El-Vador's Travels

by J. R. Karlsson

  Looking to prove that thought wrong, El-Vador emulated Eihblin and slashed forward with his blade in an arc that couldn't be evaded. He had no time to check on how his companion was faring against the twin image of this creature but if she had space and time to trade such blows she couldn't be doing too badly.

  As agile as his enemy may have been, it was impossible to avoid the cut El-Vador had made with his weapon. It brought up an arm and tried to deflect the stroke but to no avail, the steel was sharp and sheared through the arm, bone and all.

  Ignoring the disembodied limb flying from his shoulder, it charged directly inside El-Vador's defences and levelled its head at him, careening directly into him and sending them both spilling to the floor.

  The impact dazed the Elf briefly, but not as much as his foe had hoped. He had held on to his blade and twisted on the floor, sending it deep into the creature's midriff and through its heart, assuming it had one.

  As the thing stilled on the floor, El-Vador rose to a crouch and slipped his sword clear, looking for an opening in the frantic melee that the other battle had created.

  The second attacker had managed to evade the majority of Eihblin's attacks, though from the looks of things the few that had got through had left considerable marks.

  He sensed the opening then, springing forward and impaling the thing on his blade much the same as he had done to the other. Eihblin seemed frustrated that the Elf had come to her aid and messily decapitated it, spraying blood all over the room and staining their clothes.

  'Was that really necessary?' El-Vador growled.

  She remained unapologetic. 'Do not get between me and my kill again, Elf.'

  'We don't have time for this,' Phaedra interjected. 'Sarvacts knows where we are now, we have to get out of here.'

  El-Vador didn't think to wonder at the time how Phaedra knew that Sarvacts was now aware of their position, in spite of their conspicuous stains they made their way out of the inn as quickly as they could.

  A third imitation of their initial attacker had appeared from outside the inn, El-Vador ran his sword through it before it could register their passing.

  Another attempted to tackle him but was on the receiving end of Eihblin's blade, how many of them had Sarvacts sent?

  Anacletus knew exactly what had happened before he saw it unfold. His old instincts to avoid unnecessary conflict nearly kicked in but he forced them down. If this was what he thought then he may need to escalate things quicker than he had planned.

  All three of them were engaged in fighting off what looked to be multiple clones of the minion of Sarvacts that had met him on the roof. The one that had been tasked with tracking down the rogue automaton had instead involved itself in Anacletus' business. If it killed the woman it was no great loss to the assassin, in fact it would be doing him a favour in that respect. However, should El-Vador die at its hands then the assassin would have to dispose of Sarvacts before he was done in. Most problematic indeed. He could not trust the Elf to dispatch these automatons with any certainty, so he moved forward with his dagger to aid his foes.

  'It was him!' Eihblin screamed, cutting her way through one of Sarvacts' creatures and trying to make her way across the street.

  El-Vador impaled another, then beheaded the last, no further creatures were forthcoming.

  'What? Who was it you saw?'

  'That fool Anacletus. He made to attack us in this conflict and then ran when we bested our foes!'

  El-Vador did not have time to see where the assassin had gone, for Syvembile blocked his path.

  'Why are you here, priest?' El-Vador asked, not liking that the man was armed. 'We seek an assassin and every moment we waste he grows more distant.'

  'That may be,' Syvembile said, eyeing the blood that covered his foe. 'I too seek an assassin, it looks like there is yet more death on your hands, Elf.'

  'This is the blood of agents of Sarvacts, we were defending ourselves here.'

  'I care not for the people you have butchered here, Elf. Or your reasons for doing so.' Syvembile replied, revulsion glowing in his eyes. He raised his sword and fell into an aggressive stance that El-Vador had seen used at the keep. 'You will pay the ultimate price for the murder of my comrades.' He faced Phaedra now, and then Eihblin. 'I know not what association you have with this murderer but you too shall pay the price.'

  Syvembile turned back and charged toward the Elf, lifting his sword high in the air and preparing to carve his foe open with frightening speed.

  El-Vador let fly, the arrow caught Syvembile in the eye socket and sent him tumbling to the ground, his momentum stopping at the Elf's feet.

  He looked around at Eihblin and Phaedra who had both paused in shock. Had they really expected him to fight honourably? He had seen the opportunity when the priest was wasting breath and had taken it ruthlessly.

  'We need to get moving.' he said to them, plucking the bloodied arrow and tearing the eyeball clean from the head. 'The city watch will be upon us should we stay here any longer.'

  They nodded silently in agreement and set off in search of Anacletus once more.

  XXII

  I have seen many things that others would consider impossible or unnatural, the world that I inhabited in my youth was an unconquered and fantastical place. I have seen it transformed from a wild and unpredictable arena to a pallid and safe device for the nurturing of whelps. I have undoubtedly had my hand in this change, I need not be pleased with it though.

  Now that they had caught sight of him within the city walls, Anacletus fled with all the haste his corporeal form could muster. If he had any doubts that the Elf and his companions would pursue him before, they had been purged by the look that bitch had given him. She would crack her whip and the Elf would need no further encouragement to hasten after him, it was a dangerous game he was playing now with his quarry so close.

  Still there remained that indescribable feeling of eyes upon his back, he was being watched by someone other than Sarvacts' forces and it pleased him not. Things were already complicated enough without the Caldalian authorities getting involved. To that end he refused to rush any faster than need be, he could not afford to be detained and there was little more suspicious after a fight than a cloaked man running from the scene. He moved swiftly as if on an important errand but not to the point where he would break out into a sprint, hopefully whoever was watching thought no further of it. He only hoped that the Elf did not reach him before he exited the city walls.

  'Which way did he go?' El-Vador asked Eihblin as he ran alongside her.

  She looked at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. 'The direction we're running, genius.'

  El-Vador stopped in his tracks. 'Hold one moment.'

  She turned on him immediately. 'What has gotten into you? He's getting away!'

  'Phaedra, is he headed toward the gate?'

  Phaedra stared at him a moment, then clarity dawned. 'No, he isn't.'

  'He's weaving this way and that to throw us off the trail or lead us on a merry chase through the city so that he has time to get to the gate. We could just go there directly and bypass all this pointless running.'

  It took a moment for Eihblin's anger at this to settle, but she begrudgingly admitted that was probably a sensible course of action.

  'There is only one way out of the city that leads to the mountains beyond,' the Elf said. 'He has to pass through the southern gate, and when he does we will be ready for him.'

  'And what if he decides to keep us waiting?' Eihblin asked, still sceptical of the plan.

  'Sarvacts is not someone you keep waiting, take my word for it.' Phaedra replied, shuddering.

  Eihblin nodded. 'Very well then, if it leads to the apprehension of that snake and retrieving my heirloom then we shall do it.'

  El-Vador wondered why it took her so long to come round to his way of thinking, but he did not speak his thought aloud and instead pinned it upon her stubbornness. He had little time to think of such things anyway, they
needed to make it to the gate before Anacletus. He also failed to notice the eyes that watched him as they made their way through the city streets.

  Anacletus was at an impasse. He knew that the Elf and his friends would have rushed to the gate to ambush him after fading away from his trail through the city. He could scale the city walls in the darkness of the night and escape if he needed to but ultimately he required his quarry to follow him. To elude them totally at this stage, so close to the fortress itself, was foolishness. The darkness surrounding him would render him all but invisible to even the most prying of eyes and sharpest of senses, he needed to find a way to have them follow to the fortress with all expediency without getting an arrow in the back from that Elf's cursed bow. Even his own capabilities did not render him entirely immune to physical attacks, and he had no doubts that this El-Vador was a keen shot.

  It had been a welcome change, to not have any threat hounding his every move, but ultimately it was one that he did not appreciate entirely. The longer they tarried in this city with its strange inhabitants, the more troublesome bringing them to Sarvacts would become. He had no desire to test the Orc's patience, it had already been stretched thin enough.

  It had taken him some time as he racked his brain for other possibilities but he had finally carved out a plan of sorts. There were any number of mounts outside with a minimal guard detail, if he were to appropriate one of the beasts he could gallop toward the city gates. It would require a great deal of energy on his part but it may be possible to pass through unmolested. Anacletus would slit the throat of whoever guarded the horses at the time, then don his clothing and make his way to the gate. If anyone were fool enough to question his actions or discover the body prior to his departure he would have to break into a gallop and hope that nobody shot at him. Ordinarily such a plan would require that he also convince the gate master to open up, but then Anacletus wasn't an ordinary person. El-Vador and his friends would be keeping a close eye on the gate and when they saw this occur they would know that they must follow. Anacletus didn't care if the Elf was vengeful enough to shoot the mount from under him, so long as he gave them enough reason to follow he would be satisfied.

  With these thoughts clear in mind and a sense of purpose guiding his every step, he made his way silently into the shadows of the night.

  The guard of the mounts proved to be more incompetent than he could have possibly hoped for, half asleep and easy to slit the throat of.

  He divested the guard of his clothes abruptly so as not to let the blood pool over them. It only took him a brief moment to saddle the fastest looking horse and mount it. He hoped that the Elf and his friends were keeping watch over his actions this night, he did not want to have to come back to this city again.

  The feeling of being watched poured over him once more, sending a slight shiver down his spine. To be seen in a crowded street during day was an inevitability and rarely spelt danger, but at night? Well, many things could happen under the shroud of darkness.

  He kicked the horse lightly and started off, eager to be away from prying eyes and such an ominous feeling. Let them raise the alarm if they must, he was departing this city one way or another, if he need paint the streets with blood to do so then he would.

  The chill night offered little comfort for El-Vador and his companions, the sliver of moonlight provided even less illumination for them to witness the departure of Anacletus. El-Vador was currently on watch as the others slept soundly in the hay of the abandoned cart they had chanced upon. There was always an uncertainty about the waiting, had they let the assassin slip through their grasp once more? Was he on his way to Sarvacts and soon to be protected by the unscalable walls of the fortress? No, he had no doubt in his mind, if the man had been deliberately circling the city there was no way he could have beaten them to the gate.

  From El-Vador's position, he could easily see the gate and the shadows of the buildings flanking the cart that hid him from all but the sharpest of views.

  The galloping of hooves signalled the arrival of their target, nobody else would be making such a reckless sound at this time of the night. The guard at the gate held up his torch suspiciously as the noise grew closer, peering into the dark as if he hoped to see what was causing it.

  El-Vador had slipped out of the cart and was now deliberating on whether to draw his sword or bow. The shot would be difficult with the minimal light, but surely the man would have to slow down as he approached the gate?

  Drawing his sword, El-Vador crept closer to the gate as his foe thundered toward it through the dark.

  Anacletus reigned in the beast, it was frothing from the exertion and frightened at being driven through the night at such a pace. Something was wrong.

  'Halt,' the guard stated, approaching the horse with torch raised and a suspicious look in his eyes. 'Who seeks to exit the city at such a late hour?'

  His stalling with the horse had allowed the guard to come over, more worryingly he brought illumination with him. Anacletus could imagine the Elf smiling as he drew back his bow for a clear shot on his target. He shrugged at the guard. 'I am a humble messenger, can a man not come and go as he pleases from these city walls?' He didn't have time for this.

  'I was not informed of such a departure, everyone who leaves after sunset must do so under authorisation.'

  Anacletus grew tired of this fool, unsheathing his dagger he thrust forth his shadow arm and embedded it in the man's skull. No one would think to look for him until the assassin was far from the city walls.

  Or at least, that's what he wanted to happen. Instead the dagger pointed outward from his extended arm which remained but flesh and blood.

  The guard frowned at him. 'Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?'

  Anacletus shook his head in disbelief, something was dampening his capabilities. Had he underestimated the Elf?

  He stared about him, trying to figure out what was happening but the night air offered him no answers.

  'Very well, I want you to dismount straight away. I'm taking you to the guard house.'

  He did not relish a head-on confrontation with an armed guard without his powers, but if he stalled any further that was exactly what was going to happen. He needed to make a move now.

  It would appear that the move had been made from him.

  Dark smoke billowed from an unknown source, covering the ground and causing the guard to step back in confusion. Anacletus strained his eyes against the darkness, trying to determine what this smoke was and where it came from. This boded ill for his chances of escaping the city, or it could prove the perfect diversion. All he need do was kill the guard and open the gate. Power or no power, he would be free so long as the Elf did not take his shot. As he watched, the smoke drew closer, filling the street. Then it seemed to shift its direction, as if controlled by some sentient force.

  It headed directly toward Anacletus.

  He spurred his horse forward and knocked the guard over into the smoke, he hoped the glancing hit was enough to keep him down as he unbarred the gate.

  The smoke was rising.

  He managed to lift the wooden bar off its hinges and haul the doors open enough to admit a man and his mount, then he looked back at the panicked beast and realised there was no need to take it with him.

  The guard that had gone under in the smoke had not risen again.

  Making his way from the city gates, Anacletus began to run.

  The fallen torch of the guard briefly flickered yellow light through the smoke that trailed across the street floor. It had happened so quickly that El-Vador could neither intercept the man with his blade or get a shot away.

  The smoke coursed over him but did no damage beyond a faint tickling of his ankles. There was no way he could have avoided it even if it had been deadly.

  El-Vador stood still, appraising the scene and realising that his foe was already on the move.

  The crazed horse had bolted clear, that could only mean that he was on foot. They now had
a chance of catching him before he reached the fortress. He needed to return and rouse Eihblin and Phaedra first, they would not forgive him for going after the assassin alone and he may yet need their help in dispatching such a slippery foe.

  The smoke washed over him as he waded through it, now up to his waist in depth. They needed to leave this place soon, it seemed harmless enough now but he had no intentions of breathing it in.

  Yet as he thought this the pooling seemed to cease and the smoke moved off, seemingly having a will of its own. It streamed through the gate, blocking their path to Anacletus and preventing them from giving chase. He was not going to brave such a mass of fumes for the sake of getting a little closer to vengeance, they knew which direction Anacletus was headed and if they could secure mounts they would be upon him long before he made it to safety.

  Assuming that wasn't who the smoke was also following.

  XXIII

  Had we known that which we were racing against I doubt that we would have given chase, it was an impossible thing to know all the same so I regret not our actions. Ultimately this hunt had become less about bringing the assassin to justice and more about slaying Sarvacts.

  Although time was now on their side, they lacked sufficient coin to purchase the mounts necessary to chase Anacletus down. According to Phaedra there was only a small village between the city and the fortress and there were no stables there so Harlven's killer would have to continue by foot until he reached safety. This gave them a window of opportunity to acquire horses and a respite from the constant chasing.