anything happen to his son, or his wife, they had to get away at all cost.
“We will keep a force here to protect your backs while you flee into the mountains, it is the only way!” Allindrian yelled.
“I cannot leave my men to die!” Kromm yelled in frustration.
“My Lord Kromm, it must be done, you know we have no other options,” General Farwin said as he gripped the king’s muscled arm tightly, making him understand. Kromm stared at his general, his eyes hard and filled with anger for the decision that he must make.
Kromm would normally never leave his men. He would fight, and die, next to them. But this time he had his family with him. He could not stay behind knowing they were alone in the mountains being hunted by Malbeck’s minions. He knew that deep down every one of his personal guards would lay down their lives for him, and his family, as he would do the same for them. Sometimes leaders had to make difficult decisions. This was one of those times. “See to it,” Kromm ordered reluctantly.
And with that, things were set into motion.
Before the orcs could be reinforced by the others, the knights pressed forward with reckless abandon.
But the maneuver was expertly executed under the direction of General Farwin. It seemed reckless, and it was, but it had a purpose, and the knights under his leadership knew it. They had fought hundreds of battles together and they had complete trust in their sword brothers and their officers. They followed his orders without question.
They pushed forward and moved into a tight formation, shields and swords cutting down orcs as they crashed into the steel wall of bodies. Slowly they moved down the hill, pushing the orcs back and getting closer to the enemy reinforcement that would surely crush them.
General Farwin was yelling orders at the rear the entire time.
Simultaneously, as the formation shrunk into a tight V shape, men would move behind the formation and disengage completely to run back up the hill to join their king.
About thirty or forty men had disengaged from the formation when the enemy reinforcements appeared through the trees.
General Farwin was behind the formation standing on a downed tree. “Hold!” he screamed over the fighting.
Fifty men instantly stopped their forward momentum as hundreds of orcs raced toward them to reinforce their brethren. Tarsinian steel came down again and again with deadly efficiency at the orcs before them. But as one fell back another took its place, and it wouldn’t be long before there would be two or three replacing the one fallen.
They were doomed. The vast numbers would enable them to flank their small formation and crush them. General Farwin looked around frantically, trying to come up with something that would slow the advance of the orcs to give his king enough time to get away. He looked back up the hill towards his king and saw Addalis running at him. “What are you doing?” Farwin asked. “You should be running with the king!”
“Allindrian is leading them away as we speak. I have a plan to slow them down,” Addalis said through panting breaths as he stood up straight and tried to calm his breathing.
“A spell?” General Farwin questioned.
Addalis nodded. “Be ready to leave with me directly,” Addalis said as he took two calming deep breaths.
“I will not leave my men.”
“Kromm ordered it,” was all Addalis said before he began his spell. He closed his eyes, lifted both his arms wide, and recited the ancient words, the words that would allow him to access the power of the Ru’Ach.
Suddenly a thick greenish mist materialized on both sides of the fighting formation. It appeared quickly and began to spread out in both directions.
“What is it?” yelled General Farwin.
“Stinking cloud! It will hold on both sides of the formation; hopefully the orcs will avoid it and funnel towards the center.”
“Where they will be met with Tarsinian steel,” Farwin reasoned.
They fought in the center of a natural gully so it came to reason that the orcs would take the easiest route to them, and the cloud would just give them another nudge towards the center rather than tempt them to flank the knights.
It all depended on who the beasts had leading them, if anyone. Regardless, it would at least give them some more time.
The thick green mist covered the forest floor on either side of the fighting men and sure enough the plan was working. The enemy reinforcements came howling up the hill and they joined their brethren with steel and claw. It tripled the numbers they were fighting, but at least they would not be flanked.
Some orcs attempted to breach the mist but were repelled quickly as they inhaled the poisonous mixture. It would not kill them but the stink was so severe that they stumbled from the noxious fog, coughing and vomiting and struggling for clean air.
“Let’s go, General, we need to catch up to them,” Addalis said as he turned to go.
Farwin hesitated, looking back at his men who were fighting for their lives.
“General, their sacrifice is for their land and liege, you know they would make the conscious choice if they were able,” Addalis reasoned.
Addalis felt for the man, as he too felt for the men that would die so they could live. But he had not built close relationships with the men below them as had the general, and he knew that that connection, built over years of combat together, would be a strong pull to keep him with his men. It would be heartwrenching for General Farwin to leave them.
“General, would you not die to save your king?” asked addalis.
Farwin turned toward him again, his eyes pleading, begging for him to come up with a solution to his problem. “Yes, without reservation.”
“And so would they. Your king ordered you to leave your men; he will need you in the trials ahead of us, do not let Kromm down,” Addalis said.
And that was all it took.
General Farwin turned toward his men and raised his bloody sword in the air. “For Kromm!” he screamed. “For Tarsis!”
And his men, fighting for their lives, took up the cheer.
Addalis and General Farwin raced up the hill to the sounds of Kromm’s name echoing through the trees.
The End…
Book Two, THE RISE OF MALBECK, Soon To Follow
Look for it at TwiinEntertainment.com
About the author
Jason McWhirter has been a history teacher for seventeen years. He lives in Washington with his wife, Jodi, and dog, Meadow. He is a certifiable fantasy freak who, when he wasn’t playing sports, spent his childhood days immersed in books and games of fantasy. He’d tumble into bed at night with visions of heroes, dragons, and creatures of other worlds, fueling his imagination and spurring his desire to create fantasies of his own. When he isn’t fly fishing the lakes and streams of the Northwest, or wine tasting and entertaining with his wife and friends, he spends his spare time sitting in front of the computer writing his next novel or screenplay.
Glossary
Ru’Ach: An elven word used to describe the source of all life…thought of as a river of energy that created all things.
Ekahal: An elvish wizard
IshMian: Elven name for a cognivant, a person gifted with mental powers. Little is known of this power but the gifts range from telekinesis and ESP, to mind control.
Ty’erm: Sharneen term used to describe a meditative state.
Akron: Military term that means a thousand men.
Modrig: Military term that means five hundred men.
Ludus: Military term that means two hundred and fifty men.
Pandar: Military term that means fifty men.
Nock, or Nocking: The nock is the end of the arrow that has a crevice for the string. To nock an arrow is to put an arrow to string.