by Sam Ferguson
“Aaargh!” the man bellowed. He limped back a step or two, but then he again tried to move towards Kai, swinging his large mace.
Kai took three steps back and then changed direction. He ran straight at the mace wielder until he was almost within range. His foe let out a loud battle-cry to Khullan, the first ruler of hell, and began swinging wildly. Kai deftly sprang to the side, running up on the wall for five steps, putting him directly behind the large man. As the Ranger landed back on the ground he flipped his sword around and thrust backwards into the mace-man’s back. He felt his foe stiffen at the thrust, and again the man bellowed in pain. Kai pulled his sword free and delivered three more lightning-fast stabs before proceeding up the stairs.
By this time the house was full of commotion. In addition to the heavy steps upstairs, Kai heard women shouting and screaming amidst the curses and orders of men. As he leapt up the narrow stairway, three men started downward. Kai noticed that none of these men actually had weapons. One of them was holding his breeches up with his hands, a second was hastily throwing on a tunic, and the third was entirely naked, holding a shirt in front of his groin. The three of them stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Kai. The blood dripping from his sword and spattered across his body must have been a gruesome sight for them to see. They all put their backs to the wall and held their hands up, except for the naked guy, who kept one hand down to hold the shirt.
Another man appeared at the top of the stairs; this had a crossbow in his hand. Kai reached for his dagger as the crossbowman started to take aim, but his hand found nothing more than an empty sheath. It was then Kai remembered that he had left his dagger in another man’s gut. He did the only thing he could think of. He leapt up and swiped his sword at the men standing against the wall. As they jumped and tried to scramble out of the way, the crossbowman fired and struck one of the other three men. Kai pressed upwards, but now the three men were attacking him with fists and feet. He lashed out a few times with his sword and incapacitated each of them within moments.
Up the stairs he ran towards the crossbowman, but now the man had abandoned the crossbow and was holding a sword. He struck down at Kai, but the Ranger easily deflected the strike and launched a counter attack: two quick slashes cut at the guard’s legs followed by another strike slashing across his sword arm, and then a final thrust went through his left lung. Kai pushed the dying man aside with his boot and pressed on.
Nearby he saw an open door on the left side of the hallway. He went inside, ready to kill anything that moved, but all he saw was a woman. Her left arm was chained to one of the bedposts and she was frantically pulling at a sheet with her free hand, trying to cover herself. Kai’s rage increased at the sight. He slammed the woman’s door shut and continued down the hallway. Each room he looked into had a similar sight, and he continued to close each door after ensuring that no enemy was inside.
The end of the hallway had one final door. Kai kicked it, but it didn’t budge. He kicked again, but the door remained solid. Kai punched the door with his fist in frustration, but he then thought of an alternative. He ran back to the nearest bedroom and went straight for the window. The woman nearby was screaming for him to get away, but he paid her no mind. He threw the window open, sheathed his sword, and scrambled outside.
He stood on the windowsill, his fingers taking hold of the edge of the roof. He swung his legs to gain momentum and then started inching along the wall. His right hand would reach out farther along the roof with each swing of his legs and then his left hand would follow. It was not his most graceful effort, but it worked. Soon he was near a window that he figured would allow him access to the room behind the door. He looked at the window, careful not to expose himself. He wasn’t sure how to get to the window and open it without losing the upper hand. If he took too long, the men inside would surely be able to kill him, but he had to think of something fast.
An idea came to him. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he knew his time was running out. He moved his left hand to the best spot he could find and held tight. His right hand reached down for his mini-crossbow and he put it in his mouth, holding it fast with his teeth. Then he pulled his sword out with an upside-down grip.
“Basei, be with me now,” Kai prayed silently through his clenched teeth. He gathered all of his strength and thrust his sword through the wall just above the window, and then he let go with his left hand and swung down with his feet pointing out towards the window and his right hand gripping the sword’s handle. Kai felt his blade bend at holding his weight, but it held long enough for him to penetrate the window, shattering glass all over the room in a spray of crystalline shards. He let go of his sword and fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Two men turned to the window, the shock clearly painted on their faces. Kai wasted no time. His left hand grabbed the mini-crossbow from his mouth and he fired on the closest enemy. The man caught the bolt with his face and fell over backwards like a felled pine-tree. The second man roared and rushed at Kai with an axe. The Ranger jumped to his feet and grabbed a nearby chair. He thought of parrying the axe with the chair but instantly realized what a bad idea that would be, and threw the chair at his foe’s feet instead. The chair crashed directly in front of the axe-man and he tumbled onto his face. Kai jumped forward, landing on his enemy’s back and rained vicious strikes down on the man’s neck with his fists. After a few seconds, Kai wrestled the axe away from the man and brought it down to join with the guard’s flesh.
Kai then looked around the room and realized that no one else was there. He saw a pile of furniture up against the door he had tried to kick in and then noticed another door at the back of the room. He rushed to the door and was about to kick it down when the door floor open inwards and crashed into Kai. The Ranger flew back a few feet and landed on his back.
From the doorway emerged a large, muscular man with two swords dangling from a black leather belt. The man’s brown skin, wide shallow nose, and curly black hair told Kai that this man was a Kuscan, a race of humans similar to the large barbarian Varrvar tribesmen in size, temperament, and muscularity. Kuscans usually were found on islands, and made formidable pirates, but many had moved to the mainland and become powerful warlords. This man, as was typical of Kuscan males, had several black tribal tattoos on his chest marking his heritage and confirming Kai’s notion that he was indeed a Kuscan.
The Ranger then noticed a small tattoo on the Kuscan’s left forearm in the shape of two crossed swords. This tattoo distinguished the man as a master of fighting with two swords. He would prove to be a worthy opponent indeed. Kai scrambled to his feet and readied the axe in his hands.
“I am Gildar,” the man announced. “You must be Kai.” The Ranger shot Gildar a confused look at the mention of his name. Gildar smiled slyly and slowly drew his swords. “Your sister has been telling me that you would come for her. I guess she was right.”
“Where is she?” Kai snarled.
“She is in the cellar, along with her feisty friend. Don’t worry, they are safe inside of a large crate. We will be shipping them out of the city tomorrow,” Gildar sneered. “Pity you will never see her again.”
“I will take pleasure in killing you,” Kai replied.
“Ah yes, she did mention that you were a Ranger. Come, show me what you can do.”
The two erupted into a great battle. Clangs of steel rang out from within the room as the two fighters adeptly blocked and threw blows with their weapons. Kai’s rage boiled hot as he ducked underneath the swipe of Gildar’s left sword and felt the sting of the other sword as it grazed his left shoulder. A small amount of blood laced Gildar’s right blade, and a smile crossed the large man’s face.
“You are good my friend, but you shall die here,” Gildar taunted. Kai did not give him the pleasure of a verbal response. He simply let his hatred take over as he advanced closer, striking out with his axe as fast as he could. Gildar’s smile widened as another man emerged from the back room and approached the fi
ght. He wielded a wooden staff with steel ends.
“This is my friend Arillan.” Gildar smirked as he deflected Kai’s next strike.
The Ranger felt a small twinge of stupidity. He knew he should have checked the room before engaging in battle, but he had let his rage take over. He knew now that he must use his brains if he wanted to see the next day’s sunlight.
Kai rushed towards Gildar, but then at the last second he veered off and threw his axe at Arillan. Kai wasn’t quite as good with axes as he was with swords, but his strike still accomplished the goal. The blunt side of the axe-head struck Arillan’s collar bone, crushing it with a resounding crack.
Kai then leapt back and dodged an onslaught from Gildar in response to Arillan’s injury. Gildar kept swinging at Kai, pushing him farther and farther back towards the pile of furniture at the other door. The Ranger smiled, turned and dashed back to the make-shift barricade and grabbed a large armchair from the pile. He whipped it out at the Kuscan warrior to slow him down. Then he grabbed a small stool from the pile and threw it as well. Gildar caught the stool in the nose and staggered backwards. Kai then grabbed another stool from the pile and rushed forward.
“Look out!” Arillan yelled from the other side of the room. He was leaning against the wall, using his staff to hold himself up.
Thanks to the warning, Gildar was able to dodge the second airborne stool. He then kicked the armchair away and resumed his attack. Kai somersaulted forward and to the side, grabbed a sword from the guard he had killed with his mini-crossbow and prepared to square off against Gildar.
The two of them danced in a circle of death with their blades creating the music that they moved to. The rings of steel filled the room as the two lashed out more and more ferociously. After several abated attempts, Kai was able to land a small gash on Gildar’s left arm. The Kuscan took a step back and roared defiantly.
Kai winked and took the opportunity to extricate himself from the fight with Gildar in order to finish off Arillan, who was still leaning against the wall. Kai ran with all haste at the man. Gildar growled and started after Kai, but the Ranger was by far the faster of the two.
Arillan tried to raise his staff to defend himself, but his injury prevented him from effectively lifting the weapon. He shuffled over towards a second window, hoping to stall the Ranger long enough for Gildar to catch up, but it was no use. He never stood a chance. Kai’s sword cut him down faster than a flash of lightning.
Kai watched Arillan fall to the floor and then he spun around to deal with Gildar. The Ranger’s eyes opened wide as he realized that the Kuscan was already bearing down on him. Gildar rushed him with such force that neither one of them even connected a blow with their swords. Instead, their bodies slammed together hard and the two of them went out through the nearby window. The sound of shattering glass was followed by a hard landing on the ground that took the breath from both of the warriors. They rolled around on the ground helplessly for what seemed like hours until they regained their senses and resumed their furious battle.
“I will rip you apart and chew upon your spine, you maggot!” Gildar growled in response. The sounds of steel biting steel were rivaled only by the roars emitted by these two warriors as they strived one against the other. Every once in a while a small amount of blood would hit the ground as a sword would make a small but painful gash upon the flesh of one of the fighters. Kai and Gildar seemed evenly matched. Even though the Kuscan was by far stronger and wielded two swords, Kai’s skill evened things out and the two found themselves in a deadlock. They each drew gash for gash. Blood lined both of the fighters’ blades.
Then finally, after long last, Kai delivered a crippling blow. His sword cut through Gildar’s quadriceps deep enough to render the muscle entirely useless. The Kuscan roared in agony as he dropped to his right knee. Kai looked down into Gildar’s eyes and sneered. The Ranger could end it now, but no, he wasn’t finished yet. Gildar was going to hurt.
Another yell erupted from the Kuscan warrior as Kai thrust his blade through his left arm. Gildar dropped the sword from that hand instantly. Kai then sliced across Gildar’s right shoulder. The Kuscan winced and released the second sword also. Kai felt a surge of delight fill his soul as he watched the large man writhe in pain.
Then, to Kai’s surprise Gildar summoned strength enough to rise to his feet. The Kuscan drew a knife with his right hand and tried to lash out, but Kai sidestepped the assault and drove his sword through Gildar’s heart. The giant man fell to the ground in a slump. His blood spilled out upon the street. Kai then came down with one final swipe of his sword on his enemy’s neck. Gildar’s head rolled away from his body as Kai rushed back into the building.
He found his sister and Jenedina in the cellar, just as Gildar had said. He freed them from the large wooden crate and held them in his arms as they sobbed uncontrollably. Nobody said a word for a long time. The three of them huddled together in the cellar and hugged tightly. Finally, Kai urged them to their feet and explained that they had to go before the guards arrived. The two women nodded and wiped the tears from their battered faces.
Kai led them out of the building and the trio disappeared into the darkness and escaped undetected. As they made their way back to Kai’s house, he realized that now his own life had taken a different road. He would not be able to return from this path. Not only would the city guard and the remaining survivors from the inn be hunting him, but so would the rangers.
All of the Rangers, including Kai were trained experts in the sciences of investigation, stealth, and assassination. They were masters of the arts of death. Kai knew he had maybe one day before the Rangers would figure out that he had caused this scene of carnage. After that, it was simply a matter of how fast they could track him down and kill him. No one had ever escaped the Rangers before. Even though he himself was one of the best, he could not hope to defeat all eleven of them. It was impossible. But it no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered now was getting his sister to safety.
Kai would try to use his money to send Sebina and Jenedina away before he was caught. He had been saving his salary for the last twelve years in the hopes of relocating to Kobhir with his sister. He had never told her of his plans before, but now it would be impossible for them both to go. He could, however, send her with Jenedina. He hoped that then at least his sister could have a new start. Kai mulled over the details as he escorted Jenedina and Sebina home.
“Can I stay with the two of you tonight?” Jenedina asked when they reached Kai and Sebina’s house.
“Yes,” Kai said softly as he opened the door and let them in. “That would be fine. Why don’t you both go and sit down by the hearth, I will make a fire to warm the house.” Kai closed the door behind them and locked it. The sound of the bolt scraping into place jolted the two women, and Jenedina started to cry. Kai sighed and shook his head helplessly. He walked over and quickly made a fire and beckoned the two to come over and sit on the floor nearby.
“Thank you,” Sebina said. “I knew you would come for us.”
Kai nodded and hugged her gently before getting up to find a blanket. He opened a small closet and pulled out a wool blanket big enough for the two women to share and wrapped it around them. “The desert nights can get quite cold,” Kai commented in an attempt to make things seem normal for the girls.
The two women looked up at Kai, but they said nothing. What was there to say after such horrid tragedies? Kai sighed again and walked into the back room. He closed the door gently and lit a candle. The light flooded the room, scattering the shadows about as he moved. Kai undressed and cleaned his sword. As he cleaned the blade he realized his terrible mistake. This was not his sword. His sword was embedded in the wall of the house, near a second-floor window, and his knife was still buried in the abdomen of one of his enemy’s. His sword had been a gift from Captain Lador upon joining the Rasselin Rangers, and Kai had often shown his knife to his comrades as it was a favorite weapon of his. He knew that the blades wo
uld be used to implicate him in the deadly business. Kai tossed the bloody sword to the floor and punched the nearby wall in frustration.
“What do I do now?” Kai mumbled. After punching the wall one more time he walked to the head of his bed. He moved his bed away from the wall, reached down and pulled up a loose floorboard. He stuck his hand down in the hole and retrieved a small leather bag, closed with the employment of a drawstring. He hefted the small, but heavy bag up and a faint smile crossed his lips for the briefest moment as he thought of its contents.
This bag was freedom, for himself and for his sister. It was his life earnings. This bag was going to give him his dreams in Kobhir where he and his sister could live happily. The contents inside, five hundred gold pieces, were almost enough to make their way to Aunt Agnes’ alchemical shop in Kobhir and buy into her business as she had offered.
Soon, however, the smile faded as he recalled that he would not be going. In fact it was likely that the only place he was going was to his death. The executioner’s block or perhaps the noose would be his final destination. But at least his sister would be safe. This money could send both Jenedina and Sebina to Aunt Agnes in Kobhir where they could pay for alchemical training and settle in. Kai sighed as he rose to his feet. The gravity of the consequences of his actions finally settled in on him and nagged at his soul.
Kai pushed the bed back and then returned to the front room and knelt in front of his sister. She looked up at him with a tear ridden face, but she said nothing. Kai reached out with his left hand and gently brushed her hair from her forehead. His hand then grasped hers and he pulled it towards him. He kissed the hand of his baby sister, and then he overturned it, and placed the bag of gold into it.
“Do you remember Aunt Agnes?” he asked.
She nodded silently.
“She offered to let us buy into her shop after ma and pa died. I have been saving ever since then to take us out of here.”