Salagar the Grim

Chapter One

I dodged as a dagger flew towards me, thrown from the mouth of a dark alley, the passage in which our quarry had fled. I dropped to the ground and rolled behind a water trough, another steely missile striking the wood on the other side. "Damn bastard is good," I thought as I crawled to the other end of the trough and peered around its far corner. I pulled back as the hairs upon the back of my neck rose in protest, presaging another attempt from the alleyway. This time the dagger struck sparks as its metal tip skittered across the cobbled street, at last coming to rest against a stone wall not five spans from my water filled shield.

"Garth is moving further into the alley," Malina instructed from on high. "I do think he is going to try and make a break for it; there is an exit at the other end of the dark corridor."

Just then I heard a curse and saw Perry dive behind a wagon that had been left for the night, the horses that normally carted it about now stabled and most likely happier than we were at this moment.

"Lalaith-blasted bastard," Perry exclaimed. "I couldn't even get a proper shot at him before he sent me flying to avoid his damn dagger. How many of those toothpicks can one man have on his body?"

"Only Lalaith knows," I responded in frustration. "Though he must almost be done with throwing, for he has now thrown at least six daggers since we first accosted him not five minutes ago."

A harrowing five minutes it had been! The man must have uncanny senses or mayhap something akin to my sense of danger. We had set a merry trap for the brute and he had not only felt our presence, but had extricated himself from our attack with speed and skill. One dagger nicked my arm as he sprinted away. It was only Malina's ability to follow him from above that let us keep track, since he had led us on a merry chase through twisting alleys and crooked streets. This was the third time he had turned and thrown daggers our way, forcing us to maintain a healthy distance or become potential victims.

"We need to bring our quarry to ground before he can seek help," I said to Perry. "The man is leading us along a route of which he is intimately familiar and I fear it will only end in tragedy; mainly our deaths."

"I reckon we can try and get in front of him," Perry advised. "Ask Malina if she sees only one exit from this here alley."

"Malina, how many exits stem from the foul alleyway in which our dear friend is hiding," I sent through our bond.

"He can only escape one way," she advised. "If you decide to gain advantage by flanking him, you best decide now, since he is moving rapidly towards the exit. If you run down for a half block, there is another passageway that ends at the same cross street. You can then strike him as he enters the street."

"Come on Perry," I said. "We can cut the bastard off this way."

I turned and ran towards the other alleyway. We were soon running as fast as we could, dodging refuse and abandoned property, attempting not to breathe too deeply since the odor emanating from the old worn cobblestones was most foul. I slowed as we neared the exit, a low glow from a lamppost giving a fitful glimmer of the street beyond.

"Is he still within the alley," I inquired.

"He has slowed and is sniffing about," Malina answered. "If you run to the corner, you can surprise the brute and bring him low."

Moving quickly but stealthily along the alley, we entered the cross street and instantly melted into the shadows provided by the tall buildings and feeble light cast from the lamppost. I slid my daggers from their customary resting places and saw Perry twirl his sling, waiting for an opportunity to brain the ruffian. We were mayhap ten spans from the darkened entrance when the brute broke free, his head swiveling left and right, looking for danger as his feet propelled him into the street. He was halfway to the other side and another dark corridor before he caught our presence. Before we could even think to move; his arm was halfway back, a dagger glinting in his right hand. The bastard was fast!

Perry let fly with a whoop, his stone speeding towards the man's head just as his hand whipped forward, sending his dagger towards my crouching form. I had just enough time to bring Heleg Telanin up to strike the weapon from its course, the steel clanging off the wall to my left. I arose and sped towards the ruffian just as he dodged to the side, Perry's stone rushing past his face, not a hairsbreadth from his left eye. He then pulled forth a wickedly curved short sword and then leapt towards me, snarling a curse.

I stopped short and let his first strike cut in front of me and then stepped back again as he reversed his attack, bringing the blade down and around, his greater reach giving him the advantage. The sharp blade cut a few hairs from my head as I jumped back in desperation, the speed of the Human surprising me. Perry yelled out another whoop and let fly, his stone taking the man square in the back. All he did was grunt and then grin, bringing his left hand down and up, a throwing dagger glinting in the lamplight. Before he could throw the weapon at Perry, I lunged with Heleg Telanin, which the brute caught with his own blade. Sparks coruscated about the blades as I brought my left hand dagger under his guard, piercing his thigh, but not deep enough to cause deadly injury to the villain.

Cursing ferociously, he tried to stomp my foot with his massive boots, only to receive another nick along his right arm from Heleg Telanin for his troubles. Another stone flew into the man, striking his upper left arm. The man gasped with the pain, the dagger that he was holding in his left hand falling, striking sparks from the cobbled street as it struck the hard surface. Before Garth could give another swing of his sword, I leapt up and struck down with my left hand dagger, piercing his shoulder and causing the man to scream in pain. It was only speed and luck that let me jump back from his riposte, the sword scoring across one of my bracers, causing a bit of pain in my forearm but not penetrating the magically enhanced bands.

By jumping back so quickly, I lost my dagger, which was still lodged within his shoulder. The man grunted and then moved to the side as another stone came whizzing by, just missing his right arm. He lunged with his sword held out straight, using the surprise of his attack to pass right past Heleg Telanin, hitting me squarely in the chest. My leather armor buckled, the sword piercing my chest, just above my heart. The tip did not penetrate fully, mayhap a finger of steel caressing my skin as I leapt back and away from the offending metal.

The man actually grinned as he spotted the blood on the tip of his sword. "Now you are gonna die little man," he grated as he lunged again, this time putting all into a single thrust. I was prepared for just such a maneuver, his quick attack lacking the surprise of his earlier attempts. I let Heleg Telanin score across his blade, pushing it just enough to the right to miss my shoulder and rush past me. Before he could recover, my dagger had traveled up his weapon and past the guard, cutting through his hand, almost severing it completely. The man screamed, his blade falling to the ground. Bright red blood trailed after the weapon, quickly pooling upon the cobbled surface.