Blood sprayed across the wooden deck as Cade rocked to his back foot. He cracked his jaw with a gruesome pop and wiped a streak of red liquid from his lip.
“Good, good. You are picking up this speed exercise faster than I thought you would,” he said to Elucard.
The vernal shroud rotated his shoulders and loosened his elbows. The fifteen pound wrist weights ached his joints. This new exercise harkened him back to his youth, training underneath a waterfall from the immense weight his body now had to carry.
At first his limbs felt sluggish, as if he were a boy again training with Legion within the small lake outside the Blood Forest. Elucard could recall his reaction to the similar training; slow and exhausting movements. Like every action he took was like having a strong gale blow against him, but it made him faster than his peers. Had he kept up that training regiment, he wouldn’t need to entertain Cade with these weights. Perhaps Elucard would have already been speedy enough to stay with Cade’s pace.
Elucard leaned on his knees and sucked in enough air to fill his overtaxed lungs. The constant nagging thoughts gnawed on his mind to give up, but he persevered on. He wiped his brow of sweat and salt and slid his feet into another Rabbit-Sai stance, raising his hands and keeping them open to intercept any incoming attacks that Cade may throw at him.
Cade smirked, recognizing the martial art style. “A fine defensive choice, my friend.”
Elucard narrowed his eyes. His hundred pound vest restricted his speed and kept him from being the aggressor. No, if he were to win this sparring match, he would need to play a reactive role.
“Come at me,” Elucard whispered.
Cade gave the elf a light smile and lunged forward.
Elucard kept himself calm. This was his twenty-sixth round against Cade while traveling to Blight City and fiftieth match in total since meeting Cade. True, Cade was faster than Elucard, and seemingly more skilled, but Cade had a major flaw that Elucard found and began to exploit; Cade was predictable. If Cade did learn from a Black Rabbit, then he would have been taught that a predictable Rabbit was a dead Rabbit. Perhaps Cade grew sloppy over the years or perhaps a new method overwrote his Black Rabbit teachings; either way, Elucard now had an edge over his new teacher.
Elucard eyed Cade’s incoming fist and snatched the Hydro Shroud’s wrist. Within that moment, Elucard yanked Cade forward and fired a devastating straight punch to his gut.
Cade let out a heavy gasp, but Elucard gave him no reprieve. The former Red Rabbit tucked in close to Cade’s range and unleashed a hefty elbow, blowing him backwards into a set of barrels.
I finally shook off this rust. Elucard thought. My body is growing accustomed to these weights, to my new strength.
Cade performed a kip up to his feet and brushed off splintered wood chips from his hands. “Excellent. Keep those weights on until we reach Blight City.”
Elucard gave him an annoyed huff, but nodded.
“I want you sleeping and eating with them on. When you take them off you’ll see that your speed has risen and your strength will have improved too.”
“You trained with these?” asked Elucard as he hefted his ten pound ankle weights.
“Double the weights that you are using after six months,” responded Cade. “Trust me that first month was torture, but you seem more naturally attuned with them.
“My master had my body conditioned with weight training at a young age,” explained Elucard. “However, not without its faults. I was injured several times by pushing myself too hard.”
“Same,” said Cade, “but I had access to excellent healing magic, making recovery time faster.”
Elucard felt the many intersecting scars across his body. “The Black Rabbits used the same methods. Train hard, heal fast, go back and train harder.”
“Yes, effective, wasn’t it?” Cade chuckled.
Elucard held silent. The sounds of punishing lashings and snapping of broken bones clouded his mind. He looked up. “Yes,” he finally whispered.
Cade patted Elucard’s shoulder. “Are you ready for me to take the sparring to the next level?”
Elucard flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles. “Only if you can keep up!”
Cade flashed a set of pearly teeth. “That’s the spirit, Elucard.
***
Koda yawned and stretched his back as he and his companions stepped on the barnacle covered docks. Their ship finally arrived at Blight City. Only second in size to Lorendeen in the nation of Seru, Blight City served as the entry point for all imports for Seru. Its location on the cove served excellent quantities of fishing year after year, its nearby forest produced a fantastic yielding of lumber, and the nearby Seru Range mountains provided precious metals. For these qualities, Blight City attracted a wealth of commerce not seen in any other part of Dragon Realm Blight. Had it been an older city, it could have also served as Seru’s capital city. However the sheer magnitude of Lorendeen’s size kept it the prime location as the capital.
“So there’s a purple mage school here,” Rained mentioned to Koda. She pointed to the main street that cut through the scholar district. “It isn’t as prestigious as my school in Lorendeen, but they may still provide a modest challenge for you.”
Koda looked to where Raine pointed, noting a row of book and trinket shops. Purple mage students and devoted monks passed down the sidewalks and across the streets. “I didn’t know you were from Seru. I figured you might have been from somewhere in Cypress, being a forest elf, like myself.”
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Raine blushed and scratched her head. “I traveled a lot in my youth, but I am originally from Varis. I’ll have to tell you more that when we have some more freetime.”
Koda passed her a small grin. “I’d like that.”
Stryneth placed his hands on the shoulders of the two younger mages. “Perhaps we can find some lunch and discuss a strategy for our king?”
Wildeye rubbed her belly. “Anything other than salted pork and potato stew would make me a happy wolf.”
Koda and escort pushed through the crowded streets of Blight City. Shoulder to shoulder citizens bumped and rubbed against Koda. With each passing person a low whisper hushed through his ear.
“Erzathen will have justice.”
“The will of the dragons rises with each sun.”
“The Magi will be abused no longer.”
Koda grew wary with each message. He clutched the seam of his robes and ducked his head. The young king tapped the shoulder of the lead royal guard. “Please, get me out of this crowd.
Shadows of masked men swept past the escort and then sunk back into the crowd. Koda’s face tightened and his pupils shrank. “El-Elucard, I-I don’t like this street,” Koda stammered.
Elucard gripped his hilt and stayed vigilant as the mass of peasants and vendors donned Spellbreaker masks one by one until Koda’s escort was completely surrounded.
A single chant washed over the crowd.
“Punish the Magi offender!”
“Punish the Magi offender!”
“Punish the Magi offender!”
The chant grew louder and louder until it drowned out all of Koda’s thoughts leaving only his dread and fear.
Koda’s shoved the encroaching Spellbreakers back with their shields and spears
“Stand behind us, your majesty!”
“We should split up and meet at the northern exit!!!” Cade shouted to Elucard.
“Agreed!!!” Elucard yelled back. “Take Stryneth and Wildeye. I’ll lead Koda and Raine!” He grabbed a hold of one the soldiers and relayed Cade’s plan to him. The soldier nodded in understanding.
“Punish the Magi offender!”
“Punish the Magi offender!”
“Who-who, are these people!?” cried Koda
“The Spellbreakers,” growled Elucard. He pulled out a smoke pellet from a pouch and chucked it to the ground.
With an explosion of blinding smoke, Elucard tugged Koda and Raine’s arms and shoved his way through the crowd to the west while Cade took a hold of Wildeye and his master, breaking their way to the east.
“Get me out of here! Please get me out of here!!!” Koda shouted frantically.
The former assassin said nothing, with only grunts and snarls to break his silence. He tightened his grip and yanked harder on their arms, bowling hundreds of clawing hands.
Elucard smashed his way through the crowd and crashed into a nearby general shop, slamming the door behind him. He braced his back against the door keeping the angry crowd at bay.
Elucard scanned his surroundings, looking for a way out—hoping he didn’t trap his king in a corner. Elucard’s eyes fell on the bewildered shopkeeper. “Exit! Where is it!”
Bricks and barrels shattered through the windows as the Spellbreakers ravaged the building. Their mantra rumbled across the city now.
“Punish the Magi offender!!!”
Elucard roared at the top of his lungs as his veins bulged from his hands. “Exit!!! Where is it?”
Raine grunted as she shoved over a tall oak shelf in to barricade the door, “Watch out, Elucard!”
Bottles of healing potions and tonics shattered across the floor as the toppled shelving scraped across the ground, inch by inch as the Spellbreakers rammed the door. Bodies crawled through the broken windows, shredding their flesh over the shards of glass.
Elucard unleashed his blade, lopping off limbs and arms. He lashed out his arm into a thorn whip, desperate to keep the Spellbreaker from pushing further—to buy time. Any time. Minutes, seconds, moments, anything!
“An exit! Find an exit!” Elucard roared at the top of his lungs.
Raine dashed around the small shop but only found storage closets. Her flesh fell pale. “Koda, what should we do?
Koda bit his lip and looked up. He inspected the wooden ceiling and smirked. “We make a way out.”
Clapping his hands together, he concentrated on the logs that made up the store, beads of green light zoomed down Koda’s legs, into the floor, up the ceiling and across the ceiling. The wood tickled in his fingers and tingled his stomach. With a wave of his hands, he commanded the wood ceiling to crack, buckle, and split apart forming a large hole in the roof.
Elucard gestured for Koda to stand aside. “My turn.” He then swooped his emerald hand up creating an elm tree that burst from the floor and raised through the hole that Koda created.
“Everyone up!” Elucard commanded. The vernal shroud cupped his hands together to boost Koda’s foot up high enough to reach a branch. Elucard then assisted Raine up the tree before scrambling up himself.
Now on top of the shop’s roof, Koda leaned over the side. He watched in horror as the Spellbreakers pounded like maniacs on the splintering door.
“What now?” he asked.
Elucard examined the tree and then looked at his hand. “I wonder if I could…” he whispered. With a snap of his fingers, the tree wilted and fell into green sparks on the ground below.
“Without a ladder, the Spellbreakers will be stuck down there,” said Elucard. He looked off to the other end of the city. “Cade and the others would have hoofed it that way.”
Koda scanned the roofs and steeples that dotted the cityscape.
Elucard pointed off into the distance. “We jump to the next building over, climb down to the alleyway, and sneak to the northern exit. I’m almost positive Cade and the others will be waiting for us.”
“What of Koda’s escort?” asked Raine.
“Yes, the plan was for them to meet us there too.”
Koda peered at the gap separating the two buildings. He crossed his hands over his chest and then flipped them and pushed his hands forward. With that he forged a small wooden bridge to connect the two buildings. “Come on!”
***
Just outside of the city’s northern entrance, Koda and the others met up with each other. The elven king collapsed to his knees, exhausted from the harrowing ordeal.
“We can’t rest now, my king.” Cade pulled Koda back to his feet. “We must seek shelter.”
“The city guards will have their hands full with the riot,” added Elucard. “We need to move out of Blight City, but to where?”
Raine pulled out a map of Dragon Realm Blight and sprawled it across the ground. She placed her finger on Blight City and dragged it north. “Wisp Haven,” she whispered.
“Wisp-what now?” asked Koda.
Raine looked up to her friends. “Wisp Haven,” she said again. “It’s a town north of here. Famous for its fairy lights. My family used to spend time there.”
Elucard folded his arms. “How far?”
“If we leave now and we don’t rest along the way, we can get there by nightfall,” Raine answered.
Elucard turned to the highest ranking guard. “Captain Blueleaf, give us half your men, the other half bring the ship down the coast, it will be faster if we didn’t have to walk.”
“I apologize sir, but that is not possible,” explained Captain Blueleaf. “The shores are chalk full of treacherous rocks and cliffs.”
Elucard rubbed his chin in thought. “Then we have no choice but to walk. In that case, Captain, meet us at Wisp Haven’s port.”
“As you command, Freewind.” Blueleaf shot him a smart salute.
Koda placed a gentle hand on Raine’s shoulder. “Take us to Wisp Haven.”