A tale of Larisnar
Rac Ironbone stood atop the wall surrounding Rockhome and stared down at the battle. The Abyssals had sent in only light troops today. Twisted, hairless humanoids that stood nine feet tall with long arms dragging along the ground when they weren't straining to rip into dwarven flesh. Hundreds of the things swarmed forward, but the dwarves were ready. Flaming oil slowed their rushand while they milled about in disarray, the gates opened. Scores of dwarven fighters rushed out into the chaos wielding a variety of hammers, axes and picks. They struck deeply into the Abyssal ranks and swept the creatures back towards the tunnels leading into the depths. Claws blunted against ironcloth and stout dwarven steel tore the limbs from the tall creatures. Throughout all of this, the enemy maintained an eerie silence, even as the dwarves ground them into a bloody carpet. It all seemed too easy, and Rac rubbed one enormous paw across his thick beard. He drew in a breath to shout out the order to regroup but before he could give it, a new sound sprang up.
It was a high-pitched reverberation that echoed in the cavern and cut deeply into the mind. Dwarves on the field fell to their knees clutching their heads, though none dropped their weapons. Beyond them, the Abyssals parted and another creature advanced, a hulking figure whose ruby-red flesh rippled with muscles. A crown of jagged horns topped its head ten feet above the floor. Where its legs should have been, serpentine coils stretched out behind it. Its only possession was an immense chunk of obsidian that it clutched in one meaty fist. As it advanced, it screeched out again and the Dwarves, who had advanced so bravely against an army, broke ranks and fled before a single foe. Rac clutched the handle of his own battle-axe, but he dared not advance onto the field himself, and leave his men leaderless against the horde while he dealt with one Abyssal.
Instead he called out, "Gargoyles forth against the horde!" A flight of the winged beasts launched into the air and dropped fist sized rocks down upon the horde. The missiles crushed dozens of them to the ground and the gargoyles winged back to the wall. Still, the tall figure stalked forward and the dwarves fled before it as a wave of terror washed over them. A small group of dwarves were frozen in panic and stood trembling before the advancing creature. Its minions pressed in behind it, but they remained silent as it called out in a high-pitched squeal that pulsed in his ears. "Cower before Ssatame!"
As it slithered forward, one dwarf suddenly stood proudly without any trace of fear. Strong muscles rippling beneath a lush figure, Gethseme Steelshard stood unhesitantly before the creature.
Its screech filled the cavern as it swung the obsidian club down towards her, but she twirled aside so the blow crashed harmlessly into the ground. She stepped in close, pulled a battle-axe from her belt and smashed it into the creature's chest. Once, twice, three times she struck before the creature whirled about and slammed its tail into her. Ssatame knocked her back into the horde of Abyssals. Both Dwarves and Abyssals parted and stared as she rose to her feet. The monster rubbed one hand across a shallow cut across its chest, the only mark of her attacks, and scowled at her. Gethseme had lost her battle-axe, but she quickly pulled a short chain from her belt. The chain hand a sphere of liquid at either end. With a quick flick of her wrists, she sent it spinning towards her foe. The creature negligently batted it aside with its free hand, but the weapon wrapped itself around the monster's arm. The sphere hissed as acid poured out onto the creature's arm. Another shriek echoed out as Ssatame clawed at its arm.
Gethseme quickly snatched up a thick rod from beside one of the cowering Dwarves and rushed forward. Stepping inside Ssatame's reach, she held the rod vertically and twisted it sharply. Spikes shot from both ends of the rod. One planted itself into the stone floor while the other pierced the creatures jaw. The thing's tail thrashed wildly as the dwarven warrior leapt backwards. After a moment the body slowly collapsed to the ground and the tail's thrashing slowly died away.
The horde of minions edged forward for a moment until Gethseme turned to face them and shouted out "Rockhome!" Her voice echoed off the cavern walls and a hundred dwarves scattered across the cavern floor halted their flight. They turned, tightened their grips on their weapons and let out a harsh battle cry. "Rockhome!" Within seconds, the Abyssal creatures were in a full rout as armor clad dwarves pounded across the cavern floor towards them. Dwarvish axes and swords hacked into the backs of the fleeing Abyssals while gargoyles launched themselves again and slashed across the enemy's ranks. Minutes later, the fierce pursuit had passed into the tunnels leading into the depths.
Gethseme helped those Dwarves beside her to their feet, and escorted them back to the wall and its cheering defenders. By then Rac had already summoned her to his position above the gate and she quickly joined him there. His guards and other combatants withdrew to allow the two leaders to speak privately. He stared down at her with a grimace and his voice was a deep growl, like two rocks rubbing together. "By Kor's Hammer, what were you doing out there?"
She grinned humorlessly and responded strong and clear. "Killing Abyssals."
"You're the Princess of Rockhome, if Prince Alaric heard..."
She interrupted him abruptly. "This has nothing to do with my cousin."
"Then King Xod..."
Again she interrupted him. "This has nothing to do with my uncle."
"By Kor, it does. You are in line for the throne."
"Until something happens, I'm just a Dwarf fighting for my home and my people."
"If you were just a Dwarf, you would be under my command as Lord of Rockhome and I could order you to stay on the wall."
"But I'm descended from King Hember himself and not bound by your orders." She shook her head and when she continued, her voice was softer, soft enough that only he could hear her words. "We've tried to stay behind our walls. We've tried to fight off the Abyssals for centuries, but its not working. We're losing entire cities to their attacks. We can't play it safe any longer. We can't wait for allies that may never come. We must take the fight to them. Destroy these creatures wherever we can find them. Destroy the Abyss once and for all."
Rac stared into her eyes for one long moment and then began to laugh gently. Anger flared in her eyes, but he shook his head and touched her gently on the arm. "No. I was just thinking of your father."
"What do you mean?"
"When your father was Lord of Rockhome, I made almost the same speech to him."
"Then what happened? Why are you behind the wall now?"
He softly answered. "He died. When I became the Lord of Rockhome, my responsibilities grew. Before all I had to do was kill Abyssals. Now I have to guard the passages to the surface, defend our people, and protect the city as well." For one long moment, he turned from her and looked out over the battlefield where the dwarves were regrouping and clearing the bodies away. "I miss those days. They were much... clearer. Fight as you will, Princess. Defeat as many as you can, strike against them wherever you can reach. Other responsibilities will rear their head later. But for now you are a formidable force and you give our people hope."
Gethseme stared back grimly and quietly stated, "They can keep their hope, I want nothing of it. That's why I could fight against that thing while all around me everyone trembled. Where there is no hope, there is also no fear."