That man suddenly found himself working on his heels, trying to swat away the stinging attacks of Thalys’s sabers. Forward went his right saber, which he quickly retracted as he blocked the great sword with both blades, holding it out with his right saber as his left jabbed the man in the stomach many times, all of them doing minor damage. Another man came upon him then, chopping down with his axe. Thalys rolled around the man with the great sword, leaped up with two mighty slashes up his back, and then kicked him to the ground to get his head chopped by the other man’s axe. Thalys dove forward, giving two quick jabs to the shocked axe wielder, one in each eye that blinded the man. Thalys had to slash down quickly to his left, knocking down a sword from yet another man. His blades now pinning the sword to the ground, Thalys jumped up, kicked the blind man in the temple, sending him to unconsciousness, and continued with the kick, coming around to kick the pinned swordsman in the jaw. That hardly stopped the man. Thalys continued with the momentum, kicking up with his second leg, sending another foot into the swordsman’s jaw, and then finally brought up both sabers as he started to land on his feet, slicing the man’s throat with both blades. Predictably, that man fell quickly.
Only two more men were on him now, the leader still standing in the back. Both had swords, and both came charging at Thalys in a frenzy. Forward went the adventurer, hardly caring for the bloodlust in both men’s eyes. Both drove their blades down hard on Thalys, and both went tumbling to the ground as Thalys dove into a role, blades held out, tripping up both men. Thalys came up from the roll and spun upon the men, jabbing both of them in the neck, severing their spinal cords.
Thalys turned around to see the leader stalking towards him, a grim expression on his face. That slow stalk suddenly turned into a full out bull rush as the man raised his axe and charged forward with abandon. Thalys crossed his blades in front of him to block the expected chop from the axe, but it never came, and Thalys had to dive out of the way to avoid being trampled. The man stopped and turned around charging at Thalys again. Seeing the pathetic tactics, Thalys grinned, planning to tire the man out. That wouldn’t happen, however, as the second time the man did chop down with his axe, and Thalys barely got his blades up in time to block. The force of the blow was mighty indeed, catching Thalys off guard and knocking his right blade out of his hand as he fell to the ground. Hardly giving Thalys time to recovery, the man charged for a third time. The nimble Thalys rolled out of the way in time and leaped up to his feet, one blade short. This time, the man stopped, turning around with a wide grin.
“One less sword, little man. Do you plan to block me with that one alone?” The thug teased.
Thalys looked down at his single blade and smiled. “Nope…” Is all he said in reply.
Confused, but not overly concerned, the thug gave another charge. He soon found himself flying backwards as a gust of wind knocked him to the ground. “Yo…you’re a wind adept!” The man shouted as he slowly raised to his feet again.
“Nope…” Came Thalys’s second reply.
As the man tried to move again, he suddenly found himself sinking in a pile of mud. “An earth adept!” The man cried, waving his axe around for no apparent reason.
“Nope…” Came Thalys’s third reply.
The man tossed his axe aside as the handle began to heat up drastically. Just as he was about to declare that Thalys was a fire adept, his burnt hand began to freeze up in a ball of ice. Finally realizing what was going on, the man looked at Thalys with wide eyes as he continued to sink in the mud. “Yo…you’re an omni adept?!”
“Yep…” Thalys said with a grin as the mud suddenly hardened, leaving the man stuck in the ground waist deep.
With a laugh, Thalys slid his single sword in his sheath and retrieved his other one, likewise sheathing it. He walked up to the thug and kicked him in the face, bloodying his nose.
“Don’t you ever let me catch you trying this stuff again…” Thalys scolded.
“Heh, what are you to do when I do get free?” The man asked, defiantly trying to pull himself free. His efforts suddenly stopped as Thalys’s left saber flashed out, slicing the man’s throat.
“There won’t be a next time, silly.” Thalys said as he started to walk away. As he came across the squirming man he knocked out earlier, he sent a spike of rocks jutting into his spine to quiet him.
The villagers all looked out of their hiding places, wide-eyed. One brave soul stepped out and ran towards their savior. It was a little girl, her mother quickly coming out to retrieve her.
“Wow, mister…ye sure are strong!” The girl exclaimed, grabbing Thalys’s hand and shaking it around with both of hers.
Thalys knelt down to get eye level with the little girl and smiled. “Aye, I’d like to think so. You should all be safe for now.”
The girl’s mother reached her then, wrapping her up in a big hug. “Don’t be minding the little one…she’s a chatter bug. I thank you dearly for what you’ve done.”
“Always glad to help! Though, I’d like to know why thugs would start attacking a village like this…not much here to be stealing.” Thalys said, looking around.
“The kept saying something about some Adept’s Stone, but non of us have heard of such a thing.” The woman explained.
“The Adept’s Stone, eh? I’ve heard of the legends…but has it finally been found again?” Thalys stood straight up again, tapping a finger to his lips. “I must be going now. Sorry that I cannot stay and help rebuild, but I have a tight schedule to keep, you see. I should pass by here later on this year.” Thalys bowed to the woman as he spun about and quickly rushed out of the town.
“The Adept’s Stone, eh?” He reiterated to himself as he walked along a trail, still heading north. “Maybe I’ll find some more about this in the next town.”