by Sami Dougish
Not wasting a moment, I turned back to the two oncoming men. One had a club, like the man who now had a mace in place of his face. The second one held a rusted looking sword. I ducked under the blow of the one with the sword and swung my hammer at the second. The man managed to jump out of the way of the strike, and I quickly swung my closed fist in a backhand that caught the first man’s jaw. He fell back, and I turned back into the man I had thrown who had just rejoined the fight. I dove forward in a roll and landed on his legs. He went down with a howl, and I felt one of his legs snap under my weight. He was out of the fight for now, and I was able to find my footing and spin to face the last two bandits.
Now that it was only two of them, I would have no trouble slaying these men. I could see the fear in their eyes, and the taste of it danced over my tongue. To my dismay the men didn’t even bother to fight, they simply dropped their weapons, and put their hands together, and begged piteously
“Please sir, we surrender to ya, mercy!”
“I swear if you let me go, I will never tell anyone of you, I- “
I ended their pathetic attempts to plead for mercy by lodging my hammer in the nearest man’s skull. Blood sprayed over his companion who screamed, as he took in the last sight he would ever see. Me standing over him, blood swirling around me like a storm, and an evil glint in my eyes.
That was all he had time to see as I quickly drew my dagger, and stabbed it up under his jaw, into the soft flesh of his throat. I jabbed it up to the hilt of the blade, and his warm blood ran down my wrist, as his death spasms slowed until they disappeared altogether.
I glanced around the room and took in the surroundings. The tavern looked to have once been a well-kept and maintained area, but now looked like a slaughterhouse. Body parts were strewn over the floor, and blood was splashed across the wall in a horrific mosaic. Even as I thought that though, it all slowly began to be pulled off the wall and trailed towards me.
I raised my arms slightly to either side of me and let the energy from the blood flow into my body. Raskorian was right, this felt good! My reverie was interrupted by the sound of large footsteps coming down the stairway. I immediately turned and looked in the direction of the stairs and was in time to see an enormous man swagger arrogantly down the steps.
I assumed this was the Boss I had heard about. He was indeed a large man, even for a human. He nearly matched me in both height and width. He was the second-largest human I had met, the largest having been that northman I had killed in the arena. His arms were corded with muscles, and he held a large battleaxe slung over his right shoulder. He wore what looked to be a large chest plate, but left his arms bare of any sort of armor. That was probably why his arms were crisscrossed with scars, most likely from old wounds. Trailing off of the chest plate were armored strips of leather that covered his upper legs. Below that he had on what looked like thick hide enforced pants paired with well-made leather boots.
His face bore an arrogant expression, he turned the corner down the stairs, and I smiled with satisfaction as I saw his arrogant expression morph into one of fear as he saw the butchery that was scattered all over the taverns main room. His face went white when he saw the blood swirling in the air as it was sucked into my body.
“By the Nidarius! What are you!?”
I raised my bloody hammer, and pointed at him saying, “Ah Just the man I wanted to see! I heard from several of your men that you have a very useful map that I could make great use of. Come down here and I can finish this little bit of fun!”
My tone seemed to give him a bit of his courage, and he scowled at me and said, “Know your place lizard. You may have killed all of my men, and effectively ended my operation here, but once I kill you, those scales of yours will bring me enough gold to let me retire with a nice plot of land and an endless supply of whores!”
He quickly swung his battleaxe around in front of him and charged me with a deepthroated bellow. I grinned and matched his bellow with a roar of my own and charged to meet him. He took a ferocious swipe at my head with the axe. I let my rear leg collapse under me and leaned back, letting the blow pass over my face. I quickly straightened back up, and spun around to face him. He recovered from the missed blow with surprising speed, and widened his grip on the axe, and stopped the blow expertly. He then reversed the attack and chopped at me again, this time aiming at my torso. I danced out of the way once again and the blow passed harmlessly by me. This cycle continued for about a minute, and I was content to enjoy this fight, and not attack yet. I was curious to see how long he could keep this up. That axe was heavy-looking, and I guessed would take a lot of effort to wield for extended periods of time.
He was fast, I would give him that, but even without my enhanced speed, I would have been able to avoid the blows. He had skill, but he seemed unfamiliar with fights that lasted for more than a few seconds. I could see the axe quivering in his hands now, and I decided that it was time to end this.
He tiredly came at me again, and this time I didn’t bother to avoid the blow, instead leapt forward, inside of the blow of his axe. I caught the haft of the axe and arrested the attack. The man’s eyes widened in shock. The speed at which I stopped his attack threw him off balance. His shock quickly morphed into fear, then agonized pain as I brought my hammer down and crushed his front knee. He screamed and crumpled under the blow. The large axe tumbling from his hands as he clutched at his ruined knee.
I knelt next to him and leaned my hand down on his shattered knee, and he screamed even louder as I applied pressure to the wound. He frantically tried to push me off of him, but I leaned forward and rested more of my weight on his knee. The bandit leader vomited slightly from the pain of his already crushed knee.
“Where is the map!” I growled in his face.
He didn’t answer, just shakily patted a satchel on his belt, and managed to whimper, “B-b-bastard!”
“That I am!” I hissed.
I roared in his face, then lunged forward, and sunk my teeth into his throat, and ripped his throat out. He gurgled, and desperately clawed at his bloody neck, trying to stop the flow of blood, but it was a hopeless attempt, and soon the bandit leader was no more.
I got back to my feet, breathing hard. My adrenaline was racing, and I was still in the midst of my rage. The smell of blood, death, and fear filled my senses, and I relished the taste of them. I took a deep breath and roared my victory for all to hear. I barely paid attention to the women who ran past me and out of the tavern. Instead, I enjoyed all the power coursing through me from the blood essence that acted like a shot of pure adrenaline. If this is what freedom felt like, I would never give it up again!
Chapter 5
I don’t know how long I stood there, inhaling the bloody scents, but eventually, my and mind calmed, my vision returned to normal, and the animal retreated from my mind. I suddenly felt the fatigue beginning to settle on my shoulders. Damn, I was tired, and I knew that in a few hours my muscles would begin to feel horribly sore as well. Still, I had done what I set out to do, and now as long as I got my hands on that map, I would be one step closer to escaping this damn kingdom.
With that in my head, I knelt down and opened the satchel the bandit leader had motioned to. To my relief inside was a large roll of paper. I quickly wiped my hands off on the leader’s pants and pulled the map out. I unrolled it in my hands and was relieved to see that it was indeed a map. Still, I would examine it later when I wasn’t surrounded by bodies, and in the middle of a village that had recently been sacked. I needed to get out of here and find someplace to rest. I couldn’t stay here. No doubt a patrol of the king’s guards would eventually pass through here, and I wanted to be as far away as possible by then.
I unclipped the leader’s satchel and pulled looped it through my own belts. The satchel itself ended up dirty, as I was covered in blood and viscera, but as long as the map itself was fine, I would didn’t care.
I then finally realized that some of the bodies in the room were st
ill alive and were moaning on the floor. I slowly stood up and turned to the nearest body.
“Well let’s get this over with,” I muttered.
I then proceeded to walk around to the men that weren’t dead, and brutally, but efficiently killed them all. The tavern was already ruined, what was another few bodies to add to the pile. The blood was quickly absorbed into me, and I felt the now familiar tingle of the energy being greedily absorbed by Raskorian. Once I was satisfied that all of the men had been dealt with, I moved back over to the body of the slain bandit leader. I studied his armor again and admired the chest plate’s craftsmanship. Now that I was able to thoroughly examine it, I realized that it wasn’t quite as thick as I had first observed. It was probably relatively light for its size. Unfortunately, the armor didn’t look like it would be able to fit my frame. Clothing was one thing, it could be stretched, and adjusted, but the armor was generally less forgiving, especially for one of my size. The armor looked as if it had been specifically made for the man as well, and I was surprised that a bandit could afford such a piece of armor.
That observation perked my suspicion, and I quickly examined the rest of him. Who had this man been? He had referenced the Thuum patron god of war, Nidarius, so I knew he was Thuum born human. His accent had sounded similar to the nobles of Thuum as well. That was when I noticed a necklace he was wearing. It was covered in blood from where his throat had, or lack thereof had bled all over his front. Still, I curiously pulled the necklace from his neck and examined it. My stomach sunk when I saw the symbol on the necklace.
It was the image of a gold cup filled to the brim with gold coins. This was a pendant of one of the powerful noble houses in Thuum. Specifically, it was the symbol of the house Hanacus. They were an old and powerful family in the kingdom, and I had always seen their banner in the expensive seats of the arena, near the king’s box.
Why the fuck did some forest bandit have a nobleman’s pendant. It all clicked a moment later. The noble accent, the expensive map, the well-made gear, this man must have been a member of house Hanacus. I had no idea what he was doing in another counts land, leading a band of bandits, but I had a feeling I had just stepped into some sort of sabotaging act by one of the noble houses, in an attempt to undermine another’s house. Shit if the villagers gave a report to the guards when they arrived, I guessed eventually word of the man’s death would reach his family. When they found out that a Drayzraac had slain him, they would be out for blood. I needed to get out of here fast.
“I’m free for less than a day, and I have already killed a damn noble! This just got a lot more complicated!”
“Noble, peasant, their titles mean little to me. In the end, they are all of the lesser races and do not concern me. Their blood all tastes the same to me!”
I wished I could share the dragon’s confident dismissal, but I knew far too well the power vengeful nobles could bring to bear. Though I had to admit, now that I knew I had killed a Thuum noble, I felt a feeling of great satisfaction at the knowledge.
I quickly pocketed the necklace, it looked valuable, and I probably could get some gold if I sold it. I rushed up the stairs of the tavern and looked around until I smelled the leader’s scent from one of the rooms. I ran into the room. What I had been hoping to find was there. What looked like the man’s gear was strewn about the room, and I hastily grabbed several pairs of shirts, pants, and undergarments. I would need new clothes, and he was as close to my size as I was going to find it here. I also saw a long traveling cloak on the bed, and I grabbed that as well.
Trying to keep the clothes away from the blood on my body, I went back downstairs. I pushed the hammer back into one of the loops on my belt and retrieved my mace which I placed in a loop on the opposite side of my belt.
With my weapons, clothing, and map, I prepared to rush out, when I heard a shout from outside.
“You, out here now!”
The voice was male and older sounding. I glanced out of the tavern. I couldn’t quite see the speaker, but it had come from the front of the tavern outside. I had to assume they were talking to me, but what did they want?
Before I could reply, the voice came again, “We won’t ask again Lizard, get out here!”
Immediately my hackles raised. Lizard?! Hissing, I placed the clothes down on the floor, which was clear as most of the blood had been absorbed into my body, and drew my two weapons. I stomped towards the broken door of the tavern and stepped out into the slightly lightening sky. What greeted me caught me off guard. Outside was a crowd of around one hundred people. I assumed these were the surviving villagers. They were a mix of elderly men and women. They all looked disheveled and tired, but all of them had a look of contempt plastering their faces. In turn, they all carried makeshift weapons of sorts or weapons that looked to have been looted from the bandits I killed.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight. This didn’t bode well. If they attacked me, there was no way I could fight off one hundred people. No matter how skilled I was, the sheer number of them would run right over me. I quickly glanced around for ways to escape if needs be.
My observations were interrupted by a figure who stepped forward from the front of the assembled mob of villagers. He was old, with a white beard that fell down to his belt. He walked with a slight limp but had the appearance of a once strong man, now taken by old age. I fixed my angry gaze on him, and he stared back at me equally angry.
He raised a hand, and pointed at me and said, “You, lizard, you are not welcome here. Our village has suffered enough without having to bear the presence of one of your kind!”
I growled deep in my throat, and I saw some of the villagers tighten their hands on their weapons. I didn’t care though. I should have, I couldn’t fight these people, but I was furious. These people had the gall to come to me after I had killed the bandits who were looting their homes. I had saved their women from abuse and kidnapping, kept the bandits from taking all the goods they had stolen, and even killed the traitor Cedric. Granted they didn’t know about the last fact, but I was too angry to care.
“My kind?” I hissed at the man, my hands trembling from anger as I tried to restrain myself from throwing myself at the mass of people which would certainly mean my death.
“You have the nerve to stand there, after humans killed your men, raped your women, and stole your property, and say you don’t want to bear my presence?!”
“Insolence! Your kind are a plague upon this world, and if not for the fact that you killed the bandits, we would kill you, and skin you of those disgusting scales!”
My anger, which had been boiling hot just moments ago, turned into a wave of cold and ruthless hatred. I didn’t respond to the elder and simply placed both weapons in my belt. I turned around and calmly walked back into the tavern.
“Yes vessel, I like this idea, there may be hope for you yet. They must learn not to insult you, though you are a lesser race, you now hold the soul of a dragon, they should be groveling at your feet not making demands!”
I didn’t respond, instead, I leaned down, and picked up the clothing, and shoved the pile, as best as I could, into the satchel at my waist. I then moved over to the body of the bandit leader and picked up the large axe. I tested its weight and balance. It was heavy but would work for what I had planned.
“Lizard, I was not jesting, you have ten seconds to be on your way 1….2….3….4.”
I turned around, and strode back out of the tavern, with the axe held in both of my hands. The elder was still counting, and had no time to react, as I drew both of my arms back, and with a grunt of effort, hurled the huge axe at him. Paired with my newfound speed, the axe left my hands with more momentum than I could have managed before, and it flew end over end, directly at the elder. It took him squarely in the chest, and to say that it killed the man would be an understatement.
The heavy-headed weapon punched straight into the man’s unarmored chest, and blood sprayed out in a red stream, and he flew back off of his feet
. No one reacted for a split second. Everyone stood there frozen in shock, as their apparent leader’s dead body twitched in death on the floor. I watched, with a cold satisfaction, and my emotions were mirrored by Raskorian’s own evil laughter.
What broke the stasis that everyone stood in, was when the blood was pulled over the grass, as if it had been connected to a rope. As they watched it shoot towards me, they all yelled and charged at me. At that point, I did what any sensible man would. I ran.
When I had observed ways to escape, I had decided on using my height and speed to my advantage. I was able to easily outpace them, and I shot directly towards the wall. With a quick leap, I gripped the top of the wall and pulled myself up to the platform that was used by the villagers to patrol the walls. Without waiting, I leapt over the side of the fence, and down to the floor of the forest outside the walls. I did my best to roll out of the fall, but this time, I didn’t quite pull it off. I came out of the roll too late and landed flat on my face and chest.
The pain from the cauterization, which I had forgotten about in the adrenaline-fueled battle, came back, and I had to grit my teeth against the pain of it. As I groaned. I had no time to stop and rest though, as I heard the angry voices of the villagers coming up the wall behind me. I forced myself to my feet and dashed off in the direction that I had left my sack earlier. It took me a moment to find the spot, but once I did, I was able to scoop the sack up and turn back the way I came. I didn’t see any villagers on the wall, and I assumed they would be heading for one of the village ground exits to chase me down.
Cedric had said this village was on the way to the dukedom, so I began running in the same general direction I had taken to get here. I passed by the front entrance of the village and was just in time to see a mob of people swarming out. One pointed at me, and they howled as they charged after me.
Without sparing them another glance, I kept running until I passed into the line of trees. Though the sun was beginning to rise, the small light afforded from it did next to nothing to illuminate the dense forest. Still, I navigated as best as I could. I ran into branches, tripped over rocks, and made enough racket to let the villagers know which way I went.