User blog:The Weary TimeLord/Memoir of a Dimension Hopping Madman: Love in the face of pain. Chapter 8.

Chapter 8: Saving a Life and Being Saved.

My routine of staying in the brush just close enough to the path without being seen continues for several hours. Eventually I notice what appears to be torch light ahead of me on the road while my first instinct is to stay hidden I hear yelling and then terrified screams coming from the area. It’s at this point I begin falling instinctively into my Ranger training. (I became a ranger in the Araluen Fiefdom around the same time Halt was training Will Treaty.) I stalk quickly and silently through the undergrowth until I come upon a wagon surrounded by eight knights in total carrying banners I am unfamiliar with. Next to the cart I see a young woman; she is in her mid-twenties I believe judging by my quick appraisal. What is somewhat unusual however is that the woman has silvery white hair, pale skin, red eyes, jet black horns, and a tail, and giant bat like wings which are both white like crisp snow. I am initially uncertain as to who I should side with so I use my second sight to ascertain the group’s auras. It surprised me slightly but the knights all possessed swirling red and black auras, while the woman held a shimmering white one. My magic has always been reliable in the past; as such I’m not going to start doubting it now.

Having made up my mind to help the woman I draw Galadhrim from her scabbard as I do not know if guns will work here as of yet. As I ignite the blade and allow my magic to course through my veins I set the sword to incapacitate and not kill. I leap at the nearest man faster than could be perceived by most, and in a flurry of lightning I slice him down his middle and he collapses to the ground unconscious and unharmed as my blade is freed from his body. The remaining knights are taken aback with the sudden takedown of their comrade; however one of the older ones quickly rallies them into fighting formation. Hmm, they’re using the Draconic Flank and Breach Defense I think to myself as they encircle me. I crack my neck and leap over the circle impaling one of the knights and blasting another with lightning causing him to slip into unconsciousness. One of the younger knights charges me swinging his blade in an enraged haphazard pattern. I parry his uncoordinated strike and slice downward relieving him of his hand and blade. As I knock him away I spin myself slicing another man in the chest at a horizontal angle. The man I ran through with my sword falls to the ground in an uncoordinated mess. This leaves four men still able to fight, three fully armed and one missing his hand. Two of the remaining knights rush me, while the other goes to check on the handless one that had fallen to the side. “Ok, I’m tired of this now!” I mutter, with that I move as a blur making a series of quick slashes at the two men charging me. When I finish they remain standing for just an instant before falling into a pile, and slumped together on the path. This leaves just two, my tactical mind sings out. I rush the two remaining knights who are bent together on the road. I grab the one uninjured knight and hoist him high above the ground with my right hand; he displays a quick look of terror at my strength before I run him through with Galadhrim.

The younger knight who lost his hand is trying to crawl away from me and having little success. He does not concern me however and I move to check on the woman who is hiding behind the wheel of her cart. Having made sure to sheath Galadhrim I approach the woman slowly. “Are you alright Milady?” I ask in a quiet voice making sure to use Milady as a sign of my respectful intentions. The woman slowly moves from her hiding spot “Yes…” she stutters out. She looks skeptical as if she’d seen something she could not quite believe. I extend my hand to help her up which she takes albeit tentatively. As I help her to move around to the side of the cart I do not notice the young knight drawing his dagger. He was aiming for her head but his position combined with him using his left arm caused the dagger to hit me instead. The only thing I can do is look down at the blade poking through my chest and think Well Shit as the pain overwhelms me. Just before I black out I see the woman rush over to the knight and sucker punch the young man and then I fall unconscious into the deep void.