Advent of Eternity - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Nineteen Years Later

Acrid smoke stung Knell’s nostrils and made his eyes water as he walked toward the captain’s tent with all the confidence his broken body could provide. Thick pillars smoke curled into the air and fire danced across the tents at the south of the Brennan Army’s camp.

A woman’s scream for help intermingled with the smoke as men rushed to the scene of the fire. Knell stepped over a man curled in a fetal position, surrounded by a pool of his own vomit, and wiped some soot across his face, smudging it even further.

He threw open the captain’s tent flap and staggered in, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “Fire, captain!”

“I can tell, you bumbling fool!” a large man midway through donning his armor snarled, pounding a hand into the wooden desk before him. He’d only managed to get the top half of his suit and the greaves on. “Why aren’t you doing something about it?”

Knell didn’t immediately respond. A small girl was chained to a chair, and the Captain’s sword rested just beside her neck. She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. Her face was streaked with tears and dried blood from several minor injuries.

“I asked you a question, you crippled bastard! Who let you into the army?”

“I did my best to stop the fire, but the Hilldancers are attacking!” Knell exclaimed, giving the captain a shaky salute. “We thought this was just a supply raid, but they’ve somehow infiltrated our army. The men are turning on each other. I couldn’t trust any of the officers with the information, so I had to run here immediately. We need your help, sir. We’re getting slaughtered.”

Yusef let out a series of curses and stood, taking the blade away from the girl’s neck. “Godsdamned Hilldancer rats. They should have known better than to dare attack my camp directly. Where are they, boy?”

“I’ll lead you to them, Captain,” Knell said, turning and heading out of the tent. Pain racked his limbs and his lungs groaned in protest from overexertion, but he ignored them. The captain followed him towards the flame, roaring orders at the panicking men as they went.

“Move faster, boy!” Yusef ordered. “You walk like a cripple. What platoon are you part of? You’re pathetic.”

“I’m not, sir.”

“What?” Yusef asked, his bushy eyebrows furrowing in confusion as Knell stopped walking. He turned to look back at the soot covered youth, his eyes narrowing. At the edge of the camp, the fire started to recede as the soldiers managed to bring it under control.

Knell snapped his fingers and a gnarled wood staff trimmed with swirling metal appeared in his hands. He twisted the staff, pulling it apart to reveal a thin blade that had been hidden within it. With a calculated strike, he drove the sword up through the captain’s stomach and straight into his heart, ripping it free and stepping to the side to avoid a flailing hand.

Yosef turned, his eyes wide in disbelief. His mouth worked, but he couldn’t muster the strength to speak. The large man crashed to the ground, denied his final words.

“I’m not in one of your platoons,” Knell finished, sheathing the staff once more. An obsidian raven’s foot at the base of the staff gave it purchase on the muddy ground. “You should have put the rest of your armor on, Captain. Leaving such an important part off just gives me a target.”

Sparkling white energy flooded from the fallen captain’s body, spiraling around itself as it entered Knell’s body. A trickle of adrenaline spiked his heartbeat and he let out a satisfied breath.

The gods have granted you 50 Experience. You are 50 Experience away from the next Magical Energy Threshold. Welcome, Knell Twist, Scion of the Goddess of Death. I was wondering when you’d join our little game.

Knell suppressed a grimace as the melodical words rang out in his ear, heard only to him. He’d taken care to avoid killing before today for this exact reason. Mordrigal had warned him of exactly what would happen once he claimed his first kill. Now the pieces were all on the table.

You have defeated an entity more powerful than you. 50 Experience Gained. Magical threshold reached. Level has been adjusted accordingly.

Knell froze. Mordrigal hadn’t said anything about that. The second notification fluttered in the air, visible only to him. Knell pressed his wrist, activating the magic link that every human possessed.

Knell Twist [Age: 0]

Scion [Rank Zero]

Magical Energy Level: 1 (0%)

Attunement A: Foresight of the Vulture

Attunement B: Empty

Attunement C: Empty

Attunement D: Empty

Attunement E: Empty

Bloodline: Eternal Body [Epic]– Time magic bends around you, modifying your lifespan and granting you resistance to spatial magics.

One way or another, his experience had gone up twice. Unfortunately, the middle of the battlefield was not the spot to figure out why. He turned and strode back toward the tent, taking advantage of the chaos to slip away unnoticed. When he arrived, a lean man was stepping out of the tent, his sword red with blood. The little girl that had been chained to the chair clung to one of his legs like a koala, but his stride wasn’t impacted in the slightest.

“Well done, Abe,” Knell said, trying to throw off his confusion as the man fell in step with him. “Any problems?”

“Not a lick,” the man said, a note of amusement in his baritone voice. “You sure you won’t consider joining us full time? We could use a tactician like you.”

Knell shook his head as they slipped past a tent and started toward the jagged posts that had been erected around the Brennan Army’s camp. The only guards in the area were either splayed out across the ground or so terrified that they didn’t bother the two men.

“This is just paying back my last favor. I’m afraid I won’t be staying any longer.”

“Bah. Sourpuss.” Abe reached down and grabbed the girl by the back of her shirt, lifting her up and cradling her against his chest. “You’re safe now, kiddo. Don’t you worry a wink.”

“Less talking and more moving.” Knell’s eyes flickered with yellow light. He cocked his head to the side and an arrow whistled past him, thudding into the ground harmlessly.

Before another arrow could fly, a scream rose into the air. It ended in a gurgle and a body thudded to the ground behind them. A lithe woman slipped out of the shadows, trails of water spinning around her before disappearing into her mouth.

“Thank you, Sophia,” Knell said. “The poison you put in their food did its job well. Half the camp was out by the time I got here.”

“That was just her normal cooking,” Abe said.

“I should have killed the guard before he shot,” Sophia said, shooting Abe a glare but ignoring his comment. She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. “It won’t happen next time.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Knell replied.

They reached three horses that had been tied up near the stakes and hopped onto them. It only took a few seconds for the group to untie their mounts. They spurred the horses into a gallop down the grassy hill that the Brennan Army was set up on.

Shouts rose up from the camp behind them as the soldiers discovered their dead commander. The trio thundered down the hill, pushing their horses to the max and heading for a medium sized city in the distance.

Sophia twisted on her horse, raising her hands into the air as several guards tried to give chase. A bolt of black lightning leapt from her fingers and raked into one of the guards. He screamed as the magic superheated his armor and charred his skin.

The man crumpled to the ground and the others dove behind cover to avoid suffering the same fate. No others attempted to follow.

They arrived at the city several hours later. Knell slowed his horse to a trot as they reached the large wooden drawbridge. A heavily armored guard greeted them with a raise of his halberd.

“You’ve recovered the Baron’s daughter,” the guard said, awe in his voice. “Your reputation understates your capabilities.”

Abe and Sophia slipped off their horses. Sophia helped Knell off his mount while Abe set the little girl down on the ground and ruffled her hair. She ran up to the guard, who lifted her into the air and gave her a hug.

“I’ll take you right to the Baron,” the guard said, gesturing up at the wall for another man to take his place at the gate. “I’m certain he’d want to speak with you, and he’ll be wanting to see his daughter.”

“Then we place ourselves within your capable hands,” Knell said, leaning heavily on his staff as he and the rest of the Last Laugh followed the guard into the city.

The guard took them through the back alleys of the city, moving at a brisk pace that was almost a run. It didn’t take long for Knell to start falling behind.

“I’ll have to ask you to slow down,” Knell said through a pained grimace. “I’m afraid my talents don’t lie in the realm of running.”

“Apologies,” the guard said, cutting his pace back. “I’m just eager to get back to the Baron. He’s been locked up in his office for days now.”

“Any good father would be,” Sophia said. “I can’t blame him, but his daughter is safe. He can survive a few more minutes.”

The guard nodded. They continued at a more considerate rate, still keeping to the alleys and avoiding the main streets. The houses grew in size as they reached the wealthier parts of the city, eventually coming to a stop before a large iron gate that walled off a huge manor. It took up nearly a tenth of the city and towered far above everything else.

“What I wouldn’t give to get a few hours alone in there,” Abe muttered, catching a sharp glance from the guard.

“When I said your reputation precedes you, I meant all of you, not just your new leader,” he said.

“I’m not their leader,” Knell interrupted. “I’m just standing in for one mission. My father owed the Baron a favor.”

“I see,” the guard said. “Regardless, the warrior be staying right beside me the entire trip lest some of the Baron’s heirlooms go missing.”

“Are you accusing me of being a thief?” Abe asked, clutching a hand over his heart.

“Yes.”

“Oh. Well, you’d be right,” Abe admitted, dropping the act and flashing the guard a shameless smile. “But don’t worry, I only steal from those who deserve it.”

The guard grunted, unconvinced. He led them up to a gate in the fence, where two more guards stood at the ready. Their eyes widened when they spotted the girl in the guard’s arms and they hurried to step aside.

“So, who are you anyways?” Abe asked as the guard led them through the large front door and into the manor. Beautiful red carpets lined the floor and tapestries worth as much as a year’s pay for a workman lined every inch of the walls. “Most guards don’t walk us to the front gates of their employers or hug their children.”

“Jules, Captain of Baron Brigg’s guard,” the man replied with a proud grin. “The Baron asked me to keep an eye out and see if you lot would make it back alive.”

“He’s the best warrior in the world!” the girl piped up. Abe turned his nose up at her.

They headed up a gold trimmed staircase and arrived at a pair of huge wooden double doors. They were inscribed with beautiful flowing lines of gold that depicted an enormous tree growing up from a world encased within its roots.

“Nice tree,” Abe said.

Jules eyed Abe as if he would try to steal the doors. “It’s not just a tree. It’s the World Tree, and the source of all magic. You should show a little more respect for it.”

“Magic is for chumps,” Abe replied with a scoff. “Any talent that doesn’t reside firmly within my own body is borrowed power, and isn’t really yours.”

“Excuse him,” Sophia said. “Abe is jealous that his Path doesn’t have a single lick of the arcane arts within it.”

Abe made a face at her and Jules glanced from them to Knell with a befuddled expression. While they waited, Knell discretely pulled up his status sheet and studied it. There was no sign of whatever had caused his second message. He dismissed it, focusing on the situation at hand.

“I suspect the Baron would like to see us now,” Knell said. “My companions are always like this. If we wait for them to finish bickering, we won’t see the Baron until his daughter has come of age.”

Jules snorted and rapped on the door three times.

“Who is it?” a gruff voice called from the other side. “If it isn’t news about the Brennan Army being crushed and my daughter saved, I don’t want to hear it!”

“It’s Captain Jules, Sir! The Brennan Army is in chaos and your daughter is outside your door.”