Heroes of Layrucia

CHAPTER NINE: FROZENE

If anyone were to ask me where a good vacation spot in Layrucia was, I would say "Anywhere - just not Santilon."

Santilon Village was built on a hard crater; there was hardly a bush or a tree, and it sat cradled in the arms of Mount Perilous. The giant volcano had been inactive for a hundred years; still though, on cold days you could feel a steady heat coming from the ground, and on hot days it would be hotter still. But even with the quirky location, there was still a good sized, thriving village.

When I was about three miles away, I could feel the change in the air. It was becoming thicker with smoke. About thirty minutes later,I was at the edge of the forest and about fifty paces away from the Bridge of the Brave, which crossed the mighty Omicron River. But there were two things that were wrong. First, there was no water in the River. And second, there was a troll horde on the bridge - with two captives. One said and did nothing. The other struggled against his bonds and cried out,

"You creepy, dark looking freaks better turn us loose or you will suffer the consequences!"

It was a young boy's voice; I was sure his companion was a child too. I strung the Bow of Ice and pressed my back against a boulder.

"My father knows the princess herself!" the boy continued. "And she will soon be the queen! And she'll send an army to come and save us, then we'll -"

I whirled around and released the arrow. I came out of my hiding place and shot another. The monsters looked around in surprise, but when they spotted me, they instantly began to come after me with swords and clubs. I slammed the closest one in the stomach with ice. A blade flung past my face and landed into a tree stump with a dull thunk. I noticed that one had throwing knives and weren't using them sparingly. I strung the Bow and shot again. Then I froze the ground, making some slip and fall. Realizing that coming toward me wasn't the answer, some instantly just turned back to the captives. I quickly reached into my quiver for another arrow; but there wasn't one.

"Aaaaack!" the trolls screamed and shot at me.

More knives flew through the air as I ran back behind the boulder and tried to think. More screaming from the monsters and shouted insults and commands from the young boy came to my ears and sent my mind reeling.

I should have brought a sword, I thought to myself as I realized I only had a small dagger with me and about a hundred enemies behind me. I snatched up some knives from the floor and put them on my belt.

"I can do this, I can do this," I said to myself as I began climbing a boulder that was now quite surrounded with trolls, who had decided to come back for another round. I stood up on my now high ground and stamped my foot. Ice shot down the rock and lined the ground in thick slabs. Some ran in terror; some climbed up after me, undeterred. I threw the handful of knives in my hands, taking care of some. I then took the Bow and clobbered a couple more. Some began to shoot again. I instinctively created barriers of ice from the ground up, also sending another blast to the ground. Arrows stuck themselves into the walls around me.

Catching my breath, I turned to look at the captives again. The enemies began to advance toward them. I gripped the Bow as I realized they had lost all interest getting me and were now going to take care of the people on the Bridge. I felt something wet on my forehead. I reached up and touched it, winced, then pulled away when I discovered blood.

I dropped the ice wall and yelled, "Hey !" at the top of my lungs.

Every eye turned to me, the captives' eyes wide, the trolls' weapons loaded and ready. I put my left hand toward the bowstring. In a flurry of ice and snow, an arrow formed, four times the size of a normal one. The arrow tore into the air.As it flew, the ice shot to each of the creatures, freezing them into solid blocks. I took a deep breath, then jumped off the boulder. I walked across the Bridge toward the people. The monsters glared at me through their icy prisons; a bit creepy. I took out my dagger and began to cut the bods of the young boy and, as I found, a little girl, maybe six. The boy was glaring at me now.