The Bone Fletcher – Part Two
"Urgh!"
Erik let out a grunt as a demon struck a blow fully to his left mid-section. Thankfully, it was a lesser demon, small enough to slip through his notice, so his armor took the most of the impact. Still, even lesser demons were considerably strong, and Erik stumbled a few steps to the right. He half-turned to glance at the gleefully grinning imp by instinct.
"Sir!" A clang of metal resounded just in front of him. Cursing his own stupidity, Erik snapped his gaze back to the front. One of his guard had stepped in front of him, intercepting the crude sword of another demon looking to take advantage of his lapse in attention. Angrily, he deftly side-stepped the soldier, thrusting with his own blade and piercing the demon's chest. Without delay, his defender raised a leg and kicked the howling demon backwards to get rid of it. With a swing of his now freed blade, Erik dispatched the imp that had almost cost his life quickly. Turning, he saw his man engaged in combat with yet another demon. His gratitude would have to wait.
The melee was fierce and bloody. The demons had taken advantage of the confusion and panic to strike, and they were dangerously close to the outpost's gates when the two armies had clashed. Erik himself had to take the field, as he was far too distant from his command tower near the western gate when the horns had sounded. He had no choice but to trust his lieutenants up in the tower with command; right now, he could do the most by taking personal command of the western forces.
Gritting his teeth, Erik went once more into the fray.
The cavern was dark. There was no light and no sound, but the rank stench of demon hung heavy in the air. Clint and his small party made his way deeper into the cavern, their path only slightly illuminated by the hastily fashioned torches they had made from branches around the cavern. In here, even the light felt subdued and smaller than what it should have been.
"Eerie place, this." Clint said quietly. This earned him a tap on the shoulder from Kale; glancing back, Clint could just barely make out Kale shaking his head and placing a finger on his lips, undoubtedly with a stern expression on his face. Shrugging, Clint turned to face the front again.
Soon, it became apparent that the party was traveling downward, and the ground got steeper as they went along. The group got more and more apprehensive as they walked, but for quite a ways they progressed without any demonic encounters. Their nerves grew high-strung with each step, and their grip on their readied weapons grew tighter.
It is therefore understandable how Jonah reacted when they rounded a corner and nearly walked into a ten-foot-tall demon.
The man recoiled backwards, shouting out in shock. His direction sent him stumbling directly into Clint, who was completely unprepared. The two went crashing down in a heap of metal and surprised voices, and the other three at the back jumped in surprise.
The crimson-skinned demon ran around the corner, roaring in surprise and bloodlust. It was covered in a hard, black shell on the main parts of its body, a natural armor that was not easily pierced. It was unarmed, but the claws on its hands and feet was as sharp as any sword. It saw the party and charged.
"Jig's up, gentlemen!" Clint yelled, as he tried to disentangle himself from his comrade. With a loud cry, Mesca leaped over his friends' struggling bodies and slammed into the hard carapace of the demon with his shield. The force sent the demon staggering backwards a few steps, but despite having two hundred pounds of man and steel crash into it, it somehow stayed on its feet. Snarling, the demon encased Mesca in a big bear hug, looking to crush the life out of the armored knight.
Simultaneously, Kale and Rex drove their knives into the demon's unprotected elbows. The giant inhaled sharply in pain and dropped his prey, who landed in an unceremonious heap at its feet. The two responsible let go of their knives quickly and darted backwards, drawing their short swords while Jonah, who had recovered from his initial fall, jumped high and plunged his blade deep into the demon's left shoulder.
Without pausing, the demon raised its other arm, claws extended. It swiped roughly at Jonah, tearing through his chainmail and drawing blood; Jonah cried out as the blow flung him against the cavern walls. The demon's maw opened wide as it roared its challenge to the intruders.
Abruptly, the roar was cut off, and the demon's head snapped back as an arrow protruded through the inside of its mouth and out the back of its head. It stumbled backwards, gargling in pain, a sound which stopped when Mesca swung his broadsword in a giant arc, taking the demon's head off completely. With a loud thud, the severed head fell on the floor, its lifeless eyes filled with disbelief and outrage; a second later, its torso crashed loudly next to it.
The party was silent as they registered what had just transpired. Just like that, the skirmish was over; the entire process had only lasted a few seconds. Their break was short-lived, however; shouts from further into the cavern meant that more demons would soon be approaching. Groaning, Jonah rose to his feet as Kale and Rex quickly retrieved their weapons from the corpse.
Clint tossed Jonah a recovery potion. "Here mate, drink up. We'll need you for what lies ahead. Mesca, you take the point from now on. Everyone else, let's go!" Nodding his acknowledgement, Mesca set off at a brisk pace, and the rest followed quickly. The need for stealth was over; it was time to do battle.
The battle was not going well. With every demon Erik felled, it seemed there was always another ready to take its place. He had lost many men, and the defenders were finding it harder and harder to repel the unending waves of demons from their gates. They had held somehow, and the demons had yet to enter the walls of the outpost, but at the rate things were going Erik could not guarantee they would not by the day's end.
Inexplicably, Erik and a small detachment of his personal guard found themselves being pushed away from the outpost's walls, further and further into demon's midst. The Knight-Commander only realized this when he attempted to dodging a demon's swing by stepping backwards, only to surprise both himself and the man behind him by bumping into the other man's back. They were isolated from the main army, surrounded on all sides.
Well. This is where it ends. Erik thought to himself. Bereft of support with nowhere to go, it would only be a matter of time before the enemies overpowered them and struck them down. Making a quick decision, he raised his voice in command.
"Men! There's no way out for us now. Moving backwards will only let the enemy cut us down from behind! We move forward, and take down as many as we can. We might fall today, but we're not going down without a fight! Assume a wedge formation!"
An answering shout came from his men, and the well-trained soldiers moved quickly into position with Erik at its centre. Erik's first thought was of gratitude, that his men were so willing to follow him even into death; his second of deep regret, that he would be leading all of these men to their doom. But both were driven from his mind as he blocked a demon's sword swing with his shield, and as one the brave detachment pushed on determinedly into the heart of the demon army.
Clint fired another arrow, keeping a mental count of his supply. He salvaged as many as he could from those that he killed, but many had broken in his attempts. The party had progressed fairly deep into the cave, and had managed to dispatch all of the opponents that they had encountered.
The number of demons they found were far less than they had initially expected, but still the constant battle was beginning to take a toll on the humans. Jonah had not quite fully recovered from their initial encounter, and the rest of the party bore several wounds as well. Still, they pressed on.
Strangely enough, the further they went into the cavern, the brighter the place became, illuminated by an odd flickering light that grew in intensity. Eventually, the party came across a large, circular chamber, so large that Clint could hardly see the other end of it. In the centre stood an enormous brazier, where a huge blaze burned; its flames reached the very ceiling of the room, and the heat just from standing there was intense. At its base stood a throne carved of stone, and on it sat a demon larger than any the party had just encountered.
In its own way, the demon was regal-looking. Its bulky body was covered in dark armor, fully encased in steel. Its features were fear-inspiring; it had two slits for nostrils, and its eyes burned with a kind of otherworldly flames. On the top of its head nestled a crown of sorts, made also from the same type of metal as its armor. Clearly, this was a demon that reigned over others. Which could mean only one thing – this was the demon Maraxiform, the bane that threatened their homeland.
"Guys, I think that's the Big Bad." Rex muttered.
"Yeah, no shit," Clint snorted. His eyes scanned the room quickly; apart from Maraxiform, it seemed that there were no other demons in the chamber. The demon king itself appeared relaxed and leisurely, looking at them with an interested but bored attitude. It was as if insects had entered the room, hardly worth its notice. Well, that would change quickly.
"Alright guys – no dying on me now! Let's go!" Readying themselves, the small group rushed into the chamber.
A/N: I guess I don't really need to explain myself, but I think I will anyway. The reason for this really long, unplanned hiatus is mainly because of this story. I've always liked Clinkz, not just the hero but also the bio. I've dreamt up the perfect scenario to end this entire thing on, given him an entire backstory's worth, even provided a family, friends and a cause to fight for while the actual bio just skims over a lot of that.
But for some reason, I've never been able to picture the thing in my head. The scenes would continue to a certain point, and then just peter off into nothingness. The battle scenes don't move, the dialogue doesn't flow… I guess this is a classic case of writer's block, one that lasted for quite some time. And when I finally got the gears to grind out the chapters, my writing had just deteriorated so much.
I'll try to finish this arc, at least. Thanks to everyone who's still read this, it's a pleasure knowing you guys are still around.
