Most of Chapter 18 for Sample Sunday
Here is most of Chapter 18 of Covenant of the Faceless Knights for those of you on the fence about purchasing it or wanting a larger chunk of my writing (9 pages of the book) to see if it suits your taste. I wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger for you though....
CHAPTER 18
Elec and Saeunn raced over near the base of the southern hill, where the slope wasn't quite as steep as the opposite side, Elec noted. He also observed that there were at least six ogres that he could see now! They stood one and a half times the height of a human, with sickly, heavily muscled arms and bloated bellies. Their skin was an unhealthy yellow, with patches of hair in places and blemishes all over too.Elec had never seen an ogre and seeing one in person made him reach a new level of fear he'd never felt before. They moved with a speed that belied their disfigured bodies as they seemed to shamble forward. He imagined the force with which their mighty blows would strike and it made him wince involuntarily.Elec uneasily quaffed another potion. He felt he would need every advantage that he could muster. If he took too many, or took the wrong combination, the effects would not overlap properly, but the particular combination he used now was perfected over many years and was successfully tested over and over again. It still didn't stop him from over-imbibing them when he felt edgy about a fight. It had become a nervous habit.Saeunn charged the nearest ogre bravely and almost slipped on a snow patch, but caught herself and kept going, not even breaking stride. She and an ogre collided and there was a loud thud as her solid form hit it's somewhat bulbous frame. The ogre's head snapped back as Saeunn used the hilt of her sword to slam into the creature's head, cracking its skull, while deftly avoiding its fist. The creature landed in a heap—it was dead before it even hit the ground! Saeunn turned on another ogre as Elec watched her fight with a grace and ease that made him feel more inadequate than usual. She was his complete opposite in a fight, he realized, and he could not help but be impressed by the remarkable barbarian woman from Chansuk.A large rock just missed crushing Elec and he quickly returned his attention to his own role in the fight. He decided to move toward where Saeunn was heading. He wanted to stay close to the barbarian woman for several reasons.Is that a giant mass of energy? Elec thought as he caught a glimpse of something across the valley on the northern hill. He shook his head, dismissing the sight as possibly a side effect of one of his elixirs or a trick of the sunlight. Perhaps even the slow-falling snow was playing tricks on him….He ran quickly, keeping pace with Saeunn now and stopped where she was fighting, forcing the ogres at the top of the hill to stop lobbing rocks at him momentarily and at least reset their positions. That would buy them some time.Saeunn had cornered two more ogres now and seemed to be forcing them into defensive positions with her well-placed and aggressive swings. There was no subtlety to the barbarian woman it seemed; she simply relied on brute force and honed skill.The ogres began to maneuver her in between the two of them and Saeunn either didn't realize it or didn't care. Just as they were about to complete their positioning, Elec arrived and forced them to change their strategy. The ogres both sneered and gurgled something unintelligible at him.The first ogre swung a club at Saeunn that she parried with her greatsword, cutting a rather large wedge out of the wooden weapon in the process and stopping the blow cold. She immediately kicked out with her left leg into the kneecap of the ogre.Its leg slid back on the slick surface now causing it to stumble forward a bit, giving her an opening. Saeunn reared back with her greatsword and struck a killing blow to the back of its head, knocking it to the ground to its final resting place.Elec had taken the attention of the second ogre and was now dancing and dodging its blows, trying to avoid the creature's club as it made divots in the snowy ground around him. He saw a tree behind him and formulated a plan as the ogre swung wildly and with such force that to connect with a single blow would surely spell death.Elec dodged behind the tree now as quickly as he could, forcing the ogre around its wide base slowly enough that it did not see Elec climb the low hanging branch on the other side. The ogre peered around the base of the massive tree trunk and realized too late, where Elec had disappeared to. The ogre cried out in anguish as he felt the sharp end of a blade plunge through its back as Elec drove the blade through and thrust with all of his momentum and might that he could muster on the sword as it sank deeper into the ogre's back, through its lungs, and out the other side. He rode the beast for several seconds as it fought to remove the elf until finally it collapsed to the ground with a solid thud. Elec leapt from its back toward Saeunn who had just disposed of her foe. It was just in time as three more ogres had come into sight, obviously finding a less treacherous way down the hill than Elec had planned for them. Three more! Elec thought as he removed yet another potion from its housing on the bandolier and downed its contents.
Garius could not see where Rose had gone and returned his attention to the stunned orc on the ground, now only a few paces from him. He made a few movements with his main hand that still clutched The Repentant, rubbed his braided beard and uttered an incantation, asking The Watcher, the god of the skies, for a blessing of aid.As if the clouds themselves opened up, a massive bolt of lightning exploded out of the sky and landed directly on top of the prone orc, incinerating it and leaving a scorched patch of earth in the snow-soaked ground around the orc's charred remains. Garius slung his holy-laden warhammer upon his back and looked for a path up the hill to help Rose dispatch with the archers.
Rose exited from a shadow directly behind the first orc archer, using the element of surprise and slitting the green-skinned orc's throat, dropping it to the ground softly. The second and third orc noticed now, dropping their bows in unison and trying to draw their swords.Rose used that opening to kick out at the second orc and hit it squarely in the abdomen causing it to double over, then she hammered down with Zaedra in a reverse-grip and skewered the back of the creature's head while knocking it firmly to the floor.The third orc had gotten its sword out and she sensed that her end was near if she didn't move. They were still positioned directly under a tree, so she stepped into its shade once more and moved through the shadow realm to end up behind her target.The orc, however, did not sense her as it looked closely into the shadows trying to discern her whereabouts. She stealthily drove both dagger points into the back of the orc's upper back in unison, penetrating the lungs and leaving the orc lifeless within seconds.She removed the daggers and then suddenly felt a sting in her left shoulder that radiated pain down into her arm. She looked to see what it was and noticed an arrow protruding from her shoulder that passed right through and below her left clavicle. She fought back the pain and turned to see another orc approximately fifty paces from her that she had not noticed before. She tried to step into the shadows once more, to use the shadow realm temporarily to hide her from this plane, but could not concentrate as another arrow landed in her left thigh and caused her to fall to one knee….and then there was blackness. Her last thoughts were of failure.
Elec and Saeunn looked at one another and exchanged grim looks as the three ogres bore down on them."Any ideas?" Elec asked her as he quaffed another potion, drawing a quizzical look from Saeunn, who did not quite understand the elf's need for artificial aid in combat."Survive," Saeunn said bluntly as she once again charged headlong into the ogre stampede, wild-eyed with her long blonde braid of hair bouncing behind her as she ran.Elec nodded in agreement more to himself than anything else as Saeunn had already taken off. He tightened his grip on the hilts of his two magical weapons and ran after her once more, hoping that his elixirs would last the remainder of the fight.Saeunn took a running leap and jumped feet first into the center ogre's belly, knocking the wind out of it. As her momentum continued, she knocked the ogre to the ground, landing atop it, using her muscular legs and an incredible sense of balance to remain standing upon her fallen opponent. She sliced her greatsword in such an arc as to dismember the second ogre to her right in the process. Its head flew completely off and its massive body fell to the snowy ground, blood heavily staining the area where it landed. She stood atop the other ogre and stabbed at its head, but the ogre managed to wiggle out of the way of the blade and smacked his club at her, striking her in the side, knocking her to the ground this time and losing the grip on its club as it followed her trajectory.The ogre stood and was upon her by the time she regained her balance. The creature smashed its fist into the left side of her head, knocking her senseless and back a few feet. She was blinded with rage and could hardly feel the pain. She shook off the blow, ignoring the wound and refocused as the ogre was bearing down on her once more, its club, which looked like a tree-trunk, retrieved now and held tightly in both its massive hands.It swung the club wide and she parried the strike with one of her own. The two foes matched blow for blow and parry for strike for a few rounds of swings, neither tiring nor slowing for a second. It was a fierce and hard fought exchange.Saeunn was able to position herself better and eventually was able 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 his body, and ending up coming out at the left facing hip. Saeunn swung the blade so hard, it cut 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 its insides, as its life blood gushed out onto the snowy ground. Saeunn roared, allowing the ire to fuel her and looked around for the third ogre.
The ogre headed directly toward Elec and 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 grab in midair and held fast. As the ogre neared him, he sprung into the air, clutching the hilt of the blade and using it to pull himself up as the beast lunged, but passed directly underneath 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, pushing the ogre forward, and it fell with its hands 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 stood up, obviously dazed as it looked around for its club, but could not find 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, sliding on the slippery ground with the ogre's momentum. 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 knocked him down to the ground. Another blow followed but he managed to maneuver away from it, pushing himself along the ground, until he finally backed himself into the base of a tree. This is it! Elec thought, trying to cover himself as best he could. No where left to go….Just then he saw past the tangles of the ogre's greasy, matted hair to a figure in the air heading toward them with a huge sword angled down, poised for a death blow.The tip of Saeunn's greatsword was driven straight through the back of the ogre, skewering it and killing it instantly as the sword tip angled through its huge belly.Saeunn sat there for a few seconds, allowing her adrenaline to dissipate. Then she wildly looked around for Elec, worried now that she might have killed him too in her rage! She realized now that she may have made a crucial and horrible mistake."Elec!" Saeunn cried."Up here," came a voice from above her. She looked up and in the bough of a branch was the battered form of Elec, blood dripping from his eye and lip as he was beaten soundly by the ogre. "I really need to work on my combat skills…," he added, coughing up some blood in the process.Saeunn gasped and then smiled wider than he had ever seen her smile before, then actually laughed. He didn't remember ever seeing the barbarian smile."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 simply pointed at his ring. "I can use this to teleport occasionally, assuming that the charge has restored itself," he added as he smiled. "Luckily, it had," he said, laughing.He grabbed another elixir and quaffed it sloppily, spilling some on himself and cursing a bit. His hands were shaking, too. "How are you feeling?" Elec asked her, 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," Elec said. "I couldn't open this a minute ago," he added, pointing to his left eye. As he slowly climbed out of the tree and got to the ground, he noticed the left side of her head was bleeding badly through her sash. He removed another vial with some kind of ointment from his bandolier he wore across his chest that held the potions. He had long ago come up with the right strength of glass to use that would not easily shatter against him during combat."Remove your sash," Elec instructed her and she did so, revealing a large gash in the side of her head from the ogre's swing that opened her up. Elec wondered how she was 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 it comes from," Elec said as he gestured at the very tree that he sat in. "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-looking elf. "We should check the others!" Saeunn suddenly said and with that she was off and running, at full speed right away. 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 leg. His visage changed under his helmet to sheer rage now. He walked 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 apparent demise of his friend and companion. His body glowed then with some sort of protective barrier that seemed to make the arrow hit and deflect away harmlessly as he chanted the prayer 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 it could not penetrate the supernatural defenses with its missiles. The orc retrieved its sword from its scabbard. Garius now stood in front of the creature and dismissed his personal fortification spell, and invoked an incantation initiating something once more from the degenerative plane, uttering an offering of prayer to The Reaper, as he outstretched an open hand toward the orc's head.The orc attempted to stab at the stranger, but the armored figure infused such vast amounts of physical pain upon it that it dropped its sword mid-swing and its body wracked and convulsed in pain. It dropped to its knees and Garius continued the incantation, invoking such pain in the orc that it finally dropped into the snow, its life force completely drained from its body, absorbed into the Inquisitor. Garius Forge's frame was glowing with energy as he felt the necromantic power dissipate, storing it temporarily within his body.He turned from the ruined orc and ran as fast as he could in his armor toward his fallen friend. Garius reached Rose and threw his helmet off, revealing a grim and concerned expression. He clutched her arm and called upon a surge of regenerative energy, redirecting what he had stored within himself and used it to channel healing directly into her wounded body.Her body seemed to light up and she tried to force her eyes open as the power infused her and visibly began closing the more serious wounds on her chest and leg. The arrows began to disintegrate as the energy exploded around her. He repeated the incantation once more, further healing her wounds and closing them, stopping the flow of blood that was seeping onto the snow-covered earth. He hoped he'd gotten to her in time.Garius turned and saw Saeunn and Elec turn the corner, coming to a halt and, in turn, the two of them saw Garius on his knees in front of Rose. They slowly crossed the ground to them, fearing the worst.
Hope you enjoyed this!
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit: www.ashenclaw.com to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
CHAPTER 18
Elec and Saeunn raced over near the base of the southern hill, where the slope wasn't quite as steep as the opposite side, Elec noted. He also observed that there were at least six ogres that he could see now! They stood one and a half times the height of a human, with sickly, heavily muscled arms and bloated bellies. Their skin was an unhealthy yellow, with patches of hair in places and blemishes all over too.Elec had never seen an ogre and seeing one in person made him reach a new level of fear he'd never felt before. They moved with a speed that belied their disfigured bodies as they seemed to shamble forward. He imagined the force with which their mighty blows would strike and it made him wince involuntarily.Elec uneasily quaffed another potion. He felt he would need every advantage that he could muster. If he took too many, or took the wrong combination, the effects would not overlap properly, but the particular combination he used now was perfected over many years and was successfully tested over and over again. It still didn't stop him from over-imbibing them when he felt edgy about a fight. It had become a nervous habit.Saeunn charged the nearest ogre bravely and almost slipped on a snow patch, but caught herself and kept going, not even breaking stride. She and an ogre collided and there was a loud thud as her solid form hit it's somewhat bulbous frame. The ogre's head snapped back as Saeunn used the hilt of her sword to slam into the creature's head, cracking its skull, while deftly avoiding its fist. The creature landed in a heap—it was dead before it even hit the ground! Saeunn turned on another ogre as Elec watched her fight with a grace and ease that made him feel more inadequate than usual. She was his complete opposite in a fight, he realized, and he could not help but be impressed by the remarkable barbarian woman from Chansuk.A large rock just missed crushing Elec and he quickly returned his attention to his own role in the fight. He decided to move toward where Saeunn was heading. He wanted to stay close to the barbarian woman for several reasons.Is that a giant mass of energy? Elec thought as he caught a glimpse of something across the valley on the northern hill. He shook his head, dismissing the sight as possibly a side effect of one of his elixirs or a trick of the sunlight. Perhaps even the slow-falling snow was playing tricks on him….He ran quickly, keeping pace with Saeunn now and stopped where she was fighting, forcing the ogres at the top of the hill to stop lobbing rocks at him momentarily and at least reset their positions. That would buy them some time.Saeunn had cornered two more ogres now and seemed to be forcing them into defensive positions with her well-placed and aggressive swings. There was no subtlety to the barbarian woman it seemed; she simply relied on brute force and honed skill.The ogres began to maneuver her in between the two of them and Saeunn either didn't realize it or didn't care. Just as they were about to complete their positioning, Elec arrived and forced them to change their strategy. The ogres both sneered and gurgled something unintelligible at him.The first ogre swung a club at Saeunn that she parried with her greatsword, cutting a rather large wedge out of the wooden weapon in the process and stopping the blow cold. She immediately kicked out with her left leg into the kneecap of the ogre.Its leg slid back on the slick surface now causing it to stumble forward a bit, giving her an opening. Saeunn reared back with her greatsword and struck a killing blow to the back of its head, knocking it to the ground to its final resting place.Elec had taken the attention of the second ogre and was now dancing and dodging its blows, trying to avoid the creature's club as it made divots in the snowy ground around him. He saw a tree behind him and formulated a plan as the ogre swung wildly and with such force that to connect with a single blow would surely spell death.Elec dodged behind the tree now as quickly as he could, forcing the ogre around its wide base slowly enough that it did not see Elec climb the low hanging branch on the other side. The ogre peered around the base of the massive tree trunk and realized too late, where Elec had disappeared to. The ogre cried out in anguish as he felt the sharp end of a blade plunge through its back as Elec drove the blade through and thrust with all of his momentum and might that he could muster on the sword as it sank deeper into the ogre's back, through its lungs, and out the other side. He rode the beast for several seconds as it fought to remove the elf until finally it collapsed to the ground with a solid thud. Elec leapt from its back toward Saeunn who had just disposed of her foe. It was just in time as three more ogres had come into sight, obviously finding a less treacherous way down the hill than Elec had planned for them. Three more! Elec thought as he removed yet another potion from its housing on the bandolier and downed its contents.
Garius could not see where Rose had gone and returned his attention to the stunned orc on the ground, now only a few paces from him. He made a few movements with his main hand that still clutched The Repentant, rubbed his braided beard and uttered an incantation, asking The Watcher, the god of the skies, for a blessing of aid.As if the clouds themselves opened up, a massive bolt of lightning exploded out of the sky and landed directly on top of the prone orc, incinerating it and leaving a scorched patch of earth in the snow-soaked ground around the orc's charred remains. Garius slung his holy-laden warhammer upon his back and looked for a path up the hill to help Rose dispatch with the archers.
Rose exited from a shadow directly behind the first orc archer, using the element of surprise and slitting the green-skinned orc's throat, dropping it to the ground softly. The second and third orc noticed now, dropping their bows in unison and trying to draw their swords.Rose used that opening to kick out at the second orc and hit it squarely in the abdomen causing it to double over, then she hammered down with Zaedra in a reverse-grip and skewered the back of the creature's head while knocking it firmly to the floor.The third orc had gotten its sword out and she sensed that her end was near if she didn't move. They were still positioned directly under a tree, so she stepped into its shade once more and moved through the shadow realm to end up behind her target.The orc, however, did not sense her as it looked closely into the shadows trying to discern her whereabouts. She stealthily drove both dagger points into the back of the orc's upper back in unison, penetrating the lungs and leaving the orc lifeless within seconds.She removed the daggers and then suddenly felt a sting in her left shoulder that radiated pain down into her arm. She looked to see what it was and noticed an arrow protruding from her shoulder that passed right through and below her left clavicle. She fought back the pain and turned to see another orc approximately fifty paces from her that she had not noticed before. She tried to step into the shadows once more, to use the shadow realm temporarily to hide her from this plane, but could not concentrate as another arrow landed in her left thigh and caused her to fall to one knee….and then there was blackness. Her last thoughts were of failure.
Elec and Saeunn looked at one another and exchanged grim looks as the three ogres bore down on them."Any ideas?" Elec asked her as he quaffed another potion, drawing a quizzical look from Saeunn, who did not quite understand the elf's need for artificial aid in combat."Survive," Saeunn said bluntly as she once again charged headlong into the ogre stampede, wild-eyed with her long blonde braid of hair bouncing behind her as she ran.Elec nodded in agreement more to himself than anything else as Saeunn had already taken off. He tightened his grip on the hilts of his two magical weapons and ran after her once more, hoping that his elixirs would last the remainder of the fight.Saeunn took a running leap and jumped feet first into the center ogre's belly, knocking the wind out of it. As her momentum continued, she knocked the ogre to the ground, landing atop it, using her muscular legs and an incredible sense of balance to remain standing upon her fallen opponent. She sliced her greatsword in such an arc as to dismember the second ogre to her right in the process. Its head flew completely off and its massive body fell to the snowy ground, blood heavily staining the area where it landed. She stood atop the other ogre and stabbed at its head, but the ogre managed to wiggle out of the way of the blade and smacked his club at her, striking her in the side, knocking her to the ground this time and losing the grip on its club as it followed her trajectory.The ogre stood and was upon her by the time she regained her balance. The creature smashed its fist into the left side of her head, knocking her senseless and back a few feet. She was blinded with rage and could hardly feel the pain. She shook off the blow, ignoring the wound and refocused as the ogre was bearing down on her once more, its club, which looked like a tree-trunk, retrieved now and held tightly in both its massive hands.It swung the club wide and she parried the strike with one of her own. The two foes matched blow for blow and parry for strike for a few rounds of swings, neither tiring nor slowing for a second. It was a fierce and hard fought exchange.Saeunn was able to position herself better and eventually was able 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 his body, and ending up coming out at the left facing hip. Saeunn swung the blade so hard, it cut 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 its insides, as its life blood gushed out onto the snowy ground. Saeunn roared, allowing the ire to fuel her and looked around for the third ogre.
The ogre headed directly toward Elec and 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 grab in midair and held fast. As the ogre neared him, he sprung into the air, clutching the hilt of the blade and using it to pull himself up as the beast lunged, but passed directly underneath 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, pushing the ogre forward, and it fell with its hands 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 stood up, obviously dazed as it looked around for its club, but could not find 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, sliding on the slippery ground with the ogre's momentum. 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 knocked him down to the ground. Another blow followed but he managed to maneuver away from it, pushing himself along the ground, until he finally backed himself into the base of a tree. This is it! Elec thought, trying to cover himself as best he could. No where left to go….Just then he saw past the tangles of the ogre's greasy, matted hair to a figure in the air heading toward them with a huge sword angled down, poised for a death blow.The tip of Saeunn's greatsword was driven straight through the back of the ogre, skewering it and killing it instantly as the sword tip angled through its huge belly.Saeunn sat there for a few seconds, allowing her adrenaline to dissipate. Then she wildly looked around for Elec, worried now that she might have killed him too in her rage! She realized now that she may have made a crucial and horrible mistake."Elec!" Saeunn cried."Up here," came a voice from above her. She looked up and in the bough of a branch was the battered form of Elec, blood dripping from his eye and lip as he was beaten soundly by the ogre. "I really need to work on my combat skills…," he added, coughing up some blood in the process.Saeunn gasped and then smiled wider than he had ever seen her smile before, then actually laughed. He didn't remember ever seeing the barbarian smile."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 simply pointed at his ring. "I can use this to teleport occasionally, assuming that the charge has restored itself," he added as he smiled. "Luckily, it had," he said, laughing.He grabbed another elixir and quaffed it sloppily, spilling some on himself and cursing a bit. His hands were shaking, too. "How are you feeling?" Elec asked her, 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," Elec said. "I couldn't open this a minute ago," he added, pointing to his left eye. As he slowly climbed out of the tree and got to the ground, he noticed the left side of her head was bleeding badly through her sash. He removed another vial with some kind of ointment from his bandolier he wore across his chest that held the potions. He had long ago come up with the right strength of glass to use that would not easily shatter against him during combat."Remove your sash," Elec instructed her and she did so, revealing a large gash in the side of her head from the ogre's swing that opened her up. Elec wondered how she was 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 it comes from," Elec said as he gestured at the very tree that he sat in. "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-looking elf. "We should check the others!" Saeunn suddenly said and with that she was off and running, at full speed right away. 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 leg. His visage changed under his helmet to sheer rage now. He walked 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 apparent demise of his friend and companion. His body glowed then with some sort of protective barrier that seemed to make the arrow hit and deflect away harmlessly as he chanted the prayer 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 it could not penetrate the supernatural defenses with its missiles. The orc retrieved its sword from its scabbard. Garius now stood in front of the creature and dismissed his personal fortification spell, and invoked an incantation initiating something once more from the degenerative plane, uttering an offering of prayer to The Reaper, as he outstretched an open hand toward the orc's head.The orc attempted to stab at the stranger, but the armored figure infused such vast amounts of physical pain upon it that it dropped its sword mid-swing and its body wracked and convulsed in pain. It dropped to its knees and Garius continued the incantation, invoking such pain in the orc that it finally dropped into the snow, its life force completely drained from its body, absorbed into the Inquisitor. Garius Forge's frame was glowing with energy as he felt the necromantic power dissipate, storing it temporarily within his body.He turned from the ruined orc and ran as fast as he could in his armor toward his fallen friend. Garius reached Rose and threw his helmet off, revealing a grim and concerned expression. He clutched her arm and called upon a surge of regenerative energy, redirecting what he had stored within himself and used it to channel healing directly into her wounded body.Her body seemed to light up and she tried to force her eyes open as the power infused her and visibly began closing the more serious wounds on her chest and leg. The arrows began to disintegrate as the energy exploded around her. He repeated the incantation once more, further healing her wounds and closing them, stopping the flow of blood that was seeping onto the snow-covered earth. He hoped he'd gotten to her in time.Garius turned and saw Saeunn and Elec turn the corner, coming to a halt and, in turn, the two of them saw Garius on his knees in front of Rose. They slowly crossed the ground to them, fearing the worst.
Hope you enjoyed this!
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit: www.ashenclaw.com to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
No comments have been added yet.
