I counted eighteen necromancers floating above the west wall, each surrounded by a translucent blue shield. The city’s defense now fell to the archers and arbalests, and arrows and bolts rained down on the black figures. I fired two bolts of fire at the necromancer nearest me, and his shield dimmed slightly. He glared in response, reached out his hand, and fired a bolt of darkness. I tried to dodge, but it struck me in the side, dropping my health from 42 to 33.

“Keep firing,” the mage’s voice whispered in my ear.

If I could have replied, I would have pointed out that the Enclave’s mages would be better suited for this. As it was, the best I could do was follow orders.

A roar sounded to my right, and I looked over to see an undead giant with milky-white eyes. One of the necromancers must have summoned it. His claws swept through several soldiers, and even more soldiers ran to fight.

While I ran away from the summoned monster, another bolt of darkness hit me. I drank a Potion of Lesser Healing, then reloaded and fired at the shield of the nearest necromancer. The blue aura started to flicker, and he turned to face me with smoke billowing from his mouth. I cast Blur and Light Wall, and then leapt out of the way. A spear of solid darkness struck the floor where I’d been standing only a moment prior.

It took one more bolt of fire to pierce the necromancer’s shield, and then I ran closer and switched to bolts of acid. After my third shot, the man’s black robe started to bubble and burn. He shrieked, and smoke emanated from his mouth as he began another incantation. I sprinted toward the necromancer and loaded a bolt of poison.

“Head!”

My bolt struck the necromancer in the forehead, interrupting his spell and lowering his health bar to nearly zero. He turned to flee, but my next bolt hit him in the lower back. He fell to the ground outside the castle.

Well done,” the voice said.

I spent the next twenty minutes helping the other archers and arbalests. My routine was simple. While swordsmen fought the summoned zombies, I shot bolts of fire at the necromancers until their shields fell. Then I fired bolts of acid using the Called Shot ability. In time, the number of floating robed figures fell to three, and I began to hope that I’d have a moment to rest. Then a deafening shout filled the air.

“Where is he? Where is the interloper?”

I couldn’t see the speaker, but I knew the voice. The dumbfounded whisper in my ear confirmed it.

“It would appear that Prince Galliel has joined the fray.”

⚔

I scanned the south wall, thinking that Galliel had somehow crossed over on a siege tower, yet the towers stood silent. I looked over the last of the floating necromancers, but he wasn’t with them either.

When I finally spotted the prince, my blood froze. He was flying along the south wall, his black plate armor gleaming in the midday sun—not just levitating like the necromancers, but flying around as though he was wearing a modern-day jet pack.

Most of the prince’s head was protected by a black skullcap, but a livid white scar was clearly visible on the left side of his face. He shouted like a madman, without the slightest control or aristocratic bearing. His great-great-great-grandmother would be disappointed.

“Interloper! Where are you?”

I loaded a bolt of acid and aimed, but I couldn’t hit a target moving that quickly. Thankfully, he soared past me, not recognizing me in my arbalest’s tunic, and then flew out of my field of vision.

Heartbeats later, the voice in my ear sounded surprised. “The prince has landed on the west wall. Keep him occupied to the best of your ability.”

I ran west and caught sight of the prince standing on the battlement, wielding a golden scimitar in each hand. He looked like a giant in his suit of black plate, far taller and stronger than he’d been two nights ago. A squad of soldiers attacked, but none made so much as a dent in his armor. Yet Galliel, moving like a tornado, sliced through the soldiers’ chainmail like a farmer threshing wheat.

Once the last of necromancers had fallen, the city’s archers and arbalests rained their bolts and arrows down on the prince. They might as well have been throwing toothpicks. I hit him twice, but the acid didn’t affect his enchanted armor, which remained just as lustrous as it had been when he arrived.

I needed a headshot, but Galliel moved in a blur, slaying the city’s soldiers as though they were standing still. I ran closer, and as soon as I came within fifteen feet of the melee, I loaded a bolt of acid… and waited.

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After killing four more soldiers, Galliel raised his swords to the sky and shouted, “Where is the inter—”

“Face,” I whispered.

The bolt of acid struck Galliel in his undamaged right cheek. He spun in my direction, his face contorted with rage.

“You!”

I lowered my crossbow, took off the tunic of the King’s Arbalests, and waved.

“Where is my sword, interloper?” Galliel roared.

I searched through my pockets, showed him my empty hands, and shrugged. Apparently unsatisfied, the prince raised his scimitars and sprinted toward me.

The mage’s voice sounded in my ear: “Keep Galliel occupied near the southwestern corner of the wall. Lord Berrol and the mages will teleport there shortly.”

Galliel lunged with the scimitar in his right hand, and would have impaled my neck if I hadn’t leapt to the right. He slashed with the scimitar in his right hand, and I quickly stepped back. Just to be safe, I cast Aura of Protection.

“Fight me, swine!” Galliel shouted between clenched teeth.

I shook my head, further infuriating the prince. I couldn’t backstab a man wearing full plate armor, and the prince wouldn’t give me time to load and aim my crossbow. All I could do was duck and dodge his scimitars, and hope the mages arrived before Galliel killed me.

With my high Acrobatics skill, it wasn’t difficult to sidestep the prince’s blades, but he was forcing me back toward the south wall. We reached the southwestern corner, and as he continued his chops, lunges, and slashes, I continued stepping backward. His fury never waned for a moment, and as my feet came close to the wall’s edge, he smiled wickedly and slashed with both scimitars.

“Now die!”

I raised my trembling hands and did my best to look horrified. Then I cast Blur and jumped off the south wall.

Galliel laughed. “Now I have you!”

The prince flew downward like a bullet, clearly hoping to catch me before I fell to the ground. But I only fell about three feet. Thanks to my climbing ability and the Surgeon’s Boots, I caught hold of small cracks in the wall and clung to its masonry like a spider. A gust of wind blew by as Galliel passed me, and then I climbed upward.

Once I reached the top of the wall, I put on Nalkak’s ring and watched its copper surface transform into an angry gnoll. Then I unwound the length of rope from around my waist and tied a loop, just as Gorlis had taught me. The cursed ring bit into my hand, but I barely noticed. I twirled my lasso and waited, recalling the first lesson I’d received as a rogue.

Nearly ten seconds later, the dark hair, white skin, and black armor rose in the air. Galliel glared at me with rage and confusion.

“How did you—”

Making sure to point my index finger at my target, I threw the lasso. As soon as it caught hold of Galliel’s neck, I turned and ran up the west wall, activating Speed Burst. If he’d had the presence of mind, Galliel could have cut the lasso with his swords or simply flown toward me. But as I’d hoped, the pain from the rope tightening around his neck kept the prince from thinking clearly. The rope kept its tension, and I ran along the west wall like a child running with a trailing kite.

I yanked the rope downward, and I heard the prince crash into the tower. When my Speed Burst ability wore off, I collapsed to my knees. Less than ten feet in front of me, Lord Berrol and Kazerath stood before of a group of grim-looking wizards. Lord Berrol held a fiery axe, and Kazerath held a wand that glowed violet.

“He’s… all… yours,” I said.

Lord Berrol turned to the mages. “Attack!”

⚔

I cast Remove Curse, and the gnoll head on Nalkak’s ring disappeared. Then I turned and saw Prince Galliel lifting himself from the ground. He raised his scimitars and ran toward me, but before he could take two steps, several bolts of lightning struck him simultaneously. He flew off his feet and landed on his back, but his health bar only barely moved.

As Galliel struggled once more to get to his feet, Lord Berrol ran forward and swung his fiery axe at Galliel’s neck. Galliel ducked the blow, spun on his right leg, and slashed at Lord Berrol’s chest with his two scimitars. Both blades penetrated Lord Berrol’s armor, and he fell onto his knee, clutching at his wounds.

The mages hurled more bolts of lightning and fireballs at Galliel, and though his health bar only dropped by an eighth, the prince could only barely stand upright. Lord Berrol rose to his feet and swung his axe at Galliel’s side. This time, the fiery blade pierced Galliel’s armor, and the prince screamed as he fell to the ground. Now, finally, the prince’s health started dropping quickly.

Raising his axe, the general shouted, “This is for the citizens of Elinia, who sought nothing but peace!”

Lord Berrol struck Galliel in the left thigh, audibly breaking his leg.

“This is for the king’s sons!”

Lord Berrol struck Galliel in the side, just below his shoulder. Black blood gushed from the wound, and the prince’s health bar fell to nearly a fifth. I unsheathed my dagger and hoped to get an opening, but Lord Berrol raised his axe behind his head.

“And this is for my son!”

Just before the general could land his killing blow, Galliel pulled a dagger from the hilt in his boot and threw it upward. It lodged in Lord Berrol’s throat, sending the large man staggering back.

Galliel tried to stand on his right leg, and he reached down to grasp a scimitar. But as Lord Berrol fell back, I ran forward and stepped behind the prince.

I whispered in his ear, “And this is for Raven’s Rest.”

At this point, Galliel’s armor had so many cracks that it wasn’t hard to find a target for a backstab. Crosshairs appeared on the left side of his lower back, and I drove my dagger deep. BACKSTAB! BACKSTAB! BACKSTAB! BACKSTAB! +3,800 XP!

A message scrolled across the bottom of my view: MISSION COMPLETED – DEFEND ENCELAS FROM PRINCE GALLIEL'S ATTACK. +10,000 XP!