They outnumbered the guards two to one but the guards had a small amount of armor and real weapons. None in the crowd had anything better than the occasional knife they were using for their dinner. Weapons were brought out and Rayne quickly looked to Gerrard. The man gave him a serious look and stared at him in contemplation. After a few moments he gave him a silent nod.
Rayne needed no more prodding, and he removed the shabby cloak he used to disguise his armor and pulled his hood up. He made his way as quickly as he could toward the edge of the room and circled until he was behind the guards. People were throwing all manner of things at them and pushing them back with chairs as they tried to advance on the people.
Rayne came up behind the first two and started on a stabbing spree. His blades met no resistance with the worthless excuse for armor these men had. The first one received both of Rayne’s daggers to the back, and he quickly moved to the second and third man. The others finally noticed something was wrong as they turned and spotted him. Cries of alarm rang out from the guards as he advanced on the next one and stabbed him through the neck. Without pausing, he continued to the next and made short work of the man with a dual strike to the chest.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (1) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit).
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (2) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit).
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (3) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit).
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (4) (Level 10) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (5) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Heart Strike).
Bandit Guard (Level 10) has died (x5).
Five of the men were down and only two were now standing. The third guard left alive was trying to get up from the ground where the man from the inn had been pummeling him. One of the standing guards charged him with a clumsy overhead swing and he caught the blade on his swordbreaker and, with a twist of his hands, quickly wrenched it out of the man’s hand. Stepping forward, he plunged his stiletto dagger directly into the man’s heart. The other guard looked like he would charge forward but he had forgotten about the crowd and a burly man had stepped up behind him and swung a wooden chair at him as hard as he could. The chair shattered across the man’s back and he crumpled to the floor in a heap. One of the other patrons picked up one of the guard’s swords and killed the man who was trying to get to his feet while the burly man grabbed another sword and killed the one he had hit with the chair.
They all looked around in relief and dread. What were they going to do after killing city guards? From outside roared loud noises, and Rayne rushed to look through the door. He could see guards running everywhere, and flames were engulfing structures all over. The smoke from the city was blanketing the air. Screams could be heard up and down the streets. Rayne ran back to Gerrard, who had gathered his girls and Greta in the back.
“The city is on fire. The riot is happening,” Rayne told him sullenly. They both stood in silence for a moment and at the same time looked to each other.
“Christina!” They both said in unison.
Rayne looked around frantically for a moment. She had never made it and they had forgotten about her. His gaze returned to Gerrard.
“Gather the weapons from the guards and keep them safe. I’ll go check on her,” Rayne told Gerrard
Gerrard nodded and made for the weapons. Rayne smiled at Libby and Greta and ran for the door. He exited the building to absolute chaos and took off running through the streets. There was fighting all over the streets. Multiple groups of people were fighting against the so-called guards. There must have been similar announcements to what they heard in the inn all throughout the city with the level of violence in the city.
Rayne ignored most of what was happening around him as he ran for the shop. One guard was foolish enough to charge him and Rayne quickly dispatched him.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (Level 10) with Dual Slash (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).
Bandit Guard (Level 10) has died.
He continued as quickly as he could, and before long, was at the door to the alchemy shop. To his dismay, the door was slightly ajar. Christina would have never left the door open. Rayne wasn’t sure if it was being robbed or if Christina was in trouble.
Rayne crept to the door and listed for a moment. He heard something that sounded like someone being slapped and then heard muffled whimpers to accompany it. Pushing the door open quietly, he snuck through to a scene of horror.
Two men were in the room with Christina. They were the bandit style guards. One of them had Christina pinned to the desk in the room and had ripped her leggings off. The sound he had thought was slapping was indeed the sound of flesh hitting flesh but not in the place he had originally suspected. One of his arms was holding her to the desk while the other was over her mouth muffling her cries of protest as he had his way with her. The other guard in the room was watching the action and had a hand in his pants.
“Hurry up, Duncan. I want a turn, too, and the crowd is getting worse outside.” The guard with his hand in his pants told the other.
“She is too good to let go of yet. Give me a few more minutes. You will get your turn.” The man named Duncan told him.
Rayne’s fury rose as they mistreated the angel that was Christina. Without hesitation, he charged for the man that was watching and with a burst of Air Magic, slammed both blades into the man’s neck as hard as he could. The man’s head separated from his body with the force of the impact and thudded to the ground.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Decapitation).
Bandit Guard (Level 10) has died.
The other guard heard the noise and turned to investigate. Rayne was already closing the distance, and when the guard spotted him, he stumbled away from Christina and tried to grab his weapon. Rayne would make this man pay for his action. A quick slash of his swordbreaker removed the man’s offending bits, and he screamed in pain. This only seemed to bolster Rayne’s resolve as he started quickly slicing the man with shallow cuts. His intent was to make it as painful as possible as he cut shallow wounds all over the man’s body. Both of the man’s eyes were ruptured with slashes and he was bleeding all over.
“Go to hell where you belong.” Rayne spat at the man in low tones as he buried both blades into the man’s chest for the final blow.
You have dealt 50 damage to Duncan (Level 10) with Iron Swordbreaker (Limb Removal).
You have dealt 120 damage to Duncan (Level 10) with Dual Slash (Minor Cut) (x40).
You have dealt 30 damage to Duncan (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit).
Duncan (Level 10) has died.
Rayne was breathing heavily as he put his blades up and went to Christina. She was crying and had her face covered with her hands. She had thankfully pulled her legs up to her to help hide some of the embarrassment. Rayne came up to her and laid his hand on hers. Christine opened her eyes and fear engulfed them as she screamed. Rayne quickly realized the problem and removed his hood.
“It’s okay, Christina, it is me, Rayne. I came back to check on you when the fighting started in town.” He told her carefully.
She looked up at him again, and the tears started falling even faster.
“Oh, Rayne. It was horrible. I was getting ready to leave and about to lock up when those men barged through the door and grabbed me. There was nothing I could do to stop them.” She told him through her sobs.
“It’ll be okay. I have taken care of both of them and they will never bother anyone again. Are you hurt? Do you need anything?” Rayne asked in concern.
“Can you make it so that never happened?” she asked in pleading tones.
“If I could, I would. There is no way to make that terror go away, I’m afraid.” He reached down to take her in his embrace to protect her, and she flinched away from him.
<
br /> After a moment, she spoke again, “I’m sorry, Rayne. I know it wasn’t your fault, and you would never do that, but I don’t want to be touched right now.”
“It was my mistake, Christina. I should have considered that beforehand.” He told her.
“Oh, what are my parents going to think of me now? No one will want to marry me now!” She wailed as even more emotion caught her.
“They will think you are still their beautiful daughter and will not see you as anything less. Any man that’s not smart enough to see the same isn’t good enough for you anyway. Will you be all right here if I leave you? The situation in the town is getting out of hand and there was a fight at the Honey Hole. I really need to go check on the inn and make sure they are safe. This pace has sturdy walls. You can lock yourself in and no one should be able to get in here.” Rayne told her. He was confident in the safety of this place since he had taken it upon himself to alter the locks and prevent many of the common lock picking methods from working.
She nodded at him as he turned to leave. She carefully got to her feet and followed him to the door. Right before he left she spoke again.
“Thank you. I will never forget your help today.” She mumbled.
Rayne’s anxiety about the situation at the inn was getting the better of him. He nodded to her as she closed the door, and he heard the clank of the lock as it secured in the frame.
His trip through the streets was even worse this time around. Smoke was everywhere, and he could hear fighting from all directions. Hopefully, the shop wouldn’t burn down, but he trusted Christina to use the Fire Suppression potions if it came to that. One guard stumbled into him through the haze, and he cut the man down without a second thought.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (Level 10) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).
Bandit Guard (Level 10) has died.
He was done caring about these so-called guards and had resolved to kill every one of them he saw. The trip was quick back to the inn, and he entered another scene that caused dread. Arranged in the room were twenty guards with one more man that was wearing a true guard outfit. He looked to be one of the guard captains and was one of the few real soldiers Rayne had seen yet. His outfit included a full iron breastplate with a cap helm and he had metal greaves and bracers on. His face sported a thick moustache, and he had long, wavy brown hair. The evil grin on his face got under Rayne’s skin.
Rayne spotted Gerrard on the ground in front of most of the patrons that were trapped in the back. He couldn’t tell what had happened, but the man looked in bad shape. The rest of the group looked nervous as the guards faced them and had spread out to block their escape from the wall. Rayne spotted Greta and Libby in the crowd.
“You are all under arrest for treason and will be hanged once this mess in town has been cleared up. We will not tolerate the death of our guards in this city.” The man in charge called out as if he were bored.
“You can’t do this to us!” One person called from the front. “We had nothing to do with that.”
One guard stepped forward and ran a sword through the woman that had spoken.
“I have already told you I charge you with the crime, and since the crime is treason, your lives are already forfeit. I, Guard Captain Davoe have decreed this decision, and it is final. Any further outbursts will spell your immediate death.” Davoe told them.
Rayne couldn’t see any way out of this except to fight. They were outnumbered, but these fools were garbage fighters. It wouldn’t help the other patrons in the fight, but they didn’t worry, Rayne. Davoe may be difficult to challenge, but that wasn’t his main concern. He knew as soon as he attacked, it would start a small riot in this room, and the guards would start attacking everyone. He needed to draw as much attention to him as possible to stop them from going after the others.
Rayne stood up to full height and called out above the group, “You are a joke as a guard captain. These men are not guards. They are nothing more than poor excuses for bandits. Your stupidity has spelled your doom, and I am here to take your lives!”
Every eye in the place had turned toward him. His hood had been brought back up when he had left the shop, and all they could see was his black armor and his blades. The place was still and quiet as everyone stared at the man until he heard laughter from the back of the group. The leader of the guards was the one making the noise as he turned to address Rayne.
“You poor fool. What do you expect to accomplish here?” He said to Rayne. Davoe turned to the rest of the guards, “He is just one man. Kill him!”
The guards surged forward, but Rayne was quicker. He shot into the closest group of guards with Air Magic enhanced speed and went to work. A shot to one’s side was followed by a stab to the next one’s chest. His momentum never stopped moving as he quickly weaved through the initial group of guards and quickly took all of them out. The group of six all died under his blades, and the rest of the guards froze at the spectacle.
Bandit Guard (Level 10) has died (x6).
The statement surprised Davoe, and then he started chuckling again.
“It’s about time a worthy opponent found his way to me. Now I understand why you were willing to come to challenge this group,” Davoe said, as he pushed his way through the crowd. He stopped a dozen feet from Rayne and pulled a small buckler shield off his back and quickly cinched the straps. His longsword was drawn next and held in his hand.
“Now, let me show you what a real fighter looks like,” Davoe said as he dashed for Rayne.
The man’s speed surprised him as he charged Rayne. A quick slash of the longsword was aimed for Rayne’s head, and he ducked out of the way. To his surprise, the buckler found him when he ducked and smashed him in the side of the head. Rayne stumbled away and marveled that the man had anticipated where he would move and already had the shield there to meet him.
Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) has dealt 40 damage to you with Shield Bash.
His focus snapped into place and he used Air Magic to boost his speed. He stabbed his dagger at the man and the buckler shield was brought into its path. Rayne twisted the dagger into a slash against the shield to avoid damaging the tip. The blade bounced off as he brought the other dagger around in a slash. Davoe caught that one on his sword and stepped forward to shield bash Rayne again. Expecting this reaction, Rayne dove to the side and slashed at the captain’s exposed thigh, leaving a gash on him.
You have dealt 15 damage to Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) with Iron Swordbreaker (Glancing Blow).
Rayne barely heard Davoe swear under his breath as the man advanced forward again. Rayne was having trouble keeping up with him, even while using his enhanced speed. They traded blows back and forth, but their fighting seemed to be at a stalemate. Davoe’s defense was almost impossible to get through while Rayne was so quick that Davoe was having trouble landing a hit.
Davoe was getting frustrated at the fight. The man finally stopped trying to get at Rayne and took a few steps back.
“Since this is going nowhere. Let’s make this more interesting.” Davoe said out loud. His face shifted into murderous glee as he yelled, “Kill them all!”
The entire place shifted into action as the guards made their way to the patrons to attack them. Most of the men stepped forward to stop the attacks and try to wrestle the guards to the ground, but only a few of the patrons had weapons. Rayne was devastated by what was happening. This coward knew he wasn’t making any headway, so he was trying to push Rayne to do something foolish. There wasn’t enough time to play this cat-and-mouse game with Davoe, so if something drastic was what he wanted, then something drastic was what he would get.
Come to me my friend. It is time to kill. Rayne thought to the soul inside him.
I hunger, Rayne. Feed me. It replied.
With a thought, he triggered Shadow Form, and the shadows exploded from him. They wrapped around his feet and hands to increase his speed and strength and the shadowy haze enveloped his face inside the
hood. The lightning eyes and mouth quickly followed as a feral grin made its way onto his face.
You have activated Shadow Form. Your movement and attack speed has been increased by 40%. Enemies find it 50% more difficult to target you accurately.
“Time to die,” Rayne told Davoe as he rushed him.
The man had fear painted on his face and was backing up as Rayne rushed him. His reason had fled him and he was slow in getting his shield and sword up. Rayne stabbed the man three times in as many seconds to his side as he circled the man and stabbed him twice more in the back. His momentum carried him back to the front of Davoe and he looked at the man’s face as he died.
“Foolish, even in death,” Rayne told the man as he collapsed to the ground.
You have dealt 160 damage to Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit) (x2).
You have dealt 160 damage to Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) with Iron Swordbreaker (Critical Hit) (x2).
You have dealt 30 damage to Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit).
Guard Captain Davoe (Level 15) has died.
The guards near the captain all turned his direction and charged at him. He effortlessly dodged their attacks and ended most of them with two quick stabs to the chest or back. He didn’t have to worry about hitting vital organs since they all had relatively low health compared to the damage he could deal. His despair was climbing, though, because he could see a few of the guards were still attacking the patrons of the bar, and they were closing on Libby and Greta.
The enemies kept jumping in his way as he fought ferociously to get to Libby. His path felt like walking through tree sap. After some intense fighting, he finally cleared the group that had assaulted him. His speed picked up as he made it toward Libby. There were only two guards in front of him, but both were closing in on Greta and Libby. He reached the closest one to him and stabbed the man in the back with both of his daggers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other guard had reached Libby and was thrusting his sword at her.
Rayne Page 15