Nevertheless he was determined that this group here would die before that happened, and so he blocked the awkward attack from the orc on his left and thrust his sword at the one on his right. He knew the orc would easily be able to step back out of his reach, but it bought him some time as that orc regained his balance to quickly switch from his thrust into a slash across to his left. A very unusual manoeuvre, but Captain Riyad was relying on that to catch the orc off guard. It worked; seeing an opening at the thrusting human, the orc stepped forward to jab with his blade. Captain Riyad almost sliced him in two at such a close range and the orc toppled to the ground in a heap, spraying blood all over the captain and those nearby.
The other orc slashed across at waist height with his sword trying to slice the captain in the same way he saw done to his companion. Captain Riyad was too quick though as he reversed his swing and angled the blade til it was facing the ground and managed to block the attack millimetres away from his body. This move put him off balance and the orc noticed that and decided to press the attack. He swung high, and then came back low on his backswing, then high again, pushing the captain backwards with each swing. Captain Riyad managed to block each attack but struggled to get balanced again.
The orcs' routines were crude and predictable, but his shear aggression and speed was enough to worry the captain for a time. With each attack he blocked, Captain Riyad managed to get himself back into a comfortable position, and eventually the orcs' aggression played out and his attacks came more clumsily. A high overhead chop came down at him, but he was able to easily block that with his sword and stab out with his dirk, scoring a hit in the orc's belly. It didn't go in too deeply as Captain Riyad was not in close enough to continue the jab, but it did force the orc to double over and lose his grip on the sword. The orc's sword hit the ground a split second before his decapitated head.
Captain Riyad had no time to savour the moment as a huge orc bounded toward him wielding an axe. Some of the captain's men weren't fairing too well either as they came across two more riders. The only good news was that the gates had now vanished, but it mattered little as orcs continued to swarm up the ladders unhindered.
The big orc swung his axe as if to lop a tree, a very basic attack, and very much expected by Captain Riyad, so he easily dodged it. He didn't expect the backswing of the axe to come so quickly though and so had to do the only thing he could do to avoid being chopped in two. He dropped to the ground, putting himself in a very vulnerable position. As soon as he hit the ground, he rolled himself away from the orc, once again narrowly avoiding that nasty weapon as it crashed down against the stone, taking a huge chip out of it. He wasn't used to orcs being able to wield such a cumbersome weapon so quickly, and now had a lot of work to do to get on even footing with this large enemy.
Instead of trying to regain his feet, as he knew the orc expected him to do, he actually swung his sword at the orc's massive calf muscle and scored a nice slash, forcing the orc to leap back in pain. That was all the time he needed to leap back to his feet and face the orc squarely once more. That's when he heard the major shout out the command to retreat and abandon the outer wall. It didn't really surprise him. The orc numbers swelled on the wall and the defenders' number fast dwindling. The ropes were being swung across from the inner wall to any able to take advantage of them.
Captain Riyad, still heavily engaged in combat, couldn't get to a rope. He was determined to be one of the last to retreat, holding the line so that other men could get to safety. So his feet were firmly set as the large orc came at him again. The orc swung high, the captain ducked, but was still out of reach to jab forward with his sword. The orc's backswing came back unusually low, and so the captain sprung up and forward from his crouched position, sinking his dirk deep into the orc's neck. In the same movement the captain kicked out with his right foot, pushing the orc backwards as he died, and pushing himself away from the orcs lined up behind him.
A quick scan of the immediate area told him that only a couple of defenders remained, most lay dead on the wall and the rest had already swung across to relative safety. The two he did see had ropes being swung over to their position. A rider from the northern magic gate was fast approaching him from behind, and a bunch of orcs still remained in front of him. He needed a rope right now or he'd have no chance of survival. He noticed a rope swinging back across to a position only five strides away and so he made of in that direction in a mad dash.
Two paces from his goal, Captain Riyad's shoulder exploded with pain and he lost all strength in his right arm, forcing him to drop his sword. He charged on though and leaped at the incoming swing and gripped it as best he could with his left arm. As he swung across he looked back and noticed where the arrow had come from that protruded from the back of his right shoulder. The rider that was coming from the direction of the north magic gate had a bow, and currently had a second arrow aimed directly at him. This rider was different not only due to the unusual mount, but also because it appeared to be a female orc. As she released the arrow, Captain Riyad let go of the swing, prepared to risk the fall over the accuracy of this orc.
It was just as well he did as the aim was true and surely would have meant his death. He landed on his feet, hitting the ground hard, and immediately bent his legs then went into a roll. This only pushed the arrow deeper into his shoulder and the captain yelled out in pain. He was on the ground between the two walls and still alive, but he wasn't sure for how long as he realised he must have broken his right leg in the fall. Even if he could walk well, he had nowhere he could go. There was no way up on either wall from the middle, and even if his men were to drop a rope from the inner wall, he wouldn't have the strength to climb it. No, he was stuck where he was, no doubt to be used as target practice for the orcs on the outer wall until one struck true and killed him.
* * *
"The outer wall is ours," said General Krak'too matter of factly as the two powerful orcs continued to stand side by side watching the battle. "Let's begin the second phase, shall we, Great Shaman O'tukka," continued the general, stating it more than asking it.
"As you wish, general," replied the great shaman sarcastically. He then began to create three more gates; however these were greater gates than the ones he formed for the initial attack. He placed the exits on the outer wall before it became too crowded. General Krak'too and Great Shaman O'tukka then walked through one of the gates, followed by three hundred of their best warriors, which included the company of crossbow orcs and the company of heavy axe along with the best company of grunts.
The gates were set up in roughly the same location as the previous ones, and General Krak'too and the great shaman exited through the centre one. When he came through he instantly noticed a human down in between the walls that was alive, but obviously wounded. An arrow just missed him and stuck in the dirt next to him.
"Leave the human alive," commanded the general. "We want as many captives as we can get." As soon as all the crossbow orcs were through, General Krak'too ordered them to line up along the wall and take aim at the defenders on the inner wall. On his command, one hundred crossbow bolts were loosed and hurtled across toward the defenders. The humans ducked for cover where possible, but a few of them were hit. Then the retaliation volley of arrows began.
General Krak'too had the great shaman put an orb of protection on him before coming through the gate. The general assumed Great Shaman O'tukka had one on himself as well, as neither of them flinched when the arrows came in their direction. The arrows hit an invisible wall and fell to the ground. A great deal more arrows hit the mark than the crossbow bolts, as there was less cover on the outer wall from the inner wall, and it was now crowded with orcs.
"Time to open up the gates, Great Shaman O'tukka," said General Krak'too.
"As you wish, general."
Great Shaman O'tukka turned to face the five heavy axe-wielding orcs that were standing behind him. After casting a spell of protection on them he cast another spell. This
one made the five orcs begin to levitate. The great shaman moved his outstretched open palmed hand around and the levitating orcs followed the movement of his hand. Once over the edge of the wall, he began to lower them down to the ground. Arrows flew toward them as they continued their descent, but all bounced harmlessly away. A foot away from the ground, the great shaman released his spell of levitation and the orcs fell to the ground. All but one of them landed on their feet. The other one quickly jumped up in an attempt to regain some dignity. Then the five orcs quickly set about opening the outer gate.
Once he had released the five orcs from his spell of levitation, Great Shaman O'tukka immediately began casting another spell. This one took a little longer to cast and was among the most powerful spells the great shaman knew. Once cast he held out his arm toward the inner gate, palm facing outward and fingers facing the sky. Instantly protruding from his hand was a massive sonic burst, followed by another and yet another. Starting as small bright blue rings the size of his hand, the rings continued to grow in size until they struck the inner gate. At this point, the rings had expanded to the size of the gate. As each ring struck it, a loud booming noise sounded and the giant wooden gate could be heard straining against the blow. As the last of the three rings hit, the gates could withstand it no longer and with a huge cracking noise, they were blown off their hinges. The orcs on the outer wall cheered as the orcs at ground level streamed in through the two open gates.
* * *
Major Isak had made it back safely to the inner wall and now watched on as the inner gates were blasted open by a powerful orc shaman and orcs began to charge into his fort. He now realised that none of them would make it out alive. He ordered the archers to remain on the wall and pick their shots, but every other man, save a few for the protection of the archers, to help the soldiers at the inner gate. He knew those men would be quickly overwhelmed by the charging orcs without help.
When he had retreated from the outer wall, Major Isak had ordered Major Sarkis to the defence of the inner gate. His cavalry would be most likely needed there, and none could lead them like that man. So he was not surprised to see that by the time he had descended the stairs and made his way to the gate, Major Sarkis and his men had already charged through the blasted gates, riding down all in their path. A trail of dead orcs was left behind them, but not even with the major's help could they possibly expect to win this battle now with the walls penetrated?
Not one to dwell on things for too long, Major Isak quickly found himself an opponent, and just as quickly disposed of him. Major Sarkis's charge had scattered the orcs and made it easier for him and his men to pick them off one small group at a time. But the numbers of the defenders were reducing and they were also tiring, meanwhile the orcs they were fighting were at full strength. Major Isak took a minor wound across his shoulder, but repaid that orc with a punctured stomach, kicking his lifeless body to the ground as he prepared to meet his next foe. Ducking under the orc's high and wild attack, Major Isak grabbed the small dagger from his boot, and planted it in the orc's exposed side, then he spun around full circle and severed the orc's head with his bloodied sword.
His ferocious and effective attack manoeuvres, it seemed, had not gone unnoticed as he found himself in space, but with a group of four orcs preparing to charge him all at once. He waved them forward with his left hand with a wicked smile. He could tell this unnerved the orcs a little, but after a brief hesitation they still proceeded to charge him. Major Isak drew out his longer dagger sheathed on his hip and ran toward the charging group. As he neared them he went down on his knees, sliding across the sandy dirt, thankful for the protection of his thick leather pants, narrowly avoiding the strike of the orc directly in front of him. As he slid into the thick legs of the orc he swung out with sword and dagger to both sides, slashing open the legs of the orcs either side. The orc he had slid into toppled forwards over the top of him and hit the ground hard, while the other two howled and hopped around in pain.
Quickly jumping back to his feet, ignoring the pain he felt in every muscle in his body, Major Isak turned and faced the fourth orc. He blocked the slashing attack from the orc's thick but crudely made sword and jabbed out with his dagger hand, scoring a minor wound on the orc's upper arm. The orc he had tripped was now back on his feet and the other two seemed to be regaining their composure as well. Major Isak went into a quick attack routine, starting high then low then worked up high again and the orc blocked each attack. Either he was more tired than he realised, or this orc was a better fighter than most. He was now facing the two uninjured orcs, while the other two were beginning to hobble around behind him.
It was the orc's turn to put on a wicked grin. Not one to be psyched out easily, the major went into another fierce attack routine, using the dagger to block any attack from the orc on his left, while he attacked wildly with his fine long sword in his right hand. As the orc on his right blocked his third attack, Major Isak turned his wrist, letting his sword slide away from the orc's blocking sword, and reversed its momentum, slicing open the orc's belly. The orc instantly dropped his sword and futilely tried to hold his insides together. A moment later he collapsed to the ground in a heap.
The other two orcs had now circled around behind him so he couldn't stop and savour the minor victory. As the orc on his left attacked yet again, Major Isak actually leapt over the fallen orc's body just ahead of the slashing sword stroke, landed on his shoulder and quickly rolled and jumped back to his feet. All three orcs were once again in front of him.
He now had a quick chance to survey the battlefield and then wished that he hadn't. His defenders were spread thin and hard, pressed everywhere he looked. Ropes had been thrown down from the outer wall and the larger orcs were entering the fray. He would take his fair share with him, though, and with that thought in his mind he once again charged the group of orcs with a primal scream. Blocking the attack from the uninjured orc facing him, he jabbed his dagger into the orc's neck, losing his dagger, but instantly killing the orc.
This move left him exposed and one of the other orcs scored a vicious wound on his upper left shoulder. Not only that but the major lost his footing and fell to the ground, losing grip on his sword. By the time he had regathered his sword and rolled onto his back in an attempt to get up, the two orcs were upon him with their swords raised ready to finish him off. But neither got to swing their swords, in fact both dropped them moments before collapsing to the ground themselves. Now standing over the major was an unlikely hero and one Major Isak certainly didn't expect to see in this situation.
"Well, Quinby, I'm certainly glad you decided to stick around."
Quinby reached down toward the major and offered him his hand. Major Isak took his sword in his left hand and grabbed Quinby's outstretched hand. When he was back on his feet Quinby said, "No more comments about my shabby sword work now, ay, major?"
"I promise you, Quinby, for the remainder of my life, I will never have a go at your sword skills again."
"Not much of a promise, ay, major, as we're all about to die shortly anyway." Both men shared a resigned chuckle and turned to confront the next enemy.
* * *
Master Pilk noticed the army encampment on top of the hill where he faced off against the orc shaman the day before. There didn't appear to be as many there as what he had seen running up the hill toward him. This gave him a very bad feeling. He ordered the other wizards to stop.
"They have seen us," commented Master Pilk, "And yet they don't seem in any hurry to attack us. My best guess is that their shaman is not up there right now."
"If he is not up there ..." began Mistress Cali.
"Then it is likely he has become involved in the battle, which is ill news for the fort," said Master Pilk cutting her off. "I must go and see what is transpiring."
"But how do you plan to do that?" asked Master Tayer
"Mistress Cali, how is your invisibility spell coming along?" asked Master Pilk, cryptically answering Master T
ayer.
"I ... I can work it, but it only holds for about ten minutes. I haven't yet managed to lengthen the duration of the spell."
"Ten minutes will be long enough. I only need to make it around that bend up there," said Master Pilk, pointing to where the road wound its way around the large hill on the edge of their vision. "A gate will get me there instantly. Cast away, Mistress." He turned to face Mistress Cali again. She nodded and began casting her spell. Once finished she pointed at Master Pilk and he vanished from sight. A moment later a gate appeared in front of where he had been standing.
Master Pilk didn't even stop to ask if the spell had worked, he could sense that it had. As soon as he formed his gate, he stepped through; exiting part way around the huge bend, he began a comfortable jog. It would have been a comical sight if any were able to see it; Master Pilk seldom jogged. As soon as he cleared the bend he knew they were too late. The outer wall had been taken, and it appeared from this distance as though both the outer and inner gates were wide open. Thousands of orcs remained; the defenders didn't stand a chance. Master Pilk spared a thought for those two brave majors and their captains, along with the hundreds of men willing to follow them against any odds. This would be a huge loss to the Kingdom of Lertia. Remembering that his invisible state would not last long, he turned around and started jogging back toward his magical gate. A hundred paces before the gate, he could tell that the spell had worn off, but it had served its purpose. He slowed before reaching it and then stepped through. He re-joined his wizard companions with a tear or two dripping from his eyes, and panting like he had just run a marathon.
* * *
Major Sarkis put his sword through yet another orc's neck from the back of his large warhorse. His run was coming to an end though. Thousands of orcs surrounded them and he had lost a large part of his force in this desperate run. He was now outside the walls of the fort with about twenty of his cavalry on his left. He had left his pole infantry and heavy infantry behind at the outer gate in an attempt to stem the flow of orcs charging into the fort, and had his cavalry captain lead half the heavy horse out to the right, while he went left, with orders to circle around, meet again in the middle and ride back for the gate, effectively forming a heart shape through the enemy ranks. His aim was to cause as much confusion among the enemy as possible and lessen the press on the gates. Halfway through circling around, he wasn't convinced his force would make it back to the centre, let alone the gate.
The Gate - A New Breed of Orc (The Gate Series Book 1) Page 16
