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Posted By: Malkamus Dec 06, 2004 - 05:19 pm

ok guys if you don't mind here is the next chapter let me have it with both barrels

Chapter Two


As the valiant group reached the forest floor, Kolaf asked. “Does everyone have everything they need? This will be our last chance.”Galahad turned around. “Yes Malkamus, do you have all your spells memorized? We won’t be able to rest just so you can later.” Malkamus quickly turned to Galahad. “Let us get one thing straight, I am no child that you need to nurse. I know my responsibilities and i am prepared.” Galahad let out a chuckle. “Ah I see, at least you have a backbone. Very well then we shall see.” With that Kolaf took up the lead and they began down the path deep into the forest toward the epic battle that awaited them beneath the troll temple.

Galahad turned around and took one last look at the entrance to Oakvael and sighed. “I have come home just to be forced back into battle, one that will most certainly be my last. But so be it, Oakvael shall be safe. Goodbye my dear friend Kriel.” With that he returned his gaze back to the group and quickened his pace to catch up. Then once more he felt a strange twinge from the armor.“What is this? What did that boy mean? I’ll find out when the time is right. Enough of this, I haven’t the time to think about it.”

When Galahad reached the rest of the group Alina turned. “I shall run ahead and scout out what we are about to run across.”That said she disappeared into the trees. Malkamus Turned to Kolaf. “She. She just disappeared.” Kolaf laughed. “Disappeared? No, Alina just knows how to blend into the forest.” The rest of the group continued down the forest path in silence, each looking about from side to side scanning the trees for ambushes. About an hour into the trip Alina returned. “There is a hunting party of ten orcs and an ogre around the next bend. They have a caravan of travelers held captive.” Galahad spoke up.”Stay out of sight. We can’t let them know how many of us there are, nor that we are after their Master. I’ll handle this.” Malkamus turned.”He has to be kidding. What is he going to do against ten orcs and an ogre?” “Oh you shall see. Galahad has a knack shall we say in things of this nature.” Responded Alina. Galahad reached over his shoulder and checked his sword, then the double-sided axe at his side. He stepped out onto the path and walked out of sight. Kolaf, Alina and Malkamus settled into a clump of trees out of sight to watch.

As Galahad turned the corner of the trail, he came across the scene. There were bodies laying all over the ground. The remaining group of travelers was herded into a corner and tied up. The hunting party that Alina spoke of was bunched together torturing someone and didn’t see Galahad come around the corner. Galahad stopped, and stared at the group. When finally an orc caught a glimpse of Galahad, and turned to the rest.”We don’t have to hunt for the humans. They come to us, like lambs to the slaughter. We could get rid of them all ourselves.” With that, the orcs let out an evil laugh. “Come closer human. Your death shall be the first of many to come.”

Galahad stood there, staring the leader in the eyes with the stare of a man who had nothing to lose.“Let them go.”Galahad spoke calmly. “Let them go? I’ll rip their hearts out.” Screamed the orc leader. “Let them go now.” Galahad said again with a calm in his voice that sounded like he was talking to friends. The orc leader turned to the ogre. “I’ve had enough talk. Rip him apart and bring me his head.” The ogre roared and took a step. Galahad without a thought and with a speed that none could swear they were sure of, grabbed the axe from his belt. As he swung his arm up, he spoke once more. “Let them go.” And then threw the axe. Before the ogre could take a second step, the axe hit it square between the eyes with such force it took the ogre off his feet. The beast was dead before it hit the ground. Galahad then stretched out his arm and the axe returned to his hand handle first. The orcs jumped back and stared at the mysterious stranger.“Let them go!” Galahad said again. This time with a hint of anger in his voice.

Malkamus stared from the tree line with the others. He watched Galahad standing on the forest trail in front of the orcs like he had an army behind him. He turned to Kolaf and asked. “Does he really think they will let them go? He acts like there is an entire militia standing behind him. They are gonna kill him and we are hiding here in the bushes.” Kolaf looked at him. “Galahad does not need an army and he does not expect them to let them go either. But his nature requires him to ask. And as for killing him, well it will take more than a few orcs to do that. We shall stay here and let Galahad finish what he started.”

The orc leader responded. “You are quite brave with an enchanted axe and distance between you, but how good are you up close and bloody?” Galahad belted the axe and looked back at him. “The only blood on me will be yours. This is your last chance to let them go.” The orc leader let out a snarl and drew his sword. “Kill him! We shall carry his head on a pike for all to see.” With that the group of orcs drew their weapons and let out a horrific scream in unison as they raced at Galahad As the horde approached, Galahad reached up and drew his blue broad sword and whispered a prayer. “Elleria Goddess of war, give me the strength to be victorious in this battle.” As if in response every muscle in Galahads’ body seemed to grow and strain against his armor. He tightened the grip he had on his sword. When the horde reached him he ran forward. With a swing of his sword, he severed the head from the first one. Then with his free hand, he grabbed another one and pushed it back into the group. He then swung his sword forward taking down two, their heads rolling past him. Their faces still holding the twisted smile they had a moment before. Then as if knowing their next move, he dropped to a knee as a sword sliced past him and shoved his sword behind him striking another one in the chest and dropping the fourth orc. The remaining orcs lunged at Galahad at once and piled onto him. Malkamus upon seeing this went to jump out to help. Kolaf grabbed his arm. “No, Galahad knows what he’s doing. We stay here.” Then to all’s surprise there was a tremendous warcry from Galahad and a blinding light erupted from the pile. The orcs were thrown from Galahad with such force none knew how he did it. The armor was emitting a blue glow that seemed to encompass Galahad. “I told you to let them go, now you shall feel my sword as it separates you from your heads.” Galahad leapt forward taking another swing of his sword cleaving two more completely in half. Then without even seeing the sword swinging at him, he reached out and caught the sword midswing with his hand ,he swung across his body and lobbed off the head off another. As the head dropped to the floor Galahad looked up and saw only the orc leader left. “Who? Who are you?“ The orc snarled. Galahad Looked at the orc. “I am no one. But yet I am someone, I am the vengeance of Oakvael and all of those you slaughtered. I am the righter of wrongs. But more importantly I am the last thing you will see.” The orc looked at Galahad, let out a scream and charged. Galahad stared the orc in his eyes as he approached, then the moment the orc reached him and swung his axe, Galahad dodged to his right avoiding the axe. As the axe swung past, Galahad grabbed the orc by the throat, and looked him in the eye. “ Don’t worry. There will be many joining you soon.”With a flinch of his forearm he then snapped its neck, and tossed him to the ground. He looked around and saw none left standing. Galahad knelt down. “Thank you Elleria for your trust in me and granting me the strength I needed to be victorious in this battle.”

But even as he whispered a prayer of thanks, Galahad knew it wasn’t all from Elleria, this time it was different. The blinding light, the blue aura, the armor itself seemed to have a strength of it’s own. But as he contemplated this Malkamus ran up. “That was incredible Galahad. ” “No, No it wasn’t. It was simply what had to be done. ” Said Galahad. Alina looked at Galahad. ”Still so melodramatic I see. But well-done Galahad.” As they began to walk toward the captives, a shriek came from a stand of trees, and before any weapons could be drawn. A troll jumped out and lunged at Galahad. Malkamus whispered an arcane phrase and fired off a single magic missile of unbelievable strength. It hit the troll square in the chest and completely disintegrated it. Leaving nothing but ash where the troll stood. The others turned and looked in surprise.” As I said, I am prepared. Besides, I only fired one, I didn’t want an errant one hitting Galahad.” Malkamus replied with a smile. Galahad nodded and walked over to the captives as the others stared at the young wizard. Galahad let loose the travelers from their ropes and sent them off toward Oakvael where there was relative safety.

Returning to the group Galahad spoke. “We should go, they will know of our plans soon.” They traveled north for a few hours following the forest trail that twisted through and around the massive trees that grew this deep in the forest. The treetops grew thick and heavy blocking out most of the sunlight preventing little else to grow. Small shoots of grass sprung up sporadically on the sides of the trail. As they continued deeper, they got ever closer to the final battle.

As the sun began to set Alina stopped. “We should set camp here before darkness sets in.” The others agreed and went to work preparing the camp. Alina walked the perimeter of the camp. “Spirit of the forest, mother of all living things, protect this camp and all within it as we slumber. And watch over us as we attempt to rid this world of yours of the evil that wishes destruction.” When Alina completed the final circle, she stepped inside as an aura of energy encircled the site, a fire began to burn, and the entire camp felt very much like home. The group then began to prepare dinner. When the sun set, a pack of wolves encircled the campsite and remained at guard throughout the night as the heroes slept a troubled sleep.

Galahad drifted off into a cryptic dream. There stood the young boy. “You shall find out when the time is right.” He said with a smile on his face. Then suddenly behind the boy appeared a monster of a man. He stood close to six and a half feet tall and close to three hundred pounds. His face was worn and scarred from what seemed like years of battle, but yet still shone with an aura of concern and care. He was wearing the armor the boy had given him and was holding the axe in his left hand. “ The armor has indeed chosen you mighty warrior. But you must learn to control and use it. It has already begun to show it’s true power to you, or I would not be here. The armor is indeed powerful, but the true power can only be released by the chosen one, which now is you.” And with that, the two faded out. Galahad awoke, got up and looked around. He walked over to a tree and sat down in the shadows left by the fire.

Malkamus tossed and turned as he drifted into a dream of his own. He saw himself returning home from Axe Glacier, reagents in hand. Happy to be home and to see his Master. But when he arrived at the gate, it was not his master he saw waiting to greet him. But the sight of a bloody battle. There were orcs, ogres, and trolls strewn across the courtyard. Some torn to shreds, some hideously burned. As he entered the courtyard, the worst sight he could imagine greeted him. There were around twenty orcs, the exact number was hard to tell as they were all ripped to pieces. But just in front of them lay his master, cut to pieces where he stood defending their home. Malkamus tried to imagine the number of the attackers based on how many his mighty Master took down before his own life was taken. Malkamus awoke from his nightmare screaming.”No, I should have been there to help you Master.” Galahad answered from the shadows.”It is not your fault young fingerwiggler. Rest easy your Master did not blame you for doing as you were told, you had no way of knowing the future. Get some sleep now. You will need all your wits soon enough.” Malkamus didn’t speak a word, he looked down, then nodded. He laid back down and slowly fell back into a troubled sleep.

Kolaf as was always the same with him before a battle, he slept without a problem. Like a child without a concern in a world. A smile was even on his face. Not the slightest hint as to the troubles that lay ahead.

Alina fell off to sleep also, but there was a different dream waiting for her. Her dream was a look into what seemed to be the future. In her dream she saw the epic battle unfolding, as if she was a spectator standing off to the side. The four heroes were fighting an unbelievable army. For as many as they killed, twice as many seemed to replace them. Then she saw it. She saw Kolaf hit the floor and disappear beneath an onslaught of orcs. Then Malkamus was swallowed up by a swarm. Then she flashed forward a bit. She saw Galahad standing there in a battle stance. She saw Malkamus, Kolaf and herself held captive across the room. She thought to herself at least they were still alive. But suddenly a dagger flew across the room hitting Malkamus. Then another striking Kolaf, and finally a third. As it flew across the room toward its target, Alina woke with a start.

She looked around, saw Kolaf sleeping like a baby.”Figures, he would be sleeping soundly.” She thought. She looked over seeing Malkamus tossing and turning. She glanced around for Galahad. He wasn’t sleeping. She looked and caught a glimpse of him sitting in the shadows. Alina decided to leave him to his thoughts. She laid down and tried to forget the dream thinking to herself that their destiny was theirs to decide. She slowly slipped back to sleep. And didn’t wake again until daybreak. As the fire burned, the four warriors passed the rest of their night in the own thoughts.

As morning arrived, the heroes awoke, and began to break camp. As they began to fold their bedrolls and clean up Alina walked away from the others and knelt on one knee and started to pray. ” Spirits of the forest, loving mother of all living things. Thank you for the protection you have granted us. May our actions be for your cause.” She stood, walked over to the wolves, and knelt down to them, “Thank you all for watching over us and protecting us through the night.” The wolves looked at Alina, one of them walked up to Alina and caressed against her. The others let out a yelp and ran off into the trees. Alina then walked over to the rest.”Alright let’s get moving.” Galahad and Kolaf adjusted their gear, and nodded their heads in agreement, Malkamus hollered over. “Hang on a minute.” He then opened his backpack and pulled out the nearly invisible set of splint mail. It’s bands of metal strips were finely woven together. Then riveted to lock them together. The armor shimmered and glistened, almost as if it was passing in and out of sight. He slid it over his shoulders and tightened the straps around his chest. He then pulled out a shortsword. As he removed it from its sheath. The blade was etched with runes in a long forgotten language. As Malkamus ran his hand down the length of the blade. His fingers touched each rune, they began to emit a glow. He then strapped the sheath around his waist. He stood up, turned around and faced the rest.
Galahad watched this with a look of surprise. He had never seen a fingerwiggler with a sword let alone any kind of armor. “What do you think you are doing? That armor is going to hinder your casting. And do you even know how to use the sword?” Asked Galahad.

Malkamus smiled. “The armor was created by a great armorer here in Kesmai, then it was made ethereal by my master. It hinders none of my casting and besides, I’ll need it when im standing in battle. As for the sword, well my master believed a wizard should be able to hold his own in combat. You can never rely on some sword swinger to protect you. So I was also trained in the art of war as well as my magic.” Malkamus then slid the sword back into the sheath at his waist. Each rune dimmed out as they were covered up by the sheath. Galahad looked at him. “Just who was your Master?” “It matters not now, I stand alone, and shall honor his name in this battle.” Replied Malkamus. Kolaf walked over to the young wizard. “Honor his name, yes you shall. Stand alone, that you shall not. For beside you shall we be standing. Come on we need to get moving. ” Galahad looked at the young wizard dressed in his magical armor and a look of bloodlust in his eyes as he thought of his Master. It was a look he had never seen in a magic user except Alina, but she was a Druid. And that magic missile he fired. So quickly and powerful. Could my feelings about him have been right? Galahad pondered this as he once again took up the rear guard of the group.

As the group began to head out again, Alina looked over at Kolaf and asked.”Just where did this young boy come from? ” Kolaf shrugged his shoulders. “I know not where they came from. He and his Master came to town five or six years ago. They for the most part kept to themselves. They lived out in the outskirts of town. Mostly coming into town only for supplies. Other than that they kept to home. Malkamus never spoke much to anyone. I believe it was because of the treatment he received as a child. Being a half elf isn’t easy. He was probably shunned by both races growing up. Chances are the only person to treat him as a person was his Master. And that is the irony of it all. He should be one to look down at us humans and elves, for he has all the best traits of both races. The strength and determination of humans, and the agility and perfectionism of the elves.” Alina looked at Kolaf trying to figure where this young warrior gained such wisdom. She looked back at Malkamus realizing Kolaf was right. This young wizard when set on a path by his teacher, he dove into his studies with a passion. She then stared back at Galahad. He has gained such strength and ability since he left. But he has lost the reason for his battles. The fire that burns in his eyes now is from disdain, not passion as it once was. She then realized such was happening to her. She was not here for her need to avenge someone, or to defend her home even. She was here because her pride would not let her allow this evil in her forest. Her forest, she even thought that it was her forest. I must change this before it burns through my soul. I cannot forget that I am a Druid here to defend against all because I want to, not out of pride or some other pathetic reason. She then turned her attention to searching the area around them for signs of danger.

The group of warriors continued following the trail deeper into the forest. The canopy of leaves began to thicken even more. The light that was allowed through the trees grew dimmer as if a prewarning to the evil that lay ahead of them. They traveled a few miles deeper into the darkening forest when the path began to show less travel. Kolaf spoke up.”After the troll temple was sealed there seemed no need to continue coming over here so there has not been much use of these trails.” Galahad looked around at the overgrowth. “An unused path is a haven for trouble my friend. But we shall now use that path and clear it once more.” Galahad then took up the lead and they continued through the growth of trees and brush towards the temple.