"Mae! Noooo!" Drake screamed, he watched helpless as Mae's body came down, the rope went taught and he heard a Crack as her neck snapped. Her body twitched on the end of the rope twice, then swung limply, the seat of the swing pushed away when she had jumped, came back to clatter against her ankles.
Drake was transfixed, he was momentarily at a loss of what to do, then rage came boiling inside him like a dam had broken on a river. He looked back at the five men in front of him, there was a man with a cudgel in his right hand and a small buckler in his left, next to him was a man holding two swords. The men had mostly ignored Mae's shouting, but upon hearing the snap of her neck those two on the end had turned slightly to see what the noise was. They too were staring at the limp body as it swung there.
Drake launched himself at them. He covered the gap between himself and the man with two swords in two huge strides, he likened him the more dangerous of the two. The man was on the end of the makeshift line, by going to him Drake put distance between himself and the big man on the far end who must be the leader. The man turned back towards Drake as he heard the primordial scream coming out of Drake. Drake lunged the staff at his throat seeking to end him quick. The man was more agile than he looked, he quickly recovered himself and bent his body back and away from Drake the staff barely missing him. As he stepped away, he did a backswing with his left-hand sword, but Drake brought the back end of the staff around and caught the blow. He had broken through the line now, the men trying to regroup quickly as their circle turned in a line, with the archers behind them unable to get a clear shot and Drake turning the brawl into a one verses two match up with the swordsman and the man with the cudgel.
Drake made a heavy overhead swing downwards, the man brought his buckler up and blocked the heavy swing, but his wooden buckler blew apart under the force of the blow, driving splinters into his arm underneath. Crying out in pain he quickly fell back; his arm fell limply to his side. Drake's back was to the swordsman momentarily, he tried to capitalize on the blind spot and stepped forward to chop into drake's exposed back. Drake had anticipated the man to make a move and instinctively drove the back end of his staff straight back behind him, he was side stepping to the left simultaneously. The swordsman not seeing the staff coming from under Drake's elbow, felt the blow land square into his sternum, knocking the wind from him and causing his arm to come down in its swing inches from Drakes back, and lacking any force. feeling the blow land, drake was already turning to face the swordsman, he was doubled over his stomach, Drake swung the staff up, catching him on the head forcing the man straight up, then Drake swung back down again. The swordsman's head was still moving up, his eyes looking towards the sky as his neck tilted back, he saw the heavy steel bound end of the staff coming down seemingly from the clouds above as it struck him in the center of his forehead. Drake swung around again, sweeping the staff out from him in a wide arc as he did so, he caught the man with the cudgel in the ribs as he was running up, the ribs cracked under the blow, and he was thrown to the ground off to Drakes right landing heavily like a sack of grain.
The other six men were trying to encircle him again, and drake was trying to determine the easiest opponent next. His back was now towards Mae's body and the stone wall, no approach from behind him at least. But his escape to the Woodline was cut off as well. He stepped cautiously to his left again, trying to force the men back into a single file line once more. They were ready this time however and as he did so the men on the left of the line stepped with him and slightly back so the men on the right could move forward and keep drake facing six instead of one. Drake had put the entrance to the farmyard almost directly behind him now, maybe he could make it through, the confined space would help him and hinder his adversaries. He took a quick step forward at the man on the left of the line with the big axe, the man braced himself for a counter but didn't flinch away. Made of sterner stuff than the cudgel holder thought Drake, as he backed away from the feint again.
YOU ARE READING
Paladin of the Peaceful Lady
FantasíaDrake had put adventuring behind him, now living with his family on his own farmstead he would be torn away and thrust back into a life he had thought he had left behind.
