Well, like I said, it'd be a while since my next post because I've been away on holiday (Which was lovely by the way) but then this past week has been a bit manic too with my Dad going into hospital for heart surgery. He's recovering well now though, so there's no cause for concern, immediately... But enough life stuff, on to why you're here - the writing! So it's time to continue with the action in The Legend of Tyree...
The sound of steel on steel rang through the throne room as Tyree and Osterman fought viciously. Tyree's face remained stoic and focused, a fitting mask to cover the relentless rage he felt towards his foe whereas Osterman returned this expressionless exchange with a mocking sneer as he parried and feinted, baiting the young warrior into tiring himself out. Tyree winced as one of Osterman's lunges scratched across his cheek. He growled and span, swinging his own blade around in a low circle to try and sweep Osterman's legs, but the veteran hopped backwards and stamped the flat of Tyree's blade, knocking it from his hand. Left with few options, Tyree backed away from Osterman and looked wildly around him for some means of gaining the upper hand. He noticed the guards advancing on Kelni to restrain her and with a ferocious growl, he turned and charged them, forcing them bodily to the ground with a horrendous clatter of armour. With a dexterous roll, Tyree stood once more, now armed with one of the guards' spears.
Kelni blinked as Tyree rushed towards her. She hadn't realised that she was being flanked by two guards. She crouched and covered her head as Tyree rushed past her before she stood to see the two unconscious guards on the floor. She frowned and wisps of white misty energy began to form around her palms as she turned to face Osterman, but his blade had already reached her throat, the tip of it resting gently above her sternum. She blinked and whimpered, the energy fading into nothingness. She glanced back to Tyree, unable to speak for fear, but gave him a pleading stare.
Tyree glared at Osterman, "Let her go! This is our fight." He advanced three steps and braced the spear at his chest, "You've done nothing but backpedal and delay throughout, and now you hide behind a girl? You have no honour Osterman, face me!" The throne room fell deathly silent; not even the slightest of breezes passed through as Tyree and Osterman stood eye to eye less than ten paces from each other. Osterman shrugged and pushed Kelni aside. She fell to the floor and winced, looking up to Tyree once more. He gave the slightest of nods and threw his spear, immediately running behind it. He hadn't aimed to hit Osterman directly, but still the attack was true enough that Osterman had to swing his sword to deflect the point of the projectile. This was enough of a distraction for Tyree to dash past and retrieve his sword from the cold stone floor behind Osterman. He crouched, grabbed the weapon and turned on his knee, thrusting upwards. Osterman couldn't turn in time and Tyree's attack landed true. Blood began to weep from the gash on Osterman's side and he staggered backwards, moving a hand to hold his wound.
Tyree stood, a bold smirk playing upon his lips. He flicked the blood from his sword blade and held it in a point towards Osterman, "That's a deep cut, the flow of blood will continue and you'll start to slow down. I've seen it, it's how a wolf toys with their prey before killing." Tyree took a step closer. Osterman stood agape and stepped further away, his back now touching the drapes at the side of the chamber, "It's not possible! I am a trained man of the military, you are nothing but a lowly maggot, a farmhand, a peasant!" He paused and coughed, blood spattering onto his chin, "How can you best someone like me in a duel?!" Tyree sighed and stepped closer, the point of his sword pressed firmly onto Osterman's chest, "True, I'm not a soldier, or a military man like you say. I am a farmhand, also true." He glanced aside to see if Kelni had recovered; she was standing now and had dusted off her clothes, "But growing up on the plains, tending to animals taught me well. I have to defend those animals, fight off predators. That's all you are, a predator. You act tough, you prey on the weak, but you crumble when faced with true strength, with true resolve." Tyree pressed his blade into Osterman's chest, not deep enough to be fatal, but far enough for him to feel Osterman's body shudder with the pain as he twisted the point slightly, "Weakness, that's all you have in the end. You killed my mother and ransacked my home to uphold your facade of strength and superiority, but look at you know..."
Silence. Tyree held Osterman pinned to the wall as the man who murdered his mother whimpered and mewled, begging for mercy. Tyree pulled his blade from Osterman's chest. Osterman dropped to the floor, clutching his wounds and sobbing. The sobs slowly shifted, turned into a chuckle, then had been completely replaced by laughter as Osterman looked to Tyree, "You're a fool, farmhand! What I did? The people I killed, everything else, I did it for him! I did it all for my master, and he knows what you've done here; he knows who you are, what you are, why you are!" He slumped even closer to the floor and pulled a knife from his boot, he looked back to Tyree, "With my death, your fate is sealed, farmboy!" Osterman shook and rose unsteadily to his feet before tracing the blade of the knife across his own throat. Blood trickled slowly at first but then began to flow mroe freely. He coughed and spluttered, covering his teeth and lips with blood before smiling and staring into Tyree's eyes. He went to speak, but only a wordless gurgle came forth as Osterman fell face down on the floor, motionless in a pool of his own blood.
Tyree stared at the body. He'd never intended for Osterman to die, and could now only ponder as to his dying ramblings. This mention of a master confused Tyree. He shrugged and turned to face Kelni; she looked at him with a similar expression of confusion, "You okay?" he asked her. She nodded and looked to Osterman's body, crouching by it and removing a necklace from beneath his shirt. It bore the sigil of the Reldanian empire. Tyree saw this and his face fell; Osterman was in league with Reldania... Without any more words, the two of them turned and left the throne room. With their captain dead, the guards stood dumbfounded and wracked with uncertainty, leaving both Tyree and Kelni to depart whilst they hurried to tend to their former captain's corpse.
So, that's all you get for now. It's a little sketchy in parts, I know; I'm not sure I'm too happy with this post, but would love some feedback from you all... I might give Tyree a bit of a break for now and work on something else, or I might just carry on; again, feedback and opinions greatly appreciated!
Adios and God bless!
Craiggy.
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