Ezzy's father wasn't entombed there. His body was still lost in the Deadlands. Who knew what the freaks living up there had done with him. The Soulbearers didn't travel into those lands to release a person's spirit back to Kaz'ren. Her father's spirit was stuck there in his corpse, never to be freed to return to his family. It was just another log fueling the fire of her anger towards those that had brought her family down. But again, she couldn't dwell on that now. She needed to focus on the here and now and get out of the city.
The streets were still empty when they finally reached Melcoi Bridge. Built from bone-colored stones, the massive construction spanned the river where it flowed from Lake Melcoi. The bridge rose high into the air, leaving enough clearance for the largest river boats to pass underneath. The incline was so great that if you stood on one end, you couldn't see over the rise to the other side. Ezzy's father had said it had taken the hardiest Vilathos and the most skilled Elementalists to construct the bridge.
Ezzy and Nolan both took one last look around before stepping off the road and onto the bridge. Normally bustling with activity during the day, the bridge felt barren and ominous at night. The only sounds to be heard were water lapping against the stone supports. Old stories of creatures from the Abyss hiding under bridges to ensnare their prey leapt into her mind for a moment before she squashed them. She was too old to be scared by such tales. The gods protected the city from the Abyss anyway, so there was nothing to worry about. Even so, Ezzy found her gaze wandering back to the Temple of Kaz'ren as they moved across the bridge.
How long had it been since she had prayed to the goddess of the soul and afterlife? Probably just as long as it had been since she had given her last prayer to Drenks. Did the gods and goddesses even notice when a single person stopped paying their respects? The Voices, the title given to the highest priest in each of the temples, said the gods noticed, but Ezzy was skeptical of what even the Voices knew anymore. With everything that had happened to her family, it was hard to believe in anything that came from the temples. She would continue to pray to the goddess of the hunt though. Just in case.
A hand on her arm brought Ezzy out of her thoughts. They had already reached the peak of the bridge? She glanced over at Nolan, who in turn nodded ahead of them.
Standing on the east end of the bridge were four men. They were dressed in mismatched, multicolored clothing that made each man look unique in a ragtag sort of way. At first Ezzy thought they might just be beggars. In the low light of the moons it was difficult to make out much more detail from this distance.
The moons' light glinted off something metallic in each man's hand.
"Thieves?" she whispered.
"Could be. I can't imagine anyone else out at this time at night looking like that."
"What if they are bounty hunters?"
"I don't think it matters either way," Nolan said as he gestured towards the men. One of the four was pointing directly at them. A moment later, the men started crossing the bridge.
"What's the plan," Ezzy asked, moving closer to Nolan. "Fight or flight?"
He tapped his walking stick against the bridge a few times. "I don't think flight is ever much of an option for me."
"Well, maybe you can talk our way out of this then. These four don't look like the brightest flames in the fireplace, Nolan."
"Depends on if they are simple thieves or bounty hunters. Either way, if I'm talking, you need to keep quiet."
"Why?"
"'Cause your voice always seems to enrage these types of people."
"And what types of people would those be, Nolan?"
"The awake kind."
"No need to be rude. You could have just said I'm not the best ambassador."
"I thought I did."
"Yes, true, but..."
"Shhhh."
Ezzy's mouth snapped shut as the four men drew close. Where Ezzy had originally thought they were wearing mismatched pieces of clothing, they actually wore pieces of armor that were so worn out and falling apart that they gave the appearance of being separate pieces. The men themselves looked just as worn out as the protection they were wearing. Bruises and ugly scars covered bald heads and faces that held no sign of compassion. Even their blades were nicked and look dull, although they were clean enough to reflect the moon light.
"You two out for a nice romantic walk?" one of the men said to Nolan. He had a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek. "Good for you chap, snagging a younger woman."
"We are most certainly not--" Ezzy began, but cut off as Nolan cleared his throat.
"Yes, thank you." Nolan replied once Ezzy stopped speaking. "We thought we would take a quick stroll to the gardens of Ni'Aren. Find a nice secluded spot."
Nolan actually winked at the man. If those thugs didn't each have a blade in their hands, Ezzy would have kicked Nolan right in the shin.
"Well," cross-scar said with a chuckle, "we certainly don't want to keep you from your fun. We'll just be collecting the night toll for crossing the bridge, and you can be on your way."
"Night toll? Can't say I've heard of that before."
"Oh yeah? You must not have been in the city for a while. My friends and I have been collecting here for quite some time."
"And the money goes toward the maintenance of the bridge?"
"Yes, of course. It goes towards the import of new stone and applying mortar to weakening sections, as well as--ha, oh hell. This is getting boring. Clearly we aren't tax collectors, just like from the looks of the bags you are carrying you two are not off to rub against each other in the garden. So let's just get right to the point where you hand us enough money to make us happy so that we don't have to rough you up. We ain't the most refined of fighters, and if you resist you could end up dead and we will still take everything on you."
"A fair enough deal. We're not traveling with much more than clothes and a little food, but would five silver pieces for each of you be enough to let us pass?"
"Well, that's a little low, but luckily for you, a nice fat merchant had a bit too much to drink and wandered across the bridge earlier. I thought the fool man was going to wet himself when we grabbed him. He had quite the heavy purse, enough that we'll be able to eat well for a while. Your money can go towards our retirement funds and some nicer equipment."
"Now wait a minute," Ezzy growled, taking a step towards the men. "If you don't need our money, why--"
Nolan lifted his walking stick to block her path. She gave him her meanest stare, but the look he returned made her quiet down and step back.
"Yes," Nolan said, giving her one last meaningful look before returning his attention to the thieves. "If you are going to be toll collectors, you should look a bit more respectable."
That earned a laugh from cross-scar.
"True enough! Well, how about we finish our business transaction and we can all be on our way. It's getting late and I could sure go for--"
Cross-scar cut off what he was saying and raised his weapon. His three companions followed suit.
"Hold on a moment," Nolan said, raising his hands in a calming manner. "We agreed to pay you. No need to--"
"Shut up," Cross-scar said, then gestured past him towards the other side of the bridge.
Nolan and Ezzy swung their heads around. Walking up the other side of the bridge were four more men dressed much better than the four robbing them. Well-made leather armor covered most of their bodies, the Soushade family brand decorating each. From her training, Ezzy knew that meant it was the thicker and more expensive leather imported from the Shadaer Umdaer lands to the south. Similar to the thieves, each of these newcomers also had at least one weapon in hand. Ezzy's hopes rose as the four approached. They could be part of the town guard or even caravan guards for the Soushade family. Maybe she wouldn't have to give up any money tonight after all.
Nolan looked less than thrilled.
"Two of them are the bounty hunters I saw earlier," he said with a grimace.
Without pause, Ezzy s
ent a thought to Paz.Come, follow road was all she had to say, and through their bond, Paz would find her.
CHAPTER NINE
Party on the Bridge
Nolan knew that the night was about to go downhill quickly.
"Hello, gentlemen," cross-scar said as the bounty hunters approached. "We're just concluding some business here."
One of the bounty hunters, the taller man named Ben who Nolan saw earlier, glanced at Ezzy first, and let his gaze wander over the four thieves. He smirked.
"This one is ours," he said, gesturing towards Ezzy. "I don't care about the other one. Step aside and let us take her, then you can 'conclude your business' with the man."
The three other thieves tensed, but the thief in charge kept his cool.
"Our business," Cross-scar said, "involves whichever of these two is carrying their coin purse. So how about you let us finish andthen you take the girl."
"This girl has a bounty on her. I intend to bring her in and take whatever possessions she might have. That includes the money she has on her. Now, step aside before you get in over your head."
"A bounty, you say?" The thief glanced at Ezzy and licked his lips. "Well, that certainly is interesting. Sorry to disappoint you, but we found her first. The bounty and her possessions are ours. Why don't the four of you take your fancy armor down to the nearest inn and try to impress the local wenches. 'Cause I'll tell you right now, it don't impress me very much."
This was not going well at all. Nolan began to take a few slow steps towards Ezzy while the thief and bounty hunter continued to exchange words.
"I don't need to impress you, river rat," Ben scoffed. "I also don't need to waste my time warning you to stay out of our way. I'm attempting to save myself the hassle of killing you first and then having to hunt down the girl when she most likely flees during the fight."
"Well then, I guess to the winner goes the spoils, as me and my men aren't about to back down."
"So be it." Ben gestured towards both Nolan and Ezzy with his sword. "The two of you stand off to the side. If you try and run, I swear,when I catch you, I'll tan your hides so badly before I bring you in that you won't be able to sit for the rest of the season."
Ezzy of course made the mature gesture of sticking out her tongue at the man as Nolan pulled her towards the side of the bridge.
"Now that our prize is on hold," the leader of the thieves said, "let's see who the better men are."
That was the only warning the man gave before his pack of thugs charged at the bounty hunters. The two groups met with the clash of steel on steel. Men grunted as they blocked blows. Dry mortar and stone were kicked up into the air as the men jockeyed for position. The sound of battle echoed off the bridge and over the water below.
Nolan was surprised to see that the two groups looked evenly matched when it came to skill with a weapon. His first impression of the thieves had been that they were a simple pack of thugs whose decaying armor matched their fighting abilities. But these men were holding their own against the bounty hunters. The thieves wielded their blades like seasoned men, parrying thrusts and performing combinations that Nolan wouldn't expect from common thugs. The thieves must have had training from somewhere, maybe ex-city guards or even former bounty hunters themselves. At the beginning of the melee, it looked like either side could come out on top.
Training can only take a warrior so far, though. Equipment plays a large part, especially in a battle between equally skilled individuals, and the bounty hunters' gear was far superior. Their blades looked better maintained and more importantly, their Soushade armor kept them better protected. The blades of the thieves couldn't penetrate the thick leather armor. Even the heaviest slashes couldn't cut completely through, and piercing stabs only succeeded in pushing the bounty hunters back. As the battle progressed, Nolan couldn't see a single bloody scratch on any of the bounty hunters.
The same couldn't be said for the thieves. Dark red stains bloomed in various places on each of their clothing. The bounty hunters were getting progressively better at finding the weak areas of the thieves' armor or striking areas not protected by anything other than cloth. One of the thieves was already starting to show signs of fatigue, either from the battle or from the multiple dark stains that painted his clothes. It didn't look like the fight was going to last much longer,
The first man to fall though wasn't the heavily wounded thief. The lead thief, with the cross-shaped scar, lunged at Ben's neck--one of the few unprotected parts on his body. The strike missed and left the thief wide open. The bounty hunter slid his own blade into the chest of the thief with one swift stroke. A sickening gurgle was the only sound that escaped Cross-scar's mouth as the thief collapsed onto the blade. The bounty hunter shouldered the man off his weapon and wiped his sword on the dying man's body, spraying droplets of blood onto the bridge.
The loss of their leader dampened the will to fight in the other three thieves. They disengaged and raised their hands into the air.
"Enough!" one of the men yelled. "We surrender."
"We was just following orders," another said as he tossed his weapon to the ground.
The three bounty hunters looked to the man named Ben. He gave them a nod. The well-trained men lowered their swords, although they still seemed tense and ready to act.
"The three of you need to leave," Ben said to the thieves. "Now."
The words were barely out of his mouth when the thieves started running west. Ben watched them go with a smirk, then rounded on Ezzy and Nolan.
"You two certainly don't seem worth the small bounty placed on you. The old man can barely get around, and you," he gestured at Ezzy, "look a little too fancy to be much of a fighter. And the bounty is just on you, girl?"
"Send the rest of your goons away," Ezzy retorted, "and I'll show you how much of a fighter I am."
That got a laugh out of Ben and his followers. And a sigh from Nolan.
"Well, you may have the clothes of someone well off," Ben said, "but you've got the spirit of someone from Fisher's Row. I know you did quite a bit of damage out in Wethrintir. What are you? A simple magus that can sling energy around? Maybe an Elementalist with control over one of the elements? With all of the physical damage to the town you caused it would make sense that you have some control over one of the elements. You certainly didn't destroy a few buildings with just your mouth."
"Maybe I am a magic user. Maybe we both are," she said, nodding towards Nolan. "Do you think the four of you could handle us?"
"Of course we could handle you, even if I believed you were magic users, which I don't. We're professional bounty hunters, miss. We train to take down any mark."
"And how do you fools know we aren't magic users?"
Nolan inwardly groaned. Did she have to keep insulting the men?
"Simple," Ben replied, not showing a hint of anger at the insult. "You were about to be taken by a bunch of worthless thieves. A quick show of any kind of magical skill would have scared them off in a--"
Thumping sounds, like the beating of drums, cut him off. All four bounty hunters began looking around for the source of the noise as it grew nearer. Nolan didn't have to guess. He glanced over at Ezzy.
She was actually smirking at the men!
"Well," she said in a sarcastic tone, "Let's see if you are trained for this."
A slight tremor in the stone bridge made them all glance to the east. Paz's head wobbled into view first as the Vilathos stomped its way up the bridge. By the time its massive iron body was completely in view, the bounty hunters had managed to overcome their shock.
"Vilathos!" one of the men yelled.
"Take out the one controlling it!" Ben yelled.
He was pointing at Nolan.
"Dung," Nolan murmured and immediately threw himself to the ground. There was a whooshing sound as something flew over his head. The move saved him from being struck by whatever the men had thrown, but he landed hard on his bad knee. A sharp pain jolted up his leg, making h
is stomach churn. He would be feeling that for days to come. Assuming they survived tonight, of course.
Rolling to the side, he watched as Paz crashed into the group of bounty hunters. Bodies dove in every direction. Three of the men, including Ben, had managed to jump out of the way, but the fourth man had not been quick enough. The force of Paz charging knocked the man clear into the air and over the side of the bridge. The remaining bounty hunters were back on their feet in a heartbeat, but by that time, Ezzy was in full control of the situation.
She had Paz grab one of the men with a giant hand and lift him off the ground. Another of the men pulled a dagger from his belt, but let out a yelp as Paz tossed his friend right at him. The two crashed together and rolled about in a mess of bodies. Ben tried to get to Nolan, but had to dodge out of the way as Paz took a swipe at him.
Unfortunately that did not stop the bounty hunter from releasing a small knife in Nolan's direction.
The blade struck the front of Nolan's left shoulder and sunk in deep. While not a heavy blade, the force of the impact did knock him from his side to his back. The pain was intense, but he was used to worse. It was nothing compared to the process of bonding a Vilathos.
Thankfully, by the time Nolan managed to roll back to his side, the fight was over. The two unnamed bounty hunters were fleeing back towards the west side of the river, and Ben was in the firm grasp of Paz. Four metal fingers were wrapped around the man's torso, leaving his arms and hands free. Ben was struggling against the massive metal hand, but had a defeated look on his face.
"If you are going to kill me," he said, looking directly at Nolan, "get it over with."
Letting out a laugh, Ezzy approached the dangling man.
"Speak to me. Paz is under my control. I won't kill you, but I am disappointed in all of the trouble you've caused. I had hoped to get more time with my family before leaving the city. Hearing you were after me ruined my night."
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