Island Confederation

Chapter 14

Revolt

The Great Band glowed, illuminating the night sky. Rhatva sat besides her partner, glowing dimly in the clear sky. The air was warm, with a dry breeze from the interior blowing over the city. It was nowhere near the oppressive heat or deadly dryness of my arrival, but the combination remained unnatural. Across the city, orange fires glowed. Soldiers, once alive and resting for the next battle were being cut down. Heik, tightly packed together, was the perfect battleground. The Ka'odreng Company, historically an assassination guild until the waning years of the Great War, took the concealed nature of the city to their advantage. The buildings, although not as tall as trees, gave me an elevation advantage. Combined with my ability to climb, I could easily cut down a few soldiers, given a clean shot.

I looked down at one of the barracks over the ledge of a building overlooking the barracks. Guangmei was crouched down to my left. The two life-time friends were off at another location. The roof of the barrack was made of thatched grass and wooden supports. With the Ka'odreng's decline after the Great War and the lack of human attackers, the military began cutting corners to save money. Why else would they thatch roofs previously made with hardwood?

"You look different without the black tar around your eyes," Guangmei whispered. "I like it."

"Thanks," I quietly said. A flaming arrow arced across the sky near me and Guangmei. We looked at each other and smiled. I unsheathed my sword as Guangmei grabbed the spear besides her. I stood up on the ledge. Guangmei, standing next to me, nudged my side.

"Let's fuck shit up," she said excitedly before dropping down. I smiled as I dropped down right behind her. The dried grass scratched and cut my skin as I plowed through it. I landed on my feet with a thud. We were in a torch-lit room; the walls were built with maple, common in the Eastern lands, but rare and valuable back home. I wish I could take some of this with me. The guards in the room, shocked at the sudden intrusion, dropped their cards, scrambling for weapons. Guangmei, not missing a beat, already impaled one of the guards with her spear. I rushed at the closet guard to me, his long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He grabbed the first thing he could find, a halberd. He swung the axehead at me. I leaned back, the blade missing me by a few centimeters. I grabbed the shaft of the weapon and lunged myself at the elf. My sword thrust itself through his stomach. I quickly yanked my sword out of his abdomen. The wound squirted out blood as the elf collapsed in agony. Behind me, I heard a scream of agony. I turned around to see an arm, still squirting blood, hit the ground. I turned around to see my opponent reach for his weapon, but with a swift motion, I cut off his hand at the wrist. I stabbed him through the back of the neck, overcoming the vertebrae's resistance.

I turned around to see Guangmei fight three other guards on her own. The first one was using one hand to keep his entrails from falling out. The second one was missing the lower half of his left arm while the third was oozing blood from his chest. They surrounded her, looking for an opening. The third elf made a last ditch strike at strike at Guangmei's head with his shortsword before being stabbed in the heart. She threw the dead elf at the first elf, who unable to move fast enough, was knocked onto the ground. The second elf, armed with only a dagger, attempted to carefully get his fallen friend's sword. I walked around the perimeter of the room until I was right behind him. Guangmei, seeing me, kept her eyes on the second elf as she stabbed the first elf through the head. The second elf bent over to grab his comrade's sword, eyes fixed on Guangmei. I shoved my sword through his back, burying the blade in his chest until the hilt hit his spine. I snatched the elf's dagger with my left hand and slit his throat. Warm blood flowed over my hand; the elf's life quickly fading until he went limp.

"That was fun," Guangmei said smiling. "It reminds me of my childhood."

"You had a fucked up childhood then," I replied.