For a few seconds, no one moved.
The smoke slowly began to spread across the place where the enormous orc had been. Some of the bodies of his warriors had been scattered among the rocks, while others had disappeared beneath the fragments of stone thrown up by the impact.
Brogur was the first to react.
"Now!" His shout, together with the sight of the dwarf advancing toward the enemy lines, shook some of the stupor from everyone around; Tristan and Victoria followed him at his side. The three of them were accustomed to Edmund's feat.
The orc warriors who were still fighting the dwarfs began to look toward the crater, trying to understand what had happened to their leader. Some raised their weapons, but like most greenskins, they did not know what to do when they lost their leader.
The dwarf warriors, seeing one of their own take advantage of the situation, followed his example and took the initiative to attack for the first time after defending the position with blood.
It took little effort, because the orcs soon began to flee without any organization.
They began abandoning the battlefield in all directions, climbing over the rocks and running through the narrow passages they had come from. Some threw away their weapons as they escaped, while others simply pushed their own comrades aside to be the first to get away from that place, afraid that the same thing would happen to them.
The Graymont soldiers were the ones who took the longest to react.
Unimaginable events continued to unfold before their eyes in a place where many had believed they were going to lose their lives.
Jhon was the first to regain his composure when he saw some of his men who had begun advancing as if they were in a trance after seeing the dwarfs do the same.
"Don't pursue them!" he roared. "Regroup at your positions!"
The order repeated among the knights, and little by little the soldiers began returning to the points where they had gathered before the attack.
"Check the wounded! Those who can walk, help the others! I need to know how many men we have!"
The soldiers began moving among the rocks. Some picked up abandoned rifles, others helped their wounded comrades to their feet, and several put out the small fires that had broken out around the carts.
Edmund remained still for a few seconds, catching his breath and struggling to stay standing as long as possible; he feared an orc might see him fall, notice how exhausted he was, and gather the others. The rifle still rested in his hands, but its structure was slowly returning to its original appearance.
The inscriptions had stopped glowing, and several of them were slightly darkened from the magical strain to which he had subjected the weapon.
Ellaria was the first to approach as soon as she saw the shot.
"Are you alright? You can rest. Even if they saw who caused the explosion, they won't be able to see you from here."
Edmund took a deep breath before nodding and sitting down on a rock.
"Yes. I'm just tired."
"Then rest for a few minutes. We still need to find out who those dwarfs are."
Edmund looked toward the other end of the battlefield, watching as the dwarfs had stopped pursuing the orcs and were regrouping with the rest of their people.
"Go with them. They'll need your help."
"I’ll stay with you. I don't think they'll be happy to see that an elf helped them."
On the other side of the battlefield, Brogur had already reunited with the dwarfs who had survived the battle.
Far fewer of them remained than they had seen when they decided to help.
Some were sitting on the rocks while others tended to their wounded. Most wore damaged armor and carried bloodstained weapons. Most were civilians, including women, elderly people, and children who remained gathered in the center.
Tristan and Victoria arrived shortly afterward. They expected Brogur to be the first one there and to be able to give them confidence during the introductions. They knew that, even though the dwarfs of The Vaults had been helped by them, being isolated by the nature of the region meant they should still distrust any outsider, even more so if they belonged to a different race.
"What happened here? Where are you from?" Those were the first words Brogur said when the introductions were over.
The dwarf looked toward the refugees before answering.
"Khazid Grungaz."
Brogur frowned.
"It fell?"
"Eight days ago."
The answer was enough to change Brogur's expression. According to the maps, Khazid Grungaz was a settlement near Khazid Nekewukas, and anxiety about his clan kept growing.
"We had to abandon the outer galleries when they began breaking through the defenses. Then we lost the lower tunnels. Those who managed to escape gathered here, and we tried to make our way west, but they found us before we could get away."
Tristan looked at the children and elderly people gathered around the carts.
"And where are you going now?"
The warrior pointed toward the mountains.
"Karak Izor. It's the only place where we can still find refuge. If we manage to reach it, perhaps the leaders will agree to take our people in."
"Perhaps?" Tristan asked.
"The last thing we heard was that Karak Izor was under siege."
Brogur remained silent, processing what he had just heard. The situation was worsening to levels beyond imagination; Karak Izor was not only the largest stronghold in the region, but was said to be the bastion with the most dwarf warriors in the entire world.
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The warrior looked at Brogur again.
"But there is something I want to know."
Brogur raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
The dwarf nodded his head toward Tristan, Victoria, and the Graymont soldiers standing farther behind.
"Why are you traveling with humans? Are they all your men?"
The question caused several of the nearby dwarfs to raise their eyes. It was a question they had all asked themselves, while some assumed that Brogur was a dwarf who had taken command of human mercenaries to come to the aid of his people.
Brogur let out a brief laugh as he imagined what they were thinking.
"No, they're my friends."
"You're friends with humans?"
"Yes. And some of them have fought alongside me for years." Brogur replied, pointing toward the two behind him.
Tristan and Victoria raised their hands in greeting, letting Brogur handle the introductions.
"They have decided to help us in our cause." Brogur continued.
The gray-bearded dwarf looked toward the battlefield, where the corpses of the orcs were still visible among the rocks.
"Is the man who did that also one of your friends?"
Brogur followed Edmund's gaze.
"That is Edmund Lusignan, the man in command of the soldiers accompanying us."
The dwarf remained silent for a few seconds.
"Is he a noble?"
"Then why is a human noble fighting here?"
Brogur smiled slightly.
"That's a good question, because we don't let him answer it."