Gelath couldn’t believe his eyes. Before him stood not a boy with some meager swordsmanship skills as he had first thought, but a warrior who had grown into his own. Despite his overwhelming advantage, he had still lost for the first time in his life. His cheeks flushed red as the truth of the last few moments washed over him.

In all his years of pillaging and murder, he hadn’t come across someone as tenacious or skilled as this young boy before him. Surely there were those who could give him a challenge. That much was not in question. However, never before had his trump card failed him so quickly, so easily, and so completely.

Being paired against a foe who could become invisible was more than most men could handle. Skilled or not they couldn’t strike what they couldn’t see. Panic and fear would wash over them as they realized that he could be anywhere, strike from any direction. It was through that fear that they would make mistakes and ultimately, fall victim to his blade.

However, this kid, no… this warrior, had overcome that fear and instead had instilled it within Gelath himself. The boy had pushed through to not only defeat, but utterly humiliate him in the process. Losing to a grown man was one thing. But skilled or not, this was a child who had defeated him. How could he possibly live this down?

Anger filled him next. How could he have been so stupid? If he had been more observant, if he had taken no chances then this might not have happened. He had underestimated the boy because of his own hubris. He had placed far too much faith into his damn trinket and it had cost him! But why?! It was just some dumb kid! How intensely were they training those children in that fancy mansion? Did they really have to go this far with it?

His plans had been brought to ruin all because of some shitty kid. Words better left unsaid ran through his mind as he cursed his rotten luck and the smug child standing with a sword to his throat. But those thoughts quickly faded away as they were replaced by others.

What would happen to him now?

Fear once again filled him, and a cold chill crept into his bones that he hadn’t known since his childhood spent struggling in the wilderness. Gelath had killed hundreds of people and raided dozens of villages. He had stolen and lied and schemed his way through the cities of Dellorim, all in an attempt to fulfill his desire to possess wealth. There wasn’t a city guard within the entire kingdom who didn’t know his face or how much the reward offered for his capture dead or alive was.

If he was brought before anyone of considerable power he knew that his life was all but over. His eyes darted over to the window to his left. Outside he could hear the battle dying down, and in all honesty, it didn’t sound like it was going well for his men despite their superior numbers. Somehow this ragtag group of guards borrowed from the Galvan estate had been enough to quell this raid.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this! He wasn’t supposed to lose here! It was just another shitty little village in a long line of shitty villages! Why? WHY?!

Gelath turned his gaze back to the boy standing before him. His only hope now was to play his final trump card. It was even more humiliating than losing but he didn’t have a choice! It was this or certain death.

****

Agnad let out a mighty roar as his hammerhead slammed down against the skull of his opponent. Grumm’s battle axe had been swift and powerful but Agnad had proven to be the superior fighter. Most saw him as a worthless drunkard. Even he knew that fact well enough. It was no secret that he enjoyed a stiff drink at all times. Nor was it unclear that he was lazy and unwilling to do difficult tasks.

Many judged him just by his outward appearance. This was nothing new to him and he had never cared for keeping his body in shape like those around him. However, his lack of hygiene and disdain for keeping his body in top form was nothing more than a smokescreen, and one that had served him well over the years.

He wanted people to see him as that worthless, lazy drunkard. It served his purposes extremely well. One would never expect a man who could drain an entire wineskin in seconds capable of more than straightforward heavy attacks that were easy to read. No. The fact of the matter was, his drinking and by extension his size were the keys to his power.

Agnad held a special ability that allowed his body to metabolize alcohol and body fat into pure stamina. It wasn’t anything too extraordinary as far as innate talents went, but it was quite a useful skill to have for one with a job like his. He could eat and sleep and drink as much as he wanted and in the end, it would only serve to make him stronger when all was said and done.

Grumm had learned this firsthand. Their battle had been an explosive one. That hulking bandit was powerful to be sure, but his downfall had been because of the misplaced idea that Agnad was weak and easily tired by his sheer size. Agnad had long since learned how to manipulate his foes through his outward appearance.

It would be no surprise that he was strong enough to use his massive war hammer with ease. It wouldn’t shock anyone to know that he could move quickly in short bursts and tank most damage without batting an eye. That was simply commonplace among larger men like him who chose to serve under those of great influence.

However, Agnad was quick to feign exhaustion. He was smart enough to know that people his size were thought to not possess enough stamina to outlast those who had spent years training and honing their bodies to fight. It was this very deception that had led him to a quick and easy victory against all of his opponents so far and Grumm here was just another name to add to the list.

Of course, Grumm hadn’t been some simple opponent to deal with. Despite his trickery, Agnad had still suffered a substantial wound to his gut at the end of that man’s speedy axe. It wasn’t a fatal injury but it did slow him down a bit. Still, with his opponent now dead at his feet, he turned his attention to the other bandits around the area. Most of them were nothing special. Regular citizens who were given iron, and steel, and who were taught that commoners were easy prey despite their lack of formal training. Agnad had seen this many times and these men were a copper coin a dozen.

Dispatching them would be beyond easy now that their strongest trump card lay dead upon the cold earth. It was with quick haste that he soon turned the tide of battle out here. His rage at the loss of his dear friend Richmond drove him forward mercilessly. Bandits like these only had one fate waiting for them. Be it by the hangman’s noose or his hammer they would die, and so he showed them no quarter.

The more pressing concern was the boy and that bandit leader. He had done his best to try and warn the kid of that guy’s ability to turn invisible. If there was one weakness that Agnad possessed it was going against those who used magick items. That stuff was tricky and quite unfair as far as he was concerned.

Sure he deceived his opponents about his abilities, but at the end of the day, he still had to fight using his own skill and power. A battle with a magick caster or someone who was using a magickal item on the other hand was just suicide in most cases. On top of that, he worried about the kid. He had seen him training with the young master back at the mansion many times. It was common talk amongst the other guards who roamed the grounds keeping watch over their lord’s property.

The young master was a little shit. There was no doubt about that. Most of the guards, Agnad included, despised him. But that kid, Cypher, was different. He was a commoner like most of them and suffered under the bootheels of society’s standards no less than they did. The only difference was that they were directly employed and paid very handsomely for their services.

Agnad and the others had watched as that boy had pushed himself to the limit of his body’s ability day in and day out without stopping. He was no doubt strong enough at this point to take down most of them without too much trouble. His only problem was a lack of actual experience and, of course, a lack of self-confidence.

At first, Agnad had thought it a joke that a simple servant boy was being put to use like that. What could he accomplish? But as the days and weeks rolled by he soon found himself rooting for the kid like all of his peers. They had even begun taking bets on who would win in their regular sparring matches.

It didn’t take a professional to see that Cypher had far surpassed the young master with ease very early on. They could all tell how he slowed his blows or moved into an attack against Eiden. They knew full well that their brother in social standing was holding back but growing all the same.

Still, as skilled as he was, magick was a real bitch and Agnad rushed through his foes to try and come to the aid of the young warrior in training. There were only a few of them left at this point. Clearing out the rest wouldn’t take much longer. He had lost Richmond tonight, and Grumm had wounded him in the gut quite severely, but he’d be damned if he let that kid die too.

Agnad pulled out another wineskin from under his breastplate and chugged it down in an instant. He could feel power flooding his body, and the pain of his wound faded away as he gritted his teeth and charged towards his next opponent.

“Hang in there kid… I’m coming!”