章節 10: Chapter 10
The five burly men walked towards the pair of women, looking not too pleased. They had a scowl on their face, eyeing down the two women. One spat off to the side, a heavy spit that seemed more of plastic than saliva.
"Who the hell are you two doxys, punching one of our boys like that?" One asked. He seemed to be around 5'10, a fairly muscular man. They all seemed to be around the same height and same build. Normally, this would have made anyone fill up with fear but these two? No, they looked as comfortable as they would be in their own home. The two girls looked at eachother, the mysterious teenager giving a nod.
"Alright, Avice. Let's do this." She said, having overheard her name whilst Avice and Ulric were chatting away.
"Wait, what's your na-" She didn't get to finish her question, a strike coming for her as she narrowly dodged it. It was a large fist, belonging to one of the five men. It was clear they had no form, people who relied on pure strength. They looked cocky as they felt they were gonna win this fight easily. Ulric chuckled, continuing to sip his ale as the bartender continued cleaning wooden cups behind the counter. It seemed this was usual to him.
"Apologies for this, but I was taught to end a fight as soon as possible," Avice commented with a grin, getting in a boxing position. The teenager instead pulled out her staff, stretching her position as her lead leg was far in front of her back leg. She gripped the staff by the middle and near the bottom, waiting for one to rush her. Eventually, her chance came as a man rushed after her. He pushed the man in the chest with the end of the staff before lifting it, pushing into his nose. The push held her strength behind it, easily breaking the drunk's nose as blood began to pour.
"You bitch!" He called out. Clearly irritated as shown by the vein on her forehead, she shifted positions, doing a diagonal strike with the staff which was dodged. However, she used this momentum to keep going, jumping into the air with her staff before bringing it down on the top of the drunk's head, a sickening crack noise from the impact echoing as he fell onto his back. The other man seemed to be in shock from the strike, not noticing the girl as she planted her staff into the ground, using it as a pole as she lifted off the ground whilst holding onto the staff and delivering a kick to the man's jaw. The man stumbled backwards, holding his jaw as he was disoriented. The teenager didn't waste her time, rushing after the man and hitting him with six rapid strikes with the end of the staff. Two to the chest, two to the stomach, and two to his thighs to break his balance. From here, she back stepped and took the spear behind her in a vertical position. A leg lifted off the ground before returning to the ground, using the staff as she slammed the side of the staff into the temple of the drunk.
"How's that for a doxy?" She asked, giving a quiet giggle as she returned her staff to her back. Her eyes came over to Avice, watching the girl with a grin on her face as she fought her two opponents. One threw a strike at Avice, Avice using her elbow to redirect the strike downwards. This threw her opponent off balance, giving her the chance to strike his throat with all her fingers extended. This blocked the man's trachea, resulting in him collapsing to the ground and holding his throat with the lack of oxygen he was getting.
"Eh. It'll come back soon." She said, grinning as she moved onto the second man. However she was a bit too slow, a punch striking her in the face that caused her to slide backwards. She felt a bit of blood drip from her nose, causing a grin on her face.
"That's an awfully bad way to treat a lady, you know." She said before running towards the man with malicious intent in her eyes. She ducked a right hook that the man attempted, striking him with a heavy uppercut. The man could feel the impact, feeling his teeth grit against eachother as one of them even chipped from the strike.
"Go get him, Avice!" The teenager yelled in glee, feeling all giddy as her arms closed near her chest in excitement. Ulric snickered at the sight, finishing his cup of ale but still not participating in the fight. Avice continued the onslaught, using her hands as she gripped the man's head and slammed her forehead into his nose.
"Now that's a pretty sight!" She taunted, the man stumbling back before falling onto his butt due to the strike. It took one last strike, Avice running up to the man and kicking him in his already broken nose to knock him out, giving a loud "WOO" in celebration. She looked over at Ulric, curious on his abilities as he was approached by one of the drunks.
"Don't think you're getting off easy pal!" The man said, Ulric standing up to face the man at equal height. It was now when Avice noticed that Ulric was fairly tall, two inches taller than her. That made the trio rise by two inches each, the teenager being 5'6, Avice being 5'8, and Ulric being 5'10. Ulric wasted no time, dodging a sloppy punch by the drunk and grasping the back of his head, smashing it down onto the wooden counter. The slam of his head was strong enough to break a piece of the counter, blood beginning to spill from the drunk's face.
"Ain't bad for someone who looks like you." Avice mocked, grinning as she tossed a few coins over to the bartender, enough for her and Ulric.
"Speak for yourself. You two can hold our own, huh?" Ulric complemented, quickly followed by the teenager.
"Yes sir! I had the greatest master of all time!" She said, grinning.
"Oh? And who is your master?" Avice asked, her curiosity piqued.
"He's... He's no longer with us." The teenager said with a sad tone before going back to her cheerful self.
"But I'll honor his memory!" She said, giving a "hmph" noise and a thumbs up to the pair.
"What is your name?" Ulric finally asked, tilting his head at her and crossing his arms.
"Anamarija Sipek Devčić! At your service!" She said proudly, her grin showing off her pearly whites. Her beige skin complimented them, and overall she was a nice looking girl. However, her name... That was something else completely. Avice and Ulric looked at eachother before returning their sight to Anamarija.
"Ana." The two said in unison.
"Well. It was nice meeting you two, Ana, Avice. I'll be on my way now." He said, grabbing the apple and leaving the tavern, quickly followed by the other two.
"Hold on! You're a vagabond, right? A wanderer?" Avice asked with a small grin. Ulric slowly nodded, causing Avice to let out a hearty chuckle. She whistled into her fingers, clopping coming into audibility soon enough as a gorgeous black steed came into sight, stopping beside Avice. Avice rubbed the horse's head, mounting him.
"You're a loyal one, aren't you Moe?" She asked gleefully. It was clear she had a close bond with him.
"Well, Mr. Ulric de Montfort. If you're a vagabond, I'm coming with you. Whether you like it or not. It'd make this life a bit less lonely." She said with a grin, her horse coming next to Athos as the white stallion munched on an apple. Ulric mounted Athos once she was done eating, not expecting the surprise as he felt more weight onto the horse and arms wrap around him.
"If you guys are going, I'm coming! I don't wanna be alone either!" She said, grinning. Considering the fact that Athos wouldn't throw the girl off and actually seemed to like her, Ulric knew it was useless to fight back. He groaned, rolling his eyes as the two horses began to go off into the distance. They left the town to their lonesome, continuing on a trip nowhere.
"So, you two are vagabonds right? That means you have no location in mind?" Ana asked the pair who had nodded in unison. Ana had a large grin on her face as she put her finger into the air.
"Good! From now on, us three will have a goal! My master told me to travel to the mountains of East Dupar. That's why I'm here!" She proclaimed, one arm still around Ulric. Ulric pulled out his maps, looking for the location of that. They were already on the way, but damn it was a distance away. Avice and Ulric once again looked at eachother with a small grin, Ana having a pouty look on her face.
"Not fair! I don't know what you guys are planning when you do that!" She whined, causing laughter in the group to fill the air. Ulric cracked his neck, leaning into his horse.
"Hold on tight, Ana." He said as he hit Athos with the heel of his feet, causing her to speed up immensely along with Moe. The two horses seemed to be racing, Ana's screams of fear and excitement filling the air as she held on tight. Soon, just like Ulric, those screams were replaced with laughter of enjoyment and thrill. The horses would slow down after some time, coming to a stop at a lake as they went to refill their thirst and eat on some grass. The trio dismounted their horses, taking a seat as some fair sized rocks by the lake and under the shade of a tree.
"So, where are you guys from?" Ana asked the pair, Ana being under the tree and relaxing with a piece of wheat between her teeth. Nature's bubblegum indeed. Ana looked at the two as they relaxed on their rocks, Ulric sitting down normally whilst Avice was clearly more laid back, literally laying on the rock with her hands behind her head.
"I'm from Brevell. Left not too long ago." Ulric said, taking in the sun and watching Athos drink in the lake.
"Same. Left a few days ago, been resting at the inn inside of that town since then." Avice responded, not even bothering to open her eyes.
"Wow! I've been on the road for a few months, traveling by the stars. I haven't had any company the whole time so I appreciate the change." She said with a smile. It was honestly a bit baffling to Avice and Ulric. She was only a teenager and yet she had been living this life as a wanderer? It was amazing.
"So why the mountains of East Dupar?" Avice asked Ana, who gained another spark in her eyes.
"My master told me about it! He told me that in the mountains of East Dupar, there was power beyond anything. Said that Dupar was a land of mystical properties! I think he means that the dragons are over there!" She said with a hopeful glee that caused Ulric to glance over to Avice. Her eyes remained closed but a small smile grew on her face, showing a bit of her teeth. The sun was coming down on her as if she was in the spotlight.
"Really? Well, I hope you find that dragon kid." Avice said, chuckling. The two continued with the small banter before the horses were ready to take their leave. Ulric mounted Athos with Ana while Avice mounted Moe. Ulric opened his map, looking at the locations.
"Alright, to get to Dupar we have to pass through Fallkirk, make our way through Whitebridge before passing through Silverkeep. Then we'll come to Dupar." Ulric said, seeing Avice and Ana's face go pale.
"What's wrong?"
"Silverkeep? I don't know about that. I hear that place is cursed with the souls lost there." Avice responded. Ulric tilted his head in confusion. The souls lost there? What did she mean?
"Y-yeah! I hear there's skeletons roaming there and they attack anyone who goes in!"
"That's absurd! That's just a story, about as real as magic." Ulric commented, remembering that this was the girl searching for a giant mystical dragon.
"Besides, what even happened there." He asked, causing a blank expression from the pair.
"You don't know?" Avice asked, getting the shake of a head from Ulric. Avice began to speak, ready to educate him.
"Let me tell you the story of war. The war between brothers. The story of Françoys Leclair and Guerinet Leclair...
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票