The Weapon Takers Saga Box Set

by Jamie Edmundson

  ‘We're gonna have to move!’ shouted Gyrmund, not waiting to see if people followed but running on ahead.

  He took them down a bank and onto a new track, perhaps one made by the vossi or the animals of the Wilderness. Gyrmund's jog seemed to be as natural to him as walking, as if he could keep it up for hours without losing breath. For Belwynn to go at the same speed, however, sapped her energy and burnt her lungs. The two vossi made no attempt to interfere with their getaway, apparently content to wait for reinforcements. This didn't stop Herin from firing an arrow in their direction, which crashed harmlessly into the trunk of a tree. This aggression brought renewed screaming from the vossi, which only served to put Herin in a fouler mood than before.

  They continued to run along the winding forest track as the red-face vossi behind them began to organise their chase. Before long they started to run into vossi searching parties of two or three, but these did not try to tackle them alone, preferring to wait for reinforcements. They had obviously learned to fear Herin, Clarin, and the others as a result of the confrontation before the bridge, and were not prepared to risk joining the other vossi who had fallen under the Magnians' blades.

  Soon, however, Belwynn could look behind them and see a large chasing pack of vossi, screaming and letting off the odd dart or stone in her direction. Elana began to fall behind, and Belwynn could hear her fighting for breath as her body tried to pump enough air into her lungs to keep her moving. Ahead, the stronger members of the group were beginning to separate from the slower runners. They had to stop, however, when six vossi emerged from the trees to the left to block their path on the track.

  The danger was obvious: if they did not get past, and quickly, they would be caught by the vossi behind them.

  Gyrmund and the others drew their weapons and charged the vossi. Fortunately, it was over in seconds. First one, then two, then all of the vossi broke away and ran back to the safety of the trees. One lay dying on the ground, and a couple of the others had received injuries, but none of Belwynn's companions had been hurt.

  The brief melee had wasted valuable time, however. Gyrmund was searching the surrounding terrain, a look of anxiety plainly visible on his face.

  What's he looking for? Belwynn asked her brother.

  Somewhere to make a stand, came the reply. We can't outrun them.

  A feeling of dread came over Belwynn, since it was plain that they couldn't outfight them, either. There were too many of them.

  Soren grabbed her wrist. ‘We're off!’ he shouted.

  Gyrmund had apparently made his decision and was taking them in the very direction from which the six vossi had attacked them. Flanked by Clarin and Herin, he made his way from the track into the forest. The vossi backed away, albeit screaming their defiance. Gyrmund pointed towards a mound, barely a hundred yards away, as he was talking to the two brothers. As Belwynn followed on, she could make out Herin nodding his agreement at Gyrmund's proposition. Everyone began to make a dash for the point of defence. The vossi were now within missile range of the group and their eagerness made them discharge whatever long range weapons they had. Now that they were back in the forest proper, the trees gave them enough cover, and the group made it to the mound without injury.

  Once there, Herin began shouting instructions to everyone for the defence of the mound.

  The south-east side of the mound, facing the oncoming vossi, was dominated by two large oak trees. The central point of defence was between the two trees, and here Herin positioned himself, Clarin, and Gyrmund. Clarin, whose large shield would be able to defend himself from missile attack, stood in the centre. Herin and Gyrmund stood either side of him, able to use the trees as shelter if necessary, with a good view of all the approaching vossi, in order to use their longbows to best effect. On the other side of Gyrmund's tree, to his right, Herin had positioned Moneva, and next to her was Kaved. His job was to prevent the vossi coming from the flank. Such a task was more than difficult considering the numbers of the enemy. To Herin's left stood Dirk, waiting in the shadows of the tree, and next to him was Rabigar, who had been given the same job as Kaved. Herin had asked Belwynn, Soren, and Elana to stand behind this line of seven, further up the mound, and to intervene wherever they were needed.

  The mound was situated in a small clearing in the forest, and as the vossi approached they stopped short of entering the clearing, preferring to gather in the trees beyond it. Now that Belwynn and the others had stopped running and decided to make a stand, the vossi seemed more agitated than ever, but they looked more confused than aggressive.

  Why are they acting so strange? Belwynn asked Soren, using their telepathic link to keep the question private.

  I think we might have stumbled onto one of their burial mounds. They seem nervous about coming closer, although it looks like they're beginning to overcome any doubts.

  Some of the vossi leaders had now appeared on the scene and were screaming orders at their soldiers, but the whole approach to the mound seemed very disorganised. Still, they were in no rush, thought Belwynn, and it was her companions who would feel the nerves more as time went by and the ranks of the vossi continued to swell.

  Individual vossi were now running into the clearing and approaching the mound, screaming their defiance before backing away again. Herin and the others kept to their positions as the bizarre antics of the vossi continued. One of the braver vossi exposed his genitals to those present on the mound before returning to the safety of the trees on the outskirts of the clearing, to the apparent congratulations of his comrades. The success of this exploit provoked a spate of similar gestures and taunts amongst the vossi.

  What are they doing now? asked Belwynn, unsure whether to be intimidated or amused.

  I don't know, replied Soren, sounding equally bewildered. They might be trying to provoke us into attacking them, but surely they don't think we're that stupid.

  The vossi tactics were now challenged by Herin who, evidently getting bored with the impasse, fired an arrow straight at one of the demonstrating vossi, which struck it full in the chest; the creature keeled over dead in the middle of the clearing. Herin quickly grabbed another bolt and pulled back the string of his bow, threatening to repeat the attack. This gesture caused the clearing to empty again as the vossi retreated to the treeline.

  The screaming amongst the vossi now resumed, and soon large numbers were being pushed forwards towards the mound. A barrage of missiles descended upon the defenders as they were forced to take cover behind the two oak trees. Belwynn, Soren, and Elana knelt down as stray stones hurtled in their direction. Clarin also knelt down and, rather than using one of the trees as cover, he placed his whole body behind his shield. This seemed to invite attack, and the vast majority of missiles were now raining down on the large warrior as the vossi sought to penetrate his defence. However, the vossi had used many of their long range weapons already this day, and they did not seem to have either the amount of ammunition or the skill to succeed in getting past Clarin's shield.

  Herin and Gyrmund now began to shoot back at the vossi, each shielded by one of the trees. They were increasingly able to pick off their targets without putting themselves in too much danger. Herin had an upright style, pulling the string to his chest and looking around before he let go. Gyrmund pulled his string all the way back to his ear, carefully aiming the flight of his arrow so that he was as accurate and deadly as possible.

  It wasn't long before the vossi leaders realised that the missile contest wasn’t getting them anywhere and screamed new orders to their troops. The vossi stopped shooting altogether, and a short period of silence followed, interrupted by the hard twang of Herin and Gyrmund's bow strings as they continued to take advantage of the sitting targets.

  Then, one by one, the vossi began to scream their defiance to those on the mound until every single warrior joined in the chorus.

  ‘Prepare yourselves,’ shouted Herin above the cacophony.

  As the words left his mouth, the vossi c
harged. It was a disorganised mess, since many of them didn't seem sure which part of the mound they should be attacking, but it was a frightening sight nonetheless. Herin and Gyrmund had a few seconds to release their last arrows before discarding their bows and drawing their swords.

  The vossi reached the centre of the mound first. Once they were only a few yards away, Clarin led a counter-charge into the enemy. Shouting twice as loudly as any of the vossi, he used his shield as a battering weapon, shoving it into the vossi at face height and then bringing his sword over his shoulder in a high arc so that it crashed down into his chosen victim with such force that it almost cleaved it in two. Herin and Gyrmund followed his move, slashing into the vossi with speed and strength while retaining enough manoeuvrability to dodge the returned blows. The vossi who had reached the mound first now looked like they regretted it, but the ranks behind them pushed them onwards, forcing the three defenders to back away to their original places in between the two great oaks. This was no bad thing, as the vossi were no longer able to outflank Herin or Gyrmund, but had to come at them face on.

  In the meantime, more of the vossi had reached the two sides of the mound. To Belwynn's right, Moneva was parrying and defending her position on the other side of Gyrmund's oak tree, while Kaved was hacking and slashing at the vossi with sufficient aggression to keep them at bay. Belwynn turned her attention to the left, where the vossi were just reaching Rabigar and Dirk. As the first vossi approached, Dirk took an enormous back-swing with his mace and aimed a blow. The weapon connected powerfully with the face of its target, leaving the vossi in a crumpled heap on the floor, its head lolling at a strange angle away from the rest of its body. Unfortunately, the force of Dirk's blow was so powerful that it pitched him forwards, and, as the next vossi came towards him, he didn't have enough time to pull back the mace in order to defend himself from the blow.

  The vossi thrust a wicked looking blade towards Dirk's midriff and the best the priest could do was to twist his body away and try to avoid the impact. He was unable to escape the blow, however, as the vossi lunged forward and stabbed into his side.

  The blade penetrated deeply, before the vossi withdrew the weapon, leaving a deep gash pouring with blood. Dirk staggered backwards, then collapsed to the ground. As the vossi stood to full height, the blade of Rabigar's sword sliced into its neck, killing it immediately. The Krykker proceeded to swing his weapon in deadly circles, forcing the other vossi to back away as he inched forwards to stand over Dirk's body.

  Belwynn rushed forward to help and grabbed Dirk under the arms, trying to hoist him further up the mound. She was soon joined by Soren and Elana, and between them they pulled the priest away to relative safety.

  Elana began tending to Dirk, but it was clear to Belwynn that he was in a bad way. Can't you use your defence spell again? she pleaded to her brother as she watched Rabigar slowly being forced backwards by the vossi. The vossi had found themselves a weakness in the mound's defences, and although they rightly feared Rabigar's whirring blade, they also knew it was only a matter of time before they pulled him down.

  I'll use it if I have to, Soren replied, but it will run out eventually and then I'll have nothing left.

  ‘Then think of something!’ Belwynn screamed aloud at her brother, before drawing her sword and rushing down the mound to help Rabigar. Belwynn immediately regretted her words: she shouldn't have handed all the responsibility over to Soren. They were all in this mess together, and shouting at each other wasn't going to help—only cause panic. There was no time to apologise, however, as Belwynn gingerly entered the melee, prodding and then thrusting at the vossi, causing them to back off a little and giving Rabigar some time and space to regain a measure of control over the situation.

  There was little the Krykker could do against such numbers, however, and Belwynn soon realised that one false move could result in a death blow from the vossi. As they swung and shoved their weapons towards her Belwynn was forced to retreat back up the mound, and Rabigar went with her, standing shoulder to shoulder. It seemed painfully obvious to Belwynn that the vossi could easily move round the bottom of the mound and climb it from the other side, thereby surrounding the nine remaining defenders, but at the moment the vossi seemed too intent on striking at the nearest enemy to consider that.

  As she was forced to give more ground, Belwynn took a quick look around. She was now almost above Herin’s position on the mound and the vossi would soon be able to attack him from the side. Belwynn realised that such an attack would spell the end of Herin's defensive ring, and she resolved to stand her ground and not give the vossi a further inch. Another quick look behind her and she saw that Kaved and Moneva were also being forced to give ground to the vossi, though they were not yet in quite so perilous a position. As she turned back, Belwynn was quick enough to see that one of the vossi had decided to end the deadlock.

  It charged straight up the mound, heading for Belwynn. The whole attack lasted seconds, but for Belwynn it happened in slow motion: he vossi leapt towards her, spear held in front and aimed for her heart. Belwynn's body seemed to react to the threat independently of her mind, primeval instinct taking over. Gripping the sword so that it angled downwards towards the tip, just as Clarin had made her grip it time after time until it was second nature, Belwynn took a stride with her left leg down the slope and knelt down on her right knee whilst, in the same movement, extending her sword forwards. The vossi’s spear passed harmlessly overhead, while its charge propelled it onto her blade, the sword slipping easily into its guts. Its momentum nearly knocked her over, but she had the strength to keep her kneeling position, shoving the creature onto the ground in front of her, its weapon dropping from its lifeless hand.

  Belwynn wrenched at her own blade, which had become embedded deep into her attacker. It came free, bringing with it the stinking entrails of the slain vossi, but not quickly enough.

  One of the vossi had followed up the attack and now dove towards Belwynn, its face contorted into a vicious snarl. Belwynn thought it must be too far away to reach her, but as it threw itself to the ground the vossi stabbed a knife into her foot.

  The impact and pain of the injury threw her into a state of shock. It felt as though the knife had torn right through her foot and impaled her onto the mound. Belwynn looked up into the eyes of the vossi, its hand still gripping the handle of the knife with all its might.

  Suddenly, from the corner of her right eye, Belwynn detected movement. Her stomach contracted with fear, but she forced herself to turn her head around to face what she expected to be her killer. Instead all Belwynn saw was a blur streaking past her.

  She followed its direction and saw Herin slamming his sword downwards into the prostrate vossi, then clashing one-handed with another vossi while his other hand felt at her foot. Herin removed the knife and then danced backwards, grabbing her around the chest and hurling her further up the mound. She looked up to see Clarin retreating up the mound towards her as he covered Herin's move. This in turn forced Gyrmund to do the same, and as Belwynn scrambled backwards everyone seemed to follow her, forming a tighter and tighter semi-circle.

  Then, behind her, Belwynn heard an almighty scream, the scream of a vossi, yet so loud it didn't seem possible that it could belong to a single voice. Belwynn didn't feel like she could face any more, but she turned around and looked up to the centre of the mound where Soren was.

  Or, at least, where Soren had been.

  Soren, Elana and Dirk had now been replaced by a swirling distortion of light, a gaseous substance which seemed to be taking shape whilst emitting the enormous sound.

  The shadowy form slowly came to resemble a face, vossi-like in its features, but with burning green eyes and a mouth that, as it opened and closed, let out a scream that must have been heard throughout the Wilderness. Belwynn could now make out what must be words in the vossi language, and she turned around to see what effect the apparition was having on their enemies.

  The vossi had stopped the
ir attack on the defenders and were staring up at the face, worry lines creasing their faces, occasional exchanged glances or words passing between them. Clarin and the others looked unsure how to react, nervously looking over their shoulders but keeping an eye on the vossi in case their attention was drawn back to the fight. The vossi were now in a state of confusion, but their leaders began to rally their soldiers, shouting in their faces, hitting them and forcing them to renew their advance on the mound.

  Just as this seemed to be working, the noise from behind Belwynn got louder, so loud that it hurt her ears, and she was forced to drop her sword and cover them with her hands. The vossi began to do the same and started to back away from the mound.

  Then, a beam of light seemed to shine out from the apparition on the mound and strike the vossi warrior standing closest to Clarin.

  For a moment the figure of the vossi was lit up like a beacon, and then flames erupted from his clothing. The vossi struggled in the flames, writhing in agony, and Belwynn caught the smell of burning flesh in her nostrils. Those surrounding the vossi torch, a look of terror in their eyes, turned and ran from the sight. For a brief moment they met some resistance from their leaders, desperately trying to stop the rout, before every vossi warrior turned their back on the mound and ran, in every direction, into the forest.

  As floods of relief overcame Belwynn she turned round once more to look up at the mound. The image of the vossi face before her was now dissolving, and behind it she could make out the figure of Soren.

  He was stood facing her, arms outstretched, veins standing out, eyes rolling up into his head in convulsion with a visible streak of blood running from his nostrils.

  As the last vestiges of the image disappeared, the convulsions stopped, and he collapsed onto the ground.

  9

  Afflictions