I own nothing and am dreadfully slow.
Chasing Through Hell
Burning Through the Last
They made their way north at the fastest pace Maurus dared set. At first they kept their distance from the massive lake they had been ferried over, but after couple of hours, Maurus decided that they had enough distance on their pursuers to allow a little delay and set course for the edge of the lake, taking them along the shoreline.
It was exhausting and terrifying. The growl of starved stomachs, the squelch of mud and the heavy breathing of hundreds became the only rhythm they had to march to. The mud of Zangarmash made every step take effort, particularly for Maurus and the other tauren, whose weight and hooves made them poorly suited to the soft ground. The mist pressed in on them from all sides, hiding them, but also muffling all sound and turning every shape hazy and indistinct, so that every stump and errant sound seemed threatening. Even the calm, sloshing water out on the right put him on edge, because the lakes in Zangarmarsh had long since become a source of worry rather than the havens they were on Azeroth.
Adding to Maurus' misery was the doubt. He couldn't stop worrying about whether he was leading them to their deaths, tiring them on the way probably unavoidable battles. The certainty that not everyone was making it back worsened the weight on his shoulders considerably.
He was almost glad when first the attack came. Despite the knowledge the scout and Arianna had gleaned, he had led them into a bend that put water both ahead of them and on their right and the naga took the bait, erupting from the water and surging at them from two sides.
Their right flank was hit first, being almost in the water, though the frontal assault was only a little slower to hit. The naga slithered forward, hissing, their charge preceded by a wave blue magic that thickened the mist with icy cold and froze the soft ground solid beneath and around feet and hooves.
Maurus wasn't sure what the naga had been expecting, but he found himself baring his teeth in a grin as the 27th responded with brutal efficiency. Before the naga could take advantage of the treacherous footing, a blistering wave of heat rolled out from the mages and shamans who made up almost half of the Horde formation. The numbing cold evaporated, the ground thawed and the naga found themselves crashing against a solid wall of steel instead of an unsteady line.
The noise from the right flank was loud enough that Maurus noticed it despite the naga that was stabbing its trident at his face. The crackle of flame and lightning rose above the din along with the sizzle of steam and noisy splashing.
"Lok'tar ogar!" Maurus roared, the shout stretching the cut the trident had made on his cheek. He swept the knob of his axe up, within the naga's guard and it yelped as he connected with its face, cracking bone and teeth. It cried out in earnest when fire lanced over Maurus' shoulder and caught hold of its head and crest, burning white and green.
Any satisfaction Maurus felt at Wiven's attack was countered by the short shriek that the fire drew from Widget and the other naga warrior that immediately took its place.
He bared his teeth and pushed forward. Around him, the others were fighting with the same ferocity he was. Calen and Mathias were, as always, guarding his sides, hammer and sword cracking bone and cutting flesh. Further out, Crava, Zrahi and the others were doing the same for the other tauren he'd placed through his group and he felt a moment of pride at how steadfast and deadly his unit stood against the naga.
More fire lit the misty air, flying past the naga warriors and sending a naga mage staggering back and it was quickly followed by a shower of flaming rock, the size of Arianna's fists. A blue dome that had blocked several bolts of lightning suddenly vanished and another mage went down, a third of its head removed by an arrow the length of Maurus' arm, which kept flying, straight into the chest of a third mage. Maurus thought he heard an angry shout in Taurahe before another arrow took down a naga warrior and allowed Zilja to step forward to deal the next naga in the line a deathblow.
"Blood and thunder!" Came the cry from his right and Maurus felt a slight relief. The shout meant the druids were on their way and the knowledge made his body feel a little lighter. He caught a stab on the haft of his axe and screamed the words into the face of the naga, whose eyes actually widened at his ferocity.
The entire frontline took up the cry while a lower chant rolled around the 27th and Maurus felt his stomach boiling with trepidation that for a moment overpowered his hunger.
"Cut through! Move!" Maurus shouted, not allowing his worry to show in his voice. As the familiar words of the shamans rose to a triumphant roar, the tauren closed around him, though not so close that a single smaller warrior couldn't fit between each. The entire front line let out guttural, ululating cry and Maurus felt his fatigue drain away and his blood pumping hotter through his veins as he became more aware of every scarlet drop around him. His doubts faded, though the Eredun that was spoken behind him kept them from fading entirely and reminded him to concentrate just as the red haze turned black.
Spittle sprayed from his mouth as he started forward, roaring. His first overhand swung forced the naga's trident back so easily that the haft ended up against its breast and Maurus' axe buried itself in the naga's head despite the attempt to block. Feeling his teeth grind, Maurus ripped his weapon from the enemy and forged ahead, his head swimming with furious, overwhelming rage and his ears ringing with his rapid heartbeat and the frenzied roars of the tauren around him. He barely noticed the attacks of his enemies and then only enough for him to feel even deeper rage, which fueled his suddenly unstoppable blows and bone-shattering kicks. Limbs broke and blood flew through the air, fleetingly satisfying before his eyes fell on another enemy and the need for violence burned even hotter in his body. The air grew hotter and thicker with the smell of blood and, more faintly, of ozone and burnt flesh as he cut his way forward, stomping the fallen naga deeper into the mud.
Another naga fell, its chest caved in by a kick and several others were scythed down by streaks of fire and orbs of pure shadow, making Maurus grind his teeth at the stolen kills. The next lost its head to a sword coming in from Maurus' right and the one that ducked under his swing was met by a sword thrust from Mathias and then, suddenly, his advance became even easier. The naga drew back, the resistance in their line vanishing as they went into full retreat. He screamed wordless fury as they slithered out of reach and he started forward to chase them into the murky water, vaguely aware of the movements of others around him as they followed him.
He stopped after two steps when the black rage abruptly vanished, leaving his heart and head aching and the rest of his body screaming. His senses expanded to include other sensations than what he needed to kill, his vision clearing and his hearing becoming less dominated by the pounding of his heart. There were several heavy squelches around him and a quick glance around told him that he was the only tauren still upright.
He turned around as both healers and the biggest warriors hurried forward to get the groaning tauren back on their hooves. Nausea rolled in his belly from the memory of the overpowering frenzy and the revulsion he felt at subjecting his kin to it, but he didn't let it show on his face. Instead he faced the 27th calmly and wiped the bloody from from his face with a heavy hand. Standing become immediately easier though, when Shayla, Drunnya and Calen laid their hands on him and a warmth soothed the worst of the pain.
The 27th looked almost as bad as he felt. There was faint triumph in their eyes and postures but tiredness and determination were most apparent and the mud and blood made them look even worse. The warlocks and elven mages in particularly looked haggard and Wiven was among the worst, with pallid skin and shaking hands.
Maurus' eyes fell on Arianna last, who carried herself better, but still betrayed her tiredness in the set of her shoulders and the line of her jaw. Despite his best effort, he had to swallow something sour when her fel-green eyes reminded him of the frenzy and he quickly looked away, guiltily pushing the feeling away.
The vile rampage had accomplished what he'd hoped though. They'd broken the naga and moved a good way forward, almost to the shore of the lake. It took him a moment to regain control of his tongue, the process eased by the gentle warmth of green and gold healing, but he decided against speaking when he saw that the healers were already working, while the rest of the crowd were slumping to the ground to take the break he was about to suggest.
Instead, he addressed Shayla and Drunnya: "Calen is enough, help the others."
He suppressed the grimace as the nature magic withdrew, though they had actually dealt with enough that Calen would be enough. Shayla and Drunnya each gave him a look, Drunnya's eyes unreadable and Shayla's showing something between doubt and uneasiness, but they both obeyed without protest.
He glanced around. Two of the tauren were staggering upright and the others were awash in emerald glow. Mathias was almost entirely black, what little of his body that wasn't covered by dark armor coated in blood and mud. He must have slipped at some point and Maurus felt a quick succession of terror and relief at the realization.
"Who'd we lose?" He asked quietly.
Mathias shrugged. "A tauren, further back. No-one I can name."
"Three trolls. None of ours," Arianna supplied as she walked up to him. Her voice was tired, but noticeably gentle and he felt a little lighter, in part because he didn't feel the distaste this time. The beginnings of a smile faded when shame soured his mood. The dead he didn't know were not less important than the people he knew.
"You sure?"
"I had a good vantage point, except for directly ahead," she said drily.
Her words reminded him of the weight on his shoulder and he was grateful for the distraction. Gently, he asked: "How're you holding up, Widget?"
"I'm holding on," she answered weakly and he felt her shift her weight and tug at him demonstrably. With a bit of wryness in her voice she added: "I'm glad I'm behind you. Even if it doesn't protect against everything. You are very, very loud."
That made him smile slightly. "Consider it payback. You'll even it out when you get yourself a new gun."
"Yeah," Widget said. Her voice was still faint, but she sounded marginally better. Maurus caught Arianna's eyes and despite the helmet hiding her face, he could see her eyes crinkle in a mirror of his own expression.
"We'll buy it for you if you keep the screaming down," Mathias said.
Maurus snorted. But instead of pointing out that they only had their armor and weapons to their names, he agreed with all the seriousness he could muster: "Promise."
Soon after, the 27th pulled away from the lake, putting distance between the shore and them so that the naga couldn't get the drop on them. The move also put just slightly firmer ground beneath their feet. Maurus was grateful himself for the easier terrain, even if it was as hard going as before, thanks to his abused muscles. The fear weighed just as heavily on them as before and on top of the fear and exhaustion, Maurus couldn't shake the guilt for the shamans he left behind to obscure their trail with elementals, despite his certainty that it was for the best.
They didn't encounter anything though and when the mists darkened, leaving them in an odd shadowy world dotted with fey firefly lights, the exhaustion became too much and the march slowed to a crawl. Maurus wanted desperately to keep going, but he needed the rest as badly as the rest of them, so he reluctantly called for a stop, organized lookouts and then threw himself down with everyone else.
He fell asleep instantly and woke what seemed a moment later, stiff, sore and generally feeling like he would never get upright again. The feeling didn't pass, but the 27th got moving again and the fact that they had survived the night brought him a little comfort, suggesting that the shamans he'd left behind hadn't been useless sacrifices.
Maurus again pushed them hard. According to Arianna, there were two traces, one further to the north than the other. One of them was probably one of Arianna's colleagues and Maurus was betting it all on that colleague being with a force big enough to aid them. Realistically, he was expecting it to be the southern one.
So he lead the 27th through the marsh, keeping as much distance as he dared to the lake, wishing fervently that he wouldn't see one of his scouts come from the north.
They were more than half-way to the other side of the great lake when a troll appeared and dashed Maurus' hopes. For a troll, Zon'il was subdued in color, his mohawk a turquoise that complimented his blue skin well, and in the blue hues of Zangarmarsh, he was well-suited to escape notice. Unfortunately, he had been noticed in spite of his advantages. Three succubi appeared from the mists behind him, cutting through the air on silent, dark wings, diving gracefully down to strike at him with claw or whip.
Their grace was undercut by their lack of success though. Zon'il was expertly dodging their attacks while still moving with remarkable speed, his long, swift strides eating up the distance despite the weaving path he was taking. One succubus almost crashed into the mud on one dive and an agile leap brought the troll out of the path of both a whip and a small fireball, the latter of which fizzled harmlessly in a small puddle.
Maurus realized with a start that the Zon'il laughed at the succubi as he dodged and when he turned his ears more fully toward the troll, he felt his lips twitch at the imaginative taunt he just barely picked up.
'Leave it to the trolls to make light of bad news,' he thought wryly and nodded at the approaching demons. The gesture was barely necessary, because he could feel the vibration in the air as the casters behind him drew in magic and then a dozen streaks of bright fire and lightning shot through the air. The succubi might have been observant enough to spot the scout, but they were fixated on him, and the magical volley made them fall from the air like dead flies. Zon'il made it fifty feet before he realized his pursuers weren't after him anymore and when he did, he made a beeline back to the 27th, fell into step beside Maurus and struck a fist to his chest.
"They're coming for us?" Maurus pre-empted the troll, surprised at his own completely level tone. He didn't even sound dejected.
"Right ya are, boss," the troll said before giving him a mirthless smile. It was an ugly sight because it stretched an already half-healed wound that marred his cheek. "Saw 'em moving quite fast. Expect they'll be with us a little ways down tha road."
Maurus had a momentary urge to blame their discovery on the troll, but they had probably just been spotted by flying scouts despite their best efforts to shoot them down. Instead, he let the troll give his report, sent him back out and got the 27th to ready for defensive battle.
For his part, Maurus donned his shield and drew his mace. It was subtly different from his own mace and the slightly different weighting seemed to radiate up his arm, just another discomfort to add to the quiver in his abused limbs and the squirming in his stomach.
"Arianna," he said quietly. "Are you sure you can't give us a more certain distance?"
"Yes," she answered, a note of apology in her tired voice. "Though I doubt either force is very far off."
She hid it well, but he could hear a note of real fear in her voice that made him want to growl. He suppressed the urge and shifted his mace to his shield hand before reaching back for her. She moved into the curl of his arm and he pressed his lips briefly against the top of her head.
"Spirits guide us, love," he murmured quietly.
"Light protect us," she answered, raising her free hand to brush over his scarred cheek. Then she stepped out underneath his arm, donning her helmet as she did, and fell back to her position behind the frontline fighters.
"Lok'tar ogar," Mathias said beside him. It was strange to hear the battle cry stated so quietly, but he was completely right. This time, it was truly victory or death. He wasn't sure what the demons' plans were, exactly, but the way the portal had been camouflaged told him that they wouldn't allow word of it to reach the Horde or the Alliance. They would fight to exterminate, not to break or capture.
He patted Mathias on the shoulder before returning his mace to his hand, gave Calen a nod and raised his voice to address his entire group: "Remember. Nothing reckless. We're not aiming to break them. We just hold the line!"
As he got grunts of affirmation from the people around him, he glanced at Mathias and added specifically to him: "That goes doubly for you. Do your part!"
Mathias gave him a look that lasted a bit longer than necessary before giving a shrug and a nod, the nonchalance of it at odds with the sullen acceptance in his glowing eyes. Maurus doubted he really needed the reminder, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Mathias might still move if he thought he saw an opportunity to get at Ven'Zarul, but at least now knew how dangerous he was and would probably keep himself in check.
"Widget," Maurus said, glancing over his shoulder. Her teeth were bared in a nervous grimace and she was holding on to her short length of spear with desperate strength, leaving little doubt that she knew just how desperate this was getting. But at least she looked more likely to fight and scream than to curl into a ball and sob, though it was a close thing. "Just be sure not to stick that in me and hold on. We're almost back."
She nodded, her grimace growing wider and Maurus wished they had had a gun. That would probably have calmed her immensely. But the spear would have to do.
The made it about a mile before a shrill whistle pierced through the mists. Maurus roared orders and other shouts rippled through the 27th. The ranks closed and a sense of grim, final determination settled over them as they looked out over the stumps of mushrooms that dotted the ground north of them.
The whistles were repeated several times before four trolls came sprinting out of the fog, Zon'il in the front. In short order, they rejoined the regiment, vanishing into the center of the formation. They did not have much of a lead on the demons and Maurus gritted his teeth to suppress a shiver as a dark mass in the fog coalesced into hundreds of demons and fel orcs. An unruly mob of grubby imps and ruddy red fel hounds loped and capered out of the fog, followed by marching ranks of fel guards and fel orcs which looked like a solid wall of black steel and red and blue skin. Winged shapes drifted through the foggy air, succubi circling like carrion over the approaching enemies.
Maurus felt his stomach seeming to turn in on itself and then it suddenly stopped bothering him as he dug up the memories of the previous week and a half. The rage that flared up at the memories stopped the quiver in his limbs and made him breathe easier, if through clenched teeth, leaving his white-knuckled grip on mace and shield as the only sign of fear. It seemed to sear the worry from his mind as well and with a suddenly very clear head, he noted that he could see no sign of warlocks nor of shivarra. The fact that he couldn't spot Ven'Zarul was worrying though.
"Hounds!" Maurus roared as the demons gained speed and rapidly closed. He was answered by a flurry of projectiles, a mix of crossbow bolts, arrows and thrown weapons, many of which weren't meant to be thrown. He almost wished he hadn't dropped his stolen axe back with the naga, but he was glad he had lost the weight and it wouldn't have been much use as a thrown weapon anyway.
The flurry struck home with mixed results, but it did down a good deal of surprised fel hounds and quite a few slow imps, putting a stumble in their rush. More importantly, in the spot where most fel hounds had succumbed, the barrage was followed by a wave of searing flame, cut through by flickering arcs of lightning, cutting a hole through both imps and the warriors behind them. All along the line, more spells got through, though compared to the concentrated blasts, they were pale flickers of magic, stripped of most of their strength by the fel hounds' open maws.
The imps retaliated immediately, shrieking as they lobbed globes of fire toward the Horde line. Maurus lifted his shield, grit his teeth and forced himself not to gasp as a wave of cold slithered across him. He felt rime form in his fur and saw the white flecks on his shield and, out the corner of his eye, on Mathias and Calen, before the cold passed them and met the imps' flame. Many of the fireballs vanished in puffs of steam that cooled before it even reached the Horde line and those that burned hot enough to get through were so diminished that they bounced harmlessly off shields and weapons.
Maurus grinned when he heard several yelps, as imps fell over the stumps and swung his mace straight down at the fel hound that came out of the steam. Even without eyes, it seemed to have been confused by the vapor and there was an immensely satisfying crack as its bony head cracked beneath his blow.
The noise of battle rose along Maurus, shouts and cries of pain rising amidst ringing steel and chanting voices. He withdrew the mace, knocking another felhound back with the motion and kicking another and the mist was lit by fire and lightning again, drawing guttural howls from approaching Legion warriors. Light bloomed beside him as Mathias just barely knocked aside another sputtering fireball with his shield, hissing as he did before stabbing his sword at the felhound snapping at his legs. A heavy crunch sounded from Maurus' other side and the golden light that followed it drew shrieks of pain from the imps in front of him.
Then the felguards and fel orcs came out of the evaporating steam, long, black blades raised above their heads, roaring in unison. Maurus planted his hoof in the skull of another felhound, raised his mace above the rim of his shield and roared: "Lok'tar ogar!"
He grinned as the charging felguard faded to a ghostly green and swung his mace right, bashing in the helmet of the felguard on that side. As it fell bonelessly to the muddy ground, his battle cry was taken up by the other Horde, spreading like a wave around him and he felt something fierce and hot swell in his chest.
The next felguard brought its sword down on his shield hard enough that he felt the jolt all the way to his shoulder, but he managed to deflect the blow and with a grunt of effort, he shoved the demon backwards. A thread of shadow passed him and struck the reeling demon and its muscles simply shriveled beneath its skin. In the momentary respite, Maurus gave a swift kick to the felhound that was leaping at Mathias' side. He felt its ribs crack and his lips twitched as a fel orc grunted and fell, its legs swept out from under it by the demon.
Beside Mathias, Crava, Zilja and Shayla were wreaking a deadly toll on the fel orcs and on the opposite side of Calen, Drunnya's hammer and magic saved a wavering section of the line. Further away, trolls fought savagely, fending off the demons more by ferocity than by caution alongside orcs and the odd tauren and forsaken. Vibrant lights flickered over the battlefield as casters on both sides loosed their spells, shadow and flame spreading among the Horde casters while the Horde magic cut down approaching demons and blasted the succubi out of the air.
The line was holding, but just barely and the pressure and casualties were mounting. Maurus' muscles were burning, his stomach was curled into a cramped, pained hollow inside him and the rest of the 27th couldn't be feeling much better. Fingers of cold dread were ghosting through his body, but there were held off by his rage and the fierce pride he felt. The soldiers around him were fighting with stubborn, furious determination that gave no hint of their starvation and exhaustion and the cries of pain and dismay were constantly drowned out by defiant taunts and calls for vengeance.
Maurus struck a felguard, caving in ribs made brittle by Arianna's magic. To his shock, the two large fel orcs that filled the spot attacked in almost perfect concert, driving him back. As another surge of dark magic passed him, sending a succubus shrieking onto a felguard further back, a flurry of axe strokes hit him. Points of pain bloomed where the attacks slipped past his guard, despite his armor holding and several times, he felt the rush of air as he pulled his head out the path of an axe at the last moment.
Something moved in the left edge of his vision and before he could identify it, he heard a whip crack and the left side of his head exploded in agony that filled his vision with a glare of light. He staggered away from the blow and somewhere amidst the pain, something told him to brace for a deathblow.
It didn't come though. Instead he heard a roar of fire and a series of heavy cracks and he felt searing heat as well as something that pushed at his right side. Returning his weight to his left leg, he breathed through the pain and blinked, his vision clearing to merely tear-blurred.
The fel orcs he had expected to finish him, as well as the other enemies to their left and right, had withdrawn rather than press their advantage and were frantically trying to fend off the flaming rocks pouring down on them. One fel orc was just pushing aside the smoking remains of a succubus, which had knocked it to the ground, though he kept hold of it as a makeshift cover from the rain of flame.
Though his head still rang and throbbed with the remnants of the pain, Maurus could make out Arianna's clear chant and Wiven's fast-paced incantation and the sounds steadied him somewhat. Beside him, Mathias got to his feet and without a word, the two stepped forward with Calen to take advantage of Arianna's spell. A heavy stomp crushed the ribs of the fallen orc and the flaming rocks stopped just before mace, hammer and sword fell on the other fel orcs. Instead of pressing into the opening though, Maurus pulled the others back to restore the line.
As he did, his heart leaped into his throat as he saw a tall, black-armored form appear out of the mass of demons, his one-horned head and single wing easily visible over the heads of the smaller demons. Ven'Zarul was headed for the Horde a bit to Maurus' right and with an imperious gesture, a familiar greenish black cloud shot toward the Horde with a buzz that was even audible from where Maurus was.
A cold shiver ran through Maurus' body as he parried a felguard's sword, transforming into something wild when he made a decision. With a grunt of effort, he pushed the felguard back and, with more bravado than he felt, shouted: "Zarul! Hornless cripple!"
Maurus had to defend against a felhound that snapped at his hoof and so almost missed the minute pause in Ven'Zarul's movements. He didn't miss the tension that suddenly appeared in Mathias' body or the extra force he used to stab his sword through the throat of a fel orc.
"Gutless, flightless cur!" Maurus taunted, but Ven'Zarul was already closing and Maurus felt his lips quirk in a grin that he doubted looked entirely sane. He kicked at a felguard that was falling down in agony, caving in its skull.
"Dreadlord!" he barked and turned his attention up just as Ven'Zarul leapt. The dreadlord may have lost a wing, but he still easily cleared the heads of the other earthbound demons. His acid-green eyes burned with hatred and there was a snarl on his thin, white lips as he spoke rumbling syllables of Eredun. From his outstretched, blood-stained claw erupted another wave of hellishly buzzing locusts, but before they could reach Maurus, a wave of fire passed him and incinerated them.
Ven'Zarul burst through the fading flames and landed directly in front of Maurus, his hooves crunching wetly through the corpse of a fel orc. His right claw came down at Maurus with all the force of the leap and despite angling his shield perfectly, Maurus felt a sharp burst of pain radiate down his forearm, the shock spreading all the way up to his shoulder.
His eyes widened as Ven'Zarul's left claw came up toward his stomach, but Mathias' shield darted out, smacking the hand aside. Ven'Zarul withdrew it before Mathias could follow up with his sword and forced him to back away when he sent a burst of fire at him.
Calen swung his hammer at Ven'Zarul, but before the softly glowing weapon could connect, Ven'Zarul's remaining wing lashed out, the point of it striking Wiven's golden helm hard enough to dent it.
"I'll tear that wing off!" Maurus snarled, lashing out with his mace. Ven'Zarul twisted, taking the blow on the side of his breastplate, before swiping a claw at Maurus' head. He only just dodged it and that was mostly because Ven'Zarul had to dart back to avoid the attacks of Tu'jan and Drim.
Maurus' dodge opened a little window to the casters though, and they took full advantage of it. A volley of magic passed Maurus, the lightning making his hair stand on end and the fire singing it and Ven'Zarul actually staggered with a grunt. The sight of his skin blackening under the assault made Maurus feel a vicious satisfaction that momentarily eclipsed his rage, pain and fear. As he swung his mace again, he growled: "The horn too. Balance you before the kill."
"Arrogant little vermin," Ven'Zarul hissed and surged forward again, hardly slowing when Calen sent a burst of gold light into him and a bolt of darkness struck him in the center of the chest. Maurus found himself desperately defending himself alongside Mathias, hearing the shriek of metal as Ven'Zarul's claws scraped lines along shields and armor.
Around Ven'Zarul, the felguards were taking advantage of their leader and Maurus felt his heart sink as his comrades were being pushed back around him. Soon, Calen was the only one guarding Maurus' flank, wreathed in a golden halo that repelled the demons' attacks but which was rapidly fading in radiance. Mathias only barely avoided a swipe that would have opened him from hip to shoulder, thanks to Maurus shoving him back with a quick elbow. Even then, a felguard's sword sank into Mathias' shoulder before Tu'jan and Drim could kill the demon. The move to save Mathias opened Maurus for Ven'Zarul's following attack and it was only thanks to a stab of Widget's spear that his claws didn't find Maurus' neck.
Desperately, Maurus lashed out at Ven'Zarul's wing when it once again came forward to hide an attack. His attack was batted away and he gasped in pain when three claws sank through weakened plate at the bottom of his belly. Cruel triumph gleamed in Ven'Zarul's eyes as he withdrew his arm and lifted it for another blow.
A series of deep, droning booms rolled suddenly through the fog. Ven'Zarul's blow fell with no weight behind it, his whole posture suddenly stiff and from his lips came a short, sharp: "No!"
Maurus felt his heart leap and in the moment of confusion, stepped back along with Mathias and Calen. Ven'Zarul followed , lashing out with both claws and Maurus and Calen both had to lean back and hold up their shields to block the sudden attack. It still almost opened them for another attack and sent a jarring impact down Maurus' arm.
The warhorns blared again and was followed by battle cries from hundreds of throats, off to Maurus' right. Ven'Zarul's baleful gaze darted left and right before returning to Maurus, his teeth appearing in a grimace of pure, bitter frustration. Then he suddenly drew back, shouting in Eredun and elbowing his way into the Legion crowd.
As Maurus raised his shield to defend against the demons that filled Ven'Zarul's spot, he drew up the last bits of strength he could. Beside him, Mathias snarled, but Maurus felt more relieved than annoyed by Ven'Zarul's retreat. It was as sure a sign of their rescue as the waves that spread through the enemy crowd and the howls of Horde. He crushed a health stone, hardly feeling the burn against all his other pains and planted his hooves.
A short, grueling eternity later, the pressure lifted as the demons broke and retreated and Maurus' vision filled with the pursuers, colorful, shouting raptor riders and groups of heavily armored grunts.
His arms fell to his sides, feeling heavier than lead and almost numb. His heart was beating heavily against his ribs and his breathing was heavy and strained as he stood, watching the demons vanish in the fog. Most of the newly arrived Horde followed them, but a large group were approaching Maurus, druids, shamans and priests, and he could see more Horde out in the fog.
He smiled a smile so exhausted that his lips hardly moved and turned as the healers reached him. He shook his head once at the front healer, a troll in grubby green robes and tossed his head in the direction of the unit behind him, turning as the healer passed him.
He was one of the few still standing and that was a near thing with how badly his legs trembled. Almost the entire 27th had plopped down into the mud, though a large number of them weren't idle, but rather treating wounded comrades. Wiven was slumped over, trembling slightly. Calen looked like he might collapse under the weight of his armor and there was something distinctly pale and subdued about him and his armor. Arianna was sitting in the mud, propped up by her stolen staff and Mathias was leaning on his blackened shield. Shayla was sitting by the badly bleeding Zilja, her hands encased in green light, but she radiated relief when the other healers reached her. So did Drunnya and every other healer in the 27th when they were relieved.
Maurus' stomach rolled with nausea as he looked at the 27th and counted over a hundred lying on the mud. His tired eyes couldn't tell which limp, bloodied bodies were wounded, who were dead and who had simply collapsed from exhaustion and he feared the worst, even as the healers set to work. The fact that those sitting looked almost as worse wasn't promising either.
"We made it," Arianna said, pulling off her helmet and adjusting hair that clung to her head. Her smile was as wan as his and there was something in her expression that worried him, but Maurus managed a nod and bit more of a smile as he locked eyes with her. He stepped closer to, a movement that felt monumentally taxing, and reached down to touch her head. She was warm, even through his armor, when she leaned into his palm.
"We did," Widget said weakly from his shoulder. "We actually did. I thought he'd rip out heads off."
Mathias' grip tightened on his shield, but he didn't say a word.
Maurus took a breath, feeling a hundred aches in response to the motion of his chest and forced his mouth to work. "Bit more trek left. You're walking," he said. His tired words got an encouraging sigh from Widget. To Mathias, he added with as much confidence as he could: "He was pressed. Next time, my friend."
Mathias pulled of his helmet and studied him for a moment, before baring his teeth in a grin.
There you have the late chapter. Would you believe I had hoped to use NaNoWriMo to write a lot and ended up not even posting that month? Man, sometimes I kinda suck.
I hope this was somewhat worth the weight and didn't feel too much like just going through the motions, nor too much of a tease. We're getting closer and I at least have a pretty clear idea of the events of the next chapter, so I hope to publish within the month.
Also, I hope I didn't miss any stupid mistakes. As always, let me know what you think, be it good or bad. I am here to entertain and learn.