Chapter Fourteen
Kelek and War Duke sit astride their warg mounts, watching as their leaders and their pet dragons tear down the defensive structure which barred their path. Kelek turns to War Duke and smiles wickedly.
"Sound the charge and lead our orcs into battle," says the wizard.
"Do not presume to give me orders, wizard," growls the mercenary, "You are no master of mine!"
"No?" says Kelek, "Perhaps you should remember just who it was that provided you with your mount."
The wizard looks meaningfully at the warg on which War Duke is sitting. The warg, in turn, looks over its shoulder at its rider and growls. Kelek's gaze returns to War Duke, a knowing smile splayed across his lips. War Duke glares back at the wizard, but doesn't argue the point. Kelek wins this round. The warrior pulls out a horn and blows a loud distinct note. The other wargs assemble, with orc soldiers on their backs. War Duke draws his sword and spurs his warg into motion. In an instant, the other warg riders spur their mounts into following. Hundreds of orcs astride slobbering, salivating wargs ride hard towards the fallen gates. There are already several giants there, picking up large chunks of stone and hurling them at the defenders, both thinning the enemy ranks and clearing a path for their cavalry at the same time. The wargs dash past the giants legs, making straight for their intended targets.
Over on the steps which lead to Tardos Keep, Presto sees the oncoming wave of fur and fangs, with armored orc soldiers riding atop them. He gives the archers gathered on the stairs the order to fire and thousands of arrows fly over the heads of those down below to rain upon the orcs and the beasts they ride. King Lawrence draws his longsword and rears his horse up onto its hind legs.
"For the glory of The Realm!" cries the king, and he spurs the horse into a hard gallop.
Hundreds of soldiers from three different nations spur their horses into a gallop, following just slightly behind this brave king. They lower their lances, aiming for the ever dangerous mounts of their foes. Then the two cavalries clash with one another. Lance skewers warg flesh, throwing orcs under the trampling hooves. Wargs leap at the charging humans, knocking them from their mounts and rending their flesh with claw and fang. And on both sides, swords slash, axes bite, and spears skewer. But despite the strength of their initial charge, the humans are being hard pressed. Then things get much worse.
Another wave of warg riders come charging in. The archers try to thin their ranks before they can engage in combat, but their success is limited. And the warg riding orcs are then accompanied by men on horseback. They are King Varin and his troops. And following right behind them are Argoth's foot soldiers. Orcs, ogres, goblins, hobgoblins, lizard men, bullywugs, kobolds, bugbears, gnolls, pretty much any nasty thing that can walk on two legs and swing a sword.
Hank takes out a signaling mirror and uses it to flash a message up to the castle in the clouds. Within seconds, Diana is leading the charge of thirteen Celestial Knights on giant war birds, followed by a couple hundred soldiers mounted on giant bats. The knights blast the orcs with energy beams from their enchanted swords, while their mounts swoop down, snatch orcs and their mounts, then take off to great heights and drop them, to fall to their deaths. Diana would zap orcs and wargs with her lightning staff,but Night Sky would only take them up high enough for the landing to hurt them, not kill them. The giant bats aren't as good at snatching their prey as giant eagles, so the Bat Riders would mostly fly around and shoot arrows at the orcs from up high, or swoop down and attack them with spears.
Hank turns to Sir John. "You don't really have to do this you know, Sir John."
"I'm afraid I do, my dear boy," replies the old knight, "I might not have always been the best knight in The Realm, but I have always strived to be the best father. That's my son up there, fighting alongside the Celestial Knights. And if I can help him in any way during this battle, then I shall."
"You sure aren't the same cowardly knight we met here so many years ago," says Hank.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that exactly," replies Sir John, "If I weren't so afraid of getting hurt, my armor and shield wouldn't be so heavily enchanted to protect me from harm."
"Are you ready for this?" Strongheart asks the ranger.
Hank nods his head. "You?" he asks.
Strongheart slaps the head of his golden hammer into his open palm, "Let's go teach these orcs a lesson they'll never forget!"
Sir John draws his Vorpal Sword, "Well come on then," says the knight, "Let's give these pig faced buffoons what for!"
Hank raises his bow of accuracyup over his head, "CHARGE!" he cries.
Every soldier and civilian volunteer, not just human, but dwarf and gnome as well, that had been standing back watching the battle raises their weapons and bellows a war cry. A primal scream in defiance of the evil that has threatened to swallow them whole. They all charge forward, prepared and eager to engage the enemy in battle. Hank fires his bow as he runs, downing orcs or wargs with every arrow he lets fly. Sheila starts throwing her knives with deadly accuracy. When they get to be within arm's reach, she sometimes even uses the knives as melee weapons, stabbing the orcs or cutting their throats. An orc spurs his warg to attack the rogue, but it passes right through her image and accidentally rips apart the hobgoblin that was trying to sneak up behind her. Before the orc could even contemplate its mistake, two knives go whistling into its back, and an arrow buries itself into the warg's heart.
Sir John charges straight into battle, any hints of cowardess long forgotten. He bull rushes a bullywug, knocking it down with his shield. He cleaves a bugbear in two, lops the sword arm off of a hobgoblin, decapitates a goblin, punts a kobold, and then cuts an ogre off at the knees. A hill giant swats Sir John with its club, sending the portly old knight flying through the air. Luckily the heavy enchantment of Sir John's armor prevented any real damage. Sir John gets up to his knees, only to find the giant standing over him with his huge club poised to strike. Sir John ducks behind his shield just as the club is about to come down, which strikes the shield with a loud "gong". The hill giant swings his club at Sir John again. This time, instead of blocking it with his shield, the knight parries it with the edge of his Vorpal Sword.He cleaves the log in two as though it were made of tissue paper. Then the giant grabs a large, heavy boulder and raises it over his head with both hands, intending to crush Sir John with it. The old knight quickly slashes the giant's shins. The cuts magically become deeper and wider until the legs are severed just below the knees. The giant falls, dropping that huge boulder onto his own head.
Strongheart fares quite well in battle as well. Not having as many magical defenses as Sir John, the paladin relies on his skill at arms. Luckily, his martial skills are amongst the finest in The Realm. He blocks a hobgoblin's sword attack with his golden hammer, then retaliates with a punch in the face. He elbows an orc in the throat, and then throws him onto his back. Then he strikes a lizard man in the gut with his hammer, finishing him with a strike to the back of the skull. Then he shatters an ogre's kneecaps, causing it to fall, and smashes all of the teeth out of its mouth. A goblin charges him with a mace raised and poised to strike, and he kicks the little pest in the groin.
Just as the tide is beginning to turn in favor of the good guys, disaster strikes. Dwarves are fighting orcs, gnomes are fighting kobolds, giant eagles and giant bats are attacking wargs. But then come the dragons. An enormous red dragon being ridden by General Zoa swoops down over the battle. The dragon unleashes it's fiery breath, the same breath that brought down the defensive stone wall not so very long ago. Men, dwarves, and gnomes all perish in the blink of an eye, alongside the very monsters they were fighting. And the general fires the Energy Bow into the crowd, with deadly accuracy and lethal results. Hank fires several arrows at the dragon as it passes overhead, but they just skip off of its scales. Then comes Captain Cordon on her white dragon. It flies by unleashing it's icy breath, freezing all in its wake where they stand. The only one not affected by the wyrm's horrible breath is Sir John. His magical protection against the cold renders him immune to such attacks. He runs after the beast shouting challenges as all those around him, friend and foe alike, are frozen solid. Then comes Zogarr on his mighty blue wyrm, frying those it passes by with its lightning breath. Then come Talona and Viper on their black and green dragons. Men and orcs fall gasping as the poisonous breath of Viper's green wyrm covers the ground, or scream as they melt under the streams of acid spewed forth by Talona's black dragon. In seconds the defenders have lost more than half their number to the breath weapons of the dragons. And to make matters worse, even more orcs, goblins, ogres, and giants are pouring onto the battlefield.
The Celestial Knights engage the dragons and their riders in the air. The knights fly about, doing incredible aerobatic stunts with their mounts. The dragons are far larger and more powerful than the war birds, but not quite as maneuverable. The knights have the dragons spinning in circles, all the while blasting them with the energy blasts from their swords. The dragons fire back with their breath weapons, but the war birds are too quick and agile for such tactics.
Down on the ground, King Lawrence and War Duke finally get to square off one on one. King Lawrence spurs his horse into a gallop, and War Duke spurs his warg into a sprint. The two mounted warriors collide at full speed. Taking a less obvious tactic, King Lawrence brings his sword down onto the neck of the charging warg. The giant wolf's head falls to the ground, severed in a single stroke, causing the beast to collapse and throw it's rider. War Duke hits the ground hard, tumbles to a stop, and doesn't get back up. King Lawrence rides his mount over to the fallen villain to see if he is indeed finished. Unfortunately, he has fallen prey to one of the oldest scams in the book. War Duke, not truly injured at all, rolls over and stabs the king's horse in its hind flank with his enchanted sword. The horse rears up in surprise, then freezes, as it and it's rider are encased in magical crystal. War Duke then regains his feet and seeks out another enemy to smite.
As Captain Cordon engages the Celestial Knights in battle, something seems to have attracted her mount's attention. It seems distracted by the neighing of a horse. As the dragon turns to look, it sees Terri Dreamwalker sitting astride her trusted mount, the unicorn known as Silverbeard. Silverbeard rears up on his hind legs, and then begins to bound down the steep canyon wall, leaping from stone to stone as though it were prancing through a meadow. Then another unicorn comes bounding down the canyon wall. Then another, then another, then another. Before you know it, Terri has an entire herd of unicorns charging the battlefield.
All thoughts of battling the Celestial Knights are forgotten by the dragon. If there is one thing in all of The Realm that dragons love more than precious metals and gem stones, it is the taste of unicorn flesh. Like a cat to catnip, the white wyrm heads straight for the oncoming herd of unicorns. All of Captain Cordon's protests go unheeded, as the white dragon just doesn't care anymore. That is until it sees the last unicorn to enter the canyon. It's a white mare with orange mane and pink eyes, with a large and muscular barbarian riding on her back. Uni leaps off of the canyon edge, after building up a powerful head of steam, and comes soaring through the air, almost as though she had wings. Before she begins her descent, Bobby tucks his feet up under himself, plants them firmly onto her back, and then leaps with all of his might, holding his great axe ready to strike. As soon as the barbarian has made his leap, Uni teleports to the relative safety of the ground and charges the goblin ranks, goring and trampling the enemy at will. Meanwhile Bobby is looking rather like Superman, or perhaps Thor, flying straight for Captain Cordon and her dragon.
"PHEEEEEEONIIIIIIX!" cries the barbarian, activating the fiery enchantment of his axe.
The white dragon flaps it's wings madly to gain altitude. It could sense the powerful magics in the axe and in the barbarian's belt. And white dragons are not fond of fire magic. Unfortunately, it was so overzealous in its desire to taste unicorn flesh that it is too close to the canyon wall to be able to escape Bobby's wild, some might even say suicidal, attack. The head of his axe bites deep into the dragon's chest. It gets wedged between two of the monster's ribs, then lets out a fiery explosion inside the wyrm's chest. The dragon roars in agony and veers toward the battle at large. Bobby plants his feet on either side of the wound and tries to pull the axe free, for he doesn't relish the idea of being crushed by a dragon. He pulls the axe free just before the dragon crashes into a large group of orcs. The Barbarian hits the ground in a tumble, barreling through anyone in his way. The dragon itself skids to a stop right at Sir John's feet.
Extracting herself from beneath the dragon's head, Captain Cordon regains her feet and staggers out from behind the beast. A little shaken up, but none the worse for wear. She had used the power of the Griffin Shield to protect herself in the fall. Sir John points the blade of his sword at the Pirate Queen.
"You there!" says the knight, "That shield does not belong to you. Surrender now and I promise no harm shall befall you."
"You old fool!" sneers the captain, "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I know exactly who you are, young lady, and I know exactly what that sword of yours can do. And I tell you right now that your sword cannot harm me. I am protected from its magic."
"Then know this, old man. I am going to find everyone who has ever called you friend, everyone you have ever loved, and I am going to freeze them with my magic sword, and then shatter them into a million pieces. And I'm. Going. To. Make. You. Watch."
Sir John bellows in outrage and charges Captain Cordon with his sword held high. With a single thrust, the enchanted crystal blade of Captain Cordon's rapier pierces Sir John's breast plate, skewers his heart, and then exits out his back, the golden hilt of the sword slamming hard against his chest. He looks at her with a surprised expression, blood trickling from his lips.
"I don't need the freezing power of my sword to end your life, you old fool."
Captain Cordon smiles wickedly as the life begin to fade from Sir John's eyes. Then there's a sudden spark of rage, and the old knight lops the pirate queen's head right off of her shoulders. Captain Cordon's body stands there for a moment, headless, before collapsing at his feet. Then the Vorpal Swordwhich had served him so well slips from his grasp, his fingers no longer having the strength to hold onto it. The old knight then falls to his knees, and then keels over onto his side.
One of the unicorns Bobby and Terri had brought along to help in the battle is galloping with all speed away from the battle. Hot on its tail is the blue dragon, with a very irate Zogarr the Barbarian riding on its back. The unicorn bolts up the stairs towards the doors of the keep. When the dragon tries to follow, it gets pelted with hundreds of arrows coated in dragonsbane paste. Most of the arrows bounce harmlessly off of its scaly hide. But a few managed to get wedged in between the scales, and a few more even pierced it's tongue. The dragon staggers away, wobbling, trying desperately to flap it's wings.
"What are you doing you stupid dragon?" shouts the barbarian, "Fly! Fly!"
"Can't,"groans the dragon, "Too . . . weak. Dragons . . . Bane."
Then the dragon collapses. Zogarr hops off of the stupid beast's neck and charges into the fray. He preferred crushing his enemies himself rather than letting some wizard's pet lizard do it for him. He charges in, smashing a Turadian soldier with his club. Then a Tardos soldier comes at him. He doesn't even use his club for this one, just grabs him by the neck with his mechanical claw and squeezes, snapping it like a twig. He tosses the man aside as though he were nothing. A dwarf comes at the barbarian next. He stops the dwarf's axe with his mechanical arm, and then bats him aside with the Thunder Club. He sees a gnome single handed fighting three goblins, and faring quite well at that. The little fellow has his back to the barbarian, so Zogarr kicks him in the back of the head. He raises the magical club and brings it down, aiming right for the gnome's unprotected skull. But instead of squishing the gnome like a bug, the club strikes a golden hammer. Standing in between Zogarr and that unfortunate gnome, is the paladin Strongheart.
"You should not strike those who are helpless!" says the paladin.
"You gonna stop me, old man?" asks Zogarr.
"If I must."
"Come on, Grandpa. Let's see what you've got."
Strongheart charges in, swinging his golden hammer directly at Zogarr's head. Zogarr blocks the attack with the Thunder Club, retaliating with a swing of his own. Strongheart ducks below the attack, sweeping Zogarr's legs out from under him with his foot. Zogarr lands hard on his back, then rolls out of the way as Strongheart's hammer comes crashing down where the barbarian was lying just seconds before. Zogarr regains his feet and comes at the paladin with the club held high, intent on smashing in the man's skull. Strongheart uses his hammer to conjure a shield of magical energy, deflecting what would have been a lethal blow. Zogarr raises the enchanted club again to try once more. Strongheart drives the head of the hammer into Zogarr's gut, doubling the barbarian over. Strongheart then brings the golden hammer down upon the barbarian's back, knocking him down to the ground. The paladin kicks the club away from Zogarr's hand, and stands over the barbarian.
"You are beaten," says Strongheart, "Surrender and I shall spare your life."
"Yes," says Zogarr, as he rises to his knees, "Please, show me mercy."
Suddenly, the cunning barbarian throws a handful of dirt into the paladin's eyes. Strongheart wipes his eyes with his free hand, trying to restore his vision. More quickly than one would imagine for a man so large, Zogarr grabs the Thunder Club, grips it in both hands, then smashes Strongheart in the side of the head with it. Strongheart is thrown to the earth, his helmet flying in one direction, his hammer in another. The aged paladin tries to regain his feet, to get back into the fight, but that blow had knocked him silly. He barely manages to get to his knees when he realizes that he's kneeling at Zogarr's feet. He looks up at the barbarian. The last thing Strongheart sees in this world is the Thunder Club rushing towards his head. The paladin's headless corpse crumples at Zogarr's feet. Zogarr casually walks over to Strongheart's golden hammer and picks it up. He raises the two weapons in the air and releases a primal scream of victory. Then he wades into the chaos, seeking his next victim.
Bobby the Barbarian groans as he begins to regain consciousness. The crash landing while slaying the dragon took a lot out of the young man. Probably the only reason he was still alive was the superhuman strength granted him by his magic belt. He tries to push himself up off the ground, but finds that he's having difficulty in doing so. His head hurts, and his ears are ringing, though he can still make out the sounds of battle raging on about him. He tries to rise again, this time getting to his hands and knees. As he does so, he notices a huge pair of booted feet standing right in front of him. Bobby manages to look up, and sees an ogre standing over him, it's club poised to strike. But before it could bring it's weapon down to crush the young barbarian's skull, a huge boulder come crashing into the ogre, knocking the monster to the ground. When Bobby looks to see where the boulder had come from, he sees Kaarox standing atop the canyon ledge, waving down to him. Then other giants appear. Some of them are wearing armor and carry forged steel weapons. Others wear simple furs and carry wooden clubs or large boulders. The giants carrying clubs, swords, axes, and hammers begin climbing down the canyon wall as quickly as they can safely manage. The others hurl their boulders at the monstrous attackers, striking the orcs, goblins, and ogres with stunning accuracy.
Bobby picks up his helmet and places it back on his head, then grabs his axe and forces himself back onto his feet. He staggers over to the dragon's carcass, and finds the dead bodies of Sir John and Captain Cordon. The barbarian kneels next to the body of the aged knight. While saddened by the loss of a friend, the warrior inside him is consoled by the fact that Sir John at least left this world the way he always wanted to . . . as a hero. The familiar sound of panicked neighing snaps Bobby out of his reverie. He looks up to see Uni, her horn and coat filthy from blood spatter and grime, galloping at a frantic pace. Close behind her, General Zoa is closing in on the back of a great red dragon. The wyrm's maw is dripping with gore from recent kills. General Zoa looses arrow after arrow at the mare with Hank's Energy Bow. The unicorn deftly dodges each missile, but is tiring and will soon fall prey to the red wyrm.
Bobby's eyes narrow into a baleful glare. If there's one thing that angers Bobby the Barbarian more than threats to his family, it's threats to his unicorn. The barbarian sets aside his axe, for magical fire has no effect on red dragons, and grasps the golden hilt of Captain Cordon's enchanted rapier. He pulls the crystal blade from Sir John's chest, and then with strength as much born of anger as it is of his enchanted belt, he hurls the weapon at the oncoming dragon. The sword spins through the air at such velocity, one would almost think it were shot from a cannon rather than thrown. The crystal blade sinks hilt deep into the dragon's flesh, piercing it's scales as though they provided no more protection than tissue paper. The dragon howls in pain, and then looks on in panic as frost spreads across its scales at a frightening rate. The dragon roars as it feels each cubic inch of its flesh freezing solid. General Zoa stands on the dragon's back and takes a running leap off of the beast. The mutant crashes into a group of defenders, knocking them down under his solid mass. A fall like that would probably knock a lesser man out of battle, but mutants are made of tougher stuff. General Zoa regains his feet and starts swatting people away with the Energy Bow. Once he gets clear of those close to him, he starts shooting the defenders with lethal blasts from the bow. The dragon, meanwhile, freezes solid and falls, shattering into a million pieces. Bobby takes Eric's Griffin Shield from Captain Cordon's corpse, straps it to his own arm, and then takes up his axe and charges into the fray.