Reaver - Chapter 4. Vulture.
#1 of Reaver (Old)
Chapter 4.
Vulture.
Carrion bird I spy you dancing up on high,
Propelled on midnight wings of death,
I know you merely wait for me to die,
So that you may feast on my cold hard flesh'
Old soldiers rhyme.
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It was difficult to make out what the ebb of the assault looked like. There was so much noise and violence taking place around him that simply overloaded his senses with pure lust for battle. He could see only what was immediately visible, the black smoke still pouring over the Lionite trader and enveloping everyone onboard both vessels.
The three ballista operators had put up a good fight. And despite having had to kill them with his bare paws and a short knife he had somehow come out on top. Even so, he had still received many powerful blows which now caused his head to spin and his body to ache in many places. Running his dry tongue around his teeth it wasn't at all surprising to find three of them missing, the metallic tint of his own blood spurring on his building hatred of the enemy.
Thankfully, after killing the lions, he now had a weapon. Of sorts.
Another Lionite warrior stepped through the black smog and flexed his muscles in anticipation. This one was bigger and stronger than the other three he had dispatched and looked a considerable amount more capable of besting him. Even though lions, pound for pound, could not generate the muscular strength to best a male tiger they were still undeniably the second most powerful creature in the old world and relished personal combat.
They had an uncanny ability to work together as a unit and envelop larger foes with teamwork.
A creak of the deck boards behind him indicated that this was a demonstration of just such a tactic.
He ducked quickly enough to dodge the arrow shaft that sailed over his head but even before he regained his stance the large lion had begun running towards him, intent on cleaving him in two.
Magnus used the long spear from the ballista as a makeshift halberd. Spinning it around and forcing the lion to remain at a safe distance while he frantically tried to locate the archer behind him.
Another twang resounded and this time he wasn't as lucky. The arrow screamed towards him and glanced off his left calf muscle, tearing through the thick fir and muscles with ease. It skidded to a halt on the deck just feet away, covered in his own blood.
Magnus roared with frustration and fell to one knee, desperately holding the spear out and keeping the big lion away from delivering a killing blow. He managed to pull himself back to his feet unsteadily and got ready to receive the inevitable incoming charge.
The lion didn't disappoint him.
Shouting with elation the large creature batted aside the spear with his sword and began to bring the weapon down in a cleaving arc that would end his opponent's life.
To Magnus, the next few heartbeats were slow and confusing.
All raiders knew that eventually they would perish by non natural means. Many of his old friends had lost their lives to the ocean or to the blades of their foes and through all his life he knew he would be no different.
Magnus watched as the gleaming weapon, reflecting what little light was penetrating the thick smoke cloud, descended beautifully towards his neck line perfectly placed to catch him below his helmet and take his head. The sword rippled slightly in the air as it came closer and closer.
Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a blurry figure in the smoke, a female. The battle and his heightened senses first tricked him into thinking she was another lion warrior overlooking his demise but the slenderness of her form put aside that realisation in an instant. He watched with fascination as she lifted up a bow and drew back her arrow impossibly slowly, aiming right at him.
It was her, his victim, the banshee from the mill. Suddenly he felt perfectly calm. The tigress deserved to kill him after what he had taken from her by force and it was better to die by her hand than the lions. He smiled a bloody smile and gritted his remaining teeth for the inevitable shuddering impact.
The arrow screeched past him cutting his neck deeply as it did so. The missile then buried itself with a wet thud in his attacker's stomach.
The Lionite cried out with shock at this unexpected assault and staggered back many paces. His right paw still gripped his sword tightly but his left uselessly caressed the fletched stump sticking out of his abdomen. He growled with instant agony but rallied himself against the pain. Ignoring the death bringing arrow he ran flat out, sword raised high, directly at Magnus's prone form.
The tigress beat him to it. Quickly lifting up a large shield she deflected the sword blow to one side and pushed the lion back away from the stricken captain. Standing over him, legs spread wide she then smashed the second thundering attack wide as well. The impact jarred her arm and she hissed in pain.
Magnus looked up at her with awe. His protector was using his own shield to protect him though he had no idea why. Seizing the initiative and ignoring the scything pain in his neck he gripped the spear on the floor next to him and thrust it under the shield towards the lion that was frantically losing its life extending adrenaline. The point rammed into its chest and knocked the lion from its feet to the decking.
Giving the aggressor no chance to respond, the tigress gripped the spear in both paws and twisted it deeply inside of him, finally ending the struggle.
"Get up you fool!" she creamed at Magnus who was still prone on the floor.
He tried to obey her but his legs simply slipped from under him and even with all his might he could not move. "It's no good; I'm out of the fight. Get away from here and find safety woman!" he growled still clutching his pulsing neck. Blood was flowing freely from the wound and staining his white fir crimson.
For a moment it looked like she might just listen to him. Then she shook her head and simply picked up the dead lions sword in one paw. She tested its weight by swinging it unsteadily once or twice in an arc. "How do you use this?" she asked him quickly.
Despite his agony Magnus rolled his eyes and grunted. "Stick the sharp end in anyone who comes close. Don't try and slash at them."
His saviour nodded slowly and stepped over his prone form once more. The shield was impossibly large for her and the sword simply too unwieldy to be used properly. Still she held her ground resolutely, daring anyone to come too close and test her.
Someone did and she instantly thrust at him, screaming in a combination of anger and fear.
Gotra knocked the blow aside easily and pushed the woman to the floor. His eyes looked down at Magnus and then up at the tigress as he summed up the situation. "You better stop trying to run me though you crazy bitch or one day I will return the favour" he growled at her.
The tigress scrambled back to her feet and reclaimed the nearby sword.
Gotra knelt down next to Magnus and pulled his captains paw away from his wounded neck revealing a deep cut from which blood was pumping in a steady stream. "That's serious" he stated flatly. "Can you stand up?"
Magnus shook his head and gripped his friends shoulder. "How are we doing?" he asked.
Gotra smiled deeply and put a heavy paw on his captain's arm. "We have taken the ship, though at a cost, we are just hunting down the last resistance now"
"Good job old friend"
Just as he finished saying his words, Jorgung and Hetrun both appeared out of the smoke manhandling a large lion who was furiously trying to escape them. They dragged him over to where Gotra and Magnus both sat, simply ignoring the tigress who stood completely still nearby.
"The last one captain" Jorgung reported.
Magnus noticed that the crew leader was bleeding heavily from a wound to the head and that one of his eyes had been covered by a torn piece of rag. "Gotra" he whispered in pain. "If you would be so kind".
The lieutenant nodded and stood up to his full height, taking out his short sword with a quick draw. It was normally the captain's duty to kill the last survivor but in the current climate the duty cascaded down to him.
The lion knew then that he was doomed and stopped struggling. He looked Magnus straight in the eyes and smiled cockily. "You wont get out of here alive pirate, we have five other vessels trailing us and they will be on you before you can even lift your sails. You have made a grave mistake in picking a fight you cannot win". He then bared his neck to offer an easy strike to Gotra.
The lieutenant looked fazed for the briefest of moments then thrust the blade deep into the lion's throat, down into his chest cavity. The captive simply bucked for a moment and then fell limp in the crew leaders paws. Gotra withdrew his blade and watched as Hetrun and Jorgung dragged the corpse to the side of the lion vessel and pitched it over into the sea.
"Gotra" Magnus rasped painfully. "You know what to do, get the Nihus back to Azerbard at full speed. "I don't think I will be around for much longer to help you"
"Nonsense, you will be fine" the lieutenant replied softly whilst sheathing his short sword. His eyes however told a different story.
Magnus could feel his vision begin to cloud over slowly, his hearing all but disappearing. Gotra still spoke but it was like listening to him on the wind and his words simply made no sense.
Before he completely blanked out and fell into the darkness he felt a brush of fur next to his ear, hot breath panting a word. Again it seemed to be uttered a mile away from his ear but he reckoned that he had heard correctly.
The smooth wooden decking rushed to meet his face but he felt no pain. Instead the name the tigress had whispered to him repeated itself again and again in his mind even as his eyesight failed him.
Alexia'.