“Yes, Vingaza,” Darren said as he approached.
“Don’t fire on the next volley. I want you ready with whatever you can make that will stop one of those boulders. All you need is something strong enough to change its direction—enough to roll it off the landing. It will take about half a minute to get the boulder from the entrance to the landing, so you have that much time. Can you do that?”
Darren at least had the sense to think before claiming he could. “Yes, I can do it.”
The orcs were heading back up the stairs. When the dwarves started firing again the wizards started their volley of magic. It was predictable. They did the same thing three times in a row now. The dwarves really had no defense against the magic, though, so there wasn’t much they could do but wait it out. But the orcs needed to make that landing soon. Fredin didn’t know much about magic, but even he knew that the wizards would not be able to keep this up forever.
Jabaal watched as the next column of orcs started up that last set of stairs. The dwarves knew what to expect now. They got better at returning fire each time, but it still wasn’t enough with the amount of magic that was being sent against the landing. When the dwarves started firing down onto the orcs, the balls of fire started flying through the air towards them; they had only a few seconds, and they all were aware of it now. The dwarves fired as fast as they could. The orcs coming up the stairs now had no shields. They were relying solely on the wizards to get them up the stairs. The dwarves would shoot down a hundred orcs before the magic came, then Grizzle would call out “Down!”
Jabaal got down below the wall. Rock fell down on them. The dwarves started peeking and firing. Jabaal was waiting for the call. Grizzle gave it. “Roll away! Roll! Roll away!”
The dwarves continued to fire over the wall in between balls of fire smashing into the wall and over their heads. Each volley had taken the life of at least two dwarves who had tried to continue shooting or peeked over the wall at just the wrong time. Jabaal heard the call as the boulder came up out of the tunnel. This one was bigger than the last. It was at least nine feet wide—nearly as wide as the stone entrance to Evermount.
“Push! Push! Push!”
You could only get so many dwarves behind the rock to push it. The dwarves must have been struggling more with this one, because the dwarf who was calling out the command wasn’t shouting insults this time. The rock rolled onto the landing just as the orcs had nearly gained it. The dwarves on the wall were firing along to hit the orcs at the top of the stairs. The third volley of the wizards had just finished. The dwarves were all standing and firing.
“Roll away!” The command came and the final push sent the stone rolling onto the stairs.
Vingaza watched as his last volley went flying up the mountain. Darren had been watching him. When he fired the last of the magic he looked at Darren and nodded. He watched as Darren lifted off the ground and went soaring through the air behind the last volley of fire.
Jabaal looked over the wall after the third volley of fire slammed into the mountain. When he did he saw a man in Black Dragon robes flying toward the landing. The man pointed his hands at the boulder rolling onto the stairs. The gust of wind that came from his hands threw half a dozen dwarves off the landing. It threw even more orcs off the steps, but it had given them the reprieve they would need to make the landing.
The wizard apparently wasn’t strong enough to fly back down the mountain because he dropped on the landing. Two crossbow bolts took him in the chest before his feet ever met stone. A third lodged in his neck just after he landed. The wizard fell to the ground, choking and gasping for breath as blood filled his throat and lungs.
“Fall back! Fall back now!” Grizzle commanded. The boulder had been diverted. The orcs were rushing onto the landing. They couldn’t be allowed to gain a foothold in Evermount. As the other dwarves fired their last bolts, Grizzle and Grindel moved to block the top of the stairs.
Jabaal took two running steps to the wall. He jumped up on top of it. He leapt from the wall yelling “Kalime Aquida!” as he fell into the midst of the orcs on the stairs.
Vingaza watched as his last volley of fire bombarded the landing. From this distance he could just see the boulder rolling out onto the landing. He watched Darren fly up toward the landing and saw the bodies going over the wall. Orcs were flying off the steps. Seconds later the boulder went rolling wide off the steps. Darren had been successful, but he had surely been killed. The fool hadn’t thought about how he was going to get back after expending that much energy, or he had thought he would travel back, but the magic of this place prevented that. He looked to the orc, who was watching in amazement as the tide finally turned.
“That was his special skill. Most wizards have something that they are very good at. Darren had somehow learned how to fly. I have never seen anyone who could come close to his ability.”
Fredin watched as the boulder went wide. The orcs were nearly to the landing. They were going to make it this time. They were too close. Any trap the dwarves set now would kill them, too. Then a blinding, blue light flashed in front of the landing. The light crashed down onto the stairs. Fredin looked to Vingaza. “Do they have a wizard?”
Vingaza continued looking up at the blue light moving up the stairs. “No, that is a paladin of Kalime. A very powerful one, to be so brilliant that we can see his faith from here.”
Jabaal drew both of his swords as he came down. He kicked one orc over the edge of the stairs as he landed. His left hand went up the stairs as his right went down. The blade in his left hand drove into the back and out the chest of the orc on the stairs above him. His right-hand blade cut through the neck of one orc and down through the shoulder and into the chest of a second. He spun in a circle, freeing his swords as he moved up the steps. He had leapt about thirty feet down the steps, and there were still roughly fifty feet between him and the landing. The orcs in front of him were making their way up the steps. He brought his left hand across the backs of the knees of the two orcs above him. As they fell, the sword in his right hand came down into each of their chests. He didn’t even slow down. He had to move faster then the orcs coming up behind him. Before those two orcs were ever down he was moving past them. Both his blades shot forward in a blur of blue light, driving through the backs of two more orcs and out their stomachs. The wounds would be painful but would not kill them instantly. He wanted orcs flailing around on the steps, slowing down the ones behind them. Jabaal launched himself off of the shoulder of an orc in front of him who had fallen to his knees. He landed with one foot on the shoulder of each of the orcs in front of him. His feet had barely made contact before he was running forwar,d his feet finding head and shoulders of the orcs as his blades came down, digging into the necks, shoulders, and chest before he was moving on to the next ones. He was about ten steps from the landing when the ones in front of them knocked out the orcs below him from under him. He lost his balance. He was falling toward the steps. He spun into a flip. He landed in a crouch with one knee and one foot on the steps. Grizzle was on the steps below him.
Grizzle watched as Jabaal went flying through the air in a flash of blue light and knew instantly what he was planning: create space for the others to get into the mountain. Well he wasn’t going to leave Jabaal outside. He turned to his father, the king, and for the first time in his life he told his king what to do. “Get them inside and be ready to raise the gate when we come through!”
He didn’t wait for a response. He just swung his hammer out in front of him, smashing into the first orc in front of him. That orc slammed into the one next to it. Both of them went flying over the edge. He let that momentum turn him. He spun in a circle, barely keeping his footing as he slid down the steps and then ran, his hammer spinning out in front of him. Orcs continued getting knocked over the edge. Then there were no more orcs to hold him up and he fell to the steps. He nearly rolled over the edge, but Jabaal’s hand caught hold of his armor under his arms and pulled him back to his f
eet. There were only ten steps between them and the orcs rushing up behind them. They sprinted up the steps.
Grindel stood inside the mouth of Evermount with his hand on the lever. His son had told him what to do. There hadn’t been time to argue; he simply had to hope that his son and his friend knew what they were doing. He saw Jabaal glowing in blue as he came running along the shoulders of orcs. Then he fell out of view. Grindel waited in anticipation. If orcs came onto that landing ahead of his son, he would have no choice but to raise this door. Then Grizzle and Jabaal burst across the landing.
Grindel pulled the lever down, and the five-foot-thick stone wall started rising. His son and his friend, shining in his blue light, leapt over the wall. The orcs came rushing onto the landing. The dwarves fired their crossbows over the rising door into the orcs. Then the door was closed. Evermount was sealed, and it was time for them to execute their contingency plan.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Another Goodbye
When Anwar, Rundo, and Grundel made it to the stable in the morning to get Bumbo, Captain Eric was waiting there, along with Master Gabriel and Master Gibbins.
Captain Eric was the first to speak. “Good morning. I am glad I caught you before you left. I wanted to thank you all for all your help. Anwar, I know you feel guilty. I could tell yesterday, and I see it in your eyes now. Evil men will do evil things. We cannot allow them to make us feel guilty. You are a powerful man with the ability to change the world. Because of that you will be a target. Evil men may harm or kill others to get to you. That does not make it your fault. Those men are evil and intent on hurting others. I am not saying you should not care. The fact that you care what happens to others is what will keep you who you are. If you ever stop caring about the cost of human life then the world will be in trouble. All I am saying is you can’t let evil men drag you down with their evil deeds. Thank you for coming and saving this city. You will always have a home here. Be safe, my friend.”
Anwar shook his hand. “Thank you. Take care of these people. They are going to make you their king. Remember the last king wasn’t always the evil man he became. Power and greed corrupted him. I hope that you will surround yourself with others who will help remind you of what is important. You are a good man. Kampar is lucky to have you.” Rundo and Grundel both shook his hand, and then the new king of Kampar was on his way back to the palace.
Master Gabriel gave Anwar a hug. “Anwar, thank you for coming when you did. I knew when you first came to me that you were special. What you have been through is unimaginable. I am sorry for everything you have had to endure in such a short amount of time. I can only hope that somewhere along the way you will be able to find some peace. Your experiences and abilities are far beyond my own. I don’t know how I could possibly help you any longer, but if there is ever anything I can do for you, you know where to find me. I am proud of you, Anwar.” Then Gabriel turned to Rundo and Grundel. “I want to thank you both for your help. Please watch out for him. He needs friends who love him. None of us can imagine what it is like to be him. Men have lost themselves to much less power. If you’re left alone with that much power, the only real option is to get lost in it. Don’t let him lose himself.”
Master Gibbins had tears in his eyes. “Anwar, I saw your love for Mariah. She was the closest thing to a daughter I ever had, and watching the two of you together was a wonderful experience. I know she is watching over you. I’m sure she is proud of you. Thank you for loving her. It is acceptable to mourn her passing, but remember she is at peace with Mishima now.” His last words barely made it out as he fought hard to keep from sobbing. He didn’t have it in him to say anything to Grundel or Rundo. He nodded to them as he passed them on his way back into the guild.
Master Gabriel watched as his old apprentice, his two friends, and that black-and-gray-striped pony disappeared as they traveled to wherever it was that Anwar had in his mind. He stood there for a while remembering their lessons. It was only a few years ago when he taught a younger, less broken Anwar how to travel for the first time. He remembered watching the boy in the training grounds transporting big rocks back and forth across the yard. He had been amazed at how quickly Anwar had been able to learn new magic. Now Anwar was grown, with power and experiences Gabriel couldn’t even imagine.
Anwar pictured the spot outside of Istan in his mind, the same place they had traveled to from Ambar. He didn’t want to travel straight to the base of Evermount and end up appearing in the middle of an army. Istan was only a couple hours away from the mountain. They could use that space to evaluate the situation. They weren’t sure what to expect, and it would be better to get a gauge of what was going on before they got there. It was possible that whatever Delvidge was sending against the dwarves had not even arrived.
They appeared in the field outside of Istan. Anwar looked back at the town that they had saved on the way to Evermount. It was nearly all rubble. There were a few houses still standing, but everything was pretty much ruined. When this was all over the people of Istan would have to completely rebuild. The town was just another of the many casualties of Delvidge’s madness. At least they had gotten the people out of there before it had happened.
Messah flew off of Rundo’s shoulder the instant they rematerialized. She knew this area well: she had spent a lot of time in the woods here when they had all been in Evermount.
As they started walking toward Evermount, Rundo had an idea. “Anwar, I could link with Messah. I could have her fly toward Evermount. Then I could get an idea of what is going on there. If I scout what’s ahead of us, then we would know what’s going on. If they need our help we could go to where we are needed. We would get there faster, and we wouldn’t be in danger of appearing in the midst of an enemy.”
Anwar thought about it for a second. It made sense. He could transport them to anywhere between here and Evermount. If the dwarves were in trouble it would be better to get there soon. He looked at his friend. “Go ahead and do it.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A Dwarf Offensive
Grizzle leapt onto and rolled over the five feet of stone that was the gate as it began to rise. The blue light to his left had cleared the gate already. He came to his feet inside the walls of Evermount, where his father wrapped his arms around him and squeezed. Then he put his hands on his shoulders and pushed him out to arms length.
Grizzle looked into his father’s eyes. He saw pride. His father was proud. “You ready for this, Da?”
Grindel Stoneheart smiled at his son. “If we are gonna die, we’re gonna take thousands of orcs with us.” He turned to the dwarves in the tunnel. “To the lost tunnel! There are orcs at our door. Let’s give them the welcome they deserve.”
Cheers went up and down the tunnel. It took nearly an hour before they made it down to the lost tunnel. There were close to a thousand dwarves lined up waiting in the tunnels by the time they made it to the exit.
Grindel Stoneheart pulled the lever that lifted the thousand-pound stone that lay on top of the tunnel entrance. An hour later a thousand dwarves stood at the edge of the woods, staring at the backs of tens of thousands of orcs. Grindel looked over at his son.
Grizzle nodded back to his father, then he threw his enchanted hammer into the crowd of orcs. It tumbled end over end, smashing into the heads and backs of a hundred orcs before he called it back to his hand.
Fredin was watching a huge steel battering ram being passed up the stairs. The entrance to Evermount was not going to give itself over to the orcs easily. Then he heard the screams and squeals of pain behind him. When he turned he saw a line of orcs get knocked down. He followed the line of dead and dying orcs back to the tree line. There were dwarves rushing out of those trees, attacking. Fredin was at the front of the army, a mile from where the attack was taking place. The fight would be well underway by the time he got there. He took off running. The Dungins were in the back, but now they were the ones fighting. His son’s tribe was back there with the Dungins. Sne
aky little pesky dwarves were going to ruin everything.
Just as Gorgon’s Hammer returned to his hand, Grizzle heard Jabaal shout, “Kalime Aquida!” There was a flash of blue light, and then Jabaal went charging into the orc army ahead of all of the dwarves. He watched as his friend brought his sword across the stomach of the first orc he reached, spilling his intestines out onto the grass. Then the paladin of Kalime went down to a knee, spinning between two orcs, his unimaginably fast blades cutting through their legs and bringing them to the ground, squealing as they bled to death there. Then his friend was gone, surrounded by enemies, just the way he liked it. Jabaal would have made a great dwarf.
Grizzle went charging into the orcs behind Jabaal. He swung his enchanted hammer from right to left, smashing the legs of the first orc. The one behind him brought his swords down on Grizzle’s head. He stepped to the side and the reverse swing of his hammer brought it up into the groin of the orc. He fell to his knees and Grizzle spun, the weight of the hammer giving energy to his momentum. When the hammer smashed into the orc’s head that was now on his knees, it went flying off his shoulders. He heard the cheers of the dwarves running up behind him to join in the fight. He waded into the wave of orcs in front of him. He planned to die today, but he would kill at least a hundred of these pig-faced monsters before he did.
Grindel Stoneheart charged after his son and Jabaal. The two of them had led the charge. The rest of the dwarves were around him trying to catch up. He had to admit he couldn’t think of a better way to motivate the dwarves than to have them see the way those two had just cut and smashed their way into the orc army. Grindel charged into the orc army. A wall of dwarves crashed into a wall of orcs. He had a double-bladed axe in his hand and ran straight at the orc in front of him. He rolled forward under the club that was coming across at his head. He heard it smash into one of the dwarves who had been beside him, but he couldn’t look back. This was war. They were all likely going to die. All they could hope was to give the rest of the dwarves of Evermount a chance.
Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen Page 15
