Shorts Story Friday-The Gate: Invasion p.9

Tweet of the Day: A mini lesson on it’s and its….

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P.1 – P.2 – P.3 – P.4 – P.5 – P.6a – P.6b – P.7 – P.8 – P.10 – P.11 –P.12a –P.12b – Aftermath

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Covenshire, or what was left of it. Corpse, stacked four and five deep, burned in large pyres. Flames roared out of windows of  homes gutted by fire.  The pirates took nothing and destroyed everything. The earth underneath our feet was dry and cracked.

“How this did happen?”

Simon face had thinned since last I saw him a month ago.  “A small force drew the fleet away, then the pirates landed a few miles south, under the cover of darkness and attacked the village on the landward side. By the looks of it,”  he waved the tip of staff over a armored body. In the bright light I saw a thick coat of scarlet covering his throat and upper chest, “assassins killed most of the guard, including the harbor watch captain before the alarm could be raised.  The rest, well….”

Grizzle pulled a tiny body the wreckage of a barn. I ran over. She was alive, barely. “By the Virtues, grant me the power to heal this broken body.” I placed my glowing hand on her forehead and she stirred. Her eyes snapped open. She instinctively clung to Grizzle neck. Children were drawn to animus like him. Grizzle have a short, low reassuring howl. She trembled at my touch, her eyes wide and unfocused. She would never forget what she saw that night. I hoisted her on Grizzle back and he carried her away.

“We had reports of attacks up and down the coast and other incidents inland. Bandit raids, gruesome murders and…” Simon turned looked up at the quarter moon, “drums in the North.”

Lyandra handed a small teddy bear to the girl, “Drums in the North? That’s not possible, my people would have heard about it.”

“The report from our rangers are reliable your Highness,” said Simon

“Don’t call me that!” said Lyandra. “Please.”

“Very well, my Lady,” said Simon with curt bow. A glance from me cut her angry retort short.

“First the attack on the King and now this? If the northern tribes are on the move then we will be hard press to stop them. Even with the combine forces of Men and Elves won’t be enough to stop them,” said Lyandra.

“We will find a way,” I said.

“Come, I’ll take us back to Windstrom,” said Simon. We gathered near him and in a flash of light the remains of Covenshire disappeared replaced by King Stephenson throne room.

A small man, rail thin with a large hat topped by a long feather looked up at me, “Ah, so the Avatar is finally here. Very well then, I will deliver my masters message.” He swept his hat from his head and produced a glass sphere, which turned dark. It dissolved into a dark clouds. Soldiers drew weapons. The messenger smiled with a mouth fulled of pointed crooked teeth, “Behold.”

The light of torches appeared inside the cloud. The reflections danced along cavern walls. Green humanoids held them aloft. Ancient writings covered every inch of the walls. Scenes of battle, of sacrifice, of horror. The procession of goblins reached the end of the corridor. A large archway , some twenty feet high lay embedded in the rock. The leader of the goblin band, who wore a necklace of finger bones, touched the stone at the center of the archway. It crumbled like paper, revealing total darkness. The goblin drew his hand away, his fingers burned. The steady beat of drums reverberated in the throne room, dust fell from the sealing. A hand reached out from the darkness. The image faded as the messenger put the globe back underneath his wide brimmed hat.

“The message has been delivered, oh mighty King. The Overlords Long Night is coming and not even your Avatar will be able to stop it. The End, as they say, is Nigh!”  And with that the messenger turned and left.

The King turned to me, “Sir Jonah, we will fight the coming darkness with everything at our disposal. And you will lead the way.””

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-Signal Error-

-Error 401-

-Data Corruption Detected-

-Updating Security Patch 565-

-Data Stream Restored-

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