by Hans Bezdek
The sound of goblin and orc laughter filled the air as we got closer. Men and women were barking commands to one another as we reached the gate, running every which way. On top of the walls I could make out some archers letting loose, but there were only a couple of dozen. The gate still held, but was shaking badly and had many thin holes all across it.
"I can't believe they're attacking already!" said Cassandra, pulling out the Shattered Sword.
"Figured it would be at night," nodded Dhot.
It did seem pretty strange. It was the middle of the day, which meant that humans would see just as well as the Greeners and dragons. While the Dar'Ka might not have known The Republic was coming, surely they would've wanted to attack when they held the greatest advantage. Even if Ulrich wasn't leading this group, would whoever he put in charge make such a blunder?
"They must think we're weak," growled Nicole, pulling out a large axe. The Gray Adders followed her lead.
"I mean... they aren't wrong," I conceded.
"W-What should we do?" asked Burley, who hadn't bothered to pull out a weapon. In fact, none of the Vorovan leaders had, save Nicole and Holurf.
"We kill em," grumbled the ancient dwarf. "We kill em all."
"Hard to argue with that," I nodded. I glanced at the other, less excited Vorovan leaders. "Our best bet is to defend at the gate. Once it's opened, we'll funnel them in and take the Greeners out in smaller numbers. It looks like we have a hundred or so of your men here. If you want to really make a difference, I'd recommend you join the fight. It'll boost morale."
They looked at me like I just told them the sky was purple.
"Uh, I'm confident in our men," said Shindar. "If we can keep them fighting the Greeners in a tight area, I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine with us commanding them from a safe distance."
"Interesting leadership view," said Varinia.
"Maha!"
"Good to know we can count on all of you," I sighed, approaching the gate. The majority of the group joined me, everyone eyeing the weakening gate. "It shouldn't be long now."
"Want me to change?" asked Braun, reaching for his rock.
"Not yet," said Cassandra quickly.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"
"What if the Dar'Ka are just testing us right now?" asked Cassandra. "I haven't heard anyone saying they've seen a dragon yet, and I feel like we'd see bursts of flame from the south or north if the gold and silvers were fighting with them. Let's not go all out until we're sure we need to."
"Are you saying you don't want me to risk blowing up the wall?" asked Dhot.
Everyone turned toward the goblin.
"Why would you even think that was a good option?!" demanded Nicole.
"It'll kill a bunch of em," shrugged the goblin.
"And weaken our defenses!" argued the orc.
"Let's hold off on jeopardizing the wall," said Cassandra, shaking her head. "We'll also save Braun's transformation and any other ones."
That last part was clearly pointed at me. While I would've preferred to take out some Greeners the easy way, she was probably right. An annoying habit of hers.
"I'll hold off on my magic, too," I said, equipping the Time Shield and pulling out a dagger. "I'll save it for later. Beatrix, it'd be best if you do, too."
"Okay," said Beatrix, sounding disappointed. "If it looks like there's no other option, though, I'm summoning something nasty."
Before I could respond, a large crack appeared in the gate. With a loud explosion, the gate was kicked in and fell on a few of the Vorovan fighters that weren't quick enough to avoid it. Orcs, trolls, and goblins cheered as they poured into the new opening, brandishing wicked looking blades and spears.
To their credit, the Vorovan soldiers nearest to us rushed forward to meet the intruders. Poorly trained men and women lashed out at the Greeners, taking out more than a handful in the first few seconds. The larger orcs and trolls were quick to put pressure on them, trying to double up with jabs and hammer swings.
"Charge!" shouted Nicole, pointing at the gate with her axe.
The Gray Adders jumped forward, filling in any holes that were created by the injured Vorovan fighters. A couple of the Adders hung back, taking calculated shots with their bow at some of the orcs and trolls. As they connected and dropped their targets, two smaller Greeners would hop in and take their place.
Not wanting to be outdone, I and the others hurried forward. Cassandra was the first there, flipping over the front line of Vorovan soldiers and diving into a pit of Greeners. The Shattered Sword sprang to life with its blue glow, tearing through goblins as if they were made of a single piece of parchment. An orc brought his hammer down on her, but she was quick enough to raise the Sword above her.
The orc's weapon sliced in two as he brought it down, the look on his face completely disbelief. That was the last look it ever had, as Cassandra quickly removed his head from his body.
She ducked as Dhot called out, tossing a number of silver discs into the space she just made. The Greeners that tried to encroach on the elf didn't notice this happening and paid dearly for it. The light sound of small triggers went off as they stepped on the tiny landmines, followed by large explosions that sent even the biggest Greeners flying.
"Maha!" laughed Dhot, continuing to chuck his discs liberally as he ran between the Vorovan fighters and Cassandra.
My eyes widened as a troll grabbed the goblin around the neck.
"Get Dhot!" I cried out, bashing an enemy goblin with the Time Shield and knocking him out as I hurried after my friend.
Several Greeners rushed in as the troll that grabbed Dhot retreated into the masses. Cassandra and I surged forward, trying desperately to hack and slash as many of them as we could. The deeper we pushed into the Greeners the less careful we had to be with our follow through, since we were surrounded by only the enemy. Some of the Vorovans pushed out with us, as did a couple of Adders. As I stabbed a surprised orc in the back, I could hear the cries of a few other soldiers behind us getting swept up in the flood of Greeners. I knew we were going to have a rough time pushing back to the safety of the walls.
The troll that had Dhot held him up tauntingly toward us as he saw us push deeper into his forces. Unfortunately for him, Dhot wasn't out of the fight. The goblin pulled out a small black box and his detonator.
"Be careful!" warned Cassandra, but that didn't stop him.
The goblin pressed the black box into the troll's arm the held him up, then clicked his detonator with a wide grin.
Electricity shot out of the box, shocking both the troll and Dhot. After a few seconds, the goblin clicked the detonator again, and both he and the troll dropped. I ran to the goblin, keeping the Time Shield up to block a barrage of swings from the Greeners as I helped my friend up.
"T-That r-really t-t-tingles!" said Dhot through chattering teeth. "M-Maha!"
"That's one way to get a troll off of you," I said, slashing out at an enemy goblin that thought it was a good idea to try and pounce on us.
Cassandra cut her way to us, as did two Adders and Beatrix. None of the other Vorovan soldiers that came after we made it. The six of us looked back across the heads of a mixture of Greeners and back to the walls.
"This is going to be tricky," said Cassandra, somehow not even breathing heavily yet.
"Only one way to get there," I shrugged, then leapt forward at the nearest orc.
He caught my blade with his, then tried to catch me off guard with a punch. With a shrug up, I was able to block it with the Time Shield. I shoved him back, punching out with my dagger and catching him in the chest. He let out a roar and backhanded me, knocking me down.
My arm started to shake. I looked up as the Time Shield took effect, pausing everything and everyone around me. With a sigh of relief, I watched as time reset itself.
We had been saved! Now all I had to do was wait for it to get back to before we pushed out from the wall and we'd be fine.
Only... that wasn't
happening.
Time reset to right before I jumped at the orc. While that was slightly better than before, it didn't exactly put us back to where I wanted it to. I waited while I caught my breath, trying to devise some sort of plan to get us out of this. I could turn into a dragon, of course, but that seemed a bit unnecessary. I also worried that it would cause the black and reds to come in, which could ultimately cause us more problems if we weren't able to make it back to the walls in time. It seemed like the only way out of this was to fight like normal.
Resigned to winging it, I took back my place, and time started again.
"The Shield just did its thing!" I said loudly.
"Did one of us die?" asked Cassandra, swiping at a goblin to her right.
"No," I said, pushing back another goblin. "I think we've got to try a creative way back, though."
"Leave it to me!" said Beatrix, who had worked with the Adders to join us with just a small dagger. "I'll get something small, but effective."
The gnome's eyes flashed blue, and a few feet in front of us an eight foot tall pillar of fire appeared. It was no ordinary fire, but had arms, legs, and blue flames for eyes. And let me tell you... they weren't happy eyes.
"I thought you said it was going to be small?!" I said, unsure of how much she could summon.
The fire elemental spun around, lashing out at all the Greeners around him at once. A tornado of flames slammed into the shocked orcs and goblins that hadn't managed to back away. With cries of fear and pain, the inflamed Greeners rolled on the floor or sprinted off into the others.
"Might not be small," shrugged the gnome. "But it's effective."
The fire elemental continued its warpath toward the walls of Vorova, carving a safe way out with little issue. I almost felt bad for the Greeners. After just a couple of minutes, we were back to the gate. The Vorovan defenders were spooked when they first saw the fire monster, but after seeing it was on their side they were suddenly reinvigorated. The appearance of The Republic's army probably helped that, and our united forces pushed out against the Greeners.
Whether it was the fire elemental, The Republic's numbers, or the aggression of our allies, the Greeners broke rank and did a full-on retreat.
"Don't give chase!" Nicole cried out to the soldiers that had started after them.
"Keep within range of the walls!" cautioned Varinia.
The soldiers slowed to a stop, cheering as the Greeners ran away like cowards. Vorova had been defended.
At least... for now.
Chapter 11
We made it back into the city, where we found Braun hard at work healing some of the injured fighters. He had quite the line formed, with a few people gathering up those that didn't make it. The latter pile was much larger than I would've preferred. Thankfully, the dead Greener pile was at least six times the size.
Unsurprisingly, we found almost all of the Vorovan leaders hanging back, not a scratch on them.
"Did you guys do... anything?" I asked.
The two humans and elf exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"We, um, we were organizing the back line," said Shindar. "Important to make sure the city didn't get overrun, you know."
"So you guys didn't consider... oh... I don't know," said Dhot, tapping the side of his head. "Getting your hands dirty?"
Braun came over as we spoke, looking exhausted. Varinia, Nicole, and the Gray Adders gathered around as well. They looked a bit scuffed up, but were otherwise fine.
"That's the last of em," he sighed. "Took a lot outta me, it did."
"At least you didn't have to waste any time healing these three," said Cassandra.
"Wait, wasn't there four of you?" I asked, looking over them again. I could've sworn there was one more of them.
"Where's Holurf?" asked Nicole, looking around. "Is he still out on the battlefield."
"He didn't make it," said Braun, shaking his head sadly.
I averted my eyes. I couldn't believe I had forgotten the dwarf. He was the only one that seemed to be willing to work with us, and now he was gone. I had a feeling this would make things more difficult.
"Further proof we shouldn't get involved like that," said Burley, jumping at the opportunity. "If the others notice, it'll hurt morale."
"He's right," nodded Weston enthusiastically. "A shame he died, but he was too excited to go into battle. We all should learn from his unfortunate death that this sort of thing is unwise."
"I can see this is really taking a toll on you guys," I said dryly.
"How... How did he die?" asked Cassandra. "It wasn't because he followed us after Dhot, was it? I'd feel terrible..."
"Nay, it ain't that," said Braun, wiping a tear from his eyes. "He tripped over his feet and bumped his head on the wall. That's all it took."
Everyone stared at the dwarf quietly.
"Um, what was that?" asked Dhot, digging a finger into his ear. "My brain might be a little shaky still from getting shocked."
"He died from hitting the wall with his head?" I clarified.
"Aye," nodded Braun. "Whole thing coulda been avoided if he woulda just worn a helmet. Not safe to run in there like that at his age, even fer a dwarf."
"Sounds like we need to stay as far away from the battle as possible, then!" said Shindar, glancing at the other Vorovan leaders. "The same thing could happen to any of us! Holurf wouldn't want that."
While I was sad to hear we lost someone willing to fight, the freak accident was now going to be used by the worthless Vorovan leaders to not do anything in the next attack. Not the best outcome from this battle.
"I'm sorry for Vorova's loss," said Varinia, bowing to their leaders. "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury to hold a proper burial for him right now. It's clear the Greeners were used to test the city's ability to defend itself, but this is far from over. I've got to head south and group up with the other silver and golds."
"I'll take an active role in making sure we're prepared here," nodded Nicole. "I'll work with The Republic's generals to find the ideal spots in the city for the ground forces to wait. We'll be ready for the next attack."
"Perfect," smiled Varinia. "I hope to see you all again when this is over."
They exchanged goodbyes with the silver dragon as Cassandra turned to me.
"Do you think you should go with her?" she asked.
"You don't want me fighting here?" I asked, confused.
"It's not that," said the elf, shaking her head. "The silver and golds might need your help, though. Your real help."
"Oh..." I said slowly. "I guess I hadn't really thought about that... Figured I'd just fight here with the rest of you."
"You'll be less likely to transform and go all out if you do," pointed out Cassandra. "I hate to say it, but it might be better for Vorova if you fight with the other dragons."
I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. I couldn't see why not. While I enjoyed fighting alongside my friends, I would be better use out with the other dragons.
"Take this," said Dhot, chucking one of his black boxes at me. "You can communicate with us when the Dar'Ka attack. We'll be able to give the troops a heads up, then."
I nodded my thanks. "Do your best to stay alive, guys. I'll be disappointed if you die while I'm gone."
"Same to you," smirked Cassandra. "Now hurry."
I called after Varinia, who was mounting a horse that one of The Republic's men brought over. I assumed she didn't want to transform inside the city and accidentally hurt the others, plus she didn't want the Dar'Ka seeing a silver dragon flying to the south. A single horse would've just seemed like someone fleeing, and wouldn't raise any suspicions.
"Is there something else?" she asked, pausing as I caught up.
"I'm coming with you," I nodded."But we only need dragons in the south and north," she said, confused.
"About that..."
Varinia was surprised to hear that I was a half green dragon, but recovered quickly. She agreed that I'd be better help workin
g with the other dragons in flanking the Dar'Ka, and figured I could be a kind of secret weapon. I neglected to mention Ulrich definitely knew I was what I was and surely notified the rest of this army. It didn't really seem necessary.
I hopped on behind her and we took off to the south. I glanced back at Vorova, hoping that the others would be able to handle themselves without me. Seeing Dhot taken had spooked me a little, but I knew the three of them would be more careful now. Besides, Beatrix seemed like she could get them out of a hairy situation without too much of a problem.
The ride down was stressful and quiet. Varinia and I shifted our attention back and forth across the horizon. We wanted to avoid getting caught by a group of straggling Greeners, which would potentially alert the black and reds to us moving south. We also didn't exactly have time to waste fighting with them. The Dar'Ka viewed them as cannon fodder to be used before coming in with their main face, which meant they could launch an attack on the city at any moment. We needed to warn the other dragons to be on guard.
After nearly an hour of riding, the majority of it through the dense forest, Varinia slowed.
"There are a few tents up ahead," she gestured.
I looked to see several large, brown tents set up among the trees. They blended in fairly well with the forest. You'd really have to know what you were looking for to see them, which was perfect. I had naturally assumed the forces led by Laurinaitis wouldn't have been so skilled, but it looked like they got at least the secrecy part down well enough.
We rode into the camp, where several golden and silver eyed men and women smiled and waved at us. Varinia said hello to a few of them, asking where Laurinaitis was. We were pointed to the other side of tents, where he was apparently deep in preparation for the upcoming fight and told everyone not to bother him.
After coming up to the last tent, we dismounted and approached.
"Laurinaitis?" asked Varinia quietly as we reached the tent, so as not to startle him.
There was no response. The tent was completely still and it was quiet.