A Dwarf's Tale: Will of a Silver Coin

We glided through the air racing back to the Randoss farm. This was a horrible predicament. True, there were troops stationed in Stalvinport, but, that ruins the plans of the chains at the river. If we enact them, it will slow them down. But the point was to demolish the navy. Another pit in my stomach formed. If the naval attack is tonight, that means, the horde land attack may be on the horizon too sometime tonight or in the morning. By now, the horde must realize that that there is a defense before Stalvinport. Their spies will tell them as much. The ‘Leader’ must really be desperate, enraged, or both to move up the timetable by a week. That must be exploited somehow. Moral, which was low before because of fear, must be even lower now. Why is it moved up?

I hit myself on the forehead. Of course! The plan was to move all of those undead to the lands. With the undead destroyed, the conquest is unhampered. So, the battles are to take place sooner. With humans, dwarves, and humanoids dying, the ‘Leader’ can replenish troops and still maintain control over the lands. True, further conquest after this would have to be delayed. The one consolation is that the ship carrying the spectre and the chest was demolished. Or should I say obliterated. That fireball was huge. Too bad dragons didn’t have a thirty foot staff of fireballs like that. Or, do they?

“Stormstrike, you wouldn’t happen to have a staff or wand that launches fireballs like that do you?”

“No, I do not. That was from my personal repertoire. If I did, that would be easy: tangle the ships and launch fireballs from above. I only have one left. I have other spells and abilities, but that is the only fire based one I have.”

“Understood. It was me brainstorming.”

“Well, we could carry the blast powders by wagon there. My children and myself can still perform that.”

“Unfortunately Stormstrike, the farm may be having their fight tonight or in the morning. The blast powders are needed there.”

“You think so?”

“I would count on it. The week’s delay, I just realized, would have been the amount of time needed to get that undead army into position and launch the attacks. Since there is no undead army anymore, the attacks are now going to occur. I didn’t reason that one out.”

“Tor, it is hard to reason out every possibility. Let’s discuss this with everyone. We may yet have ideas.”

“I have a plan forming. There are many holes in the plan however.”

“What do you have so far?”

“Well, if you and your children could freeze the water, that would prevent the further movement of the ships, and freeze the zombies in the water. However, with that type of ice, there would be precious little for the goblins to jump off of those ships, muster, and run for the mile or so to Stalvinport. We could alert the guards, and the gates would be closed. Stalvinport would be besieged then. That would prevent the troops from traveling to the farm to bolster the forces there against the horde.”

“I see what you mean about holes. We cannot take any troops from the town because of town defense. We also cannot take any troops from the farm because of the land attack.”

“Exactly.”

We saw the farm. We also saw troops mustering, the dwarves getting ready, torches by the hundreds were flaring. I frowned a moment, but then realized. Durak and Yimnak, the dwarven scout brothers, must of returned and reported what I feared: the horde army is close. “It is what I feared. The horde army for the land attack is approaching too.”

Stormstrike bellowed. The troops below raised their weapons. “We need a meeting of the commanders now.” Stormstrike descended and the troops relaxed, realizing that we were friend. I hopped off of his back and he reverted back into his elderly elven form. His children came out of the house. Torid came up and so did Woodard. “What is going on? The horde army is approaching.”

“So is their navy, and Stalvinport’s navy is two days west on tactics and training.”

“By the cudgel, this is turning most dire.”

“We needed everyone inside. Immediate emergency meeting. If we do not stop that navy, all will be lost.”

“I get them Tor. Wait minutes.” Torid lumbered off. Everyone else, including me, went inside. Within minutes, everyone else arrived. They already had grim looks on their faces. Torid must of explained what happened. “Ok, we don’t have much time. Please, sit down, and we’ll relay what we have found.” Everyone sat.”

“Tor, allow me please.”

“Sure Stormstrike.” It gives me a few more minutes of brainstorming.”

“Everyone, Tor and I found that ship. It was destroyed. But we saw the horde navy. A full eighty ships. They will arrive in Stalvinport tonight. How you may ask? Each ship is being pulled by a dozen of aquatic zombies with chains. They move with uncanny speed. They will be at the chain point in a matter of hours. The navy is two days away west and cannot come to aid.”

“Here is the problem. That navy was key in destroying the ships in confusion. But, as I suspected Tor, the zombies have another purpose. The spies found out about the navy, and will use the zombies as fodder to trouble the Stalvinport navy and marshal a foothold in the harbor. Even if we tangle them at the chain point, it will only delay them slightly. We could muster the army at Stalvinport to the chain part, but that will do little good. The ships that have the blast powder are not there. Tor had an idea of freezing the water at the chain point. That would stop the advance of the ships and the zombies in the water. The goblins would be free to debark from the ships, and run to Stalvinport besieging it. From what I understand, that army is key for defeating the horde attack. This meeting, is to see if we can brainstorm some sort of plan to prevent utter disaster.”

“This is terrible.” Calvin had his head in his hands.” How do you defeat a navy without a navy?”

Thompson spoke. “Goblins are not very good combatants. If they jump off of the sides of the ships while the water is frozen, and scramble onto land, we could use the army at Stalvinport to deal with them.”

“Won’t work. The army is needed to come here. We cannot hold back that horde for long. We need those reinforcements here, or everything will be for nothing.” Samos had a grim look on his face when he said this. I agreed completely.

Tyna spoke quietly. “And if we flee from here, the horde army will lay siege, slaughtering us or starving us.”

Talma stood up. I didn’t notice the kids were in the house, but I’m glad they were. “David, Stella, Steve. Start preparing for evacuation, as Tor originally described. We need to prepare.”

“Sure mom, but, we are thinking too. Five more minutes?”

“All right children.” Talma was surprisingly calm.

We all thought. Kosser had a thoughtful expression on his face while he was smoking his pipe. “Stormstrike. The zombies. Were they pulling chains, or were they shackled to them?”

“They were shackled to the zombies. And, near the bottom prow of each ship.”

“Interesting. So, if we stop the flow of the zombies’ movement, at the chain point, they could not move further.”

“Yes, but the trick is how do we do that?”

Steve raised his hand. “I have an idea.”

I looked at Steve and nodded gently.”Go ahead.”

“Water elementals. They are big, powerful, they cannot be hurt by zombies. If we can get some water elementals in there, they can destroy the water zombies. Then, take the chains and have the water elementals wrapped them around the chains so the ships cannot move. After that, have greek fire dropped off by Griff onto the ships and the goblins burn. If any of the goblins jump in the water, t he elementals will kill them.”

“And how does Griff drop the greek fire?”

“Well, make her bigger? Kosser, you told me there are spells that can alter size right?”

We all were stunned into silence. “I’m sorry, I guess it was a dumb idea.”

Kosser stood up, walked over to Steven, and hugged him. “My boy, that is the best idea I have heard of in years! It could work very easy. Samos, how long will it take you to get twenty carts of oil?”

“We do not have that many. Only five.”

“Stalvinport does. It has one hundred full barrels of it. We use it to dilute for lamps and torches.” Calvin was coming to life again. His youngest son, brought out the brightest flame of the day. I was impressed. Now, the trick is, can we pull it off. Calvin started writing down furiously what was to be done. “Samos, this writ, will authorize you to get the oil. We have the horses and the wagons there. You and yours can work the oil the best.”

“Aye, we can. If it wasn’t for Sigur, I wouldn’t care for this plan. But after Sigur…tell me what you want of me Commander.”

“Take twenty of your best. David, get two of the large wagons, and put four horses each. They will have to fly on wheels to get there. Make them fast and secure. Thompson, go with them. Make sure you get Bram and Tomas, and show them this writ. We have very little time. Tell them to load up forty barrels with twenty wagons and have them drawn to the chain point. There is already a messenger that should be arriving shortly to get the troops here. Oh, sorry guys. Tor, Stormstrike, shortly after you left, Durak and Yimnak appeared and let us know the grave news. We already sent messengers to Stalvinport.”

“Good. Very good.”

“Thank you. Ok, Tor, you get Griff, take Kosser with you, and go meet them. Kosser, I assume you are doing the water elemental department?”

“And other things yes.”

“Ok. We’ll prepare for the troops arrival here and set up positions.”

“Commander Randoss. Can I go with Tor?”

“Sure Torid, but, why?”

“Well, if Dragon Stormstrike too? I had idea.”

Another moment of silence. Will wonders never cease?”

“I have strength of giant, but I don’t have size of giant. If I get big, I can throw barrels of oil at near ships.”

I looked quickly. Of course! Just like when the hill giants were going to toss rocks at us. “That will work! Torid does have the strength of a hill giant. He just needs to be the size of one!”

“I’m sure, I can manage that too Torid. Excellent thinking”

“I know I not smart like all you are smart. But I can bash, I can fight, and I can throw. Throw barrels at ships. And, can help if anything comes to attack friend dwarves and Thompson.”

Calvin came over to Torid and shook his hand, then saluted him. “Torid, there is no denying that logic. If Kosser and Stormstrike can make it happen, let’s make it happen!”

“Oh it will happen. I think this is a fine idea to add to the Steve Randoss maneuver.” Stormstrike said with a smile.

“Steve Randoss what?” Steven was confused.

“Son, if this works, you are going down in history. If you want to think about it son, it is your ’different way to fight.”

“Oh.” Steven actually blushed.

Samos stood up. “Durak, Yimnak, find eighteen others and get on the wagons. You twenty will do us all proud tonight.”

“Yes sir!” They left quickly.

“Eighteen?”

“Yes Calvin. You said twenty of my best. You just saw the best two of oil based attackers I have.”

“Oh, I never knew.”

“We are friends Calvin, my dwarves with your family. But there are secrets still.” He said with a smile. “It was their tactics that held off the horde for all of those days.”

I now had a new found respect for those two brothers. That was no easy feat then.

“Woodard, I’m going to ask you to stay here. With the troops’ arrival..”

“I understand.”

“Kids, off you go. David, get the wagons ready and then do as your mother told you. Stella, Steven, off you go. Get the animals and the preparations ready.”

“Yes sir!”

“Tor, you have been awfully quiet. Do you see any problems?”

“I have been quiet Calvin, because for the past hour or so, I was trying to figure out how we can save this night yet. I am amazed that in ten minutes, a full contingency plan is not only made, but now in action. No, I cannot see anything wrong with this plan at all. In fact, I hope it works.”

Calvin grinned. “Kosser, I will say this right now. If we live through this, I want you to teach me a thing or two about magic.”

“Calvin, I do not do miracles my boy.”

Calvin was taken aback. We all laughed for a moment, and Kosser winked. Calvin saw he was in the joke and laughed too. Laughter, is always good for a situation like this. Laughter over, we all looked at each other. “May the gods favor the foolish once again.” We all left the room. I quickly went and put my armor on. I took my staff, my two handed dwarven axe, and my bastard sword. I slung my bow and both quivers. Satisfied, I went out to the barn. I know why Calvin wanted me to guide Griff. She understood people well enough, but she seemed to understand me best. When I arrived, Stella was gently putting Griff’s eggs in a small wagon. The inside was well cushioned too. Griff was looking at her and prodding her gently with her head. Stella was trying to explain to Griff. I walked up and put my hand on Griff’s head.

“Griff, it is ok. Bad people coming. Remember?” She cooed a bit. “Stella is making sure nothing happens to your kids. But Griff, more bad people on boats coming. We all need your help. I need your help. Trust Stella?”

Griff stood there, thought about it a minute, and then, went to Stella and put her head on Stella’s chest. Stella hugged Griff. “I promise, I will protect them Griff. David and Steven are going to help too.” Griff seemed to understand, as her right claw went around Stella oh so gently. After a moment, she let Stella go and came back to me. Griff squawked softly and headed out the door. I followed her. She stood in the middle of a large opening and looked at me. Knowing that was my cue, I mounted her back as I would a horse. Griff opened up her feathered wings and started to rise. I could see the consternation of some of the dwarves and the soldiers. I could also see that Calvin and Samos were telling their officers about the situation at the chain point. After a moment, they all saluted to me. I saluted back, and pointed Griff towards the chain point. There was a bright full moon by this time. The wintry air still had a small bite to it. As we were flying, that bite became more pronounced. Down below, I could see the two wagons of dwarves. I assume that Kosser, Thompson, and Torid were also in these wagons too. Suddenly, there was a huge presence overhead. I looked up, and there was Stormstrike. Good, we all seemed to be on our way to salvage the plan. That horde navy had to be destroyed.

“Tor, now that we have a moment, I noticed your ‘Griff’ has an uncanny ability in understanding people. That is odd.”

“Well, yeah. I never gave it much thought.”

“You should. At the mountain, there was a band of hippogriff we trained and taught several years ago. Griff, did you come from far away?”

Griff performed a series of squawks and screeches for a couple of minutes. Stormstrike nodded his head. “She is one from of the pack at the mountain. Griff also said a group of rogues abducted her and travelled very far away. She found a way to get free, and started to fly. She didn’t know which way to go. When she flew across these mountains here, she saw an army down below. She tried to get away, but something struck her wing and side. She said she fell into a tree and was tangled. That is when she met you. You freed her, and became friends since.”

I patted her back. “Yes, we’re friends. She also saved Steven from a worg attack the next morning.”

“Amazing. If we live through this, I will have to report this to the council.” A look of concern came across my face. “Oh do not worry Tor. I meant of the success. I always had a penchant for alliances with all beings. It leads to mutual success and survival for all.”

“Oh. Well, ok then.”

“Do not worry. She has now made all of you part of her clutch mates.”

“I figured as much. And she is as much a part of us now.”

“I understand. Griff, when we get there, I’m going to make you much bigger. There will be barrels for you to carry. You will drop these barrels on the ships that is on the river. Tor will be showing you where to drop them.”

Griff squawked and screeched a bit. “Yes, they are part of the bad people.”

She let loose a shrill scream into the night sky. “Seems she wants some revenge too Tor.”

“I don’t blame her one bit.”

“Oddly, neither do I. I always prefer negotiations over combat, but not in this case.”

“Well Stormstrike, if it puts your mind at ease, you can think of this as confrontational negotiations-where defeat is not an option.”

“Well said Tor, well said. In fact, I shall use that again in my repertoire.”

I grinned at Stormstrike. Again, some brief moments of levity always helps with the oncoming tasks at hand. I got to thinking about Griff. I am glad she has stayed with us. Not just for what she is about to do, but the amount of joy and comfort that she brings. I’ve seen her play with the Randoss kids. I’ve seen her play with the dwarven kids. The adults marvel and pet her. When Griff hunts, and everyone sees her in the sky, there is a measure of great comfort knowing that the lands are cleared of dangers. I see Stormstrike’s point. With these intelligent hippogriffs, and other creatures too, all work together, all live together, in a sense of enhanced harmony. If I see another moonlit night, I will have to give this new found wisdom its complete due. Right now, we have a disaster to avert.

We came upon the chain point in the river and both landed. I went over to the river’s edge, and checked the first set of chains. The chains had to be merely pulled and secured to the rock anchors Samos’s dwarves had made. There were two rotational devices that each set of chains were attached to. A pole was then to be slipped down into the mechanism and into a deep hole. The poles were metal ones, about ten feet in length and nearly four inches wide. I’m going to need help with this one. “Stormstrike, I need help.” He walked gracefully over. How can a dragon this big be so graceful at the same time amazes me. “I need you to put in the pole when I get the chains taunt. Torid will have to do the same thing on the other one when the ships approach.” Stormstrike nodded and I move the crank. Good thing there was a large pole and I could get my legs to help. I rotated the crank about five times until it no longer moved. Stormstrike slipped the pole down. I went over to the water’s edge and tested the chain. Taunt, extremely taunt and three rows of chain descending overall twelve feet into the water. Samos’ dwarves were fantastic in putting this together so quickly and so well! I went over to the other crank. Same situation. With this one, I pointed it out to Stormstrike. He nodded. Now, it is just a point to wait. Wait for the dwarves. Wait for the barrels. Wait for the ships to arrive.

We heard sets of horse hooves and a wagon. A few seconds later, Kosser had arrived with Torid. They got down off of the wagon. Thompson did a small wave and wheeled the wagon around. Well, this part of the gang is here. Shortly, we should be seeing wagon after wagon of barrels. “Good eve again. Thompson informed us that they should be here within an hour.”

“I am going to fly back east a bit and see if we have that hour.” Stormstrike rose and flew to the east.

“Kosser, I get big now?”

“Not yet Torid. We have to wait until the naval ships are stuck.”

“Oh, ok. So, what we do when waiting?”

“Rest you big lug. Let’s have a drink together. Might be the last chance we all get to have one.”

“Tor! Good idea!. Yes, all sit. Have drink!”

We did sit together. Torid had his whiskey, and I had spirits. I smelled wine. Kosser gave us a toast and we joined. Sipping on our drinks, I asked Kosser, “I know you can summon earth elementals. But water too?”

“The spell is summoning an elemental. I get to choose what element. What I do my boy, is I ask the elemental for its help. While I am casting, I am talking to the elemental. Elementals are more likely to help when you do it with respect and ask for help. Many magi do not. They are rude with the elementals. I have seen elementals go after the mage rather than the purpose of the summoning.”

“Amazing. So you talk to the elemental before summoning the elemental?”

“Yes, and I always ask for help in the nicest way. I’ve never been refused help.”

“I hope it doesn’t refuse now.”

“No reason why it should.”

“I remember. You talked, and then the earth elemental appeared. You thanked the earth elemental and said to go home.”

“Yes. Elementals fear magi and certain priests. Many created magical items, including golems, have one of the components a trapped elemental. I assure the elemental I mean it no harm like that, only requiring their help for a short time. During the talk, the elemental looks into me. Whether it is mental, emotional, or something else, each time, they see I tell the truth. They are more willing to help then when they feel comfortable that I mean them no harm. I also hand them a small gift too. For the water elemental, usually it is a pearl or a piece of coral. Like the pearl I have here.” Kosser produced a fine pearl, nearly as big as my finger is round. “I always say I freely give the gift whether they choose to help or not. Because I give them that choice, and a gift freely, the elementals feel even more comfortable.”

“Very thoughtful and useful Kosser. Though, from what I have seen of Stormstrike, we could use a few more, fireballs?”

“Tor, the day I left Alifax, is the day I had foregone any destructive magic. I was tired of battle, tired of war. There is more to magic than destructive.”

“Obviously no doubt Kosser. I was just impressed by Stormstrike taking out that ship.”

“Yes, but in this fashion, with a bit of luck, we should be able to deal with a fleet.”

There was no arguing that logic. Stormstrike had returned and set down as quietly as a one hundred fifty foot dragon can. “It will be close, but I think we will make it. Kosser, I will handle enlarging Griff and Torid. I know the concentration needed for the elemental.”

“Thank you Stormstrike.”

“And I bash whatever gets near and throw barrels. This gonna be fun.”

Nearly an hour later, wagons started appearing. The soldiers of Stalvinport were coming in with the barrels. These were huge barrels, each one holding a full fifty gallons of oil. Two barrels per wagon, and twenty wagons. Stormstrike helped by unloading the barrels and lining them up. Half he gave to Torid, and half Griff and I were supposed to take to drop from above. I also saw the dwarves pull out crossbows. I was a bit confused, and then confused even more when I saw them with several small fires. “They are going to see the fires. We have to not have fires.”

“Already taking care of that commander.” Durak was putting up special rounded shields. Only a six inch opening was left, and this was also masked well with additional walls and a top of sorts. “These kettledrums keep the fires hot and make the flames quite unseen. We have metal bolts with hard pressed charcoal heads. We keep them hot, and then, fire at whatever our target is.”

I was impressed. With the red hot charcoal tip, whatever it hits, will shatter into small coal embers. From there, the embers will light the greek fire.

Yimnak came up. “I see lanterns in the east. They are nearly here.”

“Ok, everyone quick rundown on the plan. One, we wait for the lead ships to get bunched at the first set of chains. That is when the back set of chains will go up. Two, Kosser summons a water elemental to go and attack the water zombies and tie up those chains. Three, Stormstrike makes Griff and Torid bigger. Torid, you toss the barrels at the ships closer to you. Leave the center and the ones nearing the other side for Griff and myself. Four, when most of the barrels are tossed, let’s say, Torid has six and we have six left over, light your bolts and aim into the ships. Stormstrike will protect the dwarves as needed, if anything emerges on this side of the river.”

Thompson came up. “Tor, by Calvin’s order, these guards will attack anything that comes out of the water here that threatens anyone here.”

“Yes Commander Tor, we have been instructed by the guard to give you whatever assistance you will need.”

“Good. Make sure nothing gets out of the water and attack the dwarves, or destroys the last of the barrels. Timing is everything here. Now, does everyone understand the sequence of events?”

In the moonlight, I could tell that everyone agreed. Thompson added, “Tor, the troops are going to the Randoss farm. A full five thousand troops will be ready to go. Fliers have also been dispatched trying to get the navy back. Even if this goes well, we will need to have the troops in Stalvinport.”

“Good news. Thanks Thompson. Ok, everyone to your places. They will be here in about five minutes.

Stormstrike grabbed the barrels. He set one in a pile for Torid, who was standing near the crank for the second set of chains. Several of the soldiers unhitched the horses and led them away from the wagons. Stormstrike was lining up the wagons near to the river’s edge. Kosser was in the middle of spellcasting. The dwarves were readying their fire bolts. I looked down the river. The torches were approaching closer. I went over to Griff and patted her head. She too was looking very intently at the torches of the boats. We could hear the goblins on board. We could also hear the groaning from the hulls of the ships being dragged by chains. Another minute, and the lead ships would encounter the chains. From the water’s edge, a shape appeared and went to Kosser. Kosser spoke to the shape, which I am assuming was the water elemental. If I thought the earth elemental was huge, it was tiny in comparison. This water elemental was a full ten feet in height. I saw part of it nodding to Kosser and a tentacle of water took the pearl offered. Respectful and needful negotiations does indeed go a long way. The elemental was waiting from Kosser for the signal. That is when the first of the ships stopped in their movements. Suddenly, Griff grew. She was more than double her normal size. I took that as my turn and climbed up on her back. Because of her larger size, I couldn’t get my legs around her. I had to steady myself on her back. One of the soldiers saw this, and put a rope around her chest and handed me the ends. I thanked him, and I was ready. The next line of ships were crashing against the first. Yells from the goblins as they figured out what was happening came from them. They tried to compensate by turning the rudder, but that only led to more of a pile. There was much churning in the water as I’m sure the water elemental was busy. The last line of ships just crossed the other line of chains. “Now Torid!” He turned the crank until he could move them no more. Stormstrike put the pole in place. “Now everyone!”

I tapped Griff, as she spread her even mightier wings. She grabbed the first barrel and took flight. Looking below, I saw Torid grew to nearly twenty feet tall. He laughed, took the first barrel, and threw it at the last ship closest to him. It shattered on the deck, the liquid spilling all over. I tapped my hand on Griff’s right side, and aimed for the farthest ship across that just past the second chain. “Drop Griff.” She dropped the barrel, and I had the satisfaction of looking down with the same scenario. “Pick up each barrel and go for the farthest ships from shore Griff!” She screeched, wheeled around sharply, and went for a second barrel. I was glad for the rope that the soldier thought of. I would of fallen off of Griff’s back. Griff picked up the second barrel. She didn’t need me to guide her. Griff flew to the next ship farthest from shore and dropped it. Torid was throwing barrels at the nearer ships. The goblins were completely in disarray. They started to shoot their arrows in random directions. Some of the arrows hit other goblins.

Between Griff’s dropping of the barrels and Torid’s throwing the barrels, we were each down to five. He stopped throwing them. He remembered the plan. Good. I was concerned he was going to have too much fun and keep throwing them. “Griff, fly near the dwarves. No more barrels until I say so.” She screeched again. When we got near the dwarves, she hovered. “Let your fire bolts fly. The outer perimeter of ships are coated!” They needed no more encouragement. The dwarves picked their targets and let loose their bolts. Each bolt landed on a ship. There were no duplicates. True to their word, the bolts shattered on impact, and ignited the greek oil. More fire bolts sailed into the air, encircling the fleet with flame. The very center of ships were not yet on fire. “Torid, aim for the center. We will drop more too. Griff, center ships, barrels.” She screeched again, and picked up a barrel. As she was flying towards a ship, some of the goblins pointed up. Arrows started shooting in our direction. She gracefully maneuvered around, and went higher. Many of the arrows then fell short. She dropped her barrel. When it crashed against a ship, some of the liquid leapt up and went to a ship that was already burning. This ignited the trail and it landed on the ship, igniting the rest of it. Griff, again, needed no more urging from me. She got her barrels, and dropped them on ships that were not on fire. When she was on the last barrel, I spoke to her. “Griff, the center ship. Aim for that ship.” Griff maneuvered until the center ship was below. She dropped the barrel, and it took, crashed on deck. Griff flew back to the dwarves and landed. “Durak, Yimnak, the center ship. Set it aflame. They nodded, and did just that. The center ship was on fire.

During all of this, thousands of goblins were being burned alive. Their screams went into a deathly chorus that filled the night. Arrows started to fall in our direction. All of us took cover behind the line of wagons. Griff went over to Stormstrike as he laid a protective wing over her. “Watch for zombies guys. As those ships burn, some may try to get on land.” We all had our weapons at the ready.

Kosser was in silence, and then he smiled. “I do not think we’ll have to worry about the zombies for awhile. The water elemental has them tangled up well. The front and rear zombies are tied to our chains. The other zombies, were out of reach for the elemental to tie them with, so, he’s gone about and tangled them up with each other in their own chains. It is quite a mess above and below water.”

Suddenly, from the center ship, a blast of pure ice came from it. It fell short of us, but it extinguished the flames on the center ship and the ships in our line of sight. From the firelight however, we could see a darkened figure fly towards us. Was this the ‘Leader’, or another puppet? Having a quick thought, I pushed Kosser under the wagon we were in. I know this much. While that elemental was out there, he could cast no other spells. He was vulnerable. I was about ready to meet this figure, when huge darts of light came from behind me and slammed into the darkened figure. Stormstrike’s magic! It was spectacular! The figure was slammed with each of these huge darts, staggering backwards, screaming in pain. “Durak, Yimnak, have all of you aim your fire bolts at that figure!” A few seconds later, twenty fire bolts were shot, most of them hitting the figure. While no flames erupted because of lack of the greek oil, the bolts were burning that robe. More screams of pain erupted from the darkened figure. But he still kept coming. That is, until a boulder hit him square. Torid! The dear lug picked up a huge rock and hit the figure with it. It sent him into the water. Wait, running water? Didn’t Kosser say vampires are vulnerable to running water? Moments later, the figure flew out of the water, screaming in more pain. The robe was off, and I could see it was a smaller figure. Another Steve puppet. The figure was trying to get away. More fantastical huge darts came from behind and slammed into the figure. It screamed again, and dropped-right into one of the ships now completely emblazed. It screamed for a few more seconds, and then, nothing. Amazing with the roars of all of the fires, that we could hear the screams. Vampires. Powerful undead creatures, with powerful vocal cords I guess.

We still stood at the ready, to see if any zombies or goblin survivors came out. Many goblins were trying to swim away from the burning vessels. However, the water elemental, were dragging the swimming goblins under water. The waters churned and churned. Goblin blood started to stain the waters. Also, the few ships that were not ablaze, were sinking. The water elemental was sinking these ships. We saw that some goblins made it safely to the far side. So far, about three hundred survived. But three hundred goblins, compared to the thousands, were small concerns in comparison. We started seeing bodies coming out of the water and into the flames. The water elemental was tossing the water zombies into the flaming ships. There were many yowls of pain and curses. I looked confused to Kosser and back at the grizzly goblin zombie roast. Some zombies managed to get back into the water, only to get tossed out again into the fires. The flotilla of ships started to move back east. With the ships not under zombie influence, and the masts and rows destroyed by flame, the current was taking control. The boats creaked and groaned. Some of them started breaking by the bows and we saw these starting to take in water.

I lost track of time, but eventually, the fires on the ships started to ebb. Many of the ships were sunk. Most of the goblins were dead. Goblins that survived the flames, didn’t survive the drowning or the water elemental. Another couple hundred scrambled on the far shore that we could see. Griff and Torid returned to their normal sizes as well. I turned to the officer of these soldiers. “Alert Stalvinport that there may be a small attack of those few hundreds of goblins. Have the patrols alerts, the harbor secured, and the walls manned. Also, should the navy get back sooner than a couple of days, we will need reinforcements at the land front.” “Yes sir.” The soldiers from Stalvinport hitched their horses to their wagons and started to move off. The only horses left were ours and the two wagons we brought.

Kosser, who had moved from the wagons some time ago, came to the water’s edge. The amorphous form of the water elemental came partially out of the water. “Thank you my friend. We are no longer in jeopardy here. Please, go home and be at peace.” The elemental nodded with its largest part, and started to disappear. “Well, it seems the Steven Randoss maneuver was a success. Most of the goblins are dead, and the zombies are destroyed by the flames. I didn’t think of doing that part. I’m glad the elemental thought to do so. It was disgusted that the waters were polluted with undead. It happily destroyed them.”

“Yes, now for the hell on earth scenario. Let’s go everyone. We have a war to finish, and scores to settle, one way or another!” I hopped on Griff’s back, and took off. Stormstrike followed, as everyone else were getting onto the wagons. Now, the final battle has come. It is time for no more surprises. No more contingencies. No more smaller incursions. It is the main fight. The fight for our right to live was upon all of us.