Kichi watched the line of highwaymen file uphill, through a thicket, and into the town. They’d done this before, even in the few days she'd been waiting here for her mentor. They always went to the mayor’s house, took money and goods, and promised to be on their way as soon as possible. The head man had the worst face, as if his forehead wanted to meet his chin, and he had eyes screwed deep into his face.
Whitebeard strode toward town. His legs were like those people from the menagerie who wore stilts. It would help if he’d slow down so her short legs could match his pace without running.
She rushed up by his side. “Are you going to stop them?”
“Yes.”
They passed the farms and entered the huddled thatch-roofed building at the market square. People hammered at nails and set up tables. Others stretched a banner across the road that announced the Day of the Good King. A totem pole of square faces and a red moon rose three fathoms from beside the fountain in the middle of the square. It was painted in red, yellow, and green.
She wanted to be here for the celebration, but the blade and knighthood took precedence.
A wagon banged as it rolled beside them. Its driver was a man of middle years who chewed on a piece of wheat. “Good day, lord knight. I hope you enjoy the festival. We have a fortuneteller this year.”
Whitebeard looked up to see past his brim. “Really? Interesting.”
The driver doffed his hat and rolled by with his load of watermelons.
Kichi had never had her fortune told, but the prospect excited her. “My training comes first, but is there any way to hear our future before we go?”
Whitebeard nodded. “I can’t pass up the opportunity. You understand, someone with prescience rarely, if ever, can be read. But once in a great while, a true foretelling occurs, and often it’s important to more than you might think.”
The mayor’s house came into view, and they soon approached it, but not before the highwaymen rounded the corner and poured into the square. The scrunch-faced leader looked directly at them, and she felt a shiver.
Whitebeard rapped on the mayor’s door, and then, as he waited, he leaned on the frame and closed his eyes. It was as if he were going to take a nap standing up.
She tugged on his jacket. “Whitebeard, they’re behind you, the highwaymen.”
He peeked open an eye. “Oh, you’re still here.”
She kicked his shin. “Of course, I’m still here. And so are they!” She pointed.
He grimaced and rubbed a foot on his shin. “Okay, I’m going to shield us. Remember this if you remember nothing else: If my shield ever fails, run like a dragon’s on your heels.”
“Noted. Now please, turn around.”
With that, he lifted the green sword with one hand as high as possible and let go. It floated unassisted. A shield dome spread from its guard and reached the ground. It was more of a half dome, as the building blocked part of it. Or did it enter the building? She didn’t know the details but would learn.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The lead highwayman neared and stopped a few paces before his peers. “Oh, a knight.” He dared another step. “We take what we need. Do you know that the Han is filled with people kicked off their lands? The list goes on: Blacksmiths, tanners, butchers who are now subsisting in Yonwood and part of my company.” He made a gesture that encompassed the town. “You all hold the King in such high regard, yet he’s too old and feeble to maintain justice. I spit on the Good King.”
Whitebeard raked his facial hair as if he considered the other's words. “These people have nothing to do with your plight. I don't care if you're plundering Duke Akitomo’s men. The Duke’s taken your livelihoods, but I won't stand for the harm of the innocent. It's against every principle I uphold.”
Kichi tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “I think there’s too many for you to take.”
“Nonsense. You're going to help. This is how you earn a reputation for valor.”
The mayor peeked through the door, his long mustaches swaying as he took in the scene. “We must give them what they ask for. We don’t have the means to fight. Last time, they injured our strongest farmers and set fire to two houses.”
Whitebeard raised a hand. “Let me talk sense to them. Carry on with your festival, mayor.”
From behind the highwaymen, a goopy leg brought a glank into view. It was all living refuse. Human waste, garbage, sticks, and leaves slid along its membrane. It was huge, and Kichi feared unstoppable. “Whitebeard, they have a glank.”
The mayor squeaked and slammed the door closed.
Whitebeard snatched the pure sword free from his back. He then dropped the shield, leaving them unprotected. “So, you show your true color. Why is it that when the realm falls into hard times, the worst are the first to try to fix it? You can’t fight corruption with corruption.”
Kichi had wanted to see if the shield went through the house, but she’d need to wait until another time to find out.
The leader began to wind his crossbow. “You don’t know how we’ve suffered. Who are you to judge us? Who are you to stop us?”
Whitebeard removed his hat and sat it aside. Long white hair haloed around his head. He looked like a young version of an old sorcerer. He removed his jacket, folded it, and laid it beside the hat. “You have a glank, and it’s powerful. Of its rank, it must be near the top. Do you think it cares who it hurts? Stop feeding it, and it will turn against you.”
The leader laughed and released a bolt. Those behind him brandished makeshift weapons.
Thin green energies surged around Whitebeard. It shone around his shoulders and snaked down his limbs.
The highwaymen skittered back, and the loosed bolt snapped against him and fell uselessly onto the cobbles. Words of astonishment flittered through their numbers. “He’s a knight in Shining Armor.”
Kichi couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She’d found an archknight?
The highwaymen dispersed from the square and ran aimlessly back into the hills. That left the glank, which seemed unaffected.
It slugged forward. Two appendages protruded from its sides from the mountain of filth. It entered the square and roared.
She felt the chivalric call and ran with her sword overhead. The archknight darted past her, leaving her in his dust. How does one become so fast?
The creature grew until it towered over her. Above, it battled Whitebeard, leaving its legs undefended. She thrust with her sword, but it caught in the goo. She pulled so hard to release it that when she did, she fell back and landed hard. She looked straight up at the sky and the green energy trails as the archknight sliced, jumping along the creature's mass. His blade moved so fast it didn’t get stuck. Then, the filthy jelly came down on her. Its vileness entombed her whole body.
Kichi
Level: 1
Focus: Prescience
Secondary focus: unknown
Weapons: pure sword - 3% pure