(Completed)
Two assassins were set to kill a girl. No questions asked. Just kill her and claim their prize. That was their mission. Except one of them was not supposed to visit Volney, the land of the dead and the other fall in love with a girl and...
I am sorry for not updating for a week in a stretch. Just that I completed it a week ago and took the time to edit to my fullest.
Toast of Blood
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He was running through the dark forest. There was neither moonshine nor starlight. A black cloak of blindness clothed the woods. If it was that dark, then how was that wild boar charging at him? The boar must have gone crazy that was the only explanation his mind could wrap around despite the chase.
He turned around and took his dagger to kill it. He always had an accurate aim. A dagger never failed him. But today or rather tonight, it did. The knife flew past the wild boar. His sword was laying somewhere deep in the forest. Even if his bow was stringed, his quiver of arrows rested beside his sword.
He cursed. He had completely let his guard down. He was stupid to leave his horse and go out to hunt the wild boar himself. He swirled and started to run again. Whatever force allowed him to see dimly, vanished. He could not even see where he kept his foot. Did he step on a sleeping snake or was it the moss? He could not tell.
Though he could not see, he could hear. He could hear his heavy pant and the growl of the beast. The boar was only a few meters away. It could easily overtake him. With his failing pace, he was sure he was to die.
Moreover, the last thing he wanted to do was to run into a tree and that was exactly what he did. The tree must have been more than a hundred years old, for the width of the tree was about seventy feet. When he tried to run around the tree, his left foot did not cooperate.
The roots of the tree had holes and the criss-cross pattern in which they grew provided a trap for anyone or anything. The web design of the roots caught his foot. He was a few seconds away from his death. He closed his eyes to embrace death with welcoming arms.
He waited for the tusks of the boar to tear his skin. But it never came. Yes, he could smell the foul scent of the beast mixed with the pine. Instead, when he opened his eyes, he felt the creature laying down dead inches away from his feet.
At first, he could see no one. Then how did the beast die? He wondered.
"It is simple, my friend. As much as I did not want to kill it, I had to. If not you would have been dead." He heard a deep baritone of a man....no a boy.
He must have wondered aloud. He blinked twice. He heard the stranger sigh, "Come with me. It looks like you could use some food. The wild beast here will make a good meal."
He then heard the sheathing of a dagger. He decided to speak as he realised the stranger was waiting for a reply. "How is that you can see?"
"So you are not going to thank me? I was expecting one, you know for saving your life," the stranger chuckled. "I can see because... no, don't bleed on it, my friend. Wait here. Since you cannot see, I will bring some light. Do not go seeking for another death wish. I don't think I'll save you again."
