The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame

by Brent Roth

  Caught between a thousand-strong army on the rear and a nearly thousand-strong combined army at the front, they buckled and collapsed in only a moment. Their defeat certain, I ignored them and ran at full speed through the Triumvirate’s troops and joined the ranks of the Harmont only to find them attacking me as I deflected and kicked them away. Continuing to run, they began to ignore me as if I had lost my mind.

  Entering the forest behind them after quite a struggle and a very long sprint, I quickly hid behind a tree and tore off my purple armband and burnt it on the spot. Taking off my newly purchased cloak, I tossed it on the ground with the intention of discarding it.

  Staring at the cloak on the ground, I decided to burn it as well so there would be no evidence of a discarded item in the forest. Lighting it on fire and watching it burn as a small cloud of smoke rose up into the air, I let the remaining pieces fall to the snow.

  No longer with an armband on, I pulled the blue one out from a pocket and slipped it on only to turn and find myself in a precarious situation. Standing in front of me were thirty or so NPCs of the Blacktombs with their purple armbands clearly displayed as they all wore the exact same equipment. Iron-studded leather armor with sword and shield, it was easy to tell that they were inhabitants and not adventurers.

  Noticing the fire and smoke, they had bee-lined directly to my position and came to a stop only a few tens of yards away. Debating what to do next as the thought of fleeing towards my allies crossed my mind, something… someone caught my eye. Safety was only eighty or so yards away as my allies were engaged in battle nearby but the one in front of me intrigued me.

  Stepping out from behind the tree as I had been caught, I decided to test my luck. In the center of the pack was a relatively tall, young, and gray-colored short-haired female with a broadsword and a full ensemble of iron armor with leather armor underneath. By far the most geared-out individual I had seen on the battlefield, my thoughts jumped to that of the person leading the enemies Leaderboards, the Sword Instructor that had been steadily climbing the ranks since the first battle.

  She stood there surrounded by swordsmen and swordswomen with her slightly oversized claymore leaning over her shoulder, as calm as could be in a situation where she should have either been fleeing or rushing into the fight. Confused as to why she was hiding in the forest and why she had yet to attack me, I was convinced she was the Sword Instructor from the boards as her gear was of exceptional quality for this stage of the game.

  If her skills matched her gear, it was within reason that she would lead the boards when dealing with underequipped and unskilled players. She also had a personal army guarding her so it seemed likely to me. With more questions than answers though, I wanted to engage in dialogue before risking a fight with an Exceptional Threat plus her mini-legion of bodyguards that accompanied her. They would prove to be a challenge if it came to a fight.

  “Strange seeing you here,” I said nonchalantly as I stood my ground.

  “What will you do, adventurer?” asked the female while ignoring my comment, clearly not interested in having a normal conversation.

  “Have a talk?” I replied with a shrug.

  “You do not wish to flee?” she asked with a tilt of her head, again ignoring me as she crossed her arms and stared me down.

  “Your side is losing, do you not intend to run as well?” I countered, having decided to play to her tune rather than try and force her to play to mine.

  “And yet you stand there, as if you do not stare death in the face,” she said clearly while taking a few steps forward and simultaneously bringing her heavy claymore down to the ground, setting it between her legs with palms resting on the pommel.

  "In this world, I stare death in the face every time I see my reflection,” I curtly replied with a straight face, while keeping my unthreatening stance. “One gets used to it after a while."

  “So you wish to challenge me, adventurer,” she said calmly while maintaining her position. “You aren’t the first to do so… and you certainly won’t be the last.”

  “Well technically you would be challenging me,” I retorted with a grin while lowering my axe to my feet and copying her stance, with my palms resting on the knob. “You are the Sword Instructor are you not? You’ve amassed quite the tally, the most kills on your side… one-hundred and thirty-eight according to the accounts.”

  “Surely you jest adventurer,” she said with a laugh as the men and women behind her did the same, chuckling and grinning from ear-to-ear.

  “Has word reached your ears of the Alliance All-Star,” I said with feigned interest, as I leaned forward and cupped my hand against my one remaining ear. Tilting my head towards her and whispering the rest out, I played the entire scene out. “According to sources that man is sitting on over three-hundred kills. Simple mathematics tells us that three is greater than one. Thus you are indeed the challenger young one.”

  Her smile quickly vanishing at the words as her entourage gripped their weapons and tightened their hold on their shields, she in turn picked up her weapon and stared back at me as she thought over the small threat. Taking her time and without any sudden movements from her side, she appeared to be judging my potential ability.

  “Those words have reached my ears,” she said sternly. “Though that man surely has two ears… while you only have one. He does not strike me as one to be caught off-guard.”

  Beginning to pace in a small circle while maintaining the same distance, I kept my axe over my shoulder as I tried to think of a way out of the current situation. She was worth a lot of money but I had plenty of it coming. As an extremely powerful NPC, I wanted her on my side. My goal was to recruit her as a Companion, no matter the cost or struggle.

  “I have a question for you,” I asked as I accumulated lightning in my palm and let it dissipate to show her that I was indeed the same man. Eyes now burning a dull red, I stared at them as I continued to pace back and forth.

  “So you are him,” she mumbled as she waved to her troops, causing them to spread out behind her. “What is it that you wish to know, adventurer?”

  Taking my time to pace while watching them fan out, I snuck a glance at the battlefield and saw that the entire force of the Woodfalls and the Triumvirate had fallen. With only the Blacktombs and the guild members of aRIOT left, the battle would soon be over. The random pugs had already begun to rout. It was only a matter of time before we won.

  “Are you a convict?” I asked without reservation.

  “How dare you insult my honor,” she angrily shot back as she lifted her sword, only to hold her position as I instantly brought a bolt of lightning to my palm as a counter.

  “I only ask because I find it strange,” I said kindly, in direct contrast to my hostile appearance. “Why were you on the front lines from the very start then? You don’t strike me as one needing to improve her rank.”

  With no reply coming from her, I decided to push the topic.

  “You were banished by the bastard son of the Blacktombs,” I mumbled as I looked away and put a finger to my lips, pretending to understand more than I did. “He sent you to the frontlines to redeem yourself but it was only a formality. He actually sent you to your death.”

  “Ho-how do you know that?” she questioned immediately. “How do you know that he is a bastard? That is known only to a select few, that is a well-kept secret! Reveal yourself now!”

  “Clearly not well-kept enough,” I stated somewhat callously, hiding my happiness as I only threw it in there for effect due to overhearing the maid complaining while waiting in the sewers a day before. “Your leader is dead, there is no reason for you to fight.”

  “Those are only rumors,” she replied. “Official word has not reached my ears and until then I will continue to carry out my duties.”

  “Only the child lives,” I began to explain while trying to figure out my angle. “I have it on… good account, that the mother, the father, and the former head of the house along with his wife are
no longer of the living. You wish to serve a house that no longer exists.”

  “I do NOT wish it!” she shouted at me. “I am bound by oath!”

  Stopping in my tracts, the rumors on the forums talked of how the Blacktombs were a dark, corrupt family and the Woodfalls were actually the more honest of the two. If by extension this NPC had been bound by oath to a corrupt family, then perhaps she could be swayed to leave them and join me… to join the real dark side.

  “What if I offered you a new oath?” I asked as I let my eyes return to normal and dropped my axe to the ground. “I believe you to be an honorable, powerful individual. It would be a shame to have to kill you.”

  “So you are a noble,” she said with disgust. “Spoken like a true manipulator, you only seek to enslave me, to use me as you see fit and to have me die when it pleases you. I will have none of it. You will not kill me, you are far too weak for that.”

  Spitting on the floor, she then raised her sword up into a high-guard and immediately began to step forward as her troops circled around. Spreading out and completely encircling me as I was forced to match her pace, the duel to the death was about to begin.

  “So discussions are over,” I mumbled. “Pity.”

  As she began to inch closer, the thought occurred to me that I could challenge her to a fair fight, as she reminded me of Annalie and the same had been done. If she was of a similar type, moved by action and not words, then beating her could raise my trust.

  “Ah, if I challenged you to an honorable duel and defeated you, would you surrender yourself to me?” I asked quickly as she waited for an opening to present itself.

  “I would rather die than submit myself to another man’s rule,” she loudly replied. “Especially some flowery and egotistical noble who thinks too highly of his own skills.”

  “Ah, so if you lost you would rather kill yourself?” I mocked as I turned my hands up in the air. “Isn't that rather shameful?”

  “What right do you have to decide what is a shameful death? If I lose the fight, then I forfeit my life,” she replied as she continued to circle around me, still waiting for me to lower my guard and grant her an opportunity to strike.

  "Forfeit your life?” I said loudly so that everyone could hear. “So the honorable thing is to die after defeat? To commit suicide?”

  “This ends now,” she stated clearly as she raised her sword and spoke to her loyal soldiers. “Do not join the fight, this is a duel between two.”

  “You are at a disadvantage that way,” I replied immediately. “If you charge me now with weapon drawn you will only find yourself on the floor. My magic is far more powerful than you could hope to imagine.”

  “Humph! A mage… that you are. You have wasted my time most damnably,” she spat out as she started inching forward, attempting to distract me with her words. “Magic has no place in war, it is the device of cowards and truthfully cannot stand to the might of the sword. It is a parlor trick, a waste of time, and will not protect you from being cleaved into two when I am through with you.”

  Dropping her stance she immediately burst into a sprint as she charged me with her two-handed sword held high above and slightly behind. Shifting my stance as the distance between us was being closed at a rapid rate, I choked up on my axe with my left hand and began a one-handed lightning bolt in my right. A chant-less cast as two seconds passed us by and five yards remained, lightning shot forth as my hand was thrust forward.

  Surging electricity swiftly covered the distance as she turned her sword wide and swung to meet the near instantaneous travel speed of the lightning. Clashing with sparks flying in the air and showering down over her, she quickly spun her sword and thrust it into the ground as the remaining electricity dissipated and displaced harmlessly in the dirt.

  Recognizing her talent, I let a grin slip as she pulled her sword and gave it a little kick to help propel it back to her shoulder. Standing five yards away while staring at me with a condescending expression on her face, she believed she had the upper hand with only two steps separating us.

  “I thought you said you knew magic,” she boasted. “You’ll need more than petty magic tricks to beat me boy. Is that axe only for decoration?”

  Not allowing a response from me, she quickly lunged and covered the distance in a flash as I pulled my axe down with everything I had, impacting her large claymore with the blade of the bearded axe, the shock of the impact sent us both reeling as sparks flew from the contact. Weapons clanging and bouncing back, we readied ourselves as she returned with a side swing that was difficult for me to parry.

  Lightly swinging and deflecting as I stepped back, she returned to a low-guard and swung upwards as I countered with a high-guard and a drop of the axe. Overpowering her blow and sending her sword into the dirt, she immediately twisted and pulled the sword up along the shaft of the axe as I was forced to release my grip.

  Sword sliding along the axe’s shaft as I let go with my right hand at the last second, only to grab it again with my left, I kicked at her and dropped back as I repositioned with axe held high. Unrelenting with her combination attacks, she twisted and turned as a wide arcing side-strike was batted away with sparks flying once more.

  The harmless visual distraction did nothing but the vibrations of the impact numbed my hands as she quickly turned and circled the blade around, dropping it down on me as I shoved the axe straight up and caught the blade above the cheek of the axe’s head. Stopping her weak swing mid-motion, the impact jarred her as she was forced to jump back and reposition.

  Going on the offensive as she attempted to gather herself, I let another high-angled swing down as I cut across from right to left only for her to meet me with another upwards swing. Catching my axe and hooking underneath the beard, we both pulled and compared strengths as we attempted to disarm one another but as I was gaining ground, she shifted her grip and slid the blade along the shaft once more as I was forced to pull back.

  Separating again as she now pressed the attack, her furious strikes came faster and faster as I failed to match her speed in order to properly parry. My wooden shaft feeling the brunt of the impacts, she managed to maneuver to my side and swung with an insane strength that her appearance belied.

  Left with only the shaft to block, the sword broke the wooden shaft in two and cut through the thick bear hide along my torso as I was sent tumbling into the snow. Slipping and sliding as my axe had been rendered useless yet again, I regained my footing right as she attempted to behead me.

  Tucking my head in and dodging as I jumped to the side and hit the ground with a roll, her fast and clean movements were hard to keep up with as she used a [Step & Slash] and quickly closed the distance with a devastating overheard swing. Rolling once more as the blade hit dirt and sent chunks of soil flying up, I managed to get back to my feet as I drew the two kukris from their sheaths at the small of my back.

  Standing up with the three-pound knife in each hand, I held my ground as the hefty blades weighed nearly half that of her two-handed sword. Strong enough to deflect despite being only a quarter of the overall length of her sword, the only thing on my mind was the lack of a guard on the knife.

  Standing back as she regained her composure, she examined my weapons and my condition as a small amount of blood dripped down my side. The superficial wound on my stomach was nothing and she knew it.

  Lifting her left elbow above her shoulder with the hilt of the sword above her head, the nearly four-foot blade was pointed directly at me as she circled slowly and waited for an opening. Positioned to counter my attacks, I stood back and kept my stance as I waited for her to make the first move.

  Then as she took a single step forward she dropped the left shoulder and transitioned to the opposite side as she lowered the blade and then performed a quick upward swing from the right with the intent to throw me off balance. Countering the weak blow with the fourteen-inch blade in my left hand, I stopped her movement and instantly followed with a second blow aimed at the ce
nter of her blade with my right.

  Utilizing a [Remise], she quickly flicked the blade in an attempt to land a second attack without retracting her arms but only managed to collide with the heavy weight of my downward swing. The force of the impact sent the sword into the dirt and as I attempted to close the distance she managed to twist and bring the sword up with a slash at my midsection.

  Narrowly missing the tip of the blade, I stood back and waited for her to attack as I couldn’t close the distance. Repeating her movements, she returned to a guard position with hilt by her head and sword tip pointed down and out. Keeping me at a distance as she analyzed my movements and reevaluated my skills.

  Then with another feint she launched an attack from the opposite side as I stepped into the blow and blocked with my right blade, only to hammer down with the left on the centerline of the sword once more. Breaking apart and separating before she could land another [Remise], I stood back as I eyed the small hairline cracks visible on the blade left behind from my axe.

  Realizing my advantage, I immediately lunged forward and slashed at her as she deflected and went for the counter, thrusting towards my chest as I dropped a kukri to the ground and grabbed the forward-angled guard. Pulling her closely as she spun away and attempted to slice at me, I held my grip and struck the fractures once more.

  Loud sharp clangs of metal on metal ringing out as sparks flew up into my eyes, I pulled and wrestled with her as she managed to break free with a slash at my arm. Blood dripping down my left forearm and onto the handle of my knife, I ignored it as I eyed the blade. At that moment she looked to the blade herself and noticed the cracks that had formed.

  Tossing her claymore to the floor, she motioned to one of her soldiers. My grin quickly faded as they tossed her two longswords and she resumed her stance without a break or pause to her steps. Circling me once more, I picked up the abandoned kukri and resumed my defensive stance.

  Beads of sweat rolling down my face as my white-knuckles begged for a moment of respite, I clutched the knives that would keep me safe for a minute longer. Then as I blinked she disappeared in a flash, swinging down with her left only to be parried as she engaged a [Redoublement] and quickly attacked a second time with the left only to finally follow with a right.