by Sam Ferguson
“Foolish orc,” the demon snarled. He held out his right hand and in it appeared a black handled sword with a blade of gleaming steel. The two locked eyes. Torgath readied himself, calling upon his training with Glimwyrm, and willing whatever powers lay within the sword to aid him in his time of greatest need.
The demon rushed forward, seemingly without using his feet at all. He glided across the stone and took a swing. Torgath parried the blow, but the force reverberated through his hands and arms as he struggled to hold the enemy at bay. The orc lashed out with a kick at the demon’s knee and heard it snap inward, but the demon smiled and shook his leg out, healing the injury instantly.
“You are strong, but you forget that you are not a full demon,” the demon hissed.
“I didn’t forget,” Torgath said. “I fight every ounce of demon blood within me!” Torgath pressed the attack. Swing after swing was met with the demon’s own sword. The creature was unbelievably fast. Even Torgath’s best strikes were met with seeming ease.
A heavy blow connected with the front of Torgath’s armor, but the Daevek suit held fast against the demon’s blade. Still, the sheer power behind the blow nearly doubled the orc over. The demon came up with a swift foot that caught Torgath in the face, splitting the mask in two and sending him onto his back.
“You’ll never defeat me,” the demon said. “Even if you could kill me, I would live on inside of you. I have infected your very soul, and there is no getting rid of me now.”
Torgath spat a small amount of blood from his mouth and rose to his feet. He stared at the demon, who was now studying his face intently. The orc knew that this was likely going to be his final resting place. The vision had been correct. He was going to die here.
“You are nearly as ugly as your mother,” the demon hissed with a frown.
Torgath cracked his neck and took in a steadying breath. He advanced quickly, feinting with a side chop and then leaning in with his shoulder as the demon moved to parry the sword. It was a risky maneuver, but it paid off. The demon caught Torgath’s full weight in the chest and the orc drove him to the ground where he delivered a heavy elbow strike with his left arm, and then head-butted the demon. The orc’s stubborn, thick skull bloodied the demon and shattered the demon’s human nose.
A moment later Torgath was thrown from the demon, but the orc landed on his feet, ready to parry the flurry of assaults that came at him next.
Left, right, up, left, and right again. Sparks flew freely from the two swords as they clashed and crashed over and over again. Neither fighter gave any ground as they planted themselves upon the stone in the center of the cavern and did their best to cut each other down. Torgath took a glancing blow to his left arm, but again his armor held for the most part, only denting in a small line that pressed into his upper arm. Torgath, however, managed to cut the demon’s left forearm. Green, glowing blood flowed from the veins and the demon leapt backward.
He shook his arm several times, apparently frustrated that the wound refused to heal.
Torgath snickered and shook out his shoulders, loosening them and readying himself for another bout. “I’ll take you apart, piece by piece.”
The demon snarled and then looked to Torgath’s sword. “It can’t be,” he said aloud. The demon then looked back to the pile of bones.
Torgath followed the demon’s gaze and saw a faint glow within the eye sockets of the cracked dragon skull.
“How did you come by that sword?” the demon hissed.
Torgath, realizing there was more at play here than his own fate alone, pressed his advantage. He rushed in, giving the demon no quarter.
The two of them swung furiously at each other as quickly as their arms would move. Torgath gained a bit of ground over the demon and eventually managed to score a shallow cut across the demon’s shoulder. The demon howled in pain and took two steps back, just out of reach of Torgath’s thrust that would have gone through the demon’s heart.
“GARGH!” The demon’s sword erupted with flame as a hooked kama appeared in his left hand. The human flesh melted away and the demon grew to twice his size in a matter of seconds.
Torgath’s heart sank. This was the form the demon had taken in his vision.
Fiery wings unfurled from the demon’s back as great horns grew from his head. His body took on the appearance of cracked earth with lava underneath as rivulets of fire flowed over the demon’s body and dripped from his wounds that still had not healed, though they had shrunk in size compared to the demon’s new body.
A shiver went down Torgath’s spine that paralyzed him with fear. Never had he seen something so terrible, and he had faced plenty of demons before. Despite his orcish upbringing and years of training, his instincts told him to run. His legs twitched, nearly betraying him before he could even make the conscious decision.
The demon roared, spitting fire and bile from his mouth in small streams that splattered on the stone at his feet. A great, fiery tail rose up and then cracked down on the stone, sending a shower of sparks out behind the demon as it clawed the stone with its left foot.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely then, as he gazed into the open maw filled with fangs so eager to consume him body and soul. Everything he fought for vanished from his mind as it was filled with the dread of the unknown. The great abyss itself seemed to beckon to him, laughing at his impotence.
Then, Torgath felt his heart thump in his chest. It gave him the thought of what ran through his veins. Not only orcish blood, but life itself. Torgath was alive, and was here to fight for his honor. His honor was the one thing the demon could never take away. Victory or defeat, living or dead, Torgath had not cowered to fate. He stood against it, and in that, his honor was secured.
“You have already lost,” the demon growled as time seemed to speed back to its normal pace.
Torgath smiled and readied his sword for one last assault. “You’re wrong,” he said. “I have already won.” The orc charged as the twelve-foot-tall demon came at him. Torgath ducked under the fiery sword and then dodged left to avoid the kama. The weapon bit into the stone as Torgath rushed forward and sliced at the demon’s right foot. A large gash cut through the demon’s tough flesh, sending sparks and blood flying from the wound.
The demon’s fiery tail hooked under his body and stabbed into Torgath’s chest plate. The tip of the fiery tail managed to poke through the armor and jab at the orc’s skin as the force of the blow sent Torgath flying through the air.
Before the demon touched the ground he could see the kama coming for him. He blocked it with his sword, but that left his left side exposed. The demon came down with a heavy chop of his sword that dented the armor and cracked at least one of Torgath’s ribs before bouncing him on the stone. The orc’s head slammed against the cavern floor, the skin splitting at the crown and leaking blood as he bounced again and came to a stop.
The great, fiery wings spread wide as the demon roared angrily. It raised its weapons high as Torgath struggled to get to his feet.
Heavy footsteps rushed by Torgath and toward the demon. The orc looked to his right to see Kiuwa charging in once more.
“For the DAEVEK!” he shouted.
“No!” Torgath called out, but Kiuwa was beyond listening. He rushed in and hacked at the demon’s left leg and side with his sword.
The demon hissed and spun away to regroup, exposing its back to Torgath.
The orc knew he had only half a second to act, so he forced himself to charge in. The pain in his chest grew with each breath, but the orc ignored it and went for the outstretched right wing. His sword came down and cut through the bone and membrane in one fell swoop. Blood and fire splatted to the ground next to the severed wing and the demon fell to the left, collapsing on the ground in pain.
“ARGH!” The demon shrieked and hissed, but Kiuwa pressed the attack, giving Torgath the distraction he needed to recollect himself. Chopping off the wing had caused a blinding amount of pain from the cracked rib, and fo
rced the orc down to a knee.
Kiuwa swung at the demon’s face, but the demon parried with his own sword. Seeing the kama in action and knowing that Kiuwa was in mortal danger was the only thing strong enough for Torgath to force himself up once more. Torgath rushed in and chopped downward, severing the demon’s right arm just above the wrist. The flame on the demon’s sword was extinguished and the blade fell to the stone.
“GAGH!”
Torgath looked up and saw the kama blade buried deep in Kiuwa’s right side. The Kuscan dropped his sword and turned to look at Torgath. The large man smiled, then somehow summoned the strength to pull the dagger Torgath had gifted him.
“For my brothers!” Kiuwa shouted as he drove the dagger into the demon’s left hand, and then collapsed on the kama.
The demon struggled to lifted Kiuwa’s bulk just long enough that Torgath could rush in and slip the point of his blade in through the demon’s lower back, just inches above the pelvis. The orc then shifted his angle and drove the blade up into the demon’s lungs before twisting it violently and thrusting toward the heart.
The demon lashed out with what was left of his right arm and caught Torgath in the face with enough force to send the orc flying backward.
Torgath crashed to the ground and rolled along the stone, stopping only when he thumped into the dragon skull at the base of the bone pile.
“RAAAAARGH!” The demon stumbled and then collapsed on the ground. The sword had obviously missed the demon’s heart, but it had hopefully caused a mortal injury nonetheless. The demon coughed up heavy amounts of fiery blood and thumped its fist against the stone. It hacked and sputtered several times, then found the strength to stand once more. It limped slowly toward Torgath.
Torgath moved to sit up, and slipped a hand into the dragon’s skull behind him. The eye sockets glowed brighter as he ripped one of the larger fangs free. He winced and cried out as his broken rib sent waves of debilitating pain through his body and forced him to breathe shallow gulps of air.
“Pathetic,” the demon called out. Torgath looked up to see that it had doubled in size yet again, and the sword had now fallen out of its back, clanging on the stone too far behind the demon to be of any use. The demon’s amulet shone brighter as the demon’s neck circumference stretched the gold chain to its limits. Torgath knew he had to destroy the amulet, for it housed the souls this demon had captured.
“I will kill you,” Torgath swore.
“I will not fall to any orc,” the demon said. It reached down and snatched Torgath from the ground. “Your hubris has brought you and your friend to your ends.” The demon held Torgath out at arm’s length, a good ten feet away from its now twenty four foot tall body, and then turned its head toward Kiuwa’s body. “I shall enjoy making you watch,”
The demon opened its mouth and a great gust of wind rushed into it. Kiuwa’s soul was ripped from his lifeless body. The spirit looked up in horror as realization dawned on him.
“No!” Kiuwa shouted. “I am supposed to ride upon the oceans!” Kiuwa struggled, but his spirit was as powerless to resist the demon as collected souls were to resist Khefir’s call. Kiuwa screamed in horror as he was sucked into the demon’s mouth. The demon growled in ecstasy and then turned to Torgath.
“The powerful are quite... delicious.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Torgath said. “Take me and be done with it, or are you too afraid to bring me close once more?”
The demon laughed and brought Torgath close. As it did so, its grip loosened to prepare for a bite that would surely take Torgath’s head and shoulders. Torgath seized the moment to lash out with the dragon’s fang. He drove the point into the demon’s fiery eye with all of his might, colliding with and then breaking through the bone at the back of the eye socket.
The demon cried out and toppled over backward, unable to withstand the heavy blow. Torgath seized the amulet with both hands as the demon tossed him to the ground. The chain broke and the jewel came free.
Torgath felt his right ankle snap as he hit the stone floor, but his eyes were on his blade, which was now within grasp. He lunged for it, then turned onto his back and thrusted the point up as the demon flipped around and launched for him. Both of them cried out in agony. Torgath felt the demon’s claws rip into his right calf as the demon grabbed him and tried to hold him still for a bite. The orc threw up his left arm and his armor gave to the unyieldingly sharp fangs that tore his left arm off at the elbow, but not before one of the demon’s teeth broke on the armor and fell to the ground next to the green jewel.
The orc had almost missed with his sword, but somehow he had managed to send the dragon blade directly into the demon’s heart as the creature had made its final assault. The demon went limp, and green and purple flames erupted from the hole in the demon’s chest, engulfing the demon’s body and yet somehow leaving Torgath untouched.
“How?” the demon whispered as its strength was consumed by the flames.
“Hubris,” Torgath said as he laughed aloud. “The only weapon that hurts demons is made with dragon bones, and you left a dragon’s skull in your lair.” The orc laughed again, and then coughed up a fair amount of blood and spat it onto the ground beside him. Torgath reached across with his armored fist and pounded the green jewel. It cracked, releasing a flash of light and the faint scream of souls trapped within. Torgath heaved and slammed against it again, breaking the jewel into four pieces. Then he took hold of his necklace, unclasped it, and held the end to the demon’s tooth next to the broken amulet.
The demon hissed and screamed as the necklace pulled its spirit into the tooth and trapped it. Torgath smiled and rolled onto his back as his strength began to leave him quickly. He had enough power to fasten the necklace in place once more and he laughed again.
“I swore I would kill you,” he said.
As the flames consumed the demon’s body, Torgath felt the weight release from his body and he sat up to assess his condition.
His right leg was ragged and bloody. The armor was destroyed, and his leg was broken in at least two places.
Oddly enough, it didn’t hurt. The orc looked at his wound and frowned.
Why didn’t it hurt?
He then turned and looked at his left arm. His mood sank then as he saw his left arm was whole, but semi-transparent. Beyond the arm he had lifted was the torn and gory stump of an arm that the demon had chewed off. The blood was pooling around the now broken amulet. Torgath turned his head around to see his own body lying on the ground. The smile of victory planted squarely across his face, and eyes shining bright with honor, and yet dim with the loss of life.
A rush of wind surged from the broken amulet and filled the cavern. Dozens, then scores, then hundreds of souls gushed up from the ashes around the dragon blade. Humans, elves, dwarves, souls of animals and creatures Torgath couldn’t even name. Even orcs and goblins emerged from the demon’s ashes. Each one turned and saluted him before walking to the far side of the cavern. After a while, Kiuwa emerged and approached Torgath.
“Daevek,” he said with a bow of his head.
Torgath smiled. “It is good to see you, brother,” the orc said. Torgath then stopped and realized that the humans and elves were waiting in the cavern as well, but no light broke through, and Nagé didn’t appear.
Instead, a single rift opened in the cavern and through it came a figure dressed in dark robes.
“Khefir,” one of the orc spirits said happily.
The humans and elves cowered and gathered around the dragon skull.
Khefir glanced around the cavern and then tilted his bony head. “What have we here?” he asked.
The orc and goblin spirits knelt and bowed their heads.
The Collector of the Damned produced a staff and then stamped the ground. “Well, this will never do,” he said, turning to regard the humans and elves. “Some of you will come with me, but many of you are meant to go the other way. Unfortunately for you, Nagé will not venture into
these parts, for they are cursed. There are demons here that could slay her as well, and she knows it.” A chill cut through the air with the god’s words. Then the skeleton of a being turned to face Torgath. “You again,” he said. “How interesting.”
Torgath bowed his head, suddenly realizing the significance of this meeting. He rushed forward a few steps and then knelt upon the ground. “Khefir, Collector of the Damned, Guardian of Hammenfein, I beseech you to find me worthy for the halls of Hammenfein. Please...” he struggled to find the words. He was, after all, speaking to a god. How could he admit what he was? Or, did Khefir already know? The orc forced the plea out. “Please do not cast me out into the Void.”
“The Void?” Khefir echoed curiously. He approached Torgath and stamped his staff on the ground twice, then wrapped his bony, fleshless fingers around the staff. “Why should I send you to the Void?”
“I am...” he lowered his voice so others couldn’t hear. “I mean, this demon sired me. He beguiled my mother, and dishonored my family.”
Khefir made a clicking sound with his jaw and shook his head. “Who told you that?”
Torgath frowned. “Glimwyrm, a dragon that I...” he stopped mid-sentence and dared to look up at the fleshless god. The tone Khefir used sprouted a hope within Torgath’s soul.
“Dragons are interesting folk. They are great at conversation, or so I hear, but they are not to be wholly trusted.”
Torgath’s mouth fell open and he glanced back to Kiuwa, who was beaming ear to ear with his ghostly arms crossed over his large chest. The orc turned back to Khefir. “Are you saying he lied? But why?”
Khefir shrugged, his pointy bones lifting the robes up in a peculiar way before he stood back up and lifted his staff from the stone. “He gave you the sword?” Khefir asked as he pointed to the dragon blade lying amidst the demon’s ashes.
Torgath nodded.
Khefir then looked to the dragon skull and gave a nod. “Could be that he knew the dragon slain by the demon. Perhaps they were related even. There is no way to know without asking him now, and I do not care much for dealing with their kind.” The god shifted and turned to face the sword. He held out his bony hand and the blade lifted from the ground and flew to his silent call. “Yes...” Khefir said as he gave a soft swing of the blade. “A most magnificent weapon.” He turned and looked back to Torgath. “It will make a fine prize for Hatmul’s top general.”