CHAPTER SIX

Kogan Keep, Koga

12th Month, 23rd Day, 24th Year, The Quiet Age

I ran as fast as I could while Ribvan and the scout chased after me. All around me guards were trying to fight off these pale, skinny monsters who had climbed or been shot over the walls into the city. I had only made it a few blocks away from the Chimera when the path in front of me was completely closed off. Just ahead of me, three soldiers were trying to keep a group of those things from making it down the road but it clearly wasn’t going well. One of the monsters stuck its long claws through the face mask of the nearest soldier and there was an awful puncture sound before the tips of the claw emerged from the back of the man’s helmet.

I shuddered, and loudly asked Ribvan if there was another way around the fighting. He paused briefly, and after contemplating it for a moment he dragged me into the pub on the other side of the street while the scout followed up the rear. Ribvan basically threw me through the entrance before turning around and hastily attempting to barricade the front door with the scout. He pushed a cabinet against the opening before grabbing me and moving towards a stairway in the back of the building.

“That’s not going to hold them for long,” The scout said glumly from behind us but the temporary barricade would have to do for now.

As we ran up the stairs I could hear the door being assaulted from the other side and large cracks began to form across the doors’ surface. The door creaked once more before finally beginning to give way, and the faces or claws of ghouls could be seen through the broken wood. Ribvan and I managed to slip on to an upper balcony that was attached to the second floor. Without hesitating, the scout climbed the roof as fast as he could. Ribvan then lifted me so the scout could pull me up onto the roof. I scanned my surroundings while I waited for Ribvan to follow.

In the dark you could barely make out the fighting on the main wall, but judging from the way the groups were positioned I could still see we we’re losing quite badly. The left and right parts of the front had basically collapsed, and the troops who were left in the middle had been cut off from their support teams. There was another group of soldiers who were fighting in the town square but their situation didn’t look any better. I thought I thought I could see a small force trying to make it to the siege defenses but I couldn’t figure out why they would be going in that direction in the first place, so I figured I was mistaken. It was obvious that if our situation didn’t change soon it wouldn’t be long before the forces of Koga were completely routed.

Once Ribvan had finally pulled himself up onto the roof in his plate mail we started to move again. We came to a small gap in-between the tavern we were standing on and the next building over. The scout who was now in the lead went to leap over the gap. He had only been airborne for a few seconds before a giant hand shot up from between the buildings and grabbed him by the ankle. The scout screamed horribly before being pulled down, disappearing from our sight. I slowly crept to the edge and saw the chimera enjoying its new snack, each of its heads fighting hungrily for bites.

The sight of this massive monster enjoying its ‘feeding time’ had completely wiped all hope from me. “Well, we’re not going that way.” I felt myself say sarcastically. Ribvan grabbed me and pointed to some wood scattered around on the roof before directing me to the house on the left of us. “Quickly grab those boards for me Aelan, and prioritize the wider pieces. We’re going to need to create a bridge.”

I did as he asked and gathered a few of the boards for him. While I was doing that, Ribvan had managed to procure a rope from one of the nearby storage bins and hastily tied the boards together. I watched him work quietly and carefully peeked over the roof at the chimera.

The beast had finished its meal and was now watching us patiently from the street, licking its lips in anticipation of more food. The goat and bull-head seemed to be less attentive and had only looked up when I was gathering materials, but the snake-head on the tail seemed to follow me where ever I happened to move. Ribvan finished what he was doing, so I turned away from the monster and retreated back to his side. He threw down the make-shift bridge between the roofs of the two houses and we continued onward.

∞

It had taken almost twenty minutes for Rhodin and his men to reach their destination. There were several small skirmishes along the route, and Rhodin had to divert his path to avoid taking too many loses or his men being sucked into a major battle again. They had arrived just after Harston’s squad and Rhodin could make out the large cat-man fighting his way up the stairs to the top of the wall. Seeing his friend beat him to the punch yet again made Rhodin chuckle to himself.

“Alright, Harston’s unit is already here. We must go to their aid right away. I want the heavy troopers out front with the regular soldiers blocking the gaps. Keep the spears on our flank in case the monsters try anything or send a larger enemy. Now go!” As Rhodin finished, the men took off running in the direction of the stairs. The wooden ramp way creaked under the weight of the fully armed soldiers but that didn’t stop them from climbing as fast as they could.

Rhodin stopped to fight a few ghouls on his way up, swinging his hammer the entire way. He caved in the skull of one ghoul and pushed another over the side railing with the butt of his hammer. The monster plummeted 30 feet before colliding hard with the brick road below. To his left, another one of the monsters had managed to get on top of one of the soldiers. The monster didn’t see Rhodin coming, and he swiftly broke its neck from behind with a brutal horizontal swing. Rhodin then picked the man up off of the ground and continued his push. On his right side Wekkes weaved in and out of the fighting while spinning his spear in a constant whirling motion. A group of Grells with poisoned daggers tried to encircle him but the reach of his weapon and speed made quick work of the threat.

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To Rhodin’s left, Elgar had impaled a Grogg that was blocking our path while its back was turned to him. The monster moaned and crashed to its knees where Briggs had been calmly waiting for it. Without any hesitation, Briggs slashed his sword into the monster’s collarbone with all his might. The downwards slice ripped through the monster’s flesh from shoulder to belly button, and the Grogg had completely ceased moving after the impact. Briggs glanced at Elgar and let out a grunt that sounded very much like approval to Rhodin.

The last two flights of stairs where heavily occupied by the enemy but the momentum of Rhodin’s unit helped them catch up and reach the top just after Harston’s team. Harston and a few of his soldiers were desperately trying to move and reset the trebuchet but the monster’s running wild on top of the wall had practically halted their progress.

“Elgar! Take the extra men and form a perimeter around the trebuchet. I don’t want a single one of those fuckers getting through. Wekkes, Briggs, and Niko with me!”

“Sir!” Elgar replied briskly before shouting his own commands and setting off to do as Rhodin said.

As we approached one of Harston’s soldiers had managed to put one of the boulders in place on the trebuchet while being stabbed in the back by Grells. After securing the stone to the siege weapon’s arm his adrenaline ran out and the man heroically collapsed. ‘Rest easy friend, your job has finished’ Rhodin solemnly thought to himself before returning to his work.

Briggs and I ran over to Harston to help him pull the counterweight while Niko and Wekkes tried to get a grasp of the controls. “Perfect timing as always,” Harston grumbled from under his breath and Rhodin couldn’t help but smile at his friends’ sarcasm.

“Apologies but the spotlight was ripe for the taking. How’s your unit doing?”

“Not Great. I lost two-thirds of the force I brought with me trying to retake this damn wall. I’m down to less than ten men and all the corporal’s are gone.”

Rhodin had only lost ten men since he left the main wall so between his unit and Harston’s the two of them had only twenty-five men remaining. While the three men pulled the rope, Elgar had the soldiers assume a wall formation. A large number of Ghouls had climbed the wall and we’re now throwing themselves at the defensive line that Elgar had hastily thrown together.

“Niko!” Rhodin yelled across the battlefield.

“Yes?”

“Aim the trebuchet at the middle of the east wall!”

“Why? Aren’t there soldiers defending that posit-”

“We don’t have time for an explanation! Just hurry up and do it!” Rhodin dismissively stated.

“I’m on it!” Niko replied curtly while Wekkes helped him set up the trebuchet in the right direction.

At the bottom of the stairs they had just climbed, a large force of Groggs and Hell hounds began making their ascent towards them. Rhodin was busy contemplating how best to utilize his troops when the sound of the gears finally tightened could be heard across the tower, which meant the soldiers had finally finished resetting the trebuchet.

“Niko, you’re good to go!” Rhodin shouted as loud as he could over the sound of fighting that had intensified just as the second wave of monsters crashed into the wall. Rhodin dropped the rope and switched back to his hammer before joining the men in the wall. A few seconds went by before the proper reply came back. “Ready for launch!” screamed Wekkes.

I really hope they managed to clear the wall, Rhodin solemnly thought, but this isn't the time to hesitate. Now we hit them back.

“Fire!” Rhodin commanded and the trebuchet whined in protest as the accumulated tension on the arm was finally released. The arm flung forward with a whooshing sound from the built up force, and the stone was sent hurtling through the air at a breakneck speed. Rhodin smashed a Grogg who was getting to close before getting a better look at the shot. The boulder arced and smashed into the left center part of the wall, opening a large hole into the keep. Seeing this, the men let out a cheer of celebration.

‘We did it,’ Rhodin thought as relief washed over him, but the feeling faded quickly. “Incoming!” A soldier at the back screamed while pointing upwards. Rhodin barely had time to see what the man had been looking at. It was another large rock but this one was coming right for them. Rhodin turned as the enemy projectile came down from the sky and slammed the tower that they had been standing on.

The impact made the floor go out from under him and Rhodin let out a yell as he tumbled through the smoke, dirt and debris. He heard some shouting and was weightless momentarily before colliding with something extremely hard that knocked the breath out of him. As Rhodin lay there, he could only watch the snow fall from the sky as the world slowly faded to black.

∞

Just as they had planned, the eastern wall now had a large gaping hole right down the middle of it. Ilan silently stood before the now cleared space, and silently fastened the straps of his helmet. The helmet had a demonic design that made Ilan look like a demon when he was wearing it. The sterling silver and tin helmet had been a gift from the Emperor’s best craftsmen as a reward after The Second Offensive. He quickly traced the engravings with his index finger like he always did for good luck before finally pulling down the face mask. Around him, a force of cavalry that he had personally trained was getting prepared and waiting for his command. He thought about his three sons briefly and quietly hoped Sir Ribvan managed to get them out of the city. Ilan briskly walked over to his patient steed and mounted the beast before pulling his jeweled two-handed great-sword from the matching scabbard he had a servant sow onto the back of his cape. He nodded towards Henry quickly as a signal to get ready. ‘It’s time,’ Ilan thought as he raised his sword skyward. Upon seeing this, the men behind him grew silent in anticipation.

Then just as the dust cloud had begun to settle Ilan yelled, “For Victory! For Koga!” and the men joined in the battle-cry. A horn was blown through the city announcing their departure and a thousand soldiers rode through the new opening in the direction of the enemy headquarters.

The hastily created opening had many disoriented monsters around it from the impact of the boulder and they we’re surprised to see a mass of soldiers come barrelling out of their fortification. The cavalry made quick work of the beasts before they could even come back to their senses. After breaking through the initial skirmish; Ilan rode with all his might towards the center of the enemy’s forces, cutting down any foe that dared crossed his path without slowing down for a second.

A hell hound leapt up and tried to knock him off of his horse but Ilan impaled the beast easily through the breast before dismembering a Grogg who had tried to capitalize with a sneak attack. Blood dripped from his blade and Ilan’s armor was covered in red mist but he refused to slow his pace. He looked back quickly and tried to gauge the amount of casualties. The wave of soldiers now at his rear was significantly smaller than when they started. ‘We’ve already lost a quarter of our force,’ Ilan glumly thought.

He then looked ahead at the gathered enemy army and identified a path that seemed like it would have the least resistance for the charging cavalry. Ilan waited until a few more soldiers had managed to break through the enemy lines before leading the men who still remained deeper into the jaws of death. Ilan would have to dangerously take the soldiers past the cavalry’s dreaded point of no return if the plan Pellan had devised was going to actually work. Ilan knew that if Kogan Keep was going to last the night, the enemy commander had to die as soon as possible. The cavalry rode in the direction of the enemies camp as fast as they could.

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