《Echoes of Rundan》468. Firebreak, Chapter 56
Advertisement
Even though Kaldalis knew that his impending death was unlikely to be permanent, it was hard to contain his fear. The sinister nature of the War Weapon made him wonder if perhaps death at the end of one of them might be different. But more than that, it was just plain scary to be pinned down by a half-dozen murderous guards while another of them raised an impractically giant sword up over his head.
“You don’t want to do this,” Kaldalis stammered quickly. He wasn’t sure if he really thought he could talk his way out of this, or if he was just stalling for time. “What you’re about to do can’t be taken back!”
To Kaldalis’s credit, the man with the greatsword hesitated. If this was one-on-one, it might have been enough to de-escalate this. But when the guard looked to the others, he was galvanized to action. He couldn’t be talked down so easily in front of all his allies.
The sword began to descend, lined up to cleave Kaldalis’s head in twain.
He tried to twist out of the way, but there was nowhere to go. The grip of the guards grappling him was like iron bands. No doubt they were DPS classes, giving each one of them strength surpassing his entire body, and he was so dramatically outnumbered he couldn’t possibly move more than a few inches.
His only real hope was to somehow absorb the impact with his Vathon horns, but the sensitivity of those appendages meant that even if they stopped the heavy blade from killing him, the pain would likely cause him to black out. The best resistance he could offer was indignity of having to double-tap him instead of taking him out cleanly in one stroke.
But before the first blow landed, fate made it known that it had other plans.
Or, at least, Myrin did.
A tiny figure crashed into the sword-wielding guard like a cannonball. She caught him flat-footed from his blind spot in a flying kick, planting her foot in his side right under his ribcage. There was a whooshing sound as the air left his lungs before the flying kick sent both him and Myrin to the ground in a heap.
The grass over the ground of the clearing wasn’t too high, but it was high enough that from his position flat on his back, Kaldalis could no longer see them.
Three of the guards holding Kaldalis let go of him and jumped to their feet, moving to help their ally from the sudden attack. The others loosened their grip just enough that when Kaldalis wrenched and rolled, he managed to break free. With a cackle of triumph, he scrambled away from his attackers and got to his feet.
Advertisement
A much louder and more alarming cackle sounded nearby, though.
Myrin stood up over her downed opponent, and now she was the one holding the War Weapon.
For a brief moment, Kaldalis was afraid he was about to witness a war crime. There were six guards within striking distance, and no doubt more on the way. He’d known Myrin long enough to recognize that if she chose to go wild with her new toy, the consequences would not be pretty.
“This doesn’t have to go like this,” Kaldalis snapped, addressing Myrin as much as the guards arrayed against her. “We can approach this like civilized people. We don’t have to resolve this with bloodshed.”
Despite her obvious glee at the power she now held, Myrin visibly calmed herself, shifting her stance from aggressive to defensive. Kaldalis was hopeful that he might be able to use her as a threat against the guards. She was tiny, but her skill for violence in this world was pretty terrifying. Perhaps-
The remaining guards drew War Weapons of their own, three of them arrayed against Myrin, while the other three turned on Kaldalis.
“Or we can keep escalating,” Kaldalis said, trying to pretend to be calm. “Shit, guys. Its your funerals.” He raised his voice, trying to catch Myrin’s eye. “Hopefully not literal funerals, though.”
Myrin gave him a nod, but not more than that before she lunged. The wide blade of her new sword gave the weapon tremendous weight, and while that weight was best-suited to reducing whole people into smaller parts of people, it also meant that if she struck with the flat of the blade, the weight would literally send a full-grown Human man flying at least five feet through the air before landing in a slightly-concussed heap.
The three guards nearest to Kaldalis encircled him cautiously. They didn’t know he was effectively unarmed here, but as soon as one of them moved in, he was going to get cut to ribbons. The one on his left had twin daggers, though their design was more akin to kukri, with front-heavy blades designed to hack off limbs, the blades rough-forged to make them look almost primitive.
On his right, that guard wielded a sword and shield. The blade was a single-edged cutlass, the metal blade black as night emerging from a glittering silver basket hilt. The shield was a simple round shield made of pitch-black wood, studded with steel knobs evocative of stars in the night sky.
Advertisement
The guard who circled behind him bore a staff, the weapon gnarled and twisted as if it was just a natural branch of wood, though it was dark brown-orange on either end, as if coated in long-dried blood.
“Come on, you guys,” Kaldalis said, looking over at the one on the right. “How about you toss me that sword and we can have a fair fight. You wouldn’t be so dishonorable as to attack a-”
Instinct screamed and Kaldalis ducked. There was a low whoosh - almost like that of a pained moan - as the end of the staff flew through the air right where Kaldalis’s head had been.
“Alright,” Kaldalis said, putting up his fists. “You asked for it.”
He wasn’t sure exactly what his plan was. Besides getting cut up, there wasn’t another obvious outcome here. Myrin was near at hand, but she had her hands full. The unspoken signal to draw War Weapons also seemed to be complicating the fight elsewhere. Reno had Kaldalis’s spear out now and was holding her ground. On the other sides of the clearing, his friends were facing worse odds now that their foes were drawing weapons as soon as they saw how the fight was going.
Fortunately, he’d done his planning beforehand.
There was a wet thunk and a cry of anguish from the guard on his left. An arrow sprouted from the man’s calf and the impact of it sent him straight to the ground. There was a shattering sound to his right of another arrow, this time breaking against the surface of the shield that guard carried. On instinct, the man had raised it to protect himself, and now that he saw the source, he didn’t lower it.
Balrim had Kaldalis’s back.
He couldn’t waste this opening. Kaldalis flung himself at the man with the staff. The sinister weapon lashed out in response, but Kaldalis caught the attack on his armored forearm. The impact made his arm go ringingly numb from elbow to fingertip, but his opponent had been caught off-guard.
Kaldalis tackled the man to the ground, ripping his helmet off before clapping his one useful hand to the man’s ear as hard as he could.
The ringing blow left the guard stunned enough that Kaldalis ripped the staff from his grip.
With one smooth motion, Kaldalis stood and turned with the weapon. The guard with the sword and shield was charging at Balrim, shield raised to guard against further arrows as he made his approach. Balrim was visibly panicking, but just kept pelting the man. Arrows shattered against the shield, or deflected near-harmlessly off of the armor on the front side of the man’s legs.
But it wasn’t slowing him down enough. Dalgaard was near at hand, but still unarmed. They wouldn’t be able to slow down the guard by much. Without anyone available to protect him, both healers would be dead in seconds.
Kaldalis hurled the staff.
The weapon spun end-over-end with that same sound as before - something between a wail and a moan - before striking the guard in the legs. The impact to his knee made a much louder and more painful-sounding crunch than Kaldalis expected. Even without that joint-destroying impact, the weapon tangled in his legs, fouling his charge and sending him to the ground with a shriek.
Kaldalis rushed to return to Balrim’s side, but he had two stops to make first. The man with the arrow in his calf had dropped his daggers, and while he writhed in pain, clutching his leg, Kaldalis scooped them up. Then, instead of running right back to Balrim, he ran at the man with the sword and shield, pointing the daggers at the man as soon as he stood over him.
“You’re gonna want to hand over those weapons,” Kaldalis said. “Unless you want to lose those same hands.”
“Glorious One’s Mercy, man,” the downed guard stammered, his face gone ghostly pale as he struggled not to move his broken leg. “Just take them. I didn’t join the church to shed my life’s blood on some Eagle-and-Hare-forsaken rock out in the ocean.”
“You should be more careful about who you follow, then,” Kaldalis said, taking the sword and shield - and retrieving the staff as well. “I’m sure being chosen by the Contender was a great honor when it happened, but he’s the one who put you here.” He leaned down with a grin that he hoped was appropriately menacing. “If you like taking orders so much, then take this one: get the fuck off of my rock. I don’t want you getting your blood on it, either.”
Advertisement
- In Serial45 Chapters
The New Community
In the not too distant future, the world is settling down after world war 3, recovering and rebuilding. From the ruins, new communities and governments arise, along with Talents, people with extraordinary abilities. Amongst the groups is the Community, based in Europe, an inclusive group of towns that values everyone, regardless of Talent status. Leading the recruitment charge is Zoe, a powerful technomancer, one of the first generation of Talents. On her adventures, what will happen? Your votes will decide. A/N: I'll update chapters when I get to places where I feel it's right, I don't know where to go and want some direction or would like to have you help with the narrative in some way. Having others make choices forces me to be creative and I think that's when I'm at my best. Keep an eye out for polls in post chapter notes, they usually last 2 days. As always, love each other, and know I am grateful for every single person who reads my works.
8 237 - In Serial21 Chapters
Azennawl Anthology
A fiction created solely so I would be able to upload short stories that don't take up the length of a full novel. It contains stories from all over Azennawl and other places. If you enjoy stories about magical heroes, with some mysteries as well, feel free to check some of these out. Contents: The Chase: A short story about an immortal king who indulges in nostalgia until the relics that embody it are stolen from under his nose. Even with his power, will he be able to figure out who or what has been doing this? Rise Again: Can a man without his memories rise to be something greater. Does he need those memories to be great, or can he build something better with what he now has? Banner will rise again. Sincan and The Rhyming Man: Sincan Tolkin is called in to the city of Leostita to deal with a series of crimes that have been happening. When he's face front with the man behind it all, he must work with a police chief to take him down, or suffer the consequences. Sleight of Living: Tyson is a homeless man living in the run down parts of the city. When the world continuously punishes him for doing things the right way, is the only solution to use those same hands that threw him into this situation to get himself out?
8 135 - In Serial30 Chapters
King: The Silver King's Echo
Credits to Hanstrondheim for the cover art and Muddy and Danetello for the Synopsis! Synopsis: What is a King?A King is more than just a generation or a class. They are known as Kings due to the mysterious powers they wield. Their power allows them to destroy armies alone, guide their people to greatness, split mountains with their bare hands, and even kill the strongest monsters.Yet even after all these years, the origin of their powers remains unknown.A once ugly and sickly kid is transported into this world. He’s granted powers beyond his own control. He must quickly grow strong, lest he risks destroying himself as well as the world around him.His ultimate goal? To "live as long as he can". This desire, although simple, will herald his rise as the "Silver King" the world once feared.
8 125 - In Serial15 Chapters
Might as Well
Samuel 'Solar' Lawrence played the game of a lifetime and lost. With his last breath, he called out for revenge. Too bad, nobody listened. Sam Little, was a simple man, enticed by the promises of baked goods when he died. Too bad, nobody asked him what he wanted. And now Sam has to decide what do with his life...
8 104 - In Serial20 Chapters
Sword of Savage Desires
While using the unorthodox path of cultivation, the Demonic Cultivation Technique to attain immortality, Xie Zhelan loses his powers and ends up destroying himself. Zhelan, by luck, is granted another chance to correct himself and is thrown into the mortal world with no powers to aid him. With nothing but a saber to help him achieve his goals, Xie Zhelan sets out to reach the peak of cultivation and attain immortality. On his journey, he meets Liu Yang who has met a similar fate as him and the duo join hands to get back all that they have lost. However, Liu Yang is not an ordinary cultivator. There is a secret about him, a secret so grave that Zhelan might be pushed into a fathomless abyss. Furthermore, the path to immortality does not seem as easy as he thought it to be, especially when there are enemies who want him dead. At every step, he faces danger and the only way to protect himself is by trusting no one, not even himself.
8 123 - In Serial55 Chapters
Soul Core Online
Soul Core Online was a game that few people were interested in until after it was released, due to its odd way of handling character growth but this soon changed as people started to realise just how different this game was. Unlike many of its predecessors the NPCs in Soul Core Online acted in a way that was indistinguishable from real people and the world felt alive because of this instead of the empty and sterile cities we had come to expect, even walking down the street could give you insights to how these people lived. In my case this was the world that I had always wanted to visit and I soon found myself embroiled in the constantly changing world that is Soul Core Online. This story is currently only available here on Royal Road or on my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/bkwrm196/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=Soul%20Core%20Online
8 102