Of the three goblins in the room, one slouched against the wall, muttering between throaty snores. The other two chattered, the bigger one sliding a rock along the edge of a hooked blade. The elder one, with knobby root-like horns peeking beneath the iron bowl for a helmet, chucked a pebble across the room. The goblin jerked upward as the stone bounced off its armor – a rustic shield strapped to its stomach.
Darien looked over the edge of the hole and scanned the room while they argued. A much larger hobgoblin sauntered into the space, receiving a lazy salute from the others. She slid back down and looked at her companions through the darkness.
"We can take them," she said, and unsheathed her sword.
Ahab and Abell readied themselves and Zillah pulled herself up through the hole in one swift movement. Darien followed immediately after, but with less grace. By the time she stood, Zillah had come behind the goblin closest to her and slit its neck. It spun around, propelling its arms in a last-ditch attempt to attack, dying moments later.
Darien charged the next goblin, swinging her shield sideways and throwing it off balance. She brought her sword down on its head, denting its makeshift helmet with a loud ding! and swinging her blade across its neck, flickering dark droplets of blood across the floor.
The hobgoblin ducked down and came at her. It managed to wrap its long arms around her shield at such at an angle that it threw her off balance. Darien fell to the ground and suddenly a massive sword swung over her, knocking the monster back. It would have surely been cleaved in half if it weren't for its armor. Darien rolled and came to her feet. The goblin dodged Ahab's slow swings. It rolled beneath his sword and stabbed its dagger into the pawn's abdomen, then dropkicked him.
Ahab fell backwards. Darien lunged into the hobgoblin, throwing both of them to the ground. It rolled onto her and clawed viciously at her shield. It knocked her shield arm sideways. An arrow punctured the monster's shoulder, giving Darien a moment to stab her sword into its stomach. It screamed and leaned toward Darien's face, impaling itself forward as it died.
Zillah grabbed the monster by the shoulders and threw it off her. Darien came to her feet, and watched an enflamed goblin run past her. Abell felled it before it could escaped.
Darien wiped the sweat from her forehead, unaware of the blood streaked across her face. She looked at Ahab, who stood with his hand over his stomach wound.
"Theo, tend to Ahab, please," she said.
"But I do not know of any healing magick," the mage replied.
"Try! Theo," she added, "please." She looked at Abell.
"They're stronger than their common kin," he said.
Darien nodded. "More so than the ones near Cassardis." She turned toward the warrior-pawn. "How are you?"
"I am fine," he said, "Thank you."
"If 'fine' is defined as 'not presently dying,'" Theo said, "Then, yes, he is fine." The mage wrapped a bandage around the warrior's chest.
"Pray, Arisen," Abell said, tapping her shoulder. "We must make haste."
"Aye. Lead the way, Ser. Hang in there Ahab."
The knight led the company out the door on the opposite end of the room. They were outside. To their right was the front gate where the knights outside waited. To their left was a wide clearing with a dilapidated stone hut and two wooden makeshift watchtowers. Goblins patrolled the space with seemingly no schedule. Across the door they emerged from was a massive wall where a ladder hung.
Abell pointed straight ahead of them. "If we climb this ladder, we'll get to the top of the ramparts. We should be able to raise the gate from there."
Darien regarded her pawns. "Nice and quiet then. We cannot hope to engage the entire army."
"Then, perhaps," Zillah said, "You should follow my lead, Arisen."
Darien looked at the ranger.
The mage said, "Agreed. You're a great warrior, Master, but not the silent sort. And your moves are a tad flashy."
For the love of – "Flashy?"
"Arisen, please," Abell said, gesturing to the ladder.
"Fine. We will save this discussion for later."
Zillah peered around the courtyard, and then dashed to the ladder. She nodded to the others. One at a time they darted across the opposite wall and ascended. Midway up the ladder, Darien could better see the clearing. She gaped. Two ogres lazily patrolled the area, each equipped with a club as thick as a tree trunk, and wore metallic helms.
When Darien was on top of the rampart, she saw that Zillah and Abell had dispatched two goblins. Zillah dragged their bodies into a corner. Two ballistae were mounted on the edge, facing into the courtyard. Abell stood frozen before a narrow slit in the stone wall, hands still before him.
Darien approached him. "Something wrong, ser…" She looked at the crevice. She was no engineer, but she knew that there was supposed to be a lever there. "Oh."
Abell turned and let his hands drop of his sides. He looked sick. "I won't give up."
Darien patted his shoulder. "Neither will we. Let's take a look around."
Darien and Abell peered over the side. "Where would goblin's horde their treasure?" he pondered.
"Arisen, look," Ahab said.
Darien followed his stare. Below, a group of three goblins made their way to the stone hut in the courtyard. Their arms were filled with tools; swords, daggers, a couple of bows, and blue uniforms, torn and stained. They disappeared into the hut.
Abell turned toward Darien. "Arisen, pray allow me to investigate. If the lever is in there, I'll bring it back here."
Darien frowned. "I didn't come here just to watch."
Abell paused, and his eyes came to a hard resolve. "I cannot ask you to make this risk, Ser. The mission objective was to open the gate –"
"Which is what we're doing now."
"-But I cannot ask you to risk facing the goblin horde."
Darien smirked. "That's a first. People don't usually hesitate throwing us into danger."
"Pray, do not take this as an offense, but I believe that the Duke's knights should solve Gransys' problems. We shouldn't rely on a…legend."
Darien stared at him, and then laughed. Abell leaned back and frowned.
There was a rapid peal in the distance not unlike an explosion. Zillah shouted, "Get down!" and suddenly the ground shook and pieces of debris rained on them. Darien looked across the courtyard. A flaming projectile flew towards them from the other side of the courtyard.
"Brace!" someone shouted, and there was another impact.
"They using the ballistae!" Abell shouted.
Zillah came to Darien's side. "We must move, Arisen, before we are overwhelmed."
Darien nodded. "Ahab, Theo, try to hold this spot. Use the ballista if you can. We can't afford to let the goblins shoot at us from both sides. You and Abell will come with me to get that lever."
The knight raised no objection. They descended the ladder and emerged into the clearing. Goblins approached, but the main bulk of the army had yet to be seen. Darien hoped that they didn't consider them a big enough threat yet.
Zillah briefly stopped to fire a couple of arrows at a goblin, and resumed running. There was another explosion, the distance was big enough for them to avoid the point of collision. A goblin burst through the door to the building. Darien slayed it before it noticed them. Abell and Zillah ran through and Darien followed, shutting the door behind them. Abell started pushing a large crate toward the door. Darien assisted him in bracing the door. Part of the building's roof was missing, giving them enough light to navigate without a lantern.
She turned, hearing the sound of blades clash against each other. Zillah fought against two smaller goblins. She stabbed one in its neck with her dagger, ducked beneath the swing of the other beast, and stabbed it with a flurry of attacks. The pawn looked back at them patiently.
Darien looked around the room. Scattered around the room were piles of weapons and armor and wooden chests rested against the wall. The group searched wordlessly through the spoils. Darien found about four crates with numerous pots of oil. She filled two of her flasks with the substance. One could never have too much oil.
"It's not here," Abell said, chucking a helmet over his shoulder. He nodded toward the hallway. "There are more rooms in the back. We used this place as a temporary prison holding."
Goblin gurgles echoed off the walls. Darien led the way. She peeked around the corner, and then rushed the group of goblins. The first beast turned in time for Darien to lop off its head. Another goblin came at her. She slammed it into the wall with her shield and burst forward to lock swords with the last creature. Zillah stabbed both her daggers into the shoulders and yanked the goblin back, leaving it bleeding on the ground.
Darien killed the goblin quickly, although it had lashed out in its last moments and nicked her across the neck. The cut started to bleed, but was hardly fatal. There were barred rooms on both sides of the hall. They split up, searching through the items and junk.
Darien opened a chest in the back of a cell. Inside were trinkets, jewelry, pendants, medallions; things that she didn't normally see soldiers wear. Bronze and copper rings, a single glove missing its pair, a bent and rumpled piece of parchment. Darien picked up a ring with an emerald-colored stone, saw that it was still wrapped around a finger, and dropped it back into the chest.
"Any luck," Abell said from the nearby cell, "Arisen?"
"Nothing."
Darien stood and moved back into the hallway. She almost jumped when Zillah suddenly came to her side. She held a white wood rod about the length of her harm.
"Is this it?" she asked.
Abell approached and smiled. "That's it."
"We need to get back," Darien said.
They made their way to the door, and pushed the crate back into the corner.
"As soon as we open this door," Darien said, "we sprint back to Ahab and Theo. Stay close to each other, and watch for the ballista fire."
Abell and Zillah nodded. As soon as Darien grabbed the door handle, the remaining chunks of the roof burst down on them with a thunderous crash. Dust and dirt blew around them in a grey cloud. Darien slowly came to her bearing, realizing that she was on her stomach and something heavy on her legs. Someone squeezed her hand.
Darien coughed and then groaned. "That you, Zillah?"
"I am relieved you are alright, Master," she said.
Darien pushed herself up and looked around. "Abell?"
"I'm fine," said the knight. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall. He blinked slowly, face pale with dust. "What happened?"
Something groaned, heavy and long. Darien's eyes widened and she squirmed out of the debris on her legs. She looked up. A pair of stubby, grey fingers curled over the top edge of the building. The great, helmed head of the cyclops looked down on them.
"Get up! Up! Up!" Darien shouted. She got to her feet and lifted a slab of stone off the pawn. Zillah crawled out from beneath the rubble, gate lever gripped in her left hand. The cyclops disappeared from view.
Darien burst through the door, the pawn and knight close behind just as the cyclops brought its club down on the building. The massive beast turned on them.
Darien grabbed the lever from Zillah and tossed it to Abell. "Go!" she shouted.
The knight spun around and ran, only pausing to grab the goblin blade laying on the ground. Darien and Zillah kept their focus on the cyclops, backpedaling. Darien heard the sound of a ballista firing in the distance behind her. A great bolt flew overhead and went through the upper edge of the cyclops' right shoulder. The beast dropped its weapons and the arm went limp as it roared. Zillah fired an arrow at its head, but it shattered against the iron helm. The cyclops charged at her, its left arm raised forward. The pawn ducked beneath its swipe.
Darien finished casting her spell and her sword went aflame. She burst forward in a sprint and slashed at the cyclops' heel – that is, if it had one. Her blade cut, although not deeply, and it didn't burn. She backed away, swiping her sword across a goblin's chest that came near. Something exploded not ten yards away from her and she was flung onto her side, her sword ripped from her grasp. Darien looked up. The goblins on one side of the fort were firing from the ballista, and either Theo or Ahab were shooting from the other. She didn't know what had taken them so long, or how hard it was to aim at such a distant target, but she was grateful.
Then Darien noticed that there were goblins all around them. The few that had neared had been dispatched by either her or Zillah. They howled and clapped, seemingly entertained. They didn't approach, but they had surrounded them.
Darien looked at the cyclops. It bore down on Zillah. The pawn raised her hand and threw down mall pouches that were a mixture of some sort of explosive powder. Darien shut her eyes before the sharp light from the flash bomb could blind her. The cyclops was unlucky. It leaned back and clutched its helm, then tore off the armor and blinked rapidly.
Darien peered behind the beast where the destroyed building lay. In the front bottom corner bled an amber-colored substance. Darien stood and, when she changed perspective, saw that the liquid was a combination of dark and multicolored, like a rainbow trapped in ink.
"Zillah!" she shouted. She swept up her sword and neared the cyclops. The pawn turned to her. Darien raised her sword before her face, point towards the earth. "Get ready!"
Zillah leapt away from the monster and fired an arrow at the face. None of the projectiles hit the eye, but the beast was enraged. The pawn ran toward the Arisen. Darien chanted the spell as audibly and quickly as she could. Her eyes closed. She felt a pressure in her head that seemed to engulf her whole body, then the sensation flowed in her hands and she imagined it as a white light going down the sword's fuller and into the blade.
She opened her eyes. Zillah stood at her side, daggers drawn. The cyclops was almost on them. Darien plunged her sword into the ground. White light formed an intricate circle around the blade. The front edge of the cyclops foot touched the outer edge and there was a flash of light. The monster leaned back, slowly falling away from them. With the grace uncommon for its kind, it found its footing before it completely fell.
Zillah released three arrows at once. It happened so quickly that Darien couldn't tell where they landed, but the monster jerked back and clutched its face, lodged arrows between its fingers. It landed back on what was left on the stone building.
The pawn was panting and Darien's bangs stuck to her forehead, slick with sweat. "Get ready," she said, and immediately began casting another spell. This time it was heat, not burning or piercing to her, but warm and floating. Both her sword and Zillah's drawn arrow lit aflame.
The cyclops pushed itself up from the building. It turned toward them, dark blood streaming downs its face. Eye red and bulging. It stood in the pool of oil.
Darien didn't need to say anything more to Zillah. The pawn let fly the flaming arrow. It landed on the edge of the dark liquid, and the oil burst into fire. The cyclops was too slow to move as the flames licked at its thick skin. The beast swiped slowly at the fire, and then backed away. Darien took her flasks of oil and chucked them at the beast. The beast could do little against the fire. It completely forgot about her and the pawn and attempted to snuff out of the flames.
Darien and Zillah stood nearly back to back. The goblins surrounding them went mad and shrieked in an outlandish chorus. Over that came the long blare of a horn. The goblins turned toward the front gate, which was slowly opening. The Duke's knights came in, and suddenly Darien and Zillah were the stones in a surging stream. Chaos ensued. The second cyclops stomped forward.
Darien realized that the fresh faces amongst the knights were the reinforcements. And although there weren't as many as she hoped, it was better.
The battle raged on.
Abell and another knight poured their pots of oil into the hole. A goblin that was attempting to crawl out of the tunnel retreated, slick with the liquid. A soldier lit the oil with a torch and the fire flooded into the depths. The ground beneath their feet screamed goblin-speech.
Darien threw back one of the beasts and looked around. The goblins were thinly scattered amongst the knights. She watched the surviving monsters flee into the fort.
"Here!" one of the goblins shouted, "Here now! Open up!"
And another. "Come! Help!"
The doors to the castle built into the mountain opened. Beyond stood one of the largest goblins Darien had ever seen. It stood taller than its kin, with a sharp, iron crown upon its head, tangled amongst the stubby, root-like horns. The smaller ones ran past it into the building.
"See there, Arisen," Ser Robert said, "That is their chieftain. You slay that one, and the rest will fall."
"I will finish him," Darien said, waving to the pawns. She paused at the entrance and looked back to see if Abell was nearby. He was currently busy finishing off the goblins around.
She entered behind the pawns. Hanging torches lit the space, Darien caught sight of goblins disappearing through the upstairs doorway. She gave chase, taking her times ascending the stairs that led to a spiral staircase. Unable to see around the corners, she took her time, still startled by the goblin that flung itself toward them. It bounced off her shield, rolled downwards and was subsequently killed by Ahab's downward swing.
Darien passed through the exit, stepping onto the outdoor balcony. A demolished ballista sat smoking on the edge ahead of them. Darien turned and titled her head back, eyes widening. The cyclops swung its spiked club. Zillah tackled Darien to the ground. Ahab was hit, thrown from the edge. Even for a pawn, Darien heard him scream and then it abruptly ended.
She got to her feet only slightly slower than Zillah. Darien turned, seeing Theo get to his feet. "Strike it with lightning!" she shouted. Without turning back, she ran forward. She slammed her shield into a goblin, sending it to the ground below. A sudden lightning bolt struck the back of the cyclops' neck. It jerked forward. There wasn't a lot of room to move around, especially with the 20 foot monster hulking around.
Darien put all her strength into her swing and slashed at the cyclops foot. She was so sick of dealing with these beasts. It moved slower than the ones they had encountered, trying to keep its feet on the narrow walkway. Darien attempted to place a perilous sigil, but found herself overwhelmed by goblins before she could finish the spell. She kept back, keeping the beasts off Theo, who was doing half the work.
Darien felt intense heat against her back. She leapt forward, then rolled to the side to avoid being stepped on by the cyclops. A wall of fire was behind her. If it were possible for pawns to panic, then Theo was doing just that. Casting a barrage of spells.
Darien rolled again. The damn cyclops was trying to crush her beneath its wide, flat foot. She came to one knee, raising the point of her sword upwards. It tried to step on her, and instead met with the sharp point. Darien's shoulder's burned as she kept her sword up. If the cyclops ignored the pain and forced its weight onto that foot, then she'd be crushed.
Zillah took her two flaming dagger and impaled them into one of the cyclops' toes. Darien felt the weight taken away, her sword almost wrenched from her grip. The monster was balance on one foot, painfully slow in its leaning off the edge. Darien ran by it, seeing no way it could recover. Zillah was close behind. Before Darien entered the second tower, she glanced back. Theo completed a silent spell, and the sky flashed with multiple bolts of lightning. Goblins were struck and fried. The bolts his the cyclops on its way down. Darien absently hoped that the knights below watched their heads.
They ascended the last flight of stairs and came into the commander's antechamber. The chieftain was there, flanked by two lesser goblins. Darien, Zillah and Theo came into the room. The goblins hissed.
The chieftain sprung forward. Darien brought her shield up just in time. The goblin followed through with hard jabs to her defenses. She forced herself into a solid stance and summoned the fire to encase her shield. The next time it swung at her, she propped her shield forward, hard and fast. There was a red flash, and the chieftain fell backwards in a burst of flame. Theo sent forward a volley of fireballs. The chieftain rolled out of the way and was back on its feet in a heartbeat. Zillah had defeated one of the other goblins and threw the last one out the window.
The pawn went for the chieftain from behind. The goblin slammed its elbow back into her face. She jerked backwards. It stabbed her in the stomach, blade pierced out of her back. Darien shouted and full-body tackled the monster to the side. It rolled back to its feet, and so did she. She struck with her sword and the beast parried. Even in the brutality of the moment, Darien was impressed by its swordsmanship. The room flashed with lightning and she felt as if she was touched by a hot blade against her thigh.
The chieftain fell to one knee, sparks of electricity racing like veins over it. Darien went for the kill. At the last moment it threw itself back, suffering a mere flesh wound across the chest. The goblin did a backflip over Zillah and landed before the opened window.
Darien supported Zillah's shoulders and stared at the goblin. Theo was at their side, staff held before him.
"Think you've won?" the chieftain said, "Dread! You lot are finished. All the world finished. All will die. The dragon comes."
Darien felt the rage of thrill and exhaustion. "And I will slay that beast when it comes!"
The goblin cackled. "Humans want destruction, too! Humans want the dragon. Welcome it." It gestured to them with a long, bloody arm. "Kill each other. Kill all you like. The end is nigh!"
Darien went to move, but the beast turned and leapt out the window. She helped the pawn up and placed her hand over Zillah's stomach. It was warm and wet with blood. Zillah's head rolled down and to the side as if it was too heavy for her neck to support, but she was on her feet.
"I got you, Zillah," Darien said. She looked back at the window.
Not a single goblin remained in sight. At least, not a living one. Abell looked around, realizing for the first time that he was smiling, much like the handful of knights around him who wore similar expressions. Armor dented, clothes stained with red, sweaty foreheads.
Ser Robert's voice spoke in a booming voice. "The beasts are bled and the hold retaken. Victory is ours!"
Like a roaring tide, a cheer swept through the soldiers.
"Victory! Victory is ours!"
"All glory to the duke!"
"Nothing stands between the knights of Gransys and victory!"
A fellow knight patted Abell hard on the back and laughed. The thrill was contagious. Abell glanced up at the fort and then jogged over to the doors where the Arisen and her pawns had gone. He raced up the staircase, skipping every other step and nearly falling forward on his face from tripping over a goblin's corpse. He came to the commander's antechamber and paused in the doorway. It was empty.
Abell found the Arisen standing before a riftstone in front of the fort. His eyes lit up when the massive warrior pawn emerged from an inky portal. The man hardly looked like something that had fought and died in battle. He was unscathed and looked down at the Arisen, speaking too softly for the knight to hear. Even the mage and the ranger looked healthy.
The main pawn looked at Abell and nodded to him. The Arisen turned and smiled at his approach.
"Ser Arisen," Abell said, smiling back, "Your sudden disappearance left us worried."
"I doubt that," she replied, glancing upwards at the sounds of shouting and laughter, "I needed to tend to my companions."
"Pray, Arisen, come back with me. We must tend to our fallen and discard the goblin corpses, but we plan to celebrate our victory once we finish."
"I appreciate it, but I think we will take our leave."
"No rest for a legend, then?"
Darien grinned. "I definitely plan to rest, but not here." She shrugged. "In reality, I'm just trying to avoid clean-up."
Abell laughed. "Aye, well you deserve it. You did beyond well today, Ser."
"We did well. The pawns, the knights, and you as well." She waved at the pawns and they began moving toward the gate. "Perhaps we should do this again."
"Aye, but without the goblin horde. I've enough of those beasts for a lifetime."
"Agreed."