Chapter 47 Wanted To Kill

“Edward! Where is she?!” The newcomer demanded. He was a bit taller than Isaac but not quite as tall as Edward. His presence felt heavy. It was immediately clear that he was a higher level than even Edward. He felt more dangerous than Fen but just as strong. Like a greatsword honed to a razor’s edge. His hair was a dark graying brown that seemed to tint the light that touched it blue. His eyes almost seemed to glow with power and focus. Their deep blue was too dark to be natural. Something must have caused their change, most likely from a deep brown, to blue. He wore a deep blue tailcoat that was missing its entire right sleeve. The buttons were cheap silver and it lacked any special adornments. His right arm was deformed in a way that Isaac had never seen before. From his fingertips to just above his elbow was made of wood that seemed to be growing sapphire stones. Around his elbow was where the roots began. The very top of his exposed shoulder was perfectly normal but the farther down the arm the more dense roots became until they blended together. He had a longsword on his left hip and a rapier on his right.

“Master, please.” A familiar voice pleaded from behind. A certain human magical swordsman was trailing behind the first newcomer. It was a man that Isaac and Lenna doubted they would see again. The possibility was always present but it was more possible than probable. Afterall, the second newcomer was Eskahno Ravenborne.

The man in question ignored his apprentice and marched up to Edward. “Tell me where she is, Sasston!” He demanded of the Guild Master.

“Fable!” Edward issued the man’s name like a command. “This is my Guild Hall and I will have order. Do I make myself clear?”

The man, Fable, stopped and took a deep breath. “Yes.” He told Edward after a moment to clear his head. “Yes. You will have your order.” He continued. “Now, where is the woman who blasted my apprentice’s body across the arena like a demon?”

“Why?” Edward asked.

“Because I am going to teach her a lesson. There is proper etiquette for dueling. I am going to enlighten her before setting her up with a date with the Reaper.” Fable explained with heavily restrained fury.

Lenna was frozen. Her blood ran cold the moment she saw the half-elf man that had barged inside. Memories from half a century ago flooded her mind. It was her last raid. She hadn’t gone on another since then and now she was on that man’s side. Fable was exactly that, a fable. A story that proved that the drow military was not invulnerable. Half a century ago, a half-elven magical swordsman had taken on an entire drow raiding party almost single handedly. His wooden arm was harder than steel and if it actually took damage it would heal itself with nothing but ambient mana. Those that fought him would have to watch as any damage they had dealt vanished in a matter of moments. His speed was blinding and his magic was fierce. He wore no armor because the chainmail woven into the inside of his tailcoat was enough. No attack ever landed squarely on him. He was a wraith of magic and pain.

Lenna knew him well. She was there that day. Her squad had been the one that he had torn through. The entire team had been between the levels of eight and thirteen. There had been nine of them, now there were only two. In order to resurrect someone the cleric would need to be able to perform the ritual in the location that the person died. Jallen wouldn’t risk sending a high level cleric out into the deep tunnels to perform the ritual to bring back her fallen companions. The thing that most of those who knew of the story seemed to forget was that they had managed to repel Fable in the end. They had succeeded in completing the raid. Fable had made a tactical retreat with a few of the remaining members of the caravan. Fable had beaten them all mercilessly. Lenna had held the man that would have been her mate in her arms as he bled out on the cold stone ground. Neither she nor the man’s brother could save her fiancé. They were both completely out of mana by the time Fable had been driven off.

Lenna had finally managed to start getting along with her arranged partner when he died. She had always found his brother to be more agreeable but he was not the one with the higher stats. V’Nova’s married to make strong offspring not for love or even comfortable companionship. When her squad had been annihilated Lenna had been devastated. Not because she loved any of them but because they had been the only people that didn’t try to butter her up. To them she was just the person who directed the team. To them she wasn’t the heir apparent of Contantis, she was just Lenna. Thinking back, they might have been Lenna’s first friends.

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Fable may have looked to be in his late forties but in reality he was in his eighties. He had started to take apprentices after a dozen years of being at the absolute pinnacle of what a mortal warrior could accomplish. At level twenty, he had stagnated a long time ago. He cared for his apprentices as if they were his grandchildren. He had never married. Some would say that he was married to the battlefield. It was where he had spent half of his life. That was no exaggeration either. Out of all of the hours that he had been alive, he had spent half of them with a sword in his hand. He was a hero, a living legend, and a fiery old man.

Edward had been exchanging glances with Isaac as the Guild Master wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. Normally he would have just thrown Lenna under the wagon. What she had done to Eskahno was unnecessary and if Edward didn’t know any better he would have said that she deserved to go a few rounds with Fable.

Isaac was still trying to come up with a plan of action while Edward took the brunt of the maximum level warrior in front of them. Right when he was about to speak up, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Lenna’s blood may have run cold but her core was the opposite. Deep in her chest, her heart, her core, her soul, the center of her very being was burning like a raging furnace. It wasn’t a fresh anger. It wasn’t a nurtured anger either. No, it was like the hot orange coals in the bottom of a furnace that had been burning nonstop for half a century. Maybe it was her broken oath or maybe it was an old unresolved grudge but Lenna’s aura refused to be contained any longer. Her aura rolled out across the room and everyone stopped in their tracks. Esk tripped over his own foot as he backed away from her. He went down hard even as Isaac involuntarily lowered slightly into a stance that was a bit more primally aggressive. Edward tensed slightly but otherwise had no reaction. Alice fell off her stool. The other three members of the Flame Ravens had been sitting in the dining area of the Guild Hall and had long since stopped to watch the commotion. Now they were all standing with hands on their weapons, though none of them made a move to actually draw them.

“It was me.” Lenna replied. Her voice shook a little. Maybe it was from a long buried fear and anger, maybe it was from the massive dump of adrenaline that was forced into her system upon seeing the man, maybe it was in anticipation of what was going to happen next, or maybe it was a mix of all of the above. Lenna wasn’t sure. What she was sure of was that she was going to fight Fable the Glinting Blade. Win or lose there would be debts settled that day.

Fable pushed past Edward and stopped in front of Lenna. “Do y-” He began but Lenna cut him off.

“I challenge you to a duel, Fable, for my fallen brothers. For my friends.” She told him. “I’ll meet you in the arena in half an hour. Write your will.” Her aura slammed back onto her like crashing waves. It hardened around her body, giving off a soft orange glow, as small flames danced across her silhouette.

Fable stopped in place. His momentum had been completely taken from him by her statement. “Very well.” He agreed. “Half an hour, girl.” He turned and shouldered past Edward on his way out the door. “Come child.” He ordered Esk as the young warrior was getting back up to his feet. Esk looked around. He saw Isaac’s concerned confused face, Edward’s annoyed one, his party members’ interested looks, and he could feel Lenna’s hateful gaze following his master’s every move. He swallowed hard before hurrying after his master.

Eskahno was equipped with normal civilian street clothes as all of his armor was in pieces. The money he had saved up was gone and now he owed his master twenty thousand gold. The resurrection hadn’t been cheap. He still felt weak. His knees wobbled as he hurried after the old man that trained him. He had a thought while trailing behind the living legend: ‘What am I going to do if he gets himself killed by those monsters?’

Isaac gave Fable and Esk a bit of a head start before turning to Lenna. “Let’s talk on our way to the arena.” He told his mate.

Lenna nodded as her aura fully dissipated. “Alright.” She glanced at Isaac but didn’t meet his gaze. “I’m sorry.” She told him in little more than a whisper.

“What?” Isaac asked, taken off guard by her apology.

“I’m sorry.” She repeated a little louder.

“No, I heard you right.” Isaac replied. “But what are you sorry for?”

Lenna finally completely faced Isaac. “I let my temper get the better of me.” She explained.

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t care about that.” He told her honestly. “I am more concerned as to why. What is your connection to him?”

“He is not someone I would want to be mortal enemies with.” Edward commented. “Especially at your level.”

“I’ve wanted to kill him for a very long time.” Lenna said aloud. That was closest to an answer Edward was going to get to the question Isaac had offered.

Isaac nodded towards the door. “Let’s talk and walk.” He told Lenna. “If you are really going to do this then you will need to have a clear head on your shoulders.”

Lenna nodded and started wandering towards the door. Isaac walked up next to her and grabbed her hand. Her walking became more focused and steady in an instant. “Thanks.” She whispered to her mate. “You’re right.”