80 Ymiden 719
No one had come for him. No assassins in the night. Balthazar had become restless. It was more than a restlessness because he thought someone was after him, it was an unnatural drive for Balthazar to leave the city. An itch and an urge that had been inflicted on Balthazar... but by who? None other than his Rupture spark. He'd been in Yaralon for too long and he could feel the day was coming that he would be called elsewhere in search of knowledge or power. But for now he would enjoy that which he could of the city.
When the sun peaked in the sky, Balthazar went to the Temple of Raskalarn for some brawling. He'd first been paired with an experienced swordsman. The man carried two blades and wore soft leather armor. The duel wielder was fast and that made him lethal to many who had challenged him prior, but not to Balthazar. While the swordsman charged and hacked away, Balthazar dodged, twisted, and turned in fluid movements that kept him from the reach of the blades. Then when the opportune moment presented itself Balthazar rained an un-immortally fury of blows down on the swordsman who's soft leather armor did little to protect him from the impact.
After a small break to talk with some spectators, Balthazar was called back for another bout by a confident woman with her hair cut short. She carried a whip and a shield which presented Balthazar with a challenge he hadn't encountered before. He thought the whip would prove a more difficult obstacle to work around but when one lash of the whip caught him in the back after a fumbled kick, Balthazar realized the pain of being whipped was entirely bearable. After that he'd grew more confident in his strikes and eventually when the woman lashed out with her whip, Balthazar raised his forearm- allowing the whip to wrap around it- and caught the whip. He pulled the woman towards him and a brick like fist to her jaw knocked her unconscious.
Balthazar thought the woman was cute and tried to buy her a drink after the brawl but pride and a group of drunks kept the two apart. Balthazar was called out by two men who stank of whiskey and he went into the arena to answer the call. It was a set of brothers, one with dark hair and one with light hair. The dark one had a mace and the light one had two batons. They were more of a challenge than Balthazar thought they would be. He expected more bark than bite but the two attacked in tandem each time so while Balthazar could land a blow on one of them, the other would quickly land a blow on Balthazar. They were the first duel that he decided to utilize Defiance to succeed. Balthazar encased his arms in stone to better defend against the weapons of the brothers and from there the two seemed to fall into retreat. Balthazar charged at them with swings and kicks and they poorly defended themselves against the first few blows- struggling to land an effective counter strike against the now armored Balthazar- until the mage finally broke through their defense and slammed the brothers' heads together.
Now Balthazar stood in the arena again. He stood across the way from another unarmed man with his fists raised in a fashion similar to Balthazar's. The man was Henrich, and everyone was betting on him despite Balthazar's victories. The rumor was that Henrich had never lost a hand to hand duel but if Balthazar had his way, he would. There was a gentleman's agreement made not to utilize and weaponry or magic- an agreement made in sport. Yet as Balthazar stood across the arena from Henrich, he could begin to feel the weight of his prior fights. His muscles ached slightly and his hands drooped a little. Henrich seemed to be sizing Balthazar up when suddenly he burst towards Balthazar in a full sprint and the audience erupted in cheers.
Seeing his opponent rushing in, Balthazar forward. When Henrich dropped into a sliding kick to try and take Balthazar's legs out from under him, Balthazar leapt over Henrich and landed behind the man. Henrich quickly came up from his slide and jabbed at Balthazar who parried the blow with his forearm and jabbed Henrich beneath the left side of his rib cage. Henrich didn't seemed fazed by the blow at all and socked Balthazar across the jaw. Balthazar recovered quickly enough to block the next strike but then he chopped Henrich in the side of the neck and the man hardly seemed to feel a thing. Henrich drove his boot into Balthazar's chest.
Balthazar stumbled back, dazed by the strike, and Henrich pressed forward. His hits were harder than Balthazar thought possible. A blow to his stomach knocked the air from his lungs and then Henrich brought his two fists down on Balthazar's back like a hammer which brought Balthazar down to his knees. Before Balthazar could think to move, Henrich kicked him in he side of the ribs, rolling him onto his back.
Henrich mounted Balthazar and his two hand gripped the mage's throat. He began to squeeze like Balthazar's head was a bag of water he was trying to pop and Balthazar grabbed his arms to try and pull him off but Henrich seemed stronger. Balthazar looked into the bloodshot and wildly dilating eyes of Henrich as the man tried to choke the life out of him. His thoughts raced about what to do and then Balthazar remembered to remain calm, he could breath but he couldn't do anything if he panicked. The world began to blur and Balthazar socked Henrich with his right hand. Henrich seemed not to feel the strike and Balthazar continued to lose air. He socked Henrich again only to get the same result.
The corners of Balthazar's vision began to darken as he struggled for air.
Balthazar brought his legs up, wrapping them around Henrich's head and beginning to squeeze as best he could to try and choke the warrior but Henrich managed to pull his head free far easier than Balthazar was managing to escape Henrich's choking.
Balthazar- driven to desperation- did what he never thought he would do to gain an advantage. Balthazar socked Henrich where only Henrich's wife would have put her hand. That time he felt it. Henrich let out a cry and fell off Balthazar to the side. Balthazar rolled over and began to push himself up while coughing. Henrich continued rolling in pain on the ground. Balthazar stood and Henrich began to rise again.
This time when Henrich charged Balthazar did not meet him head on. He stepped aside and swiftly jabbed Henrich's ribs again- allowing Henirch to stumble a few steps past him. Henrich- like a bull- turned and charged again as if he hadn't felt the blow. This time when Balthazar sidestepped, he kicked the back of Henrich's knee causing him to stumble. Balthazar expect Henrich to stumble and then rise but he didn't, he stumbled, tripped, and crashed into the floor as his body began to convulse.
Balth stood shocked, thinking it was some sort of ploy for a few seconds before he realized it was not. Balthazar rushed over and rolled Henrich onto his back, the man's body shaking uncontrollably. Henrich was beginning to foam at the mouth and Balthazar looked over him quickly trying to figure out what was going wrong. Suddenly Henrich began to gag so Balthazar tilted his head back.
"Help! Someone help!" Balthazar screamed, forgetting where he was. The Yari's watched in confusion until it was too late. Henrich gasped for the last time and fell limp. Balthazar sat in the middle of the arena next to his body. He'd seen this before. This reaction... these symptoms. "No... no, it can't be..."
Balthazar began feeling around Henrich's pockets for the shred of evidence he needed to confirm his suspicions and he found it. A small vial in one of Henrich's pockets with a trace of the mixture left behind. The drug that had made Henrich numb to pain.
The drug that had shaped and ruined Balthazar's life.
Pray.
And it was in his city again.
