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~*~ TDT2: The Blood Debt ~*~

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[#42J4VY9ZL]

[#42J4VY9ZL]

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I demand you get into The Unit, while it's still off-season until the fall. If you get caught up in the new season this year, chances are you'll be confused although intently interested of the show, then your only choice of clarifying is through the internet, like me.

06-Jan-2008 15:27:21

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

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~*~*~*~ Chapter 7 ~*~*~*~
Kzahar scanned the courtyard, seeing no signs of life. Arwing picked through the fallen bodies and searched the gardens for any survivors. There was a growing pile of weapons next to where he stood, looted from the dead soldiers. The sun rose slowly over the walls, streaking the sky with smears of blood-red and rosy pink.
He was exhausted. His muscles, long lacking fighting exercise, now ached from the night-long battle. His wounds stung fiercely, he was sweating fiercely, and his eyelids drooped with weariness. He longed to sit beneath one of the tall trees in the courtyard, watch the sunrise, and wipe clean his broadsword. The bloodstains would set if not seen to soon, but there was other work to be done before he could relax.
"Kzahar."
He turned to see Adrian, as sweaty and bloody as he, sheathing his sword with a smile. Behind him were the eight remaining soldiers, tied tightly with rope found in the guard station. Maston stood like a watchdog in the gates, and Lil stood with the soldiers, watching them carefully. "They're secure," Adrian declared. "Why dont you go look for the Duke? I'm curious as to where he might be hiding."
"He's not going anywhere, not while we hold the gates. We need to talk, Adrian, figure out what we do now."
Adrian shrugged his huge shoulders. "We need time to recover before we can think clearly, Kzahar. We'll talk to the soldiers, see what they know. Take Lil and go find the Duke. We'll discuss our next move once we've covered all our bases." He raised his eyebrows, and Kzahar nodded reluctantly.
Lil, who had been listening, drew her truncheon and joined him at the door. He met her eyes. "He's probably alone, without guards. Let's split up. Yell if you find him. He might be with his wife and family, but I'm guessing that's all. I saw soldiers come running out of the castle early in the fight."

07-Jan-2008 00:36:32

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

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She nodded. "I'll cover the first floor. You go up."
He sheathed Drakthor on his back and drew one of his smaller swords. Then he trotted up the nearby stairs and surveyed the hallway of the second floor. A crimson rug ran the full length, accented by paintings on the wall and expensive standing torch brackets. The torches occupying them, unattended all night, had burned out. He strode quickly to the first door and, holding his sword ready, twisted the handle. The door swung open with a creak. He nudged it open all the way and stepped inside, looking around. It was a childs bedroom, with twin beds and nightstands, littered with dolls and toy soldiers.
Kzahar opened the closet, glanced under the beds, and shook his head. Empty. Sighing, he stepped back into the hallway and went to the next door. He was approaching, but then he stopped abruptly. Coming from down the hall was the low murmur of voices, about three doors down. He turned and stepped softly back to the staircase. "Lil!" he called down, as loudly as she dared. After a moment, she appeared at the base, peering up at him.
"I found something, come up here!"
When she was upstairs, he silenced her and pointed to the door where the noise had come from. She nodded and grinned. "The door will be locked, I'm guessing. They'd know we're here if I try it. I'll force it open, you be ready in case there are guards.
Lil nodded again. "On the count of three?"
"One, two...three!"
Kzahar took two quick steps forward, lowered his shoulder, and charged at the door with all his strength. It caved inward with a crash and he spun sideways, sword outstretched. Lil leapt in behind him, quick eyes finding the last guard and swinging her truncheon. Before he could react, it slammed into his temple and he dropped.

07-Jan-2008 00:37:58

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Kzahar, breathless, came face to face with the cowering Dukes family. The Duke, his wife, a boy of perhaps eight, and a girl who could be no older than five. Lil advanced threateningly, brandishing her weapon, but he thrust out an arm and forced her back. "Watch the door," he ordered. "I'll talk to them."
"Talk to them? Kzahar, we should kill them like the others!" she exclaimed. The Dukes wife gasped as she heard this, and Kzahar shook his head furiously.
"We kill innocent children, were no better than them."
"Isn't that the plan, Kzahar? Isn't this one of his cousins or something?"
He glared at her. "We don't know that yet. We take them, but we're not killing them. Now watch the door."
Sullenly, she moved out into the corridor. Kzahar approached the family huddled on the bed, delicately stepping over the body of the unconscious soldier with a look of distaste. "You must be Duke Elderon," he said flatly. The aging, paunchy man in front grunted.
"What do you want with us?"
"Where are you hoarding all the food?"
The man laughed. "I don't know what you mean."
Kzahar stepped forward and dragged Elderon roughly to his feet. "Yes, you do. You're keeping food from the people of Lumbridge. Where is it?"
"You have no idea what youre talking about."
Kzahar answered by crunching his free hand into the man's stomach. Elderon doubled over, groaning. The children shrieked, and the wife swept to her feet, clutching Kzah*** arm. "It's in the cellar," she moaned. "Please don't hurt him!"
The Duke had straightened. He met Kzah**'s eyes boldly. "You're from the contest, aren't you? Kzahar? I remember that name. Why is it your business if we're keeping the food?"
Kzah*** fist slammed into his stomach a second time, sending him to his knees. "I'm asking the questions here," he growled.

07-Jan-2008 00:41:16

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Still the proud Duke climbed back up, panting, and stared Kzahar down. "You can't hold the castle. We watched from the window - theres only six of you, and the one with the glasses can't fight." He laughed triumphantly. "You barely survived half of my garrison. When the other half returns, youll die."
"And where is the rest of your garrison?" he prodded.
The Duke, realizing what he had said, snapped his mouth shut. "I asked you where the garrison is," Kzahar snarled, pointing the tip of his sword into the soft flesh beneath the man's chin.
"Oh, I heard you," he laughed.
Kzahar sighed. Then he dropped his sword hand and threw a fist at the man's face. Something crunched and blood sprayed everywhere. Elderon stumbled backwards, holding a hand to his broken nose and cursing viciously. The wife, kneeling at his side, looked up at the furious warrior with tears in her eyes. "A man," she sobbed, "came a few days ago. He said the people from the contest survived, or at least one did. They were taking him to Varrock when they were attacked by bandits. We gave him soldiers to go back and try to find him."
Kzah*** throat tightened. Bond. "And where are they now?" he grated.
"A boat is waiting upriver to take them straight to Varrock. Please, stop hurting him!"
"Lil."
She stepped quickly into the room. "I heard."
"Good. Go to Maston and tell him everything. We have to find that boat."

07-Jan-2008 00:43:15

Shloppi

Shloppi

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Nice adds. :D Although I don't like the idea of Kzahar beating up an old guy. O_o :P
"We kill innocent children, were no better than them."
-> we're no better
Right? ;)
P.S.: I hate Mikhail, or however his name is spelled. >.>
Is he dead now or what? 'Cause I don't think a guy with a harpoon stuck in his stomach recovering from electric fence-damage after activating some bomb/grenade thing from like 3 feet away should last much longer. >.>
And w00t for a Sawyer-based season. :D I LOVED how he was (almost) crying while John's dad was reading that letter. Then how he strangled him after he ripped it in half. XD
Sawyer: READ IT!!!!!!!!!! >8-(]

07-Jan-2008 17:09:33 - Last edited on 07-Jan-2008 17:18:35 by Shloppi

Scoucher

Scoucher

Posts: 3,837 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Skoe - Yeah, you're right about the 'we're' thing. The problem is, if you have the settings at a certain thing, apostrophes and some other stuff don't copy over here from MS Word. It's only recently that this has been true.
Smeeze - Near the end of your story, there are about ten or more of these apostrophe errors due to the copy/paste glitch. Proof read.
Now I must say, I'm glad I was chosen as a replacement judge in the 2007 Story Awards, for now I get a chance to go read all these good stories. This story is absolutely great, and my attention only fazed out a few times for the whole hundred posts or however long it is. I haven't spared the time to read anything of yours before, but now I'm a fan of your work. You show your characters' emotions well and you also weave in interesting sub-plots. Also, you don't have a problem with creating awkward sentences. Now, I haven't commented on any of the stories I've read for the Story Awards, but this was so good I just had to tell you. :) I've hardly started on the list though, and I must be off!

08-Jan-2008 04:49:46 - Last edited on 08-Jan-2008 04:54:06 by Scoucher

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