Chapter 11: Game Over

I dug my way out from under the tree that occupied my sleep. Still on my belly, I removed my trench coat. This was my moment, and I wanted nothing to hinder my ability to destroy these wretched animals. After shedding my coat I crawled to just behind a smaller tree and rose to my feet. Finally Mother, Father. I will avenge you. Then I will regain Cirania’s love, and together we will find Catbriar. I could feel Harbinger humming in its sheath. It knew that it would be tasting blood soon. No matter how foul the taste may be. Grunting and growling grew louder as the fire the Orcs had started began to roar. They were celebrating, but why? I peered around the corner and found the Chieftain Orc, sitting proudly on a throne made from human bones and skulls. The headdress he wore was stunning. The base was encrusted with jewels and runes, no doubt looted from those they slaughtered. The feathers on the crown were the most magnificent I had ever seen. Their length was at least an arm. The colors varied from blues to yellows to reds, to even whites. They shimmered in the moonlight. These were no ordinary feathers, and I knew immediately that they had not come from any bird that resided in Allukra. These feathers had to be crafted some how. Tonight, those feathers will fall to the ground with no Orc alive to pick them back up again.

I reached in to my satchel and pulled out the meat that I had purchased before leaving Firecove. I sprinted to the tree just north of me and tossed a piece of the raw flesh onto a low lying branch. I darted around almost half of the camp to another tree and did the same. I was finally where I started and was all out of meat. I stood patiently and waited. Only a few moments had passed when the beating of the drums slowed, and then eventually stopped. The Orc’s grunts of celebration had quickly turned to that of curiosity. I heard several of them walking toward the tree immediately to my left. I reached for my bow and then stopped. I thought twice about it and instead drew Harbinger from its sheath. I could feel the anticipation welling up inside of my weapon for its upcoming feast. My blood raced through my veins as I heard the curious animals just a few paces behind me. I opened up my senses to feel how many were near me. There are four here at this one, and thirteen at the next tree. There will be more than enough time to kill these four before the others are alerted to my presence. I closed my eyes for a quick moment and thought of my parents and friends who were mercilessly slaughtered by these animals. “Justice is at hand.” I said. I turned to the left and brought Harbinger up over my head. With a killing blow the first Orc fell. The other three monsters charged me and let out a battle cry that would tremble the knees of even the most battle hardened warrior. I never flinched. The second Orc fell to a dull thud as his face met the butt end of Harbinger. The weapon seemed to even relish in that type of death as well. The remaining two attackers went limp when Harbinger and I removed both of their heads in one swing. I repressed the image of my friends missing their heads as I ran from Reign Hall.

I closed my eyes and paused for only a second to gather myself. This is no time to be weak Aerol. Finish this! My eyes flew open and turned a dark shade of red as the other thirteen Orcs had noticed my arrival. They all ran toward me, letting loose the same fearsome battle cry as the previous group had done. The only difference now was that the rest of the tribe now knew I was there. It had come down to this, kill or be killed. I brought my sword of power in front of me at the ready. If only you could see me now Father. You would be so proud of what I am doing. The small band had made its way to me quickly and was swinging their crude weapons at my head and abdomen, but Harbinger redirected every one of them. With each swing of my arm and Orc fell, bones crunched and skulls crushed. Blood was spilled by the gallons each time Harbinger penetrated the flesh of the cursed beings. The screams of each Orc had alerted the rest of the tribe that danger was in fact among them.

When all thirteen had fell to the ground in a heap of blood and broken bone I heard Harbinger take in a deep breath. I watched as it absorbed every last drop of blood that had accumulated on the blade and hilt. I turned my attention to the clearing where the rest of the tribe had gathered. They were all holding hand made clubs. Some were embedded with shards of crystals, while others were wrapped with scrap metal. Every last Orc had surrounded his Chieftain. He now stood on his throne of human remains and shouted out orders. The band of tribe mates held their ground firm around the Chieftain. I walked closer to the clearing. That is when I seen why the Orcs had been celebrating. Tied to posts was a small outfit of about twelve Battle Mages. All of them disrobed, and all of them bleeding and unconscious, including Cirania. Rage built up inside of me as I heard what I thought was laughter coming from Harbinger. I stepped into the clearing and held my sword out in front of me at arms length. “Let them go, and I will spare your lives. Refuse and I will kill you where you stand.” The group of animals all turned to their Chieftain for guidance. He looked at the Mages and then back at me and spoke, “No…Vampire…me…like…bone…need…bone…” I lowered my weapon and closed my eyes once more and thought of everything I had said to justify killing these beasts. Now it seemed that I was right all along. My eyes opened as I felt something zip past my head. I had no time to react, no time to even scream. An Orc club had been thrown in the way of the Mages. Cirania now hung from her post. Limp, dead.

The events that occurred next were not of my own doing. I had gone in to a blood rage. I never ran, and I never screamed. I just slaughtered every Orc that stood in my way. I had seen the results of what they did to my parents and friends. Now these lunatics had killed the last thing that ever meant anything to me. Cirania Reign, my love, my wife, and my only true friend. Her lifeless, naked body kept flashing through my mind as I rampaged through the tribe of murderers. The club smashing her in the face, shattering every bone in her head, and then nothing. She was gone, and I was going to make them feel every bone that they had ever broken. Harbinger worked furiously, but it never stopped. My actions were not of my own, as I lay waste to yet another Orc. The bodies piled up behind me. A wake of death and destruction left in my path. I caught a glance of the Chieftain; he had stopped shouting orders and was now searching for an escape route. Let him try. With my powers and Harbinger in my hand I will hunt him down to the ends of the world. With every parry of my sword came another stab into the neck or chest of an Orc. I was fulfilling my destiny. I had become the one to eliminate an entire race. So this is the true feeling of being a God? I thought as I removed Harbinger from the forehead of an uglier than usual Orc. I was near the Chieftain now. Any moment his blood would be engulfed in to the never ending pit of my weapon. One last Orc stood between me and the Chieftain. Obviously his last line of defense, as this one was among the biggest Orcs I had ever laid eyes on. He charged me fast and furiously, I side stepped and stuck my foot out. The giant Orc had proven to be more clumsy than strong. Ah, I never get tired of that move. I walked up behind him and sat in the middle of his back. I placed my weapon directly in front of his throat, and with my free hand grabbed the blade of my sword. I leaned in and said, “I know you don’t understand me, and that’s fine. But I want you to know that your kind killed my entire family. Everyone I have ever loved in my lifetime. That is why you die tonight.” With a quick pull of Harbinger, all that remained was the Chieftain and I. I stood up from my last victim and turned to face the Chieftain. He cowered on his throne of human bone. I sneered at him and said, “You were given the chance to live. Now it is time that you die.” I walked toward him slowly, but with meaning. Harbinger hung loosely at my side, thrumming in anticipation of feasting upon royalty. As I neared the throne the Chieftain let loose a kick that caught me directly in the chest. I heard my sternum snap under the pressure of his foot. I bent over to try to let it heal when I was kicked directly in the head. Stars began to swirl around me. Darkness threatened to take over. I slammed to the ground as the Chieftain kicked me repeatedly in the ribs. Blood filled my mouth after a solid foot to the face. The Orc showed no signs of slowing down as the kicks continued. I tried to draw Harbinger up to deflect a blow to the stomach, but the vicious warrior instead aimed for my wrist. Shattering it in four different places, Harbinger flew from my grasp and embedded itself in the trunk of a giant oak tree. I had been bested. Defeated by the one creature I had vowed to eliminate. The beat down continued as the darkness consumed me.

I was standing in the bowels of Reign’s Hall with Dante. He repeatedly bashed his fists into my side, cracking several ribs. “Do it Aerol!” He shouted. “Draw upon the energy that was bestowed upon you.” The blows continued on, each one harder than the last. “I…I can’t…Please Dante, stop. I can’t do it ok!?” I yelled back at him. He finally relented and took a step back. He checked his hands for bruises. Of course there weren’t any. “Never say that you can’t. You have been given a gift Aerol, a gift.” He said matter of factly. “You only have to search within yourself to find it. It is there, and when you find it, there is not a creature out there that is more powerful. Being a Druid is an honor. Treat it as such.”

The Chieftain’s foot flew toward my face once more. I reached up and snatched it out of the air, flipping him over onto his belly. I stood up and marched over to the Orc; I picked him up by the scruff of the neck and lifted him a foot off the ground. “That is the last time you will ever kick any thing again!” I drew deep within myself and channeled ever last ounce of energy I could find. I reached back with my fist and, for the first time in over two years truly felt free. Free from Zeshua and Harbinger. Free from my quest. I felt freedom from everything. With my fist drawn back I looked at the Chieftain in the eye and let him loose. I removed the crown of feathers from his head and said, “I am only going to say this once, GO! Go far away from here and never return. GO NOW!” The Orc, with shock on his face did as he was told immediately. I walked over to the gigantic Orc and placed the crown upon his head. I dropped to my knees and said a small prayer to Gaia. “Gaia, please see to it that these Orc find their way into the afterlife…” There was a long pause. “I’m sorry.” I stood up and went to where Cirania’s dead body hung. “Oh my love, I never meant for any of this to happen. Please, wherever you are, please forgive me.” I grabbed the club that had dealt my wife her death blow and placed it in my satchel for safe keeping. I searched around camp for the Battle Mages clothes and eventually found them stashed inside a hollowed out tree. I dressed Cirania and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m taking you back to Darckston, and I’m going to give you a proper burial.” I then took the remaining clothes and folded them in a pile in front of the other Mages. Grabbing a piece of rock from the ground I proceeded to free the Orcs’ hostages. I picked up Cirania and stopped to grab Harbinger and my trench coat. I put on the coat and shoved Harbinger in my satchel. “I’ll deal with you later.” With Cirania in my arms I left Orcshire. Somewhere, somehow, I could see Thresh smiling. I said, “You were right old friend. You were right.”



Author's note; if you enjoyed these writings, join our blog group or go to my new blog page. The address is http://aerolreign.blogspot.com/ I hope all will visit. By joining our blog group you can follow the Chronicles of Desidarious Devenshire, written by my friend Dustin Green. And the Tales of Paralay Vextar, written by Damon Tinsley. If you don't want to join the blog group, then at least go to their pages and read their stories. Desidarious' story has already begun. And Paralay's have only just begun. Eventually, all three stories will become one. So you'll need to stay in the know. I hope you all enjoyed the eleventh chapter of The Adventures of Aerol Reign: Game Over