by Jeff Inlo
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Sy kept his men in tight formation. They jabbed at any dwarf that succeeded in reaching the still blazing carriages, but they did not engage beyond that point. Arrows from crossbows saw to the demise of any surviving stragglers.
Even as the dwarves fell, one sight disturbed the captain of the guard greatly. Despite the number of dwarves that had succumbed to the ambush, dozens more continued to emerge from the underground tunnel. After fifty, he hoped they would slow. After a hundred, he hoped they would stop. They did neither. It quickly became a matter of numbers. There were not enough arrows and stones to keep all these dwarves at bay.
Worse, the dwarves that now surfaced and witnessed the carnage began following the advice of the force commander. As she remained crouched upon the open ground, she was nearly invulnerable to the barrage of projectiles. Though dozens of arrows struck her, they bounced harmlessly off her armor. As the other invaders now followed her example, the number of threats on the surface increased exponentially.
With a formidable force now on the surface, the commander called for the execution of a battle plan. She used the blade of her axe to cover her face as she called orders to the others. Slowly, they fell into formation to handle the bulwark. Tightly bound together, they used each other as shields. They trudged forward to the pointed stumps of the northern obstacle. Once in arm’s reach, one after another would rise up and swing an axe or mace. Their mighty weapons made short work of the barricade. Splinters of tree trunks quickly replaced the once formidable bulwark. With the northern passage free, the force commander ordered an immediate advance.
Sy followed with an order of retreat. He did not wish to leave the tunnel unattended, but it was now necessary. If they remained, he knew what would happen. The force commander was probably circling around even now. If he kept his soldiers in place, he would be caught between her and the tunnel. There would be no escape.
He signaled his new plans to the archers as he moved his force quickly to the west. Before leaving, he took one last glance at the battleground. Dead dwarves lay strewn across the open road like lumps of stone in a gravel pit. He estimated well over two hundred casualties for the enemy and none for his own force. Even with such overwhelming evidence of a one-sided battle, Sy could not chase the feeling of impending disaster.
Perhaps it was the number of dwarves that continued to file out of the tunnel, or perhaps it was the cold chill in the air beyond the burning wagons, but whatever caused it, Sy felt little more than dread for the remainder of the battle.