“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I was too caught up in my purchases.”
Tonles relaxed a bit. “Well what did you buy?”
After showing him her wares they went back to the inn.
They entered the tavern and joined Konafar, who was already sitting down and getting drunk.
“Have you seen Sun and Jacko?” Breen asked Konafar.
“They went back to their Order…” He answered and hiccupped several times and then burped.
Tonles ordered drinks for them as soon as the serving wench came over.
“Did they say when they were returning?”
Konafar swayed slightly to the left and then back to the right, looking at her blankly.
“Tonles did they tell you?”
Tonles didn’t answer her because he was suddenly preoccupied.
“Tonles!”
“WHAT?” He snapped at her after hearing his name called for the second time.
“Did they say when they were returning?”
“They said in a couple of days.” He turned his attention away.
She followed his gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“That’s the boy I played with yesterday and his lute is broken. I need to know what happened because it was the best sounding instrument I’ve ever heard.”
Tonles got up and walked over to the boy. “What happened to your lute lad?” He asked.
The boy did not answer nor did he look up.
“Son, what happened?” Tonles asked again and this time the boy looked up.
His left eye was blackened, his lip was split and dried blood was still on the corner of his mouth. Torhan felt so bad for him because he was a good kid.
“They broke my lute and hit me.”
“Who did?”
“The men sitting over there.” The boy pointed to three men and four women sitting at the corner table.
“Let me have your instrument.”
At first, the boy was hesitant and then handed it to him. Tonles, lute in hand, walked over to the table.
“What’s he doing?” Breen asked Konafar.
Konafar turned his head toward Tonles and hiccupped. “Probabbbly going to administer some jussstice...” He slurred
“Should we help him?” Konafar squinted and said.
“Help who? The men at the table? There are only six of them.”
“Six? You mean three.”
“I see six.”
“You’re drunk.” Breen shook her head.
“Oh there’re only three then? That’s it? That’s child’s play for him, watch what he ca…” Konafar’s words faded as his head hit the table, and he passed out.
Tonles studied the three men as he walked over. The one on the left was almost comical in appearance. He was chubby and out of shape, his brown hair was in the shape of a bowl, and his nose looked like it was flattened with a board. The guy on the right was rail thin, balding, and didn’t look like he could fight his way out of a paper sack. Both men posed no real threat; Tonles thought.
However, the man in the middle, wearing studded leather and built similar to himself looked like a grizzled veteran of many wars. He would have to be addressed first if things got out of hand, Tonles knew.
Tonles stopped in front of their table. “Which one of you broke the lute and hit the boy?” He held forth the instrument so they could see it.
No one responded. They continued drinking and carousing with the women. Tonles slammed the broken lute onto the table, knocking over several goblets of ale and getting their attention.
“Who are you?” The chubby man asked in a slightly effeminate voice.
“Now that I have your attention, who broke the boy’s lute and hit him?” Tonles calmly asked.
“Tough words for someone with a weapon.” The thin man stated.
“My ax?” Tonles smiled at him. “I don’t need it to beat the crap out of you three.” He unstrapped Ripper and tossed it aside. “Now this is the last time I’m going to ask. Which coward broke the boy’s lute and hit him?”
The men and women seated at the table now had his full undivided attention, because they knew how serious he was by the tone of his voice.
“I broke the lute.” The thin man answered and stood up.
“And I hit the boy.” The middle-aged man in the center answered and stood up as well.
The women got up and moved away from the table just as the room got quiet.
“Why did you do that?” Tonles asked them.
“He didn’t play anything we liked and when we asked him to play music from our hometown, he refused, thus insulting us in front of our ladies. The thin man responded.
“My words of advice are for you to replace the lute with something better, give him one hundred pieces of gold for his troubles, and go over and apologize. And don’t forget to ask for forgiveness in front of everyone here.”
“Is that all?” The chubby man said with an attitude and stood up.
“I’m not done. You will do this on your knees.”
“And who’s going to make us?” The grizzled veteran said, looking at his two other comrades.
Before he could turn his attention back towards Tonles, Tonles grabbed his right wrist, broke it with a mere twist and then wouldn’t let it go. He screamed and fell to his knees. The thin man reached out to help his friend, but Tonles sensed his intentions and flung the injured man into him, knocking him to the floor.
The chubby man was about to do something when Tonles quickly grabbed him by the back of his head with his left hand, elbowed him with his right, and then slammed his head into the table, knocking him senseless.
The thin guy got to his feet, pulled a dagger from his boot and approached Tonles, waving the blade back and forth offensively. Tonles waited for him to attack and when he did, he stepped to the side and easily avoided several slashes. His attacker lunged at him, Tonles anticipated his move and stepped in, wrapped his arm over his, trapping his weapon and rendering it useless. The thin man struggled desperately to free his arm, but Tonles held firm while punching him several times in the face, breaking his nose and jaw and knocking him out.
The grizzled vet got up and tried to run, but Tonles grabbed him by the armor and pulled him to the ground, then savagely stomped on his left knee three times.
Tonles dragged all three men over to the boy, woke up the ones that were unconscious and made them apologize, Then they handed him the one hundred gold pieces and another two hundred to replace the lute.
The boy went up to the man who gave him the black eye and punched him in the face. Tonles smiled at the boy and told him he would get him another lute in the morning. The boy thanked him. Tonles then allowed the troublemakers to leave.
He rejoined Breen and Konafar, who was somewhat coherent, and they drank for several hours before turning in for the night.
Around midmorning of the following day, Sun and Jacko walked down to the eatery to have their morning meal. They grabbed some food and sat off to the side.
“I slept like a baby.” Jacko said and shoved a small tangyuan cake into his mouth. “These are delicious, have one?”
Sun took one from the plate. “After your training we should go back to Mirkin and show them the diary.” He took a bite.
Jacko’s smile faded. “Do you think it’s a good idea we do?”
“Let’s give Konafar the benefit of the doubt that he will allow us time to try to clear his name.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll leave right away.”
“I don’t want to fight him.”
“I know, you mentioned that already. For now worry about your training.”
They finished eating, cleared their plates, and went to the training area. The room already had many students doing their morning routine.
“Today I want you to begin your training by doing the same exercises you did yesterday. After you’re loosened up, do some light kicks. When you’re finished, we’ll move on to your next
lesson.”
Sun walked to the small bookshelf, picked up a manual, sat down in the corner, and began reading.
Jacko did as he was instructed and when he was finished, Sun led him to the far end of the room. In this area, there were five wooden pillars of different heights with metal jugs on top. To the left of them were seven rings dangling from ropes of various lengths. Next to the rings were ten bamboo frames with rice paper in the center. They were suspended from the ceiling. Finally, there was a gray wall that was six-feet wide and eight-feet high.
“Jacko,” Sun began, “the four exercises in front of you each have a different purpose in order for you to master the Iron Feet technique. The jugs will help you develop reach, control, and power. The rings will help you improve your accuracy. The wooden frames will help you improve your speed and control, and finally; we have something called a soft wall.” He walked over to it.
“The material is remarkable and will help you develop true power. Watch this.”
Sun hit the wall with a side kick, and his foot went deeply into the wall. He kicked the wall harder and this time his foot didn’t go in as deep. Jacko was puzzled. Sun’s third kick was his hardest, and his foot barely made an imprint. He stopped and looked at Jacko.
“The material will adjust to your power, the more power you employ the less it sinks into the wall. It’s quite remarkable. Now, watch me as I show you the others.”
Sun demonstrated each exercise until Jacko said he had a full understanding; and then left the room to go talk to Brother Lee Chee Wa.
Jacko approached the rings and began his session with the one that was lower than his hips, figuring it should be fairly easy. His first kick missed the target, and the next few kicked the ring and caused it to move all over. After several more miserable attempts, he stopped the ring and tried again. This time was no different than the last, and it began to frustrate him that he couldn’t put his foot through the middle like he was supposed to.
“Do you know what you are doing wrong?” The question came from a female who was behind him.
“If I did, then I would be able to put my foot through the hole.” Jacko arrogantly responded, without even looking at her.
His next two attempts missed the ring entirely.
“Let me know when you want me to show you.” She said.
Jacko tried a higher target and this time he put his foot through the ring by overextending his leg, but in doing so, he didn’t have enough time to free it, and fell hard to the ground. While lying there, he heard snickers of laughter directly behind him and got up and turned around. Anger gave way to embarrassment as he looked upon, not one, but three young female students. They were very similar in stature; with slightly slanted eyes, they wore their black braided hair down their backs, and their skin tone was darker than his, indicating they were from the southern region. They were also ranked much higher than he was. He bowed to them, and they nodded back.
The highest ranking student smiled at him and spoke. “Are you ready for me to show you?”
Despite her young age, she was wearing a blue with red trim uniform, which indicated she was the rank of the Rock, which was four ranks higher than he was. The other two women wore solid blue uniforms, which indicated they were three ranks higher than he was.
Jacko nodded, and she walked over to the three rings, lifted her leg and kicked through them in succession, one after the other, with little trouble and then turned back toward him.
“Did you see how I did that?”
“I did, but I’m none the wiser.”
“Watch my technique.”
She did the exercise again, slower this time, and Jacko studied her movements.
“Now you try.” She said.
Jacko took her place and as soon as he lifted his leg, she told him to stop.
“Look down at your leg.”
He saw that his foot wasn’t pointed toward the back, and that was stopping him from shifting his weight correctly. He did it again and this time he turned his foot all the way to the rear and kicked through the ring without hitting it. After several more attempts, he was doing the exercise correctly and stopped.
“Good, you have the basics.”
“Thank you very much.” He said clasping his hands together and bowed.
“Would you like me to show you the rest of the exercises?”
Jacko nodded.
“By the way, the way my name is Jia. Lin is on the left and May on the right.”
Jacko introduced himself and bowed again.
Jia walked past him, over to the pillars and began the exercise. She kicked the first jug that was seven feet off of the ground, and given her stature, was quite impressive. The metal jug flew off of its perch and fell to the ground with a thud. She then jumped up and kicked another one, which was slightly higher than the last, and sent the jug sailing through the air, where it crashed against the wall.
“That felt good.” She said and walked over to the bamboo frames. “You need to kick with all of your power and don’t hit the paper.”
Jia bent her knee, cocked her leg to the side, and did a roundhouse kick, stopping just short of the paper. She did this several more times to demonstrate her level of control, which was so impressive to Jacko.
“Now you try.” She said.
He walked over, and his first kick went straight through the paper. He tried it again and had the same result. After the third time, she stopped him.
“You need to kick much slower.”
Jacko raised his leg and did as he was instructed, and even though he stopped well short of the paper, he started to understand what he needed to do.
“Keep working at it, you'll get it. The wall is easy enough to understand. Good luck in your training and remember practice makes perfect, and do it often.” She turned away.
“How many years did it take you to master the Iron Feet?”
She paused. “Years? Years are a number. You never really master the technique, just the knowledge.”
“How so?”
She faced him again. “A title of Master indicates that you are fully understanding of the technique. Do you think you’re a master if you are just proficient at it?”
“To me a master means you are the best at fighting and can’t be beat.”
She smirked. “Let’s say you think you’re a so-called master and beat everyone in our school and then one day you lose, are you not a master anymore?”
“That’s a good question. I don’t know.”
“Take Master Shoo. He’s very skilled in every technique, but I bet Brother Lee Chee Wa can best him in several of them. So you see, it’s not about never losing, it’s about wisdom. Do you understand?”
He nodded.
“It was nice meeting you Jacko; I must be going.”
Jacko thanked her again and watched them leave. He returned to his training, and for some reason, kept thinking about Jia.
Sun returned a short time later, watched Jacko from afar and was impressed with how he was doing. After his friend, stopped to take a break he walked over.
“How’s the training?”
“Good.” Jacko said as he was wiping the sweat off of his face using a cloth.
“You really picked it up fast.” Sun gave him a look and then chuckled.
“I see you ran into Jia.” Jacko said.
“I did and she told me what she showed you.”
“I should have paid better attention to your teachings.”
“It’s okay to take advice from your fellow students. Most of the higher-ranking ones are helpful, so don’t be afraid to ask. We should be going soon.”
“Give me a few more hours.” Jacko said, then went back to training.
“I’ll see you then.”
Sun went to the dining hall to fill his belly.
After buying the boy one of the finest lutes the store had to offer and giving it to him, Tonles walked around town just to get some fresh air. He thought about what he’d done
for the boy and it stirred up feelings about the family he’d always wanted, but never had. His profession didn’t allow him time to settle down with any one woman long enough to start one, and now he wished he had.
He often fantasized about living on a farm, raising livestock, playing with his children, and living peacefully.
The smell of beef cooking over an open flame brought his attention back to the present, and he followed the scent until he arrived at the market square. Merchants and patrons stretched as far as the eye could see. Tonles quickly glanced about until he spotted white smoke emanating from one of the stands. He salivated, and his stomach grumbled several times, causing him to walk rather briskly in that direction.
Despite his best efforts, he was still slowed by the people milling about, and when he finally arrived, his eyes widened when he saw the slabs of beef and fowl roasting over an open pit. His mouth watered in anticipation as he purchased some beef and hunkered down eating until he had his fill. Sighing in satisfaction, he walked around the market shopping.
****
What Tonles didn’t know was that three men were positioned on a rooftop waiting for the right opportunity to strike him down. The assassins were dressed in black from head to toe, and despite the ban on all weapons inside of the city walls, they managed to smuggle in crossbows and very sharp stiletto blades.
“Are we going to kill those idiots after we kill our target?” The assassin on the right asked the others.
“You know the drill. Kill the target, get the rest of the money, and then kill the people who hired us.” The one in the middle responded.
“Ya, but one of them is my brother in-law.”
“Doesn’t matter, you know our creed. No one is allowed to live because they could identify us. Now spread out and get into position. Signal me when you’re ready.”
Tonles was in the middle of purchasing leather boots when the coordinated attacks took place. Heavy steel bolts, from three different locations, pierced through his chainmail shirt with ease, but only partially through his brigandine armor. He staggered due to the impact of the bolts piercing his flesh.
As he was seeking cover, he was struck by three more bolts. This time in his left leg, left shoulder, and one nicked his throat, missing the artery by a fraction of an inch. He grunted and fell to his right knee. People started screaming and scattered away from him. As he got up, another volley hit him, this time in the back, left shoulder, and left leg. He then fell to the ground.
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 55
