Summer, 1326
As Martin handed the parchment back over to Major Tower he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure from the corner of his eye who immediately disappeared into an alleyway. Without further comment the Colonel stood up and grabbed his sword, reassuringly patting Major Towser on the shoulder as the latter gave his commander an inquiring look.
“Pardon.”
***
Logan cursed as he shimmied his way through narrow side streets and clambered under dusty underpasses. No wonder Stanton had been so quiet lately. He should have been more aware of things and not sitting on his ass-Wilcox certainly wasn’t one to. The hunter crawled under the open foundation side of the inn, scattering the hens roosting there, scrambled up a pile of garbage and leapt onto a rooftop, quickly jumped above two more roofs and nimbly leapt over the town palisade. Well, better late than never: Logan should be able to warn the dragon of the impending attack, perhaps run off himself before everything goes to hell.
To be sure the militia had not been too troublesome, the hunter concluded as he went straight up the Old North Road. The last few encounters showed that they lost enthusiasm very quickly. However the Royal would be a problem: they would be good fighters and they wouldn’t give up easily. Logan would have to think of some way to force them back. First things first: at this speed, he should reach Mera’s cave in three days, long before this new army Wilcox conjured up could begin marching. Pack up, fly out and leave these buggers in the d-
“Mr. Durham?” A voice directly behind him suddenly cut through the hunter’s train of thought. Logan stopped in shock, then slowly turned around to see a fully armored man-at-arms, stocky frame clad in chainmail and heavy boots, a great helm over his head from which stared cold blue eyes. The red ailette upon his shoulders designated the warrior as a full colonel in the Royal Army. “Going somewhere?”
Damn it.
“So we finally meet Mr. Durham.” The Royal continued. “I have heard a lot about you. Where are you going? Calling up your dragon? Helping our enemy?”
Logan stopped and warily stared back at the officer, reactively touching the hilt of his awlpike. “I don’t believe we’ve met before, soldier.”
“I am Colonel Martin Cunningham of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Nalbin. I have been ordered by our sovereign, the King of Nalbin to capture that dragon of yours. Whether it is your pet, friend, familiar, or whether you are under its control, I will give you one chance. Mr. Durham, I have no quarrel with you. Step aside and let me and my men do our duty. Do not continue helping the dragon.”
“The Dragon of Stanton and the trouble it has caused is a local matter between myself, the dragon itself, and the good people of Stanton.” Logan carefully replied. “There’s no need for others to get involved.”
“I believe you are mistaken, Mr. Durham. The King has ownership of both his people and all the creatures in it.” Martin slowly began moving toward the hunter, who stopped and stood defiantly on a small rise.
“You, on the other hand, will need help if you have indeed cast your lot with monsters.”
“You know nothing about me, or how I have reached this point.” The hunter retorted. “I am under no one’s influence. I fight for myself and my friends.”
Martin stopped. “You honor this creature with that? Friendship?”
“I owe my life to him.”
“Really.” Martin gave a sarcastic snort. “Isn’t that odd, such a creature befriending a measly human? Think! Mr. Durham! Why would a dragon-a monster, a creature of nightmares, create such a strange alliance? It wants a fool to place between it and I.” The colonel shook his head at the hunter. “I’m afraid the dragon’s been manipulating you. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
A pawn in the dragon’s complicated web of deception? Logan paused. The wyrms were known to be manipulative and scheming.
Finally the hunter shook his head. “I’ve chosen my side and I am sticking to it.” He replied, eyeing the colonel. “I have to have faith in something; might as well be over this friendship.”
“And what of the townsfolk?” Martin countered, continuing his steady advance. “They are confused, afraid. The dragon can defend itself, the townsfolk not so much. How many have died fighting this dragon?”
Logan slowly nodded. The people of Stanton had hired him originally and then took him in when he returned in failure from his mission. He had as much reason to kill townsfolk defending the dragon as the townsfolk had in killing the dragon.
“Too much.” The hunter finally said. “You are right there. But killing the dragon won’t solve anything. I want to have some peace to come to this place, not more slaughter. I was trying to sort things out. And things were sorting themselves out. The townsfolk were realizing that conflict with the dragon would bring them much suffering for little to no gain.” Logan said with increasing anger, finally pointing at the figure opposing him. “And then your people come and throw more timber into the fire!”
“The townsfolk were waiting for the king’s own to arrive.”
“Why? Can you fix things for them? This has nothing to do with Auxia. Even if Stanton is technically part of Auxia, the mountains are not. I doubt even the King would care about some small conflict in the fringes of his kingdom.” The hunter came to a sudden realization. “There’s something else, isn’t there? What right do you or the King have over an internal quarrel in the disputed River Triangle between the Lords Colfax and Lord Fairfax? Why aren’t they doing anything?”
Now it was Martin’s turn to pause. “That is not my place to question.” The colonel finally replied and began ascending the rise, his sword glistening in the noontime light. “The king has ordered that the dragon be brought in, and I have every intention of obeying it.”
Logan thought about fleeing or fighting. Neither seemed particularly inviting at this point. He stood his ground and breathed deeply.
“I have made an oath to the dragon, that in exchange for his sparing of my life, I would provide him with the same dignity. And I intend to keep that promise, even in the face of you and the King.”
“This is very close to treason, Mr. Durham. You will fight against your king and your kingdom? For this…creature?”
“I’ve fought for my kingdom. I was fighting in Mulden Hills the entire night after most of the armies fled. We were attacking goblin lands then, but I did my job, and now I’m defending my own friends and home.”
“You have disobeyed the divine trust given to your king.”
“Well I sure haven’t seen any of Heaven’s favor. What has the king done for me? The war fell to pieces and I didn’t even get paid. Now you’re all up here, telling me that the king calls again. Tell me what’s gone wrong here?”
Martin gritted his teeth. “I’m wasting my time appealing to you to give up, aren’t I? You are really going to die trying to oppose me, the Royal Army, and your king?”
“I am just pointing out the facts. Will you let the dragon go if I can get it to leave?”
“No.”
“Will you let me leave right now to warn the dragon?”
“No.”
“Will you fight me to get to the dragon then?”
“Yes.”
Logan sighed and nodded.
“Will you let me put on my armor then?”
The soldier stopped. “Aye. If we are to fight, then I will give you the courtesy, if not the honor.”
“Very well.” Logan donned on his helm and drew his awlpike, taking a defensive stance.
“I guess we’ll just have to see how this turns out then.”
Martin’s slashing sword was expected, but still Logan barely managed to block the singing blade with his polearm. The colonel was surprisingly fast; Martin’s sword clanged on the shank right below Logan’s knees, then disappeared and jabbed again toward the hunter’s chest.
Logan desperately parried a few more attacks, driving his polearm downwards and carrying his opponent’s sword with it, then pulled back before jabbing sharply forward, only to have it strike thin air as the colonel nimbly evaded the thrust and turned and swung his weapon at Logan’s head.
“You fight like a backcountry hunter.” Martin scoffed as the hunter dodged backwards, the Royal’s blade missing his throat by inches. “No technique. You know when and where to strike, but not how.”
“Well I guess I just can’t tell right from wrong, just like you Royals.” Logan snapped.
Sword and awlpike sang again, glancing off of one another. Then the soldier thrust his weapon straight at Logan’s chest. When the hunter dodged to one side to parry, the colonel followed through by turning and swinging the sword to his side in an arc. Logan staggered backwards, a gash in his shoulder dripping blood.
“I admire your loyalty to your beast and your cause, Mr. Durham, however misguided it is.” The Royal continued. “Still I'm tired of this game. If I wanted to kill you I would have. Give up now before you really get hurt. Surrender and I promise you will be treated fairly in Stanton.”
Logan gave an off-color laugh. “Nah. We’re all friends here; this is a friendly little duel.”
Martin shrugged. “As you wish.”
The combat renewed, and the colonel struck like a viper, slashing and stabbing first towards the hunter’s face, then his legs, then his chest, again and again. The hunter fell back, bleeding from multiple wounds to his chest and shoulders-without his helm, brigandine and gambeson, multiple wounds would have been fatal. Martin had also been struck a few times, but the Royal was better protected, and he had dealt more than he had sustained despite a cracked ailette and notches on his helm and breastplate. Now the Colonel confidently advanced on the hunter. “Let this foolishness end.”
“Foolishness?” Logan snorted. “This whole thing is foolishness. Colonel, how many men did you lose fighting the dragon four days back? At least a few dozen I’d guess.”
Martin flinched, and Logan could tell he struck home. “Well, I warn you, that is just the beginning if you so choose to capture it. Even if you take down my dragon, you’ll lose many, many more. I do not concern myself with politics, but it seems everyone knows the war against the goblins is not going well. They’re raiding straight across the Piedmont at will. Why aren’t your troops helping to hold back the goblin raids? Then there’s the Other Men. They’ve gobbled up every one of the Northern colonies, and they’re fighting the Plains Lords. Soon they’ll start looking South. While this kingdom is falling apart, you’re wasting precious lives and monies on this pointless hunting venture. What is the king thinking? What are you thinking-”
“Be quiet, hunter!” Martin snarled. For the first time Logan saw the Royal losing his temper.
Martin lashed out angrily with his weapon, but Logan evaded the blow, and tensing up, struck his opponent in the face with the butt of his polearm.
The colonel staggered back, mostly protected from the blow by his helm but bleeding from his nose. The hunter took advantage, twirling his weapon and slashing with the sharp end of his pike. The blade bounced off the Royal’s chest plate before cutting into his mail.
“You’re nothing but a well-dressed lackey!” Logan yelled.
“I said, be quiet!” Martin snapped back, swinging his sword and jabbing, but a bit off. Logan easily parried these attacks.
The hunter gritted his teeth. Now if he could just egg on the colonel further and exhaust him, he might be able to strike his opponents in the legs and-.
Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed the shaft of Logan’s polearm. Before the hunter could effectively respond, Martin pulled the weapon and Logan to him and stabbed him in the side.
“Fuck.”
With a gasp Logan crumpled to the ground at the colonel’s feet, the awlpike clanging beside him.
Breathing hard, Martin looked at his fallen opponent, then stepped back and removed his helm, wiping the sweat and blood from his face. With that the colonel cupped his helm under the crook of his arm, grasped the hit of his sword and walked back to the hunter to deliver a coup-de-grace.
Suddenly a figure leaped in front of the fallen figure, picking up Logan’s awlpike and pointing it at the surprised soldier.
“Cease your actions Royal!” Sonia cried from her crouched position, the tip of the polearm a foot away from Martin’s face.
The colonel stopped. He looked at the Alderwoman with slightly more annoyance than concern.
“Move aside, Lady Potter. That is a traitor that you are defending.”
Sonia shook her head. “This man saved my life, and I owe that debt to him. I invoke my right for life-debt as a maiden in distress to defend him and place him under my protection and that of my house. As the designated successor to my father as Elder of Stanton, I also invoke the right of a Free Town to place guests not under an actual charge of treason to be under the protection of the community. Finally, as an acquaintance, if not friend, of this fool, I invoke my right to fight you for him. You try to kill him, and you’ll have to go through me.” Sonia glowered, holding the awlpike in a threatening posture.
Martin stared for a long minute. Then he stopped, bowed, sheathed his sword and turned back towards Stanton.
“As my lady wills it.”
As the Royal officer disappeared back into town, Sonia dropped the awlpike and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. After a long pause the alderwoman turned to the fallen figure.
“Logan Durham, you’d better be worth this.” Sonia grumbled.
***
A half hour later Martin returned to the Royal encampment, dusty, and bleeding from a few wounds that he casually began tending to with linen.
“Where were you?” Major Towser asked.
“Taking care of some loose ends.” The colonel replied as he finished tidying up his wounds. Then the Royal commander took the map and deftly rolled it up, fitting it into his belt before turning to Major Towser. “Well, let’s get this over with.”
System Of A Down - Chop Suey
From TheDinosaurMann! Thanks!
As Martin handed the parchment back over to Major Tower he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure from the corner of his eye who immediately disappeared into an alleyway. Without further comment the Colonel stood up and grabbed his sword, reassuringly patting Major Towser on the shoulder as the latter gave his commander an inquiring look.
“Pardon.”
***
Logan cursed as he shimmied his way through narrow side streets and clambered under dusty underpasses. No wonder Stanton had been so quiet lately. He should have been more aware of things and not sitting on his ass-Wilcox certainly wasn’t one to. The hunter crawled under the open foundation side of the inn, scattering the hens roosting there, scrambled up a pile of garbage and leapt onto a rooftop, quickly jumped above two more roofs and nimbly leapt over the town palisade. Well, better late than never: Logan should be able to warn the dragon of the impending attack, perhaps run off himself before everything goes to hell.
To be sure the militia had not been too troublesome, the hunter concluded as he went straight up the Old North Road. The last few encounters showed that they lost enthusiasm very quickly. However the Royal would be a problem: they would be good fighters and they wouldn’t give up easily. Logan would have to think of some way to force them back. First things first: at this speed, he should reach Mera’s cave in three days, long before this new army Wilcox conjured up could begin marching. Pack up, fly out and leave these buggers in the d-
“Mr. Durham?” A voice directly behind him suddenly cut through the hunter’s train of thought. Logan stopped in shock, then slowly turned around to see a fully armored man-at-arms, stocky frame clad in chainmail and heavy boots, a great helm over his head from which stared cold blue eyes. The red ailette upon his shoulders designated the warrior as a full colonel in the Royal Army. “Going somewhere?”
Damn it.
“So we finally meet Mr. Durham.” The Royal continued. “I have heard a lot about you. Where are you going? Calling up your dragon? Helping our enemy?”
Logan stopped and warily stared back at the officer, reactively touching the hilt of his awlpike. “I don’t believe we’ve met before, soldier.”
“I am Colonel Martin Cunningham of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Nalbin. I have been ordered by our sovereign, the King of Nalbin to capture that dragon of yours. Whether it is your pet, friend, familiar, or whether you are under its control, I will give you one chance. Mr. Durham, I have no quarrel with you. Step aside and let me and my men do our duty. Do not continue helping the dragon.”
“The Dragon of Stanton and the trouble it has caused is a local matter between myself, the dragon itself, and the good people of Stanton.” Logan carefully replied. “There’s no need for others to get involved.”
“I believe you are mistaken, Mr. Durham. The King has ownership of both his people and all the creatures in it.” Martin slowly began moving toward the hunter, who stopped and stood defiantly on a small rise.
“You, on the other hand, will need help if you have indeed cast your lot with monsters.”
“You know nothing about me, or how I have reached this point.” The hunter retorted. “I am under no one’s influence. I fight for myself and my friends.”
Martin stopped. “You honor this creature with that? Friendship?”
“I owe my life to him.”
“Really.” Martin gave a sarcastic snort. “Isn’t that odd, such a creature befriending a measly human? Think! Mr. Durham! Why would a dragon-a monster, a creature of nightmares, create such a strange alliance? It wants a fool to place between it and I.” The colonel shook his head at the hunter. “I’m afraid the dragon’s been manipulating you. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
A pawn in the dragon’s complicated web of deception? Logan paused. The wyrms were known to be manipulative and scheming.
Finally the hunter shook his head. “I’ve chosen my side and I am sticking to it.” He replied, eyeing the colonel. “I have to have faith in something; might as well be over this friendship.”
“And what of the townsfolk?” Martin countered, continuing his steady advance. “They are confused, afraid. The dragon can defend itself, the townsfolk not so much. How many have died fighting this dragon?”
Logan slowly nodded. The people of Stanton had hired him originally and then took him in when he returned in failure from his mission. He had as much reason to kill townsfolk defending the dragon as the townsfolk had in killing the dragon.
“Too much.” The hunter finally said. “You are right there. But killing the dragon won’t solve anything. I want to have some peace to come to this place, not more slaughter. I was trying to sort things out. And things were sorting themselves out. The townsfolk were realizing that conflict with the dragon would bring them much suffering for little to no gain.” Logan said with increasing anger, finally pointing at the figure opposing him. “And then your people come and throw more timber into the fire!”
“The townsfolk were waiting for the king’s own to arrive.”
“Why? Can you fix things for them? This has nothing to do with Auxia. Even if Stanton is technically part of Auxia, the mountains are not. I doubt even the King would care about some small conflict in the fringes of his kingdom.” The hunter came to a sudden realization. “There’s something else, isn’t there? What right do you or the King have over an internal quarrel in the disputed River Triangle between the Lords Colfax and Lord Fairfax? Why aren’t they doing anything?”
Now it was Martin’s turn to pause. “That is not my place to question.” The colonel finally replied and began ascending the rise, his sword glistening in the noontime light. “The king has ordered that the dragon be brought in, and I have every intention of obeying it.”
Logan thought about fleeing or fighting. Neither seemed particularly inviting at this point. He stood his ground and breathed deeply.
“I have made an oath to the dragon, that in exchange for his sparing of my life, I would provide him with the same dignity. And I intend to keep that promise, even in the face of you and the King.”
“This is very close to treason, Mr. Durham. You will fight against your king and your kingdom? For this…creature?”
“I’ve fought for my kingdom. I was fighting in Mulden Hills the entire night after most of the armies fled. We were attacking goblin lands then, but I did my job, and now I’m defending my own friends and home.”
“You have disobeyed the divine trust given to your king.”
“Well I sure haven’t seen any of Heaven’s favor. What has the king done for me? The war fell to pieces and I didn’t even get paid. Now you’re all up here, telling me that the king calls again. Tell me what’s gone wrong here?”
Martin gritted his teeth. “I’m wasting my time appealing to you to give up, aren’t I? You are really going to die trying to oppose me, the Royal Army, and your king?”
“I am just pointing out the facts. Will you let the dragon go if I can get it to leave?”
“No.”
“Will you let me leave right now to warn the dragon?”
“No.”
“Will you fight me to get to the dragon then?”
“Yes.”
Logan sighed and nodded.
“Will you let me put on my armor then?”
The soldier stopped. “Aye. If we are to fight, then I will give you the courtesy, if not the honor.”
“Very well.” Logan donned on his helm and drew his awlpike, taking a defensive stance.
“I guess we’ll just have to see how this turns out then.”
Martin’s slashing sword was expected, but still Logan barely managed to block the singing blade with his polearm. The colonel was surprisingly fast; Martin’s sword clanged on the shank right below Logan’s knees, then disappeared and jabbed again toward the hunter’s chest.
Logan desperately parried a few more attacks, driving his polearm downwards and carrying his opponent’s sword with it, then pulled back before jabbing sharply forward, only to have it strike thin air as the colonel nimbly evaded the thrust and turned and swung his weapon at Logan’s head.
“You fight like a backcountry hunter.” Martin scoffed as the hunter dodged backwards, the Royal’s blade missing his throat by inches. “No technique. You know when and where to strike, but not how.”
“Well I guess I just can’t tell right from wrong, just like you Royals.” Logan snapped.
Sword and awlpike sang again, glancing off of one another. Then the soldier thrust his weapon straight at Logan’s chest. When the hunter dodged to one side to parry, the colonel followed through by turning and swinging the sword to his side in an arc. Logan staggered backwards, a gash in his shoulder dripping blood.
“I admire your loyalty to your beast and your cause, Mr. Durham, however misguided it is.” The Royal continued. “Still I'm tired of this game. If I wanted to kill you I would have. Give up now before you really get hurt. Surrender and I promise you will be treated fairly in Stanton.”
Logan gave an off-color laugh. “Nah. We’re all friends here; this is a friendly little duel.”
Martin shrugged. “As you wish.”
The combat renewed, and the colonel struck like a viper, slashing and stabbing first towards the hunter’s face, then his legs, then his chest, again and again. The hunter fell back, bleeding from multiple wounds to his chest and shoulders-without his helm, brigandine and gambeson, multiple wounds would have been fatal. Martin had also been struck a few times, but the Royal was better protected, and he had dealt more than he had sustained despite a cracked ailette and notches on his helm and breastplate. Now the Colonel confidently advanced on the hunter. “Let this foolishness end.”
“Foolishness?” Logan snorted. “This whole thing is foolishness. Colonel, how many men did you lose fighting the dragon four days back? At least a few dozen I’d guess.”
Martin flinched, and Logan could tell he struck home. “Well, I warn you, that is just the beginning if you so choose to capture it. Even if you take down my dragon, you’ll lose many, many more. I do not concern myself with politics, but it seems everyone knows the war against the goblins is not going well. They’re raiding straight across the Piedmont at will. Why aren’t your troops helping to hold back the goblin raids? Then there’s the Other Men. They’ve gobbled up every one of the Northern colonies, and they’re fighting the Plains Lords. Soon they’ll start looking South. While this kingdom is falling apart, you’re wasting precious lives and monies on this pointless hunting venture. What is the king thinking? What are you thinking-”
“Be quiet, hunter!” Martin snarled. For the first time Logan saw the Royal losing his temper.
Martin lashed out angrily with his weapon, but Logan evaded the blow, and tensing up, struck his opponent in the face with the butt of his polearm.
The colonel staggered back, mostly protected from the blow by his helm but bleeding from his nose. The hunter took advantage, twirling his weapon and slashing with the sharp end of his pike. The blade bounced off the Royal’s chest plate before cutting into his mail.
“You’re nothing but a well-dressed lackey!” Logan yelled.
“I said, be quiet!” Martin snapped back, swinging his sword and jabbing, but a bit off. Logan easily parried these attacks.
The hunter gritted his teeth. Now if he could just egg on the colonel further and exhaust him, he might be able to strike his opponents in the legs and-.
Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed the shaft of Logan’s polearm. Before the hunter could effectively respond, Martin pulled the weapon and Logan to him and stabbed him in the side.
“Fuck.”
With a gasp Logan crumpled to the ground at the colonel’s feet, the awlpike clanging beside him.
Breathing hard, Martin looked at his fallen opponent, then stepped back and removed his helm, wiping the sweat and blood from his face. With that the colonel cupped his helm under the crook of his arm, grasped the hit of his sword and walked back to the hunter to deliver a coup-de-grace.
Suddenly a figure leaped in front of the fallen figure, picking up Logan’s awlpike and pointing it at the surprised soldier.
“Cease your actions Royal!” Sonia cried from her crouched position, the tip of the polearm a foot away from Martin’s face.
The colonel stopped. He looked at the Alderwoman with slightly more annoyance than concern.
“Move aside, Lady Potter. That is a traitor that you are defending.”
Sonia shook her head. “This man saved my life, and I owe that debt to him. I invoke my right for life-debt as a maiden in distress to defend him and place him under my protection and that of my house. As the designated successor to my father as Elder of Stanton, I also invoke the right of a Free Town to place guests not under an actual charge of treason to be under the protection of the community. Finally, as an acquaintance, if not friend, of this fool, I invoke my right to fight you for him. You try to kill him, and you’ll have to go through me.” Sonia glowered, holding the awlpike in a threatening posture.
Martin stared for a long minute. Then he stopped, bowed, sheathed his sword and turned back towards Stanton.
“As my lady wills it.”
As the Royal officer disappeared back into town, Sonia dropped the awlpike and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. After a long pause the alderwoman turned to the fallen figure.
“Logan Durham, you’d better be worth this.” Sonia grumbled.
***
A half hour later Martin returned to the Royal encampment, dusty, and bleeding from a few wounds that he casually began tending to with linen.
“Where were you?” Major Towser asked.
“Taking care of some loose ends.” The colonel replied as he finished tidying up his wounds. Then the Royal commander took the map and deftly rolled it up, fitting it into his belt before turning to Major Towser. “Well, let’s get this over with.”
System Of A Down - Chop Suey
From TheDinosaurMann! Thanks!
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Human
Gender Male
Size 1952 x 1888px
Angy human with sharp things - never a good combination.
Never mess with an Alderwoman who carries her wits and sharp tools about her!
Shouldn't he have the advantage, now his awlpike being so much longer that a heavy sword?,
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