“Stop!” Pall thought he heard someone call, but he never found who yelled the warning, instead he was staring down at his body with wide eyes. All that Pall knew was that he was in trouble. The air was pushed out from his lungs in a loud exhale, and he could only gawk at the four, transparent icicles that extended from Baylor’s raised right hand.
The pain was peculiar. Not a sharp pain, or even very excruciating, as some past wounds had been. It was like the gods snapped their finger, and in the blink of an eye there was no air left for him to breathe. Each icicle stretched from a fingertip, and they blushed pink as blood started to trickle down them.
Pall lifted his axe high, and then chopped down hard over the ice spears and shattering them, only to find that they were they only thing holding him up at this point. He dropped his axe, and then fell limp to the ground.
“No!” Rolo screamed.
One moment the dwarf that Pall was speaking to held his hand down to his side, and then the next moment it was raised, and blood was spouting from Pall’s back. The giant sprinted to his fallen friend, high with adrenaline before Pall’s lax body hit the ground. In only a few bounding steps Rolo was there, gliding over Pall’s body and focused on the smiling dwarf, but when the mysterious dwarf made no move to dodge or defend, he paused to get a good look at him.
“Well, come on then,” smiled Baylor, and Rolo was more than happy to oblige.
Rolo gripped one end of his staff with both hands to maximize his range, and then he swung it over his head and chopped downward hard. It was a power move, aimed directly at the top of Baylor’s skull.
The only result of the heavy swing was a splash of leaves and a loud thud, that sent shuddering vibrations up the giant man's arms. It was unbelievable. Rolo saw a confirmed strike right before his eyes, and then the dwarf vanished. Although he was surprised, Rolo was a veteran. He was a champion fighter, and immediately understood that as impossible as it seemed, his opponent had simply slipped his thrust.
Rolo didn't possess intelligence on any worldly scale, but he was the best at what he did know, which was mortal combat. He knew that his opponent's weapon rested in his right hand after seeing him strike down Pall. This meant that the chances of the dwarf sliding right were greater, because this would position the dwarf to take a good swing at him with that weapon.
Like a programmed machine, the moment his staff pounded into the earth Rolo swung his left foot back, using his right foot as an anchor foot to pivot counterclockwise, so he would end up facing to his left. He pulled off the footwork perfectly, all while pulling his staff back to his body in order to block any counter strike. Rolo guessed correctly, and he received a counter right hook from Baylor, who was now wearing a menacing gauntlet.
Rolo anticipated Baylor’s move to perfection, but couldn't have anticipated the speed in which the dwarf moved, or the weapon the dwarf now wielded. It was a large gauntlet of ice that had sharp, hooking talons protruding from the knuckles. Rolo learned just how sharp they really were, and how fast his enemy was, when Baylor reversed the strike that Rolo blocked and slashed open his right thigh with a sweeping backhand. It was so fast that he nearly didn’t see the move.
Rolo grimaced, but stood his ground and paused to size up this dangerous foe. He couldn't believe that he'd missed the big gauntlet on the dwarf earlier. The gauntlet that was now coated blood.
Although the dwarf maneuvered it effortlessly, the gauntlet had to be as large as one of his legs, and at least as heavy. Yet the dwarf stood hunched over defensively, easily keeping it floating out in front of him, the way a crab holds out its pincer. He didn’t dare to look away from the dwarf, but Rolo was relieved to hear short, sputtering breathes coming from where Pall was laying.
“Who are you?” Rolo asked, knowing he would have two more friends at his side if he stalled long enough. He was right, for Kala and Shomnath were already trying to stealth their way towards them.
The dwarf just laughed smugly, and straightened his posture. This dropping of his defensive stance told Rolo that he was not intimidated, or in any way afraid of the giant, although he still he kept his gauntlet raised.
“I'm Baylor, the new king of Somerlund,” said Baylor.
“Just you, little fella?” Rolo grinned when the dwarf winced.
“Oh no, I’m not alone." Baylor gave a knowing smile and nodded his head in the direction of the burning forest in the background. "I have a friend.”
“Well, have you told the real king yet?” Rolo mocked, seeing if he could work the dwarf’s pride. Or even better, maybe he could get him angry.
Instead, Baylor shifted into a dark blur, only to suddenly reappear standing on Rolo’s left forearm! He was gripping a fistful of Rolo’s shirt with his free hand, and pressing his nose against Rolo's temple so he could whisper directly into the big man’s ear.
“Could ye tell him for me?” Baylor said, and then he cut off the bottom half of Rolo’s ear.
Rolo screamed out and tried to deliver a backhand, but Baylor zipped away as fast as he’d materialized, only to return standing in the exact same spot as before, wearing the same smug grin on his face. Only this time he held much more contempt in his smile.
"Rolo!" Kala gasped, and immediately took flight. As she ran to the fray she launched several of her silver darts in a direct line for the dwarfs face.
Baylor’s face twisted, and he got his gauntlet up just in time to deflect her projectiles. He zipped back several yards to assess the situation, and was surprised to see the elf girl, who was quickly gaining ground. In a flash she was beside Rolo, and three more of her darts were flying at him.
“Aha! Now we’re serious!” Baylor yelled, zipping to his left, effortlessly dodging her throws.
“He’s too fast. We have to keep him on the defensive,” she said, but Rolo was already ahead of her. He bounded to the right, rushing ahead to gain a flanking advantage.
Kala locked Baylor in her sights, firing off darts every time the blur stopped. Although even with her heightened elfin reflexes, the dwarf always seemed one step ahead of her.
From the right side, Rolo continuously split the air with wide swings of his staff. It was a guessing game which direction the dwarf would wink off to next, so he just tried to cover as much area with his swings to limit the places the shifty dwarf could move to. He came close to hitting once, missing the top of Baylor’s head by mere inches, although frustration was beginning to sap his accuracy as not being able to connect with his target was a new thing for the giant. With each swing, his staff slowed.
After another whipping miss, Rolo looked down and saw that his boot had already begun to soak through with blood. That’s when he knew they were in trouble. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to help Kala pressure Baylor, and the dwarf was gaining position on her.
“You need to fall back,” said Rolo.
Kala understood, but it was too late. The moment of thought was enough to cause a slight hesitation in her aim, and Baylor caught on to it. He changed his course then, and shot straight to her with his head tucked low. As the blur approached, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. He was right in front of her in a blink, thrusting his claw forward into her midsection.
Miraculously, she managed to extend her arms to block the blow with her palms, using the two decks of blades she held as a shield. The desperation move saved her, but the ferocious speed of his attack combined with her lack of footing sent her flailing back as dozens of silver darts flickered into the air.
Rolo sprinted forward to get between her, and curiously, a smiling Baylor. He knew that the dwarf had her defenseless, and could have discarded her effortlessly, but instead chose to skip away again, laughing all the while. It was then that Rolo realized that the dwarf was so confident of himself, so sure of victory, that he didn’t even respect them as enemies. This boiled the giant's blood, and boosted his energy. He stared at Baylor and returned his grin, and adjusted his grip on his staff, now choosing to hold it near the center with both
hands.
“Let’s get it on then,” Rolo growled.
Baylor lunged at him, but Rolo was ready for the dwarf this time, and steeled himself for a defense. What followed was a rapid series of hard wood colliding with ice, as Rolo performed the best counter and parry work of his life. His trusty staff then whirred and whizzed through the air in what seemed a rehearsed battle.
When Baylor raised his gauntlet up high to block Rolo’s first strike, which was a downward slash from his left side, Rolo knew he could dictate the fight from then on by anticipating how the dwarf would attempt to strike next by simply knowing his own defensive holes, and to cover them up before Baylor's attacks.
He did this efficiently, leaving obvious openings for Baylor, only to have his staff ready and waiting to intercept each time. Rolo could have performed this dance with his eyes shut, using only his imagination and veteran instinct as his guide. He just couldn’t stop moving, and he hoped Baylor didn’t stop attacking before Kala rejoined the fray.
Baylor wondered if the giant possessed some psychic ability after his first seven lunges, a swipe at Rolo’s left thigh, a straight to the stomach, two hooks to the left shoulder, a spinning back hand to his face, and then another two shots to his stomach, of which all ended with that damn pole waiting to block him.
When Baylor pressed on to the eighth strike in the combination, he noticed something peculiar. For the entire fighting prowess Rolo had shown thus far, the big man had his left thigh wide open. In a strange way, too open, but the opening was the logical target. To test his suspicion Baylor continued to swing for the opening, but slowed his movement slightly. Sure enough Rolo dropped his left hand, positioning his staff to perfectly block the opening.
"Pretty smart," said Baylor.
Then, in mid-swing the dwarf shifted the direction of what was going to be a hook for the giant’s leg into a jumping uppercut to the big man's body. The barbed gauntlet ripped Rolo’s exposed chest from his sternum to his right shoulder.
Rolo screamed out in agony and his weapon lowered, leaving his head dangerously open. But Baylor made a mistake as he landed from his twisting punch, pausing momentarily to leer at the small victory. That moment of pride died instantly, for it was all the time Kala needed to sink two blades into Baylor’s right leg. Baylor let out a squeal as the blades drove into bone, one in his thigh just above his kneecap, the other just below.
“About time,” said Rolo.
Fearful of catching another set of the flying blades, Baylor raised his gauntlet and morphed it into an oval ice shield that blocked his right side from ankle to ear. No second wave of blades came, but the dwarf was lucky to put the shield up. For the moment Kala scored her hits Rolo spun around, putting all the strength he could muster into a powerful strike of his own. He brought his hands together on the staff, and as he turned pulled it in hard, making it whistle as it whipped through the air. What resulted was an explosion of shattered ice as the giant delivered a blow that would chop any tree in half. The dwarf flew several tumbling yards before being stopped by a tree.
“That should slow the flea down,” mumbled Rolo. He was dizzy from blood loss, and the powerful swing drained him enough to bring him to a knee.
“He’s not dead yet. We have to press,” Kala warned, keeping her eyes locked on the pile that was Baylor’s body.
On cue, a few yards from where Baylor lay twisted in a wrinkled bundle of his cloak, a golden flash resonated from behind the foliage. The flash came from Shomnath as he emerged from hiding. He’d unsheathed his sword, steadily creeping up to the dwarf to check for life. He’d been watching the fight from the shadows, waiting for his time to aid, cautious to maintain the element of surprise. From the looks of the motionless ball of purple silk lying in front of him, it seemed that he might have missed his chance.
He gripped his sword tightly in his right hand while he inched forward, stopping just within range of striking. He hesitated and looked to Kala, who hadn’t advanced but was still watching intently, blades waiting in both of her palms. He made eye contact with her and was met by a glare of urgency, as if she wanted to scream just do it!
Shomnath stabbed down hard, aiming for the bulge at the center of the cloak. The sound of metal striking against stone that followed was loud enough for Kala and Rolo to hear it from where they stood. Shomnath nearly dropped his sword from the surprising impact. He twisted the tip of his blade, which barely penetrated the silky material, and then jerked his wrist up so that he could toss the cloak aside. Instead of a body, there was a large stone jutting out of the ground.
Then, the forest north exploded with more action. The friends tried to see what the commotion was about, but the smoke from spreading fires now obstructed most of the view. All they could positively make was that something very large tumbled and twisted through the burning woods about a hundred yards from them.
“The dragon,” gasped Kala. She was the only one who could see the beast through the madness.
Screams erupted then, and the others got a clear view of the beast as it spit fire in every direction, back and forth, from the ground to the treetops. It writhed between the trees that remained, kicking up great heaps of earth as it maneuvered, but constantly spitting. Then the dragon's own horrible scream erupted when the soldiers countered with another wave of their hit and run strategy.
“Why hasn't it attacked us?” Rolo said.
“We're on the other side of the fog wall,” Kala answered. “It must go around in a circle, and we've made it to the other side of the barrier.”
“That means the dragon can't see us,” said Shomnath. “We need to kill the dwarf now, while we have him on this side.”
Just then Baylor appeared, springing from a bush he’d been laying behind in wait. Although still astoundingly fast, his wounds slowed him down now, enough so that Shomnath was able to raise his left arm in time to block a swipe from his newly formed ice gauntlet. The frozen talons shattered, and Shomnath’s leather glove tore to ribbons, putting his golden gauntlet on full display.
“You had the missing gauntlet,” spat Baylor. He held his arms out, limping as he circled Shomnath. With a slight flick of his wrist, Baylor willed Frostbern to morph his gauntlet into a long ice sword.
“Well, it’s not as fancy as yours,” mocked Shomnath. As they circled one another, Shomnath searched deep into his memory, trying to remember where he'd seen this dwarf, but to no avail. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Kala moved to his flank.
Rolo attempted to advance, but he could hardly keep off his knees. Blood still oozed from the gashes that had split his chest, but the truth of the matter was that he wasn't fully healed from the fight with the griffons. Even with the help of Baymar's healing magic, it was only one day past. He looked up to his friends and grimaced helplessly. No matter what he willed for his body to do, he was just too weak to go any further.
“Stay down, we can take him,” said Kala, and then she glanced at Pall, making sure that Rolo's eyes were following, and lipped hide.
“Yes, stay down. I’ll find you when I’m finished,” Baylor called to Rolo, before turning a crazed grin towards Shomnath and Kala. The dwarf was limping in pain, yet he eyed them both madly, muttering as he did.
Shomnath assumed the dwarf was silently cursing them, until Baylor bursted into a bright ball of white light. He wasn’t staring directly at the dwarf when the spell of blinding light ignited, but Kala was, and in result lost her vision. Panic stricken, she back peddled several steps. Baylor took the advantage and charged at the prince, whipping his frozen blade side to side.
With an injured leg Baylor was no longer a speedy blur, zipping to and fro and scoring hits at will, but he was still fast enough so that Shomnath could only defend with his sword and glove.
Then, a frenzied percussion ensued as gold clashed with ice. Ice chipped and littered the air throughout the rapid onslaught, but all the cracks in the dwarf’s blade filled instantaneously. Baylor led with everything he coul
d think of. He tried striking low, backhands, and even stabbing thrusts, but the prince held his ground with skills only someone who had trained in swordplay all his life could possess. So furious was the fight that no one noticed the figure standing over Pall.
“Pall…” A few tears managed to find their way out of Scuttle's bloodshot eyes and down his blackened cheek as he dropped to his knees, and then tucked his arms under his cousin so that he could cradle him. Seeing the four wounds in his kin’s chest made the young dwarf nauseous. Scuttle assumed that he was dead, but then Pall coughed.
“Scuttle.” he moaned.
“Pall! I thought ye were dead,” cheered the young dwarf. Although excited, the words came out a raspy whimper.
“Two,” said Pall, hardly moving but now wild eyed. He looked at Scuttle and then darted his eyes downward.
“Two?” said Scuttle.
“Two," he repeated. "Me belt.”
Scuttle followed his cousin’s eyes down this time, and saw two corked vials tucked under Pall’s belt.
“Ye want these?” Scuttle untied the vials and held them in front of Pall's face, jiggling the liquid in them side to side, and Pall's eyes flared.
“Now,” Pall said. He had to force his words out, and each time he buckled in pain.
“Okay,” Scuttle said. He bit the corks from the bottles, and then poured them into Pall's mouth one bottle at a time, mindful not to spill.
Meanwhile, Shomnath was receiving the most rigorous, defensive swordplay test of his life. Luckily for him General Stark, who was accredited for being the best sword in Somerlund, had taught the prince swordsmanship. The general delivered this education by way of two, four-hour lessons a week, every week, since Shomnath was twelve. How he hated those lessons. The majority of them ended with him on his rear end, or worked into utter exhaustion. Now he watched the result of those lessons manifest before his eyes firsthand, as he consistently churned out blocks and parries without thought or hesitation.
Blue Diamonds (Book One of The Blue Diamonds Saga) Page 23