A/N: This fic is for Link015's contest, as stated in the summary. I actually started another fic for this contest, a prequel to Changes, but I didn't think it would be action/adventurey enough. It's still going to be posted, although I'm not positive it'll be for the contest or not. This fic is mainly based on the Karel-Dart C level support, with one small part from the Karel-Guy B level support. I had a hard time believing no one had written on this already, as the support conversations just begged to have a fic written about them. I know I'm going to have fun writing it, and I hope everyone enjoys reading it just as much . Please R & R.
Chapter 1: The Sword
Karel surveyed the bloodied remains of his family. The blade had been passed down to the strongest of each generation, and he had left no doubt as to who deserved that distinction this go-round. They were weak, and his blade hungered for more blood, tastier blood, stronger blood…He no longer had any reason to stay here; his purpose had been fulfilled when he acquired the blade held in his blood-soaked hands. With this last thought, Karel left the land of his birth.
"DIE!" An axe ripped through the space Karel's neck had occupied only a fraction of a second before.
Karel sighed, slitting the man's throat with a nearly invisible horizontal slash. These common bandits were like mosquitoes, barely an annoyance. He had killed the entire tribe without receiving even a scratch in return. Their attacks were so pathetic, he couldn't even consider them fighters; they were merely dogs that had come upon some weapons. He sheathed his sword and continued his quest.
"Sir…" A quivering voice said.
Karel glared at the trembling man.
"We'd like to thank you for taking care of those bandits. They were attacking our village and-"
"I don't care about your pitiful village; if you tell me where I can find someone strong, truly strong, then I will spare your pathetic lives."
"Yes sir; right away sir." The man said, bowing low, "Just let me consult with the rest of the village to see what everyone has heard." The man implored.
"Go." Karel assented.
The man didn't have to be told twice; he doubted that man had ever told anyone anything twice.
"Rick, what's the hurry?" His friend asked.
"No time to explain now, Max, just gather everyone you can find and tell them to come to Town Hall right away." Rick said, running off before his friend could reply.
"Sure thing…Rick? Oh well, I guess I'd better get on it." Max said walking off.
Twenty minutes later, everyone over the age of 12 was in Town Hall. "Could I have your attention please?" Rick yelled out, trying to shout over the general commotion.
No one seemed to be paying attention until his wife stepped up on the platform, "GIVE MY HUSBAND YOUR ATTENTION NOW!" She screamed.
Silence.
"Thank you." She said sweetly, stepping back down.
Max nodded a silent thanks to his wife. "Karel, the man that single-handedly defeated the bandits that had kept us under a rule of terror for the past few months, has asked but one thing in return. He wishes to know of the strongest warriors in the land. I want to know any rumors you have heard, even if it seems that it could only be a myth."
The crowd was silent for a moment before a young boy spoke up, "I've heard something."
"Son, you know that couldn't be true; don't waste the man's time." His father said.
"No, please do, I meant what I said about myths." Rick said, motioning for the boy to continue.
"Well, this mercenary stopped by the inn a couple of months ago. While he was waiting for his weapons and armor to be repaired, he entertained some of us with the stories of his adventures. Well, to get straight to the point, he had spent some time on the Western Isles. While there, he heard of the local champion, Kelles, a literal giant. No one's sure how it happened, but he's at least 18 feet tall, weighing in at over 1200 pounds of pure muscle." The boy finished.
"See, I told you it was a myth; that couldn't possibly be true." The boy's father quickly interjected, trying to save his son from embarrassing himself any further.
"Whether it's true or not is not our concern. The man wanted to know of the strongest in the land, and I'm pretty sure this giant fits the description. Thank you." Rick said, quickly leaving and returning to the stranger.
"I have found a man who might interest you." Rick said, standing at attention.
Karel glowered at the man.
Rick took the hint, and quickly recounted the boy's tale. The stranger left without any further comment, so Rick quickly went back to his house. He hoped his wife was feeling playful tonight; he needed to work off the adrenaline left over from the confrontation with the unnerving stranger.
"I'm not sure I believe this story, but even if it happens to be a myth…" Karel mused, "My blade already hungers for his blood. He had better live up to his hype." Karel muttered eerily as he started his journey to the Western Isles.
(A few months later)
"Your blood…My blade can already taste it…You are near; I sense your presence."
The people in the small town would normally welcome any stranger that happened upon their town, but this man was…different. Of course, the fact that he nearly cut the first man to approach him in two might have influenced their opinion. Maybe.
Karel walked into the coliseum, searching for the man whose blood his blade had hungered for these past few months. It's not like a man that size could hide, even if he wanted to.
"Hey, you!"
Karel glared at the man yelling at him. His voice was irritating, and he almost desired the man's blood, despite his weakness.
"Look, mister, we don't allow loiterers here. You can either pay to fight, pay to watch, or leave." The man told Karel, undaunted by the stranger's fierce glare.
Karel stared at the man for a moment, his hands itching to end this nuisance once and for all, "I am looking for the man called…Kelles." He said slowly.
"Pfeh, you? Look, buddy, Kelles could eat you whole. Why don't you try someone your own size?" The man said, putting a hand on Karel's shoulder, only to find he no longer had a hand.
Karel sheathed his newly bloodied blade, "Don't touch me; I am not your 'buddy'. Now, can you tell me where I can find this 'Kelles' or not?"
The man gaped at his newly formed stump. How? He hadn't even seen the man draw his sword. He was beginning to think that this wasn't just another one of those ubiquitous mercenaries looking for some quick gold. When his attention returned to the outside world, he barely managed to catch the end of the stranger's question. "Hmm?" He responded, still in a daze, "I don't know where to find him, but I know someone who does." He said, walking off.
"Hurry…already, I grow impatient…" Karel said, snapping the man out of his daze.
"Yo, boss!" The man called out to a younger man.
"Yes, Carl, what is it?" He replied.
"Boss, I have this man over yonder. He says he wishes to challenge your brother."
"What's new? People come in every day wishing to challenge Kelles. The 10,000 to 1 odds on his fights see to that."
"Well, this man…he's different." Carl showed his boss his right arm, which now ended at the wrist, "He cut my hand off, and I never even saw him move."
The other man looked at his assistant's hand, or lack thereof. Carl might not be a champion, but he wasn't a slouch by most standards. Perhaps this stranger did warrant a chance to clash with the infamous Kelles. "Take me to this man."
"Right away, boss." Carl turned and walked away, knowing that the other man would follow.
Carl walked back to where he had left the man, but found a large crowd gathered at the place he had last seen him. "What's going on here?" He asked a man on the outer edge of the group.
"Some guy is just slaughtering all his challengers." He answered quickly before looking back to the center.
Carl's eye's widened, and he started to force his way to the center of the mob.
Karel took notice of the return of the man he had talked to earlier. He sighed when four more of men charged him. He quickly cut the throat of the first, stabbed the second through the heart, and took out the third from behind. "These weak men…they keep trying to attack me. I do not know why." Karel told the two new arrivals.
"Umm…" Carl said, noticing the fourth man about to decapitate the mysterious stranger from behind.
"If you have something to say, say it." Karel intoned, spilling the unfortunate challenger's guts with a blind vertical slash. "I hate people who waste my time."
"I hear you're looking for Kelles." The younger man cut straight to the point.
"Can you take me to him? My blade hungers for his blood; these weaklings have only whetted its appetite." Karel said, wiping the blood off his blade in a ritualistic manner.
The man involuntarily shivered; perhaps his brother would finally meet his match in this small yet highly skilled man. "Follow me." He commanded as he left without waiting for the answer he knew wouldn't be coming.
A/N: Well, what do you think? Drop me a review and tell me.