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Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4807628" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 41</p><p></p><p></p><p>The voice in her mind stirred Mara to action, even as the orc slammed his booted heel down once more at her battered body. </p><p></p><p>With her hands bound behind her back, and the chain still binding her to the other prisoners, there was little she could do to evade. But she twisted her body, taking the kick on her shoulder instead of her vulnerable torso. Pain shot through her body, but she forced herself to ignore it, turning her body further and snapping up her bound arms. There wasn’t much give in the chain, but she managed to hook a loop of it around the orc’s boot, and jerked her entire body forward to pull him off balance. </p><p></p><p>The orc grunted something and tried to pull free, yanking hard enough that Mara thought her arms would be pulled out of their sockets. But now the tangling chain served as an anchor, holding the orc in place. She knew it wouldn’t hold him long, and bent her legs back to deliver a blind kick toward where she thought the orc was standing. Her bare foot clipped the shin of his other foot hard, but her momentary sense of triumph died as two hundred and fifty pounds of armored orc tumbled onto her. Her breath was blasted from her lungs, and new pains erupted as the hard edges of the orc’s armor and gear poked her. </p><p></p><p>Without her hands, she couldn’t fight him off, and he was too heavy for her to wriggle free. She fought for a breath, gasping as the orc’s struggles continued to batter her. At least he wasn’t kicking her any more, she thought, as the stink of the orc’s body filled her nostrils. His squealing sounded like shrieks in her ears. </p><p></p><p>Then, abruptly, she felt the orc stiffen, and a new, familiar stench filled her nostrils as a trail of hot wetness ran down along her neck. The orc moved again, but it was only to roll off her. </p><p></p><p>Sucking in a welcome breath of air, Mara pulled herself up to find herself eye-to-eye with Beetle. The halfling was holding a knife covered in blood. </p><p></p><p>“Hi, Mara!” he said with a grin. </p><p></p><p>While Mara fought for her life, Jaron faced off against a spear and a charging kruthik. Without time to think over options, and remembering all too well the image of the kruthik jumping all over the fallen duergar scout, he simply acted. He was too close to dodge out of the way of the spearhead, so all he could do was jerk to the side as the steel blade came at him. He felt the hot pain of the blade as it tore a crease along his side, but it didn’t penetrate, didn’t catch on his flesh or his clothes, and then he was through, and inside the guard’s reach. The orc tried to bring his weapon back up in time to strike the halfling, but Jaron was far too quick, and he darted between the orc’s legs before the warrior could do anything to stop him. The orc started to turn after him, but then the kruthik, charging forward, was on him, and he found his hands more than full with sixty pounds of insane reptilian violence. </p><p></p><p>The other orc guards were quite occupied as well. Another was barely holding off a small kruthik with his spear, shifting wildly as it skittered back and forth in an attempt to get at him. Another guard was wrestling with a pair of human miners for control of his spear; a third human lay bleeding out his life at their feet. The last orc lay in a bloody heap next to Mara, his throat cut; Jaron saw the reason for that a moment later as he skidded to a halt next to her, and saw Beetle, helping to pull the long chain out from the shackles connecting the woman warrior to the panicked halflings cowering nearby. </p><p></p><p>Jaron didn’t stop for conversation; he lifted his bow and sighted on the orc fighting with the human miners. He was just in time, as the orc tore free, knocking both men prone and lifting his spear to skewer the nearest. Unfortunately for him, Jaron’s arrow beat him to the punch, and he fell to his knees, the spear clattering from his grasp. The men were back on him in a second, pounding at the crippled orc with their manacled wrists. </p><p></p><p>“Nice to see you,” Mara said, grimacing as she thrust her bound wrists under her feet so they were in front of her. While Beetle freed her from the chain, she stood unsteadily. She was in bad shape, Jaron could see, but that didn’t stop her from reaching down and picking up the orc’s fallen spear. She could barely keep a grip on it with the shackles pinning her hands together, but she looked no less fierce for it. </p><p></p><p>“We have to get out of here!” Jaron hissed. Mara nodded, taking up a guarding position as Beetle released the last of the slaves from the linking chain. Their wrists were still shackled together, but there was no time to free them from the iron bands now. The battle raging just a few paces away was still going strong, but there were only a few kruthik still moving, and even as he watched the duergar leader delivered a powerful blow to the hive lord that knocked it over onto its side, its limbs flailing in every direction as it tried in vain to recover. One of the duergar was down, but the others had taken up warding positions around him, surrounded by the pulverized carcasses of a half-dozen kruthiks of varying sizes. </p><p></p><p>“Go, go!” Mara warned, holding the spear clumsily as she warded their retreat. The surviving orc guards, distracted by their own enemies, paid them no heed. The one that had been poking at the kruthik with his spear finally pinned and impaled his foe; he might have noticed the escaping prisoners, except for the arrow that Jaron fired into his back. He sagged against the wall of the tunnel, trying in vain to grab the shaft jutting from his body. </p><p></p><p>The other orc, the one that had nearly stabbed Jaron, was faring less well. The kruthik barely came up to mid-thigh on him, but it was ripping madly at his legs with its long claws, leaving the orc bleeding from several serious wounds. The orc was trying to push it away with his spear, but the creature was too dogged, springing up at him in an attempt to simply overpower him. It was an odd thing, watching the little monster hacking fearlessly at a foe several times its size, and for a moment Jaron just stood there, an arrow nocked to his half-drawn bow. </p><p></p><p>It was Mara who finally shook him out of the momentary reverie. “Let’s go!” she hissed in his ear, yanking him back with a hand on his shoulder. Turning, Jaron saw that the others were already gone, heading back down the passage, the weak light from a miner’s lamp already growing dimmer as the freed slaves fled. </p><p></p><p>With one last look at the bloody mess behind him, Jaron turned and fled after them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4807628, member: 143"] Chapter 41 The voice in her mind stirred Mara to action, even as the orc slammed his booted heel down once more at her battered body. With her hands bound behind her back, and the chain still binding her to the other prisoners, there was little she could do to evade. But she twisted her body, taking the kick on her shoulder instead of her vulnerable torso. Pain shot through her body, but she forced herself to ignore it, turning her body further and snapping up her bound arms. There wasn’t much give in the chain, but she managed to hook a loop of it around the orc’s boot, and jerked her entire body forward to pull him off balance. The orc grunted something and tried to pull free, yanking hard enough that Mara thought her arms would be pulled out of their sockets. But now the tangling chain served as an anchor, holding the orc in place. She knew it wouldn’t hold him long, and bent her legs back to deliver a blind kick toward where she thought the orc was standing. Her bare foot clipped the shin of his other foot hard, but her momentary sense of triumph died as two hundred and fifty pounds of armored orc tumbled onto her. Her breath was blasted from her lungs, and new pains erupted as the hard edges of the orc’s armor and gear poked her. Without her hands, she couldn’t fight him off, and he was too heavy for her to wriggle free. She fought for a breath, gasping as the orc’s struggles continued to batter her. At least he wasn’t kicking her any more, she thought, as the stink of the orc’s body filled her nostrils. His squealing sounded like shrieks in her ears. Then, abruptly, she felt the orc stiffen, and a new, familiar stench filled her nostrils as a trail of hot wetness ran down along her neck. The orc moved again, but it was only to roll off her. Sucking in a welcome breath of air, Mara pulled herself up to find herself eye-to-eye with Beetle. The halfling was holding a knife covered in blood. “Hi, Mara!” he said with a grin. While Mara fought for her life, Jaron faced off against a spear and a charging kruthik. Without time to think over options, and remembering all too well the image of the kruthik jumping all over the fallen duergar scout, he simply acted. He was too close to dodge out of the way of the spearhead, so all he could do was jerk to the side as the steel blade came at him. He felt the hot pain of the blade as it tore a crease along his side, but it didn’t penetrate, didn’t catch on his flesh or his clothes, and then he was through, and inside the guard’s reach. The orc tried to bring his weapon back up in time to strike the halfling, but Jaron was far too quick, and he darted between the orc’s legs before the warrior could do anything to stop him. The orc started to turn after him, but then the kruthik, charging forward, was on him, and he found his hands more than full with sixty pounds of insane reptilian violence. The other orc guards were quite occupied as well. Another was barely holding off a small kruthik with his spear, shifting wildly as it skittered back and forth in an attempt to get at him. Another guard was wrestling with a pair of human miners for control of his spear; a third human lay bleeding out his life at their feet. The last orc lay in a bloody heap next to Mara, his throat cut; Jaron saw the reason for that a moment later as he skidded to a halt next to her, and saw Beetle, helping to pull the long chain out from the shackles connecting the woman warrior to the panicked halflings cowering nearby. Jaron didn’t stop for conversation; he lifted his bow and sighted on the orc fighting with the human miners. He was just in time, as the orc tore free, knocking both men prone and lifting his spear to skewer the nearest. Unfortunately for him, Jaron’s arrow beat him to the punch, and he fell to his knees, the spear clattering from his grasp. The men were back on him in a second, pounding at the crippled orc with their manacled wrists. “Nice to see you,” Mara said, grimacing as she thrust her bound wrists under her feet so they were in front of her. While Beetle freed her from the chain, she stood unsteadily. She was in bad shape, Jaron could see, but that didn’t stop her from reaching down and picking up the orc’s fallen spear. She could barely keep a grip on it with the shackles pinning her hands together, but she looked no less fierce for it. “We have to get out of here!” Jaron hissed. Mara nodded, taking up a guarding position as Beetle released the last of the slaves from the linking chain. Their wrists were still shackled together, but there was no time to free them from the iron bands now. The battle raging just a few paces away was still going strong, but there were only a few kruthik still moving, and even as he watched the duergar leader delivered a powerful blow to the hive lord that knocked it over onto its side, its limbs flailing in every direction as it tried in vain to recover. One of the duergar was down, but the others had taken up warding positions around him, surrounded by the pulverized carcasses of a half-dozen kruthiks of varying sizes. “Go, go!” Mara warned, holding the spear clumsily as she warded their retreat. The surviving orc guards, distracted by their own enemies, paid them no heed. The one that had been poking at the kruthik with his spear finally pinned and impaled his foe; he might have noticed the escaping prisoners, except for the arrow that Jaron fired into his back. He sagged against the wall of the tunnel, trying in vain to grab the shaft jutting from his body. The other orc, the one that had nearly stabbed Jaron, was faring less well. The kruthik barely came up to mid-thigh on him, but it was ripping madly at his legs with its long claws, leaving the orc bleeding from several serious wounds. The orc was trying to push it away with his spear, but the creature was too dogged, springing up at him in an attempt to simply overpower him. It was an odd thing, watching the little monster hacking fearlessly at a foe several times its size, and for a moment Jaron just stood there, an arrow nocked to his half-drawn bow. It was Mara who finally shook him out of the momentary reverie. “Let’s go!” she hissed in his ear, yanking him back with a hand on his shoulder. Turning, Jaron saw that the others were already gone, heading back down the passage, the weak light from a miner’s lamp already growing dimmer as the freed slaves fled. With one last look at the bloody mess behind him, Jaron turned and fled after them. [/QUOTE]
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