GODS OF ASEROTH: The Prodigal Son: A monster is born (25 page)

    
Virgil simply nodded but did not feel good and Azar tried to calm his arrogance “It is not you who talks, it is your pride and arrogance my lord,” said he “Please return to the original Leosher, the one you started like.”

    
Leosher took another big gulp from the bottle and turned to Azar. The rum had now begun working and he was drunk. He put his dirty, darkened with dirt, index finger on Azar old yet perfect lips “Shhhh,” said Leosher “I do not permit you to talk when we brothers talk. It is disrespectful to talk when your king talks—and it is very rude to tell him what or how to act.”

     Azar stood the
re humbly and said nothing, even though he did not like the way Leosher acted. He stood with his staff in his hand and looked down at the muddy ground.

    
Then he turned to his brother and smiled again, though his smiled was of a drunk’s and his mouth reeked of rum,

    
“Let us leave these petty grounds and make our way to the lands of Strinthius. We shall kill Colossus tonight.”

    
Virgil tried to console his drunken brother “We cannot kill him tonight, for he is in his castle and we are still in the lands of The Empire. And even though we can continue the journey, we should not because our men are too tired.”

    
“I do not care—let us move.”

    
Virgil nodded, for it was out of his power to deny and ordered the men to get ready. Urey and Usere were released and the town was given back to the old Nephilim to govern, for Leosher did not care about the strip of land they resided in.

   
The men and their king left the shabby village of the Nephilims of the west, and continued their journey towards East, towards the lands of Strinithius. They traveled along the shore of the North side of the strip and traveled on the sandy beaches and jungles that mostly consisted of Palm trees.

    
“Brother,” Leosher looked at Virgil from his horse, “I think we should take a rest now.”

    
Virgil laughed and nodded “I think we should, for we have been traveling for a long time, without a rest. We have traveled non-stop since the middle mountains.”

    
Virgil ordered the men to stop and take a rest, and they all acted upon his orders quickly. They all set up their camps and set the fire. It was a dark night and they were on the shore. The cold water from the Northern Mountains rustled on the white sand of the beach and the moon peeked over the light clouds. The wind made Leosher’s cloak flutter and the fire fluttered as well and wood popped and sparks jumped out of the fire.

    
The camps were now set and they all sat around the fire and had meat to eat. The soldiers had hunted the deer and rabbits from the jungles and killed them and now they all ate. They had kegs of rum and booze that they drank in big wooden mugs.

    
“Why are not the Nephilims accompanying us on this journey?” asked Urey.

    
Usere spontaneously made funny remarks “Because of us troublemakers.”

    
The group laughed but then Azar got serious “My lord, why are we not being accompanied by the Nephilims?  After all, they would have been a significant help.”

    
“What do they know,” Leosher laughed and gnawed on a cooked, brown leg of the deer “They are a slave race, what do they know about fighting. They would have been a drag on us.”

    
They all did not agree but none dared speak against Leosher, for they had seen his brutally and how none could do anything against him.

    
Leosher soon got so boozed up that he could not even sit up and he fell on his back and fell asleep. His companions, Virgil, Usere, Urey and Azar were in the same condition. What made the condition worse was that they all had pipes and they smoked which made them get knocked out faster.

    
It took not more than an hour after eating for the entire army to fall asleep, even the animals could not stay awake any longer because they all were too tired.

    
The fires slowly died down and the rustling of the water and the whistling of the wind slowly became a song. They all synced together and came in a perfect harmony that kept everyone asleep.

CHAPTER 14

   
It was about 11 in the morning when the boozed up men woke up on the sandy beaches. One of the suns was right above their heads and the winds were gentle and cool. The sea was calm and the sky was crystal clear. The trees fluttered slightly in the cool breeze and created a harmonic rustle that soothed the ear of the listener. There were ashes from the woods from last night and empty kegs on the shore and many animals such as crabs, turtles and rabbits roamed around on the beach—Crabs and turtles on the beach, and the rabbits in the jungle.

    
“Let us continue,” Leosher got up while rubbing his eyes “We shall continue our journey to Strinthius.”

    
Azar nodded and got the men ready. Meanwhile, Leosher went and dove in the icy cold waters of the sea. His clothes did not get wet although, the cold water woke him up and got his mind alert. He got out of the water and dried his cloak by squeezing the life out of it but somehow, it did not get wrinkled, at all.

    
Soon, the horses were lined up and the men as well and the group was ready to leave. The horses had their armors on and the men had their own armors on. Leosher stood in front of the infantry and the horsemen and spoke to them

    
“Men, tonight we shall approach the lands of Strinthius and arrive in the elf land. You shall enjoy as much as you can, while you can, for after we attack the Strinthiun castle, Katos will probably lead his forces to fight us and he would not wait at all and trust me, once we go against Katos, many lives will be lost.” His men looked down upon the ground until Leosher continued talking “But we do not have to worry, for you all have me at your sides.” The men had a smile on their face and now began cheering for them and when Leosher saw that all were happy now, he slightly waved his hand to give Virgil a sign to begin moving.

    
The huge army began moving in four rows, in a highly organized manner. There was a huge trail behind them and could be seen at a long distance. They all wore their dark, knight-like armors however there armors were not as thick as their opponents’ because the Empirion army was meant to be faster rather than to last longer, for they could finish battles faster and with Leosher on their side, they did not need any strong protection.

    
They soon swam through the little lake that connected the North Sea with the Great Sea. It was about 10 feet deep and 70 feet wide and was very easy to swim through and just as they did, they now they stood upon Strinthiun land and Leosher sat on his horse and stood in front of them to address them,

    
“My men, you now stand upon the Strinthiun land which shall be called The Middle Empire after we take it over. We will reach the elf land by the end of the day, at midnight, if we do not stop, therefore we shall not stop because I plan on getting there at midnight.”

    
His men were getting tired of this journey, for their master was harsh on them but they stayed loyal and did not say a word, for they were proud to be a part of the Empirion army and a part of a revolutionary force. They all kept walking and marching and followed their king and the General of the Army, Virgil…

    
It was a dark night again, with the moon not showing. There was no moonlight and the men had to walk with lanterns in front of them. It was one of the darkest nights of the year, the night of Amavus. This night only came around once a year, in the sixth month. There was fog everywhere and though it was summer, it was chilly and very cold, for this night brought this cold forth.

   
The men arrived at the walls of Elf land and now knew that they had finally reached the end of their journey and could now rest properly until moving further.

    
The whole city was surrounded by walls made of wood and the gate was situated between two giant towers. These gates were put up recently, for now, everyone who was civilized around the globe, knew of the resistance, The Empire and the thought of someone defeating the evil ruler, Geluna had pumped new courage in everyone and had rejuvenated the fear stricken warriors of all kinds and small battles were being taken place, everywhere.

 
   The Elves led small battles against the Strinthiun army from time to time, and were often joined by Dwarves even though races didn’t like each that much. Some of the residents of Strinthius acted up with the courage but some did not and remained in the same, pitiful state. Elves and the Dwarves were one of the ones that acted up and although Werewolves of Strinthius were brave, they did not seem to care.

     The E
lf land was guarded by huge wooden walls and it had huge wooden gate with two elves standing in the towers at either side of the gate. This was where Leosher and his men came and wanted to get in from there but the Elves blocked The Empirion armies’ path and did not give them a place to rest their weary and dreary soldiers, for they were scared these might be Strinthiun soldiers dressed as the Empirion soldiers.

    
“We are not intruders,” yelled out Urey in his jolly voice “Brothers, it is I, the most handsome Elf in the land, Urey.”

    
He walked out in front of the army, from behind, and stood cockily and when the Elves shone their lanterns light upon his face, although they were far, they could see him and recognized him. “Yeah yeah,” said one of the guards wittily “Dream on!”

    
He jumped down and opened the huge gates and when Leosher entered the town, it was the happiest town he had ever seen, it was the happiest place they all had ever seen. There were lanterns of all different colors, hanging down in front of every house or shop. These houses were made of bricks and concrete and were probably the strongest houses on all Thraenus and were all on the sides of a dirt road.

    
Even though it was the night of Amavus and midnight, the town was lit up. The adults did not care if the children stayed up late, for they had no fears now. They knew that the evil reign of the rulers was about to be finished, for they were about to see their demise.

    
“Welcome to Elf Land” Urey said with his arms wide open with pride and happiness, because he had now returned safely back to his home “This is the best place on Thraenus.”

    
“But,” Usere interrupted him in his thick voice “Some might argue the Dwarves have the best town.” He said while looking at one of the dwarves who had joined the Empirion army when Leosher killed Mortemus. The short man was angered and agitated but he could not do anything, for he was in the land of the Elves and if he attacked, he would be foolish.

     
Leosher smiled and continued walking through and although it was dark outside, it was like day inside the town.

    
“Get the men beds to sleepin.” Leosher said to Usere.

    
“Would that be it, my lord?” He asked.

    
“Is there a roadhouse that might be open this time of the day?”

    
Usere smiled and pointed at a distant building “That my lord is the tavern. That is where we shall be going.”

    
Usere left to arrange beds for the men and Urey accompanied his king,

    
“My lord” said Urey “Everything is open for business even after midnight.”
     “That is good to know—now go help your brother.”

    
He nodded and left to help his brother and soon, they were ready to sleep. Leosher ordered Urey to escort the men to their wooden bunks made of hay and grass, and told Usere to take those who wanted to enjoy the night, to the taverns.

    
The tavern was a huge wooden hut. It had a door in the front and when one entered, there was a warm fire in a distant corner. There were tables with stools around them and there were hundreds of hardworking men, drinking. There were many traders and merchants who were traveling for business, for Strinthius was the land of trade and riches but the riches were for the king. The tavern was run by women who wore tight corsets and their bosoms hung out. This was to lure men into drinking more and usually, it worked.

    
Leosher went in the tavern and sat on one of the tables and a She-Elf came and brought him a big wooden mug filled with rum and soon the joy began and they all drank till they dropped. They drove the tavern out of business, for they drank and emptied their resorts. Leosher drank the most but for some reason, he did not get boozed enough to pass out and held on to his consciousness. Many of his men did not go to sleep but instead had joined their king to enjoy, for they had only a day before they could attack the Strinthiun castle.

    
When all were out cold and could not move, the owner of the tavern, the She-Elf that had served Leosher, came to him again.