by Aaron Hicks
Uktesh sat next to Laurilli and simply wrapped his arms around her and didn’t say anything. She leaned against him and cried. After a while her tears stopped, she nestled into him, and moved closer. Uktesh knew that soon they would have to leave, before predators could be attracted to the smell of fresh blood. Besides if they wanted to still get the extra gold, they would need to move soon. He ignored the risk of both possible consequences, though, for Laurilli’s sake, as he didn’t want to move her until she was ready. Laurilli started to move against him and just when he thought she was getting ready to get up, he felt her lips on his neck, then his cheek, and finally his lips. First tentatively, then with more fervor, they kissed. In the back of his mind Uktesh knew that she probably felt vulnerable and scared and that her momentary passionate affection was simply a product of the relief she now felt. He knew it wasn’t the type of kiss he wanted, but he didn’t want to stop either, no matter what her reasons were for the kiss. Reluctantly, he gently pushed her away and said, “We need to get out of here before those men come back, or before wolves or worse come.”
He stood up and he inspected the cloth that he’d dropped to make sure it was clean. Once he was satisfied, he placed his bow again inside the cloth ream and placed both on his shoulder again. Laurilli had stood up. Where her axe was, he didn’t know. Wordlessly, he handed her the sword of the man from White Bridge he’d killed earlier. He ignored everything he’d been trained not to do and held out his hand to her. Her warm, soft hand was suddenly in his, as she had rushed to him. He smiled and together they walked back towards the road. There was only a slight rustle in the bushes to give him a warning. But without thinking, Uktesh performed the unarmed attack Crescent Axe Kick and connected with the wolf spider that he had barely registered had attacked.
A three feet tall, hairless wolf spider stood before Uktesh. They got their name firstly because, they looked like a wolf, if a hairless and a different color, and secondly because if one of these bit a person, it would paralyze or possibly kill them outright, depending on the color of the skin. The more red it was the older it was, and therefore more deadly. The blood red wolf flew twelve feet and landed next to one of the bodies, which it ignored. Wolf spiders would eat the dead, but preferred their victims to be alive while they ate. Uktesh saw two slightly pinker and only slightly smaller female wolf spiders exit from the bush, followed by four pink, two feet tall adolescents. Thrice cursed luck! A full pack? He looked at Laurilli as dread began to sink deep in his stomach, “Take this and run!” he said and handed her the roll of cloth. Then he pushed her towards the road. “I’ll catch up soon!” With a shrug he unsheathed his father’s sword, I will save her! I can kill seven before their poison kills me! I have to! Tears stung his eyes, I should’ve told her I loved her.
He heard her run and then, as if there had been a sound of a gong to begin a fight, the four pups and two females moved. Just as he flowed into balanced Moth to the Flame, one of the two females was dead. He spun, and was unable to completely avoid the other female as its claws slashed four rows along his side. Desperately, he kicked out at two of the four adolescents to distract them, and flowed into an imperfect Hawk Soars to kill the alpha male, as it started to move towards the fight. He saw that the remaining female didn’t chase after him, but rather it and two of the adolescents raced towards Laurilli. No!
He reversed directions and flowed into Serpent Strikes and in an instant crashed into the last female adult and felt his sword slice into its heart as it died. A low growl alerted him too late that at least one of the adolescents was right on him. He felt a sharp pain in his right leg, and quickly spun to decapitate the wolf spider that had bit him. Then he felt claws rake his back, and he turned and to stabbed into the other and killed it. He stood as the two adolescents that remained charged him. His leg was already going numb, I will be able to save her! He awkwardly flowed into a balanced Shield of Air, and killed the last two spider wolves. I lived! How did I live? He wiped away some sweat and his hand came back red. When did my head get cut?
He smiled and started to limp toward the road. He hoped that Laurilli was ok, as she was heading towards the rest of the would be thieves, who now seemed to be a lesser enemy by comparison. A howl, that was closer to a roar, shook him from his head to his numb foot, and vibrated through his chest. He turned only to see the biggest wolf spider he’d ever heard of. It’s closer to the size of a horse than a wolf. In the dark part of the forest, it looked black. He thought that maybe this was a different, or new, Afflicted beast, but as it stepped into the light of the clearing, he could see that it wasn’t black. It was deep, dark, nearly purple, red. Uktesh’s whole right leg was numb now. What can I do against that thing?
It opened its mouth and howled a second time. As it did so, Uktesh felt something inside of himself respond to the challenge. I’m going insane, he thought to himself in a panic, I’m actually excited to fight this monster! Again it howled and again Uktesh felt a primal call to go to battle, He shouted right back at the beast in a wordless cry of fury. In a blink it moved, faster than he could see. It jumped to his right, and came in straight for him with a burst of speed. Somehow, on its own, the beast was able to flank him.
He flowed into a balanced, defensive Dances with Bull, without actually mentally registering that he had moved. Then quickly he flowed into an imperfect Leaf Falls and barely scratched it. He had to jump away in a perfect form of evasion Cat Landing on Fence, to avoid the reprisal bite that was directed at him from the monster.
He rolled and came to his feet only to find that the beast had surprised him again, by going on the offensive again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw through a break in the trees that Laurilli had started to run back towards him. What’s she thinking! He dodged again, as it dodged his quick cut, and again he dodged it’s return attack. He saw that Laurilli was being chased by five men. The beast howled again, and even though he was tired, cut, and no longer able to feel his ankle, as it slowly began to become paralyzed, he charged it, shouting in defiance as he ran. He blocked again with Dances with Bull, but it was so fast that he could still feel the air of its near miss. He jumped in with another Leaf Falls and struck it in the hamstring of one of its back legs. It let out a howl, and even with one of its back legs dragging behind, it charged at him.
Uktesh kicked out in a vicious unarmed attack meant to break kneecaps, called Sweep the Leg. With a crunch, the beast fell forward over him. Uktesh felt something tear into his arm and hoped it was not teeth. Uktesh tried to stand but his numb leg was now paralyzed and his left leg was going numb, as was his stomach.
I have to finish this! He struggled to rise as the wolf spider struggled to push itself towards him. It wasn’t until Uktesh hit it in the head with his sword and didn’t kill it, that he realized his chest and arms were now numb and that his left leg was paralyzed from his waist to his knee. He swung with the last of his strength. But before he could hit the wolf spider, it opened its jaws, clamped down on his sword, and tore it from his grasp. That’s it. It’s going to bite me. At least with its dark red skin it’ll be a quick poisonous death. It crawled closer toward him. As an eerie intelligence lit its’ eyes, and Uktesh thought he could detect anger. I’d be angry too if someone killed my family. The thought struck him as an odd final thought for two reasons. First, because he thought of the Afflicted beast as angry about its family, but second, because he lived in a house with the people whose husband and father had mostly likely attacked his village.
Uktesh smiled, felt something wet drip on his hand, and saw that the wolf spider was poised just above him. The intelligent eyes seemed triumphant. Uktesh tried to roll away. He only managed to roll on his side and moved his hand a pace further from the beast, before he became completely paralyzed, from the neck down. With his back to the beast, he imagined every breeze was created by the breath of the wolf spider. He expected to feel teeth tear the flesh from his bones at any moment. Which is how he didn’t see Laurilli and five other peopl
e leap over his body until the last second. But by then, even his jaw was paralyzed and the rest of his face was numb. He heard the sound of weapons as they hit flesh, and Uktesh felt himself being dragged away from the beast. Laurilli came into his view and said, “Don’t worry. We’ve got you. You’re safe.”
He heard a voice he recognized as Tylor the tailors’ shout, “Get the venom pouches! Make sure not to spill any on your skin!” He came into Uktesh’s view and leaned toward Laurilli and whispered loud enough for Uktesh to hear, “The venom doesn’t hurt a man unless it gets inside the body. But I don’t want them to drop any of the venom on the ground, because it’s worth its weight in gold! Oh the brilliant reds I’ll be able to make! This one will make a royal purple worthy to clothe a king!”
He had a far off look on his face, and Laurilli leaned in towards Uktesh again and said, “Hurry now. Shut your eyes, before they’re paralyzed open.”
He did as she asked and heard her ask Tylor, “How long does the paralysis last?”
“It varies for most men. If he was heavily dosed, then several hours, if he was lightly dosed then the paralysis wears off right after full onset. My guess is sometime after we get back to Manori.”
“What? Why are you looking at him that way?” demanded Laurilli.
Uktesh heard Tylor sigh, “Well it’s just that by himself, he ran to White Bridge in less than a day. This fact alone is impressive, but relatively easily done. That he ran there and back in less than half a day is remarkable. But to do all that, and out race horses, and to still on top of that have enough energy to fight off six armed men, and still after that have the ability and strength to fight a whole pack of wolf spiders, of which one was so old it had turned purple,” Tylor sighed again, “It causes me great fear.”
“Uktesh wouldn’t hurt anyone!” There was a pause, “Well, he wouldn’t hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
“I believe you. If he was a vicious killer, there would be six bodies here, as well as at White Bridge, if what those others say is true. I’m not afraid of him, in awe maybe. But if this boy can do all that he did today, what are the truly blood thirsty warriors from Beletaria capable of?”
“You know he’s from Beletaria?” Laurilli said with panic in her voice.
“Well if his name didn’t already give it away, his fighting skill would have. But don’t worry too much about it. Most people will simply think that he’s Afflicted, which isn’t good either, but they won’t kill him without proof. As for the name, few have travelled as extensively into Beletarian lands as I have, and I didn’t put it together until now.”
“We’re ready Tylor.” someone said, “We were able to preserve thirteen vials of the venom.”
Uktesh heard Tylor grunt and mutter, “Thirteen’s an ill omen. Give one to the girl as payment for dispatching the creatures.”
“Right away.” Uktesh heard his footsteps move away.
“Well, it’s not sunset yet, and even carrying the boy, we’ll make it there before then. So I owe you two some golds now that I have my cloth in hand. If you hold onto that vial of wolf spider venom, in a few days, I’ll be willing to buy it from you. The standard price is ten golds per vial. It’s yours thought, so if you think you can get a better price, it won’t hurt my feelings if you go another direction. But if you choose to sell it to that hack Terwin, as a courtesy to me since he’s my rival, please charge him double, or as close as you can barter.”
More footsteps approached and Uktesh smelled Laurilli before he heard her say excitedly, “Uktesh we’re rich! We’re about ready to move you, so don’t worry when it happens.” Uktesh tried to grunt out a question that even to him was undecipherable, but Laurilli answered, “I ran to the road like you said and found the men that had chased you from White Bridge being questioned by Tylor and his friends. Tylor and his men had come because Tylor feared that his conversation with us would spread and someone would lay in wait to steal the cloth. When I arrived they were each arguing about what the others’ intentions were. Two of the horses were carrying four men, all the thieves from White Bridge, looked fair to near deathly exhausted, so I just knew that they’d been the ones chasing you. So I took the sword you’d given me, assuming that it was one of theirs, and I challenged them, ‘You tried to kill Uktesh! He told me all about the wild chase he gave you. Drop your weapons or he’ll kill you with his bow. He’s just there in the woods waiting to see what you do.’ As soon as I finished, they couldn’t drop their weapons fast enough!”
Uktesh felt himself get lifted up and slung over someone’s shoulder, “So I took the weapons that they dropped and realized that the other group was Tylor. So I told him that you were actually in trouble and fighting a pack of wolf spiders. I took off running back to you before anyone could say anything, but I knew that they’d follow,” she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “because what man would let a beautiful damsel face danger alone.” Uktesh heard chuckles from the men around that he couldn’t see.
“You’s a lucky ‘on boy. I be marr’d twelve years come festival o’ the sun time, and I tell ye truly my wife’d not charge a pack o’ wolf spiders alone for the likes o’ me, and wit her cooking I’d t’ink twice about sav’ing ’er too!” There was laughter and Uktesh wished he could smile.
“Anyways,” Laurilli said and tried, but failed to sound exasperated, “so since it was you that beat them and I was the one who made them surrender, we get to keep their horses and weapons, and they have to walk home!” Uktesh tried to speak again to ask if that was all the punishment that they would get for trying to kill him, but again Laurilli seemed to know what he was asking and she replied, “Now don’t you fret. They tried to kill you and we all witnessed their state and that of their horses. So we’re going to make them walk home and most likely whoever hired them will have them killed for failing and losing all their equipment. So probably they’ll be on the run for the rest of their lives, which seems fair to me.”
Uktesh nodded in agreement, and then realized that he nodded, “I just nodded,” he said. “I just spoke! I’m not paralyzed anymore!” He opened his eyes to see that they’d walked back to the road and he saw no sign of the others who had chased him, but Tylor and his ten, had packed up Uktesh and Laurilli’s horses with the weapons. The man Uktesh was slung over put him down and Uktesh took a few wobbly steps before Laurilli ducked under his arm and steadied him. Together they walked to the horses that he had won. By then he felt much stronger, but he still rode with Laurilli behind him just to make sure he didn’t fall off the horse. About halfway home he asked the question that had been bothering him for a while, “How did they get you out of the tree, without you killing one of them?”
He felt her arms tighten around his waist as she moved closer to him, “I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, they had surrounded the tree, and one was already halfway up the tree towards the spot where I was asleep. I swung my axe and it glanced off the side of his head. His head hit the tree and there was blood where it had touched the tree, so I must’ve hurt him a little bit. After that they climbed up by standing on each other’s shoulders. I tried to fight them off, but they tricked me and took my axe. I fell out of the tree, but someone caught me. I tried to fight, but there were too many of them and they dragged me into the woods. I thought I was going to die! Then after they tied me to that tree, you came and saved me.”
Uktesh felt her arms tighten around his waist and suddenly wished that the others who were with them were gone so that he could tell her all that she meant to him. “It was a close call, but you’re safe now. I was so stupid before! I should’ve kept you with me! No amount of gold is worth the risk of losing you.”
“It was a good plan. We didn’t think that anyone would find me in that tree, and from the sounds of it, if I’d stayed with you, we would’ve had to fight the eight that chased you and we would’ve been ambushed by the six that attack me. I can’t always be safe on these jobs. What if the boacat had attacked me instead of hiding in his house. Y
ou can’t be responsible for everything bad that happens to me.”
“The rational side of me understands your logical argument, but that side has no voice when you’re hurt.”
They were quiet for a while and one of the men with Tylor said, “Sounds to me like you’re both walking around the bridge to ford the stream.”
Uktesh didn’t know what that meant and thought that maybe it was a Sinain expression. But there was confirmation that it wasn’t when Laurilli said, “What do you mean?”
“Well seems to me like you both are talking around the subject of what’s really bothering you.”
“And what’s that?” asked Uktesh.
“It’s that you, both of you, were worried about each other, her that you’d be hurt protecting her, and you that you would fail to protect her.”
Uktesh thought that was what he and Laurilli had been in the middle of an argument about, but he asked, “So if that’s our problem what’s our solution?”
“I would say you two need to honestly talk about who’s responsible and for what and when.”
Uktesh thought about what he should be responsible for. At first, due to what the man had said, he thought that they should only be responsible for themselves. Then he realized that he had to be responsible for Laurilli’s safety, because he was a more experienced and better fighter than she was.
He thought about what he should be in charge of when it came to her safety and said, “I believe that I am responsible for Laurilli’s safety, because I’m the one who’s supposed to know our limitations. I’m responsible to give her jobs that she can do, and to keep an eye out for her safety if a situation becomes more than she can handle. Just like she’s responsible for the same if the situation changes, like with the wolf spiders. Should either of us get hurt, then we should be responsible for our own inaction or bad reaction.”
