Dungeons and Dragons: Forged In Flame (COMPLETED)

Chapter 10: Be A Soldier

"ZEALOUS! SHIELDBITER!" Leaper cried. His father was dead, but maybe they could help. They could help. Could they?
He shouted their names again, but neither of them showed up. He gasped in cold breaths of air as he sat helplessly there with his father's body.
It was the first time Leaper had cried in tears. The warm salty drops dripping down his golden cheeks felt alien to him; it was not a sensation he had needed in the dojo.
"Anyone, please!" Leaper wept.
Leaper gulped and stopped his crying. There was no point. Leaper remembered something that Heskan had said at some point in his training.
"If you ever feel pain, which you will at times, turn that pain to the enemies; turn that pain into power," he had said.
And with that, Leaper turned on the Orc who had done the deed. He was holding a bow and celebrating to himself until he saw that Leaper was looking at him.
He went to run, but ran into a stone wall. Leaper stood over him, and he knew there was no escape.
Leaper grabbed the Orc by the neck and lifted him up. They grappled at Leaper's hands, although they both knew that Leaper was not going to let go.
"Why did you do it?!" Leaper shouted. The poor Orc trembled in fear.
"For honour. N-No one takes me seriously! I thought by killing the Admiral I would finally be accepted!"
"Well, that was your mistake. The Admiral was my father!"
The Orc went pale.
"Please! I didn't know! Please! Pl-AHH!"
The Orc's pleading was soon replaced by screaming. Leaper had placed his mighty thumbs on his temple and his fingers on the back of his head.
And he squeezed.
You could hear the Orc's thick skull crack as Leaper applied more and more pressure. Soon, the pain became too great and the Orc slipped into unconsciousness. Then, Leaper found his fingers inside the Orc's head. His brain felt warm and squishy, with the Orc's skull caved in on top.
"I hope you find honour in death," Leaper spat, tossing the dead Orc onto the floor.
He wiped his hands on his armour, then looked at the battlefield.
Leaper was more dangerous now. He was no longer just a soldier, he was now a soldier who was angry. His father had said to be a soldier? Well, he would do that to the best of his ability.

Zealous slashed an Orc in the throat with his shortsword.
"Nice one!" Shieldbiter complemented.
Shieldbiter drew his knife and uppercutted an approaching Orc. They were racking up quite the kill streak.
Zealous smiled at Shieldbiter. He wondered where Leaper and Akra were. A brief image of them lying dead somewhere on the battlefield flashed through his mind, but he shook it off. If he thought that, he'd become stressed out and wouldn't be able to fight accurately.
"Look out!" Shieldbiter warned Zealous.
Zealous spotted an Orc heading his way. He exhaustedly prepared his sword for a swipe, but another Dragonborn with golden scales came over and grabbed the Orc's head before snapping its neck.
"Leaper!" Zealous smiled.
Leaper looked at Zealous but didn't answer. It was clear something was troubling him. Leaper's knuckles were bright red and bleeding, and his hands were covered in dry blood. Meanwhile, his axe sat sheathed in a leather sheath and had very little blood on it. It was clear Leaper had been doing the killing barehanded.
"Leaper? What's wrong?" Zealous asked him.
No answer. Leaper delivered a slash to someone's eyes with his claw, then when he was on the floor he kicked him in the head. The Orc was dead in an instant.
"You're not OK. Don't tell me something happened to Akra?"
Leaper hid a teardrop from Zealous, but still didn't answer.
"Leaper!"
"They killed my dad, OK?!" Leaper cried.
Zealous backed away. Leaper fixed him with a gaze that said all of his grief and anger.
Shieldbiter and Zealous spotted at least five Orcs behind Leaper, all readying to attack, and Leaper caught their line of sight and saw them.

He had never had to use it before. Heskan had said only to use it in a dire situation because it caused exhaustion and nausea upon using it.
Draconic Ancestry.
It was different for every Dragonborn, and you could tell by their scales. For golden Dragonborn like Leaper, it was fire.
Leaper took in a deep breath and felt his lungs swell, then he blew. The Orcs who were in the line of fire were all scorched; two of them died instantly, and the others fled blindly. Zealous and Shieldbiter finished off all of the fleeing Orcs, while Leaper just stood there.
He felt like he was inside a kaleidoscope. Everything felt dizzy, and it was hard to stay upright. He tried to move, but a wave of exhaustion knocked him over. Of course, Zealous came over to help.
"Woah! Are you alright?!" Zealous shouted.
"Yes. Just feeling a bit nauseous... and exhausted. Heskan was right, then," Leaper sighed.
"Did you doubt him?"
"No."
Zealous shrugged and sat down next to Leaper. It seemed absurd to do such a thing in a war zone, but no one dared to go near Leaper anyway. Regardless, Shieldbiter fought valiantly to protect them. Zealous tilted his head when he saw that Leaper began to cry.
"Hey, hey. It's alright. You're gonna be alright," Zealous hugged him.
"My dad won't, though. He's dead, lying somewhere that I can't even remember, while I just sit here and do nothing," Leaper choked.
"You're not doing nothing."
"I'm speaking to you, I guess, but that doesn't count."
"No, I mean you are now fighting even more brilliantly. The evidence is on your knuckles."
"Yes. They're broken and bleeding. Look at them!"
"Just try and calm down. We can't stay here forever."
They both stood up quickly at the sound of Shieldbiter grunting then collapsing.
"Shieldbiter!" Leaper shouted.
Shieldbiter tried to sit up, but failed. Leaper and Zealous saw the arrow wedged in his belly.
"Oww..." Shieldbiter moaned.
Leaper, not hesitating for a second, yanked the arrow out of Shieldbiter's stomach and put him on his back.
"We have to go. Now!" Leaper ordered Zealous.
He nodded, and they were off.
They ran through the battlefield, dodging arrows and blades. Zealous protected Leaper by slashing at any Orcs, and soon they were at the medic's office.
"Medic! Doctor, nurse, anyone!" Leaper shouted.
"It's you again," a nurse said.
The nurse came over and pulled out a stethoscope. She went to place it on Shieldbiter, but stopped.
"Oh, honey. He's already dead," the nurse shook her head grimly.
Leaper placed Shieldbiter on a bed. He knew as soon as he saw that awful, glassy stare that Shieldbiter had. The eyes were open, but they all knew that they were vacant; they weren't seeing anything at all.
"No. No, no no no no! This can't be happening," Leaper gasped.
Leaper shook Shieldbiter's corpse, not believing what he was seeing. Several doctors came over and restrained him, while several other doctors and nurses shut Shieldbiter's eyes and put a cloth over his body.
"No! NO! Get off of me!" Leaper blubbered.
Zealous put his hand on Leaper's shoulder, and he looked aggressively at him.
"Leaper? Leaper, you have to stop," Zealous said, his lip quivering.
As the doctors took Shieldbiter away, Leaper knelt down on the floor. The only sound in the room was Leaper's keening noises. It was the sound of a person who had lost his father and friend in a single day. Zealous had his eyes squeezed shut; he could not bear to look.

Leaper found himself going back out into the battlefield, since there was nothing better to do. No one messed with him, so he just strolled through the war.
Now, the Orcs were all escaping anyway. They knew they were doomed if they stayed, so why bother?
Once all of the Orcs were gone, it really put into scale how many Dragonborn were left. Only the strongest soldiers had survived, and the weakest now lined the floor.
Leaper trudged through the masses of the dead towards where he knew his father laid. He found him there with that Orc who had killed him. Leaper picked his father up, then left.
Leaper was more dangerous now. He was no longer just a soldier who was angry, he was now a soldier who was very angry.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Word Count: 1424 Words