The piles of bodies the three had created aided their defenses but had shoved them against the stone, unable to move or strike out themselves.

Frederick was in the middle, struggling to stand as a trio of orcs with spears overwhelmed his open side and landed strikes against his right leg.

The three of them kept fighting, knocking weapons away and focusing more on standing their ground while they waited for Kaen.

The crashing sound and cries that grew louder than the shouts of excitement told them he was close.

Bodies flew in the air. Parts of bodies joined that flight as Kaen ran through the cluster of monsters, smashing into and through them without hesitation.

The armor he wore was the newest gift he had received from King Bosgreth. The king had proclaimed that no finer suit had been made in centuries when he presented the chest piece and leggings made from the scales taken from Tharnok.

For a year, the master craftsman in his hall worked on the two pieces, forging special pieces of metal to bind the scales together and prevent them from coming loose.

He longed for a helmet, boots, and gloves, but they did the job he needed right now. Every blow that hit him didn’t penetrate, bouncing off or shattering the weapon.

His own strength and stamina absorbed every blow without a problem.

The last ten feet between him and his men were the hardest, cutting through the tightly packed orcs and goblins and shoving aside the corpses that already had piled up.

Screams came with each swing, and soon, he had created a path to the trio stuck in here with him.

When he saw Frederick's leg bleeding and how he was leaning against the stone wall more than standing on his own, a few tricky choices came to his mind. He had only two more healing potions remaining, and if he used one now, things like this would happen again, and there would come a time when someone would die.

Spinning like a top, Kaen’s shield and sword cleared a spot for him to maneuver, seeing the creatures starting to back away with no leader to drive them toward him.

Their hesitation shifted the battle, and a few minutes later, no creature remained near them, as the ones who could get away had run off, seeking help.

“How bad?” Kaen asked, coming back and seeing Hagrid binding his student’s leg.

“I can’t put weight on it. They cut the muscle and the tendon with those strikes.”

Phillip moved away, keeping watch as Kaen tried to read Hagrid’s face.

“Thoughts?”

The dwarf grunted and motioned to the pile of bodies around them. “We’re your limiting factor. Without us, you can easily escape or slaughter every one of these things. Protecting us may get all four of us killed.”

Frederick nodded, motioning to his leg as Hagrid moved to help support him. “If you need to leave me, I’ll fight as long as possible.”

Kaen shook his head. This boy of sixteen years was as hard as steel, and his face showed no hope that Kaen would ignore the statement he had just made. He was ready to die if it meant the three of them might escape.

How hard did I push these boys?

“We’ll go as a group. I’m not leaving you or anyone else behind.”

Turning around, Kaen saw what Phillip was looking at.

“They're coming again,” Phillip stated. “At least twice as many.”

“Pickup Frederick. Carry him and run. You can make two miles before you need a break, right?”

Phillip grinned as he turned, putting his sword into his scabbard and motioning for Frederick to do the same. “I can probably make it three. It’s been a while since we raced.”

Bobbing his head, Kaen resisted the urge to smile. “Hagrid, keep up, defend their back. I’ll keep the patch clear as long as I can before returning to you three. If it gets bad, put him down and defend yourselves. I’ll find you.”

Without waiting for them to respond, Kaen was gone, running faster than any deer or other animal those boys or dwarf had ever seen run.

Frederick winced as Phillip grabbed him, throwing his friend over his right shoulder while keeping his shield in his left hand.

“This is going to suck for you,” Phillip declared as he started to run, squeezing his friend as tight as he could, hoping to keep the bouncing to a minimum.

“Goblin shite,” Hagrid shouted as he raced after the boy. “I’ve got short legs, remember that!”

Where are you? I can sense you, but you are still deep within the mountain. It is like you are shifting directions, sometimes coming toward the other side and other times running through the middle of it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Kaen ignored the question. His sword was pointed at a pair of cave trolls that blocked his path. A flame surrounded his sword as it carved the flesh from their skin. The smell was horrible, but the noise they made as he carved them into pieces that didn’t regenerate was far worse.

Once both of them were dead, heads split in two, and hearts pierced, he raced toward the pack of hobgoblins that were running toward his three friends.

Arrows plinked off his armor, and Kaen ignored the creatures who couldn’t understand why nothing they tried seemed to take down the man like it should.

They had moved slowly along the cavern wall for over an hour, only now realizing how expansive it was. They had already traveled twelve miles through the cavern as it snaked inside the mountain. Some areas were a mile wide, and others as much as three.

Phillip was doing his best, carrying his friend, who gradually got weaker with each passing moment.

Catching up to the hobgoblins from behind, Kaen slaughtered them, watching as the ones further ahead heard the sounds of their dying brethren and turned, finding the same fate coming for them.

I have no idea… it’s been over an hour, and we still see more caverns ahead. It does twist and turn.

You need to be careful.

Chuckling, Kaen ignored Pammon for a moment. A few more orcs were getting close to his men.

Each time they stopped and rested for a few minutes, Kaen considered using a potion, but the fear of not knowing how much further they had until they reached the exit kept him from doing so.

“I’m fine,” Frederick said with a grunt. “My offer still stands if you–”

“I don’t, and stop asking,” Kaen replied, cutting the boy off. “We will make it. All of us. Now drink and eat while you can. We have less than a minute.”

Phillip was covered in sweat and gore. The fatigue of carrying his friend was starting to show. Hagrid looked even rougher, but the dwarf wasn’t about to complain when two boys, over a third younger than he was, continued to keep a positive attitude.

As they started running again, Kaen heard a roar from the direction they were heading.

“What in a goblin’s teat was that?” Hagrid asked, tossing his empty water skin to the ground.

Shaking his head, Kaen shrugged. “Something tells me we are about to find out.”

Two miles later, the towering monstrosity of what had to be an orc came into view. Judging from the distance and his experience, Kaen realized it had to be close to twenty feet tall. It carried two massive hammers, each over half its body's size, chains attached to their shafts, and a belt around its waist.

“Impossible,” Hagrid gasped, almost tripping as he ran.

“What is it?”

“A siege ogre… but those things haven’t been seen since the old stories.”

Kaen’s mind searched to remember anything he could about one of these, but the truth was, he had never heard of them before. Hagrid’s statement of how long it had been since one was seen made him concerned about what other things might stand in their way.

“You three keep on the path you are on. I’ll move off to face it.”

“Sure, that’s a good idea?” Hagrid asked. “Not that I doubt you, but those were rumored to be able to crush dwarven walls with a few strikes.”

Glancing back at the dwarf, who was gasping for air, Kaen gave him a wink before drifting to the left. “Would you rather I let it come over here and you two fight?”

A coughing fit came over Hagrid, and Kaen heard Frederick give a small laugh.

Not waiting for a reply, Kaen took off ahead, clearing out the creatures between his men and that ogre.

I wish you were here. This is about to get interesting.

A hint of concern and worry came through their bond, not blocked by the amount of stone between them.

What are you going to do?!

Smiling, Kaen sliced the head off an orc while smashing through another one.

Fighting a new ogre. He is about half as tall as you are.

I swear if you–

Yes, mother, I know. Don’t die…

Pammon grumbled as Kaen moved toward the monstrosity thundering toward him.

For a brief moment, he understood how Hess must have felt those five years ago when death was so close.

Don’t say it… I can feel that thought!

A hammer whistled over his head, and the other followed behind it. The hammer slammed into the rock, shattering it.

Pieces flew through the air, shrapnel from the power of its strike against the mountain floor, and cracks ran from the point of impact that stretched at least ten yards in each direction.

Coming out of the roll, Kaen raced toward the ogre, who moved far faster than he had expected for something so large.

The only hit he had landed so far had cut just a few inches.

This thing's skin is tougher than anything I have fought so far.

Another hammer strike came at him, the ogre using its momentum again to spin, the weight of the hammer making it act like a top.

Each head of the hammer was solid metal, almost as tall as Kaen, and wider as well.

Occasionally, a foolish orc tried to rush in and help, but it was turned to paste by its own ally, who didn’t care that it killed one of its own.

Standing his ground, Kaen held up his shield, preparing for the first attempt at blocking the hammer swinging low along the ground.

A cracking sound rang across the cavern, echoing for miles, but the immediate impact and sound left Kaen struggling to stand for a moment.

The ogre also appeared stunned, the sound of the impact disorienting it.

It tried to pull on the hammer that had collided with Kaen’s shield and saw that a massive three-foot section was missing, split from the main part, and lying on the ground.

Glancing at his feet, Kaen realized he had been moved about ten feet from the strike by the trail of scratches along the rock he had slid along.

First recovering, Kaen raced to the ogre’s arm and sliced at the wrist, holding the broken weapon. He then ignited his sword with his magic and cut deeper with the magical assistance.

The ogre shouted in pain as its wrist was sliced and a tendon got cut.

Not waiting for it to recover, Kaen moved to its feet and drove his sword into its leg, slightly above the ankle, and leaned into it, running around its entire leg, severing most of the muscle and all of the tendons.

The creature howled in pain as its leg gave way, and the massive ogre crashed to the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Running from under the ogre as it fell forward, Kaen glanced toward his men and saw a pack of four tier-two ogres racing at them.

“Hairy dwarf balls,” he muttered as he raced away, leaving the massive ogre alive but injured.