Archives: Liberation of Ales
Chapter 6: Meridian and Cebina: Road to Ales
Meridian and Cebina left Lesmoa after their breakfast and headed northwards. The further Meridian got from the city, the more comfortable he became, though his confidence was already soaring from the night before. He and Cebina hadn’t said much since they left the city, and he felt the need to break the silence, but he couldn’t quite think of what to say. Finally, he was able to think of something, “So, what do you fight with? Weapons, that is...”
Cebina had moved the hood of her cloak off of her head not long after they had left Lesmoa, letting her long white hair flow behind her and the sun light kiss her face softly . She grinned at Meridian as he asked her about her weapon of choice. Being out in the open, she didn’t feel comfortable enough to just take out her sai daggers in plain sight.
“My best weapon is my agility. I’m not the type to be running around with large swords or even a bow and arrow. Too big and bulky for my taste.” She paused for a moment then smiled playfully at him, “Didn’t notice my little weapons last night, did you? Guess you’ll have to pay more attention next time.” Her sai daggers sat comfortably on her belt at her sides now, but she had discarded them secretly as she had taken her cloak off at the inn before getting intimate with the half-elf. She liked to keep them hidden, so she always had the element of surprise if something were to happen.
Meridian chuckled, as he didn’t remember seeing them. “I think I was focused on other things,” he said, a slight blush on his cheeks as he grinned. “My father isn’t much of a fighter, just a craftsman, but he is strong. With the two of us though, he should go down easily.” Meridian was quite calm about plotting how to kill his father, and he didn’t assume he’d have any regrets about it when the time came. Skelir deserved to die.
Cebina nodded in agreement to what Meridian said, “I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem. I could easily keep him distracted and off guard. Not a lot of men are able to resist me after all.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be easy enough to seduce,” Meridian said bitterly as he walked on.
As the pair walked on, the road became more sheltered by a small forest. However, a small group of highwaymen had taken up residence for the time being. As they saw the two elven travelers, they saw an easy mark. Two men stepped out from hiding behind Meridian and Cebina, and another, the leader, stepped in front of them. He looked them over appraisingly, debating on doing more than merely relieving them of their money.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” he asked. “How about you ladies hand over yer purses, and we’ll be gentle on ye? Or we can do things the hard way...” The bandit grinned wolfishly as his eyes fell on Cebina’s chest.
“I’m not a damn woman,” Meridian growled. He knew he couldn’t fight his way out of this, but he had such little cash to spare that it wouldn’t have made their stop worth the effort, and he didn’t think they’d let him just walk away after leaving them a few measly coins. Aside from that, it seemed that the bandits already intended to take some payment from their flesh. He waited for a cue from Cebina on what to do. If she wanted to fight, he could probably manage with her to help.
Cebina didn’t seem to care more than that as the small group of men surrounded them. As the man spoke, it was obvious that they wanted much more than just their money, but she didn’t shy away from his stare. In fact, she had to hold back a laugh as Meridian growled next to her.
“Well, I’m sorry dear,” Cebina stated with an air of arrogance. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Even if I had money I’d never give it up to the likes of you. And unless you’re willing to hand over a very significant amount of gold, I won’t be sleeping with any dogs today.”
The bandit leader seemed confused by Meridian. He was beautiful enough for a woman, and for some men, that was enough. “Feh, I don’ think we’re gonna give ye a choice, missy,” the man said, turning his attention back the dark elf. With a motion to his men, the three bandits closed in on their marks, weapons drawn defensively.
As they moved in, Meridian whipped out his short sword. They really had no choice but to defend themselves, he wasn’t going to let them touch Cebina, or himself. He would die before he was raped again, and he wouldn’t stand for Cebina being forced into it again either.
One of the bandits behind them laughed at Meridian. “What are you going to do with that rusty old blade, pretty boy?” he taunted.
“Whatever I can,” he growled back, holding his sword ready.
Cebina moved behind Meridian as he drew his sword. To the bandits it might have looked as if she were depending on him to protect her, but really she was just making sure that, if they attacked from behind, they would have to go through her first. “I wouldn’t mess with him,” she told the bandit leader. “He’s a very skilled man.”
Meridian’s eyes shot back to Cebina momentarily, but he showed no other signs of wavering. They’d better not call your bluff, he thought.
The bandit scoffed, he didn’t believe the scrawny, ragged, pretty-faced boy could fight at all. “Take her, and him too, I suppose!” the bandit laughed. His two men lunged in, one going for Cebina, intending to tackle her around the waist.
The other swung downwards with the flat of his blade, catching Meridian by surprise in an attempt to disarm him. Inexperienced with a sword, the blade was easily knocked from Meridian’s grasp. With that goal succeeded, the highwayman elbowed Meridian in the gut, knocking him to the ground. The half-elf wasn’t going down without a fight though. As the bandit approached, Meridian tossed a handful of dirt as a distraction and hopped back onto his feet. He didn’t know much about fighting, with or without a weapon, but he was going to do his damnedest.
Cebina caught the man’s movement out of the corner of her eye as he went in to tackle her around the waist. Happy that he underestimated her enough to go in so recklessly, she quickly ducked down and slammed her elbow into his face as he came in . The bandit cried out and brought a hand to his face, caught by surprise at her move. It gave her the chance to land a solid punch into his solar plexus and a roundhouse kick to the side of the head, knocking him over.
She looked over to see how Meridian was doing and got worried as she saw his weapon on the ground. She was about to turn around and go help him when she felt a strong force knock her to the ground. The man she had been fighting had recovered faster than she had expected and now had her pinned underneath him. The dark elf tried to get another punch in but the man firmly grabbed both her wrists and pinned them above her head. His strength clearly overpowered hers.
“Shit!” she whispered, angry for allowing herself to be distracted. Now she had to find a way out of the bandit’s hold...
The highwayman going for Meridian caught the faceful of dirt and staggered back, shaking his head and spitting. Dirt was in his eyes and mouth, and he was reasonably distracted. However, with him temporarily out of the picture, the leader of the trio decided to go after Meridian. The half-elf saw him coming and dove for his sword again. Grabbing the hilt, he tumbled aside, rolling to the edge of the road. He was nearly useless with a sword, but he at least had his speed and agility. The bandit leader drew his sword as he approached, and Meridian knew he couldn’t duel this man. In a brazen act of self-defense, he hurled his sword at the bandit. It caught him off guard and planted itself in the man’s chest. The bandit stopped in his tracks, catching his balance, and looking down at his chest to see the blade sticking out. Dumbfounded, he crumpled to the ground, dead.
At this, the other two men stared in shock at their leader being felled so easily. Would they avenge him, or would they run? Meridian gathered his confidence and stared both men down, as if he intended to do that.
Cebina was thankful for the distraction, whatever it had been. The bandit pinning her down loosened his grip slightly, but not enough for Cebina to try and test her strength yet. Fortunately for her, the man had shifted above her to get a better view of whatever had happened, and she took the opportunity to bring her knee up quickly into his crotch.
The man gasped in pain and surprise, releasing his grip on her wrists momentarily enough for her to get them free. She brought one hand up as a swift hit to the jaw with her palm, while her other quickly reached for one of her sai daggers. By the time the man had recovered from the hit he found himself with her weapon going through his throat.
“What do you say? Still want to touch me?” Cebina’s dangerous eyes looked deep into his, watching his life fade quickly, perhaps too quickly for her liking. She had hoped to make him suffer a bit longer, but in the end it didn’t matter. The shocked and frightened look in his eye as he tried to gasp for air, realizing that his life was ended, gave her enough satisfaction.
The final bandit finally cleared the dirt from his eyes and looked between Meridian, Cebina, and his comrades. The battle looked hopeless, so he turned tail and ran back into the woods.
Meridian stepped toward Cebina, his first instinct was to stop the fight, but he stopped. He knew what they intended to do her, and his compassion froze. She could do what she wanted with him. “Cebina?” Meridian asked, a coldness to his voice, as he waited for her to make up her mind.
Cebina stayed how she was a moment longer, watching the last essence of life fade from her opponent’s eyes. She was very pleased with herself at the moment, having been able to finally take control of a situation like this and give someone what they deserved. The man’s warm blood dripped down from the sai dagger in his throat and down her arm.
It was Meridian’s voice that finally brought her out of her little daze, though she didn’t really understand the coldness of his tone, she pushed the dead bandit’s body off of her, taking the time to unlogged her weapon from his throat.
“Can’t say we didn’t warn them”, she smiled.
Meridian nodded stiffly, struggling with the fact that he had just killed a man, and witnessed her kill another. You’d better get used to this, a voice chastised him in his mind. Practice, he assured himself. “We’d best move on. That one that got away could go get help,” the half-elf said as he walked over to the corpse of the bandit leader. He considered removing his sword from the man’s chest, but paused. The bandit had a better sword, and possibly other useful things. Taking this into consideration, Meridian removed the bandit’s sword belt and rummaged through his clothes, finding some coin, ironically, more than Meridian had. The half-elf chuckled.
Cebina watched Meridian as he spoke and turned to the bandit. He seemed stiff somehow. Perhaps he wasn’t used to the idea of killing someone. The dark elf however, acted as if it was normal thing. The way she saw things, death was better than these bandits deserved and she would feel no remorse for doing what she needed. When she noticed the half-elf rummaging through the bandit’s things, she decided to do the same. She found a few coins, but nothing too extravagant. Finally she got up and dusted herself off.
She walked over and gave Meridian an encouraging pat on the back, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” the half-elf replied simply. Rising back to his feet, he tucked his findings away in a pocket, then stepped over the body of the dead bandit. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Meridian said and continued on the path northwards, picking up a quicker pace.
Cebina quickened her pace to catch up the the half elf. She was silent for a moment, wondering how she was going to get the blood stains of her white clothes, before noticing that Meridian still hadn’t spoken. “Is it the first time you’ve killed someone?”
“Yes,” Meridian replied icily. It disturbed him, but at the same time, it didn’t shake his resolve. Even if the act was disconcerting, he couldn’t stop his quest for revenge, and he had promised to help Cebina. This would only be the first of many, he realized.
“I suppose it’s something you get used too,” she said absent-mindedly. “But think of what would have happened if we hadn’t killed them. Even if we would have left them alive, they would have only gone after other innocent people. And do you think they would have hesitated to kill us once they were done with us? Trust me. We did the world a favor.”
The half-elf nodded. Though he realized that the bandits were a threat to others, it was Cebina’s words that helped him cope and push it aside. Meridian sighed, as if expelling his remorse, as he walked on. He still had to kill his father, and he knew for a fact what that man was capable of. He had a similar question for her, and for a few steps, he debated asking it, until he finally decided to go for it; “How many people have you killed?”
“Not that many,” the dark elf shrugged, “but I’ve been around death enough that it’s not something that fazes me. I supposed I’ve grown accustomed to it.” To be honest she couldn’t remember the exact count, as it came as a natural reflex whenever she felt threatened. A few bandits here... a few bad customers there... What did it matter?
“I guess I’ll have to get used to it too,” he said, though his voice was soft, there was resolution in it.
