Adventure of Exiles

The stone slabs started to move, and the skeletons came out.

The Knight Kono’s skeleton lit up in an ethereal light.

“Ah shit. I should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy. Move back out of the chamber, now!” Felix swore. Felix grabbed Noah by the collar of his neck and dragged him.

“It’s the guardian spell. It’s activated and there is no way to deactivate it.” Noah said.

“Exactly what I wanted to fucking hear. Save the knowledge dump for later.” Felix said as he let go of Noah. He then drew his sword and threw his knife into the other hand. Lisa readied herself with her alchemist staff.

The three retreated out of the chamber and into the main treasury chamber. The three skeletons followed armed with rusted swords.

“What do we do?” Noah asked frightened.

“Kill the things, I suppose. I mean they are technically dead but you know what I mean.” Felix replied, “haven’t you studied magic as well? Cast something useful.”

“I don’t think I can fight.”

“Just cast a spell, any spell and try to stay back.”

Noah in a panic pulled out a book. Chanting out a spell, Noah’s staff glowed with an ominous green light. He then pointed his staff forward toward one of the skeletons. A dark green spray splashed on to the skeleton. Felix recognized the spell.

“Did you really channel the power of the God of Fear and Hunger on something that can’t feel fear nor hunger. Are you fucking with me?” Felix asked disbelievingly.

Noah adjusted his glasses and shook his head, “I panicked!”

“Great.” Felix sighed as the undead knights closed in.

The skeleton soldier lunged at Felix.

Felix met the undead knight’s blade with his own.

Felix’s superior strength and skill allowed him to disarm skeleton’s sword from his grip.

“I’m not getting paid enough for this.” He said as he jammed his knife in the rib cage and channeled Hrafnagud’s will.

Lightning surged through Felix’s body and onto the skeleton.

The skeleton’s bones rattled and crack before the lightning exploded, blasting the skeleton to pieces.

Lisa was using her alchemist’s staff and a casting spell of her own. A frigid beam of blue-white magic struck the other skeleton and encased parts of the undead creature in ice as the soldier approached her. She then threw a sphere at it, which exploded in a flame on contact. The ice and flames finished the skeleton.

Only Kono’s skeleton remained left who was approaching Noah. Felix got in front of Kono’s and traded blow. Each sword strike was faster and harder than the last.

For a moment during the onslaught, there was fear.

He could be cut down here.

Finally rejoin his old comrades at last.

He could just let it all go.

He saw Ranulf smiling back at Felix.

He focused and caught Kono’s blade in between his sword and knife.

This feeling. One wrong move and he could be cut down. It’s so simple there was a victor and the defeated. His blood was up.

He felt more alive than ever.

This knight would have been a real fight when he was alive. He pushed the blade back and then started a furious response of steel.

After a few tense seconds, Felix pushed Kono’s blade aside and then stabbed his knife into the eye socket.

Please Sky Father, smite this motherfucker and let this warrior rest forever.

The bones rattled and cracked once more. But the lightning did not explode, it was held in by the metal armor.

The undead skeleton’s bones were burning and cracking. But the skeleton did not die.

“Fuck! What is taking so long?” Felix said as he kicked Kono’s remains across the chamber.

The skeleton exploded as it crashed into the wall. His bones flew out in different directions as it hit the wall.

A femur bone hit Noah on the head.

The skeleton’s remains were strewn across the chamber.

Felix looked at Noah, “you good?”

Noah was stunned, “I don’t know how I’m still alive.” His head was bleeding from his head.

“Ah don’t be so dramatic. We will rub some dirt on it, and you’ll be fine.”

Lisa came over, “I have a healer’s kit. Let me bandage that.”

Lisa helped clean the wound and wrapped a bandage around Noah’s head.

As she was doing so, she shot a couple curious glances at Felix. Like she noticed something when he was fighting.

“Well, you are still alive. So, there is that.” Felix said as he put away his weapons. He grabbed the staff piece which was dropped during the fighting and pocketed it. After Lisa was done, he grabbed Noah and put him on his back.

“Come on, Noah. Let’s get out of here.” Felix said as he headed back to the exit.

“I’m so sorry for putting everyone in danger. I just wanted to explore the ruin.” Noah said defeated.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you a secret, I like a good fight. I was having fun.” Felix replied.

“You’re weird. We could have died.” Noah said.

“Everyone is weird in their own way. Makes life exciting that way.”

Noah sighed. But then he nodded, “Thank you, Felix.”

“That’s my job, I was hired to protect you.”

“Still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Felix and Lisa went out the hole and they climbed back to the top.

“Are you going to carry him all the way?” Lisa asked.

“Nah, just for a bit. Noah should be able too after the lightheaded feeling wears off. Now, come on. Let’s go home.”

***

Noah ended up taking himself to Chris to get checked out. He promised to study the journal more and investigate where the next part of the staff could be. He was determined to find the Staff of the Eternal Night.

Felix was just glad to be home. He had work tomorrow.

He entered back into the house to find just Emily.

“Where is Michael?” Felix asked as he put away his equipment from earlier.

“Oh, it’s the weekend so he went to the Whispering Oak Inn to play cards and drink. I made some fried fish for dinner.”

Felix grunted. Michael had the fate Felix dreaded. Growing older and reminiscing over better days over drinks. There was a part of him that would rather die in a blaze of glory than quietly fade away.

“How did it go today?” Emily asked.

“It was... interesting.” Felix replied as he sat down to eat.

“That’s all you are going to tell me?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“You jerk! Come on there has to be more to it.” Emily pouted and started to hit his arm.

“Nope. Not much else to say.” Felix replied and he ate.

“Actually, there is a lot more to it.” Lisa said as she sat down across from Felix.

Felix nearly spat out his bite of fish.

“How in the hells did you get here? I didn’t hear the front door open.”

“Well, we are neighbors, silly. Also, you left the window to your study open.”

“Did you really climb through the window? Couldn’t you just walk in like a normal person?”

Lisa giggled, “it’s more fun this way. Anyways, I have quite a story about today actually.”

Felix shook his head, as Lisa told Emily about their trip to the ruins. Very dramatic retelling.

Lisa made the trip sound much more exciting than it was.

Emily listened in amazement, her eyes shining with excitement.

Felix just tuned them out for a bit to finish his fish, he was hungry.

“Felix.” Lisa said.

He looked up, “what now?”

“Don’t you still have it. The staff piece?”

“That dusty old piece of wood? Yeah here.” Felix pulled the paper from his pocket and plopped it on to the table with no fanfare.

Emily grabbed it and admired the chunk of old dusty black wood,

“So, this is a piece of the legendary Staff of Eternal Night. Can it really control darkness and shadows? How can that even be possible?”

“Yes, it can. I have a book that has more details but basically the staff can summon an army of undead and control the shadows to create illusions.” Lisa explained.

“That is amazing, the legends about the staff and the Witch Queen Natasha are very vague but it’s clear she was a very powerful sorceress.”

Felix looked up having finished his dinner, “don’t know why you two are getting excited. The staff has been lost to time. More powerful, smarter, and prettier than us have tried to find it for centuries. Well maybe not prettier, I’m fabulous but my point still stands. We don’t even know if the other pieces of the staff are or have someone found other sections of the staff either.”

“We can’t just give up before trying, Felix.” Lisa said.

Emily slammed her hands against the table, “don’t be like that Felix. You know what this staff piece means?”

“What could it possibly mean?”

Emily and Lisa looked at each other and then turned to Felix, “adventure!”

Felix rubbed his eyebrows, “Ugh. You two are going to be the death of me. Adventure? Seriously?”

“Please Felix, please. I have spent my life running and hiding from the Military Grand Council. Always being cautious and keeping my identity a secret. I’m sick of it! I want to have some excitement. To make some new memories and a chance to go on a genuine adventure.”

Felix folded his arms.

Emily ran over to her room and grabbed her rapier.

“Michael has been teaching me how to use the sword. Also, I know healing magic. I’m basically an adventurer already. So, you will have nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t forget my skills as an alchemist.” Lisa said as she pointed to her alchemist staff.

Felix just stood up and walked over to Emily. Without a word he grabbed her wrist and applied pressure with his thumb on her wrist.

“Ow. ow. ow.” Emily said as she dropped her rapier.

“What an adventurer. Look if it makes you both happy, I’ll come along to protect you. Just because I don’t want to miss an opportunity for treasure. You have to promise me two things through.” Felix said as he put two fingers in front of Emily’s face.

“Oh? What are your conditions?”

“One. We can absolutely not let Michael know the full extent of what’s going on. I mean sure he’s figure something is going on, but we keep him in the dark. If he knew everything, he would definitely kill me. Secondly, if it comes down to it. If we get into serious trouble. You promise me that you will leave me. You will get to safety you will not come back for me. Promise me this, or else the deal is off.”

Emily looked troubled, “what do you mean? Of course, we are not leaving you behind. You are part of our group.”

“Promise me, or no deal. If it comes down to it, you run and never turn back.”

Emily frowned and nodded.

“Same goes to you too, Lisa.” Felix said as he went to go back and sit down.

“Why are you saying this?” Lisa asked.

I don’t want to be the one left behind this time. Felix thought.

“It’s nothing. Come on, make a pinky promise and be done with it.”

“I’ll consider it if the situation comes up.” Lisa replied. She looked at Felix, he knew that wasn’t the end of it.

“That’s close enough I suppose. I’m going to also spoil your adventure further. We don’t know where the next piece of the staff is, and we will have to wait for Noah to recover and do some further research.”

“I suppose you are right.” Emily said as she went to sit down.

“Still the next step on our adventure will happen someday.”

“Someday. Right.”

The three talked late into the night until it was time to sleep.