• The Fall of Evil Trilogy
    Book 2
    The Hunt
    Chapter 1

    It had been six months since we have driven Carnak out of his land. We searched for him ever since. If we had found him before he could reach his other castle at Miinor Zen., we would have probably ended his life. I broke his staff, which supplies his power, during our duel. If I hadn’t, he would have teleported to Miinor Zen instantly. We were trying to ally ourselves with other nations, but we had been unsuccessful at that time. On a Sunday night, I received an order from King Thard that I was to travel to Fenvnu to meet with the leader of the wizards, Sadalf. Sadalf was a more powerful wizard than Carnak himself, but there were also some other beings who might have forged an alliance with Carnak such as Borak, the leader of the trolls, and Phaleen, leader of the evil men. Borak was very ruthless and would do anything for a good fight. He packed a huge punch but had poor vision and armor. His one weakness was archers, and lots of them. His being a troll made him naturally resistant to any weapon, but he wore almost no armor, so if you shoot him full of arrows, he’d eventually fall. He had harnessed dark magic just like Carnak but his magic was not very powerful since he was a troll. He could summon soldiers to where he was to help him in times of great need. Also, if he didn’t kill you when he first hit you, which was very unusual, his weapon had temporary poison in it, which would continually harm you until it wore off. In addition to that, he had a special strike that would cripple your legs so you had to stand still. You could still fight, but if he had any archers he could pick you off. Also, if he found a wild troll, warg, barrow-wight, goblin, fire drake, or giant spider, he could use his mind to convince them to join him. When he got angry, he was harder to kill, hit harder, and hit faster. Phaleen had lots of armor but it was bulky so he couldn’t really do much damage or go very fast. I think it is very surprising how many villains had harnessed magic. Of course, that would explain how an imbecile like Phaleen ever got to be leader of anything. He was equally skilled with bow and sword and could use a grappling hook that he kept with him at all times. If he was within fifty feet of gold, he could make it zoom into his outstretched hand. He could also get inside your mind, and force you to fight with his soldiers. The last thing that made him more than a common foot soldier with more armor and strength is he loaded one of his daggers with poison that caused parts of skin in different areas to melt away and it will be as if you were cut in several different places in quick succession. The hunt for Carnak had to continue if we were to destroy other evil beings like Borak and Phaleen before they allied with Carnak.

    Chapter 2
    I arrived at Fenvnu to find Sadalf already waiting for me. We discussed the situation Carnak had pressed on us and Sadalf said he would join the war along with his fellow wizards. He also said that his spies reported two days ago that Carnak was holed up in the pass of Thriing. Which means, that by our meeting he was probably about three weeks away from Miinor Zen. If we didn’t find him by the time he got there, he could have unleashed the power of the trolls and gotten another magical staff. We did not want this to happen. We also did not want Carnak to ally with Borak and Phaleen, so Sadalf suggested that Darimir, Forlindil, and I break off from the main search party and search for Carnak, Borak, and Phaleen, the three main threats to peace. He suggested that Forlindil go after Borak, because Forlindil could dance circles around Borak, who was slow, while slicing him in multiple areas. He would eventually fall, according to Sadalf. He also suggested that Darimir go after Phaleen, because Darimir was one of the few beings that could defeat Phaleen in swordplay. He told me that I would go to find Carnak, with his aid. His battle plan was that while I fight him and keep him busy, Sadalf would cast the charm of quickness on me, and then cast the charm of slowness upon Carnak. This would make me attack and defend twice as fast and make Carnak attack and defend twice as slowly. He said that after that, I should just defend while he cast the weaker lightning charm on Carnak. That would make fall on the ground, unconscious, so he could answer our questions once we got back to camp. After that, I was to protect him from the blows of the troops that were bound to be with him while he cast the greater chain lightning charm, which would make fifty beings slump to the ground, dead. The night after our meeting, I felt an unusual sensation pulsating throughout my entire body. I thought someone as wise as Sadalf could tell me why. After he examined my hand, he said that when I broke Carnak’s staff, some magic was infused in me. He said it lay dormant, until I met him. His magic caused mine to awaken, and I now had some magical powers. I asked him if it was dark magic, and if I would turn to evil because of it, and he said that since I was not evil before, the magic turned into light magic, like his. Sadalf said that as a result of that, my skin toughened, and it would take a hard blow to pierce it. He asked me who the first two people I met after I had broken the staff were. “Darimir, the leader of the men, and Forlindil, leader of the elves.” I replied. “Then some of the magic was transferred to them as well. Darimir will be able to summon a horse to his side whenever he wants, and Forlindil will be able to handle twin blades and his bow with equal skill.” Sadalf said. “Will we gain any more magical skills?” I inquired. “Yes” Sadalf replied. “But I do not know what they will be. I am most interested in your new magic. I will be watching you.” “Take this.” He handed me what looked like a crystal ball the size of an orange. “Then we will be able to communicate with each other over long distances instantly.”

    Chapter 3
    The next night, I left Fenvnu and told Darimir and Forlindil what they were to do. They set off at once. Before Sadalf and I set off to find Carnak, he said I needed some training. I asked him how we were going to do this, when I was the most experienced axmen in our search party. Without answering, Sadalf held out his staff and began to mutter. Point five seconds later, what appeared to be a blue orc swordsman came out of the staff and leapt at me. I instinctively sidestepped the blow and beheaded it. It shimmered, and disappeared. I shouted at Sadalf,”Are you out of your mind? That….thing could have killed me!” “No” Sadalf calmly replied. “It is not real. While you have to strike a fatal blow to kill it, it will not harm you.” “Okay,” I said cautiously. “Send out some more.” Sadalf grinned and sent out three more orc swordsmen. They rushed at me in unison, and I used one of the orc’s shoulders as a springboard and sent an axe blow at his head as I sailed by. He disappeared and I whirled around, grinning immensely. I executed an uppercut to the chin to eliminate the second one, and I dispatched the last by bringing my axe down on his foot, then whirling around, kicking his temple. “Where are the rest?” I inquired. “On their way” Sadalf answered. Out from Sadalf’s staff came a dozen orcs, surrounding me. I spun around, axe held out straight, and half their number fell. As I rounded on the last six, they all leapt up in the air, and tried to bring their long, curved swords down on my head. I quickly dived under ones legs, and cut the rest down from behind. Sadalf summoned another dozen, this time with shields. I immediately chopped ones legs off, then used another’s shield to jump off, and, sailing backwards through the air, slice two of his companion’s heads off. Sadalf suddenly summoned an orc sword commander, as I dispatched five more of his companions with fancy maneuvers. As I annihilated the rest of the original orcs, the commander barely nicked my leg. This made me angry, and I suddenly began to glow orange, I attacked the commander with more speed and power than I have ever used before. Sadalf gasped, and then said, “This is another of your powers. It seems that the more battle experience you have, the more powers you get. Normally, among magic users, we call that particular power Battle Rage. I am tired of summoning, let us prepare for our departure while I ponder this unusual event. The next day, we set off on a course for what Sadalf said would be the smartest way to get from Sven to Miinor Zen. Two days after we set off, a lone rider came from the direction of our base. We halted, and he hastily rode towards us. “Darimir has slain Phaleen” he told us. “He also found out that Carnak has already reached Miinor Zen.

    To be continued