From Depths to Skies

[Leiven Loramrai]

Leiven could feel the dark closing in around him as he shifted his heavy shield into place. The Sundered Caves were known for their violent and numerous denizens, and it seemed like today was no exception. There was a distant rumble beneath the much closer scrabbling and scraping of claws and scales against stone. The dwarf hefted his bearded axe and shifted his shield, ensuring he was nestled completely between the boulders he had chosen. If he remained standing in the tunnel without bracing against the walls, he’d be swept away by the monstrous tide.

Seconds passed, and the echoing cacophony of approaching beasts grew ever louder. With their closeness came the stench of burning hair, rotting meat, and the gibbering shouts of their masters. Several more long seconds went by before the sides of the tunnel began to flicker with wavering firelight. The sound of the approaching horde was near deafening now in the enclosed space, and Leiven grimaced as he struggled to keep himself hidden.

A rush of heat and wind came like a wave down the tunnel. Fire lizards, with their wide rolling gait and flame touched maws, followed close behind, their talons cutting small gashes in the stone as they scrambled forward. They flew past him in a torrent of scales and thickly muscled limbs. Many of the lizards closest to the tunnel walls even passed over his hiding place or careened almost drunkenly off his braced heavy shield.

The entire wave lasted perhaps a minute before only a few small straggling lizards remained; Then came the gremlins. Leiven moved his head ever so slightly to peek through the sliver of a gap between his shield and the boulder to his side. The gremlins were arrogant but small creatures, long of limb and gaunt of body. They had bulbous heads with small horns just above glowing orange eyes. Their hands bore small talons, and their mouths gaped open to reveal rows of sharp teeth lit by the glow of inner fire.

Leiven waited as he watched the small band of creatures pass. There were six of them, but only two seemed to be paying any real attention to the tunnel. The others gibbered and gesticulated wildly, some argument passing between them as a group. The dwarf grinned when he realized they hadn't brought any weapons. He needed only 4 tongues, and while gremlin fire was dangerous, he had a solid shield and a good deal of mass on the creatures.

When the last gremlin, one of the two actually paying attention, slowed near Leiven’s braced shield, the dwarf tensed. The creature was tilting its head side to side, likely inspecting the obviously different sheen of the dwarf’s shield. Deciding this was as good a chance as he’d get, Leiven lifted his shield up and lept off the wall. His body jerked forward, and the weight of his stocky frame, combined with his heavy armor and solid shield, struck the last gremlin like a battering ram.

The creature’s body crumpled as its skin ruptured and its skull split apart. There was a burst of bright orange gore thrown onto the wall accompanied by the clatter of armor as the dwarf landed. Leiven laughed heartily as he brought his axe in a sweep around his shield to split the next closest gremlin across the middle. The creature’s eyes were wide in shock, its mouth still open gibbering in complaint as it spent what remained of the air in its lungs. The four remaining gremlins shouted in alarm and tried to scamper away from their attacker as he stepped over their fallen comrades. Leiven just watched them, trundling forward at an unhurried pace. He could hit them with his crossbow if they tried to actually run, but gremlins were known for their fiery temper.

One slightly larger gremlin opened his jaw wide and belched flame at the dwarf. In a smooth practiced motion, Leiven dropped his heavy shield to the stone and bunkered behind it, letting the scorching heat collide with the dense steel and wash over his head. The other gremlins, emboldened by his defensiveness, charged with hoots of courage. Leiven remained behind his shield even as the wave of fire passed. As soon as the first gremlin on his axe side was in range, he dashed forward. Sweeping his axe down in a high arc, he cut the creature from shoulder to hip. At the same time, he lifted and slammed his shield out to catch another gremlin across the chest.

The axed gremlin came apart in another spray of glowing orange gore, splattering the walls, floor, and axe with sizzling remains. The shield struck gremlin fared better only in that its body was still in one piece. The quick-moving metal, combined with the creature's reckless charge, had snapped and shattered its bones. It mewled pathetically on the floor, struggling to draw breath into punctured lungs. Then the remaining gremlins were on him, and Leiven pulled back his shield before shuffling towards the tunnel wall. Despite their size, the claws could still wound him terribly if they managed to slip past his armor.

The gremlins swung wildly, scraping and biting anywhere they could reach. Leiven used his shield in short snapping strikes to push them away, bringing his axe to bear whenever he had a fair swing. His cuts were broad, deep, and devastating to the small gremlin frames. In several short seconds, there was a pile of corpses and only the larger gremlin remained. The creature became a gibbering mass of fury with flailing limbs and glaring eyes, and yet it held its ground. Were there not the looming threat of the fire lizards returning Leiven imagined he would have felt respect for the creature. Instead, he planted his shield and lifted his crossbow to fire from a braced position. There was a distinct chunk of gears and metal cord, and the gremlin’s head snapped back with the crack of bone.

Leiven breathed heavily, giving his body a shake to push off the onset of battle fatigue. With hurried motion, he unsheathed a knife from his belt and moved to each gremlin corpse in turn. The removal of the tongue was simple, assuming one had heavy gloves to protect from the needle-sharp teeth and sizzling blood. As he cut the last tongue out and slid it into his sack, he turned his attentions to the echoes of the tunnel. He heard concerning sounds just over the slow heave of his lungs. The fire lizards were coming back, likely having entered a large open cave before getting turned around without the gremlins to drive them.

Dropping all regard for stealth or care, Leiven started a jerky jog down the tunnel. He wasn’t more than twenty paces from an upward cut, but even still he felt a trickle of terror along his back. If the fire lizards caught his scent over the blood of the gremlins they’d follow him no matter how far he ran. He hit the steep slope at a near sprint, his vision flipping to the colorless greys of complete darkness as he moved away from the gremlin corpses. Leiven dug deep into his dwarven reserves as his plate clad boots pounded up the stone tunnel.

When he broke onto his third new level of tunnel, he let his pace slow to a heaving walk before finally leaning against the wall to suck air into his burning lungs. At this point, if the lizards were still on his trail he’d be overrun. With a quick final gulp of air, Leiven rose to his full height and chuckled softly to himself. He’d get paid nicely from this, perhaps enough to catch the airship down into plains if he played it right. He took a moment to look around for his chalk markings, growing mildly concerned until he backtracked and found his last indicator. Only fourteen more ramps to go before he reached the surface and then another days trek to the edges of Domrhask.