Born To Hail

Chapter 34

"Why did you dismiss your armor? What is going on with you Sebastian? You've been acting weird for the last hour." Ceradell finally couldn't take it any longer and voiced her concerns. She had been waiting for Sebastian to tell her of his own accord, but it seemed to her he wasn't planning to do any such thing.

He couldn't help but to smile. It had taken her longer than he expected for her to ask. "I have my reasons my dear." He told her.

Ceradell growled with frustration, the sound was deep and feral, sounding much like an angered cat. "Why are you being vague and secretive? Why will you not be honest with me?" She crossed her arms and stared daggers at him, telling him with her body that she needed answers.

"Do you love me?" He asked her.

"I do, with all of my heart." She answered.

"Do you trust me?"

She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I do."

"Trust me when I say you will find out very soon. I've wanted to tell you as soon as I made up my mind on what I need to do to stop all of this. I know you will not like it and will try to stop me. But I'm asking you to trust me. Trust that what I am about to do is the best solution I could think of and that I believe the right decision.

She growled again unsheathed her swords and went to help Lueken clear a way to the king.

All around him orcs and goblins and elves alike lay dead or dying. Enough so that the closer they got to the front-lines the less they walked on solid ground. The top soil had turned to mud, thick and black and...and he had to dismiss it from thought or he'd have vomited. Hell the smell alone was enough to do so, sheer force of will kept the bile in his stomach. He had to work to keep pace with his two companions, as he was scanning the faces of the enemy looking for orange eyes or a white scar on dark skin. So focused was he that he wasn't watching his feet (he tried his best not to look down at all, if he was honest with himself) he nearly tripped over a thick stick. When he looked down to ensure his next steps would be free of obstacle he saw, to his horror, that it was actually a severed leg. His will lost the battle, hunched over he emptied his stomach onto the blood sodden grown. That factor made him heave all the harder. Thankfully he was able to keep the vomiting spell brief, and sped to catch back up with his friends.

He was heartened to see that they had gained ground on the enemy, had pushed their lines back a few dozen yards. It sound like much but it was something. It meant something, it meant that against greater numbers they were willing the day. Though that was before the Shadoworcs joined in the fray, but it kept morale up within the troops. Sebastian didn't know much about war, but he knew his warriors will fight better when they have hope. To him it didn't matter that the Shadoworcs had joined in the fight, for he meant to put in end to it soon. One way or the other.

An orc and a goblin appeared before him, and it startled him, to his embarrassment. He had been carelessly lost in thought over the chaos that was occurring around him as a whole instead of paying attention to his immediate surroundings. He might have seen his two opponents earlier and would have had a few seconds, at the very least, to mentally prepare. Luckily he already had his weapon drawn. He instinctively wanted to activate his armor, but he didn't want Ixam or his kin to see him in it. What he decided that he'd likely have to do, he wanted to try and keep his armor a secret.

The goblin had a crudely made blade no more than a wide dagger, but a sword in its hands. The orc had an iron bound club. Both wore basic chainmail hauberks, the orc had a iron plate chest guard as well. The goblin was just a step or two closer to him than the orc and thus was the first to attack. Due to the creature's height, or lack-there-of, caused his aim to be low with his sweeping strike. Its attack only came a couple seconds before the orcs downward swing with its club.