Two bodies laid in the sand, but five circled around Viz.

Kaiz leapt into action. He could have immediately slid down the dune to reach them, but that wouldn’t be the most helpful. Instead, he zigzagged across, picking up every javelin he could. Once he had five, he hurled one at each member of the encircling group.

His aim was true, Lyn would fall from the sky and kill him if it wasn’t, but out of the five throws, only three actually hit. Two were seen coming and dodged, two pierced through the back of abdomens, and the last one bounced off a chest piece like a toy.

That alarmed Kaiz as he dropped from the dune.

They have enchanted gear as well?

He couldn’t see any light from where he was, so it must have been some kind of undergarment. It clearly wasn’t a spell.

A rune?

There was no time to speculate. The distraction allowed Viz to break away from the encirclement, but they weren’t out of the wastes just yet. Between the two of them they could definitely overwhelm the group in between, but if Kaiz’s suspicions were true they couldn’t just kill them. That could make things tricky.

When he got close enough, he yelled, “Grey! Foxes!”

Viz understood the code instantly and they both synchronized their attacks. While Kaiz focused on the one wearing enchanted gear, Viz flicked his arm.

The long firesteel blade of his backsword lost its rigid form. It extended an extra two meters before wiping around the knees of one of the ‘marauders’ like a rope and flashing red. It was a light not exclusive to Kaiz. Everyone could see the blade superheating.

“Ahh!”

They could also hear the scream of a man losing his legs.

The sword hardened in its rope-like state and Viz quickly abandoned it, likely a sign it had run out of mana. As he dashed to confront the last of his share of targets, Kaiz landed a kick right between the legs.

Plated. Of course.

“You fight like the bandit you are!” A thrust missed his chest, “Without decency or honor!”

“Class is for the courts, not combat.” He responded. With the words and a spinning kick to the head.

“Spoken like a true Ernst dog.” A name. Also, a shield halted his leg.

“Spoken like a survivor.” He leapt out of the way of the follow up.

The man who he assumed was the captain of this squad quite enjoyed a conversation. Every move came with an accompanying comment. Kaiz didn’t tend to converse while fighting, especially when a lapse in concentration could have deadly consequences, but he quickly found that the man was a geyser of information.

He also had very short pauses when it was his turn to respond. Kaiz hadn’t capitalized on one just yet, but he was prepared to. If the man ever slowed down.

Captain Honorable cast a quick spell and charged him with his shield, “Survival does not create depravity!”

Even though the symbols only manifested for a moment, Kaiz instantly recognized them and lunged to the side. The man’s speed tripled, blasting him through the sand Kaiz had stood in.

He quickly rolled to his feet and threw two knives, “It creates perseverance!”

They were blocked of course, but so too was the man’s vision when he raised his shield. Kaiz used that second to run away. He’d caught out of the corner eye that the two he’d impaled earlier were recovering. Viz was running off to help Red, his two at different levels of dismemberment, so if Kaiz didn’t handle them now then he’d be cornered by all three.

[Stairs to Salvation]

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He only briefly activated the spell, taking two strides up in the air. He jumped off with his second step and used his momentum to dropkick one of the pair in the back. As he stood, the other wobbly thrust his spear at him. The accuracy was off. Kaiz stepped inside and kicked the bandage that covered the hole he’d made.

Neither kick was truly incapacitating, but he didn’t need them down for too much longer.

“Bastard!” The shield came charging again.

It clipped Kaiz, but he’d already been moving out of the way. He rolled to his feet and chucked the spear he’d stolen .

It dug into the shield.

Kaiz smiled under his mask, “Surrender! You’ve lost half your men, you want to lose the other?”

“Our sacrifice is righteous!” He began his charge a third time, “We will never surrender!”

Kaiz didn’t run this time.

[Wings of Liberty]

They met each other with explosive force. The shield shattered under the weight of their collision. Kaiz had drained his boots in the effort and it paid, they won the duel. Captain Righteous staggered back.

Kaiz snatched the spear out of the air and lunged for his legs. The bladed tip tore into the side of his thigh and sent him to the ground. Kaiz quickly stepped over him and drove the spear deeper, piercing through to the other side and pinning him.

“Surrender! I could have killed you just now, but I went for your legs instead. We are not who you think we are.”

The man stared at him with hateful eyes, and refused to relinquish his saber, but he also made no further moves.

----------------------------------------

“We are part of the personal retinue of Baron Heldermann.”

It turned out the woman he spared, Rieka, was the actual captain. Or ‘squad leader’ as her title went. Captain Righteous Honor, Carl, was her assistant.

“Does this baron have a kill order on any civilians travelling into the region?”

“No.” She had the decency to look a bit ashamed, “But because of a rise in outlaw bands, we are in a state of emergency. All settlements are on lockdown. We don’t get any travellers that aren’t here to contribute to the banditry.”

Viz sat on his chameleon with his sword and a large battery, “That’s understandable.” He had his blade wrapped around the surviving eight members of the squad, “Could you elaborate on this banditry problem you have?”

Rieka’s face grew suspicious, “Why?”

“Why? You just said all settlements are on lockdown. We would like to know what exact situation we’re walking into.”

“You shouldn’t. Turn around and go home.”

Viz waved away the suggestion, “What kind of adventurer shirks at a little bit of danger?” That was their cover story, “We’ll be continuing forth, but how much you share will determine whether or not we believe your story about being official soldiers.”

“We are! You saw your partner in the mask take our badges.”

“I did. He took them in the same manner you could have taken them. It's not like I have proof Rieka is your true name.”

She rolled her eyes, “That’s just an excuse to keep us restrained.”

“You ambushed innocent civilians. I don’t need a further excuse.”

Carl spoke up, “Forgive us. We have erred gravely, we all agree to this. We have also paid dearly for our misstep. You have lost nothing. Let us go and you can venture to wherever it is you seek.”

Viz made a show of thinking about it, “I remember you called me every version of bastard, goat, dog, and deviant there is. I’m not feeling particularly forgiving.”

Kaiz jumped in, “Insults aside, it's unmistakably true that we have no proof you’re not the same bandits you claim are roaming around. It would go against our conscience to let you loose without some level of interrogation.”

Rieka spoke again, “And what could we possibly tell you to confirm our identity?”

“You could start with why he called me an ‘Ernst dog’.”

Her poker face was poor, “I already explained what we mistook you for.”

Kaiz wouldn’t let her get away with such a weak excuse, “No, no, no. That wasn’t a blanket statement. You told me to die, and you said it from your soul. It was personal. Who’s Ernst?”

“It's probably just one of the band’s names.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of the lie, “I’ve witnessed the kind of destruction the outlaws have been capable of. Of course it’s personal.”

“I’m sure you have.” He turned towards Carl, “So whose name is it?”

Carl turned toward Rieka. Rieka just stared.

Alright, then.

He gestured towards Viz, “Grey?”

“It seems we’ve caught you in an awkward lie.” His sword slowly heat up, “I’m leaning towards believing I have a group of brigands on my hands.”

Rieka shouted, “You’ll be executed for murdering the Baron’s soldiers!”

Viz shrugged. The blade got hotter.

Carl shouted too, “It was an honest mistake! We’re good men!”

“Who’s Ernst?”

They both gritted their teeth, suddenly not so eager to shout.

Viz had just begun turning up the temperature again when one of the other six broke.

“He’s a noble from Waldaun! I’ll tell you everything! Please don’t kill me!”