ENRIKI

(jennyj)

ENRIKI

CHAPTER 2:
THE REPOSITIONING

Eniki rode on, listening to the incoherent grumble of the goblin battle-language as waves of incomprehble pain wracked his usually resilient body. In a near stupor from exhaustion and pain, he could not assemble his usually clear and cunning thoughts and could not make himself focus what little mind he had left on the overwhelming crisis that fanned out before him. As far as he could tell, his men had been brutally massacred by the hideous army of goblins, his dearest, bravest, and most beautiful friend had selflessly given him her own mount, had outlined his escape, and had sent him awady to relative safety, thus leaving herself mercilessly unprotected kelyfrom the onrushing peril! He was disgusted at the turn of events his life had taken, all in the space of a few pain-riddled minutes, yet he felt powerless to effect any change in his dire circumstances!
Eniki rode on, painfully pushing forward toward the afore-described stream and trail toward his supposed freedom. He scarcely dared to ponder the likely fate of his beloved friend and comander at the brutal calculating hands of the goblin horde! After riding his-her-exhausted steed for what seemed to be many painful hours, he spied evidence of a body of water some distance ahead, by the looks of the thickening foliage coming into his view. From the looks of the waning light of day, evening was quickly coming upon him; he had no provisions for an evening meal, nothing to cut food with except sharp stones--he wasn't even certain that he could manage to remount the horse. He was certain that he could dismount--by merely falling off! No. that would cause additional pain; he was certain Th he couldn't afford that! H
That sour bit of humor made him realize that some sanityk and normal thought were returning to him, so he continuedd to press on. Dusk was nearly merged into full-time night as his travel-worn horse trudged on. He vowed to find the horse some water if the promised stream ever appeared. Suddenly, Eniki spotted in the distance a glimpse of the stream, hidden among the thick underbrush and ferns. Ferns! He seemed to remember his old grandmother steeping some sort of tea out of ferns. If he could ever get down off this horse, with some assirance of remounting, he could build himself a fire, heat some water from the stream, wash his face, make some sort of hot beverage--the thought of all that activity, with the kind of pain he was in, made him so dizzy that he almost fell off the big horse spontaneously! He guessed his cooking endeavors would have to be postponed, assuming he survived at all!

Eniki heard the babbling brook before he acually rode up to it. He guided the tired, thirsty horse up to its edge and hung on tightly as the gentle, patient beast took a long, grateful drink. He was uncertain whether the horse had a name at all; he was even unsure of its gender. 'was it a mare or gelding? It didn't matter; he decided to call it "Salvation" for the unlikely role of rescuer it had unwittingly played in his life. Thinking in this mode drew his thoughts to his missing friend, Findoria. He scarcely could think of her name, or sweet face, or supple limbs, without choking back an unwarrior-like sob. But his heart hurt nearly as much as the presumably broken ribs! He had never dared ponder his feelings for Findoria lest she suspect the inappropriate attraction and dismiss him from her army. He decided long ago to supress his feelings and soldier on! Now, with both their lives in the hands of the evil goblins, he wasn't as confident about the validity of that decision any more.

The sun was completely gone now, replaced by sparkling stars and full moon. The brightness of the moon illuminated the countryside and allowing him to find the path he sought to the town of Apel. Fortified by the refreshing drink and nibbles on the fresh grass by the brook, the horse Salvation was more than agreeable to continue on their journey.
The pain in Eniki's ribs had subsided to a dll roar, but the most he could endure of Salvation's gait was a gentle trot; much more and Enriki could barely breathe. They trotted for several hours, until Enriki, experiened horseman and warrior that he was, became so saddle-weary that he finally had to command the horse to stop. He was able to nudge Salvation over until Enriki could lean precariously agaiinst a tree in a tenuous attempt to rest and relax. Once he was able to stop moving, Enriki was able to brood over the ntfrantic events, to see if any sense could come of them; after mulling the tragedy over in his mind, complete with a replay of the confrontation with the vicious goblins, the sight of his brutally killed men, and the abandonment of his beloved commander, he sank into a bleak fit of gloom. He could see no way off the horse who had carried him thus far, much less a way to save his neck in time to collect his promised pint with Findoria!



CHAPTER 3

THE REAWAKENING


Throbbing in her shoulder finally caused a battered and frigjhtened FindNGoria to awaken from her stupor, induced by the spear-inflicted spider venom. As she groggily roused sufficiently to aprise herself of her meagre surroundings, it occurred to her that she was hungry. She was startled to find that she was only lightly bound with light fastenings made from old tree roots--these goblins are fools if they think this will stop me! Empowered by her find, she shook free of her restraints, taking care not to jostle the injured shoulder any more than necessary; far more than was comfortable! She was not certain how long she had been asleep, but knew it was longer than she would have liked.






















RIKI, Chapters 2 & 3 (partial)