Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

"How do you know?"

Ryson didn't waste time explaining. Too much was happening too quickly. The rain, the rogues, and goblins; the danger was growing and he had no idea if something else lurked in the darkness.

"Get that rogue captured as quickly as possible!" Ryson ordered.

The corporal suddenly lost his desire to capture the creature. The rogue seemed a minor threat, especially if there was a larger assault upon the wall to the south. He considered his location and wondered if other areas of the town might also fall under attack. He also reached his limit of listening to the delver's orders.

"No, the rogue is incidental. We have to ensure the integrity of the eastern gate! I'm going to recall the other squad…"

"You have to secure this area first!" Ryson sternly interrupted. "There's nothing going on at the eastern gate!"

"I'll know that when I see it for myself!"

"And if the rogue follows you to the gate and finds it closed, what's it going to do? It's trying to escape! It'll try to break through and then you really will have a problem."

During the argument, the other squad of soldiers came back into view and had cutoff the beast. They clearly knew of the conflict to the south, but their squad leader kept his attention on the pressing issue of the rogue.

"See?" Ryson asserted. "They're not running off to the east gate. The rogue is inside the wall. That's your immediate problem. Deal with it!"

Seeing the dark creature cutoff and between two groups of forces, the corporal could hardly argue the contention. He had the rogue where he wanted it. He just had to finish the job.

Speaking as if he had made the decision himself, he called to the guards under his command.

"Pull the net across the street and get that thing under wraps."

Believing the soldiers would handle the third rogue, Ryson was just about to leave to make a quick scout of the town. Turning his attention back to the towers, he read the signals to determine if any other issues warranted his immediate attention. The disturbance to the south appeared to be the only other concern, but a final look back at the corporal gave him pause… and alarm.

The corporal took a position in the middle of the street, holding the net at its center. He broke into a full sprint as he demanded the soldiers charge toward the rogue as quickly as possible. In essence, the corporal became the head of the wedge, the tip of the spear flying at the panicked rogue.

The squad further down the road also stretched its iron net across the street. They barred any path of escape for the rogue, but they wisely left the center of the net empty. There was no one in the middle of the road, just the iron mesh that blocked all passage. They also did not race toward the rogue, but moved steadily, and carefully forward, allowing the corporal the opportunity to ensnare the monster first.

With one quick look into the rogue's eyes, Ryson saw the folly in the corporal's maneuver. The monster panicked. The barking dogs continued their harangue all about the creature, heightening its distress. Previously, it only wanted one thing… to escape from the town, but its intentions quickly altered. It realized in an instant that it was trapped and in danger. Both its focus and rage centered upon the main threat, the corporal that charged toward it.

Even with all his speed, Ryson could not reach the rogue before it was too late. The soldiers were just too close to the river rogue. By the time the delver understood the looming catastrophe, he was too far away from the point of conflict. Still, he rushed forward even in a futile attempt.

The rogue, with no other choice, moved to attack. With an inherent quickness that clearly surprised the corporal, the creature leapt forward with its arms extended. The claws flashed outward but without any slashing motion that would have entangled the iron mesh.

The corporal saw the danger too late. He tried to stop in time, but he was running with all his fury and could not completely halt his progress. In one desperate action, he tried to toss the iron net forward as he released his hold of the chains. The act succeeded in catching one of the rogue's extended arms and bending it out of harm's way, but the creature's other arm slipped between one of the holes of the mesh. The corporal could not dodge the claws and found his left wrist in the grip of the beast.

The strength of a rogue rivaled that of a full grown mountain shag. Once it gained hold of a victim, it almost never let go. Its claws dug deep into the corporals flesh, even as it pulled the corporal closer. The iron netting fell upon it, weighing it down and tangling its arms and legs, but it would not release its violent grasp on the human it viewed as the source of its predicament.

Pain erupted up the corporal's arm. He shrieked in agony as the claws ripped through the skin and sunk deep into flesh and muscle. Pulling away from the monster only increased the torment-and worsened the injury-but the corporal instinctively tried to escape the rogue's grasp. His eyes widened in absolute terror as the monster grappled and twisted against the iron net to draw him nearer to its razor sharp fangs.

As the soldiers worked to wrap the net around the beast and pulled against the strands to hopefully knock the fiend off balance, Ryson reached the side of the corporal. With one careful jab of his sword, the delver found an open space between the netting and slightly pierced the scaled hide of the rogue.

The Sword of Decree held many enchantments, and it would burn the spirit essence of any creature the blade cut. It might have been the only thing that would force the rogue to release its hold on the corporal.

The creature would not relent so easily. It screeched in pain, a shriek that matched the horrible cries of the corporal. As the rogue tried to pull away from the blazing sword that caused it incredible suffering, it made one last swift yank at the wrist still in its grasp. With a sudden twist, a deeper slice into tendons, and a final heave of fury, the rogue separated the corporal's hand from his arm, and the monster fell backward onto the ground. The beast hissed and growled as it thrashed violently against the iron chains that further entangled it with every angry thrust of its arms and legs.

The corporal also dropped to the ground, but he ceased all sound and movement. An expanding pool of blood spilled across deepening puddles as a deluge of raindrops splattered the dark red liquid in every direction.

"Get a tourniquet around his arm and stop the bleeding!" Ryson yelled. He turned to the eastern squad of soldiers that still held their net across the street. "Drop your net over the rogue! Make sure it's secure and then get it out of here!"

Not one guard hesitated as the delver's commanding tone echoed with authority. Ryson motioned to the guards that had been under the corporal's command.

"Get him medical attention as quickly as possible."

One of the soldiers didn't question the directive but wondered aloud about a rather macabre detail.

"What about his hand?"

Ryson gave one last look to the rogue that was being secured with the second iron net. It clasped the bloody hand with desperation, as if holding some sacred religious artifact. Ryson knew it was absurd to try and wrestle the dismembered body part from the creature.

"Nothing we can do about it," Ryson advised. He encouraged all the soldiers to move with greater speed. "Get them both out of here now!"

Just as the guards moved out, Ryson took off at near top speed. It wasn't the most efficient way to scout the town, but he was growing more concerned with the spreading turmoil. Sprinting might cause him to miss small traces of another rogue, but time was running short.

He took several glimpses at the surrounding towers to glean additional information regarding the conflict to the south. He realized the southwestern wall remained under fire. Though no confirmed identification of the source had been made, the tower guards were raising the alert. It appeared the soldiers in the area also believed goblins were behind the attack, and they warned the entire town of a possible horde assault.