BTtNR - Book 3 - Chapter 039

The sound of picks against stone had become a constant, almost soothing rhythm in its repetition. Einar watched the pile of ore grow, each chunk adding to what would eventually fill three mine carts. The dwarves worked with an efficiency born of lifetimes of practice, their movements precise and economical.

Around them, the Vikings maintained their defensive positions. Eyes scanned the tunnel entrances. Hands gripped weapons that had already tasted goblin blood. The tension was so thick it could be cut.

Two hours had passed since the first attack.

Einar moved between the defensive positions, checking on his warriors. Most bore minor wounds, cuts, and scrapes that the healers had already tended. A few had deeper injuries, gashes that would scar but wouldn't slow them down.

The two dead Vikings lay wrapped in cloth near the mine carts. Their weapons rested on their chests, ready to be returned to them once they were revived. Einar paused beside them, offering a silent prayer to Odin.

They gave everything. We won't let it be in vain.

"They're being too quiet," Thorodd said, approaching from his position at the rear tunnel. "It's been two hours. They should have attacked again by now."

"I know," Einar replied. "They're planning something."

"Or gathering reinforcements," Osvif added, joining them. "That war boss you killed... it might have been just one of several."

The thought wasn't comforting.

Stefi appeared from where she had been scouting one of the blocked tunnels. The eight-foot-tall dwarf's expression was troubled.

"I can hear them," she said quietly. "In the walls. They're moving through sections we blocked off years ago. Tunnels too small for dwarves but perfect for goblins."

"How many?" Einar asked.

"Impossible to say. But it sounds like more than before."

Einar turned to survey the chamber. The defensive positions they had set up were good for frontal attacks, but if the goblins came through the walls, through cracks and crevices they couldn't see...

We need to change our approach.

"Thorodd, pull everyone back to the center of the chamber. Form a circle around the miners. Shields out, spears ready."

"You want to give up the tunnel entrances?" his second in command asked.

"I want to make sure we can defend from all sides when they come through the walls."

Understanding dawned on Thorodd's face. He immediately began shouting orders, and the Vikings started repositioning. The defensive formation shifted, becoming a ring of steel around the working dwarves.

Yulgas looked up from his work, sweat streaming down his face. "How much longer do you need?" Einar asked.

"Two more hours. Maybe three. The ore is dense here, and we want to get the best pieces."

"Take the time you need. We'll hold."

The dwarf nodded and returned to his work, his pick striking with renewed determination.

Einar took position on the outer ring of the formation, his axes ready. Beside him, Avitue checked the edge on her sword.

"This reminds me of the troll attack," she said quietly. "Surrounded, outnumbered, fighting for our lives."

"At least this time we know what we're facing," Einar replied.

"Do we?" she asked, her eyes scanning the shadows. "Because I have a feeling we haven't seen everything they can throw at us."

A scraping sound echoed from somewhere above. Everyone looked up, weapons raised, but nothing emerged from the ceiling.

Then another sound, this time from the left wall. Then the right. Then behind them.

The goblins were in the walls, all around them, and they were getting closer.

"Hold formation!" Einar commanded. "Wait for them to show themselves!"

The scraping grew louder. Stone dust began to fall from dozens of small cracks in the walls. The goblins were digging, expanding old passages, and creating new entry points.

Smart. Very smart.

"Einar!" Skardi shouted from across the circle. "We can't defend against attacks from everywhere at once!"

"We don't have to defend everywhere," Einar replied. "We just have to make sure they can't break through our wall."

The first goblin emerged from a crack near the floor, squeezing through an opening that looked too small for anything larger than a rat. It scrambled forward, only to be met by a spear thrust from the nearest Viking. The creature died before it could even screech.

Then another appeared. And another. Soon, goblins were pouring from a dozen different openings, their small bodies allowing them to fit through gaps the Vikings hadn't even noticed.

"Rotate positions!" Einar shouted. "Front rank holds, second rank strikes!"

The formation shifted like a living thing. Vikings in the outer ring braced with shields while those behind them thrust spears through gaps. The goblins that made it past the first line found themselves facing a wall of steel.

But there were so many of them.

The creatures kept coming, an endless stream of twisted bodies and yellow eyes. They clawed at shields, bit at exposed flesh, threw themselves at the defensive line with suicidal abandon.

Einar's axes moved in constant motion. Fire erupted along the blades as he channeled wyrd, the flames making the goblins shriek. But for every one he killed, two more took its place.

A section of the wall to his left suddenly crumbled, revealing a larger opening. Through it came goblins carrying crude shields made from scavenged metal and bone. They formed a wedge and charged.

"Vidar!" Einar shouted. "Left side, now!"

The pack leader and his warriors surged forward, meeting the goblin charge head-on. The impact sent both sides reeling, but the Vikings held their ground. Vidar's hammer rose and fell like a smithy's tool, each strike crushing a goblin skull.

To the right, another section of wall collapsed. More goblins poured through, and Jepi's section moved to meet them. The pack leader fought with controlled fury, his spear finding goblin hearts with lethal precision.

The circle of Vikings contracted slightly, tightening around the miners who continued their work despite the chaos erupting around them. The sound of picks never stopped, never slowed.

Einar found himself back to back with Thorodd, both warriors fighting against an endless tide. His arms burned from the constant motion. Sweat trickled into his eyes. Blood covered his armor, most of it goblin but some of his own.

"This is getting old!" Thorodd growled, his hammer pulverizing another goblin.

"Just a few more hours!" Einar replied, his axe taking a creature's head off.

"If we last a few more hours!"

A roar echoed through the chamber, deeper and more menacing than the goblin screeches. Einar's blood went cold as he recognized the sound.

Another war boss.

The creature emerged from the largest tunnel entrance, towering over the smaller goblins. This one was even bigger than the first, nearly seven feet tall and covered in crude armor made from stolen dwarven plate. It carried a massive cleaver that had been forged for someone three times its size.

Behind it came more goblins, these ones carrying torches. They spread out, surrounding the Viking defensive circle, their yellow eyes gleaming in the firelight.

The war boss raised its cleaver and roared again. The goblins responded with their own screeches, the sound deafening in the enclosed space.

"Einar!" Avitue shouted over the noise. "We can't hold against that thing and all these others!"

She was right. The war boss alone would take several warriors to bring down, and they couldn't spare anyone from the defensive line.

Think. There has to be a way.

The war boss began to move forward, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. The goblins parted before it, creating a path straight toward the Viking formation.

Einar made his decision.

"Thorodd, take command! Hold the line no matter what!"

"Where are you going?" his second in command demanded.

"To kill that thing before it reaches us!"

Before Thorodd could protest, Einar broke from the formation and charged. His axes blazed with fire as he poured wyrd into them, the flames creating a trail of light in his wake.

The war boss saw him coming and raised its cleaver. They met with a crash that sent shockwaves through the chamber.

The force of the impact nearly drove Einar to his knees. The war boss was strong, stronger than anything he had faced in these tunnels. Its cleaver came down again, and Einar barely managed to cross his axes to block the blow.

Metal screeched against metal. Sparks flew. Einar's arms trembled from the strain.

The war boss pressed its advantage, driving Einar backward with a series of powerful strikes. Each blow was calculated to kill, aimed at weak points in his armor. This creature had fought warriors before and knew where to strike.

Einar ducked under a horizontal swing and rolled to the side, coming up behind the war boss. His axes struck at the creature's legs, but the stolen dwarven armor held. The blades barely scratched the metal.

The war boss spun with surprising speed for something its size. Its cleaver swept in a wide arc, forcing Einar to dive and roll again.

I need to find a weakness. Something that armor doesn't cover.

He studied the war boss as they circled each other. The armor covered its torso and legs, but the joints were exposed. The neck had a gap where the helmet met the chest plate. And the face was bare except for a crude metal mask that protected its nose and mouth.

There. The eyes.

Einar feinted left, then darted right. As the war boss turned to follow, he threw one of his axes. The weapon spun through the air, the flames making it look like a falling star.

The war boss raised its cleaver to block, but Einar had anticipated that. While the creature was distracted, he closed the distance and drove his remaining axe into the exposed joint at its elbow.

The war boss roared in pain. Its grip on the cleaver loosened, and the weapon fell from suddenly nerveless fingers.

Einar didn't give it time to recover. He retrieved his thrown axe and struck again, this time at the knee joint. The blade bit deep, cutting through leather and sinew. The war boss dropped to one knee.

With a roar of his own, Einar channeled more wyrd into both axes. The flames erupted, engulfing the blades in an inferno. He leaped, bringing both weapons down on the exposed neck of the war boss.

The creature's head separated from its body and rolled across the stone floor.

[ Rune Experience Gained ]

[ Rune Leveled Up ]

The silence that followed was absolute.

Every goblin in the chamber stopped fighting. They stared at their fallen war boss, their yellow eyes wide with something that might have been fear.

Then, as one, they fled.

The creatures scrambled back into their holes and tunnels, abandoning the fight. Within seconds, the chamber was empty except for the bodies of the fallen and the exhausted Vikings still holding their defensive positions.

Einar stood over the corpse of the war boss, his chest heaving with each breath. His wyrd was nearly depleted, and his arms felt like lead. But they had survived.

"Status!" he called out.

"Three more dead," Thorodd reported, his voice heavy. "Ten wounded, two critically. But we held."

Einar nodded, too exhausted to say more. He made his way back to the defensive circle; his legs felt tired in a way they hadn’t in ages.

Yulgas approached, his face covered in stone dust. "We're almost done. One more hour, maybe less."

"Then we finish this," Einar said. "We came for ore, and we're not leaving without it."

He looked at his warriors. They were battered, bloodied, and exhausted. But they were still standing. Still ready to fight if needed.

These are true Vikings. Warriors who refuse to break.

"One more hour," he repeated, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Then we get out of here and never look back."

The picks resumed their steady rhythm. The Vikings tightened their formation. And deep in the mountain, surrounded by darkness and death, they held their ground.

Because that's what Vikings did.

They endured.