"Did you say 15,000?" Honored Uncle's mouth hung open at the thought of thousands of these undead monsters would come shambling toward this fortress.
"The Lich Queen has amassed an army of the dead 15,000 strong." Half-Demon Thief sighed as she closed her eyes thinking about the various monstrosities she had witnessed.
"Th…that's not possible. There is no feasible way that this lich could have such a force and nobody know about it." Human Commander was like Honored Uncle, in utter denial of this possible army. "You must be mistaken…some kind of demon trick."
"If you'd push aside your hatred for demons you'd see I'm trying to warn you." Half-Demon Thief sighed angrily at the fact that this human was too dense to know what was at stake here.
"This army, what type of undead can we expect to face?"
"You're not seriously going to believe her?" Human Commander turned toward the Elf Leader with an incredulous look.
"If what she says is true, I want to be prepared."
"She's obviously lying!"
"Can you be sure? Can you guarantee that we have nothing to worry about?" Honored Uncle looked toward the Human Commander with a rather serious look. "This girl helped my nephew and his comrades when they were being attacked, so she's earned my initial trust."
Human Commander growled angrily at being talked down to by someone shorter than he but knew that now was not the time to go making enemies with his temporary allies. Honored Uncle then looked toward the Half-Demon Thief and smiled before nodding at her with a wink, the small action brought a smile to her face.
"Please continue." Elf Leader too nodded his head for her to continue with the information.
"The horde is mostly made of the reanimated and infected individuals; humans, goblins, dwarves and the others like them. But she has also resurrected some 5,000 skeletal warriors. These are the fighters who will engage soldiers because they remember their own military training while the horde comes in behind them to devour the rest."
"Where did she find all those skeletons with experience on the battlefield?" Dwarf Shaman was surprised to hear that there were that many skeletal warriors like the one they had seen the night before.
"Maybe from the graveyards in the area?" Rookie Warrior offered a possible solution to the situation at hand.
"No way, even if you dug up every skeleton in the region, there's no way they would all be experienced soldiers or adventurers." Spearman shook his head trying to think of a possible way to find that many well-trained individuals.
"Are any of you familiar with legend of the Five Armies?" Half-Demon Thief looked toward everyone to see if anyone knew what she was talking about, rather something her brother had mentioned.
Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest and High Elf Archer all looked toward one another, they were familiar with the story, but it was a dispassionate, almost mechanical voice that spoke for the group.
"The Battle of the Five Armies."
"Orcbolg…you know of the legend?"
"I've read the story…particularly one that involved an army of goblins."
"So…what's this legend then?" Hero frowned at this man who would associate with demons, but was curious to know what he knew.
"The legend goes that after a malicious dragon had been slain, a group of dwarves had gone to where it had been dwelling to reclaim their lost home…and the supposed mountain of treasure. The humans whose town had been lost in the dragon attack and the elves who had a grudge with the dwarves joined forces to take the mountain for themselves."
"Is all of that true?" Apprentice Cleric turned toward Dwarf Shaman and High Elf Archer.
"The legend varies, some say it happened hundreds of years ago others say it happened thousands of years ago." High Elf Archer shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
"The only thing that is known is the feud that started with the elves and dwarves still continues to this day…although I'm happy to say things are much better now, isn't that right Long-Ears?"
"On that note I can agree with you dwarf." High Elf archer nodded and smiled before looking back toward Orcbolg. "Finish the story there Orcbolg."
"Before the humans and elves could attack, an army of dwarves came to aid their kinsmen, but a powerful wizard appeared before these armies to warn them of another approaching army…an army of goblins upon wolves. The three forces joined as one to oppose the goblin army, but it was not until the arrival of the fifth army that the tide of the battle had turned and the goblins were conquered."
"Who was the fifth army Goblin Slayer?" Priestess held her staff tightly.
"An army of eagles."
"Only…we don't…have an army…of eagles." Witch frowned at the thought if this legend was true.
"Who needs an army of eagles when we have a dire wolf?" Dwarf Shaman smiled as he motioned toward Wolf.
The party looked toward Wolf who looked back at them tail wagging and he barked loudly.
"Indeed, this one dire wolf is well worth a thousand men." Lizard Priest nodded in approval of the dire wolf by their side.
"So how many were fighting? Who won the battle?" Rookie Warrior was curious to know the outcome of the battle.
"The story I read said it was roughly an army of 3000 free folk against 25,000 goblins and wolves, although other tales have said the number of warriors in each army were larger. In the end, the free folk won though their numbers had been nearly depleted while the goblins were completely annihilated." Goblin Slayer clenched his fists tightly as he finished the story.
"I had no idea there was that much detail behind the legend." Half-Demon Thief was in total awe of this tale, but knew this was no time to be lost in wonder. "My brother told me that these skeletal warriors are the remains that were preserved in the ice and snow from that great battle. The dead are angry from being forgotten and will use this rage to wipe out everything in their path. That's why you have to request whatever help you can get, she'll be sure to come by nightfall."
"Foolish demon, we have the great Hero with us, what more do we need?" Human Commander shook his head before motioning toward the trio of young women.
The three confidently looked over the others and nodded, much to the annoyance of the rest of Goblin Slayer's party. It was clear to see that this trio and the Human Commander were not taking this threat as seriously as they needed to.
"Even if we could send for more troops, there's no way they would be able to get here before nightfall." Honored Uncle shook his head while looking back at Half Demon Thief. "Rest assured this dwarven fortress was built to last, designed by my ancestors to prevent evil from passing through these lands."
"Then all we can do is wait." Rookie Warrior sighed as the thought over all the information that had been given to him, the gravity of his position weighing on him greatly.
"Hrm." Goblin Slayer turned and began to walk out of the room followed by Wolf.
"Well if we have to wait, we're going to do it with a full stomach." Dwarf Shaman smiled while patting his big belly.
"Typical dwarf, only thinking about food." High Elf Archer mused as she and the others started to head for the exit.
Half-Demon Thief could not fathom what was going on, there was an army of creatures coming this evening and the rest just acted like nothing about it. She quickly followed behind the party while the Human Commander and the trio of heroes still frowned at her presence in this fortress. Outside the room, Half-Demon Thief found herself questioning the others as they still spoke of food and rest.
"How can you all be so calm?"
"If we are to panic now, then we will not able to fight at our fullest." Lizard Priest smiled as he nodded toward the Half-Demon Thief.
"I too am afraid, especially with the thought of this army of the undead approaching…but there is one reason we are able to be somewhat calm." Priestess smiled weakly while still thinking about her dream, but pushed that idea aside.
"Why is that?"
"Him." High Elf Archer placed her arm around Half-Demon Thief's shoulder and pointed toward Goblin Slayer.
Half-Demon Thief looked forward to see the oddly dressed armored warrior walk forward with a bold stride accompanied by the black dire wolf.
"That one is special lass, he is one to keep a calm level head in even the direst of situations." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he stroked his beard. "If there is any preparations that are to be made, you can be sure that he will have them ready."
Half-Demon Thief looked to Dwarf Shaman and the others before looking back at Goblin Slayer and too found herself feeling rather relaxed with this man; she sighed before smiling and joining the rest of the party to head for the dining hall. As the approached the dining hall Wolf's ears began to twitch, his head suddenly jerked up as he looked left and right before barking and heading toward the nearby door. He started scratching furiously barking as he looked back toward Goblin Slayer and the others.
"Understood." Goblin Slayer walked toward the door and opened it up allowing Wolf to run out into the snow as he followed behind the dire wolf.
"Goblin Slayer?"
"I'll return shortly." He followed Wolf closing the door behind him.
"What was that about?" Apprentice Cleric still had a hard time trying to figure out Goblin Slayer.
"I'm sure it's nothing, if it was something he couldn't handle he'd have asked for our assistance." Spearman knew well enough that even if Goblin Slayer was an odd one, he was more than capable of taking care of himself. "Now let's get something to eat."
As the group made their way into the dining hall they were greeted by a silvered-haired female dwarf, she wiped her hands upon her apron as she greeted them.
"Alright you lot, let's get those bellies full before any fighting. It may not be a king's castle, but I guarantee you get the best damn food around here!"
"With an invite like that, how can anyone refuse?" Dwarf Shaman laughed while patting his belly. "Just know that I can eat for an army."
"I'll take that challenge!" Dwarf Cook laughed too before looking over toward the Lizard Priest. "What about you big fella? Any special requests?"
"If it would not be too much of a bother, may I also have cheese with my meal?"
"Such a polite fellow, you keep up that sweet talk and I'll end up blushing!"
"Any meat is fine with me." Spearman smiled then thought about the most important item to compliment his meal. "Also a pint of ale to go with it."
"A man after my heart, but you can't just stop with one. Now then…" Dwarf Cook then looked over to Rookie Warrior and frowned. "You're far too scrawny my boy, you need plenty of meat and potatoes to build up them muscles."
"Th, thank you." Rookie Warrior smiled sheepishly as he followed the other men to a clear table.
"Now then…this will never do." Dwarf Cook shook her head as she looked over the women in the party.
The women watched suspiciously as she moved around them, that is until Apprentice Cleric, High Elf Archer, Priestess and Half-Demon Thief gasped in surprise; the cause of which was Dwarf Cook pinching their backside.
"What do you think you're doing?" High Elf Archer's face was bright red as she covered her bottom while angrily glaring at the dwarf.
"Could…could you not do that please?" Priestess too was rather embarrassed by what had happened.
"You four are basically skin and bones…how do you hope to snatch yourself a man with so little meat on you? You know men do like their women plump." Dwarf Cook smiled as she looked over the four women.
"Is that true?" Apprentice Cleric was rather surprised to hear this and her mind started to wonder. "Would…would he find me more desirable if I was to put on some weight?"
"Wait…why us, what about her?" Half-Demon Thief pointed toward Witch while still blushing herself.
Dwarf Cook turned to Witch and looked her over before turning back to the four women and smiled.
"She's already filled out in all the right places it seems."
The other four women blushed as they looked over their own bodies before looking over the seductive form of Witch, who smiled sheepishly at them all. Their only saving grace was the fact that the men had not noticed as they sat and conversed at the table while waiting for their food.
"You all do have some sort of man in mind right?" Dwarf Cook smiled at the four embarrassed women. "Let me think, is it the dwarf, the lizard…no…is it the man with the spear?"
This time it was Witch who turned her head to the side to hide her blushing face.
"If not him, what about that young warrior?" Dwarf Cook smiled when she saw Apprentice Cleric looked away nervously. "Well I now know which one is after him, but what about you three? Wait…you're after that armored one with the large wolf right?"
"That's ridiculous! M, me after Orcbolg?" High Elf Archer crossed her arms while turning her bright red face to the side.
"Sh, she's right…that would be foolish." Priestess looked toward the ground her face growing hot as she thought about Goblin Slayer.
"I…I mean I just met him…and I'm part demon…he wouldn't be interested in that…right?" Half-Demon Thief suddenly pulled her hood up to cover her face.
"That's all I needed to hear. Now that I got the whole story, it's time to fatten you up. I'm bringing you all the biggest plates of meat we have."
"But I don't eat meat." High Elf Archer frowned at the thought of this giant plate of food being brought to her.
"I'm won't hear any of it! Meat's these best thing for those in love!"
"Uh…are you sure it's ok for me to be here? Most of the others around here are not very pleased to have a demon around." Half-Demon Thief grew nervous as she looked around to see many of the other humans, dwarves and elves watch her suspiciously.
"You pay them no attention lass. Your friends here trust you and that armored man outside trusts you too right?" Dwarf Cook smiled as she saw the pink hue cross the half-demon's face. "Then that's good enough for me. Now you go sit down and wait until I bring you all the best meal you've ever had."
"Thank you." Half-Demon smiled and nodded her head toward the dwarf before joining the others at the table.
xxxx
While all of this was going on inside the fortress, Goblin Slayer followed behind Wolf who was running forward through the snow. Goblin Slayer soon heard a sound like crying over the howl of the wind then quickened his pace to keep up with Wolf. Around the left side of the fortress, the white dire wolf growled as three of the shambling undead drew closer to her. She herself could not flee, as one of her paws was caught in a trap, the metal biting into her flesh every time she pulled against it to free herself. As the creature drew near, she back away as far as the metal trap would allow. Suddenly a large shape leapt in front of her, the black dire wolf snarling at the creatures as he tried to protect the other dire wolf.
Wolf charged forward grabbing one of the undead by it leg and pulled back knocking it to the ground. Once the creature was down, Wolf then jumped on top of the creature and savagely bit into the creature neck until it had severed the head from the body. The other creatures stumbled forward but Goblin Slayer then rushed in easily decapitating the first creature then threw his sword forward watching as it implanted itself in the creature's skull. With the three creatures down, Goblin Slayer checked over them to ensure they were truly dead. Wolf then approached the other dire wolf, carefully checking to see that she was alright, both dire wolves whining at each other and then toward Goblin Slayer.
"Understood." Goblin Slayer walked toward the two dire wolves then crouched down to deal with the trap. "Hold still."
Goblin Slayer pulled on either side of the trap, moving them enough to allow the white dire wolf to remove her paw. The white dire wolf limp forward a couple steps looking down at her injured paw, she then turned toward her left to see the black dire wolf approach her. With a whine he bent its head down and began to clean her wound, the white dire wolf then began to lick the side of its face. Both then heard the crunching of the snow and saw the armored man walk around them then crouch down in front of the white dire wolf. From within his pouch he pulled out a white cloth and proceeded to wrap it around the white wolf's wounded paw.
"You two stay here, I'll be back." Goblin Slayer stood before walking toward the front of the fortress.
The two dire wolves watched as this man walked away, the white dire wolf turned it head toward the black dire wolf and began rubbing her head under his. Wolf returned the affection before barking twice, with tails wagging both wolves walked slowly forward to see where the human had gone to.
Goblin Slayer stood before the entrance of the fortress and looked out view before, just as he had at the Padfoot village. From left to right the flat terrain save a few dead trees spread around, now covered with snow, was some 1800 meters across, on either side were earthen walls to keep forces from moving around for a pincer maneuver. From the fortress to the forested area that lay ahead was roughly 900 meters, within the forest was the large path they had taken when they first arrived. He then looked back at the fortress to see the large stone structure extending on either side to the nearby mountain ranges. The top of the fortress allowed for archers to take aim while still being protected, however there were weak points that allowed access to the lower levels of the fortress, such as the entrance to the stables and kitchen, so they would need to be reinforced from within.
"If the army can be stopped before they reach the fortress, then the stone walls should protect against projectiles." Goblin Slayer looked back at doors that led to the fortress then back to the open field. "If the horde reaches the doors, they will eventually push through and it will be a difficult fight inside with so many people. We'll need to keep them out in the open."
Goblin Slayer looked back to see both wolves approach him to which he nodded at both before walking out onto the flat field. After about an hour of walking about, he finished his preparations to help decimate the horde should the swarm grow too large or get to close to the fortress. As Goblin Slayer and Wolf prepared to enter back into the fortress, the white dire wolf stopped, hesitant to enter with them. Wolf barked toward her with tail wagging, she took a couple steps back before looking toward the armored human.
"Do as you wish." Goblin Slayer turned back toward the door and as he opened it, both Wolf and the white dire wolf casually walked in.
Everyone inside was surprised to see the armored human enter back inside followed by two large dire wolves. The white dire wolf looked around nervously at all the people around her and began to tense up before feeling something along her back. She looked up to see the armored human looking back at her.
"Stay calm, you'll be fine."
The white dire wolf relaxed as she looked toward the armored human and Wolf wagging her tail. Goblin Slayer walked back toward his room now followed by the two dire wolves while the rest of the party was left there in awe of what they had seen.
"Orcbolg…another one?"
"She followed behind Wolf. I'm going to rest."
"Before you go Beardcutter, what are you going to call this one?"
Before Goblin Slayer could respond, both High Elf Archer and Priestess cut him off.
"You are not going to call her Wolf as well Orcbolg!"
"And it can't be just referring to her as Girl either."
"Hrm." Goblin Slayer paused as he looked over the white dire wolf then turned back toward the party and gave his response. "Snow."
"Why Snow?" Witch was curious to his choice in the name for this dire wolf.
"Don't tell me it's because her fur is white like snow?" Spearman asked angrily sighing as he prepared for Goblin Slayer's dispassionate respose.
"Yes."
Goblin Slayer turned and began to walk back toward his room, the two large dire wolves following behind him. All of his comrades reacting in their own way to his response, some sighing in frustration while others chuckled.
"Is Goblin Slayer always like that?" Half-Demon Thief looked toward the others at the table for some sort of confirmation.
"Yes, but you do get used to it." Priestess smiled toward Half-Demon Thief.
"Orcbolg is truly an odd one indeed."
"I can see that." Half-Demon Thief turned back to see Goblin Sayer disappear up the stairs.
"Did you notice it though?" Dwarf Shaman smiled as he looked forward to the reaction he would get from this suggestion. "That white dire wolf, a female, was following not just Beardcutter but the Wolf as well."
"Indeed Sir Mage, I too had noticed that." Lizard Priest too smiled as he knew where his party member was going with this.
The rest of the party was oblivious to where these two were going.
"If Wolf can find happiness, then even Beardcutter can find someone to make him happy." Dwarf Shaman smiled before looking around at the girls.
As if on cue, Priestess, High Elf Archer, and Half-Demon Thief's faces immediately lit up at what they were thinking while the others around them chuckled at the sight. Outside the fortress, near the tree line, a figure in black hid. From behind the trees, he looked over the fortress, checking for possible sentries and guards.
"So dear sister, this is where you are? It disgusts me to think you would turn to the humans after what they've done to us. Perhaps a little reeducation is needed." The figure in black chuckled to himself as he prepared to make his move.
Author's Note: I thought it would be a nice treat to have some reference to J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit, from the book and the old animated film. I know there's already some references within the light novels, so I figured this would be a little nod to all of that. The next chapter will introduce Half-Demon Thief's brother and the beginning of the long night with the Lich Queen's horde. I have a training next week over the weekend so it may be coming a little later than I'd hope. Thanks again for all the support and suggestions, see you guys for next time.