Redemption Ch 2

Siegfried knew what he had to do, but doing it was an entirely different matter. He traveled for weeks, stopping at Taverns, Inns, anyplace where he would possibly be able to find information. Each time, however, he found nothing. It seemed that the Azure night was no where to be found. Perhaps Seigfriend had over reacted, and maybe his nemisis was not alive. He thought otherwise though, every time his arm brushed against the pouch where the shart lied. 'He is alive' he told himself. 'I have find him, and finish him for good.'

He continued his jounrney, and slowly began traveling in a Southern direction. He came to a lonely town in the northern part of Italy. He first walked along the main street of the town, avoiding the gazes of the towns folk. He looked along the road, but he didn't find a tavern where he might find information.

He walked up to an old man, who was selling apples out of a cart. "Excuse me." He said to the old man. The old man turned, and grinned at Siegfried.

"Well now, yount man." He said with a toothless grin. "What can i do for you today."

Siegfried hesitated before asking. "I was wondering if you might have any information about the Azure Knight." The man's grin faded almost imediatly.

"If you value your life, don't get envolved with that sword." He told him. "I've seen him, the monster that possessed the sword. It was back in my hometown of Bellencall." Seigfried remembered the little town, for it was he who had slaughtered their resedents. The man continued. "Escaped, i did, before he found me, you see. But I...I... wasn't able to save my granddaugter." His eyes began to well up in tears. He wiped them away, and turned back to Seigfried. "Anyone who trys to find that sword will be killed, and their very soul devoured by that which they seek." The old man turned back to his cart, and began pushing it along the road.

"Please," Siegfried said. "If you can't tell me anything, then at least tell me where i can find a Taveren in this town."

The old didn't stop, but shouted over his shoulder. "Check down at the other end of town." He said. "It's called the Hillside tavern."

Siegfried thanked the man, and walked in the direction of the tavern. He found it exactly where the old man had said where it would be. He entered, an almost empty room. There were a few men sitting at the back, enjoying their ale. There was another man sitting at the front counter, not drinking anything. The Tavern Keeper was behind the counter, polishing ale mugs. Siegfried walked up to the Tavern Keeper. "What'll you have." He said. Siegfried looked at the man.

"Information." He said. The Tavern Keeper put down his glass, and leaned against the counter, preparing to listen. "I'm looking for the Azure Knight, Nightmare."

The Tavern keeper picked up another glass, and began polishing it. "You've got a death wish, you do." He said. "seeking out Him of all people."

"Then you have something?" Siegfried asked. The Tavern Keeper mearly shook his head.

"Havn't heard anything for sometime." He said. "Last i heard he was heading for some ruin up north to claim what he lost." Seigfried knew that this information wouldn't help him. He figured the information to be false, because Nightmare was following Siegfriend, and he had traveled up north to a ruin where he was to destroy Soul Edge. That, of course, didn't happen. Siegfried thanked the man, and got up to leave.

"I know something." said the man at the counter. Siegfried turned to look at him. His face was pointed, and pail. His hair was greasy, and slicked back. His eyes were black, and cold, the came color as his clothing.

The Tavern keeper looked at Siegfried. "don't mind him, sir." He said. "he ain't nothin' more than a begger." At that, the strange man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a metal fragment. Siegfried stared at the fragment. It was pulsating with evil. Siegfried sat down next to the man.

"Tell me what you know." He said. The gray man slipped the metal fragment back into his pocket.

"I don't give out information for free you know." He said loudly, as he turned from Siegfried.

Siegfried looked at the Tavern keeper. "Pour him some ale." He said, and he handed him a gold piece.

The dark man smiled, as he was handed his ale. He put the mug to his mouth, and took a long drink from it. "Now, tell me what information you have." Siegfried said. The man looked him over, and sneered at him.

"Exactly what business do you have with the sword?" he asked.

"My business is my own." Siegfried replied. The man sneered at him again, as he pulled out the metal shard. He set it upon the counter, and turned to Siegfried.

"I found that shard but a week ago." He said. "I was strolling through the fields as I always do, star gazing. It was then, that I spotted something most irregular." He picked up the shard, and waved it before Siegfried's face. "Through the sky, this little fragment came souring down to the ground before me." Siegfried's ears began ringing again. He shook off the feeling and continued the listen.

"Of course I knew exactly what this was, right away." He said. "One of the lost fragments of Soul Edge. Of course no one in this drabble of a town believes me." He picked up his mug of ale, and took another great swig of it.

"and the fragment does not effect you?" Siegfried asked.

"Of course not." He said. "the sword can only offer power to it's holder. A seeker of knowledge, like myself, as no use for such things." The man hiccupped.

"Do you happen to know where I might be able to find more of these shards?" Siegfried asked.

"I saw several other fragments…"he stopped and took another swig of ale. "They fell in the direction of the valley, to the east, home to a thief's lair." The man leaned back to down what was left of the ale. In doing so, he fell backwards. Siegfried bent down to check on the man. He had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor. He helped him into his chair, and allowed him the chance to rest. He turned back to the Tavern Keeper.

"Where is this thief's lair?" he asked him. At this, the Tavern Keeper lost himself.

"No hold on their sir," he said. "I may have allowed you to buy that fool ale, and listen to his story, but on no accounts am I going to let you walk into that death trap because of a liar." Siegfried ignored him, and picked up the metal fragment.

"He does not lie." He said, and he held up the metal fragment. "This truly is a shard of Soul Edge." His eyes widened at this, and Siegfried placed the shard in his pouch next to the other fragment. "Now, tell me, where is that thief's lair?" he asked again. The Tavern keeper pointed to the east. "It's called the Water Mill Valley." He said. Siegfried bowed to the man, to show appreciation, and he moved towards the door. When he arrived, the other three gentlemen who were in the tavern were blocking his path.

"We'll be taking those shards from ye now. They're bound to be worth somethin', to the right person. Siegfried only smiled at the men.

Five minutes later, the door of the Tavern opened, as Siegfried stepped over the unconscious bodies of the three men who attempted to stop him. He secured his sword to his back, and left the village, heading east. He knew it wasn't much of a clue, but it was something. At very least he would be able to recover a few shards of Soul Edge, and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

Siegfried covered the distance to the valley in next to no time. The moment he arrived, he began searching for some kind of clue that might lead him to those shards. He searched for most of the day, and into the evening. Shortly after the sunset, Siegfried began to lose hope.

"Perhaps it was merely the lies of some drunken fool." He said to himself. "I see no shards of Soul Edge, nor any signs that any thief lives here." Almost as if he summoned it himself, a masked fighter jumped from behind the rock, and knocked him to the ground. Although he was small, he was very strong. He held a tonfa in each hand. Siegfried stood up, and readied himself for another assult. The masked fighter ran at him again. Siegfried was prepared and moved to grab him. He dodged, and push Siegfried back to the ground.

Siegfried got up, and drew out his sword. He had not expected anyone in this forsaken ruin to be of any consequence. Yet, here he was, faced with a very powerful opponent. The masked fighter saw that Siegfried had drawn his sword, and readied to attack. His movements were lightning quick, which made it very difficult for Siegfried to fight. Carrying around such a large sword was difficult, and even harder to fight with.

Siegfried was knocked down to the ground several more times. The inhuman speed of this worrier was nearly unsurpassable. He could only recall one time in which he faced such overwhelming speed, and he was not able to conquer it then. The masked worrier moved again, knocking him down, and allowing him to rise again. Whoever this person was, it was clear that he was not out to kill Siegfried. He merely wished for Siegfried to give up.

He raised himself to a knee, and looked at his opponent. "I will not give up." He said. The masked fighter moved again, as if to finish the fight, but at this point, Siegfried was prepared. He swung his sword with all his might, to cut down the masked fighter. He dodged the attack, and moved to strike Siegfried down. Siegfried, however, continued swinging his sword around his body. He turned his blade, so that he would strike with the flat end of the sword, and made contact with it.

The masked fighter crumbled under the weight of the blow, and was sent flying. He hit a nearby rock, and fell to the ground. Siegfried got up, and sheathed his sword. He slowly walked over to the masked fighter, and removed the mask that hid his face. What surprised Siegfried the most was the fact that his adversary, was a young woman.

He stared at her for some time, trying to contemplate how someone so young would be able to give him so much trouble. While lost in his thoughts, something hit him from behind. Siegfried spun around, and saw several frightened little children, throwing small rocks, and apples at him.

"You big meanie." One of the boys cried. "You leave Talim alone." Siegfried could only assume that he was talking about the young girl who now lay unconscious at his feet. Talim, began to stir, and she opened her eyes, to see the face of Siegfried looking down upon her. She immediately grabbed her tonfas, and stood up, prepared to fight again.

"Put away your weapon." Siegfried said to her. "I am not the one you should be fearing." Talim stared at him for a while, trying to see if he truly was sincere. As a sign of good will, Siegfried pulled off his sword, and threw it at her feet. Talim stared at the sword, and then looked back up at Siegfried. "Will you listen to me now?" he asked her.

Talim could only stare at him. "Who are you?" she asked him.