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2nd Day of Ignis

128 I.E.

Two days later, Dane and Elizabeth briefed the troops on what their operation was going to consist of. They headed out early in the morning towards the town of Oldshire, just beyond Sanctuary's borders. They went under the pretenses of wanting to deliver some imported goods from Kitair. With any luck, the bandits wouldn't catch wise to their plans and would eventually show up. If the soldiers didn't find them, they would head back to Sanctuary before the end of the day and try again. Elizabeth stated that the only way to catch the bandits was to execute some sort of trap. And what could be more alluring than a heavy wagon full of goods?

The wagon creaked and rumbled as it traveled down the road towards Oldshire. Elizabeth walked at the front, with Corporal Taille opposite from her. Locke, along with another soldier, marched beside the wagon in mercenary garb. Welshy and one other brought up the rear. The top of the wagon was covered by a white canvas with drapes hanging over the front and back to conceal what was hidden inside.

"My feet are killing me," complained Welshy as he paused to remove his boot. He shook out a stone and put it back on. "How much further do we have to do?"

"Not much further," Elizabeth replied. "Keep the chatter to a minimum."

"This was supposed to be my day off," the man muttered.

"You're barely doing anything, anyways," Locke said. He undid his bandanna, doused it with some water from his flask, and put it back on. "A little walk isn't going to kill you."

"You're just afraid to lose at Conquest again," Welshy shot back. "You'll look for any excuse to get out of our card game."

"Yes, and fancy that, I actually have some money left because I'm not playing with a card shark." Locke smirked at him.

"Hey! Eyes in front!" Elizabeth shouted. "Knock it off, both of you."

A cough came from the wagon, followed by someone grunting as they were jabbed in the side. Dane sat inside with several of his men, and he put his fingers to his lips, ordering his men to be silent.

Three hours and still nothing,_he thought, moving slowly to try and keep his legs from falling asleep in the cramped quarters. _These bandits better show up or we'll have been wasting a lot of time spinning our wheels out here while Sanctuary goes to pot.

After Elizabeth proposed her original plan, Dane opted to make a few suggestions of his own to increase their odds of success. Both officers agreed that the best way to ensure victory would be to hide their numbers and have a group of armed soldiers inside the wagon waiting to jump out at a moment's notice. Having the soldiers riding the wagon would also increase the weight of the vehicle and make it appear as if they were actually transporting something. A perceptive individual would be able to tell at a glance if a wagon was empty or not, or so Dane thought.

Unfortunately, the operation came at a cost. The additional troops Dane brought with him in the wagon left Digran with only a handful of soldiers back on base, hardly enough deal with the ever-increasing number of riots within Sanctuary's walls.

Perhaps it'll get that troglodyte to actually do some work for once, now that he's short handed, Dane thought.

The horses whinnied and the wagon jerked to a halt, nearly knocking Dane and his men over in a heap as they tried to balance against the sudden stop. He held a finger to his lips, bidding them to remain silent.

"Good afternoon, fellow travelers!" Dane could hear Elizabeth say. Her voice was much softer than it normally was, almost melodious. "What brings the five of you out here?"

Careful Vedray, Dane thought, It's almost too obvious to be calling out their numbers like that.

"Afternoon ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is William Blake, though most people call me Oni Swiftclaw," a man said.

"Well, what can I do for you, Mr. Swiftclaw?" Elizabeth asked, her voice tripping over the awkward name.

"Don't be so coy, miss. You should know why I'm here," he said, then chuckled. "I am the 'Wolf of Kelial' after all. I'm here to rob you."

Not at all what I'd expect a thief to say. What kind of person is this Oni Swiftclaw? Even his name is strange._An almost silent train of thought mulled over this information in the back of his mind, trying to deduce the meaning of the name. He quickly dismissed the thoughts, believing them to be irrelevant. _No, they're just stories to scare children. Those monsters aren't real. Yet as he thought that, the shadow of doubt clung to the recesses of his mind.

"Rob us?" Elizabeth didn't sound the least bit surprised, perforating her act with holes that the dumbest ogre would've seen through, "Why would you want to rob us? We've nothing of value with us. It's just a few crates of fruit from Kitair we've bought for Oldshire."

Dane could hear Oni scoff, and after a short pause, he said, "Aren't you the clever one..." he said, and laughed. "Oh, I should have known this would eventually happen."

"What's happening, Lieutenant--"

"Be quiet!" Dane hissed, though it was perhaps too late. He inched forward, seeking a gap between the cart's flaps to see what was going on. He could see one man in front of the other four, and presumed it was Oni. He had a heavy looking cloak wrapped around his body that draped down to his ankles, concealing most of his body and whatever weapons he may have been carrying.

The other four bandits wore a mix of leather, ring mail, and plate armor, probably patched together from whatever they had stolen from their unsuspecting victims. Dane felt there was something amiss, however. There was only five of them, and the wagon's guard was six strong. Even being short one man would be a risky bet, any bandit should know that.

There's something amiss in the air, what is it? He tried to get a better look of their surroundings, trying to determine what felt wrong about the situation. It was as though his eyes couldn't focus on certain spots around the wagon.

Elizabeth tensed up, her feet shifting subtly as her hand moved towards her sword. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me, little girl," he yelled, snarling at her. "You know exactly what I mean." Oni paused and turned his nose up, sniffing at something that caught his attention. He proceeded to shout, "You can come out now. I know you're there."

Oni turned his head and nodded to one of his men. The twang of a crossbow broke the dead silence, and a bolt sprouted from the head of one of Dane's men.

Dane could hear Elizabeth call the man's name as she spun to look at what happened. The bandit's shot was quick enough that his eyes couldn't track it. The crossbow bolt struck without warning. The other soldiers dove for cover behind either the wagon or the horses to avoid several more shots fired in their direction.

Dane swallowed a lump in his throat. He should have known they would conceal hand crossbows or some other small weapon beneath their cloaks. He heard a thump as the soldier's body hit the ground. Dane's fists turned white as he clenched them painfully on the grip of his sword. If they were going to open fire on his men, then he'd had enough of this act. He whispered to those next to him to get ready to move, then fired a bolt of fire straight up at the canvas overhead, burning it to ashes.

"For the Empire!" he shouted.

Dane and his men spilled out of the wagon with weapons drawn, ready to face down the bandits and bring them to justice.

"There's more of you in there than I thought," Oni said, then chuckled. "I guess my sense of smell isn't what it used to be. However, we still have the upper hand." He snapped his fingers, and in response, groups of men began to appear out of thin air as if a curtain was being lifted all around them.

Dane could feel the alteration of the flow of mana, his eyes widening as his mouth gaped open. They were soon surrounded on all sides by a ring of bandits, each with weapons drawn and crossbows loaded. How many were there now?

He mentally kicked himself for not noticing the invisibility spells before.

"An theros verus, Fiz ban!"Dane cried out, throwing a fireball at a pair of bandits to his right. He didn't even pause to make sure that the attack was effective, and instead swung around to find his next target. He loosed a second fireball and heard the twang of a crossbow, then spun on his heels on reflex, narrowly avoiding being shot in the chest. Dane snapped his fingers as he called down a bolt of lightning from the skies, striking his assailant before he could reload.

Oni reached into his cloak and produced a set of bladed katars. "Eliminate the military scum. The mage is mine!" He shouted before he charged forward.

The man's approach was swift, and Dane didn't have time to react. He stumbled back as the words to another spell flew from his lips. Pressing his thumbs together, he spread his fingers out before him and conjured a wave of fire aimed at Oni. The air was filled with the crackle and sizzle of flames as they scorched the ground, sending plumes of blackened smoke into the sky.

Oni effortlessly rolled below and to the side, coming away from the attack unharmed. Two of his men weren't so lucky and were caught in the blast, causing them to drop to the ground, writing in pain and trying to shake off the magical flames.

As the bandit lord drew closer, Dane engaged the man in melee combat as his sword flashed out to attack before Oni could launch a strike of his own. Lightning formed around his sword and danced along the length of the weapon as they crossed blades.

Dane sliced and poked as hard as he could, but Oni proved himself to be the faster of the two of them, easily avoiding every strike or parrying it before moving in to slice at Dane. He weaved his katars so fluidly that no matter how he was attacked, he was able to repel the sword and attempt to counter-attack. Dane tried to use a fireball to throw Oni off balance, but he was capable of dodging it with a tumble to the side, despite the near point-blank range the spell was unleashed at.

"Why have you been attacking the caravans?" Lightning arced off his sword as it connected with Oni's weapons.

"Because I can, why else?" Oni said and licked his lips as he pushed Dane away with a parry, "I live for battle."

"Do you think this is a game?"

"Of course!" Oni laughed, a maniacal cackling that sent a shiver of fear down Dane's spine. "In my game, the loser dies. What better wager could one make than their own life? The stakes are so much better than a mere game of cards!" He darted around Dane to get behind him.

The man's eyes widened as Oni moved faster than he could keep up with him. How's he so fast? No human should be able to move that quickly!

Oni maneuvered to deliver a series of lightning quick blows with his katars aimed for Dane's skull, but the man was able to move himself out of harms way as he felt the metal whiz past him. Something dripped onto his neck, and when he reached up to touch his ear, he found it was cut deeply along the side.

Not allowing the soldier a moment to catch his breath, Oni twirled on the ball of his foot and delivered a kick to the side of Dane's head as the soldier was just turning to face him.

The world spun as Dane fell back. He tried to use some of his magic to give himself some breathing room, but he couldn't focus on his opponent for more than a few fleeting seconds. He could barely even keep his balance without the pain flaring as he raised his head.

"Is that all you've got?" Oni asked and laughed at Dane's attempts to right himself. "Is this the best Rogust's finest has to offer? You're not very good prey, boy!" His katar flashed out and threatened to open Dane's throat, but he managed to lean back away from the attack.

He parried a feeble swing from Dane and launched one of his own with his free hand. His katar sliced through Dane's tunic and just nicked the chain mail armor beneath it.

"Shut up!" Dane roared, growing tired of the man's incessant taunting. He stepped back from a second swing and brought his hand up. It shook as he lifted it, but he was able to bring it up to snap his fingers. A conjured bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky, aiming for Oni, but the more agile man was fully capable of dodging the spell.

Dane struck again, calling down a second and then a third bolt, but each time Oni managed to avoid the blasts. Dust and dirt from the impacts clouded Dane's vision, and he could no longer trace his opponent's moves accurately. His head throbbed, and his vision became tunneled.

"You're an idiot!" Oni yelled. He came head first out of the dust cloud and sliced a huge gash across Dane's face, splattering him in the eyes. "Giving me that concealment is such a rookie mistake. I can track you even when I can't see you. Now, how about I end this?"

Dane brought up his arm to block another attack from Oni, but the blade sunk into his arm, getting stuck in the bone in the space between his chain shirt and bracers. The weapon tore through muscle and tendons like they were nothing more than fragile silk cloth. Dane screamed as the pain ripped through him. Everything hurt, and his vision was darkening. He tried to attack with his sword but Oni parried with such force the weapon flew from Dane's hands.

He gritted his teeth together so hard they hurt, and they felt as if they were on the verge of cracking. He slammed a fist into the other man several times to try and get him to back off. When that didn't work, Dane used the same hand and jammed his thumb into Oni's right eye socket.

Dane wasn't sure what unsettled him more: the squish and pop of the eyeball, the feeling of his thumb in another person's eye socket, or the fact that Oni didn't even flinch. The man didn't so much as scream or make any sort of sign that the wound bothered him.

Who the hell is this guy? What is he!?

"Ah, that's it, that's the fight I've been looking for!" Oni snarled.

"Lieutenant!"

A pair of Dane's soldiers, freed up from dealing with Oni's bandits, came rushing to his aid. Dane ordered them to get back, but it was too late.

Oni released his grip on the katar that was stuck in Dane's arm and spun around to deal with this new threat. He raised his arm as he lowered the rest of his body, slicing one soldier's throat open while tripping the other at the same time. As he brought his arm around, he jammed the blade into the eye slit in the downed man's helm, puncturing his skull.

Dane had to act quickly before he became Oni's next victim. An idea popped into his head, and he thought back to something Aiden had once said to him:

Did you know that there's water in the air we breath, Aiden had asked once, and Dane had shook his head.It's true! I find it's a lot easier for me to manipulate the water in the air than other forms of magic. A blast of steam is just as deadly as a fireball but it's less taxing on me to ignite the water in the air than it is to evoke a fireball.

As Dane yanked the katar out of his arm with a grunt of effort, he tried to think back to his spell book, recalling the words to one of Aiden's spells. He spoke the words easily as he raised his good hand, and a jet of super-heated steam blasted forward. Oni dodged to the side, but it still engulfed the upper right half of his torso and continued on through the air.

"Vedray! Get down, NOW!" Dane shouted, and without questioning his order the woman ducked, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blast. Instead, her attacker caught it square in the face and he screamed as he dropped, clutching at his head.

"That hurt! I'll kill you for that!" Oni snapped as he stood over Dane, scowling. His burnt arm hung limply at his side.

Dane's left arm was ruined from the katar, and he'd dropped his sword earlier too. With no options left, he lifted his good arm and blocked with his bracer. He expected that his arm alone wouldn't be enough to deflect Oni's attacks for long and that the effort would be futile, but as the runes shimmered along the sides of the metal, he realized he could block the man's attacks with ease. An intangible barrier about the size of a small shield formed around the bracer and kept Oni's attacks from hitting him.

The bandit lord dropped his weapon and clutched Dane's neck. His fingers dug into his skin and he couldn't breath. "I'll just kill you with my own hands!"

Dane struggled and reached for something, anything within arms reach, but he couldn't find a weapon nearby. He punched Oni in the head several times until the man loosened his grip and backed off. The two combatants worked to catch their breath as seconds passed like minutes.

Dane scrambled for a weapon and found Oni's discarded katar. He'd never used such a weapon before, but he didn't need any experience with it to know how to properly wield it. He quickly jammed it into the side of Oni's neck as he came charging towards him. To make sure the man was actually dead, Dane leveled the blade out and used all the strength he could muster to slice the man's head clean off. As Oni's corpse fell to the ground, Dane stood up on wobbly legs and tossed the weapon to the side.

Every movement hurt. Blood ran down his arm and he felt light headed. It was taking all of Dane's effort to keep going, but he couldn't rest, not until they were done. He tried to take a step but fell forward.

On his descent, he saw a large pool of his own blood soaking into the ground as it spurted from the wound in his arm.