Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

The night fell, cloudless and breezy. Konno threw a cloak around her shoulders to shield herself from the cold. The rest of the crew were preparing their weapons. Silverfang was polishing his scimitar, and Allendar was sharpening the blade of his gigantic broadsword. Kaya was fitting poison tips to her arrows, and Dominique was standing silent, scanning the outpost with her keen Elven eyes. Konno swallowed. They would have to hit fast, but she was confident. She had glimpsed Garou training one night on the main deck of her ship. He moved with godlike speed, and even though the shabby practice dummy he had set up seemed unharmed, the minute Garou had sheathed his blade, the dummy fell into many pieces. Konno recognized this style of fighting. It was a secret style that was passed down only through select members of an ancient clan.
The style called tate.
Tate harnessed the power of time and slowed it so that the attacker could slash his opponent multiple times before the opponent felt a thing. Or the attacker could slash multiple opponents in a matter of milliseconds. Once the attacker was done, he sheathed his blade, and time sped up again. Konno was fascinated by the tate style of fighting, but she preferred her own weapon style of jeet kun do. It focused on reflexes and quick body movements that confused the opponent. After the opponent was bemused, the attacker would move to the second phase of jeet kun do.
This phase utilized a mixture of the attackers strength and flexibility. A swift backwards uppercut or reverse roundhouse would quickly do the trick. Konno simply drew on this, and added a blade. Thus was born the weapon style of jeet kun do. Konno looked over at Garou. He was leaning against a tree, listening to Mina. He glanced in Konno’s direction, and she looked away quickly, blushing. Konno turned to Dominique, who stood still as a statue. She gestured to Konno without looking at her, and Konno obliged.
“Now is the time to strike,” she said shortly. Konno nodded and got the attention of the rest of the crew. She made several quick hand movements and Silverfang, Allendar, Mia, Kaya, and Zion nodded and sped down the slope. Konno was left with Dominique, Darius, Grunt, Spark, Garou, and Mina. Konno suddenly remembered something she’d been meaning to ask Mina.
“Er...how do you fight?” she asked. Mina giggled.
“You mean without a weapon? I’m a master of kung fu.”
Konno nodded. She’d heard of kung fu before. A no-weapons, graceful style that focused on claws and gouges. Mia used the same style.
“Let’s go,” Garou said. Konno nodded and the other half of the crew started down the slope. When they reached the bottom, they found Allendar looking through a small telescope and cursing under his breath.
“What is it?” Konno asked.
“Damn that Dunland,” Allendar hissed.
“What!?” Konno whispered urgently.
“Here,” Allendar replied. He handed the telescope to Konno and hoisted her onto the rock atop which he was perched. Konno looked through the telescope in the direction Allendar gestured. A small band of about twenty sailors wearing the colors of The Order were making their way through the brush. Konno recognized Dunland’s unique weapon instantly.
“Dammit,” she whispered. “Allendar, come with me. The rest of you, stay here until we return, clear?”
The crew nodded and Konno and Allendar set off. They reached Dunland’s party with no incidents, and hailed him down when they were close enough.
“Well, well, if it isn’t little Konno,” Dunland said in his thick accent.
“Dunland, what the hell are you doing here?” Allendar hissed. Dunland chuckled.
“We’re here to help you take the fortress.”
“What? Did the Supreme Chancellor order this?”
“Yup. He called us in right after you lot left.”
Konno sighed. Garou wouldn’t like this, but it was done and there wasn’t any going back. She nodded and signaled Allendar to come with her. Dunland and his team continued on, while Konno and Allendar headed back to her crew.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but that madman is still heading for the outpost!” Garou hissed when Konno and Allendar returned.
“I know, but there’s nothing we can do. It was ordered by the Supreme Chancellor.”
“What!? This deal gets dirtier and dirtier by the second...” Garou cried.
“Keep your voice down!” Konno whispered urgently. She looked around at the outpost, and suddenly the gate erupted into flames.
“They’ve already started! Ugh...alright, guys let’s go. No point in stealth now.”
At those words, the sound of metal on leather rang out from behind her. The team had drawn their weapons. Silverfang held his scimitar, Darius was swinging his axe, Dominique was holding her broadsword limply, Grunt had his spiked club swung around his shoulder, Kaya had an arrow notched in her bow, Zion held his mace tightly, and Allendar had his broadsword resting across his back. Garou still hadn’t drawn his sword. Konno drew her katana and held it in the air.
“CHARGE!!!!” she screamed. The crew erupted into warcries and surged forward. In a matter of seconds, they had reached the flimsy picket fence and overrode it. A soldier rushed to attack, but a throwing knife from Garou caught him in the side of the head. He clutched at it, screaming, as blood sprayed in a torrent. Konno flashed past him and gutted the nearest guard. She thrust her sword into his stomach and pushed down, then tore right, ripping out a chunk of the man’s side. Silverfang cleaved a man’s neck in two, but didn’t stay to watch the head bounce away in the midst of a fountain of blood. Mia kicked a man in the jaw, then brought a knifehand into his neck, snapping it sideways. Zion launched himself into the air and brought his mace into a soldier’s head, crushing it completely. Blood and other entrails splattered everywhere as the man fell lifeless to the ground. Darius brought the spiked end of his battle axe into a guard’s stomach, then while the man was still in a state of shock, brought the broad edge into the man’s head, cleaving it to the middle. Blood and entrails splattered on a nearby soldier, and the man vomited, just before being run through the back by Garou, blood spraying the dead body of his comrade. A soldier ran up behind Garou, but stopped dead at the sight of a large bolt lodged in his right eye, courtesy of Kaya. He clutched at it, screaming, until Garou sliced his head clean off in a torrent of blood. Garou wiped some out of his eyes. At one point in the battle, Konno glanced at the roof of the outpost to see a man standing there, surrounded by dancing flames. She recognized his face; he was a general in the Cellstarian army, but what would he be doing here, at a Kinetican outpost? Her thoughts were cut short by the arrival of fresh reinforcements. They were young, and just waiting to be killed.
After three hours, the outpost lay in smouldering ruin. Dead bodies littered the area, and the crew of the Baldur’s Eye stood in the middle, drenched with gore and sweat. Dunland wearily made his way to them.
“Well,” he said, “I lost about ten crewmembers in that battle. You?”
“We’re all accounted for,” Konno replied. Dunland nodded, not bothering to hide his contempt, and turned away at a strange gurgling sound. Garou had evidently gotten the information he needed out of the man called Lord Kalven, for he had thrust his blade down Kalven’s throat, and blood was now erupting from his mouth. Dunland turned to Konno,
“I still can’t believe the Supreme Chancellor trusted this nutter with a sword.”

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