Negotiations At Blade Point
A Section of Lugnica: By the Fountain
"AAAAAAARGH," Ulric shouted before he realized that he wasn't in pain anymore. 'What in the world,' he thought to himself as he felt his throat and then his stomach. "Back in one piece, but how?" He questioned out loud as he checked himself for any other damage. All of the injuries he'd sustained from whatever in the world had been in that loot house were gone. 'If that was a dream, it felt way too real.'
Ulric checked the surrounding area and noticed that he was in front of what appeared to be the same fountain he'd arrived at earlier. In fact, the whole area seemed to be the exact same one he'd appeared in after his apparent death in Jerusalem. 'Funny thing is, shouldn't I wake up back home if I was dreaming? Because if I'm not.' That was when realization hit him. 'If this isn't a dream, then Emilia is still back there, at the loot house!' Without wasting anymore time, Ulric started racing towards the slums.
As he raced through a few alleys and onto the street, the scream of a girl caught his ears. Looking over to the source of the terrified scream, Ulric saw what appeared to be the same girl about to be run over by a familiar looking cart. 'Oh I do not have time for this,' thought Ulric as he raced across the street and dove for the girl. It was an almost exact repeat of what happened earlier, only this time Ulric simply gave a quick warning to the girl to stop falling over in the middle of the street before he raced off and continued towards the slums.
Along the way, he noticed a number of peculiar sights. The sun was back to being overhead, like it had been when he'd gotten there. All of the people were moving around in a similar fashion as well, mimicking the exact same movements they'd been doing earlier. Merchants were arranging things that should've been taken care of hours ago, workers were piling the same stack of crates they'd been piling earlier and merchandise that had been sold was being bought again by the same people that had bought it before. 'It's like I've seen all of this before,' Ulric thought as he continued rushing towards the slums, 'just what in the world is going on with this place?'
Whatever it was, Ulric couldn't worry about it now. What he did need to worry about was Emilia. While it was true she'd demonstrated the ability to defend herself with magic, she had hardly any warning about whatever, or whoever it was in the loot house. If she was lucky, she would've caught sight of the attacker and fled the area or failing that, tried freezing her in place or impaling her. Either way, Ulric rushed on for several minutes, trying his best to keep a good pace until he finally reached the slums.
Navigating the area by memory wasn't really a problem given the uniqueness of the loot house. When he arrived, the door was closed, which he would've found slightly strange if the circumstances weren't so bad. Quickly drawing his sword, Ulric kicked the door open and moved into the house, where he was met by yet another surprise that day. The interior of the room was much better lit this time around thanks to the sun, and what was more, it was in relatively good order. As for the large, dark-skinned man he'd seen in the corner, he was behind the bar and more surprisingly, not dead.
This of course led to a slight problem. The dead don't care if you kick in their door, but the living on the other hand. "Hey what's your problem?! Yelled the large man as he stood up to his full height, which was towering over Ulric a bit. Now that he got a good look at him, Ulric noted that the man was bald with strangely large, white eyebrows and some groomed white hair on his arms. The man was also dressed in a simple black vest and pants. "It's bad enough you're breaking into my shop with a drawn sword, but you've interrupted my afternoon booze as well!" It took a few moments for Ulric to answer, given his currently confused state.
"How are you alive?" Ulric finally questioned as he lowered his sword. "And what happened to the wound in your throat?" Now it was the large man's turn to be confused.
"What are you going on about?" The man questioned with a raised eyebrow, "I haven't got any wound in my throat. And I may be old but I'm definitely not dead, unless you're the grim reaper, which I severely doubt."
"You're right on that account," Said Ulric as he walked into the loot house, checking around for the one who'd attacked him earlier. He knew it wasn't the large man, given the fact that the voice he'd heard was definitely female. What's more, it seemed highly unlikely that this man would be able to sneak up on him. "I suppose you can say I've had an unusual day." Ulric closed the door behind him before sheathing his sword, but he kept his hand on it just in case.
"Well thanks to you my day just went from fine to unusual," replied the large man as he picked up a large glass and drank from it. "So what are you here for? Knights don't often venture into this little section unless there's something incredibly important going on, and last I checked, my shop hasn't got anything of any importance in here. Though come to think of it, you're not dressed like any knight I've ever seen."
"Well you could say I'm from outside of the kingdom," Said Ulric as he made his way forward and sat down at the bar in front of the man. "But I am still a knight and I happen to be looking for someone, a girl with white hair and pointed ears, sound familiar?"
"I haven't seen anyone who'd stick out like that," replied the man, "I may not be as sharp as I once was, but my memory is still pretty good."
"Well if it is I have another question, Mr.-?" Said Ulric as he leaned forward a bit.
"Just call me Old Man Rom or simply Rom," he replied before taking another drink.
"Well Rom, I'm also looking for an object, an insignia with a jewel in the middle. Got anything that matches a description like that?" Asked Ulric. The large man scratched his bald head as he thought for a moment.
"Nope, doesn't sound like anything I've acquired recently," said Rom, "I got a stock of other jewels if you'd like to take a look at those."
"So a little blond girl by the name of Felt hasn't run through here?" Questioned Ulric with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh you're looking for Felt," Said the large man as his tone changed a little, "Did that insignia you're looking for belong to you?"
"No actually," Said Ulric as his grip tightened on his sword a little, "The insignia belongs to the white-haired girl I'm looking for. I'm not looking for a fight or to arrest the thief, I just want to get the insignia back for her."
"Well she hasn't come through here today," Said Rom, "And I doubt I'll be seeing her at any point any time-." The old man was interrupted by a knock on the door. With a slightly annoyed expression on his face, Rom stood up and went over to the door. After a quick exchange of words, what Ulric guessed was one answering a password question, the large man opened the door to reveal a small blond girl.
She wore simple attire, such as a long red scarf, black gloves, a brown vest with a shirt that still left most of her stomach exposed, and a pair of boots and shorts with a knife hanging off the back. Ulric also noted that for some reason her eyes appeared to be red. "Oh, I didn't know you had company Rom, who's this supposed to be?"
"This young knight here has come looking for an insignia," Said Rom, "What was your name again?"
"Ulric," answered the knight, "And you're Felt aren't you little one?"
"And just how in the world do you know that," asked the girl cautiously as she walked in while Rom closed the door behind her.
"Because earlier today in the market, you swiped an insignia from a white-haired girl by the name of Emilia," Said Ulric, "And while I've lost track of her at the moment, I'm sure she's on her way here, assuming she hasn't stopped by already."
"Hmmm," Felt thought aloud as she put a hand to her chin, "Maybe I did and maybe I didn't. The question is, how much will you pay to get it back?" Ulric was starting to lose his patience, until he heard what the little thief had to say next. "And, can you pay more than our client?"
"Client?" Questioned Ulric, "You're telling me someone paid you to steal that insignia?"
"Well not yet," Said Felt as she sat down at the bar, "But once they get here, they're going to make a good offer for it. But, if you feel like doing a bit of bidding, we'd be more than happy to give you the insignia if you can offer a better price." Ulric thought about if for a moment. There was really no reason he couldn't fight them both and take the insignia back, even if it meant killing them both. But his curiosity had been piqued and left a lingering question, what was so important about this insignia that someone would pay a substantial amount to get it.
More importantly, a memory flashed through Ulric's mind, the image of the large man, dead on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. 'If they're willing to pay to have it stolen, they may be willing to kill to keep it away from her. I need to find out who's behind all this.' "Alright," Said Ulric as he removed his hand from his sword, "I'll play along. After all, there's no reason this should become a blood bath over a little object with a jewel in it."
"Glad to hear it," Said Felt as she and Rom visibly relaxed, "So, while we wait, would you care for a drink sir knight?" Ulric nodded his head and took some milk served by Rom. He was careful to keep his eye on the large man as he poured it and carefully tested it before taking a drink, happy to see that it hadn't been poisoned. They passed the time with a little bit of idle conversation until finally, a knock was heard on the door.
In the next moment, in walked a woman the likes of which Ulric had never seen. She had pitch black hair which went past her shoulders and wore a black and blue outfit which seemed to show off far more skin than Ulric thought appropriate given the nature of the business about to take place. She also sported a large, frilled cape which was draped around her shoulders. The woman had a knowing smile on her face, but not the kind one would describe as warm. To be honest, she reminded Ulric of a performing gypsy, if not for her white skin.
"Well now, it seems we have a bigger audience than I expected," Said the woman as she approached, "I'm familiar with the old man, but who might this boy in the chainmail be? Extra security perhaps?"
"Think of me as a curious second party," Said Ulric, "I've heard the merchandise being exchanged here is valuable. I'd like to know how valuable, or at least why it's valuable to you."
"Oh I'm afraid I really couldn't say," Replied the woman as she adjusted the purple flower in her hair before sitting down, "I was merely sent here with the funds to purchase it. My employer is the one who wants it."
"And they didn't happen to say why they wanted it, Mrs.-?" Questioned Ulric with a raised eyebrow.
"Call me Elsa," replied the woman, "And all I can really say is that they don't wish for the current owner to have it." The woman took a sip of her milk before leaning forward. "But what about you? You're clearly not a businessman or a jeweler, so what could you possibly need with it?"
"Well I was hoping to learn why it was so important," Said Ulric, "But since that's not possible, I plan on getting it back to its owner and-." Ulric stopped speaking when he noticed a change in the woman's demeanor, and a sudden smell he knew all too well, blood.
"Oh," Elsa said as a wicked smile crossed her face, "So you're with her then?" Ulric reacted on instinct as he moved back and kicked the table upwards in front of him. But the furniture was cleanly sliced through by the woman with seemingly no effort at all. "It seems you managed to avoid that first strike," Said Elsa as Ulric drew his sword, "perhaps this will be more fun than I thought." Ulric didn't have the chance to answer back as Rom charged forward with a large club he pulled from behind the bar.
Ulric and Felt both had to make room as the giant of a man swung his club at their assailant. But Elsa leaped out of the way with seemingly no trouble as she hopped and spun around the room, avoiding one strike after another. The knight attempted to get in a couple of hits of his own, but the woman jumped over his blade and pushed off of his shoulder with her hand, causing him to lose balance temporarily. 'This woman,' he realized, 'this is the bloodthirsty monster that slashed my stomach open last time.'
Rom attempted a wide swing, but Elsa was ready this time, using a well-placed flip, she spun in midair and slashed the back of the old man's neck. "Old man Rom!" exclaimed Felt in disbelief as the large man staggered a few feet forward. Ulric took the opening and swung a few horizontal strikes at Elsa's midsection and head. But she managed to block both of his blows with her strange, ax-like dagger. The wounded Rom attempted to take advantage of this distraction as he raised his club over his head for another strike.
But Elsa was far too quick and jabbed the jagged end of her broken drinking glass she'd managed to scoop up during the fight. Blood spilled from Rom's mouth and throat as he collapsed to his knees, the life leaving his eyes. "No!" Exclaimed Ulric as he attempted a series of slashes against the assassin.
"That's right, I forgot," Elsa said as she dodged and parried several of Ulric's strikes before jabbing back at him with the milk glass. Ulric just managed to dodge it and back away with his sword held up defensively. "Thank you so much for the milk," she said with a smile as she set the ruined glass on the floor.
"You $ $%," Yelled Felt as she finally drew her own dagger. Ulric tried to stop her but the little thief suddenly moved with an incredible speed he'd never seen before.
"Blessed by the wind deities I see," Said Elsa as she barely managed to dodge Felt's strike, "But you lack the skill to use it."
"Felt get away!" Yelled Ulric. But it was too late, as Felt was pulling away, Elsa managed to get a slash in under her guard. The blond thief stumbled and fell onto her back, holding her stomach where she'd been cut.
"Now only one lef-," Elsa was about to say but was interrupted when Ulric slashed at her head. "Still have the will to fight I see, good." The two exchanged blows with Elsa managing to get a couple of cuts in on Ulric's arms and one on his shoulder. 'I need to take her by surprise somehow,' he thought to himself as Elsa spun around and nailed him in the chest with a back kick. The force of the blow knocked him into the bar, causing him to drop his sword in the process.
"This was more fun than I thought," Said Elsa with a wicked smile, "But I'm afraid our time must end." 'Only got one chance at this,' Ulric thought to himself as he pushed away from the bar and positioned his hand near his waist. As the female assassin struck, he moved to the side and slashed her hand with the dagger he'd pulled from the back of his belt. Elsa was so surprised she dropped her weapon as Ulric slashed at her face with the weapon. But once again, her inhuman speed allowed her to escape the blow with only a scratch on her left cheek.
"I must say I'm impressed," Said Elsa as she relaxed her stance for some odd reason, "I never expected a knight, if that's what you are, to use such a trick. Had you been just a bit faster, you might've been the winner." Ulric was about to ask what she meant by that, until he felt a sudden searing pain in his stomach. Glancing down, the knight noted with horror that he'd somehow been slashed across the stomach, yet again. "Of course, you're not the only one with an extra weapon."
It was then that Ulric noticed that she held a second blade in her left hand. 'She pulled it from behind her back after I knocked her first weapon out,' the young knight realized as he suddenly found it very hard to stand. "Don't fight it little knight," cooed Elsa, "Just let it take you, ever so slowly." Ulric gripped his weapon tighter as he forced himself to stand up straight.
"I've died fighting up to this point so far," he said, "And I won't go quietly now!" With a final charge, Ulric rushed the assassin, his resolve once again unwavering in the face of death.
The enemy of the half-elf has been revealed, and it's an enemy Ulric may be more than a little hard-pressed to stop as a loop of life and death begins to take hold. What will Ulric's next move be? Hello everyone, sorry this is a little late, been a busy weekend. So I'd like to thank you all for your patience and I hope the quality of the story is still up to everyone's standards. As always, feel free to leave a comment or review to help make this story better. Stop in next time as Ulric figures out his new ability, and some of its drawbacks. 'Til next time.
