Undiscovered Origins

Undiscovered Origins - Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

The creatures stormed at them in frenzy, almost seemingly tripping over their own feet. Jade made a count and she wasn’t far off of her first estimate. She knew less than ten and there stood eight running towards them. The carriage driver stood behind Drake and continued backing up until he was behind Jade as well. What good that would do was beyond her. It wasn’t like she had any abilities to defend such an old man. However, he did have the bow and needed to be the furthest away for his range.

After reaching her back side he strung an arrow and released it making it their party’s first form of offense. Drake glanced back at the old man surprisingly. The arrow hit true into the chest of one, penetrating the armor, yet the creature still ran forward unaffected. It brought a chill down Jade as she realized how persistent and strong these creatures were. She watched as another arrow swooshed through the air and embedded next to its counterpart, now causing the creature to slow down.

“Nice shot.” She whispered.

The old man nodded his approval before stringing another arrow. She felt guilty that she didn’t even know the man’s name. They had never spoke and she wasn’t sure she was allowed to speak to him. It did not matter to her anymore, she would speak to whomever she wished.

The creatures closed in on them and she clutched the branch so tightly that she frowned at her strength. Silently she wished she was holding a sword instead of a branch in her hand. It wasn’t like a sword would do her any better though, as she had never wielded one before. It just seemed more threatening than a fallen tree branch.

In front of her she saw Drake raise his sword up to block an incoming strike on his left, followed by one on his right. He parried with excellent skill against two of them. One fell to the ground with a fourth arrow sticking from its chest, making only seven remaining. Three rushed at her while the other two fought against arrows bouncing off their armor, and some penetrating making them weaker.

They all held axes that were sharp on both sides. The three closed in on her now and she gulped in fear. She held concentration as if she were in the middle of an arena dancing her heart away with a hula hoop at her waist. She knew that this was nothing similar, but it was the best image she could think of with the given circumstances. Her imagination told her that she should be at peace to better concentrate against strikes, or perhaps it was the trees. She swore she could hear them whispering again.

She raised the branch in the air and was astonished to see that it looked like a sword now. It was the same image she wished she had in her head which resembled a scimitar. Its blade was curved with designs on the actual blade of solid oak at the back of it. Even though it was made of wood it looked sharp and deadly. The hilt was plain, bowing out to a T and the very end was curved on a side to prevent it from slipping from her grasp. She noticed a wooden scabbard at her side for the blade to slip in and shook her head in disbelief.

The first axe fell down above her head and she raised her scimitar in fear of defense and surprisingly it deflected the axe easily. Another one came down and she blocked it as well almost effortlessly. The third creature looked bewildered as it tried to slash her as well. She dove between its legs and shoved the wooden scimitar up and through its back that caused a large grunt of surprise, before the creature collapsed to the ground lifeless.

The two looked shocked as they stared at her pausing for only a moment before they decided to try and overtake her. She noticed Drake still frantically battling the two and he seemed to be far from gaining an edge. Surprisingly she felt at peace as her light wooden sword danced in the air in defensive strikes. Although she had never used a sword before, it seemed to come natural to her. It was as if the blade was guiding her and not her guiding it.