Sweat beaded on Gund’s brow within his helm. He was feeling the absence of the Diamond Born. He’d anticipated Grar giving the front line a respite and moving his men forward, then drawing them back to keep them fresh. Now Gund was unable to stagger his line effectively, and instead was sending squadrons of men here and there, patching weak points in the line with tired and wounded soldiers. The goblins poured over them like a tidal wave. They died in droves, flinging themselves wildly into the dwarven spear wall,but their sheer numbers made a decisive defense impossible to mount. Before long they were climbing over their own dead and landing behind the shield line. All the while they continued to swarm through the dimroad, climbing alongside the stone walls and shooting their bows deep past the line. Soon Gund could no longer see the shield wall, and was looking on a tempest of gore and agony. Even the goblins were howling in pain, as if driven by some mad fear to hurl themselves onto the dwarves. Gund considered sounding a retreat through the gate, but he had yet to see the exploding rams. He rued the idea of them retreating beyond the gate only to have it breached.

He ordered the Gatebreakers to hold the southern end of the dimroad, while the Sunderers held the north. The center became a gap the goblins rushed through unhindered, and Gund had all his crossbowman lined up to shoot them down as they charged. The tactic was working for the moment, but their ammo carts were running low, and each time the goblins charged their corpses landed closer. His mind raced. He might sound the retreat, then have enough time to stage an ambush for the goblins when they breached the gate with their blasting rams, but then the gate would be open and the goblins would be free to take Forvangur. Gund didn’t want the eastern army to meet with the west. If the eastern force were to make it past him, then the already taxed forces defending Ormazum would be quickly overrun. Their best hope then would be to catch up with the goblins, who ran much more nimbly than dwarves, and face their combined might with the remnant of each of their own beleaguered armies. At the same time he realized they may very well face annihilation if they stubbornly remained outside the gate, and could only hope to thin the goblin ranks before they broke past them into Forvangur. What he wished for was the goblins to move their rams into position sooner rather than later, but he knew what he wished or hoped for was irrelevant. The time to make a decision was fast approaching. The next moment made the decision apparent, as a deafening cry shook the dimroad, as if a thousand shrill trumpets rang at once, accompanied by another thousand deep warhorns. He sounded the retreat, and the gate roared open.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

He was proud of the conscripts as they withdrew. Each rank held formation in turn, battling courageously until the rank in front took place behind, so that line by line they systematically fought their way back to the gate. The strange sound had sent a shiver down Gund’s spine, but the men kept their wits. The army had reached the line held by Gund and the reserves. He signaled them forward and they held the goblins back for a few moments, just in case the rams came into view. If he could only detonate those rams somehow then he could have the gates closed without fear of a breach. He kept his eyes peeled for any sight of them as he cut down swaths of goblins with his halberd. He’d found a heap of dead from both sides for him to stand atop, giving him a commanding view as well as a high ground to fight on. A thick and billowing fog rose up from the depths of the dimroad and blew past him like a hurricane. He fell backward from his corpse hill and landed on his back. An especially strong soldier lifted him to his feet and stood against the goblins charging from behind. Gund patted him on the shoulder and they ran together through the closing gate.

He was directing what remained of his forces to form lines along the wall on either side of the gate, when the deafening screech tore through the air again. The cloud of fog dispersed along the ground, and man-like creatures began taking shape. They moved at great speed, groping along the walls and floors like living wisps of glowing mist. Out of fear and shock, Gund commanded a charge against them. His heralds sounded audible warhorns that sounded like the weeping os small children after the howl of the creatures. Where did the goblins find these devils? Gund thought as he charged. They ground shook behind them, and a sound like thunder sounded the breeching of the gate. The goblins had thrown ten explosive rams into it, shattering the grand emblem of the Fell into a thousand pieces. Gund looked to the fog creatures, then back to the goblins and the broken gate, and gave a command no Army Chief in the history of Thrond had given; to blow the Ringing Horn, and sound Thrond’s evacuation.