Galir blinked, then he continued forward as if nothing was happening.
"No. What do you see?"
"There is movement in the western towers."
Galir nodded, then turned to the woman who had been quietly riding beside him on the other side.
"Linery, warn the rest. Tell them to wait for my sign, then raise the barrier and ready the Ballorbow."
The what?
The woman gave no response, but a few seconds later, she turned to him. "Everyone is getting ready. Give it to the count of ten."
Galir didn't respond, his eyes constantly scanning the buildings that were now roughly two hundred yards away. By now, I could see far more shadows moving about, even one to the side of the gate.
"They are also in the courtyard," I said.
"I know," Galir said. Then he suddenly stood up in his stirrups, unslung his bow, drew an arrow, and shot it, all in a single fluid motion. As soon as the arrow was released, the woman made a few hand gestures, and a bright burst of light came from the arrow. Like fireworks, it illuminated the road and the castle all at once.
An angry scream came from one of the towers, followed by hundreds of roars and shouts. There was movement on the walls as figures with bows stood, and more appeared in the windows of the towers.
Electric currents appeared in front of me, arcing up and around. I looked around in shock, noticing a bubble of lightning torrents warped around the entire caravan. A group of guards in dark leather rushed from the back of the caravan. Two were pulling a thing on two wheels behind them.
A ballista, I thought. Then something hissed close by, like water hitting a pan of oil. I whirled back to the front to see a torrent of arrows fly from the walls and tower towards us. The sound came when they hit the barrier and turned into black scorched sticks that lit aflame before turning to ash.
"Everyone, get ready! It's Fin'r goblins!" Galir roared.
His words were barely finished when a roaring mass of goblins swarmed through the gate, heading our way.
"Fools- they can't get in here," Galir said, but I saw he was watching the tower with worry and trepidation. The guards were formed in double rows in front of the wagons, and I counted twelve in each row. The first row had small shields and swords, while the other had hand bows and spears.
"There are Hags with them," Linery shouted, pointing towards the other tower. A green glow was emanating from the top, and figures stood there. A ball of dripping and crackling wet acid was growing in the air above the tower, swirling energy deep inside.
"They are going to try and break through," Linery said calmly. "My barrier won't hold against that."
Galir cursed and turned towards the guard with the ballista. They were pointing the ten-foot-long thing towards the left tower. "Point it at the right one, you fools!" Galir roared, pointing at the top and the ball of dripping acid.
The men nodded, turned to the ballista, and then started winding the massive bow back with two wrenches.
Seeing no arrows or bolts in the ballista, I wondered what they were gonna shoot. I hoped it was going to be lightning or something. Then a short, round figure came running from along the caravan, carrying a couple of long bolts. With his stocky build and salt and pepper beard, he reminded me of a dwarf.
The dwarf placed one of the bolts onto the ballista, and the others dodged back as he angled and calibrated it better. Then his fingers flashed as he began casting something. Nothing seemed to happen, but the dwarf grinned nastily then pulled the lever. A soft twang was mostly overwhelmed by the screaming Goblins that were coming our way. The bolt sprang forward, hurtling through the air, and I wondered what all the bells and whistles had been for. The dwarf cursed, then began winding the ballista up again, and I wondered if something had failed.
I followed the bolt as it passed the barrier, gathering the lightning and pulling it along. The bolt transformed into a massive bolt of lightning. Its speed increased, and within a flash, it reached the tower and slammed two feet below the top. An explosion deafened everyone as a blinding flash appeared at the point of impact. A shockwave rippled along the tower wall, pushing the green ball of acid up and spraying liquid everywhere. The hags screamed, pointing at the ballista, then they began increasing their efforts. The ball of acid was large enough to worry me.
"Dammit, Blarch, hit it!" Galir roared.
"Shut up," the dwarf roared back as he was wagging his hands, fingers flashing about. A moment later, he released the lever, and as the bolt angled away, a nasty smile appeared on his face.
"Eat this, ugly hags," he shouted.
This time the bolt picked up even more lightning before rushing at the acid ball. The hags screeched and turned, disappearing from view, seconds before the bolt struck it in the middle of the wobbling ball. The two exploded in a blinding flash of blue and green.
A shout of joy rang from the wagons and the guards, but the incoming goblins didn't slow down. They would reach the barrier in ten seconds.
"Why aren't they stopping," Galir muttered. "Get ready!"
As I split my attention between the tower and the incoming goblins, I reached for my ax. Before my fingers touched it, Galir's bow was pointed at me.
"How about you just not do that?"
I blinked in stunned surprise. "If they come through, you can use all the help you can get!"
"I don't believe they can get through," Galir said, not taking his eyes off me.
I slowly pulled my hand back and grunted. "I'm not going to let myself get killed if they do come through!"
Galir didn't respond but turned his attention back to the front. The first line of Goblins was reaching the barrier, and I grit my teeth. If they would break through, the best thing to do was probably move into the forest and wait for the dust to settle before heading along the trail.
Two steps from the barrier, the faces of the goblins were clear as day, their sharp faces twisted in glee. They weren't as small and ugly as I remembered, and their armor and swords looked worn but well made. The front goblin slashed at the barrier, and his sword turned to a glowing green lightsaber, cutting a tent opening in the barrier that slit upwards. As soon as he did it, the sword crumbled, and the Goblin grabbed two daggers from his waist. All along the length of the barrier, similar things happened. A few small explosions came from goblins who exploded, trying the same.
"Incoming," Galir shouted, turning his bow to the incoming Goblins that suddenly seemed far closer than before. The barrier wasn't completely gone, but enough openings had been created for the goblins to pour through.
I grimaced as I grabbed my ax. If Galir tried to stop me again, I was going to make sure he regretted it. He didn't. Instead, he was shooting arrows at an insane pace into the massing goblins. He wasn't the only one, as the guards in the second line were letting loose. To my surprise, half were blocked by the small round shields the goblins had with them. Their reflexes seemed enhanced somehow.
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Linery had backed up and was standing beside the lead wagon, her hands flashing constantly. A small cloud was forming above her head, showing she was up to something, but with the speed it was growing, it wouldn't stop what was about to happen.
Get ready to fight, I signaled my vengeful mount. I took a quick look at the forest to my side. If things became any worse, I was going to run in there and use Entangle to get out. But, for now, I snatched four seeds from my belt pouch, holding them in one hand, glad I'd stocked up since coming here.
A moment later, the line of screaming Goblins slammed into the anxious-looking guards. Standing a dozen feet behind them and high enough to see over the line, I saw that the goblins were only slightly smaller and lighter than the humans. Metal clanging mixed with grunts and screams. The archers had changed to their spears and were standing behind the swordsmen, stabbing at any goblin they could.
Galir shot a final arrow, then turned to me. "If those things break our line we are all done for. Either your chance to backstab us is here, or you better help us!" Then he charged forward, crashing into the goblins that were slowly circling the line of guards.
Yeah, now you want help, I thought. Still, the fighting was getting my blood pumping and moving further with a caravan beat going on my own. Besides, the vengeful spirit was rearing at the bit, his anger and desire to let loose on the goblins bubbling over.
"Let's go see how strong those goblins are," I said to my vengeful mount. It needed no further direction and bolted forward.
Ten goblins were moving around the left, far side of the line of goblins, the guard on the corner desperately slashing and blocking. Blood was streaming from his sword arm and a slash on his forehead. I pounded along the backline, a few of the archers turned spearmen turning in shock, but I had passed before they could act. Close enough, I raised my three free arms and loosed bolts at the nearest goblin. It had no chance to react, one bolt sprouting from its eye and the other two thuddings into its chest, just above the armor line. It slumped to the ground as my Thorncasters reloaded.
One per? I thought as I aimed at three different goblins and shot a bolt at each. Aiming at each was easier than I'd thought, my mind easily coping with the three targets. The bolts were almost invisible and seemed to magically appear on their targets. One pierced a Goblin's throat, causing it to drop its sword, reaching for it as it fell to its knees. The other two hit the two goblins in their chest. I had no time to see the response because I had reached the battle. By now, my blood was boiling and my mind crisp. The goblins had seen us approach and turned our way. More were pouring from the holes in the barrier.
"Stay to my left and kill all the goblins," I commanded the vengeful mount, then rose in the carved stirrups and jumped backward. I landed behind the wirg as it slammed into four of the goblins.
Getting up, I was immediately beset on two sides by goblins. Two of my bolts stabbed the left goblin in the face while I sliced my ax high, then low, and took the other goblin's legs from just below the knees. By now, I realized the goblins seemed to be moving slower, much slower than I'd seen before I joined the battle. Before I could wonder about it, more goblins came at me.
Time turned foggy as goblin blood sprayed everywhere and my ax started dripping with green blood. Somewhere later, my first crossbows crumbled, and I mechanically replaced them while at the same time swirling through a butterfly-like ax stance that kept a half dozen goblins from my back. Bodies started piling up around me, but all I noticed was that I had to move further forward to find more enemies to kill. I didn't feel tired, just cold anger and mindless focus. I turned the goblins into corpses on the ground.
How long it lasted, I had no idea, and my good idea about leaving if things got dire had long since evaporated when a shout came from behind me, snapping me back to reality.
"Arms! Don't chase them!"
I blinked, and the cold frenzy and focus disappeared. Confused worry bubbled up as I looked around. I stood inside the barrier's opening. Goblin bodies lay all around me, some with missing limbs or heads and others with bolts in eyes and faces. Behind the slaughtered goblins was a group of goblins running towards the forest.
What just happened? I thought, trying to recall at which point during the battle I had lost my reasoning. Usually, these things only happened when I was crafting. The last thing I recalled was decapitating a goblin, its blood spraying across my face.
A high-pitched screamed command came from ahead of me, and I focused. One of the hags was standing below a tree, staring at me with wide eyes. Hatred and fear were edged deeply on her face, then she too turned and vanished.
Soft footsteps came from behind me, and I spun around. The wirg statue lay on its side, a few steps behind, inert. Its timer must have ended. Galir was moving past it, his bow in hand and a look of awe and worry on his face as he gazed at me. His gaze flickered to my wrists, then back up at me. Behind me stood the remaining guards, all of them with bows now. Goblin bodies, at least a hundred of them, lay everywhere. Many had arrows and bolts sticking from them, while some looked mauled by a great beast. Still more were cleaved in parts, heads, and arms missing, laying further aside.
"So… I guess you weren't here to fool us," Galir said as he looked at me. Gone was his sense of calm superiority.
"No," I said, realizing my throat was bone dry and painful. My arms were sore but not problematic. Calmly I analyzed that if I had to, I could fight more.
"You are a prime," Galir stated, matter of factly.
Seeing no sense in denying it, I just nodded.
"I'm sorry I didn't provide proper hospitality before. If you follow us to the waypoint, I'll try and make up for it," he said. He licked his lips, taking a quick look left and right. It was almost as if he expected me to make trouble.
"Drink, a meal, and a bed sounds like a great idea right now," I said, forcing a smile on my face. My words seemed to break some sort of spell that had hung across the group because, with a loudness that startled me, the guards cheered. Raising swords and bows in the air, they moved forward until they surrounded me, striking me on the shoulders and congratulating me.
It felt so surreal, so different from anything I'd encountered before, both here and on Earth, that I was stunned silent. The cheering lasted for a good while until Galir roared for silence.
"Enough! You are making the Prime uncomfortable. Go and take care of the wounded, clear the camp and get the caravan inside!" Galir continued shouting orders, and within moments the guards had dispersed, leaving just me and Galir amidst the carnage.
Galir took another look at me, then one of the corners of his mouth lifted. "I'm really glad we came across you before we reached this place… I'd heard stories about the prowess of Primes, but this is the first time I've seen it first hand. A grablon with an ax…" at this, he frowned, and his eyes got a far-off look. A moment later, they snapped back to me, sharp and clear.
"I think I've heard of you! There was a guild request a few months ago sent out by Oldman Haltir," he looked at me with a questioning gaze.
"Let's discuss this after we get into that keep and the gates closed," I said, pointing at the waystation. If I had to explain how I knew Haltir, I might get into trouble. Two shadowy figures moved from the tower entrance towards us. My arms went up as a fraction of the previous anger returned.
"Easy! They are mine," Galir said, raising his hand as if to stop me. "Those were the assassins that got rid of those hags."
Assassins, I thought in wonder. The two moved closer, and soon I stared into four piercing blue eyes set amidst two faces as black as coal. Sharp noses, small mouths, and fine faces, I almost thought I was looking at elves.
"Your first time seeing Isirow?' Galir asked. "They are the best assassins this side of Kernstalion; just make sure they don't tempt you into their beds."
The four eyes flicked to Galir, and a cold hiss came from the left of the two hooded characters.
"You say that now, Galir, but you had no complaints last week!"
The ice-cold voice was sharp and high, with a melodious harmony to it. Both pulled back their hoods in a matching move that seemed rehearsed. Their bald heads gleamed in the light of the moon. Normally I liked long hair, but the sharp, beautiful faces, slightly pointy ears, and blue eyes that contrasted against the black skin made me blink in surprise. The only disturbing part was the coldness of their expressions and eyes.
"Follow the goblin army and make sure they truly leave," Galir ordered. He got a cold look and a nod. The two examined me before leaving. Both moved with an animal grace that reminded me of felines.
"That is Dibidi, and the slightly taller one is Iliniri," Galir whispered, as he pointed to the left and the right one respectfully. "They are brother and sister, although you wouldn't know from how they behave."
I blinked. "Wait, who is the brother, and who is the sister?" I asked.
Galir grimaced as he turned towards the Keep. "I don't know," he said, sounding disturbed. "I thought I did, but…" Galir shuddered, then fell silent.
Remembering what the Isirow had said about him not complaining, I suddenly had an idea and grinned. I took a look at my wirg statue, wincing at the damage done to it and the missing left limb. I'd have to make a new one later. Then I jogged after Galir.
"So, what did happen last week?" I asked, not able to keep the hilarity from my voice.