“He is not here! He is gone, but he never goes so far, so he can be back any second!” the young iblorg urged them.
There was a huge iron lock hanging on the swinging cage.
“Can you do something with this lock, Everly?” the captain asked the thief girl.
“Are you kidding? No problem!” she replied confidently, rubbing her palms.
“I just have to get up there somehow,” she looked up at the cage hanging on the tree.
“It is easy. You will fly!” Tusk stepped there, grabbed Everly and threw her up powerfully.
“Stop, you idiot!” the girl was screaming as she was flying towards the cage.
She grabbed the strong bars with great reflexes, swearing at the orc, who waved to her from the ground, grinning.
“You solved this quickly Tusk,” the captain looked at him with a hidden smile.
“Come on, queen of locks, before the giant gets back!” he was urging the Everly from downside.
The almond-shape-eyed girl, climbed up on the bars to search for the lock. She got out her thief kit and began to work on the lock. Soon they heard a click as she succeeded to open the door of the cage.
“How will we get down?” the young girl asked the others from the height.
“Jump. We will catch you!” DaMatta replied.
“I hear a noise approaching, something big is coming, hurry up!” the elf said nervously.
Everly and the iblorg girl jumped down and the others caught them. The noise was coming closer as someone was approaching with pounding steps. Branches were breaking and soon a head appeared among the crown of the cypress trees. Noticing the group rescuing his hostage, he shouted and stepped out from the trees.
“Stop! Intruders! The hostage is mine, you will not take her anywhere!” he shouted in a loud, deep voice.
He was at least twenty-five feet tall. The humans only reached up to his knees. He had human shape. His dark hair was in a pigtail. He had deep blue eyes that sparkled with fury at the unexpected visitors. He wore knee-length boots, leather pants and a dirty canvas shirt with a wide belt on his waist. He approached the group with pounding, determined steps and he pulled out a whole tree from the ground on the way there. Holding the tree in one hand menacingly, he was approaching.
“This one won’t be easy!” Corwen sighed as he pulled out his weapon.
The fighters surrounded him. The elf, the thief girl and the sorcerer with his servant dragon on his shoulder, went to the back to take care of Jaralanda.
The giant began its attack with the thick tree in his hand. He aimed at the largest opponent, the orc. He was cautious and jumped aside from the fatal hit. The elf shot him in the face with an arrow that only scratched him under his eye. Corwen and DaMatta attacked him from both sides. The priest/knight sprang on the giant with a strange battle cry, calling the power of his god for help and he threw his sizable spear, which pierced the leg of the immense opponent.
The captain aimed at its ankle and cut through the skin with curving hits. He stepped back, shouting, and swung the tree towards the heavy armored man. The uneasily moving DeMatta could not avoid the large tree approaching him and it skimmed his shoulder, even though lifted up his shield as protection. He was thrown back several yards by the hit and he landed in the sludgy water moaning.
Larianna just finished a magic spell. He pointed at the ground where the giant stood and flames erupted to the surface, two men high. The clothes of the giant were burnt and covered in flames.
“We have to get him to his knees, or we will never defeat this huge enemy!” Corwen shouted to the others.
“It can be done captain. Go a little further!” Al Sarran shouted.
“Should we make him dance Dergo?” he turned his head towards the little dragon on his shoulder.
“We sure should!” he replied enthusiastically and began to murmur a magic spell.
Following his command, the others took a few steps back, from the opponent busy with swearing and putting out the fire. As a result of the servant dragon’s magic, the sludgy water was suddenly frozen under the opponent. The feet of the swamp giant became slippery and a few moments later, he fell on the ice with a crash.
The captain, the elf and the orc were waiting for this opportunity and they all threw themselves on the creature lying on his back. They stabbed the enemy with their weapons. Then something unexpected happened: the giant began to shout desperately.
“Wait, don’t hurt me. I surrender!” he was begging.
Corwen and the others pointed their weapons at his neck.
“I am listening you, behemoth. Talk!” the captain snapped at him.
“Take the girl. I am not fighting you anymore. I only kidnapped her, because the shaman threatened me and told me if I did not obey, he would curse me and my whole family. His plan was to blackmail the chieftain to resign and take over the leadership of the village,” he explained desperately.
“We believe you, that bastard tricked us too in the swamp!” the captain replied, putting away his weapons.
The giant sat up and sighed, looking down onto the team.
“So what will happen now?” he asked, covering his wounds with his hand.
“We will take Jaralanda back to her village and confront the shaman, and the chief will decide on his punishment. You will swear to never ever attack them again. Or we will come back and end your life,” Corwen threatened the giant.
“Fine, I swear! I will never do that again if you defeat the shaman,” he said and stood up.
“Thank you for letting me live. I hope you will succeed,” he turned back and limped towards his house with big steps.
Meanwhile the priest/knight stood up from the ground, still a bit dizzy from the terrible hit and holding his shoulder, he joined the others.
“Are you really hurt?” the witch asked the knight.
“It is not that bad. I can ride. I will take care of it when we get back,” he replied, hiding his pain.
I am not mad at the giant. He only did what he had to do to protect his family from the evil shaman. He is to blame for everything, he thought.
“I always suspected that this bastard wanted my father’s power, but to plot something so evil, I never would have thought,” the frog-mouthed girl rubbed her face with her palm that was obviously tortured by the time spent in captivity.
We thought the giant was guilty, but the damn shaman is responsible for everything! How should we have known what his real intentions were. Poor girl, she was in captivity for days. I know what it’s like, I’ve been locked up once, Larianna thought, looking at the iblorg girl.
“Luckily, we managed to find out what is going on in the background. Let’s hurry back to your village and report to your father about the things we learnt!” the captain suggested.
Chapter Nine
Without hesitating, they got on their horses and headed back to the village on the swampy land. It started to rain again, soaking the group, but at least it washed off some of the mud. It was afternoon when they noticed the iblorg village in the distance. The habitants were shocked to see them arrive back with the chief’s daughter. They went straight to the townhouse. The old and portly Hajrinana was waiting for them at the entrance, with a few locals and his face was glowing of joy, when he saw his daughter. He opened his arms and hugged Jarlanda.
“I thought you were dead. The shaman told me that!” he turned to the group puzzled.
“Things are a bit more complicated than we thought,” Corwen said.
“Why? What happened? Tell me everything!” the happy chieftain asked, impatiently.
“Father! It is all the shaman’s fault. He planned the whole thing. He threatened a peaceful swamp giant, living nearby and told him he would curse him and his family if he didn’t follow his commands. He forced him to kidnap me and attack the village. The giant would have asked you to resign as a chief and leave the village, so the shaman could take control,” the girl informed her father.
“Th
is is unbelievable! I never would have thought he would do such evil things. Come to the townhouse. We will bring the accused and we will confront him.”
With his arm around his daughter, he went into the house, sat on the throne and asked the group to hide behind the podium where the throne stood. The harpooned guards went back to their positions next to the chief and at the entrance. They called in the shaman for some important cause. Soon he entered the big building, knocking on the wooden floor with his staff. He stepped in front of the chieftain throne and the entrance was blocked by the guards.
“I see your daughter is back in good health, thanks to our gods!” he said, hiding his astonishment behind courtesy.
“Don’t play the fool, you two-faced snake! I know what you were plotting against me!” the old chieftain snapped at him.
“What are you accusing me of, my lord?” he asked, pretending to be innocent.
“People of Seaweed Village, you should know that Crocodile Mesmerizer Bolrog committed treason against me! He plotted a plan to gain my position. He made the swamp giant kidnap my daughter and he is responsible for the attack on our village too. The giant was following his commands, because he threatened him to curse him and his family. I am asking you, what does an iblorg like this deserve?” he turned to his people.
“That is a lie! I would never do this. This is crazy!” he shouted desperately.
“Is it also crazy that you trapped us and tried to kill us?” the captain stepped out with his mates, from behind the podium.
The surprised shaman was clenching his staff and tried to back out as the iblorgs were grunting and shouting.
“Death for the traitor. Die in hell!” the crowd shouted.
“Anybody who lays a hand on me will die!” he looked around sneakily, slowly backing out of the room.
“The will of the people is sacred and I will obey it,” the chief waved to the iblorgs.
Hajrinana suddenly grabbed one of the harpoons from a guard standing next to him and skillfully threw it after the escaping shaman. It hit his chest, piercing though the traitor. He looked at the chief shocked and grabbed the weapon stuck in his chest with two hands. He wanted to say something, but only blood came out of his mouth as he fell to the floor, rattling and even though he was still struggling, life slowly left his body.
“People of Seaweed Village. The traitor got the punishment we decided on together! Treason is punished with death! Loyalty and bravery is rewarded with appreciation and respect. The people you see next to me are the heroes of the day, who rescued my daughter and stopped the evil plan of Bolrog. Let’s have a feast today dedicated to them.”
The iblorgs were clapping their hands and shouting out of joy and the village was happy again. The chieftain turned to his guests.
“My friends, we are inviting you for a celebration tonight and tomorrow we will lead you to the ruin town as we promised,” Hajrinana bowed his head respectfully.
“Thank you chief, we would be happy to come to the feast. We would like to rest for a while so you can prepare for the night,” Corwen replied and signed to the others to leave.
They went back to their little cottage and changed their clothes. The priest/knight took off his full plate mail armor and examined his shoulder, which was covered in dark bruises.
“Do you need any help DaMatta?” the witch asked him helpfully.
“No my dear. I will take care of it. My god will heal me.”
He grabbed his sacred symbol and murmured spells for a while. His wounds slowly disappeared like they never had been there.
“I was surprised to see how fit the old chief was,” Everly raised an eyebrow with surprise.
“It was something the old chief fought well, but a good leader is like this.” Tusk scratched his ear.
“Faith finds everyone. The shaman’s death was caused by the treason fuelled by the lust for power,” Al Sarran was nodding.
“You speak well, my sorcerer friend. We stopped the traitor just in time,” said the elf warrior smoothing his bow.
“Things turned out well for us, there’s one less traitor out in the world. Speaking about our mission my friends. Tomorrow, the day will come to find the ruined town and the grave of the hero. We will be a mere step from finding the relics. We cooperated like a real team today. Let’s enjoy this celebration and have fun. We deserve it,” Corwen looked around the company, smiling at Larianna kindly.
“It is good news. I like celebrations. There is lot of alcohol!” the orc was raising his fist in the air happily.
“We can relax a bit at last,” Everly said joyfully.
“My wise master always said that you should not have too much fun, but I think we deserve it now,” the priest/knight moved his newly recovered shoulder.
“I have a few things left to do. See you in the evening,” the ginger-red haired beauty winked at the captain.
Stepping out the door, she disappeared among the reed cottages. She borrowed a caldron from the iblorgs and poured water in it, which she boiled on the fire. She got a few rare ingredients from the local healers and began to make a magic potion. She was stirring it slowly, adding the ingredients in strict order, while murmuring the necessary magic spells. When it was ready, she poured it in small bottles and she started to make new potions. The sun was almost down when she was ready with the potions.
We have to be ready for everything tomorrow. Who knows what waits for us in the ruined city. The dragon blow potion can always come hand, she thought smiling. It helped her countless times when she was in trouble. She put away the magic potions in her sack and rushed to the townhouse.
The huge building was decorated with swamp flowers and feathers. The locals already started the feast inside. They were hitting the drums rhythmically and blowing their strange whistles, playing pleasant melodies. The tables were full of delicious food and happy drinks. Her mates sat on a bench and waved to her when they noticed the witch. They rushed to them and sat down opposite the captain.
“What took you so long? Is everything fine?” the captain asked her.
“Sure, everything is alright. I only prepared for tomorrow. I cooked a few useful magic potions, in case we need them in the future.”
“Good thinking, beautiful. Would you like some wine, Larianna?” the captain asked.
“I got really thirsty in this heat, my captain.” She was smiling gleefully.
“Let’s raise a glass for success everyone! Everly turned to Corwen, already a little tipsy.
They raised their glasses in a good ambiance and they spent the night carelessly. The elf was smoking his pipe, his hand rhythmically moving to the sound of the drums. He thought of the past, when he lived happily with his wife, Feraldina.
The panther man convinced the thief girl to play cards and he was overcome by his gambling addiction again. Later the priest/knight joined them too.
Dergo was furiously hunting for the flies around them. He hated the insects that made him angry all the time.
Tusk was telling dirty orc stories to entertain the others while he was drinking himself under the table.
“Can I have a dance, my lady?” the captain asked the witch.
“You can!” she held the man’s hand.
They were dancing to the rhythmic music joyfully laughing, dangerously close to each other. They were soon joined by Everly and the priest/knight, who left his heavy armor in the cottage. The witch was burning with desire again as he pressed her body to the captain’s during dancing. Going back to their table, they had another round of the delicious drinks.
What is your move now my champion? Larianna thought as she pretended to drop her glass accidentally to the floor.
The captain quickly reached for it under the table. The woman on the other side pulled up her dress and opened her legs. She was not wearing any underwear. Corwen was so surprised, he hit his head on the table and started swearing as he picked up the glass.
“What happened captain? Did something scare you down there? L
arianna asked while biting her lips sensually.
Fine, I got the message. I will let you seduce me and you will get what you desire, you fierce beast, he thought.
He gave back her glass and looked deep in the girl’s eyes. He was overcome with desire. He grabbed the witch’s hand and turned to the others.
“We will leave now, have fun my friends!” she pulled the witch to himself and they quickly left the feast.
“Well, they won’t stop until bed!” Everly said tipsily.
How nice that they found each other. When will faith bring me the right man, she was wondering while sipping her wine.
They were kissing passionately as they headed to the cottage. The captain was holding the witch in his arms, who embraced him with her legs as they stepped into the hut. They quickly got rid of their clothes and made passionate love, biting each other. Soon they were completely exhausted and lied down next to each other, gasping and sweating.
“You did not regret bringing me to this dangerous adventure did you?” the witch asked.
“Are you kidding? I haven’t met a woman like you for a long time, not only you are beautiful, you are also dangerous in a battle,” the captain was praising her.
He lied on her, held down her two arms and began kissing her slim body.
“I am happy that you think that way and you accept me for who I am,” Larianna kissed him back passionately.
“For being a witch? I don’t mind, unless you eat children and don’t wake up the dead,” the captain replied.
“But I will eat you. I will squeeze you like a ripe fruit!” she rolled over him, climbing on the captain.
They had another few minutes of passionate and wild joy. When their drunk friends arrived, they were already sleeping next to each other.
The next day, the group struck with hangover was put in boats. Before leaving, the old portly chieftain said goodbye.
“Be careful, my friends. There are dangerous creatures out there among the ruins! Only a few can get out of there alive!” he warned the group.
“Thank you for worrying for us, but we have no other choice. We have to go there as soon as possible!” the captain replied with determination.
Legend of Fire and Ice Page 11