All Out War Begins Chapter

For two more days Leothrad and his coalition army fought an enlarged army. On the second day the enemy received some reinforcements. When part of these reinforcements attacked their positions Leothrad saw thousands of Makool, Goblins, and those crocodile warriors from the swamp caves. On that day the rest of the ships sent most of their crews leaving a dozen or so men aboard each craft.

That one move on the part of the Captains increased their numbers. This allowed them construct minor fortifications. Their second day of battle proved difficult. A huge force of ten thousand Makool emerged from the south. They were split up by the time the third day ended. Leothrad had sent out scouts to spy on the ten thousand Makool. They all returned to him saying only five thousand would be coming. The other half had marched down to the south. He had no idea where the other half was going.

All the scouts said they only saw the army split up before heading back to the camps. Leothrad hoped the other half would meet resistance. He looked over at the fortress and saw what appeared like a huge force of thirty thousand. Yet to him it seemed to keep on growing.

Over at the villages Leothrad could see the villagers and Ilkabad’s group fortifying their positions. He saw the knight from the Civid lands took residence inside the tower. The Champion saw to sending both leaders a hundred men to reinforce their defenses.

A strong wind blew from the west carrying the stench of the enemy into the noses. The banners and flags of six thousand or so warriors plus armed sailors, flapped in this westward wind. As the morning ended and the midday was approaching Leothrad had their lines stretched a little further to cover more the beach and grassland. It was to ensure the enemy wouldn’t flank their positions so easily. Some of the galleys they had captured from the Cren fleet made nice barriers to block the enemy from maneuvering around them. A force of six thousand and three hundred warriors stood firm and waited for the enemy. Leothrad and the other captains agreed not to advance since the gathering foes would simply surround them.

A horn blew then others were blown from the sid of the fortress. He looked over at the army amassed before the fortress. A portion of the army was already advancing towards them. It would be a battle for the Angoths and their allies.

“Rider!” Leothrad hollered and a warrior/scout approached him.

“Yes Champion. What is you command?” the scout asked as a pelt for staying put was raised for Ilkabad and Titan.

“Ride as as far north as you can Send any warriors down here. Speak with the Jarls and commanders of any forts you run across. Hurry rider! This could be our last battle!” Leothrad urged him to go. With the words of the Champion’s command in mind the rider rode off to the north. Leothrad did not waste time watching the rider, he turned to give the orders to the coalition.

“Archers at the ready!” he shouted and waited until the all archers were ready with bows and arrows.

“Loose!” he yelled and the archers sent a volley of arrows down on the advancing enemy.

“Send another volley!” Leothrad ordered.

He marched up to the infantry who already formed up their shield walls formations. The enemy had sent another group of eight thousand infantry. Arrows continued to rain down on the first legion of enemies. Numerous Makool and goblins fell to the volley of arrows. There were a number of the crocodile warriors that fell to the coalition arrows. The archers loosed a seventh volley before the rest of the soldiers prepared for a frontal assault. Leothrad watched as some ten thousand enemies march up to them. He would have ordered the archers to shoot except the legions of enemies had already charged their lines.

The front lines of warriors braced for impact as thousands upon thousands of enemies attacked them. Their enemy smashed against their lines pressing against their shields despite the swords, spears, axes and other weapons waiting to cut them down. Leothrad rushed to the front to aid his men. In the back of his mind he hoped Ilkabad and Titan aren’t overwhelmed by any large forces sent against them. The line appeared to be holding as warriors on the first two rows killed each Makool that approached them. Most of the goblins and Elite Makool fared better than the Makool standard infantry.

When Leothrad reached the front a quarter of the two legions lay dead at their feet. One warrior fought on until he lost control and pushed ahead of the shield walls. He found himself in between a few lines of enemies still killing Makool and Goblins. His fellow warriors tried to force their way to him when four crocodile warriors approached hims and killed the lone warrior. They managed to kill several more warriors before the coalition cut them down. The first lines of warriors were getting tired, but were being pushed against by the legions.

Leothrad saw multiple warriors get killed or forced down from the weight and wounds. He jumped in to lend a hand forcing his way through enemy lines. His sword arm swung as if something else possessed it. Numerous enemies fell to his hand bringing their morale down and encouraged his men to press the attack. The Makool and goblins easily fell to the next lines of warriors that pushed forward. They gave the other two lines of warriors time to rest. When they caught up with Leothrad the legions started to back off due to heavy losses.

Once victory seemed to be insight the enemy only backed off to let their brutes in the front. Hundreds of crocodile warriors marched up to the front. Every warrior at the front stood their ground with spears and other weapons raised against the oncoming brutes. Leothrad picked up a trident from a dead Makool and threw it at a crocodile warrior. It staggered a bit with the trident lodged in its stomach. The other lizard monsters advanced on the coalition leaving the one crocodile to die. Leothrad swung at another beast as the coalition stabbed at the others. Several warriors fell before the rest tried ganging up on the other beasts.

He watched the coalition warriors take down these monstrous beasts with some difficulty. One or two men per beast killed died as the coalition struggled to bring the reptiles down. Even with the champion killing the beasts easily, the coalition still lost a few hundred warriors. Right as the last few of the beasts died the legions of Makool and Goblins pressed their attack.

Then someone in the back yelled for archers to fire on the legions. To their surprise only a hundred arrows flew over their heads. What was wrong? Did they forget their job?

“What the demon hells are they doing over there?” Leothrad asked as he turned around. among the packed formations of shields he spotted a Vycyrel who could take command for the moment.

“You there, Vyceryl Starson, take command and drive these frogs back!” Leothrad said before he looked for Scur among the center line. When he found Scur he grabbed the young warrior from the formations.

“Scur come with me!” He ordered pulling Scur along with him.

The young warrior said nothing since he was given no choice than to come along. Leothrad made his way to the archers to see for his own eyes. He did not need to ask again why the archers weren’t firing arrows on the legions. About one and a half thousand Makool had emerged from the waters behind them. Every archer loosed arrow after arrow on the encroaching Makool.

He watched as hundreds of archers took out numerous Makool with every volley they fired. The Champion observed the battle as the archers reduced the Makool’s forces to a third of its size. The Makool panicked and either fled or charged anyways. Archers at the front prepared for the ones charging while the ones in the back fired on the ones fleeing. Leothrad rushed in to join the archers at the front. Leothrad rushed in to join the archers at the front. Scur followed him just in time to be caught in the Frey.

Leothrad and a hundred archers faced the advancing Makool. Despite the Makool’s advantage in numbers Leothrad and the archers hacked their way to the ocean. It was easy for them because most of the Makool wore little or no armor. Leothrad took pleasure in taking down the larger elites. For him it was almost a game to see how many would die before the enemy retreated.

He enjoyed every moment of the game he created, which Scur joined in. To his surprise the young warrior took down seven elite Makool even though more were emerged from the ocean. When the lad stopped swinging his weapon only one Makool remained. It rushed straight for the ocean hoping to get away. None of the archers fired any arrows in their direction. That was good enough for Leothrad. Assuming their archers were firing on the legion of enemies Leothrad picked up a Makool spear. He chunked it at the last one when it was knee deep in the water. The Makool fell in the shallow waters with the spear through its torso.

The archers who had aided Leothrad ran back to aid the others. Only fifty archers stood watch over the back of the coalition. Leothrad turned to the landed ships on his left. It had a single line dangling from the yard. The Champion looked at the line then turned to Scur.

“I have a job for you Scur. Collect those tridents and spears then place them in the sand facing the ocean.” Leothrad said before he left the youth as he grabbed the dangling rope and climbed up to the crows nest.

When he made it to the crows nest he saw eight thousand Makool emerge from the sea. He turned his head to see several thousand more Makool emerging on their left flanks. The only things separating his coalition were the ships they had pulled onto the sands. He felt a war coming from this King known as Kewan.

To his own amazement he saw fireballs hit the legions of Makool emerging from the sea. Leothrad turned to face the ocean and saw projectiles being fired from the fleet he had gathered. He watched the fire balls attempt to reak havoc upon the newly arrived legions. A smile was force onto his face even though he knew the projectiles did little to route the Makool. There were still numerous casualties being inflicted upon the two legions marching out of the sea. Leothrad looked over at his coalition and saw that the Makool were backing off. In the back of his mind he knew they were only doing that to regroup and build up their armies.

Arrows continued to rain down upon the retreating enemy. It was the archers’ attempts to reduce the numbers of enemies they’d have to face the next day. As the newly arrived forces came further ashore Leothrad saw more ships approaching the battle. They were certainly Angothic vessels coming in from the north.

He counted the numbers of sails he could see as the sun dipped down. His heart felt relieved at the sight of reinforcements approaching them. Before he came down, the champion looked over at Ilkabad’s position. He made out fresh corpses around the palisades they had set up around the villages and the tower. It was another eventful day only the enemy had more men now.

At dawn Leothrad awoke to Scur standing over him. The lad had been trying to wake him for sometime. He stirred a little then forced his body up to see what Scur needed. Scur was never a needy lad and hardly asked for anything.

“Yes Scur, what is it?” he asked the young warrior.

“The Jarl Aberis of Seaguard port wants to see you.” Scur said as the Champion sat up on the makeshift cot. Leothrad looked up at Scur and saw a plate of roasted Makool limbs. Just because the Makool were hate did not mean they did not make horrible meals. Every time they fought Makool the Angoths or Veeks filled their bellies with roasted corpses of enemy Makool.

Leothrad grabbed the plate from the young warrior and commenced eating his breakfast. He bit into a roasted foreleg of an elite and chewed slowly.

“What does Jarl Aberis want to see me for?” the Champion asked as he took another bite.

Scur did not say anything to Leothrad about that. He just gestured with his head turning the Champion’s attention to the hut’s entrance. There stood Jarl Aberis in his fine fur lined mail armor and leather greaves. His thick white beard was in two knots. Each one looked more like lines of a ship that kept the sails up or down. The Champion rose up and place the plate of Makool limbs next to him. He offered a seat to the Jarl who accepted the offer and helped himself to roasted Makool. The three Angoths ate in silence until there was nothing else but the bones.

Jarl Aberis wiped his mouth on a cloth offered to him by Scur who took it away for washing. Champion Leothrad waited for the Jarl to finish picking his teeth with the blunt dirk he offered.

“I will be brief Champio. Our forces may be over nine thousand strong, but the enemy has more than seventy thousand now. Prepare your men and yourself.” Jarl Aberis got up and left the Champion’s hut.

Leothrad wasted no time ad prepared for a long drawn out battle against unfavorable odds. He walked out of the hut thinking of the Nine thousand and four hundred men on the field. Leothrad found two bows and three quivers of arrows. He picked them up then handed a bow and quiver to Scur.

“Archers, finish your breakfast and form up! Infantry take your positions and hold them!” Leothrad roared the orders and took his position among the archers with Scur at his side. When the archers formed up their lines the infantry did the same thing not wasting a moment to dawdle around. The enemy camps were just now stirring and there was enough Makool and Goblins to overrun the fortress three times over. He cared for his warriors but was still willing to pit them against these odds.

“Archers, loose a volley and turn them away from Ilkabad and his men!” Leothrad barked at them. About a thousand arrows were loosed and shot up in the air. Each shaft made its way to the camps and rained down on the Makool. He assumed most of the shafts hit the tents, but killed a few hundred of the Makool in the process.

Leothrad and the coalition watched the enemy form up and march towards them in force. He waited for the enemy to move their first lines of warriors out of the camps before firing another volley. The drums of war boomed around them long with weapons banging against shields in rhythm.

“Archers! Send another volley, fire!” Leothrad notched an arrow along with the archers and fire his arrow. A second volley of arrows rained down on the enemy as they marched out in the open field. It was all they could do for now since there were well over eighty thousand Makool headed straight for them. A third volley was fired by the time this horde was halfway to their positions.

Once the fourth volley was fired the first two lines of infantry were ordered to prepare for the wave of enemies. They picked up a spear or trident off the ground and waited to throw them at the enemy. After two more volleys of arrows were fired the enemy was close enough to charge. Tens of thousands of Makool and Goblin warriors charged nine thousand Angoths and Auxmirians on the beaches. The first two lines of infantry launched spears and tridents like javelins. It was a last ditch effort to even some of the odds against them. Leothrad estimated that at least a thousand or so had died from the projectile flung at them. He watched the horde clash against the shield walls of the coalition forces.

Spears, axes, swords and war picks chopped up and pierced the first few thousand enemies. Angoths and Leothrad’s new allies hacked and speared as many Makool as possible before their lines had to switch. Leothrad left the archers and tried his best not to push through the enemy. That would cause him to advance too far into the enemy ranks. There was a great amount of pushing and shoving as there was killing while the morning drew to noon. Despite the defensive advantage more warriors slowly died as they fought to the death. There were a few points were the enemy would get tangled in their lines, but would wind up dead each time. Each warrior who died fighting took as many Makool with them as possible. Some even cut the limbs of the enemies closest to them just to put obstacles for the others to stumble over. Leothrad chose to stay with his men at the front to stir up morale.

Even as they lost men they fought on and slew as many enemies as they could. Thousands of fighters fell on the battlefield. An officer cut down three elite Makools that managed to beat down one warrior and slip through their lines.

“How many warriors have we lost?” he asked the champion as he killed a chieftain and Leothrad chopped off a Makool’s arm. That Makool was speared with four spears. Seventeen wounded warriors were dragged to the back as the rest fought furiously to reduce the enemy’s numbers.

“I counted nearly three thousand dead. Count the wounded!” Leothrad said taking out another elite. He used an enemy’s mace to kill a Makool with one swing. The Champion then cracked the skull of a goblin before he realized the enemy had pushed them back.

More and more combatants fell as the sands and dirt became red from the blood. As the battle went further on into the afternoon Leothrad’s men and the Jarl’s men were reduced to a few thousand. Nearly twenty to thirty thousand enemies lay dead in the field. Archers shot more volleys but were forced to fight alongside the infantry. Each warrior tried their hardest to reduce this horde down to the point where the forces would be forced to route.

Leothrad’s arm ached as he kept killing foe after foe. He managed to stay in the fight to bring morale up, which had been dropping ever since they lost over half their numbers. It didn’t matter if they were wounded or dead each warrior that fell was a casualty. The day looked like it would end badly for the coalition. The champion felt sweat dripping from his nose and chin. Another hour of fighting and he would be spent. He looked over at Ilkabad’s position and saw thousands of Makool retreating. Some warriors and captains saw this and felt the odds turning back in their favor. That was when the tables turned against the Makool King Kewan who was not even present for this battle.

To the north twelve loud horns blew. The noise drew everyone’s attention to the north as the sound of a stampede came up. To the dismay of the enemy the sounds of hooves thundering down from the north spelled death to the horde. Over eight thousand Angoth riders came thundering towards the horde of Makool. Leothrad watched the riders smash into the horde with force. They trampled over thousand upon thousands of Makool. Each warrior hacked and cut down any the ones in front had missed as they rode the enemy down.

The enemy immediately routed and left Leothrad’s and Aberis’ forces alone. Many Makool ran towards the ocean to escape. Most were too stunned over the heavy losses and ran southward. A few hundred managed to make to the fortress, which was only a death trap for them. Leothrad ran down to one of the ships and climbed up to the bow. From there he watched thousands of Makool be intercepted by another force of five thousand Angoth riders.

Leothrad continued to watch with a joyful heart as this second force of riders rode down the remnants of the retreating Makool. To his surprise the second force rode away when it was finished with the Makool. What for, they had won a victory over this King Kewan? He looked up and saw his banner dangling over the masts. Then he realized the commander of the second force wanted to leave the fortress for him to take. When those riders had left he turned his attention to the others. Six horsemen came riding up to his coalition.

The Champion slid down a line of rope and scoured the area for Scur and the other Captains. He passed men who were lifting corpses off the fallen and wound comrades. Wounded warriors used spears or tridents to prop themselves up. Nine warriors seemed to have died of their wounds. He found Scur with the Captain and kneeled down to see how the lad was after a long drawn out battle. Scur had been stabbed in the side and the arm. His arm was now in a sling to let the wounds heal. The young warrior did not look up at Leothrad for he was too embarrassed to be wounded in front of the Champion Leothrad. Leothrad understood this and left Scur alone. As turned away the captain answered his question.

“Well over five thousand men are wounded and three thousand of us are dead. That leaves us just two thousand men, Champion!” he said to Leothrad still in pain from his wounds.

“That is all we need to take this fortress back.” Leothrad said and he walked over to the six horsemen that approached their ships. The rider he sent out nodded and dismounted at the same time the others did. Leothrad smiled at the rider and turned to him.

“I was right to send you.” He complimented the rider who had brought them thousands of riders. He thanked the rider and then turned his attention to the Warlord that had come to his aid.

“Thank the gods they have come Leothrad! Otherwise we’d be dead.” Aberis cried with joy. The Jarl welcomed the other leaders that came to their aid. Leothrad looked at the leaders which consisted of a Warlord, a thane, a Vyceryl, and two Jarls.

“We must finish this battle tomorrow.” He said to them before he retired to his hut. The Champion slept like a log and awoke to the sounds of drums in the morning. He exited his hut which had Scur and the Jarl there with him. Aberis woke just after Leothrad left the hut. The two leaders approached the others for breakfast. For some reason a Makool representative sat with them. It seemed odd for the enemy to dine with them unless this particular Makool was joining their side or sought peace with them.

“Ah, good morning champion Leothrad. This is representative Agwopog of King Kewan. He has message for all of us.” Said the warlord named Orvice.

“Tell us Makool what does your master want from us?” Leothrad asked taking a pear and biting out of it.

The Makool stood up to speak. “My King Kewan says that all out war has only begun.”

Leothrad spat the seed at the Makool’s feet. “Leave these lands and never invade us again frogling!” he yelled in the Makool’s face.

“Very well then, I see you Angoths wish only war with us and death!” the Makool said as it stood up to walk back to the fortress. Leothrad left as well and gathered his weapons and armor. He gathered his troops and immediately charged the fortress. To his surprise another three thousand Angoths came to retake the fortress. Both forces surrounded Fort Night Stone and made an all out assault. Several thousand Angoths overwhelmed the few hundred defenders. They freed the prisoners and retook another fortress from the Makool Domain of Kewan.

Another Fortress Taken Chapter

Evnar sat in the dining quarters drinking with a crew member named Ongas. He was the large Angoth who slammed the head of a Makool aboard the galleon. A large breasted former priestess of Cren served them drinks of Cren brewed ale. She was nude except for a cloth skirt. Ongas the large bellied Angoth with the reddish brown beard grabbed and squeezed her tits.

The large Angoth looked at Evnar as a he massaged the Priestess’s breasts. “You wanna have a taste of her tits, Evnar?” Ongas offered the young Angoth warrior.

She looked at Evnar with eyes that were begging for him to punish her. He looked across the room and saw who was watching. Sitting at another booth that was built into the ship were Leothrad and Captain Clovis. Leothrad was perplexed by the spectral and appeared intrigued enough to join them. After all she did serve the false deity named Cren.

As Champion of the Angoths, Leothrad was offered seventeen former priestesses after the great victory against the Cren fleet. Each one of them were supposed to serve his one personal prize. Evados the innocent whom sat in the guest’s quarter as a prisoner of war. He watch Evnar grab her breasts and began squeezing them. Ongas and Evnar fondled the priestess until her breasts swelled up with milk.

“Evnar,” he said to the young warrior. “Ravage the corrupted priestess and save some for the rest of the crew.” Leothrad ordered as he stood up to walk over to her. Clovis made no moves to stop him after all she was his gift for the victory.

He glared at her with angry eyes. She looked at him with fear surfacing in her crimson eyes. The champion lunged forward and grabbed his cock out. Leothrad forced himself inside her and proceeded to thrust. It felt good, warm, wet and satisfying. Ongas grabbed her head and shoved his own cock into her mouth. She was forced to suck Ongas’ cock and endure being fucked by the Angoth Champion.

She seemed surprised by the thrusts the Angoths displayed. It was nearly an eagle’s flight from its nest to a tree branch on the other side of the forest when the Angoths came. Leothrad felt the urge to thrust in her several more times even after injecting his seed inside her womb. As he pulled himself out of her the Champion looked at her back. It was covered in tattoos representing Cren and her previous master Evados the Innocent.

Cren’s symbols composed of other symbols for supremacy, love, loyalty, and unity. He had not doubt the worshippers believed Cren had supremacy over all things, the world should love him and show loyalty to his descendants. Most of all they believed in unity under the Cren Order. Leothrad smiled the biggest smile when he saw the two new symbols on her shoulders. They put the symbol for freedom and the symbol for whore on her shoulders.

“Leothrad, please let the wench suck on Ongas and come over here to see if more forts were taken by the Makool.” Clovis said bringing Leothrad to the table.

As Leothrad left the former Cren wench to Evnar and Ongas, Evnar helped himself to ravaging her. In his mind he thought, So Cren’s Order and descendants seek to unite the world under his rule. The Champion found this to be amusing. He took his seat at the table with maps of Emnos or Onan-Hai and the sword shaped island. Clovis glanced up from a map that had a wooden model ship on it, which marked their location.

“Our new friends have revealed another fortress fallen to the Makool Domain.” Clovis said placing a finger on a spot along the eastern coastline of the Sword Angeris.

“It is one of the fortresses that were built directly on the coastline. There are seven small villages around this particular fortress.” Clovis said as though Leothrad had forgotten about that. The Champion nearly forgot about the fortresses they had built, but kept reminding himself. Leothrad was often busy fighting armies of their enemies or hunting down demons and monsters across the seas. Those were the reasons he almost forgot about the fortresses along Angeris’ eastern coast.

“Totar, bring those Makool sorcerers over here!” Clovis barked at the doorway where an Angoth sailor was standing.

“Aye Captain!” Totar responded.

“See if we can’t get any more out of these frogs folk!” Clovis growled.

Leothrad picked up a mug and tried to drink from it, but no contents came out. It turned out to be empty of the contents he was drinking earlier this morning. He looked at the empty mug wanting to get more mead. The Champion chose not to get more, since they were about to besiege another fortress. Totar, a thin looking guardsman of the ship entered the room with seven Makool sorcerers. One of them appeared to have received some pleasure as it tied its belt around its waist.

“Ah good all of you are here! Ignore those three!” Clovis said referring to the orgy that was going on at the booth.

“What can you tell us about the fortress here? It is called Fort Night Stone and we hadn’t heard from its garrison for some time. Do you know how many Makool are there?” Captain Clovis asked.

The seven sorcerers consulted each other’s knowledge about the Angoth’s lost fortress. One of them turned to the Angoth leaders, this sorcerer wore a necklace of shark teeth. Its name was Oogloot a former sorcerer of the late fish king Gawak.

“This fortress resisted heavily with help from the locals. It took thousands upon thousands of Makool lives just bring the fortress under our former master’s heel. A wave’s full of Makool hold it now.” Oogloot said, warning the Angoths about the numbers of Makool fighters there.

“This fortress is not an island fortress. There is no way your people could have-“ Clovis tried to tell them, but her was cut off by another sorcerer named Newet. Were

“Those villages around it gave some resistance, but were forced to submit.” Newet said. Leothrad felt impatient, hearing these words gave the urgency to go over there immediately and deal with the Makool scum.

“Enough talk about the fortress, Evnar wake up Ilkabad and Ongas, summon the warriors. Prepare them for a landing!” Leothrad commanded. He passed the sorcerers and went straight to his room. There Leothrad found his shield and pair of swords at the foot of his cot. The Angoth to his armor from the wall and put it on. As he armed himself Leothrad looked over at the other cot in the room.

Oephus laid on the cot asleep. Leothrad did not mind having Oephus as a roommate. The former minstrel would make an excellent bard in the taverns of his homeland. He left Oephus asleep and ran into Ursella who was startled to see Leothrad. “Need something?” he asked.

“I…am coming down to apologize to Oephus. Good luck on your next battle!” she said nervously.

Leothrad said nothing to her and ascended to the decks to join with Clovis. The Captain stood next to the doorway of the cabin. He gripped his long mace in both hands letting the lethal part rest on the boards and had his knife resting at his side. Leothrad stood next to the captain and observed the warriors and crew members assembled by Ongas, Evnar and Ilkabad. In front of the two leading Angoths were three scores of Angoth warriors. Leothrad took a few steps in front of them as he fixed his shield on one arm and sheathed his two swords, one on his back and the other on the side of the shield.

“Angoths, our new Makool friends have informed us that a fortress of ours has been taken. Fort Night Stone was taken by the Makool who seem to be having trouble holding the lands around it. Our lands need liberating and these Makool filth won't give it up so easily. In two days we shall arrive at this fortress and take her back!” Leothrad shouted giving them an arousing speech.

The Angoths roared their approval as the Serpent Hunter proceeded towards Fort Night Stone. It took the ships three days to finally arrive at the shores of Fort Night Stone. Leothrad and Clovis prepared the warriors for the assault. As the warriors filled the landing boats Leothrad caught Ilkabad and Evnar before they boarded.

“I need to have a word with Ilkabad.” Leothrad said grabbing his arm.

“Yes Leothrad?” Ilkabad asked.

“On board the Freed Moon is a Civid Knight named Titan. We are putting your troop of warriors with him. Once we land your groups will rush to the nearest villages. Kill every Makool in your path, and once you’ve landed do not let yourselves get surrounded.” Leothrad left the two cousins as he went to his own boar with Erden. Scur stood ready to take on the Makool. Although he was young, Scur proved himself to be a capable warrior among the Angoth warriors.

Ongas was ordered to stay with Clovis acting as his first mate. He was also under strict orders to stay away from the female priestess. In the back of Leothrad’s mind he hoped the fat boar of an Angoth would keep his hands away from Ursella. As he settled down in the landing craft, Leothrad looked down and spotted a harpoon at his feet. Leothrad gripped the harpoon while the landing crafts were being lowered to the sea surface.

“All right boys row these wenches to the shores!” Leothrad growled referring to the boats.

The boats left their ships loaded with warriors ready to kill their foe. Once they were fifty yards from the shore other warriors grabbed harpoons and stabbed into the ocean. It was a strategy that ensured their flanks remained safe when fighting Makool fighters. Leothrad stabbed into the sea several times as he recalled past battles. Whenever the Angoths or the Veeks fought the Makool on the shores they would always face more of them on the battlefield. Once their forces further on the beaches a considerable number of Makool would emerge from the seas. This would happen every time they invaded an island or retook one from the Makool Domain.

Hundreds of warriors rowed up to the shores with Fort Night Stone in sight. Leothrad spotted several Makool in the water as their boats neared the coast. He raised his harpoon and struck down piercing a selected Makool in the head. Leothrad jerked the weapon from the corpse and struck at the next one he saw in the water. Other warriors armed with spears or harpoons stabbed into the ocean’s surface killing their targets. Leothrad proceeded harpooning more Makool until they reached shallow waters.

The men at the oars rowed their craft aground. Some craft crushed Makool limbs or bodies. Other craft shoved rocks aside. In front of the coalition of warriors stood make shift tents of the Makool. Most of the tents appeared more like huts since their tents were made from seaweed and the tall stiff grass on the beach.

Leothrad stepped out of his landing boat as did other warriors whom drew their weapons. He saw thousands upon thousands of Makool marching towards them. Scur took his side as the coalition of warriors took battle positions.

“Shield wall!” Erden roared from behind Leothrad.

His command was echoed as other captains repeated the same words. Sixteen hundred warriors linked their shields together to form a shield wall. Shields of different shapes and sizes linked together at the front as those behind them overlapped. Together the linked and overlapping shields of the first three rows resembled fish scales.

Leothrad turned his head to see the warriors in the back rows forming another shield wall facing the ocean. “Thank the gods we taught those freed warriors our battle movements.” He muttered under his breath as the Makool kept advancing on them from their encampment.

“Champion, should I give the order?” Erden asked offering to do it himself.

“No Captain Erden, I’ll do it myself.” He said turning the offer down.

“Warriors, advance!” Leothrad shouted and sixteen hundred warriors advanced towards the large force of Makool emitting from the encampment. In minutes both forces met on the sands. Most of the Makool engaged the small army of warriors who showed little mercy towards them on the field. Shields clashed against shields, and weapons forged from volcanic metals.

Leothrad drew his sword and brushed past some warriors making his way to the front. Over two thousand Makool fought the Angoths and their new allies. Axes, Spears, and swords cut, slashed, and pierced through reptilian skin of the Makool. A few warriors fell to the tridents and javelins as the enemy pressed against them.

Makool fell like swaths of flies as the coalition pushed back. A thousand more Makool arrived from the southwest as another four hundred came to the aid of their Makool brothers. When Leothrad stepped up to the front for the fifth time three rows of shields joined him relieving the first three rows. Leothrad into a Makool’s throat as other warriors killed their opponents along the first and second lines of the enemy.

He killed his fourteenth kill in this battle when an Angoth slammed a sharp axe into the skull of an elite Makool. It was taller yet uglier with bumps allover its face and wore nasty looking teeth on a string around its neck. The warrior to his left shoved a spear into smaller but fatter Makool.

Leothrad cut down two Makool just before their archers opened fire. He watched over three hundred arrows shoot above their heads. The volley of arrows rained down on the four hundred Makool. None of them cared how many the arrows would hit as long as the archers did their job in the battle.

Another volley was fired at the small group of Makool annihilating most of what remained of that Makool force. The small reduced force broke and routed as the coalition pushed the larger force back. Despite the increased numbers the Makool were still dying in swaths. As they pushed on the coalition caused many Makool to trip and be trampled under their feet. Other Makool were knocked to the ground and trampled by their own side. Leothrad counted his thirtieth kill by the time the enemy began its slow retreat.

The coalition forces were able to spread out a little more like a bird stretching its wings out getting ready for flight. Four times the six rows of warriors exchanged positions letting one set of rows rest while the others killed Makool. It was a strategy the Veeks showed them only in phalanx formation. Fortunately they freed some Groviscian Hoplites who know phalanx maneuvers.

Leothrad felt victory was within their grasp when he saw the Makool begin to break from their own ranks. It was only to save their own hides for another of battle. He knew they were fleeing due to the numbers of Makool they lost to the coalition and what they had done to those hiding in the waters. He only hoped they wouldn’t send any more this day. One fight a day was all these warriors could endure for now. Archers in the back fired on those fleeing decreasing the numbers they’d have to face the next day.

Scur was by his side as more Makool left and those who chose to stay put, stood their ground. The day was drawing to a close as the sun sank behind the taken fortress. Once the last Makool facing them died a single banner that meant reinforcements was raised about one of the watch towers.

London

Hello audience,


Here is a heads up I will be going to London tomorrow and won't be back to the United States until the 25th of June. Thank you for viewing my content and reading it. I hope you have enjoyed the posts. Do share my blogs with friends, and colleagues.


Thank you,


Stephen McKee

The Galleon Chapter

Another fort had fallen to the Makool forcing Leohtrad to make another pit stop. He stood on the bow of the Serpent Hunter looking behind seeing the liberated fort over his left shoulder disappear behind four sets of sails from other ships in his fleet. Ilkabad stood next to him and walked away imagining what the Champion saw in through his eyes. Before he turned away Leothrad caught Ilkabad’s attention who just about to take a nap.

“Have the other ships…actually I’ll have the crews inform the other ships we’ll be headed to my home island of Mead.” Ilkabad nodded before going over to the nearest sack and resting on it before falling asleep. In his mind he recalled the island which had a different name but was well known for its nickname for all the taverns and inns where the world’s greatest mead and wine.

On the way to Leothrad’s home island and ancient Angothic Galleon emerged from the depths. It was riddled with heavily armored Makool. Some were heavily armored from head to toe. Ilkabad watched them leap down from their large vessel onto the decks of seven ships that came close to the galleon. Leothrad ordered for the other ships to get close to the large craft, letting these Makool come to them instead.

“Get as close as you can Clovis!” he could still hear Leothrad shouting at Clovis as he fought his way to the bow of the Delkyr.

More than a hundred Makool came aboard seven of the nearest ships attempting to overrun the Angoths and their new allies. Nineteen Makool lay dead on the deck by the time Ilkabad grabbed a loose line and swung his way to the massive galleon. It was one of the many but few ancient vessels the Makool Shaman or sorcerers managed to resurface the vessel with enough warriors to overrun four fortresses.

Ilkabad believed he was the only one boarding the Makool ship. When Ilkabad turned to his left and saw no one else from the Delkyr was attacking the huge galleon, he assumed he was alone in the assault. As he swung towards the galleon Makool threw the tridents and javelins at his line and body. Each one missed him by inches as he came closer to the sails, which nothing but shreds from the long periods they stayed under water. He caught himself on the dangling ropes on the yards and masts of the ship. The he slid down one of the lines to the deck of the galleon. There he landed on top of a commanding Makool warlord, chieftain.

He found himself aboard the enemy vessel surrounded by scores of enemies who didn’t seem to notice him there once he landed on the decks. Ilkabad drew a hand axe and his Kopis right as he commenced his own battle against the Makool. This single great warrior killed his way to the bow as more Makool poured out of the cabins of the galleon. He could not keep up with the amount of corpses he was adding to the deck full of skeletal remains. His mind went to how much he hated it whenever they entered a battle with the Makool the “The Champion of the Angoths” would send him or had him go in first. For Ilkabad it was always into the fray first as the rest of the warriors came in from behind him. In every battle with the Makool this would happen, perhaps Leothrad is trying to make him into another champion? His cousin Evnar often joined him at the front of every single encounter. Except this time Evnar was ordered to stay behind.

Nonetheless Ilkabad couldn’t be that angry with Leothrad, his lover’s twin brother, nor should he even hate the Champion. A hundred Makool glared at him with eyes full of hatred over the killing of their kin. For that moment Ilkabad felt isolated until he saw dozens of Velts and other new allies that Leothrad had picked up, climbing aboard the galleon. He was more than relieved when he saw Leothrad clambering his way up to the stern with a score of warriors armed with bows, swords, and axes following his lead. How many more were coming up to join them? Ilkabad thought as he fought to protect his position at the (bow) prow of the ship. There he took a stand as he watched another wave of Makool emerge from the cabin areas of the enchanted galleon. How were there more of them coming in from the hull? From his knowledge of Galleons those hull should only allow four hundred souls to fill their bellies. Were there more Makool coming in through the hull from the sea somehow?

Ilkabad had never seen this many Makool on board a single resurfaced vessel at once. He saw Leothrad’s allies force their way to the cabins. Seventeen warriors climbed on to the bow of the large craft next to Ilkabad’s position. They were Veltic swordsmen enslaved by the Cren Order once they were captured after battle. A dozen Makool were killed instantly by Ilkabad’s hand before the Velts reached him killing a few score of Makool.

“We’re here to lend a hand. Leothrad wants this entire galleon cleared of any Makool scum on board, he suspects there is a link of chains or lines connecting the galleon to the ocean floor.” A Veltic warrior named Dusbard told Ilkabad who seemed in a loathsome state towards the ship. Funny, Leothrad failed to mention that to me earlier. Ilkabad mutter to himself in his mind. As much as he loathed and yet loved this galleon full of Makool to kill he had a job to do for his lover’s brother.

“Alright what do we need to do about this link to the ocean floor?” Ilkabad asked Dusbard.

“Send the bitch back to the ocean floor!” Dusbard yelled at the top of his lungs as more Makool came after Ilkabad. Dusbard reached out and slapped the Makool with the fathead of his sword. The Makool fell flat on the floor and never got up until one of the others picked him up. It was punched in the face before meeting the blade of another behind it. Ilkabad and the Velts went on the on the attack butchering the Makool on the Galleon.

This ship was lucky it was about to return to the ocean floor. For the amount of the Makool would cause it to fall apart. No one could blame the ocean floor for having rusty iron links connecting itself to the ship. If anyone were to be blamed it had to be the Makool for creating the link from the ship to the ocean floor. All Ilkabad was to kill its entire crew of Makool and send her back to where she belonged. Even if the ship sank to the floor in pieces the floor would still take her and caress her wits soft touching sand. Yet the hard stones, rocks, and the coral reefs jutting upward would penetrate her like a companion who still loved him since she first saw him in his home and met him again somewhere else. It had always been Ilkabad’s duty to send this beautiful sleepy beauty to the soft caressing hands of the careless scholar full of joy and compassion.

Somehow the ship detached itself ocean floor, causing it to rock in the water. Ilkabad guessed the rusty links were fading away from being in the water for so long and stretching the distance between her and the sands she should be with. Now it was a matter of killing the Makool and the sorcerers inside, forcing the ship down to its resting place. It was after all for her own good since no ship in that condition could ever sail again. Even though he’d love to sail and ride this Makool infested beauty he had no choice but to send her down to the floor of the ocean. It felt as though he and his allies were raping the ship in order to get rid of the Makool inside. The very bowels of the galleon were full of Makool protecting the sorcery that kept it afloat from the place she belonged to.

Leading a contingent of warriors, Ilkabad jumped in first into a gaping hole near the prow of the beautiful galleon. He felt others were penetrating through the stern holes and the front entrances of the cabins. The great warrior found himself in the third level floor of the hull surrounded by Makool he had to kill in order to gain control of the stairs to prevent more Makool from coming up. The infestation was beyond count as scores of warriors butchered the Makool forcing them down to the last deck of the hull. There the Makool started to abandon the galleon leaving several sorcerers unprotected. Ilkabad hunted four of them down below the second level. Each one gave a good fight but failed due to the swiftness of Ilkabd’s blade and Kopis. One was found at the very end of the ship now regretting ever keeping the galleon afloat and away from the soft arms of the floor.

Another Makool gave up and dove out of the ship through a hole in the stern. A rather large looking Angoth with a thick black beard grabbed a scrawny looking Makool sorcerer by the neck and slammed its head repeatedly against a single beam. One larger looking sorcerer found itself kicked around by three long haired Angoths and finished off by a corrupted mermaid witch which slit its throat.

The last few were dealt with slowly as the ship began its descent back to the ocean floor. Two were crushed under the weight of the ships storage area collapsing in on two of the quarters. Three more died while Ilkabad made his ascent up to the outer decks of the galleon. One of the sorcerers ran for it but bumped into Ilkabad who had him stomped to death. Another on had control over most of the ship, which had it the one who had charmed it to rise up from her resitng place. Its brother appeared to have encouraged it to in the first place, but gutted the charmer with its trident. It was a betrayal that sent the entire galleon straight down to the floor never to return. For some reason five Angoths let the betrayer live and captured him for future servitude of keeping the ships from resurfacing. As Ilkabad dove from the sinking vessel he realized there were five Angoths left behind whom went down with the galleon. He watched the five comrades go down with the galleon. The corrupted mermaid swam up to him and as other allies returned to their vessels. Makkura was her name and she chose to be free of the Makool’s corruption. Several of the Makool sorcerers whom survived emerged before them offering their assistance.

“This may seem strange to you, but we have chosen to switch sides with the rightful powers of this world.” One of them said to the Angoth warriors. The Makools nodded their heads and expected to have a warm welcome for their assistance.

Raining Bullets Chapter

"Does anyone have any extra ammo?" Viktorov asked hoping to resupply himself.

"You didn't stock up already?" Someone asked him as they checked their pockets to ensure they had enough ammunition.

"Nope didn't have any room in my pockets, I stuffed them full of grenades." He took one out shoving it under a corporal's nose.

Chiecra grabbed two magazines from separate pockets. He handed his two magazines to his distant relative. Viktorov took the clips with a bit of sarcastic gratitude. Chiecra advanced forward along with Aibeth and Viktorov leading ahead as before. The force of two dozen Vestrisian Vanguards advanced to the end of the tunnel. Ilkez took command of the group ordering them to stand against the walls. A cadet handed Chiecra his E-7 rifle back. The cadet retrieved it from the fellow cadet. He nodded indicating thanks, the other nodded in return. Chiecra leaned against the wall to the right of the tunnels end, between two other cadets. Viktorov leaned his head forward to see what lay ahead of them beyond the tunnel. He took awhile scanning the area with his eyes. Chiecra could tell from looking at him the Sergeant's eyes gazed upon the path ahead of them.

"What do you see?" a voice whispered.

"I see mushrooms? Giant ones!" replied the Sergeant. This surprised every Vanguard’s mind. They expected to see mushrooms down here, but not giant ones.

"Is it clear then?" Sergeant Mckaw asked.

"It looks clear but I don't believe it is." Viktorov replied still scanning around. He grabbed some grenades from his pockets handing one to two others. They were smoke grenades. He also had one for himself.

"Here's how we'll play it safe. Private Garel, Corporal Silver-Oak and I will throw these smoke grenades out there in separate directions. While the smoke from the grenades expands, you will go both directions out of the tunnel left and right. Am I clear on this or does anyone have any questions?"

"Umm...Yeah...which way do we go again left or right?" A private asked sounding confused.

"It's past the direction of which wall you're standing against, soldier." Sergeant Mckaw spat at the Private.

Chiecra looked over his shoulder up the tunnel to see more men coming down to reinforce them. It was a group of at least twenty men or so heavily armed with assault rifles and sub machine guns. Their pockets were full of ammo magazines and grenades. The group even brought crates of ammunition and supplies. All heads rolled facing their direction. The leader who was also a Sergeant spoke in an eager voice.

"You need an extra handful?" He asked one of them.

Ilkez looked at viktorov and nodded, he nodded back. "Your name and rank."

"Sergeant Othel, I am in command of these twenty men. I assume Captain Gwynor sent you down here?" The leader said to the squad.

"Actually we came down on our own, but you can say he ordered us to advance forward." The Zhenrai replied. Chiecra saw a paranoid expression on viktorov's face. The sergeant clearly wished to get on with their objective.

"Sergeant, can we please do this now before more Nazdar come this way?" The two Sergeants took Sergeant Gwynor's advice.

"Very well Sergeant smoke that area." The Captain ordered Viktorov.

Viktorov threw two grenades one direction the other two tossed theirs opposite direction of each other. Seconds later Ilkez gave them the signal to move. Ilkez led the force going right. Viktorov and Mckaw went left with twelve vanguards. Chiecra rushed along the wall following another cadet into the white smoke. As he ran out of the tunnel, he and two others turned right through the smoke. Running through the smoke Chiecra found him-self running up a hill or something. Leaving the smoke Chiecra saw Ilkez and the others on the ground taking cover. He dove for the ground half expecting machine guns to open fire. To their luck, none opened fire on their positions or movements. He looked up seeing everyone doing the same thing. Most of them sat up straight, ready to move again. Others laid there relaxing since there was no shooting. The group had run up a hill, which changed into a causeway leading up two more tunnels. The Vestrisians were somehow lucky from Viktorov’s discovery. Viktorov was not lying about the giant mushrooms. Enormous fungus covered the causeway from sight by a foot and a half. Chiecra sat next to a fellow cadet he just met.

"What do you see Chiecra?" Allen asked getting up to his knees to get a better view. The two cadets could barely see over the tall mushrooms even if they were on higher ground.

"I see a whole forest of mushrooms." Chiecra said gazing at a vast forest of mushrooms. The tops overlapped others forming an extended platform.

"By Zeuxis this forest stretches for miles!" cried an elf that stood behind them. The two Balkmel friends looked at each other then at the elf.

"Enjoying the view Vaed?" Allen asked. Eme just laughed, looking out at the vast forest of fungi.

Chiecra turned to his left wondering where the others were. His eyes followed down the long line of mushrooms aligning the causeway. On the opposite side of the tunnel was a wide pathway through the fungi forest. In between the large tunnel and pathway was a large clearing. On the other side he saw the others adjusting themselves around a hole in which they began shooting. Viktorov and the twenty troops he led were on level ground next to a hill against the corner. Behind the hole and between the clutter of mushrooms and the hill was an unseen passage. From there the enemy ran out only to be shot dead. Six Vestrisians ran into the passage just to clean up the area of hostiles. His eyes set down to where viktorov was who was facing them. His mouth was moving along with his arm. The Sergeant moved his arm up and down as if signaling something to them. It did not take but a second for Chiecra to realize what message he was trying to send them. He was trying to tell them "Get Down!"

Looking behind at the standing elf, Chiecra hollered, "Get down Quick!" The cadet pulled the elf down off his feet down level with him.

"What's going on? Why?" The elf became confused but Chiecra shut him up.

"Just stay down!" He yelled to the elf.

A soldier yelled, "What for?", before another word came out of any mouth the wall behind them exploded. Chunks of dirt flew from the wall and covered them. Just as they were stirring back to life from this blast many more blasts and explosions followed. Tank shells from the enemy pounded the wall. These series of blasts created large holes in the wall above them. With his own eyes, Chiecra spotted a small hole in one of the larger ones. From this he could see there was another cavern on the other side. Chiecra searched for Ilkez with his eyes despite the gust of dirt splashing the Vestrisian vanguards repeatedly off the wall. He spotted the zenhrai knight's face just above where the causeway became flat. To get the Sergeant's attention the cadet chunked a clot that hits its intended target. The Zhenrai looked in his direction. He waved for him to come to him.

"Sir, Lieutenant Ilkez. Sir there's something you've got to see!" Ilkez crawled his way to the needy cadet. Once he got to Chiecra smashing against the others he hollered.

"What?" He asked Chiecra. Chiecra pointed at the hole just as is it was hit with another shell. Another clump of dirt covered Chiecra's eyes, he wiped it off to see the hole opened up to show another cavern. This tear through the wall revealed another cavern in which a group of Nazdar roamed. Both Nazdar and Vestrisians were stunned to see each other. Without warning, the Nazdar grabbed their weapons. Responding to this invitation to a shootout the Vestrisians raised their weapons in the enemy's direction. Seven Vestrisians including Chiecra and his comrades lit the Nazdar up with bullets.

"Don't let them get a single shot out keep shooting!" Someone yelled to keep the Vestrisian spirits up. Each one of them that shot into the cavern kept up to this word of advice. Chiecra fired whenever he saw a Nazdar appear. For each time one or so showed up the Vestrisians gunned them down. In just two minutes, not one Nazdar stood or showed up in the open cavern. Though their guns were silent, the tank shells never quieted down. The exploding shells relentlessly bombarded the wall.

"You think there are more of them sir, or did we get them all?" Chiecra hollered over the blasts from the tank rounds. He hoped there were no more to deal with other than the ones in the strange forest of fungi down in the underworld.

"Let's wait a few seconds and see if any more choose to show up." Ilkez suggested adjusting himself to a more comfortable position. One private objected to his idea.

"Sir, what about the bombardment, shooting on us?" A few tank rounds blasted the walls once more. Ilkez simply pointed to where viktorov and his group were. They all looked in the direction their commander pointed. Chiecra also turned his head the direction where they were looking. He saw three Vestrisians wielding what looked like rocket launchers or anti-tank guns. It looked much like a rifle only with a large tube where the projectile fired. Chiecra and his comrades watched the three comrades launch several volleys of rockets to where the tanks must be.

Allen was about to speak when two groups came out of separate locations. One group came through the main tunnel. A larger group of Vestrisian-Vanguards came through the one bellow. They charged in aimlessly armed with Assault rifles and sub machine guns. They were also carrying more crates of supplies. Unseen guns opened fire on them and several Vanguards were hit. The vanguards split up when they saw Chiecra and the others. This group found their way up the causeway to the level ground.

Behind the Zhenrai led group half a dozen Nazdar ran out the tunnel closest to them. The slavers ran out oblivious to their surroundings while passing a few vanguards. This took the Vestrisians by total surprise. The Nazdar came in quickly that the vanguard resorted to their knives, and bayonets due to the close quarters. Chiecra stabbed the first one in the stomach. The remaining Vestrisians tackled the rest of the Nazdar. They stabbed the clueless Nazdar with multiple savage blows before they fell dead. Ilkez ordered someone to go up there to check it out.

"I want three men to go up and clear that cavern of any more hostiles." Chiecra, Allen, the elf Keint plus another volunteered for the job. They crawled up to the level part of the causeway. More shells continued to bombard the walls above them and the opening. It was a slow process getting up to the first tunnel. Having to crawl over their comrades, the four stopped when a shell hit above them. As they crawled up to the tunnel a crate of weapons passed along side them.

"What's in there?" Allen asked confused, wondering why a large crate of weapons was passing along.

"Sub machine guns I think?" an elf replied as he passed it along holding it over his own body. Chiecra crawled past Allen only to meet Keint at the top. The crate came along beside them the same time Allen arrived. The trio picked themselves up to open the crate. What they thought was going to be sub machine guns was just more ammunition. They each took two clips from the crate and headed off to the first tunnel. As they entered the tunnel a thunderous noise of guns going off was heard outside the tunnel.

"Sounds like the war's continuing without us, eh Chiecra?" Chiecra laughed finding his friend's smartness a bit humorous. This tunnel was merely the same as the others only somewhat shorter. There were no turns to go around. On their right were two caverns just feet from the other. On the opposite side of the tunnel, the trio's eyes rested on another cavern. The elf turned his head to see if the fourth volunteer made it through the tunnel. Just as this fourth man reached the tunnel, bullets caught him. A machine gun hit him and his corpse fell like a sack of bricks.

"It's just the three of us lads." Keint replied. Keint was the rank of corporal, certainly a higher rank than Chiecra and Allen.

"What are your names cadets?" He asked both of them.

"Cadet Chiecra Gwynor!" Chiecra answered.

"Cadet Allen Firulk!" Allen replied.

"Excellent, well my name is not Keint it is Sergeant Eme Vaed. I assume the three of us are cleaning up here." Eme said revealing his true name.

"Let's hurry it up then! Stop wasting time standing here!" Chiecra did not have the patience to stand around chatting while his comrades were pinned down and the enemy still lurked about.

"Alright, alright cadet don't get wound up, those who usually do lose control of themselves." The elf calmed the young cadet down. Chiecra took this as an order from a superior.

"Firulk cover us and shoot anything that is a slaver or Nazdar. Gwynor come with me. You and I will clean this first cavern." Sergeant Vaed commanded the cadet.

Chiecra followed corporal Vaed into the first cavern to their right. This cavern was littered with bodies. To the right was the gaping hole from the previous bombardments. They dropped down to avoid any snipers scanning the area. Chiecra could hear his fellow Vestrisian soldiers shouting orders and shooting back when they could. Shells still hit the wall along with machine gun fire. Some even went through the hole splashing debris of stone everywhere. In the center of this cavern lay a table surrounded by Nazdar corpses. It was tipped over its legs facing the hole. Chiecra crouched next to Eme when something moved in the back of the cavern. They made out movement behind a tapestry that covered the wall. The two Vestrisians pointed their rifles on the movement's direction.

"Come out and surrender!" Eme ordered in the Nazdar language. The movement stopped, something turned behind the tapestry. It looked like a head was pressing against it. Eme looked at Chiecra with a confused expression.

"You suppose they can't hear you?" Chiecra suggested.

"Either that or they're not a Nazdar." Eme replied in a whisper. He tried again louder this time.

"Come out and surrender!" There was still no answer.

"Come out and surrender!" he yelled a third time.

"What? I don't understand you?" A voice finally answered, it was a female voice.

Chiecra sighed in relief. He thanked Zeuxis for the person not being a hostile. The room got quiet for a while. This female sounded eager know who was there.

"Hello, is anyone there? I know you're not Nazdar otherwise I'd be dead by now wouldn't I?" The female asked them.

The two Vestrisians kept quiet as though they ignored the female. Their attention was drawn from the mysterious female to something else moving on the ceiling. There was a large hole on the ceiling, one large enough for Arachnids. From what Chiecra experienced this was certainly made by arachnids. For most of the tunnels were naturally formed or hand designed by some other race. A large eight-legged shadow scurried all around the ceiling in aimless circles. 'That is most definitely an Arachnid.' Chiecra thought. Still kneeling, the two could feel their legs growing numb from their position. Chiecra turned his head setting his eyes on the large opening in the wall. Eme continued to keep his eyes on the Arachnid.

"I have an idea." whispered Chiecra more to himself than to Eme. Eme focused on the arachnid lurking above them. The cadet crawled low to the ground not wanting the enemy to spot him. Luckily, the opening did not expose the whole cavern. A two and half feet high wall stood in the hole. It mostly covered the lower part of the exposed cavern. It mainly covered the floor from view. Leaning against this wall Chiecra kept to the right not daring to expose himself. He took off his helmet and placed it on the butt of his rifle. Raising it up he had to check for snipers. Chiecra waved it around several times before getting up. Chiecra appeared before his fellow Vestrisians at the right time. The bombardment had stopped for who knew how long. He caught them brushing the dirt off their uniforms and gear. One soldier noticed he was there.

"Hey cadet you and Keint kill anymore?" He asked the cadet.

"No." replied Chiecra as he put his helmet back on his head. "But we did find something."

"What did you find?" The soldier asked him.

"Some female we can't get out from behind a tapestry. Also an Arachnid, which will require a shotgun though it's unnecessary." The soldier bent down to retrieve something and conjured up a shotgun.

"There all loaded up and ready for killing. I'd keep it just for those tunnels." The soldier advised handing the weapon over to Chiecra. Reluctant to have the shotgun Chiecra set his E-7 down. He returned to Eme, who did not move a muscle. The elf's eyes were still following the circling creature.

"Ready?" asked the elf as if he knew Chiecra had gone to get the weapon.

"Yes!" Chiecra pointed the shotgun in the arachnid's direction. He placed his sights on the creature following its every move looking down the barrel. Wasting time Chiecra fired one shell bringing the annoying creature down. It fell on it s back from the ceiling, but its legs didn't curl up. Instead the creature was still alive its legs thrashing in the air. The cadet fired another shell, this one burst the Arachnid to shreds. The female's voice piped up again.

"What's going on?" She asked them expecting to hear from them.

“You are ...You are going to kill me? Please don't kill me!" She began to panic. Chiecra and Eme had no idea what was going on behind that tapestry. Chiecra grew worried for her. The two Vestrisians rushed to the other side of the cavern. They ripped it down to reveal a wood elf caught in a spider web. She was clearly in need of help. Both her arms and legs entangled in the webs. Her torso seemed to be free to move around except the back. She was relieved to see two soldiers had come to rescue her.

"Oh, please get me down noble warriors. So I can get my hands on those slavers!" She pleaded as though the arachnid was coming after her again.

She smiled a cute smile, blinking several times. Eme and Chiecra dropped their rifles and drew out a knife and a short sword. Their blades cut through the webs freeing this warrior damsel. The elf showed much gratitude to both. She first embraced Eme giving him a quick hug and kiss. Turning to Chiecra, she pressed herself against him squeezing the young cadet. He received a long kiss to the head. She nearly spoke when a burst of bullets rushed by them. Startled all three dropped to their hands and knees on the floor. Chiecra heard the other Vestrisians return fire.

"Miss we have to get you out of here, so you'll need to follow my instructions carefully!" The female elf nodded her head, scared out her mind to say anything. Slowly Eme urged the female on.

"Okay start crawling at your own pace. C'mon, it's okay...that's it, keep moving you're doing good.." Chiecra crawled past the two elves in an attempt to aid his comrades and Allen who seemed to be forgotten. With bullets flying overhead Chiecra found it slightly difficult to crawl to his E-7. As he grabbed his rifle, he heard more shots outside the cavern.

"Oh hithna!" Chiecra muttered thinking a fellow cadet was down. Eme had slowly urged the female safely away to a corner next to the entrance.

"Cadet, don't just sit there help cadet Firulk!" The corporal commanded.

"Yes sir!" Chiecra obeyed this command charging through with an E-7 rifle in one hand and a shotgun in the other. He arrived at the scene to find Allen shooting wildly at a group of hostiles. He fired three rounds before backing off into a crevice opposite the cavern. Chiecra joined the shootout ducking back into the first cavern. Shooting back was a squad of Nazdar troops stationed in the third cavern. There had already been casualties inflicted on the enemy, two bodies lay in the hall, and three more inside the cavern. Chiecra laid his E-7 against the wall. Using the shotgun Chiecra jumped from his cover and fired a volley of shells at the Nazdar slavers. The shells overwhelmed them with shrapnel and metal beads. Three Nazdar fell dead as the beads and shrapnel hit everything in their path. There was still a handful left, Allen shot all around the cavern's edges hoping to nick one of them. Chiecra waited for one to peek his head out to shoot, one foolishly stuck his out receiving a face full of lead.

"I see you have everything under control?" Chiecra commented as Allen shot another slaver in the throat. The slaver fell down slowly dying as his body squirmed with blood spewing from his neck.

"I did, but there were too many of them. Since you are here I have everything under control." Two Nazdar tried to switch off leaping to where they could get a clear shot without being seen. Chiecra's swift eyes caught them and fired his last two shells at them, filling their bodies with lead. The two cadets readied their rifles, Chiecra grabbed his fully loaded E-7 and Allen reloaded his. It was time to end this gunfight so they could finish their job here and help their fellow soldiers.

Jumping from their cover the cadets rushed to the cavern facing them, shooting away when a Nazdar peeked through the doorway. As the two charged in Allen and Chiecra shot every Nazdar and slaver in sight. The Nazdar lined up against the walls at the cavern entrance, which was narrow and long enough to be a tunnel. Not giving the enemy a chance to shoot back the young cadets came in fast shooting the cavern up. Chiecra shot several against the walls leaving blood steins where the bodies once stood. The cavern ended up the same as the first one. Once the shooting stopped Allen and Chiecra looked around to see a room full of dead Nazdar troops. There was nothing more to the room except for sleeping bags and banners all around. In one corner behind them, a figure tried to escape but tripped over a body. Whirling around, they found a short skinny man carrying keys. He leaned forward as though he had back problems like an old man. His face was not at all pleasant it was ugly, and gross with bumps on one side his face. Only the eyes appeared to be normal along with his mouth. He wore a slaver's uniform..

"Hold it!" ordered Chiecra pointing his rifle at the skinny figure. It looked at him with an incest look in his batty eyes.

"Don't move or do anything!" the cadet commanded stepping closer to him. The figure grinned an evil smile.

"Why?" He asked the cadet. His voice matched the ugliness of his appearance. He ran out of the cavern and into the middle cavern. Chiecra fired two shots at the skinny thing, but missed. The two cadets went after the skinny man with keys. As they exited the cavern cries of a woman squealing came from the second cavern on their left. They heard rattling of chains and desperate cries for help. Entering this cavern Chiecra and Allen came across a cavern full of prisoners, many of whom were female captives. Most of the prisoners appeared to be in their teens, the rest fully grown women. The men were all Vestrisian soldiers taken prisoner during the assault. A few looked like they were taken during the first attack of the invasion. All the prisoners were chained to the walls, shackled together by gender and race. The majority of the male prisoners were elves each well fit for combat just like their fellow human soldiers. Three of them had bullet holes to the head, dried blood covered their heads and splattered the wall. Two of them women were elves, and a handful of teens were Lenai girls, several of the women were also Lenai. The rest of them had civilian backgrounds as a native tribe member from the north. When they saw the two cadets hope entered their eyes.

From behind the Cadet two more Vestrisians came in. Chiecra paid no attention to them he was searching for that skinny man. The rattling of chains continued along with whimpering sounds. One Lenai woman who watched some event begged whatever occurred to stop. Next to her were empty chains and shackles.

"Stop it! Get off her! I'll kill you, you sick bastard!" The woman started to cry, tears of anger emerged from eyes.

"STOP!" She screamed as loud as she could.

Rushing to rescue the victim Chiecra readied his E-7. Turning to his right he found the ugly mongrel on top of a Lenai girl. Without thinking, the cadet fired one shot. The skinny man collapsed off a table, which a young Lenai girl was chained to. More Vestrisians came in to find the prisoners and released them. They broke their shackles and unchained them from the walls.

Cadet Chiecra Gwynor stepped over to the victim who was crying. She was about his own age. Tears streamed down her face from the traumatizing experience. He quickly unchained her and lifted her from the table. Chiecra set her up right on the ground. He brushed her back with his hand.

"It's okay, you're okay. Nothing's going to harm you anymore!" He said as she sniffed, calming down and looked up at him. She wrapped her arms around him, frightened by the captivity. Again he reassured her by rubbing her back. The woman who yelled approached them. She took the girl from Chiecra's care and into her own. She looked pitiful, her long dark hair was a mess. Her clothes were torn. The Lenai woman turned to Chiecra with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you." she said in a quiet voice and held the young girl tightly in her arms. The other Lenai joined in to comfort the girl.

"Cadet Gwynor, Cadet Firulk!" commanded a loud voice. It was Lieutenant Ilkez Brutius coming to retrieve the two cadets like runaway strays.

"Sir Yes sir!" they both responded simultaneously. Ilkez looked around seeing elves, Lenai, civilians, adventurers and soldiers all standing in a room at the same time. Major Hawke accompanied him who found the room full of these people quite odd. Ilkez looked at Chiecra raising his eyebrows.

"Where's cadet Firulk?" He demanded.

"Here sir!" replied Allen from behind one of the superior officers. The zhenrai nodded to the cadet acknowledging that he was present.

"What happened? What took you so long? We have numerous hostiles coming in and we need all the hands to hold our position!" Ilkez yelled at them.

"Lieutenant!" hollered the Major. "Don't bother with them, their job here is done and ah, these seven fine soldiers standing among these lovely ladies..." the women forced themselves to giggle, "... could be useful. Give them some weapons and ammo. They look ready to fight!" The seven Vestrisian soldiers stood at attention as one spoke for them all.

"Sir we'd be honored to fight side by side with these two cadets." He said to the Major. The major nodded and sent them on their way to the battlefield. A Captain next to the Major muttered to him.

"Sir what about these women?" the Captain asked the Major.

"Escort the fine ladies up the way we came! The same one we sent the wood elf safe and sound!" The Vestrisians escorted the women out of the cavern and up the tunnel. As the two cadets turned to watch them leave the girls blew them kisses before heading up the tunnel. A few glanced back making sure the two cadets were still standing on the cause unscathed. One waved bye, Chiecra waved back in return watching the dresses and legs vanish into the tunnel.

"To your positions! Here they come!" Ilkez yelled.

Chiecra and Allen dropped down flat on the causeway. Restocking on ammo Chiecra prepared for another fight. This one could take a long time. Behind them ten Vestrisians stationed themselves in the opening, mounting machine guns. One soldier hollered to the ones bellow.

"Hey! Who’s shotgun is this?" Chiecra raised a hand claiming the weapon. He knew he had left it there in that cavern.

Armed with E-7s, Assault rifles and sub machine guns thirty-three Vestrisians laid low on the cause way letting the enemy come to them. The cadet busied himself with loading the shotgun shells and restocking his pockets with ammo magazines. It was quiet, the same quiet these battle hardened veterans experienced numerous times. Chiecra assumed the Nazdar tanks were taken care of. Watching the clearing all ears listened to the sounds of engines heading this way. A group of ten half-tracks each loaded with Nazdars zoomed into the clearing. The vehicles circled around in the huge clearing. Following these vehicles was a company of Nazdar rushing in from behind them.

Before the Nazdar finished circling their vehicles, the Vestrisians opened fire from both sides of the clearing. They shot the scum while they were still in their transports. This ambush almost turned into a massacre. Not one Nazdar shot back as they were gunned down without warning. Chiecra chose his targets carefully as there were a lot of them. Rushing all over the clearing, they dove behind their vehicles to avoid oncoming bullets. He shot the driver of one transport who jumped out of the driver's seat. His other targets were infantrymen scrambling from vehicle to vehicle. Chiecra spied an officer rallying his men to bring back order among the chaos stricken troops. The cadet nailed him in the chest sporting a perfect kill. While his comrades shot happily all over the enemy Chiecra and a few others picked out valued targets such as commanders, drivers, and engineers decreasing their moral. Slowly cadet Chiecra shot each of his targets in the head and heart. He caught one Nazdar running out in the open. He hit him twice in the stomach slaying the fool. Cartridges littered the causeway just as the Nazdar bodies piled up in the clearing. A tremendous body count emerged before the Vestrisians as they shot rounds of ammunition at the Nazdar counter forces.

"Keep it up! Don't let down, or your sweetheart or family will be made into slaves!" commanders hollered, encouraging their soldiers to keep the heat going. Chiecra was sure the others knew the Nazdar hid behind their vehicles for protection. Some began shooting back spraying bullets in their direction. Nicks and scratches was all they sustained, one soldier was hit in the shoulder and was pulled out of action. The cadet focused on shooting any Nazdar he caught through his sights. On the other side of the Nazdar's flanks Viktorov's group lobbed grenades into the middle of the clearing causing carnage and more damage to the enemy. After reloading his E-7 Chiecra thought he saw something coming towards them out of the corner of his eye. Looking right he spotted a horde of figures climbing on top of the mushroom forest. Pausing to see what they were, Chiecra had no doubt it was the enemy attempting to flank them.

"Incoming hostiles on our flank!" the cadet warned.

Just as the raining bullets on the first wave died down the Vestrisians had time to react to this other threat to their right. The machine gunners opened fire on the oncoming group. Chiecra watched the figures go down. A corporal patted him on the head.

"Good eyes Cadet! Shoot them all gunner boys!" he laughed watching the machine gunners do their job. Turning his attention back to the clearing he saw the Nazdar be overrun by Vestrisians. They swarmed them from both sides, and took the clearing. In his mind, Chiecra thought long about the women he and Allen saved from the slavers.

His mind raced to the young Lenai girl he saved from the skinny slaver's grasp. Her features burned in his head, her long dark hair, gorgeous face, and beautiful body. The notion of him rescuing her made him feel empowered. He had been marked somehow. He was destined to become a Zhenrai Knight. Something about her appearance seemed odd to him. She did not seem full-blooded Lenai. She appeared in his mind to be more of a mix of something else. She seemed half Lenai and half Uxane. These thoughts continued to occupy him while the shooting went on around him. 'She's half Lenai and half-Uxane? But of which Uxane tribes?' he asked himself. 'Chiecra concentrate on the enemy not some pretty damsel you just rescued!' Ilkez's voice boomed in his mind. A bullet hit him on the helmet bouncing off the hard metal. The cadet fell from the impact.

"Watch yourself cadet or you'll get killed for sure!" Corporal Vaed said as he picked him back up from behind.

"Don't stop shooting!" a Lieutenant yelled shoving the cadet's E-7 back in his arms.

"Yes sir!" he responded lifting up his weapon and shooting one Nazdar he saw coming out of the clearing.

"Oops! I think that man was unarmed cadet. Guns are pointing that direction!" the Lieutenant said pointing a finger at the tall mushroom forest. He looked at the one he just shot. Apparently, the man was unarmed and several other Nazdar were taken prisoner. An officer escorting the prisoners demanded for the one responsible.

"Who fired that shot?" It was a Captain with a bad temperature from the looks of him. The cadet slowly raised his hand claiming the shot.

"It was me sir! I was not paying attention to the battle and lost track of the battle. Sorry sir!" he apologized saluting.

"A smart one eh?" replied the Captain, storming his way to Chiecra. His nostrils flared as his head grew red as the Nazdar flag. He glared into the cadet's eyes for a moment then laughed.

"Don't worries about it kid we all make mistakes." The Captain patted Chiecra on the cheek.

"Carry, on." Chiecra could not help but smile relieved that he did not receive a court marshal.

"That's Captain Ezner; he can be a bit of a jack ass at times, but still a great guy to be around." Eme reassured the Cadet. Turning to the battle, Chiecra leaned his front body against a mushroom cap overlapping the causeway. He could see more figures climbing on top of the massive caps.

"What happened to our machine gunners?" asked Chiecra.

"No idea, just decided to take a break for some reason." Allen replied glancing up at the opening where the machine guns were mounted with no gunners.

"Looks like we'll have to hold them off without their support for now!" a soldier said receiving agreements from the ones around him.

Chiecra focused on the figures on top of the mushrooms shooting as many as he could before reloading. There appeared to be hundreds of them headed their way. The Vestrisians held off the group as best they could without the machine gun support. While shooting at the hostiles Chiecra could see various different figures advancing on their position. He easily made out the Nazdar troops, and the Troglodytes but had trouble identifying the third type. He had never seen wolf like creatures such as this. They had snouts like a dog only wider, their hind legs were much like a large dogs. Their upright bodies, muscular, beefy arms, and thick necks were strange to Chiecra. Curiously, he asked a soldier next to him.

"What the hell are those furry things coming at us?" he pointed at one.

"Those are gnolls, nasty warlike buggers; best kill those quick before they can get over here, they're ferocious bastards!"The soldier said to him. Heeding the soldier cadet Chiecra shot the ones he could. The other Vanguards were picking them off along with the other hostiles. Shooting his weapon Chiecra saw these creatures, gnolls and Troglodytes were wielding what looked like Nazdar weapons.

"Watch it they're armed with Nazdar weaponry!" Chiecra yelled shooting several down that wielded Nazdar weapons. Some fired back, forcing them to let down a bit.

"What are they doing?" Ilkez yelled looking straight at the unmanned machine guns.

"Somebody get them off their lazy asses; this battle is not over!" A few soldiers threw grenades at the advancing horde. A Vestrisian soldier climbed through the opening but was shot by a single bullet. His corpse fell on top of a couple of men whom were reloading their weapons and hauling more crates to them. They shoved the body aside taking magazines from the body. It did not take long for the gunners to return to their posts only to submerge in a hail of bullets. They fired back when they could. Chiecra kept his eyes on the mushroom caps shooting any hostiles he could see.

"I think we need another machine gun over here to wear down their numbers." the cadet suggested.

"Good idea, Chiecra." Lieutenant Ilkez said and called for a machine-gun through the ear comm-link. A team of machine gunners arrived through the second tunnel of the causeway.

"Over here, set it over here!" Ilkez waved for them to bring the machine gun next to the flat spot of the causeway. They set it up mounting it on a crate. This took away much of the odds that stood against the Vesrtisian Vanguards. Chiecra could tell the pressure was off. Two more teams of machine gunners raced through the second tunnel, one man carrying a machine gun was shot in the head, and no sound came from that shot.

"SNIPER!" someone yelled.

"Get down!" their commanders ordered. The Vestrisians ducked down avoiding the sniper. A few unlucky ones were hit soon after the first one.

"Any good snipers with us?" an officer asked laying low to the ground.

"Here's one!" said a voice behind Chiecra. Turning his body to see the speaker he sees Aibeth pointing at him.

"Cadet Gwynor's a hell of a shot!" Aibeth added securing the sharpshooter position for the cadet. He winked placing a sniper rifle in his arms.

Taking the sniper rifle, Cadet Gwynor crawled up to the flat spot reporting for this duty. With his E-7 set beside him, Chiecra positioned himself and went down on one knee. Arm on the cap of a mushroom the cadet searched through his scope. He received plenty of ammo for the job. Scanning the tops of the caps, he hunted down the enemy snipers. Closing in with the scope, he spotted one Nazdar sniper hiding between two rocks high on a ledge of a cliff to the side of the massive cavern. His hiding place was almost perfect. The two rocks he settled between were close enough to conceal him. However Chiecra could still make out his head. Firing a single shot, he ended the Nazdar's killing spree. Searching for more along the wall and closing in on some ledges that stuck out Chiecra bagged multiple kills. One laid out with no cover, relying on the distance of the cavern to hide him. He found some more climbing up ropes to join their dead comrades. Chiecra relentlessly gunned down three more climbing up wire ropes that held them up from the top ledges. Lower down the cliff Chiecra's scope found more hostiles. Some targets were not even sharpshooters. To him it would not hurt to get rid of them sooner. He heard the machine guns blasting away again to pin down the advancing horde. A spotter joined him to aid his eye.

"There's one to your left by south west, lower ledge third one right of the wall." Chiecra pointed his sniper at this direction finding this one to be aiming at him! He stopped hesitating just as the other one did. They had a staring competition, which involved life or death. One of them had to die. No distractions otherwise it would be the end to either of them.

"Shoot already, you’ve got him in your sights don't you?" this spotter encouraged Chiecra to take the shot.

"Yes." Chiecra answered.

"Then take him out!" One of the soldiers yelled as another shot went over their heads.

"He's...He's also ...aiming..." Chiecra could not speak. The tension from the spotter and the sniper grew too much. Then the sniper turned away, taking the shot Chiecra hit him just as he got up to move on.

"Nice shot!" the spotter cried nudging him in the gut hard. Chiecra turned to see his little overjoyed fan. To his surprise, it was none other than Azdar Shiern.

"Azdar?" he said softly. Azdar looked at him now realizing who he was.

"Holy hithna it’s Chiecra?" Chiecra smiled happy to see an old friend from the Balkmel Mountains.

"How have you been?" Azdar asked nearly mortified to see him again.

"I've been better. This war is a bit of a mess, isn't it?"

"No kidding! Nearly every guy I know and seen in the Balkmel Mountains are in this blasted thing! Since you're here stuck in this snitch I guess that makes all of them!" Azdar said.

"What do you mean? Was every person forced out of the Balkmel areas?" Chiecra asked concerned for the protection of the Balkmels' people.

“No, they stopped coming after me and a bunch of others left." replied Azdar.

"Is there anything about my family?" Chiecra asked almost in a whisper.

"They're alright, just stricken with grief after losing you. They...we...the whole neighborhood even the entire region mourned your loss. We thought you were dead this whole time. Your mother became morbid after that. Your brothers and sisters hardly said anything not even smiled or laughed for a week! Esryl poor Esryl was heartbroken when she heard the news. She's...well...she's..." Azdar had trouble-telling Chiecra about Esryl.

"Dead, I know she's dead. Gampo told me himself." Chiecra said to Azdar’s face.

Aghast to learn he had a run in with Gampo, Azdar was shocked. "You ran into him? Where?"

"Here!" Chiecra growled "Right here. Somewhere back in those tunnels. I killed him myself Azdar I shot the bastard in every inch of his slug body. You want to know why?" He asked his friend and Azdar nodded wanting to know the reason why.

"He told me he killed her. He killed Esryl Kyshar, my girl!" Chiecra screamed in his friends face. Azdar looked at Chiecra's heated angry face with a calm look.

"Actually she's still alive. Alive and breathing well the last time I saw her." Azdar told him. He became calm from hearing this news from a friend.

"What is she doing these days?" he asked hoping she was still doing okay.

"Let's just say she is on the stage performing in plays, musicals, and solo concerts. She's got a voice too and." He leans forward "a nice bust as well." he said with a wink. Chiecra smirked pushing Azdar to the ground. He relaxed a little, almost oblivious to the war around them

"Tell me Azdar how do you know all this? Or did she start performing right before you left?" He said thinking about her and the other Lenai girl barely visible in his mind.

"My mother smuggles letters to me. Chiecra she's with some other bloke!" Azdar said.

"When did this happen? How did he seduce her?" He asked Azdar finding this news bitter to his ears. Azdar fell silent not wishing to say anymore-hurtful news to his best friend. Cooling off Chiecra did not bother him about that anymore. Now they had a war to fight.

"They're falling back!" he heard someone holler. Cheers and praises rose up as the Vestrisians rejoiced in their triumph. Every soldier was weary from the battle. They relaxed, slouching down and rested from the tense fight. Chiecra looked out at the massive cavern, which made up a large portion of the underworld. He could see corpses all over the caps of the mushroom forest. His eyes watched the enemy running away or so many thought. The cadet knew the enemy would come back shortly, in greater numbers too.

"That was one hell of a battle. Wasn't it Azdar?" He asked Azdar forgetting about Esryl. Azdar nodded his head smiling. Ilkez came to sit with them. The zhenrai watched Azdar with a sincere interest. Looking up Azdar jumped up and stood at attention before the Lieutenant not knowing it was Ilkez.

"Sir, ready for duty sir!" Azdar yelled and saluted the officer. Ilkez laughed at Azdar.

"Relax Azdar it's me Ilkez from the temple." Azdar's memory jogged his brain.

"Hey! It's been a long time. You are a Lieutenant now. Killed lots of those Nazdar didn’t you?" The three Balkmel friends reacquainted themselves. Chiecra paid no heed to them. He was more worried about the current battle, which retained an uncalled ceasefire for the moment.

Two minutes passed there was not a single sound or movement from the enemy. Chiecra looked over the caps and the ramp at the underworld. He got a better view compared to the times he was fighting. From there Chiecra could see the mushroom forest expanding all across the massive cavern. The wide path through the forest wound its way through with curves and other paths trailing off what seemed like the main road. On the other side of the massive cavern was the enemy dug in with minor defenses. Their red banners hung from high rocks marking their territory. His gaze went away from the enemy territory to the ceiling of the underworld. His eyes sparkled at a marvelous sight upon the ceiling. Covering the ceiling and spread over the walls were diamonds. These white clear stones appeared like the endless skies above the surface before the cadet. Light shined or reflected off these diamonds illuminating the underworld like the sun’s rays. It appeared as though a ceiling light had been switched on and kept on forever, showing no signs of any black outs. Oblivious to the others around him Chiecra stared up at the diamonds above them. Ilkez came up beside him also watching the ceiling engulfed with diamonds. The zhenrai knight stood next to him yet Chiecra was unaware of his presence.

"It's a better view than what we have seen." he commented. Hearing him the cadet nodded silently. Acting like he finally realized him standing there Chiecra spoke to the zhenrai. "This battle seemed like raining bullets."

"How?" asked Allen joining the two soldiers.

"You know. How rain can be, it goes on forever like it will never stop then it stops for a while then picks back up again. That's how the bullets came in, they never stop, and then they cease, and come back again." He explained to the confused Allen. Allen said nothing more, he looked up at the ceiling noticing the diamond ceiling.

"What lights up this darkening place up so brightly?" Sergeant Vaed snuck up behind them. The elf joined them and stood. He turned his head finding the elf out of the corner of his eye. The elf stood mute as a statue. Chiecra remembered something about the underworld his old friend, Arctice once told him that the underworld was lit up just like the daytime on the surface.

"There are holes in the surface leading deep into the underworld. During the day, light from the sun will find its way through these thin deep holes to diamonds on the ceiling. The light is reflected off these diamonds which lights the underworld." He answered Allen quoting his friend's words. As he says this, a group of soldiers carrying packs and sleeping bags comes through the second hole. One of them breaks off from the group and drops five sleeping bags next to them.

"You'll be sleeping here tonight gentlemen," he said then trudged off.

The five of them watched the man walk to the clearing where the Nazdar vehicles remained unmanned. Chiecra browsed through the five packs seeing their names on them. The brown packs contained not only his last name but the essentials he would need on the battlefield. In the pack he found a pocket knife, can opener, another pair night vision goggles, a metal container shaped like a bowl with a lid, shaking it he could hear eating utensils inside. Rummaging through it even more he found a flashlight, two snack bars, three meat bars, and a small flask for water. Attached to this pack was a trench shovel, and a drinking canteen. Also browsing through his pack Allen found letters in his. He quickly shoved them back in there before anyone noticed, but Chiecra had a slight glance of them. Looking at the letters Gwynor, Chiecra knew this had to be his pack since his brother Captain Gwynor was in the other caverns. His comrades gathered around him forming a circle. A small generator was placed in the center of their circle. Azdar turned it on to get some heat going. Heat came out of the generator warming up the area slowly. Chiecra watched his colleague turn a switch like a lock to keep it from getting too hot.