The night's air has a stale taste to it. Summer's humidity holding the weighted air in place made it feel as if it might as well be raining. The caravan is moving at a steady pace, the day guard sleeping in cart pulled by lumbering oxen. Maire swept his gaze across the plains of the Greater Nivion, the grass still despite it's wide expanse.
Will there be thieves tonight? Who cares, if they came I'll just dispose of them and get my coin.
With this thought Maire continued his watch as he kept pace with the traders horsemen. A mercenary, considered scum in this society, was the only way he could support himself. It was a lifestyle that suited him. He never had to stay in one place long, moving inn to inn and from town to town. While he was in a town named Liofe along the Nioa, obviously positioned near the precious source of water, he heard of this job in the local tavern. Because of this he had money and something to live for.
Maire glanced to the left, careful to not be too alarmed in case of appearing just that way.
Would somebody really attack on a night like this? It may be dark but the grass will easily give way to their presence.
Glancing at the other hired guards he noticed that he was the only one aware. No point in dragging this out then. Maire exhaled and whispered one word, "swift." Blinking quickly in order to view the scene properly Maire drew his black-bladed short-sword. The first thief he came upon was obviously the scout, as he was a dozen or so meters ahead of the rest. Wasting no time Maire angled his blade to slit his throat as he passed by. The thief collapsed with a rustle, but Maire did not stop to make sure his passing finished the job. Ahead of him were six others, still unaware of his presence.
Sweat beaded down his face despite his light breatheing. Another word was spoken, "Sever." Maire dashed forward unaided yet still faster than most into a crowd of startled thieves. These men were the very mark of veterans. Their armor glinted despite the cloud covered moon. However, they were still lightly fit enough to quietly move through the brush and to move quickly if needed.
None of this mattered in the face of Maire's black short-sword. The first of the thieves was direct in front of him. Maire set is right foot down hard to the side of the thief's position, stepping slightly in with a jab at the throat of the man in front of him. 'Sever' caused his blade to enter the mailed throat as easily as if it was bare skin allowing him to use his firmly planted right foot to quickly turn him in a diagonal slash on the man closing on his right, cleaving him in half.
Seeing this scene would cause any man to hesitate and these veterans were no exceptions. Maire took this allotted time to move away from the center of their formation, less he get attacked from all sides. One man, stocky in nature saw this as a chance and dropped his short-spear to attempt a take-down on the side-stepping Maire. Reacting to this as if it was within expectations Maire jumped, twisting himself in the air and allowing the momentum to snap his arm through the path of the stocky man. Blood splurted all over Maire's leather clad outfit, adding a salty smell to the darkened plain. Seeing this the remaining men knew they had no chance against this force before them.
Dropping their weapons so as if to lighten themselves they turned and ran, not caring about the tall grass clinging to them with every step lest they fall prey to Maire's blade. It would not be good to let the fight be unfinished, and with this in mind Maire spoke one final word. "Silence."
The night was ending, and the morning guards were waking and relieving the night guard of their posts. Brian, a easygoing and energetic man happened to notice Maire leave the tall grass onto the path that the caravan was following. "Hi there Maire! Another quiet night eh, other than the sounds of your piss wetting the grass right?" he said in a cheerful voice, ignoring the two groups of tired guards and merchants around him. Maire who was clean and dry despite his prior engagement just nodded and walked over to the cart, laying down and pulling a blanket over his eyes to ward the sun. Brain clicked his tongue in annoyance at the short response walked to take Maire's watch.
Maire woke up for his second night on the caravan trip. It seems like they have made quite a bit of progress during the day, crossing most of the grassy praries and enclosing on the mountains that were prevoiusly simple shadows on the horizon. "Good morning, or night as it may be Maire." Startled at the abrupt greetings Maire confirmed that the annoyance was once again from his shift reliever Brian, but why was he still up? "My friend Derean switched with me Maire, now we can talk the night shift away, I bet your happy now, right?" Said Brian, confirming my fears. Ignoring him to make the answer clear and to not waste any energy Maire vaulted off the cart and grabbed his scabbard and strapped across his back. Brain who was ignored and unphased simply kept pace with Maire as he walked towards his routine guard position.
The grassy prairey was still there, however, it was rather sprase and the path that the caravan was traveling on was wider, making it a lot easier to guard and the merchants and their families seemed to sleep easier because of that, their snores quite a bit more audible than the average night. A few hours passed with no sign of any thieves or bandits. Brian who is normally talkative whenever he sees Maire was also silent, his eyes wandering the sharp hills composed of heavily segmented stone that signified the beginning of the mountains.
This one is on to be continued.
This post was edited by ChrisKz on Jul 9 2014 08:41pm