Sunday Excerpt, "Crucible"

I feel like a little action today

Linvin took a sword for each hand and boldly kicked the double-doors of the jail open. He stepped through immediately after and caught the doors with his hands on the back swing. Before him there were six bewildered goblins in various positions, as though they were frozen.

A cold glare came to Linvin’s face as he took stock of his opponents and their positions. In a bold move he spoke. “I have no interest in killing you today. You have two choices. You can tell me what I want to know and leave peacefully…” The goblins drew their swords and formed a semi-circle in front of the intruder. Linvin sighed and slammed the doors closed without turning his body. His eye glazed over with the madness battle brings and he said, “You should have taken the first choice.”

First Linvin faked to his left and then attacked to his right. In the round, tight quarters he had to be sure not to be enveloped by the group. With his left sword he parried a strike from the goblin to his right. With his other hand he slashed across the opponent’s throat with just the right depth to cut the windpipe and not become stuck in the bone of the neck. Following through the motion, he spun around the falling enemy and found himself directly behind the next goblin. With a short, firm thrust he pierced the back of the goblin’s armor and drove the blade through until the tip came through the front. Though the strike was effective, there was no timely way to retrieve that sword. I miss Falconfeather right about now, he thought as he tugged at the well-lodged weapon.

Linvin waited for the other four to close on his position. Then he shoved the body of his last victim into the two goblins in the middle to stall their progress. With a sword still in his left hand, he hacked behind the knee of the goblin to that side. The brute’s hamstring sliced cleanly and he went straight to the ground. Linvin showed no mercy as he stomped his boot heel into the fallen soldier’s neck and broke the bone with a loud snap.

Flipping his sword from his left to his sword hand he turned his attention to the goblin on his right. The goblin struck downward with his blade in an effort to exploit Linvin’s exposed side. The former general would have none of that as he grabbed the soldier’s wrist with his left hand and shook the sword loose. Linvin again slashed at the throat of his foe, not wanting to lodge another blade in the body of an enemy. As before, the goblin fell dead.

The final two goblins had worked clear of the body and closed on Linvin. The great warrior was breathing fast and placed his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. The goblins saw weakness and attacked. Linvin, however, was only acting in a successful effort to bring his prey to him. He sprung from his hunched position and rammed his blade through the armor of the enemy to his right. Releasing the trapped blade he turned to see the final goblin had lunged past and had his back to Linvin. In a final move for end-game Linvin took hold of the goblin’s head from both sides and twisted violently to the left. The neck snapped and the last goblin fell dead.