Alliance of Heroes

Chapter 2 - The Story

Chapter 2 - The Story

Jake stumbled back through the woods, his head spinning. What he had seen couldn't have possibly been real. Could it? The forest seemed so peaceful; it was hard to imagine something horrible could lie under it.

I wonder if Tom and James got back to Gradi City. The city lay on the outskirts of Aroma Woods, walled on all sides. King Yerga had declared that every city in Revek, his kingdom, should be completely walled to prevent attack. He had said that there would be those who would attack the city if they had the chance.

But who? Who would want to attack cities? Not the resistance, unless Yerga was there. Not any creatures, for they would be too little a force to be worried about.

Jake thought of the King, living in the great palace of Ten'ir, the capital of Revek. Ten'ir was thought to be the greatest place in Revek, for it was known to everyone as a place where water was common, food was cheap and people spent their days in luxury. No one ever left the city, because its entertainment, beauty and culture were so high.

Many times Jake had wished to visit the great city, but his parents had always refused. Old Steven and Maria had never had an interest in travelling; their son was completely different from them. Many people had told Jake so, but none less than old Rust Araman, the local explorer.

Jake looked up and saw he was at the entrance gates to the city. Two of Yerga's soldiers stood next to the door, talking to each other. Looking at them gave him chills as he remembered the flesh eating monsters from the cave - these men, however, were helmetless and grinned as they spotted him.

"Afternoon, Jake!" said one of them cheerily. "Have you been out exploring again?"

"Yes, I fell into a bit of trouble," said Jake casually. Why the hell am I making puns out of this!?. "But I got myself out of it."

"Kids," laughed the other guard, shaking his head. "Always getting into trouble."

The city was bustling with noise. Shopkeepers were calling out their wares and telling people of their cheap prices; acrobats were performing tricks for money; beggars lay on street corners, asking for food or money. Most were ignored.

A pompous man, his head a bald, shining dome, carried a stack of papers and important-looking documents, obviously a high-ranking official on his way to Mayor Creston's office - he stopped for a moment to chat to Alex, a young friend of Jake's, sweeping the outside the shop his family owned.

Jake was in the south part of Gradi City. The city was broken into three parts, each holding a number of houses and shops. He moved forward, passing many people and ignoring shopkeepers who were trying to sell him various wares, waving their miscellanea in his face, shouting bargains and deals they could offer to him alone; he passed through another gate and entered the middle part of the city, where the large fountain showered millions of droplets of water into its pool. 'The Wishing Well' his mother had always called it, tossing a golden coin into the pool as she passed every morning to buy food for the family.

Children played on the water's edge, their faces alight with joy, splashing droplets on one another, the water gleaming like diamonds. Several groups of soldiers patrolled the city, watchful for anything suspicious, the sun's glare rebounding off of their brilliant scarlet and black armour.

"Jake!"

He heard the call and turned to see Tom and James running towards them - plainly they had made it back to the city, but Jake hoped they had not run to his parents and told them he had been killed.

"What happened to you? Where did you land?" asked James. He seemed concerned, likely because it had been him who wanted to go up on the cliff top in the first place.