been warned again, like the day with the ogre. Silently he ran to Allindrian’s campfire and found her sleeping soundly as well, her silver sword lying across her body. Kneeling down he quietly shook her, but she wouldn’t wake up. He shook her again and finally her eyes slowly opened.
“Allindrian, something is happening. Wake up,” Jonas whispered, shaking her harder. Her eyes were drifting around until finally they focused on Jonas and she leaped clumsily to her feet, wobbling slightly as if she were drugged. She shook her head to try and clear her mind, then finally she looked back at Jonas and he could tell that she was fully awake, her eyes were alert and they focused with intensity as she realized what was happening.
“Ul anthar Luminos!” Allindrian shouted, holding her hand in the air. From her fist flared a brilliant light that illuminated the entire camp and the meadow beyond. Jonas looked out into the darkness and his breath caught in his throat.
The scene he saw sent a chill down is spine. In the darkness around the camp a group of hulking boargs slowly crept towards them. They had been using the cover of darkness and fog to slowly creep through the meadow and slay them in their sleep.
Allindrian flung the bright globe into the air where it stayed suspended ten paces above the camp. She drew her silver sword, its innate elven magic glowing brightly in the dark night. “Men, awake and fight! We are under attack!” Allindrian yelled, leaping toward the boargs fearlessly.
The camp quickly awakened, the battle hardened mercenaries shaking off the grogginess and rising to the occasion. The boargs attacked quickly and with ferocious abandon. The four warriors who were keeping watch on the perimeter were torn apart like rag dolls. They died horrible deaths as they slowly awoke from whatever dark magic made them fall asleep.
The screams of the dying men were enough to wake all the men, and soon everyone was fighting for their lives. The attack fell upon them so quickly that there was no time for organization or discipline. Lacking a proper formation, they just had time to grab their weapons and stand up before the ruthless boargs were upon them.
The screams of the fighting urged Jonas on, freeing him from the initial fear. With great speed he vaulted onto the seat of Landon’s wagon where he kept his bow. Standing up high on the wagon seat, he nocked an arrow, searching for a target. He saw Allindrian leap from boarg to boarg, her silver blade spinning, leaving a glowing blur in its path as it carved into the monsters. He heard the blade whistle and sing as Allindrian cut a path of death through a group of boargs. The song of her blade brought courage to his heart and his shaking arm stilled as he sought an enemy.
The ferocious animals sought her tiny form with their deadly claws and teeth, but she maneuvered through them easily, avoiding their attacks and delivering elven steel with practiced precision. Jonas was almost mesmerized by her dance. He had never seen anything like it. She moved like a dancer, her blade singing through the air with impossible speed. The screams of the dying tore his gaze away from her as he quickly resumed his search for a target.
He saw Cyn swinging his huge broad sword back and forth, trying to hold two boargs at bay as his men moved in to help. Jonas sighted in the boarg to Cyn’s right and let the shaft fly, quickly nocking another arrow. The shaft hit the boarg in the chest, wounding it enough to give Cyn a quick reprieve, which he used to his advantage.
The boarg stumbled back as a second arrow slammed into its chest. Cyn then focused on the other boarg, swinging his mighty sword down on top of its shoulder just as it was about to leap upon him. His blade sunk in deep, cleaving through heart and lungs.
The second boarg, badly injured by Jonas’s arrows, clumsily swung its massive arm at Cyn. It was a killing blow, but Cyn, sensing it coming, ducked beneath it. He lunged forward and lanced the boarg through the abdomen, jerking the blade hard to his right, opening up the beast’s belly. The animal howled horribly, leaping back, clutching its gruesome wound, trying to keep its entrails from falling out onto the grass at its feet.
A darkness began to overwhelm Jonas again as he searched the battle