Disclaimer: I do not own Fable
A/N: NO I AM NOT DEAD. Sorry, just wanted to say that all in CAPS. Anyways, yeah I know its been slow. Writer's block and what not. The true turning point was when I have to recover all of the fanfics I did, including several chapters of this story, after my computer crashed and burned. So yeah, sorry for the shortness and probably next to none crap action but I'm working on making these longer and better. Just please be patient.
Blackness was all that greeted Sabre when he opened his eyes. Looking around, he could see that he was in what looked to be a crudely made hut. His blade was gone and the wounds he suffered from the earlier battle were dressed and fixed. Sabre groaned inwardly as he remembered what happened during the fight.
Sabre drove his blade into a man's chest, driving it upwards and cleaning cleaving the man's face. Casting a fire ball behind him to ward off the potential sneak attack he knew was there. Ducking under a swipe from a bandit's blade, he parried it with his right hand, slicing through his mid-section. Sabre sweated slightly as he realized that he only had mana potions left and his lack of healing spells was an extreme problem.
As his fatigue grew, so did his wounds. A bandit slashed his back in an X mark while the mysterious stranger threw several stars at him. Blasting away some bandits in fiery death while using his left hand to deflect the projectiles with his sword, the battle wore on like this for a long time. Sabre would suffer wounds and block, nothing more. As his strength failed him, Sabre collapsed to his knees and shed a tear.
His mind wandered back to Oakvale, how he spent his life training to avenge them yet he would fall here. He closed his eyes as the mysterious figure approached him, pulling out a dagger. He smiled evilly as he dipped it in some sort of vial.
"Nighttime hero boy." He said as he stabbed him in the back.
Sabre struggled slightly, ropes binding his hands together. The hero stared out into the open doorway of the hut he was held captive in, a fire pit looming shadows everywhere while the bandits laughed and drank deeply. Sabre wanted to escape but couldn't, his sword taken away and his wounds too serious for hand-to-hand combat between the beasts that wandered the forest at night.
The hero struggled harder, agitated at how his months of strength training did nothing against breaking free from a few strands of tightened rope. Sabre kept trying to break free, yet he finally stopped when the mysterious figure entered. He smiled at him; the fire illuminated his evil grin.
"I have an offer for you. I'm going to push you out there, and if you can knock out everyone dancing without your hands, I'll tell you who I am."
The stranger pulled out his dagger and cut Sabre free, pushing him out outside into a dirt ring. Bandits were circling him, swaying from left to right as the beer that entered their system affected them. Sabre cracked his neck before tripping one of the dancers and stealing his drink. Smashing the mug upon the ground, the hero eased into a stance, ready to fight.
The first few bandits that attacked rushed at him from the left. One man had a knife while the others wielded broken bottles of rum. Sabre dodged expertly, swaying his body to avoid the glass while kicking his offenders in the gut and then curb stomping them in the neck. The first few bandits fell as such, but the next wave was smarter. They were more cautious, making sure their swipes were more accurate and combined. Sabre was having a hell of a time dodging; his swift movements were almost a blur as he fell into a pace.
Sabre ducked and then did a leg sweep, knocking over a few bandits into each other. Slamming his foot down into each of their face's, he head butted a taller man in the nuts and used his kneeing form to jump high in the air and roundhouse kick the last bandit in the face. As the groaning bodies of the bandits laid on ground, the mysterious figure looked at him from the hut and walked forward to Sabre and handed him his sword.
"Well, it's been a while. Come on; follow me to my personal home. I have much to tell you."
Sabre was sitting in a comfy home back at Bowerstone. He was tapping his fingers in boredom as the figure sat opposite of him sipping an entire bottle of beer. The figure kept staring at the sun dial he had situated in the living room.
"Well, to begin. I'm your cousin."
The blank stare that greeted him was more than enough to be said that Sabre did not believe what the bandit had said. He was ready to voice his disagreement when the bandit held his hand up for silence. Pulling down the hood that covered his face, Sabre had his first real look at his mysterious attacker. The man had a scar that ran through one of his eyes, yet the didn't impair his ability to see. The mop of black hair was slightly dirty and unhealthy looking. The black eyes that bore into his Sabre's own made sure to get the message across. This man wasn't lying.
"You know, back when Oakvale was still our home, a little boy would come and visit." The mystery man said after a short uncomfortable silence.
"He would happily toddle after his bigger cousins, a girl that had strange future seeing powers and a boy that had a great kindness in his heart."
A nagging ache in Sabre's head starting to grow louder and more prominent as the figure continued. A little memory surfaced into Sabre's mind eye, showing him with his sister when they were younger and had...a companion.
"I'm not sure if you still remember me. Hell, I stopped visiting just 2 years before the bandits attacked. I stopped coming to see you two because my parents were dead." The figure said, his voice laced with emotion.
"They died protecting me. I'm still not sure if you remember this. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised of you didn't. But 2 years before Oakvale fell to a bandits' raid, I lumbered into town, trying to reach your house. Auntie managed to dress and clean my wounds, but you were the one that actually made me feel better. You kept going on and on about how when we grew up, you would help me exact my revenge on the damnable monster in the night that killed them. It was then, I decided to become a hero. I attended the Guild for Heroes for only 4 years before embarking on my own adventure. Made myself some unwanted renown for plundering but I didn't give a shit."
Sabre took this in as much as he could. His brain was already hurting enough and the beer he kept drinking did nothing to help. When he finished the alcoholic beverage, his 'cousin' looked at him. From the look in his eyes, he coudl tell he was hoping he remembered him. And remembered him he did. Sabre put down the bottle and got up before opening his arms wide. His cousin didn't wait a second longer to stand up and return the hug. When the men separated, Sabre took a good look at his cousin for a short while before smiling.
"I always did say you were a little thief in training."
"Yeah, well shut it. Just because I can pick a pocket does not mean I'm evil or anything."
"I never said anything about that but whatever. Okay look, I need some proper sleep. Taking in all this does not help with the fact I can't feel certain parts of my body."
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. The poison was supposed to wear off 2 hours after injection."
"How long has it been? My legs feel all wobbly and my arms feel numb."
His cousin checked the sun dial quickly before scratching his cheek in a little in embarrassment.
"Uh, I might have given you a little more than intended. So far, I think it's been 4...5 hours tops?"
Sabre looked at his cousin with a mixture of anger/confusion/and terror before taking a swing at his face. His fist was blocked easily and Sabre grimaced at how he couldn't feel anything but pins and little needles.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Look, just get some sleep until the effect wears off. There's a bedroom upstairs. Feel free to use that."
Sabre rolled his eyes before slowly making his way towards the stairs to the upper floor but before he turned the corner to the hallway where it would lead to the spare bedroom, he turned his head back and smiled.
"Thanks, Justin." And then Sabre stalked to his room and collapsed on the bed, letting blissful sleep overtake him.