The first rows were methodical in their approach. Though a few gaps were torn by catapult projectiles and other defensive equipment, they merely closed ranks and continued forward. The following ranks increased their speed and now followed directly behind the first. A solid mass of infantry was next with smaller shields arrayed at the front and held above their heads. Giants and trolls strode through the attacking forces, heading for the town walls.
The ogres he assumed to be within the mass of infantry, he couldn't see any of them on the open field. It was Tyler’s first look at a full-scale battle. One thing he did note is that there were too many details to keep watch on. No wonder commanders kept back. Being in front would overwhelm with minute details the leader who stayed there. Strategic considerations will definitely escape him or her.
He let the first row pass his front. He wanted the mass of infantry which was moving at the speed of the siege towers. As the initial rows of the gathered bulk entered the zone he had previously designated, he let loose with AWAY! spells on the first group of boulders. He took a look on where they landed. The rocks were landing at different spots in the Gap. The smaller boulders reached almost as far as the other side while heavier ones landed nearer to him. But the boulders didn’t just hit the ground. Most hit and then rolled some distance with enough force to flatten anything in their way. Even giants were not immune. Once hit, they were flattened, crushed, or thrown away by the force of impact. A lot were wounded by stone fragments. The top of a siege tower was hit by a boulder and disintegrated.
After that, he went down the line, casting spells, throwing off the deadly and massive projectiles. He didn’t bother to see where they landed. What he had on his mind was to release as many as he could down into the Gap. Moving to the second row, he adjusted the direction and cast the AWAY! spell diagonally, in a direction further into the attacking enemy. By the third row, he was already very tired and took a breather. He again lay prone and looked into the Gap.
It was chaos. The ordered ranks of the enemy had disappeared. Large stones pockmarked the battlefield. He could see fighting on the walls of the town but the siege towers, those not destroyed, had stopped. Proceeding in a straight line for them was impossible, stones blocked their way. In some instances, what the projectiles hit were the beasts hauling the towers.
On the field itself, he could see masses of attackers caught by boulders. It was as if giant bowling balls were released on squishy pins. In one macabre scene, a giant rock hit one corner of the defensive mass and then rolled diagonally deeper into it, leaving bloody and dismembered figures in its wake. In another part of the field, the boulder fragmented upon impact but the resulting stone shards laid low enemy warriors in a circle around it. But more enemies were coming up towards the town. He decided to wait until they reached his killing zone. The newcomers had disdained the use of formations and were coming in a pell-mell fashion. As the first of the newcomers passed the zone, he went back to the third row and started casting spells again. By the time he got to the middle of the row of boulders, he was exhausted. Rumpr suddenly appeared at his side.
“Stop and rest, young mage, or you’ll burn yourself out. The town is holding and the rest of the enemy host is keeping back from running your gauntlet of rocks. They won’t be moving for a while as Ymir’s lieutenant will pause and try to determine what to do next. Their casualties have been heavy and their towers have stopped. So, rest!"
“Thanks, Rumpr. I will.”
Tyler closed his eyes as he sat down again. After a few minutes, Hrun appeared beside Rumpr and muttered something.
“Oh, we may have a slight problem, my young mage. Ice drakes are coming.”
CHAPTER LORE:
Bergbui – Old Norse. Literally “rock-dweller.” A kind of landvaetter which likes to make its abode in mountains and rocky terrain.
Aettir – Old Norse. Meaning “families.” In Norse mythology, nature spirits, like humans, also have clans and families.
CHAPTER XVII
A Method in Madness
“Hide,” Tyler answered weakly.
The two grabbed him and opened an entrance in the nearest rock wall. The hollow was enough for the three to move around easily. Tyler rested with his back against a wall. After a while, he cast a healing spell on himself, gauging such a simple spell to be well within his current limits.
“Rumpr.”
“Yes, lad?”
“How many do you think are left of Ymir’s host?
“That's a bit difficult to answer. They’re still fighting before the town walls. But I daresay around ten to eleven thousand.”
“Still too many. The defenders’ numbers will have also been reduced by this time.”
“True. But I can say you’ve done all you could, lad.”
“Not enough. Just need time to rest for a while.”
“Ah, that little time we do have. While those ice drakes are flying around here, the horde will not move to attack the town. Ymir’s lieutenant definitely would want to make sure no other surprises await him. Or her. Or it.”
Assuming ten thousand still remain, that’s still a lot. That’s even my initial guess on the attackers’ numbers. The siege towers are blocked so that’s one thing off my list. The flow of the assault will be hindered by the rocky field. That another. But ten thousand…
Tyler closed his eyes, wishing for a solution to come his way.
“Who do you think is in charge of Ymir’s horde?”
“Not a giant for sure. Those creatures are all crush! crush! crush! But it’s hard to say. With so many joining him, it may be an ice elf, a dokkalfr, or even a human.”
I can’t continue fighting from up here. The boulder tactic was a delaying move at the best. Almost all spells I have don’t do well at the distance from here down to the Gap. The best way to fight is down there. Preferably at the back of the column to split their forces. But that also means I may die down there. No, dying not happening.
“Rumpr, can you ask Hrun to take a look if the drakes are still there?”
Hrun left after Rumpr talked to him. Tyler, on the other hand, was trying to remember the deployment of the enemy horde at its rear.
Few minutes passed and Hrun came back.
“A puzzling thought,
A strange sight; where
The sound of battle, doth
Drive beast and fowl away;
My eyes beheld, wolves
Of a breed strange, birds
And drakes, of numbers aplenty;
A woman, gazing on war.”
“That’s mighty strange indeed, my stone friend,” replied the ancient landvaetter.
“Tell me. Ravens? Owls? Eagles? Hawks? White wolves?”
Hrun nodded. Rumpr scratched his beard. “Hmmm. It seems this battle bears its own share of watchers.”
He looked at Tyler.
“And one of your girlfriends?”
He shook his head.
Rumpr quietly sat for a while with eyes closed.
“She smells Greek to me. Well, with all these guests, then Hrun and I won’t look out of place after all. So, my friend? Your plan?”
“I have to get to the back of the column and attack from there.”
Rumpr stared at him and then looked at Hrun.
“Told you this one had a death wish.”
“Well, I am hoping I won’t die if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Far from it for me to ask questions of you, lad. It’s your life anyway. You do sound eager to throw it away. My advice? LIVE!”
“I don’t intend to die if I can help it.”
“SO! Where in the back? With these magical auras about, even Hades and Hela combined will find it impossible to find out who’s casting what. At whom. But no direct attacks, my lad. That would be too obvious.”
“I was thinking of the tail-end of the column. That way, only a narrow front could attack me at the beginning. It will take time for their forces at the front to move to the back.”
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“Anything you may want us to do? Aside from bringing you there?”
“If we can find an elevated mound around fifty feet from the nearest enemy, a wide ditch around it would be fine. I do have to talk to Jorund and Habrok. It’s their lives too if they decide to join me.”
“Elevated… I don’t think there’s such a place down there. We can lift the ground a little, doubt if it will be noticed. About the ditch, that may be a problem, instantly appearing like that. It’s not as if you’re a mage of the earth.”
“You can teach me, if that’s possible. I can do the job myself.”
“Nope. Wouldn’t work. Me and Hrun here are different. Our magic is what we are. No spells, no incantations. Tell me to do air magic and I'd be stumped. It’s like that.”
Tyler thought fast.
“What if we disguise you as Habrok first. Then do your ditch work. After that, you can switch places.”
“That would be a mite difficult,” answered Rumpr as he stood up, “unlike rock and earth, your mortal forms are beyond us, for one. A limitation on our magic.”
Tyler removed the torc from his upper arm.
“A gift from L … somebody. Enables one to copy another’s form or attire.”
“A powerful gift indeed. You would allow me to use such an artifact?”
“Well, I trust you Rumpr. I don’t know why. But, as Hrun said, you are older than the gods. And beyond their … peculiarities.”
“Oh. I have my own crazy moments, lad. But if you allow me to use it, then my thanks for your trust. It will be returned to you. If you die, then my pranks will go up a notch in complexity,” chuckled Rumpr.
“When the world was made, born
The elementals of …”
“Hrun, I asked no more secrets please.”
Hrun replied with a grunt followed by a vibrating sound. Tyler could swear the stone being was laughing.
A stone doorway again appeared. In a short while, the three found themselves back with Jorund and Habrok.
Jorund spoke first.
“How do things go, Sire? Does Scarburg still stand?”
“Yes, barely,” answered Tyler as he sat down.
“But we are at a crossroads. By Rumpr’s count, around ten to eleven thousand of our enemies remain. I have no doubt Scarburg’s defenses have been badly weakened. Ice drakes are above the ledge where we came from. But I have done what I could from up there. My other spells don’t do well from a distance.”
Jorund got the intimation.
“I will go where you go, Sire.”
Staring at the two, Habrok piped up.
“Where are we going?”
“To possible death, Habrok. Far from family but near friends. You have to make your choice.”
“With friends? That’s more like it. I haven’t seen my family for several years now. My erstwhile wife threw me out on our first night. She caught me with one of the maids. In my defense, the lass was younger and more energetic than she ever will be. Count me in, Sire. Nothing like dying amidst mounds of your dead enemies. There will be mounds of dead foes?”
“That, Habrok, is one thing you can count on.”
The group laughed, Hrun's voice sending vibrations through the hollow. With a choice made, there was nothing to do except prepare.
Hrun made a series of crunching sounds and left. Rumpr turned to the three.
“If you fine young men can wait before going to die, Hrun may have something for you.”
It didn’t take long for Hrun to come back. He was carrying a long box made of metal, either silver or some alloy of it. Magically treated as there’s no tarnish, guessed Tyler. Once opened, Rumpr moved to examine the contents.
“With your permission, Hrun, I’ll do the honors?”
The being grunted.
“First, for our ranger here. A hooded scale armor made of young draken scales. Excellent against fire. No arrow or ordinary piercing weapon will cut it. With a leather belt of stealth made from the discarded skin of Jormungandr’s smaller kin.”
He turned to Jorund.
“For the huskarl, a coat of plates paired with a matching closed helm, with openings for vision and breathing. Greek-inspired, methinks. Crafted by the svartalfar of old, same as that of the ranger, behind the metal is a thin pad also made of young draken scales. The magic of the metal eludes me, as I am not a smith. But the skill to make this armor does not exist anymore. From what I can sense, magics of fire and lightning you may resist for some time. Except for the fire of an adult draken or Thor’s lightning bolts,” guffawed Rumpr.
“Also grants protection against arrows, ordinary weapons, and probably some magical weapons. But it adds to your strength and resilience.”
“As for your weapons, your battleaxe will do fine. I sense its ancient magic though I leave it up to you to awaken it. For your bow, throw that dokkalfr thing away! Here, use this instead. A High Alfar bow. Though I don’t remember who gave it to me. Must be that young lass. Married now, I reckon. With children! None of them mine, I hope. Would look strange.” Another loud guffaw followed.
“Now for you, my young mage with a death-wish, a unique artifact. Scale armor, comes with a coif and boots, made from the scales of an adult dragon. Old Greyskin, in fact. I don’t know if he’s still around. I haven’t seen him for a while. Almost a millennium, I think. Also made by the ancient svartalfar, it changes to suit your body. Fire, lightning, ice. Arrows and ordinary weapons. Magical weapons? Well, I have no idea. A lot of protection maybe, as long as it’s not Mjolnir or Gungnir. Or any other divine weapon. As with the others, a great deal of protection. More, I believe. But as with any magical armor, it has its limits. DON'T TEST THOSE LIMITS! Now let me see that staff.”
Rumpr closely examined the staff and then held it in both hands while a soft azure glow bathed it.
“I know this staff of old. It will serve you well. But I added something to it. Will make you last longer. Not in bed though,” he said when returning it.
“Now, did we forget anything?”
“These are exceptional gifts. No human king could say they have such weapons and armor,” said Jorund.
“I wouldn’t say that. There were a lot of good smiths back then,” smiled Rumpr.
“Our thanks for these gifts, Rumpr. These are indeed princely presents,” commented Tyler.
“While we do accept your thanks, these are but toys so don’t think too highly of them. What matters are the ones using them. And the purpose of their use. Though these have been lying around for a long time now,” said Rumpr, kicking the box, “there’s more but I don’t think we have the time to go through them. Hrun and I did have fun with those svartalfar smiths. Creating new things. New forms. New materials. Pity their descendants don’t have the skill. All they care about is gold, gold, gold. Now change into them. Leave your old armor behind, we don’t know when some other lads with glorious suicide on their minds will come around.”
After the three had finished changing, Rumpr looked at them.
“A simple favor, ladies. If you ran into any draken, they’ll probably smell your armor. If they ask, say it’s from Hrun,” impishly requested Rumpr. Hrun grunted and uttered that series of grinding sounds. He apparently found the statement humorous.
“To go back to the plan, which I think these two have no idea about, Hrun will go first and raise a small mound. With the bedrock around here, that won’t be a problem. Then, the three of us, not including this libidinous fellow here, will go to the mound with one disguised as this warrior who WILL find the time to introduce me to his female friends when this is over. Once there, I get the ditch working, disappear and come back with my wonderful friend. Your artifact you’ll get after the battle, I’ll need it to get away from the mound.”
The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION) Page 35
