used his skill again for another powerful shot. He aimed at a new beast which was coming out of the water. While three soldiers distracted it with thrusts and sword strokes, he hit it squarely in the heart, piercing it. This time the beast dropped dead.
The shouts of combat from the other shore made him look in that direction to see the soldiers fighting three enormous beasts. Several men lay dismembered on the ground, their torn limbs lying grotesquely amid a sea of blood. The reptiles launched themselves against the remaining soldiers, to be repelled repeatedly with shields and swords. The fight was furious and brutal. Screams echoed, wild and rending, blood splashed both men and animals. Beasts and men fell, hacked by swords, axes and jaws. The veteran soldiers, once recovered from the initial surprise of the attack, were holding back the fierce assault of the enormous crocodiles without losing ground, but they were suffering losses in the face of the strength and brutality of those monsters. Captain Toral shouted orders to his men and encouraged them on, all the time covering their flanks with one of his men. His face was covered in blood and his left arm hung inert.
Lasgol kept shooting at the beasts in a desperate attempt to prevent them reaching the soldiers. He could feel his source of inner energy running out inexorably. The battle flared up, with new crocodiles issuing from the depths of the lagoon in a frenzy to kill the intruders. The ground was stained red with the blood of men and beasts. On the opposite shore the group was barely holding up against the enraged reptiles, with only Captain Toral and one other man standing. The rest had perished, most of them torn to pieces. Lasgol looked around him. His group had sustained fewer losses; there were still five men standing and fending off two of the reptiles, their swords hacking furiously at the monsters.
The last three crocodiles of the abyss succumbed, hacked to pieces by the brave soldiers.
A disturbing silence filled the chamber.
The reptiles vanished.
Tense, the survivors waited.
What’s lying in wait for us now? wondered Lasgol uneasily.
Capture
Lotas turned round and faced the heavily embossed door of his office at the sound of two loud knocks. As it creaked open, his lieutenant Santes came in looking like someone who has seen a ghost.
“What the hell is going on?” Lotas demanded, angered by the interruption.
“The Norriel!” shouted Santes harshly, his eyes staring. “They’re coming!”
“It can’t be!”
“Boss, the Norriel and the young woman have managed to escape the ambush we prepared, and they’re coming this way!”
“But that’s impossible, how could they have survived?” Lotas exploded. He hurled the glass of vintage liqueur he was drinking against the floor.
“I don’t know, boss. When I reached the ambush from my position I found all the men torn to pieces, their lifeless bodies in a sea of blood. All dead, boss! All of them! There was blood on the walls and floor, like in a slaughterhouse. I can’t think how they could have survived the ambush and killed all our men. They’re demons!”
“That’s nonsense! How can they be demons?” fumed Lotas. He turned his back to think for a moment.
He had not calculated on this. What were the odds on them beating his men and coming out alive from the ambush? Practically none. Zero. On the other hand, they had already survived another ambush which had never previously failed. He could not take risks, it was not worth it. Escape today and kill them tomorrow, that’s what I should do. I can always catch them some other time, when the winds are more favorable .
“Are you absolutely sure they’ve escaped?”
“I swear it by my late mother. I saw it with my own eyes, boss. Our men’s corpses were thrown all over the room, and in the middle of the hall there were the three strangers drenched in our comrades’ blood. When I saw them I turned round and ran
The shouts of combat from the other shore made him look in that direction to see the soldiers fighting three enormous beasts. Several men lay dismembered on the ground, their torn limbs lying grotesquely amid a sea of blood. The reptiles launched themselves against the remaining soldiers, to be repelled repeatedly with shields and swords. The fight was furious and brutal. Screams echoed, wild and rending, blood splashed both men and animals. Beasts and men fell, hacked by swords, axes and jaws. The veteran soldiers, once recovered from the initial surprise of the attack, were holding back the fierce assault of the enormous crocodiles without losing ground, but they were suffering losses in the face of the strength and brutality of those monsters. Captain Toral shouted orders to his men and encouraged them on, all the time covering their flanks with one of his men. His face was covered in blood and his left arm hung inert.
Lasgol kept shooting at the beasts in a desperate attempt to prevent them reaching the soldiers. He could feel his source of inner energy running out inexorably. The battle flared up, with new crocodiles issuing from the depths of the lagoon in a frenzy to kill the intruders. The ground was stained red with the blood of men and beasts. On the opposite shore the group was barely holding up against the enraged reptiles, with only Captain Toral and one other man standing. The rest had perished, most of them torn to pieces. Lasgol looked around him. His group had sustained fewer losses; there were still five men standing and fending off two of the reptiles, their swords hacking furiously at the monsters.
The last three crocodiles of the abyss succumbed, hacked to pieces by the brave soldiers.
A disturbing silence filled the chamber.
The reptiles vanished.
Tense, the survivors waited.
What’s lying in wait for us now? wondered Lasgol uneasily.
Capture
Lotas turned round and faced the heavily embossed door of his office at the sound of two loud knocks. As it creaked open, his lieutenant Santes came in looking like someone who has seen a ghost.
“What the hell is going on?” Lotas demanded, angered by the interruption.
“The Norriel!” shouted Santes harshly, his eyes staring. “They’re coming!”
“It can’t be!”
“Boss, the Norriel and the young woman have managed to escape the ambush we prepared, and they’re coming this way!”
“But that’s impossible, how could they have survived?” Lotas exploded. He hurled the glass of vintage liqueur he was drinking against the floor.
“I don’t know, boss. When I reached the ambush from my position I found all the men torn to pieces, their lifeless bodies in a sea of blood. All dead, boss! All of them! There was blood on the walls and floor, like in a slaughterhouse. I can’t think how they could have survived the ambush and killed all our men. They’re demons!”
“That’s nonsense! How can they be demons?” fumed Lotas. He turned his back to think for a moment.
He had not calculated on this. What were the odds on them beating his men and coming out alive from the ambush? Practically none. Zero. On the other hand, they had already survived another ambush which had never previously failed. He could not take risks, it was not worth it. Escape today and kill them tomorrow, that’s what I should do. I can always catch them some other time, when the winds are more favorable .
“Are you absolutely sure they’ve escaped?”
“I swear it by my late mother. I saw it with my own eyes, boss. Our men’s corpses were thrown all over the room, and in the middle of the hall there were the three strangers drenched in our comrades’ blood. When I saw them I turned round and ran
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