“Ratri will soon have Her Chosen,” the familiar voice boomed, “We are running out of time.”
Sarah opened her eyes to see that she was in front of the familiar altar. The statue’s face looked calmer this time, almost reserved.
“I know why you’re so desperate to stop Her,” Sarah smirked as she got to her feet, “She has taken your followers and now you are weak and your place in the Pantheon is at risk.”
“DO NOT PRESUME TO KNOW THE WORKINGS OF THE DIVINE,” The voice roared. Blue fire roared into life around her, “Once Her Chosen awakens, he will come for all of the Pantheon’s Chosen.”
“Then lend me your power,” Sarah demanded unflinchingly, “Without taking control.”
“You can already wield my power,” the voice replied, “The blue fire you wield is proof of that.”
“I need more,” Sarah stated flatly.
“You are greedy,” Sarah could hear the smirk in the voice as it reverberated through her head. “That is all that you can channel on your own. You cannot wield more without surrendering yourself to me.”
“Then I’ll take my chances,” Sarah replied defiantly.
“We shall see,” the voice warned ominously.
Sarah opened her eyes to see that the sky was dark. She was leaning against John, who was asleep sitting against the parapet next to her, breathing softly and snuggled closer, enjoying how close they were. The nearby flares cast long shadows as they lit the top of the wall. The darkness seemed unnatural and consumed the light from the flares before they could get very far.
“The mayor is concerned,” she heard Nathan say in a hushed voice nearby. “The people are asking why they can’t take refuge in the Citadel.”
“Tell them that they can seek refuge in the Cathedral if they feel unsafe,” she heard the Marquis hiss.
“They know something is wrong there, they see the Guards on both ends of the bridge facing the wrong way,” came Nathan’s reply.
“We can’t do anything about that,” Kurt sighed.
“The men are talking too,” Nathan said. There was a hint of panic in his voice now, “A thousand more orcs just showed up at the South Gate. Many of the men have friends or family in the Southward Expansion and they’re worried that they’re all dead.”
“Worrying about them won’t get us anywhere,” Kurt said. There was a calmness and authority to his voice that Sarah found reassuring. “When the army of the Four Kingdoms gets here, all of our problems will be solved. We only need to hold out until then.”
Sarah pretended to yawn and stretched theatrically. She felt John stir next to her and gently got to her feet.
“Did you sleep well?” Kurt ventured.
“As well as can be expected,” Sarah replied as she tugged on the steel cuirass she was wearing over her borrowed librarian's robes. The cuirass felt heavy, and it itched, and it made the situation they were in feel all too real.
She decided to take her mind off it by looking out over the parapet. It was pitch dark down below. The orcs had lit no fires. Sarah looked to the sky. The moon was obscured by something. She could not be sure if it was magic or the clouds. All she knew was that the foul aura from the soul gems increased when the orcs returned from the outlying town. It made her skin crawl, knowing exactly what had happened.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Just after midnight,” Kurt replied. He peered into the darkness and scowled. “Beats me how they can see anything down there.”
“They are worshippers of the Night Goddess, after all,” Lucy pointed out as she approached.
“There’s something I don’t understand about their plan,” Sarah remarked.
“What is it?” Kurt ventured.
“If they intend to take the city, why haven’t they come out of the Citadel yet?” Sarah mused, “They have to know they are running out of time.”
“I get the feeling they have not shown their hand yet,” Lucy said ominously, “They want to cause as much death here as they can, and an army of thousands is marching this way. They must be waiting for them to arrive before they set their plans into motion.”
“So you think the Army of the Four Kingdoms is marching into a trap?” Nathan asked, turning pale.
“I am afraid so,” Lucy replied, “Our Enemy has proven cunning so far.”
“The Army of the Four Kingdoms numbers at least ten thousand. What could they possibly do against such numbers?” Kurt scoffed.
“Those are worrying numbers,” Lucy remarked, mostly to herself, “Eighteen thousand living here in the city, another eight thousand in the surrounding towns and villages, an army of ten thousand marching over…”
“That’s not even counting those who have died in the Southward Expansion,” Sarah added.
“No wonder they’re being so liberal with their use of the soul gems,” Lucy said, “They must have harnessed so much magical energy already.”
Kurt looked over his shoulder at the Citadel. “Perhaps we would be better off if we stormed that place and put an end to whatever they intend to use that magical energy for.”
“We don’t know what’s lurking in there,” Udoriol warned as he walked towards them with Hicham close behind him. “Knocking on that door while this enemy is at our gates would be the height of folly.”
“I don’t like how sneaky they’re being down there either,” Hicham added as he peered into the darkness. “I can see them moving down there.”
“I could cast some light on the situation,” Lucy offered.
“That could set them off like it did this morning,” Kurt warned.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “I’m no military tactician, but wouldn’t it be better to provoke them into attacking before they’re ready?”
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“I suppose you have a point,” Kurt conceded at length.
Sarah’s eyes widened as Lucy began chanting. She swiftly kicked John in the leg. “Wake up!” she hissed.
Kurt realized what the old halfling was doing a moment later and raised his hand. “No, at least let us get ready!”
Buy it was too late. “Fireball!” Lucy cried.
The orb of orange fire illuminated orcs scurrying about below before crashing into a fiery explosion that set a score of them ablaze.
“They’re building siege towers!” Nathan gasped.
Sarah spotted them as the last of Lucy’s fire spluttered out. Teams of dwarves and men building wooden towers that were laid on their sides.
“Fireball!” she cried, sending a blue orb of fire whizzing towards one. It caught fire and burned quickly, sending its builders fleeing in all directions and bathing the ground below in an eerie blue light.
Lucy too continued raining fire on the orcs below, adding to the chaos and illuminating their activities. They had spent the night lashing together numerous ladders with sticks and twine. Sarah decided not to aim for them, thinking the towers were a bigger threat.
“Fireball!” Sarah cried again, aiming for another of the towers.
This one exploded against a black barrier and soon, arrows and black magical bolts began raining down on the wall.
“We’re under attack!” Kurt roared, “Defend yourselves!”
Behind them, the Bell of Darnin began pealing from the Citadel.
“What’s going on?” John demanded as he leapt to his feet.
“Where are they?” Grimald added a moment later, sounding remarkably alert for someone who had just been sleeping moments earlier.
Soon, the City Guard and the worshippers of Vayu raised their own magical barriers, protecting the defenders from the magic and missiles coming from below.
“That stirred the hornet’s nest,” Kurt remarked. He then raised his voice and shouted at the defenders down the wall, “Be alert for infiltrators! Their attacks will begin again soon.”
Sarah felt a wave of nausea as she felt a surge of foul energy emanate from below them. She looked over the parapet and saw a crackle of purple energy near the gate.
“That looks like trouble,” Lucy remarked as she floated next to her.
Seconds later, the wall shuddered, causing one or two of the defenders to lose their footing.
“Do not despair!” Kurt called out, “the gates of this city have been enchanted by the finest mages in Sera Thun. They will not fall so easily!”
There was another surge of foul energy and the wall shuddered again.
“It seems that they have magical energy to spare if they’re using it like that,” Lucy remarked.
“Or they’re counting on being able to replenish it easily enough once they get inside,” Sarah pointed out.
“They need their magic to have any hope of breaching these walls without any proper siege weapons,” Kurt said grimly. “But we will be more than a match for them.”
“Watch out, here they come!” John warned as steel ladders landed against the wall with a resounding clang.
The defenders were ready for them this time and plenty of rubble and stones had been brought up from the city for them to hurl down at those attempting to climb up. John positioned himself close to one and sprang up to catch anyone who made it up the ladder from behind. Sarah’s eyes widened as she looked down the wall and saw the shadows of several wheeled siege towers approaching the wall, pushed by orcs. The priests moved their shields up to protect the tower, leaving those at the bottom exposed. But whenever an orc fell, another took his place. She ran down the wall and tapped John on the shoulder.
“Cover me,” she said as she ran past.
Wizards of the City Guard hurled spells and the archers fired arrows, but all were blocked by the black energy of the enemy priests.
“What do we do?” John asked.
“Wait for them to get close,” Sarah said as she watched one approach.
John raised an eyebrow. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“That’s why you’re here,” Sarah said. She paused to smile at him. “To cover my back.”
She waited until the tower was close enough to drop the ramp before leaping out from behind a parapet.
“Burning hands!”
Black energy crackled in the air as her blue flames struck the barrier which shattered as the tower’s ramp was dropped. The orcs and other fanatics waiting to storm the tower were incinerated by the blue flames which also quickly set the tower’s wood frame ablaze. The occupants that survived the initial blaze leapt from the tower, still ablaze as the structure crumbled.
“On to the next one!” Sarah urged.
Up ahead, another siege tower had reached the wall and had begun disgorging orcs onto the wall.
“Dragon’s breath!” Sarah cried as a pair approached her with their axes raised.
They raised their shields, deflecting her fire and swiftly advanced until they were in striking range. John leapt in between them, sliding on his knees, and leaning back as far as he could to keep himself below the flames. He slid in the gap between their shields and drove a dagger behind each of their knees. As they fell, John sprang up and kicked one with enough force to knock him off the wall while tearing out the other’s throat with a dagger.
“Get down!” Sarah cried.
“Burning hands!”
More of the attackers went down screaming, some leaping off the wall to escape the flames. Sarah stood, frozen in shock as she saw a few of the defenders burn too.
“You’ve done well, now stand aside!” she heard Udoriol cry from behind.
The elf and Grimald ran past her with six members of the City Guard. They held their blazing weapons high and used them to drive the remaining invaders off the wall.
“The towers!” Udoriol cried, “Set them ablaze!”
As Sarah watched the last of the towers burn, the wall shuddered. Sarah looked to the gate to try and see what they were doing. Soon, a cry rang out over the wall.
“They’re breaching the gate!” Kurt roared as he and his men ran down the stairs and rushed off towards the gate.
“So much for the best enchantments in Sera Thun,” John muttered. He looked at Sarah and asked, “Where do we go now?”
Sarah looked down the wall and surveyed the situation. The White Cloaks and the City Guard were fighting a pitched battle, their weapons blazing brilliantly as they danced about in the air, smiting their foes. Though the towers had been beaten back, for now, orcs and other fanatics continued to stream up onto the wall using the ladders.
“Go!” Lucy cried, “I’ll handle things here!”
“Ice Storm!” the old halfling cried. Clouds formed quickly over the attackers down below. Moments later, large hailstones fell from them, bombarding the attackers.
“Go!” Udoriol cried as he and Grimald raced past, “We are needed at the gatehouse!”
Sarah exchanged looks with John before racing after them down a flight of wooden stairs. As they followed the stream of City Guards and White Cloaks towards the gatehouse. Once they arrived there, they joined the ranks of men staring warily at the great wooden gates.
There was a crash as something struck it from the other side. Cries of dismay came from the defenders as the gate began to splinter. There was another crash, and more splinters flew from the gate.
“Ready yourselves men!” Kurt roared.
“Sarah, gents,” Grimald said as he readied his axe, “it’s been a pleasure.”
“We won’t die here,” Udoriol said confidently. “Treto watches over us.”
“As does Agni,” came Brother Matthieu’s voice from behind them.
Sarah turned around and saw a gathered crowd wearing robes of red, sky blue, brown, and light green.
“All the Pantheon are watching over us,” declared Cardinal Benedict who stood at the head of fifty White Cloaks.
There was another crash against the gate and a hole appeared in the over one foot thick wood. Then came another crash, and then another. Soon, the hole was large enough for two orcs to walk in side by side.
“Do not fear, brave men and women of Corrington!” Kurt cried, “The Pantheon is watching over us. Show Them your valour!”
A roar went up amongst the defenders. The Cardinal cast a blessing and Sarah felt her spirits and energy soar.
Moments later, orcs burst through the hole in the gate. The brown robed priests of Jord cast their spell. Clumps of earth and rock rose from the ground and coalesced into huge spikes before hurling themselves at the orcs. The first wave of twelve fell before they could reach the shieldmen. Then, for a moment, no orcs came through the hole.
“That’s it?” John asked out loud, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.
“Shut up,” Sarah hissed.
The pounding on the gate resumed. Dust fell from the ceiling as the entire gatehouse shook with each crash and soon, the hole was massive.
Huge, heavily armoured orcs, each at least two metres tall and almost twice as broad at the shoulder as a normal man marched through the shattered gate in close formation. Purple fire burned in their eyes, and they held up large, spiked shields. Spikes of rock and ice pelted them, but they shrugged it off as though they were grains of sand kicked up by the wind.
Outside, an orc who towered over even these giants let off a roar so terrible that defenders and attackers alike were frozen in place.
“I am Zer Voltag,” he roared. His voice was as loud as a clap of thunder and caused all who heard it to wince. “I am the vengeance of my people incarnate. Hear my voice and despair!”