//------------------------------// // Slavers. // Story: Dead Man's Luck // by kurapica //------------------------------//  I raced out of the inn towards where I heard the scream. When I arrived I found several ponies around a collapsed guard; he was still alive but was bleeding out due  to a cut on his side.  "One of your own people is bleeding out on the ground and all you can do is watch? someone get some clean cloth so he at least has a chance to survive!" I shouted as I took off my shirt to help stop the blood.  "Don't worry about me, even though I'm going to die; what I found out was well worth the price; these weren't some random foalnappings, the missing ponies were taken by slavers. There were only two that I counted: the one I saw and the one who attacked me. It was too dark to see who or what the first one was but I heard him say: 'Those mongrels will pay handsomely for these two.' " The injured guard said.  "Doesn't mean that I can't try to save you." I replied as one of the ponies came back with more rags.  "Heh, please he got me in the liver. See, they're already drenched in blood." He said as the rags became soaked in the red liquid.  "Well, I'm still going to try until some guards arrive." I said as I grabbed more rags.  By the time the guards arrived, the injured one was unconscious and there wasn't much anyone could do to save him. The guards told me that they'd handle it from hear so I made my way toward the guard barracks to tell the captain what the dying guard said. When I arrived, the captain was sitting at his desk and was obviously waiting for news on what happened.  "So, what happened?" The captain asked.  "Well, the good news is we've got a lead on who's taking your people; the bad new is that they're being sold into slavery and one of your guards died finding this out." I replied as I took a seat.  "As sad as it is that a soldier had to die to find this out, if it means we have information as to where they're going; he didn't die in vain. Was there anything else he told you?" He said as he took notes on what I was saying  "Yeah, he said there was at least two of them and he said they called who they were planning to sell them to 'mongrels'. They must not think very much of their buyers to call them dogs." Is said, joking at the end.  The captain thought for a moment before saying: "Aeren, you just helped me figure out who's taking them."  "Really who?" I asked  "The diamond dogs that live in the caves to the north-east; it's a week away, but it still fits into the time between the abductions.  "Diamond dogs?" I asked, confused as to what a diamond dog was.  "They walk on two legs like you, but they look like dogs and aren't very bright. They're probably using the slaves to mine gems and metal for them to eat." The captain explained.  "Sounds similar to goblins from my people's mythology except instead of eating them they just collect shiny objects out of greed." I said.  "I see, well I'm going to get some guards together and send them to try to save the ponies that were taken; I was wondering if you would care to join them.  "Of course, when would we be leaving?" I asked as I stood up.  "One week from today; I'm also going to have the blacksmith make some armor for you so you should probably head over there tomorrow." The captain said as he wrote out a note. "Here, give this to him, he'll get you a decent suit of armor free of charge. "Will do." I said as I started to leave. I made my way to the town well and drew some water to clean my shirt with. 'Looks like I'll be getting into a real fight soon enough; I wonder if these diamond dogs will be a challenge for me. Oh well, guess I'll just double up on my training to make sure I'm ready. I thought to myself as I scrubbed the last of the blood off. The next day I headed over to the blacksmith to have him start making my suit of armor. As I walked through the door the blacksmith greeted me, "Hello again, how can I help you today?" he asked. "Well, the captain told me you'd be able to make me some armor by next week; he also told me to give you this." I said as I handed him the note. "I see, I'll just need to take your measurements as I've never made armor for a creature with your body shape." the blacksmith replied as he pulled out several strips of leather to work as makeshift measuring tapes. he wrapped a strip around each arm and then loosened it slightly to make it so the armor would fit properly when it was finished afterwards, he used the remaining leather on those strips to make a knot so he could go back and reference it. He then did the same thing with the broadest part of my chest, my waist, and my wrists and ankles. when the blacksmith was finished he put the strips away and came back to me. " What kind of armor would you like me to make? I can make you a full leather suit or I could make you one made out of chainmail; which, though more durable would way a bit more." he asked. "Chainmail; and could you also reinforce my gloves and boots with iron so I don't lose them in a fight?" I replied "Of course, I'll have it all done in five days." the blacksmith answered. "Then I'll be back in five days." I said as I walked out the door and toward the inn to grab my gear. After I grabbed my gear I went to the guard barracks to see if I could find a sparring partner to test how I'd do in an actual fight. I found a Pegasus with a dark gray coat and a teal mane with yellow streaks that looked like lightning in it by the name of Howling Wind who was willing to spar with me. We took our places at opposite ends of the sparring ring and each of us took a wooden sword. Howling Wind was the first to make a move; after trying to find an easy opening in my stance and finding none, he tried to charge me and use his speed to hit me before I could dodge. I sidestepped him and simultaneously lowered my sword and cut forward to cut his side but he was too far away. I kept my weight on my front foot and pivoted toward my open side to block as he came in fore an overhead strike; I kept the block up until his sword had gone safely past me before turning the block into a diagonal cut aimed at the back of his neck. he ducked under it but I then turned the blade to go the other way and got the front of his throat instead. As he fell to the ground I stepped back to give him room. "Not bad, that stance is perfect for blocking an attack and then countering it." he said as he stood up. "You're not so bad either, but you're relying too much on your speed which leaves you wide open." I replied. "Well let's see how you handle this!" he exclaimed as he took to the air. I had to admit he was much more challenging in the air than on the ground. He would swoop in and get try to get a quick strike on either my arms or upper chest unless I blocked or dodged. This continued for a few minutes until I decided to even the playing fields. 'can't wait to see the look on his face when I fly toward him.' I thought to my self as I sprouted my wings and flew towards him as he was making another flyby. I was going to go for an uppercut when he changed course enough to dodge my attack. "Well, this just got a little more interesting; got any other tricks I should know about?" Howling wind asked as we flew back to a safe distance. "Just one, but a good poker player never shows his hand until the final round of betting." I replied. "Fair point, but I'm not gonna hold back anymore." he said as he got ready to attack again. "That's fine, neither am I." I replied as I did the same. We simultaneously charged each other and quickly began to trade blows. I quickly charged a magic attack and unleashed it on him at point blank, sending him flying across the sky. He quickly regained his balance and without a word, charged me again. We continued to trade blows until we were both too tired to fly any more and continued even after that until we both collapsed from exhaustion. By the time we were done we had half the town watching us. *pant* "Well," *pant* "I never expected you to" *pant* "expected you to be such a good fighter. It's been a while since someone even came close to beating me." he said as he laid there, hooves spread out like a ragdoll. couldn't say I was much better. *pant* "I underestimated you" *pant* "as well. We should spar" *pant* "again sometime." I replied between breaths. The rest of the day was a blur and I didn't do much other than sleeping for the rest of the day. The next morning, I was coming down to get some breakfast when the innkeeper shouted: "There's the talk of the town." "What, is Howling Wind that strong?" I asked as I took a seat and ordered an anime character sized meal. "Let's put it this way: the only reason that he's NOT captain, is because he'd never be willing to do the paperwork. I let out a laugh as I began eating. When I was finished, I went into town to get some extra supplies for when we went to see if we were right about the diamond dogs being the captors of the townsponies. As I was on my way to the general store I noticed quite a few of the locals were watching me with an amount of respect which they didn't before. 'Wow, fight one guy to a draw and this is how they treat me? I wonder how much more it'll be when we rescue their friends.' I thought to myself as I walked into the store. I restocked on arrows and made my way to the woods for some target practice. I continued to keep shooting until it was almost too dark to see and headed back. I spent the rest of the week practicing a new spell, and by the end of the week I could cast it in around ten seconds. The day before we were to head out, I went to the blacksmith to get my new gear. As I went inside, the blacksmith greeted me; "There you are; I just finished your armor as well as your boots and gloves." he said as he went to bring me my gear. "Here you go." he said as he brought it out. The shirt was long sleeved and hung just past where the pants started to avoid any lucky strikes, and the chain itself was made of high quality steel. The new boots and gloves looked like my old ones except for the steel lining in the heel and toes area for the boots. the same could be said for the gloves except there was steel on the backs of the hands and fingers instead. "Thanks." I replied as I began to try my new armor on. I started with the pants and which, though slightly too big; after I put the shirt on and used my belt to hold them, they fit perfectly and was surprisingly light. I took the shirt and pants off and put them into my backpack. I then went to the general store to get some extra food and other supplies for the mission. I bought a couple pounds of dried meat and a bag of nuts, as well as some extra cloth to use as a hammock. I then browsed for a while until I couldn't find anything else to buy. After I was done at the store I spent the rest of the day at the inn. That night I couldn't sleep, not because I was uncomfortable or worried; it was the opposite in fact, I was excited to test my skills against actual creatures that used crafted weapons. After about two hours I finally managed to fall asleep. I woke up just after dawn and put on my chainmail underneath my clothes to look like I was unarmored and made my way to the barracks to see who was going with me. When I arrived, I found Howling Wind and 3 others waiting for me. "This everyone?" I asked. "Not quite, we're still waiting for two others." one of the other guards, an earth pony replied. It took about twenty minutes for one of the two to arrive, and another half hour until the second did. I then got a better look at our group to see how each of them fought. there were three earth ponies one armed with a spear, one with a sword and shield, and one with a crossbow and dagger, all stallions; other than Howling wind who was carrying two swords instead of one this time there was a female pegasus with a longbow and a shortsword. Lastly there were two unicorns, one male, one female. The male was obviously a combat mage and he carried a small mace as his weapon in case of emergency. The female unicorn however was unarmed and didn't look like she would be much good in a fight so I went over and asked her about it. "Well, I only know a basic projectile spell that's not very powerful; but I'm good at healing magic. I can heal most of the minor wounds completely as well as make the others less severe." she said timidly. "I also have a spell that can reduce your fatigue for a little while." "Then you are probably one of the most important members of our team." I replied, which caused her to smile and walk away. Just then the captain came out of his office to address us; "Alright, as some of you have already heard; your mission is in regards to a possible lead as to where the missing townsponies may have been taken. We do not know for sure if they are indeed there, but we do know that wherever they are they have been sold as slaves. Your destination is the diamond dog caves to the northeast; and you are to go there and see if that is indeed where they've been taken. You need not kill any of the dogs, but if you see any of our ponies there, then you are to bring them home at any cost." he said, to which the ponies saluted. not wanting to be the odd man out I saluted as well. "I'll give you another hour to make sure you have everything you need, but after that your mission begins." he continued. I spent that time stringing my bow and sharpening my sword. After I was done sharpening my sword it was time to go so I quickly out it in its sheath and picked my bow up. As we were about to leave we heard the captain remind us: "And remember, don't attack them without cause." and with that we started to make our way to the caves.