***
Aldreya raised her stone dagger and green flames twisted around it like living serpents. She flung a blinding fireball into the air. The orb hung suspended for a moment, changing from green to white hot, forcing Lannon to shrink back and shield his face from the heat. Then the fireball shot through the air. Lannon braced himself for the explosion that would surely follow, wrapping the Eye of Divinity around himself protectively.
But the dark rider simply batted the fireball aside with his axe. The blazing orb flew across the clearing and struck an oak tree, blasting a hole in the trunk and throwing out a shower of sparks and burning wood fragments.
Aldreya gasped and lowered her dagger, appearing to falter for a moment. Her strongest fireball had just been swatted aside like a bug.
Lannon stood blinded for a moment from watching the fireball. When his vision cleared, bearing down on him was a legendary Bloodfang--a creature able to shred flesh from bone in an instant. The Goblin possessed crooked arms twice as long as a man's legs that tapered into claws. It was brown and slimy, with flesh that seemed to crawl with living things. Its rodent-shaped head quivered with rage, and its curved yellow fangs--as long as daggers--that hung from its wrinkled snout were bared for the kill. Folds of bony skin, like half-developed wings, beat furiously. It seemed to move blindly, with only leathery skin where eyes should have been, but it was alert to Lannon's position thanks to a bat-like ability to navigate.
The Bloodfang came at Lannon in a blur, and he was caught off guard. The beast's claws raked his shoulder, tearing through his cloak and drawing blood. He twisted away from the reeking beast, trying to bring up his sword for a strike, but the Bloodfang smashed the weapon from his hand. Lannon ducked a mass of bony claws, then sent the Eye of Divinity into his fist. He punched the beast in the chest, knocking it backwards. The blow might have killed a human, but the Bloodfang was barely dazed, pausing for a moment to catch its breath.
Lannon dove for his sword and seized it--just in time to deflect another clawed attack. Lannon gathered his power just enough to retaliate with a swift thrust--driving his blade deep into the beast's chest. The Bloodfang clawed at the sword and tried to get to Lannon. The beast was so full of rage and hatred that its own destruction meant nothing to it. All it cared about was tearing Lannon to pieces. It was a disgusting observation for the young Knight--that a creature could exist simply to destroy other creatures--and he was eager to finish it off.
Then a giant hand clamped onto the Bloodfang's head, and the beast was torn from Lannon's blade and flung aside as if it were made of straw. Standing before Lannon was a massive, shadowy Ogre wearing spiked armor and a spiked gauntlet on one fist. It wore a battered iron helm with two crude, misshapen eye holes. From the top of the helm protruded a plumb of Vulture feathers--ugliness on top of ugliness.
"Greetings," said Lannon, his eyes wide.
The Ogre had no desire to chat, driving its spike-covered fist down at Lannon. Lannon dodged the blow, annoyed by the distraction. It was the dark rider that concerned him, but these beasts were leaving him no chance of confronting that menace. Out of the corner of his eye--and as the Ogre charged him and he twisted aside--he saw Aldreya and the rider exchange fireballs that missed.
Inexplicably, the Ogre ripped off its iron helm and flung it at Lannon--perhaps to let Lannon look upon its face and perhaps because the helm weighed enough to deliver a crushing blow. Lannon swatted the helm aside with his blade, the impact jarring his arms. The Ogre's head was protected by stout, lumpy bone. A black rune of death was painted on its forehead.
A snarling, spotted Jackal leapt in to confront Lannon, getting in the Ogre's way. The giant didn't take kindly to that, and it smashed the Jackal in the head with its spiked fist, killing it instantly. An arrow from a Blue Knight glanced off the Ogre's thick skull. Another arrow found its neck, but it was a shallow wound in the tough, gnarled flesh and the arrow fell away. There was no blood to be seen. The Ogre roared in fury, promising the archers that they would be next once it dealt with Lannon.
Lannon reached into his cloak for his Glaetherin throwing star, then sighed as he realized it wasn't there. That weapon belonged to King Verlamer now. Instead, he summoned all the strength he could manage and flung his sword like a spear--burying it deep into the Ogre's forehead, straight through the painted death rune.
The giant gazed numbly at Lannon for a moment, blinking its eyes. It reached up to grab the sword as it took a step forward. Its long shadow fell over Lannon, and it glanced up at the blue sky, the sword hilt jutting forth, perhaps knowing its time in the world had run out. Then it toppled over.
Lannon drew the sword back to his hand even as the giant fell--just in time to defend against a pair of snarling Wolves that bounded over the Ogre's body. Weariness washed over him.
As Lannon fought the Wolves, Aldreya and the dark rider again hurled fireballs at each other. It was a colorful yet deadly exchange, and even the mighty Goblins stayed back in fear and awe. Aldreya was battling a master sorcerer, but her training under the legendary Taris Warhawk had prepared her well for such an encounter. She moved with just enough speed and agility to avoid the evil fire. Meanwhile, the rider continued to easily deflect her own attacks.
Suddenly, the dark rider wheeled his Goblin Horse around and rode off at a gallop. Aldreya gave chase, but immediately a wall of Goblins closed in front of her and the rider was lost from view.
Then the two armies clashed. Teeth and claws tore at flesh and armor, and burning Knightly blades hacked into smoking Goblin hide. No one on the battlefield doubted it would be a fight to the death, as the Goblins were fearless and driven by relentless hatred.
The dark rider had fled, and no order of retreat would be given.
Frantically, the Goblins tried to activate the towering catapults, as Blue Knights fired arrows at them. Odd, smoking, lumpy iron balls were loaded into the catapults, as Goblins pulled furiously on ropes atop the wooden platforms. But the Blue Knights shot the Goblins off the platform and left the ropes to dangle.
Lannon was like a fleeting shadow in his dark cloak, darting about on the battlefield and leaving dead monsters wherever he roamed. He channeled the Eye into his blade, turning the bone sword into both weapon and shield--striking his enemies like a battering ram one moment to push them away and then delivering a flurry of lethal cuts the next. Nevertheless, the Goblins continued to swarm at him, determined to slay the Bearer of the Eye. Fortunately, Aldreya came to Lannon's aid, burning to ash some of the Goblins that were charging him.
Prince Vannas, flanked by three Blue Knights, readied the White Flamestone. His gaze was locked onto the catapults, as the Blue Knights who guarded him cut down any Goblins that got close. As Vannas held forth the gem, which was blazing with light, a flurry of stones shot in his direction, disrupting his focus. The fire in the gem died down.
Three Goblin Lords had emerged unseen from the forest, slings in hand. These intelligent, humanoid creatures--Priests of Tharnin--were the most dangerous Goblins of all, possessing powerful combat skills and sorcery. They launched another volley of stones at the prince.
Vannas dodged some of the stones, and the Blue Knights deflected some with their blades--but one lucky shot made it through and struck the prince in the head. Vannas toppled to the ground, dazed, the White Flamestone rolling from his hand. The Goblin army howled with delight at the sight of the fallen prince, and the beasts fought with renewed vigor.
One of the Blue Knights seized the Flamestone, but he lacked the ability to use it and so he simply tucked it away. They shot arrows at the Goblin Lords, who quickly retreated back into the trees.
The Knights tried to revive the prince, but he was lost to the battle.
With Vannas unable to attack the catapults, Jerret fought his way over to one and climbed up onto the platform, cutting down two Goblins who had once again gotten to the ropes. One of them--a vicious Jackal--tried to rise, but Jerret stabbed it through the heart and then kicke
d the body off the platform. Jerret raised his broadsword and challenged the Goblins to remove him from his perch. Some of them gleefully answered the challenge from the arrogant Red Knight--including a Wolf that leapt high into air in an effort to knock him to the ground--but he cut them all down, his broadsword smoldering with crimson flames.
"For Thrake Wolfaxe!" Jerret bellowed, hacking another Wolf out of the air. In a berserk fury, he hacked at the catapult and tore away chunks of burning wood, finally regaining his senses and cutting at the ropes.
Moments later, Galvia fought her way up to Jerret's side, her hammer red hot with sorcery. The two stood back to back, as Goblins clawed their way up onto the platform and surrounded them. Jerret's strength and attitude had drawn their attention, and they were determined to tear him down. The two Knights fought fiercely, bodies piling up around them, but they were vastly outnumbered.
Lannon quickly fought his way to the platform and vaulted up onto it. He pushed into the circle of Goblins that surrounded Galvia and Jerret and cut down several of the beasts. Soon the three Knights had cleared the platform again, and they went to work on severing the ropes, rendering the mighty siege engine useless.
Bekka and the Blue Knights took the other catapult, clearing the platform momentarily before the Goblins closed in again. Bekka lifted a Jackal over her head and flung it into two other Goblins with shattering force--sending all three toppling from the platform. She then whirled around and skewered a huge Wolf that was trying to sneak up behind her on two legs, driving her burning Flayer through its heart. She kicked the dying beast off the platform.
Soon the battle was over. Four Blue Knights lay dead and several more had serious injuries. The ancient trees had been spared significant damage, but the tower grounds were soiled in Goblin corpses that would require a great deal of time and effort to deal with.
There was no sign of the dark rider.