The Foolhardies 71 A Knight's Tale Part 1

When did these flashbacks appear? Well, it was in those few seconds where my feet carried me toward the general who might cause my doom. Perhaps. The matter of my death wasn't clear yet. 

But in those milliseconds between each step, in that exact moment my eyes widened at the sight of fire bursting out of the shadowblade of Jimmy's glaive, I felt my mind get whisked away into an early memory. I was sent back to that moment when I first arrived in the Fayne.

Yes, it was the fire that caused it. And no, I wasn't afraid of fire. Spontaneous combustion aside, fire sprouting out of weapons is perfectly common in the Fayne. If one was a magician. For warriors though, I've probably seen it happen only once. And that was why my mind recalled that event.

Aura's kiss on my forehead sent me hurtling up to the sky, and once I was past that watery ceiling, I was sent plunging back down just as quickly. Since this was my very first experience traveling to another world, it wasn't hard to imagine that I was screaming my lungs out. It also wasn't hard to figure out that my landing wasn't as graceful as the times I've already mentioned.

I remembered lying on soft earth with the scent of wet grass climbing up my nose. I remembered how my body aching all over. And my eyes turned to an unfamiliar night sky full of stars that were just too bright. But these twinkling lights were nothing compared to the pale sun shining above me. It was a sight that made my head spin.

"Why was the sun out at night?" I wondered.

"It's not the sun," a voice whispered.

It was unlike any voice I had ever heard. Soft, yet at the same time, was hard as steel. Like even stating a simple thing required a kind of resolve.

But before I could search for the owner of the voice, a giant pair of hands lifted me to my feet almost effortlessly, and my eyes were forced to stare up at a creature that could have only come from my worst nightmares.

Yep, it was my first time staring into the frightening mug of Aura's bodyguard. And meeting Edo was simply an appetizer.

As my eyes darted left and right, I found myself staring at a group of strangers that might have been extras in a Lord of the Rings movie.

Behind Edo stood four people. The one furthest left was a silver, curly-haired child-like creature in a midnight blue robe I would later know as Orryn Timbers, the Chancellor of the Moon. To Orryn's right was my new partner, Aurana, resplendent in her sleeveless midnight blue dress. To Aurana's right was a hooded man sitting on a simple wooden chair.

Even with a horned Edo holding me up, the hooded man's appearance still struck me as the strangest. He wore a robe similar to Orryn's, but the fur-lined cape draped across his shoulders made him seem more regal. It was his bandaged hands and masked face, however, that really caught my attention. They gave off the appearance of a sickly man. Perhaps even a dying one.

I wasn't sure if it was because I stared at him for too long or if there was a bad expression on my face, but the fairy to the right of the man—a braided black-haired fairy with pointy ears like Aura's—jumped into my line of view with narrowed eyes and a scowl on its face.

This individual drew its sword from the scabbard strapped to its belt and pointed the blade's charged edge in my direction. It spoke words I couldn't understand, and in the next instant, orange flames burst out of the blade, coating it in a fiery mantle.

The fairy would have slashed at me too if Aura's brother hadn't commanded it to stop.

Ironically enough, it was his sister's urgent warning that pulled me out of the past and back into the present just as I'd stepped into Jimmy's range. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Fire blazed before me as Jimmy's glaive cut a wide arc between us.

My mind—still partly jarred from my recent flashback—almost didn't have enough wits back to block. Almost. Luckily, my reflex was often faster on the uptake, and my sword arm swung forward to meet the burning glaive head.

Sparks were literally flying as our shadowblades met. Heat grazed my face in that instant our blades momentarily locked. Then the parry. There was a momentary respite as we each pulled our weapons back. It didn't last more than a second. The second clash of shadowblades. Then a third. But it was only after a fourth unsuccessful attack that Jimmy returned to his talkative mode.

"You're really something else, Dean," he said in an impressed tone. "You weren't this good when we started."

"Same to you…" I answered in a huff. Unlike the smiling Jimmy, I was slightly winded from the earlier encounter. "Is that your fairy gift? You can set things on fire?"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at me. Then, realizing that I was serious, he guffawed. This was immediately followed by a downward slash of his glaive.

Not only was it fast, but the weight of his attack drove my feet half an inch into the earth as I blocked it with my falchion.

"Since you're doing so well, I'll tell you a little secret," Jimmy's laughter hadn't died down yet. "Ranked Magesong viseres don't have fairy gifts… it's the equivalent trade to becoming unkillable."

My eyes widened at this revelation. "The children's binding curse!"

Jimmy raised his glaive in a flash and just as quickly slashed it down. I barely had enough time to parry it and then take a step away from him.

He didn't let up. He thrust his glaive at me.

While he attacked, he also found time to say, "I'd heard a report that a young commander from the Trickster Pavilion stole the clan's precious blood sacrifices. I assume that was you?"

I sent my sword arm swinging down so that my falchion could block the thrust. It worked.

"Yeah, my unit is responsible for ending the Magesong's crazy blood ritual!" I said proudly.

With his glaive swooshing harmlessly past me, I took the initiative and stepped in for the killing stroke. But I'd seen it enough times to know an unarmed strike was coming my way.

Sure enough, a palm strike aimed at my chest came hurtling at me.

"Then I should thank you!" He yelled. "I hated having that kind of despicable trump card weighing on my honor!"

His hand was inches away. But I came prepared.

While my sword arm stayed at the ready, my other arm, the one I'd just hidden in my back as it gripped tightly on my dagger's handle, whipped out in a rush. I slashed at Jimmy's incoming hand and drew blood.

But the crazy bastard, despite the blood pouring down his palm, continued his thrust toward me. Thankfully, the trajectory of his strike had been disrupted by my counter, and instead of the attack on my chest that would have left me even more winded, he'd simply managed to smash into my left shoulder.

"Argh!" I hissed.

I felt the pain lance up and down my arm. I felt the shoulder pop out of place. Quickly followed by the weakening of my arm which consequently forced me to drop my dagger.

However, I wasn't out of the fight yet. And just like Jimmy's mad attack, I too pushed through the pain with gritted teeth, and with a quick snap of my sword arm, sent my falchion up his right arm.

Usually, hauberk-type armor had long sleeves fashioned out of chain mail. Jimmy's hauberk armor, however, was short-sleeved. This meant there was bare flesh between his arm gauntlets and his shoulder guards. His arms were beefy for sure, and under normal circumstances or against a regular shadowblade, he might have had enough muscle to keep a wound shallow. But my falchion's shadowblade was special.

Imagine a chain-saw meeting an unprotected limb. That's all the visual anyone really needs.

The blood spraying out of the deep gash I'd cut into his upper arm washed over my face and gear.

I could smell the metallic scent of blood so close to me. And if anyone could believe it, this scent was all it took to send my mind back to the moment I'd met Auranos Trickhaven.

After Aura's brother stopped his knight from turning me into roasted shish kabob, he'd asked me to come closer.

I probably wouldn't have out of fear of his protector overreacting again if Aura hadn't encouraged me with an almost imperceptible nod.

"So, sister..." Auranos spoke in the softly-spoken voice that failed to hide the hidden vigor in him. "Introduce me to your new errant knight."

Chapter end