The Sleeping King

Extract

Behind William Julie now held her mace shakily in the defensive stance she had learned from her limited training at The Fist in Corning, but she knew it wouldn't be enough to help William . She wasn't terrified, but the cleric knew she was outmatched in this physical confrontation. She only hoped she didn't get in the way of her best friend, or get him killed while he tried to protect her.
The light of the sword extinguished temporarily when William slammed the blade into the midsection of the first troll, burying it nearly to the hilt. The area plunged back into darkness as the creature yowled in pain. William slammed his mace into its knee as he withdrew his blade, casting light again. The injured troll tumbled to the ground, and the monster dropped its weapon while gripping at the deep laceration in its stomach. The other two trolls had regained their composure and growled menacingly, circling the warrior who stood with his mace and sword pointed at each intruder. They knew he was the threat and didn't even look at the Templar's companions. Out of the corner of his eye, William could see the first troll still thrashing around, but he didn't lose his concentration. Up close, trolls looked much bigger and meaner than any story he had ever heard.
“Get Julie away from here,” he shouted at Finkle. He still didn't trust the halfling, but he had to work with what he had available, and he didn't need any distractions.
The two trolls had taken opposite sides, forcing William to stare ahead between the two in order to see them both with his peripheral vision. Vaguely he thought about the two blademasters who had tried to teach him a lesson. Except he knew this lesson was going to end in bloodshed, and he wanted desperately to make sure it wasn't his blood. His breathing slowed as his mind floated in empty space, and he relaxed into his posture. He embraced the serenity of blankness every skilled warrior learned to use in combat. On the battlefield, soldiers had to block out everything around them that wasn't a direct part of the battle. Listening to the cries of your fallen comrades could easily be the diversion an enemy used to help you join them.
In the dim regions of his mind, William saw the troll facing his sword roar in defiance with its veins popping in its neck. The feint attempt didn't trick the blademaster, and he knew the other troll was charging. He lifted his mace to defend against the oncoming blow, but only braced it enough to slow down the descent of the attacker's weapon. He calmly stepped forward and twisted his waist with a sudden turn in his shoulders to slam down his sword on the thick oak trunk and pin it temporarily to the ground. The troll's weapon thudded into the ground where William once stood, lightly grazing the folded edge of his leather traveling boots. He felt the vibration of the impact through his feet. William's mace hit the first troll's club, and it splintered the end into pieces. The troll screamed curses at the blademaster and hurled the remainder of its weapon at his head. The wood caught the top edge of William's shoulder, causing the warrior to spin back and nearly sprawl to the ground. The strength of the trolls was incredible. William realized that one of these trolls could kill him with a single blow. One of the trolls was already hefting its maul in another attempt to maim William, who was dashing straight at the other, unarmed troll.
The injured troll lurched unsteadily to its feet with one hand covering its bleeding wound. It reached out for Julie. It was happy to stumble after weaker prey and gurgled in maniacal glee. Julie smacked its hand away with her mace, but overextended her arm with the swing. The troll simply slapped her with the hand that had been holding its stomach, forgetting its pain in the urgency to kill the priestess. Julie hit the ground and lost her grip on her weapon. The mace clanged on the ground out of her reach.
“Julie!” William screamed.
He used the momentum of his charge to slide between the open legs of the weaponless troll and clip the back of its bare ankle with his sword. The troll screamed as it toppled over. The troll chasing Julie crashed headlong into the falling troll. The two creatures tumbled to the ground together in a howling pile. The sword cast garish shadows over the entire scene as the source of light danced around the campsite in the warrior's flashing hands. The troll standing over Julie had raised its fist over its head and was about to pound the priestess into the ground with a killing force when Finkle popped between its legs and stabbed the creature in the foot with his dagger. The troll cried out and hopped on its good foot while grabbing at the wound. It yanked out the dagger and growled at Finkle, who was scrambling to get out of the way. It backhanded the halfling into the dying fire. The empty cooking pot rolled into the grass undamaged, sparks from the embers spraying into the air. The halfling lay unconscious in the fire pit, his tunic smoldering from the heat.
Julie hit the troll square in the back with everything she had. The mace barely reached above the ragged cloth the monster wore at its waist. It howled and arched its back. With a barbaric shout, William leaped over Finkle's body and hammered the troll squarely between its legs. The troll's eyes rolled into the back of its head as it collapsed again. It curled into ball, whimpering. It wouldn't cause any more trouble now.
William dropped his mace and jerked the unconscious Finkle from the fire pit to sling him roughly toward the priestess. His shoulder was bleeding from the blow he had received, but the blademaster didn't truly feel it. He didn't have time. The uninjured troll roared with rage as it clambered back to its feet. The last fighting troll charged toward William, and Julie watched in awe as she saw him do something she didn't even think possible. When the troll's club struck the ground, the blademaster leaped onto the weapon and ran up the beast's extended arm. When the Templar planted his foot on the bewildered troll's elbow, its forearm was weighted into the embers with an awful hissing sound. William reached its shoulder and slid down its back. The aggressive action forced the troll's body down further into the burning coals. William swept his sword in a wide arc. The light disappeared as William drove it between the troll's shoulder blades with both arms, and it reappeared when it protruded from its chest. The troll was dead before it flopped onto the coals.
In one fluid motion, William retracted his blade from the back of the dead troll and thrust it precisely into the eye of the troll with the sliced ankle. The blademaster could almost feel the presence of the blade in mid-flight. That troll, too, fell to the ground lifeless, and the night plunged back into near darkness with most of the bright blade buried. William had a grim look on his face in the pitched shadows when he picked up his mace and finished off the whimpering troll that had attacked Julie with a final blow.
William could hear his heart pounding in his ears in the deafening silence that followed. The whole battle had only lasted a few minutes, but to the Templar it had seemed like an eternity. The void fled from his mind and he fell to his knees in exhaustion. His shoulder ached fiercely now and the warrior could no longer ignore it. He knew he had been only inches away from death, but he never once worried about himself. He turned to Julie and smiled weakly.
The shadowy flashes of light and darkness and the acrobatic way William had moved would have seemed like a painted caravan show to Julie, if it hadn't been so gruesome. He had fought like a character from an age-old legend. She hadn't suspected he was that skilled. She found herself looking at him in a different light. Abruptly, she became aware of the situation. William was hurt and Finkle was shaking his head and blinking his eyes disconcertingly. In dismay, he poked at the holes in his clothing. The smell of the burning troll made the air pungent as the priestess ran to Grumpy Oats and pulled out some vials. The donkey brayed at her presence.
“You're going to complain now?” she said incredulously.