Ngom led the others to the dwarven outpost in silence. He knew what was at stake if there was no less than a mighty fortress spewing gold riches where his allies had lost their lives. He knew he'd rather die to dwarves than face the wrath of his tyrant king.
"Stop here." He said. "You and you, scout ahead, and report back immediatly."
Two goblin thieves nodded, and ran off towards the hills. Their shouts were heard on the breeze minutes later, making Ngom cringe. The dwarves were expecting them. "Move out, we need to get to the fortress to see what that tower is about. MOVE!"
The two squads moved out. Ngom motioned to Edem, the human mercenary leading the second squad, to circle around the hillside and come at the dwarves from the south. he took the other squad from the west. Cocking his new crossbow, he readied himself.
***
The General watched as two goblins in cages were brought to the jail. It brought a smile to her face to see the miserable lot where they belonged, behind bars.
"Don't worry, you'll be free enough...in our arena!" She yelled at them, and the smaller of the two wet himself. It didn't matter that they didn't have an arena...yet.
"GENERAL!" Shoruke yelled down the main stairwell. "GOBLINS!!!"
She ran to the observation platform above the main entrance, which was newly fortified. Shoruke pointed to a group of goblins coming from the northwest, who seemed very interested in the water ladder.
"Squad one and two, head out to meet that threat." Cheers came up from the barracks below, and the champions of the fortress and their crossbow wielding brothers charged out the main entrance.
***
Ngom was dissapointed. Besides some windmills and gear assemblies, not much was discerbale from the outside of this sealed tower. He could hear liquid roaring around inside, and assumed it was pumping water, but why? The dwarves could tap the brook directly instead of pumping water up to the sky. It was very mysterious.
"We will have to go to our second plan. Capture one alive, and I will interogate it." The goblins snickered and readied their axes. Ngom was the only one in this squad with a crossbow, the rest prefered more personal means of massacre.
***
Dastot was eager for battle. He was the first out, the first to spot the enemy, and the first to raise his crossbow. He lined up a shot at a cowardly looking goblin standing behind the five goblins with axes. He placed his finger on the trigger, and a goblin bolt punctured his brain. His shot flew off into the sky, hitting the support tower, but Dastot didn't care, he was on his way to Warholla.
***
Mad Larks saw his friend Dastot fall. He spotted the small goblin in the back, and called to the other three remaining marksdwarves. "Follow me, two behind one beside." The dwarves got into formation. They hurried towards the goblins, and stopped suddenly when they were in range, kicking up a lot of dust. A goblin bolt flew beside them, and Mad Larks smiled. Raising his crossbow, he gave the order to fire.
***
Ngom strained his eyes to see beyond the dustcloud the charging dwarves had stomped up. He didn't know if his last bolt hit anything or not. He wondered what the dwarves were doing.
Then four of his axegoblins fell with bone bolts sticking out of them. Panicked, Ngom bolted behind the tower, out of site of the dwarves. He would have to use their cover to his advantage for the moment, and slink away at the first opportunity.
***
The dwarves cheered as the last of axegoblins fell. The other three went inside, but Mad Larks was determined to find the slinking menace that had killed Dastot.
"I'll come with you, Larks," Thuellia said. "He won't get away from both of us."
Mad larks turned to agree, when a bolt flew down from the hillside behind them. It pierced Mad Larks through the calf, sticking in the wound.
"Get down!" He yelled, and hobbled behind a tree. He caught site of a handful of goblins, some with bows, some without weapons, led by a human decorated in bone trophies. He gave an order and the goblins came charging down the hill.
Mad Larks loaded his bow, and fired from around the tree. One of the marksgoblins fell into a bloody heap. However, one of the answering bolts hit him in the shoulder. "Thuellai, we have to kill these guys. That guy up there is a northern mercenary. They are some of the best warriors in the world, and they'd sooner die than fail a contract."
Thuellai nodded, and watched as the goblins came closer and closer. He readied his spear. "No matter what happens, Larks. It's been fun."
Mad Larks smiled and let loose another bolt. A second marksgoblin fell, leaving just two more, and two wrestlers. The four goblins reached the trees where the duo were hiding. Thuellai jammed his spear through one of the wrestler's skull, and dislodged it in one fluid motion. Without time to reload, Larks jammed a bolt in the menacing marksgoblin's hand. While it was distracted, he grabbed it's head and snapped it's neck.
Larks saw Thuellai throwing his spear at Larks's head. Panicked, the marksdwarf ducked, and heard a sickening thud behind him. Turning, he saw the second wrestler impaled on the fisher's spear. Nodding his thanks, Larks downed the last marksgoblin with a quick shot, leaving only the mercenary.
He stood on the hillside, and brought his crossbow to bear. Larks nodded to Thuellai, and both screamed a warcry, and charged up the hill.
A bolt whipped by Larks's head, and he didn't flinch.
A second hit him in the forearm, he kept running.
A third hit him in the gut. The pain was immense.
He loaded his bow.
A fourth hit him in the leg. He collapsed to the ground. By sheer force of will, he got up and kneeled on his good leg. Aiming, he fired. The bolt flew the short distance in mere moment, but it seemed like days. It hit the mercenary, squarely in the chest. The barbs of the bolt shredded his heart and lungs. The mercenary stuttered back a step. Knowing death was near, he cocked his bow one last time to kill the errant marksdwarf. A blur hit him at full force, knocking him to the ground.
***
Thuellai pummeled the body of the mercenary until it was unrecognizable. He had seen Larks get hit, and this bastard was not going to live to gloat about it. He stood, and ran down the hill to find his friend.
Mad Larks was laying in a pool of his own blood. Thuellai ran to his side, and leaned over his friend.
"Don't worry, Larks, I'm here. We'll get you fixed up soon." He started to pick up the marksdwarf, when Larks stopped him.
"Pull out the arrows." He said.
"You'll bleed to death! I won't..."
"Thuellai, my leg is crippled. I can feel the bone, it's shattered. I'm not going to walk again. My arm too, it's in a bad way. I'm not living like a cripple, pull them out."
"Larks..."
"Please. Let me die a hero instead of live a miserable life."
Thuellai wiped back the tears, and patted his friend on the shoulder. Amid Larks's screams of agony, he pulled out the arrows. The color drained in both their faces. Larks whispered one last thing.
"Thank you, my friend. May we meet again in Warholla..." His breath rattled in his throat, and Mad Larks was no more.
***
Ngom head an outraged cry. Looking beyond the tower, he saw the carnage that unfolded while he had hid. A dozen goblin bodies littered the field, along with a couple dwarves. That foolish mercenary lay in a bloody heap at the top of the hill. The cry came from a dwarf, covered in blood, looking on another dwarf's body. How pitiful this race is. Still it provided an opportunity.
"Hey dwarf! Sorry your little girlfriend died! Come here and I'll send you to death with him!"
***
Thuellai heard the goblin taunting him. He knew it was probably a trap, he just didn't care. He walked slowly towards the goblin, stopping only to retrieve his spear from the bloody head that was another of the enemy race. The goblin taunted him still, but Thuellai didn't hear it. When he was within a dozen feet, the goblin fired a bolt at him.
He swatted it out of the air with the ease of swatting a mosquito.
***
Ngom smiled, he had hit the dwarf in the hand. He loaded up another bolt and prepared to fire. Only then did he realize that the dwarf wasn't injured, it had actually grabbed the bolt out of thin air. Ngom swallowed hard and fired again.
***
He didn't feel the pain, but he knew the bolt was in his shoulder. It didn't matter. The goblin was right there, almost within reach. He threw his spear. It missed wide. The goblin looked fearful, and Thuellai prepared himself to choke the life out of the little rat. The goblin fired another bolt, this one barely grazing the inside of Thuellai's leg.
He felt tired...so tired...he had to kill the goblin...but maybe after,,,,after a rest...
***
Ngom tied the unconscious dwarf up in a bag, and hefted it over his shoulder. He was very heavy, but the sleeping draught on the last bolt should keep him unconscious for a long time. However, the others would know he was missing and not dead if they didn't find a body.
No matter. Ngom ripped off the dwarf's shirt, and ran over to the screw pump at the base of the tower. He jammed the bloody garment into the mechanics, and hoped the dwarves would think their friend had died a horrible death. Grabbing the sack, he fled to the Dark Tower, to interogate his victim.
OOC: sorry, Larks, your squad largely abandoned you soon after the first ambush died. And while it was less dramatic than this, you still did a number ont he mercenary before dying.
More updates coming soon.
Author
Topic: The General Reborn {Community Fort} (Read 10542 times)