Day 1
The stench of the undead, carried by the upstream wind was the first thing to announce their presence. Beside me, Captain Hilam and Captain Jorrel, sturdy and veteran men who have seen their fair share of skirmishes, stood with their muscles taut. Nerves on the edge.
That was the effect Virtos Bend had even on battle-hardened veterans. Or perhaps, it was the eventual knowledge of the horde that had crossed Narris Ford, now climbing Virtos bend that kept them on edge of anxiety.
Merowyn who led the Viridian Dawn Rangers, in contrast, had an expression that could only be defined as carved in stone. Occasionally, his palms clenched on the hilts of his new twin blades proudly.
Virtos bend itself was not a single bend, but rather five bends. From the top where we stood, High-Crag Pass meandering through could only be described as a serpent snaking its way through.
Meanwhile, Theko with his command of goblin sappers, all mounted on their rock monitor lizards, stood on the sixth part of Virtos bend. Despite every bit closer to the enemy, the bugbear held the same calmness when he carried chores in Lyria’s forge.
The rock monitor lizards with their tightly webbed feet could scale any walls, making the mounted unit under Theko’s command the perfect choice to disengage and climb back to safety should I sound the retreat. Yet, despite the obvious advantage, Theko himself preferred to fight on foot.
On the fifth part, Taltil squatted with her heavy crossbow lowered cautiously. All hundred goblins stood waiting at her command, all equipped with long spears, and bows with heavy pounder arrows. Granted that those pounder arrows lacked accuracy and penetrating power but they made for that with sheer force to shatter bones -- the perfect choice against the foe they currently faced.
What felt like an interminably infinite moment, still silence blanketed Virtos Bend while we watched with unblinking eyes from the cliff face. Then, the first of the figures stirred.
The undead slowly started their staggering walk like drunken dwarven patrons out of an ale house. Shambling mounds of rotten and decaying flesh, bound together by forbidden necromantic rituals advanced at a crawling pace.
At my signal, Theko leapt through the rocky cliffs of the hairpin bend and his company of goblin sappers followed.
The volley of arrows from Taltil’s unit was the first to reach the undead below. Most of the arrows stuck the rocky path, harmlessly while the few that met the target undead, fractured bones and crunched skulls, further slowing the already slow undead.
When Theko and his goblin sappers engaged, a one-sided slaughter ensued.
The last of the undead fell and more came crawling in an endless wave. The goblin sappers fought, aided by the arrow shower from the goblins above. With each wave that fell, a new one rose. The intensity grew with each wave, their number swelling with each wave. Yet Theko and his company remained unwavered.
After what felt like endless waves of undead, the Death Knight appeared, cutting his way through the goblin sappers. The thick-hided rock monitor lizards fell with a single sweep of his halberd. Mounted on an equally terrifying undead horse, he remained swift, delivering death across the field, until Theko moved into to challenge him.
Theko parried the first two swings from the halberd with his shillelagh, aiming to close the gap. The Death Knight spurned his undead mount, pushing for a wider gap from Theko. Another overhead swing, aimed to split Theko followed. Theko blocked, raising his shillelagh. Hooking the shillelagh with the edge of his halberd, the Death Knight twisted his hold, disarming Theko.
Bereft of any weapon, Theko rolled, avoiding the oncoming swing. The swing was followed by a thrust of the halberd, narrowly grazing Theko on the shoulder. The Death Knight drew the first blood, placing Theko on the defensive with a combination of swings and thrusts.
Only a single well-placed shot from Taltil’s crossbow staggered the Death Knight, providing Theko with the valuable time he needed.
Theko capitalised on the opportunity by grabbing two femur bones of the fallen undead. Closing the gap, he struck thunderous blows to the frontal hooves of the undead mount, crippling it. Pushing, Theko threw the undead horse, pinning the Death Knight underneath it.
With a strength gifted from his bugbear heritage and tempered through the hard toiling in Lyria’s forge, Theko wrenched the heavy metal sabaton of the Death Knight and bashed undead rider with it. Three strong blows before the helmet of Death Knight caved in.
Theko still continued with rapid blows, astonishing all who witnessed. Even the goblins under Tatltils command stopped their firing of pounder arrows to watch Theko in his rare, yet violent moment.
Unyielding, Theko delivered a few more blows, till the writhing of the Death Knight’s limbs ceased. Wrapping his arms around the limp form of his opponent’s neck, Theko tore the head of the Death Knight, spine dangling uselessly below, and lifted it for all the gaze upon -- a sign of his prowess.
More waves followed. More Death Knights and even a few tomb heralds arrived, challenged, and fell to Theko.
Eventually, Theko gave the order to retreat, providing his goblin sappers with much-needed respite.
Under the cover fire of Taltil’s goblins, while the goblin sappers urged their mounts to scale the steep rocky terrain to the sixth bend, Theko himself walked, following the snaking path along the bend -- with the victorious walk of a hero.
I gave the order for Captain Hilam and Captain Jorrel to move. Only Merowyn stood beside me.
“How long do you intend to hold them here?” asked Merowyn.
I did not answer. I could not answer.
With Lyria’s revelation and more importantly, my promise to her, all my well-crafted plans crumbled like a house of cards. My only hope was to draw the Cambion Warlord himself to the forefront, forcing him to face Talus in one final confrontation to end the threat.
Instead of continuing walking Theko rested a while at the bend, till Taltil reached him, alone. Together, they stood, defending alone till the reinforcements reached them.
When Captain Jorrel’s crossbowmen took their position on the fifth part of Virtos Bend, and relieved Taltil’s tired goblins, Captain Hilam’s axe warriors formed a defensive wall on the sixth part. The few straggling undead were quickly cut down.
Theko still remained behind them. Only occasionally, rushing when the situation demanded.
Four more waves of undead, mostly zombies and skeletal warriors crashed against Captain Hilam’s men. The two Death Knights who appeared were promptly obliterated by Theko.
At the onset of dusk, I finally gave the order to Merowyn.
With the agility of wood elves, the Viridian Dawn Rangers deftly scaled the rocky cliffs and reached the lowest part of the bend. Cutting down the undead invading the lower part swiftly, they set about their assigned task. Soon, bodies were piled and pyres were lit. Considering the wave of undead, the embers of the pyre will not die out till the following morning.
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Satisfied with the task, the Viridian Dawn Ranger, quickly scaled the rocks to return back to my side.
As the night fell, both the Captains disengaged and retreated back, while the wave of undead continued undeterred by the dark.
The following morning, the seventh and the sixth part of Virtos Bend was overrun with invading undead.
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Day 2
Theko and his goblin sappers, aided by the goblins under Taltil’s command, fared the first three waves of undead on the fifth part of Virtos Bend.
It was then that the first of the horde appeared. Some northern raiding tribes along with the company of renegade orcs who chose the alliance of Cambion-Warlord over the authority of Urganza advanced unchallenged.
Taltil’s goblins stopped firing the pounder arrows and switched to their spears -- ready to engage in close combat should Theko and his goblin sappers need the support.
At my command, the Viridian Dawn Ranger, aided by the altitude and their inherent skill with long bows, honed through decades of sheer practice, obliterated the invaders before they could engage Theko’s company.
Two groups of mixed humans and orcs attempted, only to be targeted by the Viridian Dawn Rangers.
With that, the horde ceased any further incursion till the late afternoon, when a Warband advanced under the cover of their heavy ironwood shield to protect them from the hail of arrows.
Merowyn led a few select rangers. Twin swords and scimitars exchanged for their bows, and with rope ladders, they quickly scaled the fifth parts of the bend. The elite ranger group flanked the warband with ophidian celerity.
The heavy shields, too heavy to be swung swiftly, only hindered the Warband when faced against the agile wood elves.
The rangers danced their famed sword dance with the blade in hand, twisting and turning, weaving in the gaps between the shields. They spun, darted, rolled, and attacked from impossible-to-defend angles. The engagement ended as soon as it began, in a fleetingly lighting-fast instant.
Merowyn gave one final sweeping glance at the slaughter before retreating with the rangers.
Short before the day ended, another Warband equipped with heavy shields advanced again, under the cover of their own archers.
The Viridian Dawn Ranger, from their vantage point high above, leveraging the advantage of the range, spelled doom from above, decimating a full company of horde archers in a precise heartbeat.
When Merowyn and his elite group annihilated the second Warband, no further attempts were made by the One-Horned Warlord’s forces till the following day.
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Day 3
Even before the faint light of the dawn could seep in, the tremours of a hundred thousand marching vibrated through High-Crag Pass. Like an endlessly surging tidal wave, the One-Horned Warlord’s horde fell upon Virtos Bend.
They marched, urged by fervent rage, motivated by gold, power, women, loot, and most importantly by the nearing presence of the One-Horned Warlord. Trampling their wounded to death, they advanced maddeningly. Not an army, just a huge wave of limbs clutching steel, claws, and pikes.
Despite the valiant effort by Theko and the resolute firmness of Captain Hilam’s men holding the shield, or the incessant support fire from Captain Jorrel’s crossbowmen, before the dawn broke, the fifth part of Virtos Bend was lost to the ravaging horde.
Watching Theko and Hilam’s command fall back, Captain Jorrel gave the command. His men retreated to take up the position at the third part of Virtos Bend.
Meanwhile, Taltilt led her goblins to provide cover support for the retreating Theko.
Merowyn gave a silent nod before leading the Viridian Dawn Rangers to occupy the second part of Virtos Bend.
I issued the command to sound the retreat for Captain Hilam’s unit.
By midday, the advance of the horde slowed to an abysmal pace. Rushing uphill through two bends --while dodging a squall of arrows rained from above, pushing the corpses of their own fallen did shatter the morale of the horde, yet urged by the ironclad will of the one calling himself the One-Horned Warlord, they hopelessly pushed forward.
Lacking vitality, a will to live, and sapped of strength, those who reached the fourth part of Virtous Bend were given a merciful death from either a crossbow bolt or an arrow shot from an elven longbow. A surreal and unease equilibrium existed, by the evening, with the horde claiming a few palty yards in the fourth part only to be obliterated by the hail of arrows.
As dusk fell, a sea of corpses draped the lower three parts of Virtos Bend.
Late in the night, Finn arrived, carrying with him reinforcement and much-needed arrows and crossbow bolts from High-Crag Hold. He personally sought Theko and handed him a covered bundle -- a completed gift from Lyria.
When Theko opened the bundle, his face glowed brightly. Every fibre of his self radiated valour as he lifted the twin-bladed staff.
Finn, much to his chagrin was ordered to escort the wounded back to High-Crag Hold, a task which he begrudgingly accepted.
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Day 4
The night was silent, still, and peaceful as it could be. No army or undead marched up Virtos bend. Yet, Theko, Taltil, and on occasions Merowyn, wandered down to the lower parts, wadding through the thick forest of corpses, and still found no activity of the horde.
The sunrise only brought a flock of carrion birds to feast on the corpses below.
The komodo riders, riding the greater cousins of the rock monitor lizards, appeared well into the day. With a strong grasp, enough to lift the heavily armoured frame of its riders, the battle-bred Komodo dragons, climbed the rocky walls and cliffs as they would march on lowlands.
Soon, the first wave of Komodo Riders rushed through the cliff rocks and was promptly devasted by the crossbowmen.
When the second wave appeared, Taltil and Theko amassed enough corpses to fuel a furnace. The second wave met with heated sand and flint stones. The enraged Komodo dragons turned on their riders and on each other.
The cold of the north was inhospitable even to the rock monitor lizards. The Komodo dragons, being not a native species, were a rarity. A knot of apprehension twisted in my stomach and the feeling of unease continued when the third wave of Komodo Riders attempted and was checked by the Viridian Dawn Rangers.
I send a runner to Taltil, instructing her to interrogate one of the Komodo Riders should the opportunity present itself.
Before nightfall, two more waves of Komodo Riders attempted to gain a foothold on the fourth part of Virtos Bend, yet failed before the tenacity and the consummate archery skills of the Viridian Dawn Rangers.
When Taltil personally presented herself at the night, her report was brief. The rider she found partly alive was not a native of the north and spoke a tongue that was incomprehensible.
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Day 5
The horde, once again, surged to rush in an attempt to claim the fourth part of Virtos Bend. The initial wave felt unending as more replaced those who fell to the arrow barrage from above.
When the long protracted engagement became more akin to a war of attrition, the shouts of one of the men came. “Harpies.”
With that, Merowyn took the initiative even before I could pass my orders. The wood elves under his command shifted their aim to the aerial threat.
Though none of the Harpies managed to inflict even a minor casualty, they still served their purpose. With the concentrated firepower split, the fourth part of Virtos Bend was lost.
From the bottom part of Virtos Bend, dark leathery wings extended and soared higher, gliding across the pass, bearing its rider, the Wyvern rose higher, aiming directly towards the third part of Virtos Bend. The rider, an ebon steel clad figure, lifted an equally ominous-looking trident, amidst the cheer from the horde beneath.
Encased in obsidian-like scales, neither the arrows of the wood elves nor the crossbow bolts managed to pose a significant threat to the Wyvern.
It landed among Captain Jorrel’s crossbow men, snapping the neck of one like a hapless twig, while its frontal paws with razor-sharp talons raked another crossbowman. Urged by its rider, the Wyvern lifted its face and with its flesh-starved reptilian gaze glared directly at Captain Jorrel.
Only a distraction from Theko, by hurling a rock at the Wyvern’s head, saved Captain Jorrel’s life.
With a sudden turn, the wide swing of its tail knocking three more crossbowmen down, the wyvern lurched towards Theko.
The first bite, Theko parried with his twin-bladed staff. Another, he parried again. When the open maw of the Wyvern snapped at him, he dodged with a roll, deflected the thrust of the trident, and parried the follow-up tail swipe aimed at him.
Though his attempts were valiant, the ravenous maw of the Wyvern stalked him, relentlessly. Death lingered dangerously close with every dodge and parry he made.
Merowyn, who stood on the second part of Virtos bend, leapt forward. With two hops over rock outcrops, he deftly landed on the Wyvern, twin blades already flashing in hand. Quick cuts and slices followed from Merowyn, slashing the leathery wings of the Wyvern.
Landing gracefully on his two feet, Merowyn continued his assault on the hindlimbs of the Wyvern. The natural strength of an orc coupled with an elven finesse made his strikes penetrating.
Handicapped of its inability to fly and enraged, the Wyvern rose, lifting its frontal limbs in agitation, hurling its rider down. When the Wyvern brought its mouth to close on Theko, the bugbear rolled forward, extending, thrusting the twin-bladed staff into its open maw.
Theko’s grip remained firm despite the wild thrashing and the blood-churning screams that issued from its throat. Everything in the vicinity froze as the death cry of the Wyvern spilled.
When the thrashing subsided, Theko extracted his bladed staff and with a powerful overhead swing, sliced the head of the beast, while Merowyn thrust his twin blades through the eye slots of the rider.
Lifting the wyvern head on a pike, Theko eventually roared and only sheer silence greeted him in response.
With that, I gave the final order to abandon Virtos Bend.
We might have inflicted severe casualty to the Cambion Warlord, but his necromancers will now have enough to work with -- to raise and swell their fallen numbers.