Paladin's Cross

by Sage Quill

Gauntlet of Fire and Tears

"When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death - that is heroism."

-Robert Green Ingersoll

---

"Hold!" Morenth cried, preventing any of the guards from initiating the charge too early.

Ghouls were throwing themselves willingly onto the obstructing pyre as their bloodthirsty comrades climbed over them, attempting to make the other side before the fleshy platform below them burst into flames. Many were unsuccessful, but as the hoard began its push in earnest the sheer amount of bodies started to choke the hungry fires.

Dawnbringer, still raised above the Paladin's head, flared to life with anticipation as more of the undead cleared the barrier. Morenth couldn't help but give the holy blade an appreciative smile. It's hatred for creatures spawned of darkness was no less than his own, and had been his constant companion through many battles. Now it would once again light his path into the brutal melee.

"Skirmishers advance!" Morenth ordered as a hand clasped down on his shoulder.

Glancing back to the its owner, the Paladin found Pythoes, looking much improved from his earlier episode. His face was drawn but once again firm as he offered Morenth yet another grin.

"Lieutenant Koren Pythoes is fit for duty m'lord Morenth, nice speech by the by," the young officer japed, drawing his bastard sword.

"And I for one would be happy to have you, lieutenant. Come, there's much work to be done before day breaks," Morenth replied, falling in step with the vanguard.

Pythoes nodded solemnly. "It would be an honor, Lord Paladin."

The Paladin couldn't reply as they were swept into the quickening pace of the skirmishing unit, breaking into a full sprint as they separated from the bulk of their forces. The detachment ate up the ground between them and the still organizing ghouls at a blistering rate, closing half the distance in a matter of seconds.

Shouts and battle cries were lost under the dinn of colliding armored bodies as the leading wave met the isolated undead in a violent clash of metal and flesh.

Instead of meeting the first foe with his shield as he'd been trained, Morenth leveled Dawnbringer and thrust its point into his opponent's skull, driving the undead off its feet with his momentum. Without pausing for even a breath, the Paladin slammed his boot into the monsters throat and tore the blade free, bringing the sword up just in time to smash its pummel into a charging ghoul's jaw. It showed no signs of pain, but was knocked to the ground a moment later when Morenth's booted foot caught it in the chest. The downed undead attempted to regain its feet before Dawnbringer's finely honed edge tore through its throat, erupting the writhing ghoul in purifying fire as the Paladin ran passed without a second glance.

With the initial joining of battle over, and the momentum of their rush spent, the Paladin began working his blade furiously to make up for the lack of a shield. Not that he could have worn one comfortably with his still mending arm. Even wielding Dawnbringer in a double handed fashion was straining the newly formed bone marrow as he continued his assault, whittling away at its integrity with every cut of his holy sword.

Despite this, Morenth's sword didn't slow, and soon the leading edge of the charge wedged its way through the mass of ghouls, circling the undead while harrying the hoard's flanks. The effective tactics the guardsmen fought with spoke of the centuries of experience Hollodrum's defenders had in the vanquishing of the Tartarus spawned monsters.

Outnumbered and outmatched, the unorganized ghouls were slaughtered with impunity as guardsmen separated the undead into manageable groups of isolated cells, and soon cheers rose from the skirmishers as they overwhelmed the remaining pockets of resistance.

The opening bout was swaying in the defenders favor when a vicious roar rent the night air, causing many of the guardsmen to pause in uncertainty. Those not engaged in combat searched frantically for the source, their eyes darting to the darkened alleys around them in fear that they'd been outflanked. Morenth however, needed no confirmation for what was to come, setting his stance as he rallied the guardsmen close to him.

"Steady! Keep to your officers and reform ranks!" he cried, waving to Pythoes who was leading the group nearest to him. "Lieutenant, keep your men well spaced! If that's what I think it is, leave fighting it to me!"

"Aye m'lord!" the young officer replied over the ruckus sounds of battle, rallying his troops with shouted orders.

The visceral roar had all but stopped, replaced by rumbling tremors that became louder as the source of the quakes drew closer.

Many of the guards were shouting confused warnings when the colossal monstrosity barreled out of the shadows cast by the burning barricade, scattering its unholy brethren as it tore its way to a promised meal.

Morenth hadn't accounted for a beast of that caliber to be among the enemies ranks. Its appearance caused the Paladin's mind to wrestle with the wisdom of holding the make shift wall versus retreating to a reinforced position.

"Ulegroth!" one of the men beside Morenth cried in undisguised terror. The Paladin had to decide quickly before the guardsmen decided for him as to whether they fought or fled. If they abandoned the barrier now the coming monster would have the full might of the hoard behind it when it reached their line, something that could never be allowed to happen.

"Hold your ground! Leave this abomination to me!" Morenth bellowed, causing almost all of those who'd been slowly inching away to freeze. Had he been anything less than a Paladin, Morenth harbored little doubt they would have run for their lives. "Lieutenant Pythoes, when the beast comes through the barricade be prepared to plug the hole!"

Several agonizing seconds past before the young officer answered.

"Aye m'lord, it will be done!"

Morenth nodded solemnly and set his stance as the guards pulled away to the sides, preparing to rush in behind the lumbering behemoth as it passed. A few of them muttered prayers under their breath as they gathered their courage for the true fight yet to come.

The Paladin absently clutched the amulet around his neck. Its delicately curved relief caressed his ungloved hand lovingly as its intricate features slipped between his fingers.

"Yuelith, guide my sword with your unwavering light," Morenth whispered as he brought the cool silver of the crafted unicorn to his lips, kissing it to fulfill his own prayer.

---

Wynn shuddered as the thunderous roar shook the base of the wagon she was standing in, repressing the sudden urge to huddle along with the rest of the refugees. Instead, she held her gaze on the battle already met in the distance, willing herself to look upon the coming undead.

It was a lie to say she wasn't afraid, terrified even, but she couldn't bring bring herself to look away. This may be the last time she laid eyes on her home, and she tried with all her heart to see the town as it once was instead of the destruction spread out before her.

The seamstress had walked these streets all her childhood, and she knew every nook and cranny of the main street that ran the length of Hollodrum. Uncounted trips to market at the behest of her father to purchase supplies, and on rare occasion to buy something for herself with the money her father had made from their shop. He had always insisted she be the one to use the spare profits instead of himself, saying a girl should want for nothing with his usual, easy smile.

Her tears welled up uncontrollably at the thought of her family, flowing down her cheeks before she could stop them.

Her mother, strict but fair, always the backbone of the family. Her father, warm and caring with gentle hands as he worked the loom, or a thread and needle, always with a word of encouragement. Her brother, strong and protective, willing to shield her from anything even to his final breath... All gone.

"Miss Venlighed, are you alright?" a concerned voice from below asked.

Wynn hastily wiped her tears away and looked to the speaker holding a large burlap sack ready for the seamstress to haul into the wagon. She was young, younger than Wynn, and she trembled like a leaf with every sound rising from the battle in the distance.

"You see sweety, that's how we survive so far out on the frontier; we look after each other as if the whole village was one big family," her fathers voice soothed from a memory long past, finishing a story she'd long forgotten, but the lesson remained, "So when disaster strikes we can be brave for each other."

Marshaling her courage, the seamstress put on the same brave face she'd worn to comfort her savior minutes before.

"Of course dear, I'm fine," she told the trembling young girl she remembered was the thatcher's daughter, drawing her lips into what she hoped was a confident smile. "Come, there's still more to be loaded and the faster we're done, the faster this will all be over."

Wynn took the sack handed to her by the girl, stealing a glance at the purple unicorn a short distance down the street surrounded by Hollodrum's guards. Despite her short stature, Twilight's newly acquired armor made her look strikingly majestic, like a small piece of Yuelith's grace, blessing them in their darkest hour with her divine presence.

In a rare moment of piety the seamstress prayed for the goddess of light to save what remained of her home, and for the protection of the courageous souls who would be her instruments.

---

Splinters of flaming wood and bodies exploded outward from where the Ulegroth impacted the barrier, pelting the guardsmen with pyroclastic debris. Screams sounded from those who couldn't avoid the enkindled projectiles, flailing wildly in attempts to put themselves out, but Morenth couldn't hear them. He was too focused on the monstrosity emerging from the smoke of the damaged barricade.

Its very presence was an affront to everything the Paladin's goddess represented, assailing his senses with overwhelming disgust of the putrid beast. The bulk of the creature was easily thrice as tall as a man, stomping through the last vestiges of dying fire on four limbs the color of night. Retched cords of chaotic muscle rippled beneath the darkened flesh of amalgamated bodies held together by foul necromancy as it stalked out of the curtain of smoke.

The smell of death practically oozed off it in waves of pervasive stench, forcing the bile to rise in the back of Morenth's throat. Its teeth where rows of red tinted fangs, jutting out at awkward angles as drool black as pitch pustulated from behind a forked tongue.

Such a monster was unnatural in every sense of the word, achieved only through a mastery of the dark artes and countless sacrifices offered to daemons in unholy blood orgies.

To the Ulegroth's side Pythoes hesitated to fill in the gap left by the monster as did his men, unwilling to draw the creature's attention away from Morenth.

The Paladin drew in a steadying breath and locked the Ulegroth with a baleful glare.

"Come monster, face me!" Morenth shouted, taunting the creature in an attempt to force a confrontation. "Come and face Yuelith's judgment!"

It worked better than he'd hoped.

The roar of the Ulegroth shook Morenth down to his bones, and spittle of black ichor stained into his long coat as it broke into a mad charge, seeking to gore him on one of its twisted horns.

The Paladin was faster and dodged around the monster's lowered head, narrowly avoiding getting trampled by the beast's powerful, clawed appendages. In a feat of unnatural coordination the Ulegroth halted immediately, defying the limitations of both man and beast as it whipped around to face him. Its fore limb shot out blindingly fast, swiping at the Paladin before he could set his stance. Morenth bearly brought his sword in front of the strike before it impacted, driving him to a knee under the force of the blow as he tried to maintain his balance.

With his shield arm braced against the flat of Dawnbringer's blade, the Paladin fought for ground in vain. His strength was nothing when compared to an unnatural beast thrice his size, and the competition soon became a struggle to keep himself from being crushed beneath the creature's weight.

Morenth was so focused on maintaining his guard he almost missed the battle cry of the guardsmen as they moved to plug the gap left by the Ulegroth save a few, who had charged instead at the dark monster in a foolish attempt to aid him.

"Lord Paladin!" shouted the leader of the small group of guards as they rushed in from the creature's blind spot.

"Stop you fools, this foe is beyond you!" Morenth managed under the increasing strain of holding off the press.

They didn't hear him as the first brought his sword down, cutting putrid flesh from the beast's supporting forelimb. The creature cast its head toward the attackers and looked about to wretch, its head drawing back as it prepared to heave.

"No!" the Paladin yelled as he felt the Ulegroth's press slacken in response to its awkward posture, and managed to roll out from under the beast's claws. "Fly you fools, you hasten only to your deaths!"

The group of courageous men had no time to realize the danger as dark green, hissing bile erupted from the unholy creature's maw, drenching them in the foul and deadly liquid. Their agonized screams rent the cold night air as skin and muscle melted from their bones, slowly dissolving into an indiscriminate cesspool of mangled limbs.

Morenth choked back a cry of anguish, redirecting the loss into a well of rage as Dawnbringer sliced through the creature's muscled forelimb. his holy sword's enchantments allowed him to cut deeper into the beast's corrupted flesh than the unfortunate guardsmen, the wound immediately bursting into flames as the blade completed its deadly arch.

When the Ulegroth shrieked in pain and turned to face Morenth once more, it buckled under its limb's lack of tendons, falling to its haunches to brace its weight.

Seizing the opportunity before the creature could regenerate, the Paladin leaped onto the creature grabbing the purchase offered by its bent joint, and used it as a stepping stone to the beast's back. The Ulegroth, realizing what it's prey intended, began to spasm and shake, attempting to throw Morenth off.

Try as the beast might, the Paladin would not be thrown. He clutched to the line of greasy black mane running down the length of its back, holding on with all his strength.

Slowly, Morenth made his way up the creature's back in between thrashing fits, reaching one hand over the other, grabbing tuft-fulls of hair In his bid to make the Ulegroth's head.

"I'll have you see Yuelith's grace if I have to force it directly into your skull," the Paladin seethed under his breath as he reached the base of the abomination's neck.

He wrapt The Ulegroth's mane around his hand as he managed a half standing position in striking range of the creature's head, bucking to either side as the beast continued to thrash. In its fit the abomination slammed its shoulder into the side of a building, causing Morenth's arm to scream in pain as the force threatened to snap his still mending shield arm.

The Paladin let rage drown out the pain, focusing on his target. With a short toss, Dawnbringer spun into a reverse grip, its point poised against the base of the creature's skull.

"Know pain and fear, monster," Morenth spat as he pulled himself against the creature, thrusting his holy sword with all his strength into its brain, "And know that it was I who brought it!"

The wailing of the Ulegroth's death throws drowned out everything else as purifying fire exploded from its eye sockets and maw, making it the image of utter agony. Its muscles snapped taut before slackening completely as it fell face first into the cobbled street with a resonating crack.

Cheers accompanied the Paladin as he ripped Dawnbringer out of the creature's charred skull, taking a moment to spit in disgust. A short distance from Morenth, the guardsmen fought tooth and nail to hold the breach. Many in the back ranks were busy piling bodies onto what remained of the flaming barrier, keeping more ghouls from climbing over.

Their skirmish had become a pitched battle, and one they were holding well. This called for a change in the plan. Morenth took a horn Pythoes had given him before the battle, and brought it to his lips, blowing hard into the mouth piece. The call for reinforcements rang through the streets of Hollodrum, though not as loudly as the battle cry that echoed back as Hollodrum's sons answered the call to arms.

Morenth held his place for moment, surveying the evolving conflict for any signs of treachery. When he found none, the Paladin allowed himself a sigh of relief. If the melee proceeded as it was, there was hope they would see the coming dawn.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the first brightening of the eastern horizon began to dispel the curtain of night.

'The long nightmare is almost over...'

Comments

[Alex Wadegrove]

What's an Ulegroth? Some sort of horrible undead creature made of merged together corpses?

[MerlosTheMad]

1980650

It strikes me as a mini boss.

[MerlosTheMad]

"Stop you fools, this foe is beyond you!" Morenth managed under the increasing strain of holding off the press. (What!? Not the Press!)

i.qkme.me/3rwg70.jpg

You don't say?

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[Sage Quill]

1990052
No!!! Not the flashing lights!!!! Damn you press, damn you to hell

[MerlosTheMad]

1995493
region1tech.umd.edu/Pictures/Animations/Camera_Video/flash2.gif
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[shira]

Better!

[Aurum]

In its fit the abomination slammed its shoulder into the side of a building, causing Morenth's arm to scream in pain as the force threatened to snap his still mending shield arm.

Morenth's arm can scream in pain? LOLOL

[DeltaOsprey]

Ok all caught up. Silly sleep thinking you can keep me from an awesome story.

So far my favorite person is the smith. Followed by Twilight and Morenth.
Don't look at me like that, smith's tend to be some of the coolest characters in any story.

[MoonDreamer]

This story is growin awesome and awesome at each character! This please me!

[Sage Quill]

2018374>>2018417
And it is because of this I must apologize for I have sinned. I took a whole week off from writing, there I said it. So the soonest update will be next week.

On an off note, I have cemented the long term story and It comes out to the heavy estimate of 350k words for the first story so buckle in for the long haul.

[MoonDreamer]

2024184

Therefore I forgive you, may the Goddess guide you in deliver so much text so we can feast upon it an rejoice.

[DeltaOsprey]

2024184 No worries. I'll go kill some undead in honor of Morenth. He appears to be the type of person who hates the undead more than I do.

[grey mane]

well done once more my friend

[Sage Quill]

It is with a heavy heart that I announce yet another delay in the next chapter. Tonight I was copying the last thousand words to the chapter, but it was not to be. Instead of copy I hit paste and lost everything. I'm working feverishly at the moment to rewrite as much as I can remember but this will definitely delay its release for a couple more days.

[Arcanist Ascendant]

For some reason, I only heard this while I was reading...

[Mooncrash]

Miss Venlighed? That's danish for kindness