Bloody Sword

[The Writing Owl]

The myths had been passed from generation to generation. Myths of the nefarious demon lord, Aeroth had transcended in generations as grandmothers told their grandchildren about the evil deeds of the demon. They warned the children of the destruction caused by the evil lord. Most of the children did not heed the warnings and just brushed it off as rumor. There was one child that took the myths to heart. This child decided that she would slay the demon lord that caused the world so much trouble. And that is where the story begins.

Kaya walked through the market, looking for a new sword. Hers broke fighting off an ogre. She ran a hand through her short black hair. Her green eyes scanned over the different stalls. None of them had what she was looking for. All of them tried to sell her jewelry.

"Excuse me miss!" A fat man said. His dark skin shone with sweat as he ran up to Kaya. "I noticed you were holding an exquisite sword. It's a shame it is broken. I think I have just the weapon for you!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her over to his stall, shoving weapons in her face.

 

[IAmEnzo]

There was a man, wearing a mage's robes who strolled down the busy marketplace. He wore the robe's hood, to shade himself and cover his wounds. His eyes scanned the area, his eyes would shimmer a bright red every now and then under the hood. He looked up, and saw a sign with a sword on it. Figuring they had something interesting to fit his style, he walked over, but little did he know, it was the same stall Kaya was located at.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Kaya ignored the swords being shoved in her face. She focused on one in particular. It was a long sword, and it looked quite heavy. It had a small engraving near the hilt that caught her eye. She walked over to the sword. "What's this one?" She asked.

The man froze. He quickly shook his head. "Oh you don't want that miss. Such a sword is not fit for a pretty young lady such as yourself." He turned and smiled at the man walking toward the stall. "Welcome! What are you looking for?"

 

[IAmEnzo]

The man looked at the selection of weapons. Swords, battleaxes, mauls, and even flails. As the man looked, he seemed to waver a bit in his stance, as if he were dozing off. "Some of these weapons are chipped." He said with disinterest. To prove his point, he picked up a battleaxe with a single hand, and twisted it in the air to let the light reflex and show the dips in the edges of the blade. "How much?"

 

[The Writing Owl]

"For you, fifty silver coins." The man said, rubbing his hands together. He seemed nervous.

Kaya frowned. "Excuse me, I asked you about this sword." She said, picking the blade up. It seemed to emit a small sound, one of approval. Kaya raised an eyebrow at the blade, looking at it with a curious look. The man ignored her, focusing on the man in front of him.

 

[IAmEnzo]

The robed man's eyes shifted to the woman's blade, then back to the shopkeeper. "And what of a long sword?" He asked, returning the battleaxe to it's proper place. "This lady wants one, and I might go for one too."

 

[The Writing Owl]

He gasped when he saw the woman handling the sword. "You can touch it?" He asked. He was shaking and looked like he wanted to pack his bags and run.

Kaya looked at him confused. "Yeah... it's a sword." She said, showing it to him. He backed away, muttering curses.

"That... that is a demon sword! The only ones who can use that sword are demons, those who have a demon in them, or are destined to be the mate of a demon!" The man said. "You know what? Take that sword and go! My business has been terrible with it hear! Long swords are two gold coins." He turned back to the other customer, happy as Kaya rolled her eyes and walked out of the stall.

 

[IAmEnzo]

"Tch, 'demons'." Was the only thing the man could say at that. It was yet another crazy, delusional tale against demons. A very crazy one, in fact. "Oi, if you touch those swords, does that mean a beautiful demon lady will fall for me?" He snickered at his own joke, then placed down two gold coins on the table. "This'll be the first and last time someone will literally buy your bad tales." He took a longsword and turned around. The woman he was just stand next to was already out of his sight, thanks to the crowd of people. Again, he felt as if he were going to pass out.

A few steps later, he did. He found that his legs had stopped working, and he fell over onto the dirt with a thud, right in the middle of traffic. That bastard.. the poison went faster than I thought. Soon, he was unconscious.

 

[The Writing Owl]

When he came back into consciousness, the robed man found himself in a bed. Kaya was sitting in a chair, sharpening her newly acquired blade. She glanced up at him, smiling. "You're awake." She said. "Found you passed out on the street. You were nearly trampled." She put down her sword and stood up. Walking over to him, she checked him over. "You feeling alright? Poisons tend to make you feel sick."

 

[IAmEnzo]

He lifted himself up to a sitting position, and looked around the room with a blank face before returning his gaze to the woman who was inspecting him. "Don't touch me, I may be a demon." He said jokingly. Looking at his arm, his concealing magic would then fail. Large, tribal tattoos formed on the right side of his body from top to bottom. He sighed, and hid most of his body with his robes. "Why did you help me?" I mean, why resist the urge to rob me and leave?"

 

[The Writing Owl]

Kaya rolled her eyes at the joke. "Ha ha, very funny. As to why I helped you... I'm not some cold-hearted person like everyone else is. If someone's hurt on the ground, I help them up. It's the right thing to do, is it not?" She said, grabbing a small bottle from her bag. It was full of a strange red liquid. "Drink this. It will help flush out anything that might harm your immune system."

 

[IAmEnzo]

The man looked suspiciously at the bottle before chugging it whole in a few gulps, and tossing it onto the ground like trash. "I expect that to be a healing potion." He turned his body so that his legs were touching the ground, and stood up. "Doesn't matter. I need to be on my way. Thanks for the drink, madam.

 

[The Writing Owl]

"Hold up. You've got some explaining to do." Kaya said, pushing him back down onto the bed with her hands. "What exactly were you doing, walking around when you obviously had been poisoned by someone? Are you a warrior or are you some type of mercenary or what?" She crossed her arms across her chest, waiting for him to answer.

 

[IAmEnzo]

"And why would it interest a woman like you? I have no shortages of enemies." He sat back up to his previous position before he was standing. "I'm a captain." He said after a short pause. "Captain Onyx. You?"

 

[The Writing Owl]

"Kaya. Just Kaya." Kaya said. She ran a hand through her hair. "And I'm not just a woman. I'm a warrior sent from my village." She looked back at the sword, running a hand along it. "I'm looking for some help, actually."

 

[IAmEnzo]

Onyx, as he accused himself of being, looked at Kaya with an eyebrow raised. "A warrior? And you're looking for help?" He would then shake his head slowly, and return his gaze to her. "With what?"

 

[The Writing Owl]

"I'm looking to slay the demon lord, Aeroth." Kaya said. She sat down, looking over the supposed 'demon blade'. "I mean, he's caused a lot of the bad stuff that's happened in the world, or at least that's what the myths say." She sighed as she knew he wouldn't help her. It wouldn't hurt to try and convince him though. "I know it sounds crazy, but I know he's out there and when I find him, I'm going to kill him."

 

[IAmEnzo]

Onyx looked on with concern. A regular warrior set off to slay the demon lord? It was known that many armies marched onto his land, with little to return to tell the tale of how they failed. Not only was Aeroth's army strong, but he alone was ummatched in physical and magical combat. "Then you're going to need a lot more than just a 'cursed sword' from some run-down stall." The woman would be horribly outgunned, and it would be sad if a good soul like that went to waste so quickly. "I'll help, but first thing's first, you have to show me how good of a swordswoman you are."

 

[The Writing Owl]

"Alright. How do you want me to show you?" Kaya asked, picking up the sword and falling into an offensive position. It felt perfect in her hands, not too heavy but not too light. She wondered how such a sword would be 'cursed'. Whatever it was, it would help her with fighting the demon lord.

 

[IAmEnzo]

Onyx stood with his hands in the robe's pockets. "Well, Attack." He assumed no position suitable to dodge, but it wasn't like he wasn't paying attention. As far as he knew, she could also be a sorceress, and have a back-up plan if he dodged.