"Gather and fall back!" shouted Flint, his voice carrying clearly over the rocky battlefield. Grath furrowed his brow beneath his helmet. Why should they fall back now, when they were so close to victory? In the forest below, he could see the bulk of the orcish army, simply waiting to be slaughtered.
Could Flint himself, founder of Lanternwebs, be working with the Orcs, Grath wondered. Obviously he could not simply allow the orcs to slaughter them, the champions would defend Lanternwebs regardless of his orders. But to fight ineffectively, and allow orcs to escape... That was a possibility. This entire siege was suspicious, with Tosid ordering most of the Grand Army not to participate, and sending the most loyal troops out. Most loyal troops and Flint, he corrected himself, since Flint's loyalties were no longer clear. He would need to investigate it further in the future, after the battle. He cast a single withering look at the orcs rushing their retreat before following the rest of the champions down the mountain.
A short break to eat and drink, and Grath was once again outside, his axe ready to fend off whatever enemies might assail Lanternwebs. Flint had ordered them to keep tight formation in front of the entrance, to meet the orcs as they rushed the bridge. A cleaver plan, Grath thought to himself. Limit the space, allow loyal champions to "dodge" off the bridge to their death. Definitely a dwarf to watch in the future. For now, he would have to devote his skill to defending Lanternwebs, that it would not fall despite treachery afoot.
In the valley, he could now see the crushers advancing on them, howling their foul war cries as they brandished crudely-forged hammers. He saw Argentum, standing at his side, charge forward to meet them. There, he thought, was a dwarf that he could follow. Unafraid of danger, rushing forward to slay the enemies of the fortress. Grath watched as he met the orcish charge, his sword moving unerringly to strike down orcs and beakdogs as he danced in their midst. Grath felt, with a sudden clarity, the future if he continued to obey Flint. He saw Argentum surrounded by orcs, held down by their wrestlers as their leader shaved his beard and ordered Argentum's eyes plucked out, all while Flint ordered them to stay back 'in the name of tactics'. But he could see through Flint's tactics. He knew that he could avert Argentum's fate if he intervened.
He was not merely a dwarf as he ran forward with his shield high. He was a dwarf of the mountain, he was the mountain itself. Argentum was his wrath, and he was Argentum's defender. Like the mountain, he would stand by the loyal dwarves and protect them with stone and steel, through which the feeble strikes of the orcs could not hope to penetrate. His shield blocked the blow that he was sure would have left Argentum open to a wrestler's grasp, and he felt himself drawn into the same dance that was moving Argentum. Where he was the mountain, solid and immovable, Argentum was the water, constantly in motion as he swept the orcs from their limbs. And the mountain protected him, moving no faster than was needed to always arrive with shield or plate before the strikes that would have struck and dispersed the water. He could see nothing around him but the mountain and the water and the rivers of blood of the dying orcs.
At last, the dance slowed and he was able to see the battlefield once more. The orcs lay slain in broken piles around him, their blood staining the ground red. The other soldiers had run to the north, trying to cut off a fourth squad as they fled, but Grath was too tired to pursue. Lanterwebs still stood, and the champions were unharmed. His duty was fulfilled.
------------
Last movie
here, and the pursuit of fleeing orcs
here.
Final statistics:
50 kills, 48 beak dogs, and 216 body parts. No losses
The Tooninator: 11 kills
Ashtesh: 8 kills
Argentum: 7 kills
Grimes: 6 kills
Shoruke: 4 kills
Kheskeim: 3 kills
Grath: 3 kills
Flint: 2 kills
Workerdrone: 2 kills
Wizardmon: 2 kills
Silvereye: 1 kill
Author
Topic: Lanternwebs (The End!) (Read 80412 times)