A New Hero

By Richard Michael Anthony

Thomin, the dwarfven deity, brought twelve tribes into the hallowed (holy) mountains. Enemies surrounded them on sides, and the clans slowly dwindled until only two remained. Thomin offered more guidance and those two clans grew to great power. The other races found it easier to bicker among themselves, than to fight in the underground tunnels for land only the dwarfs wanted. Then Thomin told the dwarfs to prepare for a crusade against the kobolds. Unbeknownst to the dwarfs, a dragon transforming into a deity led the kobolds. At the height of the war, Thomin abandoned his the dwarfs. With their strength, and several great heroes, the dwarfs drove the kobolds and their draconic deity through a portal to another world. Tencas of clan Gridatix took the role as greatest dwarven hero, and trained the next generation.

Two hundred years passed, and Tencas's great grandson, Rulag of clan Gridatix, became the leader of the branch of specialists against kobolds. No one feared the kobolds anymore, or thought such a branch necessary. Only a few still possessed the training once required to fight such an enemy. Of course, now is when they come back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Michael Anthony
• Release date: Jul 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466098671

Richard Michael Anthony

My friends consider me to be randomly predictable.

Book preview

A New Hero

Richard Michael Anthony

Copyright 2011 Richard Michael Anthony

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Hello reader. I’m excited that you now have a copy of my novel. Unfortunately, there are certain policies that I must ask you to adhere to. This ebook is licensed for your personal use and enjoyment only. It should not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and you did not buy it, or it was not bought for you, then please go to smashwords.com and pick up a copy. I know that each of you probably want me to continue writing, and I can only dedicate myself to writing with your support. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

Sincerely,

Richard Michael Anthony

Dedication

First, I would like to dedicate this novel to everyone who has entertained me over the years. Without such entertainment my mind would never have been able to branch out the way it has.

I want to thank my family for all of their support. I especially want that thanks to go to my parents and my brother Mikey. Asking me How’s your book coming, Ricky? Every time I needed a push. Thank you to those who have read it, given me comments, and forced me to make changes. Without you my novel may have been out two months sooner, but it wouldn’t be what it is today. I just want to say, I love you.

My Books

This is my only novel so far. It is the first in the Rulag Gridatix story. Please enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Kobold Battle

All was prepared. Marshal Aedan agreed to follow General Tencas's plan for fighting the kobold scourge; the lizards were going to be wiped out this day. The majority of the dwarven military waited in a half moon inside the Room of Kings. The only entrance came down from the other caverns inside Gridatix Mountain, capital of the majestic dwarven clan. The only way to get into Gridatix Mountain was through dwarven tunnels and caverns where many villages resided. The kobolds, or perhaps their mysterious leader, a flying creature known only as Voltaic, decided to dig a tunnel underneath the mountain caverns and attack the capital from the bottom up. There wasn't enough time to evacuate. Instead they set up defenses to repel the invasion.

The enemy worked best in large numbers, Tencas hoped to bottleneck the kobolds and turn this mountain into a slaughterhouse. Before the battle a small council needed to take place. The command center sat just outside the Room of Kings. A dark, bluish-green, scale tent was illuminated by the two torches bracketed nearby. Inside the mountain, the tent separated the war council from the rest of the dwarfs. Tradition dictated the use of the tent for the war council. Honor allowed them to make that tent from the very scales of their enemy. The kobolds were not deserving of respect. They existed as mere bloodthirsty beasts. Annihilation was the only recourse for dealing with them.

Inside the tent was lit by four lanterns. Earlier squires pounded the poles into the stone floor, securing them tightly. A small table, made from delicate, purple marble, sat in the center of the tent. It supported map of the surrounding tunnels. Marshal Aedan of clan Kaylag, all of the troops are ready, sir!

Excellent sergeant, inform my council-

The tent flaps opened, a muscular dwarf with dark blue eyes tromped into the room, a small group following in his wake, You were just sending for us, Marshal Aedan of clan Kaylag, sir? The group that followed him consisted of one other general, a dozen colonels, a guide, the logistica of the armies, and the chief specialist against kobolds. The chief specialist was technically a formality, both generals and Marshal Aedan specialized in kobolds as well.

Ah, General Tencas of clan Gridatix, excellent timing. the older dwarf smiled at his protégé before returning his attention to the soldier nearby, Sergeant, you are dismissed.

Sir! a quick salute, fist to chest, and the dwarf departed.

Let's go over the plan everyone. General Tencas, you're leading six units of two hundred each at the front, your dwarfs must hold the line there, understand?

Yes, Sir, I do. Tencas grinned. He had created plan after all.

The front shouldn't be wide, so your units should be given breathers. We estimate that it should only take two units at a time to hold. Guide Natt, your healers are in place and ready?

We shall do what we can M'Lord, but without the help of Thomin, may his name be praised, we shall need to rely on poultices, herbs, and other means. In other words, healing the injured shall have less of an immediate effect, and be less sure than before. I am apologetic. the thin dwarf let his shoulders slump. His violet eyes normally alight with the passion of Thomin grew dim these last few decades, since their deity abandoned them.

Well then, we'll have to just tell our dwarfs not to get injured, eh? several hammers pounded the ground as the officers shouted their agreement.

The guide coughed, and shook his head as he pulled out an ancient tome. I am afraid, Marshal, that even with Thomin's, may his name be praised, guidance. He pointed at the book in his hand, we would still suffer great losses. Without it... He shrugged, at a complete loss for words.

The officers looked down at the ground, Of course Guide Natt, of course. Still, we must try.

Oh, naturally, it was Thomin's, may his name be praised, wish when he departed. May he return soon to guide us again! The guide of Thomin bowed his head in prayer while the other dwarfs followed suit. Tencas didn't think that Thomin would ever come back, nor did he truly wish to praise the deity that had brought them into this war and then abandoned them for a mysterious reason. Still, Guide Natt was an elder dwarf who always acted for the good of the people. He deserved respect. Tencas bowed his head, not to the dwarven deity, but to Guide Natt.

Marshal Aedan looked up after the brief silence Thank you for that Guide Natt. Lieutenant General Orric of clan Kaylag, are your dwarfs ready as the relief?

Three traditional units have been equipped and briefed. If the battle in the front room turns against us we can quickly come in as support, sir. My fourth unit is armed with only bucklers and scale mail to move faster in the counter attack, when it becomes available to us. Some of them have crossbows, in case the kobolds’ flying leader, which we have heard of, makes an appearance. In short, yes sir, we are ready! Orric gave a quick salute to the Marshal, his third cousin once removed on his father’s side. Orric trained under Marshal Aedan with Tencas. As the younger trainee, Orric never quite caught up with Tencas in rank. Tencas knew that Orric requested to stay in the rear as support. His son’s birth just earlier this year brought great pride, as well as apprehension.

Excellent! Water and food has been distributed, Logista Weorick of clan Gridatix?

Sir, yes Sir. We have some of the squires ready with more. We're waiting at the back of the cave near the healers.

General Tencas?

Sir?

I'm going to be watching this battle up with you General.

Sir, I'm going to be with my second set of units, there will only be a few lines separating us from the front of the battle, sir!

The old dwarf smiled, Perfect then, our combined standards so close will be a worthy source of inspiration. He waved his hands in a wide arc, why with both our standards, the kobolds are sure to turn back immediately, in fear.

Sir, if they have bows, we may be in range.

Tencas, on the off chance that they truly do have some bows, we have tower shields. Alright everyone, you know your places and orders, prepare to win the greatest battle in our people's history. The Bards Shall Sing Praises to Our Names for All Time! The soldiers outside the tent heard Aedan’s call, a motto he yelled before every battle when his forces were in their final placement. A cheer spread down the lines.

*****

Tencas paced near the front, and waited for the enemy to break through the rock wall. As he waited, he examined his troops, trying to get a general feel for their moral. He thought about his past battles and his experiences. The two worst parts of battle were the before and the after. Before a battle nerves ran so high that Tencas usually wished it would just be over already. Most other dwarfs seemed to as well. Even the dwarfs on the front lines, who were doomed to die in the crush of the battle, couldn’t wait for it to come. Five minutes can feel like five hours, and when you wait, on edge like that for ten hours, well it doesn't bear imagining. It was especially bad this time, since they could hear the enemy slowly digging their way closer. After a battle, death reined inside the cavern. Tencas turned to address a nearby officer, Colonel, you must needs send four files forward, when they get just a bit closer try slamming the rock down on them.

Sir, yes sir, we shall move immediately General Tencas.

Tencas considered his impromptu adjustment. That'll give the lizards a bit of a surprise, and maybe we can bottleneck them even more. It's definitely a must needs situation. The sounds of digging progressively increased, now would be the perfect time. Tencas gave the signal to his colonel, the signal was passed on to the dwarfs, and the hammers were raised.

What's going on General? Asked an authoritative and familiar voice from behind.

Marshal Aedan, sir, I just ordered four files forward, they're getting ready to knock down those walls, we may be able to bottleneck them still in the -

The resounding crash, from twenty hammers breaking down a wall, washed out anymore of Tencas's hurried words. The two leaders turned and watched.

It seemed like the plan had worked. The thin wall fell on the Kobold workers, crushing the sentient lizards. Tencas's front unit charged in, preparing a shield wall to block the entrance. Dwarven hammers smashed the few enemies that rushed forward. The rush should have been enormous; Hundreds of kobolds should have attempted to rush through immediately. Hundreds should have been crushed on dwarven tower shields, should have been ground into the earth by dwarven war hammers. Instead a couple dozen perished, and a monstrous figure came behind them breathing lightning into the front line of warriors. Killing, knocking them down, and hurling them into the other lines. Their metal armor conducted the electricity, spreading the lightning, making it affect a wider area than it should have in the close press of warriors.

The winged creature, a dragon though they were supposed to only exist in legend, began using its lightning breath to knock down stalactites onto the heads of helpless dwarves just ten feet below it. The dragon's attacks were hitting the back lines first. This blue dragon must be the mysterious leader they had heard led the kobolds to their recent actions. The dreaded Voltaic. His leather wings, wider than even the great bats, kept him afloat with ease. His long tail, riddled with spikes at least a foot long, helped him navigate inside the cavern. His four legs, each with three claws, like a bird, stayed tucked under his body. Three great horns protruded from his head. The most dangerous part about him was the lightning he breathed down on the armies below. A straight line of electricity that no dwarven soldier could live through.

Aedan, we have to do something, that beast will cut us down. The formalities, produced from dwarven honor and tradition, were dropped once action became immediately necessary. Speaking thus to Aedan brought no dishonor to Tencas.

Get our crossbows out here to fire at it.

Sir, yes Sir. The only unit with crossbows in their files had just been hit hard by Voltaic. Tencas had heard of him, but hadn't realized that he would be a dragon. Why would kobolds, one of the most xenophobic races known to exist, follow a dragon? Well, both races were reptiles. He needed to get a message to the crossbows immediately, but they had no one ready to receive a signal!

Tencas turned to the group of squires behind him, Alright, you four go to the back unit and find the Colonel in charge there, or a captain. Let them know that they must needs to get their crossbow-dwarfs in position and to aim for the blue dragon. Tell them to try not to fire into our own dwarfs. Stalactites are falling there, if you can't get close enough to find even a captain then report to whomever you can find. Now go! Of Aedan’s ten units, only one had crossbows. Technically, Orric was responsible for the unit, but Tencas had come up with the original idea, and was sending the order from Aedan. That unit held only one crossbowdwarf per file, a total of forty dwarfs with crossbows. It was a new tactic, just a test that had proven useful in a small skirmish. Now, Tencas wished he had insisted that every unit equipped in a similar fashion, but how was he to know that a dragon would be deployed against his troops? Until just a minute ago he had considered them mere myth.

The crossbows weren't going to be firing for a while. The units were breaking down to files, already disorganized and falling into shambles. Aedan was yelling orders at the nearest units, trying to restructure them on the fly. He tried to close ranks against the enemy. Kobolds rushed in behind the dragon, thousands of them. Closing ranks proved impossible with an enemy that outnumbered them better than ten to one, and with that dragon there, still reining havoc on the lines. If this kept up, then they stood no chance!

Tencas dropped his shield; he pulled out a small throwing axe and quickly cut the straps on his armor. They think I've gone crazy, he thought as his honor guard closed ranks tightly around him. "Alright dwarfs,