Prince Enric and Silvia walked up the hilly landscape.
"Um... By the way, we haven't got acquainted with each other. I'm Enric."
"Oh, really? Shouldn't I call you the prince, emperor, or ruler of the Empire? Well, I'm Silvia."
"Um... tell me, are you sure you did the right thing?"
"My father always said... The right things aren't, they're just bad and worse."
"Hah, are all the elves so negative?"
"Well, you know..." Silvia couldn't complete the sentence because Enric cut her off. "Look! The village," he shouted and ran down the hill.
The whole village was on its feet, everyone was taking carts and started leaving.
"What's going on here?" the Prince asked one of the soldiers.
"Evac... p... prince Enric? Oh, you're alive!"
“Of course I am, why are you running away? The Dark Ones are not here yet," prince Enric asked.
"What is this dawdle here? Ah, Prince Enric!"
“Marcus? You survived! Thank the Saints, but how?" prince Enric rejoiced.
"When Glowpeak was attacked, I and my knights were walking around the area, the Dark Ones... were like shadows, they had to bypass us. Forgive me, sir..."
"It's alright, Marcus, you and your knights wouldn't be able to do anything against those odds, you would have just died like other soldiers."
"Maybe... sir, but I have more news for you... Mrs Elizabeth... she's dead."
"What?! It is not possible, she did run away before me!" Enric shouted in desperation.
"When the attack began we hurried to the east gate and saw her running eastward, but before we could reach her... She ran in front of the Dark One's patrol and was hit by an arrow, we saw her sloping down the hill and being carried out by a river. We killed the patrol, but we had to withdraw, you had to slip away when we fought. I'm sorry, sir."
"I can't believe it... I have to get up, I have to protect the rest of the Empire, so she would want me to," Enric rose from the ground.
"Sir, strange things are happening around Glowpeak's area... As if the land was dying, the sky was dark, and the animals were running out of there. We've lost control of the entire surrounding area,” Marcus explained.
"Sir, your hand... here's a bandage," one of the knights helped Enric with a cut on his hand.
"What do we do now, sir?" another of the knights asked.
"We have to find allies, we should head to the Thunder Hills, but first..." prince Enric stopped as he saw several soldiers riding their horses towards them.
Everyone jumped off the horses just before captain Marcus.
"Report the progression of the evacuation, captain," one of the soldiers ordered him.
"Everything is..." Marcus was cut off.
"Wait... That's prince Enric!"
"Yes, I am, thank you for your welcome, but now we have to deal with..."
"By order of Imperator Augustus, I am arresting you for treason!"
"Um... what?"
"You'll come with us."
"You'll have to get through me first." Silvia stood in front of Enric.
"And through us." Marcus and his knights joined.
"Pcha... What is this? Are you working with the unclean? What are you?" the soldier mocked Silvia.
"One more word and I'll kill him," Silvia said viciously.
"Hah, you don't even have a swo... rd!" the soldier screamed as Silvia took his sword out of his scabbard and pushed him away, and then everyone took up their swords... and Enric his dagger.
Marcus's knights, along with him, were five, armed with the best armour from all over the Empire, the troops against them were three in light armour.
"Hah, do you really want to fight us with a knife?"
"It probably worked on your henchmen," Marcus laughed.
The soldier turned and saw his comrades fleeing at the speed of riding horses. "We will come back! Don't worry about it!” he yelled at them as he mounted his horse and fled.
"Thank you, Marcus," Enric said.
"We are loyal only to you, my lord," Marcus replied.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your romantic moment, but what are we going to do now?" Silvia asked.
"Ah... Marcus, Knights, this is Silvia, she joined me in the Ashnaton Forest. The plan doesn't change, we'll go to the Thunder Hills before much more of this cowards return."
“But what about your uncle, sir? Would you let him get away with this?" one of the knights asked.
"Edgar, if my uncle manages to do anything better than drinking, it is to organize and lead an army. It's not easy to say for me, but under his command, the Empire should be maintained well before we get reinforcements, then we'll solve it," prince Enric retorted, picking up a sword, and everyone mounted their horses and headed toward the Thunder Hills.
"What is that?" the prince looked at the dangerously looking cloud approaching them.
"This will be another of the dwarven experiments, we are close!" Silvia called and hurled herself into the cloud with her horse.
"By all the Saints, she is insane!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Insanely brave Marcus," prince Enric laughed and rushed into the cloud too, the others joined him.
Mighty mountains towered before them as they passed through the cloud.
"We're here. On foot soldiers!" Silvia ordered.
"And who gave you the command?" Edgar asked.
"Do you want to rush like a cavalry into the middle of their territory? How would humans respond?" Silvia turned to him, then led the horse forward.
"How is it that she knows it everywhere?" Marcus was amazed.
"She is different from the others," Enric said briefly, and also dismounted and followed her.
"The inhabitants of the Thunder Hills, we are coming to ask you for help!" Silvia exclaimed.
"What kind of help do you mean?" someone spoke in a whistling voice.
"Huh, what's that? Where..." prince Enric looked around.
"Eem... down here."
The Prince looked beneath him, where a bunch of men stood a head and a half smaller than him." Oh, dwarves, I greet you," prince Enric replied.
"Dwarves?! Are you bumping into something human?" one of them went angry.
"He didn't mean to offend you, he just doesn't know the ways, forgive him, Stormers," Silvia calmed them down.
"Why there's nothing like a story?" with hopelessness in his voice, prince Enric retreated from their sight.
"Stormers?" Edgar stared.
"Storm scientists, you fool, according to Mount Storm, under which we reside."
"What? So we should behave and you?!"
"Calm down Edgar, remember why we are here," Marcus stopped him.
"Well, what are you asking us for?" asked Stormer.
"I'm prince Enric, I've come to inform you about the Dark One's invasion and ask for your help."
"Hh... Dark Ones, just a fairy tale."
"I assure you that it is not a fairy tale. They attacked one of our castles and murdered my fiancée," Enric replied.
"Ah... hmm... even if it was true, what do you want from us?"
"We hoped you could help us against them," Silvia said.
"That won't be possible."
"Please, we will pay you," Enric demanded.
"Your currency is useless to us, there might be something else. But it is extremely dangerous." "Yes, very dangerous," more Stormers joined in.
"What's that?" Marcus asked.
"Near the cave, there is a sorcerer, settled down at the great precious stone site we need for our research, but we are afraid to get there, the warriors we've sent have not returned."
"So we will kill the sorcerer, and then we will return to negotiate about your help," Enric said, and his group ventured in front of the cave.
“I have such a strange feeling. I don't like it here," Meric said.
"It's not supposed to be a nice place, little brother, stop worrying about everything you don't know," Edgar told him, and they all went to the cave.
"You stay here if he would want to escape," Marcus commanded one of the knights.
There was a kind of intoxicating mist in the cave.
"Uh... what is it?" I can't see anything at all..." "Get down!" Marcus shouted. A spike flew from the ceiling and pierced the knight through.
"Oh, no!" Enric cried.
"My lord, we have to keep going, be careful where you step and what you are touching," Marcus said, continuing until they reached the room.
"Wait, it looks like a trap, I'll go there first, at least I'm not going to die like a coward," Meric said.
"And you will have all the glory for yourself, forget it brother, I'll go with you," Edgar stopped him and they both entered the room.
A quiet, mysterious voice began to whisper, speaking in an unknown language.
"Do you hear that?" Marcus stopped.
"Edgar... What's going on... I..."
"Meric, what are you doing?" Edgar asked him. Meric began to shake and reach for his sword as if he was trying to defend against it. Edgar was shouting at him when Meric drew his sword and went against him.
"I'm going..." Silvia pulled Marcus back and the massive stone door fell and blocked the entrance to the room.
"Damn it, what's going on?" Enric exclaimed, and axemen, dressed in brown furs, ran out of the hallway against them.
"We've got company!" Marcus shouted.
Silvia began to shoot her arrows with a bow, and several of them fell, then Marcus and Enric embarked on the rest.
After a while, they killed them and continued down the corridor. They heard the rattle of swords, Edgar and Meric were probably fighting. They ran into a room where a whispering man in a robe stood with his staff. Marcus ran up to him with his sword, but he was hit by a lightning bolt that the wizard fired from his hands. Enric ran against him, and, despite the lightning bolts he was shielding with his sword, he approached him and finally pierced him with that sword. Everything went quiet.
Enric helped Marcus up and they went back. The room was open, Silvia found the lever that triggered the door mechanism.
In the room, Edgar knelt over the lying Meric... "What happened here?!" Marcus shouted.
"Hehe... Heh... you've always been better with a sword... brother. With a smile on his lips, stabbed Meric looked at Edgar.
"Forgive me... forgive me..." Edgar was holding his brother and crying.
"There's nothing... m... You have to, forgive me... my weakness, I let myself... dominate with evil power..."
"That's all right, brother, don't talk, save your strength, we'll get you out of here."
"No... save... The Empire." He grabbed Edgar's shoulder and died after saying the sentence.
"No, no! You cannot die! Don't you dare to leave me here, you coward..." Edgar pressed Meric to his chest with increasing crying.
"I'm so sorry, Edgar, it's not your fault, that sorcerer… He had to control him somehow. But we got him.” Enric comforted him.
They all went out of the cave.
"Sir, leave me here. I have to dig my brother's grave," Edgar pleaded Marcus.
"Alright, when you're ready, you'll find us at the Thunder Hills," Marcus replied, and he headed back to the Hills with others.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
