Chapter 5: Waking Nightmare
Dark clouds lurked ominously on the horizon like a Lasher waiting to pounce. The Streth raised its head and sniffed the air. From a nearby bush Xenorath watched the beast, waiting for an opportunity. Before long the Streth turned and began to knuckle towards its den, directly behind Xenorath's hiding spot. Slowly he shifted to ready himself for the ambush, and as he did so his foot caught on a branch. He froze, but not quickly enough. The leaves rustled and the Streth stopped in its tracks. Xenorath cursed under his breath. So much for stealth. The Streth began to run towards him and he quickly shifted into position. He shrunk down and waited, poised to spring. "Wait for it to draw close," he thought to himself. The thump of its bounds grew louder.
"Just a moment more...now!"
Xenorath sprung from his hiding place and swung with all his might. The Streth was not where he had anticipated and instead of slicing into its hide, he ended up burying his hatchet to the hilt in the ground. Frantically he tugged at it, but the island soil held it tightly. He tensed, knowing that the Streth would surely take the opportunity to gore him any moment. After a moment it dawned on him that he could no longer hear it. He released his weapon and looked up. The Streth was dead, pierced through the skull by a javelin. He sighed and called out, "I thought I was going to take care of that one!"
"I don't recall agreeing to that," came a voice from a nearby rock. From behind it emerged a blue female Tumerok. "You know, sometimes you act just like your brother," Xenorath replied, with a grin.
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Far above the sky had gone from bright blue to deep gray. The dark clouds had closed in slowly, choking away the sunny sky. As the last mote of blue was succumbed to the gray, a raindrop fell; the clouds unable to withhold their burden any longer.
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"Did you feel that?" the female asked.
"Yes. We should get back before the storm starts," Xenorath replied, stumbling backwards as his hatchet suddenly came free. He glanced up at the sky. "With any luck that tribe near the lifestone will allow us to stay in one of their tents,"
"No, not the rain. There was something else. Something...wrong,"
Then he felt it, a sudden feeling of detachment and insecurity. It was oddly familiar. A sensation of transition, but somehow incomplete, as if a bond had been broken and not replaced. It dawned on him where he had felt it before.
"Oh no! The Lifestone!"
He began to run. "What's going on? What happened to the Lifestone?" asked the female, already beside him.
"I think something severed our link to it," he replied as they sprinted through the marshland towards the forest.
"But how could that happen? Lifestones don't just stop working!" Lightning flashed not far off.
"I don't know! Maybe it was hit by lightning!" He had to shout to be heard over the explosive thunder that followed.
Lightning flashed again as they entered the forest. The camp was close. The rain had become torrential, but the towering tropical trees provided welcome shelter against the downpour. The thick undergrowth however, made the forest floor akin to an obstacle course. They stopped running and began make their way through as quickly as they could.
"If whatever happened to the Lifestone wasn't caused by the storm, I'll bet that it was Keltslash's fault," Xenorath muttered as he ducked under a branch.
I'm sure that, if anything, he's doing whatever he can to fix it. You're still angry at him for not approving of our marriage, aren't you?" she asked as she ducked after him.
"He acts more like your father than your brother,"
"His heart is in the right place. Neither of us has been sent to the Lifestone while he was around. At least credit him for being an able guardian and warrior."
"It seems that I'm not as able as you may think," said a voice behind them.
As one they froze and turned. At the base of a nearby tree Keltslash lay limp. The bone armor over his chest was shattered and he did not appear to have fared any better. The female rushed to his side. Xenorath followed cautiously.
"What happened to you?" he inquired.
"A Lugian. It was far larger than normal and wielded a massive hammer. I have never seen one of such strength. It dispatched me with a single blow." Keltslash replied, weakly pointing upward. Xenorath looked up and saw the point where Keltslash must have struck the tree. There was a large indentation above that the tree bent slightly forward.
"It's a miracle you survived," the female said with a mixture of awe and concern in her voice.
"But how could a Lugian do that to you? Shouldn't Asheron's protection prevented it?" Xenorath asked.
"I don't know. Somehow I doubt that Asheron's magic can hold against this one. As soon as it was finished with me it shattered the Lifestone."
"But...but, that's not possible! The Lifestones are indestructible!"
"No, they simply have never been destroyed before,"
"So that's what that strange sensation was?"
"Yes, we are no longer attuned to a Lifestone. Until we bind to another our death will be permanent..." Keltslash's expression changed suddenly. "Oh no, the tribe! Hurry, you must go and warn them!"
"But we can't just leave you here! You'll die soon if you're not healed!" the female exclaimed.
"My drum is still intact and I'll survive long enough to heal myself! Go!" he tried to shout, but the strain made him cough, spattering himself with blood.
Xenorath grabbed her by the arm. "He'll be fine but that tribe won't be if we don't go now!" Reluctantly, she turned and the two hurried onwards toward the camp.
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They arrived only to find that they were too late. Xenorath growled. The bodies of the tribesmen were littered about the camp. Most had been dealt with in the same way as Keltslash, slammed with incredible force into whatever happened to be in the way, but they were not as fortunate to have survived. These poor souls would not rise again. They moved on silently, their quiet reverence betrayed slightly by the sound of their footsteps in the mud. They found the Lifestone a little way further, shattered into a thousand fragments that glistened wetly. "I don't know how it did this, but it will regret it," Xenorath muttered angrily to himself.
Beside them the base of a tree exploded as a hammer smashed through it. They both dove away as the tree fell and when they looked back they saw it. A Lugian, nearly twice as tall as usual loomed behind the smashed tree trunk holding a hammer with a head the size of a small boulder. Xenorath charged and leapt, slashing it across the face with his hatchet. The Lugian bellowed and with a massive hand picked Xenorath out of the air. With a powerful heave it threw him at a boulder. He yelled in pain as he slammed into the stone face and slid down the surface to the muddy ground. Weakly he looked upwards to see it striding towards him, raising its hammer above its head. He shut his eyes tightly, but heard the Lugian let out a roar of pain. He opened his eyes slowly and saw it had turned, a javelin protruding from its back. The female Tumerok ran around to the monster's side and heaved another javelin, only to have it caught and snapped it like a twig. The Lugian swung its hammer in a low arc, knocking the female off her feet. She landed several feet away and slid several further in the mud. Again the Lugian strode forward and raised its hammer. She struggled to escape but the ground was too slick. Xenorath cried out.
"Arishka!"
The Lugian swung.
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Xenorath awoke with a start as the door to his room slammed open. Keltslash entered hurriedly. "Get ready quickly. There's been a change of plans and we have to be in Cavendo before dawn." He paused for a moment and reached into his pack. "I almost forgot. I got this sword earlier today and figured you could use it."
Assuming all goes well, I should add a new chapter every week on Friday. If you have any comments, email me at editor@warcry.com
