Arreth found the apostate in Tink. A suitable place for scum like Onslaught. The so called Sword was leaving the inn after spending some hours in the company of the strange man who claimed he had been a member of the EWF. Arreth had waited patiently outside. He neither wondered nor cared about Onslaughts reasons for being here, he merely waited for his opportunity.
As Onslaught moved to his warhorse, Arreth studied him with a professional eye. Of course he'd heard of him, most people had in Humakti circles. He wasn't well liked by anyone Arreth knew but one had to respect his skill. Time to put it to the test, he thought.
"Onslaught!" He shouted and stepped out of the shadows.
The big man turned idly round to view his hailer. His eyebrows rose
slightly at the sight of an iron-bound Sword standing before him. "May Humakti
guide your blade warrior of Death." Intoned Onslaught as he nodded ritual
greeting.
"Warrior of Death...and Truth. Keep your own terms for yourself, I don't
follow the apostacy you profess." Arreth said distainfully.
Onslaught grinned his metal smile. There was a feral glint in his eyes. "Let me see, whats your name now....Arreth?" Arreth nodded. "Ah yes, the traditionalist. The Sword who got rusty."
"Rusty! Selective I may be but my blade has never felt the blood of
innocents or those unable to defend themselves." Arreth snarled, outraged.
"Whats your problem Arreth? Why are you here? You looking for me?"
Asked Onslaught with a hard look to his eyes.
Arreth nodded. "I have come to clear away a stain of dishonour upon the name of our God." Onslaught inclined his head to indicate tha Arreth should continue. "A Season ago you killed eight clansmen in a village near Two-ridge farm. You killed them knowing they couldn't stand against you and without regard for the suffering you have inflicted upon their families. Most of all you have given our pure god of death a stain that will not be easy to remove in the eyes of these people."
Onslaught frowned as if remembering then his brow cleared. "Oh yes, I remember now! I had forgotten all about that. To be honest these events all blur into one after a while. I remember that time I was fighting the Caladralanders in the Rightarm Isles and..."
"I do not wish to hear a list of you victories. Victories of a coward
and a murderer!" Growled Arreth.
Onslaught smiled a predators smile. "Thats fighting talk Arreth. Is your blade big enough to match your mouth?"
"Big enough to see you to Death. We'll see how much rust is on my blade
after all eh?"
"Suit yourself. I must admit to being a bit bored, haven't had a good
fight in three weeks." Onslaught drew his bastard sword. Arreth drew his
broadsword and they began to circle.
As they circled combat magics sprang up, both calling on their own resources and the resources of their God. Arreth could feel the power of the magics Onslaught emplaced but his own were little, if any, weaker. He had always been blessed by the touch of his God in all things.
The townfolk had gathered to watch the most rare of spectacles, a Humakti Death Match. They gasped together as the blades struck each other in a burst of argent sparks. And again, and again they clashed. Balance and poise allied with skill and strength made the weapons scream as they impacted against one another in a torrent of controlled violence.
Onslaught came low then high. Arreth parried and sidestepped cutting to the head. Onslaught grinned, ducked and came forward slamming a short cut at Arreths mid section. Arreth barely blocked the blow which pushed through to be deflected by his magics and armour.
Arreth countered with a rolling wrist cut that Onslaught slid round but the bastardsword was deflected as Arreth continued his missed move andmanaged a beautiful sliding parry.
They leapt apart. "We are well matched you and I" Whooped Onslaught almost joyously.
"Nevertheles, I shall kill you."
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Whatever, it will be a good fight!" True to his
name Onslaught came forward, almost foregoing defence in a blinding and
remorseless attack. Arreth retreated a step, then another as his parries began
to fail and he traded room for time. Onslaught must tire he thought but the
iron-toothed warrior just grinned and attacked with greater ferocity with every
passing moment as if he fed on the clash of arms.
Arreth gambled. He semi-pretended a stumble and exposed his non-armoured leg for a brief moment. Onslaught went for it, cutting into the tigh down to the bone and beyond, severing the limb in one massive stroke. Arreth collapsed but not before he'd rammed his Broadsword point first through Onslaughts stomach.
Onslaught grabbed Arreth by the helm as he fell pulling him down till they were eye to eye. "Nice hit." He spat as blood flecked his lips. "Pity about your sword being stuck eh?" He said conversationally as if he didn't have a large lump of iron in his Kidneys.
Arreth belatedly reached for his belt knife as he struggled to pull himself out of Onslaughts iron grip. Before he could complete his move his foes dagger point appeared in the slit of his helm, poised to strike. It hung there menacingly. "Kill me! What are you waiting for? Do you delay like some foul Ikadz torturer?" Arreth snarled, disgusted.
"No. I just thought for a moment about letting you live. Such fights as
this are rare and you would surely come after me again. If I were not oath
bound to a task I would look forward to them enormously." Before Arreth could
say or do anything Onslaught rammed his dagger through the slit into Arreths eye
and brain. The brave Humakti jerked a few times in Onslaughts grip then fell
still.
Onslaught hissed in repressed pain as he tore the sword out of him and healed. That had come very close to killing him he reflected happily. He turned to the silent crowd. "Here lies a brave man. He died with his own honour and never gave an inch." With that Onslaught whistled a toneless tune, stripped the body of valuables and left.
Martin Laurie
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #497
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
Powered by hypermail