SCRIPT: Chapter 1 (Part 2) Kold

Days later 

December 31st, Year 99

*Kold sits on his throne, guarded by unarmed cloaked figures, staring at a life-sized magic projection of Jarvik who is presumably in his own fortress* 

Kold: “I am sorry for your loss, Commander. Please ensure he receives a proper burial. And inform his family.”

Jarvik: “Thank you, your Majesty. And what of his murderers?”

Kold: “Take a garrison and bring them in. Alive.”

Jarvik: “Alive?”

Kold: “Yes, I would love to see this, Black Fox for myself.
Please do your very best to not kill them before is time.
Can you can do that for me?”

Jarvik: *pauses, then bows* “Of course, My King.”

Kold: “Thank you, and do not worry, they will pay for their crimes. Take the fortress Mage with you. His magic can help track the murderers and he will keep me updated on your progress.”

Jarvik: “As you say. You will be informed the moment we find the beasts.”

Kold: “Very good.” *waves hand and the magical connection cuts*

*The captain of the royal guard next to him approaches* 

Hiro: “You will not actually harm them right? I do not believe Commander Jarvik tells us the whole truth. It sounds to me it is him who incited the attack, and the Therians just defended themselves. And what was he doing in Feral Forest?
I bet he was shaking down the poor people that inhabit it for extra coin. Our fortresses have more than our provided budget could possibly fund..”

Kold: “A wise observation, my friend. And you are correct.
I am aware of how corrupt my other commanders are, and I admit I am guilty of letting them get away with all they do. But understand they are not only the best warriors our kind have to offer, but most of what they take also adds to our treasury.
I am ashamed to take part in such a thing but I assure you it is for the purest reason.

*turns to a massive illustration that acts as the centerpiece of the throne room*

I am sure I do not have to remind you of the great wizards' warning..
Every single coin we gain goes straight to the effort to keep our world from being lost.
I have tried to gain the assistance of the other human kingdoms but they do not believe me..
Of course they want to hear it from Fiermore himself but his disappearance makes that impossible. I am afraid that without him as proof, it is up to solely us to defend our realm.."

*They begin walking off to a door at the side of the throne room*

Hiro: "I suppose this means the royal guard has had no luck in finding him.."

Kold: "I am afraid not. They search tirelessly but there is not even the slightest trace of him or where he could have went.. He should have trusted me.."

Hiro: "He did. Were you not the only one he told of this? And he did not at all seem worried when he left on his quest. He knows you will succeed, and I do too."

Kold: "Thank you, my friend. I am relieved to hear that there is someone who believes in me."

*Already through the door and are exiting through a second set on the other side. Leading to the war room*

Hiro: "Always. I know you, and I know you will always do the right thing. That is why I never question anything you do or ask of me."

Kold: "You truly are my closest friend, Hiro.. I only hope that one day all of Abalothe will look at me with the same light as you do. They deserve so much better than I give them. But maybe when all is over, they can finally be happy."

*They approach another set of doors opposite of the room*

"Come. I need to show you something"

*Both enter the treasury. It is empty*

Hiro: "T-the treasury. It is empty.. What happened?"

Kold: "As I said before. All acquired coin goes straight to the upcoming war. Weapons, defenses, more troops and armor, war machines.. Now.. There is nothing left.. We have finally run dry.
We can only hope that everything we have now is enough to fight off the shadow."

Hiro: "Is there really nothing else we can do?! No other resource??!"

Kold: "Finding Fiermore is the only thing we could do that would make a difference. For now, we should look to helping our kingdom. That being said, I have a task for you."

Hiro: "Please, let me assist in the search, I can make a difference!"

Kold: "You can make a difference here, with me. The royal guard are elites, like you. Trust them.
Besides, you may be the only one who can complete this mission.

I need you to beat Commander Jarvik to the Therians. According to his story, just one of them unarmed was enough to take down an entire detail. All while the leader supposedly watched as if he knew he had already won.
IF there are more of them as he suggested, and they are armed, they may very well be capable of tearing his entire platoon apart. Only one person could survive warriors like that..

Find them. Bring them in. PEACEFULLY. If they resist, do what you must but they will be brought in alive. If only one can be taken in, then I want the leader. Though I can only imagine he fights even more fierce. Maybe even enough so to give YOU a challenge."

Hiro: *A bit upset about not being able to help the bigger battle but agrees when he hears that he may actually have a worthy challenger*
"I suppose it has been a while since I have had a good fight.. I will head out immediately!"

Kold: "Be careful, my friend."

Hiro: "Always. And do not worry, the people will come around eventually. After we have won, they will look at you just as I do.."

*With that he is off*

Kold: *Whispers*
"Thank you.."

*Cut to next scene. Hiro riding off out the front gate, watched by Kold from above in his tower*

*Kold's wife, Gwen, approaches*

Gwen: "Are you worried for him, My love?"

Kold: "Not at all, there is not a single soul alive that could defeat a warrior such as him. His skills are unmatched.. But.."

Gwen: "But?"

Kold: "He has always been like a son to me. I care for him greatly.. But every time I send him off, I think, 'What if THIS is the last time I see him..'. What if he were to perish because of a miscalculation on my part?"

Gwen: "You said it yourself, Love. None can defeat a warrior such as him. You needn't worry."

Kold: "Right, of course. I cannot believe I actually doubted his skills for a moment!"

*He turns to his wife*

"Now, tell me! What did the doctor say!"

Gwen: *She looks to him with saddened eyes*
"I am sorry.. I just.. we.." *Eyes start tearing*

Kold: *Holds her close*
"Hey hey.. All is going to be okay... We will keep trying, bad luck is all it is. We WILL have our very own child, just as you have always wanted.."

Gwen: *Sobs* "What if we were not meant to?? What if we can never.."

Kold: "There is always a way. I will never stop trying.. Once we find Fiermore, we can ask for his help. He can use his powerful magic to help us."

Gwen: "And if we do not find him?"

Kold: "Then there are other magics. There is a special plant out there that can be used to cure us from whatever curse that plagues us. I am already in search for it and I will NEVER stop looking until I find it.."

Gwen: *Cheering up*
"Thank you.." *Sniffles* "I love you. With all of my heart.."

Kold: "And I love you with all of mine.. There is nothing I would not do for my queen..
Now, how about we do something to lift the spirits? Shall we say, go riding through our favorite fields where we met? Then after we can have a huge banquet with all of our friends and your favorite foods!"

*Gwen nods and buries her head into his chest and squeezes him tighter*

*NEXT SCENE cut to Jarvik in his fort, enraged*

Jarvik: "ALIVE?! How could he ask that of us after what they did?!! This is outrageous!!"

*the archer captain from before is the only other one present*

Kold Captain: "So will we not take them in?"

Jarvik: "Of course not! The moment we encounter them again, we end them... We will tell the king that they resisted. It could not be helped."

Kold Captain: "And the Fortress mage?"

Jarvik: "I will handle him.."

Kold Captain: "You will kill him, Commander Jarvik?"

Jarvik: "No, but I will ensure he is distracted enough so we can get our revenge.
Kyre, as my second and our most skilled tracker,
I will leave it to you to hunt them for us. We will not be too far behind you. 

Choose five of your best and arm them well. Once you have found them, report right back to us and we will move in together with our whole force.
And hey, bonus points if you can put an arrow through the Bitch that took out our man before retreating.."

Kold Captain/Kyre: "It will be done, Commander."

Jarvik: "Whatever you do, Kyre, just ensure that the leader is left for me. I want to make Him watch as HIS people fall..."

Kyre: "Of course, sir. I will leave at once to feral forest. After I will investigate Winters Peak. I noticed one of them was wearing cloth meant for such environment.
If I discover the dwellers there are helping them in any way,
they will be dealt with accordingly."

Jarvik: "Perfect. We will leave shortly after and meet you at the village. There we will discuss where we go next if we do not find them."

Kyre: "Sir." *Salutes and leaves*

*Meanwhile the fortress mage was just outside the door, listening to the whole conversation. He departs down the hall without alerting them and begins to think to himself*

Mage: "I knew they would go against the kings orders like this.. I will report this immediately and do my best to send them in the wrong direction to stall as long as possible until Hiro the Unstoppable can find the Therians..

The king only wants everyone to think they are hunting for an attacking force to keep up appearances. But he knows better than to actually trust Jarvik.. And it seems the Commander knows better than to trust me.. This will be tricky.. I will have to be extremely careful to not arouse any suspicion of my plan."

???: "HEY!" 

*The mage is suddenly taken from his self thought and turns around to meet Kyre*

Kyre: "Hey, Commander Jarvik is getting ready to move. Are you prepared?"

Mage: "I am. The moment we arrive I will use my magic to reveal their tracks and we will know exactly where they went."

Kyre: "Magic is pretty amazing stuff.. Meanwhile Jarvik has ordered me and a few others to scout ahead and clear the path for you."

Mage: "Did he? Well I heard that these warriors are no joke, I have a gift for you in case you encounter them. It may very well save your life."

*The mage opens his robe and reveals his personal weapon. A special crossbow with a decorative look and no arms or string normally found on crossbows to launch arrows. An azurite gem is imbedded into it*

"It is enchanted. You will not have to worry about reloading after you fire an arrow from it. Allowing you to unleash several bolts from it in the time it would normally take for you to load the one."

*Reaches behind his cloak and pulls a loose half gem*

"Take this too. It will consume the arrows from the quiver it is attached to. It is important to remember that they must remain within five feet from another for them to link properly, so you will still need to carry your ammunition."

*Thinking to himself*
(This should be perfect for trying to gain his trust. I will also need to figure something out to win over the Commander.)

Kyre: "Hm.. and I am suppose to just.. accept this? Without expecting you want something in return??"

Mage: "As the fortresses' mage, it is my duty to look after all within her walls. Of course I know you are the only one skilled enough to wield such a weapon and not let it fall into the wrong hands. Use it well, Captain."

Kyre: "Maybe your not as bad as I thought.."

*Takes it*

"Still. I find it hard to trust a faceless man whom I do not even know the name of.."

Mage: *To self*
(Right, I forgot that none know my name here! I can use this to my advantage!)

"Fair enough. How about a deal then? For each time you impress me, I will reveal something about myself?"

Kyre: "Hey now, I like the sound of that. But 'I' get to pick each part of you that is revealed! And when the time comes, we start by finding out who you really are under that hood of yours.."

Mage: "Very well. I hope to see you there when we find those warriors."

Kyre: "They are NOT warriors! They are savages, beasts, FREAKS! Remember that.."

*Kyre takes his leave with his new weapon*

Mage: (Well.. it is a start at least.. I just need to be patient)

Kyre: (Heh, I hope to learn much about you, Mage.. The commander will be most pleased...)

*Cuts to Hiro, Riding off through the a field, the capital behind him*

Hiro: *To self*

"Great warriors, huh? I hope so. I really want a good fight but also..
I really want to end this as fast as possible so that I may return and assist the rest of the Royal Guard..

I could finally show the king how useful I can be to the mission! And I will be right there at his side when the real fight finally begins!
We can save the realm and bring peace to the kingdom.. He will be so proud of me."

*lost in thought a moment*

”No, I cannot lose my focus! I must concentrate at the task at hand!
These Therians, apparently Jarvik says they fight well enough that they felt only one of them needed to be involved in the battle.

One wore winter cloth, indicating that they came from the mountains.
The other wore what sounded like smithing equipment.. This might mean they have a camp somewhere up there.
They were also unarmed. No armor either.
Completely unequipped for combat.
This tell me they are not scouts for an attacking force as suggested, so this leaves me only to assume that they have made a home for themselves nearby and were maybe just wandering.
I suppose they also could have been visiting. Maybe they know someone there?

But what about the messenger dog??
Jarvik said it wore the symbol of Brightwall, the nearby city.
It defended the blacksmith like he were its master.. Maybe it also hails from Theria??
In their culture, I hear blacksmiths are highly respected and are even treated as superiors in most cases.
Actually yes! This would make sense! Both stepped in to fight for him, this is perfect! 

If everything I have read on them is correct, then he is undoubtedly the leader of the group. I should assume he is smart too..
He won’t stay. 
Retreating further into the mountains is a death sentence. Even if they are covered in fur.
They would definitely get caught by our ships if they tried the sea.
They have to come towards us. Not towards Brightwall, they would not have access and beyond that is deep bandit territory.

They have no choice but to go north, to the plains!
But where?.. Quincey's tavern? Must be, the only place that makes sense for their kind! I can get a head start and cut them off there! If I am wrong then it is still a great place to get information to find them. They are mine!

END CHAPTER 1

ALL SCRIPTS MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY OVER TIME BEFORE OFFICIAL COMIC RELEASE