by Brad Clark
Nikki had expected it and was actually hoping for it. She knew the type of man that Olofar was, and having a woman insult him was far beyond anything that he could handle. Barr was a reasonable man, while Olofar was not. Her only choice right now was to put the reasonable one in a position where he could help her, and all of Humanity.
With ease, Nikki jumped back, avoiding the blow that would have split her insides wide open. Olofar had reacted with emotion, which allowed him to use every once of his strength, but also caused his attack to be clumsy and easily defended. As she jumped backward, she reached back and pulled out both of her swords, readying them to parry the second attack. Olofar’s stroke caused him to stumble forward off balance. He took another moment to regain his footing before he was able to collect his ax and ready it for another strike. In that time, Nikki could have sliced him up with her swords. She knew it would be no contest for her, as he was large and slow. Her only concern was to ensure that he wasn’t able to get a lucky blow. Anything could happen in battle, and she needed to be prepared for it.
Myllia had stepped back, out of the way. Her head swung back and forth, taking in the Bargoroth who had made their way back after their initial panic. When they had seen that their leader was unafraid of the Dragon, they would not let themselves become fearful. But, they were also not stupid, so they kept their distance. No one wanted to get caught in the Dragon’s breath or slashed by her razor-sharp teeth.
Kile backed up as well, for he needed to make sure that Nikki’s back was protected. He also didn’t want to get in her way. Her reach was long, and even the slightest nick could open up a deep cut. Barr joined him at his side, his mouth closed tightly, eyes watching the battle closely. It seemed as if his future might also be dependent on the outcome of the melee.
Once he regained his balance, Olofar let out a war cry and charged forward, hefting his ax over his head to drive it down straight into Nikki’s head. The berserker rage that Olofar fought with might have worked amid a pitched battle where strength and power were an advantage. In a close fight between only two combatants, precision and agility were more critical. Once again, Nikki easily avoided the blow, dodging to the side. As Olofar stepped past her, carried forward by his momentum, she sliced downward with the sword in her right hand, aiming for his head. She was not going to take any chances of the barbarian landing a lucky blow. She wanted and needed to have this end quickly.
To her surprise and dismay, the large man had amazing dexterity. He slid underneath her blow, stepped towards her, and drove the handle end of the ax into her midsection.
The force of the blow shocked her and sent pain exploding through her side. All the air in her lungs was forced out, and she gasped painfully as she tried to breathe. She had her wind knocked out of her many times, so she did not panic, but she wasn’t going to sit and wait for him to land another lucky strike. Shuffling backward, she needed to be sure she was entirely clear of the ax.
Olafar smiled, seeing agony in her eyes. “I don’t care who you are, or what you are, a woman cannot ever defeat a man.”
The pain in her side continued to throb, and whenever she tried to take in a breath, the throbbing became sharp and striking, which caused bright lights to flash in her vision. She switched her stance, putting her right foot forward to protect her damaged side. Although she could fight with either her left or right foot forward, fighting with her right foot forward was not her dominate stance, and it felt a little uncomfortable. She was a warrior, though, trained to embrace discomfort. She gritted her teeth and shuffled forward, ready to end this quickly.
Olofar’s smile widened to show his teeth, and his eyes sparked with superiority. “Women are weak and only exist because of men.”
Nikki was not going to take the bait. What he said had no effect on her, and the only way it would make a difference was if she let it. She had been a woman fighting in a man’s world since she was a little girl so he could say all he wanted. Her response was to ignore the screaming pain in her side and leap forward, swords slashing down at his head.
He was able to block one sword with the handle of his ax, but the other he let drive into his upper shoulder. The moment the blade cut through skin, he let out a grunt of pain, or maybe it was of anger. As Nikki had, he ignored his wound and counter-attacked with his ax, swinging again for her midsection, which was partially exposed. Again, she dodged away and pressed her attack. He continued to parry as much as he could, but her swords were too fast, and they were slicing him up. He was selective in which blows he let through, hoping that he could get one damaging blow through her attack. One such solid strike from his ax would end the fight.
Nikki quickly realized that Olofar was willing to sacrifice much of himself to wait for one killing blow. Where her blows were nicking him, none of them were fatal or struck vital organs. She slowed her attacks, being patient to only attack with precision. She had plenty of stamina, and the battle could be stretched out for a long time. Olofar was already huffing and puffing with each of his swings. She knew it would only be a matter of time before she could strike that fatal blow if she were patient enough.
She could also see that in his eyes, he believed that he would win this fight. Even as blood flowed from half-a-dozen open wounds, his eyes, facial expression, and body language were clear about his belief. Even at the last moment, she could tell that he believed he would prevail simply because he was a man.
Her patience paid off as she slowed her attacks and timed them so that there was no chance to defend her swift blades. Between his thick fur overcoat and fattened skin, she knew she would either have to stab him deeply or stick him in the neck or head. Picking away at his body was not going to kill him, so she timed her blow so that he would be unable to protect his neck. When the tip of her sword sliced underneath his chin, blood sprayed out, covering her and those around them. Still believing that he was invincible, he ignored the blood and his pending death and let out a gurgling last battle cry, surging forward with his ax blade aimed for her head. It took only two steps before his body failed him. He stumbled forward, falling face-first into the ground, the ax sliding across the flattened, muddy ground. Even though he was unmoving and face-down, she drove the point of her sword through his back, cutting into his heart, to be sure that he was dead.
The Bargoroth warriors, who had just seen their tribal leader be felled by a woman, started to surge forward. Myllia spun towards them and let out a deafening roar. Anyone close could feel the heat from her breath, even though she kept her fire inside of her. In an instant, any thoughts of seeking revenge disappeared.
Nikki marched towards them, Olofar’s blood covering her face and clothes.
“The fight against the Tarans is over!” She shouted as loud as she could. Deathly silence surrounded her. No one moved, no one spoke. She turned and pointed to those that were being crucified behind her. “They are no longer your enemy, as you have won your battle against them. But the world is bigger than this field, bigger than your lands. Dragons exist. You can see Myllia right here in front of you. Evil exists, too. This evil has come to our world and is threatening all our lives. You may not see their army now, but be assured, that if we don’t defeat them now, they will grow so powerful that no one will stop them. They will come to this land and sweep you into your grave as easily and quickly as I have killed your leader. He refused to join our fight, so that made him my enemy, and I will kill all my enemies who come between me and victory.”
She looked around to see that she had the attention of everyone around her. Many had weapons in their hands, but they were not ready to be used.”
She continued, “Tarans came to take your land because they wanted the gold and gems buried underneath it. The Deceiver will come to your land for the sole purpose of killing you. They will not leave anyone left alive. Man. Woman. Child. So, you can return back to your homes and wait for death to come to your door, or you can pick up a sword, an ax, a club, anything, and follow me east.”
Silence hung over the field as she let her words get carried away by the wind. Clouds had moved in, and a chilly breeze followed. The grim faces that looked back at her showed the weariness of a war that had been going on for too long. There was not much fight left in them. It seemed as if the death of Olofar might have been the final act that took all the wind out of their sails. She had not spent much time at sea, but with most of her homeland being on an island, she knew what happened when the winds died. Ships were stuck and could languish for days, or even weeks.
“Your words are strong and powerful,” Barr said behind her. “But they are the words of a stranger. Olofar was a fool, and you made him look even more so a fool. He had no choice but to fight for his pride, and he paid for it with his life. All of us are willing to fight for our tribes to protect our lands, but what you ask for is not something that we are willing to give. We have been fighting since I was a child, and now that this war is ended, all we want is peace.”
“There will be no peace,” Nikki countered. “Not ever, until the Deceiver is defeated.”
Barr shook his head. “You don’t understand. Our people are tired of war. Tired of killing. This was the last battle, whether we won or lost. Only one side would come out alive, and it was us. Now, we must go back to our homes and try and remember what peace was like. Olofar was our leader in war, and now he is gone. We must find a leader in peace. Maybe I will be that leader, or maybe it will be another. It is time for you to go.”
“I thought you would be willing to help us?” She had firmly believed that all the tribes would help her. By killing Olofar, she had been certain they would all jump at the chance to save the world. That was apparently not the case, and now a horrible sinking feeling was coming over her. Her warrior instincts that had pushed her to fight Olofar had failed her by making the situation worse. Maybe Olofar could have been convinced with enough time, but time was certainly not on their side.
As the emotion of the battle and the fight began to wear off, the barbarian people of the north that hadn’t initially run off in a panic when the Dragon arrived began to disperse.
All strength seemed to seep out of Nikki’s body. “If we fail, if the Deceiver wins this battle, he will come for you. He will march right across this field and kill every one of you.”
Barr shook his head slowly. “We will stand and fight, and if the will of the gods is such, then we will win. If not, then we will lose.”
“And risk the end of all your people?”
“I will fight!” The words were weak and came from behind them. If the wind had not been blowing from that direction, they might never have heard the voice.
Nikki turned and looked up at Aeneas, who looked down at them with steely eyes that still showed much fight in them. She walked to the base of his cross and looked up at him.
“Cut me down,” he croaked out, trying to will his voice to be strong again. “I will march at your side.”
“You have nails in your wrists and feet,” Nikki said.
“It is only pain,” he replied.
“Cut him down,” Nikki said. When no one didn’t immediately move, she turned towards Barr and marched up to him and repeated with more force. “Cut them all down!”
Barr looked past Nikki and up at the Taran General. He did not move, as he was not sure what he should do.
Nikki still had her bloody swords in her hands and raised them threatening. “Cut them down!”
Barr motioned for the warriors who remained around them to bring the Tarans down from their crosses.
Aeneas was the first to come down. It took four Bargoroth warriors to lower the cross, and when it on the ground, Nikki took Olofar’s ax and cut the rope that bound Aenea’s hands and feet. The nails were going to be the problem. There was no option to pull the nails from the wood, as they were pounded in too deep. The only option was to pull the hands and feet out, leaving the nails sunk into the wood. Pulling dead bodies off the crosses was not a problem, but it caused incredible pain for live ones.
Aeneas let out a cry of immense pain as his hands and feet were pulled away from the wood. He rolled onto the muddy ground, holding his palms up into the air. Tears flowed from his eyes, which he hid by burning his head into the soft, muddy ground. As the other Taran Centurions were pulled off their crosses, they cried and screamed as well.
Nikki bent down at Aenea’s side and gripped him under the armpits to help him to his feet. He gave a sharp nod to indicate that he was ready to try and stand up. He first went onto his knees, and then tried to stand up. Pain erupted through his feet, and he collapsed back onto the ground.
“The nails would have broken his ankles,” Barr said. “I cannot imagine him walking. Those that are crucified were not meant to ever be taken down. I will offer him mercy to relieve him of his pain.”
Aeneas looked up at him with glaring eyes and snapped, “I do not need your mercy!”
He pushed himself back onto his knees and then onto his feet. Tears filled his eyes as the pain was nearly unbearable. He took one step, and his leg buckled but did not fall. He took another step and was able to keep his balance.
“See,” Aeneas said to Barr. “I can walk.”
“It will take you a week to just walk across this field.”
“Where are our horses?” Nikki asked. “Did you slaughter them when you ambushed my warriors?”
“We have no need for horses,” Barr replied. “We would have set them free.”
“Then we will find them, and those that cannot walk will ride.”
“Look at his hands. He cannot grip a sword.”
Aeneas painfully took five steps towards one of the Bargoroth warriors that had taken possession of a Taran shortsword. Without resistance, the warrior let Aeneas take it. With a suppressed cry and grunt with each step, Aeneas slowly stepped towards Olofar with a sword in hand. He gripped it as tightly as he could and chopped down, slicing Olofar’s head from his body.
“I can fight,” Aeneas said, with a glare at Barr. “As long as there is a breath in my lungs, I will fight. I am a soldier, and it is all that I know.” He turned to Nikki and added, “I will fight at your side. Any of the surviving Centurions will fight as well.”
Four barbarian warriors stepped forward. They were all large and dressed in furs stained with blood. Some of it was theirs. Some of it was others. Words were exchanged in their native tongue between them and Barr. Voices were raised, and soon Barr was pointing at Olofar and then sharply pointed at each of the other four in turn. After several minutes of the contentious conversation, the four newcomers each crossed their arms and turned to look at Nikki.
Barr turned away from them and walked up to Nikki. “You must understand that our warriors are tired of war. The tribal leaders are tired of sending our men and boys into battle. There has been too much death over the past generation caused by invaders who wish to take our land for reasons that many of us never understood. To ask us to fight for something that we do not understand, that does not affect us…”
“It does affect you!” Nikki interrupted. “The whole world is at stake!”
Barr let out a long sigh. “Look around you. What do you see? Look past the battlefield. To the south, past the river, you see open fields of grass that will soon be chest high. To the north are the forests and past that are the mountains. Nowhere will you see an invading army. Your words are just words.”
“What about the Dragon?” Kile asked. “Does her presence here not convince you otherwise?”
“She is the only reason that you are alive,” Barr replied coldly. “If she were not here, you and Princess Nikki would be nailed to a cross and left to die. The other tribal leaders believe you are with the Tarans and that you have come to lead us into a trap. They believe it is not Gorigard that has an army, but the Tarans, and we will be led into an ambush.”
“I will show you,” Myllia said to all that were around her.
All heads turned towards the Dragon.
“Tara Ci
ty is the capital city of the Taran Empire. I will show you what the Deceiver’s army can do and will do if they are not stopped.”
“How will you show us?” Barr replied out loud.
“Three of you can ride upon my back. I will take you to Tara City, and you will see for yourselves.”
“Ride on your back?” Barr exclaimed. “So that you can drop us to our deaths?”
Myllia stretched her neck forward and opened her mouth to release a blast of heat from the fire of her belly. No fire came out, only heat. “The choice is yours. Climb upon my back or be burned where you stand.”
It took only a heartbeat for Barr to consider his options. He pointed to two of the tribal leaders, and they quickly scampered up Myllia’s back. Ropes were wrapped around her neck, giving them handholds so they wouldn’t fall off. Without another word, Myllia leaped into the air and quickly disappeared to the southeast.
Nikkia, Kile, and Aeneas were left alone for a few minutes before one of the other tribal leaders came up to them.
“I am Ulg of the Hilekon,” the tribal leader said in broken Commoner. “If the beast does not return by nightfall, you will be killed.”
Nikki did not show any emotion. Ulg’s words did not surprise her, as she expected the threat. “We will not die easily.”
Ulg let out a grunt. “We shall see. Now, follow me.”
Nikki, Aeneas, and Kile were escorted to the protection of the command tent. It didn’t provide them with much relief from the cold, but it did protect them from the harsh, bitter wind. Aeneas was also given food and water, which he quickly devoured. He was also given a leather wineskin that contained a bitter and robust wine that he gulped down. It didn’t stop the pain, but it made it just a bit less stinging.
A young woman appeared through the tent flaps carrying a small clay jar. She waited to be acknowledged by Ulg before coming in.
“This is Elma,” Ulg said. “She is a healer.”
Elma walked forward and sat next to Aeneas, who was sitting upright with his legs spread out in front of him. His feet were already wrapped to stifle his bloody wounds. Carefully, Elma started to unwrap the bandages. Aeneas twitched with pain as she lifted a leg.