Well, I suppose many a man have writen of the laws of battle
Have you, dear reader, ever once heard of such rules?
Hmmm?
Oh... please... do fail to be shy.
Come along now...
Surely you must know something.
Hmmm?
Yes, of course.
The most obvious thing of a battle... is the weapon.
The object with which you may harm your enemy.
The object of your victory.
Truly...
... if one were to forget such an object
... even if it were to lie upon the warrior's very hand...
... yes... defeat is assured.
Hmmm?
Even the way one used the weapon?
Why... of course..
Truly, I say unto you...
Even the way you use your weapon does matter.
Yes, even that.
Well met, dear reader.
That being said...
... there is, of course, even more to it.
However, me really must'n't tarry longer.
Moving along...
As we left the scene, the two brothers in arms were at the back foot...
Thorton in fear, and Jason on the ground...
Yes....
With his back against the wall, Thorton had but one solution to his dilemma...
Thorton: Tch...
... to survive.
However, that was no longer possible, seeing as his adversary had him cornered
And it was then that the man by the name of Wallace Darlington made up his mind...
From then on hence... he would start...
Stabbing at him until... yes...
Stabbing at him until he met his end...
And that he did do
Without a second to waste begun to stab at
the cornered man, leaving him dodging for dear life
Dear reader, I do tell you, that this stabbing continued as did his dodging, until eventually...
Wallace saw an opening... and with all his force stabbed at him
And, well... blood did come gushing out...
Yes.
But... twas only from Thorton's side.
Truly, had Thorton yet again been a mere second slower to dodge, then, I tell you dear reader, he would be dead.
As for the Hessenger, without wasting a moment, he took advantage of the opportunity.
For the spear had been shoved in with so much force, that it... quite literally... was now stuck inside the wall.
Yes, truly.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The perfect opportunity for action..
And for Thorton Hessenger, that meant only one thing.
Truly...
He fled
Without a second to waste, this warrior ran with his tail between his legs
Yes.
Quite the charming thing, I would say
The one most excited to fight...
... was now running like a coward.
Yes.
All his pride as a warrior was forfeit
Truly, I say unto you dear reader, truly...
Never take a bereaved lightly...
Tis a foolish man's mistake
Hmmm?
Fitting, you say?
Why... I agree...
For even if the bereaved is but a child...
Yes...
Never take that child lightly
For what one may do... well....
I suppose you know enough about that
Oh... really?
A story?
Oh, I would love to hear it, but... for now... I simply must continue.
Now, where were we... ah yes...
Jason's eyes did in fact happen upon Thorton as he ran...
He sighed...
Truly, his teammate was a fool.
Jason: (thinking: That idiot....)
But he wouldn't need to keep his thoughts there for much longer.
Nay,
For one thing, his opponents sword was still drawn.
And of that, as well as certain death, he had to be wary.
As for Thorton...
Well...
Wallace did indeed eventually free his spear...
And... much like the great man Jebediah Morningstone
He as well... yes... dear reader, you guessed it.
He threw his spear directly at his running foe.
However, unlike Jebediah...
he missed.
Well... not massively... no
He missed only by a few... say... hairs... yes.
As the spear flew, it did indeed cut him.
In fact, its blade pierced a mighty wound through the side of his head
However, twas not enough to kill him...
Shame really
For now lay a bleeding shinobi... and a knight... several feet from his weapon...
Yes... a bleeding panting shinobi... and a silently seething knight.
As for Jason... he did presently turn his attention to the knight before him
Dwight: Stand down, or I will end you.
Jason: Tch....
Dwight: I know of your tricks, shinobi! Make even a move and I shall end your life here and now.
Truly, even a man such as Jason would have to agree..
This man meant what he said.
But even Dwight could feel something...
Hmmm?
What, you say?
Well... I suppose I could dabble about that for a while
You see, dear reader...
When faced with a tough opponent... one cannot help but feel...
that victory is always in danger of being stolen from your hands...
Yes, indeed.
Especially... when you can tell that there is more to your opponent...
... that meets the eye
Yes, truly.
Moving along...
As Dwight pondered upon what his opponent may have been hiding, ...
... his mind did indeed turn to one thing
Hmmm?
Oh, yes indeed!
Truly, dear reader, how astute of you
Every shinobi has a mark
And each mark upon a shinobi brings a special power
So... I suppose.. you are wondering as to what that power is for Thorton and Jason
Well... I suppose you will be glad to know...
That you won't have to wait very long to find out
As we shall soon see...
Ahem....
Thorton, having, yet again, narrowly escaped death, simply stopped moving
Hmm?
Why?
Well, dear reader, I suppose one could say that he had had a simple epiphany
Hmm?
Epiphany?
Yes
Of what?
Well... I suppose it is something that comes as a result of consistent practice, my dear reader
A carpenter learns to halt himself once his axe becomes blunt
A housewife learns to stop cooking once she has had enough for her family
And a warrior... learns not to fear an opponent... without a weapon
Yes, indeed.
Thorton Hessenger was happy indeed.
For now... his opponent had lost his best chance at victory
As for Wallace...
Why...
Yet without a sound...
He marched on to the Hessenger
Nay.
After a few feet... he did indeed sprint
But not before the Hessenger could set his spear on fire
Truly... twas a great shock to Wallace.
Thorton: Hahahaha! Finally, I have you.
Yes, indeed.
A knight without a weapon, versus a shinobi with magic
Truly...
This fights sides had completely turned.
As for Jason....
Why... he simply... used his mark....
And of that, he did indeed turn invisible
Hmmm?
What?
That is of a shock to you?
Why... of course...
Know ye not that every mark is different?
And of Jason Hessenger... that did indeed mean that his opponent could no longer see him
Dwight: Wha....
And not even as much as a second longer...
did Dwight of the Knights Order find himself with a cold steel to his nieck....
One that soon reformed, being...
Jason: Surrender... Knight....
Dwight: Tch...
Yes.
The exchange and conversation was as one would expect
That being, the same as Dwight's, but... in reverse
I am quiet sure you, dear reader, are well accustomed to the idea...
Make a move, and you shall die.
Yes
Even but a move
But, even more...
Jason: Drop your blade... now
And of what could the knight say...
.. for it was his life on the line.
He did indeed drop his weapon.
But... he did not stop there
Jason: As for you... Knight...
And of that, he meant Wallace
Jason: Halt yourself.
Yes, indeed.
He did stop Wallace while he stood a mere few feet from his quarry
And stop he did...
Stop in front of a smiling Thorton
Yes.
Truly an aggravating thing.
This father... in his attempt to get retribution for his daughter...
... was no stuck in a... how you say... dilemma
There, right in front of him, lay his quarry...
However... as for his friend...
His ally..
His brother in arms...
Should he move, his life shall be forfeit.
Truly... an incredible situation.
Thorton simply begun to cackle...
This was it, he would perhaps say.
Yes.
This man had gone from joking to running to joking
Quite the exchange in emotions... I tell you...
Hmmm?
What can the knights do?
Well, I suppose I could elaborate on what happened just a bit
Dear reader, have you heard of... honour?
Hmm?
Why, yes, or course silly me.
Well, I suppose it should come as no surprise to what found itself happening next...
Yes...
For indeed, it could be said that not many a man could do this...
Nay...
Not many a man can.
Nay...
Moving along...
Dwight: Sir Wallace! End his life!
Truly...
I say unto you...
Truly...
Not many a man can....