Ch. 6 Morning Run

Marcus Carbo's POV:

My mates used to complain that time flies during a night of fun. Well, for the last 6 months I've been having anything but fun, yet time flew anyway. I cut all contact with the village ever since Tyrian appeared and refused all invites coming my way.

All my time was spent training. Looking back, the morning runs and daily weapons drills seemed to blend into each other, but there were a few events worth noting.

First of all, mother stopped attending church ever since the priest was changed. Since then, when she wasn't doing chores, she was reading Lady Ophelia's scriptures. She told me in private we were going to move back to the capital, but I haven't seen her make any preparations.

On the other hand, dad was becoming increasingly paranoid. He never overworked or pushed us past our limits, but we could tell he was worried about something.

According to my sister, his morning training routine became more and more aggressive, and he started practicing magic too. He used to avoid questions about magic and rarely showed us anything, but now, Deia was getting a complete show each morning.

I was kind of jealous. He would always end his practice by the time I finished my run. Speaking of which, I was now running around the village equipped with all my weapons, spear and sword included. Dad even made us wear light leather armor which was honestly not as light as it may sound.

Deia and I already had a good grasp on our weapons. She could now shoot accurately from her crossbow's maximum range of around 150 feet, while I could hit my targets from 100 feet away. We were comfortable using our melee weapons in a fight and even sparred a couple of times with my dad and with each other.

At this rate, it didn't feel like we'd need 5 years to prepare for battle. All we lacked was experience and magic.

_____________________

'Hey, what do you know about magic?' I asked Tyrian during one of our morning runs. Judging by the expanse of trees to our left, we were halfway done.

'Sadly, nothing.' He responded. 'I'm equipped with basic knowledge, like language, but I cannot find anything useful about combat. However, I do believe you should be more forceful in asking your father about it. I have a feeling magic will be essential if you want to fight in the war.'

'Honestly, I'd rather take my family and hide under a rock. But, don't worry. Dad's cautious, but he's always doing what's best for us. I'll bring it up again if I feel I'm no longer improving.'

Having Tyrian around was unexpectedly useful. Despite him not knowing a thing about combat initially, he was extremely quick on the uptake. During training, he'd now correct my posture and give tips while dad was helping Deia.

Just like dad, he was very paranoid and insisted on keeping watch over the house while we slept. It seemed he could travel around 100 feet away from me before some sort of invisible force pulled him back. And, obstacles posed no problems. Seeing him go through walls like a ghost was kind of eerie.

'Dodge!!!'

From the shrieking voice in my head, my body moved on its own, smashing into the nearest building. A wooden spear smashed my lower left side with such force that it ripped my armor. It broke apart on impact leaving shrapnel stuck in my body.

'Get behind the house!' Tyrian ordered. There was no room for thinking. I moved my feet and did as I was told.

Fortunately, I was in a part of town where few houses had yards, and even those with one were small. The streets were also small and there were numerous alleyways I could lose myself in.

'Green hair in a ponytail.' Tyrian began. 'Well built. 5.8 feet tall. His spear was made of pine wood, likely from the forest. He threw it from 700 feet away. You must hide!'

'Go up and tell me where he is.' I snapped. Where the hell was I supposed to hide? Nobody was awake at this hour. If I just enter some house and cause a commotion, it will instantly draw attention.

'He's 4 alleys behind you. Don't make a sound. He's walking… with your spear.'

'Shit, shit, shit. I gave that monster my steel spear?' I kept running through the alleys trying not to make a sound. My house was in the south, on the opposite side of the village. The roads would soon get bigger, and I'd run out of alleys, but if I could lose him here, then…

"Here little bunny. Look what I've got." A chilling voice rang through my surroundings.

'2 alleys away. He's heading your way.' Said Tyrian.

'Describe him!'

'He's got a big grin on his face and seems nonchalant. He's currently walking, but from time to time he'll sprint like a freaking horse.'

'When he crosses a corner, is he careful? Does he jump into the street or does he stay near the walls?'

'He just crossed one. Slowly, near the wall. Marcus, you're not gonna make it!'

I stopped where I was, turned around, and grabbed a throwing knife in each hand. Tyrian immediately picked up on my movements and started the countdown.

'You'll see him in 3, 2, 1.'

I threw both knives towards the left side of the alley from he'd pop out of.

"Hey, bunny… Argh!"

The man jumped into vision with a grin and my spear in throwing position. With no warning, he hurled it towards me with his left arm just as one of my knives hit his right one.

This messed up his aim sending the spear into the house to my left.

"Booom!" A large hole was left, and dust flew everywhere.

My first knife was aimed for his head. It hit his arm instead. My second was aimed for his chest. It hit nothing. The bloody bastard jumped into the middle of the alley instead of sticking to the wall as planned.

While his spear was tearing my neighbor's house a new one, I threw the remaining 3 in the same pattern. The dust and tremor made me miss his head with the first one. The second went straight to his chest. He caught it with his right hand and threw it back at me with twice the speed.

I had to send my last knife on its way while dodging his partner that was coming to greet me. As I fell on my back, I barely saw the knife flying above me. At the same time, I heard a screech.

"Argh! Why!?"

I looked up to see my last knife imbedded into his leg and my assailant holding back tears. Suppressing a smile, I got up quickly and ran for my life.

"You think you can run, bunny!? You're dead!"

'Keep running!' said Tyrian. 'The dude's an idiot. He took the knives out of his wounds and is chasing you.'

"Come here you sonofabitch!" I could hear his voice close behind me. "Your luck's running out!"

I took one look back and the bastard was limping towards me at a speed matching my pace.

'How the hell is he so fast?'

'Don't worry.' Said Tyrion. 'The moron's running with 2 bleeding wounds. He'll collapse soon, so keep going.'

I ran out of the thick cluster of houses onto the main road. Realizing I was half-way home, my feet felt lighter. If the bleeding wouldn't get him, dad would. There's no way this wounded asshole could hold a candle to him.

I just prayed I'd find dad in the yard as usual. If he wasn't there and I instead met my sister or mother…

"Whoosh." One of the knives went right past my ear. I quickly turned a corner and shut down my thoughts. Street after street, house after house. Soon, I could hear a huge rumble.

'Your dad's training must be really something.' Said Tyrian who was keeping watch on my pursuer.

However, I soon started hearing voices as well. Many voices, curses, and yells. Tyrian heard them too and went ahead to inspect.

'Go left!' He said when he got back.

'But, my house…'

'Just do it!' He insisted. 'You'd only be a burden.'