Elaine Cunningham - The Best of the Realms, Book I

Lifting himself up on his hands and feet, Cy crabbedbackward, growing the space between himself and the blond man. The chain hitthe ground again, throwing dirt in Cy's face. Rolling backward, the raider cameup on his feet, sword in front of him. The dark-robed man nodded and closed in,moving the chain back and forth, letting it gain momentum as he changed handsagain and again.

This time the chain came in low. Cy jumped and slashedin a flat arc while he was in midair. The tip of his blade tore through thedark robes and cut a deep wound in the blond man's chest. Landing on both feet,Cy leaped backward, narrowly avoiding a blow to his head. The chain was movingfaster now. It looked almost like a solid wall of metal as it careened throughthe air.

Cy pulled his dagger from its sheath. It was the onlyenchanted weapon he owned. Flipping it over in his left hand, he clutched thetip of the blade between two fingers, then he feigned a lunge with hisscimitar. The blond man brought the chain up in a defensive arc, striking atthe hiltof the sword. Cy lowered the blade under the flailing chain and brought thedagger up to throw. The chain-wielder was too fast, and he changed directions,throwing Cy off balance. Just barely able to keep to his feet, the raider heldonto the dagger but had to lower his arm to keep from falling.

The chain whistled as it came down in an overheadstrike. Cy leaped forward, pressing his body as close to his attacker's aspossible. Blood spattered his boots as his scimitar cut a deep wound into theblond man's leg. The chain changed directions and hit Cy hard in the back,knocking him straight into the black-robed man. The raider lost his grip on thecurved sword as he bounced off a human wall of muscles. The ground came up, andCy found himself once more on the rocky, hard-packed dirt in the streets ofKath.

This is starting to annoy me, he thought as he got tohis feet.

He didn't have time for much more as the chain hit himagain right around his midsection. The cold, heavy links wrapped themselvesaround his body and tangled with the rest of the chain as they made one fullcircle around Cy's stomach. Just as the dark metal clanked into itself, theraider felt himself lift off the ground. The blond man pulled him clear off hisfeet, and Cy grunted as all the air left his lungs. Coming down in a heap atthe foot of the chain-wielder, Cy struggled to stay conscious. He felt thechain tug and begin to unravel itself from his body. The force of the largerman pulling caused Cy to roll over onto his back as the chain uncoiled. Helooked up. The blond man glared back, a crease in his brow, his lips pursed,and hatred in his eyes.

Flinging his arm forward with all of his might, Cyhurled his enchanted dagger at the chain-wielder. The magical metal blade sunkeasily into the soft flesh of the neck, and the hilt moved up and down as theman tried to swallow. Blood seeped out around the edges of the wound.

The blond man staggered backward a step and raised hishands to his throat. The look of anger and spite had left his eyes, only to bereplaced by a distinct note of fear and uncertainty. Grabbing the hilt of thedagger, the blond man pulled the blade from his neck. Blood poured out inspurting gouts.

Cy slid away, getting slowly to his feet. The raiderlooked around for his scimitar. It was lying in the dirt a few yards to hisright. As he moved to retrieve it, the chain-wielder fell to his knees, brightred blood covering his hands, and a look of complete disbelief filled his eyes.Before Cy had retrieved his blade, the man was facedown on the dirt.

Cy took a deep breath and looked around. The houseswere completely consumed by flames. The screaming and chaotic sounds of theraiders riding through the village had stopped. His own horse was nowhere insight, and he cursed his bad luck for having ridden past this chain-swingingbaboon. He felt around his own body to assess the damage. The bruise on hischest where the chain had taken him off his horse had already turned deeppurple. His tailbone and back were sore but functional. He had lost a couple ofteeth, but his jaw worked well enough for him to be able to enjoy supper aroundthe campfire that night, and that was all he needed to know.

Sheathing his sword, Cy walked over to the blond man.His enchanted dagger lay just past the man's fallen fingertips. Thechain-wielder lay facedown in a good-sized puddle of his own cooling blood. Cywiped the dagger off on the back of the fallen man's dark robes.

The sound of horse hooves lifted over the crackling ofthe burning thatch roofs. Cy spun around, his dagger in hand.

"That was a nice bit of fighting, if I do say somyself."

Cy recognized the speaker-Lume, the captain of theraiding party. He rode up on his horse and stopped just in front of the fallenman.

"Sir?" Cy looked down at his bruises andbleeding wounds.

"I saw the whole thing. Most of the rest of thisscum-" He waved his arm over his shoulder toward the forest and theraiding party-"would be dead after fighting a man like that."

"Thank you, sir."

Cy looked down at the blade of his dagger and twirledit absently.

"If all my men could fight like that, we'd beable to take Karsus without the rest of Olostin's raiders."

Lume dismounted and walked over to the dead man. Hekicked him once in the ribs, then rolled him over with his boot.

The man's eyes were open but unfocused. His mouth hungwide as if he were trying to catch a last breath, and blood still trickled downhis neck, but it was already starting to harden into scabs.

Lume regarded the dead man for a moment then said,"You know, Cy, I think I might just have a job for you. Stop by my tent inthe morning, and we'll discuss the details."

Lume put one foot in a stirrup and swung his weightinto his saddle.

"In the meantime," the captain said,"head back to camp. The rest of the party has the villagers well in hand."

Lume turned his horse back toward the village.

"And one more thing, Cy," he said over hisshoulder.

"Yes, sir?"

"Enjoy yourself around the campfire tonight, anddon't forget to get your share of the booty. We made a good haul thistime."

"Thank you, sir, I will."

The evening's festivities were grand. The raiders hadmade their biggest haul ever. One of the men had ransacked Kath's stock ofsupplies and come up with several kegs of good red wine and a large cask ofmead. There was more than enough in those barrels to make the fifty or soraiders in Cy's party jolly as monks in a vineyard.

The campfire raged. The wine flowed freely. Men toldstories of their conquests during the raids. The men they had fought grewlarger and more fearsome as the evening wore on. The riches they had stolenbecame fortunes even the most powerful kings would envy. They laughed anddanced and lied to each other until they had all passed out. Then they slept.They would be allowed their excesses for the evening since their booty had beenso large. Captain Lume didn't participate in the campfires, but he didn't wakethe men early after a good night's haul.

Yes, life as one of Olostin's raiders was veryfulfilling for someone like Cy. He had the freedom to do what he wanted, solong as it didn't directly contradict the orders he had been given, and he hadthe camaraderie of the other raiders. He had riches and wine, and from time totime he even had the affections of a lady or two. All in all, life was good.

"You're quite fast, Cy," complimented Lume.

Cy had woken just before midday, and after he haddunked his head in a rain barrel and re-bandaged his wounds from the fight thenight before, he went to see his captain.

"Thank you, sir."

Cy didn't have a military background, but he believedin giving respect to his elders. Lume was the captain of the raiding party andat least ten years older than Cy, so he figured the man deserved the title of" sir."