Book One: Fate
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Chapter Twenty One: The Siege Of Tentra
“God no!”
“Please….no, they’re only children!”
“Spare me!”
Tylor sat up in bed with a sudden jerk grasping at the air in front of him. The room was pitch- black save the moonlight from the slightly whitened window. Sweat was dripping from his forehead onto his chest and down onto the sheets about him. He had had a horrible nightmare. He heard Joel stirring next to him and grumbling to himself as he pulled his head round to face him.
“What’s wrong? What time is it?” he asked in a slurred voice. “Why did you call out?”
“Call out? …Sorry, I didn’t realize I had. I was having a nightmare…” Tylor whispered back.
Joel leaned his head against his hand and used his elbow to hold his face up and asked to hear what it was about. Tylor was hesitant at first. The walls in Leon’s home were not thick and Karen was only across the hall. He did not want to wake her.
“People were dying and… I was just standing there…just… They were crying for mercy and then… screaming at me. They called me a coward and asked why I wouldn’t do anything. They were calling…”
“They’re just dreams, Tylor,” Joel mumbled lazily. “Now act your age and go to sleep like a good boy!” he added, laughing to himself and lying his head back against the pillow. “That reminds me… has that voice spoken to you, the nice sounding girl?”
“Seka, it is most likely her, and no. It’s odd actually; I’m very surprised she hasn’t. I am beginning to wonder if something has gone wrong.”
He lay back down as well, not willing to continue voicing his concerns to a now snoring Joel. The dream had worried him. He could not help but wonder if it was Seka’s new method of convincing him to fight. The things he saw were terrible; death was all around him and people were grabbing him, hiding behind him, and asking why he was just sitting there. He wanted to move, get up and try his best, but whatever force was attacking them scared him so much. Death struck fear in the hearts of many, but they would not have to face it so much in one lifetime and since Destined aged slowly, Tylor had the prospect of two or three times as much exposure to death.
He sighed and bashed his head back against the pillow. There was no point debating it in his mind. If he did not do it then they would die. Slowly closing his eyes, Tylor tried to fall back into a peaceful sleep. However, he could not shake the feeling of death surrounding him from all sides and coming ever closer.
Death was coming from the west and it was getting close.
The next morning the group headed to the west battlements to watch the knights of Tentra march out towards the western border. Tylor had never seen so many people in armor amassed at one time. At the lead, closest to the gates, well dressed knights with medals clinging to there silver plate sat upon powerful steeds talking amongst themselves. Behind them was a lone rider sitting on a horse holding a large flag with the king’s seal blew in the wind. The flag was a sign of power and unity to moralize the troops and the one carrying it was known as the flag bearer.
Lines of other knights clad on horses sat behind him filling the three courtyards of the gates. These were the heavy cavalry.
Even further behind them was other knights and kinsman readying carts of supplies and weaponry at the rear where horseless light and heavy infantry also lined up.
In total there were around three thousand three hundred troops by Leon’s guess. The collected troops that they all watched were not the entire military. There were still knights who remained behind to guard the capital and all the kingdom’s counties had some forces left over, but it was the main bulk of their strength.
Xeno joined the group on the battlements as the front of the pack called out, signaling that the knights that they were ready to leave. The sound of thousands of horses galloping at once echoed up the sturdy walls while the knights cried out with excitement and anticipation. The flag bearer blew on a horn as he went so that even the knights still within the city could hear the call signaling that the army of Atra was on the move.
The group sat in silence, watching the knights move out through the gates and the farms outside the wall, before disappearing on the horizon. The storage carts guarded by infantry moved slower and quickly fell behind the mounted knights.
“Will they wait for the units on foot?” Joel questioned.
“No,” Xeno said in a firm voice. “We cannot afford to move slowly, the cavalry will push on all day and night to reach the border. It is best that way since we cannot accurately predict when an attack will take place. Time is needed to get through the marsh lands anyway. It will be quite slow. The infantry will guard the much needed supplies and follow on at best speed.”
“Are you not going with them, Xeno?” Leon asked.
“Nay, the king has asked me to stay until a diplomatic solution is met with the Demon Hunters,” he replied directly to Leon.
“What’s this about the Hunters?”
“We are taking the threat of the Sect assassins seriously, Leon. We need Demon Hunters trained as you have been, but cannot afford to pay for the contract to obtain as many as we need. We are asking the masters of the Demon Hunter church to grant us the assistance of their Hunters for free under a temporary wartime alliance.”
“I see. The Hunters are mercenaries, but they would not let the kingdom be destroyed. I am sure they will help,” Leon stated.
The old knight sighed, “The church has no obligations and all are not as loyal as you, Leon. The Grand Master Hunters will not send all their students out to fight a war that would, in the worst possible case, leave him student less and certainly not without any profitable rewards.”
Leon looked to the ground and sighed, “The Risolis were more honorable once, I do not know what has happened.”
With that, Xeno bid them good day and left the battlement. Tylor rested his hands on the edge of the stone wall and peered over the land. It was a nice day and the snow looked very picturesque. A blanket of snow covered the cities rooftops and the streets were filled with piles of damp slush. The mornings were much colder now. The frosty wind was even colder as they stood high up on the battlements. Tylor shivered before turning to the others.
“Shall we go? Most of the knights have gone and it’s freezing up here,” he said.
The others agreed and they returned to Leon’s abode. The last knights walking on foot behind the carts finally left Tentra behind. The crowds that had gathered began to disperse. The children that had come to see the mighty knights in their glorious armor went back to hitting one another with snowballs and chasing after each other. Most adults went back to their firesides, but some went back to their shops intent on staying open despite the cold weather.
Once back, Tylor, Joel, and Karen began their morning meditation. Even though they were some miles from Brother Isumail and the other monks at the Katerano church they were not going to neglect the training they had started. Leon left them to it and told them that, when they were ready to train physically, they could go to the third barracks to the upper left of the second courtyard where there was a large sanded training area. He had already cleared their access with the barracks commander on the previous day.
A few hours later they found the training area that Leon was talking about. It, and the barracks it was part of, were quite deserted. Although there were still some knights left they were all out on patrol. One lonely guard resting against the corner nearest the door had let them in after being abruptly awoken.
Inside, the group trained as they had done back in Tillsen. Joel and Tylor sparred and Karen joined in (though her hand-to-hand combat was much less skillful when compared to the maneuvers that they had learned).
Next, they all lined up approximately five meters from a wall and moved their hands forward. Karen demonstrated what she wanted them to do has she jerked her hands back as if something powerful had just hit them. Dust in a line directly in front of her shot up and swirled in the air like it was caught in an updraft as the wall they were facing suddenly got a huge dent in it as if struck by something hard. Rock grumbled onto the sand below as the dust settled once again. Joel and Tylor did the same and watched in amazement as the same thing happened. They had felt the air in front of their hands push against them, but then fall away as if they had power over it. They saw the wall in their minds eye and envisioned the air striking at it.
“It, it was like I could see the air!” Joel cried, looking at his hands and pushing one forwards again gently.
“Amazing,” Tylor stuttered.
“It’s only the tip of a giant iceberg, let’s continue,” Karen called to them.
The Demon Hunter had spent the day helping to organize the new patrol schedules for the remaining knights and keeping an eye on the negotiations with his former Hunters. They had agreed to send twenty of their average rank Hunters for no fee as a specialist unit at the king’s disposal. Leon had hoped for more, but it seemed that the ideals of his former tutors had turned to money.
Though he had not said anything to King Nega or Xeno, he doubted how truthful the pledge had been. There were not many fully trained Hunters in the kingdom so twenty would be a high percentage of the total. It was more likely that they would only send ten or twelve Demon Hunters at most and the rest would only be Apprentice Hunters dressed as if they had completed their training.
The church underestimated how serious the situation was.
Entering the training area, he was amazed at what he found. The knight on guard was standing at the door with him, watching in equal amazement. Walls lay in ruin; some had collapsed completely whereas others had lost large chunks which caused cascading around it. Dust and sand lay everywhere, as if a storm had past through the building.
From where he stood, Leon could see Tylor and Joel facing one another at the top corner of the dusty area. Pesmega shined in Tylor’s hand, and Joel was armed too, with a standard steel sword from the knight’s weapon rack.
Suddenly, Karen leaped into view from the left holding two swords, one in each hand. Tylor and Joel fought back together, seemingly in a team against her. Their swords clashed in midair as they ferociously jumped around the room. Karen seemed perfectly capable of holding them both off even though she was not even using her weapon of choice. Even with one at both of her sides she was able to fight off their attacks and counter swiftly. She knocked Joel back with a shove from her hand then used both her swords to catch Pesmega’s blade and twist it out of Tylor’s hand. She then thrust her swords forwards and stopped an inch before his chest. Tylor dropped his guard and took a step back. Joel huffed to himself and flipped to his feet only to find that Karen had moved next to him and held a sword at his throat.
“Bah!” Joel moaned. “…Four to you, one to us!”
Leon turned to the guard and asked what was going on.
“Training, they said. Do they know magic? It’s amazing some of the things they can do… They fight as if they have trained for years. How long have they practiced, Hunter Sansec?”
“Trained?” he questioned and smiled. “Around three months or so, that’s about it as far as weapon combat goes.”
The knight was in shock. He pointed at the devastation of the room, “They did that! It’s truly amazing!”
The Hunter laughed inwardly. His three friends had progressed further than they had all let on back in Tillsen. Karen was still the most skilled of them, it seemed, but they were definitely improving.
“Let’s go back to using no weapons!” he heard Joel cry. “Come on, we beat you when we do that. Scared of losing?”
“The dark legions will not drop their weapons when you ask as they storm this kingdom! Get your weapon and let’s go again!” was Karen’s strict answer.
He could not help but feel that Karen was pushing them much harder than Isumail had done. She was all to aware of the limited amount of time they had left so perhaps it was best that she took an aggressive approach to the training.
Leon called to them, “May I have a moment with Joel and Karen, please?”
The group paused and greeted him when they noticed that he had been standing at the door with the shocked guard. Leon came and sat at the edge of the sand pit. Tylor, Karen and Joel stood round him and rested. He delved into his pocket and produced a large bag of coins.
“This is the reward for killing Tai. I do not need it, so I was curious whether Joel and Karen would like me to commission a Dau weapon smith in the city to craft some weapons for you?”
“My dagger is important to me, I will not part with it,” Karen said.
“Use it as a back up weapon?” Leon replied.
Karen shook her head and returned to doing exercises.
“Well then, Joel, this money is all yours. What do you wish to be done with it?” he asked, tossing the bag up and down in his hand.
His young friend was silent for a moment and crossed his hands over his chest, placing a finger over his mouth and humming to himself at the same time.
“I don’t think I will ever better Tylor or Karen when it comes to close combat weapons, but my aim with a bow is really getting better… Do you think the Dau would make me a special bow of some kind?” he eventually suggested.
“I will see what can be done. Oh, and also, I think that it is about time that you got some kind of armor. If you are to be a warrior then you will need it. I will have some leather armor specially commissioned and made to fit your form.”
With a childlike look of glee, Joel thanked Leon a million times over. With that the Hunter left and the others went back to sparring.
Everything was peaceful for the next four nights.
Then, on the fifth…
Karen quietly walked out of Leon’s home and looked around. It was a dark cold night. Some fresh snow had fallen in the afternoon so everything still looked pure white. With so little commotion in the castle courtyard now that the army had left the city much of the snow was left untouched. She resisted the urge to go for a walk in it.
Looking to her left she noticed Leon with his back against the wall of his house standing in silence. He was looking out over the courtyard seemingly in deep thought. Karen joined him and stood next to him. At first he did not make any motion to acknowledge her presence and instead waited for her to talk first.
“Leon, I want to ask you something,” Karen said and without giving him a chance to talk she went on, “I believe you are hiding something from us. They can’t see it, but I grew up learning how to tell a convincing lie - all part and parcel of being a thief. What is it that you’re hiding from us?”
“Nothing,” he responded.
“Then why will you not look me in the eye?”
The Hunter pushed himself off the wall and walked straight passed her.
“I have nothing to tell you, Karen. It is cold, you should go to bed.”
And with that, Leon retired to the inside of his home, leaving her to watch the sky as snow began to fall again.
“What is he hiding and why? Does he not trust us now even after all we have been through?” she said to herself.
On the sixth day the weapon Leon had commissioned for Joel arrived, as did his new leather armor. The bow was made of wood, was black in color with carved bronze points, and had strange markings over it. On those bronze points attached a thin sturdy white string. A small cylinder of bronze was wrapped round the center, a point to hold onto, and it was covered in strange markings as well. With it came a brown quiver, filled with long wooden arrows with black flights on the ends.
“The markings are ancient Dau runes speak,” Leon explained. “It may look normal, but this bow is enchanted. Its wood and string are not easily broken, much like my Raziel. Any arrow fired from it will be blessed by the Dau runes of holy significance and render demons helpless. Now all that remains is for you to name your weapon. So, Joel, what will you name the bow?”
“Samilo,” Joel said instantly.
Joel then put on all his new armor save the gauntlet which matched Tylor’s. Once clad in the dark leather he looked like a scout or archer, especially with the bow in hand and quiver on his back. Leon then presented him with the old small crossbow that had been on his leg and a small pouch of darts to go with it. He then took off the small belt around his leg which was specially made to hold the small weapon and handed it to Joel to wear. Built into the back of the leather covering his chest was a small curved piece of fabric at the back in which Joel slid a normal steel short sword. A small buckle at the base held it in place, coupled with the quiver of arrows pressing against it. Leon had also bought similar armor for Tylor and Karen. Tylor took the sleeves, leggings, one gauntlet, and the chest piece. His old one had received too many dents from blows he had received over time. Karen took all but the chest piece; she believed her chain mail was enough. The three of them finally looked like they were ready to fight. Although Tylor still had his reservations about it all at least now they were in a better situation to defend themselves when the fighting started up again.
Seven days had past since the army of Tentra headed out west to defend the kingdom’s border. Scouts on fast horses had come and gone almost every day, passing messages to and fro. Things from the boarder were quiet. There was no advance from L’Carn and though its dark presence remained vigilant it made no move towards Atra’s land. On the forth night a dark shadow had hovered over the land, shrouded in the clouds, but no sooner had it past over the heads of the knights on watch did it vanish from view completely.
It was on this day that Tylor and Joel were awakened by Leon calling their names from the front room of his home. He demanded that they make haste in getting dressed and move with him to the north walls. Without question they did so and, after waking Karen, joined Leon.
“A group of peasants have appeared at the northern gates. Xeno said that we should go see them as they bring with them strange tidings!”
The group rushed out of the castle courtyard and into the streets of the city. A crowd had formed near the north gates. They huddled round a group of dirtily dressed peasants who were cowering and clutching one another’s arms. Amongst their number were some wounded and small children who grasped their mother’s dresses tightly. Knights had surrounded them and were keeping the inhabitants of Tentra back. Xeno was there and shouted to Leon to come through the crowd. Tylor, Joel and Karen followed closely behind. Scared eyes from the children behind their mothers followed Tylor with each step that he took. Were they afraid of them? Or perhaps of the Tentra knights? Or was it something else?
“Leon, they say that they are from a town at the base of the Great Forest. Your group has traveled there some days ago; can any of you confirm this?” Xeno asked.
It was then that Tylor saw familiar faces and looks from the people kneeling before them. The helpless, wounded, people were the ones the group had met on their journey to Noctern. It was the same people who had allowed them to stay within the shanty town for the night before going to the Great Forest. Leon looked around the people, but ignored their desperate cries and then glanced at the rabble being kept back by the guards. A sigh escaped his lips before he returned to Xeno.
“I believe so; they are previously inhabitants of Noctern. There is wounded among them, they should receive medical attention straight away,” he replied.
“They are not in our jurisdiction, Leon. I cannot grant them aid unless the king agrees to it.”
“What are you saying?!” Tylor cried. “Help them! They’re hurt! Look at them for pities sake.”
Commander Xeno turned his back to Tylor and put his hand around Leon’s shoulder, muttering something to the Hunter that he could not hear. Karen and Joel were kneeling next to a women whose upper shirt was torn, revealing a bloody cut. Next to the woman her daughter stood weeping. Karen held her hand over the wound and asked Joel to rip some strips of fabric to apply to it to stop the bleeding. As Tylor leant down to help them he felt a breeze push swiftly past him as Xeno walked passed in a mighty stride. He shouted to the crowd telling them disperse and then ordered his men surrounding the people to lead them out of the gates and into the fields.
“How dare you!” Karen shouted, standing to her feet. “Some here will die without medical help are you so arrogant as to leave them to die? Is it because they are from Noctern?”
Joel and Tylor stood by her side. They believed as she did that it was wrong to order such a thing. Xeno met all three of their gazes and gruffly sighed to himself. He was deliberately condescending and treated their protest like they were children.
“By order of the king none from Noctern, Tillsen, or any abdicated place will receive anything from us while it still sits under no flag,” he stated. “I’m sorry, but we must do as the king asks. His word is the law. Stand aside and allow us to carry out his orders.”
“This is mad! Noctern no longer stands! These people are without home or place, they cannot claim allegiance to the king as they have no where to do it on behalf of! Grant them asylum!” Karen pleaded.
“…I’m sorry,” Xeno repeated and pushed them aside.
The group from the shanty town were pushed and pulled until all were outside the gates. Children were crying, women were screaming, and the wounded called out in pain. As soon as the last was thrown through the third gate the order was given to close them up.
Tylor felt sick to his stomach. The thing that he had just witnessed sickened him. He did not understand how they could treat there fellow man like that simply because they came from a town which wanted to fend for itself. He formed a fist with his knuckles and cursed under his breath. Joel and Karen were equally as shocked.
Tentra’s large gates slowly shut one set at a time until the outside could not be seen. The people had no choice but to leave Tentra and slowly walked back up the road towards Noctern.
He turned to Karen, “Is this what we are meant to protect?”
She had no answer for him.
One hour after the events in the street the group had returned to Leon’s abode. Karen joined the boys in their room as they discussed what they had witnessed. Leon had gone with Xeno to see the king to seek guidance on what to do about the peasants. Karen’s hatred for the kingdom had been rekindled; she cursed Tentra, its armies, and all those who served under the foolish king.
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Joel moaned.
“We have no one to ask for help, the sheep follow the Shepard unquestionably. If he wished them death, they would gladly hurl themselves from atop the highest mountain. Didn’t you see the looks from the people of Tentra? Their gaze froze those people from Noctern. They could not speak, they dared not speak! It was the same all those years ago when Noctern fell. Its refugees had to sneak into this city and anywhere else under King Nega’s rule. I cannot believe this heartless king is a Destined. I will not believe it!” Karen shouted.
“I won’t defend these people,” Tylor said after some thought.
Karen and Joel looked to him, but said nothing.
He went on, “I will not save those who would not save others! I don’t wish them death, the people of Tentra warmed my heart when we first came here, but I will not give my life for them.”
Just then, the group heard the sound of the main door opening and closing. Heavy footsteps walked the length of the corridor down to the open door of Tylor and Joel’s room. Leon stood in the doorway and looked at them all. Tylor expected him to explain or apologize on the king’s behalf, but Leon did not.
“Those peasants spoke of the dead of Noctern rising and marching through the forest, heading for us. Our scouts have confirmed that a group numbering around four thousand head here from the north,” Leon said.
“Four thousand…? That’s how many died in the fire of Noctern!” Karen cried.
“There is necromancy at work here. Had we not heard Andros being slain then I would have said that this was the Brood’s doing, but even they do not raise the dead in this manner. We have had no choice but to bring in all the farmers and live stock from the farms surrounding the city and to seal off all gates. You cannot go back to Tillsen, if that is what you had planned. The knights left in the city number only four or five hundred, the rest are in the west. We cannot meet them in battle so we must face them from here.”
“Why tell us?” Joel asked with some distain.
“If these undead do somehow breach the walls then we will need every willing fighter to help drive them off. The threat is imminent and although we have sent runners to the west and nearby towns to request reinforcements I doubt that they will be here for at least a day.”
With that, Leon bid them farewell and disappeared up the corridor. The main door to the house opened and closed once again. The group sat in silence for a time, but then suddenly Tylor spoke out.
“Tai warned me!” he said, sitting up and gasping, “…But why would he warn me?”
“What do you mean?” Karen asked.
“Do you remember what he said to me in Tillsen? The dead seeking revenge, he was speaking of the souls of the people of Noctern! But why did he tell me…?”
“Do not try to understand the workings of a crazed mind, Tylor else you too would go as mad,” she replied.
Tai and Kass stood beside one another at the gates of Noctern looking out over the dark horizon and then towards the Great Forest in the far distance. Beside them sat a mighty beast. It stood many meters taller than a man and had dark scales covering its body. Its mouth was full of teeth bigger than an arm and its eyes shined blood red. It was laden with gear to hold five or so bodies atop it with straps which ran under its scaled belly holding it in place. Its wings were free and every so often it would stir and straighten them, its mighty wingspan casting a lengthy shadow out before it. A cloaked trio walked from the gates and kneeled before the two Sect.
“All that are willing have risen,” reported one of the cloaked figures.
“Thirty six hundred give or take,” muttered Kass. “Adequate, but I would have thought more of them would be glad of revenge against Tentra. It is a pity only a willing soul can be brought back by the Necromancers and that only so many can become Seradin.”
Tai made a gruff sound in agreement and looked over to the beast beside them, “The Scythe is eager to spread its wings. Where does Kain command us to go now?”
“We must remain here until the siege begins and then we will infiltrate Tentra. Our orders are to kill the Destined. The legions should be skirmishing with the border guard by now. It will draw the attention of the main force. The undead will occupy the remaining knights leaving us a defenseless path straight to them.”
“If, indeed, they are still in Tentra,” Tai replied.
“Our spies followed them there from Tillsen, they have not moved.”
Trying to hide his anger, Tai gritted his teeth and cursed to himself. Kain had resorted to using deception and underhand tactics to win his battles in the end, all because L’Carn had put up too much of a fight. He had underestimated Pesmega’s people just as Yggdrasil had. And instead of calling all his powerful warriors to arms he instead had the Sect continue to chase after the Destined.
A man walked out from Noctern’s gate and joined Kass and Tai. He dressed as they did and had a slightly smaller and thinner form than Tai’s. It was Lord Luther, another Sect assassin. Tai snorted to him. Luther had grown weak since the last time they had met. Too long had he been at his masters feet doing Kain’s earns instead of fighting and growing strong.
From the snow covered forest a rider appeared. He was clad in black armor similar to the Elites which had approached Tai some time ago. He rode up to them and dismounted. After bowing low he presented Kass with a sealed letter. She broke off the seal and began reading.
“Will Kain not even speak to us directly anymore?” Tai questioned and grunted in disgust.
“We are in Seka’s domain, Sagios. It is a trial to directly communicate from here. This rider brings new orders; we are to take the Scythe and assault Tillsen. We are to kill all within it and destroy the Katerano church. We are then to allow the Necromancers to raise any souls willing to join the fight at Tentra and then march there in full force.”
He grinned. Finally they had been ordered into action. But it was for the wrong reasons. They were the last resort, the lowest on Kain’s list of troops at his disposal. Cleansing the filth from Tillsen would be pathetically easy as they had no real defense. The real battles were at the western border, but they were denied the right to join in.
The first arrow shot from the northern battlements of Tentra’s wall. The strong crosswinds and the blizzard like conditions partly knocked it off course, but still it found its target. The first arrow felled the first of the walking corpses closest to the city, piercing the uncovered chest of its victim. No sooner had the corpse hit the floor with the flight of the arrow sticking out of his upper chest did it stand up again and continue is slow pace onwards.
More arrows shot from the walls and most found their targets. Fifty six archers lined the northern wall, all armed with bows firing arrow after arrow at any target that presented itself.
The attackers made no attempt to shield or dodge the arrows. They could not, for they moved too slowly. It seemed as if they were almost motionless, like statues, as they drudged through the thick snow. But they did move, slowly but surely, and they grew closer and closer to the first set of gates.
Leon, Tylor, Joel, Karen, and Commander Xeno were on the wall as well, watching the archer’s fire their bows. The figures walking towards the city reminded them of the puppet knights that Andros commanded in the manner in which they walked and were slumped over. However, their appearance was different. They wore no armor, just simple cloth and fabric, shirts and trousers, the kind of thing a peasant or farmer would wear. Most were torn and had dried blood spilt down the fronts showing the tell tale wounds that spelt the original demise of the walking corpse. Some had dried cuts across their chests where swords had been thrust, others had sections missing from their stomachs and even heads, but their old wounds no longer caused any hindrance. Some of them were tall and others small. There were men and Dau there, of all ages.
After each arrow knocked them down they simply stood back up and continued to walk. No blood escaped their bodies when an arrow rung true, only dust and muck that had clung to the body over the years it had been left lying in the wreckage of Noctern. All the blood had dripped out or dried to dust as it lay where it had been felled. All those facts confirmed that they were the walking dead and that some form of necromancy was at work.
At first he had no idea what that actually meant. Tylor was informed that a Necromancer was a pupil of the dark arts who specialized in raising the dead to serve their purposes. A great understanding of magic was required. They could only raise a willing soul, but would often try to confuse and exaggerate promises when pleading with the soul. Then when the soul, that had been fed delusional promises of being brought back to life, agreed to the Necromancer’s plea they are resurrected as an undead slave. They were not alive, but it would be wrong to say they were truly dead. They felt no pain and were not easily felled, but could not think for themselves and could only carry out the simplest of orders.
“Some have been knocked down by no less than six arrows and yet they still get back up,” said Karen. “You will need to change your tactics.”
Commander Xeno said something, but his back was to her and she did not hear it. A Knight Captain approached Xeno and reported that no amount of arrows seemed to work. Reluctantly, Xeno ordered a cease fire. Loud call’s rung down both ends of the huge wall ordering that all archers ceased firing. The last arrows were fired and then all archers turned their back to the land and faced inward to the city.
“We have a stalemate on our hands,” Xeno said to the Knight Captain. “We cannot kill them, but they cannot enter the city. Still, we must do something about them, look!” he added, casting his arm out and pointing towards the undead.
They had reached the grain field and farms in front of the city gates, not caring that they were trodden on the snow covered land. Behind them, where their pale feet had pressed into the land, the snow was tainted black and so was the ground under it.
“Their touch is like a plague on the land, even the snow decays from touching them. They are polluting the farm land making it impossible for us to grow anything once the snow clears,” Xeno explained.
“Yes sir, but look,” the Knight Captain said and pointed at the on coming enemies, “only some of the dead leave such black marks, as if only some are polluted.”
Tylor peered out over the battlements. Two archers to either of his sides looked as well. It was true. The black footprints where the snow had been melted away only came from some of the undead. Others pulled their slow feet through the piles of snow and yet nothing happened. The ones that seemed polluted looked paler than the others as well and more decayed, as if they had been lying for longer than the others in the cold dead city to the north.
“This is true,” Xeno muttered. “Did you also notice that arrows which struck them did not knock them down? They are stronger than the others. No doubt the Necromancers have imbued power into as many as they could.” He paused for a moment and ran a hand down his beard, “Of course! It is with these polluted dead that they will attempt to get into the city; their touch will decay the gates! Archers, target those bodies!”
Another cry went up and down the walls as the archers retook their positions and began to fire. The Knight Captain left Xeno and looked out over the wall to see if the new tactic would fair any better. They shot slower than before, carefully selecting their targets from the many before them checking for the tell tale signs of the imbued undead.
“So, this is the dark armies doing?” Xeno asked, turning to Leon and the others. “What tricky and devious plotters they are! They have no sense of honor.”
“Yes, it is most likely Kain’s doing,” Karen muttered in reply.
The Knight Captain called to Xeno, saying that the undead were now just a few meters from the wall and it was becoming increasingly difficult to shoot at the ones in front. Xeno walked up beside him and looked out over the wall. The archers were still firing at the plagued dead, but it was not helping. Even when hit with four arrows simultaneously they barely flinched. Another took a direct hit to the upper forehead pulling its head sideways and cracking its neck with the force of the impact casting a fountain of dust out into the air, but still it walked onwards.
Astonished, Tylor looked over again. A tide of bodies was walking towards the city, the archers were only shooting at the front lines but behind them were many, many more. Four thousand bodies all wanting to enter the city and he could only guess what would happen if they did break in. He shuddered at the thought. Tentra’s people were without sympathy for the survivors of Noctern, but he would not want them to be left to face the wrath of the undead tide.
“Sir Xeno!” the Knight Captain cried. “Look!”
Some of the plagued dead had stopped walking towards the walls and were looking up at the battlements above the first gates. Their gaze was lifeless, like a dolls, but still frightening. Green gas was pouring from their mouths, drifting into the air around them as if they were coughing up something.
Suddenly, their jaws opened and glowing green balls fired from them towards the gates. The archers called to one another to dodge as the balls struck the battlements. Some over shot and reached behind as well. As they struck ground or person, they burst open spreading foul smelling emerald green liquid considerable distance around the point of impact. No sooner had it touched stone did smoke begin to raise from the rock as slowly it melted away as the green liquid was absorbed into it. Archers whom it touched instantly dropped to the floor and squirmed in pain as their armor, and eventually skin, was eaten away by the strange liquid.
A second volley of green balls was fired upwards, made to hit past the wall and where the archers had retreated back to. More fell, screaming and crying for help as their bodies melted away.
“It’s some kind of caustic acid!” Leon cried.
“We are taking heavy casualties all along the wall Sir!” the Knight Captain shouted as he joined Xeno and the others on a ramp between the first wall and second. “Our arrows still prove no match for the plagued dead.”
“Leave the dead, tell all survivors to fall back to the second gate and walls. Send a squad of knights to barricade the second gate and a messenger to the castle asking for the wizard’s council on this matter.”
The Knight Captain shouted out the order to fall back. After the squad captains heard the word, they ordered the retreat. All the archers not scorched by the green balls used the ramps and bridges between the first and second wall to escape from the range of the plagued dead attacks. As they retreated another volley of balls was fired up, burning away even more stone and catching a few more bodies as they tried to escape.
A hissing sound preceded smoke that began to appear on the first set of gates as it was burned from the other side. Tylor and the others stood on the upper battlement of the second gates watching as holes began to appear in the woodwork of the first set. Wood splintered and melted, falling to the floor with a hiss as it hit the mud.
He asked Leon what Xeno had meant by asking the wizards. The Hunter told him that the ones who made the most powerful spheres for the Tentra army lived inside the city. They were a group of powerful mages who were knowledgeable in both dark and light magic. It was them that informed Xeno about the Necromancer’s ability, so he was hoping that they would know of a suitable method to dispose of the walking dead.
While they stood on the second battlement waiting for the first gates to shatter completely, Joel drew his bow from his back and took the first of his arrows from his quiver.
He turned to Tylor and Karen, “We have to help them so I’m going to try and drop a few of them with the surviving archers.”
Speaking without fear or hesitation three archers lined up next to Joel and readied their bows as well. Thirty eight more fitted round the battlement surrounding the back end of the courtyard between gates. The rest of the survivors went back into the city. They could not get a shot from the same location they had stood on the first gate, while on the second. Tylor, Leon and Xeno stayed behind the line of archers in which Joel stood.
“They now have us at yet another disadvantage. Only archers that can fit round the square that surrounds the courtyard will be able to shoot at any who enter. And they will be easy targets for the attacks of those plagued dead. I do not wish to send my knights into close combat until I am sure they will not be infected or felled before they can even swing a blow. Hopefully the wizards will have some advice that we can use!” Xeno said with signs of concern apparent on his face.
A scout clad in leather armor with a bow on his back ran along the second wall from the east and bowed before Commander Xeno. The old knight saluted and told the scout to rise. The scout obeyed and then put his mouth to Xeno’s ear, whispering something that Tylor could not hear. Xeno thanked him and sent the scout on his way and then stood for a moment, musing over whatever had been said. Leon queried what the old knight had been told.
“Thirteen hundred are huddled around the northern gates and walls before us. The rest are walking along the northern wall towards the eastern side and none have made an effort to move around to the west gates. This is puzzling; they cannot reach the eastern gates by following that wall as a river blocks their path. Perhaps they hope to infect our water. I fear that there may be more tactics in this siege than we had originally expected from the brainless walking dead. Whoever has given them orders has thought out a cunning plan, but I do not yet know why they have done this. Tactically, the most effective method of attack would be to cut off all gates to remove any chance of escape and to spread our limited supply of troops thin, yet they have not done this…”
No one said anything as they could think of nothing to suggest. Suddenly, another loud hiss caught all of their attention as a huge chunk of wood fell from the first gates onto the courtyard. Through the gap hundreds of dead eyes peered through clawing at the air, trying to get in front. Another hiss and another chunk fell from the door. The plagued dead were burning the doors away and they were almost through.
“Tylor, stand with me behind these archers,” Karen said, standing on a small ledge between the line of archers and the upper section that Xeno and Leon stood upon. “We will help buy you time to find a tactic which works, Xeno, but I do not know how effective my plan will be!”
“…Plan?” Tylor asked, as he jumped up with her.
Karen pushed her hands out in front of her, pointed slightly upwards.
“We knock back as many of those green balls away from the archers as we can,” she stated, pushing her hands forwards again in a forceful manner.
Commander Xeno stepped forwards to speak, but Leon put his hand out to his side, stopping Xeno’s advance. He turned and their eyes met. They said nothing, but Xeno understood what it was that Leon wanted. He wanted to allow Karen and Tylor the chance to help, to prove that they were capable of heroic deeds. Xeno knew that Leon had no doubt in his mind about the abilities of his young companions, but to him, they were simply very talented children, nothing more.
“The gate is broken!” an archer cried.
“Ready bows!” a captain shouted. “Fire at will!”
The last remaining parts of the gates fell from its hinges and then were crushed under foot as the undead filled the first courtyard. Amongst the first through were many of the plagued dead and they were already looking upwards and picking targets.
Then the bows fired thirty eight arrows, each leaving their owners hand at the same time. The sound of all the bows firing downwards at the same time rung and echoed through the courtyard as each found their mark.
The archers held their breath and prayed the arrows would find their mark and strike down the walking dead for good.
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