The Chess King Part 1

 "Pawns Weak Island"

The man in black armour stares intently through his cowl. Before him is a monstrous, stone fortress. Surprisingly, there aren't any guards. Being a bounty hunter by trade, he notes the lack of security and pushes forward. Too easily, the unlocked gate opens up and allows him entry into the grounds just outside the fortress. Romeelus as he is called, fingers his axe in expectation of trouble. He stops, listens and searches for something amiss. "So far nothing," he mutters. Reaching the double-doors made of solid oak he opens them. Peering inside he again spies no-one, and again nothing out of the ordinary.

This is the entryway into the fortress... Flickering torches evenly spaced along the walls provide the lighting. Romeelus the bounty hunter, with his fine art for detail, notes that each table seats twelve, six on each side. Two of the four tables don't have dust.

"Twenty-four men tops!" he adds to himself. "I like my odds." Glimpsing around, Romeelus spies two doors. One to the left and one to the right.

"Both seem well used," he thinks out loud. He heads left. As he opens the door he can hear the hushing of voices. "Bingo!" he says jumping into the room. The first thing he notices is that it is a huge room. The floor has black and white marble. Then he notices the eight soldiers standing side by side on the far side of the room. They stare straight at him but do not move a muscle.

"What an odd alignment??" the bounty hunter is momentarily perplexed. With quick thinking, he studies the floor, the men and the way they are positioned. "Their boss has an odd sense of humour. He is also wasteful on men." He takes a step forward. "C'mon Pawns! Come and get your promotion!" They begin their march toward him. As they move, Romeelus spies their plan.

"With their formation straight across I can't escape to the side. They hope to advance enough to surround me. Unfortunately for them, I'm no fool." With lightning speed, he reaches for his back and pulls out his crossbow and lets a bolt fly. One bolt embeds itself into a soldiers eye, and he falls to the ground face-first... The impact sends the bolt further back and he dies instantly. Another bolt hits a soldier right in the heart. He manages a shudder before he too is dead. The advancing pawns close the gap leaving six men across. With only three squares between them, they surge forward. Romeelus fires his last shot then throws his crossbow. The bolt hits the pawn in the thigh slowing him down. The crossbow hits him in the head knocking him out. Just as the five pawns reach him, the crafty bounty-hunter dive rolls forward into them. His body trips up two of the soldiers who can't stop because of their momentum. They fall clumsily to the ground.

Romeelus is already on his feet. "I can't use my axe yet!" he replies un-happily. "I need a shield against this many." With his sword and shield, he charges the three standing pawns. Keeping to their "game-plan," they try and circle him. "Be prepared to die, if you take another step," he gives them their one warning. Heedless, they come forward. The awesome bounty-hunter feints a stab, and swings in a cross-cut. The poor soldier never knew what hit him. As he falls, Romeelus swings again. One of the two pawns blocks it while the other swings at him. He blocks it easily with his shield. With lightning speed, he kicks one soldier in the stomach as he doubles over. Romeelus spins around the other Pawn's defence and stabs him in the back. When he drops, Romeelus keeps his momentum and rushes over to the one wheezing for air. He slices his throat. A gurgling noise ensues but soon stops as the pawn dies. Wheeling around; the man in black, bloodied armour awaits the tripped up pawns. They have finally disentangled themselves and have gotten up.

Romeelus pretends to drop his sword. Seizing the opportunity, and seeing him defenceless, they rush him. From out of nowhere daggers appear in his hand. They find their mark. One hits the pawn in his belly. The other hit his ear. With the fight taking out of him due to his massive gut wound, the bounty hunter smiles at the last man standing. The last pawn failed to see that the sword was merely laying horizontally on his feet. Shakily, the last soldier comes forward. In one motion, Romeelus flicks his foot. The sword comes instantly into his hand. He slices across and a surprised pawn stares down as his stomach opens up and his intestines fall out. Like a wild man, Romeelus looks around him. Only one soldier remains and his attention is drawn to trying to stop the bleeding the dagger had caused. In a rage Romeelus storms over to him.

"Who do you work for? Who is behind this?" he bellows while gripping the man by the shirt front.

"I-i-it i-is Felkinor! He ordered us to do this. H-h-he is a p-p-powerful rich man. He's got more surprises for you ahead. P-p-please let me go?" he begs. Romeelus drops him to the floor.

As he walks away he listens; he was never a trusting individual. Sure enough, the pawn is trying to sneak upon him. "That's gratitude for ya!" Romeelus stabs his sword backwards. The pawn gets skewered. Shaking his head sadly, he walks away to his next test.