Mary Smith
Stories
13
Chapters
4,849
Words
711.2 K
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0
Reading
2 d, 11 h
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I found Draxus at the base of the Tower, giving orders to the men to clear the wall of corpses. The Bodies of dead Orks were lifted and heaved over the walls, tumbling fifty feet to the ground below. It was hard work, but it was necessary. Looking down, I saw the glassy eyes of more men than beasts along the wall, and the embers of anger that had been burning in me flared once again. I knelt on the stone, drawing my hunting knife from my boot and gripping an Ork corpse by the horns. I set my jaw and…-
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I took the tower steps two at a time, bloody sword held out before me. We had caught the Ork’s in the tower partially by surprise. The sturdy wooden door had been bared and barricaded, but Eric had let me in on a secret. There was a second door around the outer face of the castle - one that could be accessed with a key. Since we hadn’t possessed the key, it had fallen to me to pick the lock. Not an easy endeavor when Ork arrows bounced off the stone walls all around me. Finally, the rusted lock had…
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It was by the main gate of the city that the fighting was thickest. Fire arrows lit the night air, hissing as they found their mark among the soldiers in defense of Ceris. In the flicker of firelight, I could see the black and red uniforms of Lord Blackthorne’s men…though I could see no sign of the man himself. The battlements were teaming with Orks. They clambered up ladders, climbed grappling hooks, and poured over the wall like an unstoppable flood. Behind the melee lay the tower - our…
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173 •
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Stone cracked beneath talons as the Sand Drakes began to climb. Draxus and I called orders, reforming our columns into two lines that faced the outer wall and our new enemy. It was impossible to tell how many Outriders would come over that wall, but I knew that these moments would be crucial. The squad manning the ballista loosed another projectile, this one stirring the wind as it whipped by only a dozen feet from us. There was a crash as the large bolt struck stone and bounced away into empty air.…
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173 •
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I used the last of the health potions in my inventory to heal my broken nose. The potion itself did nothing for the pain but the steady flow of blood slowed to a halt in moments. Draxus splashed water from his canteen over my hands, and I wiped the sweat and blood from my face. My helmet had seen better days. The side had been dented in, and the visor was bent inward at an angle. I grimaced and placed it back into my inventory. I would need it repaired, and soon. But now I had much more pressing…
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173 •
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Around us, the battle still raged, but in our small pocket, there was stillness. Both sides, Ork and man, hesitated. The soldiers parted for me like the tide as I stepped forward into the space between our lines. The Ork Raider boss flipped his warhammer in his hand a few times, before jerking his head to his brethren. He growled something in their own guttural language and I watched as the Orks withdrew. Both sides watched with intensity as I lifted my sword and shield before me. The Ork was massive,…
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I sprinted through the tunnels, boots pounding on slick stone as I ran. My shield, still strapped to my back, bounced against my shoulders with a racket that could have raised the dead. I didn’t care, because right now I was just trying to stay alive. Behind me, the sound of the creature was soft but persistent. The clicking of claws on stone. The rasp of panting breath. Several times the back of my neck prickled and I resisted the urge to look back at the monstrosity now following me. I was almost…
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The tunnel opened out into a large circular chamber. The ceiling was high and vaulted, and the stone old and worn. Torchlight bounced off the walls, revealing towering obelisks with more strange writing. As I stepped forward my boot snagged on something and I looked down. At the center of the chamber was a raised mosaic of red and black tile. The pieces looked as if they had been shattered and formed into some sort of pattern. I squinted at it, trying to make it out. “What is this?” Kato whispered,…
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There was something very wrong with the tunnel ceiling. The sludge that we had seen at the entrance of the sewer was thicker. It hung, glistening, and wet on large sticky strands that dripped to the ground. Kato prodded one with his sword and made a sound of disgust as it splattered to the stone. We moved silently now, communicating only through gestures and signals. The Skinwalker, wherever it was, was likely aware of our presence. It would use the darkness as an alley, and try to separate us. So we…
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I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on my tent pole. Opening my eyes, I saw that the chair across from my cot was empty. Gills stood in the entrance, his face a mask of worry. I sat up quickly, wincing as my new bruises stretched. “What is it?” I asked him. From the light outside I could tell it was still day, but Gills was agitated by something. “There is trouble in the city,” he said. “Last night there were reports of refugees going missing. Just this morning a body was found by the…
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