Swamp of Death

CHAPTER 23

Two wide tunnels, extended out of the large cave, in which the human army walked in. Reluctantly, Thorin made a decision to split the troops. Saekul was already leading his soldiers into the right corridor, thus helping captain Lutir in his decision. They waved at each other, heading their separate ways. Long, winding, dark tunnel that Saekul went in with the soldiers from Vallsynk, widened into yet another cave. Elf stood there for a moment, watching this magnificent underground vale. It was illuminated with hundreds of large torches, throwing the light onto small huts made out of mud and rocks. Shallow creek flowed out from the hole in the wall, to the far right, dividing the cave almost in half.

Soldiers already entered the underground hall, when somewhere from the side, came several goblin shouts. Raising the alarm, hidden guards already discharged their bows, but missed. In their haste, they've sent their arrows a bit too short. In an instant, the whole cave got swarmed by armed goblins. Appearing from numerous gaps, lairs and cracks, they were ready to defend their homes to the death. Losing the advantage of surprise, compelled Saekul to change their entire approach.

"Charge towards the middle, and seize the line parallel to that stream." the elf issued an order "Marksmen! Deal with those goblin archers, before they manage to correct their aim."

Two armies charged at each other, shaking the ground underneath. Sound of them colliding, resembled a thunderstorm. Swinging left and right, Saekul cleared the way in front of him. His expertly crafted, carved scimitar, mowed through the goblins with ease. Soldiers followed his orders, pushing the goblin forces towards the opposite wall of the cave. Numerous bodies covered the ground behind them, but still, goblin numbers weren't decreasing. On the contrary, it seemed there were even more of them now.

Saekul stopped for a moment, trying to assess the situation, when, on the other side of the underground valley he spotted several openings from which even more goblins appeared.

"Hold the line behind the creek." the elf yelled waving his hand "Close the ranks, they are coming from all sides!"

Thunderous war cries from the hundreds of goblins shook the dome of the cave, just behind them. Before Saekul could even turn around, he knew they were surrounded. Caught by surprise, some of the soldiers broke the formation. But the elf would have none of it.

"Guard each other's backs." he said standing in line beside them "Shoot as many of these rats as you can, before they reach us."

The goblins eased off their charge, and were now moving slowly towards surrounded humans. They were closing in on them at the same time, from both of the sides, while taunting and cursing at them. As the space between them shrunk, so the goblin's bravery rose. Torrents of insults, followed with unnecessary thrashing and displaying of weapons, gave just enough time for marksmen to ready their crossbows. Sudden rain of bolts hit unsuspecting goblins, cutting almost entire two front rows. Their demeanor changed in an instant. Even the bravest of them started running headless, in an unavailing attempt to find some cover. But deadly marksmen bolts weren't missing.

After just a couple of volleys, the number of goblins was halved, giving Saekul an ideal opportunity to issue the order for attack. Unaccustomed to the ways of war, goblins seemed lost, not knowing where to go, or what to do. Poor, almost nonexistent leadership and organization, ultimately meant their downfall, as Vallsynk soldiers broke through them. In panic, goblins even tried to surrender, but in this battle, there was no room for mercy. Half an hour later, the final sounds of fighting died away, as the last group of goblins pushed to the far edge of the cave met their demise.

"Count the dead, we are marching on." Saekul said calmly, wiping the blood from his shiny blade.

Somewhat over three hundred dead goblins, against only a dozen of his men, were pleasing the elf. Those were acceptable losses. Not wasting any more time, he ordered them into the next tunnel. Leaving behind the cave full of goblin bodies, the Vallsynk army ventured deeper into Nual-Deu.