The bleeding
statue of the forgotten elf lord a short distance behind them the group moved
on deeper into the forest. The Lost
Castle was never the center of the kingdom, it was always an outpost at the
outskirts of a great elven kingdom. The
history of the kingdom have been lost to time, even amongst the long lives of
the elves. Although many believe it is a
history intentionally forgotten. He was
a young, brash king who succeeded in making the young kingdom a symbol of
prosperity. His rise amongst the elf
kingdoms was fast, with some of the High Kings in the west seeking him for
counsel. Then the kingdom fell, those who
made it from the forest raved about a gate opening and the darkness
flowing. The High Kings sent armies to
the forest to help, but very soon they withdrew all their forces and the
kingdom was never spoken of again.
He felt that history now, weighing down
on him like a thick fog that was blocking his view and making it difficult to
breathe. Having traveled in the forest
before years ago Sir Pierre felt tense and ready to pounce on any noise. He knew the dangers of the forest and the
warning Kaag had given him was enough to put him on edge. With the desecration of the statue Sir Pierre
needed something to happen.
Anything. Let his enemies come,
just don't keep him waiting.
They moved
further into the forest, stumbling from time to time over roots and broken
roads. For all it's dangers the Hero's
Forest was a beautiful place. The
ancient road wound through towering trees.
The largest in the region by far and each was older than any of the
cities and castles nearby. On a clear
day you could see the tops of the trees, if your sight was good enough. Exotic flowers sprang out of cracks in the
trees and hid themselves amongst the brush below. Wizards and alchemists sent foolish
adventurers deep into the forest for the rarest of these plants. They are crucial components for powerful
spells and carry a hefty price in the markets.
Even the
wildlife was beautiful even if often times deadly. Large lumbering beasts that feasted on the
foliage of the ancient trees roamed the forest although the group had yet to
pass one. Colorful cats who could mimic
their surroundings stalked smaller prey that often included the wayward
adventurer. Flying creatures would often
soar overhead, seeking smaller animals to feast upon. Their calls would usually echo throughout the
forest testing the mettle of those brave enough to enter the forest.
"What a
beautiful woods." Kiera remarked as
she stared up at the trees. Sir Pierre
turned and smiled at her. "And so
peaceful and quiet."
Sir Pierre froze
and his hand instantly went to his sword.
He was on edge but he hadn't notice the silence. There were always noises, always something
moving in the forest. Except right now
there wasn't. The forest was silent, had
been silent since they passed the statue.
And there had been no animals, none of the monsters that roamed the
woods came about to attack them or even just stare at them from a distance.
"Stay
close, the forest is not right." Lord Sven said as he drew Leviathan and
took the lead. A flash, a sudden
movement to the side of the group caught Sir Pierre's eye. It was as if the forest was shifting or
changing reality somehow. He turned to
yell to Sven when the illusion fell and they were charged from all sides.
Sir Pierre
barely raised his shield in time to deflect an arrow aimed for his head. Sword raised he saw one of the archers in the
forest as two warriors charged him with sword and axe raised. They wore dark leather armor with black
plating spread out in key areas. Too
many holes in their defense when facing someone like Pierre. He side stepped the axe swing, deflecting it
with his shield while using his right hand to cut a line across the man's face. The sword wielding warrior was blocked by his
fellow brigand but that didn't stop Pierre from charging with his shield,
knocking the axe wielder to the ground and forcing the sword man back.
Pierre leapt
over the one on the ground and pressed his advantage on the foe still standing
and created some distance between himself and the one he knocked down before he
could recover. High, low, high, low
Pierre scored several small hits before his opponent drew a dirk and charged. Another arrow zipped a hands width from his
face but Pierre never lost focus as he deflected a hard thrust and spun full
circle ending by cleanly decapitating his enemy. The moved also brought him back to facing the
charging axe wielder. Pierre patiently
deflected two strong swings by the axe that made his arm go numb before he saw
his opening and stabbed the man through the heart.
Pain shot
through his right shoulder as the archer found his mark again and found a hole
in Pierre's armor. He turned back to the
forest as a flaming dart soared overhead towards the forest. Pierre deflected another arrow and prepared
to charge until the flaming dart struck the archer and the forest exploded in
flame. Two assassins who were lying in
wait to protect the archer sprung up and tried to put out their burning bodies
to no avail. Pierre turned back to Paxil
and nodded a thanks to the wizard.
Turning back to
the larger battle at hand Pierre saw a pile of bodies around Lord Sven as
Leviathan held back a surge of attackers.
Kiera stood over one of the twins who looked gravely injured. She let her robe fall to the ground and
yelled a challenge to a charging marauder.
She rushed him and as she did golden armor formed over her body and a
shield and mace appeared in her hands.
The man pulled up short no longer sure of what to do and that was all
the hesitation Kiera needed to attack.
He raised his sword to deflect the mace but at the last minute Kiera
angled her mace to crush his hand.
Stunned, he tried to turn and run but never made it out of the
backhanded swipe of her mace. Kiera's mace crushed the man's face sending him
sprawling to the ground.
Pierre moved
back to form a defensive perimeter as Brother Gronin finished the healing that
Kiera started. Rota had several cuts on
her arms but several bodies around her as she fought back one last charge by a
warrior with two blades. He saluted then
disappeared into the forest. Paxil threw
a few more spells into the woods as the rest of the attackers fell back into
the forest. Sven saw a large figure in
full plate further along the road, watching the battle unfold. He charged and Sir Pierre did what he could
to catch up to the surging lord as one twins, Bernard, kept pace.
Dark plate with
runes scattered about spoke of powerfully enchanted armor. A double headed large battle axe looked like
it weighed more than Brother Gronin but rested comfortably on his back. His helmet was without any horns or markers
that you see on many magical helmets, yet you could tell the enchantment on
this was powerful for looking at the helmet felt like looking into the abyss
itself. And you knew he was looking back
at you. You couldn't see the face behind
the dark helm but Lord Sven heard him grunt in amusement as he approached.
The dark warrior
pulled a vial from his belt and smashed it on the ground. Smoked billowed out and he turned and ran
into the forest, his heavy plate seemingly like leather for how fast he
moved. At first Sven thought it was
simply a smoke screen, but as the he neared the smoke began to take form. A cry from Paxil to back away pulled Sven up
short. Sir Pierre and Bernard caught up
a moment later and they readied themselves as the smoke loomed higher and
wider. Dark wings of a bat sprouted and
each grew to the size of a large man. A
lion's head roared and looked about the forest as if it wasn't sure where it
was. It's tail stretched and the arched
over the body. A scorpions tail, as long
as a tall spear with a barbed hook at the end, and it was poised to strike at
Lord Sven.
"Manticore!" Paxil yelled and the creature stared at him
with unfettered rage. Lord Sven took a
swing but the creature leapt into the air over his blade. The creatures powerful wings carried it to a
few feet from Paxil who struck it with a few magic bolts from his hands. The manticore took the hits and roared in
defiance, finally free from its imprisonment.
It's scorpion's tail shot out and slammed into the ground near Paxil,
the wizard barely escaping it's poisonous sting. The beast seemed ready for this and leapt at
Paxil claws bared and it's maw ready to devour his head. Iota tackled him as the beast flew
overhead. She immediately recovered and
charged the manticore, scoring a deep cut on one of its wings.
Sir Pierre, Sven
and Bernard charged from one side. Iota
was joined by Brother Gronin as the continued to harry the beast. Kiera and the now healed twin Brandon
approached more cautiously from another side.
The manticore began to strike wildly with its tail as it tried to keep
everyone at bay. Paxil launched another
burst of magic that struck the beast in the face. Another roar of defiance and then the
manticore launched itself into the air flying up into the giant trees. The beast disappeared into the tree line and
after a few moments a distant roar carried back through the forest.
Sven approached
Pierre, his face still hard from the battle.
He yanked the arrow from Pierre's shoulder and tossed it to the ground.
"Ow!" Sir Pierre said looking at his shoulder, then
at Lord Sven. "You could've warned
me."
"I'm sorry,
I thought we were all men here."
Sven said drawing cuff upside his head from Iota. "I mean we're all warriors here. Except you.
I shall see if we can find you a doll on the way to the temple so you
have something to play with."
"Ha! Only
if she looks like your mother!"
"Well given
the doll will barely fit into the palm of your hand I'm guessing you'll finally
be large enough to satisfy a woman," Lord Sven turned and looked at
Kiera. "Or so I'm told."
"Are we not
going to talk about the ambush that just happened?" Kiera said as she donned her robe again. Her armor and weapon faded back to the wind
moments earlier.
"In time,
first these two have to act like idiots," said as she looked over her
wounds. She had two cuts on each arm,
none very deep but well placed in the breaks in her armor. A testament to the skill of her
opponent. She looked to Kiera and nodded
to her arms. "Do you mind?"
"Of course," Kiera said as she fell
into prayer and healed Iota. The wounds
closing and fresh skin covering the gashes.
"I saw
their leader, he looked familiar."
Lord Sven said to Sir Pierre.
"You saw
the leader? You mean the large massive
man in full plate who moved as if he was wearing leather? Yeah, we all saw him. Kind of hard to hide in the forest wearing
that." Sven glared it Pierre who
merely shrugged. "He is the chosen
sword of Asarix. Even though he has an
axe. But I had heard he was dead."
"What's his
name?" Kiera asked hoping that
maybe she recognized him.
"We don't
speak his name." Pierre responded
ominously. The group stared at him,
waiting for an answer.
"You don't
remember, do you laddy?" Brother Gronin
said with a grin.
"Well it's
one of those long names from the south damn it," Sir Pierre said as Lord
Sven punched him in his arrow wound.
"Ow! Cut it out you dung
herder!"
"They know
we are here, we are wasting time."
Paxil fidgeted with his hands as he spoke.
"Who knows
we're here?" Kiera said.
"The
cultists of Asarix." Lord Sven said.
"The Defiled One has returned."
