The Sword of Silence Part 2

Chapter 10:

For the next few days, Hercles patrolled the area while Val looked after Vass and the old healer. The old healer was relatively co-operative, probably because of Hercles.

Through him, Val learnt that King Sieg was corrupted and if he suspected anyone who was working against him, he put that person to death immediately. Lots of countless lives were lost as a result. The old healer’s brother was one example. Although he was innocent, he could not escape that fate.

Val shook his head. God knows what would happen if King Sieg formed an alliance with the Dark One.

Vass recovered swiftly. On the forth day in Kongor, she was already able to stand up by herself.

As Hercles watched her slowly gathering her energy, he felt a joy he could not remember having felt before. He could not explain that feeling, and he did not know how to express them. He managed a small smile as she finally got to her feet. She smiled back at him.

“Hercles, we can act tonight.” Val said.

Hercles nodded. “What are you going to do?” Vass asked.

“The simplest way to get this done, assassinate your uncle. Then, you will be able to take over the throne and we can decide what to do next.” Val replied.

“Are you joking? That…that is almost impossible!”

“You got a better suggestion?”

“I know a captain from the army here, from what my brother told me, he helped as escape when we were younger. His name is Briggs.”

Hercles shook his head. “We can’t find him, even if we do, we don’t know if we can trust him. We should depend only on ourselves.”

“But…”

Hercles looked at her firmly. From his looks, she saw no point in arguing. “Alright, but I’m coming with you two.” As Val and Hercles opened their mouths in protest, she added, “I’m the only one who has been here before, and the only one who knows the road around here.”
“Very well, we will act tonight.”

Chapter 11:

As the first trace of darkness began to consume the light, Hercles, Val and Vass crept into the palace of King Sieg. They dismissed the healer, feeling that he was probably of no threat to them anymore.

Hercles and Vass crept up behind the two guards, cut their throats and covered their mouths as they choked in their own blood. Val covered their bodies with a string of magic to conceal them, and they went on.

The palace was in stark contrast with the city outside. While the city looked run down and old, the palace itself was quite a magnificent place. It was well furnished and the floor was laid with crimson red carpet.

Vass led the way, followed by Val and then Hercles. They crept silently in the palace, avoiding the palace workers. They did not want to kill more people than necessary.

Vass brought them through a spiral of staircases and through several rooms. At times, she had to stop a while to recall the route to the King’s chambers.

Finally, they reached a long hallway with a door. The door had six guards stationed in front.

“That’s King Sieg’s private chambers,” Vass whispered. Hercles pulled out his throwing knives in preparation.

“Wait, that old man there, he’s Briggs. Don’t kill him.” Hercles nodded. He threw five of his throwing knives and the five guards dropped dead instantly. Briggs looked warily around and drew his sword. Vass ran towards him with Hercles and Val following behind.

“Briggs!”

Hercles saw as Briggs’ face slowly revealed a look of recognition. However, he kept his sword in hand, ready for any attacks. This man took no chances; this was the only way he could have survived so long in such a place. He was a seasoned fighter.

“Princess Sieg!” Briggs said, surprised. He had a deep, commanding voice. “It’s good to see you again, but why are you here? Why did your friends kill my men?”

“We’re here to kill your king.” Hercles replied coldly. “And we’re going to eliminate any threats, be it old friends or foes.”

“You what!?” Briggs asked.

“Listen Briggs, it’s a long story. I can’t elaborate. We haven’t got much time left. But all I can say is, if we don’t stop my uncle, the whole world, together with this city, will be experiencing a dark age.”

“But as a general, I can’t…”

“My uncle is already corrupted to the core. You should know this better than I do. Even if we don’t stop him now, he will destroy this city eventually. Don’t you want the people to live a better life?”

Hercles drew his sword threateningly, glaring at Briggs. “We don’t want to kill you, but if we have to, we’ll do it.”

Val held Hercles back. Briggs looked at the three of them. They stared at one another for some time, and Briggs finally stepped aside. “Good luck.”

The three of them stormed into the chambers. Hercles saw a man whom he guessed to be Sieg on the bed, forcing himself on a young beautiful chambermaid. The woman was struggling desperately and looked relief to see the three of them enter the chamber.

“Let her go!” Hercles and Vass cried out together.

Sieg looked towards them and recognized Vass immediately. “Vass Sieg. I’ve been hunting you for almost your whole life, and yet you come to me so willingly. I’m glad you decided to save me the trouble.” Sieg said. He had the same green eyes as Vass, except that the hatred burning in Vass’s eyes were so intense that the green was glaring. “Guards!” he called out confidently.

When there were no responses, Sieg started to panic. “Now listen Vass, I can explain…” he started, trying to store for time.

Vass could hardly believe that she was staring at the man who killed her parents. Tears rolled down her eyes as she looked into Sieg’s eyes. She drew her sword and advanced slowly towards the man.

“Guards!” Sieg cried out desperately, while falling back on the chambermaid. She screamed in shock and pain as Sieg’s full weight sat on her.

Vass advanced slowly, letting the anger and hatred build in her. She had waited too long for this, so long that it seemed a pity to end it so quickly. She took her time, knowing that he was hers, knowing that there was no escape for him.

She was oblivious to everything, including Sieg’s desperate cry for help and the chambermaid’s screaming.

As she stood in front of the bed, time froze. Her eyes carried such intensity that it made him shiver. “Please…” he cried out weakly. She let the anger and hatred flow into her, flow into her sword. With a single, powerful swing, she took the head of her own uncle, her enemy.

The chambermaid screamed in horror as blood gashed out from all over.

As if willed by heaven, the guards entered the room right after the death of their king. They charged in and surrounded the three of them, while some of the guards gasped upon seeing their king killed by these unknown assassins.

“Gentlemen! This is Queen Sieg, the rightful owner to the throne of Kongor.” Briggs declared, walking towards Vass. “She has finally come to free us from the corrupted rule of the previous King Sieg.”

The men looked confuse as they stared at one another at first, but after a while, cheers erupted. As one, the men bowed down and shouted, “Welcome, Queen Sieg.”

Vass could not acknowledge her new men. She was still sobbing uncontrollably. “Queen Sieg is not feeling well at the moment; please let her have some time on her own.” Hercles called to the men. “Take this lady out and see to her.” He added, pointing at the chambermaid, who was now sitting in shock.

The men hurried to obey the orders and went out. Briggs nodded at them and followed the men out.

“I never knew you could do that,” Val told Hercles, looking at him in amazement. Hercles was pretty surprised at himself too. But somehow, he felt funny when he saw her in tears. He wanted to do what was necessary to help her when he saw her this way.

“Let’s go, give her some time to herself.” Hercles said.

“Hercles!” Vass cried out suddenly. “Please stay with me, don’t go.”

“I’ll leave her to you then.” Val said, walking out of the room

Chapter 12:

Hercles looked at her. He felt like he wanted to share her sorrows, but he did not know how to express himself.

“Don’t think about it anymore. You have done what is necessary. Justice is served.”

She nodded, trying to swallow her tears.

“Remember when you asked me what I was doing in the woods alone? I’ve been alone for a long time. When I was young, my village was raided by gnomes. They killed my whole village. I saw them kill my parents from my hiding place. After those creatures left, I went out to the nearby forests, relying on myself for survival.

“I ran into the same group of gnomes two years later, and I tracked them down and killed them all. I was pretty sure it was the same group, as they took my mother’s bracelets. Here, this is the bracelet.” He held out a bracelet with red beads. “You can have it.”

“But…I can’t take this; it belongs to your mother.” She said, wiping her tears away.

He breathed in deeply. “In a way, we share a similar fate. But you were the one who made me open up. I want you to have it.”

Vass smiled and took the bracelet. She knew she was no longer looking at Hercles, the mysterious ranger. She was looking at the real Hercles, the emotional man deep inside. She gave him a hug. He seemed taken aback at first, but he returned the hug.

The next morning, the whole city was in an uproar. Word spread quickly, that the king was killed by his own niece and that the niece has taken over the throne. Most people were elated to see the king dead, but some were definitely not too pleased. They had been paying tribute to the king for a long time and now, he was dead.

Vass needed to make the people believe in her. She went out to the centre of the city to give a speech, informing the people of their situation. She told them that they were free of the corrupted rule of her uncle. She explained to the people the need of mobilizing the army to defend themselves from the Dark One.

She put Commander General Briggs in charge, telling the people to obey all orders from him. “I hope that you will stay united as one. I understand that this is a difficult time. I assure you that after the Dark One is defeated, the city will be rebuilt part by part, and Kongor will flourish!” she declared. The crowd cheered upon hearing these words, and with that, Vass ended her speech and returned to the palace.

On returning to the palace, she saw Hercles and Val waiting. From the looks on their faces, she knew that something important had cropped up. “What is it?” she asked.

“We found this in your uncle’s office.” Val said grimly. He held out a brass handle that looked to be the hilt of a sword. It looked shiny and powerful. “It is an object of magic. They usually come in pairs, and are very rare. It is a combination of light and dark magic, and can only be activated when both sides are put together. This side, in this case, provides the light magic required. The other side will provide the dark magic required. I believe that this ancient object will be able to stop the Dark One.”

“So where is the other side?”

“Through this object, we can track its other side with the required power. I’ve tried, and learnt that it is somewhere in the west, in the kingdom of dwarves.”

Briggs came in and saw the object. “What are you doing with this? It is an object of royalty, passed on from king to king for a long time.”

“This was probably left by the men who went on to study the arts of magic, and evolved into elves eventually. They left this object for their fellow men, and over the years, this was passed on as a sign of royalty, as no one knows about its powers.”

“Whatever it is, we need this, and we have to go to the west now.” Hercles told Briggs.

“But why? The scouts have just reported that the gnomes and trolls are moving west!”

The three of them looked at one another grimly. “This means that the Dark One may know about this object. We must get there before him.”

“Briggs, mobilize the army to the west. Val, you will need to go back and bring the elves to our aid.”

“But I’m the only one who can locate the other object. Send a messenger and look for my grandfather. With his position, he should be able to influence the king into sending the army. Mention my name.”

Briggs nodded. “I do not know what is happening, but I will do as I’m told. I know you will lead Kongor to victory eventually.”

Vass nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Briggs.” Then, she turned to her companions. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 13:

The gnomes had been in the city for days. Kain hid in his house, beneath a hidden basement under his floorboards. The gnomes had come into his house, saw nothing worth taking, and went off on their way again.

Today, they were back. He could hear them searching the house again. He prayed silently for them to leave quickly. He held on tightly to the steel blade, believing that this was what they came for.

Suddenly, he heard battle cries from above. The ring of steel cut through and he could hear the gnomes crying out in alarm. Perhaps help has come, he thought silently. As suddenly as the sound came, it ended.

“This should be where the object of magic is. The smell of magic is strong here.” He heard a voice say.

“Let’s search the place.” A woman said.

He could hear his place being ransacked once again. “I can’t find anything. Are you sure it is here?” a third voice called out after awhile.

“I’m positive, continue searching.”

“Here, I found a secret passage of some sort.”

Kain’s heart sank. He knew that they have found him. He stepped out slowly and saw a big man with dark, black hair and eyes, an elf and a young beautiful woman. His hand still held the blade.

“There! That’s the object.” The elf said.

“We mean you no harm; we need the object you are holding. See, this is the other part to that blade,” the woman said gently, holding another object.

Slowly, Kain passed the blade to the woman. He could tell that these people were not with the gnomes as he noticed the gnomes sprawling dead on the floor. “My name is Vass Sieg, this is Hercles and Val,” she said, pointing to the man, and then the elf.

“My name is Kain.”

“Now let me put these together as one,” Val muttered. “Looks tricky.”

“You had better be able to do it.” Hercles growled.

Hercles watched as Val sent sparks of magic at the two objects. Finally, Val held out the sword for all of them to see. A magnificent blade, it looked bigger than both the hilt and the actual blade before the sword was formed. “Hercles Ilidur, this belongs to you.”

Hercles took the blade. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

“You are now the rightful owner of this sword. My job is done. The fates have made sure that all the three races play a part in the forging of this blade. Together with Vass, you will ride it into battle and destroy the Dark One.”

“What?”

“The weapons master and the rightful ruler of Kongor shall ride into battle as one, bringing the blade forged with the aid of men, elves and dwarves along. They will use the blade, putting darkness against darkness, to destroy the power of darkness that could plague this world.

“Be warned, that this blade contains dark powers and must be wielded by the rightful owner. To stop the dark magic of the Dark One, dark magic is required. It is the same logic. To stop violence, we will have to use violence to defeat those bringing violence. Yet, if we were to lose control of ourselves and use violence without thinking, we would become what we are trying to stop.

“This prophecy comes directly after the one my uncle spoke of to you. We did not tell you about this as we did not know the true meaning of it ourselves, but now, I believe that all of us do.”

Hercles and Vass were dazzled by the explanations. Hercles couldn’t believe that he would be the one to stop the Dark One in the end, and that he was known as a weapons master. He did not know if he could have enough strength to do it. Val told them that he would have to do this with Vass. They would fight as one.

He turned to Kain. “I will need you to gather most of your people. Together, we will drive out the gnomes. We have already killed most of them in the city. But there are a great deal more marching towards here. Val, I need you to go to Haron and request them to come to our aid. Tell them that if they fail to do so, it will soon be their turn.”

Chapter 14:

In a matter of days, Hercles, Vass and the other dwarves killed and drove out most of the gnomes in the city. They knew, however, that the main force of the army was upon them very soon. Hercles also heard tale that the Dark One himself was with the army. He was focusing in on the west in search for the dark object.

Hercles and Kain organized the dwarves’ defense together and waited.

Hercles stood at the tallest tower, observing the enemy each day. “They’re coming.” He announced one night.

That night, the battle was a bloody one. The dwarves were severely outnumbered and their inexperience also caused many to fall. Even after the city gates were closed, the relentless attacks continued. The gnomes attempted to climb the city walls while the gigantic trolls pounded at the city gates.

Although many of the gnomes fell to their deaths while trying to climb into the city, the trolls succeeded in destroying the city gates. Kain brought a group of defenders to stop the invaders. They managed to wipe out the first wave of attackers, but a second, stronger wave followed up and killed them all.

Hercles, wielding the sword, led another group into defending the city. The sword was surprisingly light despite its size, and Hercles killed several gnomes and trolls with it. However, he still knew that it was a hopeless battle.

Just as Hercles was wondering if they might lose the battle even before the last day of winter, a battle horn sounded from outside the city. Hercles looked around and finally realized what was going on.

“Haron is here!” Hercles called out. The will to fight was back and the dwarves started to fight more ferociously.

Elven fires started out in all directions, and the battle cries of the men of Haron alone were enough to intimidate a ferocious tiger. Together, the men and the dwarves worked to keep the attackers out of the west.

Later that night, Hercles, Vass and Val gathered together. “It’s good to see you guys again.” Val said.

Vass smiled. “It’s good to see you too.”

“Listen, I came to give you guys some valuable information. The Dark One is among the army. Given our current size, we still can’t defeat the enemy. However, once Elfheim and Kongor arrive, the two of you will have to go into the enemy encampment and kill the Dark One. They should be on their way now, and will definitely make it before the last day of winter.”

“But we haven’t even figured out how to call upon the sword’s magic.”
“Focus on killing the Dark One, not on calling upon the sword’s magic. It will come naturally.”

Hercles absorbed the information, wondering how they could to that. “And one more thing. It is an elven tradition to name an important sword before it is brought into battle. How about naming your sword, Hercles?”

Hercles stared at him. “Let’s call it the sword of silence, since its wielder is always so silent and it is, as all swords are, used to silent,” Vass suggested. “What do you think?”

Hercles shrugged. “Very well, the sword of silence it will be then.” Val announced.

“We’d better keep our guards up, before the enemy comes and silent us.” Hercles muttered.

“We can’t keep defending; we’ll have to attack them. The best defense is a good offense. Let’s attack when the sun is up tomorrow.” Val said.

Hercles looked at Val as if he were crazy. He understood what the elf meant, but he understood, too that theory and practice was quite different. They both looked at Vass, asking for her opinions.

“Val’s right. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 15:

Hercles and the archers fired their arrows, killing the guards at the encampment. That night, before they went to sleep, Hercles had divided the army into three groups: a group of archers and two groups of attacking troops.

The plan was to take turns in attacking the enemy and confuse them. Once the arrows struck, Hercles and Vass led the first attacking force into the encampment. They caught the enemy off guard, killing many at first.

As the enemy got ready and began to counter-attack, Hercles shouted for the troops to retreat. Word spread quickly and the group fell back while at the same time, killing as many gnomes as possible.

The gnomes gave chase and were caught by a shower of arrows from the archers. There was major confusion among the enemy and as they were retreating, they were met by the second group of attackers led by Val.

Hercles, Val and Vass kept the attack going on for the rest of the day. The enemy could not seem to fully grasp the concept of their attacks and were confused most of the time.

After a long and tiring day, they gathered in the same room that night and congratulated one another on the success of their attack. They were pleased to see that the enemy suffered heavy losses and were paralyzed.

However, the enemy still greatly outnumbered them.

After their short discussion, Hercles, Val and Vass went for a well deserved rest, with their minds at ease. At least they knew that the enemy couldn’t attack them now.

Victory was theirs. At least, for now.

Chapter 16:

Hercles was awakened the next morning by an uproar. Fearing the worse, he grabbed the sword of silence and raced out. The first person he ran into was Val. “Elfheim and Kongor have arrived. Go get ready.”

Without replying, Hercles put on his armor and went to the stables. He saw Vass there. They mounted their horses without another word and rode out into the battlefield.

The enemy encampment was in an uproar. Trolls, some on fire, were stampeding the whole place, killing gnomes. The gnomes, mostly unarmed, were running about the place. Hercles and Vass looked at each other and nodded. Together, they rode into the enemy encampment, killing any in their way.

Suddenly, a thought struck Hercles. The Dark One might have escaped upon seeing the elves and the army from Kongor. Surely, he won’t stay and watch his own army getting decimated.

He suddenly rode towards the army of Elfheim. Vass, wondering what he was up to, followed swiftly after. They rode through the elven army and into a field. In the middle of the field, a dark figure was hurrying away.

Hercles rode even harder to catch up with the dark figure. The dark figure stopped and turned around. He looked hideous, with faint elven features. To Hercles, he looked like a cross between of an elf and a gnome.

Whatever he looked like, he was the Dark One.

Without speaking, the Dark One raised his hand and sent a wave of fire at Hercles. Hercles’ horse quickly turned back, attempting to run away. Hercles instinctively hopped down from the horse. The Dark One sent another wave of fire at Hercles. This time, Vass pushed Hercles out of the way, and the both of them fell to the ground together. As one.

Vass struggled to her feet and rushed forward at the Dark One. The Dark One waved his hand and knocked Vass back. Hercles pulled Vass up. The same questions crossed their minds. How were they going to call upon the sword’s powers?

Focus on killing the Dark One, not on calling upon the sword’s magic. Val’s voice echoed in their heads.

They nodded at each other. Swords in hand, the two of them charged at the Dark One.

As one.

The Dark One sent waves of flames at them, but the flames were extinguished before it could hit them. Hercles felt the sword of silence roar to life in his hands. As they approached the Dark One, Hercles put the sword into him. Vass followed his lead and put her own sword in.

Darkness enveloped the sky. As the Dark One fell down dead, it was all over. They watched as the body evaporated into the sky.

Hercles and Vass stared at each other. No words were exchanged. They knew they had done it. They had just destroyed the Dark One. As one.


Chapter 17:

That night, the entire army had a feast in the dwarves’ city. There were cheering and joy among the people. These were men, dwarves and elves who had fought hard for their freedom.

Hercles, Val and Vass gathered at a table, drinking their ales in silence, knowing that they were going to be on their own way tomorrow.

“Thank you, Val. You’ve proven to be a great help.” Hercles said, sticking out his hand.

“Well, at least you said something friendly to me before our parting. Goodbye big man, it was great knowing you.” Val said, taking the hand.

Vass stood up and gave Val a hug. “Goodbye, Val.”

“Until next time, Queen Sieg.”

“Well, it’s getting late, I’d better go and get some rest,” Val said, standing up.
“Good night.”

Vass and Hercles looked at each other. “Well… I guess I’d better go to bed too.” Vass said.
Hercles nodded. “Goodbye.” With that, he turned and left, without looking back again.

The next morning, Vass realized that Hercles was nowhere to be seen. I guess he feels more belonged in the woods. She thought. She smiled as she recalled his handsome, dark features and his cool, emotionless face. She smiled as she remembered the first time she saw the real, deep emotional man in him. With those memories afresh in her mind, she set off back to Kongor, hoping that she might meet him again.