The Dragonclaw Glory
CHAPTER TWO
Merlin woke, knowing exactly what to do that day. He made his way to the guild earlier than required. Everyone was usually at home during the morning, so the cave was deserted except for Deverell who was on guard duty. He gave him a puzzled look as he approached.
“You’re here early?”
“Yeah, well, I decided to go hunt some deer for target practice. Can’t accidently shoot the apple in the pigs mouth instead of the target, can I?”
Deverell nodded. “You have a good point. The bow’s on the left wall in the armoury.”
Merlin slowly jogged to the third cave on the right in the cavern and unlocked the door. There were weapons of all descriptions hidden away here; katana, machetes, daggers and fire axes were just naming a few. He quickly grabbed the bow hanging on the wall and the quiver nearby and headed back out, stopping at the end of the tunnel leading outside.
Deverell stood, unaware of the danger standing a few meters behind him, and continued to survey the land outside for threats.
Merlin nocked a shaky arrow. Am I really going to do this? He asked himself. Can I do this? He aimed the bow. No, what am I doing? I don’t want to do this! But it was too late to change his decision now; it was as if he wasn’t in control anymore, that his body had a mind of its own.
The string of the bow had suddenly gone slack. He didn’t remember moving, didn’t remember shooting. But the former guild leader lay lifeless, an arrow protruding from his back. Merlin looked on in horror for a few moments before composing himself. Why was he freaking out? This was what he did for a living, as much as he didn’t like it but there wasn’t anything else he was good at.
Snapping out of the trance, he searched the surrounding area for anywhere he could hide the body. There was a thick blackberry bush nearby; no one would be able to see through it unless they knew what they were looking for. He grabbed the body by the feet and hurled it over the bush. There, no one will know.
He looked at his hands and arms, covered in tiny scratches from the prickly blackberry bush. As he stared, the wounds began gushing blood, swiftly drowning his hands. Merlin screamed and fell backwards, hitting his head on a tree and blacking out.
When he awoke, the sun was low in the sky and he saw the blurry outline of a person standing around him. His eyes focused and saw Kilydd standing near him.
“There you are. About time you came back.” He said. “What happened? We came here and found you unconscious and Deverell nowhere to be found. Morvana’s gone searching for him. Do you remember anything that happened?”
I… killed him. Merlin wanted to say. But he couldn’t say that, he’d be sentenced to death. But…maybe that won’t be so bad? I’m sick of playing the killing game. It’s time to end this. He sighed, frantically thinking of a story.
“We…were attacked by a swarm of soldiers…Deverell’s dead, I think.” He lied.
“Well shit.” Kilydd fumed. “What do we do now, boss?”
Boss? Oh, right. I guess I’m the leader now. I have full control over the guild. But…I don’t want this to happen anymore…why do I have to lead these people now of all times?
Wait…
“I’m…disbanding the guild.”
Kilydd looked stunned. “Um…you hit your head pretty hard, didn’t you?”
Merlin stood up, speaking louder this time. “As the leader of this guild, I hereby disband the Dragonclaw Glory.”