Chapter VI ~ Lies thicker than blood

“I love you.” Lagalos whispered. Getting up, he looks at her for perhaps one last time. The moon was bright, glowing a full eerie haunt Lagalos’ shadow clung onto her until it was dragged away. Leaving his friends behind, he knew the time was now.

With the elegance of a true elf, he went without a rustle or a print, avoiding every tree, every stone. His sight returned, along with the full use of his senses for only one reason. War was brewing.

~~~~~~~~~

“Where’s Lagalos?” Mr. Strider was looking around for him.
“Dont know, maybe he got lost.” Furry said.
“Doesn’t look like it. Furry go sniff him out.” Furry went around and found a scent. Following it she soon lost track of it, as though he flew.
“Um, you might want to stop looking for him, looks like he had something to do and may not come back.” Rebel stood there holding a piece of paper.
“What? How do you know?” Mr. Strider took the paper from her.
“Jeeze aren’t you rude this morning. Found it buried in the carrots.” Mr. Strider began to mutter through the letter and then threw it aside.
“That’s just great, he could have said something.”
“What does the note say?” Furry now curious read it a loud.
“Fellow friends [wow he has pretty good penmenship] I have recently received a sign that I must partake my leave now. It has been a great pleasure of mine to have been with you all, and I hope the very best to all of you. Perhaps our paths may cross again, but I doubt but wish for it. I have left a gift for you all to enjoy.” Flipping the page around, Furry didn’t see anything else.

“So what’s the gift?” Minty had just awoken in time to listen in on the last part.
“Don’t know.” Mr. Strider said.
“We should wake up Stealth and Goon, they need to know this.” Rebel turned and went into Goon’s tent when she then rolled out laughing.

“What happened?” Mr. Strider took a look inside when then the sudden look of it made him burst out in laughter.

Furry came to inspect the cause of this merriness especially when Lagalos had just left, then she saw Goon. Shocked and unable to even speak, her jaws were locked. There Goon was sleeping stark naked except for what looked like a giant diaper on him. Lagalos had even gone the distance to carve a wooden pacifier.

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Choco was in her house, tending to her elephant when there was a knocking at her door. Merrily about to answer the door, she saw through the window who it was; Robed men with a “N” insignia.

Choco’s house soon erupted into flames as the robed men left her front door. As the house exploded and crumbled to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Barbarian was about to cross the bridge to enter Wolf’s Totem Valley when there stood two men in the “N” insignia robe blocking his way.

“Where does your loyalty lie?” One of the robed men commanded.
“It lies with my heart, and in my axes.” The Barbarian pulled out his dual axes. But the robed men were quick, one casted a spell to stun him, while the other drew out a long scythe.

Then just at the moment’s strike, the barbarian released a thunderous roar and sent a shuddering shockwave through both of them. And with one mighty swing of his axe, he hit the scythe wielder in the stomach and flung him to the side. The robe ripped revealing a very expensive and high quality armour.

The other one now stunned at the sheer power of the barbarian raised a staff and released a large swirling fireball. Unable to dodge it, the barbarian just allowed it to smash into his armour. He kept walking towards the wizard as he panicked and pulled out a flaming sword and swung at the barbarian. The sword shattered on impact.

The other one regained consciousness and pulled out his flaming sword. But instead of attacking he jumped on it and hovered and flew away.

The barbarian picked up the wizard and as he was about to through him into the river, the wizard screamed, “You can’t do this! I am part of Nefarious! We shall repay you this...”

He made a small plopping sound in the river.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Xoro stood staring at the sea, the calming breeze only made her long for him more.

“You ain’t going to see him.” The captain of the ship, held his emblem with pride on his chest. Thrusting his thumb at the sea he said, “They got your man under there, with those fish lassies. If yah ask me he be bones on the wall by now.”

“What do you want from us.” Xoro was done with the tears, she knew what went down there with the mermaids.

“The fish lassies get what they want, now we want what you have.” Lecheriously the captain advanced from his crew. “You knows where be the Robe of War. Don’t you.” His smile was vacant except for the few rotting teeth he had.

“I.. I don’t know what your talking about.” Looking away she knew things were starting to go deeper.
“Oh yeh do, dontcha. Xoro, the last wicked to wear it eh? Or do you not ‘member the name... The Darkest.” Grinning madly he sneered at her. “But yeh got nothing without it now.”

Xoro spun around and about to cast her most powerful lighting attack, the captain grabber her arms as lightning fired harmlessly into the sky.

“tut tut Lovett, your petty elf twicks aren’t gonna help yah.” He drew out his large encrusted blade, “We’ll be chopping off those fingers to teach yah a lesson.” A roar of excitement washed through the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Strider casted a large amount of chi and magic to rush to his home when Plume was in view; His house, home lay in ruins. The entire block was destroyed. Anger burnt to a fiery and intensity of a thousand suns.

“WHO DID THIS!?!” He screamed to the skies. A small scuffle came around his neighbour’s home. He spun around and chased after the person. Then grabbing the arm, he saw it was a little boy.

“Meran, who did this?” His eyes watered up, and then he looked away and ran.

Standing there, watching Meran run away Mr. Strider felt the entire world crushing him. “I... lost her...”

Rebel, Stealth, Goon and Furry stood from a watching distance. They wanted to say something, but knew that nothing could do him any better. “Lets go.” Goon said quietly.

They split up, giving Mr. Strider time alone was important, but they knew there was a chance to get her back. They scoured Plume, asking all the residents and officials. When they met at the saloon, they found out as much as they could.

“So men in robes with an ‘N’ emblem came in dozens, and ripped apart the entire neighbourhood.” Rebel said.
“And then because the elves don’t betray one another, they didn’t tell them where Xoro was. So they were killed.” Goon continued.
“Eventually they found her when she stood out to stop them.” Stealth said grimly.
“Ransacked the house after she was taken away, but came out empty handed.” Minty ordered a fruit drink.
“But that only means they were looking for something or someone else. If they already had what they needed to make Mr. Strider to consent.” Stealth inquired.
“I know what they were looking for...” Mr. Strider was there just long enough to know what has happened. “The War Robe.”

Rebel shocked in silent, as everyone else but her and Mr. Strider knew what it was. “T-th-the WHAT?”
“The War Robe.”
“You mean THE WAR ROBE?” Rebel was hysterical at this point.
“Ssshhhh... quiet will you, yes ‘The War Robe’, from ‘The Darkest’.” Mr. Strider now with a face of confidence, as though he knew of a way to bring her back.

“Hold on I know about The Darkest, but what does that have to do with the wardrobe?” Goon was confused and lost as a blind puppy being led by Lagalos.

“The Darkest, is just a title for the most powerful wizard as you all know, that pledged to follow the Demon’s path. But the one key thing you need to be The Darkest is The War Robe.” Mr. Strider was then interrupted by Rebel.

“The War Robe is famed to have the ability to absorb all magical forms that comes in contact with it. And because all spells and skills that involve magic or chi is useless against the Robe, there is only physical attacks that could take down The Darkest.” Rebel rambled on like a schoolgirl again, enthused about this legendary lost artefact.

“Anyways, as she was saying, only physical attacks could stop The Darkest, but the problem lies in that all that magic that the robe absorbs, it becomes an extra container for more magic and chi, then with a whisk of a thought, all that magic and chi could be transformed into a powerful shield.”

“So wait wait wait, if The Darkest was this powerful, why did she disappear a few decades ago?” Stealth now was beginning to close in on Mr. Strider. “You’re called Master Strider for a reason greater than having an apprentice don’t you...”

“What do you talking about Stealth?” Minty was beginning to catch up on some new history.
“Well The Darkest disappeared a few years ago, and then you say they were looking for The War Robe here. Tell us Master... who is Xoro?” Leaning forwards, everyone else had caught on quickly to what Stealth was pointing at.

“You’re smarter than you look.” Master Strider said, “a lot smarter...”

Waving a hand to order some ale, he calmly laid down a large past that very few had known. He had time, he knew these ‘N’ robed men were after it, and Xoro as agreed with him, will tell should she or he be captured. And then the traps will guarantee a safe escape for her and a sure doom for them.

“I wasn’t a true master but this was years back with Lagalos, when he still could see. He was a true king; He was the aggro master of them all, no one could draw, ensnare and lure creatures like him. But while he was the aggro master of the creatures, he’d call me the aggro master of the hearts.

Mind you this was when I was younger, more reckless and ummm... active. I did draw in a lot of girls from every race, but I blame my mother for that. She was a veno, and I think her charm rubbed off on me.

Anyways, the rule of The Darkest was powerful for generations, but the power began to weaken, mainly because of the people who tried to kill The Darkest for The War Robe. True that the people who kill the previous Darkest is stronger, but only physically.

The magically powerful and gifted stayed away from the knowledge that the robe would simply make you weak and useless. So eventually it was a mere battle of the brawlers. Fist against fist to weapons clashing, and the stronger the person was, generally the less magic they possessed. There was a period where a giant ogre was the Darkest.

The War Robe wasn’t being used for what it truly was for, a channeller; An instrument to absorb magic and supply the wearer with even more power, and this was misused as a godly shield against the mystical.

There was then a break, an anomaly in this cycle of pure brute, Xoro.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lagalos had travelled North, to a secret meeting in Unicorn’s forest. He found a small circular setting of stones. Then with a proper casting on the stones, a secret door opened from the grassy shade.

He walked down and as the door closes behind him, torches magically lit up revealing a cramp hallway with a door at the end. Going up to it, a small peep hole opened as spears plunged through the walls, barely leaving Lagalos room to breath.

But knowing of this before hand, he was not shock, and he simply said, “Marmalade.” The door swung open and the spears slid back into the walls. Stepping in it was a underground command base, with candle lights everywhere.

Men and women from every race were here, a few dozen. And they all were here for one thing.

“Lagalos is here!” A few murmurs of hurrays and hellos. “Ok people we can start now.”

“Who is it? The Legendary? The Outlaws? The Knights?” Lagalos leant to the leader of all of this, Deblo. Hknew most of these groups, they were giant organizations filled with too many people with too many purpose. All for the purpose of profit and prestige; Scum worthy is what Lagalos thought of that ideal.

“No, worse then them, these guys are good. Very good. Nefarious.” Lagalos stared at Deblo. “Don’t worry we’re about to cover what they’re about.”

After everyone gathered around the table, the candle lights shone on a map, an emblem and a piece of material.
“Ok, we’re only here because of one thing.” Deblo looked at everyone as they all nodded in return. “War has broken out, perhaps sides aren’t chosen yet, but the war has begun and by the time our kingdoms will choose where to lie the loyalty the war has been decided.

Our enemies will soon be each other, but the true face of it all is Nefarious. Right here, their signature emblem, the “N”; some tattooed, some badged some just draw it on their forehead.

They’re rich, how they get their money we don’t know, we think they’re funded by private lords and they are out for artifacts, not just any, powerful ones. This is a piece of silk, from the Bra of Wonder.”

“The Wonder Bra?” A venomancer said. “But that’s just a magical artefact for sex.”

“Yes I know, I came across it myself.” Deblo gave a smirk and attempted to high five someone. Then just to get the meeting going, Lagalos gave it to him. “Ok but seriously, they have attacked Plume, and Etherblade already. They’ve rampage villages and killed travellers.

They work in rankings and they are growing fast, we think that they’re starting to absorb the other groups, they’re not strong, it’s that they have really powerful and high quality stuff.”

“So what are they trying to do? From all this?” Lagalos didn’t like the idea nor was believed war is wagered for money. Not in one where they spend so recklessly.

“We believe that their leader is the one that wants to wake up the Sleeping Gates of the Elves.” Everyone was silent. Then they all turned to the elves in the group. Mouth dry and throat with disbelief, no one dared to even fathom that possibility.

“We all know the gates are a way to become immortal. But I think it gets worse, I’m sorry Lagalos, but the one we traced to be trying to open the gates is... Ronneir Strider.”

“No, you’re wrong; he knows that opening that gate requires the lives of millions...”

“I’m sorry we checked it over and over, it’s him... he holds the already two pieces of the key. He only needs the Robe of War and the Harp of Tears.”

"Choco’s house soon erupted into flames as the robed men left her front door. As the house exploded and crumbled to the ground."

LOL was I living in a refridgerator box or something? lol. >_<

i believe they wicked men razed it on purpose for sum reason or the other

I am guessing that yes, it is a refrigerator box.....at least, that's what hobocop lives in 0.o

lol hobo, you dont live anywhere.