-1Strom ducked his head as Toren's maul sailed over head and into the stomach of a soldier too intent on Strom to see the heavy weapon approaching. The air whooshed out of his lungs as he crumples to the ground. Mirren, the wagon driver winced as he saw his friend crumple. Only a few soldiers aside from himself remained, and they were not long for this realm. He thought to escape the circle of death the dwarves had created, but paled as two of the dwarves pointed at him and detached from the circle. He recognized them as the two he teased as he drove them to the brigand's hide out. He dropped his spear and lifted his hands in surrender as he fell backwards, tripping over one of his fellow brigands.
"NO! please..." he begged as he tried to crawl away.
"What d'ye think, Wil? let 'im live?" Haldis asked as she and her former cell mate advanced on the cowering Mirren.
Wil bent down and picked up his spear, tossing it to the man. "Pick it up. I dinna kill unarmed men. even cowardly ones like yerself!"
Mirren took one look at the spear, then back at the two dwarves, advancing with murderous looks in their eyes. He shrieked and scrambled to his feet, running for the exit tunnel to the outside. Wil nudged Haldis and pointed to the man's legs, one of which was darkened with moisture. The two females shared a laugh and turned back to the circle, just in time to see Rom flatten the nose of the last remaining brigand with a might and definitive cluck. Haldis shook her head.
"Strange one, that one be, but good with th'...fryin pan." she muttered.
Wil laughed and shouldered her axe as the dwarves gathered together. Armin had recovered his axe as well and had fastened his mace and flail back on his battle harness. None of the dwarves were without wounds, blood covered most of them, but it was near impossible to tell if it was theirs or not. Rom and Kendrac giggled as they drew pictures on each other in the blood.
The bald dwarf looked to the others as he cracked his neck. "We gots tunnels ta check out." He pointed to the three passageways. "Split up, eh?"
Armin nodded as he spit out a bit of blood. "Aye. Yerself an' Strom take that'n. Me an' th' lasses'll take this'n and the loons'll go thataway." He motioned towards the tunnel that brought them into the cavern.
With a shriek of happiness, Rom and Kendrac turned and ran towards their assigned passageway, only to fall to the ground as Rom stepped on Kendrac's tail.
"Mooo?" Kendrac inquired, as he brushed himself off. He thwapped the bucket headed dwarf upside the head and trundled off towards the tunnel, Rom in hot pursuit.
"Yer daft er what?" Asked Strom. "Sendin' them two off by themselfs?"
Armin shrugged and hefted his axe. "They be headin' back outside. What could happen? Now, lets be clearin' out this nest o baddies, yes?"
With a nod, Strom and Toren turned and ran down the left tunnel, while Armin, Wil and Haldis headed towards the right. Elsewhere, deeper in the mountain, a half orc was not nearly as happy as Rom and Kendrac. He roared in anger as he tossed the now dead brigand to the side.
"What do I pay you fools for?" He snarled at two cowering humans. "Kryl will not be happy when she finds out about this. You let a few dwarves come into her home and make a mess of things? Bah!"
He backhanded one of the two men, sending him reeling to the side, the other doing his best to become one with the stone floor, but to no avail. Malchion picked him up by the scruff of his neck and lifter him to eye level.
"Now...listen very carefully, Captain Drevis. Take everyone you can find, and get those dwarves." he snarled into the man's face, "or...would you prefer to tell Kryl yourself of whats happened?"
The dangling man paled and shook his head quickly. "N..N...no...Lord M...M...Malchion."
The half orc dropped the man to the ground. "Wise...now go. Return to me only if you succeed. otherwise..." He left the threat unsaid, though the man scrambling out of the room heard it loud and clear.
Once outside, the man grabbed another soldier. "Go get the gnolls, and send someone to get Brunk and Grack."
"Yes sir. Captain Drevis" The subordinate nodded and ran off, leaving Drevis to simmer in his own anger. Within moments, the soldier returned with a large, hyena looking beast, wearing armor and wielding a large axe.
"We ready...smash dwarfs good." The gnoll said.
Drevis nodded. "Take the east tunnel, clear out anything short and bearded...no survivors." He looked to the human. "Are they ready?"
The soldier nodded. "They are, Captain."
"Good," replied Drevis. "Send them down the western tunnel...have them wait in the transfer room. Like the gnolls, make sure they leave no dwarf alive. Report to me when they have succeeded. I will be waiting here."
The soldier, nodded, then turned and ran out to complete his duty, chuckling softly. This should be good, he thought. So long, dwarves.
Armin and the two females ran down the tunnel, not even trying to be quiet. Their armor and weapons made stealth an impossibility. They came across a wooden door on their left. Without even slowing, and in actuality speeding up, Armin lowered his shoulder and hit the door, shattering it into splinters. He stumbled in, followed by Haldis and Wil, surprising the other occupants of the room. Six soldiers thought to hide from the dwarven killing machine and attack them from behind. Instead the one soldier who was listening by the door found himself being trodden upon by three pairs of heavy iron shod boots, crushing his ribs and skull. Armin hurled his massive axe at another soldier, the blade imbedding in the man's chest and splitting his ribcage and shearing off his left arm. Another , shocked by the sudden turn of events, stared at his dying companion, not seeing the dwarven missle as Armin tackled him and began to beat the man to a pulp with his armored fists.
Haldis grinned at Wil." Guess we best be killin' some too, 'afor he gits em all." She raised her own battle-axe and charged into the fray, feinting a slice at one of the soldiers. He ducked, falling for the feint, then realized that he was not the target as the leg of the man to his left fell to the ground with a meaty wet thump, followed by a scream.
"Aye" Wil replied, running after Haldis and jamming the butt of her hammer into the gut of the last man, and bringing the head up to meet the man's lowering skull. A loud crack followed, along with a groan and a thump as the soldier collapsed. Together, the two female dwarves turned towards the last standing human who wisely dropped his sword and ran out the door and down the hall towards the cavern. They laughed and looked over at Armin who had finished turning the man's face to a bloody mess and was collecting his axe. He started to shrug, then lifted his hand suddenly, for quiet.
"Shhhh...ye be hearin' that?" He whispered.
The other two craned their necks to listen, then looked to Armin.
"Gnolls." They said in unison.
"Aye...gnolls...an' all fer us" He said with a grin as the three exited the room and started down the hallway once more.