Jiron finds the stairs going up and begins to climb them when a man appears at the top with a drawn sword. The man holds his sword menacingly as he descends three steps before saying something that could only be ‘Get out of my home!’
“I don’t have time for this,” Jiron says as he draws his knives and moves to the top of the stairs. In a quick exchange, the man’s sword lies on the stairs and Jiron has a knife threatening him. Turning the man around, he propels him back to the top of the stairs.
A woman is standing further down the hallway with three children held tightly to her. Her eyes widen in fear when she sees her husband emerging from the stairs with a knife held against him. She says something to him and he replies, motioning for them to stay back.
“Tell them to get in that room,” Jiron says to Roland, indicating one that’s near the woman.
Roland tells them and the woman slowly backs her way into it, taking the children with her. One of the young girls begins to cry and she does her best to quiet her. “Tell them to be quiet and we won’t kill them,” Jiron says as he pushes the man into the room with his family.
Grabbing his children, the man turns to Roland and listens to what he’s being told and then nods his head and replies.
Roland says, “They’ll be silent.”
Jiron nods his head as he shuts the door on the family. They find another set of stairs leading up and they race to the third floor. “Split up and find the access to the roof,” Jiron tells everyone as he continues down the hallway from the stairs. Doors begin to open as they all search the rooms for a way to the roof, they know that time is against them.
“It’s in here!” they hear Scar yell from the far end of the building. Set in the roof of a small room is a trapdoor with a rope hanging down from it. Pulling on it, the trapdoor swings open and a ladder extends down allowing access to the roof. With Scar in the lead, they climb the ladder and once everyone is on the roof, James severs the rope for the trap door before pulling it closed behind them.
The inner town wall is just five feet above the roof of the building. Jiron runs over to it and jumps, grabbing hold of the top, and then pulls himself up onto the wall. He reaches down a hand and helps Scar up just as a guard patrolling the wall sees them and begins crying the alarm. Drawing his sword, the guard rushes toward them.
Once Scar has reached the top, he draws his sword and moves to engage the approaching guard while Jiron helps the others up. In trepidation, he observes three more are on their way behind the first guard. “Hurry up man, we’ve got company!” he hollers to Jiron just before he parries a thrust by the guard.
Jiron helps Potbelly up who rushes to Scar’s aid. Delia next, Roland and then James gain the top of the wall.
Scar and Potbelly have disposed of the first guard and are moving to intercept the three oncoming guards. Jiron runs to help them as James tries to figure out where they need to be going. On the other side of the wall, all the houses are at least fifteen feet away. Makes sense, he reasons, they let people on the inside build close because they’re not worried about people getting out so much as they are about them getting in. It’s a thirty foot drop to the ground so they won’t be jumping down that way. The wall they’re on extends all the way to the outer wall.
James looks over to where Jiron and the others are fighting just as the last guard falls. He cries out, “Toward the outer wall, hurry!”
Two more soldiers are running to intercept them from the direction of the outer wall, and the fighters move to engage. Roland and Delia move quickly to follow Jiron and the others, with James right behind. Jiron takes the first one as Potbelly blocks a downward thrust from the second and then follows through with a thrust, taking him through the stomach, just below the breastbone. He kicks the guard off his sword with his foot as Jiron pushes the guard he was fighting over the wall, the man’s scream can be heard all the way down until he hits the ground below.
Behind them, eight guards are running down the wall to catch them. One has a crossbow and lets a bolt fly but it goes wide, narrowly missing Scar.
James turns and takes out a slug which he throws, hitting the crossbowman square in the chest, causing him to stagger and then fall off the wall.
“Here!” Roland hollers to them. They turn and see him there with a bucket that’s tied to a long rope. “We can climb down,” he explains.
James glances down the outward side of the wall and doesn’t see anyone there, guess they figured on them not being able to get down here. “Looks clear,” he tells them. He and Roland hold the rope as Jiron shinnies down.
Scar and Potbelly have positioned themselves to hold off the oncoming guards, giving the others a chance to get down. As Jiron makes it to the ground, the guards reach Scar and Potbelly, and the crash of swords can be heard as they engage.
Turning to Delia, James says, “You’re next.” He and Roland hold the rope secure while she makes her way down. Glancing over to the fighting, James sees one of the guards has already fallen but that Scar and Potbelly have to give ground as they’re being pushed backward by the remaining seven.
Roland tells James, “Go on!”
Shaking his head, he says, “You first.”
Not wanting to take the time to argue, Roland takes the rope and swings over the side as James holds onto it. He glances back to Scar and Potbelly and it doesn’t look good. Even though another guard has hit the ground, there’s still too many, it’s only a matter of time before one or the other falls.
The tension on the rope disappears and he looks down, seeing that Roland has made it to the ground. “Come on!” he hollers up to him.
Securing the end of the rope around a merlon he hollers over to the fighters, “Let’s go!”
Scar replies, “We’ll never make it!” He parries with one sword and then takes the guard through the stomach with his other. “You go,” he tells him, “we’ll hold them off!”
Potbelly is holding his own, but there’s just too many for them to last. As he watches them fighting, anger and frustration build within him until it’s like a white hot sun.
“Scar, Potbelly! Get down, NOW!” his voice thunders behind them.
Almost reflexively, they drop to the ground as an invisible wave passes over them and they watch as the guards are lifted and thrown backward, some screaming as they fall to their deaths to the ground below. Once it’s past, they get up and hurry over to James where he’s staggering a little. Scar asks, “You okay?” as they steady him.
Nodding his head, James just says, “Let’s get off this damn wall.” He sees a couple of the guards are getting back up from where they had been thrown backward along the top of the wall.
They let James go first and then Scar with Potbelly coming last. When James reaches the ground, he says to Jiron, “What I did up there is going to be like a beacon for every mage in the city. They’re going to know where we are.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here!” Jiron says as they start to race toward the main gates to the city. A squad of five men turns into the street ahead of them, coming in their direction. When they see James’ group running toward them, they let out a cry and draw their swords as they rush to attack.
A slug strikes one, felling him before they even get close. Jiron takes the next one, knives flashing as they parry and strike.
Potbelly and Scar face the remaining three; Scar’s two swords quickly take out one while Potbelly holds his own with the second but is unable to gain an opening to finish him. Scar engages the remaining one and soon has him on the ground as well. “You got him?” he asks, looking over to Potbelly as he continues exchanging blows with the guard.
“Yeah!” he replies as he blocks and holds his opponent’s sword with his knife, while following through with his sword, taking him through the chest. His sword gets caught in between his opponent’s ribs and is unable to pull it free. Leaving the sword there, he grabs the dead guard’s sword just as Jiron’s opponent falls to the ground. Then they’re off
again for the gate.
This area is relatively clear as most of the guards and soldiers have gone to the inner section of the city to hunt for them. They’re able to run quickly through the streets without fear of being attacked and it isn’t long before the gates appear ahead of them. “There they are!” Jiron shouts to them as they race for freedom.
They come to a quick stop when they see at least thirty soldiers in formation before the gate, as well as a mage. “You cannot escape!” the mage hollers to them where they’ve stopped in the middle of the street. “You are greatly outnumbered.”
James takes a slug and throws it at the mage who erects a barrier, causing it to ricochet off harmlessly.
The mage just smiles, as he makes ready to cast a spell. James counters with a spell he’s been devising for just such a time and is able to release it before the other can cast his. The mage knows James has done something but can’t detect anything. He releases a bolt of power and the shield he erected around himself to ward off the slug suddenly turns orange as the bolt of power bounces off the shield, turning back onto the mage.
With a scream of pain, the bolt blasts through the mage before hitting the shield again and then bounces back. The bolt then proceeds to fly from one side of the shield to another until finally running its course. James releases his spell on the shield and the mage, now a charred corpse, falls to the ground.
In stunned silence, the guards at the gate stare for a second at the smoking remnants of their mage lying there in the street and then a cry erupts from then as they charge forward.
Crumph!
James releases the power again and the ground under the approaching men explodes upward, tossing bodies and debris in every direction. A few men were forward of the area that erupted and are thrown forward by the blast. Jiron and the other pit fighters quickly take them out before they have a chance to recover.
Behind them, they can hear running feet as hundreds of guards and soldiers, who had been in the inner area of the city, race to catch them. “To the gate!” James cries as he begins running through the devastated area littered with dead bodies before them.
“But it’s closed!” Delia cries as she hurries behind him.
“Leave that to me,” James tells her as they race toward the gate.
From atop the wall, crossbowmen begin raining down bolts at them. But by luck’s good grace, they all fail to hit their mark.
At the gate, they turn to see the courtyard beginning to fill with soldiers, hell bent on engaging them. “There’re too many!” shouts Scar.
“James hurry!” Jiron yells as he and the other pit fighters turn to face the oncoming men. Being so close to the gates, the crossbowmen on the wall are no longer able to fire upon them. He glances back and sees James standing next to the gates with his hands resting upon them.
Then with an ear deafening crash, the gates fly open and James sags to the ground. On the other side, two guards stand in stunned amazement at the opening of the gates. Scar and Potbelly quickly turn and move through the gate, taking them out in short order. Jiron helps James up and half carries him as they hurry through the gate.
Behind them, a swarm of men armed with swords fill the streets as they race for the broken gates, hot on their trail. Crossbow bolts fly at them from the walls again once they’ve passed beyond their protecting cover, but none find their mark.
Suddenly, they hear horses approaching from the southwest, hooves thundering toward them across the bridge that spans the river. Getting set to sell their lives dearly, they’re stunned to see Shorty and Yorn racing toward them. Behind them are Ezra and Stig, as well as extra horses for each of them.
“Come on!” Shorty yells as they race toward them. He gets down and helps assist Jiron in getting James in the saddle as everyone mounts. Once done, they quickly get in the saddle and then begin racing back toward the bridge. Potbelly cries out from his saddle as a bolt strikes him in the side.
“Potbelly!” Scar yells as he slows to come to his friend’s aid.
“I’ll make it!” he yells back to his friend as he holds his side, bursts of pain exploding from where the bolt is sticking out with every stride his horse takes.
As they cross the bridge, James slows his horse and then comes to a stop. He begins to dismount when Jiron hollers to him, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Delaying them,” he replies. “I may not be good for much after this, so be prepared for that. I need a few minutes.”
Looking back at the mass of soldiers running toward them, he says, “You ain’t got a few a minutes!”
James ignores him as he concentrates. Jiron watches as the center of the bridge begins to glow and then becomes dark again. James suddenly sags to the bridge, unconscious.
“Damn!” Jiron says as he dismounts. Coming to his side, he puts James back onto his horse and secures him to the saddle with rope. He gets back on his horse, grabs the reins to James’ horse and then leads him quickly over the bridge to where the others are waiting for them.
“What did you stop for?” Scar asks as they approach.
“I’m not sure,” he replies. “Let’s get going!”
As they gallop away, the first of the pursuing men gain the bridge.
Crumph!
The concussion wave washes over them and they turn to see the bridge exploding into the air. A twenty foot gap now separates the two sides of the river.
“Damn!” Scar says.
“Let’s move,” Jiron says. “We don’t know how long we’ll have before they manage to get around that.”
Potbelly groans and then begins to topple off his horse. Scar jumps down and hurries over to his friend’s side, catching him before he hits the ground.
Potbelly looks up to Scar as he lays him on the ground, “I guess this is my last fight.”
Scar sees Delia there and she bends down to examine the wound. “It’s hit nothing vital,” she tells him. “If we can get the blood to stop, he should be alright.”
Jiron looks back to the river and can see that they’ve already started moving some boats toward the broken bridge to begin ferrying men across. “We don’t have much time,” he tells her.
“Won’t need much,” she says as she tears a strip of cloth off her shirt.
Jiron looks again and sees ten men disembarking from the boats. They begin running to close with them. Two knives fly in quick succession as Shorty takes out two of the attackers.
“Hurry please!” Jiron says as he and the others move to engage with the oncoming men. Side by side, the pit fighters stand, giving Delia the time to administer to Potbelly. Scar is a terrible foe as his anger for what happened to his friend finds an outlet, his two swords weaving a pattern of death no soldier willingly enters.
As she starts to bind the wound, leaving the bolt in his side, Roland asks, “Aren’t you going to take it out?”
“No,” she replies. “If I do, it’ll leave a hole allowing more blood to escape. He’s already lost too much as it is.”
The attackers fall like stalks of grain before the scythe as they engage the waiting fighters. Keeping her mind on Potbelly and doing her best to ignore the fighting going on fifteen feet away, she finally finishes up with binding his wound. With Roland’s help, they manage to get him on a horse, securing him in the same manner as James. When he’s secured, she turns and yells, “Let’s go!”
She quickly mounts her horse as the pit fighters take out the few remaining soldiers and then run to where their horses are waiting. Glancing back to the river, she sees two more boats disembarking another twenty soldiers. “Hurry!” she yells to Scar and the others as they reach the horses and begin mounting. Crossbow bolts fly at them from the river, but from that distance they’re not much to worry about.
Back into the saddle, they turn and race down the road, leaving the enemy far behind. After putting several miles between them, they slow the horses, saving them in case of the need for speed.
“Where did the other horses com
e from?” Jiron asks Shorty.
“After you guys left, we figured that we might need to leave in a hurry so we traded all the wagons and the goods for the horses,” he says.
“What about the money chest?” Delia asks.
“It’s divided among the saddlebags,” he tells her. “Each horse is carrying roughly the same amount.”
Jiron nods his head, “Smart thinking.”
Shorty smiles back to him and replies, “We knew you guys wouldn’t be able to leave without disturbing a few people.”
“Yeah,” Yorn interjects. “So we positioned ourselves near the wall and just listened for where the commotion was the loudest and figured that would be where you were.”
“You figured right,” Scar says as he rides next to his friend Potbelly. “We are going to need to find somewhere to hole up for a while, so Potbelly can recover.”
“Any ideas?” Jiron asks.
“We could cut cross country, try to find someplace away from civilization,” Roland suggests.
“But that would be the first place I would look if I was them,” Jiron replies. “Of course, any place near here will be searched in no time, as well. No, I think we better put as much distance between us and them that we can, stay on the road as long as possible.”
Scar understands the logic, but is worried for his friend who doesn’t look very good. “Hang in there Pot ol’ boy,” he says to him.
A little after midnight, James regains consciousness, though is still extremely weak and tired. “What’s going on?” he asks, looking around groggily.
“We’ve been riding all night, ever since you blew up the bridge,” Jiron tells him. “Right now we’re looking for a good place to stop and rest.”
“Can’t take the chance that their forces will get ahead of us,” he says. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
“Potbelly is in a bad way and the horses are tired,” Jiron explains. “We can’t keep going very much longer.”
“I’ll leave it to your judgment then,” he says, before passing out again.
Roland comes up next to him and asks, “Why not go off the road here and see if we can find a spot? We’ve traveled a long ways and hopefully their patrols won’t reach this far so fast.”
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