A tall burly orc wielding a big ax

Domic aims at a screaming orc wielding a long ax with two hands.

"FIRE!" Torjo screams.

Domic pulls the trigger, the musket kicks heavily against his shoulder, and the air is filled with a cacophony of cracks and smoke as the guards fire into the onrushing orcs. Ears ringing again, eyes blinking from the smoke, he hears Torjo's muffled "Swords!" He lets go of the musket, stands, swishes out his sword in the manner Cerni taught him, registers Torjo's yell of "CHARGE!" Then he is sprinting, sword up, adding his yell to the others as they rush the orcs, some standing, some lying motionless or thrashing on the ground. A wiry orc in front of him chucks out a javelin that plunges into someone behind him, and then yanks out a big knife in time to block his swing. As Domic and the orc stagger back, another guard swings at the orc, who blocks it, and too late tries to stop Domic's deep slash into his neck. Then something is ramming into him, sending him stumbling forward into the powerful overhead swing of an ax, as he lifts up his sword to block while twisting to dodge. He brings up his sword too slow and low to stop the blow entirely and the ax scraps off the side of his burgonet to bang against his shoulder. He whips his sword around - realizing too late there is another orc swinging towards his stomach.

"Fuck," he thinks.

The ax bashes against the plates of his brigandine as he misses his swing at the first orc. He reels backwards, slipping on some wet stone, falling to the ground with a crash. The second orc swings down towards him again as a bullet-sized hole appears in the chest of the first. He manages to block the chop of the ax with the flat of his sword - shattering it, and the ax bashes jarring against his brigandine again. As the snarling orc lifts the ax high for another, final swing, Domic kicks brutally against their shins. The orc collapses heavily on top of him, knocking what little air remains out of his lungs. As orc spittle covers his face, he smashes the pommel of his sword against the side of their helm - once! Twice! Thrice! Then he shoves the orc off him, scrambling away from it and then someone is helping him to his feet. The smoke is starting to clear as Torjo points guards to orcs sprinting away and then Cerni is in front of him.

"Domic! Domic!" she says, eyes wide, frantically looking him over. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you hurt Domic? Where the fuck is Yulda? She was supposed to keep you safe!"

"No, no," he wheezes as she helps him sit against a menhir. She takes off his burgonet and presses a waterskin into his hands which he chugs from. "I'm...I'm alright...just got...bashed a bit. And...I don't know," he chokes and wheezes.

"Alright, just stay here, rest here. I need to lead a group into the caverns, alright?" she says, eyes filled with a disconcerting mix of concern and furious, charging rage.

"Go, be safe," he says, and then she is gone.