The Paladins of Naretia

by TP Keane

Chapter 30

  To Aria, Dwarf arrows had a distinctly different sound as they zip through the air; heavier, louder than ordinary arrows. She was relieved to hear them as they reached the bulwark of sandstone that protected the city of Lothangard. High above them, she could just make out the iron helmets of dwarfs poking between the parapets. Their silver bows gleamed a fiery red in the reflected light of the setting sun, letting loose thousands of arrows toward the mass of pursuing trolls.

  The wall, which had stood for more than three thousand years, had gargantuan sculptures of past kings carved upon it. Behind it, Aria could see the tall, limestone palace hang over the city like a displeased shadow as they approached. Although her mother and father had been gentle rulers, there was a long line of ancestors before them that would have disowned her for not having avenged her parent's death, despite the cost; a trait of impulsiveness she had inherited from them, no doubt. But Aria didn't have time to dwell on the displeasures of ghostly rulers past. They were fast approaching the iron portcullis, and the dwarfs, who had taken it upon themselves to secure the city, had it firmly closed.

  "Open the gates," she yelled once they were within earshot.

  The sound of metal chains running rapidly through the gatehouses signified the dwarf's obedience to her command, but the heavy metal gate was slow to rise. Even though the Beasties were unfamiliar animals to her, she could see that they were exhausted. Their six legs had been running full pelt for hours, and each one of their crimson mouths took on a dark purple hue. But she dared not slow them down.

  With her bow constantly in motion, Sudia continued to strike down whatever trolls Aramus could not reach with his sword, and Aria had never heard such vile words uttered as the ones that poured out of Bernard's mouth. But the strangest thing to Aria was the silence from the passenger behind her.

  Ol?rin, armed with his iridescent white staff, did not utter a single word as they fled the monsters behind them. Nor did he attempt to fend off any of the toothy fiends nipping at his ankles. This was left to Aria and her sword. His long grey beard whipped about his head in a deranged manner through the fast moving air, but even this, it appeared, could not distract him from his thoughts. The only movement she witnessed from the old man was when he placed his hand upon his hat to prevent it from flying away. Aria wondered what had disturbed the wizard so much, but remained answerless as a set of razor sharp claws dug into her leg.

  In the same moment she cried out, she also swung her sword and detached the monster's hand from his arm. The troll squealed with pain and, clasping his spurting stump in his remaining hand, ran in the opposite direction. Clenching her teeth, Aria removed the motionless limb from her leg and tossed it to the side, whereupon the trolls fought over who was going to get to eat it. This bought them a small amount of time, albeit enough to just catch their breaths. In that reprieve Aria glanced at Aramus. Like Ol?rin, he too paid no attention to the fact that her leg had just been skewered, and seemed preoccupied with some deep thought. 'My heroes,' she thought sarcastically.

  The small party reached the gates of Lothangard, and the mammoth Beasties only barely made it through the still-opening gate.

  "Let the gate fall," Aria bellowed.

  A deafening rattle of metal chains echoed through the narrow cobbled streets of Lothangard, followed by the thunderous boom of the metal portcullis as it met with the ground. A few trolls made their way inside, some were crushed by the falling gate, while others met their end at the point of the dwarf's arrows.

  Ol?rin was first to dismount, sliding off the Beastie's back before it even had time to collapse onto its quivering six legs. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him dart into a nearby house whereupon two strapping men exited and made their way toward more homes along the streets. Aria didn't have time to try and figure out the old man's peculiarities. Her city was under attack and she had to find a way to defend her people.

  "Aria, Aria, Aria!"

  Aria recognised the shrill voice instantly. From between the billowing cloaks of people desperately seeking shelter from the battle, she saw a shock of red curly hair bounce its way toward her. Following closely behind the small boy, was the overweight female figure of one of the palace aides, desperately trying to catch him. Aria slid off the back of the Beastie and winced with the pain from her leg. No sooner had her feet hit the ground than Pearan jumped into her arms.

  "Pearan, are you alright? It's okay now, hush don't cry," she soothed, as the young boy sobbed into her shoulder.

  "They say something really bad is coming," he sniffled. "They say it's going to kill us all. You were gone for so long, I thought you were dead, Aria. I thought you had gone to mommy and daddy without me, and left me here all alone."

  Aria's breath caught in her chest and for a moment, she couldn't move it again. To hear his worst fears said aloud dulled any pain she felt from her leg and, instead, sent an ache through her heart.

  A hot tear ran down her cheek. She looked into her brother's watery brown eyes as his head rested against her shoulder. She felt both Bernard and Aramus's stares on her back as she took a few breathes to steady her voice. The chain around her neck loosen once again; Aramus obviously had come to realise just how much she loved her brother. Aria wiped away his tears with her hand, and tried her best to smile.

  "I would never leave you," she whispered, not confident enough that her full voice would remain steady. "Never. But I would never lie to you either, Pearan. Something bad is coming, and I need to be here to fight it. As much as I would like to, I cannot have you nearby because I would spend all of my time worrying about you instead of fighting the monsters. It is very important that you do as I say now, no matter how scared you might be. I need you to be brave and hide yourself in the palace."

  "But Aria?" he said, his bottom lip quivering as he lifted his head and wiped away tears with the back of his small hand.

  "No buts, do you hear? I need you to hide like you did in the throne room. Stay hidden, and don't come out until only I tell you to. Do you understand? Listen to no one but me."

  "Is he one of the bad guys," Pearan said, pointing behind Aria.

  He was trying to change the topic and delay the inevitable, but Aria hadn't the heart to be too stern with him. Not now as the things of nightmares were about to come crashing through the gate. She glanced to where Pearan was pointing, and found the foreboding figure of Aramus watching them carefully, with one eyebrow raised.

  "No, he's not," she said with a small smile. "Now go. Get behind the walls of the palace and hide so that no one can find you, Pearan. Do as I say."

  Aria gestured for the careworn palace aide to take her young brother, the returning pain in her leg and the loud shouting from the dwarfs seeing an end to the intimate moment. Pearan sounded out his objections in desperate wails, and the elderly lady had to be helped by a passer-by as he kicked and squirmed, trying to fight their grip. He screamed after Aria as they took him away, begging and pleading for her not to leave him. His hand, so small, reached out as far as it would go, his face, tear-stained and frantic.

  "Hide, Pearan," she yelled back at him, her voice breaking as tears began to trickle down her face. "Please hide," she whispered.

  Aria stared in the spot her brother had disappeared through, long after he had left. It wasn't until Aramus's warm hand rested on her shoulder that reality came crashing down around her. The cries and the screams of her people, as they scrambled for safety, made their way into her ears once again.

  "You truly love him, don't you?" Aramus asked.

  Aria wiped the tears away from her face and nodded. She took a deep breath and turned to the line of dwarf's who adorned the highest parts of the battlements like shiny baubles on a festive tree. They were still, and their bows lay limply by their sides as they jeered at whatever lay beyond the wall. This alarmed Aria, and she brushed Aramus's hand aside.

  "Why have you stopped firing?" she roared.

  "They've lost their taste fe
r blood," one of them shouted back.

  "I think dwarf meat is too chewy fer their liking," said another.

  The second dwarf's statement was followed by a riotous uproar from the wall.

  "Be quiet you fool's," Aria shouted at them, but they could not hear her.

  Only a moment ago, thousands of trolls had come within a few feet of the city. 'Why were they not attacking?' Aria had to find out, and the many steps up to the parapet seemed too long a journey right now, especially as her leg was beginning to ache once more.

  "Quick, get me up there," she said to Aramus.

  "Aye, me too," Bernard added.

  Aramus gave the oversized king a weary look before he took off with Aria toward the celebrating dwarfs. Aria ignored the congratulatory claps of broad hands on her back as she pushed her way passed them.

  "Shut it," she heard Bernard's voice boom over all the others.

  Blissful silence ensued and all that could be heard was Aramus panting as he lowered the heavy dwarf next to Aria.

  Beyond the horizon, silhouetted against the fireball that was the rapidly setting sun, Aria could make out the hideous figures of the trolls. They paced over and back against the last of the light as though they were trying to stamp out its fire with their feet.

  "They're not leaving," she said to Bernard. "Their waiting."

  "Whot are they waiting fer?"

  "Reinforcements, and the darkness," she replied, trying desperately to hide the panic in her voice. "Their eyes have the advantage in the night."

  "My Queen," came a voice from the streets below the wall.

  Aria turned to see a small battalion of King's Guard, dressed head to toe in gleaming gold armour and armed with swords and bows, staring up at her. On each of their chests they bore the symbol of her linage, the head of a dragon, and across their faces was the same look of determination she had seen when her father had been the one to rule them.

  "The King's Guard are gathering as we speak and are awaiting your orders," he said.

  Aria took quick glances at Bernard and Aramus, each of whom inclined their heads slightly toward her as if to acknowledge that she was now the one in charge.

  "About bloody time," she roared back. "Gather as many able men as possible. Set the archers up high, and be prepared to light the oil fires. Get the defenceless into the Palace where they might have some protection, and then position and hitch the catapults, ready to let fly."

  "Aye, Your Highness," they roared in unison.

  "You there," Aria shouted at the nearest soldier, who stopped instantly and saluted her. "Seal all exits to the city and find me the wizard called Mullrode. I believe he might be a spy for Dantet. I give you permission to remove whatever limbs you must to keep him here, just as long as he remains alive so that I can question him after you're done."

  "Yes, Your Majesty," the soldier replied.

  "Aria!"

  The sound of Ol?rin's voice was as weak as the dying light that tried to illuminate the streets of Lothangard. As the King's Guard disappeared through the city, Aria picked him out more easily. His eyes were despondent and his frame more stooped than she had remembered as he stood in the cobbled street below.

  "Now comes the time that you must do what you were born to do, protect the people within these walls," he said. "Now is also the time where I must fulfil my part in this prophecy and make the potion. But to do that I will need Bernard and the Valefire."

  "Och, sure ye can just have it. I have no need fer shiny things anymore, and Thrais willnae be wanting it back. If ye haven't noticed, I'm the ruddy king now," Bernard said as he started to remove the leather pouch from around his neck.

  "I would not part with such a talisman so easily, if I were you," Ol?rin warned. "Even though it is small, it possesses a magic far greater than mine, and I would hate for it to fall into the wrong hands. It would be better if you kept it next to your untainted heart, and came with me instead."

  "Don't worry, Bernard," Aria said, clasping the dwarf on his armoured shoulder. "I will command both armies fairly."

  It was only then Aria realised this was as close as she had ever gotten to the dwarf without him trying to lop off her head. Her chest was filled with a sudden weighty feeling, and she knew that it did not come from Aramus.

  "Bernard, I?" Aria fumbled for eloquent words that would in some small way describe what she truly felt. But there were none that would come near. "I'm sorry, about your brother. I was wrong, so very wrong. I know nothing I can say will ease the pain you feel, and nothing will ever undo the terrible things that I have done. But for what it's worth, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

  Bernard's fiery beard billowed and fell as he huffed tersely beneath it. Aria wasn't sure if he was about to run his axe through her, or start crying. Eventually, the dwarf gave a sheepish nod of his head toward her, before turning and making the arduous journey down the many steps of the battlements with his short legs. Aria watched him disappear into the palace with Ol?rin, before turning her gaze back toward the dying sun. As she waited for the inevitable, she began to wonder if it would be the last sunset they would ever see.

  The heat of the day receded into the dusk. Her body ached from the tension of waiting before she realised the night had crept up behind them. Large barrels of fire oil were positioned and held fast by the King's Guard, ready for use on top of the sandstone heads of the past kings. Their gaze was unwavering as they glared into the darkness, waiting to obey their queen and defend Lothangard until their last breath.

  The mammoth catapults groaned in the bailey behind the wall, each one loaded with stingers; a weapon her father created. The stinger would be set alight just before being loosed and the flames would burn quickly through oil-soaked rags. Each stinger contained a bombardment of shrapnel and sharpened knives wrapped in their own oil rag. With the night as darks as it was, the stingers would be imperative in finding the enemy.

  Aria listened to the archers flexing their bows, testing the strength and durability of their strings, and the clatter of freshly made arrows being landed at their feet. But aside from those small interruptions, the city of Lothangard was as quiet as Aria had ever heard. The ancient cobbled streets were empty, the rows of wooden buildings were darkened, and the street lamps had not been lit. Aria had never seen the city like this, and it whispered doubts of survival in her head.

  The night waned on, and the cloud-covered sky refused to clear. In the darkness she couldn't help but look at Aramus. Despite having just kissed her, he was more distant toward her now than he had ever been. He wouldn't even look in her general direction, and Aria surmised that the sting of rejection was the reason.

  "There," yelled Sudia unexpectedly. "I see movement."

  Sudia had positioned herself on the highest spire of the turret to Aria's left. Wrapping her leg around the metal prong, and leaning dangerously over the rampart, Sudia pointed toward the darkness. It seemed that her new persona was one immune to the natural fear of falling that most would have.

  Aria squinted, trying to make out the something she was pointing to, to no avail.

  "Do you see anything?" she asked Aramus.

  "No," he replied, squinting as much as Aria. "All I see is darkness."

  "What are you waiting for? It's over there," she shouted again, pointing toward some indiscernible point.

  "Your Majesty," one of the King's Guard beside her said. "We could send out some lighted arrows to help us see better?"

  "And show your hand too early?" Aramus scoffed. "I tell you the grey-elf is mistaken. They are not here yet."

  Aria furrowed her brow and pursed her lips tightly together. Should she fire arrows into the darkness, her enemies would have a clearer picture of their numbers. But by the very nature of Sudia's condition, she knew that she had the same ability as Aramus to see in the dark. Perhaps she had a better vantage point than Aramus. But her abilities were new and, as of yet, untested.

  "Send a volley," she s
aid to the line of dwarfs beside her.

  "Aria?"

  Aramus was cut off by the whooshing sound of a hundred lit arrows as they sailed through the air. For the longest time Aria watched them soar gracefully into the darkness, unhindered, and she breathed a sigh of relief as they descended. But her relief was short lived. Somewhere along their path a few of the arrows stuck into something, mid-air, whilst the rest fell to the ground. That something let out a shriek, and Aria heard the distinct sound of wings flapping as it tried to get away.

  "Harpies!" yelled a dwarf.

  "I thought you said?" Aria started, looking toward Aramus.

  "I? I didn't see them. Aria, I swear I didn't see them," he replied, trying, without success, to convince her of his innocence. "I don't understand, he must have stopped me from seeing. He must know what is about to happen."

  From where the arrows hit the harpies, Aramus should have been able to see them. Either something was blocking his dark abilities, or Aramus had wanted his father's army to gain ground for some reason. Whatever the case may be, Aria had no time to decide which.

  "Archers, take aim," she roared, turning back toward the wall and raising her sword above her head. Now more than ever, she wished that she had kept her armour on, but there had been no time to change out of the dress the elves had given her. There hadn't even been enough time to tend to her leg, but thankfully it had stopped bleeding on its own. "Fire!"

  Hundreds of arrows flew past her head and into the darkness. Only a few of them met with the creatures in the sky.

  "Pour the oil," Aria shouted at the King's Guard who waited by the large barrels of fire oil. The guards dutifully tipped the contents of the barrels into the hollows in the stone king's heads. "Archers, take aim, fire!"

  Another volley of arrows sailed into the sky, and this time they hit something larger than a harpy. The burning arrows outlined a creature on the ground that rivalled the size of the dwarf's Beasties. Aria felt a large stone land in her stomach with the sight of what came next.

  From within the darkness she saw red, slatted eyes, as large as horses, flare into life and stare back at her. A rumbling bellow reverberated through her bones as the creature opened its glowing, crimson mouth, and fire swelled inside its gullet. It shot out a ball of lava, and when it did, the creature was illuminated enough that Aria could make out its shape.

  Large horns, the size of tree trunks, twisted and turned on top of the creatures black head. On all fours, its mammoth paws turned in on themselves and ended in talons that appeared to have been dipped in molten iron at some point. Its chest, only slightly larger than its head, and gargantuan in size next to its skinny waste, heaved as it prepared to fire again. It was a creature that Aria thought could only have ever been conjured from a nightmare. But yet here it was, living, breathing, and trying its best to kill them all.

  A fireball hit the palace walls behind her and erupted, splattering the wooden houses beneath with great globules of sticky magma. Aria panicked as the walls of the palace were coated in multiple molten spittle's from at least ten horned beasts. She feared the limestone would crumble with the heat and everyone inside, including her brother, would perish. Thankfully the glowing gobs ran off and burned the empty houses around the palace instead.

  "Light the oil," Aria shouted, turning her attention back to the battle at hand.

  From the heads of the dead kings, the guards lowered torches and Aria watched the flame disappear through hidden channels. It lit up the kings' hollow eyes and flowed down their swords. It crisscrossed over shallow channels carved into the sandstone walls, and set the battlements alight. The fire burned and hissed as it made its way across the oil soaked ground in front of Lothangard, like a lake of flames, and illuminated the night as though it were day.

  Horrific howls of pain rang out in the crisp air as ogres, horned beasts, and any other dark creatures that were too stupid to run away, burned in the oil fire. From the corner of her eye, Aria saw a large group of worgen narrowly miss the lapping tongues of the flames. Leading that group was a worgen she knew only too well, Luscious. In the brief moment that Luscious's red eyes met hers, she saw him snarl and flash the hole that had once held his canine tooth. It was clear then he was not on their side, if he ever was at all.

  "Catapultiers, aim your weapon now that you can see," Aria commanded.

  "Aria, the harpies!" Sudia shouted from the spire.

  Aria looked to the sky. The flayed forms of what once appeared to be women, now adorned with fleshy wings, made their way toward the parapets. In each of their clawed hands was a sword, and from each of their mouths came a terrible cry. Aria flinched from the noise as it almost made her ears bleed.

  "Archers, Archers, at the ready," Aria screamed, to no avail.

  All the male King's Guard, and dwarfs alike, were staring open-mouthed and dreamy-eyed at the hideous beasts approaching; every man save Aramus. Only the female soldiers stood in their place and obeyed her commands, but there was only a handful of those.

  "Allow me," Aramus hissed, spreading his wings and taking to the sky with his sword in hand.

  "Aramus, no," Aria called after him.

  If Aramus heard her he didn't respond. He shot into the sky with blistering speed and, in the glow of the emblazoned walls, all Aria could make out was the flash of his silver sword as it met with some of the harpies throats. Their song was quietened as they turned on Aramus, and the men on the ramparts suddenly snapped back into life, hitching their bows. The air was rent with the sound of the hag's cries as more fiery arrows found their targets.

  Aria heard Luscious let out a brutish roar. Within a matter of seconds, the remaining ogres ignored the city of Lothangard, and hurtled their spears at Aramus instead. This was followed closely by lava balls from the remaining half-burnt, horned creatures. It seemed to Aria that Luscious appeared to be commanding the mammoth army, a General in-lieu of the Dark God, as it were. Luscious must be high in Dantet's ranks to have been afforded such a role, and Aria felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. It also seemed that when Aramus was in their sight, the assaults from the city of Lothangard were nothing more than an annoyance in the periphery of the dark militia.

  "Aramus, come back," Aria shouted at him. "It's you they want."

  "The stupid fool can't hear you," Sudia roared back.

  Without a word to Aria, Sudia jumped from the spires and landed squarely on the back of a harpy in mid-air. With her sword placed at the harpy's throat, she persuaded it, with a few well-placed kicks and pulling of hair, to fly closer to Aramus. With a single sweep of her sword, Sudia sliced its neck and jumped off its back. Aria held her breath as she watched the grey-elf fall through the grasping claws of Dantet's mistresses, and through the dwarven arrows that whizzed past her head. She plummeted fast until she landed on Aramus's back with a thump. Aria lost sight of them as they tumbled toward the ground, encircled by a mass of wings and terrible screeches.

  "Aramus!" Aria screamed, her heart beating so fast it hurt. "Sudia!"

  Just as Aria leaned over the battlements to scan for the pair, a sooty cleaver flashed across her face. If she had been slower at pulling back she might have lost her nose to it. Aria drew her sword straight up and, gripping onto the hilt with both hands, she drove it down over the wall where it met with something hard. Quickly glancing over the edge to see what she had hit, Aria was horrified by the sight that unfolded beneath her.

  Propped against the blazing wall of the city, was the burning corpse of one of Dantet's massive horned beasts. More horrifying was the ogres clambering over it, setting themselves alight as they scurried up the ramparts, desperately trying to get inside the city. The dead ogre, whose head now housed Aria's sword, was half-burnt and still on fire. It's death mask, a picture of agony. The ladder of ogres it had climbed up to reach her didn't fare much better, and the smell of it all made Aria's stomach turn.

  "Archers, defend the ramparts," she shouted, removing her sword from
the ogres head.

  The archer's focused their next flight of arrows toward the ogres that were climbing the walls like ants. Line after line of them fell back down into the lake of fire below, but it didn't deter their efforts to reach the top. Waves of green skinned monsters, too stupid to realise that they would die, vaulted over the burning carcass of the horned monster, and climbed the fleshy ladder of their comrades. It was a gruesome battle, the worst she had ever seen or heard tales of. The individual screams of agony from the ogres, rang in Aria's ears long after they had perished.

  "Light the stingers," Aria roared toward the King's Guard.

  She felt the heat of the giant balls of oil soaked rags as they were ignited behind her. She scanned the sky once more looking for any sign that Aramus and Sudia were alive. If she sent the stingers over the wall now, they would surely hit them as they emerged. But the encroaching army of Dark Ones closing in on the parapets, meant she couldn't wait much longer. In a matter of seconds, the thin lining of oil rags would be consumed and the deadly payload released. Aria couldn't wait any longer.

  Aria breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Aramus break through the smoky entanglement of harpy wings and ogre cleavers. Dangling below him, and being carried by her ankles, was an infuriated Suida who sung her sword wildly at the pursuing harpies, spitting vile curses in their direction.

  "Release the catapults," Aria said as soon as the pair reached the wall.

  Aria paid little attention to the deadly balls that soared overhead as Aramus collapsed beside her. His face was scratched on one side by a harpy claw, and he breathed heavily as he tried to regain his composure. Other than that, he was unharmed.

  Aria brushed back his dark hair and examined his face. But Aramus knocked off her hand muttering that he was "fine". He didn't meet her eyes, and Aria knew why. From what little she could see, Aramus's eyes were alight with the fire of Dantet once again. No doubt his proximity to the dark creatures, and the battle he had just fought, did nothing to suppress his darker side. It wasn't a good omen, and Aria knew that the last place he should be, right now, was fighting alongside her.

  A thick dwarven arrow protruded from Sudia's shoulder, but it made little difference to her temperament as she struggled to her feet again.

  "Give me my bow," she yelled, before clasping her shoulder and wincing as she collapsed back behind the wall again. "I will take off their heads one by one if I have to? dirty scum," she panted.

  "You will not," Aria said.

  "I beg your pardon? Who do you think you are that you can give me orders?"

  "I am the sovereign leader of Naretia, and commander of this army," Aria replied, edging closer to Sudia and narrowing her eyes. "You are injured, and Aramus draws their attention too much. You are both a liability, and I order you to make your way to Ol?rin. Find him so that he can heal you, Sudia. You should wait with him so too, Aramus, so he can cure you. The sooner he can do that, the sooner this will all be over. Do I make myself clear?"

  Sudia looked at her with an open mouth. She fully expected that one, or both of them, would argue with her. But to her surprise they didn't.

  "Well, if you're going to be like that then I'm not sure I want to stay," Sudia mocked, stretching her good arm toward Aramus so that he could carry her. "Besides, I don't think you need me much here anyhow. You seem to have everything in order."

  Aria couldn't help but smile a little.

  Aramus glided off the edge of the battlements, Sudia scooped in his arms, without so much as a "be careful" toward Aria. She was slightly taken aback by his lack of concern as he left her to face an army of Dark One's. It seemed to Aria that he was almost relieved to get away.

  "Your Highness!" a dwarf shouted urgently from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. "Ye need tae come and see thas."

  Aria stood next to the dark-haired dwarf and followed his pointed finger.

  "No!" she whispered, all blood draining from her face. "Surely now all is lost."