Pantheon Online

Chapter 299  Stirring In The Dark

'How dare you try to hurt my master!' Vurfin snarled angrily as her tusks sunk deep into Hammertime's neck. "I'll make sure that your death is swift and painful."

"Damn," Hammertime coughed up blood onto the floor between his feet. His eyes closed slowly until their light finally faded away. His grip around Vurfin loosened ever so slightly but didn't let go of the boar's throat until the last of his life was gone from his body. "You won't win this war!" Hammertime wheezed before he fell.

Vurfin lowered her head in respect as she watched the god fade from existence, releasing his grasp. With a shake of her head, Hammertime's body went flying into the darkness below. It took several moments for Vurfin to regain control over herself after such a violent encounter. She looked around nervously for some sign of their enemies. Her body trembled from the broken bones the dwarf god Hammertime had caused. 'Some of the enemy gods are also using mortal bodies to gain an advantage in this war. Apart from us divine beasts, only Bargrux has the strength to kill them in single combat. Thovok may stand a chance if he has warriors helping him. As for my master's oracle...'

'What should I do now? Should I retreat back to the frontlines?' She glanced down into the chasm and shuddered when she saw more than a dozen dwarves rushing toward her! "No, I'll buy time for the Skardians behind me." She growled and charged down the path leading away from where she fought against the dwarves. After travelling along several twists and turns, she came upon an open room filled with stalactites hanging high above her like rows of jagged teeth. Several holes led deeper into the mountain, though none appeared to be good places to ambush all those dwarves heading towards her. 'This room is my best option.' Vurfin grunted as she eyed the stalactites. "Now, I just have to wait."

Meanwhile, Harik sat wheezing on a block of stone as his warriors further reinforced their barricade. His left eye was swollen shut from the beating he'd received earlier, while his right still burned from the intense pain caused by a spear that left a nasty gash across his brow and eyelid. 'Luckily, it didn't pierce my eye.' Harik groaned. His stomach ached from emptying itself too fast for his body to keep up, which made him feel even weaker than he had already felt. But he refused to admit defeat… at least not yet! 'Just hold out until help arrives,' He mumbled silently before leaning back against one side of the barricade.

Bargrux paced impatiently behind his line of warriors as he eyed the shocking new enemies that had appeared to reinforce the enemy forces on the main bridge. A group of elven archers had joined them, and now they stood between Bargrux and the main bulk of enemy forces, firing arrows into any dwarf they could see moving about in front of them. 'Blasted elves!' Bargrux grunted as an elven arrow bounced off his shield.

"Keep your heads down!" Bargrux roared at his warriors as they moved blocks of stone to reinforce their position. 'What the hell are they doing down here?'

It was hard for him to believe that the dwarf kings had sealed an alliance with the elves. They were too proud to do such a thing on their own. 'Which means a god or goddess has had a hand in this alliance!' Bargrux raised his eyebrows as he came to that realisation. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked around, searching for a familiar face. There he is! The old dwarf king Skjor! He snarled viciously as he saw one of the rulers of the enemy army leading some of the elven troops towards them, followed by another half-elf who was almost completely covered by armour except for her bare hands and neck!

'What's going on? What have you done to our people? I may have gone against the laws they set on my kingdom, but isn't what you're doing worse?'

"You've got no idea what you're getting yourself into, boy!" Skjor shouted as he stepped out from behind several shields lined up along the edge of the path that led from where the elves had stopped. "I should know… You have no idea what the other kingdoms have been dealing with! The horrors we've kept away from your doorstep! But you've gone too far now! There's no hope for you or your people! Even if you were to win here. How would you fight this?"

He held up his right fist and showed it to Bargrux. It had a large dark patch of flesh growing over it and skin poking through it. Bargrux's mouth fell open at the sight, and Skjor made a move toward him before stopping himself in case Bargrux wanted to attack him after seeing what was on his fist!

"Why didn't you ask for our help? We could have helped to keep this darkness at bay!" Bargrux growled as he approached the dwarf with rage in his eyes. "Does your hatred of the past blind your old eyes? How could you betray your own kind by involving the elves?"

Skjor snorted bitterly before saying with an amused grin, "What betrayal? This is just an alliance between two different factions who happen to be working together on a common cause. That's all." He waved dismissively as if that settled everything, but something seemed wrong about it to Bargrux! He noticed that one of the elven warriors standing behind Skjor also bore some sort of scar across her neck that looked like another growth! 'The elves have already made contact. When did they wake up? Those accursed creatures should have stayed buried!'

"It's too late, King Bargrux. They have awoken, and like us, they have found new gods!" Skjor bellowed so that the dwarves behind Bargrux could hear him. Bargrux snarled and reached for his hammer, only to stop halfway when he felt someone grab hold of his shoulder tightly from his left side. He turned around to find a familiar face looking down at him with cold anger in his eyes! "Hakon?" Bargrux whispered in shock. "Is that you?"

"You killed my sister," Hakon said quietly before smashing Bargrux's face with his armoured fist several times before stopping. The king grunted as the blow hurt more than it would have from anyone else. @@novelbin@@

Bargrux reacted quickly and took hold of Hakon by the waist as he lifted him off the floor and slammed him hard onto the stone pathway beneath their feet. "I had to kill her. She was an abomination!"

"So was I!" Hakon growled fiercely but kept himself under control. "But as you see, I was cured!" He tried to reach for his blade but was held fast in Bargrux's iron grip. "If you were ever my friend, you'd drop this foolish war against us. Join us. So that we may fight together again!" Bargrux gave a dark laugh as Hakon's body grew limp below him, and a trickle of blood began flowing out of the corner of his mouth. "Once, we were friends. I welcomed elves with open arms. We had a good relationship. Then, you brought that abomination that couldn't control herself into my city! You curse me for killing your sister. Well. What about the hundreds of dwarves she killed during her rampage?"

"Are you really that blind?" Hakon asked sadly before breathing deeply.

"My vision is far better than yours," Bargrux laughed triumphantly while glaring down into Hakon's eyes.

"Your mind isn't all it once was." Hakon sighed before he coughed up some blood. His head dropped down as he struggled to keep conscious through sheer force of will alone. "And now… It seems your past has come back to haunt you in many different ways. You're not who you think you are anymore, old friend." With those words spoken, Hakon closed his eyes and let go of his grasp on reality.

Bargrux growled angrily and swung his hammer at Hakon's skull, but the elf disappeared in a blaze of fire and light, gone with no trace left behind! 'Damn you, damn you!' Bargrux roared furiously as he glared at the spot where Hakon disappeared from.

"Do you get it now, Bargrux?" Skjor asked, his voice laced with venom. "There can only be one ruler under this mountain!" He snarled viciously before turning away from Bargrux and marching toward his warriors stationed further back. "Keep firing!"

Bargrux watched them disappear into the enemy lines before going after them and smashing a group of archers blocking his way along the path leading towards Skjor's position. Their bodies fell silently to the ground below until they stopped moving altogether.

'I'll be damned if I let that greybeard get away with this!' Bargrux cursed as he smashed elves with his hammer and shield. He knew that if it weren't for his pseudo-demigod status, these elves would have been able to dispatch him quickly.

'This war with the other kingdoms has become more important than I ever imagined! I can't believe I was blind to the darkness stirring in the earth!' Bargrux clenched his jaw as an elf jumped over him and sliced at his back! "Come back here, coward!" Bargrux roared in his fury as he blocked the curved blade of another elf. "Face me like a dwarf, Mighty King under the Heavenly Mountain! Or are you afraid? Just like you were of my grandfather!"

However, no response came from the departing back of Skjor as the elves piled on Bargrux...