Kaen watched as the ogres chased after his men, running backward and trying to keep as much distance as possible.

The only good news was that most orcs and goblins had not followed them. The large clumps of their dead allies convinced them not to chase unless a stronger ogre made them.

Sheathing his sword and swapping it for his bow, Kaen sighed.

Eight arrows…

There was no other option, and he knew it. The distance to reach them before the ogres ran them down was too great.

Kaen drew two arrows and sent his mana into them, charging them so they crackled with electricity. He ran, holding the shot ready and dodging the few creatures that felt they needed to stay in his path.

As the creatures came into range, he paused, slowing down just enough to feel comfortable with the distance the shot needed.

[ Twin Shot ]

Both arrows flew across the cave, lighting arcing once or twice between the arrowheads as they traveled toward their targets.

The two ogres in the front of the pack took both arrows in their side, jerking for a moment as the power of the lighting coursed through them, causing them to stumble and roll.

Both ogres behind them slowed down, glancing toward Kaen, who had put his bow away and was running full speed again with his sword drawn.

The one in front pointed at Kaen as it continued the chase after Phillip and the others.

A chain ogre with two massive axes came running toward him, planning on slowing down or maybe even injuring the man that had just crippled their Siege Ogre.

No time could be wasted, so Kaen kept running, even as the ogre prepared to swing at him with both axes.

The moment Kaen lept at the ogre’s head with his shield out, it realized that at no point had this human actually planned on dodging or blocking its attack. As the axes swung toward the spot it had expected, Kaen, the shield crashed into and through the ogre's face, leaving a trail of blood, bones, and brains as Kaen flew over its shoulders.

A massive corpse thudded and rolled along the ground, with no head to be found.

Landing and rolling to his feet, Kaen took off toward the last ogre about to reach his friends.

Phillip stopped, ignoring his aching muscles and lack of air, dropping Frederick on the ground.

“Stay!” he shouted, pointing at the man trying to rise and pull his weapon. “Hagrid with me!”

The dwarf nodded, ignoring the spit and snot in his red beard as he drew his weapon and tried to get a few more breaths of air into his lungs.

“Plan?” he gasped as they stood side by side, taking a few steps toward the charging ogre.

“Stay alive. Kaen is coming. We just need a few seconds.”

Hagrid nodded, watching the ogre that was racing toward them. “Tier two?”

“Think so… has armor though… not sure…” Phillip replied, taking deep breaths as the last bit of distance separating them from the rushing ogre disappeared.

It roared, swinging the colossal sword it had in a wide arc.

Patrick read the movement and judging by how fast it had charged, he knew it would be at an angle he could most likely deflect.

Raising his shield and using both hands to provide the support needed, the blow struck and bounced off his shield slightly, still sending the boy to the ground in a roll.

Hagrid didn’t wait, rushing forward and slashing at the ogre’s leg with his sword.

As its sword swung and the momentum carried it around, the ogre lifted up its right leg to kick the dwarf charging it.

Seeing the attack and knowing he had just put himself in harm's way, Hagrid lowered himself, sticking his sword along the edge of his shield and preparing for the incoming blow.

The ogre’s shin caught Hagrid as he had gotten close enough to minimize some of its momentum, but it still drove its leg into the sword, crashing into the shield and sending the dwarf flying through the air.

A thud and a groan came as Hagrid slammed into the wall, sliding down its rough exterior and landing on his face.

Howling, the ogre turned, glaring at the dwarf and the piece of metal lodged in its leg from Hagrid’s sword, which had snapped during that impact.

It hobbled over toward the dwarf, lying face first on the ground, and roared, lifting up its sword as it prepared to stab at it.

Phillip approached its injured leg, not shouting like so many might. He had learned that if an enemy doesn’t know you are there, let it find out the hard way.

He activated his flurry skill, and five thrusts landed in rapid succession on the ogre's leg, cutting off the tendon running from its Achilles.

The leg buckled, and the ogre fell forward, its sword clattering along the ground as it went down.

Not wasting a moment, Phillip unleashed multiple strikes and attacks at its side. As its armor lifted, the exposed skin was quickly covered in deep gashes.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

A hand came back as the ogre tried to swipe, and Phillip saw it coming and stepped away, slicing with his sword and cutting off four fingers from the hand that had tried to hit it.

Off balance and out of position, the young man moved forward, years of fighting experience flowing through him as he moved. His sword came up and through, catching the ogre in the throat.

Dancing away, the creature fell face first as it tried to grab the wound that was gushing blood and cracked its own face into the stone floor.

Breathing heavily, Phillip lunged forward once more and drove the sword down into the base of the ogre's neck, severing its spinal cord.

“Good work.”

Phillip spun, seeing Kaen standing there with a slight smile.

“Just doing what you taught me,” replied Phillip as he cleaned off his sword and went to check on Hagrid, who was groaning as he stood up.

“How bad are you?” Kaen inquired as he checked on the dwarf.

“A few broken ribs,” he said and then coughed, wincing and some blood coming from his mouth. “Maybe punctured lung.”

Nodding, Kaen reached into his pouch and pulled out a healing potion.

“You and Frederick will both get half. I only have one left.”

The dwarf nodded and took the potion, drinking half and reacting as everyone did when they were healed.

Kaen moved to Frederick, who was turning white, and the blood loss starting to impact him.

I’m an eggling for waiting this long…

“Drink this,” Kaen ordered as he helped the boy swallow the liquid.

After they had recovered slightly, Kaen turned and saw Phillip gazing at the cavern around them.

“They haven’t pressed the attack…. Why not?”

“I’m not sure,” Kaen replied, wondering the same thing. We have killed a lot, and I just took down what I can only guess was not one they had intended to send to fight… still…”

Phillip turned to his mentor and laughed. “I think you mean you have killed a lot. At least a thousand or two?”

Rolling his eyes, Kaen gave the boy a gentle hit to the shoulder and grunted.

“We need to get going. I don’t want to waste this break.”

Without hesitation, Phillip turned and moved to where Frederick was standing.

“You ok?”

Frederick nodded and gently tapped his leg.

“Bleeding has stopped, but I’m still light-headed. I think I lost more blood than I realized.”

“How are your ribs?” Kaen asked Hagrid.

The dwarf twisted a few different ways and took a few deep breaths. “Healed, tender but not broken.”

Glancing at Phillip, Kaen grinned. “Who do you want to carry?”

“You take Hagrid. We both know he’s heavier than he looks.”

The dwarf scoffed and snorted, unsure if that was an insult.

Without hesitation, Kaen moved to the dwarf and scooped him up like a parent might a child.

“Hey!” exclaimed Hagrid, who had no time to react as Kaen put him over his shoulder. “I’m a grown dwarf!”

Kaen laughed, nodded, and turned to see Phillip taking a second to get Frederick.

“On second thought,” Kaen said as he swooped over and grabbed Frederick, who was caught off guard by his action. I’ll carry them both. Let’s go!”

Not hesitating, he turned and took off, listening to both men complain as he carried them while he ran.

You are getting closer. I can feel you.

Since they had started running, they only had to stop and fight three times. Phillip could keep the pace Kaen set a lot longer without having to carry his lifelong friend.

Hagrid and Frederick had given up on Kaen, putting them down, realizing the amount of ground they were covering and the speed at which they moved.

I have noticed the same thing. Are you outside the cave?

Yes, I am above it, though. When you finally get here, you might find an angry dragon waiting for you.

Chuckling to himself, Kaen kept running, knowing that soon enough, they might hopefully see his dragon.

Twenty minutes later, Kaen pulled up and set the two men down.

“That isn’t good,” he said, pointing at the area where a massive amount of dead orc and goblin bodies were covered by rocks and stone. “They blew up their own exit.”

“Never easy is it?” Hagrid complained as he glanced behind them. “What now?”

“Clear a path and then our way out. Make sure no enemies are around that can attack us.”

The dwarf started to grumble until he saw both boys nodding and moving to follow Kaen.

“Elf tits, you three are impossible!”

Kaen and Phillip worked on the rocks while the other two kept guard.

Only a few orcs and goblins had been dumb enough to come close to them. A single ogre had moved near them, causing everyone to get their weapons and prepare to fight, but the group with it backed away, moving out of sight.

“I’m not a fan of how this feels,” Hagrid said as he continued to watch. What happened here? These bodies aren’t new.”

Kaen threw boulders like they were pebbles, no longer getting shocked looks from the dwarf who had never seen the man’s true strength. “You’re right. They sealed them in, not letting them escape. Obviously, something happened within the ranks that caused enough of them to try and desert or go elsewhere.”

Phillip smashed some rocks with a war hammer he had found near the bodies and continued to grind away at the pile near them. “This is going to take time, isn’t it?”

Kaen nodded. “I’ve worked enough rock to know this won’t be cleared today. Hagrid, go ahead and rest if you can. We’ll need to take turns keeping watch.”

The dwarf grunted and then sighed, “Fine, but don’t blame me if something sneaks up on us while I rest.”

Everyone laughed, a small break in the mood that had been heavy since the plan went sideways.

Watching the three of them sleep, Kaen continued to grab boulders and chuck them across the cavern. The sound of them hitting rock and rolling was a steady rhythm as he kept up the pace he knew wouldn’t over-exert him.

His hands felt different as he removed his gloves to do this work. It had been ages since he had such a task, and for this brief moment, buried under a mountain and doing something so mundane, Kaen was at peace.

You feel different.

That is because I forgot how much I enjoyed the quarry, even when all I could think about was getting away from it. The work was honest and made me better because I did it.

Does that mean you and I are retiring from this work and going to open up a quarry?

Kaen chuckled and felt Pammon join him in the moment.

I’m an idiot, aren’t I?

Pammon didn’t reply, and Kaen continued to toss rocks, picking which ones to go for so a rock slide didn’t take place on him.

No… you are not an idiot. The plan was dangerous, and there were many ways it could fail. I know the loss of the others hurts, but you may have discovered something even greater by doing this.

Are the orcs and goblins blocking their own troops in?

Pammon’s agreement with that statement trickled through their bond.

What could cause them to treat their own like that? How bad must things be for them to turn on each other?

Kaen picked up another boulder and threw it, hearing it smash into the ground and the sounds of rocks starting to shift behind him.

Moving away, he watched as several rocks shifted for a moment and then stopped.

Let me get back to work. I see the spot I need to clear. After that, perhaps I can find us an opening.

Be careful. I have your side covered out here.

Smiling, Kaen grabbed the war hammer that Phillip had found and set to work on a few stones he knew would be the key to the next part.