Aphrodite's Acolyte

by J. E. Spatafore

  Before long, Fidel had an audience of several soldiers cheering on the distressed and heated elf. Captain Sizod stood in the distance, smirking at the power of this elf...thinking about how he could best leverage this elf's skills in the midst of battle.

  Noxater approached the field, watching and admiring the elf with the rest of the onlookers. As he witnessed the last dummy fall to the magical and blunted blow, he called out to Fidel. “Aye! I needed a bit of practice too and here ye felled all the wood!”

  Fidel stared at the dwarf, an empty look in his eyes. Noxater slammed his axe against his shield. “Elf, I believe ye an' I have some unfinished business! Ye keep yer durned human at bay, keep yer magic in check, an' let's fight like true warriors!”

  Fidel felt his anger subside at the challenge from his friend. He placed his staff out in front with both hands, accepting the challenge.

  Noxater slammed his helmet on his head and placed pads on each blade of his axe. He called out as he approached the elf. “Don't want ye gettin' hurt!”

  The crowd on the sides of the ring cheered louder. Within minutes, the spectators called out bets with each other. One of the human onlookers called out, “With no magic, the elf is doomed! I call the mighty dwarf!”

  The retort came quickly. “Are you kidding? The speed of this bantam elf will keep the dwarf on his heels!”

  Captain Sizod made his way to the open arena and stopped short of entering, watching the event with great interest from the sideline.

  Noxater stood as tall as a dwarf could stand in front of Fidel, offering a friendly smile and a nod. Fidel stared back coldly. Noxater's voice trembled slightly as he eyed the elf, “Now Fidel, tis' me. Noxater. Save yer anger for thee real battle. We are friends here. Friends betterin' our skills.”

  Fidel fought hard to return from his rage, rolling his head, and taking a few circular strides. He shook his head, remembering the bond of friendship with the dwarf. Fidel stopped abruptly and stared back at the dwarf, all hatred withdrawn and a grin on his face. His voice carried a playful tone. “And so we meet again, Noxater of Deeder's Pass”

  The dwarf smiled wide and slammed his axe on his shield, the padded ring not quite as threatening as he would have liked. Fidel started spinning his staff with both hands. The dwarf and the elf circled each other, each waiting for the first strike and first opportunity.

  Noxater complied with the invitation, leading with a forward jab of his double-headed axe. Fidel quickly swiped the axe and attacked with a sidelong stroke, easily blocked by the dwarf's shield. Noxater swiped at the elf's calves. Fidel placed his pole vertically, stopping the axe, then slammed the staff forward toward the dwarf's head. The shield raised and blocked, again. Noxater spun around, bringing his axe up toward the midsection of the elf.

  Another vertical block by the elf, but this time he did not plant the staff. When the dwarf connected with the staff, Fidel did a spin of his own using the dwarf's momentum to aid in his acceleration. Fidel set his staff on his hip halfway through his spin and aimed the remainder at the dwarf's head. Yet again, the clang of metal as the staff connected with the shield. And so the duo continued their bout, each attacking and countering.

  Neither got their moment. These were seasoned warriors. They both knew patience in battle was the key to success. Fidel worked the dwarf with high shots, trying to get the dwarf in a position to remove his footing. Noxater worked the elf low, trying to set up for a midsection swing and the quick kill. They battled for many minutes, each trying to outsmart each other.

  Noxater taunted, “We stubby ones are hard ter trip!”

  Fidel retorted, “And us elves are too fast for that clumsy weapon you carry!”

  The crowd kept cheering as the duo continued to square off. Fidel went in for a jab with his staff, expecting Noxater to block with his shield. When the dwarf blocked with his axe, Fidel saw his opening. As the dwarf's axe handle made contact with the staff, Fidel dropped to one knee and raised his staff, catching the head of the axe and raising it high. The stubborn dwarf wasn't about to let go and attempted to gain footing for a shield rush, but he was too slow and lost his stable footing. The dwarf let go of the axe and watched it fly over Fidel's head. Fidel looked to the dwarf, giving a fake devilish grin, now standing between the dwarf and his axe.

  Noxater argued as he came back down to his feet, gaining solid ground. “Silly elf, I have two weapons.”

  Fidel came on fast, spinning his staff and slamming from every direction he could think of. He worked high and low. He jabbed. He executed amazing downward and upward strikes. But the dwarf's pesky shield was always there to meet his assault.

  The dwarf smiled as the frustration grew on Fidel's face. “What's wrong elf? A simple shield deflatin' all yer efforts?!”

  Fidel struck harder, hoping the dwarf's arms would finally give into the blows. But this dwarf fought a dragon and a minotaur. There was no way an elf's strength could match that of the dwarf's. Fidel reminded himself of the staunch soldier before him, changing his tactics.

  Instead of being fully on offense, Fidel started to act tired and let Noxater start to gain momentum in the direction of his lost axe. Noxater took the bait and used his shield more offensively, using short bursts of bashes with some sidelong slashes. Fidel placed a fake expression of worry on his face. It was Noxater's turn to give the devilish grin.

  Fidel retreated more and more, spinning his staff more of a distraction than anything else. The dwarf came on until they were within a couple of feet of the axe. Fidel feigned an overhead bash, Noxater's shield rising to meet the blow. The dwarf took the bait and continued into a forward roll, having to give up some grip on his shield to continue through the roll and retrieve his axe. Fidel slipped his staff into the straps on the shield as the dwarf rolled over. He planted the staff firmly into the ground and the dwarf's momentum snapped the straps on the shield, releasing it from his hold. The dwarf successfully retrieved his axe and came to his feet. Half the crowd cheered as the dwarf rose back to his feet, axe in hand. Noxater looked up at Fidel, who was standing over his shield laying on the ground.

  Fidel grinned wickedly. “Did you lose something?”

  Noxater smiled back at the elf. “Aye, so I 'ave. Yer kind 'as always been quite clever.”

  Fidel smiled at the compliment and quickly picked up the shield with his staff. He tossed it over his shoulder as far from the dwarf as possible. “Now we see how Noxater does without this pesky disc.”

  Noxater came on fast, faster than Fidel thought was possible from this muscular and staunch dwarf. Fidel worked hard to parry the blows, knocking the axe wide when possible and scoring minor hits on the dwarf. The hits only appeared to anger the dwarf, as the next blows had even more power.

  Fidel knew there was no way he was going to go toe to toe with this dwarf in such exchanges. Fidel spun his staff over and over. Instead of directly blocking the dwarf's mighty blows, he focused on redirecting the attacks, forcing the dwarf to spend twice the energy to bring the axe back in line for defense. Fidel never struck. He let the dwarf swing away as much as possible. He could tell Noxater was getting tired.

  Fidel back stepped over and over, turning strong direct hits into glancing misses. He spun his staff end over end, waiting. The opportunity arose. Noxater started a downward chop, expecting the elf to back up. The dwarf intended to keep the momentum and perform a second and third chop using the centrifugal force created by his axe. Instead, Fidel rolled to the side, letting the dwarf continue his momentum.

  When the dwarf started his upswing with his back to the elf, Fidel locked the staff under the axe head, quickly stripping the axe from the dwarf's grasp. The dwarf finished his spin and stopped abruptly, looking down at his hands. Fidel kicked Noxater in the back, sending him forward, then followed with a low swipe to the knees, tripping the dwarf into the dirt, face first. Noxater attempted to pull himself up but the elf was all over him, slamming his staff into the dwarf's back and finally pinning the dwarf fa
ce first into the dirt with the staff positioned across the dwarf's neck.

  Fidel applied half pressure to the dwarf's neck. “Do you yield?”

  “No!” Noxater hollered as he tried to find a way out of the predicament.

  The crowd cheered on with hoots and hollers.

  After a few moments, Noxater finally accepted the defeat. “I yield! I yield! Well done!”

  Fidel quickly rose to his feet and Noxater turned over on his back, taking a deep breath and looking at Fidel with a newly found respect. Fidel offered a hand to help the dwarf back to his feet.

  Noxater gladly accepted and smiled wide. “Very well done, Fidel o' Harlow's Hovel.”

  Half the crowd cheered at their winnings while the other half grumbled at their losses. Captain Sizod smiled wide at the pair of fighters, taking note of both of their battle prowess. He contemplated how to best use these demilitarized soldiers in the forthcoming battle.

  As Fidel and Noxater walked past the smiling captain, he heard Fidel thank the dwarf for bringing him back from the depths of his hate. The captain nodded his head, recognizing the strong bond such a comment indicated.

  The captain whispered to himself. “You met as enemies and now are friends. The best bonds are formed in such a manner. Well done, Fidel. Well done.”

  Abby stopped the duo shortly after leaving the training ground. She mockingly asked, “Is play time over?” Fidel and Noxater looked at each other and smiled appreciatively. Abby's voice turned flat and absolute as she said, “Okay, I challenge the winner tomorrow then. I also need practice.”

  The corners of Fidel's lips turned up in a smirk, his voice flat. “Challenge accepted.”

  Abby smiled and nodded, then pulled her daggers and spun them in circles, faster than Fidel's eyes could see. “I look forward to it then!”

  Fidel watched as she worked the blades quickly and with precision. “Can I change my mind?”

  The smile on Abby's face grew. “Sure, as long as I get to tell the camp you refused a female challenger.”

  Fidel laughed. “I would rather get beaten by a girl in public than be mocked in private. We're on!” The trio laughed together and headed over to the mess tent to get some nourishment.

  Fidel watched Abby on the way. He questioned his mind on how the match would go the next day. He seriously thought he was not going to win. He considered Abby's temperament and grew worried. All he could do was shake his head at his prideful acceptance of the challenge. He knew Abby would do everything to win. That scared him.

  Abby turned around and caught Fidel staring. She noticed the slight concern on his face and chuckled. “Don't worry Fidel, I won't cut you.” Fidel shrugged his shoulders and puffed out his chest, displaying a false air of confidence. His only thought was, Thanks.

  The next day, the trio met at the training field. Abby dressed in her usual black leather gear, while Fidel wore his metalized brown leather outfit, a set of gear he had not been covering with his usual blue and red travel robe lately. Fidel's dress this day differed from the previous as he was wearing an emerald crested belt, a gift from his Puldechran father.

  Abby was in the middle of the field, executing many spurious attack routines. Her movements grabbed more than the attention of Noxater and Fidel, who were standing on the side of the field.

  After a few moments of admiration, Noxater turned to Fidel. “Good luck, elf. Yer goin' to need it wit' that one.”

  Fidel looked down at Noxater, whose face was serious. Noxater nodded and shrugged in an apologetic manner, a slight grin on his face. Fidel sarcastically thanked Noxater for his vote of confidence and headed into the makeshift battle arena.

  Abby saw the less than enthusiastic approach and started her taunts. She smirked. “Are you ready to lose to a girl?”

  Fidel replied, “About as ready as possible. Let's do this!”

  He held out his staff with both hands, parallel to the ground. Abby slapped both daggers on the staff, the couple's official handshake for the start of the bout completed.

  Abby came in quick, her arms moving faster than the eye could see due to her emerald crested daggers. Fidel moved just as quick, his alloyed metal staff picking off a dagger high and low. He spun the staff over and over, keeping it moving and using it to control the quick rogue's movements by advertising his intent. Abby fell for the ruse, attacking opposite the direction of the spins in efforts to penetrate expected holes in the elf's defenses.

  The speed in which the elf could reverse directions on his spins and block the daggers shocked Abby, as-if he was expecting her attacks.

  After a few slashes, she figured out the elf's routine. “Clever elf!” she called to Fidel.

  She changed her routines to unpredictable movements, giving no consideration to Fidel's staff twirling showmanship. Fidel found himself struggling to defend against the woman's onslaught of stabs, jabs, and slashes. On several occasions, he barely got the staff up to block and ended up hitting her fingers instead of metal, her blades within an inch of striking. Abby took the blocks in stride and continued to work the elf high and low, waiting for him to slow down just enough to strike.

  Abby forced Fidel to back step over and over, forcing the elf to defense. Fidel spun the staff, blocking the woman's incessantly hungry blades from striking home. Abby changed her routines so much the elf wasn't finding any break in her offensive. Metal clangs rang throughout the field and the cheers from the warrior onlookers clearly showed favor for the human female. Fidel smiled at the thought of the men cheering on the woman, something inside him happy about the acceptance of this particular female.

  Abby came in high with both her blades aligned to Fidel's shoulders. Fidel saw his opening and dropped to his knees, spinning his staff low in the process. Abby was off-balance and unable to spring when the staff made contact with her shins, tossing her hard to the ground, a move she should have anticipated by the agile elf. As she hit the ground, her daggers flew free from her hands. Fidel hopped up and placed his staff over the rogue's head, offering an easy surrender. The look in Abby's eyes told him there would be no easy win.

  As Fidel launched his final strike, Abby used both her legs to push off Fidel's shins, his deathblow landing in the dirt where Abby once resided. Abby rolled over and retrieved one of her daggers. Fidel gave chase and continued striking at the rolling female. Quicker than he anticipated, Abby continued to roll and somersault across the field, dodging every attack he made, and was able to retrieve her final dagger in the process.

  Fidel spun the staff over his head, intending to use a method of attack to land his staff parallel to the ground and sideswiping an opponent, a very difficult maneuver to defend, for most. But most are not a seasoned late twenties human rogue. Abby dropped into the splits as Fidel's staff howled over her head. She jabbed her daggers below the elf's waist, the metal clang of her daggers on the elf's enchanted leather. Fidel looked down at the rogue as she kept her daggers in their hit scoring positions, one in his kneecap and the other in his groin. He dropped his staff where he stood as the crowd cheered at the rogue's victory.

  Fidel offered a hand to help Abby to her feet. Abby accepted with a grin on her face. Once Abby was to her feet, Fidel held her arm up and showed her off to the contingent of onlookers. The cheers went louder and the applause of the camp clearly agreed with the winner of the match.

  Captain Sizod, standing on the sideline and watching the last half of the fight, called out to Fidel and Abby, requesting their presence in his tent. Fidel and Abby brushed the dirt from their attire as they made their way to the captain's tent with Noxater in tow. The dwarf mocked Fidel all the way, until Abby asked if he would like a match. Noxater's response was simple as he completely avoided the question, “Oh look, we're here!”

  The trio entered the tent and the captain welcomed them. He offered up a thank you for allowing him to witness the trio's battle abilities over the past couple days. “I know how to best use you in tomorrow's assault on Pravas. You won't serve
us well in the organized advances. No offense, but you are not military attackers. You have a solitary method which means you need solitary goals.” The trio looked to each other, at first wanting to refute the captain's observations but each coming to the conclusion his assessment was fair.

  Fidel placed his staff in his pack. “Where do we fit in?”

  The captain pulled out a rather detailed map of Pravas' compound and went over the details of the attack and their corresponding goals. Fidel was assigned to take the field of battle first, directing attention to himself and goad the enemy army to surround him with as many soldiers as possible.

  Noxater was instructed he would take the eastern flank, specifically the minotaur camp. Abby was assigned the task of sneaking past all guards to release Cap from his imprisonment. The rest of the assault was explained, the advancing being slow and absolute with no intention of enemy survivors. The trio agreed with their roles and left Captain Sizod to finish the plans.

  The trio of warriors made their way toward the mess tent to get a bite to eat for lunch when a familiar voice was heard from their rings. “Fidel Austempes, your friend's company has been entertaining but surely we can make an arrangement.” The trio stopped abruptly as the taunting voice of Pravas Medeis jabbed at them.

  Fidel took up his ring and responded, his voice a low growl, “I'm listening.”

  Pravas made her offer, “You have an amulet in which you used to steal my efforts. The return of the amulet will free your elven companion.” Fidel looked to Noxater and Abby, both of which shook their heads in disagreement with the offer.

  Fidel nodded in agreement but continued to entertain the deal. “If I return the amulet, you would free Cap? That sounds like a fair deal. But what of your uses for this amulet, sorceress? What is your intention then?”