Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2018 2:43:34 GMT
“Chit do osir don hir?”
“Ai laik na Trishana.”
A question and an answer; it was a dance that could easily become tedious.
The man didn’t move out of the way, his gaze dragging across her form. Echo might have taken offence to his mental undressing, but all he was scrutinising was a costume. Beneath the tattered cloth and worn leather was nothing more than a woman. She noted the hint of menace in expression; it was one she’d seen too many times on the faces of men who were too big for their britches.
Echo narrowed her eyes, waiting.
“Chit do yu want in Trishana?”
Shifting her weight, she tested the reaction of his companions before reacting. There were no visible sigils on their bodies, and their faces weren’t painted in any familiar way. Echo studied the men on either side of the path, then returned her gaze to the leader of the trio up ahead. His thumb was hooked into his belt, fingers hovering over the pommel of his blade. A blade like that couldn’t have come cheap. As far as she’d heard, there was no one past the lat village who held sufficient power to wield as fine a weapon as that.
“Chon ste asking?”
“Nox kom Ouskejon,” he replied, straightening his posture.
“Nowe heard gon yu,” she replied. Her nonchalant tone gave away her disinterest. Echo knew the path she was on bordered Blue Cliff territory, but they remained on Boudalan soil. Unless he had proof of authority within this territory, she owned him nothing.
“Ste bilak so?” he asked, stepping closer.
“En chon comes disha way knows chon ai laik, en emo chon nou, learn.”
The two men that accompanied him closed in on either side as well, their hands at their sides, gripping their weapons. If they were meant to be intimidating, they’d picked the wrong target. The last thing she was, was impressionable.
Echo was tired of beating around the bush. She’d travelled light, and with good reason; she had few valuables and none she was willing to part with. What she traded in were secrets, and if Nox was unknown to her, then he sure was not worthy of any she could share.
“Chit laik yu na teach me?”
“Gon start, some respect,”
At this, Echo chuckled drily: “Respect ste nou taught. Em ste earned.”
“Well den…”
The sound of blades being drawn was momentarily deafening.
They’d been poised to attack from the moment she’d come into their field of vision. Echo had suffered enough ambushes to know the signs. Anyone else might have come in strong, but she dealt in information and needed to hear what he had to say first. Not all fights were worth the trouble they’d bring, and many could be avoided altogether when the right words were strung together.
Queen Nia ruled with an iron fist; Azgeda flesh knew the bite of steel well. It was years of training that made Echo light on her feet and quick to react once the gauntlet was thrown. It was easy enough to move out from the centre, doubling back on one of the men without mercy. His knees caved as her blade licked the back of his legs. Once down, he was easy enough strike across the face with her elbow.
Two against one made it a fairer fight, but she felt herself outnumbered. Whoever they were, their strength and speed betrayed the grey in their beards and hair. Though somewhat well-rested and properly fed, Echo succumbed to the unnatural heat. This time of year, the South harboured a humidity she wasn’t accustomed to; it was quick to tamper with her stamina and skill.
Luck put one man in the other’s way, allowing her to dip back as Nox stabbed his own. Echo brought the blade down on them both, and kicked the nameless second down the slanted edge of the road. Through thick shrub he rolled as Nox regained his footing. Echo stumbled backwards, the breath drawn into her lungs raspy and loud.
“Yu gonplei well ba yu gonplei ste odon,” he spat at her. His smile was red, mouth filled with the blood her fist had drawn. He spat to the side and twirled his blade, testing his wounded arm.
Echo could feel the debilitating pain creeping up her back. In the heat of the moment she’d not noticed it, but a blade had carved cleanly through her side. It was in her best interest to end this fight and stem the bleeding. With at least one more hour of travel to Trishana’s borders, she had to ensure her survival.
“Yu don no idea chon yu fuking kom—” she spat back, stepping to the side and attempting to catch her breath. As the seconds passed by, she became aware of other aches and pains across her torso.
“Ai nou care,” he replied, all but yelling the last word as he dove at her. Echo blocked the blade with her own, too weakened to throw him off and put distance between them. It gave her the opportunity to stare at him, notice the edge of a scar beneath the dirt that made her brow furrow. The realisation gave her a surge of power, and she threw him off. Now she understood why they fought so well.
“Yu nou kom Ouskejon!”
“Sha,” he retorted, seemingly pleased with her realisation. Azgeda wore their scars proud, and though he’d matted his with dirt and unfamiliar pattern of paint, she now knew what he was. He twirled his blade and circled her.
“Then, Azegda sends its regards.”
It was not for her to speak on the Queen’s behalf… nor was it to rid the world of the banished who tarnished Azgeda’s name. This man could have been of service to her, but he’d wasted enough of her time and preyed on her in a way that made the bile rise, that she now wanted him dead.
When Nox dove for her again, Echo fell to her knees, her blade angled so that he’d impale himself on it. He came at her with such force that he was unable to stop. The metal sunk into his gut, and the downward swing he’d started to avoid the blade caught her shoulder instead.
Her arms shook under the strain.
They both collapsed, Nox sliding all the way down the blade.
“Yu gonplei ste odon.”
His eyes were beginning to cloud over when she finally found the strength to push him off. Rolling onto her side, Echo cried out in pain. Her options were limited. Either she trekked two hours back towards a familiar village where she’d be helped, or she risked the one hour trek towards Trishana and hoped they lived up to their reputation.
There was only one way to go, she reminded herself: forward.
Stumbling to her feet, the spy made her way towards the first man she’d knocked out. He remained unconscious, but she couldn’t afford to leave a trail. Using her good arm, Echo stabbed her blade into his back, and left it there. Gathering her things, she made as best a bandage for her waist as she could manage with the only clean cloth she had, and continued towards Trishana.
The sun was dipping past the horizon, sky a blend of orange and pink. It was around this time, too long after her encounter, that she arrived on a farm. Her journey had been delayed after a few needed stops to rest and drink from a stream, but the travel had done her countenance no good.
Sweaty, pale, and increasingly dizzy, she walked across the grassland and neared the voices.
As soon as they came into view, she attempted to speak, her throat too dry to do anything but uselessly croak. She waved with her good arm, attempting to get their attention, but the motion did her no favours. Echo swayed, unsteady and sick, and tripped over her own feet, crashing into the dirt but a few feet away from the animal enclosure.
Malia
OOC: Sorry it got so long...
OOC: Sorry it got so long...