Having leapt from the window, Caspian rushed to the front of the train. He didn"t know what was going on, but he suspected that the culprit in charge of the people he"d fought would be found there.
When he finally arrived at his destination, he needed to blink several times just to make sure he wasn"t hallucinating.
A young woman was being forced to evade a constant barrage of physical attacks from two cloaked individuals, while a third one waited in the wings. Fire would occasionally shoot up from the ground like magma from a volcano, forcing the woman to dodge, which often led to her nearly being stabbed by one of her two opponents.
When he realized that, yes, this really was happening and that, no, he wasn"t trapped within some kind of hallucination, Caspian didn"t hesitate to take action. He didn"t know why this woman was there, or why those three were attacking her so zealously, but he planned on finding out.
After he beat up those three cloaked figures hara.s.sing the young lady, of course.
Bull-rushing the first person in his sights, Caspian appeared right in front of the fallen Erica just as she was about to be impaled through the chest with a dagger. His foe had no time to stop their attack and he used that to his advantage. Knocking their blade aside with a quick parry of his sword, he forced the dagger out of position, and then used his free hand to sock the cloaked individual in the face.
Caspian had never been the kind of person who derived pleasure from physically accosting others. To him, taking pleasure from the act of hitting another was a graceless and barbaric thing, something an inbred fool like Julius would do. However, in that moment, even he would not deny that feeling this person"s nose crack under his fist was a very satisfying experience.
He must have been more irritated by this situation than he thought.
The figure, man or woman, he didn"t know, stumbled backwards. Caspian swung his sword, but found it being blocked by the other person who"d been fighting up close with Erica. Steel grated against steel and sparks flew as Caspian"s sword ground against the vambrace covering his adversaries forearm. After several seconds of the two trying to overpower the other, they leapt back; Caspian jumping directly in front of Erica. The one wearing the vambrace, who he noticed was also wielding a whip, leapt several meters away from them.
"I don"t know who you are, but you have my thanks," the gorgeous femme said, getting to her feet and trying to dust herself off. Her nose was bleeding, but it didn"t look too bad. "These buffoons have been giving me a good deal of trouble."
"Thank me after we take care of these three," Caspian shot back, all the while keeping an eye on the two cloaked figures in front of them. They weren"t attacking anymore, just standing there, which meant they were likely trying to concoct a plan to deal with them both. "I"m not exactly sure what"s going on here, but I do understand that these people are the ones responsible for the train stopping. Since it looks like you"re trying to defeat them, you can count on me for a.s.sistance."
"In that case, can I ask you to keep them off my back? I need time to prepare an appropriate attack, which I can"t do if they"re constantly hara.s.sing me."
"Alright. I"ll keep them from getting too close to you."
"I appreciate it."
With their course of action set, Caspian charged headfirst towards the two cloaked figures. In return, they seemed to realize that, at the moment, he was the larger threat and charged him as well. They were probably hoping to take him out quickly and then deal with the woman.
Caspian nearly sneered at the thought. As if he would be such an easy mark. He might be tired—and cranky—but he wasn"t about to let himself be defeated by a couple of... whatever these people were. Not now, not ever.
The first attack came in the form of a lightning quick thrust from a dagger. Caspian avoided getting the pointy end stuck in his eye by moving to the left with some deft footwork, shuffling along the ground and kicking up dirt. He spun around and brought his sword up, twisting his wrist to strike the dagger, and then rotating his wrist counterclockwise. The dagger was sent flying, landing several meters away. Far enough that the person using it would not be a threat for a while.
Most unfortunately, before he could take advantage of his disarmed opponent, the one wielding the whip lashed at him, forcing Caspian to shuffle backwards. The whip gouged a chunk of earth out of the ground, cracks spreading like the intricate web of a spider. Caspian tried getting in close, but was forced back once again when the whip suddenly shot up from the ground to nearly smack him in the chin.
Dang it! Caspian growled as he found his ability to close the distance hampered. How is this guy so good at using that thing?
Caspian was so busy dodging his opponent"s whip, that he failed to notice them closing the distance until they were right in front of him!
He used the motions of his whip to mask his movements and get in close?!
Eyes widening, Caspian raised his sword on instinct. The squealing of metal sounded loudly in his ears. Sparks flew. Caspian"s eyes widened when they landed on the ma.s.sive gauntlet covering his opponent"s entire right arm. It pushed against his blade, bearing down on him like a Warg attempting to crush its prey.
This is getting ridiculous!
His surprise was such that he didn"t even notice the whip until it had already wrapped around his left leg.
"Oh, c.r.a.p!"
Caspian"s feet were pulled out from under him. He landed on his back with a harsh crack, the air driven from his lungs. However, he knew better than to stay still after receiving such a blow, and he rolled along the ground just as the person wielding the whip and gauntlet tried crushing his head with a vicious stomp.
Kipping back to his feet, Caspian was met with another brutal a.s.sault from his adversaries whip. Left with no other option, he retreated. His foe followed him, however, and he had to dodge several swipes from the gauntlet, all the while backpedaling to gain some distance.
He almost got his bell rung when his adversary jumped into the air and tried plowing their gauntlet covered fist into his face. The attack was avoided at the last second, and the gauntlet struck the earth instead, abrasions appearing along the ground, cracks spreading from the point of impact.
Caspian moved back in and swung at the figure, who blocked it by bringing their gauntlet up to take the blow. In retaliation, they tried wrapping their whip around his left knee, but he"d already learned his lesson and jumped into the air, flipping over the attack and landing behind his enemy. As he landed on his feet, Caspian spun about in a full rotation, the air whistling as he swung his sword.
Clang! The gauntlet rose to defend against his sword swing once more, pillowing the attack that would have taken his foe out of the fight. Gritting his teeth as he realized his attack hadn"t been successful, Caspian leapt back to gain some distance. One. Two. Three leaps. He bent his knees and then used the kinetic energy built up in his legs to launch himself forward again, pouncing on his foe with the ferocity of a demon.
Back and forth they fought. Steel clashed and sparks flew. Attack met counterattack. Their feet shifted across the earth, causing sand and rocks and gravel to shift as they locked weapons.
As sword ground against gauntlet once more, Caspian"s eyes narrowed into a fierce glare as he peered into his opponent"s darkened hood. Even now, he couldn"t see their face. What sort of devilish magic was this? He supposed it didn"t matter.
With a growl of effort, the muscles in his arms strained as he shoved the gauntlet-whip user back, making them stumble.
He moved in swiftly, attacking with the flat end of his blade. A swift strike to the head should be more than enough to knock them out. All he needed was one good hit.
Too bad his other opponent decided to get in the way.
The sound of metal clanging together rang out in the clearing, as the person wielding the dagger came in and blocked the attack meant for his comrade. Because Caspian"s sword weighed a lot more, the smaller, lighter weapon was forced wide.
Rather than simply trying to bring the weapon back in, however, the one wielding it moved with the swing, spinning around a full 360-degrees. They lowered their center of gravity, crouching down and dodging Caspian"s return swing with room to spare. After spinning about in a full circle, they shot up from their crouch and attempted to slit Caspian"s throat.
It missed, due in no small part to Caspian"s quick reflexes. Acting with barely perceptible movements, Caspian leaned back just enough to avoid the blade. It was still close enough that he could almost feel the outermost epidermal layer of his skin get shaved off, but at least he wasn"t in danger of bleeding to death.
What is going on here?! his mind screamed as his two opponents circled him like predators readying to sink their fangs into their prey. Peasants and commoners shouldn"t be this good at fighting! How are they doing this?!
There was something seriously, seriously wrong. Not just these two, but all of the people he"d fought thus far held the same level of skill as an instructor at the academy. That shouldn"t have been possible.
"They"re being controlled!" Erica shouted as a pillar of flame burst from the ground. The woman dodged it with admirable alacrity, taking several great leaps backwards.
"What?! What do you mean they"re being controlled—whoa!"
Caspian moved his blade faster than he ever had before in order to block several lightning quick strikes from a dagger.
"Controlled! They"re being controlled! You need to knock them unconscious!"
Controlled? So they really were trapped within the thrall of someone. Was that why they were so good at fighting?
Caspian glanced at the third attacker, the one who"d not moved from his spot several meters away. Was he the one controlling them?
"Tch!"
As the two tried trapping him in a pincer maneuver, Caspian raised his sword to block the gauntlet, while at the same time twisting his body around to avoid the dagger trying to impale him through the neck. He spun his sword in a clockwise motion, allowing the gauntlet to slide off his blade at the same time as he kicked his enemy"s feet out from underneath them. His cloaked enemy crashed face first to the ground, and Caspian felt a momentary surge of triumph.
Unfortunately, he wasn"t able to capitalize on his successful attack, as a split second after the gauntlet-whip user went down, the dagger wielder swung at him with reckless abandon, forcing Caspian to back off and allowing the two to regroup.
The two stood to their feet again while Caspian watched them several meters away, his emotions boiling. Nothing had been going right for him today. He was tired, hurt, hungry, and these two were giving him far more problems than they should have.
"This is ludicrous," he muttered, his voice harsh and grating, even to his own ears.
He pointed at his two foes with his sword and glared at them.
"I don"t know what sort of magic is letting you two fight on par with me, but there"s no way I"ll allow myself to be beaten by a pair of untrained, weak-willed fools!"
The two stared at him for several seconds, as if he was a puzzle they needed to solve. This staredown didn"t last long before they charged him again, rushing forward in a burst of speed.
His snarl reminiscent of an angry predator, Caspian renewed his a.s.sault on the pair opposing him.