The night was as usual bitter and cold. As I walked through the dark forest there was nothing to be heard except the soft crunch of rocks and dirt beneath my feet and the sound of harsh winds blowing furiously through the trees. The wind scorched my face and ears, bypassing my helmet as if it didn't wrap around my head. I tilted my head downwards to avoid the harsh winds but the wind was relentless. It slid down the helmet and into the eye and various breathing holes in the helmet. I squinted my eyes to prevent the wind from searing my eyes but it was to no avail. The cold air entered my lungs. It was so cold it felt as if it was scorching my poor lungs. I could only give up my resistance towards the relentless wind and bear with the pain. I lifted my head once more and lamented about the many more miles I had to go until I reached the next village or city.
'Ahh…I wish I could be inside an inn. Listening to the music and watching pretty women dancing. Then drink my brain into a slumber. How truly wonderful would that be…' I sighed and stopped complaining as there was no use to it. I put my head back down and trudged along while shifting the heavy packs weight around to a more comfortable position on my back.
I….think a lot when I am alone. All the memories I made and all the experiences I went through. Probably no different than anyone else but the mistakes seemed to be the only thing I could remember anymore. The mind is a treacherous place. In times of happiness, sadness can barge in and take away the merriment. However, it always seems that in times of sadness no happiness is to be found. The clinking and light grinding of the armor I wore brought my thoughts to it. The armor that I now wore had long since lost its luster. Whatever luster it had originally anyway. The blade strapped to my hip that had seen every battle I fought and it shared my roguish looks. It was chipped and cracked as if it would come apart at the slightest breeze and yet by some miracle stayed together.
"None of that!" I slapped the side of my helmet harshly cursing to myself. I learned long ago dwelling on the past leads nowhere and yet….. I am unable to stop thinking about it. Like a recurring nightmare they haunt me.
My face, studded with the rough stubble of countless nights without a shave, was beginning to grow itchy. Another strong gust of wind blew through the trees sending a chill into my body.
'If this wind and cold keeps up I might have to stop for the night.' As I debated whether or not to stop and make camp, I heard the shriek of a woman. It was loud. And close.
"Shit. Should I go and see?" I grumbled. Another shriek. This time it sounded even closer and rattled my cold bones. It is indeed getting closer and closer to me.
Probably a woman on the run. I grimaced as I thought through all of my options. I could help the woman coming my way or I could help the pursuer. Though if the pursuer was a beast I'd have no choice but to fight. Once a beast sees you….it's either kill it or die. I looked forward squinting as I tried to discern any more noises and see if I could identify anyone running my way. Sure, enough I saw the figures of people running towards me. I frowned, it wasn't just one woman running away it seemed to be a group of people. I could also hear the faint sound of rumbling horses not too far behind them.
As they neared me, they all looked at me with frightful gazes as if I would become another pursuer. Then one of the people from the group came forward, a young man. "You there! Help us!" He said pointing at me "You are obviously a knight so you should protect us citizens from harm." The boy said haughtily.
I glanced at him, choosing to ignore him and looked to the others of the group. Aside from the child in front of me demanding that I protect them, the group consisted of another man and two women.
As I was analyzing the group the person in front of me yelled indignantly "Are you listening? A group of bandits are chasing us. We need your help immediately!" he waved his arms at me wildly "Well? Are you deaf? Or maybe your brain isn't working properly. Answer me!"
I turned my eyes from the group to the boy in front of me and gave him a hard glare. "Is this how someone who is begging for help should speak?" Even through my helmet it was easy to see my eyes, at least that's what I have been told. And like all cowards who reek with false bravado he cowered in front of me and took a slight step back in trepidation. His arms went up defensively as if I'd strike him.
I snorted. "Why are the 'bandits' chasing you? As far as I know bandits only attack wagons and don't really care whether or not a couple people abandon their goods and run." I said pointing out the obvious.
The man gulped, still scared to open his mouth to speak when a woman from the group behind him stepped forward and interrupted "They wanted me and my friends' bodies. We were to be caught and sold as slaves."
I nodded slowly at her explanation. I had a particular distaste for slavers, a rotten bunch. Though…perhaps I am not much better? I shook my head.
I sighed slightly before replying "Very well position yourselves behind me. I will deal with them. But.....I'll be expecting some coin for my hard work after this." The group hurriedly nodded their heads.
I shifted my weight to the side and slung my pack to the ground. I then drew my long-sword from my baldric testing the weight of the sword in my hand. It was a heavy sword but it was reliable. The group of men and women ran behind me and waited. Before when they were in a panic they didn't notice the armor that I wore, now after looking at me closely they recognized the look of a Gray Knight. Gray Knights were very few these days because the abyssal monsters they often fought had lessened significantly. No one knew why the creature's numbers began to decline. However, the knights that remained were legendary swordsmen as well as the fact that few of their order even practiced magic.
I rotated my blade in my left hand. Normally someone would need two hands to wield his sword, but I could use it easily with one. 'Years of practice seems to have paid off.' I laughed to myself self-deprecatingly.
I threw the blade in between my hands and made sure both hands were ready. When joining the Gray order, you had to be able to hold a blade with both hands in case you lost a hand in battle. Abyssal creatures aren't known for their mercy or kindness and fighting them is a dangerous hobby.
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The group silently watched the knight toss a heavy long-sword laden with cracks and chips in between his hands as if it were lighter than a feather. At the sight they felt a kindling of hope that this knight might be able to save them.
They heard rumbling in front of them and they all turned their nervous gazes to their front. A group of horsemen each with a torch in hand lighting up their whole contingent.
The riders pulled their reigns and eventually came to a stop 10 meters away from the knight. The man on the leading horse silently evaluated the knight.
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"Knight, you have no need to defend those people behind you. Turn away and we will leave you unmolested. If not, I'm afraid I will have to send you to an early grave." The man said confidently.
"These people have promised me coin to protect them. Its for the best if you lot leave so I don't have to clean blood off of my armor later. But I will end up having to if you continue to pursue them." I said tiredly. The rider sighed.
"Get off your horses men…I don't want any of them getting damaged. It's expensive to replace horses nowadays." Following that all of the men hopped off of their horses.
"I will not enjoy this." Said the bandit leader. After which he pulled a massive Warhammer off of his horse.
My eyes couldn't help but narrow at the sight of the hammer. It was a truly massive thing and the inscription on it….. was familiar.
Where had he seen it before? The more he tried to remember the more the answer seemed to evade his grasp. I could only reluctantly pull myself out of these side tracked thoughts
I pointed my sword towards the man "Step forward and I will cut you down." And with one last cold look I beckoned the men forward with a wave of my hand "Come." I said savagely.
The bandit leader's face twisted into an ugly grimace and snarling he said "Kill the knight and bring those people behind him to me!"
The men all started to move forward and I prepared myself for battle. Exhaling slowly, I eased myself into my sword stance. Long ago I had merged all the sword styles I learned in the academy into my own style. It was a rite of passage of sorts for graduation from the knight academy.
The first man stabbed his torch into the ground and ran up eagerly. Clearly a novice. His slash came in quickly as if he hoped to kill me in a single swing. A foolish notion.
I side stepped with practiced ease and dodged the swing. I analyzed the position of the other bandits. Two on the left, one in front and three on the right. With a flick of my hand I decapitated the man who just missed his strike and kicked his body to the side.
Six left.
Dodging a swing from the left and parrying a strike from the front I used my gauntlet and smashed my hand into the face of the man in front of me. A sickening crunch was heard as the man's nose was smashed in.
Which was followed with the man's wailing cry. I grasped his wrist and twisted it viciously disarming him and finished him with a cut to the throat.
Five left.
I tilted my shoulder downwards letting a blade strike my armor. From the angle it hit the blade simply panged off of my armor. I struck out with my right hand and smacked the swordsman's hand. He gasped in pain dropping his sword leaving him wide open for a direct stab in the heart.
4 left.
I watched the remaining men as they slowly approached me, circling me in the front. They were nervous. They had lost three of their comrades in a small amount of time. One of the men on the right and another on the left suddenly burst into action. The one on the right swung his sword low in an attempt to throw me off balance and the other seemed to be approaching with the intent of taking advantage of an opening.
I swiped my blade in front of me startling the one waiting for an opening and with a grunt brought up my leg and kicked the sword coming from below knocking it away. I thrusted my sword to the left and stabbed into the man. I yanked the sword down hard, slicing the man down through the middle all the way through the crotch.
I levered my sword evenly and approached the other more cautious man. I swung hard slamming into the man's sword. The two swords locked briefly before I twirled the sword downwards leaving the man open. I grabbed his shirt and shoulder and threw him to the ground and before he could react to the savage throw I stabbed him in the throat. And like that the ground had two more corpses.
2 left.
I looked up to see the positions of the other men and the leader. The leader's face looked grim as he watched the spectacle.
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The leader never expected that this knight would have been so skilled with a blade. And that armor…..looked familiar.
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I decided to finish off the other two men before facing the leader. My muscles tensed before I exploded forward with blinding speed and decapitated the man on the left with a single strike then turned just as fast as skewed the man on the right. The man skewered looked down at the sword sticking into his chest in shock. Seemingly unable to understand what was happening. The torch in his hand illuminated the gruesome scene as his life ebbed away.
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The group watching the scene was shocked. They have seen fighting before in the many pits where men and women fought each other for money in Randholem. They had never seen a fight so one sided before. They watched on silently as the knight slowly walked forward towards the bandit leader.
"Your men were certainly brave but unfortunately bravery only gets you so far." I said. I pushed the skewered bandit off my blade before walking towards the bandit leader.
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The leader was shocked! He recognized the armor! It was him. That blackened armor with the red tassel. The traitor. To think that the traitor was still alive. But this left him shocked. Why is the traitor here?
Sweating slightly, he looked at the man in front of him and mentally prepared himself to die. Though he knew the man before him was the traitor it did not fill him with any joy. This man was a savant in combat, a metaphorical battle god. He gripped his Warhammer tightly and got into a fighting stance.
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"Are you…..ready?" I asked. I had seen the changes in the man's expression. It meant he knew. He knew who I am. And what he was about to face.
The bandit leader only nodded his head not caring about the small droplets of sweat gliding down his forehead.
Then both the bandit and the knight rushed towards each other.
The bandit swung his hammer with surprising speed and accuracy. He aimed for my center of mass. It was clear that he was experienced in battle.
I didn't dare to take the blow so I stepped to the side in the hopes to avoid the blow but was a step too late. The hammer missed its target but struck my armor sending a tremor throughout my body. The blow staggered me but I slashed hastily to prevent a follow up blow.
I stepped heavily on the ground, steading myself before I launched myself towards the bandit and swung my sword towards his left arm.
He pulled his hammer into a defensive stance and blocked the sword swing.
But to his surprise I kept pushing forwards until I was right up next to him. I grabbed his shirt and prepared to do the same motion I used to kill the third bandit.
The leader immediately dropped the hammer and grappled back, preventing me from throwing him. I let go of my sword and punched the man squarely in the face knocking several teeth from his mouth. Without batting an eye the man threw a punch back. On the man's fist a slight ripple of earth could be felt on it.
'Shit! Magic!' I hurriedly put my arms in front of me to block the attack.
The fist slammed into my arms and lifted me off my feet before launching me backwards. As I tumbled across the ground I reached out my hand to stabilize myself. Only after the second attempt was I able to stop myself from tumbling.
I groaned in pain. 'The fucker knows magic.' I stood up dazedly feeling my body ache from the pain. But unfortunately I was unable to rest as the bandit had already caught up and the same familiar glow of magic was seen on his fist again.
I gritted my teeth and roared inwardly 'STRENGTH' a warm feeling coursed in my body filling it with strength. After which I reached up with one of my hands and caught the fist with a loud bang.
The bandit looked on in disbelief but before he could express any more emotions my hand grasped his neck and broke it.
And with that the bandit leader joined the rest of his comrades in the afterlife.
The group looked at the scene and were completely stunned. This knight was incredible. He had killed them all so easily. Though he took a bit longer at the end against the leader it was expected. After all, the bandit knew magic! As they watched they saw the knight stab his sword into the cold winter ground and kneel down.
I kneeled on the ground and panted heavily as the toll of the magic coursed through my body. Using magic meant going against nature to some extent. So when a person used magic their body would pay the corresponding price of the power they 'took' from nature. The spell strength gave him an increased amount of strength for a short while and the after effects were simple. For the same amount of time he used strength he would lose that much strength for the same duration. Each magic had its own backlash but body magic had the smallest level of backlash.
I waited silently for the backlash to dissipate.
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The group watched on as the knight continued to kneel. They were unsure of what to do. They couldn't exactly bother the knight if he was doing something important but what if he was hurt and needed help? For a moment the group was at an impasse. But within the group there was a set of eyes that had a slight tinge of greed when the eyes fell upon the knight. After all, the knight knew magic and he might have knowledge of how to use magic on him…..
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After waiting a moment longer the backlash of the magic dissipated and I could finally stand. Though the backlash was gone I still felt dog tired. I looked around at the bodies that surrounded me and felt saddened. Although these men were evil and had evil intentions…..at one point they were innocent. I could tell that the leader was a good man before he fell into the life I found him in. Perhaps he was a knight similar to myself….. 'No matter.' I muttered. I then did my best to conceal my tiredness and walked towards the group of people I had protected.
'They had better have some coins for all my hard work….'