The Forgotten Kingdom by J. M. Fosberg

Author:J. M. Fosberg [Fosberg, J. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-03-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Between a Dwarf and a Hard Place

Kraft continued forward behind the line of the shield wall. A dwarf in front of him to the right fell as a javelin slipped under his shield into his ankle. He thrust his sword into the gap. Heartstopper dug into kobold flesh as another dwarf stepped over the fallen dwarf and took his place on the line. He reached down and grabbed under the dwarf’s arm, helping him to his feet. Another dwarf grabbed his arm, pulled it over his shoulder, and helped him to the back of the formation. The line continued forward. They were nearly to the end of the tunnel and he could hear fighting around the corner. They were on the third level and the passage up ahead split off in two directions.

A javelin skipped off of a shield of the dwarf in front of him. He dodged to the side, but it grazed his face. He felt the blood running down his face. He let the blood drip, knowing that wiping away the blood would only make his sweat-soaked hands more slippery than they already were. It took a few more seconds before he felt the burning sensation in his face. He turned to the dwarf next to him, who had taken a similar gash on his arm a few minutes ago. He smiled at the dwarf saying, “It’s about time they made me part of the fight.”

The dwarf laughed and they both drove their swords over the shoulders of the dwarves in front of them and into kobold bodies. They were about to make the end of the passage when he gave the command, “Change shields!”

The front line was the shield wall, behind them were the dwarves stabbing between, over, and under the shield wall. Behind those dwarves were the dwarves who would take the place of a dwarf who fell on the shield wall. As one of the dwarves on the shield wall pushed forward, throwing the line of kobolds back a step. The dwarves of the shield wall immediately took a step backward and turned sideways to let the dwarves replacing them through. The dwarves behind the line of thrusters moved past and slammed their shields in place. The whole thing took only a second or two and the kobolds who managed to move forward were stabbed by the thrusters as the shield wall fell into place.

By changing out the dwarves on the shield wall regularly, they were able to keep the dwarves in the front from becoming too exhausted, which kept the shield wall strong. The dwarves on the shield wall would make their way to the back of their forces, moving up slowly as other dwarves fell or were rotated out. Based on the sounds he was hearing, he knew that those dwarves that had just been relieved would not see fighting again today.

He continued stabbing through and over the shield wall as the line moved forward. He had tripped over the bodies of kobolds half a dozen times today.

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