Continued from here...
One time after another, the boy jumped from one rock to another. It was like some game, and the biqaj followed him every time, barely scratching him with the edges of his spear. The water below was chaotic, and it threatened to swallow the young swordsman whole, if he misstepped just once. Just one small mistake, and he would be down there again, swimming for his life, for the hundredth time.
”What...is...the...point of this?” He managed to say between the jumps as the wooden side of Korim’s spear hit him on the hip, and he fell into the water once more. A bit later, he was out of it, barely holding onto a rock for who knows which time. The stars were already visible in the sky, it must have been an entire break of jumping and falling onto those rocks that kept magically appearing and disappearing. He honestly thought about saying he was done, and swimming to the shore, but considering the only one of them two who knew how to influence the water into a swimmable state was the biqaj, he didn’t really have a choice but to play the game.
”You’ll learn the point when you’re ready.” He said, striking the boy’s hand with the wooden stick so hard he felt the bruising begin even before the wood left his skin. This was pointless, Aeon thought as he jumped once more onto a new rock, and barely dodged the metallic, edgy side of the spear this time. He could’ve gotten killed more than once, over a pointless game.
”This doesn’t have a point.” Aeon finally said, stopping on a rock only to swiftly be hit on the torso with the wooden side of the weapon. Once more, he fell into the water, and once more, it took him an entire bit of swimming to make the journey of a meter back onto the rock, and just as he climbed onto it, he saw the spear flying through the air and caught it. What was this?
”You try me. If you can hit me, we stop, go back to shore, and I explain everything, if you don’t, we continue, my friend.” Korim said, jumping onto another rock swiftly and surely, without one bit of doubt in his eyes and perfect balance in his feet. It was as if he had done that a thousand times over. But Aeon would get him, it was way easier when he was on one rock wielding the spear, he was certain.
A swing so sudden it was impossible to predict, Korim jumped with a flip in the air onto another rock and dodged it, steering clear of the spear by at least two feet. A thrust so strong it would kill a bull straight up, and yet it was so easily evaded by the biqaj, almost as if it wasn’t there. The seafarer simply jumped onto another rock, without much trouble, and he was away from it. Thinking ahead, Aeon moved the spear in a low sweep, aiming for the biqaj’s legs, but alas, it was not to be. The man jumped up impossibly high and before he fell down back onto the rock, Aeon had lost his balance and ended up in the water, along with the spear. The biqaj offered him a hand, but just as he was about to take it, he found that all Korim sought was the spear, and he would let the young swordsman find his own way up.
”See? Not as easy as you thought.” The biqaj laughed as he spun the spear in his hand and readied himself to once more knock the poor boy into the river. They continued the procedure for breaks, both of them staying quiet and focusing, Korim on his hands and the spear, and Aeon on his entire body. It surely was hard wielding the spear, but dodging it was harder, definitely. Alas, the young swordsman had no plans on giving up. He would keep trying, keep jumping from one rock to another, managing sometimes even a cartwheel using the rocks as the ground, but more times than not, the boy fell when he attempted something fancy or flashy.
Time passed quickly, and soon enough, the Sun was rising on the horizon, and Korim stopped with his spear movements and suggested Aeon should stop with his dodging, and they should both go back to shore. As they swam back, the water was perfectly calm, as if no special thing was affecting it, unlike when the boy alone was in it. There was something magical about that, he knew it, he just couldn’t put his hands on it.
”You still interested in knowing what you were doing, my friend?” Korim asked, and Aeon simply nodded in response. He was certainly hoping they hadn’t spent the entire night on something pointless, or on some game. ”It’s called shadowdancing. It was invented by one of my own people, and a lotharen hunter, some time ago. More specifically, you were doing something I invented, called shadowstepping. It’s not a perfected technique just yet, but I practice every night in hopes of making it better.” Aeon nodded. Shadowdancing. Such a fancy name for well, something so fancy. Guess it fits, he thought as he put his armour back on and added his sheathed sword to his belt. It was about time they got back to the camp, the hunters were probably wondering where the pair went.
”What’s the difference? Between dancing and stepping, I mean.” The boy asked as they were walking towards the small settlement where the massacre happened. The leaves of the woods rustled as they passed, almost foreshadowing something bad happening. It wouldn’t be a trial in the life of Aeon if nothing bad happened, now would it?
”Shadowdancing is an acrobatic form of using the spear. Like what I was doing, but with more movement. Shadowstepping on the other hand, requires no spear. It is more of a, how do I say this, an unarmed style. I can teach you both, if you’d like.” Aeon simply nodded once again, although he doubted he wanted to learn how to use a spear. Spears were never really his thing. Blades, especially those that could fit in one hand, those were his preference. An unarmed style, Aeon never really learned any unarmed style, it wasn’t a requirement within the Iron Hand, and it wasn’t something he was rather interested in. All his knowledge on fighting without a weapon came from experience, however bad that experience may be. ”Hold on.” Korim quickly said, raising his hand in front of the boy to stop him from moving. ”Do you hear anything.” Aeon simply shook his head. Besides the wind and the leaves, there was nothing to be heard, he was sure of it. But then it hit him. Exactly, why was there nothing to be heard? Weren’t the lotharro supposed to be up by now, ready for departure?
The pair slowly walked towards where their tents were, only to find patterns of blood on the stone road, and massacred bodies of both the lothar and the stekir laying everywhere. There were at least a three dozen stekir, but all of the lothar were dead with them. The bodies were ravaged, some with holes in them, some with claw marks everywhere. It was a horrible sight, but one that people would get used to in Gauthrel, the boy presumed. Aeon knew what was going through the older biqaj’s mind at that moment. It was obvious, because it was going through his as well. Are they all dead? He asked himself, about the stekir, and the lotharro. There were, after all, those two that went to carry the corpses to the nearest settlement, perhaps they survived. He thought it would be best to head north towards them, to check on them, but the biqaj stopped him. Apparently, not all the stekir were dead, and Aeon could see it soon enough as well. Dozens of pairs of eyes in the bushes, staring at them, ready to jump. The boy picked up a bow from Aethelwolf’s corpse, and the quiver, ready for a fight.
And a fight it would be, as Korim picked up another bow from one of the other dead lotharro, and nocked an arrow. It was only a matter of time before the stekir realised there were only two of them and attacked, and the biqaj decided it would be best if they made the first move. Drawing an arrow, he shot it into the bush and hit one of the felines straight in the head, making it fall limp on the ground. Several others jumped out, and two instantly fell to the ground from Aeon’s and Korim’s arrows. Unfortunately for the pair, they weren’t quick enough to fire two more arrows, and their blades were all they had left. Both of them dropped their bows to the ground and drew their melee weapons, Aeon cutting one of the stekir in half while Korim stabbed two that jumped at him in their undersides. Still, a dozen pairs of eyes stood watching and waiting for something.
Finally, what they were waiting for came, as one of the stekir moved forward and made a hissing noise. It appeared larger than the rest of them, and they all appeared to be looking at it. That must have been the alpha, or the stekir equivalent of it. Aeon knew what he had to do, and before anything, he looked to Korim to inform him. The biqaj simply nodded with a smile, deciding to cover Aeon’s sides as they boy began charging towards the bigger stekir. All of them at once rose from the bushes and were surrounding the pair, before finally moving synchronised into an attack. Aeon managed to slash at least six while running towards their leader, while at least fifteen of them attacked Korim at the same time. The boy couldn’t look back at him, he just couldn’t, so he continued, and finally reached the big one. It jumped with surprising agility and before Aeon knew what was happening, he managed to block it with his wooden hand and knock it to the ground. Before thinking twice, he stabbed it through the stomach with a confident motion of his blade, and ended its life.
At its final growl, the remaining stekir who were still attacking the biqaj ran off, only for nearly all of them to be shot in the back by Aeon who had managed to pick up a bow and some arrows just in time. Only two or three had made it out, and they wouldn’t be a problem any longer. What was a problem though, was the fact that Korim had claw marks on his shoulder and a bite wound on his left arm, that was bleeding quickly. Aeon gasped at the sight and ran towards his friend swiftly, hoping to achieve something just by being near him. He didn’t know anything about healing wounds, how was he supposed to help?
”You did good, my friend.” The biqaj said as he ripped off a sleeve from his shirt after removing his armour, and tying it around his arm to create pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t working, however, as the blood just kept pouring down his arm. It must have been an artery that was cut with the stekir’s bite, and he was bleeding out at a much quicker pace than he would’ve been usually. If it was an artery that was severed, Aeon knew one thing. He wouldn’t make it.
”You’re not going to die, not you too. Listen to me, Korim, you’re going to survive, I’m going to take you to the nearest settlement, and you’re going to survive!” Aeon shouted with water in his eye as he attempted to carry the older biqaj, but unsuccessfully, causing him to simply fall on the ground, lying there as if he was already dead. He couldn’t lose him too, not another one. He lost Ryqos, and that was devastating, if he lost Korim now, how could he ever recover? He had just met the older man, but he felt connected to him in some strange way he couldn’t explain. Not again was all he could think…not again. Not again. Not again. He was helpless. Korim was gone.
”I am not scared of death, Aeon. I accept Vri’s offer. Just...take this. It will serve you in this life far better than me in the next one.” He said as he tore off his necklace and put it in the boy’s hands. There wasn’t anything special on it, only a key. But before he could ask what the key was for, the man was gone, his eyes closed forever. Only then did he realise that he was holding the biqaj’s hand the whole way through. It was slowly turning colder as the bits passed, and Aeon’s head was still shaking in denial.
He needed to move, at one point he realised, and finally opened his eye and got up from the corpse of his friend. He needed to go north, to check on the lothar that went to find the nearest settlement. And he needed to inform them of the massacre. Quickly packing his tent along with all of his things, Aeon started running. He would run, and run, for a break straight, with his pack on his back and his sword sheathed at his side, until finally, he found what remained of the lothar and the corpses of others. The stekir had gotten to them before they reached the camp, it seemed, since they were dead for longer than the others. And for the first time, a thought occurred in the boy’s mind. What if he hadn’t gone with Korim? What if they both had stayed in the camp, would they both be dead right now, or would everyone be alive? Guilt was eating through him like acid through wood, and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking the worst. He caused the deaths of those jegers. If he stayed, he could’ve noticed the stekir before they attacked, he could’ve warned his companions, they could’ve fought them off. But it was too late. All he could do now was go to the settlement and tell them of what had happened. And bury yet another friend.
One time after another, the boy jumped from one rock to another. It was like some game, and the biqaj followed him every time, barely scratching him with the edges of his spear. The water below was chaotic, and it threatened to swallow the young swordsman whole, if he misstepped just once. Just one small mistake, and he would be down there again, swimming for his life, for the hundredth time.
”What...is...the...point of this?” He managed to say between the jumps as the wooden side of Korim’s spear hit him on the hip, and he fell into the water once more. A bit later, he was out of it, barely holding onto a rock for who knows which time. The stars were already visible in the sky, it must have been an entire break of jumping and falling onto those rocks that kept magically appearing and disappearing. He honestly thought about saying he was done, and swimming to the shore, but considering the only one of them two who knew how to influence the water into a swimmable state was the biqaj, he didn’t really have a choice but to play the game.
”You’ll learn the point when you’re ready.” He said, striking the boy’s hand with the wooden stick so hard he felt the bruising begin even before the wood left his skin. This was pointless, Aeon thought as he jumped once more onto a new rock, and barely dodged the metallic, edgy side of the spear this time. He could’ve gotten killed more than once, over a pointless game.
”This doesn’t have a point.” Aeon finally said, stopping on a rock only to swiftly be hit on the torso with the wooden side of the weapon. Once more, he fell into the water, and once more, it took him an entire bit of swimming to make the journey of a meter back onto the rock, and just as he climbed onto it, he saw the spear flying through the air and caught it. What was this?
”You try me. If you can hit me, we stop, go back to shore, and I explain everything, if you don’t, we continue, my friend.” Korim said, jumping onto another rock swiftly and surely, without one bit of doubt in his eyes and perfect balance in his feet. It was as if he had done that a thousand times over. But Aeon would get him, it was way easier when he was on one rock wielding the spear, he was certain.
A swing so sudden it was impossible to predict, Korim jumped with a flip in the air onto another rock and dodged it, steering clear of the spear by at least two feet. A thrust so strong it would kill a bull straight up, and yet it was so easily evaded by the biqaj, almost as if it wasn’t there. The seafarer simply jumped onto another rock, without much trouble, and he was away from it. Thinking ahead, Aeon moved the spear in a low sweep, aiming for the biqaj’s legs, but alas, it was not to be. The man jumped up impossibly high and before he fell down back onto the rock, Aeon had lost his balance and ended up in the water, along with the spear. The biqaj offered him a hand, but just as he was about to take it, he found that all Korim sought was the spear, and he would let the young swordsman find his own way up.
”See? Not as easy as you thought.” The biqaj laughed as he spun the spear in his hand and readied himself to once more knock the poor boy into the river. They continued the procedure for breaks, both of them staying quiet and focusing, Korim on his hands and the spear, and Aeon on his entire body. It surely was hard wielding the spear, but dodging it was harder, definitely. Alas, the young swordsman had no plans on giving up. He would keep trying, keep jumping from one rock to another, managing sometimes even a cartwheel using the rocks as the ground, but more times than not, the boy fell when he attempted something fancy or flashy.
Time passed quickly, and soon enough, the Sun was rising on the horizon, and Korim stopped with his spear movements and suggested Aeon should stop with his dodging, and they should both go back to shore. As they swam back, the water was perfectly calm, as if no special thing was affecting it, unlike when the boy alone was in it. There was something magical about that, he knew it, he just couldn’t put his hands on it.
”You still interested in knowing what you were doing, my friend?” Korim asked, and Aeon simply nodded in response. He was certainly hoping they hadn’t spent the entire night on something pointless, or on some game. ”It’s called shadowdancing. It was invented by one of my own people, and a lotharen hunter, some time ago. More specifically, you were doing something I invented, called shadowstepping. It’s not a perfected technique just yet, but I practice every night in hopes of making it better.” Aeon nodded. Shadowdancing. Such a fancy name for well, something so fancy. Guess it fits, he thought as he put his armour back on and added his sheathed sword to his belt. It was about time they got back to the camp, the hunters were probably wondering where the pair went.
”What’s the difference? Between dancing and stepping, I mean.” The boy asked as they were walking towards the small settlement where the massacre happened. The leaves of the woods rustled as they passed, almost foreshadowing something bad happening. It wouldn’t be a trial in the life of Aeon if nothing bad happened, now would it?
”Shadowdancing is an acrobatic form of using the spear. Like what I was doing, but with more movement. Shadowstepping on the other hand, requires no spear. It is more of a, how do I say this, an unarmed style. I can teach you both, if you’d like.” Aeon simply nodded once again, although he doubted he wanted to learn how to use a spear. Spears were never really his thing. Blades, especially those that could fit in one hand, those were his preference. An unarmed style, Aeon never really learned any unarmed style, it wasn’t a requirement within the Iron Hand, and it wasn’t something he was rather interested in. All his knowledge on fighting without a weapon came from experience, however bad that experience may be. ”Hold on.” Korim quickly said, raising his hand in front of the boy to stop him from moving. ”Do you hear anything.” Aeon simply shook his head. Besides the wind and the leaves, there was nothing to be heard, he was sure of it. But then it hit him. Exactly, why was there nothing to be heard? Weren’t the lotharro supposed to be up by now, ready for departure?
The pair slowly walked towards where their tents were, only to find patterns of blood on the stone road, and massacred bodies of both the lothar and the stekir laying everywhere. There were at least a three dozen stekir, but all of the lothar were dead with them. The bodies were ravaged, some with holes in them, some with claw marks everywhere. It was a horrible sight, but one that people would get used to in Gauthrel, the boy presumed. Aeon knew what was going through the older biqaj’s mind at that moment. It was obvious, because it was going through his as well. Are they all dead? He asked himself, about the stekir, and the lotharro. There were, after all, those two that went to carry the corpses to the nearest settlement, perhaps they survived. He thought it would be best to head north towards them, to check on them, but the biqaj stopped him. Apparently, not all the stekir were dead, and Aeon could see it soon enough as well. Dozens of pairs of eyes in the bushes, staring at them, ready to jump. The boy picked up a bow from Aethelwolf’s corpse, and the quiver, ready for a fight.
And a fight it would be, as Korim picked up another bow from one of the other dead lotharro, and nocked an arrow. It was only a matter of time before the stekir realised there were only two of them and attacked, and the biqaj decided it would be best if they made the first move. Drawing an arrow, he shot it into the bush and hit one of the felines straight in the head, making it fall limp on the ground. Several others jumped out, and two instantly fell to the ground from Aeon’s and Korim’s arrows. Unfortunately for the pair, they weren’t quick enough to fire two more arrows, and their blades were all they had left. Both of them dropped their bows to the ground and drew their melee weapons, Aeon cutting one of the stekir in half while Korim stabbed two that jumped at him in their undersides. Still, a dozen pairs of eyes stood watching and waiting for something.
Finally, what they were waiting for came, as one of the stekir moved forward and made a hissing noise. It appeared larger than the rest of them, and they all appeared to be looking at it. That must have been the alpha, or the stekir equivalent of it. Aeon knew what he had to do, and before anything, he looked to Korim to inform him. The biqaj simply nodded with a smile, deciding to cover Aeon’s sides as they boy began charging towards the bigger stekir. All of them at once rose from the bushes and were surrounding the pair, before finally moving synchronised into an attack. Aeon managed to slash at least six while running towards their leader, while at least fifteen of them attacked Korim at the same time. The boy couldn’t look back at him, he just couldn’t, so he continued, and finally reached the big one. It jumped with surprising agility and before Aeon knew what was happening, he managed to block it with his wooden hand and knock it to the ground. Before thinking twice, he stabbed it through the stomach with a confident motion of his blade, and ended its life.
At its final growl, the remaining stekir who were still attacking the biqaj ran off, only for nearly all of them to be shot in the back by Aeon who had managed to pick up a bow and some arrows just in time. Only two or three had made it out, and they wouldn’t be a problem any longer. What was a problem though, was the fact that Korim had claw marks on his shoulder and a bite wound on his left arm, that was bleeding quickly. Aeon gasped at the sight and ran towards his friend swiftly, hoping to achieve something just by being near him. He didn’t know anything about healing wounds, how was he supposed to help?
”You did good, my friend.” The biqaj said as he ripped off a sleeve from his shirt after removing his armour, and tying it around his arm to create pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t working, however, as the blood just kept pouring down his arm. It must have been an artery that was cut with the stekir’s bite, and he was bleeding out at a much quicker pace than he would’ve been usually. If it was an artery that was severed, Aeon knew one thing. He wouldn’t make it.
”You’re not going to die, not you too. Listen to me, Korim, you’re going to survive, I’m going to take you to the nearest settlement, and you’re going to survive!” Aeon shouted with water in his eye as he attempted to carry the older biqaj, but unsuccessfully, causing him to simply fall on the ground, lying there as if he was already dead. He couldn’t lose him too, not another one. He lost Ryqos, and that was devastating, if he lost Korim now, how could he ever recover? He had just met the older man, but he felt connected to him in some strange way he couldn’t explain. Not again was all he could think…not again. Not again. Not again. He was helpless. Korim was gone.
”I am not scared of death, Aeon. I accept Vri’s offer. Just...take this. It will serve you in this life far better than me in the next one.” He said as he tore off his necklace and put it in the boy’s hands. There wasn’t anything special on it, only a key. But before he could ask what the key was for, the man was gone, his eyes closed forever. Only then did he realise that he was holding the biqaj’s hand the whole way through. It was slowly turning colder as the bits passed, and Aeon’s head was still shaking in denial.
He needed to move, at one point he realised, and finally opened his eye and got up from the corpse of his friend. He needed to go north, to check on the lothar that went to find the nearest settlement. And he needed to inform them of the massacre. Quickly packing his tent along with all of his things, Aeon started running. He would run, and run, for a break straight, with his pack on his back and his sword sheathed at his side, until finally, he found what remained of the lothar and the corpses of others. The stekir had gotten to them before they reached the camp, it seemed, since they were dead for longer than the others. And for the first time, a thought occurred in the boy’s mind. What if he hadn’t gone with Korim? What if they both had stayed in the camp, would they both be dead right now, or would everyone be alive? Guilt was eating through him like acid through wood, and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking the worst. He caused the deaths of those jegers. If he stayed, he could’ve noticed the stekir before they attacked, he could’ve warned his companions, they could’ve fought them off. But it was too late. All he could do now was go to the settlement and tell them of what had happened. And bury yet another friend.
Note to the reviewer
This thread is a part of a greater number of threads, all pertaining to this bounty:
Target: Siir Shirne
Species: Stekir (Group)
Location: Eastern Gauthrel
Danger Level: Low-Moderate individually, Moderate-High collectively
Reward: 250 gn
Description: Siir Shirne is a large collective of Stekir that have been traveling together and ploughing through fields and farms. While they haven't actually killed anyone yet, their ravenous nature is strongly problematic for the Path of the Breeders, and they have placed a bounty on their heads.
All NPCs included in this thread haven't been written up due to them ending up dead at the end of the storyline.
Target: Siir Shirne
Species: Stekir (Group)
Location: Eastern Gauthrel
Danger Level: Low-Moderate individually, Moderate-High collectively
Reward: 250 gn
Description: Siir Shirne is a large collective of Stekir that have been traveling together and ploughing through fields and farms. While they haven't actually killed anyone yet, their ravenous nature is strongly problematic for the Path of the Breeders, and they have placed a bounty on their heads.
All NPCs included in this thread haven't been written up due to them ending up dead at the end of the storyline.
