Chronicles of The Life-Taker, pt 2!

Welcome one and all to another John Garrett Stuff newsletter!

There's just a little news on my other non 'Life-Taker' projects this week.

I received some new art from the artist I hired to bring my 'Bill Collectors' comic to life, more on that one here:

So I'm hoping he can get the rest done by the end of the year and I can start promoting that one.

Although I still have to put the words in and maybe/possibly get someone to color it. Ehh, who am I kidding? This thing won't be out until next year for sure!

Anyway check this page out.. .very cool stuff!

But aside from that, it's time for another installment of everyone's favorite Vultaikan, Kurzhon The Life Taker!

Last time (seen here) the big man had just been set upon by bandits.The thrilling continuation begins now!

“Try to leave one alive…

… but do not try too hard.”

~ Kurzhon the Life-Taker

* * *

There had been times, in battles past, when Kurzhon had found himself nearly overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Many times, he had been surrounded. Many times he had only survived by using the utmost of his abilities. Strength, skill and concentration joined together in order to strike out again and again at his foes, wearing them down with precision and planning.

This was not such a time.

Though his attackers enjoyed greater numbers, Kurzhon had little, if any, respect for their skill.

As such, only a small part of his mind was dedicated to the current assault on his person. The rest dwelled on mundane matters that might as well be dealt with now.

Should I head north or west from here? he thought, as he sidestepped the short sword strike from the man with the graying hair.

The man had overbalanced, and so leaned in toward Kurzhon. His head was met with a rock-solid closed fist that both collapsed his cheekbone and broke several teeth.

Another result of Kurzhon’s strike was that the man let go of his sword, which flew into the air.

Kurzhon snatched it mid-flight. I have much business to the west, he thought, but I may not be back in these lands for at least a year.

The injured man fell onto his hands and knees, blood pouring out of his mouth. Kurzhon swung the sword down with a sharp snap, swiftly lopping off the man’s head. It bounced toward Kurzhon and he kicked it absentmindedly behind him. Horse fidgeted as the head bounced toward him.

This left three boys and the girl. The very tall boy who had been in the road paused and shouted.

“Dad! No!”

Then he growled, face contorting in fury,

“Dellon! Kurry! Let’s get ‘im!”he shouted, and charged at Kurzhon.

The girl, Mina, was frozen, hands covering her mouth in horror, but the other two boys from the forest moved in with the tall boy, daggers at the ready.

North, Kurzhon thought, I should definitely go north from here.

The tall youth attempted an ill-advised overhand strike with his dagger. Kurzhon reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist, then bore down and twisted, snapping it easily.

A sharp wail of pain erupted from the boy. Kurzhon was disgusted by the undignified cry, and used the short sword to run him through, pushing the blade through the boy’s stomach.

Then Kurzhon grabbed the dying boy and turned, throwing his body into the path of the two final armed companions who had almost reached Kurzhon’s position.

One of the boys, a round-faced youth who Kurzhon decided would be ‘Dellon’, dodged and attempted to circle around Horse in order to get behind Kurzhon. The other boy, Kurry, was not so lucky, and collided with the tall boy, both of them falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

For a brief moment, Kurzhon had nothing to do but look at Mina, who had now removed her hands from her face and balled them into fists. Tears streamed from her eyes and her expression was pure fury.

Then he spun around and struck out sharply with the short sword. Dellon had attacked just how Kurzhon had expected, and so his strike connected with the boy’s dagger in such a way as to knock it from his grasp.

Dellon had one heartbeat to register that he had been disarmed before Kurzhon flicked the blade of the sword up and slashed his throat.

Immediately the boy’s hands flew to his throat, but there was nothing to be done. A waterfall of blood fountained between Dellon’s fingers as he dropped to his knees.

Meanwhile Kurry, the last attacking bandit, had just freed himself from beneath his dead comrade when he witnessed the throat slashing.

He stared, frozen in terror. Then he looked to the big man.

The big man was staring right at him. His face was cold.

Kurry turned and ran into the forest.

“Kurry, no!” shrieked Mina. “Come back! KURRY!!”

Kurzhon exploded into motion, sprinting into the trees after the boy.

“Horse, TAKKA!” he shouted as he ran.

For the smallest fraction of time, Kurzhon entertained the notion of letting the boy go, but then he dismissed it.

It was usually good to leave one alive, and so to spread tales of his deeds and prowess, but he thought he could leave the girl to live, as she had not tried to attack him.

Instead he pushed on relentlessly, powering through the thick trees after the boy.

Kurry, in contrast, was so panicked that he tripped and fell much more than he actually ran.

Even worse, he kept looking back, and each time he did, the big dark man was closer… bigger…

… angrier.

Finally, he tripped for the last time. Kurry flew forward a good distance and skidded across the cold, hard ground onto his stomach.

He tried to get up, but something pushed him back to the ground, hard.

It was a foot. Pressed hard into his back.

The pressure lifted a bit, and Kurry frantically turned over onto his back, trying to scramble backwards.

But there was nowhere to go.

The shape of the dark man blotted out the sky as he reached for Kurry.

* * *

Back at the road, Mina heard a blood-curdling scream, then a series of squeals, and then nothing.

She decided it was time to go, and she also decided she would rather ride than run.

Moving quickly, she reached for the reins of the big man’s horse.

Now it was Kurzhon, who had begun moving back to the road, who heard a shriek of pain cut through the morning air.

Smiling, he knew what he would find when he reached the road.

When he cleared the trees, he saw just what he expected.

Mina was on her knees, desperately clutching her forearm. Blood seeped from between her fingers as she rocked back and forth in agony.

Kurzhon stopped to admire the scene. The command he had shouted to Horse earlier directed the animal to allow no one near but himself.

Until he rescinded that command Horse would attack any and all who attempted to lead, ride or otherwise interact with him. The girl was lucky she had only been bitten, she could have easily been gutted.

Then Mina recovered herself.

“Stupid horse!” she shrieked. She scrabbled across the ground, reaching for something.

Kurzhon saw she was going for the dagger he had knocked away from one of the bandits earlier.

Mina stood and marched toward Horse, brandishing the dagger before her.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!” she cried, lunging forward.

But suddenly, between her and the animal, there was a solid mass of dark brown muscle.

Mina realized she was staring into the chest of the big bald man.

In a flash she felt a painful, iron grip on the hand that held the dagger, holding it closed. Then she felt an even tighter grip on her throat.

“GLLLKK!!” she spluttered.

She felt herself rising off the ground, being lifted by her neck. She couldn’t breathe.

“GRRRRRK!” she said.

Then her face was brought level with the face of the bald man. A face contorted in fury and hatred.

“You would attack my HORSE?!” he growled, his deep voice booming into her face.

Then the man began moving the dagger, still enclosed in her fist, toward her chest.

Mina saw that he was going to stab her - make her stab herself! She brought her free hand up to fight it. She fought it with every ounce of her strength.

It was nowhere near enough.

Mina felt the entire length of the dagger’s blade as it was pushed slowly into her chest and into her heart.

Kurzhon watched with satisfaction as life faded from the girl’s eyes.

He let the body fall to the ground, then turned back to Horse, placing his hand on the animal and rubbing his neck.

Damnation, he thought.

If he had known he would be forced to kill that fool girl he would have let the boy in the forest live.

Now there would be no one to spread tales of his great deeds. Shaking his head, he moved to calm his companion.

“Shhhhhhh. Horse, takka no. Takka no,” he said, thus releasing Horse from his alert state. It was never good to keep an animal in that level of high-alertness for longer than necessary.

After he made sure Horse was calm and steady, Kurzhon searched the bodies of the would-be robbers.

There was little of any use. He found several copper coins, which he took, but the weapons they had used were all inferior to anything he already owned, and so he left them.

They had no food or water at all, which annoyed Kurzhon. He assumed they must have some sort of home or hide-hole nearby from which to base their robberies, but it was not important enough to try to find it.

He retrieved his axe from the body of the bandit he killed and cleaned it perfunctorily on the boy’s cloak. He would clean it more carefully tonight when he made camp.

North, he thought, I will head north.

With no more business there, Kurzhon took hold of Horse’s reins and continued his walk up the road.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

Thanks for reading and make sure to let me know what you thought, I read all responses!