Chapter 111: Last hurdle (First Part)

Everything was ready.

All I had to do was wait for the day of the auction to finalize my deal with Sooreman and finally free Seth and Himara from their chains and their terrible fates. Guided by Zena — along with Jazor’s other dwarven friends — we will take advantage of the auction to leave the city and finally rejoin the relative safety of the Dorell Kingdom together with Alianelle and Paul to put the rising madness of these lands behind us once and for all.

All obstacles were gone.

In a few days, our desperate journey inside the wilderness will have an end that none of us dared to hope for.

However, none of my calculations and plannings took into account the most basic truth that this land had demonstrated time after time to our group often in the bloodiest way possible.

Everything was possible inside the wilderness.

If these words were true before, then the wrath of the wilderness made them even more absolute.

The following day after my encounter with Sooreman, I was reminded of this hard reality.

Contrary to what everyone thought, the battle around the city was still ongoing. The wave of true deviants and crazed animals crashing with mad abandon against the wall of the city didn’t lessen in intensity even after several days of slaughter but continued without any end in sight.

For three months since the beginning of this madness, the first Advanced town had surmounted many crises and resisted many attacks but none that lasted this long. If the constant noise of battle beyond the impenetrable wall was a mere disturbance before, now that the confidence in this wall and its defenders were shaken by this unusually long battle, this constant clamor was becoming difficultly bearable for the inhabitants of this town, doomed if the normally indestructible wall surrounding it fell.

A possibility impossible to even consider for all those who had witnessed the strength of the Lost magic powering this wall, but frighteningly becoming more and more real as the relaxed attitude of the Dwarves from the mines — responsible to power it continuously with elemental stones — was becoming more and more frantic.

I prided myself in not being as delusional as all these sheltered inhabitants of this city who didn’t have to cross the wilderness and face what this land had the worst to offer. However, for me too, the realization that the wall may very well fall before the auction even takes place was a terrible reality difficult to swallow.

Jazor was there with Ilan, leading the fight.

They couldn’t fail.

This reassuring thought that helped me calm down the whole day wasn’t enough to dissipate the growing anxiety gnawing at my heart but still stopped me from rushing to fight with all the brave Humans and Dwarves putting their lives on the line to protect their loved ones inside the city.

When the night started to fall without the battle having diminished in intensity, this thought and the belief I had in my companions weren’t enough anymore.

I stayed away from the battlefield to hide my real abilities, but staying hidden and protecting my secret would be meaningless if the city fell.

No matter the consequences, no matter the risks, I couldn’t stay idle.

I couldn’t simply wait for my friends to sacrifice their lives.

It’s Alianelle who convinced me to stay away from the wall and the fighting. If anyone else other than her had asked this of me, I would have been convinced that it was done for a selfish reason; that this person simply wanted to have a guardian, someone able to fight to protect their life near them.

However, I knew her.

I knew what her desperate gaze meant when she held my arm with her entire strength.

She wasn’t afraid for herself.

She feared for my life if I set foot on a battlefield making the whole city shake in fear with its noise alone.

I wasn’t as weak as before, I had developed several magics that served me well all along our journey. However, her reluctance to let me go made me hesitate and gave me enough time to clear my head and calmly analyze my abilities.

I could certainly join the fighting without being a burden, but my powers didn’t give me the same overwhelming abilities as Jazor to confront hordes of opponents. Most of my efforts in developing my aspects of the elements were devoted to help me become faster, more resistant, and deadlier against single opponents.

With allies near me, the use of my most destructive magic — my sacred magic — able to have a real impact against such a horde was impossible. The risk of losing control and hitting my allies was too great to ignore.

This lack of control over my strongest magic was my greatest weakness. The kind that couldn’t be overlooked and enough to finally convince me to stay behind with Alianelle and Paul.

I wanted to fight, but without the possibility to safely use my sacred magic, I would be going to the frontline to be another mage unable to have any real impact on the battlefield. If I was alone, it wouldn’t matter, but this realization made it impossible to leave Alianelle behind without any protection.

So, after long seconds of hesitation, I accepted her plea.

I buried my desire to fight along with the shame for not shedding blood with the brave defenders of the city to stay with Paul and Alianelle and assure their protection if everything fell apart.

After that, the three of us rejoined the room in a modest inn that Paul had rented and tried to catch some sleep. However, even inside this building so distant from the place of confrontation, it was still possible to hear explosions and the roars of the beasts desperate to destroy anything that Human and Dwarven hands had one day constructed on their territory.

The fighting noises lessened a few hours after we all went to bed, and reignited the hope of a victory long enough for sleep to claim me.

However, this hope quickly disappeared the next morning when the three of us were all awakened by the thunderous sound of a bell imposing its majestic but urgent melody to the entire city.

“What’s that?” asked Alianelle with a trembling voice, having obviously already guessed the answer just like the rest of us despite the sudden awakening.

“An alarm,” whispered Paul with a deathly pale face while rising from his bed.

“Let’s go!” I forcefully exclaimed to remind them that we weren’t safe in their modest room.

Already clothed and without any real luggage, it didn’t take us long to exit the deserted inn just after its owner who quickly disappeared into the crooked streets without a single look toward us or his establishment.

The day was young, the weather clear and slightly cold but none of us felt refreshed when we stepped out onto the main street. The oppressive atmosphere dictated by the constant ringing noise of the bell was reinforced by all the people exiting their home one after the other with hurried steps and frightened expressions.

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Together with Alianelle and Paul, we followed the flow of people toward the center of the city and only stopped when we joined a still-growing crowd of people on a large plaza, the place where the auction for the slaves was originally going to happen in two days.

“Mommy, what’s happening?”

A young boy a few years younger than me asked his mother, hugging him with her entire strength while shaking.

“Honey!!!”

“Dad!”

Various screams resonated all around us as the crowd on the town’s square continued to grow at an alarming pace.

Fear and apprehension soon turned into a barely contained panic as more and more explosions beyond the wall were able to overpower the constant ringing noise of the giant bell summoning all the inhabitants of the city to this place.

Through the various frightened whispers and comments around us, I was able to learn that it was only the second time in the long history of this city that this bell had been rung. Apparently, the previous time was more than a hundred years ago. Even when the first devastating wave of crazed animals threatened this unprepared city three months ago, this bell hadn’t been used.

“Is the wall going to fall?”

This question uttered by a few people around me was on everyone’s mind, mine included as this bell continued to ring its deathly melody announcing to everyone how desperate the situation had become.

For long minutes, we did our best to withstand the constant flow of people and not be overwhelmed by the growing anxiety of the place. The majority of the people present around us were women, children, and elderly people unfit to fight anymore, but there were also a few dwarves in shabby-looking armor who were apparently here to maintain a semblance of order. The shaking limbs and young faces of these few dwarves away from the battlefield didn’t inspire the slightest confidence in me or anyone else around.

Even if they didn’t appear as desperately overwhelmed by the current situation, their task was impossible to accomplish anyway if the crowd of desperate people present had any place to escape to. However, encircled by a horde inside the wilderness, there was no escape to hope for if the wall fell for these ordinary and powerless people. The situation was barely better for me as my wind magic could offer me a way out, but certainly not if I had to take Paul and Alianelle with me.

While I was doing my best to come up with a realistic idea to save my small group and go rescue the children still prisoners of Sooreman, an earthquake far stronger than all the others magically created before made many people around stumble and scream in fear and surprise. A few of the armored dwarves around fell because of the sudden shaking, confirming what we all knew: none of these improvised guards will be of any use if the defenders of the wall failed.

The battle had slightly calmed down during the night, but after this new quake, the intensity of the confrontation reached new frightening heights. Paul did his best to keep an impassive face and steady hands on his daughter’s shoulders, but each time an explosion stronger than the other reached us, he couldn’t repress a tremor of fear from coursing through his body

I now knew that Paul wasn’t always powerless. Before he had lost his wings, he had been strong, he may even have been brave. However, without any ability left to defend himself and his daughter, fear gripped his heart more strongly than ever, explaining the relieved expression on his face when I decided to stay with them.

I couldn’t blame him.

My rapid increase in strength had made the memories of when I was completely powerless distant. If you could fight and defend yourself, then fear had less influence over you. However, in this place, at this moment I didn’t feel much different from Paul or from all the people gathered who were praying for their salvation and the victory of their defenders.

These prayers grew more frantic and desperate as the clear sky above our head suddenly darkened by the appearance of a gigantic flock of birds. It was impossible to know how many species formed this cloud of wings and feathers obscuring the sun, but we all knew their goal. They roamed for long minutes all around to find a way inside the city.

After a few minutes of fruitless search, the silver-winged bird species I only knew too well separated themselves from the others and gathered just above our heads. A few seconds later, along with their shrill cries sending chills down my spine, they started to send continuous attacks of grey light against the semi-transparent membrane created by the lost magic of this town, the only thing preventing them from entering the city and laying waste to everything and everyone inside.

If a few dozen of these birds had barely gathered a few derisive laughs and sneers when they were consumed by the attacks of the defenders a few days ago, this time numbering in the hundreds, no one had any desire to laugh or underestimate the threat they represented.

However, despite their number and the help of dozens of different species each with their own means of attack, the red protection created by the magic of the wall was still standing strong without showing any sign of weakness.

This didn’t discourage our attackers but still made the fearsome dark cloud of densely packed birds disperse and spread all around the sky of the city.

“Sillath…”

Alianelle’s face was paler than ever when she reached with her hand to grab and tightly squeezed my own. I wanted to reassure her, to announce that I would protect them no matter what, but this scene of hundreds, if not thousands of birds attacking together had made something desperately clear to me.

I had underestimated the threat of this horde threatening to overrun the city or perhaps I had overestimated my abilities. I thought that I had an advantage compared to the other people whose only choice left was to pray, but the sight of this gigantic flock of birds desperate to tear every inhabitant of this city apart made me realize how wrong I had been

I was no different from them.

My magic made no difference.

Confronted with this kind of overwhelming number, there was nothing that I could do to save myself, not even talking about protecting others.

I still squeezed Alianelle’s hand back in silent support even if I knew that I couldn’t give her the comfort that she sought.

“This can’t be happening…”

I wasn’t the only one that this sight had profoundly disturbed.

More and more people realized that even gathered together, there was nothing to hope for.

No escape and no last stand possible.

All around us, cries, screams, and sentences filled with disbelief and terror became more and more pronounced and continued to reach us despite the constant ringing of the bell.

“This city is going to fall,” someone screamed just behind us.

For many people around, these words told with such desperate conviction were the last straw.

The crowd slowly descended into a panic that would soon sweep us away too.

“No matter what, stay near me!” I declared to Alianelle and Paul with all the confidence I could muster as we were struggling to not get carried away or separated by the crowd.

“Attention!!!”

A rough scream suddenly overpowered the ringing of the bell, the attack noise of the silver birds above our heads along with the worried cries of the people gathered. The panicking crowd of people stopped to raise their heads toward the owner of this authoritarian voice.

I did the same, and quickly noticed the owner standing on a wooden platform where various crates were stocked. From this elevated position, the broad-shoulder dwarf wearing impressive golden pauldrons making him appear disproportionately massive was dominating the entire plaza and easily captured the attention of everyone on him. Even without his impressive equipment, it was impossible to confound him with the other dwarven guards as he was much older than them and holding a massive axe drenched in blood just like the rest of his dark tunic and armor.

His reassuring presence would have been enough to appease the ambient panic if he wasn’t heavily leaning on the handle of this axe or if the blood on his face wasn’t from a nasty wound on his left eye. When he started to walk a few steps forward to stand at the edge of the platform, everyone was able to notice that he was using his weapon as a support because of a large wound on his still bleeding left leg.

His wounds portrayed perfectly what everyone had been fearing and reignited the ambient panic. However, the dwarf didn’t let the situation escape him. He ignored the blood obstructing the left part of his face and stood tall. With the same commanding voice that made everyone naturally silent, he opened his mouth once more.

“I’m Zinovitz, the commander of this city’s garrison! My men are dying to protect you, to prevent the horde of the wilderness from entering this glorious city as they have done for more than a hundred years! However, today they need help. Your help!”

A worried whisper coursed through the crowd.

“I don’t know any battle magic…”

“Me neither.”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Silence!!!”

The various comments were silenced at once by the same overpowered voice that I suspected was amplified with an aspect of the wind magic.

“I don’t expect any of you to stand side by side with the brave men currently fighting, or to have the courage to lay down your lives as I swore to do, but there's still something all of you can do, something that you all must do!”

Ever since coming to this plaza and realizing how overwhelmed the city truly was, I didn’t fully understand the reason for the bell to have been rung. Warning and gathering everyone certainly, but for what purpose? Without any way to escape or any chance to offer any kind of final resistance, all of this was in the end meaningless.

I was wrong.

Zinovitz had a very specific work for us to do.

Hopefully, something that could make a difference.