"Girl, I need you to back off and take cover somewhere!" I said to the child, never taking my eyes off D'arce.
I felt her let go of my leg and heard her footsteps walking away. Turning my head to the side, I glimpsed her hiding behind a set of boxes next to the counter on the other side of the kitchen, watching me with glazed eyes poking out cover. Good, now to deal with the knight in front of me.
"W-well, what are y-you waiting for?! Take me to Le'garde!" D'arce pointed her sword in my direction.
"Do you understand how absurd your request is?! Judging by your appearance, you must have seen the horrors of the dungeon! Le'garde is even deeper in this place! And you better believe me; it will only get worse as you go down!"
"I-I don't care! Le'garde is h-here and y-you know where! T-Take me to him!"
She took another step forward and I stepped back, raising my dagger at her, making the knight pause for a moment with a look of hesitation.
"I don't know if you noticed, but I have a child with me! She was locked in a cage and left in a dark room, hungry and afraid! I would like to get her out of here! Are you suggesting that I should instead take her deeper into the hell she clearly doesn't want to be in?! That I should put her in danger?!"
D'arce went silent for a few seconds, a thoughtful expression on her face and gaze softening for a moment.
"Hm… Looks like it worked." Kitab wrote in its pages.
"I-it doesn't matter! If the g-girl's wellbeing is an issue for you, then the two of us can keep her safe! I-I swear on my honor! I-I swear by Alll-mer! Moreover, if we can save Le'garde, I'm sure he will help us! I d-doubt his k-kind heart would allow a child to suffer in this accursed dungeon!"
She said with a crooked smile, a mixture of hope, joy and fear. Was she hoping to convince me with those words?! Well, it didn't work!
"Forget what I said, that woman is crazy!"
"You are not helping, Kitab!"
"You have no idea what's going on here! I will not take you to Le'garde! I refuse! I will not risk a child's life and my own for the one responsible for everything that is happening here! I don't care about your honor! Unless Alll-mer himself appears in front of me and tells me to go with you, I won't move a finger! That doesn't mean we need to be enemies! You can stay here with us if you like or you can grab something from the kitchen and leave!"
She went silent again, her face set in a serious expression that changed to one of fury, snarling in anger, visibly clenching her teeth, a nervous twitch attacking her right eye as she breathed heavily.
"DO YOU DARE?!"
She sent a scream that echoed through the dungeon.
"What are you doing?! Stop yelling before you attract a Guard!"
However, she ignored me and spoke, approaching with heavy steps and armor creaking with every movement.
"How dare you speak ill of Le'garde's good name?! He fought valiantly for the people of Rondor only to be betrayed by the nobles! He is a hero! Something commoners like you don't seem to understand! How dare you accuse him of being responsible for what is happening here?! I should cut your tongue out for speaking such blasphemy!"
"Tell that to all the innocents Le'garde slaughtered!"
"They were fools, savages, heretics! None of them can understand his greatness!"
"The only person who doesn't seem to understand anything here is you! I will say this one more time, I won't take you to Le'gard! You can go alone if you like, but my offer still stands! Why don't you put down your sword and let's talk like civilized people?! You aren't ok! Why don't you get some rest?!"
"I will only rest when my goal is fulfilled!"
"A shame, I hoped we didn't have to fight!"
I quickly cast Glimmer of Truth. Kitab's pages moved of their own accord and the familiar green smoke billowed from it, enveloping D'arce's head. The knight started screaming and swung her sword in the air, trying to hit whatever she was seeing.
Seizing the opportunity, I tucked the dagger into my belt, grabbed one of the chairs and ran toward her. As I approached, my spell wore off, the smoke disappeared and for a moment, D'arce's eyes focused on me, looking worse than before.
Glimmer of Truth does not appear to cause physical damage, but rather psychological. In other words, if this was a game, she would have lost some mind points with my attack. Unfortunately for her, the next one will hurt a lot.
With a look of surprise, D'arce tried to raise her shield, but I was faster and slammed the chair into her left side at shoulder and face height.
CRASH!
"AAAHHH!"
The old wooden chair was smashed into pieces against her body. It couldn't have hurt that much, after all, she wore armor and the chair was too aged.
As soon as I finished my attack, I immediately took a step back, trying to get away, but D'arce wasn't a knight for nothing. With a swift slash that I could barely see, she left a cut in my Leather Vest. Thankfully, it didn't make it to my flesh, but the sound of leather being torn apart was audible.
Damn it! She is a trained woman! Not me! One more slip and I will lose my head! What else can I use here?! Because I don't want to have to kill off one of the main characters right off the bat!
I got a good look at the result when D'arce recovered from my attack. The part of her body covered by the armor looked ok, unlike her face, with left cheek starting to swell as a trickle of blood ran from her forehead, down the side of her nose and onto her chin where it dripped onto the floor.
The knight brought one of the gauntlets to her face, touching the red liquid and looking at her hand right after, rubbing it between her armored fingers before closing her fist tightly, letting out a scream of rage and swinging her sword wildly towards me.
"AAAHHH!"
My eyes widened and I let out a strange scream I'm not proud of. Wasting no time, I backed out of her range, but she kept trying to hit me, sword slicing through the air in a silvery blur as D'arce unleashed a string of insults at me.
"That woman is giving you trouble, isn't she? Why don't you just get it over with?" Kitab asked me.
"Because I don't want to kill one of the protagonists! What would be the consequences of me doing that?!"
"Not being turned into mincemeat by the mad knight in front of you?"
"Good point! Still, I don't want to kill her! She could be a possible ally at least!"
"Then you better think fast before your head goes flying!"
As soon as the book finished speaking, D'arce raised her sword above her head and brought it down towards me, making me run from the onslaught, letting the weapon hit the floor with a metallic crack. I took advantage of that opening to run behind the kitchen table, putting it between her and me.
"Come here and fight, you coward! Where is your honor?!" She pointed her sword in my direction.
"I forgot it at home! And if being a coward will help me survive, then so be it!"
"The Old Ones approve of your conviction, but not your method."
"Not now, Kitab!"
D'arce ran towards me, so I ran in the opposite direction, keeping the table between us. She gave pursuit, trying to catch me, but seeing that she couldn't, she ran to the left, however, upon seeing that, I ran to the left as well, keeping her away from me. She let out a grunt of frustration, still reaching for me. We ran around the table repeatedly for a few minutes. If D'arce went left, I went left; if she went right, I went right.
"Is this some kind of game to you?! There is an innocent man trapped here and instead of helping him, you are playing with me!"
"Believe me; I am taking this seriously as my life is in danger here! And Le'garde is anything but innocent!"
"Shut up… AAAHHH!"
I didn't let D'arce finish and cast Glimmer of Truth again. Green smoke covered her head, making her scream and I used the opening to put my plan into action, waiting for the moment she stopped with her back against the wall, grabbing the edge of the table and pushing it against her.
The knight let out a cry of surprise and pain as the table hit her stomach, pinning her against the wall. I gripped the table tightly while praying for D'arce to have some shred of sanity. She wasn't ok, and I hit her with two spells. I don't know exactly how many mind points she had, but now I hope she didn't reach zero because... Well, I don't want the Girl to see someone committing suicide in front of her.
When the smoke from my spell cleared, D'arce fell silent; she looked around in confusion, all the anger and madness draining from her face, giving way to an innocent look. That is, until her eyes landed on me, and she started laughing maniacally.
"HAHAHA!"
She laughed at the top of her lungs, frantically swinging her sword at me, making me lean back to dodge the blows, putting less weight on the table, making it easier for her to escape.
SLASH!
One of the blows grazed my mask, just below my eyes, creating a metallic noise followed by small sparks entering my field of vision. I realized that D'arce was about to escape, so I immediately put my weight against the table and pinned her against the wall again, hearing her cry of surprise and pain as she kept trying to kill me.
"HAHAHA! What's the problem?! Why don't you come closer?! Are you afraid of me?! Don't worry, I don't bite… A lot!"
She shouted with a provocative tone in her voice.
"Sorry, but knowing this place, you'll probably bite my neck off!"
"GASP! How did you know?!"
She swung her sword again and I leaned back again, but that was all she needed to break free. With a scream of rage, the knight raised her sword and brought it down towards the table, splitting it in two with a mighty blow followed by a loud crack.
CRASH!
"FUCK IT!"
I took the dagger from my belt and swung it toward D'arce's neck. For a moment, I saw the knight's eyes and smile widen into a mixture of teeth and blood that trickled from her forehead to her mouth.
With a quick swing, she deflected the attack away from her neck, then I saw her shield coming towards my face, so fast that I'm not sure what happened. I felt something hitting me in the head and saw everything going black for a second.
Bright spots floated everywhere, I felt strong pain in my chest and found myself lying on the floor. As my vision returned, something heavy was on top of me, D'arce. I wouldn't have anything against the situation I found myself in now if she wasn't trying to kill me.
For some it would be a dream coming true, but for me it was a nightmare as she had her sword raised above her head while grinning from ear to ear. I barely had time to react before I used the dagger to block the next blow.
SHING!
The metals of our weapons collided, creating a shower of sparks. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Girl looking at me from behind her hiding place with a scared face.
Holy shit! There's no way I can win this now!
"Enough! You won, okay?!"
"HAHAHA!"
However, D'arce just laughed and tried to cut again.
SHING!
"Stop! I'll take you to Le'garde!"
SHING!
"Are you not listening to me?! I'll take you to Le'garde!"
SHING!
CRASH!
With one final blow, my rusty old dagger snapped in two, its other half flying across the kitchen and landing on the floor beside me. Glancing at D'arce, I saw that she held her sword with both hands just above my heart; stopping with a face of deep thought.
"Le'garde… Le'garde… Le'garde?! Oh, how could I forget?! Le'garde! We have to get him, don't we?! That's why we came here!"
Speak for yourself!
"Yes that's right! Le'garde! We came all the way to get him! I know the fastest way to him! I can take you there!"
"Oh, and why didn't you say it before, my friend?!"
D'arce said with an innocent smile as she rolled off me, extending her hand with a friendly gaze. I hesitated, but after seeing the madness behind her narrowed eyes, I took her hand, being pulled upwards by a surprising strength.
How strong is she?
"Well, what are we waiting for, my friend?! Let's go in search of the noble knight imprisoned in this place!"
She patted my clothes, dusting them off, and adjusted the creased parts.
"I am not alone here. Girl, could you come over here?"
Slowly, the child came out of her hiding place and stopped a few meters from us, focusing on D'arce who was staring at her with a fixed look and a big smile, making the Girl hide behind me.
"How cute! She is your daughter?"
D'arce leaned forward, looking at the child behind me, but I stepped to the side, putting myself in front of her.
"No, but I'm taking care of her. Since you want us to go into the depths of the dungeon, I expect you to help me protect her."
"Don't worry! I give you my word of honor as a knight that nothing will happen to your daughter!" D'arce puffed out her chest and placed a hand over her heart.
For some reason, that doesn't comfort me. Should I summon the cats when she isn't looking and run off with the Girl right away?
"She is not… Forget it!"
Glancing down at my broken dagger, I threw what was left aside. It was useless now. If D'arce allows it, I'll spend some higher value coins to get a better weapon.
"Oh! What is this book?"
The knight asked with childish glee, grabbing my arm where Kitab was pinned and lifting it to face level, staring at the pages closely.
"Something you will never understand, you madwoman! I'm not just a book! Treat me with the respect I deserve or you'll be cat food!"
"What is that? Words are appearing on the pages!"
I immediately removed my arm from D'arce's grasp.
"You could say I'm a wizard or warlock. Call it what you like. That's my spell book, but changing the subject, weren't we going after Le'garde?"
"Yes, that's right! Come, my friend!"
She hugged my arm as if we were a couple and pulled me out of the kitchen with the Girl walking beside me, holding my shirt, fixing me with a worried look.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. But I can't say the same about the woman accompanying us. Be careful of her, okay?"
I tried to comfort the child but I suddenly felt D'arce's cheek and mine touching and a voice whispering in my ear.
"What are you talking about?"
She asked, looking me in the eye.
"Nothing!"
"Perfect! I hope you aren't thinking of escaping, otherwise…"
She didn't have to finish; she just raised her sword and placed it close to my neck.
"I would never do that!"
"Excellent! It would be a shame if our friendship had to end too soon!"
The knight said with a deadpan look as she patted my cheek, most surprising was the bloodied kiss she planted there shortly thereafter.
"Congratulations on getting a girlfriend." Kitab spoke.
"She's not my girlfriend! That woman is crazy, partly my fault, and what's more, she's obsessed with Le'garde!"
"Of course… Of course… Keep denying the obvious. Nevertheless, I have something that might interest you. Congratulations! Some of the Old Ones found your fight interesting and your current situation amusing. Shub-niggurath mostly. So it has been decided that you should be rewarded with a new spell!"
On the outside, I was impassive so as not to alert D'arce, but on the inside, I was jumping with joy.
"Show me."
"The Rats in the Walls: Summon the ghostly rats that haunt the La Poer estate at Exham Priory in England. These rats come like a squealing tide and devour everything in their path. They can also be invoked in smaller numbers. Order them, control them and see the world through their eyes! Walls and doors do not stop them! Just don't summon rats and cats at the same time, the result won't be pretty."
Hm… It's not the most powerful spell, but I already have some ideas on how to use it, mainly to free a certain mercenary.
Looking to the side, I saw D'arce hugging my arm with a smile on her face as she hummed a song. Looking to the other side, I saw the Girl looking at the path ahead.
Well… There's only one place to go now. Le'garde, you better not die, because if you do, I'll bring you back as an undead just to kill you again.
END OF CHAPTER