M47

Swent moved like lightning. He drove forward, his shield held high, and punched his gladius straight at Morgan’s stomach in a thrust that was more a blur than a movement. Morgan barely had time to react; he fell back, carving his sword down in a sideways slash. Swent knocked the blade away and kept driving. He was too fast for Morgan, and the tip of his gladius pierced Morgan’s stomach before he was able to spin sideways and back away while Swent’s momentum drove him past. The cut wasn’t terrible, but it burned, and blood flowed freely. That bastard had managed to stab him right below his breastplate and above the top of his girdle. Morgan felt a surge of rage and immediately moved into the Crane Flutters its Wings, rushing forward with all of his agility and whipping his razor-edged sword into a series of diagonal cuts, Swent at their center.

Swent raised his shield and calmly blocked the first attack. Morgan drove the slash through and back in an arch for another and another and one more. Swent blocked all the attacks, though deep gashes were left on his shield, the metal partially cut through. He staggered back, surprised by the ferocity of the attack. As Morgan transitioned into a high guard, beginning to advance again, Swent let out a low shout and blurred into motion again. He dashed to Morgan’s right side, and Morgan swung his sword down in an attempt to strike him, only to find that Swent wasn’t there; he’d somehow faked the movement. As Morgan began to spin, trying to lay eyes back on Swent, he felt a terrible, deep pain in his back and knew that Swent had driven his gladius deep into him.

Morgan cried out in pain but kept his wits; with a shout, he triggered his Azure Burst ability, and a blue circle of flames erupted out of him, blasting out with the full force of his Energy. The short trampled grass underneath him blackened instantly, and he heard Swent cry out. Morgan turned and saw Swent knocked back by the burst, but he was still standing. His shield was blackened and glowed orange at the edges. His leather leggings were charred, and his face and scalp were blackened with soot, his hair burnt down to a stubble. Swent’s eyes were bloodshot, and he had a horrible grimace on his face, but he still spat and growled, “Nice trick, worm. It won’t save you.” He spat again, trying to hit Morgan, but it fell short.

Morgan was worried that Swent might be right. That stab had grievously injured him. He could feel things were going very badly inside him. Blood still flowed from the gash on his stomach and pumped freely out of the horrible, deep cut on his lower back. The simple truth was that Swent was faster than he was and seemed to have more melee fighting skills. Morgan’s vision was starting to darken on the edges, and he shook his head, focusing on Swent. The man was circling him slowly behind his shield with a smile on his face. “I could probably just let you bleed out.” Morgan felt a jolt of panic, realizing that Swent was right. He was bleeding a lot. He contemplated taking out a healing potion but had, like an idiot, not asked if something like that was legal in a duel. Somehow he didn’t think it was. He needed to do something.

Morgan was thinking of a plan of attack when Swent charged again. This time, Morgan saw him take his first step, and he felt, deep in his mind, a certainty that Swent’s attack would come from the left, low and fast. Morgan dropped his sword into low gate guard, angling it over his left leg. He swung it up where he knew Swent’s sword would be coming from and just barely managed to parry the attack. Swent backed off, shield high, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. Morgan silently thanked his sword for the forewarning and formulated a plan of attack.

Swent seemed confident in avoiding attacks, so Morgan let his exhaustion show, lowering his blade into The Crane Forages. To someone who didn’t know the forms, it looked like he was having trouble lifting the sword, the long blade just inches over the ground, slowly moving side to side. He watched Swent, keeping his sword between them and measuring the countdown on his Azure Burst cooldown. As soon as it felt ready, Morgan used his Hollow Charge, ripping a furrow in the grass as he blasted forward to Swent. As soon as he was close, he pulled his sword back and pierced down in The Crane Takes a Minnow. Simultaneously, he fired off another Azure Burst. His sword took Swent in the thigh, piercing straight through the meat. As his Azure Burst coursed out of him, Morgan saw the surprise in Swent’s face as he raised his shield. Swent actually swung his gladius as he was blasted backward, carving a deep slice in Morgan’s left shoulder. Morgan kept hold of his sword as Swent was blown back, and he felt the blade rip through the length of Swent’s thigh, carving the majority of it away from the bone down to the knee. Meanwhile, the flames from his Azure Burst scalded Swent for the second time; only his upper chest and face were spared, thanks to his quick movement with his shield.

Morgan planted the tip of his sword on the ground and leaned heavily on it. Swent was on his back, moaning faintly, his leg was mangled, and his sword arm was burned into a blackened, misshapen twist of flesh and bone. Morgan walked forward and looked down at Swent’s writhing form. His vision had narrowed to a tunnel, but he could hear, as if from the depths of an echoing well, Swent’s hoarse whisper, “I yield. Mercy.” Morgan nodded.

“I grant mercy,” he said, looking to where the Governor was hovering, wondering if he should approach. The governor nodded, walking over. Morgan, still seeing dimly and feeling like he was in a room where someone was slowly turning the dimmer down, felt himself fall back onto his butt. He sat there in the grass for a moment, and then he felt soft hands on his neck and cheek and even softer kisses on his face. Then someone was tipping a bottle into his mouth, and he drank the syrupy liquid, feeling the warmth spread out from his throat, down through his body. Suddenly things were brighter, and he could hear individual sounds again.

“He’s alright, just lost a lot of blood,” said a gruff voice.

“Swent ain’t gonna make it,” a panicky young man was saying. “He ain’t drinking, and I poured the potion on his leg, but nothing happened. Oh, ancestors, he’s moting up. He’s dead.” Morgan was just realizing what was happening and had reached up to clasp Issa’s hand when he felt a surge of Energy slam into him.

***Congratulations! You’ve achieved level 16 Hollow Guard. You have gained 5 Strength, 5 Will, 4 Vitality, 4 Intelligence, and 3 Agility. You’ve learned the skill: Sword Mastery - Improved***

It seemed mercy hadn’t been enough for Swent. Morgan was surprised to see that his sword mastery had improved; it seemed that life or death training was the most effective. While he sat there in a pool of his blood, listening to the voices around him talking about the fight and Swent and how it was a shame he’d insisted on the duel, Morgan looked at his status sheet:

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 4

Class:

Hollow Guard - Advanced

Level:

16

Core:

Vortex Class - Base 3

Energy Affinity:

9.2

Energy:

812/1188

Strength:

45

Vitality:

44 (46)

Dexterity:

8

Agility:

33

Intelligence:

52

Will:

45

Points Available:

0

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion, First Hollow Guard, Ardeni Friend, Mark of Loyalty, Yovashi Bane, Legacy of the Azure Paladin

Skills:

• System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable
• Animal Taming - Basic
• Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic
• Melee Weapon Mastery - Basic
• Fighting Crane Style - Basic
• Sword Mastery - Improved
• Vortex Core Cultivation Drill - Basic
• Backstab - Basic
• Energy Drain - Improved
• Guard Ally - Basic
• Hollow Charge - Basic
• Azure Burst - Basic

Yes, dexterity was becoming a real problem. Morgan knew that if he hadn’t had Azure Burst, he would have tried an Energy Drain on Swent. Without those two trump cards, Swent would have picked him apart. He just didn’t have the speed and skill he needed to stand toe to toe with skillful melee fighters. Or ranged ones, for that matter, he thought, fatalistically. “Nothing to do for it, but keep practicing, trying to improve.”

“What was that?” Issa asked softly, pressing her forehead against his.

“Uh, nothing, just rambling.” Morgan managed a weak smile and gave her a quick kiss, and then he struggled to his feet. He was feeling much better after the potion Olivia had given him to drink and the influx of Energy from Swent. His lower-left back was still stiff and sore, and he knew Swent must have punctured several organs. Morgan was thankful for his high vitality, or he was sure he would have bled out in the time it took for his Azure Burst to come off cooldown. Still, he could have used Energy Drain. Maybe he should have used Energy Drain. What he needed was a way to practice fights - duels without risk of death.

Morgan looked down at Swent’s corpse. He looked pathetic, almost - small, twisted, soot-covered, his eyes still wide open with his neck arched, almost like he’d died trying to pull in one last breath. Morgan didn’t feel sad for Swent, but he didn’t feel proud looking down at him. Nor did he feel any better when he saw that older Ardeni woman openly weeping into the chest of a stoic-looking, stern-faced man that closely resembled Swent. Morgan accidentally made eye contact with him, and the hate smoldering in those orbs was palpable. Morgan held his eyes steady for a moment, then turned and walked off the field with Issa. Olivia and Roald followed close behind.

“Well, did it work?” Roald asked after they’d walked clear of the watching crowd.

“What?” Morgan glanced back.

“The sword, you lummox, did the sword work?”

“Oh, yeah, I think so. It saved me from at least one more puncture.”

“Can you describe it?” Roald was grinning, and he hustled up to walk next to Morgan. Morgan stopped walking and thought about what Roald wanted to know.

“Well, it was almost like I just knew where Swent was going to attack. I didn’t feel it coming from the sword or anything, but I have to assume that’s where it came from because that guy moved too fast for me to follow.

“Excellent, excellent, just like I theorized! This enchantment will make me a fortune in the right market.”

“Oh, uh, do you want the opal back?”

“No, no. It’s bound to that blade now. It’s a gift, anyway; wouldn’t be very honorable to ask for it back!” Roald clapped Morgan on the shoulder. Morgan nodded, clasping Roald’s shoulder for a moment, and then turned to keep walking toward the inn.

“Are you going to suffer any repercussions from Swent dying?” Morgan asked, looking at Roald and Issa.

“His father was already a problem for me, so I don’t think so. He’s lost face because of this; many of the gathered people thought the duel was a mistake and a misuse of our Honor Code. Word will spread about how you tried to grant mercy. Swent asking for mercy when he issued the challenge also looks bad for his clan.” Roald shook his head, a frown on his face.

“Clan? That’s the first I’ve heard you mention clans. What about you and Issa? Do you have a clan?” Olivia asked.

“Aye, us that live in towns don’t live by clan rules as much as the Ardeni in more wild regions. We do have an extended clan, though none that live here with us.” Again, it was Roald who answered. Morgan looked at Issa and saw that she was looking ahead, not really listening. Her face looked very sober.

“You alright?” Morgan asked, giving Issa a little nudge.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, other than the fact that you almost died a few minutes ago? I knew Swent was dangerous, but I thought you’d have an easier time. It scared me, Morgan.”

“Yeah, it scared me too!” Morgan laughed lightly, giving her another little push on the shoulder.

“I’m serious! You need to get stronger. We need to get stronger! I don’t want to watch you get killed.” Her voice had risen, and Olivia and Roald stopped chatting about clans and stared.

“Hey,” Morgan said, putting his arm on Issa’s shoulders, pulling her into his side while they walked, “I don’t intend to stop trying to improve. I know this place is dangerous; that’s one thing the Crucible showed me. It’s tempting to get complacent when riding around with a herd of roladii or hanging around a picturesque town with my girlfriend, but I know danger is lurking out there. C’mon, chin up; I’m still kicking.”

“Girlfriend?” Issa’s mood had changed entirely. She had a massive grin, showing all her teeth, and she practically squealed the word, turning to grab Morgan by the sides of his breastplate and pull him down for a kiss.

“Oh my god, get a room,” Olivia said. Roald, standing beside her, nodded, holding a hand over his eyes.