The Knight and the Outlaw

Krist

(Part of another post, for further background see forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/155608/almost-home#latest )

Now.
The knight stood on the north end of the street. On his back was a shield, on his hip was an imperial sword. He held a long sword, of imperial fashion, in his hands. His armor was also imperial, and heavy as knights usually wore. He seemed almost unhindered by it's weight though, as if he had worn it many times over. It was made of blue steel, with a lion carved and outlined in gold on the chest plate. He came ready for combat.

Earlier.
"Do you have to fight him," Sweet Honey asked, as her and Red looked out over the town from the top balcony of the old church. Shadows were starting to get long, as mid day had already passed and the afternoon had set in. It was Tardes, if Red remembered correct.
"You know I do. What has gotten into you, Honey? You have seemed on edge since this guy came into town."
"I dont know. Nothing I guess. Something just feels strange about this guy. I can't quite place it though," she said with concern.
"Just another knight," Red said, dismissing the idea that something was different.
Honey checked all of the leather straps that kept Red's armor together. It was a hard leather armor, fit for movement, but strategically laced with iron for better protection. It also had inserted runes that offered him vitality, and some protection from physical harm. He had other magical armor, but he felt this set was best suited for this knight, who seemed to be less about magic or god power.
"After he is dead, I want us to leave this place. Not the gang. Just us. You have enough wealth now that we can get out of this life," she said, braiding his long hair back out of his face.
Red seemed to ponder the idea a moment, then nodded.
"Not a bad plan, Sweet Honey," he offered her a smile, then a kiss. "Mishken is ready to run the gang, and he will let us leave with no problems. I will talk to him after the celebration tonight."
"I am glad you said that Red," she patted his chest. "Now kill this knight that stands between us and our new life."
Red grinned, then simply nodded.

Now.
The warrior stood at the south end of the street, his long hair now braided out of his eyes. His armor was leather, but offered him good support and good mobility. It all appeared of Nord making. He carried a long serrated bastardsword in his hand, with two short swords hung on his side. There were no carvings in his armor, nothing to show any kind of loyalty. His banner was the long red hair, that gave him his name.

Earlier.
"Hey mister, are you leaving soon," the little girl asked from the door of his room, drawing Krist's attention away from his armor. It was polished and in good shape, but he always checked it before going into a battle.
"Soon," Krist said, then offered something of a smile. "You are Leah, correct?"
The little girl nodded.
"My daddy owns this place," she said. It was something she seemed to enjoy reminding people of.
"Your daddy is a good man, " Krist said.
"Why you doing that," she asked, entering the room now.
"Good to keep armor in shape. This will protect me from bad people."
"Daddy says Red will kill you soon, I heard him tell the baker that yesterday," Leah offered.
Krist didn't say anything at first, looking the little girl over.
"What do you think? Do you think he will beat me, or will I beat him?"
"He will beat you. Red always win," she shrugged. "He is nice to me too. He gives me candy and sometimes he gives me bracelets. Daddy dont let me keep them though."
"Your daddy is smart," Krist said. Leah nodded to that, but did not know why. It just seemed right.
Krist watched the little girl leave the room, then went back to polishing his armor.

Now
The wind began to pick up, as it did in the evenings here, causing the knight's cloak to begin to whip behind him. He paid it little mind, as he watched the large warrior. As Krist suspected, Red came alone, though Krist was not foolish enough to believe his men would not be watching from afar. It really did not matter. Red was the target, the one wanted, and the one that came to meet Krist. If anyone else became involved, Krist would have to deal with it. Red started walking towards Krist, and Krist began walking toward Red.

Krist

Now

The two met with swords, the serrated bastardsword of Red finding the Imperial sword of the knight in mid swing. The knight was better than Red thought in full armor. He knew this would not be easy, but the knight moved fluidly. He was a bit surprised. He figured the knight would be like many knights, dependent on the armor.
Red powered through the block, pushing the knight's sword back, and driving his shoulder into the knight's chest plate. The knight stumbled back a step, but countered with a kick to Red's stomach, pushing him back and off balance as well. The two began to circle, taking closer measure now.

Then

"We watched him a bit boss, he don't look too concerned, you know," Jorhan said. He was a stocky Nord, who saw plenty of his own fights. He was tough as iron, but did not have the intelligence of Mishken the Dark Elf.
"He may not be. Apparently he has won every fight he has ever fought, why would he think I would be different," Red said, stretching out. Red then picked up his sword with one hand and gave it some swings.
"He's Nord, but I don't recognize him none," Jorhan said.
"You concerned about this knight?"
"No sir, just saying I dont recognize him."
"He wears Imperial armor, meaning he has been civilized by the empire. They lose their edge. He is not going to be any different," Red said with little concern.
"Yeah, probably trained for military fighting. Shoulder to shoulder, that kind of stuff."
Red smiled a bit and nodded. He put his daggers into his boots, slid his long knife into it's sheath, and grabbed his sword again.
He took the sword off of a dead body when he was a mercenary fighting for a noble somewhere. He barely remembered who the noble was. They paid, he and his crew fought, till sides hardly mattered anymore.

Krist

Now

The large man knew how to make use of his sword's design, as the serrated edge caught Krist's sword, driving it down. Krist quickly slid the sword free with a spin, but exposed his back in the process. He created distance again, then sliced his sword through the air, completing the spin around, and hoping to catch the criminal with a cut in the process. It did not, but the two were now face to face again. With a thrust of his sword, aimed at Krist's chest, the warrior almost caught Krist with a killing blow. Krist used his armor to his advantage, and with a turn, caused the sword to graze the sturdy steel, and deflected the blow. He then struck Red with the long pommel of his sword, right in the side of the head. Though Red's helmet protected him, the blow was still stunning.

Then

Krist sat and ate breakfast, as the inn keeper watched him. He knew the man wanted to talk, but Krist did not wish to start the conversation. He was quite okay with no conversation, though he would not be rude. Finally the man spoke.
"So you fighting Red today," he said, not asked.
Krist was not sure how he knew this, since Krist was not completely sure he would be. He did have a feeling it would happen this afternoon. Red's men were keeping a close eye on him now, ready to report any strange, deceitful activity to their boss, no doubt. There would be no deceit.
"I suppose," Krist said, and looked to the inn keeper.
"My daughter likes you. She is scared you will be killed. She also likes Red, and is scared he will be killed," the man said.
Krist nodded, unsure what the inn keeper wanted from him.
"I hope you get rid of him, and I hope the group is driven out of the village completely."


Now

The knight had struck some well placed blows, but Red was able to deflect them. He did not have the advantage of the knight's armor, and was kept busy blocking the blows that came. The knight had rung his bell only a few moments before, with a blow to his head from the pommel. Red had to admit he was not expecting that blow at all. It seemed the knight blocked him and returned his own strike with every move Red made. He was just now noticing that he was actually bleeding from some superficial wounds, denoting that the knight had actually cut him. Though he hardly felt it, it was seldom that he was harmed in these kinds of battles.
Red was not worried though. He had many tricks still up his sleeve. The knight would continue to fight with honor, but Red was not bound to some knight code. He would fight to win. This would be his last fight as leader of the gang, and he planned on going out on two feet, not carried out on his back.

Krist

Krist ducked a mighty swing, that would have left most men off balance. It did not leave the big warrior Red anything but ready to swing his massive serrated sword again. The outlaw had apparently noticed he was losing the battle of swordsmanship to the knight, and decided to take it all up a notch.
Krist felt the piercing sting of the blade tip enter his side, before he spun from it and offered his own swing. He was sure he cut his opponent, but one could not tell by judging the attack of Red. Red just kept coming. He blocked, countered, or just side stepped blows even as Krist pressed.
At some point Krist realized he was no longer doing anything but defending. It was at this point he felt the dagger enter his chest, through his armor. It did not go in deep enough to kill, but it caused Krist to push back and away from the outlaw.
He never saw the dagger coming, but there it was, sticking out of his chest plate.
Krist removed the blade, stumbling a bit as he did, and tossed it to the ground. Exhaustion was already starting to set in, and now he was bleeding pretty bad under his armor.
"I dont play by your rules, Imperial," the outlaw smiled, then spit out some blood.
Krist removed his helmet in order to take deeper breaths, and tossed it to the side.
"I am Nord," he replied, as the two blades met again. This time Krist would have to be more cautious.

The swords clanged together as Sweet Honey watched from a distance. Red would kill anyone that tried to help him, even though the knight he fought was very skilled, and had the potential of killing Red. Her lover had to know he was in danger of just that. Honey was skilled with daggers, somewhat with a bow. She relied more on stealth and caution than fighting though. Sure, the common drunk would find themselves on the bad end of a knife if they got careless with her, but she was always amazed at the ferocity of Red with a sword.
Now she was also amazed at the skill in which another Nord used his sword. The knight was less rage and anger, and a bit more refined. In fact, even as Red cursed the man and yelled in anger, the knight silently went about his own work. She barely heard him utter "I am Nord". Neither seemed to pay much attention to their wounds.
Red dodged another slice from the knight, then drove his sword for a killing blow at the knight's chest. The knight dodged the blow, then caught Red's arms under his own. With one quick blow, the knight's blade went into Red's chest, and exited his back.
Red fell to his knees, then crumpled over.
Sweet Honey heard someone scream.
It took her a moment to realize it was actually her screaming.

Krist was exhausted, even as blood dripped from under his chest plate. He looked down at the outlaw who was now dying. Both were bloodied and ragged. Krist knew he had potential of being dead soon as well, but the work was done. It took a moment to sink in that he heard a woman screaming, and looked about to see who it was. He could not find the source.
The outlaw was gasping hard, blood coming from his mouth now. Krist removed his sword from the man's chest. He realized the outlaw was trying to grab his sword. The outlaw was Nord, he would die with sword in hand.
Krist picked the serrated sword up and placed it into Red's hand.
Red gave a nod, and Krist gave one back.
The outlaw was dead.

Krist had already saddled and prepared his horse. He knew he would have to leave quickly, before the other gang members decided not to honor their bosses last wishes. As he made his way to the stables, he looked back to see a single female wood elf laying over the dead outlaw.