It was with some trepidation that Merriya de Blackmere, newly dubbed knight of the North Cross, guided her horse into the open clearing. It was getting on towards dusk, and she felt it prudent to try and rejoin her companions as soon as possible. Giving Goliath, her mount, a light touch from her spurs, Merriya brought the animal down the road at a steady trot.
Recently the Spawn had begun to assault villages outlying the city-state of Silverymoon, and now several such townships lay in smoking ruins. In response, Silverymoon had dispatched a force of soldiers, including a number of knights and well equipped men-at-arms, to try and root out and destroy the horrid creatures. So far the force had been unable to discover any positive sign of where the Spawn were laired, a fact that disturbed Merriya greatly.
Feeling more confident as the warhorse picked up speed, Merriya took a moment to examine the surrounding forest again. This part of the Northlands was thickly wooded with great stands of pine, cedar, spruce and fir, and such growth made for excellent cover once it got dark. To make matters worse, the day had been cold, wet and thickly overcast, making the surrounding woods seem unnaturally quiet. Cursing herself for getting separated from the main host, Merriya now urged Goliath to pick up the pace, lest she be forced to spend the night in most uncomfortable and dire straights.
It was upon reaching the far end of the clearing, with the tree's shadows deepening into an almost impenetrable gloom that Goliath abruptly started, snorting his displeasure and twitching his ears at something Merriya could neither see nor hear. Bending over, Merriya patted him on the side of his neck. "What do you see Goliath?" she whispered
Sitting back up in the saddle, Merriya strapped her shield onto her arm, glancing about all the while. That done, she drew her sword, and urged Goliath into a slow trot. Besides the clatter of Goliath's hooves and the rattle of her mail, Merriya found the rest of the forest to be strangely silent. Everything was still, even the insects had fallen quiet. Merriya's nervousness mounted, and she whispered a prayer to protect her against the oncoming darkness.
It was almost with relief that she heard movement in the brush behind her. Turning in the saddle, Merriya saw that three dark, man-sized shapes had loped out onto the road behind her. A tug on Goliath's reins brought the warhorse to a halt, and for a few long moments woman and Spawn stared at each other.
The Spawn, Merriya noted, were a most ugly race. Gray skinned, with thick, misshapen limbs, and heavy jaws, the creatures bore little resemblance to humans. Their ears were large, and came to a point, like the farie, while the eyes seemed to shimmer in the dim light. The trio facing her were armed with long-hafted axes and a great hooked bill, while their bodies were armored with crude coats of plates.
The tense moment ended in a sudden screeching yell as the Spawn charged. Merriya spurred Goliath forward in return, and brought her sword arm down in an arc over her face, intending to lower her helm's visor. Encountering empty air, Merriya cursed, remembering that she had removed the visor to improve visibility and it still rested in its cloth bag. Bringing her shield about, she then raised her sword, driving her warhorse towards the bill armed Spawn, hoping to cut him down before he could use the weapon to drag her from the saddle.
It was with a terrific crash, followed by a horrific snapping of limbs, that Merriya brought Goliath into contact with the three Spawn. One of the axemen went down under Goliath's hooves, while the other's wild blow scraped harmlessly off of her shield. In turn Merriya brought her sword down in a swift arc to shatter the billman's shoulder. Quickly bringing Goliath around, Merriya grinned, one Spawn was down, ridden into the dirt, while another writhed in agony amid the weeds, his useless arm flopping at his side. The final figure stood his ground for only a moment, and then turned and ran down the road, bellowing in fear.
With a cry of victory Merriya spurred Goliath forward. The horse responded instantly, and closed the gap between Merriya and the fleeing Spawn with a thundering of hooves. Leaning over slightly, Merriya raised her arm again, intending to lay open her intended target's back as she rode by. It was at the last moment before impact that the running figure leaped aside, and as Merriya sat back up in the saddle and tried turn bring Goliath about, the surrounding underbrush exploded into a mass of attacking figures.
Hewing desperately to each side, Merriya chopped and slashed at the reaching arms and thrusting spear points. She felt something catch and dig into her shield while another stab grated along her breastplate. Goliath screamed in fury and kicked, and the figures around Merriya yelled and howled in anger and agony.
It was with a sick sensation that Merriya felt Goliath suddenly stagger beneath her, just as a questing hand had succeeded in grasping her belt. With a terrified shriek, Merriya felt herself yanked off of her horse, as Goliath plunged forward into the tangled mass before him, his 2000 pounds crushing those unfortunate to be beneath him as the destrier crashed to the ground.
With a clatter of harness, Merriya impacted on the ground, her fall broken by the same Spawn that had dragged her from the saddle. The creature gasped and moaned beneath her. Merriya weighed well over 180 pounds in full armor, and she seemed to have landed directly upon her attacker's chest. Thrashing free of his grasp, Merriya drove the edge of her shield into his throat, cutting of his cries with a spray of blood and spittle. Reaching back, she grasped her sword, and then almost threw herself to her feet, glancing wildly about to see who still lived
There were at least three who stood about Goliath's still twitching body, in the dimness, Merriya couldn't make out their exact numbers. Stepping back a pace, Merriya tried to make more room between herself and her foes. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself, to avoid panicking and remember the lessons she had been taught. Glancing at the slowly advancing figures and the weapons they carried, Merriya reminded herself that this was no tournament fought with wooden swords and maces, this was real, and the price of failure would be her life... or worse.
Backpedaling quickly, Merriya tried to keep all three of the Spawn in view. They were coming at her in a broad arc, weapons held ready, muttering among themselves as they approached. Pausing, Merriya drew a another deep breath and forced herself to become calm. Standing still for a moment, she then assumed her standard fighting stance, knees bent, foreward foot pointing at her target, shoulder back and her sword held behind her head. Ready and waiting, she prepared to meet the Spawn's rush
The three broke into a quick trot while still some paces away. Merriya responded by stepping to the right as they approached, and at the last minute rushed the end most foe. Swinging her sword in short, powerful arcs, Merriya hacked at the Spawn's thigh, chest and arm. She felt the blade bite into unarmored thigh, rebound off the axe shaft, and slash the arm. The Spawn stumbled away, and she turned to meet the other two.
The first blow was blocked with a shifting of her hips and a turn of the shield. Another skipped over the top of the shield and glanced off her helm's sloping sides. Her own blows failed to find her mark as well, one cut only weapon handle, another failed to penetrate the thick plates of their armor.
Taking advantage of a momentary opening, Merriya leapt forward, punching away the Spawn's glaive with her shield, while thrusting forward with her sword. The point grated for a moment along metal plates, and then sunk deep into the leather backing. Leaning forward and pushing with all her might, Merriya felt the sword sink deep. The Spawn coughed a great gout of blood and twisted to the ground, dragging Merriya's sword, and thus Merriya with it. Pulled off balance, Merriya tried to bring her shield around in time as the last Spawn swung his weapon, a great club set with scattered spikes. A horrific crunch marked its impact, and Merriya felt a great pain in her side as the spines penetrated her hauberk. Crying out in agony, she stumbled forward, letting go of her sword, and tried to pull herself free of the Spawn's weapon.
A desperate wrench of the body and a sick grating sound marked Merriya's disentanglement from the club's long spikes. Merriya stumbled backwards, and the Spawn, who had been trying to bear Merriya to the ground, did like wise. Gasping for breath, and spitting blood from a freshly split lip, Merriya threw herself to her feet, running for the still corpse of Goliath. With a growl of perceived victory, the Spawn followed.
Reaching the warhorse's still form, Merriya wrenched at the hilt of her hand-and-a-half sword, drawing the four and a half foot weapon just as the Spawn swung his club again. A sharp clang marked the impact, and both Merriya and Spawn fell back. Freeing her arm from the its confining straps, Merriya threw her now useless shield away from her. Split and dented from several deflected blows, it protective use had begun to be in doubt anyway.
Grasping her sword's hilt in both hands, Merriya raised the long bladed weapon above her head, waiting for the Spawn to make its move. Despite the blood and pain, Merriya managed a smile, there was now only one of them, and wounded as she was, she knew that no Spawn would outfight her while she was armed with her weapon of choice.
For several moments the clearing was still. Merriya and the last Spawn circled each other slowly, the Spawn's experimental jabs deflected with a simple twitch of the sword tip. Eyes locked upon the Spawn's weapon, Merriya slowly circled to one side, waiting for the Spawn to commit himself. Stepping over the body of the Spawn she had sunk her first sword into, Merriya was surprised when the corpse came alive, wrapping powerful arms about her leg.
Seeing that his companion had trapped Merriya's leg, the other Spawn charged, bring his spiked club down in an arc designed to crush Merryia's skull, helmet or no. In desperation, Merriya threw herself forward, to land upon her knees, sword held straight out in front of her. With a meaty thunk the Spawn impaled himself upon the weapon tip, a full foot of blade punching out of his back from the force of the impact.
Dropping the now entangled weapon, Merriya twisted and leaned upon her other sword, still stuck amid the Spawn's coat of plates. Throwing her weight against the weapon, Merriya rocked the blade back and forth, trying to drive it as deep as possible. The Spawn thrashed for a moment, before letting go of her leg and sinking back, vomiting forth a runny mass of blood as he did.
Staggering to her feet, Merriya glanced about numbly. She was surrounded by the bodies of at least half a dozen Spawn, probably more. Most were dead, although one or two still made limp movements. Dragging her sword free with a wrench, Merriya tottered over to where Goliath lay. Dropping to her knees, she ran one trembling hand along his flank. He was dead, gutted by a Spawn billhook. Merriya took grim satisfaction in the fact that he seemed to have accounted for three of the Spawn himself. Raising her sword's cross hilt to her lips, Merriya managed a short prayer before collapsing over the body of Goliath, tears streaming down her cheeks as she mourned her loss.
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