{"id":3920,"date":"2016-07-26T00:01:10","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T04:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=3920"},"modified":"2016-08-04T07:53:08","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T11:53:08","slug":"return-faith-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/return-faith-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Return of Faith, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return of Faith
\n<\/strong>A Story by Michael DeAngelo
\n-Part One-<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was like the sound of a whip snapping right beside his head.\u00a0 His ears flinched, even though it wasn\u2019t the first time the crack resounded.\u00a0 Pomir looked down, past his elongated snout, and saw the second feathered shaft sticking out of his chest.\u00a0 He whimpered, tears streaming down his furry face as he fell to a knee.<\/p>\n

That was not the weeping of a person enraptured by pain, but of confusion and doubt.\u00a0 The kobold considered the emptiness he felt inside in that moment.\u00a0 What was waiting for him beyond the darkness?\u00a0 Was there anything at all?<\/p>\n

He dropped his long wooden bow at his side and grasped both bolts firmly in his padded hands.\u00a0 Pomir panted then, three subtle gasps escaping on his breaths, and wobbled forward.\u00a0 Then, without resistance, the kobold fell forward, his body landing upon the ground with a thud<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fe\u2019Pavi rounded the dense copse of trees as quickly as her lithe form would allow her.\u00a0 The kaja\u2019s eyes instantly settled on the fallen kobold.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she whined.<\/p>\n

Moisture dampened the short hairs that grew on the kaja\u2019s face as she sped toward Pomir\u2019s body.\u00a0 As she neared the edge of the forest, she dropped to all fours, skidding to a halt.\u00a0 Hesitantly, she reached out to the kobold and turned him over.<\/p>\n

The bolts had snapped, but the blood still pooled from the wounds in Pomir\u2019s chest.\u00a0 Fe\u2019Pavi moved to sit beside her friend\u2019s upper body and lifted his head, cradling it in her arms.\u00a0 She moaned, looking up at the canopy of the forest, as if something above her could rid her of the torment she felt.<\/p>\n

The others arrived not far from where she had first seen the kobold lying lifeless.\u00a0 She turned toward them; her ears pressed back, her pupils growing large as she realized her friend was dead.<\/p>\n

The human and the orc looked past the kaja, past the edge of the forest, their visions settling on the lone gnoll who armed his crossbow again.\u00a0 Fe\u2019Pavi noticed her companions\u2019 reactions and turned slowly to see what had drawn their attention.\u00a0 Even as the gnoll took aim, however, she was stunned.<\/p>\n

The human, dressed in full armor, was not.<\/p>\n

He sprang out, running straight at the kaja girl, determination etched upon his face.\u00a0 It was as if his armor was paper-thin, the man not allowing the weight of his gear to burden him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenton, don\u2019t,\u201d the orc yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to save her, Sten!\u201d Benton replied.<\/p>\n

Ste\u2019Narl growled and quickly fell in behind Benton, resting his golden axe upon his shoulder as he ran.<\/p>\n

The gnoll loosed his crossbow bolt, and it flew straight at the mesmerized kaja, her feline features causing her to look oblivious, though she knew well the fate she would soon embrace.\u00a0 The bolt would end her life, as surely as it had ended Pomir\u2019s, and she would gladly share the afterlife with him.<\/p>\n

It was not meant to be.\u00a0 A shield suddenly filled Fe\u2019Pavi\u2019s vision, catching the bolt across its broad side, resulting in a loud clang<\/em> humming in her ears.\u00a0 The strong arm of her human ally wrapped around her chest, beneath her shoulders, and pulled her up.\u00a0 She let her grip on Pomir slip, and Benton dragged her away from the corpse of the kobold.<\/p>\n

Benton held her tight against his own body as he braced himself against a tree on the outset of the forest.\u00a0 He turned to watch Ste\u2019Narl running down the opposite side of the fallen kobold, who cursed as another bolt sped by.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really are a stupid human,\u201d Ste\u2019Narl said when he finally arrived at a tree about ten feet away from Benton and Fe\u2019Pavi.<\/p>\n

Benton laughed, showing his radiant white teeth \u2013 the color his armor had been before the soils of battle.\u00a0 \u201cYou know me well, friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ste\u2019Narl shook his head, a low growl filling the quiet woods.\u00a0 He leaned against the tree that defended him from the gnoll and peered out of the forest.\u00a0 Another bolt went flying past him, and he withdrew to his previous position behind the massive oak.<\/p>\n

\u201cPomir,\u201d Fe\u2019Pavi suddenly cooed, the single word whispered, but with such massive implications, it sounded like a shout.<\/p>\n

Benton squeezed tighter, understanding what was about to happen.\u00a0 \u201cHe died in the name of Shazra, Fee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get around that archer, boy,\u201d Ste\u2019Narl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPomir!\u201d Fe\u2019Pavi yelled.<\/p>\n

The orc scoffed and looked to his side.\u00a0 \u201cBlasted gods,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benton opened his mouth to question Ste\u2019Narl, but a burning pain erupted within his hand.\u00a0 He looked down to see the kaja\u2019s sharp incisors sinking deep into his skin.\u00a0 Reflexively, he pulled his arm away, tearing flesh in two straight lines.\u00a0 Fe\u2019Pavi instantly escaped his grasp, tumbling out into the opening between the trees.\u00a0 Her eyes focused on the gnoll, and she broke into a sprint.<\/p>\n

The human, too, stepped to the side, watching as the kaja bounded out toward the gnoll, who stood almost twice as tall as she.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenton, don\u2019t!\u201d Ste\u2019Narl said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a lagano coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

If the human showed any sign of hearing the orc\u2019s warning, he didn\u2019t make it known.\u00a0 Benton was already in motion, following the kaja\u2019s movements.<\/p>\n

\u201cStupid human!\u201d Ste\u2019Narl roared.<\/p>\n

Fe\u2019Pavi moved with purpose.\u00a0 The gnoll raised his crossbow again, and she pressed forward, unafraid.\u00a0 A bolt launched out at her, but she reacted deftly, pivoting her trailing foot and turning to the side, pressing a step away from the projectile.\u00a0 She was back in her original position a moment later, before the bolt had even struck Benton\u2019s shield.<\/p>\n

After the shield swayed from his face, Benton noticed the fast-approaching figure on his right.\u00a0 The lagano was running at full speed, his long silver spear catching a glimmer of the setting sun as it bounced in the creature\u2019s scaly grip.\u00a0 Benton turned and angled toward that enemy instead, knowing he would never catch up to the dexterous kaja.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got him, boy!\u201d Ste\u2019Narl yelled.\u00a0 \u201cSave the girl!\u201d<\/p>\n

The human frowned, knowing how difficult his given task would be.\u00a0 He turned again, watching as Fe\u2019Pavi placed more and more distance between the two of them.<\/p>\n

Another bolt flew past her, that time so far off that the kaja didn\u2019t even have to move.\u00a0 But as she closed the gap to less than twenty feet, the gnoll carefully loaded and aimed his crossbow one more time.\u00a0 Fe\u2019Pavi lowered her head and kept up her sprint, even as she heard the twang<\/em> of the bolt leaving the launcher.\u00a0 She only saw the missile for a moment before she felt its agonizing sting.\u00a0 In that next instant, she tumbled over her own weight, landing upon her back among the tall grass.<\/p>\n

The gnoll moved in, a towering figure about the plains, and dropped his crossbow.\u00a0 Fe\u2019Pavi yowled in pain, gripping the shuddering shaft that had entered her thigh, but as she saw the gnoll retrieve a large halberd from behind his back, she replaced the noise with a defiant hiss.\u00a0 He stepped forward, though, and cleaved down with the polearm, a war cry upon the lips of his elongated muzzle.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Kradun!\u201d<\/p>\n

But Benton was there.\u00a0 The crescent blade scratched against the steel shield, and the human had to fight against the numbness building in his arm after taking that tremendous blow.\u00a0 He lunged forward, pressing the gnoll away from both he and Fe\u2019Pavi.<\/p>\n

Ste\u2019Narl had begun his own encounter.\u00a0 The lagano had meant to pursue the human, but the orc had made his appearance known, sending two throwing daggers out at the reptilian humanoid.\u00a0 They were both promptly deflected by the shaft of the lagano\u2019s lance.<\/p>\n

Both olive-skinned warriors focused on each other then, meeting some ten yards southeast of Benton and Fe\u2019Pavi.\u00a0 Ste\u2019Narl made the first move, launching himself forward with his oversized axe, though the lagano threw his body to the side with plenty of time, prodding forth with the tip of the silver spear.\u00a0 Ste\u2019Narl was quick on his feet, though, and dodged out of the way as well.<\/p>\n

The lagano moved with uncanny speed, setting a series of attacks upon the orc, the spear stabbing forward half a dozen times in just as many seconds.\u00a0 Ste\u2019Narl met each thrust tirelessly, deflecting the first and last attacks with his axe and all those in-between with his free left hand.\u00a0 He hopped back and spun the large golden axe in a wide vertical circle, a half-smile showing on his face.\u00a0 The lagano dipped his spear and nodded to his opponent.<\/p>\n

A chorus of steel on steel rang out as Benton showered sword strikes against the gnoll\u2019s halberd.\u00a0 Both fighters pressed farther away from the fallen kaja.\u00a0 As they moved, Benton pushed closer toward the huge gnoll, coming far too close for the creature to use the halberd effectively.\u00a0 Not content to just inconvenience his enemy, Benton threw his momentum forward, smashing the gnoll with his shield.\u00a0 The opponent stumbled backward, and the human pressed forward again, thrusting his sword deep into the creature\u2019s knee.<\/p>\n

A loud howl permeated the air, which Benton immediately silenced with a slash to the throat.\u00a0 The gnoll fell to the ground, and as his body slumped away from eye level, Benton saw in the distance the leader of the enemy army.<\/p>\n

\u201cKradun\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She was a youthful beauty, who chose not to let that attractive quality stay her ruthless aggression.\u00a0 She brought out two scimitars from her nearly seamless attire made of leather and lace.\u00a0 Though she met Benton\u2019s determined glare with a fierce gaze of her own, her eyes darted beyond him to the rest of the battlefield.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkithis,\u201d she hissed, her voice carrying farther than her voice seemed capable of.\u00a0 \u201cWherricks is dead.\u00a0 Come finish off this foul human.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of her orders, the dark maiden pointed toward the knight with one of her blades but stood stoically, her feet never moving a single step.<\/p>\n

Ste\u2019Narl had heard the words as clearly as the lagano did.\u00a0 Her commands did nothing to distract the warrior, however.\u00a0 With all the ferocity he could muster, the orc raised his axe high and dropped it just as quickly.\u00a0 The reptilian opponent did the only thing he could to parry the furious attack, pivoting his spear into his free hand and holding the weapon out perpendicularly to the falling, cleaving blade.<\/p>\n

Even in the light breeze of the autumn afternoon, the scimitar refused to budge, as if nature had no pull on it.\u00a0 Benton chose not to focus on that sharpened steel, his vision instead passing farther behind Kradun to more of her henchmen.<\/p>\n

The armored infantry looked like orcs at first, their complexion similar to that of Benton\u2019s ally.\u00a0 He knew better when he saw their sharpened, broken, twisted teeth separating into a duet of irate war cries as the goblins barreled toward him.<\/p>\n

The knight\u2019s stride never faltered.<\/p>\n

The orc\u2019s eyes nearly fell from his face when the smaller weapon did not break, did not even bend against the sheer force of his massive axe.\u00a0 That shock translated easily into an evil grin that separated the lips of the lagano.\u00a0 In only a fraction of a second, the spear turned again, inward, toward Ste\u2019Narl\u2019s abdomen.\u00a0 His weapon too hefty to bring to bear so quickly across his unguarded front, he could only swat aside with one of his hands.<\/p>\n

The move did little to sway the incoming lance.\u00a0 Ste\u2019Narl felt the stinging bite of the serrated spear as it pushed within the soft flesh just above his pelvis.\u00a0 That cruel and agonizing pain grew tenfold as the jagged edges were removed, tearing at his already lacerated body.\u00a0 With no strength left in his body, the orc relinquished his hold on the golden axe, spilling it to the ground.<\/p>\n

He joined it there several moments later, only able to watch as the lagano broke away from him, sprinting back toward his master and the incredibly outnumbered human.<\/p>\n

If Benton knew he was facing dire odds, it didn\u2019t show.\u00a0 He met the two goblins without slowing, enraged and infuriated.\u00a0 Like a man possessed, he thrust out with his sword with such forcefulness that the first of his opponents couldn\u2019t defend itself.\u00a0 With a goblin skewered on the end of his sword, he relied only on his shield.<\/p>\n

Momentum still on his side, he slammed into the remaining goblin so quickly that it fell from its feet, landing hard upon the ground.<\/p>\n

The heavy steps of the reptilian lancer rapidly approached the human\u2019s flank.\u00a0 The instantaneous thwip <\/em>that cut through the air was more pronounced, especially as it entered the lagano\u2019s scaly flesh.<\/p>\n

Fe\u2019Pavi, still grounded from her own throbbing anguish, strained to look through the tall grass behind her.\u00a0 What she saw stole her breath away.<\/p>\n

For there, at the border of the woods, was Pomir, standing as if nothing had ever happened to him.\u00a0 The kobold pulled back again on the string of his bow, looking down his snout at the end of his sight.\u00a0 He let go again in an instant, watching as the arrow soared through the air and connected once again into the back of the lizard warrior.<\/p>\n

A smile formed on Fe\u2019Pavi\u2019s face, the same confident grin that had just separated Benton\u2019s lips.\u00a0 The knight kicked the impaled goblin off of his sword and swung the weapon across and down, driving it into the other infantry.<\/p>\n

Only Kradun remained.<\/p>\n

Despite the pain, Ste\u2019Narl let a roar slip from his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cIn the name of Shazra,\u201d he cried out.<\/p>\n

Fe\u2019Pavi joined in, letting her voice enter the chorus.\u00a0 \u201cIn the name of Shazra!\u201d<\/p>\n

The kobold smiled but didn\u2019t allow the sudden swing of battle to leave him overconfident.\u00a0 The lagano was still standing, and Pomir was out of arrows.\u00a0 With the little energy that had returned to him, the warrior hound unsheathed his sword and bounded forth.<\/p>\n

Benton turned to his human foe, his brow furrowed, his eyes focused.\u00a0 As he charged forward, Kradun crossed her scimitars before her, willing to meet the enemy head on.\u00a0 The white knight leapt into the air, bringing his sword over his head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return of Faith A Story by Michael DeAngelo -Part One-     It was like the sound of a whip snapping right beside his head.\u00a0 His ears flinched, even though it wasn\u2019t the first time the crack resounded.\u00a0 Pomir looked down, past his elongated snout, and saw the second feathered shaft sticking out of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146],"tags":[1081,1152,1388,1390,1387,1389,149,1391],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Short-Story-Panel.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-11e","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3921,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3920\/revisions\/3921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}