Chapter 24: The Implock – Chapter 21 – “Crooks and Goons”

∼ Crooks and Goons ∼

Chapter - 021

Eric reacted without thinking, twirling around and landing a wild haymaker to the closest thug, knocking his lights out with a snap as the man toppled over - as stiff as a board. Having drawn their attention to their fallen brethren, he yanked the wide-eyed Aria's hood back over her head only moments before a swinging fist flew his way.

Barely evading it, Eric backed up, fists raised. The next swing was even poorer than the first, and Eric let it glance off his shoulder as he threw a knee to the man's abdomen, sending another to the ground, the man clutching his stomach with heaving breaths only to release his bile all over himself. It was almost a pitying display.

Seeing this, the man who had initially laid a hand on Eric's shoulder drew the blade at his side, a shoddy sword.

"Jack, s-stop this..!" The merchant tried feebly from atop his carriage, too hapless and afraid to get off as the situation was spiraling out of control.

"Don't worry 'bout us boss, we'll be hitting the road soon enough," He called out behind him, gaze affixed on the large Eric. "Hehe - you have to let your men have some fun once in a while."

"A dog should heed his master's call," Eric spat back.

Flanking the thug, the rest of the men drew whatever weapon they had on their person, glaring at him with gall eyes. Jack, the apparent head crook, sneered at Eric's words, his laughing smile gone. "Right then, if you want to play it that way, boy - let's play," He raised a hand to the rest of his goons, signaling to them that he wanted to take care of the brat.

"The treeline, now!" Eric called out to Aria, not turning to look if she complied.

Yet she did not budge, looking more than hesitant to leave Eric behind than afraid.

Stepping forward suddenly, he swung his blade directly at Eric's head, not even hiding his intent to fatally maim the young lad. But at a speed much faster than that of the ragged man, Eric side-stepped the poor display of swordsmanship and grabbed his wrist, pulling hard.

Off-balance as he tried to cut Eric rather than keep a believable guard up, Jack's head rocketed back as Eric's forehead cracked against his face.

Like the captain, Jack fell to the ground with a broken nose, yet this low-life did not have the composure and bravado as the late captain had. He howled in pain like a dying animal.

Spitting on the ground, Eric did not let his hands fall as he stared at the rest of the thugs, daring any one of them to step closer. There was obvious fear in those weak-willed men despite their numbers and deadly weapons.

"Eric, look out! One of them has a class!" Aria suddenly yelled from a distance.

Before Eric could even register the barely audible sound of someone sneaking up behind him, he felt the cold kiss of a blade against his throat. A cackle, hoarse and unpleasant, tickled the back of his ears. "Don't move boy, or I might knick ya,"

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Getting to his feet, the man with the broken nose, Jack, stared daggers at Eric, hand clutched to a nose that bled profusely. He removed his hand to look at it, grimacing at the blood that stained his fingers and trailed down his forearm. Jack's face was a wreck, the nose without a doubt broken and shattered beyond any reasonable repair, but it didn't leave him any uglier than the crook had already been - Eric even reckoned that it might've been an improvement.

"Reggy! Don't let the fucking bastard move a muscle, I'll get to him later." snarled Jack at the man behind Eric.

Eric attempted to crane his neck to get a look at this supposed Reggy, but the blade only pressed further into his skin. He didn't understand why a class-holder such as this, probably a rogue or a scout, would work as lowly as being a second-rate thug, and much less, from the looks of it, work under this fern-for-brains crook, Jack.

Regardless, Reggy did as Jack ordered, grabbing tight around the nape of Eric's vest, making sure the large lad couldn't make any sudden movements. Eric could only watch as he approached Aria who tried to scramble away from the bloody-faced man, but her legs failed her, and faster than she could react, he seized her by the rucksack, nearly making her fall over as her body weighed nothing.

"Now, now lass, quit making a fuss, and let me see what you have here. Better be worth our troubles, or you'll be compensating us in other ways." Jack leered at the terrified Aria, who was trying desperately to keep her hood on as to not reveal her secrets. The other men also pitched in with some hollering and cat-calling, the looks on their faces, Jack's included, telling that he'd force the compensation regardless of her carrying something of value.

"S-stop it! Let go of me!" Aria protested. But Jack ignored her, yanking at the rucksack and pulling at its strings.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Eric testily, the blade at his neck drawing a line of blood as he raised his head to stare defiantly at Jack.

"Bwah - oh, really kid? Got something you don't want me to see in here?" He laughed, untying the knot to the flap of the rucksack with a little more fervor. "Now, let's see what we've got here... eh?" He trailed off as he peered into the large bag, confusion briefly masking his expression before his face was suddenly engulfed by a splash of purple flames.

Screams of pure agony were accompanied by a manic and high-pitched cackling that seemingly came from the small and hooded girl. Jack fell to the ground, wailing and clawing at his face that was being scorched under the flames' horrific powers.

"What the-?!" Reggy blinked, the hold on his dagger and Eric's vest faltering for just a moment, allowing Eric to grab the rogue's wrist tight.

Without time to react, he back headed the class holder, using his skull yet again. Thick-headed or not, it was a virtue Eric was proud of. Unfortunately, this Reggy was quite a bit shorter than the large Eric, so no noses were broken this time, putting an end to Eric's rather impressive streak. Still, the blunt force of his hard head cracking him in the head was enough to stun Reggy, making him stumble back.

Free, Eric drew his dagger and kept up his guard as he backpedaled up to Aria, giving him a good look at the ashen-faced crooks staring at the still gurgling Jack, the fire having crawled down his throat and burned out a ghastly hole. The thug died only moments later, the smell of roasted flesh suffusing the air. But somehow, it was the fetid stench of burnt hair that truly was most noticeable. Aria almost looked as if she wanted to try and help the poor sod, her blind compassion lingering on the edge of reason.

Everyone had fallen silent, the air pregnant with tension as the crooks stared at their fallen brother. "A-a mage!" One of them finally cried out, pure terror in his shaky voice. It did not take long before every single man was running, their tails tucked between their legs as they ran and jumped onto wagons that were already speeding down the road. Even the merchant had also been so startled by the brutal murder that his horses were already trailing dust.

The impling had jumped out of the rucksack, cackling at the pathetic humans fleeing in the face of its terrible might. Truly, when would these humans ever learn not to cross its magnificent, red self?

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