A Stranger

The sun was high in the sky as you head down the alley way that would take you to the street your house was on, Assad beside you still holding your cloak.

“We have company; a man, blonde hair, black attire, approaching us from behind . . . it looks like he intends to overtake us here” you say to Assad who’s eyes widen for a moment before he settled back into a casual routine

“Well, that is hardly surprising, we have been seen around and we are obviously foreign . . . foreigners tend to have money if they can afford to travel” You suspect that Assad has done this several times before and that being the captain of a ship has helped him learn some interesting fighting techniques.

“Agreed, though I suspect that this man isn’t going to be robbing us today, his weaponry and clothing speak of wealth . . . perhaps he is a mercenary hired to end us? No matter, let us decide this matter now” you speak quickly, quietly and in Abirian to Assad so that your follower won’t be able to understand your plan.

“That’s far enough!” called out the man from behind you forcing you to stop and turn. As you had already said to Assad, the man had short blonde hair that was combed and trimmed with delicate touch. The man’s attire consisted of a black coat that fell to his ankles and had a glossy finish to it. Underneath the coat was some form of armour and on his back was the hand-and-a-half hilt of a sword. “I believe you were responsible for a specific ****’s induction into her new life not long ago? I’m afraid that may put us at odds” you grin at the man’s suggestion.

“Be careful, I think that man is more than he appears . . . he could be one of ‘them’” Assad whispers into your ear.

“I’m more than I appear as well, and I know he is” you think you spot a dagger in the man’s sleeve as you draw your own knife, the 6inch blade glistening in the sunlight and the man’s dagger pops into his hand.

“I would be cautious if I were you, we needn’t fight” said the man as he unsheathed his sword, revealing a blade almost as black as night and still as shiny as any steel. You merely grin in response and take a fighting stance. “As you wish” said the man as he threw his dagger at you. You take that opportunity to dive straight in his direction, pivoting in mid-air to avoid the dagger and noticing an almost transparent chain trailing from the dagger’s handle and glowing faintly as it snaked back to the man’s sleeve. Magic huh? Interesting you think to yourself as you complete your aerial manoeuvre and roll on the ground to strike where the man’s chest should have been. You already knew he wasn’t going to be there due to the fact that your attack was so visible it would have been visible from Abiria. You instead, move your body in a twist, bringing your knife up as you do and feeling it connect with the man’s sword, redirecting it overhead and away from you as you duck under the blade.

Deciding that you stand no chance at this distance, you move in closer, ramming your shoulder into the man and hitting him against the wall enough to produce a resonating “ooompf!” from the man. Suddenly you find yourself on your back, dazed and with a burning sensation across your chest. You look down and see some light burning on your stomach but are surprised to see your top stayed intact until you remember that your master had it enchanted against fire and frost which would have been expensive since the only master enchanters could be found in the Morridan Expanse. The man looked just as surprised as you are and just beyond him you see Assad pull out a small round ceramic container with a length of cord sticking out of it. You roll back and onto your feat, giving a slight nod of your head and leap back, pushing off the ground with your hand as you do a flip so that you double the distance you move and land with one hand, knee and foot on the ground. A moment later, an explosion knocks the man to the ground beneath an orange fireball and filling the street with the smell of the explosion.

You grin over the man as he shakes the daze out of himself.

“What was that” he asks as he picks himself off the ground.

“That was firedust, it’s made from the droppings of a large animal back home and a couple other ingredients . . . explodes as soon as fire or spark touches it” you say with a grin. “You might have some magic to you but we Abirians don’t need magic to make explosions and fire appear from nowhere, we have intelligence and technology”

“Ha, so you just used a simple trick to conjure that? Pathetic” he says.

“I would be surprised that you are still alive after an explosion like that but by now it’s safe to say you are what we Abirians would call an ‘Immortal’ special people who possess increased strength and endurance as well as some magics, I am one as well if it matters” the man’s eyes open wide at what you said

“So, that is how you made off without a scratch . . . I’m afraid I’m going to have to request your assistance in rescuing the girl you just broke for the Friedmans . . . you see, I have a policy of live and let live and there are no laws against slavery but not every other land in Morridan deal in slaves and so I protect the rights of people there to have their freedom . . . this girl was taken from one of those lands and I would see her free again” you listen politely and wait for the man to finish his tirade and finally you get your opening.

“I was hired to break here . . . whatever she was before, she is now a **** and I was brought in to help her reach that conclusion as well so rescuing her is a little counterproductive, besides she was sold to the Friedmans legitimately” you say, shrugging your shoulders at the last part of your statement

“I guess we may have a difference of opinion . . . I doubt she was sold legitimately” came the Man’s reply

“It was legitimate, her own father sold her to us” you say, mentally preparing you for another fight.

“I highly doubt that, the man is pretty wealthy already and he would never sell a child into slavery, it would destroy his family’s reputation” the man’s last comment clicks inside your head and reminds you of what Pippin said desperately to you before you began on her

“Her father believed that his daughter was having an Adulterous affair before she had even turned eighteen . . . apparently she was rumoured to be having more than a few . . . I guess her father was presented irrefutable proof” the man sheathes his sword while he thinks. “Pippin herself believes her family is being set up but . . . she was sold legitimately so . . . nothing to be done there”

“Then I see I shall have to rescue her on my own . . .” the man says as he turns to leave

“Or we could get to the bottom of this subterfuge and possibly save Pippin’s family from the utter shame of this incident” The man stops in his tracks and turns around to face you

“I’m Aqualis . . . Jacob Aqualis, I’ll meet you at your place sometime tomorrow night . . . and we can plan out how we are going to do this” Jacob backs into a shadow and disappears altogether making you wonder exactly what the man is.

“That was . . . unexpected . . . and had an . . . unexpected outcome . . .” Assad finally pipes up after being silent for this entire venture.

“Come on, I need to rest and relax after today . . . it’s been a long day” you say and head off in the direction of your house