Eritance - Chapter 9
The orc chieftain crashed through their ranks, knocking several guards down with his raw power alone. His target was the captain that was organizing the guards. The chieftain knew that if the captain was gone their organization wouldn’t work as well, and he could finally get through capture the relic. He could smell the scent of the one that had been around the relic’s transference site. Neither one of the two humans in the back looked as if they had the power of the relic, but he was sure that one of them had it. “k eke ke, they must not have realized how to activate the relic yet, it must be the girl in the back, and that is why there are so many guards around her” the orc chieftain thought.
With that, the orc chieftain became even more invigorated and smashed another guard’s head heavily with his fists. The guard immediately crumpled to the ground, his lifeless body lying awkwardly before him. At this point in the battle, the orcs had lost two warriors, leaving them with a total of six. However, the humans had four severely injured that were incapable of fighting and one dead guard, leaving a total of ten humans standing in between him and his prize.
The other orcs took advantage of confusion amidst the ranks of the humans and quickly rushed forward and began attacking as well. Two orcs rushed towards a guard who, losing his composure, tried to run away, however this was a mistake on his part. As the orcs’ speed was also buffed, this allowed them to easily catch up to him, with one orc tackling him to the ground and taking a large bite out of his neck. The other orc grabbed the sword that was at the guard’s waist and stabbed down through his stomach.
Even though the captain of the guard had underestimated the foes before him, he was no slouch when it came to combat. While the rest of the guards had only been hired and trained as guards, he himself had been a soldier in his younger days. As such, he had a lot more discipline and focus. The captain ran towards the orc chieftain and tried to put a stop to his advance. As he did so he slashed the thigh of a nearby orc, causing it to cry out in pain. “Keep your wits about you men! How could you face your ancestors if they knew you joined them as cowards that died at the hands of mere orcs?” he yelled. With that he began engaging the orc chieftain.
Watching the captain fearlessly spring into action, the remaining guards became inspired and engaged the orcs with a renewed vigor. “teams of three, focus on immobilizing the orcs, when you find a kill shot, take it” the captain barked as he thrust towards the chieftain with his sword. The chieftain dodged by jumping towards the ground and rolled past one of the fallen guards. As he did this, he picked up the sword that was lying on the ground and faced the captain of the guard. The two rushed towards each other and clashed again and again. Although the orc chieftain was much stronger in terms of strength, the captain had a much more finesse and was able to barely parry his strikes.
The battle raged on around them as neither side could gain a distinct advantage over each other for the next several minutes. All the while the chieftain and the captain were trying to figure out a hole in each other’s defenses. After some time, the orc chieftain briefly looked up towards Orin and the lord’s daughter, seizing on the moment of distraction, the captain jumped forward trying to make a decisive blow by stabbing the orc chieftain in the chest. However, the chieftain’s distraction, was actually just a feint, he purposefully looked away briefly to get the captain to rush forward, as the captain thrust forward, the orc dipped his shoulder and twisted his body, purposefully taking the strike with his shoulder.
The chieftain felt pain as the blade buried itself into his shoulder, but he used this opportunity to close the distance struck the captain in the stomach with his fist. The captain immediately coughed up blood as he was thrown backwards and to the ground. Before he could recover,the orc chieftain jumped forward, stabbing him in the stomach with his sword, impaling him to the ground. Seeing their captain fall, many of the guards became consumed by fear. “Kekeke! Finally, I will be able to obtain the relic” the orc chieftain gleefully laughed. As he turned around to move to where Orin and the lord’s daughter were standing he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. It was the captain. With his remaining strength he had gotten up, sword in stomach still, and stabbed the orc chieftain through the thigh. “Take the lord’s daughter and run!” the captain managed to hoarsely cry out. “Protect her at all costs”. With that the orc chieftain turned around and kicked the captain away.
While the chieftain was distracted I grabbed the hand of the lord’s daughter and pulled her after me. “This way” I yelled as I sprinted into the tree line beside the road. We ran for as fast as we could for several minutes, although I could keep going the lord’s daughter was already gasping for air. “Stop! Slow down!” she cried. “We can’t do that, if we stop we’re dead” I replied. With that I scooped her up and kept running for several more minutes before we across a cliff with a rushing river at the bottom. “Shit!” I cursed. “We’ll have to go a different way” I said to the lord’s daughter. However, as I turned around, I saw that the orc chieftain was coming up fast behind us. “Give me the relic!!” he roared at us. “What are you even talking about??” I shouted as I readied my shield and prepared to defend the lord’s daughter. With our backs to a cliff we had no choice but to fight.
“The relic!!!” the orc chieftain cried as he ran towards me in a jerking motion. Apparently, the blow to his shoulder and thigh made it somewhat hard for him to move properly. That being said, he was still a powerhouse and his blow caused me to fly backwards. “Shit!” I cursed to myself. “Things can’t end like this! I didn’t even get to live my life yet, why do I have to die protecting the spoiled brat of a lord that doesn’t care for anything besides money and status”. I desperately tried to think of a solution as the orc chieftain readied himself to strike again. Suddenly, I had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but I liked the idea of it better than trying to beat the orc chieftain. With that, I grabbed the lord’s daughter’s hand and shouted, “hold your breath”. I had jumped off the cliff, pulling her with me. “Here’s hoping we live” I shouted as well fell towards the river.
What a fight! Orin barely managed to run away, at least he realized that he couldn’t beat the orc chieftain. Hopefully he lives to tell the tale though.