Darkness: Chapter 14 - Survival

He eased his breathing, focused his mind on something other than the agony in his muscles, legs, arms and back crying for respite. Usually he would enter this sort of mental trance to meditate and order his thoughts, now he did so to keep himself still.

Breathe in, slowly...

Air dragged into his lungs with a hollow rasp, near silent but a tell tale sign to those who would be straining to hear. The ordeal of this place had not been kind on his body, his lungs felt rough and his body drained. But he persevered, flexing and tightening his hands around the small boulder he held tight to his chest.

Breathe out, gently, not too fast...

Vrex had died without any real struggle, more caught by surprise than overwhelmed. His body now sat tucked away in the depths of Krogon’s personal maze, well away from any of the others. They may even still think him alive, so he had resolved to move swiftly to ensure panic was not raised among them.

frightened sheep bite back.

Each step of the plan from here needed to be done in succession, dispatching the others in a particular order as to minimize the danger and maximize the chances of success. First among them, the ogre.

It can’t be fought head on, surprise is the only option.

A full grown ogre was not a foe to be tackled in hand to hand combat. Beyond this place he would slit the throat or cleaved a limb clean off, but this time he had to settle for a blunt instrument and the aid of downward force.

Spirits this thing is heavy...

His hands strained, adjusting his grip on the boulder he peered down into the dark, listening. He had perched himself above the inside of the water-pool cave, where everyone came to drink. With each foot at one side of the entrance he was perched perfectly above any would be thirsty visitor as they entered or left. However, despite the Quilboar and Troll already visiting for small sips of sustenance and padding cautiously back out again, he’d not seen or heard anything of the ogre.

...and it will only get heavier.

Shuffle... shuffle...

His body tensed at the sound, the shuffling of large bare feet. Quickly followed by the huff of large lungs. It was him, he was peering into the chamber from the outside, checking it. This one was cautious, unusual for an ogre, though this place makes odd beasts of all of us.

A little closer...

The growl of uncertainty echoed into the chamber, bouncing over the water surface beyond. Krogon held his breath, straining and squeezing to keep his grip until that perfect moment. With each shuffle, grunt and waft of a groping hand from the ogre it inched further in.

”Ghmmm...” it paused, its slow witted brain considering. The sound was below him only feet away...

Now!

He lifted and thrust downward, the coarse surface sliding past his finger-tips as the boulder was propelled downward into the dark. He couldn’t see where it headed, how close his aim was or even if he had held it at all.

THUD!

”HHrrg—kgghh--... The all-mighty thud was followed by gargled, strained attempts to take in breath. The force of the rock had achieved its purpose, striking the top of  its skull, forcing it to compress down on the spine. It would be struggling to breath, suffocating on its own blood.

Crash!

Two.