Legend of the Witch Hunters

The Silver Bow

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Legend of the Witch Hunters- ch1

         Panting filled the forest as the moon cast shadows around the trees.  The Squig ran, pulling its bulk through the brush.  Another scream echoed through the night.  Another of its herd had died.  “Why us, Why us, Why us? Neraaa!” It yelled in a high annoying voice.  That was its first mistake.  It crawled its way past branches and thorny vines, making a loud crashing wherever it went.  That was its second mistake.  It tripped over a tree root and clawed its way into a patch of moonlight.  That was its third and final mistake.

         As the green blubbery creature heaved and panted on its knees in the small clearing, the string of a bow silently drew back.  The Squig looked up, its yellow eyes shining in the night.  The last thing it ever saw was a brief reflection of the moonlight on the shaft of a silver arrow.  The arrow struck the center of its forehead, jerking the Squig back off its feet and pinning it to a tree. 

         Aquena stepped into the moonlight holding a silver long bow.  That had been the last of the little bastards.  She looked down at her bow, admired its silver surface and curved blades on the outside edge.  The deadly weapon was her most prized possession.  Volnar walked into the clearing then, black cape gliding behind him and wide brimmed hat hiding his face.
 
“I got all of mine,” he said, sheathing his rune blade. 

         “That was the last of mine,” Aquena said, pointing to the twitching squig. “Count Cousant should be happy.  We got all these out of his forest and now he can go hunting again.  You know this is not where we should be,” Aquena kicked the still twitching squig. “There are peasants who have to set watches every night for Ogrims and we are here hunting these!  That fat bastard doesn’t know how to run his lands!” 

         Volnar just shook his head.  He knew that she was right, but what could he do about it?  She had grown a lot in the last three years.  Ever since that night, she had pledged her life to helping him hunt.  Now she did not even look like the crying little girl he had saved.  She wore tight leather and used a bow with an accuracy that rivaled the elves.  She had become a true Witch Hunter. 

         “Let’s go get our pay and then we can go check up on the peasants,” Volnar said.  Aquena kicked the squig one last time and silently walked away.  Volnar had to jog to catch up to her and she was silent all the way back to the castle Pasteire. 
When they reached the Count, he was just finishing desert.  The huge oval table he was sitting at was crammed with food, and the chair he was sitting in barely contained his bulk.  Volnar was still astounded at the amount the man could eat.

         “The forest is all clear Count.”  Volnar said.  Aquena, disgusted by the man, stayed in the shadows behind him.

         “Good, good,” said the fat Count Cousant between bites, “I’ll have to release some pigs tomorrow.  Come, drink a little, there is more than enough wine to go around,” said the Count, holding up a flash of wine, splashing some of it onto the table as he did so.

         Volnar put his hand in the air, “We’re fine, just give us out pay.”  The Count frowned and pulled a heavy bag out of one of the folds in his lace-covered shirt. 
“Your no fun, here keep the extra.” Count Cousant said.  Volnar gave him a quick bow and left, trailed by Aquena.

“Now the peasants?” she hissed behind him. 

“Yes now the peasants.” Volnar said. 

         As they left though the open gates, Volnar could not believe that this Count could be so stupid.  He constantly left the gates open without a watch and then expected to be safe.  Did he realize that there was a war going on?  Then he spent all his funds on stupid things like those pig hunts.  It was surprising that he had lived this long. 

         When they got to the peasant hovels, a guard yelled down from the poorly erected watchtower, “Who goes there?” 

Aquena waved to him. “It’s us Jacque,” she yelled up to him, “Is all well?” 

         Jacque, who had grabbed a torch and jumped down from the tower and ran over to them.  “Well it is now, but it wasn’t ‘bout half hour ago.  I saw a group of Ogrims comin out o’ the mountains, but they kept goin on north.  I guess after all my holerin they didn’t think we were worth the trouble.” 

“Well I’m glad you’re safe,” said Aquena, “How many were there?” 

         Jacque paused to think about it.  “I’m thinking ‘bout twenty big ones.  More than the two o’ you could take alone I’d say.” 

         “Don’t underestimate us.”  Volnar said, and then he turned to Aquena, “you want to finish them off, don’t you.”  She took her bow off her back and notched it.  “We’ll make sure they don’t bother you again Jacque.”  Jacque smiled and waved as they walked into the night.  “You be careful, hear?” he yelled after them. 

         Volnar helped Aquena tighten her leather vest and then they started running into the dark forest.  The tracks were easy enough to find.  The group of Ogrims had destroyed everything in their path.  As they followed the path of destruction, Volnar loaded his revolvers with lead bullets. 

         “Lead kills Ogrims,” He said, “and keeps them dead,” as an after statement.  Aquena nodded and sprinkled lead dust into the quiver she had on her back.  As they followed the trail, they kept getting closer and closer to the castle Pasteire.  Volnar hopped that fat ass had remembered to close his gates. 

         Of course, the tracks lead right up to the castles wide-open gates.  They heard fighting and mainly screams from inside. 

“Serves him right,” said Aquena. 

         Then they saw an Ogrim lumber into the courtyard from the stable.  It was munching on the decapitated leg of a horse in one hand and the other hand held a blood covered spiked club. 

         The Ogrim was a tall creature, about ten feet tall with wrinkly greenish skin and a fox like face.  Its yellow claws and sharp fangs gave it a monstrous appearance.  When it saw them, it snarled revealing nasty looking sharp yellow teeth.  It dropped the leg and started to run towards them; hunched over like an ape using its arms as well as its legs half of the time. 

         Aquena fired two arrows in quick succession that caught it in the leg and chest.  It fell to the ground roaring.  Several other roars answered it from throughout the castle.  The crippled Ogrim reached one of its long arms up and grabbed at Volnar.  A swish of the rune blade and the hand was severed and other swish and the creature was silenced for good. 

         A pike flew down from the wall and stuck into the ground next to Aquena.  She turned quickly, an arrow already notched.  An Ogrim jumped down off the wall, shaking the ground with its landing.  It ran forward yelling and waving a club in the air.  Aquena fired her arrow, but it was lodged into a shield the Ogrim was caring.  Several shots from one of Volnars revolvers brought the thing down, greenish ooze spraying from the holes created by the lead bullets.   

         “Inside,” Yelled Volnar waving his sword toward the entrance to the main keep.  They ran inside the huge iron doors, now broken open.  Instantly the smell of blood accosted them.  Volnar slowly walked into the entrance hall.  Several of the guards’ remains lay sprawled on the floor of the entrance hall.  The Ogrims in a brutal blood bath had splattered blood and bits of flesh onto the walls and windows. 

         The most horrible thing was not the carnage in front of them, but the bloody smears where torn shreds of bodies were missing.  The bodies had been ripped apart and the larger pieces were gone except for the gnawed bones. 

         Volnar and Aquena cautiously continued down the hall and to the servants’ quarters.  The smashed bits of the first room’s door covered the hall and a pool of blood was seeping out from the doorway.  They could hear low grunting from inside.  Aquena notched an arrow and moved along the wall to the doorway.  She quickly turned into the doorway and fired her arrow at the Ogrim inside.

         The scene inside was horrible, in a flash she remembered that night three years ago.  The night she had met Volnar; the night her parents had been brutally murdered.  Blood covered the room; the two Ogrims had dismembered the bodies and placed the pieces on the bed, which was soaked with blood.  It was dripping in pools underneath and flowing out into the hall.  One of the Beasts held a woman’s head in its paw, tossing it up and down like a ball, and laughing as the last remnants of pinkish liquid sprayed out. 

         They had been in the middle of consuming them when she let her arrow fly.  The arrow stuck into the head of the first Ogrim, it died instantly, collapsing onto the pile bloody flesh.  The other jumped back in fright and threw the mangled head at Aquena.  She dodged the head, but blood sprayed down on her.  The Ogrim then lunged at her before she had time to draw another arrow.  A wicked sneer came across its face as it thought it had her. 

         Aquena whipped her bow upward, using the curved blades in the outside edge of it to slice through the unsuspecting Ogrim.  The sneer quickly disappeared as she threw it over her head and it smacked into the opposite wall with a sickening thud.  The thing did not get up and its green ooze mingled with the human blood already there. 

         “Good job!” said Volnar with a smile.  Then several Ogrims burst out of a room down the hall, alerted by the thud.  Volnar stepped in front of Aquena before she had a chance to react. 

“My turn to have a little fun,” he said. 

         The Ogrims snarled and charged Volnar. He smiled extended his black gloved hand from his cape, cocking his silver gun in the process.  He had his special long barrel revolver, its silver surface shining in the torch light.  It had the words “Light Deus Imperious” written on the barrel.   

         The shots of the revolver echoed down the hall.  Rapidly the bullets dropped the greenish monsters.  Several exploded through the first line and left gapping holes in there chests.  There was no sanctuary from the Silver Justice.  All of the Ogrims fell dead to the ground before they could reach Volnar.  The last one dropped headless just in front of him and Volnar never even moved. 

         They made their way over the dead Ogrims and continued to the kitchens.  Inside looked like a hurricane from hell had swept thought it.  The silverware was tossed onto the ground and had broken into a hundred little pieces.  Several ripped open sacks sat on the floor and three Ogrims crouched picking at it. 

         As soon as Volnar and Aquena entered, they jumped up snarling.  One picked up a tomato and threw it at them.  Volnar put his hand up and the tomato stopped dead in the air.  It then flew back to hit the Ogrim in the face.  It started growling with rage and all three advanced on the two hunters. 

         Volnar fingers spammed then and all the kitchen knives, skewers, pots, and broken plates rose into the air.  Volnar then made his hand into a fist and all the kitchenware surged into the Ogrims.  The three fell in a mass of flesh and metal. 

         As Volnar and Aquena walked through the mess of a kitchen, they had to step over the fat cook whose intestines lay stretched out on the floor.  Past the large double doors on the other side was the mess hall.  As they walked through the doors, they found the rest of the Ogrims. 

         It was absolute carnage in the hall.  This was where they had brought the remains of all the dwellers of the castle.  What was left of the desecrated corpses had been sorted into blood-drenched piles.  One of heads, one of right arms, another of torsos, the scene was horrific.  Pools of blood converged under these and stains and trails covered the rest of the floor. 

         The remaining Ogrims sat around these piles eating.  All except for the leader, it stood over the Counts table.  The Count Cousant lay sprawled out on his back on the top of the table.  His stomach laid ripped open and the leader was sucking his intestines as one would a bowl of noodles.  Volnar knew this was the leader because of his makeshift black armor, and he had seen this one before.

         “Volnar witch hunter!”  Said the leader of the Ogrims in a low growling voice, “It has been along time, are you still using dark magic against your own kind?  And I see you have a pet,” the savage beast sneered at that,  “Kill ‘em!” the leader yelled, raising a notched blade longer than a man into the air. 

         The rest of the Ogrims picked up their weapons and moved as one toward Volnar and Aquena.  The snarling Ogrims made a semi-circle around them, but were reluctant to attack.  These were smarter than the others were, but still, smart enough to beat the Witch Hunters. 

         Aquena dropped two of them before they had a chance to attack.  As one, the rest lunged at them.  She then turned her bow horizontally and used it like a two handed blade, fending off the clubs and claws of the barbarous attackers. 

         Volnar parried a blow from one and jumped back to avoid another.  Pulling out a revolver, he shot the attacker through the head.  As a greenish fluid exploded out onto a table, another Ogrim rushed up behind him. 

         He turned quickly to parry another attack and rolled behind the newest attacker.  As he rose out of his roll, he sliced up into the Ogrims stomach, the rune blade glowing burning its way into the monsters stomach.  It doubled over and Volnar continued pushing his blade until it had gone all the way through.  The stench of burnt flesh filled the air as his blade continued to glow a dull orange. 

         He quickly had to turn to block more blows from two other Ogrims.  Aquena was fending off three by swinging her bow in an arc around her.  None of them wanted to get near the green stained silver blades.  She grabbed a throwing knife from her belt and threw it at one of them, boring it into its chest. 

         An Ogrim jumped at her while she was distracted but she pivoted and sliced at it with her bow.  The blades connected with the fingers holding its club, severing them cleanly.  The wounded Ogrim staggered back, howling and holding its bloody hand. 
Aquena turned to the remaining Ogrim who threw its club at her and lunged forward, yellow nails outstretched.  She jumped out of the way of the club and pulled a pair of spiked brass knuckles out of her belt.  As the Ogrim lunged at her she jumped forward smashing her fist into its face, it fell limp to the floor. 

         Suddenly the Ogrim who she had thrown the knife at got to its feet and pulled the knife out of its chest, the wound fast healing.  Its maw twisted in a wicked sneer, and it picked up its weapon.  Lead, she had forgotten.  She pulled out an arrow and shot it.  It dropped for good.  She did the same to the fingerless Ogrim staggering about.  Volnar stabbed his rune blade thought the chest of one Ogrim, tossed the corpse aside and shot the other several times. 

         Only the leader was left, it walked toward them, giant sword in hand.  In was calm and rational, unlike the others who had crazily thrown themselves to a quick death.  Volnar tried shooting it but his bullets bounced off its heavy black armor.  It swung its massive sword and Volnar swung his sword up to block it, but the force of the blow threw him to the ground. 

         Aquena fired an arrow at it but that too bounced off its armor.  Volnar jumped to his feet and was on the offensive slashing at the huge beast.  It laughed in return, “You will no beat me this time witch hunter, I know you tricks!” 

         It swung its sword straight down, missing Volnar.  But the sword hit with such force that it destroyed the stones under it sending shards of them flying and making cracks throughout the floor of the hall.  The black Ogrim lifted the giant weapon and swung again, but Volnar jumped back out of the way. 

         Volnar made a sign with his hand and then disappeared in a black wisp of mist.  “What?” growled the Ogrim.  The enraged monster turned all around looking for Volnar.  “Come out, don’t hide from me!”  It yelled, smashing its sword into tables and chairs.  Aquena just watched, knowing what came next. 

         The floor of the hall started to glow with red runes, and the pools of blood started to flow towards them.  As more blood soaked into the dark symbols, the power they held inside them grew. 

         Volnar suddenly appeared above the mighty Ogrim and slashed downward though its shoulder.  Crying out in rage the beast grabbed at him, but the arcane witch hunter disappeared in another cloud of mist.  Volnar abruptly appeared behind it and slashed its back, creating another bellow of rage.  Then again and again, appearing and disappearing, Volnar slashed the leader of the Ogrims until it fell to the floor in a pile of its own green blood. 

“What are you, Volnar?” It screamed. 

         Then Volnar appeared directly in front of it.  The fatigued creature attempted to swing its great sword, but it fell short.  Volnar jumped on top of the sword and made one last swing of his black rune blade, cutting the leaders head cleanly off.  Volnar stayed kneeling on the ground, panting, sword extended as the headless corpse dropped to the ground behind him. 

         The blood symbols faded away and Aquena rushed to help Volnar. 
Aquena looked at the scene around her; they had not been able to save anyone.  The fat count had deserved it, but the rest had not.  She helped Volnar to his feet and out of the mess hall.

“You did well,” said Volnar, “You’ve really grown in the last few years.” 

Smiling, Aquena gave him a kiss, “I’m just glad your alright,” she said.

         Leaving the scene of the bloody massacre, she was deeply troubled.  They set the castle on fire to keep the Ogrims from re-animating.  Then the started off away from the burning castle. 

“Well, at least we got paid before he died,” Volnar said. 

Aquena frowned, “But we did not save anyone,” she said angrily. 

Volnar shook his head, “We saved the villagers,” he said, and then putting an arm around her, “and its not you fault, it’s that bloody counts, stupid as he was.” 

         What Volnar said helped, but Aquena was still bitter, bitter about that night three years ago.  She vowed that she would have revenge, if it took her entire life, she would have revenge.