Clash of Men

by Damon Glatz

  There was a whizzing sound suddenly as an arrow came from nowhere and pinned itself between two stones above Lance. He made a slight jump of surprise as the arrow struck the wall near him. It must have been Red shooting from a distance, giving Lance a place to grab on the wall. He grabbed the arrow and pulled himself up higher. He climbed for another moment but once again became stuck. He smacked his hand twice on the spot that was giving him difficulty then moved out of the way. Another arrow whizzed out of the forest struck the wall in the spot Lance needed. He continued toward the top.

  There was a sound behind Ohitekah, and he motioned for Lance to stop. Ohitekah did the only thing he could and ducked down, lying flat on the ground against the shadow of the wall. Two samurai archers slowly walked by. Ohitekah could see every detail of their shoes as they glided past, they did not notice him in the shadow. Ohitekah held his breath until he could hear them no longer. His heart pounded into the stone he was laying on, he wondered if they could hear it. After an excruciating moment, they had passed completely. Ohitekah took a moment to silently catch his breath again. He peered over the wall and motioned for Lance to come over quickly. Lance finished his climb and hopped over the wall onto the walkway where Ohitekah was.

  The next part of the plan was to climb up the tower to Nicholas’ prison. This tower was much taller than the outer wall and went straight up.

  Lance took one look at the tower and shook his head with a frown.

  “No way. I’ll take the stairs.”

  “But we were supposed to climb up together and then back down with Nicholas,” Ohitekah whispered.

  “You really think Nicholas can climb down that tower like you can? Let alone fit through that window?” Lance argued. “You climb up and secure the top. Help him out of the cell, I’ll cover the stairs so you can both come down safely.”

  Ohitekah nodded and they split up.

  The hooded man had his ear to the floor for quite some time, his eyes closed. Nicholas thought he had fallen asleep for a moment lying there like he was. In a burst of energy, he suddenly jumped to his feet.

  “All right, now’s our chance,” the man in the hood spoke. “You awake?”

  “You bet! Let’s go!”

  The man put his arm through the bars and began to fiddle with the lock. He had crafted a twisted piece of metal into some sort of pick. After a moment, it clicked open. He impressed Nicholas. For as young as he was, he was highly skilled. His order must be a talented one to teach him all these tricks.

  Nicholas rushed out of the cell and was ready to fight with whatever he had. There was nothing of his here. His weapons were on the horse left with Lance after he was captured. Nicholas grasped ahold of a metal torch holder on the wall. He ripped it off and held it as an impromptu club. The hooded man followed him out, he grabbed some guard armor and a sword that was opposite the cell. There was shouting coming from the hallway, men yelling and running up and down the stairs.

  Nicholas’ friend looked confused.

  “How could they know already? Something is wrong.”

  Nicholas looked back, muddled. There was no way the guards could have known yet.

  Ohitekah began his dark climb up the prison tower. Now that no one was following him, he did not need to hold back. The tower was tall, its angled roof providing a slight challenge to climb over a few times. He had to do quite a few pull ups to manage this far. Red said Nicholas would be held in the cell at the top of the tower. Ohitekah did not mind climbing at all, as his route was probably going to be easier than Lance’s.

  Lance drew his sword and pulled his hood off so he could see and hear better. Done with climbing, the prince desired the easier way up the tower. He opened the door to the tower silently, and held his breath. There were two guards sitting at a table talking in their own language. Lance had to strike before they could react. The guard facing the door hesitated a second too long. His friend died before he figured out what happened. Lance pulled his silver sword out of the guard’s chest and rushed at the other. He let out a scream before Lance plunged his blade into his heart.

  Well, there goes my element of surprise.

  Lance heard guards mobilizing above him, responding to the terrified yell of their comrade that echoed up the tower. Lance had to keep moving before they caught him. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could and was greeted by two armored samurai running down. He blocked the first swing and shoved the man off the staircase. He quickly spun around, dodging the other man’s stab, and slashed him across the chest. Lance took the ring of keys off his wrist before nudging him off the staircase as well for good measure.

  …

  The hooded man changed as fast as he could into the guard’s clothes. There were yells coming up the staircase. The samurai were coming for them. Nicholas was gripping his iron torch tightly ready to swing it at the first man through the door. He wondered how well it could block a samurai sword. Only one way to find out.

  “All right, I’ll lead the way. Follow me down. Kick the door open, Nicholas.”

  Nicholas launched the door off its hinges and the man charged through into the stairwell ready to fight whatever he came up against.

  As Lance ascended the stairs, the keys jingled annoyingly in his hand. He kept his sword drawn and ready to go for the next set off guards. Having no time to slow down, he had not had the chance to clean the blood off the blade yet. He made a mental note to do so after he freed Nicholas. Lance raced to the top, there was the last door. Nicholas’ prison must be inside. There must also be a guard posted inside. Lance readied his sword. The door to the room suddenly exploded off the wall. Out charged a samurai.

  “All right, one last guard,” Lance muttered to himself.

  Expecting a fight, and in the heat of the moment, the hooded man was not sure why he was greeted by an Ashland knight, but now was not a time to ask questions. The samurai slashed down and missed as Lance dodged. Lance followed with a slash as well that was met with a strong block. The two fought fiercely for a brief moment. Cornered in a dark stairwell, their moves were cramped. Lance wished he had brought a knife. His sword was a little too long in this close combat. The guard’s sword seemed to have the same problem.

  Both men were equally impressed with their adversary.

  Lance drew back for a second to reassess his opponent. He noticed a familiar face standing behind the guard in the doorway.

  “Nicholas?”

  Nicholas was just as surprised. “Lance? How did you get here?”

  The hooded man froze. “You know each other?” He processed the name Nicholas just mentioned. He was not fighting an average Ashland knight. “This is Lance? Prince Lance?”

  “Oh, I see.” Lance sheathed his sword, realizing he was wasting his time with this pointless fight. “We need to get moving.”

  “Where’s the rest of ya? Where’s the lad?” Nicholas asked.

  “I’m right here,” Ohitekah said as he squeezed himself through the narrow window. “You were right Lance, you would have never made it down that way.”

  “Where’s Red then?”

  “He’s scouting from the forest,” Lance answered. “But in all seriousness, we need to go. Now,” Lance said sternly as he turned to head back down the stairwell.

  “What? Why is the prince of Ashland here to rescue us?”

  “Long story,” Nicholas said with a laugh. The four ran down the stairs, no guards had arrived yet. Perhaps no one had heard the commotion from outside the tower.

  They made it to the bottom of the stairs. Lance looked to the unfamiliar man dressed as the guard.

  “You, go look outside, they won’t suspect you right away.” The man nodded and peeked out the doorway.

  Nicholas looked at the four bodies piled on the floor. “I missed a great battle. Lance, you’re a good fighter.”

  “They were in my way. Who’s your friend here?”

  “He was locked in the cell with me, he’s a good man.

  “Everything looks cl
ear, we should be able to escape.” The samurai turned back into the room.

  “We’re heading that way.” Lance motioned to his left. “Get to the river, over the wall.”

  They all hurriedly ran out of the door, one after another. Lance tried to stick to the shadows. He seemed to be making good progress. He looked up to the wall; archers paced along it, none of them noticing the group making their escape so far. Their pace stopped dead as there was a loud thud in front of them. A man fell off the wall. He had an arrow in his back. He must have seen the group and Red shot him before he could raise an alarm. A few of the other guards reacted and studied the downed archer.

  “Prisoner esca—!” one of them yelled before suddenly dropping dead off the wall from another ghost arrow.

  “Get to the wall!” Lance shouted and shoved Ohitekah forward. Ohitekah ran hard without looking back and ascended up the wall stairs. Nicholas and the samurai followed behind. Loud gongs began sounding off as guards and samurai flooded into the courtyard. All of the archers along the wall were falling before they could let off a shot. Red was doing his part well. The archers behind him never had a chance to fire either. Red must have taken out more than thirty men. Without him surely, they would all be dead.

  The samurai in the courtyard were gaining ground on them. They would catch up soon.

  We need a bit more time. The Vatnic is far from fast on his feet...

  Lance turned around and drew his now scarlet sword. Ohitekah liked to think he was being noble, helping the others escape, but he couldn’t help but think to himself, Lance just wants to fight.

  The small army of northerners charged straight at him, swords drawn, Lance stood his ground.

  Time slowed down for the Prince of Ashland.

  The samurai in front, he must have rushed putting his helmet on, his hair was covering his left eye. The samurai ran and slashed, Lance stepped to his blind side and sliced him through his armor. There was a shout of a man attacking to Lance’s side.

  Why do the samurai shout as they attack? Lance thought.

  Lance blocked the swing without needing to look. He spun around, grabbed the man’s wrist, and stabbed him through the chest.

  The samurai armor is much easier to stab through than Ashland armor, at least.

  Lance quickly retrieved his sword and dodged the next samurai swing. The samurai slashed three or four times as Lance danced backward. Lance, acting on years of training and pure instinct, blocked the last slash and slice open the man’s stomach. As the next warrior ran up to him, he noticed a slight limp in his right foot.

  Perhaps he injured it in training recently? No matter.

  Lance moved to his weak side and kicked the man in the knee, breaking his leg. Before the man hit the ground, Lance drove his sword down and ended him.

  To Ohitekah, the battle was too fast for him to follow. Lance blocked, slashed, and stabbed, evading every move the enemies made. Even a wave of samurai was no match for him. Ohitekah watched and was amazed at how he moved around them, fighting with such skill and precision. Lance knew their moves before they did. More of the guards ran out of the barracks and it was obvious not even he could not fight them all.

  Time to go, Lance thought to himself. He had given the group more than enough time to escape. He fought his way out of the crowd and began to run up the wall. Some of the samurai were catching up to him. Ohitekah figured he should help Lance after all that. He dropped to one knee, readied his bow and fired arrows at the men right behind Lance, knocking them down.

  Nicholas and the stranger had already jumped into the river below. Lance began to run up the stairs. Ohitekah shot a few more men that were gaining ground. They fell and blocked the stairway from the others. Lance ran past him and leaped into the river. Ohitekah put his bow on his back and turned around and quickly followed. He tripped over the body of an archer and hit the stone ground hard. Panicking, he scrambled to his feet. A samurai rushed up the stairs, sword drawn. Ohitekah pulled out his katana and blocked the first attack.

  He tried to remember what Red taught him. He deflected the next strike and cut down, slicing into the samurai armor. The man yelled and sliced back, barely missing. The guard shouted and slashed a number of times, Ohitekah doing the best he could to block. An arrow whizzed past his ear and between the eyes of the samurai. He fell dead instantly. Ohitekah took this chance to jump off the wall and into the night.

  He crashed into the near freezing stream. Ohitekah burst out of the water, gasping for air, momentarily disoriented.

  “This way, lad!” Nicholas shouted from the shore. Lance stood next to him, waving him over. Ohitekah turned around and saw samurai leaping off the wall to pursue. Red shot them in mid-air sending their bodies splashing heavily into the water and floating downstream. The rest of the samurai turned back to ready their horses. Ohitekah worked his way to the bank and ran out of the river. The group ran to the forest edge, soaking wet. Ohitekah never ran so fast in his life, despite his heavily drenched samurai robes trying to slow him down. There was a soft thud as Red leaped out of a tall tree above them and landed next to Ohitekah.

  “Get to the horses, we need to hurry,” he said.

  They ran deeper into the forest to the place they left the horses earlier. Ohitekah jumped onto Bolt, followed by the rest of the group. Nicholas and his new friend shared a horse. The gate to the castle slammed open and the armed samurai charged over a bridge, now led by the general himself.

  “They are moving in formation, we need to stay ahead. Ride quickly!” Red shouted to them. “Stay off the main roads and trails, they cannot follow us in the thick forest.”

  The trees blocked the light of the stars. Under the thick forest canopy, it was pitch black. Ohitekah trusted Bolt to navigate through the forest because there was no way he could lead. The group stayed tight together and rode as fast as they could for a long time. Nicholas’ horse was the slowest due to carrying two men, the others matched his pace and tried to coax more speed from it. Their pace was fast enough in the dark forest to at least make them hard to track.

  After several hours passed, the army could not be seen or heard any longer. Any roads large enough for them to travel were far from here, the dead of the forest. It seemed, for now, that they had made a clean get away. The horses grew tired and began to slow down. Mainly Nicholas’ horse, which was still carrying two people, was suffering the most. They dismounted in a dense part of the forest, where no trail could find them.

  “You oaf!” Lance shouted in an angry sort of whisper. It was apparent that he had been waiting for a chance to speak to Nicholas for a while. “Your idiocy almost got us all killed!”

  “Well, I never asked you to come get me! We were working our own way out to find you,” Nicholas argued.

  “Who is this man?” Red asked motioning to Nicholas’ new partner.

  “He’s a friend. He freed me from the prison and offered his help once we were out.”

  “What is your name?”

  “I am Tao Seigong,” the man answered firmly.

  “Why were you locked away?”

  “Treason against the empire,” he answered quickly, brushing off Lance’s question. It was his turn to ask the questions now. “Who are you people? Why is Prince Lance here?”

  “I cannot tell you our mission here,” Red said sternly, approaching him. “All you need to know is you can go free if you vow to never speak of seeing us.”

  “Wait! I offer my thanks!” Tao fell to his knees and bowed. “You saved me, let me give you this.” He handed Red a gambling chip that was decorated with a red spade.

  “What is this?”

  “It is the sign of my order. If you ever need help, go to a bar and look for this symbol. If you see a group of warriors playing cards accompanied by a red spade, join them and place a bet using this chip. They will owe you one favor for what you did for me today.”

  Lance recognized the red spade. He fiddled with his pack and pulled out a playing card. “Like th
is?” he asked. It was the red two of spades, the same he showed to Ohitekah and Nicholas earlier.

  Tao frowned when he saw it.

  “Our card distinguishes our rank in the Order, the higher the card, the higher the member. Only members are given identification cards.” Tao grew angry. “That was Ryou’s card. You killed him. Why?”

  “We were looking for the same person.” Lance smiled.

  “That’s right! You were looking for the Fire Mythic as well,” Tao said, gripping his sword. “You will never find Daisuke! You are no match for his power!”

  Lance’s eyes narrowed and he placed a hand on his sword.

  “Stop!” Red said, moving between them. “That life is behind Lance now, he has moved forward.” He looked to Lance, who only glared at him. Red turned his attention back to Tao. “Why does the Fire Mythic interest you?”

  “My order, we pledge our life to serve Daisuke when he returns. Until then, we wait.”

  Red looked into the man’s eyes, unsure of what to say for a moment. “There is an order of northerners loyal to the Fire Mythic?”

  “No, not just northerners. It began that way, but we have spread in secret to the whole world, collecting the greatest warriors and thinkers to unite when the time comes and Daisuke, the true Shogun, will need us again.”

  Red turned and looked at Lance. Lance gave Daisuke a very hard look of disapproval. A conversation took place between them, communicating without words.

  Now is not the time, Red thought.

  Red turned back to Tao, who was trying to read their faces.

  “I wish you luck on your mission.” Red bowed. “But we must go our separate ways, Tao.”