Prian was chewing on a particularly tough piece of jerky when he saw the first torch round the bend and become visible. He debated cursing his luck, making a strike team just in time for a suicidal mission, but his family had never had great luck to begin with. Born to the lower class, his parents were farmers. Too many mouths to feed at home had seen him signing up for the army at first chance. He checked his timepiece, two hours, just as he predicted.
He was stationed on top of the canyon wall opposite Letty as more torchlight rounded the curve and became visible. Activating his manasight and crouching low to the rock, he saw wisps of mana trailing off a few of the soldiers. Mindless didn’t register to manasight as they hunted mana, but couldn’t use it. These were Edorian soldiers, human ones.
He threw a rock over at Letty and motioned to her to activate her communicator. She could infuse the stone and trigger the reaction to the companion stone down in the canyon. They would be limited up here in this darkness until the enemy reached the mana lanterns above the choke point. He braced himself and nocked his bow.
As the footsteps became louder and the torches closer, he could hear the Edorians chanting in their own language. It added an ominous element to the night and rattled his nerves. He checked his position and gear for the tenth time that hour. The ledge leading down was five feet off to his right, and the canyon wall was fifty feet before him. He was careful to stay down and out of sight until the fight began.
Wolf team would only get one chance at a surprise. The enemy would know where they were after they opened fire from the top. Five archers sat behind him at staggered distances. No one wanted to bump into each other and tumble off the side. He could hear whispers behind him as someone prayed. He checked his timepiece again, almost midnight.
—
Miser sat in the cramped canyon with his back to the rock. He really had tried to stay focused and at attention, but they had been waiting for hours. His mind wandered to his latest engineering project back at the camps. He hoped the workshop staff made it out safely. Miser spent all of his free time the last week crafting his newest weapon…
“Letty just triggered her communicator. Enemy spotted but too far for us to see. Get in position.” Alton said softly from behind him.
Miser jumped to his feet as if he had seen a ghost. How the captain moved so quietly baffled him. A small avalanche was triggered every time Miser tried to readjust. He grabbed his shield and planted it before him, nearly blocking the entire canyon. Mana lights cast the area in an eerie glow that gave Miser the creeps. He gripped the spear he was holding tightly in his hand.
There were six of them down in the canyon for the first shift. The captain, four infantrymen, and Miser. The infantrymen were to act as backup shields when needed and to stab away at the soldiers and mindless when not. They all had several spears to attack from range and swords for close combat. The spears were a nasty type that Miser hoped to never be on the wrong end of. Each one had a barbed head to cause maximum damage on entry and exit.
He nodded to the two closest soldiers to him and tried to put on a brave face. His core was full, and he circulated with some basic stretches to loosen up. The captain’s reputation had spread to the rest of the team. They couldn’t be regular soldiers or even regular strikers. He had to exude confidence. He looked back at the captain, and he was as unflappable as ever.
The captain was there to do well…captain things. Miser had one job to do, not let a single Edorian past him until his brother came to relieve him and take his place. His lazy brother was probably sleeping, or chatting up Amelia while Miser stood here and battled his nerves. He absent mindedly put his hand on the small bag tied to his waist and jingled its contents.
—-
Alton felt the rumble in his pocket from the communicator stone. Alton sent one of the reserves to alert Rico and Amelia. They would join Prian and Letty at the top of the canyon. Alton sorely hoped the Edorians would just ram themselves down the canyon for a few hours and exhaust themselves. Any competent commander on the other side would make holding this pass impossible. He stepped up next to Miser and let him know to get into position.
He tried not to smile when he scared the poor kid and waited for him to set in position. Alton stationed two of the reserves at Miser’s should and talked them through the tactics for the first charge. Let the enemy break themselves on the shield. Arrogance and ignorance were powerful weapons. Stab with the spears but don’t commit. Only two or three foes could mount an offensive at a time, an easily countered number.
The last reserve was given the communicator stone and told to leave it with their sergeant. The sergeant was managing the reserves and in charge of the rotation schedule. Miser and Nelson would rotate every thirty minutes as able to cycle and rest. Alton would take the pressure off by advancing down the canyon until the next shield wall was set. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it was what they had.
He checked his timepiece and found it midnight. Seven hours to hold in the dark, then the hard part would start. Alton took a long sip from his flask and offered it to his fellow canyon dwellers. None of them accepted the bitter Agorran whiskey, prudes. He passed the time instead repeating his new mantra internally.
Do not run off on your own.
Do not run off on your own.
Do not run off on your own.
Alton would master his emotions this time. That surge of power that called to him so seductively would be paired with an iron and indomitable will and rational thinking. Alton had never met a wolf, but he knew they hunted in packs. He would learn to stay with his pack as well. His pack was here in this pass. They would hunt together and they would live together.
The orange glow of torches crept into the vision of the defenders in the canyon. Alton counted ten of them and watched them pause at the entrance to the canyon. They would no doubt see the mana lanterns and know someone was near. He watched with held breath as a set of two torches started down the canyon towards them.
One torch fell behind the other as the two Edorians navigated the tight tunnel. Alton held his closed fist in front of him and in line of sight of Miser, silencing him and commanding him to wait. When they were ten feet away, Alton backed up and then surged through his legs to jump over Miser and slashed Fang through the necks of both soldiers. He killed the mana flowing through his legs to avoid showing on manasight any longer than necessary. The torches he threw a dozen feet closer to the Edorians to increase the confusion.
He slipped back by Miser, and they waited for a response. Alton ignored the wide-eyed stare from the infantrymen and debated with himself if that counted for running off on his own. He decided it didn’t since he came right back to the line. A loud voice shouted out in that stupid language. Alton imagined them standing there confused and looking at the torches. He enjoyed the visual.
Two more torches made the journey down the canyon. These two were taking their time and Alton could see the shadow of several bodies behind them. He raised his hand in view of the mana lantern and hoped his little snipers were watching. Counting down from five, he very slowly dropped all of his fingers and then his fist.
Ten bow strings snapped in the silence, and the bodies in the canyon hit the ground. This time, there was an uproar from beyond as the Edorians realized something was happening. Alton wasn’t sure if they could hear the bows from that far, but they definitely heard the moans coming from at least one survivor. Alton briefly debated putting them out of their misery, but decided against it. Humans that cavorted with monsters were monsters.
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Alton watched with a feeling of dread when the torches spread out on the sides of the canyon. His teams up top would see action early when they started looking for ways to go around instead of through. He switched to manasight and watched another group start broaching the tunnel. These were circulating in full. Alton tapped Miser on the back and leaned in.
“Two in front are circulating. Minimum tier two but likely higher. Be ready.” Alton said in a whisper.
He gripped Fang in his dominant hand while keeping his offhand free for now. The camp didn’t have any suitable blades for infusing to wield opposite Fang, and Alton didn’t want to overload a sword and cause an explosion, not accidentally at least. He was hoping to forage one from the corpse of a generous Edorian before the night was out.
The Edorians closed the distance cautiously. Around ten feet away, one of them bent down and grabbed a large rock, throwing it forward. It struck Miser’s shield with a loud thunk and Miser let out a surprised yelp. Shouts sounded from the two in the lead and from the group standing at the entrance to the canyon.
The group in the canyon pushed forward and hacked away at Miser’s shield. He crouched down behind it and kept it up and strong against the attack. Alton watched mana flow through the shield and negate any damage. The weapons were not being enhanced, so Alton guessed them to be only in the second or third tier. He raised his fist and signaled for the archers to back off. Two quick taps on the soldiers next to him had them jump forward and stab with spears.
Two barbed spears erupted through the stomachs of the Edorians assaulting Miser. Tunnel vision on their target and low visibility prevented them from seeing the other two soldiers in time to defend. It took practice to fight in the mixed lighting of torches and mana lanterns, the orange and blue haze disoriented unfamiliar soldiers. The soldiers behind them scrambled back and traded shouts.
Surprise was up by now, Alton walked forward and put the two Edorians out of their misery. His manasight was still active and as he stabbed through the neck of the first soldier, he saw a wisp of mana trail out towards him. He jumped back and tried to swat it out of the way, but it passed through his arm and entered his chest, where he felt his core.
He reached inwards to his core and checked it over. It was full and the normal tingle before battle was ever present. Nothing felt amiss, Alton questioned what he had seen.
“Miser. Manasight and watch me, tell me what you see,” Alton said.
Alton stepped forward and stabbed through the next downed soldier and watched the wisp trail into his chest again. He felt nothing from it and watched curiously as it entered his chest. No soldiers were coming through the end of the pass to replace the fallen. He walked back toward his team, lost in thought.
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary?” Alton asked Miser.
“No, sir. No enemy movement on manasight.” Miser replied.
“Did you notice anything about me when I killed that soldier?” Alton asked again.
Miser looked confused, “no? No sir, I didn’t notice anything?”
“Curious…” Alton muttered.
“Contact!” A voice from above shouted. “Enemies on the left ridge. Engaging.” That was the archer sergeant up there with Prian. “Target down.”
Alton strained his ears to listen to any action up top. He heard a twang and the sound of whistling. He reached out and grabbed the two soldiers and pulled them in. “Arrows!”
Miser held his shield while the other two put their shields up horizontally. A dozen arrows slammed into the shield a few seconds later, but none punctured through the mana hardened steel. They waited and a second volley hit a few seconds later. Alton leaned around Miser and saw foot soldiers approaching. All circulating throughout, time to get serious.
“Miser, contact from the front! You two keep your shields ready to react to my call for arrows. Spears at the ready!” Alton shouted.
Fang was still gripped tightly in his hand as he bent and loaded his knees to spring forward. The opposing commander was quick to use the combination of archers and foot soldiers. If they had to defend from the air and the front, it would hamper their original plan. The forces engaging from the front were trying to step over the bodies of their fallen comrades, and it was costing them precious time.
Arrows whistled down from above and cut a few down as Alton’s team took their turn for target practice. He activated manasight and leapt forward to cut down two of them with a furious set of slashes. Both defended in time to survive his salvo, but it only took a few more swings for Alton to batter through their defenses. More wisps of mana flowed into his core when he landed the killing blows.
He pursed the stragglers down the canyon and cut three more down before it opened up enough for them to bring numbers to bear. Alton retreated to rejoin his team and caught his breath against the canyon wall. By his guess, they were down about twenty soldiers in the first half hour. Any commander would be seething angry after being handed a series of losses.
No more activity sounded from up top on either side. He infused his communicator to ask Letty for an all clear and received it. The enemy was being cautious now, planning something. Nelson, Jonah, and four more infantryman arrived to swap out and send the others back for rest and patching up. Alton greeted them with a grin and a nod.
“Plenty of fun to go around, lads.” He said. “Jonah,” he said and nodded his head back down the path.
“Did you lose control again?” Jonah asked when they were out of hearing range.
“What? No. Not this time, at least. I want you to stay in the canyon and keep your manasight active during the next attack. Tell me if you see anything unusual.” Alton said.
“Cryptic statements are more of my thing, Alton.” Jonah replied with a questioning look.
“I have a theory, but I don’t want to lead you to it if you decide something else entirely. Trust me on this one.” Alton replied with a shrug.
“I have always trusted you, Alton. What’s one more odd request?” Jonah said cheekily.
“How are the others holding up?” Alton asked him before they moved to rejoin the canyon team.
“Sometimes waiting and not knowing is worse than the actual fighting,” Jonah replied with a long sigh, “it has been many years since I’ve found myself in this situation. The men will hold, they are strong. They have an unyielding belief in their captain and that he will see them through.”
Alton didn’t know how to respond to that, so he turned and instead walked back deeper into the canyon. If his theory was correct, he was absorbing mana from his slain foes. It would make sense why the army progressed faster than any others outside of the odd adventurer and treasure hunter. Killing mana capable fiends and humans would be the fastest way to grow in strength.
The Agorran decline in mana strength was well documented through the ages. Stories of long dead heroes like Pyramar were so many generations removed it seemed more a child's tale than reality. If part of the decline was the lack of fighting against other mana users, it would make sense.
The last few hundred years under the mountain had been relatively peaceful as far as Alton knew. When Mortarok began his campaign and forced them to flee, the highest tiered individual had been tier eight. In the time before the mountain, when war and conflict were common, there were dozens of men and women above the tenth tier.
The question left to solve was why could he only see it now? Alton had killed hundreds of mana capable fiends and dozens of Edorians. Was it related to the fifth tier? Some hidden threshold? If Jonah could also see it, it would be a boon to Agorra. Jonah had a brilliant mind for research and application that Alton just did not.
---
Jonah did not have to ponder Alton’s cryptic message for long. A call sounded from up to and they raced back to the choke point. Jonah’s sword was still buckled at his side as he took his position behind one of the regulars. He grabbed a spear that was leaning against the wall and got ready to stab. It had been a few years since he used a spear, but he was pretty sure he remembered how.
“This end right?” He asked the soldier next to him.
“Uh…” Was all the reply he got.
He chuckled and slapped the soldier on the shoulder. Nerves before battle were a good sign. Every confident soldier he knew was dead. Every one of them, except Alton and Davih. His two friends had been on the forefront of the Agorran offensive for years and still acted like they worked at a bar serving drinks.
Jonah’s manasight was ready, and he was nearly blinded by Alton surging next to him. He heard him say something to the young shield, but it was lost in a rumble sounding from the canyon entrance. The tense position of his body should have been enough of a clue.
“Mindless. Dozens of them scrambling down the ravine. No other signs up top.” One of Alton’s wolves said from up top.
“Brace for impact. Remember, they are feral. Stabbing them in the chest won’t work. Aim for the head. Don’t abandon the shield, be ready to pull the man in front of you out,” Alton said with a muted intensity.
The mindless hit in a rush and slammed against the shields wedged into the rocks and held by the powerful young men. They scratched, clawed and tried to bite through the enhanced metal without success. Alton called for spears and each of them close enough, stabbed from above the shield down into the mass of bodies. Through pure numerical chance, some of the mindless died.
Jonah watched as Alton stabbed one through the top of its head, not all the way through but enough to kill it. He saw nothing out of the ordinary when it happened and chalked it up to Alton’s stress levels. A few arrows flew down from above the canyon and Jonah heard more bowstrings being snapped. He would wager Alton’s archers were keeping the Edorians from firing at will into the fight.
Alton and the soldiers handled the mindless. The fiends couldn’t overcome the shield wall and lacked the intelligence to work around it. It took a few minutes of stabbing, but the result was all the same. A large pile of bodies was building up before the choke point, adding to the difficulty. It was also adding to the smell of the area, Jonah thought with a wince.