Headed By A Snake

"Ah, a lattice for climbing-plants. Artful. But a security vulnerability."

So, with his sneaky snake transformation ability, Tycon slithered successfully down to the courtyard. He continued through the gra.s.s and brush, towards the sound of noise.

"Hmm. A score of guards standing, with near twice their number defeated?"

Tycon"s snakey head bobbed up and down in a nod.

"Perhaps they won"t need my help," Tycon wished with a reptilian heart full of hope.

Tycon slithered to behind a nearby rock to watch.

As a result, he grew more and more disappointed with each pa.s.sing second.

"Why can"t Barza hit a single person? All he"s good at is getting hit."

"At least Wroe is a better swordsman BUT NOOO."

"Why?! Is Wroe using a SWORD? I thought that thing was just for decoration?!"

"I thought he was a caster? He"s got to be a caster. He has to be. He"s just-- he"s just showing off."
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"WHERE IN THE SEVEN h.e.l.lS IS THAT BIG-BONED BUFFOON, DRAGAN?!"

Tycon rea.s.sumed his human form and picked up a guardsman"s sword that had fallen nearby.

"I had better do something before all my friends die."

...

Barza put his weight behind the curved sword, successfully forcing one of his attackers back. With the emergence of Guard Captain Varen, the sleepy guards seemed to have remembered how to fight, effectively covering each other"s weaknesses-- attacking at intervals, so he couldn"t find any opportunities to finish any of them.

He looked over to Wroe, who wore a difficult smile.

Noticing Barza"s gaze, Wroe flourished his longsword. "Just another day in Invictus," he quipped.

Barza steeled himself. If Wroe still had the energy and confidence to joke in a life-or-death situation, it was too early for him to lose hope.

"So this happens all the time, Mister Wroe?"

"Too often, I think, Mister Shadowdark."

A quick sword slash from Barza managed to unbalance an attacker, "Just Lone, le-"

Another guard thrust a lance forward, forcing Barza to retract and parry, "--LEAVE the Shadowdark out, if you please."

"Mister Lonely? A rather strange choice of name, but I will do as you wish."

Captain Varen spun his halberd above his head. "This next strike will end you, Lone Shadowdark!"

Barza readied his curved blade against the attack, a flash of worry in his eyes, "I"m not so sure I can take this…"

Barza spotted something in his peripheral vision, and he crouched, rolling to the side.

A sword had been thrown and violently and accurately spun through the air, forcing Guard Captain Varen to deflect it.

"Who goes there?" The Guard Captain yelled out.

His response came through the darkness, as the keen whistle of a whip wrapped around Varen"s back foot. With a swift pull, he lost his footing and fell backwards, smas.h.i.+ng the back of his head on the hard ground.

"AAAHAAAA!!!" A loud rumble shook the ground, as Dragan jumped out from behind the bush. Bounding forward, he leapt up and above Wroe and Barza, landing near Guard Captain Varen.

"No deaths, Mister Dragan!" Tycon shouted.

"You got it, Boss!"

Dragan, the giant of the man, pointed the bottom of his greataxe"s haft down at the Guard Captain"s face. And with a masculine grunt, he thrust it into the old man"s helm-covered forehead.

The strike sounded a clear and loud CRONK of something breaking.

The helmet cracked. The ground beneath the old man"s head cracked. Barza was almost certain that Captain Varen"s skull had cracked, along with it.

Every single standing guard took a step back, fearing the worst.

"Captain, no!!" "Th-they killed the Captain!" "Oh no, Captain Varen!"

Barza looked down at the Captain with guilt in his eyes. Wroe rolled his eyes at Dragan, shrugging his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

Dragan waved a free hand angrily, "No, no! I used the blunt end, not the sharp end!"

...

Tycon dropped his whip and walked forward, his hand covering his mouth in shock. "I really hope that old guy is tougher than he looked."

Clearing his throat, Tycon began to shout, "Baron Tavor has been implicated in crimes against another the n.o.ble House, the House of Charm."

Tycon scowled, "My house."

He scanned the area, the armored guardsmen, and he saw only fear, You will comply with--"

One guard stepped forward, his fear making him foolish, "You killed Guard Captain Varen!"

Tycon calmly closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes at the offender. The young man who stepped forward also realized that his companions had subconsciously distanced themselves from him-- they stared, silently judging.

The guards feared n.o.bles. The boy did not know his place.

He looked around nervously, the gulp audible. None of his peers would meet his gaze.

Tycon clenched his teeth to show his displeasure, "I strongly dislike being interrupted, young man."

"Mister Barza," Tycon waved a hand, "Strike that man down."

Barza readied his blade, trying his best to shrug off his fatigue and to hide the amount of damage his battered, beaten body had already taken.

"You mean Lone Shadowdark? Are you BLIND?! What can he do in his condition?" The young guardsman scoffed.

Tycon raised an eyebrow. At first, he wanted nothing to do with the boy. But he found his actions unacceptable. It would weigh upon his consciousness if he allowed the guardsman to continue.

Barza attacked, mustering a sound battlecry, but the young guardsman stepped away, expertly maneuvering his sword to deflect and dodge Barza"s telegraphed swings. Growing impatient, Barza attacked with single-minded fervor. But in a one-on-one duel, and with his poor fighting condition and against an energized, younger opponent, Barza was at a great disadvantage.

Tycon decided to provide some verbal encouragement.

"Mister Barza," Tycon growled in a low, displeased voice. "You will do as I say."

Barza turned, granting Tycon a face full of shame.

[Commander"s Strike activated.]

Tycon smirked as he heard the System"s voice in his mind confirm his Skill usage.

...

Barza turned to the young guardsman, adopting an expression of simultaneous anger and helplessness... But then a surprising surge of vigor filled him. Strength filled his arms. Courage filled his heart. Clarity filled his eyes. The scream of a crazed madman filled the top of his lungs.

And he swung his blade.

Barza"s blade shattered into a half-dozen pieces, but the boyish guard lost hold of his own weapon. Undeterred, Barza tackled the younger man to the ground and struck his face with his hands. Dozens of fists rained down, bruising the guardsman"s face.

"Yeah, GET "EM!" Dragan cheered.

"That"s the spirit," Wroe laughed.

Barza, gasped for air, utterly spent. With the young guardsman defenseless and unmoving, Barza raised his hands in victory. The crowd looked to each other, unsure of what to do.

"Mister Barza," Displeasure was still apparent in Tycon"s voice, "I have not given you my permission to stop."

Barza furrowed his brows in confusion, and he turned his head to look at Tycon. Guard Captain Varen was beaten. His opponent was beaten. None of Tavor"s guards were still attacking. They had won?

He looked down at the young guardsman"s swollen face. Barza saw his lips move.

"M-mercy, Sir," the boy begged in a barely audible whisper.

"Mister. Barza," Tycon accentuated the syllables in his name, standing over them both.

Barza closed his eyes for a moment before steeling his resolve... "I"m sorry."

And so Barza pulled back his arm... and he continued to beat the boy.

He smashed the boy"s face b.l.o.o.d.y and his own fists stung, having been split open on the boy"s cheeks. Barza punched the boy with ferocity, ignoring as best he could, his own fatigue.

He showed his loyalty. By destroying the man below him, by destroying his arrogance, his weakness, his inability-- he would redeem himself.

Barza"s fists began to slow with his fatigue.

Tycon"s hushed voice continued to urge him. The n.o.ble was not yet pleased. "Hammer down. Use the bottom of your fists. Utilize gravity to damage your opponent."

Barza nodded, as he committed Tycon"s lesson to memory. The beatings continued.

None of the guards wish to deal with either the sword prowess of Tarquin Wroe or the Greataxe wielding Dragan. And certainly, no one was brave or foolish enough to attack a n.o.ble. They could only swallow their anger as they watched and waited.

"You don"t stop when you are tired, Mister Barza," Tycon said leisurely, "You stop when I am tired."

Barza hammered down at the boy"s bloodied, swollen, and wholly unrecognizable face. His gut churled as he saw the boy"s missing teeth stuck in the dirt. Near collapsing and struggling to catch his breath, Barza half-turned to beg, "Please, Sir Tycon… I can"t--"

With a surprising swiftness, Tycon was kneeling down, mere ilms away from his face, "Mister BARZA. You are a WEAPON. You do not THINK. You only ACT."

He glared at the exhausted Barza with eyes that wanted to strangle him. Barza felt fear. How could he be so foolish to question a n.o.ble?! He tried to lift his arms... But they wouldn"t move.

"Sir… My arms… They won"t--"

"If your hands cannot move, use your elbows or your knees. Your entire body is a weapon, Mister Barza, and I will use it as such."

Barza could only grit his teeth as he laid sideways on the young guardsman. Straightening a leg back, he shot it forward, knee-striking the boy"s side. The fallen youth groaned as a new pain wracked his body.

"Again... Again... Again." Tycon"s voice drilled without emotion.

The crowd watched in grim silence. When Barza again slowed and could barely move, Tycon began to micromanage his movements.

"Straighten the leg. Strike. Opposite knee. I SAID! OPPOSITE! KNEE! Good! Now, strike!"

And only once Tycon was certain the guardsman was unconscious from pain and broken bones, did Tycon pat Barza on the back, "Rest."

"Th-thank you, Sir."

"You"re speaking an awful lot for a man I thought was too tired to move."

Barza quickly shut his mouth and avoided Tycon"s gaze.

Tycon stood to face the crowd, once more.

"You will comply with House Charm"s investigations. As the highest rank among you has been bested and no n.o.bility stands among you to contest me... I am not asking you, I am commanding you!"

Tycon"s voice struck fear into the remaining guards, "And if ANY of you is FOOLISH enough to question my orders as both a n.o.ble and man of honor--"

Tycon smashed a boot into the defenseless, fallen guardsman"s ugly, misshapen face.

"Then I will not be AS KIND as I have recently demonstrated."