I do have a challenge in front of me. The writer's group is doing an exercise with a deck of cards with writing prompts on them. Lucky me drew a 'writing outside your genre" card and have to do 100-500 words of a romance. This will not end well.
I'm close to pushing out "Working on Terra" to ebook. Hopefully have it done by the end of the week. I hate doing covers.
Oh, I changed a bit of canon from a previous chapter to this one. I changed the beads on the orc tusk rings to one per kill instead of two. It got confusing. Hope you enjoy it.
-Wayne
I must've looked pissed because everyone gave me a wide berth on my way back to the hut. I got there without having to say a word to anyone. I mean I was pissed, so I guess that makes sense. I went straight to the beer keg Valsh kept there and drew myself a big tankard of the stuff. I drank about half of it in the first pull, refilled it, and went to the cushions to sit and drink the rest. My adrenaline was still up from the fight, and I needed to calm down.
By the time I had finished a second tankard and found some food, my mood had greatly improved, and the world had taken on this kind of hazy glow. I had also had time to reflect on the trial and realized how lucky I had gotten. If that orc was half the seasoned warrior I took him to be he should have beaten me bloody. The only reason I could think for his stupidity was over-confidence. He just flat hadn't seen me as a threat. That particular fuck up has cost more than one person their life. Lucky for Gujek I hadn't been paid to kill him, or he'd be laying in a puddle of blood and shit right now.
"Sorry I did not get back here sooner," Valsh said as he opened the door. "I had to stay and make sure Gujek was not going to die from the blow you gave him to the head. The stubborn ass refused healing. He always does. That is why he still has that limp and the crooked jaw. It will be significantly more crooked now I fear. Oh, he sent you this."
The tusk I had knocked out of Gujek's head landed at my feet with the beaded rings still attached.
"He said you had earned it, and he deserved the beating you gave him. That was a magnificent blow. I thought you intended to kill him," Valsh finished as he drew his own tankard of beer.
"Never would've happened," I replied. "I only kill who or what I'm paid to unless it's to save my own hide. I didn't get the feeling he wanted to kill me...just disgrace me and maybe test your skills as a healer. That's why he lost. He didn't take me seriously. No one here will make that mistake again."
Valsh nodded slowly and said, "True enough. We meet with Na'Guk again in the morning. I see you've eaten. If you don't need healing, it's time for my evening prayers."
I told him to go ahead and got up to go to my room. About halfway there I heard someone approach the door to the hut. I opened it before they had a chance to knock and found Shala standing there with a platter covered in meats and fruit which she offered to me.
"You were there?" I asked.
She smiled and said, "Fierce for one so small. I never doubted you, white skin."
"Tole," I corrected. "My name's Tole."
"Tole then. Would you like to come to my hut for the evening meal with me?"
"Lead on, Shala."
I could've sworn I heard Valsh say, "heart of an orc" before he began his chanting.
***
When Shala left to see to her duties for the village the next day, I wasn't nearly as beaten and bruised as I had been the last time. Don't get me wrong; I still hurt. It just didn't feel like I'd gone through an eight-round cage match this time. I've been a fighter all of my life, but sex by combat is definitely something different. I'm still not fully decided on how I feel about it, but I'm willing to keep trying until I can make up my mind.
I was making my way back to Valsh's hut, massaging a sore shoulder, and thinking about smooth green skin stretched over muscle when a horn blast broke my reverie. I looked up to see orc warriors, weapons in hand, running toward the outer walls of the village. I found Valsh about half a minute later coming out of his hut.
"What's going on?" I yelled as we turned and headed towards the main gate.
"The hunting party was attacked by another tribe and are being pursued back to the gate. We go to defend their escape and keep the attacking force from invading our village."
When I got to the wall above the gate I could see a party of about five orc females running down the path from the tree line towards the main gate. One of them had a sixth over her shoulder. The female being carried had several arrows protruding from her back and wasn't moving. I recognized the dagger on the side of the one being carried as the one Shala wore. That realization shifted my focus. Someone is about to die...horribly.
I realized that the pointy things on me were for stealthy killing and not suitable for this kind of fight. I wanted something with a little more heft to it. I quickly looked around for something I could use to invoke death and mayhem.
The orc to my right was wielding a sword in one hand and a club in the other. He also had a reasonably good dagger on his hip which I pulled from the sheath as I leapt over the wall. As I ran towards the orcs pursuing the huntress group, I started my threat analysis. There were four of them carrying bows, each with a mostly full quiver of arrows at their hips. I could see the pommels of the short swords on their opposite hips as well. They didn't expect to have to go hand-to-hand, or they would be carrying something bigger. They really didn't expect to meet me, or they wouldn't have come at all.
As I passed the orc carrying Shala, I jumped up and pulled the dagger from Shala's waist as well. Once I hit the ground again, I picked up my pace. I wanted to hit them on the first pass at a dead run. They haven't even noticed me yet, or if they have they've dismissed me as a pup and not a threat. Big fucking mistake, and it'll be the last they get to make.
One of them finally realizes I'm actually charging them and fires an arrow in my direction. Adrenaline rushes headlong into my blood, and everything slows down. I can see the tip of the arrow as it comes towards me. I could have counted the number of times that the shaft flexed as it flew. When it reaches me, I feel like I could have reached out and caught it in my bare hand. Instead I flick the tip Shala's dagger at it dismissively and bat it out of my way.
I can see the realization set in as I leap out of the grass at the orc who fired it. I put a dagger through each eye and my feet firmly in his chest. My momentum carries him over backward, and I jump and roll as he hits the ground. I complete my roll coming to my feet and thrusting both daggers hilt-deep into the chest of the orc behind him. I can feel the pulse of his heart through the blades telling me I struck true. I pull them both free as he falls.
That's two. Who's next?
I hear the roar from behind me that answers my question, so I duck my head and pivot to the left as his sword cuts the air where I was standing. I step inside his arm's reach and drive Shala's dagger into the artery in his thigh and slice outward opening the entire inside of this leg to let the blood out. The arterial spray covers my arm and thoroughly wets the chest of my shirt. He roars in pain and drops to a knee giving me a clear shot at the bottom of his chin. I drive the other dagger up and into his brain and watch as his eyes roll up into his head.
The last of the group yells something about a white skinned jungle demon and heads for the tree line. I am not inclined to let him leave, so I gather a bow from one of the fallen around me. It was almost a short bow to these gorillas, but for me it's bordering on a longbow. Doesn't matter though because I have enough adrenaline rushing around in me to body slam an elephant. I knock an arrow, draw, and find my target. The back of his head snaps into focus and looks about the size of a beachball. I pick a target at the base of his skull where his brainstem should be and let fly. My ears are met with a satisfyingly wet "thok" as the arrow hits home, and he falls limply to the ground.
Putting the two borrowed daggers through my belt, I take one of the short swords and then set about the process of finishing my work severing each of these mother fucker's heads from their bodies. I tie their top knot braids together and fling them over my shoulder and start back to the village. The fog of combat finally starts to clear and my thoughts settle on Shala. By the time I get to the gate, I'm almost at a sprint again.
As I enter the village, I drop the heads on the ground. Valsh is knelt over Shala chanting, and I can see the glow of the healing magic he is weaving. There are four arrows on the ground next to her in a small puddle of her blood. The other huntresses are watching Valsh intently, and finally Shala draws a ragged, wet sounding breath.
Valsh sits back on the ground with a weary look on his face. "She will live," he says. Then he turns and scans the crowd. I'm pretty sure he's looking for me.
"I'm here Valsh," I replied.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, getting up slowly. That's when I realized that other than the huntresses, everyone else was staring at me. Most of them had their mouths open. Some were whispering something about gods touched. That is also when I realized I was covered almost head-to-toe in blood.
"Relax Valsh. None of it is mine," I assured him.
He looked over my shoulder at the heads on the ground and asked, "What did you do? I saw you go over the wall, but I was called to heal Shala. Tole...what did you do?"
"I handled it," I said.
A weak voice said, "Tole. Come here you fool."
I turned and went to Shala's side. I found a relatively clean spot on my pants leg to clean her blade. I held it out to her and said, "It served me well."
She took the dagger, slipped it into the sheath, and pulled my forehead to hers and said, "Thank you." Then she lay back again and fell asleep while the others carried her back to her hut. I watched them until they rounded the corner, and then I turned to go back to Valsh's hut. I was met by the prodigious ass of Na'Guk, but I managed to stop before I ran into it. He was barking orders to his warriors about gathering the corpses and burning them outside of the village as a warning to any who would dare try this again.
Once he was done he turned to me and held out his hand. In it was a golden ring and four gold beads with holes through the center. One for each orc I had killed. I took them and bowed slightly at him.
"The heads are yours. What would have us do with them?" he asked.
"Whatever your tradition demands. I don’t have any use for them," I replied.
He ordered them hung from the walls. I was ok with that decision. We exchanged another nod, and I left to make my way back to Valsh’s hut. I needed food and a drink and possibly some sleep. Any time I let the killer out like that it burns a lot of calories. I usually end up drunk and sleeping for a couple of days as well. After two days in a row of fighting like that plus the night I had spent with Shala, I was completely fucking exhausted.
Once I got back to the hut, I started to shake. Adrenaline is a bitch and the crash afterwards can be extreme. Couple that with the emotions I had felt and I was tired to my soul. I barely managed to drink two tankards and eat two plates of meat, cheese, and fruit before I passed out on the cushions in the “living room” of Valsh’s place. Valsh came in some time later and woke me up.
“I have just come from checking on Shala one last time,” he said. “She is going to be fine. She was the last to run, making sure that the others were safely away. The cowards shot her in the back as she fled. The party leader went back for her against Shala’s wishes. I told her what you did. She wanted me to tell you that she wants to see you as soon as she is well.”
The haze was starting to clear, so I went to get more beer. Once my mug was full I said, “I’m glad she is going to be ok, but I don’t think I can see her again. My emotions got away from me today, and in my business that is a fast way to get killed. I need to get this fucking job done and go.”
“That is your decision to make and will be your responsibility to tell her. Just let me know when you plan to do it so I can be elsewhere. Oh, Na’Guk wants to see us in his hut for tonight's meal. You made quite an impression on him today. In the meantime, get some rest. You have earned it.”
I took my drink and headed to my room. I hate when shit gets complicated.
1 comment:
Nicely done, and RL DOES take priority... sigh...
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