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Rangertale, Chapter 8: Blades of Eulas

The council dispersed quickly after the shards were given up. It seemed that once again Rumelis and Mels were under the care of Councilor Lenon, who bade them to hurry back to Nern. Their journey was swift and tiring, and throughout the trip the group had little chance to speak. After the grueling hike, Lenon and the Rangers arrived at Nern's official library, a small building with only one floor, and one of few within the small state built of stone. Lenon ushered the two Rangers in.

"Welcome to our little library in Nern. It isn't much, but we focus on records of ancient times; we may have something that could help you reforge the Blades of Eulas."

Mels seemed skeptical, but the three of them scoured the library anyway. The books were amazingly preserved, quite a feat for such a basic library. It was likely that Alchemists were involved in that. After a couple hours of fruitless searching, Mels stumbled upon a book titled simply "Black Steel Research". She called out to the group, still wandering the halls.

"I think I've found something!" The others hurried over to where she was. "It's about Black Steel, and it's the closest thing I've found to the Blades of Eulas. Says something about a Dark Forge in the capital that can bind shards of Black Steel into whatever weapon it was before."

While Rumelis was excited at the find, Lenon was less so. "Nobody knows where their capital once stood, though. We've searched the Scarred Lands for years, there is no sign of those broken buildings being the capital."

At this Rumelis spoke up. "What other choices do we have? I say we go to these Scarred Lands and have a look, we could get lucky." Mels shared the same sentiment.

Lenon straightened up. "Then I suppose you two are leaving. Thank you for your visit. I've always dreamed of helping more than just this little state, and you've helped me gain influence as well. I wish you luck on your journeys, wherever they take you."

With that, Mels and Rumelis were alone on the road again, traveling towards what was only known as the Scarred Lands. Burnt by some mystical fire in another age, this bleak landscape sported only a dark red sand that constantly blew in storms. It was known as the most difficult place to travel, simply due to lack of water and any game to hunt. Yet, it seemed that the two Ranger's mission would bring them to the very center of these bleak red dunes.

The first storm arrived quickly. The two Rangers had little time to dive into one of the dark, dilapidated buildings nearby before the sand tore them apart. There they sat in darkness, with no wood for a fire. They slept for what little time they could, awoke when the storm finished, and continued trudging onwards.

It was clear after some walking they were entering a large city, with more and more old buildings around. One stood out, a massive structure on a hilltop with some statues still visible around it. Rumelis paused near it, in awe of such a massive building- even larger than anything that the capital of Zanus offered with its alchemists. He stopped Mels as well.

"I have a feeling that this massive building houses the Dark Forge, or at least something of value. Let's have a look, shall we?"

Mels, focused on other things, seemed annoyed at the proposal, but accepted it. Both of them entered the humongous facility. The ground floor was cavernous, reaching up to the tall ceiling, and littered with sprung traps, fortifications, and large holes to trap unwary foes. It seemed whatever lay within the building was well worth protecting, which to Rumelis only confirmed his suspicion. He stepped forwards.

"Wait!" Mels pulled him back as a large stone bolt flew across the room, passing just by Rumelis' head. It seemed not every trap was disarmed.

Rumelis had little experience with traps, so Mels took the lead, either disarming or lightly stepping around the numerous tripwires and pressure plates that were set into the floor. Eventually, the two Rangers reached the door at the end of the large hall. They both shuddered at the thought of crossing through the room with defenders shooting arrows as well. It would have been suicide to enter.

The door in front of them led to a massive spiral staircase, reaching down for further than they could see. Ringing the walls as they walked were carvings in a language long forgotten, and pictures of battles long since ended. Strangely, much of the carvings showed Kindred of all types working together- had their empire been that large? No recorded history ever showed Kindred under one unifying empire.

As Rumelis and Mels went further down, the age of the structure became less and less apparent, as the wear and tear became less and less. Eventually they reached the bottom of the staircase, noticeably warmer than the harsh exterior of the building. Here was a massive door, a door that lay ajar.

Here too was Tull.

"Ah, good to see you. It was ever so difficult to find this place. Good thing you've never dealt with agents like mine before, Rangers, or we would never have met." He drew forth a new sword, one clearly forged of black steel. Clearly engraved on the blade was one word- Relentless. "Now, let us fight. It's what you were after, right? A battle to the death?"

Rumelis drew his sword and charged, as Mels aimed an arrow for Tull's arm, hoping to disable him. Before she could fire Tull vaulted over Rumelis and swung his blade at the bow, neatly slicing it in two. He then swung at Mels, who jumped backwards and drew her dagger. Rumelis swung as Tull began to move towards Mels again, but to no avail- Tull had already moved. He cut at her legs, obviously not wanting to kill, and was met with a fist to the stomach for his mercy. Tull staggered back at the blow, towards Rumelis' swing, but he was fast enough to whirl around and parry the blow, sending another in return.

Though the attack was easily parried, it left a large notch in the blade. Another would break the blade completely. Still Tull attacked, with an overhead strike Rumelis knew he could not parry. He stumbled backwards as Tull lunged at him, and with his weakened blade he could only barely force the black steel away from his heart. Rumelis was left with a broken sabre and a cut on his right arm. Tull stopped and sheathed Relentless.

"Pah! Too easy to win with this blade. I guess I'll be off. Fighting you isn't fun anymore with this sword, so I can get on with my plans. I'm sure you'll be tracking me, so I'll see you soon!" Tull cut and ran up the stairs before they could give chase.

Mels was distraught. "That bastard broke my bow! I almost killed him with it last time, and he broke it! Pah. This isn't about the mission anymore, I don't think. No, this is about revenge for me. Let's get these blades forged, shall we?"

Rumelis and Mels entered the next room to see a massive machine, larger than any smithy or alchemist's shop. It was much warmer in this room than the others, and a bright orange liquid flowed through barely-transparent tubes that coiled around the machine. It could only be the Dark Forge.

Rumelis took the shards from his pack, arranged them into the blades that they were, and placed them on a small tray visible in the center of the room. The tray sank into the floor, and the huge machine rumbled to life. After a few hours of rumbling and hammering, two perfect swords rose from the floor on pedestal. They were warm to the touch, and each was engraved with a word- One, a heavier striking sword, named Resonance, the other, a slim rapier-like sword, named Harmony. Though clearly designed to work together, Mels had no experience with a blade of Resonance's weight, and Rumelis' wounded arm could not hold both.

Mels looked at Rumelis. "We must use them together, the two of us. Otherwise they're useless. You take Resonance, I will have Harmony."

Rumelis agreed. "Right. Now, let's follow Tull. I'm sure he hasn't strayed far- I've got a feeling he wants to fight us with these blades."

They emerged from the huge building to find tracks in the sand, and quickly followed before the sand wiped them away.

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AUTHOR NOTES

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Opinions? Suggestions? Typos? Tell me, please. I am by no means a professional writer, and even they make mistakes every now and again.

Black steel is a bit ridiculous, especially if metallurgy is your thing, but it works because alchemy/magic. Final battle stuff is approaching, and maybe it feels too fast? At the same time, if I don't finish it soon I think it will never be finished.

TL;DR EDITION

Rumelis and Mels journey to the Scarred Lands, where they find the machine that can remake the Blades of Eulas. Tull fights them there, wins, and leaves. They reforge the Blades and follow.

Wondering why I call Tull a Lupine, Rumelis an Ursan, etc.? Read the note at the end of the 1st chapter, it explains my reasoning.