Gray Skies - Thoughts and Bandits

• Posted by Lyall April 6, 2016 - 1,033 views

  Amazing how easier it is to get things done when you shut out your emotions. Happiness? Gets in the way of cold calculation, gets in the way when you are trying to let go of things. Sadness? Why have it? Anger? Makes it so you can’t do what must be done, kills humility, however false, when you must use it as your tool. Fear? Hah!

  I’ve learned long ago to block out your emotions. It’s the only way to get things done. I have sealed myself, under layers of ice. No more. I’ve dried my tears, why bother to let them be shed? No more.

  But now… This thing, this girl, is trying to get me to feel again. No. I will not give in.

  “Oh, come now, you can’t be this cold all the time!”

  I grit my teeth. “Of course I can.” Already she’s making me feel anger again.

  She deftly sidesteps a bear trap, and lifts a long glance my way as she continues walking. “Really now, you’re just a grumpy old bear who doesn’t like coming out of his cave?”

  People have been dead for less than what she’s said. “I don’t need friends or family to be happy. I have money,” I say, thinking of the riches I have accumulated over the past years and years.

  “Hmmph.” She doesn’t believe it. I wouldn’t buy it either, not when I was still weak. But I’m stronger now, stronger than before. So why can’t I just kill her and be done with it, instead of dragging this out? 

  A cloud drifts over us, casting its shadow onto this odd pair traversing the woods. As we pass a fort, an arrow whizzes past my head, scarcely two inches away.

  “Charge!” The bandits rush out, surprising me and Oer’soli, forcing us side-by-side as we prepare to fight.

  The first one reaches us, a Nord barbarian. Bringing his sword up, he exposes his chest to me. I shove a dagger in his heart right as he begins to swing. Gasping for air, his blade is thrown sideways, and his body lands on the ground with a dull thump, sounding like a sack of potatoes thrown onto a shop floor.

  A pair of orcs, one with two axes and one with a sword and a shield, reach us. Oer’soli starts to fight the one with axes, her shield and fist combination seeming to throw the orc off.

  As the other one reaches me, I almost double over from her breath. “Time to die, milk drinker!” She screams, not helping with the fresh air problem. She stabs straight at me, and simply stares after I catch the blade, surprised to say the least. My left fist seeks out her thick skull, and meets her already war-torn face, knocking a tooth out of her mouth. As she reels back, I blast her with a fireball that hits her square in the chest, lifting her up off the ground before gravity reclaims the filthy bandit.

  I have no time to relax though, as the orc fighting Oer’soli has gained an advantage. Stepping behind him, I utilized the hilt of my dagger, having the pure blunt force fall onto his temple to unbalance him, before dragging him before me and turning to face the other bandits. Pushing my blade at his neck, I shouted at them “Stop! Stay where you are, or he dies!” Two of the four halted immediately, one slowed to a stop, and a burley Redguard barreled on towards me, spitting abuse and hate from his mouth.

  As he reached me, I quickly ended my prisoner’s life, and trip this new bandit with my foot, silently torn between annoyance at him disobeying me, and the thrill that fighting brings. Slashing at his wrists, he dropped his greatsword in intense pain, and I spun him around and up, a new prisoner collected to use as a hostage. Both of us reveled in the fight, at least until I bested him. Then he wasn’t so happy “You saw I’ll kill, now STOP!” They all froze, seeing the plaintive look on his face.

  “That’s right, no trouble.” I walked towards them, keeping the dagger firmly pressed against the man’s neck. They began to back up, before I whistled and opened a slight cut on the man’s neck, causing terror to pulse from him as he felt my blade slice his skin open. “Why don’t you stop moving?”

  I reached down, and grabbed another dagger, keeping my other hand tightly pressing the blade to my hostage’s neck. I saw Oer’soli walk behind a man in full steel armor, engraved with beautiful carvings. She nodded at me, and I saw my chance. Cutting the artery that gave life in the Redguard’s neck, I leapt at a women in full fur armor, while Oer’soli located a pressure point in one of Steel Armor’s weak points, causing him to collapse.

  The women was armed with only her fists, and soon I cut her down. Me and Oer’soli both leaped at the final man, who was staring at us in shock, seemingly unable to move. He was soon just another corpse, and looking around, I saw no one else coming to challenge us.

  Oer’soli slid her sword back into its sheath, and glanced at the scene of the battle appreciatively. “Nice work here. You’re not that bad after all. In fact, you’re almost decent.”

  People have had their careers ruined by my followers on my orders, for saying such things, for daring to mock me.

  I give her a sly smile. “Decent yourself.”

  She grins. “Well, let’s get going.