So here it is... FINALLY. I have finished. Part 1.
But, just to be evil I will release a chapter every week to piss you off. Also, once I get Part 2 up, I will post a table of contents referring back to every other part here.
Prologue
Lord Blackthorn pulled his hood over his head as the rain began. He looked down at Prithsimus, Lord British's chief servant. Blackthorn wrapped his fingers around Prithsimus's neck and hissed, "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is British's son?!" "I don't know!" Prithsimus said, looking down at the ground. "I did not drag you all the way out into the forest to have you lie to me!" Blackthorn roared. He quickly unsheathed his dagger and thrust it into Prithsimus's heart. The dagger vibrated and absorbed the blood coming from the wound. His body fell and crumbled away as though made of dust. "May hell welcome you with open arms," Blackthorn whispered.
Ardelous cursed under his breath as he fumbled with his keys. He had to get to the servants' quarters window by midnight, or Lord Blackthorn's whole plan would be botched.Ardelous was a spy for Blackthorn, poised as a servant for Lord British. Prithsimus was quite suspicious of his double agent activity, but Lord Blackthorn had assured him that would be taken care of. Ardelous shoved the window open and was hardly surprised to see a man levitating outside of the window. The man's face was invisible due to his hood and the overcast skies. "Has it been done?" "Yes, Lord Blackthorn."
"Captain Finchlid, sir! The bank is being held up by a group of thieves. No one knows who it is, but some say it's the Sosaria's Shades!" Ardelous shouted as he ran down the road. "Damnit, those Shades seem to be involved in just about everything even as low as petty crime in this city. Ardelous, go to the guard's quarters and wake my assistant up, then I want you to go to the castle and make sure everyone is safe," Captain Finchlid said nobly. "Yes... sir," Ardelous whispered mockingly. "Leave it to the Shades to help out both sides of the war."
One
The clock turned to midnight as five silhouettes slipped through the open window in the servants' quarters. "Ardelous, lead us to the boy," Lord Blackthorn hissed. The group stalked silently towards the door. It creaked unwillingly as Ardelous tapped it open. He slipped through the crack in the door and began walking down the corridor when- "You shouldn't have come here, Ardelous." He turned around slowly, Captain Finchlid was behind him, holding a sword to his throat. "It's over, I knew all about your plan. Prithsimus told me about his suspicions, and the guards on the roof told me they saw some people going in through the servants' quarters window. So if you'll come with me, it will make this whole ordeal a lot easier." One of the men in the group, one with unusually dark gray hair lifted his hand and shot a dark beam into Finchlid's back. His eyes rolled back into his head and he took a few staggering steps forward. His armor gave a loud clash as he fell to the floor.
Ardelous crawled past a busy hallway and opened the door to the great hall. Down the stairs in front of him sat Lord, Lady, and the Prince British. Ardelous snarled as though he were waiting for this his whole life. Lord British looked up at him, his head drooping with tiredness. "Oh, Ardelous, who are these people?" he said sleepily. "The ones who will relieve of your duty," Ardelous whispered just loudly enough for British to hear. A battlemage came running from the opposite side of the room, his wand pointed straight ahead at Ardelous. "Die, traitor!" he yelled. Giant yellow bolts flew from the wand and hit Ardelous in his leg. He fell to the ground as his leg seemed to melt into the floor. He roared and twisted his body as though in great pain and fell to the ground, screaming. "Kill the boy!" he screamed over and over as the world blurred around him.
The man with the gray hair shot another black beam into the battlemage's head. It twitched numerous times, and then its body came with it as it slammed into the floor. "Give me the child, British," Blackthorn roared. "Here you go, fellow," Lord British said, handing him the child. Blackthorn accepted it and raised his dagger above the infant's head. He looked up at his followers and noticed they all had a look of horror on their faces. One of them mouthed for him to turn around, and when he did, Lord British's sword met the center of both of his eyes.
Linear Mode
