chapter nine, continued

Done.
It wasn't the most elegant illusion in the world but it would serve her purposes.
Kiera looked down at the roughly humanoid, semi-transparent, perfume-smelling conjuration in front of her. She'd enchanted it to appear to be picking something off the ground in a small patrolling pattern. not quickly, just enough movement to draw attention but not enough to make them suspect anything.

Now to take up her posistion. She crouched behind a low rock, sword ready at her side. From here she could see the whole ridge and on down to the Ga-Vok camp outside of town.
She saw a Ga-Vok down in the camp motion towards the illusion, and then three of the score of warriors from the camp begin rushing up the ridge.
As they reached the illusion and began attempting to destroy the unresponding image, Kiera sprung from her hiding place. Slashing the air and cutting down the furthest of her opponents with a burst of magic she flung herself upon her stunned prey.
The second warrior fell in a spray of blood as she cut him down, and she spun to block a stab from the last of them. Twisting the blade in her hand she slid it along the blade of his weapon and plunged its tip into his chest. She turned towards the camp to see how they had reacted to this development.
It was better than she'd hoped, all seventeen of the remaining men were charging her position. Calculating their distance she readied her sword. When they reached the position, she plunged her sword into the earth and activated her traps. Spears of blood ad stone sprung from the earth, impaling four and wounding most of her assaillants. One of them lept over the deadly thicket, drwaing his katar. She spun, bringing her sword down upon his back; then again turning plunged it through the unguarded neck of the next of her opponents. Nine down.
The others were not so hasty; they were warriors, not fools. Moving carefully, they positioned themselves around her. Two lunged at her, she lept back slicing one of their arms. Another bounded over them, stabbing at her and slashing her leg with his claws. She struck him wildly across the back, forcing him to the ground. Using magic she flung another back as he charged. This had aways been easier in simulators, she thought to herself as she deflected another blow. She rolled to dodge, slashing upwards into the unguarded thigh of a slower reacting adversary.
The ten remaing warriors now spread out as a larger male barked loudly at the others. He would be their leader, she brandished he r weapon at him.
"Stop Barking and fight me yourself, coward!"
He raised his head, the others stepped back. He crouched, grabbing a second weapon from a nearby corpse. Kiera quickly tried to remember everything she could about fighting an oponent with multiple weapons.
"sword tip down, and lock blades." Callins lesson from so many years ago returned, "then sweep upward forcing their blades above your head, then stab downward."
It had seemed so silly at the time, practicing combat. But if she ever saw Callin again she would knight her for it.
He stabbed with the right first, she caught the outside edge and forced it down. As he stabbed with the left she pulled her sword back along the right Katar and forced it across the left. Then raising the pommel of sword into the air she forced his blades over his head and.
The force of the blow took him to his knees. He gurnted in pain, unable to scream for the blade that now pierced him from his muzzle to his chest. The other warriors stood back, dumbfounded by their leader's demise.
She decided to go all or nothing, the wound in her leg was going to make moving to painful to fight. She withdrew her blade, pushing the still twitching corpse aside. Channeling energy down the length of the blade she drew back her sword. Then with a swing she unleashed a shockwave of arcan force at her enemies.
It wasn't lethal, but it knocked them all to the ground and left them severly lacerated. She stepped over and finished seven with a stab to the throat. She knelt over the last of them, he was only mildly wounded. Perfect for what she needed.
She crouched over him cutting his arm and drawing a few vials. She filled them with his blood and arranged them on the ground. She should have done this years ago, but she had never expected to actually use her sword in a fight. She rose. Extending her hand over the vials she beagan to inacant the desired charm. then sweeping across the vials she shattered them. The glass fell to the ground with the blood crystalizing in the air before her. Then she slowly drew her sword across the red mist; drawing it nto the sword and empowering it. This would make channeling spells much easier in the future. She then repeated the procedure this time crystalizing the blood without shattering the vials; bloodstone was one ofthe best substances for the amplification and retainment of energy after all.
She silenced the wailing Ga-Vok beside her and proceded down to the camp. She gathered every scrap of food she could before walking into town to find the inn; it had been a long time since she had slept in a bed.

What she found there was completly unforseen.