The mage turned slowly, her eyes widening in fright just before Cal drove his shoulder into her gut. They went down hard, and Cal winced when something stabbed him in the chest. Sword still in hand, he brought it down on the woman’s arm, hacking to the bone, and drawing out a tortured wail.
Part of himself was breaking, horrified that he was hurting a woman, so he kept the image of this mage trying to kill Euphe fixed in his mind. The outrage and fear for his friend helped him avoid thinking about anything other than protecting her.
When the mage stopped struggling, trying to curl up around her devastated arm, Cal pulled back. He tried to figure out what had wounded him. His chest felt like fire.
Then he realized their fall had driven an arrow right through the bandit, and he had impaled himself on it. The irony of the situation as he watched blood gush out of the gash beneath his collarbone made him chuckle, which also broke him out of the mindless rage he’d fallen into.
***
“Cal, get up! Rufus is—” Euphe called out, her voice trailing off in a harsh crack.
Fearing the worst, Calvin snapped his head up, just in time to see his courageous friend fly through the air and slam into the large bag Rufus had dropped earlier. She groaned when she struck the ground, but Cal wasn’t sure surviving the blow would be in her best interest at this point.
He climbed to his feet, ignoring the dying woman beneath him and turned to square off against the bandit leader, whose eye widened. “Your rotting carcass is orb-Bonded?” Rufus asked incredulously. “Were you holding out on me?”
Realizing he’d lost the ugly helmet at some point, probably during his crazed charge, Calvin grinned savagely at the shirtless murderer. “No, you’re the only one of us that did any lying, asshole. I’ll admit I did grab a bit of loot without telling you, though.”
The man’s remaining green eye narrowed, a terrible scowl transforming his bloody face into a leering demon’s.
“You rotting thought you could steal from me?” Rufus snarled, his fists shaking as he clenched them. “I’m gonna keep you alive, make you watch as I split both those bitches in half. Maybe by the time I’m finished with them, I’ll think up an entertaining way to finish you,” he growled.
Busy focusing on keeping his head straight as his rage threatened to drown his mind again, Cal wasn’t ready when the larger man burst into motion. He let Rufus get too close, but still managed to bring his sword down hard on the man’s shoulder. The strike barely scratched his enemy before the big man slammed him to the ground.
The bandit’s weight crushed down on Cal, driving the air from his lungs before Rufus punched him in the face, and he saw stars. Twice more, a ham-sized fist plowed into his face, smashing his head against the dirt.
Calvin’s vision blurred; all he could smell or taste was his own blood. Blinking repeatedly, he slowly realized he could only see out of one eye. Anticipation of the next blow dragged on, torturing his frayed nerves, and he struggled to study the man looming above him.
Suddenly a meaty hand grabbed the front of his bloody gambeson and jerked him to his feet. “Don’t worry, Calvin, you’re not dying tonight,” Rufus whispered darkly.
The battered man swallowed hard, grimacing at the overpowering taste of blood, and finally got his eye to focus. Did he gouge out an eye because I shot his out? I don’t think it hurts enough to be missing.
Rufus continued to glare at him, but Calvin caught movement behind the powerful bandit. Euphe’s back up! Even as hope blossomed in his mind, he clamped down on it, growling at the man holding him up, determined not to spoil her ambush.
The bandit leader was obviously enjoying having Calvin at his mercy. He said, “Yeah, I think the first thing I’m gonna do is tie you up real good. Afraid we’ll have to wait for the real fun until I carry all three of you rotting fools somewhere private. Then I’ll have plenty of time to play with those two. Shame I won’t get the extra pay if they’re not virgins, but maybe they’ll give me a bonus for twins?”
“Extra pay?” Calvin gasped, his tongue heavy as he struggled to speak through the blood.
“Huh? Yeah of course my contact pays extra for virgins, that’s why I sold that stupid bitch off without sampling the goods,” Rufus said, sneering. “The sister. She was a rotting handful, I tell you. One of my boys tried to take a taste despite my instructions,” he said, snorting in derision. “Almost bit his junk off, she did.”
Cal saw Euphe just behind the bandit but didn’t focus on her, didn’t give her away.
Suddenly, a twig snapped and Rufus’ one good eye flashed. Without many other options, Cal slammed his forehead into the man’s bloody face.
For a split-second he’d expected to knock Rufus senseless, shattering his nose and ending the fight, like on TV. Instead he saw stars again. Felt like hitting a wall!
Reeling, Cal grasped desperately at the bandit, clinging to his belt, trying to delay him, to give Euphe another second. His efforts didn’t accomplish much, though.
Rufus kneed him in the gut, and he collapsed. Then to his surprise, the larger man followed him down.
***
As his vision cleared, and Cal realized he could see with both eyes again, he looked up. Euphe was kneeling on the muscular bandit’s back, a broken arrow in each hand as she leaned back tugging hard at a thin cord. Past her on the ground, he noticed a broken fiberglass recurve bow. It’d been trampled in the struggle.
She made a garrote from my old bow? The one from Earth?
Panting for breath, Cal pushed back from the red-faced bandit, pausing only to kick him twice in the crotch. Rising to his knees, just out of easy reach, he saw the first look of real fear in the orb-Bonded bandit’s eye, and Cal grinned smugly. Rufus met his gaze, blood still trickling out of his empty eye socket, then started wildly flailing behind his head.
Screaming and growling, Eupheme held tight, jerking at the bowstring wrapped around the man’s meaty neck, refusing to let go. Cal moved to help her as Rufus got an idea of where she was and backhanded her in the face.
Before he could get close enough to help, the big bandit kicked out, sweeping Calvin’s legs, dropping him painfully to the ground. He shook his head clear, ignoring the blood running over one eye and staggered back to his feet.
Rufus stood, the slender, muscular, armored woman hanging from the improvised garrote around his neck. He swung around, trying to dislodge her.
Eupheme held tight, kicking her legs up, trying to gain leverage, but the big man stopped whipping about and stumbled rapidly toward the nearest tree. Calvin raced after him, part of him appalled at the sheer amount of violence the bandit had survived. Doesn’t he need to breathe? he wondered.
Just before running into the tree, Rufus spun around and crushed Euphe against the thick tree, blasting the breath from her. Not thinking about anything except destroying his enemy, Cal jumped, hands outstretched for the garrote handles. His hand wrapped around one, right next to Euphe’s armored glove, and he pulled.
Rufus punched for his gut and connected, making Calvin vomit water and bile, but he held on. Again the bandit slammed back against the tree, and Euphe cried out, quieter this time. Meanwhile, Calvin’s rage rose, fueling his battered body to act.
Rufus slammed against the tree a third time and Euphe didn’t cry out this time; her hands went limp around the makeshift grips.
Cal heard the big man draw a wheezing breath and felt his heart plummet. No! No! No! Screaming, he reached for the other handle and tugged with all his might.
Rufus swung an elbow back at him, but Cal twisted away, getting one boot up and working to dig his knee into the bandit’s back. He kept the garrote tight, his hands twitching wildly, his arms burning.
When Rufus tried to slam him against the tree, Calvin rolled aside. He dodged twice more before the bandit finally fell to his knees. Arms like lead, Cal panted, struggling to keep the tension up as Rufus rolled over, pinning him to the ground.
Unable to wiggle free, Cal h
ung on as the human-shaped monster relentlessly drove an elbow into his side. After the third blow, Cal couldn’t breathe; black spots formed in his vision as he clung to the thought of choking the bandit out.
Still pulling at the garrote taut, Cal blinked when he heard voices. Squinting against the blood stinging at one eye, he spotted platinum-blonde hair. Hopefully Euphe’s got another bright idea. When he saw another scowling beauty above him, Cal briefly thought he was seeing double.
She freed Lydia?
As he gasped breathlessly, brilliant light erupted before him, the sudden glare forcing him to shut his eyes. He squeezed them shut even as he held the bowstring tight, Rufus struggling violently on top of him.
Then he smelled burning meat.
His eyes snapped open, and he almost threw up again. Lydia, the reserved fire mage, was grinning like a true pyromaniac while shooting flames into the bandit’s open mouth. It felt like forever as Cal waited for the cruel orb-Bonded bandit to stop twitching.
He thought Rufus might have already died, but after the fight they’d been through, Cal wasn’t interested in taking any chances.
Friends and Enemies, Chapter Eleven
“I think he’s dead, Sis,” Eupheme said.
Glancing up, Cal spotted the swordswoman and frowned at her battered and bloodied face.
“You can let go now, Cal,” she said, grinning down at him, then wincing as the action pulled at her torn lip.
The moment she suggested it, his grip went slack, the makeshift handles slipping out of his raw hands. “Damn… that was… fuck!” he gasped, still struggling to recover his breath.
“At least we got him,” Eupheme said before dropping to sit beside him.
“Yeah, thanks for the save with the bowstring,” he said, too tired to turn his head to face her.
“Are you two going to be okay?” Lydia asked, her voice stronger than Eupheme’s and filled with concern.
“I’ll let you know when my brain turns back on,” Cal said.
Euphe giggled, and soon all three of them were laughing as hard as they could. It felt good to be alive.
“Thanks for helping us get that rotting bastard, Calvin. And rescuing Lydia.”
“I’m still grateful you two took me in. Pretty sure I’d have gotten lost in the woods and wound up monster food.”
“Speaking of taking you in,” Eupheme said, trailing off suggestively.
“Would you like to join us when we head back to Taretha?” Lydia asked.
Cal cracked his eyes open and looked up at the beautiful mage he’d just watched roast a man from the inside. “Uh sure?” he said, surprised.
“You don’t want to?” Eupheme asked, sounding a little hurt.
“What? Yeah, of course I do. You two are awesome, plus you’re my only friends,” Cal said in a rush, finally turning to look at the swordswoman. She was closer than he’d expected, but smiling brightly. Even bruised and bloody, she’s gorgeous.
“Then why did you sound so disinterested?” she asked in a huff.
“I kinda thought Lydia didn’t like me.”
Eupheme laughed, and he heard her sister gasp. He glanced back and forth between them as Euphe continued to laugh and Lydia turned bright red.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh at you or my sister, but… anyway, Lydia likes women,” Euphe said quietly, almost like it embarrassed her rather than her sister.
“So?” he asked, staring at her.
“Well, I mean you were wondering why Lydia didn’t flirt with you, right?”
Calvin glanced up and saw Lydia glaring at her sister now, though her face was still beet-red. “No, I thought she didn’t like me, period. One of you flirting with me was far more than I ever expected,” he said, grinning as both sisters turned to stare at him.
“Oh.”
“I’m also covered in blood and brains and didn’t expect to have a conversation like this right now. So, yeah, I was a little surprised.”
“Oh.”
As the silence drew out, growing awkward, Cal coughed loudly and sat up. “We should probably loot these assholes and get back to town before any monsters wander in and eat us.”
“Yes, we should. Rayburn had quite a few valuables in that bag, though I’m afraid I might have damaged some when I landed on it,” Euphe said, sitting up and wincing. She rolled her shoulders.
“Don’t worry about it, the important thing is we survived, punished that slimy bastard, and we know your sister could still be alive.”
The twins sighed, nodding as Lydia helped Eupheme stand before gathering the bandits’ discarded loot.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take to find the people responsible, but I’m willing to help as long as you want me to,” Cal said.
“That could be a very long time,” Lydia teased, making Euphe blush this time.
“Well, if you two promise to educate me on how to behave on this crazy planet, I think I could stay around for a while.”
Eupheme coughed and said, “Great. We’ll probably need to wait in Clarkston for a few days to rest, but then we should head out. It’ll be good to get back home.”
Calvin was just standing up when one sister let out a gasp.
Fear clawed at his weary mind, and he grabbed for the closest weapon as he spun. “What’s wrong?”
Neither of the twins answered, instead staring at a small wooden box Eupheme had pulled from the loot bag.
“What’s that?” Calvin asked, relaxing when he realized they weren’t in any danger.
Eupheme turned to him slowly and grinned. “It’s a Dolos orb.”
Suddenly a light flashed, startling Calvin so badly he yelped. When he looked down, he saw an identical box on the group to the one held in Eupheme’s hand. “Do you think—” began Lydia.
“The bounty,” said Eupheme with a nod. “Dolos’ message earlier. But we never saw any message that Rufus was orb-Bonded…”
“Well, he either was, or someone thought we deserved this,” said Calvin.
The three of them tiredly grinned at each other.
Friends and Enemies, Note
From the Author, Bastian Knight:
Bastian Knight is a lifelong gamer. He has always found Science Fiction and Fantasy stories fascinating. When he learned his favorite authors were all self-taught indies, he found a desire to write his own stories.
Bastian’s Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBastianKnight/
Just Another Life on Ludus - Introduction
Just Another Life on Ludus
By Daylan Ethridge, and with editing contributions by Levena Lindahl
During an attack on Mensk by demons and cultists, many will lose their lives, but some will step up to become heroes. Will an orphan girl defending younger children be a victim, or a shield for the helpless?
Just Another Life on Ludus, Chapter One
Novaroa’s heart pulsed, drumming frantically in her ears, and her mouth was sour with the bitter taste of adrenaline. For years she’d listened to the stories Meas and the others told of being on the edge of death, but actually living it was a different experience entirely.
She couldn’t let the memories distract her now, though. She had to keep the kids moving as quietly as possible up the ladder to the attic above. To her right she could peer outside the windows to see the red sky, dotted by black shapes darting about as the war over Mensk raged on. Sadly, the windows on this side of the orphanage opened out onto the street three stories below, leaving no further avenues of escape. They would all have to cross to the other side of the building where they might be able to escape out onto the rooftops.
The soft shuffle of feet against the wooden floor and the occasional stifled hiccup were all that cut the quiet before a shriek shattered it from below. Novaroa had known that some of the kids were missing, had hoped they had fled and gotten to safety, but—she closed her eyes in anguish.
They had hidden, just not well enou
gh, and she heard them all scream, voices distorted in terror and pain. Ahlija, the oldest of the girls with her and the last to make the climb, froze at the sound and looked like she might also scream, so Novaroa grasped her mouth and put one over her own too as the shrieks rose in pitch.
Her lips pulled back from her teeth, half grimace, half snarl. That monstrous cultist was taking her time. Roa shook her head and removed the hand from her eyes, regaining her focus. She had a job to do; she had to get the kids out. She steeled herself as the shrieking from below came to an abrupt end.
Roa’s calloused fingers were slick with Ahlija’s tears now. The bile spreading sharp acid up her throat were the only signs that her composure had cracked. If only she’d listened to Meas and retreated sooner, those children wouldn’t have had to die. The hot tears on her hand suddenly felt like blood, and might as well have been. Roa grit her teeth, sending pain shooting up her jaw and pushed the girl farther up the ladder. She couldn’t save the dead, but she could at least try to save the living.
As she focused on the mechanics of escape, her mind shied away from the present, flitting back to the start of the attack, and Meas ordering the retreat. If she’d listened, those kids would still be alive right now, and so would he.
Memories of Meas swirled in the back of her mind.
***
Meas had lived out the dream of every orphan on Ludus. He’d grown up, got out, joined the Guard, and eventually became an Adventurer. To ice that cake, he’d even gotten an orb and became orb-Bonded. Novaroa was far from the only youth at the orphanage who had idolized the dominating man.
For most orphans on Ludus there was no realistic hope of adoption. It was the gangs or the Guard for them. Sure, there were those rare exceptions, those blessed as natural mages or who actually had some family who gave a rot. Unfortunately for most of the children left alone on this hell-world, the options they had were limited.
Delvers LLC- Surviving Ludus Page 29