Oath Kingdom - Dark tide from the south

A convoy of carriages appeared over the hill neighboring the Oath Kingdom’s capital.

In the lead, sitting on the back of a solid black horse, was a young man. His short pitch-black hair and equally black eyes would make many young ladies squeal in excitement, but the stern look in his eyes would also make them afraid to ever approach him.

He was Cain, the bastard son of an influential noble of the kingdom, returning to his father’s home to get revenge for his mother.

His cold expression eased up slightly at the sight of the tall, dark walls of the capital. A forlorn look replaced it and his fists clenched under cover of his dark cloak.

“Mother..” He muttered, pain clearly showing in his eyes.

“Did you say something, Cain?” asked another man, traveling behind Cain. If Seth were there, he would have immediately recognized the man as the innkeeper of the “Hidden Page” inn.

“Nothing, John. It’s a bit painful to see this place again.” Cain sighed before turning towards a man driving the leading carriage.

“Let’s rest here for the night. We’ll go inside in the morning, lest someone takes us as thieves and bars our entry.”

A wave of laughter resounded from the other carriages as they all started mounting tents for everyone to rest.

Cain walked up to John and brought his mouth close to his ear: “Keep watch over this rubble here. I don’t want anyone doing anything stupid before confirming the situation in the capital. I’ll return quickly.”

John frowned and asked: “Where are you going?”

“To pluck the feathers of a curious bird.” Replied Cain with a smile before jumping off his horse and walking in the dense forest at the base of the hill.

He barely managed to walk a hundred feet in when a smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. Turning around, Cain looked at the red-eyed man in front of him calmly and asked: “Who are you, and why have you been following us since we entered capital territory?”

The man shook his head and said: “I’m the one asking the questions. Who are you, and why are you coming to the capital?”

Cain scanned the man’s expression, and since all his instincts were telling him that he was dangerous, Cain replied: “Cain, the leader of a group of merchants. We’re traveling to sell our wares in the capital.”

“Bandits and thieves, You’re no\ merchants.” Replied the red-eyed man, a subtle mist appearing around him as he continued: “No need for you to live anymore.”

Cain’s eyes became sharp in an instant, and dark energy covered his entire body, making him barely visible in the cover of the forest’s shadow.

Next, a clanging noise broke the forest’s silence, and two silhouettes appeared next to each other. One of the silhouettes was pure black, the energy forming its body seeming somewhat eerie under the weak light of the moon passing through the thick tree foliage.

The other was pure red, a potent blood smell drifting off it with each movement. In their hands were two black and red knives, forming a cross in front of their chests.

“Not bad.” A voice resounded from the black shadow, and more clinging noises echoed.

The two shadows, one black and one red, kept connecting before separating on repeat, with none of them seemingly able to take the lead over the other.

“Argh.” A small grunt resounded, and the black shadow dashed backward, a trace of the blood visible at his waist.

The black mist covering his body faded, and Cain, holding tightly on his waist, appeared with a pained look. Blood kept gushing between his fingers, and his face turned slightly pale.

“You win.” He muttered, causing the other shadow, the blood-red one, to materialize. The red-eyed man’s face was wholly indifferent, and there was no scratch on his body.

“I didn’t know ascended could even become bandits. Where are you from?” asked the red-eyed young man.

Cain winced slightly and tightened his hold on his waist before saying: “A small village in the far south. I’m a fallen of the academy, returning here after having managed to break through and ascend on my own.”

“What kind of ascended are you? I’ve never seen energy like that before. It mostly feels like blood…” continued Cain.

“I’m no ascended.” Replied the young man indifferently before continuing: “You should return to where you came from. The capital is under lockdown now.”

A trace of unwillingness appeared on Cain’s face, his darkness source starting to spin, but the young man stopped in his turning motion.

“Sure.” He muttered to himself, and his blood mist covered his body.

When the mist retreated, the young man was replaced by a charming young lady. Her hair was just as ashen as the young man and her eyes just as red, but there was a trace of bloodthirstiness in her gaze that the young man couldn’t even come close to.

Cain took a step back, feeling the blood flowing out of his wound making its way back inside. The horrifying display and lack of control over his blood made cold sweat start streaming down his back.

“Who are you?” he asked, a trace of fear in his voice. Not even Seth had given him such a scary feeling as the woman in front of him.

“Don’t worry. If I wanted you dead, you would have died long ago. Tell me the truth of how you have ascended, and I’ll spare your life. Don’t, and I’ll kill you.”

Cain’s enemies were Xander and Elise, who were on their way out of the city and stumbled upon Cain’s party.

Once Elise’s words ended, a sudden pain came from Cain’s heart, and blood flowed down the corner of his mouth. He had no idea how the woman in front of him did it, but he knew she was not bluffing and could kill him with only a thought.

After staring into her blood-red eyes for a long moment, Cain said: “Someone came into my town and taught me the theory to ascend as a darkness ascended.”

“A brown-haired youth with an old geezer’s look that seems to know a little too much for his age?” asked Elise.

A frown appeared on Cain’s face as he asked: “You know Seth?”

“So it was indeed him.” Muttered Elise, waving her hand once. All the blood on Cain’s body disappeared, and his wound stopped bleeding for a while.

“What is your relationship with Seth? Did he send you here?”

Cain also eased up slightly, judging her to be a friend of the sort to Seth as he said: “We are only acquaintances that had helped each other on some occasions, and no, he didn’t send me here. You? What’s your relationship with Seth?”

“This idiotic kingdom’s babysitter, left in charge by him. Why are you here then?” replied Elise with a sigh.

“To seek revenge on my father. I have no interest in other kingdom businesses. Seth had told me to see Necros or some guy named Ghost if I needed help. I know Necros, so, are you Ghost?”

Elise nodded immediately. “Sort of. Well then, I’ll let you do your own thing. Unfortunately for you, I have some business out of the capital for a while, and Necros will also not be able to help, but with your capabilities, as long as you move stealthily and don’t draw Iris’s ire, you’ll be fine. Good luck then.”

Just as Elise was about to turn around and leave, Cain lifted his hand and said: “Wait. What was that you used to attack me? Also, could you tell me your name? Ghost can’t be your real name now, could it?”

Elise chuckled and said: “I’m called Elise, the first daughter of the blood race progenitor, and what I used to attack you was my blood, which is already in your system.”

Once her words ended, she disappeared into a bloody mist, leaving only Cain alone in the forest. With her departure, his wound also started bleeding once more.

Cain winced in pain and started traveling back to his camp. The others had already entered their tents and were drinking, resting, or just fucking. Only John was left outside, gazing toward the direction Cain was walking from.

Seeing Cain walking near, holding his waist with blood flowing through his fingers, John rushed forward and asked in worry: “What happened?”

“It was a big bird. It’s fine now. Let’s go in and not make a commotion.”

John nodded and carried Cain towards a tent created for him. Once inside, he helped him lay on the makeshift bed and said: “I’ll go get Molly so she can clean your wound and bandage you.”

Cain nodded weekly, and John rushed out. He returned not even five minutes later, along with a frowning Molly.

Molly looked at all the blood covering Cain’s shirt and asked: “What happened?”. At the same time, she started pulling on his clothes and preparing a bandage out of a sheet.

“Nothing happened, Molly. I fell in the dark, and a branch pierced my waist.” Replied Cain.

Molly scoffed as she started cleaning the wound, pressing harder on it and causing Cain to wince. “Just say if you don’t want to tell me, don’t lie in my face.”

Cain looked towards John, seeking help, but John shrugged his shoulders, saying: “Don’t look at me for help. She might beat me up as well.”

Cain chuckled, his laugh making him wince in pain again, before looking up at Molly’s serious face. “I got into an argument with one of Seth’s friends. She really did a number on me.”

Molly’s frown eased up at the mention of Seth’s name, and she asked: “Why did you fight if she’s one of Seth’s friends?”

“I didn’t know that at the time.” Replied Cain with a wry smile.

“See? You and all the others are such big babies. That is why you should speak before fighting. You fight, get injured, and then come begging me to heal you.” Said Molly, tightening the bandage over the wound and getting another wince out of Cain.

Once done, she wiped the blood off her hands and the sweat from her forehead before asking: “Is big brother here as well?”

Cain shook his head: “He’s not. He’s in the far south, in the Blood Kingdom.”

Molly nodded with a sigh before sitting up and looking toward John.

“Dad, I’m going to sleep now. Have Cain drink water and rest for a while, and he should be fine.” After taking care of all the thieves guild wounds for the journey north, she was sort of the expert medic of the group.

After John nodded, Molly threw the bloodied cloth she used to clean her hands on the side of the bed and walked out of the tent.

Cain looked towards John and laughed as he said: “She grew up quite the feisty young lady. Not even I dare talk back to her anymore.”

John laughed and nodded: “I know. She’s a good kid. Are we going to delay our entry into the city?”

“No need.” Replied Cain, his face growing serious again.

“We’re entering tomorrow as scheduled.”

/Two more chapters dropping later today