12 Chapter 12

Aerwyn's sleep was interrupted by the shrill voice of a goblin standing over him. It was late in the night so he didn't immediately recognize Teek and panicked for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"KRAG! KRAG!" The goblin shouted and pointed out the door. Aerwyn's sleepy mind took a moment to remember the order he gave his undead last night. He jumped up grabbing his staff before following the little green creature along with Rin and Ren.

Rorik and the direwolves were already waiting next to the goblins in front of the encampment when Aerwyn arrived. All of his undead seemed to be staring in one direction so he matched their gaze and let his eyes adapt to the low light of the moon. Two large shadows could be seen wandering around the area where the goblins bodies were left.

"Trolls... They'd make fine undead for you. Use your flame lance to kill them, i want to see if they'll be brought back by your magic as well." Tylon spoke from behind him startling Aerwyn. He wasn't sure if the dark elf was a mage or an assassin by the way he appeared out of nowhere all the time.

"They seem quite big, is there anything i should look out for?"

"They usually carry large sticks, try not to get hit."

"...Thanks."

Slapping his cheeks to wake himself up a bit more before the battle, he began to move towards the middle of the glade. It surprised him that the trolls didn't seem to notice or care about him as he drew close. Stopping a dozen or so meters away from the large creatures he was able to get a better look at them.

They were nearly three meters tall and carried what seemed to be a small tree trunk as a weapon. He took aim with his staff at the one closest to him before igniting his body. Both of the trolls froze for a moment and looked at him in unison before charging at him. Their large bodies were deceptively fast as they covered nearly five meters by the time he fired his flame lance.

Tylin was right, the time it took for him to shoot was entirely too long. The flame lance pierced through the first trolls chest before exploding behind him. The other troll was hit by the exploding flames halting it long enough for Aerwyn to charge up another. He darted to the right lining up his second shot the same way so that the other troll would be stunned once more.

The flame lance again burst through the first trolls chest exploding on the second however it seemed the troll had no intention of stopping this time. It charged right through the flames swinging it's tree trunk horizontally at Aerwyn. He was left no choice but to take the hit head on using his staff to block the blow, however his strength was painfully inadequate compared to the massive troll.

Like a shooting star he was sent flying across the glade with his upper body still aflame from the third charge. Hitting the ground hard he tumbled nearly dropping his staff before finally settling on his back. He hoped the troll would give him time to get up but the creature was already swinging it's tree trunk down on him. Quickly aiming his spear up he fired the charge of his flame lance hitting its head.

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He knew that what would follow was an explosion behind the trolls head that would force it to fall down right on top of him if he didn't get out of the way quickly. He kicked his heels into the ground with all his might in an attempt to slide out of the way. Once again his weak body failed him and the large troll fell on his legs trapping him in place.

Struggling to free himself he saw the tiny white star leave the corpse in front of him. He suddenly had a thought as the soul entered his chest. 'Where's the other soul?'

"RORIK DEFEND ME!" He yelled panicking but the pain wasn't nearly as bad as he was expecting, it still hurt but it didn't knock the wind out of him like usual.

"AWOOOOO!" Rorik howled and ran into the glade as soon as he was ordered. The troll was charging at Aerwyn, the holes he had put into it's chest were nowhere to be found. As the troll got within reach Rorik leaped from the side bringing the troll tumbling down. It was much stronger than Rorik and once they stopped tumbling the troll punched Rorik off sending the barghest tumbling once again.

They both rose to their feet and Rorik charged it once more but the troll was quick and swung its tree trunk smashing Rorik's ribs.

"BOOM!" Rorik was sent flying into a tree, his ribs deeply caved in from the the trolls blow. The troll watched him unmoving beneath the tree for a moment before turning and charging at Aerwyn.

Aerwyn witnessed the scene while struggling to break free from the wretched troll on top of him. The dead troll was convulsing and pouring out its black smoke enshrouding it. The live troll was getting closer leaving him no choice but to try and charge his flame lance. The troll was only five meters away when he shakily shot it out. He missed its head hitting the trolls shoulder and knocking it off balance before the explosion from behind brought it down.

He was finally able to move as the undead troll opened its purple eyes and stood up awaiting command.

"Hold it down" He spoke gritting his teeth and taking aim once again with his staff. He wouldn't allow himself to miss this time, Rorik wasn't moving and he needed to get over to him as quickly as possible.

The undead troll pounced on the living one as it tried to get to its feet. It held the living trolls arms behind it's back while it sat on atop it as if the troll was its mount. Aerwyn charged up and fired the flame lance successfully hitting the trolls head before exploding in the face of the undead troll. It didn't seem to mind, nor did it seem to hurt the undead troll so he couldn't be bothered with it now.

"Carry me to the barghest." Aerwyn ordered the undead troll. He knew in a moment he wouldn't be able to move so this was his only option. The undead troll picked him up as if he were a baby as the soul entered his chest and carried him to Rorik. He was enshrouded in black smoke like when Aerwyn first brought him back but he couldn't see the two familiar purple flames.

"Are you-" He couldn't finish his question as the pesky purple tendril began to pry its way out. It was noticeably more painful than the first causing him to clench his jaw and talk through his teeth.

"Are you ok?"

"Hmm... His soul still exists however it is noticeably weaker than it was before..." Tylin appeared out of nowhere next to the troll holding him.

"Perhaps it's burning its soul to heal itself... Does that imply that once the souls run out the undead cease to be or perhaps there is a way to replenish their souls as you do yours..."

"What do you mean?"

"When your battle begins tomorrow i want you to attempt controlling the incoming souls. Even if all you can do is push them an inch it will be a success. The end goal would be to push an incoming soul into one of your undead."

Aerwyn nodded and waited for the black smoke to disperse. It took almost an hour before two purple flames appeared behind the smoke. Rorik stood up proudly as if it was nothing to him, but that didn't ease his mind. If his undead were burning their soul every time they healed then sooner or later they would die. He didn't want that, as much as he got annoyed by Rorik's attitude he couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

He truly appreciated Rorik, he had been saved by the barghest every time his life was in danger.

"Tomorrow you're staying with me. I'm going to try giving you some souls." However Rorik didn't protest like Aerwyn thought he would, he actually seemed excited at the prospect. They headed back to the encampment to catch a few more hours of rest before the sun came up.