Chapter 35: Adrenaline

Liara and I set off a few hours before sunset. My goal was to make it to the far side of the second large mountain on foot by sundown and make camp there, then spend the rest of the weekend hunting that area.

“HAA HEE HAA HEE Alfred! How far are we going??” Liara pants at me.

“The base on the opposite side of the next mountain is a good place to camp, we won’t have to worry about many predators, and we can descend into the forest just below it for hunting,” I answer plainly.

Liara’s olive skin is glistening with sweat, and she’s shed most of the layers she started the trek with. Her hair is also longer than it was in the fall, which makes her look surprisingly feminine despite her muscular build.

“Right, but can we take a break? I’m dying..” she continues.

“We’re near the top of this mountain, you’ll feel better once we start descending again. The air up here is thinner, which is making you feel extra tired. Bear with it until the descent, and you’ll feel better,” I explain.

Liara’s gaze falls to the ground as she catches her breath.

“Yea fine..” she huffs.

It takes an hour to make it down the mountain and through the small forest patch before the large mountain I’m hoping to cross. But it’s too dark.

“Liara, change of plans, we’ll camp on this side and cross tomorrow,” I say.

“HA HE that’s ok..” she replies with her hands on her knees.

“Stay here for a bit, I’ll pick a camping spot and put together some firewood. You’re going to freeze if that sweat dries before we make a fire,” I explain.

We’re near the forest’s edge, and the ground is already sloped upward. I walk away from Liara’s resting spot and find the last line of trees. There’s a large tree growing at an angle that could be made into the roof of a shelter.

I manipulate earth magic to even out the ground for a comfortable base before gathering wood and picking up an unlucky rabbit. I return to Liara and find her in every layer of clothing she brought, shivering so much it’s audible.

“Liara, follow me. I have a good camp spot,” I say.

“uvuvu right..” she replies.

Liara raises herself slowly and follows me to the tree line, where a woodpile awaits.

“Use your fire magic to start that and stay close to it. I’ll finish getting camp together,” I tell a vibrating Liara.

“R-right,” she mumbles through her shivering before lighting the wood pile and basking in its warmth.

Hmm, I don’t need any massive pieces of wood for the shelter, a handful of sticks to make the tent shape, and the animal hides in my pack will be fine. But I should jump around and search for predators before we sleep.

With some distance between Liara and me, I bounce between treetops and use magic to start searching the forested area. A few deer to the north, rabbits everywhere, and bears to the south. Better to kill them before bed.

I put up light refraction and fly to the tree top just above them. A mom and her cubs, feeding on a knight. His metal armor is slowing them down, but his skin still has color to it. He hasn’t been dead long. I sharpen my senses and look closer at the knight's uniform; it’s different from Sante’s, and the undergarments are tan. He’s Alarian.

I jump down and behead the animals in two strokes, one for the mother and one for the cubs. Liara and our camp are outside of my detection range. It’s small, but there’s a chance knights could’ve stumbled upon her.

***
Liara sits by the fire at camp, nearly close enough to burn her clothing.

“God damn it’s cold. Alfred’s really been doing this since he was a kid? And in the south, where it’s colder..” she mutters to herself, then wraps her arms around herself tightly.

The temperature is below freezing with the sun behind the mountains, but her drying sweat makes it feel far worse. Liara’s best option would be to remove her bottom-most layer, which is still wet, then redress in her other layers, but it’s a hard sell when the wind feels like it can crack the skin.

“Hey! Mind if we borrow some warmth?” a man’s voice calls from the tree line just behind her.

Liara rises to her feet at a speed that would leave her ashamed if she weren’t so cold. She turns and sees three men in knight uniforms.

“Wha- what are knights doing in the mountains?” Liara asks, carefully moving her mouth to prevent an audible shiver now that she’s not facing the fire.

The knights burst into smiles seeing Liara head on-

“Whoa, what’s a pretty young lady doing in the mountains by herself?” the knight asks with a wicked grin. “We already lost someone to the predators here, don’t you want a strong knight to keep you safe?” he asks.

Angered by the insinuation, Liara musters strength and straightens her posture-

“I-I can take care of myself, you can sit by the fire until you warm up, but you can’t camp with me,” she replies.

“Don’t be like that, you’re from Sante, right? We’re Alarian knights, and we can’t let you face such dangers alone,” the knight continues with an unceasing smirk.

One of the knights in the back steps forward-

“pst commander we’re not supposed to identify ourselves..” he says while nudging the first knight.

“Ah, well, too late now,” he says with a wicked grin, “you’re keeping me warm tonight, little lady, if you’re good, you’ll get to come back with us,” he continues before licking his lips.

Liara reaches for her sword, but she only grabs the air. Her eyes fall to her waist, then the area behind her where her bag and sword lay in the dirt.

“Aha, that’s not a great star,t” the knight chuckles before closing the distance between him and Liara.

In a flash, the knight is in arm's reach, without a weapon, she swings her fist at the knight’s unarmored head.

“RAHHH,” she yells.

“Whoa! You’re fast for a chick,” the knight says as he slips below the punch and tackles Liara.

He pins Liara’s shoulders down and pulls the hood back from over her head.

“And you really are a pretty one, it’s a shame you’re a fighter..” he mumbles.

“Tch. Get the fuck off me!” Liara yells.

Fuck, I’m too cold and tired to fight well, but the knights should be too. If I can just hold out until Alfred gets back..

Liara squirms to free her right arm and pushes the knight up by the stomach. The movement creates an instant of separation between their bodies, just enough for Liara to raise her knee and smash it into the knight’s crotch.

“HARK..” he groans and spits.

“FUCK YOU!” Liara screams.

Liara scurries backward towards her sword. She turns her body and stretches her arm towards it before another knight slams his boot down on her arm.

“AGH!” she groans before lifting her eyes and seeing the other two knights standing over her.

“You fucking bitch!” the emasculated knight yells, “I was going to be gentle with you, but you’ll wish you were dead by sunrise!”

Liara struggles to free her arm when the weight of the knight’s boot disappears.

“AHHHHHhhh..”

“COMMANDerrr..”

The knights in front of Liara seem to scream from the abyss, their voices trail off like they’re running away from her. Neither remains before her.

Liara reaches for her sword with her off arm. She can’t feel the one that was crushed by a knight, and holds it tight to her chest. But she feels a hand gently touching her shoulder.

“Liara, are you alright?” Alfred asks. He’s kneeling next to her and scanning her with his eyes when he sees she’s clutching her sword arm, “your arm..” he mutters, and closes his eyes. Liara looks up at him.

“Alfred.. when did you get back?” she asks, bewildered.

“Hah, so the bitch has a boyfriend, it was smart not to tell us. He got the jump on my men, but that won’t happen with me,” the remaining knight says while rising to his feet and drawing a sword.

“Liara, I can kill him. Or I can hurt him, and you can kill him,” Alfred says coldly, his eyes locked on the knight, “tell me what you want.”

Liara doesn’t recognize the look on Alfred’s face. He keeps his walls up, but he never looks at someone the way he’s staring at that knight. Like the knight is prey.

“I-I..” Liara stutters and looks down at the ground.

She lifts her chin to address Alfred, “hurt him.”

Alfred disappears from her vision.

“YAOWWW,” the knight screams.

Liara turns her head to face the noise before seeing a blur coming towards her. She lifts her good arm to cover her face, but nothing makes contact with her.

“HURK.. thud”

Liara turns and sees the knight face down next to her, blood spilling from his mouth and nose. His armor is shredded, and he’s missing a hand.

“Wha-“ Liara starts to ask a question.

The hilt of a sword is being held out to her, and standing above the broken knight is Alfred, handing her that sword.

“Take it,” Alfred prompts her, “he’ll bleed out in a few minutes if we don’t treat the hand, or you kill him.”

“Hargh.. please don’t.. have mercy please..” the broken knight moans as tears fill his eyes.

“The choice is yours, Liara. I’m against keeping him alive, but I’ll do whatever you want,” Alfred says.

Liara takes the sword from Alfred’s hand. The handle is black and textured. The blade itself is in perfect condition and has a razor’s edge. She examines the blade closely, then turns her gaze to the broken knight next to her.

She stands and lifts the blade slowly, her anger growing the longer she looks at the man. Liara presses the blade against the armor on the knight’s back, and it slices through the armor and into the man’s torso without any effort.

“AAHHHG!” the knight screams.

“I barely even pushed..” Liara mutters, looking at the skewered knight in disbelief.

She holds the blade in place for a moment, watching the knight writhe in agony and thinking.

He would’ve killed me, and he would’ve made the time before I died hell. But it’s like this blade wanted to kill him, I barely pushed it before it cleaved through his armor and back.

Liara pulls her attention from the dying knight up to the sword in her hand.

I’ve never seen a blade so sharp.

“harguhhh..” the knight breathes his last, and his squirming stops.

Liara’s attention drops from the blade back to the man it’s impaling. She takes a heavy breath before pulling the blade out and seeing Alfred’s hand stretched out in front of her again.

“It’s a family heirloom,” Alfred says as he takes the blade and cleans the blood from it, “sit by the fire, the adrenaline will wear off, and you’ll start shaking,” he adds.

“Adrenaline..” she mutters under her breath.

Liara does as she’s told and sits by the fire, but her eyes never leave Alfred. He drags the knight’s body away like it’s weightless, and when he returns, the family heirloom is missing. He sets up sticks against an angled tree to create a tent structure, then covers it in animal hides from his pack before approaching her.

“Liara, I’m going to get more firewood, then I’ll look at your arm. I won’t go far,” Alfred says.

“Yea that’s fine, thanks, Alfred..” she replies quietly.