Gase ran along the top of the wall with most of the surviving defenders. With beasts now on both sides of the wall, the only route to safety lied by putting enough distance between them and the western gate before heading down into the city.
He passed one of the wounded. The man was trying to rise to his feet, with little success. Gase wanted to help, but he knew he would only be dooming himself as well if he did.
Still, it pained him when the man called out for help. He felt his resolve beginning to crack, but he grit his teeth and continued onwards. He kept as far away from the parapet as he could, running near the inner lip of the wall to his right.
Every now and again, a creature of some sort would drag itself up, forcing him and the others to dash around it. Few spent time to engage the beasts anymore. Those that did were quickly left behind, for all their good intentions.
The city alarm sounded out again. It had started shortly after the gate was breached and had yet to stop. It rang out in waves to drown out the howls of beasts and cries of men before quieting down for a time.
Ahead, another bottleneck had formed at the tower. Each was worse than the last as the number of people trying to cross them grew. The retreat, if it could be called that, was not orderly in the least as people pushed and shoved to get up the narrow steps and down the other side. A few tried to jump up and grab the top of the tower to pull themselves up, skipping the stairs altogether, though not many succeeded.
He risked a glance backwards. From his position, he had a line of sight down the wall to the gate. He could see beasts still pouring into the city, some heading in their direction as they fanned out.
A hard shove nearly sent him off the wall as someone barrelled past him, making for the stairs to the tower. He steadied himself as more pushed past, quickly finding himself at the back of the mob.
A snarl behind and to his left drew his gaze. One of the grey, long-limbed beasts was pulling itself over the parapet and onto the wall. The creature’s head swivelled in their direction, and it launched itself forward. One of the defenders stabbed out with a spear. The weapon was batted aside before hooked claws dug into the man’s flesh. He screamed as the beast pulled him closer.
Gase registered movement in the corner of his eye an instant before a halberd cleaved into the side of the creature’s head. It crushed one of those yellow eyes on the side of the beast’s head and bit deep. It howled in pain and retreated a few steps, still not dead even with the cleft through its head.
Behind it, Gase saw more beasts climb over the parapet. He looked to the tower but quickly gave up as every possible route was flocked with bodies trying to escape. Perhaps if they had worked together, they might have been able to organise a defensive retreat. But as it was now, with panic having dug in its roots, everyone was looking out for themselves. The beasts would reach him before he could even reach the steps.
He wasn’t the only one to realise this as others around him began to search for a way out, shouting at those in front to hurry. One man ahead of him swung himself over the edge of the wall, landing with a pained cry. As if this was the signal, more began dropping from the wall. Another hunter near him dropped down, rolling to take some of the force from the fall.
Gase prepared to follow but what he saw, gave him pause. The man had barely gotten to his feet before having to draw the axe at his side. The first of the beasts from the gate had reached them.
Gase scoured the surroundings, his eyes falling on the buildings across from the wall. The building in front of him was a tall, two-story structure. Could he make it? The top of the wall and the roof of the building were about the same height, and they were maybe four strides apart.
He glanced back to see more of the creatures on the wall now, With hunters and guards slashing and hacking for their lives.
“Shit!” he cursed and took a step back. He made for the edge and jumped. For once, not having any armour or weapons seemed to work in his favour as he soared through the air. He managed to hook and elbow over the ledge of the roof before slamming into the side. The hit drove the air from his lungs. For a moment, he hung and regained his breath before pulling himself up with a heave.
A spear flew past him to clatter onto the roof. He turned to see a woman in leather armour leap after it.
She caught onto the roof but nearly lost her grip she slammed into the building side. Gase lunged and grabbed onto her wrist. With some effort, he was able to get her up far enough that she was able to do the rest.
Seeing them succeed two others tried the same thing as well. The first did not make it and tumbled to the ground. The last was left hanging by his fingertips. Gase and the huntress both moved to help. Together they managed to pull the man onto the roof.
Gase fell onto his arse and breathed heavily.
“We have… to go,” the huntress said between breaths.
The man nodded and thanked them. A crossbowman, going by the weapon slung over his back. Gase pushed himself up. The woman was right, they couldn’t stay here.
The three of them moved quickly. The buildings in the poorer, western part of the city made use of every available space. They often shared walls or were built up right next to each other. This made it possible to go from roof to roof, away from the wall.
Reaching the next street, they and dropped down onto the cobblestones below. The beasts hadn’t yet reached this far, but Gase knew they couldn’t be far off.
People were rushing out of houses carrying possessions and bags. Gase shouted at the men and woman to hurry as he passed. He didn’t know where he was going but putting as much distance between himself and the western gate seemed like a good place to start.
The crossbowman quickly split off, citing the need to find his family. Gase and the huntress continued going in a roughly eastern direction.
All around him were faces painted in expressions of fear or determination. Gase dodged past fathers shouting over the noise as they pulled their families along. Past wailing children clutching to the mothers who carried them, while older ones followed in their wake.
He clenched his jaw as he saw the scene, yet, other than pulling up a few who fell or stumbled, he could not do much except hurry on. The words of encouragement he spared for those he passed went unheard or were ignored.
Here and there, mixed in with the crowd were armoured men and women with bloody weapons. Hunters, guards and mercenaries who, like him, had been on the wall and were lucky or quick enough to escape. He could only hope that Enmon shared that luck. The man had been further away from the gate when it fell, at least. Gase set Enmon from his mind. No point in worrying when he needed to focus on getting out himself.
He was in the north-western part of the city. So if he went south, he would join with the western road and have a straight path to the market and on to the eastern gate.
He turned down a street only to see a couple of people run his way from the other side. The terror on their faces and blood on their clothes told him all he needed to know.
A screech came from the direction of the running figures, sending a stab of pain through his mind. The ones at the other end of the street were closer though. They were sent stumbling and falling to the ground, clutching at their heads.
“Stick to the alleys!” Gase shouted at those around him, knowing his warning would probably not mean much, and doubled back.
He followed his own words and rounded a corner, into a narrow street leading east. To his surprise, the huntress from before was only a step behind him. Perhaps it was his warning, or perhaps the people felt safer following the armed figure of the huntress, but several others joined them.
Gase kept moving, soon finding himself at the head of a small crowd.
Think, think, think!
Luckily if there was one thing Y’rid knew, it was the alleyways of the city, especially the poorer part of it. Gase could only send his gratitude to whatever gods may listen that he still had those memories.
He decided on making his way east through the northern part of the city before joining the eastern street somewhere past the market.
Moving from alley to alley, more and more people joined them, seeking the false safety that numbers brought. The howls of the beasts were never far behind them, somewhere to their back and distant right, audible along with the ever-present screams and indistinct shouts.
The sounds increased as they eventually reached and skirted around the market. He tried to keep a row of houses and shops between them and the open square. The flying forms swirling in the moonlit sky over the square was enough to send shivers down his spine. Each time one of them dived, it was accompanied by those horrible screeches. The distance between them saved them from the worst, but each scream still caused him to wince.
Finally past, and leaving the beasts behind, he went down a street to join the eastern road that led to the gate.
Crowds of people were already rushing down the street as he reached the intersection. Gase and the rest of those that were still with him joined the exodus seeking to flee the city.
He saw a couple of guards banging on closed doors of the houses bordering the street, shouting for any that might still be inside to evacuate before heading to the next.
He glanced behind him as people rushed past. Through gaps in the many bodies, he could see glimpses of a defensive line at the end of the street, bordering the market.
It surprised him that there was still some semblance of an organised defence, even if that defence was retreating. It was an orderly retreat, one that held off the forerunners of the horde to give civilians a chance to escape.
At the speed the combatants were retreating, he had only narrowly managed to get to this relative safety. Only a short time had elapsed, and already the defenders were nearing the intersection he and the others had come from.
The thought of all the people he had passed on his way here forced its way into his mind. Fathers, mothers and children. Just how many people were still on the other side of that line of guards and hunters? He swallowed; his throat suddenly dry.
Ahead, he saw two men. What drew his attention was the fact that they were moving towards the back. They moved with purpose, hands on the swords at their sides. One was clad in dark leather armour, while the other wore a mixture of leather and mail with a nasal helm on his head. They swerved through the crowd, focused on the defence at the back.
He saw a man pulling a child along almost run into one of them. The man looked up at the hunter before flinching. He pulled the child to his chest and quickly got out of the way.
"Seems like not all of them ran," the leather-clad hunter spoke, looking towards the defensive line at the back.
Gase could just make out the pale red eyes that stared out from beneath the unruly black hair of the man as he passed. Even though they weren’t focused on him, those eyes were sharp enough to send a shiver down his spine.
Gase stared at the man’s back as he continued along without a glance. Beastblighted. The ones he had seen when he first entered the city. Two of them at least.
Gase hurried along. He had passed a few more streets, with more people joining the crowd at each, when he saw a commotion growing to the front. He craned his neck to see better. A couple of riders mounted on d’yari stormed onto the road from a side street. Moonlight glinted off their blackened plate armour, their faces obscured by the full helms they wore. They made for a fearsome sight, even though the clean state of their armour made it clear that they had not seen battle this night.
Blackguard.
The name rose from his memories. The citylord’s personal guard. Chosen from the most promising of the cityguard, their loyalty lied only with their lord. Y’rid had rarely seen them as they stuck to the richer areas in the city, but they had left an impression. Given the power to met out punishment as they saw fit, Y’rid, like every other street urchin and ally rat, avoided them like a plague.
They shouted at the fleeing citizens and pushed them out of the way with the buts of their spears. One man protested, a woman next to him herding two small children to the side of the road. One of the knights quickly struck the man across the face with the spear end, sending him staggering back.
A moment later, a carriage burst from the side street and onto the road. It was immediately followed by two more, with more knights surrounding them. Following the carriages, came wagons loaded with people. The knights quickly pushed their way to the front and cleared the road by threats and violence for the transports.
The crowd of fleeing people ground down to a halt as the knights pushed them away. Some went around the side, trying to keep out of reach of the knights, but there wasn’t nearly enough space for everyone.
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Gase found himself being squeezed against those in front as more terrified citizens shoved and jostled from the back. Shouts of rage and pleading were thrown out by the people, all jumbling together in a confusing mess.
Finally, the fourth and last wagon cleared the area. Three knights brought up the rear, and the crowd once again began to move, trailing behind them.
The sounds of battle could now clearly be heard behind him, having quickly caught up. Gase glanced back but was unable to see past the throng. He increased his pace and pushed his way forward, soon finding himself near the front crowd trailing the knights.
He heard someone scream something he couldn’t quite make out, the panic quickly spreading to others. Turning, he saw a man staring up into the sky with a fearful expression. He followed the man’s gaze and cursed when he saw the dark shapes above.
The Blackguard seemed to have seen them as well as orders were bellowed from one of the carriages. Two of them broke off from the formation to join the three at the rear. They spread out across the street and pulled their mounts to a halt before turning around to face the oncoming crowd.
Something struck Y’rid as odd about the scene, but he quickly pressed it to the back of his mind as he kept moving forward, trying to avoid getting knocked down by the panicked people rushing forward to safety.
The knights lower their spears. A woman in front had just reached the knights when one snapped the reins of his mount. The d’yar lunged, and the armoured man thrust forwards. The spear entered deep into the chest of the woman before it was ripped back out.
The woman fell forward, her body hitting the cobbled street.
For a moment, those in front faltered and stared uncomprehendingly. The knight fell back into step with the others, looking not towards the beasts above, but at the civilians in front.
They’re… using us as shields.
Apprehension filled Gase’s mind as reality dawned on him. Some of the others came to the same conclusion, expressions of fear replaced with confusion and disbelief. Gase and those in front tried to stop, but the crowd pushed them forward, either unknowing of the threat or simply more afraid of the beasts than the knights.
Another man in front of him got speared, then another. He saw someone near him dig in his heel only to get pushed to the ground and trampled. He saw the line of knights get closer. Then a familiar shriek pierced the air above him.
Gase’s vision swam as the sound invaded his head. His knees weakened, and he sank to the ground clutching at his head. All around him, others were doing the same.
Blurrily, he saw two massive claws appear from the corner of his eye. They slammed into the chest of the figure beside him. A loud cracking reached him as he felt a warm spray splash against his face. Then the figure was gone, lifted up into the air.
The ringing in his ears softened, replaced with screams of pain and terror. Slowly he regained control of himself and wiped a hand over his face. A metallic scent filled the air as he shook his head. All around him, people were lying on the ground, some struggling to stand, others still knocked out. He barely had time to register this as his eyes were drawn to a ghastly sight, finally getting a proper look at one of the beasts.
It stood a few feet away, over the corpse of a young girl. Its wings resembled that of a bat, being clawed at the middle as it supported itself on their folded states and its hind legs. It was covered in patched pieces of dark fur. Its head was elongated into a snout that split in two as it stretched its long neck down and snapped its jaws shut onto the girl’s arm with a wet crunch. A long, jointed tail swivelled before spearing through a man that was rising to his feet beside it.
Unable to look away, he watched as the monster ripped the girl’s arm off her corpse before swallowing it whole. He quickly rose to his feet but froze as the creature’s head turned towards him, blood leaking from the gaps in its teeth to drip on the ground. A low growl escaped it as its black eyes stared at him.
Gase tensed, about to spring back and make a run for it when a whistling sound passed his head, followed by a dull thud as an arrow embedded itself in the creature’s neck. It tried to scream in pain as it swung its neck, but the arrow disrupted the sound forcing it into a hoarse croak as the creature flapped its wings and rose into the air.
Looking back, a group of bloodstained hunters and cityguard seemed to have caught up. Near the front of the group, an archer stood holding a longbow as she pulled another arrow from the quiver on her back. She wasted no time in sending it flying through the air towards the rising monster. The arrow sank into its back but failed to stop it as it gained altitude.
He saw another beast swoop down onto a man making run for an alleyway. Its claws tore into the man and lifted him into the air.
Can’t run.
At least here he was one among many, lowering the chances of him being targeted. Near him, a figure slammed into the ground, dropped from above. Gase frantically cast his gaze around, searching for something to defend himself with.
A short distance away, he saw the Blackguard make their retreat. A few swayed in their saddles, and their mounts seemed sluggish. One of the flying beasts dove and grasped towards the last knight. The d’yar he was riding reared up, striking wildly at the beast with its hooves.
The sudden movement threw the knight from its back. The flying beast twisted, avoiding the attack and landing heavily on the ground. It lunged at the d’yar as its hooves again touched the ground. Its teeth sunk into the d’yar’s neck while its tail speared into the mount’s side.
Then the knight was on his feet. He drew the bastard sword at his side, having lost his spear in the fall, and rushed forward. He raised the overhead and brought it down in a clean strike onto the beast’s side.
The blade cut deep, and the creature released the dying mount and snapped at the knight. He stepped aside and parried the beast’s maw before scoring another cut across its chest. A thrust of its tail struck the knight on the breastplate sending him stumbling back. The beast puffed out its chest and screamed.
The ungodly screech that sent a fresh wave of pain lancing into Gase’s head. He steadied himself and was barely able to keep to his feet, blinking the tears from his eyes. The knight, being closer, had no such luck.
The creature fell upon the fallen man, biting and stabbing with its tail. Each impact rang out and left dents on the plate. The knight struggled but was unable to get out from under the beast, each strike driving him against the ground. Finally, the tail found the opening in the man’s helm. With a wet squelch, the tail entered and emerged red with blood. The thrashing knight immediately fell still.
Gase felt a hand push into the small of his back before shoving him forwards with enough strength to send him sprawling. He hit the ground and tried to roll away. A pained shriek echoed behind him, followed by a crash.
Gase pushed himself up onto his elbows. He stared at the fallen beast that was trying to stand up mere feet away from where he stood only moments ago. Its left wing was hanging on by a few strips of flesh as dark blood pumped from the wound in spurts.
Facing the beast was one of the beastblighted he saw earlier, the chainmail shirt now spattered with blood. In his hand, he held an arming sword that seemed to shimmer as the symbols etched onto it lit up.
With a step, the man closed the distance to the struggling beast before swinging the sword. The glowing blade traced an arc through the air. It swept through the struggling beast’s neck, barely slowing as it did so, severing its head.
A growl reached Gase’s ears. His head snapped back to the fallen knight, and he saw the man’s killer launch itself forwards, flapping its wings to glide above the ground. Gase flattened himself as the shadow swept over him.
He twisted and saw the hunter dive out of the way even as he shouted a warning to the man. As the beast passed, its tail struck out, scoring a glancing blow against the man’s shoulder with enough force to throw him flat onto the ground.
Gase quickly pushed himself to his feet. His eyes landed on the sword of the knight, lying a few steps away. He ran to it, and skidded to a halt, hand closing onto its hilt. He spun, looking back at the hunter.
The man was already on his feet, facing the beast as it lunged once more. Again, he dove out of the way at the last moment. This time he was ready though. He rolled to his feet as the beast passed him, glowing light mixing with red as the sword in his hands sliced through its tail.
The loss of the limb offset the entire beast’s balance. It swerved and crashed into the ground, rolling a few times, before coming to a stop in front of Gase.
His heart hammered in his chest as the beast rose to its feet. He held the sword out in front of him and backed away. The beast’s chest pushed out as it threw back its head.
It’s going to scream.
His body moved as the thought registered. Instinct he didn’t know he had took over as he sprang forward as he swung the sword in his hands in a horizontal slash. The piercing sound hit him an instant before he felt his sword connect, the impact shocking his arms. The sound cut off abruptly.
The ground swayed under him as his ears rang. He fell to his knees before scrambling back. He clung to the sword, refusing to let it go, dragging it after him. Through his clearing vision, he saw the beast flailing, blood gurgling out of the cut on its neck.
Too shallow.
Gase stared at the beast as it turned its hate-filled gaze on him. His head pounded, and his throat constricted. His legs shook as he tried to get them to work properly. The beast braced itself, ready to spring.
Before it could, the tip of a glowing blade burst through its chest. The blade retracted, and the creature fell to the ground thrashing about as blood pumped from the wound.
Behind the beast stood the hunter. He eyed the dying beast as he stepped past it. Glancing at Gase, he said something before turning away. Gase couldn’t quite make out the words over the beating of his own heart and blood rushing through his ears.
Gase followed the hunter with his eyes. The man’s left arm was hanging limp, his sword grasped in the other. He sped forward as another form swooped down from above onto a woman holding a bow. It sunk its claws into her. Distantly, Gase recognised her as the archer who had saved his life only a while ago.
The woman cried out in pain before the monster’s jaws snapped shut around her head, silencing her forever. It yanked its neck to the side, ripping her head from her body in a spray of blood.
The man raced over, his footsteps causing the creature’s head to snap towards him. The beast shrieked and Gase grit his teeth. The hunter didn’t even slow. The glowing blade stabbed through its skull before it could register the lack of effect its scream had. Its corpse fell limp to the ground as the hunter withdrew the sword.
It took Gase a while to realise the screams and shouts he was hearing was no longer those of people fighting for their lives, but of wounded crying in pain. Shakily, he climbed to his feet. The only fighting still going on was far to the back.
He took a few steps away and took in the devastation the creatures had caused. Corpses lay scattered across the street. For each person still alive, it seemed as though more were dead. Sobbing and pained cries mixed in the air. It felt like a weight settling onto his spirit.
He stood in a field of dead. Wounded were quickly pulled back as his countrymen reformed their lines. A calm before the storm, as they waited for the second charge of the enemy. A calm that was filled with screams of pain and anguish, but that was all respite they were going to get.
The memory faded as abruptly as it had come. This time he didn’t try to peruse it.
“The Horde will get here shortly!” A voice shouted. Gase traced to the sound to see the red-eyed hunter addressing those around him. “We’re making for the gate. Those who want to live, follow. You get left behind, you die. There’ll be no turning back.”
With that, he spun around and quickly started making his way in the direction the Blackguard had went. The remaining hunters and guards were the first to follow after him, with the rest of the surviving civilians soon after. Gase looked back to see that the retreating defensive line was almost upon them. In their midst was the other beastblighted hunter, spinning around a massive three-legged beast as his sword drew arcs of blood through the air.
Gase tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword in his hand, taking some small comfort in the action. He started following the rest of the crowd when, to the side of the street, he saw a small boy shaking the body of a man. The boy was seemingly oblivious of the fact that the lower part of the man’s body was missing.
“Get up! Get up!” The boy repeated as tears streamed down his face.
Gase felt his throat constrict. On strides still not entirely steady, he made his way over. He reached out and clutched the boy’s shirt, pulling him from the corpse.
“No!” The boy shouted, struggling as he tried to reach out toward the dead man.
“He’s not going to get up,” Gase said softly, feeling a stab of pain in his chest.
The boy tried to break out of his grip. Gase spun the boy around and grabbed his jaw. He looked into glistening eyes as the boy kicked and punched at him.
“He’s dead!” Gase said. Harsh, he knew, but they could not afford to waste time. Not now.
The boy’s struggle weakened, and he fell silent as he heard the words. The desperation seemed to drain from his eyes, taking something with it as it did so. His shoulders slumped and his hands hang limply at his side.
Gase grabbed onto one of his arms and moved after the rest of the crowd while pulling the boy along. After a few steps, the lingering effects of the beasts’ cries wore off, and the group began to increase their pace, the distant roars coming from deeper within the city driving them to move faster.
Gase scanned his surroundings as he walked, looking for any sign of more of the beasts. He made sure to keep to the side of the group, in case any more of the flying beasts showed up. He hoped that the buildings bordering the street would deter their diving, or at least cause them to go for easier targets.
Several more small groups joined up with them as the as they made their way towards the eastern gate. Though clearly exhausted, the crowd kept up with the quick pace set by the hunter. The occasional howl or roar coming from the defensive line on their heel provided more than enough motivation.
By some stroke of luck, they managed to reach the end of the street without further incident, the sight of the open gates drawing sighs of relief from nearly everyone there. Never had the dark wilderness beyond seem so welcoming.
Following in the footsteps of the red-eyed hunter, they quickly passed the gate and headed past the farmland, towards the forest. The pandemonium faded behind them now as they put some distance between them and the hell that used to be the city.
Gase could see a small crowd of people already gathered on a low hill some halfway between the city and the forest, seemingly waiting for something.
Gase kept his grip on the boy to force him to keep up and moved closer to the front, as they joined up with the other group. The beastblighted hunter that led them here and the other that brought up the rear strode off towards two other people a bit away from the crowd.
One stood with a massive crossbow on her back, the other was a giant, reaching the first’s chest while sitting down. Gase was sure that if the night was a bit brighter, he would see the same pale red eyes on these two as well.
“Why are we waiting here? We need to go!” Someone shouted from the crowd, sounds of approval coming from many of the others.
“Shut the fuck up! There are still a lot of people in the city. Grow a bit of spine!” One of the bloodstained guards replied, sparking an argument that quickly turned heated.
Gase ignored them and focussed on the group of beastblighted. They barely spoke a few words between them, choosing to look towards the far southern end of the city. Gase followed their line of sight and saw another group rounding the wall and heading towards them.
It only took a moment for someone else to notice and remark on the fact to stop the insults being thrown around. Gase squinted, trying to make out the details, but even with the full moon shining down, the distance was simply too great.
As they drew closer, he could see more than a few of the members being supported by others, limping along as quickly as they could. Many of the group were carrying spears, polearms and other long weapons, signifying them as hunters and guards. Probably one of the groups that were helping out with the defence of the city before the task became unattainable.
Some of the people near him went out to help with the wounded as they drew closer. Gase wanted to help them himself, but after glancing down at the boy next to him, thought better of it.
He pushed the boy forward, moving closer to the group of beastblighted as the leader the newest arrivals, a man holding onto a spear, broke off and joined them along with another.
The man nodded at his companions before focusing on the one who had brought up the rear in Gase’s group.
“Trouble?” He asked.
“Adler managed to get injured, so about as much as you’d expect,” the man said with a shrug.
The hunter in the chainmail glared at the speaker.
“I see,” the spearman said before looking over the crowd. “Then let’s go.”
They started to move off to the woods.
“Hey! What about the rest of the people?” The guard who had spoken out earlier asked.
“You are alive because of them,” The spearman said. “Already the horde has spread through the city. The only reason they aren’t chasing us down right now, is that they are too busy chasing and feasting on those that remain in the city. Don’t let their deaths be in vain.”
His words quickly doused the spirits of the gathered people. With what he had seen, Gase would be surprised if someone here hadn’t lost someone tonight. The guard didn’t seem satisfied but held his peace, his eyes laden with exhaustion.
A few tear-stained looks were cast at the city as the crowd started heading down the dirt road leading into the forest, following the group of red-eyed hunters while sticking close to each other and the illusion of safety that their numbers brought.
Gase gave one last glance over his shoulder toward the city, his hand tightening around the hilt of the sword. Then he pushed the boy forward to walk in front of him and followed the others into the forest.