“She is casting a spell! I don’t like the sound of that!” yelled Tusdar, grinding to a halt.
“I said, don't stop!” commanded Aidan, pulling him forward with all his might. “Just keep running, damn you!”
As they neared the bottom of the turret, they both slowed down and stared at each other with widened eyes as fear sank in.
“What is that? It feels like the ground is shaking underfoot. Can you also feel that?” asked Tusdar.
The vibrations ceased as Aidan took a few careful steps forward, listening intently for any signs.
“Well at least Kassina’s not following us; I can't hear her anymore. It could have been so much worse,' said Aidan. 'For a minute there, I had a ridiculous thought that the shaking was from footsteps-'
Aidan’s words were loudly interrupted by a gigantic stone fist that smashed through the outer wall and wrapped around him tightly, pinning his arms to his sides. Struggling uselessly against its grip, Aidan cried, 'Get out of here, Tusdar! Go!'
The enormous fist ripped him out into the open, into the land surrounding Greenhaven before a sheer drop to the river below. He was brought up to the face of the Stone Golem it belonged to. It grimaced as it stared him in the eyes and roared at his face. Aidan's hair blew wildly in the gale from the giant’s maw.
“No! I told you that I want him alive!” shouted Kassina from her window, roughly dressed in her loose clothing. “Now check if there are any more intruders!”
Tusdar ran as fast as his legs could carry him, while narrowly dodging the golem’s other fist crashing through the wall. When the fist broke again through the wall in his path, he managed to catch a glance of the golem. Aidan was clutched tightly, and struggling hard to free himself. Tusdar could clearly see the megalithic as it roared in frustration and prepared to strike once again. As he neared the secret entrance, another large hole was broken into the wall.
A flying fragment of stone struck him in the chest and winded him for a few moments as he limped to the nearest outside wall. As the golem retracted its fist, Tusdar leapt up and out of the hole in the wall to land on the ground beside it, quickly running in the direction of the bridge.
“Ha! I knew there was another one of you crawling in these walls!” cried Kassina. “But you won’t get away so easily. Archers ready!”
The sound of hundreds of skeleton archers’ footfalls echoed through Greenhaven. Tusdar rolled under a stone hand as the golem tried desperately to get hold of him. The gust of the fist’s passing rushed over his body. The ground shook with each powerful step as the golem gave chase.
Boom…
Boom…
Boom…
Aidan managed to pull his better arm out of the golem’s fist while it was distracted. He repeatedly beat on the golem as hard as he could, but his strikes had no effect. Aidan shifted his attention to reaching for his sword as it dangled at his side. As he stretched for it, he pulled at his fresh wound and winced in pain from the flesh tearing from where the arrow had pierced it.
Come on, you can do it… pain is all in your mind, he thought as he reached out with all his might.
Tusdar narrowly ducked another swipe from the giant’s stone hand as he continued his sprint for the bridge.
Kassina's face hardened as she pointed to her target and relayed her order. “I’ve got you now, you little insect! Archers, aim ahead of the bridge!”
Finally Aidan grasped his sword with the tips of his fingers, and with a painful grunt he shifted his weight to pull his sword higher. As the golem raised its arm to strike again, he threw the sword upwards and caught its hilt with his fist.
“Fire at will,” ordered Kassina, and a dark cloud of arrows pierced the night sky and flew towards Tusdar.
Aidan screamed, “Tusdar, turn around now and run towards the golem!”
“Are you insane? Why do I listen to you?” Tusdar yelled through puffed breaths as he reluctantly followed the order.
The golem raised its enormous fist once again, and Aidan thrust his sword as hard as he could into its mouth. With a thunderous roar, the golem dug its feet into the ground as it attempted to dislodge the sword from its face. Tusdar ran through the gap between the monster’s legs, while the arrows rained down to hit nothing but dirt.
“Archers, ready!” growled Kassina with annoyance.
Aidan continued to struggle, but the golem’s grip was far too tight for him to escape. Skeleton warriors were closing in quickly from Tusdar’s new direction, weapons drawn.
“Tusdar, you’ll have to leave without me,” shouted Aidan. “Find Vartan and tell him of our victory today. The king’s murderer has been slain-we must tell the others.”
The golem roared with anger, smashing its fist into the sword and sending the now-dislodged blade spinning through the air. The golem shook its head and focused on its fleeing target. The ground shook as it resumed chasing Tusdar.
“Archers, take aim!” ordered Kassina.
A stone fist smashed into the ground, barely missing its target and sending a cloud of dirt into the air. Tusdar leapt off the chunk of earth, which then broke off into the river below it.
Kassina's raised hand dropped as she yelled, “Fire at will!”
Aidan watched helplessly as the arrows flew towards Tusdar. This time there was no way he would avoid them by running in any direction.
“You’re not getting away this time!” laughed Kassina.
Tusdar looked up at the rain of death about to fall on his head and swallowed hard.
There is only one thing left to do. May the gods save me, he thought.
With a sharp turn to the right, Tusdar leapt over the edge of Greenhaven’s land and plummeted head first towards the flowing river below.
The golem stopped in its tracks and looked up at Kassina in confusion, not sure of what to do next. The arrows rained down on Tusdar’s last position, destroying many of her skeleton warriors that had charged onto the target path.
“Mindless fools! Watch where you are going!” snarled Kassina.
The rest of the skeleton warriors quickly circled around the golem. They hissed in anger at Aidan and waved their weapons in the air to intimidate him.
“What a simpleton! Nobody could survive that fall. At least the fish will have a fine supper tonight,” laughed Kassina. “Bring Aidan to me, Glaucus. We have waited so long to get better acquainted. As for the rest of you, the night’s events appear to be over for the time being. I want every area of this castle searched for intruders before the walls are repaired. We cannot afford to become complacent and take any more stupid risks.”
She stared into the blackness of the night and let out a long sigh, her breath turning to curls of fog in the chill night air. Turning around to head back inside, she adjusted her clothes in discomfort. Marching away from the castle walls, she muttered, 'Well, I suppose my entertainment is over for the evening… I had best find myself a new pet.'
Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm
“I suppose that I really should be more excited. Not every Truth Pendant happens to be bonded to a human born of dragon’s blood, with such a journey ahead of him. These dragons are very interesting creatures, and I have never seen anything like them. They are truly extraordinary.
But the story of Vartan’s life so far fills me with concern. If he really is fated to destroy the Forces of Darkness, then he would be the primary target of every unimaginable enemy out there. As I am bonded to him, I share his position as the number one target for assassination or death in this entire world.
For some strange reason, I do not find comfort in that fact.”
