“Over there, to
the left,” Elias said, leading William as much as William was supporting him.
They ducked into an alcove, with Michael and Gustav not far behind.
Breathing
heavily, Gustav looked back out into the main tunnel. “I see nothing, we have a
moment.”
“William,
what happened over there?” Michael asked.
“Yes,
what happened to Ildun?” Elias asked again.
William,
sighing, relayed what had happened with the ambush group as he looked over
Elias’ leg. “… and Tresbos volunteered to leave, saying my magic would be more
important.”
“Considering
what you’re doing now, he was hardly wrong,” Gustav chimed in. Elias looked at
him sharply, though he couldn’t say why. He was almost offended by William’s
presence now. It had been a simple plan… lure undead over, turn them! How had
it gone so wrong?
Still,
he kept his mouth shut as William felt around his leg. He winced a few times at
the careful touching, and William took note every time. “Well?” Elias asked
eventually. “Can you heal it?”
“Yes,
I can,” William said, “but I’m wondering if it’s worth it.”
Elias’
blood boiled. “If it’s… worth it?!
Why, you knappy-haired-”
“None
of that,” Michael said in a fierce hiss. “William, what do you mean worth it?”
William’s
eyes had widened at Elias’ response, and now he frowned. “What I meant was that I don’t think it’s that
severe of an injury, and should be fine with some rest. The bone is undamaged,
and the skin isn’t pierced near as I can tell. Some bruising, perhaps, but…”
Elias
grunted. “Well… it certainly hurts.”
“You
took a rock to the back of the knee. That’s to be expected,” William said,
standing up.
“We
don’t exactly have time to rest, Will.” Michael said, glancing back down at
Elias. Elias, brow furrowed, worked on standing. He supposed it wasn’t hurting
as much now as it had been.
“I’m
well aware of that,” William said in a low tone. Looking at Elias, he said “I
am sorry; I would heal it under normal circumstance. But I dare not ask such
small favors of my God after having asked so many times already. The source of
my power may be infinite, but I must have respect for Him.”
“It’s
understandable” Gustav said, shocking Elias somewhat. Gustav rolled his eyes at
Elias. “Come now Elias, how many spells can we
cast before it starts to take a toll on us. I imagine it’s much the same
thing.”
Elias
grumbled under his breath, and tried to stretch the leg. He winced again, and
William sighed once more. Well, good,
Elias thought. He didn’t have any initial problems with William, but he had a
hard time not blaming him somewhat for this. What was the point of a man with
healing abilities if he didn’t use them?
“Can
you walk on it?” Michael asked.
Elias
tentatively put his weight onto the leg. He felt the strain on the joint, but
it wasn’t a level of pain he couldn’t ignore. “I’ll last.”
“Good.
Do you think you can scout for us a little? I’d rather not run us into an
ambush, and you can turn invisible.”
Frowning,
Elias glared at Gustav. “Why didn’t you learn
the invisibility spell, again?”
Gustav
smirked. “Lack of interest, and that I’m not an elf.”
Elias
sighed. Invisibility and other sorts of illusory magic came much easier to
elves than it did to humans. “I’ll take a look. Stay here and stay quiet.”
Elias
took a breath, closed his eyes, and quietly murmured the spell to himself. Then
he disappeared from view. He looked down at his own hand to check. Being
invisible was a strange sensation, in that he could still see himself, but not really his physical form. It was more he was
seeing an echo of himself.
Quietly,
he moved out of the alcove and into the hall proper. He leaned out first,
glancing to his left, but gave up on that quickly as it put undue stress on his
leg. He could certainly walk on it, but it’d be sore yet.
The
sounds of the orcs that had pursued them travelled along the caverns, but they
were nowhere near them now, as far as Elias could tell. Living up to their reputation of oafs and buffoons, he thought to
himself.
The
cave was dark, and steadily getting darker. Very few traces of daylight were
making their way in, and even his elven eyes were beginning to strain. He shook
his hand as it brushed by some cobwebs. For a place that he thought would be
well-traveled, at least by the forces fighting over it, it was certainly messy.
The
sounds of orcs got closer, and he ducked behind a stalagmite. He drew his
mashaat just in case. The orcs were walking out at a rather leisurely pace, and
as they got closer he smelled a strong mix of smoke and… cedar?
“I
think we shoulda kept going,” one of them said in orcish. It took Elias a
moment to switch gears and understand it.
“Shut
your mouth,” said one of them, and he saw the burnt coals at the end of some
sort of cigar. “We keep going, we get more problems. Don’t want any problems.”
He
was met with a dismissive growl from the other. What sounded like a new orc
piped in, saying “you wanna end up like Calurg? Not gonna see him again.
Because he went too deep.”
“We’re
fighting over the caves! Shouldn’t be afraid
of them.”
The
cigar-smoking one barked gutturally at both of them. “What’d I say about your
mouths? Ll’rip out yer tongues ya keep talking. Calurg’s an ambum, so shut your mouth. Elves wanna
run into the caves an’ get killed, let ‘em. They’ll get the spiders fat and
happy.”
Elias
eyes widened. That’s why there were so many webs, certainly. It also explained
why the orcs were generating so much smoke. Only one had it in his mouth like a
cigar, but all of them had something burning slowly. Spiders probably didn’t
like the smoke… or the prospect of fire.
As
for an ambum, if his orcish was
correct, it basically meant posthumous exile. The equivalent of declaring the
person unfit for the afterlife, or whatever it was the orcs believed in. Elias
waited until the orcs left his part of the tunnel, still bickering quietly,
before stepping out from behind the rock.
He
looked down the way they came. It was too dark to venture down alone, and
though they didn’t mention what kind of spiders were down there, he was
imagining they were monstrous cave spiders. His invisibility would do him
little good to something that hunted in absolute darkness anyways. He turned to
go back towards the others. Hopefully they’d be able to think of something.
“Alright,
so the cavern beyond has spiders… shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Michael
said matter-of-factly.
“The
biggest issue will be seeing them,” Elias said, “but after that, unless they
are very large, they should be easier
game than undead and orcs, at any rate.”
Gustav
didn’t raise the point, but internally he was screaming why are you being so calm about SPIDERS.
Gustav
would never say he was afraid of spiders. That was ridiculous. Especially the
small ones that could be anywhere at any time. He certainly didn’t think about
how they lay eggs in your mouth while you sleep. True, he’d read that was
nothing more than folktale. A myth. But he’d also read that, at one point,
people thought magic was nothing more than hogwash.
“I
think, perhaps to be safe, I should simply fill the corridors with fire,”
Gustav said calmly.
“…
Can’t you only cast that spell so much?”
Gustav
put a hand to his chest as if hurt. “Michael, I would gladly sacrifice a little
of my person well-being if it meant keeping my close friends safe.”
“I
don’t think we have much to worry about,” Michael said. “Most of us are wearing
enough armor to keep out spider fangs, and even if they do get us, I imagine
William can heal the wounds?” His tone rose at the end, changing to a question
as he looked at William.
“My
healing can mend torn flesh and broken bones, and can help to cure the sick.
Admittedly, though, I have little experience with poisons and venoms.”
“See?!”
Gustav said, gesturing towards William. “Certainly, fangs and diseases will not
stop us, but will you risk us dying of a spider’s toxic bite?”
Michael
cocked an eyebrow, and glanced over at Elias. Elias rolled his eyes. “He’s got
a thing about bugs.”
“I…
I do not have a thing about bugs!” Gustav
sputtered.
“Sssh!”
William said, putting a hand to Gustav’s shoulder.
Gustav shrugged it
off, taking a breath. “I’m just saying we shouldn’t take the risk of being
consumed by poisonous arachnids.”
“Concerns noted,”
Michael said bluntly, sighing. “That said, I’m more worried about things that
are more dangerous than spiders. Save
your magic, Gustav.”
Gustav’s hands
clasped together, his fingers intertwining. “But-”
Michael continued
speaking as if Gustav hadn’t begun, talking more on how to handle the threats
before them. That infuriated Gustav, but he kept quiet. William set a hand on
Gustav’s shoulder once more, but Gustav again shrugged it off, going towards
the edge of their resting place.
“Spiders,” he muttered. He knew horrid
things would lurk in this cave, but of all the horrid things… undead, orcs,
lizards, dragons even… why did it
have to be giant bugs? SPIDERS, of
all of them! They were the worst bugs.
A sudden bloom of
light caused Gustav to turn around, and he was met with William holding a now
lit torch. “What are you doing?”
“He did as I
asked, Gus,” Michael said evenly. “Not all of us can see in the dark, and had
you been listening,” he motioned to Elias, “it’s not as though the spiders need
light to come after us.”
Gustav’s fists
clenched. Part of him was now wondering how big of a mistake this all was.
Michael sighed again. “Gus, really, I know you don’t like this, but-”
“Let’s just get
moving!” Gustav hissed, spinning on his heel. He was not about to have some
fetid, emotional conversation in a dark dank tunnel.
After a few steps,
he remembered it was a dark dank tunnel filled with spiders, and looked back to
the others. “Well?! Someone in armor get up here, will you?”
The group arranged
itself with Elias and Michael in front of Gustav, and William behind him. Or at
the very least, he got in-between them in such a way. If they didn’t want to be
afra- CONCERNED about spiders, they could
be the ones who feel their bite. Not him.
William perfectly
understood Gustav’s reluctance, even if he didn’t share it. Not to the same
extent, at any rate. Still, walking through the pitch-black tunnels,
criss-crossed with webs, was a far different beast than any patrolling he’d
done outside of Yewmark.
“So far the smoke
seems to be working.” Elias’ voice was quiet, but seemed all the more louder
due to the relative silence of the dungeon. “Not as potent as what the orcs had, but it will serve.”
“I could make a
lot more smoke in a hurry, given half the chance,” Gustav grumbled. If William
didn’t hear Michael sigh, it was only because he heard his own far more
clearly.
Instead of giving
Gustav more attention (which, at this point, he felt was Gustav’s goal), he
instead brought the torch somewhat closer to the walls, looking at them. “How
deep do the castle’s dungeons go?” he wondered aloud.
“I’m not sure,”
Michael responded, glancing around. “I think most castles have a floor or two
below the surface, though some go further.”
“Was this made
after our alliance with the Dwarves?” Gustav asked. “If so, I’ve heard they
sometimes went a little crazy. Buggers love the underground, after all.”
“From what mixed
reports I’ve heard, more tunnels have been carved out below the original
dungeon,” Elias said. “Its part of the reason this place is so wanted by races
such as orcs… it’s both a fortress on the surface, and one of the few spots to
really get underground in.”
“How anyone could
live down here…” William wondered, glancing around the aged walls. As they went
on, though, the walls became covered more and more thickly with webbing.
“Hang on,” Elias
said, holding up a hand.
Michael stopped,
shifting to look at him. “What’s the matter?”
Elias hushed him,
saying “be still” quickly. William glanced around, holding up the torch.
“… Gus. Get a
fireball ready.”
“Elias?” Michael
asked, grabbing for his sword.
William could
almost hear Gustav grinning as he murmured the arcane words for the spell. As
Michael drew his sword, Elias said “I’ve been hearing them for a while, but
they’ve been keeping back. There was a surge of noise though, over…”
He took a few
steps forward, and at the edges of his vision William saw the hallway take a
sharp turn to the right.
“Here. Gus?”
“Gladly. Faerun!”
As Gustav rounded
the corner, William saw his hands light up briefly before a ball of fire
exploded from them, starting as a wispy contrail but expanding into a massive
starburst. An acrid scent reached his nose almost immediately, and he thought
he heard strange skittering screams.
“Another?” Gustav
asked, but Michael pulled him back.
“We’ll handle them
from here. Will, with me. Elias, ready yourself.”
William ran
forward, holding the torch in one hand and mace in the other. He got to
Michael’s side just as he was snapping his faceplate down. William had no such
luxuries, but was still far more covered than Elias or Gustav was. Chainmail
may not stop an assassin’s thrusting blade or a bolt of arcane lightning, nor
would it truly protect against the hammer blows of a blunt weapon. But it
should protect him enough against a spider’s fangs, no matter how large.
Sure enough, the
spiders weren’t long in rounding back on them. Gustav had stirred the nest it
seemed, and now they weren’t inclined to sit back and wait.
During his
monastery days, the largest spiders William had seen were breeds from Elven
lands that grew as large as a man’s hand. These creatures were far larger, each
about the size of a solid retrieving dog. They were deceptively quiet until
they were upon you, at which point their scurrying run was almost deafening.
Three slammed into
William all at once. His mace struck one of them, and he felt the sickening
crunch as iron met the relatively giving carapace. The other two latched onto
him, and he felt the very sudden pressure of their fangs attempting to sink in.
He felt an
opposing pressure on his shoulder, and out of the corner of his eye saw Elias’
quarterstaff slamming down on one of the creatures. One, two, three times. The
spider reared and then threw itself at Elias with a hiss, prompting a shout of
surprise from the elf.
“They jump! The
bloody things jump!” Michael yelled, making the same discovery independently.
William brought his torch down onto the back of the spider still clutching his
side, only to have another grab his shoulder. It moved onto his back, and aimed
to bite his neck.
William
cursed these wretched things, dropping his mace and reaching back, grabbing one
of the spider’s legs and pulling. There was some resistance, but he pulled the
spider off of him with a yank, and threw it nearby. He held his torch up high.
“They’re
everywhere!” Gustav shouted with dismay, and William could hardly blame him!
The tunnel facing them seemed alive with the arachnids, with a small pile of
dead and dying near the front.
A
stray chunk of some chitin-covered limb or another flew by him, hitting the
wall with a wet crack. Elias had pulled out his elven cleaver, and Michael’s
sword was covered in the bile-like fluid of the spiders.
“There’s
too many of them!” William yelled to Michael, grabbing his mace from the ground
as a spider jumped onto his back once more. This one began to crawl up and over
his head, on to his face, and William, despite himself, screamed. The one place
on his body that was exceptionally exposed was his face. He clawed at the
spider, once more dropping his weapon, but it actually bat his hands away as he
felt its fangs search for yielding flesh.
“William,
turn!” Barely comprehending the command, William spun around to face it. A
sudden hissing sound followed by a piercing of his cheek caused William to yell
out. He threw the spider off his face, throwing it to the ground and stomping
on it as it violently thrashed.
“It
bit me! The damned thing bit me!”
“Calm
down Will, that was-”
“I
can’t bloody see, Will!”
“Enough
of this, everyone down!”
It
took William a moment to realize what was happening before Gustav’s hands began
to glow orange. He threw himself down as a ball of fire filled the hallways
once more, an intense heat working its way through his armor.
Rising,
the embers of burning spiders were enough to see by. Michael frantically plucked
a few of those surviving off of him, crushing them under foot. William grabbed
for his face, fumbling for his cross as well. “I’ve been bit, I have to-”
Gustav
walked over and smacked the cross from his hand. “You haven’t been bit.” He
held up a short, thin, wickedly pointed blade, partially covered with the
spider’s yellowish fluid, but mixed with crimson blood at the tip. “I stabbed
the spider. Must’ve gone through to your face though.”
William
breathed a sigh of relief, and felt at the wound. It hurt, certainly, but it
wasn’t that bad. He’d not waste his healing magic on it, at any rate. “Is
anyone else hurt?”
“I
think I’m fine,” Elias said, patting himself over.
Michael
walked over, his plate-mail covered in the pieces of the spiders. “There were a
lot of them, but not enough to get through solid iron.” He looked sharply to
Gustav. “We could’ve-”
“No
you couldn’t have,” Gustav finished, pointing the stiletto at Michael’s face.
“There were too damn many Michael. Maybe they wouldn’t have gotten you, but
only so many went after you. The rest of us would’ve had our organs dissolved if I hadn’t done something.”
Michael
said nothing, merely looking around at the spider carcasses around them. Some
still twitched, while those that weren’t killed had clearly had enough, running
back down the tunnel.
Softly,
William asked “Elias, could you help me find the torch?”
“Yes,
of course,” Elias said, and the two stepped away from Michael and Gustav, who
began to argue with each other in harsh whispers.
“Not
the most agreeable, are they?” Elias said as they flipped over charred spiders.
“I
can’t speak for Gus, but Michael may be somewhat… used to his status.” Even
saying that hurt William somewhat. Michael didn’t frequently act like a noble,
but clearly expected things done his way.
William, more often that not, was willing to do that. Gustav, clearly, was not.
“I
fear the same of Gus, though in a different respect,” Elias said. William could
faintly see him scanning the dungeon floor, seeing with far better clarity than
he could.
“How
so?”
“Gus
was beginning to isolate himself rather steadily by the time I left the
Academy,” Elias said, reaching down and picking up the torch, handing it to
William. “I’m afraid that… that…” Elias looked back towards the tunnel, brow
furrowing.
“What’s
wrong?” William asked, following his gaze into the darkness.
“They’re…
they’re coming back?”
Elias’
stammered words snapped Michael out of his argument with Gustav. An argument he
knew was pointless, because Gustav was right. But something drove him forward
to argue the point anyways.
Up
until he heard they had bigger problems.
“Elias,
fall back! William, frontline with me again.”
“We’ve
no light to fight by, Mike!” William said even as he took position.
“Nor
do we have time to make light. So we’ll have to make due instead.”
“Why
are they coming back?” Elias said,
drawing his mashaat all the same.
Onward
the spider’s came, and Michael brought up his shield just in case they tried
jumping at his face once more. This time, though, was different. The spiders
came on, and though the one Michael skewered with his sword struggled against
him, the rest merely ran by them.
Michael
actually found himself somewhat disappointed. Which struck him as slightly
crazy, but didn’t keep the slight whine from his tone as he said “where are they going?”
“I’m
not sure,” Elias answered. Michael was somewhat irritated to how blind he felt
here. Elias could see in the dark and had better hearing than the rest of them,
so he was acting as their eyes and ears. Somehow, this made Michael feel more left in the dark.
“Wait,”
Elias said, “I hear something, but it’s just… a rumbling?”
William
jerked upright. “Michael, remember that time we saw a dozen bandits running
from the woods, not even caring that our patrol was right there?”
Michael
laughed slightly. “Yes, of course I do. They were running from a-” his heart
sank as he realized what William was talking about.
“From
what?” Gustav asked impatiently.
“A
great bear,” William finished.
“Or
in other words, a bigger monster than they were, and a bigger threat than us.
Stand ready men!”
Not
a moment later the far end of the tunnel shifted as something came down it.
Michael readied his sword and strained his eyes.
He
wasn’t sure whether it was Elias or Gustav who first yelled “it’s a snake!”
“Good gods, it’s
enormous!”
Although
it put out the smaller fires as it went, smothering them with its weight, he
got a good enough look at it to see they were right. He’d never seen a creature
so large in his life! It had to be as thick across as a man’s torso.
The
tunnel wasn’t horribly tall, perhaps a head or two higher than Michael. But the
creature had enough room to rear back and hiss at them. As it did, fluorescent
patterns of red flickered from its snout down its body.
“Shoot
it!” Michael yelled, looking back at the magic-users.
“Of
course, now you want me to-”
“Just
do it Gus!” Elias yelled, beginning to cast his own spell. Electricity crackled
around his body.
The
snake didn’t seem inclined to let that happen though, and dove. Michael moved
to get in the path of the creature, bringing his shield up. Elias yelped as
Michael pushed him out of the way, but then found the air expelled from his
lungs as the snake struck at him. He imagined it was the way a wooden door
would feel being struck by a battering ram.
A
ball of fire slammed into the serpent from the side, provoking a pained rasp
from the creature. It turned fluidly, aiming to go after Gustav, but William
ran to its head, preparing to slam his mace down upon its eye.
It
moved faster than one would expect, snapping its head back, allowing William to
stumble forward, and then snapping back forward, jaws open. It grasped onto
William’s arm, and he yelled out in pain. Michael forced himself onto his feet
and forward, roaring and driving his sword into the creature’s side.
It
didn’t let go, but instead thrashed at William. Its body seemed to work
independently of its head, and suddenly Michael found himself surrounded by the
scaled surface of the creature. The red patterns fluctuated across its surface,
flickering in a way Michael couldn’t stop looking at. He struggled to pull
himself out of the rising walls of scaly flesh, but felt his body growing numb,
his mind distant. The red patterns were moving faster and faster, and he swore they
were enveloping his vision, and he felt a small part of himself no longer
caring about the pressure…
Suddenly
his world was alive with pain, the red patterns stopping. He was thrown from
the creature by a violent seizure of the creature’s length, and fell to the
earth, his body spastic. It was as if his muscles were unable to figure out
what they were doing, instead firing off randomly, and his ears were ringing.
How
long did that go on? It felt like forever. His helmet was taken off, he felt
that, and then smack! Smack!
A hand fell across his face
twice, sharply. Michael took in a deep breath, and saw Elias hovering over him.
“Get up, damn you! I’ll apologize for electrocuting you later, get up!”
Michael
struggled to stand, but as soon as he did he fell forward. “I…” his tongue felt
heavy in his mouth. “Guh. I can’t.” That’s what he tried to say, but the words
barely came out, his lips as unwieldy as his tongue.
A
flash of fire filled the area with light, and Elias cursed. “William, tend to
him! I have to help Gus!” Elias ran off, leaving Michael to strain against the
ground.
“Michael?
Mike, look at me!”
Michael
struggled to turn his head towards William. “Good. I’m going to turn you over.
Try to help.”
Michael
faintly nodded, and pushed with one side. One of his legs kicked. He hadn’t
meant to do that. He coughed harshly, as the air seemed to leave his body with
no reason.
William
clutched his cross, and pressed a hand to Michael’s throat. He began a healing
prayer, and Michael closed his eyes. He tried to drown out the sounds of
fighting nearby, and tried to remember his scripture. Hadn’t William told him
that once? That a believer would be looked upon more kindly than a heretic by
the kindness of God?
A
warmth swelled in his body, and Michael gasped, feeling suddenly revived. He
jerked upright, feeling around for his sword. “My sword, my helmet, where are
they?”
“I’m
not sure,” William said, “are you okay?”
After
a moment, he realized his body still felt uncomfortably numb, but he’d have to
manage. “Well enough William, they need my help. My sword, damn it.”
“Here,
here!” William said, grabbing it and handing it to him. “I can’t see your
helmet though, or your shield.”
“No
matter!” Michael said, giving himself a moment to stand upright. He stumbled
forward slightly, but didn’t fall over. He gripped his sword and ran at the
creature as another bolt of lightning struck it from Elias, who was clinging to
the creature with his cleaver impaled into it.
Michael
roared as he clutched his sword with both hands, and brought the blade down on
the creature’s back. He stepped back as it thrashed, the fanged maw whipping
towards him, aiming to strike. Elias fell off the snake with a shout, and he
cried out loudly when he hit the ground.
Michael
thrust his sword into the creature’s face, glancing off the scales but
puncturing its eye. It tried to rear up and away, but Michael swung himself
onto it, pulling his sword as he did. It whipped its head back and forth under
him, but Michael’s hand firmly gripped the edge of one of its nostrils, digging
his fingers in as much as he could.
“Die
monster!” he roared as he jabbed his sword into its eye once more. Another
screeching hiss, this one even more painful sounding. He twisted the blade as
he withdrew it, and then getting as much leverage as he could, tried to plunge
the blade into the creature’s skull. It went in with a sickening crunch. The
creature thrashed wildly once more, throwing Michael off and into the wall.
He
grunted as he hit, a sharp pain blackening his vision for a moment before
sliding into a messy few strands of webbing. As his vision returned, he was
pleased to see the snake’s head slam into the stone floor. Its body twitched
violently a few more times before stilling completely. Michael breathed a few
exhausted breaths, silently. He’d done it. They were safe.
He
promptly passed out.
“No,
he’s out too,” Gustav said, using a thumb to slide Michael’s eye open. He felt
the back of his head, and felt it come away wet. “Damn, his head must’ve hit
the wall when he was thrown.”
“I
think Elias landed on his leg” William answered from further away. “He must
have passed out from the pain.”
Gustav
grunted as he tried to pull Michael over. Perhaps he wasn’t being as gentle as
he should be, but Michael was heavy even without
the metal armor, and Gustav not exceptionally strong.
“Can
you heal them?” Gustav asked, and then, after a moment, “can you heal
yourself?”
William
clutched at his bloodied arm. His lips drew back as he applied pressure to the
wounds. “I’m… not sure. I’ve done so much healing already. I think we may have
to rest some.”
Gustav
could hardly argue. He had expended much of his own magical energies, and now
that he was out of the thick of combat, his limbs felt heavy and weak. He sat
down with a heavy sigh. “Well… we survived.”
William
smiled. “Ha, that we have.”
The
scrape of stone. The snap of charred spider under foot. The distinctive sound
of a bowstring being pulled back. “Potez
hida! Al boste ukshrill!”
Gustav’s
head jerked around, and what had moments ago been empty cavern now had five or
so figures surrounding them. William made to move, but a polesword was thrust
near his throat. “Potez hida!”
“What
are they?” William hissed.
“I…
think they’re goblins,” Gustav said, holding up his hands.
William
looked at him as if he’d gone mad. “What are you doing?!”
“They
have us surrounded, Will! You’re injured, I’m out of magic, and we’re two down.
They aren’t killing us outright, and-”
“Utaan!” Gustav felt a foot slam into his
kidneys, forcing the air out of him.
He
held his gut for a moment, coughing. Wincing, he looked up at William. “I don’t
think they’ll give us much choice.”
The
blade pressed against William’s throat, and after a moment, he slowly brought
his hands up.
Gustav
cursed to himself silently. Not just that they were being captured, but that
Michael had been right, at least in one fashion.
It
would have been wiser to save his
magic for a situation like this.
