The Foolhardies 139 Escape Plan

The enemies numbered in the upper twenties. Most of them were kobolds but there were a few pixies in the mix.

"Muddamit," Qwipps cursed.

He notched an arrow to his bow and aimed.

"What now, Dean?" Qwipps asked.

The enemies surrounding us had their weapons drawn but they didn't come charging at us. They were cautiously observing us, and I suspected it had something to do with the seven kobold bodies lying cold on the grass between us and them.

They'd also blocked the way back to the main house and to the only exit out of the estate.

The sounds of explosions and yelling reached our ears. The battle outside was on-going it seemed, and the enemies at the courtyard were thinking they were keeping us away from our rescue. How wrong they were.

I faced right and turned my gaze on the cliff's edge.

"Any second now," I whispered.

Any second turned into a full minute and still nothing was happening.

"Dean, our hosts are getting restless," Aura said.

I sighed right before I raised my falchion forward.

"Enna, remind me to kick your cousin in the butt for taking his sweet time," I said, pointing my shadowblade's tip at the enemies in front of us. "We'll have to hold out until Thom's team gets here."

"Easier said than done," Luca answered, pointing his own broadsword toward our enemies.

"We can do this," Pike piped in. "Four for each of us."

"Someone's optimistic," Qwipps added dryly.

"Better than being too negative, Qwipps," Varda added.

She pulled out her one-handed war hammer and raised it aloft in one hand while her other hand had reached into her pockets and produced another smooth pebble.

"Four each sounds doable," Varda agreed.

"No, it isn't," Qwipps shot back. "Not in this enclosed space."

"You people talk too much," Enna reiterated as she raised her katana forward.

We hadn't planned it, but Enna's banter-ending-counter was the moment we all decided it was time to attack.

Luca and I both rushed forward. Enna and Pike followed close behind us.

At the same time, a firebolt and arrow flew past us and reached our enemies before we could get in range.

Aura's firebolt flew straight into the mouth of the lead kobold just as he was barking orders at his companions.

Let's just say he won't be barking any orders after that.  

Qwipps arrow, on the other hand, struck the arm of one of the archers at the back of the enemy formation. Just in time too as that pixie was about to fire an arrow aimed at me.

Luca reached the enemy first. I'd like to think it was because Aura's fiery blessing was giving him a boost because I just didn't want to admit that he had longer legs than me.

He raised his broadsword high and slashed downward on his target, cleaving the kobold down from right shoulder to just above its ribcage.

Blood gushed out of the fatal wound, spraying Luca's face in red.

Pike was right beside him and hacking at the arms of a kobold who'd raised its halberd to attack Luca.

And while this kobold who'd just lost his arms screamed in pain, the rest of his fellows quickly recovered from our surprise attack and launched a counteroffensive that would have overwhelmed Luca and Pike if Enna and I hadn't reached them in time.

I plunged my falchion's shadowblade deep into the chest of another kobold warrior, but the bastard wouldn't die and instead tried to bite my head off with its canine fangs.

So I pulled my falchion out of his chest, and with my next move, I cleaved his Doberman head off his shoulders with a sideswipe.

As the head rolled to the ground, I spared it a momentary glance, and despite my frustrations over failing to save Ty, I still felt that painful pang in my chest at taking another life.

"Dean, focus!" Aura yelled.

I raised my head in time to watch a firebolt slam into the shoulder of the pixie that had flown down toward me with its sword raised.

"Your attacks sting but don't actually hurt me!" It roared in mid-air.

A second firebolt struck it in the gut, causing it to double over in pain.

"Stop that!" It screamed.

A third firebolt streaked toward him. It was so fast that the pixie didn't even have time to dodge. It struck the pixie's face and knocked its lights out.

It fell from the sky at the same time as Luca and I sent our shadowblades snaking across the chest of the same kobold. And after its top half fell to the ground, we argued on who exactly made the finishing blow.

We'd stopped arguing after we heard Varda's scream, "Duck!"

A stone fist zoomed past the space our heads had been only a second ago and smashed squarely onto the chest of another pixie archer. The impact not only caused the archer to get thrown back, but it also broke the fist into tiny little pieces. These sharp pieces of rock struck bystanders with such force that they were akin to a shotgun's scattershot, injuring two and killing at least one more kobold.

By my count, that was at least ten enemies down. So, for just a moment, I thought that Pike might have been right all along and we would manage to take out all the enemies in the courtyard.

But just as I was beginning to feel optimistic, a new wave of enemies excited the other end of the courtyard, effectively filling the space around us in hostile forces.

"Back," I called to my team. "Move to the cliffs.

As one, we disengaged from our enemies and moved in the direction of the cliffs.

"What was that about four foes each?" Qwipps asked to no one in particular.

"Quit your whining and fire another arrow at them, Qwipps," Varda shot back. "You probably can't miss with this many guys."

"Hilarious," Qwipps countered.

"Should I summon the efreet?" Aura asked.

I shook my head. "It's better to not use the nuclear option while Ty is still somewhere in this complex. But I may need an Earth Wall to separate us from them…"

Varda gave me the thumbs up.

"I can use one final spell for the night, Commander," she said.

"Get ready," I ordered.

I turned my eyes downward and noticed the shadows that surrounded us were lengthening.

"Qwipps," I called. "Fire an arrow into that mass of bodies, will you."

"I don't see the point beyond starting another fight, but what the hell," Qwipps shrugged.

He notched an arrow to his bow, aimed, and fired in one swift movement, giving our enemies zero time to react.

Qwipps' arrow launched into the air, and when it landed onto the shoulder of an enemy kobold, it didn't land alone.

Several black-feathered arrows had embedded themselves into many more enemy bodies.

I looked over my shoulder and grinned.

"You're late," I said.

"It was difficult to find our way through the catacomb's maze and set up the rope and pulley for your escape," Thom explained as he and his troops climbed up from the cliff's edge. "Not all of us have eyes that see beyond what others can."

"Hah," I laughed. "I don't need my eyes to read a map, dude."

"There will be time for boasting later," he said as he notched another arrow to his bow.

Thom fired the arrow into the enemies, who, after seeing the arrival of our reinforcements, decided now was the time to charge at us.

"Now, Varda!" I yelled.

Varda was already kneeling with her hands touching the sand beneath her.

"I call on sand and rock and soil, won't you wake for me and start to toil," she chanted. "Wakey, wakey and stand tall, build for me a mighty Earth Wall!"

The sand beneath us shook. The very earth rumbled. Then, just before our foes would come within range, a wall of sand and stone spanning the length of the courtyard rose up twelve feet high and blocked us from those who would harm us.

"Shall we make our escape now, Commander?" Thom asked.

"Let's go," I agreed.

The seven drow passed each of us a coil of rope which we quickly tied around our waists.

We moved over to the edge and saw the glow of the light-emitting gemstone Thom had left there to signal the opening of the path back into the catacombs.

"I've never done spelunking before," Luca noted.

"First time for everything, bro," I said, tapping him on the shoulder.

After one final check that the ropes were secured to the nails Thom's group had hammered into the cliff's edge and making sure Thom was holding onto the other end of my rope, I glanced over to my companions and said, "No accidents, please. I'd prefer this night ended with none of us falling horribly into the abyss."

Then I jumped down first and rappelled my way to safety.

Chapter end