Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 49
Carzen Zelos fought like a machine.
A quiet calm he had never felt before had come over him somehow, even in the midst of the noisy, confusing melee. His sword felt like a wooden switch in his hand, flashing and arcing in a blur even before he could form the conscious thought to move it.
His enemies could not touch him.
The gnoll spearman, already wounded twice by his blade, came in at him again, driving the spear straight toward the center of the fighter’s torso. Carzen stepped to the side, and as the bright steel head flashed past him he drove his sword down into the gnoll’s unprotected left arm, crunching through flesh and bone and muscle. Blood spurted from the wound as the gnoll staggered back, his arm dangling by a few bits of skin and tendon. Carzen lifted his bloody blade to finish it, but the gnoll was clearly done, and he let him expire as he looked around for another enemy.
To his immediate left, Gez was furiously trying to keep a hyena at bay with his shortsword. The creature was seriously wounded, blood matting its hide from dozens of cuts and scratches, but its injuries only seemed to fuel its fury as it kept surging at Gez, trying to lock its jaws on a leg or arm.
For Carzen, it was the easiest thing in the world to reach out and slide a foot of steel into the hyena’s side, the slender sword slipping between two ribs deep into its body. The hyena let out a strangled yelp and flopped over, its left leg kicking spasmatically.
“Thanks, lieutenant,” Gez said, but Carzen was already turning around to help Vhael.
The gnoll scourge and dragonborn warlord had been exchanging powerful blows in a violent contest that looked like it would only end when one combatant was left broken on the floor. Vhael was obviously battered, his head, neck, and shoulders bruised and cut where the scourge’s flail had laid into him. A big dent in the side of his helmet showed where one particularly potent blow had landed, but somehow the dragonborn fought on, even as trickles of dark blood ran down his chest and arms.
The scourge was making little effort to evade Vhael’s counters, simply taking the hits as he kept delivering those deadly swings of his flail. His own armor was creased and bloody where the greatsword had connected, and one ear hung down from a long flap of flesh, the vicious wound oozing blood in bright red spurts.
The warlord fought alone for the moment; as he turned Carzen saw that Gral was grappling with the other gnoll marauder, flashes of white frost erupting between them as the dwarf tried to keep the gnoll’s snapping jaws from engulfing his face. Surina was still on her feet, but had sagged against the chamber wall, a pair of arrows jutting from her chest not far from her neck. She was trying to rally, but a strained mewling hissed from her as her blood continued to drain from the nasty wounds.
On the other hand, Carzen was invincible.
He actually laughed as he lunged forward and came in toward the scourge’s flank. The hulking gnoll sensed him coming and spun to meet him, the flail sweeping around toward the fighter’s head. He ducked under the wild swipe, and came up swinging, delivering a stinging impact that crumpled one of the metal plates protecting the gnoll’s hip.
“Bet that hurt, eh!” he yelled, as he finished his move, forcing the gnoll to choose between turning his back either on him or on Vhael. An easy choice as far as Carzen was concerned; Vhael now looked like he could barely lift that big sword of his. He lifted his shield, waiting for the inevitable attack.
But the scourge only stared darkly at him. As Carzen frowned, the gnoll’s lips twisted into a grim smile.
Realization cut through his fleeting euphoria, and he turned just in time to see the demon’s leap. He brought his sword up, knowing it was too late even before the monstrous barlgura slammed into him, driving him to the ground with hundreds of pounds of snarling, tearing fiend on top of him.
Carzen Zelos fought like a machine.
A quiet calm he had never felt before had come over him somehow, even in the midst of the noisy, confusing melee. His sword felt like a wooden switch in his hand, flashing and arcing in a blur even before he could form the conscious thought to move it.
His enemies could not touch him.
The gnoll spearman, already wounded twice by his blade, came in at him again, driving the spear straight toward the center of the fighter’s torso. Carzen stepped to the side, and as the bright steel head flashed past him he drove his sword down into the gnoll’s unprotected left arm, crunching through flesh and bone and muscle. Blood spurted from the wound as the gnoll staggered back, his arm dangling by a few bits of skin and tendon. Carzen lifted his bloody blade to finish it, but the gnoll was clearly done, and he let him expire as he looked around for another enemy.
To his immediate left, Gez was furiously trying to keep a hyena at bay with his shortsword. The creature was seriously wounded, blood matting its hide from dozens of cuts and scratches, but its injuries only seemed to fuel its fury as it kept surging at Gez, trying to lock its jaws on a leg or arm.
For Carzen, it was the easiest thing in the world to reach out and slide a foot of steel into the hyena’s side, the slender sword slipping between two ribs deep into its body. The hyena let out a strangled yelp and flopped over, its left leg kicking spasmatically.
“Thanks, lieutenant,” Gez said, but Carzen was already turning around to help Vhael.
The gnoll scourge and dragonborn warlord had been exchanging powerful blows in a violent contest that looked like it would only end when one combatant was left broken on the floor. Vhael was obviously battered, his head, neck, and shoulders bruised and cut where the scourge’s flail had laid into him. A big dent in the side of his helmet showed where one particularly potent blow had landed, but somehow the dragonborn fought on, even as trickles of dark blood ran down his chest and arms.
The scourge was making little effort to evade Vhael’s counters, simply taking the hits as he kept delivering those deadly swings of his flail. His own armor was creased and bloody where the greatsword had connected, and one ear hung down from a long flap of flesh, the vicious wound oozing blood in bright red spurts.
The warlord fought alone for the moment; as he turned Carzen saw that Gral was grappling with the other gnoll marauder, flashes of white frost erupting between them as the dwarf tried to keep the gnoll’s snapping jaws from engulfing his face. Surina was still on her feet, but had sagged against the chamber wall, a pair of arrows jutting from her chest not far from her neck. She was trying to rally, but a strained mewling hissed from her as her blood continued to drain from the nasty wounds.
On the other hand, Carzen was invincible.
He actually laughed as he lunged forward and came in toward the scourge’s flank. The hulking gnoll sensed him coming and spun to meet him, the flail sweeping around toward the fighter’s head. He ducked under the wild swipe, and came up swinging, delivering a stinging impact that crumpled one of the metal plates protecting the gnoll’s hip.
“Bet that hurt, eh!” he yelled, as he finished his move, forcing the gnoll to choose between turning his back either on him or on Vhael. An easy choice as far as Carzen was concerned; Vhael now looked like he could barely lift that big sword of his. He lifted his shield, waiting for the inevitable attack.
But the scourge only stared darkly at him. As Carzen frowned, the gnoll’s lips twisted into a grim smile.
Realization cut through his fleeting euphoria, and he turned just in time to see the demon’s leap. He brought his sword up, knowing it was too late even before the monstrous barlgura slammed into him, driving him to the ground with hundreds of pounds of snarling, tearing fiend on top of him.