“And what if we beat the ugly off of them? What happens then?” Darkken fired back.
A gnoll slapped him hard on the back of the head.
Sigourney gave a confident laugh. “I assure you, that won’t happen. The brothers have never lost, and they have killed dragons with their bare hands. I don’t think they have anything to fear from the likes of you. Besides, you can’t hurt them.”
“If it was a fair fight, we could!” Nath shouted. The gnoll punched him in the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the ground. He pushed his face out of the hard dirt and wiped the grit off.
“What are you suggesting?” She stretched her hands out and motioned toward their swords. “Do you want to have a duel?”
“Yes!” Nath and Darkken said at the same time.
“How interesting,” she said. “I’m not so certain that would be wise on my part. Why would I give you a fighting chance? You don’t deserve it. After all, you were going to kill me.”
Lifting a finger, Darkken said, “Correction. We were only threatening to kill you, not actually acting on it.”
“You killed my goblins.”
“True, but do they really count?” Darkken replied.
The goblin ring of men encircling them growled and clacked their teeth. The hackles on the hairy necks of the gnolls rose.
“Perhaps I should let you scrap with the hunters first. No doubt they want to take a piece out of you,” she said, easing back into her chair. “It could be a warm-up.”
“I’d prefer to save my energy for the brothers,” Darkken said. “But you never answered my question. If we beat them, what do we get in return?”
The crowd turned its attention back to Sigourney. She tossed her head and started laughing. The gnolls and goblins cackled and howled with glee. With a wave of her hand, she silenced one and all. “If you defeat Reaver and Slaughter, I will let you go free.”
“All of us? And our gear?” Darkken asked.
Checking her nails, she said, “Sure.”
“And you’ll free the dragon?” Nath added.
“Now you are getting absurd. You would think your life is enough, and now you want to barter for the dragon’s.” She shook her head. “No.”
Darkken whispered to Nath. “It’s all right. It never hurts to ask.” He turned back to Sigourney. “And swear that you won’t freeze our minds or something in case we are winning. That would be cheating.”
“I make no promises. This deal is as good as it gets, and you are fortunate to have that. Not that it should matter.” Sigourney eyed them both. “Are we finished chattering like gnomes now? I’m ready to get down to business.”
Nath and Darkken exchanged glances. Nath’s fingertips tingled. He was a dragon and could probably take a beating better than Darkken, a human. He wasn’t certain how long the older man could hold up. He envisioned the broken bodies of the elves who had been dragged back into the dungeon. They were formidable fighters, he knew it, but Reaver and Slaughter made quick work of them. He nodded at Darkken.
“We are ready!” Darkken said.
The gnolls grabbed both men by their long locks of hair and hauled them to their feet. With a stiff shove in their backs, the gnolls walked back into the fighting ground.
Nath and Darkken stood side by side, facing the round wall of people. The giant men were nowhere to be seen. Then, from somewhere unseen, a loud gong rang. The hunters howled wildly. They pounded their chests and barked like dogs. Taking advantage of the chaos, Nath said to Darkken, “Do you have a plan?”
“Given their formidability, I suggest we probe for weaknesses. Every creature has a weakness. Now, what I’m about to suggest might sound crude, but take the best shot at their groins that you can.” Darkken got head-to-head with Nath. “Anything goes, Nath. Anything.”
“Ears, eyes, nose, and throat?” Nath replied.
“They have to hurt somewhere. I was thinking, using our small size and speed, perhaps we should go after them one at a time.”
“Which one?”
“Reaver. I go high, and you go low. How is that for a plan?”
“Good, but Darkken, can you hold up against them? I know you are strong, but they are bone breakers.”
“Hopefully, this suit of armor will keep me together. It’s not a fine breastplate like yours but more than serviceable.”
Nath and Darkken clasped hands. “We can win,” Nath said.
Darkken replied, “We have to.”
The goblins’ and gnolls’ howling reached another level of insanity. Flailing their arms wildly overhead, they started chanting, “Reaver! Slaughter! Reaver! Slaughter! Reaver! Slaughter!”
CHAPTER 63
Maefon trekked back and forth in her cell, nibbling on her nails. She’d spent time with Darkken before they ventured into the hills, but like on so many occasions, he was vague on the details. The goal was to help Nath out, save a dragon, capture a Caligin, and pressure false information about Chazzan from them. It sounded simple, but the plan became vastly more complex the moment the Merchant Queen dropped a mental explosion on them. She could still feel the overwhelming power dancing around in her head. That woman had power—a lot of it.
Maefon took a seat on the cot in the back of her cell and tried to collect her thoughts. It had become hard to concentrate. Bits and pieces of spells came to her, but the other parts were missing from her jumbled mind. Additionally, she didn’t know if Sigourney was in on Darkken’s plan or not. Perhaps this was all part of his plan to keep it all realistic. Just when she thought she had figured him out, something different would happen. What do I do?
The raucous cheering started up again. She came to her feet. In the cell across from her, the two elven survivors stirred. They were both bruised, bloodied, and mangled. Their sweating faces were covered by grimaces of pain. She’d never seen the Caligin so busted up before. They were the best-trained and deadliest of fighters, but the giant men had pounded them to death.
Over the years, Darkken had embedded a few thoughts in her mind. One of his sayings was, “You are no good to me if you can’t save yourself.”
Pondering the notion, she decided on a course of action. If Darkken and Nath didn’t make it, then she would need to save herself. Either that or the giant brothers would beat her like a rug next. She reached outside of the bars and ran her fingers over the keyhole. Eyeing the entrance that led into her dungeon, she could see the back shoulder of one of the gnolls standing guard. He and the other gnoll were talking back and forth. It seemed clear that they didn’t want to miss the fight.
She fished through her hair, producing a hairpin. She bent it into the shape of a makeshift key and started picking at the lock. It was a crude lock with heavy tumblers, making it difficult to move with a small piece of wire. Head aching, she went at it, feeling around the lock, bending her hairpin wire a few more times, and trying over and over again. The latch popped. She pushed the door slowly outward. The hinges squeaked.
The gnoll standing by the entrance looked her way. He stared hard with a wary eye. Cocking his head to one side, he came into the room. “What are you doing, elf?” The door to her cell was about a foot open. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” she said, hanging onto the cell-door bars. “I didn’t open it, it just opened when I leaned on it. The lock is bad or something.”
“A busted lock, huh?” the gnoll rubbed his canine jaw. “I told them these locks were old, but they don’t listen. Of course, we don’t use them so much these days, aside from keeping creatures, and they are too dumb to get out.”
Raising on tiptoe, hands still clutching the bars, she said, “So, you believe me?”
“Believe you? An elf? Why of course I don’t, you little pointy-eared fool. Now step back, liar! You’ll be goblin food soon enough.”
Maefon shoved the door hard. It cracked the gnoll in his snout. Fast as a striking snake, she pulled his dagger from his belt and stabbed him in the gut. Not stopping to watch him die, she r
aced for the exit. The other gnoll turned the moment she entered the room. Before he could let out a cry of alarm, she plunged the dagger into his heart and shoved him to the floor. She found the keys, went back to the dungeon, and tossed them to the Brothers of the Wind. The less wounded one scooped them under his body. Dagger in hand, she headed back out of the dungeon, searching for anything that might aid her in the quest to save Nath and Darkken.
CHAPTER 64
The crowd of gnolls and goblins parted. The towering Reaver and Slaughter marched out from underneath the catwalk, arms stiffly swinging at their sides. The huge men seemed bigger now. No longer covered in cloaks or dragon-scale armor, the gaunt-faced, hollow-eyed men were bare chested and thick with hard knots of muscle. Nath and Darkken looked up at both of them. The deep-chested men had hairy arms and fresh blood on their knuckles. A dark smile glimmered in their coal-black eyes. Slaughter smashed a fist into his hand, making a loud smacking sound.
Nath’s hand ached from when he’d hit Reaver before. The man had barely flinched.
Sigourney called down to them, “If you like, I can just let them chop your heads off. That would eliminate the suffering.”
“You wouldn’t want to miss out on a good fight, would you?” Darkken said.
“I do delight in violent entertainment.” She flipped her wrist. “Carry on with it then.”
Reaver and Slaughter moved deeper into the circle. Nath and Darkken backed up. The hunters closed off the circle.
“Listen, Nath, they are big and slow. Use your speed. Fight smart. The longer we last, the better off we are,” Darkken said. “Perhaps we can wear these brutes down.”
Nath balled up his fists. “Agreed.” His voice was a little shaky, however. He recalled the lessons that Master Elween had taught him in Dragon Home. He’d wrestled dragons; certainly he could handle giants.
Giants that kill dragons with their bare hands.
The unseen gong rang out again in a loud bong!
Reaver and Slaughter barreled toward them.
“High, low, Nath. High, low!”
With a sneer, Reaver thrust his clutching arms forward. Nath slipped under the man’s long arms and punched the man hard in the groin. The giant didn’t flinch. At the same moment, Darkken launched himself into Reaver’s face. He punched him hard in the eye socket. The giant man wobbled backward, caught his balance, scooped Darkken up in his arms, and slammed him hard into the ground. “You can’t hurt me!” Reaver snarled. “But I can hurt you!”
Nath unleashed a flurry of punches into Reaver’s rock-hard belly. Reaver looked down on Nath with a look of amusement. Fists aching, Nath said, “Do you have a better plan? I’m pretty sure this one isn’t working.”
Slaughter picked Darkken up off the dirt and pressed him up at chest level. “Just keep hitting! They have to hurt somewhere!” Slaughter slammed Darkken onto the hard turf. He followed up by dropping down, elbow first, on Darkken’s chest. “Oooof!”
Nath ducked away from Reaver, shaking his hurting fingers.
A goblin shoved him in the back. “Get in there and die!”
Nath punched the goblin hard in the jaw. The little yellow-eyed man sagged into the arms of the outraged crowd. Nath faced off with Reaver again. Nearby, Darkken had his hands full, rolling away from Slaughter.
Find a weakness, Nath. Find a weakness!
Head bobbing, Nath waded into the big body of Reaver. He ducked and slid away from the hard swings of Reaver. He landed a flurry of punches on the ribs, took a shot at the kidneys, and rammed a knee into the groin. The tireless man leaned on Nath, arms pumping in short powerful punches, landing a solid shot directly on Nath’s chest. Nath stumbled backward into the arms of the hungry crowd. They spat curses at him, took cheap shots at his body, then shoved him back at Reaver.
He stole a glance at Sigourney. She had her hand over her mouth, yawning. Darkken, on the other hand, was hoisted over Slaughter’s head, spun around, and flung hard onto the ground. Darkken crawled away, fingers digging into the dirt, only to have Slaughter grab him by the ankles and haul him backward. Nath took off at a full sprint, leapt over Darkken, and with a wild yell, pounced on Slaughter. He pushed his thumbs into the giant’s eyeballs.
Slaughter let out a scream. “Noooooooo!” The giant man locked his fingers around Nath’s throat. The fingers were iron strong, sinking deep into the thick muscles around Nath’s throat. At the same time, Slaughter’s neck twisted hard side to side.
Nath pushed his thumbs harder into Slaughter’s eye sockets. Slaughter choked, spit, and groaned. The huge hands around Nath’s neck squeezed like a vise. Slaughter pushed Nath away from his body. Nath wouldn’t let the man’s skull go. It became a battle of one iron will against another. Neither man would let go. Neither would give. The hungry howls for death exploded from the crowd. Nath’s vision turned hazy. A sea of blackness swam in his thoughts. His fingers loosened on the giant’s eyes.
He was losing.
Slaughter pushed him down onto his knees, still choking him, and let out a triumphant howl. Nath hacked at the man’s forearms. It was like chopping at a tree with a spoon. He looked up into Slaughter’s watery eyes. Sheer evil filled the man’s countenance. He was a killer, natural born.
I can’t die like this! I can’t!
With his air supply cut off, Nath’s energy began to fade. A filmy darkness overcame his sight. He heaved once more against Slaughter’s unbreakable grip. At that moment, two big bodies collided with Nath and Slaughter. The jarring impact allowed Nath to twist out of the man’s grip. He found himself tangled up in a knot of battling limbs, sucking for breath.
Darkken and Reaver were engaged in a full-blown wrestling match. They sucked Slaughter and Nath into the fold. Darkken screamed, “I’m going for the eyes! I’m going for the eyes!”
Nath swept the legs out from under Slaughter. The man fell hard to the ground. Nath slipped behind him and put him in a chokehold. He locked his arms and cranked up the pressure on Slaughter’s throat. The giant man got up on one knee. He tried to pry Nath’s arms away with his fingers. “Put them in a chokehold, Darkken!”
Darkken had Reaver by the hair. He drove a knee into the man’s face. “Good idea!” He kneed Reaver again, moved in behind the man, and embraced Reaver in a chokehold.
Nath and Darkken had both brutes locked up tight. “If they can’t breathe, they can’t live, right?” Nath said.
“Right!” Darkken agreed. His cheeks were red, and sweat drenched his face. “Don’t let up, Nath! Don’t let uuuuuup!”
Reaver and Slaughter stood straight up. Then, in unison, they fell flat on their backs, crushing Nath and Darkken beneath them.
Nath held on. So did Darkken.
Once again, Reaver and Slaughter did the same thing, all to the thrill of the crowd. Over and over again, they smashed Nath and Darkken underneath their broad backs. They shook limbs and knocked the wind out of both of them. Nath knew in his heart that if he let go now, he was going to die. The two juggernauts stood once more, on limbs as hard as steel, and executed the crushing blow once more. Nath’s grip slipped. He lay flat on his back, arms sprawled out at his sides. Panting for breath, he rolled his head to one side. He saw some busted-out teeth. They were very white, probably elven. He ran his tongue over his teeth. All there. Darkken lay on the ground, the same as him.
The older man shook his head. “They are tireless brutes. I’ve never seen the likes of it. It’s been good fighting with you, Nath. Very good. No matter what, just keep fighting.”
Reaver and Slaughter lorded over the exhausted men. Beating their chests and letting out savage growls, they proceeded to pummel and savagely beat the life out of them.
CHAPTER 65
Dagger in hand, Maefon sneaked her way through the caverns behind the fort. At the moment, the caverns that consisted of a variety of rooms and caves were abandoned. All of the hunters were outside, watching the fights. The elven sorceress took advantage of her freedom, quickly rummaging thr
ough the supplies, searching for anything that could help. She would need an advantage, and at the moment, her mind wasn’t clear enough to cast any spells. Whatever power Sigourney used had truly rattled her.
She wandered into a torchlit armory with racks of spears, swords, hatchets, and axes. There were bows, crossbows, bolts, and arrows. In their own section were suits of armor and a lot of piecemeal parts of full-body armor. Not a bit was a uniform match, but much of it appeared to have been traded for, acquired through raids, or stolen. That’s when she noticed in another corner a pile of weapons that were very familiar. It was her gear, as well as that of the Brothers of the Wind. She put on her sword belt, grabbed a short bow and tested the string, and slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder.
“That feels better,” she muttered.
Her own personal gear was hardly enough to take on a small army, but she didn’t feel naked anymore, either. Her eyes swept the room once more. She couldn’t waste any more time if she was going to help Nath and Darkken. She just had to act. Lives were often lost from too much hesitation. Her eyes caught on a strongbox on the floor, tucked away between the weapon racks. The brass fittings were clearly fashioned by elven hands. It had a long and sleek design to it but was locked by a crude padlock that wasn’t elven. She hustled over to it and took a knee. Using her hairpin, she picked the lock then tossed the padlock aside and lifted the lid. The box was lined with a sea-green crushed velvet. Inside was another black quiver full of feather-tailed arrows. A surging victorious clamor of blood-hungry voices rose outside.
Maefon grabbed the quiver, slung it over her shoulder, snatched up another bow, and headed back toward the entrance to the fort. She came across a stairwell carved out of the rock that curved upward. She took it. At the top, crouching down, she found herself staring down from a natural overlook. She had a full view of everything. The guard towers, Sigourney and the Caligin, and a living arena wall made of goblins and gnolls. Inside the arena were Nath and Darkken, getting the blood beat out of them by Reaver and Slaughter.
Deadly_The Odyssey of Nath Dragon Page 20