Ephraim the Black scored a direct hit. The acid took several minutes to burn through the stone archway above the Main Gate at Gilead. Once it hit the mighty iron doors, the main gateway into Gilead Castle melted away fairly quickly.

The goblins didn’t wait long to utilize the new opening, and at noon, around a hundred Black Eye archers rushed in and engaged the crossbow dwarves on the roofs of the three main halls.

Following them came three groups of goblins carrying large logs that they used to bash in the doors leading into the same three halls. Not one of the doors withstood more than two hits.

The battle between the goblin archers and the crossbow dwarves on the rooftops were intense, with high casualties on both sides. When it looked like the goblins were gaining the upper hand, Commander Iron Fist ordered his crossbow dwarves to engage from the northwest corner of his wall.

The height advantage quickly led to the last fifty goblin archers falling at the cost of about fifteen of Iron Fist’s dwarves. His quick thinking spared the dwarves on the rooftops of the halls, for now.

The Black Eyes used the distraction to send a hundred warriors into each hall, and soon the sounds of battle could be heard in all three buildings. The battles for Bronze, Silver, and Gold Helm Halls lasted for over an hour.

The fight in Bronze Helm Hall ended first with a big victory. Commander Dirty Dog had prepared a surprise for any would be attackers. Earlier in the day, he had his dwarves pour oil all over the floor on the first level, and then torched it once the goblins had entered.

The enemy burnt up quickly, with only a handful of them making it to the stairway, where they managed to kill a couple of dwarves before they were slain. None escaped, and smoke billowed from every window.

The dwarven defenders were forced to seek refuge on the roof for several hours. Now, the usually dirty and disheveled Dirty Dog was also covered with smudges of oil.

The battle for Golden Helm Hall did not go nearly as well. Commander Crusty Mug and his warriors tried to hold the enemy back at the front door. He and his dwarves fought bravely, but were overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Commander Crusty Mug and all of his warriors died on the first floor.

The remaining forty-five Black Eyes charged up the stairs, only to encounter the crossbow dwarves. They held the goblins back, utilizing a fighting withdraw towards the rooftop.

One line would fire, and then quickly fall back behind the next line of dwarves, who would then fire. By the time the crossbow dwarves reached the roof, only six goblins remained. They charged onto the roof with their yorg and were quickly shot down by the nearly seventy crossbow dwarves that could still fight.

The situation at Silver Helm Hall was the most desperate. Commander Broken Shield had been killed by an errant goblin arrow, through the eye, when he foolishly passed by an open window. He had died before the Black Eyes even made entry into his hall.

When the goblins attacked inside, the situation deteriorated rapidly. There was no organization to the defense, with some dwarves making a stand on the first floor, while others stayed on the stairway. Even more retreated to the roof.

The goblins overran the first floor fast and rushed towards the stairway. The attack turned into a search and destroy mission, with the enemy going from room to room on each floor, eliminating various pockets of resistance. The only thing that saved the hall was the crossbow dwarves on the roof.

They stood at the top of the stairway and shot anything green that poked its head out. Finally, the goblin leader peeked around the corner and took a bolt to the forehead. The battle had ended, with just under fifty dwarves left to defend Silver Helm Hall.

King Tubby did not attempt another attack that day. He did not know the dire situation of the dwarves in two of the halls, and was more concerned about having lost three hundred of his underlings in the fight.

The goblin king decided to wait until tomorrow, and then they would attack one hall at a time, with a large force. They would hit one building until they captured it, then move on. The only question was, which hall?

King Sturdy Axe had watched the goblin attacks from his Command Tower. He was very pleased that Commander Iron Fist had taken the initiative to finish off the first wave of attacking goblin archers, and was even more pleased that the black dragon had only made one attack before retreating to its captured tower perch.

King Sturdy Axe received damage reports from his flag dwarves, who had received signals from the rooftops of the three halls. Although all three buildings still remained under dwarf control, the loss of two of his three hall commanders meant that their ownership would probably change quickly.

                                                        *     *     *

Clonal Mistletoe was from the Tree of Narn. He was a handsome, middle-aged elf, with sharp distinguished features. He had just been promoted to clonal a week ago.

The title was coined from the respect the elves had for their elder trees, and in elvish, meant very wise, strong, and sturdy tree. It was awarded for ability and didn’t have much to do with an individual’s age. The rank was similar to that of a dwarven commander or human lord.

Clonal Mistletoe was kneeling on one knee, staring intently at Esha Road, looking for any sign of the horde that they had been tracking. The elf pulled his green tunic tight around himself, feeling the first signs of cold that was heralding in the new season.

His warriors stood a few feet back, knowing that their leader was the best tracker in the group. Several of them wore healing leaves over fresh wounds, but none of them were too seriously hurt.  

The squad had left the Tree of Narn three days prior. The Tree of Narn was the primary kingdom of elves, with the Eastern Tree Village and the Mount Esha Village being the secondary elven kingdoms. 

The Tree of Narn was on the west side of the Glen while the other two elf villages were on the east side of the peninsula. King Willow was using magic to transport his patrols from the Tree of Narn to the Eastern Tree Village, so they could help patrol Esha Road.

Once Mistletoe’s squad had reached the road of men, they had begun to trail it north, traveling the wood line just to the east of the thoroughfare. After only an hour, they had run into a horde of thirty-two Swamp Crawlers and their yorg leader.

The blotchy skinned goblins had also been traveling in the woods to the east and were also focused on Esha Road as they came south, so both groups were completely surprised when they ran into each other.

A bloody battle ensued at the edge of the road, resulting in the destruction of the Swamp Crawlers. Clonal Mistletoe was still mad at himself for not having spotted the goblins first, because he had suffered heavy casualties, losing half of the squad.

Twelve warriors and four archers had fallen, leaving Clonal Mistletoe feeling guilty over their loss and wanting revenge. He was a new leader, and until that battle, had never lost anyone under his command.

Now they were tracking a larger horde of goblins, and this time, he had every intention of surprising them. He glanced down Esha Road, when his superior elf ears picked up some sounds in the distance. It was the distinct and familiar sound of steel on steel. Combat!

“Our brethren are fighting down the road, follow me!” Clonal Mistletoe ordered and quickly sprinted off.

Elves were quite spry, and the quickest of the races in the Glen, so they closed the distance fast and entered into a grizzly scene. They saw Clonal Silverbell, whose squad had left the Tree of Narn a couple of days before Mistletoe’s, lying on the ground with a squat, ugly yorg standing over him.

The fair-haired young elf, known to be a true beauty even amongst the handsome people of his race, was obviously dead. This did not stop the yorg from sinking its large rusty axe into Silverbell’s bloodied body, over and over, until it was no more than segmented pieces.

The ugly goblin leader howled with glee while it mutilated the dead elf leader. Several more elf bodies littered the ground nearby, while others were still fighting a superior number of big Bone Breaker goblins.

The rest of Silverbell’s squad would be wiped out if Mistletoe didn’t act now. He strung an arrow and sent it whizzing towards the yorg. The goblin leader never knew what hit him.

The elf leader’s arrow drilled the creature in the ear, dropping him immediately. The archers in Clonal Mistletoe’s squad were just as deadly, killing six more goblins within seconds. His warriors rushed in and engaged the remaining startled and confused enemy.

It didn’t take long for the elves to get the upper hand, and after a few fleeing goblins were shot down, the battle was over. Nine of Clonal Silverbell’s elves died with him, leaving another nine alive. They quickly agreed to join Clonal Mistletoe’s squad.

The young, handsome elf leader wearily ran his slender fingers through his long blond hair. So much death. Clonal Silverbell was very popular amongst the Tree of Narn elves and would be a huge blow to his people’s morale. He himself felt sick to his stomach over the loss.

The road was much thicker with goblin hordes than Clonal Mistletoe had expected, and he found himself wondering if the patrols of men were fairing any better on the other two roads leading south from the Hills of Hogarth.

It seems that the enemy has the alliance of elves, men, and dwarves outnumbered. The killing is going to go on for a long time. No matter, we have work to do.

After placing the healing leaves over their new wounds, the elves gathered their dead companions and buried each one at the base of different trees, marking them in elvish with the name of the fallen, as was their custom.  In this way, their life force would return to the beloved forest.

Next, the elves stacked the thirty-nine dead Bone Breakers into a large pile, and set them on fire. The smell of burning goblin flesh permeated the evening air. The odor was overwhelming, so they quickly left.