Kingdom of Rust Chapter 32

My thoughts were proven correct less than an hour later.

The servants were tasked to gather everyone in the house. Which consisted of only Master Estos, Master Thea, Master Mgumba, and the initiates.

“I would have hoped we had more masters around but we cannot wait,” Master Mgumba spoke with authority. “In normal times, we would not involve you initiates but we received a dire report from the north.”

That got mutters of concern from the initiates before Master Mgumba tapped his staff on the floor, silencing the room. “We have eyewitness reports of a monster that has escaped from the ancestral city.”

There were gasps of shock from everyone but Master Mgumba and Master Estos.

“This is a rare calamity and hasn’t happened since I was a child. We must quickly locate this creature and destroy it before it can spread its foul taint too far. We will be breaking into teams for this search once we arrive at the location. Bakus, you will be with me.”

I looked shocked that Master Mgumba himself would be joining this search. That alone told me just how dangerous this situation was. The other two Masters picked their initiates, with Master Thea taking Laris and Matteos and Master Estos taking Rebeka and Quimby.

“Now, come, we need to be armed.”

The entire group followed Master Mgumba as he led us to the armory. Each of us was given leather armor. I grabbed my sword and a buckler with metal plating. I was glad to see the other initiates grabbing similar armament but there were no other metal swords. Laris eschewed a sword for a steel-tipped spear.

He did look at me and I simply nodded. The spear would probably work better with his aggressive style.

The procession quickly moved through the house and Lurian and the other servants were waiting with packs of gear and rations for us.

“The horses are saddled and ready…are you sure we don’t have time to hitch the wagon for you?” Laris asked, Master Mgumba.

“No, a wagon will only slow us down and I can survive a few bumps, Laris. If any Masters return in our absence, tell them to wait here and defend our home. In the meantime, keep it safe for us.”

“I will die before I let anyone defile the estate,” Laris said with conviction. And for the first time, I noticed the man was armed and was wearing armor as well. Looking at the other servants, I saw they were also armed. I was confused for a moment about why everyone would need to be armed but I quickly remembered what Master Mgumba had told me about the tower and their issues with the nobility. While I wanted to think they wouldn’t take advantage of a situation like this, they just might.

We all mounted up into our saddles and I thought Master Mgumba might need some help with his advanced age, but the man simply produced a rising step of stone from under his foot that allowed him to easily climb into the saddle.

He wasn’t even the slowest person to get situated. That landed squarely on Matteos as the boy fell out of the stirrup the first few times before finally managing with the help of a servant. It was clear that the man hadn’t ever ridden a horse.

I felt sorry for him but that sentiment was quickly washed away as we rode hard through the city streets. The last of the estate that I saw was the thick doors in the outer wall being shut and barred.

We rode as fast as we could with the tiring horses. We covered much more distance than normal thanks to some trick that Master Estos was able to employ to help the horses along. We still had to stop and rest the animals though.

“Initiates, set camp, Master Estos, take first watch, Thea, you have the followup,” Master Mgumba ordered and everyone jumped to complete their tasks.

After my duties were complete, Master Mgumba motioned me toward him. “Bakus, come here for a moment.”

“What can I assist with, Master?” I glanced at the detailed map he had laid out on the ground.

“The city that this monster is said to come from is the same one you managed to traverse. Are you familiar with the towns around there, any small farms, or isolated villages?”

“Um, I’m familiar with a few. The most notable is Shad. There is also Golden Fields, but that’s a few days farther away. On the other side of the city are Bershal and Roddan.” I pointed to the map. “There are scattered farms dotting the roads between on both sides.”

Master grunted, “I was afraid of that. From our information so far, Shad is gone.”

“Gone, Sir?” I asked in confusion.

Master nodded solemnly. “Everyone was either killed or fled when the monster attacked. The reason it’s vital that we get there quickly is the Father’s taint can spread. We need to find and eliminate any infected and purge the dead. If we can’t contain the infected, they will continue to spread this plague and more monsters will spread.”

“What about help from the other chapters?”

“If they are aware of the issue, they will defend their borders. We got unlucky that the monster chose to come in our direction. The city it originated from is in the Purifying Flame’s territory but Shad is at the edge of ours. If it looks like we can’t contain it, I will send Master Estos to request assistance from any nearby chapters. But that will put us in a precarious position.”

I nodded, aware that we would then owe something to the crown for their support in the matter.

“You don’t think this was on purpose, do you?”

Master didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I would like to think not…”

***

It was three more days of riding hard before we reached the edge of where the monster might have reached.

“Split into your teams and verify every property. Question anyone and look for injured… take no chances,” Master Mgumba added sternly, getting nods from the other masters but confused glances from the other initiates.

I knew what these creatures were capable of and would be taking no chances. I only hoped my improved swordsmanship was enough to keep me alive since I still hadn’t recovered the spark of energy.

The groups split into three, Estos and his group went north, Thea and hers south, while Master Mgumba and I kept traveling east along the road.

It wasn’t long before I felt something…off. I reined in my horse and looked around.

“What is it?” Master asked.

“I don’t know. It feels kind of like when Chosen are near.”

Master closed his eyes and concentrated before letting out a grunt. “I don’t feel any Chosen nearby, but trust your gut, it could be part of your gift.”

I did as asked, following the odd feeling through the sparse trees. As I got closer, I pulled out my sword and dismounted. “It’s moving, I think it knows we’re here.” My eyes tracked the feeling even though I couldn’t see what was causing it. It felt like static buildup as it tickled my skin but it was focused in a direction.

There was a rustle in the tall grass and a red-eyed dog burst through into our clearing at a sprint. Master was ready for it though and a spear of rock impaled the creature, eliciting no response. I shuddered as the memory of surviving the city bubbled up to the forefront of my mind.

The monster was squirming on the rock spike when Master Mgumba yelled out. “Bakus, quickly kill it before it breaks free!”

Master’s voice shocked me out of my dark thoughts and quickly ran over to the pinned creature. Its head snapped at me but I easily avoided it as I slashed down on the back of its neck. The blow wasn’t a clean one but the creature reeled. It took three more hacking slashes to sever the beast's spine Then one more blow to completely remove its head before it finally stopped struggling on the stone.

That’s when something really weird happened. I felt a flush of energy rush into my body and my tiny guttering flame turned into a raging inferno that made me lightheaded for a moment.

“Are you ok?” Master asked in concern.

I nodded weakly. “When I killed it, I felt a rush of energy.”

Master looked perplexed at that. “let me know if you experience anything else.”

I nodded, “Master, why didn’t you just finish off the beast?”

“I need to conserve my power since we don’t know how many of these animals were infected.”

That didn’t feel like the whole truth but I let the matter drop. I wiped my blade off on the dead animal's hide. The red blood sparkled but I didn’t have time to wonder why it was different than the monsters within the city.

We rode for another few hours encountering a few more infected animals. With Master pinning them in place, it wasn’t much work for me to finish them off. I really wanted to explore this new energy that seemed to infuse my body but I needed to focus on the danger around us. Thankfully, the monsters seemed drawn to us easily enough making our jobs a lot easier.

A few things became apparent though, it seemed like most of the energy bled off after a few minutes but the tiny flickering flame had turned into a steady fire.

We came to a crossroads when Master held up his hand to halt us this time. “There is a Chosen approaching.”

After a few minutes, a rider appeared down the road, he paused for a moment when he spotted us but slowly approached.

I stiffened when I saw who it was.

“Well, fuck me, didn’t expect my wayward student to be here,” Holton stated. “And, who’s grandpa raisin?”

Master Mgumba chuffed in amusement at the title. “Gabrielle told me you had a thick head and loose lips. But I guess I shouldn’t expect much from a thug like the famous Black Blade, Holton Aloo.”

This seemed to get Holton to sit up straighter in his saddle and inspect Master more closely. “No… You can’t be the old man, why are you out here?”

“I could ask you the same, although, I suspect you came to retrieve Bakus. I regret to inform you that he has fallen under my protection.”

Holton flicked his gaze toward me and I stiffened. “Hmm, fair enough. And what calamity brought the famous Master Mgumba Duwun out of his hole?”

“There was a breakout,” Master replied simply.

Holton hissed, looking around. “How long ago?”

“Five or six days. How have you not seen the signs?” Master asked.

“I avoided most towns on my way to find, him,” he said, pointing toward me.

I wanted to shrink down and hide behind my horse at the man’s intense gaze.

“Well, you found him, are you going to hamper us?” Master inquired further.

Holton took a few minutes thinking over his response – which was odd for him – before he responded. “Nope. I’ll even help you. But I want something in exchange.”

“And what might that be?” Master asked, his tone turning peevish at this waste of time.

“Bakus will continue to train with me. He signed the writ and despite a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding!” I shouted, “you tried to kill me.”

“Well, I was a bit addled in the head at the time. I forgive you for stabbing me in the back, let bygones be bygones.”

I was ready to ride my horse over to him and smack the smirk off the man’s face when Master Mgumba put a firm hand on my shoulder.

“We agree to your terms on the condition that it happens in neutral territory and another master from my chapter is there to ensure only training takes place.”

“Master, we can’t tru-,” I began to speak before Holton cut me off.

“Deal,” he said with a smile. “So, let’s go kill us some monsters.”

I wanted to yell at the man, saying I hadn’t agreed to anything but Master Mgumba stopped me and spoke quietly. “Trust me, this is a good deal. And someone will be there to ensure he keeps his word. Finishing your training with the master swordsman will only help keep you alive with your unique gift. Although, don’t mention its unique abilities to him or others until we figure it out.”

I trusted Master Mgumba, so with resignation, I nodded my head. That earned a hearty chuckle from Holton as I glared daggers at the man.