Under siege

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat in his squadron's tent with Eva in his lap. He could smell war in the air and sense the nervousness in the dwarves, but Gavner was excited as ever. Vampires longed for blood and battle, but Gavner took more pleasure in combat than anything else. Years of vicious training instilled a lust for carnage inside him. Gavner looked up as he saw Shkening appear in the entry way of the tent, nod, then disappear. Gavner knew this was the signal; it was time.

Stepping out of the tent into the division's camp, they made their way to the edge of camp. The dense fog and the late night made their visibility slim to none. Powerful burning torches were stationed at the edges of the camp but the fog was so dense that they only cast a faint glow throughout the camp. All Gavner could see was less than five feet in front of him. When they made it to the edge of camp Gavner was sure of one thing; the dwarves were not prepared for this...

[matthewkuch]

~seven days earlier~

Gavner woke up to a soft whimper and a slight tickling at his nose. He opened his eyes to find Eva's backside resting on his mouth, and her tail flicking back and fourth brushing his nose. Eva often moved in her sleep, and made noises but this took Gavner completely off guard. Reflexively he bolted upright giving a short cry, and Eva flew through the air and flopped down gently on the end of the mattress. "Sorry Eva," Gavner said. "That was an accident."

Barking softly she sleepily got to her feet and pressed her head in Gavner's hand, who ran his fingers through her dirty fur. After a six day trek Gavner and Eva made it to the Al Kitar Mountain range and were warmly greeted by Woodan who showed them to a room. Stretching Gavner got to his feet and looked around. The room was made of beautifly polished stone and had a thick line of gold on the ceiling that cast a glow throughout the whole room. Looking close to it Gavner saw what looked like a thick liquid inside that was the source of the light. Walking to the door Gavner looked over his shoulder to make sure that Eva was following him and then pushed it open. On the other side he found a female dwarf with long black hair. She had bird like features in her face and wore a black shirt. Her pants were black as well with an array of tools and utensils on her belt.

"Master Nahs" she said, "I have been expecting you. Haldiraktor Woodan said that when you emerged you would need to bathe." She folded her arms, pursed her lips and looked at Gavner. Taking one look at him she nodded and curtly said "Come."

Gavner's jaw dropped as she turned and he looked down at himself. He noticed that he did need a bath, as his clothing was stained with dry blood and his limbs still had bits of the stuff on them. Looking up he noticed that the dwarf was already far ahead so he and Eva ran to catch up with her brisk pace.

"What is your name?" Gavner asked when he caught up

"Opta" she replied shortly.

"Where are we going?"

"To the bathing quarters" she answered with a faint tone of irritation.

"Where is that?"

"Look do you want to bathe or not?" She snapped stopping and turning to Gavner. He almost ran right into her.

"Um-"

"Well then I suggest you stop asking stupid questions!" she hissed. Gavner fell into an awkward silence and the dwarf continued down the tunnel at an even faster pace. After about five minutes of the chasing the angry dwarf and looking at the ground, she came to an abrupt stop and Gavner almost ran into her again.

"Great, what did I do wrong this time-" Gavner started but the dwarf held up her index finger motioning silence. Gavner looked ahead and saw that the tunnel ended. Looking closer he saw that the golden line on the ceiling of the tunnel came down the other side of the tunnel and went into the ground. Walking closer Gavner saw that the tunnel did not end, but rather had a drop off. "Why did we come here?" Gavner asked.

Opta sighed and gave Gavner the dirtiest look ever. He fell into another one of those awkward silences.Walking to the edge of the drop off Opta turned around to face Gavner. He prepared to turn around and leave the tunnel but she got on a knee and put her hands on the floor of the tunnel. She lowered her other leg down and began to climb down and Gavner began to feel like the biggest idiot in the world. Scooping Eva up he placed her in his black knapsack.

"She really must hate me for some reason," Gavner murmered to Eva who gave a happy bark in return. Gavner slung the bag with Eva in it across his back, and began his descent.

[matthewkuch]

The descent continued on for about ten minutes, reaching platforms every 15 feet or so. As they continued the golden light grew dimmer until nothing more emanated from the stripe than a faint glow. When they reached the bottom, Opta continued down the tunnel and they reached a wooden door. The wooden door was made of thick dark wood and was a few feet taller than Gavner.

"Behind this door is the hot springs. You will find soap and towels in the crates which lie inside. I shall return in one half of an hour to take you to the feast." Opta said

"Wait there is a feast?" Gavner asked, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth he wished he could take them back.

"Is that not what I just said!?" Opta snapped furiously.

"I'm sorry!"

"Start paying attention Gavner! I do not like to repeat myself!" she spat heatedly at him.

"Very well madam," Gavner said with a deep bow. "You have my sincerest apologies."

"Just get in there and wash up." she said disgustedly and started down a tunnel that branched off.

Taking Eva out of the bag he set her on the polished stone floor and pushed open the wooden door. The first thing he noticed was that the faint golden glow turned to a brighter reddish radiance. There was a sheet of steam that engulfed Gavner as he stepped into the room. The moisture in the air lingered in his lungs when he breathed, and he began to observe his surroundings. In front of him there was about five feet of stone that led to a good sized body of water in the center. To the right of the walkway in front of him were several crates of soap and separate crates of towels. On a hook that was mounted to the side of the wall was a white robe just about Gavner’s size.

Steam was rising off of the water but it was as still as glass. Gavner hung his cloak and traveling clothes on a hook next to the robe and placed his boots and bag at the base. Grabbing some soap he headed off to the water. Gavner was engulfed in very warm water that relaxed every muscle in his body and relaxed him. This was the first time he felt so lose and calm in quite a while. The pool of water came up to about his belly button in the center and shallows out to about his ankles at the edges.
Looking at the edge Gavner noticed Eva sitting straight up with wide eyes and perked ears looking at him. "Come on in Eva, it feels very nice!" Gavner called.

Eva hesitated for several moments, but then started towards the water. When she reached the edge of the pool Gavner splashed her and she backed up, cringing with a yip. After being splashed Eva gave a soft growl and started in towards Gavner, who backed into the deeper end and sank down to his knees. The water was now up to his neck, and Eva was swimming towards him. When she reached Gavner, Eva crawled up onto his head. Gavner remained where he was as a sopping wet Eva dripped on his face.

Reaching up and grabbing her, Gavner lowered Eva into the water and began to scrub the dirt and grime from her fur. After they were all squeaky clean Gavner and Eva dried off with towels and Gavner put on the white robe. It was made of silk, and was very comfortable. Kneeling down, Gavner finished drying Eva off with the towel and she turned into a barking puffball.

After they were finished, Gavner and Eva exited the cavern only to find a sour looking Opta outside the door with her hands on her hips.

"Oh great," Gavner mumbled to himself, fearing what Opta was going to yell at him for now. "This ought to be good...."

[matthewkuch]

"What was that!?" Opta snapped, infuriated.

"Nothing!" Gavner replied quickly.

Her face contorted as she gave him the evil eyes.

"You were supposed to be done ten minutes ago! And why are you in that robe?? Did you not find the clothing I left for you?" Opta yelled.

"Um... You left clothes for me?"

"Gavner!"

"Okay, okay." Gavner said turning back into the cavern.

Behind the door he found clothing identical to his others, except they were made from an extremely soft material which was the most comfortable he had ever felt. Coming out of the cavern Opta rushed him down a tunnel and through a network of twists and turns. After about ten minutes they reached a large room about seven times as large as the cavern Gavner bathed in. There was a long wooden table in the center and a large line which emanated the golden light that lit up Al Kitar.

Many dwarves were sitting at the table, and upon Gavner's entrance all of them cheered. A dwarf, taller than all the rest, with a dark mane of untame hair rushed up to Gavner eager to meet him.

"Gavner Nahs!" he said, shaking his hand vigorously, "I have waited so long to see you. I am Commander Sczarnaf, leader of the Dwarven army."

[matthewkuch]

After the feast, the dwarven commander invited Gavner back to his quarters to talk. Gavner was initially nervous about this, as he was unsure what lie ahead, but he realized that this was a great chance to inquire about the dwarves. From the moment he passed through the gate of the mountain range to the time he stood there with Sczarnaf's invitation, one thing had been on his mind. Why had the dwarves been so hospitable to him?

After accepting Sczarnaf's invitation, the war veteran led Gavner through various twists, turns, inclines, and declines. All of the tunnels were illuminated with the mysterious golden light on the top of the tunnels that cast a glow through the entire space. The tunnels were made of brilliant polished granite of many wonderful colors. Each spec of pigmentation seemed to be just below a thin sheet of the smoothest glass known to man when Gavner ran his hand over the wall. The cold stone left his fingertips at a slightly lower temperature than the rest of his body, and the very tunnels seemed to leave Gavner in awe.

After several minutes of walking, Gavner and Sczarnaf walked out into what seemed like a tunnel junction. military department of the Al Kitar Mountain Range. The tunnel, which was about 10 feet tall by 12 feet wide, opened up into a large cavern with huge wooden doors. The structure of the cavern was no longer of polished beautiful stone, but of rough basalt and grey stone. The floor was worn to a flat bumpy plane, but the walls and ceiling were still jagged from the cuts and hews made by the builders. Gouges and uneven edges were left in the walls, giving the new territory an entirely different air.

The doors were made of thick, and presumably extremely strong dark wood reinforced with iron supports with no handles. Commander Sczarnaf walked to the door and knocked loudly. While waiting Gavner noticed that the doors had and metal rectangles that had a wooden slats in them. There were two slats, one about Sczarnaf's height, and one about Gavner's height. There was an awkward silence that dragged on for several minutes until the bottom slat opened. Behind the slat peered a pair of pure black eyes. The slat then slammed shut and the doors were pushed open. Behind the door was a tall dwarf with black hair, a tame black beard and pure black eyes.

"Gavner," Sczarnaf said, "I would like you to meet General Xnias, my right hand man and second in command of the entire dwarven army."

[matthewkuch]

"Pleased to meet your aquaintence, Master Nahs." Xnias said smugly, lowering into a deep bow.

"The feeling is mutual, General." Gavner replied. Gavner did not like Xnias by the looks of him, but he had been wrong about people before.

"Commander," Xnias said turning to Sczarnaf. "It is as we have feared, the unspoken have breached the front lines. Our military is now engaged in combat."

"Xczunge!" The commander cursed, "This can't happen!"

"Sir," Gavner said, "what has happened?"

"The unspoken are a race that the kingdom has been feuding with since anybody can recall," Xnias said.

He proceeded to explain how the unspoken were a race that the dwarves shared extreme enmity with. Ever since the dwarves moved to the Al Kitar Mountain Range the unspoken wanted to take the area from the dwarves. They tried to take it by force but the dwarves were always more technologically advanced and skilled in war than the unspoken were. The dwarves created a vast kingdom which thrived in the mountain range, as the unspoken sulked in the forest. Up to this point in time the unspoken still abhorred the dwarven kingdom and wished for their demise.

"Well sir," Xnias said in his snakelike voice, "what's our plan?"

[matthewkuch]

Gavner stood unnoticed in the corner of the war room, nothing more than a shadow to the busy dwarves of high rank. They were hurrying around consulting with each other and talking strategy. The room was roughly hewn into a chamber of dark stone and dimly lit by several lanterns. There were maps of the Al Kitar Mountain range and the surrounding landscape on one wall, and a map of the forest in which the unspoken resided in on the opposite.

Gavner noticed that the battlefront was about two miles from the side of the mountain range, and one mile from the forest. The mountain range seemed to be well guarded, defenses and traps were set, but little was known of the forest in which the unspoken resided in. All that was marked was that it was their forest. Nobody had done any exploring or scouting to see how their base was laid out. Sczarnaf walked in and all of the dwarves fell silent, aware of the commander's presence.

"Listen up," he said. Sczarnaf was never one to waste time with pleasantries. "The unspoken have attacked our lines and they hold a constant organization. This is not how they normally attack." Sczarnaf proceeded to explain how they were attacking in greater numbers, better organization, and with actual tactical movements. They were equipped with swords, hammers, and even armor. This was a big step for them as they never used this equipment in the past. The dwarves were in for a rougher battle than usual.

[matthewkuch]

"We have not prepared for a type of war like this," a dwarf spoke up. "How long will our front lines keep morale, and how long will they hold after losing it?"

"Will we have to attack them in the forest this time?" Someone else asked.

"Do you think they have covert ops?"

"If they keep coming how do we defeat them?"

Unable to answer the barrage of questions coming to him, Sczarnaf stepped up and silenced the dwarves restoring order to the room. "The first issue we must address is the strength of our troops versus the strength of their troops. We also need to know if they are psychotic or not; we will have to create much better defenses if they do not care about dying."

It was true, if the enemy simply charged at the lines attacking nonstop it would be very difficult to defend without losing many troops. Sczarnaf sent a messenger down to the battlefield to find out this information, and the war room erupted with questions and concerns about the new threat. None of them noticed the vampire standing who was standing in the corner, observing everything from afar. Sczarnaf seemed to be overwhelmed with all of the commotion, then he seemed to remember something huge. He silenced the room and turned around, looking at the shadow in the corner.

"Master Nahs," he said.

Gavner stepped forward and some of the dwarves gasped, now finding out that he was there the entire time.

"What would you suggest in this type of situation?"

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat in his squadron's tent with Eva in his lap. He could smell war in the air and sense the nervousness in the dwarves, but Gavner was excited as ever. Vampires longed for blood and battle, but Gavner took more pleasure in combat than anything else. Years of vicious training instilled a lust for carnage inside him. Gavner looked up as he saw Shkening appear in the entry way of the tent, nod, then disappear. Gavner knew this was the signal; it was time.

Stepping out of the tent into the division's camp, they made their way to the edge of camp. The dense fog and the late night made their visibility slim to none. Powerful burning torches were stationed at the edges of the camp but the fog was so dense that they only cast a faint glow throughout the camp. All Gavner could see was less than five feet in front of him. When they made it to the edge of camp Gavner was sure of one thing; the dwarves were not prepared for this...

Gavner had agreed to be a part of a special team of elites who were in charge of scouting, infiltration, and extraction. These were dwarven elites, but they were not terrible. Gavner was far more advanced than them in all areas, but that was simply because he was a different race. They planned to do the simplest strategy ever; hide and seek.

"Hold on," Shkening said turning to Gavner. "If we are going to infiltrate we must do so with the utmost secrecy, That means no talking." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace with a silver medalion on it. The medallion had an engraving of a hammer one side and a helm on the other side. "This will let you communicate telepathically with anybody who is within 10 feet.

"Thank you," Gavner said, "now lets go out there and get to the bottom of this."

[matthewkuch]

Gavner stalked through the forest with his team. It was almost dead silent in this area but Gavner could sense something was amiss.

Hey Shkening, do the unspoken have any magic? Gavner asked the team leader.

We had always thought they were too intellectually behind to use any, but we had better be safe than sorry.

One of the dwarves began to stand up and shoot arrows far into the forest every 50 feet or so to set off any magical traps. The team slowly crept deeper and deeper into the forest. When they had reached quite a distance they saw light coming from within the forest. They continued forward until it became clear and they could see a clearing. In the clearing were small huts made of dirt and straw. Guards were patrolling the perimeters of the camp with spears and shields. They were about the size of dwarves, but their faces were obscured by helmets.

You go around I will continue through the camp, Gavner said to the rest of the dwarves.

Gavner could see four guards on the near side of the camp, and the nearest hut was about fifteen feet from the edge of the forest. Gavner crept to the edge of the clearing and poised himself to run to the nearest hut. When Gavner saw the guards were not looking he ran and hid behind the hut. He noticed the guards were still not looking so he continued running until he made it to the other side of the clearing. He made his way through the wooded area to a path. Following this path Gavner saw light up ahead as well.

Arriving to another clearing, Gavner looked into the new area. The place was crawling with guards and there was a large building in the center. Gavner saw the rest of his team on the other side of the clearing and he launched their strategy.

[Quentin Boone]

matthewkuch receives:

885 EXP
110 GP

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added!