Karundin checked the moon again. "Well, where is this bloody Priestess?"
"I was told she would meet us here!" Gierta did not mean to shout.
"By a fellow in the Hold who talked to a fellow in the Temple...all this word-of-mouth stuff is too unreliable, Gierta. You should have insisted on meeting her beforehand."
"This was beforehand, Girruk." Honestly, sometimes Gierta wondered why she kept him around. Memories of stolen kisses when no one else was looking colored her cheeks enough to want to think of something else.
Kranulf kicked at the dirt. "This does no feel right. She may need help."
"And she may have been reassigned," Galain replied dryly. Gierta nodded at that - she was very familiar with the whole "Something urgent has come up" routine. Galain continued: "I doubt the Temple would have sent out a priestess who cannot take care of herself."
Karundin sighed. "Or she could have lost her way, I suppose..."
Kranulf folded his arms. "We should look around for her."
"No, there's no time. Don't give me that look, Kran. By the time we complete our search, we would've been in and out of there. The night is no standing still, and I want to be done by daybreak."
That was Gierta's first mistake.
The entrance Girruk's scouting found was quite high in the structure. With all the confusion as the Fel Orcs moved to reinforce the Ramparts, however, he insisted it was the easiest entrance to get to at the moment. For a wonder, he was right and they were inside without any real trouble. Once there, Gierta knew that the most important thing they would be doing was mapping out what corridors they managed to explore. Therefore she entrusted the task of drawing the map to herself. Perhaps it would even prove a distraction from the feeling of dread that had been building in her since the Priestess hadn't arrived.
Girruk appeared by her side as if by magic, making her jump. "Patrol up ahead," he muttered. "A rather large one."
"Stop!" Karundin, in the lead of course, halted at once on Girt's command as she turned back to Girruk. "How large?"
"At least ten, maybe more."
Ten, maybe more? That was indeed a large patrol, even for a military stronghold like this. She raised her special day-glo engineer's goggles to examine her map. "Gather 'round, boys." She nearly dropped the map twice as they all crowded around her, but she had long ago given up complaining about such jostling. At least they could hear without her having to raise her voice much above a whisper. "Right, now there was a turn-off to the left about two hundred yards back. That's where we'll go until this group passes. Unless, of course, we find something interesting down there." She grinned and gave Girruk a little wink. He chuckled and gave her a mock salute. "I'm on it."
"Remember, not too far. This is the main passageway here." This time he gave her an elaborate bow before slipping off ahead of them. That rogue could be quite insufferable at times!
Karundin took the lead again, with Kranulf close behind him. As much as they disliked leaving Gierta between themselves and a known group of enemies, she had proven herself the best rear guard among them too many times for them to argue. Sure enough, before they had gone five steps she softly called out, "Thirty seconds!" They picked up the pace a bit, and Karundin would have went right by the passageway if Girruk had not poked his head out from around the corner and waved them on.
"It gets wider up ahead," Girruk whispered as Girt passed by him, "but I think this might be a dead-end." Gierta stopped for a moment, frowning in thought, but now they could all hear the clank of the Fel Orcs' armored boots as the patrol approached. Finally she shook her head. "We'll have to take our chances with it. Make sure, will ye?" Girruk pounded his fist to his chest, this time not mocking, and hurried on ahead again.
They moved farther down the passageway to stay out of sight of the large group marching down the main hall and stopped. Within moments, Girruk was back at Gierta's side. "Definitely a dead-end, but we've got two or three of the beasts sitting there."
"Some sort of bunkroom?"
"Ewww, I hope not."
Gierta nodded, giving her favorite male a low, hearty chuckle. The mirth did not last long, however. "Do ye think the noise will carry out to the main passageway?"
Girruk shook his head immediately. "If it was a straight corrider there might be some risk o' that, but it's not. We can mop them up an' wait a bit in there."
"Aye. Well done, 'Ruk." She glanced around at the others, waiting on her word. "Let's do it."
The three Orcs sitting in their bunkroom had been so corrupted by Demonic bloodlust that their skin had become a bright, burning red. That angry tint in their skin was what made them Fel Orcs. A fourth Fel Orc lingered by the doorway, so still and quiet that it was hard for even the others to notice him.
One of the Orcs sat up from his reclining position. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure! They're here, I'm telling you!"
"Our report has them all the way on the other side of this level. What makes you think...?"
The speaker forgot what he was going to say as a small, cylindrical piece of metal came bouncing and rolling into the room. "What...?"
The explosion tossed them all into the air, two landing on their backs and one on his face. As they started to get up, a fully armored Dwarf rushed into the room at full speed, knocking both of the debaters back down on the ground. His shield came down to smash one of the Orcs in the face, and the Dwarf's other arm was bringing a jagged axe around to slice into the other Orc's shoulder. The third Fel Orc, not even taking time to grab a weapon, swatted at the attacker with its powerful arm, which the squat creature easily ducked. The injured Fel Orc kicked at the Dwarf intruder, who staggered backward.
But just as they had him off-balance, a second armored Dwarf rushed in, shining with a bright glow that hurt their eyes. He gripped his great hammer in both hands and smashed its head into the third Fel Orc's belly.
The Orc who had taken a shield to its face was finally back on its feet, just in time to look down and stare stupidly at a sword-point sticking out its chest. A third Dwarf had somehow crept in, it seemed. The Dwarf removed his sword, a smaller blade flashing in his left hand to slash the third Orc behind the knee. The Dwarf with the hammer smashed the Orc who had just been run through over the head with his hammer, and that Fel Orc went down. As a final insult, a she-Dwarf chose that exact moment to pop around the corner and raise the barrel of a rifle that was almost as big as she was. That was when the silent Fel Orc in the shadows decided to act.
Gierta had only taken two shots at the Fel Orcs in the room before everything suddenly went black for a moment. She was surprised to find herself facedown on the floor, and rolled onto her back to find a fourth Fel Orc, daggers in both hands, frozen in place by one of Galain's spells. He hurled a ball of fire at it as she watched, and then sent several bolts of magical energy in quick succession to pummel the Orc. By that time Girt was back on her feet, and her spear through the stealthy Orc's throat finished the job. Galain gave her a slight nod before they both turned their attention to the struggle in the room. There was only one Fel Orc still standing under Karundin, Kranulf and Girruk's assault. Girt popped off a quick shot that went right into the creature's eye, killing it before it hit the floor.
Karundin barked a laugh. "Not so tough," he bragged. But they all knew they had caught these Fel Orcs unarmed and unprepared.
Girt rolled her eyes at him and turned to thank Galain for saving her life. In a way, he saved it one more time. She ducked out of the way of his headless body as it toppled toward her, and the vicious swing that would have done the same to her missed completely.
She grabbed one of her grenades from her belt and pulled the cord, giving it a soft toss as she flipped a backwards somersault, landing on one knee. Somehow she managed to force the panicked scream escaping her lips into two words: "Behind ye!"
The words were punctuated by her grenade exploding in the midst of the Fel Orcs charging down the passage at them, and her three companions spun around instantly, finding a wall of enemies. It was impossible to tell whether Girruk had been wrong about the noise, or whether the effects of Galain's freezing spell were felt as far as the main hallway. Either way, the large patrol they had been trying to evade now had them cornered.
Gierta felt a ball of ice growing in her belly. They were not going to get out of here alive. Galain was already dead...no, not now. She reached out as if to pull them back to her as Karundin charged into the mass of Fel Orcs, Kranulf on his right side.
Girruk grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "Don't ye give up now, damn ye! We'll get out of this yet!" Then he too turned to face the Orcs, his deadly swirl of blades covering Karundin's left flank.
Girt lifted her rifle, stroking the barrel affectionately. "He's right, ye know," she whispered to it. "We canna' give up, not ever." She gave the weapon a quick kiss before hefting it to eye level. "Now let's kill some o' these buggers."
She fired and fired, every shot striking home into a Fel Orc's flesh. And they kept coming. Girruk had been quite optimistic with his "perhaps" ten. There must have been more than twenty of the things coming at them! Kranulf's energy steadily waned as he tried to channel the Light's healing energies into Karundin while fending off the Orcs with his hammer. It wasn't enough. 'Run's shield broke into three pieces, and his left arm dropped limply to his side. Even so, he still managed to bury his axe into two more Fel Orc skulls before going down himself.
They had cut the Fel Orcs' numbers almost in half, but for a moment it looked as if they would be overcome. Exhausted, all Kranulf could do was swing his mighty hammer back and forth in a wide arc in front of him, breaking any limb that came in its path. Girruk slashed and stabbed, but soon received a blow to the back of his leg that brought him to the floor.
But if anything, Gierta's slugs came faster after she saw Karundin fall. Not even pausing to take aim anymore, the edge of her rifle's barrel started taking on a dull red glow as shot after shot hit home, almost every other one a kill. When no more than five attackers remained, they turned to flee. None made it more than ten steps.
For a long moment Gierta and Kranulf both remained frozen, the Paladin with his hammer raised and the Huntress still on one knee with her rifle ready, neither one quite believing it was over. Then Girruk groaned as he dragged himself to his feet, and Kranulf lowered his hammer, slumping against the wall and sliding the opposite direction. Gierta set her rifle down and lowered her head, supporting herself with her hands as she caught her breath.
"Let's go," Girruk said, limping slightly.
Girt snapped her head up to look at him. "What?"
"We have to get going, Gierta."
"Are ye crazy? We canna' leave them!" Her gesture swept over the forms of Galain and Karundin, one decapitated and the other broken and bloody.
"We can and must, Girt. I do no like it any more than ye, but we just canna' wait for Kranulf to get the energy to raise them."
"Yer jokin'!" Gierta bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.
"We were lucky here, Girt, but what do ye think our chances would be, even with them Raised and all of us rested and ready, against fify of them?"
Gierta shook her head stubbornly.
"A hundred? The whole damn place?"
Girt squeezed her eyes shut. "We can't..." she whimpered.
"Move yer arse, girl! If ye don't get that map of yers in Trollbane's hands, all this will have been fer nothin'!"
"Just a little while, Girruk, and Kranulf can..."
"There's no time, Girt! Now I'm leavin', whether yer with me or not!"
He heard Gierta's voice, disbelieving at first. "Now Girruk..." Then worried. "Girruk? 'Ruk, wait." And finally desperate. "Girruk, don't leave! Girruk!
"Girruk, help me!"
An odd note in Gierta's voice with that last shout made him turn and look back. Girt was on her feet, rifle slung over her shoulder, both hands gripping one of Kranulf's in a vain attempt to get him up and moving. Girruk went back and grabbed Kranulf's other hand with a wry grin. Together they hauled the weary Paladin to his feet, Girt wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and Girruk doing the same on his left.
"Urgh, ye can let me go, I'm all right now," Kranulf grumbled. The other two, of course, completely ignored him.
Girruk hesitated when they got to the main hallway, but Girt pushed on, turning to their right. "Not going to check yer map, Girt?"
"I donna' need a bloody map. That's fer all the high muckety-mucks to study in their comfy chairs behind their stone walls. Bah!"
"Look, Gierta, I really am sorry we..."
She cut him off with a curt "Save it fer the reports."
They continued their slow, defeated shuffle down the hallway, Kranulf's steps coming more quickly, until finally the entrance they had used was in sight.
"There it is, boys! Now we..."
Suddenly the hall itself seemed to hurl them all into the air and bounce them off the walls.
Gierta's world was completely black, a loud ringing in her ears. Her eyes opened to a swirl of greys, blacks, yellows and oranges. Slowly the inside of Hellfire Citadel took shape before her eyes. She was flat on her back, she soon discovered, arms and legs spread out like a rag-doll. She tried to move, but her muscles were having none of it. Her whole body felt like jelly. The ringing in her ears finally started to subside, replaced by a familiar voice.
"...trap of some kind. Looks like ol' Kranulf took the worst of it. Not sure if he's breathin'. Are ye...are ye injured there, Girt? Nothin' but a few scrapes and bruises here..."
Gierta tried to tell Girruk to shut his yap, but all that came out was a weak groan.
"Ah, yer alive! All's well, then. I'll see ye through this, Girt..." He stopped as she suddenly sat up, as if waking from a nightmare, with a shout that contained all the horrors of the past few hours. She stared for a moment with unseeing eyes, then started to see shapes moving along in the darkness behind Girruk. She grabbed at his arm, missing badly. "Girruk, they're coming. Take the map, 'Ruk. Save yerself!"
"Shhh, shush now Girt. I'll get ye out of this, I promise. Together, we'll..."
His mouth dropped open, any further words forgotten as a headless, limbless corpse of a Fel Orc sailed through the air and hit the wall next to them with a loud, wet smack. The thing's blood sprayed over them like rain.
Girt could see the force of a dozen or so Fel Orcs turn their backs to her to face this new threat. Her mind screamed at her to do something, but she could only stare numbly at the scene playing out before her. The hall seemed colder somehow. At first she thought it was her imagination, but then she noticed that all the Orcs were shivering as if in a fever. One even bent over and vomited on the floor.
Girruk seemed to be frozen in place. "What in the...?"
Gierta thought she saw sparks flying through the air as the Fel Orcs in front of her died one by one. Blood seemed to be spurting everywhere. Finally she caught a glimpse of a figure covered head-to-toe in dark, bluish-black armor, wielding an axe with a blade bigger than its head. That blade glowed in a dozen different places - those etchings must have been the "sparks" she'd been seeing. The creature's axe relentlessly carved up every Orc in its path, the weapon's long spikes gouging deep wounds in red flesh with each backswing. Girt could see her own breath as the figure drew near, blood caking every inch of the figure's blade and almost covering its dark armor as well.
Finally only the two Dwarves remained with the armored figure in the hallway, and it stopped to examine them. Gierta could see an eerie blue glow in the depths of the creature's helmet. It said not a word as it lifted its axe to point at Girruk.
Girruk swallowed, drawing his weapons, and Girt screamed as she realized the armored figure was going to attack him. She fumbled for her rifle as the figure reached out with its other hand to send some dark power into Girruk's chest, doubling him over momentarily. He choked for a few moments, while the armored figure made another gesture, the air around them growing even colder. Girruk shivered violently, just as the Orcs had, and then the mighty axe blade swung.
Despite his sudden illness, he managed to parry that blow, and dodge several more as the armored figure advanced. Gierta finally got a good grip on her rifle, but just as she raised it to take aim the armored figure's axe easily parried an attempted counterattack from Girruk and struck him, opening him from throat to pelvis. As he fell, the figure turned to face her and...
...did nothing.
Gierta's hands were shaking so hard from both rage and fear that she couldn't even find her trigger. "Come on, then!" The figure did not move. "I ain't afraid o' ye!"
The figure turned its head slightly as the sound of yet more Fel Orcs filled the hallway behind it, and Gierta turned to run. She hadn't got very far, though, before black tendrils of shadow wrapped around her like tentacles, lifting her in the air and yanking her backward, dropping her directly in front of the armored figure and disappearing like mist. The handle of the creature's weapon flashed out in a blur, catching Girt right above the left knee. She stumbled, too stunned to cry out as the sound of breaking bone filled her ears. Her head hit the floor and she spat out a mouthful of blood, but she hardly noticed as she struggled to lift her upper body up off the floor.
The hallway spun around her as she squirmed around to look at the scene of slaughter, heedless of the pain shooting up her leg. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay conscious much longer, but she grabbed at three images of her rifle anyway, missing several times before finally closing her fingers around it. The sound of dying Fel Orcs seemed a distant nightmare as she tried to lift her weapon, but it felt as heavy as an anvil. Almost immediately it slipped through her numbing fingers and clattered back to the floor. Abruptly the silence hit her, and she looked up to see the armored figure poking at Kranulf with the handle of its weapon. She knew before it even turned back to her that her one opportunity to kill the thing, or at least hurt it, had been lost.
It grabbed her by the collar, lifting her just a little. But even that small movement wrenched a gasp of pain from her as her broken leg shifted. The last thing she saw was a plate-armored fist coming at her in a blur.