The Chosen, Kris Kramer [reading e books .TXT] 📗

eyes, and you would have too if you'd been paying attention to him instead of my belongings.”

“Why should I believe a story like that?”

Aiden held his arms out in exasperation. “Why would I make up a story like that?”

“Because you're mad!”

“What will take for you to believe me?”

Finias shrugged. “How about if he proves it? That's it. I'll believe it when I see it happen. Wait, maybe I will see it happen, because he could be right here watching us, couldn't he?” Finias turned left and right, looking dramatically into the shadows nearby. “Here, little shadow Warshield. Come out and play with us, because I know you're watching, aren't you?”

Aiden shook his head. “Whether you believe me now or not, it makes no difference. I just need your help to find him and kill him. That is the bargain.”

“This is silly. You're insane. And I have no idea why you'd want to drag me down into your crazy little world.”

“Because I can't find him alone.”

"Then go to the guards.”

“The guards will know soon enough. But I need to find him first. We need to find him.”

“Why? Why me?”

“You have assassin training. I don’t care how, but you do. So who better to track a man with similar skills?”

Finias had no response to that, so Aiden stepped forward and continued his argument.

“Listen to me. You don't think that if we brought in a Warshield who'd slipped past our northern defenses, killed two Calderan citizens, and was capable of fading, we wouldn't get something in return? Whether you believe me or not, you should at least be smart enough to know that there will be a reward for him, a reward we don't get if the guards find him first.”

Finias thought about that for a long moment. Finally, “I want my longbow back.”

“I want my belongings back,” Aiden countered.

“Well, Aiden, now you're finally making some sense. Fine. I agree with your poorly-thought-out little plan. I get my bow, you get your pack, and then we shall find ourselves a Warshield and make some gold in return.”

Aiden stepped forward to stand in front of Finias.

“Don't agree just yet. Before you bind yourself to me, and I to you, you must understand that this is serious. If you break your oath to me, then I will have little choice but to find you and kill you. And because of this brand on my face I'm unable to serve in the army or get any decent work. So I have nothing but time to track down dishonest bandits to the ends of the earth.” Aiden held out his hand. “So now.... do you agree?”

Finias let out a short chuckle. “See, now I know you're insane. But gold can cure many ills, or so I've been told. I agree.”

Finias reached out and shook Aiden's hand, and they both smiled, although Aiden knew in the back of his mind that they were smiling for very different reasons. He had no time to linger on that thought, though. A recognizable popping sound filled his ears, only moments before a cloud of crackling blue energy pounded the forest around them, shaking the trees violently and tossing both men to the ground. Aiden slid sideways until he hit the trunk of an oak tree, a gnarled root jabbing into his back. He groaned, then lifted his head, blinking away the disorienting fog. He looked around, trying to make sense of what happened, only to see his best chance at salvation standing at the edge of the clearing, a mere ten paces away, wearing worn chain armor and carrying a long-handled hammer.

The Warshield had found them.

Chapter 3

 

Aiden scrambled to his feet, looking for cover amongst the splintered trees surrounding him, but his sluggish body resisted his every movement. He'd been the victim of Warshield magic before, but nothing as formidable as what he'd seen from this one. His muscles were numb, and the forest around him had been ravaged. But he was still alive, and as long as that held true, he could fight back.

“Move!” he yelled, although the word sounded more like a garbled moan. Aiden ducked behind a tree, then glanced back to see Finias still on his back, staring in shock at the Warshield. "Move!" he shouted again, and this time Finias responded, rolling over and darting across the clearing to his own hiding spot. “Here!” Aiden tossed over the longbow, which Finias snatched out of the air with his left hand.

The sky rumbled and Aiden ducked back behind the tree as another lightning bolt slammed into the ground between them, shaking the trees and rattling the branches so violently that hundreds of leaves and nuts fell to the ground. Aiden turned back to Finias, who had sheathed his sword and pulled out an arrow. Finias gave Aiden a nod followed by a roguish grin, and then disappeared into thin air, fading into the shadows so he could sneak up on the Warshield. That left it to Aiden to keep their enemy distracted. Aiden shook his head, partly in disbelief, but mostly at the fact that he'd have to play the bait against this monster. He squeezed the hilt of his sword, took a deep breath, and then charged.

He dodged left and right through the trees, always keeping something between him and the Bergsbor, to make it more difficult for him to target his spells. It proved to be a fortuitous tactic as the Bergsbor raised his hammer to the sky, and a crackling blue bolt struck the tree just behind Aiden, splitting it down the middle. The shockwave sent Aiden stumbling forward before he awkwardly regained his balance and pressed on. The Warshield held his hammer out, ready for melee this time. Aiden remembered his no-parry strategy from their last meeting and decided it was still a good idea, so when he finally got close enough to attack, he made sure he was the aggressor. He feinted a high swing, then switched into a low thrust. The Warshield bought the feint and raised his hammer up, allowing the sword to go into his midsection – where it bent as soon as it hit armor. Aiden pulled the sword back to see a curve in the blade that might have snapped it in two had he thrust any harder. He didn't have time to be upset, though, because the Warshield swung his hammer outward in a wide arc, aiming straight for Aiden's head. He waited as long as he could before finally dodging to his left, his heart skipping as the wind from the swing brushed by his cheek.

Aiden held the bent sword out in front of him, having no other defense for the back swing that was sure to come. Luckily, Finias appeared from the shadows behind the Northman, holding his bow up and pulling back an arrow. The relief must have been clear on Aiden's face because the Warshield noticed his gaze and turned to see Finias readying his shot. Aiden ducked away – in case Finias missed – but they were both surprised when the Warshield disappeared into thin air.

“Whoa,” Finias said. His eyes went wide, then darted all about. He lowered his bow in disbelief. He'd mocked Aiden only moments ago for claiming the Warshield could do this, but there was no denying it now.

“Watch out.” Aiden looked around frantically. “He's still here, we just can't see him.”

“I know how it works,” he replied, backing away and raising his bow again.

Aiden put the bent sword into his belt and reached down to grab a large, club-shaped branch lying on the ground nearby. Not a great option, but it was thick and sturdy, and he felt safer with the branch in his hands than he did with that ridiculous piece of iron. He swore to himself that if he got out of this alive, he'd have that sword melted down one day and re-forged into something useful – like a spoon.

Suddenly, the Northman reappeared a few yards to Finias' right, and Finias responded by yelping in surprise and ducking away to his left. He scurried toward the nearest tree and faded. Aiden charged once more, yelling taunts to get his enemy's attention, but the Warshield faded again before he could get in range, leaving Aiden standing alone amongst the trees.

“Show yourself!” he yelled out in frustration. “Fight me!”

He waited, but got no response. He stood silently, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. Fading was a skill based on magic that tricked the eyes, but not the ears. If he concentrated, he could hear the footsteps of both Finias and the Warshield. Especially the Warshield, considering all the armor he wore. A gentle wind rustled the leaves nearby, making it hard to pick out distinctive noises, but he thought he heard the crinkle of leaves to his right. He moved in that direction, hoping to get lucky by stumbling into one of them. Fate must have been with him, because he heard a twig snap in the same area, behind two clustered trees growing around each other. He stopped again, listening, and choosing exactly where he would throw his body.

Without warning, the Warshield appeared several yards to Aiden's left, charging toward the same trees. He shouted as he reached them, releasing another spell that caused everything around him to tremble. Finias appeared, falling backward from his hiding spot, his fade broken by the tactic. The Bergsbor sidestepped the trees and raised his hammer, looking to crush the young bandit's skull.

Aiden lunged forward, and the Warshield twisted his hammer around, knocking the branch away with the edge of the long handle. Aiden pressed the attack, swinging again and again, each blow knocked away expertly by the Northman, but distracting him enough to let Finias pop up and sprint away, getting distance between him and the two warriors. For the hundredth time Aiden wished for a better weapon, or any weapon for that matter. Between the bent merchant's sword and this tree branch, he'd barely put a scratch on his enemy. And he’d thought to kill this thing?

He remembered a lesson he'd learned from a trainer in Solstin, a former armsman and spearman named Graff, who'd lost his hand in one of the early battles of the war. Graff, despite his bitterness at having to stay behind and train others instead of fighting himself, always harped about using your environment to gain an advantage. Solstin was surrounded by marshlands to the east, which were full of shallow pools that proved useful in slowing down an enemy's advance if you situated yourself just right. Aiden didn't have any shallow pools handy, but there was a river close by - a dangerous environment for someone wearing armor.

He had to refocus his thoughts as the Warshield quickly countered a parry by bringing his hammer forward in a thrust toward Aiden's belly. Aiden sidestepped, but he felt the edge of the hammer's iron head brush across his torso. Fortunately, that allowed Aiden to swing high and smack the Warshield square on the side of his head with the branch. The Warshield stepped back and swung out angrily, exactly as Aiden had hoped. He backed away, drawing the Bergsbor after him. When he saw that he had his attention, he turned and ran toward the riverbank.

“Stay with us!” Aiden yelled to Finias. “And shoot him!”

“I'm trying!” Finias fired off a shot that just missed the Warshield's shoulder, striking a tree nearby instead. He grimaced with the effort, then shouted back. “In case you forgot you hit me in the arm with a rock!”

Aiden crashed through the trees, glancing back every so often to make sure the Northman stayed in pursuit. Eventually, the forest thinned out and he reached a narrow clearing that edged up against the river. He spotted a small batch of clay huts about fifty yards down the bank that a clan of goblins called home. Calderans in the past had been notoriously prejudiced against non-humans, one of many reasons why elves, dwarves, firbolgs, and a host of other races fought so readily against them in this war. But some Calderan lords had recently made token measures to rectify that, including providing land to the Garzhak goblins. The Garzhak once lived in caves and forests in the southern edges of the county, and raided farms for livestock and supplies. But Lord Amus Enrik, who owned the land south of Corendar, including the town of Alvarton, had decided to solve two problems at once, by giving the Garzhak land near the river. Hidden away by thick woods, they could hunt and fish in peace, and leave southern farmers alone, provided