The Knight of Azteca by Nick Venom (book series for 12 year olds .txt) 📕

“Crazy bastards,” Rix thought out loud as he watched the vultures go to work on the corpse. 

“Rix!” Tori shouted. Rix shifted his gaze to her. 

“You’re okay?” He asked, running to her side. She nodded, showing the potion off to him. 

“That angel girl gave to me after the wyvern threw me to the side. If she didn’t, then I would’ve been dead.” Tori said. She picked herself up and---together---they walked to the caravan. He laid her there before looking for the others. With the help of Roxie, Rix located Holly and Smoke. They took them to the caravan and laid them in the carriages. Rix thanked Roxie and the knight before jumping on the carriage. However, Tori jumped out of the carriage and directed the knight off the road. There she declared she had something to tell him. Roxie followed after them.

TBC…

Tori dragged the knight and Roxie to the side of the road, declaring that she had something to say. “I’m an informant for the city lord.” She told them.

“Informant?” He mumbled.

“Yeah, I was tasked with overlooking you two. Ever since you entered the adventurers guild, the Lord has been keeping an eye on you”

“What do you want from us?” Roxie asked. 

“Nothing much except for you both to take on a dangerous quest.” Roxie looked at her dumbfounded. “It’s too dangerous for any other adventurers in town.”

“You want us to take it?” Roxie asked her.

“Of course, why would I ask anybody else. You two are strong enough to take the quest. The Lord wants you to take down the demon general Vicious: The Black Fist.” She told them. 

“Demon general?” The knight muttered.

“Yup,” She said, nodding her head. “The Lord’s giving you two people to help with this quest. You’ll meet them when we return to Marksberry.” She then turned around and took a few steps back towards the carriage. “Oh, and don’t tell my teammates anything.” She then jumped into her carriage. 

“We’re starting the caravan! Everybody jump in!” Freddy shouted. The knight nodded and motioned for Roxie to jump into their carriage first. She nodded and jumped in, the knight following in after her.

“Don’t like being used.” The knight muttered. Roxie looked up at the knight---his eyes peering out from the helmet---and nodded. She didn’t like being used either. 

The caravan managed to end up at the destination. Once there, Rix and the others decided to stay in the town while the knight and Roxie returned to Marksberry. On their way back, they didn’t encounter any troubles; almost like trouble was meant to find them the first time. 

At Marksberry, the knight and Roxie ran into the Lord, Hollister. The Lord was a middle-aged man with the looks of a twenty-year-old. He had strong black short hair and a scruffy black beard. He wore a lightweight suit of armor---similar to the armor that the knight wore. Hollister introduced them to their new teammates---Rain and Zedo.

Rain was a pale elf with blonde hair and green clothes. Scattered pieces of iron were attached to her clothing. She also had an affinity for bows; wielding a wooden bow. However, unlike her friendly appearance, she was cold to the knight and Roxie.

Zedo was a dark-skinned vampire with standing white hair. He wore a red and black cloak that shielded him from the sunlight. In contrast to his appearance, he was friendly to them. He chatted his brain out while Rain remained silent, mirroring the situation that the knight and Roxie were in.

Hollister forced the four of them to jump on a carriage and head to Vicious’ lair to defeat him. Thankfully, before their departure, Hollister informed them of Vicious and the known information. 

Vicious became a demon general the same year his death date was finalized. Vicious was four times the size of the knight and wielded a broadsword---seven times the size of the knight’s broadsword. Vicious was said to be the weakest demon general, but will soon grow to be the strongest. However, Vicious wouldn’t go down without a vicious and bloody fight. 

Knowing this information, the team ventured to Vicious’ laid on a carriage. If they managed to subjugate the demon general, the town would rejoice and breathe in a sigh of joy. If they didn’t, then this would spell the end of Marksberry. The knight was tasked with the future of one town---a town that he was put in charge of by his master Gwen.

TBC...

The group began their adventure towards the lair of Vicious---a dimly lit cave embedded in a mountain. They landed at the cave four days after they departed. Once at the cave, they jumped off the carriage and stood in front of the cave’s entrance. The knight and Roxie stood in the middle---brandishing their weapons. The knight held his sword over his shoulder while Roxie held onto the dagger that the knight gave her. However, her true power was stored within her complete transformation---her wings extending to their full length. 

Rain stood by their side, holding the bow in her right arm while her left searched the quiver for an arrow. Zedo stood on the other side of the knight and Roxie. His weapon of choice was a battle hammer. He grinned while looking at the terrifying cave entrance. “Shall we go in?” He asked, taking a step forward. The knight nodded and walked into the cave with long strides. Roxie followed after him like a puppy. She had grown closer to the cold and distant knight after his display of strength---winning her heart over. The knight didn’t reciprocate the feelings, instead, ignoring her like she was useless to him. 

The group ventured through the intertwining cave tunnels, eventually, discovering that they were lost. The cave tunnels crisscrossed and went up and down, confusing even the most veteran of adventurers. Zedo---who was in charge of leading them through the cave tunnels---lost his sense of direction quickly. 

“Yeah, I don’t know how, but I have no idea where we’re at.” He remarked.

“This is why you never trust a vampire.” Rain muttered.

“How about you help me then, miss ‘elder elf’.” He said, mocking her. 

“I am an elder elf and you will treat me as such!” She declared.

“You look like you’re a teenager. Your chest hasn’t aged either.” He joked. 

Rain jerked her head back and slightly blushed. She drew her bow and pointed it at Zedo. Roxie managed to intercept the attack and prevent the civil war from occurring. The knight turned away from the worthless chaos and turned towards mysterious drawings inscribed on the cave walls. He turned around and motioned Roxie over to look at the drawings. She went over and inspected them. 

“I’ve never seen these drawings before.” Rain whispered

Zedo picked up on the drawings, dashing towards them. He moved the knight and Roxy out of the way before doing a complete inspection. He took out multiple small tools to inspect the drawings. 

“What is it?” The knight grumbled. 

“It’s a drawing of the god, Alza. He’s the son of Zeus and a human mother. He’s one of the many sons of Zeus.” Zedo told them.

“How can you tell?” Rain asked.

Zedo pointed at the drawings. The drawings displayed the life of Alza. The first drawing showed his birth followed by him being disowned and, eventually, leading to his peaceful death. The drawings were sparse in details.

Zedo, however, explained the entire tale of Alza without missing a detail. 

“Alza was born sometime in the Spirit Age. His dad is the Olympian King Zeus while his mother is a normal human woman named Veronica. She was one of many lovers that Zeus has. As Alza was raised, his father began treating him harshly. It was said that he nearly beat the young ten-year-old to death. Thankfully, Veronica prevented his death. From then on, Zeus was distant to Alza. They would depart from each other’s lives past death and after that. Alza grew up to be a handsome man who married and settled down. Unlike his father, he was dedicated to his wife and didn’t have a known affair. Alza began House Alza and created a plane of time known as the Ten Barriers of Heaven. The Ten Barriers of Heaven is where Alza’s family is said to live.” He explained to them. A sound echoed off the walls, but the group ignored it. They were fascinated with the story. Zedo cleared his throat before continuing. 

“Alza challenged God and lost, being struck down. Fortunately, that didn’t kill him. He continued to live until his wife’s death. Devastated by her death, his heart gave out. His kids---who were being trained to follow after their father and his morals---family, and friends were by his bedside when he peacefully passed. It’s said that they mourned his death by firing cannons to help aid him in getting into Heaven. He managed to break through the ten barriers and live peacefully in Heaven with his wife. After his death, House Alza appeared on Azteca and proved to be a giant in the merchant business.”

“Doesn’t House Alza have a good reputation for outstanding professionalism and sticking to their morals in every situation.” Rain asked.

“That’s the people. Apparently, the students of House Alza have been taught the same morals that Alza kept to his death. If they don’t respect and follow their morals, then they would be executed. I guess it’s supposed to symbolize Alza punishing his father for his morals.”

“Alza?” The knight whispered. “Familiar.”

“I remember them! They freed me from slavery the first time I was caught. They caught the slave trader and punished him. However, another slave trader found me and kidnapped me. Fortunately, m-master?” Roxie looked up at the knight. The knight looked down at her and nodded. “Master saved me.”

“Woah… that reminds me of when my wife pass-'' A louder roar interrupted their conversation. The sound bounced off the walls and nearly burst their eardrums. “It’s Vicious.” The knight turned to the tunnel he heard the roar and ran towards that direction. The others followed after him.