The Blood Blade Read online

  Ezra stripped off any identifying clothes and tossed them in the hearth. He went to light the fire and found himself at a loss, he had no idea how to light a fire but figured he should have known. Ezra gave up and figured the cow that kicked him knocked something loose. He was having trouble remembering things since he woke up from the injury and all throughout training to become a soldier he found that he was lacking life skills. Ezra put on the clothes that Alex brought him and could tell they were decent quality but not overly expensive like he was thinking they would be.

  “Folks like that always have servants, these were probably the gardener’s clothes” Alex replied. “It will fit you a little tight, but we can get better clothes in the daytime. I saw you fooling with that fire, I thought a farm boy would know how to light something like that. Don’t worry I can light it but you should watch me, it is a handy skill to have. I still don’t know why they didn’t teach it while you were in training but maybe they rushed everything. Either that or you are just a farm boy too stupid to learn”.

  “I would tell you what you could do with Captain Hansel’s cock but you kinda saved my life” Ezra.

  “What do you mean kinda?” Alex replied. “I saved your ass and now I am saving it again”.

  “I’ll get you back one day” Ezra replied.

  “I hope I never put you in that position” Alex replied. “Now let's get some sleep”.

  Sleep found Ezra instantly, he dreamed of a red barn. He could see his old dairy cow Daisy come out of it, she had a brass ring in her nose and a cowbell around her neck. She walked over to him, Ezra hated getting the ring put into her nose but his father insisted. He could still see his father’s angry face despite his pleas, his father had a long beard which he stroked whenever he was trying to be patient with Ezra. Ezra patted the cow on her snout, Daisy snuggled up next to him and begged for an apple. Ezra dug in his pocket and pulled out a nice ripe red apple. The apple looked good to Ezra, he took a bite and could taste the sweet juiciness of the apple. Ezra gave the rest of it to his cow and thought it was a perfect day. Daisy mooed as he pulled out another apple and took a bite, he could see his father’s angry face looking from the porch of their white house. His father was always angry, probably didn’t want Ezra sharing his apple with a cow but dismissed him. Ezra led his cow to the pasture, Ezra has had this exact dream several times before but now something was different. Men were coming towards the pasture, two men, both dressed in red with shiny bald heads and the lower part of their face covered. These were the Unarmored, one of them looked about Ezra’s size but the other one was huge and wore red armor. The two men saw him, one took off running towards him. His father came running from the house holding a sword. The man his size swung at him, Ezra dodged the blow and tried to punch. His attacker had moved on to his father. Ezra ran after him, the man he was fighting disappeared leaving only the big man wearing red armor. The big man struck out with his sword and would have caught Ezra had Daisy not bumped him out the way. The sword sliced into Daisy’s shoulder and she bucked, Ezra could still see her hoof coming for his head as he woke up.

  “That looked like some dream” Alex said as Ezra could see he was shaken awake. “Stupid cow dream again, did you get lucky this time with Bessie?”

  “Her name is Daisy, if you are going to talk crazy at least get it right” Ezra replied. “Yeah, I had the same dream except this time there were Unarmored in my dream. They were fighting my father who had a sword for some reason. My Da was holding his own and one tried to kill me, a big man wearing red armor”.

  “Red armor?” Alex said worried. “Maybe that Unarmored did something to you, I told you they mess with the mind. Their leader wears red armor I think”.

  “I thought you said they can't wear armor” Ezra replied confused.

  “They can't” Alex replied. “Some people aren’t even sure if he is an Unarmored or not. Whatever he is, he is bad news, I met the man once but got a bad feeling about him. He was looking to hire a bunch of thieves to go steal something a little over a year ago. Said something about Unarmored out to get him, he had good coin but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Just by the way he asked I knew anyone who said no wasn’t going to make it. Anyway, I said that I would do it and asked if I could bring some of my boys in on the deal. He said yes and I walked out of that tavern, grabbed me a horse and never looked back. I didn’t know who he was at the time, I just knew none of the people he hired ever made it back. I still don’t know what the job was, I found out later he was the leader of those red Unarmored. Running from him is what brought me to Courier where I came into contact with that damn old woman. You better watch them folks, they got mind magic”.

  “It was a bad dream Alex” Ezra said shaking his head. “You wanna head out to see what we could find?”

  “It is about noon” Alex replied. “We had to get out of here anyway. First we gotta leave something to let us know if someone came in here after us. I don’t want to come back here but if we do I want to know there won't be any surprises. Your weapon we are leaving will be a back up for just in case. Let's go see if I can get the leather vest I need and see if we can get us some more weapons and things. You ready?”

  “Yeah I just need to clear my head” Ezra replied as he got up. “Let’s go see if we can get the things we need”.

  Ezra was amazed at how calm Alex was, he found a leather worker who already had a vest made, Alex had him alter the vest to fit seven of his throwing knives. Alex went and got himself a long black jacket to go with it. Alex did not look like anyone that someone would need to worry about but he was armed to the teeth. The jacket hid everything well including his two daggers, anyone who doubted if he was a threat would get a nasty surprise.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Alex asked.

  “All the weapons you are going to be carrying around” Ezra replied. “Anyone who doubts your ability is going to regret it”.

  “Plenty already have” Alex replied. “It is the life of a thief. I once tried being a bandit but dodging arrows is not my idea of a good time. My old man taught me how to handle myself before he was hanged. That slippery tosser killed five watchmen when they went to bring him in. He was better with the crossbow and sword than I am but I never had his size. In knife fighting though, like in a bar or somewhere swords really can't be brought out, I do serious damage. If you want, I can teach you some things. Sometimes surprise beats skill, you may never be the best knife fighter but it will get you out of a few scraps”.

  “I would like that” Ezra replied. “Maybe even get me one of those fancy vests you have”.

  “You want to learn how to throw as well?” Alex laughed. “I can make you a regular apprentice, we can go tell the leathermaker to start on you a vest right now. It don’t have to be pretty, just snug fitting and able to hold a couple of knives and maybe a long dagger the size of a short sword can run down your spine”.

  “If it is the size of a sword, wouldn’t it just be a sword then?” Ezra asked.

  “A sword has a hilt, crossguard, pommel and a bunch of other stuff that would be obvious and uncomfortable. The dagger would be made without all that, just one piece of metal with the handle of it wrapped in a thin strip of leather. The whole thing would be flat and uncomfortable to grip compared to the normal ones but it could surprise the hell out of someone with a sword who thinks you are unarmed”.

  “Maybe I should become your apprentice” Ezra stated. “I am decent with a sword but I never really fought anyone except a bunch of novices. The fight escaping from the outpost was with men I caught by surprise. I love knowledge, like how you taught me how to start the fire. I don’t see how learning how to fight would be a bad thing”.

  “I knew there was a reason I liked you” Alex replied. “I think we should spend the day getting you some gear. I never had anyone to teach before, maybe your skill with knives and other things can come in handy. I still have to teach you card games and other types of gambling before w
e can really get out on our own”.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Unarmored are blights upon mankind, barely more tolerable than goblins. They wish to be us, but they have perverted our work. The foul beings are purveyors of torture and other unjustly acts. It is documented in their history that their magic can distort minds, they know what you are going to do in a battle the same time you do. For this reason, treat the Unarmored as you would a viper, while Unarmored can be killed, they should never be underestimated.

  -Knights of Justice Handbook

  “Alright if someone wants to gamble with the dice, what do you do?” Alex asked.

  “I turn them down, any game that is strictly chance is wasted money” Ezra replied.

  “I have the 6 of cups and the 7 of knives, my opponent has twin 8’s in forks and plates, what do you do?” Alex asked.

  “I am assuming he has showed off his hand?” Ezra asked.

  “Yes” Alex replied.

  “Depends, if he is a good player you just give him the hand” Ezra replied. “If he is an asshat and you have been winning, you up the coin and give him a smile”.

  “Tell me, what is a tell?” Alex asked.

  “A tell is a nervous habit people get” Ezra replied. “When people have a good hand they tend to do the same thing over and over. When they have a shitty hand they also advertise it”.

  “I don’t think there is much left to teach you” Alex replied with a smile. “You just need experience now. You picked up knife fighting so damn quickly it was scary. You are pretty deadly with those daggers and your accuracy with throwing knives is almost as good as mine. Your sleight of hand is pretty good and as much as I hate to admit this, you can even beat me straight up in cards when we are playing Forks. Unless of course you have been cheating”.

  “Don’t need to” Ezra replied. “You have a tell yourself, it is not something you do every time like wiping your forehead. It is hard to explain, just something you keep doing lets me know when I should give you the hand or play it through. If I picked it up I think other people would as well”.

  “Well I think I am pretty good in Forks” Alex replied. “I only cheat if the cards aren’t with me or I catch someone cheating myself. With you there though, I don’t think many folks will try to push us around. The only thing left for us to do is go make some money, I am tired of living in this hole we found, no wonder it is abandoned. How long have we been here seven months?”

  “We have only been here for two weeks” Ezra replied.

  “Well that is two weeks too long” Alex said back quickly. “The damn Fale will be here before we get out of this place”.

  “Have you heard anything about the counterattack?” Ezra asked.

  “What counterattack?” Alex said shaking his head. “All of us out here on the edge of the kingdom are nothing but fodder. They are going to make their stand more towards the capital where they have defenses already in place. They are counting all of us out here as a lost cause. Many rich folks have already started packing their bags and leaving the city”.

  “Then why aren’t we trying to see what we can steal?” Ezra asked.

  “Because the Knights of Justice have entered the city” Alex replied.

  “So you have been out sightseeing while you have me in here throwing the same knife at the same board?” Ezra asked as he crossed his arms.

  “You needed the practice and despite how good you have been at training you still stick out” Alex replied. “You are too soldierly, you walk around like you are looking for action. Poor folks like us don’t do things like that around polite company. It is something you are going to have to learn if you are going to be sticking around me”.

  “Well what else did you learn?” Ezra asked.

  “The Fale have killed a lot of soldiers trying to hide in Union” Alex said and shook his head. “The city watch here in Laton has closed their gates to anyone trying to enter the city, people can only leave. I haven't seen any Unarmored here but I think I saw a Fale here already walking with who is passing as the law since most of the really rich have left”.

  “So then they really should be here shortly” Ezra replied. “Well they are already here I guess. Do you think we will be found out?”

  “Nah, we stick to the poor areas and everyone will assume we are just slum trash” Alex replied. “Where is that other sword I bought you, the show piece?”

  “You seriously expect me to fight with a sword so big?” Ezra asked.

  “I have seen you wield it, you look capable enough” Alex replied. “It is only to scare people though, a nice sized guy carrying a big sword is damn scary. Well it is about time for us to hit up the tavern. I want you to sit in on a game of Forks with the little bit of money we have left, don’t cheat to start off with, maybe when we are down to our last two silvers then start. I only know twopeople to stay away from, they are working as a secret team. Only one of them knows how to force a card, old man missing a front tooth, his partner is a pretty young girl who keeps her chest on full display. She aint stupid though, she plays a really safe game unless she has the hot hand. On the days playing it safe wins, she meets with the old man and they split everything up. If she doesn’t have the hot hand she will flirt and make all kinds of eye contact, before the night is over the old man would have tricked you into drawing the 10 of knives and plates why he is sitting with the 10 of forks and cups. Secret to beating them is to keep your eyes on the old man, the girl can get lucky but he is the only one that cheats. They don’t play together all that often so people won't get suspicious and neither of them mind losing small sums of money and leaving the tavern at a slight disadvantage. I have followed them every night this week, they always move to different taverns so hopefully we can avoid them until you are ready for a challenge like them. Let's go”.

  Ezra was nervous, Alex led him into a tavern that was filled with some rough looking people. It was loud and half naked women were walking around to gather food orders and it looked like some people were armed. A few looked in his direction, Ezra did what Alex told him to and met their gaze. Once Ezra moved his coat back a little so his sword hilt was visible people became less interested. Alex walked over to a seat near the bar and sat down. Ezra looked around and could see three different games of Forks going and walked over to the table that had an empty seat.

  “Is this a private game?” Ezra said as he plopped down a coin purse filled with money. It was mostly small bits of metal with coppers, only top was silvers which made the purse look like it contained more money than it really did.

  “Not anymore” a man holding a tankard said as he gestured to the chair. Ezra noticed the others kept an eye on his coin purse as he sat down. The next hand he was dealt in and took a look at his opponents instead of his cards. One gave a slight smile, he was smaller and hurriedly grabbed at his coins, the other three looked a little upset. Alex had told him to always watch his opponents before looking at his cards, they often gave things away early. Right now he only had one opponent to watch out for, Ezra finally looked at his cards. He had a decent hand, an 8 and a 7 of plates. The way Forks were played, the winner is the person who had the highest total number on their cards. Right now Alex was holding a total of 15, the highest number anyone could get was twenty. In case of ties, whoever was holding the highest suit in Forks won. Ezra watched his opponent who showed the small smile. The happy opponent changed his facial features and didn’t want to give anything away as he pushed forwards two silvers. The man who told him to sit down matched it and then raised the pot by four silvers. Two of the men tossed in their cards, all they would have to pay is the initial pot of two silvers. Ezra knew only one of his opponents had a decent set of cards, the man that now looked nervous. Ezra raised the pot by six silvers, this was all the silvers he had but thought it was a good plan. The man with the good cards tossed his in, he would have to pay the initial raise which had him on the hook for six silvers altogether. So far the entire pot was 24 silvers, if his opponent t
ossed in his cards then Ezra would have the entire pot, if he matched it then it would be thirty silvers altogether. His opponent gave him a smile and tossed in his cards, Ezra laid his cards out on the table before he took the pot and immediately heard cursing from the man who smiled initially. He had 16 altogether in knives and forks, he would have won the hand but the first blood went to Ezra who filled up his purse to the point it looked like it was about to burst.

  Throughout the night Ezra thought he played better than he could have imagined, he was up almost 100 silvers, this from a tavern Alex had told him was little money. Although he lost some hands, he never lost big money. Alex told him to win the big hands and let the little hands slide, this was good advice as it kept people playing without realizing how much of their money he was taking. Ezra was about to get up when Alex caught his eye. A woman with long black hair came into the tavern, her breasts were barely held in by her tight fitting dress and despite the other women in the room, all eyes were on her. She sauntered over and sat at another table, Ezra could see Alex’s relief. A big money hand was coming up and Ezra won it, all of the people he was playing with got up. Ezra barely noticed this was his biggest hand, he ended up with 46 silver but found himself without playing partners. Ezra got up and could see Alex motion towards an old man who was sitting at a different table than the woman. Ezra walked outside and Alex followed him, Ezra checked the area and waited for Alex to speak.