Deathsworn Arc: 01 - The Last Dragon Slayer

by Martyn Stanley

  As they scrambled into their saddles, a line of horses, soldiers from Trest lined the top of the embankment. They were all wielding crossbows. All in all there were over twenty soldiers, each training a crossbow on the companions; the Berger was at the centre, “Well, well, what have we here? You couldn’t leave well alone could you? I don’t take kindly to having strangers storm into my town and ruin my entertainment. How would you all like to die? Here, now? A crossbow bolt through the head? Or would you like to spend a night in the town gaol before laying your necks on the chopping block for me tomorrow?”

  The companions looked at each other, as they did more soldiers rode to the line... They weren’t ready to ride, and even if they were, the number of crossbows aimed at them would mean escape would not be possible without them taking casualties, fighting would be even less plausible. Saul turned his horse to face the Berger, “The Empress shall hear of this!”

  The Berger just laughed at him, “Oh I doubt it... Soldiers of the Empire haven’t been this far north in years, and who is to say what happened to her emissary and his escort? Lay down your weapons, and dismount...”

  It seemed hopeless... But as they stood and watched a white stallion rode up from the rear, the rider was clad all in black.... It was the thief from the Troll’s head stables, the night before. The soldiers didn’t turn around; they seemed to assume it was one of their own. Before anyone could react, the rider leapt off their horse and landed neatly behind the Berger on his, they moved in a fluid motion pulling a long curved blade from its sheath and placing it around the Bergers neck.

  Saul, Harald, Korhan, Silus, Brael and Votrex were speechless, the soldiers turned too late to see their leader under threat of having his throat cut. The mysterious rider appeared too slender, to be a man, yet when the Berger tried to struggle, he found himself in an iron grip. His attacker, who had ridden up from nowhere, leapt deftly onto his horse and was now gently teasing his throat with a thin bladed curved dagger, she was dressed all in black. She had one black velvet gloved hand over the Bergers mouth, the other holding the dagger against his throat. When she spoke, her words were silken and fluid, and very feminine, almost kind “Shhh, don’t struggle... Or I will open your throat for you...” Her face was hidden under a large hood, but her next call was clearly addressed at the soldiers, “Drop your weapons, dismount your horses and begin marching back to Trest, I will not give you a count of three to comply, if you do not do this immediately, your Berger will be die.”

  There was a snap and a quarrel flew towards the Bergers attacker, however she simply leaned back a little, effortlessly, and it flew past where her head had been. She laughed, her fluid silken voice showing no concern, “I’ll assume that was a nervous trigger finger... Any more bolts fly my way, and I will cut his ear off... Now some of you are still on horseback and some are still holding weapons... I do apologise for this Berger...” As she spoke she began drawing her blade into his throat. He was struggling, but despite his attacker being slender and petite she seemed to easily, almost effortlessly subdue him. As the blade drew across his throat the soldiers started to throw down their weapons en-mass and almost leap from their horses. The ease at which this slight figure subdued the Berger and dodged the crossbow bolt, combined with her unearthly voice gave them the impression that this person was supernatural in nature and the best chance they had of saving the Berger was to flee.

  The companions watched as the soldiers of Trest dropped their weapons and fled through the woods. When the hooded figure released the Bergers mouth he spluttered at her, “How did you... “

  She giggled, her laughter melodic and light, as if she hadn’t a care in the world, “Oh your mage has been taken care of... I didn’t kill him, but he won’t be performing any magic for some time - I suggest you find him, take him back to Trest and let him recover for a few days.”

  A look of comprehension grew on Saul’s face, “So, a mage... That’s how you tracked us... Why are you... Oh forget it... All this is costing us time... The sooner we’re rid of you and on our way the better.”

  The Berger was fuming, but helpless, with his slender, feminine attacker holding him still, he growled, “Who are you?”

  “Oh, that’s none of your business... But now I think it’s time I dealt with you properly - I’ve already taken your coin purse - now I’m going to take your memories... Then send you on your way...”

  “How? You wouldn’t da...” Before he could speak she leaned in and whispered something in his ear, too quietly for the companions to hear. As she did she withdrew the dagger at his his throat and effortlessly leapt back onto her horse. The Berger formed a confused look on his face, almost bewildered. He looked at the group, from dwarf to dark elf, it was as if he’d never seen them before in his life, almost as if he barely knew who he was.

  As they all watched speechless he turned his horse around and rode slowly away, in what seemed to be a random direction. As he vanished over the brow of a hill, Saul looked at their rescuer, “Who are you?”

  She dipped her hood, hiding her face, “Your saviour - that’s all you need to know... An expression of gratitude with coin would be appreciated.”

  Harald started riding towards her slowly, “How did you... You were trying to rob us last night!”

  She held out a hand, palm facing him, “That’s close enough barbarian... Yes, I was going to rob you last night, but I was only looking for coin and your saddlebags held none... Now are you going to cross my palm with gold for saving your miserable lives or not?”

  Another Companion

  Brael now stepped forwards, “She wove a sort of spell into the Berger... The gravian use this technique also, we call it ‘whispering’... That’s how she did it... She’s an elf.”

  The woman turned to Brael, “Very good gravian... But I’ll thank you to forget about that fact, or I shall make you forget it... “ Silus and Votrex exchanged a concerned glance, Harald backed away nervously.

  Korhan was the only one who didn’t seem intimidated; he rode closer, “Stop! That’s close enough barbarian!”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Or what? Would you cut my throat mistress elf?”

  “If need be Northman...”

  Korhan smirked as he rode closer, “How strange, one goes through one’s entire life without ever meeting a single member of the magical races, then when you set out to slay a noble dragon with a dwarf as a companion and you wind up meeting a dark elf and an elf... You wouldn’t kill me... Why don’t you remove your hood and show us all your famous elvish beauty?”

  As he spoke he was riding closer, the rest watched nervously... As he approached, quick as a flash she lifted herself into the air and planted herself behind Korhan on his horse - except Korhan had seen the move and was expecting it. As she landed he leaned forward and curled his arm backwards pulling her off the horse with him. He rolled in the dead leaves, tussling with her, causing her hood to fall away revealing her long pointed ears and smooth delicate features. They rolled this way and that in the leaves, each trying to wrestle the other. Korhan was a mountain of a man and very agile, but in his strength and agility he’d met his match - so it became a game of cunning and skill. The others had to back away to make room, eventually Korhan had straddled her, his weight on top, his palms pressing her wrists down to the earth.

  He was grinning. She glared at him, full of hatred, “You have a strange way of expressing your gratitude for one who has just saved your life barbarian!”

  He leaned forwards, “Then how about this?” He planted his lips on hers and kissed her forcefully, initially her struggles ceased, then started a new and she pushed him away and spat.

  “Barbarian!”

  He smirked, “I should take you over my knee for rifling through our saddlebags!”

  She whispered something to him under her breath, then twisted and rolled and ended up on top of him, straddling Korhan and holding his wrists, “Perhaps I should take YOU, over my knee barbarian? For being an ignorant fool, to
think you could best an elf?”

  Lesser men would have been fazed by this, but Korhan was enjoying her feisty nature. He smiled at her, not struggling, “Perhaps I’d like that?” Her eyes flinched at his response and he lifted her off and hauled them both to their feet, “You have spirit elf...”

  She sneered at him, “Hmmph! As do you... Barbarian!”

  Saul groaned, “When you two have quite finished... We should be moving - if you wish elf, I shall give you ten gold coins for your assistance, but if you wish to be paid more handsomely - perhaps you’d care to join our quest to slay a noble dragon?” Votrex, Harald, Silus and Brael span their heads towards Saul suddenly, in shock. Saul shrugged, “She’s clearly strong, fast and has magical abilities, surely you can see why she might be useful to our group... And she is willing to risk her life for coin.”

  The elf raised an eyebrow at this, “You? And the so called ‘Berger’ of Trest? I don’t see any risk there... Going to slay a dragon... Hah! You’re even more fools than you look if that is your quest.”

  Saul sighed, “So you won’t join us mistress elf?”

  “Hmmph, maybe... How much are you expecting to get paid for this little task?”

  “Two thousand gold coins is the bounty - to be shared amongst my party, upon our return to Cormaroth, so long as the Empress conditions are met.”

  “Hmmm, two thousand between seven does not divide well... I will join you - but I will take the lions share, I will take five hundred gold and you shall all take two hundred and fifty each.”

  Votrex glared at Saul, “It might only be a swamp dragon, do we really need her help? Can we even trust her?”

  Korhan climbed onto his horse, “I trust her... She’s proven her worth once, I suspect she will again - now let us ride, we should avoid the road - if news get out of our little encounter with the authorities in Trest, we might meet trouble.” The elf placed one hand on her steed and leapt silently, almost floating through the air into the saddle. The others mounted their horses and Brael selected a healthier specimen of the horses left by the soldiers. After picking up a crossbow, a handful of quarrels, a dagger and short sword, he mounted the steed.

  The sudden expansion of the party unnerved both Votrex and Silus. The presence of an elf had an effect on Brael as well, who would occasionally cast her suspicious glances as they rode along. For Saul’s part he was more interested in how she came to be here, elves were rarely seen in Torea, as were dark elves, both were rarer than dwarves and most Toreans wouldn’t see a single dwarf in their entire lives at this time. Harald was fairly indifferent to the presence of the other races. Silus’s descriptions of the battle with the dragon so many years ago had left him with a feeling that any assistance was welcome assistance. Korhan was positively pleased that the elf had joined their band, he wasn’t thrilled at having Brael tagging along, waiting for the opportunity to ‘fulfill his vow’, but he struggled to take his eyes off the elf. She was beautiful, in an inhuman, almost alien way, she had light blonde hair, pale, milky smooth skin, but a sharper, more pointed nose and sharper chin and brow, her pointed ears were at least two inches larger than they would have been had they been typical human ears. It wasn’t her looks that attracted him though, it was her clear strength, spirit and feisty personality, perhaps to a smaller degree her aloofness, her treating them all with such disdain and mild indifference. It almost made her seem regal, though by most accounts these qualities were rumoured to be common amongst elves.

  As they rode through the forest, away from the road, Korhan looked at the elf and to Brael and compared them physically. You could see the relationship; the long pointed ears, chins and noses were a clear indicator that they were from the same stock somewhere down the line, yet the red eyes and dark, bluish gray skin of Brael give him a more sinister appearance.

  After resisting the urge for as long as possible Korhan snapped his reins and rode up alongside the elf, “You didn’t tell us your name.”

  “How very observant of you Northman... I didn’t...”

  He smirked at her tort response, “Might I have the pleasure of it?”

  “I don’t believe knowing my name will give you any great pleasure, but you may have it - Vashni... Vashni is my name.”

  He reached an open hand towards her, “Korhan... “

  She raised a thin eyebrow at his open hand and snorted, “Hmmph, pleased to meet you ‘Korhan’ you’ll excuse me if I don’t shake your hand - I neither understand nor wish to partake in the human custom of ‘hand shaking’.”

  “Why were you trying to rob us?”

  “Hah! Why not? You looked like you might have coin, but that none of your party were too bright... I thought you might prove easy pickings.”

  If Korhan was insulted by this comment he didn’t show it, “Well, why then did you follow the Berger out after us?”

  She shrugged at this, “I suppose... Hmmm, I saw you rescue the dark elf... I admired you for it... And I saw how incompetent you were. I knew that the Berger would catch up with you and you would need assistance.”

  Korhan was listening but not hearing her insults, mainly because he was raptured with her. He found himself feeling beguiled, almost besotted by her. She wore a tight, fitted, black, soft leather shirt, and velvet gloves, with a black suede over cloak, pinned by a silver brooch. Her trousers were tight fitting black leather and she wore black suede boots to match her cloak. She looked perfectly attired for an assassin. She noticed his prying eyes and snarled at him, “Have you quite finished inspecting me? I suggest you keep your eyes on the path, lest your horse stumble... In fact I suggest you keep your eyes on the path lest I decide to relieve you of them!”

  Korhan immediately looked forwards, “I’m sorry lady Vashni, I was but admiring your great beauty... And wondering why you seemed to be attired as an assassin?”

  She chuckled at this, “Maybe I am an assassin? Maybe I’ve been hired by the Empress enemies to track down your wizard friend and eliminate him, and this is merely a ploy to gain your trust?”

  Korhan smirked, “Revealing your plot would not seem the best course of action to escape suspicion.”

  “Wouldn’t it? Straight away, because I have told you that is my plan, and you believe it would be such folly to reveal my plan - you discount any possibility that it is true...”

  Korhan was despite his rough looks and physical strength an intelligent man. You didn’t survive countless encounters, enough to earn you a reputation that meant you might were considered suitable to send to fight a dragon - without having cunning and intelligence. “Do you elves always speak in riddles? And if so why? I believe I am a good judge of character and I don’t believe you have the heart for assassination.”

  “I am not speaking in riddles barbarian, I am simply ‘playing with you’ you are indeed correct - I am not an assassin. If you must pry into my personal affairs, I will tell you I am a thief and you will be content with that.”

  “I cannot be content with that, why should one so noble as an elf decide to pursue a life so low as a common thief? When they could be sitting in their ivory towers, studying the structure and form of magic or the physical world and philosophizing on the meaning of being?”

  “Hah! You sound like my father Northman... Sitting and studying is all very well for the old and the young, I for one would like to do more with my life than simply hide away, burying myself in books and contemplation.”

  Korhan smiled, he hung on her every word, the more he spoke to her, the more raptured with her he became. Before their conversation could continue Brael rode up and addressed Korhan, “Avil, I would speak in private with the elf...”

  Korhan looked at Vashni; she rolled her eyes, “Fine... Spit it out gravian.”

  Korhan allowed himself to drop back a little. Brael leaned towards Vashni’s mount, “Do you know of power word curses?”

  She nodded, “I do...”

  “Can you unspeak my curse?”

  “Show me...” Brael rode as c
lose as he could, then pulled his matted black hair out of the way and showed the cursive living writing which curled, writhed, swirled and morphed on the back of his neck as she watched.

  He felt Vashni’s gaze on the back of his neck, she leaned closer for a better look. Despite peering hard at the symbol, eventually she leaned back in her saddle, and shook her head, “I am sorry, I cannot decipher the power word... Though attempting to read it while in the saddle is proving something of a challenge... I shall inspect it again once when we have stopped, though I doubt it will be any different.”

  Brael allowed his hair to fall back, and threw her a weary smile over his shoulder, “Thank you mistress elf... My name is Brael of the house Krazic, might I have your name?”

  She sighed. “Vashni...”

  As the party rode through the woods, dry brown leaves crunched under the horses’ feet. There were still some leaves on the trees, but most had fallen. Saul, Votrex and Silus rode at the head of the group. Votrex kept casting suspicious glances at the elf, muttering to himself about Korhan ‘thinking with his loins’ first then about Brael and the elf plotting against the group.

  Saul noticed and dropped a hand on his shoulder, “You needn’t worry about the elf Votrex...”

  “Needn’t I? There’s something about her, something sinister... I’ve never liked elves... The elves cannot be trusted - what is she even doing here? I thought the elves had retreated to their domain never to leave again.”

  Silus grunted his agreement, “She’s bad news... Hmmmph, still it’s good to know I shall be getting paid for this endeavour - why didn’t you mention the bounty in the troll’s head last night?”

  Saul sighed, “I did not want you to join this quest for greed. None of us are in this for the coin, the coin is merely to cover our expenses.”

  “Hah! And now you’ve agreed for the lions share to go to that... elf... If we slay the dragon and she hasn’t earned her share - I shall kill her myself!”

  He was only whispering and Vashni was at the back of the column, but she suddenly lashed her reins and trotted up, leaving Brael alone at the rear of the group. “My, my dragon slayer... You’re not big on hospitality are you? I agree to risk my life, which is worth significantly more than your pitifully short life... and all I ask is some coin for my troubles? I could appreciate your disdain were I a baron of the nether world, asking for your soul in payment... Your chances of surviving this encounter increased exponentially when I joined your party.“