“How can we protect…” Tyler started to ask. He never got finish his question.
At that moment, the party was crossing a clearing separating two raised clusters of boulders. Abruptly, the ground around them violently erupted in numerous geysers of soil and gravel. Even before the dust and debris had a chance to settle, the mage spied huge creatures sprinting towards them.
All the surprised Tyler could think of as the beings bore down on them was that armor and weapons on alligators really look absurd despite what stories and fantasy movies portrayed. Red, wet, long, serpentine, and flopping tongues made the imagery worse.
Those tongues make them all look like weaponized Michael Jordans, the inane and ridiculous thought flitted through his mind.
The unique though lethal nature of the ambush finally dawned on him when he saw long moving mounds of earth snaking through the landscape, ending when an armed and armored reptilian rose or jumped from the ground and joined the fighting. Tyler’s companions were immediately engaged in combat the moment the first attackers rose from hidden burrows in the field.
Nobody among the companions said a word. No battle cries were shouted. Tyler’s party mates immediately went to attack mode and busied themselves in the grim business of killing their enemies. Each covered a sector of the diamond-shaped formation the party had adopted. Habrok though had withdrawn to the inner circle, letting fly his shafts as fast as he could. Several bodies in front of the group bore witness to the quickness of his reflexes and the accuracy of his aim. All have arrows either in their throats, mouth, or eyes.
The creatures were tall beings, the shortest he saw was a good eight feet in height. Tyler did notice significant differences of their assailants from the alligators and crocodiles familiar to him. For one, their snouts were not that prominent, though they still extended a few inches past the bone-crowned brow. Instead of fangs, they had saw-like teeth, and three small stubby horns adorned the head. Lidless eyes bereft of pupils were in the normal position at the sides of the head though these were remarkable as they were of a solid color – black, red or white. A more disconcerting sight than the slit pupils of earth’s reptilian forms.
The entire body, at least the unarmored parts that the mage could see, were actually of a greyish-green hide, covered in some areas by scales. Their faces did have differences – some had scales on their cheeks while others had the furrowed thick ridges the mage associated with Earth’s cold-blooded reptilians.
Tyler was quick to notice that their scaly ambushers fought in an organized and sophisticated manner. The first wave was made up of shock troops, intended to inflict sudden and severe damage to their prey. The mage also observed that the first attackers were armed with clubs and maces.
Did they intend to take us alive? thought the mage.
But behind the shock troops were ordered ranks of warriors, complete with long tapered shields marked with unfamiliar symbols, full face helms, and spears with jagged blades. The mage spun around, looking for the inevitable clusters of bowmen. And found them he did, positioned on top of the rise the party wanted to reach. He immediately launched several fireballs at the waiting archers. As the spells exploded, he forced the flames to expand, covering the mound, and burning everything in its area.
If these creatures are from another world or even a different dimension, then they don’t seem to be any different from humans in the way they fight, observed Tyler. And they bleed and die like us.
Then several blows impacted above the companions. Asem had earlier strengthened the barrier around them against magical spells the instant the ambush started. They’ve got magic users! thought Tyler. But the nature of the impact disturbed him. They were intended not to kill, lacking the telltale flash of the flame of a fireball or the sparks indicating a lightning spell. The strikes seemed to be spells of concussive force.
Again, he tried finding the source of the magical attacks, only to see that Tyndur found them first, and was wreaking havoc with his battleaxe after teleporting to the mages. Astrid was her usual magnificent self, passing like a deadly breeze among the enemy, the precise movements of her twin blades gracefully flowing among her opponents, finding openings in their armor and defensive moves. Kobu was with Asem and Habrok. The ranger was still using his bow while the priestess was intermittently firing off small fireballs, in addition to maintaining their shield. Asem had her short staff in hand, leaving the khopesh in its sheath.
The mage then heard a loud voice above the din of the fighting. It was in an unknown language and suspiciously sounded like commands. Tyler saw a massive creature, its bulk making it stand out from the rest. It was shouting at the rest and pointing out how the arrayed ranks should be positioned. He gave it an orb of flame to the head.
“Gnargssh” yourself, asshole, thought Tyler with some degree of satisfaction, repeating the last order he heard from the creature. As the leader fell, its head blown off, the mage noted that it must have a magical shield of some kind, feedback from Tyler’s spell indicated some resistance when the fireball struck.
Confusion arose among the ranks of the enemy when Tyler’s target fell. But only for a few moments. The mage again heard loud commands being given but this time, he couldn’t see who was giving them. He flung several fireballs at the location where he last detected the orders. As the fiery orbs exploded, Tyler looked at his companions. They were still fighting. Piles of dead attackers marked where members of his party had been. The combat was fluid, though the defenders wove an intricate defense which didn’t allow most of the attackers to get through. Those that got through were dealt with by Kobu. Habrok and Asem focused on easing the pressure on the primary melee fighters.
We would have been toast if not for the skill and speed of these guys, reflected Tyler. Then he noticed that the formations he saw earlier were being vectored to positions around then. They were being purposely surrounded. They were just being kept busy, enough to complete the encirclement. The mage could see more enemies coming from behind the rise. And only a few minutes had passed.
Tyler stood his ground and launched a rain of force blades in a circular direction, aiming for the secondary ranks of the “reptiles,” as he named their attackers. There could be other reptilian enemies later on, but he’ll deal with them, naming included, one at a time.
Fortunately, the young mage saw his magical attack was effective, scores of the creatures dropped, easing the pressure on the companions. He followed up with a rain of fireballs, incinerating groups of their attackers. Then Tyler felt a sudden weariness assault him. He felt weakened and struggled to breathe. The disconcerting malaise particularly affected his joints.
“What’s happening, guys?” he asked his guides.
“This land appears to have a very slow rate of energy replenishment,” said X. “We are now using our own reserves. Don’t worry, Elder. They’re quite substantial.”
“Yes, but we just entered this land. More battles might be waiting for us. Not to mention whoever is waiting for us at our destination,” replied Tyler as another wave of translucent blades cut down more of their attackers.
“That would be a concern,” said Hal. “We suggest minimizing the use of spells and let the companions do the fighting. Intervene only when absolutely needed.”
“I’ll try to conserve energy, but their numbers could be a…” Tyler stopped in shock. At the rear of their attackers on his left flank, amidst the sound of erupting earth and a loud strident hissing sound, arose a massive dark green serpent, its head cloaked by a scaled hood similar to a cobra, with an overbite of two large serrated fangs, miniature horns as its crown, and two clawed extremities as hands. It had a full metal band around its neck and armored plates covered parts of its face and body. Astride the metal band on a harness was one of the reptiles, its guide and rider.
Four more of the beasts followed, rising from the ground like the first monster. The combined noise of the giant snake-like creatures was enough to overwhelm the din of battle.
> Oh, fuck.
As the startled Tyler stood watching the giant beast, two arrows streaked through the air in quick succession. Habrok, the thought came to the mage’s mind. The barbed shafts were heading towards the malign slits the massive creature had for eyes. Then one bounced off, the other broke in half.
That blows, inwardly cursed the mage.
Kobu suddenly appeared in mid-air beside the head and for a moment, lost his balance but immediately recovered and vanished from sight. The exile reappeared at the mage’s side.
“Some sort of a shield, my lord. Prevents teleporting on top. I also sensed another barrier, possibly for direct magical attacks. And arrows or javelins. My apologies, my liege, but I need to bother some unruly intruders.”
He looked at the mage and smiled.
“Your company of warriors we left at the temple would have enjoyed it here.”
Then the exile was gone and reappeared at the back of a repositioning column, throwing it into disarray. Tyndur was also doing the same to another group of moving soldiers. Tyler realized the companions had seen the danger of encirclement and were trying their best to disrupt the realignment of enemy forces.
For the moment, the five giant serpents were prevented from attacking by the massed soldiers between them and Tyler’s party. Their reserve when everything fails, the mage concluded.
Tyler tested a large flame orb against the leading serpent. The magical sphere smashed against an invisible wall. A barrier of considerable strength had deflected the spell. The snake barely took notice of Tyler’s attack, but the reptilian soldiers in front of the monster were laid low by the blast and the splash effect of the exploding spell. Though some got up and reformed their line, a number, still burning, didn’t get up.
This is fast turning out to be a slugfest. Not to our advantage, the mage quickly assessed.
The company had already been in combat for at least ten minutes by Tyler’s estimate. A lifetime, some part of the mage’s mind complained. Habrok was already doing melee as well as Asem. The priestess had stopped casting offensive spells. The mage guessed the loss of energy was also starting to tell. Maintenance of her barrier was more critical. From what Tyler observed, it also stopped bolts and arrows. He could see them bouncing off.
“Guys? I need power. This little skirmish is turning into a major battle. I don’t know how we got into this mess. I thought it was but a scouting party. At worse, some raiding band. This looks like an army. I see more streaming out from both sides of the mount in front of us!”
“We agree, Elder. The numbers involved are too great to be a simple war band,” said X.
“Tell me about it!” exclaimed Tyler as he let loose a wave of large fireballs at the newcomers, followed by a deluge of blades. He tried the lightning cloud spell, but for some reason, it puttered into nothingness.
The mage settled for a powerful chain lightning spell against the more numerous attackers approaching from the right flank. Those coming from the left he mowed down with a welcoming wave of chakrams.
Tyler returned to keeping an eye out for the massive serpents. At one point, the nearest abruptly rose high in the air, arched its head, and dove down at Kobu who unfortunately got within snapping distance. The warrior suddenly jumped to meet the onrushing armored head, his weapon now a spear in the classic Japanese form, a yari – a long, narrow blade at the end of a pole, protected by a symmetrical crossbar at the joint of blade and shaft.
The pointed blade of the weapon breached whatever shield the monster had, and penetrated deep into its right eye. An outraged and hurt groaning hiss reverberated loudly throughout the area. Kobu then vanished and again reappeared at Tyler’s side.
“It looks like it’s vulnerable to magical bladed weapons, my liege. It’s just a question of getting close. Pardon me, we have eager guests again,” called out the warrior as he moved forward to engage a group of soldiers who were able to get past the other companions.
Meanwhile, the rider of the wounded serpent was hard at work trying to keep his angry beast under control. Its brethren was already echoing its outcries. Unfortunately, in its pain-induced twisting and turning, it ground to pieces the reptilian soldiers at its front and sides. The angry, oversized snake quickly got a cleared space all to itself. Then the air shimmered above the left side of its head. Tyndur appeared and bashed its left eye. Just as quickly, the einherjar disappeared.
Impressive, thought Tyler. Being able to manifest where he wanted in the middle of all that twisting, coiling mass.
The monster bellowed in renewed fury, its movements becoming more frenzied. A large group of soldiers had already gathered around it. Tyler noticed that the other gargantuan beasts had been moved back a considerable distance.
I guess they’ve had enough of its uncontrolled rage. A little more wild time wouldn’t hurt, Tyler smiled as small fiery orbs rained down on the assembling mass of spears and other polearms. Though those weapons do look positively wicked.
Explosions of flame burst around the beast, some even on its magical shield. Amidst the flying and burning bodies, its gyrations became wilder.
The shock waves of the exploding spell on its head must have added to its blind panic, thought Tyler. But the enemy will get tired of trying to get us, or some of us, alive.
True enough, the arrayed lines on the other side suddenly lowered their spears and the leading elements previously engaged in skirmishing quickly withdrew.
I guess their commander had enough, thought Tyler. And here’s to whether I can pull off what I have planned as a surprise.
Chapter Lore:
Yari – The Japanese version of one of man’s earliest weapons. Thought to be derived from Chinese spears, the blades (called nihinto) of these weapons in ancient Japan were made of bronze, with variations in the shape of its metal edges, at the end of a typical six-foot pole. Early forms of the weapons were called hoko yari. Many other versions came later, such as the nagae yari of the ashigaru, the foot soldiers of feudal Japan. The art of using a yari is called sojutsu.
Chapter Thirty
Not A Pom
“Guys! Pull back with ten feet of me!” shouted Tyler. As the party started a fighting withdrawal, he went back to his guides.
“We have energy to spare?” he asked.
“For now, we have, Elder,” answered Hal. “What do you intend to do? If it’s sinking this part of the continent, I am afraid our reserves can’t cover that.”
My, my. Hal is indeed developing a sense of humor, the mage observed with some amusement despite the situation.
“We can’t fight them all. Considering the damage one blind and panic-stricken giant snake could do, I plan to transfer that one to the other side. It would buy us time. The enemy in its present location is in disarray. Let’s spread the happiness. And there’s four more which could contribute to the mayhem. But to do that, I need your help.”
“That would entail a lot of energy, Elder. It’s size alone would be a daunting task,” said X.
“We don’t actually need to lift the entire thing. Just sort of make it easier for me to lift it a little or roll it to these approaching man-snakes,” explained Tyler.
“We get it. I suggest we lift it a little, focusing on the forward portion, and then throw it in that direction. Not an efficient way, but it would not unduly drain our reserves,” suggested Hal.
The maneuver didn’t quite go as Tyler expected. He wanted the gyrating and agitated blind serpent to twist its way to the serried ranks now steadily approaching them. Instead, when the blinded monster felt itself being lifted and suddenly rolled to one side, its movements became more violent, throwing the hapless rider off its neck.
With the controlling hands of its rider gone, the snake went berserk. It quickly contracted and gave a powerful lunge upward. Tyler lost control. But he was fortunate that the snake’s lunge was in the direction he wanted. The airborne monster landed with a sickening smash upon the rear ranks of the thickly packed reptiles. When it
felt the points of the upraised spears of the orderly formations, it went on a crazed pain-fueled rage – snapping at everything it could catch with its mouth, violently rolling and moving around the field, its coiling tail crushing the front ranks of incoming troops.
Unexpectedly, Tyler could see javelins and spears fly through the air and surprisingly pierce the thick hide of the beast, which was now sporting numerous wounds. Its body was bleeding copiously with bright blue fluid. Then several magical flame spells, in the form of giant arrows, buried themselves in its side, carving out large chunks as they exploded.
“I believe the rider is the key to its defenses, sire,” called out Asem. The priestess obviously saw what he observed. “They must be catalysts for the defensive spells of the creatures.”
“You heard the priestess! Keep that in mind when another comes close!” yelled Tyler. The companions had focused on one side of their perimeter while their reptilian attackers on the other flank were busy dealing with the crazed monster. Kobu and Asem were the ones left to handle that border as well as the rear. But the mage could see that the leading elements of the attackers were in serious disarray.
Whoever was commanding the front ranks must have been crushed. They’re taking too long to react, thought Tyler. But there’s still too many. And those freaking large fire arrows! I should learn that one!
Then his gaze fell on the four monsters kept in reserve. Two were moving forward. Then one suddenly burrowed into the ground.
Now the shit has really hit the fan.
“Fighting withdrawal back to the mound at our back! Keep to rocky ground! Quickly! Two snakes incoming!” the mage shouted.
The group retraced their steps as quickly as they could, going back to their diamond formation, but with Tyndur and Astrid clearing the way to the rear. Tyler observed that the companions were already flagging in their movements. Astrid was still fast, but not as blindingly quick. The einherjar was not teleporting as much as he was a few minutes ago. Then realization dawned that the impressive abilities of his companions were, in various degrees, also fueled by the magical energy of the world. A power which was in scant supply in the Void Lands.
The Accidental Archmage Page 31