A clever plan

Tim knew he could easily defeat the adventurers. He'd killed them by the score in his time in the dungeon. But if they had a caster... Collateral damage was fine if it was just a couple zombies. Not if it was Merideth. The baby. Whatever. Why had that stupid zombie named the child? That was always the first step to getting stuck with a pet, and Tim imagined it held true with human infants. What to do?

A sudden thought occurred, and within seconds he was enacting a clever plan.

"A baby?" Dweldon the dwarven axefighter scratched his head in confusion. He'd delved dozens of dungeons, seen all manner of horrible and strange sights. This...this was strange even by dungeon standards.

"And it's adorable! Yes you are!" Fara crooned, snuggling the swaddled child. Fara was the absolute meanest rogue Dweldon had ever seen. Most rogues were stealthy, sneaking a dagger in their foe’s back before they were spotted. Fara preferred to shove the dagger straight through the chest into the back. For her, it was an effective strategy.

The first time they'd met had been at a tavern in Gorianda. She'd broken three men's jaws that night, just for offering to buy her a drink. Dweldon had been captivated. He'd managed to convince her to join his team only by defeating her in an arm wrestle. It had been a near thing.

To see her acting like this... Dweldon was concerned. "Is it a glamor?" He asked Geoff, the team's mage.

The tall, skinny man stroked his long black beard, deep in thought. "I don't see any spells around it." He answered. "I have detect magic at level 12. A glamor strong enough to defeat that shouldn't exist in a dungeon of this grade. Especially near the top."

"It's a girl!" Fara cried with delight. "You poor beautiful thing. What are you doing in this dirty yucky dungeon?"

"Let me take a look at it." Dweldon said apprehensively. The muscular woman danced clumsily over with the baby. Dweldon was suddenly glad he'd never danced with Fara. He'd probably have lost toes.

She held the bundle down for him to peer into. It was a baby alrigh - "Keldon's flaming beard!" Dweldon shouted, jumping back and making a swift religious gesture to ward off evil. "It's cursed!"

"It's not cursed. It's a baby." Fara rolled her eyes. "Why would a baby be cursed?"

"The eyes!" Dweldon shouted. "Look at it's flaming eyes!"

"Oh." Was all Fara said when she examined the baby. She gently placed the bundle back on the floor. "I'm sorry sweetie." She said to the bundle before stepping back to join her team.

Dweldon stared at the bundle. "We'll have to do something about it." He said. "It's not right to leave it to die of starvation."

Fara's knife was at Dweldon's throat in a blink. "Don't even think about it."

"It's not like I want to!" He snapped. "The child is cursed. It's going to die slowly of starvation here! I'm saying we do the merciful thing - the thing it's damn parents should have done."

Fara opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to find words to say. Finally, she took her knife back from the dwarf's throat, stepped further from the child, and turned her back.

"Right." Dweldon muttered. "Guess it's up to me." He drew one of three short handled axes strapped to his back. The wide hooked blade glinted in the torchlight. He raised it, and took a step forward. "Sorry little one. It's better this way." The axe hung high over the child, ready to fall.

The axe flew back down the hallway, narrowly missing Fara. "Keldon's flaming burning damned beard!" Dweldon swore. "I can't do it!"

Fara put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good man, Dweldon." She looked mournfully at the swaddled infant.

Geoff stepped up. "You're both idiots is what you are." He stood behind the infant, back to the dead end. He raised his staff high over the child.

A foot of steel blade erupted from his chest. Geoff stared down at the blade in surprise. Then he fell, sliding off the blade and to the floor beside the bundle.

Tim stepped out from behind the false wall. His red eyes blazed with fury.Humans. He growled.I hate humans. He brought his sword up to block an axe blow from the dwarf, who had jumped forward the second the skeleton came out. A second axe - technically third - appeared in his other hand swinging low, chipping off a piece of Tim's hip. Tim brought the pommel of his sword down, smashing it hard against the dwarfs helmeted skull.

The axefighter staggered back, nearly stepping on the cloth bundle. Tim pushed forward, shoving the dwarf back and placing his bony frame between the adventurer and the child. A thrown dagger clinked off his rib cage, passing through and disappearing through the cloth hiding his room. A solid thud came from behind, followed by a groaning noise.

The dwarf came again, swinging his axes the same as before. It was a dance, and Tim knew all the steps by heart. Step, twist, parry, swing. Tim's sword blurred downward as he used one of his few skills on the axefighter.

Powerful blow

Level 13 skill

Cost: 25 stamina

Slam a weapon down with exceptional speed and power.

Excellent for armoured opponents or really stubborn pinatas.

The sword passed through the thin steel mail shirt like paper, and the dwarf's arm fell to the floor, sliced off at the shoulder.

"Dweldon!" The rogue shrieked. She charged forward, raising a heavy mace over her head. Huh. This one was smart enough to prepare. A dagger was worthless against Tim, but a mace could be a serious threat.

Tim lazily raised a foot and kicked the bleeding dwarf into the onrushing rogue. They went down in a bloody tangle of arms and legs. Not smart enough, Tim mused.

Tim brought his sword to his side, pointing it at the struggling adventurers. As with most of his battles, it had been disappointingly easy. He stabbed his sword forward to skewer the two disabled fighters.

The false wall tore away with a ripping sound. Tim's concentration shifted to the new threat, causing him to nearly miss. The sword pierced the rogues thigh, eliciting a scream. The mud covered cloth fell on Tim, knocking him to the floor. "Foood!" The cloth croaked excitedly.

"Zombie!" The rogue shouted. "Run!" She grabbed the dwarf's still remaining arm and pulled him to his feet. Together they looked down the hallway. Tim struggled to rise, but Garth's weight kept him down. The zombie crawled after the fleeing adventurers, driving a knee into Tim's head. Cold mud filled Tim's skull, extinguishing his eye orbs and blinding him. Garth passed over him, dragging the cloth behind.

Tim finally managed to sit up, digging mud out of his eye orbs with his bony fingers. His orbs relit, and he almost wished they hadn't.

Garth was only two feet down the hall. He'd managed to make it to his feet, but the cloth was pinned to his chest with the rogues dagger. He took a lumbering step down the hall, tripped on the cloth, and collapsed. The injured adventurers were nowhere to be seen. Tim's strode over to Garth and pulled the dagger with a wet, sucking noise before helping the incompetent undead to his feet.

Tim stared down the tunnel.That's going to come back to bite me in the ass, isn't it.

Garth looked the skeleton up and down. Tim glared at the zombie.Don't say it.He pushed past and headed for the back room, pausing to pick up Merideth.

Garth watched him go, then turned to follow. "What bite." He muttered under his breath. "No ass. Garth ass. Tim no ass."

I can hear you, you know.

*******

"Wake up!" Fara slapped Dweldon hard across his face. He thought he felt a tooth loosen.

"I'm...wake." he muttered. Everything was spinning, and he felt so damn tired. And cold. Keldon's beard, was he ever cold.

"Drink. Now." Fara pressed a bottle to his lips. Dweldon tried to grab the bottle, but his arm wouldn't move. Why wouldn't his arm move? Fara grabbed his face, forcing his mouth open and pouring in the bottle. Bitter, spicy liquid burned his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but Fara slammed a hand over his mouth. "Swallow." She ordered. She sounded strange and faraway. He swallowed, and the burning liquid flamed it's way down his throat. The heat spread rapidly, over his whole body. Every nerve ignited at once, and he tried to scream. Fara's hand was still covering his mouth, muffling the sound.

What felt like eternity later, the pain began to fade. His shoulder continued to throb dully. Fara's hand wasn't on his mouth anymore. When had that happened? "Water." Dweldon croaked. His throat was raw.

Fara held a waterskin to his mouth, and he drank greedily. "Slowly now." She cautioned. He tried to wipe his mouth, but his arm still wouldn't respond. Why wouldn't his arm...oh. Fara placed a hand on his cheek, gently turning his gaze away from the wound. "It's all right." She said. "You'll be fine."

"Keldon's beard." Dweldon whispered. The memory of the fight came back to him then, shredding the fog that had clouded his mind. "Did you see it's level?"

Fara nodded. "I don't know how it could be here. This is a C grade dungeon." She shook her head. "Come on. We need to move. We've got to get out of here in case it tries to follow."

They were still in the dungeon, Dweldon realized. He wasn't sure if it was the blood loss or the blow to the head that had scrambled his brains. Fara pulled him to his feet, and his head spun. She grabbed him under his good arm, crouching low to help him walk. "Thank you." Dweldon whispered. That felt....a little too personal. "I didn't know you cared." He joked, trying to ease the tension.

"You're a complete idiot." She muttered.

Dweldon pondered the meaning of that statement for a long, long time.

"Hey Fara?" He said as they left the dungeon.

"Yeah?"

"We're not going to tell anyone about that baby, right?"

"What baby?"

*****

So, clever plan may have been a misnomer. It had been more of a desperate plan. Tim had hoped the adventurers would rescue Meredith.

Tim had been elated at first, when the rogue had fallen in love with the infant. He'd watched through a small hole he'd placed in the cloth, dimming his orbs to avoid detection. He'd been ready to leap out stop the dwarf before he'd thrown his axe away.

Tim placed Merideth back on the table. She screamed at him, her eyes shut tight as she wailed, barely pausing to breathe.

Hush now.Tim put a little force behind the words. Merideth cried harder.

"Foood." Garth croaked. He was gnawing on the dwarf's arm.

Yes, I know you have food.

"No." Garth pointed at the screaming infant with the dismembered arm. "She food."

She's not food Garth. We've been over this.

Garth rolled his eyes. "She...neeed food."

Tim looked at Garth, then at Merideth.What do babies eat again?