Post by Monday
((
Storybook))
Funden collapsed backwards onto a bench and placed his hands over his face, hunching over. “Light.” He couldn’t get anything else out.
Khaz smacked him on the back of the head. “Get up, you dolt! Don’t just sit there and sob! Let’s go look for him!”
Funden turned an angry eye on Khaz, but stood. “What about Fjarn?” he asked.
Khaz hesitated, then said, “I’ll wait with him. Go!’
Funden turned, and without another word, ran from the keep. “He wasn’t too far away,” he muttered to himself, scanning the red, hard ground around him. He lifted his rifle and peered through the scope. “There,” he exclaimed. A dwarf, being held by a small, bony creature, was being dragged, “Towards th’ Dark Portal,” he breathed, then realized nobody else was with him.
Standing, Funden pulled two guns from his belt, and fired one into the air. A red flare hurled itself up several hundred feet, then exploded. Turning, Funden launched off another one, and true to his unerring aim, it exploded above the Dark Portal. He knew that would signal Khaz, and with that out of mind, Funden charged towards the Dark Portal, where the creature was dragging Thorgrim.
The Portal was empty, the soldiers there having cleared out when the demons pushed through. The creature entered the portal with Thorgrim, and there was a burst of green energy as they entered. Grimacing, Funden charged full out, and entered the portal himself. There was a feeling of deepest, darkest cold, as though passing through the void, and suddenly blistering heat assaulted his face as he took a deep breath of dry air. Screams and the clash of metal reverberated in the air around him.
The Stair of Destiny was in complete chaos.
The Legion had flooded the stairs. Fel Guards, Shivarra, imps, infernals and a myriad of other demons had forced their way past the blockade at the top of the stairs, which had been hastily reestablished at the foot of the portal.
The spindly creature, looking and moving somewhat like a giest, but not seeming to be undead, had pushed through the confused soldiers and vanished into the press of Legion soldiers. Grimacing, Funden followed.
The bayonet on the end of his gun flashed in the light from the too-close star and sliced through an imp in his way, scattering its pieces to the side, even as he lifted the rifle and pegged a shivarra in front of him in the forehead with a single shot, blowing her off her feet and into the dust below.
“Get back here with Thorgrim!” he roared, slapping aside another demon. They surged all around him, but were intent upon more dangerous targets, such as the wedge of paladins who had waded into the mess of demons. Light flared from one of them, and the demons cowered. The rest hacked into the dazed monsters with their heavy weapons, spilling burning demon blood onto the stones under their feet.
A Fel Guard stumbled into Funden’s path, and he kciked it aside, slicing down with his bayonet as he passed and cutting its throat open, then suddenly he was through. Below him, he spotted the spindly thing, sprinting straight at the path into the rest of Hellfire Peninsula. Only one thing stood between it, and the path, and between Funden and the spindly thing.
The Pit Commander.
It loomed over the stair, the sun framed behind it. It’s shadow fell across the ground below it, and over Funden, who had paused for only a moment in shock. “No wonder they got pushed back,” he gasped. The Pit Lord turned, and his gaze fell upon Funden, who stiffened.
“Ah, perhaps a bite to eat,” the Pit Lord rumbled, and leaned over the dwarf, who started sprinting away, zig zagging in hopes to dodge the weapon or hand of the demon. The Pit Lord laughed. “You think you can avoid me?” he asked, leaning over even more, and taking a step forward.
Funden felt around frantically, then grinned. “No!” he called back.
The Pit Lord stopped. “Then why are you grinning?” he asked, raising his polearm. “I don’t like that.” He took a swipe at the dwarf.
As the weapon descended, Funden raised the item in his hand - a flare gun. He pulled the trigger, and the flare shot from the barrel and exploded just in front of the Pit Commander, who reared back in surprise. His weapon wooshed over Funden’s head, and the dwarf ran around the Pit Commaner and into the Hellfire Peninsula proper.
The spindly thing had stopped to gloat over the body of the dwarf, but when it saw Funden coming, its face paled in horror. It pulled Thorgrim in front of it and raised the knife to his throat. “Don’t come any closer,” it hissed as Funden stopped and leveled his rifle. “Or I’ll kill the dwarf.”
Funden panted quietly, keeping the rifle trained, but was too afraid to shoot. “Why?” he asked. “Why take Thorgrim? Is this because o’ Vas’karaz?”
It shook its head. “You don’t understand. Vas’karaz is but a small part in this game, as are all of us standing here.”
“By small things are great things brought about,” Funden snarled back. “We can still do much.”
“What is your point?” the thing asked. “Never mind, I don’t care. Leave us, and you’ll never be bothered again by me or my compatriots.”
Funden shook his head in denial. “No, I will not leave Thorgrim to die at yer hand.” Thorgrim, at the edge of consciousness, smiled as he heard the words.
The thing sighed. “So be it,” he said. Two Fel Guards appeared on either side of the road. “Deal with the dwarf,” it said, turning to leave.
“Damn you!” Funden cursed. Now was not the time for distractions. “All th’ way to hell!”
The thing smiled as it walked away, and was still smiling then the round penetrated the back of its head and blew its brains onto the sand in front of it. The thing toppled to the side immediately.
All three, Funden and the two demons, turned to see Khaz standing on the crest of the hill, smoking rifle in hand. “Don’t just stand there!” he yelled.
Without missing a beat, Funden turned and fired three rounds, hitting the demon to his right three times. It jerked under the shots and fell backwards. He turned and stabbed his bayonet at the other, which parried the blade away from it with its sword. Khaz descended from behind and slashed at its knees with his sword, taking them out.
It fell to its knees and turned, slashing. Khaz ducked, and the blade passed over him. Funden stabbed forward with his bayonet, and pierced the muscle of its neck, severing its spine. It toppled bonelessly.
“Thank the’ Light yearrived in time,” Funden gasped, falling onto his bottom with a grunt and panting quietly. “I was afraid ye hadn’t seen me flare.”
Khaz blew the smoke away from his rifle and reloaded it with quick, practiced movements. “Nah, I saw it. I just had to make sure somebody was looking after Fjarn before I left. He was awake, but a little woozy. I wanted somebody there to make sure he didn’t try to leave. He should be fine in a few hours though.”
Funden exhaled quietly. “Thanks for tha’. I wouldn’t want to lose both o’ them.”
“I knew what you’d want me to do,” Khaz replied quietly, nodding. He shot a glance at the down demon. “What is that thing, anyways?”
Funden shook his head. “No idea. He mentioned somethin’ about Vas’karaz bein’ a small part in a big game, which doesn’t exactly ease me mind, if ye catch me drift.”
Khaz frowned. “Vas’karaz? Small part? What exists that a dreadlord is a small part of?”
“I dunno,” Funden said, almost to himself. “But I don’t want to find out.”