The Forgotten King (Korin's Journal) (19 page)

The undead creature came at me wildly, its swords swiping with a flood of rigid motions, its stiff legs stumbling forward as it attacked.  With my focus fully invested on parrying its attacks, I couldn’t find an opening to counterattack.  For that matter, I wasn’t even sure what I could do to hurt it anyway.  The creature lying decapitated beside Vhillin hadn’t been moving, so I assumed that beheading it would probably be my best bet.  With how it was bombarding me with its two-sword attack, however, I couldn’t find an opening to do so. 

I retreated from the creature’s swords and doubled back for a surprise rear-attack, realizing that I could move faster on my feet than it could.  The undead creature’s head followed my movements as I darted around to its back, turning in a complete, bone-cracking circle.  When I swung my sword, its arms jerked backwards in their sockets and knocked aside my attack. 
How in Rizear’s domain had it even been able to see me with those gaping eye sockets, let alone block my attack?  Stupid undead.

As I reevaluated my attack plan, the two-toned and undulating screeches sounded again from nearby.  In my periphery, I could see two shadows entering the light of the camp, one of them massive.  This was not good. 

I began to parry the undead creature’s attacks, its backward-rotated arms not putting much of a damper on its ability to keep me from striking it.  Behind me, I heard screams from the other men, screams that cut off too suddenly.  Our side was falling to the enemy, and I couldn’t do a thing to help, stuck fighting the macabre creature before me. 

The undead creature started in for another attack, but suddenly, one sword wrenched from its sinewy hand, flinging out into the night.  The second sword, staying firmly grasped in its other hand, ripped away as well, taking the creatures decayed arm with it. 

“Korin, kill that thing right now and get over here!” Kait’ screamed from behind me.  She’d apparently saved me with her magic.

The creature, unfazed by the loss of its arm, swung its only intact arm towards me with a sick growl, its bony fingers like claws.  I leaned away from its reach and swiped my sword towards its neck.  With the softness of the undead’s rotting flesh and the brittleness of its bones, my sword sliced cleanly through its neck, its gruesome head rolling off to the side.  Its body took a few rigid steps backwards before dropping.

When I turned to the scene behind me, my heart fell into my stomach.  While the undead appeared to all be out of the fight, we now had much bigger problems on our hands.  Kait’, Briscott, Oslen, and I were all that remained of our group, and Oslen was not going to be with us much longer.  I know that last part sounds a bit fatalistic, but a ten-foot-tall eldrhim had Oslen clamped in the massive jaws of its elongated snout, its serrated teeth piercing through his torso.  Its scaly, green reptilian body stood on two hairy, bear-like legs.  Six arms—three on each side of its body—were each as big around as tree trunks.  Its reptilian eyes glowed a bright yellow as if they were tiny suns on its face. 

Several arrows were embedded in the reptilian, bear-legged eldrhim’s body.  No less than six other swords—some with the arms of the undead still attached to them—were stabbed through the eldrhim’s body.  Kait’ was likely responsible for those swords.  Black, corrosive eldrhim blood leaked from its wounds.  Still, the creature stood and fought, which is why Kait’ had called for me. 

And then there was the second eldrhim, currently in the process of standing from Ullian’s still form.  This eldrhim wasn’t comparable to any creature I’d ever seen before.  First of all, it hadn’t so much stood from the Ullian’s body as transitioned from an amorphous gel-like mass into a humanoid shape.  Glowing red eyes were the only feature on its smooth, spherical face.  Moonlight shimmered across its yellow, semi-translucent, gelatinous body.  I tried not to think about what the fleshy chunks visible through its pellucid stomach were. 

Oslen’s frantic screams filled the air as the lizardish eldrhim shook its head back and forth, its terrible teeth tearing through his insides.  The eldrhim’s jaw clamped tighter, Oslen’s bones audibly breaking.  With another violent shake of the eldrhim’s head, Oslen’s lifeless body was flung a dozen paces away to the ground.

I didn’t need an order from Kait’ to set after the eldrhims.  The atrocious creatures, supposedly the minions of Rizear, the god of death, had to be stopped.  They’d nearly killed my friends and me in the past.  One had killed Bhaliel.  The two before me had already killed Oslen and Ullian, and they wouldn’t stop until there was no one left to kill.  Their very existence enraged me.  With a fury-filled cry, I lifted my sword in preparation to charge.

“Korin!” a shrill voice called from behind me.  I knew the voice all too well.  I should’ve been elated to hear it.  At the moment, however, I cursed its timing as my body involuntarily turned away from the eldrhims.

“Korin, what are you doing?” Kait’ screamed breathlessly.  “I order you to kill these monsters!”

As much as I would’ve loved to oblige Kait’s command, I had other orders that superseded hers.  Per Jefren, I was to detain the Kolarin who stood before me.

Til’ ran up and threw his arms around me.  “Korin, I’m so glad you’re okay.  We came to save you.  I didn’t know what was going on when we saw the commotion here.  We were waiting for the right time to come and get you.  Now let’s kill these eldrhims and—”  His typical breathless train of thought choked off as I snatched the dagger out of his hand, tossed it to the side, and tightly grabbed his arm.  “Korin, what are you doing?”

“I’m so sorry, Til’,” I said.  “I can’t control myself.”

Til’s silver eyes took on a look of panic, and he jerked his head back to look behind him.  “You’re not supposed to still be under their control.  Oh, Bill, where are you?”

“Bill?” I questioned, not understanding what he could have to do with anything. 

“Dammit, Korin, this thing’s about to kill me,” Kait’s voice called.

Suddenly, my legs started walking towards Kait’.  I was unable to release Til’s arm, so he was pulled along with me.  Jefren had ordered me to detain
Til’, but he’d also ordered me to protect Kait’.  There appeared to be a fallacy in the working of the rocks; I was forced to comply with both orders at once.

With my eyes once again facing the battle, I saw Briscott hacking at the gelatinous eldrhim, his bow discarded for a sword.  The sword uselessly passed through the creature with each swing.  The tears in its body sealed up immediately in the wake of Briscott’s blade.  The eldrhim’s arms shot out to its sides, elongating as they curved around Briscott’s back and melded together behind him. 

“Briscott, drop!” I yelled, unable to do anything but continue forward towards Kait’.  Briscott didn’t question and dropped flat to the ground.  The eldrhim’s arms passed not a finger’s length over his head.  Briscott jumped back to his feet and resumed his attack. 

Meanwhile, Kait’s focus was solely on the lizardish eldrhim.  Two swords repeatedly stabbed in and out of its body, first drawn towards the metal sphere in her hand and then thrust forward using the other embedded swords to attract them.  Her attack did little to slow it, however.  Its body twisted to reach for her with three of its arms, revealing a long, reptilian tail swinging behind it.  Kait’ danced around the bear-legged, lizardish eldrhim’s advances and continued to work at it with the swords.  Actually seeing her in danger drove me into a run, dragging Til’ behind me.

“Ow!  Korin, what are you doing?” Til’ yelped, stumbling.

I didn’t get a chance to answer.  Suddenly, my legs gave out from under me.  I released Til’s arm and my sword, dropping to my knees.  I pressed my hands against the sides of my head as pain exploded behind my eyes, a pain worse than anything the rock had caused before.  The world went white and all strength left my muscles.  Ice pumped through my veins one second, replaced by boiling water the next.  My screams were hollow echoes in my ears.  For that brief moment in time, I wondered if I was experiencing what death felt like.  But then it was over.

There was no longer any pain in my head.  My chest still burned like fire, my stitched shoulder still throbbed, and nearly all of my muscles ached from fighting, but no more daggers stabbed into my brain. 

I dropped my hands to my sides.  Kait’ was continuing her attack on the eldrhim before her, drawing swords out of its body and thrusting them right back in.  The eldrhim still fought back despite its butchered mess of a torso.  Kait’ looked exhausted, and I couldn’t imagine her having many leeches left to draw magic from, if any.  Even witnessing her plight, my body made no move to help.  Energy coursed through me as the implications set in.  I was free.

Briscott’s scream ripped my attention from my renewed freedom.  He’d also fallen to the ground.  The gelatinous eldrhim had stretched out like a ship’s sail, descending to envelope Briscott’s downed body, the way it had done to Ullian moments before.  I had to save him.

I retrieved my sword from the ground and stood.  “Til’, I’m okay now.  Let’s kill these Rizear-blooded bastards.” 

“Already ahead of you,” Til’ called as he ran past fearlessly, dagger back in hand.

I followed, charging after the gelatinous eldrhim without a hint of a plan.  I just knew that I wanted the thing off of Briscott before his body parts joined Ullian’s in its jelly-like torso.  Before I could close the distance, Briscott tore through the creature with a roar, his arms raised,
a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.  Gelatinous blobs splashed outwards with the sound of spoiled fruit smashed underfoot.  Briscott’s entire body was slimed with the viscid substance.  Briscott jumped back as it began to reform into its humanoid shape. 

Briscott’s eyes met mine as I raced towards him.  “Don’t worry about me.  This one’s mine,” he growled.  “Take the other blighted creature down.”

Though I cared more about Briscott’s survival than Kait’s—chivalry be damned—I respected Briscott’s wishes and turned to the screeching lizardish eldrhim to my left.  Til’ was already attacking it, ducking under its tail and slashing at its legs as if completely unconcerned that the monster was more than twice his height.  Kait’ looked ragged and unsteady on her feet.  With Briscott keeping the other eldrhim at bay, my place was with the six-armed, scaly monster.  And strangely enough, I had a plan for once.  A good plan, even.  Well, maybe.

“Kait’!”
I screamed, charging the eldrhim.  “On my word, draw every weapon stuck in the eldrhim towards my sword.” 

There was no time to check if Kait’ had heard me as I rushed forward.  I leapt onto the eldrhim’s tree trunk of a tail, stabbing my sword into it.  When I wrapped my other arm around the tail, my hand came in contact with fur which apparently covered its underside.  I dug my fingers into the oily fur, holding on for dear life.  The eldrhim violently lashed its tail, but I held tight and pulled my entire body onto it, lying flat against the scales. 

Til’ had to duck as the tail whipped towards him.  My legs swung off the side, threatening to take my body with them.  My arm muscles straining, I pulled my legs back onto the eldrhim’s tail, pressing my feet against the scales to bring myself up into a crouch.  With a silent prayer to Vesteir, I yanked my sword from its flesh and kicked upwards as hard as I could, leaping from its tail and stabbing my sword into the middle of its back. 

The eldrhim let out a two-toned screech and started spinning wildly, flailing its six arms to grab at me.  None of its clawed hands could reach me.  I struggled to maintain the one-handed grip on my sword as the eldrhim spun, my body swinging painfully against its back.  My right shoulder burned with pain, all of my weight pulling down on it.  Still—believe it or not—my plan was going just as I’d hoped. 

I looked down at Til’ as he courageously slashed at the eldrhim.  “Can’t you do any better, eldrhim?  Come on,” he taunted. If not for the fear that I could die any moment, I would’ve laughed. 

The next phase of my plan was going to be a little trickier.  Pressing my feet against the eldrhim’s back for leverage, I brought up my other hand to grab my sword’s hilt.  From there, I stepped up its back, its rough, scaly hide giving me plenty of traction.  I extended a leg to the side, planting it on what would’ve been the shoulder of one of its lower arms. 

Releasing my sword with one hand, I reached up to grab the eldrhim’s middle arm.  I then withdrew my sword, eldrhim blood splashing onto my armor, and proceeded to climb atop the eldrhim’s topmost arm using its lower arms like a ladder.  This was no easy task with the eldrhim flailing its limbs as it tried to grab at both me and Kait’ while simultaneously lashing its tail at Til’.  Still, I succeeded in pulling myself onto its shoulder.  Grabbing an arrow imbedded in its skull to stabilize myself, I stabbed my sword through the top of its head. 

The eldrhim let out another piercing screech and reached for my sword with its upper arms.  I twisted away from its claws and leapt to the ground.  Letting my legs buckle, I tucked into a roll to keep from causing myself too much damage.  After coming to a halt, I turned towards Kait’. 

“Now, Kait’!” I screamed, hoping she could hear me over the eldrhim’s pain-filled roar.  Suddenly, the swords and arrows in the eldrhim’s body tore inward through its scaly skin.  The eldrhim staggered back, screeching in pain as the weapons tore through its insides and made their way to my sword.  The eldrhim’s massive body dropped to the ground and went still.

Once I made it to my feet, Kait’ was there beside me, her eyes burning with anger.  Til’ pulled up to my other side, and we all turned to Briscott’s battle with the gelatinous eldrhim.  “What do we do now?” Til’ asked.