Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.37T)
Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.
It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.
Here is the first post from this series.
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Retaak carried Ashoktyaar until the Trolls broken bones were well set. His kind healed rapidly and Ashoktyaar made little noise or complaint while he mended. He did reach for his weapons, however, which Retaak was careful to keep out of his reach; an injured berserker with weapons in hand was a recipe for blood.
Uyaashie trotted beside him, eyes full of concern behind her glasses. “You’ll be alright, won’t he Retaak?”
“Yes,” answered Retaak. “He has taken far worse in his day.”
“Damn, right,” growled Ashoktyaar from his perch on Retaak’s back, breaking into a cough a moment later. The Troll was nearly as tall as the Ogre, but thinner; Retaak had no trouble carrying him.
“Shhh,” hissed Uyage, trailing behind the others. “We’re still being followed.”
“Maybe it’s Kuzat?” whispered Uyaashie.
Uyage shrugged. “It could be, but if it is not him, I would rather know first.”
Retaak nodded. Uyage was level-headed, as always.
Ashoktyaar cackled, “Set me down, Retaak, I have a plan…”
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The Troll acted as bait. They left him between two houses, in a doorway alcove. Retaak concealed his bulk near a smashed wall while Uyaashie and Uyage melted into the shadows. Then they waited. If it was Kuzat, he would find a way of communicating with Ashoktyaar unseen. If it was an enemy, he would approach the wounded Troll and they would spring the trap.
Ashoktyaar laid up in the alcove as if he was in a stupor. Retaak had to admit that the Troll was more convincing than he would have expected. His blades were within reach, just inside the shadows.
If it was the Deathseeker following them then their could be trouble, but Uyage seemed certain it was not. She was careful about such things, but part of Retaak wished she was wrong. He had no desire to see his friends hut, but to cross blades with a Deathseeker and live would be a tale to tell. What would he learn from such a dance?
Retaak did not see, so much as sense the coming of the one following them. There was a change in the atmosphere. He concentrated, listening. Was he he hearing something.
Tap, tap, tap-tap. There, he had heard something. He saw Ashoktyaar shift. Then heard a slightly louder tapping. He smiled. Kuzat was alive and communicating with the Troll via the tapping sounds, a language very useful to those who lived in the depths of the Fell Warrens.
Uyage stood, letting herself be seen. Retaak did the same. After a moment a small form appeared on the balcony of an adjacent house.
“Good to see you Kuzat,” said Ashoktyaar as the goblin leapt to the ground, landing with admirable silence.
“You look like the inside of a pig’s arse, ‘shok,” said Kuzat.
“Heh, you look a little worse for wear yourself,” answered the Troll.
As Retaak closed, he could smell burnt cloth and saw that the goblin’s side was burnt. The mage had come close with his fire spells.
“It is good to see you, Kuzat,” he said. “Evading a mage and a Deathseeker takes admirable talent.”
“As you can see, I didn’t evade them entirely,” said Kuzat.
“Hush, I have some ointment for the burns,” said Uyaashie, bending down to minister to him.
They all looked at each other. A smile crept onto Retaak’s face as relief washed over him. He was pleased that his friend had lived. Kuzat laughed softly, soon the others joined him. It was a good moment.
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