by Dean Henegar
My health hit zero, and the clasp holding my cloak activated, preventing death as a heal-over-time spell began to replenish my health pool.
“Eat up, Cuddles. You’re such a good boy. Yes you are! The mean Colonel Raytak deserves everything he’s about to get.” The imp giggled and pointed at me, casting a spell that my magic resistance didn’t overcome. I was held in place as the creepy bunny chewed through my new health pool. Information on the imp and the creature eating my leg populated my interface as the last of my health ran out.
Lilixzisilerpicazant, Oppressor, Level 22 Elite.
Cuddles, Razorbunny, Level 20.
Chapter 30
There was no way I was going to live this down if Ty and Yendys found out I had been killed by an evil unicorn and a giant pink bunny. The respawn timer began its countdown, a much-extended process due to the war restrictions. The invaders, evil unicorns and pink bunnies included, would be outside the gates by the time I was revived. I could only hope our forces held until I could return to the battle.
Drake has accepted your invitation to join in the defense of Hayden’s Knoll.
Excellent! Yendys had mentioned that Drake would be late getting on, and I was glad he made it in time for the fight. A horde of dungeon creatures was just the thing we needed to help hold back Zipp. Given the name of the one that just killed me, I had to assume the bunny-riding imp was one of Zipp’s relatives. I could only hope there weren’t many more of the crazed yet powerful imps in his family.
My view was limited, adding to my frustration as the countdown timer continued its slow spin. When the respawn timer finally finished, I found myself inside the war room of my barracks, lying on a cot and looking up at the annoying visage of Private Blevins.
“Sir, I’m glad you finally were able to join us. I was beginning to worry that the war would have to proceed without you. Do try and be a bit more careful. The amount of paperwork involved with a change of leadership is quite a bother.”
“Enough of that, Private. Any reports on the enemy location?” I asked.
“Why yes, they aren’t too hard to find, being massed outside the town gate and all,” Blevins replied.
Once back on my feet, I exited the barracks, waving off the sergeant in charge of my QRF. I would have him stay in place at the barracks for now; there was no need to drag him around the city as I tried to inspect the defenses. The streets were quiet, and I was glad to see several of the militia patrols making the rounds. A faint glow on the eastern horizon let me know that sunrise wasn’t far off. If the imp’s forces assaulted immediately, which I believed they would, then we would at least be able to fight in daylight, which eliminated one of Zipp’s advantages. I found Delling, Jacoby, and the rest of the players at the main gate.
“Hey, Grandpa. You feeling okay after your untimely demise?” Yendys asked. The other players tried and failed to stifle a laugh.
“I’m good. What’s the situation?” I asked, not sure why everyone was in such a good mood.
“The enemy army arrived about a half-hour ago, and they look like they’re trying to get themselves sorted out for an attack. All of our forces are at their posts and are ready for action,” Sergeant Brooks reported.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa. Nobody’s seen bunnies or unicorns yet, so you should be safe,” Yendys said. The others, save for my loyal NCO Brooks, broke out in laughter.
“How did . . . Who told you that?” I stammered.
“Sir,” Sergeant Brooks began, “the survivors of the battle returned approximately an hour ago. In your absence, I received their report, and Private Blevins was there to document things. The private decided that a very detailed account of the battle should be immediately distributed in order to better prepare the men for the coming fight. When I found out his intentions, I tried to put a stop to it, but it was too late at that point.”
“Private Blevins and I will have a discussion on operational security after the battle. For now, everyone go ahead and get it out of your systems . . . Go on,” I said, figuring it wasn’t the end of the world to have my friends get a few laughs in at my expense, which they began to do with gusto.
“Sorry, buddy, but that was not the way I expected you to go down in a battle. Take it as a compliment that I see you more as going solo against a dragon rather than being brought down by bunnies and unicorns,” Jacoby added.
“Thanks, I think, Jacoby. Once everyone is done, I would like your team to cover the marketplace with the militia I’ve assigned to you. Be prepared to respond to any hot spots,” I asked.
“That’ll work. We promised Lani we’d keep an eye on the Petty Dispute as well,” Jacoby added. They left to gather the militia I had assigned to them, who had defaulted to patrolling the town until the players collected them.
“I don’t have any place fighting in a battle, but is there anything else I can do to help?” Delling asked.
“Not really. It might help morale if you made the rounds and talked to the various town guard and militia units. Other than that, I can’t think of anything,” I replied.
“That’ll work. After I do that, I’ll park myself at the town hall if you need me,” Delling said before leaving to make his rounds.
The defenses here at the gate were formidable. The wall and gate itself were well protected, and a secondary row of barricades was in place to seal off any breakthroughs. I climbed the wall, trying to find a vantage point from which to watch the coming battle. No doubt I would eventually be pulled away by some emergency, and when that happened, Captain Landry and Sergeant Brooks should do fine at holding this point for our army.
Taking the high ground—in this case the gatehouse on top of the massive entryway—I looked out over Zipp’s forces. Block after block of troggs formed up on the road, just out of range of our siege engines. The enemy didn’t seem to have much in the way of siege gear outside of a half dozen small machines their deep gnomes had slapped together. The dwarves must have been spending their time crafting scaling ladders, given the hundreds I could see spread among the troops. A ripple of movement in the distant force opened a path for the giant pox hydra to step through. The thing had survived its encounter with the rootkin, though its health hadn’t fully recovered and was sitting at only eighty-seven percent.
With a booming roar from its seven heads, the hydra stalked its way toward the main gate. It looked like they were going to try to breach it with the beast, just as they had done with the fortifications created by Promise Kept. Unfortunately for the hydra, we were well prepared for its threat. I waved Sergeant Tavers over to me and pointed out the creature.
“Take that thing down before it reaches the gate,” I ordered. An evil grin plastered itself on Sergeant Tavers’s face as he belted out orders to his gunnery crews.
The deep thumps of the catapults firing were interspersed with the sharp clack of the scorpions, competing with the roars of the approaching beast. Explosions rippled along the hydra’s body; the runesmiths had added their power to the first volley of scorpion bolts. The monster’s roars of challenge changed to shrieks of pain as its health bar dropped into the red. Bloody wounds were rent in its body and two of the hydra’s heads were blasted completely off. Bleeding debuffs mounted as the creature stumbled forward, trying to get at whatever had wounded it. A second volley of unenhanced bolts slammed in, along with the boulders hurled by the four catapults. With a final huff of air escaping its lungs, the pox hydra’s health dropped to zero and it collapsed, taken down easily by massed artillery fire.
Cheers rang out along the wall as my soldiers and allies alike celebrated the destruction of one of the enemy’s strongest units. There was little time for celebration, though, as the hordes of troggs began their assault, unfazed by the destruction of the pox hydra. The catapults switched to multi-shot ammunition as they engaged the mass of infantry heading our way. Each volley of stones tore chunks out of the blocky formations of troggs, and the scorpions picked off targets one at a time. What we could kill with
the siege weapons was only a drop in the bucket considering the thousands heading our way.
As the range closed, the archer auxiliaries that had accompanied the 14th Legion joined in the fight. The archers were spread out on the top of the wall, the extra height adding to their range. Flights of arrows began to rain down among the trogg attackers. Sadly, the troggs’ stony hide and robust health pools prevented many one-shot kills. The archers’ work would help make things easier for the infantry on the walls when they finally made it to within melee range. A few remaining scouts from the 14th also added their crossbows to the mix, but the real killing would begin when the troggs entered the range of our javelins—which they were just about to do.
“Ready along the line!” I shouted, and the massed legionnaires along the top of the wall readied their first javelins. “Throw!” I shouted, and hundreds of javelins were launched at the foe. Like they had done with the other attacks against them, the troggs ignored the incoming fire and single-mindedly charged the wall. As the first volley hit, the Trogg line faltered; hundreds were struck by the weapons. Unlike the lighter arrows, the javelins had no trouble cracking thick hide, their weight driving them through the bodies of any troggs they hit, either killing the creatures outright or leaving a crippled foe behind.
“Ready, throw! Independent . . . fire at will!” I ordered, loosing a last volley before allowing the men to throw at their own pace. We had piles and piles of javelins stacked up and were in no danger of running out anytime soon.
“Sir, the northern and southern walls are reporting that the enemy is beginning to flow into their sectors. They are holding for now but may require reinforcement if the enemy funnels more forces toward them,” an out-of-breath runner reported.
I wanted to stay here on the wall but knew I would be needed to lead the QRF in plugging the gaps that would eventually open up. “Let the NCOs on each wall know to report any breaches to the garrison. I’ll have reinforcements ready to respond to any trouble spots,” I ordered.
Sadly, with my army growing and the scope of the battle increasing, my opportunities to just get into the fight were limited. As much as I wanted to stay on the wall and fight off the troggs that were even now throwing up their scaling ladders, I had to oversee the battle if we were going to win.
“Captain Landry, take over the defense of the western wall. I’ll be with the QRF,” I ordered.
The NPC captain shouldn’t have much trouble holding this wall with the forces at his disposal. After the death of the pox hydra, for the time being, the enemy seemed content to send just the wave of troggs. They were powerful but no match for coordinated soldiers defending such a strong position.
On my way back to the garrison, I spotted the last few groups of civilians heading to the various shelters we had set up. If we didn’t win, I had to hope the imp would realize the importance of the townsfolk and not commit a mass slaughter. Near the marketplace, Yendys trotted into view, riding atop Crunchy.
“Grandpa, when do we get to do something? It’s boring just sitting around and waiting,” Yendys whined.
“They’ve hit the western wall and are flowing around to the north and south. I think you’ll get plenty of action shortly,” I shouted, waving to the players as I passed by. The militia force stationed near the garrison was formed up where it was supposed to be. The group looked nervous. Most of them had never faced battle, and the anticipation of a coming fight was usually the worst part. Their equipment wasn’t the best, being the castoffs from the guard and reserves, but it was much better than what the pathetic conscripts the enemy had fielded were equipped with.
The garrison was locked up as tight as it should be. Soldiers were manning the walls and the siege weapons were loaded and ready. Sadly, I had lost the mobile scorpions during my ill-fated attempt to slow the enemy’s advance. The NCO on duty at the garrison saw my approach and opened the gate a crack to allow me in, the process taking a bit of time since the various locks and support beams on the gate had to be removed. Once inside, I made my way to the headquarters and my map table, curious if I could observe the flow of battle directly from there.
My reserve company was formed up near the headquarters, waiting for the order to move out. Thankfully, a few men had survived our earlier fight and were able to join the three full-strength platoons I had sent back earlier. My reserve force was down to 165 men, which I would combine with the fifty militia waiting outside.
The garrison had a full company assigned to it, and I placed a platoon to cover each wall, with the final platoon spread around the headquarters and barracks buildings to protect the civilians inside. The scorpions were placed on the towers at each corner of the wall, giving us some extra punch. A section of scouts was assigned to each wall, and the engineers were either crewing the scorpions on the wall or the remaining catapult in the courtyard.
The ground shifted as I neared the headquarters building to check on the war table, the movement becoming more violent with each second. My feet slid out from under me as the ground heaved under the northern wall of the garrison. With a crash, the entire center section of the wall collapsed outward as a tunnel wurm heaved its way out of the ground. The creature’s rows of legs struggled to pull its bulk out of the tunnel it had dug, while its grinding teeth latched onto the last of the catapults inside the garrison.
“QRF, form up! Get those scorpions in the fight, men!” I shouted. My company picked itself up and formed into a line as we faced the wurm. Each of the men had two javelins in their inventory, which we threw at the beast as fast as we could. The wurm finished grinding up the catapult, then turned toward my defenders, only to begin squealing in pain as the scorpions mounted on the walls swiveled around to engage. With two shots ready for each weapon, eight of the heavy bolts punched through the wurm’s thick hide. As we hurled our last javelins, the garrison men on the walls joined in, adding hundreds more to the mix.
Our discipline and training allowed us to react quickly and effectively to the threat. The wurm squealed and thrashed about as it sought to avoid the pain being rained down upon it. Sending the wurm to a critical point like the garrison was a devious surprise attack, one I should have expected from Zipp, but against my garrison, it was a foolish move. The thrashing wurm threw itself at the northern wall, tearing down more of the structure as it tried to escape. Another volley of scorpion bolts finished off the creature, its carcass landing amid the rubble of the northern wall. When it collapsed the wall, it took out dozens of my defensive garrison troops, as well as the catapult and crew, but the critical location was still in our hands.
Sounds of battle and alarm bells ringing announced that the enemy was also attacking other locations inside the city. It looked like Zipp was just getting started with his surprises. As swarms of lurkers and troggs began to pour out of the passage the wurm had dug into our garrison, I realized that my fight here was just beginning.
Chapter 31
“I know you’re bored, Yendys, but you’re going to drive me bonkers if you keep pacing back and forth,” Smashem grumbled.
“I’m not pacing. I’m preparing,” Yendys quipped. She wasn’t bored. Well, not completely, but she was anxious to get the fight started. So far, they had just sat inside the market area of town, waiting for something to happen.
“You know, I think we’re about to be very busy, guys,” Nitor called out as the ground around them began to shake. Yendys had to hold Crunchy’s reins tightly to avoid falling off her noble steed as a section of the cobblestone road burst up in front of them.
Jacoby had staged their force close to the open market stalls near Phineas’s shop. The spot had a clear view of the entire market and auction area. In addition, it was a straight shot from there to the Petty Dispute, which had been set up as an aid station. They wanted to make sure Lani and the patients inside didn’t get hurt by any random attackers. With an explosion of soil and the crunch of wooden stalls, a giant wurm thing like the one that had eaten her before emerged.
“No way. You’re so not going to eat us this time, you stupid wurm,” Yendys shouted as she spurred her little Crunch Crunch toward the target. This time, the creepy monster didn’t burst out directly underneath her. This time, she and Crunchy were ready.
As she approached the giant wurm, which was pulling the rest of its body out of the ground, she activated Giant Growth on Crunchy. The beetle doubled in size, becoming nearly as big as a mukok. Chanting erupted across the battlefield, and Yendys felt both stronger and more agile as Nitor’s skald buffs washed over her. While she closed in on the wurm, she cast another spell on her companion, granting him Improved Natural Weapons. His horn grew another foot, and the brave beetle aimed it at the bulk of the monster they were charging.
Just before they hit, Yendys cast Nature’s Wrath on Crunchy’s horn. Surrounded by a green halo, Crunchy’s horn bored into the beast’s flesh, causing it to shriek in pain. The wound sizzled as Crunchy thrashed his head about. Yendys could feel the anger coming off her companion as it remembered its previous death to this type of beast. With the claw-tipped legs that lined its body, the wurm struck back at them. Several blows landed, and one nearly dismounted Yendys.
Crunchy continued to whip his head from side to side, opening up the wound and adding a bleed effect, before he used his fearsome mandibles to latch onto one of the clawing limbs. Yendys righted herself, lying low in the saddle to avoid another strike while summoning more creatures to assist her. A swarm of carrion beetles popped into existence over the wound Crunchy had opened. The little guys did their thing and began to burrow inside, eating as they went. A pair of four-foot-long cave spiders appeared and launched an attack even as her friends entered the fray.
Smashem activated his rage and swung his mighty hammer. Magical runes along the hammer flared, and a sweeping blow turned several of the wurm’s legs into pulp. Next, he activated the Hand of Caudill artifact that Query had given him. The powerful barbarian pulled a second hammer from his inventory and set about pounding the wurm into goo. Jacoby also arrived, using a taunt to draw the wurm’s attention while an AOE healing spell began to cover all the allies on the battlefield. Kathala was content to stay out of range and use her healing powers to keep the party in the fight.
