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The BloodVaine EpicChapter 28: Searching For Allies
Rosa stopped and stared at the dirty-looking town of Denderham. Black smoke billowed from houses and obscured the sun, all manner of animals wandered freely in the street, leaving their dung where ever they pleased. Gray-faced men and woman tramped about, only opening their mouths to shout a curse a one another. It was an ugly town, an unclean town.
Radjar held back. “Rodurik...lives here?”
Though he had heard of Denderham, Radjar had never visited the Crusader port, and he had expected something a little more pleasing to the eye. And to the nose.
“We...are supposed to make a treaty with people like this?” Radjar continued, he sounded outraged.
“Later, perhaps.” murmured Rosa, “Our goal now is to find Rodurik…and your Stormspear friend. We should split up and meet back here when we have found our friends.”
“No,” said Radjar firmly, “I’m coming with you into this slop of a village.”
Rosa drew her knife, but did not threaten Radjar with it. Instead, she threw it at a nearby sapling. The thin knife split the tree in two.
“I am not helpless, remember. For every man who....raped me...I killed ten who tried.”
Radjar hesitated for less then a second before nodding. “Very well, I will see you later then.”
“I will see you at Rodurik’s tonight,” Radjar said. “Remember, even though you and Rodurik can handle yourselves, these are demons that are after us.”
Rosa nodded, and then touched Radjar lightly on the arm before turning to enter Denderham.
Radjar walked through the streets of the city, obviously out of place. A backwater king in a modern, advanced kingdom? He felt like a stranger in a strange land. He wondered if this was how Derrek felt...
Radjar finally reached the outskirts, where the plantations were. Stormspear’s was just ahead, judging by the Dark Forest pennant flying from the bell tower. Radjar needed something to eat and a chair to sit in, so he headed on. The plantation was made out of white stone, with a red tile roof. A traditional Crusader plantation.
Radjar walked past the garden of sprouting greenery that surrounded the villa and knocked on a heavy-looking arched door. It promptly opened, and Radjar looked into the cold steel eyes of Derrek Stormspear. He had dark brown hairmcafee desktop firewall 8.5 that was straight and stood up high on his head, and a pointed goatee that surrounded a small mouth, curved into a bitter and hard expression. This man looked like he had seen far too much death in his lifetime.
“Who are you?” he groaned in a cold and ragged voice.
“My name is Radjar Kath,” Radjar replied, trying to look as respectable and stoic as possible despite his country exterior, puffing his chest, head pointed up.
“Well I’ll be megabloks…” Derrek replied. “Have you grown.”
Radjar shrunk, looking surprised.
“Come in, lad. Have a spot of food.”
Radjar walked in, eager to be filled in on what he’d missed. Derek sat him down at a long wooden table worn with age.
“The last time I saw you, you were a wee little babe.” Derrek grinned. “After you were born, I left to escape the Wolfpack attack.”
“Isn’t that cowardly? Why didn't you stay and fight?”
“I regret it every bit... and if I had stayed, your father might have lived.”
Radjar looked saddened. “I came here to enlist your help in defeating the demon Aezezal.”
“I sensed that was what you came for.” Derrek laughed. “It surely is a grim time. I would be obliged to help.”
Suddenly a tall, high-cheekboned woman with long golden locks walked in the room, unaware of Radjar
“Ah, Radjar, this is my wife, Kara.”
“It is good to meet you, Kara,” Radjar smiled. “May I ask, what family is she from?”
Derek grimaced. “She is the sister of Valus Naras…”
Rosa picked her way though the fetid streets, trying not to breath in. Many days in the Forestmen and Dark Forest woods had purged her of remembrance of the smell of Denderham, but now all the memories had flooded back, but the flood of memories could not wash away the smell.
Picking her way down the narrow streets, she at last came upon the place where the Broken Mast Inn had stood. In it’s place stood another inn. Rosa spat. In her opinion, that ground would be cursed forever.
Rodurik was surprised, to say the least, when Rosa turned up at his door. After a very long talk, Rodurik said, “Rosa, if I had no family I would get up this instant and go with you to Drullen Bell. However, I must discuss this with my wife and children.”
Rosa nodded. “I understand.”
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