The Climb
Prologue
The town in the Vale were not accustomed to war. Fighting had ceased here many years ago, and the townsfolk had not needed to pick up sword and shield for so long, that the equipment was rusted and broken. The Kingdom of Asindra had held control of the town since it was seized off the neighbouring Kingdom of Ralok in the civil war of AE 192. John Ralok was the regent at the time, as the son of the former King, Isaac the Conqueror died of illness at 33, unexpectedly, leaving his young son Victor who was only 2 as the only heir. John took over, and began to manage the Kingdom, first brokering a ceasefire with some of the larger kingdoms and revamping the economy to out produce their neighbours.
Years passed, and the Kingdom became used to John’s rule. He was a good ruler, although harsh with punishment, he was not quick with hand, and his word was respected. However, when the King’s son finally came of age, John refused to relinquish his power, instead attempting to strip Victor of his rights. No-one knows what change came upon him to do such a thing, and in all the time since, there has still no answer. Some think it may be the Witches of the Forgotten Isle who corrupted his mind. Some say that he went crazy with power; others yet say that he coveted the title of king for himself. Regardless of the reasons, the populace were torn. John’s rule had been kind to the Kingdom of Asindra, and Victor was a hot headed young man, who was prone to making rash decisions, however, many had loyalty to the crown who had been great rulers in the past.
Eventually tensions came to a point where it was no longer possible to contain it, and the City of Asindra, capital of the Kingdom was set on fire, and a fight raged out across the city. Loyalists to Victor fought the supports of Ralok, and eventually forced them out of the city. Victor came out of hiding to pronounce himself King and raised an army to hunt down the supporters. He was not very successful though, and left his territory open to plunder. Many lands were seized by force, and soon, Ralok was able to establish a new Kingdom, stealing one of the outlying coastal towns and naming it after himself.
Victor meanwhile withdrew back to his lands, and consulted his remaining generals. They advised a temporary peace, which Victor agreed, only because he wanted the element of surprise. Years passed, and Victor trained his men in secret, and the Kingdom of Ralok became a wealthy nation. Asindra had suffered many losses from the split, but it was still a strong and powerful nation.
Then one day, suddenly, Victor struck. Ralok’s men were overrun, and the towns seized, and razed. The fury of Victor was finally unleashed and it was terrible. The rivers turned red for days, and the soldiers marched onto the capital of Ralok, however they didn’t take it, they starved the city. They forced Ralok to sign a declaration ceding territories to Victor and for him to publicly apologise to his people and write an apology to the house of Lash.
After the embarrassment, Ralok resigned his kingship and his son, Arthur took over. John boarded a boat and sailed away, never to return. Arthur rebuilt his kingdom, and made sure to pay respects to the Kingdom of Asindra. But the embarrassment was never forgotten…
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A scream, then silence. Another murder. This was the third in the last three days. First it was the Captain of the Guard, Askthepizzaguy, a mostly ceremonial position now. He was found in the river where he liked to fish, neck broken. Next was LazyMcCrow, whose head was found at the city gate. The Duke, Matthias groaned inwardly. He didn’t want to deal with a murder investigation. The Vale was supposed to be peaceful, and now the townsfolk were worried about a serial killer. Matthias rushed out to the sound, guards following behind. This time the murderer hadn’t yet left the scene of the crime. “Kill him!” the duke roared, and arrows flew loose, striking him in the back. He fell to the ground, and was quickly dispatched.
The soldiers turned him over and began to search his body. “We got the blighter!” one of them exclaimed smugly. One of them found a note and began to read it, before it was snatched by Matthias.
“You four have been selected to partake in this great honour. Your families have been taken hostage, and if you don’t return in a month’s time, they will be executed, slowly and painfully. Your job is to eliminate the people of the Vale. The town is next to the Mount Greythorn. Once the Vale is eliminated, we can use the secrets of the Mountain to take back our land. I have already replaced the border guards with ones loyal to our cause, so, they won’t be able to get word out. And to make things interesting, only the first to return will get their family back, the others who return later will have their families executed, though quickly as a reward. Go now. Your family is counting on you.
We leave in a month. If you survive, you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.”
Royal Family of Ralok
“By the gods!” Matthias exclaimed. He showed the letter to the guards. “Grab everyone; tell them to head to the summit, we leave immediately!” The Captain nodded and shouted to his guard and the local mages to gather their belongings. The bell rang out and the guards cried out to the villagers to get to the city. Only the guards had weapons though, most of the townsfolk simply brought food and horses and makeshift weapons, broom handles, small knives, anything.
In the tavern, three men were gathered around a table. “Today is the day then. We split up now. Whoever survives, survives. We won’t kill each other, but neither will we be friendly. Good luck.” They each shook each other’s hands and left.
The Duke looked out at his townspeople. 30 men in total, barely even a unit of men. But they had to uncover the secret of the mountain soon; the letter was dated so that they had a week left before the invasion. “We have three murderers amongst us!” he yelled. The townsfolk panicked and began to scream and shout. “QUIET!” Each day we shall choose someone to kill. We shall root out the murderers and we will kill them all.”
“But why are we going up the mountain lord?”
“That is not for you to know. Now, MARCH!”
The Duke closed his eyes and ordered his horse forward. He hoped this wasn’t going to spell doom for his people.
