Chapter 37

There was nothing on the screen, at first, after the sound of the war horn, only silence. The display showed a split screen with the reinforced building on one side and a view of the canyon just past the portcullis. It looked as if there was a raven sitting on either side of the portcullis structure. The room watched in quiet anticipation for the first sign of the onslaught, waiting for someone or something to come into view. After a few minutes, we saw the first signs of their foes. I wasn’t shocked to see that they would be going up against a clan of orcs. They were all armed with various types of leather armor, most of which looked to be made by them. I would have guessed that they were one of the bands that lived out in the lands between the thirteen cities. Their weapons looked crude by the standards of what we have made by the smith Pact Houses, yet still they looked quite dangerous. Most were armed with hand or battle axes, though there were also Warhammers, mauls, and various swords. On closer inspection, there were both male and female orcs within their ranks. Some of the women looked even more formidable than some of the males. They reminded me of the stories of the Norse of the Viking era. Men and women who would travel together to deal, trade and at times raid together. They fought, lived, and died as equals and had a unique code of honor. They looked to have at least fifteen or twenty in their ranks, which would be an overwhelming force. Given their methods of reinforcement, they had evened the odds considerably.

The trees that were moved would slow their approach considerably, even if they managed to scale the wall of the portcullis. The height of the trees that were moved, would force them to have to cut through limbs like a thorny bramble. Instead of the attacking horde having the whole clearing to work in, they had enclosed the space to ensure that they could not become overwhelmed from all sides. That would nullify some of the benefits of their opponents’ numbers, and their spell casters could make use of the new environment to wreak havoc against them. By all accounts, it looked like they would be able to protect the chest easily with their preparations but there was no telling how this encounter would unfold. The orc party marched towards the portcullis, slowing as they got close to it. They stopped a few feet shy of the portcullis and I saw one of the orc party raise their hand to stop the rest. They seemed to yell out to the rest, and we could see them talk with each other before one stepped forward from their ranks. This one was more ornately armored than the rest, but it was subtle. Within the mass of other orcs, you would not see the differences until they separated from the main group. The orc stepped towards the portcullis and looked to either side before stepping back. He then drew a horn from his belt, which he brought to his lips. It looked to have been carved from the antler of an animal, but there was little done to it. A loud noise erupted from the horn, heard even here at our seats.

This sound was slightly different. Instead of one long noise, it made two quick bursts of noise followed by one long one. The orc placed the horn back on its belt and turned to look down towards the canyon. The mass of orcs split apart to stand near the walls of the canyon. Split as they were, I could easily count that there were sixteen, not including the obvious leader of the group. The other raven shown looking towards the enforced building changed to look towards the portcullis from the building. I was wondering what they were waiting for, until we saw the display begin to shake. It first started as nothing but slowly grew in force, until it was shaking both displays. The fact that it was shaking near the building showed the sheer size of the creature approaching and I looked on in shock as it came into view. I had heard of them before when I used to play Dungeons and dragons on Earth, but I had never seen one in a game. I was less aware of the lore than most of the others, but I knew what this was called. It was an Ettin. A large giant like creature that looked to be nearly fourteen feet tall. It was only garbed in a hide belt and underwear, covered with skulls from the various things it had killed over the years.

What makes them different from regular giants is that they have two heads instead of one. They have two distinctive personalities that usually clash with one another and limit encounters to only usually having one. I never knew that they would work with other creatures, and given that it responded to the horn, it was used to working with these orcs.

It lumbered towards the portcullis, each step of its feet sending vibrations through the surrounding area. We watched as the other orcs gave the creature a wide berth as it approached. The leader looked up towards the enormous creature and started gesturing at the obstacle that was blocking their path. After a minute or so, I saw the creature scratch one of their heads and nod. It lumbered over to the wall and tried to lift up the gate. Each time, the gate simply fell back down, and I could see the Ettin getting upset. I saw the two heads arguing with each other and hoped that it would cause more delays, even though I should be hoping for them to fail the challenge. A few minutes later, the beast stepped back a few feet and then rushed towards its target. As it neared, it swung the enormous club in its hand, and I watched in wonder as it smashed through the stone structure like a baseball through a stack of cans. Despite the resistance that the wall should provide, the club smashed it to pieces. The Ettin roared in triumph and, spurred on by its success, proceeded to destroy the entire stone structure. Once the portcullis was freed from its confines, the Ettin tossed it behind him, just barely having it make it fall beyond the orcs waiting behind it.

The portcullis and the stone structure surrounding it was reduced to rubble very quickly. I was shocked to see the level of destruction the Ettin was able to bring in such a short amount of time. I knew that there had been some degradation of the wall, given the level of damage to the main structure beyond the portcullis, but the creature’s strength was terrifying. It roared again, which was echoed by the orcs behind him and then it turned its focus to the trees that stood in its way. I knew that it would not have problems with the trees, since the club it carried looked to be almost as big as the trees themselves.

We could see the faces of the spell slingers now and they looked shocked at the power of the Ettin and what it was able to do. We could see them yelling things to one another, possibly adjusting their plans now that such a formidable enemy had arrived.

The Ettin dropped its club onto the ground near its feet and it began grabbing trees, ripping them from the ground.

It took a few moments of strain, before the tree started to be uprooted from the earth and with a grunt of force, the Ettin tossed it behind it. The orc party had to scramble out of the way before it came down on them. Over the next half hour, the Ettin ripped out every single tree blocking its path by simply tossing it over its shoulder before going to the next one.

Its delay did help the Pact House, as it had taken out three of the sixteen orc fighters in flashes of green light. With the path cleared, the Ettin grabbed its club and began to saunter forth towards the structure. The orc leader seemed to yell at the Ettin, but the beast didn’t show any sign that it cared one way or the other about what the leader was saying. The leader then gestured to the group, and they followed behind the beast, but seemed to be keeping their distance. Neither the Ettin, nor the orcs seemed to be in a rush. Perhaps they were unaware of the time limit that had been given, but it seemed more likely that they didn’t think they would exceed it. I wouldn’t blame them for that assumption, because, unless the Ettin was taken out, they would mow through the group with ease. The views changed to one raven on the canyon near where the portcullis once stood, and the one that had been looking at the area in front of the building.

As the Ettin cleared the tree line that the Pact House had created, there was a flash of golden light from one of the windows. I looked around and couldn’t see any damage to the approaching group, nor did I notice any change to the viewable landscape. I then saw a flash of yellow light from the other window, but again there was no noticeable sign of change or attack. I wondered what they were doing, but a few minutes later my question was answered. It was a stroke of genius, given how it played out. The Ettin took a step which seemed to be normal, but as soon as its foot rose to take its next, the ground gave way. It caused the Ettin to fall forward and land in a large hole in the ground. A plume of dust erupted from the hole, but it didn’t look to be like the smoke that erupts from Dungeon monsters. I wondered if this were a creature that would die from failure, but it seemed to not be an issue. It took a few moments before the creature slowly began to climb out of the hole. It looked to have various puncture wounds around its body, including each head having one of its eyes bloodied. Instead of determined or even enjoyment, its face was a mask of anger and determination. Before it could fully climb out, there was a blast of energy from one of the windows that slammed into one of the Ettin’s heads and knocked the beast back into the hole.

The other window sent out an energy ball that lobbed over the hole and cruised over to the orc band. They began to scatter and those with shields brought them up to try and give them some added protection. The perceived added protection did little good once the ball collided with the ground, and it looked as if a miniature atomic bomb went off. The force of the blast sent orcs flying in all directions, with some slamming into the rock walls that had been raised, and some even fell into the pit to join the Ettin. Dust and smoke filled the area, and I could see flashes of green light in the dust, signifying that they were successful in taking some of the orcs out. When the dust cleared, there looked to be seven fewer orcs, leaving the horde with seven members, including the leader. The settling cloud also revealed that the Ettin had climbed out of the hole and looked to be really pissed off. It began to run towards the building, roaring in defiance as it closed the distance with surprising speed, given how many wounds it had received. Flashes of light shot out towards the Ettin and despite them striking and causing damage, it continued towards its target. By the time it reached the building, it had sections of skin and muscles burned and scorched away, showing exposed bone. The Ettin was a bleeding mess, and I was surprised that the thing was still standing as it began to punch and tear at the building. Undeterred by the closeness of their target, the two spell casters continued to blast away at the Ettin in a frantic attempt to keep it from breaking into the building. It took them ten minutes to finally take down the beast, which disappeared in a flash of green light, but the damage was done. The top portion of the building wall had been weakened enough that when its form began to fall it caused it to crumble before it was teleported away.

I expected them to use their ability to manipulate rock and stone to completely rebuild the crumbled face of the building, but nothing came. They must have used most of their mana to prepare the field and to take out the Ettin. The most they did was seal the rooms from entry into the main structure after they left them. I could see that since the numbers were now nearly equal, that meant that they would have a chance to finish this. The remaining orcs had regrouped near the pit, and I could see them looking at the building and muttering to each other. It seemed as if their plans had changed now that their numbers had dwindled so quickly before they could make direct contact with the enemy. The next half hour was spent with both parties preparing for the next stage of battle.

“I can’t believe how well their plan worked,” Darius said with awe in his voice. “If it wasn’t for the creature that helped them, I don’t think that the Orcs would have made it this far.”

I nodded, “Yeah, the Ettin tipped the scales back to balance for sure, which is why that group was chosen.”

Darius turned to look at me in confusion, both due to the fact I knew the name and my statement that it was done to even the playing field.

I gestured to the display, “You yourself said that the horde of orcs would have never been able to get past the portcullis without severe difficulty. That meant they wouldn’t have been able to reach the building within the time that was required. The Ettin, the two headed creature that assisted them, leveled the playing field. Even if they had found a way to get past the trees and portcullis, those attacks would have wiped out the entire horde long before they could reach the building. The Ettin cut at least two or more hours of attempting to get through the obstacles that were in their path and soaked up all the powerful spells that would have wiped them out. Now they have just under half of the horde still alive, their enemy is left with some spells, the rest the horde could handle.”

“What is an Ettin?” Dilbar asked, scratching his head. “How the hell were you able to tell what it was so quickly?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I heard of them before, but I had never seen them. They are a unique form of giant, given that they have two heads, but they are giants, nonetheless. I was surprised to see it still moving after all the damage it took, but perhaps two heads allows it a greater pain tolerance. Still, there is still a chance that they could fail. If the orcs can quickly overpower the spell casters, then they could have only the Minotaur to really worry about. Given the size of those orcs, as well as their leader, they could possibly take out the Minotaur with some luck. We will just have to wait and see.”

The rest of the room nodded, though I thought that I saw a hint of a smile on Tyr’s face. With our focus back on the display, we could see that the orc group was breaking their huddle and moving towards the building with trepidation. Those who didn’t have shields, collected them as they moved closer to ensure that they had a chance to survive what was about to come next. They began chanting and striking their shields with their weapons. It seemed to rally the group and I could see their uncertainty wash away and a cold confidence begin to replace it. The view in the building showed that it was having an opposite effect on the Pact House members. The Dryad seemed to be nervous and fidgety, while the Minotaur was getting upset. The rest of them seemed to become nervous as the chanting approached. Still, they shook off the effects and prepared themselves for battle. The Minotaur stayed in front of the chest, with both spell slingers behind it and on either side. This allowed them to use the chest for cover, since they expected it to be designed to withstand the assault that was planned for this challenge. The rest were armed with their melee weapons of choice, waiting for the assault to commence.