MLiW Chapter 06 (Patreon)

We rushed outside as Thrall armored himself in his gladiator's garb. He was ready to fight his way out before I stopped him. “Wait. Let’s play this smart, we don’t have to fight everyone.” I piled up everything flammable into the middle of the room and knocked over a brazier starting a fire. We waited for it to burn for a few seconds before the smoke got too bad and we had to leave the room coughing.

Thrall asked again. “W-why did we do that? People could get hurt.” I looked at my brother like he was an idiot. “To make it easier to escape. Follow behind me. FIRE FIRE! HELP THE CASTLE IS ON FIRE!” I ran out of the gate scaring the guards out of their boredom. The smoke hadn’t started billowing from the keep and it wouldn’t spread very far but some might die from smoke inhalation.

We needed a distraction because if we had to fight more than two or three groups we would get piled on by the remaining guards of the keep. We kept running for the gates, the few people walking the cold roads instead of being inside a building giving us plenty of room as I kept shouting. “Fire! The castle is on fire! Help, get water!”

We made it all the way to the guards at the entrance of the keep before they finally stopped us. I stopped to catch my breath; running from the entrance to the keep's exit had me heaving from the exertion. I think my feeble, unworked body was another reason we weren’t stopped. Thrall might try to escape, but weak, feeble Thane would never. How could he when he wasn’t even as strong as most of the guards?

I made up another lie on the spot. “Come here. Master Blackmoore has some information only you two guards can know.” I waited for him to get close before impaling him on my spear. His face tweaked in pain but the blow should have put him down possibly killing him instead of looking like it just upset his stomach. He realized what happened and raised his weapon. “You son of a-.”

I kicked him in the balls while Thrall knocked his guard down with a swift punch to the face. Just like that, we were outside of the keep. As we ran I poked my brother with my spear and he jolted up shocked by the feeling. I asked him. “What did that feel like?” He looked down at himself. “Like my bruised ribs just healed.” My eyes went up surprised at the situation as I still didn’t understand the full picture of my new weapon.

He waited for me to catch my breath now that I had lost the giant stat boost of my avatar of light skill. We made it to the top of the hill. He looked back to see if anyone was chasing us as he spoke. “Kicking someone in the balls isn’t something I’d expect a pious orc to do.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “I use the cards I’ve been dealt. My paladin muscles from swinging a weapon haven’t kicked in yet.”

Thrall's eyes shot up in surprise again as he asked. “You’re a paladin now?” I cleared my throat before spitting, still struggling to breathe I say. “No, I’m technically a champion but that makes me similar to a priest and paladin put together.” Breathing in and out he says. “That hands above your head shit doesn’t really work. Put your hands on your knees to really open your diaphragm up.”

I kept breathing hard as he asked. “Why are you so sickly?” We started jogging again as I explained. “Any time I tried to exercise I’d be beaten if I was caught. They wanted to keep me weak and feeble in case you rebelled. I’d already be on the ground completely exhausted if I didn’t get the sudden power spike.” We began to jog again as I tried my best not to throw up from overextending. Wiping sweat off my forehead as Thrall just looked at me sideways at how out of shape I was. It was sheer luck I beat Aedelas before.

It was a lucky blow on his weak point. If I’d have been more resolved then and choked him to death then I never would have gained these new powers I had. It was all about perspective. I wasn’t as honorable as my brother but it seemed that my weapon would keep my heart pure, it seemed to only be able to kill the truly wicked. At least that’s what it seems like, the more pure a person the worse it would be for me to fight them as I’d only be able to heal them with my weapon.

It would keep me honest. I needed a backup weapon just in case though, while the guards were honorable enough if we got caught up in that fight we’d have been overwhelmed and likely killed for what I did to Aedelas Blackmoore. Leaning over, I couldn’t hold it in anymore as I began to puke from overexertion. Surviving outside would be rough on my brother as we made it past the cluster of farmhouses Taretha lived at.

We made our way up into the Alterac mountains, here we wouldn’t be caught by any humans but living in the winter environment would be much harder.

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Thrall’s Point of View

It’s been two months since we escaped. The first week or so was touch and go with me needing to pick up the slack of my brother. Every day it got easier, his body filling out more and more as we kept hunting small game and foraging for food. It wasn’t sustainable, even just the two of us were already making a dent in the local flora and fauna, things were supposed to live in this area.

Before me stood my brother, in just two months he put on twenty pounds of muscle, not only did his body fill out but he now wasn’t dead weight when it came to our survival. I signaled him to move around the cluster of trees, his soft steps far quieter than mine in this bulky metal armor. I waited until he was in position before letting him make the first move.

He figured that once the holy magic was expelled from his weapon it would function like a normal spear… Well, a normal spear he could throw and summon back to himself anyway. Like a bomb going off, he sprung into action. The deer between us immediately panicked as the spear missed, piercing the ground beside it instead of striking it dead in a single hit.

The deer passed right by me. As it did so I finally made my move. My one-handed sword was still more powerful than five attacks from my brother. I cleaved the head right off the doe as its body collapsed. It was brutal, to keep existing we needed to eat, I was just happy my brother stopped crying every time I killed something for us to eat.

I motion for my brother to get close so I can show him how to remove the guts and skin from the deer again. He was wearing much warmer clothes than me but only now after months was he finally acclimatizing to the cold environment. I watch him get closer as an axe embeds itself between us and I immediately start to prepare for battle.