Varnoth- the Black Blade 2

by Lavelle Jackson

  You have killed Cavern Spider!

  You have received 200 experience points!

  Varnoth knelt to check the corpse for loot.

  You have received:

  1 x Venom Sac

  1 x Spider eye

  10 Gold

  The shadow panther saw his dagger lying on the stone floor. He grasped the dagger in one swift motion. He was whole once more. Varnoth continued to the large chamber without incident. As he walked cautiously into the center of the darkroom, two explosions rattled the ground. Two figures launched from the ground and roared like a beast from the Seven Hells.

  Werewolf

  Level 12

  Werewolf Elite

  Level 13

  Not good.

  The two werewolves stood at 7 feet tall with thick gray fur. Varnoth’s attention went straight from their height to their fangs. Varnoth thought his fangs were long. Drool hung from the fangs and chins of the massive beasts. They stood with their palms open showing their razor-sharp claws. The Elite Werewolf had bright red eyes while the other’s were pitch black. The Werewolf charged at Varnoth while the Elite stood back and watched. A charge quickly turned into a leap. Varnoth rolled to his right just in time to dodge the attack. Varnoth quickly arose to a fighting stance as the Werewolf got back to his feet. The Elite slashed Varnoth in his back. Burning pain exploded from the violent attack from the Elite. The shadow panther’s crimson blood splattered the rock wall and cavern floor. Varnoth activated Blade Shield as the two werewolves lunged. Darkness engulfed the shadow panther. The werewolves lunged into the dark shield, and blades begin to slice and slash at the two creatures. Blood began to fly in all directions, and the werewolves screamed. They dove in opposite directions out of the Blade Shield. They were stunned from the damage they had received from the shield. Varnoth immediately attempted to activate Black Rain +1. However, his mana reserve was depleted, and the attack was not possible. The black cat lunged onto the back of the Werewolf and sank his teeth in his throat and stabbed him in the gut with his dagger. Warm blood filled Varnoth’s mouth and poured down the sides of his mouth and dripped off his chin. Blood and stomach acid gushed from the gut of the Werewolf. Varnoth kicked both feet into the Werewolf’s back and performed a backflip while shoving the Werewolf into the granite floor.

  You have killed Werewolf Level 12!

  You have received 400 experience points!

  Suddenly, the Elite backhanded Varnoth with enough force to send him flying 20 yards across the chamber into the rock wall. Air left Varnoth’s lungs, and he felt his brain rattle in his skull. From the floor, Varnoth witnessed the Elite looking over his companion. After realizing he was dead, the Elite howled in sadness. Then his emotion changed to volcanic rage. When Varnoth stood up, his legs felt wobbly and unable to support his weight. He lost his balance and caught himself on the wall with his arm. The Elite approached closer and closer. Suddenly, Varnoth began to hear the sound of music coming from the entryway. He thought he was just imagining the sound from his head injuries, but then he saw the Elite Werewolf turn to look at the source.

  Is that singing?

  “Werewolf

  Werewolf

  Ya ain’t nuttin but a scare wolf

  Werewolf

  Werewolf

  Ya ain’t nuttin but a scare wolf”

  A large orc walked into the room singing those lyrics over and over while playing an instrument. He was huge, green, and ugly. It appeared to be a guitar that he played.

  John the Son of Ray

  Level 14

  The Werewolf appeared to be in a daze from the music that was played. Suddenly the orc stopped playing and grabbed the fretboard of the guitar and swung it like a hammer. The guitar smashed into the Elite Werewolf’s skull with a sickening thud.

  "Feline, you finish now!”

  Varnoth plunged his dagger into the Elite’s brain stem. The Werewolf’s body went limp and plopped to the floor. Blood began to pool on the floor from the neck wound.

  You have killed Elite Werewolf!

  You have received 500 experience points!

  “Well done, cat!”

  Varnoth backed up and maintained a fighting stance. He was unsure if the orc was a friend or an enemy.

  “What you doing? I no hurt cat man. My name John da Son of Ray. You name?” said the orc.

  “I am Varnoth. Thank you for your help,” said Varnoth as he stretched out his paw to shake the orc’s hand.

  The orc grasped the shadow panther’s paw and squeezed it like a vice.

  “Nice meet you. You take loot eh,” the orc said as he pointed at the dead werewolf.

  Varnoth hesitatingly knelt by the corpse and gathered the loot as the orc smiled.

  You have received:

  2 x Werewolf’s Blood

  1 x Ring of Withstanding (25% Poison Resistance)

  2 x Health Potions

  1 x Werewolf Pelt

  150 Gold

  “Damn cat, dat one hell of a good haul!” exclaimed the orc.

  “Don’t you want any of it?”

  “No cat, you bad I see from over there. Dogs whip your ass! Take loot, get better!” replied the orc followed by a huge belly laugh.

  CHAPTER 8

  Varnoth equipped his new Ring of Withstanding as soon as he walked out of the cave. Poison is something he wanted to avoid at all costs. Spider bites were no fun at all. Varnoth found a fallen tree to sit and catch his breath before continuing forward through the mountains.

  “Damn, cat, are you tired again? You need exercise. You damn lazy!” exclaimed John.

  Varnoth peered at the orc and said, “Who the hell are you?”

  “John the Son of Ray! You forgot already, eh?”

  “I know your name, I want to hear your story.”

  “My story? I don’t have a story. I have songs,” John said as he grabbed his hammertar.

  “No, where are you from? I don’t want to hear a song,” said Varnoth while holding his hands up.

  “Suit yourself, Cat, you don’t know what you are missing.”

  “Please tell me where you are from? Where are you headed?”

  “I am from the Dark Swallow. Do you know where that is? It is about a two day walk west of here. I am headed to Drangar,” replied the orc.

  “What’s your business in Drangar?” asked Varnoth.

  “Why the hell do you care, cat man? Where are you going?”

  “I am headed there as well. I mean no harm. I am just curious.”

  “Ah well, I am always searching for new places to perform. My home, The Dark Swallow, doesn’t take to kindly to my music. Orcs are meant to be warriors or warlocks, not bards. My people don’t understand, so I am on my own,” John said almost on the verge of tears.

  “I am sorry to hear that. That is quite the instrument you have there. You aren’t a regular bard by any means. You cracked that werewolf over the head like a professional.”

  “This is why I crafted my hammertar. I can play music and kill with it. The other orcs are still not accepting,” said John.

  John sat down on a tree stump. As the massive orc put all his weight on the trunk, Varnoth was sure he heard the wood make cracking noises. The orc's arms were as large as the log Varnoth sat on. Two huge teeth pointed upward from his jaw. John had long, black hair down his back tied in a ponytail. He wore heavy, leather armor with gigantic boots.

  “I am traveling to Drangar as well. You are welcome to travel with me. It appears this mountain range is more dangerous than I anticipated,” said Varnoth as he extended his paw toward John.

  “Cat, I will be honored to go to Drangar by your side,” replied John as he grasped the shadow panther’s paw.

  Varnoth’s paws were large, however, the orc’s dwarfed them. Varnoth’s face grimaced as John squeezed his hand much harder than he expected.

  “I’ll write you a song since you are my friend now. It will be good.”

  Varnoth nodded hesitantly as he turned toward t
heir destination.

  The road became narrower and more treacherous. They reached a spot where the road had an immediate drop off on the right side. The left side of the road, which was now just a path, had a giant rock wall. The drop off was terrifying, one slip, and they would fall thousands of feet to their deaths.

  “This is damned scary, Cat,” the orc said as he looked over the cliff.

  It was narrow enough that the huge orc would need to turn sideways to manage the trail.

  “Let’s go. We will need to make camp. It will be nightfall soon. I don’t want to spend the night on this damn cliff,” Varnoth said as the increasing wind whipped through his fur.

  John just nodded his head and began to shimmy behind Varnoth. Small rocks and pebbles plummeted to the valley below as the orc's massive boots slid into them. After a nerve-racking hour of traversing the narrow path, they reached the other side with much smoother travel.

  “Thanks to the gods that is over! I thought I was a goner! I would make big splat down there, Cat!”

  Varnoth let out a chuckle. It was humorous seeing such a huge terrifying creature scared of something. John plopped down on a large boulder to take a rest from his exertion. In the distance, Varnoth could see the remains of Gufaross still smoldering. Memories that he wanted to forget, flooded his mind.

  As the sun went down, the temperature dropped quickly. As Varnoth relaxed on the soft grass, a loud smash awoke him. He rose to his feet and unsheathed his daggers. He saw John slamming his hammertar into a small oak tree. The ungodly strength the orc possessed combined with the viciousness of the hammertar splintered the trunk, and the tree fell over and crashed to the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing, John?”

  “It’s cold cat. I don’t have cozy fur like you do. I will build a fire,” John said as he smashed the trunk into smaller pieces on the ground. After he was done, he started an impressive fire. He pulled a wineskin out of his bag and began to drink. After a few large gulps, he let out an earth-shattering burp that echoed in the valley. John appeared to take some meat out of a ring on his finger. Varnoth knew what he saw but didn’t believe it.

  “John, how in the name of the gods did you get meat out of a ring?”

  “You’ve never seen a ring of holding before, cat? You really need to get out more. I can store any item I want in this enchanted ring. I dunno how you get by without one,” replied John.

  Varnoth nodded and mentally noted a ring of holding on his list of items to acquire. He had a storage container like the ring of holding, but it only stored herbalist items. This ring could store anything. It would be invaluable.

  “Where did you get that ring?”

  “My father, Ray, gave it to me before he died. Very special ring, Cat,” the orc replied solemnly, “He was chieftain of the Dark Swallow.”

  “Was it not your birthright to become chieftain once he died?” asked Varnoth.

  “My brother, Rax, was older, and he took over. We never got along. He is a dumb bastard. He hated my class choice and told me to become a berserker and be the commander of our army. I said no, and I was exiled from the Swallow. My mother was not happy with that decision, but she knew he was chieftain, so it was her duty to go along with it. I left a few weeks ago. I have been traveling searching for loot and to become stronger,” replied the orc.

  “What do you hope to find in Drangar?” asked Varnoth.

  “I would like a home and a place to play my music.”

  “You saved my life. If you hadn’t come along when you did, the werewolf would have killed me. I plan to repay the debt. I just don’t know how exactly. I can offer you a home. I have an estate south of here called Darthill. I am headed to Drangar to bring refugees there. I would love to ask for your help in accomplishing that task,”

  “Will I be able to play my music at this Darthill?” asked the orc.

  “I think I can make that happen. The people that live there could use an ambassador of the arts.”

  John Son of Ray suddenly stood up and performed a rather odd dance of joy. He then picked up his hammertar. He played a fast song that was weird yet impressive all at once.

  A creature dove out of a tree behind John and landed on his back. It screeched and sunk its teeth into the neck of the orc. John yelled and dropped his hammertar. It made a loud thud on the rocky ground. John reached with his right arm and grabbed the creature and tossed it twenty yards away.

  Varnoth was able to get a good look at the creature now as it lay stunned.

  Demon Badger

  Level 12

  The badger had crimson fur with a streak of black down it’s back. It was 3 feet long and stood 2 feet high on all fours. It had razor-sharp claws and glowing, green eyes. The badger's mouth was full of sharp teeth. It launched at John before he could pick up the hammertar. This time John was ready, and he backhanded the badger to the ground. John had time to pick up his hammertar and he swung it downward. The bones of the badger shattered and made a loud sickening crunch. Blood poured from its mouth as it lay broken on the ground.

  Out of the corner of into Varnoth’s eye, he saw another badger set to pounce. Varnoth had a split second to react. He launched it to the air and collided with the badger to knock it off its course. The badger was only stunned for a second. It jumped onto the chest of Varnoth. The shadow panther was able to raise his left forearm into the badger’s neck to prevent a painful bite. Varnoth unsheathed his right dagger and plunged it into the gut of the badger. The creature roared in pain from the stab. In lightning-fast speed, Varnoth stabbed the demon badger multiple times to guarantee death and threw it to the ground.

  You have killed Demon Badger (Level 12)!

  You have received 200 experience points!

  Varnoth quickly scanned the surroundings for other badgers but saw none. He was able to catch his breath.

  “What in the Seven Hell’s just happened? Those bastards came out of nowhere. This little bastard took a chunk out of my neck! Ouch!” exclaimed John.

  John pulled something out of his ring and squirted it on his giant hand. He then began to wipe it on the neck wound. It appeared to be a healing salve. The wound began to close immediately.

  “Did you get hurt, cat?”

  “No, it doesn’t appear so. What is that you have there?” Varnoth asked.

  “Ah, it is just a simple healing salve. It does well on minor flesh wounds. It is much cheaper than a health potion. Here take the recipe.”

  The orc pulled a piece of paper out of his ring and handed it to Varnoth.

  You have learned how to craft Healing Salve!

  Varnoth looked over the ingredients, and it seemed simple enough to create.

  1 x Boar Fat

  1 x Onyx Apple

  1 x Ginger

  Varnoth would have to buy the ingredients in town. He didn’t have them in his herbalist box.

  “Thank you, John.”

  “It’s the least I can do since you just saved my life,” replied John.

  John knelt to loot the badger that he killed, and Varnoth did the same to the one he just dispatched.

  You have received:

  2 x Badger Meat

  1 x Badger Pelt

  20 Gold

  “Do you think we should stay here tonight?” asked Varnoth.

  “Yes, I will play a tune that will set up a magic barrier around us. It will not protect us completely from attack, but it will alarm us and give us time to react.”

  Varnoth watched as the giant orc lifted his hammertar and played a slow, beautiful tune. A blue half-sphere that glowed brightly encompassed them. He was very impressed by the orc’s abilities.

  John placed some badger meat onto the fire, and they ate well before sleeping soon after.

  CHAPTER 9

  After a very restful night, Varnoth and John continued their journey through the mountains. After a few hours, Varnoth looked at the horizon and saw Drangar. It was still a day’s walk away, but it was reassuring to see the
ir destination. Varnoth hoped the refugees would still be in Drangar, but there was no way of knowing until they arrived. The shadow panther appreciated John’s musical talents, however, the giant orc had been singing and playing his hammertar for the better part of the day.

  Albattara

  Albattara

  My sweet Albattara

  I traverse your beautiful land

  As long as I can stand

  Albattara

  I love you

  As Varnoth walked several feet ahead of the singing orc, he noticed there was a sudden silence. Varnoth turned to look toward the orc who had stopped in his tracks to stare at the side of the mountain.

  “John, what’s the matter? Why have you stopped?”

  “Cat, come here a minute and look,” replied John.

  “My name is Varnoth. Please address me as Varnoth…not cat!” Varnoth said while walking back to John.

  “Sure thing, Cat,” replied John, who was not paying attention to what Varnoth was saying.

  “You see this crack here? There is something behind this wall. I am sure of it,” John announced.

  Varnoth stepped closer to the wall and rubbed his claw along the crack.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Watch this. Step back my feline friend,” John said while lifting his hammertar way over his head.

  “Aaaaaaaaargh!” the orc yelled as he smacked the hammer against the wall.

  Varnoth regretted not covering his ears. He could hear bells now. John was right. There was something behind this wall.

  “Ha, I told you Varnie. Stand back, and I will finish this sucker,” commanded John.

  The orc took another powerful swing, and the hammertar smashed through the wall to reveal a dark cavern.

  “Wait, I will give us some light!” exclaimed John.

  Varnoth knew he didn’t need light but he wasn’t by himself anymore so he let the orc continue.

  John lifted his hammertar and sang:

  I cannot see

  Please light my way

  I cannot see

  Don’t let me go astray

  Little orb of light come to me

  Amazingly enough, a small orb of light appeared in front of John. As we walked into the cavern, the orb floated in front of him lighting the path. Varnoth was surprised time and time again by this orc bard. Varnoth shook his head in disbelief and followed along. The cavern tunnel wasn’t large. John’s head almost hit the top of the tunnel. The large orc had to duck down periodically. Varnoth had to trust John because he could not see what was in front of the large orc. All Varnoth could see was his backside.