Haven

Chapter Ten

The dwarf stood firm, his iron boots digging into the hard ground. A crowd had gathered around Charlie as he fought a group of orcs. Outnumbered ten to one, they didn't stand a chance. Charlie raised his shield, proudly displaying his loyalty to the Firestone Empire.

"Come on then! You will all feel the strength of my hammer!" Charlie shouted at the disorganized orcs, their makeshift armor and crude weapons clanking with their nervous steps forward.

"Puny dwarfs die now," the orc closest to Charlie rushed forward having found its courage.

Charlie rolled forward to meet the charge, using his dwarfs strength to topple the orc over backward before dispatching his enemy with a single hammer strike to its skull. The other orcs followed behind and he went to work. A dazzling display using hammer and shield to hold his enemies back. One by one they fell before him.

"I am Charles Xtreme! Who dares challenge me?" Charlie shouted at the circle of spectators that formed around the battle.

A cloaked human stepped forward, a dagger in each hand.

"I will challenge." The stranger spoke softly.

The circle widened around them providing more room for the duel. Charlie and the cloaked man stared hard at each other as they paced.

"Fantastic! I'm gonna wreck you pal." The stout dwarf slammed his hammer and shield together.

Charlie rushed in fast, attempting to win the duel with one opening flurry of hammer and shield blows. He swung his hammer in a wide arcing path with but hit only air, losing his balance. Above his head, in an elegant flip, the cloaked man looked down at him and gave the crowd a wink. The dwarf realized his mistake too late and received a strong rumble in his left shoulder, greatly reducing his ability to hold up his shield.

Tossing it aside, he squared off again. Grasping his hammer above his head he laughed, " Hahahaha! That's the first hit anyone has landed in an hour! You are good."

He moved in again, this time more cautiously. Dodging a dagger once, parrying another, he followed through scoring a solid strike to his opponent's right elbow. The dagger fell to the ground.

"Good moves." The stranger sheathed his good arms weapon and removed a slender rapier from under his cloak. He stepped forward quickly raising his new weapon. The two traded parries in a tight circle, the rapier singing a high pitched note with every strike.

The man found an opening for his blade just above the dwarfs left knee.

"Ghaaarrr!!" Charlie shouted in pain. Fire spreading through his leg. He clutched his wound, tears dotting the corners of his light brown eyes.

The crowd shouted and jumped back, but the man strode in laughing, raising his weapon to end the duel at last.

"Its a game idiot." He struck down at the dwarfs head, but it was knocked aside at the last moment.

"No stop! Seriously!" Charlie pleaded with the man to no avail, managing to stand straighter to face him. He dodged the man's attacks as long as he could but had to take the offensive. He body slammed the man hard, knocking him off balance, spinning around fast and hard with a vicious backhanded strike to his chest.

The man let out a scream that turned to a gurgle, falling backward with a hard thud. His face turned stone white and he coughed up a spray of blood, then his chest fell still.

"I begged him to stop.." Charlie knelt on the ground and vomited. And for as quickly as he had felt that excruciating pain shoot through his leg, it vanished just as quickly.