The Paladins of Naretia

by TP Keane

  *

  "There's too many," Bernard shouted over the din of the snarling ogres.

  "Keep yer hand tae yer weapon, brother, and yer eyes to the monsters," Angus ordered. "Even if there are too many, the only options we have is tae fight, or die."

  Ol?rin could feel his heart pound in his chest as though it had turned into the hoofs of a terrified horse. Swinging his staff behind him he caught two ogres squarely in the chest with a silvery blast. The ogres stumbled backward, only temporarily stunned by his magic, and came for him again. 'A weakened wizard isn't much use in a battle meant for killing,' he thought, breathing hard.

  Aramus jumped in front of Ol?rin and, with a wide sweep of his sword, he took the ogre's heads clean off their bodies. No sooner had their open-mouthed craniums thudded sickeningly to the ground, than another ogre advanced. Despite his rescue, Ol?rin knew that the battle was hopeless. They were outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before the queen's army would see victory.

  Still weakened from his ordeal in Balbuldor, Ol?rin was left with little choice but to expel the last of his energy with magic. He grasped his staff with two hands, raised it high into the air, and then brought it down hard with a ground-shaking rumble. A silvery dome exploded from the burl and expanded rapidly around them, sending a cascade of surprised ogres stumbling backward.

  At the queen's command the ogres got to their feet and pushed their shoulders against the shield. One by one, they slowly made their way through, as though they were only shifting an invisible boulder that blocked their path. Ol?rin knew he was not yet strong enough to stop them all, but slowing them down might give the dwarfs a fighting chance to do what they do best.

  From half way up the hill, Ol?rin heard the Blood Queen scream in frustration and order her worgen to join the attack. Ol?rin strained against the added pressure as they too pushed against his shield. But the effort was draining him fast. He felt as though some malevolent machine had found the origin of his being and was slowly sucking it out.

  "We cannot win like this," Aramus said, breathing heavily beside Ol?rin.

  With a fiery glance at Ol?rin, he purposefully stepped in front of the two dwarfs and their flashing weapons. He sheathed his sword as if he was about to surrender. Ol?rin's heart fell into his stomach.

  "Aramus, what are you doing? Get back behind me," Ol?rin shouted, fighting to hold the shield in place.

  Aramus ignored him and held his arms out wide, like he was trying to hold something very large indeed. Ol?rin was helpless. He couldn't let go of his staff to pull the young man back or the shield would fail and the queen's army would be on Aramus in an instant. The dwarfs were too busy slicing at the creatures that made their way through to notice what Aramus was doing.

  Suddenly, Aramus thrust his hands forward and an inferno of fire burst from them. The superheated blaze tore through the nearest ogres and worgen in a wide arc. It was met by the howls of pain as the creatures fell to the uneven ground. Some of them were instantly incinerated while others ran away, screaming and searching for an escape through the flames that blinded them. Aramus turned to Ol?rin then with a devilish grin on his face, the fire of Dantet still burning behind his amber eyes. His powerful chest rose and fell with the effort of his actions.

  "Did you see that?" he asked Ol?rin excitedly.

  "I did," Ol?rin whispered, the cold sense of dread stirring wildly in his core.