Hey, Readers!
I FOUND IT!!!!
I FOUND THE NOTEBOOK THAT I HAD LOST!!
I can post the remainder of this chapter now, and the next three as well (with time, of course) before I get us back to Enverdolmal, and the ever-growing tales that make up One Last Knight!
I look forward to you all reading what I have come up with for you!
Till then?
I know what you came for, lol.
Enjoy.
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Himora's hypothesis was dead on.
Just as he had said, Kerina was right in front of the wagon, directing her fighters to tear it apart.
"HURRY, BEFORE THOSE BOYS GET BACK! WE CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER ROUND WITH THEM! TAKE THE DWARF AND LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"
Himora flipped high above her head and landed atop the wagon.
Startled, Kerina drew one of her swords and, in the process, cut loose the donkey, who kicked madly and ran off into the distance.
"You aren't getting away this time, and you sure aren't taking Smith with you either!"
Kerina's face grew pale as she realized the possibility was actually...well, possible.
But just as fast as the color had faded from her face, it came back in a bright red-ish hue.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARDS WILL DIE THIS TIME! THE DWARF IS COMING WITH ME, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT, OR NOT!"
Kerina flew at Himora and drew her other blade in the process.
The fight was on.
Within seconds, the other six pixies Kerina had brought along were all around me, flipping and slashing out in attempts to cut me down.
"I was not looking forward to this part!"
I said to myself as I blocked attack after attack.
'Oh, don't worry, kid!"
One of the little women said to me.
"It'll all be over before you know it!"
She lunged at me with her twin daggers and separated herself from the group. The others just stood and watched as we began our one-on-one fight.
The pixie was a skilled fighter, and it took almost all of my energy to deflect the constant barrage of attacks she threw my way. I ducked just as her blades flew at my neck, and in that split second, I kicked her legs from beneath her body.
A signature move of mine.
She landed on her back with a hard thump and quickly sprang back to her feet.
"That was a coward's move!"
She shouted, beginning to glow red in the face just as her leader had.
"What kind of man are you!?"
I couldn't help but laugh at her statement.
"I'm not a man...YET!"
I replied, and that seemed to just make her madder than she had been before.
"YOU'LL DIE!"
I laughed out even more as she came at me in a full rage. I didn't know why I was laughing so much, but it seemed to make her nervous, and her attacks were way off.
"Come on! It was just a joke!"
I laughed harder than I had before, then stopped her left-handed blade just before it could cut my head off. The warrior was furious. Maybe it was because she couldn't land an attack...or maybe she was mad that a "kid" could handle her best. Whatever it was, it worked in my favor.
"Please...just...drop your swords...I don't want...AH!---to hurt you...any more than I have!"
I was being honest.
The pixie seemed tired out, and I could have finished the fight anytime I wanted. It just didn't seem fair...then it happened.
The air around us began to grow cold, and three of the six pixies attacking me suddenly stopped and froze where they were. It was creepy, but very real.
The three of them were covered in ice from head to toe.
"Wha-what the hell!?"
Was the reaction that came from the pixie I was facing, but it was a short-lived one.
Just as she turned to run, she was covered in ice just as her comrades were.
I looked up to see Himora still locked in combat with the ever-vigilant Kerina.
"Bastion! There! In the tree!"
I didn't want to distract him any more than I may have in the moment of my own surprise, so I went off on my own. I ran towards the trees and leaped into the one the ice beams had come from, but as I landed in its branches I realized that whoever the attacker was, he had been long-gone before I could reach him.
"Dammit!"
Was all I could say. The Smith came into my head.
"Oh my god!"
I was off at breakneck speed toward the wagon where Himora and Kerina were still fighting. Himora seemed to be in control, and to me it looked like Kerina would be giving out any moment now.
"He's fine."
I thought to myself, then I ran over to the side of the wagon where Smith lay on his side, breathing slowly and laboriously.
"SMITH!...Smith, I'm so sorry!
I said, now on my knees with tears streaming from my eyes.
"Don't worry yerself, lad..."
He said between deep breaths.
"I'll be fine as I am...Ye run along and help out yer friend there, okay?"
I didn't want to leave his side.
I wouldn't.
It wasn't fair that he lay dying before my eyes, and I was alive and well with less than a scratch on my body.
"NO !... No, Himora will be fine. I have to take care of your wounds."
His skin was pale...paler than it had naturally been, and his right hand was clenched around his battle-axe. A sign that he had fought until the end.
"I'm so sorry."
Is all I could say, and even that was repeated over and over again until the words were strange in my mouth.
"Kid...I made this for ye."
Smith reached into his chest pocket and pulled out the little hammer he had been whittling earlier that day when we had separated.
It was amazing.
The tiny little hammer was made from stone, yet it shone like crystal in the palm of his pale hand. I reached down and took it, wishing that I had been on time to save his life.
I stopped.
"No...no, I can't take this...It's beautiful."
Smith's eyes began to fade from their deep, rock gray to a light, whitish color. It broke my heart to see him in such a condition.
"No...hang on! I'll...I'll get you into the village! There has to be a doctor...or someone who can help...please don't die!"
My vision was blurry with tears, and I found myself reaching for my spear...
I soon knew why.
In an instant, my vision was almost blackened.
Not from my tears, but from pure rage.
I felt the earth beneath me tremble, and little pebbles began to dance at my feet.
I stood grasping my spear so hard that my fingers popped from the strain, and my veins in my arms showed clearly on the surface.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't see, and I felt as if I wasn't even breathing on my own.
My elemental power had broken through, and I couldn't control it.
I couldn't stop myself from screaming.
"AAAAAAAUUAAUAUUGH!"
Himora was still on his feet, but by now, Kerina was far too tired to fend off his attacks.
"JUST GIVE UP!"
Himora yelled to her.
"IT'S OVER! YOU CAN BARELY HOLD YOUR WEAPON UP!"
But Kerina was stubborn.
She wouldn't give up, even if she were within the last moments of her life.
"NEVER!"
She yelled.
"I've come for my revenge, and I shall leave with my prize! That filthy lock-man's men killed my parents under his command, and I will avenge them! If you want to protect that murderer, you are just as bad as he is, and you will die just like him!"
Now, Himora really wanted her alive.
He hadn't heard enough and wasn't going to take her head until he knew the whole story. Kerina lunged at Himora, swinging her swords wildly and wasting the last of her energy at the same time.
"Calm down!"
He yelled at her.
"We don't have to be enemies like this!"
But in my eyes, he was far from right.
Kerina had slain my friend.
Our friend.
I am not sure if Himora knew that much, but I do know that it would have affected his leisurely view of her.
Himora blocked several more oncoming attacks, then kicked both of her swords out of her hands.
"You lose...now go, I don't want to kill you."
Himora put his sword away and turned his back on Kerina, a move that showed much trust coming from one of his stature. Kerina was persistent, and she didn't want to be called a loser.
Before Himora could turn and draw his sword, Kerina threw herself at him, drawing her small side-knife in mid-air.
"I WILL NOT LOSE!"
My heart skipped a beat as the scene unfolded before my eyes, but I couldn't say that I was surprised at what happened next, for I had caused it.
At the very moment that Kerina had leapt at Himora, I thrust my spear into the earth, and a giant shaft of solid stone shot up from the ground, traveling at lightning speed.
It cut straight through the body of the wagon and up into Kerina's chest, catching her in mid-air just inches away from Himora.
He spun on his heel and, in the process, drew his sword. At the sight of the impaled warrior, he stumbled back in surprise and almost fell from the wagon's top.
"Wha...what the heck did you do!"
Was his first response.
I fell to my knees as the small amount of energy that I had left fled from my body.
"It...it's over...she's dead."
The words seemed broken and distorted in my mouth. I had taken another life.
Did that make me any better than Kerina herself? Killing her made me feel like I had done something wrong.
It felt so wrong, yet it had to be right.
She killed Smith.
He hadn't deserved to die.
I knew I had done it again.
Gone berserk...crazy.
At the time, I didn't know why it happened, but I did know that my fear, pain, and anger seemed to affect the use and strength of my elemental powers.
As I grabbed hold of my spear and began to climb to my feet, Himora jumped off the wagon (or what was left of it) and landed lightly next to me.
"Where's Smith?"
He said after he helped me to my feet.
"Smith...?"
The name sounded familiar to me.
It drifted in and out of my mind slowly until I grabbed hold of it.
"Smith!"
I yelled as my spear fell from my hand and clanged softly against the ground.
"I...almost forgot about his wounds! We have to get him into that town! or he'll-"
"Too late..."
Himora said calmly.
"He's gone...how did this happen?"
I didn't hear Himora's words.
My mind was blank, and I couldn't feel anything around me.
At that moment, the world seemed to fade away from me, leaving me lost and alone in pure darkness. How many more people would die before this was all over?
My father...
My mother...
The entire village, save for myself and maybe 10 or 15 people...
Kerina...
And now, Smith...
I couldn't take it anymore.
My tears began to roll down my cheeks, clearing the filth from my dirt-darkened face.
Himora's hand fell again upon my shoulder, and his healing water seemed to wash over me in a wave of warmth.
I felt a little better.
"Thanks, man...it's just so many people...all at once. I hate it! I hate fighting! I hate this war crap! And I hate Yatsimoto Shicato! I will stop him! I swear from this point on, he is my one priority."
Himora agreed.
He didn't tell me just then, but he had lost his family to the man, too, some years ago, though, in a different, distant war.
"I'm here for you, man."
He began.
"This is going to be no walk in the park, though. We will be in countless battles and fights. I know it, but as long a you don't give up, I won't...Let's get Smith into the town."
We both turned to our fallen friend and moved to do just that.