by Nicole Burr
“No, as much as I would love te have her fighting with us, that’s a secret that’s better kept. At least fer now. Something tells me that the surprise of her kind being alive will be much more useful at a later Moon. Can ye show me that Tur map of the town again?” Esra did as he asked, and the Unni-se scoured the dimensional form on her arm. After a moment his eyes lit up and he poked the table in excitement.
“Here’s what I’m thinking. See these two large hills on either side of the northern field, here and here? They provide good cover, as they stretch all the way te the edge of town. The Elites will probably come right in between the two of ‘em and send two smaller groups around the hill te flank us.”
“How do ye know?” Esra asked, studying the Tur map. The hills seemed to be a couple of hundred feet across, narrowing as they neared the town.
“They would hope that the shadow of the hills will keep them fairly cloaked and avoid detection for the flanking groups. At least that’s what I’d do, and they are sure te come prepared with some strategists of their own.”
“We could set a trap at the top of one of the hills,” he continued. “The left one would be the superior choice because of all the rocks scattered on the side and top. We could cause a landslide without having te carry anything te the top. Good fer our lack of time. That would take care of one of the flanking groups, so we only have te worry about the center and the other side. Arland, that means ye have te choose yer three soldiers from the center and right side, mind ye. All we need is someone te spring the trap, start the slide.”
“I’ll do it,” Nadia offered. “I can work on the resistance spell fer the sorcerers right afterwards.”
“No, we will need them te be taken care of from the very beginning. It’s too important te put off. Especially if Baelin will be removing all of the protective spells right before.”
“I can do it,” Arland jumped in. “I have to wait until Nadia and Baelin complete their spells anyway.”
“That could work,” the Unni-se leaned back in his chair, staring at the map.
“No, let me do it,” Esra interjected. “I don’t have anything else to do, and it will require no magickal skill to push some rocks.”
“That’s brave of ye, but I’d rather have ye safe in the town, Esra.” Nadia said with a worried look. “It’s not that I don’ think ye can do it, it’s jest that if something goes wrong, ye don’t know any spells to protect yerself.”
“But we need to have Arland in the town, not on the hill,” she argued. “The townspeople are going to be very frightened and he will be the only one that will be able to give them comfort and the courage to fight.”
“Can Arland start the slide from the town with a spell?”
“Aye, but if he’s casting a spell fer that, he’s not using his magick to calm the townspeople. And ye’d still have to post someone on the hill or use insight magick to see when they approach, which further distracts someone. We need Fynn’s archery skills in the town as well. Honestly, I can do it.”
Zakai pondered this, frowning slightly. “She’s right. Arland would be most useful here. Esra, ye will be in charge of the trap on the left hill. If everything goes well and the landslide takes care of the whole command, ye can come down the hill and get back te the town using this path. They will know that yer there after the trap is sprung, so if there are still soldiers try te stay hidden until it’s safe. We will send out a few of our soldiers te pick off the remaining few Elites and ye can return back te the town barricade with them as quickly as possible. The worst thing that could happen would be that ye don’t hit anybody but at least we block off that route te avoid being flanked on both sides. Bottleneck the center command and force them te have te come at us only a few at a time. Go talk te Fynn, he’s the Keeper of Earth, correct? He should know if we can cause a landslide and what’s the best way te do it.”
“Alright,” Nadia conceded as they all stood to leave. Esra made her way out of the inn, knowing there was little more than two hours left before a hundred Elites were upon them. She just hoped with all her might that their plan would be enough.
XXXII
The chaos that the town experienced over the next couple of hours was like nothing Esra had ever seen. There was a nervous fury to everyone’s movements, and she was glad they had convinced Arland to stay near the townspeople. It seemed to be the only thing holding them together. The barricade was set, the elderly and children safely hidden, and as many snares that could be set and holes that could be dug scattered the fields north of the small town.
Meshok appeared in the distance, the final signal that the Elites were approaching, and everyone gathered behind the barricade. Baelin came to Esra and gave her a worried nod of encouragement, gently touching her shoulder before she began the swift climb to her place on top of the hill, her white sword sheathed at her side. She could hear nothing but the occasional shuffling from the town, silent in nervous anticipation. Her friends and a few of the townspeople mounted their Steeds and stood behind the rows of Earth bound volunteers. Esra had given Roja to one of the townspeople, hoping the Horse may help save the life of its brave rider.
The Unni perched upon the Skycatchers were a sight to behold, towering twice as high as the others. Shova had told Esra before she left for the hill that although they began each battle atop a Horse, most Unni preferred to fight on solid ground and dismounted before the first contact. It was an intimidating show to the opposition, especially to see how massive they still were even without a Horse.
Zakai stood atop the five foot tall barricade at the front of the town, one leg resting on a crate and the other on an overturned cart. He wore an intricate helmet inlaid with sapphires that had razor sharp barbs about two inches long protruding from the thick metal surrounding his horns. Esra shuddered to think what would happen to someone who met with a thrust of his barbed head. His solid breastplate gleamed in the sunlight, a picture of a Yanquor Tree regally sprawled in its center. The other Unni wore similar breastplates, although they all forewent the need for bracers, greaves, or other such armor, and none wore a helm like that of their chief. Zakai towered over the town with his flail swinging in his right hand tauntingly. His narrow yellow eyes looked with hatred upon the field in front of the town, and Esra thought that anyone with half a brain would never attack such a fierce and determined commander. She hoped the Elites would be so stupid.
The minutes ticked by slowly as Esra waited at the spot that Fynn had determined the best chance for a rockslide. Earlier he had moved a few large rocks around with influence magick and sent her to find a strong stick that she could place under the biggest boulder to start the slide. All she had to do was push down on this stick, and hopefully this one boulder would start the rest down the hillside. She realized this was a crude method, and one that they could have easily used magick with, but at least this left her Assembly free to do more important things.
Nadia and Fynn had taken to organizing the archers and luckily there were quite a few hunters that were already more than skilled at hitting a moving target. More than a dozen of them took their place on rooftops and in between makeshift battlements in the wall of carts and bags of grain. Shova, Mox, and Hadvi had been vaguely successful in training some of the townspeople the basics of hand to hand combat, but that was a greater challenge. Most of the people had still never swung a blade or weapon before in their life, so everyone hoped there wouldn’t be many Elites that made it far enough to test their new skill.
A dark line appeared in the distant horizon to the north of Wilspry. Elites. They were approaching the two large hills, just as Zakai predicted. Orro Ken Baelin. Esra sent a message to her blacksmith friend, indicating that she had spotted the Elite soldiers. She could hear Arland in the distance, speaking words of encouragement to the frightened villagers. The faint rumble of Horses grew slowly louder as she crouched down beside the boulder, keeping a steady eye on the approaching army. She accepted a Tur message from Fynn. Try not te squash yers
elf. Esra laughed as she replied, Glad to see yer confident in my ability to push a stick.
The Elite Horses were running full speed towards the town. As the shapes came in to view, Esra noticed that the soldiers were wearing dark metal armor with a red stripe down the front of their helmets and breastplates. The mark of Tallen, just like the ones who had captured her in Sorley. Esra was able to pick out the ones that appeared to be sorcerers by the lack of armor and weapons. Ten. She sent the message to Nadia, silently impressed that Zakai was so close on his guess.
The rumbling grew louder as the sound of hooves beating the dry ground came upon the town, menacing and powerful. Just before reaching the hills, a soldier in the front lifted his arm and the charge stopped abruptly, dust clouds rising from the sudden halt. They stood there, unmoving, as Esra’s heart beat loudly in her ears. She wondered what it was they had stopped for. With only a few hundred meters between the town and the Elite army, the tension in the air was thick. Back at the barricade there were murmurs of questions floating in the air.
“Why did they stop?” A farm girl asked Zakai.
“They sense something is very wrong. They knew the Keepers would be here, of course, but I daresay they didn’t anticipate the whole town being ready fer them. And I don’t think they had any idea there’d be Unni with ye.”
“Wouldn’t they have sent a scout?” A young townsman with a scythe asks.
“No, not the Elites, not fer this. They have too many sorcerers in their midst. They would have used magick te see that the Keepers were close and wouldn’t care fer much else. Never would have assumed that they should look fer others, that the Unni might be with them. Arrogance is certainly their flaw.”
Baelin was standing a few steps away from the townspeople, holding his staff firmly in between his hands, feet planted shoulder width apart. Suddenly the Elites lurched forward, two groups of a dozen soldiers breaking off to either side of the hills, accompanied by two sorcerers. The remaining six sorcerers lingered behind the army as the rest of the warriors pushed forward. Baelin closed his eyes as he began to murmur the words of the removing spell. A moment later he nodded towards Nadia and Arland to indicate that he was finished.
A few of the Horses suddenly stumbled or were yanked to the ground as their feet were caught in the snares and holes. Some of the riders could not avoid the fallen soldiers in time and were thrown from their mounts as the Horses collided.
Nadia came to take Baelin’s place as he went up to the front line. Focusing her attention on the six sorcerers in the center of the field, she wondered if she should risk blocking all of them at once. Six is quite a lot, but here goes nothing. Casting the resistance spell, she stood in silent meditation as Arland looked towards the galloping onslaught of warriors.
Only a hundred meters away now. Selecting the first one, Arland whispered the influence charm that would turn their will and swords against their own. “Yasir monverra pasu fehwar.”
One of the dark armored warriors suddenly threw his Horse towards the rider next to him, knocking him to the ground. Spear raised, he began stabbing frantically at the Elites around him, knocking another off his Horse to be trampled and stabbing another. Suddenly realizing what was happening, an archer shot an arrow towards the rogue soldier, piercing his chest. Arland had already chosen another rider from the other side of the hill, who felled four more Elites before being taken down by a morning star.
Nadia fell to her knees, the weight of the resistance spell growing heavy. She was unsure if she could continue holding all six back, their combined strength was more than any other sorcerer she had encountered before. If she could just hold them a few seconds longer…
By the time Arland had cast upon the third soldier the Elites were ready for it, killing the possessed rider before he injured anyone else.
“Damn,” Zakai spat, raising the flail at his side. He jumped down with abnormal ease from his menacing perch on the barricade, which did not belittle his stature in the least. “Archers, ready!”
Esra’s eyes darted around from her spot on the hill in anticipation as the flanking group rounded the curve of the hill. Patience, Esra reminded herself. It was important that she wait until the Elites were practically underfoot to start the slide or she would miss them. If she was too early they would be able to turn right around and rejoin the middle command. Too late and they could still flank the town. A loud whistling sound carried through the air and Esra knew that the archers had released their first volley. She watched as a handful of riders were pierced with the townspeople’s arrows, falling underfoot.
“Fire at will!” The Unni-se’s voice boomed as the archers rained a fresh wave of arrows upon the field.
The violent force that Esra had felt within when dueling the Valkor began to bubble up to the surface of her skin. Instead of fearing the rage this time, she decided to embrace it, and gritted her teeth with the desire to harm those attacking an innocent village. It was an emotion unlike anything she had ever felt, one ready to overwhelm her at any moment, and a flicker of panic pressed on her chest. She ignored the sensation and refocused her attention on the grip of her hand on the rough bark.
Taking a ready stance over the heavy branch, Esra watched as the first rider approached her position. Counting slowly to three, she leaned with all her might on the branch, struggling to start the slide. The colossal boulder shifted slightly, causing the branch to sway violently to the left. She watched in horrified slow motion as the wood snapped off at the base and the boulder shuddered lightly before settling back into place.
XXXIII
Oh no, Esra panicked. She threw herself into the boulder forcefully but it didn’t budge. What do I do? Her eyes darted around the hill top, searching frantically for another branch, something she could wedge underneath the stone. The Elites were almost underneath her now. Nothing. She couldn’t see anything. In a few moments they would pass and the chance would be gone.
She thought furiously of the words Fynn had used to move the stones earlier. If they had taught her more about magick, perhaps she could have recalled the spell. But it was too late for that now. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture him standing there, remember exactly what he said.
“Yasir brey novallo!” She screamed as the boulder lurched forward fiercely, smashing into the rocks Fynn had strategically placed ahead of it. She watched with sickened relief as the slide gained momentum and force, gathering a hillside in its descent upon the soldiers. A thunderous roar erupted as the rocks met with the ground, a cloud of debris and dust rising from the impact.
Crouching low, Esra scanned the valley as the dust settled, searching for survivors. Satisfied there were none, she stayed low and ran to the side of the hill near the town, sliding down it quickly. She was met by two of the townsfolk and Hadvi, who plucked her off the ground and half carried her back to the barricade.
“Well done!” Hadvi congratulated, slapping her on the back. “Get ready fer more!”
Esra caught a glimpse of Nadia, who stood shakily up from where she had been sitting in her resistance spell reverie and slinked wearily towards a nearby rooftop to continue with her throwing spears. There was a deafening crash of metal and wood as the Elite army reached the barrier. Most of the Horses leapt easily over the wall, trampling a few of the slower townspeople. A couple of the Warhorses stumbled and were crushed against the barricade by the fierce onslaught of soldiers.
“To arms!” Zakai roared, swinging his flail into an Elites skull. The chaos of battle erupted in Wilspry, the clash of weapons and armor rising above the town like a heavy fog. Esra quickly unsheathed her sword as an Elite came towards her on foot. Before she could react Baelin had lifted him off the ground, piercing him through the stomach with his staff. She turned as another Elite came towards her on Horseback, his whip snapping through the air. Rolling underneath the Horse to the other side, she came up swinging and felt her sword sink deeply into the flesh under his knee. The soldier gripped his leg but didn’t cry out
as his Horse panicked and bolted, throwing him to the ground. He stood up, leg bent at an awkward angle, and growled fiercely as he came slowly towards her, his foot dragging lifelessly. Esra recalled Cane telling her that the soldiers had a dulled sense of pain and heightened aggression as a side effect of Tallen’s twisted spells. It was disturbing to see how right that was. Not wanting the foul creature near her, Esra threw her sword towards the injured Elite and winced as it pierced his chest with a low thump. He crumpled over stiffly and she pulled her sword quickly from his body before he fell to the ground.
Fighting the urge to be sick, Esra looked towards a young towns girl that was dueling with an Elite, her small club deflecting feebly off his greatsword. She appeared to be a few years younger than Esra, and the top of her tunic was already soaked with sweat as she tried frantically to defend herself. Running up from behind, Esra cut into the soldier’s side with a mighty swing just as he stabbed the girl in the leg. She quickly grabbed the young girl by the collar and dragged her into a darkened corner, going back to snatch a dagger from the now dead Elite. The girl writhed in pain as she tried to tie a strip of her skirt around her leg.
“Hold on to this dagger and stay here,” Esra yelled, turning back to the fray.
She spotted Arland and Shova fighting back to back, a circle of death for the oncoming soldiers. Even on Horseback, the Elites were still within comfortable reach of the Unni. Shova swung her war hammer as if it were a toothpick, the muscles in her strong arms bulging with the force. She turned to Esra, giving her a wink as she crushed the thigh of an oncoming soldier. “Now that’s how ye use a hammer. Should’ve been a carpenter!”
Fynn was on a rooftop, notching and firing three arrows at a time. Had it not been so chaotic she would have loved to stop and admire the way the arrows arched incredibly in three different directions. It seemed an impossible task. She supposed that was why it was a Gift from a Great Keeper, the Bow of Many.