Chapter X: Catfight from Udun

Deorwine felt a shockwave blast through her and the other surviving Venyarohirrim, hurling down the hall, ripping tapestries and shattering vases. She was hurled to the ground along with the rest of her fellow men, the sound of their armor ringing down the passageway.

The room was lit up with a white-red glow, and a dull roar filled the humans' ears.

"Damn," Deorwine hissed as she rolled and stood against the wall, feeling the crackling energy surge through her.

The blast subsided in a few moments, leaving the bedraggled men and women of New Edoras, numbering a score over one hundred, to stumble to their feet.

"What was that?" somebody in the company cried to Deorwine.

"That," she responded with a smile, "is the distraction that will save us. Follow me, people."

The survivors paused, then raced after her as she sprinted toward the hidden road.

Dilotè charged at the head of the shattered Remnant army, her two long, black blades drawn, ready to deal out death to those who had so shamed her glorious army.

Beside her ran Turdú, the general she had sworn to serve, and had now developed a sort of attraction to, though she was afraid to show it. He too had his swords drawn, and his black eyes blazed.

The two reached the door to the main hall at the same time, and Dilotè reached out her half-fingered gloved hand to attempt to wrench the door open.

Turdú reached out and touched her hand with his own, and she glanced up sharply at him. He smiled and pushed her hand back, then leaped up and spun in a complete circle, lashing out with a viscous kick at the conclusion of his rotation.

The door exploded from its hinges, slamming into the floor of the hall. The sound of human voices echoed down the hall to them, and Dilotè smiled, lighting up her light purple-tinted face.

"Race you," Dilotè said to Turdú in the elven tongue.

"Common speech, Captain, we're on Remnant business here," Turdú chided, though he said it more mechanically than with actual force.

Dilotè smiled mischievously as she bolted into the human palace, calling over her shoulder, "Court-martial me if you catch up!"

Turdú shook his head, Dilotè never ceased to amaze him. But now she was nearly 100 meters down the hall, and he knew from his years of experience with her as his Captain that he would have a bit of trouble catching up.

Deorwine reached the swinging bookcase that hid the Freawold, the secret road that connected all large Venyarohirrim cities. She pushed aside the books where she knew the lever would be hidden, and paused in surprise as she saw the dust on the lever was smeared where somebody had used it recently. With a shrug, Deorwine pulled the lever upward and stepped back, letting the bookcase swing back to reveal a long dark chasm lit by torches down the passageway.

"What is that?" the highest ranking surviving officer, a lieutenant, asked her.

"The Freawold. Top-secret government project linking all major cities. It's a backup system in case of this exact situation, an invasion, so that the population can escape un-harassed."

"And you know about this...how?" the lieutenant inquired.

"Lieutenant Colonel Athfaë Qualmë, special operations agent."

The lieutenant looked dazed, "But...but...you're a...servan..."

"Undercover military agent. Sent to protect the king."

The lieutenant raised his eyebrows.

"Alright, so I didn't exactly pull off my mission. But you need to trust me. Get the people out of here."

The man paused, then saluted. "Yes ma'am."

He turned to the people, "Let's move! Down the passage, move quickly, and keep silent!"

"Thank you, lieutenant," Athfaë said. She waited until all the people had passed, then, just as she was about to close the bookcase, the unexpected hit her.

The unexpected was Dilotè, and she was angry. Her black blades hissed through the air at Athfaë, who blocked desperately with her own sword, which was of a higher quality than the regular infantry's, allowing it to stand up to the beating it received from the Drow's weapons.

The men and women in the passageway paused in terror as they watched their leader slash the attacker across the leg, then get knocked to her knees by the over six foot tall Drow woman.

Turdú rounded the corner just in time to see Dilotè slammed into the far wall as a Venyarohirrim lieutenant tackled her, knocking her away from the servant girl.

"Go!" the lieutenant screamed to the woman on the ground, "Go!"

The servant girl stood and grabbed the bookcase that hung from the wall, then swung it into place, the sound of a complex series of locks closing it in place.

Turdú swore, pounding fruitlessly on the door for a second, then turned to face his Captain and the lieutenant that was attacking her.

Dilotè's swords lay on the ground, just out of her reach, and the lieutenant was on top of her, dagger drawn and pointed toward her throat, trying his best to overpower her and plunge it downward.

The two struggled for a moment, then Dilotè swung upward with her leg, striking the man in the back of the head, momentarily stunning him. She took advantage of the distraction, shooting her right hand up to his throat.

The lieutenant coughed, his airway suddenly constricted. Dilotè swung her leg around the man's neck from behind and pushed down, pulling herself on top of him. Before the lieutenant could react, she wrenched the dagger from his hand and plunged it into his chest. The man struggled for a moment, then collapsed.

Dilotè pulled her other leg out from underneath his body, and began to stand up. She got to one leg, but the other gave out underneath her, blood running freely from a wound that she had received from Athfaë. Turdú was beside her in an instant, extending his hand to assist her in rising.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile, insisting on continuing her use of elvish while not in the presence of any other Remnant soldiers.

Turdú was about to reprimand her, but he stopped as his eyes met hers.

After exhaling slightly, he held out her swords to her in his other hand. She took them, and as he began to pull away, he spoke over his shoulder.

"Not a problem, Captain."