The Unexpected Battle (Patreon)

Sofia woke up, greeted by the early morning rays of the multiple suns. She looked over at the rest of the camp. Emerald Fist was sitting  in a meditative trance. Sofia didn't know much about the culture of monks, she did know that the half-orc monk was well aware of what was going around her.

"Good morning, Sofia."

Sofia wondered if Emerald Fist probably knew she woke up before the daring  swashbuckler herself! Although naturally blind, the jade monk trained  her remaining senses to be impossibly acute, rivaling an animal's senses.

Sofia smiled and returned the greeting with her thick accent. "Good morning, Emerald! We have a long day of traveling ahead of us." She looked over at Clegaine and Rydia. The huge armored half-giant rested under a small tree, cradling his diminutive rogue wife in his arms.

"They split watch duty amongst themselves last night. I had the final watch."

Sofia  grabbed her boots and pulled them on. Sofia wasn't dressed like the  typical rugged adventurer, but neither was Emerald Fist. Both women regularly wore fashionable clothes into battle, their different fighting  styles and abilities relied on speed and avoidance.

"Going somewhere?" asked Emerald.

"Not really." Sofia wiggled her toes as she tied up her boot. "I am going to train before we get breakfast."

Sofia's fighting style was like a carefully orchestrated dance.

"Sofia. We have a visitor." Emerald Fist warned.

A  large knight on horseback rode up. He was clad in gleaming armor, with a  royal blue tunic underneath of it. The only piece of armor that the  knight lacked was a helmet. He was quite handsome. He flashed Sofia a smile. "Hey."

"I saw you practicing with the blade. You've some skill."

Sofia  found herself subconsciously adjusting her hair and clothes at the  compliment. "Thank you." she purred, returning his smile.

"I would be honored to see just how skilled you are." The knight looked her up from head to toe and noticed that she was dressed with fine  clothes. He assured the noblewoman of her safety. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."Sofia shot the knight a mixed look of horror and surprise as he dismounted. "No, no! Don't do that! That would be insulting!"

The knight then brandished not one, but two longswords. He towered over her. "So be it."

The silence of the morning was suddenly disturbed as the huge knight clashed blades with the agile swashbuckler. Although the knight was armored, he had great speed that rivaled Sofia's. Every thrust from  Sofia was easily parried by the knight. The knight blocked with one  sword and slashed with another. "Always keep an eye on both blades.  Distractions can be deadly." the knight lectured. Sofia pivoted backward  as the deadly blade swung past her. "No soy un aficionado! I'm not an amatuer!" The knight aggressively pressed his assault. Sofia took advantage of his sudden momentum and slid through his legs. The knight turned, amazed. Sofia somersaulted backwards and swung her sword in a  figure eight motion. Realization flashed across the knight's face. He originally assumed that Sofia was merely some sort of a sword  enthusiast, but after fighting her, he discovered that this particular eccentric noblewoman was a daredevil as well as a showoff. She was performing for him.

Clegiane and Rydia woke  up from the noise. "Whoever this pretty boy is, I want to fight him next!" Clegaine roared, raising his massive greatsword for battle.

Rydia rolled her eyes at the situation in contempt. "Great. Now everyone wants to fight him." she grumbled.

Emerald Fist also rose to her feet.

"Whoa."

The knight's peripheral vision caught sight of a statuesque jade beauty. He  marveled over how her tight, but extremely short black and white satin dress ended in long sandaled green legs. The large knight paused as though he was paralyzed by some dark magic. The curvy she-orc possesed  an unusual grace and beauty that Duke had not believed possible from  orckind. The typical female half-orcs were unkempt, snarling and  brutish. They snorted and had large tusks. This amazing she-orc possessed none of those traits. What the knight did not see was the rapier pointed at his exposed face.

"Hey, caballero. Si, distractions in battle CAN be deadly." Sofia grinned like a cheshire cat at her victory.

However,  the knight did not seem to notice the loss. He sheathed his blades and  approached Emerald. "Hey." He began. The same introduction that he  charmed Sofia with! The nerve! The noblewoman looked on in disgust as the knight politely bowed at Emerald's feet. Looking into her perfect green eyes, the knight continued.

"I'm Duke of Taldor. And you are?"

Emerald  blushed, surprised by the chivalrous greeting. She smiled at him. "I'm  Chi-Li. The Emerald Fist." The normally unflappable monk recovered her  calm composure and introduced her friends.

"You've met Sofia, also from Taldor. This is Rydia and her husband Clegaine. We're on a quest."

"Well, you're in luck. Quests are my specialty." Duke bragged.

Rydia  conferred with her husband. "We could use another sword arm. If the  beast that guards the labyrinth is as tough as Priya thinks, we might  need all the help we can get."

Clegaine nodded in agreement.

And with that, Duke joined the party.