Breaking the Rules Pt. 11

Something niggled in Nuru's memory. He studied the bodies on the ground; several goblin fighters littered the area and perhaps contributed to keeping the Troupers off the ground, who had lost three of their own. But he did not see the big one, or the tall one - nor the fat ones that had captured him to put him in the cell once he'd come down.

"Please... can we go?" Akua begged, tugging at him.

"In a moment. Something's not right here."

"Press the attack! Show these freaks the error of their ways!" Chibale called from inside.

"Dayo! Ace! Get out of here!" Nuru said.

"Not until you're away!" Dayo called back.

"I'm going! Hurry!"

He jogged sideways, trying to watch ahead and behind both as he neared the edge of the clearing. The phalanx of golems at the opening together as one linked bodies and transformed into a wall of spikes, and the Troupers on the spinning golem tumbled free to run around the edges of the spike wall as the spinning ceased, outnumbering Tusa and driving him back; the tall golem unfolded legs from its base and trundled back to the wall; the paladins that had been attacking it followed warily. Something flew up into the air from the distance. Nuru tugged at Tusa's oath, and the lyena bounded over towards him; Nuru pointed, he turned and growled, looking up; Ace looked up at the falling object, alerted by Tusa.

"Big bomb! Run!" the thief called.

The three paladins immediately ducked away from the shadow of The Carousel, Sun Walked to the far treeline, and went in search of the object's origin; Nuru was sure it was the seige weapon that had thrown him into the entrance hole. Dayo Shadow Walked as soon as the valkyrie neared the opposite treeline where the shadows were long, barely clearing additional golems rising out of the dirt to block the way, and Tusa spared no time darting into the cover of the trees. The large object hit the ground, and a maelstrom of dust and dirt and unearthly screams burst up in a slowly expanding cone. The treelike golem bent forward and embraced the edges of the hole in the wall behind the wall of spikes, and folded itself to close the gap seamlessly where Nuru judged it had originally been, leaving just a growing tornado of smoke-trailing wraiths behind.

Nuru was relieved to see Ace appear in a Smoke Portal beyond the wall of golems at the perimeter. The goblin archers hadn't kept up with Nuru and were trapped inside; they turned and started attacking the golems at the edges, but didn't do much damage. Chibale appeared at the opening where Nuru had fallen into the building, and Nuru saw him gazing down in murderous rage at the Troupers who were no doubt below him inside. It seemed he had little choice but to carefully pick his way between the stakes at the top of the hill and make his way to the base, but it would take him some time; Nuru took Akua's hand and they turned and ran. The last he saw of the tableau was the bodies of the goblin archers being pulled up from the ground and torn apart by the wraiths as the column reached them; after that, the vortex lost strength and pulled away from the ground, and Nuru and Akua were into the trees.