DORULL SAGA - SWAMP OF DEATH
----------------------------------------------------
Followed
by his soldiers, Thorin carefully set out through the underwater passage of a
small, ice-cold lake. The cave was continuing
forward, about twenty yards futher, into a dark, narrow passage. The water was now up to their chests. They
moved in a single file, touching the surrounding walls, as they tried to find a
way out. All of their torches were wet, and unusable for quite some time. But
they were still moving forward, not giving up. Finally, after almost half an
hour, they saw a flickering of the light, at the end of the tunnel.
Small,
chilly cavern, filled with numerous carts and boxes of food and drink, appeared
before them, as soon as they turned right, climbing out of the stream. Carved
in the stone, a rough stairway led towards the passageway, closed with wooden
doors. In only a couple of strong hits, they managed to topple this flimsy
entrance, opening a way into a long corridor. To their left, the passage
extended into a stairway, heading downwards. Austere, stagnant air coming from
there, made Thorin turn his head away, when all of the sudden, he heard the
ever so quiet sounds of the battle.
“Move to
the right.” he whispered to Gelian.
Scout
nodded, leading the men up the second stairway, a few feet away from the first
one. Steep, tiresome climb lasted about five minutes, until they reached a
large doorway. It was an entrance to the large chamber. Bright light shone on the other
side of the hallway, forcing them to stop for a couple of seconds, waiting for
their captain to arrive. Sounds of fearsome fighting could now clearly be
heard, just around the corner. Thorin pushed through to the front, giving the
signal to charge.
Followed
by a loud scream, captain Lutir ran into a bright hall, filled with countless
stalactites, decorating the cave ceiling. Sudden battle-cry confused the
goblins for a moment, giving the Vallsynk soldiers a chance to regroup.
Cheerfully welcoming this much needed help, they responded with newly found
hope. Much needed reinforcement lifted their spirits, helping them to continue with the fight.
Saekul smiled, waving towards Thorin, but it was a short lived jubilation, once
he realized that the commander Yelamir’s army from Issurk, wasn’t with him.
They also must’ve split off, probably in an attempt to cover more ground. Loss
of concentration was almost fatal, as the sharp, goblin’s dagger thrusted from
the left, into his gut.
He
squeezed his teeth in pain, not saying a thing. Angry at himself, he retaliated
by almost splitting the unfortunate goblin in half, with one vicious swing of
his sharp scimitar. Another goblin jumped towards the elf, holding the dagger
high above his head. Saekul could already feel the blade plunging into his
heart, there was no time for him to defend. But the goblin never finished his
leap, as a strong, energy charge struck his back, tossing him several yards
away. Hard impact against the wall of the cave broke the goblin's neck. Dead in
an instant, he fell to the ground like a sack of grain.
Saekul
turned around, surprised to see Yelamir, Issurk’s paladin. Without a word,
paladin approached the elf, pulling the dagger from the wound. Briefly holding
the palm of his hand, over the stabbed spot, Yelamir said a couple of strange
words. Painless healing lasted just for a few seconds, after which, paladin
charged back into the battle, joining his soldiers.
He was
wearing full plate armor, while wielding a longsword and a shield. Yelamir
plowed through the goblins, managing to kill a couple of them, with every swing
he took. His strength and calmness impressed Saekul, as he watched with awe,
the path of paladin’s destruction. And by doing that, he unintentionally saved
Yelamir’s life.
Several
goblins managed to sneak behind the paladin, but before they could use their
sharp daggers, Saekul was on top of them. Tightly clasping the hilt of his
scimitar, he lunged towards them. Fast as a wind, he was dealing almost
invisible strikes, gracefully swirling his blade. Surprised, goblins were dead,
long before they could even sense the danger, or see from where the attack was
coming. And not a second late. They fell just behind Yelamir, who turned around
in wonder, feeling a slight breeze on his neck. Saekul ran past him, winking,
shaking the blood of scimitar, with a proficient move of his wrist. Yelamir
smiled, realizing how soon was the elf able to return the favor.
In the
meantime, Thorin led his group of soldiers, pushing the goblins towards the
middle of the cave. Goblins found themselves suddenly and completely
surrounded, and with a disappearing chance of escape. They weren’t losing the
desire to fight, but they had no chance against the experienced soldiers, who
learned their trades by patrolling the swamps for years. Soon enough, the
goblin army started to scatter. Desperate attempts to break through the wall of
human soldiers were unsuccessful. Goblins suffered immense losses, their morale
took the inevitable plunge for the worse.
Bloody
battle in the royal hall lasted more than two hours, before the last goblin
fell dead, sliced down by Saekul’s sharp scimitar. Victorious cheer felt a bit
hollow, and as soon it subsided, soldiers turned to taking care of their
wounded and dead combatants.
“Their
king is nowhere to be found.” Saekul said after he finished checking the cave.
“That rat
is probably scared hiding in some hole.” Yelamir added, shaking the elf's hand
“You fought well my friend.”
“I owe
that to you.” Saekul took a bow.
“If you
ladies are done kissing, it seems you are forgetting something.” Thorin said
“Your bosses will be displeased, if we are to head back without the cargo. I
haven’t seen those carts anywhere. You?”
“Oh yes,
they are just down there, in one small cave.” Yelamir retorted “We accidentally
stumbled upon them, while looking for a way here.”
“Well
done.” Captain Lutir said “Let us move then, I’d like to leave this hole as
soon as possible.”
Forty or
so minutes later, tired soldiers were on their way out of the caves of
Nual-Deu. Aghast looks from hundreds of females, followed their every move, as
they begin to leave the city. Hidden in the holes, and in the walls, they
weren’t even daring to say anything. Humans were leaving. At least the killing
was over. Once magnificent, an underground, goblin city, was now an atrocious,
ghastly, mass grave. A long cries of despair and suffering, spread over hills,
as a dismal send off, once the human army took a step into a rocky pass. Dark
clouds from the north were bringing rain, which will never wash away the blood
spilled that night, in the dark tunnels, caverns and caves of the former goblin
city.
No comments:
Post a Comment