Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.39T)
Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.
It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.
Here is the first post from this series.
<>
The chorus of the latest siege of Greyrock drowned out any sound that Retaak and his band made as they crossed the northeastern section of Oystkivat to the base of the fortress. Retaak had no doubt that some spawn saw them, but as they were dressed as sappers still few would question their presence.
Up close the cliff and the walls of Greyrock itself loomed over them like an angry mountain. The din of battle was worse here as well, with the pounding of rocks and the screams of spawn falling to their death lashing them.
The hidden entrance that they sought was found in a park hidden under a verdat hill in a grove of tall trees with golden bark. Elves loved trees and Retaak could not help but admire their skills with growing things. The Fellspawn only cared for nature insofar as it could be exploited. The beauty of a tree had no utility to his culture, sadly.
“Here.”
Even knowing where the entrance was located, Retaak had trouble spotting it. Uyage found the tunnel entrance, cunningly lost amid some moss and grass, the edges barely visible. Moving a nearby stone caused the tunnel door to unlatch with a click. Hand on his falchion, Retaak waited for the others to gather and then pulled the tunnel door open. He half expected an ambush, but the tunnel was dark and empty, smelling of rock and damp.
“Let me lead,” said Uyage.
Retaak made to hand her the map that Ushochhushi had entrusted him with. She shook her head. “I don’t need it, I remember it all.”
“Do you remember where the first trap is?” asked Retaak.
“The first trap shown on the map is a spear activated by a pressure plate seven yards in,” said Uyage. “But since I have no idea where our patron got the map, or how old it is, I am not going to trust my life to it entirely.”
Retaak chuckled, “Wise.”
The crept into the dark, closing the tunnel behind them. Retaak found it too small to stand up straight, but he was well used to tunnels that were smaller than he was tall from a lifetime spent in the Fellspawn Warrens.
Uyage held up her hands and crept forward, examining the stone. The light was dim, but the orc woman could see well enough to find the pressure plate as it was marked on the map.
“Here it is,” she whispered. “Should I trip it?”
Retaak considered. There was a possibility that the traps were connected to some kind of alarm system, which might prompt the Elves to flood the passage if enough of them were tripped. On the other hand if they had to flee back down the tunnel in a hurry, having all of these traps in their way would be lethal…
“Can we disable the traps without springing them?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Uyage. “It will take time though. Some of the methods used to disable the raps will be less than perfectly effective.”
“I can help with that,” said Kuzat.
“As can I,” added Uyaashie, although with some hesitation. “Especially the wards.”
Retaak nodded. “Do it. I will mark them as well. It should be enough if we have to retreat quickly.”
“If,” snorted Ashoktyaar.
They continued up the tunnel.
<>
