The Foolhardies 2 A Time to Kill

"Calm down," I whispered. "We can do this."

We were making our way up the side of the hill while we argued. Our goal was to reach the fairy fort's hilltop to catch our enemies unaware before they saw us, but this was easier said than done. Although most of the attention was on our hundred-man unit below, it would be nearly impossible not to be noticed by the scattered groups of defenders the further up we went.

"Look," I pointed back to the hilltop. There were only five soldiers encircling the lone mage on the hill. The rest of their forces were gathered further below. "There are so few of them guarding their commander. With your overpowering brawn and my quick wit, the two of us are more than enough to take them."

Luca rolled his eyes at me but didn't argue. He knew I had a point. Our teamwork was the best in the entire unit.

"How do you know that one's their leader?" he asked.

"We're up against the Magesong Clan. You know how high they value their fairy magicians more than everyone else," I reasoned.

We continued up the hill, trekking through the barren dirt, and it wasn't until there were less than fifty yards between us and the commander's group when we stopped. Troops of archers and boulder-throwers gathered in clumps above us. We needed another route.

In order to increase our chance of a successful stealth run, I decided it was time to pull out my winning card. I knelt on the dirt and closed my eyes. Then I reached deep inside me and called forth the power of my fairy gift. It appeared in my mind's eye a moment later, a floating paper-thin rectangular object about six inches long and three inches wide wrapped in the warm silver light of fairy glimmer. It was a card.

On the card's surface was the painting of a weirdly dressed man staring whimsically at the sky. Draped across his back was a wooden pole with a sack at its end. Beneath this foolish figure were markings that would have been unreadable to the uninitiated mind. However, I knew they were primordial script, the language of fairy kind.

I read the words, "Oh great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable," and felt the magic stir.

Heat concentrated on the surface of my eyes like I'd rubbed chili pepper all over them. Seconds passed, and what began as a painful stinging slowly transformed into this warm, soothing sensation that enveloped my entire vision.

When I opened my eyes, I was a bird in flight staring down at the hill from high above the clouds. With this bird's-eye-view, I saw the entire fairy fort, its surrounding hill, and the formations and composition of the two forces arrayed against each other. I witnessed my unit struggling to make their way up the hill. Their numbers were lesser since the battle began. I also noticed the gaps in the Magesong Clan's defenses, and not for the first time, wished I was the one leading instead of the incompetent one-hundred-man commander who ordered the soldiers into this losing struggle.

My eyes zoned in on the hilltop to the enemy commander and its guards lounging in a loose formation outside the ring of white stones at the very top of the hill. There were five mean-looking hobgoblins in grey-tinted leather armor carrying shadowblades of different types, their scarred faces way uglier than the ones Luca and I defeated. Their leader wore a heavy grey cloak and hood that kept its face in shadow. Although it had the same tall, slim physique as the hobgoblins, my Fool's Insight would not be, well, fooled. It was clear to my sight that this commander was no hobgoblin. The long and lustrous golden hair peeking out of the hood gave its secret away.

To the right of the enemy command group and about ten yards lower on the hill was a series of shallow ditches carved into the dirt. These were the tracks the giant boulders used to roll down the hill. Now, it just so happened that the ditch on the farthest right cut into the hill in a line that intersected with the path Luca and I were on. Another lucky coincidence was that this particular ditch was unused as there were no more boulders to roll down it. I knew immediately that this was our way in.

After taking one final snapshot of the battlefield, I closed my eyes and deactivated my power. The warm heat vanished from my sight, and my vision cleared. I was back on ground-level and staring into Luca's worried face.

"So, how doomed are we?" he asked.

I told him what I saw.

"That sounds bad…" Luca's brow bunched together in concern. "How much longer can the unit hold out?"

His concern wasn't unexpected. Unlike me who'd only joined the unit three weeks ago, Luca had been fighting alongside most of them for the three months he was missing. He'd made some friends among them in that time.

"The rate they're going… I estimate another half hour before they're completely wiped out," I answered, honestly.

I patted Luca reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. We'll finish the job long before that happens," I said.

Luca nodded silently. Despite his constant complaints, I knew he would rather put himself in mortal danger than watch people he knew get hurt. He was a good kid at heart.

"Let's go," I said.

I led Luca to the ditch. We climbed into the wide three feet space, and with our heads stooped low, made our way up the hill while sticking as close to the earthen wall as possible. We hoped this would help us avoid detection from the scattered enemies above. Ten cautious minutes later, we reached the end of the ditch unseen.

Luca and I peeked out of the left wall and discovered a group of soldiers standing among the other ditches. Thankfully, they were too busy gleefully pushing five-foot boulders down the hill to notice us. We saw the commander's guards about fifteen yards away from the boulder-throwers.

"What now?" Luca whispered.

I nodded toward the right. "We'll climb up that wall and then make a dash for the commander's location."

"And then?" Luca pressed.

I raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

Luca sighed. "You want me to do the heavy lifting, don't you?"

I shrugged. "Your Foolish Strength combined with the surprise attack should be enough to break their formation and allow me to slip in and assassinate the magician."

"What if the magician has a barrier up?" Luca argued.

"Not likely… the dude's too far away from the main fight to bother with a shield," I reasoned.

"This plan is foolhardy, Dean… It's too risky," he insisted.

I wrapped an arm around Luca's shoulder.

"Remember why we're doing this?" I asked.

"To rack up as many accomplishments as we can to earn a wish from the clan leader," Luca recited like he'd done a dozen times before.

I nodded. "Yeah… if we become the clan's heroes then the patriarch will definitely grant our wish. And there isn't a bigger reward on a battlefield than the head of the enemy commander."

"What if the fighting continues even after we kill the boss?" Luca argued.

For an answer, I pointed to the heavens. The sky was less dark. The sun would show its face soon.

Luca's shoulder's stiffened. "Dawn's coming…"

"Roselle must have noticed the enemy unit's composition just like I did which is why he started the battle this late just in case we couldn't win the fight," I said, smirking. "I have to give that pixie some credit. He's definitely good at running away…"

Without another word, we climbed out of the ditch and made our way as stealthily as we could manage up the remaining fifteen yards to our target. Now, I wasn't sure if it was our awesome stealth skills, the growing intensity of the battle below, or just dumb luck but the enemy commander's guards didn't notice me and Luca until we were almost right on top of them. By then, it was already too late.

The soft glow of fairy glimmer surrounded Luca for a brief second before disappearing just as quickly. Immediately afterward, he unleashed an inhuman roar that even made the hairs on the back of my arms stand on end. I could only imagine the kind of mind-numbing fear our enemies must have felt.

Although his fairy gift turned him into something akin to a tank, my little brother unleashed berserker tendencies whenever he used Foolish Strength that was totally out of character to his usual gentle bearing.

Luca's roar stunned the hobgoblins enough that they were a second too late in raising their weapons to block his attack. With a wide swing of his broadsword, he struck the closest hobgoblin and sent it barreling into the soldier beside it, forcing them both to topple over. Luca's second attack was another ferocious swing toward the hobgoblin on his left. The creature had just enough wit to raise his own shadowblade to block the attack. This may have seemed like a wise move but I was pretty sure Luca had baited the hobgoblin into it.

Why would my brother do that, you ask? Well, it had to do with the properties of a shadowblade. All of them, regardless of shape were similar in that they were formed out of shadows hardened by the magic harnessed from the shadow crystal core hidden inside the weapon handle. A shadowblade's strength depended on its core, and Luca's, like mine, had a bronze tier core. Out of the six weapon tiers; copper, bronze, steel, silver, gold, and the legendary mythril, bronze cores had the unique trait of being the quickest to draw and retract.

As soon as their shadowblades clashed, Luca retracted his weapon. The shadows forming the broadsword's blade lost their hardness and slinked back into the weapon handle. The hobgoblin had only a second to look smug, however, before Luca's shadowblade reformed and hardened, impaling the fairy through its undefended gut.

Less than a minute went by since Luca's charge but already three of the five guards were down. At the same time as my brother struck down his foe, I reactivated Fool's Insight. As this power wasn't limited to the strategic bird's-eye-view I'd used earlier, but could also give me enhanced perception, I knew it would aid me in my own task.

My vision refocused just in time to witness the commander point a hand at Luca. I saw the fingers twitch and noticed the arcane energy build-up at their tips. I saw the gleam of wicked eyes and the thin-lipped mouth uttering the beginnings of a spell.

Having seen the danger, my left hand jerked to the back of my belt and I pulled out the dagger handle I kept there. I threw the dagger at the enemy commander without waiting for the shadowblade to form, and thanks to insight guiding my aim, my newly formed blade pierced the palm of the enemy's outstretched hand.

A pained scream came from the hood and was immediately followed by a slur of primordial curses.

Quick as I dared, I dashed forward while my right hand grasped the handle of my falchion.

I ran past Luca who'd switched targets to the fourth hobgoblin guard. From my peripheral, I saw them exchange sword blows. There was another howl of pain. Luca's charred blade cut deep into his opponent's shoulder.

I quickened my pace, pushing my legs and feet to the extremes.

The last standing hobgoblin guard moved to block me with his shadowblade spear raised. Behind him, the enemy commander had just removed my dagger from its hand. More cursing ensued.

The hobgoblin's spear came hurtling at me, but I feinted to the right. The hobgoblin turned to follow, and at that exact moment, I spun around in a three-sixty-degree arc while my momentum carried me forward like I was executing a basketball spin move against the defender of the opposing team. As I spun, I pulled my falchion from its sheath in a quick draw style that used the buildup of shadows in forming the blade like a rocket to boost the speed and force of my slash. I moved past the hobgoblin and rushed forward to my sword's intended target.

Unfortunately, I hadn't accounted for the fireball that came to greet me. Sent by the mage's outstretched hand and possibly formed out of a rushed spell to counter my attack. Heat grazed my skin. The incoming flames threatened to burn my outstretched arm. But I gritted my teeth and forced my sword through the fire. My falchion arced forward at blinding speed and the shadowblade's charred edge met the flames. The two magics collided.

Here's the thing about spells. The more time you put into casting, the more potent its power. When it's rushed, however, the spell is weaker. So, it was no surprise to me when my falchion cut through the fire and reach the commander's throat.

The hood flew back, revealing the face of a beautiful Elven maiden with golden hair and golden eyes the color of the summer sun. There was an instance of disbelief appearing on her fair face right before the fear settled in. Blood splattered her hair and cloak as my falchion bit into her throat. She clutched at her gaping wound with both hands but the blood wouldn't stop flowing, and neither did I.

She sent me a last spurt of defiance, her eyes pulsing in what might have been the start of a chantless spell, but I gave her no quarter. I plunged my shadowblade into her.

As I sent my blade into her chest and saw her gurgle her soundless death scream, I felt hot tears fall down my face. A great sadness had suddenly overwhelmed me. She was a creature of myth and legend—and I, a lowly human, sentenced her to an early grave. I watched her fall. Heard the thud of her body as it hit the ground. I felt numb. So much that I didn't even care when the surviving hobgoblin guards dropped their weapons and ran for their lives. What monsters me and my brother must have seemed to them.

It wasn't until Luca shook my shoulders that my stupor cleared.

"What…?" I asked, confused.

"The elf charmed you just before she died," he answered.

"Really…?" my mind still felt muddled.

"You probably looked into her eyes," Luca insisted. "Dean, please focus…"

The urgency in Luca's voice sent warning bells into my brain, forcing me to wake up from the daze.

"I'm okay," I said. "We did it. We won."

Luca nodded. "Yeah… but, we're too late… the sun's coming up."

My eyes glanced eastward toward the rising dawn.

"Shit," I hissed.

I turned my sight to the hillside below and saw that both armies had stopped fighting. It wasn't clear if the enemies realized their leader was dead and were in retreat or if the coming of the morning had simply postponed the fight because they knew that much of their force would vanish soon.

I grabbed Luca's shoulders with shaky hands.

"Listen, the moment I'm gone get down there and tell Roselle what we did here. Get him to lead the rest of our soldiers up the hill to claim the fort. Have Aura help you convince him if you need to. Got it?"

I was desperate. There was no time. I could already feel the pull of home calling me. Damn that she-elf for charming me at the worst moment.

Luca gave me a weak smile.

"I'll try," he said.

As sunlight touched his exposed skin, golden lines formed in patterned swirls across his face and arms. My eyes narrowed at the sight of them. My fists clenched. Here was the root cause of our troubles. The tool the fairies used to force my brother and those like him into a life of slavery.

However, since I didn't possess these faintly glowing loops of gold that I knew were actually magical chains that bound Luca to the Fayne, I was a free man—what the fairies called a visere, someone who was a frequent visitor to their realm. This also meant my time was up.

"Do as I ask, okay?" I reminded him. "You won't get much resistance. I saw it earlier. A big chunk of the enemy's forces was human. Most likely, many of them are viseres like me."

Luca nodded thoughtfully before saying, "I'll be okay, Dean."
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This always happened during dawn. Luca would show me a brave face. Sometimes it felt like he was the big brother.

"I promise I'll be back. I'll always come back," I said.

The last thing I saw was Luca's smile. I heard him say, "See you later", and then he vanished from my sight.

Everything went black, and then I woke up in my bed.

Chapter end