Forsaken 337 BC
Page 33
Bethany handed Palisus a small shoulder bag, containing four hundred enchanted Obol. All they need to do was braid some of their head hair through the coin and the enchantment would protect the wearer from being swayed by the war horns and Erebus' magic.
Cain and the others followed Palisus over the crest of the hill, they descended the trail toward Mantabele, which was around three miles distant. To his right, he could hear the natural springs running down the hillside, making the ground too soft to ride upon.
A dust cloud caught Lesley's eyes, hidden as they were from the main herd by the edge of the forest. The forest on that side climbed up the side of a mountain, to the left of Mantabele. Something raised the dust, Lesley soon noticed it was dust from three Centaurs, galloping down a small trail that ran around the edge of the forest.
They would reach Lesley's position in two minutes. Lesley took Delta and Echo squads and pulled a trip rope across the trail, fastened between two trees. Leaving the rope on the ground until they needed to pull it into position. Lesley and the Amazons waited.
As the three Centaurs galloped between the fringe of the trees following the trail, Lesley pulled the rope across the trail as the Centaurs were four strides from the trap. The first two Centaurs ran into the rope which Lesley set at chest height, the rope ran up the Centaurs' bodies and snapped their necks. Their dead bodies crashed to the ground, their hooves twitched as the signals from their brains finally ended.
The third Centaur as half a stride behind and managed to duck under the rope, he put a spurt of speed in as he looked back, he did not notice the six Amazons with their bows twenty yards in front of him. He ran into six arrows, one of which punctured his heart and killed him outright.
"Let's hope their forward pickets did not see us take these three down.," Lesley said to the Amazons as they looted the dead bodies. Two minutes later the bodies dissolved into the ground, back into Forsaken.
"Well, we can see Mantabele now, aren't they massive walls? No wonder the Centaurs could not crush the city, they can't get past the walls," Cain said as they walked down the trail.
"I think they have spotted us, well they will think they have seen us. Look there goes Palisus, pretending to have seen us as he returned to Dictyus," Toni laughed. They watched as a Centaur which Cain assumed was Palisus gallop away from four Centaurs on a mobile picket.
Mantabele Battle
Cain had been watching Palisus reach the pickets then galloped toward the tents where the Centaur leaders would be. They continued to move down the hill and separated into the five groups of Amazons, Bethany led group one, Myrina and Areto led group three.
Toni led group two, while Cain led the combined groups four and five, he led his two groups to the front of what was a wedge formation. Groups four and five were the compact head, one was the left wing, two the right wing and three was the reserve.
As he followed the identifying pegs, Cain led his two groups across the open ground stopping where the pegs identified their first position. His groups placed the wooden spikes they carried with them in front of their position. Within ten minutes a forest of spikes protected the Amazons, leaving gaps between the spikes for the Amazons to travel narrow enough to stop any Centaur but a foal. The Amazons knew from Cain's explanations, any Centaur foolish enough to try charging through the spikes, would regret their actions with the loss of their lives.
The other groups did the same, four and five deep rows of spikes covered the ground between the Amazons and the Centaurs. While the groups were placing their defences, Daphne moved the earth under the forest. Acting as a Capability Brown, Daphne moved the first two hundred yards of forest closer together.
With the trees now silently pulled together, there was a solid barrier to the left of Cain's forces. The ground to the right of Cain's position was very soft because of the half dozen streams that flowed from natural springs, running and joining to make the river which flowed into Mantabele. Daphne even had time and she loosened the ground around the water, turning the area into a spongy constituency.
While Cain and the Amazon troops descended the hill the caravan drivers and their support troops, were busy fortifying their position and the top of the hill below the hill's crest. They placed over seven hundred spikes around the caravans, making a ten-yard-wide barrier. Cain spoke to his troops, knowing the other leaders did the same.
"Remember, our aim is to capture as many of the Centaurs as we can. They are under the dark spells of Erebus, they have no choice in fighting for Thaumas," shouted Cain.
[The high priest is none other than Sir Hardy. He has Thaumas wrapped in an enchantment which makes him a little more than a puppet. Enoch is letting Cain know as we speak. Take care, we don't want Cain to go over the deep end. It will be a bloodbath if he does. John just messaged us that there are three hundred million give or take, watching the live stream. The two leaders of The VETS are on the wall watching the developments along with all the Amazons in the city,] said Rahab.
The centaurs moved toward Cain's position, rather hesitantly it was like they didn't want to fight against a large group of Amazons, or She-Devils as they called them.
There were eight players leading different parts of the Centaurs, their leader noticed the arrows hitting the ground around four hundred yards from their position. One of the other players asked a Centaur, "Is that a typical range of a bow," he received a grumpy, "Yes, don't you know this yourself?"
Ignoring the conversation to his left, the lead player gave the signal to move forward. He and the seven other human players all in the JW Killers clan, urged the Centaurs to move forward stopping fifty yards from the now smoking arrows. Most Centaurs seemed nervous, acting as though they would rather be somewhere else.
Standing in his horse's stirrups, the lead player looked around and noticed three quarters of the Centaur herd spread out to either side of him. He turned to the other player shouting out, saying, "The charge should trample Joseph and the DreamBabes. We will get to see him, his women, along with those She-Devils, trampled under the Centaur's hooves." Cupping his hands, he shouted to those opposing them.
"Joseph, DreamBabes, are you listening? If you are with this group of She-Devils, we will kill you and find where your respawn point is. We will keep killing you until you have a breakdown. Do not expect mercy from us or the Centaurs."
Cain would have shouted back when a ripple of explosions sounded near the rear of the Centaur tents. A flash of light followed by a huge plume of black smoke billowed into the sky.
"Centaurs, if you do not want to fight us you can leave now. If you are here because Thaumas holds your female, then listen to me. We now hold them safe from the war horns, safe from the scum who would think you nothing but beasts of burden. We do not want to kill tho
se who are here under duress. Should you attack and not take the chances we offer to stand down, or we will kill all of you," shouted Cain. His voice amplified by Toni’s wind skill.
The player lifted the war horn to his lips, this was the sign Cain was waiting for. His best archers had identified the players with the war horns and were waiting for Cain's signal to kill them. Cain shouted, "Loose," and forty arrows sped forward, split between the eight humans. They pinned the war horn to the lead humans face, two arrows hit the player with the horn at his lips. One arrow ricochet off the horn's mouthpiece and smashed the player's teeth as it entered his mouth and exited the back of his neck. The second arrow went through the mouth of the horn and pinned the horn to the player's forehead as the arrow entered his brain, killing him.
Three seconds, forty arrows loosed and the eight human players were dead. Now Cain and the DreamBabes waited to see what the Centaurs would do. One Centaur knelt next to the player with the horn pinned to his head and ripped it free. Blowing the horn as he stood, he pointed forward and shouted, "Charge." He took two strides and became a pincushion as seventeen arrows pierced his body, ripping his life from him. the eighteenth arrow shattered the war horn.
A Centaur shouted, "Crush these She-Devils," those were his last words as eight arrows pierced his body. Another, picked up a war horn and blew for all he was worth. The brave but misguided fool managed three long blasts on the horn, before he too paid the price for fighting for Thaumas. The war horn magic forced the Centaurs to charge at the prepared positions as another Centaur, twisted by the magic of Erebus, picked up a fallen war horn, before he could blow he fell to a single arrow through his eye straight into the brain.
The ground rumbled as whole sections marked by Daphne dropped twenty feet, capturing a third of the attacking Centaurs before they began their charge. Cain ordered the archers to herd the Centaurs to the next traps.
Flaming arrows fell like rain to the ground, the Centaurs changed their directions, many of them falling into next traps as Daphne using her Geomancer skill triggered more of her traps.
[We have caught over half of the Centaurs from the first charge, most of them are the ones with their females held captive,] Rahab said. They could hear another war horn being blown back at the base. Of those Centaurs still above ground, many of them put their hands in the air, dropping their spears and nets.
Daphne created three additional large pens with a ramp to each, the Centaurs calmly entered captivity. One Centaur near Cain's position shouted, saying
"The Centaurs near the tents are those who believe in the fight and are single and hotheads, easily swayed."
With all the Centaurs barring the thirty they had to kill who tried to fight, now safely captured, Cain and his wives led their force down the hill. They slipped around the forest of spikes and jogged toward Mantabele's city walls.
{The Amazons in the city have fired at the Centaurs trying to attack the females. Palisus was true to his word. Once he placed the arrowheads in a campfire, he held up a white flag and trotted toward the city walls. He shouted saying he was with the players and Amazons attacking Thaumas' herd. He asked if the females who were now freed from the effects of the war horns and Erebus' dark magic, could stand against the city walls; under their protection,} Enoch said.
In Thaumas' tent the humans whipped him into a frenzy, Sir Hardy led the players plying Erebus' magic. Leaving his tent, Thaumas blew his war horn and called all Centaurs to him. Blowing once more he shouted against those onrushing She-Devils, saying, "Let us pound them under the might of our hooves!" then blew the horn again and led the charge.
The Centaurs left their encampment, trotting toward the closing She-Devils, then Thaumas increased his pace to a canter, all his Centaurs followed. Thaumas noticed those She-Devils and a few players had stopped running toward their deaths. Cain and Thaumas both called a halt. The Amazons stopped with military precision. As planned they made an arrow-shaped shield wall. The wall was to protect the one hundred and twenty archers.
While the Centaurs were a mess behind Thaumas, some had to trot back behind Thaumas, others were facing the wrong way. Thaumas looked at the double height rows of shields, the defences of those She-Devils, would not stop a charge by his Centaurs.
The Centaurs finally arrayed themselves into a double line. Thaumas shouted forwards, and the Centaurs began at a trot, quickly followed by a canter, ten seconds later they increased their pace to a gallop. The Centaurs were over four hundred yards from the shield wall, as Cain shouted, "Loose two!" One hundred and twenty arrows were in the air followed three seconds later by another one hundred and twenty arrows.
"Loose explosive," Cain shouted, followed by, "split into groups," Six score of explosive arrows left the archers' bows as the first volley fell on the galloping Centaurs two hundred yards from the shield wall.
The first two volleys killed forty centaurs and wounded many more. While the explosive volley killed one hundred and three, ripping the heart out of the galloping Centaurs.
Explosions brought the charge to a halt fifty yards from the disintegrating shield wall. Separated, the five groups of Amazons began their grisly hunt, either shooting or hacking to pieces the stunned and milling Centaurs. It sickened Cain to see NPCs dealt with in this way, but he knew these Centaurs would fight on even if Thaumas died.
Sir Hardy who rode beside Thaumas was equally as stunned at sudden death of the Centaurs. His horse threw him as two arrows in the first volley missed his head but hit his horse's rump.
Picking himself up from the ground he watched terrified, his eyes darting around watching as the Amazons and a few of Joseph's DreamBabes, hacked apart the remaining Centaurs.
Sir Hardy turned and tried to run as he saw Cain running toward him with two Amazon women. How the group of Amazons had got behind him he did not know. He drew his sword hoping his skill would allow him to cut his way free. He tried to outrun the Amazons, but was overtaken by twenty of them who made a half-circle shield wall.
He checked the Gamer Tag as he noticed a player named Myrina, come out from behind those She-Devil shields, and she threw her sword to the ground. Sir Hardy could still hear the battles going on around him as he charged the weaponless female NPC.
His first move was a thrust at the woman's middle, he nearly stopped his action. Myrina pushed aside his blade with her armoured forearm, as she swayed to the side avoiding his recovery slash. He pulled his sword back and without finesse he took a swing for her head, the smile on her face unnerved him. His sword cut through the air, aimed to hit around the woman's eyes, but she bent backward from the waist, letting his blow pass through the space her head had occupied seconds before.
Recovering his pose, Sir Hardy held his sword thinking the woman would attack, but she tilted her head to the side and beckoned him onward with her right hand. In anger at the hand gesture and the mockery he saw in the woman's eyes, Sir Hardy pulled a short knife in his left hand. :I'll sing my sword at her head and stab at her stomach, one of my blades will cut or kill her, the bitch,: he thought.
Myrina easily avoided the sword which was Sir Hardy's dummy attack. She could tell as she noticed his knife which he held low was angled upward, aiming to gut her. His aim was to leave her with a critical wound and rush back to the tents. Sir Hardy's hand felt like he'd stabbed a wall. His arm initially held firm but turned at his wrist which snapped as the woman turned his arm back on itself.
The woman dropped his knife into the ground; through the blinding pain of a broken wrist he noticed blood dropping from her fingers. She still stood waiting for his next attack, to Sir Hardy's surprise, the woman spoke to
him.
"So, Sir Hardy, did you know Joseph killed Giant Dick again? All because he arranged for one of Joseph's wives, a sister wife to me, to die. A fitting punishment do you not think? First he tried to rape and kill Emily. Joseph blew his head apart, you should remember that as you were there. This time Giant Dick arranged for someone to kill Susan. Big mistake on his part don't you think.
"After Susan died, he hid in Erebus' temple, or should I say former temple. Joseph dropped on Giant Dick and stabbed him through the heart, killing him again. When you respawn you can tell Jason or whoever you report to, that one of Joseph's wives killed you. You should not have joined Jason, should you?"
Sir Hardy would have replied, he opened his mouth to speak but a gush of blood came out. He felt cold, his body shook, looking down he noticed his robe had gained a growing circle of blood on his chest.
Dropping the sword from nerveless fingers, more blood came out of his mouth as he collapsed to the ground, his eyes still open, he watched as the woman called Myrina turned her back on him and walked away. Sir Hardy left the field a minute later, awaiting his respawn.
Five minutes of fighting and six Centaurs remained who stood with Thaumas, all had one wound or more, one only had one arm. The shield walls which confused the Centaurs at every turn moved closer, a man walked beyond them and held up his arm. The Amazon She-Devils stopped moving, a ring of shields, bristling with Doru surrounded them.
"You can surrender Thaumas, the high priest who ensnared you with Erebus' magic is dead, at the hand of one of my wives. You are now free to choose your path. What would you have us do, talk and finally surrender or die a pointless death?"
Cain knew what Thaumas would choose, his archers were ready. Thaumas shouted, "Kill this lover of She-Devils!" as he leapt forward, his six men followed his lead. A pointless order given by a pointless Centaur. They turned Thaumas and the last six Centaurs who tried to fight into pin cushions, dead before they crumpled to the ground.