Saeunn was able to position herself better and eventually managed to kick the ogre in the groin, stunning it and giving her an opening. She swung on a high-to-low swing that spanned the creature’s right-facing shoulder, across its body, and ending up coming out at the left-facing hip. Her blade cleaved through flesh and bone, never stopping once along its deadly path.
The ogre stood with a look of disbelief in its black eyes, trying to hold in its entrails, as its life blood gushed out onto the snowy ground.
Saeunn cried to the god of war in victory, allowing the bloodlust to fuel her, and looked around for another foe to vanquish in The Champion’s name.
He tightened his grip on the hilts of his weapons and followed after her, hoping that his elixirs would last the remainder of the fight. They were performing well so far, he noted, but the durations were lessening.
An ogre headed directly toward Elec and he could no longer give consideration to his needed improvements. He considered an idea. He tossed Daegnar Giruth into the air and spoke a magical word in the ancient elven dialect. The blade seemed to freeze in midair and held fast. As the ogre neared him, Elec sprung toward him, and used the ogres arm to launch himself into the air. He grasped the hilt of the blade and pulled himself up as the creature lunged, passing directly beneath him instead. Elec spun around in a complete circle, continuing with his momentum to launch himself onto the ogre’s exposed back.
He landed with a thud, forcing the ogre to stumble forward. It fell with its arms outstretched, sliding forward on the slick ground. Elec grabbed the ogre’s head and attempted to hang on, but could not. He slid forward now unexpectedly and came to a stop just as the ogre unsteadily got to its feet. Obviously dazed, it looked around for its club, but could not locate it.
The ogre snarled at Elec, showing its rotting yellow teeth behind its curled lips. It charged him, covering the ten paces very quickly. Elec tried to spring away in a dive, but lost his footing and slipped. The ogre slammed into him knocking the air from his lungs, but Elec managed to remain standing, unable to fall backward under the slippery ground. The ogre swung a series of mighty blows. Elec dodged the first one, was grazed slightly by the second and was hit hard in the face and head by the next two, which sent him sprawling to the ground. Another blow followed but he tumbled backward away from it, and fell to the hard, wet ground. Keeping his eyes on the charging ogre, he crawled backward as quickly as he could until he finally backed himself into the trunk of a tree.
This is it! Elec thought, trying to cover himself as best he could. Nowhere left to go….
Just then he saw past the tangles of the ogre’s greasy, matted hair to glimpse a figure airborne heading toward them, a huge blade angled down, poised for a death blow.
Saeunn drove her greatsword straight through the back of the ogre, skewering it and killing it instantly as the sword tip angled through its huge belly and into the tree trunk. The ogre fell limp, held up only by the angled blade, its tip buried in the base of the tree.
Saeunn stood there, allowing her adrenaline to dissipate.
Then she suddenly and wildly looked about for the elf, a look of dread upon her face, thinking that she might have just killed him too in her rage!
“Elec!” Saeunn cried desperately, not wanting to peek around the bulbous ogre’s weight to see if the elf, too, was pinned to the tree.
“Up here,” came a voice from above her. On a bough of the tree lay the battered form of Elec, blood dripping from his eye and lip where he had been pummeled soundly by the ogre. “I really need to work on homing my combat skills…,” he laughed, coughing up some blood in the process.
Saeunn gasped and then smiled wider than he had ever seen her smile before. Then she actually laughed.
“How…how did you…?” Saeunn let the question hang, obviously relieved that he was alive.
Elec swallowed hard, wiped some blood from his brow and pointed at a unique ring.
“I can use this to teleport on occasion, assuming that the charge has been restored,” he smiled. “Luckily, it had,” he added with a laugh. “I haven’t really timed it. I just know it takes some,” he paused and spat some blood, “time to recharge.”
He grabbed another elixir and quaffed it sloppily, spilling some on himself and cursing a bit. His hands were shaking.
“How are you feeling?” Elec asked Saeunn, assuming that she had taken a few hard blows. “I have some potions that might help you.”
“I have been better,” she flatly stated, now weary from fatigue.
“Here,” Elec said as re-corked the top of the elixir and tossed it to her. “Drink the rest of that and you’ll feel better. It speeds up the healing process. I couldn’t open this a minute ago,” he pointed to his left eye, which Saeunn markedly watched heal before her eyes.
As he slowly climbed out of the tree and got to the ground, he noticed the left side of the barbarian’s head was bleeding badly through her sash. He removed another vial with some kind of ointment from his bandolier.
“Remove your sash,” Elec instructed her and she did so, revealing a large laceration in the side of her head. Elec considered how she was still standing.
He poured some of the liquid out onto her sash and dabbed at it, rubbing it around on her forehead until it started to coagulate.
“I don’t have a lot of this left, but I know where to pick more of the root that I craft it from,” Elec said as he gestured at the very tree that he had been sitting in. He absently plucked some of the leaves and stashed them in his belt pouch as he spoke. “Tie this back on again and let it be. It should be fine by the morn.”
“Thank you, Elec,” Saeunn responded, truly amazed at the resources of this white-eyed, exotic elf.
“We should check the others!” Saeunn exclaimed, and with that she was off and running, at full speed from her first step.
It was all Elec could muster to keep ten paces back.
Garius got to the top of the hill just in time to see an orc deliver the second arrow that bit deeply into Rose’s hamstring. As that registered, the visage beneath his helm shifted to resemble that of seething rage.
He approached slowly, clutching the handle of The Repentant firmly once more and with purpose. He held the hammer high in one hand beckoning The Shimmering One and asking for protection while he crossed the snowy ground to the orc responsible for the ruination of his friend and companion.
In response to his prayer, a shimmering aura surrounded his body, forming a protective barrier that made the arrow slow and fall harmlessly away. As he walked toward the archer, he chanted the verse over and over with vigor, growing louder with each step as The Repentant glowed with holy energy.
Garius continued to cross the ground as the stunned orc realized he could not penetrate the defenses with his missiles, and so, retrieved his sword from his scabbard.
Garius now stood in front of the creature and dismissed his personal fortification spell. Propelled by an anger that he could not quite comprehend, he invoked an incantation initiating a spell to once more call forth the necromantic powers of the degenerative plane. Uttering an offering of prayer to The Reaper, he extended his hand with an open palm toward the orc’s frame. But unlike so many times before, this time he felt a satisfaction in tapping that dark power.
The orc attempted to stab at him, but the Inquisitor infused such vast amounts of physical pain upon the orc, that he dropped the sword mid-swing, and his body wracked and convulsed in agony. The orc fell to his knees. Garius continued the incantation, inflicting such suffering on the orc that he finally fell to his knees, before dropping face first into the snow. His life force was completely drained from his body, as it was absorbed now into the Inquisitor. Garius Forge’s frame shone with energy as he felt the necromantic power dissipate, storing it temporarily within his own body.
He turned from the ruined orc and ran as fast as he could beneath the weight of his armor toward his fallen friend. Garius reached Rose and threw his helmet off, reveal
ing a grim expression. He cared for this woman clearly much more than he’d even known, he realized at that very instant. He clutched her arm and called upon a surge of regenerative energy, redirecting what he had stored within himself and using it to channel healing directly into her wounded body.
“You shall not be taken from me that easily,” Garius muttered aloud as he continued his prayer.
Rose’s entire body seemed to light up. Her eyes shot open as the onset of divine energy infused her and visibly began closing the more serious wounds on her chest and leg. The arrows began to disintegrate under the might of the spell as the light exploded around her. Garius repeated the incantation once more, further healing her wounds and closing them completely, stopping the flow of blood that only a heartbeat ago, was staining the snow-covered ground.
Garius witnessed as Saeunn and Elec turned the corner. They slowly crossed the ground to them, fear and concern on their faces, assuming the worst.
“Is she…?” Elec asked, not finishing the sentence.
Saeunn stared at the blood that stained the ground where she rested and obviously thought the woman dead. Garius did not reply as he held her in his outstretched arms, monitoring her shallow breathing. Finally, she coughed and started to show signs of movement.
Rose opened her eyes and saw a concerned set of brown eyes staring back at her. Then she realized the source of those eyes and shoved herself away in a panic.
“What the f—!” she cried as she rolled out of Garius’s arms, and shifted to her knees. “What happened!? I remember the pain…and then…,” Rose began to explain, and then fell silent as she remembered the sting of the arrows. “How did..?”
“Garius saved your life, it appears,” Elec finally answered as Garius retrieved his helmet and latched it on his belt, remaining stoic.
“How did you do that?” Saeunn asked, truly not knowing what had transpired.
“Let’s just say that I am able to heal, but only under the right circumstances,” he cryptically answered the barbarian. Then he turned to Rose and spoke to her, his eyes softening under her gaze. “You will be fine,” he stated caringly, trying but failing to hide his emotions. Then he abruptly changed the subject. “Some rest ought to do us all good. Let us get back to the caravan so I can continue trying to locate the holy symbols. We must be close.”
Saeunn and Elec exchanged concerned looks, shrugged, and then headed back toward the caravan.
“Garius,” Rose called to him. He turned, strode back to her and looked upon her, locking eyes with her again. “Help me to my feet, won’t you?” she asked, still kneeling in the snow. As he bent to help her up, she kissed him deeply. He kissed her back initially, but suddenly pushed her away.
“I cannot. Not now! We have much work to do and I must remain focused,” he said, admonishing her, before slowly walking off and back down the hill
Rose did not know what to make of that or even why she had done it! She remained where she was, contemplating this and other events. Her mind had wandered back in time while she stood there and she recalled thoughts as she lay there dying.
Her thoughts ranged from her childhood as an orphan, to being abused as a prostitute in the streets of Oakhaven, to discovering her ability to enter the shadow realm, to the eventual revenge she inflicted on those that abused her. Then she thought of the Shadowhands and the current life she had carved out for herself in Oakhaven and wondered if she had made a huge mistake in coming along.
Doubt was fast consuming her thoughts.
Do I have feelings for Garius? Or is it simply a reaction to him saving my life and that I feel indebted to him? She considered these thoughts and feelings for a long time before making her way back to the wagon.
It was quite a while before she entered the caravan, where she headed slowly to her cot and lay down. She was sleeping within minutes, now realizing the full extent of her exhaustion.
The others went about their business, mending their wounds, tending to their armor, weapons and supplies as Garius disappeared outside. An hour passed and he returned to the caravan with still no sign of the acolyte’s presence.
Garius gazed upon the slumbering Rose and crept to his cot on the opposite side of the alcove, not wanting to wake her. She’d been through a lot and he needed them all to be sharp and focused in the coming days. He removed the rest of his armor and lay down to rest for the eve.
His last waking thoughts were a mishmash of uncertain sentiments, remorse and forbidden desires.
“Thank you for your herbal remedies,” Saeunn remarked absently to Elec as she examined her wound. Elec nodded and smiled back at her. “See what it has done?”
She craned her neck to show him where the wound on her head had once been deep and now showed signs of scabbing over.
Elec smiled and waited for her to go to sleep. He then removed the glowing ring from his belt pouch, entered his interdimensional lab space, and began frantically making more of his elixirs. After several hours passed and several new potions were created, he woke Saeunn for her watch.
Elec knew that Saeunn did not like being indoors, so she decided to do the remainder of her shift outside in the cold snow until the new day dawned. He watched her outside the entire rest of the evening until the dawn came.
Chapter 19
After a careful trek through the tunnels on a lower level—the only other level they’d found thus far—the goblinoids passed several rooms where they’d trapped some of the undead monstrosities, spiking and otherwise barring the doors. They also avoided some traps, the ones they had managed not to spring, during their initial investigations on each level of the temple, before coming to a stop before a heavy wooden door. This type of door was commonplace on both of the hand-shaped floors of the temple, purposely hinged by knowledgeable craftsmen who bound them with iron strips to prevent swelling.
“This be the room that has the shiny treasures!” Grubb heard a hopeful goblin’s voice pipe up as he yanked the heavy, solid door open without much of an effort and peered inside. It was very dark, but he could see glints of shimmering bits and pieces from within reflecting off the light of the torches behind him.
“Get this room properly lit,” ordered the commander, adjusting his chainmail armor.
The room opened up into a spacious expanse as torches were placed in all available sconces, two on each of the four walls. The room was at least one hundred paces in each direction and contained a few tables and dozens of overturned chests and urns along the ground scattered all about. There were also a few shelving units or racks placed on three sides of the room, the nearest of which had treasures spilling onto the stone, while several others appeared empty. There were stalagmites that seemed to divide the room into sections. This area, for whatever reason, was left in a mostly-natural state.
Most importantly to the goblinoids, the chamber was host to all manner of treasure. Grubb entered and his eyes widened as he saw several ancient artworks of various shapes and sizes, and gleaming chalices and decanters of gold scattered about, among other things. He could see silver plates, jewelry, gems, pearls and coins of all kinds.
He also noticed a few bone remnants mixed in with the treasure which struck him as odd at first glance, but he did not give it much consideration. Grubb noted those and pointed them out to Shaman Tukk, who lifted his antlered helmet from his head, rubbed his bald scalp, replaced the helm, and then marched off to investigate.
The coins were mostly coppers that made up the bulk of them. There were also remnants of armors, weapons, boots, gloves and the like mixed in with the treasures.
Each bracket now housed a freshly burning torch, but the torchlight didn’t bathe the entire room in its luminescence due to its vast size. The light intermittently reflected from the various objects reflective exteriors, seeming to make the shadows dance around the room. The glinting coins had a mesmerizing effect on the goblinoids as more than a score of them dispersed to inventory the hoard. The torchlight reflected from not only the treas
ures, but also from various puddles along the outskirts of the room. Their presence seemed a little odd to Grubb, too, but then he recalled the natural pools on the floor above them, and so water found beneath might not seem out of place.
“Get the treasure appraised quickly so I can decide what is worth carrying out of here when the time comes,” Commander Grubb barked to his troops.
“Which should be soon?” He directed that question to Tukk but the shaman ignored him, continuing instead to study the bone remnants. The commander was handed a lighted oil lamp which he placed at his feet. Tukk was seen more clearly now, muttering to himself as he surveyed the bones. He looked up to regard the commander, acting as if he had just noticed him standing there.
“It shall be done, Mighty One,” Shaman Tukk responded as he held an unidentified bone relic in his hand and returned his attention to it. Perhaps he was trying to decipher the age of the bone or what creature it might have belonged to, Grubb assumed.
“I want as much of the treasure and as many of the trinkets we can carry scooped up and placed in sacks.” Grubb continued giving his instructions to the mass of orcs and goblins that were wading into the treasure piles, sifting through to begin the task of evaluating their findings. Many of the goblinoids were familiar with, and could estimate the value of the treasure quickly, but there were vast sums to sift through. Grubb realized that it might take quite a while to sort it all out.
After a reasonable investigation of the bone remnants, Shaman Tukk began his ritual to commune with the spirits. He held his staff in front of him and spoke an incantation that appeared very guttural in nature, even to the other orcs. After a brief, but energetic session that included more ranting in succession with various hand gestures, he suddenly stopped.
The Beginnings Omnibus: Beginnings 1, 2, 3 & Legend of Ashenclaw novella (Realm of Ashenclaw Beginnings Saga) Page 37
