Spears of Redriver

Part Seventy - The Bitter Prince

Carthus stood quietly at the edge of the crossroads between Erias Way and Halgar's Path, on the northside of which sat the Rytari's new headquarters. The villa was just as Desen described, a walled manor with strong gates, but no guards in sight. A few windows were lit inside and a glow rose from torches within the yard but it was quiet.

Carthus gripped his spear tightly, waiting for the final messenger from Ythara to signal that they are in position, but Desen and Oro's men were prepared. He eyed the darkness of empty streets around. Something moved, a shadow crossing the way, eyeless but staring at him. It drew closer and features appeared on its face. A Spear quietly made his way to Carthus, thumping a fist to his chest with a bow.

"First Captain Ythara is in position...they are surrounded, Master Carthus," the Spear said quietly.

"Good, return and await the signal" Carthus nodded and the man ran off just as quickly and quietly as he had come. Carthus waited a few minutes more. The silence of the city around them beckoned for chaos. It was the calm before the storm.

"Alright," he said to himself, taking a deep breath and stepping forward across the way, raising his spear for his men to follow. Their marching feet almost thundered through the crossroads and the same sound echoed from Oro and Desen's men. Carthus stopped by the main gate and lowered his spear, shouting, "Cadan!"

Silence.

"Cadan! Rytari princeling!" Carthus shouted again. This time the silence was broken by commotion within the walls. A small window slid open in the gate and someone peaked out. It shut quickly and footsteps ran away out of earshot.

"Cadan!" Carthus shouted again. He wanted it to be over.

A moment passed and the gate slowly creaked open as a host of Rytari guards walked out, spears and shields at the ready. They parted ways and Cadan himself stepped forward from between them, clad in his fine bronze armor.

"What is this Carthus? You ambush me at my home, afraid of a real fight in the field?" Cadan smirked.

"You known damn well the fight would be in the streets, chaos would swallow the city and many innocents would die" Carthus replied.

"So what do you want then? You are starting..." Cadan began.

"NO! You started this, and it will be finished tonight!" Carthus interrupted sternly.

"How far you've come...with my help, and now you betray me...I knew you would stoop this low" Cadan's smirk disappeared.

"I want to challenge you to single combat...no one else has to die here" the Maad warrior took a step in.

"Single combat? Fine then, Atora...end him...prove yourself to me" his smirk returned sharply as Atora walked out from the host of Rytari.

"I want to fight you, bastard!" Carthus shook his head.

"Well we can't all have what we want, now can we?" Cadan smiled.

"No, we can not," Atora stepped aside, letting her arms fall to her sides, "I will not fight...you were challenged, Prince Cadan."

"What?" Cadan's smirk vanished again, replaced at first with disbelief and then anger, "I was right about you...your loyalty, take her away!"

"You leave her alone! Any man who touches her dies first," Carthus glared at the Rytari warriors who approached Atora and they paused, "Cadan, take up your blade, give me a chance to face you in a fair fight...one on one, and no black hemlock this time."

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about" Cadan sneered and Carthus knew it was him that night. His smile disappeared as he drew his sword. The eyeless shadow stared at Carthus from behind the bitter prince who moved forward gracefully, "let us dance then."

Carthus moved up to meet him and the opposing sides of warriors closed their ranks, save for the men around Atora, who kept their distance. Quiet once again filled the crossroads, drowning everything out. Carthus raised his shield before him and aimed the spear forward over it and they began to circle slowly, waiting for that violent first strike.

Cadan stepped lightly to the side and then exploded in a quick lunge toward Carthus, but the Maad warrior was ready. He sidestepped the sword and struck out at the prince with the blade of his spear, slicing his arm. As the young swordsman recoiled, Carthus followed over the top with the back-end of the spear across his head. A loud crack silenced the onlookers, but Cadan recovered quickly and smirked at the Maad.

Carthus didn't wait, he surged in with another series of strikes, stabbing the spear forward from behind his shield. Cadan blocked and countered with a speed that only reassured Carthus that he was the assassin that night. Onlookers were hushed once again as Cadan knocked the shield away from in between them and drove his blade in. Carthus took three small cuts between pieces of his armor. Warm blood flowed out, sweat beaded on his forward, but he did not relent.

The Maad commander pressed forward, stabbing and slicing with the blade end of his spear, all the while blocking counters with his shield. Cadan was quick enough to dodge every strike, save one, another loud crack of the spear shaft across his head. Before Cadan could recover, Carthus drove on. He feinted a quick swing, getting Cadan to move, to react without thinking, and then stabbed the blade of his spear into his shoulder. Blood sprayed out a moment as he pulled the spear back and lunged trying to knock the prince down with the shield.

Cadan sidestepped the warrior with ease despite the wounds and recovered quickly, taking a deep breath. Carthus followed suit and they circled once more, both bloodied and covered with dust that had been kicked up in the flurry.

Cadan struck first without much of a pause, swinging the sword wide in a feint as he stabbed in. The blade knicked Carthus' side through his leather armor, and Cadan pulled back in another strike that rang loudly against the Maad's shield. The prince continued in another flurry of blows, slicing at Carthus' arm and leg before the warrior blocked and stepped back, shield at the ready in between them once more.

"You are wearing down, Carthus" Cadan smiled, unmoving now, sword lowered but ready despite the distance between them.

Carthus started slowly but then lunged into a sprint as he lept into range, bashing the prince with his heavy shield. Cadan took the force of the blow and stepped back with it, easily staying on his feet. He was quick, but Carthus was unrelenting. He lowered the shield without missing a beat and stabbed the spear forward from behind it, still moving into Cadan but stepping sideways. The spear found its mark between the front and back plates of his bronze armor, where blood flowed freely as Cadan pulled back with a single shout of pain.

As Cadan circled, one hand on his bloody ribcage and the other raising his blade between them, he winced in pain and Carthus realized he knew he was losing. The look in his eyes was fear, something Cadan was not used to.

"I would ask you to surrender, Prince of Swords, and leave the city..." Carthus began.

"But you know I would never..." Cadan interrupted, spitting blood into the dirt. He moved forward weakly, swinging the blade, but Carthus deflected it with his shield and met his movement to keep the distance. Cadan pulled the blade in and swung again, pain visible on his face. The Maad blocked and slammed the blade of his spear against the prince's arm, knocking his sword from his hand. Cadan kept moving in and grabbed hold of Carthus, wrapping his arms around his hips and pressing his head into his chest.

Carthus was caught off guard as Cadan tripped him and they both crashed into the ground. His spear and his shield were useless as they rolled. Cadan held him with a strength he wasn't expecting, but Carthus managed to overpower the weakened Rytari commander, rising to one knee above him, just as a familiar sharp tinge of pain rushed across his torso. Carthus looked down to where Cadan had driven a hidden dagger into his stomach, pulled from his boot during the grapple.

Carthus answered without pause, slamming the edge of his shield into Cadan's head. As Cadan's head bounced on the hard ground, blood pooling around him, Carthus pulled back and hit him again, and again, and again until the Rytari commander no longer moved. The silence of the men around them continued, broken only by shocked gasps, and then the sound of marching feet in the distance down the street.