Chapter 4: Protecting the School
In the castle in the city of Ninso, the city Link and Phane had escaped from, Justiciar Essen was sitting in his office, looking down at the map of his city. His second in command, Captain Tanto was also sitting in there, trying to piece together what just happened.
Captain Tanto was a middle aged man with black hair braided into a neat ponytail and had a thick goatee. He stood at 5'10'' and was fairly slender.
"So, you're saying that the boy managed to break the door open with a bone, knocked out the guard in his own office, and then improvised an escape and then made his way to the forest with Phane," Justiciar Essen recounted, this story was just too crazy, yet it was also true.
"Yes, I sent a whole unit searching for those two," Tanto said, "But they never found any evidence of either of them, and we know Phane was wounded, and I doubt that kid would make it far into the forest carrying Phane with him."
"You saw what that kid was capable of doing though," Essen replied, "He took out my whole highwayman scheme by himself. Whoever he is, he's not normal."
"So are you saying that you think they made it through the forest?" Tanto said.
"I have little doubt, but it doesn't matter, they won't impede our plans anymore. No doubt, even if Phane survived, they would stick around for long in this country. They're probably laying low, we won't find them," Essen replied, looking down at the map, "Is everything ready to go for King Toryn? Once I get to Toryn City, the king will not let me out of his sight, so I'm counting on you to strike when the time is right."
"Yes sir, I've had several soldiers rallying up the poor in Toryn City against him, on my word they'll storm the castle and leave King Toryn in your hands," Tanto replied, pointing at Toryn City on the map.
"Good, it won't be long until the crown is in my hands, and I will be the King of Taea," Essen said, grinning deviously at his co-conspirator, "I can almost taste it. I long deeply for the moment when I pry it from King Toryn's dead body. Make your way to Toryn City and get everything ready. You know what to do when I get there."
"Sir!" Captain Tanto said as he stood up, saluted, and then walked out of the office.
Justiciar Essen sat back in his chair, smiling to himself.
I just wish I could've seen the look on Phane's face when the arrows hit him. Shame, really…
–
Link, Phane, and J'on were making their way to the school Logan's parents owned. They were at least glad that Logan stayed conscious for long enough to explain his situation, since now they know it would be mutually beneficial to take care of Bruiser and his lackeys.
"From what Logan said, this Bruiser guy sounds a bit scary if you ask me," Link said, still carrying the unconscious Logan on his back.
"Yeah, well, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Phane said, walking along side Link and J'on, "We can't exactly run away from him either. They probably know Logan was involved, so we're going to have to protect him and his parents."
"Yeah, no doubt," Link said, nodding, "I just wish we didn't have to confront him directly, but it's also the best way to end this."
"Yeah, unfortunately the message you all sent was completely different," J'on said, "He's probably angry that someone showed one of his guys up, and wants to display his gang's strength now while he still can, before more people start standing up for themselves."
"That means we can expect some guests," Link said.
"We'll speculate later," Phane said, "I think I can see the school, hopefully they'll let us stick around since we helped their kid out of a bad situation. We'll get you patched up when we get there, Link."
"I'd say Logan's in a bit worse shape, I'm fine," Link assured Phane, "It's just a scratch."
"Yeah, but it's still bleeding pretty badly, might want to stop it as soon as we can. Anyways, let's pick up the pace, I want to meet this kid's parents," Phane said as they started to walk a bit faster.
Soon enough, they reached the school. It was a decent sized school, and definitely was a magnificent place at one time, but it has fallen into disrepair and looked deserted.
Phane knocked on the door, and after a few moments, a woman answered the door. She was in her mid-30's and had reddish-blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked, making sure the door wasn't open all the way.
"Excuse me, but are you Logan's mother?"Phane asked, trying to at least assure her that he's not one of the bad guys.
"Yes, why, is he okay?" She asked, slightly concerned, yet relieved that Phane didn't appear to be one of the people who have visited before.
"He's okay, but he was attacked by someone, and me and my friend Link managed to save him," Phane said, moving over for Link who had Logan on his back.
"By the gods!" She exclaimed and opened the door all the way once she recognized her son on Link's back.
"Come in! He needs some help," She said, obviously quite stressed. Link, Phane, and then J'on walked into the school, right behind Logan's mother.
"Come in, this way!" She said as she opened a door to another corridor, and walked them to another door, which she opened.
"In here, please," she said as she walked in in front of Link. There was a bed, a chest of drawers, and some other things inside. This was definitely Logan's room.
"J'on, can you go watch the front?" Phane whispered to J'on, "I think we're going to be here for a while, might want to introduce yourself later."
"Got it," J'on said and split off with them so he could watch the entrance.
Link put Logan on his bed, and saw that Logan's face was a bit swollen where he got hit in the face. Link saw Logan's mother leave then come back with a bowl of water and a couple of towels. Link got up and took one of the towels, and wet it; he walked over to Logan, and then put the wet cloth on Logan's cheek, and then put some pressure on it. Link concentrated on reducing the swelling on Logan's cheek, when his concentration was interrupted by a wet cloth on his own head. Link looked over and saw Logan's mother was working on fixing Link up in the process.
"You're hurt too," Logan's mother said, "I don't want that bleeding to keep going, so stay still. Logan seems to be okay."
"Yeah, he's fine," Link said, grinning gingerly as she cleaned off the cut on his head. Once she was done, Link concentrated on helping Logan out again. Once he got the swelling to go down a little bit, Link remembered that Logan grabbed his ribs before passing out.
I don't think they're broken since he was talking to us, but they're bruised and probably swollen, Link thought as he put the towel back in the bowl.
"Done?" Logan's mother asked, "It looked a lot worse than it did when I first saw him."
"Well, we have to see if his ribs are okay, he grabbed them shortly before he passed out," Link said as he started unbuttoning Logan's shirt to see that he indeed had bruised ribs.
"Good, they're just bruised, not broken," Link said, a bit relieved, "He'll be fine."
"That's good," Phane chimed in, as he walked closer to look at Logan a bit better, "He'll feel it for a few days, but after that it shouldn't be any trouble."
Link stood up, as well as Logan's mother, and she put the bowl of water down next to Logan's bed.
"We haven't been able to introduce ourselves yet, my name is Link," Link said, "and this is Phane. The other person we were with is J'on."
Phane nodded and raised his hand, and then said "Yeah, don't be alarmed by J'on. He's a Lizalfo, but he's on our side and can talk... and he's red."
"My name is Kenna, I am Logan's mother," Logan's mother said as she acknowledged them. She was obviously under a great deal of stress, but she also appeared to be a strong woman, "As for the lizalfo, if he can fight, he's of use to everyone here right now."
"Logan told us about Bruiser, is he as bad as he said he was?" Link asked as he stood up.
Kenna remained silent for a moment, realizing the situation that they were now in. She sighed, and then said "Let me show you. This way."
Link and Phane followed Kenna down the hallway to a larger door, which she opened. Link and Phane walked inside, and their eyes widened when they saw what was inside. A man, heavily bandaged, was laying down and wheezing in a bed in the center of the room.
"This is how bad Bruiser is. My husband fought Bruiser and had most of his ribs snapped, his shoulder broken, his arm broken in three places, his jaw broken, and his collarbone cracked. He's a dangerous man, and now that my husband and son are hurt, there's not much more we can do to protect ourselves."
Kenna sat down on a chair next to her husband's bed, and put her hand on her forehead, obviously showing serious stress.
"We saved Logan from one of his lackeys, but I think we might have also angered them," Link said, "they're probably regrouping and coming after the school."
Kenna looked down at the floor, trying to think of anything she could do, but she didn't look angered, "You know, I really appreciate you all saving my son, and don't think that you're responsible for this. If anything, it gives us an advantage because we at least can plan for them to strike tonight, but the odds aren't in our favor."
Link nodded, "if we're lucky we can beat enough of them back though."
"We can all handle ourselves," Phane said.
"Besides, with J'on on our side, we do have a psychological advantage over them because he could at least scare some of them," Link continued.
Kenna thought for a minute, and then sat back a little bit, "What do you need us to do?" "We need to keep you all in one area away from where they would attack from," Phane said.
"That would probably be this room, actually, since it's the farthest away from the entrance," Kenna said, "You all should go and get Logan and bring him back here, I'll make a bed for him real quick."
"I'll go get him," Link said, "I'll be right back." With that, Link left the room and walked back down the corridor to Logan's room.
I hope we really can beat them back, Link thought, I'm not that glad that we involved the family in this way, but it would've happened anyways. It was just a matter of time, I think Kenna understands that too, some help is better than none.
Link got to Logan's room, picked him up off the bed, and took him back to the other room. Once Link got there, he put Logan on the bed that his mother made for him, and joined Phane, who was standing in a corner.
"You all think you will be fine in here?" Link asked, looking out a window and noticing night was falling.
"Better than out there," Kenna said, "You all be careful, they'll be here soon. Down the hall to the left is a closet; my husband keeps his swords in there."
"We will, and thanks," Phane said, as he beckoned Link to come with him. Link nodded to them, and then followed Phane out of the room.
"You think we'll be able to stop them?" Link asked Phane as they headed toward the weapons closet.
"I'm sure we can find a way to stop them," Phane said, "With as resourceful as you are and as persistent as I am, and with J'on on our side, I think we can at least fluster them enough to gain the advantage."
"How many do you think there will be?" Link asked, trying to come up with some sort of strategy for them. If he knew a bit more about them, he would be able to think of something, but that wasn't the case.
"I'd say probably 10 or 15, I don't think he wants to gain too much attention from the townsfolk," Phane said as they reached the closet. Link opened the closet and pulled out a sword and strapped it to his back. It wasn't a long sword, but it was a good size for him. Phane pulled out a sword as well, and then spotted a pair of steel bars on cloth straps. He picked them up, and put his fingers through the finger holes on the other side, and then tied the cloth.
"What are those?" Link asked, picking a sword up to give to J'on once they were done.
"They're called Cestus. The steel reinforces your fist and makes your punches quite devastating," Phane said, "How about you go give that sword to J'on and tell him to wait with Logan and his parents? They need someone right there to help, and I think J'on is the best choice."
"Right," Link said as he ran off to the entrance to J'on who was watching the road. The sun was starting to go down, which meant that the gang was likely to attack soon.
"Hey, J'on, here's a sword. I think you'll need it," Link said, handing J'on the sword. "Thanks, anything else?"
"Phane thinks that you need to go and protect the family while we're out here. If they get past us, you're going to have to stop them."
"Not a problem," J'on said, "But be careful, don't do anything stupid."
"We'll be fine," Link said, "You take care of them and be careful too."
"I will, good luck" J'on said as he headed off to the family.
Link watched J'on head off, and then looked back at the darkening sky, "We'll need it."
Link stood there for a few minutes, and then Phane came out and stood next to him, "You ready?"
"Yeah," Link replied, looking down the hill for any sign of activity.
"Any plans?" Phane asked, looking for anything they can use.
Link spotted an old carriage that still had fairly good wheels, "We can roll that carriage down the hill. Might take down a few of them, eh?"
"Good idea, thin them out before direct contact," Phane said, stretching his arms, and then put his hand on Link's shoulder.
"Nervous?" Phane asked, noting Link still looking for anything that can give them the advantage.
"A little," Link said, looking up to Phane and grinning. Link then looked down at the hill and saw a group of people amassing at the bottom of it.
"Kill the torches," Phane said as he spotted them too. Link and Phane took the torches off the porch and doused them in snow, getting ready for a surprise attack on the goons at the bottom of the hill.
"Come on," Link said as he got behind the carriage, ready to push it. Phane got behind the carriage and peeked out from behind it, and saw the group of people start running up the hill, shouting. Their skirmish had begun.
"Now!" Phane shouted as he and Link pushed with all their might, and made the old carriage careen down the hill at high speed. The carriage flipped onto its side, and took out several of them, leaving about 6 or 7 left for Link and Phane to fight.
"Come on, fall back and split up," Phane said as he and Link started to run back to the entrance of the school. Phane went down the left hall, and Link went down the right, hoping to split the force up even more. Once the goons got into the school, they split up as well, sending 3 down the hall to Link, and the last four to Phane's side. The school was dark, which gave Link and Phane the advantage of stealth as well, which Link used when he saw the group come over. Link hid in one of the door ways, and once they got to him, Link drew his sword, and jumped onto the back of one, and hitting the man in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, causing him to drop to the ground. Link rolled off the man as he fell, and blocked the oncoming sword strike coming from one of the others. Link parried the man's sword strike and kicked him in the leg, causing his knee to buckle. Link dodged a thrust from the other goon, and knocked one of them out by hitting the man in the head again with his sword hilt. Now that there was one left, he advanced on the last one, who instead ran away, farther down the hall towards the room where J'on and Logan's family were.
Link started to run after him, but was grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown to the ground. Link looked up and saw a very large man advance on him. Link got back up and readied his sword, but the large man grabbed Link's wrist and squeezed, causing Link to lose grip of his sword and it fell to the ground.
"Interesting," the man said, "To think that just a kid like you can take on my gang like that. Impressive."
"You're..." Link said, but then he was hit straight in the solar plexus. The pain was unimaginable, and Link struggled for air, gasping for it as he had doubled over. The man's strength was immense.
"Bruiser? Yes," Bruiser said as he saw Link quit gasping for air and go limp. He picked Link up and took him back outside.
Meanwhile, Phane had also fought off the four people coming toward him, and ran back to the main room, where he saw the man who ran away from Link open the door to Logan's family's room, and run in, only to come flying out into a wall, and J'on came outside, looking down at the unconscious man.
"Where's Link?" J'on asked, not seeing Link down the hall.
"Shit," Phane said as he ran down Link's hallway and didn't find him at all, but found two unconscious men, showing that Link had obviously defeated them. He and J'on ran outside and saw Bruiser, holding the now unconscious Link under his left arm.
"Link!" Phane exclaimed as he saw Bruiser standing there with his unconscious friend in his grasp.
"It's not every day someone like you three have stood up to my gang, so if you value this kid's life, you will take my offer," Bruiser said, squeezing on Link a little bit.
"I'm listening," Phane said, still in guard, trying to not let Link's predicament cloud his judgment.
"You and me, fists only. Tomorrow morning at the Earth and Fire Cornerclub. If you win, you two and the kid can go free. If you don't... well, the kid's the last thing you really need to worry about."
Bruiser then whistled for his horse, and a black horse came running up to him. Bruiser mounted his horse, keeping Link under his arm, and looked back at Phane. Phane's teeth were gritted, and his anger was starting to get a hold of him.
"You hurt him, I'll kill you," Phane threatened in a harsh voice, clenching his fists.
"I'm looking forward to it." Bruiser said before kicking his horse and left. Phane ran up to the hill and saw Bruiser and Link disappear into the night. Phane kicked at the snow on the ground and growled in anger. J'on came up and put a scaly hand on Phane's shoulder.
"Come on," J'on said, trying to calm Phane down, "Getting angry right now is only going to hurt Link. Save your anger for the fight, you have some work to do."
Phane nodded, and then stood up, "You're right, J'on. You're right." J'on nodded and walked back inside, leaving Phane looking back down the hill where Bruiser escaped earlier.
"Hang in there, kid. I'm coming," Phane said, and then walked back inside as well.
