The Towers

Copyright (C) 1997 by Charles Tryon


6: Battle

Sucaba led the charge up the stairs, angrily gesturing for the others to follow. GreyEagle, still frustrated that no one had answered her, charged up the stairs after Conrad. Trouble and the silent mage brought up the rear.
GreyEagle suddenly thought of the amulet as she ran, and clutched at it, wondering if any undead creatures might lurk ahead of them. Her heart chilled just thinking of them, but she was still mindful of Schimray's warning to her to not let the others know about it until necessary. For now, she left the amulet hidden beneath her tunic.
Sucaba was the first to reach the opening at the top of the stairs. He poked his head through to take a quick look around. Ducking back down he motioned to Ormec that something much larger awaited at the top for him. He then quickly scrambled through the opening with Ormec close at his heels. His dwarven war cry mixed with the earth-shattering howls let loose by the creatures in the room above. The battle had now begun in earnest.
Hearing the cries of battle above, Conrad scrambled through the opening, followed closely by GreyEagle. Their way was blocked by two immense ogres, standing more than twice Ormec's height. The first ogre was wielding a two-handed sword in one hand and a long sword in the other while the second was armed with an immense halberd. Another stairway began just to the right of where they had come up, leading to the next level, and two straw pallets lay on the floor by a makeshift altar which stood in one corner.
Ormec attacked ferociously in an attempt to push the ogres away from the opening a little to allow the others room to get through. One of the ogres already bore indications of the dwarf's rage, and its blood mingled with the dust on the floor. The ogres did not notice as GreyEagle and Conrad carefully maneuvered around behind the them, though one stopped momentarily and looked around as if he had heard something. GreyEagle froze in her tracks until the ogre turned its attention back to Ormec. His halberd flew over Ormec's head as the dwarf dove between the two of them. From behind, Ormec found an opening in the ogre's defense, and his axe bit into flesh and bone. With an angry howl the ogre swung back at Ormec, catching his shoulder with the tip of its long sword. Ormec cried out and stumbled, and the ogre tried to take advantage, bringing a second crushing blow down on the dwarf. Ormec brought up his shield just in time to deflect the blow harmlessly to one side. He was on his feet again in an instant, screaming is furry at the monster standing before him, but he was knocked off his feet once again as the ogre brought the immense two-handed sword crashing down on his shield. Ormec rolled quickly out of the way of the way as the great sword once again came crashing down.
Trouble and the silent mage suddenly realized that, with GreyEagle more than ten feet away, their invisibility spell was now gone, so they ducked back down from the opening to wait for a more opportune time to join in.
GreyEagle had not drawn her sword yet, but now that she was in position, she drew it out, and its light suddenly blazed in the dimly lit room. In a second, she was on the ogre, hoping to catch it by surprise, but just as she did, it dove at Ormec, and her swing went wide. She knew however, that her cover of invisibility was now gone, so she planted herself to wait for the counterattack. Conrad was more successful in his attack. His short sword bit deeply into the ogre, and it screamed its surprise and stumbled heavily against the wall.
GreyEagle's sword was almost blinding in this small area and quickly drew attention. The second ogre spun around to face her and drove at her with his halberd. GreyEagle was prepared for the attack, and neatly sidestepped the blow. In the confusion, Ormec struck at the ogre before him, and his axe once again hit. The ogre let out a final howl and stumbled towards Ormec. At the last moment, it lurched sideways, and with a mighty crash, fell to the floor before him.
Trouble's curiosity got the best of him, and he poked his head through to take stock of how the battle was going. The silent one, impatient to see what was going on, pushed him from behind, so he stepped up into the room, being careful to remain behind Ormec and out of range of the one ogre which still stood. The silent one quickly followed him through the opening into the room. From his vantage point at the back of the room, Sucaba noticed the noise of cheering coming from the top of the stairway to the next level. At the opening at the top of the stair, two orcs were angrily shouting and had grabbed short bows to use on the party from above. Squeezing by Conrad onto the stairs, he waved his hand towards the opening in the ceiling, trying to draw Trouble and the silent one's attention.
Oblivious to the danger from above, GreyEagle continued to attack the ogre, and her sword flashed out in the room. She tore at the ogre, spinning to avoid it's blow. This time, she was quicker, and for the first time, she drew blood. Howling with rage, the ogre swung its halberd wildly at her, but GreyEagle was again able to dive out of the way. Ormec tried to join in the attack, but his path was blocked by the immense body of the first ogre.
Seeing the orcs which Sucaba had been pointing to, Trouble pulled out his wand, but before he could act, he stopped dead in his tracks in response to a strange sound. From out of the mouth of the silent one came the sound of an incantation, spoken in a low but firm voice. With a final gesture and word, the spell was cast and the two orcs at the top of the stair quietly slumped and tumbled down the stairs. One fell off the stairs mid-way down and landed on his head on the floor. A pool of blood quickly spread around it. The other rolled most of the way down, falling off a few feet shy of the bottom. Shaking its head with a dazed look in its eyes for a moment, it tried to get its bearings. GreyEagle turned on the orc and struck it down it before it could gain its feet. With the two orcs out of his way, Sucaba charged up the stairs.
With three fighters now surrounding it, the remaining ogre howled and attacked like a cornered animal. Conrad swung wildly, but he missed and stumbled. Ormec stepped in to cover him, and with a mighty blow, struck the ogre again. The ogre stumbled and finally fell in a heap on the floor. Ormec leapt over the body of the slain orc which lay at the foot of the stairs and charged up the stairs after Sucaba.
At the top, another orc was desperately kicking three others lying slumped on the floor. Still invisible, Sucaba deftly sidestepped them and moved into the room. The sleeping orcs awakened just in time to see Ormec charging up the last few stairs, with GreyEagle halfway up, in hot pursuit and Conrad following as closely as his short legs would allow. Grabbing their weapons, the still groggy orcs quickly swarmed over Ormec as he burst through the opening.
As GreyEagle gained the last steps before the trapdoor, one of the orcs turned on her. Before she had a chance to bring her sword around, it struck at her, and its sword glanced off of her shoulder, gashing her in the side of the head. The blow staggered GreyEagle, and she fell heavily against the wall. She clenched her teeth as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. The gash bled profusely and clouded her vision. Angrily, she struck back at the orc and it slumped to the floor. She staggered back down the stairs a few steps, moving over to let Conrad past. Hardly able to see through the blood which now filled her eyes, she reached into her pack and somehow managed to find the magical potion of healing. She quickly cracked the vial open and drank it and splashed some on her face. She could feel the strength of the potion as it flowed through her, and while she was still covered with blood, the bleeding stopped and she felt strong enough to rejoin the fight.
She entered the room just in time to see the blue discharge of a spell flash from the tips of Sucaba's extended fingers, and a mass of sticky webbing suddenly appeared, covering what appeared to be about a dozen sleeping orcs. Three orcs still blocked their way, but even outnumbering Ormec three to one, it was clear that they would not stand long before the dwarf's intensity. They were already covered with blood and quickly gave way before him as he rained down blows on them. Conrad moved to stand just behind him, but the dwarf would not let him past.
"These are for sharpening my axe on!" he shouted gleefully. The orcs fought back wildly with their backs against the web which now covered most of the room. With no space to maneuver, Conrad stayed put. Trouble and the silent one both crouched on the stairs below, watching to make sure nothing caught up with them from behind. One orc let out a delighted shriek as it darted into an opening in Ormec's defense and left a long gash in his side. Ormec ignored the injury and swung back at the orc, cleaving it through the middle of its head.
Sucaba quickly reached the top of the stairs, but he encountered a stout wooden trapdoor there, and though he struggled to open it, he found that it would not budge.
"Go help Sucaba," Ormec yelled. "The rest of the orcs have already run up the stairs and closed themselves in up there. Cowards!" GreyEagle shook her head and charged up the stairs to help Sucaba.
The orcs continued to attack, swinging wildly at Ormec. One managed to slip past Ormec and fell at Conrad's feet. The gnome gave it a swift kick and it rolled through the opening on to the stairs, where Trouble and the silent one pushed it off to the floor below. Conrad laughed, and headed up the stairs to help Sucaba. Trouble and the silent one cautiously came into the room, carefully stepping around Ormec and followed Conrad up the stairs.
When GreyEagle reached Sucaba, she could hear the sounds of orcs screaming orders on the other side of the trapdoor. "I will cast a grease spell on the other side of the trapdoor," Sucaba said to her, "and then you and the silent mage can push again to see if you can open it. Trouble, you stand ready with a magic missile. GreyEagle, as soon as you are into the room, and I will cast a hypnotic pattern to tangle their feeble wits." Leaving no time for discussion or disagreement Sucaba began his spell.
Below, the last orc feigned and tried to dive through Ormec's defenses towards the stairs, but as it slipped by him, Ormec swung around and cleaved its head from its neck and sent it bouncing down through the opening. "Well now you've made it down the stairs you cowardly slime," he shouted after it, howling with laughter. After giving the orc body one last kick, he turned and quickly ran up the stairs to join the others.
Sucaba spat out the last syllable of his spell just as Ormec, cursing his short legs, pushed himself up the stairs. GreyEagle and the silent one put their shoulders to the trapdoor and it burst open with a crash. They could hear the screamed curses of an angry orc as it slid off the other side of the door. As soon as they were through the opening, a small ball of intense light burst from Trouble's hands and struck one of the orcs in the room above.
As GreyEagle charged in, she discovered to her dismay that the floor was still slick from Sucaba's spell, and she quickly fell to her knees. Sucaba saw her floundering and waved his hand to remove the spell. GreyEagle immediately regained her balance, but unfortunately so did the orcs who now surrounded her. At a shouted command from their leader, they hesitantly faced GreyEagle and attacked, blocking her way.
GreyEagle fell upon the orcs facing her, the sword blazing forth. Blood sprang from the neck of one as it slumped to the floor with a gurgle. Out of her throat, from deep within her, came a cry, almost inhuman in its pitch and intensity as she faced the rest of the orcs in the room, and her eyes burned with an intense fire.
She quickly scanned the room, taking in the situation in an instant. To the back of the room she could see the two orc captains hiding behind a half dozen or so bound prisoners with their blades at the prisoners' throats. She froze suddenly as she realized what their intent was - threatening to slay the prisoners if she didn't lay down her weapon. GreyEagle's heart tore within her. She wanted to save the prisoners, and was tempted to lay down her sword, but she realized that doing so would mean certain death for all of them. The only option was to attack as swiftly as she could. Her thoughts were interrupted as the orc rushed at her. Whipping her shield around, she deflected the orc's blow away, and spun around to return the attack.
The orcs fell backwards before the heat of GreyEagle's attack. Sucaba moved into the room, followed closely by the others. Standing next to her, his wand began to glow intensely, and suddenly orcs and prisoners alike stopped moving, with their mouths hanging open helplessly. One lone orc however, was not affected by the spell, and seeing that the attackers had no intention of surrender, it quickly sliced the throat of the prisoner it was holding. It quickly grabbed at another prisoner, this time snagging a teenage boy.
Heedless of GreyEagle's cries, Ormec let out a howl and ducked around her and Sucaba to charge across the room in a berserk rage at the orc holding the boy. With nowhere to turn, the orc slit the throat of the child and flung the body at Ormec as he came on. With a scream of anguish, GreyEagle slashed at the orc standing transfixed in front of her, dropping it to the floor. Ormec bore down on the orc captain and took a broad swing at it with his great axe. This orc was faster than the others though, and dodged away. Ormec's axe struck a glancing blow across the orc's helm and knocked it sprawling into the wall. The orc quickly found its footing again and ducked out of range of the dwarf, but black blood flowed from a ragged wound over its eye.
Conrad rushed into the room past GreyEagle, but in his hurry, he stumbled over the legs of one of the prisoners, and fell against the orc standing there, breaking the grip of the spell on it. Conrad clutched at his knee in pain and tried to roll away from the orc as it began to swing wildly at him. GreyEagle hesitated for a moment, unsure of which way to turn.
"Go help Conrad," Sucaba yelled as he dropped his arm, breaking his concentration on the spell. With a last glance at Ormec, GreyEagle leapt over the prisoners, screaming to draw the attention of the second orc captain away from Conrad as the gnome rolled and tried to scramble out of range.
The first orc spat curses at Ormec as it backed up against the wall. Suddenly, it rushed, swinging wildly. Ormec dodged the blows as the orc careened past, and struck his axe at its back. The orc stumbled as Ormec hit him, but quickly regained its feet. It spun around to face the dwarf again, spitting at his feet and glaring. Again it charged, screaming curses as it came, but slower this time. Ormec sidestepped the wildly swinging blade, and delivered another blow with his axe. Still, the orc did not fall, and instead lurched around to face him, panting heavily.
The second orc turned to face GreyEagle. Its eyes were a deep red, and it bore the blood red sign of an ugly disfigured eye on its chest. It sneered at her and an evil gurgle came from deep within its throat as it raised its blade to strike. GreyEagle gripped the hilt of her sword and the magic of the blade pulsed through her. The sword suddenly flashed and she leapt into the opening which the orc had left in its defenses, biting deeply into its one arm. The orc fell back in surprise, but did not fall. With a screech and a curse it lunged back at her and GreyEagle was barely able to swung around to dodge the blow.
They turned again to face each other, fire against fire, steel against steel, swaying back and forth, both looking for an opening. The orc's one arm draped uselessly at its side, but it gave no indication of giving up as the evil gurgle continued to issue from its throat. Her skin crept at the sound of its laugh.
Suddenly, the magic of the sword swept over her. The blade flashed brightly as it came around again, thrusting deeply into the orc, and dropping it to the floor. As the orc fell, GreyEagle too dropped to her knees, weary to the bone.
The orc facing Ormec looked over to where its companion lay in a heap on the floor and panic filled its eyes. It cried out, this time in fear, and again charged Ormec, swinging in a wild panic. Ormec stood his ground as the orc rushed forward and ducked neatly between its wild blows to bring down his axe one last time, this time splitting the orc's helm before it slumped to the floor.
An oppressive silence filled the room and GreyEagle hardly dared to breathe. The bodies of the orcs and the two slain prisoners lay scattered across the floor, and the other prisoners, now released from the effects of Sucaba's spell, were still too stunned to comprehend exactly what had happened. GreyEagle's and Ormec's eyes slowly met as they realized that they had vanquished their foe.
The others suddenly let out a cheer. GreyEagle felt no strength to cheer, and a deep emptiness filled her heart. The fire which had burned in her only moments before had suddenly gone out, and her shoulders ached. Surveying the carnage at her feet, she quietly reached down and ripped a scrap of material off of the dead orc to wipe her sword clean. She found no joy in killing, even of orcs and their ilk, and she was glad the battle was over.
She jerked her head up as a pitiful wail rose from one of the prisoners, a wail rising from the depths of despair. She spun around and once again saw the body of the young boy laying on the floor, its throat slit from ear to ear. The woman prisoner, still bound hand and foot, had somehow managed to work her way over to the body and had collapse over it, crying hysterically. Letting out an anguished cry herself, GreyEagle stumbled over to the boy's body, checking for any signs of life. She cursed that she had not been quick enough to save them. She quickly pulled out her dagger and cut the ropes which bound both the woman and the boy. Then she gently took the woman in her arms and, turning away from the others, slowly rocked her back and forth. GreyEagle wept quietly with her.
"Well, that was pretty good work," Conrad said as he looked around. He quickly sobered though when he saw GreyEagle. "Uh, you too GreyEagle," he said nervously. He looked around at the others again. "Let's make sure there aren't any other surprises before we let our guard down."
"Remember, we have seen no demon yet," Trouble interrupted as he scanned the room around them. "We would do well to search for any secret passages which may still exist." Sucaba nodded, and the two of them began to search the room.
Intent on the prisoners, GreyEagle did not hear Trouble's comment at first. However, after a few moments, she stopped, and her eyes stared off into space, trying to remember something.
"Schimray said the demon would not be here. It is at another tower..." Her voice trailed off.
"What was that?" Ormec asked.
"Schimray said that we would not find the demon here," she repeated.
"Perhaps, but there may be other surprises yet awaiting us," Sucaba grunted from where he was searching the body of one of the orc captains. "We are not yet finished. You may attend to these later when we have searched the tower," he said, pointing his chin at the prisoners. GreyEagle ignored Sucaba and returned her attention to the woman.
Trouble fidgeted. "How long will the web last which you used to covered those slime on the third floor? Do we need to go and deal with them before we spend a lot of time up here?"
"The web will last about an hour," Sucaba answered, "but I believe that all the orcs within are already dead. I found one to be lifeless, and cast the web over the lot, fearing that an evil cleric might try to animate the bodies and use them against us."
GreyEagle rose and cut the rest of the prisoners free while Sucaba and Trouble looked on, amused. She shot an angry scowl at them as she worked, wondering why no one else helped, yet somehow not surprised. They were more interested in treasure than people, she thought angrily. One of the prisoners, a little girl, ran over to the dead man and clutched at his arm, insisting through her tears that he get up and take her away from this awful place. One of the remaining men picked her up and held her in his arms, speaking softly to her, trying to explain that her daddy couldn't hear her any more. GreyEagle rose to her feet again and gently pulled the woman, drawing her away from the body of her son. All of the prisoners were naked and covered with bruises, and looked like they had not eaten in quite a while.
"Who are you and how did you come to be in this place," GreyEagle asked the older of the two men.
"We are miners," he replied. "We had made an encampment on the other side of the mountain when a party of orcs attacked us about a week ago. Nine of us were captured and brought here. I have no idea what became of the others in the camp." He paused for a moment and looked over at the woman nervously. He continued slowly. "Three of our group, including the girl's brother, were sacrificed and eaten in a ritual to the orc god, while we were forced to watch." His voice caught in his throat, and he swallowed hard before he could continue. "I have no doubt that we would have followed them shortly had you not come."
"Damn these orcs!" Ormec cursed. A sudden rage came over him and he swung his axe, chopping off the head of one of the dead orcs. "I would wipe you all out if I could!" He shook with fury and frustration.
"Save your effort for the live ones," Trouble scowled. "I am sure there will be plenty more."
"And I will not rest until I have slain the last one," Ormec fumed, but he slowly managed to bring himself under control.
"I am Mathur," the man said once Ormec had calmed down, "and this is Thos Hild." He looked over at the woman still whimpering in the corner of the room. "That is my sister Gloria, and her daughter Amelia."
The woman looked up with eyes glazed with fear. "You must take us out of this place!" she whispered hoarsely. "It reeks of evil." The others begged GreyEagle to take them outside, so she agreed and helped them slowly down the stairs, out of the tower and into the fresh air.
"Be careful that you do not go near the moat," she warned them when they reached the outer door. "I do not know what lives there, but I suspect that anyone who fell in would not return to the surface." She rummaged through her pack to see if she had anything to give them for food or water, She found little, but what she did find, she gave to them. "We do not have much here, but our encampment is not far away. You may be able to cover yourselves with rags from the slain orcs within the tower, and I may be able to find a little food which is still edible."
"We thank you for what you have already done," Mathur said, "for you have already saved us from certain death at the hands of the orcs. I will help you find food and blankets for the others." The two of them went back inside and managed to find enough to at least cover all of them, as well as a small bit of food which had not already gone rancid.
"Would you please stay with us," Gloria asked when they returned. She nervously scanned the area around the tower.
GreyEagle hesitated. "I wish that I could," she said, glancing back inside, "but I must return to help the others. There may be more dangers which yet lurk inside. When I am confident that we have finished our task, I will return." The girl began to cry again and Gloria picked her up, quietly reassuring her that they would be alright, but she still gave GreyEagle an anxious look. GreyEagle hated to leave them there like that, but she could see no alternative. They remained huddled together beneath the shadow of the tower as she turned to go.
Her thoughts turned to Schimray. How would he have reacted here? He too had little regard for people like these. They were worth little more than cattle to him - useful for some purposes, but mostly a bother. GreyEagle shook her head sadly. She had too many other things to think about to worry about Schimray now. That time would come though.
Next...

7 April, 1998