Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Lathanos's Great Journey ❯ The Village in the Forest ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ch. 4
A Village in the Forest

As they headed further away from the village, Romona looked back towards Fintomo and chuckled. “He was very interesting,” she said, laughing a bit more.
Lathanos looked over to her, a friendly smile spread across his face. “You think so...?” he said. They both burst out laughing.
They traveled for days on end, mostly in silence. Every once in awhile, they – well, mostly Romona – would talk and laugh and joke around. But that was rare in this boring link of their journey. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached their next destination: a small village in the forest called Lamalas.
No one in the village seemed to notice Lathanos or Romona, as they merely passed them by. ‘How strange…’ thought Lathanos.
As if on cue, a young boy pointed at Romona with an excited look on his face and cried out, “Look there! It be Romona, the Elven Peacekeeper!!” Suddenly, practically the entire village gathered around Romona, pushing Lathanos aside. There had to be at least four hundred people here.
“Romona, it has been a long time, eh?” a man amongst the other villagers spoke up. He appeared to be in his mid thirties. He had long, blue white hair and peaceful, dark green eyes. His long Elven ears protruded through his hair. He was wearing blue and silver robes and merely sandals on his feet. He had a wide grin upon his face.
“Aerandir, is that you?!” Romona asked excitedly.
“Aye, that it is! What brings you to these parts?” Aerandir replied.
“Me and my friend here are just passing through,” Romona said.
“Romona, you simply must stay awhile! It would be a great honor to have you as our guest here!” Aerandir said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Well, we really must be on our way, but if it will make you happy…” said Romona, “…then we shall stay,”
“Excellent! I shall see to your preparations shortly,” Aerandir then made his leave. Everyone else went back to their own business as well.
“Do you really think we should stay here?” asked Lathanos. “I mean, we really should get to the port city,”
“That may be true, but it would be impolite to deny Aerandir my company here, and besides, it would be a break from our journey,” said Romona.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but we leave by in the morning,”
“Ok, that is fair, Lathanos,” said Romona. She then lowered her voice to a whisper as she said, “Commodo may nostrum subsisto careo sollicitus,”
“What’s that mean?” Lathanos asked.
“It’s just a simple prayer that I was taught when I was young; it means, ‘Please may our stay be without worries,’” Romona replied. ‘He heard me?!’ she thought.
“Your rooms are ready!” called Aerandir from the tavern.
“Let’s go check them out, Romona!” said Lathanos.
“Ok, I am kind of tired anyway. It would be nice to rest for awhile,” Romona replied. They headed for the tavern. Aerandir was waiting for the entrance. “Thank you so much for your hospitality, Aerandir,”
“You are very welcome, Ms. Romona. Like I said, it is an honor to have you here!” Aerandir replied, bowing.
“Aerandir, you really don’t need to bow,” said Romona.
“Oh, my apologies!”
“It’s ok, Aerandir,” Romona sighed. “Just remember that when you are not within the royal city walls, you need not bow to me, ok?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Aerandir. He straightened up, blushing slightly. “Well, I’ll be off now. Enjoy your stay in Lamalas,” He then strode off into the village.
“Do you two know each other?” Lathanos asked once he was gone.
“Sort of…I used to pick on him when we were kids…One day, he got angry after I teased him about his girlfriend, and he slapped me. He actually slapped me! I then threatened to inflict extreme pain upon him if he wasn’t nice to me for the rest of our days,” Romona explained.
“So he’s still being nice to you, even after all these years?!” Lathanos asked, amazed.
“Yep! You haven’t a clue what I would do to people who didn’t take my threats seriously,” Romona said, smiling evilly.
“Yeah, and I don’t think I want to know!” Lathanos replied.
“Oh, ok…darn…” Romona sighed. She headed up to her room and shut her door.
Lathanos was about to head for his own room when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around quickly, his hand tightly gripping the hilt of his sword, to face the owner of the tavern. The owner was a young man who appeared to be not a day over thirty. He had gleaming, blonde hair and gray eyes. He was wearing simple, blue robes. “Oh, sorry Sir! I didn’t mean to startle you!” he said, smiling innocently.
“It’s fine; I’m just not used to being tapped on the shoulder is all,” Lathanos replied.
“Very good then! No harm done,” the owner said. “By the way, my name is Maeglin,” He then gestured for Lathanos to sit with him. Lathanos obliged and sat down at a nearby table. Maeglin sat across from him.
One of the waitresses made her way to the table Lathanos and the owner were sitting at. “May I get you gentlemen anything?” she asked.
Before Lathanos could get a word out, Maeglin said, “Just an Elven brew is all. Get one for my friend here as well,”
“Coming right up, Sir!” said the waitress. She then strolled off, returning shortly after with two glass mugs filled with beer. “Here you go, on the house!” she said, taking her leave.
“Now, rumor has it that you are in fact Lathanos, the great swordsman talked much about throughout this land, are you not?” asked Maeglin.
“Aye, that I am. What business have you with me?” Lathanos replied.
Maeglin leaned in closer, as did Lathanos. “There’s a rumor that there is a pretty high bounty on your head. It was issued by an elf, one of the dark elves I hear! The bounty’s four point five million sycles!!” said Maeglin in a low voice.
“Wait a minute! What kind of person would put a four point five million sycle bounty on my head?! I don’t think the rumors are true, Maeglin,” Lathanos replied, chuckling slightly.
“Oh, but they are true, my boy! A bounty hunter known as Orophin was spotted near the village looking for you,” said Maeglin. “So keep your eyes peeled! He is also said to be skilled with a sword, so watch yourself!”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Lathanos replied.
He got up and was about to leave when Maeglin stopped him. “Oh, I almost forgot. This note came for you shortly after your arrival. It’s anonymous, but it’s addressed to you,” he said, handing Lathanos a folded piece of parchment.
Lathanos pocketed the note, muttering a “Thank you,” and headed to his room. Once there, he instantly collapsed onto his bed. “Who in their right mind would put such a high bounty on my head?” he asked himself. Soon after, sleep overcame him.

Lathanos awoke about two hours later, yawning and stretching as he sat up. He took out the note he had received from Maeglin and read it to himself. It read:

Lathanos,

You may not remember me, but I was an old friend of yours before you left. I have finally found you here in Lamalas Village. Meet me at the entrance to the village and we shall talk. I look forward to seeing you again, Lathanos. Be seeing you soon!

As he made his way towards the village entrance, he started to have second thoughts about this “friend” of his. He didn’t really have many friends from back home. Who could possibly have found him? Who could even have remembered him?! Could it be one of his enemies? Could it be Orophin just posing as his friend to lure him into a trap? These were just a few of the questions running through Lathanos’s mind.
When he got to the entrance, there was no one in sight. Not a single soul. Sighing, Lathanos turned to head back only to come face to face with a tall man with spiky, black hair and silver blue eyes. He was wearing a black headband, a simple, gray, sleeveless robe, navy slacks, straw sandals, and a wicked smile. “Well, we meet at last, Lathanos! It be your lucky day, for your life is about to end!!” the man cackled.
Lathanos gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, baring his teeth. His eyes flickered with rage. “I will have to disagree with you on that one! You must be the one who wrote me that note, claiming to be my friend. Now tell me…Are you the one who goes by the name of Orophin?!”
“Indeed, Orophin is my name!” the man cackled. “Now, you have a four point five million bounty on that head of yours, and I aim to claim it! You are wanted dead, not alive, so I will have to end your life here and now!!”
“I will not go down without a fight!!!” Lathanos cried. He gripped his sword and rushed Orophin. Orophin did nothing. ‘This is perfect! He isn’t doing a damn thing; this should prove to be an easy victory!’ Lathanos thought, grinning. Just as Lathanos was about to strike, however, Orophin almost instantaneously unsheathed his sword and blocked just as Lathanos had unsheathed his. Lathanos gasped. “N-no way!!”
“Yes, Lathanos, it is no trickery! I am very skilled with a katana!!” Orophin laughed wickedly.
Lathanos pushed off Orophin’s blade and shot at him. Orophin moved to the side and made to strike. Lathanos pivoted and countered. Ringing steel filled the air. No matter what, Orophin would always block every single one of Lathanos’s moves. “Damn you, Orophin!” Lathanos shouted angrily.
“I can’t help it, Lathanos. I am just too good with a blade!” Orophin laughed. Once again, their swords met. Their struggled to push the other back. Their faces came within inches of each other’s, hatred burning in their eyes.
“Damnit! Why won’t you die?!” Lathanos spat. They pushed off and once again shot at each other, steel clashing against steel.
“Why don’t you just give up?! You will never defeat me!!!” Orophin shouted as they once again pushed off each other’s blade.
“Because I have other things I must do before I die!!” Lathanos shouted. Instead of charging again, he jumped back a few feet and reached into his robe pocket, pulling out three kunai knives. He threw them at Orophin. Two of them nicked him in the arm. The other one missed by mere millimeters.
“Lathanos, you bastard! How dare you?!” Orophin cried. He charged Lathanos. Just as he was about to strike, Lathanos moved under him and pulled out another kunai. He stuck it deep into Orophin’s stomach. He then ripped it out, leaving an oozing gash.
Orophin dropped to the ground, gripping his stomach in pain. Red oozed out between his fingers.
Lathanos then sheathed his sword and leapt into the air. He reached into his robe with both hands and pulled out kunai in between his fingers. Still in the air, he let loose a storm of kunai upon Orophin.
As Lathanos landed, Orophin struggled to his feet. He was badly injured, but still breathing. One of the kunai had managed to get lodged in his shoulder. He gripped it and ripped it out, wincing in pain. Droplets of red blood dripped from the end of the kunai knife. “I will make sure you die, Lathanos!” Orophin shouted, spitting up blood in the process. He ran at Lathanos. Before Lathanos could draw his sword, Orophin struck him, sending him to the ground.
Lathanos leapt up quickly and unsheathed his sword. He had a diagonal cut across his cheek. “That was a good shot, Orophin…lucky, but good,” he said. He charged Orophin. He landed such a blow to Orophin’s sword that it got knocked out of Orophin’s hands. He then pointed the end of his sword at Orophin’s throat. He was shaking with rage. “Your time is up, Orophin!!!” Lathanos shouted furiously.
Orophin chuckled. “I never thought that this would one day be my fate, as it has been for so many of my enemies…” he said. “…Do it! I do not deserve to live any longer! Do it!!”
“With pleasure,” Lathanos replied. He pulled the arm holding his katana back, keeping the blade pointed at Orophin. He then thrust it through Orophin’s neck and pulled it back out. Orophin coughed up a big gob of crimson blood as he fell, slamming hard into the ground. Without saying a word, Lathanos wiped the blood off his sword with his sleeve and sheathed it. He then collected the kunai knives and headed back for the tavern.
Romona was waiting for him outside the tavern. “Lathanos, are you alright?!” she asked worriedly. “I heard that there was a fight outside the village and…I knew it just had to be you!” She then eyed the cut across his face. “Oh, that looks like a nasty cut,”
“It’s fine Romona. I’ve had way worse,” Lathanos replied. “Let’s leave! There could be more bounty hunters nearby,”
“Yeah,” Romona agreed. They headed north into the forest. They were once again wondering through the forest, running into the occasional demon. Once outside the forest, they could see the walls of the port city up ahead: Thranduil.

A/N: Finally the 4th chapter complete! Sorry for the long wait, I have been busy lately. Well, until next time, c ya! Please R&R!!!!!!