Sarel took position a couple of feet behind Dev and to his right up on the walkway. He held his slender, slightly curved sword backhanded in his left hand, a throwing knife ready in his right hand.
Khaz crept along the walkway on Dev’s left, crossbow aimed ahead, two darts held in his teeth as Kimba stayed back guarding the rear. Her mind quickly going over the large repertoire of defensive spells at her disposal wondering if any would be safe enough to use in such close quarters especially with her powers being diminished so far from the open air. Nixing the idea of using magic, the druidess drew her slim sword and said a prayer to Doona Cheetahsoul as the tension grew; the passing seconds felt like hours.
“C’mon!” Khaz challenged as loud as he could through gritted teeth clamped down over flash arrows as the rats came into view from around a bend in the tunnel. Red eyes gleaming as their heat sensing vision picked out the four outlines of their warm blooded prey. Opposing saber tusks gnashing in anticipation of fresh meat, the hell spawn charged no longer heeding the commands of their orc overseer. Four of the creatures charged down the middle of the gradually widening tunnel right at Dev heedless of the muck splashing around their black underbellies. Two of the foul creatures scrambled up to the walkway on both sides razor sharp talons scraping the stone in search of footholds.
Opening its maw impossibly wide, the rat closest to Khaz roared exposing the blood red tongue and soft flesh of its mouth. The dwarf pulled the trigger of his crossbow sending the arrow whizzing through the air embedding itself in the roaring beast’s throat. Before the rodent could react, the right side of its face exploded spraying the wall with blood and teeth. Heated metal fragments from the arrow head tore through its brain killing it instantly as the force from the repercussion sent the corpse rolling off the walkway into the muck below.
Khaz howled his pleasure momentarily forgetting about the two remaining darts clenched in his teeth: “Yeah! How’d that taste ya filthy pile’a dung!” He yelled at the dead rat as the quarrels fell from his mouth rolled off the walkway into the water at the bottom of the tunnel.
Dwarven curses ringing in his ears, Sarel hurled his throwing dagger at his advancing adversary. Preparing to charge the hell rat lowered its head at the last second. Passing through the creature’s horns the knife sunk into the hard flesh of its back between the shoulder blades. Still advancing the giant rodent turned its head to snap at the protruding knife taking the elf’s second hurled blade up to the hilt in its neck. Roaring in pain and frustration, the injured animal lunged forward with murderous intent clamping its salivating mouth shut with enough force to tear flesh and crush bone. Instead its powerful jaws shut on nothing but air. The fleet footed frost elf had leaped off the walkway tossing his sword up in the air; the weapon flipped once and landed in his waiting right hand as he alighted on the balls of his feet in the sewer water.
As fast as a striking serpent Sarel’s blade licked out twice in a criss-cross pattern, parting flesh and grinding off bone with each hit opening two gaping wounds along the rat’s side and hind quarter. Exposed, gleaming white bone was quickly obscured as the wounds quickly filled and over spilled with blood.
Bleeding profusely the horned rat jumped at Sarel’s throat. Anticipating this, the seasoned elven warrior dropped to one knee and twisted his body sideways. Gripping his sword with two hands, he thrust up sinking his blade in the lunging creature’s chest. Using the beast’s own momentum the frost elf hurled the rat off his sword across the tunnel where it slammed into the wall with spine cracking force. Its broken, lifeless body came to rest in a heap on the walkway.
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