Swamp of Death

CHAPTER 27

Followed by his soldiers, Thorin carefully set out through the underwater passage of a small, ice-cold lake. The cave was continuing forward, about twenty yards further, into a dark, narrow passage. The water was now up to their chests. They moved in a single file, touching the surrounding walls, trying to find a way out. All of their torches were wet, and unusable for quite some time. But they were still moving forward, not giving up. Finally, after almost half an hour, they saw a flickering of the light, at the end of the tunnel.

Small, chilly cavern, filled with numerous carts and boxes of food and drink appeared before them, as soon as they turned right, climbing out of the stream. Carved in the stone, a rough stairway led towards the passageway, closed with wooden doors. In only a couple of strong hits, they managed to topple this flimsy entrance, opening a way into a long corridor. To their left, the passage extended into a stairway, heading downwards. Austere, stagnant air coming from there made Thorin turn his head away, when all of the sudden, he heard the ever so quiet sounds of the battle.

"Move to the right." he whispered to Gelian.

Scout nodded, leading the men up the second stairway, a few feet away from the first one. Steep, tiresome climb lasted about five minutes, until they reached a large doorway. It was an entrance to the large chamber. Bright light shone on the other side of the hallway, forcing them to stop there for a couple of seconds, waiting for their captain to arrive. Sounds of fearsome fighting could now clearly be heard just around the corner. Thorin pushed through to the front, giving the signal to charge.

Followed by a loud scream, captain Lutir ran into a bright hall filled with countless stalactites, decorating the cave ceiling. Sudden battle-cry confused the goblins for a moment, giving the Vallsynk soldiers a chance to regroup. Cheerfully welcoming this much needed help, they responded with newly found hope. Much needed reinforcement lifted their spirits, helping them to continue with the fight. Saekul smiled, waving towards Thorin, but it was a short lived jubilation, once he realized that the commander Yelamir's army from Issurk, wasn't with him. They also must've split off, probably in an attempt to cover more ground. Loss of concentration was almost fatal, as the sharp, goblin's dagger thrusted from the left, into his gut.

He squeezed his teeth in pain, not saying a thing. Angry at himself, he retaliated by almost splitting the unfortunate goblin in half, with one vicious swing of his sharp scimitar. Another goblin jumped towards the elf, holding the dagger high above his head. Saekul could already feel the blade plunging into his heart, there was no time for him to defend. But the goblin never finished his leap, as a strong, energy charge struck his back, tossing him several yards away. Hard impact against the wall of the cave broke the goblin's neck. Dead in an instant, he fell to the ground like a sack of grain.

Saekul turned around, surprised to see Yelamir, Issurk's paladin. Without a word, paladin approached the elf, pulling the dagger from the wound. Briefly holding the palm of his hand over the stabbed spot, Yelamir said a couple of strange words. Painless healing lasted just for a few seconds, after which, paladin charged back into the battle, joining his soldiers.

He was wearing full plate armor, while wielding a longsword and a shield. Yelamir plowed through the goblins, managing to kill a couple of them with every swing he took. His strength and calmness impressed Saekul, as he watched with awe, the path of paladin's destruction. And by doing that, he unintentionally saved Yelamir's life.

Several goblins managed to sneak behind the paladin, but before they could use their sharp daggers, Saekul was on top of them. Tightly clasping the hilt of his scimitar, he lunged towards them. Fast as a wind, he was dealing almost invisible strikes, gracefully swirling his blade. Surprised, goblins were dead, long before they could even sense the danger, or see from where the attack was coming. And not a second late. They fell just behind Yelamir, who turned around in wonder, feeling a slight breeze on his neck. Saekul ran past him, winking, shaking the blood of scimitar, with a proficient move of his wrist. Yelamir smiled, realizing how soon was the elf able to return the favor.

In the meantime, Thorin led his group of soldiers, pushing the goblins towards the middle of the cave. Goblins found themselves suddenly and completely surrounded, and with a disappearing chance of escape. They weren't losing the desire to fight, but they had no chance against the experienced soldiers, who learned their trades by patrolling the swamps for years. Soon enough, the goblin army started to scatter. Desperate attempts to break through the wall of human soldiers were unsuccessful. Goblins suffered immense losses, their morale took the inevitable plunge for the worse.

Bloody battle in the royal hall lasted more than two hours, before the last goblin fell dead, sliced down by Saekul's sharp scimitar. Victorious cheer felt a bit hollow, and as soon it subsided, soldiers turned to taking care of their wounded and dead combatants.

"Their king is nowhere to be found." Saekul said after he finished checking the cave.

"That rat is probably scared hiding in some hole." Yelamir added, shaking the elf's hand "You fought well my friend."

"I owe that to you." Saekul took a bow.

"If you ladies are done kissing, it seems you are forgetting something." Thorin said "Your bosses will be displeased, if we are to head back without the cargo. I haven't seen those carts anywhere. You?"

"Oh yes, they are just down there, in one small cave." Yelamir retorted "We accidentally stumbled upon them, while looking for a way here."

"Well done." Captain Lutir said "Let us move then, I'd like to leave this hole as soon as possible."

Forty or so minutes later, tired soldiers were on their way out of the caves of Nual-Deu. Aghast looks from hundreds of females, followed their every move, as they begin to leave the city. Hidden in the holes, and in the walls, they weren't even daring to say anything. Humans were leaving. At least the killing was over. Once magnificent, an underground, goblin city, was now an atrocious, ghastly mass grave. A long cries of despair and suffering, spread over hills, as a dismal send off, once the human army took a step into a rocky pass. Dark clouds from the north were bringing rain, which will never wash away the blood spilled that night, in the dark tunnels, caverns and caves of the former goblin city.