by Chris Hechtl
“What do you think; is this like we imagined?” Aaron asked as he panted, running. “Must go faster,” he said, picking up his knees.
“Are you kidding? There is no time-out here and if we screw up no free lives or do-overs,” Shane said, shaking his head, panting. “I'm scared shitless but, damn man, fun. The fort?”
“Sure,” Brian said. They rushed to the fort. They pulled out paint ball guns and sling shots, then went back into the fight.
They found the others hiding in the local convenience store they had broken into. They loaded up on pepper, flour and hot sauce. Then they went out the back door and sniped the orcs, hitting them in the face and chest with pepper and other things to blind and confuse them. The orcs howled in pain, blinded but not out of the fight.
“We should have done this from the rooftop!” Shane said.
“Yeah, now you tell me!” Brian replied. “Besides, you want to be trapped on the roof with those things coming up after us?” he demanded.
“Good point,” Shane muttered.
“Just shut up and get ready to run!” Aaron urged.
Still it wasn't enough so the kids ran. Brian took a wrong turn, and the other kids followed. They were cornered in an alley behind Bert's auto shop.
Robin saw the altercation and others from the rooftop. He intervened; he helped the kids by distracting the orcs long enough for the kids to crawl through a fence and escape. “Thanks Robin,” Ben said panting as Robin dropped down a fire escape and came up to them. Brian nodded.
“Don't thank me yet, kids; we've got to get the hell out of here. Is this one of your games?” he demanded, hustling them along.
“Come on; we'll tell you along the way,” Brian said, picking up into a trot. The trot turned into a lope as they heard the baying of the orcs behind them.
They panted but did their best to explain what was going on as they retreated.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
They regrouped at the cave. Robin was briefed about the artifact. “The problem is we can't get the damn thing,” Henry said, shaking his head. “He's got it under guard and probably protected by spells,” he said.
The princess nodded. “Wards. But if they touch each other they will be shorted out,” she said. “We need to get the artifact to end this,” she urged.
“I don't see how. A frontal attack is suicide,” Henry said darkly as he shook his head.
Robin cocked his head then smiled. “Well, it seems to me you need a thief to steal it back,” Robin said, buffing his nails. They nodded. “I'll see what I can do” he said, straightening up.
The princess handed him some magical gear. She waved her hand, and his outfit changed to a black cat suit. She took out a piece of paper and murmured a spell. “Here are the directions on what I've given you, plus the artifact's description and location,” she said handing it to him. He folded it and put it in his pocket and then nodded. She kissed him on the forehead. “Ah, you're making me blush,” he teased. He saluted nonchalantly and then left quickly.
Sarah's cat was enchanted. Together, they followed the prince of thieves.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
“Think he'll be okay?” Amy asked.
“Hope so. If anyone can do it, it's Robin,” Henry said. He turned back to work.
“I never thought of you as a smith,” Amy teased.
“I did a bit in summer camp a couple of times. They had this whole medieval thing going. My parents thought it'd be great, roughing it, really get an appreciation for the finer things in life.”
“And did it?” Amy asked amused.
“The smithing and sword play I admit was fun. But the rest was for the birds,” he said with a snort. “Especially the damn mosquitoes,” he grumbled. She smiled.
“You are quite the smith though,” the princess said, nodding to Amy.
Amy nodded back. “I'll um, just go check on the others,” she murmured, leaving.
Henry nodded. He was busy, going flat out. Not only was he her best general, but he was also her smith. He created swords, bows, armor, and other things from a pile of scrap metal people were bringing in. They barely kept ahead of his work. “I think I'm getting the hang of this,” he said as he turned a piece of bent rebar into a sword, then handed it off to a volunteer. The soldier nodded, swishing the sword.
“Where did you learn such things?” The princess asked. All of the mundane mortals were using magic as if they had been born with it. It was surprising and somewhat gratifying to see. None had her control, but all were eager and willing to help.
“Discovery Channel,” he said shrugging. “We may not have magic, Princess, but we do have imagination. People have dreamed of stories of magic, of magical items or creatures for many years. We play games with simulated magic,” he said. “This is just the real thing,” he said, checking a battle ax over he had created from a fire ax.
“I see,” she said. “What is this…Discovery Channel you mentioned?”
He snorted, then turned to her. “You don't want to get into television too much, Princess, it'll rot your brain. Besides, you're not going to be here long,” he said. She nodded.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
Henry went out to get more materials and recruits. “Now stay back!” Henry heard, then grimaced. He recognized that voice. He ran hefting his hammer. He rounded the corner in time to see Jim down with a quartet of orcs around him. Two other orcs were down, apparently shot.
Henry stepped up, skipping chivalry and letting his opponent know he was there; he smashed the hammer into the back of one of the orcs. It flew forward and on top of the fallen sheriff. The others turned with snarls on the new opponent. Henry used the butt of the hammer and his elbow to knock one back, then the face to hit another in the throat. It went down, clutching at its throat with both hands.
The fourth had been off balance by the first fallen orc. It rushed forward, but Jim grabbed its ankle and tripped it. He groaned as the thing fell on top of him and the other orc. Henry moved in, kicked the orc off of the other and Jim and then swung down, crushing the skull.
“Sorry man,” he muttered, then did the same to the others.
“What the hell is going on?” Jim demanded and coughed. Henry looked down to him. The sheriff was bruised and battered but apparently still alive. “Get this damn thing off me. Will someone tell me what the hell's going on? Has everyone gone loco or something?” he demanded.
Henry kicked the last orc off then held out a hand. Jim looked at it for a moment then took it. Together they hauled him to his feet.
“So, someone want to explain…”
“No time,” Pema said coming up behind them. She whistled when she saw the carnage around them, then handed off a package to Jim. “Use these,” she said.
He frowned and looked at the bullets. “Clay…”
“Don't argue; just do it,” she growled, then moved on. “I've got to get my tools!” she called out, breaking into a trot as she made her way up her porch to her house. “Um, a little help?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Henry said, coming over. He shouldered the sledge then used it on the door.
She smiled. “Thanks, I think,” she said as she went inside.
“Just don't send me a bill,” he said. She chuckled.
“So, Jim, these are…”
“Orcs,” the sheriff said, kicking one over to see the face, tusks and top knot. “I'd gathered that. This one looked like Markus though. The other…”
“They probably are, Jim,” Henry said. Jim stared at him. “Long story short? Magic. Some Wizard came through a portal, and he's turning everyone into an army to take over the world.”
“Oh, right,” Jim said.
“What, you think there is a virus or another explanation?” Henry demanded.
“No no, I believe you,” the sheriff said, reaching into his truck to pull out his shotgun, “I'm just not happy about what the hell I'm going to put down on the paperwork,” he said, lifting the shotgun to his shoulder to fire
.
Henry turned to see his target in time to see magical toys and creatures start to swoop down to attack. The sheriff used his shotgun to shoot down magical toys and mini dragons. “Time to go!” Jim called out to the others.
“Your office,” Henry said. “That's my other target.”
“Shit,” Jim said nodding.
“I'd rather us get it than them,” Henry said.
Jim nodded. “No argument,” he said. Pema came out clutching her tools then rushed to the truck. They piled in and took off in a squeal of tires.
Along the way they filled Jim in more as he drove. When they got to the sheriff's office, they piled out and rushed in. They grabbed what they could from the sheriff's office, then snagged a nearby fire truck and raced back to the cave.
“What's with the fire truck?” the sheriff asked as he got out.
“We need a source of water, and the stream is too far away,” Henry said, climbing out of the cab. “Besides, the stuff on it may come in handy,” he said as other people rushed in to the truck. He murmured some orders, and they swung into action taking the ladders and equipment off. One of the local volunteer fire fighters set up the hoses.
“They are ten or fifteen minutes behind us folks, better move fast,” Henry warned. The others looked up and then nodded and flashed into quick action.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
The sculptor created magical creatures to help them fight, but they were tiny. She had to act fast. Each tiny thing picked at the orcs who kicked them off.
“Can you enchant the clay to make them bigger?” Henry asked.
“It'd be hollow and thin,” the princess warned. “Not very good,” she said.
“Damn,” Henry muttered, diving in to lend a hand in the fight. He used his enchanted sledge hammer, pounding away at the enemy, or using the head to push them away to give himself room to strike.
“How about this!?” Pema said, hands flashing fast as she slammed clay into a human form. There was a lull long enough for Henry to turn and see what she meant. Something lumbered up, missing an arm, but still brutish.
“Now that's what I'm talking about,” he said, realizing what she'd been up to. She had created a big golem, but it was partially finished. When the second wave of attackers arrived, this time led by the con artist, it took center stage to absorb their attack.
The golem smashed many of the Wizard's army before being blasted by fire. Baked it froze, cracked and then shattered when an ogre moved in and smashed it with a mace. The ogre went down in turn as an enchanted spider spun a web around it, cocooning the behemoth creature. It snarled in fury, arms trapped at its sides as it topped.
“Timber!” Some whit called as it fell. It fell and bounced with a groan. Henry went up and hit it on the head to knock it out for good measure.
They used water walls frozen to block and channel the enemy. “Try not to kill them; they are our friends,” a guy said.
“Yeah, well, try telling them that!” Aaron said, struggling with an orc.
“Stand back!” Henry said, sending a ribbon of water between the two groups. He raised his hands and a wall of water formed, then froze. The enemy chipped at it with their claws and weapons.
“That won't hold them for long,” Aaron panted, holding his injured shoulder.
“Long enough,” Henry said, waving a hand. He nodded to the nurse who came forward. “Treat the injured quickly. The able bodied form up here,” he said, indicating a bare spot between ribbons of water. He raised his arms, and the ribbons formed into walls of water, then flash froze.
“That won't hold them either,” Aaron said, grimacing as the nurse healed his wounds. Most were light.
“It's not intended to,” Henry said. “It's going to channel them to where we want them to be. A narrow front,” he said. “Where we can bottle them up.”
“A bottle neck,” Aaron said, nodding. “Where'd you learn that?”
“History Channel. Battle of Briton back in the Roman times. Queen Bodiecia and her horde against a single legion. They set up in a saw tooth formation within a narrow valley. The valley walls protected their flanks allowing them to form a bottleneck and negate the queen's numerical advantages,” he said curtly.
“Ice won't be enough,” the sculptor said. She waved a hand like a conductor and then raised it. Earthen walls formed behind the ice, and then a moat formed in front of it and the waiting group.
“You're getting good at this,” Aaron teased with a roguish smile. She blushed then hurried back to her work.
They defended the mouth of the cave; several were people hurt or killed in the battle on both sides. Snipers fought from the sides, firing down into the attacking magical army, building a wall of bodies for the others to climb over.
They fought the enemy to a standstill, freezing those they could, wounding or killing others. “Damn it!” Gary said as he ran an orc through. “I think that was Bert I just killed!”
“You or him, man, we've got to fight! He'd understand, and hell, I'd think he'd rather die than be a monster!”
“You never played WOW with him did you?” Gary asked, then grunted as he took a hit himself. He went down cradling his thigh. He snarled as blood gushed. Henry stepped over him to allow those behind to grab Gary by the shoulders and drag him back out of the area to be healed.
Anything magically animated they smashed or melted with fire and earth. After a few minutes, all the cannon fodder the Wizard had sent along ahead of the con artist was used up. Tim blinked as the last enchanted scorpion was smashed by Henry's hammer.
“Your turn, you traitor,” Henry snarled, moving forward as he hefted his hammer grimly.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
The Wizard became worried about what was going on, so he came to see the fight. He kept his distance though, watching from a nearby hillside. He refused to intervene, wanting to see the enemy fight. “Put on a good show for me, Princess, it will make your defeat and anguish all the sweeter,” he said silkily.
He snarled when he saw his warriors fall. “It's not like they matter; I can make more,” he snarled. But when his chosen assistant faltered and fell, he turned in a whirl of robes.
Henry smashed Tim's hand, knocking his wand away before he could finish the spell he'd been working on. Then he turned and crushed the device for good measure. “Batter up!” Henry snarled, moving to swing. A second blow to the Tim's midsection sent the man flying back in a wail of terror and agony.
Henry saw the Wizard come forward so he retreated back to their lines. An earthen berm formed in between the two, cutting them off.
Dying he crawled to the feet of the Wizard. “Please master, heal me,” he crocked, blood dribbling from his chin. He begged to be healed, but with curled lip the Wizard kicked him off his toe and moved on.
“You're a useless cur. Die like the dog you are,” he snarled, taking his magic back. The con artist wailed as he felt the energy leave him like smoke. His life soon followed.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
Robin got in close to the enemy camp while the Wizard was away and distracted. He located the magic shop again, and then found the secret entrance his father had put in. Carefully, he moved the bookcase, getting inside.
He looked around, noting the changed chamber. Things floated about, he ignored them; his entire focus was on the glowing crystal and pyramid around it in the center of the room.
He used a stick to bump the artifact's protective wards, knocking two together and thus shorting them out. An alarm sounded as he rushed in and grabbed the artifact. “That can't be good,” he murmured to himself, moving quickly. He threw a vial at the back of the wall, and it exploded outward. “Cool!” He said, but then screamed as his side erupted in agony. He felt an electric shock as a lightning bolt cut into him, making him turn to protect his injured side.
He dropped a seed, however, and a vine sprouted at his feet, lifting him up in a dizzying flash into the sky and then catapulting him away. His arms wind milled but then
a squirrel suit formed between his limbs and body. “Yahoo!” he called out, then tucked the artifact into his shirt. He hissed when he checked the wound.
The Wizard saw him in the air and shot bolts of plasma and lightening at him. He dropped, then rolled as he landed hard. “Oh, that's going to leave a mark,” he said weakly as he tried to crawl for cover. He could hear the enemy out looking for him. “Not good,” he said. “What I wouldn't give for a nice warm jail cell right about now,” he murmured. His hand went to his right side and came back covered in blood. “Scratch that, a hospital would be nice,” he said, grimacing.
Sarah's cat found him there, mortally injured. Sarah came pounding up behind her as she turned her head. She looked at the wounds and bit her lip. “I don't know what to do!” She cried in anguish to him, face searching his.
“Yes, you do,” he said, smiling wanly. He weakly pulled out the artifact and then caught her hand. He slipped it into her hand and then sighed. “You know what to do, kid, get it to the princess,” he said.
“But…you'll die!” She said.
“Everyone dies sometime, kid, it's my time. I did what needed to be done. Now you promise me you'll do your part,” he said.
She nodded. “I promise,” she whispered.
“Good,” he said, head lolling back. His breath slowed and then stopped. Sarah shook him, but the cat shook her head and nuzzled her away. She looked at him, dashing tears. Her cat patted Robin gently one last time and then followed Sarah.
~~~---==(*)==---~~~
Sarah got the artifact around the battle to the back of the hillside. But in doing so she led the Wizard to think of a new way to break the siege. She got into the cave and handed the artifact off as he set up.
“He did good kid,” Henry said, patting her on the shoulder. “You did too. The others?”
“The other kids are running. There isn't anything else they can do. I don't know if they'll regroup or not,” she said.
“It's okay,” Henry assured her, turning to the princess. “Right?” he asked. She nodded.