“Come here and lend me your ear so I don’t have to yell.”
Yemesh rose and put his ear to the king’s mouth. The king whispered something and the young captain nodded.
Yemesh walked over to the female announcer and plucked her off the ground by the arm. With one swift movement, he threw her with all his might. Esh had been taken by surprise and made a failed attempt to jump and save her. He landed on his chest, his face over the platform watching the female’s hair fly in the wind as she fell to her doom. She screamed the entire trip down but they were halted the instant her body smacked the ground, sending ash in a large circular wave.
The king did not laugh. “Remove your helmet, victor. Let me see the face of the jester who makes me chuckle so.”
Esh did nothing, he could do nothing. He was paralyzed with a mixture of anger and sheer amazement at what humanoids were capable of under the Red sun. If this was the world he lived in and this was how things were meant to be then he desired not to live any longer.
That’s when he realized his thoughts were becoming rash but he didn’t care. Just like his Master had said, he was free now, free to make any choice he desired.
“Fuck you and fuck your realm.” Esh stood himself, turned, and gave the rudest hand gesture known to the Reahlic humanoids and straight to the ruler himself.
The king looked left and then right violently, his top and bottom teeth falling out of his mouth and down into his lap. His cheeks sunk in towards his empty gums as he searched for what he wanted to say. No one had ever spoken to him like this before.
“Ssseeeiiizzeee himmm!” he commanded finally, spittle spraying over all over his female slaves.
Yemesh was the first to move followed by all the other guards. He flipped the sharp end of the spear in front of him and made for Esh’s chest.
Esh went to bite his thumb to draw blood but again had completely forgotten that his head and hand were both fully armored. He cursed to himself as Yemesh thrust the spear at him, forcing a reaction. Dodging left, Esh grabbed the pole with his right hand while kicking the leader straight in the face with his left boot. Yemesh cried out but did not let go of the spear.
Four more guards were on him now which meant four new spears to worry about. Still holding on to Yemesh’s spear, Esh slid his grip up to the head of it. He twisted his torso and brought his elbow down on the metal shaft and snapped it in two. The tip broke off easily into his hand which he then shoved into the nearest guard’s face killing him instantly.
Something thudded hard into his back and stuck deep into his skin. He looked back to see an arrow protruding out below his shoulder blade.
Archers.
More arrows already filled the sky and some were already snapping on the ground around his feet barely missing him. He needed his borrowed sword back.
He back fisted Yemesh in the side of the head and dodged two more spear thrusts while scanning all of the guards to see which had his weapon. The king was now being escorted out of the arena, humanoid shields covering his body. Two of his naked female slaves had been hit by stray arrows and had been left to die slowly.
Tired of defense, Esh rammed the three guards in front of him knocking them to the ground and stepping on them to make sure they didn’t get back up. No one but Esh noticed the dagger flying through the air towards the king.
It was a beautiful throw, one that Esh knew to have been practiced over and over again. The dagger zipped past the flesh shields and stuck deep into the king’s back. The jeweled robe fell from his shoulders but was still held firmly to his body by the dagger. He stumbled a few paces before falling flat, his fat and loose skin vibrating from the impact.
Dropping his guard, Esh was struck by another arrow in the back. The pain now beating its way through his adrenaline.
“The victor has slew the king!” Yemesh cried, blood from his nose now dripping over his open mouth. “He’s murdered the king! Kill him!”
Esh turned to see Yemesh pointing straight at him, his eyes wide in horror. How had he not noticed the hidden dagger before? Had no one seen their guard captain kill the king? Was he really about to be blamed for this murder?
“King murderer!” a guard yelled.
Just then, a blur of motion came from beneath the blue liquid of the enclosure. Two webbed hands now floated to the glass. And there it was, the angel like face he had seen from down below.
Her body drifted closer and became visible. A Blue territory female humanoid. Dark blue hair drifted around her thin pale face, a muzzle made for animals tied around her head and keeping her mouth firmly shut. Her feet were bound by chain to the bottom of the cage. Dirty garments covered her breasts and groin, her ribs showed from lack of food. It hadn’t been her mouth that Esh had seen call for help, but her blue eyes.
Guards upon guards with the same shiny purple armor were now rushing the platform in the sky. There was a loud crack in the air and Esh’s right wrist was grabbed by a whip made from animal skin. Another crack and his left wrist was caught. His heart stammered in a fit of panic. He tried to remember his breathing but too many things were happening at once.
He tried to bite the inside of his mouth and draw blood but his mouth had already been filled with scar tissue from overuse during his training. He would have to find another way.
The guards formed a thick line in front of him, some with bows, some with spears, and others with swords. Esh was being convicted for a crime he had not committed and was now part of some scheme he had not seen coming.
A guard with a cocky demeanor stepped out of the line and started a strange dance, flinging the sword left and right and ending with a back flip and a war cry. His fellow soldiers found it rather impressive, but to Esh it was a waste of energy. The fancy sword dancer jumped at Esh and swung at him with his blade. At that exact moment, a crazy idea formed into Esh’s head.
He let the sword cut him.
34 - Crash Landing
Esh angled his body at just the right degree to take the blade in the least dangerous of spots. He felt the hot iron slice through his skin and knew instantly that it had been too deep. But it worked.
Blood started to seep through the armor and out into the fresh air and just as he had practiced a thousand times before he called upon his dark twin minion.
Time slowed down as the black gust engulfed everything around him.
“Master…” said the twin hunkered over by his side. “Is this still training? Or is this business?” The pale monster rubbed his hands together hungrily, his eyes firmly set on the meat sacks in front of him.
“Bring the blue female to our speed.”
“It shall be done,” it said.
Esh watched as the liquid went from frozen in time to sloshing at a normal pace.
“And cut these off of me.” Esh pointed his chin at his right and left wrists.
“Oh, Master has found himself in a bit of a bind,” it said with a chuckle. It hopped over and started to chew at the whip with its teeth.
Both whips fell to the ground and blood flowed back into Esh’s hands. He dropped the tip of Yemesh’s spear to the ground and rubbed his wrists.
“What are we doing with these ones?” it asked him, pointing a skinny pale finger at the guards. Its body trembled at a cold temperature Esh did not feel.
“Slit their ankles, not their throats. My main concern is the slave inside that glass filled with liquid,” Esh said, walking over to the cage.
“Your wish is my command… Master.”
Esh put his hand on the glass and the female matched his. Her eyes had no pupils and her neck was covered in slits called gills. Xep had explained that the gills were like his lungs but that blue humanoids were unable to breathe like he could.
Esh was left with two choices. He could leave the female here and judging by her malnourished body she would die of starvation within a few sun-cycles. He wasn’t strong enough to move the cage, especially not in his condition.
Or he could take her.
Esh bowed his head and pinched his lips together. He felt the blood trickling down his back and into his suit. All of his instincts drilled inside of him from Master Rift and Master Xep told him to leave this place, to sprint home while covering his tracks. To become a ghost.
But it was his heart that stopped him. He looked up and saw the female’s eyes watching him, her gills moving with difficulty. She was dying. It wasn’t the lack of food that was killing her but the lack of fresh liquid.
Esh made his decision.
“All done, boss.” His twin crept up beside him, his mouth bloody from the ankle chewing. “What’s next?”
“Just stand there.”
Esh looked over his shoulder and found the guard who had confiscated his greatsword. His mouth was slowly opening in a wide scream, his hands reaching down to feel for an ankle that was no longer there.
Esh walked away from the cage and the female’s hand fell from the glass, clutching her thin stomach in dismay. All hope left her eyes and she disappeared into the murkiness of the liquid.
Esh unclasped the greatsword from the guard’s back and placed it on his hip.
“I’m gonna jump,” Esh said to his twin, walking back to the enclosure. “I’m gonna need you to break my fall.” The female swam back to the glass, her body trembling and covering her mouth with her palm. If blue humanoids could cry, this must have been what it looked like.
“Stand back there!” Esh said, pointing towards the back of her cage. “I mean swim! Swim to the back!”
The female gave him a confused glance, her head cocking sideways. How could he make her understand? He pretended to smack the glass with his fist and then exploded his hands with an unneeded sound effect from his mouth. The female’s eyes opened and she nodded in understanding. She swam back and disappeared.
“Be ready, it!”
“So now my name’s it? That feels good.”
Esh took a few steps back, inhaled a deep breath, and bounded into the air straight for the cage. He pulled one powerful fist back and slammed it into the glass with all his might. The cage rumbled but nothing happened. Esh took a few more steps back and prepared himself to try again but stopped as a thin crack appeared in the middle of the glass. It grew longer and longer and started to streak out in different directions. Esh walked up and tapped it with a finger.
The glass shattered in one loud blast. Liquid consumed Esh entirely for half a second before splashing to the ground. The liquid evaporated much faster as it spread thin over the platform. The only thing left was the female who now laid sideways on the ground holding her knees to her chest.
Esh rushed over to her and heard her gasping for breath. There was no time to lose. He swept her up in both arms and ran to the edge of the platform.
“Get ready,” Esh said to it.
“You’re a fool.”
“Now!”
The twin jumped into the air first and Esh followed. The female in his arms screamed as the hot air flew through her hair. The ground was coming faster and faster and he hoped they would survive the fall. He would be hurt, that was for sure, but it was their only option.
The twin hit the ground with a splat and Esh crushed him with his boots. He bent and rolled to disperse the fall across his body, holding the ex-slave tight to his chest. The arrows stuck in his back snapped off, the tips digging deeper inside him.
The twin turned into ash and the black whirling gust halted, time coming back to its original speed. The greowlds moaned loudly as a new toy had just arrived in their den.
“There he is!” called a guard, pointing down at Esh from the platform.
“Oh, he’s done for, no need to go and fetch him,” said another.
Esh stood up slowly to make sure there were no broken bones. He shrugged his left shoulder and winced. It had become dislocated in the fall. He felt for other dislocations or breaks in his bones and found none. Luck was on his side… for now.
The crowds were in a panic with their beloved king now murdered. They behaved as animals would, toppling over each other and pushing others out of the way, trying their best to exit the coliseum. However, the panic ceased when a new attraction entered the arena. Esh was the glorious victor and they expected a grand show.
Esh raced towards the exit, the female whimpering and struggling for breath. Her skin was drying rapidly and skin flakes had begun to peel off and float off into the wind. He could hear the greowlds on his trail. They could have easily caught up to him, but there was no fun in that. It was all about the chase.
He made it to the barred gate and kicked at it.
“Let me out! This female needs help!”
The fighters who had been called for the next fight just looked at him and jeered. One was laughing so hard he had to grab onto another just to keep himself up. They were going to be no help and why should they? He was the competition.
He turned to face the three threats behind him. The greowlds were even more hideous close up. The bulbous nosed one had a constant flow of slime coming from its nostrils and the one with the ears looked to just have had a few ears bitten off in a recent fight. The third eye on the last greowld didn’t work, it just moved in an eerie motion on its own.
They lowered their heads in a way animals did when they were about to pounce on their prey. They moaned in a low tone and their heavy breath sent ash into the air. The nosed greowld pawed the ground anxiously, ready to kill.
Esh’s hands grew clammy in his armored gloves. He hadn’t been presented with hardly any options and his Master wasn’t here to give him any advice. What would Master Rift do? Would he fight or flee? If fight, how? How could he fight when he was protecting something so precious? He knew the answer… There were no precious things in the life of an assassin, they could only be used against you. They were liabilities. Esh could easily have scaled the wall by himself and hid himself amongst the crowd, but that wasn’t an option.
The nosed greowld came a little too close and Esh kicked ash right into its face. It jumped back with a roar, not a moan, but an actual roar that sent goosebumps up his arms. The other greowlds joined in on the roaring, their breath the smell of fresh death. From this angle, they looked like big headed humanoids with two furry legs. It would have been comical if they hadn’t been there to chew on his insides.
He kicked the ash again and the greowlds jumped back, their nostrils flaring, their eyes wide as if he had just insulted them dearly.
Something crazy popped into Esh’s head, something that was more likely to get him killed than anything. But it was the only option he could think of.
Without notice, Esh burst into a sprint to the right of the greowlds, the one with the third eye tried to reach out and paw at him but had reacted too slowly. Esh stopped running when he’d made it to the middle of the arena and waited for the greowlds to set up their parameter around him. They were now jumping in and out, actually touching him with their paws in order to test him. No humanoid had ever stood up to them before and they were being cautious.
It was time.
Esh started to kick up the ash in a frenzy, sending the greowlds into a hectic chaos. He didn’t know why this upset them but if his plan was going to work he had to make them as angry as possible.
He sent as much ash in the air as he could and pointed it in the directions of each of the beasts. There was a mixture of moaning and roaring going on and they were getting closer and closer. Once they were within hands reach he kicked up one last storm of ash and juked himself through their ranks. This time the three eyed greowld had a perfect reaction time, pawing him perfectly across the leg with four sharp dirty claws.
Ignoring the pain, Esh limped as fast as he could. The crowd must have thought it a very funny sight for they were going mad with excitement. The greowlds were still having their tantrum over the ash when he had made it to the half way point.
The ash didn’t last long in the air before it took its place back on the ground. The greowlds spun around and mad
e chase.
They ran at top speed after the victor who had now turned victim. He looked down at his leg and cringed. Four slashes in this leggings and red muscle glittering in the sun. He wasn’t going to make it.
Just as the greowlds were almost upon him he felt his strength give a rise and his pain fall away little by little. He ran with everything he had towards the gate and thought now he might actually make it.
It was a miracle! But only… it wasn’t a miracle.
He looked down to see that the female had cupped her webbed hand over his sprinting thigh, her eyes rolled back in her head. She was performing sorcery. When she was done, her head fell back and he could see that her lips were cracked and her cheeks were sunk in.
She was dying.
Esh pushed himself even harder, shoving each boot into the ground as if it were his last. The moaning was so loud now that it rang within his helmet. He felt a paw hit his pauldron but not enough force to push him down. He needed only a little further. And… and… he made it!
He smelt the breath of death one last time before jumping to the side out of the way of the charging greowlds. All three slammed face first into the gate, demolishing all of the bars and sending metallic debris right into the faces of the fighters, crushing most of them. The greowlds were free. They were all free.
Losing interest in the ash slinging monster, the greowlds attacked their new assortment of unsuspecting preys. They bit into the crowd with the ferocity that Esh had implanted in them. He picked himself up along with the blue female and made his escape.
35 - Unfamiliar Kindness
Body parts and armor flew in the hot air as the greowlds made dinner out of the rest of the contestants. Using the turmoil as cover, Esh made his way to the streets of Zel. The female Ballahranian in his arm was dying fast or was already dead. He could no longer tell. He needed liquid and fast.
He found the answer to his problem within the wares of a street vendor with a cart filled with liquid canisters. He was selling them to the good patrons of the coliseum who had come here with their families to enjoy a good slaughter.
The Four Territories Page 22
