by Brad Clark
“Like what?”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Hargon looked around for someone that could be the source of her illusion. The sound of the Stone Ogres was growing, which caused a group of short, burly fighters to push their way out of the crowd and head towards the stairs that led to the top of the wall.
Hargon pointed at them and gave Marila a yank. “Them!”
“Them? The short men?”
“They are Dwarves,” Hargon replied. “Make us look like them, and we’ll follow them up the stairs.”
***
Hemli charged up the stairs, leading his Dwarven fighters. They had been sitting around the courtyard for hours waiting for the battle to begin, but when he heard the sound of the walls being torn apart, he could not sit still any longer. It was as if a deep-seated pain was suddenly brought to the surface. He not only heard the walls being crushed, but he could feel it in his bones, and it make him angry.
When he reached the top of the wall, he paused, taking in the sight of the Deceiver’s army. For what seemed an eternity, he was frozen in place, unable to take his eyes away from the sea of goblins and other creatures that were nearly a mile away, poised to begin their assault. His heart pounded hard, and his palms became sweaty. While he stood there, he knew that they could not win. Even though they had Elves and magic on their side, they would never be able to stand up against the size of the Deceiver’s army. Plus, the enemy creatures were being led by a god.
The wall shook, and he was brought out of his trance. He looked along top of the wall, where hundreds of Elven archers were launching their arrows desperately at the Stone Ogres that were making easy work out of destroying the wall. With each chunk of wall that was sent flying, his anger grew, and he started to walk forward. His battle ax was in his hands, and to those around him, it looked to be too large for his short and stocky frame. It was large, nearly one and a half time his height, but it was as light as a feather, and he could wield it like it was a small hatchet. The rest of the Dwarves followed, feeling the same anger as he did.
Directly ahead of him was King Illichian and a dozen Elves who were shooting arrows at a nearby Stone Ogre who was furiously attacking the wall. One of the massive fists of the Stone Ogre crashed down at the edge of the wall that was already crumbling, and a large chunk of the top of the wall broke free. Three Elves were standing on that part of the wall, and they were sent tumbling over the wall, screaming as the ground rushed up at them. The King tried to jump backward out of the way, but the Stone Ogre was too fast. With a quick, smashing fist, the Stone Ogre struck the top of the wall again, this time only feet from the King’s legs. The top of the wall heaved and buckled. King Illichian had to leap away to avoid being sent tumbling off the wall. He landed hard and did not get up. An Elf grabbed his King by the arm and started to pull him away, but another fist smashed down on the wall. The Elf slipped and fell onto his back, leaving the King in danger of being struck by the Stone Ogre.
The Stone Ogre hesitated for a moment as it took in the Elves around it and realized that one of them was within reach. It snarled and narrowed its eyes as it turned its body so that it could more easily reach the King. Arrows were shot at it, but it ignored them all. It didn’t even feel them. An Elf jumped at it, distracting it. Two daggers struck in vain at its skin, unable to leave a mark. With a backhand, the Stone Ogre sent the Elf flying a hundred feet tumbling through the air. The Elf struck the ground with a thud, bouncing once, and then didn’t move again.
Hemli was now in a rage that he could no longer control. Years of frustration that had built up while he and his people had been held captive by the Dark Elf was released in this one instant. Letting out a cry that turned heads all across the wall, he sprinted forward, raising his battle ax over his head.
The creature, who was about to strike down at King Illichian, was distracted by the cry and the little man running at it. It was so small that it wasn’t even worth considering, so it reached its arm back and starting to swing its fist down towards King Illichian.
Hemli ran faster than he could have ever imagined. When he reached the edge of the wall, he jumped, his battle ax cocked and ready to strike. If he had taken a moment to think about what he was doing, he would never have attacked a creature ten times his size. He wasn’t thinking, though. He was only reacting to pure, raw rage. He knew he was going to die, but at this moment, it didn’t matter as long as he was able to save the King’s life. King Illichian was their leader, and he needed to be saved. He just needed to distract the Stone Ogre long enough so that an Elf could pull the king away to safety. There were no thoughts of being a hero, only of doing what was right. With as much strength as he could muster, he forced his arms to bring the ax down onto the Stone Ogre’s forehead. He expected the blade to merely bounce off, and then he would fall to his death. For that moment, he felt the power of being a hero.
His arms shuddered, but the ax did not bounce off the creature’s head. It cut cleanly through the skin, into its skull, and deep into its brain. Still holding on to the ax, Hemli landed on the creature’s face. Its eyes glazed over, and all its life left in an instant. With its arm raised in the air, ready to strike, it toppled backward, with Hemli riding it down to the ground. When it hit the ground, it bounced, sending Hemli tumbling off, still gripping the battle ax. It had gone in cleanly, and then came out cleanly.
For a moment, there was only stunned silence. The Elven archers stopped shooting, and the other Stone Ogres stopped pounding the wall with their fists. Then, when the shock of the moment past, the Elves cheered. The Dwarves cheered.
Hemli did not revel in his victory. The head of the dead Stone Ogre was next to him, but he did not see it. All he saw was the next Stone Ogre, which had already gone back to pounding the wall. He was not sure why his battle ax had cut through the stone skin, but he did not care. All hesitation and doubt left as he marched forward, knowing now what was to be his destiny.
***
“Yes, I saw,” Hargon said.
They had witnessed the death of the Stone Ogre from the back of the crowd of Dwarves. Marila’s illusion seemed to work as no one recognized him as Hargon. He did not feel any differently, and when he looked at himself, he could still see himself and his black robes. Yet, when the Dwarves around him looked at him, he knew they saw another Dwarf.
He held her hand firmly, fearful that the illusion could go away at any moment. If that were to happen, then there would be no chance that he could sneak off towards the Deceiver’s army. He pulled her back away from the Dwarves who were now rushing after the next Stone Ogre. They ran down the wall in the opposite direction, past Elves who were standing guard with baskets full of arrows. There were not enough arrows in all the kingdom to defend the castle, he thought. The Elves ignored them, even though they were curious about two Dwarves running away from the Stone Ogres. Since one of their kind had just saved the King, they did not ask questions but gave a nod of approval.
Marila pulled him to a stop when they were out of earshot from the nearest Elf. The Elven archers were concentrated near the front gate and the north side of the wall where the Stone Ogres had begun their attack. The southern part of the wall was not being attacked yet, so there was no need to defend it.
“I can jump down,” she said, looking down at the ground that was fifty feet below them.
Hargon did not say a word but pulled out a rope that had been hidden under his robes. He quickly tied one end around a battlement and tossed the loose end down towards the ground. It did not reach all the way, but it was close enough.
Hargon started to pull his hand out of hers, but she squeezed it tight to hold his grasp. “We have to be quick,” she said. “For I won’t be able to hold the illusion on you while you're climbing down.”
“I’ll be quick,” he said. He glanced down the wall, and when he was sure no one was looking, he pulled out of her grasp and began climbing down the wall.
She waited until he was halfway down the rope and then
slithered down the rope after him.
At the bottom of the wall, he pushed himself up tight against it so he could not be seen. She took his hand once again.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked.
“This was your idea,” she replied.
“I know, but you agreed to it.”
“You insisted it would work.”
“I am not from this realm. I have no idea what will work, or what won’t. I think it is a crazy idea for us to try and sneak our way through all those goblins to try and attack the Deceiver.”
“I have been saving my power up for this moment. You get me close enough, and I will send him back to his own realm with a force he’d never seen before.”
Marila gave him a long and hard look. “You really believe you can do that?”
Hargon ignored the question and said, “Do your illusion on me. We are running out of time.”
***
Glaerion looked King Illichian over and asked, “Are you hurt?”
The King shook his head. Even if he were, he would not admit it. However, he was not concerned with his own safety at the moment. “Where is Hargon?” he asked for what must have been the twentieth time in the last five minutes.
“He is not here?” Glaerion asked, looking around. “He was supposed to bring the Stone Ogres down. He said he had a spell all ready for them. Conner? You saw him last. Where could he be?”
Conner was transfixed, watching Hemli go after another Stone Ogre. The Dwarf had attacked his second Stone Ogre by cutting at the back of his leg, bring it to its knees. Deftly dodging the Stone Ogre’s enormous fists, Hemli chipped away at the creature until he was able to bring it to the ground and finish it off with an overhand chop to its head.
“Conner?”
Conner pulled his eyes away from Hemli and looked at Glaerion. “Hargon? We discovered that Marila had escaped her cell and then split up looking for her. That was before we went after the Sak’Hurai. I haven’t seen him since.”
“He would not have run away, would he?”
Conner shook his head. “He is not a coward. He was looking forward to this fight more than any of us.”
King Illichian pounded a fist into the palm of his other hand. “That Human! He has the power to wipe out half the goblin army all by himself. Why would he do this to us!”
Glaerion glanced at Conner, hoping that he had not taken offense at the King’s outburst. “Your Majesty,” Glaerion said. “I am sure there is an explanation. The Dwarf might have solved our Stone Ogre problem.”
Conner pointed at Hemli, who was now running away from three Stone Ogres who had decided to stop bashing down the wall and chase after the new threat. “Hemli has a weapon that can fight them, but he is the only one. He cannot fight three at once.”
“He needs help,” Glaerion said, itching to do something, but knowing there was nothing he could do.
Conner drew his swords, but Glaerion shook his head.
“That would be suicide,” Glaerion said. “They are too big and too strong, and we have no weapons that can kill them. We’ve tried to aim at their eyes, but even with all our abilities, we cannot kill them that way with arrows. We’ve blinded four of them, but they still attack the walls. We need longer and stronger weapons to kill them that way.”
“Or Hargon,” King Illichian growled.
“Forget Hargon,” Conner cried out, moving towards the edge of the shattered wall. He pointed at the Dwarf, who was now running for his life. “What about Hemli!”
Just as the words came out of his mouth, Immerallis swooped down from the skies and drove his shoulder into one of the Stone Ogres, knocking him into the other two. All three, plus the Dragon, tumbled into the wall. The force of the collision sent a shudder through the wall. It didn’t knock anyone off their feet, but it caused many to stumble. The wall held, but it was heavily damaged. Before the Stone Ogres could get to their feet, Immerallis jumped up and grabbed one of the Stone Ogres by the body, and lifted it into the air. Despite the Stone Ogres flailing and twisting, Immerallis was able to hold on tightly while he flew high into the sky.
Hemli was able to reach the main gate, which was opened for him to run through. The two Stone Ogres that had chased him quickly forgot about the Dwarf and returned to their spots and continued to pound on the wall.
“Three down,” Conner said. A moment later, they heard the scream of the Stone Ogre as it fell from high in the sky, thumping down into the mass of goblins.
“There are still nine more,” Glaerion said. “Whatever plan we had, we have to have a new one. Without Hargon to protect the walls, those things will break through within the hour, and then the goblins will be able to just pour through. We’ll be overrun quickly.”
“We bring the fight to them?” Conner asked.
“What choice do we have?”
“Find Hargon,” King Illichian said. He let out a curse in his native tongue. “How many times am I going to repeat that name! You and you, pass the word through the castle. Search every nook and cranny. We must find him! If the walls fall, we fall.”
Glaerion and Conner left without another word or discussion.
The King scratched his chin and let out a long sigh. He looked out among the goblin army, who continued to wait for the Stone Ogres to bring the walls down.
“This should have been so easy,” he muttered. “Hargon would have ripped those creatures to shred. Where is he.”
He was about to turn and begin his own search for Hargon when he noticed a solitary wolf slowly make its way across the field toward the goblin army. For a moment, he thought it odd that an animal would not sense the danger and evil of the goblins. The thought quickly left as he needed to find Hargon before it was too late.
Chapter Eighteen
“You cannot hold them back much longer,” Roddan said.
The Deceiver pulled his cloak about his body, anxiously awaiting the time when the full power of the Ark of Life would keep him from feeling the bitterly cold wind. He could not exist entirely in this realm. The Creator had seen to that. However, his essence was able to inhabit the body of a Human, which was capable of managing the connection to the Web of Magic. This allowed the Deceiver to be able to cast his spells with no limitations. However, as the body was Human, it was susceptible to the outside world. Heat, cold, hunger, and thirst were his worst enemies. When he first inhabited the body, he had almost let it die because he did not realize he had to eat and drink regularly. He did not like the activity and had to force himself to keep nourished. He impatiently waited for the day when he had the full power of the Ark of Life and didn’t have to worry about such trivial things.
Roddan waited for a moment for the Deceiver to answer, but the Deceiver stood still, his eyes watching the Stone Ogres slowly tear the walls down from the Human castle in the distance. They stood in the shadows of the trees of the forest that ringed the valley that overlooked the castle. Directly behind them stood eight of the heavily muscled Mashers. They followed him everywhere he went as if they could protect him better than he could defend himself. He only knew that they were there because of their heavy breathing and acrid stench that emanated from their bodies.
After he realized the Deceiver was not going to respond, Roddan said, “I don’t understand why we don’t run over the castle like we did to all the cities to the west. We faced hundreds of thousands of their soldiers, and they fell easily. Their cities were crushed underfoot and burned to the ground. Yet, you hold back the army and only send the Stone Ogres at them. They’ve already killed four of them, and if that flying beast isn’t killed, it just might kill all the others, too!”
The Deceiver turned his head to silently glare at Roddan. He didn’t mind when his generals spoke their minds unless they were questioning his decisions. If it were anyone else other than his most trusted general, Roddan would be engulfed in flames, which he had heard was one of the more painful ways to die.
Roddan saw the look and stiffened, fearful that
the Deceiver would react violently.
With a soft, yet powerful voice, the Deceiver said, “For countless millennia, the Ark of Life was hidden from the people of this world. Now that it is within our reach, I cannot let it be taken away from me. This world is a large place, and it would take many years to find it if one of those Dragons decided to take it away and hide it on the other side of this world. As long as they have some hope that they can win, then they will fight and defend it. The moment that they know all is lost, that is when they will take the necklace and try and hide it from me. At that moment is when we must be ready to strike.”
“You say you can feel it. What does it matter that they can take it to the other side of the world.”
The Deceiver shook his head slowly. “Your mind is too simple to understand. I feel it and sense its presence. I can feel its touch on the Web of Magic, but that is all. It feels no different to me whether it is ten feet from me or ten thousand miles. If I could have sense exactly where it is, I would already have it in my grasp.”
“You are the Deceiver!” Roddan said excitedly. “We know where it is! Send your army over the castle walls and take it!”
“The moment the first Stone Ogre breaks through the wall, the army will march. They will put all their forces into defending their walls, and the front door.” A sly smile spread across the Deceiver’s lips. “Then I will slip in through the back door, and take the necklace before they know I am there and before they can try and take it away to hide it.”
“Why did you not tell me of your plans before this?”
The Deceiver crossed his arms and said, “I tell you what you need to know. You will lead the charge. You and the Mashers.”
“You will go into the castle alone?”
The Deceiver laughed. “Alone? No. I will not be alone.”
A shout erupted from a distance. One of the Stone Ogres knocked enough of the wall down that he was climbing over the wall and would soon be inside. The other Stone Ogres noticed the new weakness in the wall and they all moved together to attack the same spot.