As Alice and Nyrion collided in their fierce battle, the clash of metal against metal and the raw, primal sounds of their fight echoed through the forest. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the clearing, Seraphina and Cassian faced off, their own deadly dance beginning with a burst of movement.
Seraphina wasted no time, her odachi flashing as she charged at Cassian, aiming to close the distance between them before he could get off a shot. Cassian, reacting with the quick instincts of a seasoned ranger, nocked an arrow in a single, fluid motion and released it straight at her hearth.
Seraphina was ready. With a lightning-quick sidestep, she dodged the arrow, feeling it whistle past her ear. Cassian meanwhile was already drawing another arrow, releasing it almost immediately. Seraphina twisted her body mid-stride, narrowly avoiding the second shot, but this one grazed her arm, drawing a thin line of blood.
She continued forward, closing the gap between them as Cassian fired a third arrow. This time, Seraphina dropped into a low slide, the arrow slicing through the air just above her head. Cassian knew he had one more chance before she would be upon him. He quickly drew a final arrow, aiming for the spot where she would rise from her slide.
Seraphina sprang up, her momentum carrying her forward. Cassian released the arrow. It streaked toward her, forcing Seraphina to twist sharply to avoid it, the arrow narrowly missing her face. Then eithout a moment's hesitation, Cassian hurled his bow directly at her.
The unexpected move caught Seraphina off guard. She instinctively deflected the bow with her odachi, the force of the impact sending a small jolt up her arms. But that split-second distraction was all Cassian needed.
Cassian's right-hand knife slashed toward her left side, forcing Seraphina to block with her odachi. But even as their blades clashed, he followed up with a swift strike from his left-hand knife aimed at her right flank. Seraphina twisted her body, narrowly dodging the second attack, but Cassian didn't relent.
He continued his relentless flurry of attacks, forcing Seraphina into a desperate dance of survival. Each strike demanded her to choose between evading one blade and risking another. She knew she couldn't keep this up, with every exchange the threat of a fatal blow grew closer.
After eight punishing clashes, Seraphina realized she was being pushed toward defeat. She made a split second decision. Releasing her grip on her odachi with her left hand, she thrust it forward, deliberately catching one of Cassian's knives in her open palm. The blade pierced through her flesh, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she clenched her fist around the embedded knife, trapping it in her grip and wrenching it free from Cassian's hand.
Cassian's eyes widened as Seraphina wrenched the knife from his hand, her bloodied palm still gripping the blade. For a split second, her focus was on the knife just long enough for Cassian to seize the opportunity.
With a quick, practiced motion, he activated the small crossbow strapped to his right arm. The mechanism snapped into place, and without hesitation, he fired a bolt at point-blank range.
Seraphina's instincts kicked in, but she was just a fraction too slow. The bolt struck her in the shoulder, the impact jolting her back. Pain seared through her, and for the first time in their battle, she staggered.
Cassian didn't waste a second. He lunged forward, aiming to capitalize on the momentary advantage, his remaining knife poised for a killing strike.
Cassian's eyes gleamed with the thrill of the moment as he lunged forward, his knife aimed straight for Seraphina's heart.
This was the deciding strike, but Seraphina, despite the bolt embedded in her shoulder, wasn't about to give in.
As Cassian closed in, Seraphina's gaze sharpened, focusing beyond the pain and fatigue that threatened to slow her down. She saw his intention, the trajectory of his blade, the determination in his eyes. Her right arm, still wielding the odachi, was in no position to block the incoming strike, while her left still had the knife stuck in it, but Seraphina was nothing if not adaptable.
In one fluid motion, she twisted her body to the side, the bolt in her shoulder tearing further into her flesh, but she ignored the pain. With a lightning fast movement, she brought her left knee up sharply, driving it into Cassian's midsection. The sudden impact forced the air from his lungs, and for a split second, he faltered.
That was all the time Seraphina needed.
With ruthless efficiency, she angled her knee downward and, using the momentum of her turn, drove her foot directly into Cassian's groin. The brutal kick landed with precision, and Cassian's eyes widened in shock as the pain erupted through him like a lightning strike. His breath caught in his throat, he staggered backwards the knife in his hand lowering as his body instinctively curled in on itself.
Seraphina didn't give him a chance to recover. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder as well as her injured left hsnd, she surged forward, her odachi flashing in the dappled sunlight. Cassian tried to regain his footing, but the agony in his lower body made it impossible to move with his usual speed and agility.
With a powerful swing, Seraphina's blade came down toward him, and Cassian barely managed to raise his knife in a desperate attempt to parry the strike. The impact jarred his arm, and the force of Seraphina's attack sent him stumbling to the side. His grip on his remaining knife faltered, and the weapon slipped from his fingers, falling uselessly to the ground.
Cassian's mind raced, but his body was betraying him. With his crossbow now empty he reached for his bow, but it was too late. Seraphina was already on him, her movements swift and unrelenting. She followed up her attack with a spinning kick that connected with the side of his head, sending him crashing to the forest floor. The world spun around him, and for a moment, everything was a blur of pain and disorientation.
But Seraphina wasn't finished. Before Cassian could even think of getting back up, she was over him, her odachi pointed directly at his throat. Cassian blinked, his vision slowly clearing as he found himself staring up at the razor-sharp edge of Seraphina's blade.
He tried to move, to do something, anything but the pain in his groin, his head, and his lungs all compounded into one overwhelming sensation that left him paralyzed. He was beaten, and he knew it.
Seraphina's gaze bore into him, her breathing steady despite the bolt still lodged in her shoulder. There was no anger in her eyes, no hatred, only a cold, calculating resolve. "Yield," she commanded, her voice low and deadly.
Cassian swallowed hard, his pride warring with the sharp reality of his situation. He knew that if he tried to continue, it would mean his death. The battle was over, and Seraphina had won.
Slowly, painfully, Cassian nodded. "You win. I give." he managed to gasp out, his voice strained with the effort.
Seraphina held her position for a moment longer, ensuring that Cassian truly meant it, before finally stepping back. She lowered her odachi, but her stance remained cautious, ready to react if Cassian, or anyone else tried anything foolish.
Seraphina turned away from him, to where Nyrion was fighting. What she saw however wasn't a fight, but two people in terrible condition but not yet dead. Her eyes turned to Kaius and the green haired man standing behind him, "What happens now?" she asked.
"Your lack of care for Nyrion is concerning considering you are comrades, but that doesn't concern me, you won, you're free to go if you wish. Only you." Kaius said with his usual detached and cold voice.
"Wait a second," Said the green haired man. "You agreed that they would only be free if both of them won their respective bouts. And from what I've seen, the dwarf had lost."
Kaius's cold, detached demeanor didn't waver as he addressed the green-haired man, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "My decisions are not up for debate," he said, his gaze locking onto the man's with an intensity that seemed to pierce through to his very soul.
"As… As you wish, sir Angar." He said with his head lowered.
Seraphina's eyes lingered on Nyrion's battered form, the echoes of her battle with Cassian still ringing in her ears, her shoulder continuing to hurt but no longer bleeding. She felt the weight of what she was about to do, but there was no room for hesitation. Turning her attention back to Kaius, she sheathed her odachi with a smooth motion and approached him, her gaze steady and resolute.
Kaius watched her approach, his expression unreadable. The green haired man had already stepped back, his earlier defiance snuffed out by Kaius's display of authority.
As Seraphina stopped in front of him, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus on what needed to be said.
"I don't really know how to address you and frankly I'm too tired to care, so I'll just say it," she began, her voice steady despite the tumult of emotions swirling inside her, "I'm leaving. But before I go, I need you to give Nyrion a message."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Kaius raised an eyebrow, curiosity briefly flickering across his otherwise impassive face and looked at her, in acknowledgment of her intent. "Speak." He wasn't offended by her way of speaking, many on the warriors path had much cruder tongues, Nyrion being only one example.
"Tell him…" Seraphina replied, her voice firm. She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before speaking again. "He was the worst leader anyone could ask for. Reckless, stupid, and irresponsible."
She could feel Kaius's eyes on her, but she didn't stop. "But," she continued, her tone softening, "despite all that, I enjoyed our time together. More than I thought I would. Goodbye, Nyrion."
Kaius nodded once, "I'll deliver the message," he said simply before turning his head towards Cassian who was still laying on the ground.
Seraphina gave him a curt nod in return, not trusting herself to say anything more. Without another word, she turned and walked away from the clearing eventually entering the woods, her steps steady and purposeful. The pain in her shoulder throbbed with every movement, but she welcomed it, it kept her focused, grounded in the reality of her situation, but mostly it was because she didn't have any bandages to stop the bleeding once she pulled it out.
She considered taking one of the bags with supplies but that would require her to go back to the clearing, which would be very awkward considering the way she left.
Eventually she decided to visit the nearest town and simply buy the supplies, there was some gold in her pockets and considering she wasn't wanted anymore she didn't have to avoid civilization.
Nyrion slowly drifted back to consciousness, the darkness lifting as the pain in his body brought him back to reality. His head throbbed, every muscle in his body ached, and the bitter taste of blood lingered in his mouth. For a moment, he remained still, trying to piece together what had happened.
He had been fighting. Alice. The memory came back in fragments, her relentless attacks, the force of her strikes, the desperation of his defense. He remembered the final blow, the one that had sent him crashing to the ground, and then... nothing. The world had gone black.
With a groan, Nyrion forced his eyes open, the world around him a blur of green and brown as his vision slowly adjusted. The forest canopy above swayed gently in the breeze, sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting shifting patterns on the clearing where the battle had taken place.
The sounds of combat were gone, replaced by the quiet rustle of the wind traveling through the forest. As he tried to sit up, the weight of his bruised and dented armor made every movement a struggle, the pain in his body a sharp reminder of the fierce fight he had barely survived.
With a grimace, he began the arduous process of removing the battered pieces. His fingers fumbled with the straps and buckles, his strength sapped by the toll of the battle. His body was a canvas of pain, each mark telling the story of the hard fought but ultimately lost battle. As he discarded the last piece of armor, his breathing was labored, each breath a reminder of the beating he had taken.
Nyrions gaze shifted to Kaius, who was still in the clearing, his presence as imposing as ever. Kaius also turned to look at Nyrion with that same cold, unreadable expression, as if he were assessing the dwarf's every move.
"Where's Seraphina?" Nyrion rasped, his voice rough from the strain of the battle and the effort of removing his armor.
Kaius regarded him silently for a moment before speaking, his tone as impassive as ever. "She won her fight and chose to leave."
Nyrion's heart sank at the words, the confirmation hitting him like a physical blow. "She just left?" he asked, struggling to process the news.
Kaius nodded once. "Before she did, she asked me to deliver a message."
Nyrion tensed, bracing himself for whatever Seraphina had left behind in her wake.
Kaius's voice was steady as he recited the words. "She said you were the worst leader anyone could ask for, reckless, stupid, and irresponsible."
Nyrion felt a familiar sting of guilt, he knew how irresponsible his decisions were, even if he told himself he could be as good a leader as Kaius he knew his skill didn't even reach his knees.
"But," Kaius continued, "despite all that, she said she enjoyed your time together. More than she thought she would."
Nyrion simply sat in silence, the clearing around him feeling emptier than ever. He didn't know what to say, the mix of emotions swirling inside him leaving him at a loss for words. They haven't known each other for long, but he had enjoyed it. Her departure didn't hit as hard as when his companions left, but considering this was the second time someone left him behind in a month he wasn't feeling great, or maybe it was just the injuries…
Cassian groaned, slowly coming around. Wincing with every movement, one he fully came to he saw Nyrion sitting nearby, looking equally battered and sore.
Cassian groaned as he came to, his eyes squinting at Nyrion's battered form. "Damn, Nyrion, you look like someone kicked the shit out of your ass."
Nyrion managed a pained grin. "And you look like someone kicked your hearth in the dick."
Cassian let out a short, pained laugh. "Close, only the dick part, though can't say I'm not attracted to strong women, so who knows. But for next time, I'd prefer if you found someone who doesn't have a fucking passion for kicking groins."
Cassian and Nyrion, though battered and bruised, managed to exchange a few more jabs before the reality of the situation settled in.
"Well, that's enough fun, time for business," Nyrion said. "What's gonna happen to me now Kaius?"
Kaius looked at him evenly, his cold red eyes as intimidating as ever. He reached into his bag and pulled something out of it. It was a scroll, from its looks a magic one. "Sign this, and your debt shall be settled." He said before throwing the scroll at Nyrion hitting him square in the nose.
Nyrion stared at the scroll that had hit him in the nose, his already battered face now sporting a new kind of indignity. He blinked a few times, the sting of the impact mingling with the ache from his recent battle. As he gingerly picked up the scroll, he couldn't help but grumble.
"Seriously? You've always had the weirdest sense of humor Kaius. Just tossing a scroll at my face? That's a new low, even for you." Nyrion's voice was laced with a mix of pain and frustration
.
Kaius merely regarded him with his usual icy detachment. "My apologies if it was not delivered to your satisfaction. The scroll contains the necessary documentation to clear your debt. The manner of delivery is inconsequential."
Nyrion shook his head, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite the throbbing pain. "Yeah, what the fuck ever man, I'd appreciate it if next time you could leave out the 'extra' touches. Or at least aim for somewhere less painful."
Cassian, still lying on the ground, let out a weak chuckle at the exchange. "I don't know what's more amusing, Kaiuses terrible sense of humor, or that you're still giving him lip even after all this."
Nyrion ignored him and read the contents of the scroll, while he did he noticed the green haired man looking uncomfortable, clearly Kaius did another thing he wasn't okay with, but didn't dare voice his concerns.
The scroll was a variation of a slave contract, magically imposing rules upon the signer, which if broken would lead to consequences. It read like this:
-The signee shall not cause harm in any way, shape, or form to the Kingdom Of Osari its lands or its populace.
-The signee shall not help in any way shape or form any other kingdoms, empires, city states, or other such entities that are currently hostile to the Osari Kingdom or the signer acknowledges that they might become so in the future.
-The signer is obligated to help any and all civilians he sees being attacked by beasts, monsters, bandits and other such threats, as long as the signees life isn't at danger of ending as a result, for the next 10 years. This is the only point with a time limit, all others mentioned above or below are permanent until the contract is annulled.
-The signee will do their utmost to not lose the contract and recover it if lost. If lost and impossible to recover without the signer dying, the signer will do their utmost to procure a new one of the exact same contents with his own money.
-The singer will present the contract to any official of the Kingdom as a form of identification. If asked for what crimes he committed they must be stated.
-If any of the above mentioned rules are broken intentionally by the signer who is fully aware of the fact that he is breaking a rule or rules, the signer will immediately die.
That was… A lot to take in.
Nyrion stared at the scroll in his hands, the weight of its contents pressing down on him like a physical burden. The conditions laid out in the contract were harsh, rigid, and left little room for error. The part about immediate death if he broke any of the rules made his stomach churn. He felt trapped, as though the words on the parchment were chains that would wrap around his very soul the moment he singed it.
He glanced at Kaius, who was looking back, his eyes cold as always despite their red color. Nyrion knew this was the best solution, if the pursuers were anyone else he would either be dead by now or on his way to life imprisonment, or the frontline…
After a bit of hesitation he signed it, and looked at his signature, Nyrion Bristlebrew. A dwarf who's not a slave, but neither is he free.
He tossed the contract back to Kaius who duplicated it with magic and tossed one of the two back to him. From now on the contract was his identification, if any guard or higher ranked member of the Kingdom asked for his name he had to show it, humiliating him further.
"I… need some alone time to process this, I hope you excuse me." He packed the scroll, and made his way towards the supply bags left on the ground.
"I hope we see each other again, Nyrion." Said Kaius.
"Me too Nyrion, though I can't say the same about Alice… See ya buddy." Cassian added with melancholy in his voice.
Nyrion simply nodded, picked up both bags, one of which used to be carried by Seraphina. And entered the forest.
Normally, without any armor covering his body he would feel vulnerable, but his thoughts were busier with more important things, to him at least…
His loss to Alice, Seraphina abandoning him and the contract which restricted the most important thing to him, his freedom. Sure the actual contents of the contract weren't that oppressive but the hearth rarely agreed with logic.
He made his way through the forest as hours passed, eventually the sun stopped flickering through the leafes signaling that night would soon be upon him even if he didn't notice it. Absentmindedly he continued walking, not even considering finding a spot to camp out the night. The sounds of the forests rustle surrounded him but he heard none of it, his mind too preoccupied.
But when passing a particularly big tree he heard a noise loud enough to where he couldn't ignore it coming from his right. CRACK, SNAP, WHOOSH and finally a hiss. He moved his head but the only thing he saw was an open mouth slowly closing around him. He tried to curse while moving his hand upwards to defend himself, but then everything became black.
Nyrion was dead.
A green ambush drake, its mouth big enough to encompass his entire head, snapped his now unarmored head off the rest of his body with a clean bite. Nyrions remaining body collapsed to the ground, the last hours of his life consumed by regret, yet his very last seconds made him feel the most.
End of volume 1, The dwarf.
Nyrion had a favorite saying, one he came up with himself actually.
It started as a joke, but while he was drunk he started seeing maybe too much hidden meaning behind the joke Cassian had made where there was none.
It went like this. "Do you know what kind of apple grows on a tree? All of them. They maybe different colors and grow in different places but they grow on trees all the same."
The meaning behind it is that regardless of who you are, what race, or where you were born, we are all the same. It was his favorite not because of the meaning but purely because he came up with it. But now, the only person who remembered it was Kaius...