Bodyguard Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Needs-a-better-title Edition

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There wasn’t much to pack. The three men had only brought supplies for a short hike and a single night, judging by the food she’d found. That meant that they couldn’t be too far from people. Or at least, so Ana hoped.

She’d collected three pouches of various coins, two daggers, the sword, as well as each of the dead men’s belts and boots. Unfortunately the boots were all significantly too large for her, so she’d had to settle for cutting one of the men’s robes into strips, which she used to bind her feet. She hadn’t needed to do that for a long time, but it wasn’t the first time in her life she’d lacked footwear.

She’d been lucky enough to find a spare robe in one of the packs. This place was colder than London, and while Nicola's jacket should do for him, her dress was about as warm as a one-piece swimsuit. She would have taken a robe off one if the dead men, but being strangely dressed was easier to explain than being strangely dressed and covered in blood.

Besides that she’d found some books that looked like they might be valuable, as well as some simple tools and other basic camping gear. There was unfortunately no tent, but she could construct a simple shelter if she had to. She put as much as she could in one pack for herself, and the rest in another for Nicola, along with a roll of bedding for each of them. The daggers went on a belt under her robe. They clashed horribly with her dress. Nicola asked to take the sword, but she declined to give it to him. It might have been alright since he was, appropriately, supposed to be some kind of rich brat. Carrying a sword had been a mark of nobility at various times and in various cultures. But it might also be strictly illegal, and she didn’t want to take the risk of having to tangle with whatever passed for the law here. Politeness and avoidance had always been Mr. Stamper’s approach to the police, and she approved whole-heartedly. Before Mr. Stamper found her the cops had just been one more species of predator to avoid.

They didn't talk beyond simple instructions. They were in an unfamiliar place, a forest of all things, and Ana needed her wits about her. Besides, Nicola was still a bit stunned over the whole situation. And she couldn't just see that. She felt it.

She had a little place in the back of her mind where she kept track of everything immediate that she needed to know about a client. Where she last saw them, how drunk they may be, things like that. Now, that place also contained two things that she knew with absolute certainty: Nicola was about two yards behind her and slightly to the left, and he was very confused. Too confused to be afraid, even.

She herself had been keeping her emotions under tight control. Confusion and the hesitation it caused could be lethal here. Just look at Nicola, who barely had any initiative at the moment. No, it was better to act on her best understanding at any given moment, and handle consequences as they came. Just a little of the fear, though, was fine, as long as she didn't let it control her. It kept her on her toes.

A fairly clear path led away from the stone circle and the camp through the forest. It passed a large stream with a simple wooden bridge, where they refilled the waterskins, and about an hour and a half after leaving the camp they arrived at a road. Since they had no way of knowing which way to go, and she didn’t want to wait for a passer-by to ask, she took them north-west, for the simple reason that it kept the sun mostly at their backs.

The road was wide for a dirt track, maybe eight or nine yards, but the forest packed in close on each side, and she kept a watchful eye on the trees and bushes. After perhaps two hours of walking, and a couple of long breaks to eat something and rest their feet, her vigilance was rewarded.

~~~~~~~

Nic plodded along, trying to keep a brave face on, but it was hard. He couldn't remember ever walking for this long. At least they were on a road now. The forest had been murder. His legs were tired, as were his waist and his shoulders from carrying the bag that Sta… Ana had given him. The fact that her pack was at least twice as heavy as his, and she didn't even have boots, didn't help any.

That had been a surprise. He'd seen her in party clothes and casual clothes, in heels, pumps, sandals and sneakers and whatever else women called their shoes, but he hadn't been sure how to react when she'd calmy started wrapping her feet with strips of old fabric, like she'd done it a hundred times before. And maybe she had. Considering that she was walking just fine and hadn't complained once he figured that she must know what she was doing. Why, though?

He felt a little guilty that he didn't know more about her. Not that she was forthcoming at all, but they had been 'together' for a year now, and he probably should have made more of an effort.

Lost in his thoughts, Nic almost bumped into Ana when she slowed down, allowing him to catch up.

“Don’t talk unless I tell you to,” she murmured into his ear as they kept walking at her slower pace. “Follow my lead, and if I tell you to run, you run.”

“What?” he asked, before he realised that there was a man on the road, perhaps 40 metres ahead of them. “Oh. Do you think he might help us?”

“Maybe,” Ana said as she reached both hands into her purse. “But I have a bad feeling about this.” There came a muted Chi-klak sound from the purse before Ana took her hands out, and Nic almost stumbled. He desperately wanted to ask Ana an obvious, stupid question, but the man was close enough that he might hear and Nic was not about to announce to the world that the woman next to him was carrying a bloody pistol in her purse!

Ana must have noticed. “Just a precaution,” she whispered as she stopped them fifteen metres from the man.

“Hello!” the stranger said with a smile. “May I say, the two of you look lost?”

Nic could only think of one way to describe the man, and that was ‘adventurer,’ like he’d stepped right out of a role-playing game. He had a large pack on the road next to him, and above a green shirt and grey trousers he wore leather armour that covered his entire torso, with flaps that hung down over his hips and thighs. On one hip he carried a sword, and on the other a small crossbow. When Nic focused on him there was even a little tag that said Human Ranger (7). He looked a bit dirty, his long brown hair hanging limp and greasy, but he radiated friendliness and Nic was immediately put at ease.

“Oh, not really,” Ana said in a bright, cheerful voice. It wasn’t quite her Stacy voice. It was her ‘playing nice’ voice, the one that she used a lot with service staff and people who weren’t actually bothering them yet. “We’re just trying to get back to town. You wouldn’t happen to know the way, would you?”

“First time delving?” the man asked with a chuckle. “And not by choice, I’d wager. There’s no need to hide it, miss. People drop into Splinters by accident all the time. Now, if you belonged here, you’d know that there’s no town, just the outpost. And if you’ll allow me to be so rude, I can see your classes and levels plain as day.”

Right, Nic thought. Of course. If I can see his, he can see mine, right? Was that why the ranger’s eyes kept flicking around? Could he see more about them than they could about him?

“Well,” Ana said bashfully, “you caught us, I guess. Can you show us to this outpost, then? We’d be so grateful.”

“There’s no shame in it,” the man continued, making no move to lead the way, his eyes still flicking away from them every so often. “You’re hardly the first to –”

Out of nowhere, Ana tackled Nic hard enough to send him flying into the bushes by the side of the road. He heard her shout “RUN!” and then there was the sound of a scuffle behind him, clattering and grunting. Nic recovered from the shock in a few seconds, but instead of doing as she said, the smart thing, Nic rolled over and looked back at what was happening.

Ana was on her back on the road. There was a man straddling her, but it wasn’t the friendly ranger. That man was walking towards them and drawing his sword with a very annoyed look on his face.

The man on top of Ana was pinning her right hand to the ground while punching at her, and Nic could see her gun lying not half a metre from her, while a nasty-looking knife lay by their feet. At first it looked like the man had Ana hopelessly overpowered, but she pushed herself up close to him so that he couldn’t get a good angle to hit her anymore and then she started punching him rapidly in the side.

Or that’s what Nic thought, until he saw all the blood.

But there was no time to think about that. The ranger was still coming. He looked annoyed, but his pace was unconcerned, and Ana couldn’t see him. He gave his sword a lazy twirl, then raised it high, pointing down and ready to skewer the woman who’d risked her life for Nic.

For once, looking as harmless as Nic did worked to his benefit. The ranger saw him and turned just in time to turn his thrust to take Nic along the side of the chest, but not in time to avoid Nic crashing into him at waist height and bringing him down right behind Ana and the man she was fighting. Nic felt the blade slide along his side. Strange, he thought. It didn’t hurt. Is that what it’s like when you get really badly injured?

Nic didn’t have much time to consider that. He was grappling with the ranger for the sword, both hands on the ranger’s arm to prevent him from using it, but he didn’t expect to win. The ranger was strong and experienced with fighting while Nic was neither. The ranger punched him a couple of times in the short ribs and then in the face, and again Nic was surprised at how little pain there was. Adrenaline, maybe? Or perhaps he was already dying? It didn’t matter. He’d stopped Ana getting run through, and if he could only buy her a few more seconds…

The ranger did something, bucking his hips and twisting, and Nic was rolling in the dirt. So much for that. He heard steel scraping on the gravel and fully expected to be cut down or run through at any moment. It didn’t feel fair. This was supposed to be the beginning of a new, exciting life, not the end. But at least he’d give Ana a chance. If anyone could flourish in a fantasy world it should be her.

He turned to face the man who would kill him. To his relief, instead of charging him the ranger was getting to his feet, backing up slightly and panting with sword in hand.

“Well,” the ranger said. “I didn’t expect you to hear Larry coming. Certainly didn’t expect your bitch here to kill him. But he’s better off dead. Level six, killed by a level three? Letting himself be disarmed like that? Shameful.” He turned to look at Ana, who was sitting on the ground next to a dead man, grimacing and breathing hard.

She had the gun in her hand, though she hadn’t raised it.

“Let me guess,” the ranger said as his breathing returned to normal. “Hidden class? I’d guess you’re a handmaid of some sort, considering Larry there, but I suppose –”

His speculation was cut off by four loud blasts as Ana raised the pistol, aimed, and hit him twice in the head.

Nic stared at the ranger as he dropped limply to the ground, jerking as blood pooled around his head. A notification popped up in the corner of Nic’s eye, and he read it reflexively.

[Congratulations! Your party has defeated: Human Ranger, level 7; Human Rogue, level 6. You have been awarded: Growth Crystal, Lesser; Growth Crystal, Least]

[Attention: Growth Crystals are set to auto-consume. Your share of the experience awarded, based on your contribution, is 60 experience points.]

[Skills partially calibrated, based on use.]

Then he looked to Ana. She looked back at him, her eyes vacant, and collapsed to the ground.