Heroes of the Border Cities: Hiro & Olly, #3

By Kaye Wagner

Three months removed from their tortuous introduction to the mysteries of the Grey Forest, Olly and Hiro are nowhere near their goal of becoming official Legends. Fearful and cautious, they wander familiar parts of the forest, scavenging a life while they argue about whether to go further into the forest or to find an exit out. However, as they bicker in less foreboding lands, new Legends with dangerous motives invade their makeshift camp, pushing the hesitant duo forward as they search for an escape from the Grey Forest and an office that would certify them before the trailing ‘Legends’ intent on their capture and death find them first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pendown Publishing
• Release date: Oct 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519916365

Book preview

Heroes of the Border Cities

By

Kaye Wagner

Text copyright © July 2014, Kaye Wagner

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All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission from the author.

Contents

Chapter 1: Symmetry

Chapter 2: No New Friends

Chapter 3: Lesser Known Evils

Chapter 4: Dead Ends

Chapter 5: Borderlands

Chapter 6: Troublemakers

Chapter 7: Dark Comforts

Chapter 8: Bloodlust

Chapter 9: Broken Girls

Chapter 10: Strange Mercy

Chapter 11: Opening Day

Chapter 12: Sacred Place

Author Notes:

Chapter 1: Symmetry

Hah!

Olly shouted as she swung her curved blade towards the agile Hiro who dodged her attack with a flip backwards before lunging at her with the butt end of his staff. Hiro aimed for her stomach only to have Olly parry his attack with the smack of her steel-clawed hand against his weapon’s frame. Seeing an opening under her block, Hiro pulled away his wooden staff as he lunged forward under her hand with a clenched fist leading him. With his knuckles nearly touching the tattered short sleeve shirt of Olly—Hiro froze, not letting his fist collide with her stomach.

Is that enough? Hiro asked as he looked at the hesitant expression on Olly’s face before she glanced to the side of them then looked back at Hiro with a determined look in her eyes.

Now! Olly shouted to the sudden flip of Hiro as he pulled away from Olly who also jumped away from Hiro just as the roar and tumble of a large sparkling tiger beast lunging through the bushes beside them caught their attention.

Whoa! Hiro said flipping backwards, just barely dodging the claws of the tiger beast. Landing on his feet, Hiro quickly got into a fighting stance, staring down the burning red eyes of the beast. Twirling the wooden staff between his fingers, Hiro grinned. You ready? he shouted over the roars of the beast as it swung its head towards him.

Of course I’m ready... Olly said on the other side of the beast, holding a curved blade in one hand as she raised her steel claws in the other. Let’s go. Olly rushed towards the beast, throwing a downward stroke of her sword at its back, but as it struck its sparkling coat, the blade bounced off its thick furs.

Damn... Olly said as she saw the tiger turn to her, roaring in her direction.

Rawrrr! the beast growled before it rushed to her as she just landed on her feet, not ready to dodge its attack. However, as it neared, Hiro emerged from its side with the swing of his staff smacking against the side of its belly, immediately moving the beast over as it squealed in pain.

Its underbelly! Hiro shouted over to Olly. Its underbelly has less fur—you got to hit it there.

Got it! Olly said planting her feet on the ground as she watched the beast hop over to the side of the both of them. Olly then moved over to the side of Hiro, the both of them facing down the growling beast.

You go left, Olly whispered to Hiro. I go right.

Hiro nodded in agreement before the both of them took a deep breath in and then jumped in opposite directions, rushing towards the unsteady growl of the tiger beast. Surrounding the wild animal, they both rushed to attack its underbelly only to have the sparkling beast jump ahead and out of their reach. Staring at each other briefly, Olly shouted for a second strike. Again! This time with speed... Front to back, you hear me?!

Got ya... Hiro nodded before they both focused their minds as they stared down the growling beast. Go. Olly said as they both vanished from their positions in a blur of speed. Running, Olly saw Hiro rushing besides her as he pointed upwards. Taking his signal, Olly got into a jumping stance and leaped before the blazing speed blurring her vision vanished, replaced with the vicious growl of the beast as it stared her down in its own jumping stance, ready to leap and snatch her from the sky.

Hiro! Olly shouted as she pulled her blade back, preparing for a downward attack. Need some help here. She said just as the beast leaped from the ground towards her with its teeth bared and its claws reaching for her. Unable to block, the tiger slashed the sides of her leg, grazing them as Olly lunged forward with the tip of her blade slashing across the mouth and cheek of the animal, causing it to bleed just as she fell to the ground. Hitting the grassy field, Olly quickly turned her attention back on to the beast, seeing the leaping tiger descend over the jumping Hiro who smashed the underbelly of the animal with the full strength of his staff, hitting it on its weak spot.

Yahh!! Hiro shouted as his staff hit the stomach of the beast, causing it to yelp while it fell to the ground in a sudden shock of pain before it hit the dirt in silence. Hiro dodged its falling body by rolling over to its side. Panting heavily after his attack, Hiro focused his eyes on the unmoving beast, waiting to see if it was still conscious or not. Watching its unmoving body remain that way, Hiro sighed in relief. However, as he let his guard down, he suddenly saw a blade appear out of the corner of his eye.

Checkmate. Olly’s voice said from behind Hiro. Turning around, Hiro saw Olly holding a blade to the side of his face before laughing it off as she pulled it away. You got to bring up your awareness Hiro. Olly said walking past Hiro as she chuckled under her breath. After you beat one enemy, you have to search for the next one in this forest. Who knows if this beast is on its own—it could travel in groups or be a solitary beast, who knows. That’s why we have to study this place. She said looking over the smooth trail of the Dark Foliage. Figure out what makes it tick, she turned her attention to the beast. And find out the weakness of these beasts.

I know, I know... Hiro said dusting off his shorts. Train to be stronger, right? he said pouting. But don’t you think three months here is enough? I mean, we haven’t even left camp yet. I want to explore, you know.

What? Olly raised an eyebrow in confusion. I thought you were excited about training. When I first suggested we stay here for a while, you were ecstatic, nearly dragging me out for three sessions of beast hunting. I nearly got killed several times because of your over eagerness, and now you’re bored? Please...

Not bored. Hiro said gazing at Olly as she began to circle around the beast. Just worried.

Worried about what? Olly shook her head as she perused with her eyes the anatomy of the animal. We’ve taken these few months to become stronger. Hell, Olly smiled as she lifted up her curved blade, easily maneuvering her hand as she gripped it. Now I can even move these oddly heavy weapons with ease now. Though these muscles, she said tapping her slightly enlarged bicep. They don’t suit me. As she glanced at her bicep, she noticed the tear in her pants. Seeing no blood staining them, she rested easy knowing she was not gravely wounded. Really, Olly continued. We still need more time to get stronger, learn our environment. You don’t want what happened to those Legends we met before to happen to us, right?

Yeah... Hiro said placing his staff on a makeshift holster on his back. But don’t we already have a treasure. We’re not really in the same exact situation.

Not exactly... Olly said giving Hiro a sharp gaze. Don’t get me wrong, we need to train to get stronger, but what do you think we’ve been doing exploring this area? she asked as she sheathed her curved blade in a makeshift casing to the side of her belt, the same spot she once kept her guns. Walking up to Hiro, she called out to him. Open up the mini map for me.

Huh? Hiro looked on perplexed for a moment.

C’mon, Olly asked as she stood in front of Hiro. I gave it to you to hold on to, so take it out.

Oh, Hiro nodded his head as he patted his pockets before pulling out a folded piece of paper. Olly snatched the folded paper out of his hands.

Give me that. Olly said quickly unfolding the paper, revealing a map filled with traced and solid lines doted by spots with the hand drawn pictures of peculiar beast of strange shapes and sizes. To the side of the mini map was a legend with all their names.

Where’s base camp? Olly asked a confused Hiro.

Um... That’s obvious, I drew it. Hiro said pointing at the center spot of the map where a beautifully drawn tent was located. There.

And what Lit trails have we traveled?

Only two. Hiro pointed at a traced line with a clear center that cut through the base camp. The New Trail here where the base camp is at. Hiro moved his finger through an assortment of bolded trails titled ‘Dark’ before landing his finger on another clear line traced onto the piece of paper. And the Sanzu Trail. Those are the only two trails we know about—or at least can travel through, we don’t know how to get back to the original trail we entered from.

It can’t be helped—we’ve lost our original trail. We can neither progress further nor even leave this limited boundary without risking losing our place here and getting lost again. Olly pushed the map onto Hiro’s chest, forcing him to hold onto it as she pulled her hand away. We have to work with what we know. And we only know two paths now, both end at a river, both begin in a field, both don’t lead to an exit.

Exit? Hiro asked.

Yeah... Olly said. We’re not exploring around here for nothing. I’m trying to find a new trail, a way out of here.

What? Hiro said narrowing his eyes in surprise and disagreement. Why are you trying to find your way out so soon? We just got here. I want to explore more of the forest. Even with the daily quests we do, I don’t feel like I’ve even experienced one tenth of the forest. I still want to see what’s out there.

And you will, Olly said. But first we need to get our certification as Legends, once we do that—we can come back fully equipped, buy new weapons and be better prepared for this place.

I think we’re prepared the way we are now.

Olly looked at Hiro from over her shoulder. Well, I don’t. I say we learn as much as we can before we find our way out of this place and back to some form of civilization. She said looking around the forest again. Heck, when was the last time we even bumped into someone these past few months? We haven’t seen anyone besides those Legends we met on the first day.

You know they have names, right? Hiro said with a frustrated look in his eyes. They’re Miki, Deacon, and even Jarvis helped us. They all taught us everything we know, even all the information we’ve gathered on these beasts are thanks to the books they left. You should be more respectful to the dead. Good and bad, they no longer apply once you’ve past on.

Enough! Olly said in anger. Enough with your sentimentality—they’re dead. Some of them I feel sorry for, but now I have to be concerned with our own lives, no time to mourn the dead or remember their names.

Hah... Hiro chuckled in disbelief as he shook his head in aggravation before walking away from Olly. However, as he left, Olly called out to him, annoyed by his laughter.

What’s so funny? she asked him.

You... Hiro said turning around with a pouty expression on his face. You caring about our lives. You only care about yourself. He said stomping off into the open dark trail, leaving Olly with his words alone.

Olly sighed as he left. Haa... she clenched her clawed hand before turning her attention away from the dark trail and towards the unconscious beast. I do... she muttered under her breath. I really do care. She then rushed over to the soft underbelly of the tiger beast, throwing her clawed hand to her side, letting its steel nails dig into the flesh of the beast as she dragged her claws across its belly until its entrails flooded from its insides. Reaching its neck, Olly immediately hopped back, avoiding any more blood getting onto her hand. Standing from afar, Olly watched the blood ooze from within the beast before it stained the grassy field where she stood. As a pool of blood covered the ground, the red liquid began to bubble as letters formed on its surface, eventually reading out a full name and classification. Olly read out the letters. Tigris Beast, Class: Conflict Beast. As she read out the name, she pulled a water canteen from her side and doused her bloody arm with it, soaking out all the blood. She then looked at her tattered pant leg. It was my best pants. She said sticking out the single tip of her claw, tearing her pant leg above the knee. Taking this piece of cloth, Olly cleaned off any remaining blood. Drying her claw off, she noticed an unevenness in her pant legs.

Hmm... Might as well cut off the right one. She said leaning over and cutting her right pant leg, evening it out with her left side. There we go—symmetry. She said those words with a coldness in her eyes as she looked back at the dead body of the beast. It’s all symmetry. She walked up to the pool of blood around the beast, crouching next to it while she pulled out a small plastic vile with a cork on top. Popping off its cork, she laid the vile into the pool of blood, filling it up with the liquid substance before pulling it away and corking it again. Wiping off the blood with her cut off pant leg, she then pocketed the vile in a small casing on her belt. With this done, Olly turned and looked to her side towards the dark trail where Hiro marched away on. Taking in a deep breath, Olly picked up her feet and moved onto the trail, her eyes searching around the foliage surrounding her. Where did he go? Olly said under her breath. Stopping her run midway to look around the greenery surrounding her—Olly took in the odd noises and movement in the foliage beside her. She then chuckled under her breath, knowing the strange sounds would never leave the confines of the darkness surrounding it, trapped in the shadows covering it. Knowing this now, Olly did not fear traveling through the Dark Trails, understanding the beasts in the forest stay within the darkness during the day, lest they were provoked in the way Olly and Hiro provoked the Tigris Beast that attacked them.

From what Olly read in some of the books she found at their camp, she figured out that the beast of the forest attack only when provoked to their particular instinctive reaction to their environment. With this Tigris beast, it reacted to conflict, or the battle Olly shared with Hiro just a few moments ago, or beasts attacking a vulnerable prey. It is in those times the sparkling beast acts. Putting this to the test today, Olly confirmed this information. Furthermore, she had long realized after reading one of her own books that the name of the animal becomes written on dark trails or fields the moment of its death. Testing out this knowledge, Olly began to gain a better understanding of the Grey Forest. However, as she gained this better understanding, she became more confused in the methods that made the forest function. She less and less understood why things were the way they were. Even more so wondering how they came to be that way.

As a flood of questions began to move into her mind, she shook her head, brushing them aside as she focused her attention on finding Hiro again. Where does he usually go? Olly said to herself as she looked over the familiar path laid out in front of her. As she looked around, she saw sun light hitting the upper crown of some of the trees—a signal that she was approaching an open trail. Olly smiled at this fact before rushing forward, gaining a hunch of where Hiro might have ran off to.  She understood that the closer you reach a lit trail or field, the more lights seeps in from the sun through the clouds and thick branches covering its rays—knowing this fact gave her a hint of Hiro’s location because she knew one of Hiro’s favorite hangouts in the forest was nearby. Looking over the terrain, Olly noticed a cleared path next to her, breaking off the trail she was running on. Turning into this path, Olly immediately noticed where she was and where Hiro had went. Here again. She said under her breath as she began hearing the flow of a distant river and the patter of squirrels running around the corners of her sight.

Moving in deeper on this path, Olly eventually encountered a large tree in the middle of a small open space. Looking at the tree’s deep roots running through the rough patch of open space around it, Olly immediately knew where she was located. The Hollow Tree... she said under her breath as she slowly moved to the front side of the tree to find an opening in its front end. Peeking inside, she saw the insides of the tree hollow. There she saw a small wooden crate and bag along with a rolled up piece of long paper. Our emergency stash. Olly muttered to herself. Still safe, I see. She said looking upwards towards the long branches of the tree, seeing them extend everywhere as they provided shade over her head from the blinding rays of light that would occasionally pierce through its cover. Isn’t that right, Hiro? She said covering her eyes from the occasional rays of light. I know you’re up there. She continued, walking over to the trunk of the tree. I know you like climbing up here—you always come back here when you want to clear your thoughts. You think I don’t notice when you sneak away from the camp early morning? Well, I do... I always notice you. I always know where you’re going. I always worry about you. You know, this place, it’s dangerous. What I’m doing might seem overly cautious, but after what we saw happen to the others... Olly paused for a moment before changing her phrasing. To Miki and Deacon, I think we need to take our time here, not rush into anything dangerous. She said as she leaned her shoulder against the side of the tree, waiting for a response from Hiro. Hey, she called out. Are you ther—

I’m here. Hiro said cutting her off, his voice echoing from on high. Looking upwards, Olly saw Hiro sitting on high at the crown of the tree.

Geez... Olly said looking upwards. You damn squirrel...

Big Sis... Hiro said