3. Trust
There were three of them at the forest edge looking at the convoy in front of them at a distance of over five hundred paces. The day is getting late and the forest lent its shadow to the trees which now reached out close to the road. The convoy is manned by ten guards who guards the wagon and its servants. General Darren rides ahead with his own personal guards.
Today Pipa his daughter rides with him although among them, she is better known as the Sorceress. Not many know of her primary identity as this was what the father and daughter choose to hide from the rest.
The main attack group came from other side of the road from within the forest tree lines. The thirty outlaws Jedi hired with golds are coming in with the sun in their eyes. Jedi wanted them seen by the General so he would go into action.
"Cover the wagons!" The General shouts to the guards and motioned his personal guards to intercept the bandits. "Pipa, get to the wagons. Stay there."
The General and his guards rode out to meet the outlaws. The guards drew out their long swords and spread out so that none can passed through them to the wagons. The General men are good as they handled at least six outlaws each. They are swift in their action and the outlaws are losing their numbers fast. Then the second group of outlaws came in this time from my side of the forest. They numbered another twenty and they are going for the wagons.
"More outlaws to the wagons!" The General caught sight of the new group as he cut down his sixth outlaw. "Protect Pipa at all costs."
He signaled to two of his personal guards to ride towards his daughter but he was to see another ten more outlaws coming at him from the forest.
"Damned! Is there more?" The General turn his horse to the wagons. He reached Pipa and told her to ride for safety. He and the rest would stop the rest.
"Father, the chest is important." She rode to the wagon and retrieved the small chest. She held it in her saddle pouch and ride on towards the city. An outlaw came to intercept her and the General caught up with the outlaw to kill the threat. She rode for some distance, before she saw the five outlaws in front of her. She tried to change her directions but the horse was shot by an arrow. She jumped off before the horse dropped on her.
The five outlaws came riding and she pulled open her pouch. Inside of it, she took out a small vial and threw it at the oncoming riders. The vial broke open on contact and a mist of blue smoke appeared when the riders rode into it. The five riders fell with their mounts upon passing the smoke. Pipa tried to move then but she find her leg bruised and painful. She tried to move again but she find herself more painful to move. Then she saw the rider coming towards her. Its a lady dressed in armor and she is riding fast. The rider stopped by her and the rider took her by the hand to grab her onto the horse.
"Hold tight', Nikite told the sorceress. Nikite rode for the city but they picked up two more outlaws behind them. Nikite handed her rein to the sorceress and she slipped her body around riding her horse backwards. She raised her bow and nocked in the arrow. She released it and hit one of the outlaws. The remaining one had enough and withdrew immediately.
"Thank you for saving my daughter. Who are you?" Nikite was asked by the General. She told him the truth about herself. She find herself surrounded by the five personal guards with their weapons drawn.
"You story is too good to be true. More to it, you are an Elite Guard member. How can I trust you?" The General confronted her on her loyalty.
"My House is destroyed and more so, my own company disbanded. So don't ask me on my loyalty. There is none." Nikite told him.
"I work for gold. Your sorceress needs one which can take care of her. I could do the job if you can pay me." Nikite knew that the General is seeking for bodyguards for his daughter but he can't find one that she would like. Not until now that she nodded to her father. Its not a matter of getting one near her but finding one that she can trust to be near her. The General looked at his own daughter and she nodded.
Nikite got the task and Pipa has a lot of enemy as a sorceress of Lord Netsu.
Two nights later Nikite was sitting outside the chamber of Pipa' when her instinct tells her that she is needed. She rushed in just in time to see the Orc standing over the sorceress bed.
"Orcs!" Nikite shouted the alarm as she slashed out with the long handed sword at the Orcs. She caught the first Orc in the back but the Orc hardly felt the slash as he still proceeding to raise his club on the terrified sorceress. Nikite drew out her chain with the sickle and swung it over the Orc hands. Nikite jumped back and pulled hard with her hands. The pull draw the Orc backward and fell on his back. Nikite jumped up and cut down with the sickle on the neck of the Orc. It sever part of the neck but the darned Orc is still fighting back.
Nikite stepped back and come down with her right knee on the partial sever neck. The Orc still does not stop in its action. The Orc reached out with its club and swing it hard into Nikite shoulder. The warrior fell back holding the shoulder, as the Orc tried to stand up. Nikite reached for her sickle and thought of attacking again but the Orc suddenly stopped moving.
"Nikite, its under my spell now. Topple it over again. Use something hard to break it skull." The sorceress shouted out. He had sprinkle on the Orc the potion by her bedside.
Nikite got up and pushed at the immobilize Orc to the ground. She then grabbed her shield and used it to smash the Orc' head. Finally it gave way to its soft flesh and soon it was dead.
Nikite then bowed before the sorceress.
"Its not for you to be blamed. The Orc is a under another spell. It feels no pain which is why it can't ignore your cuts. I just helped you to kill it." The sorceress explained herself to the bodyguard. "You done well. You came in to warned me in time. I should be thank you for you.
"Who could had done such spells? Elves or Orcs?" Nikite asked of the sorceress.
"There is one. She is ....my rival for many things. Her name is Kiring from the House of Karen. The House of Karen are known for their sorcery spells and she is one of the better apprentice then of Malech the Spellbinder. He is formerly of the House of Genoe, but he accepts all whom he thinks is good regardless of the Houses. I think she may be the one who sent the Orc." The chamber was filled with guards by then as the alarm has gone out, and even her father, the General was there.
"Search the grounds. I want it secured." The father checked on his daughter and then looked at Nikite. His right hand back slapped her on the cheek. "How do you do your task? Remove this elf and kill her."
Nikite held up her sword and shield up to deter the advancing five guards. The sorceress stepped in and blocked them.
"Nikite is my servant, and she only answers only to me. Only I may punished her." The sorceress stood in between her and the guards.
"I am not without enemies as they are from my father and his Lord. I am gifted with a curse, that I am to serve within these circles." The sorceress took up the goblet and drink it down the wine that inside it. Nikite sat across her looking at her as both of them are alone in the chamber now. Nikite remember her task assigned to her to get close to the sorceress as to find out more on the General' movement. She was surprised that she was chosen on such short notice and in that short time, she has also known the lady named Pipa.
"You drink too much, Pipa. Its time for us to rest as dawn is almost here." The lady refused the extended hand of her bodyguard. She poured herself another goblet and drink it all by herself.
"Nikite, you are not who you are. You seek me out to report on the General. I permitted it as its the only way for you to know my father and also myself. You are my first guard which is a female; there has been scores of others but they are all males. Even two became my lover till they were killed or removed. I removed them as I am tired of their love for me. There is no love in my life; only self pursuit of personal needs." The lady pours herself another while her guard looked down to her drunken mistress.
"Pipa, you are..." Nikite tried to intervene but she was stopped by the sorceress continuing her story.
"I can read mind which is how I am so powerful. I read yours, and you are open to mine. It matter not as I am not keen to exposure you. I want you to be my friend until such time I am ready to let you off as a discarded lover....or in this case, a friend."
The talked into the night and it was near dawn when the sorceress spoke on another matter.
"I can hold my wine very well but its sometimes nice to be drunk as I would forget myself in it. I am my real person with it, but for now I need to sober to speak to you. I want you to help me."
Nikite is confused but she listen on. The sorceress points to the scroll on her bedside. She motioned Nikite to bring it to her. She unrolled the scroll and showed the warrior the drawing on it.
"She is my father's lover. I am not against his choice of women. This one is not an ordinary woman. She is a spy for the Lord Netsu. I need you to kill her. She is reporting him to Lord Netsu." The sorceress smiled at the warrior. "If you want any gold, its in chest in the temple with the priest. He is to give you on you completing your task. You can take what you want."
The sorceress got up from the flooring where they had the drinking, and walked back to her bed. She slept on it and then she spoke out.
"The lady would be at the temple today. The priest would showed you."
The temple is located on edge of the city, and its not a filled with worshipers as its only for the elite families. The temple is a simple single structure with a hall filled with the statue of the Orion, God of Leadership. Its also reveled that Orion is also worshiped for the influence of wealth. The later is the one the elites comes to throw their prayers. There are a dozen priests which served the temple but its guarded by more than twice the numbers on the perimeter.
Nikite is at the outer wall of the temple with the sorceress entourage on the East Gate and this is the spot they had to wait. The sorceress walked in to the temple grounds by her own. Its a long walk of over five hundred paces with just the plain grass to show for the scenery. Once she walked past that, she would come to the inner wall which is the temple itself. The lady love of the General has already arrived as her entourage is situated on the North Gate. That is reserved for Lord Netsu. That was her mistake.
A priest came to the East Gate to call on Nikite to see to the lady of her care. She walked with him and noticed the two dozen guards who patrol the area between the walls. Once she reached the inner wall, the priest asked her to go on to the temple hall but she is to leave all her weapons here at the wall. She did as she was told and went in to the hall. She find the sorceress standing there before the lady from the scroll. The lady was lying on the flooring not moving.
"Kill her with your dagger. I know you have it on under your vest."
Nikite looked at the sorceress as she withdrew the hidden dagger.
"You are an Elite Guards. Killing is not an issue with you. Kill her as I asked of you. Then you would leave this place. You can collect your gold from the priest. Your assignment would be over." The sorceress walked away without a second look.
"Kill her now, Nikite." The warrior did as she was told.
Then the Sorceress screamed out loud for the guards. The warrior looked at the dagger in her hand and she ran back the way she came. She chanced on her weapons and she put it on when she noticed the bag of golds. She tied the bag to her front, and ran for the outer wall.
It did not take long for the guards to chase onto her. She stopped and held her sword with both her hand. There was three guards who approaching her on mounts. They are armed with spears and a sword on their waist belt.
"Yah!" She swung her sword at the first guard who came at her. The sword cut into the horse's front limbs and the rider toppled over. Nikite had then jumped up on the fallen horse as a base to reached a higher height to slash at the second rider at the chest. She missed the spear by short width but the third rider has stopped to dismount.
The third rider ran over with the spear held up at the chest level. Nikite side stepped and chopped down with the sword on the spear handle. It broke into two and she did a reverse thrust to cut down on the guard. Nikite ran to the horse and rode with it out to the outer wall.
Once she cleared the wall, she came to faced with the Jedi and an officer of Red Guards.
"Elite Guards, my name is Commander Dury. I am the personal guard of Lord Netsu. I salute you as you are one of the best. " He turned his horse to ride away.
Nikite looked at Jedi.
"You never told me we are working for Lord Netsu would be that easy." Nikite rode with Jedi to leave the temple grounds.
"Nikite, we worked for gold. Whoever pays us gold. Its easy when its paid in gold. Never on trust or the Nation. I had enough of those. Their works is never easy and they don't pay enough gold. Right now, what I need is more gold."
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