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A Soldiers Life - 233 - What is Honor?
🕑 Added 2024-07-22 04:11:29 +0000 UTCChapter 233: What Is Honor?
The Pathfinders didn’t come immediately, and I assumed the others had taken longer to climb up from the beach. That or they were not coming at all. I retreated to a defensible Y tree formation and pulled out my bow and quiver. The paralytic arrows were probably best for the encounter, but I only had three remaining.
Every moment allowed me to recover more aether for air shields and earth speak, but I was not going to be able to get enough aether stored to kill another with my dimensional space. The aether channeling ring doubled my aether recovery speed, and I was glad for it.
I was thankful to have eliminated four of the Pathfinders, but without the element of surprise my odds were still not looking good. I hadn’t had time to figure it out, but I pulled out Selene’s amulet. She had deflected my arrow with an aether shield, so I assumed this was an aether shield amulet.
Using it in the middle of a fight was probably not smart, as I was not sure how it worked. Hopefully, I just charged it with aether and put it around my neck. The second negative was that the blue flash would highlight my location to everyone within two hundred yards if it activated. I pulled it around my neck and channeled aether into it. It was a greedy artifact taking more aether than I wanted to give it at the moment.
An owl call cut the air, and my focus snapped to the direction. That was not an owl I was familiar with. Konstantin and Hearne had a competition of bird calls and the three owls they mimicked sounded nothing like the cadence and tone of this one. My goggles didn’t see anything, and that uneasy feeling began to spread through me. Some sixth sense that told of impending danger.
A second bird call from my left told me it was Pathfinders. That was a swallow, but they were only active during the day. Not wanting to waste aether but having no choice, I sent out a pulse of earth speak. There was a Pathfinder not thirty feet from me. He was either invisible or had camouflage that fooled the goggles. I was fortunate my earth speak was not fooled, but it also meant the other Pathfinders were similarly stealthed.
Gritting my teeth as my aether played dangerously low, I pulsed twice more as the Pathfinder approached. Just as he was within ten feet, I cursed as another Pathfinder entered the range of the earth speak on the other side of me. I choose the spear as my weapon, leaving the black blade and bow leaning against the tree. Trusting earth speak, I performed an upward slash as I left cover. I met a modicum of resistance, but it only slowed the spear and did not stop it.
The orc was split open from groin to neck. His cleanly parted black leathers opened to release a flood of his intestines. I flicked the spear tip through the vocal cords to keep him relatively silent. The twang of multiple bows echoed in the night, and my aether shield flashed as I dove for cover. The amulet had just saved me from a painful lesson. Two Pathfinders were in bow range on the same side.
If my count was correct, there were four orcs remaining. I could only see one taking cover thirty feet away. I couldn’t remain still and rushed towards my only visible target, spear in one hand and the black blade in my other.
Seeing my approach, the orc stood and drew back his bow, perhaps thinking my aether shield expended. When his arrow shattered in front of me, and I used the same air shield to pivot past him, he was too slow to get his guard up. I drove the spear into his sternum, trusting it would penetrate his armor. The spear easily slid through the leather covering his chest and out his back; given the way he dropped, I guessed I'd severed his spine.
An arrow passed in front of my face loosed by the second orc bowman now visible to my right behind cover. I released my grip on the spear, I had no time to extract it as distant shouts told me the remaining two orcs were approaching.
I rushed the other Pathfinder archer and took cover behind a tree when she leveled her bow. She was screaming urgently in orcish at her companions, and I could guess what she was saying. An arrow thudded into the tree I was hiding behind, and I scanned the woods, not seeing the other orcs but knowing they were there.
I judged I had about four uses of earth speak left or one air shield. I reached into my belt and started tossing sets of three pellets in the direction of the oncoming orcs. If they were invisible or camouflaged, the disturbance of the smoke would tell me where they were.
Then I tossed the blinding pellets at the archer twenty feet away. She must have thought it was just smoke pellets and yelled for what I assumed was an urgent request for help as her vison was blurred. I darted and closed on the blinded female Pathfinder. She drew her blade and used her bow defensively. I didn’t have time to waste, so I let her parry with the bow blindly, sliding the blade into her hand.
Fingers hit the forest floor with a blood-curdling scream of pain as the orcbane blade did its work. I silenced the scream by stabbing her in the throat and taking cover. Two swirls of smoke showed me the location of the charging Pathfinders, both massive specimens of orcs. The Pathfinders groups always came from the same clan or family, so I may have just killed a daughter or wife of one of the these males.
They stopped their rush and stood as their eyes traveled over the carnage. These two had come from the direction I had been fleeing in. They must have tried to get ahead of me to ambush me. They hadn’t expected me to fight. I was shocked when their camouflage dropped. They looked at their two dead companions and would have passed at least one other as they reached me.
“Hound. Do not hide. Face me.” The large one spoke in broken Telhian. “You kill much of what I lived for tonight. Show me you are not afraid to face me with blades.”
I heard my heart beating in my ears, and my body was covered in sweat from my night’s work. They knew where I was, and both had a long blade in one hand and a short blade in the other. “There are two of you and just one of me.” I finally stated in Telhian.
The large one's face was hardened in anger, and the other Pathfinder behind also looked menacing. “I, Rakah, of Clan Sun Shadow. I swear to fight you alone.” He turned and nodded to his companion, who reluctantly took his bow off his back, laid it on the ground, and started taking steps back. “You killed two of my sons and my niece tonight, Hound. Fight me and show me the Hounds have honor.”
I stepped slowly and cautiously from behind the tree. He wasn’t affected by either of the pellets, but the other one, backing away, clearly inhaled and was fighting back, sneezing while his nose dribbled constant snot. “Eryk of House Marco.” I introduced myself. “I am not familiar with your code of honor. How does it work?” In fact, I did know a little from the books I had taken in Telha and studied in my dreamscape. The problem I was having was their code of honor did not extend to other races, only other orcs.
“If I have to explain what honor is, then you do not have any.” He stated tersely. He then shifted his stance. “My mouth speaks my anger at the pain of my loss.” He bowed his head momentarily. “Honor is gained by defeating a worthy opponent without guile, only strength and skill.”
I was confused and said, “But you are a Pathfinder and I am a Hound, is that not what we do? Use guile to kill our enemies?”
He exhaled sharply and tried again like he was explaining to a child. “I do not wish to explain further. My heart calls for vengeance; use your tricks if you must, but know you will not gain my honor if you do.” He started to close the distance on me. I think he was trying to guilt me into not using my spell forms, pellets, and whatever other tricks I had.
I sent out an earth speak to confirm there was nothing I was unaware of and didn’t see anything on his part. I slid my feet into a defensive stance, pulled my new runic dagger from Selene, and we danced. The clang of our blades echoed in the woods. We were both testing each other to start, and while he held the strength advantage, I was superior to him in all other physical aspects.
He quickly realized he was disadvantaged and broke the engagement for a moment. He yelled disheartened to his companion in Telhian. “Get to the ship. I will delay him.” The spectating orc looked confused, “Go!” the leader yelled at him. “Tell them tonight I fell to Eryk of House Marco.”
The other orc dashed away, and Rakah did his best to occupy me. He didn’t realize I wielded an orcbane blade, and although my first cut across his forearm was minor, he suddenly had trouble holding his sword. “An orc’s torment.” He said through the pain. “I didn’t know any had survived.”
I didn’t have time for dialogue as I wanted to catch up to the runner. In the next series of exchanges, I tricked him with a feint and sliced through his padded leggings deep into his thigh. Blood quickly soaked his leggings, and he was only stalling for a time now. I was waiting for him to reach for a potion to take advantage of the action, but he never did, just continued defending.
I bit back my reluctance to use aether and created an air shield, blocking his defensive swing. He was surprised as my blade was stopped and I cut deep into the side of his neck. I turned, pivoted, and cut deep into the other side, dislodging his head to make sure he didn’t survive. I guessed I had no honor.
I raced after the fleeing orc, grabbing the black spear on the way by. My bow and quiver were in the wrong direction, but I had spare bows anyway. I raced through the dark woods, trying to catch up to him. He only had a few minutes of a head start, but it was not far to the rise.
I crested the rise looking for him and could see him scrambling down the rocks towards the boats and waking the four goliaths with yells as he did so. I was assuming he was telling them to get the boats ready and I was not going to catch him or confront four goliaths. I watched from the top of the ridge as he reached the boats using gestures pointing back at me, and then the ship anchored in the bay.
I was shocked by what happened next. The goliaths started pushing one of the boats into the water, but one stopped, grabbed an oar, and slammed it into the back of the Pathfinder’s head. The Pathfinder, to his credit, stumbled a short distance but remained standing. That didn’t last long as the other three goliaths joined their companion in beating the disoriented orc. When he was obviously dead, the goliaths raced into the cave I couldn’t see from my vantage.
I watched on in fascination as they exited with bags of supplies and started climbing the bluff toward me. Had they seen me and were fleeing to me for protection or just taking the opportunity to gain their freedom? I waited for the four gray skinned men, curious of their intentions.
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Comments
Kentucky Fried Children
Probably low an aether and wants to conserve as much as possible cause of the other still living orcs
J. L. Mullins
I don't know why he isn't storing these guys as he kills them to harvest later. It would also make them confused if they can't find their comrade's bodies, adding to his advantage on the field. Fun fight, though! It's always a joy to see Eryk kick enemies' teeth in.
Erick Thiemke
think it is corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
altered
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Jack Trance
Adjusted the following sequence for narrative consistency: EXISTING: I couldn’t remain still and rushed the my only visible target, my spear in one hand and the black blade in the other. The orc stood and drew, thinking my aether shield was expended. When his arrow shattered in mid-flight, and then I used the air shield to pivot around my position, he was too slow to get his guard up. I drove the spear into his sternum, knowing it would penetrate his armor. The second bowman was also now visible to my right behind cover. The spear easily slid through the leather covering his chest and out his back, severing his spine. I had to release the spear as I didn’t have time to extract it as an arrow passed in front of my face. Distant shouts told me the last two orcs were coming. NEW: I couldn’t remain still and rushed towards my only visible target, spear in one hand and the black blade in my other. Seeing my approach, the orc stood and drew back his bow, perhaps thinking my aether shield expended. When his arrow shattered in mid-flight, and I used the same air shield to pivot past him, he was too slow to get his guard up. I drove the spear into his sternum, trusting it would penetrate his armor. The spear easily slid through the leather covering his chest and out his back, given the way he dropped, I guessed i'd severed his spine. An arrow passed in front of my face loosed by the second orc bowman now visible to my right behind cover. I released my grip on the spear, I had no time to extract it as distant shouts told me the remaining two orcs were approaching.
John Donovan
I was thankful to have the five-against-one odds, but the odds were not good now that I lacked the element of surprise. Is a mouthful I was thankful to have eliminated four of the Pathfinders, but without the element of surprise my odds were not looking good. Just a suggestion.
Robert Biederman
This whole fight here would not be a problem if his dimensional space was not always bottoming out don't you think which brings up another thing why is he always using his dimensional space to kill knowing it's going to bottom out no matter what he puts into it it's just fracking dumb there is no strategy or tactics in it
Robert Biederman
I couldn't remain still and the rushed my only visible Target in this sentence the word the shouldn't be there
Jordan
“Tell them tonight I fell to Eryk of House Marco tonight.” ‘Tonight’ only needs to be used once in this sentence
Tetsu-nii
Typo: /the my only visible target/ delete "my". Artifact from a previous draft?
Karnnie
Then I tossed the blinding pellets at the archer twenty feet away. She must have thought it was just smoke pellets and yelled for what I assumed was an urgent request for help. I darted and closed on the blinded female Pathfinder. Doesn't this create a cloud? Wouldn't he be blinding himself as well by darting in right after throwing the pellet?
Silver Beard
I have the movie in my Amazon collection- wasn't honor but freedom and in this scenario works as well.
momo2009
Sidequest save marvieth sister .on the ship. Love the battle.
Da Worst John
I love picturing the Orc after challenging him having a moment of "oh sh*t, he's actually good!"
Erick Thiemke
if you find it paste it. i am setting up the orcs to be similiar to Klingons. value strength and combat but have a code
Silver Beard
There's a fantastic clip about honor in the movie Krull but I couldn't find a link for it.
Silver Beard
His promise to Mavieth... direct them his way? A Goliath mercenary band... there's an idea.
Blorcyn
Hopefully it’s a ‘the enemy of my enemy’. Being non-violent may be enough, and he has the ‘rep’ of having killed almost all of their enslaving orc band. But… the Tellurian empire isn’t the most non-human friendly. So maybe the just see one man and go for broke…
Erick Thiemke
He could have but he dropped the honor in hopes of catching the other orc quickly.
Erick Thiemke
Yeah that was a spoiler. They are going to communicate in elvish
Erick Thiemke
I should have tracked things better but I think he is closing in on two years now, it was six month in legionnaire training as he left a few weeks early and didn’t hit the seven month normal period
Silver Beard
All that time spent with Mavieth; I don't think he learned any of their language. Still a fun chapter. I hope he won't be forced to kill the Goliaths.
Silver Beard
It'll be like that dwarf said when they questioned Relia(?)- they were stashed away like an old pair of socks! They know he exists; just not who he is...yet.
NightRider
Thank you, Awesome chapter!
Andrew
Thank you!
Caledon Smith
I think it’s close to a year to a year and a half. I would need to go back and count to be sure though.
Caledon Smith
Ah so you are leaning toward the beta rewrite. Still if the family thinks about it they will wonder how one guy kept them asleep for weeks/months and was able to transport them to somewhere safe all by himself. Potentially without anyone ever seeing him or them. Let alone that mage (and potential bodyguards if you keep original version) who would definitely wonder how a lone hound would be able to transport three sleeping bodies for so long. Assuming he doesn’t release them all together. The family might be to insignificant to mater but if they did get questioned by there new country on how they ended up there it could lead to an interesting investigation. Anyway, I’m sorry it’s most likely an insignificant detail that my mind clung onto.
Thresher
I forget how long he’s been in the world, however much of his prowess I think is because of Essences raising his stats. Remember he has that convergence spell form that makes essences many times more effective when compared to other people, so he was able to skip years and years of training and boost his stats with essences. Konstantin even pulled him aside during hound training and asked what the hell happened to him in the dungeon, because it was like he was a different person due to how much he’s grown. All because he was able to raise his stats much more quickly than normal with the use of the collector and his convergence spell form.
Caledon Smith
About the chapter, could in the clean up Eyrk defeat the orc without using a spell form? I don’t know, but the way you wrote the fight and set up made me want to see Eyrk best the fighter in an honorable duel, probably because honor seems to be a rare resource on this world.
Erick Thiemke
Only the boy is conscious in his storage. The other three are sleeping or just took oblivion pills
Korviz
It’s kind of crazy how skilled Eryk has become with a blade, being more than a match to several trained veterans from different races and just wiping the floor with them. How long has Eryk been in this world again?
1536539
This is good stuff, i want to hold off on reading the chapters so I can binge them, but I literally cannot help it.
Caledon Smith
Thank you for the chapter, random thought and an issue Eyrk will need to consider is that when he frees the people in his storage his secret of being able to store people will truly no longer be a secret. He might need to think about how this could effect him and if he’s ready for powerful people potentially knowing his capabilities. He has operated under safety through anonymity but he is barreling toward being renowned and might not be prepared for it.
Thresher
Awesome chapter. Maybe some more Goliath friends? They might know of Maveith…
Ben Walker
Another great chapter. Thanks.
Erick Thiemke
2nd of 3 for cycle. Next cycle will have 4 chapters. I have a World Sphere chapter half finished as well. I will clean up this chapter tomorrow with a read edit as well.
