We didn't waste much time as we got ready for the day. Some herbal tea, cooked the same way as the evening before in the water skins had to do. It certainly helped drive the cold from our limbs. Even snuggled up against each other under our cloaks and using our meager backpacks as pillows the cold had taken its toll. Cooking out tea inside the water skins had the advantage that we could use them like we would hot water bottles to warm ourselves from the outside while we waited for the tea to get done. In general though I had no doubt that things would soon change once we got moving again.

The cold would, before long, be the least of our problems one way or another. Of more concern, at least slightly, were the ghoul patrols. So far they still weren't actively searching for us. Not as far as I could tell anyway. They kept to their patrol routes with a mindless stubbornness that had to be unique to these undead abominations. Were they under the control of a ghoul king? If so had that one noticed one patrol going missing? Or was it disregarded? Could the ghouls suffer regular losses and if so for what reason?

If the latter was the case I had reason to be more worried about what preyed upon the shambling dead than the unquiet dead themselves. If there was one of those accursed ghoul kings in control though and if that king had taken notice I had to assume that it might try to goad us into a trap. Keeping up the patrols as if nothing had happened would be only natural in that case. Either way, we had to get closer to that damned ziggurat. There simply was no way around it.

As expected it didn't take long for us to come across the first patrol. We kept carefully out of sight for the time being though. “Evade or Crush?” My voice was barely a whisper.

The giantess looked a little uncertain, at least for the briefest of moments. Then all uncertainty fled her. “We crush them while they are all over the place in small groups. We can't let them gather into a larger horde. That would be the only way those brain rotten undead could pose a threat.”

I nodded. That mirrored my own thoughts. “You are not afraid that giving away our exact position by killing them group after group might allow them to set an ambush for us?”

She just shrugged. “Maybe they will. I expect the ambush at the foot of that step pyramid though. I mean, they have to know where we are going anyway, right? It can't be that hard to guess that we will be heading for the stairs leading up there. Right?”

“True.” I gripped my weapon a little tighter. “Doesn't mean that they can't try to ambush is before we get there though. It wouldn't be too hard to hide some more of those shamblers under the dust near any of the patrols.” The patrol that had prompted us to stop was almost where we were hiding around a corner, weapons ready. “Keep your eyes open.”

As one we burst forth from our hiding spot. Gash'zur's hammer was the first to find its mark, smashing the head of a ghoul. My glaive came down next, bisecting another from top to bottom. Neither were a threat anymore. The three others came at us though. Well, they did shamble in our direction. Time and possibly the conditions in the desert hadn't been exactly been kind to them. They were slow and their movements were stiff. If all of them were like this we probably could take on dozens of them at once.

Gash'zur landed the next killing blow, smashing another head. In doing so she lined the other two up for me as well. They mindlessly tried to get at her as she was closer to them, completely ignoring me in the process. One quick swing sent both of their heads, or at least most of their heads, flying. As their bodies collapsed silence, except for the wind whistling through the skeletal ruins, fell again.

We nodded at each, which in turn prompted both of us to grin. I turned towards the ziggurat. “Lets keep going and lets try not to get cornered by too many of them.”

The giantess raised her hammer, pointing towards the top of the central structure where the dragon had started to shift. “Lets try to not get eaten or burned to crisp by that one either.”

There was no arguing with that. I darted behind the next ruined structure to make sure we would be out of sight should the dragon turn to face us. Of course we couldn't just stay here. Then another idea struck. I turned to look either way to find an entrance. In the end we crawled through what was once a window. We had to keep crawling inside as well. In hindsight that would have left us a little more vulnerable to a ghoul surprise attack than either of us would have liked but it got us through to the other side of the building without spotted seen from above.

We were one step closer to our goal. Now we just had to cross the rest of the distance. That couldn't be too hard, right? As we crawled out of the ruin again through another window I spotted the next group of ghouls on patrol. They had spotted us as well. Immediately they started shambling our way. We still had more than enough time to get ready to greet them though. Those really weren't very good guards.

We tore through this group with the same as the last one. We could keep this up all day if we had to. It still wasn't an option though as we wouldn't get anywhere like that. We hadn't brought food, or water for that matter, to last us days. We didn't have days. We had hours. At least until the dragon or its vampire mistress got involved. Then we would have to come up with something in the blink of an eye.

I took a deep breath and leaned back against the ruin in my back as Gash'zur led us to the next corner. She stopped there to peer around it briefly. She pressed her back against the building afterwards as well as she shared what she had seen with me. “The good news is that we are just a few more streets from the bottom of the stairs. Oh, and the dragon is still up there instead of down here.” We both grinned weakly. “The bad news is, that there is a bigger group assembling right there at the foot of the ziggurat. Maybe they are really waiting for us to come to them.”

I switched places with her to take a look myself. There was a big group of people at the bottom of the stairs but they didn't exactly look like a welcoming committee for us. No, some of them were in chains and neither they nor the rest were ghouls at all. I ducked back around the corner. “No, doesn't look like it. I think they are bringing in sacrifices or something like that. You remember the line of people we saw ascend these stairs yesterday?”

She nodded, obviously uncomfortable with the thought. “I have seen them. You mean to tell me that they aren't going up there on their own free will?”

I sighed and looked over at her. “Most likely. At least not all of them. Think we can free some of them?”

The giantess had a pained look in her eyes. “We probably could but what is to become of them afterwards? We don't have any supplies and there are still enemies about. And we are sure to draw their attention if we really stage a great escape right there under their nose.”

I was not so easily dissuaded though. “Their guards might have some supplies. They certainly have weapons. We could just kill the guards, break the chains and usher them off into one of the nearby ruins with whatever they can grab to hide there until we are done with the Devourer's pawns.”

She sighed but gave in anyway. “I guess we can do that. Just don't get your hopes up. Their chances will still be terrible.”

I just shrugged and readied my weapon. “Every drop of blood that doesn't get spilled up there, every soul that doesn't fuel whatever ritual the Devourers pawns are performing, will probably buy us some time.”

Gash'zur got ready as well. “What are we up against anyway. Not ghouls?”

I cast Cat's Grace on both of us again before rounding the corner and breaking into a sprint. “They have pale gray skin, almost like the headhunters, but have more muscles and are even uglier.”

The giantess laughed at the description as she fell in at my side. “Orcs then. Grayskins. Treat them just like you would headhunters. They are just about as bad.”

They must have noticed us. No wonder, we weren't really subtle after all. Some gathered the shackled people, mostly Ganarl, the young and elderly, by the looks of it, in their middle while the rest turned to face us. The next moment the first arrow whizzed past me.

I raised my shield to cover my face and just kept going while Gash'zur fell in behind me, using me as cover. I didn't mind. Her armor wasn't quite of the same quality as mine after all. The grayskin archers had enough time to get off a few more arrows. Most of them missed but a few hit. None penetrated the titanium scales of my mail though. I barely even felt the impact thanks to the padded clothes I wore beneath it. My shield vibrated as one glanced off its curve.

Then the first of those that had answered our charge with one of their own came into range. I just ran the first one through. He was big, compared to people other than me and Gash'zur anyway, heavily muscled and covered head to toe in ceremonial scars as far as I could tell. His flesh parted under the blade of my weapon almost entirely without resistance. I barely even took notice of his ribs and spine either.

The next one actually took one of the arrows meant for me and my companion into the back. It penetrated deep enough to make him stumble. I hadn't managed to pull my weapon free from the corpse of my last opponent yet thus I bashed his face in with my shield instead. He dropped chocking on his own blood.

Gash'zur took the third, leaving the cover I provided for just a moment. She sent that one flying back a dozen paces with a powerful blow to the midriff. He had some decent muscles under all those scars but that hammer blow probably turned all his innards into a messy mush anyway.

From there on our advance sowed down a little. Every few steps we would have to end the miserable lives of a few gray skinned orcs. Considering who they served I didn't feel any qualms about that. I was just thankful that they didn't come at us as one. That they didn't exactly care for each others well being did help a little as well, as several more caught arrows meant for us.

Eventually the arrows stopped coming. The archers had run. The same was true for some of those who had guarded their captives. Most curious. That was a little more common sense than I was used to from those in the service of the Devourer.

Only one of them stubbornly stood his ground. He was a giant among his kind and wearing mismatched armor. As he stepped forward to face me he brought two heavy cleavers to bear. Was he their chieftain or just the groups butcher? It didn't matter.

He tried to bat my weapon aside to get at me but I wouldn't have any of that. He might have been a giant among his own kind but he was still a little short compared to me. That I had enchanted myself with Auroch's Strength as we made our approach helped as well. My weapon didn't budge as his cleavers slammed into its shaft. They didn't even leave as much as a scratch. Instead of batting my weapon aside he pretty much ran right into it, impaling himself.

I pushed downward, splitting him almost in half and as he dropped dead I pulled my weapon free again. I looked around to make sure no one else was about to attack us. Gash'zur was already busy smashing chains and I quickly joined her. The rusty iron didn't stand a chance against the blade of my glaive. As the captives looked ta me with big eyes I started shouting orders. “Take whatever gear, supplies and weapons you can and hide in one of the nearby buildings. Stay together.”

Just as they were starting to react a powerful roar pierced the heavens, shaking everyone to the bone. I felt the fear I had felt last time gripping at my heart again but this time I did not succumb. The same could not be said for the freed Ganarl. They ran with whatever they had in their hands in whichever direction they were facing. I couldn't blame them though. The dragon's roar was terrible after all and so was its sight as it reared atop the ziggurat as it was about to launch itself into the sky.