"2...
1...
And go!"
Noodok pushed free of the shadows and buried his knife deep into the neck of the first, dragging it backward quickly into the darkness.
Crouching, he pulled his bow loose from his back and released two arrows. Another fell, knocked over as an arrow pierced its neck, and a third began to topple as the other arrow shot through its leg. It fell to a knee and began to pitch forwards.
Before it hit the ground, Noodok severed its head from the body. It clattered across the ground as the helmet it wore bounced free.
He began to move forwards but halted as A voice called out from the balcony above.
"Stop!"
His assailants froze in position, and then began to slowly mill about. Now that they were moving slowly, it was easy to tell that they were poor reanimations. Bundles of straw tied together by magic to resemble life, but brain dead if the owner wasn't in control.
Noodok paused. Already? What was it this time...
Frustrated, he turned and looked up at the balcony. Magnus leant lazily on a wooden chair.
"What were the rules of this engagement Noodok?"
The bewitched straw dummies around him stood to attention, shuffling softly. God he hated them and the smell. He felt like he was in a barn, and the stench of rotting straw from the well used dummies assaulted his nostrils.
"Take out the targets in means I see fit. Prioritise accordingly and complete the course in the shortest time."
"Correct. So tell me... why did you shoot the third in the leg?"
Noodok shrugged.
"It was in my line of sight and an easy shot, not covered by armour."
Magnus frowned. Obviously that was the wrong answer.
"If that was a man?"
Magnus gestured towards the dummy that was clumsily fitting its head back on. The idiot thing had it on the wrong way, but the straw knitted back together as it resumed its position.
"He would have yelled in pain. You just blew your cover in the first 5 seconds of the scenario. Not to mention that you shot him in line of sight of three others. The alarm would almost certainly have been raised, and every opponent within 50 meters would be aware of your position."
Noodok flushed. Magnus was right, as always, but he had misunderstood the premise.
"Wasn't the point to be as quick as possible?"
Magnus sighed softly.
"Oh for f... Noodok, you just repeated the scenarios rules a second ago. The first line included the words 'in means you see fit'. Would you honestly break cover so early if the dummies had presented a real danger to you?"
One of the dummies made a confused gesture, whilst another pointed at Noodok. It had only just noticed him.
"No. But these are just dummies. I know they are clumsy and slow, and they won't harm me, so I had no issue breaking cover."
Magnus rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Again."
Frustrated, Noodok returned to the start position.
The moment he had reached the position however, he was tackled from behind. The heavy smell of straw hung around him, and the metal breastplate hanging from it dug into the small of his back. Something sharp arced down towards him, and he twisted his body to avoid the strike.
Rolling onto his back, he kicked if off himself and lunged, landing heavily on top of it. He slammed a dagger home into where it's eye socket would be.
He stood for a moment, slightly stunned. The dummy's outstretched hand was holding a hand scythe, a small farming tool, but capable of stabbing through the leather he wore.
It dropped it and fumbled with its head for a second and clutched the knife he had jammed into it, before the arm fell limp.
Magnus rose from the chair on the balcony and leant on the railing, murmuring just loud enough for Noodok to hear him. The words were fluid and ancient, anchoring words of the old magics. He was obviously focusing hard to keep them moving at a faster speed.
The shuffling of straw filled the air, and swearing under his breath, Noodok began to run.
He rounded a corner and glanced back at the dummy he had downed. Another was crouched over the body, almost amusingly lifelike, somehow slightly comical. A second later it rose its head and somehow howled, despite having no vocal cords. More howling rose to join it in response. Enthralled, he watched as it pulled the knife free from its comrades skull, and span it elegantly between it's usually clumsy fingers.
Magnus had tampered with them to make them not only faster, but also more intelligent and dexterous.
He continued to watch as another two joined it, one with a bow and another with a spear, until he was snapped back from his reverie as he heard the Mage yelling over the clamor they were making.
His voice was slightly strained as he was putting a lot of energy into maintaining so many thralls.
"New scenario! Twenty, in 30 minutes. More intelligent. Same rules. I'll patch any injuries you happen to get if you can no longer continue to fight. Yell out what you are thinking. They will ignore our conversation."
Noodok shifted quietly in the shadows.
A flicker of movement crossed his vision, and it took him a minute to realise he would be able to respond. He watched the closest as he did so. It seemed... odd?
It would occasionally move quickly, but then reverted back to its more typical sluggish pace. Despite this, Magnus's feat was incredibly impressive.
"How in the hell are you maintaining 19 intelligent gollums?!"
He heard Magnus laughing softly, but it sounded slightly pained. It looked like Magnus was trying to test his own limits too. For each one Noodok killed, the load on Magnus would get lighter, and the combatants faster, while Noodok grew more tired.
For once, it looked like training was going to be more fun than usual.
(Image source: japantoday.scdn2.secure.raxcdn.com)
Hey @ilovebatcatstew, creepy scarecrow pic. I just posted something today related to A Day In The Clouds, please try and check it out, I'm sure you can definitely appreciate it. https://steemit.com/originalmusic/@verbal-d/m-m-m-29-sliver-s-edge-of-ledd-s-silver-lining-collaborative-art-journey-with-everlove-original-beat
I thought I would share this with everyone who follows the series along with the Silver Lining.
BTW I Upvoted your post, didn't want to comment unrelated material on your post but your comments on @jedau's posts were over a month ago and I can't continue the conversation there