Short Story #3

[Faidor]

Darren crawled to the top of the hill, not wanting to draw the attention of the whoever was talking in the small field below. He peeked over and, with the aid of the small campfire the goblins were gathered around, counted their numbers.

“How many?” a voice whispered behind him.
“Four,” Darren replied. He heard quiet counting behind himself.. “There’s only two of us!” the voice came back, more sharply.
“Oh, hush your belly achin’ Garrett, they’re only goblins.”

Humanoid looking creatures, the goblins were shorter, with green skin, pointy ears, and no hair- filthy things.

“Maybe we should get Fath-,”
“NO!” Darren hissed. “If we can’t handle a couple o’ goblins, then we won’t be gettin’ the armor!”

Before Garrett could reply, Darren drew his sword. Garrett wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, then unsheathed his blade as well. He looked to his older brother. “For honor,” he said simply.
The brothers stood up and charged down the hill.

Taken by surprise, the goblins were unable to organize themselves before Darren cut one of them down. One charged past the older boy, going straight for the Garrett. The young warrior brought his sword up to block, but was easily batted aside by the creature. Garrett screamed as the goblin lifted his axe to finish his enemy. It let out some grunting cry in it’s own language, but before the axe fell, a blade came through the front of its chest. The goblin stared down at it in confusion before he fell lifeless to the ground. Garrett looked up to see Darren, now battling without a weapon. Garrett was amazed with his brother’s fighting capabilities. Darren weaved in and out of two goblin attacks and still managed to land a solid punch in the side of one of the nasty creature’s head.

Garrett pulled Darren’s sword free of the fallen body and now held two weapons. At the sight of his brother, his fear disappeared as he rushed into the fray.
Garrett worked the blades quickly; adrenaline flowed through his blood, making the sword’s movements to quick for the dumb goblins to follow. Garrett looked at his brother once more; Darren had managed to pick up a smaller axe and a shield from one of his fallen foes. The older brother used both the cutting edge of the axe and the bashing power of the shield, but unlike Garrett, his movements were calm and composed.

The two brothers had the goblins beat down so only one remained, and they couldn’t help but smile.
Those smiles vanished when a horn sounded in the forest no more than a quarter of a mile away. Several goblinoid cries could be heard from the tree line. Now the goblin smiled, ear to ear. It’s yellow teeth glistened in the firelight.

“What do we do Darren?” Garrett asked, frozen in place.

Darren was shaking now, not knowing what to say.
Another horn, the tone more deep and beautiful, answered the goblin horn. Darren and Garrett looked at each other in confusion. “More goblins?” Darren asked. “It canno’ be.”

The ground under their feet began to quake and the goblin bolted for the safety of the trees, but Darren and Garrett remained, too scared to move.
Hundreds of men on horseback, all wearing brilliant armor that glistened in the firelight charged over the hill, then down into the open where the boys stood. The knights circled them; the lines facing the forest tripled in number.
One of the knights rode up next to the young men and dismounted. He removed his helm, and Darren and Garrett immediately knew they were in trouble.

“Darren and Garrett Bardemin! What in the name of the Protector were you thinking?” their father roared. Darren thought it was quite odd that so many knights were here, when it would only take their father to scare away a goblin horde.

“Answer me!” he boomed again. Darren thought, ogres would probably flee their father as well!

“We did not mean to upset you, father,” Garrett said sincerely. Garrett had darker features than Darren did, and it was not easy for him to look truly saddened. People often thought he was angry when in fact he wasn’t. Now his eyes were rimmed with tears he could not hold back.

“Well my son, you have,” His voice started to calm. “Both of you are far too young to take on such a feat! You have angered me much this night, there is no excuse for sneaking off into the darkness to hunt goblins. This is not a game!” he began to yell again. “My foolish sons! Have you not learned that goblins do not travel in such small numbers? There are always more!” He turned to Darren. “What if there had been orcs, or worse, a troll? I expect more out of you Darren!” The large knight paced back and forth, breathing loudly. The other knights atop their horse remained still and silent. Occasionally one of the steeds scraped the ground with a hoof.

Darren, who had wavy blonde hair that stuck up in every direction, dropped his weapon and shield, fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “It was not Garrett’s doin’ father. It was my idea. I meant to slay the goblins to prove my honor, and perhaps obtain the armor and rank of a knight.” Tears fell from the edges of his hand onto the ground. Garrett bowed his head low as tears ran off his face.

“We did not mean to displease you father,” the younger one said. “Darren would have let no harm come to me.”

The wise older knight who was their father was not facing them as they spoke. He sighed deeply then turned around. He walked to his two young sons and kneeled down, his armor clinking softly as he moved. He reached a hand under each of their chins and lifted their heads so that they would see his warm, caring eyes. Darren’s eyes were like those of his father’s, so pale blue they were nearly gray. Garrett’s dark eyes reflected his father’s image when he looked into them.

“My sons. My dear sons,” he began as his hands went to their shoulders. “I was worried for you. I cannot be angry for what you have done. But you must realize what the true meaning of bravery is. We fight these races of evil to protect those who cannot defend themselves. To protect those in danger. It is not wise to go into fights when yours is the only life on the line. Especially when you are outnumbered.”

“I wanted to get the armor father. To be a knight, like you,” Darren said.
“As did I,” said Garrett.
The knight squeezed his son’s shoulders as tears of his own welled up in his kind eyes. Such wonderful sons the Protector has blessed him with!

“I wear my armor to merely distinguish what I am to people, to strangers who do not know me. It is to show them my station. My armor does not make me a knight, my sons.” One of his hands went to his chest, over his heart. “In here, is what determines if I am a knight or not.” His gauntleted hands then went over the hearts of Darren and Garrett. “It is here, where true honor and courage lies.”

Their father stood up and drew his sword, the other knights doing the same. “You will always be Knights in my eyes.”
Garrett handed Darren his sword and helped him to his feet. They lifted their swords as the knights did. Then their father called out to the world,

“Honor, Courage, and the Hope for a World where the True in Heart Reign!”
Then in unison, with Darren and Garrett joining they cried;
“For Honor!”

[KroqGar]

Oh boy, another one. I'll give it a read over in a little bit, just reserving a spot for some comments.

EDIT: Alright, so I gave it a read over, and I have to say that I have nothing to really nitpick this time around. The characters were well represented, dialogue seemed organic (Albeit a little cliché) and the concept was present throughout the entire thing. The only real gripe I have is the cliché of the situation, but that's more subjective opinion than actual criticism. Still a very well done concept and story.