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DINOTALES: Book I - The Quest Begins (Chapter 19)
By Vader
February 2nd, 1800
I am not as skilled a swordsman as the knights are. I find myself drenched in panic every time a leviathan jumps at me, or slashes at me, or stomps at me. I wave my sword frantically, trying my best to make short and precise stabs at our opponents. Harold is no better, and Rick and Emma are only a bit good at it. None of us are used to handling swords. Yet the knights move with a certain gracefulness and freeness that makes their fighting with swords and bows and arrows seem effortlessly easy. So far, I have managed to stay alive. But the battle has only recently begun....
-Jack Bradbury
The usually colorful surroudings of the continent were all completely covered in an unpleasent darkness. Avatolon stood atop the large surrounding wall, watching the dozens of warriors throw themselves into battle with the animals below him. A cloud of dust was being kicked up in the air, sometimes making the viewing of certain battles what were occurring difficult. The knights were certainly fighting valiantly, for the pale moon-lit glimmer of the twirling swords were noticeable.
Slowly, the knights were being driven back from the center of the field back towards the wall. Avatolon calculated that it would only be a matter of minutes before Logilathe's warriors were mashed up against the stone barrier and the leviathans would be winning. Several of the knights had already fallen from the ambushes of different groups of leviathans. Some animal's under Roschar's control had fallen as well, but at this time, more humans had been killed.
Avatolon closed his eyes in focus, clearing his thoughts and his mind. He arched his hand backward, picking a slender arrow from the container on his back and bringing it forward to the bow he held. He let out a breath, opening his eyes. He gripped the arrow against the bow, pulling it back. As the dust around the battle began to be blown by the wind, he centered his pupils on a single carnivore, dead center. And he let it go. The arrow flew through space and pierced the animal right in the heart.
Avatolon immediately, drew another bow, aimed and shot at another. He did it again and again w ithincredibly fast grace. None of his targets were missed. As he continued to do so, he saw out of the corner of his eye another figure land beside him on the wall. He turned to see it was Princess Endra, dressed in a light brown robe with woodland green pants. She too carried a bow and arrow. She looked at him square in the eye with love, compassion, and will. And immediately afterward, she turned, drew her arrow and shot, she too hitting her target right on course.
Avatolon smiled at her and then quickly turned his gaze back to the battle, shotting out arrows at an incredibly fast rate with his lighting quick reflexes. As one of the carnivores jumped for another knight that was fighting his own duel, Avatolon moved his bow in the air, following the body and shot, nabbing it right in between the eyes, causing the animal to shriek and drop onto the ground with a thud.
In the meantime, Rick had strayed from the others, fighting amidst all the other knights. He whipped his sword back and forth, making gashes in the muscles of different leviathans. All of a sudden, one of the larger ones with a thin snout that reminded Rick of a crocodile's, came running over. Its foot came down right where Rick was, causing him to jump out of the way. But when Rick jumped, he slammed into another beast, ramming his head in its leg.
He looked up to see it was an animal about thirteen feet tall with two twin crests atop its snout that were purple and red colored. It looked down at Rick with a snarl, instantaneously snapping its head downward at him. Its sharp teeth ripped a whole in Rick's pants, causing some bleeding on his shin. Rick quickly retrieved his sword that was laying in the ground. He jabbed it forward, using it like a spear and slashed the animal's arms. It snapped at Rick again, tearing at his arm. Rick chopped his sword at the crests atop the animal's head. It howled in pain, jumping back. Rick jumped away and an arrow from somewhere else nailed the beast as soon as he did so.
A little ways across the field, Emma and Harold were still together, standing back to back. Every leviathan that came at them, they were ready to come down and chop at. Harold quickly moved his forearm across his eyebrows, wiping off the sweat from the intense battle. "Real wonderful that the man that caused all this isn't here to help us out! I wish some of my highland ancestors were here to back me up!" Harold spat.
Emma's fuse had been lit by that. She felt so much irritableness towards Harold for always cutting Jack down and never trying to build him up. "It's not Jack's fault he got lost! I suggest you quit trying to be so utterly criticizing and try and focus on defending your life!" Emma returned. She was about to say that Harold should focus on defending Logilathe and its people, but she realized he wasn't here for that. He was only here because everyone else had nudged him too do so.
She shook her head, getting the thoughts out of her mind so she too could focus. One of the creatures came bounding on top of one of the nearby knights who'd lost his sword, digging its fangs into his neck. Emma rapidly banged the creature in the back, but it was not enough to save the knight - he was already dead.
Suddenly, Harold and herself felt hardness of stone against their backs. Surprised, they jumped around to see that they had been forced up against the side of the Logilathe wall, them and all the knights. The animals had cornered them. Shock and terror drove through everyone at realizing this. The carnivores rampaged through the sea of beings to slam against the wall.
Meanwhile, Jack was all alone by himself trying to find his companions. He heard the loud pounding behind him and craned his head back to view their enemies trying to smash the wall over. He gasped, knowing that all would be lost if the wall toppled. In that second, he could almost hear and see the citizens and their children being mercilessly and brutally killed, the animals, going through the streets, clambering against buildings, attacking the castle, killing the king and queen . . .
He couldn't dwell on it any longer. Roschar's victory would be certain and Logilathe's doom would be sealed if that wall came down. Trying to think of a way the animals would not anticipate or expect, he ran back, behind the large crowd gathered against the wall. He leaped behind everything, ready to take the vicious animals down from behind when all of a sudden, something landed on top of him, smacking him onto the ground.
In a surge of panic, Jack struck his sword backward, behind him, nailing whatever had landed on him somewhere on its body. He took the opportunity to crawl away. He jumped back up, now recognizing what had attacked him - the same animal that he had first awakened from the cave, a man-sized flesh-eater with bright red feather crests on the back of its head. There was a rip above its eye, where Jack had pierced it. It's head bobbed back and forth and the powerful muscles in its legs flexed.
It charged forward in rage, jumping again. Jack swiped at it back and forth and the animal landed behind him. It quickly jumped around and kicked Jack down, smashing the sword out of his hand. Snarling and hissing violently, the animal came forward, arching to dig into Jack's neck.
A hand grabbed Jack's sword that had flown away and threw the weapon into Jack's hand. Jack pierced two times near the heart of the animal and then flung the lifeless beast away. Jack looked up to see who had retrieved his sword. It was none other than Captain Dawson, his dagger out and ready from its holster. "I am so relieved to find you alive, my good lad! I have been searching for you and your friends in worry, for you had not returned to my ship!" Dawson exclaimed. "What are these creatures, Jack?"
"I too am glad to see you, my friend! I'll explain this situation later. Now, I must battle for the sake of many people. I shall show you to a safe place," Jack offered. Dawson nodded, still confused, but followed Jack in the other direction.
At the same time, at the top of the Logilathe wall that the leviathans were now trying to smash through, Avatolon gazed down with dark consumption in his eyes. He was waiting for one of the men behind him to give him more arrows. But his determination was no longer to shoot downwards, but on something else. He turned to Princess Endra, beside him, gripping her hand warmly. "There is only one hope for our people now. I must go. I will return soon," he told her. He gave her a final look of dim hope, then running off.
(The end of this book will come probably tomorrow)
1/2/02 1:26:17 AM
(Updated: 1/2/02 2:13:09 AM)
(Updated: 1/2/02 2:21:58 AM)
(Updated: 1/2/02 11:35:31 AM)
(Updated: 1/2/02 1:39:33 PM)
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