Death without Direction: A Modern Sword and Sorcery Serial (A Battleaxe and a Metal Arm Book 1)
Page 6
Dungeon… Why had that word come to mind?
Then he walked over to the line of sconces on the wall and tore one free with the same easy strength.
“What of the Hydra?” Taunauk asked.
“My blast only killed one head, but after your passing the head started to regrow. When one head dies, two more take its place. My next shot I aimed at the columns…”
Then Helesys realized why he was asking. It was not out of curiosity or comradery. If the dungeon had been reset like a gameboard or like the sconces on the wall then they would likely need to deal with the beast again.
There it was again… Dungeon—a place underground for keeping prisoners.
“It is no matter,” he said, having seen her expression. “We will find a way past the beast or we will give the fishmen a wide berth.”
Helesys nodded and added, “You go first.”
The barbarian chuckled and loosened his grip on the battleaxe. The elf weaver followed just behind him.
But then Taunauk paused at the hallway and was still. She could not see anything past his massive frame and could not even see his head past the fur cloak on his shoulders.
She grew impatient. They had a long walk ahead of them and the unending chill of water—that she had not forgotten. She shuddered at the memory of the cold. But as the moment stretched on Helesys began to fear that he was caught in some magical trap.
“Taunauk,” she whispered, afraid to move.
“You must see for yourself,” he said and stepped to the right.
She hesitated, but told herself that if there was danger Taunauk would not move aside. In spite of the thought, Helesys’s every muscle was tense as she moved forward in a crouch. She looked left down the hallway. It stretched impossibly far into the gloom again.
It was the same as before: A sharp left. Ten paces wide. Stone-lined. Impossibly long. No torch sconces. She thought again of the blasted flooding.
“I do not understand—”
—The elf weaver’s breath caught in her throat as she turned back toward the barbarian, for on the right was another hallway where before there had been only one. Both equally long and dark.
Helesys dropped to a knee and glanced again down both paths. Had she really expected a second chance? Another chance to sneak past the fishmen and avoid the Hydra?
From behind her, Taunauk said, “I think we should go left again.”
The weaver paused, trying to weigh two unweighable options. Worse—another thought scratched at mind her like a spider crawling in her hair: Death likely waited for them. Death and rebirth.
“Okay, Taunauk. Let us see just how much about this dungeon has changed.”
NEXT TIME ON A BATTLEAXE AND A METAL ARM
Book 2:
KNEEL BEFORE ZHUG
Spoiler-Free Excerpt from BAMA 2
Sneaking through the hall of the barracks was painfully slow. A hundred paces after the last bunk room brought them to a hard corner as the hallway turned to the right. Taunauk carefully peered around the corner.
“There is another bend up ahead,” he whispered, then gestured with his hand to make a Z-shape.
“Good place for an ambush,” Helesys replied.
The barbarian shrugged. There was little choice in the matter. Trying to sneak back past the ninety sleeping goblins was likely more dangerous.
“I will go first,” he said. “Wait here.”
Helesys felt eyes over her shoulder again, something watching. Something there and yet invisible. Intangible. She looked back over her shoulder and up and, for a moment, thought she saw something standing above her. She blinked and the image was gone, and the elf questioned whether she had seen anything at all.
Helesys alternated between watching her partner stalk the hall, which might’ve been another hundred paces to the next bend, and keeping watch on the hall of sleeping goblins. Her heart was beating in her throat. The arcane hum of her gauntlet was a small comfort.
Taunauk was halfway down the hall when he stopped cold and stood straight. He stepped to his left, flush with the stone wall so that Helesys could see.
Six goblins stood at the far end. They were all the same small, hunched build, except that these goblins wore haphazard armor. Their shoulder pauldrons and leg grieves were oversized, like they had been made for a man—or stolen from one. Helesys’s mind wandered back to the piles of broken armor and wondered how they had come to pass. The goblins also brandished swords and shields and those in the back held bows, already drawn.
Helesys and Taunauk had made no sounds and their whispers should not have alerted goblins hiding around a corner such as they. Somehow they had known. Somehow they had been watching the elf and the human.
Coming May 2021
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Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, I would massively appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favorite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and a starred review or even just a line or two can make a huge difference. It’s especially true for the start of a series. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the next one!
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Looking for more Bite-Sized Fantasy Shorts?
You might like Tales from Another World, Volume 1. The first installment contains stories about an undead sorcerer, a druid grove under attack, strange mermaids, a possessed church, a witch sentenced to burn, and commoners caught in-between. The compilation contains the stories ranging from 1,000 word flash fiction to 5,000 word short stories.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my Beta Readers and to my First Reader, Mel.
What to expect in A Battleaxe and a Metal Arm
I usually save this space for an “On Writing the story” section, but let’s do things differently this time. So, what can you expect from this series?
1) You can expect a heaping dose of action, both of the battleaxe and magic prosthetic arm variety.
2) Expect to slowly learn more about Helesys and Taunauk as their memories come back.
3) Expect to learn more about the dungeon as our heroes explore its far reaches.
4) You can expect a new story in the series every month. Sword and Sorcery on a Schedule.
I thought about going for a story every 2-3 weeks, but I wouldn’t be able to keep that pace (not with a day job). I’d rather be consistent and steady.
If you’re interested, check out the preorder link and get the next installment as soon as it goes live! Here it is again in case you missed it: Link for Kneel Before Zhug.
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About the Author
Samuel Fleming is a Science Fiction and Fantasy author.
He grew up in Maryland, spending most of his time swimming and writing. The thing about swimming is that it gives you a lot of time to daydream, so the two hobbies complemented each other well. Idle dray dreams turned into stories, some of which stuck with him for years. These days he swims a little less and writes a lot more.
He loves a good story no matter the medium: Books, TV, video games, comics, tabletop RPG’s, or podcasts–most of which he attempts to share with his wife and three kids, and occasionally on his blog.
Sorcery Serial (A Battleaxe and a Metal Arm Book 1)