The Cavalier (29 page)

“I believe the threat is near, my Prince,” Jonas said, his voice quivering with fear. Dagrinal touched his arm lightly, reassuring him with his presence. Jonas looked at these men, all standing ready, swords and bows out, their intent eyes searching the forest for any threat. These were good men to die with if that was his destiny. He lifted his bow, searching the forest, trying to focus on something, anything other than his shaking bow arm.

Suddenly a huge boulder sailed through the air crashing into Nogris’s back. Jonas heard Nogris’s bones break and his body shatter like dry wood as it was launched into the water behind them.

Jorm screamed for his brother and everyone dove behind whatever cover they could find. But there was none. Several more boulders landed around them, crushing rocks, logs, whatever they hit.

Piap dove to the ground just as a huge rock landed on his right leg, crushing it into pulp. His screams filled the evening air.
 

Everyone looked on the opposite side of the little pool where the rocks had come from and saw three hill giants push through the dense forest. Each giant was more than twice the size of a man. They were thick and stout like trees and covered with coarse black hair. Their appearance was similar to an ogre, but Jonas thought they seemed less animalistic. Dirty furs draped their waists and they wore nothing on their thick calloused feet. They were human-like except for their massive size and the long canines protruding from their thick lips. Each of the giants carried a club that looked more like a limbed tree. With their strength and size they would be formidable weapons.

The giants growled ominously, stepping into the water and moving towards them with hunger in their eyes. Their long strides and height enabled them to push their large bulk through the little pool quickly.

“Form up, use the bows!” yelled the prince. The hardy warriors quickly reacted to the attack. Jonas, Beorth, and Jorm stepped to the edge of the rock face pulling their powerful bows back. The strong bent wood and taut bow strings sounded like the creaking of an old barn door. They fired at will, each arrow thudding into the thick hides as if they were hitting tree trunks. The arrows didn’t seem to slow them down much. In fact they looked like little needles sticking from their colossal bodies.

A crunching, cracking noise, like wood being split, alerted the prince that someone, or something was now behind them. Prince Baylin, Graggis, Dagrinal, and Sal all turned to face the new threat.

Three more giants pushed their way through the dense forest. They easily pushed the trees out of their way, the wood splintering like twigs. They lumbered into the clearing, logs in hand, eyeing the four warriors.
 
One huge giant, easily several heads taller than the others, mumbled something unrecognizable. The deep baritone voice seemed to shake the ground they stood on. The other giants growled in understanding, approaching the warriors with saliva dripping from their mouths. Their intent was obvious.

Jonas had no time to wonder about the sounds behind him. He continued firing his bow at one of the giants. The twang of his bow sounded with each beat of his heart. His fourth arrow took the beast in the eye finally slowing it down. The giant roared in pain and swung its tree-like club into the water with frustration, splashing water all over the place as it stumbled around in the pool. They were only fifteen paces away now so the water splashed over the three bowmen. The flat rock they were on was a full pace above the pool’s surface, which put the giant’s heads even with the top of the rock. The giants would have to climb up the rock, which would expose them to an attack.

Jonas fired his last arrow into the stumbling giant before dropping his bow and drawing his sword. It was a good shot and the close range drove the arrow deep into the giant’s throat. The beast roared again, its anger apparent as it continued swinging its club wildly. The injured, and apparently dimwitted beast, swung its club at an unseen foe and hit a nearby giant in the side of the head. That giant stumbled, roaring in agony and grabbing his smashed and bleeding nose.

Graggis faced the giants, his axe held in front of him. His bulging arms flexed as he clenched the axe handle firmly in anticipation of battle. He smiled eagerly for the challenge. “Come on tree swingers; let’s see how you handle my axe.”

One of the giants stepped toward him swinging its thick club in a sideways arc. The giant was huge and strong, but not very quick.

Graggis roared defiantly, diving forward under the club, and rolling up right by its tree trunk legs. The bewildered creature looked down as Graggis swung his magical axe with all his strength into the beasts exposed thigh. The blade sunk in deep and blood erupted from the giant’s severed artery. The giant grunted in pain trying to bring the end of its club down on Graggis’s head. Graggis sidestepped, swinging his axe into the giant’s hand, the razor sharp blade severing the giant’s thick fingers. The beast dropped the log, roaring in surprise. The giant’s bloody fingers fell to the ground like thick summer sausages.

Prince Baylin and Sal flanked another of the behemoths as it stormed toward them. The screaming giant kicked out with its right leg trying to crush Sal. The beast’s huge foot glanced off of Sal’s side as he dove out of the way. Sal grimaced with pain as he felt several ribs crack. But he was a Finarthian Knight and it would take more than a couple cracked ribs to take him out of the fight. He landed, rolling back up into a fighting crouch just in time to see the beast’s massive foot descending upon him.

Suddenly the giant howled and its foot stopped as he stumbled backwards. Prince Baylin had struck the beast several times across the back of its hamstring, his magical blade slicing through the thick skin easily, scoring several deep wounds.

Dagrinal faced the third giant on his own. He slowed his breathing and calmed his beating heart as the giant bore down on him. Where Graggis fought with rage and power, Dagrinal fought with calm precision. He lifted his sword calmly and began his dance. His lithe strong body kept him constantly moving, his razor sharp sword inflicting numerous wounds, a blur of pain gradually slowing the giant. The giant roared in agony and frustration as it tried to crush the dancing swordsman. The beast bled from many gashes along its legs and torso but it still swung the huge club with power.

Beorth and Jorm also dropped their bows and drew their swords as the two remaining giants, riddled with arrows, moved towards the rock edge. The third giant had finally succumbed to the arrow in its eye and throat, sinking below the surface of the pool.

“Go for their arms as they try to climb the rock!” yelled Jorm. Beorth and Jonas readied their swords as the giants neared. One of the giants surprised them by throwing its club like a spear.

“Look out!” Jorm cried diving to the side. Beorth tried to dodge the log but it was too long. The heavy log clipped his shoulder sending him sailing into the air. Jorm looked up just as the second giant, its chest even with the rock edge, swung its massive club downward, hoping to crush the human who lay sprawled before him.

Jonas looked on with horror. He screamed loudly, willing the log to stop its decent. Jonas felt something shift within his mind, something that he could not explain. In a flash, he saw the scene in hues of colors; everything around him had a distinct glow, or aura. It was like a murky soup of color, everything connected somehow. Jonas didn’t know how, but as he willed the club to stop, it did. It was like all of Jonas’s will and desire flew from his mind and grabbed the club.

The giant’s club froze in mid-air as the giant looked on dumbfounded, not sure why its club wouldn’t move. Jonas stood with his sword in one hand and his other arm outstretched toward the immobilized club. He concentrated on the log, keeping it still. His head began to ache but he continued to focus on the club. He willed the log backwards, toward the giant’s face, and the log obeyed, smashing into the surprised giant’s nose. It was almost as if he were a puppeteer and the log was his puppet, connected by invisible strands of energy that only he could see and control.
 

Jorm was a warrior who had fought in many battles, and he learned long ago to never falter or think about one’s luck while fighting. He simply took advantage of the situation that was presented to him. He jumped up as the giant struck himself in the face with its own club, swinging his razor sharp sword across the throat of the bewildered creature. The blade hissed through the air slicing across the beast’s throat, parting it easily. Blood erupted from the wound dousing Jorm in red splashes. The dying giant stumbled backwards falling into the pool, turning the crystal clear water a crimson hue.

The bleeding giant fighting Graggis shuffled backwards, kicking out its massive leg trying to batter the man with the painful axe. Loss of blood had slowed the beast and its movements were clumsy, but it got lucky as its left leg clipped Graggis in the hip, spinning him backwards. Graggis gritted his teeth from the pain of the kick but managed to stay on his feet and hold onto his axe.

The giant took advantage of the small reprieve by reaching down with its good hand and grabbing its club on the ground. The huge creature lifted the club easily, chopping it downward, hoping to crush the skull of the man that had caused him so much pain. Graggis quickly regained his footing just as the club was descending toward him. As the club came down, Graggis bolted forward with his axe over his head.

“Ulren!” Graggis screamed as the giant’s club smashed into the ground, narrowly missing him, his axe head taking the beast in the groin. The magical blade bit in deep and the giant roared in agony. The giant dropped to its knees, never before feeling that kind of pain.

Graggis stepped back, yanking the blade from the grisly wound. The screaming giant brought both hands to its groin as its eyes rolled back in its head. Graggis growled swinging his mighty axe at the giant’s throat, which was now at eye level. His powerful swing brought the axe through the giant’s thick neck, severing it cleanly all the way to the beast’s spine. Thick red fluid showered Graggis as he stepped back, the giant falling backwards, choking on its own blood.

Sal and Prince Baylin were taking turns inflicting damage. Sal’s movements began to slow as his broken ribs were taking their toll. This giant was strong, and he was not giving up easily. Sal sliced his sword across the giant’s calf as the beast swung its club at Baylin. The blade stung the giant and it kicked its leg backward hoping to connect with the blonde human again. Sal’s tired body could not react quickly enough and the giant’s heel took him in the chest sending him sprawling to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him and several more ribs cracked from the tremendous force of the kick.

Dagrinal continued to enrage the bleeding giant he was fighting. The beast bled from dozens of wounds, none of them critical, but they were slowly sapping the strength from the behemoth.
 

Jorm, covered in the giant’s blood, turned to see the last giant climb up onto the rock ledge. Beorth, dazed from the thrown club, was slowly struggling to get up.

Jonas looked on as the hairy beast reached out with its gnarly hand, grabbing Beorth by the head. The man screamed as he was lifted into the air.

“No!” yelled Jonas, as he and Jorm bolted towards the giant with swords leading the way. The giant swung the screaming man at the charging humans. Beorth’s legs struck Jorm and Jonas solidly, sending them flying backward onto the hard rock. Jonas and Jorm looked on as the giant grabbed Beorth’s legs, his other hand still holding his head, and pulled with all his might.

Jonas tried to stop the giant’s movement, just as he had the club, but as he concentrated on the beast, his head exploded with pain, causing him to pitch over. He reached up, grabbing his throbbing skull, agony lancing through his head.

Beorth’s head ripped off like he was just a rag doll. Blood spewed from the headless body as it dangled in the roaring beast’s hands. The giant dropped the head to the rocks below flinging the lifeless body into the mountain pool.

Jonas struggled to get up and grab his sword, shaking away the painful pounding in his head. Jorm leaped up in anger just as a score of arrows mysteriously flew from the woods slamming into the giant. They both looked around, wondering where the arrows were coming from. The giant stumbled around on the rock; many arrows embedded in its flesh. Finally the sheer number of arrows ended the beast’s life, causing it to fall and topple off the rock ledge into the water.

The same fate awaited the remaining giants fighting Baylin and Dagrinal. Black shafted arrows peppered the monsters until they looked like pin cushions. They, too, stumbled around before finally succumbing to the massive amount of arrows and falling dead to the ground. None of the deadly arrows struck the tired warriors.

Dagrinal, Graggis, and Baylin slowly retreated backward towards Jorm and Jonas.

“What is happening?” asked Dagrinal, his crimson stained sword held before him. They were scanning the wood line before them, bloody and tired, but holding their weapons with determination.

“I don’t know, but if they wanted us dead then we would be. Lower your weapons,” ordered Prince Baylin.

After several seconds of waiting, a lone cloaked figure emerged from the trees. He wore a long green hunter’s cloak and his face was hooded in secrecy. He carried a long black bow in his right hand and a quiver of arrows was lashed to his back. “Who are you?” the man said in a commanding voice.

Prince Baylin stepped forward speaking with authority. “I am Prince Baylin of Finarth. These are my knights, along with a young knight apprentice.”