by Dean Henegar
The attackers coming over the walls had limited options. Only a narrow path followed the base of the wall and led toward the main northern or southern gates. A narrow side street ran across the middle of the ruined town, leading to the burnt-out inn and the small town hall next to it. Each passage was blocked by a solid wall of shields and spears. As the Shield Brothers made a fighting retreat toward the inn, they left behind a carpet of dead enemies.
Groups of Azure Blades would strike from the rubble as the enemy passed, causing casualties and slowing their advance. The Blades would then disappear into the rubble as they made their escape. Sometimes the enemy would cut them off before they could fall back, and the mercenaries’ casualties began to mount.
“Sergeant Ty, it’s time for my folks to make their exit. We’ve fulfilled our contract and I can’t take any more losses if I want to stay in business. Give my regards to Raytak and let him know we tried our best,” Bhurke advised.
“I understand, Bhurke. Your men did their job,” Ty said, gesturing toward the piles of enemy bodies. “Get your forces through the tunnel as quickly as you can. I don’t know how much longer the Shield Brothers can hold.”
Bhurke shook Ty’s hand and then began to organize the remnants of his band. They had taken nearly fifty percent losses, more than Ty had suspected they would endure before pulling out. The tenacious fighters were more suited to fighting off bandit caravans than engaging in pitched battles, but they had performed well.
The Shield Brothers were suited for exactly this type of combat, but even they were suffering under the constant pressure. Ty could see that they were moving back more quickly than they had earlier, having to trade ground in order to preserve their formations as losses mounted. As the replacements for tired soldiers ran out, the weary spearmen started to fall in greater numbers. They were still inflicting brutal casualties on the invaders, but it was apparent that they were on their last legs.
“Sergeant Ty, pull back with the rest of your forces. We’ll give you enough time to escape and then we’ll announce our withdrawal from the fight,” Aristides advised. When a mercenary force withdrew, it was traditionally allowed to leave the field unmolested. An army that violated the rules of the mercenary guilds usually didn’t survive the retaliation. Ty got his remaining scouts in a queue behind the last of Bhurke’s men. Ty held up the last scout, then quickly wrote a final report for the scout to bring to Raytak.
“Are you not leaving?” Aristides asked.
“No, I think I’ll stay behind and greet our visitors,” Ty replied, readying his axe as he waited by the front of the inn. After the last scout shouted up that they were clear, Ty cut several ropes that the dwarven miners had left tied to the hitching post in front of the inn. The thick ropes twanged as they were cut, the tension on them releasing as the ground beneath him rumbled. Ty felt and heard the tunnel beneath them collapse, closing off the path and hopefully giving his men a chance to escape.
“Under the auspices of the mercenary guilds, the Shield Brothers yield the field. We will withdraw from the fight and will not harm any of your forces in exchange for safe passage back to our homes,” Aristides shouted.
Ty watched as the spearmen lowered their shields and pulled back from the invaders. The enemy held their blades and motioned for them to leave through the northern gate. As they marched away, Aristides gave Ty a nod of respect. Once they were clear, the swarm of blade-wielding imps charged Ty from one side while troggs approached from the other.
“Alright, let’s see how many more of you I can kill today,” Ty growled as he prepared for his last stand.
***
“We lost that many?” Zipp grumbled as Lilly gave him the final tally from the fight over the ruins of the old Hayden’s Knoll. He looked at the report again, then toward the piles of bodies littered throughout the ruins. They stood together on the northern wall, watching that cursed one-armed half-orc fall to a swarm of his imp warriors.
“At least that one’s down. He was . . . problematic,” Lilly said as the half-orc finally dropped. Zipp turned his attention away from the fallen half-orc and the pile of dead imps surrounding him, checking the tally once more.
Casualties in the Assault on the Ruins of Hayden’s Knoll:
Troggs: 1432.
Conscripts: 526 (unit is shattered and has withdrawn from the field).
Imp Warriors: 237.
Giant Bats: 283.
Scallywags: 54.
Troll Warriors: 3.
Estimated Enemy Losses:
Mercenary Forces: 200-plus.
Imperium Scouts: 18.
Dwarven Pathfinders: 3.
“What is that, a ten-to-one loss ratio in the enemy’s favor and we still haven’t taken the garrison? If this little dump of a town cost us so much, how bad is Hayden’s Knoll going to be?” Lilly asked, goading her furious brother. A crash behind them sounded as the western wall of the garrison fort came down. A pair of tunnel wurms had collapsed it, allowing their forces to pour in and overwhelm the remaining soldiers.
Congratulations! You have captured the southern crossroads. Your forces will now move 5% faster on any roads in the zone. Only 3 locations remain under your opponent’s control.
That was some good news, at least. Lilly had taken the ruins of the Gul Dorg and his cousin Brax had surprised him by capturing not only Goreaxe Peak but also the Drebix lands without any trouble or losses. As a bonus, the ruins his sister captured granted them a force of two hundred Gul Dorg drones, which seemed to be fitting right in with the rest of his menagerie. The only thing left besides Hayden’s Knoll was the southern transition point and the Stonefinder mines. His scouts had already reported that there were only a few defenders at the mine while the transition point had respectable defenses in place.
“Send Brax out with a detachment to take the transition point. He can swing by that dwarf place first. It only has a few guards. Give him a thousand troggs and your trolls. That should be plenty,” Zipp ordered.
“Sure, dear brother. I’ll take care of it. Oh, and I was supposed to give you this message from Dad,” Lilly said, handing him a scroll.
Zipp grumbled as he opened it, noting that the seal had been tampered with. His sister was spying on his correspondence again.
Son, our enemies here in the Hypogean realm have started their assault on our lands. I need your army back as soon as possible. You need to take that zone in the next three days or there won’t be a home to come back to. Finish your conquest now and send my army back here!
Your loving father, Zonzisilerpicazant
“Let me guess, Daddy wants his army back?” Lilly asked to annoy him.
“Duh, like you don’t already know, since you read the letter,” Zipp huffed.
“We’ll get things done. It shouldn’t take three days to capture Hayden’s Knoll. We’re only a day or so from there now,” Lilly added.
“True, but we’ll have to move right into an assault. We don’t have time to besiege the place. Their defenses are formidable, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get us inside the walls,” Zipp said with a confidence he didn’t necessarily feel. Should he fail to complete his conquest in the time allotted by his father, the troops under his command would be called home, leaving him no choice but to flee back to the Hypogean realm in shame. He had plans to take the city, but the plans were risky to himself as well as his army. Still, the payoff would be worth it if it meant he would see Hayden’s Knoll in flames. First Hayden’s Knoll and then the rest of the surface world would burn for his amusement.
Zipp got the army moving by late afternoon. He intended to push on through the night and arrive at Hayden’s Knoll by morning. They made decent progress; the raids from Raytak’s forces had stopped after the fall of the crossroads. He kept the deathicorns and spiders on the flanks, looking for any sign of ambush, but so far, things were quiet. Leading the way were some of his Ikbose warriors, their bows ready to respond to any remaining ambushers. The handful of remaining ba
ts still kept watch, but their numbers were down to a fraction of what they started the campaign with. The sun was setting when the column came to a halt.
“What is it now?” Zipp yelled as he spurred Snuggles toward the front of the column. When he arrived, he saw that the Ikbose were moving at a snail’s pace, scrutinizing the roadway ahead of them. “What’s this all about? Get moving, you idiots!”
“Master, our apologies, but there is danger ahead. This sign was found posted on the side of the road,” one of his Ikbose said, handing over a crude wooden sign.
Welcome to Hayden’s Knoll. This road has been specially prepared for you by the 62nd Engineer Battalion. Malleis Milito.
“So they have some roadway development program. Get moving. We’re on a timetable here, people,” Zipp ordered.
“Master, I’m sorry. We’ve seen this unit mentioned before. Before we were forced from the zone, we attempted to take the eastern transition point when—” The elf never got a chance to finish as Zipp ignited him with a spell. Screaming and sizzling flesh raised his mood as the remaining Ikbose groveled before him.
“That’s better. Now, if a simple sign is giving you the Durks, move some of the troggs out in front. Or the bunnies. Or whatever. Just. Get. Moving!” Zipp shouted. His display of anger and violence seemed to have gotten the elves over their fear, at least enough for them to order a formation of troggs to take over the lead position in the column.
The troggs made it five yards before one of them hit a tripwire. A pair of barrels popped out of the ground. Crossbows mounted atop them began to spit out one bolt after another as the barrel spun in place. Roaring in anger, the troggs rushed forward, ready to smash the barrels, only to have the crossbows stop firing when the blades extended out and the barrels began spinning in the opposite direction, hacking the nearest troggs to pieces.
After losing a half dozen of their number, the troggs continued but stopped as the same thing happened again. Farther down the road, the troggs triggered something that ignited a section of the roadway, burning a dozen of them to a crisp as the sound of a gnome laughing was heard in the distance.
“This is going to be a long night,” Zipp said as they pressed on, their strict timeline forcing him to plow through the trap-riddled roadway.
Chapter 26
The gates of Hayden’s Knoll were a welcome sight as the long column of ogres and legionnaires made the final steps into the city. While free of any attacks by either the imp’s forces or wandering monsters, the trip had been grueling. I couldn’t really fault the ogres; they were moving as quickly as they could. My frustration was rooted in my worry that we would arrive after the imp and find the city taken. Throughout the journey, disturbing reports had come in, system notifications of one critical point after another falling to our foe. The only bright spots were Ty’s reports. It appeared he was doing excellent work at slowing down the enemy army, and his efforts had bought us enough time to make it to the city. Now the hard work of organizing its defense could begin.
“Sergeant Brooks, I’ll be heading into the city now to meet with Delling and see what arrangements he has for the Goreaxe before we see to the defenses,” I advised my first sergeant.
“Roger that, sir. I’ll stay with the column and then get the lads settled once we arrive,” Brooks replied. They were about a mile from the main gates. The steep and winding path had slowed the column more than usual, but we were close enough that I didn’t mind leaving them at this point. I double-timed it to the city, the annoying Private Blevins hot on my heels. One of the massive gate doors stood open, allowing traffic in and out, but they were ready to close in a moment’s notice when the enemy arrived.
Delling must have received word of our column approaching, and he met me at the gate. “Raytak, welcome back. Good work getting the ogres to relocate. The Stonefinder dwarves arrived a day ago and the Drebix have been here for a few days already,” he said as he shook my hand. The kid looked relieved at our arrival. He would have been receiving regular reports of not only our progress but also that of the enemy.
“Thanks, Delling. Did you get enough space set aside to house the ogres inside the walls?” I asked. There was only so much room inside the city, and with the arrival of the Drebix and the Stonefinder clan, I wasn’t sure we could house them all. It would be horrible to have convinced the ogres to abandon their home only to leave them outside the city walls when the enemy came.
“I’ve got it covered. Space will be a little tight, but the townsfolk have agreed to open their homes, which will house most of our new arrivals. I will need to place some of them inside your garrison compound, if possible. The system identified it as a fallback position for the town in the event of an emergency,” Delling advised. I didn’t like it, but our job was to protect the people of the zone. With most of the garrison deployed to defend the city, using empty buildings to house folks made sense; they were the safest places in the city, after all.
“Where are the Drebix and the dwarves staying?” I asked. The city had grown, but there was no way it could absorb the ogres and the thousands of others.
“That’s kind of a weird story, Raytak. You see, the dwarves and Chief Bugtug worked out a deal. Stonefinder Lhargen agreed to help the goblins improve their mine in exchange for housing the clan until they can return to their homes. The dwarves are already inside the mines, digging out new chambers to house their people and showing the goblins how to improve their methods. I don’t know how long they’ll be able to stand each other, but for now, they’re getting along well enough.”
“More power to them. I’m not sure I could stand being around the goblin chief for that long, but I’m assuming that gives us enough room for everyone else to have a place inside the wall?” I asked.
“Yes, we’ve got Drebix tribesmen stuffed everywhere, but we’ll be fine on space. I was also able to gather and buy enough food to keep everyone fed for at least a couple of months if the enemy tries for a long siege,” Delling added. I had the feeling a long siege wasn’t in the works, but I was supportive of Delling preparing for the worst. Something about Zipp’s personality led me to believe we were in for a few surprises, but he wasn’t one to sit around and besiege a city for months on end.
“Well, Raytak, you’re in charge of things from the war perspective. I’ve placed my forces under your command, and you can let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.”
“Thanks, Delling. If you’ll help get the ogres settled, I’ll go to the barracks and organize our defense,” I said before heading to the barracks. I was passing by the Petty Dispute when the savory smells coming out of the place stopped me in my tracks. Since the enemy wasn’t at the gates just yet, I decided there was time for a quick bite. Trail rations tasted amazing when I had first entered the game, but it was surprising how quickly I became bored with them and craved better food whenever I had a chance to get some.
“Hey, Grandpa Raytak! When did you get back? Do you like Crunchy’s new riding harness? Do you like what me and Kathala did with the inn? Did you know that we had a quest to set up the place as an aid station? Did you—”
I grabbed my granddaughter into a hug as much to greet her as to stop the barrage of questions she was launching at me. “Hold on, Lauren. It’s good to see you. Have you eaten yet? I’m buying if you’re hungry,” I told her as I pulled up a stool at the bar, my granddaughter hopping up beside me.
“You know you’re supposed to call me Yendys in the game so people don’t get confused, but I’ll let it slide this time,” Yendys said with a grin. I ordered two of whatever was cooking, knowing Lani, who ran the inn, always had a good meal. I had a pleasant time chatting with Yendys about the quest she and Kathala had been given to set up an aid station in the inn. The place was still open for business, but crates of medical supplies lined the walls and the long tables would make good temporary workstations for medical staff.
A large platter was set in front of me. It looked like a mess but smelled amazing.
Some kind of meat patty was smothered in what looked and smelled like chili. Cheese was melted over the top of everything, and on the side of my platter stood a large chunk of crusty bread ready to sop up what my fork missed. I tuned out Yendys’s chatter as my attention focused on the food in front of me. Only after I had mopped up the last remnants with the bread did my mind return from food bliss.
“. . . and that’s why a unicorn beetle is superior to a real unicorn, even if Quimby says it isn’t,” Yendys finished.
Realizing I hadn’t been paying attention to whatever she had been saying, I guiltily nodded in agreement.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I’m totally gonna tell Quimby you agree that Crunchy is way cuter than a regular unicorn. Just look how magical and majestic he is. Oh yeah, I was supposed to tell you that Jacoby, Nitor, and Smashem helped train up some town militia for you to use in the war and stuff.” Yendys’s attention quickly turned to the giant beetle scuttling about our chairs, looking for anything edible. The creature was impressive for its combat abilities, and the fact that Yendys could now ride it into battle was a nice touch. Magical and majestic, not so much. I dropped the last hunk of bread to the waiting creature as I spotted a beleaguered scout looking about the inn for me. I waved him over and he stopped at the bar and saluted, presenting a report.
“Sir, here is the latest report from the field.”
“Thank you, soldier. Take a seat and get some chow in you. After you’re finished, I want you to head to the barracks for some rest. If there’s a reply message needed, I’ll get someone else to deliver it,” I ordered, signaling the innkeeper to bring a plate of food to the soldier, who looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion. When I opened the message, I could see that Ty had been busy.