The Tattooed Woman Pt. 38

Looking about, she clicked her fingers at Tallis before pointing to her eyes and out of the tent.

The younger Dark Elf nodded her understanding and crouched in the tent opening, recurve bow in hand, as the hapless guard was dragged inside.

A blade had appeared in Valair's hand as if by magic. Ky looked rooted to the spot in shock and fear, and the First Sword took a half pace forward, reaching out to pull the wide-eyed little slave behind her.

Ashunara's eyes flicked over the movement, noting its significance, and she grinned, "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

She nodded to the groaning heap lying at the far side of the tent, "You'll need to forgive Adair. She's a wee bit testy today. I think she had thoughts of coming here and gruesomely killing everything that moved but stopped for a wee frolic on the way or somesuch."

The tall woman growled, "That's not what happ-"

Stepping forward, Caspia snarled, "I have a hundred men at arms encamped not fifty paces from here. One shout from me, and you'll be swamped."

The Captain shrugged, "They're not here now, and I wouldn't be shouting if I were you."

"Why the fuck not?"

Valair sighed, "Because the woman standing behind you with that rather disturbing smile on her face and that very large knife in her hand would like as not cut your throat the instant you made to utter a sound."

A cold breath brought shivers to the back of her neck and looking slowly around, Caspia came face to face with Azure. The scout's lips were curled, her teeth bared, but calling it a smile was generous at best, and either way, it did not reach her eyes. The witchlight from the flickering lamps gleamed along the edge of her blade, and Caspia got the distinct impression the woman would like nothing more than to take any excuse to make the First Sword's words come true.

Nyx crouched down next to Muriah, cutting her wrists free, "Tsk, yer late for your watch lass, not good enough, you know. 'Tis defaulters for thee if you keep this up."

"S-sorry."

With a gesture, she nodded to Lashelle, who rushed forward, healing draught already in hand, "Here, drink this. It'll get you back on your feet, slowly now, slowly."

Ashunara tilted her head and sniffed as she nodded to the hurt woman, "Who did that?"

Nyx eyed her. She'd heard that deceptively casual and entirely lethal tone before.

Valair stepped forward with a resigned expression, "Does it matter? Maybe it was me."

The Captain's hard gaze flicked over the woman and then to the slave cowering behind her, and she shook her head thoughtfully, "No. That's not you."

"You don't know me, Captain."

"Do I not?"

"What does it matter? Me or no, I am First Sword, and it's my place to fight for my House."

"Hmm, maybe so, but I doubt you'll find much joy in it today," looking about, she cast her eye on Caspia, "and I'm not so blind that I cannot recognise the villain of this piece. What say you, Caspia Fel? Have you no words for me?"

Caspia shrugged and affected a look of purest disdain, "Truly, your perspicacity is beyond compare. See, I am in awe. Now, do we have some further business or no? For I grow bored of your bellicose posturing."

With a wry chuckle, Ashunara nodded and casually hooked a thumb at Valair, "Just so you know, Caspia, when I'm done with this one, I'm going to peel you like a fucking grape."

She seemed to utter the threat without rancour, and her smile looked almost genuine, but the cold light in her eyes and the dreadfully flat tone of her voice utterly belied any illusion that she didn't mean every single word, and Caspia swallowed hard.

Muriah wearily raised her head, and looking between the two, she uttered an exhausted sigh, "I challenge."

As one, Caspia, Valair, and Ashunara turned to her with incredulous expressions, "What?"

Lashelle made comforting noises and attempted to gently place a blanket over her tortured shoulders, but Muriah unsteadily pushed past her, "I challenge, and I claim primacy. Laughable as it may be, I am still a daughter of House Fel and as such, my claim takes precedence over the demands of any outsider."

With a derisive laugh, Caspia clapped her hands in a mocking gesture, "Oh, bravo, Muriah! Bravo. Is this how you intend to circumvent the Warmaiden's decree? By turning it from a duel between Houses to a petty family squabble? Is that it? Well then, choose your champion, sister. Blood will be spilt regardless, and the result will be the same."

Varoona stepped forward immediately, "I'll fight for her."

She might have been first off the block, but not by much, as Tallis and Lashelle were swift to make similar offers. Elsadore pushed in front of them all, "Now, now, we can't be letting the children have all the fun, and I could do with a wee bit of exercise."

Nyx sniffed and casually gestured towards the hips of the big Dark Elf, "True."

"Oi!"

The veteran turned to her, "Tell you what. Let's dice for it? It's the only way to make it fair."

"Nothing fair about your fucking dice."

Azure grinned, "You know, I wouldn't mind having a go at this "fighting fair" thing I keep hearing so much about. I mean, it sounds utterly daft to me, but you never know; maybe it'll catch on."

Valair and Caspia watched the exchange, the former's smile widening even as the other's face darkened.

Adair slipped forward and alongside, but Nyx cut her off before she could speak, "No! That would just be ridiculous. They'd still be looking for body parts in a week's time."

The tall woman grinned at the comment and leaned close enough to the battered Dark Elf to whisper, "'Tis no small thing, having friends aplenty who will stand for you, Muriah, eh?"

Ashunara raised a hand to quiet the clamour, "I think in this case, rank doth have its privilege," looking back at Caspia, she bared her teeth, "And she's mine."

Muriah had to look away, and the knot in her throat robbed her of voice for a long moment, but eventually, she managed to master herself enough to speak, though the well of feeling made her hoarse, "No... No champions."

Ashunara and others turned to her with looks and exclamations of dismay, "What? No, Muriah, I'll fight for you, truly."

The younger woman couldn't face her, "You already have... But that bitch is right. If you kill her, or she kills you, the result's the same. Your Houses will go to war. They'll call in their allies, and everything will go completely to shit. By this time tomorrow, the column will have fractured into warring factions, and all will be lost. I... I'm not worth it."

Stepping close, Ashunara reached out to lift her chin, "You are to me."

"No," she gave a great shuddering breath and shook her head, "this has to be. I need to do this."

The Captain bit her lip and whispered, "Muriah, Valair will kill you."

"Then I'll finally be free."

Ashunara sagged, "Was I so cruel to you?"

The woman's head came up, "No! Not you, Captain, you've done nothing but treat me fair, which is more than my kin ever did, but finally free of them. They are a nest of vipers, and I might not be able to fight worth a damn, but I'll be fucked if I let those cunts use me as an excuse to start a war that accomplishes nothing but sees us all in the grave."

After a moment, the Captain shook her head, and her voice was firm, "No, I don't care. I'll not let you throw your life away, Muriah. I'm going to kill both of these bitches, and fuck the consequences. If it leads to war, then so be it. I'll not turn my back on you, girl, just because it's expeditious."

Muriah sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Captain, I reject your offer of champion..." She raised her head, "Today, I'll fight my own battles."

Unlike most of the swordmaidens, Adair had been watching the First Sword. Valair was clearly well-skilled with the blade she held, and even standing still, her balance and grace were obvious. But at Muriah's declaration, her brow furrowed, the easy, confident smile she had worn since Ashunara's intrusion faltered, her blade had wavered, and her feet shifted uneasily as she seemed to lose just a little of her lethal poise. Adair saw the woman bite her lip uncertainly as her eyes flicked back and forth between Caspia and Muriah.

Not taking her eyes from the duelist, she tilted her head towards Ashunara, "Let her do it, Captain. She has much to fight for."

"But she can't win. She has no chance against Valair. The woman will kill her in a heartbeat."

Meeting Ashunara's pained gaze, Adair gave her a thin smile and deliberately shifted her eyes to the First Sword, "Are you certain?"

Ashunara followed her gaze, and a moment later, her look of dismay was replaced by something somewhat more furtive. Drawing her sword, she gently pushed the hilt into Muriah's palm, "Yer daft lass, but if you're sure this is what you want to do, you can meet your enemies with my blade in your hand."

Muriah stared at the sword, its blade gleaming dark and deadly, "T-thank you, Ashunara, for everything."

Taking a stride towards Valair, the Captain gestured, and her voice was heavy with contempt, "Well, there she is, a novice so beaten she can barely stand. Truly a suitable opponent for the First Sword of House Fel. I applaud your courage, Valair, I'm sure it will be a victory for the ages, a story to be told and retold, especially by me, in every tavern and alehouse this side of Hell, bravo."

Valair flushed, "I did not ask for this."

"I'm sure."

Off to one side, Caspia sneered, "Oh enough! Valair, kill this twit, so we can enjoy the main event."

Ashunara smiled, "Yes, Valair, kill the twit. She presents no challenge to you whatsoever, after all. I doubt it would take you as long as ten heartbeats to do the deed. So, have at it, show us what stuff you're truly made of."

The woman's eyes were locked with Ashunara; her throat worked, and the blade in her hand shook as she tore her gaze away to look across the floor at her cousin, "I..."

Caspia bellowed, "Kill her!"

The shout seemed to physically jerk the First Sword, and she blinked, "I... No."

"What?!"

The tension seemed to suddenly flow out of her, she sighed, and with well-practiced skill, the woman sheathed her sword and turned to Caspia, "I said no," she shook her head, "I'll not do it. I'll not... stain my sword with such a deed. If you seek her murder so much, do it your fucking self."

"You think me afraid?"

Valair snorted, "You're a bully, Caspia, a witless petty thug, and I doubt you have the guts to face Ky with a naked blade, let alone your sister. Either way, I'm done with you."

Turning a contemptuous gaze on the woman, Ashunara gave her a wolfish smile, "I think you have the right of it, Valair, she's quick enough to beat a bound woman, but I doubt a cowardly little fuck like her has guts enough to play for blood."

In a fury, Caspia strode to the ruins of the arming bench and snatched up a sword, snarling, "I'll show you the measure of my courage, Varro whore!"

Ashunara grinned and turned to Muriah, tapping the blade in her hand with her fingernail. It made a hungry sound at the touch, "Mithril and adamant, Muriah, mithril and adamant," leaning close, she whispered, "She's angry. She'll come in swinging. Remember what Falsara Kur taught you. No fancy posturing, no playing games, no mercy. Just fucking kill her."

"Yes, ma'am."

Nyx looked her over and grimaced, "You've had a kicking girl. That healing draught will get you on your feet, but it won't keep you there, so you'll need to conserve your strength and get this done quick," she looked back over her shoulder at Caspia and grinned, "from the way she holds her blade she has some skill, but little experience, and you can see the bitch is vain. She should be easily provoked. Call her an ugly whore. That should prick her nicely. When she fucks up, gut her."

Nodding, Muriah hefted the sword in her hands and lurched forward, clumsily gesturing with the blade, "Come on then, Caspia, let's see what you've got," she chuckled, "actually, wasn't that what yon young lad said?"

Caspia practically hissed as she moved closer, sword held outstretched.

Exhausted as she was, with her back burning like it was on fire, the first exchange of blades caused Muriah to reel back, and Caspia's grin was wild as she pressed her attack, slashing viciously at her foe.

Muriah parried a blow and stumbled aside from a second, but the third almost got through and took a strip of skin from her arm. She hissed in pain as blood trickled down and ran over the hilt of her sword.

Caspia gestured to the wound, "That's just for starters!"

Muriah grinned, "That's funny, that's what I told your betrothed after I fucked him the first time."

The look of rage in her sister's face was totally worth it and Caspia's next savage swing went wide.

"I rode him like a pony the second time. You should have seen the look on his face!"

"You lie!"

Backing away from Caspia's increasingly furious attacks Muriah slipped, a slashing blow almost ripped her sword from her grasp, and her hasty parry barely deflected the next thrust.

Panting she retreated, moving closer to the tent pole where she had been bound, "He wasn't a bad tumble, you know; did he at least get to stab you a bit with his "dagger" before you stabbed him with yours? No? Oh well, don't worry. I made sure he had a smile on his face when he came crawling to you after I was done with him."

"Be quiet!"

Muriah laughed, but her eyes never left Caspia's sword even as she mockingly whispered, "Whose name was it again that he cried in your ear that night? Whose touch did he prefer?"

"SHUT UP!"

With a furious howl, Caspia swung her sword in a vicious arc, and if that wicked blow had landed, it would likely have taken her foe's head clean off, but Muriah slipped aside, and the blade embedded itself in the wood of the thick tentpole with a thud.

With a grunt of effort Muriah swung her sword and there was a strange high-pitched sound, almost like the breaking of glass, as the dark blade cut cleanly through the woman's shortsword, chopping the thing neatly in twain.

Caspia had been trying to tug the thing free and the sudden release left her momentarily unbalanced. She stared at the sheared metal in bewilderment, but only for the briefest of moments as Muriah stepped close and drove her sword hilt-deep into the woman's belly. The wounded Dark Elf doubled over, wheezing in agony as Muriah leaned close to whisper, "This is for Muiriell."

With a twist, she tore the sword up, and its razor-sharp edge clove through muscle, bone and sinew with equal disdain. Muriah stepped neatly aside but was still splashed with gore as blood and entrails spilt onto the floor. Ripping the blade free, she staggered and would have fallen had Lashelle and others not caught her.

Nyx shrugged, "Not bad. Footwork's still a bit off, but not bad."

Ashunara stepped through the blood and over the corpse without so much as blinking, and her cold eyes burned into those of Valair, "We're leaving. She's coming with me, and I'll kill anyone who gets in our way," she pointed at the First Sword and made no attempt to hide the fury she felt, "this is the only warning you're going to get, so you best listen well, come after one of mine again, and I'll burn your whole House to the fucking ground."

The return trip to their own encampment was quiet, and if any guards had thought about barring their way, a single look at the grim, determined faces of the Company was enough to deter such foolishness.

Once safely within the protective ring of their own sentries, Lashelle dragged off Muriah, intent on further treating her wounds. Ashunara took a drink from Nyx's flask, tossed it back to her and looked up at the night sky, "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Wake me if anything else gets fucked up."

The veteran grinned, "Will do, boss."

***

Ashunara had barely laid her head on the cot when the shouts from outside roused her. They were followed by a bellow of rage and a strange whistling noise, and she groaned, "Oh, for fucks sake, what now?"

Unbidden, Tallis charged into the tent, "Captain! Come quickly!"

"What is it?"

"'Tis Adair! I think she's gone mad!"

Outside, the snow had turned to a miserable biting drizzle, and the tattooed woman stood next to half a tree surrounded by Varoona, Lashelle and a few of the others. She looked to be in a near frenzy, pulling her hair, howling at the uncaring heavens and shouting her anger in some strange Heathen dialect while the Dark Elves tried desperately to calm her. Orcs had recoiled at the sight, and a few had even fled or fallen to the ground covering their ears.

Ashunara stared, "Where's the supply wagon? It was right there."

Nyx shook her head, "She threw it," looking about, she pointed, "that way. I'm not sure if the fucking thing has even landed yet."

"What happened?"

"Absolutely no idea. She was just standing there, looking up at the moon, and then she just went baresark."

A terrified-looking Varoona butted in, "She was crying. I was teasing her a bit about what happened earlier, and I swear she was laughing, and then she just... stopped, muttered something and started weeping. Then she got angry, really fucking angry."

Hearing the voices, Adair turned, staggered to her knees and uttered a groan of utter misery, "She's gone," looking up, she met Ashunara's gaze, and the Captain saw such a bottomless well of anguish in those eyes that she could not but feel like a fist had closed around her heart as the woman sobbed, "the stone is gone! The anchor gone! Oh, Ashunara, I searched for soo very long and just... just as I found her at last, she's lost to me... again!"

Considering the words, the Dark Elf pursed her lips as she watched this woman, this mountain of unearthly strength and power, literally crumple before her eyes, and she sniffed, "Don't be wet."

Adair's head snapped up, and the flame in her gaze caused the tears in her eyes to glitter, "What?"

"You heard me. Get a grip of yourself."

The tattooed woman stood, the fingers of her hands flexed almost convulsively, and her voice held a promise of barely contained fury, "Have a care, Dark Elf."

The Captain rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I swear for someone with such powers, you are truly as thick as mince sometimes. Riddle me this, Adair, is your mother not The Morrigan?"

Adair licked her lips as she fought against the urge to lash out, "She is."

"Yes, and by all accounts, a more devious and conniving bitch than her has never drawn breath! Is that not so?"

Adair drew a shuddering breath, "Ashunara..."

"Tell me this. If I had a mighty castle, with a great big vulnerability like, say a secret passage bypassing all defence, what do you think the chances would be of me hanging a great big fucking sign on the wall with an arrow pointing right at it, eh?"

"What?"

"And here we have this notoriously devious tart telling all and sundry that she's held here by some magical anchor, and then sitting on a great big fucking rock for all to see like she's trying to hatch it like an egg! And you don't find that even a little suspicious?"

She stepped closer to the tall woman, "For the love of all the Gods, Adair, a more obvious ploy I could not imagine! It wouldn't fool even my sister, who's hardly the sharpest knife in the cutlery set, for a single heartbeat. Truly, the Gods are dimwitted at times. It must be a disadvantage to having such power; you never need to think."

"But... But she left her Dragon to die in its defence," she looked down at her hands, "In truth, he was more her firstborn than I ever was."

"Oh, that's pish, and you know it! Sounds like he was a necessary sacrifice. Any lesser guardian would have provoked suspicion. The fight, and thus the cost, had to be real. She'd never have left you in such a position, not if the world was on fucking fire."