Soulforge Legacy Series

Instead of sitting and waiting, I got started. Pushups, burpees, sit-ups, sprints, and pretty much anything else I could think of. So long as it fit into the space we had been told to stay in.

It wasn’t that the space was small. In fact, it was almost twice the length of the truck in both directions. Though, based on how crowded all the other little camps were, that wasn’t for our benefit. If anything, we were being isolated from everyone else.

Whatever the reason, the space was fairly large. The issue came from the fact that I wasn’t the only one that had to use the space. Almost the moment we came to a stop, the entire group set up camp. Cooking fires, workbenches, and even a few odd games were being played.

With no clue of when we would be leaving or what was going to happen, people found things to distract themselves and others. A few even joined me from time to time before breaking off to rest or do something else. The company was nice but I didn’t mind either way.

Hours passed without a sign of anyone coming to talk to us. Even as lunch came and went, nothing occurred. After lunch, I challenged Xander.

With my new speed and abilities, I should have been able to keep up with him. To at least stand a chance. Yeah, no. Not even a minute into the fight and I was down and out. That final blow was only one of dozens that appeared from the shadows around me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t feel the attack coming. I had no issue detecting it. I was just too slow to react.

We sparred for a little while before Xander finally said enough was enough and forced me to practice a few moves. Over and over. According to him I had speed but little to no technique.

When I pointed out that my teachers had more experience than everyone in the clearing, he laughed at me. Something about a teachers knowledge is only as good as the student they are teaching. I might have cursed him out after that. That little drill took us to dinner.

Of course, just as I sat down with my bowl of soup, a small group approached us. At first, I ignored them. Hey, you would too if you were as hungry as I was and already had food in your hand.

That only lasted until the man in the lead spoke. “I am told that you are here at my request?” His voice was familiar and one that I never thought I would hear again.

My bowl sloshed as I set it to the side and practically jumped to my feet. “Barti!?” I didn’t even realize I was rushing toward the elf until I was tackled to the ground.

“Kyren!” Tindi’s proximity to my ear and the pitch of her voice nearly deafened me. “Where have you been? What level are you?

“Tindi.” Barti tried to stop the woman’s tirade.

“What are you doing here? You’re a fox?” Either she ignored him, or she just didn’t hear what he said as she kept going. “Wait, you have a second tail. What…”

“TINDI!” His voice caused the ground to rumble and this time she did stop. Though, given how she glared at the elf, she was annoyed that he had interrupted her. “We are here for a reason.”

With a roll of her eyes, she got off of me. By the time we were both on our feet, Barti and Xander had already started their discussion. “Your request with the council was to rescue anyone that we could from the city.” Xander gestured at the group that was trying, and failing, to not stare at our little group.

Wait, Barti was Lord Moonweaver? What? He must have noticed my confusion and shook his head. Whether that meant I shouldn’t ask or that I should wait, I had no clue. Still, I stayed quiet.

After a beat, Xander continued. “There was also a secondary request to verify the presence of a demon at the location. Two demons were encountered and killed.”

The second request surprised me. He hadn’t mentioned it let alone asked me about the events. So either he had asked others or he had been watching me the entire time. That second option, while a bit creepy, was more likely.

Was it creepy? Sure. Did his lack of help during the fight annoy me? A bit. Would I find a way to get him back for this? You’re damned right. But how?

“Good,” Barti waved his hand and no less than a dozen people swarmed in. Each wore light armor and their movements were blurred at the edges but none of them approached any of us. Instead, they moved to those sitting around the camp.

“Hi,” I heard the soft, soothing voice of the nearest one. “My name is Scott. Can I get your name?”

“Emeris.” The young pantherkin girl said in a hesitant voice.

“Ah, such a pretty name for a beautiful girl.” While his words could be construed as him flirting, the way they were said was closer to that of someone trying to soothe another person. Sort of like a nurse or doctor would say to a patient in a movie. “Do you have any injuries?”

Out of respect for the girl, I tried to tune the rest of their conversation out as I looked around. Such conversations looked to be going on all around the clearing. As I watched, a few broke down only for the people talking to them to pull them in for a hug.

At that point, something the man said caught my attention. “…will be housed until you can find a job. While there is no pressure to find a job or to move out, I recommend doing so as it can help you settle. And the sooner you settle, the sooner you can put everything behind you.”

Wow. That wasn’t something that happened back on Earth. Ever. If someone lost their home, no matter whose fault it was, they would have to fight for anything from their insurance company.

Of course, that assumed that they were even insured. And until they won, they would have to front the cost for everything. This usually meant the person ended up on the streets. Once their employer found out, they were let go. After all, it wouldn’t do to have a homeless person working for them.

A man ran around the group, checking in with each of the armored people before approaching Barti. “The city is clear of all but the humans.” He whispered to Barti. My better than normal hearing allowed me to hear him and judging by the slight tilt of Xander’s head, he heard the man as well. “They also confirmed the death of 2 demons.”

At that, Barti shot me a look. Sort of a mix of pride and exasperation. “Go inform the Beast King. Also let him know that I will be departing the city in the morning.”

The man didn’t say or ask anything. His fist simply slammed into the center of his chest hard enough to be audible before he took off toward the city.

“I know it is not much, but I bid you to join me for the night.” Barti gestured for us to follow him. “We shall be leaving in the morning for Gravepoint.”

“What do you mean we will be leaving?” While Xander sounded completely neutral, the narrowed eyes told a completely different story.

“Ah,” Barti shook his head. “I sometimes forget the order of things. I need to meet with your council. As you are heading in that direction, I would like to employ your services. Both as a guide and as the local representative of your city.”

A few beats of silence passed before Xander spoke. “I was hoping to explore the city a bit. It is my first time here after all.”

The elf shook his head. “Unfortunately, the city is currently locked down. Unless you have a residence in the city you are not allowed entry. Only with an escort are you even allowed to enter the city. And, unless you know someone else inside the city, you will have no choice but to leave the city when I do.”

Why would a whole city be locked down? What could cause such a rule to be instituted? And why were people not arguing that it was their right to move without restriction? And where would all these people wait for guides? Wait, was that what this place was for? Was that why so many people were out here?

With a sweep of my eyes, I took in the various groups scattered along the road. There was a mix of groups. From those that looked weary and barely clothed to merchant caravans. All of whom had sat in their camps all day.

Sure, that made sense for the refuge groups, but for merchants, time meant money. The longer they sat around, the more money they lost. So the fact that they had stayed out here all day was proof enough of what he said.

Barti and the rest of the guards around him turned and started for the city. “Leave the vehicle. We can get it in the morning.”

I started to follow the group but stopped when Xander moved in the opposite direction. While I could have continued on and let him catch up, I was curious what he was doing.

His long legs quickly crossed the distance to the truck. As soon as he reached the cab, he opened the door and pulled on something. A pair of heavy thumps caused the hood to vibrate. Which was odd as the various large trucks I had seen had physical latches on the side of the hood rather than some lever in the cab.

Now, the truck either had a large tank or didn’t use gas as we had not stopped once to fill up on our way here. Something that made me curious as to what kind of engine this vehicle used as it had to be better than anything on Earth.

I got close enough to see the engine compartment just as the man yanked the lid forward. A mass of hoses and wires covered the top. The whole mess reminded me of what I imagined a rats nest would look like.

And cradled in the center of the tangle was a rather large orb. The thing had to be the size of my head. Actually, it might be a few inches bigger. It was half filled with a weird blue liquid that shimmered with golden light.

Soft popping sounds, akin to someone pulling a suction cup off a piece of glass, came one after another as he started to yank cable after cable, hose after hose, from the orb. The moment the last one vanished, the truck vanished. All that was left was the seemingly solid orb filled with an unknown liquid.

Then that too vanished. If I had to guess, it went into some sort of spatial storage. Something that accepted items that couldn’t be stored in one’s inventory. Which likely meant the truck was in his inventory.

Without a word, he turned and we both joined Barti as we all moved toward the city. Barti chose that moment to answer my unspoken question. “Yes my name is Baelor Moonweaver.”

He lied to me? Lied to everyone? Or was it just me? What for? Why?

“Remember when I told you about my home? The people that lived there? My wife?” I gave him a single nod as I tried to not see the images of what happened at the end of that story. “The demon Kaelis Morrowgrave…”

“Wait,” I cut him off. “As in the demonic captain? That Kaelis?”

“The one and same.” His head tilted in affirmation. “He caused the beast wave.”

“How does one cause a beast wave?” The question came out unbidden, cutting him off for a second time.

“There are many ways. In fact, it is something that happens quite often.” Barti started only for Xander to cut in.

“The waves that your unit was sent to deal with were such a beast wave.”

Barti glared at Xander, apparently even the cool elf gets annoyed at being cut off too often. “As I said, they are common. And most cities have ways to detect and divert them. So to have such a large one show up without warning is unheard of. To have the city smack dab in the center of such a group is impossible. Yet it happened.”

“But surely you are not suggesting…” I trailed off.

He nodded his head. “They were directed. Their path controlled. Their approach masked. All so the demon could clear out a settlement of nonhumans and remove what little support the city of Proxima had. Without the Elven settlement, the city would have to rely on the adventurers as the road to the nearest garrison is a couple days walk.”

“Wouldn’t they use a horse and carts to transport people as needed?”

Everyone but Xander shot me looks that asked if I was stupid. Still, Barti answered the question. “Armed transports are as slow as walking and are limited in where they can travel due to weight and size. It is faster to just march any group to the location they are needed.”

“Then how…”

“We took a bit of a round about way to get here.” Xander spoke up before I could ask my question. “We only made it here in a day thanks to the vehicles speed.”

That made some sense to me. But, judging by how everyone else looked at Xander with a bit of shock, it wasn’t normal to travel so fast. I almost wondered what they would think if I told them about some of the things that had existed on Earth for a time. Of racecars and jets. Missiles and spacecraft.

“Anyway,” Barti moved on without asking any of the questions he likely had on his mind. “After some work and travel, I found out where the demon was likely hiding.”

If he knew where the demon was and where he was hiding, he should have dealt with the demon. Ended the situation before it got so out of hand.

“Still, I had to be certain. To find out who he was and what he was doing. Sadly, I was unable to enter the town as my last name would have let him know that at least one of my clan had survived and I couldn’t have that. So I changed it. Went to one of the adventurer guilds and registered as Barti. Then took a few quests. Enough to make it look like I had ended up in Proxima on accident.”

That was a fairly simple plan. But where did I come in? Why had he agreed to train me? Or did he do it because he was bored?

“After decades of work…” Wait, did he just say decades? As in multiple sets of ten? Fucking hell that is some dedication. “I managed to find myself a few trusted allies. Those whose goals aligned with mine.”

That had to be the group that I had met in the warehouse. The ones that had forced me to drag one of their number through the streets so that we could get into the little prison cavern below the city.

“Still, no matter what we tried, none of us could get close enough to the demon.” He looked at me. “Then Ginny brought you to me. Told me to train you.” He shook his head. “I was skeptical at first. I didn’t even think that you would last the day, let alone enough to be useful. But you did.”

Barti’s eyes got this faraway look as if he was recalling something. The group stayed silent as we waited for him to continue.

“Then, one day you started to smell like those touched by the demons.” I grimaced at the reminder of the blood I had ingested because I thought it was a sauce. “Everyone thought you were lost. That you would turn on us. Ginny, she pushed back. Told everyone to wait. To watch. To let things play out. Soon enough, you were invited to meet with the guard captain. But you didn’t turn on us. You didn’t agree to join the demon in return for power.”

That explained some of what happened and why I had been allowed to meet the group. Been allowed to help them with their plans without someone watching over my shoulder.

Well, that isn’t entirely true. The person I dragged to the cavern probably could have done something to me if he wanted, but he didn’t.

After that, the group stayed silent. Likely letting Xander and me digest what we heard.