Knights: Legends of Ollanhar (9 page)

At last Brakthas found his voice and said, "Told you
we shouldn't have come here."

"I think I agree," said Dallsa, her eyes wide.

Lannon fought to contain his anger. "Forget our
mission. We are not leaving until justice is done."

"This is beyond disgusting," said Vorden.
"Not even the Deep Shadow is this evil. What type of monsters are we
dealing with?" Then Vorden did a rare thing--he donned his helm and became
armored from head to toe, with only his yellow eyes visible beneath the helm.
He clenched his hand into a fist. "Don't worry about arresting them,
Lannon. These savages know only bloodshed. We need to prepare for a fight to
the death."

Daledus raised his huge battle axe. "The Divine
Essence demands retribution. Let us rid the world of this barbarian
plague."

They dismounted and led their horses a safe distance away.
Then they gathered at the center of town again on foot.

"They're in that tavern," said Jerret, pointing
eagerly with his broadsword to a large wood and stone building with horses
hitched to posts out front. "They're probably watching us through the
windows right now." The horses were draped with colorful blankets and odd,
hanging trinkets like silver bells, tiny dolls, ribbons of snakeskin, and
strings of dried mushrooms and vegetables.

Lannon scanned the tavern and found a large number of
warriors inside--more than forty of them, armed with crossbows, axes, and
clubs. The Knights were facing a serious fight. "We're outnumbered,"
he said.

The three Norack Rangers stood together with weapons drawn,
determined to avenge one of their own.

"They need to pay dearly for this," said Saranna.

Galandra nodded. "Fodan was a great man. I can't
believe he's gone."

"I'll kill every one of those devils myself!"
snarled Brakthas.

Prince Vannas readied the White Flamestone, but Aldreya
motioned for him to put it away. "This isn't the time," she said.
"Save that for more significant battles. Your fire endangers us all."

"I can control it," said Vannas, looking annoyed.
When Aldreya didn't respond, he put away the Flamestone and drew his sword.
"If this battle goes badly for us, Aldreya, you will regret this."

"Bear in mind," said Aldreya, "that we do
not slaughter our foes. Those who surrender will be spared and taken
prisoner."

"Blue Vultures don't surrender," said Brakthas.
"So no worries."

"I'm visiting the tavern," said Lannon. He
started forward, when he caught sight of three muscular warriors standing atop
the tavern roof. They had blue hair styled in bizarre fashions and wore rugged
leather armor gleaming with metallic studs. Each had blue cloth covering the
lower half of his face. They were aiming crossbows at the Knights.

Lannon cried out a warning, even as the barbarians fired
their arrows.

One bolt went for Lannon's heart--a perfect shot. Engulfed
with the power of the Eye, his movements guided by instinct, he deflected it
with his fist. Another bolt shot toward Aldreya but glanced off an invisible
shield of sorcery. The remaining bolt flew at Daledus, and he blocked it with
the wide head of his axe--causing the deflected arrow to stick in one of the
wagons.

Galandra dropped her spear and loaded her slingshot with a
steel slug. She pulled it back so far it seemed that surely the bands would
break, and then let it fly. The slug struck a barbarian's forehead, dead
center, and he toppled off the roof into the mud and never moved again.

Lothrin shot a barbarian in the throat, killing him
instantly, and Saranna put an arrow in the remaining one's shoulder, causing
him to howl in pain before exiting the rooftop through a trapdoor.

An instant later a group of Blue Vultures--about thirty of
them--flooded out of the inn, enraged savages on a mission to kill. They let
loose with strange battle cries, a mass of muscles, leather, gleaming metal
studs and spikes, blue hair, and blue feathers. They raised crossbows.

Galandra stepped behind Vorden, using his armor to shield
her. An instant later two arrows deflected off that armor.

Brakthas ducked behind a barrel, his wide eyes peeking over
the rim, as two arrows stuck in the wood.

Saranna tried to dive behind a wagon but caught an arrow in
the back. She writhed about for a moment, then lay still.

Lannon deflected an arrow aimed at Bekka. She was still too
weak to defend herself, and Lannon was determined to stay close to her.

Aldreya burned to ash two arrows that were aimed at Prince
Vannas. Like Lannon, her power was guided by instinct, giving her speed that
went beyond that of an ordinary Knight. Nevertheless, one of the two arrows had
nearly found the prince--disintegrating just a few feet away from him.

An arrow grazed Dallsa's shoulder and tore away flesh. She
cried out in pain, as blood soaked her tunic.

Two arrows went for Jerret. He managed to deflect one with
his burning broadsword, but the other lodged deep into his thigh. It was a dastardly
wound, with blood pouring out instantly. He gazed down in shock at his leg, his
pale face revealing that he knew he was bleeding to death. His fight was over,
and so he let his broadsword slip from his hand, grasping at the wound instead.

Jace, who had somehow managed to avoid three arrows aimed
at him, rushed to Jerret's aid, kneeling beside him to administer healing.
Dallsa was in great pain, yet she ignored it and went to help Saranna.

The Blue Vultures exchanged their crossbows for clubs and
axes and then charged forward, their battle cries echoing through the air.

Lannon was the first to meet them. He ducked an axe swing
aimed at his neck and then caught the attacker in the head with his fist. The
heavily muscled barbarian was flung from the force of the blow against a
building wall, caving in some boards. He toppled over and lay motionless.

One of the barbarians hacked at Vorden's armor with a heavy
axe, but the iron axe head broke without leaving a mark on the gold-and-black
breastplate that gleamed in the sunlight. In response, Vorden slammed his
armored forearm against the barbarian's skull, dropping him like a sack of
grain.

Daledus' axe was yanked from his hands by an attacker, but
he punched a charging savage in the nose--a blow that laid the warrior out cold
in the mud. Roaring laughter, the battle crazed Dwarf then leapt on another
barbarian and head butted him so viciously he cracked the man's skull.

Aldreya sent deadly fire through the attackers' ranks,
killing and severely wounding several of them. A few of them burned completely
to ash. This display of sorcery--which might have prompted warriors with
rational minds to retreat--only caused the Blue Vultures to attack with greater
fury, however.

A barbarian managed to get to Prince Vannas--only to perish
when the prince's slender blade pierced his heart. With a cry of triumph,
Vannas yanked the sword free and then cut off the barbarian's head.

And then Lothrin was there, his Flayer lashing out with
inhuman speed and deadly accuracy in defense of the prince.

Giving his own weird battle cry, Brakthas leapt on a foe's
back and drew his long dagger across the savage's throat for an easy kill. He
shoved the body away, knocking over another savage.

While Lannon was distracted, Bekka swung at a foe with her
sword, but she was still too weak to put significant force into the attack. The
barbarian deflected the blade and raised a heavy hammer for the kill. But then
Galandra leapt to her rescue with a gleeful yell, shoving her short spear
through the attacker's heart.

Three barbarians swung spiked clubs at Lannon in an effort
to overwhelm him. With the force of the Eye, he shoved them back and froze them
for a moment, tearing the weapons from their hands. He raised his sword to do
battle, but the savages turned and fled toward the tavern.

After that, the others fled to the tavern as well, leaving
only the dead and wounded. They slammed the tavern door shut behind them, and
the street grew silent except for the cries and moans of the injured.

"Cowards!" Jerret bellowed after them, from where
he lay on the ground. He was lying in a pool of blood, perhaps moments away
from death. "Of all things, a stupid leg wound," he groaned.
"Why so much blood?"

"Be quiet," Jace muttered. "Save your
strength. Even a leg wound can be deadly, if you know how the human body works.
And the arrow was designed to cause a bitter wound." The sorcerer was
still kneeling beside Jerret, hands on his thigh, trying desperately to stop
the bleeding.

Moments later, the leader of the Blue Vultures appeared on
a rooftop, crossbow in hand. He was a huge man wearing a spiked, leather vest
that was open in the front. His bare chest was covered in blue tattoos, and on
his head was an extravagant wig that feathered blue feathers instead of hair.
He wore a silver, metallic mask with two small horns protruding from the
forehead.

He ran his fingers over his chest tattoos and cried out,
"By my blood and my sacred mark, I will avenge my fallen brothers! Divine
Knights of Dremlock, you will plead to your god to end your suffering before
all is said and done! Our dolls will beautify your kingdom, as the earth feeds
on your splintered bones! Our dolls will beautify your kingdom! We pick your
bones clean of all flesh, like the sacred war bird of the Downriver Marsh, and
make your women our own!"

Galandra loaded her slingshot, while Lothrin and Brakthas
readied arrows. But by then the leader had vanished from the rooftop.

"Now we're at war," said Brakthas.

***

The Knights looked on with grim faces as Dallsa and Jace
tended to the wounded. Aldreya helped as well, though her healing sorcery was
very weak in comparison to the other two. After carefully extracting the arrow
from Jerret's thigh, they managed to stop the bleeding and seal the wound.
After that, they left Jerret alone to focus on healing himself while they
worked on Saranna.

Saranna's injury was more difficult, as she didn't possess
the Knightly ability to heal herself. The barbed arrow had pierced one of her
lungs, doing significant damage, and had created a dangerous blood clot that
was seeking her heart. Dallsa had great trouble trying to dissolve the clot and
deal with other issues, while Jace helped keep Saranna stable. Meanwhile, the
moaning and bellowing of the injured Blue Vultures nearby was distracting.

Fortunately, the barbarians in the tavern did not attack as
the two worked on Saranna, and at last they stabilized her wound. Unlike
Jerret, however, she would need a lot more care to recover.

"What now?" Lannon asked. He was reluctant to let
the fight end here. He was still gripped by anger over what had happened to the
townsfolk.

Aldreya sighed. "With Jerret and Saranna in dire need
of healing, our mission is jeopardized. Unfortunately, I feel we must move on
and deal with this issue later. We can't risk losing them."

As much as it pained him to agree, Lannon nodded.
"They might not let us go, however. We may be forced to fight
anyway."

Aldreya shrugged. "We shall see."

"No point in letting it go now," said Brakthas.
"We've already angered their leader. They're going to seek revenge. I say
we charge the tavern and finish this. You Knights are some stout fighters. We
can take them."

"Let's finish this!" said Daledus, who had
retrieved his axe.

"This isn't the time," said Jace. "The fight
went badly for us, and that's just the way it is. We need to get out while we
can."

"If we don't deal with them now," said Galandra,
"they will ambush us later. They're very sneaky. We should kill them all,
here and now."

"I have no fight in me," said Bekka, who looked
utterly exhausted. "If you charge the tavern, count me out."

Lannon sighed. "I wanted to see justice done, but it
seems we only made the situation worse. Justice will have to wait."

"We could finish this," said Prince Vannas,
"with white fire. I could destroy the tavern before they could escape.
Problem solved."

"Do it!" Brakthas said eagerly. He gazed at the
prince in amazement. "I can't even imagine power like that, but if you've
got it, by all means use it. Otherwise these devils will haunt us all the way
to the sea."

"Burn them quickly!" said Galandra.

Prince Vannas brought forth the White Flamestone, but
Aldreya again motioned him to put it away. "Why?" he asked, looking
frustrated. "Jerret and Saranna are severely injured--because you wouldn't
let me use it. Now our enemies are plotting against us, and still you refuse.
It doesn't make sense."

Jace frowned. "Prince Vannas has a point, Aldreya. The
barbarians have not surrendered, and therefore we have every right to destroy
them. I think he should burn the tavern to ash and be done with them."

"What do you think, Lannon?" asked the prince.
"You have just as much say in this as Aldreya, as far as I'm
concerned."

In spite of Lannon's burning desire for justice, he wasn't
sure that blasting the tavern with white fire was the right thing to do.
"I don't know. Right now they're not attacking, but we're kind of at war
with them."

"We don't need the Flamestone," said Lothrin.
"Lannon, we can take them. Dallsa and Jace can stay here and look after
the injured."

"Why can't I use it, Aldreya?" asked Vannas.
"I want an answer."

"We must be careful," said Aldreya. "Burning
the tavern with those men in there would be a burden to you, Prince Vannas. Too
much power and death, too soon. There will be time for that later, when we
confront Bellis. My instincts tell me there is a danger in using the Flamestone
too often."

"Exactly right," said Lothrin, to the prince.
"Listen to Aldreya."

Vannas glowered at the Ranger. "So you've been
whispering in her ear, filling her with doubts. I should have known."