The Three Blessed Kings

Chapter 9: Versus an army

I froze.
Suddenly my throat got coarse,
But my brow dripped in nervous sweat.

My feet felt as though,
They were cemented into,
The lush grass below.

Snap back...
Snap back!!
I needed to find cover, and at least one weapon.

I saw a hollowed out tree,
So I squatted in it.
Quite poor defense.

But tied to the side of it,
Was a set of five,
Assassin needles.

I'll take anything,
But if Armes had his axe;
That's a bad matchup.

Knowing this,
I just tucked them away,
In my leather side carrier.

I had no magic,
So the best I could do,
Was use my born senses.

My sight was limited.
If I moved over,
I had no stealth or guard.

I had to be cautious,
Though he preferred an axe,
He did have arrows.

But I did know,
His aim wasn't the best,
Or he would have hit my foot.

So with my eyes closed;
I listened,
For any clues of his position.

Armes was a big guy,
(If you couldn't tell),
So stealth wasn't his game.

Out of my right ear,
I heard a rustle,
A good way across the field.

So with my back to the tree,
I pivoted,
And darted to my left.

I wanted to keep my distance,
(For many reasons),
And here's a few:

He was better at close combat.
(Ignoring the axe),
That's just a fact.

I needed better weapons.
I'm not winning this,
With just five needles.

My plan wasn't formalized.
My only chance to win,
Is to play smart.

I saw no cover,
So I quickly climbed a tree,
And rested atop.

Being up here,
Meant I could still move,
In a domain Armes couldn't.

I started tree hopping,
But I wish I stretched better.
I was so sore.

In the dimming light,
A glimmer caught my eye;
A silver reflection.

A knife,
But I didn't mean for cooking,
This was a genuine blade.

About a foot long,
With some nasty teeth;
This would suit me perfectly.

I found my weapon,
So I sat down in the tree,
And began to think.

But I was getting stumped.
At this rate,
It would take all night and I'd fail.

I was losing time,
But just as I thought that,
A friendly voice called out.

"Oy, lad!!
I don't know where you are,
But just listen to me for a bit...

...in my stupidity...",
He carried on,
"...I never explained the rules.

If you can make me shed blood,
Before that there sun sets,
You'll pass today."

This changed a lot,
My goal was much simpler,
But that also scared me.

Was this man so confident,
That I couldn't make him bleed,
As I am?

I smiled.
Was it out of nerves? Maybe.
Or that my plan was complete?

I began to prepare.
I would confront him,
And end this test quickly.

He gave away his location,
That showed off his pride;
Rookie mistake.

He just stood there,
Axe clutched in his hands,
In this grove's only open field.

I took a deep breath,
And dropped from the tree,
Then started to circle him.

I remained by the trees,
So his arrows would miss,
But I could see him.

I made three circles,
And ran straight at him,
As he took his battle stance.

I threw two needles,
And just by the way he dodged,
I knew I could win.

A simple observation:
He was slower than me,
And it did show.

One hit would knock me out,
But it would never connect;
I was faster.

With the knife in my right hand,
And two needles in my left,
This was it.

I was up close.
So I threw the needles,
And swung my knife for his chest.

A checkmate double hit.
At least one should connect,
But it didn't work.

With one giant swing,
Armes missed me,
But the shockwave knocked my knife out.

The needles I threw,
Grazed his curly beard,
But weren't enough to see blood.

I fell back a little,
And Armes laughed.
"How'd ya like that swing, laddie?"

His axe was buried in the ground,
He truly was strong,
But I laughed too.

He asked why I was,
But I stayed quiet,
And crouched down onto all fours.

One more deep breath,
And I pounced at him,
With great speed I kicked and aimed low.

He couldn't move,
With his axe stuck in the ground,
So my shoe made contact.

I looked at his thigh.
Though only a scratch,
I had made Armes shed blood.

He was truly confused,
Until I pointed,
My finger to my shoe.

Five needles in the set,
And the last one,
Was tied to my right foot's side.