“Wasn’t Flint’s anger to be expected?” asked Aadi, continuing to keep an eye on the crater, waiting for Aaron Flint to rear his head. “From what you have said, it is clear that his family was attacked by the law keeper. He and his goons killed them, didn’t they?” Ember responded affirmatively and Aadi continued, “Then, anyone would have been angry in that circumstance, Ember. How could Flint have been anything but? His family had died at the hands of those thugs. He’d want revenge. I’d daresay he was entitled to it.” Ember replied, “You aren’t wrong in that respect. Aaron Flint was bent on revenge. If any decent person had happened upon his family home that day, when the law keeper and his coterie arrived and committed their dastardly deeds, they would not have denied Flint his vengeance.”

“Tell me what happened,” said Aadi. The crater in front of him was as dark as it had been a few moments before, with no sign of Aaron anywhere. If the gauntleted fighter was still alive, he was either unable to move deep inside the crater, shrouded by its shadows, or lying in wait for Aadi to make a move. For his part, Aadi was happy to wait outside the crater’s periphery for Aaron to attack. Ember’s story had aroused his interest, too. He hated his enemy for killing his father. He loathed him for slaying his friend. Ember’s words had revealed a part of Flint’s soul, however and Aadi found himself curious about his foe. Ember said, “One day, when Aaron Flint had gone into town on business, the law keeper arrived at his house. He had intended to collect taxes from the woodcutter. Instead of Flint, he found the house being tended by his wife; his young daughter was playing on the lawn.”

Aadi clenched his free hand tightly. He had a fair idea about where this story was headed. Even if the gauntleted fighter had lived in the distant past, the horrors inflicted on human beings by their fellows hadn’t changed much over the ages. Aye, society was more civilised. That much was true, but that only meant that the prevalence of crime had reduced to an extent. It certainly didn’t preclude the depraved from indulging in their depravities, or innocents from falling victim to heinous acts. The law that was supposed to protect people could still turn and be used against them. There were more heroes these days indeed, but both heroes and guards could act only after the fact, more often than not. Whether in the shadows or in broad daylight, even in these civilised times, foul deeds were committed by the hands of men.

“The law keeper took the opportunity to approach the dame again, but the woodcutter’s wife rebuffed him still,” said Ember, “One of his thugs, eager to please his paymaster, knocked the dame to the ground. The law keeper struck her daughter hard enough to break bone and the little one died on the spot.” Aadi felt a grim heaviness settle on his mind as he contemplated Ember’s words. The stone continued, “The good lady had to stare in horror as her child died in front of her eyes, but she was unable to move, let alone help her daughter. The villains weren’t done yet. The lecherous law keeper decided to have his way with the dame and had his coterie help him commit the vile deed. It was in the midst of this horror that Aaron Flint returned home.”

Aadi struck the ground with his free hand in frustration. If he could have gone back in time and saved Aaron’s family, he would have without a moment’s hesitation. That thought surprised him. Flint had killed his father and best friend, yet he felt compassion for the gauntleted brawler. “That is good of you,” said Ember, “but Flint’s tale does not end there.” Aadi began to say, “Tell me…” when he felt the ground shake slightly. It was not a temblor. There was movement from deep within the crater! “Shard shatter,” warned Ember and Aadi leaped out of the way as shards of rock zipped through and past his previous position. He had hardly regained his feet, when more shards of basalt hurtled towards him from the shadows of the deep crater.

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This time, Aadi rolled forward and under the shards, narrowly evading them as they sped past him. Stopping on one knee, he fitted Ember to his slingshot’s pouch and aimed at the spot in the crater where he perceived the shards to have originated. He couldn’t see his enemy yet, but he wasn’t willing to just dodge Flint’s attacks all day. Ember shot forth from the slingshot as Aadi loosed his attack, headed for where he thought Flint was. Hardly had a moment passed, when Aadi heard a sharp clang! An instant later, he espied the stone in mid-air. It was flying straight at him and directly behind it was a metal boot. Sections of it lit up for short intervals as it flew from light to shadow, straight at him! Aadi wanted to dodge the oncoming attack, but he also wanted to grab hold of Ember.

He cupped his hands and positioned his elbows in a defensive stance. Ember landed neatly in his palms and a powerful kick hammered his forearms! Aadi flew back as Aaron Flint’s kick landed with tremendous force. He could scarcely control himself and his body moved as if it was a mere rag that had been blown away by the wind. He felt his back strike and break through a boulder. His eyes saw nothing but flying rubble and the blur of rapid motion. After what seemed like a minute, he smashed back-first against a wall of the cave and slid down to the ground. “Ouch,” he said and Ember quipped, “You don’t say!” Dry wit aside, Aadi was almost out of breath. Ember blunted the pain once more, but that didn’t matter much to him. He was immobilised at the moment; his muscles refused to budge an inch.

“Get moving,” Ember said, “Aaron’s not going to wait.” Aadi replied, “I wish I could,” and added after a moment, “I don’t think I can move.” “Try,” Ember urged, but he couldn’t stir. His body refused to obey, no matter how hard he tried. There was only so much willpower and determination could do after a point. “He’s coming,” Ember warned and through his hazy vision, Aadi barely spotted his enemy’s silhouette. There was nothing he could do. A mild sense of resignation began to come over him. Like his father, like his best friend, he was going to die here. He didn’t think he could take another blow from Aaron Flint.

Suddenly, Aadi heard Ember say, “Then, it’s time to go.” “Where?” he asked, snapping out of the negativity that had just begun to assail him. “To a measure of safety,” answered Ember and Aadi felt the ground shake around him. This time, it was an earthquake! At least, it was a focused one. The ground around his feet shook with increasing intensity, cracked in several places, and collapsed. Aadi couldn’t help but fall through the hole that had suddenly appeared underneath him! He gasped, “What did…” but wasn’t able to finish his thought. Ember replied regardless, “I am getting us to safety, at least a temporary one.”

Aadi couldn’t gauge how far he fell, or how much time it took him to reach the ground. At the end of his fall, he landed with an abrupt gentleness that would have startled him, had he the energy or awareness to be so surprised. “We’ll be safe here for a while,” said Ember, “Rest as best you can.” Aadi didn’t feel like he had any energy left. His vision was becoming increasingly hazy and he felt his words slurring, “Where… are…” Ember was reading his thoughts though and wasn’t inconvenienced by his current linguistic lacuna, “We are in a deeper section of this place. Aaron won’t be able to reach us soon. Rest now. Every moment counts.”

Aadi managed to say, “Tell me more…” and Ember replied, “Flint’s story? Yes, there’s more to his tale, although I am not sure how much of it you’ll be able to listen to.” “I am listen…” mumbled Aadi, before exhaustion overtook him and he fell into a deep slumber. “Ah, indeed you are,” said Ember, “Rest now. We’ll revisit Flint’s past once you are awake. It’s quite a story, too. One that should’ve ended in vengeance took a turn for the worse and the world suffered for it. I wonder, Aadi, if you will feel compassion for Flint still, once you have heard the entirety of his tale.”