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| - Ten years past and I was now eighteen and today was my last day in the camp and I had spent most of it on the bridge looking out towards the lake with Jake. I had let my hair grow out a little and I could tell I gotten stronger over the years as I looked to my side to see Theresa approaching me. "Ah there you are and your faithful friend too" she said. "Yeah we've been here since this morning Theresa" I said. "Many years ago I promised that I would help you avenge your sister death, that day has come" she said. "I know" I said as she continued. "Today you will leave the safety of this camp and seek out Lucien, the journey will not be easy" she said. "I'm ready" I said as she looked towards my caravan. "There's a chest near your caravan, I've left a few things that might prove useful, meet me by the gates when you're ready" she said walking past me towards the gates as I walked down to my caravan and looked at the large chest. "How the hell did she get this thing over here?" I asked looking at the heavy chest that an old woman like her could not have carried by herself as I opened it to find a rusty sword a light splattered crossbow, a health potion, a dog elixir, a dog collar, and a spade. "Come here Jake" I said as I put on his new collar and he barked eagerly as Frank approached us panting. "Is it true Sparrow?" he asked. "Yes I'm leaving today" I said putting my new equipment onto my back. "Well the others are gone so they left me with their farewells" Frank said. "Don't worry Frank I'll come back someday but for now would you rent out my caravan I don't need it where I'm going" I said. "Sure no problem" Frank said as I walked past him towards the gate where Theresa was waiting. "Now come with me" she said as we started to walk towards the closed gates. "Ppen the gates" the gate keeper said as the gates opened for us "good luck" he said as I smiled towards him and began walking towards the bridge with Theresa. She then stopped and turned to me holding a strange object "take this" she said handing me the blue object. "What is it?" I asked. "It is a powerful artifact the kind which all heroes once carried, it will grant you access to places others cannot go, it will also allow me to talk to you when necessary" she said as we walked onto the bridge. "Now look down towards the lake, the seal will allow you to enter that tomb, and in its darkest depth lies the chamber of fate, when you come out again you will be stronger much stronger, now go" she said as me and Jake ran down towards the lake and got ready for a nice swim. Once out of the cold water I walked towards the tomb doors as I saw an impression of the seal on the doors. I then placed the seal on the doors as I heard a clank and the gears on the door began to move as the heavy metal doors swung open. "Here we go Jake" I said looking down towards the dark tunnel, once inside I could see torches all along the walls as mine and Jake steeps echoed throughout the hall. "Don't be alarmed, I'm speaking to your threw the guilds seal" Theresa said as me and Jake reach a dead end with a large hole in the ground "you'll need to jump into the hole to continue" "Are you mad? I can't see the bottom" I said. "Don't worry the water at the bottom will break your fall" she said as I looked to Jake who was shaking with fear. "Don't worry Jake I'll go first and call you down" I said petting his head as I jumped into the hole and landed in water with a loud splash as I swam to the surface. "Ok Jake jump down boy" I said as I saw my mutt jump down and land next to me as I saw a tunnel ahead with more lit torches as me and Jake swam towards it. Once we walked into the hall I jumped off a ledge as I looked ahead to see giant beetle rise from the ground. "Damn I hate bugs" I said pulling my sword out as Jake began barking as the bug began flying towards me as I slashed my sword threw each one that got to close. There were a total of ten beetles that attacked and were now all dead as I crushed one under my boot. Jake and I then continued down the tunnels as more beetle appeared and ended up dead as I continued threw without breaking a sweat as I moved deeper into the tomb and reached more water as I saw the exit on the other side of the water as me and Jake swam across to the other side and walked up the tunnel as I saw glowing blue mushrooms along the walls of the tunnel. "Don't eat anything in here Jake it could be poisonous" I said as we reached an opening where I looked down a ledge and to see a bridge and torch below as I jumped down with Jake landing next to me. Once we walked across the bride and down into another tunnel I could see more beetles along the roof of this tunnel as I shot them with my crossbow and continued on until I found myself in a large area as I took another tunnel which lead into a room with a fog covered bottom and bridges going from large rocks as I could see more beetles. As I fought my way across the bridges I reached the other end of the room and entered a tunnel that led into a large room with a large circle in the center with blue torches surrounding it. I then stepped into the center of the circle and realized it was a weight plate as it went down and a yellow light appeared over a large gold door. "You'll have to shoot the orb to open the door" Theresa said as I shot the ball and it flew towards me and was now blue. I then punched the orb as it flew back and turned yellow as I shot it again and it moved to the door as touches lit next to it and the circular lock began to move as the lock began to turn and the door opened showing another tunnel. As I walked into it walking down it past a cave filled with broken bookshelves, at the end of this tunnel I could see a bright light as I found a large bridge. "Beyond these broken doors lies the heroes guild" Theresa said as I walked towards a large room where the light was flowing down towards another circle platform. "For centuries this academy trained the supremely gifted sons and daughters of Albion, bound together by the blood that flowed through their veins, once worshiped by the people of Albion the great heroes became feared and hated, no man alive today remembers the night the guild burn and now it lies forgotten, but the heroes are not all gone, you are here and that same heroic blood flows through you" Theresa said as I looked around this room and wonder what it once looked like. "The guild has reacted to you, step into the light and learn the true power of heroes" Theresa said as I walked into the light as a blue light appeared on my chest and a painful power flowed threw me as I was lifted off the ground for a moment. "Your blood is awakening you can now channel the experience you collected into Strength, Skill, or Will" Theresa said as I regained my strength and looked at my hands to see a faint blue glow in my blood veins. "Strength improves hand to hand combat; Skill allows you to shoot faster and with better accuracy, Will give you control of the forces of magic" Theresa said as a red orb appeared at the end of the room. "That one like the others, except it's red" I said. "Before you is a Cullis Gate, it reacts to the one who seeks to use it, you have not been able to use Will yet but the simple act of reaching this place has given you Will experience you need to learn a Will ability to activate the Cullis Gate" Theresa said as I approached the gate and looked into the knowledge I gained and found one particular spell I wanted to try as I brought my hands together as a blue light form between them. "Force Push!" I said as fast ball of blue light slammed into the red orb and it turned into a blue light. "Well done you are now ready to begin your journey, use the Cullis Gate" she said as I stepped into it and the blue light engulfed me and Jake. Once I could see I saw I was on top of a rock hill next to Bower Lake and was surrounded by beetles. "Use your new found ability to defeat the enemy" Theresa said as I slammed my hand to the ground and the Force Push spell sent the bug off the hill. "Where to now Theresa?" I asked. "Make your way to Bowerstone" Theresa said as I ran towards the lit trail and followed the signs to the path the Bowerstone. After getting to the path to Bowerstone I saw that the path was blocked and a guard was guarding it. "Apologizes citizen the road to Bowerstone closed due to the bandit activity, I'm afraid as long as the bandit Thag is alive the road stays closed if you're in a hurry like you could always take care of Thag yourself" the guard said as I made my way down a path where I knew all too well where the bandit camp was. "So the road to Bowerstone is closed, it would seem Thag has been capturing traders on their way to the Bower Lake Camp, he is a danger to all and must be dealt with, with your new power you should be able to defeat Thag and his gang and continue your quest, no doubt they are at his camp near Bower Lake" Theresa said. "Great I get to fight bandits" I said sarcastically as me and Jake followed the trail with bandit flags. Once I passed the open wooden gate made of sharp pointed logs I saw no sign of a bandit anywhere as I got close to a cage. "Keep your wits about you it may be a trap" Theresa said. "I know" I said as I saw two people locked in the cage as ran over to it and tried to open it "look out it's an ambush!" the man yelled as bandit began to jump from trees and surrounded me. "Well what have we hear? Another lost traveler" one of them said. "And he's got our dinner" another said at Jake who was growling. "Sorry but I'm here to free those slaves and to kill Thag so if you value your lives you will leave now" I said as one attacked and I sent him flying back on his ass with Force Push. "What the hell was that?" one of them said. "He's one of those Will Users, kill him!" another said as they began their attack. After crossing swords and slaying all the bandits I looked over to Jake who was barking at the door to a cabin. "Jake get away from there!" I said walking over a dead bandit as the door to the cabin broke into a hundred pieces and a large bandit with antlers on his head kick Jake to the side with a vicious yell. "No one defies Thag the impatient, I'll gut you myself! I'll give you three second to get ready, no wait two! Oh sod it awwww!" he said pulling out his sword and came running at me as I hit him the shoulder with Force Push but it didn't stop him as I blocked his swing with my sword as I pushed him back and smacked him a few times with my sword but it didn't slow him down as he kept coming and I continued to strike at him till he collapsed on the ground and I saw Jake limping. "Here boy drink this" I said giving him some of the dog elixir. "Well done I'll tell the guard of Thag death" Theresa said as I looked to the slaves. "Where's the key?" I asked. "Thag keeps the key in the cabin it's in a chest" he said as I went inside the cabin and got the key from the chest and came out to see a man approach. "Don't even think about setting those slaves free" a bandit said. "Oh yeah and who going to stop me?" I said approaching the cage. "Look I don't want any trouble, how about I make it worth your while" he said holding a bag of gold. "No don't listen to him!" the male gypsy said. "Shut it!" the bandit yelled. "You wouldn't do that would you Sparrow?" the female gypsy said. "I said shut it, I'm not going to tell you again!" the bandit said "well what do you say?" he asked as I walked over to the cage and unlocked it as the gypsies ran out. "Were free!" the girl said. "I can't believe you did that!" the bandit said in shock. "Were free, free to wonder the path with no master but the wind it's self like...like what the word I'm looking for Reg?" the man asked. "I don't know and it's Regina, well I'm going now thanks again" she said. "Yeah thanks" the man said as they both took off. "I can't believe you turned down hard cash!" the bandit said. "They will never forget your kindness, meet me at the Bowerstone clock tower" Theresa said. "You're a nutter you hear me a nutter!" the bandit yelled as he came up behind me with his sword but didn't expect me as I hit him with Force push sending him flying into the cage making him drop his bag of gold and closing the door as I picked up the bag off gold and locked the door. "Let's see how you like being caged like an animal bandit" I said throwing the key into the camp fire as I walked back to the trail and made my way back to the Bowerstone road. Once I reached the road I saw men and woman all entering the path as I looked towards the guard. "Apparently someone killed off that bandit leader so it's safe now I'd like to shake the hand of the bloke who did it" he said as me and Jake made our way down the Bowerstone road. On foot its takes one day to get to Bowerstone Market so that when we reached the market Jake and I were both tired and hungry as we reached the gates as a man with a strange hat and holding a lute approached me. "It's you the Hero of Bower Lake" he said. "How can you tell?" I asked. "Well it's obvious you're the only one with a sword on his back and you're clearly not a guard" he said. "Oh I guess that would make it obvious" I said. "I'm Ronald I'm a Bard and I'm just starting out listen to this, the hero went to Bower Lake and gave that Thag a belly ache...that's all I got so far" he said. "Well there isn't much to work with since I only did one thing" I said. "Well maybe if walk around Bowerstone with you maybe I'll get some inspiration" he said. "Ok I could use a guide to show me around" I said. "So does the hero have a name?" he asked. "Yes, I'm Sparrow and this little mutt here is Jake" I said petting Jake head as we walked past a store. "Well that over there is the Bowerstone Convenient Store" Ronald said. "What do they sell?" I asked. "Well they sell essential like spades, lutes, and food but I really wouldn't buy the food unless you really want a bad case of the runs" Ronald said as we crossed the bridge. "Now these are the Bowerstone traders they sell, meat, wine, fish, fruit and even pie" Ronald said pointing towards the small booths as my stomach growled as Ronald and Jake stared at me. "I've been walking for an entire day and I'm hungry" I said as we crossed the bridge and got closer to the clock tower. "The two stores on the left is the Bowerstone bookstore and potion shops and the ones on the right is the furniture and weapons shop" Ronald said as I saw the clock tower but no Theresa. "I have bad news I'm afraid I'll be delayed for a while, in the mean time you should buy some new equipment and prepare for the challenges ahead but you'll need money if you need money there are jobs to be found, I believe the blacksmith has an opening" Theresa said as I looked over to the weapons shop. "Hey Ronald I think I'm going to work for a while so you don't have to stick around" I said. "Oh alright I guess I'll see you later then" he said as I went over to take the job. After working for a few hours I had made a few thousand gold and brought some new weapons like a hand gun and a sword that wasn't rusted and bought some fresh fruits, vegetables and meats and packed them away in a bag I bought. I was waiting by the clock tower as it read nine o'clock and a blue light appeared on the side and Theresa appeared. "I apologize for the delay events are moving quickly indeed" she said. "It's alright it gave me time to earn enough money for my journey" I said giving Jake a dog biscuit I bought. "Think about your life, all the places you been the people you known, everything you done, how many moments, how many memoires, Thag and his men had just as many and now they have none because of you, do you feel the weight of responsibility?" she asked. "When you put it like that then yeah I do feel responsible" I said. "You'll get used to it like all heroes do, come the world is better off without Thag and Bower Lake is most certainly in your depth" she said as I followed behind her. "But to really see the impact of your action you need to look no furfure then Bowerstone, it has changed much since you lived here, particularly Old Town where you spent your childhood, never forget even the simplest choice can have far reaching consequences" she said as we reached the Bowerstone Stone Cutter shop. "I won't forget" I said. "Look that is where Lucien is now, the Tattered Spire" Theresa said as I looked past the metal fence and saw a black object out at sea. "The Spire was intended as a conduit for all the magic in the world granting the kingdom ruler a power so great, it could bend reality to his will, on the day it was completed and the first wish made, a light bloomed inside and it's nature could not have been darker, Albion shattered, centuries of civilizations were whipped out in moments the people erased from existences some say this was the first wish, an end to a hallow corrupt world and for a purer one to take its place" Theresa said as Jake whined a little and I petted his head. "And now the Spire rise once against by Lucien hand, Lucien found documents that foretold the coming of one who would stop him from using the Spire" she said as I knew all too well what happened after that. "That is why your sister died, and that is why you will face him, the cards of shown me this, here take a look" she said handing me several cards with strange images. "Each of the three heroes you see in the cards is a step on the hidden path to Lucien downfall, and the life force of heroes, Will it's self is the key to the Spire power, Lucien agents spread across the lands even as we speak, you must find the three heroes before Lucien does because you are the fourth, the one who will bring his downfall" she said as I looked at the pilgrim card. "Where do I start?" I asked. "I've seen a vision of a holy ritual in Oakfield, salvation yet bittersweet is delivered by one with incredible strength, speak to the Abbot in the Temple of Light and see what you can learn about this pilgrim, the road to Oakfield will be dangerous, good luck" she said as me and Jake made our way to the place where we meet and where me and my sister last been together.
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