Karzak Skytalon's Arc

Chapter 10 of 10

The warlord stood in the center of the ambush site, exactly where Karzak had predicted. His three warriors held their positions on the ridges above while Karzak dropped from the shadows behind. The fight was brutal and short. The warlord's guards fell first, then the warlord himself turned to face his hunter. Karzak saw recognition in those eyes—the same troll who had killed Commander Thrace years ago. Steel clashed twice before Karzak's blade found its mark. The warlord collapsed, blood pooling dark against stone. Karzak stood over the body and felt nothing but emptiness. The hunt was over. Commander Thrace was still dead. The curse still crawled through his veins. He wiped his blade clean and signaled his warriors. They left the valley in silence as dawn broke across the eastern peaks. Karzak returned to the Spire with the warlord's massive warhammer strapped across his back. The skeletal hand still gripped the weapon's handle, bones locked tight even in death. He gathered his three warriors at the entrance and gave them their final task. They would build an arch from the bones of every troll and orc that had fallen during the hunt. The structure rose over two days—ribs interlocking like beams, skulls placed at the corners, burgundy vines with tiny gold flowers woven through gaps. The skeletal hand and warhammer would hang from the center, visible to anyone who approached. The arch cast long shadows across black water that pooled naturally near the entrance. Karzak stared at his reflection in the still surface—blue feathers, red crest, yellow eyes that had seen too much. The reddish sheen in the water caught the volcanic light from the Spire behind him. The pool mirrored everything perfectly, showing the arch and the weapon suspended within it. This was his monument. Not to victory, but to the cost of it. He dismissed his warriors with payment and watched them leave. The arch framed the entrance now, a permanent reminder that Commander Thrace had been avenged. But standing alone beneath bones and steel, Karzak felt the curse pulse stronger than before. The hunt had given him purpose. Now only hunger remained. He turned away from his reflection and walked through the arch into shadow. The dream was achieved, and it changed nothing at all.