The city rumbled and shook, screams of panic and fear filled the air, as somewhere in the distance the impromptu team heard the crumbling of rubble. Civilians crowded to the edges of the marketplace, huddling by whatever light they could, though there were far too many people, and far too little light to go around. The few remaining guards kept themselves between the people and their attackers, eyes trained on the fight ahead.

Svaudna forced the hound back, swinging her shield out and bringing her warhammer down on its middle. Crimson blood spattered against the stone street and Svaudna’s armor as the hound limped back, melding into darkness with a snarl. The dwarf paused as the crumbling of more stone rang through the air, trying to pinpoint the sound, but she could see nothing beyond the edges of her light except the impenetrable black.

“Ah, ya little fuck, get back here!” Svaudna disregarded it and sprinted after the hound, light from her surcoat flooding her surroundings.

“Svaudna, don’t split up!” the orc shouted, her light blue eyes straining to scan the darkness around them, “damnit!”

A sharp whistle pierced the air as a crossbow bolt whipped out of the darkness, sinking in the orc’s shoulder with a cry of pain. Astrari hurried in front of her, a snap of her fingers and mystic orange flames swirled between them, launching out as a dart into the darkness.

It hurtled through the dark aimlessly, struck a stone wall in the distance and faded.

“I’m, uh… I’m Astrari!” the Witch glanced over her shoulder, “and you are?”

Another bolt from the darkness found itself caught and crushed in one of the orc’s hands, “...Tana,” she backed up, drawing her dagger and sickle in two of her hands, “pleasure.”

“Ha!” a dwarf with ash-like skin sprinted from the dark. He was smaller than Svaudna, clad in thick leather armor with a crossbow on his hip, and carried a two-handed axe, its single head painted black to hide in the darkness. Over his eyes set a pair of goggles, tinted, iridescent lenses concealing his eyes from them.

The dwarf charged at Astrari and she vanished in a burst of leaves and magic wisps, revealing Tana behind her. The orc, unprepared, was caught in the side by the dwarf’s blade.

“Augh!” Tana cried as the Witch appeared behind her. Gritting her teeth, she swung her sickle into the back of his neck, pulling his chest into her dagger. The dwarf staggered and collapsed backwards, one of Tana’s free hands swiping the goggles from his head.

“Svaudna!” Tana shouted as another three dwarves charged from the darkness, “rally up over here!”

The sound of something whipping through the air over Tana’s head had her looking up just in time to see one of Monodris’ greatclubs, this one of oak, flattening the leading dwarf.

“Guard yourself,” Monodris instructed, huge footfalls shaking the ground and the dwarves’ spirits as he stepped by Tana.

“Yeah… right, I’ll do that,” Tana backed up around the cauldron, crouching to use its cast iron shape as cover.

In the middle of the market, some distance from her companions, Svaudna clashed with the monstrous wolf. It lunged at her again, trying to sink its fangs into her shoulder, but it met only the cold steel of her plate armor. Another swing to its stomach dislodged it, shattering its insides and making it collapse upon the ground.

“Hm?” Svaudna wiped the blood from her face, at last noticing the other dwarves. She started to move back towards the group, when a pair of piercing red eyes and the rumble of hooves appeared in the darkness.

From the inky black charged a monstrous skeleton, rivaling Monodris in size, with the skull of a bull and tattered old leathers clinging to its undead form. It carried in two hands a greataxe like the ones the dwarves wielded, though much larger, and one of its horns caught Svaudna in the stomach as she turned around.

Svaudna flew back, sliding to a stop on her back. The skeleton straightened up and gripped its axe, burning red dots within a bleached white skull trained on the dwarf.

“Svaudna, you idiot!” Tana shouted, pulling the stolen goggles over her eyes. The darkness all but vanished, the world was dim, but was revealed to her once more, “big guy, on your left!”

A burst of flame flew out of the darkness, burning Monodris’ shoulder. Astrari hopped up on her cart and swept her staff to the side, the countless motes of light moved as though carried by the wind, revealing Monodris’ ranged attacker: A scrawny, coal-black goblin in flowing robes, dyed black, carrying a knotted old branch and wearing the same goggles as the dwarves.

Behind him were four more goblins, three of them dressed in old leather armor and those fancy goggles, carrying packs of javelins, which they happily hurled at Monodris. He struck one of them away, the others finding purchase in his thigh and arm. The first goblin muttered indecipherably and swirled his hand in the air, launching a bolt of fire at Astrari, who yelped and raised her staff with both hands, a bubble of magic swirling around her and causing the fire to burst harmlessly two feet ahead.

The final goblin caught Tana’s eye, as she peered at them from behind the cauldron. She was the tiniest goblin Tana had ever laid eyes on, barely three feet tall, and her skin was the normal green, unlike her coal-colored companions, with endlessly spiky black hair tied back in a massive ponytail. She was wearing a revealing black top and black shorts with a red waistcape, fastened to her by an unadorned black belt. On either hip she carried a scimitar, and over her left eye was a black eyepatch, her remaining eye a piercing green-yellow.

“Why fight now?” the little goblin demanded of her companions.

“Boss says fight!” the magic-wielding goblin declared.

“Boss is stupid!” the little goblin shoved her magic companion, snarling in his face, “not even a goblin! Why should I listen?”

“Because they are in charge!”

“No one is in charge!”

“Now Boss is!”

In a flash, the little goblin had drawn her scimitars, gutting her companion with one even as blood poured from his throat, courtesy of the other. He swayed and collapsed, killed instantly.

Her companions rounded on her, pulling crude shortswords from their hips. “Svish is a traitor!” they cried and the small goblin, apparently called Svish, screamed at them like a wild beast in response.

Astrari took a deep breath, raising her staff. Orange light spilled out from the amber crystal at its top, unleashing three bolts of magical energy, which twirled through the air and struck each of Svish’s attackers in the back. The little Berserker flashed her a toothy smile and the Witch waved back nervously.

“Hey, hey!” Svaudna scrambled back as the bull-headed skeleton beared down on her, raising its axe in the air.

“Hup!” Tana vaulted the cauldron, her grip tightening on her spectral sickle. Mist permeated the air around her form and she vanished, reappearing in a burst above the skeleton’s horns. Hooking her sickle into one of its sockets, she slashed through the bone and landed deftly behind the undead behemoth.

Svaudna had the moment she needed. Pushing to her feet and rushing into the skeleton’s space, its axe striking the ground behind her. Swinging her warhammer round her head, beautiful golden light effused the weapon, becoming a shower of golden sparks as she smashed the skeleton’s femur.

The femur was reduced to naught but ash by the blow, and the skeleton collapsed in a pile on top of her. She quickly raised her shield above her head, the rotted remains clanging harmlessly off her steel.

“You okay?” Tana asked, pressing a hand into her bleeding abdomen.

“Haha! Wipin’ out an old corpse? My specialty!”

“I’m so glad.”

“Ah, shit!” Svaudna hurried over, placing a hand on Tana’s stomach. A warm, green-blue glow washed across her body, and her bleeding stopped, her wounds began to close.

“Finish this!” Monodris swung his club to the side, swiping the axe out of a dwarf’s hand, then back the other way to send them tumbling away. Taking a moment, he pressed a hand against his chest and breathed deep, exhaling a slight green fog as his strength renewed.

The last two dwarfs attacked from behind, one rushing in with his axe, while the other circled back with her crossbow. Monodris whipped around, catching the dwarf across the face with his club, then kicked him back into the pavement. Astrari took a deep breath and blasted the crossbow from the other dwarf’s hand with a bolt of flame, leaving them unarmed.

Svish spun on the spot, scimitars flashing and blood flying in the dim light of Astrari’s magic. A javelin found itself lodged in her ribs and she returned a swipe across the guilty party’s throat, another was smashed across her back and she ran the attacker through.

The last goblin stumbled back, holding its javelin up defensively, and was smashed in the head by Svaudna’s hammer, collapsing.

The last dwarf turned to run, but Monodris’ greatclub smashed the pavement ahead of them. They whipped around and Astrari appeared in front of them in a shower of red and orange leaves, staff at the ready. Defeated, they held their hands up.

“What’s going on?” Astrari demanded. She shifted her staff, the little motes of light in the air swirling around to illuminate her better.

“Go to hell,”

“You- ah!” the group was washed in blinding light from above, covering their eyes as the daylight suddenly returned. The dwarf darted forward, ducking to the side as Astrari launched a blind bolt of fire at the sound, knocking the Witch over.

She was almost away scot free when a gauntlet caught her face, knocking her to the ground. The group blinked away the spots in their vision in time to see more guards hurrying to their aid. One stood out above the others, a dark-skinned human in fancy blue plate armor, who had knocked the dwarf to the ground.

“The civilians!” they swept their indigo cape to one side to draw their blade, a gleaming golden sword, the tip of which they pressed into the dwarf’s throat, “Seize that goblin! And somebody bind this dwarf!”

Their orders were swiftly followed, guards attended to the injured and the panicked, clapped manacles on the dwarf, and surrounded Svish with spears.

“Wha-?! Stupid! I helped!” Svish snarled, swiping at the tips of their spears.

“Thank you, dear,” Astrari patted the hand of a helpful young guard who assisted her to her feet, “she’s telling the truth, I’ll vouch for her.”

“Oi! Leave Svish alone, known that goblin all my life!” Svaudna shouted. Two guards came to take Tana off her hands, offering a bright red potion to the injured orc.

“You have?” the blue-clad guard raised an eyebrow.

“Stupid dwarf! I never met you!” Svish yelled and the guard’s expression darkened a little.

“Well… I feel I have, and that’s good enough, ain’t it?” Svaudna pointed her finger accusingly, “helped save this lot, anyway.”

The guard stared down at Svaudna for a moment, sizing her up, then sighed, “let her be.” Svish stuck her tongue out as the guards relented.

Monodris straightened up, rubbing his burned shoulder as he took in the city around them. Smoke rising from buildings in the distance, shouts from the rallying guardforce as they took down the last of the assault. On one of the higher levels, he saw the corpse of a massive azure worm strewn across seven buildings, impaled by ballista bolts.

“What… happened?” he asked.

“That is what we’re investigating,” the blue-clad guard told him, gesturing with one hand. Guards clad in beautiful white armor more akin to Svaudna’s hurried over, providing healing magic to the wounded heroes, “I’m Frost, with the Telthoril elite guard. Can you folks recall anything useful from the attack?”

The group looked between each other for a moment, before Tana stepped up.

“I took these off one of those dwarves, they could see through the dark with them,” she offered, “pretty sure we smashed the rest, though.”

“I see…”

“Oh, there was a word!” Astrari snapped her fingers, “at… atl…”

“Atlum,” Monodris filled in, “conquer.”

“You know the language?” Frost asked, looking up from his examination of the goggles.

“No… I felt it. As though I knew its meaning.”

“I felt that too!” Astrari nodded.

“Dwarves, goblins, undead… never seen these lot workin’ together,” Svaudna remarked, kicking the bull skull over, “and… you!” Svaudna rounded on Svish.

The little goblin’s eyes widened, she held her hands up and took a step back, “...me?”

“You were with ‘em, kept talkin’ ‘bout yer boss,” Svaudna pointed out, “what d’you know?”

Svish looked between them distrustfully, “...others didn’t tell much,” she confessed, “goblins supposed to decide together, then it changed. New goblins showed up, said we were supposed to follow Boss.”

“Who is this boss?” Frost demanded, striding towards her.

“Never met 'em!” Svish snapped, “new goblins didn’t like me, convinced the others not to like me either. Wouldn’t let me wear the goggles or meet Boss.”

“That’s all you know?” Frost demanded, “you’d swear it?”

Svish kicked a pebble, staring at the ground, “...yeah.”

Frost stared at the little goblin much the same way he had Svaudna, but eventually straightened up, “ma’am, would you mind if I held on to these? Just for a while,” he asked Tana, disregarding the nervous goblin in front of him, “I am sure some of ours would like the opportunity to examine them.”

“Oh, uh… yeah, of course,” Tana nodded. Frost tucked the goggles into his belt and turned to face them all.

“Let it not go unsaid that you have all done a great service to Telthoril and its people,” he said, “understand that we are, at present, in a moment of disarray. If you would all remain here for a few days, the Telthorian Council will surely reward you handsomely.”

“Sounds sweet ter me!” Svaudna’s face broke into her usual confident grin.

“Yeah…” Tana looked down at her sickle, “I should really get moving.”

“What? Tana, payday,” Svaudna’s face fell, “at least stick round fer th’money.”

“Got to look for the next job, that's all.”

“You haven't even gotten your gold checked...” Astrari pointed out.

“I’m sure the Council will have much it needs doing in the coming days,” Frost interrupted, “plenty of jobs to offer after today.”

“...alright, I’ll stick around,” Tana sighed, “you three?”

Monodris pondered the thought for a moment, then spoke, “I have business here. I will remain.”

“I was already set to stay in town for a couple months,” Astrari shrugged, “now the Council will pay me if I do? Win win.”

“...how much is the reward?” Svish asked, “A gold?”

Frost paused for a moment, then answered, “I don’t know, but I can say for certain the Council will reward much more than a single gold for services such as these.”

“...never had a gold,” Svish smiled, “and other goblins won’t want me back.”

“Then it’s settled,” Frost nodded, “for simplicity you can all stay at the Lazy Duckling in the higher levels, keeps you near the Council. I’ll send word ahead that you are to receive rooms under my charge.”

The heroes looked between each other. Some smiling, others fraught with worry, but until this business was resolved they were all together in it now.