Burning Road

The Cooking Pot- Part III

Mimi rolled, flipped, and landing on her feet with her daggers drawn. She was ready to find out just how tough Pan really was, but there was no sign of the shadow or DotPrince. She ran to the vent in time for it to pucker like an anus and seal shut. Stabbing the ground, she only managed to chip her blade.

Khouri had saved her and in an instant was gone. Mimi sheathed her weapon and began digging at the sphincter like a graveling searching a death mound for scraps. The puckered earth refused to give.

"Mimi, get your ass over here!" Golan shouted.

"Stop staring at my ass!" she shouted back.

That sixth sense which warned her of danger fired enough warning shots to destroy Fel Shadow. Miminda looked in the direction her companions were focused and what she saw sent a sharp pain to her heart. Three soul collectors were coming for them from The Cauldron's main entrance. Two were massive bundles of corded muscle and rage. The third flew on a pair of ragged wings. Each had a brimstone pitchfork and death in their eyes.

Golan threw his axe in an overhead toss end over end, striking the flying darkling in the wing and bringing it to the ground. The soul collector crashed in a heap, and his brethren charged past him. Like a man with a death wish, Golan ran right for the darklings. Mimi followed.

She'd seen the fatal touch of a collector firsthand, but didn't know what else to do. She couldn't run away, she'd come too far to do that.  Rag and Vhal were through the darklings and she intended to kick that door down and set the place on fire.

Cyril ran for one of the guard towers, firing arrows as fast as he could draw them. Golan ducked under the sweeping arc of a pitchfork as a trio of arrows punctured the owner's throat. The darkling dropped his weapon and clutched at the shafts jutting from his neck with one hand even as he tried to grab Mimi hot on the troll's heels.

She watched the collector yank the arrows free in a spray of black blood. The darkling roared and his muscles grew more muscles, doubling his mass. He reached for his weapon and an arrow pinned his hand to the ground. It only took the darkling a second to pull his hand free and run after Cyril, but in its rage the soul collector forgot about its pitchfork. Mimi was so engrossed in Cyril's fight that she was late to her own.

She threw herself into the dirt to avoid a brutal backhand aimed for her head. The pitchfork tines meant for her met the head of Golan's axe. Mimi scrambled to her feet and stabbed the darkling in the leg twice to get its attention. She rolled out of his reach and Golan used the distraction as an opportunity to open the collector's gut. The axe didn't bite deep enough to eviscerate, but it made the darkling backpedal a few steps. Mimi ran to Golan's side.

"What's the plan," Mimi asked.

"Get my axe," was the troll's response.  "What's your plan?"

She wanted to be angry, but she didn't really expect much from him in terms of strategy.

"Not getting hit seems to be the best idea at the moment."

"The watch master said the men were turning on each other," boomed the darkling, the timber of his voice jarring Mimi's bones. "He said nothing about creepers."

"Sounds like he left out the important parts, bad storytelling," Miminda quipped.

"A smart mouth goblin. Sounds cliche."  The soul collector's eyes rolled back and his stomach wound re-knit.

"Don't forget my troll manservant."

"Oh, I don't intend to. I'm going to eat him while you watch." The darkling salivated at the thought.

"Well I hope you choke on h-"

Mimi pushed off of Golan, throwing herself aside and moving him out of line with the soul collectors flying pitchfork. The soul collector was quick, barreling toward them before his weapon finished its flight. She hit the ground and sprang to her feet even as the darkling closed on Golan. The troll delivered a savage blow to the creature's shoulder but the creature wasn't even slowed by the attack.