Peering around the corner of one of the buildings that stood in the square Kel watched as Yar stood, unsheathed his sword, bowed and began circling to the left of Daul, sword at the ready and positioning his back to the quickly setting sun. Frowning Kel glanced around the square; the creatures, which were far fewer in number than he had expected, had for the most part disappeared into various side-streets, searching almost undoubtedly for the girls and him. It seemed they had been expected to flee from the square, and by all rights they probably should have, but...Kel glanced over his shoulder at Nadi and Ramgad who were nearly hidden in the shadows of the alley behind him--the others had been nowhere to be found. And now, not only did they have the others to worry about, but there was Daul's safety to be taken into consideration as well. They couldn't let him face Yar alone, but what were they to do?
Meanwhile from a position not quite directly across the square Effie was watching the same scene play out with a worried frown on her face. Yar had taken up a position with his back to her and she was beginning to wonder if maybe she could manage to distract him long enough for Daul to get the upper-hand. It would probably mean an almost immediate detection by the creatures wandering the streets nearby, but if she could manage to take Yar's attention away from Daul, even for just a moment...Taking a deep breath Effie stepped out of the shadows of the alley, but before she could do a thing she was almost immediately pulled back into the darkness, a hand clamped firmly over her mouth. She had hardly given a thought to struggling when she was quickly turned around coming face to face with Eudo who removed his hand from her mouth as soon as he saw the glare that she was giving him. "Are you trying to scare me to death?!" she whispered harshly as soon as she was able.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he responded.
"I was going to try to distract Yar..." She trailed off, seeing Eudo's shaking head. "What?"
Turning her around he faced Effie so that she was looking out at the town square where the two combatants had yet to make a move against eachother. "Over there," he said as he pointed to a point practically across the square. Following his gesture Effie spied what he was pointing at. From where they stood she could just make out Kel standing in the shadows, watching what was happening between Yar and Daul, and if she squinted hard enough she thought she could make out other forms standing in the deeper shadows behind him. "We're going over there," Eudo informed her. "We've got to regroup."
Effie frowned. "And how do you propose we do that? In case you didn't notice we're standing in a dead end."
"I guess we're lucky Yar's back is to us then."
"You mean we're going to just run across the square?" When Eudo nodded his reply she exclaimed, "Are you crazy?!" This earned her a hand over her mouth once again.
"We're going to stay close to the buildings and alleys, possible hiding places," he explained, keeping his hand in place over Effie's mouth. "And we're going to go quietly," he added, emphasizing the final word. "Understand?"
Though glaring at being mishandled so she nodded her understanding. Eudo removed his hand and, with hands on her shoulders, guided her out of the alley into the square. Daul almost immediately noticed the movement and nearly instantly regretted it. His glance in Effie and Eudo's direction had attracted Yar's attention, and the suspicious Yar would easily discover the pair if he turned to see what had attracted Daul's attention. Quickly, so that Yar had no time to see what was happening behind his back, Daul shouted and lunged in with his sword, forcing Yar to keep his attention on his present adversary. Yar warded off the assault easily but made no attack of his own. Quickly Daul stepped back, having been successful in keeping Yar from discovering the others and having officially begun the battle. Daul began to sidestep and as expected Yar kept pace, keeping his face to Daul and, as Daul had planned, his back to Effie and Eudo. But suddenly Yar lunged in, catching Daul unaware and striking at his left side, drawing a bloody line across Daul's left arm midway between elbow and shoulder. It wasn't what he had hoped for, but it was first blood all the same. As Daul staggered back Yar grinned. He was obviously enjoying himself. Daul was not.
From a low, nearby rooftop looking down on the town square Ari frowned, a worried look on her face. "Daul's outmatched," she stated simply, watching as the two opponents stood facing eachother after Yar's semi-successful attack; neither one of them seemed as though they were going to make another lunge.
"He's keeping Yar's attention away from the others though," Noremac replied. From where he and Ari were laying low on the roof they could see Effie and Eudo disappearing into the nearby alley that they had previously spied Kel peeking out of. "We should be making our way over there as well," he added. With a nod of his head he directed Ari towards the edge of the roof furthest from the square, then helped her down over the edge to the back street before dropping down into the street himself. Unfortunately it was right about then that one of Yar's creatures decided to turn onto the street where Ari and Noremac stood in plain view.
Ari said it best with her simple statement of, "Oh shit."
Quickly Noremac stepped between her and the creature which was now grinning broadly revealing huge fangs, teeth and clawed hands with talon- like fingers it's only--and only needed--weapons. It eyed the couple eagerly, it's master's orders ringing in it's ears. I want the descendants of the regulators brought to me alive...Do whatever you want with the others.
"Get out of here," Noremac told Ari, seeing the creature begin to advance, howling loudly in what he could only assume was a call to it's brethren--a cry of a successful hunt.
"What?! I can't just-"
"Go find the others," he continued, ignoring her arguments. "I'll hold this thing off."
Ari paused, then stepped back, nodding though Noremac couldn't see it. "I'll go get help," she told him before turning heel and running for where she hoped the others were still gathered. It took hardly any time at all for Ari to find the others, dashing in through the back entrance of the alley only to be greeted by the unsheathing of swords at the sudden and unexpected sound of an intruder. Of course the others almost immediately realized their mistake and at Ari's quick demands that they help Noremac both Eudo and Ramgad were gone, taking off in the direction Ari pointed them and leaving the girls with only Kel as protection.
At the same time out in the empty square Yar was grinning smugly, hearing the calls of the creature that had found Ari and Noremac. "Sounds as though one of my pets found something," he told Daul, his smirk revealing his obvious belief that his victory was eminent. "If you surrender now, I'll kill them quickly and as painlessly as possible."
With a defiant growl Daul lashed out with his sword, taking Yar by surprise but succeeding only in drawing a shallow line across Yar's left arm and chest. As the two drew back Daul thrust his sword into Yar's side, not a deep gash but another telling blow that only served to anger his opponent. Yar rushed in, swinging low and cutting a deep gash in Daul's leg. Daul's next swing was wild and Yar ducked it easily, taking the opportunity to strike again, this time plunging his sword deep into Daul's side. Quickly Yar withdrew, moving into a guard position. Daul staggered back and took up a similar defensive stance though he was obviously in a great deal of pain whereas Yar seemed eager for more.
Ari peered out of the alley from around Kel, who had watched the whole thing with a worried frown on his face--the whole confrontation had taken a matter of moments and Daul was the worse off for it. "That can't be good," Ari stated, worry evident in her voice. She glanced back at Effie and Nadi who were peering out the other end of the alley, listening intently to the sounds of the unseen battle between the guys and the creatures that were slowly gathering together, ganging up on the three guys- -that much could be determined from the increasing number of cries from the creatures, but not much else. "How are things over there?" Ari questioned, not knowing who she needed to worry about more.
"It's hard to tell," Nadi called back, fairly confident that their words couldn't be heard above the din of the fight. "But I don't like this at all. There must be something we can do..."
Kel glanced back. "Take out the leader; without guidance the followers will scatter." After a pause he added, "Stay here."
Effie turned just in time to see Kel dart out of the alley, around the corner of the building and out of sight. "Is it just me, or is he leaving us alone?" she questioned as she and Nadi joined Ari near the middle of the alley.
"He's leaving us alone," Ari responded in a matter-of-fact tone, glancing back at where Kel had stood only moments before. Then, looking back at her friends her attention was drawn to something behind them. "And, uh, we have company," she added in a fearful tone. Almost as one both Nadi and Effie slowly turned their heads to see what Ari was pointing at--dark creatures wielding fangs and claws and advancing slowly, purposely from the end of the alley.
Effie was the first to react and set her feet into motion, bolting quickly out of the alley and into the town square followed closely by Ari and Nadi who had the creatures too closely behind them for comfort. The girls ran fast, but the creatures ran faster, their strides longer and their steps lighter than those of the girls. As the creatures closed in on one side the girls turned, realizing that they were being herded but unable to do anything about it; it was into an alley that the girls ran and it was a dead end that finally stopped them. But it wasn't just the dead end that stopped them in their tracks--at the furthest end of the alley there was what could only be a hole in the ground and a deep one at that, one which they could not see the bottom of...It was as though the ground had simply collapsed into nothingness and they teetered on the edge of it.
"Uh," Ari said, peering down into the hole, "is that supposed to be here?" But her feeble attempt at humor was cut short as they turned to face the creatures that blocked their escape; through them the girls could see the town square and to their despair Daul was down, his wounded leg having buckled beneath him during at attempt at an attack. Yar moved quickly, kicking the sword from Daul's hand and standing over his defenseless opponent, his blade at his throat and a haughty grin on his face.
"No!" Nadi exclaimed, making a move as if to rush to Daul's aid, but in an instant the creatures were there and suddenly the end of the alley was very crowded--far too crowded and far too near the gaping hole. It was Effie who backed up one step to far in an attempt to avoid the creatures' grasps--her scream lingered long after she had disappeared from sight into the darkness of the inexplicable hole. In shock Ari stood silently at the edge of the hole, peering down, but there was no sign of Effie. Before their friend's sudden fall and the implications of it even had time to sink in the two girls were being forcefully pulled from the alley and into the square where Yar, with the hilt of his sword, had knocked Daul to his back on the ground.
"Well lookie what we have here," Yar grinned, gesturing to the girls with his sword. He knelt quite literally on his downed opponent, one knee digging harshly into Daul's ribs, the other pinning his right arm to the ground. His left hand was on Daul's throat, exerting an uncomfortable amount of pressure even with Daul's left hand wrapped around his wrist in an attempt to win back the ability to breathe. It was with pain and great effort that he turned his head to face the girls, and it seemed that only then did Yar notice that one of the three girls was missing. "Where's the other one?" he demanded. There was a long moment during which it seemed that one of the creatures was actually answering though if it was it was in a language incomprehensible to any but Yar and the other creatures. Suddenly Yar's demanding glance turned to one of anger. "What do you mean she's dead?!"
It was Ari and Nadi whom Daul looked to for some sign of falsehood in this statement, but their hanging heads told the truth of Yar's exclamation. However Daul's thoughts were quickly taken from the loss of Effie to matters that needed addressing more immediately--more specifically the grip that had tightened painfully on his throat, cutting off what remained of his ability to draw breath.
"I had so wanted to kill them all myself," Yar told Daul through clenched teeth. "But I suppose I'll just have to make do with what I have." Daul turned to where Yar's attention had been drawn during his last statement and saw the cause of Yar's sudden grin--a group of creatures had just entered the square and they had in tow noneother than Noremac, Ramgad and Eudo. It could only be Ramgad who was shouting obscenities at the creatures as he was dragged along, obviously still very much alive whereas the other two were at the very least--and hopefully at the very most-- unconscious.
Yar's grin said it all--he would have plenty of fun killing them all. But it was at this moment when his attention was drawn to the new arrivals that another, unaccounted-for enemy of Yar took the opportunity to strike and Yar found himself suddenly bowled over by a rather large mass of fur, fang and claw, his sword knocked from his hand as he was forced to the ground.
Looking up at the sudden activity Nadi could hardly believe her eyes. "The wolf from Ardam?" she questioned aloud though she hardly expected an answer.
Ari looked up at the same time, eyed the wolf that had forcefully knocked Yar from his seat atop Daul, then glanced at the creatures that had dragged the guys into the square. With a determined frown she decided that it was time to fight back. Meanwhile Nadi was deciding the same thing, realizing that though the creatures were holding her and Ari tightly by the shoulders she still had ample ability to make a quick grab for the dagger that she had hidden amongst her clothes. This time it was all or none.
Freed from Yar's hold Daul turned first to see that the wolf was towering over Yar, his fangs sunk into the other's shoulder. Daul's face showed concern for the animal. "Be careful Kel!" he shouted, but the wolf didn't even seem to hear him. But maybe he simply would not acknowledge the name; though the wolf was a different facet of Kel, neither was he really Kel...There was a symbiosis there between the two that Daul had never been able to understand, but now was not the time to contemplate it. Instead he turned to the girls. Nadi had been successful in breaking from her captor, but Daul saw that the dagger she had used to do so had been lost in the process. He could also see that she was torn between running from the two creatures that were stalking her, or trying to help Ari who was trying to remember a spell--any spell--that would help out; all the while she was repeatedly elbowing and kicking her captor and the only reason she wasn't dead was that the creature remembered it's master's orders, or more specifically the threat of the consequences were the orders disobeyed.
A pain-filled yelp quickly drew Daul's attention back to Yar and the wolf. The wolf had been thrown forcefully through the air at a spell from Yar, who was climbing to his feet, blood staining his shirt where teeth had torn flesh. Yar was approaching his attacker who had been all but forgotten about only a minute before. The wolf lay still near the sword that had been knocked from Yar's hand, and Daul watched Yar approach the mass of fur, angry that he was unable to gather the strength to stand and help the animal. But it was as Yar neared the animal that Daul noticed an almost undetectable movement, and to his surprise it was a human hand that reached out slowly from beneath the animal skin--reaching for the discarded sword.
Yar, pained and angry, noticed too late the movement as Kel knelt suddenly, flinging the wolf skin from his shoulders and stabbing upwards with the sword. Daul winced slightly, looking away from the scene, and it seemed that for a moment all was still and silent, as though time had paused, capturing a still-frame of the moment that ended the weary battle. Then, suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once. Yar collapsed to his knees, grasping at the sword that was embedded in his abdomen, and for a moment he came face to face with Kel, eye to eye with his killer. Then, for Yar, everything ended.
The creatures, seeing their master and creator vanquished, scattered like leaves to the wind, disappearing as quickly as they had first appeared. Daul, glad to have seen things through straight to the end closed his eyes for the final time and exhaled his last breath, a smile on his face. Ramgad and Noremac, who had regained consciousness some time during the last few moments of the fight, were pulling an unconscious but still breathing Eudo to his feet, heading across the square to the Nadi and Ari, who had finally begun to weep for the loss they had to endure. In the near future they would see to it that the hole into which Effie fell was sealed up--forever if they had it their way. In the bright light of the two moons Kel stood over Daul, head lowered and a prayer on his lips.

End

Well, one down....Shall I bother posting the SEQUEL? 'Untitled, too!' ^__^