This was no ordinary weapon. He pulled back the string and leaned forward in the saddle, in harmony with Tulari’s movement, his light still pulsing bright with Shyann’s power.
The two clerics of Gould drew their swords and spurred their horses down the hill to meet Jonas’s attack.
Jonas smiled and released the arrow, and a heartbeat later he followed it up with a second. The arrows whistled through the air with incredible speed, a trail of blue tracing their path.
The first arrow took the astonished cleric between the eye slits on his black helm. The tremendous force of the blow shot him out of the saddle and he landed dead on his back.
The second arrow took the other cleric in the shoulder, the force spinning his body sideways. But he was skilled and experienced and he was able to hold onto the reins of his warhorse.
Jonas quickly nocked another arrow and pulled back on the string as the black cleric neared him, his sword held low in his undamaged arm. Before the cleric was close enough to attack him, Jonas’s third arrow slammed into the man’s chest, burying itself deep, the power of the bow launching the man through the air to land heavily on his back. He struggled momentarily, the glowing blue arrow quivering slightly in his chest, and then he went still, death overtaking him.
Taleen was fighting with all her skill and power, but her sword arm began to tire as she furiously fought back the horde of orcs and tribesman who swarmed around her, trying to extinguish her light and yank her from the saddle.
She desperately asked Bandris for the strength to keep fighting, and she felt his answer as new power began to surge through her body. She grinned, yelling Bandris’s name as she renewed her attack, slicing her sword down, left and right, killing the enemies surrounding her. Kormac, her tireless steed, used his massive body to throw enemies off balance, giving Taleen the upper hand as she expertly carved her way through them.
She didn’t escape unscathed, however. One of the orc’s blades managed to slice across her calf. She grimaced in pain and kicked that same foot out, connecting solidly with the beast’s nose, crushing it and sending blood into the air. Taleen then quickly brought her sword down on the dazed orc’s head, splitting its skull all the way to its broken nose. The Orc fell away and disappeared into the crowd of enemies.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Prince Baylin used the end of his battle axe like a spear and rammed the spiked end into a rushing orc’s face. He quickly yanked the point out of the dead orc and spun to his left, swinging his mighty axe in a wide arc, taking a tribesman on the shoulder. The prince roared as fury and adrenaline rushed through his body. The tribesman fell to the ground as other enemies swarmed around the fighting prince. But he continued to fight like a demon possessed, roaring in defiance, his eyes lit with fire as he attacked the enemy before him.
Suddenly the prince felt a sharp pain in his back. He screamed and spun around, yanking a sword from a tribesman’s hand. As he spun he sent his axe flying through the air into the neck of the surprised warrior. The man’s body slumped to the ground as his head flew through the air to land among the fighting warriors.
Then he felt another pain on the back of his leg, causing him to fall to his knees. Holding his axe with one hand, he swung the mighty weapon blindly as he tried to spin his body around. The blade hit an orc’s knee, shattering it and causing the howling monster to fall to the ground.
Baylin dug deep for the strength to fend off the foes moving in from all directions. He again yelled, “Finarth!” and jumped to his feet, swinging his battle axe and cutting into the orcs and tribesmen that surrounded him. He saw no Finarthian warriors nearby.
He was alone for this fight.
Taleen had finally broken through the rear of the enemy ranks. Her legs and her horse had sustained some minor cuts but nothing that needed healing immediately. She saw Jonas, his light marking him like a beacon, near the top of the hill, a lone rider there to meet him. She urged Kormac forward and he followed her demands instantly, launching them up the grass covered hill.