Dumont

It was a particularly warm evening that saw you hurrying down the streets of Tarantium. Having just finished a particularly long session in your workshop, drawing up plans to an aqueduct system that would be the rival of Rome’s in her glory days.

The sun was dipping below the horizon and soon it would be too dark to travel the streets without a light source of some description. You had contemplated heading for Tevron’s home as it was closer to your workshop, but decided against it. You didn’t want to turn up uninvited, after all, you might seem too clingy.

Just then a gust of hot, dry wind blew your hair into your face and you stopped. You could have sworn you heard something carried on the wind, or smelt it. Whatever it was, something tickled at your senses and you deviated off course to investigate the disturbance.

You went down winding alleys and twisting streets, guided by nothing more than a weird sense of wrongness until finally you came upon an alley, wreathed in shadows with pavers that looked as though they hadn’t seen the underside of a shoe in years.

It was here that you saw Dumont, here that you saw Valentina.

The girl was gagged, her hands bound above her head to an iron hoop that had been driven into the side of an apparently abandoned house. Glistening lines on her face gave away her tears as they caught what little light remained. The shadows could do very little to hide her bruises.

“Now little slut” Dumont said, practically purring as he gently took Valentina by the chin. “I’ve had some fun, but not nearly enough” he added, a sick, sadistic grin on his face. “And by the time I am satiated” he continued “You will beg me for more” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

It was at this point you kicked a loose paver. The sound caused both Dumont and Valentina’s heads to snap in your direction. The girl’s eyes widened in shock and fear as she recognised you, seemingly begging that you turn and run. Dumont’s grin merely widened as though he’d been given even more treasure.

“Why, if it isn’t Augustina!” Dumont greeted, his usual charming smile on his face as he stood up and approached you, his arms outstretched in welcome. “Come to take me up on my offer to get messy behind the clothing racks?” he asked. At his words, you felt a slithering sensation cross your mind and a small voice in the back of your head told you to agree. You frowned and shook off whatever sorcery Dumont had just tried to use.

“No” you say simply. Dumont’s expression changed immediately and he gave you an incredulous look.

“That worked on you every time I tried it before!” he exclaimed. It was your turn to be surprised, as you hadn’t noticed him doing it before. “Perhaps it’s the girl” Dumont mused to himself, turning back to look at Valentina. “Her state and my obvious involvement is clearly colouring your thoughts” he commented, turning back to you. “Well then” he said, a grin returning to his face, it was not a nice grin. “You’ll just have to join her until I break your resistance down and you become my warm, wet, willing woman once again” he told you.

You were just about to reply when a hand appeared on your shoulder. You started and threw yourself away from the hand, only to see Mars. Despite the heat, she had wrapped her cloak around her more tightly than normal. It’s dark colouration and the failing light meant that the bulge in her cloak would have been impossible for Dumont to see, but you saw it and you recognised a sword hilt when you saw one.

“Ma’ra!” Dumont greeted, immediately switching back to warm and welcoming. “Come to join me? I’d love to hear those stories you mentioned” he asked.

“No” Ma’ra replied in her usual bored tone. If it wasn’t for how straight she was standing or how rigid her stance was, anyone would mistake her for just wanting to sit down against a tree and nap for a while.

“Come now!” Dumont said, flashing Mars his best smile. “There is much we could talk about, many things we could share,” he said to her. You didn’t need powers to understand he was trying to use his power on her, and that it was having absolutely no effect.

“I think not” was Mars’ reply. Dumont sighed upon hearing this, bowed his head in defeat, looked back at Valentina for a moment, who met his gaze defiantly, and then turned his eyes upon you and Mars again.

“Does Solus surround himself with the strongest willed women he can possibly find? Or am I losing my touch?” he asked with a malicious grin. “No matter, more fun for me” he said “the release is the sweetest in the moment when they surrender their hearts and minds to me” he said. In response, Mars swept her cloak back to reveal the hilt of a sword. In one smooth motion, she drew it and revealed an old Gladius Hispanicus.

Dumont burst out laughing at the sight of a blade in Mars’ hand, nearly doubling over in mirth.

“A woman!” he exclaimed between spouts of laughter. “A woman threatens me with a sword!” he choked out before laughing once more. Finally he got himself under control and straightened himself up before drawing his own sword with a massive grin. “Come then, let me show you why men rule and women do not” he said and Mars calmly strode forward.

You held your breath as the two stopped in front of each other and began sizing the other up. Dumont, with his condescending grin and Mars with her bored, expressionless look.

And then, it began.

Dumont’s eyes widened as reflexes alone saved his life, throwing himself backwards and his sword up just in time to parry a sudden thrust from Mars. The goddess pressed her advantage, yanking her sword back and thrusting again. This time Dumont was ready with a parry and stepped into the blow, possibly thinking to use his size against the much smaller figure of Mars.

Mars, however, was not without options and sent a punch to Dumont’s gut, to which he twisted, letting the blow skim his stomach. Dumont took that opportunity to bring his longer blade down on Mars, only to have her parry the blow off to the side.

It was here that you took the time to take your eyes off the fight, confident that Mars had this covered, and ducked over to Valentina. First, you pulled her gag down so she could alert you if something changed behind you, where the fight was still ongoing, and then you began working at the knots that kept her secured to the iron hoop.

It took you some time to work your way through the knot but you managed it and Valentina dropped into your arms. You brought the girl up so you were giving her a hug and twisted yourself around so you could see how Mars was doing.

Neither of the two fighters had any marks on them that you could see, but Dumont’s heaving chest and Mars’ calm demeanor, and bored look, easily attested to who was winning.

As you watched, Dumont took in a great lungful of air and then launched into a flurry of downward cuts, using the momentum from each swing to bring his blade back into position for the next. The strikes came so fast his blade was a blur to your eyes and only the sparks where it met his opponent’s sword gave you any indication of what was happening. Clearly he was trying to crush his way through Ma’ra’s guard through sheer might.

Mars, for her part, just calming kept stepping back and parrying each blow as they came, her own graceful speed matching Dumont’s raging fury.

The blows kept coming and Mars kept retreating, each foot carefully placed as though Dumont was actually getting through. And then, you saw it. Mere moments before it actually happened, you saw what Ma’ra was doing.

Mars stepped to the side instead of backwards. She parried to the side as she stepped. Dumont’s blade sailed past her and because of the parry, her sword was now right above Dumont’s arm. She brought her arm down and pulled it into her. There was a clatter as Dumont’s sword hit the ground and you turned away in disgusted horror, trying to ignore the trickle of liquid pooling against the rocks.

Dumont, for his part, hit the ground and began crawling backwards until his back hit a wall. He had an absolutely shocked look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had also yet to make a sound, not even a grunt. He was either in so much pain that he had gone into shock, or he hadn’t felt it yet. Since the nerves were obviously severed, either was possible.

Mars calmly advanced on the stricken Frank, staring down at his pathetic form, her blade out to her side. She then turned her head just enough that you knew she was addressing you, but not enough to take her eyes off of Dumont.

“You should get the girl someplace safe and get some good wine into her” Ma’ra told you. You got the distinct impression that she didn’t want to finish Dumont off with you around, so you nodded and helped Valentina to her feet, hooking one of her arms around your shoulder and one of your own around her waist. You then stopped and turned back to Mars, taking in her form as rich golden light from the sunset framed her form in what could only be a magical image you’d never forget.

“Thank you” you say softly, Ma’ra nodded, the ghost of a smile adorning her lips.

And then you left.

Strangely, while leaving the area, you thought you heard a pig squealing from back the way you came. You put this out of your mind, as you had things to worry about other than a butcher who had stayed open suspiciously late.