Hold your Ground

And another one came, crushing blow after crushing blow. His hands felt like melting from receiving such an enormous blunt force. He had forfeited his mace long before, and felt as if he couldn’t hold his shield anymore.

Looking around for a sign of a miracle he turned his head.

Brave Thrint put up a fight with a foul chosen, he was faring well, the best that the Trading Unit had to offer, he’d seen Thrint in sparring sessions with the King himself albeit not with Unbreakable Will, the King’s own hammer, but with a training one. And young Thrint had almost won those matches.

Another blow, this one made Kutch stagger and concede a couple of precious strides back.

Risking another look, his spirits rose, Thrint deflected a blow with his shield and swung his hammer from below, targeting the Champion’s sword, and thus disarming him.

Another blow, Kutch felt as if his shield was about to give away. He glanced right again.

Thrint’s hammer found his way home in the crevices of the Champion’s helmet; it was not surprising to watch pus spurt from the hits. The Champion was done for, Kutch risked a yell: “Thrint!!!”

Another blow, the leather-bound metal harness with which Kutch grabbed the shield bent in an unnatural way, his shield went flying backwards and the monstrosity behind the blows faced him. Rage surged, the so called demon Skulltaker wasn’t even paying him attention, his sword swooshing by as he arced it left and right, his horned head, with drooling skulls surfacing along the upper side, twisting around. Eyes looking towards the mass of dwarfs that still held ground, part of his cloak was showing and to Kutch’s dismay it was covered in skulls. Panic struck him as he noticed that the demon was looking for a target.

He heard a battlecry, Thrint was flying towards the demon, face contorted in an uncontrollable rage, he really did have a chance, until the demon moved his sword to intercept the dwarf splitting him in half.

-Hope is gone-

Kutch retrieved his hammer and a nearby axe, relenting defense, and eyes fixed on a horrible thing that wasn’t even noticing him. What was left now?

Blood, it will cost the chaos worshippers blood to take this stronghold. If there was nothing else, he would sell his life dearly. Stamping the ground as to fix himself to the spot he stood erect, “Do not look elsewhere chaos spawn; it is I who you came for!”

Skulltaker spoke, a deep voice that seemed to buffer all noise from the fight, a voice that made the settlement tremble, and a tone that offered no surrender:

"You still have time, pitiful one. Take that back."