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Chapter 26: Trust and Love
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The Black Hellblade Chapter 27: A Hero's Welcome
Ronan took a hearty sip of coffee, nudged his head towards the map, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, Farrier had mentioned that this was a Norovir?"Maritza's eyes were a little less bloodshot after a few bites of fried eggs, and she said, "Yes. That's right. I've forgotten that you're as well-educated as you are keen."Ronan couldn't conceal his grin, though he wanted to remain professional. "Norovirs," he said, sliding down on the bench and getting closer to Maritza, "are blue lizard looking monsters with two long, five-fingered hands and the tail of a fat snake."Martiza wiped her mouth with a napkin and unfolded a torn page from an old tome. The monster inked beneath the page's old, scriptive text depicted a creature just as Ronan had described. Ronan scarfed down his breakfast while Maritza continued her briefing. "It would seem," she said, pointing to a series of four wells spread closely together through the several city streets on the map, "that the Norovir is travelin
The Black Hellblade Chapter 28: The Well Mission
"On guard!" Maritza shouted. The second giant, blue clawed hand emerged from the well, destroying its entire basin. More murky water gushed out of the well's hole, and the two monstrous hands pressed against the ground to lift up a massive, reptilian body. On the body's stubby end was a reptilian mouth covered in dirty lapis scales, and a pair of unblinking, sludgy green eyes stared wildly at Maritza and Ronan. "This is unlike any Norovir I've ever read about," Ronan remarked, shifting his feet on the low stone wall. Already, the toxins in the brown water were beginning to sizzle the rocks away. He could only wonder what such a terrible substance would do to his skin. "It's triple the size of Norovirs I've defeated in the past," Maritza said. "It must be Corrupted by The Hellsworn."Confirming her suspicions, the Norovir's serpentine mouth slid into an open smirk, revealing a set of unnatural black fangs. The fangs gleamed, and drops of purple poison fell into the disgusting w
The Black Hellblade Chapter 29: Hellsworn Power
With The Shroud strengthening him, Ronan flipped backwards into the air. He avoided the Norovir's slash against the upper ledge of the building, and big stones of debris crashed into the murky water beside the Norovir's wriggling blue tail. While in the air, smoke steamed from Ronan's Mark of the Butterfly as he spun his body to avoid another jet of poisonous water from the Norovir's mouth. When Ronan landed safely at the other edge of the building, he saw the people of Augustate hurrying to their own roofs, escaping the ever-rising levels of poisonous water through shouts and screams. Ronan's grip on his sword tightened. In a final passing glance, he saw a poor family of five trembling in filthy tunics on the roof of their house. They sobbed for the few belongings they had that had been lost to the acid water. Even if Ronan defeated the Norovir, what would be left for these people? The Norovir hissed a large red tongue through its black fangs, and Ronan knew he couldn't weigh
The Black Hellblade Chapter 30: The Chopping Block
Ronan was forced roughly to his feet by the two hooded men. Ronan scoffed and asked, "Surely this is some mistake."Lord Wallace raised his nose to the air."There is no mistake," he declared, "that from the moment you arrived at the temple, horrific monsters followed with you."Maritza headbutted Wallace in his pompous nose, and he recoiled both hands to his face."Ronan has nothing to do with the Hellsworn," she shouted. Wallace's blood dripped from the edges of her blonde bangs and onto her forehead. Wallace shuddered, collected himself, then wheezed, "Seize her! Tie her slanderous mouth shut if you need to."Ronan wrestled with the hooded figures, but one stuck a scythe to his neck while the other approached Maritza with a bundle of rope."You can't silence me," Maritza yelled with a scowl. "I'm a Master. I outrank you, Wallace! You'll be killed for this."Ronan's forearm panged with heat, and he wondered if he might be able to burn the ropes off his wrist. "Not yet,"
The Black Hellblade Chapter 31: Judge, Jury, Executioner
As Wallace swung the scythe, Ronan roared and shot black flames from the palms of his tied hands. The fire caught Wallace's legs and feet, and he danced as the flames burned viciously. They crackled with such strength that Ronan couldn't hear Wallace's anguished cries of pain. Ronan sprung from the chopping block and thrusted his foot to Wallace's chest, pushing him into a filthy puddle in the alley. Still, even rolling about and screaming in the water, the fires climbed up Wallace's legs and to his torso. With his hands still strapped behind his back, Ronan ran over to Maritza and the two purple-cloaked Nightblades. Maritza kicked one between the legs, and in a deep cough he was lifted several inches off the ground. As he regained his footing, Maritza bit the lobe off the man's ear. He shoved her away then wildily barreled his scythe towards her, but she spun around, held out her hands, and allowed the scythe to tear through her rope bindings. Before the second Nightblade could
The Black Hellblade Chapter 32: A Fresh Start
Habbot stood on the edge of the roof, chewing a lit cigar between his few remaining teeth. "Ay, gents, drop the load!" he shouted with a fierce wave of his hand. From every roof they could, townsfolk of Augustate slums carried great big blankets, aprons, and shirts full of baking flour. "What are they planning?" Ike asked, watching the townspeople swing their bundles of flour into the air. Soon, the huge amounts of flour hung in the air like dust. The running guards paused, coughing and hacking and swatting at the air as flour filled their lungs and blocked their sights. Clove handed over a traveling bag to Ike, and the both of them followed Ronan and Maritza as they ran for the gate at the edge of town. The group of four Nightblades pumped their hands back and forth as each of them sprinted beside the other. In the distance and back on the rooftops, Habbot called out to the once shoeless girl and said, "Alright lass, give it here!" She handed Habbot a quarter filled bottle
The Black Hellblade Chapter 33: Weary Wanderers
After thirty minutes of rest by a dying fire, Ronan stomped the embers out. Clove covered the charred sticks and kindling with torn thistle and brush, and Ike swept the leaves of a large branch over their footprints.Insects buzzed in the bushes, and the four heard no signs that they were being pursued. But they also knew that could change at any second.Maritza boarded the white horse, and this time Ike mounted the beige. "I'll lead us through Butcher's Bog," Maritza said, lacking the stern tone her voice usually carried. "There, our tracks should be hidden by the low waters.""And then," Ronan added with the map in his hand, positioning himself on the white horse behind Maritza, "We should take the tough trail of Loner's Crag, and cross around to the merchant path near Lover's Lake."Clove joined Ike and put her hands on his hips. He jolted with joy at her touch."At that point," Clove said, "We'll be near the Temple of the Seahorse, if it still stands to this day.""Or if
The Black Hellblade Chapter 34: When the Fire Dies Out
The four awoke to a cold, bitter morning with little sunlight.Clove was the first to sit up while the rest rubbed their eyes. She shivered, bundled her traveling blanket over her shoulders, and hung a small cast-iron cooking plate on the tallest sticks that made the fire pit. After Clove gave a few quick, breathy blows on the smoldering embers, the fire smoked back up and ignited the remaining kindling.Ike set a few more branches they'd found in the crag over the fire, along with some thin roots he plucked from weeds along the trail. He was about to comment on how sleeping near moss and on a bed of rocks did wonders for his back, and how he felt like a kid again, but he saw Clove's frown, and how she shook off the night's aches and pains, then decided against it. Not everybody was as accustomed to the woods as him, and finally Ike was feeling as if he was in his proper element, away from expensive, impractical clothing. He also felt like nothing helped to flip a frown to a smile
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