The next morning was a rather gloomy and dreary sight for Black Flag. The air around him was cold, bitter, and wet. With every breath that he took, a small cloud of water vapor formed for a few brief moments before immediately disappearing. He tried to stand up, and immediately began to feel sharp pains shoot through his muscles that felt like somepony was just stabbing him over and over again with a large dagger. He clenched his teeth in pain and began to rub his left hoof over his right foreleg in a desperate attempt to try and dull the pain. Damn it, he was really starting to miss the warm comforts of Red's tent.
He began to look around the stonework ruins For Steel, which unfortunately was quite fruitless. Not like there was much ground to cover atop the hill, considering it was maybe a few meters in diameter and only one floor. Not exactly an epic journey across Equestria. However, that did make him a little worried about where Steel had gone off to. He could be pretty much anywhere at this point. Well, not anywhere, but he could still be several kilometers away from the tower and Black Flag would haven't the faintest clue where he should look. He absolutely sucked ass at geography and didn't have the keenest sense of direction.
However, he knew that he couldn't stay up in the tower for the rest of his life, so he grabbed his swords and began to make his way down the staircase, and as he made his descent Black Flag saw something that made his skin crawl. A white sheet of mist was curling over the stairwell as well as the ground below with such a thickness that he was almost certain that he could cut through it with his sword and it would split apart. He couldn't even see the bottom anymore, and it was really starting to freak him out. As he hurried down the stairs, he was almost certain that there was some obnoxious jump scare just waiting for him at the bottom. When he drew near to what he was hoping was the bottom, he began to call out for Steel in hopes that he was somewhere nearby. All around him laid the lifeless remnants of the skeletal warriors that attacked them the night before, providing a painful reminder of the events that transpired during that quiet darkness.
"Steel? Shattering Steel, if you're in this fog please answer me! I swear to Celestia if you grab me or something like that I'm going to kick your ass!" He must have sounded nowhere near as confident as he thought he did because almost immediately Steel appeared from the thick fog having a hysterical laughing fit. His laughter was deep, rumbling like the earth as two tectonic plates were pushing against one another. After about thirty seconds or so, he finally regained his composure with a low sigh.
"I would certainly love to see you try that, Black Flag. I'm sure it will go about as well as the first time," Steel said with another chuckle. Black Flag was not as amused by this as Steel was. In fact, Shattering Steel's condescending laughter made him kind of mad.
"You know what, Steel? I...I could kick your thick ass! Just because I'm in your servitude doesn't mean I couldn't defeat you! Where were you, anyway? When I woke up this morning, you weren't in the tower. I actually thought you got up and ditched me."
"I was just walking around for a little while to stretch my legs. And as for you defeating me...let's see how well you do in a year's time. Now, I have two very important questions for you that you need to answer as honestly as you possibly can. Do not let pride get in the way and coax you into lying. First of all, do you have any actual experience with a sword, or was that blade I split into two just for show?" Black Flag was silent for a few moments, but he eventually shook his head. Spotting this quiet confession, Steel just buried his face in his hoof and sighed quietly, before smacking the unicorn across the back of his head. "And yet you thought you could take me on in a one-on-one fight. You are just comprised of total failure, aren't you? Whatever, I can fix that. Possibly. Onto the second question. Have you ever shed the blood of another creature?" Another shake of the head and Steel immediately looked like he was just about to explode. "What in the name of Celestia is wrong with you? You have no training or experience in warfare, yet you got the idea in your head to become a mercenary. Do you even have a couple of brain cells in that empty head of yours?"
"What if we sparred for a little while until this fog clears up?" Black Flag said quietly, trying desperately to quell the mercenary's wrath and change the subject to anything that wasn't his own complete lack of foresight. He also knew that he needed as much training as possible, which made him wonder why he didn't tell Steel that he knew next to nothing about swordplay from the get go. Wow, maybe he did deserve that last smack. He was a total imbecile, "And, if you say yes, could you just use one of the swords I brought with me? I don't want you to go easy on me, I'm just afraid you are going to break yet another sword of mine. These weapons aren't cheap, you know."
"Alright, yes. Let's do that," Steel said with another sigh, making absolutely no effort to hide his frustration and disappointment. He slipped off the colossal weapon that he called a sword, though it would be more accurate to call it a bladed club or a huge slab of iron with a handle attached to it, which landed on the ground with a booming clang that seemed to shake the earth itself. Black Flag could only wince at the thought of how many spinal surgeries Steel must've needed from lugging around something that big. Though, he was an Earth pony. Maybe he could handle the weight with his sheer strength. The unicorn handed Steel one of the longswords, which the older stallion grasped in his mouth tightly.
As they began to move a few paces from one another, the thick mist curled around their bodies like a blanket. The air around them was as silent as the graves below their hooves, and there wasn't even the faint sound of birds chirping to pierce this deathly stillness. He planted his hooves firmly into the ground and prepared himself for Shattering Steel's first advance. While he knew there was no way he was going to beat Steel in a fair one-on-one fight, not unless the Earth pony was miraculously struck by a bolt of lightening but that wouldn't exactly be fair, he was hoping that he would at least get in one strike. Or, at least, survive past the first strike.
"Alright," Black Flag said as he met the gaze of the warrior. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest like the death-knell of a war drum. He'd seen Steel in action the night before, and the fact that this was merely a sparring match did absolutely nothing to nullify his terror that he was going to be split in half. To think, their first match would have killed him immediately if his opponent was merely centimeters closer to him. He might have as well just turned around, bent over, and spread his cheeks because he was completely fucked. "Let's..." His words trailed off into silence because he didn't even have time to finish what he was saying before the stallion broke into a gallop. Every time his hooves struck the ground, it sounded like the mighty clap of thunder across the sky.
As his opponent approached him with a frightening amount of speed, Black Flag barely had enough time to raise his sword to defend himself before Shattering Steel swung his blade and their swords collided, resonating with a loud clang that caused so much to Black Flag's ears that he lost his concentration and released his own sword before cupping his ears to try and muffle the ringing cacophony. He couldn't even yell or cry in his pain, his vocal cords couldn't produce even the faintest sound. Evidently, Steel didn't find this result to be very appealing, as he just looked down upon the stallion with a look of both disgust and disappointment. He released his sword from his mouth and began to taunt Black Flag.
"What's the matter? Is the life of a mercenary too tough for you already, you cowardly little brat?" As these words began to sink into Black Flag's consciousness he could feel a violent rage boiling in his blood as if a fire had begun to roar in his heart. He was going to show Steel that he could handle being a warrior. He wasn't going to just keel over and give up, though that was partially because he was required to keep this up for a year. He couldn't give up because he wasn't able to give up.
"No," Black Flag said firmly as he finally stood up and took hold of his sword once more. And much to Steel's surprise, he didn't immediately aim a sword slash right for the Earth stallion's neck, despite him being within range and completely unarmed. Any decent warrior would have seized the opportunity the moment it came to pass. Bah, did that neophyte really believe there was a code of honor when it came to battle, did he? If that was the case, then that would be knocked out of him soon enough. If Steel's training didn't do that, then a true battlefield would.
"You should have struck me as soon as you picked up your sword," Steel said with mild annoyance in his tone before he grasped his own sword between his teeth. Without another word, he immediately resumed the assault, not giving his underling even a moment of rest between each blow. At the very least, Black Flag learned to drown out the sound very quickly so at least he was learning a little bit, and what Black lacked in skill he made up for in tenacity and determination. Every time that Steel knocked the unicorn down with the flat end of the blade, he just got up once more. This cacophony of metal clashing against metal rang through the sea of mist without hindrance until the fog finally parted and their path was clear once more, the white cloud fading away like a leaf in an icy world. Seeing that they could finally make progress once more, Steel gave the longsword back to Black Flag.
"Now get your ass moving," Steel commanded coldly as he picked up his own blade and began to make his way out of the ghostly battlefield. Black Flag was kind of annoyed that they weren't going to even take a moment to gather themselves; he was hurting all over his body. Almost every bone he could think of felt like they had been hit with something flat and metal, almost like that was exactly what had happened. He wouldn't complain, however. He'd grow used to the pain eventually. Or so he hoped. "By the way," Steel said as his gaze scanned the wide landscape that they needed to cross, which was peppered with several other ponies making their way down the several roads that crossed the grassy fields. "we're going to have a more thorough training session when we next stop. All you did this morning was block, and you need to land at least one hit on me before we reach our destination."
As they left the ruins of that accursed and mysterious tower behind them and began the second stretch of their journey, Red Ink was delving deeper into the dark edges of the forest. The life here was far more overgrown and out of control than what Red had grown used to, with vines snaking around the trunks of trees, and the grass was brushing against the belly of the Pegasus with every step he took. Now, he would normally not come within pissing distance of such an unruly and gloomy place, but there was a reason to be here. Much like the plant life, the inhabitants of this neck of the woods were far more unruly and without any control. To be more specific, a band of outlaws and thieves were said to rule this neck of the woods, which was perfect. Red Ink would be able to have a little taste of what combat wearing this armor would be like without a single moral repercussion.
As he continued to make his way through the seemingly unending clusters of trees that just continued to get thicker and more untamed the further he went, the Pegasus began to hear the sounds of branches and twigs snapping in rapid succession. His first thought was that it might have been some of the local wildlife, but he didn't dare lower his guard. He stopped in his tracks and perked his ears to try and locate where the sounds were coming from, and that's when he realized that they were definitely getting closer by the second. Suddenly, out of the corner of his vision, he saw a pony approaching him rapidly. He whirled around and saw that it wasn't one pony but three of them. Two stallions and one mare.
"Now what do we have here?" The stallion approaching from the left said smugly as he examined the Pegasus, and with how close he was getting it was pretty easy to examine him as well. He was a rather lanky Earth pony, as well as the tallest out of all of them by a sizeable margin, with a short black mane and thin black eyes to match. Strapped to his side was a sword's sheath, with the hilt of the blade inside marked with decorative runes. The sword must have been pretty expensive for something like that, perhaps he was a former knight. He was clad in a suit of lightweight steel armor around his body as well as some kind of leather garb that covered most of his legs, but from what Red could see he had a light tan coat of fur that, along with the black mane, reminded Red of somepony but he couldn't really figure out who it was. To be fair, the bandit's two companions also looked somewhat familiar, and it was really bugging the stallion that he couldn't figure out where he'd seen them before. The mare, another Earth pony, might have been related to the first stallion, as she had a similar coat and mane color, even the styles of their manes were pretty similar, though hers was a little longer than his. However, she seemed to be far more youthful than the first pony. There must have been ten years between the two at least. And just like the Earth stallion, she had a sword strapped to her torso. The third bandit, a unicorn, didn't follow the trend of similarities. It was actually kind of distracting, to be perfectly honest. His mane was a golden blonde, and was much longer as well; reaching down past his neck and tied back in a ponytail, and his fur was only a few shades darker than Red Ink's coat. He must have been relying solely on his mobility and agility to evade attacks because he wore nothing more than an olive green cotton shirt and a couple of belts, which were strapped to his sides and held six small sheaths that carried small throwing knives, with a sheathed dagger strapped to his hind leg. "That's a nice suit of armor you have there. Pretty decent crossbow too. Care to tell me what's a charming young mare like yourself doing out here with such pretty pieces of equipment in the woods by yourself? You might run into somepony unruly, or even blatantly evil." As he said this, the Earth pony just had the biggest shit-eating grin that Red had ever seen.
"Well, first of all," Red said with an annoyed sigh as he started to clarify that he was a stallion for the umpteenth time. "I'm not a mare; stallion through and through. I am just really effeminate, that's all. Secondly, how long are you going to keep up that lousy charade where you act all nice before you cut my throat open, or whatever else you have planned for me? This whole setup is kind of cliche and overdone, don't you think? All that's missing is for some bland, uninteresting hero to come swooping down from the trees to save the nameless extra." The three bandits looked at one another with confusion.
"Who said anything about cutting your throat open and killing you?" The blonde stallion inquired with a hint of surprise in his voice. "We are just going to rid you of those possessions, and if you cooperate you will be heading right back to town in no time. Now, I'm sure none of us want things to get messy, so please give us that crossbow and your armor." Red Ink wasn't exactly impressed or motivated to do as the unicorn asked, quite frankly.
"Oh, I see what's going on. You aren't the cliche evil bandits," Red Ink said with a sigh. "You're the cliche good bandits, the ones that just steal from ponies and give your findings to the needy and the poor, right? You know, like the countless other knockoffs of the Mery Mares that appear in the stories of lazy writers all across Equestria, usually targeted at young colts and mares." The bandits...did not take too kindly to the writer's snark.
"And I see that you're the token wise-ass who thinks that they're being clever when they act like a smug douchebag pointing out all of the "cliches" that they see," The leader of the trio said as he gave the writer a death glare. "Light Hilt, Golden Tower, you two stay out of this. I'm going to cut this obnoxious jackass down to size." And with that, he grabbed the hilt of his sword in his mouth and pulled it from its sheath, its deadly steel blade glistening in the few rays of sunlight that managed to pierce the thick trees' shade. Red Ink didn't even show the faintest hint of interest, he just tapped his hoof against the ground twice, pulled one bolt from his saddlebags, and discarded both the bags and the crossbow. He didn't even need to use such a tool; the bandit wasn't even worth it. The two other bandits didn't object to their leader's orders, stepping away from them a few meters to give the two enough room to duke it out.
While both Light Hilt and Golden Tower expected the little duel to be over in under a minute, they did not expect just how quickly it would be finished, or who the winner would be. Their leader raised his sword, ready to strike the Pegasus down, and unwittingly left his most blatant weak point wide open to an attack. None of them even saw it coming, all they could see was what looked like a white blur and the Earth pony suddenly dropped his sword; mouth agape in total shock and horror.
Te bandit's sword didn't even hit the ground before blood began to pour out of his neck wound, soaking into his brown coat within seconds. Red Ink watched with a cold stare, a smirk tugging at his lips, as the life in the bandit's eyes was slowly drained from him. His opponent took one slow, clumsy step towards the Pegasus, then another one, before finally falling forward and collapsing against Red Ink. Before the last of his strength left the Earth pony's body, Red Ink looked into his eyes, and he saw true fear in that dying gaze. In his last breaths, his foe managed to get out an exclamation of true terror.
"No...no...you died..." With these words, the warrior drew his last breaths and his heart finally stopped. Not showing even the faintest amount of interest, Red Ink just shoved the carcass off of him and let it fall to the ground before turning his attention to the other two bandits. While the stallion was still in total shock, the mare had no such fear or terror in her eyes. No, the only emotion that Red Ink could see upon her face was a look of bloodthirsty and unbridled rage.
"You bastard," the Earth pony screamed as the roaring fires of wrath began to truly blaze in her heart and blood. "Light Hilt," The call of his name shook the unicorn from his own stupor, and he turned his head towards the mare. "back me up! I'm going to avenge Iron Star if it's the last thing I do!" The warrior drew her sword, and without a moment of hesitation she charged into battle, her dear friend Light Hilt hot on her hooves, with the full knowledge that she would probably fall victim to the exact same fate as her comrade did. However, she didn't give two shits about that.
As he watched the two bandits charge right at him, Red Ink calmly picked up his crossbow off the ground and loaded the bloodstained bolt into the weapon. It was finally time to try out this little trinket and give a couple of trees a nice coat of red paint. However, Red's ego had gotten the better of him and he'd forgotten just how cumbersome this thing was until it was too late. His hooves fumbled with the bulkiness of the crossbow, giving the two bandits more than enough time to reach the Pegasus and forcing him to drop the crossbow and retreat further into the woods. And if it wasn't for his added speed boost, Light Hilt and Golden Tower certainly would have caught up to him and seen him fly high above the treetops. Perhaps they would have been prepared for what happened next.
"Where'd he go?" Light Hilt asked, as if doing so would immediately unveil the murder's position for the two like a hint system in a shitty game. A soft breeze was causing his ponytail to gently sway back and forth like a hypnotist's watch. He and Golden Tower heard something rustle behind them and the two hurried to turn around to see what it was, but they found nothing but Iron Star's corpse, which was lying motionless in a pool of his own crimson blood. He glanced towards Golden Tower, who was still as stoic as a boulder. If she was frightened, she certainly didn't show it. It was simply incredible; the way she'd immediately gathered her bearings and led the charge. Light Hilt wished he could be as brave as she was. He turned his attention back to the forest, and saw a white blur coming right for him. He didn't even have time to scream.
"The son of a bitch is toying with us," Golden Tower murmured quietly as her gaze scanned the forest around them for any sign of the intruder. There was another rustling of leaves, much closer this time. In fact, it was from right behind her. She knew exactly what it was, but she hesitated to turn around, not wanting to confirm her own suspicions to be true. Against her own wants, however, she turned around anyway and found her friend stuck in a state of horror and agony as Iron's steel blade stuck out the back of his mouth, crimson blood dripping from the deadly tool, before being unceremoniously withdrawn by the writer. As her friend fell to the forest's floor in a lifeless heap, at long last tears began to fall. She knew that she was completely and utterly alone. "No...Light...I can't be the last one...please..." The last thing she saw before that blade was shoved through her skull was Red's eyes. They were wild, and completely deranged. They were the eyes of a bloodthirsty monster.
