《Critical Adventure》 The Dawn of Knight Scurrying through a maze of tents, the squire hurried towards the commanders tent. He quickly grasped the flap of the building to pull it open but thought better of it. Although he had been thoroughly trained in proper etiquette at the academy, his nerves almost got the better of him. He then took a second to compose himself so he wouldn¡¯t make any further mistakes and upset the commander. ¡°Squire Coil here to see Commander Eirson,¡± the squire loudly announced just outside the tent. There was no reply for a few moments before deep bellowing voice replied ¡°Enter.¡± Squire Coil took only one more second to wipe a little dust of his breastplate before entering. ¡°Sir¡± Coil greeted as soon as he entered the room. He made sure he keep a neutral face when he was in the presence of the commander but to say he was terrified was a understatement. The commander stood at a very intimidating height of around 6¡¯6 with a strong, thick build of mostly muscle. The stature of the commander wasn¡¯t the part of the commander that truly scared the poor squire though, no, it was the man¡¯s eyes that truly struck fear into the young man¡¯s heart. The void, the abyss, and the deeps of the night couldn¡¯t compare to the darkness of the man¡¯s eye or to the coldness that they held. It was as if his eyes pulled the very sunlight from the air around him. ¡°Yes?¡± Answered the commander, patients clearly being to fray.¡°Uh¡­. Oh forgive me commander! I bring word from the frontline.¡± The squire said as he realized he had been staring at the commander without talking. ¡°Has Sir Rey finally received word of the enemies intent to surrender?¡± ¡°No sir, not as of yet at least but Sir Rey sent me to inform you of the information he has learned from the spies within the bastion,¡± said Coil. ¡°What information would that be?¡± asked the commander is a low voice. ¡°They said that the enemy intends to surrender tomorrow at noon unless the receive reinforcements tonight.¡± Coil stated in a tone that only slightly showed his disappointment. As this was his first true siege, he was not happy about a surrender without any true fighting or a chance to take the castle in a battle. ¡°Tell Sir Rey to halt fire on the castle until they surrender tomorrow then, it will show that we are informed of their intent and prevent our new castle from being even more damaged than it already is.¡± The commander then narrowed his eyes onto the squire and add, ¡°and don¡¯t let Sir Rey hear the disappointment in your voice when you tell him. You may have wanted to do battle but there isn¡¯t a man alive that would want to fight more than him if given the opportunity but he knows the battle is over. Now off with you!¡± With a quick salute the terrified squire fled the tent back to the front to inform his master. The commander then slowly walked across the tent while musing to himself. ¡°These squires get younger and bolder every year. His armor is basically still wet from the quench and he¡¯s already trying to get himself killed in battle.¡± With a sigh the old knight picked up his sword that had been left sheathed to the side and carefully strapped it to his hip. Then the man began to stride out of the tent to make his rounds in his camp, informing his lieutenants as he went of the plans for tomorrow. The silence of the next morning was strange to Eirson. For weeks every morning started to same way, with the sound of boulders hitting a rock wall. This morning however there was none, for a moment Eirson almost panicked but he soon remembered he had ordered a halt to the bombardment and smiled. Eirson took deep pride and knowing that he not only prevent a few needless deaths but had also won a castle. Of course he knew that he hadn¡¯t technically won it yet but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from feeling a little smug about it, he had won at last. These last few weeks of war against the castle had been tougher as the seasons had started to change with winter fast approaching he know that after a couple of more weeks he would have had to ask for more support from the crown or retreat. Both of these options struck Eirson as a great way to lose his position as a knight commander so he was pleasantly surprised to find he had won the war of attrition. Attrition was definitely not the way he thought he would win but after seeing the castle¡¯s great walls and cliffs surrounding it he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to force his way in as planned. Eirson pushed those thoughts back and rose from his bed. It was growing closer to the time of the surrender and he needed to get ready. So after getting dressed in his armor and having a bedfast of dried meat and bread he set out with his guard, not that he really needed then he thought. He was known for his swordsmanship when he was younger and although he had grown older he had not grown dull. As noon was almost upon them Eirson stood next to Rey on the front. ¡°What shall we do if they don¡¯t surrender, sir?¡± Asked Sir Rey. ¡°Resume firing¡± stated Eirson ¡°but I dont think they will change their minds. They didn¡¯t receive any reinforcements during the night?¡± ¡°Not of significance, Sir¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They did receive a rider earlier today but I assumed it was just a messager returning so I didn¡¯t move to intercept.¡± Commander Eirson sighed inwardly. He knew Rey had failed but at this point one man wouldn¡¯t make a difference and he was to tired of this campaign to chastise the noble. Whenever he did he would always end up making other nobles mad for upsetting the order they had set up. Eirson knew that his lineage as a commoner had not helped him climb to his position but he had managed to persevere regardless. Now was not the time to have his lieutenant absent so he would let it slide. While deciding this, Eirson saw the gates to the castle wall open ever so slightly and then immediately close, leaving only one man walking towards the front. This man didn¡¯t surprise Eirson in fact sending out a lieutenant to negotiate a surrender was a normal tactic but the thing that did surprise the knight commander was the fact that the man was clad head to toe in lime green armor with a matching lime green sword on his hip. Not a single speck of skin could be seen under the armor as the man strode towards Eirson. ¡°Halt and state your name and intent!¡± Exclaimed Rey stepping forward to meet the man. ¡°Before I state that I would like to address your commander if you would be so kind to tell me his name.¡± Stated the man as he grew closer to the front and as he did it become very noticeable that this man was quite large with a strong build and the height to match. This didn¡¯t intimidate Eirson though for his height was still superior to the man by a few inches. ¡°You may know you have the honor of addressing knight commander Eirson of the wolf legion.¡± Said Sir Rey in a smug tone. ¡°It truly is a honor to know your name then¡± said the lime green knight that then immediately followed the statement up with, ¡°I challenge knight commander Eirson to a duel with the reward being the command of this castle. If you win we surrender but if you lose then you leave.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. This statement caught the entire front off guard as most turned to gaze at their commander for a answer. If Eirson was stunned then he didn¡¯t show it. He immediately gave the order to fetch his shield and prepare a circle for the duel. Once every thing had been prepared the kinght commander walked confidently into the circle of stone and took a firm stance. ¡°I, knight commander Eirson of the wolf legion accept this duel with the agreed upon rewards with the clause that this battle will be to the death.¡± The man in lime hurried to make some small additions to the rules about weaponry allowed and such but Eirson simple to use what he wanted and then the oath of the duel was completed. A shiver of energy ran through both of the men as they knew the oath would now be honored by enforcement of the world meaning the if broken then the world would exact its punishment of death upon the guilty party. And with both parties in the circle the fight began. Eirson charged forward with excitement as he would get to show off his advanced swordsmanship against an obviously strong opponent when suddenly the man in lime stated ¡°by the way my name is knight and my intent is to destroy you.¡± These were the last words Eirson heard before there was a bright flash and a bang. Small pieces of metal and blood fell from the sky as chaos ran rampant around him, yep it was another Tuesday. Knight slowly let his sword now smoking sword drop to his side and began to leave. As he came to the edge of the circle he turned to the now smoking crater of what had been knight commander Eirson and said, ¡°I expect you lot to have cleared out of here within the day.¡± He then stepped out of the circle before being blocked by Sir Rey who had his sword drawn and leveled at Knight with a barely kept rage in his eyes. ¡°You foul cheat, how could you use magic in a duel!¡± Rey roared. ¡°Magic? What magic?¡± Asked Knight with a sincere tone of surprise and shock. ¡°The magic you used to blow our late commander to bits!¡± Shouted Rey. ¡°I did no such thing,¡± said Knight in a exasperated tone. ¡°I simply used my sword.¡± ¡°What sword has that sort of destructive power?¡± Asked Rey is a tone that showed a odd mix of anger, skepticism, and apprehension. ¡°This one.¡± Knight said flatly as he leveled the tip of his sword towards Sir Rey. It was then when Rey saw that the sword had a round opening in the tip and a piece of tnt inside and that was the last thing he saw as it hurled at him at a binding speed striking his sword and going off. This time with the fall of their commander the entire legion fell into a helpless state of panic as men fled away from the castle and the crazy man in lime. As for knight he simply trotted towards the castle while stripping off his lime armor and casting his now empty sword toward to ground. Under the armor, Knight had wore his usual attire for after duels due to his rule about never wearing the same armor he used for a duel again thus he had prepared in advance to strip off his armor, he really didn¡¯t want repeat to mistake of having to walk home naked after his first few duels. It had been rather awkward explaining that rule to the city guard that stopped him. His rules had to be followed regardless of his embarrassment for they were part of him just as his left arm was. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank that tiefling at the bar for introducing me to the concept of explosive enhanced weapons when I get back.¡± And on that note Knight reached the city wall and knocked on the city wall twice as was his rule of always knocking twice before entering any room with a locked door and waited for it to open. As knight made his way through the fortress he did his best to avoid people, not because of being in a sour mood or for personal reasons but it was instead because on this particular day he had a rule saying he couldn¡¯t talk to anyone after 2:05 in the afternoon. This of course would make receiving his rewards for dueling the commander harder to claim but as always he would be doing all of his business by mail, whoever had come up with the idea of sending letters was truly one of Knight¡¯s favorite people because without it he was sure he would have killed countless of his employers due to his rules as well as other reasons but if anyone asked it would be because of the rules. As Knight finally found his room he had been lent by the commander of the fort he noticed a letter had been delivered to his room and was now resting atop of the small desk in the corner of the room. At first Knight contemplated not opening the letter because of the rule about being silent but eventually he decided that reading a letter didn¡¯t quite count as speaking as long as he didn¡¯t reply today. Crossing the small room in three strides he quickly snatched the letter from its resting place and ripped the envelope open and began to read. The contents of the letter weren¡¯t immediately apparent to the untrained eye due to the way that people were required to write when both putting in a secret request to Knight for help and when talking to Knight in general, because with his rules it often took only a small mistake in word choice for a kill marker to be placed on your head. Luckily, most people that engaged with Knight on a regular basis knew about the banned words and steered clear of them even if it could get in the way sometimes and lucky for the writer of this letter they avoided any of his rules this time. The point of the letter was best summed up to be a request to meet in person to discuss a new job at the capital that would pay him a princes ransom if he succeeded and gave him an address and dates that the client would be available to meet up. As Knight looked at the request he couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was off about the letter. It was simple parchment with a navy blue ink taking form of beautiful flowing letters. It was nothing like the usual crude lettering that he received from mercenaries or young nobles. There was also something incredibly familiar about the handwriting that Knight couldn¡¯t quite place. Well money is money and it¡¯s not like I can turn down a request anyway; Knight thought as he commited the address and date to memory. Crumbling the parchment into a ball Knight focused intensely as the ball suddenly caught fire and burned away. Burning these things are always such a waste of ki. As Knight prepared his meager possessions for his departure from the fort he felt an sudden shift in the air pressure around him which come mean one of two things: either someone was about to hit him with a object from behind or he was just about to gain a new major rule, and seeing as how after he dived across the floor and saw no one standing behind him, he quickly got ready to receive the rule. Over the years Knight had found that it was best to find a secluded area to stay put in during a rule change to prevent any unfortunate mishaps from occurring, he knew that his reputation as a eccentric wouldn¡¯t save him from the wraith of the local authorities if he burned down a town due to the rule. So Knight simply took off his armor and placed it gently to the side of his bed and sat down in a lotus position. When he closed his eyes and focused he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the rule showed itself to him. It wasn¡¯t uncommon he Knight¡¯s rules to change but it was definitely rare for him to get a major rule change. Usually with minor rules such as him only being able to talk during a certain time yesterday were often predetermined months or even years in advance with little to no focus from knight needed to understand and follow them, but when major rules changed, especially ones that took effect immediately, that is when things became complicated. This changes didn¡¯t happen often and when they did it could take a few minutes of focus to absorb what the rule truly meant. Thus Knight sat on the bed slowly breathing in and out while focusing on the rule that drifted lazily into his mind and as soon as it was in complete view it snapped into place like it had always been there. Knight opened his eyes and slid off the bed and immediately placed his armor back on, gathered his things, and left. In the hall of the fort, Knight found a solider to ask some directions to the nearest town and was please to find that it was only a hour of so walk from the fort towards to the west. ¡°What are you heading to town for?¡± Asked the solider as for nervously looked up at the imposing figure in front of him. ¡°Oh nothing much there is just something there I need to pick up before I set off to the capital,¡± said Knight in the most inconspicuous tone he could muster. ¡°Oh,¡± the solider exclaimed ¡°I see, well happy hunting.¡± With that the solider scrambled out of sight while still trying to desperately hold on to what little composure he had left. Knight let out a small sigh as he watched to man go. He knew he could be intimidating at times but he couldn¡¯t help it. Was it his fault he was a large man? Was it he fault that he had a rule stating he needed to in full body armor for most of the day? Was it truly his fault that he had a reputation for destroying people that annoyed him? Well maybe the last one but the other two definitely weren¡¯t. Anyhow now that he had a direction he needed to head out, his new rule had been urging to follow it since he had received it and he couldn¡¯t do that without what was in that town. So Knight began his walk towards the town, scaring unfortunate travelers as he went in his new pitch black armor. A Strange Critter Critter ran down the street as fast as his legs would carry him. He was a young lad of around the age of 16 but was quite small for his age. His body was thin and limbs were weak with only skin, bone, and a tiny amount of muscle making then up. His hair was a black disheveled mess of long unkept strands. Yells of what could only be described as fury could be heard not far behind the boy as he ran. Critter looked down at the small package in his hands and began to daydream how sweet it would be when he got back to the safety of the abandoned house he called home, but first he had to loss the man following him. With a quick glance back he saw that the rather portly man chasing him was perhaps 35-40 feet behind him but was gaining fast because of his much longer legs. Critter knew he had to act fast or he would have to face the mans ire but there wasn¡¯t much he could do to lose the in the all but empty streets. That¡¯s when he saw it, his ticket out of this race, tall wall that just so happened to have several garbage cans stacked beside it. Critter quickly diverted his course from the street to side alley that led to the wall. When he was almost halfway down the alley the portly man rounded the corner and peered down the street to see Critter¡¯s desperate flee. Upon seeing this the man paused to caught his breathe before resuming his hunt with new found vigor as he believed it was drawing to a close. This man had assumed wrong though as Critter quickly jump top of one garbage can and quickly hop to grab hold of the top of the wall before pulling himself up to were he to sit on its edge. There Critter sat for only a second or two admiring his own ingenuity before he realized his grave mistake. He had inadvertently let go to the package when he grasped for the top of the wall and as he spied down he saw that remains of the package had been crushed upon impact with the ground revealing its contents. Inside of the brown paper package was a small cake that had quite clearly been lovingly decorated bu the baker that was now in anguish at the bottom of the wall. The man¡¯s emotions didn¡¯t stay in anguish much to Critter¡¯s dismay, the baker¡¯s face soon turned to a unbridled rage as he hurdled profanities at the lad on top of the wall, who was just out of reach of his pastry justice. Critter having seen that this would not end well if the baker did some how find a way ip to him, decided that it was time for a hasty retreat to his makeshift home. Rolling off the wall on to the the roof of the building Critter quickly and carefully ran across the edge farthest from where the baker was and slide down a drainage pipe to the ground. He caught a few weird glances from onlookers but they all decided whatever the boy was doing wasn''t worth their time and let him go unimpeded. Critter decided to put a little more distance between himself and the baker before he felt safe. He knew that the big man was far to heavy and out of shape to climb on the garbage cans like him much less trounce his way across a clay titled roof. This idea of the big man sliding around on the shifting tiles brought Critter a good level of amusement and also made him further appreciate the brilliance of his own plan. Sure he had lost to cake he had worked so hard to steal but he had also made a perfect escape. He was definitely the smartest and most daring guy in town he thought as he shifted from main street into a smaller side street. Maybe if he kept up these amazing heist he had been pulling lately he would finally get rid of this stupid nickname that everyone called him. Seriously what even was a critter, he wasn¡¯t sure but it didn¡¯t sound like faltery to him. He wanted a name that would be as momentous as the deeds he would accomplish, something that could be recorded in history and not laughed at. To get a new name though he knew that he would need more than just a few brazen ¡°heist¡±, he would need to start a new life. He would need to live a life of heroics or else he would just stay Critter, named only for pawing through garbage and his unkempt hair. Critter had now put quite a distance between the bakery he had stolen from and his current position while he was lost in thought over his name. It wasn¡¯t his fault he had no parents to name him, they had given him up when he was only a baby and with no family he had been left at the old town orphanage were he acquired his current monicker. At 15 he had decided he would be better off on his own than with those ingrates at the orphanage, they wouldn¡¯t know a genius like him if it bit them. Critter gritted his teeth and angrily spit on the ground as if to get the bad taste of the past out of his mouth. He then turned to a small abandoned house he was currently living in. It was a small single story house with several busted out windows and gray paint peeling off its walls to show the wood underneath. It was definitely rundown, Critter thought as he stopped to gaze upon the house, but it keeps the rain out and that¡¯s good enough for me. He reached for the handle of the door to open it when it suddenly was thrown open and he was sent tumbling back out into the road. Sprawled on his back, Critter coughed as the dust around him cleared. He then pushed himself onto his elbows to see what had just happened. His answer came in the form of a man most referred to as Branch, mainly due to his lanky appendages. The tall, lanky man loamed in the doorway letting the shadow to the house partially obscure his face.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I thought I told you this house was mine now,¡± said Branch, his words slurring as he was clearly drunk. ¡°You said that about the last two houses I¡¯ve lived in!¡± Exclaimed Critter, shakily clambering to his feet. ¡°All of these houses are mine and you¡¯ll stay out of them if you know what¡¯s good for you!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t own these houses.¡± Said Critter feeing rage build in him. ¡°You¡¯re just a drunken joke of a thing that used to be a adventurer¡± ¡°You!!!¡± Shouted Branch. Critter had really done it this time. He had always heard that Branch was extremely sensitive about his past as an adventure due to his failure to obtain a gold rank which would have given him the right to become a knight. As rage burned brightly in Branch¡¯s eyes, Critter decided it was time to make his exit. Critter spun and dashed as hard as he could up the street with a drunken, anger ex-adventurer in hot pursuit. Just as Critter made it to end of the street when Branch clocked him in the back of the head sending him sprawling yet again. As he tumbled and slide Critter collided with something hard and solid. Critter quickly turned to graze at the charging Branch who stormed towards Critter until he was only a foot away from were Critter lay. Then suddenly Branches eyes shot from Critter to something above him and all the rage and color drained from his face to only be replaced with absolute terror. In a truly pitiful display Branch tried to turn and run when a enormous black armored hand shot out at lighting speed and lifted him into the arm by his neck. Critter, shocked by what was transpiring, glanced up to to see that he had crash landed directly onto a terrifying and furious black Knight. Knight is scary Ten minutes earlier¡­ Knight has arrived the city while letting out a sigh of relief. The tension and unease he had felt in his mind when he had felt during his walk had been slowly been building during his brief his journey. It had got so bad at one point he had started to jog towards the city only for the feeling to ease up to a more bearable tug forward. With this bringing him some comfort he was finally able to ease his pace back to a walk until the end of his trip. Now having arrived at the gates of the small city he could finally begin following his newly acquired rule. First he need to take a quick look around the city and then he could finally make his way to the capital. As Knight strolled through the city, his mind wondered to his upcoming journey north, it would be much colder up there so he was hopeful that would mean less bandits. Going to the capital always made him happy because it allowed him to see his dear friend li- and suddenly his mind snapped back into action as his rule flared back into his consciousness with a vengeance. This could only mean that his rule was about to be broken and he would not stand for it. Knight took off in a dead sprint, although he wasn¡¯t sure where he was going he knew that his rules would pull him to his destination like it always did. Too many people that knew about Knight¡¯s rules they suspected that his rules where some kind of magic that had bound him during some kind of evolving oath but Knight knew he had made no such thing and simply thought the pull of his rules was due to intuition and luck. As Knight came to an impasse on the main road and a side road he frantically began to search the streets until his eyes landed on the young boy fleeing up the street like his life depended on it. Knight also gleamed from the situation that the kid¡¯s life may very well be on the line in this race due to the infuriated man chasing him. Although Knight didn¡¯t possess any magic to analyze the man, his years of experience as a martial artist told him that the man was planning and able to easily kill the lad he was chasing. Knight planned to intercept the man after the lad had ran past him, but with a sudden hit to his head sending him sprawling, Knight decided that this plan was no longer viable. Luck was on the youth¡¯s side however because as he tumbled he happened to land right onto Knight¡¯s feet. At first, Knight assumed this would cause the man to end his chase now that he had involved another man but much to Knight¡¯s dismay, the man¡¯s bloodlust seemed to have taken over his mind. The lanky drunkard simple continued his pursuit without even glancing at Knight¡¯s imposing figure. Knight quickly analyzed the man strength and assumed that the man was probably a berserker due to his current frenzy. Nodding to himself Knight waited for the man to grow closer and with lightening quick reflexes struck out at the man with a open hand which found purchase around the lanky man¡¯s throat. This is when Knight went from calm and calculating to enraged. Upon grabbing the man Knight discovered two things. Firstly the man wasn¡¯t a berserker because as soon as Knight touched the man, his eyes snapped onto Knight and went wide with fear which led to Knight¡¯s second discovery. This perfectly sane man had been chasing a kid while exuding killing intent, unlike his first assumption where he assumed the man was suffering from the affliction of his skills. Disgusted and infuriated that a full grown man would dare try to kill a child, Knight simply hoisted the lanky man into the air with one arm. Sensing that he had made a grave mistake, Branch frantically pulled trying to wretch himself from Knight¡¯s grasp only to find that he was truly stuck in the steel bear trap that was Knight¡¯s grasp.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You dare try to kill a mere child!¡± Cried Knight, his words filling the streets with his own killing intent. ¡°A full grown man such as yourself, and a adventurer nonetheless. I will not let this stand! I challenge you to a duel to the death! Accept and face your doom!¡± Upon hearing this Branch¡¯s eye flew wide open before narrowing and letting a smug smile appear on his face. In Branch¡¯s mind, he realized something. Although he had offended a knight, as long as he didn¡¯t accept the duel the knight wouldn¡¯t be able to kill him. Knights were honor bond by their oaths to not kill civilians unless they have committed a major offense and technically he hadn¡¯t done anything yet that would allow Knight to kill him unless he accepted the duel. ¡°I decline the duel.¡± Choked Branch, his neck still firmly in Knight¡¯s grasp. ¡°Now release me!¡± This is when Branch realized that he may have not have thought his plan through as the dark knight in front of him let out a grim chuckle. ¡°As you wish,¡± responded Knight with a hint of dark amusement in his voice. Without another word Knight suddenly spun with grace one would not think would be possible in his heavy armor, hefting Branch over his shoulder before throwing him head first at the nearby alley wall. The man was clearly stunned by his sudden rapid departure from the large man as he sailed through the air. Branch¡¯s musings about his predicament didn¡¯t last long as he collided with the stone brick wall. With a sickening snap, both of Branch¡¯s arms bent into awkward shapes after trying to cushion his impact. They appeared to have only been somewhat successful in their attempt as the rest of branch was a mess instead a wet stain on the wall. His nose was smashed and several of his teeth were now more worse for the wear as his arms had only slowed him enough to not smash his head open upon impact. Although Branch was clearly not in great shape from the crash he had retained his consciousness during the event which was somewhat amazing but that were his luck ended. As Branch rolled onto his back he saw a silent not stock his way turns him. Fear radiated from Branch as he let out a scream and yelled, ¡°No you can¡¯t kill me think of your oath! Think of your oath!¡± Trying and failing to escape Knight by shuffling backwards. Upon hearing this Knight slowed his pace until he came to a stop at Branch¡¯s feet. In a cold and certain voice Knight spoke, ¡°I have no such rule,¡± and with one strong stomp crushed Branch¡¯s chest with his metal boot. The crack of his ribs and the wet popping sound of Knight¡¯s foot being pulled out of his chest was the last thing Branch heard as his life ended. Knight then let a sigh escape him, shook his head, and turned around to where he had left the injured youth. Much to Knights dismay the young lad was nowhere to be found. ¡°Great!¡± Knight thought aloud. ¡°Why are new rules aways so hard to follow?¡± Crit鈥檚 Grand Escape Critter ran as fast he could through the abandoned building thinking back on the scene that had just unraveled before him. He had been moments from death when suddenly a huge man had intervened. At first he was both shocked and grateful at the man for at least delaying his doom, but everything changed when the man lifted Branch into the air with only one hand. Critter quickly realized that he should flee when the armored man began shouting about a duel. Although he wasn¡¯t quite sure about the rules of a duel, he knew that it was serious business. So in a truly brave and heroic display Critter crawled between the tall man¡¯s legs and fled in the direction that the knight couldn¡¯t see. Once he was far enough away that he was sure that he wouldn¡¯t get caught up in the crossfires of the duel he quickly slowed his pace and entered an abandoned two story house. From there Critter quickly ran up the stairs, making sure to skip over a few of the broken steps, and up to the window. ¡°Finally,¡± Critter thought, ¡°I get to see that drunken loser get what¡¯s coming to him.¡± Although Critter wouldn¡¯t go as far as to say he hated Branch, he definitely didn¡¯t like him. Branch had beaten him up on more than one occasion for stealing but Critter knew that was just the risk of the trade. As Critter peered down from the window he watched as the large knight slung a helpless Branch into a wall. Critter had never seen a duel before but he was sure it wasn¡¯t supposed to go like this. As he watched, he saw an injured Branch say something. Critter knew how to read lips because he was a genius and could easily make out that Branch was cursing the Knight and demanding a rematch. Critter felt smug, for who less besides him could deduce the words of a man from this far anyway besides him and maybe a master ranger. Critter stopped patting himself on the back quickly as he was horrified at what followed. With a quick stomp the black knight caved in Branches chest. Critter almost tripped over himself stumbling away from the window to puke. Critter had never imagined that the knight would kill Branch so suddenly, or at least after injuring him so badly. He had thought that the duel was over after Branch had lost the use of his arms. Critter wretched as the image of Branch¡¯s last moments replayed in his head as he fought to keep himself from collapsing. Critter pulled himself into the corner of the room and sunk into its shadows. His mind agonized over the death of Branch, the horrific death he had caused, until his mind was pulled back to reality by a creaking sound of a door being nudged up. Quickly Critter¡¯s mind ran through all the possibilities. Did he leave the door open? No, he had made sure to close it behind him. Could it just be another vagrant? Definitely not after what had just happened on the street, everyone was hunkered down for the commotion outside to die down. This left one option, it was the murder knight. But why would he be coming into this house? This is when Critter remembered he had landed in the man¡¯s legs. The knight probably wasn¡¯t satisfied with just killing one man after being dirtied by a peasant like him. Critter considered his options frantically as he heard the knight downstairs. Should he stay and hide or should he make a break for it? Considering that the knight had already found the house he hid in, Critter deduced that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from this man, at least not here. This left Critter with escape being his only chance. He knew that going down stairs was out of the question unless he wanted to end up on the wrong side of a knight¡¯s boot and with a massive drop going out of the window was also out. This left Critter with only one option, one that he didn¡¯t like, he would have to attack the knight and then flee while he was disoriented. Critter knew this was a terrible plan but he also knew that if he stuck quickly then it could work. So Critter quickly searched the room for a weapon before finding a wooden plank that was a little less than half his height that would work. Critter quickly and quietly snuck behind the door as he heard someone climbing the stairs. Closing his eyes, Critter intently listened to the man growing closer and closer to the room. Through the sliver between the door and wall, Critter saw a armored foot break through the threshold and into the room. As quickly as Critter could, he swung his makeshift weapon up in a low arc in a spinning fashion with its destination being the knight¡¯s chin. At first Critter thought he had won, his belief was that as long as he wasn¡¯t discovered before he swung there was no way anyone could react in time to him. Critter now discovered that this was not just anyone that he was dealing with, as the plank curved through the air the knight suddenly moved his hand out from his body around the height of his chest and brought it down hard on the end of the board. This action was the last thing Critter saw as something very hard connected with his chin, sending him quickly out of the realm of the conscious. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A Hasty Exodus Knight could only watch as as the boy¡¯s head snapped up towards the ceilings and he quickly crumpled to the floor. He then let out a sigh and walked over to peer down at the boy. Why did he have to try and attack him? Now he could only stare down at the boy and shake his head. Knight had come into the house looking for the boy and could feel the subtle shift on ki in the air upstairs. As he walked up the stairs he heard something right inside the door and assumed that the kid was waiting for him. What Knight hadn¡¯t expected was the kid had armed himself with a wooden board. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the room the kid had attacked and unfortunately Knight¡¯s instincts kicked in. He protected his head from the strike by striking the plank, unfortunately for Critter, the kid was holding the board with both hands and when it was struck he lost his grip with one of his hands turning the board into a lever with which the apex of its path was the kid¡¯s chin. Knight knew his decision on how to explain this accident to the kid after he woke up would be critical but unluckily Knight had a rule stating that if someone died immediately after refusing one of his duels then he had to leave the town immediately, it just so happened this helped him avoid being imprisoned sometimes. So now Knight had a decision to make, should he leave the town immediately by himself and possibly leave this kid injured and unconscious or should he take the kid with him and head out? Of course this was a no brainer for Knight at the time, so he scooped up the young lad and placed him over his shoulder. Knight then set out for the nearest exit gate to the city. He was only stopped once on his way out by a city guard but after a quick growl and shot of killing intent the guard decided that maybe the knight was just carrying a incredibly kid shaped sack of flour. Once free of the city, Knight increased his pace to trot until it disappeared behind the coverage of the forest. Knight felt that his rule was satisfied and decided that it was time for him to make camp and wait for the lad to wake up. The first hints of stars were beginning to appear on the sky when the camp was finished being set up. The camp was nothing impressive but considering that Knight only had the small amount of camping supplies he keep in his bag of holding, it was pretty nice. He had only set up one tent because he intended to stay up and outside all night to keep watch over the boy and had a small campfire blazing. Knight moved the boy into the tent and made sure to tie his hands and feet so that he wouldn¡¯t do anything dumb and knock himself out again. After this Knight walked over to a tree on the other side of the campsite and sat down at it¡¯s base. He then moved into a lotus position and decided to check his rules before beginning his mediation, maybe he would be able to finally get to relax a little tonight.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Critter rolled over and realized three things; he was tied up, he was no longer in the abandoned house, and he had a massive headache. A little panicked, Critter twisted and turned trying to free himself from his imprisonment only to find that his bonds and headache were far too strong to break free of. Thus with nothing else he could do, Critter decided to observe his surroundings. There wasn¡¯t much to see from his position on the ground so Critter was able to slowly push himself up into sitting. His injured brain wasn¡¯t to happy about his sudden change in position however and decided to remind him of this with a sharp flair of pain shooting through his head. Critter let a small whimper escape before gritting his teeth and coming to a upright position. Looking down upon his body he saw that he was in more or less the same condition as he was yesterday, with several small cuts all over him from his falls. Critter also took some time to admire the intricate knots of the rope that bond his wrist and ankles, yep he wouldn¡¯t be able to untie them. It was at this point Critter began to truly ponder his situation. Where am I? I¡¯m clearly not in the city anymore but why would anyone kidnap me especially some rich knight. If he wanted revenge for his shoes he could ended me when¡­ wait how did I get knocked out. All Critter could remember was that he had a brilliant escape plan and then it was lights out, well he supposed it could have been worse. At least he had woken up mostly intact. He decided that it was probably best to go back to sleep until his captor returned, either way he wasn¡¯t going anywhere for a while and he always felt better after a nap when he had a traumatic brain injury. As Critter slipped back into sleep, Knight began to slip back into his mediation. The kid definitely surprised him by waking up mere hours after taking a blow to the chin that strong. Although no one would ever see it, under his helmet, Knight had a board grin plastered on his face. Yep it had been a relaxing night indeed. In the morning Knight got up and stretched little out a small yawn. Sure his mediation allowed him to recover his stamina and clear his mind but it still wasn¡¯t as good as sleep. Knight would definitely be dragging along on their trip today, which reminded him of something. Knight quickly drew his sword from the scabbard and flipped it through the air, catching it by the blade. He swiftly brought the hilt of the blade close to the ground as he crossed the campsite to the tent opening. This was when a very surprised Critter burst out of tent, his face seemed to go through all the stages of grief when he saw Knight. Critter made it maybe one more step before Knight brought his sword¡¯s hilt forward, catching Critter¡¯s foot and sending him sprawling for the third time in the past two days. As the dust settled, Critter stared up at the clear blue sky when suddenly a shadow was cast down on his supine form. ¡°If you¡¯re gonna be my apprentice, you really need to learn how to dodge that¡± Critter Reclassified Critter sat silently beside the campfire, quietly eating his breakfast of dried meat and fruit. He didn¡¯t often get to eat fresh fruit but was unable to truly enjoy its soft sweetness due largely in part to the intimidating man that sat across the fire from him. He still couldn¡¯t have believed what had happened only 1 hour prior. ¡°What?¡± Asked Critter, still lying flat on the ground. ¡°If you are going to be my apprentice then you need to at least be capable of dodging a leg sweep. I thought that would be obvious.¡± Knight stated in a scholarly tone ¡°Apprentice?¡± ¡°Oh right!¡± Exclaimed Knight ¡°I forgot to tell you that part. You¡¯ll have to excuse your master¡¯s memory sometimes, I can forget that others aren¡¯t as inclined to follow the rules as I am but I digress.¡± At this point Critter was pretty sure his concussion was playing a trick on him. ¡°So let me get this straight you saved me from a beating and now I have to be your apprentice? What kind of obnoxious rule is that? Wouldn¡¯t half of the world be knights if that was a rule?¡± ¡°You are quite right lad, that would be a terrible rule! Luckily for you that is not the rule I am referring to. I, am for lack of better words, am a man with very unique and strong beliefs. These beliefs culminate into what I call rules. Sometimes even I don¡¯t understand where certain ones come from, but I always follow them regardless.¡± ¡°But what does this have to do with me?¡± Critter desperately inserted into Knight¡¯s exposition. ¡°It has everything to do with you!¡± Knight said in a grand and certain tone. ¡°For you see, yesterday I received a new major rule! This rule said that I needed to head to the nearest town and find my apprentice. After I found you it altered to say that I was to train you to become a legendary warrior!¡± Upon the arrival of these words two things flowed through Critter¡¯s mind. One was that he had been kidnapped by a raving lunatic. The other thought was he was completely and utterly screwed. There was no way he could go back to town now that everyone had seen this knight kill Branch because of him and carry him off. Everyone in the slums would think he had made some kinda deal with the city guard and the only thing worse than the guards in the slums was the people that worked with them. I¡¯m definitely dead if I go back there, besides I have no idea where I am. Crit thought, Maybe it wouldn¡¯t hurt to let this lunatic teach me a thing or two about fighting until we reach the next town. He definitely knows what he is doing when it comes to beating people senseless.Critter knew that he had to play this carefully, he had seen what this man could do to an iron rank adventurer.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s say that I accept your offer to train me. What exactly would we be doing? You¡¯re not going to take me into the mountains to mediate in a cave or anything weird right?¡± Knight was a little taken back when he heard the child talk. He had not expected anything but outright acceptance. How often does this kid get deals like this? ¡°Well firstly, this isn¡¯t a offer. I will be training you and no you will not be in a cave mediating. What good would that even do?¡± ¡°I just thought that''s how people trained to be legendary fight¡­¡± Critter trailed off feeling a little embarrassed. He may have been a genius but that was at things that mattered, not training. ¡°No you will be learning the way I learned how to fight and survive.¡± ¡°And how was that?¡± Asked a nervous Critter. ¡°On the battlefield!¡± These words had shocked Critter so badly earlier that he had been unable to speak until now. He had simply let Knight lead him over to the fire for breakfast. Now that Critter had time to calm down and think, he decided that he should just accept his situation and make the most of it, it did work out well for him. ¡°So what should I call you master?¡± Knight seemed to pause for a second and finally said, ¡°No point in making this more complicated than it already is, just call me Knight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a name.¡± Critter said mostly on accident, his mouth had always seemed to get him in trouble. As Critter winced and waited for a smack to follow, none of which actually came, he heard Knight sigh. ¡°No, no it is not, but it is what I am called.¡± Knight then swiftly changed the focus off of him. ¡°What of you child what is your name?¡± Critter fought the urge to rebuke Knight for calling him a child but was able to hold himself back for the moment. Don¡¯t anger the man who turned Branch into a footprint, Critter thought. ¡°I don¡¯t really have one, but people call me Critter.¡± Knight felt a twinge of sympathy as they both shared a moment of silence and then spoke. ¡°I see we are in similar positions then,¡± Knight said with a small laugh. ¡°But that ends here. Critter is no name for someone that will be a legend and it is most certainly not the name of my apprentice. From now on you shall be known as Crit, to remind you of your past as Critter and your future as critical figure in history.¡± Crit was at a lose for words he had finally been named, not labeled but actually named. Crit, who had never really been wanted, had just been given the very first gift he had ever received, something that most people get before they can even realize they never had one. Sure it had been a stranger that had finally named him but for a boy that had only ever been addressed as a pest his entire life it was too much for him to handle. It was like for the first time in his entire life, someone had actually seen him as a person instead of just a nuisance. As a crack in Crit¡¯s heart that he didn¡¯t even know existed mended itself together, Crit hastily hid his face from his new master as tears started to stream down his face. Maybe he¡¯s not so crazy after all? ¡°Don¡¯t cry lad, if you hate the name that much I guess I could call you Ricky!¡± Knight said, clearly not sure what to do about his soon to be apprentices emotional outburst. Nope he¡¯s definitely insane! Crit thought has he cracked a small grin.