David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb

by T. C. Crawford

  He quickly parried his attacks and spun around in a dancelike maneuver, ending up behind his enemy and catching him off guard. Ryan swiftly plunged his sword into the back of the soldier’s neck before kicking him to the ground and freeing his blade for another round of attackers.

  He turned around and locked eyes with his old friend.

  “So, we meet at last” said Geordan Parker. “I should have known you would be a part of this pathetic struggle against the King.”

  “The King is alive and well, but he is not within these walls!” replied Ryan, his blood boiling. “You betrayed your king that you swore an oath to protect! You will pay for your betrayal with your life!”

  He rushed toward Geordan with a series of swift attacks, immediately putting his opponent on his heels.

  As Erin and David watched the Captain and his men battle the soldiers, they quickly rushed behind them and towards the mechanism that would lift the gates. They began turning the wheel together and found it was extremely difficult to turn. This was going to take longer than they had expected.

  As they continued to turn the wheel at a painstakingly slow pace, the gate began to lift from its position. Suddenly, a soldier appeared from within a doorway in the walls and noticed what they were doing. He rushed at them, sword in hand, ready to strike them down.

  David, ready to test his newfound connection with the orb, decided it was his turn to join the fight. He drew his sword quickly to deflect the attack and threw out his hand toward the soldier, causing him to fly back and slam against the wall. His eyes began to glow as he reached to the inner depths of his mind. It came naturally and quickly, and suddenly the flow of power was filling his body with a rush unlike anything he had ever experienced.

  The soldier shook off the attack and stood stunned, in shock at what he was witnessing, then, regaining his composure, he rushed toward his opponent to strike him down and stop the girl from opening the gates.

  But David was too quick. He quickly parried the soldier’s attack with ease. He could almost sense what the soldier was going to do before it happened, and suddenly David realized why he had been able to survive all this time during pressure. The orb had been speaking to him, directing his movements, this whole time. Now that he was more in tune with the orb, he could consciously feel its direction and was able to act more quickly than ever before.

  Frustrated that he was being bested by a boy, the soldier screamed and released a frenzied attack in an effort to catch David off guard. David was able to easily deflect his attacks and countered quickly and efficiently, and finally deciding to end his child’s play, he dispatched the soldier with ease.

  “David! We have to finish opening the gate!” Erin screamed, as the gate began slowly falling back to the ground under its own weight. She wasn’t able to hold it on her own.

  Coming back to his senses David quickly shook off the rush of power and ran back to help Erin lift the gate.

  They watched through the gate as the battle ensued just beyond the slowly rising bars. It appeared that things were going well.

  The Elves were now in the midst of the battle, dispatching soldiers left and right with their elegant curved blades in a dance-like fashion. The barbarians had made a sizeable hole through the center of the main forces, splitting it in two large bodies that allowed the men more room to spread out and take on their enemy more effectively.

  Captain Ryan’s forces, led by Sergeant Jeffries, were working with the Elves to help them take on their half of the remaining forces while Tyrius and Orin had managed to dispatch the remaining mages and were now assisting with taking on the main force with the others. Overall, their casualties appeared minimal, but they knew the battle was far from over.

  Once the main gate was fully opened, they set the lock so it wouldn’t close and turned back to see how Captain Ryan and his men were doing. The other soldiers had been dispatched and his men were standing around as Captain Ryan and his former comrade were facing off.

  “Stay back, men. This one is mine!” he ordered, as he circled around his opponent.

  “How could you betray us, betray me?” asked Ryan as he pushed back Geordan after they had come together and locked blades.

  “You were never one to see the big picture!” screamed Geordan. “Times are changing. General Krauss possesses a strength and vision that the King never had. He is going to bring our kingdom a power and wealth like nothing we’ve ever seen before! Together, we will conquer the land and be part of the most powerful kingdom of all time!”

  “You’re wrong, Geordan! Those are lies that a mad man has sold you to get you to betray the people you swore to protect! You were never going to be a part of his plan. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself! He plans to unleash the Defiant One in order to take control of the remaining kingdoms. Once he does that, he will have an army of darkness at his command and he won’t need you anymore. Don’t you see? You’ve been used!” replied Ryan.

  “Liar!” screamed Geordan, lunging in for another attack. Their blades clashed together again and again, sending sparks into the air.

  Ryan jumped backward to dodge an arcing sideswipe before jumping forward to initiate a counterattack. They continued back and forth, neither side gaining the upper hand until finally Captain Ryan slipped on a pool of blood that had seeped over from the other soldier’s lifeless bodies.

  He lost his footing and fell to the ground and Geordan made a quick jab that hit its mark in the Captain’s shoulder. Captain Ryan screamed out in pain as the blade pierced his flesh.

  He quickly recoiled and rolled away, freeing the tip of the blade from his shoulder. He knew he had to finish this quickly or risk losing the fight.

  With a final rush of determination, he ran toward his opponent with a mad flurry of attacks. Geordan was parrying the attacks well enough but couldn’t stand up to the ferocity of Ryan’s attacks.

  Suddenly Ryan saw the break he was looking for and quickly spun around and plunged his sword into his friend’s chest, impaling him halfway down the shaft of his blade.

  He coughed up blood, his eyes wide in disbelief. “You’ve bested me…but you will not…beat the King…”

  Geordan Parker spoke his final words, still clinging to the promises of his lying king.

  Captain Ryan ripped off his chest plate to reveal the gash in his shoulder. He tore off a piece of cloth from his shirt and tied it around the wound, securing it tight and dismissing Erin's attempts to dress it properly.

  “That will have to do for now. We have a mad man to stop. Shall we?” he said to David and Erin, grimacing through the pain. They all nodded and prepared themselves for the final push onward.

  Chapter XXX

  As the battle raged on outside of the city, David and Erin could see Orin and Tyrius making their way towards the open gate.

  When they reached the others they quickly embraced, happy to see they had made it this far.

  “This is it, David, are you ready to face General Krauss?” asked Orin, weary from the intense concentration he had been holding while fighting off the mages and undead soldiers.

  “I think so.” said David. He was more confident in his powers now than ever before, but still unsure if he had what it took to stand up to such a powerful foe like General Krauss.

  “All right then. There’s no time to waste. Let’s go!” said Orin, starting off down the main highway through the city and towards the palace.

  Together David, Erin, Orin, and Tyrius moved with Captain Ryan and his company down the main road toward the center of the city and the gates to the Royal Palace. As they rushed onward, the sky began to darken as the moon began to slowly block the sun. They were running out of time.

  The city had been transformed from when they had last seen it. It was no longer the safe haven filled with bustling crowds and busy city streets. Instead, it was a desolate wasteland, a phantom of its former glory. No children were out running through the streets, playing hide-and-seek. No merchants were yelling
to passerby, trying to capture their attention for long enough to sell them their goods. Not a single soul apart from their small company was anywhere in sight.

  It was a dark and grisly scene; the clouds were gray and swirling overhead, showering them with a seemingly endless rain. The shops and houses were in a state of near collapse, windows and doors hanging off their hinges, some that had burned down completely were still smoking and hissing as the rain hit the still burning embers. They were all looted, their supplies taken, leaving the shelves empty and desolate and the buildings in a state of total disarray. It would take a lot of work to get the city back up and running to its former glory, if it were at all even possible.

  David and the others proceeded onward through the ruined city, cautiously awaiting the moment when they would reach some kind of resistance.

  It finally came.

  As they neared the palace walls outside of the inner garden, they could see line after line of Royal soldiers in their new dark colors. They had clearly been waiting for the battle to reach the palace and had placed a company of soldiers to stand guard to protect their king.

  The companions marched onward through the gardens, stopping just before the center fountain.

  The walkway opened into a wide circle around the center fountain that would provide them enough room to fight through the enemies’ defenses and make their way into the palace proper. The gardens had all but shriveled up and died, leaving decaying vegetation spoiling across the once beautiful grounds. All that remained were the hedges, which had suffered severely and had dropped nearly all their leaves, leaving a patchwork of intersecting branches. The fountain, once elegant and awe-inspiring, now lay broken and destroyed; only half of the statue that once stood on top still remained.

  As they waited behind the fountain, the royal soldiers slowly approached, lining each side of the fountain, and preparing for the coming battle.

  Captain Ryan was the first to speak.

  “Stand down, soldiers. You still have a chance to fight for your king. He is alive and well and if you choose to fight with us, rather than against us, you may live to see another day,” he yelled across the grounds.

  The soldiers slowly looked around at each other, seemingly unsure of what they should do. Finally, one of the soldiers spoke, as if he were speaking for the whole group.

  “We have chosen our path. Do not waste your breath! Our king is inside this palace. It is him who we fight to defend, not some weak old man cowering in the forest!” The man spat on the ground, a look of disgust on his face. “Our king is strong and will lead us into victory! Long live King Krauss!” he began chanting.

  The others quickly followed suit, encouraged by their brazen comrade.

  “So be it! Then you will die defending a traitor!” shouted Captain Ryan.

  Immediately he charged towards the enemy lines, his soldiers following suit, screaming “For the King!” as they broke through the front lines of the enemy formations.

  Tyrius turned to David, Erin, and Orin, “The sun is almost fully eclipsed! You must push onward into the palace to stop General Krauss before he performs the ritual. Let us handle this. There’s no time to waste!” and he quickly darted off to help the others in the battle.

  “You heard him. Let’s go!” shouted Orin. The three companions quickly darted around the skirmish and up the steps to the palace doors. As they approached, they opened as if in expectation of their arrival. The three companions proceeded cautiously through the opening, not knowing what awaited them inside.

  David’s heart was pounding in his chest as he anticipated the final confrontation he was about to face. He had seen the powers that the General possessed in his visions, and the reality of the encounter was beginning to weigh down on him. He gathered his courage the best he could and slowly walked forward into the main entryway to the palace.

  It was a grand room with vaulted ceilings and polished marble flooring. There was a long red carpet that ran from the doorway to the grand staircase that led to the upper levels.

  On the staircase stood General Krauss surrounded by his Wolf Guard.

  The very sight of the wolves angered David, as he recalled his flight into the forest when he first came into this world.

  But that was before. He was a different person now and was fully capable of defending himself. He was ready to exact his revenge.

  “Well, well, well…. the hero has finally arrived.” said General Krauss taunting David, slowly clapping in feigned applause. “Have you come to stop me, boy?” he teased.

  “Don’t listen to him, David. He’s trying to taunt you. Don’t take the bait” said Erin cautiously.

  “Give it up, General. You’ve lost. Your army is nearly defeated and soon you will be overrun by our forces” she said.

  The wolves bared their teeth and growled threateningly. Finally, the largest one spoke. The sound was raspy and deep.

  “No one speaks to the King that way. You have no idea what he is capable of. You speak of winning, but the battle has yet to begin.” he said, his lips moving in an unsettling way, revealing his canine fangs.

  “What do you mean?” asked David.

  “What he means, is this is only the beginning. And now, you will witness the rise of the Darkness once again.” The General laughed hysterically. “You fools; you’ve brought me just what I needed, just as I had expected you would! Bring me the boy, and kill the girl!” he screamed, pointing at David and Erin.

  The Wolf Guard sprang into action, leaping down the steps three at a time with their enormous, powerful strides. They rushed at the company with alarming speeds and drew their curved blades from their backs, readying their attack.

  Immediately the company responded and prepared for the oncoming attacks. They formed into a loose triangle, bracing for the impact, swords drawn and at the ready.

  Orin began casting a series of fireballs toward the incoming wolves, but they were too quick and dodged them easily.

  David ran forward and somehow flung himself backward and slid on his knees under the wolves’ legs, before jumping up and rushing toward the General. He threw up his hand and cast a powerful blast, sending a shockwave through the air towards the General.

  The General’s eyes lit up green and he deflected the wave of energy with a casual swipe of his hand then quickly sent a counterattack towards David with his own energy blast, throwing him against the wall and knocking the wind out of him. David slumped to the wall, stunned by the savage attack.

  Enraged to see David hurt, Erin went into a mad frenzy. She parried the attack of the wolf in front of her, then quickly ducked down and sliced her blade into its calves, causing it to step back and growl in pain. She took advantage of the opening and rolled in between his legs and darted off toward the General.

  “Erin don’t!” cried Orin, trying to stop his friend from confronting the General alone.

  Immediately he began waving his arms in large circles around him. His hands began to glow, and a gust of air began swirling around him. He threw out his hands and a powerful wave of super-heated air surged from around him and outward, throwing the remaining wolves against the walls, knocking them down and out of his way.

  Captain Ryan and his company of soldiers quickly ran from outside, finished with their fight, and began clashing with the wolves as they sprung up ready to fight.

  Orin rushed toward Erin and the General as quickly as he could possibly move, trying to reach her before she was hurt. Time seemed to slow as he watched Erin holding up her blade to attack before being thrown through the air with a single flick of the General’s hand. She hit the wall hard and lay motionless next to David, who was only now just stirring.

  When he saw Erin lying unconscious next to him, a trickle of blood running down her hairline, his body filled with an uncontrollable rage. David stood up and began walking toward the General, his eyes and orb hand glowing fiercely like never before. His hair and clothes began flapping wildly in a powerful whirlwind that began circ
ling around him. The marble at his feet began to crack and splinter, sending small fragments of rock swirling through the air with the violent gusts.

  As he approached towards the General, David flung out his hand and a powerful beam of energy shot from his hand, soaring through the air. The General’s eyes opened wide as he saw the incoming flash of light, but he wasn’t able to stop it in time. It flung him backwards into the staircase, causing several steps to break beneath the force of the blow.

  But David continued his attack, calling forth the power from within. Drawing his blade, he jumped into the air; his sword glowing a brilliant blue hue to match the aura of the orb. He swung the blade down in a final effort to finish the General, but he recovered too quickly and dodged the attack, rolling away just in time for the blade to slice deep into the granite where he had just laid.

  Recovering from his roll, the General unleashed a series of his own attacks. He sent a flurry of green and black swirling balls of energy toward David who was able to deflect them time and time again with a flick of his sword.

  The General increased the ferocity of his attacks, angered that they weren’t making an impact, but David still parried the attacks, as he began moving slowly toward the General, eager to close the gap and finish this once and for all.

  Recognizing his plight, the General quickly changed tactics and began gathering his energy. David, seeing an opening, quickly rushed toward the General, raising his blade high to strike him down.

  Just as he was about to strike, the General opened his eyes and threw forward his hands, unleashing a powerful green light that threw David tumbling several feet through the air and skidding across the floor. He landed hard on the ground, knocking his head again and leaving his vision spinning.

  David slowly tried getting up but fell on his first attempt. He could hear the General laughing at him, taunting him to get up and fight him like a man. The sounds all seemed so distant and far off. Time seemed to slow. He could see the General slowly making his way toward him, gathering energy in his hands again…preparing to finish him off.