Crimson Reprisal [STOPPED FOR NOW]

XII | The Annihilation

KAJAR

The wind blew hard, crashing onto his face as the leader of alpha group, Kajar leaped across the forest, from branches to twigs. The cacophony of his followers caught up with his leaps as they released their powerful bursts of energy, traveling with the speed of saber.

Kajar was aggressive and ruthless among the dwindles. Having his fizzy beard going against the wind, he was reminded that he carried the blood of a warrior. Upon hearing the sound of dwindles fading behind his ears, frustration about their incompetency fumed inside him.

"Move along faster, will you?" Roaring across the woods with his rough yet powerful voice, his followers picked up the pace, while being careful not to slip off from the branches. 

Kajar, noticed a familiar sound, but oddly coming from the opposite direction - the steps of leaping. It was an alpha scout, ordered by Kajar himself to create a pathway for the rests of the group. A lone scout, what message do you have for me?

"What's the matter?" Kajar questioned with authority, demanding an answer.

Landing abruptly nearby on a branch, the scout inhaled deeply and uttered, "Two knights on horses. A hundred leaps away." 

"Scout on them and wait for my instructions," Kajar commanded as he clenched his tiny fists. Small but powerful, the hands of dwindles were trained to harvest the Elven fruits with brute force. He could feel the bones cracking inside him, ready to crush men's skull.

"Should we find another path, leader? The knights did not seem to be leaving anytime soon so ---"

"Then let it be. I'll personally crush them, and make them run with fear, just like the monster." Hatred was boiling within Kajar, as he was reminded that the Sword of Alora fled from his ambush. It had seemed that his tolerance finally toppled after all these years being slaves to men. 

"Yes..." The scout agreed hesitantly, as he knew that men was not easy to kill, especially the ones coated with steel. The sound of sword swinging against the wind was dwindles greatest fear, no dwindles dared to go against men, until Ronald revolted.

"What are you waiting for? Move." His rough voice was carried on with the sound of leaps. He paused for a moment and took a good look at the dwindles behind him. Scores of dwindles awaiting for his leadership, held the trees tightly while holding their essentials. All of them had a similar face - the face full of fear. 

Their faces reminded Kajar that he wasn't the only one being tortured and used. It was the whole tribe of them. The only way for him to get his revenge was to ensure that the dwindles survive, so that one day, they could have the chance to rebel the monsters.

"Should we take a break, leader? The rests of the group seemed to be exhausted," one of the dwindles suggested. Scrawny but agile, the dwindle who dared to talk to the leader was voicing out the thoughts of his followers. He could hear the panting from all the leaping. 

"No, we should not stop. It is only a matter of time until that monster bring his army to kill us. We have to keep leaping." Kajar felt a little bad for his followers as he knew they did not have a good rest. Their energy was depleting but there was no choice.

Urging to leave, Kajar bent his knee as he looked forward, towards the direction of the scouts. He was ready to leap to join the scouts, to see the knights.

"In that case, we shall settle the knights first, before endangering the group," knowing that Kajar was headstrong and would never change his mind easily, the scrawny dwindle offered another reason to his leader.

"Perhaps you're right. You, what's your ---"

"Pops. You can call me Pops."

"Alright, Pops, come with me. The three of you too," pointing at the dwindles who were nearest to him, Kajar commanded. As they leaped from branches to branches, the leaves from the trees escaped itself, feathering downwards like an aged men, only to hit the ground when the time came. Armed with sharpened rocks, Kajar and the dwindles were ready to kill.

Splisck! 

Kajar's vision was tainted with blood. His hearing was flooded with Pops' scream. As he tried to balance himself on the branch, he rubbed his eyes immediately. Pos, on the neighboring tree, was pinned with a lance sticking into his chest. Hanging in the air with no grips, the scrawny dwindle kicked the air as he struggled. Blood spurted out from his mouth. He was definitely dying.

Still shocked about what had happened, Kajar stood and watched Pops in fear. All his bravery went hiding into his dwindle hut as soon as he saw blood.

"URGH!" The sound of another dwindle traveled into Kajar's ear. His eyes traced the origin of the sound and saw a lifeless dwindle crashing down to the ground of the forest. Thud! The fallen dwindle was no longer moving.

Witnessing the death of his followers, Kajar blanked out. He felt his legs were powerless, no longer connected to the branch. He slipped.

In the air, he felt like he was falling forever. Every second reminded him that he had brought death upon his follower. The scream from Pops, having a lance stuck into his stomach haunted him; The fall of the other dwindle scarred him. Time slowed down for him.

Like falling into a pool of water, Kajar crashed onto the side. As he regained his consciousness, he noticed that he was caught midair. It was the scout.

"Leader! Can you hear me?! We have to run!"

Kajar, at his weakest, trembled. He could not even stand. He regretted. As he laid his palms onto his face, he noticed it was tears. Reminded that his chief, Ronald was somewhere counting on him to lead the alpha group, he retook control of his body.

The scout led Kajar and escaped the blood scene. With the last bit of energy they had, Kajar and the scout crashed onto a huge tree. With the hands of dwindles, they picked up nearby resources and made a mini shelter with camouflage. They knew they needed to rest.

"What... happened to the rest?"

"I'm sorry, leader. They... they're all dead..." The scout replied.

Expecting that answer, Kajar was speechless. Inside him, he was blaming the Gods of fire for treating the dwindles unfairly. With a second thought, Kajar noticed something was odd.

"When did the knights began to attack so aggressively? We were caught off guard."

"The knights... Something was wrong with them. They were different."

"They weren't Alorian knights?" Kajar questioned.

"No, they were. But... they had..." Struggling to remember, the scout scratched his head with his tiny hands. Out of the red, he froze. His eyes widened.

"What is it? Tell me!" Knowing that the scout knew what they had, Kajar asked with an aggressive tone.

"Magic. Blood magic."

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