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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7470970" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 185Bredan woke in the middle of the night to a feeling of dread.At first, he did not remember where he was.  It was dark and quiet.  But then he remembered.  Their quarters in Underhold were not especially spacious or well-apportioned, but they each had their own room and vents in the walls let in a constant stream of warm air to banish the cold of the bare stone.For several long minutes he just lay there.  Somehow, he could sense that it was still Third Shift, the deep of night in the dwarven city.  He did not know how he knew that, or what had stirred him from sleep, but he could feel that something was coming.Finally, he heard something, a distant thrumming noise.  It was different from the usual sounds of laboring machines that filled the other shifts, and again that strange sudden instinct told him that it was an alarm.He quickly rose and put on his armor.  When he stepped out into the small anteroom that connected their sleeping chambers, he found Xeeta and Quellan already there.  Konstantin’s door was open, but there was no sign of the wizard.“What’s happening?” Bredan asked.“I don’t know,” Quellan said.  “But something isn’t right.”Bredan nodded.  “Let’s go check it out.”The rhythmic pounding of the alarm was louder once they left the guest quarters and entered the main avenues of the city.  No one stopped them, though the corridors were full of dwarves moving with purpose.  Most of the dwarves dressed in armor and carrying weapons were heading in the direction of the Darkfall Gate, so Bredan and his companions went that way as well.“Is it an attack?” Xeeta asked, but none of them had any answer.They ran into Darik near the lift they’d taken the day before.  It was already half-full with armored dwarves, and others continued to pile into it as they hailed the veteran warrior.  “What’s happening?” Quellan asked him.“It’s an attack on the Darkfall Gate,” the dwarf said.  “I have to go.  You should go back to your quarters, it’s safest…”“We can help,” Bredan said.  Quellan hefted his shield, showing the symbol of Hosrenu etched into the metal surface, and Xeeta lifted her rod, summoning a flicker of flame that wove around the tip.  Bredan summoned his sword, the long shaft of the weapon shining in the light of the corridor lamps.Darik hesitated, but at that moment the operator of the lift cried out, “Ready down!”  “All right,” the warrior said, gesturing them forward.  It was a tight fit with the dwarves already packed into the confined space, but they were able to make it just as the doors slid shut and the car began to descend.  Bredan let his sword disappear again, drawing curious looks from some of the warriors.“Is it the trolls?” Xeeta asked as the lift descended.“Yes,” Darik said.  “The Gate reported a major assault beginning just minutes ago.  Somehow they were able to get close without setting off the sensors in the temple or at the Gate, but we’re reading something big now.”“It’s a lucky thing we missed them yesterday,” Xeeta said.“Will the wall hold?” Quellan asked.“Nothing’s ever gotten past it,” Darik said.  The lift began to slow, the outer doors starting to rumble open even before it settled to the bottom of the shaft.  As the familiar cavern that held the Darkfall Gate was revealed, the companions saw a scene of chaos in front of them.It was obvious that the attack was already underway.  Dwarves were rushing up to the battlements atop the Gate, to join comrades who were already unleashing missile fire at unseen enemies beyond.  They could hear them, though, a constant roar of loud hooting and bestial screams that echoed off the walls and ceiling of the cavern.  There was another sound, a deep irregular thrum that was similar to the beat of the alarm drums that filled the main cavern of Underhold above, but which they could tell was somehow part of the assault.Bredan and the others quickly filed out of the lift to make way for the dwarves that charged forward toward the Gate.  As they watched they could see that what had appeared to be confusion at first glance actually had a structure to it; every dwarf moved with purpose, and everyone seemed to have an assigned place to be.  In addition to the soldiers there were stretcher bearers, ammunition carriers, and engineers laden with tools.Darik had hesitated with them, clearly wanting to rush to his place but burdened with the obligation of watching over the members of the diplomatic party.  “We can help,” Bredan said again.  “You may not need one more sword, but both Quellan and Xeeta have magic that is perfectly suited to this kind of… situation.”For a moment longer Darik lingered.  The indecision was clear on his face, his thoughts no doubt warring between the obvious need and the trouble he could create if one or more of them were to get killed defending that wall.  But then a massive roar sounded over the din of the fighting, a bellowing sound that filled the cavern and rebounded off the walls before reaching them.“Come on,” the dwarf said.  “We’ll need to report in before we can…”They didn’t hear the rest of what he was saying as another loud bellow followed the first, followed by a monstrous crash.“Are they attacking the gates themselves?” Xeeta asked.“Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound good,” Quellan said.They ran toward the wall.  The loud roaring wasn’t repeated, but they could hear the cries of creatures fighting and dying behind the wall, and the dull thumps that grew louder as they approached.  The dwarves fought silently for the most part, save for the orders shouted by their officers as they shifted their forces along the battlements.Darik led them toward one of the watch stations that were built into the base of the wall on their side, presumably to report in to one of the commanders and see where they were needed.  But before they could reach it, Xeeta yelled a warning.  “Look out!”The men glanced up in time to see a large object flying over the wall.  It barely cleared the battlements, then dropped onto one of the landings of the staircase that ascended to the wall above the watch station.  It landed with a solid crack, but its momentum carried it forward.  It clipped the edge of the watch station’s roof and then dropped hard onto the ground about ten feet ahead of them.The object burst open.  It was some sort of husk that looked to be made out of mud and ropy fibers.  The pieces of it fell apart as several trolls clawed their way out of it.</blockquote>

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