Ashes of the Fallen

Flames bursting and radiating outwards, the heat could be felt on my face as the goblin guard reacted to the sudden strikes of the two spells. Roaring with its high-pitched voice and throwing its head back partially in fear and partially due to the pain, it waved its spear wildly about as it cowered behind its shield.

Digging a heel into the ground, I leaned forward and thrust my shield into its waist and shoved with all of my might, causing the goblin to tumble backwards into the rock wall. Completely off balance, the goblin guard struggled to get its footing as it slipped on the mossy patch beneath its feet. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse of functionality, I raised my axe in an instant, only to bring it down into the exposed face of the goblin. Bones crushed and shattered from the impact, the axe was wedged deep between the eye sockets as I shifted a boot onto its chest and kicked out.

Yanking the axe free from the executed guard, I turned to face the last one.

One on one, it stood no chance.

Then another frost bolt hit, and another fireball.

Explosions of white and red intermixed for my enjoyment as the polar opposites canceled each other out. Without any mercy, I raised my right hand and dropped my axe to the floor, shooting a single beam of lightning out and connecting the two of us as our fates were now interlocked. I stared on, at the pulsating lightning, the single tether of raw energy surging forth at predetermined intervals as it stripped flesh and burned the monster from the inside-out.

It wanted to scream, but it couldn't.

The guard resisted, it fought, it managed to regain its movement but its vocal chords betrayed it. The goblin wanted to curse me, it wanted to yell, but another frost bolt smashed into him, staggering him for a moment.

Then, a fireball impacted directly to the side of his head as it jerked violently to the side. The impact sent the creature careening to the deck as it struggled to get back up. The goblin guard tried to move, but my channel had never ceased. And then, with one last valiant effort, it stood up. Raising its head the goblin looked at me with defiant eyes as it fell back onto its knees. Keeping my channel steady, a half-second passed as the goblin finally collapsed onto the ground before me.

My channel cut, the creature was dead.

And then as I turned my head, Barik fell.

As I had been thinking about my next move, the goblin chief used a heavy swing on Barik. He had easily blocked the blow with his shield, but the force of the impact brought him to a knee. And then as swiftly as the first strike, the chief thrust the halberd along the edge of the shield and twisted his grip, turning the hook-side of the halberd into the shield.

The instant the hook caught onto the shield, the goblin pulled back and brought Barik down to the ground. Already off balance while down on a knee, the sudden yank of the shield that was attached to his arm left him with no recourse. The dwarf was splayed out before the chief, unable to react or even defend himself as his face was buried in the dirt. In an instant, the goblin chief twirled the halberd around, bringing it behind him and then swiftly brought it down into the back of the dwarf as Barik's body twitched from the blow. Blood splattered upwards as the halberd disappeared into the small of Barik's back, and as suddenly as the attack had come, the dwarf's body went limp.

The attack was fatal… it was an execute ability.

I didn't have the time to shout or to even care that Barik had died, as I had received a battlefield promotion from off-tank to main-tank. What had been a semi-routine, planned fight with some novelty, turned into a freestyle affair with a wipe nearly at hand. The only way to salvage the fight, was to pick up the chief before he murdered the casters in short order.

Without thinking, I rushed forward, grabbing the spear of the nearest goblin guard that died a bit before as I met the chief midway. Thrusting the spear out as I intercepted the goblin just before it reached the casters, it easily deflected my attack with its halberd and counter attacked with a wide sweep that nearly clipped my legs.

Jumping back, I pushed forward once more and attempted a shield bash but was met with a heavy swing that sent me back on my ass. Recovering quickly, I taunted the creature as it attempted to run past me. It turned briefly to face me, but a frost bolt hit at the worst possible time. The goblin turned back onto the casters, directing its hate towards the highest threat. In desperation I threw my spear and it landed cleanly in the back of the charging goblin to no avail.