Will of Iron 13


    Werricks sword cut through the air as it zoomed toward cknails face. However, the hobgoblin was ready. He ducked under the attack and stepped forward. Behind his wolf helmet, a brief frown appeared on Werricks face as cknail then stabbed upward at the mans unarmored armpit. To ward off the blow, Werrick was forced to take a step back and swing his weapon around into a guard position. cknail didnt stay still either. That would be stupid against such a powerful opponent. Still moving, he circled around to find a new opening in the mans stance.


    Theres definitely something different about you, Werrick remarked as the battle raged on around him.


    Over his leather, the Wolf was wearing a chainmail shirt with steel pauldrons and bracers on his arms. He towered over cknail by over a foot - if you didnt include the hobgoblins horns  and he must have weighed over twice as much. cknail didnt care about that, though. Hed hunted big game before, and this was his greatest enemy. His only real rival and the killer of his master. He had to die.


    Hissing with barely contained fury, cknail burned Elixir and feinted left. When Werrick moved to counter the feint, cknail quickly turned and shed right instead with unnatural speed. His de nicked Werricks arm and drew blood, although it was but a tiny wound. As Werrick raised his guard again, a look of dawningprehension appeared on his face.


    Oh, I understand now, Werrickughed confidently. Youre him, the cknail. I didnt recognize you. All you green-skinned savages look the same, and there are suddenly a lot you around.


    All you pink idiots die the same, cknail hissed back as he looked for another opening. Time was on his side now. His reinforcements were a lot closer than Werricks.


    Werrick just smiled. Oh, I dont think thats true at all. Ive seen my fair share of both humanity and death. Still, I must say, youve managed to surprise me quite badly here, with this ambush of yours. Mahedium warned me about you, but I didnt suspect anything like this. Youve raised an army from nowhere! If anything, youre even more dangerous than the mage warned. This has be quite the mess.


    You were a fool to let me lure you here. Underestimating me will be yourst mistake, cknail replied in a tone that seethed with anger. Your first was daring to take my master from me. I will bleed you for that.


    Now who is being overconfident? Werrick countered. He didnt seem impressed by cknails bluster. I dont have time to chat though. I admit youve ced me in a bit of an unexpected bind, so let me show you how I pushed back your big friend back there. You should be proud. Very few people have ever managed to make me fight seriously. Herad never did.


    cknail opened his mouth to shout back, but then something odd caught his eye. Werricks de had grown hazy. It was almost like smoke was rising from it, creating ripples in the air.


    Before cknail could figure out what he was seeing, Werrick took a step back and shed. His de cut empty air, but something shot out from the sword. The blur zoomed straight for cknails head, but he dodged to the side and it flew past him to collide with a hobgoblin that had been running over to join the fight. There was a spray of blood as the invisible force cut into the hobgoblins chest, and he dropped lifeless to the ground.


    cknail grimaced and turned to focus on Werricks weapon. Was that a magic sword? cknail hated magic. It was never fair. Was Werrick a mage? No, you couldnt be both a mage and Vessel, unless everyone had been lying to him. The man must be using the sword to channel his Vessel powers somehow.


    Before cknail could give his situation any more thought, Werrick attacked again. He shed the air and then charged forward with startling speed. cknail was forced to jump aside to dodge the magic sh and then hastily try to block Werricks actual sword. He barely managed it, but he was knocked off bnce by the bigger mans strength and stumbled. Bloody magic!


    As Werrick twisted around to strike at him again, cknail decided to even the score. Burning the Elixir in his blood, he reached within himself and pushed a wave of mind smothering fear at Werrick. He growled and bared his teeth as he unleashed the magic. Halfway through the swing Werrick was aiming to decapitate cknail with, the power hit him. The Wolf flinched in surprise and stumbled, but quickly recovered. cknail had time to get his own bnce back, but not enough to strike at Werrick in return. Hed been hoping for more, but Werrick was obviously resistant to magic. Most Vessels and mages were.


    What was that? Werrick grumbled as he eyed cknail warily and readjusted his stance.


    The Wolf didnt wait for an answer, though. Instead, he immediately attacked again. Without bothering to use his magic, he unleashed a flurry of shes at Backnail. Even with his guard up, the hobgoblin was hard pressed to stop the attacks. The crash of metal on metal rang out as their des met. Werrick was fast and powerful. His attacks also had weight, and he was armored. Almost every advantage was his.


    cknail jumped back away from a cut aimed at his face, and Werrick didnt follow. Instead, the man shed the air again, and a de of air flew past cknail. ncing over his shoulder, cknail saw two more his minions fall as the sh tore into them. Theyd been about to join in the fight. Not that they would have been much help.


    This confrontation wasnt going the way cknail had thought it would. In his head, hed pictured himself picking off a wounded Werrick or getting a surprise attack in that would quickly end the fight. At the very least, hed thought hed have help. Unfortunately, his minions were useless, and Ilsiti was stuck on the other side of the battle. Still, there had to be a way for him to win. He wasnt going to let Saeters killer get away. Not when he was right there in front of him and in as weak a position as cknail could hope to arrange.


    Snarling, cknail lunged forward and cut at Werricks side, but the man blocked the attack and replied with one of his own. His de swung around and nicked cknails arm. The hobgoblin winced. The wound stung, but it wasnt serious. cknail couldnt afford any distractions, though. As Werrick took a step back, cknail was forced to follow him. Werrick was able to attack from a distance and cknail wasnt.


    With Werrick holding his ground, there was a clear avenue for his troops to move through, and more and more of them were retreating from the battle. cknail couldnt stop them, and his irregrs had be useless. There were too few of them left to block Werricks retreat.


    With no other ideas, cknail fought an aggressive defense. He kept within striking distance of Werrick but focused more on dodging and blocking rather than trying to cut his enemy down. He was simply buying time now, in the hopes that something would shift the advantage back his way. Off to the right, two hobgoblins managed to take down a bandit, but then two more bandits surged forward and scattered them.


    As cknail dodged a sh aimed at his shoulder, the flow of the battle around him began to change. Most of Werricks troops had escaped the encirclement now. Only the line of troops holding back Ilisti and the hobgoblin spearmen were left, and they were retreating in a slow but orderly fashion. Soon, Werrick and his men would bepletely out of the trap.


    cknail hissed as he stepped forward and hacked at Werrick, but the man easily blocked the blow and then pushed. The force of the shove almost knocked cknail over, and he was forced to stumble backwards.


    Watch out, boss! a voice suddenly yelled.


    cknail nced over his shoulder to see one of Imps assistants. He was holding a red mana crystal, which he immediately ignited and threw at Werrick. Instantly, cknail jumped out of the way of the burning projectile. Werrick didnt stay still either. However, instead of dodging, he raised a gauntleted hand. As cknail watched, a rippling burst of force shot out his palm and hit the crystal, carrying it right back to the hobgoblin who had thrown it. The hobgoblin mages eyes went wide in shock. He barely had time flinch in surprise before the mix of force and fire hit him in the chest, pushing him backwards, and then it exploded. The air shook from the boom and pieces of earth flew in every direction. cknail winced as he saw that there was only a smoking crater where the hobgoblin mage had been standing a second ago. Ouch.


    Im growing impatient. Its time to finish this, Werrick announced as he swung his de at cknail again.


    As cknail dodged the wind de that sliced past him, he couldnt help but notice that all his nearby minions had suddenly found other ces to be. None of them wereing to help him. Instead, theyd found less deadly bandits to attack or had just run away. Stupid minions. This was what hed created them for! They were being incredibly ungrateful. When this was over, they were all going to get the worst punishments imaginable.


    Werrick didnt give cknail any more time to think. Ilisti would soon arrive with his troops, so the Wolf went all out. Shoulder first, he swung his sword back and charged straight at his opponent. cknail tried to sidestep and take a slice at Werricks head, but the man didnt dodge. Instead, he just brought his shoulder up and ducked his head down, so it was protected by his pauldron. Screeching, cknails de scraped against the metal armor without prating, and then Werrick smashed into him. They were too close for Werrick to use his sword, but the force of the charge was dangerous enough. Werricks shoulder hit cknails chest, sting the air out of his lungs and throwing him up into the air. The hobgoblins ribs warped and squeezed his organs for a second as the physical force of the blow passed through him. Instantly, pain seared throughout his body and his head whipped back, cracking his neck and making his vision go white for a second.


    Unprompted and without thought, Elixir suddenly flowed through cknails veins. Its power burned through him, and a few pumps of his heartter, he gasped and was pulled back to consciousness. He wasnt going to lose! The need to for vengeance still roared within cknail, and he fought to reorient himself.


    However, that was when Werrick struck again. cknail was still stumbling backwards. All Werrick had to do was swing his sword. cknail saw iting but he was too weak to react properly. The hobgoblin could only blink as the de came around in an arc and smashed into his ribs. Cutting through his leather vest, the sharp metal implement cracked bone and tore into flesh as cknail was sent flying sideways. He hit the ground hard, and his limp body rolled across the grass, leaving a trail of blood.


    Pain zed throughout cknail as his rolling body came to stop. In its wake it left destion and weakness. He felt cold and his vision had gone blurry. He wasying on his side, and he knew he couldnt stay there, no matter how much he hurt. Grimacing and marshaling his strength, he tried to move, but he couldnt manage anything more than a feeble twitch of an arm.


    Despair blossomed throughout cknail as he realized that hed lost. He was already dying. No, this couldnt be the end! Dimly, red hot hate red up and attempted to push away the smothering darkness of despair and the death that was pressing down on cknails spirit, but it was pointless fight.


    Movement caught cknails gaze, and he noticed Werrick calmly walking his way. The man stopped a few feet away and looked down at cknail. There was an inscrutable frown on his face.


    So, theres still some life in you. Impressive. Its almost a shame I have to snuff it out, Werrick remarked. Youre the only real opponent Ive had since I started this business. In a way, dealing with you was practically fun, but this is thest time youll surprise me. Youre far too unpredictable to let live. I still cant wrap my head around how you built an army of hobgoblins, and theyll be as dangerous as demons even without you around to lead them.


    All cknail could manage in reply was a hate filled gurgle. It burst out of his throat along with more than a few drops of blood. Stupid human.


    Werrickughed and raised his weapon. As the man shed the air, something hit cknails chest. He spasmed as more pain ripped through him. Under this new assault, his body gave out. His vision cked out and his muscles went limp. Consciousness began to fade...


    Everything was dim and cold. cknail couldnt quite remember where he was or why he hurt so much. Screams of pain and the ring of metal hitting metal echoed over him. Was he in a battle? Everything was going ck, even the light of his own thoughts


    Suddenly, someone poked cknails shoulder, and his eyes flickered open. His vision was blurry, but he saw two figures leaning over him.


    Do you think hes dead? one hobgoblin asked the other.


    Dunno, do you think anyone would care if I took his pants? hispanion replied.


    cknail groaned. He was slightly more conscious now. He still couldnt talk but he could re at them. Bloody minions. So useless. Why couldnt any of them have taken some initiative and be healers? Really good ones. This was all their fault, somehow.


    Without warning, cknails vision dimmed again and he lost his grip on consciousness. When it returned, he wasnt sure how long had passed, but there were several new people around. One of them had red hair. Oh, no. It was Khita. She wasnt even going to let him die in peace. So annoying.


    He should be dead already. There are two holes in his chest, someone who sounded familiar observed.


    You need to fight, cknail. Dont let death im you. Were here. Well get you wrapped up. Fight, Khita shouted in his ear.


    The redhead sounded quite distraught. cknail was d he wasnt the only one in pain. She was also quite afraid, cknail could sense it. In fact, he could sense a lot of fear from countless people. Their thoughts swirled around him, like sparks from a bonfire up into the night sky.


    Fight what? Wolfy gone, cknail wondered aloud. His voice was little more than a quiet rasp. Werrick had gotten away. Hed walked right out of the trap cknail had spent so much time building. What was the point in struggling more?


    Much to cknails frustration, Khita instantly began yelling again. Fight to live! Fight to protect what youve built! Saeter would be so proud if he could see you now. Dont let it all go to waste. We need you!


    Of course, they needed him. He was the leader. They couldnt do anything without him, the idiots. Khita wouldntst a day. cknail sighed mentally. He wasnt dead yet, despite the wreckage of his body, and that meant his spirit could still fight for life. But did he have the will to fight? What price was he willing to pay? There would be so much pain


    Was killing Werrick really all that mattered? An image of Ironbreak as seen from the hill overlooking it shed before cknails eyes. Hed built that. It had been all him. If he died now it would probably fall apart as the hobgoblins turned on each other. Then what would happen to all his poor human minions? Saeter had wanted him to look after them. The old scout had always talked about his love for the North. Really, this wasnt about cknail at all Was that possible? What a weird way to think.


    cknail took a deep breath. It hurt, but the pain cleared his mind. He was dying. He had to do something about that. His body was spent, so he needed a new source of power, and he had an idea. cknail burned Elixir and felt the burning power flow through him. Then, reaching out with his magic, cknail grabbed at the minds he felt all around him. Hed done this once before. Half dead, he remembered how.


    Cold power flushed throughout cknail as he tasted the fear and terror of hundreds. It raged within him as it mingled with the usual fire of his Elixir. He was forced to take another aching breath. It burned like he was trying to hold ice with his brain, but he didnt let go. This was magic. If anything could heal him, this could. Focusing, cknail sent the power flowing out into his body. A storm of potential.


    Almost immediately, ckail felt his body grow stronger, but he knew it wouldnt be enough. So, the hobgoblin pulled in more power. He ripped at all the minds around him and dragged at their light, sucking in all their terror and hate. It was too much for his body and began to slip away, so cknail began forcing the power into one spot andpressing it. That worked. Power poured into cknail and raged throughout his body. As the maelstrom whirled and raged, his body expanded in response. Flesh healed, and bone reknit.


    There were several gasps of shock from the onlookers, but then Gob spoke up from somewhere nearby. We have to move him. No one must see him while he is weak. I do not trust the vympir or many of the hobs.


    Ill watch over him myself, and we can trust Herah, Khita quickly responded.


    That was all cknail heard. Without warning, his spirit suddenly gave out and he was consumed by darkness again.