Rhy'non stared into the tiger's golden eyes.
Just a few more seconds...Now!
The strong, broad-shouldered warrior whipped his huge knife out of its sheath while simultaneously leaping to the side as the tiger pounced. Ducking under one sharp-clawed paw, he hurled the knife down the tiger's throat, rolled away and stood up. Quickly drawing a long dagger in case the fist strike hadn't killed, he watched the tiger's corpse carefully.
Perfect.
Rhy'non slit open the gut of the magically-altered tiger with the dagger and retrieved his knife. Abstractly, he fingered it, then began to clean it carefully. It was a knife forged by a master Academy smith under his own supervision, modeled after his own design . The blade was a foot long and four inches wide at the hilt. A beautiful weapon.
Rhy'non removed the claws from the front paws of the dead tiger, since they often proved useful, and mused about the wonders that magic could create. The tiger he had just killed was not just an ordinary one. Five decades ago, some powerful sorcerers altered several vicious predators into even more deadly creatures and populated this area with them at the request of the king. The purpose was two-fold. The northern border of Hraqia would be protected from the dangers of the North, and Hraqian fighters who were losing their edge could practice on deadly beasts and keep them out of the kingdom's more populated areas. The wizards' mistake was in adding too much prey for the predators. The monsters thrived, became overcrowded, and began wandering south into Hraqia. Thus Rhy'non was patrolling the southern edge of the forest.
Suddenly, the tall fighter noticed a commotion going on in a nearby clearing. Curious about other warriors defending the kingdom as he was, he hurried over.
* * *
Keena screamed a war challenge and the giant falcon answered her even more shrilly. The bird went into a power dive with talons forward. She hefted her hand axe and, just as the falcon reached her, slashed its legs off. But the bird wasn't finished. With incredible speed it flipped in mid-dive and snapped up the handle of Keena's axe, then rose and threw it several yards away. the force of the near impact drove Keena to the ground. The giant falcon turned and dove again, this time beak first.
The warrior woman grinned. She drew a long combat knife from a belt sheathe, and braced herself for the raptor's return The falcon came at her again, and instead of going for her axe she dodged and slashed a deep gash in the bird's chest. It was down for good this time.
Keena grinned again. Oh, the poor girl will be helpless, she thought sarcastically as she retrieved her axe. She'll never make it. She'll be killed in her first battle! Uh huh. Right.
Then she noticed a commotion coming from a nearby clearing. Looking for a new challenge, she hurried over.
* * *
Larenth cursed his master under his breath for dying before completing his instruction. Focusing his concentration on the cartog across the clearing, a combination of the more dangerous qualities of the elephant and the boar, he called upon the energy that he had known since childhood. He slipped a jeweled dagger out of his belt and raised it in his right hand, while a ball of fire formed in his upraised left.
The young wizard was dimly aware of two minds entering the clearing from opposite sides, but he quickly determined them to be magically insignificant on the surface, and he didn't have time for a deeper scan. He was using what little power he could afford to block the cartog while the force of his attack built up. At the climax of his power, Larenth clapped his hands together, gripping the dagger in between. He focused all of his power on it, and the blade glowed amber.
A jet of flame shot out from the blade straight at the monster.
There were twin gasps of astonishment as the charred remains collapsed to the ground.
"Where the hell did you learn how to do that?" demanded the tall, handsome fighter with the oversized knife.
"That was pretty good," said the pretty, young woman who was putting her axe in her belt. "I've seen better. Then again, I've seen much worse."
"Nice to meet you, too," answered Larenth.
Suddenly the woman whipped out her axe and said, "Warrior's challenge."
"To the death?" the man with the knife responded.
"To disarm."
"Fair enough."
The man feinted at her neck, then slashed at her gut. The axe blade came down on the knife with such force that Larenth felt it several feet away. The man staggered back and his knife fell from his jarred fingers. He looked somewhat ridiculous in his embarrassment.
"You're lucky she didn't go for the kill," snorted Larenth. "By the way, what are your names?"
"Rhy'non," spat the man, still embarrassed at his defeat.
"Who wants to know?" demanded the woman.
"Sorry. I am Larenth, journeyman wizard."
"And I am Keena, champion of the weak." she responded sarcastically.
"A sharp tongue in a strong body. An interesting combination in women."
"This axe wasn't forged just to dent steel. It carves human flesh rather nicely."
Rhy'non started to interfere, but just then a servant burst into the clearing. Larenth noted with concern that he was holding a long, bloody dagger in each hand, and his tunic was torn across the shoulder. After determining that the man was uninjured, Larenth stopped worrying. As for the beast that apparently had attacked him, the young wizard put it out of his mind. Wounded creatures did not survive long in the Northern Forest.
The servant nervously glanced behind him, the caught himself and tuned back to the warriors. "Lord Rhy'non! At last, I found you. Something terrible has happened! The Black Shield has been stolen!"