Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Adam and Patches


            Mist settled over a quiet little harbor town. The sound of waves mixed with the drunken laughter of the people from the Inn. in this sleepy town a small boat docked without anyone even noticing. A tall man muscular man stepped from the boat, his heavy boots making a loud thud when he stepped down on the dock. The man wore a long sleeved, baggy, gray shirt, black pants, heavy boots, thick workers gloves and a large, blue woolen scarf that covered his neck and mouth. The night air was frigid and besides the heavy scarf, the rest of the man’s clothes didn’t look like they would keep a normal person warm on such a night. Besides his clothing, the tall man wore a long chain wrapped around each arm. He was a menacing figure to see in the night, with his large frame, heavy footsteps and the sound of clanking chains as he moved. Next to step off the boat was a small, black cat with pale blue eyes. He had a tiny chain around his neck, though it was for decoration and hardly weighed anything. It seemed strange for a menacing figure to be walking around with a small cat, but no one yet had been brave enough to mention this.

            The tall man and the cat, Adam and Patches, walked along the cobblestone path, through the middle of town, they were stopped by a man holding a sword in each hand, the swords pointed outward and the swordsman stood as if waiting for the tall figure to arrive at this port. “You must be Adam the chained man. You have a hefty price on your head, not sure why. It doesn’t seem that you’re a criminal, but a bounty is a bounty” The bounty hunter said. “you know my name, but I do not know yours” Replied Adam, his voice was calm, but was distant as if his voice came from the air around them. The scarf his Adam’s mouth, but since it was just the two of them in the street, the bounty hunter knew it was Adam who asked. “My name is Syrad the bounty hunter” Replied Syrad. This bounty hunter wore a long, heavy coat to protect against the chill and rain and a regal looking hat with a small feather. His shoes and pants looked durable for travel but also fancy as if this man had royal blood. He even wore white fencing gloves. “your pretty well dressed and groomed for a bounty hunter. Whats wrong, tired of all the nobleman parties and fox hunting, so you decided to try your hand at bringing in people?” Asked Adam mockingly. His voice came from all directions, it was haunting. Syrad gritted his teeth. “I am a perfectly capable fighter, so surrender or I will kill you and drag your corpse back myself” Syrad shouted holding his swords out to fight. Then he smiled “or better yet, I will pay someone to drag your corpse back for me” He laughed, turning the joke around in his favor.

            Adam didn’t flitch or even reach for a weapon, he stood there ready for Syrad to advance. “are you ready, Patches?” Adam asked. After a moment of silence Adam replied “good, lets get this over with” Syrad rushed the tall man and swung his swords. his form was professional and his duel swords would make short work of anyone. The sword strikes were fast and to an average person the blades became blurs in the air. The swords made a sickening ‘thunk’ as they sank into flesh. Syrad smiled as he looked at now stabbed and slashed Adam. Syrad’s smile quickly faded when he realized he stabbed a post and Adam was nowhere to be found. Syrad turned around to see the large man’s chain covered fist fly toward his face. Adam’s fist connected with the force of a sledgehammer. Syrad’s head flung backward and he hit the ground. Adam stood over his downed opponent only to be struck in the back with an arrow. Adam let growl of pain and turned quickly to see Syrad had brought back up. The archer was loading another arrow when, like lighting, Adam had closed a large distance in a flash. Adam’s eyes glowed a pale blue and he wound his arm back. Before the archer could react, chains flew through the air and wrapped around the archers neck. Adam flicked his arm and shot the archer into the air like a sling firing a rock. The Archer flew over houses and landed into the ocean close to the shore. Syrad stood back up and quietly ran up behind Adam, ready to strike with his swords. but the black cat stopped him. With surprising skill and ability the cat jumped into the air and looked as if it could fly as it dashed through the air and tackled Syrad. Such a small cat wouldn’t knock over a full grown man, even if thrown, but this cat hit Syrad with such intense force it knocked the bounty hunter back down again. The cat’s eyes glowed with the same intensity as Adam’s eyes and it seemed that they were connected some how.

            “you did indeed find the Adam you were looking for, but made a few common mistakes” Said Adam as he and Patches walked toward Syrad. “First you underestimated patches, secondly, you confused me for a cat” Said Adam. Adam the black cat stepped onto Syrad’s chest. The cat’s glowing blue eyes seemed to be controlling Patches, the large man, who wasn’t actually a man, but a Golem with moderate to low intelligence. Syrad was speechless, so Adam continued. “I don’t know if you care for anything more than the money, but please know that I am only being perused because of my gifts. I am a wizard trapped in the body of a cat, but still incredibly useful to other wizards who want to learn my secrets. So that is why the gold is high, but the information is close to nothing” The cat finished talking then delicately jumped off Syrad and walked away. “Now you have two choices, surrender or die” Adam said. Patches now stood looming over Syrad, his breath escaping into the cold night air as he stared down at the bounty hunter with murderous intensity. “I Surrender…”Syrad said meekly.

            As if they had a life of their own, the chains wrapped back up onto the arms of Patches the chained man and the loyal golem turned to leave town with his master, the Magical cat Adam.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The long Night Walk

 It was a dark October night. A cold wind swept through the town, leaves blew through the air and the tree branches shook as if the trees th...