Soon the second and third batch arrived at the gate of Howelbr with awe and glitters in thier eyes, the King had come down from his horse,looking intrigue and very glad, walking towards Maron and Philemon.
"your Grace, this is Maron , the supposed leader of this city" said, Philemon
"Pleasure to meet you king Hector l, I've heard about your praises from every corner, it truly is an honor " Maron greeted with a bow
"Yes, yes, thank you, I still can't believe it, wow, it really is....beautiful ", King Hector replied
"I'm glad..." said, Maron
" i have to say, Dorian is a very fortunate man, I already made plans of scalping him if any of these was false " King Hector stated as they all laughed
"Anyways, I suppose Lord Philemon has given you all the details, I didn't plan to talk much when I get here " King Hector added, " Yes, my lord, he did-"
"And....?"
"....and we agreed, I don't suppose we have a choice ", Maron replied to king Hector
"You always have a choice my good friend....." king Hector said, with his hands on Maron's shoulder
"...you just have to be ready for what it beholds " king Hector added with an awkward smirk
"Ahh...yes my king, shall we?"
"Shall we what ?" King Hector asked
"Ohhh, yes , so your Grace, Maron here asked us to go inside the gate, he said he doesn't want the city to be noticed by passersby, because, you know, we brought a lot of soldiers with us " Philemon said
"Ahhh, yes , yes very true, well this city is huge , I'm surprised the passersby never spotted it" King Hector denoted
"You see my Lord, a mile from here are huge trees that makes it almost impossible to spot" Maron indicated
"Huge trees?, I didn't see any tree that huge on my way" the King replied
"Yes your Grace, I think that's because Dorian must have found another way. That makes more sense" Philemon claimed
" Yes, that must be it, they are two other ways in and out of the city , that's the one we travel through, I must say, your informant is very good , because those two other route Is what we can call a secret passage", Maron explained
"Wow I'm impressed, well I have other questions but I trust Philemon's judgment, you see, we have been friends for more than two decades and he has never failed me or Greece, right , Philemon? "
"Y-yes, your Grace, I live for Greece, I'm honored you call me a friend " Philemon replied with a bow
"Ohhh, come of it , you are more than a friend. This is yet another big achievement for us, we should grab a drink after "
" Your grace" Philemon replied with another bow.
The king turned to the soldiers and said "As you all behold, the lies are true, it's actually as beautiful as Dorian described, perhaps even more , we shall rejoice, because this is huge for even us who has the biggest, we've conquered without war, I must say, this is ironic, for we have lost hundreds to thousands of soldiers for things that are not even half as big as this. My ultimate goal has always been to reduce wars and I can say I've being doing a very impressive job, before my reign, Greece was a battlefield, a bloodline of madness, bloodbaths, bloodshed, but I came and changed all of that, how?, by making our kingdom the biggest and strongest. In my reign as King, we have fought only two wars, which we came out victorious, the others wasn't wars, we only obtained, seized, those were guaranteed success, but that doesn't mean we are immune to wars, although none would dare, but with this achievement, with this new city, I would finally put an end to all wars against Greece", the soldiers yellings, banging thier swords on thier shields, striking the butt of thier spears to the metalic floor , then he continues while the armies was still cheering
" I , king Hector the first , have conquered, not Rome nor Egypt nor Isreal, nor Sparta, nor Denmark, would be compared to the glory of Greece in my reign, I have achieved the impossible" the cheers got louder and louder
" Greece will go down in history as the greatest of all nations, our praises will be sang across the West, the East, the North and South, all the walls of Earth will hear of our exploits, generations will hear of our wanders and wonders, for, I AM GREECE" , the screams of soldiers increased even more, the King climbed his horse and they started moving towards the gates, Maron and his people opened the gate as they came in
"I have never heard my Father , talk full of himself like this before, good grief though, this was rather easy, don't you think ?"
" Stay on guard, I think your Father has forgotten that things can go sideways anytime, he's getting too excited that he's loosing sight " Aeres replied Eraga
"Come on, you're such a mood killer , what could possibly go wrong here?, I admit, Father is getting little too excited, I haven't seen him this happy since my sister was born, but you have to relax, we have won", Eraga claimed
" It's not over yet, we can't get excited till we claim this city "
"ohh myyy...Aeres, relax..., this city has no army and even if they do, we brought thousands of soldiers with us, sometimes you have to take some steam off, you're going to get ugly if you continue like this ", Eraga replied
"You got a point but remember, we are still suspicious of Philemon-"
" Yeah and maybe you were right, he just wanted some privacy " Eraga interrupted Aeres
" That's a maybe, and look at my Father, he feels something is wrong too" Aeres interjected
"Huh, ohhh, you know, i can't tell, your Father is always like that...It runs in the family , I guess "
"You piece of shit"
" Well, we'll just have to keep our eyes peeled, not getting too carried away " Eraga concluded
"Yes, that's what I'm saying but for most part, looks like we're good" Aeres admits, "finally, some steam" Eraga replied.
The soilders had all gone through the gate, now all the batches has become one, Hector, Adrasto and Philemon was in front , the city was so beautiful, almost too good to be true, the soldiers were lost in it's astonishment, even the King, fantasizing of the great things he could achieve with this city, meanwhile commander Adrastos was preserved, observant, cynical, he looks at the city not with awe but with conspicuous
"This went rather easy , don't you think ?, too easy ".
"Uhmm, yeah, it's like a miracle " Philemon replied to Adrastos
" Miracles huh ?, I don't quite believe in those, I believe a man fights for everything he gets, earns it, like we've always done"
" Is this what too many wars does to a man?" Philemon asked
"Pardon?"
"You've fought all your life that you can't even stand getting a little gift from the gods, whom you have given your all"
" Because, nothing is giving for free"
"For free?, you have fought all your life, no?, you have sacrificed a lot "
" Yes, and that's what made me a commander today, not this "
"Listen my good friend, no kingdom pleases their god as much as we do , this is a gift for all the sacrifices we made to it, and that's besides all the good we do to our people, eventually reaching even outsiders. Hector is such a good man, you better start believing before you ruin the moment, you're too angry at life, I just hope you haven't passed that to your poor kid. Hear me my friend, let off some steams , life isn't coming to get you , the whole world isn't against you my friend " Philemon said as he rides away from him,left Adrastos to his thoughts.
As they proceeded, the city was slowly getting darker and ugly, old abandoned buildings were becoming visible instead of the high beautified buildings they've being seeing , the people of Howelbr following them suddenly stopped, this was strange but wasn't strange enough to spike their excitement, it kept getting darker and darker , Adrastos immediately asked the soldiers to stop because he felt something was off obviously, the king however wanted to proceed
" Why have you asked us to stop commander " the King asked
" 'why?', none of these is strange to you ?", Adrastos probed
" Oh this ?, this is normal in Howelbr, remember this city was cursed right?", Maron stated
" So, the curse remains ?," Adrastos asked.
"No, just gets oddly dark in this time of the day, the curse is still wearing off, it takes time but you see, this isn't bothering me, I'm used to it. The centre of the city is bright ,it's just right in front of us" Maron claimed
"Please, if I may " Aeres pleaded
"Yes ?" Adrastos answered
" He said, he's used to this darkness, which means the villagers should too , since the centre of the city is that way "
"Right, what's your point, young man?" Adrastos countered
" If so, why did the villagers stopped a while back ?"
" Good point my son" Adrastos acknowledged
" Oh I see , he's your son, well...those people belongs to the front gate, those houses we passed on our way were theirs , they just want to go home, or back to work or whatever normal people do if thousands soldiers are on their doorstep. Please, I don't know what you are insinuating but It's really putting me off, if you guys are scared to stay, you should leave ", Maron said
"Adrastos and his son are such pessimists, please pay them no mind ", Philemon interjected
"Runs in the fucking family " a random soldier said as they all were grumbling , "You guys better watch it" Adrastos warned
"Yes, yes, they are , and that's why we need them. Look Adrastos, beyond this darkness lays paradise, we just have to keep moving " the King proposed
"We finally made it here, let's just finish what we started, don't tell me you are scared "
"Never, do not mistake being observant for being afraid " Adrastod replied Philemon
"Can we keep moving now "
"Yes My Lord, my apologies " Adrastos replied the King and they continued moving, but it got only darker, this time it was getting scary, spooky sounds were audible, the King paid no mind, still lost in his fantasy, Adrastos meanwhile was still very bothered but couldn't stop the soldiers so he prepared his mind, very soon Maron quickly rode further into the darkness and was nowhere to found, this time it was completely dark, they started lighting up thier fire band when they started hearing soldiers screaming from all angles, the confusion was heavy, not knowing what's happening, hearing sound from all side and all corners , having no idea where it's coming from
"Everybody, armor up!, we've got company" Adrastos declared , the screaming increased, this time it felt like something was coming closer, Adrastos quickly located the King to protect him.
A mysterious man lit a fire band on top of one of the huge abandoned building, with a huge smile on his face ,he threw the fire band down, and the whole place was in flames, now the soldiers screaming was visible, turns out they were getting eaten by some zombie-like creatures, it was a horror show, the confusion was still heavy
" DRAWWWWW" Adrastos screamed, and all the soldiers drew thier sword "Formation" and they all rounded up , hundreds of them were already dead and hundreds more burning, it killed thier spirit, life was over for them, they had already given up, some of them couldn't even move, some seeing their friends burning and screaming , getting eaten while alive, the screaming broke them , into pieces, some of them were already on their knees, conflicted, including Eraga, the creatures stood behind the fire that surrounded the soldiers, the King felt like he was having a panic attack, he couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe who he just saw on top of the building
" MY SOLDIERS,.....IS IT OVER FOR US?, IS THIS IT FOR GREECE?, THE GREAT DESTINY OF GREECE, HAS IT FALTER ?, DO WE GIVE IN TO THE ENEMY?, NO!, MY SOLDIERS DO NOT DROP THE BLADE TO THE ENEMY, MY SOLDIERS DO NOT BEND THE KNEE, MY SOLDIERS DO NOT FEAR , MY SOLDIERS DRAW!, MY SOILDERS DO NOT CARE WHO OR WHAT THE ENEMIES ARE, HUMANS ? WE DRAW, BEASTS? WE DRAW, DRAGONS , WE DRAW, WITCHES, WE DRAW, EVEN THE DEVIL ITSELF, WE DRAWWWW!!. OUR FATHERS FOUGHT THE UNIMAGINABLE ,THE REASON WHY WE STAND TODAY , THE REASON WHY WE HAVE WIFES, WINES, CHILDREN, HOMES, IT'S BECAUSE OF THEM, IF THEY HAD FALTERED, WE WOULDN'T ENJOY ALL THE THINGS WE ENJOYED, WE WOULDN'T HAVE FLOURISHED, NOW IT IS UP TO US TO DO THE SAME FOR OUR CHILDREN, OUR SUCCESSORS, THE FUTURE OF GREECE , DO WE STAND HERE AND ALLOW FEAR DEFEAT US BEFORE WE GET THE CHANCE TO TEST OUR ENEMIES CAPACITY ?"
"NO" the soldiers said in unison, they were slowly getting themselves back, they were finally standing up
"IF WE GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT, CAN WE FACE OUR ANCESTORS WHO DIED FOR US?"
"NO"
"WE DRAW, WE DRAW FOR OUR CHILDREN, WE DRAW FOR OUR HOMES AND FOR THE FUTURE OF GREECE, MY SOILDERS....", the atmosphere becomes soothing and quiet as everything burns down to the ground beside them, Adrastos inhaled and screamed
"RAGEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
The soilders screams their lungs out
" ADVANCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
The soldiers attacked, running through the fire to thier certain death, killing the creatures, the creature also eating them
" Aeres!!"
" My Lord"
" take the King and Eraga and escape, noww!"
"But father...."
"Shut up..." Adrastos abruptly interrupted, exhaled and said
"...shut up and listen son, I know you want to fight and you don't want it the easy way but I assure you my son, this is not the easy way, the future of Greece now rests on your shoulders"
" Aeres , my son, I always wished you were my actual son, please look over Eraga, train him to be a good King, a better one than I was, I'm sorry, I failed you all, I got caught, I let my emotions get the best of me, after everything I have achieved, to be caught like this is...." king Hector expressed while holding down tears , he then smiled, looked at the sky and continued
"..I wish I can see my daughter for the last time, I also wish my brother is here with me at a time like this, but maybe it's for better he isn't here so he can live and look after the kingdom, also my wife....well...it's too late for that now, I guess I'd have to wait till I see them again "
"My King, you should go too-"
"And let my world burn behind me?, no Adrastos, I'll burn with it, it was my fault anyways"
"No my King, it was ours", Adrastos replied, meanwhile Eraga was traumatized, still on his knees, he couldn't move nor say a single word
" My king , I found a way out, please follow me" Philemon said
"Thank you Philemon but I'm staying, please take Aeres and Eraga with you" the King replied, Philemon hesitated and said "as you wish , your Grace" , Philemon grabbed a horse, Aeres carried Eraga on another horse and they rode both horses directly into one of the buildings with tears in Aeres' eyes as he looks back at his Father and his King, seeing the heavy smile they gave him ,knowing he will never see them again broke him, Eraga couldn't even look. Aeres was following Philemon's lead, he immediately stopped
"What are you doing, we have no time, let's move " Philemon pressured
"I don't trust you Philemon, you have been suspicious " Aeres pressed
" We don't have time for that, now do you want to live or get eaten?"
"how come you know a way out?", Aeres asked, Eraga was finally beginning to gain himself back, utterly furious at himself. They suddenly heard somebody yelling for help, Eraga abruptly got up and walked to that direction
"What are you doing, Eraga!, get back here!!", Aeres shouted as he walked after him, it was Philemon's cup bearer being attacked by one of the creatures, Eraga froze again, Aeres removed the head of the strange beast , and helped the cup bearer get up
"What are you doing Eraga, we have no time for this " Aeres said
"Let's take him with us", Eraga replied, they came back to the horse, and Eraga put the cup bearer on Philemon's horse, while being sluggish and still looking traumatized, his eyes was wild open
"Let's go" he said
"What do you mean, we can't trust Philemon remember ?", Aeres replied Eraga
"We don't seem to have other options" "No,no, no, we can't do that, I can't risk you getting killed-"
"Aeres!, Look around" Eraga urged
Aeres looked around, with a traumatized expression, he was panting, trying to get himself together.
"Aeres, Think!!, we've already lost here, if we don't go now, we won't have another chance " Eraga added
"You are right, but I'm not going with Philemon"
"What the hell is your problem Aeres, get yourself together" Eraga said ,barely holding it together himself
"I am together, we are not going with Philemon "
"Who says you get to make the call?"
"You do?, few minutes ago you couldn't even move a muscle "
" Look brats, this is not the time to argue, I'm only doing this because of your Father, I can care less about the two of you, five seconds and I'll leave you pests here to get eaten, make your decision " Philemon interjected angrily, Aeres and Eraga starred at each other, then out of the darkness, the creatures started approaching with speed and numbers, Philemon immediately rode out, Eraga and Aeres quickly jumped on the horse and followed Philemon, after ridding for while, there was a dead end , Philemon stopped
"What now?", Aeres pressed
Philemon pointed to the water and said
"This water leads outside the city, it's our only way out"
Philemon took out his weapons, pulled his robe off
"That looks like a pit, doesn't look like it will take us anywhere " Aeres pointed out,
Philemon ignored him and jumped into the water, Aeres and Eraga was starring at each other
"It really leads outside this city my prince " the cup bearer said
"How did you know that" Eraga asked curiously
"I'll explain later, but now, we have to stay alive and that is the only chance we have " the cup bearer stated as he jumped in
"A lot is happening right now" Aeres noticed and exhaled
"Are you ready ?" he asked
eraga salivated and said
"I think so but, you go first "
"What, are you kidding me, you're a better swimmer " Aeres said out of nowhere
"Huh, I've never swam in my life...wait, dont tell me you're still scared of water" Eraga countered
"Well...here goes nothing " Aeres expressed ,he inhaled and exhaled, took of his armor and weapons about to jump, when Eraga quickly jumped before him because those beasts was closing in on them , one of them was already too close, it jumped, aiming for Aeres, he shifted to the side , grabbed Philemon's sword, another one dived him ,hitting him on the wall , it was going for a bite, Aeres quickly blocked it with the sword, Aeres then pushed it to the other side of the wall, so now he had the advantage, while blocking it's bite, Aeres pushed the sword into it's mouth, removing from it's mouth up. He then went for the water but was blocked and surrounded by two more , one of it attempted a dive, but Aeres maneuvered behind it making it dive the wall, then Aeres advanced to the other one , sliding to it's knee level and cutting it off, as it was falling towards Aeres, he removed it's head, stood up and kicked it. The second was approaching from the back swiftly, Aeres ran towards the wall in front of him , stepped on it with force pushing his whole body to maneuver over the beast's head ,landing with the sword on it's skull ,Aeres then dragged the sword off, completely demolished the head of the beast,he then bent down to catch his breath, and immediately went for the water , with no hesitation, he JUMPED.