Ember Chasers

Chapter 1: Alone... or Maybe Not

  The bushes and wild herbs scathed his skin, making the boy hiss and curse once more. He had been trekking through the woods for more than half a day, wandering aimlessly, searching for some man the townsfolk knew as Emberchase.

  Asagai stared pretentiously at the fifth mud puddle that came across his way, reminiscing the disheveled look of his mother as she lay helpless on the wooden bed back at their shambling straw hut. Physicians were an expensive rarity in their kingdom, and the boy just simply couldn't afford such hefty amount of gold to pay for their services.

  He was one of the many thieves scattered across the pungent and almost merciless kingdom of Xaddercrux, where violence and malice daunted not. Asagai considered himself to be a professional at the said job — he succeeded every heist — but brought home no more than a couple of dented copper pennies. The older thieves, scarier and buffer, loved to target him and use him like a slave, robbing him of his own earn and beating him up for entertainment purposes later on.

  Oh, how vividly it all played back in his mind. The numerous punches and kicks, the stabbing feeling in his gullet, the pounding of his chest and the helpless throbbing of his head, usually accompanied by his tears and soft cries.

  Asagai visibly shuddered at the reoccurring memories, but he shook them off by wiping his palms glazed with sweat on both sides of his pants. He gulped loudly and raised his head higher, thinking of more effective methods to chase his fears away.

  Never, not once had Asagai thought about how awfully wrong stealing was. It was his only means of survival — even though he rarely came out with an earn at all — since his mother had been relieved from duty as a seamstress because of her old age. Even if the hag often reprimanded his 'foolish' actions, Asagai still held this soft spot for her that wouldn't go away. Now, she was so heavily ill that getting up was a drastic problem, and the weight of it all rested upon his frail little shoulders.

  Word had it that Woodsworth, with a more common name of 'Wayless Woods,' earned said name after the staggering number of naïve villagers and veteran adventurers alike who immediately perished after stepping into the perilous forest.

  Dangerous and wild beasts roamed the area, and that they would indefinitely maul those fragile beings far weaker than them. Just the thought of such terrifying creatures possibly stalking him from the shadows sent violent shivers running down Asagai's spine.

🔥🔥🔥

  As the round ball of fire rolled and slowly receded into the horizon, Asagai began spotting strange human tracks. Instantly, his pace doubled in order to catch whoever made them.

  The filth on the fresh dewy grass indicated the passing of the person, and the few droplets of blood suggested that the said person might've been injured — or perhaps in the process of hunting something down. Asagai found himself grinning as he crouched and examined the crimson liquid, placing a finger over it with no further hesitation.

  Warm. The young boy perked up that very moment, his spirits lightening as he nearly whooped from the overflowing giddy in his chest. With a relieved chuckle, Asagai sprinted towards the direction of the tracks, leaving the messed-up grassy patch covered in a coppery stench, with high hopes that the one he was chasing after was Emberchase.

  Time passed by, and the darkness finally beckoned the lovely stars out of their hiding, along with the bloodthirsty monsters that lurked in the shadows, relishing under night's protection. Despite the relentless growling of his stomach, Asagai refused to slow down and lose the tracks his prey made so carelessly. He abruptly stopped in the middle of a realization, just as the trail he had followed with such intensity died out.