Dwyvyrn winced as a loose pebble skidded along the floor of the
passage he and his two companions were following. They were
trying to remain as quiet as possible, but speed was essential
at this point. For the past week they had been sticking to
small side tunnels, darting in with furtive attacks against any
goblins who fell behind or wandered too far from the main group.
They had felled just over a score of goblins in these raids,
never more than three in any one attack.
Dwyvyrn had concentrated his group's attacks on the rear of the
goblin army, correctly guessing that it would be the most
disorganized section. Although the success of their raids was
evident in the form of beefed-up patrols and increased alertness
shown by the goblins, they were not sufficiently slowing the
progress of the goblin horde. Dwyvyrn decided to shift his
attacks to the front of the goblin legion to create more caution
in the advancing army, and to take out some of the
better-trained and equipped goblins in the lead group.
This was the reason for their present haste. The quarry of
inter-connected side passages they were using died out a short
way ahead. They would need to enter the main tunnel and advance
several hundred yards to reach a side passage that led to
another burrow of tunnels. Dwyvyrn wanted to get through the
main tunnel and into the side tunnels before the goblin horde
passed by. If they waited for the goblin army to pass by before
moving into this new set of tunnels, they would have little
chance to move up and attack the vanguard of the goblin force
before the advancing army reached Lonely Mountain.
At last the trio of dwarves came to the concourse with the main
tunnel. Dwyvyrn carefully inched forward and looked back down
the cavernous passage. He saw nothing, but his ears pricked up
as he caught the unmistakable sounds of a large group of
creatures advancing toward them. Dwyvyrn turned and gave a hand
signal that brought his companions Nalvor and Gilgina from out
of the shadows.
"The foul goblins be right near," he whispered to them, "We
makes all haste fer da next set o' tunnels." With that, the
three dwarves filed silently into the main tunnel, just as the
lead members of the goblin army rounded a bend and came into
view fifty yards behind them!
The dwarves broke into a run as an alarm was raised throughout
the goblin masses. Soon the sound behind them rose to a dull
roar as hundreds of goblins picked up the pursuit. The shrill
yip of goblin war-cries echoed off the cavern halls as the
battle-hungry vanguard of the goblin forces eagerly chased after
them.
Dwyvyrn turned to his two companions and yelled his plan as
loudly as he could. "We runs down to da entranse to da nex'
burrow o' side tunnels!" he screamed, hoping his kin could hear
him above the din created by the goblins. "We'll loses mos' of
'em in da maze o' passages, an' kills wotsever of 'em finds us.
Dey'll calls off da pursuit once dey gets split up an' starts
findin' a bunch o' dead goblins about!"
Dwyvyrn looked to see if his kin understood his plan. They
nodded their agreement as they ran onwards, but then their eyes
widened and they came to a halt as they stared down the corridor
ahead of them. Dwyvyrn stopped as well and faced back down the
passage to see what his kin were staring at. His heart sank as
he saw a goblin advance party, a dozen strong, hurrying down the
passage to meet them.
Dwyvyrn hesitated as he considered their course of action. He
was sure that he and his companions could defeat the goblin
party, but not before the goblin horde descended upon them from
the rear.
The goblin advance party did not hesitate. These were the
best-trained and most bloodthirsty of Gunklob's army. Upon
hearing the alarm raised behind them, they had immediately
turned and headed back toward the main body of the force, hoping
to get in on any combat that might ensue. As soon as they saw
the trio of dwarves barreling down the passage toward them, they
unleashed a volley of crossbow bolts at the group. Although the
dwarves managed to block most of the bolts that flew toward
them, one slipped past their defenses and imbedded itself deep
into Nalvor's left thigh.
Nalvor's cry of pain shook Dwyvyrn from his stupor. Shoving
Gilgina toward a side passage, he grabbed the stumbling Nalvor
and dragged the dwarf along behind him. "We runs!" he shouted
to the priestess as he followed her into the tunnel. The
goblins were right on their heels, but slowed a bit as they
filed into the narrow passage.
Dwyvyrn's mind spun as he helped the badly limping Nalvor down
the corridor. At least he had all the goblins behind him, he
thought. If they were lucky they might be able to outpace the
horde in the tight confines of the side passage. Luck did not
seem to be with the dwarves however, for even with Dwyvyrn's
help the wounded Nalvor often slammed into the walls as he
lurched down the corridor. Soon the sounds of the goblin
pursuit grew nearer.
As the dwarves neared the end of one fairly long and straight
section of the passage, Dwyvyrn felt as well as heard the impact
as another crossbow bolt found a seam in the back of Nalvor's
armor. As they rounded a bend in the passage Dwyvyrn stole a
glance at his dwarven companion. The young warrior's face was
contorted in a grimace of pain. Blood trickled from his nose
and mouth, and a bright red gout of phlegm and blood spewed
forth as he let forth a rasping cough.
Seeing his kin's grave condition, Dwyvyrn changed his plan.
"Holds, lass!" he shouted up to Gilgina ahead of him. As she
stopped and turned he pushed Nalvor toward her. "Tends to da
lad. I'll holds off da goblins." Gilgina caught the pale
warrior and immediately began to work on his injuries. Dwyvyrn
turned and readied his axe for the coming fray.
The goblins descended on him rapidly. The first was cut down as
it rounded the bend, the head falling one way and body the other
as its momentum carried it on past the dwarven warrior. The
second managed to stop in front of Dwyvyrn, but that only made
the fatal strike that much easier for the dwarf. The remainder
of the goblins drew their weapons and advanced on the Axepeak
fighter. The narrow passage allowed only two at a time to
confront Dwyvyrn, who maintained a defensive stance, parrying
the blows of his opponents until he found an opening, then
striking quickly with his axe. One solid hit was usually
enough to dispatch a goblin, but it mattered little here, for as
soon as one fell another closed and took its place.
Dwyvyrn began to sing, belting forth a battlesong to Clangeddin
in order to raise his own spirits and counter the war cries of
the goblins. He worked methodically, conserving his energy as
he waded slowly through the goblin advance party. As he worked
on his tenth kill, his spirits sank as he saw more goblins
filling the passage. The main army had followed them in as well.
Dwyvyrn continued to fight bravely, finishing off the last of
the advance party and squaring off with the first of the goblin
regulars. Although he had only suffered a few minor scrapes so
far, and despite the fact that these goblins were not as skilled
as his first dozen opponents, Dwyvyrn was tiring rapidly. He
knew that it would only be a matter of time before the vast
numbers of the goblin army eventually got the better of him.
This only steeled his resolve, and he raised his voice in song
again, determined take as many goblins with him to the afterlife
as he possibly could.
With a mighty swing Dwyvyrn swept aside the two goblins in front
of him, smashing them both against the wall. As they crumpled
to the ground, Dwyvyrn looked up and noticed the remaining
goblins had backed off a few paces. Although puzzled by their
action, he appreciated the chance to catch his breath, and
stopped his song momentarily as he leaned on his axe. It was
then that he noticed the goblins had stopped their usual
disorganized howls and war-cries, and now spoke one word in
unison. "Gunklob! Gunklob! Gunklob!" The chant filled the
tiny confines of the tunnel, and although at first Dwyvyrn
didn't know what the word meant, he soon found out as a
mithril-plated warrior broke through the front rank of goblins.
*****
Gunklob the goblin chieftan moved slowly forward, all the while
cursing Gaglug the shaman. It was Gaglug who had started the
troops chanting his name, crying that the gods had foretold
their chief would strike down the dwarves. Once the chant had
been taken up by his army, he had no choice but to move forward
to where the fighting was taking place. He didn't hurry, hoping
that by the time he arrived at the fray the dwarves would be
dead or--even better--severely injured, allowing him to strike
the final blow and fulfill Gaglug's "prophecy". Instead he now
faced a fearsome and nearly unscathed dwarven warrior, but with
his army chanting his name behind him, there could be no turning
around. As he closed to melee the dwarf, he thought again of
the derisive leer he had seen on Gaglug's face, and vowed to
deal with the shaman later--if he survived.
*****
Dwyvyrn surveyed the warrior that came forward to meet him. He
was large for a goblin, and the suit of mithril he wore--made to
fit a dwarf--was by no means too big for him. Dwyvyrn seethed
inwardly at the thought of a goblin wearing dwarven mail, but
that anger was tempered by caution as he realized he would have
to place his attacks carefully to penetrate the dwarven armor.
In his right hand, the goblin bore a curved blade of fine
manufacture, but certainly not a dwarven weapon. It glowed dull
red in his grasp, and the intensity of the glow increased as the
goblin advanced. A magic blade, Dwyvyrn knew, but little did he
realize just how powerful a weapon it was.
Dwyvyrn smiled inwardly as he hefted his axe to face the warrior
he knew must be the goblin chieftan. He reasoned that if he
could defeat this one, the goblins might fall to fighting among
themselves in a struggle for power. Surely none of them would be
too eager to face him once they saw their leader dead at his
feet. Refreshed by the renewed possibility that he and his kin
might live through this, Dwyvyrn again took up his battle-song
and prepared for the fight.
Gunklob swung first, not with the wild arcing motion that many
of the goblins had shown, but with a calculated thrust that
showed he was a seasoned fighter. Dwyvyrn noted this, and
deftly blocked the blow with his shield. For several minutes the
fight continued, each fighter testing the other's defenses with
none scoring a good hit. Then Gunklob attacked with a move he
had used previously, one that left him open briefly for a
counterattack. Dwyvyrn recognized this and quickly brought his
axe around, grinning as he anticipated the feel of his axe
penetrating a seam in the goblin's armor and biting into its
flesh.
His grin changed to a look of surprise as he felt the shock of
the goblin's blade stopping the swing of his axe. The goblin
had reversed the blade's motion and brought it back up to meet
Dwyvyrn's blow in a blur, faster than any swordsman he had ever
seen. Then Dwyvyrn glanced quickly at the face of his opponent
and saw the goblin was gaping in surprise as well!
For nearly a second they stood frozen, Dwyvyrn's axe poised mere
inches from the goblin's neck as it pressed against the flat of
the goblin's blade. Then the goblin seemed to recover and swept
Dwyvyrn's axe away, raking his falchion across the dwarf's
knuckles in the process. Dwyvyrn bellowed in pain as a burning
sensation spread over his hand. Although the blade had done
little more than take some skin off his knuckles, his entire
hand burned as if he had stuck it in a forge, and was slowly
beginning to go numb.
Dwyvyrn looked down at the goblin's blade to see if it was
coated with poison or some other substance he hadn't noticed
earlier. His eyes widened when he saw that the falchion was now
pulsing with a bright red glow. The goblin chieftan seemed
taken aback by this as well, and paused as he examined the
glowing weapon in his hand. Dwyvyrn jumped at this unexpected
opening, unleashing an attack that would surely separate the
goblin's head from his shoulders. He watched with growing
horror as once again the blade moved blindingly fast to deflect
Dwyvyrn's blow--without any perceiveable inclination on the
goblin's part!
Now the falchion seemed to be acting completely on it's own,
attacking and parrying while the goblin stared in amazement.
Gunklob did all he could just to hold on to the weapon, then
gained confidence as he saw the falchion would not let Dwyvyrn's
axe near him. He grinned as he pressed forward, beginning to
put his own strength behind the weapon's blows.
Dwyvyrn had switched to a completely defensive posture, parrying
wildly as the falchion came at him with ever increasing speed.
His right arm was almost completely numb below the elbow, and
Dwyvyrn felt the best he could manage would be a wild swing with
his axe. But a wild swing wouldn't penetrate mithril armor.
Dwyvyrn felt the adrenalin drain from his body as he began to
fully comprehend that he could not win this fight. His
movements began to slow as the lengthy battle wore down his
endurance. His shield arm began to drop and the glowing
falchion swooped in from above, biting deeply into his left
shoulder. Dwyvyrn howled as a blinding flash of pain enveloped
him. A burning sensation filled his chest and ran down his left
arm. His breathing came in short gasps as fire seemed to fill
his lungs.
Dwyvyrn struggled to steady his vision and regain a defensive
stance. His left arm was now going numb as well, and it took
all his concentration to keep his shield in front of him and
focus on his opponent. The whirling blade continued to come at
him, and it was not long before Dwyvyrn stumbled and the
falchion sank into his right flank.
Dwyvyrn let forth a piercing scream of rage mixed with terror as
yet again fire seemed to course through his body. His eyes
welled with tears as he doubled over in pain. Dwyvyrn
realized--almost subconsciously--that the next blow would kill
him. A desparate yearning for life filled him, and gave him a
final burst of energy. In a wild fit of panic, he sprung up and
backed away from the goblin as he swung his axe with all the
might his numb right hand would allow. He swung not at his
opponent, but at the low ceiling of rock that hung over them.
Again and again he bashed the butt of his axe up against the
overhanging stone, backing away all the time.
A low rumble grew in the passage as first small chunks of rock
fell into the passageway, then larger boulders crashed down into
the tunnel. Dwyvyrn continued to pound away at the rock
overhead, until finally a great thunder resounded through the
passage as the roof of the tunnel before him collapsed. Dwyvyrn
dove backwards, coughing uncontrollably as fine dust filled the
tunnel and choked his already labored breathing. He looked up
momentarily and saw two legs before him, then something heavy
struck him on the head and everything turned to blackness.
*****
Gunklob sneered as the tunnel collapsed in front of him. The
dwarf's hasty retreat had taken him by surprise, and by the time
he had recovered the dwarf was well away. The falchion had
urged him forward--nearly pulling him along behind it, but
Gunklob saw the roof of the tunnel weakening and wisely decided
pursuit would only bring him death.
Gunklob turned away as the collapsing tunnel sent forth a cloud
of dust into the passage. Although he was angry that he had not
been able to finish off the dwarf, the fight had still gone much
better than he had hoped. He had gotten the best of a dwarven
fighter who had felled almost a score of his toughest warriors,
in plain view of his own army. There would be no goblin that
would challenge his authority now! In addition, he had
discovered that the falchion the drow had given him held powers
he hadn't even guessed at. Perhaps best of all was the scowl
that came across Gaglug's face when the shaman saw that the
chief was still alive. A sly grin spread over Gunklob's face as
he led his army back onto the path toward Lonely Mountain, now
only about a day's march away.
*****
Dwyvyrn's head throbbed as he gradually drifted back into
consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Gilgina
kneeling over him, a look of concern on her face.
"Well'n, it seems Moradin ha'e decided to lets ye live anodder
day," the priestess teased, "tho methinks he mites takes me in
da process." Gilgina sat down heavily next to him as Dwyvyrn
painfully raised himself to a sitting position. Her skin was
pale and her brow covered in cold sweat. Obviously the work of
healing him had taxed her power greatly.
"Thankee, lass." Dwyvyrn croaked, able to manage little else
with his ragged breathing. Then he thought of his other
companion. "Nalvor's a'rite?" he spit out before a fit of
coughing overtook him.
"Aye" she replied, nodding in the direction of the young
warrior. "He'll lives, tho' he'll needs rest jus' like ye."
Gilgina paused a moment, then added, "an' me as well'n!" She
shut her eyes and rested her head back against the wall of the
tunnel.
Dwyvyrn frowned and started to rise, bracing against the wall as
a wave of dizziness washed over him. "We has nae time to rest,
lass." he scolded as he waited for the dizziness to pass, "The
goblins'll be diggin' thru to here in nae time!"
Gilgina opened her eyes and shot him a stern look. "The goblins
is nae diggin' thru to 'ere, ye jargh fool! It'd takes 'em
almos' a week to clear dat cave-in! Ye hears enne sounds o'
diggin', lad? Odder'n da poundin' in ye 'ead, me means!"
Gilgina smiled as she closed her eyes again.
Dwyvyrn paused a moment as his head cleared and realized there
in fact were no sounds coming from beyond the collapsed section
of tunnel. "Er..mebbe ye is rite lass," he said, then turned
and began walking futher into the tunnel. Although the burning
sensation had left him, a numbness still pervaded his whole
being, and he had to concentrate on each motion to make his
muscles obey.
He stepped gingerly over the sleeping Nalvor, and continued
slowly down the tunnel. "Hrmf!" he muttered, more to himself
than anyone, "An' wots if'n da goblins comes at us from behind?
We shou' has someone guardin' dis passage!"
"We nae has to werry o' dat!" came Gilgina's smug reply.
Scowling and grumbling--albeit more quietly now-- Dwyvyrn
continued down the corridor at his measured pace. As he rounded
a turn in the twisting passage, he saw the reason for Gilgina's
confidence. Ten feet ahead, the tunnel came to an abrupt end.
A Sacrifice is Made By: KAGIS
Kagis trudged along the main shaft leading away from the guild's
home. He moved quietly except for the constant
"thud...thud...thud..." rythm of his steel toed boots pounding
the stony corridor. He carried his massive axe in his left
hand, and his axepeak special crossbow in his right hand. A
silver and gold ring gleamed dully on his right hand. Tears
continued to poor down his cheeks as he advanced toward the
forward ranks of the goblin hoard. His two scout companions
were dead, and for almost 30 days they had harrassed and
hammered the goblin hoard without any word from the Mount.
Now the goblin hoard was less than a day's march from the lower
levels of Axepeak delves, Kagis had heard nothing from Dwyvyrn
and his patrol in days, and Kagis was mad. Not just mad... but
practically seething with anger. "How dare dese mis'rable
stinkers come to our home! Damn ta da abyss da 'ccursed spider
kissers who sent dem! By da will of Moradin himself, I be
sendin' evry last one ta hell ta spend deir days wit' da spider
kissers!" The string of curses continued without pause.
Kagis knew he was making a lot of noise, but he didn't care
anymore. Glancing down at the ring on his finger Kagis grinned a
bemused smile. "Ye ain' gonna let me lie down an' die are ya?"
It was his fathers ring, a special ring forged by the hand of
Moradin himself some said. All Kagis knew was that the ring
healed any wound he ever got in battle, so Kagis never entered
battle without wearing it. Wh
