The Call of the Ruby

Kain rowed slowly, the small boat rocking on the shallow waves of the Stormic Ocean's Lowlands. His rough voice cut through the air, dripping with sarcasm as he muttered to himself. "What a marvel, an empty sea. Not a single idiot with gold for me to take." The sun beat down hard, but he chuckled low, his sharp, dark brown eyes scanning the beach. His messy brown hair, tied back with a leather cord, swayed in the wind. He slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out a blood-red stone, the Ruby, and held it between his fingers. "The only thing I've got is this ruby. Maybe I'll sell it for a nice fat price," he said, his voice thick with disdain. "Or maybe I'll rob a seagull, or a fish that doesn't cry for help," he murmured, a lone wolf hunting anything worth his time. The sea's silence grated on him—until a scream tore through the air.

"Help!" Loud, sharp, coming from the sand. Kain dropped the oars, his stance tensing, ready for a fight, and shoved the Ruby back into his pocket. "Someone alive, at least," he said, grabbing the simple sword from its sheath and leaping into the shallow water. He ran across the beach, worn boots kicking up sand, his lean, bronzed body moving with purpose. Nearby, he saw five mercenaries surrounding a girl. Their leader barked, "Grab her now!" Kain sped up, dangerous, his eyes locked on the scene.

The girl moved fast, dodging a blow with agility. "Hey, rower!" she shouted, her voice clear and confident, provocative like a flame. Kain stopped, spinning the dagger in his free hand, magnetic, the sword still at his hip. She kicked a thug in the chest, her loose golden-blonde hair flying as she gained ground. "Waiting for an invitation to help?" He growled, his rough voice firm. "I don't save anyone who doesn't pay." His sharp eyes, sliced by a scar over his left eyebrow, stared her down.

"Come collect later, rower!" She laughed, swift, plunging a fallen knife into an enemy's leg. She wore a faded blue tunic, gray pants clinging to her slender frame with the effort. The leader turned to Kain, pointing with rage. "Finish him!" he roared, and a mercenary charged. Kain drew his sword, feeling the pocket warm where the Ruby rested, and slashed the man's arm with a precise strike, dropping him to the sand. "Weak," he muttered, his tone low and dangerous.

Kain spun the dagger in his other hand, his angular face hardening. "And you, who are you?" he asked, as she felled another with a kick, her fair skin speckled with faint freckles glinting under the sun. "Lirien," she replied, her voice cutting, "and you, wolf, you're already on my debt list!"

The mercenary leader seized the moment while Kain stood beside Lirien, lunging fast and landing a hard punch to his face. Kain grunted, the impact snapping his head back, the sun's heat scorching his bronzed shoulders. "Get him!" the man barked, grabbing Kain's arms from behind. Two lackeys advanced, one slamming a fist into his stomach, the other kicking his thigh, Kain's worn boots sinking into the wet sand the sea spat out. "Gonna die already, rower?" Lirien taunted, her clear voice slicing through the roar of the waves crashing closer. She spun, agile, landing a precise kick to a thug's chest, sending him down gasping, her golden-blonde hair whipping in the salty wind blowing hard off the coast.

"Never, girl. Weaklings like these don't even tickle," Kain growled, his rough voice laced with cynicism, a low laugh escaping. He twisted his body, driving a sharp elbow into one mercenary's gut, doubling him over with a groan, then slashed another's chest with his knife, the quick strike leaving a shallow cut that made the man stumble back, yelling. The leader lost his grip in the move, but Kain didn't stop—he spun the knife and stabbed it into the same lackey's thigh, dropping him with a louder scream. "Kick harder, girl, I'll clean up the rest—your kicks are too damn weak," Kain finished, the laugh still in his voice. Lirien laughed too, dodging a blow with a swift leap. "You're the one in my way, cutter!" she shot back, sinking her knife into another foe's thigh, the shallow cut making him yell and collapse to his knees. The sea roared louder, waves pounding nearly at their feet, as dark clouds thickened on the horizon.

The leader spotted an opening as Kain turned to Lirien, charging again and gripping his arms tighter, laughing. "You'll break!" Kain threw his head back, cracking the man's chin with a snap, sweat dripping from his face as the Ruby in his pocket heated, burning against his leg. The hold loosened, and Kain stomped hard on the leader's foot, twisting free—the mercenary stumbled in the sand, cursing. "Move, shadow, or you're next!" Lirien yelled, dropping another lackey with a kick to the gut, the impact throwing him onto the wet sand, her green eyes flashing with a sharp challenge. A low thunder rumbled, and the waves surged, foam splashing them both.

"Enough," Kain murmured, his magnetic tone cutting the air. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the Ruby, pulsing hot and glowing bright in his calloused palm. Without understanding, he squeezed the stone, and in the heat of the fight, with the lackeys still coming, something erupted—a long, sharp red blade sprang from the stone, thrumming alive in his hands. Kain's eyes widened, baffled, but in an instant he spun, dropping the simple sword into the sand and slashing the leader with a brutal strike—the blade tore from shoulder to chest, blood gushing as the man fell, his scream dying in his throat. "Guess I won't need that old sword anymore," Kain said, his rough voice tinged with surprise and a hint of sarcasm, glancing at the discarded weapon. "Nice toy, shadow!" Lirien exclaimed, a crooked grin forming as she kicked the last mercenary in the shin, dropping him with a groan, the wind tossing her hair across her face.

"Get one if you last, girl," Kain replied, shock still in his eyes as he wiped sand from his face with the sleeve of his torn gray tunic. He swung the Ruby blade and kicked a lackey trying to rise square in the face—the blow landed hard, sending a tooth flying into the sand, the man screaming as he fell again. "Not bad, kicker, but I took down more," Lirien teased, shaking sand from her gray pants as the sea roared, waves crashing so close the foam soaked the bodies on the ground. Thunder cracked, louder, and the Stormic Ocean seemed to tremble with the fight's energy.

"You still owe me," Kain grunted, pointing the red Ruby blade at the ground, his chest heaving with heavy breaths, his danger lingering in the air. Lirien laughed, her fire dancing in her voice. "Collect when I feel like it, rower," she shot back, as the sky darkened further, the wind howling between them like a warning of what lay ahead.

The mercenaries lay dead in the sand, rain pouring hard as the sea churned. Kain gripped the Ruby sword, its red blade dripping blood, and Lirien wiped her knife on her gray pants, a crooked smile on her lips. "So, rower? Gonna charge me with that new toy or run?" she taunted, her clear voice cutting through the wind.

"Toy that cuts, girl," Kain growled, spinning the Ruby sword, his rough voice thick with sarcasm. "It was in my pocket all this time and decided to turn into a blade now. I need some damn answers!" Lirien laughed, her green eyes sparking. "You don't know, shadow, about the oceanic jewels? You're a real idiot. You didn't choose it—it chose you."

A shout came from the water. "There they are!" Five pirates leapt from a boat, knives in hand, charging toward the beach. "The debt's on hold, then," Kain said, stepping forward. The first pirate fell with a brutal slash to the chest, blood spraying. Lirien bolted for the skiff, yelling, "Move, kicker!" She hurled her knife at a second pirate, hitting his thigh, and he crumpled. Kain kicked the third's knee, dropping him; the other two shouted and charged after him, knives raised, but he leapt into the skiff just in time as the rain thickened.

Lirien seized the oars, rowing against the waves, and Kain sliced a rope a pirate had thrown. "To the boat, now!" he shouted, his voice piercing the thunder. "What about you, shadow? Gonna make that stone row?" Lirien teased. "Row, girl, before it decides to turn into an oar too!" Kain snapped back. "Scared, you loner?" she yelled, her hair plastered to her face. "Only if it decides to cut me," he replied, eyeing the blade glowing in the rain. Lirien laughed, her tone dropping. "It's not these fools I'm worried about. It's their leader and this storm." Kain turned his head, his dark eyes slicing through the tempest.