15th of Fall, 512 AV (The seventeenth bell)
“Wakey wakey, boy.”
The business end of a scimitar was threatening to bore a hole in Crypt's neck. Said boy woke up almost instantly as a drop of blood emerged from a small wound the stranger had made, and then froze in fear, unsure of what to do next. The stranger, who appeared to be a mustached middle-aged man of a stout stature, was currently leering at Crypt, his weapon at the neck. The overpowering stench of cheap wine and filthy bodies wafted over Crypt's face, nearly causing him to sneeze. But he could only wrinkle his nose in disgust; it was all he could do to lessen its impact on him, for sneezing would probably tear his throat open.
“Oh, does the widdle boy not like my smell? Don't worry, Mister Fargus will take good care of you. You're in luck, m'boy, I'm here to relieve you of all of your... What did that bard say? Ah yes, earthly burden. I'm sending you to meet the Gods after I have a leetle fun with ya. Take a looksee at your little pony.”
The nausea-inducing man grinned evilly, revealing a set of crooked teeth, and shifted to his left slightly and moved his blade a tad further from Crypt's neck such that the Drykas could see his noble Strider debased: Maras' limbs tied up by thick ropes, and though he was still struggling valiantly to free himself, it was to no avail.
An inadvertent cry escaped from Crypt's throat. On hearing it, the mercenary's smile grew even more ghastly.
“Time to play with you, boy. Don't worry, this will hurt you more than it hurts me...”
“Stop! Stop! Please, may I have one last request?”
Crypt's captor paused in his movement, his scimitar about to cut through Crypt's left ear. Mastering his fear and panic, Crypt took a deep breath and released it before speaking, forcing his voice to become more weak and hesitant. Meanwhile, his hands worked behind his back, struggling against time to untie the knots that bound his wrists.
Ah yes, that fool can't tie a knot to save his life. Need more time though. Delay!
“Yes... Yes... Can... Can I have one last drink of wine, please? I have it in my backpack over there... You can drink the rest of it if you want, there's plenty of wine...”
The mercenary looked thoughtful for a moment before grinning again, shaking his head slowly, almost mockingly.
“Why should I? Lad, I'll play with you with little Aden here, then Mister Fargus take your drink to celebrate.”
Before Fargus could start the torture, Crypt spoke again, jabbering quickly in the face of his impending doom. He had almost finished untying the knots; only one now remained, but was proving quite stubborn to solve.
“Wait, wait, wait! Just a sip wouldn't hurt sir, I've over a hundred gold mizas in that bag of mine, surely a little sip wouldn't hurt? Right? Right? Just let me have one sip, just one sip, and I'll scream all you want!”
Crypt faked his desperation, hoping that the added time would allow him to unbind his hands fully. The tiny eyes of Fargus lit up with undisguised glee, and he stumbled over to Crypt's carelessly discarded backpack, scavenging through it.
“Why didn't you say so earlier, boy? Good boy, I'll let you die faster.
The mercenary whistled as he lifted up a few gold mizas and let them fall. He picked up a wineskin and took an experimental swig of its contents, nodding in approval as he swilled the wine around his tongue.
Success! Untied!
While his back was turned, Crypt shifted slightly to give his hands more space to maneuver. He massaged his wrists furiously, trying to get the circulation back before the idiot went back to him.
“Have yer last drink, sonny!”
Crypt took a gulp of the wine that was held to his lips and held it inside his mouth, not swallowing the alcoholic fluid.
Fargus moved the wineskin away, and all Hell broke loose.
“What the - AAAAARGH!”
Knowing that the wine in the wineskin had quite a high alcohol content, and as such would cause an intense burning sensation, Crypt spewed out the liquid straight into Fargus' eyes. At such a short range, it was impossible to miss, and as a result, Fargus was cussing wildly, stumbling around as he tried to remove the wine from his burning eyes.
Crypt leant against an oak tree, taking a moment's break before drawing his longsword, neatly slicing the ropes that bound his legs together into half. He staggered around for a second or two before regaining full use of his limbs, then dashed over to Maras and freed him with two swipes of his longsword. The Strider rose from the ground slowly. Crypt picked up the wineskin and drank the last of the wine, savouring it slowly before throwing the empty wineskin away. He gathered up all the things that had been thrown aside from his bag and placed them inside. Crypt closed his eyes, feeling the Djed within him, moving it and shifting it as fast as he dared.
Time is of the essence. Shift the Djed as fast as I can. My right arm can handle being weakened; let some of the Djed flow into my left arm and legs. NOW!
Now fully ready for combat, Crypt turned and faced a dripping Fargus, fresh from a dip in the stream. Fargus' eyes were now bloodshot; there was no trace of humor left in his distorted visage.
“I'll have your guts for garters, boy! YAA!”
Fargus snarled, before running at Crypt, swinging his scimitar wildly. Crypt smirked, then side-stepped him easily, giving him a whack on the posterior with the flat of his blade for good measure.
Unholy rage suffused Fargus, lending him strength and speed. He sped towards Crypt, aiming a slash at his neck.
Crypt raised his sword and blocked it with the flat of his blade, sliding the sharp edge of his sword down the blade of the scimitar for a moment, and then he bent down and swung the blade at his ex-captor's knees.
Spotting the attack, the mercenary leapt back, but not before sustaining cuts on both knees. He gritted his teeth and continued to duel Crypt.
Side-step, stab.
The young Drykas could not see any clear difference between Fargus' skill with his scimitar and his own; it appeared that his ex-captor was simply swinging around his blade like a child, although the strength behind each blow. He was unsure if his Flux would hold long enough for him to achieve victory, but he would persevere.
Fargus narrowly missed Crypt's left shoulder, leaving a small cut on it. Crypt pushed away the pain that emerged from his minor wound - he could not afford any distractions. If he even concentrated on his injury for a second, it would disrupt his control of the Djed. Crypt retaliated with a downwards stroke of his sword, sending Fargus back. Another point was scored: Crypt could see a moderate cut through the thin fabric of the mercenary's shirt.
Again and again they clashed. Crypt was not a simple novice at wielding the longsword, but lessons forgotten long ago cost him, as he sustained a few more cuts on the shoulder and another across his left cheek. Still, he fought on, not daring to lose control of his Djed for fear that it would cause him permanent physical harm.
Crypt's Flux-enhanced arm and legs were working well; with every blow blocked by Fargus, Crypt could see that he was wearing down Fargus. Crypt would use the Flux to provide an extra boost to his legs, safely moving out of the way of any incoming slashes and stabs.
The sound of steel against steel rang out in the air, scattering the birds.
Go with the Flow. Duck, block, diagonal slash.
The mercenary was only becoming more furious and frustrated by then, clouding his mind and judgement, allowing Crypt to take advantage of his mistakes.
Block with the edge. Stand and trap his blade. Give your wrist a flick and... There. Disarmed.
Crypt trapped his scimitar between his blade and his right hand, then forced it away from Fargus, allowing the scimitar to fall to the ground. After doing so, Crypt released the Djed, allowing it to return to his right arm. He sighed in relief; his left arm and legs were throbbing in pain - they would be rather sore tomorrow. Crypt stared at the cringing man, reduced to begging for his miserable life. Crypt's cold and emotionless voice would be the last sound he ever heard.
“You gave me no mercy, Fargus. And so you will receive none.”
Crypt's blade flashed once, and the head of Fargus fell to the ground.
Crypt stared at the decapitated body for a while before wiping the blood off on Fargus' shirt, then pulled over the dead man's pack and rummaged through it.
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