 Merentha: Armageddon Chapter 4 Chapter 6  |
Chapter 5.....Wind blew through the gnome's hair. To his right stood his Queen, Simoriah. To his left, an Imp whose name he did not know floated in midair. Scattered behind them were 4 Jeweled Knights. The group had just walked down South Sanctuary Street towards Gofur. .....Along the muddy path, dozens of battered and mutilated bodies covered the ground. The gnome shivered. Some of the bodies were women and children, gnomes at that. Dragged into this war against their will, no doubt, he thought. Glancing up from the disgusting sight before him, he saw a group of Asmar approaching them. .....Simoriah nodded to him and he nodded back. He glanced back at the oncoming opponents. Fire from my hands, strike my enemy, let them burn in pain and fury!, he chanted in his native tongue of Nibelungen. A large ball of fire burst from his hands and impacted on the ground before the Asmar. Mud, dirt, and rocks were thrown into the air, pelting and blinding the Asmar. Power and energy, stream through me! he shouted to the Asmar. Streaks of light flashed out and touched the group. .....Burnt skin, armour, and ozone filled the confined path. The Asmar spasmed as lightning arced across their bodies and fell one by one. ....."Again I complain about why someone who wants to have a war puts weaklings into service," the Imp said, or rather, growled, from behind him. .....Simoriah grinned. Rima was quite a character, all right. "Now, onto Rijer." .....Rima nodded and landed softly in the mud. She started to walk through the thick woods. The group of Knights followed, but Ash stayed behind for a few seconds. The gnome closed his eyes and whispered softly "I'm sorry for the pain I've caused" to no one in particular. He then sprinted to catch up with the others. .....Rijer glanced over the battered barricade. Only one Asmar stood there. He frowned. One Asmar? Either this guy is real good or he's lost, the Centaur thought to himself. Or its a trap. .....A group of ruffians began to move towards the edges of the barricade, but Rijer called out to them. "No! I'll take this one. It could be a trap. If more Asmar come, then you attack." .....The black Centaur trotted around the wall and stopped a few yards from it. He grabbed his swords' handles and unsheathed them. The lone Asmar glanced at him, and Rijer did the same. .....His opponent's body was covered in tattoos. He wore only a loose fitting robe and the muscles he had. An evil glow seemed to ring out through the air from his presence alone. .....Rijer let a forth a massive bellow and charged towards the Asmar. His sword his the Asmar's left arm, but his sword hit with a thud and barely budged the warrior. Rijer slashed at his throat, his swords barely scratching. He backed away and gulped. What is this thing?!, his mind screamed. .....As soon as the thought finished, he was paralyzed. His arms and legs were frozen stiff, he couldn't even move his eyes. The Asmar began to pummel into his side. Just as movement came back to his body, a flash of light filled the area. .....The Asmar stood in a fury of lightning. Rijer shook his hand and glanced around quickly. Behind and to the left were 7 figures, but he couldn't see them clearly. Swiveling his head back to the Asmar, he slashed with all his strength, but again barely scratched it. An arrow whizzed past him and bounced off the warriors chest. .....He heard some distant chanting, and streaks of lightning slammed into trees. Fires spread quickly, and the heat rose rapidly. A short gnome quickly walked into view and let loose a flurry of lightning. Streaking over the his body, the Asmar cackled viciously. .....And then a slight dimness cast over the area as the warrior mumbled a spell. The gnome reached for his head in a panic, and ran into the thick mass of trees in which he had come. Rijer's own head was pounding. He found as though his thoughts were unorganized, and he wasn't even a mage! He did not want to be experiencing what Ash was. .....A short dwarf burst from the woods next shouting "Ayeeeee!" She wielded a sparkling sword and a shield. Simoriah ran into the battle, out of his line of sight. He tried to curse, but still paralyzed, nothing came out. .....Seconds later, the tingling came back and he could move. Rijer let forth a massive shout and rushed towards the warrior, who he now believed to be a Shaman. .....The shaman was dazed by his shout, and his rush scraped his side. A trickle of blood began to drip from his side. He let forth a massive cackle which brought evil into everyone's thoughts. Simoriah was nicking him repeatively in the right side, and he turned his head to face her. Bringing his huge fist back, he slammed a punch into her chest. .....A sickening CRACK echoed repeatively in Rijer's ears. He stood there in shock for a few moments before looking down at his Queen. Her armour was shattered and tiny dagger like pieces were lodged into her chest. .....Then it happened all to fast. First, an angry scream screeched through the area. Then, a blurred object ran into the ending battle. A troll, wielding two daggers in each hand, slammed the daggers into the shaman's back. Piercing, they squirted blood for yards. The Asmar let out a slight groan before falling to the ground. .....As the troll, who Rijer again believed was Krook, started to stab again at the back of his enemy, the warrior rolled over and looped his legs into the troll's. Swinging his legs around, the troll fell hard onto his side and had the wind knocked out of him. .....With himself lost in the heat of battle, Rijer leaped into the air...but his hooves fell short of his target. Or rather, his target moved. The shaman had seen him coming after all. A thousand curses! How did he see me?! Rijer thought. .....Before he could even respond, the Asmar shaman's fist came into his view. Hitting his forehead, Rijer fell to the side, flinging loose dirt into the air. .....The Centaur stood before the army. Xenora had recently received word of the Asmar invasion, and he was personally making sure the army was assembling. He was called 'Swift Blade', but no one knew his true name. His nickname fit him fell, too. He had quickly risen in the art of combat. .....But he was a King, not a warrior. He shouldn't be fighting a war when his Kingdom needed leadership. The message carrier had said that Simoriah herself was in the rescue operation on Haven. If word was true about how strong the Asmar force was, she was in grave danger. But that was not something Swift Blade had to worry about. .....His job was to get the Xenoran army to defend Cardania, with or without Hiemelia's help. Hiemelia was in a bad situation. With the death of their King, they were in disorder and not ready for a fight. And the new leaders were not being accepted fully. Loyal people were abandoning the Mighty Kingdom of the North every day! That was one reason he would not fight. .....He looked over the army once again, and the massive drums at the back of the line began to beat, vibrating his organs. Swift Blade nodded to the leader of the army before trotting back to the Palace. The sound of marching feet became distant behind him. .....Rima let loose a long and nasty curse. For the last few minutes, she had been watching as the Asmar hauled away Simoriah, Rijer, and Krook as all three were unconscious. More Asmar had arrived shortly to their falling, and there was no way the Imp could take them all down with this 'magical prevention' shield up! Beside her stood the gnome, Ash. ....."What do we do now?" she growled as gently as she could. .....He shuddered. "I don't know..." Ash trailed off. ....."Should we go back to Cardania? There isn't much more we can do here. Cory, Simoriah, Rijer, and Krook are gone now," Rima said in an angry tone. Ash said nothing, only nodded. .....Rijer opened his eyes slowly. He could see clouds above him. He smelled salty air. He moved his head and saw the troll and Simoriah laying next to him. He moved his head the other way . . . but all he saw was something hitting him again before darkness again came to him. .....The nymph looked around herself. She was deep in the Lanerell forest surrounded by strange animals. Her daggers were in her hands, dripping with blood, her right arm having a deep cut. Behind her was the corpse of an Asmar warrior. Large stab wounds dotted its body. .....Miaka shivered. The invasion has begun...and Rijer was right. They are stronger than they look, she thought to herself. The nymph sat down by a tree and pulled salve from her backpack. She applied some of it to her right arm, and listened for the sounds of approaching warriors. .....As the pain in her arm began to weaken, she stood up and grabbed the sword from the corpse, and almost fell to the ground. Wow...this sucker sure is heavy, she thought to herself. She started to walk sideways, dragging it behind her. .....A few moments later she bumped into something. Something solid. She looked up and saw a tree and started to continue on her away again. And then she hit something else that was solid. Thinking it was a tree, she looked up...and jumped backwards as a high pitched voice screamed "Baaz's black bones!" before she realized it was hers. .....She walked backwards a few steps as the Asmar approached her, grinning evilly. She backed into a tree and gulped as the warrior laughed. The warrior rose the massive sword over his head and Miaka closed her eyes. .....Then she heard a 'clank!' and her eyes flashed open. A spear lodged in his throat?! From where? her thoughts raced. She looked in the direction the spears end pointed to and saw a figure in Jeweled armour. He wore robes which distinctly marked his as a Monk. ....."Rashka! Oh boy, did you time it just right. I was about to be slaughtered," she squeaked at him. .....Rashka covered his ears with his hands as she squeaked on and on. When it seemed to have stopped, he removed his hands and she was standing over the warrior. ....."Take that you evil piece of dragon snot!" she screamed as she kicked the corpse over and over with her tiny foot. ....."Take it easy, sheesh! We need to get back to the others. No doubt they've encountered some more warriors," he explained. .....She nodded and grabbed the Asmar sword and again began dragging it. Rashka grinned happily then muttered a prayer. .....Miaka's arms bulged as muscles suddenly formed. The sword flew off the ground and she fell backwards. "Eek! This thing weighs as much as a feather!" The little nymph stood and began to walk alongside Rashka with her trophy. .....Krook's eyes flashed open. He leaped to his feet immediately. Those things captured us! I will kill!! his mind roared over the sound of splashing waves. His hands reflexively reached for his dagger which was usually tucked in his belt, but it wasn't there. .....That's all right. Krook is a weapon all by himself, he thought to himself. The troll charged towards the nearest Asmar and slammed his fist into the back of the warriors skull. A loud crack informed the others on the rocking boat and caused the warrior to go limp. .....Krook bent down briefly and grabbed the shield from the dead body. He quickly put it on his left arm and bashed another Asmar's left arm. That Asmar ran screaming and clutching his arm, which was bent at an unnatural angle. .....Before he could do anything else, his body stiffened. His joints refused to bend, his muscles failed to cooperate. Drat! Paralyzation...shaman!!!... Krook thought just as something connected with the top of his head and he fell to the deck once more. .....Ash shook his head. Large, dark bags were under his eyes. He glanced out from behind the tree again, but as soon as he did his eyes unfocused and everything blurred. ....."You know, sleeping helps," a female Faerie Knight behind him said. ....."I suppose it does...but I cannot sleep while they are holding our people," Ash responded. .....She nodded. She peered out from the tree and saw two warriors walking along a path. "Two warriors heading towards us," she whispered to him. .....He nodded. She leaped into the air and her wings caught her, allowing her to hover in mid air. "Tell me when," the gnome quietly said. .....A few moments later the response came. "Now!" Ash leapt out from behind the tree and muttered a quick spell. The ground began to shake, throwing him and the warrior to the ground. Leaves and branches flew to the ground, an old, unsturdy tree eve fell not far from where they were. .....Like lightning, the Faerie flew out from behind the tree and concentrated. Streaks of unseen light flew between her and the two warriors, slamming into them with incredible force. Body parts flew off, blood exploded from arteries, cries of pain echoed in the enclosed woods, and then they fell, dead. .....Ash shook his head. That was a disgusting sight, his thought to himself. I think I'm going to throw up... .....The Knight simply brushed her blue robe and sash off, and then landed on the ground. She looked at her feet and groaned. "I got blood all over my new boots!" .....Ash simply bent over and felt the contents of his stomach rising at a rapid rate... .....Bakeneko's eyes flashed open. Where was he? Why was he there? .....His eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, but he could still not see well enough. The Faerie tried to concentrate his mind to create a light orb but he couldn't. Some kind of prevent magic going on around here? he thought to himself. .....The small faerie began to feel his way around. He was in some kind of structure, the walls had the textures of blocks. The floor was damp and greasy. His face hit a current of moist air and then he heard the sound of something moving. ....."Who's there?" Bakeneko called out. ....."Cory of the Queendom of Jewels. Who are you?" the dim figure responded. ....."Cory? The person we were looking for?" he laughed slightly. "Bakeneko, Rijer's friend in trying to free you." ....."What happened? Why are you here?" Cory demanded. ....."A group of Asmar ambushed Rima and I as we were heading back to the rebellion's base. Right after Gofur fell the resistance fighters ran into the woods," Bakeneko explained. "Is Rijer here?" .....Cory only shook his head. "Not in here, or not yet. Either that or he's dead," he sighed. .....Bakeneko shuddered at the thought. "Anyway...where are we?" ....."All I can tell is that we're in some underground cavern that was built, obviously, to hold prisoners. I found a few skeletons here and there." .....Bakeneko shook his head and then nodded. "Too bad I can't gate us out of here. The Asmar are obviously one step ahead of us." .....The Asmar smiled faintly. What he had requested was proving to be done efficiently. The island of Kyria where the towns of Gofur and Haven were located was almost theirs. Sure, the island held no value to the Asmar, but it symbolized that the Asmar would take anything and everything out of the hands of their enemies. ....."Master?" a tiny voice asked from behind him. .....He whipped around. "What, Slave?" .....The human slaved cowered at the venomous words. "He has arrived." ....."So soon?" the Asmar grunted. "Tell him I will be right there. Then you may return to your room for the rest of the day." .....The slave's face brightened and he nodded then rushed out of the room. .....Pathetic thing. Too bad I will have to kill him sooner or later before he grows strong enough to think of trying to kill the one who makes his life what it is, he thought to himself. Walking through a stone archway into the other room, he began to look through his many articles of clothing. The mighty Asmar sighed and began the tedious task of finding what to wear. .....The Asmar walked through the archway in his battle armour. The armour shone brightly in the light that flooded through the big window on the side of the tall building and his impressive sword was sheathed on his left. A sign showing rank was engraved into the armour's left breast. In the middle of the room stood an Asmar with a smaller Asmar behind and to his right. ....."General Grytu, a pleasure to finally meet you," the taller of the two Asmar said. ....."As to you, Honor. I doubt this invasion would be successful without your wisdom," he responded. ....."Ah, enough of the flatteries. This is Cortho, the one I told you about by message," the taller Asmar pointed behind him. .....He nodded. "May I see the scare?" .....Cortho nodded and showed his palm to Grytu. Burned onto his hand was the elaborate symbol of the gods, which would take hours to draw, let alone burn into a scar with such detail! Either he was a very clever con artist, or he was telling the truth. Grytu frowned briefly. If he was a con artist, this action would be a huge insult to the Asmar religion. Grytu, however, did not think he was a con artist. ....."Something wrong, General?" the taller Asmar asked. ....."Nothing at all, Honor. Just a few thoughts," he replied quickly. .....Cortho returned his hand to its place beside his body and nodded. ....."How is the invasion force going, General?" the taller Asmar inquired. ....."The defenders are quite determined, but they are taking more casualties than us. It will not be long before they give up hope at trying to keep that worthless pile of dirt," Grytu responded. .....The taller Asmar nodded. "And the invasion of the second continent has begun?" .....The General smiled. "Yes, it has. We are having our younger warriors head in first to try and fool the enemy. They may think we don't have anything else to throw at them." .....The Asmar nodded. "It might work, but they are more clever than we thought. How long is the estimated time of their complete downfall?" .....The General's lips formed a thin line that represented a grin. "A few months, at most. .....The massive army marched in step. They were marching towards Lanerell forest on the main road through Lanerell. The army of Xenora had almost reached its destination. .....The army then split into two groups. One group would take the southern edge of Cardania while the other group would take the eastern edge of Cardania. 'Group 1', as it was called, was led by a Centaur who had been in Xenora leadership for quite a few years. 'Group 2' was being led by Sargon, a rather well known Goblin. Sargon's group was rather nervous since they were going to be where the Asmar continent came closest to Cardania. .....The Asmar could try to cut its way through Xenora's defenses on the eastern coast, or try to slice its way into the southern defense. And then there was one last option for them. They could sail around the entire continent and attack on the western coast where the Kingdom of Xenora and the Queendom of Jewel were located. The Jeweled Knights who had remained behind had set up small defenses and some of the Xenoras were assigned to the west coast as well, but not as many. .....Group 2 began to spread out along the eastern coast and prepared for battle. A few groups of Asmar were seen but were quickly slaughtered by the dozens of Xenorans in the area. A few Jeweled Knights in the area who had been scouting retreated when the army came and fled to their Queendom. Sargon didn't blame them, the western coast of Cardania needed defenses as well. .....But the battle was going to be long and hard, and it had only just begun.  |
