Manorborn: The Battles Between

Chapter 18

As the Leal raced along the waves, seeking to distance itself from the four Blood Sails pursing it like hounds hunt a deer, far below, Galen was locked in combat with the Morska, against the group of Linga, the squid people. His plan had worked well; the Linga had emerged from the tunnel and, expecting no one on the cliff when they emerged, they were startled to find a Morska and a human facing them.

The Morska was no great surprise, as it was a Morska village they intended to raid and plunder. But a human, much less one who seemed to be breathing underwater as easily as they did, was more than surprising. In fact, it was unheard of in all their histories.

Yet, there he stood, a gleaming sword in each hand and a cool, calm smile on his lips.

Galen's voice, when he spoke was casual, almost playful, his eyes dancing with a light that was captivating in its eagerness.

"Good day, gentlemen! I'm afraid that your plans to raid this village will have to be changed. My friend and I, Princess Silent Killer, intend to give you fair warning that what you plan is not the best course of action for you. So,.."

Galen made a shooing gesture with his sword-bearing hands.

"...go away and leave, if you please."

The squid-folk had been disinclined to go along with his request.

Their leader, a big, barrel-chested brute with steel tips on every other tentacle, snarled a command and, raising his blade, he charged at Galen as his men moved to strike at Silent Killer.

Two fell before they had even begun to move, the Morska hidden above the tunnel entrance having thrown their spears with deadly skill, the slender steel sliding silently through the water to strike the two from behind, points blossoming like mortal flowers from their chests as the two silently sagged, then sank to the rocky surface under them, trailing dark blood behind as they did so.

"That blood will draw the big predators!" Silent Killer warned as she dodged a blow from a Linga blade, spinning in the water to lash out with her steel-tipped wrist fronds to slice her foe's neck open, spiling even more dark blood into the water. An instant later, her blade sank into the chest of another, a grin of satisfaction on her lips as she did so.

"Show me a way to do this without shedding blood, and I will happily do it!" Galen quipped as he ducked a blow from the big leader, then leapt back to avoid the stab and slash from several steel-tipped tentacles as they lashed out at him. He spun again as the tentacles snapped and groped for him, seeking to grasp him, to hold him, in their tensile steel lengths. Galen slashed, and the big Linga snarled in pain as two of his tentacles slid to the floor in a trail of blood.

Swimming back, out of reach of the clutching, fleshy lengths, Galen grinned at the pained leader, his eyes alight with battle, his smile confident.

"Aye, this guppy bites! Now, shall we see how else I might cut you down to size?"

Galen leapt into the fray, his blades twirling and dancing, flashing and biting as the many limbs of his foe sought to grip him, to hold him, and squeeze the life from him. But he was too quick, Truth and Answer too sharp, and as he swam past, the brutish squid-man was left with only three tentacles still attached to his body as he roared in pain.

Around them, the fight raged. The Morska positioned above the tunnel threw spears down onto their hated foe, while the two who had been at the sides of the tunnel struck with their blades and brought down their opponents as swiftly as they could.

The two females who had been sent to bring about the rockslide sped through the water to come upon a pair of Linga warriors and strike them down with sudden swiftness as they entered the battle. Then, flashing on, they struck at two more who were on the outskirts of the battle, waiting for their time to strike. The Linga, it seemed, were tough fighters, but not overly-skilled in battle; relying more upon their man tentacles and the attacks those could bring, as well as their significant strength to win the battes in which they fought.