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staggered, touched his forehead where a small gash was prominent. It took him
a moment to register why his fingertips were now stained with his own blood.
The first blow had caught him off guard, the second one made him angry.
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Demon Hunter
I wasn‘t expecting his defenses to remain so sharp after being racked in the
head. He kept his wits about him. When I let the ladle fly again, he ducked
under its assault catching me by the waist, to tackle me to the ground.
We struggled, rolling about on the ground, each striking solid blows before
being thwarted by the other. The onlookers circled us, cheering us on, imploring
us to maim or cripple the other like savages. Only one stepped in to break it up.
―Enough of this!‖ Talos‘ words seemed to echo from the sky like a
thunderclap. He broke through the pack surrounding us, then used his cane to
strike us both in the places it would hurt the most.
We pulled back from each other, panting, bruised, blood encrusting my lip
and there was a good sized welt on Paralay‘s brow.
―I will not tolerate brawling amongst my own, unless it is sanctioned by me.
Is that understood?‖
So sanctioned it would be.
Up to this point, we‘d been mastering our intellect, training to use our
bodies as weapons, and to defend ourselves. Now, we would use all of those
learned skills, one-on-one, just Paralay and myself.
Talos set us up in front of a course of obstacles designed to test our speed,
agility, balance and strength. It ran the length at the back of Ravenwood‘s
housing and presented itself across uneven ground littered with mud puddles
and pits filled with water hazards.
I had expected to be facing Paralay in some form of physical combat but
Talos had refused it stating how he would not allow the room for injury brought
on by angry young fools. Instead, we would race.
―The first of you to the end shall be the victor and this petty rivalry will end
there.‖
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Cynthia Vespia
It seemed simple enough. The Elf was quick and spry but only my disdain
for him rivaled my confidence in defeating and humiliating him in front of his
followers.
We began with the strike of a gong in a long distance sprint. I edged Paralay
out, taking up the lead in a matter of seconds. But before I knew it the first
obstacle seemed to come from nowhere.
Barbed ropes zig-zagged out in front of me. There would be no going
around, I‘d have to tackle each one. Some were low enough to jump, others
were meant to be crawled beneath, but all had a very real element of pain to
them if you struck them. Fortunately, I managed to negotiate them without
incident. I punched over the last hurdle landing in an awkward tuck and roll.
When I came up I looked back to find Paralay at my heels.
I needed to increase my distance quickly. Moving ahead I found my next
obstacle. Hanging vines dangled from overhead, below a pit of water, and on
the other side the inviting crest of dry land.
Avoid the water at all costs I told myself.
I took a hold on one of the vines, tightened my grip and hoisted my body up
and over. Wind tussled my hair and pulled at my clothing as I swung over the
pit. It seemed simple enough until I released myself too short from the edge.
At first my feet were firm and planted upon the solid ground and in the
next instant I slipped off the side. I managed to catch myself and I clung there
dangling over the pool of water, trying hard not to slip.
Paralay caught up to me at that moment. He landed gingerly and then
turned in my direction. I extended one hand out towards him. It was a foolish
move but desperation led me to it.
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Demon Hunter
―Help,‖ I strained out the word as my chest constricted against the side of
the pit.
―You must be joking,‖ Paralay laughed.
My extended hand fisted up and anger fueled my body. I exploded, using
my hatred to propel upward and get back on level ground. I was halfway up
when Paralay struck. He swept first one, then the other hand out from under
me. I spiraled backwards and struck the water with a heavy splash.
I‘d never imagined how cold it would be. The first impact felt like ice
running over my body. Jarring little needles of pain raced over me that put the
thorn bushes outside Gryphant to shame.
When I surfaced Paralay was nowhere in sight. That mattered little. My first
dilemma to solve would be how to get out of the frigid water. The rope would
not suffice as it did not reach far enough down.
I had to swim quite a ways until I came to a net of webbing. It reached great
heights, intimidating at just the sight, but it proved my only exit. I began to scale
it hand-over-foot. My sopping body made it that much harder to pull myself up.
I vowed to take it out of Paralay‘s hide the moment I caught up with him.
Finally I reached the top of the net. Once up high I could see the rest of the
course and Paralay negotiating it without effort. He navigated a small maze and
came across a set of swinging rings like he‘d been born on them.
He would win if I let him.
Climbing down would take too much time. Throwing caution to the wind I
double gripped the net and launched myself up and over. The ground seemed
to rise up and meet me. I came down hard on the other side, momentarily
knocking the wind out of my body. After taking a moment to assess no serious
damage had been done I forced myself up and continued the race.
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Cynthia Vespia
I struggled to finish. I had no energy left. My legs felt heavy, my labored
breathing was burning in my chest. By the time I got through the rest of the
elements Paralay had already surpassed me.
Talos and the others awaited me there, waiting for me to finish. I almost
dragged my body over his marking point of the finish. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]