by Matt Wilk
Major Swiftblade had had enough of being pelted with stones, and having been made to watch his steed die. He pulled down his mask, and spun his blade to charge the next cartridge. I was already up and over the ledge before the first shot rang out. All three of the tall reds were dead. The first was run through by a broken stick. The others had been littered with Lokah arrows. Zara-grast was tugging on my vest, pulling me north to the cliff. I heard the beast before ever I saw it. The deepest toned shriek I ever heard caused the entire battle to stand still. A giant Opa had been tossed over the cliff, and fell to its death a hundred feet in front of where I stood. I tried to look away. The last giant on the ground level could not see either, but he had heard the whole thing. When his mate landed on the soggy ground, the noise made him foam at the mouth. Zara-grast did not pull me far before the thing charged, causing me stop in my tracks. I could no more move than I could breathe.
The Monster Hunter was fearless. He stood his ground. Against all odds, and despite the many rocks being hailed his way, all thirty rounds landed square on the giant’s iron mask. The thing was on fire, and it screamed from having its face melted, but it was only slowed. The sword was a toy in its massive hand and the blade cut into them both. He barely missed Major Swiftblade with his final attack. The Swiftblade itself impaled the beast, however, it refused to die alone. Alaric’s sword cut through Major Swiftblade and his Commando cloak. It severed the line between the Drakkah gauntlets, and removed his left arm. The Monster Hunter knew there would be no healing from that. He ripped the hilt from his head and spit at the eclipsed sun that had failed him. He turned and threw the hilt to me, nodded, and tucked his chin for the final charge.
I dove for my master’s parting gift and tucked it into my vest before following Zara-grast. His Seals were throwing more Opa and hired swords over the cliff’s edge, and he was already ten feet up a rope. The Opa surrounded Major Swiftblade, piling on him, biting, clawing, and dying. Their leader betrayed them. He stood in the rear and literally threw his mates to the slaughter until they were piled so high that I could no longer see either of them. I reached out for the rope. Once I had my hand on it, they began to pull it up. I was breathing in gulps, choking back the tears of a coward. I was fleeing to safety, running away from the beasts that had killed my master.
Sergeant Zara-grast called to his Seals to pull us up. They had broken through the major Swillian stronghold north of the plains. Tall reds, pirates, even royal guardsmen were thrown from the cliff. Arrows followed closely behind them. The rope lifted me up, and Zara-grast looked down to ensure that I was holding on. His face paint again reminded me of the grinnlies, and I remembered little Kru cooing at the bears with no fear. The memory was so vivid that even Zara-grast could hear Kru barking. He looked to the small patch of trees, and the barking came from a pup that was all grown up. He had run nearly twenty five miles without stop, only to be left behind in the final moments of the battle. Zara-grast tried to warn me that it was not yet over, the threat had not yet passed. His voice barely registered in my ears. I dropped from the rope and landed on the spongy ground so hard that my feat sunk in.
“Kru!”
Three Opa were running into the trees when they heard my voice. They turned to meet me head on. It would prove to be their last mistake. One of the Seals warded them off with arrows long enough to pull up Zara-grast and toss the rope back down. But, there was no going back. I raised the Broadhammer high and, despite the lack of sunlight, I summoned the red shadow.
“Kru!”
The first Opa I reached received the full force of the hammer. It was like nothing I had ever imagined. I hit the bastard so hard, he sailed through the air and over the cliff. While he fell to the bottom of the waterfall, I raced towards his mates. One was taken out by archers. The next I smacked in the face so hard that his neck spun all of the way around. I hit the tree line at a full sprint, running straight into a hollowed reed.
“Ha! My liver is on the other side- idiot!”
I broke the reed in half, and showed the beast how to properly stab a liver. His friend was so upset that he tried to roar dominance over me like the lion. His low toned bellowing turned into a high pitched squeal as I swung the hammer low, bringing it up between his legs. His body flew up into the canopy. I turned left to skirt the river valley, listening for the source of Kru’s cry for help.
“Kru! No!”
I had to stop suddenly, as the Opa War Chief had the lion’s tooth to the base of Kru’s skull. He did not mean to offer the mercy of an instantaneous death, he simply wanted a hostage. He turned up his nose to smell for fear, but only inhaled two plumes of red shadow. He flicked his eyes to my hammer and tore his claws into Kru’s back to show that he was serious.
“So, this is what you want? Let’s trade beast. Here...”
I slowly extended the Broadhammer to his right. He did not drop the tooth. Instead, he switched hands. He crushed Kru beneath his foot, curling his clawed toes to prevent him from rolling out. The lack of action should have sapped my energy, but Kru’s constant pleas for help drove me mad with bloodlust. The hammer was vibrating out of control when the beast grabbed on. He tried to steal it, then bucked back. His giant hand slid to the base of the handle, turning away from the top facing side. His eyes gave him away. It was not some lost form of sorcery that kept them under Swillian control. It was not the ruse that drove his cousin wild in the shallow pool.
“You- you’re allergic to gold?”
The beast slunk down into itself, losing confidence and scanning the trees for an exit. I laughed. I cackled at him. I stood tall, using the break to kick his knee out. Kru was free to run north after Zara-grast, and the beast nearly took my hammer. A flash of gold made us both freeze. Like the phoenix, the specialized Broadhammer was able to channel the will of Kane. My mouth flew open, tongue falling loose. My face shook from side to side. The beast knew that I did not merely mimic a goat, as he had seen Kane force his way through the phoenix before. Seeing the face of his enemy turned him back into a monster. He dropped down and kicked with both massive feet. I nearly went over the edge, but I had practiced bouncing back onto my feet. However, the hammer was lost. With nothing standing in his way, the Opa War Chief spread his arms wide and roared like the mighty predator he was. I revealed Major Swiftblade’s golden hilt from my vest, and he tightened his grip on the lion’s tooth. We both prepared for a head on collision.
That’s when Kru sunk his teeth into the thing’s wrist. He squealed and dropped the tooth. Losing his weapon and the use of his hand convinced him to retreat. I meant to utilize his hesitation, but he launched a final attack. With one massive foot, he kicked Kru up into the air. The red shadow allowed me one last bit of assistance, and left my body before I could finish blinking. I had no time to think- only move. I pulled Kru to me, holding him tight and curling up around his small body.
The monster laughed like a demon from the underworld, and it was the last thing I heard before the rushing falls drowned out everything. Judgement day had come, and we all raised our fists in defiance. Even Kru had held up his little paw, fighting and dying for the honor.
A Brief Aside
This honor quest has lasted a quarter century with no end in sight. Much to my dismay, I have uncovered a mere three basic truths of stoicism- I hope.
1. Provocation is a fool’s errand.
2 .If the question is how: the answer is to try.
3. There are only two types of people in this world.
There’s you, and then there’s everyone else. Only one of which do you have the power to change.
A special thanks to the spirit of De La Cruz.
Even at the end, his power level was over nine thousand.
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