“Seeking the pages”

“Seeking the pages”

By: 

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

It was a dark place. A very dark place along the alleyways of  Atalacia , an underground city of the west. Most criminals come here to hide along with the other dredges , most of them survivors from the other tribal wars that have been constantly rocking the continent. There would be more of them still as the fighting still continued.

People in Atalacia were easy pickings for the darkness aided any crime. The underground crystals that lit the entire city was constantly blinking on and off because the sun where they drew their power was slowly being blocked out by the smoke of war.

He came here awhile back with his companions. His name was Alexander. Named after a past king  living as a pauper. How the irony struck him. Hidden under a cloak away from the peering eyes of the crowd he continued to walk.

The towering figure  ahead of him was Omega. And he was the one who would get them inside of this mansion to retrieve a page of the book of Sonkiar. Omega deftly climbed the walls followed closely by Delphine. It was hard to imagine that Delphine was actually an attractive woman underneath her thick but light armor that masked any feminine features. Aided by the dark she was just another person. An owl hoot signaled Omegas success. He had released all of the alarms on the side of the mansion.

Alexander majestically pushed the door as haughty as a king. In one smooth motion with the power he was borne with created two swords in both his hands and slashed the two guards caught by surprise by his entry.

Delphine rolled back her eyes. “That guy is as haughty as ever”. 

“Silence” Omega said “It is our duty to make his job easier for him”

“Like that time we retrieved the other two pages you mean? where that freaking dragon almost cut off our heads.” Delphine said

“It has been written and so it shall be child.” Omega said. “it was by his power that we were saved after all.”

“ yeah after we run around like headless chickens inside that cave.”

“Enough of that.We must aid him again now”

“Whatever”

Alexander walked and looked at the cameras. He smiled and smashed it. He walked calmly as ever. As if this was not the house of Atalacias most ruthless crime boss.

He opened another door and a dozen guards greeted him. They rushed toward the trespasser but from behind them Delphine landed on the floor as graceful as a cat and cut off 5 heads in one motion of her sword.

Omega thundered down like a boulder and grabbed two heads and slammed them to each other. The two unconscious guards dropped to the floor. He elbowed a third and with his free fist sent a fourth flinging to the decorated walls on their right.

Delphine moved swiftly cutting down two more before they could even fire their guns. A lone guard remained and he run toward Alexander with his drawn sword raised up above his head. A sword pierced his chest before he can even reach him. Blood splattered over Alexanders  lightly armored body  and he looked at Delphine who threw the sword. He looked at Omega and gave him a nod which meant that he and Delphine should stand their ground here until he returns. Without a hint of emotion he walked past the two and opened the door to the main chamber. Alexander disappeared in its dark recesses as the door snapped close.

“What in the hell was that for?” Delphine said. “Not a word of thanks or anything like that.”

“He is under a lot of stress Delphi , you need to understand that” Omega said as he slumped toward the door and took out a sword that punctured his left flank. It was a small break in his armor that might have proven more costly than he thought in the face of more enemies.

          Blood gushed down his sides. Delphine noted and run toward his side and took a piece of cloth from within her armor and pressed hard on the side of the old man.

          “Omega you are hurt , we should get you out of here.”  Delphi said as she looked around for something that could be used to carry the solidly built warrior.

          Omega grabbed her hand. “No , we must not leave him here. We must stay and guard this place until his return. I am quite alright. If we have time later we can fix this but not at the moment.”

          “How can you be alright? Look at how deep this sword pierced you?” The warrior said pointing to the bloodied sword that lay on the carpeted floor. “Besides if he is the creator , he can take care of himself right? So let us go old timer.”

          “No , even if he can create swords by his hands now he still has a long way to go before he becomes the one who will save us all. There will be a time where he will no longer require us but for now we cannot leave him alone.”

          “Arghhh , have it your way but at least let me patch you up”

          “Ok”

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          The door closed and Alexander was alone in the darkness of the main room and their in its very center inside a glass case lay a page of the book of Sonkiar. As the legend once told , the gods have sealed their powers inside that book when they met to decide the fate of man.This was to ensure that no petty squabbling would get in the way of the talks but the god of the underworld had taken hold of the book and tried to run away with it. The gods sensing the betrayal took after him and killed the darklord. They got their powers but a copy of each was left in the pages  so when the book fell into mortal hands it decided the fate of the nations until one lone assassin tore the book in the cliff of Sonkiar and let its pages fly. So it came that pages of the book settled in different parts of the world and those who were worthy could harness the power of the book.

          Haldebar Suk , the owner of this mansion was not one of those. But he acquired a page of the book  by killing a kind man who healed for free. And it intrigued Alexander what this page held. And how will that power aid him in his quest.

          The door behind the case opened and came in the lord of the house with two whores in see through clothes clinging tightly to him.

          “So I see you’ve taken care of the men I stationed out there. Bad luck for them. Good luck for me coz I don’t have to pay them tomorrow.” Haldebar said amused with himself.

          The 2 whores laughed with him but Alexander stood there silent.

          “Whats this? No sense of humor at all?” the old fat man said. “Son if you don’t start lightening up you won’t even reach my age and get women like these.” Haldebar pinched the women’s asses.

          Alexander still holding on to his two swords lifted off his hood to reveal a young face  bearing so much sorrow that the two ladies took pity on him. “My name is Alexander of Sandoza and I have come to take that page”

          “And what makes you think you can come out of my mansion alive boy?” Haldebar clapped his hands and it was as if the room shifted. Then 4 massive beasts appeared but it seemed that they could not fit in the room. There was a whirring sound from unseen gears and the room adjusted , in a matter of seconds it seemed to have no boundaries and the beasts slowly moved around as if being awakened from a deep slumber.

          “Come Alexander of Sandoza , let my beasts show you  the way to where your dead brethren are staying.” With that the four beasts attacked at once in a surprising speed that did not hint at any hibernation process.

          Alexander surveyed the area as fast as he could and noticed that although the room looked the same, the space had greatly widened and he was going to turn it into his advantage. He backed off and run toward the end of the room. If he was right , the place would be like an arena and that meant it would go in a circle.

          The beasts were charging and he knew he could not kill them at this rate with just the weapons he can produce.

          So his only chance was to send them all back to the sender.

          Alexander hugged to the walls and one beast who was faster than the other crashed to the wall. Smashing its head and making it fall unconscious.

That’s one. 

          The 3 were coming and Alexander moved to the left staying near the walls.  Two more of the beasts crashed to the wall behind him. The last mere inches to where he was and the  force of the blow sent him flinging to the air , landing on the ground near his target. The 4^th beast sensing that his prey had fallen went into a full gallop.  Alexander a bit shaken but conscious was where he wanted to be and a smile broke on his lips. In the end the mind wins over brawn.

          Haldebar knew what would happen next but it was too late as the beast collided with him. He was nothing but a smear on the very walls he created with his magic. The two women with the crime boss were frantic and run away.

          The illusion of the room faded and Alexander ended up with just the glass encased page. He took a step and dusted himself up. He smashed the glass and took the page in his hands. The page shone in his hands and it spoke.

          “I am the power of Medici , god of healing , create anything that would heal and give life. For the savior is not just one who saves the soul but the body as well.”

          The page turned to dust and Alexander felt the power course through him. And he sensed that Omega needs his new found skills

____________________________________________________________.

          Delphine was outmatched by the whole slew of warriors that appeared but she was fighting and killing everyone until an unusually strong arm took hold of her neck. The hard hand started to squeeze her throat. She swung her word upward and it broke into two. She looked at the face of her adversary and it was that of a crystal troll , they were made of the hardest substance on the planet and no blade can save her now. Her vision faded and she uttered her voice to the god of death.

          Then she found herself sprawled to the ground. The hand that almost killed her still in her throat. She opened her eyes to see Alexander with a sonic blade singing in his hand and the troll was slashed in half.

          Without uttering a word Alexander created what looked like herbs and fed them to Omega who lay near his death. Omega coughed and looked at Alexander.

          “So my lord it was the God Medici’s page. I am again indebted to you.” Omega said as he bowed.

          Alexander placed an arm on his shoulder. “We should go now and rest.” The creator put on his cloak and walked out into the cold night.

          Delphine who was still dazed  looked at Omega and limped out to follow in her masters wake.