"STORM!!!" Called Aurora as she saw him flying out the room.
Once the danger passed, she disabled her magic and ran after her mate before anyone could stop her.
She found him laying on his side on the staircase that spanned the entire hive structure.
He wasn't moving.
She ran to his side and held his head in her forelimbs.
His body was a blackened mess, covered in burns. His skin was torn open in certain places, revealing the bone underneath. His once pure white mane was singed and covered in soot.
His wings were torn in several places.
One of the horns at the back of his head was cracked and the outer casing damaged, but it fortunately hadn't been broken completely.
"SOMEBODY HELP!!!" Called Aurora frantically regardless of the danger.
Razor was at her side in moments.
She carefully began on inspect Storm's wounds, using magic where it was most needed.
"Is he?..." asked Aurora.
Unable to finish her suspicions.
"He's alive!" Stated Razor.
"But he needs urgent medical attention!!" Exclaimed Razor.
"Then heal him!!" Stated Aurora.
"I can't do much more for him than I already have!! I don't have the knowledge or the energy.
He was lucky in a way. The explosion cauterized his wounds, he would have bled out already if it hadn't. " Explained Razor.
Razor held up a stone with a single rune carved on top that Aurora recognized immediately.
It was a 'Homeward Stone', used by Hunters as a means of quickly transporting wounded companions back to settlements for treatment.
Usually, they were almost impossible for Non Hunters to retrieve due to their price and rarity.
But Storm's forces had been fortunate to find a Dwarven prisoner in the Stronghold that had been forced by the hunters to create these for them.
After he was freed, he began to create these wonders for Storm's forces.
Although they were still quite rare and too precious for casual use, but at least the Resistance had an Stockpile right now.
This particular one had been set up to transport any wounded fighter that crushed it to the Gran's infirmary.
Aurora took the stone and placed it in Storm's hand before closing his limb for him and pressing down.
A moment later the magic took effect and Storm disappeared from sight.
"What should we do now?! Should we fall back?!" Asked Quill's mother.
Aurora closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself.
Quill's mother was something of a grouch in manticore form by the name of Xenia.
No one knew who Quill's father was, but considering that they found her in a breeding pen that used a male Chimera as a breeder.
Aurora had her suspicions.
As Chimera were a hybrid creature with dragon and several other monster's genes, it made sense to use one as a breeder as they were one of the few creatures that could successfully procreate with manticores, dragons, and griffins without ill effect.
Aurora had met with her a few times because of Orian's friendship with Quill and had tried to form a friendship with her despite her efforts to push everyone away.
Aurora realized that the reason for her grouchy attitude was due to a deep sense of shame from her time in captivity.
Much like how Orian pressed on to form a bond with Quill, so to did Aurora try with Xenia.
Although the 2 mothers weren't exactly 'friends', they had occasionally met up for a discussion or two.
Aurora sighed.
"No...We press on... It's what he would want us to do..." stated Aurora coldly.
Aurora raised her head before contacting Pyros with her mind.
"Uncle, give me your location!" Stated Aurora.
The old dragon was suprised that it was Aurora that contacted him, not Storm.
But he did as commanded.
She guided the remainder of Storm's team towards the doorway that led towards the heart chamber.
She found Pyros, Dust'an, Hoarfrost, and Grombrim waiting at the doorway with a small company of dragons, Griffins and dwarves.
"Aurora? Where is Storm?" Asked Hoarfrost.
"He's 'indisposed' right now. I'm assuming command of the mission. " stated Aurora.
"We can't press on without him!! What happened...?" Started Dust'an
"We can, and we must!! We came too far to back out now! As for my mate...
I will brief you all privately once the danger has passed." Stated Aurora.
She didn't like keeping people in the dark.
But she knew how the warriors would react if they heard that their hero had fallen.
They would lose their nerve and flee at the first sign of stiff resistance.
Better to keep news of Storm's condition a secret shared only with the trusted few that could handle the burden.
"Are these all that remains of your company?" Asked Aurora as she gestured towards the few dwarves present.
Captain Hoarfrost shook his head.
Grimm is holding the staircase with the remainder of my forces, keeping any goblin reinforcements from interrupting our battle. "
Aurora nodded her head.
"What kind of resistance can we expect?"
"Nothing we haven't already encountered.
Barb launchers, Acid Throwers and Tentacles.
They're isolated from the rest of the structure with their own power source.They'll be active and ready for us.
Don't try and destroy the heart directly.
It regenerates to quickly.
Instead we need to cut a path open and destroy a runed stone in the center of the organ.
Destroy that, and the whole hive will implode. " Explained Hoarfrost.
Xenia raised her tail and several of her spines raised eagerly.
"Trust me, if you can clear a path for my spines, then I can pierce it." Boasted the manticore.
"Here's our plan then. Pyros: you will use your cannon to blast the heart open. I'll keep the heart from regenerating with my ice magic.
Dust'an, Hoarfrost: You two keep the defenses off us and make sure that Xenia has a clear shot.
Once the object is destroyed, we make a run for it. Any questions?" Asked Aurora.
Everyone was silent and after giving them a moment, she ordered everyone to move out into the final chamber for what is expected to be a tough battle.