The Sorcerer's Scourge (29 page)

“Oh, gimme, gimme, gimme!” the wood sprite demanded as Bron dribbled the golden delight drop by drop into her tiny cup.

Seeing that Trielle was finally satisfied, Bron then dribbled honey over a large pinecone and gave it to Grumph who was waiting with his head stuck through the cave entrance. He rarely came inside anymore as getting his bulk through the doorway was something of a chore.

Now that he had taken care of his friends, the half-ogre poured himself a bowl of nuts and dried fruit and set out several strips of dried meat. Most druids of Ellanee were strict vegetarians, but such was not in Bron’s nature. He did not eat a lot of meat, unlike his ogre parentage that was nearly entirely carnivorous, but his massive body required it. One of Ellanee’s paramount teachings was to accept every living thing as their nature dictated.

The day was quickly drawing to a close. Grumph was outside sleeping off his dinner, Trielle dozed with her hand over her full stomach, and Bron read one of his few books by candlelight and the bit of waning sun streaming through the open door. A change in the energy of the forest caused Bron to look up from his book and focus his attention outward.

“Trielle,” Bron called out.

“Hm?” she answered sleepily from the shelf upon which she was currently perched.

“The crickets.”

“No thank you. I couldn’t possibly eat another bite,” she waved responded.

“They have stopped chirping,” Bron explained.

“Good. Noisy little vermin.”

Bron was about to explain that it meant something significant when a large owl flew in through the open door. Birds of prey were probably one of the most feared threats sprites faced and the owl’s sudden appearance brought Trielle fully awake and on the defensive. The wood sprite snatched up her spear and buzzed up to the high ceiling so that the owl could not get above her.

“You better watch it, Beaky, or I’ll stuff me a new pillow with your feathers!” Trielle shouted and brandished her spear.

The owl showed little concern for the sprite’s threats and hooted softly. Bron listened as the owl “spoke” in soft hoots and whistles. The druid’s face took on a look of concern as the owl told its story.

“There are humans in the forest,” Bron explained to Trielle.

“I know! That’s why I was saying it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let some of them get taken away.”

“No,” Bron said patiently, “there are others.”

“More?” Trielle exclaimed. “This place is really going downhill! Pretty soon you won’t be able to swing a squirrel without hitting one!”

“Several men with dogs are chasing a woman and a boy.”

“So what?” Trielle asked irritably when she saw that Bron had gathered up his staff and was leaving the cave.

Bron answered back over his shoulder. “They are a threat and do not belong here. Murder resides within the hearts of these men, and murder only strengthens the dark goddess. Such things cannot be allowed in Ellanee’s sacred forest.”

“All right! Time to kick some big human butt!” Trielle cried out and threw a lasso made of twine over the unsuspecting neck of the owl. “Come on, Beaky, it’s time to fly into battle!”

The owl screeched in surprise and indignation as Trielle jumped onto its back, wrapped her legs around its neck, and held onto the twine like a set of reins. Sprites were incredibly swift and nimble flyers, but they were not known for their endurance. Trielle jabbed the large bird with the butt of her spear, goading it into flight. Both creatures let out a shriek as they burst out into the open air.

Bron was not fleet of foot, but he could keep up a jog for days, eating up the miles one unfaltering step at a time. Grumph, ready to punish the source of his rude awakening, loped along after the druid.

***

The first few men to reach Elli died quickly and the men racing up the hill towards her had to avoid the bodies as they tumbled back down. Having the high ground gave Elli a decided advantage despite the slope’s awkward footing.

She now beat back the swords of three men while nearly two dozen more climbed towards the summit. She blocked the swords of the men to her right and left with each of her blades and kicked dirt and pine needles into the face of the man in the middle. Blinded and unable to parry her strike, she slashed her sword across the man’s head, felling him.

Two more parries and a flurry of attacks dropped the other two men in short order, but several more had gained the high ground and forced her into a fighting retreating. Her swings grew desperate as she had to give up her greatest advantage to the sheer number of men pressing in on her. The steep slope leveled out where she had chosen to make her stand.

Ducking beneath the swings of three swordsmen, she tucked her legs and rolled between a pair of men, thrusting her blades out to the side as she went past, and leapt back to her feet. One blade took a man in the side while the other bit deep into another man’s hip. Both men went down but only one was able to regain his feet. Fire erupted from her back as a sword cut through her armor and the flesh beneath. Spinning to face her attacker, she stabbed the man through the heart before he could recover from overreaching himself with the force of his swing.

Elli crossed her swords over her left side without conscious thought, blocking another brutal attack. She forced the blade away with one sword while stabbing out with the other, catching the man just below his leather breastplate. She had no time to witness the full results of her strike as several more blades tried to penetrate her defenses and remove the obstacle that stood between them and the Prince.

Elli felt her strength flagging as she bled from at least a dozen wounds, but she refused to relent. Every second she survived was a second Miles was able to put between himself and his assassins. She blocked an overhand chop and kicked the man in his chest with enough force to send him tumbling down the mountain.

Her kick cost her as another attacker barreled into her and knocked her to the ground. Elli prepared to roll in an attempt to avoid the killing blow the man was preparing to deal her, but it never came. Trielle landed on the man’s head and stabbed him in the nose with her spear while holding onto the rim of his helmet.

“Haha, take that, stinky human!” the sprite squeaked triumphantly.

The man slapped at the spear with one hand and slashed at the sprite with his sword. Trielle darted straight up out of reach with a laugh. Elli rolled back onto her feet, narrowly avoiding the thrusting blade of another attacker. The man that Trielle had stabbed was already looking glassy-eyed and fumbling around drunkenly as the powerful toxin coating her spear took effect.

A sharp pain stabbed into her lower back. Elli fumbled behind her with her hand and felt the shaft of the arrow sticking out from just below her ribs. Looking past the few attackers near her, she spied half a dozen men drawing back for another shot at her and Miles. Elli launched herself down the hill with a defiant snarl of outrage, intent on killing the archers before they could find their range and pick the Prince off the cliff face.

Miles was only a few feet from the top when he looked back at the battle that raged below. Two arrows skipped off the rock very near him as he watched Elli charge down the hill in an almost uncontrolled dash. He could only watch in horror as the arrows slammed into her body and her sprint turned into a tumble.

“No!” Miles shouted as he clamped his tear-filled eyes shut in an attempt to block the horrific image from his mind.

Several more arrows clattered against the rocks next to him, forcing him to open his eyes and renew his ascent. He nearly fell to his death when a huge, hideous face appeared over the rim of the cliff. Only the massive hand clamped around his wrist kept him from falling into open air.

Bron easily lifted the lad up and over the ledge before depositing him onto the safety of the hard ground. Miles scrambled away from the brutish figure like a crab, unable to speak past the lump of fear in his throat.

“Calm yourself. I am not your enemy,” Bron told him.

“Elli,” Miles said hoarsely with a furtive glance towards the battle.

Bron nodded and stepped towards the ledge despite knowing that it was probably already too late for the woman. Calling up his magic, a thick root crawled out of the ground near his feet. Grasping it in one huge hand while he held his staff in the other, Bron coaxed the root to grow and lower him to the ground below.

There were still over a dozen men converging upon the stony bluff, ready to scale it and continue their pursuit of the boy. All came to an abrupt halt when Bron practically dropped from the sky and stood before them. Three men raised their bows and launched arrows at him. Despite their fear, all three shots struck true, but with little effect. Bron’s skin was naturally as tough as boiled leather, but coupled with his magic it was like striking an oak tree. Two of the shafts bounced off harmlessly while the third penetrated just far enough to hang limply down his chest.

“You do not belong here,” Bron rumbled. “You chose to bring death, so death has come—for you.”

Despite the half-ogre’s intimidating size, numbers helped bolster the humans’ courage and they cautiously advanced, figuring to overwhelm this creature despite his size. Then Grumph appeared. The dire bear had followed the bluff along its base and announced his presence with a roar that shook leaves from the trees and made the air tremble.

Their confidence shattered, the humans broke into a headlong sprint down the hillside towards their waiting mounts. With a nod from Bron, Grumph tore after them. Men threw down their weapons and cried out in panic as all three thousand pounds of fur, claws, teeth, and bad attitude bore down upon them.

Grumph simply stomped on the first man he came to, crushing him beneath his awesome weight. The next slowest man received a swat from his massive paw that sent him flying into the lead until his lifeless body rolled to a stop a few dozen yards down the slope. The huge bear pulled another man to the ground and almost casually crushed his head in his powerful jaws.

With the bear seemingly occupied and their horses only a few steps away, the remaining men felt a surge of hope that may yet escape. Those hopes were dashed as dark forms darted in and out of the trees with howls and yips. The large pack of wolves tore into the remaining men, several of which they pulled from saddles before they could get their horses moving. Freed of human burden, the horses did not wait around and bolted away with their eyes rolling in fear. The wolves did not pursue them. Their prey this day walked on two legs, not four.

Bron made his way down the hill and examined the human woman’s body. Trielle fluttered close by while he checked for signs of life. She was covered in blood and at least three arrows shafts, snapped off close to the body from her headlong tumble, protruded from her body.

“Is she dead?” Trielle asked, almost with a touch of sympathy.

“Very near,” Bron answered.

The druid stripped the armor from Elli’s body and applied a salve from a clay jar he pulled from the satchel draped around his shoulder. The ointment would prevent infection, slow or stop the bleeding, and hasten healing, but he was unsure if it would be enough.

Bron turned towards the cliff face and watched the human boy as he scrambled down. Concern for the woman he had known for years but just truly met yesterday hastened his descent. In just a few minutes, Miles cautiously approached the creature lurking over Elli’s body.

“You can come near. I will not harm you,” Bron assured the young man.

“Wh-who are you? What are you?” Miles asked.

“My name is Bron. I am a devout of Ellanee, but I assume your question is in regard to my appearance. My mother was human and my father an ogre.”

“You are a half-ogre?” Miles asked, having read about the rare possibility.

“Yeah, the ugly, smelly, kid-eating half, so you better watch your step, human!” Trielle snapped.