Silent was the night Adina came into the town of Leila, long was the journey through the War Path that stretched all the way from Nosiras’ region to Terakus´ region, crossing Farustia’s royal lands from East to West.
She was tired and sweaty, the long journey in the back of a cart wagon, hiding from the cart’s owner and escorts took a toll on her, the heat was unbearable at midday and through the whole afternoon, and she reeked of potatoes freshly harvested from the near farms before entering the town.
Leila, for being a town so small, it was well organized and had decent patrols and trained soldiers, word had it that it was the town with the best beverages from all Farustia, it gained fame when the soldiers passed and stopped there for rest and resupplying.
“Hurry up, lousy cart driver…I can’t wait to take off these reeking clothes and take a hot bath” Adina thought as a drop of sweat lowered between her eyebrows, she was a very nimble, thin girl who took little care of other people's possessions, she thieved her way in and out of villages mostly undetected. She took pleasure in hot baths and sharing wealthy people’s riches by breaking and entering their homes without too much trouble.
At last the cart stopped –Let´s call it a night gentlemen, it’s been a long journey, tomorrow we sell and continue our way to the other villages, shiny E’sferas awaits- ordered the merchant, the rest just replied with weary tones, steps and metal sounds went by the cart, Adina waited until there was no sound near.
“There we go, fifteen gold coins I just saved up” she thought while pulling the cloth cover atop the merchandise to get out of the wagon, she then heard a soft voice talking to the cart’s horse –very good boy, you did great all these days, lemme wash you up and feed you ok? - It was the horse groomer, a young man who accompanied the merchant and took care of his horses.
“Cutie pie, so gentle to beasts and well…other beasts, wonder if he has a girl?” she looked at him from the shadows and slowly vanished into darkness.
“Well well… I wonder where the lords are” She started drifting off into the town’s every shadow, between houses and trees. Guards patrolled the main buildings and the town square; she quickly understood the pattern in which they made their rounds.
“This is nothing, but I hear little shiny and metallic friends over there!” she lurked behind a young guard, apparently holding more coins than the rest, she stepped behind him and he stopped, turned, saw nothing. He felt a slight touch on his shoulder, he turned again and heard some steps in a dark alley, he moved towards it –somebody there? - He pointed his spear at the spot, but he saw only a rock in the middle of the alley.
“Child’s play” Adina toyed around with the bag of coins, and then jumped on top of a barrel, from there to a wooden beam that stuck out from a house and swung above the roof. Her skill almost matched those of a cat.
From there it was easier to spot the tall building usually owned by the town’s wealthy family, she couldn’t see much, other than a wooden sign that stood alone in the northern edge of town. The night was quiet and still, this was good because her hearing capabilities were enhanced, but it also presented a hindrance since she had to be extra careful with her stealth.
On the other side of town, she visualized a brothel, which was the best way to get information, good drinks and some food. “Hmmm, signpost or brothel….this terrible decision calls out for a majestic coin flip” she got her hand inside the pouch now hanging from her thigh and tossed a coin into the night sky. The coin fell and she caught it, closed her eyes as she put the coin on her left arm, she then looked at it and sighed as if bored by entropy’s decision.
“Lame signpost it is then…” she came down from the house with a spin. She landed like a mountain beast and slid between shadows and corners, until she was in reading distance of the signpost. The information engraved on the signpost read “Merelo to the East, Xerenos to the South East” and “Heralios’ State up North” she giggled and started walking her way north.
Though her stomach rumbled with hunger, she moved hastily and without pause, she danced and tumbled for fun across the starless night, she enjoyed darkness and the silent winds that made her invisible. She felt free and with wings to fly above Farustia. Then she tripped and fell to her knees.
“Ouchie…better take a look at them” she started to take off the bandages around her knees, when they finally came off, she could perceive how far the curse had advanced “oh oh” she thought. Her knees were bare to the bone and the flesh around them was rotting and falling off, it didn’t smell like an infection, although her knees were rotting away little by little and the curse was spreading, she didn’t seem so surprised or terrified. It was almost as if she expected for such a horrendous curse to have advanced up to that point.
She started to wrap her knees up with the same bandages and raindrops started to hit the ground, she panicked and finished the bandaging on the run “I hate rain!” she thought.
She advanced now through the woods and heard as someone ran and panted heavily, crying and running, she stopped and hid behind a tree, sweeping with her eyes. A tall, blonde and strong woman ran covering herself only with blankets. A hound after her almost got the girl, removing only the blanket, the girl was beautiful and had a stylish dagger very unfitting to her current situation. Adina almost drooled when she looked at the woman’s naked body.
Her figure was athletic, her skin tone was whitish and her hair was blonde, her eyes shone blue and the way the drops met her bare skin in such a beautiful starless night made Adina almost love the rain that night. The dog jumped at the woman and the woman swung the dagger, the dog fell with a spin and blood splattered the woman, not only was she beautiful, but strong as a Goro too “ooooooohhhhhh if only my lust for coins wasn’t this great I’d save you, my well shaped white-toned, daughter of the night and rain beauty!”
The girl took the blanket back, cleaned herself and ran her way to town covered in it; Adina bit her lips and giggled, as if thinking naughty things. She then neared the dying beast and punctured it deeply with her own dagger. Killing the dog instantly. “A pure breed” She turned her gaze from the dog towards where they had come from, a twinkle light shone in her eyes, she could almost taste the coins. She started moving towards the House of Heralios with a greedy grin on her face.
Two figures came running in her direction, hired guards, armed with long swords. She sighed “they are after my sweet tall lady” and she took her dagger out and hid behind another tree. When the first was passing through, she swung her dagger right up his throat and the momentum did the rest. The man fell dead without even realizing what had happened.
The other noticed and swung his sword against the tree she was hiding with, she dogged, spinning outwards of the swing “hold me close tall lady” she thought as the tip of the sword grazed her long black hair.
-Die you accursed witch! - The man swung upwards again with fear and rage, she moved in, dodging by inches, the movement was swift and his eyes met hers closely with his contorted face by pain “hey, you aren’t bad looking yourself” she thought as the man’s face tightened, as if he tried to weather the intense pain in his chest.
The blood ran warmly down the hilt of the dagger and then through her hand –who are you? - inquired the man before dying, it was as clear as night this woman was not in either of the hired men’s plans. She giggled as his eyes were abandoned by life; she grabbed the weight of his body and mimicked dancing in circles.
-Indeed, who are you?- slithering words spoken from a pair of bright white eyes and no iris, directly in front of her, the only thing between the dead thing talking and her was the fresh mercenary’s body. She let a scream out and jumped backwards, leaving the merc’s body to fall in front the ghastly man that spoke.
-Why do you toy around with dead men when you have a debt to pay? - The dead-like man inquired as he stepped near Adina, she pointed her dagger towards him shaking, and his face covered by bandages and the skin behind them seemed dead and decayed, much like the skin around her knees. She knew this man from before; he was the one who offered her a cure when nothing else could cure her from a terrible disease she had contracted.
The Lexcais Curse was the debt most villains and thieves risked to pay when in need for weapons, solutions and ambitions to be filled in the most dire moments, you would contract a debt with the loaner at the time you got the item, and until the debt was paid, your skin and life would decay horribly, leaving you to appear as a fleshy skeleton, rotten and filthy for your remaining years.
-I’m on my way to get the coins- she said with trembling voice, the cursed man grinned and his pearly white teeth matched the white of his blank eyes –very well, ten thousand coins- he said in a chuckle to then walk back into the forest and vanish into darkness. The rain had stopped as Adina’s heart had too.
She sighed and laughed nervously, she gathered her courage and started darting towards the house “freakish ghouls, I peed myself again” she jumped a fence and was inside Heralios’ State, from there she could see the house, the guards were up and about, as if the house had been attacked “perhaps my sweet girl was a slave here” Adina thought as she melted with the shadows.
The guards ran about the state, looking for someone, she could notice that a commander was giving out orders from the manor’s front door, she circled around the house and set her eyes on an opened window, a bulky and tall tree next to it “jackpot” she thought as she made her way over the tree.
She climbed the tree and was soon near the window, from there, she spotted the cause of all the commotion, the Heralios Lord was cut open from elbow to knee, and some guards had covered his privates, she smelled the gold trail from there “they are obeying the captain and he is taking the money to a wagon…If I go in there, it’s only trouble…If I find the wagon, curse lifted”
She went down the tree and circled the house again, looking for tracks that could lead to the wagon where the most loyal men to the commander would be sneaking the gold in. She hadn’t too much trouble finding the wagon, in effect being loaded with gold and valuables.
“This is pie, I’m eating cherry pies and drinking beers” she pictured herself in a tavern with friends and lovers, drinking ale and eating sweets, she licked her lips and snuck behind the wagon “hmm even if I sneak and kill one of them quickly, things might get hairy”. She poised herself to strike but was doubtful of her own strategy.
-Hurry up with the bags, the rest will come back soon and it might get messy, best that we move and leave them clueless- said the armed man sitting on the driver’s seat – why don’t you shut up and help, then? - The taller one carrying a heavy sack responded –I would help if…ggrrhgh- an arrow flew to the driver’s neck. The two men carrying the sacks dropped the valuables and took out their swords, looking at the direction where the arrow had come from.
Adina’s look was of complete astonishment; her mouth was open and her eyes wide.
-Ready the weapons; here they come, blow the whistle, better to split the coin than be split open ourselves- said the taller one, when the armed man was about to blow the whistle, another arrow pierced his hand and stuck it to his chest, his scream was loud enough so that the rest of the guards heard.
Adina hid back intrigued by the mysterious shooter “If it’s an eagle, I’m done for!” she knew the deadliness of the renowned warriors of Exar. Mostly any thief or burglar alive knew that it was better to be in jail than to fight an Eagle of Honor; no foe was worse for a thief than a warrior trained in stealth, ranged and close combat, and few were as skilled trackers as them.
From the shadows some meters in front of the armed men came a hooded man running –Damn the day the Nest was built!- cursed the tall man, who ran with sword held high to meet the Eagle “ohhh black hood and cape above green tunic, this one is a Rogue Eagle! I might still have a chance! - thought Adina. Eagles could go rogue by turning their capes color order, forgoing ranks and orders for a time and completing self appointed missions, though it disrupted the ranks and was not seen honorable, every Eagle had the right to go rogue during times of peace.
The tall man swung downwards with enough strength to cut horse in half, the eagle parried the strike and made it slide along his war bow towards the ground, sparks shone as the two metals met, the tip of the sword pierced the ground and the Eagle slid the bow through the blade, making it spark again, finally meeting the tall man’s face.
“I want those two for my brothel!” thought Adina, who only witnessed the fight as she snuck up behind the man with the arrow stuck in his hand. The tall man let the sword go just as the bow cut his face, if he hadn’t, his head would’ve been split in two. His face was cut but he could still fight, the Eagle paced backwards as the fighter grabbed the sword with both hands.
“I bet a hundred cities to the eagle!” Adina bet against herself as she covered the other man’s face and stabbed him deeply in the back, as the man’s eyes rolled back and he fell, she kissed his cheek, her eyes widened and set on the two men about to fight.
-If it’s coin you’re after, we can use a bow like yours, a hundred pieces and you escort us out of town towards Terakus- said the commander of the hired guards, who had just arrived with the rest of the men. The Eagle now faced eight armed men, among them, the tall man who seemed to know battling, and a shield user veteran.
-So you can go buying a fresh pack of slaves? Come all at once, I’ve been wanting for all this hunting and lurking to come to an end- said the eagle with clear hatred in his voice. The commander seemed nagged by the hooded warrior’s answer, he started walking towards him – you heard the man, kill him fast, we have to move- the men soon ran and yelled to kill the eagle.
Adina pouted as the eagle seemed to be about to die horrendously, she stealthily pulled the dead driver and mounted the horse who was to drag the coin filled wagon and waited for the men to clash. She would be out of their way without too much trouble “sorry beautiful long dark haired black-hooded eagle of my dreams, but coins speak louder than stranger’s blood” she readied herself.
The eagle shot four arrows at an astounding speed, each at a different man, killing one of them instantly, leaving the rest badly injured. The tall man attacked from behind and the eagle crouched, the rest of the guards ran up to him and attacked, the eagle mainly dodged and parried, but some attacks started to go through him. His hood was cut and from his forehead blood started dripping to the side of his face along with long dark hair. He panted.
-Eagle or not, all men die- said the captain, the injured stayed back and the tall man swung with amazing strength, the eagle dodged and jumped, using the knee of the tall fighter as leverage to get behind the guards, the swordsman tried an attack before the eagle escaped his reach, which barely cut the long haired eagle in the air , he whirled his bow and cut the necks of two guards, bringing forth screams and blood.
-Captain, there’s a woman on the wagon! - Said the tall man, who caught Adina with the corner of his good eye –What the hell? Men, kill the eagle now! Varuuh, with me! - ordered the commander angrily as the events of that night both puzzled him and put his fortune at risk.
“HE HAS ONE GOOD EYE AND HE SPOTS ME!” yelled Adina in her mind, she whipped the horse and the beast started running, but the mud was too wet for it to gain speed fast, Varuuh and the commander ran to get on top of the wagon.
The two remaining soldiers flanked the eagle, and the injured circled him in an attempt to prevent him from escaping, the soldiers attacked and the eagle parried both attacks with the bow, leading one of the attacks to cut one of the guards, then he sliced the head of another guard, rolled out of the circle and started running behind the wagon as well.
-Woman! Stop this wagon at once and we’ll let you leave unscathed!- threatened the commander when both men jumped and climbed to the wagon’s sides, Adina turned to the commander and screamed because of his mad visage “this is NOT the kind of man I like! We have to get rid of him horsie!” she then pulled the reins to the right to make the horse turn and make the commander fall, yet the wagon jumped and the one who fell was Varuuh.
Adina pouted “help me oh mighty eagle, save me oh beautiful naked princess, avenge me oh noble horse groomer!” she closed her eyes and stood atop the seat, surfing the gallop to maintain her balance, the commander set himself on top of the wagon’s roof and swung at Adina, she crouched, dodging the attack by a hair and jumped between the man’s legs, punching him in the groin.
The eagle ran fast and quickly left behind the other soldiers, he shot two arrows, one struck Varuuh in the shoulder, he was still getting up from the mud and fell again. The other arrow struck the commander on the back of his shin, he groaned again put a knee to the roof. He yelled in anger as he saw that the horse was on course towards the fence. He sheated his sword.
Adina tried to get her dagger out but the man on top prevented her from reaching it. The horse jumped the fence and the wagon crashed against it, both Adina and the commander flew through the air “oh sweet ground, be soft as I land, and be hard for the ogre, that’s all I ask” she flipped in the air, gaining poise to land on her feet, the commander struck against a tree, blocking the impact with his shield, soon the eagle would arrive.
Adina landed with her legs bent in order to flip with the momentum of the projected fall, but when her feet touched the puddle of mud she only sank and fell on her back with a big splat. “Soft” Adina thought.
The commander grunted as he started to get up, Adina rolled slowly to get out of the mud, and the eagle got there in time to shoot an arrow between the commander’s eyebrows, yet the arrow hit only metal when the man blocked the attack with his shield, still fastened to his arm.
-This has been a long and irritating day- said the seasoned fighter as he got the arrow out of his shin, the eagle shot his last arrow and the man blocked again –good, now you can fight like a man –the commander unsheathed his sword –to think you have fallen so low from being an honorable eagle, siding yourself with a common thief- he continued.
The eagle untied his hood and cape, ridding himself of the extra weight, the light leather armor covering him was pierced and blood stained where he had been cut. Adina got up all covered in mud with her dagger out and bruised all over, and the veteran breathed scornfully as his leg hurt and his side too.
The two men moved against each other with killing intent, Adina also moved in with a serious face towards the bags of gold “I’m not gonna fight those two, now where’s the jewelry?” she started digging for the bags that contained only the most expensive items.
The eagle and the veteran fought almost evenly, the eagle’s deadliness came to a stop when he met the veteran’s superior defense skills, and both injured each other enough to prove they were equally matched. As they ran to each other to try and finish the fight, Adina ran behind the veteran and stabbed him badly twice between ribs, then jumped back as he swung back at her, she could dodge the lethal strike but not completely, the man cut her face nastily across her cheek, so forcefully her jaw almost snapped.
The eagle rolled in from the front and pierced the veteran commander through his chest, the seasoned fighter turned angrily to face the eagle – is this your so called honor? - he asked with blood dripping from his mouth –right now, you and I don’t deserve any honor, enslaver, you die and another one just like you will come up eventually, until I end it- the injured eagle took his bow’s sharp end out of the veteran fighter -then why bother killing me? It will never end - he asked spouting blood, laying on his back –the heads of slavery hide behind armored men like you, powerful lords finance this dark business for their own profit as a game, toying with people’s lives, with this massacre I raise enough attention to lure them to me, instead of me hunting them- explained the eagle, the veteran scoffed –little will you gain from this rogue eagle…. - said the veteran, the eagle looked up.
The thief was long gone.
The eagle left as the dawn broke, to find healing and to continue his quest to assassinate enslavers all over Farustia and Terakus. The veteran lay there agonizing when Varuuh got to him –Varuuh, take me to the village, we will start…our business…somewhere else- ordered the heavily bloodied man –I’m the captain now- said Varuuh as he slew his former commander down. The remaining soldiers got there and Varuuh started ordering them around.
Adina eventually found the horse again, mounted him and started moving towards the town of Xerenos, she was filthy with mud, hungry as a leech and bruised as she had ever been, but a grin formed around her muddy and badly injured face “I loved this town, so much fun, so many beautiful people, terrible food though, will come back”
Two bags filled with shiny things hung on the sides of the horse.
Perhaps a day would come that Adina could lift the terrible curse, but it was not that day, though she did remember a merchant mentioning the shiny city of E’sferas. She went on her way of thievery and deception to pay the debt; the soldiers of Leila helped an innocent young woman that morning and went investigating the murder of a local Landlord.
The next nights were brighter over Leila.