Victoria met his gaze evenly, “I want to see it for myself. Seeing it will help put everything in perspective.”
Alden looked to Warren for help but the big man just shrugged. The green eyed teen sighed and swept his hair out of his eyes again as he ventured further into Low Town. Fifteen minutes later a trio of men appeared at the end of the street they were walking down. Alden glanced over his shoulder and found two more men following.
Warren fell into step behind Victoria as Alden walked toward the three men waiting for them. The center figure, a bald man with pointed ears and tattoos across his hands and face held his hand up for them to stop. Alden paused as Warren turned to face the two men who were following them.
The pair were relaxed and ready to move at any moment. The bald man cleared his throat, “Going for them weapons would be a mistake, lad.”
Alden smirked, “Really? And what makes you say that?”
The bald man smiled, revealing his yellow teeth, and gestured toward the roof and the young man glanced in the direction he pointed after a moment’s debate. Sure enough, sitting on the roof looking down at them was a crossbowman. The green eyed teen called to Warren, “Up high. On your right.”
Warren answered a moment later, “I see him. Any ideas here.”
The bald man cleared his throat, “I have an idea. You two stop talking and listen to what I have to say.”
Alden muttered quickly “Stay close to the Princess,” and then turned to face the bald man and called out “Let’s hear it then.”
The green eyed teen saw Victoria tense as he whispered those words and realized she had heard him. The leader of the thugs smiled, “You two are obviously Knights. Heck, the crest is branded across your shields, but don’t worry, I’m not after your money or your lady. I want information. Late last fall one of yours took one of mine and I wanna know where he is. So, you can tell me where he is or I can have my man up there but a bolt in your lady friend there. What do you think?”
Alden rubbed his chin for a moment, “Well, let me tell you my idea.”
The bald man raised his eyebrows as Alden drew another breath. The tattooed leader jumped as Alden’s sword whistled out of it’s sheath and the young man shouted, “Turtle! Now!”
The young man felt Warren spring into motion more then anything. There was the hard crack of the crossbow firing and then a shrieking sound as steel was pierced and a clatter as Warren fell to the ground. Alden’s sword was already in motion, biting into the closest thug’s neck. The young man yanked the blade free and spun, parrying one club aside and taking the man’s arm with the back swing. He screamed as blood soaked his shirt and Alden rammed his sword into the man’s chest.
The man stumbled as Alden released the blade and dodged a wild swing from a club. Alden rammed his fist into his attacker’s nose, making the thug stumble back and Alden grabbed the hilt of his sword again. He yanked on it and pulled, the still standing dead man began to fall as Alden’s sword came free.
The green eyed teen turned to face their assailants. One was on the roof and another had blood pouring out of his nose. The leader smirked, “I’d like to meet your mother, lad. She must’ve been one heck of a whore to get whoever your daddy was in bed.”
Alden felt anger flood him as he grit his teeth, “You don’t know nothin’ about my mother.”
The leader shrugged, “I’m just saying your dad must’ve been one hell of a fighter. And a fighter like that ain’t gonna sleep with any old whore.”
The young man roared and then heard the crack of a crossbow. Without thinking Alden moved, spinning to face the crossbowman, his left arm extended. His hand slammed shut and he turned his glare onto the crossbowman. The green eyed teen snapped the wooden shaft of the bolt in two and dropped the pieces to the ground. Alden turned his attention back to the men on the street as the crossbowman ran back up the roof.
The tattooed man drew his sword and swallowed. The other two thugs glanced at each other and slid backwards a step but the leader stopped them with a growl, “You run and I’ll make sure everyone knows.”
The men looked at him, back at each other and then at the leader again before stepping backup to where they were. Alden roared and charged forward. The thugs met him with their clubs. Alden knocked one blow aside with his sword and then reversed directions. The sword bit through the thug’s neck, leaving a decapitated corpse behind. The second thug managed to crack the young man in the shoulder. Alden looked up and stabbed forward. The thug never stood a chance as Alden’s sword slammed through his teeth and out the back of his skull.
The leader held his sword up as Alden pulled his free. The tattooed thug swallowed and brought his blade down in a heavy over head swing. Alden’s blade arced up and met the worn,poorly kept blade and the thug’s sword shattered. Alden dropped his sword and punched the man in the face three times. The green eyed teen continued his assault, slamming his knee into the thug’s stomach and then throwing a right hook across his attacker’s face. The barbs on his knuckles tore bloody furrows into the man’s tattoos but Alden grabbed him and yanked him back upright.
Alden hefted the man off the ground and shoved his back against the wall. The young man growled, “Why should I let you live?”
The thug stared at Alden for a long time and then started to scream, “Your eyes. You’re, You’re one of them! One of those things! Let me go you abomination!”
The young man frowned and dropped the thug to the ground. The man just sat there staring at him as Alden smashed his elbow across the thug’s face, knocking him out. The young man turned to look at Warren. The big man was sitting on the ground with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his shoulder. The big man was pale and in pain but seemed to be awake and Alden motioned to his face and Warren shrugged, “Same old green.”
Alden turned and tossed the thug over one shoulder, “Can you walk, Warren?”
The big man nodded as he struggled to his feet, pain plain across his face, “I can manage it. I take it you want to talk to him now.”
The smaller man snorted and wrapped his arm around the larger man, helping him stand, “Not really. Now that my head is clearer though I reckon whoever has his brother might want to talk to him. Plus there’s the eyes thing which I am just a might bit curious about. Let’s head back to the Wall and give this guy to Solace.”
Warren nodded as the duo of Knights and a Princess returned to their homes.
Chapter 54 Unexpected Gift
Solace sat down in the small, damp, cold, stone room in a high chair. In front of him was a plain wood table and on the other side of the table sat another half-elf. This one had been outcast by both his clan and the Confederacy. The elf sat in a rickety wooden chair with an uneven seat. It was designed to be the most uncomfortable chair you could ever sit in.
The Inquisitor cleared his throat, “So, you and some of your friends ambush a pair of Knight Cadets and a young lady on a street in Low Town. One of those Cadets killed all of your men and knocked you out and dropped you on my doorstep. That sound about right?”
The elf grunted, “You already know the answer to that.”
Solace nodded, “Fair enough. One of the Cadets reported you started screaming about his eyes. Why did you do that?”
The thug swallowed, “His eyes, they were bright green but the way he moved, the way he just plucked a bolt out of the air. When he turned back to face me his eyes were bright red and glowing. There’s something in that boy you don’t understand.”
The Inquisitor waved a hand, “Are you sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light? You had been beaten and supposedly just witnessed a man catch a crossbow bolt mid-flight.”
The elf shook his head, “No, I know what I saw. He’s one of them.”
The Knight leaned closer, “Them?”
The thug nodded, “I’ve seen eyes like his. A group of pe
ople from the Arch-Mage who came to meet with the clan elders. They had eyes like his. Red and white and one fellow even had gold eyes. Faster then any men had a right to be.”
Solace studied the elf for a long time before clearing his throat, “That’s not the thing I came here to discuss anyway. I need answers for a more, delicate, situation. And you’re going to give them to me, scum.”
The Knight leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together. He let a silence build in the air until the half-elf asked, “What do you want, Knight Inquisitor Solace?”
Solace raised an eyebrow, “First, how do you know all of that? That information was kept within the Guard itself.”
The elf smirked, “You already know the answer.”
The Inquisitor leaned forward onto the table, “Fair enough. I already know and understand there’s a spy. But you made a mistake.”
The banished elf look to the door and then back at Solace as the Inquisitor continued “See, I wasn’t positive if your brother knew anything or not so I haven’t let anyone get too excited about knives or clubs or anything like that. But now, I know that the information I need is either in your head or his. Which means that I have a proposal for you. Would you like to hear it?”
The half-elf sneered, “Does it really matter if I want to or not?”
The Inquisitor grinned, “Of course not. I was just being polite. So, you can tell me who’s spying on us right now or I can go see if I can get the information out of your brother.”
The tattooed thug grunted, “Neither of us will talk.”
Solace shrugged as he stood up, “I don’t know. I have a few friends in the Special Forces who can keep a man alive for weeks as they work on him. Of course if they accidentally kill him it doesn’t really matter. We have you as a back up after all.”
The elf swallowed as Solace walked toward the door and as the Inquisitor reached for the knob the half-elf cried out, “Stop!”
The Inquisitor looked over his shoulder at the man who stammered, “I-I, I don’t know. Give me time. Let me think. Please don’t kill my little brother.”
Solace stared at the man for a long time, considering. After a minute the Inquisitor nodded, “Alright, you have five days. But, if you make the wrong decision I am going to give my men the go ahead to start on your little brother. I trust you’ll make the right choice.”
The Inquisitor stepped out of the room and let out a breath. The older brother seemed more likely to break. Neither elf had given a name or anything to call them by. Solace started toward the exit, silently praying that the elves ouldn’t call his bluff. Although it looked like he would have to keep an eye on Alden for a while. Odds were that nothing would come of it and life would continue on. But it always paid to play on the side of caution.
Chapter 55 Last Chance
Warren sighed as Hawkes sat down at the breakfast table across from him. The big man looked up at him as Alden scowled at his breakfast. The gray eyed man offered a small smile, “What’s Reginald up to now?”
Hawkes shook his head, “I don’t know. Just, he’s furious this time.”
Alden snorted, “How is that new? He’s furious I’m here at all. Furious anyone not of his station should be permitted to do anything other then lick his shoes.”
The big teen shot his partner a stiff glare before returning his attention to Hawkes, “That does not tell me what he’s planning.”
Hawkes rubbed the back of his head, “Well, the truth is that I don’t know this time. It’s worse then normal though.”
The green eyed teen scoffed and opened his mouth but Warren cut him off, “What makes you say that?”
Alden shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Hawkes gave him a glum look and then answered, “Reginald, he’s very, well, particular. Very routine. He always goes to bed at the same time, arranges things in a certain way,eats the same breakfast, that sort of thing. It’s all gone out the window in the last week and he’s always up half the night muttering to himself about how you stole everything and that he’d get you back.”
The green eyed boy looked up with a frown, “I haven’t taken anythin’ of his?”
Hawkes shook his head, “Not you. Warren.”
Alden elbowed his partner, “Since when are you the breakin’ and enterin’ type?”
Warren shot his partner a flat look, “You know as well as I do that I did not steal anything. Did he say what I took?”
There was a scraping as Hawkes pushed his chair back and shook his head, “No he didn’t. I just thought I’d let you know that it seems like Reginald has had a screw or two pop loose. I’ll see you around. Stay on your toes.”
Later that day all eight Cadets stood in a loose circle around Sergeant Hunter in a field just outside the city. There was a cart of weapons laid out nearby and a ring was marked out. A pair of Knight Medics stood on the opposite side of the ring having a discussion with Captain Fox. All of the Cadets were in full armor and they were all carrying their weapons.
Sergeant Hunter cleared his throat, “Today, Captain Fox and I will be watching you spar with one another. You will each fight once and you will use the practice weapons provided here and you will avoid purposeful injury. I understand accidents happen and that is why we have a pair of Medics with us. Understood?”
There was a murmur of approval from the Cadets and Sergeant Hunter nodded, “Good. Our first match will be decided by Captain Fox. If you would?”
Captain Fox closed his eyes and then opened them, “Skorri and Warren.”
The giant teens stepped out of the crowd and Warren dropped his heavy mace and lifted the weighted and padded practice version. Skorri didn’t carry a shield. He had a weapon he wielded with both hands that had a large hammer-axe head on the end of it. Warren rolled his shoulders and dropped his helm onto his head. This was going to be painful.
Skorri stepped into the ring first and Warren followed along behind him a moment later. Sergeant Hunter cleared his throat, “Stop fighting when either steps out of the ring, I say to, or one of you think you managed to break something. Damn hammers. Ready?”
The giant warrior slid his helm on and hefted his great hammer as he nodded. Warren unslung his shield and gave a short nod so Sergeant Hunter barked, “Begin.”
Skorri brought that massive hammer of his whipping down and crashed it into Warren’s shield. The big man stumbled back a step as his left arm went half numb under the titanic force of the blow. Warren grit his teeth and charged forward, crowding into the giant soldier’s space to keep him from getting the leverage needed to wield the big weapon effectively.
Warren slammed his shield into Skorri and the giant planted his feet and rammed the head of his hammer into the tower shield again. The shock of the blow was much duller then the first but it still sent a spasm of pain into Warren’s shoulder. The big man grit his teeth and before Skorri could pull back for another blow Warren swung his mace out around the shield. It was a sloppy blow but it caught Skorri’s shoulder and sent the giant off balance just enough for Warren to push with his shield.
Skorri stumbled back a step as Warren brought his mace around in a second attack. The giant stepped back out of the way and brought his great hammer around in a full circle. Warren knew his shield wasn’t going up in time so he did the first thing that came to mind. He fell. Warren clattered to the ground in a heap of steel as Skorri’s hammer whistled by overhead. Warren swung his mace and smashed it into the back of Skorri’s knee, sending the giant down to a kneeling position. A moment later Warren and Skorri were both on their feet again.
The tower shield was getting heavy as pain began to replace the numbness in Warren’s arm. The big man grit his teeth as Skorri lunged forward, hammer arcing down again. This time Warren stepped sideways and angled his shield so that the blow glanced off instead of taking the full weight of it himse
lf. It still sent a fresh spasm of pain through his arm but the weight of the hammer made Skorri overextend himself.
Warren brought his mace around and bashed it into Skorri’s back. The blow sent the giant soldier rolling across the ground as Sergeant hunter yelled for the match to end. The big teen dropped his mace and knelt down by Skorri.
Skorri rolled over and started to laugh, “That hurt. But you’re a good fighter. I’ll get you back one of these days.”
The big man held out his hand to the giant on the ground, “I’m sure you will.”
Chapter 56 Brotherly Love
Warren and Skorri drifted out of the ring as Alden leaned back and crossed his arms, grinning at his partner. Skorri drifted over to the Knight Medics who coated his back with a golden aura of light that sunk into his skin. One of the Medics slapped him on the shoulder and waved the big man back to the crowd of students. Captain Fox and Sergeant Hunter stood talking to each other quietly for a moment.
After a few minutes of their arguing Alden coughed loudly. The pair looked up and narrowed their eyes at the young Cadet who looked down in mock embarrassment to hide his smile. The Captain grunted, “Have it your way. Alden and Enzo. You two are up.”
Alden put on his helmet. He still hated the stupid thing and the way it restricted his field of vision and made him feel suffocated but rules were rules. The young man set his long sword down and snagged a wooden blade off the practice table. Enzo carried a rectanglar shield and a dane axe. It was a single bit axe blade fixed to the end of a steel rod. The rod was then encased in a wooden handle with pins driven through it. The practice weapon simply had a padded blade instead of the sharpened one. The handle was three feet long; short enough to use one handed but long enough that Enzo could use both hands on it if the need arose. The blonde man also had rectangle shield fixed to his left arm. Alden studied it and noticed that the shield was actually a part of his bracer.
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