About Blood 38: Two Front War

38: Two Front War

Jaheira adjusted her scale mail armour and lead the way for the group towards the courtyard of the ancient fortress. Back and higher parts of the fortress were in disrepair and not used by any of the dog-like humanoids and the party managed to get a clear view of the proceedings.

About a hundred gnolls were celebrating around some fires. They were clearly in a good mood, congratulating each other and now and then fighting among each other. Smaller gnolls were running around the camp as well. From some of the bigger fires the smell of roasting meat reached the party’s hiding place. Minsc started shaking in rage.

“They…. They’ve started cooking. Dynaheir! Is Minsc too late! Minsc swears he’ll cut the gnolls to itty bitty little pieces if they cooked Minsc’s witch!” The hamster next to him squeaked but the ranger didn’t seem to hear it. His hands clenched the two handed sword.

“Do NOT act rashly!” Jaheira warned. “I have not seen anything that could be human, and they have just arrived. Let us search for a moment. If we play our hand to soon we may lose any chance she has.” As she spoke she and Khalid scanned the camp, their heat-sensitive eyes scanning the community. Minsc was silent but didn’t release his sword.

“Hey Minsc.” Imoen said, trying to get the big man’s thoughts away from worrying. “How come I don’t see any women? I mean, there’s plenty of children.”

Minsc kept his eyes on the gnolls but answered. “Gnoll men and women look all look alike. Old and weak gnolls look after little gnolls. Where is Minsc’s witch?” He almost yelled.

“I… I’ve got her. S…she’s in that pit over there. With t… the gnolls around it.” Khalid pointed. In one of the puts a woman was indeed sitting among the remains of previous prey and the animals that hadn’t been killed yet. She was clearly in poor condition, tired and covered with filth. Still there was pride, if not hope in her eyes, and she coolly ignored the gnolls at the top of the pit that were growling and barking insults at her, now and then tossing trash at her head.

“Then what are we sitting here for? Justice mustn’t sit and wait! Minsc’s witch is in danger.” Minsc said and started to move.

“No! There’s too many of them. We would be dead before we reached her. We must not spoil the element of surprise.” Jaheira said. “We wait.”

“Wait? Wait for what?” Minsc demanded. “The gnolls won’t leave.”

Jaheira nodded. “Worst case, we wait for them to drag her out. Gains us some time if she doesn’t have to climb out. In the meantime… pray for a miracle” Her face was grim as she turned to the ranger. “Do not worry. I will NOT back down.”

Khalid smiled and also looked at Minsc. “She never does.”

Minsc smiled too. “Minsc is sorry he is so impatient. You are all Great Heroes to Minsc and…” He looked down. One gnoll suddenly ran into the glow of the fire and barked some things. Another gnoll, taller and clearly stronger than the others growled some questions, then gave orders that were responded by cheers and howls as about twenty of the creatures grabbed their halberds and followed the leader to the path down the mountain.

“What did they say?” Imoen asked.

Minsc’s eyes lit up. “There are other people coming up the mountain to fight the gnolls! Mieliki and all gods that favour Heroes of Goodness have sent more Heroes to help!”

Jaheira frowned. “It IS just what we need. But what kind of fools would just charge up the main entrance? Young paladins on their first outing perhaps?”

…

“I’m warning the three of ye in advance. If I die here, I’m blasted well haunting the lot of ye.” Montaron complained. “Attacking head-on like bloody paladins with diaper rash.”

“Oh, quit complaining. We’ve got a nice place to receive them.” Talek leaned on the pole of the bridge. He was in position, at the far end, far enough that no gnoll would be able to cut down the bridge, but not far enough that they would be able to surround him. Viconia and Montaron were on the bridge, while the two mages were at the other side. Night had fallen completely, and Talek’s breath clouded in the nightly cold.

He made some slashes with his sword. “Come on! What’s keeping them? I wanna get it on already! Maybe we should see if we can find a…”

“We’ll wait right here.” Montaron interrupted him. “And what are ye so excited about? Those gnolls probably won’t get ye yer thrill.”

“Heh, never tried them.” Talek said. “Besides, a fight is a fight, and I haven’t been in a SERIOUS fight with an armed opponent since that Greywolf guy.”

“What ARE you talking about?” Edwin demanded. “What ‘thrill’ is this, and do I need to know.”

“The boy likes killing… a lot.” Montaron grinned unpleasantly at the conjurer.

Talek also smiled at Edwin. “It’s like a hot drink on a cold day all over your body. But only dwarfs and humans seem to do anything. Mainly humans really.” He chuckled. “So unless you want to do it yourself, I’d like the final cut at the witch.”

Edwin paused a second before answering and his voice was slightly higher than normal. “That… is agreeable. As long as I see the woman perish. Now look out. Those critters have managed to get their snouts all pointed in our direction.”

The twenty gnolls were indeed arriving, rushing down the mountain towards them. Talek grinned and readied his sword. Montaron loaded his crossbow, Viconia her sling and the wizards prepared their spells. Suddenly the leader of the gnolls barked loudly and lashed out with a whip. Yelping, the other gnolls stopped and formed a loose line, keeping their halberds in front of them, and then marched towards them as their leader whipped them on and growled.

“Oh no! It’s a giant hedgehog, coming to eat us all!” Xzar gibbered.

“They seem to have a competent leader.” Viconia said.

“Big bastard too isn’t he?” Talek said. “Heh, I bet I can take him down in a couple of seconds.”

“Ye’ll never find out.” Montaron said. After that a bolt whizzed past Talek and the large gnoll suddenly fell over, causing the gnolls to pause for a moment in confusion.

“Montaron!” Talek cried. “I wanted to take that one out.”

“Cry me a river, boy.” Montaron shrugged. “Wizard, I mean, necromancer, break them up!”

Xzar giggled and started casting. Just as the surviving gnolls started to move again a blue orb left his hand and landed in the middle of the group. The formation was broken as many of the humanoids barked in panic and fled. The remains of the reduced force hesitated again, wondering whether they should attack or pull back and wait for their comrades to shake off the spell.

“Come on, you big fleabags! Bring it ON!” Talek shouted, his stance showing that he was a hair away from charging the gnolls himself. “What are you waiting for? Or are you too damn scared without that big guy whipping your asses?”

The gnolls probably didn’t understand what he was saying, but the tone was clear. With angry growls they charged, every semblance of formation deserted. As they got closer, a stone from Viconia and a spell from Edwin wounded two of them. Talek’s smile grew only wider as they came within striking distance and the first blows were exchanged.

The combination of Talek’s skill and the sword’s magical nature surprised the gnolls. Two of them fell before all of them had reached him. About three gnolls stood around him, the rest waited behind them. The halberds were slow, difficult to use in the close quarters and Talek easily blocked their blows. With his free, gauntleted hand, Talek punched one gnoll in the sensitive nose, causing his defence to open and allowing Talek to deliver a killing blow. In the meantime the rest of the party picked off the gnolls that were standing farther away from him.

The battle lasted only a few minutes before Talek ran his last enemy through with a cry of victory. Not bothering to wipe his bloodstained sword he signalled the others to move on.

“Come on! Let’s see if there are any others between here and the witch. Those scared guys should start coming back now.” He ran forward, followed by the rest.

…

“NOW!” Jaheira called.

On her mark, the four rescuers jumped into action. Jaheira herself threw a handful of seed towards the largest group of armed gnolls. The seeds sprouted immediately on the barren stone ground, becoming vines that grabbed their limbs and held them on their place. Imoen loosed an arrow, hitting a gnoll guard in the stomach, so that that it fell down the ground crying out in pain. Khalid and Minsc rushed towards Dynaheir’s prison, cutting down anyone that stood in their way. The gnolls were caught completely by surprise. Most of them scattered for safety or looking for weapons, and the two fighters quickly reached Dynaheir.

“Dynaheir! Dynaheir!” The ranger called.

“Minsc? Thou… thou hast found me? I scarcely dared hope.” Came the reply from down the pit. Khalid battled a last gnoll as Minsc looked down the pit.

“Minsc came with other Heroes! We followed…”

“S…s… sorry, b…but…. W…we should. H… h… h…” Khalid stuttered. A few gnolls were running in their direction, while the others were held off by Jaheira and Imoen.

“Thou art right. Introductions shall have to wait until we leave this place.” The woman started climbing the stairs slowly. “However, I fear I shall be a burden to thee. I am… in a rather poor state.” She reached the top.

“What d…do you m… mean… Oh!” Khalid gasped. The wychalarn was in a sorry state indeed. Not only was she caked with filth, some of it fresh, but even with the woman’s dark skin and the stinking layer, it was clear she was covered in bruises and small untreated cuts of the gnoll’s nails. Her eyes, despite the proud demeanour were hollow from exhaustion. Her robe was in tatters. Khalid turned around, the gnolls were recovering from the shock and some were coming towards them.. “M…Minsc… we should r…retreat now to…”

“They… hurt Minsc’s witch…” The ranger brought out, gasping for breath. “Evil gnolls hurt Minsc’s witch…. Evil…. Hurt witch… Minsc will hurt evil…. SQUASH EVIL! RRAAAAAAARGHH” With a roar Minsc charged the nearest gnoll, cleanly decapitating it. Other gnolls quickly appeared out of the darkness, engaging Minsc with little success.

“M… Minsc… the plan!” Khalid called out.

“Nay, it can’t be helped.” Dynaheir shook her head. “Tis dangerous trying to rouse him from his berserker rage. It lasts but a short time though.”

“W…we have little time.” Khalid said. “C…come with me… quickly.” He led the woman away, dispatching an attacking gnoll. “JAHEIRA!”

Jaheira finished a fight with a gnoll that had managed to free itself from the vines and turned to Khalid. “Why are you still here? We must get out of here fast. My spell will not hold them for much longer. And why is Minsc looking for fights?”

“M… m… m…” Khalid started, his tongue refusing to work properly.

“Minsc is… beyond control at the moment, I regret to say. One should not go near him now, even to help.” Dynaheir helped him. “And I am barely able to walk, running… is not an option to me.”

“Blast it!” Jaheira cursed. “They will recover from their confusion and go in pursuit soon. If we cannot retreat we will have to win.” She pointed at Dynaheir. “You, go down. There are other people attacking down the main path. If they are victorious, they may help you and perhaps us. But be careful in case they were defeated. We will keep them occupied. Their best warriors have gone down, so we may send someone down if things get better here. Khalid, you cover her exit. GO!”

Dynaheir nodded and stammered away to the fortress entrance, helped by Khalid. Luckily most gnolls still loose in the courtyard were either fighting Minsc with little success or trapped in the vines.

Jaheira turned to Imoen. “Child, the gnolls within the vines. Target them!”

Imoen made a dirty face, but reluctantly started picking off the helpless gnolls among the vines, while Jaheira took her sling and also took down some of the creatures. Just as Khalid had escorted Dynaheir to the gates and went back to help the others, Minsc finished his last opponent and rushed towards the vine-strewn area, breaking some of the tendrils with his almost superhuman strength as he cut down one of the gnolls.

At that moment many of the gnolls that had gone to their weapons returned though. Imoen put away her bow and reached for her short sword, dodging a swipe from one of them and thrusting it in his chest before pulling back behind Khalid and Jaheira. The oncoming gnolls were for the most part poorly armed and weak. As Jaheira switched back to her quarterstaff the vines shrivelled up and died, releasing the gnoll guards and Minsc to move unobstructed by the spell. A few of the cowardly ones moved away from the maelstrom of destruction that was Minsc and headed to the entrance, clearly intent on pursuing the fleeing Wychalarn.

It didn’t escape Jaheira’s notice though. “Imoen… Dynaheir… We’ll keep them busy. Go save Dynaheir.”

Imoen nodded, fired one last arrow at a gnoll and ran down the path.

…

“And another one bites he dust!” Talek cheered as the last gnoll that had suffered Xzar’s spell fell with his lungs pierced. “So... how many more till we get to the main event?”

“Bah…” Edwin looked down contemptuously at a gnoll. “That was my last spell. These critters are unworthy targets of my arcane mastery. It’s like squashing arachnids with a catapult.”

Viconia smiled. “Now there’s a happy thought.”

“Hey, quiet for a second. I heard something.” Montaron said. Everyone went silent. From somewhere behind and below them came angry howls.

Edwin cursed in Thayvian. “Latecomers? Why does the entire world always conspire to keep me from greatness? (They will suffer the consequences, all of them)”

Viconia peered down into the darkness. “They are not many of them. And a lot of them are wounded. It seems their hunt wasn’t successful.”

Montaron scowled. “Don’t feel like getting them in our back while we’re fighting up there. Better take them out first.”

“No! No more delays. We have no time to waste. The witch’s death must be confirmed!” Edwin protested. “A handful of bloodied gnolls isn’t worth turning around for. Besides, the remaining creatures up there might get a second force if we give them time. We must press on.”

“Yeah, or some gnoll will panic and take my kill.” Talek said.

“When we get out of here, we’ll have to get past them anyway.” Montaron shook his head. “I’m taking those guys down now that they ain’t a threat.”

“Only a handful of them is coming up.” Viconia said. “Talek and Edwin could get them while we clear the way out.”

Montaron shrugged. “Fine, if they’re so damn impatient, let them. But don’t come complaining if you run into a second wave of gnolls and get slaughtered.”

“I won’t.” Talek grinned and took off, Edwin following him close.

…

Dynaheir was more stumbling than walking down the path, peering into the darkness. Finally she settled for hiding behind a rock, close to a steep and deep drop. If she kept walking, she might run into more rescuers, but also into more gnolls. She also looked back though, clearly dreading gnolls in pursuit as well. She heard footsteps approach and closed her eyes, quickly mouthing a small prayer.

“Wow, this running up the mountain in armour has gotta be good for my stamina. You doing okay?” One of the voices sounded. The only answers was heavy panting.

Dynaheir released her breath quietly and started to get up when she heard the voice again. “Hey, someone’s behind that rock.”

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, as there was no way she could have been seen in the darkness, Dynaheir left her hiding place. “Aye, and I must give you my gratitude for my…” her eyes found Edwin the same moment his found hers. “Ah… Thou art no rescuers then.” She backed away.

Talek grinned and advanced on her. “Not exactly, but I’m glad you made it out alive anyway.”

“Kill her. Now!” Edwin said.

“I know not what accusations that man hath made ‘gainst me. Thou must know that they are but lies. Whatever crime he may accuse me off, I am certain that he is the more likely to be guilty of them.” She said.

Talek shook his head and stepped closer. “Nope, didn’t make any accusations at all really.”

“Thou wouldst strike an innocent and unarmed person? I carry weapons in my belt nor spells in my head. Slaying me would be the foulest murder.” She tried.

“Yeah!” Talek grinned, then contemplated. “Well, if I had a sword I could give it to you for a nice fight, but you don’t look like you’re ready for a fight. Maybe my belt-knife…”

“Enough talk. Dispose of her.” Edwin called out.

“For what reason doth thou obey him? What has he offered you for my blood? I would know the price of my life.” She asked. She took another step back. Behind her there was a gaping void.

Talek grinned. “It was… euh… oh yeah… a reward beyond our imagination. Personally, I’m still hoping for a cool sword. Though this one is pretty good already.” He said casually.

Dynaheir gave a short chuckle, looking as noble as one could manage in her state. “Thou art careless in thy dealings, sword for hire. The Red Wizards of Thay are not known for honouring dealings made under strict contract, let alone one as vage as thine. I have no money, and my offer would be smaller, but I swear on my honour as Wychalarn I would see you get a fair amount of gold, once I am in a better state. The best thou can expect from him, is his knife in thy back.”

“Do not listen to her! She will say anything to get out of this. (No, not now! I’m so close.)” Edwin said, panic rising in his voice.

Talek’s face had darkened. “I’m not sure I see what you’re getting at.”

Dynaheir leaned against the rock. “I’m telling thee that thy companion hath never had any plan to reward thee. I’m telling thee thour art no only committing evil, but also foolishness, and that if thou wouldst stop this now, and bring that scion of enslaving Thay to justice, I would see thou would get a more secure reward.”

“I thought it was something like that.” Talek nodded. He rushed forward.

…

Imoen ran down the mountain as fast as she could, desperate to catch up to the gnolls. She had been pretty quick though, and when the gnolls had seen her they had turned around. There were only three of them. One of them she managed to shoot down, despite the darkness. The second one sliced at her clumsily with his halberd, buts she managed to slip between its legs and rise up behind him, planting her short sword in his back before he had the chance to recover.

The third one was more careful, the corpses of his two companions teaching him not to underestimate the small girl. He feinted a strike with his halberd, and then struck with the blunt side, hitting a surprised Imoen under the chin. Imoen was brought out of balance, and only narrowly escaped a strike that would have split her skull, but then stabbed the muscled arm of the humanoid and followed it up with a stab through its throat. She hit an artery and the blood showered over her as the beast crumpled, desperately clawing at the wound as the light faded out of its eyes.

Imoen took a few seconds to regain her bearings. “Ick, ick, ick. This is really, REALLY disgusting. Wounds never bled as much in the stories.” Her tone was cheerful, but there was a manic edge to it.

She ran forward again, passing the gnoll with an arrow through its stomach. It was still breathing, and trying to get the arrow out as he spoke what might have been insults or pleas to her.

“No, not like he stories at all.” Imoen said. She grabbed her shortsword and ended the gnolls suffering with a quick stab through the heart before going further.

Seconds later she arrived at the scene. Her face relaxed in relief when she saw Dynaheir, and greater relief when she saw there were humans near her. Relief turned to joy when she recognized Talek’s voice.

And then Talek rushed forward and made a downward sweep. Dynaheir let herself fall backwards when she saw it, causing the strike to make a relatively shallow cut between the woman’s breasts instead of splitting her skull. Dynaheir dropped without a cry. Imoen froze in place.

“Hm… It is done. One particulary annoying louse out of my beard.” Edwin said smugly.

“She ain’t dead yet. I would have known if she was dead. Lemme go check…”

Imoen fell down on her knees behind a rock, shaking her head. “No… no… no…” she whispered.

“Bah, and wait for more gnolls to arrive? She fell down a cliff heavily wounded. Nobody can surive that. Now let us leave this place. Unlike some people, I thirst for some poor substitute of civilization these areas offer.” Edwin said and turned back.

Talek followed him. “Bloody bitch. First trying to make me backstab you and then…” He stopped.

“What is it now? If you wish to amuse yourself by slaying more random gnolls, please curb your violent tendencies until later.”

“Nah, it’s nothing. Thought I heard something.” Talek turned away. “Let’s get outta here. I’m curious about the reward. I love surprises!”

Imoen cried softly.