thousands needn't die in a war. This might be a trap, might be a portal that would take him to one of the lower planes and leave him there for eternity. But Cadderly could not ignore the possibilities presented to him by Dorigen's claims, by that swirling door, and he could not ignore the truths his magic had shown to him.
He heard Danica moving behind him. "Bonaduce!" he cried, and he jumped into the swirl, and was gone.
Friends Lost, Friends Found
The four-foot-high counter surrounded the three trapped companions on two sides, with a thick column, floor to ceiling, supporting it on either end of the eight foot front section. The wall blocked their backs, leaving only a small gap to get behind the counter on one side, wide enough for two goblins or one large man. So far, only a single enemy had opted to try that route - and he was summarily blasted away by the elf maiden with her deadly bow.
Ivan and Pikel stood atop the counter as the throng advanced, throwing taunts and throwing fists, though no enemies had yet come close enough to hit At Ivan's proclamation that ores were "born only to clean the gooey-greens outa ogre noses," three of the pig-faced humanoids took up a wild charge. The first skidded in the spilled soup as it was about to leap for Pikel, its back leg flying out from under it and its front leg straight out and up high. It slammed hard against the counter, its ankle and lead foot up above the ledge, and Pikel promptly brought his heel around the ore's toe and bent it down flat atop the counter, bringing his full weight atop it
The trailing ores stumbled about, but using their fallen friend as support, managed to hold a tentative balance as they banged against the side of the counter. Ivan's axe cleaved one in the side of the head, but the other managed to deflect Pikel's first clubbing attack.
That ore was soon crushed against the side, though, as many of its companions, seeing the intruders suddenly pressed, rushed in.
"We cannot hold!" Shayleigh cried out "Just get yerself the archers," Ivan replied, huffing and puffing with each word as he worked his axe furiously to keep the sudden mob at bay. "Me and me brother*!! handle this crew!"
Shayleigh looked helplessly to her nearly empty quiver. Her hand started for her short sword as a soldier came around to the open side, but the elf realized that she did not have the time to spare for melee combat She lamented the waste of an arrow but shot the man down anyway, hoping that his sudden death might give other enemies pause before they tried a similar route.
The counter bucked suddenly as an ogre slammed against the back of the crowd, and Shayleigh thought it would break apart, thought that she would be crushed against the wall as the irrepressible monsters pushed on.
Her actions purely wrought of terror, she turned to face the counter and put an arrow in the ogre's face. It fell back and the counter appeared to resettle on its braces. Still unsure of its solidity, the elf maiden scrambled up on a shelf against the back wall, a position that afforded her a better view of the area beyond the immediate battle.
A man braced both his hands and one foot on the counter and started to leap up, thinking the dwarves too engaged to stop him.
Ivan's axe promptly broke his spine, though the dwarf took a vicious hit on the hip for the distraction. Ivan grimaced in pain, growled the wound away, and chopped furiously at the goblin attacker, the dwarf's mighty axe smashing through the creature's upraised spear, and through the creature's upturned face.
Ivan couldn't revel in the kill, though, for the press of swords and spears, cruelly tipped pole arms and slashing daggers did not relent. The dwarf skipped and hopped, dodged and parried, and every now and then managed an offensive strike.
An arrow appeared suddenly, stuck halfway through Ivan's yellow beard, and the waves of pain that assaulted the dwarf told him that it had gashed his chin as well.
"I telled ye to get yerself the archers!" he cried angrily at Shayleigh, but his bluster was lost when he looked in the direction from which the arrow had come, looked to the enemy archer lying dead on the floor, and the elven-crafted arrow sticking from his forehead.
"Never mind," the humbled dwarf finished. He hopped as