Cap began the next phase. By the end of his turn, the three orcs who had taken him on lay dead at his feet.

Wilson had expected Jaelin’s arrows next, but none came.

Ashlyn took two hits to kill the orc facing her, then killed Usa’s opponent with her third.

Freed, Usa was able to get in a spear strike on his brother’s attacker—nine damage left it close to death.

One of Wilson’s first axe strikes bit into his orc’s thigh, reducing it to eight hit points. On his next action, he finished it off. With two actions left, he took on the orc who had attacked Fortune. Two out of four axe swings got through its defences, enough to send it to Gehenna.

Izil made his one action count, finishing off the orc his brother had helped him with.

The Hoffmeister had to wait until his last action to score a hit, but it was enough to kill his wounded opponent.

Fortune rushed at the last orc standing of the twenty five who had attacked them. His first two sword strikes failed, but he caught it with a shield barge, taking it down to eight hit points. His last action saw more failure, leaving the orc still standing.

‘Mada!’ Murder shouted, as the five orcs who had circled around them neared. He held his stick at the ready, a pathetic attempt to ward them off.

Then there was shouting.

‘Charge!’ a voice bellowed. ‘For Eisenberg!’

Henrik led ten miners out of his smithy. Armed with pickaxes and clubs, they came on the orcs from behind, laying into them with untrained but brutal, powerful blows.

Growling with anger, Queen Brid ordered her guards on. They formed a six man shieldwall of their own, ready to drive into The Apples.

The orc engaged with Fortune used its two action points to club him. It caught him with its second blow, knocking three hit points and an action point off.

***

Christoph ran from the chasing pack of orcs, weaving between the houses. He went past The Baron’s hiding place.

Moments later, he heard the orcs’ shouts of anger and fear.

The Baron had managed to hit a passing orc for nine damage. That was less significant than the fact he’d done it with Redblade. The pommel glowed fiercely as the creatures forgot all about Christoph. They were now intent on killing the sword’s wielder.

Christoph spun, went down on one knee, and whipped an arrow from his quiver. Five against one just wasn’t going to work, even with Redblade. And The Baron was no swordsman.

He put the arrow to his string and released it.

Then sighed when it flew wide.

‘Shit on it.’

***

Walking through the portal messed with Lothar’s mind. He was instantly outside Eisenberg, and yet had only taken a few steps. Moreover, looking back through the circular portal, he could still see the goblin force.

‘Turn it off, will you?’

Rosalind made the same circular motions with her staff, and the portal faded, its colours dissipating; until it disappeared.

Lothar entered the village, knowing his mercs would need all the help they could get. Black smoke plumed into the sky from the church, which he supposed was a sign his plan might be working. He unstrapped the Shield of Resistance his crew had found in the undead barrow. He drew Slayer, the weapon that had belonged to Edmund ‘Manslayer’ Rigge, from his scabbard. They were the prizes he had decided to keep for himself, and he felt no shame in that. If a mercenary captain was going to put his life on the line—which he was about to do—then he had better look good doing it.

He walked between the first houses, most of them empty, though some brave villagers had decided to stay. Rosalind followed behind. She had made it plain that her magic would be of little help in a fight. But even little help was something Lothar was in no position to refuse.

He had hoped to persuade the goblins to shake off the orcish yolk, but should have known otherwise. It was The Apples who had made themselves Brid’s enemies; it was The Apples who would have to do the killing.

Just as this thought ran through his mind, one of his Apples—The Bowman, to be precise—ran past a gap in the houses ahead. Lothar crept forward, tightening his grip on his shield strap, preparing for contact with the enemy at any moment. No orcs appeared. Instead, an arrow went back the other way.

Unable to put together what was going on, Lothar knew he was just going to have to find out. He emerged from the side of a house to find five growling orcs, alarmingly close, but with their backs to him. Beyond them, The Baron held Redblade, in a rather unconvincing stance.

Lothar had been in enough scraps not to hesitate in a situation like this.

Given he had a distinct advantage, his first strikes were hopeless. He’d have to put that down to rust. On his next action, however, he got a good strike in with Slayer. His thrust into the orc’s back very nearly killed it; and left it paralysed, which was basically the same thing.

His next sword stroke did kill his target, and a small smile began to creep across his face. Battle was a terrible business. Was it possible he’d missed it? A shield and sword combination accounted for the third orc. A blank fifth action was followed by another double blow, and there was now only one orc left. His seventh action saw Slayer strike again, but it was a weak blow, dealing only eleven damage. But this orc was already injured, and it tottered on its feet as it bled out. Lothar’s final strike put it out of its misery.

He gave a little whoop of joy at his success. Five orcs lay dead or dying.

The Baron looked more than a little relieved. Christoph ran over. Lothar grinned, waiting for the congratulations. He kept his sword flourish just the right side of extravagant.

‘The others are this way, Stiff,’ the boy said earnestly, and headed towards the centre of Eisenberg.

***

The five orcs behind them were at least occupied for a few rounds by Henrik’s intervention. But Brid’s shieldwall was closing in.

‘Form a line!’ Cap bellowed.

Wilson was unsure whether he should replace Izil in the six man line. He was prepared to do it, but he didn’t carry a shield. He glanced up at the roof of The Pig and Iron. Still no Jaelin. It wasn’t like him to desert his post. But he had no more time to worry about it.

Fortune, perilously close to the advancing orcs, decided to break off from his fight with the wounded orc. His opponent landed another blow on the swordsman, taking him down to only twelve hit points. But Fortune still took Izil’s place in the shieldwall, allowing Wilson to take his place behind it. The gnome wasn’t his greatest fan, but he couldn’t deny the man’s bravery.

Cap looked down his line, a pensive expression on his face. No wonder. They had a shieldwall, but everyone in it was close to half their hit points. The six orcs coming at them were fresh, and also carried shields. Behind them was Brid herself, and three more orcs ready to fill any gaps.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

‘No spearwall this time,’ Cap shouted. ‘Strike as soon as they get within range. We need to kill the bastards.’

It was a command that would benefit some of The Apples, and not others. But it was Cap’s call, and there was no opportunity to question it now.

Brid urged her shieldwall on, elite orcs with shields and bludgeoning weapons threatening to tear apart The Apples' defences.

Cap was the first to react, years of fighting experience giving him an edge. His first strike with Breaker skewered the advancing orc opposite him, killing it instantly.

Wilson felt the morale of The Apples recover, as some belief returned to their ranks.

His second strike killed the orc advancing on Fortune. It was eight versus eight now, and the odds had evened.

Cap had a choice to make. There were no more orcs in range, but he still had three precious action points remaining. He left the safety of the shieldwall, and used an action to advance on Queen Brid. She had put herself in harm’s way, and this was a golden opportunity to complete the mission.

Queen Brid

Orc

Leader

Action Stats

EXP Level

5

Action Points

7

Hit Points

30

The queen was a tougher prospect than a regular warrior. She wore chainmail, and carried a shield. But in the hands of Cap, Breaker was a brutal weapon. You could argue Cap got a little lucky, scoring both of his remaining hits. They were enough to do the job; Brid died when the pike ripped through her armour and buried itself in her midriff.

The remaining orcs wavered. But Cap’s turn was done, and revenge was on their minds.

Then, from the south of the village, The Baron appeared—running into the fray, Redblade glowing in his hands. He reached the line of orcs with only one action point left. He failed to land a blow, otherwise the orcs might have broken and run.

The orc shieldwall was too much for Ashlyn to break through on her first action. But she scored a strike with Greenblade on her second. Seven points of damage was a disappointing return. Her next hit was better, leaving the orc barely standing on four hit points.

Stiff appeared from the same direction as The Baron. He also chose to attack the line of orcs in the shieldwall, reaching a position opposite Pecs within two action points. Unlike The Baron, he had a substantial number of actions still in hand. Coming at the orcs from behind, he bypassed their shieldwall defences.

A sword and shield combination did for the first orc immediately. The same again, and the orc facing The Hoffmeister lay dying on the ground. He blanked on his fifth action point, then with his sixth finished off the orc Ashlyn had wounded. He had to use his seventh to move, taking up position against Usa’s orc, but neither his sword or shield strike got through.

It wasn’t the end of the world, since Usa himself attacked next. With only his orc alive in the initial shieldwall, its defence bonuses were gone. Two hits, worth ten and eleven hit points, were enough to put the orc down.

Wilson moved through the gap in the shieldwall, knowing he was the last Apple to take a turn before the three remaining orcs. They had watched their queen die, and were likely to exact revenge on Cap before they succumbed to the rest of the crew.

He reached the first orc with three action points remaining. Neither of his first strikes got past its shield. He scored one low axe strike on his penultimate turn, taking twelve damage. His final blow killed it outright.

That left two orcs with full health—and full action points. The first of them only hit once from its five chances, but it was a skilled hammer blow that dropped Cap to nine hit points.

The second orc took eight hit points from Cap on the first swing of its nailed club, sending the merc to the ground, unconscious. It wasted no time in switching to Wilson. Another hit, and Wilson was down to thirteen hit points. Another, and he was down to seven, the force of the blow sending him flying to the ground.

Wilson saw the slight hesitation in the orc’s eyes as it looked at Cap and Wilson, both lying on the ground before it. With a bellow of aggression, it chose Cap. The club came down on his head, and Wilson watched as Cap’s skull caved in. With a roar of pleasure, it redirected its final strike to Wilson. Somehow, the gnome managed to roll aside, the weapon thudding into the ground.

The Hoffmeister charged forward, thrusting his spear at the orc which had killed Cap. His second and final blow connected, causing twelve damage.

Pecs joined him. His first strike was a big enough blow to knock the orc unconscious. His final strike was another success, the Spear of Riposte dropping the last orc standing to six hit points.

Fortune was the last to move. He suffered another miss with Blueblade. It was his shield strike that finally ended the battle.

The trio of orcs, one with an arrow in its back, who had survived the initial attack from Henrik’s force, decided enough was enough. They ran, and no one had the energy to chase them. Perhaps it was a good thing that they would tell the story of what had happened in Eisenberg.

Christoph joined them—then from somewhere Rosalind De Cheney—then Henrik and his men. More villagers emerged from their houses—miraculously, it seemed to Wilson, saved from the orc menace.

Everyone stood around the body of Cap, his face unrecognisable. He was dead, and it wasn’t the kind of dead where one took the body to Mila and hoped she could fix it. Maybe if she’d had a potion of healing. Maybe.

But probably not.

More than one of them shed a tear.

Wilson had lost count of the kills Cap had racked up. ‘We’d have lost without him,’ he murmured.

‘If only I’d attacked those orcs instead of the others,’ Stiff lamented.

‘You can’t know,’ Pecs told him. ‘One of us might have died in his place.’

Stiff nodded.

It seemed only Wilson could tell how satisfied their merc captain truly was. Not a scratch on him, he’d got everything he wanted—both Brid and Cap dead. Wilson couldn’t even decide if it was a good thing, or not. Was Stiff any better as their leader than Cap would have been? He was too tired to think about it. And anyway, it was done now.

Somehow, they’d survived, with minimal casualties. They’d have to find out who else lived, and who had died.

As that thought crossed his mind, there was a loud crack, and a series of thuds from the burning church. The roof caved in, then a part of the outer wall collapsed.

A figure emerged from the fiery remains. It was naked, and blackened, like a piece of barbequed meat. Yet somehow, it walked towards them.

When he reached halfway, Bletcher sank to his knees. He raised his one arm into the air. ‘Truly,’ he hissed, his damaged vocal cords making him sound like a creature of nightmare. ‘The gods have decided to bless me.’

MISSION COMPLETE

SUCCESS: Brid was killed

Some of your mercs improved their stats:

Twerk:

Might +1

Grit +1

Hit Points +2

Usa:

Grit +1

Hit Points +1

Izil:

Skill with spears: proficient

Agility +1

Bletcher:

Sanctity: Touched to Blessed

Hit Points +1

Action Points +1

The Hoffmeister:

Skill with shields: proficient

Grit +1

Hit Points +1

Pecs:

Skill with shields: proficient

Grit +1

Hit Points +1

Fortune:

Might +1

Hit Points +2

Action Points +1

The Baron:

Skill with swords: competent

Might +1

Intellect +1

Hit Points +2

Action Points +1

Greenblade:

Skill with swords: expert

Might +1

Hit Points +1

Mila:

Might +1

Hit Points +1

The Bowman:

Might +1

Agility +1

Hit Points +1

The Explorer:

Skill with knives: proficient

Might +1

Hit Points +1

Stiff:

Agility +1

Some mercs levelled up:

Bletcher is now Level 4

Fortune is now Level 4

The Baron is now Level 4

Fallen Apples:

Jurgen ‘Stricken’ Stricker

Magnus ‘Mags’ Nold

Leonard ‘Cap’ Babler