anything that would help her to gain the edge in this fight. Sweat soaked her brow, her breath coming quicker and quicker as the fight dragged on. I need…more! She dug even deeper, and there, she found it.

A tangled ball of light, hidden somewhere deep inside her. The instant she found it, it answered her call, flooding into her body and suffusing her with a golden radiance. It felt as though every cell of her being was suddenly supercharged with energy, her hair trying to stand on end as her skin began to glow. The two bandits exchanged an uneasy glance, and it was in that moment Rill struck back.

She stabbed her wooden blade at Nervin, who tried to block with both of his daggers. However, the instant wood met steel, there was a terrible shriek as the twin blades shattered, her strike continuing onward and sinking into the man’s clavicle. He grunted as her sword dug in, shattering bones and bursting his lung, blood painting the air as he gasped from the impact. Then, he vanished in a blur as he was thrown across the battlefield.

Her shining green eyes locked onto Tirel, as she spun on a heel to slam her sword down into his shoulder like a hammer. The man swallowed hard, and slowly brought his axe up to defend, but it fared no better than Nervin’s daggers as the impact of her strike shattered the ground underfoot. He groaned as the force reverberated throughout his body, turning his innards to jelly. Eyes white, he fell to his knees before collapsing face-first into the dirt.

Rill breathed a triumphant sigh as she realized she had won the fight, and in that instant, the golden light suffusing her slipped out of her grasp and vanished on the wind. Was that…what Julius had called the dragonforce? That power was incredible! A wave of fatigue took its place, but she had no time to entertain it, turning back the way she had come and sprinting down the pathway, back towards her companions.

There, she stumbled upon a nightmarish scene. Blood was everywhere, the hulking form of Marik standing tall despite being drenched himself, facing down the glistening azure and gold form of the dragon, Leolyn, before him. She saw Jensen, clutching the stump that remained of his left arm, and Julius, unable to stand from the horrific wound in his hip. Sarrah’s shield arm hung limp, covered in the dark red fluid leaking from the wound in her shoulder.

Rill’s heart skipped a beat at the sight, but she quickly brought herself back to her senses. I have to help, somehow. But…how? She glanced around the battlefield, before her gaze fell upon the massive form of the Halcyon, looming over it all. There, something metal glinted in the sunlight, and she grinned deviously.

Leo, I have an idea! Keep him distracted, and wait for my signal!

***

Rill’s voice echoed in my head, and I spared a glance as she streaked past where Marik and I stood. Rill, you’re here! I trust you! I thought back, without any time for either of us to elaborate.

Marik’s single, glowing red eye followed her as well, and he growled, “Scurrying around like cockroaches, the whole lot of you! I’ve had about enough of your tricks!” He hefted his axe, taking an imperious step forward.

I need to slow him down! I breathed deep and forced mana into my breath as I unleashed a torrent of frost upon him, bathing him in ice. Even if magic can’t touch him, if I cool the surrounding air temperature enough, then maybe…

I kept up the stream until my breath ran out, and as the cold mist that hung heavy in the air faded, I saw Marik covered with icy crystals, his boots frozen to the ground. He laughed, flexing his leg to instantly shatter the icy bonds. “Clever, but this isn’t enough to hold me!”

In my head, Rill screamed, Now! Eat this, Bandit King! A split second later, two massive wooden javelins thicker than my forearms crashed into Marik’s back, forming an X-shape as they lanced through his stomach and pinned him in place where he stood. He gasped in shock, his eyes wide for a moment, before he hung his head. Blood poured from the gaping wound, pooling at his feet as his axe clattered to the ground.

“Leolyn, move!” Julius roared behind me, and I sidestepped just in time. The man flipped his eyepatch aside, and his eye shone in a starburst of pure white. Marik instantly burst into monochromatic flames, his entire body engulfed by the blaze as it seemed at long last, his protection against magic had finally run out.

Before anyone could cheer our victory, however, a wet chuckle began to emanate from Marik’s bloody lips. He gripped the thick wooden shafts that impaled his torso, veins popping as he crushed the harpoons into splinters and tore himself free. Still surrounded in a fiery white tempest, he drew himself up to his full height and roared, “You think this is enough to kill the Bandit King?”

The world around us trembled at his proclamation, his aura swelling to even greater heights as his eyes rolled back in his head. Behind me, Julius groaned as he struggled to keep his own eye open, blood streaming down his face. He can’t keep this up for much longer!

Rill left her station at the harpoons and reappeared at my side, and as Marik charged towards us unarmed, we met him together. The man had gone feral, and fought like a wild beast as I grappled with him, Rill flowing into any openings she could find, striking joints and old wounds with her sword. He snarled and growled, bloody foam dripping from his mouth as we wrestled, my talons raking deep gashes along his chest and shoulders. But still, the man did not give up.

Rill yelped as he backhanded her, tossing her across the dirt, and he wasted no time delivering a dizzying headbutt into my skull, kicking me backwards with a boot. Julius’ flames slowly petered out as I tumbled to a halt and struggled to rise against the onslaught of the man’s incredible aura as it washed over the battlefield. The form of the Bandit King stood tall against the backdrop of the shattered ship, the bloodstained goblin skull upon his head silhouetted against the midday sun as he took one, terrifying step forward.

There was nothing we could do. Nothing anyone could do. The man simply refused to die! He took another step forward, and then…he stopped. I waited in tense silence as his aura slowly faded into nothingness, until all that was left was Marik, his eyes blank, standing motionlessly before us.

No one said anything for a long time, each of us nervously awaiting his next move. But when none came, it was Sarrah who cautiously approached, poking him with the tip of her sword before placing a hand upon his chest. Moments later, she whispered in disbelief, “He’s…dead.”

***

In the coming days, news of the Bandit King’s fall spread across the land like wildfire. Marik had died on his feet, which was likely the way he would have wanted to go out, and the battle had ended in our overwhelming victory. However, that triumph had been hard-fought, and was not without losses.

The wound in Julius’ hip ran deep, and very likely, he would never fully recover. He made sure to claim Marik’s head before disembarking back to Eastelias, with a disconsolate Lassan in tow. Nora and Tark had both perished from their wounds, with Lassan finding their bodies shortly after the battle had ended. Their deaths had left a lasting impression upon us all, but Lassan in particular had been shattered by the discovery. Jensen had lost his ship and an arm, but still insisted that he would continue adventuring, albeit with a bit less vigor than before, to his crew’s jubilation.

Sarrah’s wounds had been relatively minor, and Julius had tasked her with overseeing the forces the Church had sent in to clean up the bandit filth that remained. It would be a long, arduous process, but I was glad to see that at last, the people would be free to live their lives without fear. We had won, and the people had been saved; that was enough for me, at least for the time being.

Rill and I had managed to escape with only superficial injuries, and we recovered quickly, deciding to take a short break in a nearby town while we determined what to do next, and where to go. With the demise of the Bandit King, travel was no longer restricted, and we could go anywhere we wanted, although I still had my directive from Exziel to visit the area he had called, ‘the Domain.’

Before we could make any definitive plans, however, we received word from Julius. We were being summoned by the king of Eastelias, to thank us in person for our involvement. With no reason to refuse, we decided it would be in our best interest to see what the city, and its king, had to offer.

As we boarded the carriage sent to escort us and disembarked towards the capital, I shielded my eyes with a hand and looked towards the bright blue sky. A lot had happened since I had come to this world, dozens of unforgettable experiences, and yet it felt like I had barely gotten started. Finally, the immediate threat posed by the Bandit King was over, and the world had at last opened up.

Now, my journey to see what this world had to offer could truly begin.