Re: Orcslayer!
Giving his head a shake to shoo away the darkness that is closing in on his vision, Argha draws back his bow and selects one of the riders as they crash onto the scene. The rider he has selected is the only one who decided not to dismount near the trees where Argha is hiding. Instead this rider thunders down the trail further to the west. But Argha has committed and, though the shot is difficult, some fifteen yards at a full gallop, through the dense foliage, he fires anyway, hoping his luck will change. It doesn’t. To the Orc’s chagrin, the arrow flits toward horse and rider, but glances off a low-hanging branch and flies off out of sight…
This rider is Garewulf, and he never knows the arrow was intended for him. Now he is jerking back at the reins and braking his dun gelding to a sod slinging halt. In one fluid move, the big warrior slides out of the saddle, preparing for battle…
* * *
Now Coelfred reins his shrieking black stallion to a halt, and he springs from the saddle close to the treeline. A moment ago, he had glimpsed a big, ugly Hobgoblin hunkered in the brush but seems to have lost track of where the devil it went. Drawing forth his heavy morningstar, he steps nearer for a closer look when…
”RRRRAAAAAHHHH!!
There is a snap and crackle of branches, and suddenly, there looming before Coelfred is Zlubbarg the Unreasonable, a huge, dark skinned brute with floppy ears, an ugly, thick big mouthed face with sharp fangs and a spiky greased Mohawk rising from a bald head. Coelfred shouts and swivels on his hips, trying to bring his kite shield to bear, but the Hobgoblin is already ripping his greataxe. With great force, the axe knocks the shield aside, then deflects downward to crash into Coelfred’s right side! The blade bites a rent in the side of Coelfred’s segmented armor with enough force to crack bone and open a grisly wound!
But Coelfred is one of the toughest Men in Caithness and he manages to keep his feet and turn to face down his foe!
* * *
Not far away, Blaecman, in his haste to dismount, misses a stirrup and ends up on his ass, down beside the stomping hooves of his steed. Quickly he scrambles to his feet!
* * *
Filvarel the Elf hears his brother Cailou’s screams. Heart pounding, he breaks into a mad sprint even as he is fitting a fresh arrow to his bowstring. He strains his eyes to see through the dense foliage and glimpses his little brother facing down not one, but two huge Hobgoblins. The savages have backed Cailou nearly into a stretch of spider webs, denying Cailou any further room to retreat. And then one of the Hobgoblins, Brogwar, makes a hard, single handed jab with his spear which Cailou tries desperately to parry. But the spear is coming in too hard and fast and the point punches through the links of mail hauberk and buries itself a foot into the Elf’s belly. Cailou screams bloody murder as he folds over, then lurches back spasmodically, landing right in the clinging, sticky webs. Now the second Hobgoblin, Ozvag, he hefting a huge Warhammer, swaggers over and unceremoniously bashes down on the incapacitated Elf’s head, caving in the steel spangenhelm and the skull beneath it!
”Bai! Bai!” Cries an anguished voice behind Filvarel and he turns to see his eldest brother Eglareo running from his hiding place to join the fray. His brother has longbow in hand and has a look of murder in his eyes. ”Byr tia shardia shyraes! Filvarel, syndraeraes shi eilaeli Cailou!”
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 18:06, Thu 13 Nov 2014.