The Tower battle

[Vagner]

Two hundred years had his clan patrolled the border, and on no account had anyone encountered the wicked ones, till tonight. ..

Kar came to a halt. Hennesey could sense Kar’s change in stance. The massive bear then took a few steps back. Then like he was on the hunt he took in deep breaths, bringing in all the scent he could.

Hennesey peered though the starlet timber. A dark figure flashed across the path not fifty paces ahead of them. They struck swiftly two from there left flank. Kar twisted to engage the attackers.

Warm spray jetted from Kar’s shoulder. Unexpectedly he reared up tossing Hennesey from his saddle. Kar smacked one of the attackers, throwing the man sized thing twenty feet or more. The other let out a hiss and ran into the darkness on all four followed by Kar in pursuit.

“Hold you daft bear!” he staggered to his feet and started to run after Kar but he was
gone. ”I should have taken him to get the chop!”

Gelded bears are a more minded mount but not much of a fighting sprit, and what ever angered Kar would perhaps be chased for miles.

Hennesey could hear whatever Kar threw into the bushes crawling around so he drew
his axe and a torch out of his pack. The flash of his sulfur sticks blinded is night vision, but he needed to get a look what he might be up against. The flames lit up a large area and he could see what Kar had stuck, it was man like and trying to crawl away. It stopped moving as the light was cast over it.

“Ugly ye are for sure. And foul smelling, it was a wonder Kar didn’t smell your carcass from a mile away.”

It was known as a Felkin, Harhooth slave spawn, and the creature was thin and had gray skin with black long stringy hair. The eyes were solid white with no apparent pupils. It had a large well armed mouth full of needle like teeth. Its nails must have been what pierced Kar’s hide. They were as long as fingers, and looked sharp.

Hennesey finished off the thing, and started to follow Kar’s trail.


Hennesey dropped his torch in the shin deep snow. It went out with a hiss. He thought he needed to see what type of fiends he might be up against. He hoped he hadn’t drawn unwanted attention to himself. Kar was going to have to wait.

Hennesey carefully placed his foot in Kar’s huge paw print. Kar’s great stride made it so he had to bounce from print to print. A large bush near where Kar first started to run off looked like a good spot to hang out till the coast was clear.

After a half-hour or so Hennesey decided nothing must have been alerted to his presence and continued following Kar’s winding route through the snow. Two-thirds a mile down the trail Hennesey could see an enormous dark figure walking towards him. To his relief it was Kar.

Hennesey was always looking for a good fight but Kar has been not only his sole companion on these trips but also a friend.

“You old bugger you!” Hennesey greeted his old friend, grabbing on to his huge muzzle and shaking it a bit.

Hennesey inspected Kar’s injuries. They seem to have clotted well and didn’t seem too deep.

“Hope you didn’t make a snack out of that thing you ran after.” said Hennesey, with a worried look on his face.”

Hennesey mounted up and decided to stop at the nearest lookout tower just a mile or so southwest. The Captain of the post could warn Hammerfrost with a fire flare if he thought it was necessary.

[Vagner]

The forest came to a clearing and there stood a dimly lit guard tower. It was twenty feet tall, square, and made with thick interlocking logs much like a log and mortared home of the human settlement at the foot of Mt Hammerfrost.

The guards were alert tonight. They spotted him only a few steps into the clearing.

“HOLD AND BE RECOGNIZED!” shouted a dwarf in the watchtower.

”It be Hennesey from the Brasstwister clan!” called back Hennesey.

Next, Hennesey knew, would come a challenge phrase with a key word that he was to match

with the password, disguised as a phrase.

“You know your fathers beard smells of garlic and mutton!” shouted the guard tower.

Garlic he knew was the challenge word. ‘Warts’ is what he needed to reply but he pondered on what would be witty. He thought for a moment and then shouted, “Your mother has warts that are as large as a spring hog!”

The captain of this tower Hennesey knew was Palins. He had gone to warrior school with him. Hennesey was happy to see him climb through the ranks so fast. He was a steadfast rock of a dwarf with some of the best buckler skills he had ever seen.

Palins burst out of the tower door with two mugs filled to the brim. “You old mountain goat what brings you out to my tower!” cheered Plains.

“Come to whip you and your beardless whelps into shape!” laughed Hennesey.

“Well get out of the cold and have a drink! And one of you lads put his mount up and feed him well. And he seems wounded too. Have a look at that also.” said Palins, looking worried at Kar’s wounds.

Palins handed Hennesey a tall mug as he came in, and kicked the door shut behind him. ”Well get warm and drink up, and then tell me what brings you all this way.
Already done with your run, or ya run into trouble?” asked Palins.

Hennesey finished the large mug off without talking a breath still standing just inside the entryway. “Me thinks the Harhooth are back.” said Hennesey, foam from his ale dripping down his long clay brown beard.

Palins was in the middle of a hardy drink and at hearing this uncontrollably sprayed his beverage out of his mouth and nose. Almost fearfully Palins asked, “What makes you thinks there back? What did you two run into out there?”

Hennesey described there encounter to Palins. The two then sat speechless at a large round table filled with food in the center of the room.

” Maybe they came from some old crypt deep in the forest and seen you as an easy meal.” said Palins hopefully. I am sending up a flare we better get someone forces out there quick, send up a flare marksmen!’ Palins barked to one of his troops. “Where there’s Felkin their devil lords are sure to follow.

“What ever they were they weren’t natural and they seemed …” Hennesey was interrupted. Someone was shouting from the tower deck. “Sir North towers fire flare has been sent up!”

The whole of the valley of Mt Hammerfrost was starting to light up. One by one towers were sending up there flares. Palins had counted eight tower flares before Hennesey saw them. A mass charged out of the woods.

Palins rang the alarm bell. He had about twenty dwarfs under his command, and from the looks of it he would be out numbered three to one. The Harhooth company stopped just outside of the towers missile range as the Dwarfs streamed out of the small barracks just behind the tower. Palins, it seemed, had trained his men well.

They moved to the bark of his orders like clockwork, “All riflemen to there position!” First squad, pikes. Get yer butts set for climbers! Second squad, prime the charges and bar the door!” he commanded. Palins then turned to Hennesey,” I better get into my armor and remind these blasted things what dwarf steel taste like!”

He and Hennesey ran to Palins room on the middle level of the tower. ”Now I have gotten a bit round about the belly over the past few years. I might need some help getting in me suit,” laughed Pains.

As a captain of Hammerfrost, Palins was given a rare full suit of Battle Master Armor with Elvin enchanted light weight steel and magical physical abilities. It was said a legion of them and fifty paladins had defeated the forces of Harhooth eighty thousand strong two hundred years ago. It was a brilliant counter attack executed by King Kunou the Brasstwister.

Hennesey was having trouble fitting Palins into his body armor, ”You better lay off the ale my friend or your going to split your plate in two.” he said, trying to strap Palins breastplate on. A few of the dwarf troops stopped just for a second to see there stern leader flop around attempting to slip his belly behind it protective shell.

“Bah! Blast them bony elf buffoons. They need to make this blasted armor with growing room!” growled Palins,

Palins was now looking through his spyglass atop the tower. The Harhooth forces were still holding in a field just out of the tree line only a hundred yards away. As a flare went up he also spotted movement in the forest.

“They’re more in the trees my friend. Here look.” said Palins, handing the spyglass to Hennesey.

Hennesey could make only a few out, but he was sure he saw at least one mounted. “I
think they might have a fallen with them. The mounted one must be, and something large is
moving down a hill further to the northeast.” said Hennesey.

Palins took back the glass and Hennesey pointed at the swaying treetops that he had spotted.

“Bah! It’s going to be a long night me friend.” Palins said, folding up his spyglass and slipping it into a pouch on one of his troops. He turned to one of his squad leaders at the tops of the stairs, who was informing him the perimeter charges were set, and ordered him to only fire them on his direct order no mater what.

“There coming!” yelled a pike man.

Hennesey could see indeed they were coming, and fast. Like a swarm of fire ants they came crawling over another some on all fours twisting and heaving, a silent mass of tainted flesh.

“Riflemen, fire!” shouted Palins, and the tower lit up with a roaring volley of musket fire. The wall of lead cut though the point of pulsating knot, but only a handful fell to the ground. Even with limbs blown off the fallen fiends pulled themselves in a frenzy to keep up with main group.

Within a minute they were at the base of the tower beating at the large reinforced oak door, and some using their beast-like claws had begun to climb the tower walls. The encircling swarm started to spread up the walls like vines. The long spears picked them off the walls but Palins knew they would soon be overrun.

“Below! Form a Phalanx on the stairs! Move! Move! Move!” shouted Palins. A dozen dwarfs holding pikes formed a porcupine like arch midway on the upper stairs. Riflemen kneeled at their feet ready to fire. The top of the tower was now filled with forty or more of the clawed fiends. They hit the wall of spears hard and flashes of gunfire lit up the dark stairway.

Palins could see the stairway was about to be overrun. He grabbed his battleaxe and with a tremendous yell he sprinted up stairs and burst though the crumbling formation. He cut though them in a bloody harvest of flesh and bone. He had hacked a path through them, dropping fifteen before they piled on him. Hennesey ran up the stair followed by several of Palins troops. It was a fight for there lives now. Blade and claw clashed atop the tower.

Hennesey killed the last of the ghouls and fell to his knees exhausted. Palins and four of his soldiers had survived the assault. Hennesey heard a cracking of branches and could see a huge figure coming out of the woods. They all stumbled over bodies to get to the towers edge and see what was coming there way.

It was not easy for the fallen elves to turn a giant, but could be done. The fallen commander looked up from his demonic steed at the lumbering soulless giant. “Go destroy, and gorge yourself on there carcasses.” hissed the gray skinned elf.

The giant charged. The ground thundered and a panic of doom filled the tower.

“Ready the charges,” shouted Palins to his bewildered sergeant. “Snap out of it! Prime
the charge or we all die now!” said Palins, jerking him to his feet.

The giant slammed into the tower throwing them all to floor. The tower shifted a bit but still held. A huge hand grabbed one of the dwarfs, which let out a horrifying scream as he neared the giants rotten puss filled mouth.

Hennesey picked up a musket and fired it, bursting the giants left eye. From its explosion a black and bloody jelly shot forth. The giant grabbed its eye, spit out a half chewed dwarf, and turned his attention to the musket fire. Palins could see Hennesey was in trouble.

Huge fists slammed down to each side of Hennesey. If not for his quick feet he would already be dead, but it was only a matter of time before his friend would die. Palins wasn’t about to see his friend turned into jam, and now rested his hope on the charges still being able to fire. All the sudden the giant let out a yell as something tore into his leg.

It was Kar. Standing 12 foot tall on two feet the bear was large for a grizzly, but even at this height he went only up to the giant knees.

Dropping to one knee as Kar ripped into his leg, a large flap of meat was all that was left of the giants shin. The giant grabbed onto Kar with both hands, and it cost him dearly. The grizzly ripped the flesh from his finger as he was lifted from the ground. The giant bit hard into Kar, the bears roars tuned into cries of pain. Hennesey found himself running.

Leaping off the edge of the tower wall on to the giant’s head, Hennesey drove his axe as hard as he could into the top of the giants’ skull. It sank deep. The giant slapped his head franticly as Hennesey continued hacking at his scalp. It then grabbed him with a crushing grip. Hennesey had his axe hand free and chopped at the giants hand like a madman. Hennesey heard one of bones in his pined arm snap. The pain was unbearable and his axe fell to the ground.

The shockwave from the blast knocked Palins to the floor and knocked the main support beam for the towers top floor lose. Palins dragged one of his troops down the stairs leading to the bottom floor. Debris and clouds of dust fell all around them.

Hennesey crawled to Kar. He could see his friends’ great chest rising and falling in a
labored breath. Blood was streaming from his mouth and there was a large tear on his rear leg.

Palins cleared the rocks and debris of himself. Most of the tower had fallen from the blast but it had done its job well. The giant laid there, torso cut in half. He could see Hennesey crawling to Kar. He had two men left and they were in no shape to fight the mass of ghouls and there fallen elf lord master.

Kar was going to be ok, Hennesey thought to himself. “Lay still my friend. Thank you for saving my life.” Kar was letting let out weak moans of pain. They soon turned into a low growl as the battalion of Harhooth gathered around them. Hennesey didn’t have the strength to stand. He just laid there half sitting up leaning on Kar’s arm. Kar wasn’t moving.

[Vagner]

I'll post the 2nd half of this short story in a few days.