Valhalla Online 4_Hel Hath No Fury by Kevin McLaughlin

Author:Kevin McLaughlin [McLaughlin, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Role of the Hero Publishing Company
Published: 2019-01-27T22:00:00+00:00

21

Gurgle came in for a landing and the rest of the party hopped off quickly, ready for battle. Sam stepped out of the shadows under the gatehouse, shaking her head at them all.

“We’ve cleared out the mess, at least those willing to show their faces,” Sam said.

“Good, because the dark elves outside have won the fight. They’re on their way back,” Jorge said.

“How many?” Sam asked.

“Looks like about half their force. Maybe thirty still alive, and two-thirds of those look combat ready,” Jorge replied.

Well, damn. That could throw a wrench into the works. Sam turned to examine the gatehouse. She’d fried the chains, so she couldn’t shut the gates. Whoops, maybe that wasn’t as good an idea as she’d thought. Perhaps she could melt through them and drop the portcullis? Or use an arrow on the chain. That would take it down quickly enough! The lesson from taking out the tower still fresh in her memory, Sam felt confident that she could do it.

Of course, she could blast through the portcullis. The dokkalfar might be able to as well. But as she surveyed the gatehouse, Sam thought she saw a way of dealing with the problem that would buy them a little more time before the rest of the dark elf guards got through.

“Everyone back up, away from the gatehouse,” Sam said. She followed her own advice, taking several swift steps out from under its shadow. The others followed, standing behind her.

Sam nocked an arrow.

“Um, what are you doing?” Benson asked. “An arrow? Even a hacked one?”

“Hush. Watch. She knows what she’s doing,” Harald said.

Sam thanked Harald silently inside her head and returned to taking careful aim with her bow. She’d need to be quick. This would require two shots in rapid succession. She targeted a support pillar on the left side of the inner gatehouse and fired.

As swiftly as she could manage, Sam drew and nocked a second arrow. The dark tendrils were spreading up the left-hand column as she aimed for the one on the right. She fired. The arrow sped toward her target, smacking a little lower than she’d intended to hit. But the damage was the same regardless.

Both pillars evaporated, erased as if they’d never been.

The gatehouse was built with sound construction, made from solid stone. Perhaps it was reinforced with magic as well. Whatever the reason, it held for the space of several breaths even with the supports gone. For a long moment, Sam thought it wasn’t going to work after all.

Then the inside half of the gatehouse came crashing down. Plumes of dust and debris showered the party as the mess cascaded down into the courtyard. When the dust had settled, it was clear that the way through was entirely blocked. The passage between the portcullis and outer doors was filled with rubble. The returning dokkalfar would have to either clear the mess or scale the walls to get inside.

“That should hold them for a little while, but we still don’t have long,” Sam said.

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