Danica Pt. 09

The three wizards completed their spells about the time that the ogre's shield shattered. If they were to maintain the illusion of being monsters, they could not use the more powerful magic at their disposal. Few -- if any -- goblin shaman commanded truly powerful magic. The three instead cast web spells at the three standing ogres. The hulking monsters roared in rage as the webs entangled them.

Danica and Terran dropped to their knees, forced to use every ounce of their strength and will to keep the spell from shattering and releasing the ogres. Celes stayed on her feet, but her face showed great strain as well.

Another arrow and another bolt thudded into the ogres, having as little effect hitting the monsters in the heads as the previous missiles in their chests. The arrows glanced off the ogres incredibly thick skulls and did not penetrate far.

The two dwarves reached the ogre that Cheron's throw had dropped in the beginning of the fight. It was struggling to rise, and its eyes widened in surprise when it saw the two dwarves in the shape of orcs barreling down on it. It managed to get its shield in line as they approached, but it did him little good.

The impact of Feros' war hammer split the raised shield in two, and then continued through to bounce off the ogre's thick skull, drawing a cry of rage from it. The ogre barely managed to get its huge club up to defend against the vicious slash of Griffith's axe, the strike nearly simultaneous with the blow from Feros' war hammer.

Cheron's mace connected with the face of one of the entangled creatures, crossing its eyes and drawing another scream of rage. Brandon moved to help the two dwarves, as the ogre was stubbornly rising and managing to fend off their blows with its club and broken shield. Bear roared and charged toward one of the entangled ogres.

One of the ogres, then another, flexed its enormous muscles with cries of rage and shattered Danica and Terran's spells. Celes' held, but she dropped to her knees now as well. The two wizards shrugged off the pain of having their spells broken to cast again.

Brandon turned to defend against one of the two ogres that had struggled free. He deftly sidestepped an overhand swing from the ogre, managing to cut the creature's forearm as it pulled its club back. Bear slammed into the other freed ogre at the same time, war hammer leading. His massive hammer caught the creature unprepared and staggered it back when the blow landed on its huge chest.

Another crossbow bolt thudded into the one still entrapped ogre, doing some real damage when it embedded in the creature's eye. A long shaft from Janelle's bow caught the creature in the thigh, narrowly missing its groin. Celes was able to rise back to her feet when the ogre's strength drained from the hits.

Bear and the ogre he battled were on a near even footing. Bear's war hammer and the ogre's metal reinforced club collided repeatedly as they both sought an opening. Brandon dodged another blow from his ogre, and then dropped low to slash the creature's side. He rolled away quickly, narrowly missing a smash from the huge club as he did so. The ogre was off balance from the strike, however, and Brandon managed to score a painful slash across its buttocks when he popped back to his feet from the roll.

The two dwarves bashed and slashed their ogre, but the creature was taking the hits or blocking them, and had now risen to its knees. It managed to hop back to its feet with a howl of rage. The ogre didn't realize it was fighting Dwarves or it would likely have stayed in a kneeling position. Both of the stout little bearded men grinned wide when the ogre stood.

Venaru leapt into the clearing, throwing five sharpened diamonds of metal as he appeared. The ogre facing Brandon felt the pricks as the weapons lodged in the back of its neck. The sting distracted the creature enough for Brandon to score a hard stab into the creature's shoulder. Venaru drew a slender curved sword from a sheath on his back and rushed to aid Brandon.

Terran's spell released as Venaru appeared, a massive volley of magical arrows popping as they sank into the entrapped ogre's chest, further stealing its strength. Cheron's mace collided with the monster's knee moments later, dropping it to the ground. Danica finished her spell of blinding at the same time, and the ogre Brandon fought cried out in enraged fear when the spell stole its sight.

The two Dwarves continued to grin wickedly as they danced about avoiding the swings of the ogre's massive club. The monster had a great deal of difficulty hitting the short, stout warriors now that it was on its feet. It overbalanced with one swing, and the dwarves both let out great howls of delight as they dived in toward the ogre.

Janelle rushed into the clearing, leading with a thrown dagger that lodged in the entrapped ogre's throat. The monster's breath gurgled from the blood seeping into its windpipe.

Bear managed to get past the ogre's guard and score a hit on its weapon arm, which numbed the arm and caused the creature to drop its club. Bear whipped his weapon back around in an arc and brought it down hard, catching the creature in the opposite shoulder when it tried to dodge the blow.

The ogre Danica had blinded flailed around it with its club, roaring. Brandon looked for openings as Venaru approached, the Eastern warrior again leading with more of the metal diamonds. These connected with the creature's face, one of them ruining its left eye. When Venaru bounded into range, he suddenly dropped down to one knee and scored a stab into the creatures left knee. It howled in pain but continued to flail with its club, knocking away both Venaru and Brandon's weapons as they tried to strike again.

The two dwarves dived at the ogre's legs, weapons leading. Feros' war hammer struck the creature in its knee with a resounding crack. Griffith's wicked axe sliced across the back of the creature's other leg at nearly the same time. The monster fell with a howl of pain, its knee shattered by the war hammer and hamstrung by the axe.

The ogre fighting Bear suddenly roared and surprised Bear by leaping forward to wrap its arms around the big man. They both tumbled to the ground, the ogre regaining its footing first. It kicked Bear hard in the nose, and then quickly ran toward the edge of the clearing.

Janelle drew her sword immediately after she threw the dagger. She slashed the now kneeling ogre across the throat as she passed, spinning to avoid its grasping hands. Blood spurted everywhere from the wound, and the monster died a moment later when Cheron's mace thudded directly into the wound and crushed the ogre's windpipe as well. The creature's head lolled eerily backwards as it fell to the ground.

Another mighty swing of Feros' war hammer numbed the ogre's arms when it struck square in the creatures back. Griffith ended the fight by severing the creatures head with a mighty overhand strike right on the heels of his fellow dwarf's strike.

Venaru and Brandon quickly stabbed the ogre they fought repeatedly, and its struggles soon ceased. Danica and Terran's blasts of magic either missed the fleeing ogre as it gained the edge of the trees and crashed into the undergrowth, or only grazed it.

Bear groggily sought his feet, nursing a bleeding nose. Janelle ran toward where the ogre had vanished into the trees, but Danica's cry of, "Let it go!" stopped her short.

Celes released her spell when the ogre fell dead, "Let's us be gettin' outta here. That'n'll warn its kin an' we'll have a dozen of t' big brutes up on us afore long."

"Are you okay to run?" Danica asked Bear. He nodded, appearing steadier on his feet.

Everyone quickly activated their invisibility and releasing their illusions as they ran. When they were a short distance down the trail, the companions slowed to a safer pace to avoid the traps as they made their way out of the woods and back to the fortress.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

Celes and Terran immediately returned to their scrying upon reaching the fortress. Cheron cast a spell of healing over Bear, who looked quite irritated to have allowed the creature to knock him down, allowing it to escape. Danica placated him somewhat by saying that it would tell its kin that orcs and goblins had attacked it, furthering the plan.

Cheron and Feros beseeched their gods, weaving their clerical enchantments upon the weapons of the group. If they encountered demons or undead upon completing the blessings, strikes from the weapons would do much more damage.

Danica spoke with Venaru and found that he had an unusually bright glimmer in his eyes. "The ogres were certainly most distracted by Cheron's initial charge," he said with a slight turning of the corner of his mouth. "Though, I can scarcely blame them. I found the display quite distractive as well."

Danica raised her eyebrows and broke into a crooked smile. She stifled a laugh when she saw the stoic man blush slightly, then chuckle as he realized what he had said.

Danica sized up Venaru and thought that perhaps tonight she might see what sort of pleasures the agile man could offer a willing woman. Several hours passed, the clerics finishing their enchantments while everyone else tended to their equipment.

Terran and Celes walked into the room with quick steps. "We found us an orc camp -- 'bout sixty of the pigfaced critters. We'll have ta be quick. They looks like they're gettin' ready ta head somewhere," Celes revealed.

The group gathered around the two wizards. "Can you teleport us all nearby?" Danica asked.

"Yes," Terran replied, "Our growing knowledge of the layout of the woods is enabling us to avoid the misdirection to our scrying by the magic about the wood. I had thought this very thing, and I have found a place nearby where we might safely teleport. I fear Celes and I shall be of no use for some time after the expenditure of magic, however."

"Sixty orcs, eight of us, nuffin' more'n a bit of light entertainment," Griffith snorted with a wide, toothy smile.

"Let us go before the opportunity escapes us," Bear said with a growl and slapped his war hammer down on his palm.

Celes and Terran teleported the companions to a small hillock a short while thereafter. Danica could see little in any direction through the trees when they arrived.

The two spent wizards made themselves invisible and quaffed rejuvenate potions as the others set out with their illusions in place. The companions moved quickly toward the camp, Venaru and Janelle taking out the sentries with bowshots before the monsters could raise any alarm.

When the group approached the main encampment, Bear suddenly roared a great challenge and ran toward the surprised orcs. The two dwarves whooped in delight and charged in after him. Cheron laughed and took off, hot on heels of the two dwarves.

Bear was as a demon unleashed. He bowled into a knot of orcs and swatted two to the ground with the first mighty swing of his hammer. The backswing smashed another's head into a bloody mess and disarmed another by hitting it in the shoulder with such force that it spun and fell to the ground.

The two dwarves fanned out to either side, hurling taunts in the goblin tongue at the orcs. The dwarves slashed and smashed with their weapons in perfect precision, destroying every creature that dared to stand against them. Cheron's mace hissed through the air a pair of times, blasting orcs to the ground. One monster trying to flee did a complete somersault when the mace caved in the back of its head. She then waded in and swung her weapon at every orc foolish enough to come into range.

Danica, Venaru, and Janelle had to content themselves with picking off the orcs trying to flee the carnage in the center of the camp. The four fighters were moving too quickly and unpredictably for Danica to risk magic, or the two archers to take shots into the main chaos of the fight. Danica saw an orc taking aim with a crude bow up into the trees, pointing the weapon in the direction from which Venaru's shots emerged. She blasted the creature with a bolt of lightning, hoping the monster had missed, because the creature managed to fire before her magic reached it.

Brandon found a very specific target. One orc amongst the group screamed orders in a loud snorting voice to the orcs. The orc's commanding shouts were more or less ignored by the monsters, who were almost universally trying to find some way to flee by this point. The monster was finely armed, unlike the others, and surrounded by three large orc bodyguards. The monstrous command group stayed well away from where the four fighters chopped their brethren down, remaining under cover against the arrows and spells of the companions.

Brandon charged, letting out a battle cry as he neared the four orcs. Two of the bodyguards looked at each other and fled into the woods. One of them took an arrow in the back of its head for its efforts.

The other bodyguard went into a crouch and sprang at Brandon as he approached at a run. The creature scored a slight cut on Brandon's side, but its leap cost it dearly. Brandon spun in a circle and beheaded the creature with a single swift stroke. He quickly turned on the leader drawing its weapon and snorting in anger.

"Okay piglet, time to play," Brandon taunted and grinned, the image of a goblin he wore doing the same.

The creature let out a shrill scream and drew its fine sword. Brandon had to go on the defensive as the creature desperately attacked him, trying to get him out of the way so it could flee with the few sensible orcs that were still breathing.

The monster showed skill with its weapon, but proved no match for Brandon's speed and skill, honed in a hundred battles, bar room brawls, and thousands of hours of training at the Forge. The orc leader fell for a feint, stabbing with a scream of glee at Brandon's heart. Brandon batted the sword high with a quick reverse of his own weapon, and then sliced open the orc's belly.

Brandon reached down and picked up the fine sword from where the orc had dropped it to try to keep its insides inside where they belonged. Brandon looked at the weapon for a moment and then smiled evilly at the orc. "Don't think you'll be needing this anymore." He then stabbed the creature directly in its heart with his own sword. Bear smashed the last orc still twitching on the ground near him. Cheron scanned the edge of the clearing looking for a target. The two dwarves clapped each other on the back and stomped back toward Danica at the edge of the blood soaked clearing.

When the fighters reached Danica, Venaru and Janelle both emerged as well. Around thirty orcs lay dead in the clearing, a dozen or so more lie twisted near the wood line where arrows and magic had felled them.

"Something is coming from the East. One of those that got away must have found reinforcements. They're coming fast. We better get out of here," Janelle warned.

"Bah! Let 'em come. We'll chop 'em all up too," Griffith scoffed, brandishing his axe. An orc skidded into the clearing then with wide eyes, and took one of Venaru's bolts directly between the staring orbs. More orcs boiled out of the woods opposite Danica and the others. A fireball and several fired arrows sent them scurrying back into the trees, but it was obvious that they were grouping for an organized attack. The sounds indicated that many of the creatures lurked just beyond the range of vision.

"No, we go -- now," Danica said, and led the group in a run to the west, retracing their steps to approach the clearing. They crept quietly back up the hillock under cloak of invisibility, watching more than a hundred orcs scouring the woods in large organized groups, looking for them.

Terran and Celes had not yet completely recovered, though they said they could keep pace with everyone. The companions set out toward the edge of the woods carefully, hearing the sounds of stirring monsters everywhere as nightfall approached.

The companions encountered monsters everywhere as they crept back toward the fortress. Skirmishes broke out amongst the monsters now, and the wood echoed with the sounds of battle. The companions were deep in the woods, and it took them nearly two hours to make their way out. Everyone breathed a great sigh of relief when they broke from the woods and hurried to the fortress.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

I hope you liked this tale, and will continue to read Danica's ongoing story. Please take a moment to vote, and perhaps comment. That's the only payment a free author gets, and every bit of feedback is most appreciated!

You may find later chapters have some flubs and grammar issues, until I finish posting all the edits. Look for the note at the beginning of each chapter about my editor, Roust, and that will let you know whether the chapter is newly edited.