9. Trader (I)
"Cedi, I never met him. I only heard of his reputation. So be careful, as if he knew our people, he could be protected with our magic."
The home of the trader is in the city of Landan; a big double level house of over five hundred paces with a large garden surrounding it within the walls. To the right of the garden is another structure of housing for the guards and servant. The trader has more guards than servants not because of his gold, but he fears for his life. He fears the revenge of the Elves that he helped betray. There is a secret not known to many; the trader is an Elf like us but he left us to stay with Man. He lived like them and became one of them; the biggest sin of the Elves.
Now he hears of the war on his previous people and he fears that they may come for him again. Since he lived like a Man for so many years, he still fear the Elves knowing his real identity.
Among his guards are one which I need to take caution on as she is an Elf: I was told that she is from the House of Judas and is a well know known warrior and assassin. Her name was never known but she is better known as The Silent Killer as none of her victim has a chance to scream or call for help. She has a personal retinue of seven bodyguard that protects her.
That night Cedi and his Genoe warrior were at the walls of the trader house, and they are planning their next moves. Medi asked to be allowed here to fight the assassin. She wants to test herself against the assassin, while all Cedi wants to retrieved the gold for his war. They climbed the outer perimeter wall and dropped down on the other side. Cedi made his own way to the Main House while Medi went over to the barracks.
He reached the porch door and tried it but its locked. He then moved to the other doors but they are all locked. He stepped back and then found a partial window opened on the upper level. If he hope to get there he had to scale the walls, he saw the gaps in the walls that he can use as footing on the wall. He slowly mount up the wall and then soon find himself at the window ledge of the partial opened window. He slowly pry it open and climbed in.
Its a personal chamber of some occupants.
"Who's there?"
Cedi did not answer back but his dagger did reply into the person's chest. Once he had relieved the person of the soul, he checked the dead body.; its an older man and dressed in the night dressing for bedding. But Cedi doubt its the trader as this one has beard on him and he does not looked like an elf.
So it could be just another one of Man.
He sneak out of the room with his drawn sword in the right hand and shield in the left.
Cedi slowly made his way forth looking at every corner of all sides but there are no guards. Its very unusual as the trader has guards but none can be seen. More to it, he sensed no elves magic around him.
Cedi saw the stairs leading down to the lower level, and the place below is lighted up.
"Come down, Elfling. We know you are up there."
The voice is a female and she speak in the language known only to us.
Cedi walked down the stairs to faced the caller. He saw the acclaimed guards of the House and their leader, the Elf from the House of Judas.
She is also holding Medi as a hostage in front of her.
"I got your friend here. She put up a struggle but her skills are not to mine to matched with."
The one they named the Silent Killer is a small frame warrior like most female warriors I have ever seen. She is dressed in the leather armor of the elves and her sword is at Medi' neck.
"Elfling, your arrival was anticipated by the sorceress, but he reveals not to me of your name. May I have it now, Elfling as I would give you mine too. Its Nedi of Judas. I heard of the Dark Elf who slayed the beast in the lake and also of Lord Mikina. I seek your challenge in combat. If you win, your friend goes free and if I win, there would nothing need to be discussed. You would be dead by then."
Cedi looked at Medi as she struggled in the ropes holding her. Cedi' thought then was that he should had asked her to take the golds while he challenged the guards. Cedi nodded and stepped forth to challenge the one named the Silent Killer.
“Cedi, ignore me. Leave the place.”
Cedi smiled at Medi; she knows he would not. He unslung the bow and quiver of arrows to hold only his sword and shield.
Cedi stepped up to meet the assassin.
"I am called the Silent Killer as all my victims died without a sound. The truth of the matter was because they been drugged before I fight them." The assassin threw some powdery substance at Cedi but he had raised the shield to block at it.
The powder on contact with my shield vaporized into smoke.
"How can that be?" The assassin was confused how her magic can fail to work now. "Is that a magical item too?'
He did not reply to her and brought his sword towards her with an up swing. The guard next to the assassin blocked it with his sword while another tries to thrust Cedi with the sword. Cedi stepped back and used the shield to block it. The guards stepped back, and so did Cedi.
"Fight me like an Elf, Killer. Are you so afraid that you need Man to protect you?" Cedi stepped forth and swung the sword at the assassin but she stepped aside to parry with her own sword.
"I would fight you, Dark Elf. None may say I am a coward; much less from one who is of my own kind." The assassin swing her sword up at Cedi with an upward thrust and then twist her hand to swing the sword in from the left of him.
Cedi had seen the move and have the sword to parry the attack but the assassin did not anticipate the side kick into her chest which dropped her back. Cedi then swing his sword at the nearest guard catching it at the side of the neck. When the guard fell from the cut, Cedi turned his body to used the shield as a battering ram onto the next guard.
That knock hit the guard to fall back on two of his other friends. Cedi crouched his body lower to avoid the incoming swing from another guard but him returning the slash at guard' legs caused him to fall down onto his knees. Cedi followed up with a low leg swing to knock him down and went for the leader again.
The assassin had stand up from her fall and on seeing Cedi coming at her, she raised her shield to protect herself.
Cedi clashed his shield against her' and thrusted his sword from the top. The assassin saw it coming and tried to swing her sword from the left side hoping to cut at Cedi before he stabbed her. He pushed himself against her with his bigger frame forcing her back till she lost her balance. Then he stabbed into her left shoulder and into her heart.
Upon seeing her fall down, Cedi rolled off to the right to face the remaining guards. There are still the six of them, with the last one holding onto his wounded knees.
"Be off with your wounded friend. Your master is dead. There is no more payment of gold for your services."
The guards took my cue and dragged the wounded one away. Cedi walked over to Medi who looked ghastly pale as she stared at the dead warrior.
"Is she dead?" Medi asked of the assassin lying there. Cedi nodded, but he was wrong.
"I am not dead yet, Dark Elf."
The assassin stood up with her right hand holding onto her wounded shoulder while clutching her sword in the left hand. "The heart is on my right side. Its a defect of mine."
Cedi and jumped up high before swinging his sword on the assassin' neck. The blade cut off head off leaving her staggering there in her blood.
"No!" Medi shouted and she ran towards the assassin but Cedi held her back. She cried into my shoulder while I held onto her.
"She is not one of us anymore, Medi. She is a traitor to the Elves. Cry no more for her." Cedi pulled Medi from his body and motioned her to the doorway.
But she held back.
"They are outside. The Trader and the other warriors. They have encircled the place. We cannot escape now."
Cedi glared at the door and then looked at Medi.
"They told me that when they captured me. That's why I screamed out. We could had used her as a hostage for our escape. Now we have none."
"Find the gold and take what you can carry. I would get us out."
They both ran in different directions to find the gold. They found only one small chest and they took it with them.
"They would not attack us as they feared us in these cramped conditions. They want to us to go to them as the open ground allowed them to shoot arrows at us. We would not do it but we would escape." Cedi ran to the upper level pulling Medi.
Cedi took to the open window and whistled for his ride home.
He saw the Gryphon and soon it landed onto the roofing. They both climbed out and later mount the creature.
A streak of dark hit the Gryphon. The Gryphon shrieked out in pain and fell on its limbs on the roof.
"What happened, Leoni?"
Cedi looked to the Gryphon and checked for wounds on it.
There were none but a dark blemish mark can be seen on the side of the left fore leg. The dark blemish is spreading and soon to cover her upper leg.
"Medi, Leoni was shot by some magical arrow. She is in pain."
"Let me see." Medi leaned over to check the dark marking and then she sighed. "I know that marking. Its a poison spell which when pierce onto the flesh would spread till it reaches the heart. Its the works of the Judas House. This is their potent magic at works."
"I heard of it. It comes from the enchanted bow. I also know the spell. But not the cure. Do you know the cure?" Cedi asked back to Medi and she nodded.
"But not here. I need to get her back to the valley. Leoni, can you fly me back there?" Medi looked at the Gryphon. It spread its wings and Medi climbed on. "I will be back. You must escaped."
She has taken off on the Gryphon.
Cedi looked at them flying off and then looked down at the enemies of mine which surround the house. They are about twenty of them in front of the house with some numbers on all sides. The trader stands there with a Elven Bow and he must be the one that set the arrow on my Gryphon.
Cedi sheathed back the sword and placed the shield on his arm. He checked the quiver and bow before securing them to his back. He then leap off the roof.
He sailed down downwards and then turned his body into a somersault to land on my feet. Once his feet touches the ground, he bend his body to rolled like a barrel towards the trader and the guards.
When he completed the roll to stop near the trader, he had his shield again as a battering ram. When Cedi was to hit onto the trader, the trader jumped back with a back somersault over the guards.
Cedi took out his sword and slash at the guards with a swing taking down two of them. He side stepped to the left to dodge a oncoming thrust from another before he cut off his hand with the shield sharp edge. Cedi followed on with some wild swings to push the guards back toward their retreating master. The trader released his second arrow on completion of the incantations to the spell, but the arrows were blocked by the shield.
"Face me, Trader. Fight with me like a Elf. Don't hide behind your guards."
Cedi want to fight him but he still stand behind his guards. Cedi rushed forth again taking down two more of the guards but the trader still evades him. But the ongoing challenge had opened a gap and took Cedi closer to the wall.
Cedi took the opportunity to lash out at the guards before he leap onto the guard's shoulder and used that to jump higher over the wall. Once Cedi landed on the outside, he took to my heels and ran for the alleys. The guards chased him but he is passed the danger distance from them so he feared them not.
He have failed in the mission and got the pet wounded. Cedi told him, he would be back one day to complete the job.
"Medi, how is Leoni?" Cedi asked of the pet as it lies under the large tree in the Dark Valley. Medi is preparing some potion for the Gryphon.
Cedi asked her again.
"She would live. But not so soon. She needs to rest." Medi continued with her potion making.
Cedi went over to my pet and pat her mane. She has served him well, and till now I have not seen any of her kind before. She must not die or he would be alone. He asked Medi to assist as they move her to a nearby cave near the stream.
"Let her stay here. She can recover on her terms. We have works to do."
Medi stopped him, and asked Cedi how would the Gryphon feed herself. "She can't hunt now."
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