But something was amiss and it wasn't long before the mission came crashing down on Onion and her band of brothers. Those that challenged the Clan and their charge were no simple bandits, though they attempted to play the part. Words were hastily exchanged but it was soon clear that the highwaymen would not be content with a toll. They wanted blood.
The Clan of the Fir was a highly seasoned mercenary band and though the highwaymen matched them in number, their aggressors quickly succumbed to the quick and deadly fighting style of the Nü. As the "Spear Head" of the group, Onion let her brothers occupy the bandits in battle while they opened the way for her to make an assassination attempt on the leader. She knew this job well and rarely failed.
Too late, as Onion pulled her blade from the stomach of the enraged bandit leader, did she realize that this was no highwayman. The man's unbound hair was brushed aside as he fell revealing the intricate tattoos on the outside of his ear - a symbol of nobility in Eirdred. And if she still had doubts as to the true identity of the outlaw leader, his family pendant slipped out from under his leather armor as he crashed to the ground. The dead eyes that stared back at her were those of the rash young Lord Archne.
As the skirmish raged on, Onion came to understand that she and her brothers had been cruelly used in politicking between nobles. At this moment, the lives of she and her kin were forfeit for the murder of the lord of House Archne.
Even before she could shout warning to Rejnev, she saw the jaws of the trap begin to close. Someone had been watching from a distance and Onion could do nothing more than watch helplessly as the man disappeared into the horizon. Death would soon follow.
By the time the battle was over, an overwhelming force of the Imperial Guard, the force whose responsibility it was to protect the roads, had arrived on site. With their objectives met, the time for lies were over, but the nobility love the theatre.
"I hereby arrest you, bandits, for the murder of Lord Henri Mathayer Archne, Lord of the House Archne," bellowed the GuardHand General, "But I see already that you resist arrest! I have no choice," the GuardHand glowed poisonously from underneath his helm. "Kill them all!"
Onion brushed the bruise on the back of her head. The last thing she remembered was her brother's hopeless eyes. The last thing she felt was the hilt of his sword on her skull.
She did not wake again until it was nearly dusk and she found herself laying across the butt end of a horse. She smelled of corpses and was covered in blood - blood of the nobleman, blood of her brothers - while the GuardHand appeared spotless. Blissfully, she passed out again.
No comments:
Post a Comment