Coward Hubert
Hubert clenched the spear in his fist, sweat trickled down his forehead and his pupils shook, reflective of the barbarian in front of him. He knew, his hope of getting on a horse was almost naught.
"Ignem arcesso!"
Woosh!
BOOM!
A fireball came flying from behind the fireball, nakedly impacting the barbarian on his unprotected back. As the splitter of fire went splattering, the air was heated, a mirage created.
The barbarian was thrown to the ground.
The shockwave of the spell was so strong, sending air flying and threw Hubert's hair and face muscle backward. Even when he was standing 7 meters away from the barbarian, he knew of the severity of the attack.
A small joy was lighted up in his heart.
"Warm…" the barbarian muttered in the Creopian tongue.
And the joy was blown out.
The barbarian supported himself, using his double headed great axe. He knew Hubert was no fun anymore as he turned around, fixing his eyes to the new toys he got.
"You shall not pass!" a watchman in a mage's robe said, holding a book in his left hand and correcting his glasses with the other.
It's a squad of watchmen, 6 to be exact. 3 at the front were spearmen, 2 in the middle were swordsmen, and 1 at the very rear was a magician.
"Mage…" the barbarian let out a huge breath from his mouth, akin to that of a steaming train.
His eyes showed bloodlust, his mouth grinned so big and horrifyingly that it's alike to a hungry hyena. His calf muscle pumped with blood, showing off pure strength akin to that of a gorilla. Then he moved.
"Defense formation!" the mage shouted to his squad, he was the leader.
The watchmen's eyes raged with resolve and bravery. They changed into their standard fighting stance and aimed their weapons at the barbarian.
Hubert remembered the mage.
The mage was a cocky man, he was of a different class from the other watchmen. The mage's name, Gregorius Trilly, of the noble house of Trilly, though only a distant relative to the current head of the Trilly family.
Nonetheless a noble, trained in the art of superior swordsmanship and magic than the rest of the populace. Though the man soon found himself talented in a single of those fields.
Slash!
The barbarian jumped from his position, like a jumping frog, he was already in front of the squad of watchmen. He slashed at them horizontally from east to west with his great axe. But the squad was ready to accept his attack.
The three spearmen worked together and blocked the attack with the shaft. It stopped the momentum of the axe completely on its track.
Then the swordsmen rushed forward, with their swords by their side, one slashed from the left, the other from the right.
"HUARRGHHH!" the barbarian shouted.
Before the swordsmen could make contact with his flesh, he used his pure brute strength and pushed the three spearmen into the stable in raging fire.
"ARGHHHH" the spearmen screamed in painful agony.
The barbarian grinned and turned his axe, swinging it into the other direction, toward the swordsmen.
The moonlight was beautiful, gleaming off the head of the axe. As their head too was glazed upon by the axe, their eyes widened forever in death.
Thump.
Heads rolled on the ground, the soil tainted with the blood of watchmen, soulless, lifeless and moveless bodies fell, bringing with it the tragic end of theirs.
"Ignem Arcesso!" the mage, Gregorius casted again, his voice shaky and weaker than before.
A fireball formed in his hand, its size half than before.
The barbarian merely placed his axe, its head as wide as his own body, in front of him. The axehead became his shield.
Boom!
The fireball exploded once again, hitting the metal surface of the axe.
"Cold." the barbarian jumped once again, axe to his side.
Swinging it horizontally from east to west again toward the defenseless magician.
"NOW, HUBERT, RUN! TELL MY FAMI…" Gregorius shouted.
Slash!
However much a noble was, blood ran in their veins. And that blood became rain, quenching the thirst of the ground.
At the same time, a brown horse escaped from the blazing stable.
Amidst the screaming sound of the burning watchmen inside the stable slowly dying out, and the heads rolling on the ground along with their lifeless owner. The sight of the horse became a relief for Hubert.
As it galloped toward Hubert who still clenched his spear in his fist. In a clean motion, he picked up the reins and jumped onto the saddle.
"No… NO!" The barbarian screamed. A prey escaping his sight, unbelievable!
He dashed like a frog once again, with his axe to the side and did a downward slash at the horse.
"Hiya!" Hubert spurred the horse forward.
Hubert's head turned behind to see the barbarian, only to be greeted by the terrifying face full of rage of the barbarian.
Hubert's eyes filled with the image of the axe.
SLASH!
The axe sharpened edge slashed on the tail of the horse. The barbarian left exhausted as he gasped for air.
"HUARGHHHH!"
The barbarian's terrifying warscream, like a roaring lion that had just lost its prey. His roar was the last thing Hubert heard from the fiery outpost.
He fled on the main road, toward the south.
Behind him, an outpost, once filled with trained and lively watchmen where songs once filled the silent camp and stories were told among them, was no more.
Consumed by flame that roared high into the night sacred sky, its black smoke pierced the clouds and joined them. The walls made of tree logs, one by one fell, then the main cabin, where watchmen once gathered to discuss missions, fell. Accompanied with it, was the sound of a roaring thunder.
Only Hubert escaped from that place-turned-hell.
---
Stomp stomp
Sigh…
Exhausted, continuous exhales came out from the horse, overwriting the sound of crickets in the distance. The sight of the outpost could no longer be seen, replaced by the countless trees on the right side and a small stream of water on the left side.
Hubert's vision became blurry, his hearing became numb, and his body produced sweat that drenched his leather armor. His mind couldn't process what happened anymore, he became gradually tired from all the time he spent running at full speed from his outpost.
Slowly, the hard clench he used to hold onto his spear became weaker and looser, until he dropped his spear on the ground. He saw the spear on the ground, and pulled his reins on the horse until it came to a stop.
He came down from the horse, then picked up his spear.
Stomp stomp
The horse sped away, leaving him stranded in the middle of the road, surrounded by nature.
Lack of sleep and tiredness overtook Hubert.
He saw his horse speeding away but didn't bother to catch it. Instead, he sluggishly, while dragging his spear, walked over to the side of the road, slightly concealed by bushes.
His adrenaline was dissipating.
Thump.
---
Hubert's dream
"Hubert! Hubert! Don't run so fast in the middle of the field!" a woman shouted over the grain field where Hubert was running on, her voice filled with worry.
She was beautiful, a young woman, with black silky hair and black eyes. With expression that showed worry and love to Hubert.
"Don't worry mother! I'm just going to see father!" small Hubert responded.
About 100 meters, a man with a straw hat over his head and a hoe in his hand worked the field filled with blessings of food for his family. Small Hubert ran toward him with a huge radiant beam on his face.
Thump
An unfortunate small stone on the ground, ensnared small Hubert toward the ground with it. Hubert's vision went black as he closed his eyes.
Then he opened his eyes again, this time he was on the ground.
A sight of fire and smoke. Bodies and corpses. Blood and heads. His hearing filled with screams, and his muscles froze so that he couldn't move. His eyes twitched, and his pupils dilated.
Everyone around him was getting massacred, yet he could only watch and do nothing.
Then he closed his eyes again.
This time he found himself cornered, with his back to a tree.
"Weak Hubert! Weak Hubert!" other kids from the villages mocked him.
"Hey, hey, you know a funny name? Hubert Gubert! AHAHHAHAHA!" another joked.
"Hey, I'm Hubert Gubert, and I can't defend myself!" another taunted.
"Hubert, look at this fist!" a boy said. Then he threw it at Hubert.
His eyes closed again.
This time, it was back at the outpost.
"HELP! IT HURTS!" the voice of a man's fearful scream could be heard.
"HUBERT! HUBERT! DON'T BE A COWARD!" the brawly guard shouted at his face.
"THE BARBARIANS ARE BREACHING THIS SIDE OF THE WALL!" a watchman shouted warnings to his fellows from afar.
"HUBERT! PICK UP YOUR SPEAR! PICK UP YOUR SPEAR! OR ELSE, WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
"BECAUSE OF YOU! BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"Shut up… Shut up…" Hubert muttered.
He closed his eyes, hoping for the voices and sight to stop.
"You are a coward."
"HELP!"
"Pick up your spear, Hubert!"
"Hubert Gubert, look at this fist!"
"Because of you…"
"Weak Hubert!"
"AHHAHAHAHHA!"
"AHAHHAHAH!"
"IT HURTS!!!"
"HUBERT HELPS US!"
"We're all going to die!"
"Run! Run! Run!"
"Die…"
"BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"Hubert can' defend himself! AHAHAHAHHA"
"Coward Hubert! Coward Hubert!"
"Your mother must be disappointed."
"Die, die, die…"
"…"
Then it all became
Quiet.