Chapter 9

  Survivors

  It took a bit of finesse, and a small amount of time, but the door to the servants’ quarters finally clicked and Elwin hurriedly pushed it open. There was resistance, and the reason was immediately apparent once they finally made their way inside.

  Compared to the other rooms they had passed, it was downright pleasant! But, that being said, it was still a sight to behold.

  The room that served as a home for the estate’s servants was of modest size. Curtained cots lined the walls, with sizable trunks at the end of each. There were no folks wealthy enough for servants in Piria, and Shamil had no other examples or information to draw from. But she supposed that these servants’ quarters could have been considered quite nice. That is, before it had been completely ransacked to the hells and back.

  What was once order had been turned into complete, violent chaos. Cots were overturned and covered in feathers from ripped pillows. Dried blood spatters littered the blankets and walls. Trunks were overturned and split open, their contents recklessly littering the polished floor.

  The squad hurried into the room, and Shamil appreciated how Arv was careful with his footing. One big stumble could send them all tumbling out, including little Maren, who was still fast asleep.

  “Eyes open, everyone. There could be more survivors.” Valdora said in that authoritative voice of his, and she couldn’t help but listen. Damn the man. She leaned one elbow out of the Howdah, her grip still firmly on her weapon. Shamil focused hard on the shadows, squinting with all her might. If there was any moment, it was small enough that not even her gnomish dark vision revealed it.

  “I’ve got nothing,” she muttered to Elivera, who nodded in agreement,

  “I swear I can hear something…but I-” Elle’s face scrunched up and relaxed again, “I can’t quite make anything of it,”

  “That’s curious,”

  Both Shamil and Elle whipped their heads to Neyra, who was leaning precariously out of the Howdah. They followed her gaze to a portion of the room near the back. Arv walked them there.

  It looked like a common area to her, tucked behind the last row of cots. Splinters and bits of cushions marked the final resting places of two chairs. A modest sized bookshelf took most of the space on the wall between two windows. It took Shamil a moment to pinpoint what it was exactly that caught Neyra’s interest.

  It was a bookshelf. And it stood apart in the sense that it was a strangely organized chaos. The books were no longer on the shelves, yes. But instead of laying on the floor in shreds like she had expected, Shamil saw instead that they sat on the ground in organized stacks, nary a dog-eared page to be found.

  The Howdah suddenly shifted.

  “Ah! Neyra! Warn me next time,” Arv grumbled as the eldest Tallfellow slipped over the edge of the Howdah, “This thing has delicate balance, ya know!”

  “Of course I know. I built it. Now hush!” Neyra already had her notebook out as she approached the strange scene. Shamil gave Arv a reassuring pat on the head,

  “You know better than to bother her when she’s locked onto something like that, big guy.”

  Arv just snorted through his nostrils. Elle rolled her eyes.

  “Yes, Ney. It’s books. We know you like books.”

  Neyra didn’t even bother to look up at her sister to retort. She was too busy writing.

  “Well spotted, Ensign Tallfellow. Now, if you’re done being a smartass, you’ll note that these books have not been ransacked like the rest of this room. They’ve been searched, and methodically, at that. Someone was after something here.”

  “What would the shadow army want with books?” Shamil asked, brows furrowed.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” Neyra ran a finger of her free hand across the spine of one book, scribbling furiously as she did so, “Nothing here stands out to me. And, if they found what they were looking for, they most likely took it with them. But I’m cataloging all of this, anyway. Maybe these titles will lead me somewhere…” she trailed off a bit absentmindedly as she returned to Neyra-world. Shamil knew there was nothing that could reach her now. At least nothing besides an actual emergen–

  “Jethro! Jethro!!” Elwin screamed in horror. Shamil’s face flashed to where Elwin now crouched, yelling frantically underneath a cot. Arv hurried forward to help, but Cretin got there first. He rushed to Elwin’s side and heaved the cot away with one hand, unveiling the person underneath.

  He was a human man of some age. Shamil didn’t know how many. He was old, that much was apparent. And he was wounded. Blood covered his face, dry at the edges, and still wet near the deep wound on his head. Elwin was frantic as she shook him by the shoulders, still calling his name. Kaida and Valdora clambered over the mess to get to the scene, Valdora moving to hold Elwin back and Kaida readying her medical equipment.

  “Elwin, ELWIN! You’ll only hurt him more.”

  Valdora put firm hands on her trembling shoulders. She was crying. Shamil had never seen the woman cry, or show much of any emotion, actually. It was almost unsettling. This man must have meant something to her.

  Kaida got to work with her salves and bandages. After a cursory examination, she focused on the head wound. It apparently was the most pressing of his injuries. Shamil didn’t know much about healin’ people. Only shooting them. Was that a bad thing? It felt like a bad thing.

  “Captain,” Cretin’s deep voice rumbled from the doorway. His eyes were closed and his big, pointy ears were twitching as he slowly moved to closer the door, “Footsteps. Armor. Orcish speak. Just minutes away.”

  Valdora urgently got to his feet and signaled for silence. Neyra finally hopped back into the Howdah next to Elle and hurriedly pocketed her notebook.

  “It would seem that we’ve finally run into trouble,” Elle muttered.

  “Kaida, we’ll have to move him. Is he stable?” Valdora turned to his lieutenant as she finished the last winding of the bandage on Jethro’s head.

  “Stable enough. Riza! Help me here.”

  Riza’s long legs carried her effortlessly over the mess and chaos to Kaida’s side and she scooped him tenderly into her scaled arms. Her tail swished nervously as she sniffed at the air.

  “Elwin!” Valdora said. “We need a way out of here, or else we’re going to have a fight on our hands.”

  Elwin shook her head as if to remove herself from a daze.

  “Right-right…there’s an access tunnel here. I just need to remember…” she leapt to her feet and felt along the walls, “Aha! Here. Quickly! And someone bolt that door!”

  Shamil held on tight as Arv rushed over without further instruction. He picked up and slid the beam into the brackets as quietly as he could. Then he hurried to the back of the line that filed into yet another servants’ tunnel. Valdora brought up the rear, taking care to place the panel back both precisely and quietly. He then signaled up the line for them to move, and move quickly. Shamil could hear the sounds of guttural voices from behind the secret panel. Moving quickly was a good idea.

  What Shamil thought was a tunnel actually turned out to be a staircase that wound its way down underneath the ground level and into the basement. The steps were wide, and the way was lit by several oil lamps. The air was even colder down here and she shivered despite herself as they hurriedly made the descent. Valdora brushed past them as he hurried to the front of the line again. They had reached the bottom, and Zarl had his ear pressed against a heavy door.

  His eyebrows rose, and then his face fell as he muttered,

  “Goblins…sir there’s at least a dozen in there. They’re talking about what to do with the living ones.”

  “Then we attack. Those survivors need us. Kaida, you take Maren and Jethro and protect them here. The rest of you, on my signal.”

  The squad quickly formed up. Riza held her other arm out for little Maren, and the Tallfellow sisters worked together to get the child out of the Howdah and into Riza’s embrace. The two survivors were placed on the ground behind Kaida, who stood firm. Shamil knew Kaida would die before letting anyone touch them.

  Shamil inhaled deeply through her nostrils. Her grip tightened on her crossbow and she fondly ran a finger across the fletching of her loaded bolt. Get ready to hurt, you bastards.

  Cretin led the charge with a roar, bursting through the door at Valdora’s command. His mace caught the flickering light of candles and lamps as he roared out in his native tongue. He was followed closely by Hilda and Arv, finally allowing Shamil the line of sight she needed.

  They were in what appeared to be a dining room. A full dozen black armored goblins had their spears trained on a group of human servants who stood huddled in a corner. The frightened servants yelled out in terror as Cretin’s mace smashed through the first goblin, spraying them with drops of blood and splinters of bone. Shamil trained her sights on the one furthest from them as he moved to repel their charge. She sought the cold, dark void of focus, and everything around her went silent and still. Nothing existed but her, her weapon, and the beating heart of her target. She waited one heartbeat–and then pulled the trigger.

  ***

  Neyra watched as a goblin took a bolt to the chest. It sank deep into the gaps of his armor, and it was followed up by an arrow from Zarl. The goblin staggered backward, his chest a gruesome pincushion. Elivera yelled out and ducked as a spear came sailing through the air, narrowly missing her head. With a growl, she swung her legs out over the side of the howdah and landed on the large dining table. Neyra’s heart thundered in her ears as she watched her sister charge at an enemy. There were sounds coming from everywhere at once, and she trembled as she tried to focus.

  She forced her mind to relax, allowing the arcane energy to flow through her veins and coalesce into a bolt of fire. With a flick of her wrist, she cast the bolt toward another goblin. It sailed through the air with a hiss, striking a goblin in the face with enough force to send him stumbling backward. He regained his feet with a vicious snarl and reached a clawed hand up to tear off his helmet. He yelled out in a raspy, harsh language and pointed his spear with fervor. Neyra didn’t need to speak Goblin to know that she was their next target.

  There was a sudden lurch in the Howdah as two other goblins joined the burnt one to rush Arv at once. Her brother roared as he bent to catch the blows with his shield. Neyra felt the force of them reverberate all the way up from the shield, into his arm, and up to the Howdah. She found it amazing that creatures so small could hit so hard. Shamil screamed out in fury and loosed another bolt as a fourth goblin rushed in to aid his comrades.

  “Arv! More incoming!” Neyra shouted, hastily preparing another spell. She spared a frantic glance around the room. The squad worked together to hold a line, keeping the enemy from advancing back into the corridor, where Kaida stood guard over Jethro and Maren.

  Valdora and Riza seemed to mirror each other's spear forms as they fought a group of three enemies. Hilda, Elwin, and Cretin had another cluster of the vile soldiers backed into a corner. And where was Zarl? Everything was happening so fast. It was so hard to keep track of everyone. The other surviving servants still huddled in shock against the wall, their feet frozen in fear as Elivera leapt off the table and onto a soldier. Her sword plunged into his neck before the beast had the chance to finish flanking Arv.

  Two of the goblins who rushed her brother now backed away in retreat, another soldier yelling something at them in their native tongue. He seemed much more frantic this time, and bloody spittle flew from his mouth as he gave his commands. Neyra watched in horror as the goblins dropped their spears and reached behind their backs, drawing forth wicked shortbows. Neyra’s mind raced, making it difficult to concentrate on her casting. This was nothing like her time with her master. And that had been tough enough! It was one thing to cast her spells in a modestly controlled environment. But even Irene’s concentration exercises couldn’t have ever prepared her for this. Battle-casting was pure chaos. It felt like she fought her very own battle just to keep her arcane energy flowing, and it was a battle that she had to fight all alone.

  “Neyra! Get down! They’re targeting you!”

  Zarl’s voice was frantic as he landed with a thump on the table, his back to Elle as he drew another arrow. Ah, so there he was.

  “Yeah, no shit!” Yelled Shamil as she ducked down with Neyra to load another bolt, “If you throw a fireball at one of em that’s bound to get their attention, and not in a good way,”

  The Howdah lurched again as Arv fought, and Neyra was nearly thrown out. She braced herself with a grunt, furiously fighting to keep her concentration.

  “Actually, fireball is a completely diff–” Neyra began, without even knowing that she said the words out loud.

  “Oi! Shut it, Neyra! Just be ready!” Arv spat as he hefted a harpoon in his hand. Neyra huffed in exasperation and watched from her blessed shelter on Arv’s back as Shamil took another shot. She heard another voice cry out fiercely in Goblin. This time, she was nearly certain it was Zarl who spoke it.

  “Nice shot, Zarl!” Shamil said with an approving nod, and before Neyra could get a look at the commotion, the Howdah jerked, nearly tipping completely sideways. Shamil and Neyra cursed ?as the world turned on its side. A goblin had snuck through and struck Arv on the knee, causing his sudden loss of balance. Neyra thanked the Gods that she hung on, but then there came the second blow.

  The concussive force was enough to send her tumbling out of the safety of the Howdah, and she noticed through her shock that a spear now stood sunk solidly in the wood where her head had just been. Neyra struck the ground with a thud, landing on her back. Her head was spinning, but there was no time to right herself. She was as good as dead down here. She needed to move. Frantically, she crawled to the shelter of the table. And she prayed that her escape would go unnoticed.

  “Neyra! Arv, we lost Neyra!” Shamil shouted, and Neyra watched as she and Arv searched the room with frenzied eyes, trying to split their attention between the foes they fought and finding her sorry ass. Neyra felt despair bubble up in her tiny chest as she realized what their distraction could cost them. She was a liability here, not an asset. They were going to get themselves killed just to protect her. She knew it. She wasn’t enough on her own. Just dead weight. Unable to protect herself or anyone else.

  Just then, a loud clattering bang echoed through the room as a door swung open. Three orcs came charging in, alerted from the noise, no doubt. Valdora rushed in to intercept, but two of them broke through to where her family now fought.

  “LOOK OUT!” Neyra screamed in horror.

  Her warning was just enough to give Arv time to brace himself. And she breathed the softest sigh of relief as he met their attack head on. That relief faded as soon as she realized what she had just done. She clasped her hands to her mouth and shrank back as far as she could into the shadows, but it was too late. The goblin who ordered her death had already turned his head to face her. He snarled and prowled towards her hiding place. His face was a mask of fury and melted, charred flesh. The scimitar in his hands gleamed in the candlelight, the tip of it dragging against the stone floor with a vile grinding noise.

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  Neyra’s heart pounded in her ears. This was it. She was going to die and there was nothing to be done about it. Neyra Tallfellow, dead by goblin, leaves her family devastated because she couldn’t defend herself. Pathetic. She just hoped that it would be swift. But then she heard it.

  She turned her head as far as she dared, still keeping the advancing goblin in her sights. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Estate’s servants. They still clustered together, several of them hanging on to each other with blood drenched hands. An older child looked straight at Neyra, and somehow his whimpers pierced through the din of battle just enough for her to hear.

  It was the briefest, softest sound in the world, but it changed everything. It lit a fire in her, a fire she didn’t know she even had. That boy was everything. He was Arv. He was Elle. He was Shamil He was Maren. He was every single innocent soul that had been hurt by this vile scourge. This wasn’t about her. It never was. And it was time to stop feeling sorry about herself and do something about it.

  Her eyes darkened, and she turned back to face the goblin in earnest. Her chest heaved and her knees shook, but she stood firm. She snarled as she opened her mind and soul to the weaves of arcane power around her. They rushed deep into her veins, filling her with an icy energy that coalesced into the palms of her hands.

  The battle still raged around her as the goblin charged, but to her there was only this moment. Just her and him.

  She didn’t want this, she never did. But she did it anyway. Yes, she hated the shadow army. She hated it more than she ever hated anything else in her life. But she didn’t fight because of that. She didn’t fight because she hated those in front of her. She fought because she loved the people behind her. And Neyra Tallfellow would be damned before she let anything happen to the people behind her.

  Fuscia light glowed around her, brightening to blazing white at the tips of her slender fingers. The arcane words left her lips, commanding the energy to do as she willed it to. And with a snarl, she hurled it at the bastard. Three brilliant bolts of light lanced from her hand, and cut through the air with a shrieking whistle. She screamed in rage as they raced to their target, and the scent of burnt flesh filled her nostrils as they made contact.

  The bolts struck in quick succession against the base of the soldier’s neck. They ripped through the tender skin, splitting his throat from ear to ear. His dying scream amounted to nothing more than a gurgle as he stumbled to a stop right at Neyra’s feet. Then his body slumped forward, and he crashed into the ground.

  Neyra screamed, her voice raw, and hot tears trickled down her face. She didn’t know why. The moment felt so strangely disconnected, like she didn’t control herself. Her legs and arms moved of their own accord, and she yelled with a voice that wasn’t hers. She was a spectator to her own life. The little halfling who now kicked and snarled at the corpse of the goblin was unrecognizable to her.

  “Neyra…Neyra!”

  She blinked bleary eyes and shook her head. Reality came crashing back down around her. Elle was by her side, holding her shoulders with both hands. The sounds of battle were gone, and the stench of death hung low in the air.

  “Neyra! Come back, it’s alright.” Elivera clutched at her with intensity and pulled her into an embrace.

  “I…I–” she choked, her throat tightening around a large lump that threatened to spill loose.

  “Shhhh. I know. You did so well, Neyra.”

  “I killed someone.” She finally whimpered, burying her face into her sister’s shoulder. Her hands felt cold and clammy, and her stomach churned.

  “Neyra! Elle!” Arv peeked his head under the table where they stood, his yellow eyes peered anxiously through the dim light,

  “Get out from under there before I haul you out.” He grunted.

  Elivera sighed and loosened her squeeze on Neyra. And then she pulled away. Her sudden absence made Neyra shiver.

  Pull it together, Neyra. You’re not out of this yet. Slowly, she shuffled her feet into motion and followed Elle out from under the table. Just put one foot in front of the other. She noticed absently that her boots were covered in blood. They squelched quietly with each step that she took into the light.

  Arv said nothing else as he knelt down in front of her. Neyra took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at her brother. He stared at her with discerning eyes, his brows furrowed in concern.

  “I’m okay,” she managed. Her voice was hoarse and strained, and the words hurt coming out. Arv snorted at her comment, pulling her into a wordless embrace. She took a moment to bury her face in Arv’s tabard. He held her head against his chest with one hand, gently patting her ponytail. They just stood there for a moment, and Neyra tried not to pay any mind to the bustle of the squad around them. Finally Arv spoke.

  “Whatever you say, sis. Whatever you say,”

  “Just hang on next time!” Shamil’s voice piped in. Neyra pulled back from Arv and looked at Shamil with exasperation. But, despite herself, she smiled. Something about hearing their voices and feeling their support made her come back to herself again. Shamil gave her an affectionate punch on the arm.

  “I’m glad you’re okay, Ney. See? You can get it done when ya need to!”

  Shamil crouched down by the remains of Neyra’s kill, prodding it approvingly with a bolt from her quiver,

  “And it looks like you weren’t kidding ‘bout those missiles of yours.”

  Arv looked down at Neyra and gave her a gentle smile. She forced herself to smile back. I can do this…I can do this.

  ***

  Elle bowed her head solemnly as she took a step back, leaving her sister in their brother’s capable hands. Neyra was going to be alright. She always was. The stubborn girl was stronger than she would ever accept credit for. She just needed to trust herself.

  Elivera walked away determinedly, her eyes seeking Valdora. They needed to figure out their next steps, and fast. Cretin and Riza were busy piling up the goblin and orc corpses in the corner of the dining room, stripping them down to look for anything of use. Elwin and Kaida were at the end of the room with the group of survivors. The ragtag group of humans slumped, stood, and crouched against the walls and broken furniture. A few of them were helping Kaida lower Jethro onto a makeshift litter. Maren was cradled in the arms of an older woman, who looked relieved to see her.

  Valdora was busy speaking to a survivor, and when she met his eyes, he waved her over. Elle quickened her pace to meet him.

  “Sir!” she said with a salute.

  “Ensign Tallfellow.” He nodded, saluting back?. The man that he was talking to turned away to join his other fellow survivors. Valdora watched as he left, his face grim. “He said that they were on their way to the servants’ panic room when the goblins cut them off. It’s just down the corridor, though they’re scared to continue on their own.”

  “Well, I certainly can’t blame them, sir.”

  “I agree. While I don’t think it’s likely that there are any more soldiers down here, we can’t be too careful. We’ll escort them to the panic room, and obviously, we’ll be leaving Maren and Jethro in their care.”

  Elle nodded. It was quite fortunate that they found other survivors. Jethro was still unconscious, and Maren was just a child! They couldn’t just leave them on their own, but bringing them along would have been risky too. Elle turned her head as she heard a sudden cry from Elwin. Valdora followed suit.

  Jethro sat up in his cot now, and he held Elwin gingerly in his arms. Tears of joy streamed down her face as the old man patted her back with soft hands. Kaida smiled at their side, keeping a close watch to make sure Elwin didn’t squeeze him too tight. She wept his name over and over again.

  “Gods above, you’re actually alive, Jethro!!”

  “Aye, lass. It’ll take more than a crack to the head to finish me.” His voice was weak, but he seemed to have regained some color in his cheeks. Kaida must have used one of her potions on him. Elivera was surprised that she parted with one for the old man. They were in short supply, not to mention quite expensive. In fact, Elle recalled an army policy that prohibited their use on civilians. But Valdora seemed to neither notice nor care, so she wasn’t about to bring it up. Valdora was now on his knee beside the man as Elwin continued to hold his hand.

  “We need to know exactly what happened here. Tell us everything you can remember.”

  Jethro nodded slowly, rubbing his temples with gnarled fingers,

  “They came with no warning, they did. Just at dawn. We were up long before then. Gods know that our work starts well before the sun rises. But we heard nothin’, we saw nothin’ until they were right on top of us. By all rights, it doesn’t make any sense. The approach to this estate is completely open and full of livestock and farmers. I don’t rightly know how they avoided bein’ seen or heard by our guards. It’s like they killed their way here in complete silence…” He rubbed his chin, pondering as he spoke, “Our militia has been spread thin. Our Lord Nero’s focused his men on protecting the roads and the iron mines. That’s why there are so few soldiers of our own here, sir. He didn’t see much need in committing men to his own home. That’s why there weren’t as many sentries as usual. But surely even one guard could have seen them coming. It ain’t natural, sir.”

  “Unfortunately, nothing about this scourge seems natural.” Valdora muttered, his face dark, “Where are the rest of the soldiers now?”

  “Well, I didn’t see much of what happened outside, sir. But I saw the guards rush out once the main building was attacked. They were aimin’ to lead the rest of the shadow beasts away to buy more time for our Lord to escape. I reckon the rest are still with Lord Nero,”

  “And where is he? What’s the protocol for when something like this happens?”

  “Well, it's never happened before, sir! And I’m not the one privy to that kind of information. But I suppose the plan was always to barricade the audience chamber. There are tunnels and caves running everywhere underneath this estate. If all defenses failed there, they would have sent him out in one of those.”

  He squeezed Elwin’s hand and looked at her before continuing on.

  “I’m sorry, Elwin. But I really don’t know what happened to your father.”

  Her face contorted into a grimace,

  “If there’s one man who’s harder to kill than you, Jethro, it’s my father. The man’s stubborn as a mule and twice as ornery. He’s alive. I know it.”

  She turned to look at Valdora. “Sir, it’s not too much further. But we need to get back upstairs. The basement doesn’t extend to that part of the estate.”

  “There’s one last thing you should know, sir.” Jethro said, his gravelly voice gaining more strength by the second. “There were orcs and goblins, yes. But there was something else. Some other creature led these beasts. There were at least six of them. Tall with red skin and long, blue noses. They carried flails and had glowing tattoos on their arms. Seen nothing like ‘em before. None of us have.” he turned to the other survivors, who nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Hobgoblins…”

  Elle started as she heard the gruff voice of Cretin right behind her. The rest of the squad had finished their work with the corpses, and they all now stood huddled just behind the Captain. She hadn’t even noticed them arrive. Cretin continued,

  “You could call them our cousins,” he grinned darkly as he patted Arv on the back while also pointing his mace at Zarl, “They’re something between an orc and a goblin, but not as big or as handsome as a bugbear such as myself,” he rubbed his beard and chuckled, even as Valdora gave him a cold, measured look. It could be hard to get Cretin to take things seriously?.

  “I’ve read about them,” Neyra said, her eyes distant. It looked as if she was reading some book that wasn’t there. “Cretin is right, they’re not as big or as strong…but they are far more organized. And if what Jethro says is correct about the glowing tattoos? Well, it sounds like they could have arcane abilities on their side as well.”

  Valdora shook his head grimly as he spoke.

  “They usually favor martial combat over drawing on any magic. Their culture looks down on it. What kind of power could have been offered to them for them to abandon that prejudice?”

  Elle felt her face pale as she considered the implications. And there were six of them? Their trouble was only beginning.

  “Thank you, Master Jethro,” Elivera said with a respectful bow, “We appreciate the information. Now rest. Your people need you.”

  The man looked from Elle to Valdora and back again before nodding and lying back down on his cot. Elwin bent down and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. Then he finally closed his eyes. The rest of the survivors looked up at the squad expectantly.

  Valdora sighed and stood up, wiping the blood from his spear. He spoke with a calm, measured voice,

  “Come, we’re getting you to that safe room. And then we’re going to find your Lord.”

  The squad snuck back up the basement stairs some time later, the survivors safely secured in the panic room. It was mercifully untouched by the shadow soldiers, and they had enough supplies to keep safe for a day or two. Gods send they could get this place safe again long before then. Elivera felt nervous leaving them there, but it was by far the safest option.

  Elwin took the lead, ducking and weaving past the smashed furniture and torn tapestries that littered the hallways. She moved with speed and determination, obviously quite eager to reach her father. The best route to where they needed to go involved cutting through the grand dining hall. Elwin motioned for them to stop as they approached what was left of the doors. They were torn and splintered, with whole chunks of wood missing. The space was big enough to see into the room beyond.

  Elle’s vision wasn’t great, especially in dim light like this, but she could see movement. She cursed to herself as she noticed a faint glow coming from two of the figures ahead. Two of the hobgoblins. They had to be. Her grip tightened on her sword.

  “What do ye say, Cap’n? Dwarf rush?” Hilda hefted her axe in one hand, readying her shield in the other. Valdora looked down at her and slowly nodded with the tiniest of sighs. Elle could’ve sworn she saw the man roll his eyes. Hilda grinned wickedly. It was her favorite battle formation, and she waited on bouncing feet as the rest of the squad made themselves ready.

  At Valdora’s signal, she charged straight through the remains of the door, punching through the wooden shrapnel as easily as one would trample over a garden hedge. She roared out her battle cry. It was something in Dwarven, and Elivera had no clue what it meant. Whatever it was, it caught the attention of the enemies in the dining hall. A dozen armored figures stood clutching wicked weapons. The two hobgoblins stood near the other end of the room, and one of them shouted commands to their troops.

  Elivera had no time to notice anything else as they rushed in after Hilda. She sheathed her sword in favor of her bow, and she nocked an arrow as Arv burst into the room. Shamil got her shot out first, sending a bolt into the head of an armored goblin. He fell to the ground as his brethren trampled over him. Elle took a breath and loosed her arrow. It caught an orc in the shoulder, throwing him off balance as Cretin charged in with his mace.

  “Get the commanders!” Valdora roared over the chaos of battle, “Don’t let them escape!”

  Elle heard the now-familiar whispered words from Neyra, and a ray of frost lanced from her hand and streaked towards the closest hobgoblin. It glanced off of his armor, leaving a latticework of frost across the black metal. Neyra cursed.

  Zarl shouted from atop a table nearby, and he sent an arrow sailing at the same hobgoblin. Elwin was also making a concentrated effort to reach the commanders, her sword cutting a path of carnage to get to them. Riza covered her back, finishing any stragglers with her spear as Elwin surged forward.

  Arv lunged with his trident as an orc tried to rush him. He roared as the weapon made contact, sinking into the beast’s chest. The creature roared back as he swung his sword?. It made contact with Arv’s armor at the leg, and he stumbled with a snarl. Elivera whipped her head around to check their flank and saw a goblin charging toward them. She raised her bow and sent an arrow straight between his eyes.

  “Elle!” Neyra cried out as the Howdah lurched again. Elivera turned her head just in time to see her sister fall out of the Howdah yet again. She landed on the table in the center of the room with a loud thud. Damn. They really needed to put life lines in this thing.

  Shamil shouted and sent another bolt soaring through the air. Arv swung around to look for where Neyra had fallen, nearly sending Elle and Shamil tumbling out as well. There was a flash of green as a small figure came somersaulting through the air. She heard Zarl call out, and suddenly he was there at Neyra’s side.

  “Go after them! I’ve got her.” He yelled, meeting Elle’s eyes. He pulled an arrow to his cheek and stood over Neyra protectively as she struggled to get to her feet.

  “Come on, Arv!” Elivera said, “I need you to get us closer!”

  She heard the annoyance in his growl, but regardless, he ran. Killing shadow scum took precedence over threatening Zarl, especially if this was their chance to take out two of their leaders. Arv charged through the line, using his shield to bash black armored figures out of his way. Cretin and Hilda rushed in beside them.

  Somewhere behind them, she could hear the shouts of Valdora and Kaida, who followed in Elwin’s path. Ahead, they saw the two Hobgoblins snarling at each other in their guttural language. They seemed to argue about something as Valdora’s squad charged their way forward. The way was nearly clear. They had cut down all but a few of the common soldiers.

  “Get the one on the left! We’ll take the right.” Elwin snarled as she raised her sword in challenge. Their group rushed in to engage the larger of the two Hobgoblins.

  “Cover me, lad!” Hilda roared as she ran forward, her axe reflected the glowing light of the Hobgoblin’s tattoos. The two leaders had stopped their squabbling and stood prepared to meet their attack. Although the one that Hilda fought seemed to fight much more defensively. He was going to run. She just knew it. And they couldn’t let that happen.

  Her mind clear, Elivera stowed her bow and took a deep breath. She put one foot on the edge of the Howdah and with a great heave she pushed with her legs, leaping out and into the air. She felt the cold air rush around her body as she sailed upward, tucking her legs and doing a small flip before landing gracefully on the floor. Her sword was drawn the moment her feet hit the stone. The commander glared at her and bared his yellow teeth with a vicious snarl. He held his flail to the side, his huge fingers flexing around the handle.

  Hilda came bellowing from his left, and he struck out with lightning speed. The pole cracked against her shield and Elle heard Hilda cry out as the spiked head flung around past her defenses and straight into her side. Elivera yelled in fury as she rushed to strike at the distracted commander. Cretin charged in after her and their strikes fell true at the same time. Hilda recovered her bearings and joined in the flurry of attacks that they laid on the bloodied Hobgoblin.

  He seemed to take their hits with unnatural ease, shrugging off strikes that would have crippled him otherwise. But that strength was slowly waning as he fought to drive them back. They continued, unrelenting, until at last the beast fell to the ground in a mangled heap, the gurgles of death still on his lips.

  “WHERE IS HE?!” Elwin screamed from the other side of the battle. Her team had also brought down their foe, and she knelt on top of the body now, her sword at the creature's throat. Still alive, it would seem.

  Elivera’s chest heaved as she put her hands on her knees, trying to breathe through the exhaustion. Every foe that once stood in the room now lay dead or dying on the cold stone floor. Neyra still sat on the table, her hand to her head. She seemed alright, and Zarl gently helped her down to the floor as the others gathered around Elwin and the dying Hobgoblin.

  His body was mangled and torn, and the light from his tattoos was fading, but he still looked at Elwin with an intensity that struck fear into Elle’s heart. He inhaled sharply and then spat directly into Elwin’s face. With a furious snarl, Elwin slid her sword across the monster’s throat in one swift slash, sending what remained of his blood spilling out into the cold air. The room was silent, save for the heavy breathing of her exhausted companions.

  “We rest here for a moment,” Valdora finally said quietly, “They were back here for a reason. I’d like to know why.”