It will be more prudent to go –” Pato was saying
“Go and meet up with Jaquele and leave this to me. Why fret about people that cannot even beat the motion field”
With that he turned and walked away from the group.
-----
The four warriors were now concealed amidst trees and bushes at the top of one of the mountains a few miles away from the enemy.
“They are four miles ahead. I can see the river at the centre of those cliffs” Clauton was saying in a whisper as he pointed ahead, he sounded more like snake than man.
“They are ready for the ritual. It is the same river they performed their last two rituals. They place the girl on a canoe in the centre of the lake, then say some incantations and then kill her. Then they let the blood flow into the river and mix with the water and afterwards they drink it. I’ve heard it immensely increases their power.”
Clauton stopped his tale to examine his companions’ faces.
Themus thought he sensed excitement in Clauton’s voice. Clearly Clauton was not appreciating their state of haste. As Clauton made to continue, Themus spoke.
“We need to be thinking of how we can get to Lian. We should aim at rescuing her without being detected.”
Hlare, who lay flat at the base of a tree, quietly said
“We should split in two. That way if one pair is obstructed the other can continue with the mission”
“I agree” Themus said “I’d say Clauton and Isendy take the direct route to the river. Hlare and I will take a long round route through the mountaintops and then climb down at the point of the river.”
Isendy spoke
“Your strategy is good but your pairing is flawed. You should go with Clauton straightway to the river, considering his stealth and scouting skills he will stay ahead of you and lead you on and if you two run into the enemy your swords skills will come in handy. I will be in the second pairing with Hlare, as we move above, though with some difficulty I expect we will be able to monitor your progress and if we notice you need help Hlare can support with the bow and arrow and I with mystic powers”
There was silence for a moment as the other three perused Isendy’s words.
Hlare spoke first. “I think it’s good”. The other two agreed.
As they made to work according to the plan, Themus added
“Be on your guard. There is still a possibility we have already been detected”. He heard Isendy grunt at his remark but continued still.
“Be on the alert for traps and ambushes. Either of us that reach her first should take her straightway to the village; that’s our priority – her safety”
- - -
Themus maintained a distance of at least twenty feet at any given time as he followed Clauton through thick forestry. He was impressed at how nimbly and meticulously Clauton scanned the environs as he moved. He was shifting in the shadows all the while as he peered through branches, paused to listen for sounds and at times lay down flat with his ear and palms to the ground, sensing for vibrations.
Themus sight was focused on Clauton ahead when Clauton suddenly turned to face him and screamed
“WATCH OUT!”
Without thinking, Themus flung himself to his right just in time to dodge a massive blade that was swung downwards at his head.
Sword now unsheathed and in his right hand, Themus lifted himself from the ground and faced his adversary who was a giant of a man. The giant was smirking.
Gandil spoke as he pulled out his sword from the ground where Themus had been squatting on.
“I must say I’m impressed; firstly that the small man noticed me and that you were able to evade my attack in time. Most of the time, my foe would be dead before he even knows it.”
As the Salmanto spoke, Themus guaged him and was not unworried. He knew he would have been split in two halves if he had delayed the dodge by a single second. This man had both great strength and speed and who knew what other powers he possessed? Although Themus himself was buff, this Salmanto was in a level of his own. He knew he had to duck any attacks rather than parry them or else risk being knocked down. The giant also showed no aorta of fear or doubt in his strength.
Themus, who was eight feet away from Gandil, pointed his sword upwards at the giant’s head and spoke; though he knew the futility of what he was about to say, it would at least buy Clauton time to prepare some kind of attack and the others above as well, if they could.
“We are not here for conflict. We only want to collect our Chief’s daughter that you took. Release her and we will leave peacefully”
Gandil had a dreadful grin on his face as he answered
“You should have chosen your last words better”
In a blink Gandil was upon him with a double arm sword swing, Themus panicked a little and dodged excessively to the left and lost his footing. He shot out his left arm beneath his back to catch his fall and raised his sword arm to guard himself because Gandil was sure to attack him whilst down.
Just as Gandil was about to bear down on Themus, the giant swiftly twisted his body to face Clauton behind him and block two quick darts that were thrown at him.
“So you need a halfling to save your life” Gandil exclaimed, and as he yet spoke a second great sword, just like the first appeared in his left hand.
Themus who was now on his feet, though shocked by the appearance of the second massive sword, felt it was time enough to launch his own attack. With a yell and both arms gripping his sword above his head, he launched out at the hulk.
Gandil effortlessly blocked the blowto his left and in the next split second sent his right arm to his back to block another pair of darts from Clauton.
The battle raged on.
Gandil was swinging both swords alternatingly at Themus, and a few times blocking quick blows from same. He was also blocking Clauton’s darts, at times without even looking at Clauton or his projectiles.
Clauton seemed only a small distraction to the hulk, who was pressing hard against Themus waiting for him to falter.
Themus was exerting full effort against his adversary. He was dodging high and low and sometimes he was forced to parry, he had landed four blows since and all had been easily blocked. Only an unconventional attack would have any hope of landing on this one. Gandil showed no sign of slowing down.
Themus thought he saw a flicker in Gandil’s eyes and suspected he was up to something. He was right, for in the next second the giant suddenly sidestepped to the left. Themus had no time to evade the three darts from Clauton that Gandil had purposefully dodged. One landed square in his right shoulder, another in his left hip and the third narrowly missed his forehead.
Themus staggered backwards, shocked at what just happened.
The next six seconds were very eventful.
Clauton, who was now out of darts and realizing his last few darts had hit Themus, pulled out a short sword from underneath his cloak and sprinted to the giant in an effort to stop him from finishing off Themus.
Themus realizing that he had finally met his doom poised himself even as he fell, for a final dying attack on the hulk.
Two large arrows from Hlare’s bow, sped ominously from a cliff top, seventy feet away, directed at the back of Gandil.
Themus, whose eyes were transfixed on the attacker’s, perceived confusion for the first time. Gandil swung around just in time to parry both arrows.
Themus, already poised for his final attack saw his chance and with both arms sent his sword right through the centre of Gandil’s back and then collapsed to the hilly ground out of injury and fatigue.
Clauton was six feet away from Gandil when he saw Themus’ reddened blade protrude from his chest but could not stop quickly enough. Gandil, his face distorted with anger and dismay, caught Clauton mid-air and attempted to embrace him unto the blade jutting out from his chest.
Though Gandil was weakened by the blade hestill was too powerful for Clauton to resist and as the blade slowly sank into the hollow of Clauton’s sto
mach he raised his short sword with both arms and planted it into the giant’s neck.
The giant and puny man lay intertwined and perfectly still, blades sticking in and out of their bodies.
---
“Where is he?” Jaquele said softly to Pato.
Pato, who was carrying a well ornamented carving knife of some sort, did not respond immediately, he just stared down at the pool in which the sacrificial girl lay drugged stiff and tied to the canoe at the pool’s centre.
“He went to intercept four intruders. We have to assume he is either dead or badly wounded. We should continue without him.”
“Is that so? They must have been really strong to have killed him” Jaquele said.
Pato continued his speculation. “He should have killed at least one of them and left the others are injured. In any case we should be ready for an attack”
Jaquele did not seem at all shaken by the news. As she walked, knife in hand, into the pool and towards the canoe, she maintained her calm voice as she said
“Gandil’s a fool that relies excessively in his brute strength. Let them come, they wouldn’t find things as easy as with Gandil”
Lian knelt with two other girls at the far end of end of the pool. Their wrists and ankles were bound and two guards armed with spears stood behind them.
She watched in horror as the Salmanto called Jaquele walked through the water to the canoe. She knew what Jaquele meant to do. Jaquele, who was now waist deep in the water, began uttering unknown words of incantation. As she continued to chant, the water gradually turned silvery in colour. At the end of the