(Working Title)
Author's Note: Been having more Internet problems, and I see I only got one review. I'll update now, anyway. Going to try and make this a good one. If its not, sorry. All writers have to start somewhere. Also, this chapter will have some mild gore, but nothing too bad. Let me know if I must change the rating.
Ch.4: Still More Trouble
As the second ear-splitting whistle echoed off the mountains, the bandits slowly closed in and encircled the band of four, cutting off all points of escape. They were boxed in on all sides, escape was inevitable.
"My king, fight with caution, we are deftly outnumbered," Came Seth's voice from behind him. Kyle took up a spear, aiming the very tip outward, toward the oncoming foes. Ephraim stood just to his right, both gloved hands gasping the Raginlief, awaiting the charge, "Be strong, everyone," was the only thing the king could bring himself to say.
In a situation such as this, it was difficult to find the right words to say.
High on the cliff, Zatch continued to bellow out, apparently finding enjoyment from the horrid luck of the Renais knights. Finally, he raised his giant axe into the air, and shouted over the cliff, "Slay them all!"
At that, the sky became black as a storm of arrows showed from on high. The bandits charged forward, bringing iron and steel weapons about in hopes of catching their prey off guard.
Moving one foot back, and digging it into the dirt, Ephraim pushed his weight forward, thrusting the head of his weapon into the chest of an oncoming enemy, then ripped it out, causing blood to shoot across the ground, catching another foe in a horizontal whipping motion.
Kyle was quick to slip off of his horse. At these numbers, fighting from horseback was danger to both man and beast. As his feet hit the ground, a quick and forceful thrust with the lance skewed through a bandits chest, passed through his body, and ripped open another's throat.
Seth was tightly holding onto the reins of his horse, horizontally swinging a silver blade back and forth, each time claiming the lives of several foes. A loud 'crunch' was heard, as the horse trampled over a sword-bearers leg, who died shortly from a sword-swipe from the Silver Knight.
Forde, unlike Kyle, stayed upon his horse. He remained behind Seth, and was grasping three javelins. He was looking through the sea of foes to see which ones posed the most threat. And those that were, were laid out upon the side of the mountain, a lance embedded into their skulls.
Zatch watched all of this, much to his amusement. To his left and right, his volley of archers were preparing a second storm of deadly arrows. As the signal was given, the multiple snapping of bowstrings echoed off the sides of the mountain, and a sea of arrows plunged downward.
Ephraim swiftly bent his body to the side, evading a vertical swing from an axe-wielding bandit. Then, with such grace, he swept his left boot along the ground, catching both sand, and the leg of the foe, whom plummeted to his death, off the side of the mountain. Another bandit saw his opened; the king was down on the ground, now was the time to strike! —Or so he thought. He charged forward, axe at the ready. Before, however, he could even bring his weapon down, a sharp pain ripped through his stomach. He looked down to see a lance passing from his backside, through his stomach.
Kyle, now amused himself, quickly removed the lance from the bandit, spun it around in a skillful manor, the blunt end whipping against a bandit's head, and sent him also down the side of the cliff, to his death.
"Kyle, you saved my life. I thank you!" Exclaimed Ephraim, who shot up to his feet, only to catch a blow with the Raginlief.
Suddenly, the attack seemed to stop, as the bandits backed away… slowly. To Ephraim's horror, he soon discovered why. He looked up just in time to see a large volley of arrows barreling down upon them. His heart pounded viciously against his chest. There was no way any of them would survive. At the last possible moment, however, he spotted a large clump of rocks, just big enough for all four of them. The formation was set against the mountain, and offered perfect shelter from the arrows, however, it would mean close-quarters fighting.
"This way, quickly!" Ephraim called, and dove behind the rocks, a trail of dusting left in his wake.
After his blade ripped through another foe, Seth leapt off of his horse, and made a mad dash for the rocks, Forde and Kyle at his heels.
Just as they all stepped under the formation an ear-splitting clatter shook the four's nerves as the ground suddenly became filled with arrows. Ephraim knew it was no time to rest, for the rest of the bandits were still out there. Again, Seth and Forde took up positions to one side, Ephraim and Kyle to another.
"Seth, this isn't looking good, how many more are there?" Came Ephraim's voice, slightly shaky.
"I'm afraid its far from over, my king," Seth replied, then motioned with his sword toward the east. What Ephraim saw made his heart stop, nearly instantly.
Up the side of the mountain pass, two long rows of reinforcements were flanking another tall, gruff looking man, who's weapon of choice, was also a large axe. Zatch's voice caught the king's attention, "Ha! Looks like my son has arrived with back up! You cannot hope to win, now!"
But Ephraim wasn't about to give up, not now. He couldn't. He couldn't leave his sister all alone in the capital. He promised to return to her safely. He had to fight on, for both his future, and the future of Renais.
The sudden clatter of weapons caught his attention, as Seth and Kyle vigorously fended off a sea of foes. Ephraim spun around, swinging the Raginlief around his neck and shoulders, until it was aimed straight ahead. A quick thrust, a gurgling noise and another foe fell backward, dead.
Forde now drew forth a steel sword, and went to parrying blow after blow of a swordmaster. Until, of course, the foe was met with the head of a lance through his stomach, held of course, by Ephraim. "Be careful, Forde. Would be a shame to die now, wouldn't you think?"
At that, Forde grinned sheepishly, stepped back, then thrust forward, bringing down another foe. Seth was slowly advancing outward, but tried to remain under the rocks, as arrows continued to fly. The sounds of steel swords clashing together now filled the air, all that was once good in the world seemed to have vanished. Bodies were strewn about; both fresh and dried blood colored the once beautiful gray-colored rocks.
Ephraim stood at Forde's side, with each lethal blow he dealt with his weapon, more continued to step forward, blindly trying to kill him. Another quick spin with his weapon, and a sudden thrust forward, he skillfully claimed the lives of three men, who were now skewered, on his weapon. With a swift kick, he sent all three off of his weapon, crashing into more oncoming foes. His eyes looked over his weapon, and nearly grimaced at the sight. The blade of the lance was now colored red, the once bright silver shine of the steel now gone.
Still, the fighting was not yet over. A sudden cry caused Ephraim to spin around. Kyle was leaning against the side of the mountain, and just ripped an arrow from his shoulder. "Bastards… they sent archers down here, King Ephraim!"
"Kyle! Are you okay?" Asked the king, who pulled a vulnerary from his satchel at his side, and offered it to Kyle.
Taking it, he used his teeth to open the small cork, and pulled the liquid into the small hole that was caused by the arrow. The seething pain slowly diminished, as the wound closed up. "It's not looking good, my king… there are still many foes scattered across the mountain. And there are still more reinforcements to worry about." Kyle spoke, softly.
"But we will not give up, Kyle. We will survive. Where are those reinforcements, anyway? Should they not have arrived by now?"
At this, Kyle looked past the still fighting Seth, to see a bare mountain path in the distance. There was no one, except flank after flank of axe-wielders. "You are right. I wonder what—…"
"Hey! This is no time for niceties!" Forde called over his shoulder, now using his lance to block many axe-swipes. Ephraim and Kyle exchanged quick looks then rose up and continued fighting. A bandit thought he'd be brave, and tried to climb onto the rock formation so he could leap down and cut one of them down.
However, just as he stood straight up on the formation, a javelin whisked through the air, and embedded itself into his neck. 'That's the last one…' Forde thought. The knight held a left-over iron lance in front of him, holding with both hands, to fend off attackers, whilst Ephraim picked them off.
In an instant, Seth dropped the silver blade, and removed him his back, a lance of gold coloring, a light blue ribbon was tied underneath the head, and the leather grappling points were also of a blue coloring. (A/N: The Brave Lance.)
Spinning it once behind his back, Seth grasped the lance, and thrust it forward, catching a bandit on the shoulder, then swung it to the left, beheading another foe. Blood shot up, like a volcano from the nub, before the corpse fell back against the ground, causing some foes to trip, and fall.
Suddenly, Ephraim took notice of several things: reinforcements still had not arrived, there were no longer any arrows being fired from the sky, and the bellows of Zatch had stopped. Was something amiss? After bringing another bandit down, Ephraim looked up, to see a headless Zatch speared through a jagged rock, the archers bodies hanging over the edge of the cliff.
The king's voice caught in his throat, "What happened up there?"
Suddenly, a loud boom shook the ground, and a wave of flames swept up the mountain pass. "Look out!" Seth called, and quickly withdrew his weapons to their sheathes, and crouched down behind the rock formation. The others did as such, just as the wall of purgatory swept over them, burning all that were not behind the rocks.
The heat was intense, even behind the formation, and the air seemed to thicken, making for difficult breathing. However, it soon passed, and the four were met with cool air once again. Slowly, Ephraim emerged from the rocks, and stepped out into the open. There was nothing left. The wall of flames had swept the corpses, as well the living foes away. All that remained was pools of dried blood under coats of ash.
"Who, or what, did that?" Ephraim asked no one in particular.
Seth kept a hand upon his sword at his side, ready to bring it out again, if needed. "I am unsure, my king, but who ever did it, is clearly a superior magic user. We should be extremely cautions."
Ephraim nodded, as Kyle spoke up next, "My king, now that the battle is over, we should be returning to Castle Renais, now."
The soft clicking of boots against the stone caught the four's attention, and all eyes turned to the bottom of the slope, which curved around and continued down the other side of the mountain. A figure emerged, platinum colored hair swaying as a soft breeze blew, and the back of his trenchcoat-like robe swayed about behind him.
Seth quickly withdrew his blade, and stepped in front of King Ephraim, "Who are you?"
The figure lifted his head, to reveal a solemn smile, and raised his right hand. Seth tensed, as Kyle and Forde readied their weapons.
"Peace, humble knight of Renais. I am called Seymour. I have heard of your terrible situation, and I came to assist. I trust I was not wrong in doing so?"
Ephraim stepped from behind the Silver Knight, still clutching his blood-stained weapon, "How did you know we were here?"
The smile on Seymour turned to a sort of sheepish grin. "I didn't, king of Renais. I was simply passing through, and recognized you as the ruler of Renais. It seems I have arrived just in time."
Seth still did not trust this man. There was something odd about him, "Why would you assist us? You do not seem to be from Renais."
"I am not, humble knight. But I could not just stand by and watch a king be outnumbered, and slain by feeble bandits."
"Well, I thank you for your assistance, Seymour. But we should be heading back to the castle…" Ephraim began but was cut off by the incarnation.
"Allow me to guide you back to the castle, my liege. The normal way off the mountain is not safe, I'm afraid."
"Why?" Seth asked, straightforwardly.
"Even more bandits and assassins are lying in wait. They will attack at your approach," Seymour stated, now beckoning with his hands. "Follow me, I'll show you a separate path off the mountain," then turned, and began down the slope.
Ephraim exchanged looks with Seth, then started after Seymour, Kyle and Forde following close behind. Seth made a low sound, as he began after them.
Something wasn't right about that man.
This might be the best chapter I've done so far.
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