The bartender offered Abrax a warm greeting but the man simply kept quiet as he walked down the path leading to the counter.
One of the drunkards in the tavern saw it fitting to impede Abrax's stride. He stuck out his leg and looked up at Abrax who stopped in his tracks. "This is no place for children, sport. Go back home to mama."
His slurred words coupled with a hiccup reached Abrax's ears. Abrax stared down at the man for a moment and resumed his walk, intentionally stepping on the man's leg.
Snap!
A sickening crunch followed shortly as the leg of the man was snapped in two by Abrax. The drunkard cried in pain, sobering up completely, he clutched his leg writhing in pain.
This event made the tavern quiet. The people drinking inside stared at Abrax after he had mercilessly crushed the man's leg. Some of the regular customers were frightened by his brutality and lack of apathy.
Abrax took the stool next to the counter and sat down his back facing the people. "One cup of your finest wine."
The bartender nodded as he went into the back to retrieve the booze. He came back shortly and placed the medium-sized mug filled with an exquisite red liquor. "Here's your drink"
Abrax nodded and took the cup, he placed the rim of the mug next to his lips and chucked the contents down his throat slowly, gulping down the savory taste the wine brought to his taste buds.
"We are here to party boys!!!"
"Yes sir!!!"
"Let's go in then!!!"
A loud noise came from outside the tavern. The loudness of it made the chattering that had started after Abrax got his wine, die down yet again. The doors were kicked open and in walked a man adorned with luxurious linens and gold accessories.
He proudly walked to the counter followed by his men only to stop behind Abrax, who was calmly drinking his wine.
"You are standing in my way."
The man addressed Abrax with an arrogant yet displeased tone. Abrax ignored him and continued to drink his wine which was nearly done.
His actions seemed to further infuriate the man. He gave the stool Abrax was sitting on a nudge shifting it into the counter a bit. "I said you are standing in my way peasant move!"
The bartender also frightened leaned down on the table before Abrax. "It is wise not to anger him. He's the son of Kalem Qadir. One of the nobles that directly operate under the Pharaoh."
Abrax raised an eyebrow at the statement. The son of a noble huh? He smirked to himself."What's his name? The son I mean."
The bartender stole glances at the waiting man and replied in a hushed tone. "Obasi Qadir. He is also known as Mantra, for his ruthlessness."
Obasi seeing that Abrax was not budging from his chair looked at his men. "Give me the sword, I shall behead this man where he stands."
Abrax looked over his shoulder, and truth be told, he was disappointed at what he saw. Obasi was nothing but a scrawny man who had symptoms of malnutrition, but his status made him be feared by the people.
Obasi grasped the handle of the sword he was given and brought it down on top of Abrax's head. "You brought this upon yourself!!!"
Abrax raised his hand just as the sword reached his ivory tresses. The double-edged sword bounced on his palm and flew into the ceiling of the tavern.
He stood up not bothering about the stupefied spectators. Abrax was confounded by the audacity of the man, he did not care if he was a noble or not. "Look you may be the son of a noble, but you don't mean anything to me. I'm not going to grovel cause you said so."
Abrax faced the angry Obasi head-on, staring him directly in the eyes. The atmosphere in the tavern could be cut by a knife as Abrax stared at Obasi and his men.
Obasi, on the other hand, felt insulted. This peasant had the nerve to speak back at him like he was his equal and to make matters worse, he insulted his noble status. "Men, slaughter this fool and stain the floor with his blood."
Abrax grinned, as Obasi reacted the way he wanted him to react. He looked at the enclosing men armed with swords for close-quarters combat.
By now the people drinking had evacuated the spot around Abrax and Obasi. The tables were free to be used and Abrax took that as an advantage, he couldn't win against twenty men coming at him all at once without revealing most of his abilities, and since the tavern owner was a slave trader he knew he had to keep himself under wraps.
The men charged at Abrax, but the latter was the first to make a move. Abrax leaped high enough to be on equal elevation with the mugs on the table on his right, he kicked the mug horizontally making it collide with the assailant coming at him from the right.
The mug hit the man causing him to trip on his feet and crash down, the liquid however smeared itself across some of the men, getting in their eyes temporarily incapacitating their vision.
That little time window was all Abrax needed, he dashed forward and quickly punched the first man who was closest to him, knocking him out. He folded by pivoting on his right heel, smashing his left leg on the abdomen of the next one.
The force of the kick forced the man to lose balance and stagger into the one next to him. They both went crashing into the tables on the left and laid there recoiling from the force of the kick.
Abrax jumped back as the large broad sword shaved past him. He landed on the counter and removed his polearm from his back, and held it before him with two hands like a spear.
Abrax scanned the remaining sixteen fighters and jumped in the middle of them, he instantaneously spun his polearm above his head, smacking the wooden handle and the bladed part into the men.
Crunch!
Snap!
The sounds that followed after, as Abrax's weapon shattered the ribs, and arms of the men while cutting others staining the floor with blood. He stopped twirling his polearm and flicked the blood trace from the metal.
Abrax stared at Obasi having made quick work of his men. He walked slowly towards the noble while placing his polearm back in its casing.
Obasi was petrified with fear, his men, twenty elite soldiers trained by his family's strongest fighter were quickly incapacitated by this man. He tried taking a step back only to trip on the plank and fell down.
"Get away from me!!"
Abrax stared at the man with cold eyes, he was pleading like a baby after talking so proudly. "Did you comply with that when your victims asked you to get away from them?"
Abrax landed a fierce kick on Obasi's chin, knocking a few teeth out. He wasn't done, Abrax after that kick followed up with a stomp on Obasi's hand crushing his fingers, and another kick to his face.
When the assault Abrax was dishing out to Obasi concluded, the noble was a mess. His face was bloodied and his hands were broken like twigs.
Abrax sighed and returned to the counter, he took his chair and turned to the shocked bartender. "One more, and I will pay for all this mess."
The bartender nodded and retrieved his wine. He watched as Abrax drank the wine with no care in the world, his eyes traveled from Abrax to the retreating noble and his men, he couldn't help but sigh.
The news of Abrax beating a noble's son spread like wildfire. From Avalon to Abalone, Akbar, and the rest of Egypt. Not anyone could attack the son of a noble and get away with it.
By the time the sun was down, Abrax was the center of focus. Many called him daring, some called him a fool. But the people affected were the most livid of them all.
Kalem Qadir sat before the Pharaoh. His face expressed nothing but anger and malice. "Please your highness, allow me to clear my son's name. Avalon is a day away from here, I will make it before the auction."
The Pharaoh watched the man pleading before him and gave his verdict. "No"
Kalem nodded and stood up, he bowed to the Pharaoh and left the palace seething. He vowed that he will get retribution for his son, he was not going to let the man who tarnished his face go unpunished.
Abrax yawned and placed six gold pieces on the table paying for his drinks. He stood up from the stool and left the tavern, so far he didn't find anything about Maharaj but it was only a matter of time before he does.
He turned to look at the dark blue board lining to midnight blue sky with the luminaries beaming up in the heavens and sighed. He wondered what Femi was doing but quietly dismissed that thought.
Abrax went to book a room in the inn across the street. He entered his rented room and laid his equipment down, before jumping on the bed allowing sleep to take over. He had a long journey to get to Avalon but he knew his journey was only going to get rougher, finding the kids.