Jaikus blanched at the prospect of trading blows once again with the troll. Returning his attention to the tree, he asked, “So, how are we to get this down?”
Maybe it was his friend’s quick reversal on his stand for knocking over the tree, or maybe it was due to the tension and fatigue wracking his body, but Reneeke couldn’t help but grin. Drawing his sword, he said, “Lady Kate said there was an aura on this blade. It has already proven itself against troll-hide.” Then he stepped toward the askew tree. “Let’s see how well it does now.”
“You might break the blade.”
Reneeke shrugged. He handed Jaikus his torch then gripped the hilt with both hands. Raising the sword over his head, he said, “With or without it, we stand little chance against the troll.” Then, using every ounce of strength at his disposal, he swung the sword in a mighty slice.
The finely honed edge struck the trunk and bark went flying as it cleaved its way a solid six inches within the tree.
“Yes!” exclaimed Jaikus.
Reneeke worked the blade out and hacked again. This time, a wedge of wood fell away leaving a pie-shaped cavity. With a nod of his head, Reneeke directed Jaikus’ toward a low hanging branch on the rivulet side. “Give me a hand,” he said as he raised the sword.
The tree emitted a slight cracking noise as Jaikus took hold of the branch. When Reneeke struck the tree for the third time, he pulled downward on the branch with all his might. Loud popping and cracking noises came from the hacked area and the tree tilted even more precariously toward the water.
“Almost there,” said Reneeke a he drew his sword back for what he hoped would be the final blow required to fell the tree. But the blow never came. It was preempted by a loud crash heralding the arrival of the troll.
Seeing the two friends with their backs to the river, the creature snarled, then charged.
“Get that tree down!” Reneeke shouted as he turned to face the troll. With sword held before him, he started sidestepping away. “Come and get me!” The troll fixated on him, and followed.
Claws shot forward only to pass through empty space. Reneeke had anticipated the beast’s attack and moved accordingly. In his younger years, he had faced down his share of distempered creatures; bulls and the like. This troll wasn’t all that different. Sure it was bigger, stronger, and slightly more intelligent than animals found on a farm, but a beast, no matter how ferocious, was just a beast and would act accordingly.
After a second swipe that was just as ineffectual as the first, Reneeke glanced over toward where Jaikus was doing his utmost to bring that tree down. Grabbing the branch high up toward the trunk, Jaikus leaped up, tucked in his legs, and allowed his entire weight to drag on the branch.
There was a snap, and the branch broke.
Pain flared as his momentary, visual diversion cost him dearly. Talons ripped along the forearm wielding the sword. Simultaneously, the powerful hind legs of the troll launched the beast forward in a mighty leap.
Reneeke spun to the side to avoid the attack and struck out as the creature sailed past. The blade connected with the side of the troll’s head, leaving a deep, blood-spurting, furrow. He dodged back as the troll twisted in midair, coming to land facing him. It sprang again.
Unable to dart to safety, he instead dropped to the ground and allowed the beast to pass harmlessly over him. Once it was past, he quickly regained his feet and ran for all he was worth. A second later, the troll came to land and raced in pursuit.
Rising from where the snapping of the branch had left him, Jaikus glanced over to see Reneeke racing off into the dark of the forest with the troll in hot pursuit. “Get the tree!” he heard his friend shout as Reneeke disappeared from sight. Returning his gaze back to the tree, he saw where Reneeke had all but cut his way through.
One more cut! One more and the tree would have fallen. Wracked with indecision as to the best course of action, he heard Reneeke’s voice shout from out of the darkness, “Hurry!”
He considered using the rope in his pack to pull the tree down. And that would have been a viable solution had there been more shore between the tree and the water. But as it was, with the tree mere feet from the waterline, there wouldn’t be sufficient leverage to make a difference.
Then, another thought occurred to him, one that he was loath to attempt. Although, when an inarticulate cry from Reneeke split the silence, he knew the attempt must be made despite the risks. Jaikus knew that should he climb up the trunk far enough, his weight, coupled with the degree of the tree’s slant, would increase the pressure on the area hacked by Reneeke, and thus, bring it down. He dropped the two torches at the base of the slanted tree, steeled his resolve, then began to climb.
The climb was relatively easy as there were many limbs available for handholds during his ascent. When he reached five feet from the ground, he felt the tree start to bow beneath his weight. At ten, the trunk below gave off popping and cracking sounds.
Almost.
Moving another two feet along the trunk, he hopped. Driving his weight forcibly down upon the tree, he felt, as well as heard, the final crack as the tree finally gave way. Jaikus held onto the branches for dear life as the tree toppled. When it struck the rivulet, he was jarred loose and one hand inadvertently slipped into the water. At the same time, the upper reaches of the tree seemed to explode in a cloud of white when it came to land upon the sandbar.
Instantly, the water began to roil, and pain flared as tiny teeth sought to rip and tear away his flesh. Jerking his hand from the water, he discovered four of the little, meat-eating fish had their teeth firmly attached to three of his fingers. It was painful removing them as their jaws refused to relinquish their bits of flesh. Once the last had been removed, Jaikus turned back toward the forest and yelled, “Now, Reneeke! The tree is down!”
Jaikus began making his way back along the trunk toward the shore, and the two torches still burning upon the ground. When he reached the end and hopped down, Reneeke still hadn’t appeared. Worried for his friend, he thought that perhaps Reneeke may have become turned around among the trees and couldn’t find his way back. He reclaimed the torches and climbed back up onto the trunk of the fallen tree where he began waving them about.
“Reneeke!” he shouted. “This way!”
Torches moved furiously for half a minute before Reneeke broke free from the trees. Jaikus jumped in elation at seeing his friend, but was cut short as Reneeke drew close and he got a good look at him. Streaks of blood created a grisly patchwork along the left side of his face, and his clothes were shredded in three places, testament to having endured the troll’s tender caresses.
Five paces behind him, came the troll.
“Get going, Jaik!” he yelled.
Jaikus turned about and was brought to a halt by the sight of glow-moths, hundreds of them, fluttering in and around the upper branches of the tree. The white cloud created when the tree struck the sandbar. It had been the glow-moths! The sandbar side of their tree-bridge was completely infested. And not only that, those closest to him were drawing nearer.
There wasn’t sufficient time to cover himself in the protective mesh that had worked so superbly in the past. What with death nipping at Reneeke’s heels, they had to press forward, and fast.
Jaikus held both torches in his left hand and began thrashing them about. He had just begun moving forward when small flares of flame erupted in midair as the business end of the torches set fire to flittering glow-moths.
Then all of a sudden, the tree beneath him shuddered as Reneeke leapt aboard and began following. It shuddered still further when the troll sought to follow, the branches proving to be a serious hindrance for it. Thrashing to and fro, the troll began snapping them away to clear a path.
“’Ware the water!” shouted Jaikus as more of the glow-moths became ready fodder for the flame. “It’s full of those fishes. And in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a glow-moth infestation up ahead.”
“Less talk, more walk.”
The route through the branches was anything but simple, wending his way around branches, even having to precariously lean out over the water in order to bypass an exceptionally obstinate one. And all the time, there were the moths.
His twin torches moved rapidly to halt the forward progression of the barbed critters. More than once, he had to singe the outer area of a limb in order to clear a space that was covered in glow-moths so it could be used as a handhold.
He was a mere ten feet from the sandbar when the first glow-moth struck. As he was waving his torch to clear the air before him, he felt a piercing jab of fire in his left forearm. Crying out in shock at the unexpected severity of the pain, he quickly brought his right hand over to pull the stinger out. The barb at the end was reticent to release its grip, but a quick jerk pulled it free along with a small bit of skin.
“One got me!” he hollered back to Reneeke.
“Keep going!” urged his friend. The troll was still very much in pursuit.
Jaikus tried to disregard the pain as he continued torching glow-moths and moving forward.
Reneeke had moved to just behind him and wished his friend would move faster. Glancing back, he saw how the troll worked to clear a path not five feet farther back. The creature was gaining faster than Jaikus was progressing. Working on removing a rather thick and gnarled branch that the two humans had maneuvered around with ease, the troll was for the moment, stalled. Retuning his attention to Jaikus and the dancing torchlight, he thought…If it wasn’t for the need to clear a path through the…
“Hang on a minute, Jaik.”
Jaikus came to a halt and felt Reneeke tug on his pack.
“I’m getting the mesh netting,” he explained.
Nodding, Jaikus continued weaving a fiery display in the air before him, torching moth after moth that then plummeted to the water below.
“Here.” Reneeke said as he draped Jaikus’ protective net over his friend’s head. “Keep it close or the limbs are going to snag it.” He paused a moment. Then as Jaikus was adjusting the mesh, said, “Hand me the torches.”
“Thanks.” Once the twin, burning brands were handed off to Reneeke, he was able to move the mesh into its proper, protective, position. That was when he saw twin streaks of fire sail over his head toward the sandbar.
“Are you mad?”
“They are drawn to the light, right?”
The two torches landed upon the surface of the sand some fifteen feet from the end of the tree. Almost immediately, glow-moths nearest the torches began moving toward the burning brands.
Jaikus nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, then. Now, get moving!”
With the mesh netting pulled tightly about his upper extremities, Jaikus started moving forward. It was much easier to traverse the limbs with hands free of the torches. The netting, however, snagged on the limbs, but such inconvenience was a small price to pay for increased speed.
Reneeke took his own netting from his pack and settled it into place. The time taken to thus protect themselves had allowed the troll to tear the limb from the tree and proceed forward. It was now almost within striking distance. Nimbly wending his way through the branches, Reneeke narrowly avoided the troll’s lethal claws and began widening the distance once again. Behind, the troll roared in frustrated anger as its larger girth prevented it from following with similar agility. Claws ripping into the limbs, it continued at a much slower pace.
The glow-moths were dispersing. Fluttering about, they seemed to completely be oblivious to the two net-shrouded humans as they winged along in their roundabout way toward the torches lying on the sandbar. No longer having to worry about imminent attack, Jaikus was able to increase his rate of progression through the limbs and quickly reached the sandbar. Reneeke hopped from the tree a moment later.
The troll continued to be mired in the more thickly woven branches of what had once been the treetop. Its strength and tenacity filled the air with sounds of snapping wood and sundered limbs.
Glow-moths filled the air about them. The greatest congregation was concentrated in the area illuminated by the torches' glow.
“Leave them,” Reneeke said when Jaikus moved toward the burning brands. “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
Jaikus nodded.
Reneeke took the lead as they crossed the narrow strip of the sandbar toward the far side. There, he took a running jump and easily cleared the narrow off-shoot of the rivulet. Jaikus followed with similar ease.
They paused but a moment to glance back at the troll. It had reached the end of the tree. Surrounding it was a cloud of glow-moths; and from the way its arms were flailing back and forth, the glow-moths were quite happy to makes its acquaintance.
In the dim shadows produced by the torchlight, they saw where a dozen or more had embedded their barbs within the creature. From its howls, it couldn’t have been a pleasurable experience.
“Come on.”
Breaking into a run, the two boys from Running Brook disappeared into the shadows, using what time the glow-moths may have provided to put as much distance between themselves, and the troll, as they could.
Chapter Fifteen
Once the light from the torches vanished in the darkness behind them, Jaikus called for a halt. “Hold up a second, Rene.”
Panting hard, Reneeke asked, “Why?”
“You took a beating back there and I want to make sure you are all right.”
Reneeke didn’t reply. He merely found the trunk of an accommodating tree and leaned wearily against it. From the darkness he heard Jaikus rummaging around in his pack, then the familiar sound of striking flint. In a matter of moments, Jaikus had lit another of their torches.
“Now, let me take a look at you.”
Moving the torch close, he examined the various wounds of Reneeke. Deep furrows lined his side, neck, face and chest. Hardly an inch of him had escaped unscathed.
He then peered into Reneeke’s eyes. Not really knowing what to look for, he only knew that priests did it when examining the injured. “How do you feel?”
“Sore, exhausted.”
“Ready to collapse?”
Reneeke shrugged.
“Here.” Producing one of the two flasks containing healing elixir Lady Kate had given them, he held it forward. “Drink it all.”
Again, Reneeke wasn’t about to argue. Pulling the stopper, he placed the flask to his lips and upended it. He held it there until every last drop had crossed his tongue and slid down his throat. Immediately, warm sensations spread outward as the potion entered his bloodstream and carried it throughout his body. Strength returned, aches diminished, and his head cleared.
“Better?” asked Jaikus.
“Oh man, yes,” he grinned. “I could get to like this.”
Wounds closed as the elixir worked its magic. By the time the potion had run its course, all but the very worst had healed over completely, some to the point where it looked as if there had never even been an injury. The deeper ones were still red and tender to the touch, but much improved over the bloody furrows of a moment before. Jaikus concluded that magic potions were a wonderful thing, and vowed to always carry a supply on all subsequent adventures.
“It doesn’t look as if there will be much scarring.”
“That’s a relief.”
Very faintly, the troll’s roar reached them from far away. “It must still be on the sandbar,” commented Reneeke.
“Maybe it can’t get off.”
“I wouldn’t count on that.” Now reinvigorated by the healing properties of the potion, Reneeke pushed himself away from the tree. “Let’s get going before it fords the water.”
Jaik looked around the forest, confusion and uncertainty written across his face.
Reneeke pointed off toward a section of dark shadows. “Reakla’s that way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fairly sure.”
At that moment, the roar of the troll reached them again from a point al
most directly opposite to that which Reneeke claimed Reakla laid. “Whether you are right or wrong, at least it will get us away from that.” Jaikus took two of Master Hymal’s packs to allow Reneeke less of a burden with but one. The odors coming from within filled the air with aromas neither had ever encountered before. The combination was less than appealing.
Jaikus took the lead, his torch pushing back the darkness as they hurried toward Reakla.
Less than ten minutes had passed before Jaikus’ left arm spasmed in pain. “Gods!” It had been throbbing ever since the glow-moth sank its barb into it. But now, the pain had suddenly spiked in its severity. The spasming caused the torch to slip from his grip.
“Damn,” he groaned, hugging his throbbing arm to his chest. “It hurts.”
Reneeke came to a stop and turned to his friend. Jaikus stood hunched over his arm, face twisted in agony.
“The glow-moth?”
Jaikus nodded. “Same spot. It hurts bad, Rene.” Perspiration began dotting his forehead.
Reneeke picked the torch up from off the ground and had Jaikus hold his arm out. As he pulled the sleeve back, Jaikus’ arm began trembling.
“It’s getting worse.”
Red, inflamed and swollen, the site of the attack oozed a bloody discharge. A finger’s length of dark purple extended from where the discharge emerged, then made its way up the forearm toward the elbow. Another swelling, about an inch in length and the width of a pea, marked the end of the dark-purple discoloration. It looked almost as if… Reneeke gasped when the swollen area moved.
“What?”
Reneeke ignored the question as he brought the torch closer. Something moved beneath the skin. “Uh, Jaik.”
Turning his eyes upon the swollen area, Jaik felt a spike in pain that coincided with the movement of whatever was beneath his skin. There was something alive in his flesh! His voice took on a tinge of hysteria as he shouted, “Get it out!”
Jaikus and Reneeke Join the Guild Page 20
