Ancient Cardos: The Knight Life

Chapter 15: The Elder Fellow.

I woke up to someone shaking me. "Wake up." I opened my eyes and it was that old man on the beach again. Why was he here?

The forest was still a little dark. I could barely see past the elder man. "You sleep like a boulder." He said. "Not good in this area."

"Well, I thought I was safe." He helped me up from the ground. He was strong. "I'm looking for Cardos as I" he cut me off.

"You wont find it half away around the globe." He said and picked up a crate from behind a tree and shoved it into my chest. "Nice armor."

"What's in the crate?" I asked. "And thanks." The crate was light. Well made too. I was a little jealous of the craftsmanship. I don't work on stuff like this, but now I don't think I want to.

"Survival equipment. Learn to use it. Look dear, I have many things to say and help you, but my time is short." He started to look worried.

"I'm not going anywhere" I said.

"The dark mages want me dead and now that i'm helping you, it makes it worse. Consider this kit, the final family gift left to give you. I'm glad it is our family that will put an end to this evil."

"What are you talking about?" I placed the crate down.

"My son, Andrew, did the world a favor." The old man vanished.

"Andrew? My father Andrew?" I whispered it to myself a few times as I took the crate and kept walking. "My son, Andrew." I whispered it and repeated it in my head many times. That old man was my grandpa. It took me a little too long to catch on and put the pieces together.

Three months had passed since I saw my gramps vanish into the unknown. The survival kit worked like a charm. Knives and even a blade sharpener. Traps to capture my food. It worked nicely. I have eaten way to many small wild animals.

I found my way into another village. A place like no other. It was a ghost town. No buildings were destroyed. No damages of any kind. Everyone just fled, or left and never came back.

I walked into a building that had a label on the outside "shelter for all." It was a little faded, but I made out the words. I dusted it off with my hands before going in.

The insides were messy. Dusty and everything was gone. The whole town was emptied of everything.

"Looks bad doesn't it?" I turned around and drew my sword. It was Chris.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"Same way you did. Teleporting. Only the greatest dark mages can handle it without the massive side effects." He had his hood on. Preventing me from seeing his face.

"I can kill you here and nobody would find you for hundreds of years." I said to Chris. He just folded his arms.

"Three months is quite the long time. Your friend Jason has turned out to be quite the warrior."

"What do you mean?"

"A brainwash. He serves me now for my army. He fights the innocents while riding a dragon. He levels cities now. One by one the world will fall and be rebuilt under my power. Like all good stories, the villain has one flaw the hero always sees. I can't brainwash you. My spells can't hurt family members."

"Well it's a good thing I don't use magic." I used my left hand and threw a knife at him. He stepped out of the way and looked at me.

"Small blades? Is that all you got to bring to the table." He unfolded his arms and held out his right hand. A sword formed out of nowhere and a shield formed onto his left arm.

"Lets have a little fight, outside of course." He turned his back and walked out. I threw another knife at him and he expected it. He had a spell ready to deflect the back of his body.

"A fair match please. No one likes a cheater." He said.

I followed him outside and we stood our ground. I wasn't playing around I wanted him dead.

The sun was setting and the dirt ground felt good to walk on. I charged Chris and he held out the shield of his. I stabbed his shield and it went straight through his shield and into the palm of his hand and arm. I could feel the bone cracking and shattering as I just split it in two. My sword wedged halfway up Chris' arm. I pulled it out and my sword was dull at the ends. One good swing.

His sword and shield disappeared and he backed away. "I now see where you stand sis". He vanished as I swung into the air to finish him off.

"Shard better not save your arm." I sheathed my sword and looked at the blood in the dirt. I kicked dirt over it and rubbed my foot into it as well.

I left the village like everyone else seemed to have done. I no longer carried that crate. I was close to Cardos and I buried the crate in a place I hoped to visit again.

I spent the next week traveling by boat. It would take me to the kingdom of Cardos. On the day I arrived, my gramps was sitting in the same chair on the docks. Like he was expecting me for ages now.

"She made it" he said with a huge smile. "And it seems you out ran the dark mages" I said in reply.

"They are clever, but not as clever as me. I've seen too much. Lets go speak to the king." He got out of his chair and started walking.

"We are meeting the king now?" I asked.

"Well you want to use his castle for a war defense against dragon and dark mages. I think he needs to know."

"You make a fine point gramps." I said and we walked through Cardos. No one bothered us. No one questioned my armor. No one questioned that I was a female in armor and wielding a sword.

Everyone stayed to themselves which was nice. We walked up the front gates of the castle.

"I think my run stops here." My gramps said. He stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"You want me to go in there alone?"

"You got here alone. Go make the deal." He walked away and vanished once more.

He would show up and leave me in an instant. I walked up the rest of the long stair set and met the two guards at the gate entrance.

"State your business knight." One of them said.

"I'm here to see the king. I need his help."

"The king will see you later tonight. Meet him down the stair case just after sunset."

"Thank you guards. Good day."

"Good day madam." They said in unison. It sounded weird, but official. I had no idea what I was doing. This was the first major castle I ever visited.