Chapter IV: Grab N' Go
Hanson stepped off the portal and looked around. He was in a large chamber that was half shrouded in darkness. Torches burned in their holders and the pillars cast deep shadows. Railroad tracks lay along the floor and led deeper into the mine.
"Command us!" many voices around him said. Hanson looked down and noticed that he was surrounded by thirty brown minions.
"Let's go then," Hanson said and began to follow the tracks deeper into the mine. The minions fell into step behind and kept silent. Hanson followed the tracks into a tunnel which led into another chamber. Instantly, Hanson's attention was caught by the large cart of gold that stood on the tracks. He walked up to the cart to examine it and heard several voices yelling
"Get him!"
"He's stealing our gold!"
Several dwarf miners appeared and charged Hanson and his minions. Remembering Spree, Hanson pointed his armored hand at the miners. The thirty heavily armed browns attacked and quickly overwhelmed the dwarves. Hanson pointed at the cart and ten minions ran forward, picked it up, and began to move in the direction of the portal.
"Once you put it down, catch up," Hanson said to the minions. The browns nodded and made their way, slightly grunting under the weight, back up the tunnel.
Hanson looked around the chamber, spotted another tunnel leading out of the chamber. He continued along the tunnel until he came to a fork. Hanson stood and waited at the fork until the ten minions he had sent to carry gold had caught up to him. Once they did, Hanson pondered which way was best to go. Usually, the deeper one goes in a mine, the more gold there is. Left it is.
The small army went into the left tunnel and Hanson's logic was rewarded as his gold amount increased exponentially. At last, the party reached the bottom of the mine. There, in a large chamber, on a raised platform stood a 30-foot statue of the Overlord. It was made mostly of gold except for the eyes, which were made of the largest rubies Hanson had ever seen, larger even that the ones that decorated the Dark Tower. As Hanson made his way towards the golden giant, it became apparent that there was a note attached to the base. It read: Whoever carries this out of the mine first wins automatically.
Hanson was about to order his minions to grab the statue and get out of the mine when something slammed into his back. Hanson rolled ten feet and slammed into a column stomach-first, knocking the breath out of him. Almost instantly, his browns were helping him up and handing him his axe.
Hanson looked up and saw that standing where he had been a few seconds ago was the blue candidate.
"If you want to live, you'll let me take the statue," he said, pointing his mace one-handed at the statue. "Unless you'd rather die of course."
Hanson was sure that if his opponent wasn't wearing a helmet he would be able to see a smug, mocking, self-assured smile. Hanson's blood boiled at the fact that his opponent had snuck up on him like a cowardly thief instead of engaging him in open combat. Hanson fought an inner battle with himself to control his anger. Finally, it died down and Hanson was able to look at the situation critically.
Hanson looked at his left hand and almost yelped: his entire forearm, all the way up to his elbow, was wreathed in flames. A moment later, the fire shifted its' shape to lie, magma like, on the young man's arm.
"COMMAND ME," a thunderous voice intoned, shaking the roof of the chamber.
Hanson's opponent, who had been standing confidently moments ago, shrank back, trying to slip back into shadows
"I DON'T THINK SO," Hanson yelled, but his voice had deepened into a roar and become identical to the voice of the entity that had spoken earlier. Hanson punched the air in front of him in the direction of the blue candidate, and a jet of flames streaked towards the fleeing man. Midway, the flames changed shape once more and formed a massive dragon, made entirely out of orange and red flame. The dragon accelerated towards its' target and slammed directly into the man's chest plate.
The Eastern wall of the chamber exploded, sending man sized blocks of rock shooting across the chamber. Hanson saw one flying at him, ducked, but it never even grazed him. Instead, Hanson was hit with molten rock and small fragments. He looked up and saw that the flames had formed a dome around him, warding all harm away from him. The dome, made up of black flames, was the last thing Hanson saw before he fell into unconsciousness…
Ruborian Desert
William looked out at the trackless desert that lay between him and the heartlands of the Overlord's domain: the Golden Hills, Evernight, Heaven's Peak and the Mellow Hills countryside. William scanned the horizon impatiently, waiting for the desert raiders to arrive. The shadowy people of the desert had agreed to guide William and his army across their desert and towards the Golden Hills.
"No sign of them, milord," a knight said as he rode up to the king. "Perhaps we should go without them?'
"Impossible, Sir Tomas," William answered. "If thirst and hunger don't finish you off, the sand worms will. The only way across is with the guidance of the shadow raiders." The knight bowed and moved towards his column.
"If you plan to cross the desert in a week, we best get moving now," a silky, shadowy voice intoned. King William, his daughter and all the royal bodyguards jumped in their saddles and looked for the source of the voice.
"On your right," the voice spoke again, but this time with a touch of humor. William located the source, a black-clad man, hooded and cloaked that had appeared noiselessly before the king.
"You're the one that will guide us across, I take it?" William inquired. The raider nodded and began to walk across the desert. He beckoned, and William's 100,000-man army, including the king, followed.
Golden Hills Mine
Hanson came to with thirty pairs of yellow eyes staring at him. The second his eyes opened, he was lifted to his feet and his axe was handed to him. Hanson wavered on his feet and hung on to a nearby pillar for support. He pointed at the golden statue.
"Grab it," he ordered and began to stumble out of the mine.
He emerged into bright sunlight, his minions laden with gold and carrying the statue behind him, grunting at the effort.
"Sit down," Gnarl gestured to an empty chair. "Sleep for now, the others who survived the first round are exhausted as well. Hanson sat down, reclined, and fell asleep faster than a dwarf can drain a puncheon of beer. The record is believed to be about five seconds.