Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 65: Risk and Reward

The dwarfess pulled her axe out of the doppelganger's back, winking at Terran. With a mighty swing, the dwarfess planted her axe in the back of the other doppelganger who had her lover pinned.

With only one of the doppelgangers remaining, Terran pushed back against the blade with ease. The creature lost its balance, Terran swung his blade through its shadowy neck.

He panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. He nodded to Eliita.

There was no time to rest, however.

"We have a spider!" Rienna shouted.

Terran spun around. A doppelganger was climbing up the smooth surface of the iron fortress faster than Terran could blink.

Arrows sang vertically through the air, but the creature contorted in odd fashions; jerking its body left and right, avoiding the arrows.

It skittered over the top of the battlements, causing screams and an uproar from the recruits. The captain on top of the battlements gained control of the situation by shouting commands even as three of the archers were sliced across the stomach when the doppelganger did a spin with its blade.

Realizing there was nothing he could do to help the recruits up on the battlements, Terran turned his attention back to the battle around him. Pollyanna was dueling a dozen of the doppelgangers by herself, and she wasn't breaking a sweat.

She was inhumanly fast in her movements as well as inhumanly strong. It was as if she could predict the movement of every doppelganger before it happened.

Seeing that the old woman needed no help, Terran and Eliita joined two recruits who were getting overwhelmed by six doppelgangers. After dispatching the doppelgangers and saving their lives, Terran surveyed the battlefield.

There were still at least fifty doppelgangers on the battlefield. Terran didn't panic and refused to feel overwhelmed; he was trained too well and was far too used to the fray.

Terran saw three more 'spiders' as Rienna called them dashing toward the fortress.

A flurry of arrows attempted to stop them, but the creatures were too fast.

Terran aimed his blade, intending to launch it at one of the spiders, but Pollyanna beat him to it.

Using her greater speed, the old woman threw herself in the way of the fortress with a battle cry that resounded throughout the battlefield. She sliced the creature's head off with such a fast, fluid movement that Terran could barely detect it.

When she was concentrated, the woman was unstoppable. Watery arrows pierced the headless creature's fiery heart, putting it down for good.

At the end of their shift, ten recruits had died, and one-hundred doppelgangers had died.

__

Around dinner time, Terran was glad to see that the waif, Them, had survived. He had received a small cut across his forearm that was wrapped in a bandage, but was otherwise unharmed. Terran took his place next to the waif, and Eliita took her place next to her lover.

"I see you got your first battle scar." Terran said to Them.

Them snorted. "Please, I've gotten plenty of scars before. Some from angry women, others from angry muggers!"

Terran rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to chuckle. He felt like he had earned a chuckle, a good dinner, and the company of friends. He enjoyed this simple moment of pleasure, despite niggling thoughts that had been creeping up on him all day.

Terran wasn't one to dwell, but something about his interaction with Eory earlier made him fixate on previous memories with his brother, Francis.

They were a lot alike, and Terran felt a need to defend and protect the fairy the same way he did Francis.