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Artemus struggled to maintain his composure. His heart was beating out of his chest and his blood was pumping so fast he could taste it on his tongue.
“What are you doing here?” he mustered through labored breath. “Who else is with you?”
He saw no sign of the woman from his dream. Just a young, pale-skinned girl and a rangy old man. The girl was caught in one of the snare traps he had laid out this morning.
“Hello there young master,” Mordecai responded in a jubilant tone. “I have been known by many names in my lifetime, but my friends call me Mordecai. This little one here is Felicity. She seems to be a bit tied up at the moment.”
“Get me down from here!” Felicity’s face was turning bright red as she attempted to untie herself from the snare. She noticed the hunting knife Artemus was holding. “Hey mister! Cut me down with your little sword”
Artemus slowed his breath as he began to process what he was seeing.
“It’s a knife,” he replied.
Mordecai grinned, “She’s right. Looks more like a short sword to me. That’s an interesting blade. Where’d you find it?”
Artemus hesitated at the question, “It was a gift from my fa-”
“GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!” Felicity scolded.
Artemus walked his way over to the base of the tree where he had anchored his snare. He cut the rope and slowly lowered Felicity down to the ground. She quickly untied herself and ran back to Mordecai, punching him in the arm.
“Ouch! Just because I can’t move my arms doesn’t mean I can’t feel them.” Mordecai said through laughter.
“Good!” She raised her chin and crossed her arms.
“You’re paralyzed?” Artemus placed his blade back in its scabbard.
“It’s a curse!” Felicity responded.
Mordecai smiled, “It’s called Sorrow Peak. My spirit is perfectly awake, but my physical form is but a lump of melted wax.”
Artemus gave the two a blank stare. He started breathing normally again and walked towards them. “I’m not sure I completely understand, but I need to get you two back to the village. It’s not safe here.” Artemus lifted the handles on Mordecai’s cart and wheeled him down the trail. Felicity skipped alongside the two.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Oh, forgive me. I’m Artemus. I live here in Lunnon. What about you and your grandfather?” Felicity reminded him of Virgil’s daughter. The sight of his comrades’ mutilated bodies flashed in his mind.
“He’s not my grandfather!” Felicity retorted. “We’re on an adventure.”
“What kind of adventure?”
Before she could respond the high pitched ring of a blade sang in the air and a tree toppled over onto the trail, blocking their path. A large figure in a white robe with gold lining approached the group. The upper part of his face was covered by a matching hood. He was wielding a long, thin blade in his hand which emitted a black smoke into the air.
“Grim Grasp?” Mordecai muttered under his breath.
Artemus drew his blade and stood in front of the old man and the girl. His blood boiled. “You! What did you do to my friends?”
The man continued walking forward, lifting his blade into the air. Artemus ran towards him, sliding in between his legs and delivering a slashing blow to the back of his knees. Now behind him he delivered one more blow to his back. The large man stood firm, unfazed by the damage. He didn’t even bleed. He turned towards Artemus and lifted his blade once more.
“Stay away from that katana!” Mordecai yelled to Artemus.
Artemus jumped to the right as the man swung his blade, barely dodging the blow. The air pressure from the blow left an imprint in the ground. Artemus laid on the ground in astonishment with his eyes wide. The man lifted his blade into the air again. Artemus rose to his feet and spun away from the man’s strike. Artemus quickly swung his own blade at the man’s wrist, cutting off his hand which was wielding the strange blade.
A thick black smoke spouted from the man’s wrist and detached hand. He kneeled down and started to reattach it with his other hand. Artemus ran back towards Mordecai and Felicity.
“Run!”
Artemus grabbed Mordecai’s cart and darted around the fallen tree. He looked back to check on Felicity but she wasn’t there.
“Felicity!” He saw her standing in front of the robed man. They were both standing still, staring at each other.
“Where did your soul go?” She innocently asked the man.
“Get away from him!” Artemus shouted.
The large man lifted Felicity onto his shoulder and ran into the forest brush, disappearing from view.
Artemus turned to Mordecai who was in deep meditation.
“What are you doing, old man? That thing just grabbed Felicity!”
Mordecai opened his eyes and looked at Artemus with an expression of concern on his face. “He’s headed to your village. They’re in grave danger.”
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