The Mouth of Fire (The Dwarves of Ice-Cloak Book 2) by A. Trae McMaken

Author:A. Trae McMaken [McMaken, A. Trae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

13

A Stone Figure

“Awake!”

Korin startled from sleep, his body stiff with cold. He’d slept with his shield atop him, still strapped to his arm, his spear in hand. He lurched forward, trying to make sense out of the confusion. An arrow slammed into his warmask, deflecting into the seam where the mask met his helm. The flint snapped on the steel but cut with a razor edge. He felt a sharp pain near his ear, but he ignored it and tore the shaft away. More arrows fell, sounding like a hailstorm as they impacted armor and shield and gravel.

“Rear stagger!” Firehelm yelled. There was a moment’s confusion as the jarred guards tried to determine what direction to face.

“East!” someone yelled. Without further thought, the dwarves closed ranks into double line, with flanks and staggered rear watch. It was a smaller formation than usual. Only twenty-one dwarves stood together, now. Arrows fell fast. The moon had set, but the sky remained clear. Starlight shone down on the barren plain. Korin could see the mass of ürsi seething in something like a crescent. He could even see some of the whizzing arrows. The ürsi crept closer, growing braver as the dwarves stood their line on the rise above the shore. Korin tried to figure how many there were. Plenty more than the dwarves, but would they attack?

Then came the darts. They were shorter than dwarven spears, more like throwing javelins, but when they struck, they struck hard. Korin heard grunts around him at the impact of the volley.

“Can we attack?” Rendjaw called.

They’d never had to attack ürsi before. No one from Ice-Cloak had. The ürsi had always attacked them. The guards could never keep together and catch up with the ürsi if the ürsi fled, and if they left the coast at their back, they would be surrounded. And if they broke formation, they were done. Dead.

Firehelm was silent. Korin tried to grasp the situation.

“Get low,” Korin shouted. And they did, sheltering behind their shields as much as possible. Such a low posture was poor for spear-work, but it gave them better protection against the missiles, and the ürsi had not yet closed in for a fray.

“They’re trying to circle!” The voice was Hornhand’s, somewhere toward the right flank. Korin leaned back and saw the truth. Beyond the dwarves and to each side, ürsi slid down the rise and onto the strand. There was enough space that they could get behind and harass them from below.

Korin realized that the shore had changed. The water was much further away than it had been, and the ürsi would have plenty of space to circle them. How?

“Fall back to the shore,” Firehelm yelled.

It was nearly a disaster. They could not keep formation and slide down the sandy, gravelly berm, and when the dwarves reached the strand, they broke into a run, seeking the shield of the water. The ürsi smelled a route and rushed them.

“Back in line! Form!” Korin yelled. He heard Firehelm’s voice as well:

“Back

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