by Randy Nargi
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BANDER EMERGED FROM THE WOOD, BRUSHING ASIDE THE LARGE PATTERNED CLOTH BLIND HE HAD USED TO REMAIN HIDDEN. He dropped his small crossbow and kept his hands open as he strode towards the battle mage.
“I’m here to speak with Silbra Dal. Nothing more.”
“Captain—” the young mage exclaimed in disbelief.
“Silence!” Raggur Nil bellowed and threw a push spell at Silbra Dal knocking her to the ground and sending her sliding all the way across the road. “I suspected you two were in league…”
Bander moved closer. “I merely wish to talk. No one needs to get hurt…”
“It is far too late for that!” Raggur Nil smashed his flaming sword into the carriage in a shower of sparks and splinters. The lacquered wood ignited and the carriage burst into flame.
Bander dove to pull the unconscious Dusk from the inferno. At the same time, Faramir Boldfist emerged from the woods with his great bow and loosed an arrow at the battle mage. The arrow passed harmlessly through the mage’s cloak; a near miss. But it gave away Faramir Boldfist’s position.
Raggur Nil spun and fired a magic bolt which shot across the road and exploded into the warrior’s chest, smashing him back into the woods.
Hidden in the branches above the road, Wegg positioned himself over the battle mage and splashed two flasks of highly-combustible oil of vitriol onto Raggur Nil. Boom! Ignited by the battle mage’s fiery sword, the oil burst into flames.
Enveloped by the blaze, Raggur Nil staggered a few steps then cast a force sphere spell which exploded the flames away from him in a blast of fire that shot out twenty five yards in all directions. Scraped up and dazed, Silbra Dal narrowly managed to shield herself from the inferno by casting a weak sphere of protection which lasted only two seconds before fading. Wegg wasn’t so lucky. The fiery sphere blazed into the trees—igniting them. The healer twisted his way through the branches and managed to slow his fall by clutching a line he had secured. He landed hard on the ground in a flurry of flaming leaves.
Laughing, Raggur Nil marched over and viciously kicked Wegg, cracking three ribs on the fallen healer. “Look at the little birdie—tumbled out of his tree!” The battle mage planted another powerful kick which lifted Wegg’s body and caused the healer to spit up blood and bile.
Like an enraged bear, Bander leapt through the flames and charged the battle mage. Raggur Nil twisted just enough to evade Bander’s tackle. The two adversaries circled each other. Both men had singed hair and burnt clothes. And both had eyes that burned with hatred. Raggur Nil still held his sword, but Bander was weaponless. He had dropped his short staff when he rescued Dusk from the burning carriage.
“Are you prepared to meet your doom?” Raggur Nil shouted in a voice that echoed throughout the wood.
“Maybe,” growled Bander. “But by my estimation, you are just about drained of magic, so we’ll do this my way—” He charged again, feinting left, but then ducked under the battle mage’s slashing attack. Bander pivoted and jabbed hard at the mage’s kidney. It was a powerful blow that should have crippled Raggur Nil, but instead the bones in Bander’s fist broke upon impact. The mage had used the last of his magical energy to cast an iron skin spell. He staggered back and clutched at something at his belt.
Pushing away the intense pain, Bander drove forward and shot out at Raggur Nil’s neck, catching it with his meaty left hand. As he began to squeeze, he felt the mage’s skin return to normal; the iron skin spell was fading. But then, unknown to Bander, Raggur Nil clenched his fist and crushed an emerald-colored crystal tied in a leather cord at his belt. It was a thader crystal, a rare enchanted gem which could store and release magical energy.
Raggur Nil’s body shivered as the gem revitalized his magical stamina. Bander mistook the tremors for the mage’s death throes and released his grip slightly—which turned out to be a fatal error. The battle mage, instantly back to his full power, blasted Bander off him with a force sphere that tossed the warrior a half dozen yards into the underbrush.
Bander staggered to his feet. He was baffled. The mage had somehow—
Whoosh! A fireball blazed directly at him. Bander dove away, crashing through the bushes—which erupted into flames around him. He had to escape. Scrambling down an embankment, Bander desperately tried to get out of the mage’s line of sight.
But Raggur Nil reacted quickly. He cast a slow spell intended to paralyze Bander. The spell fizzled due to Bander’s natural magic resistance, but the battle mage cast another. And another. And another, until one finally worked. Bander struggled to move; it was like trying to run through a chest-high stream. His heart pounded and his stomach rolled. This was the second time in three days that Bander felt he was going to die.
The battle mage fell upon the helpless Bander and pummeled him with punches to the back and kidneys, then kicked him to the ground. “Back into the dirt where you belong, worm!” Raggur Nil sneered. The physical attacks caused the effects of the slow spell to wear off Bander, but this took several moments. Still, Bander struggled up on his hands and knees.
“Your doddering attempts at brute force are no match for my powers,” the mage said as he savagely kicked up into Bander’s stomach. “And yet I don’t even need magic to defeat you.” Raggur Nil kicked again, but this time Bander was ready. He caught the mage’s foot, twisted, then rolled back on the man’s outstretched leg. Bander weighed nearly seventeen stone—the weight of a large stag. And he turned his body so that his entire weight came down upon Raggur Nil’s knee—which snapped in half with a loud crack. The mage screamed out in pain, then collapsed into unconsciousness.
With great effort Bander pulled himself up using a tree trunk and slowly staggered up to the road. The brush and trees overhead still burned and thick smoke made it difficult to see. He needed to make sure his team was—
“Captain!” Silbra Dal rasped with anguish in her voice. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding from being flung across the road. She coughed uncontrollably from the smoke. Bander stumbled as he tried to move to help her.
“Behind!” she choked out. It wasn’t a cry for assistance. It was a warning.
Bander turned to see what looked like a horrifying apparition. Floating through the smoke, less than a yard above the ground, was Raggur Nil. His skin was deathly pale, his eyes bulged with murderous rage, and his shattered leg was twisted out at an unnatural angle. Bander couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The mage must have used some sort of reflexive spell to revive himself.
Raggur Nil didn’t say a word, just loosed a devastating lightning spell which arced out from his fingertips. In his weakened state, there was no chance Bander’s natural magic resistance would protect him. The lightning struck him full in the chest, knocking him off his feet and racking him with unimaginable pain. His body convulsed as another bolt struck. And another. His eyes rolled back as his muscles clenched. And still the battle mage pounded him with bolt after bolt. Until at last Bander’s heart stopped.
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THE STORY CONTINUES…
Learn Bander’s fate in The Donden Cage, a full-length, two-fisted fantasy pulp adventure. Available now.
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