War In The Sands

[Blawharag 277]

Author's note:

This is the second (technically third if you count the prologue) installment out of four for the Orc's war against the Shurr'Dru. It is 16 pages on word and was a long time coming, but the timing is very convenient. The Story explains our need for Strigzgoi reconstruction (we lacked IC reasoning, and this conveniently has a Shurr'Dru rampaging through the city soo...) This story focuses on the Shaman (Lex and Brevias specifically) and the ingenuity of the goblins (We have almost no real goblins, so the fiction Mirgle from the first chapter makes a triumphant return here) to defeat the Shurr'Dru Fugru. It also reveals a bit more about Shurr'Dru society, which will become increasingly important as the war rages on. I have included links to other relevant Shurr'Dru stories (the Prologue, Chapter 1, and Urara's side story) at the beginning of the story, so you don't have to hunt them down. Enjoy!

[Blawharag 277]

((~Prologue Story Here~

~Chapter 1, Drae'hai Story Here~

~Urara's Demise Story Here~))

It is easy to underestimate an enemy, to take a victory and turn it into something more than it really is. One may forget they are in a war. One may believe that they have already won. But there is always loss to be had, and some victories take tolls. Wars have been lost on the backs of victory and from the constant crush of defeat some have snatched the war. At the end of the day, when you stand atop the ruin and gaze upon the wreckage around you, when you see the bodies of the dead who earned glorious death and living that may soon starve and suffer loss, you realize some victories cost more than just an arm…

Ned Lud touched the stump where his arm had once been as he stared at the skull of the Shurr'Dru. The monstrosity had its meat stripped away and its bones were put to to constructive purposes. The Skull remained though, an eternal trophy to their great victory. The Elder Shaman had taken the time to read the Shurr'Dru's spirit, but they found little enough. Apparently it had a name: Drae'hai. More importantly, Drae'hai was the Shurr'Dru responsible for wiping out the first Orc settlement that inhabited the Valley of what is now Strigzgoi. They also learned that there were more Shurr’Dru, though their inactivity since Drae’hai’s death indicated they had learned to respect the Orcs.

“Are you ready?” Ned Lud had heard Jarkarl approaching, but was too distracted by the memory of the Shurr’Dru to react much. Jarkarl spoke again, trying to stir Ned Lud from his trance. “Oi, we have a long march ahead of us, if you are going to spend it admiring the things we kill, let me know so I don’t bring you on any hunts.”

Ned Lud laughed and grinned, giving Jarkarl a shove with the stump of his arm. “And if you intend to run your mouth the whole war, tell me now so I can make sure I am on the far side of the field from you.” Together the veterans laughed and left the trophy where is stood, a memory of a glorious battle, but also one of terrible loss. They rejoined the host of Orcs that had formed outside the eastern gate of Strigzgoi. It was the greater part of the Krughai forces that had been assembled before them. Save for the garrison that would be left behind to defend Strigzgoi, and that of a handful of battalions deployed to various outposts, the Krughai were gathered in full strength. They would be marching south, to the Human Kingdoms. The nations there seemed to be in a constant state of war, and the Warnation had alliances to uphold. It would be a glorious conflict, and no doubt the aid of the Orcish Warmachine would have a crucial part to play. Still, something left Ned Lud with an uneasy feeling.

It was strange to him, he was not the type to feel trepidation when approaching a battle. Yet now, for reasons he could not explain, he felt as though something catastrophic was soon to happen. He could not explain it, but he knew it was coming. He shook his body, trying to free himself of this foreshadowing. He had to remain focused, war was not a forgiving season and it proved more fatal than the coldest winters. Especially to those who did not take it seriously and found themselves distracted by silly fears.

~~~

Fugru twisted through the tunnel system that made up the sacred ground beneath the sands. This place was deep, deeper than any sand-walker would swim. Deeper than and Krugkubs would swim. Here the Shurr'Dru could meet alone and share their hunts. Today they shared the hunt of the Krugkubs. Buurztraga twisted and danced, sending vibrations through the tunnels. Fugru stopped and felt the vibrations, listening to his brother speak. His hunt found Krugkubs straying south, away from their herd lands. They were riding away from the sands and leaving the Krugkub Mountain weakened. Fugru danced himself, telling the others his own story. The Krugkub Mountain was one of the few places where food could grow from the earth-sand. This desert did not have many and if their food was destroyed, the Krugkubs would be much hungrier. The others danced in agreement to Fugru. Finally Ghaashblud danced, he the warrior who had fought with Krug himself, told the others not to underestimate the Krugkubs. Destroying their food alone will not kill them off. It will weaken them though, and that was most important. Ghaashblud told Fugru,

"Go, destroy the sand-food of the Krugkubs and return. Then we shall wipe them all out." Fugru danced his agreement, but in his heart he thought on the weakness of Ghaashblud. Being defeated by Krug long ago scared the mighty warrior. Fugru was greedy, hungry. He would destroy their food, yes, but then he would feast upon the Krugkubs, he needed no help to overcome them. Drae'hai defeated the last Krugkubs to come to this land on his own by attacking the same mountain, why shouldn't Fugru be able to do the same?

~~~

Mirgle was making the final preparations to his latest mechanical monstrosity. After his encounter with the Shurr'Dru, Drae'hai, he had been eager to design a new machine. One that would spell doom for any Shurr'Dru foolish enough to attack the War Uzg. His original contraption that fought Drae'hai had been a catapult designed for desert travel. It was never meant to contend with a beast such as the Shurr'Dru, but rather to be a light warmachine for targeting stationary targets. His new design was different though, better.

The new machines were ballistae models. The piercing power of a ballista bolt would prove highly effective, even against the Shurr'Dru's tough hide. Ballistae were also more accurate than catapults, with projectiles that traveled faster and more predictably than the lobbed objects produced from catapult fire. This was more than an ordinary ballista though, Mirgle had been hard at work restructuring traditional ballista models with home-Shurr'Dru-defense in mind. The plans had taken some time to work out, and longer still to successfully contruct. However, the work would pay off.

His new and improved design had a sub-deck that held a heavy, strong, barbed iron chain. This chain was further wrapped around a winch, and the entire unit had a complex base that entrenched it securely into the mountain side. The tension bow itself was made double thick, making it far more difficult to draw back prep to be fired, but also allowing it to fire far heavy ammunition. Ammunition that would come in two stages:

First, a barbed-harpoon would be loaded into the ballista, attached to the chain. It would be fired at any Shurr'Dru and lodge itself into him. Between the harpoon the the barbed on the chain, the missile would be very secure within the Shurr'Dru. The winch could then draw the chain taunt and the free-spinning, well-oiled mount the ballista was attached to. The next bolts to be fired were trickier, a more complicated design that Mirgle had also spent much time inventing.

The modified bolt initially appeared to have a shaft two times as thick as most bolts. However, the shaft was in fact hollow. It would be filled with gunpowder and closed up. A fuse would protrude from the top and could be lit, giving some time before the powder would detonate. The bolt also had a brace on that kept it connected to the chain. The chain would act as a guide, the brace having flared edges so as to not catch on the barbs as it went. The bolt was almost a guaranteed hit, that is, assuming the Shurr'Dru was in range. Even with the double-thick tension bow, the bolt would only travel so far because of the drag created by the brace running along the chain. Fortunately, if several ballistae hit the Shurr'Dru with their chained harpoons the winches could conceivably reel the best into range for all of them, though this was a dangerous.

Once the bolt exploded, the chain would need to be reeled in and attached to a new harpoon before firing again. Hopefully though, only one volley of explosive bolts would be required to slay the Shurr'Dru. That was the theory at least, but Mirgle was not sure whether that would actually be the case. The Shurr'Dru had outrageously thick hides, he could only hope the bolts would pierce far enough that the explosion would at least blow a hole into their skin and leave them at least exposed.

What bothered Mirgle was that this was all theory. He was yet to put any of it to practice. He had lined the mountains surrounding Strigzgoi with these ballista, ready to gun down any approaching Shurr'Dru, but none had come. They had been force to target practice on random things out in the desert, though nothing compared to the ferocious strength or durability of a Shurr'Dru. Today though, Mirgle had a plan: he had set up a piles of rocks scattered around the desert before him. This was something he normally lacked the time to do, always busily working on the next project for the Orcs. With the majority of the Krughai gone though, Mirgle found himself with ample time to set up targets for practice.

"Now, lets see what this baby can do!" Mirgle shouted giddily and launched the first harpoon into the nearest pile of rocks. He quickly drew the winch taunt, loaded the second bolt and braced it to the chain, then stepped aside. A member of the Krughai left behind to garrison Strigzgoi stepped forward, winded the ballista, and fired it off. The Orc was blind in one eye and had notoriously bad aim because of it, yet even his bolt found a bullseye in the rocks and blew the pile apart. Mirgle the goblin stared on, a look of complete ecstasy plastered on his face. At the site of the explosion, a tear came to his eye and the goblin became flushed, awed by the beauty of the site. He would likely have run out to embrace the rock-shrapnel in all of its glory, had it not been so far away of course.

"It's... so wonderful." Tears were now spilling freely from Mirgle's eyes, "Did you ever wish you could be a part of something so glorious?" The Orc standing next to Mirgle turned to look at the goblin through his one good eye, his expression puzzled while he worked out the sanity of the goblin. A shrug indicated that he had given up on the puzzle and he turned and walked away, their having been testing concluded. As he left, Mirgle put an arm around his contraption, a gesture that was far more affectionate than it should have been.

~~~

As the sun sank behind the mountains, twilight became the hour. Silence ruled this twilight. It clung to the shadows and lurked in every corner. So deep and impenetrable was the unnatural silence that Brevias could swear even the footsteps of the heavy Orcs went noiseless. He shifted uncomfortably as he waited for Lex. They were supposed to discuss matters concerning the recent shifting of the sand elements in the desert, but Brevias wondered if the silence would even permit them speech. “Skah this night…” Brevias mumbled to himself, half to test if he had gone deaf or not. Finally he saw, not heard, but saw Lex approaching. The dwarf waived to Brevias, but Brevias would have preferred an ‘Ug’ or some other form of verbal greeting. As Lex came closer, Brevias was relieved to hear him speak. “Let’s walk along the ridge, if you don’t mind.” Brevias almost nodded, but decided to reply instead, “Yes, let’s get out of this valley before I lose my mind to the stillness of the air.” Lex laughed and as they walked to the top of the mountain range, Brevias was glad for his company. Brevias was not one to be easily disturbed by things. A former overlord of the undead, and a Motsham of the Shaman, Brevias was a force to be reckoned with. Yet even still, he could not shake the feeling that some greater force was at play this night. The spirits were restless about him, but none could say why.

The pair of shaman climbed the mountain, sharing light bits of conversation with each other. Despite the eeriness of the air, there was little worry to be had. No force threatened the War Uzg, no plague scoured the masses, the Krughai were happily waging war and in truth, the largest disturbance to be had were whispers from the Sand Elements. Apparently some massive surging and twisting had occurred deep within the sands. Fortunately, sand was loose and flexible. For, as Lex had come to discover, the disturbance was large enough that it would have caused earthquakes on most terrains. Lex told Brevias as much once they had scaled the mountain.

“The strangest part,” Lex continued, “is the nature of the disturbance. As best as I can tell, the sand was just pushed and shoved out of the way in the form of tunnels, all leading to what appears to be some massive cave complex.” Lex’s attunement to the elements allowed him to make out terrain, even that which he could not see. He could not, however, tell what had caused the terrain shifts.

“Perhaps the dwarves are gathering in this cave? And are using it as a staging point to attack Strigzgoi?” Brevias offered. To be honest, he doubted the Dwarves could have dug tunnels all the way from Mt. Ire, but then again he had once stood on a floating citadel and commanded a hoard of undead. So it was not for him to decide what was and wasn’t possible.

“If that is the case, the dwarves have some very large siege weaponry. The tunnels leading to the cave are massive! Or, rather, they were at least. The sand has since collapsed in on them.”

Brevias paused and considered this. He remained as baffled as Lex in this matter. Ideas rushed to his mind as he considered what he knew about the desert. Surely no shaman existed that would do something so reckless, nor could he see a point in some other powerful being causing such disruption. As for wildlife, the only thing big enough to create such a tunnel was-

Suddenly tremor rocked the mountain. Brevias stopped and looked around, wary as he suddenly remembered the eeriness the air had held throughout the night. Suddenly, an explosion-like sound came from the valley below. A roar followed, a roar so fearsome and powerful that it shattered the unholy silence and made it seem welcome in lieu of this terrible sound. Like some super-natural thunder, it rolled across all of Strigzgoi, echoing off the mountain walls and hanging in the air until it seemed the awful sound would never stop. When it finally did cease, Brevias realized he had fallen to his knees, his hands over his ears. He looked around in a daze, shocked by the force of the roar. Slowly, steadily, he got to his feet and noticed Lex doing the same. The cry had rocked them both to their core, and it took Brevias several seconds to recover his senses. Gradually Brevias became more and more aware that a battle had broken out in the valley below. He ran to the edge of the mountain and looked down. Even in the dimness of the twilight, Brevias could still clearly make the hulking shape of a Shurr’Dru down below.

It was a scene of pure chaos. What Krughai had been left behind to defend the city now scrambled to reach the inner city where the monstrosity had surfaced. They had been taken completely unawares, none expected an attack from within their own walls. The Shurr’Dru rampaged maniacally, but seemed uninterested in the guards that were now swarming him. Instead, he crashed through the city, damaging whatever lied in reach, but staying focused on a single goal…

“He is headed for the farms!” Brevias exclaimed as realization dawned on him. Sure enough, the terrible worm arrived at the mountain side which separated the farms from the main city. There he drove into the earth once more and for a second, all was quite.

“The mountain runs deep, the Shurr’Dru can’t get through the rocks but… there is a tunnel deep below. One large enough that me might be able to fit through and resurface in the farm.” Lex explained. He had his staff planted in the mountain and his eyes closed as he communed with the elements. “The tunnel is too deep for me to collapse it. He will get through, there is little I can do to slow him.”

“Do what you can, I’ll find Mirgle.” With that, Brevias ran off in search for the goblin as Lex dug his staff deeper into the mountain, straining to delay the Shurr’Dru.

~~~

Fugru growled with frustration. The soft tunnel beneath the hard mountain was harder to swim through than it should have been. Sand flowed in the opposite direction of Fugru, something sand was not known for doing. It was an annoyance, but Fugru had already freed his head and wing-fins from the tunnel. He used his free limbs to help pull the last of his body free from the tunnel and a feeling of triumph surged through Fugru’s body. He pressed his tail against the hard mountain side and sprung away from where the tunnel had lay hidden, deep within the earth. His ascent came at a furious pace as Fugru hungered to destroy the Krugkubs, to prove that he was greater than the dead-warrior Drae’hai.

Fugru breached the earth above and bellowed a mighty roar, a great fervor had seized his body as he wasted no time going about his assigned task. No sooner did he reach the surface than did he begin to thrash wildly about. His head shot in one direction and up heaved an entire field of the Krugkub’s crops. Fugru’s tail slammed into another field and leveled everything, sinking some of the food into the earth and destroying the rest. The Krugkubs began trickling in now, swarming Fugru, desperately trying to stop him. It was no use, Fugru had struck too hard, too fast. Within no time at all, Fugru had obliterated the farms . Now he should retreat, that was what Ghaashblud had intended.

If Drae’hai can defeat the Krugkubs, then why can’t Fugru? Fugru will destroy the Krugkubs here, now. Show Ghaashblud his weakness. Then Fugru will be the great warrior! Fugru mused to himself as he thrashed about, toying with the Krugkubs as they trickled in. He would not retreat, he would remain where he is. The second coming of the Krugkubs would end today.

~~~

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lex flew from the mountain top towards the Shurr’Dru. Of course, Dwarves are not very partial to flying, but when a monster is destroying a primary food source, they can suddenly find themselves motivated to travel very fast. In this case, Lex’s descent was of such speed that he spent more time falling through the air than he did on the actual ground. He did what he could to coax the hard rock to be a little softer for purposes of his falling, but he also did not doubt that he had fractured bones in both his legs by the time he had hit the earth.

Fortunately, the Shaman-Dwarf did not have to concern himself with the pain caused by these fractures, because no sooner had he landed in the farming valley than did the massive tail-and-fin of the Shurr’Dru come crashing in his direction. Acting quickly, Lex sank himself into the earth, only to find that the Shurr’Dru’s tail was as submerged into the ground as it was protruding into the surface. The massive tail pushed the soil away like some form of thick water and Lex was sent careening across the valley inside the wave of earth. As he crashed and tumbled out of the soil tomb, Lex looked and saw that the Shurr’Dru had succeeded in decimating the War Uzg’s Crops.

The intricacy of the Shurr’Dru’s plot and the depth of their intelligence started to dawn on Lex then. Without the crops, the War Uzg’s food supply relied on hunting and raiding. While at war, the Krughai would consume anything pillaged, and if the Shurr’Dru cared to, they could easily thin the hunting supplies by killing hunting parties, attacking more prey than they cared to eat, or even just scaring prey that hunting Orcs neared. It would be a trifling matter for these titans of the desert. Now, Lex realized, the Shurr’Dru could effectively starve out the War Uzg.

Twilight turned to the darkness of night and though he had already succeeded in decimating the farm, the Shurr’Dru lingered. He struck out in a fury, his focus now shifted to killing any Orcs he could find. Lex let out a sigh of exhaustion and brought himself to his feet. He had to slow down the Shurr’Dru, one way or another.

~~~

Mirgle was already headed for the mountains by the time Brevias found him. The little goblin still heard the shouts of Drae’hai in his dreams every night, shouts that mingled with the sound of exploding catapult barrels. Mirgle had never been so happy as that day, and had eagerly awaited his chance to test his machinery with another Shurr’Dru. He was driven by bloodlust, though after having tasted the cries of a Shurr’Dru, he no longer cared for lesser prey. Only the wonderous trophy of another gargantuan sand-serpent could sate his ravenous hunger to spill blood. Now, finally, after waiting so long for his chance, after spending countless sleepless nights, endless time spent tuning up machines, finally Mirgle would have his chance to kill another Shurr’Dru.

It was for this reason that Mirgle was up and running the moment he heard the roar. Faster than any other Orc had reacted, Mirgle was sprinting towards the mountains before even the first guard started towards the invader. Brevias found him just a short distance from the foot of the mountain, and together they completed the journey and began heading towards the war machines Mirgle had arrayed along the mountain’s crest.

“Quickly! Help me get these turned around! And find me some decent shots to help man them!” Brevias set to work, but Mirgle ran past several of the machines. He did not stop until he reached a particularly large Ballista perched on a rise in the mountain. This was a special weapon, even among the prototypes that Mirgle had already designed and placed along the ridge.

The prototype-prototype ballista was much like the others, save that Mirgle had managed to three separate launch bows all on one weapon with one set of controls. It required a handful of extra Orcs to man properly, and was nearly four times as prone to breaking down, but the potential havoc this Ballista could cause against a Shurr’Dru made Mirgle giddy on the inside.

Orcs came to aid Mirgle, sent by Brevias. All along the mountain tops, Orcs were manning the special Ballistae that Mirgle had created, preparing to fire on the Shurr’Dru. Mirgle would not wait for them to be ready, however. He had waited too long for this kill.

“Get the explosives ready! Firing chains… NOW!” Mirgle let fly one bolt after another. Even in the darkening hour, the hulking mass of the Shurr’Dru was an easy target to spot, but slightly more difficult to hit as it twisted and turned through the air, attacking those around him. Such was it that the first and third of Mirgle’s chains made contact and lodged themselves into the Shurr’Dru. The barbed chains quickly entwined the behemoth as he flailed about trying to escape the trap.

Mirgle shouted frantically for the explosive arrows to be loaded, while elsewhere along the ridge more Ballistae shot towards the Shurr’Dru. The other Orcs lacked the benefit of Mirgle’s experience and triple firing platform, however, and thus all but two of the bolts missed. Still, the effect of four chains bolting the beast to the mountain was measurable, and the Shurr’Dru was considerably slower as he fought against the chains.

Now, any reasonable tactician would tell you that you should wait, letting the other Ballistae reload and refire to take advantage of the slowed target. Then, once every Ballistae has a connection, launch your volley of explosives. Indeed, this very tactic might have seen an early demise for the Shurr’Dru. Mirgle, unfortunately, was well past the point of reason. Driven insane by an unquenchable bloodlust that had gone unappeased for so long, Mirgle was far too eager to do whatever damage he could as soon as he could. The instant the explosive shafts were loaded, Mirgle fired them off. So early, in fact, that one Orc was unable to pull away his hand in time and lost a finger to the tension string.

The bolts flew through the air and Mirgle gazed on in anticipation. When they struck, explosions rang out, echoing across the city. Fire lit up the night sky and threw back the darkness. Smoke hazed all and the only sound to be heard was that of the distant echoing explosion, fading away. Mirgle was awestruck by the sight, unable to tear his eyes away as he relived the explosion a thousand times in his mind.

“That… was the greatest thing I have ever seen…” A few of the Orcs looked at the goblin with expressions of confusion and awe. One cheered and began spewing insults at the cloud of smoke. Not one among them actually believed the Shurr’Dru to be dead, but it certainly must have felt something.

A roar suddenly rocked the world to its very core, smoke thinned and the hulking mass of the Shurr’Dru glared angrily at the Ballistae responsible for the explosions. His body looked all but unscathed by the attack, though his eyes spoke only of a fierce hatred for the ones that caused it. A grin cracked over Mirgle’s face.

“Let’s do it again!”

~~~

Fugru thrashed, trying to rid himself of the prickly-webs and bothersome-pins that had surrounded him. It was as though some brother-sized eight-legs had laid his trap across the mountains. Fugru was frustrated by the webs, but would be free of them shortly. Then he would continue to destroy the Krugkubs that had so foolishly attacked him. Fugru was just about to work one out of his flesh when he heard more twangs that signaled the release of more webs.

Fugru turned and dipped, seeking to avoid these late coming stingers. It was not until the last second that the Shurr’Dru realized these stingers had no webs attached. In fact, they were attached to the webs already present. Confusion and curiosity flitted across Fugru’s mind as the stingers sunk themselves into his flesh. Fugru had only a moment longer to consider how pathetic the attacks of the Krugkubs were before his whole world shook from some ungodly force.

Fugru was buffeted by some terrible power that he had heard echo through the sands on a few times before. The last being when Drae’hai had been slain. Fugru’s world was spinning around him as he fell to the earth, dazed by what was happening. Slowly, the Shurr’Dru collected his thoughts, realizing that his snout was planted firmly into the ground and his tail was bent out of sorts. He righted himself and tried to shake away the emptiness that had suddenly afflicted him. It took Fugru sometime to realize that the many of the small hairs on his body had been burned away by the attack. Shurr’Dru used the hairs to listen to the sand, it was how the listen to everything, how they found their prey, how they navigated the sands. Now, Fugru felt a patch of blindness in his vision.

Wretched Krugkubs! Damn children! That which kills Drae’hai will not slay Fugru! Fugru screamed with anger, letting his rage fill the sands and cow the creatures around him. He fixed his gaze on the source of the attack. The web-makers were indeed far more dangerous than Fugru had originally expected. They would not last long, however. Fugru could clear the mountain quickly and then be free to destroy the Krugkubs as he pleased: slowly, and painfully.

The explosion had torn the restraints from Fugru, meaning nothing slowed his charge as he raced across the valley to destroy that which had caused him pain. As he closed his distance on the mountain, he let out a second roar and dove jaw gaping towards the machine.

~~~

Brevias cursed his legs for not moving faster. He was racing towards Mirgle and his machine, desperate to get there before the Shurr’Dru. The monster had already begun to charge and would clear the valley in just a few short moments. There was a roar and Brevias turned to see the Shurr’Dru launching himself towards where Mirgle was manning the ballistae. As the Shurr’Dru sailed through the air, time seemed to slow down for Brevias. He was aware of everything all at once. In the distance he could see the mad look on Mirgle’s face, crazed with the desire to destroy the Shurr’Dru. He could feel the rush of wind as the Shurr’Dru’s massive form sailed through the air. Worst of all, Brevias knew, without it even happening, he knew exactly what he would see when the Shurr’Dru crashed into the mountain. Mirgle and all the Orcs with him would be swallowed whole. Deaths he was powerless to stop. Lives of Orcs who could do so much for the War Uzg gone in the blink of an eye. Rage filled Brevias, no self-respecting member of the War Uzg would find themselves powerless to help their brethren. No one should sit idly by and let this happen.

In these passing seconds Brevias reached out and channeled this rage. Wrath so deep, that as the shaman focused it, he began drawing from the anger of Krug himself, anger at weakness and helplessness. This seething passion collected into one mass in the sky above the Shurr’Dru in the seconds as it launched through the air. In one brilliant flash, Brevias released all the anger and hatred down on the Shurr’Dru. Lightning, white hot with the Wrath of Krug, slammed down into the Shurr’Dru with an impact so fierce that it knocked the monstrous creature of course, causing it to slam into the mountain side rather than on top of Mirgle. Brevias smiled, elated by his triumph. Then his strength wavered and he fell to the ground, unconscious and unable to help any further. As the light of his spell faded from the sky, darkness once again closed on the scene.

~~~

Lex righted himself, the quake caused by the Shurr’Dru running headlong into the mountainside had knocked even the sure-footed dwarf off his feet.

“Damnit Brevias! A little warning might have been nice!” Lex knew Brevias couldn’t hear him, but shouting seemed to make him feel better. He shook his head and surveyed the situation. The Shurr’Dru had already recovered from the attack and was trying to climb and claw his way up the mountainside. For such a large creature, he was proving surprisingly successful and would not take long to reach the top.

Lex had to act quickly. Mirgle’s machines could destroy the Shurr’Dru easily if the goblin was given a clear shot, but if the Shurr’Dru caught them before he could reload, Lex doubted the paltry sum of Orcs and one Shaman (Lex had no doubts that Brevias was far too tired to be of any assistance at this point) would be able to drive off a Shurr’Dru. Especially not when the last civilization of Orcs had failed to do that with all their numbers and strength. Mirgle was the key to victory here, and Lex needed to buy him time.

Slamming his staff into the earth, Lex called upon the spirits of the elements once more. It was an easy task, the weight of the Shurr’Dru already made his climb perilous. With just a little coaxing, making the stone on the mountainside just a little weaker, the stones broke and crashed away beneath the Shurr’Dru. In the resulting landslide, the Shurr’Dru tumbled back down to the valley floor.

Lex had succeeded in thwarting the Shurr’Dru’s climb, but it would mean nothing if Mirgle could not get a clean shot off at the beast. He needed a way to slow the Shurr’Dru down. But with its massive size and stature, few things on this earth were great enough to slow it. Lex stopped to consider this as the Shurr’Dru changed tactics. With its terrible power and thick hide, the Shurr’Dru began ramming into the mountainside, causing further landslides. Slowly but surely he was breaking apart the landscape until eventually the perched ballista would fall and crash down with the rest of the rocks.

Carefully, Lex considered all he knew of the beast. They were hunters, they were territorial, they were- none of it helped. A beast shouldn’t be like this. A monster shouldn’t have had the forethought to destroy the Orcish farm. An animal shouldn’t have this keen dedication, this vicious hatred that the Shurr’Dru seemed to possess.

And there lied the answer. The Shurr’Dru was more than just some monster of the desert. Despite its appearance, this sand serpent was as sentient a being as any son of the four. That was their strength, but it was also their weakness. This Shurr’Dru was easily frustrated. Lex saw it when the Shurr’Dru was tangled by the chains, when the explosions had interrupted his attack. Even now, in his fury, the Shurr’Dru was willing to do anything to get his revenge. Despite his sentience, the personality of this Shurr’Dru was such that he would lose himself to his fury. That flaw was exploitable, but only if Mirgle knew what to do. The question is, how to get the message to Mirgle?

~~~

What scared Mirgle most was that he didn’t feel fear. Not when the Shurr’Dru set its angry gaze down upon him. Not when it leapt off the ground to strike him. Not when his life was in danger most, Mirgle had been too lost in his haze of bloodlust to understand that death was a breath away. Mirgle suddenly realized that he had abandoned any care for his life, and was bent solely on defeating the Shurr’Dru. It scared Mirgle to know he had lost his touch on life so readily, but at the same time he took comfort in it. All his past work, the idle tinkering, the nights of writing schematics and blueprints, it all seemed insignificant. Now, finally, he had a greater purpose to his work.

He shook himself as if to rid these disturbing ponderings from his head. Now was not the time for contemplation, as the Shurr’Dru was still trying to kill him. Below, the monster was slamming into the mountainside in an attempt to collapse enough that the ballista would fall from place. More than that, if enough of the rubble crashed down, the Shurr’Dru would be able to snake its way to the top of the ridge and smash his way across the mountain, obliterating all the other ballistae in one pass. However, there was little hope of stopping him. The Shurr’Dru knew now that the chains would cause him harm, and he would do something to shake them loose before they reached him. Without the chains to assist in aiming, the explosive bolts were far too inaccurate to be of any worth. Mirgle needed a miracle at this point.

Then one of the Orcs pointed into the valley below. A small fire had started. This was not extraordinarily unusual except that the fire was spreading in a most unusual fashion. After a few moments, it became clear the fire was forming letters and words. When it finished, it read:

“I’ll give you your shot, finish him.”

Mirgle did not have the slightest clue who set the fire, but he paused to see what would happen. Suddenly, the rock pile which had formed about the Shurr’Dru’s base, fallen there from the mountain he was attempting to collapse, shifted and loosened. Various sections of the Shurr’Dru sunk into the rocks and was buried by their weight. The Shurr’Dru was not immensely slowed by this, but the beast seemed to become very frustrated. This was the second time the mountain had interrupted him and Mirgle realized what was happening. The monster was quickly breaking free from the rocks and Mirgle knew exactly what was going to happen once he did. The beast, furious with rage, would rear its ugly head and let out another roar. It would provide the perfect opportunity to put an explosive bolt inside and finish this once and for all.

Mirgle turned to his triple-ballista and immediately grew dismayed. The weapon had broken, the tension lines loosed themselves and the other Orcs were struggling to ready them again. Mirgle knew the ballista would never be operational in time for the Shurr’Dru’s roar, and this was the only shot they would get. It was their only guarantee of success. One could not be sure if it was the insane bloodlust driving Mirgle to kill, or his passion for his fellow members of the War Uzg that drove him to his next action.

Mirgle grabbed one of the explosive bolts, lit the fuse, and then vaulted off the cliff towards the Shurr’Dru’s head.

As he flew through the air the Shurr’Dru acted exactly as suspected and let out yet another world-rending roar. As the world stopped and cowed before the Shurr’Dru’s rage, Mirgle continued to fly straight into his gaping maw. It was strange how Mirgle felt. Despite the fear instilled by the roar, Mirgle felt oddly calm, eager in fact. His mind revisited the countless explosions he had witnessed, including the one which had floored the Shurr’Dru just earlier that evening. An excitement built up in Mirgle as he realized that soon, just as he had dreamt, he would be a part of such a masterpiece.

~~~

The roar of the Shurr’Dru shook Brevias from his unconscious state. He had just enough energy to look up and see a most curious sight: a laughing goblin flying on a ballista bolt directly into the Shurr’Dru’s mouth. A moment of silence followed as the Shurr’Dru’s roar was cut short by the invasion of the mad goblin into his throat. Then, without warning, a violent explosion tore through the Shurr’Dru’s underside. Flames burst forth from the newly formed orifice and more still forced their way out of the Shurr’Dru’s mouth. Brevias fancied the beast had turned into some enormous, crazy dragon-snake for a moment. Then, all was silent and the darkness of night settled back on the scene. An enormous thud sounded, accompanied by a miniature earthquake as the once fearsome foe fell to the earth. With that, Brevias found himself unable to stay awake and slipped once again into the grim silence of the night.

~~~To be continued…~~~

Blawharag stared into the flames, the only warmth in this long, dark night. Gragarn came and sat beside him and together they looked on in silence. Gragarn idly twisted his bonespear in his hands as he glared at the flames. Blawharag touched the bones of Urara and said in a quiet voice to his brother, “We will have our vengeance. Urara will have her vengeance. The Shurr’Dru will pay brother. For everything.” Gragarn nodded; there was no doubt in Gragarn’s mind that vengeance would come. But for him, it could not come soon enough. For Urara, her battle remained unfinished.

The War Uzg was running dangerously low on supplies. Strigzgoi had been decimated by the Shurr’Dru and now needed to be completely rebuilt. The farm had been buried and food rations were next to non-existent. Any attempts to hunt failed, the Shurr’Dru were driving off or consuming any prey the Orcs might have found. Blawharag had come to discover the name of the Shurr’Dru responsible for this debaucle. Fugru had been the attacker, but not the mastermind of the plan. A well placed plan at that, to starve out the Orcs. No caravan of good could reach them without the Shurr’Dru destroying the supplies and slipping away into the sands. No food could be garnered. The Orcs were besieged inside the desert. Their only options were to defeat the Shurr’Dru, or flee the desert. Fleeing meant defeat, something the Orcs were not keen to.

Yet hope remained. Fugru had not retreated after destroying the city. In what Blawharag sensed to be arrogance and greed, Fugru had remained, a decision which cost the Shurr’Dru his life. The Orcs had been able to use his meat. Tawny, chewy and terrible as the meat was, it was food all the same. It was enough food to keep the Orcs from starving at least, but there still remained the task of defeating the Shurr’Dru before they died of hunger. Blawharag and Gragarn sat around a fire with a host of the other Orcish leaders, including their brother and Rex Gromgok, and their father Mogroka. As they debated how best to proceed, Lex walked into the center, standing by the fire and cleared his throat.

“Speak your piece Motsham, what wisdom do you share?” Inquired Gromgok.

“Brothers… I may know the location of the Shurr’Dru’s lair.”

[Blawharag 277]

Grammar Nazis, please attack this story mercilessly and let the corrections block out the sun. I appreciate them all.

[_pok_ 1768]

I didn't think this one could be near as badass as the last one, I was terribly wrong.

Great read, loved the ending!

[Brevias 275]

Bub'ozh.

[Cracker 4570]

I'm suprised, why are Pok and Brevias the only ones to say how good this is?

Good work, Blawharag, great writings, great way to explain some current IC events, and overall great story.

[bungo 3965]

I read it a while ago, was too lazy to comment, although I loved the story. This indeed was the best timing to release the story, it fits in quite well.

[Sultan 3953]

Mhm Blawharag actually wrote it to make a IC reason for us to rebuild Strigzgoi. Good work.

[Blawharag 277]

Working on the third of four now. Hopefully this one gets done sooner than the others.

[VonAulus 2082]

Finally read it, I love the suicide goblin.