Chapter 43: The Recovery Mission
All but forgotten by the enemy, Vulp watched the Union’s army sluggishly shift squads of troops around. As the monsters drew closer, the Twin Cities encirclement broke with soldiers making way. In all the confusion, Vulp’s group watching from atop the wall couldn’t even tell what the plan was now for this siege.
“Why don’t they all just come together to outnumber the monsters?” Vulp asked aloud, forgetting her station for a moment. Catching herself too late, she covered her mouth with her hand, but one of the Lord’s advisors diligently answered her.
“Most likely, they’re worried about ending up in a pincer between those monsters and our army should we exit the city.”
“So that’s why they’re bunching up on both sides like that?”
To Vulp’s question, the advisor shook his head. “Honestly, it looks like that’s just the result of chaos while they struggle to agree on and set up a new formation. They obviously weren’t prepared for this situation…”
Eventually, the Union’s army settled in to a formation that made a modicum of sense. They essentially abandoned a quarter of the encirclement in the direction the monsters were approaching from. This way, they could attack the monsters from both sides, if necessary.
The monsters continued their approach, not showing any signs of reacting to the Union’s movements. Shortly after the human reorganization was complete, the monsters’ footfalls became audible. Boom boom boom … BOOM … boom boom boom … BOOM. It was unlike anything the soldiers on either side had heard before. Marching had a distinct rhythm to it, but that rhythm was uniform based on the soldiers all being around the same height.
In this case, the tallest monsters were stepping about once a second. The smallest monsters, three times a second. The human-sized monsters stepped twice a second.
A third of a second after the giants of the group stomped, the goblin-sized monsters took a second step. At the half-second mark, the mid-sized monsters brought their foot down. Two thirds of a second in, the goblin-types took their third step. All monsters brought their feet down together at the one-second mark. The cycle repeated like this. DM had envisioned the rhythm like he was still using spreadsheets from back in his college days:
[https://i.imgur.com/ZHYHDn2.jpg]
“They’re shaking in their boots,” the Lord observed while monitoring the Union’s army through his spyglass again. “They’ve got the superior numbers by far, but their overall poor training is showing.”
“My Lord, I dare say we’re not much better off in that regard.”
Lord Davidson lowered his spyglass and looked at his advisor over his shoulder. “Yes, but we have a wall between us and them.” He pointed toward the portion of the city wall closest to where the monsters were headed. “Vulp, why don’t you take a few guards from here and fortify that section of the wall? I’m not sure what those monsters will do…”
“Good idea, my Lord,” an aide commented. “The closest gate to that area is the northern gate but none of the soldiers from there have moved west along the wall. Cowards, I say.”
“In hindsight I should have put my eldest son over there. Anyway, Vulp, move out.”
“O—Okay.”
About a dozen men fell in behind Vulp as she began jogging north along the wall. When she passed other soldiers, many cheered or gently patted her on the back as she passed. Once they were clear of the crowd, she asked the closest soldier in her group why everyone was acting like that.
“It’s because of how you dealt with that fool from the Union,” the soldier answered between labored breaths.
“That was some fine swordplay!” another member of the town guard called out from further behind.
A knight had tagged along as well and shouted from the back of the group, “I’m sure word of your feat will spread throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, young Vulp! If we survive, of course!”
Vulp wasn’t sure that was what she wanted to hear, but she put it out of her mind for the time being. She brought her small contingent to a stop closest to the approaching monster army. They were still marching straight for the wall, completely disregarding the Union’s army. Would the army suddenly close in an attack the monsters?
Despite the loud foot stomps, Vulp noticed some noises coming from the inside of the wall. Peering down, she saw two hooded figures climbing up even though there were no steps or handholds here. Secretly invoking sensing magic, her eyes widened in realization.
Vulp spun around and walked back towards the outer portion of the wall, hoping nobody would notice her odd reaction to whatever she saw inside the city wall. Fortunately, everyone else seemed preoccupied with monitoring the approaching monsters and nearby Union forces.
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An archer turned to look at Vulp. “Should I attack them? A warning shot, maybe?”
“N—No!” Vulp denied him, not totally sure why he was asking her. Realizing she needed to clarify, she added, “It’s too risky to attack first… I think.”
“Aye.” The archer lowered his hand from the bow strapped to his back.
“A wise decision,” the lone knight vocalized in support of Vulp.
A few moments later, the monsters stopped just outside the wall. All eyes, from both human armies, were on the monsters as they stood motionless. Vulp even heard a gulp from someone nearby. Then she heard hurried footsteps. Looking to her right, she saw the two hooded figures dash across the wall and rappel down the outer surface using rope. The nearest soldiers were too flustered to stop the mysterious people from dropping from the protection of the city wall.
Eventually, one of them turned to Vulp for guidance. “Uh, they seemed like kids. Should we pull them back up?”
“Not until we know who they are and why they’re leaving,” instructed Vulp, realizing full well that there was no way in hell anyone would figure that out in the few remaining seconds until the two escapees reached the ground.
“I hope the monsters don’t—“
The soldier cut himself off as he saw the two hooded children get scooped up by monsters. They were being treated like baggage, but the monsters weren’t injuring them at least.
The monsters rearranged themselves. The minotaurs and kobold champions in the front made 180 degree turns to the outside, and the monsters behind them followed. Once all the creatures had turned around, the two sides joined back together in a well-synchronized display. They marched back the way they came, this time away from the city wall. The Union’s soldiers looked on, stupefied.
One Union archer released an arrow, although nobody watching knew if it was the result of impatience or an accident. The projectile buried itself into a basilisk’s side, although the basilisk did its best to ignore the wound and kept marching. A moment later, the archer collapsed to the ground.
“What happened!?” Vulp could hear from the vicinity of the fallen archer, obviously shouted by one of his nearby allies. Apparently, most or all of the nearby soldiers didn’t even see what had taken out the only combatant to attack the monsters.
The monsters soon moved beyond the range of even the Union’s archers. The Union did not pursue.
“So… Where does that leave us?” The knight looked around at all the blank stares he received.
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The monster charade near the Twin Cities delayed any Union assaults considerably. The military leaders needed time to reconvene and discuss their options. In the interim, they re-established a complete encirclement of the city. They were probably worried about the implications of so many monsters emerging from the general direction of the Lower Gordu Dungeon. What had happened to their many comrades in the dungeon, they were surely asking each other.
Kat and Shiba had played the role of baggage until the monsters entered the forest, but once that was over they climbed up and used the heads of their ‘captors’ as seats. Both enjoyed making the journey to the dungeon by being carried instead of having to walk, for once. They didn’t go overboard in their glee though; they knew they had a difficult task ahead.
While the Union dawdled back at the Twin Cities, Kat and Shiba arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. Not seeing anybody outside, they walked towards the dungeon entrance. As soon as they were away from the formation of monsters, the monsters resumed their march north, likely heading for the Upper Gordu Dungeon.
A morphling joined the pair as they walked down the stairs.
“Where is she?” asked Kat.
“…In the lobby,” the morphling replied.
“Is she still?” said Shiba.
“…Yes, but let’s make haste.”
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As Lupy wandered the city, a voice called out to her from down the street. Turning to look, she saw Anne, her part-time employer, approaching.
“Lupy!” She stopped a few meters away and breathed heavily with hands on her knees, supporting her.
“Yes?”
“Do you realize what’s going on?”
“It’s like everyone’s hiding.”
Anne’s eyes widened a bit but she recovered quickly. “Y—Yes, a Union army is sieging the city. Most people are too afraid to come outside. Unless they’re already defending the city wall.”
“Oh! Should I go to the city wall?”
“It’s… a bit disturbing how excited you look right now, but no, that’s not what I’m telling you.”
“Aww.”
“You want to fight that badly?”
“No,” said Lupy. “But I’ve fought adventurers from the Union before. Don’t worry. I didn’t kill them.”
“A—Anyway, I’m traveling around handing out instructions. Would you mind coming with me? We’re preparing a resistance for if the Union takes the city.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, I heard the Guild is doing something similar… if you’d prefer to support their efforts as a member. I’d rather you stay with me, but I thought I’d point that out.”
“I’d rather stay here with you than go listen to that Guild Master.”
“Hah! I don’t blame you. Great, come with me.”
As the two walked, Lupy heard Anne mutter something under her breath how there’s no way Lupy could be guilty or something or other, but she didn’t catch the rest.
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Bandit poked her head back into the Guild Master’s office.
“Well?”
“The thing with the monsters caused a lot of confusion. I overheard a knight saying the assault was delayed at least several hours.”
The Guild Master suppressed a snicker. “Good, that’s more time for allies to muster and more opportunity for Davidson to strengthen the city’s defenses from the inside.”
“What should I do now?”
“Nina, continue to monitor the knights and city leaders. Provide me regular updates.”
“Okay.” Bandit returned downstairs, but she stuck around to see what would happen in the Guild hall next.
The Guild Master exited his office, descended the stairs, and addressed one of the clerks in the crowded Guild hall. “How are things coming along?”
“Sir, we’ve got almost everyone here. I don’t think waiting any longer will help.”
“All right.” The Guild Master walked over to the makeshift podium they sometimes used to make announcements.
“Everyone, listen up. Most of you are beginners, but that still puts you at or ahead of the rank-and-file soldiers of the Union. I need all of you to cooperate as we prepare for the Union’s attempt to sack the city.”
“Why do we need to do anything!?” one female adventurers shouted from the back, referencing the fact that the Guild usually stayed out of conflicts between nations.
The Guild Master nodded to acknowledge the question and answered. “I’ve confirmed the Union invaded the Lower Gordu Dungeon as part of their invasion into the Holy State. A dungeon under the Guild’s control. Our control. We will not allow that to stand. Thus, we will join the conflict when the time is right.”
Some nodded knowingly but others didn’t look convinced, so the Guild Master continued.
“I also have reason to believe they won’t be leaving Guild members alone this time. I can’t share the details right now, but are you sure you want to take that risk?” He pointed at the adventurer who had asked the question.
She only paled in response.
The Guild Master provided his detailed plan.