Read A Heartless Task Page 9

Malag-Tog smiled to himself. The power of his summoning proved that even if another wizard who would normally be more powerful than him was trying to block his magic, now could only reduce it and not cancel it out totally. He watched as the man who did not fight the Delvock ran off to meet the other Quibs while the other two men attacked the huge hairy beast. He stood about twenty feet from the battle which was proving to be something of a stand off as both men kept there distances from the Delvocks massive racking blows. This gave him an opportunity and he walked slowly up to the man in the heavy plate armor from behind while preparing a spell.

  Malag-Tog again drew out his dagger and while saying words only other magicians knew, made a small cut in the palm of his left hand. He now stood directly behind the armored man who had seen him but paid him no attention. Waiting for a precise moment he stepped forward and placed his palm with the small cut onto the mans back. Then he spoke the final word of the spell and instantly the back-plate of the mans armor ripped wide open, the man's flesh doing likewise with the wound going deep, splitting several of the mans ribs as it tore open. As the man's back was opened up from the spell, the small wound on Malag-Tog's hand healed itself.

  The man fell forward howling in pain while spitting and coughing up blood. The other man, the large one with the red beard spotted him and what he'd just done. This man then stepped back from the attack of the Delvock and swung his heavy battle axe towards him, missing him by a couple of inches.

  Malag-Tog jumped back in surprise and shock. This man should not have attacked him, his spell should have seen to that.

  The way the man swung the huge axe proved he was a mighty warrior as he dodged the Delvock as best he could and approached Malag-Tog. Malag-Tog needed to do something before the man got to close and buried that huge bronze blade in his head.

  Quickly he waved his hands in the right manner while mouthing a spell requiring little time to prepare. As the man approached within striking distance the plants and grass on the ground twisted themselves around his feet. Roots sprang from the ground doing likewise and the big man was stopped dead on the spot just managing to remain upright.

  The Delvock closed on him and as the man fought to free his legs and feet from the entwined plants around them, it swung a huge claw towards his head. At the last moment he twisted to meet the creatures blow, bringing up the shaft of the great axe to block the mighty claw. He managed just in time but unfortunately for him the blow from the Delvock went straight through the shaft of the axe taking little force out of the blow which crashed down slamming him in the shoulder. Fortunately he moved his head to the side otherwise it would have been crushed and his brains splattered all across the ground.

  His shoulder bone though was broke and untold damage to his insides was caused by the weight from the blow. At least he still lived and as the Delvock stooped down to finish him off with a snap of it's vicious looking jaws he brought up the half of the battle axe with the blade on it which he still held in his right hand and smashed it into the top of the creatures head.

  A Delvock has few weak points on its body. The blows that had been delivered to it by Mulk's axe and Haurick's scimitar had only caused minor wounds which had hardly troubled the creature. This new blow Mulk had delivered onto the top of its head caused the creature to rear up in agony. The top of the Delvocks skull is the thinnest part of bone in the entire creature’s body. Although this bone is still three times the thickness of what a man's skull would be, the blow delivered by Mulk was such that it split the skull open and the blade of the axe penetrated into the Delvocks small evil brain.

  The mighty Delvock died clawing at its head, the death throws of the beast taking several minutes to subside.

  But the blow it had scored on Mulk had been far too much for him and although he did not die, he did pass out and if the wound was left untreated he would follow the Delvock and most of the others in this hour of pain and death.