Chapter 29 – The Battle of the Guardians
Sister Mirella, the retired half-elf archer, was the first to react. She slept with her bow beside the bed, her war instincts still sharp. She leaped from the mattress, arrow already nocked, and shot the first intruder who crossed the threshold. The arrow buried itself in his neck, dropping him as he gurgled blood.
— Intruders! Graciela, the children! — she shouted.
Sister Graciela, the sturdy dwarf, woke up cursing in ancient dwarvish dialect. She grabbed her kitchen axe (reinforced with runes to cut more than just meat) and charged like a bull. The first trafficker who saw her laughed at the short little dwarf—a fatal mistake. She swung the axe low, slicing his legs at the knees. He collapsed howling, and she finished the job with a blow to the skull, smashing it like a watermelon.
The fight was violent, chaotic. Mirella positioned herself in the hallway, firing arrows with elven precision. She killed three at once: one in the eye, another in the chest, the third in the groin as he tried to climb through the window. Her shots echoed like thunder, flaming arrows (residual magic from her youth) setting the enemies' clothes ablaze.
Graciela fought in the main hall, brutal close-quarters combat. One trafficker tried to strike her with a sword; she blocked with the axe, sparks flying, and countered with an uppercut blade that opened his belly, entrails spilling onto the floor. Another came from behind; she spun and severed half his arm. She killed four in total, the floor slippery with blood and viscera, dwarvish curses mixed with groans of pain.
Vorak watched from outside, laughing. He sent more men in. Mirella took down two more, but an enemy arrow (from one of their archers) struck her in the shoulder, making her fall. Graciela, seeing her friend wounded, went berserk: she felled one more with a blow to the chest, but was surrounded. Three attacked her at once; she killed one by burying the axe in his stomach, but the others brought her down with clubs, beating her until she passed out, bones cracking audibly.
Mirella, bleeding, tried to rise for one last shot, but Vorak stepped on her hand, breaking the bow. He kicked her in the face, and the world went dark for both of them.
In total, Mirella killed five; Graciela, five. Ten bodies on the ground, but the remaining five (including Vorak) won through numerical superiority and surprise.