The Peacekeeper Wars (Part 2)

“You were right Sheeth, we could not have taken him without the potion. Forgive me for ever doubting you.” 1

“All is well Avlon, all is well. Good work in doing so. Make sure those bonds are secure, he’s coming around!” Acknon’s blurred vision suddenly became clear again, and he tried to rise and attack the men standing over him. He couldn’t move, he was strapped to the bed. 2

“More cowards, loose me from this bed and fight me man to man!” He yelled angrily. Sheeth held his hands up to show he was unarmed. The heroes that had captured Acknon left the room and locked the door below. 3

“We have not brought you here to fight, or even to gain information. I’m going to release you now. There are no weapons in the room, and Avlon is just behind that door should I have need of him. I brought you here to tell you a truth that is long overdue of your hearing it. Y-” but Sheeth was cut off by Acknon.4

“There is nothing you could possibly know that is worth my hearing old man!” He leaped up as the ropes holding down were removed and immediately tried to hit Sheeth. Just before his fist slammed into the body, Acknon was  blown black across the room by the force of the protective shield that surrounded Sheeth. “You Guild men can never fight strait! That’s how you managed to defeat my father! With tricks and mazeek!” 5

“What I have to tell you is about just that subject. Do you  know how your family was killed?” 6

“Of course! I’ve heard the story many times from my new father. You and your vile kind killed them when you destroyed my home!” 7

“That is where you have been lied to! The Guild would do no such as attack a defenseless city such as Oakvale was. You have been lied to your whole life! It was Inhoteep himself that had archers kill your family as they watched Shou’ ri duel with Inhoteep. Inhoteep killed him and took both Gorlin and you as trophies. I know you don’t believe me, but I can prove what I say.” Sheeth told him. 8

“Oh yes? Do so then, you are correct, I don’t believe you in the least.” 9

“While you may never believe me, you should believe your sister! Neena!” The trapdoor opened and a familiar face entered the room. “Surely you remember Neena, although you were nothing more than a babe at the time.” Memories flashed through Acknon’s head. His loving sister rocking him. He remembered, but surely this was some kind of trick. His sister had died with the rest of his family. Or had she? He realized he had never found out. But surely Inhoteep could not have killed his family! He had raised him from a baby and taught him all he now knew. 10

“Little brother! Oh how I have missed you these many years! Indeed I witnessed what happened that fateful day, and though I was only a few years old, I remember it as clearly as if it was an hour ago. Sheeth does not lie to you, Inhoteep and his band of bandits destroyed our city, killed out family, and took you away. I stayed hidden in some baskets across the street from where he did the evil deed.”  Confusion was written all over Acknon’s face. Most certainly this was his long lost sister whom he thought was killed like the rest of family, but he found it very difficult to believe Inhoteep had done what they said he did. 11

“What…What do you want me for?” He asked them. Sheeth answered him. 12

“We want you to join our cause. To fight for the side of good, first to bring down Inhoteep’s evil reign, and then to go about as you please. We can teach you such Swomazeek as you’ve never seen before, and much more skill with Gorlin than you thought possible. I know this is a lot to take in, and it will be very hard for you to choose your path, so we will leave you alone for a while, and hear your answer upon our return.” 13

Acknon’s head was swirling. His sister had survived? Was it really Inhoteep, the man he had taken as a father? He couldn’t bring himself to believe it, but he couldn’t dismiss it either. Struggling to figure out his future, Acknon sat on a chair in the room and put his head in his hands. He ran over everything he knew, and made his decision. 14

“Sheeth!” Acknon yelled to the trapdoor. A few minutes later it opened and Sheeth and Neena entered the room. “I have made my decision. I will help you, on one condition.” 15

“Name it,” Sheeth said. 16

“Inhoteep himself will not be harmed. You will allow him to travel to where I see fit.” 17

“Agreed. I’m very glad you’ve decided to help us. Neena will show you to your room, and tomorrow you can show your skill to the Guild trainers while the army prepares.” Acknon nodded and followed his sister. His room was down the hall a way, and Neena explained what had happened in the village in detail on the way. 18

The next day Acknon was in the back of the Guild with a wooden sword, he faced the melee trainer of the Guild. 19

“Alright young sir, try to hit me,” the master said. Acknon took a stance and quickly pounced right, then swung to the left. The master parried and spun, knocking the blade from Acknon’s hand. “A bit of trickery, try again,” he said with a smile. Acknon took several seconds before he attacked. He faked a down swing then brought his sword up at neck level. The master took a step back and swung his sword, hitting Acknon’s at the top of the handle and knocking it to the ground. 20

Acknon tried several more, each met with the same results. At least he threw his sword down, frustrated. “I can’t hit you.” 21

“Too predictable. You make a move, but it’s easy to see that you’re going to do the opposite of the first move. Most definitely you are good enough to fight less trained fighters, but you would be ill matched against a true swordsman. Now, try something I won’t expect.” The master told him. Acknon thought for a moment, then crouched into this stance. He started to swing from his right hand, then stepped back quickly brought the sword down from above. The master blocked the hit, but couldn’t knock the sword from his hands. “Better! But not all your hits have to be from two different ways.” 22

“Most of that day he worked with the melee master. Though he never managed to get past his defense, he learned more that day of swordsmanship than in his entire life. The next day he spent with the archery master, and a similar situation ensued. He could  hit the farthest moving target by the end of the day under the careful instruction of the Guild master. The day after that, Sheeth himself showed him Swomazeek. As he had promised, he showed Acknon magic he didn’t even know existed. He learned more powerful multi-bladed strikes, flying blades, a spell that broke the sword into little razors that could be shot anywhere, and even several mazeek shields and parries. For an entire week Acknon did such activities. 23

All of that, combined with his former knowledge, soon made Acknon an amazingly adept swordsman. He could even beat the Guild master now. He was almost a  better shot than the archery master, and he memorized many of the spells Sheeth taught him. He was ready.” 24

After his week of training, Acknon first met the people that would eventually become the best friends he ever knew and ever would know. The army, if it could even be called that, was made up entirely of hero’s. There were only 50 of them, including Acknon. They had been hand picked, and were the best good heroes alive. 25

At first, Acknon had much trouble joining their group. Like so many others, they had heard of Acknon’s deeds, and weren’t pleased that he was one of them. He was not trusted and spent much of his time alone. 26

Acknon’s other problem was that, though slightly infamous, he didn’t really look up to the part. He was about 18 now, and not a particularly scary figure. He was only about five and three quarter’s feet tall, and his muscles, though very much there, never really protruded. His green eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the sun, complimented his short blonde hair. He appeared somewhat of a pretty boy. 27

But Acknon worked through the problems. The group had some more time to get to know each other and each other’s fighting styles. Acknon was befriended by three other heroes that were near his age. Jehora was a master of long ranged weapons. He was a good six feet tall, muscular and quick, he was the best shot in the group. Yafroh was an adept assassin. Her movements were quick and precise, and obviously made for silence. She was short with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She didn’t talk much, but Acknon took a liking for her. Lastly, there was Deshra. Deshra was not overly skilled in any particular field of fighting. Skilled in all three, melee, range, and swomazeek, he was a great all-around warrior. 28

At last the group was ready to move out. They had decided the best course of action was to sneak into the camp and eliminate the bandit leaders, hoping they would scatter without them. They would also lower the number of bandits if possible without setting off the alarm. Yafroh was chosen to open the thick wooden gate that blocked the entrance to their camp. 29

Acknon watched as Yafroh stole across the ground toward the gate, using every possible object as cover, and completely silent. Somehow she slipped over the wall and was lost from view. For several minutes they waited, barely daring to take a breath. Just as several other heroes were getting up to help her, the gates opened with a quiet creak, and Yafroh’s hand beckoned for them to come.  30

Once inside, the group immediately set out at a quick pace toward the back of the camp where Acknon knew the leaders would be. Two heroes went into each tent, hoping to find the sleeping leaders. Confusion spread across their faces as they exited empty tents. Meanwhile, Acknon and Deshra had gone immediately to Inhoteep’s tent. To Acknon’s horror, Inhoteep stood, fully armored, his leaders around him. 31

“Well my son, it is good to see you again to be sure. But I must admit, I wasn’t expecting your company. Even so, I’m sure we can find room for them. Guards!” Inhoteep yelled the word at the top of his lungs. Only moments later the sound of pitched battle could be heard from outside the tent. Deshra and Acknon hurried out, followed by all the bandits in the tent. 32

Their ears had not lied to them, the bandits had swarmed up the one path down the hill. It had obviously been a trap, but who had warned them? The heroes battled furiously, the glow of mazeek enhanced swords could be seen all around the half circle the heroes had made. Deshra immediately drew he bow and shot arrows with remarkable speed. Acknon drew his sword, but hesitated. Could the men he would kill once have been his friend? Had he shared a drink or perhaps a bet with one of them? He didn’t have much time to consider such thoughts, so he made the best decision he could, preying it was right. 33

With a small phrase of power, his sword burned a terribly bright blue. It split into pieces the size of small razors, and flew before him as he charged into the fury of the battle. He “threw” his miniature swords all around him in a vortex of chaos. Soon he was standing in  a ring of bodies, as no more dared to get near him. He recalled his sword, and immediately cast another spell. In a moment, his blade split into two pieces, the second attacking whatever target he clashed with using the first half. 34

With such attacks Acknon butted his way into groups of bandits, slaying five or more at a time. But even with all that, the heroes were overpowered by sheer weight of numbers. They were slowly whittled down until there was not enough left to put up a descent fight. The last few threw down their weapons in submission. Of the 50 that had volunteered for the dangerous mission, only 11 stood now, their hands raised and bandit weapons pressed against their throats. Yafroh, Deshra, Acknon, and Jehara were among them. 35

“Bravo, bravo. Congratulations heroes, you just saved me the need to go and watch the fights at the arena, you brought it all right here! Ha ha ha ha ha. But I must say, that was quite an impressive show you gave there. Must have killed at least twice your original number!” Inhoteep’s offhand manner of the whole affair very much annoyed Acknon, who felt terrible about the loss of so many good warriors. 36

“Do you think this is a game fa-Inhoteep!” 37

“Ho ho ho ho! A game, says you? No my boy, this is no game. I suppose you’re wondering how we know your plans, hm? I’ll tell you. On second though, why don’t I just show you. Farlion, come here young man!” The hero whose name had been called put his hands to his side and walked to stand by Inhoteep’s side. 38

“Farlion! You coward, scum! I shouldn’t even be wasting my breath on you!” A hero named Hefron yelled in fury. He tried to run to attack Farlion, but his screams of rage were cut short by an arrow that flew into his chest, shot by Inhoteep. 39

“Worthless pig! How could I ever have called you father! You killed Shou’ ri, didn’t you? Yes, my sister told me at the heroes’ guild. All that time, you lied to me. I am glad I sided with good. It was in the right all along!” Acknon yelled, fury like a cold morning rang in his voice, and his eyes blazed like a star. 40

“Aye, it’s true. No use denying it. But even so, I loved you like a son, and it saddens me to do what I must. But you leave me no choice now. To let you live would be committing suicide, I see that now.” Inhoteep sighed deeply, but snapped his fingers. Farlion grabbed his sword and charged at Acknon. With a yell, he swung as hard as he could, but then he hit only air! Yafroh, Jehora, Deshra, and Acknon had all disappeared! 41

“The remaining heroes were killed without mercy, but Acknon and his friends escaped, much to the pain of both Yafroh and Inhoteep. You see Philipe, Inhoteep knew that with Acknon alive, his life was in danger, and eventually it would come down to a terrible end, in which one of them would lose their life. For Yafroh, the pain came from using her cloaking shield. It really drained her to use it, which was why it was saved for very important emergencies. As for Acknon, he was terribly grieved. Not only because his former father, who he had come to love and respect, had really killed his family, but also because he knew, in the end, he would have to be the one to kill him.” 42

“Curse that man! Curse him to Illin and back!” Inhoteep raged. “He is going to drive me insane with his worthless attacks!” 43

“Er, my lord. Pardon me, but if you so greatly upset, then the attacks can not be worthless. I believe you are doing exactly what he wants you to do. Become so furious that you let your guard down, and he could then strike a mortal blow. If you would allow me my opinion, I believe it would be best to simply lock our gates and ignore him. He is bound to go away eventually.” One of the bandit officers, named Tagis, said in a frightened voice. He knew Inhoteep didn’t like being told what to do, advice sometimes angered him, but he felt it his duty to put forth his thoughts. 44

But Inhoteep did not seem mad. His chin in hand, he paced around the tent for several minutes. 45

“I see the great wisdom in your words Tagis, but even as I agree with them, I feel I must make one last effort to rid myself of him for good. I will personally lead my army to attack the heroes’ guild itself. Prepare your men at once!” With bows and long frowns of worry, the leaders left their tents to see to their men. Inhoteep looked at the portrait of Acknon and himself. “I’m coming for you!” He drew his sword and cut Acknon out of the picture. 46

“But sir, why was he so mad? What did Acknon do?” Phillepe interrupted again. 47

“I’m getting to that! Be patient! Didn’t we agree on not having any more interruptions?” Phillepe nodded. “Right then, the reason Inhoteep was so furious was because, in the month after what was now called the Heroes Battle, Acknon had started a band of assassin like heroes known simply as “CS”. CS actually stood for crystal shadows, which was unknown to most and unknown why to those who knew. Acknon’s reason was that the heroes of his band had to be almost invincible. Only another crystal can break a crystal you know. And shadow because they were not an army. They were guerilla warriors, ambushing patrols of bandits with bows, and never taking prisoners. Inhoteep’s bandit army had about 350 men after the Heroes Battle, and, while the truth is unknown, it was said that in only that month, Acknon lowered the number to around 300. Of course that was still huge for a bandit army. Inhoteep’s plan was to attack a city with his entire force, hoping the CS heroes would attack, and he could lay a trap for them. As you will see, his plan didn’t go quite as he planned it.” 48