by C Woodward
Torkuhl stared at my hand and I could see a tear in his eye. I had never seen a Minotaur act this way. He muttered, “For years, I was part of the Shadens. We used to raid and fight strong and proud. But, I was foolish and didn’t see that they were just thieves. I cannot face my people, for I have brought them shame.” I knew that the Minotaur culture was really big on strength and showing honor in battle. I stared at his eye; I could see he was speaking the truth. He wiped the tear from his eye, “I will join you.”
Chapter 9
We left the village and headed for Vunash. It felt weird seeing Torkuhl walking with us. It seemed like just yesterday when he was trying to gore me with his horns. Jerak was chatting with him about the raiders as if they were old buds. Jerak was still a bit wasted but Torkuhl enjoyed the story. “I wish I had been there! I would have broken several in half!” Torkuhl said cheerfully.
I laughed, “It would have been funny if you were there.”
He looked at me, “What do you mean funny?” I chuckled, “I think several of them would still be running back to their ship after encountering someone like you.” Torkuhl smiled and laughed. It still feels weird.
We talked as we traveled. I explained about my current situation and Torkuhl, in return, told me about his past. “I left my home in the south and went out seeking excitement. To my disappointment, there weren’t many battles, until I met Deshra who asked me to join his group. For a while it was fun. We had many battles and took the spoils, but the last couple of years, we targeted weaker groups and we started to become more like thieves” he said.
I always thought of Torkuhl as just a big, simple-minded thug. Well, he is still a bit simple minded. He glanced at his two war hammers and went on, “I thought about leaving, but Deshra made promises of a big war that was worthy of me. So, I stayed, but we met up with those Xum’gol chumps. I questioned it. When I saw Xum’gol, I knew he was someone I didn’t want any part of.”
I nodded, “Xum’gol was quite evil.” Torkuhl shook his head around to pop his neck, “I thought nothing good would come from serving that guy, so I left.” I waited for him to finish. “After that, I tried to find others who survived and started my own group. I was trying to bring back the glory days, I guess. But, they were nothing but thieves and weaklings.”
Jerak sat on a log at the side of the road and casually slid down and went to sleep. It was evening, so we decided to make camp. Torkuhl and I dragged Jerak further off the road. We saw a large cluster of trees a little north of us. We were out in a clearing, but way out here I doubted we would attract too much attention, I walked off to find some dry wood for a fire. Apart from a couple of trees, I saw only shrubs. I pulled apart a few dry shrubs and walked back. Maybe Torkuhl found something larger to burn. He hauled over a tree branch! I laughed. I guess he pretty much ripped a branch off a tree and casually dragged it back to the camp.
I checked through my pack to see if I had something to start a fire, but that was one thing I forgot to get from the ship. Torkuhl already took care of it with a piece of flint he struck it with a piece of metal. He fiddled around and soon everything was burning nicely. He smiled, “I always had a knack for this sort of thing.”
I pulled out my blankets and laid down. I removed my helmet but kept the armor on. The sky was clear and I could see a ton of stars. Feeling the hard ground under me, I thought about another thing I should have brought; a cot! I think cots were light enough to dismantle and carry. It would be better lying on the ground or grass. Well, too late now. Maybe I can buy some nice travel beds in Vunash.
Torkuhl was helping himself to some dried meat as Jerak and I had done. I thought it would be a good gesture to give him some since we brought a surplus. He seemed very content with it. After inhaling a big piece, he let out a deafening burp. I clapped, “Well, that would scare any choguls in the area.”
Torkuhl laughed, “I have never really had much problem with choguls.” I smiled, “Well, there you go, and you can scare them off with your burps alone.” Torkuhl laughed and went back to eating. I just hope he didn’t eat too much of it.
That night, I had a feeling of paranoia. Jerak slept for the remainder of the night. Torkuhl took first watch and didn’t seem to have a care in the world. I, on the other hand, knew I had enemies bent on finding me. It seemed that being too relaxed, even with Torkuhl with us, wasn’t a good idea just yet.
Now, Torkuhl was snoring loud enough to give away our position for miles around. I looked to the woods covering the north. I was paranoid enough to expect a large mutant-looking, deer-monster again. Sitting on my blankets, I watched the glowing red coals in the fire. Two more days.
I opened my eyes. I kept dozing off. Torkuhl was gargling loudly with water from his wineskin and made enough of a racket that he woke me up. He looked at me and nodded politely. It was morning and the grass was moist from the dew and everything was wet. Jerak still slept. I rolled up my blankets while yawning noisily.
“I haven’t slept that good in a good while!” Torkuhl said loudly, while stretching his arms. Jerak muttered, “Please keep it down, my head hurts.” A few minutes later, we were packed up and were waiting for Jerak. He finally lifted his head and looked around. His eyes grew wide and he quickly jumped back. He pointed, “Torkuhl!”
Torkuhl stared at him, “Um, yes. That’s me. You forget me or something?” I explained it for Jerak, since he didn’t recall much of yesterday. He was acting a bit suspicious and kept an eye on Torkuhl. “So, Torkuhl. Why the change of heart?” Jerak said with a skeptical attitude.
Torkuhl scratched his head and tried to think of something intelligent to say but settled for a shrug. I sighed and tried to bring some diplomacy between the two of them, “Torkuhl doesn’t want anything to do with petty thieves and um, he figures that he can find more adventure and redeem what honor he might have lost.”
We had started out when they both stopped walking, turned around and stared at me. I looked at them. They both looked at me and then at each other. Then, they shrugged at once and said together, “Oh, okay!” I turned away. It felt like if they were not of difference species, they could of have been brothers. “So Blake, after you get your armor enchanted, what are we going to do?” Jerak asked, looking bored.
Torkuhl snorted, “Why are you going to enchant your armor?”
Jerak answered, “He is trying to enchant it so that Blood Witch doesn’t slash at his face again.”
I sighed but didn’t contribute to the conversation. Torkuhl scratched his head, “Wait, what happen to your other armor? Wasn’t that one better?” I looked up the road. It was a boring walk, and it was no surprise that they were being talkative right now. “That armor got destroyed, right, Blake?” Jerak replied.
I nodded, “It happened when the Dragon Spirit and I defeated Xum’gol.”
Torkuhl tilted his head, “Wait, who is the Dragon Spirit?”
I took a deep breath and explained about the Dragon Spirit to him, again. Didn’t I mentioned it the other day?
Jerak flicked at one of the blades on my armor, “Hey, you didn’t answer my question.”
Torkuhl nodded, “Yeah, what are you going to do once your armor is enchanted?”
I groaned, “We are going to see if Bolam, and any of the others, are in the city.”
Jerak gave me a dead stare, “Ohhhhh.”
Torkuhl chimed in, “Hey, tell me about this Bolam.” At lunch, we filled our wineskins from a small creek. “Hey, Blake, I’ve been thinking,” Jerak mentioned while trying to balance on a log. I already dealt with many random questions from the both of them today. It was as if their intelligence was divided by two.
I lowered my head, “What were you thinking?”
He hopped off the log stepped toward me, “Even if you can take care of the Blood Witch’s magic, she is still a better fighter.” I was so busy dwelling on her magic that I had nearly forgotten about her fighting skills. Jerak was right; even the two of us weren’t able to even wound her.
>
Torkuhl joined us, “Is she that good?”
Jerak nodded, “Blake and I fought her at once and she was tough!”
I sighed, “She was too fast and agile for us.”
Torkuhl grunted, “Annoying! I rather fight a foe straight on in a contest of strength!”
“I have an idea!” Jerak called as he ran off toward the trees.
A moment later, a flying stick landed next to me. I glanced at Jerak, “What?”
Jerak grinned while holding a stick of his own, “We are going to make you a better fighter!” Jerak handed Torkuhl a stick which he just stared at.
I looked at the both of them, “You want me to spar with you two?”
Jerak nodded, “Torkuhl and I are great fighters! If you can beat us, I’m sure you can beat the Blood Witch!”
Torkuhl stared at his stick, “You serious?” That’s what I was thinking! Sparring with Jerak, that’s one thing, but with Torkuhl? I don’t think he understood the meaning of sparring. Well, at least I had armor on. Jerak looked at Torkuhl and gave him a nod. Torkuhl still looked a bit confused, but raised his stick and then they both looked at me. Oh, crap!
They both came charging at me. I got a flashback from when Torkuhl charged me, horn-first in the ally, and I ended up dislocating my shoulder. I blocked Torkuhl’s stick, and he nearly knocked mine from my hands. Then, Jerak hit me. “
Alright, let’s try that again!” Jerak said cheerfully. I frowned and watched them take a few steps back before they came at me again. I jumped back to avoid Torkuhl’s attack, when Jerak came in with a swinging motion. To my surprise, I blocked that as well. Then, Torkuhl got me.
“That was a little better! We are making progress!” Jerak cheered.
Torkuhl sighed, “You sure we have time for this?”
Jerak laughed, “What is the point of rushing to battle, if you need to get stronger before it?”
Torkuhl turned to Jerak, “Hey, good point.” They both turned my way. Here comes round three. A few minutes and two bruises later, we took a break. Jerak and I waited, catching our breath, while Torkuhl went to get another stick. He didn’t comprehend the meaning of gentle.
Jerak wiped the sweat from his forehead, “You are making progress.”
I breathed heavily under my helmet, “I don’t think I am going to get much stronger by the time we reached Vunash.” Jerak laughed, “Hey, each battle makes you a little better! If we keep at this, you will get better in no time!” I knew he was right. I just wished Torkuhl would take it a little easier. That last hit hurt even through the armor. “Besides when you spar with us, we get better too! So we all win!”
Torkuhl chimed in, “I don’t think ganging up on him, makes us any better.” He came back with an even bigger stick. My eyes widened as I focused on it.
Jerak lifted his stick, “Alright, let’s have another go!” We kept sparring for who knows how long, and took several breaks when someone broke a stick by hitting too hard. I won’t going to name any names, but it’s someone with horns. I was thankful for the armor because it prevented a ton of damage from both of them, especially Torkuhl. The armor was lighter than wearing iron or steel and offered good protection, but after sparring for a long time, anything can feel heavy. I was slowly making progress. To start, perhaps I stopped only one hit before getting slammed. I improved, but just barely. I felt the sweat beading up on my face. Taking my helmet off would help cool me down, but seeing Jerak and Torkuhl beating me with sticks, I needed it on.
“Oh, wow! It’s almost evening” Jerak noticed before starting another round.
Torkuhl sighed, “So, do we make camp here or keep traveling?” Jerak stuck a pinky in his ear to clean whatever was inside, “Hmm, I say we rest up here. Then tomorrow, hmm, we should only travel until noon, and then spar for the rest of the day!” I groaned but didn’t even bother arguing, they both seem too motivated.
Torkuhl laughed, “Sounds good to me, I am beginning to enjoy sparring with you guys!” I would cry but was too tired. I was the first to fall asleep. I am not sure about the watch rotation, and I didn’t care. Jerak and Torkuhl were sharing stories of their personal battles during dinner. I was busy dreaming of being beaten by sticks.
The next morning, Jerak banged my helmet with a stick like it was a bell. “Hey, come on! We have a busy day ahead” he shouted. He is taking this training too far. I muttered to myself and got up.
We marched down the road. My body was a bit sore, but I think my bruises have already healed. That’s a bonus. It surprised me how fast Torkuhl and Jerak were becoming friends. I think they had a bunch in common; two meatheads with a lust for adventure. At least they hadn’t begun making fart jokes.
I walked ahead of them and began to daydream about Talestria and tried t think of nice things when and if things get better. I thought about how nice it would be to travel peaceably to the island and relax, something quiet and peaceful, maybe do some fishing.
“Hey, Blake!” Jerak shouted.
I sighed, “What is it?”
He smiled, “It’s noon!” Dang it. It was hard to come up with a tactic to counteract the two of them coming at once. I had fought more than one foe before, but it was either a chogul or a stupid rogue. Jerak and Torkuhl might each act like a dingus, but in combat they were freaking good. Jerak was quick and Torkuhl, well, he hurt me.
At the beginning of the spar session, Torkuhl decided to save time and lay out several extra sparring sticks, just in case. I wasn’t sure how many rounds of beatings we had, I just know I have yet to win any of them. Taking only half the day to travel did hamper things. I didn’t want to dwell on the time they were wasting beating on me. I was just trying not to get thrashed by sticks. On the bright side, I improved more today. Maybe there will be some good coming from all this.
Jerak found some food; a small animal and wild vegetables. There wasn’t enough to fill all three of us, and it reduced our dry food stock a little. “Hey, Blake. Remember that time when we fought?” Torkuhl said cheerfully. I recalled being smacked in the face by a war hammer. It was a good thing I had on a helmet then.
Jerak a laughed, “I bet that hurt, huh, Blake?” I glared at him but was too sore to argue.
I looked at Torkuhl, “Um, sorry about the eye.” He looked at me and laughed, “Now, I recall hurting you plenty of times. You hold no malice, so why should I? Besides that, any scar in battle should be seen with pride.” It surprised me that he was willing to forgive me for that damage, after holding a grudge against me. “I was mad but you survived my wrath plenty of times,” he continued. Then he laughed, “Hey, when we were in Felmun, where did you go after I crashed?”
I shrugged, “Oh, let’s see. I think I hid in a barrel.” He gawked at me and then laughed. “Oh! No wonder I couldn’t find you! I was wondering how you disappeared so quickly!”
Jerak laughed and spoke in a confused tone, “Hey I don’t remember that. Where was I?”
I laughed, “You were passed out drunk in a tavern!” Torkuhl laughed. Jerak looked a bit offended but still ended up laughing with us. The next day was just like the previous day, except Jerak thought of a new idea for training. It involved holding a large rock as we walked. Torkuhl was thinking it was a good idea too, and it’s really hard to argue against two meatheads who are focused on training you. That morning, I marched while carrying a big rock in my hands, Jerak held my pike for me. “I really see no point in wearing out my arms before I have to spar with you two,” I complained.
Jerak tapped my helmet with the pike, “The more you work, the stronger you get.” Torkuhl just laughed. I wondered if he was really our ally or just tagging along so he could watch me do this and beat me with a stick all afternoon.
“You know, I sort of want to get to Vunash sometime this week” I complained again. Jerak tapped me again, “Well, walk faster and we might reach it sooner.” I swear if it wasn’t for the nice things he had done the last few days, I would have thrown this rock at him. If I could have thro
wn it that far.
Lunch time came and I made the most of my break. A few minutes after eating my dried meat, Jerak pulled out the sparring sticks that he carried in his pack. My heart sank. I knew what was going to happen, but I was hoping that lugging a large rock around would be my only workout today.
“Let’s see if you can hit one of us, for once” Jerak mocked as he chucked my sparring stick at me. Here we go again. It didn’t take long before I found a large stick in my face, by none other than our Minotaur friend. The blow was hard and heavy. I wondered if Torkuhl still held a grudge, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a Minotaur didn’t know the meaning of “hold back”.
My training session stopped once the moon was up. I spent the night lying on my blanket, feeling a bit like I did after losing a lot of blood. I was thankful at least that my face wasn’t hurting anymore.
“We should reach Vunash tomorrow, if we travel more than sparring” Jerak mentioned. I turned my head, “It would be good to reach there before nightfall.” I really didn’t want mention training, since it could cause Jerak to take an extra day for his training process. It could be worse; he might think of new way to train me.
Torkuhl grunted, “Hey, why do you need to get your armor enchanted?”
Jerak chimed in before I could open my mouth, “Because the Blood Witch used some scary magic that seemed to cleave armor.”
Torkuhl shrugged, “So? You fight without armor!” I was too tired to explain how having any armor in battle against someone like the Blood Witch would be better than having nothing. Heaven knows, I get injured enough as it is. Without something to protect me, I might not be here another day. I just explained it this way, “I want something to make her magic less effective against me. That way, I can just think about fighting.”
He nodded, “Yes! That makes sense. It is good you are not a coward who worries about a few scrapes and bruises.” I looked up to the night sky and tried to fall asleep before I was bombarded with more questions.