Dedalous
12-02-09, 07:14 AM
I was heading back to the inn I was staying at, having just got my passport checked to enter the city. I stared and studied the city around me. I was amazed, baffled. I was just a poor country girl, having never been in a big city in my life. It was beautiful. My sensei had finally proclaimed me ready to explore the outside world, and I had jumped at the chance. I came from a small group of traveling people in the middle of nowhere, my sensei having picked me out of a group after I kicked a bully’s butt. I passed shop owners advertising their services, proclaiming that their products were better than all the others of the same type. I passed jugglers, performers, and instrumentalists performing in the street. I passed amazing buildings that were taller than anything else I had seen before. And I witnessed the evils of the big city, pickpockets, thugs, and crooks. Suddenly, because of my inattentiveness, I felt a small, sharp object pressed into the small of my back.
"Do as I say, and I might let you keep your spleen," a deep voice growled from behind me. He led me into an alley, dark, and damp. My martial arts training kicked in, and I just relaxed, letting him lead me. Options began running through my head, possibilities for me to escape with my life.
I could run, but what if the thing pressed into my spine was a crossbow? I could turn and fight, which seemed my only option, but what if he was stronger or a better fighter than me? I cursed my luck that I had left my Katana and bow in the inn. I could have easily beaten him if I had had them. I decided to go for it, to try to best this man in hand to hand combat, but I had to wait for the right moment. He led me deeper into the alley, until the bustle of the street was just a dim murmur in the background. I waited. He jerked me to a stop, about thirty feet into the alley. And still, I waited.
“Give me all of your coin and jewelry, now.” He grunted. As he said this, he began to back up, slowly, deliberately, as if he was just waiting for me to try something. I slowly put my hands up, spinning around. Now was my chance. A shot of adrenaline coursed through my body. I lunged at him, a void of emotionless, thoughtless space springing up, surrounding my mind. I noticed that he was holding a small stiletto dagger, just enough to be lethal. The thought skittered off the void, like a rock skipping on a pond.
I threw a punch with the heel of my hand, but he ducked. He went to slash at me, and I blocked, dimly remembering to use the outside of my forearm. His wrist stopped dead, and I took that split second to wrench his arm around until he dropped his knife. I came around with a roundhouse kick to the head, nailing him in the jaw. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, crumpling under the blow. I drew back, and snapped a punch at the base of his neck. He groaned, and fell into unconsciousness. I came up to a ready stance, already scanning my environment for the next threat, the adrenaline still pulsing through my body.
"Do as I say, and I might let you keep your spleen," a deep voice growled from behind me. He led me into an alley, dark, and damp. My martial arts training kicked in, and I just relaxed, letting him lead me. Options began running through my head, possibilities for me to escape with my life.
I could run, but what if the thing pressed into my spine was a crossbow? I could turn and fight, which seemed my only option, but what if he was stronger or a better fighter than me? I cursed my luck that I had left my Katana and bow in the inn. I could have easily beaten him if I had had them. I decided to go for it, to try to best this man in hand to hand combat, but I had to wait for the right moment. He led me deeper into the alley, until the bustle of the street was just a dim murmur in the background. I waited. He jerked me to a stop, about thirty feet into the alley. And still, I waited.
“Give me all of your coin and jewelry, now.” He grunted. As he said this, he began to back up, slowly, deliberately, as if he was just waiting for me to try something. I slowly put my hands up, spinning around. Now was my chance. A shot of adrenaline coursed through my body. I lunged at him, a void of emotionless, thoughtless space springing up, surrounding my mind. I noticed that he was holding a small stiletto dagger, just enough to be lethal. The thought skittered off the void, like a rock skipping on a pond.
I threw a punch with the heel of my hand, but he ducked. He went to slash at me, and I blocked, dimly remembering to use the outside of my forearm. His wrist stopped dead, and I took that split second to wrench his arm around until he dropped his knife. I came around with a roundhouse kick to the head, nailing him in the jaw. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, crumpling under the blow. I drew back, and snapped a punch at the base of his neck. He groaned, and fell into unconsciousness. I came up to a ready stance, already scanning my environment for the next threat, the adrenaline still pulsing through my body.