Clash in the Square

"Do you hear me, Sir Lucan? Minutes. That's all you have before you die. You can change your future, of course. It's never too late. That is, until the sun sets on your life. That is when you realize honor is not worth what you thought," Athena said, her green eyes almost glowing. 

The people around Sir Lucan seemed more aware now, hanging on every word in the conversation. 

"How do I die, then?" Sir Lucan asked. 

"Wait a little more, and you shall see."

"No! Tell me. You foresaw a pathetic death. But there is no such thing as a pathetic death when you're serving your king. If I die here, I die an honorable death."

"We shall see about that." Athena took a step back, closer to the fountain. "Good people, you, unfortunately, play a part in his future. Most of you will survive this. Most of you will benefit greatly." She turned to a large, bald man with a scar across his cheek. She raised a gentle hand to his face, running her fingers along the scar. "You. A man of great power will provide you with more riches than you can hold in your arms. But Sir Lucan must die."

"What?" Sir Lucan asked, dumbfounded. "These are regular people. Why would they attack me? He's weak."

"You call me weak?" The bald man said, his voice thick with an Eastern accent. He stepped forward, and his hand began to glow purple. 

"What…the…fuck," Sir Lucan said as a sword materialized out of thin air. It was jagged and made of a dark metal, similar to his warhammer. 

"Sir Lucan will disrupt your futures if he survives. This is the only way forward, good people!" Athena shouted. More stepped forward, and similar swords began to materialize in their hands. Others, likely farmers, already held shovels, pitchforks, and scythes. 

"You dare come at me?" Sir Lucan screamed. "This woman is wanted by royal decree! You will become traitors to the crown by defending her! Do you want to be traitors because you believed in the lies of a witch?"

"I am no witch," Athena said with a smile. "I am but a servant."

Multiple people closed in on him from all sides, like a pack of wolves circling their prey. "I'm warning you! Don't do this! She cannot promise you gold! No one will pay you for my death! Think! She is tricking you!"

Athena disappeared into the crowd, and the last he saw of her was a single strand of purple hair, floating lightly in the air. 

The bald man came at him first swinging his new sword with vigor. The point nearly slashed his throat open, but Sir Lucan pulled away at the last moment. A shovel slammed into the back of his head, knocking his helmet off. A pitchfork swiped at him, raking its rusty ends across his armored shoulder.

Sir Lucan gritted his teeth, spinning in a circle. An attack could come from anywhere, at any moment. 

I can't kill them. They're innocent. Farmers and sellers and craftsmen. They're my king's people. 

And now they stood between him and Athena. He couldn't return to the king empty-handed. Another shovel came speeding toward his face, and Sir Lucan knocked it out of the man's hand, sending it flying into the air. 

There was a screech as a scythe scraped across his back armor. Sir Lucan spun around and gave the scythe wielder a shove to the ground. 

The bald man charged a second time, and Sir Lucan just barely blocked the blow with the handle of his warhammer. 

"I don't want to hurt you!" He shouted to them all. "But I will if you make me!"

The bald man screamed out and swung his sword towards his neck. This time, Sir Lucan didn't block the blow. He stopped it from ever happening. With a quick swing, his warhammer slammed into the man's head with so much force that it exploded. Blood and brains splattered over a five-meter radius, and the man fell to the ground, dead. 

Sir Lucan grinned at the sight, feeling a tempest growing within him. These people would get what was coming to them. For defying the crown. For thinking they were strong enough to kill him.

"He killed him. Sir Lucan's gone mad."

Some fled. Others didn't take the hint. Stepping past the dead body, they closed in around him.

Sir Lucan spun around in a circle, looking for the next sign of movement. Sometimes he could tell just by meeting their eyes if a person was about to attack.

His eyes stopped at a gray-haired man who held a dagger. A moment later, he was charging at Sir Lucan. 

He took a step back, ready to dodge. That was when, out of his peripheral vision, he saw a scythe speeding toward his neck. 

Sir Lucan ducked down just in time to miss it. But he didn't dodge the dagger, which sank into his abdomen. 

"Gah!" He screamed out. The metal slid back out of his side as the old man ripped the dagger free. 

Sir Lucan smiled. "You got me."

He reached out, snatching up the old man's wrist in one hand. Twisting, he snapped the man's hand backward. The dagger clattered to the ground, and Sir Lucan gave the man a shove.

Three more attackers closed on him at once. Spinning around, Sir Lucan swung his warhammer with all his might. One head exploded and the second's skull cracked beneath the force. The third attacker swung a shovel at him, and Sir Lucan sidestepped it. Kicking out, he sent the man stumbling to the ground. 

"Anyone else?" He screamed out. The rest seemed to be backing away. "You are all monsters! You followed a liar to death! She said I would die here, now. But look who's still standing!"

The square began to clear, leaving behind only the injured and dead. 

"Have mercy, Sir," the old man with the broken wrist said, crawling across the ground. "I'm hurt. Please, I need help."

"You should've thought about that before you retaliated against the crown," Sir Lucan said, eyes scanning the square. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. I-"

"LIES!" Sir Lucan said, stepping over the man. He raised his warhammer, as if to attack.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Tell me, then. Where is she?"

"I was one of the first of her prophecies. She told me I would live a long life…I'm sorry I trusted her."

"Take a look at yourself, old man. You probably have less than a year before you die of some sickness. You're weak. Your bones snapped like a twig on a dying tree. And she's a liar. An escaped prisoner who defied the king. I must bring her in."

The old man nodded. "She goes below ground. To the sewers. There's a secret passageway that leads down there near Bedlam's Tavern. That's all I know."

Sir Lucan nodded, stepping away from the old man. "Consider your last few months alive a blessing from the king. Spread the word about what happened here. About what happens when you rebel. Because I will not hesitate to slaughter every single one of you to protect my king."

With that, he set off toward Bedlam's Tavern.