Battle by the Roadside

A baby cries in the dark. Distant thunder rumbles. Bushes rustle and footsteps on soft grass. The flashing of a blade in the moonlight. The sound of metal clanging on metal. A woman screams. Blood flows onto the ground. A voice, male “Shave him.” Sobbing and weeping. A skull, glowing green eyes getting closer and closer. The sound of a fire roaring, growing louder and louder and louder. Baby screaming, weeping, fire, and then…

—

“No!” Roan sat up from his sleep. Sweat drenched his body and he was shivering. It was pre-dawn and the landscape around him moved slowly. At the driver’s seat was the magician that had bought him out. Roan grabbed a nearby blanket and curled up at the front of the wagon with his back to the driver.

“Ah, you’re up. I was debating on whether to wake you but it seems like you’ve returned from whatever nightmare that was. Good. You were awfully loud.”

“Thanks, I guess. Where are we? Not far from the estate, I gather. You had to pull over and rest so we’re probably only a few hours away? Right?”

The Magician turned back to glance at Roan, “No, I don’t have to sleep. We’ve been going all night. We’re honestly making great time. We will be in Port August by midday. That’s your new home and where our master resides.”

The memories of what she said flowed back into Roan’s mind, “…I’ll send you my servant. He will show you the way.”

“Yeah, new master. What’s she like?” Roan tried to subtly glance at the magician and gauge his reaction to the question.

The Magician's unchanging gaze remained on the road, “She? What makes you think a woman has purchased you?”

Probably shouldn’t have said that. That might cause problems later.

“Just a hunch. Maybe a little wishful thinking. Figured it might be a great change of pace to have a gorgeous older woman as a master for once.”

The Magician couldn’t help but give a hearty laugh that echoed in the small valley that they were traveling through. “That’s what I’m talking about! You’re a man of impeccable taste! We’re going to get along real well! My name is Inago Boreal. Pleased to meet you! We’re going to be working together from now on so we should probably get along.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too. I’m Roan Kamikiri. Though, you probably already knew that.”

“Nope! Had no clue! To be completely honest with you, I had no intention of purchasing you when I arrived at the woods. However, our master has quite the foresight. I was sent with the exact amount of coin needed to buy your compact. Isn’t that…something?” His voice lowered as he finished speaking. “Hey, how are you in a fight?”

Roan’s eyes widened, “Not the best. Why?”

Inago pulled on the reins and brought the carriage to a halt. He pulled out a long knife and handed it to Roan. “Do what I say, and you’ll be fine. I know you can’t run on that ankle so here, I'll give it a boost.”

Inago took a deep breath and clenched his fist. It began to vibrate and became visibly blurry to Roan. After exhaling, Inago reach down and touched Roan’s damaged ankle. It too buzzed and vibrated. However, any discomfort he felt was gone.

“Woah! That’s awesome! What did you do?”

“Just reinforced it. You can still break it so be careful. Now listen, this is going to be a crash course in how to fight magicians. So pay attention. You’ll be doing this a ton from now on.”

“What! I will?” Roan’s fear could be seen on his face but Inago didn’t seem to care.

“Yes, now shut up and listen. I was told by your former master that you can cut hair. Good. That’s exactly what I need you to do. I’ll keep the enemy caster busy, you get in close and cut their hair. Don’t go for any other parts of the body. It’ll be useless.”

“Enemy caster? Where? I’m not a fighter. I’m a farmer and hair cutter! You can’t be serious! Come on…”

A loud slap echoed in the valley. Roan held his cheek, closed his eyes, and winced. He braced for more strikes but only felt two firm hands on his shoulders. He looked up to see Inago looking him square in the eyes. No one ever looked at him that way at the estate. Not even Tada.

“Roan. You are a slave. No one is going to defend you. You have to defend yourself. This is the only personal freedom you’re entitled to. Use it.”

Roan nodded just as someone stepped out onto the path in front of them. He had long dirty blonde hair down to the middle of his back. His outfit looked to be made of some kind of animal hide and was stained black. Over his shoulders was a fur cloak.

“Hand over what you found in the cave and I’ll let you go. Promise on me mum’s grave.” His thick foreign accent was one Roan had never heard before.

“Not going to happen. I didn’t think we’d be going a second round so soon. Guess I should remove you from the board permanently this time!”

Inago put a hand on Roan’s shoulder and flung him forward. He could feel his new coworker’s magic propel him forward with alarming speed. “Remember the plan!”

Roan landed just in time to see a massive hexagonal boulder careening towards him at a frightening speed. Just before it hit, the air rippled and the boulder was pulled to the left as if falling to the ground. It hit the side of the valley wall and embedded deep into the dirt.

“I told you I’ll keep him busy! Get in there! He’s a manipulator type and can only do so much with what’s around him. We gotta finish him before he lets off a massive attack! Move!”

With shaking legs, Roan ran forward. Instinctively, he rushed in and stabbed the knife at the enemy’s chest. It bounced off as if hitting stone. The knife loosed itself from Roan’s hands and landed several meters away. The enemy then kicked Roan in the chest and he landed on his back.

“Idiot! I told you to aim for his hair!” As another boulder flew towards Inago, he outstretched his left arm and locked it hard. His magic grabbed a nearby tree. It uprooted itself and crashed into the boulder. Both fell to the ground in a shower of shards and splinters.

“Get up!” He yelled before flinging some debris back at the enemy.

Roan scrambled to his feet but when he looked for the knife it had disappeared underneath the rubble of wood and stone. “I can’t find it! I’ve lost the knife!” He screamed before turning to Inago.

“Tsk.” Inago sucked at his teeth. “Hold on, I can only do this once!” He took a deep breath and relaxed his entire body before letting out a low, guttural, sustained groan. It ebbed and flowed in volume and pitch. Both Roan and the enemy magician seemed transfixed and unable to look away.

Inago lifted his arms. The area between the carriage and the enemy began to ripple upwards as a flag in the wind. Debris and anything else in the area began to float. Roan realized that he also felt lighter. It seemed that the enemy was having the same experience. He was coming out of his transfixion when Roan spotted the knife floating directly between them.

He dashed forward with all his might. His back muscles burned just as they did before but with much less intensity. He didn’t touch the ground once. In a single leap he pushed forward, grabbed the knife, and reached the enemy.

The fur covered magician leaped to his right but it was too late. Roan grabbed a handful of hair to stop himself from flying by. In one swift motion, he lopped off the majority of the magician’s dark blonde tresses.

Everything stopped floating and fell to the ground in a loud crash. Roan included. When he got to his feet, Inago was standing in front of the kneeling and defeated enemy. His hair cut short to above his neckline. Inago reached out and pulled the knife into his own hand from Roan’s. He held it to the enemy’s neck.

“Please! Spare me! I promise, I’ll drop this futile search. I’ll go home to me wife and kids. I’ll never cast again! Please! Let me go…” His voice trailed off as he saw Inago’s face shift from victorious to cold and uncaring.

“Yeah, you’ll never cast again. I guarantee it.” Inago pulled the blade back.

“You piece of…” His voice was cut short by the swing of the blade. The enemy magician’s body slumped to the ground. The corpse’s head rolled off to the side of the road. Blood ran and mixed with the dust of the earth.

Roan had only ever seen one person die before and that was an accident. This was the first time he’d seen someone purposefully killed. He shivered but he didn’t have long to linger on what had happened. Inago pulled him to his feet.

“Come on, help me clean this up. The sun’s rising and travelers will be moving through these parts soon. Don’t want to ruin some poor merchant’s breakfast now do we?”

Roan nodded silently and they got to work.

What kind of life will I be leading from now on? I think I miss the fields.