Swordplay - PW-R-061

Swordplay

“Four Johto League badges down, four to go.” Alex grinned as she looked over her case of Johto badges, and while she wished she’d gotten them in the intended order, she was nonetheless glad to have them. “There were times when I thought I’d be stuck with just two.”

Nicholas sighed; it felt like his girlfriend had been celebrating her victory for weeks, rather than the scant two hours that it had actually been. Thankfully, no one had bothered them much for parking themselves on a bench on one of Ecruteak’s many streets. “Well, as happy as I am for you, there are other things going on right now.”

“I know, I was just trying to savor the victory.” The case was flipped closed and pocketed, and Alex turned to her boyfriend and moved the conversation elsewhere. “Anyway, your stuff’s waiting for you in Goldenrod City.”

“Yeah, but I’ve still got something to do here in Ecruteak, remember?”

“Oh yeah, the new RV.” She was ashamed to admit it, but Alex had pretty much forgotten about Nicholas needing to replace his old mode of transport, given her usual reliance upon her feet for getting around. “You know where you need to go for it, or…”

“Alexandria Masters?”

The two turned with surprise to find a tall, slightly stocky man approaching them, dressed in casual clothes, the most notable bit of attire being his longcoat. His hair was short, though somewhat shaggy, and he had a well-trimmed beard on his face. As he closed in, Alex rose to her feet. “Yes, can I help you?”

“Hello. My name is Indigo Montaña.” He drew a rapier from beneath his coat and pointed it towards Alex, prompting her to step back. “You defeateded Gregor Kosda. Prepare to explain yourself.”

Nicholas rose and interposed himself between Alex and Indigo, his staff at the ready. “Hold on one second. What’s your connection to Gregor Kosda?”

“Yeah, please tell me you’re not his son.” As cliché as it was, that was the first possibility that had leapt into Alex’s mind regarding her attacker’s identity.

“No, I’m not his son. But who are you to be asking these questions?”

Nicholas stood straight and held his staff parallel to his body. “Nicholas Pendrake, Aura Guardian. And something tells me we know more about Gregor Kosda than you do, so I suggest you put that sword away so we can all sit down and talk this out.”

Indigo paused, then did as was suggested. “Very well.”

-

Despite being a city that was very much steeped in tradition, Ecruteak had its share of modern establishments, coffee shops among them, and while Alex herself didn’t partake of the drink, the two men she was with did. After taking a sip from his coffee, Nicholas offered, “Now Indigo, please tell us why you’re so interested in attacking Alex with a sword.”

“And what your connection is to Kosda, if you aren’t his son.” A small glance from Nicholas, and Alex added, “What? I’m curious.”

Indigo showed no sign of being offended, and began his story. “I have no blood ties to Gregor Kosda, and he is most definitely not my father. My father was a man named Ardon; he was a smith, like his father before him, and well-versed in the ways of making things from metal by hand, rather than by machine. Over sixty years ago, long before I was born and when my father was young, his father was visited by Gregor Kosda, who presented him with a rare metal and other materials and commissioned him to craft him a sword.” He pointed to the sword on Alex’s belt. “That sword, which he called…”

“The Hysbryd Eginyn; Welsh for ‘Spirit Blade’. I’ve always called it the Dorsal Excalibur.” Alex’s fingers lightly stroked the hilt of her sword and ran up the curved hand guard that always reminded her of a dorsal fin. “I knew that Kosda had it before I did, but I didn’t know that he commissioned it from a sword maker. For all I knew, he made it himself.”

“It’s a craft that takes years to master, and my father and grandfather were both well-versed. So well-versed was my grandfather that when he finished the blade after a year of labor and presented it to Kosda, the man presented him with more than the agreed-upon payment in thanks. Since then, my grandfather and father spoke highly of him as a good and generous man, and my father was overjoyed that he not only returned decades later to commission another sword, but that he recognized my father from his youth.” Indigo pointed to the sword Alex carried on her back. “That sword, same as the other except of greater length and with gold filigree, was the result of my father’s own year of labor, and it was also called the Hysbryd Eginyn.”

“And I’ve taken to calling it the Dorsal Caliburn.” Alex opted against forgoing the probing of her newest blade and summed up, “So you came after me to avenge Kosda because he was a good customer. You are aware of the whole story, aren’t you?”

“That you did not defeat him alone? Of course.” Indigo indicated Nicholas briefly and added, “But of the two of you, finding you was easiest.”

“She was talking about what Kosda did with the swords your father and grandfather made for him.” Nicholas turned sour as he elaborated, “Like me and my father before me, Kosda was an Aura Guardian, but more than sixty years ago, repulsed by the world around him and convinced that he was best suited to lead it, began an effort to take control. His first step was to wipe out the rest of our order, and he used that first sword to do it.” He raised a gloved hand, the blue gem embedded into the glove perfectly visible, and explained, “These gemstones allow an Aura Guardian to amplify their natural abilities; it’s the rare one of us who doesn’t carry them embedded in gloves.”

“The swords themselves were made from an alloy, psionium, which can absorb, amplify or deflect most forms of metaphysical energy. That, combined with the gems, let Kosda use the swords as a conduit for Aura, enveloping the blades with their energies and using them as a conduit.”

“For what?” Indigo’s expression was one of disbelief, but he nonetheless politely asked, “You don’t need Aura to kill a man when you have a sword.”

“No, but he didn’t kill them in the normal way with a sword.” Nicholas bitterly explained, “Kosda killed at least a half-dozen Aura Guardians with his first sword by drawing the Aura out of them and into himself, like a vampire sucking the blood from an innocent victim. All that was left afterwards were desiccated corpses, practically mummies.”

“And he killed at least one person by the same method with his second sword. And that’s ignoring his involvement with Cipher. Polite and respectful he may have been, but Gregor Kosda was not the great and good man you’ve built him up to be in your mind.” Alex quickly added, “That said, I’ve killed five men in my life, and he wasn’t among them. And he certainly isn’t worth any attempt at revenge by you.”

“What makes you think I came for revenge?” At Alex’s probing look, he added, “The sword was to get your attention. I wanted an explanation, not vengeance. A small part of me hoped that one day, Kosda would commission me as he did my father and grandfather. When I found out that you had defeated him, that hope was obviously dashed.” A small shrug, and he admitted, “In hindsight, I probably should have just asked. Speaking of, what did happen to him?”

“The last I saw of him, he was being telekinetically dragged off by Mewtwo. What happened to him after that, I don’t know, but odds are your hopes are dashed.” Moving to another topic, she added, “You are right, though; you should’ve just asked. And all that aside, he was right to praise your grandfather and father for their skills in their craft; the sword they made for him are well-made weapons. I’m still alive thanks to the first sword being a solid blade, and if I ever need a weapon made myself, I’m glad to know who to go to.”

“Well, my grandfather passed last year and my father’s health…”

“I meant you.”

“Oh! Well, I appreciate that, but for me, being a smith is more a passionate vocation than a career. I’m a paralegal in my day job. Which is another reason for me to forgo revenge; I’d lose my job.” Indigo finished his coffee and rose to his feet. “In any case, thank you for your time and the coffee.” He produced a business card from his jacket and handed it to Alex. “If you need my services, my number is on the card.”

Indigo departed, leaving the two to themselves. Nicholas turned to Alex and asked, “Did that really accomplish anything?”

“No, but it gave me a little assurance that I won’t have to deal with anyone avenging a villain for a while yet.” Alex took another sip of her drink and asked, “So, we going to hunt down an RV for you now, or wait a bit?”

A shrug. “Let’s finish our drinks first.”

“Good idea.”