Part 1

Noontime, we all sit down on the table eating lunch. The feast, the usual – dried meat, noodles, veggies, and bread – the River Kingdom’s staple diet. Bland, too bland, it needs much salt. Too bad, we’re penniless and being beggars, we cannot complain.

“Are you done, Sir Linus?” Nina asks.

“Yeah, you can have my portion.”

“Thanks.” The lass shamelessly scoops portions of meat and veggies off my bowl. Happily, she slurps her noodles with the scraps mixed in. Guess that might not be too rude, considering the day’s standards.

And the old drunken gambling clown, Ricardo, never ceases to amaze me with his titanic appetite. He voraciously devours all the food on the table, like an abysmal pit would.

Done, I relax, silently observing the couple eat, trying to forget about the issues we have at the moment.

“Sirs! I beg you, put them outside. We do not allow our guests to bring them inside the inn.” The manager kicks a fuss, disrupting my tranquil moment. A bunch of men storms the reception, bringing in several clay jars, stacking them into shape.

“Put them away!” Even with the manager’s earnest begging, they won’t stop filling the reception with those strange jars. One of them men, dressed in a black skinny leathery outfit, approaches the manager, rudely pulling the good man by the collar. The protest stops and the stacking of jars continue, steadily forming a pyramid.

The fellow slowly turns around. Of pale complexion, a goth he appears to be – his shagged hair covers his eyes completely. Standing still, the odd fellow looks in my direction.

A gust of wind violently storms the premise, blowing against his face, his hair, his bangs, making them rise upward, revealing his glowing eyes of gold. Fixed sight, his narrow black reptilian pupils lock target.

Chills, a hundred volts shoot from the spine up. My feet, my arms, and my body, they won’t hear my commands; frozen, they stick to my seat, glued flat.

Softly he mutters, “policy four… we shall pursue our enemies to the ends of earth…” Like needles, his pupils contract into a black thin slit. Swiftly casts his silvery hand at me.

“AND SLIT THEIR THROATS! DIE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The madness echoes.

CRASH! Abruptly, the pyramid collapses; the countless jars burst, shattering into a million fragments. And out like a plague, a flood of a thousand snakes slither forward in turbulent waves, flicking their tongues, preaching the dark gospel of fear and death.

“HIIIIII!” My heart jumps out of my chest, mightily pounding as loud as a drum.

Fangs out, the numerous venomous slithering reptilian freaks of nature fly!

My ARM! “WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

[BZZZZTTTT!]

“Sir, Linus?” Not a snake but a hand, Nina?

She puts her palm on my forehead. “Wiz, are you okay? You look pale.”

I gently push her hand away, and standing from my seat, I scan the area – no snakes, no goons, and certainly, no reptilian villain hybrids.

Dangerous, I didn’t notice spacing out. The villain, Crimson; even in my daydream he appears. A crush? What prick breaks a young innocent’s heart? (not including my years of forty) And what have I done to deserve such a disservice in this town?

“Kid, as the lass suggested, let’s go.” Smiles Ricardo; his teeth sparkle.

“What suggestion?”

“Weren’t you listening, Sir? I thought you agreed we visit Sir Albert.”

“For what?”

Nina lays the issue on the table. “Sir, he’s the only hope we have of defeating that Crimson.”

“Did I agree to that? Ricardo?”

“I thought you nod yes, kid.” I drowse off, rather.

“Crazy! I don’t think we should delve into this issue any further. It’s getting more dangerous.”

“Right, kid. I thought so too.” Ricardo plays with his silvery beard.

“But, sir! The coward run away. He was losing” Nina pounds the table.

“That’s what you think. It wasn’t obvious, but all the cards were stacked against us. First, I am not willing to bring trouble to people I have no business with. Second, our opponent is willing to do just that. We’re fighting an enemy we can’t win against, and we must run.” I nonchalantly explains.

“Right, it’s better to go home and tell daddy.” the ceiling speaks.

“Tell me, Ricardo, I’m not daydreaming, am I?”

“No, kid.” Ricardo gives a glittery smile. “Come out, you!”

Behind Nina, a thin and sleek shadow drops from the ceiling, locking her frozen with a bronzen dagger neatly pressed against her neck.

“HEEEIIIII!” Nina grunts, petrified.

My heart smolders. I can’t help but yell, “YOU, AREN’T YOU ONE OF THOSE GOONS?”

“Right, thank you very much. Master Crimson is very pissed. He says he didn’t want to see us anymore. But he’ll be pleased to know you’re coming.” He stands, carefully dragging Nina along with him.

With fist firmly clenched, I’m ready to strike at any moment, but the sneaky fellow threatens, applying more pressure at the dagger’s tip.

Slowly, blood runs from Nina’s neck down to the dagger’s edge. The droplets drip, marking the soil with tiny black dots.

“Kid, better not do anything foolish. Just a slit will do. Just a slit and bro will say bye, bye. Here’s the deal. If you want me to set your brother free, see me in the outskirts of the town, southwest. We’ll wait till sunset.” We’ll means there’s many of them. My fist tightens. How formidable.

Backing away slowly, he makes it to the wagon parked outside. He kicks Nina in the car and jumps in. And standing, he drives the wagon away, waving his twinkling bronzen dagger back. “ADIOS, AMIGOS! See you there!”

Part 2

CRASH! “DAMMIT!” My eyes, ears, and cheeks are hot; my flesh trembles, and my heart aches and rages, smoldering. I grit and grind my teeth in frustration, randomly hitting, smashing, and throwing rubbish and other inanimate things.

“Kid, calm down. There’s a way to deal with things.” Ricardo restrains me by the shoulder, but he’s weak, he can’t stop me. I wrestle, but he struggles still.

“KID! YOU HAVEN’T LEARNED YOUR LESSON!” BAGH! With a kick, he sweeps my calf, making me lose my balance. My back rests against the wooden floor.

Looking around on the floor, fragments of broken tableware are scattered, and the window, broken, and the manager hides behind the counter. Rage, never in my life have I become so infuriated to throw such a fit.

“Thanks, Ricardo.” Calming down, I slowly stand up.

He helps pull me up. “You’re welcome, kid.” Bling! Smiling, his teeth sparkle brightly.

Slowly, I approach the counter where the scared manager shrinks even smaller, behind. I bow deep. “Sorry. It was never my intention, sir. In the name of my father, Julius of Solus, I swear to pay for the damages.”

The hermit crab, cowering stiff, says, “I understand… I shall wait for… repayment…”

To reassure the man, I whip a sheet of parchment from my room and write a promissory note on it. I hand it to him in a civil manner, but he’s silent and stiff, still. I haven’t heard him utter a single word or phrase.

“Our time’s running, kid. What should we do?” Ricardo commands with a sparkly smile.

“Let’s get Sir Albert to help.”

Before going, I grab a few gadgets in my room – a piece of flint and the mixture of chemicals wrapped in a ball. I didn’t expect the situation to turn out this bad. I never intended to use this creation of mine this early.

Around the town we roam aimlessly, looking for the knight, asking people for information, left and right. Luckily, the wanted man’s strange outfit stands out in the crowd. People are quick to recognize the descriptions of the hunko’metal we give them.

“The guy’s rich. I heard he was heading north, the richies. Figures!” a street peddler says.

As our friends on the streets have pointed out, we dash to the northern part of the town, near the riverbanks.

The rough and uneven gravel pavement becomes flattened and neatly compacted. Same could be said of the neighborhood; the gap between houses becomes neater and more even. And as we get to our destination, the brick perimeter walls and structures seem to get higher and higher.

Finally, we reach the place – Hotel la Constance – a castle-like structure that stands three stories tall. Outside, armor clad fellows stand guard, intimidatingly wielding pikes.

Immediately, the guards block our entrance. “Do you have an appointment?”

“I’m Linus Daedalus, son of Julius Daedalus of Solus. We’re here to visit Sir Albert Reginald of the teleknights.”

One of the fellow strikes the ground with his pike. “Prove your identity!”

Shucks, I don’t have anything like that. The only letters I have are for the other two fellows I’m supposed to meet in Nexus.

Bling! Ricardo shows a sparkly smile. “You don’t need to question the kid too hard. I, Ricardo Gimenez, the Silver Wolf, proves the kid’s identity.”

“Who’s that? We don’t know anyone who goes by the name Silver Wolf. BACK OFF!” Smack, I palm my face. The men shove us away forcibly, pointing their pikes against us.

“Well, kid. Tried our luck. How about we go on our own.”

“Nope, let’s wait here.”

As the sun steadily retreats, several ladies and gentlemen has made it in and out of the hotel, but not one sighting of Albert. On alert, the guards constantly look in our direction.

Finally, a blonde gentleman, clad in by no means a cheap looking armor, comes out. To him, the guards salute.

I approach him. “Good Sir, do you happen to be an acquaintance of Sir Albert?”

“Oh yes, Richard is the name. Do you need help with anything, lad?”

“Yes. If it’s not too rude, dear Sir, I’d like to make a request. Can you please tell Sir Albert that Linus, the son of Julius Daedalus of Solus would like to meet him.”

“And yeah, the Silver Wolf would like to have fun with him as well! HAHAHA!” Ricardo points at himself, showing his sparkly smile.

“Ricardo, knock it off! That’s rude!” Oh, boy. How I’d like to have Nina here.

Richard smiles and picks a pebble from the ground. “That’s fine, lad. That isn’t too much to ask.” He throws the pebble at the middle window, second floor, yelling “ALBERT! JULIUS JUNIOR WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU!”

The bizarre behavior baffles everyone. It’s not very knightly. But heck, it does the job.

“Alright, lad. I did the favor, so let me go.” The fellow slips away like a snake would.

Out of the window, Albert yells “RICHARD! GOOD HEAVENS! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO DO THAT!” And looking down, he addresses us “Oh little Linus, nice see you again. Just wait for me down there.”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Our knight descends the stairs. “Come in, let’s have a talk.”

Finally, the guards let us in, and our knight, Albert, escorts us to the dining area.

He gives us a seat on a table to discuss. He calls a waitress to serve snack and water. And his eyes on me, he asks “What’s the issue?”

I tell the knight the story. Enraged, he slams the table with his fist tightly clenched, leaving a dent on the wood. It must be my imagination, but I see him glow golden and ghostly, filled with indignation and righteousness.

“Awful thugs they are. In the name of the River King, your judge, I, Albert Reginald of the Teleknights, shall not let this matter rest unresolved. Lad, we’ll get Nina back.” He shines golden and even brighter than before. An angel he must be?

Quickly, he runs to the stables, strapping himself to the hunko’metal, TAU. “Let’s go!”

DUG! DUG! DUG! The earth shakes. In a race against the setting of sun, we dash like mad dogs to the town’s outskirts. With much pressure, we slice the air, stirring up minute particles of dirt and dust.

The sun just red, we made it in the spot, right on time. We search the place left and right, but there is nothing to see but woods.

The pink sky is slowly turning into purple. It darkens. Nina!

“intruders…” A hoarse weak yet husky voice resounds in the woods. Slowly, a lone shadow emerges from the dark.

“Who are you? You aren’t Artemis!” Alert, I unsheathe my spiked club of death.

“right... hahahahahaha… master Crimson is furious… he locked your friend in the cellars... good for him to be in the cellars… hahahahahahahaha! Waaaah! HICK!*” The shadow puts both palms on his face. He sobs.

“What’s wrong with ya?” Ricardo asks; his teeth glitter in the darkness.

THUD! A dagger buries itself next to Ricardo’s foot. Rage, Artemis’ bloodshot eyes glow. Sobbing still, his tears keep on flowing. Soaking his mask even darker.

“HEY! YOU ALMOST HIT ME!” Ricardo complains, brandishing his spear.

Albert pats Ricardo by the shoulder. “That’s enough. I don’t sense hostility.”

The knight addresses the shadow. “Artemis. You must be going through a lot. If you needed help, your judge, Albert Reginald of the Teleknights shall listen. What happened to you?”

“I don’t know…” Both palms on his face, he tears up some more.

Part 3 – Artemis’ point of view

Thnk! During target practice, my dagger buries itself an inch in the tree trunk. “Ridiculous, Artemis. Leave it to the boss. You’ll get yourself hung!”

“But Jim! Those intruders! I can’t forgive them. Look! Our house is burnt into cinders! I won’t forgive them. I WON’T FORGIVE THEM! I’d like to see them burn in our master’s hand.” My fist clenches tight. My flesh trembles and my chest smolders. I throw another dagger in. Thnk!

Jim gives me a pat in the shoulder. “Look, I know babe. I love you. Why don’t you let me do all the dirty work? You know, I’ll execute the plan in your stead, as always.” Thnk! I put another dagger on the target.

“As always, you’re a smooth talker. Get your hands off me, you creep!” I shake his hands off.

Stubborn, the guy pulls me by the hand, close, too close – our lips are about an inch apart. We’re about too… Arrgghh! F**k! Sh**!

SMACK! Just the right timing, I give him a slap, pushing his lips away from mine. Additionally, I drop a heel on his toes. Damn, if you aren’t always this pesky! Not that I dislike it, but… that’s a bit…

“OUCH! But Artemis, at least let me do this for you!” He rubs his left cheek, the slap mark I give him.

Deeply, I sigh. “Why can’t I win against you? Alright, do it! Take care.” I throw at him one of my finest bronzen daggers.

Unflinchingly, he catches it. “For you, my love, anything is possible. ADIOS!”

Without giving anyone a notice, Jim hastily takes a wagon from the master’s stead, driving away with the intent to capture the intruders.

Red, still fresh, my palm burns. I feel uneasy.

A little while later, Jim returns triumphant and safe, dragging a hostage, one of those intruders. Ear to ear, he has this big grin on his face. I bet he thinks he caught a big one.

He looks at me, still with that weird grin, waving in his hand the bronzen dagger. Right.

“Jim! Good job. I’ll take care of the rest.” I tug on his arm.

He shoves my hand away. “No thanks! I can do this on my own. Heeheehee.” Again, with that weird grin, he drools.

“Idiot!” Around I turn. I hope he reflects on that.

“ARTEMIS! I’m serious. Don’t worry, I won’t take credit. I’ll tell the master of your brilliant plan.” Surprise, he hugs me tightly from behind. Beneath the clothes, I can feel the warm chiseled muscles rubbing against my back. Tickles, a shot of lightning rushes up from the spine to the ears.

Please, kill me now… please… I wanna die…

Twitches, my facial muscles react in a weird way.

“Huh? Artemis, are you okay? Your nose bleeds.” He shakes me by the shoulder.

“I’m okay.” Swiftly, I wipe the blood away. “Really, let me help, at least. That’s my project.”

He lets go and walks away, covering his ears. “I didn’t hear nothing. Naanaaanaaa~”

I can’t help but pester him.

And there he rants. “You’re still thinking of the credit, aren’t you? Just leave it to me.”

“NO! I’m just worried. It’s fine even if you took credit.” I tail him till we reach the master’s quarter.

“Knock it off! Alright, you win! Just give me a sec. Let me talk to these folks.” With a smile, he kicks the door open and drags the hostage with him inside the quarter.

SLAM! Just an inch away, he closes the door shut, leaving me out of the quarters. I almost lost my nose.

[Yes, master. That’s right. This fellow forcibly took the wagon from me. Punish him, master.]

[You lie. Your feet stink!]

[Don’t you pretend to be on the good side! I saw you with the wagon. You know very well not to touch any of your master’s belongings without permission!]

[Quiet, you fool! You don’t make sense. Master, here, I brought you a gift.]

[Hmmpph! How about a rank lower?]

[MASTER!]

[How about the cellar? Master?]

BLLLARRGGGHHH! “WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

BAG! The door forcibly opens and a burning man storms out of the quarter… and running aimlessly, he falls down the stairs. Motionless, he lies down in the middle, holding a dagger blackened by fire.

Cold sweat runs down my nape. I turn around. Across the room, it’s the master.

“FOOLS! Stop quibbling.” He casts a judging look on everyone.

“Lock this fool in the cellars.” The men drag the intruder out of the room to be locked up.

“Dismissed! I don’t wanna see your ugly faces anymore!” The master is left alone in his quarters. Everyone goes back to their usual duties, except… where the hell?

My heart skips a beat, bleeding as if skewered by a pike. Cold sweat runs down my temple.

Just who the hell?!

Clink! The darkened dagger drops to the ground as the cleaners drag the burnt corpse down the stairs. Flat on the ground, the dagger’s newly exposed parts glint, bronzen.

Oh my god! Why? It can’t be.

A river of warmth, tears, flows down my cheek uncontrollably.

[Rebel against the master!]

[Just look, just look. Those devil advisers. They’ll stir the master’s thoughts against you. Hahahahaha!]

[Rescue the hostage!]

[Good luck to you. They’ll throw you in the cellars too. Hahahahaha!]

[Hahahaha!]

[Hahahaha!]

So bad and so mad, devils run and mess with the thoughts within my head. I feel anxious. I feel restless.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

SNAP! All of the sudden, my legs start moving of their own. Run, run, and run, through the hideout and out. Mindlessly I keep on running, nonstop.

I trip and fall down. My face rubs against mud.

Rising up, I find myself in the woods. Darkness, darkness is all there is.

Part 4

Listening to the story, Sir Albert gets enraged. “Devil! Just who in the world would readily burn his allies alive, just because he’s mad? THIS IS MAD!” BANG! He slams his gauntlet in the ground, opening a crater, stirring an odd amount of particles in the air.

Right, even though a bit doubtful of the former foe, I myself am enraged to hear about the story. I sympathize for her lost.

“Artemis, justice is on your side. Your judge, Albert Reginald of the Teleknights, shall hunt down Crimson. I promise to defeat this evil for the good of all.” The knight emits a warm and graceful golden glow. Justice, when he mentions it, I feel a sense of invincibility.

“thanks…” She wipes her tears away, removes her mask, and unties her hair. Her long straight ribbon-like black hair drapes down her shoulders, her nose unveiled, small and thin, and her eyes, brown and a bit chinky but determined. An oriental beauty?

“Teehee! Is there something on my face?” With reddened eyes, Artemis smiles.

Waaahhh… totally my… arrgghh! Devils, go away! Shoo! I’m not done doubting!

“Kid, I told yah, forget about the las- UCK!”

“Sorry, Ricardo. I seem to lose control of myself, these days.” I give the man a blow in the gut.

“Kid… uggghh!” On the ground, he grovels, crawling like a worm, catching his breath.

“Good one! Hahahaha!” Artemis laughs. She sparkles brilliantly.

“Let’s go. Artemis, lead the way.” The knight in armor commands.

Artemis struggles, her leg shakes. She sighs deeply and takes a step forward. “Alright!”

She leads us in the deep dark woods.

Suddenly, she stops upon reaching a wall of rock, a cliff. Then she rests her palm against the wall. A ring on her finger glows. “ALAKAZAM! OPEN THE GATE!”

KOOWWLLL! KOOWWWLL! A strong gust of wind gets sucked in the void, revealing a dark red silhouette, shaped like an entrance.

“This is the master’s hideout. Come, let’s go!” Artemis enters.