Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [46]
The other two soldiers draw their swords but are no match for Jiron. The first one to close with Jiron thrusts at his poorly armored chest. Deflecting the thrust skillfully away from his body, Jiron strikes with his other knife and sinks several inches into the soldier’s chest, piercing his heart.
He strikes out with his knee to aid in removing the dying soldier from his knife, while at the same time twisting to avoid a slice from the man’s comrade.
The remaining soldier attacks again, this time with an overhand hack and Jiron catches and stops the falling blade between his knives. While holding the sword immobile, he kicks out and catches the man in the knee. The sound of bones snapping can be heard as his knee breaks, causing the soldier to cry out as he falls to the ground.
Not willing to take the time to finish him off, they skirt around the fallen soldier and continue into the forest. James notices that Miko has acquired a sword from one of the fallen guards, its scabbard secured around his waist.
As they follow Jiron through the trees, they can still hear the soldiers in pursuit not very far behind them.
“We’re not going to lose them,” cries out Miko.
James abruptly stops and turns toward their pursuit.
Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!
Three more explosions, spaced fifty feet apart, erupt under the leading edge of the advancing force. Men scream as their bodies are flung up into the air only to fall back, slamming into the ground with bone shattering force. Many fail to move again while others weakly call out for help. Several trees in the explosion area begin to topple, men cry out as they run to avoid them. Some are crushed by the falling trees while trying to rescue their companions who’d been injured in the explosions.
“That should slow them down some,” James says as he rejoins the others. Setting a quick pace, they race through the trees to put as much distance between themselves and the soldiers.
As they continue on, the sound of pursuit becomes more distant. Jiron continues to lead them northward, though he soon loses exactly which way north is. Not being a woodsman, he’s now using the sound coming from their pursuers to determine their course. His main goal is simply to just stay ahead of them.
Suddenly, the trees open up and the river appears before them. Without hesitation, he immediately turns to follow it upstream. “Won’t they think to follow it?” James asks him.
“Most likely,” he says, “but that mural indicated this river comes from a lake nestled in among some mountains. I think we’d be better able to lose them in the mountains than in here.”
“Good thinking,” James replies approvingly.
When the sound of pursuit all but disappears, they slow their progress, giving everyone a break from the relentless pace. They pause near the river for only a few moments to allow everyone to have a quick drink and to catch their breath before continuing on.
“Let’s go,” Jiron announces as he makes ready to resume following the river to the mountains.
Miko gets to his feet with an exhausted groan. Jiron grins at Miko but then his grin disappears when he sees James beginning to limp on his wounded leg.
Coming over to James, he says, “Leg bothering you again?”
Nodding, James replies, “Yeah, a little. All this running is putting a strain on it.”
“You going to make it?” he asks.
“I have little choice,” James says, resigned. Then he indicates Jiron should proceed as he says, “Go on, I’ll be fine.”
Worried about his leg, Jiron again moves out. Following the river enables them to maintain a consistent heading that forging through the forest hadn’t allow.
The moon appears on the horizon, giving them some light with which to make their way. Though it’s merely a lightning of the shadows after it filters its way down through the canopy of leaves above them. Miko continues to jump at every sound around him, the shadows playing tricks with his eyes, making him see enemies around every tree.
For the