Rise of Tempest Merlin

Chapter 10

Tempest’s POV

The door had taken some loving inspiration in its design, for it was not the standard rectangular shape, but the sort of archway that brought every eye upward.

 The doorway would appear to the adventurous heart, to one of pure soul, yet to all others it was only a tangle of roots.

It was inscribed on the top in gleaming golden letters. How I was being able to read that was a mystery to me but I figured that it might be the Avatar who was already aware of different languages. Still I was in a dress which was a garb worn by maid servants and that too in the medieval era and I needed to get out of these.

“That is not going to be so easy, you know that right?” came a voice from my side and immediately I was on my guard and looked in the direction from which the voice came.

A lanky figure stepped out of the shadows. Holy s**t!! He had a man bun on his head….dude…what kind of creepy era I am in?

“Oh!! Do not worry…you are in the golden era of mankind. You are amongst the presence of the best of the times and the worst of the times..” started saying the man and I immediately crossed him off.

“Dude, are you trying to impress me by quoting Charles Dickens? That too from Tale of two cities?” I glared at him and then looked at my surroundings.

“Ahhh!!! You are well read I see, most people here do not understand what I speak so I am somewhat considered a pariah. I get called on when it is time to sing and dance because well, as you can understand, these heathens here have no understanding of music at all!!” said the man as he placed his hand dramatically over his heart.

“And what kind of place would that be whom you praise and detest in the consecutive sentences?” I asked him with my words laced with sarcasm.

“You are not from around here, are you? You are not like them at all….” He muttered as I did not cast him a glance any longer and started walking. It was a beautiful city, and nothing ever I had watched on television or the travel shows could even compare to what I was seeing here.

“You are a player in the game!!!” screamed the man from behind and I swiftly turned at him and punched him in the face.

Immediately I was greeted with a cacophony of laughter and whistles from nearby.

 “This one is a lively one, ain’t she?” came a comment. And I winced. There was some mistake with the game. If the timeline I was thinking was right then this was sometime quite early of human civilization and the NPC were certainly not supposed to talk in a southern drawl.

“Fear not, fair maiden,” said the man who came forward with his loin covered with a skirt of leather and a huge sword dangling from his belt.” I am going to protect you from this imbecile!” His body was golden and his abs were well defined, and all his muscles were rippling. Dude!! He was hot…hotter than hell…

 I did not reply, as I was still trying to ascertain where I was.

The town was a maze of narrow winding streets, as complex as the heart. The streets were the veins, paved with dark red stones, and the people were the blood. The sound of the smiths, beating swords and breastplates into shape, was the consistent and dull pounding that let you know the town was alive. This was…..oh dear lord….this was a city where sons were born and bred for war.

I was in Sparta!

I looked at my self-appointed savior and said,” And exactly who told you that I need protecting? I am more than enough capable of protecting myself.”

Hat earned another cackle from the man that I had just punched or my Avatar had. And even though I had never been able to lift more than my hand, I felt quite comfortable with that right hook. And immediately I had a feeling in me that I should get into a fight. There was like this itch inside me which I could not scratch.

“Ahh! Fair maiden, my apologies. I should not have tried to say something like that without introducing myself in the beginning. I am Roscher, a soldier of my motherland.”

“It might look like that you would be able to help me after all,’ I said to him with a smile. And he smiled back.

I needed to get rid of this dress and I would do anything for that. I started walking with the newly made friend who walked with log strides and it was becoming quite difficult for me to match pace with him.

The town was what a village becomes with no city planning and a great enthusiasm for architecture. Every building was different, borrowing this and that from another era. It made the place as glorious as a beloved grandmother's quilt, ever patch unique and as eye catching as the one before. The street was free of litter, the walls were unvandalized perfection...

“Exactly where are you going?” I asked the hot Greek who was briskly walking in the direction which looked like the middle of the town.

“We are going to a place where it will offer you with safety, protection and employment. Judging by the garb that you are wearing it looks like you might be trained in doing the cleaning of the bar where the soldiers of the Army frequent. Things might get a bit loud and rough when the boys are slightly drunk but I am pretty certain you would be perfectly capable of handling that,” said the soldier as he smiled at me and immediately blood thrummed in my veins with such ferocity and anger that I could not even tell that.

I stood in the middle of the road and contemplated if kicking him on the back would be a good move but it was cowardly to attack someone when their back was turned and I was anything but that.

“Who asked you to think for me? Do you think that I have no brains or have you lost it when you were left in the woods and the wilderness when you were seven years old?” I shouted in his direction making him stop in the middle of his tracks.

“How do you know that?” asked the soldier as he walked back towards me with purposeful steps as if he was stalking a prey. But I was too much angry to even think about backing down. Now I definitely could not tell him that he was just a character in a game and everyone in the human world was aware of Sparta and their war with the Persians because of the movie 300.

“I know a lot of things. And you must have been taught that looks can be deceiving, so why do you judge me about who I am on the basis of what I am wearing?” I asked and he looked at me for a moment and then said,” You are correct, fair maiden. I should not have done that. Please tell me how can I be of help to you?”

“Do you know how I can get rid of these clothes and get weapons?” I asked. He stared at me as if I was mad but when I stared back he decided that maybe that was for the best.

“You would have to fight in order to win the garments that you want and weapons. In Sparta, no one is given a weapon that they are not worthy of. So do you think that you will be able to do that?” he asked me as he raised his brows.

I was not sure of anything. This was the first mission that I was on and I had no idea what I was supposed to d but with the game being made in the form of an adventure, some form or manner of training sounded really good and what did I have to lose even if I lost. But I had a feeling that I would not.

“Great. That is the most interesting piece of information that you have provided me until now. So let’s move along fast and get me changed of these ridiculous stuff. I am tired of being seen as a servant,” I said and he nodded. How much he understood he only knew but soon we were close to an arena.

“Am I supposed to fight in that?” I showed him that and he laughed and said,” Of course not, Krumecaca….it is when we fight the King of Beasts, then that arena is used.”

“Are you a Gladiator?” I asked recalling the movie. Thank heavens!! Watching all those historical movies made me aware of some things at least.

“No, my fair maiden…it is an honour which is reserved for the toughest and most experienced fighters of the land. We are only in training. We have not even gone to war yet,” said the soldier as he showed me a mud arena at the back of the tavern. Then he said,” If you want to win what you want, the best weapons of the best swordsmaker in the land then you need to challenge the reining winner of this arena.”

I took in a deep breath and said,” I am ready!”

Little did I know that what s**t I was stepping inside….He looked at me and said," Are you sure that a maiden like you would like to fight in that dirt and mud? Would you not like to choose a champion for your sakes so that he can fight your battles for you?"

"Oh dear!! Look I know this a country where sons are born and bred for war and you guys have not seen the Game of Thrones but know this, that even though I am a little girl I am not going to knit as I sit by the fire while a man fights for my sake. If so then I am not even a woman!"