The Karoth Chronicles: Shadow Rising

[mur'phon]

"Opening, opening, opening, gods I'll become your most devout servant if you just give me an opening." Nish was getting desperate, despite the efectivness of fighting with Kaleah, and the amount of barbarians killed by others, they where still loosing. He wanted to flee, but had seen no oppening, and he didn't fancy his chances of breaking trough on his own. So he stuck with Kaleah, cuting those ocupied with her, redirecting blows to her armor, and jaming weapons to give her the coup de grace.

 

Catching an axe headed for his neck, he redirected it towards Kaleah's plate, releasing the axe from his scimitars, he could only watch as the barbarian used his momentum to drive the axe into the side of his gut. He had just removed the barbarian's grin before he pain jolted him into conciousness. His wound burned worse than anything he had felt before. Was he dying? And where had Kaleah gone? Tying some rags around his wound, he hoped it would keep everything inside at least untill someone could take a look at it, or someone killed him.

 

Seeing his only chance of surviving lying in front of a rather pissed barbarian, Nish rushed towards the barbarian. His legs wouldn't have any of that however, and he fell face first while his blades where sent flying towards the barbarian. His sight went hazy as he saw one blade embed itself in the barbarians spine. Then everything went black.

[metalica]

Things were not going well for Algren. He was doing his best to avoid the attacks from the two barbarians when he heard Thanar's shout.

 

It destracted him for a moment and a barbarian axe made its way to his left shoulder, the armor couldn't resist the strain and the blade made its way to Algrens flesh. The pain should have been great, the cut went from the shoulder to the elbow, but in the battle frenzy Algren barely noticed he was wounded. All he saw was his opponent giving him an opening, and his sword find its way inmediately to it..., as the barbarian fell to never get up again. One foe left, and he had to be quick, Thanar's tone of voice demand it.

 

One on one the brute was to slow for him, and in a mater of seconds Algren's sword found the barbarians neck, it was over. He looked up and saw kaleah and Nish lying on the ground, but he couldn't help them now. He had a more pressing matter to attend..., "Now, where's that archer...", just then a sharp pain made its way to his left shoulder. There was already a nasty cut in it, and now there was also an arrow resting deep inside. Algren's sight went black as he fell backwards to the ground... the sounds of battle seemed far away now...

[KNeo]

Kaleah rolled to the side as the barbarian fell to the ground. A scimitar was protruding from his back. Thank Rhillor for comrades. She looked for Nish, expecting to see him remove his saber from the dead barbarian, but instead she found him on the ground a few feet away. There were no barbarians nearby. It seemed they were all fighting to get past Thanar.

 

Her side ached as she pulled herself up and moved to Nish. His chest was slowly rising and falling, but he didn't respond as she spoke to him.

 

"Nish, open your eyes. Speak if you can hear me! Please..."

 

Blood was soaking through a makeshift bandage around his gut. She applied pressure on wound as she unwrapped it to take a look. Luckily it appeared that none of his organs had been stuck. She pulled her pack closer, digging through its contents.

 

The wound would have to be sutured, but for now a poultice would have to do. She laid out the wet herb wrap over the wound and carefully wrapped a clean bandage around it. It was difficult to move him without causing him pain, but he didn't seem to react. She finished and she had done it quickly and as efficiently as possible. Took off her cloak and laid it over him, then turned to find Algren nearby laying with an arrow in his shoulder.

 

As she sprinted in his direction an arrow flew past striking a soldier in the back of the neck. She looked and found its source gazing back at her, already removing another arrow from his quiver. Kaleah ran at him. She wasn't going to let him notch the arrow. He watched her come and just as he put the fletching to the string, her fist hit him square in the jaw and the arrow dropped to the ground. She slapped the bow from his hands and he retaliated by striking her in the temple.

 

Kaleah didn't allow it to phase her. She pulled out the small knife on her waist that was usually meant to cut bandages and thrust it into his gut. He fell into a fetal position and held his stomach. With the archer taken care of she turned to face the on going battle.

 

It wasn't a pretty sight. Bodies lie everywhere. Thanar was fighting back the barbarians along with a few other soldiers and she could not see Aeron past the wall of combatants. There was nothing she could do for their lord at the moment, except wait for his guards to finish off the last of the attackers. Instead she ran to Algren's side to see if he was still alive. She knelt beside him to check his vitals.

[Alkonium]

Curudir searched the battlefield for Aeron, only to find him seriously injured and laying on the ground.

 

Curudir wrapped a cloth bandage around Aeron's wound and began to push down on it, trying to slow the bleeding. "Come on, don't you die on us, we need you." He said, doing everything he could to keep Aeron alive. "You've been through worse than this, you can survive, I know you can."

[mur'phon]

A jolt of pain brought Nish barley into consiousness. Someone was moving him and doing something to his wound. He tried to open his eyes, but they stubornly refused to move. The rest of his body didnt feel like moving either, apearing quite happy with being incapacitated. Gritting his imaginary teeth, he stoped his rather inneficent strugle.

[KNeo]

Kaleah listened for it and found him breathing, yet very shallow. His arm had been cut from elbow to shoulder. Nasty. The arrow had made its way through entirely so she didn't have to worry about the barbed head damaging him any further, although the shaft wouldn't feel any better. She pulled him by his uninjured shoulder and rested him against her own chest. She pulled out a pair of medical clippers and placed them gently around the shaft at the base of the head. She clipped it clean off. He jerked a bit in her arms but didn't wake.

 

Kaleah held him with one arm while she dug inside her bag and laid out the bandages and the poultices. She removed a long thick leather cord and forced it between his teeth. She did not want him biting off his tongue. She took in a long breath as she grasped the shaft. She pulled the cord in his mouth's ends with the arm she was holding him with so it would not fall out. Kaleah prayed softly.

 

Then she pulled hard, withdrawing the arrow completely.

[metalica]

Only faint sounds of battle were reaching Algren's ears, when he felt someone near him. He tried to open his eyes, but such an effort seemed imposible. Even if it was an enemy, there was nothing he could do. He felt a hand grabbing his right shoulder and he felt an immediate relief sensation. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who was holding him, he somehow knew Kaleah was going to save him.

 

With the relief came a little pain, she was doing something to his wounded shoulder. She was being careful and diligent, he knew that, and the pain was nothing he couldn't bare so all he had to do was wait. Soon she finished the treatment on his shoulder, or so he thought, suddenly his tongue felt the taste of leather and before he knew what was going on, a sharp pain brought him back to consciousness.

 

He opened his eyes and saw her, she had the remnant of a bloody arrow in her hand. While he was gasping for air to recover from the shock he looked at his wounded shoulder. The sight didn't comfort him at all, it looked nasty, bloody bandages and there was blood coming out, though the pain was not that bad. Still confused, like in a dream, he tried to get up, but his sight went blurry... All he could do was lay down on his back and fall into darkness once again...