Capítulo 30: Zealots
"What were you thinking???"
Margaret was truly furious with her son.
Even now she could only speak between the sounds of grinded teeth and the bulging veins on her neck.
"But I just wanted to see the forest..."
However, the boy's intervention only added to his mother's wrath.
"By yourself? Are you insane???"
Margaret turned towards her husband.
"Please, talk some sense into our son. I can't do this by myself..."
She let go a deep sigh that showed her tiredness with this whole situation. Just how long would Gillian continue to ignore her warnings? If this were to go on, the sheer recklessness might get him killed.
But her husband had an apprehensive look on his face.
"Darling..."
Just this single word was enough and she could feel they were not on the same boat. He probably felt she was going too far in her scolding.
"... I know he was careless by going alone but this is just a child's curiosity. Don't worry he will learn."
Saying so, the father took off his shirt, exposing a large scar on the right side of his chest.
"This was given to me by a pack of wolves soon after a became a proper hunter."
Then his tone turned somber.
"Never forget, son. The forest is a harsh mistress. Treat her poorly and you will have your throat cut open in the middle of the night."
Gillian looked apprehensive as if the sheer size of the scar had left a deep impression.
Marcos was pleased and patted his son's head.
"Don't worry, soon we will both be hunting together. You are twelve now. Almost a man."
Margaret gave a sight feeling that her son would get the wrong impression and be encouraged to do other stupid things in the future.
"Now, if you're going to be a hunter like your old man, first you have to learn about the fey. They are very treacherous and savage. Never..."
But just as Marcos had begun his explanation, a thunderous noise of a horn went off, lasting fora whole seven seconds.
This had only one meaning. The village was under attack.
The hunter took his bow and before leaving, gave his wife a meaningful look.
"Do you know what to do?"
And only after she confirmed, Marcos left to fight.
...
Above the church, there was an extremely tall tower.
This hamlet was too small and had been established just too recently to have a complete set of wooden fences with watchtowers.
So instead they built a single observation post above their highest building in order to have at least a good alarm system.
Eagle Eyes Johnny was the one currently standing guard.
Although his abilities as a warrior were subpar, it was due to his great observation skills that he was stationed on this important post as a lookout.
But unfortunately.
"Swoosh."
An arrow came from very far away. Even further than Eagle Eyes' field of vision...
Piercing him, precisely on the throat.
"Success!"
The sniper was elated with this development.
However...
A horn sound echoed through the landscape.
"Ouch!"
The attackers had underestimated the village's defensive system.
Being a lookout was a dangerous position. If the enemy could launch attacks from beyond the guard's field of vision, however unlikely this could seem, the result would be certain death.
So chief Owen created a special alarm. If the lookout died, an enchanted horn would immediately go out, letting everyone know of the impending threat.
From the east came a unity of four, two that looked like mages and two fighters in complete sets of heavy armor.
"Fireball."
"Fireball."
The gnome wizards started to craft this improvised human nest into a proper burning hell with their destructive spells.
The wooden dwellings were fragile, being consumed immediately.
Even if the surprise was not complete, as the alarm ultimately went off anyway, they still managed to cause some solid damage before the defensive force could assemble.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
From the houses came terrible screams.
With this initial clash, several men, women, and even children were now in danger because of the fire.
"Death to the rebels! Long live the king!!!"
The leader's shout was echoed by his subordinates.
"Long live King William!"
....
Chief Owen had gathered as many soldiers as he could muster in order to fend off the enemy.
"Men, today we fight for our freedom. Marduk is the god of humans. It would be a disgrace if any of our kind were to bow down towards those filthy gnomes!"
"Yeahh!!"
They shouted in response to the priests calling.
With a dozen followers, the chief rushed east to stop their advances.
This was no ordinary village.
When the gnomes established control over most humans settlements on this part of the river, Marduk's clergy found disgraceful to even consider the possibility of submitting.
The gnomes were an immortal race, while humans would whiter and die within a century or less due to their lifespan. Besides, they held the mastery of several arcane mysteries.
Aachen's whole power structure depended on other races worshiping gnomic superiority.
As such, the kingdom also could never acknowledge, within its territory, the cult of a human god.
This is the reason why no one was surprised when the priests lead the resistance movement against the gnomes.
After all, the two groups were irreconcilable enemies.
When the kingdom was born, Marduk's most fervent believers left along with their families and established new settlements away from Aachen's sphere of influence.
This hamlet was one such place and all of its inhabitants were true zealots, ready to die in the name of God.
As both sides eyed each other across the scorched landscape, Chief Owen understood their intent very well.
This was not a force for conquest or to apprehend slaves. It was a true extermination group.
Wizards were a precious asset as they were the base of the kingdom's war machine. Yet here there were two. Besides, their escorts were not common hunters or berserkers, but true fighters.
This was a type of melee combat that made use of sophisticated maneuvers and mastery of different weapons. In other words, training them required a great deal of time and resources.
The weapons and armor used by them were completely made of steel, a rare product created from iron that could only be made in a certain faraway place.
It was a formidable group yet far too small. They could never subdue all of the hamlet's inhabitants.
This meant that their goal was nothing short of total annihilation.
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Ricardo_Nogueira
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