Troglodyte Attack!
Jan Smallhammer took advantage of the small break in the action to wipe the sweat from his brow, with the back of a tattered sleeve. That was all the breather he had, as the cave creature flung itself at him again, its fists swinging, and a fungus-breath snarl on its lips.
Again he dodged, felt his foot slip slightly, but twisted out of the way, and swung his fist again against the troglodytes ribs. It barely paused, grabbing him by the arm and pulling Jan towards it. He didn't have room for another punch, so he changed tack, and stepped inside, ramming it with his shoulder. He felt the grip on his arm pry free, nails scratching along his bicep before the troglodyte fell backwards and rolled down a slope to land on the cavern ground beneath him.
Jan took stock. To his left, Lorgem the Mason knelt, no longer in combat, but clutching his throat, his breath rasping in and out. He had been down here building walls to keep these things out - slightly too slowly. Behind Lorgem another Troglodyte, circling and snarling warily. Close by, to his right, the corpse of Degel, a wardog that was supposed to be keeping them safe, it body unmarked, but its neck at an angle that made him sick. Past Degel, Reg the carpenter, Anita's lover, staggered out of the cavern, his back a mess of red.
Also past the wardog was the entrance to the stairs, and safety, but a growl told Jan it was so far away it may as well be back at the mountainhome.
"C'mon then, you bastards. Come and get me"
One trog leapt forwards, and Jan's breath left him in a WHOOSH, as its fist piled into his solar plexus. He fought back tears, and staggered to the side just as the second trog attacked. Kicking out, he almost connected with the attacker, who thudded another punch into his arm.
He took a step backwards, lost in a hell of flailing fists and bloodlust, keeping his feet, weathering the blows, his mind on one thing only now: the fight. There was flashing movement, and thuds, and the pain sort of left him. He nearly tripped over a body, no time to tell whose, no time to think of it as anything but an obstacle to immediate survival. He fought on instinct now, and it was only instinct stayed his fist as the recruit went flying past him. Relief! His hope flared briefly, before the recruit dived forwards past the trogs, a savage blow driving his skull into the brain. Jan grimaced. How long before he succumbed to such a fate?
Still, the recruit had bought him a second, enough for a breath. And that bought him enough energy to press forwards again, throwing them off balance, throwing more punches into the beasts, hoping against hope that he had more stamina than they did, more fight, more days to live.
"JAN" The voice came from the tunnel. It was Ludwig! His friend, and fellow hater-of-roaches! He smiled a savage grin - years of mining had given Lud muscles larger than any trog's, and he was trained with axes - not dissimilar to the pick he carried everywhere he went.
Three more punches found Jan's face, thigh and body before Lud ran past him, charging into a Troglodyte, and leaving Jan facing just one. After the last 10 minutes, one was easy. It swung at Jan's head, and he ducked, instinctively grabbing it's arm, and twisting. The trog hit the dirt of the cavern floor with a thud, and Jan locked it's wrist before it could recover. It howled an inhuman scream as he twisted, and twisted, and twisted. The thing struggled, tried to find it's feet, but Jan twisted with a strength borne of rage. Howling, Cracking, Screeching, Tearing, more Cracking, echoing through the cavern, and the Troglodyte slumped, the pain driving it's animal consciousness away. Grimly, Jan knelt next to it, and started punching.