Firebrand

Revanche

The fist came flying against Martel, bound in metal-reinforced leather to make impact on his chin. He fell on his back, shocked and in pain. Something jangled, hitting the ground, and he hoped it was not one of his teeth.

Even through the haze and agony, he found the wherewithal to respond. He summoned his magical shield to protect himself and sent a blast of wind to throw his attacker away.

The latter had no impact. His assailant moved forward unimpeded to lean down and punch Martel in the face again, straight through his shield, which also accomplished nothing.

While getting the life beaten out of him, Martel nonetheless managed to observe three things. His attacker wore several coins in a string around his neck, glowing yellow in the moonlight. His leather glove similarly had coins glued to the front. Lastly, the man only had one hand.

For a moment, everything became clear in Martel's mind. Leatherfist had returned to take his revenge in the only style suitable for a brute like him. He had made his preparations too, wearing gold around his neck and even gluing it to his glove. Martel could not attack the man nor defend against him. With perfect clarity, the novice knew he was at this killer's mercy, and he could not expect any.

Shadi launched herself at Leatherfist's back, choking him from behind and pulling him away from Martel. "The gold," the novice croaked, "get his chain!"

She did not have the chance to do so, as the brawler pushed her off and gave her a blow straight to the stomach. Wind knocked out of her, she fell to the ground.

Leatherfist towered over her with a menacing expression, full of hate. "I'll show you how we dealt with Khivan bitches in the Tenth!"

Martel's magic could not touch his enemy. Shadi had given him a few moments of respite, but now she stood to pay the price. Everything within Martel's screamed to do something, but with his spells useless, he stood no chance against Leatherfist in an even fight.

He reached out to grab a brick from the ruined house where the brawler had lain in wait for them. Grabbing it, Martel threw it with imbued magic against Leatherfist. It struck him on the shoulder, but either thanks to the gold or any armour worn underneath his clothes, it did not make much difference.

Turning around, the bloodthirsty brawler sneered. "Thirsty for more, you Nether-born bastard?" He raised his fist, clearly relishing the mere thought of smashing Martel to pieces.

Acting quickly, Martel reached out with his magic to take hold of a large piece of debris. Straining, he raised it into the air above Leatherfist and released his hold upon the broken stonework.

The gold protected against magic, but not gravity. Nothing holding up the debris, it fell straight down, striking the one-handed man on the head. He fell to the ground, groaning and trying to get back up. Swiftly, Martel repeated his manoeuvre to raise the rock up, only to let it fall straight down again on the same target.

Seeing that Leatherfist no longer stirred, Martel finally allowed himself to breathe.

~

The novice got on his feet, his head still ringing with pain. He looked towards Shadi. "Are you alright?" He approached to help her back on her feet.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She looked shaken and in discomfort, to put it mildly, but if that was the worst of it, Martel would consider them lucky.

He bent down to tear the necklace from Leatherfist's neck. Next, he pried the coins loose from the man's glove.

"Are you – robbing him?"

"The gold protects him from magic. When he wakes up, I don't want him able to do anything against me." A flash of yellow caught Martel's attention; one of the coins had come loose from the glove after hitting him. That was the jangling sound he had heard before. He picked it up.

"Are you sure he will wake up? That's an awfully big stone."

Raising his magical shield just in case, Martel crouched down to grab the brawler by his hair and raise his head up. A low groan came. The novice felt a little relief. It only occurred to him now that he could have killed the man. "Here, take these." He gave the golden coins to Shadi. "Sit on him, make sure he doesn't escape."

She complied, but looked at him with uncertainty. "What now?"

Martel could not kill a man in cold blood, but nor could he let Leatherfist escape and come back to finish the job another day. "I'll summon help." He walked onto the middle of the street and looked towards the nearby harbour district. While nobody patrolled the copper lanes, the port had its fair share of guards. Raising a finger to the sky, Martel led out a stream of light into the air.

~

They waited a little while in silence, only disturbed by Leatherfist's groans turned into mumblings. Finally, someone came running towards them. They stopped as the peculiar sight became apparent. "What happened here?"

Martel had spent the waiting time rehearsing his story. "This thug attacked me and my companion, no doubt to rob us." He gestured at the brawler on the ground. "Fortunately, I am a mage, and I made him regret his decision before creating the streak of light to summon you."

"All right, let's take a look at the fellow." Two other guards motioned for Shadi to stand aside before they grabbed Leatherfist by the shoulders and pulled him up to stand.

"He attacked me," the fighter wheezed. "He's been doing illegal fights at The Broken Crown, and he tried to silence me because I know the truth!"

"Preposterous," Martel scoffed. "As if the accusations of some bandit matter to a wizard of the Lyceum."

The guards looked at Martel, wearing his doublet and fine shirt. They looked at Leatherfist wearing worn and dirty clothes, missing one hand.

"Sol-damned veterans, learning nothing but trouble in the legions and bringing it back here. Let's go, take him away." One of the guards gestured for the others to escort Leatherfist away; when the latter tried to protest, a slap across his face silenced him. "We'll need you to give a statement for the court," the guard added, directed at Martel.

"Does it have to be tonight? It is already late, this has been quite an ordeal, and I should like to see my companion home without delay." Martel glanced at Shadi, still looking shaken and uncomfortable.

"Not at all, good master. Go to any guard station tomorrow and explain what happened. We'll deal with the rest." The princeps of the patrol gave a short bow to Martel and left after the other guards.

He turned towards Shadi. "Let's go home."

"Yes."

Neither of them spoke as they walked to the Khivan quarter; nor did either say goodbye as Shadi slipped inside her home.