by Jamie Davis
“Hon, maybe Colin was wrong,” Hal suggested. “It’s possible the gem won’t work in the application you’re using it for. I think we should pack up and get back on our horses while we can still make it out of here. There’s still a chance we can get away ahead of any grendling war parties.”
“No,” Mona said, shaking her head. “I almost had it working on three or four different occasions. This jewel will do the trick. I just have to fine-tune some of the other components to work with it and channel the energy flow properly.”
“Okay, if you think you can figure it out, we can stay. I am worried now that it’s light out, the grendlings are going to pick up our trail pretty quickly. It’s likely to get very interesting here before too long.”
“Understood. I’m sure you can manage to hold them off. I have absolute faith in your ability to cause that kind of mayhem.”
“Gee, thanks,” he laughed. He and Mona had fallen into a very comfortable place in their relationship. They both relied on the other to pick up where their own strengths left off.
As if his prediction caused something to change outside, a series of guttural shouts turned Hal around. He scanned the trees outside the cave. “I think they found us, honey. We’re about to run out of time.”
Mona’s voice sounded distracted as she answered. “Just give me a few more minutes. I think I might know what the problem is.”
Hal knew better than to bother her at a time like this. Her engineering brain was fully immersed in solving the problem at hand. It was going to fall to him to keep any grendlings from interrupting her.
He reached over and grabbed Mona’s crossbow from where she’d set it down by the cave entrance. Hal checked to make sure the magazine was full, and the clockwork mechanism was fully wound. Then he gave some thought to the spells he could use to hold off an attack.
It was likely the first group to find them would be rather small. Maybe as many as six to eight warriors in all, maybe less. Most of the others would have spread out looking in different directions. More would come eventually, but he’d deal with additional attacks when the time came.
The first sign of trouble came when a few grendlings filtered through the trees near the cave entrance and stopped about fifty yards away. Hal took care to hide himself in the shadows around the entrance. He was pretty sure they couldn’t see him as he observed them.
It was clear they’d followed the pair’s tracks through the trees. The grendlings moved forward, pausing now and then to scan the area ahead. They were going to investigate the source of the tracks to see if anyone was still inside the cave.
Hal lifted the crossbow to his shoulder and took aim. He wanted to let them get a little closer so that his shots would all have a better chance to hit their targets.
The grendlings crossed the small clearing near the cave entrance, crouched low to the ground and looking from side to side as if expecting trouble. There were seven of them.
Hal tilted his head to sight along the top of the crossbow, aiming at the grendling in the rear of the group. If he could pick them off one by one from behind, it might take them a few seconds to realize where the shots were coming from.
Hal let fly and smiled as the crossbow bolt slammed into the chest of the rearmost grendling. The force of the blow knocked the short, grey-skinned creature over backward.
The grendling went down so quickly, he didn’t make a sound and the others in the group failed to notice he’d been killed.
3,000 experience awarded
Hal took aim on the second one from the rear and fired. This one landed a little off-center striking the grendling in the shoulder. It spun the creature around knocking him to the ground, but he let out a piercing scream, alerting the others to the incoming attacks.
No time to be cute anymore. Hal shifted his aim to the ones closest to the cave entrance and fired off the remaining four crossbow bolts. In rapid succession, three of the four leading grendlings dropped to the ground. Two of them were dead. Another one writhed on the ground, screeching in shrill agony.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
The remaining two grendlings were uninjured. They finally figured out where the fire was coming from and crouched, taking cover against shots coming from the cave entrance.
Hal stood up and readied a spell, hoping to take out of both of them before they sent for help. He fired off a tiny fireball at the first one closest to him.
The flaming sphere of fire, about the size of a regulation softball, flew from his outstretched hand striking the unfortunate grendling in the hip as he turned to dodge out of the way. The ball of fire exploded enveloping the creature in flames.
3,000 experience awarded
The final uninjured grendling took one look at his flaming comrade on the ground and sprinted for the edge of the trees.
Hal fired off another flaming sphere, but he missed and only succeeded in setting one of the nearby pine trees on fire. The branches caught quickly and soon a plume of dark smoke rose into the air.
“Well that didn’t work as planned,” Hal muttered to himself. If the one who escaped didn’t get help, others were surely going to come and investigate the source of that fire. “How’s it coming, Mona?”
“Almost there…”
Hal turned back to check on the two injured grendlings. They were trying to crawl back to the safety of the trees despite their injuries. One of them made it, the other didn’t, dying of his wounds before he got there.
3,000 experience awarded
Hal settled back and picked up the crossbow. “You have any more loads for this crossbow?” He cranked the clockwork mechanism using the small folding handle built into the stock.
“Yeah, they’re in the extra pack I brought,” Mona said gesturing vaguely in the direction of the horses.
Hal searched on the saddles and saddlebags and found the spare quiver of crossbow bolts. He loaded six new bolts into the magazine and slid it in place inside the bow’s stock.
Hal glanced down at Mona, hunched over the transporter device, hard at work. She seemed oblivious to what was going on with him and the events outside the cave. He shook his head. He didn’t know how she did that. It was part of her creative process.
Mona was a talented engineer at home and a master artificer here. If anyone could figure out how to get that gem working, she could. Her skills were unparalleled by anyone in Fantasma. At least they were when they had last been here years before.
More shouts from outside the cave drew Hal’s attention, and he raced back to the entrance.
Hal couldn’t see any more grendlings yet but based on the amount of noise they were making, they were getting closer, and there were a lot more of them.
Hal tried to remain hidden in what shadows there were around the cave entrance. He knew his concealment wouldn’t last for long. The grendlings wouldn’t have much trouble picking him out; especially now that they knew someone was hiding there.
A few minutes later there was another shout from the woods and a volley of arrows arched out in towards the cave mouth, right where Hal hid.
He ducked down behind some rocks as the arrows shattered against the stones around him. One of them managed to find its way past the rocks and struck him in the calf of his right leg. Hal grunted in pain as the barbed arrowhead tore into his leg.
Health damage — health -10
Hal ignored the arrow in his leg for now, focusing his attention on the tree line. He expected the flight of arrows to be followed up by a charge and he wasn’t disappointed.
The ten grendlings that loped out of the woods opposite his position ran as fast as they could directly at the cave entrance. Hal leveled the crossbow at them and pulled the trigger six times, firing off all six of the bolts he loaded. He managed to take down four of the 10 charging grendlings with the crossbow, killing three of them.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
With his armor in place and a shield covering one arm, Hal drew his long sword. It was time for him to put his warrior skills to the test. It was about to get interesting here at the cave’s mouth.
“Mona, you might want to hurry up. It’s heating up out here.”
He turned back and took the first axe blade on his raised ice shield, returning the attack with a quick thrust at the attacker. He managed to hack into the grendling’s thigh, causing it to stumble and fall over backward. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it would keep that one out of the fight for now.
Two more of the creatures stepped up to take their injured comrade’s place in the narrow cave opening. Hal was glad for the opportunity to use the defensive position to his advantage. No more than two of them were going to be able to get in at a time. Others milled about outside the entrance waiting for their chance to get at him.
Hal caught the next two blows on his shield, reaching around to slash out with his longsword. He cut a gash across the face of one of the grendlings.
It didn’t back off, though. It merely snarled and drove in with another series of attacks.
Hal had to take a step back at the fury of the new blows coming in from his opponents. He recovered quickly, though, and managed to get in another strike. This time he was able to thrust straight through the grendling’s midsection. The beast croaked out a sort of funny sound and fell over to the side clutching his belly.
3,000 experience awarded
The dying grendling’s companion managed to get another attack in on Hal with his axe. He felt the edge of the blade force its way in between the crevice where his shoulder and breastplate armor met.
Health damage — health -12
Hal batted away the axe the grendling used to hit him and kicked out with one foot. He managed to catch the creature unawares with the surprise attack. Hal’s steel-toed boot fractured the grendling’s knee.
It fell to the floor at the cave entrance, howling in pain.
Hal stabbed downward through its back killing it and turned to face the next two grendlings already charging into the gap.
3,000 experience awarded
Beyond the two he fought, Hal saw more of the grendling tribesmen coming from the trees. He wasn’t going to be able to hold them all off on his own. He also couldn’t keep fighting them in a conventional fight much longer.
He had an idea, but first, he had to finish off the two he was facing before he could put it into action.
Hal took a series of blows from the two axe-wielding grendlings. They rained attacks down on his battered ice shield. They were now hacking chips out of the edge of the shield with their axes and Hal knew it wouldn’t be long before the beleaguered shield spell failed, and the ice shattered. He slashed outward with the sword managing to drive one of the attackers backward as it danced away to avoid getting hit.
That left an opening beside the other grendling. Hal switched directions with his sword blade and drove it sideways, putting a broad slash in the grendling’s torso from the shoulder to the opposite hip. With a squeal of pain, the creature fell over backward, writhing on the ground for a few seconds before becoming still.
3,000 experience awarded
Hal turned and smiled at the other grendling and stepped forward. The creature backed up, not wanting to face this ice-covered demon standing in the cave entrance. His retreat blocked the advance of those behind him for a moment and Hal realized this was his chance. He readied two magical spells to cast in rapid succession.
The first spell was a flaming horizontal sheet of fire he fired from his fingertips outward. It caught the closest three grendlings in its arc and sent them to the ground covered in flames. The burning bodies momentarily blocked the cave entrance.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
That gave Hal the chance he needed to cast a follow-up spell. Summoning all the moisture he could from the air around him, Hal created a wall of ice across the cave entrance. It took every ounce of magical energy he had left and ended up being about 10 inches thick. It was anchored from floor to ceiling into the rock. Hal wiped sweat from his brow and stepped back as he surveyed his handiwork.
“That should hold them,” Hal said to himself. “Mona, I’ve bought us a few more minutes. I hope you’re close to being finished.”
Turning around, he looked at his wife. She still sat hunched over the transporter device on the cave floor. “Hon, that ice wall spell bought us about a half an hour at the most. But, once they hack their way through, I’m gonna need you up here beside me or we’re going to have to have a way out of here. I can’t cast any more large spells. I’m tapped out.”
“I’ll have a way out of here, Hal. Be patient. I’m almost there. There’s just a little fine-tuning I have to do.”
Hal decided he’d better get everything together and on the horses. If she did manage to open a portal for them, they were going to need to get through it quickly and wouldn’t have time to pick up any of their supplies.
Hal gathered their packs and tied them to the saddles on the horses. He also tied the saddlebags in place behind the saddles. Once he had everything packed up that he could, he went back and retrieved Mona’s crossbow. There were six bolts left in the quiver. He cranked the winding mechanism, resetting the spring-loaded mechanism inside. Hal then reloaded each of the bolts and released the cocking mechanism.
Amidst the sound of shouts and axes battering at his ice wall from outside, Hal scanned the interior of the cave around him for anything else that needed doing. He realized he had done all that he could do and settled in to wait and see which happened first. Either the ice wall came down or the portal opened.
From the sound of the blows ringing through to the interior of the cave, they had several of their number working on breaking through the barrier. Hal didn’t think it would take much longer. Grendlings were strong and tough. They wouldn’t give up.
Hal sat down on a small boulder near Mona and set the crossbow across his knees. All he could do now was wait for her to finish what she was doing.
The first hole in the ice wall appeared 15 minutes later. It was about the size of a frisbee. As the axes chipped away to enlarge the opening, Hal lifted his crossbow. As soon as a grendling face appeared in the opening, he let fly with a bolt. It’s slammed home right between the grendling’s eyes. Hal saw the final shock register in the dying expression of the poor creature before it fell back out of the way.
3,000 experience awarded
Shouts of alarm and anger drifted in from outside and the chipping and hacking at the ice wall began again in earnest. It wouldn’t be long now.
“Hal, get the horses. I’ve almost got it.”
Hal looked at the widening gap in the ice wall then at his wife as she stood up, holding the transporter in front of her.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know. Now hold the horses while I try this out. Be ready to lead them through.”
Hal checked the now jagged fissure in the ice wall which ran from the ceiling to the floor of the cave. A few more blows landed from outside and another crack opened. Then another. Then another.
“Mona, that thing’s about to shatter. We’re going to have a whole bunch of grendlings in here any second.”
“Almost there.”
“Mona.”
“Almost there.”
“Mona, I don’t want to rush you, but…”
“Almost there.”
With a crash, the ice wall shattered into fist size chunks and the grendlings started to climb over the chunks of ice into the cave.
Hal fired off the five remaining crossbow bolts, dropping four of the grendlings as they crested the top of
the ice pile.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
Hal let the crossbow dangle by its sling at his side and drew his sword.
Mona called out behind him. “Got it!”
She stood in the center of the cave, grasping the handles on either side of the rolling-pin-shaped device. She twisted the handles and squeezed the lever that looked like a handbrake. In that instant, a one-foot wide glowing disk appeared in front of Hal before broadening until it filled one entire wall of the cave.
“Hal take the horses through, I’m right behind you.”
“Mona, I don’t…”
“No time to argue. Get through that opening I’ll be right behind you.”
Hal yanked at the horses’ reins, pulling them through the portal in the cave wall. He heard shouts from the grendlings behind them. Their quarry was about to escape them.
He turned around once he was through the opening, now standing on a grassy field somewhere far to the south. Mona stepped through, followed by a barbed arrow. The arrow struck her in the side, spinning her around. Out of reflex, she released the lever on the handle and the portal snapped closed.
Hal ran to Mona’s side and lowered her to the ground. She looked up at him and smiled “I told you, I had it.”
“Shut up. Let me look at that wound.”
“It’s nothing. Pull the damn thing out and give me a healing potion. There’s a few of them in the backpack tied to the back of my horse.”
Hal grimaced and grasp the shaft of the barbed arrow. “This is going to hurt.”
Mona nodded and gritted her teeth. Hal broke off the back half of the shaft, eliciting a grunt from Mona. He reached around the other side and pulled at the barbed head where it just appeared from the skin just above her hip. In a quick, smooth motion, Hal pulled the remainder of the shaft through the wound.