Undying Blood - Beta - Chapter 08 (Patreon)

"TO ARMS! EVERYONE TO POSITIONS!"

Francis watched as his brother and the other two roused from their sleep.  He had already woken up, aware of when it was going to happen, and was trying to recall everything he had done the previous time.

"It's happening... It's really happening," Michael muttered.  

"If I die," Henry said, "Know I'm the one who slept with Sarah."

Francis watched as Gregory turned on his brother, mouth open and eyes wide.

"You! You're the one who slept with her! Mother of the gods! I knew it! I didn't want to believe it but--"

"GET IN LINE AND SHUT IT!"

The same officer cut off the brothers' spat.

"Guess we'll never have that problem," Michael said as they followed the other two.

"One can only dream."

The horns came and the sound Francis had been expecting washed over them.

"Warriors! Know that your King honors your bravery! Survive and be rewarded! Find wealth and a new life by proving ourselves today! Rest assured victory is guaranteed as four masters and one grandmaster is with us today, lending their power and skill! So fight for our kingdom! Be the wolves that tear our enemies to shred! Be the hero we need!"

A loud cheer rose across the army when the King's voice stopped and this time Francis found himself able to keep from cheering.

[ Mental Resist Check Success ]

[ Mental Resist Skill Learned - 15 Novice ]

The itch was still there but instead he could sense the wide spread aura that affected everyone.  Michael gave him a perplexed look as he stood there, not mimicking the others.

Two loud peels of horns echoed and the moment everyone dreaded began.

"Warriors! Advance!"

***

Moving with purpose, Francis managed to stem the flow of mistakes from the first time they fought, helping to keep Henry alive as they warred against the horde of beastkin. When the mental pressure came, telling them to flee, he was ready.

The wolf that had originally killed Gregory was dead, its head missing from Francis’s blade just seconds before the effect washed over the army.

“Run away! Flee!”

[ Mental Resist Check Successful ]

[ Mental Resist Skill Increased - 16 Novice ]

As soon as the wave of intimidation or whatever it was came, Francis slapped each of his friends and his brother.

The three stood there in shock, looking at him, their mouths open and eyes wide.

"We should run!" Henry exclaimed, glancing over his shoulder back toward where they had come from..

It took a second slap before all three of them were blinking at him, jaws moving from where he had hit them..

"Behind you!" Michael called out.

Spinning, he moved like the wind and had almost forgotten what happened last time.

A tigerkin came, and his shield rose, taking the slashing attack while his sword parried the other claw.

Henry and Michael moved first, thrusting and slashing, hacking the tigerkin who hadn’t expected them to react, having left itself defenseless.

"We need to move! There is something in the woods trying to scare us!" Francis shouted.

"What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to get us killed?" Gregory shouted as he moved and glanced around, waiting for their next attacker.

"The sensation can't you--

"DO NOT FLEE! STAND STRONG!"

The calming sensation hit him, but Francis shrugged it off with almost no effort at all now.

All three shook their heads, looking at each other and then at him, before noticing a line of men who had been running away, getting sliced down from behind by wolf and tigerkin turn around on silver coin and start fighting again.

"What... how... how do you know this?" his brother asked, eyes still blinking faster than normal.

"I picked up a Mental Resist skill at the start of the battle! I can feel the attack coming! That's why our side helped everyone resist it just now! We need to go and kill it or this will keep happening!"

Gregory and Henry looked at each other and frowned.

"We can't... the dishonor... besides, that's such a weird thing. What if you're wrong? We'll be murdered as traitors!"

They don’t believe me… how can I…

A wolfkin came, requiring the four of them to work together, managing to take it out quickly with little trouble.

"Michael?"

His brother winced and nodded slowly.

"I… I don’t want to leave but I can see you’re not going to stay.  You know the rule. We always go together."

"Stay safe, get with another line!" Francis shouted at the other two as he grabbed his brother and started pulling him toward the left.

"Wait, don't--"

Francis didn’t look back and the pain he felt in knowing those two would probably die ate at his soul.

No one matters but Michael...

Everytime Michael slowed down, Francis pushed as before, calling out his name and forcing him forward.  

[ Mental Resist Check Success ]

No skill up... well, that sucks.

The half hour it took to reach it last time was a little less as Francis remembered more of the fights from last time, slicing down with ease the enemies he was prepared for.  In about twenty minutes, they stood at the edge of the men with the same one hundred yards of open space between them and the forest.

"Do you trust me?" Francis asked after disemboweling a wolfkin that had been chewing on another soldier’s head.

"Yes! Why?"

"We need to run, don't stop. Ignore what your mind says.  No matter what, we move!"

"You're certain this is right?"

He could see Michael chewing his lip.

"Have I ever been wrong?"

"Every day," replied Michael as he grinned for a moment.

Shouts came from the line as they raced toward the woods.

Halfway there, the presence struck them.

"DO NOT FLEE TO THE WOODS!"

This time Michael only stumbled and Francis turned immediately, grabbing his brother's armor and pulling while he called out his name.

"Michael! Let's go!"

It only took one slap this time as they reached the edge of the woods.

"I... I... I couldn't breathe.  My brain... It hurts... I got a new skill."

"Mental Resist. It's how I know where we need to go."

Michael’s eyes widened as he heard him call out the skill by name.

“How?”

Pointing into the woods, Francis motioned to the area they had been before.

"Later. We need to hurry.  It’s this way."

The darkness wasn't as bad as before and he wasn't certain if it had to do with his new perception or what.  Every skill announcement that had come he had ignored, focused on keeping his brother alive instead of little things.

"Stay close, step where I step and don't talk," Francis whispered. "We're going to reach a circle of trees and need to go in quietly.  Just follow my lead.  When we find what we're facing, stay to the left and right of it.”

"That's very specific," Michael replied. "Like super specific. How can you..."

Francis watched as his older brother's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"Your dream! You saw all this!"

"Something like this, yes. If you do what I say, you'll be fine... if you don't... well, just obey me please."

"I... Okay,” Michael replied, shaking his head for a moment. “Just promise me that I'll be fine."

Smiling, he put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and squeezed.  

"I  promise you everything will work out if you do what I say."

Michael nodded and they began to move, once more the youngest, setting the pace and path for the two of them.

Soon the circle of trees appeared and Francis held up his hand, resting his sword once more and motioned that was the spot.  Picking up his weapon, they crept forward.

At the edge he glanced once more and saw the same creature, its purple body shrouded in shadows and the black robes.

Pointing to the right, Francis stepped back a few steps into the clearing and then nodded, running before he hit the barrier he knew was there.

As he took a step inside the ring, the shimmering wall appeared and the eyelid flung open, revealing again the yellow pair of eyes that glowed.  Its head snapped in Francis's direction.

"Hurry!"

Michael seemed to be moving better this time, but Francis wasn’t focused on that right now.

The same aura as before was building up at the end of the staff, shimmering around the purple or black orb at the end.

Unlike last time, Francis had speed on his side and where last time he had been two steps away from the creature, his sword came in contact with its shoulder, breaking the words it was speaking and causing the aura that had built up to cause the staff to explode.

Pieces of purple material flew in every direction, and the shrapnel struck both him and the caster.

There was a sharp pain in his entire body and, glancing down, Francis saw that his vision wasn't working.  Only his left eye worked, and his entire body was riddled with holes.

Falling to his knees, a sound came, and he turned, seeing that Michael had multiple purple chunks impaled in his body, blood seeping out all over his armor.

"Fra... Francis..."

Almost at the same time, both of them fell to the ground.

The darkness took over again.

***

The sound of the morning bell jarred Francis from his bed.

"It's earlier than usual," Michael grunted as he sat up, their room mostly shadows from the lack of light. "What gives?"

Pain was there, but he blocked it out as his brother’s words and that bell hurt more than anything else.

What the hell?! How could I fail?

Seeing his brother looking at him and knowing he had a scowl on his face, Francis expressed his frustration and anger in a different direction.

"Yeah, that asshole probably wants to mess with us like always.  Come on, let's get dressed so we're not the last ones there."

[ Status ]

Francis Mudaburg

Age 17

Strength: 14

Endurance: 17

Agility: 13

Wisdom: 13

Perception: 11

Magic: 10

Skills

Swordsmanship - 19 Novice

Shield Use  - 17 Novice

Tracking - 11 Novice

Stealth - 8 Basic

Traps - 3 Basic

Rock Throwing - 5 Basic

Mental Resist - 17 Novice

Blood of the Undying - 99 Sage

Berserker Rage - 11 Novice

So I lost one... even though I killed the thing... or did I kill the lizard? If I did, why not get more?

Pulling his boots on, Francis headed out the door, going through the motions he knew needed to be finished while considering all the different things he needed to figure out.

***

"Good news! I was just told we'll be moving out in two days! Five days earlier than expected!"

Is it the blood? Do I need to die with the blood on me? Or in me? Can I repeat that process?

"As such, we will be leaving today! The town of Macenburg is three hours away.  We'll run there and get measured for your armor! Don't expect some custom engraved piece of work. You'll be getting the basic leather, designed to keep the enemy from gutting you with their breath, nothing more!"

As everyone became excited at the prospect of getting armor and weapons, Francis planned his next action.

Repeat everything I can.  Get fifteen silver, get a metal helmet, touch the bird feather, kill that thing and let its blood soak inside me and make sure that Michael doesn't die... Nothing big.

***

"I wish I had a helmet like that," Michael stated, before yawning.  "Seems unfair that the rest of us are stuck with crappy leather."

"Win your own silver by being faster," Francis replied with a grin. "Now get to sleep. We got a fight in the morning."

Everyone else was passed out and when the sound of his brother sleeping was steady and had been going on for a while, Francis slipped out of their tent.

Stealing a sword from another warrior a few tents down, he continued his path towards the woods, knowing that if he was spotted, questions would come, but ‌until he actually fled, there would be no writing of his name on the list.

There are over four hundred yards between the edge of the camp and the forest... how to get there without getting in trouble.

As he considered the plan, moving casually through the tents, not acting suspicious, or so he thought, considering how today had been successful.

Once again, Phillip was more than happy to bet silver and lose.

Asking about buying a helmet had opened up the original conversation with the armorer, Tom, and he had gotten a metal helmet again.  Even the bird feather incident had worked out like last time.  All he could do was now hope there was an easier way out of his current predicament.

Hiding in the shadows, he watched the guards who patrolled the outside of the camp.  None appeared to be watching inside, focused on what might approach from elsewhere.

Magic.. perhaps magical detection... or traps? Maybe a skill to detect or see those things would be good.  Heck maybe I could even learn magic.

That thought made him smile as he counted the time between when guards moved.

I guess none of this matters if I die.  I can always attempt the old way even if it hurts...

A lump formed not because of the physical pain he endured but because of having to watch Michael suffer and die.  That made this harder than it might have been if he was alone.

Shifting after having watched for an hour, he made his move.  The time was coming when the guards would be the furthest apart.  Eventually he would have to shit or get off the pot and if it was going to happen, that moment was now.

Sneaking toward the gap in the guards, he moved as fast as possible, staying low.  

Everything appeared to be going well until a spot on the ground he stepped on as he neared the section the guards had been walking along glowed yellow.

Not sure what it meant, and with the light of it drawing attention, he sprinted for the gap between two sets of guards, watching as more spots that his feet touched turned yellow.

Shouts came from his side and behind him, but Francis used every ounce of his improved agility and raced toward the treeline.  He was halfway there when a spot on the ground flashed yellow and then red.

Pain came as the ground beneath him erupted, tearing off both legs and sending him flying into the sky like a firework on midsummer celebration.

***

The sound of the morning bell seemed louder as Francis sat up in his bed.

"It's earlier than usual," Michael grunted as he sat up, their room mostly shadows from the lack of light. "What gives?"

"Just that asshole messing with us, like always,” he growled. “Come on, let's get dressed so we're not the last ones there."

I guess that plan isn’t going to work...