Karma was about to retort when a leather, armored slave came running into the courtyard in front of the barracks and training building. "They're here!" he shouted franticly.
Smoke could be seen rising into the air to the south of the farm. "They're burning our fields," Karma snarled. "All right, men, let's go show these animals how the Holteins deal with Tolmonan mongrels." The young man strutted off to do battle with his guardsmen to either side. The slaves all followed after their master as a group though much less confidently.
Gerid walked along towards the rear of the defenders with Leoltus, Baitram, Jatan and Mateil. A rush of nervous tension began to charge him as he readied for combat. The other men seemed to watch him from either side even as they watched for the enemy to appear. Even as Gerid noticed that, they seemed to move slightly closer to him. He figured that his plans for getting noticed here had definitely come to fruition though perhaps Karma would rather that he could forget him instead this time. Maybe, Gerid thought, he would have to do something even more drastic in the future. If he didn't get killed, the slave just might win over the temperamental young master.
With extra strength set in his stride, Gerid began to move towards the front lines.
"Boy, what are you doing?" Leoltus questioned in a hiss trying to keep his voice lowered. "Are you planning suicide?"
Gerid turned a brief glance at the older man with a tight lipped smile and dangerous eyes. "You others may want to get back from me now, Leoltus. I plan to draw enough of the bandits away from the rest of these slaves that maybe I can keep most of them alive. You can join me, but maybe you should help the others and lead them through this. The others aren't warriors at all. They're just farmers and herdsmen. They will need your leadership now more than ever."
"You do talk like you're going to the slaughter, boy. Stick with the plan and we can work together after the others take the first charge. Are you going to throw your life away so quickly?" He lowered his voice again and asked, "What about your Tabitha?"
Gerid ignored him and quickly moved through the ragged ranks. The slaves noticed him and several whispered to themselves at his bold gesture. He hoped that they would even gain a little more strength from his confident attitude though his own stomach was beginning to flutter slightly.
As he found his place several feet behind Karma, they spied their adversaries. Several horsemen in black with red dyed faces carried torches in one hand and an upraised sword in the other. They seemed to guide their mounts with their knees rather than their hands, a hard trick Gerid noted. Just behind them, a small horde of similarly adorned men with swords and shields in hand made their way through the small fires just beginning to rise around them.
The sight of Karma's force caused the riders to give voice to blood curdling war cries. Gerid had never fought a man on horseback before even in practice, but, instead of holding back, he answered their cries with a shout and leapt forward. Karma turned and made to restrain his exuberance, but Gerid dodged his outstretched arm and was quickly running past the three.
Two horsemen led the way grinning at him. Hoping to drain the momentum of the charging bandits and praying that he would survive such an act, Gerid's mind calculated the moves that would be required as he ran forward. Ducking beneath their swords and deflecting one blade with the long knife, Gerid deftly grabbed hold of the bandit on his right. Using his great strength, he twisted the man completely off of his mount. Quickly using both hands, he flung the man far enough to remove the third rider from his seat with a loud thump and crash of mail armor. Both men fell to the ground only to have their companions trample them to death before they could adjust to those newly fallen.
One horseman's steed tripped as a result and threw the rider towards Gerid. Lashing out with the long knife, blood sprayed over his hand and legs as he tore a long, ragged, red trench through the man's torso. Quickly retrieving his club from where he had dropped it to grab the rider, Gerid allowed his adrenaline to force the bloody image of the man from his mind. A righteous rage consumed him instead in its place as the young man fought to rid the land of the bandit scourge. He charged deeper into the enemy ranks without hesitating.
Time nearly stopped for Gerid in the chaos of battle. His club continued to rise and fall as new opponents leapt to try and stop this demon unleashed in their midst. The long knife drew blood by the gallon and met steel with the power of a normal man's sword until it could no longer sustain its master's fury.
In a red, hazy fog, a sword was found to replace the knife even as the club too began to come apart in his hand. It was only wood after all and, though Gerid used it like the mightiest oak to punish the shields and armor around him, it could not be what it was not. A strong warrior with a stout shield of blackened steel met his attack in its final moments. Three devastating blows to the metal and the club exploded into slivers of shrapnel. The warrior laughed and tried to capitalize on the loss of the weapon. He charged forward with shield raised and sword readied to strike. Twisting nimbly, Gerid wrenched the defensive metal and thrust it back into the man. The sword was shoved to the side as Gerid swung his blade decapitating the warrior.
Taking only a second to retrieve the bandit's sword and to strap the brave shield onto his back, Gerid surveyed the battle still around him. There were bodies strewn all around him, but no man stood ready to meet him this time. Instead, the battle had swept to either side of him. Men screamed to his right where a group of slaves fought wildly to preserve their lives against a superior force. The left revealed Karma leading nearly a dozen men, including Leoltus and the guardsmen. They were fighting well enough he quickly decided.
With a roar of defiance, the berserker charged to the aid of the slaves. Even over the clashes of metal and the screams of injured men, the Tolmonan bandits heard the cry and trembled. Several turned as one group from the slaves to meet him. He could see fear in most of their eyes now. As the giant quickly split two men in twain with the new blade, those who had not been fearful, became so immediately.
Table of Contents
Other books by Donald L. Wigboldy Jr.
Chapter 1- The Black Ship
Chapter 2- The Curse Barrier
Chapter 3- Playing Games
Chapter 4- Gathering around the Table
Chapter 5- New Portals
Chapter 6- Offerings
Chapter 7- Runes and Portals
Chapter 8- A Matter of Confidence
Chapter 9- Infatuation
Chapter 10- An Open Door
Chapter 11- Portal Trap
Chapter 12- Reopening
Chapter 13- Night Lights
Chapter 14- Pretty Bait
Chapter 15- Hunters
Chapter 16- Storeroom
Chapter 17- Uncomfortable Meetings
Chapter 18- New Plans
Chapter 19- Under the Mountain
Chapter 20- Scouting the Mountain
Chapter 21- Battle of Parik
Chapter 22- Portal Class
Chapter 23- Little White Mouse
Chapter 24- Messages
Chapter 25- Managing Words
Chapter 26- Into the Void
Chapter 27- King Qeyless
Chapter 28- Old Stories
Chapter 29- New Harbor
Chapter 30- Chaos Duel
Chapter 31- The Pull of Home
Chapter 32- Welcome
Previews from other available titles:
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 49
