Broken Tower Saga: The First Swordsman

"How can I trust you?" Michelle asked the real question after seeing a chance of success. She really wished there was Anton in place of Aasan now. Even though the fellow was stupid on most occasions, she had to admit she trusted him at least ten times more than Aasan.

Aasan sighed. It was as he assumed; he had not shone the image that Michelle could trust from their very first meeting. First, he robbed her and her companions, then in the underground dungeon he brought a herd of infectors—though that was not his fault entirely. In one phrase, the deed he had done till now did not even bourne a little amount of trust inside Michelle.

"What you need me to do?" he asked.

Michelle thought for a minute and smiled as she removed the pendant from her neck. "Give me your word."

"Hold on, that thing has Oath stone in it?" Aasan was dumbfounded. 

"Just say it," Michelle continued, holding out the pendant. It was the same artifact that she used to cast the spell on the ghoul in the underground dungeon, even though Sophia guessed how extraordinary that necklace was, she could not tell that the red ruby inside it held an oath stone in it.

Well, who could guess? Oath stones are extremely rare in the tower. Even a small piece like that could cause a war on a floor. "Don't think about stealing it, cause it will only bring you bad luck."

"Nah, I was not thinking about stealing it. I already have enough bad luck don't want further," Aasan muttered. "I was just thinking, what's your background, who would leave a little harmless lady like you with such fortune?"

"Harmless?" Her eyes blazed in scarlet flame, but she calmed down, recalling they were hiding. "Don't bother. You would not get the answer," Michelle said in annoyance. "Just make an oath, will you?"

Aasan nodded as he touched the red Oath stone. A shiver ran down his spine. It was the first time he was taking an oath, and it felt as if all the energy from his body escaped into that tiny stone. "I take an oath to not betray Michelle. . ." he said, then glanced at the redhead.

"Emmens."

"I take an oath to not betray Michelle Emmens during our short cooperation to steal the flag," he completed the phrase, then he heard her say:

"And would not disclose any information about the oath stone," Michelle added, looking at Aasan.

Aasan repeated the words as if not caring about the oath stone. "Done. Are you happy now?" he said, jolting back his arm. He could feel a part of him. His soul had left an imprint on the stone. If he broke the oath, the consequences would be severe even if he escapes death.

Michelle smiled sweetly. She put back her necklace on her neck before opening her lips. "So when do we start?"

"Let's wait a few more hours," Aasan said, noting the men at the stronghold. "But the bigger question is who would distract the guards?"

"Of course it will be you," Michelle said; the smile never left her lips. "It's your plan to begin with." 

"What type of argument is that?"

"The type of arguments where women win," Michelle said. Even though she could distract the guards with her ability, it would be quite a problem if something goes wrong. She was a mage for all that matter, could not run like a warrior. Aasan understands it as well, so he approved of this decision as well.

"Fine," he said. "I'll distract the guards at the front and the archer at the first floor, while you sneak in from the hidden door and steal the flag. There might be someone guarding the flag, could be their leader, I assume you can finish him or her and steal the flag." 

Michelle thought for a moment and nodded. On second thought, sneaking into the lion's den looked much more dangerous than distracting from outside, but the only reason she agreed with the plan was because she would be the one with the flag in the end.

. . .

"The cold is killing me," Davin muttered he rushed beside Anton in the grassland.

It has been over four hours since they were running towards the direction Davin got the emergency call from, and they haven't even crossed one-fifth of the distance. The weather was almost double the chiller compared to day, while they were rushed towards the snow-covered mountain where the chilly wind was coming from. Even though it was still a hundred miles away, the cold was overbearing. 

They could only hope whoever send the emergency call was in good state. 

"We can't go on like this," Anton said, looking at Davin. 

Even though he was feeling quite a discomfort in the cold wind, his friend Davin will be in no state to continue in half an hour.

"We need to find a place to rest for a couple of hours," he said.

Davin was about to disagree, but on second thought, agreed. Running like an idiot in the chilly wind was a terrible choice, especially when there were many hunters present in the region.

The two of them moved for a few more minutes to find an enormous boulder shielding the cold with by fair margin. With exchanging glances, they strode there at once.

.. .

Byul gave off a sigh of relief after finding a cave to spend the night. The cold was killing her, while the two unconscious bodies were on her back. Even though she had a better constitution than a mage, carrying two bodies and all the baggage like that in a damning blizzard was close to impossible for her.

But she carried on. She could not leave them like that. Both of them had saved her life twice now, and she needed to repay that debt in every way possible. 

The cave was a lifesaver. Byul first laid the two of them down. Tanya was freezing still, while Wrik was in worse condition with the fever. She laid the two of them down together before covering them up with all the blankets she found on the three baggage.

Now all she needs to do are found some dry woods, cover the entrance of the cave with the boulder, and make a fire.

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End of Chapter: Divided.

Next Chapter: Seize the Flag.