First Draw

by Tim Moon

  “Shit, dude, this is getting way too serious.” Jaron held his hands up.

  “Put the knife away,” Gnoly snapped. Fear and suspicion swirled in her eyes when Jaron met her gaze.

  “I have no intention of hurting any of you,” Jaron said. “I’m not that kind of person.”

  Zahlin remained as calm and nearly uninterested as usual. Thendo considered Jaron carefully while Blacah stayed lounging on the ground right where he’d been the whole time. He snuffled and put his head down on his paws to rest while the silly people argued. The other badgers looked equally unconcerned.

  “Your kind are a plague on this land.” Burlibink’s face reddened with rage as he jabbed an accusing finger in the air.

  He must have been affected in a personal way to be so enraged, Jaron realized. He could only guess at the gnome’s pain. The others didn’t seem so quick to judgement, so he took that as a good sign.

  “Whatever pain you’ve suffered wasn’t at my hand. Like I said, Outlanders are not all the same,” Jaron said in a firm but understanding tone. “Thendo told me of Outlander Prime and what she did. Like her, I didn’t come here to murder and pillage. I will do what I can to help the Light as you guys call it. I will fight evil and aid those in need as much as my abilities allow. You’ve followed and watched me for days. Do I seem like an evil person?”

  When Burlibink didn’t answer, Jaron softened his tone and added, “You saw yourself how Ahja’s avatar reacted to me. You witnessed Vayvnu put all her trust in me—a complete stranger! How likely is it that I deceived them both? Do you doubt their judgement?”

  Burlibink growled and stalked off, disappearing into the tunnels.

  Thendo sighed and shook his head. Gnoly twirled her thumbs and looked embarrassed. Zahlin continued staring at Jaron.

  “Anyone else have questions or concerns?” Jaron asked, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Ask away.”

  “Do not judge Burlibink harshly. He has suffered at the hands of Outlanders, as you guessed.” Thendo rubbed a hand over his beard. “In the time we have observed you, the goddess intervened on your behalf and a dragon saw enough good in you to bequeath her essence. That is hard to argue with. I think it is fair to say that this news is a shock to us all, but I trust my own intuition and accept the judgement of Vayvnu and Ahja.” Thendo touched two fingers to his heart and forehead in religious gesture as far as Jaron could tell. “Give him time. He will come around.”

  Jaron nodded and glanced at Gnoly and Zahlin who looked back at him.

  “Any questions?” Jaron asked.

  Zahlin shook his head.

  “Where are you from?” Gnoly asked, excitement edging into her voice.

  “I’m from a world called Earth. This is not how I usually look,” Jaron said, glancing down at himself. “I’m a human with white skin and brown hair. Our world doesn’t have magic, but we do have technology, which is similar in some ways.”

  Gnoly’s eyes widened and she clapped her hands excitedly. The flood of questions Jaron could see in her expression was cut off when Blacah stood with a rumbling growl in his chest.

  The badger glanced at Thendo, dashed to the ledge and disappeared into the lower tunnels. The badger was extremely capable at scaling the tunnel walls even without defined hand and footholds. His claws provided enough purchase to move with ease, a fact that made Jaron grateful he didn’t have to fight Blacah. He’d seen what the badgers did to the goblins.

  “We may have company outside,” Thendo said in a tense voice. “Or Burlibink might be in trouble.”

  “Lead the way,” Jaron said, feeling the rush of battle energy infusing his body.

  39

  Shouts and roars echoed through the tunnels. Two snarling badgers raced past Jaron, eager to join the battle. As he neared the entrance, he winced at the sharp ring of weapons clashing but mentally thanked Ahja for the fresh air blowing into the cave system.

  “Die goblin filth!” Burlibink’s voice growled with defiant eloquence as he cut an enemy down. Then he pointed his sword and charged forward. “Orkkan scum!”

  Jaron appreciated the announcement of what they would face, even if it was unintentional, and hoped the gnome would work out his anger on the enemy.

  The sounds of battle intensified as the badgers, gnomes, and Jaron emerged into the small valley. The badgers lived up to their reputation and charged into the fray giving zero fucks about strategy, being outnumbered or anything else.

  Burlibink engaged in a sword fight with a large, scared orkkan. Now that Jaron had a chance to watch for a second, he could appreciate the gnome’s skill. He made up for the huge height disparity with speed and smooth, acrobatic moves. It was like watching an incredibly deadly ballet. Not that Jaron ever watched ballet. It was purely an educated guess.

  Fingers crossed I never have to fight Burlibink, Jaron thought.

  Gnoly and Zahlin darted into the melee to support Burlibink. Goblins pressed in around them, but the gnomes appeared confident and well-rehearsed. Two goblins fell under the hurricane of steel that turned them into red ribbons.

  On elevated ground to the left, a tall, burly orkkan oversaw several goblin archers taking shots at the gnomes. They posed the greatest threat to his friends. He couldn’t climb the hill undetected to cut them down, but what he could do was turn the archers into pin cushions with his own arrows.

  With an eagerness that rivaled his approach to the duck feast the night before, Jaron unshouldered the bow and nocked an arrow. He took cover between boulders and sighted on a goblin at the end of the row, a few feet back from the others. They might not notice if that goblin died and that lapse would give Jaron a second chance at a surprise attack. Exhaling in a slow, controlled manner, Jaron released the arrow.

  It raced towards the goblin archer. Just before the arrow reached him, the goblin dropped from view when Blacah darted out from cover with a fierce snarl and mauled the goblin. The arrow flew harmlessly overhead and stuck in a tree.

  Jaron cringed at the close call. He would have felt horrible if he hit Blacah. While his shot likely would have taken the goblin out without notice, the ferocious badger threw the entire formation of archers into chaos. A tiny arrow scored a nice headshot on one of the confused goblins. Jaron turned to see Thendo already firing a second shot. The small arrows couldn’t drop a goblin but analyze showed that it did a shocking amount of damage. That one shot took 30% of the goblin’s health points.

  Jaron sighted on the same goblin to finish him off, let out his breath and released. The arrow streaked through the air and missed. Or did he? A howl of pain from the orkkan standing behind the goblin told him otherwise. It wasn’t the intended target, but a hit was still a hit. The next arrow he released was a throat strike that scored a critical and ended the goblin’s life.

  Another badger streaked from the foliage and added to the pandemonium among the archers. The orkkan seemed to realize he couldn’t regain control and rather than help the goblins, he left to join the battle down below.

  Jaron nocked another arrow and hit his first moving target. Right in the ass cheek. The orkkan had been climbing down the rocks. Grasping at his injured butt, he lost his balance and fell with a shriek.

  Grinning, Jaron turned and saw Thendo waving to get his attention. Then he pointed off to Jaron’s right. He followed the direction the gnome pointed and spotted another orkkan who appeared to be searching the ground. It wasn’t clear what he was doing, and it really didn’t matter. He needed to die.

  Jaron flashed a thumbs up at Thendo and then nocked an arrow and took aim. He let fly and immediately drew the next one. The first shot struck the orkkan in the side. Jaron hoped he hit the liver or something vital. That hope died when the orkkan pulled out the arrow, looked right at him and bellowed a challenge.

  The second arrow Jaron drew began glowing yellow. In surprise, he released the shot without taking proper aim. It hissed through the air and missed by at least a foot but managed to strike the tree beside his
intended target.

  The arrow hit the tree with a boom and a shower of sparks that flung bits of wood like shrapnel, peppering the orkkan. The shrapnel did no serious damage. Tendrils of crackling electricity danced along the trunk for a full second. One managed to arc towards the flinching orkkan, making him twitch like a broken marionette.

  Jaron looked at the bow with a wide smile.

  “Whoa…” he drew the word out in awe. He may not be able to identify the bow’s magical attributes, but he knew this was a keeper. “Yeah, buddy!” he exclaimed and immediately began to nock another arrow.

  The orkkan regained control of his body and charged.

  As the evil creature ran at him, Jaron used analyze.

  Name: Rhegga

  Race: Orkkan

  Gender: Male

  Age: 18

  Height: 6’1” (185 cm)

  Weight: 158 lbs (71 kg)

  Alignment: Neutral Evil

  Level: 6

  Health: 188

  Mana: 100

  Stamina: 190

  Defense: 20

  Holy shit, Jaron thought.

  Rhegga was stronger than Magdud and that had been his toughest fight yet. Then he remembered Vayvnu’s gifts. This was going to be a totally different kind of fight.

  Rhegga growled and drew his sword in a fluid motion. Jaron dropped the bow and drew his cutlass just in time to deflect a slash. He brought the cutlass back and slashed at Rhegga’s head.

  The orkkan ducked aside and thrust his blade at Jaron’s exposed gut. Folding almost in half as he jumped backwards, Jaron smacked the blade away, barely avoiding getting skewered. Rhegga leaped forward and struck him with a tooth-rattling backhand. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he spat once on the ground, eyeing his opponent.

  With a defiant shout of, “Kill,” Jaron went at Rhegga with a flurry of slashes.

  The two went back and forth until Jaron threw in a leg kick that made the orkkan stumble. Using the opening, Jaron whipped his blade in a horizontal slash that opened a cut on Rhegga’s shoulder. It caused him to hiss and retreat a few paces, giving Jaron time to cast stone spike.

  The leather boot Rhegga wore was no match for the spike. The stone pierced his foot as easily as making shish-kabobs. Rhegga threw his head back and howled in pain. He lost his balance and fell on his ass. Jaron chuckled at the surprisingly effective spell.

  That response gave Jaron pause. He briefly considered whether his callous response would justify Burlibink’s harsh words. Was he a plague? Would he bring death and destruction to Drezkarn? Jaron shook his head, not the way the gnome assumed. He stood on the right side of things and was confident in his actions.

  Pushing the doubts aside, Jaron focused on the fight.

  With a series of gestures and words of power, Jaron cast a wide bog of putrid mud under Rhegga and turned to help Burlibink and the others. He also remembered to cast stone buckler. He really had to remember his full array of spells and abilities.

  Burlibink and the others had felled dozens of goblins. The forest was now littered with bodies atop bodies. Pools of blood splashed as the combatants fought. Shrieks and cries pierced the air at random intervals.

  More of the goblin archers were down, and Thendo and Blacah were teamed up on the final orkkan. An arrow zipped inches from Jaron’s head as he watched.

  “Whoa!” he shouted as he flinched away.

  That was too close. Jaron scanned the forest and spotted a lone bowman hiding among low branches of a pine tree. He only saw the goblin because it moved when Jaron’s eyes swept over him. Rookie mistake.

  Jaron recovered his awesome bow and took a shot at the goblin archer. The special effect didn’t appear, so the arrow simply buried itself deep into the trunk. The goblin stuck his head around and stuck his tongue out at him.

  “Sonofabitch,” Jaron muttered. If he wanted to kill that goblin, and he really did, he would have to get closer or lure it out of the tree.

  Burlibink was being tag teamed by the infantry while Zahlin had disappeared and Gnoly was shooting at even more goblins emerging from the forest with an orkkan leader. He couldn’t believe how many there were. Or that none of the gnomes had fallen in the fray.

  Jaron was grateful for powerful friends.

  He snuck up behind the goblins fighting Burlibink. Jaron stood from his crouch and thrust the cutlass through the back of one goblin’s head. Blood sprayed over Burlibink and the other goblin let out a shriek of surprise that quickly became fury.

  The goblin’s hasty rage-fueled slash nearly took off Jaron’s arm. The metal clanged sharply when he raised his cutlass in the nick of time. The impact sent a horrible jolt up his arm that left his fingers tingling. Jaron worried for the durability of the mediocre cutlass. He kicked out, knocking the goblin over. He raised the cutlass to end the goblin but was tackled from the side.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jaron caught a glimpse of a mud drenched Rhegga. As the two men fell, Jaron saw a badger slash at Rhegga’s leg as it ran past, missed and then continued to pounce on the fallen goblin.

  Jaron and Rhegga rolled on the ground, snarling. Rhegga scratched Jaron with filthy claws while he freed his arms. He gave the orkkan a sideways head butt. There wasn’t much power behind it, but it let him follow up with a reverse elbow that caught Rhegga on the chin. He fell backwards and Jaron clambered after him, unwilling to ease the pressure on him.

  Rhegga kicked Jaron with his injured foot. Blood splattered across Jaron’s face as the kick landed with a wet slap. He blocked a dagger slash aimed at his neck and rolled sideways. Jaron rose to a knee, gasping for air and looked up to see Rhegga dive at him. Tiny arrows sprouted from Rhegga’s shoulders and neck but the enraged orkkan kept going.

  Jaron stood to meet the charge. Before he could attack, Zahlin dropped onto Rhegga’s head. With a handful of the orkkan’s hair, Zahlin swung and buried a dagger into the side of his neck. Rhegga’s head tilted to the side in reflex. Then Zahlin buried his second blade into the opposite side of his neck.

  Jaron’s eyes went wide at the attack, and the amount of blood pulsing out of Rhegga’s neck.

  The orkkan spun slowly, trying like hell to reach over his shoulder and dislodge the gnome. For his part, Zahlin appeared to be having the time of his life, clinging to his blades, spread eagle across Rhegga’s upper back. An enormous grin shown on his normally reserved face. Jaron gaped in awe at his tiny friend.

  Rhegga spun again and this time Jaron reached out with his cutlass, slashing his belly open. Coils of intestine sprung from the slit like angry pythons. A wave of nausea hit Jaron at the smell that also erupted from the wound.

  “Zahlin, drop,” Jaron said.

  The gnome easily yanked his blades free and slid gracefully from the orkkan’s back. As Rhegga’s momentum carried him around again, Jaron swung once more and took off his head. The body collapsed onto a twisted pile of guts as the head bounced away, eyes frozen wide in shock.

  Jaron narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth against the urge to hurl and flicked blood from his blade. Then something struck him hard in the chest. A quivering arrow sprouted from his chest in a rush of agony that sent him to his knees.

  “Oh, fuuuuuuuuuck,” Jaron muttered as darkness closed in on his vision.

  He looked up and saw the goblin in the tree sneering at him.

  40

  Fire burned Jaron’s chest. It was dark.

  Jaron tried to pat the flames out. There was no heat, but goddamn was there pain. A groan escaped his lips and then came a surge of panic. He flailed for his sword, they were in a fight and he needed a weapon to defend himself. His arms were pinned. He couldn’t move.

  Another wave of panic welled up in his chest and he yelled as he sat up. It was no longer dark, and he could see clearly. A small hand pressed against his shoulder.

  “Rest easy, friend,” Thendo said in a soothing voice. “We are safe.”

  Jaron’s breath came quick and shallow as he looke
d around. It was true. None of their enemy remained alive. All he could see was blood, gore and bodies. He sucked in a deep breath to relax.

  “E-e-everyone…is…okay? No casualties?” Jaron asked, wincing in pain. The fire in his chest flared and he laid back against the grass.

  “Just you, ya big dummy,” Burlibink said in a surly voice. “You did not hear me yell at you to watch out?”

  “Clearly.” Jaron groaned again as he glanced at his chest. A blood-soaked rag covered a mound of something sitting on top of the wound. He was too tired to worry about it. “I’m glad we got there in time to help you, Burlibink.”

  “Bah!” Burlibink waved his hand. “I had it under control. Things were going well until you stood in the open like a fool. Did you think you could catch their arrows?”

  Jaron snorted. “Is that a thing?”

  “Not for you,” Burlibink said.

  Gnoly returned with an armful of weeds that Jaron could only assume were herbs. She slapped Burlibink’s arm and glowered at him.

  “Are you harassing my patient?” she asked in an accusatory tone.

  “No,” Burlibink said defensively.

  “Shoo.”

  “Do not shoo me,” Burlibink said, indignant.

  “He can’t bear the thought of leaving my side, Gnoly,” Jaron said.

  The gnomes snickered at their companion.

  “Not likely,” Burlibink declared with arms crossed.

  “Seriously though. All of you helped me before and I can’t repay you for that. But I’ve stood with you against our common enemy. I hope we can put aside our preconceptions and judge each other on the words and deeds we observe. I consider you all friends.” Jaron looked pointedly at Burlibink. “All of you.” He rose to one elbow despite the pain in his chest and held out his right hand. “Friends?”

  Burlibink sighed and looked at Jaron with a hard expression. After a moment of silence, he said, “Fine. I do not hold you responsible for the actions of your kind.” He paused for a moment. “But I will be watching you.”