The fire was long dead. There was no heat left in the sticks, and only by sifting through the dirt that covered the pile could you tell that it had ever even been a fire. There was fine ash mixed into the soil. It was not blatant evidence, but it was clear enough to the eyes of a trained ranger.
Elliorn stood up from the old fire pit, brushing the dirt from her knees. She looked about the area, wondering if she could find any other clues to explain her prey's intentions. So far, she had gathered very conflicting stories about the man she followed.
It had been over a day ago when Lionel Cairon had come to her cottage in the woods. She had dealt with him several times before, mostly when she had complaints about some of his men hunting in her woods for sport. But he had also come to her on occasion for advice or help in dealing with the northern tribes of wilderness men. This was the first time he had come to her for help involving substantial action on her part.
There had been a rash of random killings in the city; at least, that is what he had said. After even a cursory investigation, Elliorn could see that there had been nothing random about the killings at all. Chief Cairon was a proud man and for him to come and ask for help in this matter was a substantial gesture. The fact he had come to a woman, and a ranger at that, said even more.
Elliorn could see more than Cairon could ever know. She heard his tale of the murders this man had committed, but when she had asked the chief if he had ever seen him, he denied any encounter. She kept her thoughts private, though she knew without a doubt that this killer had privately threatened the chief of the city guards in some way. Maybe they had not met, but the assassin had injured his pride.
Usually, injuring such a man as Chief Cairon would inspire an all-out manhunt resulting in a very public execution. That Cairon wanted to keep this search private meant there was something else the chief was not eager to disclose. Elliorn had not been able to put her finger on it right away, but it became pretty clear after half a day in the city. It was fear.
One overriding factor never changed in everyone she had talked to: fear. This man, Artemis by name, could instill fear in everyone he encountered. In addition to Cairon, she spoke with Garin Cailring and Wallace Kierston. Both men said the same thing Cairon had been too proud to admit. The man was the devil. He had probably left an outstanding threat to at least Cairon, but likely Cailring also that any pursuit or continual persecution would result in a painful death. Both men had families, and the threat had probably been extended to them as well. While Elliorn did not have extensive experience with men like this Artemis, she was familiar with the procedure.
Cairon had come to her only after he had assured his family’s safety and made sure that Artemis was out of the city. The stranger had most likely told Cairon that he would be safe as long as he did not pursue, but that kind of assurance coming from a cold-blooded killer was rarely enough to let the threatened sleep at night. The common phrase was, “Show me his head, and then I will consider the threat ended.”
Elliorn did not like the title of “Head-Hunter,” but neither did she like ruthless killers. She had spent a short while searching the town and came to believe the same as the chief: Artemis had left. She spent a short while searching his room in the thieves’ guild and, with the help of a few of Cailring's men, identified the books this killer had taken with him. They were primarily maps and geographical history books, adding credence to what the ranger had suspected already: Artemis was a stranger to this area.
She had played with the idea briefly that he was a demon that had been cast out of the nine hells, cursed to take human form. Every eye-witness to his killings - there were few, and each knew they had only survived because Artemis had willed it - said that he was the devil, and none of them had ever seen him take so much as a scratch in battle.
Elliorn doubted it. The elves that remained in the forest were rarely seen, and while they had trained her, she had not seen one in over a year now and only three times since her training had ended. But if there was a demon walking the streets of Karenstoch, she was sure they would know about it and would have either told her or engaged the monster directly.
Elliorn stood from the old campsite and knew no demon had built this fire. The fire had been built a safe distance from the trees and had then been put out with enough care to make sure it was extinguished. By Elliorn's estimation, Artemis had left Karenstoch two nights ago and would have gotten to this spot around dawn, hardly the time to set up camp. The only plausible reason for stopping would be to rest the horse. Either the man cared nothing about potential pursuit, or, more likely, he wanted to make sure his horse stayed in good shape. He was not a demon.
Then what was he? He traveled several hundred feet from the main path. This made it easy for him to avoid contact on the busy road, but traveling through the tall grass also made him easy to track. Everything about this man said, “Leave me alone!” He had killed those who stood in his way, but after the threats had been over, he had stopped killing, telling whoever might remain that they should leave him alone.
Elliorn was torn between her duties as a ranger and her common sense. Common sense said that he was far away by now and no longer posed a threat to her city or her forest. Of course, as a ranger, she had a duty to track down the killer and bring him to justice. There was a third motivation that broke the tie: curiosity. Who was this man? Where was he from? How had he attained this incredible fighting skill that made people compare him to the devil? She had heard tales about legendary fighters from across the great seas. Was this such a man? If so, what was he doing here? Most importantly: Would he kill again?
As Elliorn saddled her horse and moved it toward the town of Halfway, she knew the answer to the last question. He would kill again and probably soon. This man had likely never known a week in his life without killing. It was a way of life for him, and while he might not look for trouble, it found him.
It was late dusk before Elliorn made it to the streets of Halfway. She had left Karenstoch early in the morning, and true to what all the city councils claimed, Halfway was only a day's journey away. The ranger did not find what she was looking for until she entered the second tavern. After spending half a day in Karenstoch investigating this man, she knew what to look for.
The woman was sitting by herself at a table, trying to drown herself in ale. Elliorn had been to Halfway many times and knew what this woman did for a living. While the ranger did not approve of her occupation, it was not her job to stop it or pass judgment. She would leave that to someone else.
Elliorn moved her tall frame through the seated crowd, sat at the small table across from the woman, and ordered a glass of water from the barmaid. This woman worked as a thief, playing the role of a seductress and luring unwary travelers up to her room where they were robbed. Not only did Elliorn not see any of her male companions in the bar, but there were at least half a dozen travelers in the tavern who looked plenty rich.
To someone as trained as Elliorn, the mark of Artemis was obvious. “Excuse me, ma'am,” the ranger said quietly, alerting the woman to her presence for the first time, “I'm looking for someone, and I think you can help me.”
The woman looked up, very intoxicated. “Not likely.”
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Alice,” the woman responded.
“My name is Elliorn. I'm looking for someone you might have met.” The barmaid came with Elliorn's water. “Could you bring my friend a strong cup of coffee, please?”
“No!” Alice said suddenly, stirring from her alcoholic trance. “More ale.”
“Coffee,” Elliorn said earnestly to the barmaid, “and please hurry,” she added, placing two gold coins in the maid's hand. The barmaid rushed off to perform her task.
Alice looked back down at her mug, swirling the remaining drink in lopsided circles. She raised the glass to her mouth, but a firm hand grasped onto her wrist. Alice strained against the iron grip for a brief while and then gave up, yielding the glass to her new companion.
“I don't want to talk to anyone. Please leave.”
Elliorn reached back across the table and lifted Alice's chin, so she looked the ranger in the face. “I am looking for a man. He is a few inches below six feet, has a goatee, long hair, and carries a short sword and a dagger.”
Alice said nothing, but Elliorn could read recognition in the woman's eyes relatively easily. She had seen it in her eyes before she had asked the question before she had even sat down. “What happened?”
The barmaid set down a cup of coffee in front of Alice. The woman inhaled the aroma and took a tentative sip. The caffeine seemed to take immediate effect. “We made a mistake, and we paid for it.”
“What do you mean?”
Alice looked up from her cup. “He knows you're coming.”
“Alice, you need to tell me what happened. I'm not here to pass judgment on you; I am here to find this man. You need to tell me everything that happened.”
Alice took another sip from the steaming beverage, put the mug down, and told Elliorn the entire story. She told her how they had identified him, how he had tricked them, and then how he had killed them.
“You said he told you he knew I was coming. What did he say to you?”
“He said that the killings were my fault. He had offered a fair arrangement, and then we had asked for more. That's the way business is done. You never take the first offer. It's a sign of weakness.”
“Do you think that is why this man killed all your companions? Do you think he wanted to show you he wasn't weak?”
Alice shook her head, taking another sip of coffee. She did not look up as she spoke. “Do I think he was showing off? He doesn't need to flaunt his skill. He killed my five best men as casually as you might stroll through a park. We just pushed him too far. We made the first strike, but he made the last one.”
“Is that what you've learned from all this?” Elliorn asked, waiting for Alice to look up before she continued. “Is that what you think the stranger wanted to show you? The most important strike is not the first one; it is the one that is never made. The best use for your weapons would have been to sheathe them, take the money, and walk away. He offered you a peaceful solution, and you insisted on fighting.”
“Don't preach to me!” Alice said, her voice growing louder. “My men are all dead! What am I supposed to do now!? Are you trying to tell me my lifestyle is what brought this upon me? Is that it? If I were a submissive wife or a humble barmaid instead of a thief, this wouldn't have happened. That's easy for you to say. You're not me!”
Elliorn had thought to herself earlier that she was not here to judge this woman, but that was what she had inadvertently done. Actually, she thought, Artemis had shown Alice the error of her ways. He had shown her that you never enter battle unless you are willing to take a loss. This woman obviously could not take a loss and had no business in the thieving business.
Elliorn tried to think of something else she could say to the woman, but she was not in a position to listen right now, and Elliorn had nothing to say. The ranger rose gracefully from the table, dropped five more gold coins onto it, and left.
Artemis had been there about 36 hours ago. He was no longer in town. Elliorn tried to think of everything she knew about the man. He had entered Karenstoch, tried to fit in, and was forced to flee. He came to Halfway minding his own business and ended up killing five men. He was probably not too eager to find another town.
She knew he had maps of the area. She knew what direction he had probably chosen if he did not want to find another town. Elliorn rode southeast out of town for an hour and then set up camp. She hated sleeping indoors.
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Entreri heard the sound long before he came upon the source. The river was large. It was over fifty feet across, and Entreri could tell it was very deep. It was not fast-moving and barely looked like it was moving at all, but Entreri did not want to risk a crossing. He was not sure how good a swimmer his horse was, and if he lost his horse, he would be lost.
The assassin had not yet decided whether he had a tail chasing him, but if he lost his horse, he would find out soon enough. Dismounting, Entreri pulled out one of Riechen's maps and began searching out this mysterious river. Now that he knew it was here, it showed up quickly on the map, though before, it had looked like a road or even a crease in the thick paper.
Before Entreri put the map away, he looked at the entire countryside. Directly south of Halfway, along a road, was another city, Farrion. A road left Farrion going south-southeast and intersected this river at another town, Mastin. The river flowed east-northeast. Entreri was a good day downstream from where the road crossed at Mastin, where there was undoubtedly a bridge.
What Entreri took particular interest in was that directly north of Farrion, half a day from Halfway, a large wooded area showed up on the map. The woods were not vast, maybe two dozen miles, but shrouded the rest of the road to Farrion.
If someone were chasing Entreri and knew the land well, they would have taken a more south-southeast path out of Halfway, skirting the woods to the east and then heading straight south. That path would be a more direct route to Mastin, where Entreri now needed to go.
The assassin thought about this. He figured he was at least a day ahead of any pursuit, probably more. He now had to backtrack west along the river, giving any tracker a twelve- or eighteen-hour advantage. Entreri did not think it would be enough to catch him, but if he stopped in Mastin for any length of time or ran into any kind of trouble, he would be playing things too close.
Entreri looked again at the map, wondering if he could follow the river east-northeast. It was another two days until the river intersected the river that left east out of Karenstoch. There was a good-sized city at the intersection, but Entreri knew they would be trading partners with Karenstoch, and it would be too big a risk.
Instead, he looked at the river back to the west toward Mastin. The landscape changed along the water, and the ground became much rockier about thirty miles upriver. Entreri thought he read that a substantial ridge bordered the river. Another ten miles later, there appeared to be a waterfall. Looking closely, Entreri saw a faded dotted line crossing the river at the falls.
There might be a crossing before the town, and though Entreri's food supplies were low, he did not want to enter another settlement just yet. Entreri went to the river, filled a pot of water for his horse, and then got a drink for himself. After a fifteen-minute break, he saddled up and set a brisk pace.
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Elliorn watched the glinting metal disappear behind the ridge when she was still two miles from the river. It was second nature for her not to have any metal showing to the sunlight when traveling on the open plain. This Artemis had not been trained and had either a metal clasp on his boot, a dagger strapped to his calf, or some metal in his stirrup.
The ranger was sure she had not been seen. Her auburn cloak and brown horse blended nicely into the tall grass. Besides, she should have been two days behind this man, and she doubted he knew he was being followed. She had traded horses at the southern corner of the Halfway Woods with a farmer she knew and had ridden through the night, sleeping in the saddle. Besides that, she had taken a much more direct path to reach the river.
Elliorn now had two choices. She could change her course slightly and head for the beginning of the ridge. This would place her at least three miles behind Entreri. She would easily make up this distance on the plains, but across the river (she knew about the waterfall crossing) was very hilly and rocky terrain, and it would not be so easy to catch him.
Besides that, once they were in the hills, it would be much easier for Artemis to see her as she would be unable to avoid skylining herself on the top of each rise they crossed. She would also not be able to light a fire without detection, and her cold rations would run out quickly.
The other option would be to maintain her course and skirt the top of the ridge hoping to catch her prey before he reached the waterfall. While she would be visible to Artemis, he would be an easy target for her longbow. The trip down the ridge face was not an easy one, and if he made it to the falls before she could catch him, it would take her a long time to resume the chase.
If that happened, not only would Artemis probably be alerted to her presence, but he would have also gained a more significant lead than three miles. Then Elliorn would be in the same position before, tracking him through the hills, only at an even bigger disadvantage.
The only favorable outcome would be to cut him off before he reached the falls. With that in mind, Elliorn kicked her heels into her horse's flank and sped toward the ridge in front of her.
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There were two different riverbeds: one that ran full during the spring and one that ran full the rest of the year. It was early summer now, and Entreri rode on the fifteen-foot flat the spring rush had created. Long ago, this river had cut a path through these hills, and while it had sheared one side into a steep ridge, the other side was more gradual and had grass growing up the side of it.
The ridge to Entreri's right did not go straight up, but it would be neither an easy climb nor descent. There were a few ledges that ran diagonally across the ridge face that made the assassin think it might be possible to get a horse down the side, but the rider would have to be far more skilled than Entreri was at controlling the beasts.
The sun was going down in the west, and the ridge cast a long shadow across the river and up the other side. Entreri still kept up his habit of looking behind him as he traveled, though he did it less often now. It was not until he was less than two miles from the falls when he saw the moving shadow projected on the hills across the river.
Elliorn knew she was outlining herself against the setting sun and had tried to keep her distance from the edge of the ridge to keep her shadow on the ground next to her. But as the sun continued to drop in the west, her shadow became longer, and to keep it from appearing in the river canyon below, she needed to travel at least twenty feet from the ridge, cutting off any angle for her bow.
The risk was determined acceptable, and she had watched Artemis look back twice already without seeing her shadow. The third time he looked, Elliorn noticed a visible change in how he rode his horse. The ranger was over two hundred feet behind him and fifty feet above him, but she could see his posture clearly.
Every minute that Elliorn waited, the canyon grew darker, and Artemis hunkered lower under his dark cloak. The waterfall became visible to Elliorn long before Artemis saw it, though he had heard it miles ago. Sound traveled well in the canyon, so when Artemis broke into a gallop, it sounded like thunder to the ranger.
Elliorn responded immediately, kicking her horse into a run also. She took up her longbow and stood in the stirrups. Her prey would be to the falls in a matter of minutes now, and she would not get another chance. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and flexed her knees, keeping her upper body relatively motionless as her horse ran over the uneven terrain.
Entreri did not look back anymore but kept his eyes trained on his goal. He was only half a mile from the falls when an arrow struck him in the thigh. It passed painfully through his tensed muscles, just missing the bone and piercing the flank of his horse.
Elliorn grimaced as she watched the horse below rear up in pain and fall to the side, pinning its rider to the ground. She had hoped to hit Artemis in the bone, protecting the horse from injury, but considering the conditions, she was thankful to have hit him at all. She slowed her mount and dismounted.
The sun was just about down now, and Elliorn did not look forward to walking down the ridge in darkness. She finally found a ledge that ran down most of the ridge face, intersecting another a ways down that would get her safely to the river below. Checking the shelf one last time, she decided to take her horse with her. It was not her normal horse, but she trusted in the farmer she had traded with and felt confident they would be able to make it down together. Besides, to take her prisoner into Mastin, she would need to put him on a horse, and with an arrow through his thigh, he would never be able to do the climb if she left the horse on top of the ridge.
It took her half an hour to climb down the ridge leading her horse by the reigns, and when she reached the bottom, the stars were out with the moon shining brightly. The river glowed with the nightlights, and Elliorn's elf-trained eyes could see clearly. She approached tentatively, a frown crossing her face when she saw that the horse had still not moved from where it had fallen and did not appear to be breathing.
Elliorn had a strong bow, but she knew she would not have been able to kill such an animal with one shot even if the Artemis's leg had not slowed the arrow. The next thing she noticed was that while it had looked like the horse had pinned Artemis's leg to the ground when she had been up on the ridge, she now saw that he merely lay beside the dead animal.
Elliorn became extremely cautious as she drew within twenty feet of the motionless pair. The ranger had a six-foot quarterstaff across her back, and her bow slung over her shoulder. She made no motion to ready either and crept closer. When she was still ten feet from Artemis, she carefully rolled a stone toward the man.
Entreri had his back turned to the approaching ranger, but his ears were sharp, and he exploded into motion at the sound of the rock decoy. Both his weapons slashed hard through the empty air before Entreri saw his opponent backpedaling quickly, already twenty-five feet away. She had her bow ready, and an arrow knocked.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Elliorn was confused. The man had moved like a cat, showing no ill effects for his wound and not favoring the leg in the slightest. She saw the hole and bloodstain on his pant leg clear enough, but he appeared to have fully recovered. Both his weapons were held comfortably in front of him, and Elliorn noticed that the dagger did not glint as it should in the bright moonlight. Her eyes sought out the dead horse, and she saw a vicious wound in the horse's chest right above its heart. Had he killed his horse on purpose, or was it an accident? Either way, it did not explain how he had emerged uninjured.
Entreri took a few slow steps forward, and Elliorn maintained her distance, pulling her bowstring tight. “Stand down, killer. I would not miss from this distance even if I were blindfolded. So unless you have some spell about you that makes you impervious to arrows, I suggest you drop your weapons.”
Entreri smiled at his little mystery, glad once again for his dagger's abilities. He did not drop his weapons but took a few more steps toward his enemy, pretending to limp on his bloody leg. Elliorn did not buy it and lifted her bow higher, pulling the string tighter still. “I am warning you, Artemis. I will shoot you down.”
Entreri sheathed both weapons and held his arms out wide. “Please, ranger friend, my heart awaits your arrow with eager anticipation - if you think it will do any good.” Entreri took a few more steps forward.
Elliorn wondered about this strange man as she countered his approach with steps of her own. She could not sense any protection spell on him, but her magic detection ability was not nearly as acute as had been her tutor's, and she could not be sure. “I will not have to kill you, stranger. You and I both know that another arrow to your leg will slow you down.”
Despite his healthy condition, Entreri had to concede that the blood on his leg showed her first shot had hurt him. Still, he continued to walk forward slowly. Elliorn took yet another step backward, her foot landing on a loose rock only Entreri had seen. Her posture faltered momentarily, and Entreri sprang forward. He took five quick steps to the right and then five quick steps back left, ending his charge in a diving roll that would bring him right in front of the ranger.
To Entreri's credit, Elliorn did not hit him in the leg as she had hoped, but to the ranger's credit, her arrow did cut deeply across the assassin's side. The wound would have customarily slowed Entreri considerably, but having so recently stolen his horse's powerful life energy to heal his other arrow wound, this second one only brought him off of that energy high and back to reality.
Elliorn did not even play with the idea of pulling another arrow from her quiver and simply held her bow in front of her as she retrieved the staff from her back. Entreri had his weapons out as he came up from his roll and swiped at the offered bow, cutting the string and knocking the shaft from the ranger's hand. Before he could press his attack, he had to duck a broad sweep from the quarterstaff and then leaped back as the long weapon swung low. Elliorn, too, jumped backward, and the two fighters took stock of each other.
Elliorn noticed that Entreri's right side, where the arrow had sliced him, was bleeding slowly. It was a wound that should have doubled over most men. If not treated properly, it would bleed to death in some cases. In this man's case, he barely noticed it. He held a short sword and a beautifully crafted dagger. His stance alone told Elliorn more about his fighting ability than any story she might have gotten off someone else.
Entreri did not rush in but instead tried to discern the ranger's fighting style. Her quarterstaff was six feet long, nearly as tall as she was. Though tall, the woman was not slight, and Entreri would not underestimate her strength. The staff appeared wooden, but Entreri could tell it was only painted to look that way and had streaks of adamantium laced through it. The composite staff was probably enchanted, and Entreri held no illusions about breaking it. Also, instead of having blunt ends, each tip was worked to a fine point and coated with metal.
“Again, I ask you to stand down,” Elliorn said, spinning her staff in front of her. “I know you are a fighter of some reputation, but I warn you, I have been trained by the elves of the Northwood and have never been bested in battle. I have fought against trolls, goblins, and giant-kind. I do not want to kill you.”
Entreri just smirked.
Elliorn took a step toward Entreri, holding her staff horizontally in front of her. “Put your weapons down, and I promise to treat you fairly.”
“The only reason I would have for putting down my weapons is to make this fight fair,” Entreri replied gruffly and charged. With the staff held as it was, there was no opening for an attack, and the assassin merely went through an offensive flurry to see if the ranger was as skilled as she claimed. She was.
Elliorn rotated her wrists as her staff swung about in front of her, creating an impenetrable disk. Entreri's blades were batted harmlessly aside, feeling like they were being blocked by enchanted blades, not a wooden staff.
Entreri sprang back from his flurry, having gained plenty of information. He had battled few people who used such a weapon, and almost all had been wizards or mages. The spellcasters had either run out of spells or had not prepared one before Entreri attacked. In each case, the fight ended quickly and poorly for the magic-user. They often only used staffs because they were much lighter than metal weapons and were often involved in their magic.
Elliorn did not use her staff because of any weakness. If she decided never to go on the offensive, the fight would last a very long time. Besides the defensive bonuses, there were clear offensive bonuses. By releasing her grip on the staff during a swing and grabbing onto the end of it, the weapon could double in length in a split second. Also, each attack could always be followed by a second right behind it as the staff rotated entirely around, forcing Entreri to hold each block longer than he would like and throwing him off rhythm.
There were also negatives. All the attacks had to be made circularly. She could not swing straight across without stabbing herself in the stomach with the other end of the weapon. Since the staff was much longer than her arms, and she held it in the middle, she could only attack by rotating it about herself.
This limited her attack maneuvers. She could not thrust straight ahead. Nor could she swing straight down unless she did so off to the side of her body, leaving the other side wide open. Entreri took a brief moment preparing himself, realizing he would have to alter his fighting style slightly. If he attacked high and low, a move that would defeat almost anyone holding only one weapon, all Elliorn would have to do is rotate her weapon vertically to block both. Also, each block could turn into an attack with a flick of her wrist.
Entreri walked in slowly, hoping Elliorn would attack first. “I warned you,” she said, suddenly spinning her staff insanely fast in front of her. It lashed out of the spin with a chop right for Entreri's collarbone.
Entreri nearly fainted at the speed and suddenness of the attack but recovered in time to get his dirk up to block the blow. Then, moving as quickly as he could, he kept the two weapons engaged and sidestepped his opponent. His dagger flashed toward Elliorn's unprotected side, a move that should have ended the fight right there.
The ranger used the leverage of her long weapon to shove Entreri's blocking blade down, crossing his arms and forcing him to turn away from the dagger attack so the magical weapon could no longer reach the woman's side.
Entreri released the block to free his blades and rolled to the side as the opposite end of the staff swept by unblocked. Staying low, Entreri swiped his dirk at Elliorn's legs. The ranger easily swept her weapon down to bat the attack aside and then rotated her grip to bring the staff down on Entreri's prone head.
The assassin's sword came up to meet the rod, barely an inch above his head, the force of the blow almost pushing his own weapon into his scalp. Like Entreri had predicted, though, attacking from above had forced Elliorn to move her staff to the side, opening the other side of her body. With his dirk holding off the rod, his dagger searched out her knee.
Elliorn would never be able to get her weapon in line for a block, but she had known this before she had attacked and had already scripted the end of this fight. Using Entreri's blocking sword as a fulcrum, she leaped high in the air, flipping over the crouched assassin just ahead of his deadly dagger. Her staff stayed parallel with her body as she flipped over, and as she landed behind her opponent with her weapon vertically in front of her, she thrust it through her legs.
Entreri had predicted that she would not be able to thrust the weapon at him because her body was in the way, but as her feet landed behind him, slightly spread, he realized his mistake. He stood quickly, but the ranger was a few inches taller and her legs even more so. If she took full advantage of her height, Entreri would still catch the pointed end of the staff in the small of his back. Working his legs for everything they were worth, Entreri leaped into the air, feeling the tip of the staff rip out the crotch of his pants.
While she had not thought the assassin capable of such a quick adjustment, she was also not unprepared for it. Elliorn rotated her body onto one foot, sweeping her staff from under her other rising leg. The weapon collided with the inside of Entreri's knee and spun him as well. While both fighters turned in the air, Elliorn did so in a coordinated cartwheel while Entreri landed rudely on his side.
The air was briefly knocked out of the assassin as he hit the ground, but he was not so disoriented to not know he was vulnerable. He rolled quickly away from the ranger just as the staff stabbed into the ground where he had been. He tried to rise, but a low sweep from the long weapon kept him low and rolling. He knew he was too far away from the ranger for a traditional attack and anticipated Elliorn well.
The woman let her weapon slip through her hands as she swung down on the rolling assassin, grabbing onto the end of the weapon before it fell completely out of her grasp. The point of the six-foot staff was aimed right at Entreri's chest, but the trained fighter knew it was coming before even Elliorn did. He rolled to his left, letting the side of the staff hit his upraised right arm. The pole slid off his arm and fell parallel to Entreri's back, the tip hitting the ground.
Before Elliorn could retract the weapon, Entreri rolled back on top of it and sat up, his weight snapping the other end of the staff from Elliorn's grasp. Entreri sprang from his sitting position in a rush, both blades swinging.
Elliorn's mistake was obvious - Entreri's not as much so. The assassin thought the ranger to be unarmed. Elliorn had little time to pull the throwing dagger from her vest, but the rushing fighter did not prove a difficult target. Entreri barely saw the glint of steel in the moonlight and nearly tripped over himself as he sidestepped his charge. The dagger flew harmlessly through the air, but Elliorn's other hand, fitted with a studded leather glove, delivered a hard punch to Entreri's face. The assassin was not entirely caught off guard and managed to sweep his dirk across the ranger's side as he stumbled past her.
The cut was not too deep, and neither fighter was hurt badly, but Elliorn now truly was unarmed. Her staff lay on the ground in front of her, but she dared not take the time to pick it up with the assassin at her back. Instead, she dove to the ground as if to pick it up and then rolled quickly to the side.
Entreri was there in a second, and his dirk sunk deep into the soft, springtime riverbed where Elliorn had just been. Before he could pull the blade back out of the ground, Elliorn spun on her back and kicked out her foot at Entreri's head. Entreri rolled with the blow, leaving his sword in the ground but managing to scrape his dagger across Elliorn's calf.
The ranger's steel-tipped leather boots were not as soft as they had appeared, and Entreri had to shake the cobwebs from his head as he rose from the ground. As he did, he watched Elliorn pull his sword from the soft ground. Entreri rose slowly as Elliorn made no immediate move to charge the dangerous man.
Both were panting hard, but Entreri saw his last attack to Elliorn's leg had done more lasting damage than her kick had done to him. Entreri pressed the attack before Elliorn could adequately realize this. He swung his dagger in his left hand high, from right to left, pivoting to come back down diagonally across his body, then right to left low, and finally completing the hourglass cut by coming diagonally back up.
Elliorn hit the dagger twice during the routine, not realizing the flurry was not meant to hit her but to get her blade up high so Entreri could punch out with his right hand beneath it. The fist took the ranger hard in the stomach, stealing her already sporadic breath. As she stumbled backward, she swung her stolen weapon down hard across her body, fending off a charge. Entreri was caught off guard by the strength of the woman, despite his initial pledge not to be, and since the dirk was locked into the batwing hilt of the assassin's dagger, the smaller weapon was ripped from Entreri's grasp.
Even though Entreri no longer held a weapon, Elliorn was off-balance, her sword low at her side. The assassin pressed his attack, launching two more punches, one at the woman's head, the other at her side. She managed to duck the one aimed at her head but took the other in her shoulder. Elliorn rolled with the blow, careful not to impale herself on her sword.
Entreri leaped to straddle her, intending to pummel her prone form with a flurry of punches but noticed at the last second that she had rolled exactly to where his jeweled dagger had fallen. He landed over her but had to leap away just as quickly as the enchanted weapon sailed through the vacated space. He did not have time to scout his landing sight, and his right foot landed on the forgotten quarterstaff. The weapon rolled under him, and he went down.
Elliorn felt her strength fading, and she knew she had to press the attack before Entreri could gather himself. She sat up quickly and did not duck in time to avoid the quarterstaff that came swinging at her head. The sound of the weapon against her forehead was like the crack of a falling tree. Elliorn fell back and watched the stars above her disappear into blackness.
----------------------------------------
Elliorn awoke to the sound and smell of burning wood. Her eyes came open slowly, her head pounding like a stampeding herd of horses had run over her. She remembered suddenly what had happened, and she came to her senses.
She was sitting upright, her legs extended in front of her with her back leaning against a pole. A brief examination of the shaft confirmed her suspicion that her staff was thrust into the soft ground. Her hands were tied behind the pole, but besides that, she was not restrained in any way.
Elliorn spent a short while examining her bonds. She could untie them in less than two minutes, she thought, but as she watched Entreri walk about on the other side of the fire, she knew that he would see her. To untie herself without detection would take considerably longer. Artemis knew how to tie a knot.
She spent a while watching the man, not alerting him to the fact she was up. He was stripped to the waist, and she took great interest in his muscular form. He was not a big man, a few inches shorter than she was and weighing no more, but his muscles were honed to such perfection, she doubted there was an inch of fat anywhere on his body.
As he went through the supplies in her saddlebags, she also saw that he had bandaged up the wound on his side from her arrow. Apparently, he was not impregnable after all. He also had a rising welt on his cheek where she had punched and kicked him. Everyone she had talked to said this man had never taken a scratch in battle. Even though she had been defeated and was now tied to her own weapon, she took a little pride in the fact she had marked him.
Entreri glanced briefly back at her as he was cinching her pack closed. Elliorn tried to remain still, but he noticed her improved posture and walked over to the fire. He sat across from the light source, and the ranger noticed for the first time there was a small rabbit carcass roasting over it. She looked back to her horse and saw the man had restrung her bow.
Entreri did not speak. He just stared at Elliorn from across the fire. “Why am I not dead?” she asked. Entreri shrugged. “Can’t kill a woman?”
“I've killed more women than you have killed goblins,” he bit back.
“Are you bragging?”
“Bah,” Entreri growled, getting up from the fire and retrieving a small bowl of water. He returned and began to sprinkle the water on the rabbit.
“You do not seem like a proud man,” the ranger pressed. “Bragging does not become you.”
“Aren't you the one who said you had never been bested?” he countered. “Oh, and I'm sorry for having broken that streak, by the way.”
“Has anyone ever beaten you?”
Entreri looked up from his work. “Yes, as a matter of fact, someone has.”
“Only one?” Elliorn mocked his supposed confession. “And where is he?”
“He is dead.”
Elliorn could not tell if Entreri was joking. If he was, he did not do it often and was not any good at it. “And why am I not dead?”
“Do you want me to kill you?” Elliorn did not respond. “I didn't think so, so stop asking. I need some information from you.”
Elliorn's ears pricked up at this.
“Why were you following me?”
Elliorn saw no reason to lie to this man. “Chief Cairon came to me shortly after you had left Karenstoch and told me what you had done. I investigated your handi-work briefly and then came after you.”
“You still haven't answered my question, and you must think me a fool if you thought I hadn't guessed that much already.”
Despite herself, Elliorn was beginning to like this man. It would not last. “I wanted to find out what kind of man could inspire so much fear into people that I had thought strong. I needed to find out what kind of man could engage so many good fighters in mortal combat yet emerge without a scratch.”
“Please,” Entreri said, interrupting, “you insult us both by calling anyone in that city a good fighter.”
Elliorn smiled at this. “I needed to find out if you are indeed the devil, as so many people claimed.”
“And what did you find?”
“I'm not sure,” she replied.
“I am not the devil,” Entreri replied quietly. “I was brought up in a harsh land and respond to threats and danger accordingly. I have asked people to leave me alone. They don't listen, and they die.”
“There are many people in this land who wish to be left alone,” Elliorn said. “Very few of them am I asked to track down. There is more to you than that.”
“I did not keep you alive so you could question me,” Entreri said gruffly. “If I let you live, will you continue to follow me?”
“Will you continue to kill people?” she asked back.
Entreri exploded over the fire, clearing the flames and the roasting meat easily. His dagger was at Elliorn's throat before she could even gasp. “The next time you answer a question with a question, I will cut off an ear.”
Elliorn tried not to show fear, but it was challenging. She was beginning to understand why the people of Karenstoch said what they had. She nodded.
“Will you continue to follow me?” he asked again, his dagger still pressed against her throat.
“Probably,” she said.
Entreri stood slowly. “Your honesty is admirable, though it won't add a second to your life.” He started to walk back around the fire.
“Are you threaten-”
Entreri spun about, and the question stuck in Elliorn's throat. She believed in every fiber of her being, as she looked into his black eyes, that she had just died. The assassin's glare did not leave her as he spoke. “I'm sorry, were you going to ask me something?”
Elliorn hated this feeling of helplessness, but she could not find the strength to fight against it. She weakly shook her head. “That's what I thought.”
Entreri took his time walking back to his spot across the fire, letting the elf-trained ranger wallow in her fear. He sat back down and continued to sprinkle water on the roasting rabbit. “You spoke of fighting goblins, trolls, and giants. In all the books I've read, and from all the people I talked to, they are said to be mythical.”
It was not really a question, but Elliorn had learned her place and responded as she should. “It is my job as a ranger to make sure they stay that way. There are very few tribes of the evil beasts in the northland. I know where these tribes are, and I make sure they leave the people of Karenstoch and the other northern cities alone. If they don't, I fight them until they do. I do not hunt them without cause, though.”
Entreri wondered if this last statement was explicitly meant for him, but he did not press the point. “And the elves?”
“They stay in the woods, and although they battle the goblins occasionally, they never travel near the human cities. Since my training ended ten years ago, I have seen them but three times.”
Entreri could tell that she was burning with curiosity but wisely shut her mouth. “Where in this land might someone who wishes to be left alone go?”
“That depends,” Elliorn dared to respond.
Entreri did not like this answer, but looking at her from across the fire, he realized the ranger needed more information to answer the question adequately. He nodded. “What do you want to do?” she asked after receiving permission.
“Suppose I want to take up farming. It seems like a good honest profession.”
Elliorn rolled her eyes. “The direction you are heading now is good,” she responded. “The southeastern portion of this continent is full of farmland. The network of rivers makes trade easy and the ground fertile. However, if you go south to Mastin and further, you will run into a land like what you saw in Karenstoch. There are a few goblins and the like hiding in mountain caves, and the people are still trying to establish a functioning and prosperous society. An extra sword is always welcome.”
She could not help throwing in an editorial at the end of her answers. “I'm sure those struggling communities are also protected by those like yourself who would love to take up the chase for you.” Entreri paused dramatically before he asked the following question. “Is there any town that would accept me for who I am?”
Who are you? Elliorn wisely did not ask the question out loud, but her eyes asked loudly and clearly enough. She paused to let the unspoken question sink into the assassin before responding. “No. Not unless you want to join up with the goblins. I don't know what you did before, but no one finds the need to kill each other around here. We settle our disagreements peaceably when we can. If it comes to fighting, it is done so honorably. Attacks are not made from the shadows but out in the open. We rangers and paladins do the killing that is needed. So, unless you want to become-”
“Very funny,” Entreri cut her off. “Drizzt would've gotten a kick out of that.”
“Who?” she asked before she could retract it.
Entreri did not notice the infraction. “If you live long enough and travel far enough, you will hear about him. He credits your kind.”
“Can't wait to meet him.”
“You can't,” Entreri said, getting up from the fire and moving to her horse. Elliorn made the connection immediately. Only one person had ever beat him, and now he was dead. She watched him return with a knife and plate. He carved up half of the rabbit and sat down to eat.
Elliorn watched him silently. She was hungry but was not about to ask him for any. Instead, she started to slowly go to work on her bonds, careful not to wiggle too much. “Stop that,” Entreri said, only moments after she had started. She looked up at him and saw that he was still eating, not giving the slightest indication that he had even looked up. “I will be gone soon enough, and then you can wriggle free all you want. If I tied it too tight, just tell me.” He looked up after this, daring for her to complain. She kept her mouth shut.
Entreri finished his meal in silence. He got up and put away the few eating utensils he had procured and resecured the pack on the back of the horse. He checked the bandage on his side and put his shirt back on. After his jacket and cape were also put on, he donned a black hat and looked ready to leave.
Instead, he walked back to Elliorn. He dropped her bow next to her but neglected to return the arrows. They were in the fire. The ranger sat with her legs crossed, looking as composed as possible. She had no idea what this man planned to do to her. If he walked away now, she could be to Mastin by morning, obtain another horse, and likely catch up to him within two days.
“Spread your legs,” Entreri commanded.
“What?!”
“You heard what I said.” Entreri slowly crouched down in front of her. “Uncross your legs.”
Elliorn slowly complied, very confused. Entreri manually pulled her knees apart and squatted between them. He pulled out his dagger and began to cut off her pants up by her waist. “You sick dog! I can't believe you would-” Elliorn stared to stand up, pulling away from the assassin.
“Sit down and shut up!” Entreri commanded, reaching up and pulling down on her shoulder. “Do you think I'm going to rape you? Is that it? After all this, do you think I am just a sexual delinquent? Is that what the woman from Halfway told you?”
Elliorn retreated visibly at Entreri's tone. She could see that he was a hair's breadth away from killing her right there. Suddenly, she wished he would only rape her, for she feared much worse. She had not thought there could be worse, but looking into Entreri's eyes, she saw horrors she had never even imagined.
Entreri let his wave of anger pass and went back to work. Soon he had exposed her left thigh, allowing her to keep her modesty in the process. Without warning, he shoved his dagger into the exposed flesh.
Elliorn sat up straight at the searing pain but was too shocked and afraid to cry out. That changed as Entreri twisted the blade. Her cry was high and loud but soon faded as the dagger did its dark work. She could feel her life force draining out of her through her leg. She could also feel Entreri getting stronger.
In that instant, she felt she understood this man. She knew what he was and was terrified all the more. This had been a kid who had kicked over ant piles for fun. He flipped turtles onto their backs just to watch them struggle and laugh at them. Elliorn was not an anthill or a turtle; she was much more. She was a living, breathing human being, and this man was immersing himself in her pain. He was feasting on her very essence, raping her on a level he could never even approach sexually.
In that instant, she knew that, if she lived, she would hunt down this man to the ends of the earth. She would hunt him, and she would kill him. His skill no longer frightened her. He was an incredible fighter, but so was she. If she had aimed to kill when she had first shot him, his body would be thoroughly cooled by now. Elliorn smiled at that thought and ignored the pain coming from her leg.
Entreri removed the dagger after no more than a second, though in Elliorn's memory, it had lasted several minutes. He had not intended to steal her energy and had only done so on a small level. He removed the dagger, and blood poured from the wound. “I will bleed to death,” she said, her voice cold, not showing any pain or concern.
“No, you won't,” Entreri said, not taking notice of her change in demeanor. He turned around and retrieved a stick that had been lying partway into the fire. Elliorn knew what was coming, but instead of flinching as Entreri applied the burning end to her wound, she embraced the pain and used it to fuel her hatred.
The wound seared shut only after several seconds of intense heat. Entreri was a bit worried that the ranger was not crying out in pain, but he shrugged his shoulders. That was her problem. “It will get infected,” she said.
“Probably,” Entreri agreed. The wound was still bleeding a little, and he was in the process of turning the rest of her pantleg into a bandage. He wrapped her wound with little resistance from his patient, tying the pant leg as tight as he could manage.
“I won't be able to ride for weeks.”
“I'm counting on that too,” he said. “But you won't die, will you?”
Elliorn stared at the assassin, hating him all the more. Somehow, he figured that everything was okay as long as he did not kill her. As if murder was the only sin worth punishing.
“Will you?” Entreri repeated, his dagger poised above her.
“No,” Elliorn said with plenty of conviction, “I will not die.” She said it more in defiance to Entreri than in agreement with him.
Entreri stood up and looked down at her. He really should kill her. He noticed the change coming over her and did not like it. Unless he were severely mistaken, they would meet again. Yet, if he killed her, he would never be free from pursuit. Every ranger in the area would track him down. He decided one enemy he knew about was better than a dozen unknowns. Besides, he needed someone to replace Drizzt. Entreri laughed at this and turned to leave.
The laugh hung in the air like a putrid odor, and Elliorn inhaled every last bit of it. She watched him climb onto her horse and ride off into the night. She watched for a long time straining for the sound of hoofbeats in water. There was a narrow shelf at the base of the waterfall, and Elliorn strained to hear him cross it. Her head was ringing with so much hate and pain that she would not have heard a cannon if it had fired right behind her.
She stood carefully, bending at the waist and raising her hands high above her back and over the top of her staff. Two minutes later, she was untied and eating the rabbit meat Entreri had left for her. The assassin had won this contest, but she vowed to herself it would not be the last.