Best laid plans… pt7.

[Tannas]

Tannas had resigned himself to death. His eyes were closed and he had taken his last breath. The natural pause in breathing had passed, and he had to breathe in again. There was a sound of something cutting through the air by his head, and then the drums stopped. Tannas opened his tired eyes to see an arrow pierced through Curtis’ neck. Curtis now had a look of shocked bewilderment on him. His arm holding the scepter had fallen to his side and his other hand had grasped his neck. He tried to yell something, but couldn’t. He turned to look at the brothers, and another arrow cut through his torso.

Tannas looked to his side from where it let loose. It was Dahlya, and she had already nocked another arrow. Musky was at her feet, pointing somewhere above the mass of undead. A gateway had opened about 10 feet above the crowd and Bruzog jumped through like a berserker, wielding his long axe and releasing a guttural yell that shook the walls. His axe came down and split a zombie from clavicle to midsection is one stroke. Musky had closed the gateway as soon as he leapt through, just to open another further into the crowd. Sam and Gladius, jumped into the fray in a violent melee, fighting back to back and taking no quarter.

Tannas couldn’t help to smile through the pain, a spark of hope now a steady flame. Another arrow had flown past, meeting its target. One of the brothers dropped to the floor, pleading for help as an arrow entered his knee. Another gateway had opened and Drandor came running in like a bull in a pottery shop. His tower shield in front of him, pushing through the crowded space with ease. He was creating a path to get to Tannas, and nothing stood in his way. When he finally stopped, he swung his great hammer around clearing a bigger section through blunt force trauma. Another gateway opened and Verrin came out from behind the crux decussata, cutting the binds that held Tannas. Verrin reached out with a potion in hand.

In a calm voice he said, “Do you need healing?” Tannas reached out and took the potion. “Yes, thank you. We’ll need that scepter.” He pointed to the scepter still in Curtis’ clenched hand as he drank. Verrin went to grab it and Curtis threw a wild punch. It was met with an axe head as Bruzog was running through on his onslaught. Curtis let out the kind of scream that accompanies death on swift wings. His hand let loose as his last breath escaped. Once Verrin had the scepter, the undead stopped fighting. The few zombies that were left, fought tooth and nail, but to no avail, they lost in the end.

As the body count had piled up, so did the questions. Tannas didn’t have many answers. He was tired and hungry. Hungry for real food and sleep. They had found Tannas’ things and Musky opened a gateway to the Consortium hall. They all checked themselves, and each other for miscellaneous injuries sustained in the heat of combat, and missing equipment.

Tannas had gone through the pockets of Curtis’ jacket and found his debt token. Drandor saw this, smiled, and said, “What else does he have in there?” And began to pat down Curtis’ remains. There wasn’t much else but a map, some coin, and a letter in a script no one could read. Gladius was the last one to walk through the gateway as Musky closed it behind him.

A few days later…
Tannas sat at a table in the Consortium hall eating as folks catch him up on what he missed while out. People walk by each other and nod. Here, they check in on each other and help each other out. If it wasn’t for someone looking for Tannas, he would have died in that underground ruin. He’s thankful it didn’t come to that. And he’s grateful for the friendship of those in the Consortium.

The sign above the mantle says the Consortium motto, “We alone are many. As many, we are never alone.”

Ain’t that the truth.

[Author]

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