Pure of Heart

As the darkness gripped the land again, the prisoners who had been dragged from the Howling Fjord were beginning to sense their end was near. They had stopped a few days earlier, and the trolls had seem to wait for something. That something must have happened because now they were working themselves into a frenzy. Their fires reached high into the dark sky as they danced around them, howling like crazed animals.



One woman clutched her children, refusing to cry or show fear, because she wanted her children to not be afraid. When one of the guards turned to smile threateningly at the prisoners, she met his gaze unflinchingly. He barked something to his fellow guard who came over and answered in their guttural language. They opened the door and the first guard strode over to her. She passed her children to another woman who shielded their eyes, not wanting them to see what was happening.



The troll grabbed her by the ears and yanked her onto her feet. He licked her neck, scratching her face carelessly with his tusks as she tried to jerk away. She could hear the other one hollering with laughter, while her fellow prisoners cowered in fear. She tried clawing at his face, and managed to draw some blood, but he only laughed. He threw her to the ground and stood over her laughing while he undid the lacing of his pants.



She looked straight into his eyes, without flinching, even though inside she was terrified. She was going to be raped, and it was going to hurt, a lot judging by the size of his cock. She would not scream though, she would not give him that satisfaction. He squatted in front of her and roughly pushed up her skirt and forced her knees apart. She tried to resist, but his strength was tremendous. He positioned himself while he held her down with one hand on her chest. He leaned his face right down to her, and she thought his breath would kill her.



“Dis is gonna be good my girl, you gonna be beggin to be my fuck slave.”



She spit in his face, “I'll cut off your cock!”



He laughed in her face, and his teeth caused her to shudder. She closed her eyes and prepared herself, praying to the light to kill her quickly.



Suddenly there was a commotion all around them. The troll swore and rolled off of her to see what was happening. She opened her eyes just in time to see him slashed across the throat and fall to the ground. A young man stood over him and ran his sword through the troll's guts. There was a final shudder, and then her would be rapist was dead. The other one had lost his head she saw.



“Come on,” he said urgently, “get out of here now!”



He jumped out of the cage as the prisoners followed him. The woman picked up one of her children while the other was whisked up by another prisoner, and fled the cage. She could see trolls were starting to come towards him, but the young man was ready for them. While they ran into the night as fast as they could, he was going to stand his ground, she realized.



She ran into the trees, and the sounds of combat were starting to ring behind her. She ran as fast and as hard as she could until she and the others reached the road. Before moving on, she turned and spared a last look at her rescuer. He was already fighting the trolls on his own, he was holding them off so that she and the others could get away. She spared a quick prayer to the light for him, and ran off into the night.







Meleager's whole body was on fire. The trolls came at him all at once, but his body seemed to be moving free of thought, taking them down with smooth, effortless strokes. He was free of fear, of doubts and of regrets. He was going to die here, but he at least would die well. He accepted that, and made peace with it.



The trolls howled as they rushed at him, trying to take him down, and everyone he killed infuriated them further. He hacked at them with his sword, while his holy magics ripped through them like fire. He knew it wouldn't last, but the longer he could stand here, the better the chances were for the settlers who were now running into the night.



A sharp pain hit his arm, as one of the spears got through and ripped into his muscles. He brushed it off and swung his sword down on the troll who managed to get him, cutting into his throat. Another pain hit him in the leg, followed by another in his side. They were starting to get through. He kept his calm, preparing himself mentally for the final blow, trying to take as many of them with him as possible.



His vision was getting blurry and his head light. His limbs were beginning to feel heavy, but he continued to swing at the trolls. Another blow hit him in the back and he fell to his knees. He struggled to regain his wits and get back to his feet, but more blows came upon him, driving him to the ground.



Then they stopped, and Meleager was left panting on the ground, wondering what next. They're going to finish me off, he thought, and he closed his eyes waiting for the final blow. He was roughly rolled onto his back and he opened his eyes slowly and saw a large troll grinning at him with a nasty looking spear in his hands.



He laughed maliciously as he raised the spear.



Meleager closed his eyes and prayed to the light to accept him into its grace.



Pain erupted in his belly and he felt blood rush into his mouth. He coughed and spluttered, unable to think through the pain. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the trolls were laughing at him. Their laughter pierced his ears, and the pain shooting through his body was more than he can bear.



But then, it started to subside, the laughter of the trolls became a quieting hum, everything seemed to become lighter as he slipped away into the light.





**********************



this can't be the end can it?



CAN IT?!



No folks, it ain't, there's one more chapter left. What's going to happen? Will the forces of light win? What is Felara's plan? What happened to Calyn? Why is a story with this little sex on adult-fanfiction.org?!



Many of these questions will be answered in the final chapter, which I am writing right now.