Chapter 36, Ambush

(Ardivar)

In the east of Laurentia rode a scout of the army. He gripped his reins in a white knuckled grip and kicked his mare's ribs gently. The horse snorted lightly for once, tiptoeing along the stick strewn path. Bryson wiped his sweat drenched brow and glanced over his shoulder for the umteenth time. Fear gripped Bryson's heart.

All Bryson ever wanted was to gain the respect of his superiors and the admiration of all the beautiful ladies of his small home city of Drent. Little did he know that joining the army as a scout was by far one of the worst ways to become popular.

It was for that reason he had volunteered to scout to the left flank of the retreating army. He could still feel the chaste kiss Balentina had given him when he left for his mission. Bryson's heart lifted at the thought of her gentle curves and soft lips. He shiver in excitement, as she had promised much more than a kiss upon his return.

He caught movement, and just like that, a swarm of creatures walked from the trees.

Bryson shook his head. He didn't have time to be thinking about such things. His heart raced, and he immediately turns back towards the army. Bryson needed to return to the army and report this dire news. His heart was gripped with fear as one of the enemy let out a high-pitched howl.

All thoughts of women fled Bryson's mind, and he slammed his heels into the mare's sides. His horse, just as startled by the howl, freaked out, nearly throwing him from the saddle as she bucked and ran down the path. Bryson desperately grasped the saddle as he clung to his horse's hair and the saddle horn. The uneven path and the narrow corridors slowed them down. Sliding back to his unsteady seat, Brysson glanced back at his pursuers.

He was shocked to see a small creature running at the head. Bryson was sure he must have hit his head, as the creature was far too bizarre to be a Darvan warrior. Bryson turned just in time to notice the branch crossing the path. Bryson was brutally torn from the saddle, blacking out as he fell flat on his back on the uneven path. Gasping, he sat upright, his head swimming and his back screaming in pain as he watched his brown mare run with all of her might down the trail.

Bryson swallowed and shakily rose to his feet, reaching for his short sword. His preparation was pointless, however. One of the smaller Darva, running down the path, stood for a moment and, in one fluid motion, threw a spear. Bryson staggered as the heavy object slammed into his gut. Bryson collapsed to his knees and through blurry eyes he looked up as the small odd creature lept its maw of razor-sharp teeth opening wide. His last thoughts were of Balentina, as he felt the savage teeth tear into his flesh.

Ardivar hissed in approval as he marched, occasionally glancing over his leathery shoulder. The Darvan pack creeping quietly down the valley. With one more scout killed, Ardivar was sure they could attack the human column from the side once again. If they didn't hurry, the scouts' disappearance would be noticed. The last thing he wanted was to fight one of the human monsters. He much preferred a quick hit and run to an outright confrontation.

Ardivars warriors and scouts panted heavily from the long hike, but that couldn't be avoided. He wanted to attack the remaining food supplies before the human army reached their city. The damned human mages and their rune traps were making the rest of the Darvan army travel much more cautiously than Ardivar had. Ardivar hissed.

" What is the plan Varsuth Ardivar?" asked number Two, his voice projecting to Ardivars mind.

" We will crush their remaining food supplies. If the humans reach the city starving with no food, it will be much easier to assault the city." said Ardivar, his mind assessing the best way to defeat the humans in a long-term fight. Ardivar had plans, and in order to grow and take what he wanted, he needed to get stronger and more influential.

Even now there were the human monsters that could end him with a single wrong move. Ardivar was weary to confront the human monsters. Creeping through the trees, Ardivar led his warriors towards the dust plume drifting over the forest canopy. Such a large group of humans sure did kick up an enormous amount of dust. Projecting his thoughts to all of his pack Ardivar order.

" Be quiet, do not howl! We are not trying to scare them. Our goal is to kill the guards surrounding the food and burn it then retreat to the safety of the trees."

" But Varsuth Ardivar, why don't we wait until night to attack?" asked one of his newer pack leaders. Ardivar could have scolded or threaten his new subordinate, but Number Two had been teaching him.

" They expect us to attack at night. If we want to catch them off guard, we need to attack them when they least suspect it." Replied Ardivar, projecting his thoughts to all of his warriors and the younger scouts.

" Halt!" Order Ardivar as he creeps forwards. He had little faith that all ninety-five warriors would go unseen if they got any closer.

They approached quietly, their paws making little noise on the pine needles and moss underneath the trees. Clank! Clank! The distinctive chatter of human talking drifted to Ardivar's doglike ears. He couldn't see the column yet through the thick green foliage, but judging by the sounds they were close. Pushing aside a branch with one clawed paw, he analysed the humans. Nine hells! The damned human had sent some of their guard to watch over the remaining covered wagons.

Ardivar sighed, it couldnt be helped. What did he expect? Of course, the humans would work to protect the rest of their food after his last attack. Breathing deeply of the air, Ardivar waited, tasting the gusting breeze. He tasted dust, the scent of sweat and the faint sweet smell of mana. Ardivar shiver in excitement, unable to stop himself. Clenching his claws, Ardivar breathed deeply. Ahh, the scent was thin. Judging by how faint it was, there was a powerful human who had already passed. But he couldn't yet smell the humans who he knew were guarding the rear of the column.

Perfect! He eyed the three canvas covered carts and the horses pulling each. Ardivars scented faint traces of mana, radiating from the carts. Ardivar smiled, stupid humans. They hadn't even left a single mage with the food. They would regret their folly.

" Lets go! Scouts throw your javelins until the warriors reach the humans. Attack!" Shouted Ardivar, projecting his thoughts to all of his pack.

The Darvan warriors rushed from the trees, followed shortly by the scouts. The scouts each threw a spear, the heavy javelins arcing and falling onto the scrambling humans. They hit five of the twenty humans in the initial throw, making the twenty guards fall into disarray. Ardivar lurched to the side, just in time to avoid an arrow as the deadly projectile just missed him, the air of its passing washing over him.

Several of his warriors were not so lucky, as the five human archers among the humans took a deadly toll. Two of the deadly shafts took a warrior that was surpassing his speed, one digging into its shoulder and one in the chest. While another keeping pace stumbled yelping an arrow in its leg. Snarling with barely contained rage, Ardivar channeled his mana. His veins burned and his muscles ached, the mana both feeling good and painful. Ardivar created a rune and with immense focus created a dome of four runes around the grouped human archers.

The archers scrambled to escape the deadly dome of shimmering green mana, but several were too slow. The ground shook as his runes activated. Smoke and the scent of burning flesh traveled to his nose in the breeze. Ardivar felt a heavy pressure, and a moment later he was tumbling across the hard dirt, his head swimming.

Ardivar shook his head, trying to shake his dizziness, squinting from the noonday light and rising to his feet. What in all hells? He sniffed the air and froze. His warriors were engaged with humans. There was far more than he had initially thought. Each of the covered carts was being torn off, revealing nearly ten humans in each. What was even more puzzling was the sickeningly sweet smell of mana now filling the air.

Startled, Ardivar took a step back, his heart pulsing in his chest.

" It is a trap! Kill them all!" said Ardivar, unwilling to back down with the rage and hate flowing through his body. Normally he might have run, but the emotion from the Darvas lost comrades led him to push forwards. Ardivar estimated there were nearly fifty of the humans and two mages. It was that vile woman with the axe and the monster of a man known as Kellar. Ardivar hissed as the Darva slammed into the humans.

Ardivar weaved amongst the teams of Darva, making his way towards Kellar. The human positively reeked of mana, the man making Ardivar's skin prickle. To Ardivars disbelief, Kellar wasn't creating massive explosions. Kellar created a small, complex rune that shot out a thin wide scythe of fire, cutting several Darva in half. Crouching behind a shimmering red dome of mana, Kellar channeled death with brutal efficiency. Ardivar had hoped the proximity to the humans would help, but it appeared Kellar was more than up for the challenge.

Frustrated, Ardivar created several runes himself willing his fire to create a thin, cutting blade. He hissed as his unformed fire slammed uselessly into Keller's red dome of mana. Unlike Kellar's attacks, Ardivars appeared unsteady, and two of the runes produced no green fire. Even though the mage's red dome sputter and faded, Ardivar decided that perhaps learning new magic in battle was a bad idea? A Blazing red rune formed just in front of Ardivar and in the blink of an eye a cutting blade of red fire shot towards Ardivar's face.

Startled, Ardivar let his legs fall from underneath him. His head swam with pain as the heat of the flame boiled his scalp. Furious and gritting his teeth from the pain, Ardivar closed the distance to Kellar. He lept into the air spanning the distance to Kellar. He unsheathed his claws, aiming for the human's neck. Ardivar felt a stinging pain in his side as he was violently torn from the air. Ardivar tumbled along the ground, crashing into the feet of a nearby human. Ardivar looked up through blurry eyes, forcing his shaky legs to work. He gasped for breath, winded from the blow to his side.

"Varsuth Ardivar, we are coming." Shouted a frantic voice in his mind. Ardivar gasped, wincing at the pain in his side as he rolled weary of an attack. Clang! Something heavy slammed into the dirt where he was previously standing. Ardivar glared murderously at the woman. Katherine hefted the heavy battle axe from the dirt, raising her arms for another swing. Katherine lept to the side with blinding speed just before an armoured black Darva lept through where she had been standing.

Number two rolled snarling and circled a wide eyed Katherine while another smaller light brown Darva rushed towards Kellar.

" Number two, be careful fighting the woman. She is strong. I am going to help Taliante with the human mage." Said Ardivar as number two attacked the woman. Number two was fast avoiding her battle axe, the metal whooshing as it swung through the air.

" Dont worry Ardivar, I will get revenge for all of our pack mates." replies Taliante, her voice sounding serious for once.

The much larger threat was the mage. Ardivar knew that if he didn't focus on the enormous threat, they would annihilate his pack. Kellar drew his sword and widen his stance, thrusting his sword at Taliante. The young Darvan warrior twisted aside and slashed her shimmering claws at his outstretched arm. Kellar jerked back in surprise at her speed. Ardivar darted in from the side and attacked.

A shimmering wall of red mana snapped into existence right I front of Ardivar. It was all he could do to arrest his momentum and stop. Ardivar hissed, circling as Kellar fended off Taliante. Her strikes were quick, and she was fast, but Kellar was as well. The young Darvan yelped in pain as Kellar cut a deep line across her shoulder, his sword cutting through the armour and her light brown fur alike, blood spilling from the gash.

Kellar only just blocked her shimmering claws as he retreated. Ardivar hissed, darting to escape as Kellar formed runes around Ardivar, boxing him in at the same time as he fended off the enraged young Darva. How did the man do that? Ardivar had trouble channeling runes normally, much less while in a fight to the death. Mana filled his body as Ardivar created runes, green fire scorching Kellar's cage. Shrouded in a green inferno and a thick wall of smoke, he could see nothing but a wall of green and red fire. The air crackled and popped as his runes finally eat through and he was free. He stepped through the thick smoke just as Taliante stumbled, falling for Kellar's faint. Kellar lunged forward and drove his sword into her unarmoured neck. Ardivar bellowed in rage, feeling an unfamiliar crushing loss at the fetal blow.

His mind filled with a rage that was all-consuming. Ardivar attacked Kellar like a rabid beast, taking several long cuts as his claws nicked the human's flesh. Ardivar grasped Kellar's sword hand in, his jaws tearing, and rocked his head violently. Kellar screamed in agony, his yell a sweet melody to Ardivar's ears. Pain bloomed on his skull as a steel clad boot slammed into Ardivar's head. Looking up through swollen eyes and blurry eyes, Ardivar noticed a tall human with deep black hair and cold brown eyes. His confusion mounted as his pet stood in front of a pale faced Kellar, her metal reinforced shield held in front of her.

Judging by the blood on the edge of the round shield, and Ardivar's inability to see out of his left eye, it was a shield, not a metal boot. He shook his head to clear the foggy pain clouding his mind, the vile taste of human blood filling his mouth. He stares the pale face Kellar in the eye and, gagging, chewed the man's fingers just to spite him. The fingers were crunchy and tough, but he forced them down his throat. Ardivar even swallowed the vile things.

Backing up slowly, Ardivar frantically assessed his surroundings? For a moment, he had acted like a feral beast. That was bad. In the several minutes he had fought Kellar, nearly a half of his Darvan warriors had fallen. Number two and Katherine were panting heavily, covered in cuts and bleeding all over the dusty road. Ardivar snarled and channeled mana swaying on his feet. That wasn't good. This would be his last attack with mana. Several runes formed around Katherine. The battered woman's eyes went wide as the green runes formed moments before she disappears behind a pillar of green shimmering fire.

" Retreat, fall back to the safety of the forest!" shouted Ardivar into the minds of his pack, realizing they needed to fall back.

Ardivar's inattention cost him as his pet human rushed forwards slamming her shield into his head once more. Completely surprised by the attack, Ardivar lay stunned on his back, staring up into the cold and furious eyes of his Pet human. Gritting his teeth from the agony it caused, desperately Ardivar wrapped his mana around himself, recreating a familiar illusion. The surrounding air flickered as his pet drew back her sword, aiming for his chest. His mana settled into place and the woman paused, her killing blow; her face flickering through a miridae of different emotions.

His pet glanced up as something snarled from behind Ardivar, heavy paw prints on the hard dirt rushing towards them. She backed away cautiously. Ardivar felt teeth grasp the nape of his neck.

" I told you to retreat." snapped Ardivar struggling weakly to free himself.

" You are my pack leader I will not see another die today. Hold still, Varsuth, I will carry you." said Number Two in Ardivar's mind. He was pulled none too gently from the bloodstained dirt and carried like a puppy hastily from the field. The unorganized humans tried to cut off their retreat, but Number two weaved around them, rushing towards the tree line. Hey! Kill Them! Archers! Somebody find a Bow Shoot them! Shouted Carley, her voice going mostly unheard amongst moaning and battle shocked soldiers.

An arrow thudded into a tree next to Ardivar's face, but they made it to the safety of the trees in seconds. Hot breath and a trickle of blood washing down his neck were his only comfort as they fled this defeat. Ardivar vowed he would return to hunt that monster Kellar. The human had crossed the line when he had killed Taliante. Ardivar had never expected or wanted to feel such a thing as sadness. But now he had felt the unusual feeling he would repay Kellar tenfold by taking away everything the man loved. And his pet would rue the day she betrays him for those scum humans. She too would suffer.