Mary Smith
Stories
13
Chapters
4,849
Words
711.2 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 11 h
-
“Lord Blackthorne will see you now.” The Knight swept the flap of the war tent aside and stood back to allow Gills and I inside. Blackthorne was dressed in traveling clothes, Dawnbringer leaning against the war table beside him. He stood studying a sprawling map of Kadia, his face creased in a frown. Around him several of his advisers glanced up and fell silent at our approach. Gills bowed deeply and I followed suit, clasping my hands behind my back. We had been sent for in the early hours of the…-
173 •
-
-
My sword sliced through the air in an arc as I practiced. It was evening, and I had been drilling for hours. Somehow the exercise that would normally clear my head was having little effect today. I pivoted on my lead foot, bringing up my shield and practicing my sword thrusts. Sweat fell freely down my bare chest. I could feel the eyes of others on me. The soldiers watched me, weary of my mood. I’d been mostly silent since the death of my friend. I’d needed time to think, and with thought came the…
-
173 •
-
-
“Get ready,” I said as I took my position by the side of the makeshift raft. The logs were still rough with unshorn bark. The ropes that had been used to lash the logs together were stiff. I bent at the knees, reading myself to take on the weight. “Lift.” The men of my squad heaved upwards and the raft came slowly off the ground. It was still heavy, and I had to brace the load on my shoulder to keep my feet steady. “Forward.” We moved forward towards the edge of the tree line. My squad,…
-
173 •
-
-
Three days after the arrival of the Inquisitor, the orders to move out came from on high. Our Army was to march south towards the city of Ceris, where we would join the counts forces to repel the growing threat of Orks. If the reports were anything to go by, the Counts men had sustained heavy casualties. The roaming Ork tribes had wasted no time in pressing their advantage. Several towns and villages in the path of the Host had been entirely wiped out. The Orks continued on, leaving a path of…
-
173 •
-
-
I woke with a ravenous hunger. To my surprise it was Vera who knocked on my tent pole with a plate of sliced fruit and cheese. I thanked her and ate before rising to change my clothes. A runner had brought me a few new sets earlier in the morning. When I had asked him how I would pay for them, the man simply waved a hand. “The Count’s son has already payed the Taylor. The clothes are yours to keep.” I pulled the new dark tunic over my head, admiring the feel of the cloth. There was no doubt…
-
173 •
-
-
The Beast was easily the size of a wagon, it’s broad hairy shoulders standing at least nine feet high. It’s eyes were lit with a primordial glow that filled me with a sense of dread. “Back!” I shouted to Draxus even as I brought my sword upwards. The Cursed Bear was breathing heavily, it’s head canted to the side as it watched us scramble back towards the tunnel. With a sinking feeling I realized it was unhurried, as if it knew that we had no where to go. Blood dripped from it’s maw and…
-
173 •
-
-
“What am I even looking at?” Whispered Kato from by side. We were standing at the edge of a ledge overlooking a small drop off. There, about fifteen feet below us was a small pit. That’s where the bodies were. There were three of them, and all were human. They were splayed out across some sort wooden slab, spread eagled. Their hands had been nailed through the palms, their eyes and tongues removed. I stared into the empty sockets where the eyes should have been and felt my gorge rise. “One…
-
173 •
-
-
The tracker knelt at the fork in the path and examined the ground. He brushed his fingertips over the hoof prints stamped in the earth and raised them to his nose. I watched as he inhaled deeply. “What the hell is he doing?” Asked Seth. He was frowning down at the tracker as he picked at the stems of plants that had been trampled by the path of horses. “Who the hell knows.” Kato had his sword propped over one shoulder. His face was still smeared with the grime of the recent battle, but he…
-
173 •
-
-
It was the force of the charge was it’s own undoing. When our front lines hit the Goblin Horde we were rocked backwards by the sudden resistance. My head jerked back, slamming into the helmet of the man behind me. The front ranks hacked at the Goblins, shoving forward with gritted teeth and snarled oaths. It was already too late when we saw the sharpened ends of the rusted pole arms. The momentum of the charge was abruptly arrested as the front ranks realized they had nowhere to go. The smart ones…
-
173 •
-
-
The air was thick with the smell of smoke and ash. The slow breeze stirred the soot and blew it back towards us, making the men cough. The Young Lord Dacon dismounted his Courser and dropped to a crouch in the dirt. His visor was raised and his face somber as he studied the gruesome sight before him. That there had been a battle here, there was no doubt. Men lay scattered across the ground as if thrown by the hand of some callous god. Tents had been smashed and burned, arrows and splintered spear…
-
173 •
-
- Previous 1 … 483 484 485 Next
