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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Breakstone" data-source="post: 729562" data-attributes="member: 481">Chapter Five- Part 3 End of a BeginningThe arrow flew straight, burying itself in the forehead of the half-orc archer. “Finally…” Bryant sighed, “Now for the others.” Surveying the battlefield, the bard reached for another arrow.Uel arrived at the center of town just in time to see Oizuk fire, and Hobbs fall over, clutching his chest. “No!” he cried, grabbing a half-spear from his back.Kenzo Otso saw, and yet did not. He saw the mud, the clouds, the legs of Oizuk’s mount. But he also saw lights, and a tunnel, and a creeping blackness. He knew he was alive. Yet he also knew he was dying.Kenzo Otso closed his eyes.And Keith Goodfellow opened his. With a gasp, Keith crawled onto his knees, and coughed blood. His neck hurt.Hobbs fell back, peacefully smiling in the quiet darkness that enveloped his mind.The half-orc at Hobb’s feet stood with a groan. His chest was bleeding painfully, and his head swam. He gripped his sword and growled. Someone would definitely pay for his pain. The bandit turned towards the nearest building, and charged through the door. Screams echoed from inside.With a silent scowl, Uel launched his half-spear, and watched as, with a resounding thunk, the spear sunk into Oizuk’s chest. The bandit leader sagged, clutching the buried spear.From a nearby building, a half-orc scrambled out of an open door, limping. A frying pan flew through the air, crashing into the back of his skull. A mob of village women swarmed around the bandit, armed with pans, pots, and rolling pins. A dinner plate shattered against his head, and the bandit’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed. Suddenly, with an echoing roar, Oizuk tore the spear from his flesh. “No elf will defeat me!”The weapon was drenched in blood that flashed red in a burst of lighting. Oizuk sent the spear twirling through the air. Uel grimaced as the spear struck him in the shoulder and the ground slammed into his back.The world began to fade away, but Uel didn’t mind. He’d died before.The bandit leader snorted. “As I said, no elf will de-”Oizuk fell forward into the mud, arrow half-way buried in the back of his neck.Arudan smirked and lowered his bow.The crows circled above the battlefield…It was morning, and the sun shown down from its heavenly perch. The storm had vanished, spent, as all storms do, and the village had slept. But now, with breakfast eaten and the battlefields cleared, it was time to mourn.Despite their victory, the three deaths still hurt the village. Kenzo, Lyman, and Hobbs were buried side by side in the village cemetery. Keith, Arudan, and Bryant stood with the villagers, while Uel watched from afar. Two of his crows, family members in the dearest sense, had died during the night, but no villager shed a tear.Arudan stood rigid by Keith’s side, no emotion on his face. Although he promised himself that no human death would make the slightest meaning to him, Hobb’s last words still echoed in mind.“He said he was on guard…” Arudan recalled in a whisper. “What?”“Er… nothing, Keith. Nothing at all.”When the funeral had ended, and the villagers began to drift away, Keith bent on sore legs and picked up Kenzo Otso’s helmet.“Kenzo…” he spoke, as if the helm hosted the spirit of the elderly fighter, “I know you survived many battles with this helmet. Although I, too, have lost my army, I shall wear this helmet myself, and fight in your honor.” With that, Keith donned the helmet.Kenzo’s life may have ended, but Keith Goodfellow’s was just beginning.</blockquote>

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