Hi! I am afraid something happened to the formatting. I will fix it as soon as I can, but I think a screwed formatting is better than no chapter. ;o)
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Chapter 9: Endgame
Aragorn held his breath. For hours he had lain on the cold, frozen
ground, feeling his legs and arms become numb with the cold and
inactivity. More than once he had feared to fall asleep and had
purposefully inhaled so deep that his broken ribs hurt him. And now,
after hours of futile waiting, now that he was so tired he had
problems staying awake, now that his arms were prickling with the
cold and his legs frozen…now the assassin showed himself.
He had heard him before his senses had felt the vibration in the
ground, but with his eyes almost closed and the near pitch blackness
that reigned, Aragorn had no way of knowing how near the assassin
already was.
So, he almost reacted too late when the assassin brought the sword
down in a deadly arc, aiming to behead Aragorn in one swift move.
Rolling to his side, one hand grabbing his sword hilt and the other
a handful of sand, Aragorn felt the sharp blade rush by his head by
a fraction. Metal crunched against frozen earth, and in the next
second an enraged growl reached Aragorn's ears. The assassin had
missed him only narrowly.
Aragorn rolled once more, before he braced his legs against the
ground and got to his feet. His ribs hurt terribly and his legs felt
cold and stiff after his faked sleep, and when the assassin attacked
him, Aragorn stumbled to the side, barely avoiding the blade.
Hampered by his injuries and stiffness, Aragorn brought his own
sword up in a defending position the exact same moment the assassin
swung his blade. Metal clashed and the force of the hit send Aragorn
stumbling back.
"Halbarad!" Hoping that Halbarad would hear him, Aragorn took a step
back, swinging his sword to deflect another blow. Already his arm
shook from the fight and his broken ribs made breathing difficult.
"I will kill you, ranger! The other man thrust his sword forwards,
aiming at Aragorn's injured side.
In the last possible moment, Aragorn twisted his body, avoiding the
sword and putting him in a postion to attack himself. But he knew
that he had no chance against the attacker in his current state.
Aragorn lifted his hand and flung the dirt in the assassin face's
direction, intent on blinding him. It was not an honourable tactic,
but the assassin had not played by the rules from the beginning, and
to murder him in his sleep was not honourable, too.
"Arg. Filthy ranger!" Wiping the sand out of his eyes, the assassin
jumped back, cursing loudly.
Sensing his opportunity, Aragorn advanced. Gripping his sword with
both hands, he swung it high above his head, trying if not to kill,
then at least knock the assassin out. But he had not counted on the
other man's tricks.
Suddenly, the world shifted around Aragorn, sky became ground and
vice versa. A sharp pain lanced through his legs and the next moment
his head crashed onto the hard ground, making him reel. He had only
the split of a second to realize that the other man must have
somehow knocked his legs out from under him, when strong hands
gripped his head and slammed his skull so hard against the frozen
earth that everything went black and unconsciousness took him.
Halbarad panted heavily. Aragorn's yell had come from farther away
than he had thought possible, but the darkness around him made it
difficult to estimate distances. But what he had no problem
discerning was the sound of metal clashing.
Hastening his steps, Halbarad drew close enough to see the assassin
drop to the ground and knock Aragorn's feet out from under him in
one swift motion. The next second, the man was up and slammed
Aragorn's head against the ground.
"Noo!" With a fierce cry, Halbarad lifted his sword and attacked the
still crouching man. To his surprise, the assassin simply rolled to
the side instead of getting up. For the split of a second Halbarad
feared his blade would impale Aragorn, but in the last moment he was
able to shift his stance. The sword slammed into the ground
harmlessly, a few inches away from Aragorn's head.
That was close' shot through Halbarad's mind, but his thoughts were
interrupted when the swishing sound of a blade met his ears.
Ducking, he turned around quickly. Bringing his own weapon up in a
swift move, he blocked the assassin's sword just in time.
The strength of the stroke made his arms tremble and a hot pain shot
through his wrists. Cursing under his breath, Halbarad pressed
forward, using the frozen ground as leverage and trying desperately
to ignore the sharp pain that lanced through his injured leg. He
knew he had to move the battle away from Aragorn, or his life could
be in even more danger. Inch for painful inch the assassin
retreated, but Halbarad, in his weakened state was no match for him.
Suddenly, the assassin twisted his sword to the side and with the
weight of the man gone, Halbarad stumbled forwards, having lost his
balance. With a sickening feeling in his stomach, Halbarad felt his
sword met thin air and he knew that in this very moment his back was
bared to an attack. But…it never came.
Instead, the assassin laughed loudly. "And here I thought rangers
were so tough. But you, and that weakling over there," he gestured
at the still unmoving form of Aragorn, "are no match for me."
Panting, Halbarad tightened his grip on his sword. How dare this man
insult his Chieftain? For a few moments, Halbarad simply stared at
the other man, taking in his tall form, the broad shoulders and the
smug grin the man wore. Slowly, the two combatants began to circle
each other, both wary of the other.
Trying to distract the assassin so that he could move the fight away
from Aragorn, Halbarad lifted his chin accusingly. "And what about
you? Shooting a man in the back, how tough is that?"
Something like amusement flickered through the other man's
eyes. "Well, had I known that you two are such weaklings, I would
have used a different tactic."
"What? Like placing traps out in the Wild, for everyone to step
into? How fearless of you."
Halbarad could not be sure in the darkness, but he meant to see the
other man redden. "Oh, mighty ranger! Even a child would have been
able to see that trap. A fine ranger you are."
Slowly, the two put some distance between themselves and Aragorn,
but Halbarad did not dare to look in his friend's direction. He
would do nothing to direct the assassin's attention back on Aragorn.
Stumbling slightly and biting his cheek to hold in the cry of pain,
Halbarad took a step back. Once he had regained his breath, he
challenged, "It were we who trapped you, not the other way round,
stranger."
"Oh, is that so?" The assassin spread his hands wide. "Then, why am
I still alive? I easily overpowered your friend. I really do not
know why my employer wants such a weakling dead."
In that moment, Halbarad felt something click in his head. "And who
might that be, your employer?"
The assassin laughed, but his eyes never left Halbarad. "Oh, I bet
you want to know that." For a few more seconds the two circled one
another, and the tension grew so thick that they could have cut it
with their swords. Then, the assassin grinned evilly. "You know
what, ranger? If you best me in fighting, I will tell you who my
employer is. If I win, I will let you live, kill that weakling over
there, then come back and kill you with your friend's sword. How is
that?"
Before Halbarad had time to answer, the assassin charged. Their
swords clashed in mid air, then again and again. Halbarad ducked to
block a blow, twisted, turned and slashed, but his sword was blocked
every single time. Turning, he swung his blade to the right, then
left, then right again, but again and again the assassin met his
strokes.
Stumbling, Halbarad gripped his sword tighter. This man was good. He
took a step back, twisted to the side and brought his sword up, only
to have it met by the assassin's blade. He ducked and swung his
blade, being blocked once more.
"Come now, is that all you can do?" The assassin taunted, before he
suddenly took two quick steps forward and hit Halbarad right in the
face with his fist. Blood spurted from Halbarad's nose, and he had
to step back quickly to avoid another punch.
Now angered, Halbarad took the offensive. With quick strokes he
pushed the assassin back; right, left, right, twist, left, right
again. Suddenly, his sword met not metal, but soft flesh, and with
more delight than he should have rightly felt, Halbarad heard the
assassin grunt in pain. Red blood now marred Halbarad's blade from
where he had cut the man's upper arm.
"Oh, you will regret that, ranger."
"Make me."
Red, hot anger seemed to emanate from the assassin, and in the next
moment the man was attacking again. The sword strokes came so fast
and strong that Halbarad had to practically jump back to avoid being
skewered in half. Twisting to the side, Halbarad lifted his sword to
block the assassin's next blow, but was surprised when the other man
suddenly turned and slashed to the side.
In the last possible moment Halbarad brought his sword in position,
saving his life. But it was all the assassin needed to execute his
next move. Faster than Halbarad had ever seen someone move, except
maybe Aragorn or elves, the assassin twisted his sword and dislodged
Halbarad's own blade.
The sword fell to the ground with a sickening thud and in the next
moment the assassin brought the pommel of his blade down on
Halbarad's temple, who crumbled to the ground without a sound.
"Nice dreams, ranger." The man spat, before he gripped his injured
arm with his free hand. "Curse that ranger folk." He swore, giving
Halbarad a fierce kick in the stomach.
For a moment longer he stared at Halbarad's unmoving form, before he
turned and made his way over to where Aragorn still lay. But,
Aragorn was not truly unconscious any longer, but in a state of half-
waking.
Cursing softly under his breath, the assassin gripped his sword
tighter. It was time to do what he was paid for. Long enough had he
been in the Wild, chasing after these rangers. No indeed, the sooner
this assignment was over, the better. But, that did not mean that he
could not enjoy these kills.
Grinning, the assassin approached Aragorn, who was blinking
furiously to clear his vision. Moaning, he lifted a hand to touch
his throbbing head, but before he could do that the assassin put the
tip of his blade under his chin, pressing hard enough to draw blood.
"Time to die, ranger."
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Valar, this was not good. And, where was Halbarad? Was he still
alive? What had happened? And where was his sword?
These and many other thoughts shot through Aragorn's fuzzy mind as
he stared at the man who held his sword at his throat, ready to kill
him. For a moment his fear for his friend overrode his own survival
instinct and Aragorn turned his head to see where his friend was.
Almost immediately a sharp pain shot through his neck as the blade
cut deeper into his skin, causing a small amount of blood to run
down the side of his neck.
"Ah ah, I would not move if I were you, ranger." The assassin mocked
him, pressing the blade a tiny bit deeper and forcing Aragorn to
tilt his head backwards.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Oh, nobody. Oh wait, I am the one who will kill you." And with
that said the assassin lifted his sword high above his head in a
killing stroke.
Fear. That was all that Aragorn felt in that very moment. Besides
all that he had been through in his life, the fear of death had
never completely left him. His heart pounded so fast in his chest
that he meant it would break the rest of his ribs and his hands felt
clammy with sweat.
As if things went slower than usual, he saw the light of the moon
reflect on the shiny blade, while the sword made its deadly way
downward to kill him. A gust of wind made the hair of the assassin
wave around his head, and the starlight shone in the assassin's eyes.
But, all this lasted only for the split of a second, and then
Aragorn's instincts took over. Unheeding of his dizziness and the
pain in his body as well as the fear for Halbarad, Aragorn drew his
knees towards his chest and then kicked out with all he was worth.
His booted feet connected with the assassin's knees and with a howl
of pain the man sagged to the ground, the sword falling to the
ground, lost in the darkness. Blinking, Aragorn reached for the
dagger that was hiding in his boot, but despite his pain, the
assassin was faster.
Grunting, he threw his body forwards, effectively pinning Aragorn
under him. Sweat now pooled on the man's forehead and his eyes held
a dangerous shimmer. For long moments they both struggled, but one
hard punch to Aragorn's chest left him gasping for breath. Using the
opening, the assassin managed to land some more punches against
Aragorn's broken ribs.
Bright shapes began to float in front of Aragorn's eyes and he had
trouble breathing. Valar, when had the air turned into mud? Gasping,
Aragorn tried to move away from his attacker, but the man had pinned
him under him and in his weakened state, he was not able to escape.
Another punch landed on his chest, this time close to his stab
wound, and the new pain made him cry out in pain despite his
breathing problem.
Sensing the weakness, the assassin used it mercilessly. Blow after
blow landed in his side and Aragorn felt the stitches of the wound
break one after the other, reopening the wound and causing warm
blood to seep through his shirt. Another blow landed against his
chin, and for a few seconds everything turned bright red and then
black, before the world shifted back into focus.
"Time to end it, ranger."
And then Aragorn felt the assassin's strong hands encircle his neck,
effectively cutting off his air supply and nearly damaging his
larynx. Already out of breath from the struggles before, Aragorn
felt his lungs scream for air while his head began to pound more
fiercely.
The pressure on his chest shifted as the assassin rose to his knees,
executing more pressure on his hands so as to finish the assignment
more quickly. Struggling, Aragorn clawed at the hands around his
throat, but the man was simply too strong for him. Hunger, thirst,
his injuries and the Wilds had weakened Aragorn more than he had
thought, and so he felt panic rise inside as his attempts to free
himself grew weaker and weaker.
Dark spots appeared in his line of vision and in a last attempt to
save himself Aragorn pressed his feet against the ground, ready to
push the man over his head. But the assassin would have none of it.
Sensing what Aragorn was about to do, he tightened his hold and
slammed Aragorn's head against the ground with such a force that it
nearly knocked Aragorn out.
Aragorn blinked, and when the dark spots simply increased in number
and his vision became even more hazy while the sounds of the night
and the struggle grew fainter, he knew that he had lost. This time,
he would not emerge from a fight as the heroic winner.
His numb hands fell to his sides and his eyes closed slowly. At
least, he thought wistfully, the stars will be the last thing I see
before I leave this world behind.
Out of the corner of his eyes Aragorn saw a dark shadow move behind
the assassin, a black shape against the slightly brighter sky. But,
the pressure on his neck did not lessen and his eyes fluttered shut.
To be continued…
