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Taker Of Skulls(67)



The smoke almost choked him. The monstrous figure of the Goblin lord erupted from the flames, arms outstretched, claws flexed and ready to rend. His mouth was open wide. Madness filled his eyes, a sick determination to kill his tormentor if it was the last thing he did, apparent for all to see. He sprang at Kormak with the ferocity of a blood mad panther. The Guardian raised his sword and impaled the Old One on the dwarf-forged blade. The force of the impact drove him to his knees. Graghur’s weight pushed down on him. Talons scrabbled against Kormak’s armour. The Old One’s tusks snapped closed inches from his throat. For a moment Kormak inhaled his foul breath and the stink of his burning flesh.

Graghur’s scream rose above the clamour of battle, as he dissolved into a foul, black oil which caught fire and was consumed by the flame.

The sight of the death of their king demoralised the goblins. They turned to flee, leaving the small group of dwarves and humans standing amid a pile of corpses.





Kormak raced over to where the bodies lay. One glance told him that Boreas was dead and Karnea was dying. The scholar lay there, very pale, eyes dimming.

“You get him?” she asked.

“Yes,” Kormak said.

“I am glad,” she said. “Get the Lost Rune back to Aethelas! Tell the tale of what happened here. Tell the dwarves of Aethelas about their kin.”

“I will.”

“Some good might come out of all this yet. The dwarves might yet be saved. More blades might be forged.”

Kormak looked at the small band around him, thought about the numbers of dwarves left here. They were dying off and nothing was going to change that but he did not want to disappoint the dying woman. “I pray that you are right,” he said. She was already far beyond hearing.

Ferik’s heavy hand fell on his shoulder. In his other hand, he held Utti’s head. “Come, we’d best get out of here before the goblins regroup. The monsters from the pits will keep them busy for a while longer. They are running out of control.”

“I kept my part of the bargain,” Kormak said, pointing to the outline of a body where Graghur had fallen.

“And we will keep ours,” said Ferik. “You have the word of a dwarf on that. Without Graghur to lead them, we can take back the mine and reclaim the netherium.”

In his heart, Kormak wondered at the truth of that, but right now he could not bring himself to care too much. He felt bad about abandoning Karnea and Boreas without burial. Still, there was something he needed to do. He reached down and unclamped the rune from the sorceress’s arm and he picked up her sack.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”