He turned into a side alley, and a minute later, his pursuers did the same.
I wasn’t Hana. I couldn’t drop into Stealth and act sneaky. I used the safety of distance to remain anonymous.
As I approached the mouth of the alley and I unbuckled my axe, the first sounds of combat caught my ear. A quick clash of steel, then a thud. Finally, just the scuffling of boots on cobblestone could be heard. I fell into a jog and as I neared the corner, I heard someone hiss, “Hold him. Just freaking hold the bastard.”
As I strode out, axe held ready for action, I saw that one of the players was bleeding out, his breath already shallow and irregular. A quick look showed me it was James. His sword was discarded next to him. Further in, another man held a wound in his gut and was leaning against the wall. Two more, Berron and another man that must’ve been near seven feet tall, held Teegan by the arms.
The woman was about to stick the elf with her dagger when the wounded man saw me. He shouted, “Hey, someone’s coming!” The woman whipped her head toward me, giving Teegan a brief respite.
He didn’t waste it.
One of his legs shot up and kicked the dagger from her hand. Berron tried to punch Teegan, but he lost his grip on the fighter as he drew back his fist. Teegan had just enough time to roll to one side, pulling his body into the big man who held him. Berron, too drunk to stop himself, punched the stone wall instead.
The sound of his hand breaking seemed to act as a trigger for the fight that ensued.
Not wanting to kill anyone I didn’t have to, I smacked the injured man in the head with the flat of my blade. He fell in a boneless heap.
The woman pulled out a thin sword and sneered at me. “You’re gonna die with him, then.”
Not wanting to wait around to see how good this cabrón was with her sword, I swung my axe out in a wide arc, buying myself some room. She dodged it easily then darted in.
She’d known that I would be vulnerable the second after my swing. The tip of her sword flashed out toward my chest faster than I’d thought possible. What she wasn’t counting on was my willingness to get wounded.
I let the axe continue to pull me to the side, moving off center just enough to let me run my blade through her ribs as she stabbed me. I grunted as the pain seared through my chest.
She saw my intent and tried to pull her sword free. I howled as she yanked the blade, but it held fast, caught between my bones and the studded leather vest I was wearing. Had she abandoned her weapon, she would have survived.
I dropped Sunder, and despite the chainmail she wore, my axe tore through her chest and clavicle. I hadn’t wanted to do any killing, but she’d stabbed me.
I heard the huge man scream and saw that Teegan was biting him in the forearm. The man dropped an elbow on his victim, but even as the elf took the blow, he spun again, freeing himself. Rather than dodge back to get room enough to draw the sword on his hip, Teegan sent a barrage of strikes at the man.
The first three struck the meaty points of the man’s arm, hitting his bicep twice and then the front of the shoulder. The limb hung limp afterward, and the hulk of a man ground his teeth and made a grab with his other arm.
Teegan was a blur of motion. He ducked under the arm and sent two strikes to the man’s ribs, then twisted his wrist down and to the side. The man fell forward to prevent his wrist from being broken. As he did so, Teegan sent an open palm up into the man’s jaw. His mouth had been open, and the sound of his teeth clacking shut sent shivers down my back.
Rage pulsed in the huge man’s eyes, and it stayed there, even as he fell.
I threw my axe at another of the group that was aiming a strike at Teegan’s neck.
Instead of splitting the man’s head in two, as it always happens in the movies, the man just stumbled to the side. The axe clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Teegan sprinted at the swordsman and produced a dagger from his belt, stepped inside the man’s next attack, and buried his blade in the man’s neck.
I turned in time to see Berron swinging a left-handed mace at my head. I ducked the sloppy attack and brought my knee up into his stomach. He didn’t collapse, so I pulled him into a guillotine, shoved him back against the wall, and gave him several more tastes of my knees. Finally, I felt the pop of Berron’s sternum, and he fell to the ground gasping for air.
I took a few steps back and surveyed the scene. All was quiet again, and I caught my breath, noting the billowing clouds of steam coming from my mouth.
Teegan snapped a kick to Berron’s face, knocking him unconscious, then said, “Thank you. I even expected it, but it is hard to be quick when you’re surrounded.”
I looked at the elf and saw that his pretty nose was pushed to one side of his face.
I held out my hand and replied, “No problem. These cabrons deserved it. Sorry, I’ll use my English. These cabróns deserved to be beat up a little.”
He laughed as he took my hand and pointed to something near my chest. “Need help with that?”
I looked down and saw that Vienna’s sword was still stuck in me, sunk up to the hilt and looking ridiculous. I laughed and winced at the pain. The rage of the fight was already fading, and pain came back like a crazy
