"So…so many were lost last night, and many did not have to die." Honored Uncle sighed as lowered his head, before him with dozens of dwarven soldiers now draped in sheets, of course after making sure any infected were granted merciful deaths. "What are our losses?"
Elf Leader and Human Commander too had the tired defeated look about them as they sat about wooden benches in the courtyard. Within the courtyard, those with the strength brought in the dead while others tended to the injured, but for most the relief of having survived the long night with the undead changed to grief and sadness as they were forced to see many of the own friends die and in usually a very horrifying manner. As the battle had continued, the three leaders had too gone to join the others fighting on the battle field, they themselves could not hold their heads high if all they did was simply give orders from the safety of the fortress.
"We're still trying to determine an exact number, but as of right now our fighting strength is a little more than seven hundred." Elf Leader sighed as he wiped the grime from his face.
"By our estimate, we managed to defeat roughly four thousand of the undead, that doesn't account for the number of own forces turned and added to her army. That would still leave about 11,000 to deal with maybe more…how the hell are we supposed to stand up to such a force?" Human Commander had a haunted look about his face as he realized that their forces were outnumber more than a hundred to one.
Off in the corner section of the courtyard was Hero and her party, all three women looked toward the ground or off in the distance. The embarrassment of looking so feeble before the enemy while others were able to fight against her and her army was overwhelming, at the same time the realization that they had nearly died that night weighed heavily on them after a year of such success in their adventurers. The girls looked up to see the oddly dressed silver-ranked warrior meeting the rest of his party members who had descended from the tower, including the demon girl from the previous night. Female Swordmaster growled angrily at the thought of the silver-ranked adventurer, standing up to the lich while she and her friend could only cower before the monster. She stood and marched forward to give this man a piece of her mind, while her friends looked on with wide eyes.
"Wait…stop…" Hero called out to her friend as she too stood to chase after her.
"Where are you going?" Sage too followed after Female Swordmaster.
xxxx
"I have to say Orcbolg, that was a pretty clever tactic with those grenados…but I told you before those were not allowed on quests!"
"I felt they would be effective…I made sure not to throw them."
"Throwing them wasn't the point Orcbolg!"
"I thought we agreed they were very dangerous Goblin Slayer?"
"What are you all talking about? That was amazing down there!" Half-Demon Thief was smiling as she recalled the use of those explosive items and his scroll. "I'm not sure what any of that was, but it worked so well against the undead…I had no idea you were this ready for Lich Queen's forces."
"It…was pretty amazing…how he defeated the dragon." Apprentice Cleric smiled sheepishly.
"Indeed…I'm glad…my services…helped. You…are certainly…resourceful."
"Don't tell me you're all on board with Orcbolg's crazy plans?"
"Come now Long-Ears, surely you can forgive Beardcutter this time since his craziness helped us." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he stroked his beard, though it too was soiled from the night of battle. "Besides which, it's only because of Bearcutter that any of us were able to break free of that Fear spell."
"I have not forgotten, I…wait, that means you saw me!" High Elf Archer gasped as she finally realized that Goblin Slayer had seen her naked, though her body was covered in blood and grime, he had seen her naked.
She immediately covered her chest, while glaring at Goblin Slayer with her ever reddening face. The others were curious as to what had happened, although Goblin Slayer stood there motionless. High Elf Archer smiled as she turned her head to the side, not sure if her face could get any redder as a new thought crossed her mind.
"You best not tell anyone what you saw!" High Elf Archer's ears flapped quickly, in truth she was happy he had seen her, but wished it had not been in that manner.
"I won't."
"Anyway, what was your plan earlier Gob…"
Before Spearman could finish, Goblin Slayer was rather unceremoniously pushed from behind making him stumble forward, but fortunately he managed to catch himself before falling to the ground. Everyone turned to see Female Swordmaster angrily staring back at Goblin Slayer and his group before being joined by a confused Hero and Sage.
"What the hell were you thinking out there? You're damn interference kept us from defeating the Lich last night!"
"Swordmaster that's enough!" Hero pleaded with her friend in an effort to calm her down.
"Who the hell do you think you are to go and talk that way to him!" Spearman stepped forward tightly gripping his spear as he looked down at this young girl before him.
"I am a member of the Hero's party…the one who defeated the Demon Lord…one who has helped save the world!"
"And that gives you an air of superiority over the rest of us because the gods favor you?" High Elf Archer walked right up to the young girl and gave her a shove.
"Don't you dare touch my friend!" Now it was Hero who snapped back.
"Then you tell her to keep her hands to herself and don't have speak that way to my friends." Half-Demon Thief stepped forward pointing a rather accusing finger at Hero and Female Swordmaster.
"What would a demon know about friends?" Sage snapped out her initial shock and glared at the young demon girl.
"At least she helped with the wounded and even went after her brother to keep him from killing others, while you, a member of the Hero's party stood around feeling sorry for herself!" Apprentice Cleric now felt the need to interject herself into this argument.
"Is that right?' Rookie Warrior looked toward the trio of heroes with shock then a look of angry frustration. "So while we were down there fighting for our lives against the undead, you just stood around weeping that you could not use your spells?"
The groups continued to argue back and forth, hurling insults and occasionally pushing one another, even Priestess, although timid at times, knew she had to step in and defend her comrades, though she refrained from insulting the others. All this commotion drew the attentions of the others within the courtyard who watched the groups of adventurers argue.
"Enough!"
The shout came from Lizard Priest who had been watching the events from the side, knowing full well that at least one among them needed to be the voice of reason
"Here is the truth of the matter, you three are indeed very capable adventurers and have saved the world, but that overconfidence has made you careless and the Lich Queen took full advantage of that. Had our party not been here, had Goblin Slayer not thought ahead to have our Earth Mother Acolyte cast her protection, you three would have been destroyed by your own attack! If Goblin Slayer had not drawn that creature's attention from you both of you, she would have killed you."
The three women growled in frustration, but then sighed in resignation, because what the Lizard Priest had said was indeed true. Lizard Priest also knew that admonishing these three would not solve any of their problems and turned toward his own party members to address them.
"Now is not the time to be fighting among ourselves, this enemy we face is more than dangerous than anything we have encountered before. The only hope any of us have defeating this great evil is to work together, it is as Milord Goblin Slayer says, we must prepare for tonight or the horde will over run us and then this massive army will go unchecked."
"Correct as ever Scaly, we need to…wait where's Beardcutter?"
Everyone looked around only to now realize that Goblin Slayer, along with both Wolf and Snow had disappeared. It was then that Priestess caught sight of them over by Honored Uncle, Elf Leader and Human Commander and immediately the adventurers made their way over toward them.
"You want us to do what?" Human Commander looked toward this armored adventure like he was crazy.
"I want two large trenches dug in front of the fortress." Goblin Slayer then drew out his sword and began to draw a rough sketch of the area in front of the fortress in the mud. "The area from earthen wall to earthen wall is about 1800 meters. I want two large trenches dug roughly 200 meters from the gate, each trench should be about 850 meters wide, nearly 30 meters across and 3 meters deep. This will leave a smaller path way of 270 meters between the two trenches."
"Could you clarify why you need these trenches to be so…specific?" Elf Leader was slightly confused by Goblin Slayer request.
"Is this some sort of tactic you use against your goblins? These things are not little, insignificant monsters, we're talking about the undead here…something you obviously have no experience in fighting." Human Commander's disdain for this oddly dressed adventure was clear for all to see.
"You are correct, I have not dealt with these things before, so I am basing this off my observations from yesterday." Goblin Slayer's response carried no emotion with it as he did not care what others thought of him. "The trenches need to be deep because I want them filled will all the oil you have here in the fortress so they can be set ablaze."
The rest of his party as well Hero's party joined up with just as he mentioned setting the trenches on fire. Needless to say those that didn't know Goblin Slayer that well yet, like Half-Demon Thief and Hero's party were shock by what they heard.
"These…undead, appear mindless and their main strength is numbers, they will march forward and plummet into the trenches. The smaller pathway will limit the enemy forces to a few hundred instead of several thousand." Goblin Slayer pointed out on the drawing in the mud before looking back toward the leaders. "This should put us on more equal footing when dealing with these creatures."
"An interesting plan indeed Beardcutter, I can see why my nephew sought you out to join him, but the detail you're asking for…this will take hours to prepare."
"He's right, what we need to do is focus on retreating." Human Commander looked at the plan in the mud and shook his head at thought of this being useful to them. "From there we can strengthen our borders and prepare for a counter attack."
"You won't make it far." Half-Demon Thief looked toward the leaders with wide concerned eyes. "Her horde is always present in the forest."
"Didn't she have her forces withdraw to her castle?" Hero turned toward the young demon, whatever anger was there the previous night had been gone.
"I'm not sure why she pulled back, but she would not have brought the full horde back with her, they would be spread out in the fog filled forest and would descend upon you all adding to her growing army."
"Then we're stuck here…just waiting to be devoured." Human Commander slumped down into his chair and covered his face with both hands.
"That is why we must prepare."
The three leaders looked up at the dispassionate voice that came from the figure in the dirty leather armor. Like them, he too was covered in mud, grime and gore from night's battle and had aided in helping overcome the Lich's spell, so perhaps there was something to his odd plan.
"We'll have to have our people work in shifts so that the labor doesn't fall on one particular group." Honored Uncle stood ax in hand then looked toward Elf Commander and smiled. "Oh noble elf, my truest friend and ally, we must just our forces against this common scourge!"
"But of course, great dwarven leader, your people are like brothers unto mine!" Elf Leader smiled as he took up his bow and nodded toward Honored Uncle
"And my men and all their weapons are as one with yours! Together we shall vanquish the foul foe!" Human Commander drew out his sword to join the others.
"Together!" The three leaders gave a triumphant shout.
The three leaders looked toward one another as they joined hands in the center, the action brought a big smile to the face of the adventurers, happy to see their spirit renewed for the coming fight.
"So then what's the plan for us Beardcutter?"
"We will head to the Lich's castle." Goblin Slayer turned toward Half-Demon Thief. "You have a map for us yes?"
"Yes sir, and I have marked off where to find her three horcruxes, if we destroy those items, the Lich will become vulnerable."
"And if she is defeated, her army will stop as well yes?" Priestess looked toward Half-Demon Thief for confirmation.
"Yes, she is the one controlling these puppets."
"Good." Goblin Slayer then turned toward Hero and her party to determine their combat readiness. "Can you still fight?"
Hero and her party were surprised by his question, there was no hint of anger at them for their earlier comments, he genuinely was curious if they could still be useful. Hero paused as she looked over this figure, there was something familiar about his tone and attitude, he resembles someone she had met a long time ago in her village, and that familiarity brought a smile to her face.
"We're ready to finish this battle." Hero smiled toward Goblin Slayer while nodding her head.
"Question then Goblin Slayer, how do we get to this castle with the forest still teeming with the undead and our spell casters still exhausted from last night?" Spearman was curious as to what kind of solution this armored man would come up with.
"Hmm."
"You're not going to suggest we just walk there are you?" High Elf Archer angrily growled as she already knew what his answer would be.
"A wagon perhaps?" Goblin Slayer commented.
"Wait Goblin Slayer sir, I can still use my Stealth ability. That way, we can travel by the main road in a cart unseen by the undead." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she knew this would be useful in helping Goblin Slayer.
"Can you…maintain that spell…for that long?" Witch pondered with a slight frown.
"It will be taxing, and it will be the only ability I can use for the day, but if it helps our spell casters regain their strength for the battle tonight, I can endure it." Half-Demon Thief nodded with a determined look about her face.
"Alright, then we need to depart immediately, time is not on our side."
The party members nodded as they quickly went about gathering their supplies and headed for the stables to load up the largest cart. Before Goblin Slayer and his wolves could join them, a hand got hold of his right shoulder and as he turned he found Hero and her party standing there.
"What is it?"
"We…we wanted to apologize for our earlier attitudes and behaviors?" Hero bowed her head as did her companions.
"Okay."
Goblin Slayer's comment caught all three of the girls off guard as they looked at the armored man with surprised looks.
"That's all you have to say?" Female Swordmaster replied slightly annoyed by his remark.
"You are free to say whatever you wish about me…it doesn't matter to me."
"So…even after I pushed you, you're not mad?"
"No. Now let us go, the others are waiting."
"You…you don't understand." Hero lamented as she clenched her fists. "I'm the Hero…I found the legendary holy sword…we're supposed to protect the world. Being defeated by that monster…I'm now doubting myself."
"Are you the Hero only because you found the sword?"
Hero looked back to see Goblin Slayer slowly walking away toward the stables with his dire wolves but then stopped, still keeping his back to the group.
"If finding the weapon was the only thing needed to become a hero, then couldn't anyone have done it?" Goblin Slayer then proceeded to walk toward the stables. "Are you not one of the few platinum ranked adventurers? You're group has already saved the world once…I'm sure you can do it again."
Hero and her party stood there, stunned by his comments, in a weird way he was encouraging them to keep doing their best. With smiles all three rushed after the Goblin Slayer and his dire wolves to join the group that would assault the Lich's castle.
xxxx
Within the Lich's castle, her throne room to be exact, Lich Queen angrily paced back and forth while Armored Skelton and Half-Demon Assassin took a knee before her.
"You had one assignment, one simple task and you still managed to botch that." Lich Queen tightly clenched her fists, so tightly in fact that her nails dug into her flesh and dripped black blood along the floor. "Last night should have been the end of that dwarven fortress…and because of your injury I was forced to pull my army back."
"I had expected to find her in the dungeons my queen, not among the others."
"What of your stealth ability…or is that just for show?"
"I…I was overconfident and it made me careless."
"You are fortunate that you still serve a purpose to me, otherwise I'd have you fed to the horde." Lich calmed herself before turning toward Armored Skelton. "Are my forces still in place for the assault tonight?"
"They are my queen, the horde has been instructed to assault the fortress come night fall and to slaughter any who may try and flee in the forest." Armored Skelton raised his head to look back at the Lich Queen. "Not to doubt your judgement my queen, but shouldn't I have remained behind to lead my forces."
"No…with that traitor alive, I need dependable enforcers to guard my horcruxes." Lich Queen sat upon her throne angrily sighing as she clenched the arm rests. "That miserable pile of waste knows the location of three of the horcruxes, but even she does not know the location of the fourth one."
"We will slay them before they can destroy one of them my Queen." Armored Skelton nodded his head toward his queen. "As per your instructions, I have positioned more guards around those royal chambers. While our main army is watching the perimeter of the fortress, we have nearly two thousand reanimated undead wondering the castle and 500 of my finest skeletal warriors."
"So long as I have breath within me, I swear to you my queen that fourth horcrux will not fall."
"I am counting on that my faithful assassin." Lich Queen then sighed happily as the thought of the odd armored individual flashed through her mind. "That one will definitely be here tonight."
"Are you referring to the armored man who destroyed our skeletal dragon?" Armored Skeleton's tone suggested a sense of concern.
"Yes…he will be a valuable agent once he has been turned. It was his planning and strategy that caught us off guard last night, he has clearly earned a spot as one of my future generals."
"Gen…general, but that is my position my queen! Surely we don't have any need for another commander? I have served you faithfully my queen."
"Is that jealousy I sense in your voice?" Lich Queen chuckled as she looked over Armored Skelton. "Calm yourself, I will not replace you…yet. I just feel that he would be a valuable asset to my army, after all he was the first one to so brazenly attack me, that is either ignorance or daring…I intend to find out which tonight."
Armored Skeleton lowered his head and hissed angrily and he now clenched his fists. How dare this flesh bag come in and take the attention of his precious Lich Queen. He had been tolerant of the two half-demons, believing they would soon be turned into undead, but found that was not the case…and now…
"You miserable mortal…I'll reduce you to nothing but chunks of meat before you take my queen from me!"
xxxx
It was dusk by the time they group had reached the Lich's castle, and the entire ride over had been rather cramped, most were unconformable with all thirteen adventurers and the two dire wolves stuffed into the one wagon, but it had been the safer option. With Stealth in place, the wagon rolled down the path undetected by the horde, and just as Half-Demon Thief had mentioned the group could see hundreds of the undead all about the trees and these were the ones they could see. It was decided to carefully hide the wagon near one of the large snow banks and approach on foot.
"Are you okay?" Priestess carefully watched over Half-Demon Thief who was breathing rather heavily and saw the sweat running down her face.
"I'm fine…just never had to use that spell for so long before or on such a large item." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she looked back toward the concerned Priestess. "I can still fight."
"You did well."
Half-Demon Thief looked forward toward Goblin Slayer, this odd man had just praised her for her hard work, and no human had ever praised her before. She immediately pulled her hood over her head to keep others from seeing her blushing face.
"Are you okay?" Rookie Warrior, having no clue as to what was going on in a young girl's mind, asked out of genuine concern.
"Fine." The voice that came out of her was a loud as the squeak of a mouse.
"Sorry?"
"Fine…just cold…thank you." Half-Demon Thief managed a bit of a louder response but still quieter than what the others were used to hearing.
"You idiot…how can you not understand what women are thinking?" Apprentice Cleric hit his left shoulder with her fist.
"Oww…what was that for?"
The group of adventurres laughed, but soon got quite as they looked over the massive castle. Near the massive gate were skeletal guards, but no signs of the reanimated undead, however the adventurers had looked over Half-Demon Thief's plans of the castle and decided the best plan for entrance was through the sewer system near the castle's moat.
"I hate sewers." Apprentice Cleric muttered to herself, the only saving grace was that since it was a castle for the undead, there wouldn't be fresh waste to deal with.
"From here, there a large opening that leads to what I surmise was the kitchen. From there we can split up to destroy the horcruxes."
"We have to finish this fight tonight, otherwise my uncle and the others at the fortress will be lost."
xxxx
"The trenches are ready."
Honored Uncle and the others met with the dwarves who climbed out of the massive pit after finishing the last of the digging. No sooner than that all soldiers within the fortress heard the moans of the undead and cackling and chanting of the skeletal army, they looked forward as the stench of the rotting flesh was carried over the wind. For Honored Uncle, he grew even angrier when he saw some of his fellow dwarves from the previous night among the horde.
"Sound the alarm! Dump the oil into the trenches!"
The soldiers did as they were told, within a few short minutes, the trenches had been turned into moats with the oil in them and the surviving soldiers took up defensive positions in front of them, spell casters in the front rows, warriors in the middle and archers in the back rows.
"Light the trenches!"
The trenches were ablaze as the army of the undead drew near, as expected of Goblin Slayer's plan, the skeletal warriors were smart enough to change tactics and charge through the given pathway while the undead marched forward falling into the burning pools of oil. The spell casters would use their abilities to knock the charging undead into the burning trenches or to completely obliterate them, until their spells ran out, then the warriors switches places to engage the undead that had reached them while the archers would launch arrow after arrow to decimate the horde.
"Keep it up until my nephew and his party have defeated the Lich Queen. This siege ends tonight!"
xxxx
"They're here." Lich Queen chuckled as she stood from her throne. "Move into position and be ready to receive our uninvited guests."
"At once my queen." Both Armored Skeleton and Half-Demon Assassin moved to protect the horcruxes.
"Now then…that man may have been able to overcome my Fear, but can he and his comrades overcome my Illusions."
Lich Queen waved her hands in front of her and began her chant as the clouds above her castle came alive with the sounds of thunder and visible lightning.
"Gods of Chaos hear me now and aid me in making everyone bow, let them see what I desire…up until they all expire! Illusion!" Lich Queen threw her head back as she laughed.
xxxx
"We have been lucky thus far, but I fear the biggest task still lays before us." Lizard Priest looked around the kitchen area for any sign of the undead then sign in defeat. "Such a travesty, a kitchen with no cheese."
"We can get cheese if we make it through this." High Elf Archer gave her comrade a brief pat on the shoulder before looking toward Goblin Slayer. "You mentioned something about having us split up, do you think that is wise Orcbolg?"
"A group this large will draw too much attention. If we separate, at least one group may succeed in destroying this…whatever they're called."
"You are the worst when it comes giving a rousing speech Goblin Slayer." Spearman shook his head before looking toward Half-Demon Thief. "How do we get to these horcruxes from here?"
"We're in the lower levels of the castle, we'll need to travel upward and hopefully meet together in the Great Hall, but be careful, there are many traps laid throughout the castle and she undoubtedly knows we are already here."
"Then…how should…we separate?" Witch mused as she figured she'd be paired up with Spearman as she had before.
"Spearman, Thief, Rookie Warrior and Hero shall accompany me." Goblin Slayer motioned toward the four adventurers then continued on. "The Dwarf, Priestess, Wolf, Witch and Swordmaster shall form a second group. The Elf, Priest, Sage, Snow and the Cleric shall form the last group."
"Wait, wait, wait…why the hell are we separating this way Orcbolg?"
"It's a better distribution of warriors and spells casters, and for those who are not as experienced in combat can work with others."
"Make sense, then we better get moving Beardcutter before any more time is lost."
"Stay alert." Goblin Slayer nodded toward the other adventurers then knelt down to give both Wolf and Snow a gentle pat on their heads. "Keep them safe."
The two dire wolves tails wagged briefly, then with a final goodbye the three groups separated and began to move through the bowels of the castle.
xxxx
Dwarf Shaman and has group had been moving through the castle, and managed to avoid a small group of skeletal warriors marching through the halls, but seemed no closer to reaching the Great Hall.
"O Earth Mother, please see our comrades safely through this ordeal."
"Lass, don't you worry, we're going to get through this and when we're finished we're going to have a big celebration."
"I know…I'm just worried."
"You…are not used…to being…apart from…the others…yes?"
"Yes." Priestess sighed but soon felt Wolf place his head under her hand which brought a small smile to her face. "I trust those with me and will do everything to keep us safe as well."
"That's the spirit. He may not look it, but that Goblin Slayer of yours is a calm and intelligent leader isn't he?" Female Swordmaster smiled as she recalled how calm that man had been, even after being pushed and insulted by her earlier. "Wait…I hear something."
The five stopped, the sound of heavy footsteps echoing in the hall, and soon they came across Goblin Slayer.
"Goblin Slayer!"
"Oh it's you." Goblin Slayer sheathed his sword and ran toward the group. "Thank goodness you're all okay, I was so worried. I lost the others and was afraid that I was down here by myself."
"What happened? Where are they?" Female Swordmaster pressed Goblin Slayer for information unaware of the reactions of the other party members.
Both Dwarf Shaman and Witch knew something was wrong as they heard Goblin Slayer, and even Wolf tensed up as he started to growl. Priestess eyes were wide as she listened to Goblin Slayer and swallowed before slowly backing up.
"If you'll follow me, I'll show you where I lost the others. Come on."
"You're not the real Goblin Slayer!" Priestess raised her arms and held her sounding staff high. "O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, grant your sacred light to we who are lost in darkness…Holy Light!"
The bright light bathe the hallway, Goblin Slayer screamed before disappearing with the light. Once the light had faded, the group could see the hallway was clear as was the fake Goblin Slayer.
"What…what just happened?" Female Swordmaster completely confused by what had happened.
"That was not the real Goblin Slayer, a trick of the Lich Queen." Priestess sighed as she tightly gripped her sounding staff.
"How could you tell?"
"Goblin Slayer does not show any fear." Priestess smiled as she looked toward Female Swordmaster. "He is always calm, even in the face of the toughest situation."
"I can only hope the others are able to see through these illusions." Dwarf Shaman readied his sling as he heard the sounds of the skeletal warriors coming from behind them. "Prepare yourselves…they're coming!"
xxxx
"It feels like we've been wandering around for hours." Spearman grunted as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Why the hell is it so damn hot down here?"
"It…it must be the work of the Lich Queen." Half-Demon Thief commented as she too wiped the sweat from her face.
"…elp…me…"
"I think I hear something." Rookie Warrior quickly tightened his grip on his sword.
The five adventurers paused as they listened and could hear what sounded like someone calling out for help. Hero instinctively rushed forward to help the person in need, while the others tried to call her back and were forced to rush after her. As Hero and the others rounded the corner she was horrified to see Sage and High Elf Archer covered in blood laying on the floor before them.
"Oh no…Sage!"
"Please…help us Goblin Slayer!" High Elf Archer weakly stretched out her arm toward Goblin Slayer.
"Don't approach them." Goblin Slayer drew out his sword but kept his distance from the injured adventurers.
"What's wrong with you? That's your friend isn't it?" Hero screamed, angrily glaring at this armored man before running toward her fallen friend.
The moment she drew near, the two figures vanished and the floor gave way, all five adventurers falling through landing back in the sewers.
"Damn it. We fell into a damn trap!" Spearman grunted as he stood and looked up, not seeing any place they could climb back out of.
"I'm…I'm sorry, I thought it was my friend…I…"
"A trick to deceive us." Goblin Slayer sheathed his sword and aided both Rookie Warrior and Half-Demon Thief to their feet.
"How were you able to tell Goblin Slayer…uh sir?" Rookie Warrior too had believed that the two girls he had seen were also real.
"The Elf does not call me Goblin Slayer."
"So how do we…"
Before Half-Demon Thief could finished the moans of the undead echoed in the sewers. The group turned to see dozens of the monsters walking toward them with arms outstretched. Spearman readied his spear but soon hit the side of the wall and cursed knowing he would be able to fight to his full effectiveness.
"Fallback."
The five warriors turned and ran in the direction away from the undead and soon came to a fork in the sewer and down either path the adventurers could hear more undead shambling toward them.
"We're trapped." Rookie Warrior looked around nervously as the undead drew closer.
"We fight back to back…hold out for as long as possible!" Spearman pointed his spear forward, sweat running down his face, and the frustration that he would die without being able to be with Guild Girl or his partner Witch.
"Above us." Half-Demon Thief pointed toward the top of the sewer junction.
Everyone looked up to see a circular sewer grate, but it was too high to reach even if they jumped.
"I will help lift you toward the top." Goblin Slayer motioned toward Spearman.
"Why me first? Why not the girls?"
"Your strength will be needed to pull them out as I lift from the bottom." Goblin Slayer nodded toward his comrade. "We need to hurry, and I know you're the most capable one for the task."
"Fine, let's get going." Spearman nodded toward Goblin Slayer, internally happy that his friend had this much faith in his ability.
Goblin Slayer knelt down as Spearman stood on his back, with a grunt Goblin Slayer slowly stood, the weight of the armored warrior was rather heavy, but he continued to lift. Spearman got hold of the grate and grunted as he pushed against it eventually getting it loose and ready for him to move to the side. With the grate out of the way Spearman climbed through the opening grateful there were no undead or skeletal warriors about. He tossed his spear to the side and turned back toward the opening extending his right arm down into the sewers.
"Ready!"
"You're next…lend him your strength and watch his back." Goblin Slayer directed his instructions toward Rookie Warrior then looked toward the girls. "Stay close to me."
The girls nodded, while Rookie Warrior stood on Goblin Slayer's back before reaching out for Spearman's hand. Spearman got hold of the young warrior's hand and with a grunt started to pull until he too was out of the sewers.
"You're next."
Goblin Slayer once again knelt down as Hero stood on his back and reached for Spearman's hand. Spearman got hold of her hand and began to pull, but as he did Hero's sword fell out of its sheath and clattered to the floor. The undead were now clearly visible and only a few meters away and closing in.
"My sword!"
"Stop struggling, or I'll end up dropping you." Spearman continued to pull until the young girl was out of the sewers.
"I got it!"
Half-Demon Thief ran to grab the sword only for it to burn her as she touched it. Half-Demon Thief screamed as she drew her hand back, smoke traveling from her glove and as she looked back at the sword could see the undead were now within arm's reach. With sheer determination she once again reached for the sword, as before it burned her, but this time she did not release it. She screamed holding the sword, the one weapon that could slay the Lich Queen, and started to back away until Goblin Slayer got hold of her around the waist and pulled her back before she could be grabbed by the undead; he rushed back toward the opening and lifted her up toward Spearman.
"Quickly reach for my hand!"
Still clutching the sword that burned her hand, she took hold of Spearman's arm with her free hand and was quickly pulled out. The moment she landed on the floor, she dropped the Hero's sword and held her injured hand. Hero rushed forward, completely ignoring the blade as she rushed to Half-Demon Thief's side.
"I…I…got…your sword."
"Forget about that now. We need to treat that hand!" Hero took out a white cloth from her pouch and quickly went to work wrapping the injured hand. "That was a damn stupid thing to do…thank you."
"That weapon will help…defeat the Lich Queen, so a little pain is worth it."
"Goblin Slayer! Jump and take hold of my arm!"
Both girls turned toward the opening to realize that Goblin Slayer had not joined them up top. Down below, Goblin Slayer had drawn his club them moment Half-Demon Thief was in Spearman's hands. He quickly did as he was told and jumped as high as he could and managed to get hold of Spearman's arm. Spearman began to pull, Rookie Warrior grabbing hold of Spearman's waist to help pull Goblin Slayer out of the sewer. Before they could pull Goblin Slayer out, the undead got hold of his legs and waist and proceeded to pull themselves. Spearman and Rookie Warrior struggled to pull him up as it was just the two of them compared to the dozens down below.
"Damn it!" Spearman hissed as Goblin Slayer's hand was starting to slip from his grip. "We got you! Just hang on!"
"Let go."
"What…what the hell are you talking about you dumbass?"
"You'll both be dragged in…let go."
"Goblin Slayer…"
"Take care of them for me."
Spearman gasped at the last comment before Goblin Slayer released his own grip, his hand easily slipping from Spearman's hand. From the lack of weight both Spearman and Rookie warrior stumbled backwards falling awkwardly before looking back at the opening into the sewers. The two girls looked on with wide eyes as the full realization of what had just happened washed over them. They could hear Goblin Slayer grunt as he fought against the undead, but within a few seconds they could only hear the cries of the undead, there were no screams.
"Gob…Goblin Slayer."
Half-Demon Thief broke away from Hero and made a frantic crawl toward the opening but was quickly held back by Spearman.
"Goblin Slayer!"
"That's enough!"
"No…let me go! We…we can still save him! Goblin Slayer!" Tears running down her face, this man who had openly accepted and protected her could not be dead.
"He's gone!" Spearman snapped as he continued to hold the young demon back. "If you go down there, his sacrifice would have been for nothing. He made sure to get you out of there, we need to keep moving…like you said we have to stop the Lich."
Author's Note: With that, I'm officially ending the Howl of Vengeance story. I feel I've come as far as I can so this is a good stopping point and…okay relax everyone I'm just kidding, if I ended it here those who are following the story would hunt me down (I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for this one already). You best believe this is not the end, not by a long shot. I'm also very appreciative of the suggestions from the fans, some of which I was already thinking about for future arcs (stop reading my thoughts I already have enough voices in my head). Okay, everyone have a good Thanksgiving, go enjoy your food, I know the horde will be enjoying the Goblin Slayer Kabob, extra raw! Sorry bad joke, don't hit me.
Oh yeah, to Jon I listened to both songs and I think Queen of the dark Horizons is the more appropriate one for the army of the undead marching upon the fortress.