Leon and Riya: How to Raise a Gnoll

Chapter 23

Jahga struck Leiko with a mighty swing of her spear, striking him with the shaft and sending him flying. When he landed he was in the training yard, seeing that all of the Witherlings that had emerged in this area had been destroyed. A few seconds after seeing this, before Jahga could catch up to him, Leiko jumped back into one of the tunnels the Witherlings had come from. When he did this what was left of the Witherling forces began to retreat.

Mu: They're pulling back!

With that announcement there was a ruckus from the battlements as the Gnolls celebrated their victory at Fort Stoneholde.

Riya, Rose, and Thorn had been fighting at the back entrance for a while now. The Witherlings had tried several times to push in from this entrance but they had managed to keep them out so far. As another wave of Witherlings came through they stopped them from getting any further. While Riya shattered one of them with her halberd she noticed something.

Riya: They keep coming in waves, how many are there?

Thorn: No telling, but that doesn't matter. Our job is to stop them here.

Just then another large wave of Witherlings poured in through the door.

Rose: How are there more?

As she said this she grabbed one and slammed it into the other, shattering both Witherlings. Right after this something she didn't quite make out slipped past her.

Rose: What was that!

Before she could do anything Rose heard someone.

Riya: You need to hold this line! You can't go anywhere, someone else will handle something that gets in!

Rose grit her teeth but did as she was told.

Morga had managed to slip past Rose, Riya, and Thorn while they were too busy with the flood of Witherlings. As she made her way slowly through the citadel she noticed that she wasn't coming across anyone where she was.

Leon and Purth had heard the shouting that the Witherlings were close but then after that they hadn't heard anything.

Leon: Why haven't we heard any Gnolls going past here? I would think Zenkoh would have someone patrolling the halls.

Purth: She doesn't have anyone patrolling the halls near us since she doesn't want anyone that gets in to think anything is here, a patrol would insinuate that something important was there.

Leon: While that is true, what if they just happen upon this room anyway?

Purth: That's what me and this trap rune are for.

As she said this Purth pointed to the magic runes she had been working on in front of the door.

Leon: What exactly does that do?

Purth smirked.

Purth: I guess you'll find out if someone comes through that door, won't you?

While the answer wasn't what he wanted he let it go. Just before he said anything they could hear loud stomping in the hall connected to their door.

Leon: What was that?

Purth put one of her claws up to her mouth as a signal for Leon to be quiet. The stomping was moving up and down the hall, as if it was looking for something.

Back in Foxpine Azur was inside the barracks with Valka, Ushka perched up on the roof.

Azur: Are you ready?

Valka: Probably as ready as I'm going to be.

Azur: Good enough, they were last spotted less than a day away.

Valka: And just like you asked the Gnolls are all in ambush points so when the Witherlings dig up inside Foxpine they will be jumped before they know what is going on.

Azur nodded and recognized that all they had left to do was wait.

Back at the citadel Morga had been searching the halls for a while now and still hadn't found anything. Then before she moved on she heard something.

Leon: Achoo

Upon hearing that Morga turned to the nearby door and started to move toward it.

Leon and Purth could now hear the stomping getting closer.

Leon: Do you think they heard me?

Purth: Probably.

Leon: Sorry.

Purth: Why are you apologizing?

Before Leon could say something the stomping stopped right in front of the door. After several minutes of silence Morga rammed into the wood door, shattering it. Right after she did however, the trap rune was activated. There was a bright flash of light before multiple large stone spikes erupted from the ground originating from the trap rune.

Morga wasn't fast enough to avoid them, she ended up skewered on them. One through each of her arms, one above the left elbow and the other in her right wrist. There was also one through each of her hands. Morga was also impaled through her chest and stomach by the spikes. The last two were stabbed into her legs, one through her left knee and the other in her right thigh.

To say Leon was surprised by what just happened was an understatement, he had no idea that Purth could do something like that!

Purth: Well, you wanted to see what it did. Was it...

Purth's voice trailed off as she stared in wide eyed horror as Morga started to move. How? With that many punctures, let alone the one in her chest, nothing should be moving after that!

Morga slowly began to move before shattering the stone spikes holding her in place. One by one she broke them to get free, starting with her arms and working her way down. As she fragmented the spikes holding her in place the holes left behind began to slowly close up, making it look as if nothing had happened to her.

Purth: Leon.

Leon: Yeah?

Purth: When I tell you to do something, you need to be ready to do it.

Leon: Right.

Just then Morga had broken the last spike holding her in place, stone dust and debris covered the floor. Morga was internally horrified to watch as even something as devastating as that wasn't able to stop her, her body continuing on with the orders it had been given.