A Long Road Home: Chapter 3

Many of the homes were a lit with fire and shouting was echoed only by screaming and metal whistling through the air. Isaac hit the first building and watched as it collapsed under it’s own weight with a thunderous crash. A man ran by on a horse, savage laughter leaving his mouth. Bodies littered the ground, jagged cuts in their heads, necks and backs.

Running a few more steps forward he stopped as his foot brushing against one of the bodies. The shoulder was hard and when looked down he saw they were wearing armor. Crouching down he rolled them over and recoiled seeing the frozen face of one of his comrades stricken down.

Arms shaking, he lowered his hand and shut his eyes before standing quickly. Eyes narrowed he saw a horseman racing toward near him. He took one step then another before sprinting right at the rider. The riders grin turned into a frown at this random man running at him but he brandished a sword at him.

Isaac leaped forward and the sword swung, slamming into his side but he barely felt it. Reaching forward he grabbed the man by the torso and dragged him to the ground. As they crashed into the ground Isaac heard the intake of breath as bones snapped and chest caved in. Blood covered his hand and for a moment he was horrified and jerked backwards.

And suddenly he was knocked backwards, launched into the air by the strike from another horse. Rolling across the ground he grunted trying to stand again when the man jumped off his horse and slammed the shaft of a weapon into his chest driving him back to the ground.

“Another one of you Sanctum ‘saviors’. Going where no asked for you. And now look. These people who welcomed you pretended to not know where you were. So we had to convince them to be a little more honest,” He kicked him again while he’s down.

Isaac rolled over a few times before getting to his feet. The man wasn’t wearing armor or anything. Just leather and skins over his clothes. The accent he spoke was rougher than Shin’s.

“These people have done nothing wrong,” Isaac said and raised his fist. “They don’t deserve to be tortured by you.”

The man began to speak, his mouth open and then stared at him. A look of disgust crossed his face and gripped the axe with both hands this time. “You’re one of them. One of them freak show mages. With your glowing eyes and magic. Didn’t think the Sanctum employed you freaks.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb,” gripping the axe with both hands he started running at him.

Isaac jumped backwards avoiding a swing and stumbled to avoid another. The man brought the axe down with both hands and with no weapons Isaac covered his face with both hands defensively. The axe sank into his arm and stopped. He didn’t feel it any more than just an immense pressure on his arm.

“What kinda monster are you,” he growled trying to press harder but Isaac managed to fight back. Getting to his feet he grabbed the axe before whipping it away. His uninjured arm shot forward grabbing the man by the neck.

Swears and threats came from the man as he was lifted and he felt something spill forward. His arm vibrated rapidly and saw that his hand glowed with a dark light. Squeezing down on the man’s throat he watched his eyes roll into the back of his head as his body went ridged and grow cold. In contrast Isaac’s hand and chest grew warm almost hot.

Shuddering he jerked his hand back away from the man and watched him collapse to the ground and not even crumble. Just fall over like he was actually frozen. Isaac looked at his hand and stumbled backwards almost sinking to his knees shuddering under the sensation in his chest. A horse whinnied and he could feel the ground shake meaning another one was coming his way.

Whirling around to face it he raised his hands to block but the horse already slammed into him. It trampled over him, its hooves beating into his chest arms and legs. Groaning he shuddered and pulled himself to his feet slowly. Ignoring the rider, he stared at his arms and body. He should have been at least hurt but the only sign that he’d been wounded was the gash in his arm from the axe and even then, it was closing up quickly.

The footfalls from the horse as it started again and he whirled to face it glaring. Before it got close a whistling came through the air and something slammed into the ground. The horse reared backwards in shock and Isaac time to see the noise. It was a shovel and it hummed with magic.

A line of magic erupted form the ground, surging toward the horse. When it finally collided, it exploded sending both horse and rider flying through a building. Turning he stared and saw Shin standing atop one of the homes. He jumped to the ground and he walked over quickly picking up the shovel and glancing at his new ally.

“So you’re pretty durable now,” he said glancing at the gash in his arm.

“Yes,” he watched as his arm finally healed entirely and he felt no change. “I can’t feel pain either.”

“Another benefit,” Shin said as he walked toward the fallen rider. Gripping the shovel he turned and shoved the blade into the main’s chest. It sunk deep and the man jerked for a moment before going still.

Stepping on his chest Shin dug the shovel in deeper and began to whisper, magic flowing around him. Isaac’s eyes widened as the body of the man glowed, tiny ribbons of energy sinking into the man’s chest like water. Shin took a step back wrenching the shovel free and held out a hand.

“Rise,” his voice echoed in the dredges of magic and the man slowly stood up. His eyes weren’t focused and his mouth hung slack jaw but he loosely focused toward Shin. “Not perfect but you’ll do for now.”

“What is that?” Isaac asked slowly.

“A zombie. Not a very impressive one but a zombie none the less,” clutching his shovel he pointed with his free hand. “Why did you and your group attack this village?”

Groaning the zombie mumbled, “We came because of rumors. Rumors of soldiers from the Sanctum had infiltrated our lands. Sanctum warriors are worth a bounty in these parts.”

“A bounty?!” Isaac interrupted and took a step forward and Shin noticed it firsthand. His eyes glowed to life and more than that it radiated within his body as if there were two Isaac’s there. One the body and the other the magic within that kept him alive.

Isaac turned to the zombie again, “Explain.”

“The lady of Isal put a price upon the heads of Sanctum soldiers,” the zombie made a lopsided grin. “We could trade one of them for gold and get a nice drink for our troubles.”

Isaac stepped forward and glared at the zombie. “A bounty means you have to turn them in alive right?”

The zombie looked at Isaac but didn’t answer. Shin rolled his eyes and stared at the zombie. “Answer his question.”

The zombie turned to Isaac now and nodded. “Alive gets us more gold. But dead is an acceptable option.”

“Did you kill many of them?” Isaac asked carefully closing his hands into fists.

“Nah. Only that one that drew his sword. The others surrendered when we threatened the rest of this village. They left quietly. And then I and few others came back to take what we could. Village doesn’t have anything though. Booze wasn’t even good.”

“Where were you going to take them?”

“There’s a camp. A half a day’s ride out west. After that it’s up to the Norians.”

Isaac and Shin exchanged a glance and Shin raised his hand before closing it into a fist. The light left its eyes along and the zombie collapsed to the ground. Shin then grabbed the shovel, turned it around and started hacking at the body.

Isaac reached out to him quickly, “What are you doing! He’s already dead.”

Shin shrugged him off scowling, “He’s dead but I need his parts.” Bending over he pulled out a blood and viscera soaked bone. “Necromancer’s deal in the dead. I need the dead.”

Isaac recoiled and Shin rolled his eyes continuing to hack at it. He picked up bones and broke them down into pieces then put them into pouches at his hip. “So you’ve visited and found out what happened to your comrades.”

“Yes. Do you know about this camp?”

“Why would I?” Shin arched his eyebrow. “You actually want to go after them?”

“I’m not going to let them be sold into Father knows what. Slavery, used as experiments, or just killed. I won’t let that fate befall them.”

“You know us going after them is us going into Norian territory. The opposite of what you wanted.”

 “They deserve to go home every bit as much as I.”

 “I think I know what it is that drives you. It’s foolishness.”

Isaac didn’t stay to answer, instead he walked until he could see the moon and reorient himself slowly. When he figured out which direction it rose he turned to the opposite and started going that way. As he walked he stopped and listened and there were no more shouts or screams.

Regardless when he noticed a fire he worked to put it out, using a lot of dirt or his own shirt and armor to smother it. When he saw people that were still alive he tried to at the very least get them out of the street and somewhere safer. After the third person he did this for he stepped out and got another look at his arms. Throwing away the arm guards and gloves he stared at his bare skin.

The gashes and wounds had all disappeared and through the light of the moon he was certain. He touched his chest lightly and he couldn’t feel his heart beating. He touched himself across his chest but there was nothing there.

Bending down he undid the straps off his shin guards and then took off his chest plate. Tossing them both onto the ground he stared at his armor, armor that had saved his life more times than one but it would make him a target. Setting it back down he looked around at the town. The majority of the fires were out, at least the ones that he personally could reach. Some of the villagers were leaving their homes to survey the damage.

He started walking toward the edge of the village. As he walked he felt the stares of the villagers. Some knew that he’d come to try and help them but they were keeping their distance. Catching the gaze of one man he walked over to him. The man however stood at the top of his steps and held up an old sword pointed at him. It was a rusted and chipped weapon but it was the only thing that he had to defend possibly himself and a family that he might have.

“I mean you no harm friend,” Isaac said and stopped at the edge of the steps and lowered his head. He imagined that as a stranger he looked dangerous to this man. Especially after the things he’d done to the attackers. As far as they knew he would attack them instead.

“Stay back. Stay there,” he said in a shaky but stern voice. “I don’t want no more trouble tonight.”

“I won’t bring any more. I want to leave soon,” he said and raised his gaze. He hoped that whatever had happened to him earlier had finally subsided. “I just want to ask you some questions. That’s all.”

“What do you want to know?” he asked hesitantly lowering the sword.

He motioned to the village. “The men who attacked your home. They took some soldiers away. Took them to be sold. I want to know where they went.”

“Why? What’s it to a stranger like you?”

Isaac stared at the man for a second and shook his head. “The men that they took are friends of mine. They’ve been good to me and letting them be sold like slaves isn’t something that I can allow.”

“You’re one of them aren’t you?” the man asked and Isaac nodded. “Something like you within the Sanctum army. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“No. What happened to me is recent. Not when I joined,” Isaac looked toward the ground then back at the man his frown deep. “Please if you know anything. I’d appreciate it. I only know of west.”

The man stared at him for a good long time before finally tuning and staring west. “A few miles from here there’s a dip in the land. A canyon. Used to be a mighty river. Now it just holds caves and empty space. The Norian army likes to use it as a pit stop during their marches. Bandits sometimes use them as hideouts when the fighting slows down. They’ve likely gone there and to contact one of the generals.”

“If they made contact with a general, how long would it take for one to arrive.”

“At least half a day. If not more.”

“And how long would it take us to get there.”

“I think you could make it before sun up with a fast horse.”

“Then if I can catch up to them before then, there’ll be a chance.” The man gave a short nod and Isaac lowered his head deeply. “Thank you for your information. I’m going to rescue my friends and deal with the bandits. At the very least they won’t trouble you any longer.”

The older man didn’t say anything as Isaac turned and started running toward the edge of the village. He simply watched him for a few moments longer before going back into his home knowing that at least for the time being they were safe.

Isaac didn’t get far when he heard the footfalls of another horse. He tensed for a second and turned expecting to face another weapon wielding bandit. Instead it was Shin. The horse he rode had glowing eyes and was missing a patch of skin near the ankle and some bone shown around the thigh and back.

“Another zombie?” Isaac asked and Shin nodded. “I thought this was foolish.”

“It is foolish,” Shin replied throwing the reins of horse toward him. “But I’m not controlling you. You have free will to do as you want and I’m still studying you. I got good information after this little skirmish.”

Isaac smiled but walked closer and grabbed the saddle before lifting himself up and over onto the undead beast. It didn’t rear or try and throw him away. In fact it seemed like it didn’t mind that he was there. Shin turned and touched the head of the horse staring into its softly glowing eyes. “Do as he says.”

Hesitantly he touched the fraying mane on the back of it’s neck and it turned to look at him. Its face was entirely put together but the eyes of it were what disturbed him. The single glowing orb that looked lost and distant. Isaac frowned and lightly stroked the horses neck.

“I talked to a man in town. Said that the likely place they’d gone was a small canyon out west. Hiding in caves.” Isaac mumbled in thought. “We’d have a day to try and catch up to them.”

“Then I guess we better hurry. Good thing dead horses never tire.”

Spurring both horses forward they started running leaving the village behind. Isaac took the lead and leaning forward in the saddle. The horse underneath him wasn’t as hot as most horses he’d interacted with before but it wasn’t cold either. It’s stride was long and confident, no wobbling or uncertainty. In some cases it was better at it because it lacked the fear of harm that living would have.

Noria had lots of rolling hills scattered with barren trees. The land itself seemed tough, like it was hard for anything to grow from the dirt let alone life to flourish. Though that didn’t mean life wasn’t there. As they rode they could hear the laughter of hyenas and the snapping of wolves. The scavengers were alive and well out there and a few times they saw prey animals scattering from them. Herds of deer and other wild horses. The creatures gave them a wide berth but they didn’t take their eyes off them.

Isaac sat up in the saddle and tried to spot anything that would reveal where the bandits would have gone. There weren’t any lights on the horizon or clouds of smoke from movement. Either they had long since gone or they were going the wrong way entirely. “There’s no way one of your zombies could have lied to us right?”

“Once they die they lose all of their free will. They have to follow my commands,” Shin said and glanced toward Isaac. “Well, not including you.”

“I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned that.”

“Oh really?” he chuckled and nodded slowly. “That might have been my first thought. It’s equally likely the old man could have lied. Or at the very least misremembered. If those bandits have really taken your comrades then they’ve reached the caves by now.”

“Is there an easy way to figure that out?” Isaac asked.

“From down here not really. If we could fly potentially.”

“Can’t you do that?”

“I’m a necromancer. My skills revolve around the dead. So, unless you find a bird for me to bring back we’re stuck on the ground.”

Isaac frowned as they crested another hill. Leaning against the saddle he narrowed his eyes and watched the horizon following some of the animals that still roamed around. The horse kept going for a few more steps and then stopped. The ground suddenly dropped off and he was looking down into the famed canyon. It was a jagged cut down as if cut out by some hunter’s knife. The rock was dark in the moonlight and a small river glowed below it.

There were a few animals down there. Goats running about the sides of the cliffs to small outcroppings and trees and bushes. He followed the river into the distance but it curved and he wasn’t sure where it might have ended up. Turning he looked toward the wall and saw a few spots of black that may have been the caves the villager spoke of.

Shin’s head darted to the side and he felt a pull of magic and then watched as Isaac skidded to a halt on a lower cliff. Isaac stopped just a hair before tumbling over the edge and Shin wondered what would happen if he fell off the edge. He’d probably live but how much damage could his new body take.

Things he’d have to test in the future. For now, he had to help his strange new friend. Turning the horse around he set the horse to move and started running, following the trail closely but careful not to fall off. The horse hopped forward on the last few feet and found where he went.

The path that the deer must have gone through was a path that turned sharply and winded downward. The type of turn that you couldn’t take at speed or risk siding off the edge of the cliff. Isaac was deep in thought staring over the edge. “What do you see?”

Isaac jumped slightly and faced the necromancer with wide eyes before nodding. “This has to be place,” he pointed toward the ground. “See there? That cave has a little bit of a glow within it. Might be the remains of fire.”

 “We have time to think this out rather than run in weapons out. Speaking of, we’re going to need to arm you.”

Isaac looked at his hip and then hands and he was a little sheepish. “I thought as durable as I am now that my fists and skin would be enough.”

“Not unless you learn more magic,” Shin snorted as he guided the horse down the narrow pass slowly.

“What do you mean by more?” he asked but Shin didn’t respond.

They followed the path and it was so narrow to work around. Rather than be open the path went into the walls of canyon itself so it was very narrow and almost claustrophobic. Before they reached the bottom both of them dismounted their horses.

 Shin went first and peeked his head into the canyon. The ground was dry but some of the soil was heavily darkened to the point where he could guess that the river would rise during heavy rains.

“So, what’s the plan? That’s not going in fists out.”

Rolling his eyes Shin pointed across the river to the cave that had the glow from within it. “There’s flickering shapes on the wall,” he commented seeing the black blob against the wall that moved very slowly. “As far as we know that’s the only way in. So, our best bet is to sneak in.”

“Would they not post a look out for the night? Especially if they have prisoners.”

“That’s giving a group of bandits a lot of credit.”

“They will,” Isaac said with surety and looked at him.

Shin gave a short nod. “Okay. So perhaps we can bait someone to come out?”

“What would get their attention properly?”

“I have an idea. It depends on how stupid these few might be. I’m going to go first,” he pointed to the far side at an empty cave. “You’ll know when it’s time to cross the river and start making your move.”

Isaac looked at him but nodded. “Let’s do this.”