14. The Tormentors student
The inside of the carriage was quiet as it was guided into the front gate. All it's valuables lay still, unmoving as the rickety wheels turned round and round. The cargo safe from all would be counter thieves.
But that was mostly on account of Abigail not being a thief herself. If she wanted to, she could totally take some, but not all, of this stuff. Definitely enough that it wouldn't go unnoticed. She was sure that would send the bandits into a frenzy, wondering where all there questionable loot went.
She didn't do that. Instead she laid low beneath it. Her ears perked up and listening for any bandits coming close. Which none did.
The bandits guarding the carriage mostly just kept to themselves. They talked, they laughed, and they delivered, bringing the carriage to a stop somewhere past the gate. At least, she hoped that it was past the gate. It was pretty hard to tell from under all this stuff.
Either way, it was time she got to work.
With a grunt, Abigail unearthed herself. She rose up out of the pile like lava out a volcano, sending most of it rolling. Then, far swifter, she placed an ear on the wall. Through she could hear the bandits talk. She wasn't sure about what, though. It didn't matter, anyhow, just that she knew where they were. With that information in mind, she crawled out on the other side of the carriage. Slipping out under it's curtain like cover.
Where it should have been safe.
Instead she came face to face with one of the bandits. His face was the picture of surprise, and before he could recover, she jumped him.
They fell, and as they did Abigail punched him in the nose three times. Then she landed on his unconscious body with a loud thump. She froze at the sound.
"-And then I said-" One of the bandits on the other side of the carriage continued, completely oblivious.
Abigail sighed, stopped herself, and got up. Quietly.
She was in the fort. The gate was behind her, two bandits standing guard outside. Opposite of them and on the other side of the carriage were the five that brought her in. Well, minus one. And they were all still talking about some escapade of theirs prior to this one.
Distracted in other words. Not even paying attention to their most recent haul. Amateur mistake. But one she took full advantage of and slipped past them. Through the open space of the courtyard, and into the fort proper. Stepping through a wooden door in one of the stone walls.
And inside, she was confronted by the warmth of a fire. It sat crackling a few feet to her right, the wood that fed it an old grey. In front of it, facing away from her, was a bronze skinned elf. On his back was a sword as tall as he was.
Abigail went to take it. But as soon as she took a single step, he turned around. In the same breath he drew his blade. As he did, he opened his mouth to say something. Only for Abigail to cross the distance faster than he could blink and slam a fist into his throat.
He choked, and she flipped him over. Once, twice, and slammed him into the ground. His eyes closed. His limbs went limp. Still he breathed, knocked out and no longer a threat.
And for her trouble, Abigail got a greatsword. It was a bit large. Bigger than any blade she's ever wielded before, but it would work.
And it would have to. She could hear what sounded like the clanking of plate armor on the way down. The fall of greaves getting closer one step at a time. As the sound got louder, she looked around for a place to hide. There was none.
The room wasn't small, but it wasn't filled with anything either. There was no furniture or table, or anything she could hide behind. At best there was an empty bookshelf against a wall. Desperate, she took a chance and pressed herself against it, hoping that whoever was on their way would somehow not notice her.
A bandit, around 8 feet tall entered the room from a door opposite of where she came in from. In his hands was a book, and he was staring straight at the bookshelf. Straight at her.
Not a word was said for the next seven seconds. A silence suddenly broken when the bandit let out a warcry and charged at her.
She lifted a hefty leg right into his chin, knocking him out cold. The sound of his armor thumping against the ground was immediately followed by the opening of another door. A bandit peeked through, looked at his two downed compatriots. Then he looked at her.
"INTRUDER!"
Abigail took her pilfered greatsword in both hands and charged. As soon as he finished the word, she was upon him. Her blade descended down across his chest. Then he fell. And seconds after, several more bandits barged into the room with weapons drawn. They came from both in front of her and behind.
One, pickaxe in hand, swung for her head from her back. In front, another brought his hammer down.
Abigail backed out of both their paths and into the center of the room. Her blade followed her, then struck out like a serpent. Steel met flesh twice in quick succession. Just as swift, it came back to her, blocking a blow coming from above.
The room became frantic.
Steel rang against iron. Blood splattered. Teeth fell, crushed underfoot. Voices rose, yelling. Screams filled the air, full of violence.
And Abigail kept swinging. Her arms hurt. She was bruised and cut in several places. Under her arm, on her legs. But she was winning. The bandits were thinning out. There numbers were dropping, slowly, each second ending with another on the floor.
If she could just keep this up-
"Stand down men."
They did. Each and every one of them. Some immediately, and some less so. But they all stopped, and gave Abigail a wide berth.
Wide enough that she could see the elf on the stairs who had ordered them so. His golden hair, mixed with a sea of black. A spear in his hand. Silver, like the rest of his armor. And he was looking at her. Staring with all the intensity of the morning sun.
Then he smiled. "You're strong for a Black guard. Good form. Fast. Skilled-"
Abigail lifted her blade. "No, I don't wanna join. So let's hurry this up already, Kay?"
"Not what I was gonna ask. But yeah. Let's skip to the good part."
That was all the warning Abigail got before the bandit literally flew at her. Spear first, twisting in the air. All while the room around him changed in the face of his presence.
Bodies were dragged out of the way. Blades, both broken and intact, were snatched up and taken out. And the bandits who still remained quickly excused themselves.
After all that, she ducked. It was perfect timing, letting the spear pass just over her head and into the wall behind her. That should've bought her enough time to get away. To put some distance between her and the bandit. Instead, it barely bought her a second.
The bandit was already up. He was on his feet and charging at her. Not in the air, but low to the ground. And his spear moved ahead of him. It slithered on the ground like a serpent looking for prey, it's tip a fang. Unfortunately for him, Abigail was no helpless rabbit.
She flushed Ardin through her leg, making it tough as stone. An act that hurt. It was like her entire leg had cramped. Skin pulled taught as the muscle beneath tensed painfully. And then spear met flesh. The result of which was a gouging slash that went from her shin to her calf.
But it was worth it. If for nothing more than the bandit flinching. It was a second of his guard being down. Tiny and insignificant to anyone not paying attention.
To Abigail, it was her turn to go on the offensive.
She seized the chance, with a kick. Shooting her injured foot into his chest and knocking him onto his back. And before he could get up, she pounced on him. Raining blow after blow on him. And all he could do was lift his spear up as a shield.
Which it did a surprisingly good job of. More than that, if cries out. With every strike deflected or blocked, it rang like a bell, slowly getting louder and louder. Soon it hit a fever pitch. The sound so loud that it felt like it was tearing at her ears. Digging it's way inside her head. With every second of it endured, compounding, torture extending into unbearable pain. And when it was finally too much, she relented.
With a grunt of pain and hands reaching for her ears, Abigail backed off. And as she stood, dazed, struggling to figure right from left, the bandit rose to his feet with a smile. Fiendish and full of teeth.
"That was good. Excellent. But we can do better."
He charged. His spear traveling low. A snake surfing along the ground in search of a kill.
She barely saw it. Her ears still ringing as she stumbled out of the way. A stumble that turned into a fall. Back onto her rear, leaving her open. But she didn't stay that way. Instead she rolled with her fall, back away from where the bandit should have been.
And his next attack came from behind.
The tip of his spear came down on her neck. Silver biting flesh for a split second, and it would've been fatal. But at its touch, Abigail shifted. Like an arrow she spun and brought her leg up towards him. A kick that he grabbed and then spun.
Once, she was twirled around him. Twice, she felt less dizzy. Thrice, and he threw her at the wall like a sack of flour.
Fortunately, Abigail was a lot tougher than any sack, and when she hit the wall she was ready. She braced herself. Rolled, and was up on her feet in moments. Perfect timing to step out of the bandits way as he charged at her. His spear passing by her face in what felt like slow motion.
And when it found purchase in the wall behind her, she struck him in the gut. Then, as he reeled in temporary pain, she swept his legs out from beneath him. Foot stomping down the moment he hit the ground.
A concentrated blast of wind was his rebuttal.
It blew through her hair and lifted her off her feet. A miniature storm that sent her flying. Straight up. Followed by her coming straight down.
Again Abigail braced herself. Ardin surging through blood and hardening skin and bone. Making her dense right at the point of impact. Teeth grit as she hit the floor and launched herself onto her feet just as quick. Striking out several times in a second.
Hands like hammers made to maim. Colliding with his staff once, then going around, right for his jaw. And as he tried to summon another gust, she pushed on through his meager defense.
Fist breaking a rib. Foot coming down on his ankle. Knee finding purchase in his gut as she banged her head against his skull. The blow knocking him onto his back. But this time she followed him down. Landing on top of him and hitting everywhere but his spear. Every blow bringing the fight that much closer to an end.
And then it was over.
With her standing over his unconscious form. Wondering if she should cave his skull in for good measure.
Instead she looked up and came face to face with Sarill, smiling down at her.
"Brilliant show. If I do say so myself."