The Door Between Worlds Chapter Twelve

Bright morning sunlight poured through the color stained glass and splashed down on the pews, altar, and paintings of the chapel.  Standing up from the kneeling stool he had at the front of the chapel, Priest Bartholomew shuffled toward the door easing his bulk through the doorway.  He shook his head full of wispy white hair, muttering all the while, "This isn't good.  Not good at all.  What is happening, oh Lord?"

Stepping out of the small chapel, he waddled his pumpkin shaped body across the courtyard of Earl Eric's castle.  "He needs to know." He rumbled as he shuffled up to the door.

Heaving open the heavy oak doors, he paused and panted, catching the eye of a smirking guard who was on duty across the courtyard guarding the gate.  "Quiet yourself son, if you had any respect, you'd be rushing over here to help me open this darned thing."

"But, I'm on duty, I can't-"

Waving away the excuse, he slid his bulk through the doorway and walked into the cool, dark of the Great hall.  Shaking his head, he pushed through a door on the right side of the hall, and waddled along a corridor that he knew led to the Earl's private chambers.  Stopping outside the large door frame, Bartholomew cocked his head back, and swept his wizened old hand along the carved frame.  He had always admired this work of art.  Shaking himself out of his revere, the Bishop knocked loudly.

A tired voice responded, "Come in."

Earl March never believed in a chamberlain.  He thought that that would be too overbearing.

Watching his fat priest struggle to fit through any doorway always brought a grin to his face. Earl March grabbed a wine cup from the side of the table and downed it in one gulp.  Peace planning for a nation for tiring.  "Peace with you, father."

"Peace with you, son.  But don't sit there and pretend you don't find my appearance amusing."

As he continued to grumble, Eric smiled.  This is why he loved his priest.  Priest Bartholomew had been with him since birth, and had been one of his closest friends during the darkest hour of the war with the Pirates.  As the priest stopped, Eric offered him a chair and drink, which the priest accepted, with slight reluctance.

"What's on your mind, father?"  Eric asked as the priest got settled.

After a sip, he put the cup down deliberately, he shifted his bulk in his chair.  "It's troubling.  I was praying in my chapel today, when I felt a cloud descend on my thoughts.  It had nothing to do with the weather, as I thought it did.  There.. there was something unsettling.  It seemed as though God wanted to tell you something.  I don't know what happened, but the other day when you sent off that party of men, my heart has been heavy ever since.  Something isn't right.  I believe that.. that the men have fallen into peril."

Eric's face had clouded with every word.  "What?  Are you sure?"

Priest Bartholomew nodded solemnly.  Eric thought for a second, then nodded back.  "It could to be connected with the thunderstorms on the mountaintop.  Would that be an unreasonable suggestion?"

"No, my liege, it would not."

The earl sat motionless, then all of a sudden, leapt to his feet.  "I must ride after them.  I sent them, so I can not allow them to fall into harms way!  Pomoshink!"

At the sound of his name, a page jumped out from the shadows where he had been lounging, ready to go at his masters beck and call.  "Find, Difensore, and tell him to muster the troops, and to have them ready by sundown."  Bowing quickly the page-boy disappeared with a flurry of movement out the door.

"And you, father, pray for us.  We will need His sure hand protecting us tonight."  And with that, he disappeared as well.

The Door Between Worlds Chapter Eleven

Abraham stopped before he entered the clearing- Silas, Emeric and Gideon on his tail.  He vaulted from the saddle, then he whispered, "Silas, Emeric, you two go on this side of the clearing.  Gideon and I will take the other side of the clearing."

Abraham and Gideon glided from shadow to shadow, as they peered into the clearing, making sure there was no one in the clearing.  As far as they could tell, the clearing was empty.  Abraham was about to step out into the clearing, when Gideon grabbed his forearm and pulled him back into the shelter of the trees.  Abraham watched as a band of seven men burst into the the clearing.  Bloodied and muddied from the battle that had just finished, they stopped and strove to catch breath.

One of the men who looked like he was in charge, asked to no one in general, "What does it take to satisfy that Mathie?" He let out a string of fluid curses under his breath.

One of men followed suit and asked the surrounding wood, "Why can't we just settle with the two back there that we captured?  What were their names?  Sterling and Odin?"

Abraham whipped his head around to Gideon.  He looked like his jaw just dropped about a foot.  He looked at the company of seven men as they started moving forward swiveling their head from side to side.

"Should we attack them?" Gideon whispered.

"No.  Stay where you are, maybe if they'll leave we can keep going. We just need to alert Silas and Emeric to stay put-"

But before Abraham could think aloud as to how to inform his comrades, the two men flung themselves out into the clearing and charged at the group with shouts of rage.  Gideon cursed silently under his breath, and immediately looked at Johnson.  "Sorry Ab."

"Doesn't matter, we need to help them."  Drawing his sword he jumped out into the fight, Gideon on his tail.  Two men had already fallen to the swords of Silas and Emeric.  The leader whirled around just in time for Abraham's weapon come crashing down on his skull.  With his head in half, the leader of the band collapsed.  Before the rest of the search party knew what had happened, their attackers had doubled.  Gideon slew another.

Adrenaline pumped through Abraham, as he turned to find that two others had fallen to Silas and Emeric.  When the only one left of the seven noticed that he was the only one standing, he turned tail and fled.  But before he could get far, Gideon threw a knife, which buried itself in between his should-blades.  Abraham looked at him in surprise.  "Nice throw."

Gideon grinned through the mud on his face.  Abraham looked around at the other two, who had smiled as well.  He glared at them, suddenly stern, "Why would you do something like that?  When these men don't return to their commander, he will know something will happen!  That was rash!  We may have just jeopardized what Jason and Obadiah had sacrificed for.  And that was to keep us safe so that we can continue the mission."

Silas and Emeric looked abashed.  Silas was the first to speak up, "I'm sorry Ab, I wasn't thinking."  Emeric nodded in agreement.

Abraham nodded in acceptance of the apology, "We need to leave, and fast."

As the four went back into the wood to get their horses, Abraham grimaced.  When would they have to stop running?

The Door Between Worlds Chapter Ten

Mackluckie watched as the company rode hard and fast for the forest, he grabbed his horn that hung from the saddle of the Drolf standing next to him.  He blew it twice,and his troops sprang after the retreating quarry, leaving five fallen Alptraums, four dead Drolfs, and seven men lying on the ground.  He grimaced, Jason Sterling had a crew of hardy men.


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Adrenaline pumped through Abraham's veins as they raced toward the treeline.  He chanced a glance back, what he saw wasn't comforting.  The advantage that the company had had, was now vanishing at a rapid pace.  He turned back around, and shouted a warning up to Jason.  Riding next to Jason, Silas turned around on his steed, notching an arrow.  Taking aim, he let fly.  After hearing a dull thud, and a bone rattling shriek, they assumed one Drolf had fallen.

Before any of them could congratulate Silas, Jason yelled through the wind, "We're almost there, get ready to jump off the horses and load your bows.  If we all-"

But before he could finish his command, out of the refuge that they were trying to gain, spilled nearly eighty men.  All of them armed to the teeth.  All of them ready to do anything that they could to stop the fleeing band.  Hemming them in from in front, and the monsters approached from behind.  There was no way that they would be able to break through the oncoming wave of fresh soldiers.  They were trapped.

Jason reined his horse in, once everyone had gathered around him, "Split into two groups.  Ab, Silas, Emeric, and Gideon go west and get out of the way before they hem us all in.  Obadiah, lead the Amos, Saul, and Thomas in the opposite direction.  I'll hold them off here-"

Odin rumbled disagreement, "You will do no such thing.  You can not alone withstand these two combined warhosts.  Two are better than one, I say. Amos take Saul and Thomas, now."  He turned and glared in defiance at Jason.

Jason was about to object, but their enemies were closing in fast.  He sighed, "Fine.  Remember, to meet up at the Fort.  Obadiah, you can stay, everyone else, fly.  NOW!"

The appointed groups galloped in opposite directions. Confused, the enemy stumbled to a halt.  They had not expected the company to split.  Least of all, going in two different directions, and leaving behind two of their own.  Coming to their senses, and ignoring the shouting and threats of their commander, who was standing on a knoll a little way away from the battlefield, they zoned in on the quarry standing midway between the two armies.

Mathie watched in frustration as his armies ignored his remonstrances. He mounted his Drolf and descended into the battle to try to restore order, and send out parties to pursue the retreating groups.  He ignored the command of Queen Lydia echoing through his head to stay out of the battle.  He didn't want his quarry slipping out of his grasp.

Jason Sterling and Obadiah Odin watched as their pursuers gained them.  They looked at each other, then grasped each other's forearm.  "Elohim with you," Jason intoned.

"And also with you." Obadiah responded.

Turning so that they were back to back, they started chanting the old Aleppian battle chant. "The Warrior is my Rock and Fortress, whom shall I fear?"  With a mighty shout, their enemies fell upon them.  They continued to chant as their swords swung like lightening. "The rumbling enemies crash on Him like water on the stone-cold cliffs. Whom shall we fear?"

They felled as many as were in their reach, but more and more replaced the fallen. "The spear and arrow fly, but whom can pierce the protection of my Lord?  My enemies surround me, and scoff and say, 'Where is your God?  Who will protect you?'  But whom shall I fear with Elohim's Hand of Protection on me?"

Jason fended off three men at once, as Obadiah was pressed with two Alptraums from the back.  Jason jabbed to the man on his right, which put the ruffian on guard, and the other two launched themselves at him, thinking that he had put his guard down.  Jason sidestepped the first swing from the third man, and spun, swinging.  Hearing the satisfying crunch of the metal biting into the shoulder blade, he grimaced.  Expectant, Jason dropped to a crouch as a sword whistled through the air above him.  He swung his sword and flipped the soldier that had started on his left onto his.  The man hit the dirt, but Jason finished him off before he could think of getting up.

As he anticipated the first soldiers move, he rolled backward.  Jason collided with the soldier, knocking him down.  Jumping up, he spun around and dispatched the soldier as he was struggling to get to his feet.  When Jason turned to see how Obadiah was dealing with each other, a searing pain pierced the back the back of his leg.  He looked down and saw a spear protruding from his kneecap.

He tried to pivot, but he was tripped and pushed down to the ground.  Someone grabbed the spear shaft and wiggled.  Sterling's face contorted in rage and pain as he let out a cry of agony.  He struggled in and out of consciousness, but one of the last things he remembered was Obadiah hurling a man ten yards, before he was finally tackled by five men and thrown to the ground.

Then Jason knew no more.