GoCorral

Chapter 5 – Into Danger (Continued)

Tereman joined the charge with Blendegad. When the explosions went off, Tereman and Blendegad were in the middle of one. They were thrust in opposite directions by the force leaving a twenty pode gap in-between them.

Tereman stumbled to his feet. His legs were bruised. He quickly invoked a prayer to heal them. “Hear me, O Zeus. If I have ever defended your people, heal my wounds.” His left hand glowed with the intonation. He rushed his left hand across one leg and then the other.

The creatures were appearing all around the group. Tereman stood his best chance alongside Blendegad. His friend was on the other side of the gap created by the explosion. The creatures were appearing all around. Three of them appeared in the space created by the explosion with their backs to each other. Each held a silver flowing sword.

Tereman gripped his sword in both hands. He yelled and ran at the trio of creatures. Other adventurers saw and joined behind and to the side him. The creature facing Tereman made a dismissive gesture with its left hand and a tilt of its head. Tereman went flying to the right. It felt like an invisible blanket wrapping around him and pulling him off his feet. He wasn’t as badly hurt this time, only knocked down.

Tereman stood once again. He wasn’t badly hurt now, but his momentum was broken. Other warriors were ahead of him closing on the creatures. The one facing him brought its left hand to its temple. Tereman and his allies froze in their tracks. A few slipped and fell. They had been midstride and the paralysis prevented adjusting for balance. Tereman strained his muscled trying to break free. Nothing.

The creatures moved through the frozen crowd. They stabbed and slashed as they went, killing their immobilized prey. Tereman had to do something quick. Fingers, hands, toes, and feet were all locked in place. His mind was the only thing free to act.

Tereman composed a prayer in his head, “Feel me, O Zeus. If I have ever offered you my service, allow my legs to move. I give you my oath as your servant.”

Lines of fire roared through the hill side. A six inch wide column of fire shot through the air from Tereman’s left to strike at the creatures. The one facing that direction put up a shining magical shield. The fire struck the shield and heat radiated out. Tereman felt the temperature rise in his frozen state. The creature’s left hand left its forehead and Tereman could move again. He turned his head to the left to see the source of the fire. The wizards of Phoenix were fighting back.

Forgeus directed his subordinates to fire at the creatures casting the paralysis spells. Fire surged left and right across the battlefield. The intensity of the late morning temperature of summer increased. Tereman smiled. He spun his sword in his grip to test his motor functions. All set.

Tereman ran at the creatures once more. His feet found their way around dead allies on the ground. More motivation for his revenge.

Tereman came upon one of the creatures. It was distracted by the stream of fire, but turned at the last second to block Tereman’s overhand strike. His blade clanged against the flowing silver sword of his foe. The creature bared its teeth and snarled at Tereman.

It spoke, “You will never be a match for the adlishar!”

That’s what they were called. Adlishar.

The adlishar he was facing twisted its sword. The hook caught on Tereman’s blade. The adlishar pulled with great force. Tereman had to choose to lose his sword or tumble forwards onto the ground. He chose to keep the sword but lose his footing.

The adlishar stood over Tereman. The silver sword went high for a death stroke. Tereman raised his sword to block. The sword came down, hitting Tereman’s. The creature performed the same twisting move as before. Tereman’s sword went flying. He was at the mercy of his opponent. The silver sword went high once more.

Blendegad was thrown to his right by the explosion. He hit another warrior wearing hoplite armor and went down in a tangle. Blendegad and the other warrior worked quickly to extract themselves from each other. He took a quick look at her. Traditional armor that covered the torso, shoulders, forearms, and lower legs. On top she wore a bronze helmet with no crest. She had a silver necklace with an emerald pendant around her neck. Her weapons were a stiff, sharp spear and a round shield.

Blendegad whipped his head around. Tereman was racing towards some of the creatures that stood where they had been a few moments ago. Blendegad looked at the woman next to him. He nodded his head towards the fight then took off towards it.

“Come on!” Blendegad shouted.

Blendegad kept a broader awareness as he ran towards the trio of creatures and Tereman. Other creatures were fighting all over the hill. Warriors shot arrows and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the monsters. The wizards were fighting back with fire. The creatures seemed invincible with their deflections. Dozens of warriors were standing still as the creatures stabbed and cut them. Gallana’s protective magic had been insufficient to prevent mental paralysis. Blendegad spied Forgeus directing his mages to fire on the creatures next to paralyzed people.

Tereman was ahead fighting one of the creatures. He slipped and fell to the ground. The creature raised its blade to strike.

Blendegad sprinted into the creature with his leather covered shoulder. They fell onto the grass and dirt. Blendegad’s sword thrust into the ground as they fell. He had to let go as the tackle brought the hilt away from his grasp.

“Get away from my friend, you miserable cockroach!” Blendegad cursed. He shoved his hands on the creature’s thin, spotted arms. The choice for the creature was laid bare. Run or be drained. It hesitated and the drain began. Life force flowed from the creature into Blendegad. The creature began to struggle, but Blendegad held it down. It wanted to escape, to fulfill the condition of getting away from Tereman. But there was no real alternative offered. Always a false choice.

Tereman moved his legs to stand up. Blendegad had rescued him. Tereman looked at his friend, covered in dirt and holding the creature down. Tendrils of dark red mana danced around Blendegad’s hands. An evil magic, but used for a good purpose. Tereman grabbed his sword. Another of the monsters, an adlishar, was moving towards him. It had just slain half a dozen people. The third adlishar was holding up a magical force field against the fire attacks. Tereman and the second creature prepared to duel behind the glowing red energy shield.

The creature raised its left hand to its forehead. It grinned angrily and Tereman couldn’t move. The adlishar taunted Tereman in a language he couldn’t understand. It walked slowly over, making slow slashes in the air with its silver sword.

Tereman wanted to turn and shout for Blendegad. “Help me!” he wanted to say. His friend was absorbed in the death of his foe. Tereman was alone.

Tereman said in his mind, “Hear me, O Zeus. If I have ever killed for you, free me from these shackles. I will slay your enemies for you.”

Tereman’s hands began to glow. He could move his hands! He twisted the fingers on his left hand up to heal his forearm. With more mobility he freed the rest of his left arm.

The adlishar snarled in fury. It lunged forward. The hand dropped from its temple as its movements quickened. Tereman could move his whole body. He twisted to dodge the lunge and stabbed the monster in its side with his own sword. The adlisharlost its grip on its own sword. The creature leaned on Tereman for support. He tried to push it off in disgust. The monster hissed at him. He felt a crawling in his mind. Tereman twisted his sword and ripped it out of the creature’s abdomen. It fell limp to the ground, dead.

Tereman turned quickly to check on Blendegad. His friend was standing up from his own kill. His face had a look of glee plastered across it. Their eyes met then both looked at the remaining adlishar. The fire stream stopped and the shield was dropped. The creature stumbled backwards, leaking sweat all over its body.

Blendegad howled and ran towards the third adlishar. He sprinted past Tereman and jumped on the creature. It screamed. The creature brought its left hand to its forehead. Blendegad grabbed the forehead first. The dark red energy Tereman had seen earlier flowed from Blendegad’s hands into the creature’s head. The scream turned into a high-pitched wail. The head exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

“By Zeus, Blendegad. What was that?” said Tereman.

Blendegad turned to him. His face was covered in blood. He spoke in between heavy breaths, “Life force.”

Blendegad reveled in absorbing the adlishar’s life force. He had never drained a mortal before. When his mother discovered his gifts she had forbidden their use on mortals. Only animals or monsters were permitted. The needs of the situation outweighed that rule.

Blendegad used the weapons at his disposal to ensure his survival. Draining a mortal gave him far more energy than he expected. Blendegad vibrated with the excess force flowing through his veins. It was too much. He had to release it.

He leapt to his feet and sprinted with enhanced speed towards the final adlishar. He grabbed it and poured his extra life force into the creature. Blendegad had practiced taking in life force and letting it out. The adlishar had no such experience. The extra energy overwhelmed its senses and control. Furthermore, Blendegad used some of the life force to lock the energy meridians leading out of the head. The energy collected in the creature’s head to an unimaginable degree. Overloaded, the head released the energy the only way possible, through destruction.