The Breath of Kyne - Chapter 3: Freeing Friends

• Posted by Lyall February 7, 2016 - 1,254 views

  Fjorrod wasn’t given much time to think about the roar, as he soon came upon the road where Ulfric still sat, surrounded by Imperial guards. 

  They all wore light armor, aside from the captain, who wore heavy. He would have to take out the captain first, then the other guards as they rushed him. He would also have to shoot fast, faster than he ever had to before.

  Fjorrod took a deep, calming breath, and readied himself. The captain was slowly scanning the forest, and would see him soon. When she looked at the swath of the snowy forest that was harboring him, he would have to launch an arrow through the visor of her helmet, a difficult shot, some would say impossible, but Fjorrod was raised with a bow in his hands.

  He didn’t draw his bow yet;, he knew that his arms would start to shake when he finally got the opening and it might throw off his shot, the consequences of drawing too early.

  Wait, wait, wait… now, he thought, nocking an arrow, and aiming for the narrow slot in her helmet. As her gaze fell upon him, he released the arrow, and instantly brought his bow to full draw, preparing to shoot at the other Imperials,  without even looking to see if he was successful with his first shot.

  Unfortunately for Fjorrod, the wind had picked up at the precise moment of Fjorrod’s shot, carrying the arrow slightly off course. It still made it into the gap in her helmet, but instead of the instant, silent kill he had been after, it hit her in the cheek, embedding itself far into her face. She let out a terrible scream of pain, before falling silent, struck dead.

  The other Imperial soldiers whipped around to face her as she screamed, then frantically looked around for the person who shot her. Fjorrod, in rapid succession, let loose a storm of arrows, killing three Imperials and wounding two more, putting them out of the fight.

  The Imperials then figured out where he was hiding, and charged. He wasn’t far into the woods, and the five soldiers had little distance to cover when closing the gap. He managed to kill two more before they reached him, then by backpedaling he gave himself enough time to shoot the third.

  As one of the soldiers who reached him began to bear down on him, attempting to decapitate him, he nocked another arrow, bringing the bow to full draw while ducking under the man’s blow, then swiftly shot him in the face, instantly killing him.

  The man’s companion took advantage of his momentary lapse in attention towards him, and stuck with all of his might. Fjorrod blocked the strike with his bow, turning his instrument of death into a shower of splinters, raining wood in between the two foes, giving Fjorrod some time to adjust himself, and his strategy.

  Taking a short cross between a dagger and sword that he found on the Imperial he fell on earlier, he smoothly stepped forward, bringing his weapon back to stab at the Imperial’s chest. The other man swung his sword in a diagonal swipe, putting all of his weight into it.

  Ducking under the sword, the blade skimming his head, he stabbed the dagger into the Imperial’s heart, burying it to the hilt.

  Seeing the surprise in his foe’s eyes, he muttered sadly, “They never think it can happen to them, that they won’t die. Death is the only end to life, and you learn that, one way or another.” The Imperial heard only the first few words Fjorrod uttered, before Oblivion claimed him.

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