Strongman 4
Chapter 4
Danielle reached down and pulled the saber out of the unconscious man's scabbard.
Asa also handed her the dagger he took from the barkeep, then he took off his black cloak and threw it over the back of a nearby chair.
"Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" he grumbled. Danielle shrugged in response and a split second later the mercenaries attacked! Even though it had been a while since she had lessons Danielle had obviously managed to keep in practice somehow. In less time than it takes to tell about it, she had put three mercenaries on the floor. Two of them had been run through and the other one had a broken wrist and knee.
The mercenaries who had attacked Asa weren't faring any better. Asa had laid out three of them with one right cross. He grabbed another one and was currently holding him over his head. A split second later another man jumped up on the end of one of the long tables.
"Put him down and fight, strongman," he snapped. Asa shrugged
"Okay," he said. He threw the man he was holding onto the opposite end of the table the man was standing on catapulting him through air where, in one smooth motion, Asa caught him and sent him flying through a window.
"Idiot." muttered Asa
He turned and saw Danielle, she was fencing with one mercenary while with her other hand she was holding a second mercenary in a head lock. She would parry an attack from the guy she was sword fighting and intersperse that with punching the guy she had in a headlock in the head with the hand guard of the sword.
Asa grinned and shook his head as he turned just long enough to effortlessly clothesline two guys who tried to charge him from behind.
"Having fun," Danielle?" He asked.
"Oh yeah," said Danielle, "We should have rousted this place a long time ago!"
"She'll never change," Asa chucked to himself.
Less than two minutes later the fight was over. Danielle and Asa were the only ones left standing. Every mercenary that hadn't fled was either dead or unconscious. Danielle walked over to the water barrel in the corner and got a dipper full of water. She brought in back and threw it on the face of the barkeep. He came to coughing and sputtering.
"Alright," said Asa, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him to his feet, "No more tricks, I am only going to ask this once, where is the guy with the crossbow?!"
"He came in and went out through the tunnel in the cellar." Sputtered the barkeep he pointed to the handle of trapdoor that was sticking out from under a cheap piece of rug that had gotten torn up in the fight.
"Now that's all you had to tell us," said Danielle, "This brawl wasn't necessary." Asa let go of the man and he and Danielle walked over to the trap door.
"Though it was fun," she said Asa pulled the trapdoor open.
"Oh get down that ladder," said Asa rolling his eyes. A few minutes later they were down inside the cellar. Behind a piece of animal hide, on the far wall, was the entrance to the Bent Bow Tavern's secret escape tunnel. This guy wasn't the first crook that these guys had helped to escape using this tunnel. Danielle and Asa followed the tunnel and soon emerged into the woods about two hundred yards from the Tavern.
"He's long gone by now," said Danielle disappointed
"yeah," said Asa, "Who had dropped to one knee studying the ground, "Judging from these hoofprints, he had another horse waiting here."
"Right," said Danielle looking over his shoulder, "And this horse is one that's going to be a lot harder to track, any further than the main road. Nothing that easily distinguishes its hoof prints from any of the other hundreds of horses in this vicinity alone."
"Unfortunately true," Asa grimaced,
"We might very well have caught him if it wasn't for the idiot brigade back the tavern." Danielle snorted.
"Don't remind me," said Asa. As they made their way back to their horses, "I'd say that the only way we're going to be safe again is to take down the Baroness once and for all."
"To do that we're going to need the King and Queen on our side," Said Danielle, as they mounted up and rode back toward the Chateau Du Lancret "and after my last meeting with Prince Henry, that may not be so easy."
"Well when I threw Prince Henry into the lake, I then advised him that he and his father should become acquainted with their own records," said Asa, "If Henry has anything more than empty space between his ears he'll take my advice."
"how will that help us with our problems?" asked Danielle
"King Francis, the Queen and the Prince, should find enough in the records to make them curious enough to send for you to get the whole story," said Asa, "That's when we'll ask their help. In the meantime we have to watch out for whatever the Baroness will try when she finds out that her errand boy with the crossbow blew it."
Meanwhile and the Manor De Barbarac…. The Baroness was pacing the drawing room fuming!
"I don't believe it, Just don't believe it," she snapped at Le Pieu who was standing nearby stroking his mustache, "Do you know any mercenaries that aren't blundering fools?!"
"Danielle's friend is a remarkable young man," said Le Pieu, "he seems to have eyes In the back of his head and is strength is truly extraordinary. Fortunately, I believe I've found a solution. He turned slightly and clapped his hands. In walked a giant of a man that couldn't have been less than 7 feet tall.
"This is Atlas the Giant," said Le Pieu, "A performer with a circus troupe playing in Hauteford in two days. Atlas is not only known for his size but also for his feats of strength. I think our young strongman has just met his match."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Here is another chapter in the story Strongman. I know it's shorter than the others, but I think it's still a pretty entertaining chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please Read and Review.