The tall warrior pushed the broken wooden door open with a kick of his boot. It splintered with a groan and pieces scattered about the cold stone floor. Holgar stood in the doorway a moment allowing his eyes to adjust to the scene. The room was black except for the light pouring around his frame seeking to dispel the evil that occupied the keep. He immediately made out the eyes of the beasts that befouled the once proud fort. He could not see their forms clearly but their growls and snarls were enough to raise fear in any man. Holgar was not any man however. He was a paladin. He held his shining mace up high before him and shouted, “I’ve come here to cleanse this place of your stench! Prepare to be sent back to the hell from which you came!”

Without further warning he lunged into the room swinging his mace and shouting praises to God for every blow he landed against his enemies. The men behind him were unable to remain frozen before such courage and so they too rushed in hacking and hewing at the goblins. The beasts were not about to relinquish such a comfortable home and they swarmed the men with spears and barbaric clubs. Holgar stood strong, shield blocking the savage attacks and mace beating deep blows into the leathery flesh of his rivals. The men stayed close to his back forming a tight circle to defend each other from the onslaught.

Wave after wave of beasts washed against the warriors, threatening to swallow them whole. The sounds of clanging metal and grunting man and beast alike made for a maddening racket that confused the soldiers and caused panic to reach for their hearts.

Holgar just laughed and sang another song of joy to God for granting him the strength to battle such a wicked foe. He seemed to grow stronger as the battle waged on rather than weaker and it gave the men near him strength to continue on.

The fight continued to rage and one of the soldiers near Holgar was struck under his sword by a spear. It pierced his chain mail and wounded him badly. Holgar heard the man and without hesitation spun around knocking the goblin down who landed the blow before crushing his skull with the heavy mace. With his shield arm he caught the man before he fell and held him up.

Holgar leaned in with word of prayer on his lips before shouting, “You’re not done yet, hold that sword up and send some of these beasts back to where they came from.”

The soldier lifted his sword with a renewed energy and slashed it through the first goblin that approached him. Holgar spun back to the lead of the group and fought on. Swinging and pummeling the enemies as quickly as they could approach he fought his way into the main hall of the keep. From there his group was completely surrounded. Holgar shouted to keep everyone close and then braced for the rush of the enemies. As they reached him he bashed them to pieces like clay pots. More of his men fell near him, but each time he managed to rally them back to their feet to continue the fight.

Eventually the goblins realized that they were not going to carry the day and in fear of the holy warrior fled screaming and shrieking. Holgar stood tall and proud with a pile of bodies around him. Paying them no mind he tended to the wounds of his men. Several of them were injured badly, but with Holgar’s care were able to stay on their feet and to travel with some assistance.

Holgar did not celebrate the victory, though it was mighty indeed. He merely prayed for the lives of his men and thanked God for sustaining him through the fight. Satisfied that the enemy had been routed from the keep he prepared to return to the king with news of the battle.