Hunted - Part III

[CzarRedwall]

Kazzig held a hand up in an attempt to silence the others. Peering over the tangled mesh of tree roots and branches, his cruel eyes stared at the convoy of Dwarfs as they approached. On the count of three, Kazzig would give the order to attack.

"On me signal, we'z gonna fill 'em wiv holes!" Kazzig loaded his bow, taking an arrow and pressing it against the string. The rest of the goblins gleefully did the same, unable to restrain themselves. As the caravan neared, Kazzig tightened with anticipation. The marshes fog made their position almost invisible, making it a perfect spot to ambush unexpected travelers.

"One ... Two ... TREE!" Shouted Kazzig, who jumped up and released his shot without bothering to aim. The others followed his example, and in a single moment released a hail of arrows into the enemy. The Dwarfs were cut down without warning, and the few who survived could not stand upright, and instead laid in their own pool of blood, shouting profanities in the meanwhile. As the goblins charged to finish them off, an explosion rang out from above.

"Dwarfs of Ekrund! Kill them all!" Echoed a booming voice, followed by a choir of thunderous cheers.

A battalion of Dwarfs with rifles had stood over the hilltop, overlooking the goblins as they made their attack. They aimed down at the unsuspected goblins, who had fallen into their trap. They and Kazzig had naively believed that the caravan was without protection. On the contrary, it was heavily guarded with a troop of Dwarf thunderers, whom were ready to obliterate any who crossed its path.

Panic ensued, with the goblins retreating. Many were felled by bullets and gunpowder, unable to escape. The marsh made it hard to run, with their tiny feet enveloped in the thick mud. One by one, the goblins were made easy target practice. Few were able to avoid death. Feigning death, Kazzig fell to the floor. He slowly crawled away from the center of the fight before bolting. Kazzig sprinted behind the closest cover, escaping a stray bullet as it flew past his crooked nose. One of the Dwarfs took notice, and made his way down the hill to pursue him, not allowing him to get away that easily.

Kazzig began to flee, all the meanwhile being shot at from behind. The Dwarf who had chased him would not give up the hunt, but it was only him who had followed. Kazzig frantically staggered through the swamps, ducking behind the twisted branches and overgrown ferns as gundpowder exploded behind him. As he jumped behind a fallen tree, he rested his back against the log and drew a heavy breath. Behind him stood the Dwarf, who was busy reloading his rifle.

"You think you can escape, you stinking coward?" Laughed the Dwarf, who had finished setting powder into the barrel of his gun. He brought the rifle's butt to rest against his shoulder, taking aim at Kazzig's ears sticking out from under him.

"I'll blown ya to smithereens!" Shouted the Dwarf as he pressed the trigger, followed by a blanket of smoke and his bullet flying out towards Kazzig.

Kazzig yelped in pain as the tip of his ear was bitten off, caught in the fire. He keeled over to the floor in pain, grasping the side of his head. The dwarf shook his head. It seemed to be too easy, he thought to himself, as he stepped towards the hiding goblin.

"Come now, lad. You make this less fun than it should be. You should've put up more of a fight than this." Sighed the dwarf, who carelessly neared Kazzig wihout reloading his rifle. As he set it to rest against the tree log, he curiously peered over to expect to see Kazzig defeated.

But in that moment, just as the Dwarf's head loomed over the edge to look down at him, Kazzig jumped up, knife in hand, and latched onto the Dwarf's neck. His razor teeth dug into the Dwarf's skin as he furiously plunged his dagger into his body.

The Dwarf struggled only momentarily, but he had little chance of escape. Kazzig would not stop until the Dwarf's body failed him and fell over onto the marsh floor, where his pool of blood seeped into the wet earth, and stained his blue uniform. Kazzig stood over the dead Dwarf, panting heavily. He looked over to the resting rifle, and stared at it curiously. But his attention was interrupted by voices in the distance closing in.

Kazzig chuckled with amusement before slipping into the marsh's shadows.