by Peter Last
In the next moment, time seemed to snap back to normal speed. The dwarves crashed into the defenders and drove them back a step or two, but they could not break through. Josiah parried a blow from an axe and swept his own blade across the shoulders of the enemy, cleaving his head from his body. Another dwarf took the dispatched one’s place, and when Josiah killed him, another took his place. Josiah couldn’t tell how long the encounter lasted, but no matter how many enemies he killed, more entered the alley and continued the attack. He knew that the end would come sooner or later. He was sure he would make one mistake that would allow an attacker to land a fatal blow, and that would be the end. The mistake came, and Josiah looked in shock as the axe of his opponent swung toward him in slow motion. He heard running feet behind him and was thrown out of the way just in time. He watched, unable to move, as the axe swung straight toward where he had been moments before, only now that space was occupied by Terza. He didn’t even have time to shout as he watched Terza try to block the blow. The axe knocked his sword to the side and slammed into his stomach, splitting his torso nearly in half.
Josiah stared as the dwarf jerked his axe from Terza and turned to face another enemy. He recovered himself and began to charge with a guttural roar, but before he had reached the dwarf, his enemy dropped with a knife in his neck. Timothy pushed in front of Josiah and blocked his charge.
“Don’t be stupid, Josiah,” he shouted over the clamor of battle. “The men need you to lead them, so don’t go off and get yourself killed. If you do, everyone here will probably die.” Timothy turned and took Josiah’s place in the line of defenders.
Josiah stooped over to pant for breath and for the first time realized how tired he was. He straightened up and looked around, taking in the situation. While the dwarves to the south had not made any headway at all, the dwarves to the north had killed at least half of the defenders and were steadily working their way forward. The cadets were fighting in an alley with nowhere to go but up the walls or through a door that had been nailed and locked shut. Without a second thought, Josiah launched himself at the door. He hit the solid wood and bounced off, rolling away. He rose to his feet and looked at the door again. As he allowed himself to relax, his mind slowly cleared, and he was able to think more clearly. He turned and grabbed the sleeve of a massive cadet who was not engaged in the fighting.
“Open that door!” he shouted. It took the cadet several seconds to comprehend who was ordering him around, but after he realized, he immediately went to work. He planted his shoulder on the door and pushed inward with all of his might. Nothing happened for several seconds, but then the door gave way a fraction of an inch. Josiah planted his hands on the door as well and began to push. The nails that were holding the door slowly slipped loose until they slid completely out of the wood, and the door swung open. Josiah and the cadet who had opened the door both tumbled inside, but were back on their feet in no time.
“Stay here and block the door against the enemy,” Josiah ordered. “I’m going to get the others in. Let the cadets pass, but stop the dwarves.”
Without waiting for an answer, Josiah ran out the door and commanded a retreat. Slowly the defenders pulled back into the open building until the dwarves were almost to the door. Lemin and Timothy stood side-by-side, blocking the doorway as the dwarves tried to force their way in.
“Pull back inside!” Josiah shouted at them, but they paid no attention. Josiah shrugged and motioned to the cadet who had opened the door. The cadet slid his sword into its scabbard and reached out and grabbed both Lemin and Timothy by their collars. With a snap of his wrists, he sent them flying into the building. He spun back to the door and slammed it shut just as the first dwarf was trying to enter. The door caught the body of the dwarf almost at the waist, preventing the door from closing. The cadet punched the dwarf in the face, dislodging his body from the door, and slammed the entrance shut.
“The bolts—now,” Josiah ordered uselessly. Already there were men sliding them into place. “Check the inside of the building,” Josiah said next. “Make sure all the doors are fastened and see what kind of a defense we have in this place. Also see if there is any way to get from here to any of the adjacent buildings.”
As Josiah’s cadets spread out to obey the command, Lemin began to count the cadets under his command. Only twenty-six remained, and of those, three were wounded. Of the twenty-three that were suitable for fighting, more than half were exhausted.
“Attention!” Lemin ordered, and the cadets assumed orderly ranks as quickly as possible. Senndra could tell that despite their speed, they were all too tired to face another attack. She could see Lemin’s eyes roaming over the cadets and knew that he would arrive at the same conclusion.
“I believe that, due to the state of our soldiers and the size of the building, it will be easier if we move to the second floor and defend it,” he said to Josiah.
“We’ll wait for the report from my men,” Josiah answered sharply. Senndra could see that he was panting hard from the recent fight.
“We must ascend at least to the second level,” Lemin argued. “There are dozens of ways to enter the first floor of this building, but probably only a handful of ways to reach the second floor; at any rate, being one level up will give our archers better range and line of sight.”
“I said that we wait until my men come back with a report!” Josiah shouted.
Lemin glanced at Senndra and raised an eyebrow. He motioned her over, and she crossed the room to where he stood.
“What was Josiah normally like in your dealings with him?” he asked.
“He was quite nice and polite,” she answered, “and not at all like he’s acting now."
"Or you were just too enamored with his good looks to notice that he was rude," Timothy joked from his position at the end of the ranks closest to Lemin. Senndra glared at him.
"He's probably just scared and doesn’t know how to react to what is happening around him," Lemin decided. "I mean, giving a cadet command of soldiers is fine until you encounter a battle. Then, those who were otherwise good leaders may fail miserably. I’ll give him until his men get back from their reconnaissance mission to make a decision. If at that point he makes a bad choice, I will pull rank and take command of his men.”
"How do you like that?" Timothy asked when Lemin left. "I knew that he had seen combat before, but who would have guessed that he was this good. I'll tell you what, if he ordered me to march off of a cliff, I believe that I'd do it."
"So, what about Josiah?" Senndra asked. "You think that he'll be able to pull it together?"
"Well, he has until his men get back," Timothy said. Both cadets jumped at a pounding on the door. “And then again, he may not have that much time.”
“Stations!” Lemin called from across the room. Immediately the cadets jumped to their feet and drew their swords. Lemin directed the freshest soldiers to the front of the group and took his place with them. Again the door was battered from the outside, and the cadets tensed. Every eye was on the door, and every nerve was on edge, so everyone jumped when Josiah shouted from the back of the room.
“Dwarves have breached the building!” he said. “Retreat to the second floor!”
“Commence retreat!” Lemin called, and the cadets under his command scurried to obey. Mustering their remaining energy, they ran through the confusing rooms of the building until they arrived at a staircase. From every direction, the sound of dwarves crashing through the rooms was heard, spurring the cadets to move faster. The stairs seemed to spiral upward forever, but Senndra finally reached the top and stopped to catch her breath. Lemin and his cadets stayed to defend the area while Josiah led his soldiers down a hall a short distance to barricade another set of stairs.
“Block the stairs,” Lemin ordered before she had time to inhale deeply even once. “Get whatever you can find—tables, chairs, whatever. I don’t care what you get as long as it will stop those infernal dwarves."
By this time, Sen
ndra could barely walk straight. Timothy, however, seemed to have an eternal supply of energy. He dashed into a room that was close by and returned with a chair in either hand. He carried them to the stairs, flung them down, and returned for two more. From down the stairs, Senndra could hear the sound of dwarf boots running upward. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she dashed into a room that was near the stairs. She spotted another cadet trying to single-handedly move a table and helped him carry it from the room. They dragged it to the top of the stairs and, with a mighty heave, threw it down. It slid down the stairs and passed out of sight, but Senndra could still hear it sliding. Finally she heard it slam into a wall followed by a dwarfish curse. Senndra could only imagine the damage the table had caused and went to grab a couple of chairs to add to it. She pulled them to the top of the stairs and flung them down. This time they hit other debris and came to a stop even before they had passed out of sight.
Several cadets had come across a rich supply of nice heavy objects like books, dishes, and other odds and ends, and were stacking them up by the stairs for use as weapons. Senndra only watched them for a split second before dashing to another room and grabbing a small end table. She hefted it onto her shoulder and carried it to the stairs. By this time, there was a visible barrier of chairs, tables, and other furniture extending up the stairs and into view. As Senndra watched, a dwarf struggled into view, walking on the furniture. Without thinking, Senndra heaved her table down the stairs at him. It connected solidly and threw the dwarf out of sight.
“Nice shot, Senndra,” Timothy said as he walked passed her and heaved two chairs down at the growing barrier. After him came Vladimir carrying several large quilts. He dropped them all at the top of the stairs and, one by one, unfolded them and threw them at the furniture.
“I found a large table,” he said, turning to Senndra and Timothy. “I think it’s big enough to cover the bottom half of this doorway.”
Timothy and Senndra followed Vladimir into a room where there was a long table that would seat at least twenty men. Together they struggled to drag the thing to the stairs, where they stood it on its side and blocked the bottom half of the doorway at the top of the stairs. Then they gathered with Lemin and the rest of their comrades behind the makeshift wall.
They didn’t have to wait long for a small group of dwarves to come into view. Immediately the cadets rained a barrage of heavy articles on them, and they retreated back down the stairs. Senndra saw that Vladimir was not throwing things like the rest of the cadets, but instead appeared to be deep in thought. Suddenly he rose to his feet and made his way to where Lemin peered over the upturned table.
“If I may have a minute, sir, I would like to talk to you,” he told Lemin. Lemin turned around and took in the cadet that stood before him. Apparently the intense look on Vladimir’s face convinced Lemin to grant the request.
“Certainly. And who am I speaking to, may I ask?”
“I am Cadet Vladimir Peterson. I was wondering what you intend to do now that we have successfully barricaded ourselves in?”
“Do we have to do anything?” Lemin asked. “It seems that we have the upper hand for the moment, and I think we will be able to hold them off for quite a while.”
“But in fact our position is not secure, sir,” Vladimir said. “All that has to happen is for the dwarves to get wise and destroy our barricade from the bottom. My guess is that if a few choice parts are taken out, it will all slide down the stairs. Even if it does stop the dwarves from getting up here, when they try to attack several times and are defeated they’ll withdraw.”
“Exactly. And we will have done what we intended,” Lemin said as he nodded.
“You didn’t let me finish, sir,” Vladimir said. “There is more than one way to skin a cat. They will realize that they can’t kill us by attacking, so they’ll set fire to the building and burn it down around us.”
Lemin stood silent for several moments as he thought. He paced back and forth in front of the stairs for some time before turning his attention back to Vladimir.
“And what would you have us do then?” he asked. His countenance was downcast, and it was apparent that he had already tried to formulate an excuse for why what Vladimir said was false and came up empty. “I don’t suppose you would have any brilliant ideas as to how to get out of here?”
“Well,” Vladimir began, “It occurred to me that the gaps between the buildings in this city are so narrow that the table we are using to block the stairwell would probably be able to serve as a bridge to another building. All we would have to do is find a balcony or window with a corresponding one on the adjacent building. Then we could lay the table across the gap.”
“Let me think about that for a while,” Lemin said and turned away from Vladimir.
“I would make a decision quickly,” Vladimir responded. Lemin turned around, and Vladimir motioned to the makeshift barricade that had been erected. Smoke was already beginning to drift up the stairwell.
“Go and find what you’re looking for,” Lemin said with some urgency in his voice. “I’ll send a message to Pondran and tell him what the situation is.”
Vladimir didn’t immediately begin his task, but first crossed to where Senndra was sitting against a wall, her legs pulled up and her head on her knees.
“Senndra,” Vladimir said, and Senndra slowly lifted her head. “I need your help in order to find a way out of here." Senndra raised her head, and Vladimir held her gaze for a moment before looking further down the hall.
“Timothy,” Vladimir called out, and Timothy turned toward him. Vladimir motioned for him to come over, and he did so immediately. When Timothy got close enough for his eyes to become visible, Senndra felt a feeling of security travel up her spine at the familiar oddity. Vladimir waited for Timothy to join them before beginning.
“Here’s the plan,” he said. “If we sit here, we’re going to get roasted by the fire the dwarves have started downstairs.” He glanced at the stairwell and saw that the amount of smoke had noticeably increased. “If we want to survive, we have to get out of here, and the only way to do that is to reach another building from this one. I’ve already talked to Lemin, and he approved my plan to find coinciding windows or balconies from this building to an adjacent one. Then we can bridge the gap with a table and cross to the other building. Basically what we need to do now is spread out and search for a pair of windows that will work. You two work together, and I’ll find another cadet to come with me.”
Vladimir rose to his feet and began to search for a willing helper. Timothy turned to look at Senndra. With a shrug of his shoulders, he reached out a hand to help her up. She gratefully took it and let him pull her to her feet. Timothy took the lead and moved down the hall. But before they had gone more than a couple of yards, Vladimir was back at their side, this time with another cadet.
“Lemin is moving the rest of the cadets to the other staircase that Pondran was defending, so if you find what you’re looking for, report to him there."
Vladimir was gone once again, so Timothy and Senndra began to quickly work their way down each hall, looking in every room along the perimeter of the building. There were a few windows that would work as a last resort, but none that were exceptionally suited to their purpose. As they neared the front of the building, they finally came upon a room with an escape route that would suit their needs perfectly. It had a balcony that was directly across from a balcony on the adjacent building. As soon as they had confirmed that the setup would work, they rushed back into the halls, making their way to where Josiah and Lemin had their soldiers. By this time, the fire was eating its way through several portions of the second floor, which they were forced to avoid. Because of this, it took them close to five minutes to reach the other soldiers. By this time, the fire was quite extensive, and Timothy had to shout to be heard above the sound.
“We found what we’re looking for,” he shouted at Lemin. “There’s a balcony that is directly across from one on the
adjacent building. If we tear a plank off of the table blocking the stairs, we can use it to bridge the gap.”
“Good,” Lemin shouted in reply. “Let’s get a plank and head there immediately.”
In no time Timothy and Senndra had torn a long plank loose and carried it between them as they headed back the way they had just come. Behind them, they could hear Lemin and Josiah ordering their soldiers, now a small group of just over sixty, to move. They quickly maneuvered their way through the building to the exit that Senndra and Timothy had found. Upon entering the room, they positioned the plank and stepped to the side and allowed the soldiers to file across. Near the end of the line, they met Lemin and Josiah.
“They’re making the move to the next building well, I guess,” Senndra said.
“At least the line keeps moving. The important thing is to make sure that the enemy doesn’t realize we are there once we get across.”
“Well, let’s go then,” Josiah said and started for the door. Lemin followed, but stopped and turned when neither Senndra nor Timothy followed him.
“You heard the man; let’s go,” Lemin said.
"Where's Vladimir?" Senndra asked suddenly.
Timothy cursed loudly. “He and his friend are still in the building somewhere! We need to find them before we get out of this death trap.”
“The ‘no man left behind’ idea, huh?” Lemin muttered. “Maybe I taught them a little too well.” In a louder voice he said, “Well, let’s get moving." In response to the looks on their faces he added, "What? You didn’t expect me not to come, did you? After all, three is safer than two.”
“We can’t spend time arguing, so I’ll agree,” Timothy said. “But if you’re coming, we need to get moving right now. This building isn’t going to last very much longer.”
“Josiah,” Lemin yelled through the door of the room with the balcony. “I’m leaving for the time being and putting you in charge of my troops.” He pulled his head out of the room. “Okay, let’s go.”
