by Jeff Inlo
"I can help as well," Haven offered.
"I'd rather you conserve your energy," Jure advised. "Actually, I think we need to send a messenger to Connel, let Enin know what's happening here. You should teleport someone there as soon as possible."
"An excellent idea," Shantree agreed. "Birk, have all your healthy guards report to Jure. Once they are protected by the spell, deploy them as you deem necessary. We must assume that additional attacks are forthcoming. I will direct a messenger for Haven to send to Connel, and then I will work with the healers to aid those already stricken. If we assume the disease is being carried by draevol plague magic, then we have a better chance to fight it."
"A lot of this is all conjecture," Jure warned. "I'm not even sure my spell is going to protect anyone."
"If it does not, it really won't matter what we do, will it?" Shantree asked.
Jure agreed, but only to a point. If they weren't dealing with draevols or if his spell failed, the entire camp would fall ill. In that, there was no argument. Keeping Shantree from Reiculf, however, remained an absolute priority. He knew he would have to forcibly remove her from the camp before he allowed her to be taken. The prospect of taking her from her dying elves was not a subject he believed he should address at that time, but it was an alternative that he could not dismiss.
"No, I guess it won't," the wizard responded.
He prepared to cast spells to protect as many elves as possible, but he would keep enough energy in reserve to send Shantree to Connel, whether she agreed to go or not.
Chapter 13
"How long is this going to continue?" Captain Klusac asked.
The delver believed he understood Klusac's concerns, but he needed to be certain.
"How long is what going to continue?" Ryson replied.
"I've got a giant rock monster..."
"Cliff behemoth," Ryson corrected.
"Yeah, I know. You told me that before, but from a distance he looks like a giant rock monster. And that's exactly what I'm talking about. He stands outside the gate. He's peaceful enough, sure, but every one in Burbon knows he's there. You can't miss him."
"He's protecting the town," Ryson offered. "That should make people feel better."
"It doesn't. It makes them nervous. They're asking why it's necessary. You told me why, but I can't make that common knowledge, now can I?"
Ryson considered how the people of Burbon would react if they knew the reason behind Dzeb's presence. He didn't like keeping them in the dark, but he knew they valued order and discipline. The cloud which hung over them was lined with chaos.
The delver knew Dzeb wasn't the problem. Under normal circumstances, the citizens of Burbon would probably grow to appreciate the stoic nature of the cliff behemoth, but they were not under normal circumstances. Beings of great power and questionable motives—Reiculf, Baannat, and Ansas—had thrown their influence into a growing conflict, and Burbon was being pulled from the fringes of that conflict and closer to its raging center.
"Can I?" Klusac repeated when the delver failed to answer.
"I don't know," Ryson admitted. "I guess you can't."
"You guess? You think the people are going be happy to hear that some demon master might come waltzing into town?" Klusac shook his head to emphasize his point. "And the reason this Reiculf might come here is because of that wizard who spends all his time in the taverns. Are you going to try and tell me this Neltus character makes people feel better? He's causing problems of his own."
"I've talked to him," Ryson responded.
"So have I... and on several occasions. He straightens up for a bit, but then he starts acting up again. All he does is eat and drink. When he drinks too much, he starts getting obnoxious... and showing off. He's pretty strong with that magic of his. People know it, and they're afraid of him. I don't need this. Burbon doesn't need this. You know that."
Ryson couldn't argue. Since the return of magic, Burbon had hardly been spared a moment's peace. The town had survived due to many aspects of its character, but Ryson could not deny that Burbon was in a state of upheaval.
Enin once called Burbon home, but he had moved on to Connel. Sy Fenden, the previous captain of the guard, made defending the town a righteous duty, but he had been killed in a goblin assault. Ryson himself vowed to protect Burbon, but just recently, he had been asked to leave by the very cliff behemoth who stood at the western gate. Even though he had returned, every person in Burbon knew he would leave again... and probably soon.
Klusac was right. Burbon didn't need any additional turmoil. Every citizen had been forced to adjust to severe changes, even when they abhorred change. They had shown remarkable resolve as they adapted to the consequences of one crisis after another. The strands of patience, however, were growing thin. There was a limit to what people would take, and the delver wondered if the citizens of Burbon had reached that threshold. The people of the small town needed a rest. Throwing Neltus into their midst was just one more irritant to wear at the town's resilience, but there was little the delver could do.
"It wasn't my idea," Ryson revealed. "Enin said he should stay here."
"Enin doesn't have to live with him," Klusac countered. "Enin doesn't even live here anymore. If Enin's concerned about this wizard, then I think Neltus should go to Connel and stay there."
"He can't. The plan is to keep them separate."
"Then send Neltus into the forest, or into the mountains."
"That could be a disaster. As frustrating as it is, we have to keep him safe. If he falls into Reiculf's hands, he could end up destroying the land."
"So you've said. And I've taken your word at that. That's why I'm putting up with this. Otherwise, I'd tell you, the rock man, and the drunken wizard to move on. I'm about ready to say that now."
Klusac stopped himself from saying anything further. He looked down one of Burbon's streets and took a deep breath. He reminded himself that the situation was at least somewhat stable, things weren't getting worse, but he also knew the townspeople had a limit to their patience.
Ryson allowed the new captain a moment to regroup. He stood silently as the soldier collected his thoughts. The delver believed he had to let Klusac lead, otherwise Burbon would eventually fall apart. Even if it meant altering Ansas' strategy, Klusac needed to have the final say on the well-being of the town he swore to protect.
The captain rubbed his hands together slowly and approached the problem from a position of simple timing.
"From what you've told me," Klusac began again, "Reiculf has the power to destroy us all. That means Burbon has a stake in this. I understand that. I'm willing to do my part. I believe this whole town is willing to do its part, but that brings me back to my original question. How long is this going to continue? At some point, some other town is going to have to step up. Right? I mean, Reiculf isn't going to limit his attacks to Burbon. He's going to attack everyone. That means other towns have an interest in keeping this Neltus clown out of Reiculf's hands."
"I can't argue with that," Ryson admitted.
"Good, because if there's a definitive end to this, I can hold the line with the people here. But I have to be able to give them something. We have to come up with a set plan. Maybe Pinesway will take him in a few days, or maybe we could send him to Fort Nebran, or even into the Great Valleys. We just can't look after him forever."
"I doubt that will be the case," Ryson admitted, perhaps seeing a path forward to relieve the captain's distress. Unfortunately, he also revealed additional facts of an unpleasant nature. "Reiculf wants Neltus and he's not going to wait long, certainly not forever. One way or another, this will probably be over far sooner than we expect."
Klusac stared at the delver as he followed the logic of Ryson's claim to a distressing conclusion.
"So, in essence, you're saying we're not going to have to send Neltus away because this is all going to boil over while he's here?" the captain asked, stunned at his own words.
"I really don't know
what's going to happen. I just meant to say that Neltus won't be here forever."
"Because Reiculf is going to come for him," Klusac finished the thought for the delver. "Does he know that Neltus is here?"
Ryson steadied himself. He couldn't lie to the captain, but the news wasn't going to be well received.
"Maybe not at this moment, but he will eventually. It's hard to explain—I don't really understand it myself—but the magic links Neltus with an infern that's under Reiculf's control."
Klusac's alarm turned to anger.
"And you're just telling me this now?! I thought we were hiding Neltus. I didn't know there were arrows pointing right to him!"
"It's not that obvious. There are these paths... it's kind of confusing, but it may take a long while before they find him."
"Or they could already know he's here!" Klusac countered. "What happens when Reiculf finally makes his move? What's going to happen when he comes for Neltus?"
As if to answer the captain's question, a soldier rushed into Klusac's office.
"Captain, the town's surrounded by... I'm not sure what they are, but there's a lot of them. They came out of the forest, out from around the hills to the south, and even out of the river."
Klusac wanted to explode with anger, shout obscenities at the delver until his throat was raw, but he focused on the safety of his town.
"Are we secure?" Klusac asked of the guard.
"All gates have been shut. No hostiles are inside the wall, and no guards or civilians have been caught outside."
"These hostiles, describe what you saw."
The guard didn't wish to hesitate, but he knew words would not go far enough in explaining what they faced. He did his best to paint an accurate picture of the confusion he witnessed.
"It's not just monsters. There are rogues, shags, lots of goblins, the big spiders, but there are also elves, some dwarves, even some humans."
"Humans?"
"Yes, sir, but they don't look right. They're moving slow... all of them, even the beasts. Most of them appear wounded, some pretty bad. Some of them were actually crawling. They're not fighting each other. They all seem intent on getting into town. Whether they came from the hills, the farms, or the trees, they're all just heading right for us. There are thousands of them."
The captain didn't want to doubt the soldier, but little of what he heard made sense. He needed more information, knew he had to see the situation for himself. He remained angry with the delver, but he needed Ryson's senses more than ever.
"Ryson, get over to the western gate and take a look. Scout out as much as you can, but don't go too far from the gate. I'll be following you. And make sure that cliff behemoth is inside the wall as well."
Just as Ryson took off, Klusac issued an order to a signal guard right outside his office.
"Get up on the roof. Signal all towers. Raise the alert to get all citizens home and send all guards to their posts. Defensive positions only. No engagement unless attacked or the wall is breached."
Klusac walked briskly out of his office and on to the streets. The delver was already out of his sight. He heard a thumping in the distance. It sounded as if it came from all over. He had little doubt that Burbon was once more under siege.
After leaving the guard post, Ryson raced at near top speed to the western wall. He reached the gate in mere moments and was pleased to find Dzeb already inside.
"What's going on?" Ryson asked, but his senses already gave him a good idea. He just didn't wish to believe what he heard... or smelled.
"An affront to Godson," Dzeb replied, clearly disgusted with what he saw before he stepped behind the town walls.
"I need to take a look."
Effortlessly, Ryson climbed up the wall near the edge of the gate. Moving past soldiers on the wall walk, he looked over the battlements to inspect the scene both at the base of the wall below and across the clearing to the trees of Dark Spruce Forest.
The delver was not as surprised as the guards in what he saw, for he had experience with the ghastly foe they faced. Unfortunately, his delver senses amplified the horrible stench rising up from the massive horde, as well as the thumping echo that came from their pounding upon Burbon's wall.
A sea of rotting corpses pressed against the barrier. They lacked the ability to climb over one another, so they just kept pushing forward in a vain attempt to get inside. Little to no progress was made, but the horde showed no sign of stopping.
The soldier who described the scene to Klusac and Ryson was accurate in his description. The multitude included a variety of races and breeds. Goblins far outnumbered the others, but there were still a surprising number of shags and river rogues.
More and more kept coming forward, all in different stages of decay. Most limped forward on two legs, but several staggered forward on whatever limbs were sturdy enough to carry them.
Within the mix of dark creatures, there were also bloat spiders and hook hawks. Their movements revealed their state of decomposition. None of the hawks could fly. They just lurched forward on clawed feet, flapping their wings and sending blood crusted feathers into the air. The spiders appeared almost drunk, skittering back and forth and side to side, barely making any progress toward the wall at all.
Perhaps the most disturbing sight was witnessing dead elves, dwarves, and humans walking within the horde of dark creatures. They staggered alongside of goblins and river rogues, in front of bloat spiders, and even leaned into shags. They showed not the slightest concern for walking among monsters that would normally attack them on sight, but the legion did not fight amongst themselves. They shared a common bond. They were all dead.
Ryson's eyes watered as the stench grew stronger. He held his breath for as long as he could and then forced shallow breaths through his mouth. He raced along the top of the wall to the north corner and then back to the south, scanning the horizon in all directions. He returned to the west gate and paused to gauge the momentum of the undead horde.
The wall beneath his feet rumbled at the pounding, but he believed it would hold, at least for a while. The corpses were still beating upon the barrier with their limbs as opposed to pressing against it with the full might of their numbers. The clearing around the wall was filling up, and Ryson could see more coming out of the forest and from around the hills.
Leaping to a nearby watch tower, Ryson climbed up on the platform where Captain Klusac had taken a position. He readied a report, but waited for Klusac's order.
The captain looked down upon the legion stumbling toward his town. He tried to keep the assault in perspective, tried to ignore the seemingly unfathomable nature of his enemy. He had lived through attacks by goblins, river rogues, shags, giant insects, even dwarves, but he never imagined he would be surrounded by an army of moving corpses.
He gritted his teeth and kept a stern expression. He knew there were soldiers watching him, trying to gauge their own reaction in comparison to his. Klusac wanted to turn away in disgust, but he couldn't allow it. For a few moments, he focused on one single shag, watched it carefully to assess its abilities and intentions.
It appeared as if the monster lost a battle with a river rogue. There were several gashes across its chest and upper arms, obvious slash marks from rogue claws. One of its hands was completely torn off and it looked as if one eye had been gouged out as well. Blood did not flow from any of the wounds despite the depth of the injuries. The hair was matted, covered with dried blood and a great deal of thick ooze.
The shag moved clumsily forward until it hit the outer ring of other monsters congregated around Burbon's wall. It stood behind several goblins, yet it showed no desire to knock them away... or even eat them. It accepted its place, but it did not remain still. It seemed to march in place as it wished to keep moving forward but had no where to go.
Once able to accept what he saw in the shag, the town captain gazed upon other creatures, including several elves and humans.
He had seen enough battles in his
lifetime to know death, and he could not deny the condition of the bodies within the throng. As far as he knew, it was possible a shag could survive tremendous wounds, but he could not deny the proof in the humans that walked among the monsters. They had suffered injuries no one could survive, and their state of decay indicated they had passed through the curtain of death many days ago, some perhaps a full season.
Klusac had very little knowledge of the legends. He didn't know of Reiculf at all until just a few days ago. Suddenly, his town was thrust into battle with a power that could raise the dead. Looking to his left and then his right, he knew he didn't have to question his sanity. He saw the look of disbelief in each of his soldier's faces. Despite the fact that not one of the guards wished to accept what was before them, Klusac understood their astonishment was proof in itself.
Accepting the dilemma didn't mean he understood the scope of the threat, and for the sake of Burbon, he turned to Ryson for answers.
"Do you know what we're facing here?"
"It's animation magic," Ryson offered with a nod. "I dealt with it when the magic first returned. None of those things are alive, but they've been animated, given the power to move and even attack."
"Empty corpses with no spirit of their own?"
"Exactly."
"Do you think Reiculf is responsible for this?"
"That would be my guess, but I can't be sure."
"We'll have to make that assumption."
Before Klusac requested further information, he called out with a tone of strength and certainty to the soldiers at the wall and behind the gate.
"Hold fast! The enemy has been identified."
The captain then gave instructions to a signal guard. He knew he had to establish a sense of confidence among his soldiers. In order to do so, he had to break through the madness of the assault.
"Signal the other towers... command at west gate, hold position, gates remain closed. Attack on breach only. Await further orders."