[Flashback] [Solo] The Path to Knighthood: The Return

by **Don** on June 16th, 2012, 6:48 am

“I’m not afraid of little man.” A man said, and pushed his way through the diminishing crowd. He was a large man, a head or two bigger than the rest. His skin was dark, and he was the only one not clad in armour. His large frame was left bare, besides a loincloth and a leather shoulder guard. A hooked sword was clenched tightly in one hand, and his rather large head was kept bald, with a bone dug into one side of his nose. He seemed foreign, not a man who would have lived around Sylira. His voice was deep and hoarse, and it did not seem as if he could speak common fluently.

“Danza’o will crush you. You are a bug.” The man said seriously, and the other few mercenaries stepped back several steps. Don half-expected this man to be Myrian, judging by the tribal, savage demeanour and look about him. Myrians were skilled fighters, and if he was one; Don knew he would not get out of this easy, or without injury.

“A bug? Let us prove that then..” Don motioned for the man to come forward, and he did so with the utmost haste. A huge swing slammed down upon Don, who managed to block the attack with the flat edge of his own blade. The mere strength of the man caused Don to flinch as the blade collided with his own, and he quickly took several steps back to gain some distance; enough room to be able to analyse the man. Generally, men who fought with strength alone lacked in wits, and that was where they met their downfall.

Don could not fathom much of the man at a glance, besides the fact he was big and strong. The only way he would be able to defeat such a man was to fight him, no matter what the odds were. Don was not a man to fear many things, and this man was no exception. Sure, he was sceptical about it, but the man himself did not scare him. Rushing forth, Don made the first attack, stabbing his blade towards Danza’o’s chest. The man brisked to the side, and attempted to grab Don by the throat. The Knight-hopeful made a weak attempt at fending him off by palming his wrist, which, to his luck, worked brilliantly. The Myrians hand flew backward as he hit it, giving Don enough time to gain distance from him again.

The larger man used the opportunity to make his own charge, and attempted to slash Don’s head from his neck. The beheading attempted failed miserably as Don ducked, leaving the man open to a counter-attack. Capitalizing on the opportunity, the Knight-hopeful swung his blade upwards with all his strength, slicing the man’s sword-arm clean from his torso. It dropped to the ground with a loud thud, and the man screamed in agony. Don knew that he had won the duel, yet knew that he could not let a man suffer a lost limb. With another swing, Don decapitated his opponent.

As both head and body fell to the ground in a heap, Don turned to face the other men. Before he could say a word, they began fleeing in the opposite direction, dropping their blades as they did so. The Knight-hopeful panted loudly, yet a smirk still managed to claim his face. He had beaten the odds, and even a man twice his size and width.

“You won’t live..” The elderly man coughed, blood spraying out over his chest. He sat against the tree he had been thrown at, his blade still in hand. Don turned to him, feeling pity for the aging soul. The Knight-hopeful approached him, and drove his blade through one last body. The man coughed and moaned for only a moment, before his head drooped down onto his shoulder. Finally, it was over, and Don had overcame what he thought he could not.

A sense of valour overcame him like a wave in the ocean. He had fought not for himself, but for the life of a girl who was in danger. He had fought to protect, not to kill. To defend and conserve, not to attack and destroy.

by **Don** on June 16th, 2012, 7:01 am

Minutes passed by, minutes spent in solitude. Don took the time he had to drink from his canteen, and take the bolts from the fallen. The initial man he had shot had died of his wound, which allowed Don to take the bolt from him too. He knew that he could not leave the bodies there, in the forest, left to the wolves and the other animals that feasted upon the dead. They were not honourable men, so they should have at least deserved an honourable burial. Or a pyre.

Don began to collect sticks and other flammable objects from the area around him, and pile them up in the centre of a clearing. It took a while, but finally he had collected enough to create a sizeable funeral pyre. After taking a moment to rest, he began to drag each individual dead to the pyre, and toss them atop it. As he was close to finishing the entire process, Anthor and Chastity emerged from the shadows of the surrounding trees. Each seemed unharmed, and Don could only help but smile. How they had found him he did not know, though he was eager to find out.

“How did you find me?” Don asked, dragging the last body towards the pyre. A trail of red followed closely behind.

Chastity smiled, and Anthor laughed. “Your tracks. Led us right here. We came across that bandit, I sorted him out. Gave him a good beating.”
Don raised an eyebrow. The bandit had ran back in the direction he had came? For what purpose?

“What did you do with him? Did he say anything?” Don said as he threw the body atop the pyre, and dusted off his hands like it was a job well done. All that was left was to burn them, and leave the area before even more fearsome predators approached.

“He said you were going to die. So I beat him with my pan, and left him hanging from a tree." Anthor said in a serious tone, and Don only barked a laugh. He was a good man, Anthor.

“Oh, very well. Now help me get this fire started, so we can get Chastity home.” Don looked at the girl as he purposely said home, and watched her face turn from happy to shocked. He knew what the man had said about her father was right, he knew she was afraid. The look on the girl’s face only confirmed his suspicions.

“Don’t worry, Chastity. I know of your father. He is not a nice man, is he?” Don asked in a comforting voice, and the girl shook her head in sorrow. Her innocent face had melted his heart, and no longer did he care about the quest. He only cared for her safety.

“We will find you a family. A good family. I swear it.” Don promised, and he always made sure he kept his promises. He had never broken one, nor did he ever plan to. He would find this girl a good home, and make sure her true father never saw her again. If he did, surely there would have been dire consequences. As the fire started to burn the bodies, Don looked to Anthor, then to Chastity.

“Come now, let’s get you home.”

End.

by **Paragon** on June 20th, 2012, 12:23 pm

Adventurer's Loot

Donathan's Loot :

Your writing is wonderful Don, and a joy to read. I hope you enjoy the skills and lores. However, I'm awarding you the XP this time because you're new, but a note of caution: be aware of playing to your skills. Don has 10 XP in crossbow, and is a novice. He has 90 XP left to grow and develop his skills with this weapon. You literally sharpshot two or three targets without even missing in this thread, and played over your skill levels. Similarly, you overplayed swordsmanship too, slicing an arm off in a short fight. Please be aware of your limitations, and this is why you now have muscle damage for two weeks after this timestamp. Some storytellers won't even grade if you overplay. Anyway, as I said, great thread, interesting plot, and you did really well to make this engaging. Keep up the great work - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.