Writetober Day 26 & 27 (Dark & Coat)

We are coming to the end!  It has been a trial and an eye opening experience.  Todays will be posted later, until then, enjoy saturdays and sundays.  

Writetober Day 26 & 27

Dark & Coat

                Kyle was alone on his journey, save for one of the evilest people he’s known.  Yet, he was forced to trust him.  Without Michelle and Tom, Kyle’s only option was to defeat the corruption alongside the man that ruined his grandfather’s life.

“Where exactly are we headed?”  Kyle grunted.  He had been following the vile man through the late hours of night, not a word shared between the two.

“Your world.  Your home to be exact.”  Vordmir didn’t turn, he continued to march through the black forest.

Kyle stopped, his fist clenched, the ring pulsing in excitement.  In the short time he had the unpleasure of spending with Vordmir, Kyle grew stronger in harnessing the ring and it’s leaping ability.

“Like hell I’m going to let you into my world.”  The night was cold, his words were colder.

“Do you truly think you have any say in the matter?  Besides, you have to save your mother.”

Vordmir’s words cut into Kyle.  His mother, how could he have forgotten about his mother, but why would she be in danger.  The ring now strobed violently.

“If I were attempting to secure unfettered control of this world, I would make sure that anyone who could hinder that were dead, in this world or another.”  Vordmir created time for his words to process.  “According to the corruption, you, your grandfather and your two friends are dead.  Welton and your mother are all that are left with any possible chance of inconveniencing plans.”

“Seems like you’ve put thought into this before.”  Kyle’s anger stayed, weakened, but stayed.

“What I have thought before has no bearing or concern to what I think now.  You need to save your friends and family, and I need the corruption taken care of.  Our thoughts align, whether you like it or not.”

“We are not the same.”

“I never said that, but curious that you continue to repeat it.”  Vordmir turned to face Kyle.  Even in the black of the dark forest, his eyes shined like polished coals as they set on Kyle.  “The mage has a ring.  A cherished secret he hid from your grandfather and your family, the existence of a fourth and final ring.  The corruption wants that ring, so we must pay my old friend a visit and hope he’s still alive.”

The two didn’t speak as the continued their trek through the woods.  It was a clear night, the black tarp that hung in the sky was pin holed with millions of little white lights.  The moon sat heavy and full beaming it’s rays toward the earth below.  The lights never made it to the ground, their efforts washed away by a coating of darkness that enveloped the two men.  It was dark and seemed to only be getting darker.  Kyle took notice first, his eyes darting, fighting to find any sign of luminous life.  They were nearing Welton’s hut, the enormous roots spiderwebbed across the ground were a signal for the familiar land.  In front of him, Vordmir’s silhouette began to meld into the encroaching black, something was wrong.

Vordmir stopped.

“I need light, use the ring.”

Was that worry on Vordmir’s voice?  Kyle brushed it off as he focused on the ring.  The light didn’t pulsate, it struggled to faintly glow.  His knuckles were white with tension, but the light finally made it through the choking darkness.

“Is this corruption?”  Kyle stood next to Vordmir, illuminating the area before them with what little light he produced.

“Worse.”  Worry was on Vordmir’s word.

The light cast from the ring gingerly touched a massive plant crumpled, oozing with death.

“Shagzwella…”  Vordmir knelt, he began muttering to himself.

“That was the monster Welton saved us from…it almost ate Michelle and Tom.”  Kyle spoke, amazed by the dead monstrosity before him and the praying man next to him.

“It was no monster.  It was a guardian, ancient and powerful.  Welton befriended it ages ago when we had our trials in these woods.  A sacred beast he called it, a guardian.”  Vordmir approached the pulverized carcass of the once towering plant, he ran his hands over the cold carcass.

“It looks like it was punched to death.”

“The corruption has a host, a body for it to imbue its strength through.  If the host did this, Welton is lost to us.”

“How do you know?”  Hopelessness gripped Kyle.

“I held that power, I willingly gave myself to the corruption.  That’s why you’re here, why any of this is happening.  Welton needed someone to kill his best friend, he needed your grandfather.”

Kyle was staring at a different man, whether it was a mask or not, Kyle knew there was truth on the man’s words.  He moved to speak but couldn’t, the light from his ring grew enough to reveal Welton’s hut in the black dark.  Sickness rose in Kyle.

“Let us hope the ring is on his body.”  Vordmir started toward his once friend’s hut, starring at the beaten body lying in the clearing.

It wasn’t.

Kyle couldn’t look at the scene.  Shattered bone spackled with brain matter and blood had coated the earth where a human’s head would have been.  Vordmir was stern as he poked through Welton’s pockets, his eyes unphased during the horrific display before him.

“We should burry him.”  Kyle searched for anything around him to focus on.

“There is no time.”

“Of course there is!  My grandfather would want it!”

“He was my friend before any of you pieces of filth entered this realm!”  The anger was pure and dark within Vordmir.  “Unless you want your mother to look like this, we need to move now.”  Vordmir’s collected calm was back.  “The host has the ring, he has the tool to escape to your world.  Lucky for us, there is only one place you can enter and leave from.”

“Krinkledag.”  Kyle finished the sentence.

“It’s traveling by foot, we may have a chance to catch it.”  Vordmir pointed past Kyle and to a small stable with a skinny mare sleeping within.

“It’s destroyed.  Vordmir…I mean the corruption destroyed it when it tried to kill us.”  Kyle was helping Vordmir tighten the saddle around the pinned eared horse.

“It’s not the town itself, it’s the land.  That shitty town just happened to be on an anchor between worlds.”  Vordmir reached an arm out to Kyle to climb the horse.

“And the rings activate it.”  Kyle held onto the man he was supposed to hate as they rode hard toward the remains of Krinkledag.