The Iron Teeth: A Goblin's Tale - From RoyalRoadl.com by ClearMadness

It Echoes Onward 8

Small stones bounced through the air all around Blacknail as he slid down the side of the hill. He desperately fought to keep his balance, but the rocks beneath his feet kept moving. All he could do was to try not to hit anything on the way down. A large rock rose before him, so the hobgoblin jumped to the side. After landing, he had to reach down and catch himself, but he barely managed to keep from falling on his ass as he slid down the slope.

At the bottom of the hill, the first wave of stones reached the beasts fighting down below. Most of the shards were small and harmless, but there were some larger ones, including the original boulder Blacknail had knocked free. That huge rock was rolling right towards the alpha wolf.

The mutant wolf had turned and fled from his fight with the huge boar a few moments ago, when it had noticed the incoming rockslide. The injured boar was too exhausted to escape, and it knew it. Instead of running, it turned to face the rocks and hunkered down. The other wolves and pigs were fleeing in all directions.

The wave of stones washed over the huge boar and then rushed past it without slowing. Wolves and pigs were thrown in every direction and crushed by rock. The alpha wolf dodged to the side to avoid the huge boulder, but then a smaller rock smashed into its head. The mutant canine was sent rolling across the ground and was then hit by a shower of smaller stones.

Blacknail would have cheered but he was too busy trying to keep himself in one piece. The hobgoblin was still sliding down the slope amidst a wave of dust and rock. Most the large rocks were in front of him but that didn't mean he was safe. There was a lot of momentum carrying him down the hill, and even a small rock could crack open his skull.

A few moments and some near misses later, the hobgoblin reached the bottom of the hill. He leaped over a pile of rocks and then kept running as he weaved his way forward past all the obstacles. As he ran, Blacknail tried to backpedal and slow himself down, but his momentum was too strong. Then he stepped on a small round stone.

"Oh no," the hobgoblin said as he tripped and his foot flew up into the air. This was going to hurt.

It did. Blacknail hit the uneven ground hard. More than a few sharp stones dug into the flesh of his back. He gasped painfully as he started rolling. Even more pointy objects stabbed into him as he rolled. When he finally came to stop, a cloud of gravel fell on top of him.

"Ouch," Blacknail groaned as he picked himself up. He then spat to one side. His mouth was full of dust. It tasted like he'd tried to chew rocks.

The hobgoblin looked around. There were several large dust clouds hanging low close to the ground but they were already beginning to blow away. Loose rocks were strewn about everywhere, but Blacknail saw no immediate threats, so he took a second to check his body for injuries. He had quite a few new tender areas, but nothing seemed broken. It would take more than a mere rockslide to defeat Blacknail!

With his checkup done, Blacknail went looking for the alpha wolf. The creature had definitely been hit by the rockslide and it had already been wounded. This was far too good of a chance to pass off. The wolf was probably already dead, but if it wasn't, Blacknail was going to finish it off. This was his territory and no mutant was going to get away with attacking him!

The pile of rocks covering his target wasn't that far away, so Blacknail headed over towards it. He smacked the side of his head a few times to get the rocks out of his ears as he walked. He had no idea how they had gotten in there.

The fallen body of the giant boar was off to one side. It looked even bigger from up close, but it also looked very dead. Large bleeding gashes had been torn in it sides and it was breathlessly still. Since it wasn't a concern, unless he got hungry, Blacknail turned away from the boar and focused on the wolf up ahead.