Knight's heart
A story by Hexblade
The wind blows gently in his face,he is calm and ready for the battle.A battle...he thought,it would be more of a massacre,it was only a small village,they had no defense,no real weapons and no real soldiers.We are knights,he said to himself,how can killing innocent people be brave and heroic?This small village was the enemy,the east and west are at war,he had to obey his command to protect his homeland.
-Prepare to charge!
Shouted the commander,and the young knight readied his sword and closed his eyes.A few seconds went by,and they seemed like an eternity,with his eyes closed he prayed to the gods to wake him up from this nightmare.He then heard galloping horses,he felt his own mount going forward,nearing the village.When he opened his eyes he saw dark shadows,the shadows of his own comrades killing,murdering...The village was in flames,the small wooden houses burning easily,the screams of the women,the cries from the children.He couldnt...,never he would use his sword to be an assassin.
They were six,thats how many he could see in the night at least,his vision was blurred because of the tears that filled his eyes.Men weilding farming tools in guise of weapons.He was surrounded,he wanted to yell that he had no intention of hurting them,his mouth opened but no sound would come out.The enraged peasants charged him and pushed him off his mount,his instinct of survival took control of his arm and performed three rapid slashes with his sword.Falling to his knees the knight dropped his weapon,he ran his hand on his cheek and looked at it,he could smell the blood,he was covered in it.He had killed all of them,the horrible stench of blood,he couldnt take it anymore,he felt his body becoming heavier,he fell into darkness...
He woke up in a tent,it was still dark outside,he had no idea for how long he had been unconscious.He heard horrible noises comming from outside,but he was too confused to identify them.
-Hey!You finally woke up...
A soldier was sitting on a chair near his bed,he had a crossbow in his hands and seemed to have been into a serious battle,his armors were damaged and stained in blood.
-The commander will surely be glad your not dead...Its a raging war out there...Orcs,they caught us by surprise,those coward bastards,theyre always attacking when they are superior in numbers...
The young knight obviously didnt seem to fully understand the situation,
-Your name is Kain isint it?
The knight nodded.
-Well anyway,if you want to get out of here alive,listen to this,get out of the camp and head south thru the forest,they'll be a few orcs,but your chances are better there than to the north.
The sounds of battle echoed in the camp,Kain took his sword and equiped a leather armor,it did not provide has much protection has his chain mail but it allowed him to be more stealthy and silent.
-If you make it out of the forest you'll come to a small town,you'll be safe there.Good luck to you friend...
Kain paused for a moment,he wondered what his destiny would be?Did he really want to return to his kingdom?What fate was reserved to him there,could he endure more cruel missions from his superiors?This was his chance to escape to a better way of life...
Kain stormed out of the tent,the entire encampment was in chaos,orcs,tall humanoids with tusks and dark green skin,were attacking with rage and fury,their axes splitting skulls and chopping soldiers like they were mere wooden branches,the young knight knew he was better off not facing one of those savages.He discretly ran out into the darkness not seeing were he was heading,he followed the soldiers indication and went south,blindly into the dark forest.
Kain had run into the forest for a few minutes know,he was far enough from the battle,just when he though he had been lucky,he heard a voice who could only be one of an orc.
-Wretched human!I'll kill one more...
Kain turned around,thinking to himself that he had been careless and that he was followed,but the orc he saw was not really in good shape.The orc was sitting,his back to a tree holding his giant axe in one hand.His other arm seemed to have been greatly injured.The orc tried to continue his rambling but he started to cough and spit blood.
-Save your strengh orc,i have no intention of killing a helpless foe,wait here for your kin to save you.
-Save me?Ha ha ha! Theyre not comming to save me! We orcs dont care for the wounded,a warrior who canot fight his useless...See my arm,its broken at five different places,i have to die a honorable death,in battle!
-I didnt know you orcs cared for honor?
-I am from the broken tusk clan!We are not like the others,we had a deal with the village that was attacked,they gave us a part from their farming produces,and we protected them from any threat...
-Lawful orcs?
Kain thought to himself,that orc was defending a village of innocent people while he,a knight was attacking it.Surely this was a strange situation.He had to help that orc,this would surely be a good beginning for salvation.The young human bent down and picked up the large orc on his shoulders.
-What the hell do you think your doing?Put me down!
Kain didnt say a word,the orc was to heavy for him but he kept walking slowly.
The morning sun woke up,Krask felt an horrible pain into his right arm,he wasent able to move it.He had fought a great battle and had survived it.But now he his just an handicaped,useless old orc he thought to himself.But the most humiliating part was beeing saved by a small weak human.Not that weak,he corrected himself,the young boy had transported him for quite a distance,in fact Krask was impressed.Why the hell did the gods let him live,he had been waiting to die in battle for years,he missed his chance to earn his eternal repose.And its all that stupid human's fault!Krask stared at the sleeping boy for a while and left into the woods...
Kain's nostrils were filled by the scent of cooking meat,his mouth began to water,he was starving and it smelled so good.He opened his eyes and saw the orc cooking two rabbits.
-Breakfeast is almost ready...
-So you will be going back to your clan?
-No...i cant...
-I cant go back to my home either,i'll probably be executed for running away...
-If you deserted a battle you deserve a far more worse fate than death,you deserve a slow painful torture!
-I ran away because i...i cant kill people...
-What your people has done last night was dishonorable,perhaps running away was the right path for you.
-Perhaps...well if your not going back to your clan,you can come with me,there is a town on the other side of this forest.
-Nah,i'll get killed as soon as they see me,they dont welcome orcs down south,i'll go to the barbarian lands.Theyre is always good wars between clans up north.
-Fine then...
-You would really let an orc accompany you?
-No not an orc,but you yes.
The two shared a laugh and ate breakfast.
The hunters were slowly approaching their preys,they could hardly contain their joy of having two careless people into the hunting grounds,they made so much noise,it was quite easy for the gnolls to track them.They were ten of them,positioning themselves to circle the enemy.Gnolls are humanoids slightly taller than humans,they have grey skin,a furry body and a head like a hyena's with a reddish-gray mane.These one were armed with throwing spears,perfect for killing large animals or humans.Gnolls were strong but not to intelligent,they were not so good at concentrating either,one of them,to hungry and excited threw a spear at the human...
A spear landed right next to Kain,he looked up and saw a monster behind a tree,Krask grabbed his axe with his left arm and turned around.His orcish eyes were used at spotting enemies in the darkness of the forest,he could see each one of these amateur hunters trying to hide desperatly.
-Gnoll hunters!
Kain stood up fast,sword in hand he glanced around.The gnolls knew their surprise attack was over,they came out of the shadows,laughing and drooling.Slowly they were closing in on them,leaving less ground to their preys to defend themselves efficiently.It would be a difficult battle Krask thought,but he could finally end his life with honor.Kain was getting nervous when he saw the orc smilling,that could not bode well for him...
To be continued in the next chapter:Elf destiny...