chapter 7: The Attack Begins
"They're trying to burn us out!" One of the soldiers shouted.
"What do we do?" Another asked.
"We keep attacking!" Brathor yelled back. "Keep firing until we have a clear shot. Then we can hit them from behind."
"Ooh, that's an excellent idea." Morldor said.
Brathor turned around to face him.
"How'd you figure it out?"
"You know... I've always wondered why the Dark Brotherhood doesn't have a secret tunnel system like the dwarves. Our basecamp is located in the middle of nowhere; there's no way anyone would stumble upon it unless they knew it was there. And it seems like the dwarves are constantly digging tunnels, so it makes sense to build a secret base nearby." Morldor explained.
"Oh! You mean like this?" Brathor asked, pulling a small piece of wood from his pocket. He handed it to Morldor.
"No way! This is unbelievable!" Morldor gasped, examining the small stick.
"Yeah, this thing is incredible. My father found it while he was exploring the forest when he was younger. It's perfectly round. No cracks, no flaws. It's pretty old, too. We haven't used it since my father was young." Brathor said, shrugging.
Morldor examined the stick carefully. It was covered in black, charred material.
"It looks brand new!"
"Really? How strange..." Brathor muttered, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it's just the way the surface is burned away. I don't know. But I'm pretty sure it works. I tried using it once a long time ago, but the tunnel collapsed before I could reach the end."
"Do you happen to remember which direction it went?" Morldor asked.
"Nope. I didn't even see the whole thing. I just saw a little bit of the tunnel." Brathor said sadly.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Morldor said. "But we can't give up hope yet. Maybe we can use it later."
Brathor nodded in agreement.
"Fine. In the meantime, let's finish this. We need to finish this quickly so we can leave. We don't want to be trapped here if the fire spreads."
Morldor nodded and turned back to the front line. "Alright, boys. Let's charge!"
The troops immediately began marching forward. They advanced swiftly across the burning ground and over the scorched earth, heading straight for the basecamp.