Chapter 10: The Adventure Begins
As Max woke up his skull seemed to throb, trying to remember the night before as there was a letter on his chest from his father. As he looked about he noticed the mess of ale bottles, discarded plates, puddles of booze, and who knows what else littering the floor. Nathan was a bit out of sync with his body as he groaned and moved about, trying to work the stiffness out of Max's body as his stomach grumbled and he burped, the taste of sugar in his mouth as he huffed, seeing the remnants of a grand cake as he shakes his head. Carefully he takes the note off his chest and sighs, head swimming a good bit.
"You seemed to thoroughly enjoy your celebration, my son! I'm glad, every would-be adventurer needs some unwinding time but do not lollygag too much. You have a long road ahead of you but the gifts last night should aid you on your quest. Her name is Midnight"
Max sighed and huffed, swinging his feet off the table and gently letting them touch the ground as he looked around the dark inn, seeing a neat little pile of gifts from the night before. Among it was camping gear, canteen, a hunting bow with a quiver of arrows, cooking gear, books, and plenty more among it a plethora of other things as he sighs and gathers everything up. As he did he noticed his rings, fondly looking over them with a smile as he wondered how Olivia and Athens were but now wasn't the time as he unfurrowed a map and saw his father marked Spitfire mountains and the Inn he was in,
Bastion was within the Dwarven territories, bordering the Teteian's and the Beastmen settlements. The map seemed to show that if he were to make a straight shot toward to the city it would take him a little over two months but he currently didn't have time to think of any other routes as he gathered up his things and let out a sigh, rubbing his face and making some water as he walked outside. As he did he heard a whinny and looked a bit shocked, looking over to see a pure black mare saddled and prepped for a long journey ahead as he gulped, looking over her stunned.
He was amazed by her as Max began to admire the horse, taking in her stature, her muscular body on a good frame as she huffed and looked back at him with a bit of fear. Max couldn't help but gulp as he offered his hand out to her, letting her sniff it as she kicked her legs as she approved of him, waiting for her to take up her reigns. Her eyes were a deep brown like Wave's as he gently undid the reigns and placed his feet in the stirrups and took up the reigns as he gently squeezed her sides with his heels and willed her forward, snapping the reigns as she rears back and begins rushing forward.
He watches the landscape begin to roll as Midnight only seemed to have one speed, speeding off into the distance as he smiles and lays the reigns on her mane, opening his arms and feeling that air rushing past his face, unable to contain his excitement as he had never felt so free! He excitedly rode the road as he listened to her hooves against the worn ground.
The sun was beating down on the two relentlessly as they crossed the meadows, the air crisp in his lungs as things were so much different than when he was with his dad. There was no financing, no worrying about their employees being attacked, supplies and demand left-back in the dust as he couldn't help but wear a grin. Suddenly the scent of smoke hit his nose, the road up the distance showing just what he had feared as plumes of black smoke rose from something just over the hill.
He couldn't help but fear the worst, his hand on the pommel of his sword as he pulled back on the reigns, slowing Midnight down as she neighed in protest before coming to a slow trot. Max felt his jaw tighten as when he came over the hill he saw an overturned carriage on fire, slowly burning as Max scanned over the area as his eyes narrowed, spotting someone trapped under some debris as he stopped Midnight, his circuits glowing a bit as he snapped, placing a barrier around her to keep any harm coming to her before he rushed to help the trapped person.
As he had gotten closer he noticed they were gnomish in nature as he called out to them, glancing back at Midnight who was still blanketed in his magic. There was no response as he lifted the shrapnel of the carriage off him as he groaned out in pain, the gnome speaking his native tongue.
"You idiot! This was a damn trap! Now they're gonna kill you too... Just like they did me, brothers and sister!"
Nathan felt his syncing with his body snap back as he sidestepped an arrow shot at him as he grabbed a plank of wood, catching another arrow with it as it nearly pierced him with the board, centimeters from hitting its mark as Max's blood began to boil, watching as several men slowly skulk their way from the tall meadow grass, they all chuckling and shaking their heads.
"Snake eyes! You can't hit the broad side of the barn, this is a damn kid and he's dodging your arrows like they were nuffin! Come on boys, it's a kid. He shouldn't be any sorta problem for us!"
Max gulped a little as four men were slowly circling him for the kill and the fifth was taking shots from a hidden location as Max lowered his center of gravity and took a deep breath. Their leader was wielding a great ax, his demeanor showed he lacked civil manners as Max looked to the other three, one carrying a long sword and the other two short swords and shields, He contemplated magic as an option but had two factors to take in, the gnome and Midnight. If he started blowing things up it could be trouble as time seemed to slow for him and he searched for the best plan of attack.
He could hear footsteps of someone running about, bingo. In a flash, he sheathed his sword and pulled his bow from his back, notching an arrow and taking aim into the grass, letting loose an arrow as it whistled and pierced his target. Max knew that this was mostly due to luck and senses, time seeming to flow normally again as he dropped his bow and pulled his sword. The leader came charging, Max stepping to meet him as the man brought down his ax with great strength and speed. For a moment the grizzled leader thought he had the kill but Max was faster as he rolled from the heavy blade, feeling as if he was in that really hard game where reading movements was a staple. Max didn't want to let a simple thrust of his sword be this man's fate when he deserved so much worse, closing the small gap with a dash as he drove his fist into the bandit's chest as he breathed out, knocking the air out of him.
The bandit felt the air escape his lungs with a sudden rush as if an arrow was driven into his stomach. He wheezed as Max turned to see the others growing close, one bringing their blade up to finish off the Gnome, the blade glinting in the air as Max focused his mana into his fingertip of his hand, letting the burst of it out as he uses a stray strand of hair as a conduit. The air seemed to evaporate as the small needle-like string of mana shot out, piercing through the man's throat. The difference between the entrance wound and exit was comparable to a bullet as chunks of flesh and bone began to rain, blood splattering from the wound as the other two men are left in shock, faces turning pale at the sight of their once friend now missing a majority of his spine, falling limp onto the ground as he wheezes out and chokes, unable to breathe or move.
Max didn't give them a chance to recover as he begins to move with great speed, the remaining men swearing that the visage of the boy became the silhouette of a beast on the hunt as if it was going in for the kill. Max slashed upwards with his sword, regaining his center of gravity as he carved deeply into the bandit with the long sword, the sticky, warm crimson splattering across his comrade's face as neither had a chance to react. There were two left as the leader regained his composure, sucking in a forceful breath as he caught the scene laid before him, a young boy ruthlessly slaughtering his men with unmatched dexterity and speed as he reached down to the hilt of his ax, letting out a bellow.
This didn't stop Max from gouging his sword into the nearby bandit's side as he let the blade's edge cleave through his stomach as a mess of entrails spilled out and the man puked blood. The bandit tried his best to keep everything in place, using his dying breath to pull his blood-soaked bowels back into place as he hit the ground with a dull thud. Max had little time to parry the heavy ax blade as it glanced off his blade and split his recent victim in two as the leader cried out.
"They was my brothers! Like family and you killed my friends you little shit stain and I'm gonna splatter you cross the meadow I is! Now sit still and die!"
Max found the statement ironic, chuckling a bit to himself as he brought a left hook to the man's face, following with his blade, impaling his right thigh with his sword. The bandit bent a knee as he cried out in pain, a bit dazed as max grabs the man's face and whispers just loud enough for him to hear.
"To ash"
Flames swallow the bandit's face as blood-curdling screams fill the air and orange flames begin to spread. The flesh begins to flake away as the flames devour, Max pulls out his sword as he approaches the injured Gnome and takes him to his horse, placing him beside Midnight as he fishes out a healing pot from his bag. Even as the screams continue he holds the vial to the Gnome's lips letting him drink as much as he can stomach as his injuries begin to fade, coughing as he lets out a groan, needing to rest as his eyes flutter shut. With that Max sighs, looking over the mess he had made as his head shakes and stomach churns. He huffs as he sees the mess before gently placing the Gnome up on the saddle, stretching as he snaps the reigns and takes off again. This was a start to his adventure alright as he continued down the road, Midnight galloping off as he sighed, holding the gnome close.
Jesse only remembers a faceless silhouette helping the shrapnel off him before the bandits began to circle. Then everything went black, there was some yelling and screaming then he felt more tired as slowly the flickering of light caught his eyes. What a shame that his would-be savior died and now he was dead too as he got closer to the light only for his eye to open and find himself sitting beside a fire and a boy eating a good smelling meal that reminded him of home as the kid waved at him. A horse he could barely see whinnied as the boy offered him a plate of food and Jesse cautiously took it.
"Welcome back to the living sleepy head"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone