Chapter 26 - Confrontation

Author's note:

Hail Peerless Talent Holders!

I have received quite a lot of feedback, edit suggestions, and corrections on the grammar and spelling of the chapters. Which made it apparent to me that the software I've been using has been insufficient. I've switched to a different one, and hopefully, you will see far fewer grammatical and spelling mistakes going forward. Over the following days, I'll edit all the posted chapters on RR, Patreon, and my backlog to see if I can weed out any more mistakes.

It was also noted to me that I had not made it apparent enough that Erik and his group were quite thirsty since they set out on this expedition. I'll make a few minute corrections on the last 3 chapters to highlight that a little more.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Everyone jumped up in alarm. Their heads snapped to the northwest.

After a few heartbeats, five people—two men and three women—walked out from between the trees. All of them wore crude light armor made from the dark wood of the decaying forest. There was a woman with a large scar across her cheek, another with long red hair, and one who was extremely tall. One of the men was a large one with a bold head.

And the last one, who appeared to be the leader, was a man of medium build and long black hair that fell messily around his head. 

They exuded an air of resignation like all the human in the valley but also one of savagery.

The leader, who had just spoken, continued.

"We meet again, Thrane."

There was an indifferent coldness in his voice. It was as if he had encountered a barely noticeable bush or wildflower.

"What are you doing here, Gareth?"

The leader's eyes moved from one person to the next, briefly glancing towards the group's belongings, where the waterskin lay, then finally lingering on Erik. When he returned his gaze to Thrane, he finally answered.

"You have gathered a peculiar group here.... We came on orders. The chief's offer still stands. We definitely have space for you," he paused before shifting his gaze back to Erik, "and any new friends you've made."

"You know I won't."

The man just nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Erik, who remained silent, simply observing the newcomers.

"How about it, young man? Would you like to come to our settlement? We can help you a lot more than Omr and Gylfi."

"Thank you for the offer. I'll consider it," Erik replied with a smile.

The one called Gareth nodded slowly, but his eyes darkened and added, "Don't take too long."

Thrane frowned, and Erik noticed from the corner of his eye that the man was extremely tense.

The leader of the new group turned his attention back to Thrane.

"Well, friends, we are here because our benevolent chief has decided to extend his invitation for shelter to all the humans in the valley, especially in these tough times."

Silence was the only answer he received.

Whatever they are up to, it's not out of the goodness of their hearts, Erik thought.

"I will inform the Omr when we get back. I am sure he will be very grateful," Thrane said.

"It would be best if you came with us now. Things are getting too dangerous, and we don't know if any harm will befall you," Gareth said as his expression turned even colder.

The silence stretched, and the tension became palpable.

Dammit! This is not going well. My Undead are on their way back, but it will take them a bit more time to get here.

"We are going to manage," Thrane said through gritted teeth.

Gareth raised his eyebrows. "I never thought that people from the small settlement were so capable."

He paused, observing them all for a moment before nodding.

"We a—"

Thrane had begun saying before the tip of a bloodied spear burst forth from his torso.

Time seemed to slow down. Erik's group stared at the scene with wide eyes, unable to believe what was happening. Thrane caught blood, looked down at the protruding weapon, and then looked over his shoulder.

"Why? I've known you for years..." he said.

"I can gain more with them," was the emotionless response he received.

All of their attention had been focused on the group in front of them, and they had not paid attention to the quiet villager who had barely said a word throughout all this time. He was now standing behind Thrane with his spear fully embedded in the man.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" shouted the annoying one. 

He dashed forward and skewered the traitor in the shoulder with his own spear, shouting yet again, "DIE TRAITOR!"

Blood splashed everywhere, and the quiet one, for the first time, screamed louder than all of them. But he didn't take long to retaliate. As the spear was being pulled out of his shoulder, he grabbed it and pulled the annoying villager towards him, headbutting him hard.

The annoying one stumbled backwards, dazed, and was about to be tackled. However, at that time, Thrane spun around and burst the traitor's head open with his axe.

"Endur run!" He shouted, while spinning back to face the enemy.

To his credit, the kid wasn't frozen in fear and took off running back towards the village. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing the heavy spiderweb armor.

"Get him! We can't afford to allow him to notify them and complicate our plans."

Then, the woman with red hair took off after the Endur.

The tall woman lunged for the annoying villager, aiming to pierce his head. Still dazed, he couldn't evade her completely. Her weapon scraped his right cheek and tore off his ear. He, in return, pierced her lower abdomen.

Gareth attacked Thrane, and their axes collided, producing a loud clang. They seemed to be on equal footing for now, but it wouldn't last as the man was heavily injured.

The final two went for Erik. The large man and the woman with a scar across her cheek. All of this had taken only a few heartbeats.

He knew that he was no match for them in a straight-up fight—he needed help.

The skeletal remains he brought lay just south of their camp. The others did not want to be near them, so he had no choice but to keep them outside at a distance.

He dashed towards them as fast as he could.

With a slight head start, he reached the spot before his pursuers could catch up. Erik had prepared bones in advance, laying them out, ready to be raised. Keeping his body positioned to conceal his actions, he placed a hand on one of the remains and activated his Ability. Teal sparks flashed within the hollow skull.

Immediately, he felt extremely lightheaded. And swayed as he got up. 

I need to be quick. This fourth one is now draining my essence constantly.

The two chasing him caught up and stopped just over a dozen yards away from him.

They only briefly glanced at the skeletons, but when the bones didn't move, they refocused their attention on Erik. From their angle, they did not see the teal spark in his minion's skull.

They somehow knew where to find us and about the water, but the traitor apparently hadn't managed to tell them about my Talent, Erik thought with slight relief. 

He still had the element of surprise.

"Just come with us. Don't make this difficult," the woman said.

"You know, I might be more inclined to do so if you told me why you want me to come."

The two shared a look. The man shrugged. 

"We need to leave the valley. Otherwise, we are all going to die. And we are going to have a better chance if we band together," the woman said.

So they want meat shields, Erik realized, but he kept his face neutral.

He threw a quick look at the fighting in the camp. Thrane had another heavy injury on his shoulder, but he had also managed to leave a brutal one across the chest of the dark-haired leader. The two men were going back and forth with savagery.

The tall woman had skewered the annoying villager in the chest, but in return had received another nasty wound on her thigh.

Erik quickly scanned the surroundings, but the redhead and Endur were nowhere to be seen.

His gaze snapped back to the two before him as they dashed towards him.

He moved backwards and over his minion. Then, he swiped his hatchet in a wide arc.

His enemies leaned back to dodge it.

The woman then came forward swinging her axe towards Erik's shoulder, but he evaded it by the width of a hair and rammed into her, sending her stumbling backwards. The man then came from his left side, swinging his axe well.

"Stab him in the leg!" Erik shouted.

Slightly startled and confused, he slowed down his attack before he could finish it. That was a fatal mistake as the skeleton at his feet pierced his calf with a bone. Making him scream loudly.

Astounded and slow to react to the new threat, Erik embedded his hatchet into the man's shoulder, making him drop his weapon.

"Kill him!" He gave his next command.

The Draugr attempted to stab the man in the chest, but the wooden chest guard got in the way. The large man retaliated by slamming his fist in the chest of the Undead. Crushing most of the ribs on its right side. But his minion did not even react as it continued trying to stab the man.

Erik turned his attention back to the woman. However, faster than he could react, she punched him in the face. Then, she brought her axe on his minion. She was aiming for the skull but missed, instead shattering its shoulder and disabling one of its arms.

A little dazed, Erik knew that his minion would be gone soon, and to his merit, he realized that he was not a match for the female warrior even when it was one-on-one. So he ran eastwards towards the swarm. And as he did so, he looked over his shoulder to check on the situation.

Just before the man could finish it off, the Draugr's improvised bone weapon found a gap in his armor and pierced his chest. The man's eyes opened wide, and his struggling stopped. In the next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood. He was still alive, but most likely wouldn't live until the end of the day.

The woman, too late, finally crushed the Undead's skull. Destroying Erik's minion. 

Full of anger, her gaze searched for him and immediately gave chase when she saw him.

It took them only a little bit of time to reach the boundary of the swarm.

Erik, only with a little hesitation, went close enough that he was only a yard away from the haze and the countless mosquitos.

The scarred woman kept her distance. She hesitates, with fear in her eyes.

They were at a standoff, staring at each other.

"There is nowhere for you to go. Just give up," she said through gritted teeth.

Erik only snorted in response.

"We will do this together." A male voice came from behind her.

Gareth limped out from behind the woman. He was bleeding heavily with a number of wounds across his body.

The woman nodded, and the two advanced towards Erik.

Dammit, this is going to be tough.