Chapter 24

I came up behind a soldier trying to free his leg from a pit and sliced through the back of his neck with my new sword, severing his spine. The soldier went limp and slumped into an even more awkward position in death as I moved on. I think I prefer my axe really, but I don’t have a sheath for this sword yet so it’s harder to carry than the axe in its leather loop on my belt. This was the second soldier I’d killed under similar circumstances as I made my way back to my hut. That leaves four unaccounted for. I felt my expression harden, hope the guys are alright. I could hear Dog barking madly in the distance, so they had probably made it at least within sight of the hut.

As I cleared the edge of my meadow I saw that my friends had their backs to the hut and were facing off against four soldiers. The soldiers seemed to be having some trouble and were very cautious about where they put their feet. I felt a smile return to my lips, guess watching their buddies go down as they ran had put some fear into them. They were spread out but couldn’t surround Hammer and Knick with their backs to the hut. Dog appeared to be lunging at one of the soldiers and dodging back as the man slashed furiously at him, keeping him at bay. Knick was moving faster than I’d ever seen him as he danced between the swords of two of the soldiers, he seemed unable to get close enough to cut either of them, but judging from the blood on their faces and hands he’d managed to wound them before I got here. I could see his grin from here. Hammer on the other hand was hard pressed to keep up with the soldier he was facing off with. Hammer obviously had the advantage of reach on the man since he was using that huge greatsword he’d made, but the wide slashes he took were just too slow, and the man was able to dodge backwards or duck Hammer’s blows and was then lunging back in to counter.

I picked up a rock off the ground as I ran and loaded it into my sling with one hand as I held the sword in the other. As I closed the distance I wound up and unleashed the stone as hard as I could at the soldier trying to kill my dog. Fuck that guy most of all. The stone shattered as it hit him in the back of the helmet, and he stumbled forward, stunned. Dog didn’t hesitate and all but flew at the man’s throat. He grabbed on and dragged the man to the ground shaking him back and forth as the man dropped his sword to try to pull the dog off him. I closed in silently behind the man facing off against Hammer. Hammer, to his credit, never looked at me so the man had no idea I was there until I slashed through the back of one of his ankles. The man cried out as he slashed back at me. I awkwardly threw my butt back, bending over, and the sword passed within inches of my stomach. Hammer, meanwhile, finally saw his opening, and his greatsword flashed silver in a wide arc as it passed through the man’s neck without slowing. The soldier’s severed head flew in a low parabola and came to a rolling stop between the men fighting Knick. They were briefly distracted by this occurrence, and that was all it took. Knick flashed closely past one of the soldiers, and the man grabbed his throat, blood pouring over his hand. Knick used the man as cover to stay away from the uninjured man as the first soldier slumped to his knees quickly bleeding out.

“You want some help with that last one, Knick?” I asked as nonchalantly as I’d ask him if he wanted another beer.

“No, thanks,” said Knick without taking his attention away from the last man. “He’s mine.” The man grimaced. Perhaps he understood the common tongue or perhaps he was just guessing what was said from context. Maybe he just didn't care to be outnumbered. Whatever his reasons, he turned and bolted back the way we’d come but only made it a few steps before Knick’s apprentice blade flew into the back of his neck. He fell awkwardly on his face making strange groaning noises. Knick strolled up behind him, already having sheathed his primary blade back on his thigh. He reached down and grabbed the smaller blade, twisting as he withdrew it. He efficiently sliced both sides of the man’s neck to be certain of his death and watched him bleed out at his feet. It was over in seconds, and he turned and made his way back to us.

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I walked over to Dog where he was worrying the corpse of the first soldier. I crouched down nearby. “Who’s a good boy?” Dog stopped and looked up at me, his muzzle covered in blood. “That’s right! You’re a good boy! Yes you are!” Dog trotted over proudly and sat down to let me scratch his head and neck. He’d lost the tip of one of his pointed ears but looked fine other than that. I avoided the ear as I petted and praised him before standing up and looking at Hammer and Knick. Knick was looking at me expectantly while Hammer was staring down at the headless corpse with something approaching horror in his eyes.

“So, how many did you get Nameless?” asked Knick, curious.

“Hmm,” I put my chin in my hand and thought back as I leaned on the pommel of my new sword. “Pretty sure I killed those two archers back at the road and maimed one of the soldiers with a rock to the face that knocked him out. Killed the first of the four guys that came after me with my axe. Crippled one guy’s foot when I put my axe’s spike through it. Trapped and crippled their leader, but I’m pretty sure he’ll live. Oh, and I fought Crud, the swordmaster of Califond City, in single combat, and killed his ass straight up. Got his sword out of the deal too, not to mention this sweet little blade I took off their leader after he threw it at me. Cost me an eye, but it looks pretty expensive.” I pulled the blade out from the back of my belt where I’d tucked it and tossed it to Knick who reached out and smoothly plucked it from the air. “Guess I finished off two guys that y'all left stuck in my traps on my way back here too. So, call it six kills give or take?”

Knick examined the blade and gave a low whistle of appreciation. “Damn, Nameless. You took a swordmaster? That’s pretty fucking impressive, and you’re right this blade looks incredibly expensive. You could pry out the jewels and live for years off the cash you make selling them.” He tossed it back. “Guess Grandfather was right, you’re definitely some kind of deathmaster if you took out a swordmaster in single combat.” Knick looked a bit crestfallen. “I thought four was pretty good, but I’m already falling behind.”

I smiled. “Don’t beat yourself up, bud. You took out four fully armored soldiers armed with swords using nothing but a knife. Besides, you’ll notice you don’t seem to have a scratch on ya while I’m bleeding like a stuck pig over here.”

Our conversation seemed to jar Hammer out of his reverie. He walked over and looked closely at my face. “Are you alright Nameless? That looks bad.”

I shrugged. “I’m not going to die today at least. Infection may be an issue down the line, but we’ve got higher priorities at the moment. Untie Dog for me, will ya Hammer. I’m gonna grab some stuff from my hut and then we’ll head over to the vault. We’re not coming back here after all. Those soldiers know roughly where we were headed, and they may be back with reinforcements. Personally, I’ve no desire to face off against a large number of archers. I figure we used all our luck earlier when we found them with only two.” I left my sword sticking into the dirt and ducked into the hut, took my empty pack off its peg on the wall and began stuffing it with everything of value.

“The vault?” I heard Hammer ask from outside.