Continuing from Skirmish outside the temple

Here come the orcs

Rowe lurched forward towards the orcs. They were bigger, stronger, and better armed. Their armor shined a sick red glow with some enchantment. Their discipline looked good. These were no mere recruits. These were veterans.

* * *

Kol sat with Bearrach. "The plan was never going to last for long. But this is a fine collection of warriors. It's our best, and your best. And the gnolls, are always good in a fight."

"We are people of the Grey Mountains. Our gods are many. Vishda brings us the rains from the seas. Yarin keeps our people and herds plentiful. Kas gives us strength in battle." He pulled a pendant from under his shirt. It was a silver spiraling circle that looped back on itself. "But me? I carry a symbol of Ephemus, god of wisdom. Eternal enemy of the one who tarnishes this mountain."

* * *

Hauk looked to Rowe. "Eagle or Elephant?"

Rowe shook his head. "Wolf."

Hauk nodded, glancing at Ferryl. "Hadn't considered that. But good choice."

Ferryl looked confused.

Rowe said to Ferryl, "Our advantage is mobility. Surround them, and bait them. Don't attack right away. Get one to over commit, then swarm."

Ferryl grunted. "Can do wolf."

* * *

Raff saw the flurry up ahead. Then the puny man he was supposed to protect who was staring into a gem like nothing was happening.

"To the pit with you Dali." He ran into battle.

* * *

Ferryl plunged right at the orcs, axe swinging wildly and jaws snapping. The orc bounced it away with his kite shield and nearly slashed Ferryl's leg, but the gnoll proved too nimble.

Rowe parried with the ones in the middle not trying to attack, but only occupy their attention.

Hauk whirled around them, feigning throwing his hand axe more than once, but only drawing counter taunts from the large orcs. Kell took to Rowe's side, while Morphran and Aedhan curled around the read with Hauk. Soon the orcs formed a tight circle, so that the four of them had no flank.

* * *

This crystal had a strange structure to it. Though an Alaynian had originally made it - someone else had changed it recently. Normally crystals only had two or three triggers in it. This one had a fourth. It was unstable to put so much in a single crystal. The effects would begin to overlap.

The sky above was mostly grey, but there were a few spots of thinner clouds. He only needed to wait for the sun to peek through for a moment.

* * *

A few minutes of fighting had left them with little gained. Kell was bleeding from his face but insisted he was fine. Rowe had several small gashes on his forearms. Hauk had broken both of his hand axes on the orc armor and sweat was dripping from his brow. Ferryl and Raff were huffing and puffing too.

The orcs were very disciplined. They resisted the temptation to break ranks, and never got distracted enough for them to swarm.

Rowe called out. "So much for wolf." What would Kol do? "Elephant?"

Hauk looked at him like he was crazy. "A little late for that."

Kell said, "Monkey?"

Rowe looked to the temple. The way was clear. "Yea. Go for it."

Hauk and Kell both took off in a run to the temple entrance, with Morphran and Aedhan following. Arrows rained down on them from the temple, but none were effective. Hauk shouted back to the orcs as he made the doorway. "I'm in your base!" And then he stuck his tongue out at them, and said "phhhhhgfft!"

---

"Ephemus?" Bearrach stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I know little of him. One of the elder gods, nyet?" He nodded. "Am thinking there is much I could learn from your people, comrade. Perhaps... perhaps it is time that more of my tribe learn of the outside world. Perhaps brother Delnaroi has inspired me." He glanced sideways in the direction that the others had gone. "How do you think they're managing?"

***

As the two of them broke for the temple with Hauk and Kell, Aedhan gave a quick grin to Morphran. "Am thinking is not enough monkey in this Monkey."

"What..."

The question had barely begun to form before Aedhan nimbly scrambled atop one of the massive stone statues that marked the entry to the temple. From there, he made a leap to one of the gargoyles overhanging the upper edge, just below the roof, then swung his body upward to neatly land on top of the building.

"Ha! Now this is living, comrade!" He drew his bow and began to fire arrows down at the quartet of orcs, who were clearly incensed by the brazen assault.

Morphran simply shook his head, as Kell shot him a dumbfounded look. "Don't look at me. You were one saying monkey."

***

Two of the orcs were breaking off to repel the base invaders, while the remaining pair adopted a back-to-back stance and squared off against Rowe, Feryll, and Raff. The two gnolls circled warily, looking for an opening, battle-axes at the ready as their enemies' plate glimmered balefully.

"Why are we fighting like creatures we are not?" Raff snapped. "Elephant, wolf, monkey - we are not those. We are gnolls!"

"We are gnolls," Ferryll echoed, abruptly letting out a thunderous roar. He and Raff both attacked the same orc, Raff going low, Ferryll going high. Axe clashed with blade while the shield barely kept Raff at bay, but Ferryll pushed ahead and bit the creature on the face, finding an opening where the orcish helm failed to protect. That finally broke the orc's guard, and off-balance from the unexpected strike, its leg buckled as Raff tackled it, throwing his full weight behind a charge. The two gnolls bore the beast down, leaving Rowe one-on-one with the remaining orc.

***

"Der'mo!" There was nothing he could do to help Ferryll or Raff; the three of them were locked in a brutal struggle with the orc, biting and clawing like animals. Meanwhile, Aedhan appeared to have caught a dose of madness himself, having swung up on top of the temple to begin firing down... which made quite the distraction to aid the trio who had reached the temple doors. "Am going left, Buck - you take right. We need to give the Count an opening!"

Arrow after arrow plinked off the heavy mail, some embedding therein but none seeming to do any significant damage. At this point, the orc didn't even seem to be feeling them, all its attention still focused on Rowe.

"Am having idea, comrade!" Del carefully circled to behind the Count, as Buck kept trying to find weak points in the joints of the orcish armor. "Be ready to shut your eyes."

"Are you...." Then Buck saw Del grasp the white stone around his neck. "Well... shit." Refusing to be blinded a second time, Buck shielded his face with one arm, just in time for a blinding flash to emanate from Del's fist.

* * *

The four heavies had split into two pairs. Finally they'd gotten a break. Ferryl and Raff teamed up and overpowered one of them. Rowe fended off the other until a second fierce glow blinded the brutish orc. Rowe smashed his sword directly into the center of the chest plate, with a loud brittle snapping and a sickening red glow, the blade shattered in his hands. The orc's chest plate stopped glowing red, and with the orc still stunned, Rowe stepped in close and shoved the shard of his blade into the orc's throat. The orc clamped down on Rowe and began carving his bastard sword through Rowe's armor, but Ferryl chopped off the orc's arm, and Raff finished him off.

After nodding and grunting his appreciation, Rowe picked up the bastard sword for his own. He turned and headed for Dalivunne.

* * *

Buck watched as Aedhan dashed onto the roof. "Impressive." He said to Dell. "I think we should follow. Might have a shot at fish in the barrel up there."

Buck had an open shot at the two orcs running to the temple. The shot was good and true, but as the arrow closed in the armor glowed red and the arrow bent away harmlessly as if a great wind had blown it off course. "Dell! Did you see that?"

* * *

Kol said to his new friend, "The world is big. I've only seen a little bit of it. Adventurers rarely come to Headwaters. We do sometimes get a visitor in Hot Springs though. They say that great dragons fly over the white mountains to the South, and there's a island to the South where it never snows and elves still exist. I've even heard that dwarves still live in the depths of the Grey Mountains, under the frozen peaks." He paused. "Not always sure what to believe, but I can say that magic seems more powerful now than in the stories my grandfather told me."

* * *

Rowe made it to Dalivunne quickly. He crystal smith was holding two crystals up in the air, letting the sunlight hit the clear one, which was beaming out light into the red one. "What are you doing?"

"Harmonizing these crystals."

"What does that even mean?" Rowe scowled. "Nevermind. We've got three in the temple. We need that protection spell now."

"One... more... "

Rowe clenched his teeth impatiently.

"Almost..."

The hole in the sky opened up, and the light beam turned a bright yellow, pouring directly into the red crystal. The red crystal rapidly took on a vibrant ruby glow until it shined as bright as the setting sun.

"THERE."

He put one crystal into each hand, as Rowe and Dalivunne took off into a run at the temple, which now had a black haze wafting out of the door and roof.

* * *

Kell curled his nose. The air was dank and musty, mixed with the peculiar scent of goblin cooking. He broke left swinging his mighty hammer about with gusto. A slew of shrouded figures fled away from the slits in the wall where they'd just been watching their comrades get crushed in the field.

Kell was too slow to catch them, but he succeeded in flushing them out into the middle of the temple, where several met Hauk's whirling attack.

He only stopped when he heard the deliberate metal clang of boots coming into the temple. The two heavies had made it back inside.

He stepped back toward the entrance when a shroud of dark smoke began to pour out of the torches on the walls. He quickly lost sight of the heavies and Hauk. He called out, but he heard nothing at all.

Continues with Battle in the Temple