For I have realized that if the lizard warriors attack Valizor, they are likely to be massacred. He’s one of the Knights of Dawn. What’s more, we will be caught in the middle, with the city gates still firmly shut.
Chapter 37: A Reckless Charge
It’s not long until the march of the lizard warriors turns into a charge.
I turn and clamber back up onto the wagon, reaching for my morning star, but then I hesitate. Taking out weapons so soon would compromise our fake identities as merchants, with our allies still some distance away and unable to help us directly.
I therefore leap back down, hurrying along the line of wagons. Lugg follows close behind me, but Josa stays at the front with Garner, observing the new developments. “Best if our cargo stays neatly packed up for just now,” I say very loudly as we reach the fourth wagon. “Things are moving fast, and we don’t want to cause more trouble right now.”
Together, Lugg and I round the rearmost wagon, and I gaze up towards the city again. The decorated city wall looks even larger from here, though the stone towers that punctuate its length appear disused, with boarded-up windows. The eastern flank of the city is obscured by the Imperial camp, but from here I can already see our allies making their way from the cliffs and proceeding alongside the city walls on the western side, coming in our direction. All have bows, but there can’t be more than twenty or twenty-five of them at the most.
It is no army.
I make my way back down the column of wagons, moving on the city side this time. From here, I get a clear view of the enemy; they are lining up, preparing to meet the charge of the lizard folk. The red knight Valizor is mounted once again, and he blows a battle horn, once, twice, three times. It is a deeper, more ominous sound than any horn I have heard before. He then pulls his sword and shouts, and rides to the front of the force of soldiers, who are rapidly forming into neat ranks, with their backs to the city.
Josa and Garner hurry over – they have also surveyed the situation. “This is going well,” mutters Josa, her eyes narrowed.
“I know. P’oytox and his people will be massacred. Why have they attacked?”
“They are real angry with the Imperials, Miss Daria,” says Lugg. He has put his pipe away, and is now holding a dagger in each hand.
“It’s true,” said Garner. “There has been one incursion after another. Poisonings, slavers stealing their children, massacres in outlying villages… and it’s getting worse by the day.”
“This will be a massacre,” I say. “We must find a way to stop the battle.”
The only positive that I can see is that the nearby soldiers are no longer paying any attention to us. Four of them, the leader included, have gone to stand guard on the road between our wagons and the city, a couple of dozen yards away from the city gates. The remainder have joined the Imperial force.
The lizard folk have slowed now, and are likewise lining up into ranks, ready to face off against the Imperial force. With their troops spread out into a thin line, shields ready and spears and swords in hand, they begin a slow, grim march. There are a few armored humans among their numbers, too. As I had realized earlier, it’s not just lizard folk that live in the Great Swamp.
The two opposing forces are but a couple of hundred yards apart, now, and I can clearly see that many of the lizard warriors look sick, showing the same reddishness around their faces and necks as the ones we saw on the dwarven road.
These are a desperate people.
“Daria’s right,” says Josa. “Lives will be lost here. But it will be worse if we don’t get this food into the city. We have the distraction we needed – let’s use it.”
* * *
Things move on rapidly.
Garner runs to the back of the wagons, primed to tell our troops to leap out at the right moment, including the drivers of the wagons. Josa, shielded from view by the front wagon, sends a warning message to one of the coven, a little green bird winging its way from her hands. She and Lugg next start moving warily towards the remaining four guards who first stopped us. Lugg has his daggers drawn, and Josa, still holding the quarterstaff, pulls her sword with her other hand.
I have my own plan in mind. I work quickly to lash all five together with my rope, cutting it into four lengths to do so. Soon, all is ready, and I start to drive the five wagons together from the front – one leading the other – and towards the gates. The four guards see me and raise their spears, but are powerless to help as I ride straight past them and towards the city.
Increase in skill level: Animal handling level 14 (Spirit +1)
All the time, I am wondering whether the people inside the city will actually open up the gates for us.
We have not long passed the four guards when Garner gives the order to our troops, and the allied soldiers and scouts in the back wagons leap out. The four Imperial guards are soon overpowered and disarmed, and the troops from the village muster on the stretch of road in front of the gates. The much larger Imperial force is close by, but they also have their backs to us, focused as they are on the lizard warriors.
Battle has now been joined. I turn on the wagon, hearing screams and yells in the distance. Blood is being spilled. From this angle, the thing I can see most clearly is Valizor, raising his sword and striking down from horseback, again and again. So, the knights’ murderous work continues. I am simultaneously awed and shocked at the bravery of the lizard warriors who are standing against him directly.
Still on the front wagon, I am approaching the gates, which remain shut. At the very least, the guards on the wall have not opened fire on us; hopefully they have seen that local men and women emerged from the wagons. If so, they may have realized that we are allied, even if they did not get Coruff’s message.
I look back at the Imperial force again, and to my horror see that the elven general Snagaras has peeled off with around fifty mercenary troops, and is now heading our way, while the bulk of the force continues to push the lizard warriors back. I pull the leading oxen to a halt just a few yards from the city gates, and pick up my morning star. As our rag-tag troop gathers in front of the wagons, it’s time to face the foul mercenaries once again.
We don’t have to wait long – they break into a charge after a barked order from Snagaras. I hear Garner’s bow sing out twice, and a couple of mercenaries fall, but we are still outnumbered two-to-one by the more heavily-armored foes, all of whom are trained warriors.
And then they are upon us.
A black-bearded mercenary looms up in front of me with a short sword in his hand. He hits me and I feel an explosion of pain in my left side.
- 6 hit points (20 remain)
In response, I take a step backwards and then bring my morning star crashing down upon his helmet. It’s a true strike, and he slumps to the ground, but another, a hard-faced woman with cropped blonde hair, steps forward to take his place. She jabs a spear towards my head and I dodge at the last second, crouch, and shove her backwards, needing more space to strike with my weapon again. But before I can do so, she reaches out for the handle of my morning star, trying to wrestle it off me. She is too strong, and so I let go, pull my knife, and stab it into her guts. Again my foe falls.
Increase in weapon skill level: Knife level 19 (Dexterity +2)
I stoop to pick up my morning star from the dead woman’s clutches. We have already lost a third of our small force and have been pushed back almost to the walls, but Lugg is still at my side. I risk a glance along and see that Garner has shouldered his bow and is engaged in a ferocious hand-to-hand sword fight. Some of the mercenaries have hung back and are firing crossbows. But I see one and then another of them fall. The city folk on the wall are helping us at last!
And then – what relief – I see our own force of archers round the city walls and advance from the western side. In moments, they are lined up into three short ranks, and begin to fire on mercenaries, who are forced to raise shields in all-out defense.
Seeing this part of the battle turning against t
hem, the mercenaries start to pull back towards the main Imperial force, Snagaras still yelling orders at the centre while shielding himself from bow fire behind one of his own comrades.
I look over at the main battle, and see that a small vanguard of lizard warriors have punctured the main Imperial line, and are heading our way. And at the centre is a human figure who looks vaguely familiar to me… a knight in a black helmet. He is surrounded by a cluster of tall, ferocious lizard warriors, and I think I recognize Ta’rox among them. But close by, Valizor still rides, slicing down one brave lizard warrior after another.
It is at that point that I hear voices behind me. A woman is shouting “This way”, and another shouts, “Hold the oxen.”
I turn; the wagons are moving through the city gates which now stand wide open… and I am clutching on to a wagon to stay standing as my surviving comrades crowd in around me…
Chapter 38: The Elemental Hand Guild
The gates have now slammed closed behind us. Twenty of us made it in here alive, though five mercenaries followed us through, and the fighting continues for a moment. I see Josa in the distance, on her feet and moving away, but turn to look one way and then another in case of further attacks. But none come. The last of our foes have been slain or disarmed.
And then I take a moment to breathe. I am inside Katresburg.
The open area on the inside of the city gates is roughly square, and around fifty yards wide. There are smart-looking stone houses on either side of this area, and a much larger structure – a stadium or amphitheater of some kind, by the looks of it – at the back.
The tall black-helmeted warrior is close to me now; though the lizard folk that were with him have been decimated; only three remain here plus a much shorter warrior in a silver helm. All the lizard folk are wounded, and I recognize Ta’rox, bent double in agony, among them.
Hurrying towards him, I call out. “Ta’rox! Can I help you?”
But before I can say more, a group of local healers are on the scene; two young men in close-fitting black robes and with cropped hair take the wounded lizard man between them, and help him away from the city gates.
The tall warrior says to me, “Those are the Elemental Hand Guild. Healers by trade. Let them see to the wounded, Daria.”
I frown, looking up at the warrior. Then I see that he has a small blue star on the dome of his helmet, and as I approach him, he unbuckles the helm and a familiar face looks at me.
“Connor Champion,” I gasp. I look to his companion, and see that it is none other than Zakira, now also removing her helmet.
“The same – well met again. I am glad you took my advice to come here, though things are looking pretty ugly, I must say. Still, a good fight is always fun. I don’t do it enough these days.” He looks around him, where one of the three lizard warriors is now slumped on the ground, not moving and in a pool of blood. Zakira stoops to check on the wounded soldier, and then shakes her head.
“Come on, Zakira,” says Connor, tapping at her shoulder. “Those lizards have served their purpose.” He looks to me again. “Come and see me at my townhouse, Daria. Things are moving fast, and there is much to do if the Emperor is to be defeated.”
I glare at him; I can feel myself baring my teeth. “I didn’t come here to help you! And the lizard folk…how could you. You have treated them like they are disposable.”
As we speak, Ta’rox and our other wounded allies are being taken to the stadium building, which, it appears, has been set up as a temporary field hospital.
“They are disposable, Daria. They are purely digital tokens. Playthings for real players like yourself.”
I shake my head. “I will never help you.”
He smirks. “Really? We’ll see about that.”
With that he strides off, and after a moment’s hesitation, Zakira follows after, looking at the ground. It occurs to me then that I am still their guest, and should perhaps have been more polite. But the way that they led the lizard warriors into a massacre makes me feel sick. Ta’rox is wounded, and I haven’t even seen what has become of P’oytox.
What is left of our scouts and warriors from the village regroup in an open area not far from the city gates, all of them staying close to the wagons. Garner is taking charge, and he directs the uninjured up to the city walls. “If there are still mercenary scum in range,” he shouts, “then let’s fire on them while we still have a chance.” With that, he races off towards a set of stone stairs that leads up onto the walls.
Another of the black-robed healers of the Elemental Hand Guild is trying to tend to me, and I look down… I am bleeding, and notice a loss of hit points.
- 1 hit points (13 remain) You are bleeding. You will lose -1 hit points per five minutes.
That’s strange… Did I miss more such notifications? I must have failed to notice being hit again as we rushed through the gates to escape the battlefield.
Clearly, I do need healing.
But I also need to find out what has happened to P’oytox, if I can. There has been terrible carnage outside, and I fear the worst. And so I usher the young man away and hurry after Garner, pulling off my cloak and using it to staunch my wound as best I can. After all, I know where the healers are, and by my calculations I have at least an hour before I’ll be in danger.
The steps up to the city walls are made of granite, and they glisten red in the early evening sun as I ascend. To my immediate relief, I see that more of the lizard folk still survive. They are fighting a rearguard stand, backing towards the lake, though they are still sustaining many more losses as they go. The knight Valizor is just behind the Imperial front line now, riding his horse slowly and urging his murderous comrades on. I can almost picture his evil smile as he presides over the carnage.
There is nothing more I can do from here but watch. The retreat is orderly at first, at least, and it is clear that the lizard warriors are experienced and canny. But then, as I watch on, the remaining lizard warriors turn and flee. It’s hard to see from here whether P’oytox is among them. I can only hope. I look down at the bracelet upon my wrist, thinking of the time that I traveled with him before. If only he was wearing it.
Then I frown. ‘Status’, I say to myself.
Status: human, female, 19 hit points Name: Daria Level: Journeyman crafter Location: City of Katresburg, Kamarok province, Varian Empire Time: 18:23
Indeed. I am healing.
I check my wound, pulling the fabric of my cloak away, and it appears to have stopped bleeding. I haven’t seen any further notifications in the past few minutes, either. Whether the bracelet saved me from a critical wound I can’t be sure, but it is using its healing powers on me, that’s for sure.
I am also no longer in immediate danger of attack, as the Imperial force is out of range with their crossbows from here. Safety, among the wounded and the desperate of Katresburg, and with a victorious and murderous Knight of Dawn right outside. It could be better – but soon it will be a lot worse, I am sure.
I walk along the city walls for a few dozen yards, keeping sight of the remaining allied soldiers as they hurry back towards the forest before the Imperial troops can regroup.
But then I stop. Where is Lugg? I look one way and another, but can see no sign of my orcish friend. I thought he had made it inside with me, but when I try to picture it, I can’t actually recall seeing him at the gathering inside the gates, or here on the wall.
I fly down the stairs again, calling his name loudly. “Lugg? Lugg! Hey, has anyone seen a half-orc warrior from the wagons?” There is no response – I didn’t really expect one – and soon I am back at the area where we first came inside. And then I see him, collapsed just inside the gates.
* * *
“Healer – please come quickly. My friend is grievously wounded.”
After sprinting to the stadium building I have managed to catch the attention of one of the black-robed healers. She nods, and swiftly follows me back towards the gates.
Lugg is sti
ll lying alone in the shadows, and the healer kneels down, moving his cloak aside and lifting his tunic and newly acquired ringmail shirt aside to reveal a terrible-looking deep and bruised bloody wound on his chest. I crouch beside Lugg, taking his hand.
It’s just as well he got hold of that armor, I think to myself, or it would have been even worse.
“Can you hear me?” says the healer, and Lugg grunts in response. She looks up at me. “We’d better get him to the amphitheater,” she says, “but he isn’t going to be walking. Wait here, and we will bring a stretcher. And, uh… come closer, please.”
I stand and take a step towards her, out of Lugg’s earshot.
“Your friend has sustained a fatal wound. I’m sorry.”
A sinking feeling comes over me as I struggle for a response to this news. “Aren’t you magical?” I say at last.
She narrows her eyes. “There are limits.” With this, she hurries off.
“More like limits to what you’re willing to do for an orc and a stranger,” I mutter angrily to myself as she disappears out of earshot. I step back over to Lugg’s side. “Hold on, my friend.”
He looks up, says my name, and then closes his eyes again.
As he does so, I once again look at the Genke bracelet on my wrist. It has healed me, as it did P’oytox before. What was it the shaman said to me in the streets of Vel? That he would certainly have died without it…?
I gave a solemn promise not to part with the artefact.
But what choice do I have?
I take off the bracelet, and put it onto Lugg’s wrist. He grunts slightly, his eyes fluttering and then closing again. He looks very pale and limp. Will the artefact work its magic after the wound has been sustained? I don’t know. And I can only hope that my own wound hasn’t drained its power.
The Call of the Coven: A LitRPG novel (Shadow Kingdoms Book 2) Page 26