Alley Encounter

Kieran was walking through the town. He had no specific goal in mind, so he just wandered wherever his feet took him. It was just a way to kill time for him. Kieran looked at the position of the sun, it was still a bit away from going down.

“Two hours left I guess… maybe a bit more”, he mumbled to himself.

Kieran looked at the stalls on the side of the street while passing. People were rushing to do their last-minute shopping before it got dark, so it was quite busy. Kieran heard a noise that made him stop on the spot, despite the shopkeeper and customers loudly haggling over the prizes. He turned towards the entrance of a small dark alley. There was a fight happening down there. Kieran could hear the exchange of blows clearly, even though nobody around him seemed to notice.

“Better not get involved… none of my business…” he uttered and continued his path, “ I wonder what she would do…”

Kieran stopped again as he thought of the answer and sighed. He turned around and went in the direction of the alley.

“I have nothing better to do anyway…” he mumbled as he left the street.

The faint noises got louder. Someone smashed into something wooden, a lot of curses were thrown, and the occasional clanking of steel rang.

“WHERE IS SHE?” someone shouted

Clank

“Probably spreading her legs for the boys! HAHaHA!” someone else yelled sneering and laughing.

Clank

“TELL ME WHERE SHE IS OR YOU’LL KILL YOU!” shouted the first one again.

Kieran peeked around a corner and spotted the combatants. It was a lone swordsman in a chainmail cuirass against six thugs. Or rather, it was now, since three thugs were already on the floor slowly bleeding out. Kieran got a bit closer and ducked into the darkness of a back entrance. His hand on the hilt he decided to watch for now. Number wise the swordsman was at a disadvantage, but the narrow alley meant the thugs could not surround him. He was also the more experienced and skilled fighter. While the thugs got in each other’s way during their uncoordinated attacks, the swordsman used every opening for a quick and devastating swing and kept the distance in his favor. He cut the throat of two simultaneously as they bumped into each other. The third, who scrambled past his two falling comrades, got skewered with the longsword of the fighter and pushed backwards, right into the fourth one. Both went down to the ground. The swordman jumped over the fallen bodies and swung at the last two, who hesitated after their allies got dispatched in this quick succession. He used the false edge of his sword for a vertical cut through the throat of one opponent, catching the diagonal afterblow. The last one of the thugs tried swinging horizontally, but his weapon got caught on a crate next to him. The swordman swung his sword in an arc behind his head and cut diagonally from the other side with his true edge this time, cutting deep into the chest of his opponent. Kieran, who had watched all of it in his dark hiding space, let go of the hilt. The fight was over. Kieran was impressed by the speed and precision the lone swordsman had gone through his opponents and the manner in which he chose too. He would have done it in a similar fashion. The swordsman turned around and went to the only thug without a fatal injury, who was trying to get up from under his bleeding comrade, and grabbed him by the collar.

“Where is she?” he shouted.

“Fuck off!” the thug replied.

Thunk

The pommel of the longsword found its way into the face of the thug.

“WHERE IS SHE?” the swordsman repeated his question louder.

“Ain’sh shelling yush shish, Who’eson!” came the jumbled reply.

Thunk

“Where is she?”

Thunk

“Where is she?”

Kieran stepped out from his dark hiding place.

“I don’t think he’ll answer you… It’s a bit difficult with a bashed in face,” he said.

The swordman jerked around, letting go of the thug with the face, resembling mushed potatoes.

“Another one of you bloody kidnapper!” he roared.

Kieran got a closer look at the face of the swordsman. He was a middle-aged man with slightly graying brown hair, and his eyes were blazing with rage.

“Relax. I’m not one of them,” Kieran said and held out his hands in front of him.

“Bullshit!” the swordsman growled, unconvinced. "You look just like those scoundrels!”

Kieran did in fact have similar rugged clothes like the thugs and was equally unkempt and dirty since he hadn’t freshened up since yesterday’s battle. The swordsman took a step towards him, readying his sword.

“Well, that’s unfair. Dark clothes never go out of fashion, do they?” Kieran tried to diffuse the situation. “I have nothing to do with them. I just happen to stumble into this alley.”

He noticed that his words fell on deaf ears.

“Shut up and tell me where she is!” the swordsman bellowed and got ready for a swing.

“Shutting up and telling you something are kinda difficult to do at the same time.” Kieran replied and took a step backwards.

The swordsman lunged forward very quickly and swung diagonally from above.

Clank

Kieran blocked with his sword only halfway out of the scabbard. The swordman glared at him past the clashed swords.

“Where is she?” he growled.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Kieran replied.

The swordman swung to the other side.

Clank

Kieran blocked again, still not unsheathing his sword further.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Scoundrel! My Compainion! You kidnapped her yesterday! Where did you bring her?” the swordman angrily exclaimed.

“I did no such th…” Kieran replied but paused mid-sentence, thinking for a moment. “Blonde girl?”

“YOU DO KNOW!”

The swordman pulled back and went for a quick stab. Kieran sheathed his sword completely, let go of the hilt, and caught his opponent’s blade with his bare hand, before it could pierce his throat.

“Enough already! I’m not your enemy!” Kieran uttered with a dark voice, losing his calm manner. “If you go for the throat before giving a chance to speak, how can you expect answers?”

The swordsman tried to wrench his sword free, but it did not move even the slightest. A drop of blood trickled down Kieran’s arm, but he did not let go. The swordsman finally saw that it was pointless and he relaxed, the rage in his eyes slowly subsided.

“Calmed down?” Kieran asked and let go of the sword.

“I’ll give you a chance to talk,” the swordman said and lowered his weapon, “but make it quick.”

Kieran turned his head and looked down the alley.

“The guards are coming… Unless you want to explain to them what happened here, I suggest we leave,” he said. “We can talk on the way.”

Kieran did not wait for an answer but began to walk in the opposite direction from where he heard heavy footsteps and the sound of halberds hitting walls. The swordsman cursed, sheathed his sword, and followed.

“Speak,” he said after they turned a corner.

“I was told that a young woman with blonde hair was kidnapped by some criminal gang and brought to their hide-out,” Kieran explained, while continuing to walk.

“That would fit… who told you that?”

“A beggar that saw them take her into their place.”

“You trust a beggar?”

“Why not? He had no reason to lie. Also, my stupid, naïve companion, who is completely oblivious to the dangers of the world, managed to get herself kidnapped and brought to the same place as well.”

The swordsman began to laugh.

“Seems like our companions have something in common…” he mentioned.

“Stupid, naïve, and oblivious?” Kieran inquired with a smile.

“Oh yeah… but mine is even worse… she willingly got herself kidnapped.”

“Why?”

“To find the hide-out of the kidnappers… After hearing about those cases a few days ago, she decided we have to do something about it, but we only found vague rumors and nothing concrete, so my companion grew impatient and decided this would be the fastest way…”

“And you let her do that?”

“Of course not! I was out gathering information when she decided to do that… she just left a note with ‘Find me and get me out, once they have me.’ That was yesterday…”

Kieran stopped, turned around and placed a hand on the surprised swordsman’s shoulder.

“Sorry to hear that. You indeed have it even worse than me… Mine was only drunk.” He said with empathy.

“Thanks… I guess…” the swordman said, “Where is this supposed hide-out now?”

Kieran pointed out of the alley to the building complex across the street. “There.”

The swordman looked to the gate with the six men standing and sitting in front.

“We can easily take them together. I’d say we just rush in and hit them by surprise,” he suggested.

“Thought you would say that… but you have to do it alone, if you want to go now,” Kieran remarked.

“What? You’re not gonna help?”

“Not for about an hour or so.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated, but if you want my help, you’d need to wait, but I won’t stop you if you want to go in alone.”

“What do you mean, you’re not gonna help? Isn’t your companion in there as well?”

“Yeah, she is…”

“And you want to let her in there for another hour?”

“Yeah… maybe it will be a lesson on the dangers of the real world…”

The swordsman grabbed Kieran by the collar.

“A lesson on getting hurt, raped, or even killed? You want that for your companion you disgusting piece of shit?” he growled.

“No… I don’t want that, but I ca—” Kieran said but could not finish his sentence.

Blop

The swordman looked very confused at his empty hands.