Happy Blog Day Everyone!
Chapter 15 of Avalon Tales is here, and we really are getting close to the end! There's only two - three things to wrap up now, which means its increasingly likely that this story will be all wrapped up by November. Which is interesting considering that when I last did this with Phantom Dawn, it took a full year and then some (Avalon Tales started late February in comparison). Question is though, did I tell an interesting story? We will see with time I guess.
Last week I reported that I was planning to finish up a short story and submit it...Guess what happened? I ran out of time to get it finished to my satisfaction. It's unsurprising really. I'm not giving up though, a new timer had been set fot the next month's submissions and I've got an idea that I want to try...Just need to write it!
Now let's see what Brennan and Riz are getting up to. Is Riz finally out of the hole?
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
Short Diversions: Avalon Tales Chapter 15
Last time, Isabelle, Cade and Robyn has tracked down the treacherous Master of Arms, Rainer. They had spoilt his plans to trap Isabelle’s father but in doing so had left them facing down a horde of demons... Can they persevere?
Let's find out!
Avalon Tales Chapter Index
Chapter 15
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Chapter 15: All Out Fight
No sooner had the fight started when Cade darted forward, dodging the initial volley from the demons, with his sword unsheathed and ready. Robyn backed him up by unleashing a volley of arrows on her own, her fingers letting arrow after arrow fly. Despite how they looked, the demons didn’t seem particularly tougher than any they faced previously.
Isabelle blocked any of the projectiles that she thought were coming Robyn’s way, spotting them with relative ease. This played on her mind that things were going too easily in their favour, but she did remind herself that what they were facing now, was only designed to push the enemy back, back in to the corridors they already collapsed, meaning these demons were probably more bark than bite. She spotted Cade near the front rank of the demonic forces, and watched him cut three of them down in quick succession, more or less proving her right. Rainer had moved backwards, allowing the demons to act as shields for him,
“Rank up and repel!” Rainer ordered, and the demons shifted their positions, and instead of scattering their fire attempting to hit all three of them, they went after Cade, forcing him back.
“His treachery knows no bounds then,” Cade muttered. “I had my suspicions, but one never wants to be right in cases like this.” He then sliced into the ground, causing some of it to lift up which the three quickly huddled behind.
“This isn’t going to be easy is it?” Robyn said, as she checked how many arrows she had left before she had to turn to more conventional weaponry. She had brought some guns with her, but between her accuracy and the arrow heads, she believed she was more efficient with the bow. As it was though, the numbers were against her.
“We’re going to need a plan to get through this,” Isabelle said, watching carefully as the edges of their refuge were being chipped away.
“Agreed, our goal should be to apprehend the traitor so they can be taken back for interrogation and imprisonment” Cade had his eyes closed, focusing his breath knowing what work lay ahead of him.
“Robyn, I think we should leave that task up to you,” Isabelle followed Cade’s lead and thought only about what they needed to happen now..
“Me? Take down the Master of Arms? I mean I guess if I get a shot I can take it, but I had no idea what he’s capable of, could I even incapacitate him with an arrow?” Robyn questioned.
“For all intents and purposes, Rainer is a normal human. He possesses no Kindred powers or demoni magic. He is armed with a Saviour weapon like all high ranking members, but that is the extent of it. It was his experience and will that pushed him through the ranks. If you get the chance, take the shot and if it is true, it’ll put him down,” Cade explained, which did put Robyn at ease.
“You make it sound so easy, but whatever, if its got to be done, I’ll do it. Just clear the way for me okay? He’s got a lot of bodies he can hide behind,” She took an arrow out and got it ready in the bow.
“Me and Cade will take care of the demons, I mean, there’s not that many of them..,” Isabelle joked half heartedly, knowing that it was the opposite, but when had the odds ever stopped her.
“Ready?” Cade asked, seeing the cracks forming in their makeshift earthen shield.
“Ready!” Both Isabelle and Robyn replied.
At that point, the three started moving again. Isabelle and Cade went in opposite directions, splitting the demo’s fire in half as they became priority targets. Robyn moved backwards, putting some distance between herself and the monsters, and looked around, trying to get a good idea of where the Master of Arms was so she could do her part in all of this. Rainer was still standing where he had been before, watching the action unfold carefully.
For their part, Isabelle and Cade got in the thick of things quickly, attacking the demons directly. At first, the demons were cut down easy enough without much fight back. On the subsequent demons though, something changed, as their movements quickened and they started counter attacking, meeting the Avalon Soldiers swords with their own claws. Against the Saviour powered weapons, the claws were still not enough to hold back such weapons, but they were effective in making things difficult.
Seeing that two of his would-be captors were now occupied, Rainer chose to focus on Robyn, who was still trying to get into position for a good shot at him. With a flick of his wrist, he dispatched another ground of demons to converge on her position. Not wanting to waste valuable arrows, she reluctantly pulled out her handgun, and started firing at the demons with the same accuracy.
Isabelle wasn’t having much more luck as the demons were proving too numerous, but she kept at it, keeping a careful eye on the edge of her blade, that neon light she’d activated to give her weapon the same cutting power that Cade was enjoying. There was times where it seemed to fade, a worrying sign that the battery was about to go, leaving her without a weapon, and possibly worse, an angry Rei to deal with. One of the demons went to lunge at her as she sliced one of its comrades in half, and she ducked under it and attacked back, the tip of her blade severing its main artery in its neck. Still, there were more demons, and even Rainer was barely visible within the crowd. She believed in their plan, that Robyn could change things around with a single shot, but the question was slowly becoming if she’d ever get the chance. Determined, Isabelle began to force herself to move, directing her attacks, wanting to reorient herself closer to where Rainer was, all in the effort of clearing the way for Robyn. She didn’t know if Cade would see her struggle and know to do the same, but there was no other choice, not against the horde, if they kept doing the same thing, then they would drown in numbers.
To her benefit, Cade saw and understood what he had to do. Whereas before he was happy to let the demons provide an opening he could exploit, he started to work more proactively, forcing his way through till he also started moving closer to Rainer's position.
“Pathetic,” Rainer muttered as he saw what they were doing. “You’ll never stop me with tactics like this. He raised his hand, and parts of the walls exploded outwards as ranks of demons started shooting from elevated positions. The shower of bullets tore through the demons that were already in combat, no concern at all for anyone caught in the wake. To Rainer, every living thing in that chamber was expendable. Isabelle and Cade were barely able to retreat, but even then, they couldn’t stop moving as the demons up above simply changed their aim and commenced firing, even if it meant shooting through someone else. The upshot of this, as far as Isabelle could see it, was that the chamber had lost a lot of the demons that were there when they first entered, but Rainer still seemed as far away as before, with demons constantly moving around him, stopping any and all attempts at taking him out at range.
Isabelle nodded to Cade, who returned the sentiment, the way the battle was being fought might have shifted, but not their conviction, and their plan remained the same, they just had to work harder for it.
With renewed vigour, the pair started moving forward again, pushing through the demons that they could, killing the ones who fully blocked their path, all the while dodging the fire from above.
A small smile twisted on Rainer’s lips as he kept his eyes on them. He made no attempt to move, but instead wrapped his fingers around the handle of his blade. He watched and waited as they got closer and closer, the demons protecting him following the preset instructions.
Just a bit more… Isabelle thought as her blade cut through another demon, Rainer was now tantalisingly close to her. She wanted to look back at Robyn, to make sure she was okay, but she trusted her more than enough to actually turn her head. If she had done this on her own, like she originally intended, she would have been dead already. For that reason alone, she had to continue fighting. Inch by inch, she got closer and closer, until the demon in front of her fell, its neck a gaping wound, and the traitor was standing there.
Seeing this as the sign he’d been waiting for, he withdrew his sword, intent on giving Isabelle the fight she clearly wanted.
In response, Isabelle dodged to the side, allowing Robyn, battered but victorious, to release the arrow she’d been holding on to. It flew true, but at the last second, as if pulled by another force, Rainer jerked to the right, taking the arrow through his left shoulder, the impact still knocked him to the ground, when the demons swarmed around him again, putting another wall of flesh between him, and the knights of Avalon.
“Close, but not close enough,” Rainer said with no struggle, despite the arrow that had pierced his armour easily. He was about to say something else when a different sound stopped everyone, it was the sound of explosions, as the row of demons above them, disappeared in a blast of fire. Then came the gunfire, aimed at the rest of the demons.
Rainer scrambled to get to his feet as more Avalon soldiers appeared where the demons had once stood. One man stood proud of the rest though, and with eyes of thunder, he glared at Rainer.
“This is over, traitor…” Leo commanded.
“Is it now? Let’s see, shall we?” Rainer replied, still holding onto his sword…
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Next Chapter (not live yet)
Did someone call the cavalry? Will it make a difference? Guess we'll find out in two weeks time! Though, I hope the demons don't call their own reinforcements...
That'll be a wrap for now, as always, there's a lot to do and little time to actually do it! Hopefully I'll have started the new story before I'm back here again.
Till next time...
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
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