Read Online Ritual of the Stones (Ballad of Frindoth) by Rob Donovan - Free Book Online Page A

her arm had made it out intact.
    “I’ll
take that,” a male voice said.
    Marybeth
whirled around to see a figure on the other side of the Chamber pointing a
crude sword at her. His face was obscured by the shadow cast by the table. All
she could see clearly was the blade he held. It had been snapped in half but
still looked sharp. He held his other hand out with the palm facing upwards
motioning towards the scroll. Marybeth laughed at the gesture.
    “Leave
before I force you to gut yourself with your own blade,” she said.
    “Don’t
be foolish, hag, we both know your sorceress powers are useless here,” he said.
    Doubt
seeped into her mind. Was he telling the truth? She suddenly realised
that she had not been able to use any of her abilities since she had entered
the Marshes of Night. Her sixth sense, usually infallible, had failed her
earlier above ground, as had her simple elevation trick when she had fallen into
the drowning mud.
    The man must
have read the expression on her face as it was his
turn to laugh.
    “You
didn’t know. Well, well, looks like my master was wrong about you, Marybeth.”
    She
flinched at the mention of her name. The man stepped forward out of the shadows
for the first time. She recoiled at the sight of him. He had a small mouth shaped
into a sneer. His crooked nose had been broken many times and his eyes
protruded too far out of their sockets. All of this was overshadowed, however,
by his greasy hair. One side fell in long knotted tousles down to his neck,
whilst the other side was shaved close to the scalp, giving an uneven
appearance.
    “Now
kindly hand over the scroll and let’s avoid any unpleasantness,” the man said.
    “Make
me,” Marybeth replied. “I don’t need any powers to handle a serf like you.”
    With
a quickness that surprised her, the man closed the gap between them and with a
flick of his blade opened up a small cut on her arm. Marybeth jumped back and
crouched in a defensive stance, her hand instinctively holding her cut arm. The
man glared at her defiance.
    “I’m already
getting tired of this, crone. Let’s not delay the
inevitable. I have a sword and you are unarmed.”
    He
flicked his blade again with frightening speed. Before she saw the movement and
maybe have a chance to react, Marybeth felt a sting in her other arm.
    “We
can play this game for as long as it takes. The end result will be the same—I
will have that scroll. The only difference will be if you are recognisable or
not.”
    Marybeth’s
shoulders sagged, she realised she had no choice and reluctantly held out the
scroll to the man.
    “That’s
more like—”
    He
never got to finish the sentence as Marybeth rammed her palm into his nose,
hearing the satisfying crack as she broke it. She followed this up quickly by
sweeping his legs from underneath him and then kicking him in the gut. The man
grunted as his breath was taken away.
    “Your
nose didn’t look right healed,” she said as she ran towards the hole.
    She
had submerged her body most of the way in when she screamed in agony. The man
stabbed his sword into her calf. Her eyes filled with tears and her stomach
lurched. She screamed again as he began to drag her back into the Chamber by pulling
her injured leg. She frantically tried to purchase a grip inside the hole, but
she could find only smooth stone. He twisted the blade in her leg causing her
to black out from the pain.
    When
she came to, she caught a glimpse of his foot disappearing into the hole. She
tried to pursue him but her leg gave out as soon as she tried to put weight on
it . I have to get that scroll back , she thought to herself. She realised
as she pulled herself towards the hole that she hadn’t even had time to look at
the scroll and had no idea what was written on it.
    Although
she was hindered by her leg, she reasoned that her attacker was bigger than her
and would find it harder to manoeuvre through the tight confines of the
corridor. His vision would also have