Escape From Dun Garok

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Umbert rolled his eyes impatiently as Selai stirred in her fitful sleep. He had been waiting for two hours for her to wake, as the Mountaineers hadn't let him wake her, as they didn't want her crying for her mother and father, and "deafenin' th'whole fock'n Keep", as his escort had said.

Said escort was still there, looking as bored as Umbert was. He was quite short, even for a dwarf, and he had a long black beard, which almost touched the tops of his steel toe-capped boots, that was clasped at the end with a ringlet of silver. His head was mostly covered by a deep blue hood, which was standard MNT uniform. He sneered at Umbert, who sneered back in a mimicking fashion. He switched his gun arm again, keeping the firearm held up, aimed at Umbert.

The berserker sighed, staring coldly at the back of the sleeping Selai for making him wait this long. The elf had been locked away by the Mountaineers, under suspicion that she was a member of the infamous Shadow Pact. Whether she was or not, she'd cry like any other elf. The fun Umbert would have beating her senseless, after feeding her Bloodmist addiction with the vial he'd brought with him, almost wasn't worth the wait.

Almost.

But Umbert's wait hadn't been in vain, for at that moment, she slowly sat up, and whimpered pitifully. Umbert's escort also watched her, his aim at Umbert's temple dropping for a moment, before he flicked back to his duty, glaring at Umbert with renewed vigour, aiming the flintlock at his forehead determinedly.

"Give 'er 'er med'cine, an' geddoo'!" The escort growled threateningly.

Umbert shrugged, and stepped towards the cell. The escort removed a key from the depths of his uniform, and unlocked the cell door for him, the flintlock aimed at his head the entire time. Umbert stepped into the cell, edging towards the elf, who was in the far corner, curled up in a foetal position, sobbing silently.

Umbert's heavy breathing alerted her to his prescense, and her head jerked up instinctively, the bandage across her eyes gave her a comical look, as it had slipped down slightly, only held up by the bridge of her nose.

"S'alri'e, lass. Yeh'll be safe soon..." Umbert muttered assuringly, taking the vial of Bloodmist from the small pocket beneath his shoulderplate. The she-elf's ears pricked up excitedly.

"Will I get to go to Mummy and Daddy soon??" The elf asked giddily, her withdrawal symptoms all too obvious. She knelt towards Umbert eagerly, guided by his voice.

"Err... aye. Yeh'll see 'em soon, lass." Umbert lied. He held his breath, and quickly tugged the cork off the top of the vial of Bloodmist, the red steam that was it's namesake rising from the vial. The elf's nose twitched, before she leapt forward a little, sniffing hard at the wafting mist.

Almost immediately, the effects of the withdrawal began the wear off; her movements became more confident, not so shaky, and she leant back, smiling happily as her stomach pains wore off. Umbert stepped from the cell, re-corking the vial, and as he turned to his escort, he found that two other Mountaineers had arrived. One a dwarf, with a bushy dark brown beard, a bald patch glinting on top of his head, and a large battleaxe on his back. The other was a small gnomish woman, with shoulder-length hair of a wintery blue colour. She was armed with what seemed to be a pair of glowing shortswords, crossed over on her back.

Umbert slipped the vial quickly under his shoulderplate, but not before a flicker of recognition appeared in the gnome's eyes, as she eyed the vial. She frowned suspiciously, Umbert staring back at her defiantly, as if to say "What?".

"What kind of medicine is that?" The gnome asked, with a strong hint of suspicion in her voice. She folded her arms, awaiting an answer. Umbert feigned offense, and took a step back.

"Err, s'mah own recipe. Fer curin' mental traumas, an'... aye," Umbert replied, "An' anyway, wha's i' go' teh do wi' you?! Nothin', so back off!" The berserker glared at the gnome, who didn't quail under his stare. But then, the dwarf with the bald head stepped forward.

"Giver 'er th'vial, kinsman." He demanded threateningly, holding his hand out. Umbert glared at the hand, then at the dwarf, who glared right back.

"Wha'? So ah come an' shaddap a pris'ner fer yeh, an' then yeh wan' teh interrega'e me?! Tha' jes' daft!" Umbert exclaimed, looking accusingly at the the three Mountaineers. They met him with stony-faced glares.

"Yeh're on our territ'ry, kinsman. Which means yeh have teh do wha' we say. Heck, if yeh're nice, yeh migh' leave 'ere alive." The balding dwarf said sternly, his hand still reached out towards Umbert, who smirked, his power claw twitching unconsciously.

"Oh, es tha' a threat ah hear?" Umbert chuckled mockingly, peering tactically at the dwarf. He was bigger than Umbert, and the berserker figured he was slower too, with that big heavy axe on his back.

"Yes, it is. Now hand it over." The gnome squeaked, trying to sound authorative.

But, as Umbert stared off against the three Mountaineers, another three dwarven men strode confidently around the corner, two of which Umbert recognised.

At the head of the group, was none other than Colonel Angst Ironboot, his single eye peering at the four figures ahead of him. Thick, blue spiked shoulderplates and a long, graying-brown beard framed a worn, but fierce face. Behind him was a balding dwarf with a plaitted, bright ginger beard, and a pair of complicated-looking goggles covering his eyes. This dwarf also wore a pair of spiked shoulderplates, and Umbert could see at least four flintlocks on his person; Ulgarf Splinterhawk. A third dwarf was behind him, who had a pale blonde beard, in a similar style to Umbert's own ginger one, as well as a blue hood covering his head.

The three dwarves approached the scene, Angst acknowledging the gnome.

"Lieutenant Mevyan, status report. Wha's goin' on 'ere?" Angst barked gruffly.

"Sir, this dwarf 'alchemist' is in possession of a suspicious substance, which I'd like to investigate." The gnome replied, saluting her superior.

"Alchemist, y'say? Doesn' look like any alchemist I've ever seen." Angst chuckled, before the dwarf with the blonde beard stepped forward.

"Now yeh'll be handin' over tha' vial, if yeh know wha's good fer yeh." The dwarf pulled a flintlock from his side, aiming it casually at Umbert. Umbert tensed his legs, ready to duck or jump.

"Thes es jes' daft... ah'm a bloddy freeman, no' some hardened criminal!" Umbert growled, glaring spitefully at the blonde dwarf.

"Do ah look like ah give a damn, lad?" The blonde dwarf barked, flicking the catch on the flintlock. Umbert rolled his eyes, and slowly began to, with deliberate slowness, reach up to his shoulderplate to bring out the vial.

He looked around for an escape route. There was a flight of stairs leading up behind him, before turning a corner and vanishing out of sight. There was also a precariously placed crane above the Mountaineer's heads, holding a bulky-looking plane.

"Ah'm waitin'." The blonde dwarf growled, his aim resolute. Umbert squinted, looking up at the ceiling purposefully, keeping the dwarf in the corner of his vision.

As Umbert had been counting on, the dwarf looked up suspiciously, just for a moment, but a moment was all he needed. Redstone grabbed the rifle off his back in one movement, and aimed at the overhanging crane with one hand. He fired, the bullet tearing through a thick wire with deadly precision, the plane groaning as it bent against the other wires, it's balance lost.

Suddenly, the other wires snapped in quick succession, sending the plane crashing towards the keep floor, smashing against the wall on the way down, and scattering chunks of metal across the main hall.

"TAKE COVER!" Angst roared, sending the Mountaineers diving away from the plane, as it smashed on the ground. Umbert took his chance, and turned tail, sprinting towards the steps behind him.

"MAH PLANE!! DON' LET THA' WHELP ESCAPE! I WANT HIS HEAD ON A FOCK'N PLATE WITHIN THE HOUR!!!" He heard the Colonel roar behind him, as bullets peppered the wall in front of Redstone, zipping past him as he turned up the steps, and onto the second floor.

He came onto an empty corridor, the ruckus in the hall still loud behind him. He sprinted forward down the hall, hearing footsteps behind him. Umbert skidded to a halt as he met the end of the corridor, with no other exit, except one.

He saw a window in the wall to his left, looking out over a small dining room. The drop didn't seem too far, and it would have been more forgiving than the bullets of the Mountaineers. So he took his chances, and broke through the glass, landing heavily in the new room, rolling to minimize the impact of his jump. He pulled himself up, and quickly ran through a side exit. If his knowledge of Dun Garok was correct, the exit should be down the next corridor.

Umbert turned left, and came out next to the thick iron gate. But Umbert's heart dropped slightly, as it was closed! And the MNT were rounding the corner ahead of him, headed up by 'Lieutenant Mevyan'. Umbert ducked behind a set of crates, and waited for his moment.

The Mountaineers stopped in front of the gate, peering around and searching through the ammo crates and possible hiding places. Fortunately for the berzerker, it was Mevyan, the small, weak gnome, who came to investigate his hiding spot.

As her head peeked around the corner of the boxes, Umbert grabbed it brutally, and pressed her to his chest, drawing his axe and pressing it against her throat. He let out a shout, getting the attention of the others, some glaring at him, other gasping at Mevyan.

"RIGHT!" No one try anything, or yeh're precious Lieutenant takes a dirt nap!" Umbert roared, baring his teeth at the Mountaineers, Mevyan whimpering in his smelly embrace. The blonde dwarf seemed especially pained by this, and Umbert took advantage of it.

"If yeh want teho make sure tha' thes little weasel sees the light of tomorrow, then yeh're gunnah open th'gate fer me. No questions, no excuses. Jes' open th'gate, an' we can all go home in one piece." Redstone grinned, giving most of his attention to the blonde dwarf, who seemed at a loss as to how to react.

"Yeh're outnumbered, outgunned, an' outsmarted, savage." Ulgarf declared, puffing his chest out, hands on his hips. "D'yeh really thenk tha' yeh'll make it out of here alive, even with th'gate open? Jes' put th'Lieutenant down, an' yeh migh' live another hour."

Umbert peered at Ulgarf, squinting at him. "Ah don' trust Blues, lad. As far as I'm concerned, as soon as I drop yeh're little charge, yeh'll put 15mm o' lead in mah brain."

Ulgarf opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde dwarf beat him to it. "Alrigh'. Alrigh'. We'll open th'gate. Jes' don' kell Mevyan." The dwarf seemed ashamed of his decision, his comrades staring at him in shock.

Mevyan had her say, as well. "What are you doing, Captain?! Gun the bugger down!" She squirmed, forcing Umbert to shake her threateningly to shut her up.

"There's no point, Lieutenan'. We ken always kell him another day. You only live once." Eitri approached the gate controls, and began to press several buttons. A mechanical whirring, a groan of metal on metal, and a robotic voice ordering everyone to 'Stand clear', replied his fingers. As the gate began to rise, Umbert backed towards it, putting Mveyan between himself and the Mountaineers. When he reached the end of the metal foreground, outside the gate, he called to the dwarves.

"Nice choice, pansy! It's been a blast, really!" Umbert cackled, before clubbing Mevyan over the head with the hilt of his axe, knocking her unconscious, and darting into the trees.