Other spells could be seen going off here and there which Master Pilk knew would be from the nine Arthean wizards. They were more accustomed to heavy combat and it was their city at greatest peril. The other wizards still didn’t seem to see the gravity of the situation; if Arthea was to fall it’d only be a matter of time before the entire kingdom of Lertia was threatened.
“You know I’ll stay,” said Grand Master Reibeck. “I can get myself out of here in a blink anyway.”
“Thank you, my old friend,” said Pilk giving his old mentor a pat on the back. He turned his attention to the Gate where his firewall had failed. “Anything you can do about that?”
Grand master Reibeck stepped forward and held out his hand toward the Gate. A moment later the ground in front of it started to turn to mud. The mud pit expanded and deepened, causing worgs to become stuck in it and throwing their riders off as they struggled to break free of the sticky mud. The more they struggled, the deeper they sunk into the pit and once again the entire area became congested with orcs and worgs getting trampled and sucked down.
“Nice touch,” said Pilk as he hurled a group of magic missiles at another enemy. “Will the spell fail before the tower gets there?”
“If the dwarves can give it one last shove at the end, it may help the towers stability if it sinks a little into the mud first,” replied Grand Master Reibeck
“Good thinking indeed. I’ll go and chat to General Ludko.” Pilk threw off one last spell to stop a worg tearing apart a soldier and then rushed back down the stairs.
* * *
The worg riders had obviously noticed the moving tower and discerned its purpose for a number of them had grouped together and were charging right for it.
“Arm yaselves lads. We been noticed,” shouted General Ludko. In the blink of an eye, he pulled his two double headed battle axes from his back and planted his feet. Dwarves all around him dropped the ropes and equipped their weapons. A group of archers began sending a volley of arrows into the charging worg riders.
As the first one reached him, General Ludko sidestepped the snapping maws of the beast and brought his right hand axe down hard against its neck. The worg went down hard and the orc rider who was in the middle of a vicious swing at the general went flying over the worgs head.
General Ludko left the fallen orc for his comrades as he spun around and planted his other axe into the side of the next beast in line, taking a vicious bite in the process. His thick leather armour prevented the worg’s teeth from sinking in but he’d have a few nasty bruises there later. He hoped that was the only injury he’d have as the worg let go of him with a roar and a kick.
He narrowly avoided the long blade of the rider and then chopped the orc’s leg clean off below the knee. The orc flung back in pain and toppled off the back of the thrashing worg. General Ludko received a powerful kick from the injured animal that sent him sliding along the ground.
Rolling from side to side, he was able to avoid being trampled by the stampeding worgs and the riders weren’t able to reach low enough to attack him. As one worg went over him he swung an axe out to either side and severed its back legs. The rear of the animal dropped hard as it howled in pain.
The rider of the worg did well to hold on for as long as he did and managed to balance himself a little as he was thrown from the beast. The orc rolled once before jumping to his feet and seeking revenge on General Ludko.
Now at the rear of the pack, the general was able to stand up and ready himself as the orc came at him. Just as the general dodged the wild swing, the orc began to spasm uncontrollably and finally fell with a little puff of smoke rising up from his still form. Raising his eyes from the smoking corpse, General Ludko saw a short wizard with a strange hat standing as calm as can be.
“Do you think you can get the tower into the centre of that mud pit?” asked Pilk.
“Not whilst we be figtin’ these dogs,” replied General Ludko. But even as he took a quick look around he realised the charge had been all but thwarted. So intent had he been on the fight that he didn’t realise archers and wizards had been targeting them with everything they had.
“Leave the dogs to us then,” said Pilk with a cheeky grin. “You just get that tower into the pit before the magic fades.”
Not enjoying the idea of taking orders from the little wizard, General Ludko could hardly disagree with him and so he started back toward the collapsed tower and shouted out orders.
* * *
Master Pilk started picking out targets and letting off spells. Between the mana he had expended on trying to close the Gate and all the battle spells he was throwing around, he was running low. He could feel the weariness kicking in and knew that every spell he cast from now on could fail; but he came here to see the Gate closed and so he would see it done
He drew his magical dagger out and sent it hurtling into the back of a worg rider and then summoned it back into his hand. Dealing with the beast itself was a bit trickier. Normally he’d throw a fireball at it or some other area-of-effect spell but with so many men and dwarves around he couldn’t risk something like that. Aside from that, he was so weary he doubted he could even cast such a spell and so he went with a simple magic missile.
The creature roared as the missile struck and spun around seeking the source of the pain. Seeing Pilk standing there it wasted no time in charging after him. A little shaken by the furious animal bearing down on him, Master Pilk’s next spell failed and burnt the tips of his fingers painfully.
Knowing that to run from the beast was to surely die, Pilk instead stood firm and pulled a wand from his belt. The worg was two bounding strides from him with his mouth opened wide when Pilk released the power from the wand. A single bright flash of lightning shot down the creature’s throat and spread rapidly through its body. Pilk dived to one side but still received a heavy knock as the beast’s momentum continued on. Without his shielding in place, he likely would have been jolted by the lightning bolt as well.
A little shakily rising to his feet, Pilk tossed away the depleted wand and dusted himself down. He’d need to tread very carefully now for his shielding had dissipated and he didn’t have the strength to cast a new one. Taking a look around though, he realised that things were pretty much under control. Grand Master Reibeck’s mud pit was still there and those that managed to get over it were soon shot down by archers; those that didn’t were continually sucked down to their deaths.
Master Pilk was very impressed with the power of the spell and the length of time it was lasting. Turning to regard Grand Master Reibeck, Master Pilk suddenly understood why it was lasting so long — his old mentor was still feeding it with his magical energy and by the looks of him he couldn’t maintain it for much longer.
With the dwarves no longer having to fight, they had picked up the ropes and surrounded the collapsed tower section and were making steady progress. When the tower was within a few paces of the mud pit, warriors and archers started coming through the Gate. Moving at a slower, more controlled pace, they were able to navigate their way over the pit by stepping on the sinking forms of their comrades. But many were still falling in as they were pushed from behind or shot by archers.
General Ludko’s loud command to give the tower one final shove could be heard over the sounds of battle and the screams of the dying. The dwarves immediately responded to his command and gave it all they had. The front of the tower started to sink into the pit part way through, crushing those struggling within and hindering those still coming through. All the while the dwarves on the ropes kept pulling and the ones around it kept pushing.
By the time they could move it no further, it was well and truly blocking the entire gate. A moment later the mud dried up, firming up the foundations of the tower segment and trapping many orcs and worgs who were part way through sinking. Pilk looked up again to where his mentor was and saw him collapse on the platform.
* * *
Sylestra was looking at the Gate in dismay. A black s
tone wall in the exact shape of it had appeared out of nowhere and it was blocking their access. She had sent all her remaining worg riders through, around four hundred and fifty of them. They would now all be dead, or if not they would be soon. The dwarves and humans had obviously conceived a temporary solution to blocking the Gate. She could break through that stone wall, but it’d take time. Meanwhile they’d be doing all they could to seal it permanently — she couldn’t have that.
In a rare occurrence of sheer frustration she extended both her arms and held her fingers heavenward, palms facing out, and released a powerful black bolt of anti-matter. It hit the stone wall with a loud crackling noise as it began to dissolve the solid wall. Within seconds the wall was gone and the Gate was visible once more. Sylestra knew that her magic wouldn’t have gone through and so now the wall would be perfectly cut against it on the other side.
“Let’s go and conquer Gnash,” she said to the orc captain standing next to her.
* * *
A subdued cheer went up as the last of the enemy were cut down. Pilk had gone over to his collapsed mentor and found to his relief that he was still breathing, although unconscious.
“You silly old fool,” whispered Pilk before calling over a cleric.
Just as he was about to rise and go and check on Decker’s health, Master Tayer approached.
“How is he?” asked the elderly wizard.
“He’ll live,” said Pilk hoping he was right. “He just over exerted himself. Do you know where Decker is?”
“I saw Koren and another cleric carrying him outside the fort just before the fighting started,” replied Master Tayer.
“Do you have enough mana left to seek out Cressida in Zin-Baiden?” asked Pilk.
“I doubt it,” replied Master Tayer. “I’m all but exhausted and I know of no place clearly enough to teleport there. The closest place I know well is in Yulon.”
“I understand,” said Pilk. “We really need her skills right now. I’m very worried about Decker. Perhaps you could go first thing in the morning after a good rest?”
“I’d be happy to, Master Pilk. I’ll leave as early as I can.”
Master Pilk nodded to him and went off in search of Decker.
He found him a short time later and Koren was still tending him. He was covered in blood-soaked bandages and looking very pale, but seemed to have fewer scratches than the last time he saw him.
“How is he?” asked Pilk.
“It was a very close thing,” replied Koren, “but that potion you gave me has done wondrous work. Many of his scratches vanished before my very eyes.”
“Yes, it is too bad we don’t have a river flowing with it to heal all these other wounded,” said Pilk looking around at the many wounded men and dwarves lining the ground. “So he’ll live?”
“He’s a stubborn one. The injuries he sustained would have killed most, but I expect he’ll make a full recovery in time — although just how much time I can’t be sure,” replied Koren.
“Master Tayer will be bringing back my sister first thing in the morning. I’m sure she’ll help speed his recovery.”
Koren nodded at him reassuringly.
Pilk left Koren to his work and went to search for Duke Angus.
The duke was talking to King Buster, General Ludko and Major Hillsworth when he located him.
“Just the man we we’re after,” said Duke Angus as he approached. “How long will it take for you to permanently close the Gate?”
“Almost impossible to say, my lord. My best guess would be a minimum of two days. The wizards that stayed here to fight will need a good eight hours sleep before they can continue draining power from it. The ones that left will need to be brought back here so they can continue, but even they will do very little. As you know, Grand Master Rotager has convinced many wizards not to come so we’ll either have to persevere with the few we have or return to the academy and try to force more to come,” explained Master Pilk.
“I fear that’d do very little good except keep Master Tayer from helping here for half a day or more. So our only option really is to persevere with the wizards we have. The dwarves are going to do everything they can to strengthen this stone wall in case they try breaking through it somehow. So get those wizards to work as quickly as possible Master Pilk,” said Duke Angus.
“Yes, my lord. We’ll do what we can. We were very much relying on the army passing through to weaken it though. I fear Sylestra will find a way to break through before we close it.”
“I understand, Master Pilk. I know you’ll do your best,” said Duke Angus, giving him a pat on the back and walking away.
The End
The Gate
Invasion
Book Three of the Gate Series
B.N. Crandell
The Gate - Invasion
It had been another long hard day at the slaughterhouse. Gerard had visited the bathhouse on the way home. He still couldn’t get used to the idea of public bathing, but it was better than being dirty.
He stood in the middle of the main room and looked around at his tiny, simple dwellings. Could he really continue his life this way? It was certainly an improvement to the way he was living with the Black Skull tribe, but he still lacked the freedom he so craved. Every chance he had throughout the day he thought about how he could escape but kept coming back to the same realisation — he was on a hostile world not knowing his exact location except that he was many days walk away from his only chance home. Locating the Gate and returning to his home world seemed like an impossible dream.
Life in the Palace, sparring with Sylestra and being pampered by her Palace staff, was looking like a very attractive offer. He had actually thoroughly enjoyed his sparring matches with Sylestra even though he could not defeat her. Sparring against a superior opponent like that quickened his reflexes, sharpened his mind and increased his body control. It was making him a better fighter. Aside from that, he found that he actually enjoyed Sylestra’s company. Her intelligence and differing opinions kept him thinking and even re-evaluating his deeply entrenched beliefs.
His eyes eventually settled on the piece of paper that Sylestra had left on the table. He walked over to it and picked it up. After reading the address, he put the paper in his pocket and walked out the door.
It didn’t take him very long to find the dwelling. With a slight hesitation he knocked on the door. Within moments the door was opened and a woman that he recognised was standing there in a black silk night dress.
“You — you’re Sarai,” he stammered. The woman looked vastly different to the first time he had seen her. The night dress was simple enough but very revealing and showed off the woman’s shapely figure. Her long, wavy blonde hair hung over one shoulder and the night dress finished at mid-thigh, exposing her long, well-shaped legs.
“I am,” replied Sarai in a sweet voice, “and you must be Gerard. The man I’m making the gambeson for.”
“That’s me,” he replied, trying to sound confident.
“Well do come in, Gerard,” said Sarai as she stood to one side and waved him through. The room had a pleasant smell to it — certainly more pleasant than the musty smell of his residence. The blind was closed and the room lit by a single candle positioned in the middle of the table. As he turned around Sarai came in close, wrapping her left hand around behind his neck and her right on his buttocks, pulling him in tight against her. She pulled his head down and kissed him gently on the lips. Gerard pushed her away to arm’s length with difficulty.
“I cannot,” he said as he looked into her questioning eyes.
“I — I do not please you?” she asked innocently.
“No — I mean yes — I mean it’s not that you don’t please me, but that I don’t know you,” stammered Gerard.
“My name is Sarai and I am your breeding partner, what else is there to know?” Her voice was quiet and troubled.
“We’re not animals,” said Gerard trying not to yell
and scare this timid woman. “We should have the right to choose our partners, to fall in love with them and spend our lives with them. This situation is not right. I came here tonight not to breed with you, but to get to know you.”
“But I don’t have time for that. It has been eighteen cycles since I had a baby. If I don’t become with child within six more cycles I’ll be sacrificed,” said Sarai in a pleading voice.
“You’ll what?” asked Gerard incredulously. He knew his voice had risen and Sarai had taken a few steps back from him looking ready to cry. For that he felt bad, but he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I’ll be sacrificed to Nefari as I’ll be seen as no longer useful,” explained Sarai softly.
“Nefari? Who or what is Nefari?” asked Gerard.
“Nefari is the goddess of darkness. She grants power to the strong through sacrifices of the weak. How is it you don’t know this?” Sarai looked at him curiously, as if he were growing horns.
“I — ah — come from a different world,” said Gerard trying to think of the best way to say it. “On my world humans are the dominant race and the orcs, which are smaller and dumber than these brutes, live in the mountains and are hunted.”
“How is that possible?” asked Sarai hesitantly. “How did you come to be here?”
“I have to go,” said Gerard absentmindedly. “I’ll return tomorrow evening and tell you more, but for now I have to go and talk to a friend.”
“You’ll not mate with me?” asked Sarai sadly.
“No, I’ll not mate with you,” replied Gerard a little more harshly than he intended. “But I’ll make sure you are not sacrificed either,” he added in an attempt to calm her. She did seem to relax a little at his words, but tears began to flow as he stepped around her and made for the door.
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