The New Heroes

Nero smiled a smile that radiated cold as the judge finished his condemnation. "...is charged with murder, theft, and the high offense of practice of the dark arts of necromancy." Nero glanced beside him at his companion, Wynter. Seeing the movement, she turned and met his eye with a worried look.

"It'll be fine," Nero whispered reassuringly.

Wynter shifted in her seat as much as her tied hands would allow. "Do you think they'll make it in time? I mean, we're obviously guilty, and we lose our chance of rescue if they lock us up."

Nero winked. "They'll be here." The judge cleared his throat in between sentences and they both looked forward again.

"The two condemned will be burned at the stake, as is befitting for their kind, at noon tomorrow." The portly judge slammed his gavel once more, then made a tremendous effort to get to his feet. But before the rest of the murmuring onlookers could move, the huge wooden doors to the court flew open.

In strode three figures, each equally worthy of attention. At the front, a tall man encased in knight's armor and a flowing blue cape casually held an elegant longsword, with red runes inscribed down the blade. His features were hard, but his blond hair flowed behind him as he walked. A woman entirely wrapped in a black gi seemed to float along next to him, moving so fluidly she seemed not to touch the floor. She carried a katana in each hand, but her warm brown eyes contrasted the fierce blades. Lastly, a huge, rough man towered over the two. He wore light furs and had a huge beard that covered the lower half of his face. Every step he took seemed to slightly shake the floor. On his shoulder rested a gigantic sword, with a snarling animal's skull adorning the pommel.

The judge froze in shock as the menacing trio stopped before him, causing the dozen nearby guards to draw their metal. The enormous, ugly man looked around at the sound, and began to chuckle softly. "Well Titan, it looks like they have us surrounded," he rumbled to the man in the lead.

"We won't fight unless we have to, Baelrosh," the blond man replied. To the stiff judge he declared loudly, "We are here to release our two companions. They might practice dark magic, but they are not guilty of the other charges I'm sure you arrested them on. And anyway, times are changing. The definition of a hero isn't always a holy paladin anymore."

"I-I-I'm afraid I can't do that," the judge stammered.

The feminine figure in black spoke up, a soft accent making her words sound like a poem. "We will take them now. Please do not try to stop us. We would always prefer not to draw blood unless it is a last resort." The tension in the room quickly rose as she slowly walked towards Nero and Wynter.

Before she could untie them, however, a guard stepped in her path. "Not so fast, lady. Who gave you the permission to do this? Who are you, anyway?"

The other guards, emboldened by their peer, formed a small semi-circle between Akiko and her friends. All the onlookers, rich town-folk, rose and started to move towards the walls, anticipating a fight.

In reply, Akiko answered, "We are the new heroes, here to free the Haggerdom of the plagues that are ruining it. We follow in the legacy of past heroes, of Shepard the Great, of Bromswell the Intelligent, and of Lucille the Kind. We have done no wrong and never plan to. Our fight is with the Cartel, and the leader of the orc hordes, not with you."

"You're against the Cartel, huh?" The guard said thoughtfully, pulling a red trinket from underneath his breastplate. "Well that's too bad that the Cartel organized the trial of these two," he said, motioning to the still-helpless and seated Wynter and Nero.

Behind Akiko, Baelrosh growled and hoisted his sword from his shoulder. Titan closed his eyes briefly, channeling energy and making the runes on his sword glow hotly. Suddenly, the blade burst into flame with a sharp crack of magic.

"Wow, cool trick," The lead guard said mockingly. "Too bad we still outnumber you twelve to three."

Baelrosh smiled and swung his sword, huge muscles clenching, his eyes alight. "Too bad I'm more than a match for a small army," he said thickly, his voice full of blood-lust. Behind their leader, a couple of the guards shifted nervously.

The lead guard dismissed one with a wave of his hand. "Go bring re-enforcements. Quickly."

Nero spoke up, "Getting nervous?" To Akiko he said, "We should give the others a chance to leave."

"Very well," Akiko said. "If you are not part of the Cartel, or want to re-think your involvement, leave now."

Titan turned to the onlookers and motioned towards the door. "That means all of you too. Wouldn't want to accidentally mistake you in the confusion." Three of the guards shuffled quietly across the white marble floor, not meeting their leader's eye.

Trying to take Akiko by surprise, the leader quickly lunged at her, sword outstretched. In a blur of movement, she parried his sword with her right hand, then slashed at his side. He clumsily clashed swords with her again. The rest of the guards, taken aback by the quick exchange, jumped into the skirmish. Baelrosh roared like a beast and charged into the fray, swinging his colossal weapon. Nero and Wynter awkwardly tried to scoot their chairs out of the line of fire.

Akiko slashed twin strikes to clear a gap, then pivoted and ducked gracefully through the line of guards and sprinted to her tied friends, then quickly cut the ropes that held them. "Get to the corner!" she shouted, then turned without looking and slashed at a guard's knee, making him fall with a cry.

Another guard stabbed at her back, but Titan held up a hand, eyes blazing, and violently pulled the guard towards him with a ghostly hand. Titan stabbed the guard's sword arm, his fiery sword melting the chain mail, and moved on to the next enemy. Baelrosh was a frenzied animal, a whirlwind of pain. His bare arms already had multiple cuts, but they only seemed to energize his reckless fighting style. Akiko was a streak of black, dodging, cutting, and putting opponents to sleep with expertly placed darts. Titan spun quickly, pushing the enemies back with a wall of fire. He kicked a guard in the chest, then spotted the leader and pushed his way to him, and the leader turned to face him, only to have the enormous, bellowing Baelrosh savagely cut his way through his enemies and pounce on the leader's back like a mountain lion, whipping the guard's helm back with the force of the blow.

Then, suddenly, it was over. All the guards were unconscious or cradling their wounds and unwilling to fight more. The heroes were gone long before the re-enforcements arrived.