Chapter 6
Part 1
Chapter 6
Characters
The Dragon of Mystery
Young Randy Marsala
Jack: half elf, caravan guard, newfound friend to Randy
Alexa: Halfling; caravan guard, newfound friend to Randy
Shadow: (1/16 human) wood elf, caravan guard
The Courtyard was dark, hardly illuminated by a series of porch lights. The buildings surrounding it were grey and brown, built of old stone and brick. There was a fountain in the centre, three feet behind it were four warriors poised for battle. On the other side of the fountain, in the front of the courtyard, were five gang members. To the right of the rear were three more, and four others on the left. In the rear of the courtyard was an entryway barred by a dropped steel bar door. Above the entry was a balcony where the gang leader stood brandishing a large sword and his cohort held a large crossbow, aimed at the group in the centre.
The gang members advanced slowly and brought their weapons to bear. Shadow spoke under her breath in a way that only the other three could hear “split up on three. One… Two… THREE!!” With that, each of the four moved in their individual directions.
Shadow darted towards the balcony, dodging crossbow bolts left and right. One came straight towards her chest and she deflected it with her sword. When she was almost directly under the balcony she cracked her whip up and snagged the Crossbow with a crack. The man in the torn brown coat pulled “That’s mine you bitch!” his grip proved too weak, and the crossbow was flung from his hands and across the courtyard. “Damn you.” He screamed and turned to his boss. The man pulled a small dagger from his belt and handed it to the crossbowman, then pointed to the ground. The brown coated man pulled himself over the fence and leapt the seven feet to the ground.
He looked angry and desperate as he held the dagger out in his right hand and held his left hand out bare as if to grab Shadow’s sword. In contrast Shadow held herself poised, but almost barely. Her knees only bent a little and she held her sword low in an almost defensive posture. The closer he inched the higher she raised her left arm and the whip curving behind her. He lunged out suddenly towards her left trying to strike Shadow in the side. She easily sidestepped his attack and turned sharply as she flung the whip over her head, and cracked it down into his back. The man’s ragged coat was ripped open and blood crept out. Shadow’s expression hardened as the man turned around and ran toward her again.
He moved forward bringing the knife up as if to stab down at her. When he was within three feet of her, she kept her sword crossed in front of her legs and brought her whip up once again. The whip snapped down so fast that the man didn’t see it as it curved around his legs. His forward momentum had brought him to the place where she had stood for him to stab, but she had sidestepped again, and while she stepped she pulled the whip. The man went forward, but his legs went right and his face landed firmly in the wall of the building at the front of the courtyard. As the man crumpled to the ground, Shadow looked up to see the gang leader on the balcony had disappeared and the door behind where he had stood was open.
A minute earlier, when the group split Jack had taken a different approach, running left and forward firing his guns with quick snapping arm movements. The two Orcs fell to the ground with pools of blood seeping out. The woman with the chain dived low and dodged most of the bullets then ran towards the opposite wall to help the three thugs fighting Randy. Jack ignored her and faced the dwarf with the hammer. The ground around him was littered by a few bullets, and the chain mail he wore held a few indentations. His right arm was bleeding, and he looked very angry. The dwarf spat and raised his hammer high across his body, and started to run towards Jack. Jack tucked his arms back into his coat and with his right produced a large sword. Both hands came to the hilt and he danced to the left of the dwarf. The dwarf swung hard to his left, missing Jack’s head by inches as the half-elf pulled his body back, limbo fashion. He rebounded back and swung his sword from left to right stabbing into the dwarf’s neck. The hammer fell to the ground and the dwarf followed.
Jack continued past the dwarf to see Alexa nearby playing a deadly game of cat and mouse to evade the three human warriors. She darted under the legs of the man with the mace as he swung, inadvertently smashing the shoulder of the man with the large black club. The club wielder fell to his knees as Alexa laughed from behind the mace-man. On the opposite side of the three armed men the large dwarf swore at them “You idiots, stop letting her toy with you, she’s been evading the entire time and has stabbed John twice.” He referred to the swordsman who was staggering as blood leaked from him. Beside the dwarf the man with the shotgun, looking impatient took aim above the three dolts and echoed the sentiment “If you buffoons don’t get out of the way for me to shoot at her, I’ll shoot anyway!”
The cowboy lowered his shotgun and aimed past the group to Alexa. The statement seemed to finally sink in and the three enforcers turned towards the front building again and ran out of the line of fire. Alexa swore under her breath and jumped after them in order to maintain a shield. A bang echoed through the courtyard and Alexa jumped, sensing she had met her end. As she landed in a forward roll to continue on her course she realized she hadn’t been shot. The cowboy’s shotgun was on the ground and he was clutching a bloody hand as he began to scream in pain. She turned around to see Jack taking careful aim with his pistols at the group around her. With her newfound support she surged towards the mace-man, who took another downward swing at her, attempting to strike her in the head from her right. She took advantage of her size again and ducked down while shuffling by his left side under the swing and pivoting to her left.
As the momentum of the swing brought the amateur warrior thrusting forward, Alexa jumped up onto his back as she shifted the daggers in her hands so that her thumbs held the base of each handle. She landed her feet on the clumsy warrior’s hips and drove her lethal daggers deep into the man’s back. He let out a deathly scream as he fell and she leapt off. The bleeding swordsman and the man holding the club with the broken shoulder were limping into the building the originated from together, leaving only the large dwarf with his axe in contention as a threat.
He smiled as his bulldozer frame lumbered towards the halfling. He brought his axe up high, guarding his unarmoured face to the shooting angle of the pistol wielder. He intended full well to deal with the gunman in a moment. The annoying halfling danced to his left, then tried to circle him. He shuffled over to prevent leaving his back undefended, and she was forced to face him. Instead, she withdrew backing towards the gun wielding elf. The enraged dwarf was too smart to just lumber after her and into the path of the gunman. He circled around her, to his right and towards the wall of structures, in the same manner she had been using to evade.
Jack watched the Dwarf mover around blocking his ability to shoot, as though Jack would be unable to move to a better angle. Jack let out a laugh as Alexa sized up against her much larger opponent. This would need cooperation, easily done considering the many months they had worked together on patrols.
“Alexa, play to the fountain!” the deep eyed half elf called out, his voice crackling with adrenaline. His enchanted shoes carried him left in a flying leap, as Alexa dived and rolled towards the dried fountain and jumped to its only tier, in the centre a metre above its base. The Dwarf watched confused, but much too late as Jack had been taking aim throughout his five metre leap. He shot with his left pistol to the dwarfs face, and with his right to the Dwarfs left kneecap. As expected the bullet aimed at the face deflected off the rusty axe, but the low shot found its mark causing the Dwarf to fall mid-stride, losing his axe with the momentum of his fall. He lay there for a moment before struggling to bring his weight up with his arms.
Alexa leapt onto the back of the dwarf as he was bringing up his weight and brought her right dagger down to rest at the side of his neck. “Stay down if you want to continue the use of your wind pipe,” Alexa sneered into the dwarfs ears. “Put your hands behind your back and be still, and we will let you live. I have no interest in ending lives without need,” she finished and leapt off. Jack watched as the bested dwarf put his hands up behind his back and Alexa walked away. He didn’t feel quite so trusting of the Dwarf, and so he took a few steps over to bind the wrists of the fellow temporarily, with some plastic ties he kept for just such a purpose. He looked across the courtyard to observe the dust settling in an entirely different battle.
A few minutes earlier Randy was faced with a difficult decision, strike first or react defensively. The group split on Shadow’s count and he dove to the southwest corner of the courtyard, facing off against a shaky fellow with a sharp dagger that was nearly large enough to be considered a small short sword, and a pair of what appeared to be biker gang ‘wannabees’ in Randy’s mind. One carried a short sword, and the other, what appeared to be a black club. Although the smallest of the group, for some reason Randy felt the man with the dagger would be the largest challenge. The analysis took him fractions of a second as he darted towards the corner of the courtyard. It seemed absurd to corner himself, and the three thugs narrowed in for what looked like an easy kill of an unarmed boy. The leader stalked forward, favouring his right leg, and carrying the spade shaped large dagger in his skeleton of a right hand. His left hand was smaller and just as bony but carried three different rings, one on each inner finger, with various gems. He wore a tattered cloak and glasses with a lens in only the left side. From ten feet away Randy could smell the acrid breath from the man’s toothless mouth. The two greasy haired goons in the rear started to giggle. Randy could feel their overconfidence bubbling, and his calm adrenaline grew. The darkness swirled around them at his whim and the closer they came, the more visibility shrank. The sounds from the battle raging in the other corners of the courtyard were amplified, and the local noise decreased. One of the goons started to become afraid, and the other was too stupid to notice.
The leader came within three steps of Randy, and stopped, squaring up his opponent. It was at this moment that a green liquid could be seen dripping from the curvy dagger. Randy knew it was poison, but again was not worried.
The corner of the courtyard took on a new degree of darkness. All light suddenly extinguished, and confusion became apparent. The leader of the subgroup stabbed out in front of him to Randy’s location and felt the blade pierce nothing. He stabbed again and again in frustration. Where was the smiling boy? Why was the battle still raging against such seemingly weak opponents, and why was the dark mist not clearing. The man, Garoth, started to enchant a light spell he knew, one of many simple spells he had learned before being expelled from the New Brook Magic Academy. Before he finished the darkness diminished enough to see within a few feet. The boy was gone, and Garoth found himself turning with a start. Charlie, the wielder of the club was unconscious on the floor, and Joseph, the swordsman, had been clever enough to duck down and crawl out of the darkness. The boy in the black coat was smiling as he stood over the now confused Joseph. Garoth watched as Joseph leapt to his feat and brought his sword to bear, only for the stranger to disappear in shadow and reappear behind him.
“MAGIC!” Joseph screamed as he turned looking for the boy. Turning completely around, there he was again, with a devious smile on his fresh face. Joseph growled and held his sword up high, extending as though from his right shoulder, and poised to strike at the magical youth. Like many, Joseph didn’t think to find magic predictable, and worried what other tricks this boy had. He stepped halfway to the left, then shimmied right striking down with the sword, halfway through his strike; he was blinded in the dark air by a flash of red fire meeting his sword. His eyes blinked in surprise as his blade melted away under the red hot might of this boy’s previously hidden blade.
Randy pushed the thug’s sword back up, and just as the gang-member looked poised to use the half melted short sword again Randy brought the single blade he had withdrawn with his right hand up in a defensive position crossing in front of his face, and kicked out with his left leg to the thugs’ chest.
Joseph was shocked, first a melted sword, and now he was sprawled on the ground by the fountain, a long ways from the magical lunatic. His head felt heavy, and he realized that the force of the kick had knocked him against the fountain. Maybe it would be a wise idea just to take a short rest and sleep while these nuts tore up the rest of his gang. He had no interest in dying for the few coins a day he earned robbing tourists. The world went dark again, but this time Joseph was happy for the chance to nap.
“Two down, one to go,” Randy muttered to himself as he approached the snarling man with the dagger. He had watched his comrade defeated as Randy both tested his battle abilities and defended himself. It was shocking how much Randy left up to chance and instinct, and yet he felt fine about it. After all instinct had gotten him this far.
The man with the dagger darted forward and seemed not to notice Randy’s fire infused katana. He dove past Randy and slashed under Randy’s sword to the location of his midsection. The poison spade found no target. The man snarled more and struck out directly for the drawn sword. He pitted his strength against the young hero and found himself being slowly powered back. He took that opportunity to strike out with his clenched fists and let his acid ring burn the boys face.
A splashing feeling took hold of Randy, and in shock he leapt back, allowing his body to take its shadow plane form, he was one with the dark mists around him as he felt up with his free left hand to feel his now scared face. The man looked around angrily and stabbed out in anger. No more time for games, let the instinct gained from the shadow-dragon take over.
Randy vaporized himself on the other side of the dagger wielder, and drew his other blade. The gangster turned to strike and screamed out in horror. Randy dived sword first, still composed deeply of darkness. His right blade threw back the man’s poison spade dagger, and the left pierced deeply into the grubby warriors gut. As the man grimaced in pain and dropped his dark weapon, Randy took no hesitation in bringing his flaming right blade back up, and taking it through the murderer’s neck. “One less organized criminal on either world,” Randy muttered as he turned to see Shadow running towards him from the back of the courtyard, and Jack and Alexa from around the fountain.
“Whoa, lethal hit kid. Sure you didn’t overdo it?” Jack clapped Randy on the shoulder as the newest warrior sheathed his blades.
“I wouldn't disarm just yet, the leader ran into that building, and is still lurking. I can smell him,” Shadow warned, as she smiled and looked at Randy’s handiwork. “Take it easy kid, I’m surprised you let the other two live, the way you brutalized this loony.”
Randy felt little remorse for some reason, and explained as he started walking towards the key building at the back of the courtyard, “he was evil, the other two were just following orders. I don’t like murderers.” The explanation was cold. It came from a part of Randy that he had hid well these last few weeks.
“Care to help me flush him out Randy?” Shadow indicated the balcony, and received a simple nod from Randy. He was in the moment entirely.
Shadow stepped to within a few feet of the balcony and cracked her whip up and around the rail. As everyone watched in curiosity she ran in her heeled shoes to the right wall and, using the whip as a spring, ran a few feet up the wall and jumped towards the railing. With catlike reflexes she landed clacking on the outside of the rail, and quickly jumped it. She lowered the whip to Randy “Can I give you a lift?”
Randy thought for a second and looked into her deep brown eyes, as though she had asked a personal and heartfelt question. “I really don’t think you will need to.” His voice had almost regained its usual jubilance as he stepped a few feet back, and followed with a running leap. His body became living darkness once again as he flew in a misty humanoid shape up and through the railing, reappearing to the naked eye beside the now astounded Shadow.
“You still shock me kid. Let’s go,” Shadow grabbed his shoulder with her right hand and winked. Without a second thought, she ran, sword out and whip in hand into the small upper story of the thin house. Randy followed behind, hearing Jack express his amusement at the “stylish NBA quality jump.”
The room was bare, spare a poorly made box spring mattress bed, and a burnt out candle. The dark interior did nothing to stifle Randy’s vision, and he assumed Shadow had similar ease in the darkness. They hurried down the stairs to see a meagre kitchen complete with two seat table, and modest kitchenette. In the corner near the front door was a large cabinet, which showed signs of recent use, as some of its foodstuffs now lay scattered on the floor. The door to it was closed, and it was obvious the once confident gang leader was hiding. Shadow looked at the cabinet, and then at Randy, “I thought he would strike out at us, but obviously the coward has run away. Let’s go get the others and leave through this door.” She turned around and walked towards the courtyard door, with Randy confused following close behind.
Just as her hand hit the doorknob, the cabinet flung wide. The wide eyed gang leader jumped out his sword in hand to slash at Randy, the first in his path. The young hero turned quickly, his flaming blades in hand to deflect the shining silver long sword across the room, clattering to the floor. Randy gathered his darkness up around him and surrounded the man with it.
“He’s unarmed, let’s let him live.” Shadow stated bluntly.
The man fell to the ground and started to weep “Thank you so much. Thank you thank you for your mercy,” he put his hands up in a begging gesture to the pair.
“It’s what a kind person does. However, there is a price for your misdeeds. My friends and I will be taking anything of value from you. It is no crime to steal from a thief, and I bet that sword of yours is enchanted and will fetch a pretty fee,” Shadow explained as she picked up the shining silver blade. She put it in her purse, still slung to her shoulder, and walked back out to the courtyard.
Together, the four adventurers picked up any weapons of value they could find and walked out the front door of the main building. They found themselves on busy Portage Street, and in the centre of the block was the Broken Axe Tavern.
Randy rolled over in the bed. The clock read “3:00AM”. The sound of Shadow snoring filled his ears. Never before would he have thought he could had he been ready to fall asleep bruised and exhausted and been so happy, especially considering the fact that the minor injury he obtained during battle was healed nearly instantly because of his seeming resistance to magic. He eyed the sleeping elf and smiled as he shifted his view back out the window across the room. In the distance he could see many familiar constellations floating across the sky. All was peaceful, and his new life had taken an interesting turn. After a few minutes of shifting his view around Shadow’s finely decorated apartment and back to her, he noticed her stop snoring and open her deep eyes. She snaked her arm around his chest and squeezed.
“Aren’t you worn out? Most men usually fall asleep before me after fun like that,” she giggled for a second and then paused. “Unless… Is something wrong? Are you alright my man of mystery?” she asked with genuine concern in her seductive voice.
“I’m fine, and no nothings wrong, believe me. I’m just so happy. That was amazing,” He looked at her, her small nose casting a shadow down her mouth. Her face suddenly widened as a look of realization came across her face.
“Oh Randy, I didn’t realize I was your first. I certainly hope it was that memorable. And don’t worry, I won’t be going anywhere for quite a while, not after what we have been through. You’re special, and I want to keep you,” her softened loving tone turned giggly in a moment as she pulled him close. After she finished she nibbled his ear and told him “now go to sleep, we have two nights left in town and then it’s back to the caravan.” She paused again and looked curious “I wonder what Gunthar would think of you and me getting our own private tent.”