Spider_Jerusalem
Explorer
Part 2 of 4
Milo thrashed deeper into the hillock of snow as the gates groaned open to the sound of the horn. Isplit’s sharp weasel claws dug into his chest as Milo caught his breath. The horn call pitched higher for a note then stopped. Sorcerer and familiar trembled as the thunder of the knights shook the ground they lay on and filled the air with explosions of ice.
The horse’s hooves crashed past only a few feet from his huddled form. Twisting his head to the side, and feeling the cold crackle into his ear, Milo watched as the knights galloped up towards Thalin and the villagers. Unlatching the safety on his crossbow, Milo swung his aim on the receding knights, and began to steady his shivering hands.
- - - - - - - - - -
Thalin whirled towards the villagers, and beckoned them to be quiet with an urgent swipe of his father’s sword. Thalin closed his eyes for a moment and narrowed his concentration. His mind reached out to Dariel, who was huddled with the villagers for warmth, Quickly my friend, fly to the fore and tell me what we have to face. Thalin felt Dariel snap to attention, the sudden rush of synergy like a gust of wind in his mind. He then turned to the corner the knights would soon come round, his hands crackling with a nimbus of energy as Dariel blurred past, spiralling into the blue sky with a screech.
Mikka stooped behind Thalin, his nervous hands shakily loading a bolt into an ornate crossbow, which has mysteriously appeared from the folds of his cloak. He cursed his Amnish contacts as the intricate mechanism slipped out of line for a second time.
Vaerana pressed herself against the rear of the boulder, her longsword drawn and makeshift helmet covering her face. Her shield-hand flexed impatiently in its strap as she prepared to close off the knights’ escape.
As the hooves of the horses drew closer, Thalin’s fingers began to draw delicate runes in the air, despite his fingers screeching with resistance. Mikka threw the beautiful but useless crossbow to the ground with a grunt of anger and began to do the same. Where was Torious?
- - - - - - - - - -
Torious let Freedom’s Edge drop into the snow with a crunch. His eyes darted between the eight figures that stood encircling him, their crude weapons hemming him in. Each captor was wrapped in a montage of animal pelts, some still bearing the heads of the unfortunate victims. Torious raised his hands a little higher as a tip of a spear scraped across his armour.
“I am Torious. Aasimar of Ravens Bluff.” declared Torious in a defiant voice that seemed to be swallowed by the snow his boots were knee deep in.
One of the figures stepped forwards, his array of pelts a more splendid selection of colours than the others, he came within a pace of the aasimar, then stopped. Torious could see between the strips of hide to the face beneath. The man’s skin was charred black and blistered cracks of blood had frozen solid. As he spoke, Torious could smell a burnt waft of breath on his face.
The language which grunted from the burnt mans mouth was Ulutian. Torious knew this much from his experience of listening to Thalin barter with traders. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had the foresight to get to grips with what he had considered to be an entirely unneeded and almost dead language. However, these Ulutian barbarians were very much alive.
The burnt man finished speaking with a flourish to his companions, who acknowledged his speech with a host of aggressive grunts. Torious could see that most of the other barbarians were scarred with painful burns. This is Robar’s doing. These men pursue the heads of the demons who marked them. Torious nodded slowly before raising his hand towards the gate wall, then pointed to his path back. He was quite a height above the wall, and whilst he was gesturing towards the border wall he noticed a steep snowdrift, which led from his current position directly onto the ramparts of the wall many feet below.
Turning back to the barbarians, whose weapons had eased a little, Torious went to speak but his voice caught in his throat as he heard the baying of a horn from the border wall. Thalin and Milo! Vaerana! The Villagers! Mikka.
The barbarians seemed to tense as a group as below them they saw the detachment of knights ride out of the gates. Grunts rose to snarls and snarls led to roars of anger. Torious pushed through the barrier of weapons, the barbarians suddenly lost in a chorus of war cries. His aasimar eyes focused quickly, picking out the near-invisible form of Milo as the halfling swung his crossbow towards the knights. With a sudden rush of panic he saw a pair of guards on the wall point at Milo’s uncovered form. Quickly tracing the route of the knights ahead of them, Torious picked out the figures of Thalin, Vaerana and Mikka as they readied to attack the knights.
Torious pushed his way into the throng of barbarians and hefted Freedom’s Edge from the snow. Assessing the situation, he stabbed his sword into the air and began to speak in a commanding cry,
“Ulutian men! Your time has come!”, Torious swept his arm across the gate as the barbarians turned to him, their faces already swelled with hate. The swell of the horn ended, leaving a sudden silence. Torious’ voice swelled to a new volume, his words booming as the search for justice swelled inside him.
“Follow me and justice will be yours!” cried Torious, his last words slipping into a trembling howl of celestial fury.
With a torrent of light, his scars stretched open. Torious turned and launched himself down the snowdrift and towards the border wall, the Ulutians just behind.
- - - - - - - - - -
The knights rounded the corner in a surge of banners, platemail and steeds. Thalin immediately whipped his hands forwards, violently clawing into the minds of the knights. He pulled his fists back with a shout and four of them slumped into unconsciousness. Two of the sleeping knights bucked backwards and crashed into the snow. The other two steeds bolted forwards, thundering out of sight with their riders bouncing wildly.
Vaerana dashed forwards and slashed at the trailing knight who was still awake. His horse bucked but he stayed seated. The knight wheeled his steed around to escape. He was halted as Milo’s perfectly timed crossbow bolt hissed into his face, punching through the visor. The remaining knight kicked his heels and bolted forwards, lowering his lance at Thalin, “For Robar!”
Mikka stumbled backwards as the knight wheeled just past him. He quickly finished his spell and let loose.
Thalin drew Erifeci up instinctively to protect himself from the lance. He felt the tip punch against his chest, but then only heard the tinkling of glass. Looking up, Thalin saw the knight rush past as the shattered remnants of his lance crumbled from his gauntlet. Mikka winked at the mage before dashing to cover the knight’s path back to the wall.
- - - - - - - - - -
Milo loaded the next bolt quickly as he watched his first shot, which he had infused with a healthy dose of Tymora’s luck, zip to its target. The knight had collapsed onto the road. If I can see that, the whole wall can as well! Milo cocked his crossbow and contemplated his next move as he saw Dariel dive over him and whip over the battlements at a great speed.
Twisting to check his next target, Milo was dashed back against the snow as a bolt burrowed into his shoulder. With a shriek of pain, Milo dragged himself back into his meagre cover and uncorked a healing potion with his good arm. Isplit nudged out of his waistcoat with a squeak and pointed disapprovingly at his biscuit, which was snapped in two by the bolt.
- - - - - - - - - -
Vaerana glided sideways past the knight as he charged her down. Sliding her sword neatly into his side, she used her momentum to lever the rider from his mount. With a thud he crashed into the snow.
Thalin stalked over and dragged Vaerana back into cover. The wall horn bayed again, this time higher and more urgent. Thalin turned to address his companions, but convulsed suddenly and collapsed to the ground clutching his chest. Three quick wrenches of pain stabbed through Thalin, it felt as though a wolverine was writhing in his chest, biting its way out.
- - - - - - - - - -
High above the fort, Dariel’s limp form plummeted towards the ground. His feathers charred black from the three fiery orbs, which had sped up to greet him as he had soared over the gatehouse…
Milo thrashed deeper into the hillock of snow as the gates groaned open to the sound of the horn. Isplit’s sharp weasel claws dug into his chest as Milo caught his breath. The horn call pitched higher for a note then stopped. Sorcerer and familiar trembled as the thunder of the knights shook the ground they lay on and filled the air with explosions of ice.
The horse’s hooves crashed past only a few feet from his huddled form. Twisting his head to the side, and feeling the cold crackle into his ear, Milo watched as the knights galloped up towards Thalin and the villagers. Unlatching the safety on his crossbow, Milo swung his aim on the receding knights, and began to steady his shivering hands.
- - - - - - - - - -
Thalin whirled towards the villagers, and beckoned them to be quiet with an urgent swipe of his father’s sword. Thalin closed his eyes for a moment and narrowed his concentration. His mind reached out to Dariel, who was huddled with the villagers for warmth, Quickly my friend, fly to the fore and tell me what we have to face. Thalin felt Dariel snap to attention, the sudden rush of synergy like a gust of wind in his mind. He then turned to the corner the knights would soon come round, his hands crackling with a nimbus of energy as Dariel blurred past, spiralling into the blue sky with a screech.
Mikka stooped behind Thalin, his nervous hands shakily loading a bolt into an ornate crossbow, which has mysteriously appeared from the folds of his cloak. He cursed his Amnish contacts as the intricate mechanism slipped out of line for a second time.
Vaerana pressed herself against the rear of the boulder, her longsword drawn and makeshift helmet covering her face. Her shield-hand flexed impatiently in its strap as she prepared to close off the knights’ escape.
As the hooves of the horses drew closer, Thalin’s fingers began to draw delicate runes in the air, despite his fingers screeching with resistance. Mikka threw the beautiful but useless crossbow to the ground with a grunt of anger and began to do the same. Where was Torious?
- - - - - - - - - -
Torious let Freedom’s Edge drop into the snow with a crunch. His eyes darted between the eight figures that stood encircling him, their crude weapons hemming him in. Each captor was wrapped in a montage of animal pelts, some still bearing the heads of the unfortunate victims. Torious raised his hands a little higher as a tip of a spear scraped across his armour.
“I am Torious. Aasimar of Ravens Bluff.” declared Torious in a defiant voice that seemed to be swallowed by the snow his boots were knee deep in.
One of the figures stepped forwards, his array of pelts a more splendid selection of colours than the others, he came within a pace of the aasimar, then stopped. Torious could see between the strips of hide to the face beneath. The man’s skin was charred black and blistered cracks of blood had frozen solid. As he spoke, Torious could smell a burnt waft of breath on his face.
The language which grunted from the burnt mans mouth was Ulutian. Torious knew this much from his experience of listening to Thalin barter with traders. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had the foresight to get to grips with what he had considered to be an entirely unneeded and almost dead language. However, these Ulutian barbarians were very much alive.
The burnt man finished speaking with a flourish to his companions, who acknowledged his speech with a host of aggressive grunts. Torious could see that most of the other barbarians were scarred with painful burns. This is Robar’s doing. These men pursue the heads of the demons who marked them. Torious nodded slowly before raising his hand towards the gate wall, then pointed to his path back. He was quite a height above the wall, and whilst he was gesturing towards the border wall he noticed a steep snowdrift, which led from his current position directly onto the ramparts of the wall many feet below.
Turning back to the barbarians, whose weapons had eased a little, Torious went to speak but his voice caught in his throat as he heard the baying of a horn from the border wall. Thalin and Milo! Vaerana! The Villagers! Mikka.
The barbarians seemed to tense as a group as below them they saw the detachment of knights ride out of the gates. Grunts rose to snarls and snarls led to roars of anger. Torious pushed through the barrier of weapons, the barbarians suddenly lost in a chorus of war cries. His aasimar eyes focused quickly, picking out the near-invisible form of Milo as the halfling swung his crossbow towards the knights. With a sudden rush of panic he saw a pair of guards on the wall point at Milo’s uncovered form. Quickly tracing the route of the knights ahead of them, Torious picked out the figures of Thalin, Vaerana and Mikka as they readied to attack the knights.
Torious pushed his way into the throng of barbarians and hefted Freedom’s Edge from the snow. Assessing the situation, he stabbed his sword into the air and began to speak in a commanding cry,
“Ulutian men! Your time has come!”, Torious swept his arm across the gate as the barbarians turned to him, their faces already swelled with hate. The swell of the horn ended, leaving a sudden silence. Torious’ voice swelled to a new volume, his words booming as the search for justice swelled inside him.
“Follow me and justice will be yours!” cried Torious, his last words slipping into a trembling howl of celestial fury.
With a torrent of light, his scars stretched open. Torious turned and launched himself down the snowdrift and towards the border wall, the Ulutians just behind.
- - - - - - - - - -
The knights rounded the corner in a surge of banners, platemail and steeds. Thalin immediately whipped his hands forwards, violently clawing into the minds of the knights. He pulled his fists back with a shout and four of them slumped into unconsciousness. Two of the sleeping knights bucked backwards and crashed into the snow. The other two steeds bolted forwards, thundering out of sight with their riders bouncing wildly.
Vaerana dashed forwards and slashed at the trailing knight who was still awake. His horse bucked but he stayed seated. The knight wheeled his steed around to escape. He was halted as Milo’s perfectly timed crossbow bolt hissed into his face, punching through the visor. The remaining knight kicked his heels and bolted forwards, lowering his lance at Thalin, “For Robar!”
Mikka stumbled backwards as the knight wheeled just past him. He quickly finished his spell and let loose.
Thalin drew Erifeci up instinctively to protect himself from the lance. He felt the tip punch against his chest, but then only heard the tinkling of glass. Looking up, Thalin saw the knight rush past as the shattered remnants of his lance crumbled from his gauntlet. Mikka winked at the mage before dashing to cover the knight’s path back to the wall.
- - - - - - - - - -
Milo loaded the next bolt quickly as he watched his first shot, which he had infused with a healthy dose of Tymora’s luck, zip to its target. The knight had collapsed onto the road. If I can see that, the whole wall can as well! Milo cocked his crossbow and contemplated his next move as he saw Dariel dive over him and whip over the battlements at a great speed.
Twisting to check his next target, Milo was dashed back against the snow as a bolt burrowed into his shoulder. With a shriek of pain, Milo dragged himself back into his meagre cover and uncorked a healing potion with his good arm. Isplit nudged out of his waistcoat with a squeak and pointed disapprovingly at his biscuit, which was snapped in two by the bolt.
- - - - - - - - - -
Vaerana glided sideways past the knight as he charged her down. Sliding her sword neatly into his side, she used her momentum to lever the rider from his mount. With a thud he crashed into the snow.
Thalin stalked over and dragged Vaerana back into cover. The wall horn bayed again, this time higher and more urgent. Thalin turned to address his companions, but convulsed suddenly and collapsed to the ground clutching his chest. Three quick wrenches of pain stabbed through Thalin, it felt as though a wolverine was writhing in his chest, biting its way out.
- - - - - - - - - -
High above the fort, Dariel’s limp form plummeted towards the ground. His feathers charred black from the three fiery orbs, which had sped up to greet him as he had soared over the gatehouse…
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I can't remeber have i even got my most prized possessin yet? Plus have we met the big red scarey monster?
