strangled by his own bow
string and wrapped his fingers around the creature's neck.
Pain
shot down his hands and over his arms as soon as he made contact with
it, the creature offered him a toothy snarl of pleasure, it knew
exactly what was happening to its prey.
The
young Elf hung on though, refusing to let the pain get the better of
him, the claws of the creature snapped over his arms in an attempt to
part them yet still he refused to loose his grip. Dark spots danced
over his eyes as he was starved of air but if he was going to die now
he was determined to take this monster with him.
The
resolve of his former prey seemed to dawn on the creature, which
abandoned its attempts to separate the choke hold and instead pressed
its palms into the boy's chest.
A
concussion of air boomed through the cave as El-Vador was torn free
of the creature and landed heavily on his back, several feet away
from where he had been drawn to before.
Seeing
his death at hand and no way of averting it, he watched and waited
for the beast's next move.
Nothing
happened, the beast landed upon the altar once more and sat watching
him with what El-Vador thought was a gaze of deep consideration.
'You
continued to attack me even after you knew your death was imminent,'
it stated. 'Perhaps there is still some use for you. Why does your
father ail?'
'He
was struck by an Orcish arrow, he suffers greatly under the
occupation of our lands.'
The
creature nodded at him. 'I sense it, you hold much hatred in your
heart for these Orcs. They are abominations brought onto this plain
by forces outside of my control, they need to be purged.'
'They're
beasts!' El-Vador snarled, forgetting momentarily in his anger that
he was talking to a beast of a different kind. 'I would rid this land
of every Orc had I the power to do so.'
The
creature brandished a small phial of red liquid unlike anything
El-Vador had seen before. It hovered over to his open palm and
nestled there. It was as if the texture of the container was made of
solid ice, yet it was transparent like the surface of a lake and
didn't feel overly cold to the touch.
'You
are a fair marksman,' the beast remarked. 'Take back your bow and
your quiver and when the time comes to face your deadliest foe, your
arrowheads must be coated in the contents of this phial.'
El-Vador
watched speechlessly as the pieces of bow and quiver leapt off the
floor of the cave and reassembled themselves mid-air, drifting back
into his arms.
'Go
now, my champion. Rid the land of these beasts and strike them with
all the malice and hatred that still lingers in your heart.'
He
tapped the floor with the end of his bow, then held it out at arm's
length before him. It was fully formed and solid to the touch. The
deep laughter echoed around the cave walls once more.
El-Vador
looked back up at the creature, unsure whether to thank him or accept
his gift, he found himself staring into darkness, the beast had gone.
Turning
to leave the cave lest any other wonders befall him, he discovered
that he was now stood outside the entrance as if he had never
ventured beyond it.
He
took several steps back in disbelief, clutching the phial in his hand
as if it were the only way of proving his sanity.
He
rubbed his eyes and scratched his head, wondering whether he had
somehow imagined the entire episode. But then if that were the case
how had he come across the phial? Whatever his experience had been,
it had not been a dream.
Now
that he was clear of the cave he had no trouble retracing his steps
to the settlement. His return journey took him through the tree line
beside the fort Chief Sarvacts' Orcs and Goblins had set up near
their home. As always, they had sentries posted all around the
palisade, all of them vigilant and some giving him looks of distaste.
There was no way that he could hope to surprise them, attempting to
take the fort with just a phial added to his arsenal seemed foolish
even to him.
He
had nearly reached his home
string and wrapped his fingers around the creature's neck.
Pain
shot down his hands and over his arms as soon as he made contact with
it, the creature offered him a toothy snarl of pleasure, it knew
exactly what was happening to its prey.
The
young Elf hung on though, refusing to let the pain get the better of
him, the claws of the creature snapped over his arms in an attempt to
part them yet still he refused to loose his grip. Dark spots danced
over his eyes as he was starved of air but if he was going to die now
he was determined to take this monster with him.
The
resolve of his former prey seemed to dawn on the creature, which
abandoned its attempts to separate the choke hold and instead pressed
its palms into the boy's chest.
A
concussion of air boomed through the cave as El-Vador was torn free
of the creature and landed heavily on his back, several feet away
from where he had been drawn to before.
Seeing
his death at hand and no way of averting it, he watched and waited
for the beast's next move.
Nothing
happened, the beast landed upon the altar once more and sat watching
him with what El-Vador thought was a gaze of deep consideration.
'You
continued to attack me even after you knew your death was imminent,'
it stated. 'Perhaps there is still some use for you. Why does your
father ail?'
'He
was struck by an Orcish arrow, he suffers greatly under the
occupation of our lands.'
The
creature nodded at him. 'I sense it, you hold much hatred in your
heart for these Orcs. They are abominations brought onto this plain
by forces outside of my control, they need to be purged.'
'They're
beasts!' El-Vador snarled, forgetting momentarily in his anger that
he was talking to a beast of a different kind. 'I would rid this land
of every Orc had I the power to do so.'
The
creature brandished a small phial of red liquid unlike anything
El-Vador had seen before. It hovered over to his open palm and
nestled there. It was as if the texture of the container was made of
solid ice, yet it was transparent like the surface of a lake and
didn't feel overly cold to the touch.
'You
are a fair marksman,' the beast remarked. 'Take back your bow and
your quiver and when the time comes to face your deadliest foe, your
arrowheads must be coated in the contents of this phial.'
El-Vador
watched speechlessly as the pieces of bow and quiver leapt off the
floor of the cave and reassembled themselves mid-air, drifting back
into his arms.
'Go
now, my champion. Rid the land of these beasts and strike them with
all the malice and hatred that still lingers in your heart.'
He
tapped the floor with the end of his bow, then held it out at arm's
length before him. It was fully formed and solid to the touch. The
deep laughter echoed around the cave walls once more.
El-Vador
looked back up at the creature, unsure whether to thank him or accept
his gift, he found himself staring into darkness, the beast had gone.
Turning
to leave the cave lest any other wonders befall him, he discovered
that he was now stood outside the entrance as if he had never
ventured beyond it.
He
took several steps back in disbelief, clutching the phial in his hand
as if it were the only way of proving his sanity.
He
rubbed his eyes and scratched his head, wondering whether he had
somehow imagined the entire episode. But then if that were the case
how had he come across the phial? Whatever his experience had been,
it had not been a dream.
Now
that he was clear of the cave he had no trouble retracing his steps
to the settlement. His return journey took him through the tree line
beside the fort Chief Sarvacts' Orcs and Goblins had set up near
their home. As always, they had sentries posted all around the
palisade, all of them vigilant and some giving him looks of distaste.
There was no way that he could hope to surprise them, attempting to
take the fort with just a phial added to his arsenal seemed foolish
even to him.
He
had nearly reached his home
Similar Books
