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"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" A dark-grey, almost black, Manhir thundered towards them, speaking in the same ancient dialect Henge had used when they'd first met. Finn tightened his grip on his axe and prepared to defend himself.
Henge barreled past Finn and threw his arms round the grey Manhir, who stood a couple of feet taller than Henge. The Manhir staggered back a step under the impact. "Henge?" the Manhir said. "How can you be here?"
Henge released the Manhir. "Rockbreaker, it's so great to see you, to see you all, moving around again! I feared I was the only one left."
The Manhir calmed down. "What have you done?" he asked again.
"We freed you, of course," Henge said. "Come, let me introduce you to my friends." He waved over Finn and Elina. "They've helped me greatly along the way."
Finn walked towards the two Manhir, joined by Elina. The rest of the Manhir around the room congregated on their position until they were the focal point of a rocky circle.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Rockbreaker rumbled. "Why did you release us?"
"Finn found me in a quarry," Henge said. "He said the Manhir had disappeared from the world during Ragnarok, a thousand years ago. We went looking for answers to what happened. That led us here, where we found you trapped. Finn here managed to free you." Henge had an ear-to-ear grin on his face.
"How?" Rockbreaker rubbed his chin. "How did you free us?"
Finn stepped forward. "I broke the seal, sir, which held you trapped." Rockbreaker seemed in charge of these Manhir. "I figured that was what the Oracle meant. I was right."
Rockbreaker scanned the circle of Manhir around them. He focused on a thin, light grey Manhir flecked with white. "Trondjemite, what do you think?" Rockbreaker asked. "Can we redo it?"
Trondjemite rubbed his chin. He cocked his head to one side and held a hand to his ear, listening to something. "I don't think we can manage it again," he said. "They will not be trapped a second time."
"Any other option you can think of?"
"Hmm, you know, I'm not sure. Given time, we might be able to come up with something."
"So it's time we need." Rockbreaker turned back towards Finn. "Lad, quickly, how is the war going? How are you managing the Ochloroc?"
"War?" Finn looked at Elina for help. She shook her head. "The Ochloroc have been gone as long as you have. What are you talking about?"
"That's something, at least," Rockbreaker said. He turned back to Trondjemite. "Start looking right away. I'll try to find out what's happening."
"What's going on?" Finn asked.
"We weren't trapped by anyone, lad," Rockbreaker said. "We performed the ritual ourselves."
"Wait, what?" Henge said.
A horn rang out somewhere in the city in three long blasts. The ground shook, followed by a rolling thunder.
Finn looked at the door leading out of the hall. "Now what?" he muttered. He hustled out of the room to the entrance of the palace. Once outside, he looked out over the city as Elina and Henge joined him. A column of smoke rose from over by the city wall and the air had a tangy taste, as if lightning had struck nearby. An explosion went off down in the city, and a house collapsed in a plume of dust. Men and women ran through the streets away from the explosion, screaming.
"What's happening?" Elina asked.
Finn readied his axe. "I don't know by who, but the city is under attack."
A group of dwarf-like people came striding towards the palace, wearing iron masks with bulging eyes and fanged mouths. They struck down with double-bladed axes anyone too slow to get away. Two towering golems moved at the rear of the group.
"Ochloroc!" a Manhir next to Finn shouted. He charged toward the invaders. When he had closed half the distance, one of the Ochloroc stepped forward and pointed some sort of machine at the Manhir. A ball of fire erupted from the front and engulfed the Manhir in blue flames. The Manhir tripped, fell, and slid several feet down the street. There he lay still as the Ochloroc swarmed around him.
"Back inside!" Rockbreaker thundered next to Finn. "We're target practice here. Diverting actions!"
Finn looked around. He felt as pale as Elina looked. The Manhir around him hurried back indoors, while those farther out stepped forward to cover the retreat and intercept any of the attacking Ochloroc. Finn hesitated. They would be trapped inside the palace. On the other hand, he didn't want to find out how long it would take to load that machine again.
Finn decided there was strength in numbers. He would take his chances together with the Manhir. He grabbed Elina's arm and pulled her after him into the palace, hurrying after the other Manhir back to the hall of the Vein, where the Manhir congregated in a half-circle around the doorway. Finn took up position to the side, Elina in tow, between a Manhir as black as basalt and a dark-grey one. There he waited.
Moments later, he heard the Ochloroc soldiers coming down the corridor. A ball of fire spat through the doorway, engulfing the Manhir who had been standing right in front of it. Then the golems charged into the hall. They crashed into the makeshift battle line next to the fallen Manhir, knocking down two others, effectively splitting the Manhir forces in half.
After the golems came the Ochloroc. They charged into the breach created by the golems, clashing with the Manhir. On the side of the group, two of the soldiers were working the fire-throwing machine. One of them got out the nozzle and readied it for another blast.
Finn raised his axe and charged at the two Ochloroc, swinging at the one holding the nozzle. The soldier used the nozzle to catch the strike, and Finn's axe lodged itself deep into it. The Ochloroc kicked Finn, knocking him over, then aimed the machine at Finn and pulled a lever on the side. The machine exploded in the soldier's hands where Finn's axe had struck it. Finn was blinded by the blast, and a wave of heat washed over him as he shielded his face with his arms. The ground beneath him shook.
Finn lowered his arms when the heat dissipated. He blinked his eyes against the flashes of light dancing in his eyes, and when his vision cleared, the battle was over. The blast had knocked down several of the Ochloroc and disrupted their charge. The Manhir had used the chaos to charge in and deal with the remaining enemies. To his side, Finn saw Henge take down the last golem. A cheer went up from the Manhir around him.