章 21: Journey to Jambre
In the hilly country of Madaria lightning flashes, thunder roars, and rain stabs the ground like sword. On one particular hill, blood flows down like a river. Body after body lays on the hill as you ascend. Some bodies are missing limbs, others have the remains of swords and spears stabbed through them. Some of the bodies are missing their heads; in the rain, some heads look like rocks. Mud mixed with blood is smeared all over this recently quiet battleground.
At the very top of the hill, a young woman, covered in wounds with portions of flesh cut off of her body. One eye is missing from her head and half an ear is chopped off. Defensive wounds are all over her arms and hands where she was carved up by knives and swords. Her right hand is completely mangled but still clutches to a sword. She is dying as her blood continues to flow out of her. The rain pours down and slams her like hammers. She can hardly breathe. In spite of her more than half-dead state, a fiery ember continues to glow in her remaining eye.
She is still breathing, barely, her life could end at any moment. A ghostly figure of a woman walks up the hill through the rain, and yet it looks as if the rain hasn't touched her at all. She walks to the mangled almost corpse of the young woman and looks at her with glowing eyes. She is wearing red linen underdress with a blue wool overdress. The two dresses are held together by two golden broaches. Over the two dresses a thick dark grey, almost black, fur hangs over her shoulders while a thick red hood protects her head from the elements. Gold necklaces, diamond, and gem-studded rings adorn her fingers and luxurious white and green jade bracelets are on both of her wrists.
A knife is attached to a delicate black belt with a gold buckle. A small grey bag, hidden by the dresses and furs can be seen from time to time as she moves. Her face is cold and without emotion but an enchanting smile hangs on her face. She examines the young woman like a buyer might look at a horse or cattle.
"Do you want revenge?" she asked. The young woman looks up at the beautiful fur-clad woman. She can't talk anymore. Her voice was lost long ago between the screaming in rage and pain throughout the battle. She can only slightly nod her head in the affirmative to let the woman know her feelings.
"I can give you power, but there is a price. Are you willing to pay the price?" the woman asked. The young woman nodded her head again without hesitation. "You will become a slave to my master. You will never have freedom again in your life. Even your body, he will give you to whoever he decides. You still want the power for your revenge?" the woman asked. "The young woman on the ground nodded affirmatively. "You will need to sign a contract in blood," she said. After speaking, the woman pulled an animal skin scroll out of her bag and sent it to the young woman.
The parchment contained a lot of writing and floated gently to the woman. The young woman stretched her bloodied finger to the contract and made her mark of blood. The other woman retrieved the document and examined it. Satisfied she smiled at the young woman on the ground. "With the contract signed, you will be reborn in blood and forged in blood. You will punish those who offend my master and enforce his commands upon all of those under him. My master's will is your law. Be reborn as Jawan keeper of laws, enforcer of commands, and executioner of righteous fury!" The woman said.
Two beams of light flowed out of the eyes of the mysterious woman. The eyes burned away the bodies of all of the dead warriors and collected their blood removing their impurities and leaving pure essence. All of the essence formed around the young woman like a cocoon and pulsed with a faint red light. The young woman's clothes were completely burned off before she was wrapped up into the cocoon of blood. After a few hours, a strong heartbeat could be heard from within the cocoon. Two hands tore through the cocoon and ripped it apart. A beautiful young woman crouched on the ground. The mysterious woman handed her new clothing and equipment.
"These are for you, you must hurry to Jambre and await the orders of my master. There is a man not of this world who has come to our world. He believes this place is his playground. You will show him things are otherwise through blood, oh, but first, feel free to destroy your enemies," the mysterious woman laughed lightly and faded away. The eyes of the reborn young woman glowed a bright yellow light and gazed down the hill in a certain direction. "I was born into this world a free woman and a princess of a powerful clan. We were plotted against and my entire clan was wiped out. I was murdered by our enemies and died proudly. I have been reborn but into the bondage of revenge. After my vengeance, I will be Jawan forevermore and I will serve my new master with love, devotion, and gratitude whether he is a saint or a demon," Jawan walked toward the direction of her enemies to fight a great battle.
Xan was walking towards Jambre at this time. Instead of traveling through the woods, he decided to travel along the road to Jambre. He decided against putting his wagon away, instead, he would pull it all the way to Jambre. For one thing, if he met anyone along the way who was heading in the same direction, it would be hard to explain where it came from. Second, it was a good experience for him. The trouble of a poor wretch in this world was something he should learn about. Perhaps it would give him some good stories later. Along the way, many people passed him. It turned out Jambre was a major trading post. Warriors, merchants, and even caravans of people made their way there for trade and opportunities.
It was a long journey so when he came upon a roadside inn he decided to spend the night in a bed. Getting something warm to eat that he didn't have to hunt would also be a nice change of pace. He checked his wagon in with the stableboy and entered the inn.
Scanning the room, Xan found a table with only one other person sitting at it. It was a swordmaster. According to the level indicator, he was ranked as a level twenty-three warrior. The reader gave him a blue color which meant he aligned with the element of water. He was calm and cool at the moment. He probably wouldn't mind someone like him sitting at his table.
"Might I share your table Great Hero?" Xan asked. "Great hero, that's a very kind assumption on your part," he responded. "It isn't an assumption. I have a good instinct about these things. I feel you are a Great Hero," he said. The man raised his eyebrow slightly impressed. "By all means young warrior please sit. Xan sat down and ordered food, drink, and a room from one of the barmaids.
"It wasn't appropriate for a low-tier warrior such as Xan to engage in idle chit chat with a Great Hero such as the swordmaster he was sitting with. After a few minutes, the swordmaster spoke to Xan. "Young Warrior, what are you called?" he asked. "I am Elam the son of Bar Lin of the Three Cities," he said. The swordmaster cupped his chin thoughtfully. "The Three Cities is quite a distance from here. You are a prince of the Three Cities," he asked. "Not anymore, now I'm just a homeless orphan looking to grow stronger so I can become a swordmaster one day. Then, I'll gut all of my enemies and build the Three Cities once more on their bones," Xan said dramatically.
"Good goal for a good son, but you'll have to live in order to accomplish that goal. Jambre isn't a place where someone like you will be able to survive on his own," the swordmaster said. "What do you suggest," he asked. "You should find some friends and then go there," he responded. "Perhaps I could join you?" Xan asked. The swordmaster simply shrugged his shoulders indicating his disinterest. Xan took the hint and didn't ask again. "May I know your name Great Hero?" he asked. "Alcibiades Flamma," he said with a smile. Xan had never heard of him but that didn't mean much. Otrera had a database on important information about this world, but she didn't always share it with him.
"It's an honor to meet you," Xan said with a nod before drinking his wine. Just as he swallowed his wine, the door to the inn was opened with a bang. A young man around twenty or so walked into the inn covered in silk robes and gold jewelry. Two women, one on each arm, came in with him. Two large burly warriors preceded him and two more followed him. Without saying a word he walked over to a table and the people sitting there quickly left. The young man sat down arrogantly while joking with the two women. Everything quickly returned to normal.
A beautiful young woman went to the table placing drinks on the table. The young man stopped talking to the women and looked at the young lady with amorous eyes. "My dear, won't you sit with me and have a drink?" he asked. "You seem to have plenty of people to talk with," she said. The young man looked at the two women with him disdainfully. "These two are merely ornaments, you two, get out of here, NOW," he said. The two women quickly left with red faces and completely embarrassed. "I didn't ask you to do that," the young woman said. "You didn't have to, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea," he said gallantly. "Then why did you bring them to begin with?" Xan yelled out with a laugh.
The swordmaster frowned at Xan, "I'm not going to help you clean up your mess." Xan looked at the man for a moment. "When did I ask you for help?" he said brusquely. "I have been traveling for so long and without a fight how am I supposed to relax enough to get any decent sleep," he said to the swordmaster. At first, the swordmaster was surprised, but then he laughed a little. "Well, enjoy your nightcap then," he said. "I'm just worried these few idiots won't get my blood pumping," Xan said as he got up and imposingly walked toward the silk pants young man.
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