What do you think is next for Malric?
Alruin “How much further?” I asked.Cain glanced behind me, “Well, we have gotten past the Whispering road and now the mountains. I can’t really tell, but nothing further than two days.” Malric grunted, “Two days of feeding on rabbits and berries. I’m going to be fucking sick.”I chuckled and was about to reply when Nyari laughed even louder and I saw her shove Malric slightly by the shoulder. My brows furrowed as I watched her. “I don’t know, I really do not think it is that bad. I loved watching you hunt and you have learned how to skin a rabbit now. So, I think that is still a win for you, great Malric of Vantheir.” She said and everyone froze. Nyari smiled, as if she was basking in the awkwardness of the moment.None of us had mentioned Vantheir since we left the town of the water spirit, not even Malric. It wasn’t just how she knew about who Malric truly was, but how randomly she had brought it up. I glanced at Malric, his face was as impassive as usual, but I could tell he
Alruin “What are the chances these beasts will follow us here?”“Very high.” Cain replied.“And what are the chances they will also experience these hallucinations?” I asked.He exchanged glances with Malric and Nyari. I stopped and looked at all three of them, “I’m talking crazy now, aren’t I?” Malric took my hand, “No, you aren’t, Alruin. You just need to rest. It’s been a long day already and we have been walking for so long.” He said and looked at Cain, “I don’t see any nearby town or even a sign of life for miles. We have to camp out here?”Cain nodded, “At least, we will be without the sweltering heat of this damn sun.” He remarked, “I’m starting to think I prefer Dunemire’s daytime more.” He added and glanced at Nyari, “it’s a wonder how you have had that on this entire time.” Nyari refused to take off the green, woolen jacket she was wearing for some reason, even though she was sweating profusely beneath it. She ignored Cain now and we kept on walking until the sun began
Alruin “I’m not staying here.”A familiar voice called as we headed toward the exit of the city. A crowd had gathered to bid us farewell. Most of them were certain, some hesitant, others even carried fear in their eyes and preferred to crouch away from us, but they all still showed up. “Why is he leaving?” A child suddenly screamed, “he is the blood bearer. Why is he leaving us, mom?”I looked back and I saw the woman, covering her child’s face away from me with her hand. She frowned and me and Cain urged me to look away. My heart felt strangled with guilt at that moment, but I understood Malric’s need to leave. I expected Cain to object, but he didn’t. He concurred that I was in a lot of danger here. “Yes, they see you as the blood bearer. Sacred and a symbol of restoration for all the years lost, but some might see you as a tool. Where there is good, there is also evil. So, you mustn’t remain in one place for too long. Malric is right.”We all turned around after hearing her
MalricI wasn’t angry at Alruin.The uncertainty that lurked in the air was unsettling. What was he becoming? Every city we entered, he seemed to draw more attention than the last and now, everyone was literally obsessed over him. Those hooded figures could have killed him in there if I hadn’t stuck my hand into the stupid portal, regardless of their rash warnings. I scoffed, if the blood bearer was so sacred, why had they almost let him bloody die? And they had the fucking balls to judge Alruin for the purity of his heart rather than praising him? It was outrageous and the more I thought about it, it infuriated me more. I struggled to fall asleep that night in Nyari’s hut.“The pain won’t stop for a few days, but the herbs will do their best to mitigate the effects over the next few hours,” she said softly as she rose to her feet, her eyes laden with concern and open affection that made my nerves alert for some reason. “Are you sure you want to stay here? It’s very comfortable up t
Alruin“We induced him in that state, never to be pulled out. Only the blood bearer was supposed to be in there.” The spokesman stated, his voice oozing with anger and suddenly threw off his hood, revealing a nasty face partly burnt by fire. His bloodshot eyes, or rather, eye, glared at Malric with disdain, “You ruined everything.” “I saved my friend's life and apparently the future of everyone else.” Malric stated flatly and groaned in pain, unable to clutch his scared arm, “You were really going to let him die in there?”“He wasn’t supposed to cower. He was supposed to stand his ground and fight back, that was why we injected wolfsbane into his system in the first place. We wanted to see the strength of his magic without his bloody wolf and let it be known that he would have wiped them all out had he not cowered before them!”I kept my head low, but I wasn’t going to allow that word slide, “I didn’t cower.” I said flatly, “I simply surrendered to a vengeance that wasn’t mine.” I l
AlruinSomething was off.I could feel it in the way the ground rumbled beneath my feet. Why the hell was I barefooted anyway? What town was this? I looked around, unable to recall how exactly I had gotten here. The buildings I could see were dilapidated and abandoned, its roofs and walls besmirched by wind and time. I was a hundred percent sure that in all our travels, we hadn’t crossed this town, not once. Malric had to be in one of these buildings, maybe he would be able to make some sense of what the fuck was actually going in here. The air was bleak, as if the very life had been snuffed out of it. The dusty town was windy, making the air brown and hazy, forcing me to cover a palm over my eyes. I edged forward and suddenly heard a loud voice that rippled through the air and shook the ground, sending a shudder into my tired body.“You finally made it here.”I looked up, barely able to see the sky as the wind gushed past my face, “Who are you? And where am I?” “When the beasts