Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 19
“AAaargh!” Carzen yelled, thrusting his sword ahead like a spear, stabbing its point toward the wolf’s face. The attack went awry as the monstrous dire wolf shook Vhael in its jaws, but the tip pierced its shoulder, sinking half a foot into its body. He brought his shield up just in time to absorb a head-butt that nearly drove the upper edge into his helmet; if Gez hadn’t caught him from behind and steadied him, he almost certainly would have fallen.
Vhael, still caught, roared violently, and drove a mailed fist into the hollow under the wolf’s lower jaw. There was an ugly crack, and the wolf released him, the dragonborn’s blood showing on its teeth briefly before it lunged forward to attack again. Vhael was unable to bring his big sword into play in time to block it, but he took the bite on his arm rather than his body this time, and tore free before the wolf could bring its superior size and strength to bear.
Armored figures came into view in the corridor behind the wolf, obscured by the creature’s bulk. Gral saw them, however, and summoned a freezing cloud that obscured the space behind the dire wolf. Frost began to sparkle in the fur covering the creature’s hindquarters, but otherwise it paid no heed to the chilling effects of the dwarf’s spell, instead surging forward to deal once more with the dragonborn. It surged forward, using its sheer mass as a bludgeon to drive these enemies before it.
But Vhael held his ground, and as the snapping jaws came down again he raised his sword, holding it up like a quarterstaff, with one hand on the hilt and the other on the blade a few feet from the end. The wolf snarled as the edge cut into its throat, but it pressed forward, driving Vhael back inexorably. The dragonborn’s jaw tightened as he struggled to keep the sword above his head, keeping the wolf just slightly off-balance, its neck just barely exposed.
Carzen Zelos leapt into that gap, his sword plunging down into that opening, drawing a long gash across the wolf’s throat that pulsed, then suddenly erupted in a spray of bright red blood. The creature reared and thrust forward, knocking both Carzen and Vhael backward, but its struggles were now the violent thrashings of the dying, rather than a prelude to a renewed assault. Behind it, the freezing cloud continued to roil, but the magic fueling it was already beginning to fade, and they could see figures moving behind it, waiting for its collapse. Carzen reached out a hand to help Vhael, but the dragonborn shook it off, a deep rumble coming from his throat as he took up a warding position at the mouth of the passage.
The wolf shuddered a last time and collapsed, its bulk narrowing the corridor considerably, so that only one enemy could easily navigate it at once. But as the cloud faded, they could see the new threat already waiting for them.
“Take cover!” Vhael warned, dodging to the side as a hail of arrows and crossbow bolts shot down the corridor. The dragonborn shifted behind the threshold of the doorway just in time, as one of the missiles clipped the lintel and spun past him, and a second passed through the place he’d been standing just a moment before. Carzen was just a fraction slower, and he had his shield up, but through some combination of luck and skill the archer’s shot came in just under the lower edge of the barrier, and hit the fighter in the leg just above his greave. Carzen cursed and sagged back against the wall out of the direct line of fire, grimacing as he clutched at the nasty wound.
Jaron and Gez returned fire, but their shots didn’t seem to have much effect, as the enemy snipers dodged back into cover. But they were replaced by a formation of armored warriors, as a trio of hobgoblin soldiers followed by a pair of humans stepped into view. The humans looked like bandits, clad in dirty leather tunics covered haphazardly with metal plates, and armed with metal bludgeons. They remained behind the hobgoblins, who formed up into a disciplined phalanx before moving forward, their shields raised to form an interlocking wall of metal before them.
“Let them come to us,” Vhael said, glancing out from the shelter of the doorway.
“I’m not stupid!” Carzen shouted back.
Smoke was starting to gather in the passage, coming out of an opening to the left about twenty feet from the entry doors, and there was yelling coming from that direction. Vhael would have taken odds that somehow Jaron’s cousin was involved with that.
“Beetle’s in there somewhere!” Jaron yelled, but as Vhael looked down the crowded passage, his chest and arm burning where the wolf had abused him, he knew that at the moment, at least, there was nothing they could do for the last member of their company.
“AAaargh!” Carzen yelled, thrusting his sword ahead like a spear, stabbing its point toward the wolf’s face. The attack went awry as the monstrous dire wolf shook Vhael in its jaws, but the tip pierced its shoulder, sinking half a foot into its body. He brought his shield up just in time to absorb a head-butt that nearly drove the upper edge into his helmet; if Gez hadn’t caught him from behind and steadied him, he almost certainly would have fallen.
Vhael, still caught, roared violently, and drove a mailed fist into the hollow under the wolf’s lower jaw. There was an ugly crack, and the wolf released him, the dragonborn’s blood showing on its teeth briefly before it lunged forward to attack again. Vhael was unable to bring his big sword into play in time to block it, but he took the bite on his arm rather than his body this time, and tore free before the wolf could bring its superior size and strength to bear.
Armored figures came into view in the corridor behind the wolf, obscured by the creature’s bulk. Gral saw them, however, and summoned a freezing cloud that obscured the space behind the dire wolf. Frost began to sparkle in the fur covering the creature’s hindquarters, but otherwise it paid no heed to the chilling effects of the dwarf’s spell, instead surging forward to deal once more with the dragonborn. It surged forward, using its sheer mass as a bludgeon to drive these enemies before it.
But Vhael held his ground, and as the snapping jaws came down again he raised his sword, holding it up like a quarterstaff, with one hand on the hilt and the other on the blade a few feet from the end. The wolf snarled as the edge cut into its throat, but it pressed forward, driving Vhael back inexorably. The dragonborn’s jaw tightened as he struggled to keep the sword above his head, keeping the wolf just slightly off-balance, its neck just barely exposed.
Carzen Zelos leapt into that gap, his sword plunging down into that opening, drawing a long gash across the wolf’s throat that pulsed, then suddenly erupted in a spray of bright red blood. The creature reared and thrust forward, knocking both Carzen and Vhael backward, but its struggles were now the violent thrashings of the dying, rather than a prelude to a renewed assault. Behind it, the freezing cloud continued to roil, but the magic fueling it was already beginning to fade, and they could see figures moving behind it, waiting for its collapse. Carzen reached out a hand to help Vhael, but the dragonborn shook it off, a deep rumble coming from his throat as he took up a warding position at the mouth of the passage.
The wolf shuddered a last time and collapsed, its bulk narrowing the corridor considerably, so that only one enemy could easily navigate it at once. But as the cloud faded, they could see the new threat already waiting for them.
“Take cover!” Vhael warned, dodging to the side as a hail of arrows and crossbow bolts shot down the corridor. The dragonborn shifted behind the threshold of the doorway just in time, as one of the missiles clipped the lintel and spun past him, and a second passed through the place he’d been standing just a moment before. Carzen was just a fraction slower, and he had his shield up, but through some combination of luck and skill the archer’s shot came in just under the lower edge of the barrier, and hit the fighter in the leg just above his greave. Carzen cursed and sagged back against the wall out of the direct line of fire, grimacing as he clutched at the nasty wound.
Jaron and Gez returned fire, but their shots didn’t seem to have much effect, as the enemy snipers dodged back into cover. But they were replaced by a formation of armored warriors, as a trio of hobgoblin soldiers followed by a pair of humans stepped into view. The humans looked like bandits, clad in dirty leather tunics covered haphazardly with metal plates, and armed with metal bludgeons. They remained behind the hobgoblins, who formed up into a disciplined phalanx before moving forward, their shields raised to form an interlocking wall of metal before them.
“Let them come to us,” Vhael said, glancing out from the shelter of the doorway.
“I’m not stupid!” Carzen shouted back.
Smoke was starting to gather in the passage, coming out of an opening to the left about twenty feet from the entry doors, and there was yelling coming from that direction. Vhael would have taken odds that somehow Jaron’s cousin was involved with that.
“Beetle’s in there somewhere!” Jaron yelled, but as Vhael looked down the crowded passage, his chest and arm burning where the wolf had abused him, he knew that at the moment, at least, there was nothing they could do for the last member of their company.