Jordonās Quest -Ep. 1: The Fortunate Hero
The beast was made of steel and bone. At ten feet tall, it had the general shape, stance, and movement of an ape, while its head was like that of a boars, featuring large tusks that resembled a mammothās. A row of razor sharp knives made up its spine. Its large, over-sized hands had nails cut from diamond. Its arms were as long as an entire man. When it snorted, steam spewed forth from its nose.
Well
, Jordon thought,
at least Delvin has an imagination
.
The ape-boar, a magical construct Jordon had quickly named a "Threat", swung wide, trying to knock the brave crusader into the wall. Jordon hurdled over the beastās arm and avoided being crushed, which is more than could be said for the pillar the Threat connected with. Enraged, it swung again, trying to grab at Jordon. This time, Jordon dropped to the ground and rolled under the Threatās strike. The Threat took out another pillar. More of the temple roof began to crumble. Nearby, Delvin laughed.
I donāt like the way this is going.
"Whatās wrong Jordon?" Delvin asked, "In over your head again?"
Jordon didnāt reply. Delvin was referring to their last encounter, when Jordon had all but lost his life to a simple quicksand pit. He was chasing Delvin through a series of catacombs connected to a monasteryās wine cellar. In his zeal to catch the evil mage, he stepped right into Delvinās trap. He would have died had not one of the monks come to help him. Now, it looked like he had fallen prey to Delvinās cunning again, but this time, there was no cavalry to come to his aide.
"Let me give you some advice then," Delvin continued, "Donāt get hit."
The beast struck at Jordon again. Jordon hopped over its strike, and brought his warhammer down upon its head, knocking it off balance. Jordon pounded away at the Threatās back, but seemed to do little, if any, damage to it. He new he could not fight it directly, but he had to defeat it if he was to retrieve the sapphire from Delvin. This called for finesse.
Jordon lured the creature around. It made several swipes at him. All the while, Delvin continued his mocking laughter. Suddenly, with split second timing, Jordon darted past the beast through the center of the temple. The Threat swung wide and blind, knocking down the main support beam. The roof started to collapse. Jordon instantly turned his attention to the surprised Delvin, and threw his warhammer at him, knocking the mage down, and the sapphire out of his clutches, and across the room. Ignoring everything else, Jordon raced for the sapphire, dodging falling bricks at the same time. The Threat made one final lunge at Jordonās back, but was stopped just short of a killing blow, when a huge chunk of falling ceiling crushed it.
Meanwhile, Delvin got to his feet. More and more rubble began to fall down around him. He cursed himself for underestimating Jordonās determination to win. He knew there was no more he could do here. Clutching the obsidian amulet around his neck, he quickly chanted the words of escape. Energy swirled around his body, and he began to disappear.
"Next time, Jordon!" He yelled, just before he was gone.
Jordon paid no mind to Delvin, he was too busy trying to avoid being buried alive. With the sapphire neatly tucked away, Jordon raced for the exit. Taking a few extra quick steps, he managed to pick-up his trusty warhammer. Just then, the center of the entire roof gave way, and came crushing down. Jordon pressed his legs harder the he ever had before. Rocks fell behind, leaving a trial of near-misses in his footsteps. Ahead, he saw that the main door had all but collapsed. Now there was but only a small opening to go through. With a yell, Jordon dove through it, and came rolling out the other side, just as the rest of the ancient temple crumbled.
Iāve got to stop cutting it so close
.
*****
Although shaken from his battle with the Threat, and his narrow escape. Jordon was making good time back to the town of Quickwink. The humble village had suffered since Delvin had stolen the sapphire, but that would soon all change. Once the magical jewel was back in the eye of the statue of Dryna, the crops would grow again. Jordon only wished Delvin hadnāt of managed to slip away. Next time, the malicious sorcerer would not be so fortunate.
"Help," a small, feminine voice suddenly called out.
Jordon wheeled and looked around. He saw nothing.
"Help," again it cried.
Jordon dropped his travelpack and began to search his immediate surroundings. The voice was faint and very high pitched, so it was hard for him to determine how far away it was coming from.
Which way? Which way?
"Help, please."
Jordon thought he a fix on its direction and began to run towards it.