Will

"What is it?" he grumbled, sensing his stalker even before he approached him.

"By the gods, sir, that action back at the tavern was brilliant! I mean, I only saw half of the fight but the way you handled those thugs so effortl-"

It was then he turned to face the speaker, the blond boy from last night.

"Listen, kid. There's nothing brilliant about killing people."

Will took a closer look at the young man's face, studying him carefully. The obviously uncomfortable young man had bright green eyes and clear smooth skin.

"Your nose is small and perfect. Never been in a fight before? And you have no dark circles around your eyes. Let me guess. After business hours in the inn, you retire to some soft bed and sleep till the sun's well in the sky. Am I wrong?"

The young lad's cheeks turned a crimson shade of red, but he didn't avert his gaze. Which Will respected.

"That's why I'm here, sir," the young man managed. "I want to join you in your adventure."

"My adventure," Will smiled dryly, without humor. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Jon," he replied promptly.

"Well, Jon, I don't know what or who you take me for, but an adventure is not what I'm after. So get back to your happy, simple life."

"I know just who you are. You're Flamefist. That scarred tissue on your right arm, it's unmistakable. My father kept a picture of you, hand drawn from the last time you visited this village. Most people here forgot, but -"

Will himself had forgotten, and it was apparently clear on his blank face. Jon cut his sentence to explain further.

"-There was a vampire. He was going to kill my father, and you saved him. You expelled the foul creature."

"Ah, I remember! The Xerician man. He dressed so strangely and looked so foreign that it was easy to convince you people about his inhumanity. He was just a man, albeit an aggressive one. Sorry, kid."

Jon looked a little queasy after that, but still stood his ground, setting his jaw in determination.

"I had a crush on you," the young man blurted. "You were everything I wanted to be. Strong, smart, cunning... Handsome."

The blush was setting deeper into his cheeks, but he continued.

"What happened now? What made you... This?"

"Time," Will replied simply. And that demon man, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Say his name. "Now fuck off, get back to your old life. And leave me to mine."

He turned to leave. Leave this cursed village and all its people.

"The Wizard. He'll never rest until you're killed. You killed his men, and now it's blood for blood."

Will froze, fighting back the shiver that threatened to shake his foundations.

"Tell me more about this Wizard," Will ordered quietly, his back still turned.

"No one knows who he really is. But his men take our goods up to the mountains, to the highest peak. Mount Wyvern," Jon spoke faster now, obviously getting excited. "He hasn't actually left his hideout in gods know how long, but there are lights in the sky some nights over the mountains. That's proof that he still lives there."

"Why did you say he would never leave me alone?" Will asked, turning back to the young man, his solemn brown eyes meeting the excited green ones.

"Those who fight back always die, usually slaughtered in the middle of the night. You killed three of his own. He's bound to get revenge once that fourth one arrives back at the mountains."

"I'll be long gone by then. And if they do find me, I'll just kill them. Like I did to these ones."

"He never sends thugs to do the killing. He has demons for that. The last one we saw burned down the barbershop, killing the barber and his entire family. We have to shave by ourselves no-"

Will clamped his hands on Jon's shoulders, shaking him violently. His eyes were wide and wild, furious, and spittle flew from his mouth.

"Do these demons have names? And when did the last one leave here? Speak, boy!"

"I-I-I don't know! They have many names, and you can't know which one is which. Every one has a different killing style, but we don't know which one is which. And we don't know all of their names."

"Stop running your mouth and speak! Give me a name!" Will bellowed, shaking Jon more violently.

"Alright! Just let me go!"

Will forced himself to relax, letting go of the young man. Jon rubbed the spot where the grizzled man's fingers had clamped, digging into the leather part.

"The last demon was here about two weeks ago. And for their names, the bandits sometimes mention them when they talk to each other. There's Azrael, Lucifer, Seraph, and Furia, but these are just the ones that come to mind immediately. We only know about Azrael, who enjoys boiling his victims alive."

But Will had stopped listening at "Seraph." Not again. No way it was him. The figure outlined by flames, walking through the fire unharmed. The flash of white teeth.

"Where is this 'Mount Wyvern'?" Will asked quietly.

"I knew you'd change your mind!" Jon exclaimed, almost jumping up and down from excitement. "We'll climb up the mountain in an epic quest, and finally rid these lands of the evil Wizard! It'll be epic! It'll be worth sharing by thousands of tongues across the kingdom!"

"Don't get so excited, kid. I'm going by myself. Just tell me where the mountain is, and all the fastest routes up there. And I don't give a damn about your village. I want to get this 'wizard' off my tail so I can fucking retire."

Jon's smile faded away, then his mouth fixed into a straight line. Will had seen that look many times before, and in this case it wasn't appreciated. It was the look of pure determination.

"No offense, sir, but you'd get lost and end up in a mountain cat's den without me. I grew up around these parts, and while I haven't been all the way up to the mountain, I have studied the paths the bandits take when they go up. I can guide you, cook, sharpen your sword, and whatever. Consider me a squire."

"You got me at 'cook'," Will sighed, shaking his head. "Let's go."

"Can I get a few things first? Food, spare clothes, my aunt's homemade mosquito spray -"

"Hurry up. Get a lot of beef. And you'll be carrying all the goods, so don't get too much weight."

"Yessir!" Jon cried, trotting off, probably to his house to fetch said items.

Will thought it was a great opportunity to clean his neglected scimitar, sharpen it back to its deadly form. Once it would draw demon blood, they would both rest. At last.

><><><><><><><><><><><

Moonsaw was the name his blade carried back when he went by Flamefist. After cleaning it, it regained its blinding silver-white color that looked more solid than shiny, the curved blade almost looking like a crescent moon. A jagged crescent at that, as the inside of the curve was serrated. A lumberjack and a swordsmaster could argue for hours about what the blade was made for. And throughout the years, Flamefist had utilized the sturdy blade for many jobs, using it as a tool he sometimes lacked or didn't carry around. And it had remained his faithful friend and only companion until nine years ago. Until the 'incident'.

He twirled Moonsaw in one hand, getting a feel of the weapon once more as he waited for Jon, the cleaning done minutes ago. His cotton shirt was now stained with blood, for he had used it to wipe his beloved companion/blade.

A shout echoed across the flatlands and hills, where the small village spread out like a carpet, neatly separated from the other villages with just empty space. Even with the sun well across the sky, the rocky gray mountains loomed over in the distance like a power hungry general studying his battlefield, plunging the few villages that dared to linger near the feet of the mountains in inky darkness and disease. And in the center, towering over all the other massive stone points - Mount Wyvern. Even during his long years of travel across the entire kingdom, he had never seen anything like it, and something about those dark cliffs called to him, called to the similar darkness in his heart. It sounded stupid when he thought about it, but he enjoyed traveling the villages in the southeastern part of the kingdom even though they were isolated and pretty much independent - if you ignored the fat tax collectors who passed by annually, of course. Other than that, they were alone, and content enough under King Darius's rule. It wasn't like the taxes were crippling or anything.

The shout echoed out again, and Will squinted his eyes, trying to identify the figure running up the slope and waving its arms like a windmill trying to take flight. He already knew who it was, of course. With that straw colored hair and oversized chestpiece, there was no mistaking his new "partner". Truth be told, he liked the boy a little bit, admired his straightforward nature and brave spirit. He could improve, and Will felt it... But not under his tutoring. Will wasn't fit for that anymore, and the kid deserved better than a fraud bounty hunter and aging alcoholic to guide him.

"Mister Paragon!" Jon yelled, waving his arms and running as fast as his skinny legs would allow him. Will waved back cheerfully. Damn, that kid was excited to start the journey.

A minute later, an exhausted Jon collapsed in front of Will, heaving and panting like a hunting dog after a drawn out hunt. He hadn't even brought along the goods he had left to fetch, and Will finally noticed that something was wrong.

"Mister Paragon," Jon wheezed. "There's been a change of plan. We have to go, now."

:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷

Oh. Almost didn't see you there. Hi.

So... You made it this far. I'm impressed. Truly, thank you.

We have Jon now, the honest enthusiastic lad who just wants to help everyone. What's a good fantasy story without a few stereotypical characters?

I hope you enjoyed this week's entry. It's moving a little quickly now, I realize that. It'll slow down eventually. This part is just to introduce the characters, their motives, and personalities. And it won't be just those two. More people will join the fray soon enough.

Again, thank you for being here. I'm excited to be finally sharing this story with you after all the years it spent fermenting in my messy head. I'd appreciate it if you showed support by voting and/or commenting your opinion.

Have a great day/evening, and I'll be seeing you... Whenever I'm ready. Whenever Will Paragon is ready.