by Inlo, Jeff
A shadow of anger and malice crossed the massive goblin's round face. Okyiq didn't mind losing goblins in what he viewed as entertainment, but he had no desire to be belittled by the impudent human. To make his point, he delivered a mental command to a goblin holding a crossbow.
Sy heard the twang of the bowstring behind him and then felt a flash of pain in the back of his thigh. A metal bolt plunged deep into his flesh. It almost broke clean through his leg but a jagged edge near the end of the metal rod ripped against his bone and brought it to a halt still inside his thigh. He screamed in agony as he dropped both weapons and grabbed his leg.
Realizing that Okyiq had ordered the bow strike, Ryson jumped to his feet and prepared to race down the side of the building. He would do whatever was necessary to save his friend, but just as he moved to the edge of the roof, he heard Okyiq call out.
"Hold, delver! That was one bow. Leave that building and they all fire. He still has a chance."
Sy called out immediately after.
"Ryson! Do not try and save me! I don't want you to die because of me, and I don't want to die because of you. One way or the other, this is my fight! Not yours! I mean it."
The delver remained standing at the roof's edge. He could be seen by anyone that looked in his direction. He saw Sy glance over toward him. His delver eyes were sharp enough to see the captain's expression. Beyond the pain and anger, there was a will to survive. Sy's eyes burned with it.
Sy bit down on his lip as he bent low to retrieve his saber and the short sword. He left the metal bolt sticking out of his leg as he straightened up with another grunt of pain. He forgot about the delver and placed his full attention on the goblin leader.
"You want to talk about cheating?" the captain growled. "Your bargain didn't include anything about being wounded. I doubt you had an arrow sticking out of your leg when you killed your goblins. Seems like you broke your own deal."
Okyiq would not accept the accusation.
"You wanted to cheat, so I got to cheat."
"So I have to pay for the short sword with a bolt in my leg?" Sy hissed, swallowing hard against the pain that continued to radiate from his wound. "Fine. You told the delver I still had a chance. I'm holding on to this short sword."
"You can now. That's why I had you shot. Everything even now."
"Maybe in your mind."
"That's all that counts."
"Like I said, that's just fine. You ready to send more at me?"
Sy wasn't only determined to survive, he was determined to win, to defeat Okyiq in front of his own horde. His anger grew with each heartbeat and his rage allowed him to forget about the pain shooting up and down his leg. Rather than bury his emotion, he allowed it to flourish. He placed equal weight on both legs in a display of pure defiance. He wanted to show every goblin that nothing would slow him.
The challenge continued. Wave after wave of goblins rushed him. Some tried to overwhelm him with pure hostility, others tried to outmaneuver him. They all failed. A few times their numbers reached ten, but never more than that, and even ten could not find a way to pierce the captain's defenses.
Even with labored breath, Sy fought on. He allowed his emotions to beat away the growing fatigue, but he did not allow his rage to turn into carelessness. He continued to rely on all of his experience and never made a single rash mistake. His passions, skills, instincts and strength—both physical and mental—came together in a display of pure tenacity.
After defeating yet another pack, he checked his weapons and his wound. The edge of the short sword had dulled to the point of becoming more of a cudgel than a blade. His saber was almost as useless. His left leg was essentially numb as blood continued to pulse out of the hole created by the metal bolt that remained imbedded in his flesh. He had lost count of how many goblins he had decimated. They came at him in so many varying waves he couldn't afford the effort to keep track.
"So how many is that?" Sy demanded of the goblin leader. "You going to tell me you killed more than that?"
"I have," Okyiq snarled.
"I bet. My guess is you're just going to keep throwing goblins at me until I'm dead."
"No, I keep my promises. Promised I would release you if you killed same amount. You still have twenty to go."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I had their fingers, remember? Serps counted them out for me when I left message for you and stupid delver. You have twenty to go. Kill them all and you go free. That's my promise."
Sy actually smiled. He believed he could do it. He figured Okyiq would send two waves of ten at him. He was exhausted, but to survive, he had enough in him to win two more battles. He set his feet and readied his blades.
All twenty goblins came at him at once. They came from every direction and not one hesitated for an instant. They rushed him with their swords slicing in short controlled thrusts, and they shrieked with insane fury.
Sy couldn't leap over them. There were too many. Any jump would land him on top of the incoming swarm and he would be forced to the ground. In one desperate attempt, he dove low and cut out the legs of two goblins at the forefront of the assault. He pushed their bodies back into the quickly encroaching mass, but as he did, three struck him from behind. One was lucky enough to slice his already wounded leg. It would no longer support his weight. He tipped to one side, completely lost his balance, and fell over into the vicious pack.
After but a few moments, Okyiq commanded the goblins to halt their savage attack. He walked over to Burbon's captain of the guard who was lying face down in the mud created from blood. The massive goblin rolled his victim over with one quick thrust of his foot. He watched with satisfaction as Sy's eyes rolled back and his chest deflated with his last breath.
The horde of goblins erupted with a ghastly cheer and began dancing and leaping for joy in the streets of Burbon. They viewed the death of the captain as an end to stubborn human resistance against their insatiable desires. They had won.
"Nice show," Okyiq grinned, and then he disregarded his enemy as if the dead soldier was no longer worth his attention. "Throw the carcass to the shags. They're getting hungry."
Chapter 19
Ryson stood stunned upon the rooftop. Even as several goblins dragged Sy's body toward a group of hungry shags, he could not believe his friend was dead. He wondered if he was hallucinating, if a serp somewhere in the distance had somehow taken over his thoughts, made him see a mirage. It was unreal... unacceptable.
Deep in the back of his mind, Ryson had come to believe that Sy was basically invulnerable... that nothing could ever harm him. Despite the magic that seemed to change all the rules, Sy had always found a way to rise above it. The delver viewed the town captain as an unwavering constant in a land turned sideways by an energy that so few could truly understand. And he knew he wasn't alone. Ryson believed that every citizen in Burbon came to accept the very same thing.
Sy maintained order even when such a task was nearly impossible. When monsters came crawling out of the woods, the captain kept the people safe. When magic casters caused havoc with powerful spells, he brought calm back to a frightened town. When deadly creatures flew across the sky, Sy refused to allow panic to overtake Burbon's citizens. The people that wanted order in their lives—demanded it during a time of sheer chaos—could look to their captain and find strength and stability. It just seemed as if Sy would be in charge of Burbon forever, and he would always ensure its safety.
Sy Fenden was Burbon.
But Sy was dead, and Burbon was in the hands of a terrible horde. Control was lost. Sanity was gone. Turmoil and brutality ruled, and it took the form of one massive goblin and his army of terrors.
Everything moved in slow motion as Ryson tried to make sense of it all. When it finally sunk in, when he truly came to understand the magnitude of what had happened, the delver realized just how vulnerable they all were, even the strongest... or the fastest. The staggering reality went beyond enormous spiders, hairy beasts, o
r a horde of fiends. The line between life and death was no more than a thin curtain, a wisp of near nothingness that could be blown apart in a single moment.
Ryson had dealt with death before, and on many occasions. He had lost close friends, saw them die in battle. A break would cut across his heart, form a hole that would never completely close. Another such hole opened for Sy, but this fissure created greater consequences. The bitter loss reached up into his understanding of life itself and forced him to accept a new reality, one where there were no safe havens, no places to hide from the inevitable and painful truths.
If Sy could be killed, then so could they all. Everyone close to him would eventually die. One day, perhaps that day, his existence upon the land would come to an end as well. Upon a rooftop in Burbon, Ryson came to full grips with mortality.
Accepting that fact didn't chase away the horror of what he witnessed. Sy's death would continue to haunt him, cause him unyielding pain, but he had to face the reality of what stood before him. He was in the center of a town filled with beasts capable of unspeakable acts, and he was alone.
The thought of his mortality didn't frighten him, but it changed his perception as he looked down upon the horde of monsters that were more than willing to bring him to a hasty demise. In a state of pure defiance, he decided he wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't give Okyiq the satisfaction of another victory... another death.
He recalled everything Linda had said to him just before she left for Connel. He remembered how she said she was more worried about the soldiers than she was over her own husband, in essence because they were human while he was a delver. The goblins, the shags, even the hook hawks; they could only hurt him if he let them. If he didn't want them to, they could never touch him.
Ryson gave one last thought to Sy. He would have loved to avenge the captain's death and save Burbon. He would vow to do so, swear that his home would not become a permanent shelter for such despicable creatures, but not at that moment, not when he could just as easily be killed. Justice would come on another day. For that moment, the delver needed to survive, and for that to happen, he needed to move.
He became a blur of motion. He raced down the side of the building and down into the streets. He broke immediately to the north, away from the largest congregation of dark creatures. The horde of goblins that danced at Sy's death would have no hope of catching him.
Through the eyes of several hook hawks, Okyiq knew Ryson Acumen was hoping to escape. The very attempt enraged the goblin leader, and he would use every resource to capture the cursed delver. His goblins might not be able to match the delver's speed, but they could be used to cut off certain paths of retreat. Through overwhelming willpower, he commanded the horde to cease its celebration.
"Surround the town, and cut off all escape. Bring me the delver!"
The goblins rushed from the southern gate, but once more, their swollen numbers prevented quick movement. They were trapped within the very power of their great mass. The malevolent creatures at the very edges of the mob raced to encircle the town, but their movements were ponderous and disorganized. They managed to block off the southern and western gates, but they were unable to reach the northern or eastern sections of town with any speed or efficiency.
Ryson understood that would be the case before he leapt from the roof. He could use it to his advantage, along with other factors. He knew Okyiq wanted him captured, not killed, but that might change if it was the only alternative.
Developing a plan for escape, Ryson knew he had to avoid the tunnels. Goblins and shags would follow him underground, and he couldn't afford to have the horde racing after the escaping soldiers. Just like Sy, Ryson wanted the town guard to reach Dunop. He wouldn't trade their safety for his own.
Ryson's first objective was to head northeast. He would make it appear as if he was heading away from the forest and toward the farmlands. The shags and goblins would never catch him, but he knew two deadly obstacles had to be overcome.
The hook hawks were both a threat and a potential asset. Ryson wanted them to follow him. He wanted Okyiq to see his path, realize exactly where he was headed so the massive goblin wouldn't concern himself with the tunnels. Just as every hook hawk took to the air, Ryson unsheathed the Sword of Decree. It became a clear beacon as it flashed through the streets of Burbon.
The hawks, however, would not be satisfied with surveillance. They were well suited to capture the delver, as long as Okyiq retained sufficient control to keep the large birds from ripping Ryson apart and consuming him. The closest hawk swooped in low before the delver crossed two town blocks. It swerved back and forth in the sky in a whirlwind of erratic flight. Its talons sprung open just as it prepared to snatch the fast-moving prey at the shoulders.
Ryson kept running straight down the center of the street, forcing the large bird with its irregular wings to compensate for its uneven flight. If Ryson tried to outmaneuver the monster with quick turns, he would have fallen directly into its clutches. By maintaining a simple and direct path, he made the hawk struggle against its own natural movement.
He heard the bird's wings fight against the air currents. The rush of air sounded like a great burst of wind breaking through a cluster of thick pines. Just as the hawk came within reach, Ryson leapt upward, twisting in the air to come face to face with the darting hawk. He jabbed the beast with his sword in the center of its chest even as its talons jutted forward to take hold of its prey.
The giant bird shrieked and turned immediately from the blade. It wanted nothing further to do with a weapon that could burn its very essence. It screeched continuously as it beat its wings furiously to climb higher and higher in a twisted path of immediate retreat. The soul-burning burst of enchanted magic from the Sword of Decree forced any other desire from its mind. It no longer cared what the giant goblin commanded. Even the controlling influence of the serps had been burned out of its consciousness. The winged beast simply wished to escape, and it flew as far away from Burbon as quickly as possible.
Before Ryson hit the ground from his jump, he quickly scanned the skies. He saw two more hawks dropping low. They were both ahead of him. They were swerving back and forth in such a maniacal fashion that it seemed they would crash into each other over and over again.
Despite the appearance of the disorganized flight, the hawks actually maintained great control over their movements. They ranged back and forth within the open space of the street, but at no point did a single feather of one bird graze that of the other.
Ryson understood the motion. As a delver, he often utilized the same movements. When he dashed through the forest, a straight line of travel was often impossible, especially when there was no trail to follow.
Seeing the same pattern of motion in the hawks, Ryson knew how to counter the birds' assault. He leapt directly at the flying beast that was the farthest away of the two. He knew that it would dart down when the closest hawk made its next swing to the left or right.
Both birds moved exactly as he expected. The closest hawk veered off and the second creature soared in low behind it with its talons extended. It came within an arm's length of Ryson's upper body, right where the delver wanted it.
Jabbing the Sword of Decree into the hook hawk's neck achieved the desired results. The bird was not seriously injured, but the flash of spirit cleansing fire removed the influence of the serps and the control of the commanding goblin. Squawking as loudly as the first hawk that felt the fire of Ryson's blade, it soared up into the sky and quickly back toward Dark Spruce Forest.
Ryson could not rest for an instant, for he knew the second beast would be veering back toward him. He could feel the creature reaching for him. He dove to the ground, barely avoiding the razor sharp talons as he rolled skillfully away with his own blade safely extended far from his body.
Before his momentum stopped, he used it to pop back to his feet. He twisted about in one continuous motion and struck the hawk on its leg. The edge of the sword slipped past the feathers
and slightly cut into the bird's skin. Ryson paused briefly as he watched the beast fly away.
He took the opportunity to scan the full breadth of the skies. There were still over a dozen hawks in the air, but none soared low enough for him to consider an immediate risk. Ryson imagined Okyiq was none too pleased at having lost three of his hook hawks and probably didn't want to lose any more, especially when the large goblin had other means to corral the delver.
Ryson couldn't completely ignore the hawks soaring overhead, but he had to place much greater attention on what lay ahead. He knew what waited in blind alleys, on the back slopes of pitched rooftops, or just around sharp corners. He remembered the messenger's report to Sy when Burbon had been initially inundated by the horde.
The bloat spiders had entered the town from the north and had easily scaled the walls. Okyiq might have bid all the dark creatures to pause when Sy surrendered, but he certainly would be utilizing the spiders' skills to keep the delver from escaping.
Bloat spiders could not hope to match the delver's speed, but they were surprisingly quick for their size and used other means to catch their prey. Their webs were visible, but their exact location could be deceiving, as the strands tended to blend into their surroundings. The lines were thick and immensely strong, but they wavered gracefully in the wind, making it that much more difficult to pinpoint their exact position. Careless prey would often walk right into a web thinking it was still several paces away.
Intending to convince Okyiq that his ultimate path remained to the northeast, Ryson continued in that direction. He reduced his speed since he was no longer as concerned about the hook hawks. He began to rely on his other senses, and it saved his life. He smelled the spider before he had any chance of seeing it, and he immediately reassessed his course.
The creature was clinging to the exterior sidewall of a large bakery near the town's center. It prepared to pounce out into the middle of the street just as the delver was ready to pass beyond the building. It might not have been able to take hold of the fast moving prey, but it could force the delver back into a side alley where it had previously spun a waiting trap.
