The Black Fountain

"What are we gonna do now, you idiot." said Verd. "Without the plans or anything we have to start from scratch!" For the first time Gonz felt like Verd was in control. He stood his ground though. "Who is running this operation!?" shouted Gonz. "This is my war, and I can win it without you!" Verd stood up and cast Gonz against the wall with his magic. "Listen you fool. If you leave me you stand no chance with those losers you call soldiers. Without me you are nothing. Your father was a fool. If he was still here I might not be worried to use my magic, but you! You will never be a conqueror like him!" Gonz stood and charged Verd saying, "You will take that back!" Verd fell to the ground as Gonz charged him. Verd pushed Gonz back and rose him into the air. Gonz held his neck as he felt Verd’s hands choking him.

Gonz felt the life drain from him. he pulled with all he had at Verd’s choking hands. With a final breath, Gonz flooded all of his strength through his body and shot Verd off of him. He fell to the ground rubbing his neck and catching his breath. Verd lay against the Great Hallway’s wall, unconscious. Verd stood and limped out of the castle. He walked toward the path that led through Serta Forest. He and Verd were now enemies. And all of Deckbin would soon be in war.

The soldiers stopped to rest by a pond next to a grove of trees. Fred was sitting by a tree watching the soldiers playing in the shallow water. The men splashed and threw water around like kids. The water was warm but towards the deeper ends it was cold. In late autumn no one liked to swim much because of the increasing cold, but the fatigue of the soldiers erased cold from their minds. It was murky water and none of the soldiers dived under the water. Some of the Serta Forest ponds were full of strange fish that would eat humans easily. And they needed all the men they could get.

After their swim the soldiers re-equipped themselves with their armor and weapons. They had been marching for about two days now and they were anxious to get to Getrau’. The soldiers continued their march. Fred and Pedrick still spoke of a rebellion, but not with the other soldiers. They decided to keep it to themselves until the time was right. Together the two planned to venture off towards the mountains. They had heard rumors of grassy plains behind the mountains. They would gather their wives and start afresh on the new gassy plains. Of course, it was all just a myth.

The band of soldiers walked on and on. It seemed that the long and win ding path would ever end. Fred was about to collapse when he saw a black figure dart through the bushes through the trees beside him. He stopped and signaled for all of the soldiers to stop. The soldiers turned around flabbergasted. Fred saw the dark figure. He explained to Pedrick as they continued walking. "I saw some kind of a man I think. He was super fast. I couldn’t even see him. But he seemed to be wearing a black cloak, armed with a sword." Pedrick nodded to this. He believed this was not a big deal. "Pedrick!" Pedrick saluted to Fred. "I want you to follow him. See who he is. He might be of Getrau’.