Theis took a small step back, his hand floating over to rest on the pommel of his sword, out of sight beneath the folds of his cloak. Now that the dark-haired soldier had recognized him as a man wanted by the Lancowl Barony, things would escalate quickly.
A small smile tilted the corner of the man in black's mouth. Now for the next step.
“Careful, friend. If you know who I am, then you also know what I'm capable of.”
Grobin scoffed. “Maybe ten years ago, old man. Life out here in the sticks couldn't have been easy on you, and from the way you carry yourself, I can't imagine you'd stand much of a chance against a soldier in his prime.”
Though the man didn't say it, Theis recognized the 'like me' was implied.
Arrogant little fuck, aren't you?
From the corner of his eye, Theis caught a flurry of movement as one of the soldiers jogged to Grobin's side. He pointed out past the man in black while he whispered something to the dark-haired soldier. Even as good as his hearing was, Theis couldn't quite make out what the man was saying, but he had a pretty good idea.
Grobin's eyebrows crawled their way up his forehead as the other man spoke. “You're certain?”
The soldier nodded emphatically, and Grobin actually barked a chuckle, shaking his head in amazement. He gestured, and the man returned to his position.
“Well, well. My luck continues. Not only will I earn the bounty on the most wanted man in the barony, but I'll also be the one to find the object our commander is looking for. Seems this little detour was even more of a boon than it first appeared.”
Theis extended a finger skyward. Time to set the trap.
“You're forgetting one thing.”
“Am I? Seems like I have everything well in hand.”
The man in black pointed back at the monstrous plume of black smoke that consumed the southern horizon. “The way home lies back through there. Wouldn't last an hour breathing in all that smoke, let alone a full day's march. More, if you get lost again.”
Grobin's expression was unreadable. “We'll manage.”
“You'll manage?” Theis barely got the words out before a harsh, wheezing laugh took over. “Couldn't find north if I pointed the way. If the fire doesn't get you, the crag wolfs will, you street-soft wet foot.”
The dark-haired soldier's blade leapt to the ready, extending outward from his waist like he might, at any moment, charge forward and skewer Theis through the chest. The rest of the soldiers reached for their own weapons, their eyes darting back and forth between their impromptu leader and the man in black. Theis stood still as a statue, the motes in his blazing eyes vibrating frantically in their orbit around his pupils. He could almost hear Grobin's teeth squeaking against one another as the man's jaw tightened in irritation.
After a moment, Grobin relaxed his sword arm, and the saber's tip dipped back to the ground. When he spoke again, derision stained his words. “I suppose you're going to tell me you know an alternative route.”
Dangle the bait.
Theis nodded. “Was just heading there myself, leading the boy and his cat behind me to safety. Let us go, and I'll tell you how to find it yourself.”
“And let a three thousand shil bounty just walk out of my life? Not gonna happen, friend.” Grobin shook his head and raised his blade until the tip was level with Theis' throat. “How's about you tell us the way out of these woods and my men won't kill your two friends and torture it out of you while you watch?”
Theis shrugged nonchalantly. “You really want to take the chance that one of your men don't accidentally kill me in the exchange before you get the chance to pry the information out of me? After all, I'll be fighting to protect the boy and his cat. Don't know that I'd want to live knowing my failure cost them their lives.”
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A short breath of wind whipped through the clearing, and Theis made of show of hunkering down and drawing his cloak tight around his body. A number of soldiers had begun to shiver, with a few hugging their chests and shifting uncomfortably in place while they watched their leader verbally spar with the newcomer.
Theis snapped his fingers. “Adasi Shuur.”
Grobin cocked his head, but didn't lower his blade. “Adasi...what?”
“A rite,” he began, resting a gloved hand on the effigy's grizzled head. “Or rather, a promise, of sorts. Agreed upon by all those in the presence of this symbol of Ivvilger. A duel. Just you and me. ”
“A duel.”
“A duel.” Theis waved his hand dismissively, stepping away from the stained statue and down off the dais. “The details of the rite are unimportant. All that matters is the spoken oath, and the knowledge that if either side violates said oath, they tempt the ire of Ivvilger himself.”
Grobin moved to speak, but Theis cut him off. “I'll make it simple. If you win, you get everything you want. The way out, the object you're looking for, and me. I'll come quietly, as long as you promise not to hurt my companions.”
“And if you win?”
The man in black gestured to the trees. “You let us go.”
Murmurs of objection arose from all around. The nearest soldier took a small step in Grobin's direction. “Sir, you're not seriously-”
“Shut up,” he barked without looking.
“We'll be stuck out here-”
“I said shut up!” He swept his blade to the side, and the soldier leapt back in surprise. The murmurs around them died down abruptly.
Sneering, Grobin turned his head and spit. “Not good enough. We have you outnumbered. You don't stand a chance against all of us, and even if it did come down to an all-out brawl, we'd still be making off with the item in question and your corpse. Half a bounty is still better than no bounty at all.
“If I win, we'll let the other two go, but you're coming with us.”
Theis could feel his soul vibrating wildly in the back of his mind. He doesn't even care about the object they're looking for. He just wants his money.
He shook his head. “You aren't getting me, but, to appease your comrades, if I win, you can have the item your group came here looking for. At the very least, your commander will be pleased with what you accomplished out here today. No one will have to die.
“And if everyone behaves, I'll even tell you the way out. After I take up all your weapons, of course.”
Theis could see the wheels turning in Grobin's eyes as he weighed and compared every possible outcome of the situation. The soldier was right. From where they stood, if they chose to press their advantage, there would be little an aging swordsman could do to stop them. The archers alone sealed his fate.
But there could be no victory if winning only served to bring them a horrible death at the hands of either a raging forest fire or the sub-freezing temperatures higher up in the Nimmons. Their only chance at escape rested in their cocksure leader's ability to best the man in black in one-on-one combat.
A trap works best when your quarry wants to step in it.
“Agreed,” the dark-haired soldier said suddenly, sliding a small pack from his shoulder and tossing it at the feet of his young, buck-toothed companion.
“First to bleed, or first to surrender.” He pointed his blade at the man in black. “I need you alive, remember? And if you kill me, they'll take you down so fast you won't have time to wonder if your little friends back there will survive the day or not.”
Theis merely nodded.
Grobin raised his voice and turned to address his team. “Everyone clear? No one will interfere. If he wins, we let them go and they leave behind the object we're looking for. If we win, we take their weapons and take them into custody.
“Is that understood?”
Solemn nods and somber yups answered back.
Grobin slashed the air in an x-shaped pattern and put some distance between himself and his opponent. The nearest soldiers fell back, clearing the space for the battle to come. The dark-haired soldier offered Theis a modest bow and flashed a toothy sneer.
“Well? That good enough for your forest god?”
Theis closed his eyes and bowed his head.
“Adasi Shuur is struck. May Ivvilger be pleased.”
Concealed behind his skull-like mahogany mask, Theis' lips parted in a triumphant grin.
And now you're mine.