Dagger of Souls
Chapter 5
"Klenn, you need to come in right away. You'll catch your death of cold out there." The slightly plump middle aged woman stood with her fists on her hips as she watched her son outside throwing his axe against a tree stump. This was only the sixteenth winter for her son but he looked more and more like a man every day. She watched his chiseled features with pride as he retrieved his axe from the tree stump where the blade stuck in the center. The wind had died down, so it wasn't as frigid at it had been in the morning. The vast sheets of snow covered just about every inch of the ground, save some spots below the conifer trees that remained green through the winter. The other leafless trees looked like skeletal arms twisting in all directions above the thin coat of slushy snow.
The strong farm boy ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair and rolled his eyes as he responded, "I'll be there in a minute, ma."
"Don't be long, supper will be ready and you need to warm up." Klenn already finished his chores and chopped enough wood for the next several days so she let him continue. The last few days had been tough after the village was in a tumult over the orc raids. The horror of loss over several villagers killed or badly injured and several taken captive and dragged away had taken its toll on everyone in Stalford. Her son took it badly because he was off with his father and wasn't around to help. She tried to tell him he would have been killed if he had tried to help as several other villagers did. He took it worse than others because the neighbor's girl that her son had feelings for was taken in the raid. His papa had to restrain him from trying to follow the tracks and catch up to the bloodthirsty orcs. Life finally had returned to somewhat normal, though what was considered normal had forever changed. The fear of another attack made everyone tense and restless, the feelings of safety and security in their homes was gone and they felt exposed and vulnerable.
The farm boy setup and threw another axe, scoring another direct hit on the 'x' mark he carved on the tree stump. The steel blade of the axe cleaved itself halfway into the thick bark sending a few wood chips flying in several directions. The snow crunched beneath his boots as he retrieved his axe.
Klenn's senses were always on the alert with the ever ominous threat of attack looming over them like a suffocating haze of thick smoke. He noticed movement from the side of their small cottage, on the opposite side of their stable. He heard slow, deliberate light footsteps in the snow that he recognized from tracking animals in the wilderness with his father as something prowling for prey. He took his axe and walked to the side keeping the figure to the right within his peripheral vision but without giving inidication he spotted whatever it was. He gripped the handle of his axe for a quick throw.
The figure stepped into the open and reared back to throw, but the farmboy halted his reaction as the object came toward him. He made no movement to dodge, though it would have been easy enough. The ball of snow hit him squarely in the chest. He wiped it off as he shook his head at his seven year old sister.
"I got you. I got you Klenny!" The little red headed girl boasted as she grinned from ear to ear.
He gave her a reassuring smile, and stared at her for a few moments. She was such a sweet and care-free child and it took away his will to chastise her for being outside alone. He knew that there were several families that have had that innocence shattered by the vile green invaders that violated the sanctity of their village. Their children's youthful exuberance evaporated forever as they realized the evil that exists in this world, and that they can't be completely protected. His sister still had her blissful smile for the time being. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself. If you want to play outside, come get me first and I'll come play with you."
Her grin stopped and she pursed her lips at the small reprimand, "But you were already outside, so I came to play with you."
The farm boy put his arm around her shoulder, not sure what to say to warn her of the danger without shattering her peace of mind. "Come on let's go eat some lunch. Mama will be very upset if she knew you came outside without telling someone first."
"Please don't tell her Klenny. I just wanted to play snowball fight with you."
He sighed and patted her head, but before he could respond he heard a woman's earsplitting scream coming from somewhere across the village. The sound made him and his sister flinch.
"Go inside to mother and lock the doors, Alura. Hurry!"
The urgency in her brother's voice and the shrill scream had her scared and she started to cry as she turned back toward him, "What about you? Come in with us Klenny."
He gave her a nod, but pushed her toward the door. "I will be back in a few minutes, I just want to check and make sure everything is alright. It's probably nothing, just someone who hurt themselves by accident. It won't take long."
The girl was hesitant but complied with his wishes and went inside the home. As soon as she closed the door, he gripped his throwing axe and sprinted toward the source of the sound. He seriously doubted from that scream it was just a mere accident, but he didn't want his little sister to worry about him. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he ran across the main dirt road. It was mostly covered with packed white snow, but it was muddied a bit from the traffic of horses, wagons and people milling about the small hamlet with their daily activities. He ran between old man Forlich's house and the lanky carpenter Frielen's place. Forlich was laying face first in the snow with a crimson pool expanding underneath his right shoulder. He noticed Forlich's wife in the window with tears in her eyes and a frantic look of fear etched in her middle-aged face. Their barn was filled with all sorts of noise from the frightened animals. The barn door lay wide open and a few goats and a horse charged out from it.
The farm boy checked the older man and found him barely breathing but unconscious. He carefully lifted the man in his arms and walked toward the house. "Gelda, open the door," he yelled urgently.
The woman left the window and rushed to the back door and opened it promptly. He set the injured man on a padded bench in their living room. He took out his handkerchief from his pocket and held it over the man's heavily bleeding shoulder. He craned his neck back to look at the housewife and get her attention, "Go get some cloth to wrap around his shoulder," he asked urgently. He checked the man for other wounds, but couldn't see any.
The woman was dazed and sobbing, but when she heard his plea she acted quickly and grabbed some linen sheets from the bedroom. Klenn took the sheet and tore a large strip of it and wrapped it around the man's shoulder tightly to stem the flow of blood. The woman stared at the wall with tears streaming down her eyes, unable to look at her injured husband. He grabbed the elder woman by the shoulder and looked her in the eye trying to get her to focus. "You have to change this cloth when it's full of blood. Make it tight so it slows the blood flow. He should be alright if you stop the blood loss. How many orcs were there?"
The woman stammered and shook her head, "I, I'm not sure. Maybe ten of them. Some went in the barn. The others went farther that way," she pointed toward the east where more cottages in the village were. The strong farm boy nodded and bounded out the back door. He spotted three of the orcs dragging bleeding goats from the barn. He ignored those thieving brutes and went to the opposite side of the barn looking for the remaining orcs. He knew the others could be looking for people to take as prisoners. He couldn't allow that to happen again to his friends and neighbors. He made it to the back of the next house and heard another scream and a man yelling. He saw the back door was busted and split in half hanging partially out of the doorway. Two orcs emerged dragging a blonde girl close to his age by her long hair. She was screaming in pain and terror, wildly swatting at their big green hands trying desperately to get them to release their strong grip.
Klenn reared back his steel axe as they moved far enough into the open. They were too busy with the struggling woman to see him at the side of the house. He threw the axe with all of his strength. It made a series of low whistle sounds as it spun through the air. The blade embedded itself several inches in the side of the humanoids wide green head. The orc fell against the other one and then collapsed to the ground. The second orc gritted its yellow stained teeth and turned toward the threat. Those black eyes were filled with hatred and contempt. Klenn's dark green eyes held the same look as he held his woodcutting axe in his palm. "Come on pig man. Try fighting someone with a weapon, you gutless coward!"
The humanoid probably couldn't comprehend the words, but he recognized the challenging posture and tone. The marauder released the young girl's hair causing her to fall to the snowy ground. She rolled over on her stomach and crawled back inside the house as the orc approached the farm boy. "Jurg Furlach Hoo'mon, Maal G'Turl," the humanoid snarled in response as he charged with the spear tip of his large war axe.
Klenn readied himself but was surprised out how swiftly the large orc moved, the deadly spear aimed at him made his heart race and he began to feel stiff with fear. He thought about them abducting Tarla, the girl who he liked very much. Her reddish brown hair, long and silky smooth was dragged off to a horrible fate like they tried with this blonde girl. The thought enraged him and he forced his body respond. He ducked under the thrust from the spear end of the axe. The orc skidded to a stop and then twisted its torso and brought the axe end around to bear toward him from high to low at a diagonal angle. Klenn lunged to the side rolling on the ground to avoid the sharp blade. It crashed into the ground next to his leg, only an inch away from cleaving his foot in half.
The orc moved in for another strike as Klenn was trying to get back to his feet. Seeing he had no time, he instead swung the axe in one hand toward its stocky green legs. The orc was able to move clear of the weak blow but the maneuver gave him enough time to get to his feet again. The orc lunged with the spear end of the axe toward his chest, but the teenage boy twisted away from the sharp tip just in time. Klenn retaliated with a vicious downward chop, which was pushed aside easily by the haft of the orc's weapon. The orc followed with a right hand punch that landed on the boy's cheek. The humanoid let out a snide laugh at the clumsy attack, further exposing the two menacing tusks protruding up from its dark lower lip.
The strike stunned Klenn and he staggered back a few steps, struggling to keep on his feet. The orc's grin taunted him further. He shook off the pain and steadied himself for another attack. The orc stepped in again leading with the spear tip in a quick thrust. The farm boy side stepped to the left, but the sly orc warrior anticipated his movement and was already pivoting on his front foot and twisting to bring the axe around in a wide arc at mid level. There was no time to dodge the blow, so he tried to block with his axe handle. It only slowed the strong attack. The axe blade slammed into his stomach and lifted him in the air. He crashed hard into the cottage as his head thumped against the wooden wall. The world became foggy and then faded into darkness.