Difference between revisions of "Kardan and Gya"

Revision as of 18:05, 7 August 2016

Sitting in a wayside Inn are four elves. Perched on their stools in the corner of the room pushing aside the meat on their plates. One of the elves walks across the room to fetch more water. As she moves past a patron he slap her on the buttock. She turns to him and says:

“I would not touch me again if I were you.”

The man disregards her warning and grabs her wrist. As quick as lightening a knife is in the elf’s hand. She brings it down upon his wrist and the knife penetrates it between the bones of the forearm with a sickening thud.

“I did warn you” says the elf as she retracts the knife from the man’s wrist.

The man clutches at his wounded arm with horror. Then he begins to scream.

The elf begins to clean her blade. Her commander rises from his seat and starts heading her way.

A giant of a man on a table nearby attempts to ignore the screaming man for a moment. Then he begins to scowl at the excessive noise. He stands up, grabs another patron’s bottle as he walks towards the man and then smashes it over his head. The man drops to the floor with a thump and lays there silently.

“I cannot abide a man who suffers so loudly” the man says to the elf as he stands over the slumped body.

The elf goes to reply but is interrupted by her commander.

“Gia, why is there always trouble when you are around. You are a disgrace to the elven guard.” He turns to the man and says “Be calm little human. How about you scamper back to your bottle.”

“I would watch your mouth elf. You do not look so big from where I’m standing” the man replies.

“I can’t see why your people wouldn’t have left you out in the snow to die like the rest of the runts.” the Elven Commander replies with a snide grin.

The man gave a bark of laughter, disguising his intent, as his fist suddenly launches towards the commander’s snide face. A moment before his fist struck he was surprised to find it held in place by the slender yet strong female elf. She had grabbed his wrist as he went to strike and was managing to hold it in place. She was strong. Stronger than he had expected. He was grudgingly impressed.

He was also happy to see the shocked and shaken look on the Commander’s face.

“Another day.” she spoke.

“Aye then. For you my friend. Another day. Watch what company you keep elf. This is no elven hero, he’s a dog.” And with that Kardan walked carelessly back to his table and resumed his tankard.

Kardan Deerstalker rode atop his horse the next morning heading through the countryside. The air was calm and the sky clear. His head slightly throbbed from his over indulgence the night before. Maybe thats why it took him so long to notice the eery silence that had descended upon the road.

Up ahead, a glint catches his eye. Feigning a casualness he didn’t feel he continues up the road upon his mount expecting an attack. Instead he sees an elven shield discarded by the road. As he dismounts to look at it he hears the first unmistakable sounds of swords against swords coming from the forest to his left. Intrigued by a potential opportunity for violence Kardan decides to investigate.

He moves into the forest and releases his bastard sword from its back sheath. Creeping into the gloom he moves towards the sound of fighting. Ahead is a clearing and within it he sees the elf that he met in the Inn the night before. She is being assailed by three men at once, while ten more stand back and are watching. The men fight with poorly made swords and wear shabby armour of layers of material. Real warriors do not need armour, Kardan thinks:

"This should be interesting."

Kardan moves into the clearing to watch, not really caring about being noticed by either of the parties.

“This should be very interesting” he thinks as he leans forward on the hilt of his sword.

The elf is bedecked in shining plate mail and has a pair of scimitars at the ready. The men launch forward at her and she deftly deflects their blades as she whirls hers around her. The confusion of the sword play puts them on the defensive but then there is a brief hole in her defences that Kardan sees. One of the men sees it too. He lunges forward at her. As quick is the hole appeared the sword turns in her hand and as he moves forward he is impaled upon her blow. It had been a feint. A good one too. He was feeling more impressed by this elf all the time. The second and third men stand back and then look at each other. He could almost hear their thoughts:

“Move together quick and we can take her”

Their first mistake and their last. One quickly ends with a slash across his abdomen, the other across his neck. The men fall to the ground. The elf glances over at Kardan.

“Do you plan on using that sword today or are you more into watching?” she smiles almost mockingly.

“I thought you’d never ask” he replies. “I did not wish to be rude.”

The ten men standing around all bring up their weapons and charge into battle. The elf and the barbarian work seamlessly together. The elf’s disciplined strokes and precise strikes surgically removing her foes from the battle. The barbarian’s brutal and wild rage tearing the enemies ranks apart. Somehow the two contrasting styles work together seamlessly to overcome their foes. Suddenly they stand alone in the clearing. A body on the floor groans and the barbarian crushes his skull with his boot.

The elf looks up and see the barbarian covered in blood and says “Is any of that yours?”

“It matters not” he replies.

She walks over and gently rests one hand on his shoulder. A flush of radiance flows through him and he feels invigorated.

“For your service” she says.

“Did you want any of this?” he motions to the corpses on the floor. She looks at him confused for a moment and then he bends and starts scrounging through the men’s belongings. She hesitates, unsure of how to answer.

“No” she says shaking her head.

“How about that elven shield by the road? That must be worth a pretty penny.” he replies.

“An elves shield by the road? Was there anyone there? Is there anyone there? Tell me now!” she exclaims.

“Seems important to ya. No there was no one there, just the shield.” he says. The next moment she is wiping her blades and putting them away as he pulls a bundle of coins from a corpse on the ground.

“How far to the next town?” she asks him.

“Thirty miles as the crow flies.” he replies.

“I have no gold to pay you for your services barbarian. You have done a great deed today and great deeds should be rewarded. You may have the shield. You have helped the light. That will not be forgotten.” She bows her head in respect of the barbarian warrior who’s name she does not know. With that she leaves.

Kardan watches her leave and then continues to talk to the corpses on the ground while he is going through their belongings and looting what he can.

“These elves eh dead man? They are a mystery surrounded by an enigma if you ask me. Is that a gold tooth you have there? I’ll take that”.