Waves crashed against the cliffside, a lone figure stands resolute at the top. His face filled with grim determination. He jumped, legs outstretched behind him, arms glued to his sides like a fighter jet. He hits the water head first.
Lykos Middleton awakes in the middle of the night with a start. Beads of sweat running down his face. His limbs shaking uncontrollably. He remarked to himself, “one hell of a dream”. He tries to check on his brother, Patrick, to see if he is still asleep. The illumination from a bright full moon is not enough to see his brother. Lykos reaches for a candle. As the candle lights, he sees a figure cloaked in darkness, crouched in the corner. Suddenly, without warning, it moves as fast as lighting, its cloak billowing out as if it were windy in the room. Grabbing his brother Patrick by the legs and swinging him over his shoulder like a bag of wheat, he flies through the window. Lykos watches the figure land on the ground and take off running at a speed that no man is capable of. Lykos quickly goes after him but the robed figure is nowhere to be seen. He runs back to tell Garit, his aging father. “Father, Patrick has been kidnapped!” After explaining the events to Garit, his father brings out an heirloom sword which he presents to Lykos. “Take this sword and venture out into the land to search for your brother. This is the sword that our ancestors used to slay demons, like the one you have just described”.
Lykos ventures out to town. The town is quaint; surrounded by green rolling hills. Many people are out and about. He hears the clanging of the blacksmiths, the chickens are running about on the dirt paths, and the people are all busy working. He stands at the town square and shouts for attention. He tells the people his story. Three men step forward to volunteer to join him in his quest. The first, Dexios Pertile, is the town’s blacksmith. He is a burly man in his late 30’s with a scruffy face and deep voice. The second, Osmont Lingeman, is a lanky farmer in his 20’s who looks almost twice his age. Derric Yunza, the third volunteer, is the town’s butcher. He has a hardened face as though he has seen many things that he wished he hadn’t. He is slightly pudgy and is in his late 40’s. Twas an odd group to be galavanting off on a quest with, but it would have to do.
The four men leave town with the villagers trailing behind them saying their goodbyes. The villagers, however, stay within the boundaries of their town. They are fearful of some evil presence that may be looming over the land. Rumors have circulated of a goblin army forming in the west. Lykos’ story has convinced them that these stories must be true.
The four men head toward a temple to seek guidance from a soothsayer. They want to know what the creature is and where it could have taken his brother. During their travels, they encounter a goblin. He is a puke yellow/green shade with a nasty sneer on his face. His ears and nose are pointed as if sharpened by a whetstone. He does not speak, he only snarls. Lykos and the goblin draw their swords, making an erie metallic grinding sound. They stand at the ready, the goblin holding his sword out in front of him. Lykos has his sword out to the side, looking like a bird of prey. They charge at one another, swords clashing and sparks flying. The goblin reposts and swings down with a look of grim amusement on his face. Lykos barely catches the blow on his sword.
The battle rages on for what seemed like hours. Just as Lykos was about to give up, Dexios sees an opening in the goblins fighting pattern and jumps in. He lifts the goblin off of the ground and cries “Finish him!” Lykos, with a quick slice from his sword, decapitates the goblin. Just as the men begin to celebrate, a rustle is heard from behind the trees. They turn to see a line of goblins 50 feet wide. The already tired Lykos draws his sword, as do his companies. A goblin battle cry rages from the forest. They charge, Lykos runs down the middle of the army. His sword sticking out in front of him like a jouster. He turns to see his companions running beside him. Lykos shouts, “Form up, we can cover each other’s back.” They create a circle– like triceratops protecting their young. Lykos takes out a goblin with a single swing of his crimson blade. Dexios disarms one of the goblins, only to have it leap at him with its claws outstretched. It is cut down by Osmont in mid air. Lykos demands, “Turn, make it harder for them to attack us.” Lykos deflects a heavy strike, creating massive sparks which set the grass on fire. Goblins being flammable creatures, quickly burst into flame igniting the trees. “Go!” Lykos shouts to his men. They dash through the trees.
Ahead of them, they see a dark figure walking away with a man floating in midair beside. They real ize that this is Patrick being taken deep into the woods. The figure senses their presence and slowly turns around drawing his sword. Just as Lykos sees the sword, the dark figure charges toward him. Lykos is knocked off his feet by the strength of the blow. The demon swings down for the kill strike but is met with Dexios’ blade. Sparks fly and sting Lykos in the face. The demon then whirls around and blocks a strike from Derric. Before he can recover, there is a jump strike by Osmont from the side. The sword slices through him, but has no effect. The demon realizing that he is outmatched draws a second sword from inside the sleeve of his cloak. Thick billowing smoke begins to drift toward them followed by embers from the flames. The demon flies toward the men with both swords twirling in front of him, like an industrial meat grinder. Suddenly, a sword pierces through his chest from behind. The demon vaporizes and Lykos stands behind him holding his family’s heirloom sword. Patrick falls to the ground and awakes from a deep sleep. Lykos yells,“We have to get out of here, the forest is burning down!” Patrick, now conscience, stands to join the men. They run out of the forest and return to the village. The villagers sit in awe at their tale of demons, goblins and battles.
