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  Jack killed the goblin under his foot with one blow of the pickaxe blade as the rest of the team climbed down from their hiding places in the trees.

  His men moved among the goblin bodies and silenced any goblin that remained alive. When they were done they collected their bolts and any serviceable weapons that they could find before disappearing into the forest.

  Jack fingered the smooth skin on his chin as he surveyed the goblin bodies. He had been forced to shave his beard off to look like a goblin. Isabella would never let up when she saw his new clean shaven look, he could picture her rolling on the floor laughing at him and smiled despite the loss of his prized curls.

  Without looking back at the massacre he swung his axe effortlessly onto his shoulder and followed his men into the forest.

  CHAPTER 38

  Dagar

  As Dagar had feared the wardgate protecting the Fire Gardens entrance had been destroyed but the volcanic rivers that surrounded the cavern and provided the heat for the plants to survive prevented access from any other direction. The cavern was an ovoid shaped giant crystal the centre of which had been carefully mined out to provide a warm moist environment to grow plants that required no light whatsoever, only heat.

  Day and night the soldiers defended the entrance, rotating the defenders around the clock to keep fatigue from setting in. Many were snatched alive or dead from their places at the entrance never to return. The dwellers had been a nuisance when the dwarves were fully armoured and had rune weapons to wield, but with only sparring and improvised weapons they could only beat back the dwellers with determination and team work.

  Dagar was helping to tend the wounded when he came across a dwarf babbling about a rune gate that still functioned, the gate to the armoury. Dagar grabbed him in his haste to find out more. The dwarf said that he had seen a squadron of dwarves cut off by a mass of dwellers. They had been forced to enter the armoury and shut the doors behind them.

  Dagar’s mind worked quickly. Two days ago the wards were functioning, if the wardgate held then the armoury and all it contained was there for the taking including several wardgates.

  He ran to find his brother knowing how foolish going to his father would be. On principle his father did almost everything to oppose Dagar. Giving his father advice was a sure way never to get those weapons for his people.

  CHAPTER 39

  Gabriel

  At the perimeter of Central the goblin warriors waited impatiently as the shamans discussed the absence of the two clans.

  Gabriel watched them gather and made his way towards them. He had prepared for the occasion by painting his body white, keeping to the shadows and wearing a black cloak that concealed him completely in the darkness. His sudden appearance right next to the shamans startled them.

  From a distance he appeared as if from nowhere, a white ghost carrying a staff like a shaman. The goblin warriors were shaken and the shamans tried to strengthen them with a show of force.

  They began to wave their staffs above their heads, gathering power to unleash on him.

  Gabriel raised his staff and shouted, “Begone!”

  He closed his eyes and turned his head away from the staff as he slammed it into the ground. Blinding light erupted from the end of the staff. Gabriel wrapped the cloak around him and ran back towards the forest, leaving the staff burning furiously behind him.

  The shamans, blinded by the light, lost control of the power they had summoned. Green acid collapsed on them, lightning spread randomly around the group, a fireball hit a shaman’s back setting him ablaze. The chaos amongst the shamans spread to the goblin warriors and they fled into the forest.

  The warriors set off traps that had been laid for them by Gabriel’s team as they ran through the trees in terror. Their howls of pain drove the rest into even greater panic.

  The surviving shamans, angered by the disruption of their battle plans, spotted Gabriel and chased him through the forest. He led them to a clearing and waited for them in the centre. Sensing a trap the shamans moved around the edges of the clearing smashing through the dense foliage until he was surrounded.

  Finally the head shaman stepped forward and moved to confront Gabriel face to face. “Now we have you.”

  Gabriel crossed his arms and said, “You and what army?”

  The head shaman looked around and could see none of the other shamans in sight.

  A sound from Gabriel made the head shaman swing round but before he could raise his shadow shield Gabriel had drawn a knife from his sleeve and slid it into his throat.

  The head shaman collapsed to the ground and Gabriel ordered, “Gather the bodies, we have more work to do.” The edge of the clearing came alive as his men began dragging the shaman bodies towards Central.

  CHAPTER 40

  Tagier

  The elven expedition travelled through the valleys of the Dragon Spine mountains and headed up the steep cliffs whenever Laisarus found goblin tracks. They spent nights huddled together against the cold autumn winds howling through the summits, not daring to light a fire. While during the day the sun beat down on them relentlessly.

  Tagier approached Laisarus one morning away from the others to talk. “How much of these mountains do you know, Laisarus?” he asked feeling the cold of the night beginning to recede.

  “I’ve never been more than a few days into these heights,” he confessed as he honed the blade of his knife.

  “Something’s wrong isn’t it?” asked Tagier having sensed a change in Laisarus a few days ago.

  Laisarus hesitated a moment then decided to tell the truth, “There has been an attack on the dwarves. I felt it and received confirmation a while ago. They were devastated by the attack and most of their ward gates have been destroyed. I fear that whatever evil those gates held in check is now loose in Stronghold.”

  Tagier heard a slither of rock in the distance and tensed as his eyes scanned the area.

  “That was a rock lizard,” said Laisarus without lifting his gaze.

  Tagier studied Laisarus a moment before asking, “How do you know?”

  “I recognized the sound and felt its life force.” He slipped his knife into its sheath and checked his stock of arrows for damage.

  “You sense like the priests do?” asked Tagier.

  “All elves can. It only requires practice and dedication like your fighting skill and some have more natural talent than others.”

  “You’ve been very cautious lately. Whatever happened to the dwarves couldn’t possibly have repercussions here so soon, so what is it?” he asked.

  “The attack on the dwarves has resulted in a shift of power. Their god has been weakened by the weakness of his people. The Allfather’s protection has shifted away from the valleys outside Stronghold and is concentrated on his people who are fighting for their lives at the moment. Every valley from here to Stronghold is now open to the goblin god’s control and they began moving their forces when they sensed the Allfather’s weakness,” answered Laisarus glancing at the rising sun.

  “How do you know all this?” asked Tagier feeling sweat beginning to bead on his skin.

  “I have my sources.” Laisarus gathered his pack off the ground and slung it over his shoulder, ending the conversation.

  Cursing as Laisarus marched off Tagier went to organise the others to break camp.

  By midday Tagier was tired and sweating beneath the burning sun. He was looking forward to the cool valley ahead. He hadn’t seen Laisarus since the morning but had found the prearranged signs left for him to follow as Laisarus blazed a safe trail ahead.

  The girl was struggling along helped by Carthus who had begun to limp trying to keep up the pace.

  Moving into the shadows was like a shower of water on his skin and Tagier walked as far as he could before collapsing under the shade of a large rock to wait for the others to arrive. He took a gulp of water and decided a rest stop wouldn’t do anybody any harm.

  By the time the other two arrived he had
laid out rations and he passed them his water canteen as they collapsed nearby.

  He decided to let his head rest for a moment against the cool rock as the shadows grew longer around him. A while later a war cry wrenched him awake. He was on his feet in seconds with both swords drawn. A group of goblin raiders had spotted them and were trying to cut them off from the safety of the sunlit valley back the way they had come.

  Carthus lifted his staff but hesitated to use his power in case he drew the attention of a shaman. A sound like vibrating metal flew through the air seeking out a goblin. It struck one of the four forming a wall against retreat, knocking it backwards. The next three fell one after another seconds apart as the same vibrating sound repeated again and again.

  An arrow passed over Tagier’s shoulder and struck a goblin in the chest. It roared in anger and broke the wooden shaft without stopping. Seeing the escape route clear Tagier urged the others to run for the sunlight even as Amelia tried to draw to fire a second time.

  The goblins’ stamina forced Tagier to turn and hold off the attackers twenty yards from the sun’s safety while Carthus and Amelia struggled on. Tagier charged into the goblins taking an arm off one and blinding another. The attackers stumbled backwards, forcing those behind them to come to a stop.

  Tagier thought he saw Laisarus in the distance running towards him before the goblins surrounded him. Two goblins broke away from the group to pursue Carthus and Amelia but stopped when they reached the edge of the sunlight.

  The ten goblins surrounding Tagier grinned and began stabbing playfully at him from every side. He grinned in return and began to weave a circle of death, ducking their powerful slashes, slicing through spear shafts and sometimes flesh as well. Two fell back bleeding badly letting Tagier catch sight of Laisarus running from behind them towards a large rock to launch himself into the air.

  Two foolish goblins watched the display as Laisarus drew back on his bow in midair and Tagier cut the one’s throat and used the other sword to stab the second through the heart. Tagier sensed danger from behind and tried to roll between the collapsing goblins. A spiked club scraped down his back before he was clear and he dropped one sword as the pain overcame him.

  Three more goblins fell with arrows piercing them before Laisarus landed, rolled and ran past without stopping. Two goblins pursued Laisarus but he matched their running speed as he shot the goblins ahead of him before finding a suitable boulder and launching himself into the air again. Turning in midair he fired and killed his pursuers before landing gracefully on the ground in the sunlight.

  Tagier struggled to his feet feeling the blood running down his back like a stream. The last goblin used Tagier as a shield as Laisarus casually strolled towards them. Tagier raised his remaining weapon but did not have the strength to attack.

  The goblin looked at the rest of his raiding party - some of them were still alive, but most were dead from the single metal arrow that had hit them. A goblin on the ground grabbed his leg, angrily he slammed his club into its face.

  Tagier could see the goblins’ decision to kill him before it died and Tagier knew he wouldn’t survive the next attack. “Leave now and my friend will let you run to the end of the valley without firing or pursuing.”

  The goblin looked at the bodies around it one last time and decided to run.

  When Laisarus made to draw his bow Tagier shouted for him to stop. “I gave him my word that you wouldn’t fire or pursue until he’s in the next valley.

  Laisarus muttered something under his breath and said out loud, “Fine - I’ll keep your word.” But his anger disappeared as Tagier collapsed and he had to rush forward to catch him.

  Amelia and Carthus took over the aid of Tagier and Laisarus moved among the living goblins and drew his knife cleanly across their throats.

  “What are you doing?” screamed Amelia.

  “Goblins don’t come back for their wounded, they carry away only plunder, prisoners and meat. It’s best to give them swift mercy and end their suffering,” he said looking into Carthus’s eyes.

  Wasting no more words he killed the last one and began to gather his arrows from the goblin bodies. When he had separated the usable ones he cleaned them and stashed them away. He looked down the valley and asked Tagier, “Would you say that the goblin is clear of the valley?”

  Tagier opened pain filled eyes and saw the goblin disappear behind a boulder into another valley. “Yes.”

  Laisarus whispered to Carthus so that Amelia couldn’t hear, “I’m going after the goblin, if I fail to reach it in time then we’re in deep trouble. I want you to move up there and hide your trail as best you can.” He pointed up the cliff face. “If you see goblins again don’t hesitate to use your powers, the next group will likely have a shaman.”

  Carthus nodded agreement and gathered the supplies from where they had been discarded.

  Amelia tried to call on her dormant healing powers but eventually gave up in frustration. Her powers were meant to be reachable in her greatest time of need but she had yet to experience that moment of focus that would precede her first healing.

  She searched her bag and found some pain killers strong enough to dull the pain without dulling the mind or body. She persuaded Tagier to swallow the prepared mixture then cleaned the wounds and applied herbs and bandages.

  She took one last look at Laisarus disappearing after the goblin then helped Carthus lift Tagier to his feet. They left the smell of death behind but Tagier’s wounds continued to drip blood as they climbed higher.

  CHAPTER 41

  Cane

  Only the wind made a sound as it howled across the rocky valley numbing his bare skin and making him shiver. Cane struggled to his feet again as the feeling of dread filled him. His hand left a bloody print on a boulder as he pushed himself up and his knee scraped painfully across the ground. He had discarded the dead weight of his amour as soon as he realized the hydraulics were shot and that the hermetic seal had been broken. Only his slashed and bloodied undergarments remained to protect him.

  Cane knew something had found his trail and was following him, something terrible. He had no allies in this forsaken place, or any place for that matter. The dwarves would surely kill him on sight for what he helped do and the goblins probably wouldn’t hesitate either. If the Director or his subordinates found out that he was alive his own people would hunt him down.

  The only person he could rely on was himself and in his condition he knew he would not survive much longer.

  He had discarded his handgun which he must have landed on and only carried what food concentrate he could but somewhere in his delirium he had lost it.

  The sense of danger increased and he realized he had been staring vacantly at the ground for minutes. He forced himself to get up and move one foot in front of the other leaving a trail of blood a blind man could follow.

  He leaned against a rock as he began to feel faint, looking back along the trail of blood winding into the distance. Then he realized his true peril when a thing without form swept across the ground towards him, its black smoky substance flowing over and around objects as it raced to catch him.

  Cane searched for a place to run but he had no more strength to move. He prepared himself for death but decided to die fighting.

  He leaned over and picked up a rock. As the creature closed the last two yards and rose up in front of him he tried to smash it but the effort sent him falling onto his face.

  Pain flooded his body as it hit the ground. When he tried to move, his body shook with the effort but failed to rise.

  Above him the shadow being took on a more substantial form before it seeped into his body washing the pain away but replacing it with fear. He fought back for a while but it pushed him deeper and deeper into the darkness. Cane could hear its thoughts and feel its terrible hunger and the wraithlord thrilled in his fear and lifted his body into motion.

  The wraithlord would have to capture healthier prey to feed on soon and Cane realized tha
t when it did it would kill him.

  CHAPTER 42

  Magdar

  Magdar led an elite group of warriors through the twisting tunnels towards the armoury. His latest weapon was a twisted war axe he had scavenged from a fallen comrade.

  Dagar followed him a step behind, guarding his back even though he was terrified. The dwellers were everywhere feasting on the dead, occasionally he heard screams echoing down the tunnels from some holdout of dwarves or those that had been captured and were being tortured to death to feed a wraithlord.