Private Tales The Hunter and The Tiger

[Sledge]

It occurred to her that one of the men might be Hemmerlind. Eh. The Mistress of Koninghaven did say preferably alive, but also dead if necessary. Alive always carried a better reward, but alive wasn't always feasible. Just broke her damn heart to have to put down some bloke with a bounty on his head.

Anyway. None of the brigands that she happened to see matched Hemmerlind's description. Would've just been poetic if it had been this one down on the ground with his hands over his bloodied mouth that she had mounted. Her plated legs clenching his sides, her knees digging into bones of his ribcage. He wasn't going anywhere.

Then Sung.

Sledge glanced to the side at him and planted her fists on her hips and grinned and said, "Ha, you got jokes."

Ah. Well. He was busy. Few more bandits still upright. Upright for only a few moments more, but hey, the thought. Little moment of defiance. Stretched hope. Overconfidence. Close to home, that one, but probably that too, yeah. Auch. That crunch. Could've been her. You were always the most badass fighter around until, suddenly, you weren't. There was always somebody better than you making the rounds and when you met them? Crunch.

That's the way it went.

Most of the time. Reprieves were fucking rare. Whatever the reason.

Speaking of.

"Hey. Dick. What's your name?"

The man squirmed. His hands still clamped to his mouth. Eyes clenched shut. "Mmmufurrrss."

"My fault. I should've aimed for the forehead. You smoke? I'll let you go if you got a smoke."

"Mmmow."

"Heh. Shame. Would've been fun to let you go."

The man opened his eyes. Rolled them up in frustration.

"Yeah," Sledge said. "I said I'd let you go. Didn't say anything about him."

The man glanced over at Sung, following Sledge's head gesture. Saw the bodies about. Said through his hands, clearer than before, "Oh shit."

"But you don't have a smoke. So now you're stuck with both of us."

 

[Sung Chei]

"Tell us where your buddies are camped and I'll make your death a quick one. If you refuse, then I'll simply take your friend's spear over there and shove it up your butthole. Then I'll leave you in an upright position where you'll spend two to five days bleeding out. So what'll it be?" Sung asks getting down in his face with a truly sadistic looking grin on his face.

 

[Sledge]

Well.

That was a threat.

The idiot merchant said, "Oi, the finest spears for such a venture, I have. I don't know why I'm telling you, but I do have them. Only the best wares are on me wagon. Wait. This another one of them traps, is it?"

Sledge felt the brigand shaking. He tried to act and look tough, as much as he could with his hands clamped to his mouth. Defiantly narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow as Sung leaned in close. Yeah. It sucked to lose. To be down to the point where a facade was all you had left. To be so absolutely fucked like that. Not Sledge's problem. Cold? Yeah. True? Also yeah.

What was her problem was getting this bloke to tell them where the hideout was. Man seemed ready to go down with the rest of his lads. Fucked or fucked harder wasn't much of a choice. Needed that little sprinkling of faint hope.

Sung had a wild side to him; she wouldn't have guessed that about him. Sledge knew a man like that in Blair Company. Wild. Crazy son-of-a-bitch. Grinned like Sung had done a lot. Fought naked. Axe and shield, sure, but naked. Balls slapping against his thighs and everything. Leona gave up trying to hammer some discipline and order into him.

Granted, Sung still had his clothes on. But the grin was more or less the same.

Wasn't Sledge's style. Superfluous violence. She just did what needed to be done. No hard feelings. Loved a good brawl, of course, but that was always for fun. The battlefield was business. Kill and be done with it.

To each their own. Sledge could work with it. Play the sane one.

So she put her hand on Sung's shoulder and gently pushed to make some space. Get him back and mostly to the periphery of the brigand's sight.

"Hey," she said to the bandit. Got his attention. "Sorry. I forgot to tell you about him. See, I could stand up right now and take a nice stroll and you could deal with him. Or, if you want, you can deal with me. What's your choice, sweetheart?"

A muffled "You."

She smiled. "There you go. Look, I'm not going to lie to you. You're fucked."

A frustrated moan through his hands.

"Hey, hey, focus. Up here. That's better. Now listen. We're finding your hideout, one way or another. That's how this is going to end. Your buddies are fucked too so there's no sense in worrying about them now. But here's the deal for you. You take us to your hideout, you deal with me. You sit there and act tough and don't do that, you deal with him."

A big, obvious head nod toward Sung from Sledge. A muffled noise, close to a whimper, breaking the man's facade.

"Look at it this way. I'm willing to give you a headstart. Not a big one, but a headstart. And I run fast, sure, but I get tired quick. Happens. And I don't like to sweat. I'm not going to chase you all across Arethil. I've got places to be and coin to collect. You look ready to run your ass off. I bet you could win your life back with that headstart. Sound good?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"And you're gonna take us straight to your hideout. Nice and easy. No bullshit."

"Mmmhmmm."

"Because my buddy Sung is a crazy fuck. And you don't want to deal with him, do you?"

"Errrerrrrm."

"Good. Let's go. And keep your dick in your pants."

Sledge stood up. Grabbed the brigand's hand while he covered his bloodied mouth with the other and stood him up. The man made a quick motion to adjust his pants. Made sure they were secure.

A glance to Sung while the brigand was preoccupied with that. A knowing glance.

She never said anything about Sung giving him a headstart once they found the hideout.

 

[Sung Chei]

Sung was honestly kinda relieved that he didn't have to do that. It was an actual execution method used by the horse people northwest of his homeland, it was called impaling. Death was guaranteed, but it did indeed take days. If the crime was really bad, or the enemy prisoner of war was important enough, they'd cut an X in the man's shoulder so that the flesh wouldn't tear, prolonging their pain filled life.

Sung had never seen it done, and honestly had no clue how to do it, not a fact he regretted, and so it was entirely a bluff. He was glad that Sledge took the lead on that. Now they had a compass.

 

[Sledge]

Nice to leave the idiot merchant behind. Blair Company wasn't completely on the up-and-up, and Leona was an opportunistic bitch alright. If some trader or small caravan crossed paths with the company, and Leona had half a mind to do it, yeah, she ordered the goods seized and the merchants and witnesses slain. No complaints among the company. It was a 'first come, first serve' deal. Whatever you put your hands on was yours, so the other mercs loved it when she allowed it, or at least didn't complain too loudly if they had some lingering moral quandary.

Those sorts of turncoat raids--she always acted cordial to passing traders, never really knew if she'd give the order or not--were infrequent enough. Never got caught. Probably out there right now, still doing it from time to time. Wasn't something Sledge would do for a living, but it wasn't something that kept her up at night either. As a matter of fact, the coin she got from fencing a really fancy jeweled necklace paid for a good portion of her custom armor. So she certainly benefited from Leona's unscrupulous discretion in that.

And that idiot merchant? He would've been an easy and sure mark. Dead in a ditch somewhere had he crossed paths with Leona and Blair Company.

Sledge thought about it as she walked with Sung and the brigand, the man never allowed to walk out of arm's length from either her or Sung. Not that he tried. Smart. And sure, Sledge didn't lie to him. She'd give him a headstart, alright. Might not even bother chasing him at all. That wasn't her contract. Just Hemmerlind.

Speaking of. "Hey. You."

The bandit glanced over his shoulder. Walked a bit more slowly. Careful not to trip on the various things strewn about the forest floor, mindful of trees in his peripheral vision.

"Anybody at your hideout named Tobin Hemmerlind?"

Dried blood all down his chin. He'd already pocketed the few teeth she'd knocked out soon as they started walking. Had to hurt like hell even now. "Yeah," he said.

"Good. You get a little more time on that headstart."

And they walked through the forest.

Couldn't be that much further. The brigand didn't seem foolish enough to lead them astray. Didn't mean such a thing was out of the question, but he really didn't like Sung's idea of what to do with a spear. The threat of that and the thin hope of being allowed to run on account of good behavior was probably motivation enough for him to do as demanded.

 

[Sung Chei]

Walking through the trees was familiar to Sung, something he had done his entire life, of course sometimes it wasn't just for fun. He remembered when he had to flee his home, he fled through a forest much like this one. Memories.

Either way, he kept his eyes on the brigand, while he also kept his eyes on the trees and underbrush. That way, they couldn't be caught by surprise if ambushed. But they went smoothly along, nothing bad happened as they went.

It turned out that their hideout was a dugout cave in a steep hillside covered by vines and shrubs to actually hide it. Inside, were twenty some brigands. Sung wanted a plan.

 

[Sledge]

"There."

"That?" Sledge said. Peering over the crest of a ridge at a hillside some distance away and across some flat ground. She didn't get hit in the head that hard by Sung, did she? Looked like a normal sort of--

"There's a cave," said the brigand. Laying flat on his stomach next to Sledge, who crouched beside him, hand firmly on his back--gripping his shirt--in case he suddenly decided to try something stupid.

"Where?"

"There."

"You wouldn't bullshit us, would you?"

"No, look. I swear. We hid it real good."

Sledge looked again. Huh. Well gods be damned. Now she saw it, the cave. Sung's plan worked out great. Sledge would've had a bitch of time trying to find it on her own, or worse, with whatever idiotic directions she may have squeezed from the merchant. She'd only have found it by sheer chance had she been working alone, likely.

Yeah. Overconfidence. Probably a touch of hubris too. Thinking she'd find the hideout so easily. Granted, most bandits and raiders did a piss-poor job of concealing their retreats, but these ones had actually put in some effort. Maybe there were some more experienced bandits inside, sending the new blood out. Could be.

"Can I run now?" the brigand said.

"Nope."

"What?"

"Not going to let you go until we know you aren't lying."

"I ain't lying."

"Could be just a cave for all we know."

"They're in there. You'll see."

Sledge looked to Sung. Smirked. Said, "Too bad neither of us are fire mages. Smoke them out."

Going directly into the bandit's den seemed tricky. Their home territory, their number unknown. Would have to be quiet, and Sledge wasn't exactly the quiet type. Still, if the cave's tunnels were tight and constricted, forgoing stealth and fighting in a natural chokepoint would be to Sledge and Sung's favor. A better option in Sledge's view than sitting outside waiting for the bandits inside to slowly trickle out of their cave for food and water and raids and what not or waiting for nightfall for some amount of them to fall asleep.

"Any bright ideas?" Sledge said. "If not, then we're just walking straight in there, huh? Heh, I wouldn't mind that."

 

[Sung Chei]

(Hi, I might not be online for about a week because I'm going to a scout summer camp and I don't know if they have WiFi.)

 

[Sledge]

((Okay, thanks for letting me know! Have fun.))

 

[Sung Chei]

(Okay so they do have WiFi, but replies will be even slower than usual.)

 

[Sung Chei]

"Well then, frontal assault it is." Sung said marching forward. "Well, let's kick some ass."

While he didn't swear as much as she did, he was capable of swearing in some pretty creative ways if he felt like it. And so he marched, wicked grin carved on his face.

 

[Sledge]

Tobin Hemmerlind sat at the table. Scarf around his neck. Cards in hand.

They'd done well for themselves. Three months with this band of outlaws. A couple others from Koninghaven. Mostly men from other scattered villages and towns. Impoverished, disowned, on-the-run, sadistic, whatever the reason, they'd all coalesced here. An otherwise quiet area. But plenty of spoils from caravans going to Alliria or Belgrath or Bhathairk. Reliable villages with underworld connections for fencing ill-gotten gains.

The main chamber in the cavern was set up nicely. A few tables, torch sconces and arcane etchings for light, makeshift cots and beds behind assembled wooden supports and thick curtains for privacy, even a bar set up and Smokey Joe the former barkeep running it. The man wheezed constantly, but he could make a mean drink.

An excellent retreat from the world.

And from the Mistress of Koninghaven. Gods, he was never going back.

The other two brigands at the table made their bets and laid out their cards. Hm. Nice. Hemmerlind had the winning hand.

* * * * *​

"Right in the front," Sledge said. "No bullshit. The way I like it."

Sledge stood and hoisted the brigand up to his feet and crested the ridge and forced him forward with her down the other side and started walking, a fistful of the back of his shirt in her hand, mace in the other. The brigand in front of them. Sledge and Sung side-by-side behind him. Just didn't know if some bow or crossbow was being aimed at them right now. Good to have some insurance against it. A body to soak potential shots.

"How do I know when I can start running?" the brigand said.

"If and when we find your buddies," Sledge said.

"You'll find 'em."

"Good. Then I'll let you go so I can fight and you can run."

They got closer and closer to the disguised entrance. The entrance to the cave more apparent as the distance closed. Vines and brush and overgrown grass.

"In," Sledge said. Giving the brigand a rough shake as they stood before the entrance.

Tiny, scattered rays of the sun breaking through the natural camouflage. Dimmer inside the cave than out, of course. A momentary adjusting of her eyes to the darker environs. But there was some light further in, down the tunnel and reflecting off the stone and dirt of the walls.

And a man sat on a crude chair by the entrance. He sprang to his feet. Yelled, "What the fuck!?"

Sledge tossed the captured brigand back and he stumbled to the ground and she drew her right mace. The guard had his axe out. Charged. Good. Two quick chops, one down, one across. Both dodged; a sting of pain from the wound above her eye. But she endured. And slammed her left mace into the guard's stomach and he doubled over and she stepped back and crushed his skull with her right mace. A spray of blood and broken bone against the cavern wall.

The captured brigand started running out the way they had come.

 

[Sung Chei]

The small ruckus was heard from inside the main chamber of the cave. Most weren't too worried, probably just their party coming back with some loot. Sung Chei left Sledge to deal with the gatekeeper while he went to clear the den itself, or get started on that. He came into the main chamber, his hat low enough to conceal his features but not obscure his vision too much, and all heads turned towards him. He smiled.

"Oooooooh, a challenge!" He says gleefully. Then, fast as one could blink, he dashed to the opposite end of the cave and removed a bandits head then returned to the entrance just as quickly. "Who's next?"

 

[Sledge]

Sung continued down the tunnel, toward the light further in and the rest of the bandits.

Meanwhile, their impromptu guide made his dash for the entrance. Well, Sung didn't seem to much mind. With good enough reason. The man was injured and out on his own, not a weapon or coin to his name, all his brigand buddies about to cut down to a man--save Hemmerlind, hopefully. Even if he did scrounge up a weapon, he was a single man without his usual rabble to back him up on his banditry. Their guide was fucked.

Sledge mildly sauntered after him. No rush. Wasn't her job to kill him. And she definitely didn't feel like running, not with the throbbing and cutting ache of the gash and fracture above her eye. Still, wouldn't want to make it too easy on him. Scare the hell out of him at least.

Sledge pushed past the hanging vines and brush of the cave entrance and stepped back outside. The guide was hauling ass across the flat ground they'd crossed earlier, weaving about the trees and bushes. Damn. Man could run, alright.

Time for the show. Sledge brought up her left mace and held it in front of herself. Focused on it. An intense concentration. Peripheral vision leaking away. Her magic taking hold of it. A gentle releasing of her grip and the mace stayed suspended in the air.

Something was on her foot. Tiny weight and little motions felt through the plate.

The distraction broke her concentration and her magic backfired and Sledge flew back, launched off of her feet as if struck by a giant, and a bush by the cave entrance broke her fall. Her mace fell to the ground unceremoniously and the weasel which had touched her foot scurried away.

"Heh. Shit."

Sledge struggled and eventually pulled herself up and out of the bush, brushing away some small leaves and twigs in her hair. She picked up her fallen mace and decided to let the guide run without further incident.

And she started at a steady trot back into the cave and further inside.

* * * * *​

By the time Sledge reached the main chamber, all the brigands therein were already in a clamor. Funny. Sung was still right next to her by the entrance, but there was a headless corpse on the floor over there by the--

Bar. What the fuck, they had a bar in here. As far as bandit hideouts went, this one was cozy enough. Brigands spilled out from the curtains set up along the sides of the chamber and tables and chairs were shoved aside and kicked away as they all started to line up for battle. A poor assortment of armor--if any--and a collection of surely discounted weapons in their hands. Some were lucky. Had swords and whatnot that looked sturdy enough to survive more than a hit or two before breaking. Yeah. They played the numbers game, alright. Liked to overwhelm their carefully selected targets.

And...there. In the backline of the assembled rabble of brigands, standing next to the fat, wheezing, balding bastard. Long black hair. Small burn on his right cheek. Blue scarf. That was Hemmerlind.

Sledge, her maces in hand and stance ready, lightly elbowed Sung. Said, "Blue scarf is mine."

 

[Sung Chei]

"You can have him. I just wanted to butcher everyone in here, one less doesn't bother me."

And with that he sprinted forth into the horde of bandits. Due to their numbers, there was no possible way for him to walk away unscathed, despite his exceptional level of skill. But ultimately, these men were untrained and ill equipped, they had no armour, no training, poor weapons and very little skill.

Before long Sung had slaughtered the lot of them, save for a half dozen that Sledge was closer to. But as previously stated, he didn't walk away unscathed. The back of his left leg was cut deeply, not deeply enough to cause permanent damage nor stop him when he was determined, but it would scar. A few other scarring injuries on his chest and arms gave out waterfalls of blood.

"How are you holding up?"

 

[Sledge]

Maybe it would have felt bad. Maybe. It wasn't even them being bandits that made it not. That'd be a damn hypocritical view to hold, claiming some moral high ground; Sledge's time in Blair Company and partaking in Leona's 'exploits' guaranteed that.

Yeah, it felt almost too easy. Even with her prior injuries bothering her. They were a rabble, alright. Pulled off a few good raids and robberies and squandered it all on pampering themselves in their cave hideout. Big heads on their shoulders.

Could've felt bad. Didn't, as she dodged this strike and that swing and clubbed two of them at once. This was business. And business was just cold. Cold as sidestepping an overhead arc of a hatchet and grabbing the brigand responsible around the neck and using him as a shield against the thrust of a spear. Auch. She felt the spearpoint tap her breastplate. Lad got inadvertently ran through by his buddy. But it was business, so all Sledge thought about was how she'd have to bother now with washing the blood off her armor. Yeah. Cold.

Business was like that. And as she dropped the dead man and caved in the skull of his aghast buddy, it really could've felt bad. Hemmerlind rushed at her with an actual weapon, a sword without even a speck of wear and tear, and a yell. A yell cut off by a sharp kick to the stomach to drive him back. Heh. Learned that one from Sung. Maybe she ought to do that more. Kick people. Use more than just her maces and her fists. It felt great, honestly.

See. This whole thing definitely could've felt bad, but there it was, it felt great instead. Business, fighting, war, each one a game. The only games that mattered. And, as it turned out, Sledge and Sung were just plain better at playing than all of the bandits combined. No hard feelings about it. Just like Sledge had none when she was flat on her ass by Sung's hand a few hours back. Play to win. You lose, you didn't play hard enough. Your fault.

The last brigand on her side of the fight swung his thick club at her. She let it hit her armor on her right side, her plackart specifically. A slight nudge of her body, but she stood her ground, having intentionally braced for it. Yeah, still hurt to get hit, some of that blunt force transferred through her armor and her gambeson underneath. But it was worth it. To see the look on the brigand's face.

A friendly grin. "My turn," she said.

The brigand's face disappeared in a blur as her mace struck it. Just a scattered mess on the cavern floor once his body collapsed.

And that was it. Business concluded. Pleasure and all that.

A glance over to Sung. The man was a force of nature. Took on the majority of them and killed them all in the same amount of time Sledge had taken for her little bunch. Actually took a few hits. Sledge didn't think it was possible, but there it was. Blood running down his arms and all.

She smiled in a facetious way. Conspicuously eyed the injuries on his chest and arms. Said, "Aww. That's sweet. You gave 'em a chance. Give me one if we fight again, yeah?"

Sung still had his pouch of healing supplies. He'd be alright. Could take care off himself.

Meanwhile. Hemmerlind. Crawling backward on his ass. The wind knocked out of him from that kick.

"I'm not going back," he said. Pointing his sword up at her as she approached.

"Yes you are."

"I'm not going back!"

Hemmerlind swiped at her legs and the sword clanged against her armor. She hardly even felt it.

Sledge slipped her maces back into the loops on her belt and reached behind her into a pouch on the same. Took out a length of braided gossamer. The material white and glistening in the combined light of the torches and the arcane etchings of the chamber.

Hemmerlind swiped at her legs again. Clang. Sledge roughly kicked the sword out of his hands and Hemmerlind gave a yelp and the sword clattered against the ground and hit the bar behind them. Sledge stepped on one side of his tunic with her left foot and then stepped on the other side with her right. Pinning him there as she stood directly over him, owning his space. Braided gossamer rope in hand.

A glance to Sung again. "You like that? That kick? Trying it out. Be gentle, it's a new thing for me."

 

[Sung Chei]

"For the situation, it worked just fine. Although I'm sure that you westerners have your own ways of kicking, in terms of form. If you were back in my homeland, you'd probably be told that it was a little sloppy. But then again, better to have bad form for better effectiveness than vice versa. It was good for improvisation."

 

[Sledge]

Sledge shrugged. Grinned.

"Good enough for a westerner. I'll take it."

Hemmerlind struggled. Grabbed at her armored left leg and tried pushing and pulling it away and shaking himself free. Sledge immediately crouched down, almost sitting directly on his chest. Mostly because Hemmerlind's efforts were about to make her fall, but also to grab him by the chin with one gauntleted hand and to lean a good portion of her weight onto it. It steadied her, and also let Hemmerlind know who's boss.

She gripped his chin roughly, the points of her fingers sinking into his cheeks. Made him look straight up at her. And he stopped his struggling for the moment.

"Hey. Hemmerlind," Sledge said. "Easy way. Or hard way."

"Fuck you." A bit of spit worked its way out of his mouth.

"That's what all the boys say." She blinked and cocked her head. "Listen. You want the easy way. See, the hard way involves taking that spear lying on the floor over there and handing it to my buddy Sung. Now Sung, he's got some creative uses for spears. I'm not going to ruin the surprise. You can find out if you want. But you don't want to do that. So don't."

Hemmerlind's eyes danced around in the sockets. As if weighing all of his options. And with a sigh he said, "Goddamn it..."

"That's more like it." And Sledge stood and stepped off of his tunic, still standing over him. "Turn around. Hands behind your back."

And Hemmerlind, surprisingly enough, did as told. The threat of the unknown spear trick really worked, didn't it? Her bounties were rarely so cooperative. Probably because she mostly operated alone. The bounties figured they had more of a chance against just one person, and a female elf at that. Some lithe, wispy, frail thing. Which, granted, many of her fellow female elves were. Made for a great surprise when it became clear that Sledge wasn't.

Sledge crouched down again and tied the braided gossamer around Hemmerlind's wrists. Secured it firmly. The tightness was going to chafe the hell out of his skin. But alive was alive, and getting paid extra was always nice.

Sledge grabbed Hemmerlind by the back of his tunic and stood and stood him up with her, his head banging into the edge of the bar and the man swearing briefly. She looked to Sung. Said, "You going through Koninghaven, Sung? Not far to the northwest of here along the road. I don't know you're heading that way but I still owe you a drink or a smoke or something."

 

[Sung Chei]

"I don't have anywhere to be really. I'm a freelance so I go all over the place. But I think that I can come along. Make sure that this kid behaves himself. A drink doesn't sound bad, but it has been a while so I won't be able to handle too much. Also I might get to meet your associates, someone like you typically runs with a guild of one kind or another, I might look it over if that's the case, and okay with you."

Sung had watched her handle the brigand with apparent ease. She showed some serious skill and creativity in combat, possibly some promise too.

"I could teach you a few basic kicks on the way if you're interested."

 

[Sledge]

"Good. Works out." Sledge said. She tugged roughly on Hemmerlind's tunic and forced him to face the way out. "Figured I'd ask. Don't know where you got your contract from. But it's not too surprising that these lads pissed off a lot of towns and merchants. Isn't that right, Hemmerlind?"

He grunted. Sledge gave him a push toward the way they had come in. Said, "Walk."

He did. And Sledge walked behind him. Glanced over at Sung as they all made their way through the tunnel and toward the daylight. Said, "That's alright. About the drinks. Just a round will be fine. I buy for you, you buy for me. Even. Don't worry, I don't think they have the kind of wine I like in Koninghaven, so the cheap stuff will do. Ale, beer, that shit. What do you recommend, Hemmerlind?"

The man just mumbled something under his breath.

A hmmm in Sledge's throat. Hard feelings from Hemmerlind. Fair enough. Almost all of her bounties were like that. Natural. Nobody liked being caught, whatever the circumstance. Well, almost nobody. Rare exceptions that proved the rule.

"And no. No guild. Just me," Sledge said. "Used to run with a mercenary company. A hard lot, I'll tell you that. Blair Company. Captain Leona is a proper stern bitch, and that's the sort of shit I like. I get all greased up over people who handle themselves like that. Good times. But I decided to go independent after six years. Try it out."

Out past the vines and the brush at the entrance of the cave and back into the glare of the sun and the sounds of the forest about them.

Another glance to Sung. A big smirk. "Which is why I'd fucking love if you taught me some of those kicks. Expand my options a little. Hemmerlind knows what I'm talking about." The man mumbled again. "Yeah. We got about a day-and-a-half of walking ahead of us. Teach me some of those wild kicks of yours at camp tonight."

 

[Sung Chei]

"Basics first, and I'm pretty sure that you would actually be quite talented in these kinds of martial arts. You're fast, limber and precise, exactly what is required for it. I get the feeling that you are going to catch on quickly." He says.

When night fell, the camp was made and the fire was lit. Hemmerlind was tied to a stake in the ground to keep him from going anywhere while Sung was instructing Sledge on the basic kicks.

First was the front kick, bring the knee up first, then extend and put your hips behind it. Followed by roundhouse kick, axe kick, side kick, back kick, crescent kick then hook kick. All fairly basic, all very useful. He would correct her form where it was required.

 

[Sledge]

Night.

Camp.

Hemmerlind all tied up. Nice and snug. The man grumbled still as he lay there beside the fire but otherwise behaved.

And Sledge figured to try out those kicks before having dinner. The fruits and vegetables she carried coming courtesy of Hemmerlind's old posh hideout, Sledge having nicked the small bag containing them on the way out. Anyway. Those kicks. Better to have a go at them without a heavy sloshing in her stomach. The biting ache of her fractured orbital was bad enough.

Front kick. That was easy. The shit she had pulled on Hemmerlind all of her own accord. Sung showed her how to use her hips far more effectively than she had been doing, but yeah. Easy.

Then the 'roundhouse' kick. That one. Auch. It beat her ass. Talk about a rough second. Sledge made a fool of herself, spinning about in awkward ways, like a drunken dancer who by some mishap of luck was forced to defend herself, inebriation dampening grace and inherent lack of martial training combining to hilarious effect. Yeah. That summed it up. Fortunately, Sung had mercy on her and moved on to the next.

Axe kick. Easy. The idea of it, anyway. How in the fuck could Sung lift his leg like that? Was he missing a few bones? Because Sledge could only get her leg up a little past halfway to a proper axe kick. Wasn't an elven thing, because she had seen other elves who had such flexibility. Maybe it was something that had to be worked on.

Side kick and back kick. There. More her style. Heh. Style. That was generous. More within her capability, more like it.

Crescent kick. Not nearly as bad as the axe kick. She could at least raise her leg up to the required height. It was the doing that and the fluid arcing motion which beat her ass. On her best attempt--a sterling kick for a beginner in her opinion--she stumbled at the end and lost her balance and almost planted her face into a tree. Ruined. But the kick itself was nice.

Then the hook kick. Similar problem to the axe kick. Well. The axe kick was more a limit of physical means. The hook kick...Sledge felt like all her attempts were more a threat to herself than to any attacker. Like a fool who held a crossbow backward or something. Call Sung an honorary elf, because he had far more grace and fluidity than she could hope for.

Not so bad for never truly considering her legs and her feet weapons before. Frankly, she couldn't even conceive of anything more creative than the front kick. Hemmerlind found that one out himself. Maybe she could try some stretches or something in the coming days. Get that axe kick mastered. The crescent and hook and especially roundhouse kick were going to need a lot more effort and practice.

She sat down by the fire. Wiped some beads of sweat from her forehead. Fuck. Worked up a little sheen with the practice. It'd be fine. The inn at Koninghaven had a bath service, being right next to the town's stream and all.

Sledge cooked a potato for a short time over the fire and took a bite.

And Hemmerlind spoke up. Looked like he was working up to it for a while there, and finally got past his resentment. He said, "What do you know of Koninghaven?"

"That there was a bounty available. For some dick with a burn on his face and wearing a blue scarf." Sledge took another bite.

Hemmerlind looked away. Eyes narrowed. Then, after a moment, he looked back to the two of them.

"How much did the Mistress pay you?"

"Awww. That's cute. You want to know how much you're worth."

Hemmerlind shook his head. As much as he could, given his position tied to the stake and lying on the ground. A grumbling. And he said, "You didn't notice anything? Nothing peculiar?"

Sledge glanced over to Sung. Smirked. "I think our lad here is volunteering to be a training dummy. If he keeps this up."

 

[Sung Chei]

He assisted her with her form and balance, her kicks were varied in effectiveness. With the spinning kicks and high kicks she had trouble with either balance or flexibility, something that they needed to work on.

When she almost toppled over into the tree, he was there to stop her from hitting her head too hard. After that it was back to the practice yard.

While they were around the campfire, just a bit before the food was ready, Sung instructed her in various stretches to get her the necessary flexibility for the kicks he was showing her. This included, splits, side splits, calf and thigh stretches and various contortionist positions that stretched the entire front or back of the body.

When Hemmerlind spoke and Sledge replied, Sung responded to her last statement with, "Don't rush ahead, you'd break your toes if you tried." He says. "But still, for the sake of my curiosity, was there anything peculiar?"

 

[Sledge]

Yeah. He was right. She could kick the hell of Hemmerlind for sure but there was a solid chance she'd fuck one of those kicks up and that wasn't something she wanted to deal with. Broken toe on top of the other injuries, the fractured orbital most of all. No thanks. Let that idea slide away.

Sledge shrugged. "It was just a regular town to me. Cloudy and rainy like the rest on this side of the Spine, but the people all had good cheer. The Mistress had some guards about her manor, as you might expect."

Sledge took another bite. Chewed. Thought.

"You know, now that I think about it, the Mistress' manor had all these huge and gorgeous windows but all of them were screened by these big, heavy black curtains. They were never opened while I was there. So she had candles and magical etchings for light on the inside, even during the day. Seemed like a waste of glass and views to me."

Hemmerlind grumbled. Swayed his head some. Said, "And that didn't seem odd to you?"

"I don't ask questions. It's part of my charm."

 

[Sung Chei]

(I'm so so sorry for the silence! I had a lot of work and traveling to deal with, and I'm visiting family members on the other side of the planet and it's a mess. I'm so sorry. Would you be willing to continue this?)