Content Warning: Gore, violence
Four more runners similarly disguised ran through at the same time, each grabbing torches and dousing them, putting them out, tearing them from the hands of the goblins that waved them frantically around trying to see who was attacking them.
At this same moment, the slaves by the General's feet both bit hard into her calve and began trying to tear into the muscle to bring her to her knees. Her pained growl was lost amid the sudden darkness and panic that set in. The slaves all had been waiting for this and knew where they were going as their eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. They could easily see by the orange glow of the ridgeline, but their captors could not and did not know what was happening until shouts came down from the camps above that the tents and supplies were all ablaze.
Wynessa gathered her group of fighters and made sure they all had picks and tools to bring down as many as they could in the chaos before rushing in to the fighting as well. Her father had told her so many times how to bring down an ogre, a goblin, a giant, even certain warlocks had weaknesses he knew of. She was ready to take the fight to them until a voice cried out her name.
"Wynnie! Run!" Her father called from the hut where a giant shape stood by the doorway, not blocking it but it seemed to be guarding. For a moment, she saw red as she rushed towards the giant, stopping dead when she fully saw who it was.
Miklian had a hand outstretched towards where he thought the nearest hut was, his eyes not adjusted to the lack of light and disoriented by the sounds of fighting from all around. He nearly stumbled back in surprise when a voice shouted from just beside him and suddenly he felt one of the shouts of rage was aimed at him. He turned towards the sound, still unable to see anything, but the shout stopped for a moment. Maybe the human was afraid of him?
Or maybe she was lining up a swift and solid kick to his groin again. As he toppled and curled up on the ground, he was reminded of the night before and the body of the woman who had taken him down.
"You!" Her voice was clear and right next to his face which made him flinch, slamming his head into the side of the hut. Suddenly a small fist punched down onto his windpipe. "You said you'd stand down!"
Barely able to breathe, let alone speak, all he could do was hold his neck and try to protect his genitals with the other hand. She seemed satisfied by his cowering and kicked his shin harshly as she stepped by.
She pulled her father and the others from the hut and sent them towards the escape route that was being defended by members of the resistance from outside. The outside had been helping them with food and medicine for the better part of two years. The runners had also been part of their plan to help free the captives.
With the last person out of the hut and running towards freedom, the giant beside her finally found his voice again.
"You have to get out of here. Anyone left alive... The General will kill everything in her sight after this. You have to go! Please! Don't try to fight her!" His gruff voice was pained as he pleaded for her to run, but he still couldn't see her in the darkness. She could see him though, fairly clearly.
She saw how his heart broke knowing how many of her people would die for this fight, for the freedom of so many, yet so few. She saw how he tried to do the right thing regardless of the consequences of his words. She saw him curl tighter into himself as he began to weep with shame.
It wasn't clear how long she stood there watching him, but a sharp screeching cry from the sky above quickly drew her attention towards something flying above them. Floating, more accurately, as it drifted slowly towards the caldera and the fighting below.
"What th-!" Before she could fully get the words from her mouth, Miklian knew what was going on and pulled her down to him, covering her face and head with his hand before a brilliant explosion of light burst from the warlock above. She squirmed and tried to pry his hands off her, shouting as best she could "Let go of me! Let me go!"
But he did not release her until the light died down again and the bubbling spots where all he could see. Her eyes remained adjusted to the light, unlike so many other humans and elves who cried out in pain from the sudden blinding light that had probably blinded most of them for life. Seeing the carnage and damage surrounding them, she looked back at the dazed giant who had just saved her life. She moved to take a few steps away before suddenly turning back and grabbing his hand.
"Come with us."
"What? I can't! I'm a giant!"
""But you're not like them! You're not like the General!" She pleaded as she tugged gently on his hand with both of hers. "Leave with us, help us fight this kind of torture!"
He had never fully considered what would happen if he did leave, if he abandoned his post and fled. He would be branded a deserter most likely. Hunted down and brought to justice before his mother. If he left, he would be alone. No family. No prospects. No anything.
No matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it, he couldn't help pulling up to his feet and following where she dragged him as though he were a child. He bumbled over debris and caught at least one wildly flailing ogre fist, but she kept pulling towards the edge of the cliff.
Her father watched her carefully pull him towards one of the fallen towers where he would be able to fit through, but as they moved farther and farther away from him, the fighting grew more and more intense. The fires on the ridge were closer to being put out and contained and goblins were slowly descending into the caldera with torches to try to even the playing field again. It was all he could do to not go sprinting over to them and drag his daughter away to safety. He wasn't even sure why she would protect this monster to begin with!
"Sir, we have to go. Look at the sky." One of the rescuers spoke from behind him in the escape tunnel before the elder looked up to the slowly brightening sky. Less than an hour from dawn. They had to move.
"Get everyone away from the mountain as quickly as you can. I am going to do one last sweep to make sure we have as many as we can. Go, quickly!" He told the young woman behind him before stepping back out towards the fighting, pick in hand.
Across the mine, Wynessa guided the giant in towards the doorway of the half-fallen tower. They had managed to excavate all the way down to the lower valley through this one, and it was a lesser known access point for some of the resistance fighters to bring and store food and medicines. Rather than leading out on the western side of the mountains which lead towards the next-nearest human kingdom, this tunnel went east towards the occupied lands where giants were less likely to be an eyesore or a stranger.
The steps were made for humans and elves, but the height of the spiraling stairway of the tower assumed that larger races could have made their way through this tower as well. About halfway down, they had to pause as Wynessa pulled a bottle from a hole carved into the wall. Vigorously shaking it brought the liquid inside to life and dimly lit the cavernous stairway enough that Miklian would be able to see.
"What is that?" His voice was full of wonder as he stared at the glowing bottle in her hands. "Magic of some kind?"
"No, it's alchemical. My father was an alchemist before the war. He called this kind of mixture a Mage's Candle, because it doesn't catch fire and it's a blue light." She explained quickly before offering it up to him. As soon as he accepted the bottle from her hands, she turned and moved off to keep heading away from the fighting that was likely still going on above.
"Thank you." Miklian's voice was soft, but not so much as she didn't hear it.
As they neared the bottom of the steps, the soft dripping of a cave could be heard. The exit of the tower led into an open space that was barely tall enough for him to stand in, though he found himself having to duck and weave around the stalactites that threatened to break if he hit them. The closer they got to the exit, the farther away from him the human girl walked. He could have easily caught up with her, but he sensed there was reason she wanted to keep her distance and he wasn't going to give her any reason to distrust him. After all, she had saved his life.