Key Our Cars

Ironfist hefted the great maul in one calloused hand eyeing the steps leadiing to the second floor of the old Byagan watch tower. It had been decades since it had seen any maintenance and it pained the dwarf to see such good stonework falling into disrepair. He stepped gingerly onto the wooden bridge that joined the stairway to the porch in front of the door. The wood creaked and groaned but seemed firm enough in spite of its apparent age.
Bassia watched as the burly dwarf moved toward the door of the keep. She frowned, the door struck her as a little off, the wood not of the same age as the rest of the tower. She shrugged, different woods age differently. But still…
“Ssssst. This place may not be as abandoned as you might think. Be wary.” she said in a low voice pitched such that it carried only a few feet to the dwarf ahead of her.
“I hear ya lass and I see what you mean.” the heavy bass of the dwarf filtered back to her.
The dwarf stepped onto the porch of the keep. As he let his eyes flick over the door his hands absently swung the heavy crossbow around on its tether and worked the thick steel lever several times to ratchet back the string then clipped a bolt into the groove and locked the trigger assembly. The crossbow thumped reassuringly on his back again and he picked the large maul up.
He used the heavy weapon to push against the door which shifted slightly then hit an obstruction. He glanced back at the little halfing and shrugged, “This is gonna be gettin’ noisy in a few, keep an eye out if ye don’t mind?”
Bassia nodded and turned so she could watch behind them. A loud booming thud echoed from behind her and she winced at the noise as Ironfist hammered away at the door. She tossed a ball of eldritch energy from one hand to another nervously, the blue-green ball crackling with the power of the greater Being that she’d created a Pact with.
After several blows there was a loud crack of wood and she glanced over her shoulder to catch the dwarf looking back at her. The heavy doors hung crookedly in their frame, whatever was holding them closed on the inside now broken.
The dwarf grinned, “After me lass.” With a rusty groan the doors slammed inside at the dwarf’s shove revealing the inside of the tower which was littered with clutter but more importantly five pairs of bloodshot eyes glared back at him as light glinted from the edges of the shortswords leveled at him.
Five goblins stood arrayed around the opening, far enough back to avoid getting hit by the doors. Savage snarls filled the air as they lept forward, swords flashing at the dwarf.
Ironfist grunted with effort as he used the iron banded haft of his maul to block one sword thrust and dodged to the side to dodge another. The others slashed but their blades glanced from the dwarf’s armour.
A loud thud above him drew his eyes forward and up and he saw another goblin on a upper railing across the room and above him. A javelin quivered in the wooden beam framing the top of the doorway.
“Lass! Get the shooter above! I’ve got this dance down here!” the dwarf shouted as he bashed his maul into the swords thrusting at him.
Bassia knelt to get a better view into the room and up at the goblin on the railing. She swung an arm back and forward and a sparking ball of blue green lanced out trailing sparks that lit the interior with a dim glow. The goblin screamed in pain as the ball impacted on its head and engulfed it in burning flames.
“Nice one girl! Aww crap that hurt!” Ironfist shouted then reeled as two swords sliced into his body from opposite sides. The goblins were swarming around him like a pack of wolves, their swords flicking at him from every angle. The dwarf spun to the left and took a moment then smashed his maul into the throat of one and it flipped backwards off off the steps, its head flopping around, neck broken.
Another javelin slammed into the door as Ironfist pushed a goblin back into it shifting it seconds before the javelin hit. As he parried another sword down to spark off the stone of the steps another javelin flashed past his head.
“Uh Bassie, I don’t wanna be rushin’ you but a little help if you would!?” the dwarf grated out.
“I’m working on you bloody great lummox!” the halfing snapped back and loosed another blast then a savage grin flitted across her face as the goblin tossing the javelins slumped forward its head a mass of charred and blackened flesh and tumbled through the railing to land on the floor below.
The dwarf clenched his teeth as a sword slammed into his armour, “That’ll be leavin a bruise ye pox ridden pasty ass faced shit eater!”
His bloody maul swung around in a whistling arc, an arc that included one of the goblin’s skulls which exploded in a mass of blood, bone and brains. He shoved another back to get a bit of breathing room and even as he did two of the goblins slipped past him on each side.
“I be thinkin’ not me pretties, not on my watch!” Ironfist swore and spun to hammer his maul in the back of another’s head although it left him defenseless to the one still in front of him. Steel hammered painfully into his shoulder, bending the scaled plates protecting it.
Bassia shouted, “Down!” and as the dwarf ducked for an instant she loosed a blast of power into the goblin behind him burning a hole into its chest exposing its beating heart. She ducked herself a second later as a sword flashing over her head.
The great maul scraped for a second on the steps as Ironfist brought it up in a powerful swing that missed as the last goblin leapt backwards off the steps to land below with a gasp. It scrambled in the plant growth for a second then all that could be seen of it was a pair of flying feet and its retreating back.
“Oh tis a fast scamperin’ lil scuttlefish ye are!” Ironfist breathed as he dropped his maul at his feet and yanked his crossbow around. He breathed out then lead the running goblin slightly and then the crossbow shuddered in his hands as the powerful bow arms snapped forward. He nodded to himself as the bolt slammed into the goblins back and disappeared up to the fletching. The goblin crashed forward in a boneless sprawl.
The sounds of battle faded away as the the two stood back to back on the steps. As they caught their breath, the halfing asking quietly, “How bad is it?”
“Dinnae fash yourself lass, I’ve had worse from me brothers. A few bruises is all.” The dwarf listened intently but heard nothing over the faint susurration of the breeze coming in from the south. Somewhere to the southeast came the faint cry of a white feathertail.
Bassia let the power of the Fey slip away and her hands lost their glow as she stood straight. “I think we’re clear.”
Ironfist nodded then spoke, “Aye for now. I can see yon chamber ahead and there be nothing big enough for one of these things to be hidin’ behind and the upper floors fallen in except for that railing. Still might be something down below though. Usually a barracks down there on the bottom floor and a place to store gear.”
The halfling jerked her head in a brusque nod, “Then let us see shall we?” Her fingers closed on the smooth shaft of the short spear she carried and twirled it in a spinning move lit with trails of green sparks.
“Show off. Ladies first this time?” he smiled with an arched eyebrow.
The halfing snorted, “Since when ever have you seen me act the lady? Get your ass in gear, daylights burning and I want to be camped with something on the fire before dark tonight.”
“Aye then.” the dwarf said as he reloaded his crossbow. “Let us be about our business.”