Chapter 12
Sometime before the inauguration party on the Far Raiders' ice. . .
Screams could be heard on the deck of the Far Raiders ship. A battle was taking place. It had been raging on for hours. The dead or wounded were littering the deck and the ice below, staining the ground beneath them scarlet. Much blood had been spilled.
"Retreat!" yelled Grim Forkbeard his voice booming over the din of the constant clashing of bone weapons.
The reaction he got was immediate. All Icecarls that were defending the ship fell back to the small storage room at the back of the deck, after finishing their individual brawls. Grim stayed on deck near the entrance of the storage room, bravely fending off attacks made on the retreating Icecarls.
Grim wielded his battle axe with great skill. An enemy Icecarl rushed him with his sword holding it low to execute a vicious uppercut. Grim had seen this and decided to feint an attack to counter the move with his axe swinging downwards in an arch. His enemy smiled behind his mask and moved his blade upwards and was about to meet Grim's axe but twitched his sword to the side and was now coming down upon Grim with a downward slash.
Grim had anticipated this and used his momentum to go in towards the Icecarl warrior and buried his axe into his stomach. The enemy let out a surprised gasp and had no time to contemplate what had happened when he was lifted off his feet and thrown across the deck into another enemy Icecarl that was blocking the path of a fellow Far Raider warrior.
The enemy was hurled into his brethren and this caused a chain reaction that stopped a wave of enemy warriors, knocking them down one after the other. This had given the remaining Far Raiders time to retreat and as soon as the last Icecarl was safely below the deck, Grim threw himself behind the door and slammed it shut before a volley of bone arrows buried themselves in the wood where Grim had just been standing.
"Grim barricade the door!" said a voice behind him.
Grim grunted in reply and rolled a nearby barrel in front of the door. The non wounded Icecarls threw themselves at the door barring it as the first attack on the door was made.
After a few more attacks on the door Grim pondered the possibility of giving up the ship. The loyal Icecarls were out numbered and worn out from all the fighting. Escape was certainly possible but they would have to give up the one thing they were protecting, the ship. Grim brooded over the thought of escape and couldn't think of anything that could get more then a quarter of the small force out alive. The enemy Icecarls were many and had probably barred every way off the ship. Shaking his head in defeat he turned to the Crone at the back of the room.
"Can you call for help?" asked Grim.
"I already have, Grim but I fear by the time that it arrives we shall be dead or worse. . ." replied the Crone sadly.
"The only thing we can do is wait here and hope our barricade stays up until help arrives." Grim thought aloud.
The Crone nodded in agreement and started to attend to the wounded. Grim then busied himself looking for more objects to block the door with. The human barricade would not last long especially on this night because it was going to be a long one.
Sometime before the inauguration party on the Far Raiders' ice. . .
Screams could be heard on the deck of the Far Raiders ship. A battle was taking place. It had been raging on for hours. The dead or wounded were littering the deck and the ice below, staining the ground beneath them scarlet. Much blood had been spilled.
"Retreat!" yelled Grim Forkbeard his voice booming over the din of the constant clashing of bone weapons.
The reaction he got was immediate. All Icecarls that were defending the ship fell back to the small storage room at the back of the deck, after finishing their individual brawls. Grim stayed on deck near the entrance of the storage room, bravely fending off attacks made on the retreating Icecarls.
Grim wielded his battle axe with great skill. An enemy Icecarl rushed him with his sword holding it low to execute a vicious uppercut. Grim had seen this and decided to feint an attack to counter the move with his axe swinging downwards in an arch. His enemy smiled behind his mask and moved his blade upwards and was about to meet Grim's axe but twitched his sword to the side and was now coming down upon Grim with a downward slash.
Grim had anticipated this and used his momentum to go in towards the Icecarl warrior and buried his axe into his stomach. The enemy let out a surprised gasp and had no time to contemplate what had happened when he was lifted off his feet and thrown across the deck into another enemy Icecarl that was blocking the path of a fellow Far Raider warrior.
The enemy was hurled into his brethren and this caused a chain reaction that stopped a wave of enemy warriors, knocking them down one after the other. This had given the remaining Far Raiders time to retreat and as soon as the last Icecarl was safely below the deck, Grim threw himself behind the door and slammed it shut before a volley of bone arrows buried themselves in the wood where Grim had just been standing.
"Grim barricade the door!" said a voice behind him.
Grim grunted in reply and rolled a nearby barrel in front of the door. The non wounded Icecarls threw themselves at the door barring it as the first attack on the door was made.
After a few more attacks on the door Grim pondered the possibility of giving up the ship. The loyal Icecarls were out numbered and worn out from all the fighting. Escape was certainly possible but they would have to give up the one thing they were protecting, the ship. Grim brooded over the thought of escape and couldn't think of anything that could get more then a quarter of the small force out alive. The enemy Icecarls were many and had probably barred every way off the ship. Shaking his head in defeat he turned to the Crone at the back of the room.
"Can you call for help?" asked Grim.
"I already have, Grim but I fear by the time that it arrives we shall be dead or worse. . ." replied the Crone sadly.
"The only thing we can do is wait here and hope our barricade stays up until help arrives." Grim thought aloud.
The Crone nodded in agreement and started to attend to the wounded. Grim then busied himself looking for more objects to block the door with. The human barricade would not last long especially on this night because it was going to be a long one.