Storm and the others snuck out of the camp while it was still dark in the hopes of closing some distance before they were spotted by the sentries.
They stayed low to the ground and managed cross half the distance before the war horns were blown to alert the hunters.
With the army now revealed, the dragons on the ground took flight and rushed at the walls.
They flew higher and fired their breath weapons at the war machines.
At the same time, the Griffins dove through the cloudline while carrying large boulders.
They dropped the boulders on the archers before diving down to join the fighting.
A flight of arrows flew through the air and landed among the forces causing several to cry out as they were pierced.
Leyocan and his Nogitsune fired their grapples and climbed the platforms to silence the archers and give the forces below some much needed breathing room in order to reach the door.
"Razor!! Take command over the fliers!!
Me and Aurora are going into the tunnels with Leyocan!!" Ordered Storm.
He flew at one of the platforms and changed into his humanoid dragon form.
He landed heavily on a single knee, and one of the machine operators rushed him with a drawn sword hoping to take advantage of his position.
Storm deflected the blade with his bracers, before grabbing the man and tossing him over the edge and to the ground far below.
Aurora landed beside him in her human form a moment later and the remaining machine operators ran into the tunnels.
Hearing fighting underneath him, Storm looked down and saw Leyocan and his forces fighting on a lower platform.
They were pressed up against the edge and were struggling to gain ground as a large mass of warriors were blocking their path.
Without hesitation, Storm jumped down and landed among the enemy warriors.
Using nothing but his claws, he began to massacre the tightly packed warriors.
He gave an open handed strike to a man in front of him that not only shattered the man's ribs, it also sent him bowling through several other warriors.
He kicked a man on the side of his knee and shattered the bone, causing the man to cry out and drop to a single knee.
Storm then grabbed the man's head and twisted it around 180°, killing him in the process.
A man with a spear tried to impale him, but Storm grabbed the spear out of the air before breaking it with his bare hands.
The warriors soon fled when they realized the odds weren't in their favor.
"Thanks for the assistance!!" Said Leyocan.
"You're....." started Storm.
They heard a whooshing sound and looked up to see a stone projectile flying through the air straight towards them.
"Everyone down!!!" Called Leyocan as the projectile struck the wall above them.
Raining debris down on the assembled forces below.
"Two can play this game!!
Help me turn this!!" Exclaimed Leyocan .
Several people ran up to the war machine they had just claimed and began to tuen the wooden base it was constructed on.
After a moment, Leyocan called them to stop and pulled the release lever.
Sending a stone projectile through a catapult on the opposite side of the mountain.
Even from a distance, they could hear the screams of the machine operators.
Storm nodded his head in approval.
"Good shot!! Let's..." he started to say.
Before he could finish however, he heard a scrapping sound below him as several murder holes were opened up in the canyon walls on their sides of the passage leading to the doors below.
"EVERYBODY DOWN!!!" Called Grombrim.
Everyone in the passage fell flat on their bellies, except for one single Dwarven warrior that was a moment too slow.
A row of spears stabbed outward through the openings and impaled the poor dwarf.
He screamed in pain as he was pierced from either side, before falling silent.
The spears were pulled free and his lifeless body fell to the ground a moment later.
"Storm!! We need to clear those murder holes or Grombrim will never be able to breach the doors!!
I'll take this side with my men!
You and Aurora take the one on the right!"
Storm nodded his head and held out his hands.
Aurora jumped down and Storm caught her in a princess carry.
Without putting her down, Storm flapped his wings and flew over the gap towards another platform on the opposite side.
Several warriors tried to rush them but Aurora blasted them with a wave of magic that froze them solid.
Storm planted a small peck on her cheek, before putting her down.
Together they decended into the tunnels together.
They found themselves in a large staircase that led both to the platforms further above, as well as the lower levels below.
Without hesitation, Storm descended the stairs two at a time until they couldn't go any deeper.
Rushing through the only doorway, Storm found himself in a narrow corridor where about 10 spearmen were trying their best to kill the massed troops outside the main doors.
They all twisted in his direction as he entered the room.
One of the spearmen tried to pull his spear into the corridor, but it got caught in the murder hole and snapped on impact.
Storm rushed forward and killed the man before he could draw his backup weapon.
The next man in the row released his spear and started to draw his sword but Storm snapped his neck before he could pull it free of it's scabbard.
The others had meanwhile succeeded in drawing their weapons and were marching in single file towards him with determination.
Storm fired a single lightning bolt at the men, who all screamed in pain as the bolt pierced each man through the center of their chests.
Leaving them with a large, gaping hole through the chest.
Storm peered through the murder hole and saw Leyocan waving at him from the opposite side of the passage.
Storm whistled to get Grombrim's attention and gave him a thumbs up to let him know that the danger had passed.
Storm carefully stepped over the bodies and exited on the other side.
He stopped at the doorway when he saw a large group of warriors standing prepared on the other side of the main doors leading into the base.
Two winches were located on either side of the door, requiring both to be operated in order to raise the heavy stone door.
The warriors hadn't spotted him yet and were rushing around to follow the orders of a middle aged man in silver plate armor.
He wore no helm, showing his chiseled face and short white hair.
An ornate longsword was tied to his hip and a large black kite shield with an upright silver lion painted over the surface was strapped to his left arm.
Storm saw Leyocan crouched on the opposite side of the room, who made a shushing gesture with a finger when they locked eyes.