Holed Up

Aedric and Snoe continue to defend the Queen during the invasion

35.

Holed Up

 

The Queen’s magic attack had been thorough and all of the repulsive creatures were dead in a sickening heap against one wall.   Quickly Aedric, Snoe and the remaining uninjured nobleman stripped the corpses of their weapons then dragged their bodies against the door out of the basement.   Aedric and the nobleman were nearly as pale as Snoe from the stench by the time they hurried back down the hallway.   He had found his long sword underneath one of the reptilian corpses, but it had broken the blade, so he’d taken one of the dead noblemen’s swords to replace it.

 

He hated to disrespect the honor of the man who had fallen in battle defending the Queen by taking his sword, but necessity demanded it.

 

They hurried back to Queen Eioldth, finding her giving potions of healing to the injured nobleman.    She motioned for them to approach and they complied.  

“Tell me about what you have learned of these creatures, Sir Aedric.”   She commanded.

“They are very quick and fight with a weapon in both hands.   In strength they are slightly stronger than humans.   But they are not tactical fighters, their attacks are somewhat ill planned.   They seem to have a weak spot in that a direct down-in-middle attack seems to be hard for them to see coming.    But you have to keep your thrusts very sudden and quick.    There can be no delay or they will see it.”

“They are rather primitive and if you engage them in hand-to hand combat, they favor their own teeth and claws.   They also have a sneaky tactic when fighting them.   They use their long tail to pull your feet out from under you.  Their weapons and scant armor seems to be made of bronze for some strange reason, which is a blessing for any wearing steel.”

 

Eioldth nodded, “They seem to be some sort of primitive lizardfolk, or at least a race similar to them.   I know that the lizardfolk of the south do not use metal weapons since they often travel through swamps in deep water, which would corrode iron and steel.   Bronze does not rust, perhaps that is why they use it; because they live close to the water.”

 

“They are fierce fighters, Your Majesty, and I fear that if a wizard or two were to bring several groups of them against us, we would be overwhelmed, except, of course, for your wonderful arcane hand.” 

 

The Queen looked down at the ring that activated the magic, “I have nearly used up the magic of the ring that is available for today.   When that happens, I won’t be able to summon the spectral hand to materialize until tomorrow.   So I would not count on this magic.”

 

Aedric glanced to the other servants of the Queen, the youthful noblemen, his foster brother, and Snoe, then turned back to Eioldth, “Your Majesty, forgive my boldness, and I admit that I certainly don’t have any right to share my opinion with you unbidden, but I feel I must.”

 

“Go on.”   She gave him permission.

 

“Majesty, I fear that this basement is more of a liability to us then an asset.   I believe that we need another path of retreat if we are bested.   I fear that your person is in danger if we remain holed up here.”

 

“I see.” She smiled just slightly, “Well then, Sir Knight, what would you recommend that we do?”

 

“I would suggest that perhaps the first floor of the palace would be more secure and would offer us the advantage of seeing our adversaries as they approach, as well as giving us more avenues of escape.   Plus, our forces outside could more easily know if we were attacked and in a dire situation and could come to our aid.   Down here we could be annihilated without any knowing of our plight.”

 

Eioldth considered this for a few moments, “What you are saying is true, Sir Aedric, but we also will be more exposed to our enemies.   Still, I do not enjoy sitting in a hole while others fight on my behalf.   However, before we move upstairs, I want to know what situation we are going into, as we have several injured to consider.”

 

“Your Majesty, allow me to scout out what is happening and report back to you.”   Aedric asked and the Queen consented.

 

He grabbed up a shield of one of the Queen’s Bodyguards that had been left behind and hurried out of the room and down the hall.

 

He was stepping over the bodies of the reptilians when he realized someone who moved very silently was behind him.

It was Snoe.

“What are you doing?”  He asked, startled that he hadn’t heard her running behind him until just then.

“I’m going with you.” She replied with her usual shy smile.

“No you’re not " they could be in the middle of a terrible battle up there.   We can’t know for sure this deep underground.   I don’t want you put in danger.”

“I’m your squire, remember?   I’m supposed to attend you.”

“Well, ‘attend’ me by staying with the Queen.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You heard me; no.” She smiled nervously but matched his unpleased stare.

“You are supposed to do what I say, you realize.   That is how a squire learns to be a knight.”

The white skinned girl shrugged, “Well, I don’t plan on becoming a knight, so it doesn’t really matter how well I follow your orders.   My mother and sisters are up there, as well as Thorm, Mutt and Carn.   I’m going with you whether you like it or not.”

Aedric closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, “Very well, I don’t imagine I could stop you anyway.   Come on.”

 

They stepped over the dead bodies and he slowly opened the heavy iron door that had once locked prisoners into the former dungeon.   They peered through into the stairwell, but nothing stirred.   Distantly they could hear something from above, though it was unclear.   They began to hurry up the long stairwell to the surface.

“You were terrifying back there with your swords.” He told her in a near whisper as they rushed up the stairs, “Your father taught you how to fight like that?”

“No; he doesn’t fight with two weapons very well; he uses that great sword and he is a master of that.   My mom actually taught me; the Drow are overall quite skilled at using two weapons in combat.   But it was my sister Amala that really worked with me; we practiced over and over for many hours.   She’s really awesome to see in action.”

 

“So I’ve heard.  What about your other older sisters?”

“Sirya is pretty good, but she likes short swords and bucklers.   Aranthi absolutely hates weapons- she thinks they are very unladylike.   But she knows how to use a sword well enough - she just doesn’t like to do so.   Mom was a natural with two weapons, though she’s not as skilled as Amala, I’d say.”

“From what I saw, I’d say you are nearly her match.”  

 

Snoe just blushed and averted her eyes in her fetching way, and they arrived at another heavy iron door that opened out into the first floor of the large palace.   Even through the heavy door, they could hear the sounds of battle. 

 

Without a word between them, they both pulled out their swords and with a glance to make sure she was ready, he swung the door open.

 

Down the long hallway, just in front of the main entrance to the palace, a fierce battle raged.   It was Snoe’s mother and sisters, along with Thorm, the Bugbear and Goblin, as well as about nine merchants, formed in a line amid a growing pile of bodies, desperately trying to defend the hall against a mass of reptilians, men, and hobgoblins, who were slowly pouring through the splintered doors of the palace.   A huge Ogre had his head through the doorway, waiting impatiently for his comrades to push the defenders back enough to give him enough room to come inside to assist them.   

“Go tell the Queen!”   Aedric said to Snoe, and instead of waiting for her answer, he ran forward to assist.

 

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...if we were attacked and in a dire situation and could come..." You have an extra "and."

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina. I had a mess upgrading my OS yesterday, so didn't have time to get on-line last night. I'll make the corrections today after work.