Fan Fiction ❯ Between adventures ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Between adventures
Genre: Action/General
Rating: PG-13/T

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Jab!

That was the single thought engraved in his mind for the tiniest fragment of a second. And immediately afterwards, his body reacted to the visual signal. The slim sword, seemingly glued in his grip, intercepted the dagger performing said jab, pushing it harmlessly to the side. But his opponent was far from novice, hardly applying any force to deny his parry, letting both their blades to reach far to her left, so that her right dagger might find a clear path. Not that see expected that to be the case. And true to her expectations, the younger swordsman raised his left hand, expertly batting the weapon, altering its course, while slightly pivoting and getting his body out of harm’s way just in case. But then he gasped as his foot met another object, throwing him off balance. His adversary smirked, hastily repositioning her foot to its original position, while her left dagger that was still trapped under the sword became a blur, rotating around her hand and returning to its original position. Only this time, it was her blade blocking the sword. The male swordsmen’s eyes went wide at the impossible maneuver, but he retained the presence of mind to leap backwards, just before the freed dagger could claim a hit.

“You are improving Mark” commented the swordswoman, her platinum-colored hair sparkling in the last moments of the waning sun. “Three months ago, you would be already lying on the floor after such a clash.”

Mark, still a boy but fast becoming a man, smiled at the comment. Compliments from his instructor were rare. “I almost had you at at least one point, Sonia” he replied smugly.

Sonia frowned at that, her brown eyes narrowing dangerously. “You still have a lot to learn, Mark. I have no wish to smite you in practice, but I’d rather do so than see you dying because of cockiness. And while we are at practice, you will be calling me ‘mistress-assistant’, am I clear?”

Although that was a peculiar request for somebody barely six years older than he was, Mark performed a salute in acknowledgement. “Crystal clear, mistress-assistant!” But then winced, realizing more sarcasm than what he intended had seeped in his voice.

Sonia eyed him for a moment, as if assessing him, while suppressing a smile that would have caused all semblance of discipline between them to crumble. “So, Mark, let’s kick this battle up a notch” she declared at length and the youth had no time to even blink as his teacher twirled her twin daggers, now holding them with their blades downwards, and rushed at him at breakneck speed.

Mark, to his credit, managed to block the first hits, but his opponent had gained the offensive, her twin edges dancing around his larger and slower blade. Sonia pressed on with unnatural endurance, her speed building constantly instead of waning, but then frowned as she noticed a certain detail on her student. While anybody else would never notice a difference, the seasoned fighter did. Mark’s speed was always a step ahead of hers. And because she knew his current physical limits all too well, that could only mean on thing...

Both combatants exchanged a few more hits, then simultaneously leaped backwards. Mark, now panting heavily, thought it would be a great chance to catch his breath, but the young woman before him had other plans. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she dashed forward again, her weapons leading the way. Mark got ready to counter, but he was also weary for a surprise attack, one of the stunning displays of natural and supernatural prowess his teacher would use from time to time to let him sprawled on the floor.

Sonia’s blades clashed with Mark’s sword, the well-placed larger weapon swiping them both to the side. And the trainee dared to think there would be no additional attack. But then he felt the weight on his sword multiplying, as Sonia used her dash’s momentum and his blade as leverage, her feet leaving the ground and heading for his face.

The first kick hit his jaw, forcing his head violently upwards. The second, somehow delivered from the same foot immediately afterwards, stroke his forehead, causing his head to snap back downwards. And the third kick, coming while both of them were still in midair, collided with his chest, sending him flying towards a nearby wall.

Despite the pain, Mark allowed himself to smirk, for while he had been helpless during the attack, he managed to regain his wits before his body could hit the wall. He forced his body to curl while still flying, his feet turning to meet the incoming barrier, touching it and propelling their owner back towards Sonia, his speed blurry, his blade extended for a hit. But he then had to gasp as his instructor was not where she was supposed to be. The question in order could hardly be formed in his mind before the answer came in the form of an agonizing pain in the middle of his back, as Sonia fell from above, her foot almost burying him in the ground.

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Thirty seconds later, Mark managed to turn around and accept Sonia’s extended hand, at long last leaving the ground, wincing at the smug smile on the older girl’s face.

“You didn’t have to go that hard on me” he complained rubbing his now sore back. “You almost broke my spine!”

Sonia smiled a toothy, sharky grin. “If you were a mere human instead of a Special or if I had used my ankle instead of the ball of my foot, you would be dead before you could hit the ground. As it is, it will let you reflect on your weaknesses and on the consequences of breaking the rules like that.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” he asked, visibly shaken.

Sonia sighed, shaking her head. “As a sidenote, you also need some training in lying. You are as transparent as air at the moment. But I was talking about that handy haste spell you applied on yourself during our spar.”

“You could tell?” responded Mark, his eyes growing larger. “I tried hard to cast it without anybody noticing.“

“And you did a great job at that” continued Sonia, not missing a beat. “But you exploited its effects too readily. There is no use bothering to hide-cast such a spell when the results are obvious. Back to our point, though, this session of ours was a weapon-only one. No stealth, no gadgets and certainly no Craft. And if a haste spell is not Craft, remind me to cast a fireball next time.”

Mark pouted after the comment. “But without using Craft I am no good in combat.”

“Exactly!” continued Sonia unfazed. “You are relatively weak in plain melee. Better than many, but not too good for a Special. That’s why we practice without Craft. Remember that energy drain spell that drake we beat had?”

At the mere mention of the encounter, Mark’s face lost its color. Few Special apprentices had to face a drake as their first field-assignment, even with a more practiced warrior to help them, and for a good reason, he now knew. The lesser but still ancient dragon had almost killed him.

“Alright, I see your point” he replied hastily, eager to change subject. “I guess this session is over?”

Sonia indicated the sun that had just disappeared behind the mountains that were visible from above the low wall that encircled the inn’s back yard. They had come here to practice, wanting to avoid the otherwise inevitable audience and the innkeeper was all too happy to let them.

“It’s already late and we had a good fight nonetheless” she said, removing the training covers from her daggers.

Mark did the same, freeing his blade from the slim but potent material and replacing it back to its scabbard. Even though the casings made the weapons non-lethal, the pain at contact was all too true, as he knew from experience. “So, what do we do now, Sonia?”

His companion appeared thoughtful. “We have been traveling and sleeping outdoors for a full week. Since the mission was successful, I think we can stay for tomorrow and leave the day after. We need some supplies anyway and a stroll at the market will be a good break between adventures.”

Mark beamed at the news. In this first mission he had gained quite the loot, especially from the slain drake’s hoard, but he had had no chance to spend any of it.

“But before that, we must have a good night’s sleep” continued Sonia, knocking her charge out of his daydream. “And the best way to do that, is to try the inn’s hot spring” she finished, clearly exited. “It’s been ages since I last went to a hot spring.”

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Mark had to agree with Sonia. Hot springs were a marvelous experience, soothing mind and body with ease. What he did not expect, was the fact the inn’s facilities only included one bathing area for everybody, regardless of age or gender. He knew he should be grateful nobody else was present. He also realized all too soon that his instructor had no issues whatsoever with nakedness. Saying his thoughts were different would be a horrid understatement.

“What’s wrong? Is my student displaying signs of shyness?” asked Sonia merrily as she leaned backwards on one of the rock slabs encircling the spring. Which was a rhetorical question anyway, because Mark wouldn’t even attempt to look towards the general direction of his teacher and companion.

“You shouldn’t” she continued. “What if you are forced to fight naked during a mission?”

Mark gasp audibly to the question that had never occurred to him. “Is there such a possibility?” he asked meekly.

“Oh, sure, it has happened to me” replied Sonia chuckling. “It was on a mission to assassinate a very rich slaver that had stepped out of his boundaries. He thought his fortress was invulnerable after enchanted by a whole cell of wizards. Well, his fortress is still invulnerable but he apparently wasn’t. Although infiltrating his personal harem had been tricky and...”

“Okay, okay, I’ve got the picture” said Mark, interrupting the uncomfortable-for him-recitation. “Do you have any pointers about tomorrow?”

Sonia smirked deviously at the rabid change of subject, but then appeared thoughtful. “Alright, time for a brief bartering lesson. Rule number one. All merchants will try to cheat you. That might not be always true, but it’s better to assume it is. Rule number two. If you have time, try to find the same products in a better price. Especially when there are many shops with similar merchandise close to each other. Rule number three. Always try to barter, starting from a third of the original price. If you can’t lower the price by at least a half, pretend you try to leave and in most cases you will get the desirable result. Rule number four. If you don’t know one of your item’s value, ask somebody that will not try to buy it from you. Then go and sell it away from where you asked and always wait for them to make an offer.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of information” exclaimed Mark, instinctively turning to regard her in sheer admiration.

“Also, you might want to take that pouch with the coffee grains you got, since they use it as substitute currency along with the region’s coins. In fact, you can fetch some very good prices when using coffee grains.”

“They use coffee as currency?” asked Mark in disbelief.

“It gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘I drank my money’” said Sonia winking. “And also it’s good to see you relaxed at last, if only for a while.”

Mark smiled at the first comment but the second one baffled him for a moment. Until he registered what exactly he was staring at...

Needless to say, Sonia started laughing really loud as the color on her student’s face cascaded through the red part of the light spectrum.

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“What’s the matter?” asked Sonia almost bored. “I know something troubles you again.”

Morning had come quickly and they were now strolling lazily through the narrow, dirt-covered roads and towards the town’s central market. Most of the visible buildings were only as high as two stories, with the exception of the mayor’s mansion that was effectively a small palace, complete with imposing alabaster walls and high, golden-trimmed spires. The streets were still relatively empty, at least in comparison to the usual crowd that would fill them in a couple of hours.

“Well, I just wish we could have taken our horses along” replied Mark absentmindedly. “I don’t really trust that innkeeper’s boy that takes care of the stables” he added defensively.

Sonia could only sigh. “Look, I know you are fond of that mare of yours. You have named her Silverflow, correct? But it is their job. They know how to feed her, they know how to change the oils and how to conduct proper maintenance. Cybernetic horses are not that rare. And we can’t really bring our steeds in the middle of the market. There is little space as it is.”

“Do you think master Zenthar misses us?” inquired Mark at length.

Sonia chuckled in response. “I’m sure he does, but that doesn’t mean he’ll show that much. Knowing him, he will pretend he is happier about the rare Craft tome we found in the drake’s lair. A seasoned and old Special like him is supposed to act like that, you know. Fonder of knowledge than of his two protegees.”

“Figures” murmured Mark, frowning a bit, but then his eyes went wide. While the market before him was not anything special compared to the ones of much larger cities, it was still enough to leave him stunned. Hundreds of people were within his vision, leading their respective lives in that many different ways. The young Special was once again reminded just how huge the world actually is.

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Mark had to admit he was having quite a good time. His vision was filled with gold coins, expensive bolts of satin, weapons of any size and variety, rare fragrances, exquisite jewelry and just about any sentient race he had ever learned of. Tall Lizardmen basking in the sun to warm their cool blood, Humans of any skin color in every possible grab, the once feared Cat-men of the mountains, the Swamp-folken, resembling walking shrubs more than anything else. The young Special had trouble believing all these fundamentally different people could co-exist and history had often confirmed his doubts. But here was the proof hope would not be lost, that peace could yet be retained.

But Mark’s thoughts halted abruptly in favor of something more important-for him anyway. On one of the outdoor stands that filled the streets, he saw a dagger, a display of brilliant craftsmanship that combined elegance and usefulness in an almost perfect balance.

Mark hesitated for a while, turning to regard Sonia. The young woman was apparently engaged with a bartering session that had degraded into a shouting match, both her and the merchant involved bellowing prices that steadily approached a certain, median value. Sighing he touched, then picked the dagger in question, finding it to his satisfaction to feel as balanced as it looked.

“A very good piece, young man” commented the merchant with reverence. “Unfortunately, I don’t have its scabbard and so I can leave it to you for a lower price.”

Mark contemplated that for a while then nodded. “Do you accept coffee grains for it? Godovana coffee grains”, he asked carefully.

“Ay”, nodded the man delightfully. “I’ll be more than happy to trade for coffee grains of such quality. Forty pieces will do.”

“I’ll give you twenty” replied Mark calmly and somewhat indifferently.

The merchant sighed. “Twenty-five and a last offer, lad. And know I’m losing here.”

Mark nodded again and reached for a pouch tucked on his belt, ready to spill the contents on the counter.

“Nice blade” commented Sonia from behind, but then she frowned as the merchant in question had his eyes grow wide. A second later, both Sonia and Mark made an about face, a very unlikely scene a few meters behind them.

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The first figure was of average height and hidden under an oversized cloak that hid everything about the owner’s identity. Such figures were a quite common sight, practically invisible in a crowd of more interesting presences. Like the one that was now standing behind the first figure. A similar but much larger cloak lied at his feet, indicating he too wanted to remain inconspicuous. At least until he discarded it in order to raise his massive axe above his head. He had the body of a human, although he was much taller than any human Mark had ever seen. But his head was one of a bull, large nostrils snorting steam.

“A Minotaur” muttered Mark as the axe head went down, burying itself deep inside the cloaked figure.

But instead of a dead, broken body, nothing appeared from the dark-colored garment that simply collapsed to the ground. The beast snorted again and turned around, but then had to jump backwards as a blade made of light nearly cleaved him.

Mark then noticed what must have been the occupant of the cloak, a beautiful young woman around his age, dressed exquisitely but practically and wielding a short silver cylinder in her right hand. And from the tip of the contraption, an ethereal blade erupted, one seemingly made of light, producing an angry but low buzzing sound. The much larger beast swung his axe sideways in a large arc, intending to finish the battle fast, but against all odds, his would-be victim blocked the weapon with her blade, staggering a bit but actually keeping her ground.

“A Craft user” muttered Mark and then came to his senses, seemingly exiting a self-induced stupor and rushing to help the girl against her opponent. But had to stop on his tracks as he saw another man heading towards the scene, a double-bladed, curved sword in his hand. He looked fairly unremarkable, barring his handsome face, but Mark recognized the movements of a seasoned fighter nonetheless. And then gasped, as his blade went towards the woman instead of the beast. She saw it at the last moment, ducking out of the way while delivering a swiping kick at the Minotaur, her strength enchantment allowing her to drive him to the ground, while her golden hair barely missing the arcing blade of the new enemy. But then she closed her eyes, knowing there was no way to avoid the second slash that would rabidly follow. Instead of the unbearable amount of pain she expected, she only heard the clash of swords, opening her eyes again to find Mark blocking the older man’s blade.

“Two on one is a bit off by my book” declared the young Special, forcing the other blade wielder backwards.

“Boy, get out of the way. True fighters have joined the fray” replied the stranger in a weird, melodic tone.

Mark frowned at the words and, after making sure the girl behind him had resumed her battle with the recovered beast, he broke contact, leaping backwards. “What do you want with her?” he asked, assuming a defensive battle stance.

“Trebor is my name, killing her, my current game. Pleasure I deduce from such a duty not, though I have no qualms to let you rot.”

“A stupid assassin that likes rhymes. Well, I don’t think I can let you” replied Mark quite smugly, already annoyed by his opponent’s way of speech. But then he noticed a flash from behind him and turned to see a large sphere made of superheated air heading his way.

Moments later, Sonia appeared before the fireball, one of her daggers bare in her hand, a blue tongue of energy emitted from it, making the blade appearing longer. She then casually batted the fiery projectile upwards, letting it cool down in the upper atmosphere. “You have a knack for getting knee-deep in trouble, Mark” she exclaimed critically, although there was amusement in her voice.

The blond girl behind them continued dueling with her massive foe, expertly avoiding hits and landing some of her own, although she failed delivering a solid strike. The Minotaur before her was clearly enraged, not expecting a mere human mocking his prowess like that and swinging frantically.

Mark made sure she could fend for herself and then concentrated on his rather skilled opponent. The assassin’s blade slashed forward following an unusual, wavy pattern meant to bypass a forthcoming block, but the young Special brought his blade horizontally, spoiling the attempt. Or so he thought, as his opponent reversed his weapon’s momentum, the upper blade further retreating but the lower coming fast and hard for Mark’s abdomen. He managed to avoid a serious wound by leaping backwards, but the blade’s tip still nicked him painfully.

“You are better than I thought, but that hardly was my greatest shot. That’s no time for being placid, as my blade is dripping acid.”

Mark growled at that, but then he felt an intense, burning pain from his otherwise minor injury, realizing his annoying opponent was speaking quite literally. His double sword was enchanted to release acid on contact.

In the meantime, Sonia had her hands full dealing with the last member of the assassin trio, a tall woman in dark blue robes that had an unnerving tendency to release powerful damaging Craft spells with no regard to her surroundings. And although the simple folk had wisely fled, the collateral damage was still stunning.

“Hey, spare me that annoying onslaught” shouted Sonia casually deflecting another fireball accompanied by some smaller energy bolts and closing in on her adversary.

“That will teach you messing with other people’s business” declared the slightly older woman, unfazed by the twin daggers coming her way. And for a good reason, too, as an energy barrier stopped them both before they could claim a wound. “You can’t defeat an expert Craft user like that, sweetie”, she added cockily, their faces inches apart.

But Sonia casually chuckled at that, whispering a short incantation and causing her daggers to easily penetrate the defense. “Who said I’m not a Craft user myself?” she shouted, one of her daggers stabbing her adversary at the shoulder. The older woman let a yelp of pain, and then uttered a single word of power, an overwhelming force tossing both of them towards opposite directions like rug dolls and saving her life in the process. They both rose to their feet and regarded each other, their faces reflecting an increased respect for their opponent but also an increased desire to kill.

The mysterious girl kept matching her opponent’s feral strength with Craft, wit and agility, but she was now visibly slowing, her body becoming fatigued faster than the monster she faced. And a while later she did a mistake, blocking a hit from the wrong angle, still diverting it but losing her balance and, more importantly, her weapon, as the hilt flew out of her hand, the glowing blade vanishing.

The Minotaur let a war cry of victory. “You were a worthy opponent, I’ll give you that much”, he said in a gruff, baritone voice. “Now die!” he added, bringing his axe high above his head. The girl appeared terrified, but at the last moment, her visage became determined, her hand snapping upwards and a disk of crimson light appearing out of nowhere, hitting the beast and cleanly slicing his arm.

Mark doubled in pain as his opponent approached, but that was only a feint, seeing as the young Special had just hide-cast a healing spell, purging the acid and setting a trap. And surely enough, he shot forward with unreal speed, catching the assassin off guard, his blade aimed for his opponent’s unprotected wrist. And having no effect whatsoever.

“A great plan, revealing skills, one that quite to me appeals”, started Trebor smugly. “Though your puny blade I won’t even feel, my skin is truly like a shield of steel.”

At that, Mark gawked in disbelief, because his blade had actually produced the sound of metal against metal when it touched his opponent. “What kind of freak are you?” he asked, attempting another quick strike.

Sonia growled as her opponent started amassing a huge bolt of energy in one of her open palms. Quickly assessing her options, the silver-haired fighter snatched an unremarkable item from a nearby junk heap. A hopelessly broken wooden chair.

Her opponent laughed loud at that. “It seems you are running out of tricks, bitch”, she said mockingly. “What will you do, clobber me to death?”

Sonia only smirked. “That would be a great idea, but I have something more creative.” Crouching and placing her open palm flat on the ground, she started whispering words of arcane Craft, the wooden chair in her other hand half dissolving and assuming a green hue. And seconds later, the ground around the older Craft user shuddered, thick vines emerging and entangling her, coiling around her limbs and rudely disrupting her spell.

“Why you...” she started, but then gasped as Sonia raised the remains of the chair that was now made of living wood and threw it in the air. The object soared upwards for a while, but then shot forward, heading for the trapped assassin and bursting in flames in midair, setting fire to all magical vines. The older woman screamed in pain as fire started consuming her, but retained the presence of mind to utter another word of power. “We will meet again, bitch” she shouted as her body teleported from the fiery prison and away from the battle.

The loss of an appendage caused the Minotaur to go berserk, bellowing an incoherent cry, leveling his horned head with his opponent and dashing forward blindly. The blond fighter crouched, then leaped above the incoming wall of flesh, retrieving her light blade as soon as she touched the ground. The beast, blinded by pain, made an about face and rushed again, attempting to impale the impudent human. This time, though, she was ready. Swiftly sidestepping the mad charge, she summarily relieved the Minotaur of both pain and head, the huge body collapsing to the ground with a great thud. Exhausted and panting, the girl fell to her knees but still turned to see the rest of the battle.

Mark was doing his best, casting a variety of speed and strength spells on his person. Trebor had trouble following him, but the unusual natural armor his skin was completely protected him. But then the young Special had an idea. He had already tried magic bolts or fire and all caused little to no effect on his opponent, casually being deflected. But if his skin really resembled metal...

Mark once again slashed forward in speed Trebor could not or would not bother to follow. The sword once again slammed on metal having no visible effect. But this time, the assassin‘s eyes went wide as a thousand volts of magical electricity raced on Mark’s blade and through his skin that was apparently a good conductor.

Trebor urgently broke contact, not critically hurt but otherwise concerned. And then noticed that one of his companions was dead and the other had fled.

“Though the fight is simply prime, seems I’m running out of time. Better leave the scene of crime while my mouth can brightly rhyme” he sang saluting and then leaping high above a building, hitting the roof with grace and bolting away.

“Good riddance weirdo!!” shouted Mark behind him in a volatile mixture of anger, relief and humor.

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Minutes later, the market was like nothing had happened. Some guards had rushed to the scene after the battle, relieved to see the worst was over and their only real task would be to get rid of a quite messy Minotaur corpse.

The mysterious girl approached Mark and smiled shyly. “Thank you so much for saving me. I would have been dead without you.”

Mark laugh embarrassed. “Well, it was nothing. And you could sure keep your own against that monster.”

“Thank you nonetheless” continued the girl. “And also your companion” she added, bowing towards Sonia. “My name is Cloe and these losers have been following me for a while.”

Sonia casually dismissed the thanks. “Name’s Sonia and this fine young man here is Mark, my student. He has a tendency to bite more than he can chew, but he’s a good boy.”

Both girls giggled as Mark’s face flushed red, but then an older man interrupted them. “That was a great fight, young master. You forgot that” said the merchant, giving back Mark’s pouch. “Will you be buying the dagger after all?” he asked hoping.

“Oh, let me!” chirped Cloe, fishing three large gold coins, almost double the dagger’s value and giving them to a very happy merchant, snatching the dagger in return. She then presented the weapon to Mark with a formal gesture. “Accept it as a gift for helping me” she continued, placing it in his hands, then giving him a swift kiss to the cheek and running away.

Sonia had to keep from sprawling to the ground laughing at the utterly dumbfounded expression decorating her charge’s face. “Come ‘Romeo’. The day is still young and we need to buy supplies.”

“Well, that was... unusual” Mark managed to say, still stunned.

“Indeed...” said Sonia smirking. “But it was only a minor incident. Although I’m sure I have heard that ‘Cloe’ name from somewhere...” she started, but then stopped cold, her eyes wide, her mouth open.

“What’s the matter?” inquired Mark, knowing that such a response was unusual for Sonia.

With her face between disbelief and mirth, Sonia gave him a very unexpected answer. “She was princess Cloe, daughter of the current Emperor and heir of the continent. I have heard she often sneaks alone out of the capital, but I never thought we would actually meet her.”

“Wow...” exclaimed Mark, unable to say anything else...

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An hour later, the duo was back at the inn, sorting everything they had bought.

“There is only one thing I can’t explain” said Sonia suddenly. “Why was that merchant stunned before any of us could realize what was happening?”

“Oh, that was my mistake” started Mark hesitantly. “I somehow mixed the pouch containing the coffee grains with the one we found in the drake’s hoard.”

“You mean the one with the ancient Atlantis coins?” she asked in disbelief and Mark could only nod meekly until he received a slap behind his neck.

“What was that for?” he asked, half laughing.

“For scaring the poor man out of his wits, stupid. He would have to sell himself to get enough change for one of these coins” she answered, verges before another laughing fit... “Anyway, let’s get ready for tomorrow. We have a long way ahead.”

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The end...