Little by little the catwalk at the top of the wall had been reduced to melting rocks, as they and no more than ten men hid beneath the now flickering holy shield.
Arius was sweating and could barely stand and the men were completely terrified, but just as all hope seemed lost, Licius said,
“Fear not men, for this will not be your end. We shall kill these fire breathing beasts and reclaim the land that is rightfully ours. For they have come to our city and even when the fires from hell seem on their side, it is us who will teach them the true meaning of hell!”
The Orcs had finally made it to the castle’s shore.
Arius finally collapsed to his knees, and let the protective shield go. But the men rallied before Licius’s battle cry and began to shoot arrows as fast they could. Stundroff lifted up a boulder twice his size that was half melted and threw it at the Orcs below, crushing two of them with it.
The balls of flame ceased for a moment, as the Orcs regrouped.
During the confusion, Licius ordered Stundroff to follow him as he jumped from the wall and landed behind the flaming boulder.
“Pretty nice words you said up there, did you mean any of them?”
“Surely I did not; most of those men won’t see the end of this night, but men are bad warriors and cowards. If I had told them the truth they would have died running and right now we need as much help as we can get.”
“Not sure I agree with your methods, but right now I will do as you say. So, what is the plan?”
“My armor can protect you from the fire, but I’m going to be covered in melting rocks soon and I won’t be able to move. That’s when I am going to need your strength to break me free.”
And before the Dwarf could answer, the boulder they were using as cover exploded into a million pieces, leaving them out in the open, surrounded by at least ten fire Orcs as the others concentrated their fire to melt the city wall and make a tunnel.
“Concentrate fire on the ones at the base of the wall!” the count ordered his archers.
Meanwhile at the bottom of the wall, the Orcs began to shoot flame balls directly at Licius and Stundroff.
Licius stood up in front of the Dwarf and unshed his retractable right blade from the back of his hand and, raising his left arm, spread the plates to form a triangular shield, which he used to deflect the balls of fire. The Orcs soon realized that the flames were ineffective against Licius’s armor, so three of them stomped their feet on the ground to create a magma wave that covered Licius from head to toe.
The magma cooled almost instantly, leaving Licius immobile. But before the Orcs could take their opportunity, Stundroff punched Licius in the back with such force the rocks crumbled and Licius was sent flying into the Orcs in front of him.
Licius used his newfound momentum to his advantage and unsheathing both blades he stabbed the two Orcs in front of him in their throats as he landed.
One of the Orcs next to Stundroff stamped his foot to make a magma wave to cover the Dwarf, but Stundroff reacted fast enough and he also stamped on the ground with such force that it cracked the rock floor and sent so many rocks flying in the Orc’s direction, that they repelled the wave of magma, sending both the wave and the Orc into the lake.
As soon as the Orc touched the water, he turned into rock and sank to the bottom of the lake.
“There, that is our advantage!” Licius shouted.
He then ran towards the water, and jumped in, splashing an Orc near the edge. The water that landed on the Orc turned that flesh to rock, but he was still able to move and before Licius could splash him again, he simply returned to his regular Orc form.
Licius charged the Orc, dodging a blow and stabbing the creature in the heart.
But now our hero was back on dry land and he found himself surrounded by three Orcs that created a magma wave, hoping to encase him in rock again.
Licius jumped to evade the attack but before he could land the Orcs channeled all their heat to their feet and began to melt the ground itself creating a puddle of magma in the place where Licius landed, trapping him as if it was quicksand.
He was knee deep in magma that soon began to cool, trapping him. He turned to Stundroff, who was screaming in pain under a barrage of flames.
At the base of the wall, the arrow attacks had been unsuccessful, and the Orcs had carved a tunnel half way into the city.
Licius used the crossbow on his forearm to fire at one of the Orcs attacking Stundroff. The bolt struck the creature in the eye, but before Licius could reload, he was covered by several magma waves that completely enclosed him in rock.
“Concentrate fire on the ones that attack the Dwarf,” the count ordered his remaining men.
Arrows began to rain on top of those four Orcs, hitting both them and Stundroff. One of the Orcs took an arrow to the side of the neck that managed to pierce his skin and he quickly turned back to his regular Orc form, bleeding to death.
Another Orc took an arrow in the back; furious he turned around to attack the top of the castle wall. The third Orc managed to dodge the incoming arrows but he also turned and started to attack the top of the wall, leaving only one Orc attacking Stundroff.
The fireballs were now reaching the top of the wall. The edge burst into flames under a direct hit, fragments of rock tearing through the men positioned there.
One of those men was the count, whose face was grazed by a piece of burning rock.
As the count fell into the ground, screaming in pain, consciousness slowly began to return to Arius, who woke up to an inferno of death and destruction.
The prince saw the count suffering as he stood. He realized that most of the men were dead already and his two friends were completely overpowered down at the shore. He began to glow with a golden aura of light, took his hammer and jumped down the wall, falling on top of one of the Orcs that had attacked Licius, crushing his skull with the weight of his boots.
An explosion of light knocked back the other two Orcs, breaking Licius free from the rocks.
Arius pointed his hammer at one of the Orcs attacking the top of the wall, and projected a beam of pure light. The power of this light was so intense that it cut a clean circle through the Orc’s chest.
The other Orc that was attacking the city wall then turned around and stamped his foot in Arius’s direction, creating a magma wave in hopes of defeating him, but his attempt was futile, as he and the magma wave were cut clean in half by a second beam of light projected from the hammer.
This second beam of light was so strong, that after it went through the Orc, it cut a three feet hole in the city’s wall.
The two Orcs got up and attacked Licius and Stundroff.
The first one tried to trap Licius again with a magma wave but the Elf, using his great agility, managed to jump the wave of molten rock. But the Orc had foreseen this, so he once again tried to melt the rock floor.
But Licius wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. He spread the wings of his armor, changing his landing trajectory, while also unsheathing his left blade in the process.
The Orc was completely caught off guard by this and Elf fell exactly in front of him, cutting him in half with his blade as he did.
The second Orc tried a more direct approach, jumping on top of Arius and placing his hands on the prince’s head. His hands produced an intense flame, but Arius’s entire body was still protected by the aura of pure light. So not only did the flames not burn the prince, but the light began to repel the Orc’s hands.
The prince then placed both hands on the handle of his hammer, as the aura surrounding him turned into a whirlwind of pure light. The Orc’s body was torn to pieces by the energy and his blood splattered all over the shore.
The Orc attacking Stundroff realized that he was the only one left in open field.
But before he could break his attack and regroup with the ten Orcs at the base of the wall, Stundroff managed to stand up, even while still being burned by an intense flame.
The
Orc was terrified as he saw the half burned Dwarf standing in front of him; Stundroff placed his hands on the Orc’s head and crushed his skull completely.
All that remained were the Orcs carving the tunnel through the wall, so Licius called his two friends to regroup to plan an attack.
Arius calmed himself down as the whirlwind of light around him dissipated, taking the aura that protected him with it; he then turned around towards Licius.
But the Dwarf was still too angry to think, and he jumped inside the tunnel of molten rock and started to punch his way through the Orcs inside.
His punches and kicks where so strong that they made the whole island shake. And as his two friends tried to join him in battle, the whole section of the wall on top of the tunnel collapsed burying both Stundroff and the Orcs in the process.
The Elf and the prince where astonished by this, as they stood contemplating the damage the Dwarf alone had done, while also wondering if their friend was even still alive.
They ran towards the collapsed section of the wall, to help the few surviving archers that were caught in the rocks.
As they freed the last archer, a huge pile of rock began to tremble and as the rocks came crashing down, the hand of Stundroff emerged from between them. His fingers were almost fully healed from their wounds and he was still strong enough to move the huge boulders that had trapped him beneath the wall.
Arius and Licius rejoiced, but before Arius could rush to help, Licius said,
“Stop, we don’t know if he is calm enough to recognize you.”
They prepared themselves to subdue the Dwarf. But then the final rock came down and there was Stundroff, almost unconscious.
“Did we win?” he asked.
“Yes we did, my friend” Arius replied.
“Yes, but at what cost?” Licius added, as he contemplated the devastation their fight had brought to that beautiful city.
They remained in Water Siege Castle for a few days, helping the people there to rebuild their city and also making sure no Orcs would raid the city while its defenses where still down.
After a few days, and thanks to Stundroff’s incredible strength, the city wall was almost completely rebuilt. No new Orc parties had approached. Arius used his powerful light beam projections to break the molten bridge the Orcs had created.
And as they stood contemplating a job well done, they received the news that the count had awakened. And that his first words where to summon them.
Barosh welcomed them with joy.
“You are our city’s heroes!”
“I don’t know if we can call ourselves heroes,” Licius replied.
“Nonsense, yes the city did suffer great damage in our fight, but if it wasn’t for the three of you, we would have starved to death inside these walls.”
“Well, I am glad to see you are better and I hate to sound inconsiderate,” Arius began to say.
“Yes, yes, to the matter at hand…North west of here lays a forest, that the druids call home.”
“The dark woods,” Arius replied.
“Precisely, and within those woods an old creature known as the Merchant of Death lives. Not dead yet not at all alive, this…thing has inhabited this planet for as long as your Elf friend, or maybe even longer. If there is one who knows about what happens, it’s him. But I do warn you, my friends, He isn’t called the merchant for no reason; when it comes to him, everything has a price and it is never cheap. Seek for him in the dark woods, for he may hold the answers you seek.”
“And how will we know when we find him?” Arius asked.
“Trust me, you will know as soon as you lay eyes on him.”
The three gathered together what they would need for their journey. Before they reached the city walls to take a boat to shore, Licius noticed a tall white man with a bandage on his right shoulder.
He pushed the man against the wall and held one of his blades to his throat.
“Here to rob us again I see.”
He pressed his blade harder again the man’s neck.
“What? You didn’t think I would forget your smell did you, druid?”
“I knew you wouldn’t. But the count has ordered me to accompany you, whether you like it or not.”
“A problem easily solved; I will just cut your throat here and now before moving on then.”
“I understand that you’re angry, but I was only following orders and I robbed you so you would be desperate enough to stop at our city.”
“I have come across other men that were also just following orders. In fact the night my best friend almost killed me, he was just following orders, so forgive me if I don’t trust you and kill you where you stand.”
“You could do that, Licius,” said Arius, “and no one would blame you, but you have to admit that having a man with this particular set of skills could come in handy.”
Licius contemplated the situation for a moment and then decided to retract his blade.
“Thank you, Prince Arius. My name is Galoosh and I am at your service.”
“Don’t thank me; we are not friends yet. And you will have to earn our trust, but having a druid in our ranks could prove useful. Besides, if I ever hope to reunite the three clans, I will have to start somewhere.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Great, now we have to share our food between four,” Stundroff said.
“Don’t worry, Master Dwarf, we druids are excellent hunters and scavengers. I’ll take care of my own food.”
“Alright then,” said the Dwarf. “You can come with us.”
Chapter 7
Some Truths Are Better Left Untold
It took several days of walking to get to the Dark Woods. As they walked they shared stories of their pasts.
Stundroff told the tale about how he got his powers and finally fought his brother, and he also told many stories about his best friend Garim, and Ludmilla, the women he never got the nerve to talk to.
The prince told them about Logrant city and the Orc raids, and how, even when every women in the huge city found him desirable, he had never found something like the love Stundroff felt for Ludmilla.
Even Licius broke his regular silence and entertained the rest with old stories about the Great War and the Elite and how men, Elves and Dwarves once fought together for a better world.
He also tried to tell them about his love for the queen, but every time the subject of women or love came along, he couldn’t quite bring himself to mention it.
Only Galoosh remained silent the whole way, and he often transformed into a wolf or an eagle to scout ahead.
“I don’t trust that druid,” Licius said, as he stared at the lone wolf at the top of the hill in the distance.
“I know, I don’t trust him either,” Arius replied. “But the Dark Woods are hard to find and even harder to get out of once you enter them. And he has been to this place before. So we may not like it, but he’s our best chance of making this trip and coming out alive.”
“Yes, Licius, relax, let him guide us and if he tries to betray us, we kill him,” Stundroff added.
“I’m not so sure, he has eluded us before. And once inside those woods, we will be at an even greater disadvantage,” the Elf said.
Licius paused, looking deep in thought, then said,
“For the legends say, that once inside the dark woods, the trees move and change position and it is impossible to tell day from night, making it a living maze that changes form as you move inside of it. And if that is not enough, some of the most dangerous creatures in the world inhabit the place.”
“It almost sounds like you don’t want to go there, my friend,” Arius said.
“Totally the opposite, young prince, I have more reasons than any of you to want to visit that place. But I cannot shake the feeling that we’re walking into a trap.”
“What do you mean?” Arius asked.
“It’s personal.”
“Well, I’m not sure how comfortable I should feel if
you withhold information from us, my friend.”
“If the time comes I will make sure to let you know, but only then. Besides, you don’t share everything with us.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we were at the wall, you said that summoning the old kings to fight would kill your father. What did you meant by that?”
“I meant exactly what I said,” the prince replied angrily.
He took a second to calm himself.
“You know how each of you gets your powers from a powerful artifact, well, in my case the powerful artifact is my last name. “
“Interesting,” Stundroff said.
“Yes, every White Knight descendant has access to an incredible amount of holy power through their use of the light. But to fully achieve that power, there can only be one White Knight alive. For the power is split between the members of my family; the summon technique you saw is one of the greatest holy techniques that exist, as the user is able to call all the past kings for their council for aid in battle, but that is only restricted for the greatest light users. There is even a legend that says that there is a chance to enter a holy warrior state, once you become the only one. But such a technique hasn’t been seen since the time of the Great War… supposedly.”
“It is true, I have seen it,” Licius said.
“You have?” Arius asked.
“Yes, once during the great war. I was on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the Elf High Council at one of your strongholds, when we were suddenly attacked by a huge Orc raid. I was the only Elf there and all of the men were terrified.
“I wondered what could I say to inspire them to do battle, but before I could think of anything, your ancestor the once king stood up, grabbed the same hammer you now hold in your hands and went outside to confront the Orcs by himself. I watched in amazement as he took down countless Orcs, flying through the skies surrounded by golden light and lifted by golden wings. The energy blasts that he shot from your hammer killed Orcs by the dozens in a single blast and no Orc seemed to match him in strength. It took no more than a few minutes for him to kill them all. It was then when I learned about the true power some men could achieve.”
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