Bolam looked at me, “If anyone else were to wear that helmet they would suffocate to death.”
“Suffocate?” Jerak asked confused.
I answered, “That means you wouldn’t be able to breathe and you would die without air.”
Jerak nodded like he understood, “Oh, so it would be like drowning then.”
Bolam looked and me and shrugged, “Sort of.”
We traveled all day without any problems. “We should be reaching the farmlands soon” Bolam commented.
Jerak looked at me, “So what are you going to do once you are done with your job?”
I looked at Bolam who just shrugged and smiled, “Well I will recommend both of you in case you want any more work with the magic guild.”
I turned toward Jerak. He too shrugged, “I need to turn in my proof of bounty and I might see what other kind of work they have.”
Bolam smiled, “It was nice having you two with me, but after a few days I will have to travel back to Vunash.” I was a bit sad to learn that after getting back, Bolam would not be around anymore.
“Blake, if you want you can come with me,” Jerak insisted.
I thought for a moment since I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to travel and fight big freaky ogres and such.
Jerak continued, “I think an off worlder such as yourself should go on adventures like me and make a name for yourself.”
Bolam chuckled, “I don’t know if you are as big of a legend as you think you are.”
Jerak frowned, “Ah, you just spend too much time behind your books to pay any attention!”
Bolam shrugged and just kept walking.
I shrugged as well, “I’ll have to think about it. Right now I’m just trying to get adjusted.”
Bolam pointed ahead. In the distance we could see smoke filling the sky.
We ran up a hill to look for its source. Down below was a small farming village. The sounds of horses neighing and people screaming filled the air below. Figures in black masks ran amok, chasing and looting.
Bolam muttered, “Shadens…”
I turned toward him, “Shadens?”
Bolam explained, “The Shadens are a large group of raiders and thieves that go around plundering the countryside where the law can’t reach them until it’s too late. They are very dangerous.”
I looked back to the town, “Is there some way we can help them?”
Bolam sighed, “It would be foolish to take them head on…wait where’s Jerak?”
In the corner of our eyes we could see Jerak running down the hill with his mace held high.
Chapter 4
The smoke from the battle in the small village blew in our direction. I stared down the hill that Jerak foolishly charged. He was now long gone. Oh, crap! Did he just run down there by himself? Yes, he did. Bolam and I just stood there looking at each other. Seeing people in trouble and then seeing my new friend running down to help them caused guilt to run heavily through me.
I bit my lower lip and drew my two swords running down the hill after Jerak. The cowardly and logical side of me knew that it was really stupid, but I did it anyway. Bolam followed behind me, which I think he knew was stupid as well. We both ran behind a store for cover. We needed a moment to figure what to do next. We took a few heavy breaths and looked around. No one had spotted us- Good! No sign of Jerak- Bad!
“We should sneak inside and keep out of plain sight,” Bolam whispered.
I nodded and held my weapons close as Bolam slowly opened the back door of the building. I leaned in and peaked inside. It looked like a small back room that held a few barrels and crates of extra supplies. I held my breath and slowly walked inside the room. After taking a few steps into the room, from the corner of my eye, I saw a man kneeling. He appeared to be taking things from one of the crates and shoving them in a sack. I slowly walked toward him. I must have messed up or he just happened to be looking up at the wrong time, but at that moment I saw a man with a black mask.
The black mask covered his entire face and only had an opening for the eyes. It appeared to be made out of blackened leather. He stared at me and stood up. I could see he was pulling out his sword. I gritted my teeth and lunged at him with both of my short swords. I could feel them hitting bone and softer parts of his body. His body froze as well as mine. A sickening feeling went through me as he slowly fell to the ground. I felt my blades gliding through different parts of his body as he dropped. I stood there staring at his corpse and the blood still dripping from my short swords.
I couldn’t believe I had just killed someone. I mean, choguls and ghouls were at least monsters. My stomach was feeling a bit uneasy. This just felt so weird.
Bolam put his hand on my shoulder, “Come on let’s keep moving.”
I took a deep breath and moved toward the main section of the store. Something told me that I would have to kill more before the day was over.
The main room of the store held a few shelves of dry goods and tools. Bolam and I crouched down behind the large counter and peeked over. There were two more of them, looting and shoving all they could into sacks.
Bolam whispered to me, “You take the one on the left; I will handle the one on the right.”
I exhaled. I felt nervous but I nodded and somehow crawled toward the left-hand side of the counter. I glanced over at Bolam who was charging up some new spell. My heart was racing, but I held my short swords tightly and made my move.
The Shaden turned right before I slashed at him with my left hand. He let out one cry of pain and leaned forward at an angle. Without hesitation, I stabbed his back with my right sword. The other guy quickly took notice but fell back as a fireball nailed him. Neither of them had a chance to take out their weapons. It felt too easy. My body was still shaking from it all. I was completely unnerved, my pulse pounding rapidly.
Bolam walked over, “Help me move the bodies, I have a plan.”
Bolam and I dragged the two corpses behind the counter of the shop.
I wiped the sweat from my brow. “So what’s the plan?”
Bolam pulled off one of the masks, “Here put this on and put on his cloak as well.”
I wasn’t too wild about the idea of wearing something off a dead man, but at the time I really didn’t have a choice. I put on the mask. It reeked of sweat and the cloak was almost as bad.
Bolam smiled, “Good. Now, I will stay here and you go out and lure them inside. If we are lucky, we can take them out one by one.”
I raised a brow but couldn’t really think of a better plan.
I walked outside of the shop. I hoped the plan would work. There were several people running away in fear and a few men in black masks chasing them and causing total chaos.
One of them ran by. I waved at him and shouted, “Hey! Come help me for a minute!”
He stopped and jogged over. “Eh? Find anything good?”
I walked in and hoped he was foolish enough to follow. He took a few steps inside and spotted a bag nearly filled with loot.
“What is it?” he asked while bending down to check what was inside.
I pulled out a short sword and jammed it in his lower back. He made a sickening gurgling sound as I twisted the blade and pulled it back out again. I was cringing the whole time.
Bolam helped me drag the guy out with the other ones. He looked at me. “Are you alright?”
I lifted up my mask and took a few deep breaths. “I have never killed anyone before.”
Bolam patted me on the shoulder. “I know it is rough, but think of it this way. How many more innocents would suffer if you didn’t dispose of these?”
I nodded and felt slightly better. “Thank you, Bolam.”
Bolam smiled, “There are two kinds of people, those that help and those that ruin. Don’t pity those that choose to ruin.”
Bolam was right. These were not humans but vile beings that just happened to look human.
The second time I walked out to lure one of them in, I didn’t see anyon
e. I walked back in and shrugged my shoulders. Bolam whispered loudly, “When you get one inside make him follow you away from the front door and I’ll get him.”
I nodded and grabbed a sack of loot. It seemed like a good idea to pull the sack out into full view. Whenever one of the humans passed by, I could just claim that there was another sack inside and couldn’t carry both. A few moments went by and, even though I could hear the chaos, there was no one close enough to get their attention. I sat down the sack and sighed until I heard some kid screaming.
To the right of the store ran a young boy screaming as he was being chased by two Shadens. It was only a blur, but I could tell that kid was in major trouble. I took out my swords and chased after them. I ran to the side of the store that shared an alleyway with another small building. I barely saw the two run around the corner. The kid was still screaming. When I made it around the corner, I saw the kid on the ground holding a small crossbow. Behind him were a couple of barrels and crates. It looked like he was cornered. The two Shadens slowly advanced on him.
“Put down that crossbow and we won’t hurt you,” one of them spoke calmly.
The other chuckled, “Yeah, put it down or we will cut you up!”
They both laughed. It seemed that the kid was too scared to fire his crossbow. I clenched my teeth and ran toward them. I jammed both short swords in the back of one of the Shadens. He let out a brief scream and fell. The other one turned. He knew that I wasn’t one of them. He lifted his sword and came swinging at me.
Our swords clashed as I parried his blow. I swung my sword at him to counter, he blocked that. He leaned forward and slashed at me. I parried again with my left sword, but he was more powerful than a chogul and my left hand was jarred by the force. This had left me open, but I moved in my right blade he was forced to block it. By the time my left sword came into range, he moved with a thrust. I jumped back and hit the wall behind me but, thankfully, didn’t get run through.
I made a wild hit as I dodged him and made a shallow slash at his face. I drew only enough blood to anger him. He leaned back, ready for another attack. My left blade thrust toward him but only struck his hilt. My left sword locked with his. I held on as tightly as I could, but he was much stronger.
He was using both his hands and I was slowly losing my grip. The Shaden grunted loudly and knocked the short sword out of my hand. He lifted his blade. I could see satisfaction in his eyes until my blade sunk into his throat.
I knew there would be major blood flow from that part of his body but I was still surprised at just how much sprayed out on me. He dropped his sword and barely covered his neck before dropping onto the ground. That was intense!
That was a real fight and I could feel a boost to my ego. The other guys didn’t really have a chance to fight back, but this guy… wow! I was actually better than him! My victory celebration was cut short as I heard a snapping sound and felt an intense burst of pain in my right thigh.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to!” the young boy apologized.
My leg gave out and I dropped to my knees. A few tears came out of my eyes and I could see a bolt sticking out of my leg. I cringed and pulled off my mask to get some air. The boy stood there with an unloaded crossbow and shock on his face. I grunted then forced myself to smile.
“It… is . . . fine.”
The boy dropped his crossbow. “I am so sorry sir!”
I barely touched the bolt and felt a bit more pain from the slightest touch. Yes, this really hurt!
My wound was bleeding quite a bit. I really didn’t know how to safely remove a crossbow bolt without doing more damage. I wasn’t sure if I could tolerate the pain of it. Thankfully, I learned basic first aid when I was a boy scout and applied pressure outside the wound to help halt the blood flow. I leaned back against the wall and looked at the kid. He looked concerned but something else took his attention. I turned my head. Just down the alley stood a freaking huge minotaur!
Holy crap! That guy was huge! The minotaur had short black fur and wore armor made with plates of iron. In his hand he carried two war hammers and looked like he knew how to use them. The minotaur stared down the alley at us.
He roared, “You dare face the Shadens? I, the great Torkuhl, will tear you apart!”
I turned my head, “Hey kid! Go get…help…”
The kid had already run off. I was so screwed. I couldn’t move my leg and this massive thing was walking over to end me really quick. If I wasn’t going to die from blood loss, it would be from this guy.
The minotaur took a few more steps and stopped, “Eh? Who might you be?”
I saw that he wasn’t looking at me but someone beyond my field of vision. It was Jerak!
Jerak stood there in a confidant pose and smiled, “Fool! I am Jerak… oh hey, Blake!”
Jerak waved a little and saw my wound, “Oh man! You got shot!”
The minotaur grunted, “I will break you both!”
Jerak took a few steps and with a cocky grin taunted, “Oh? You really think you can take me on?”
The minotaur snorted, “You are not even worth my time, puny one!”
Jerak raised his eyebrow, “I guess those horns go deep into your brain! If you knew who I was, you would be running now!”
The minotaur snarled, “Fool, why would the mighty Torkuhl be afraid of some human weakling?!”
Jerak paused for a moment and appeared to be searching for a snappy comeback. He pointed his mace at him, “Well… uh you have a dumb name!”
After the exchange of bad insults and boasts, Jerak and Torkuhl charged each other. Torkuhl swung both of his war hammers and hit nothing but air. Jerak jumped out of the way and countered but, to Jerak’s surprise, the minotaur was more agile than he looked. Torkuhl leaned out of the mace’s range. He swung with one hammer but Jerak ducked. Then came the other hammer. Jerak blocked it with his buckler but the sheer force caused Jerak to fall on his back.
Torkuhl was clearly too seasoned to let such an opportunity go to waste. Jerak soon saw the bottom of one of Torkuhl’s large hooves. I saw a brief look of surprise from Jerak as he quickly rolled away. The sound of the hoof slamming into the ground demonstrated Torkuhl’s power. He could surely crush Jerak. Torkuhl grunted and tried again. Jerak was already in a rolling stance and had little trouble dodging. I sat watching the large minotaur stomping away as if performing some crude dance as Jerak rolled back and forth for dear life.
I had to do something! Jerak didn’t look like he could last much longer. I knew that I was next in line for a beat down. The pain in my leg surged erased any hope of walking away to get help. Wait a minute… the crossbow! The crossbow was still lying there and with any luck there would be a few bolts lying next to it. I bit my lower lip and bore with the pain as I leaned over and grabbed the crossbow and a few bolts. Now there was some hope.
It didn’t take too long to figure out how to load it, but I was afraid that the bolts wouldn’t do any damage to something as massive as Torkuhl. I loaded the crossbow and aimed. I was already feeling light-headed from blood loss and I knew it would impair my aim. I lined up what I hoped were the sights on the crossbow and aimed at the base of his neck. I squeezed the trigger and heard the snap. The bolt went flying past Torkuhl’s head. Aw, Crap!
Torkuhl paused briefly. He clearly noticed I had tried to shoot him. He looked at me and bared his teeth. Oh, crap! The only thing I accomplished was making him angry. The bright side was that Jerak took that moment to get back on his feet. Torkuhl turned and barely blocked Jerak’s attack. The two pressed their weapons together until Torkuhl grunted and sent Jerak reeling back. I reached for another crossbow bolt.
Jerak charged at Torkuhl. The minotaur waited and prepared to counter. To Torkuhl’s surprise and mine, Jerak stopped half-way and turned to go around Torkuhl. Jerak moved around and slammed his mace right into Torkuhl’s side. The minotaur grunted and made a wild swing at Jerak. That caused the monster some pain, but it didn’t stop him.
Th
e fight was now facing away from me. I had trouble telling what was really happening but I could see Jerak moving side to side and the minotaur’s arms flailing about. I struggled to sit up. I pressed the pressure point on my thigh above the wound and with my other hand lifted the crossbow. Let’s see, I aimed at the base of the neck and the bolt shot off to the left. I might have been able to figure out how to aim at this thing but keeping the crossbow steady was a challenge.
Jerak moved around the minotaur and got hit by a war hammer. He ran back toward me and took several deep breaths. The two of them stopped for a few seconds to catch their breath and stared down at each other.
Jerak smiled, “I will defeat you in my next move!”
Torkuhl leaned his head back and scoffed, “Oh? You think you even have a chance?”
Jerak pointed his mace at the minotaur and ran toward him.
The minotaur waited, but for some reason Jerak ran toward the back of the building next to him. To my surprise, Jerak jumped at the wall and did some acrobatic move repelling off the wall to get high enough while still holding the mace with both hands. He was now at an ideal height and looked like he would swing downward straight into Torkuhl’s skull.
Dragon Hero Page 8