Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 12 - Valentine's Orb Trial Part 3

It was gone!

He couldn't find it anywhere.

He searched frantically overturning the table and throwing the chair across the room. He ran around the small room, looking under the pile of dirty feathers and kicking at the hot coals scattering it. His half-eaten meal fell into the dirt and ashes. He threw his bedding onto the floor and lifted the cot. Finally he howled in frustration and ran out the hut.

Lazarus had entered the window when the warrior was engrossed with his meal. Stealthily he had crept to the table, all the while keeping an eye on the gorging man. He was stuffing his face. He had torn off a leg and was taking huge bites, chewing and staring blankly at the dying coals.

The assassin reached out and took the cursed saber from the table, careful not to make a sound. He almost dropped it. It was ice cold! He steeled himself and tightened his grip onto the biting cold. Deftly, he climbed out the window.

YESSS!!

With every step he took, he felt a darkness creeping into him. The cold weapon had become comfortable in his hand, warm and welcoming. He flipped back his hood, turning visible again and looked down to check, yeah, it was the same weapon alright. Weird.

He heard a bellow from the hut. Oh-uh. Time to go. The crazy man was done eating and had discovered his theft. Quickly, he kept the cursed saber into his Inventory freeing his hands. The weird darkness he had felt instantly disappeared.

Lazarus barely started to sprint when the warrior burst out the front door looking for the thief. He spotted the thief immediately. With a loud roar, he leapt at Lazarus and gave chase. The assassin ran to the edge, he was fast but so was the desperate mad man. He could almost feel him breathing down his neck. Why did the border seem so far?

He risked a glance backwards. The crazed man was frothing at the mouth. He threw a dagger at the fleeing assassin. Lazarus dodged and continued running. Whoa! The guy was armed. He was taking something else from his belt.

Go! Go! Go! He mentally urged himself. He was almost there. The edge of the clearing was just a few more steps away.

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground. The warrior had thrown a type of surujin. The weights at the end of the lightweight chain wrapped itself around his ankles, entangling them. He went down like a sack of potatoes, hands outstretched to break his fall. He angled his body so that his shoulder and hips got the brunt of it.

"Ouufff!!"

This was not good.

The man had stopped to throw his weapon but now he sauntered over to the fallen Hero. Lazarus was breathing heavily trying to catch his breath. The warrior took out another dagger and threw it at him. The assassin moved, rolling away to safety.

The heavier man leapt onto him, choking him with his bare hands. Lazarus grabbed his hands, trying to pry them away. The madman was strong, his panic and fear of losing his prized possession adding strength to his calloused hands.

"Give me back the saber! It's mine!"

"No! Ackkk!"

"Where is it you thief?" he shouted. "Give it back or I will kill you."

He continued strangling the assassin and did not notice when the smaller man managed to get the knife from his boot. Lazarus stabbed him desperately, hoping it would work. It did. His assailant let go and fell off him. Without the saber's awesome boosts, the NPC was vulnerable.

"Aarrghhh! You stabbed me." His eyes widened in horror. "I can feel it." He touched his injured stomach and held up a hand covered with blood. He stared at it dumb founded.

With renewed hope, Lazarus crawled painfully to the edge, flinging himself past the invisible boundaries.

Safe! Oh Gods, he was safe. He had made it.

His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. Swiftly, he untangled himself from the surujin freeing his legs.

Lazarus turned back to look at the warrior. He was still in a daze looking at the blood on his hands. The wound would hurt but was not fatal.

There was a shimmering along the edges of the clearing. The boundaries were breaking down, no longer needed. He had done it. He had taken the cursed saber from the man and freed him.

As he watched, the man changed before his eyes.

Colour returned to his dull pallid skin. Dark circles formed under his now light brown eyes. His gaunt look was gone, muscles and flesh filling out his tall frame, making him more of a man and less of a zombie. He looked up and caught Lazarus's gaze. His face took on an odd relief expression.

"Thank you stranger. You have freed me."

Gatekeeper Valentine, Thief, Level 72, Portal Orb Trial. COMPLETE.