They didn’t need a lot of help. Mostly the giant hounds picked up goblins with their jaws and shook them like weasels, or held them immobile with their gigantic paws and tore out their throats. For thirty seconds the ice in front of our barge was a tempest of fur, fangs, growls, screams, and blood.
Then they got organized. A rough shieldwall tried to form on the port side as larger hobgoblins brought rough bronze shields up to afford some protection. A few arrows flew over our heads – there were spells to discourage that sort of thing – and they began to fight back with spears and spells.
Oh yes – there were priests among the besiegers. I wasn’t in charge of the defensive spells but I could feel the impact of incoming magic. Sporadic, at first, but the spells they threw were powerful. Flashes of light and cascades of blood red lightning that lit up the dark ice lanced out against us from a cluster of hobs until another barge plowed into them, spewing arrows and righteous arcane thunder. A third split the space between us, and the entire goblin line fell.
It was glorious to behold. One moment the scrug priests were in rapt concentration, focusing on spewing arcane death in our direction, and the next they were fighting for their lives against a bunch of really large, really angry sled dogs. The unexpected attacks and the onslaught of magic was profound. Bodies fell all around us, with very few on our side being wounded, yet. And when the last goblin within bowshot fell, it was time to figure out what to do with that advantage.
The immediate threat was abated. Another barge careened into the fray, and another. We’d taken the thin spot and blown it open with our charge. I looked around for where we would do the most good. I had originally planned to move around the back side of the island, but something got my attention through the chaos. I brought magesight to bear to ascertain how Aeratas’ defense was going.
Off to our left, over a mile away near the frozen harbor entrance to the city, the siege worms were advancing against the island in one large formation. The beasts were flanked by gigantic trolls holding their chains or using great bronze shields to protect the gurvani that scurried around their feet. Others hurled stones the size of hogsheads at the defenders.
A towering, elegant stone arch spanned the entrance to Anthatiel over a decorative bay. The Alka Alon were making a stand there, far, far fewer than the attackers they faced. Perhaps a thousand, most transformed into larger human-like forms, were pouring arrows and songs forth from their position, while others sang together to build power for yet larger spells. There were plenty in their native forms fighting from the shoreline, but the majority of the Alkans in the way of the phalanx of horned beasts were transgenically enchanted and armored – more or less – in human fashion.
The air between the opposing forces was thick with the haze of magic. There was squiggly blackness that I figured were entrapped nightsails in the middle. The Alka Alon had apparently figured out how to deal with them the same way we had, with magical containment. That was gratifying. There were also flashes and murky portions of the harbor where smoke and evil-looking fog filled the air. Black bolts of arcane fire and jagged lanes of power leapt out from both sides. It was a full-scale magical assault.
That looked like someplace I wanted to be.
“Terleman!” I shouted. It took the commander a moment to spare me attention. He was blasting the throat out of an enterprising goblin who had tried to board the still-moving barge. He turned toward me, a gleam in his eye. “Do you think we can get turned around and hit those things from the side?”
He eyed the distant battle, yet was aware enough of his surroundings to kick another goblin in the face when it came over the side.
“Certainly,” he agreed. “If we wheel with that boat as the pivot, and don’t swing too close to shore, we might even get up some speed. They aren’t moving that fast. And that looks like where the action is. I’ll tell the driver and pass along the battle plan—” He was interrupted by an attack on the starboard side – fell hounds.
We were moving again, not fast, but the dogs were responding to the drivers. The fell hounds were chasing us, leaping up at the gunwales of the barge. Their jagged teeth and claws scratched at the sides, occasionally finding purchase. We rallied to the starboard side for a moment to repel them and keep them away from our dogs.
I transformed Blizzard into a spear and joined the fray. It was fierce work, as the fell hounds were more determined and less intelligent than the goblins. One of the white-eyed brutes managed to reach one of our dogs and snapped at its hind leg before an arrow could find it. The other dogs in the harness kept running – but turned and bit at the fell hound, sending it tumbling under our barge.
“I’ll get us turned around,” Terleman breathed, wiping the blood off of his blade. “You figure out what to do once we get there!”
That was a very good question.
Just launching ourselves at the foe had its advantages – it was flashy, glorious, and potentially effective, if nothing went wrong.
On the other hand, why not employ our advantages? I reached out to Dara, mind-to-mind. She was setting up on a cliff overlooking the battle, and she understood what I was asking for. While we were still trying to get the ungainly barges to turn, seven shadows darted in from the south, under the light of the gaudy green snowflake gently rotating overhead.
The falcons flew in formation, all in a straight line, over the heads of the thickly packed siege worms, only a few dozen feet over their sharply curving spikes. Dara’s skyriders flung missiles from the backs of the majestic raptors onto the troops below. I couldn’t see them hit, but I could see their effect before their tail feathers swept the great arch.
Siege worms, it turns out, were just as susceptible to the effects of berserker balls as goblins and trolls, but far more terrifying. The eight or nine of the worms that were affected instantly turned the neatly-ordered attack line into a turbulent river of violence. One worm suddenly attacked the one on its flank, or turned around and savaged the surprised face of its docile follower. Those horns were ideal for sweeping slashes, and with six legs and no regard for their surroundings, there was a lot of carnage.
“That’s more like it!” Lorcus chortled, a foot on the edge of the barge, his blade over one shoulder. “Get them nice and stirred up before we hit them! I do like your style, Master Minalan!”
“We need to hurry,” I realized. Even as the rearward ranks of the assault line dealt with suddenly-berserk worms, the front lines were continuing to march toward the arcane nightmare between them and the shore. The front ranks appeared to be making every sign of preparing for a charge. “We need to hurry!” I repeated. “If we don’t get there soon . . .”
“We’re working on it!” Tyndal called. He had gone forward to help the drivers sort out the dogs, who were unused to being asked to do more than run and fight. Apparently turning left was a challenge for their big doggie brains.
That was frustrating. I wanted to be underway. Until we were, I was enjoying a boat ride in one of the most spectacularly scenic places on Callidore. Those parts not burning, ruined, or covered in blood.
Then I thought of something useful I could do. Reaching out with my sphere I contacted Lady Fallawen, mind-to-mind. She had traveled into the city by waypoint , first to see to the city’s evacuation, and then to its defense. She was with her father in the spire above, overseeing the battle and coordinating the magical defense.
Master Minalan! She exclaimed. What are you . . . ?
I’m below with a small army, I informed her. We made it all the way up the Poros. And past the first dragon. And it isn’t quite yet lunch time yet, I quipped. I loved teasing Fallawen, for some reason. Her character just encouraged it. How fare your people?
We endure, she replied, proudly. We have taken hundreds of casualties, and great parts of the city are damaged, but Anthatiel endures!
When will the aid from the other Alkan lords arrive? I asked.
They are not coming, she replied, sadly. Master Haruthel has sent
all the warriors he is going to. We are on our own.
Not entirely, I replied. Please inform your father that I am preparing to charge the shock troops on his front door. If we hit them hard enough, we might slow them down .
Minalan! That’s suicide! You have not the strength for such an attack! I cannot permit it!
We’re about to find out, aren’t we? I wasn’t asking for permission. I was informing you of my battle plan. But have your father pull his troops back off the ice while we charge. They can wade in afterwards. If we leave anything left for them. I tried not to think about the dragon. I was playing cocky to install some hope and confidence in Fallawen. Dragons have a way of sapping your enthusiasm.
Besides, I continued. They don’t stand a chance. I brought a secret weapon.
What?
Sir Ryff, I replied. He’s often said that he’d wade through a sea of goblins to rescue you. I plan on giving him the chance.
Sir Ryff? You brought Ryff? I have no desire to be rescued, Magelord! Nor any need! She sounded appalled and embarrassed. But also . . . something else. How many of you are there?
Only around three thousand. But it’s a robust three thousand. I explained just who had accompanied us . . . besides Sir Ryff. Fallawen was impressed, but she focused on her own folk’s plight.
We have endured, she repeated. But my father is weary. So are most of our great ones. We win every engagement, eventually, yet we still are losing the battle. They have breached our defenses several times. There are already thousands of gurvani roaming the empty streets. The few of our people who are left are being hunted in their own city. Father himself had to go out and face down the dragon the last time it dared attack. Meanwhile the other one destroys our communes and orchards on the lakeshore!
Just let them know we’re coming. Pull them back off the ice until we get there.
There was a pause, while I was assuming she was relaying the directives. Then she returned.
I have done as you have asked, Magelord, she said, solemnly. And I must also pass along the sincerest appreciation by my father. He . . . he shed tears, Minalan. Tears of gratitude that of all his kindred, the feral humani alone came to his aide in his time of need. In a hundred years I have not seen him so moved.
Tell him that is what allies do, I replied. Something darkened the sky overhead, and I saw the raptors streak back toward the assault for another pass at the horde. The barges were starting to get themselves turned, too.
You might want to find a seat near a window. This should be interesting to watch.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Defense Of Anthatiel
Our flotilla of barges did not pick up near the speed trundling between the goblin lines and the island city as we had moving over the open ice. Momentum played a role, but we’d also lost some dogs. We used the opportunity to blast the gurvani lines broadsides, with spell and shaft as we were pulled past them, another opportunity for Wenek to use his nastiest offensive spells. We took some hits in return, too, though: two barges collided, their teams entangled, inspiring the horde to rush them.
They had a hard time fighting their way out, but another barge skated by in time to lend some aid. In another case the long iron skate of a barge snapped as it turned, leaving the men stranded near where we’d first broke through the line. Master Thinradel and Master Cormoran were in that boat, among others. I wasn’t worried about their safety. And yet another barge was molested by trolls, who attacked it first with stones and then with a long chain that entangled the runners and dogs. That barge had been damaged, the hull crushed by a charge from two siege worms. The Kasari inside used the wreckage as cover as they defended their lives . . . and the dogs. They took especial vengeance on the trolls for harming the giant dogs.
The rest of us couldn’t afford to turn around and go back. It had been hard enough to get the flotilla turned the first time. This was a singular opportunity to effect the battle, and every barge we had needed to deliver troops to the right spot.
“This is going to get bloody,” Sire Cei said, darkly, as the flank of the battle line of siege worms got larger in the distance.
I glanced at the clusters of dead gurvani and the occasional troll on the port side, each with a white Alkan arrow protruding from them. They bled all over the ice, the pools of blood freezing solid as the vital substance came in contact with the enchanted lake. There were Alka Alon bodies scattered about too, fewer in number but no less bloody. This siege had been going for days, I remembered. The frozen lake kept the battlefield from stinking as badly as usual.
“It’s already been bloody,” I sighed.
“You can see they have broken through in places,” Rondal remarked, nodding toward a spot on the island off the starboard side where a dead worm lay, covered in little black furry bodies. More of them were moving further into the city, I could see, as they clambered up walls or fought with Alka Alon in the interior. Anthatiel was breeched. This was going to be a hell of a mess to clean up.
“We should spread out and hit as much of the line as we can at once,” Terleman counseled. “Each barge ram into it as hard as they can, then disembark and attack.”
“I like the lack of subtlety in that plan,” Lorcus agreed, nodding. “What do we do after that, though?”
“Head for the shore,” I decided. “We came here to shore up their defenses. Let’s keep the scrugs out of the plumbing and off the front gate. Once you’ve slain everything you can reach, make for shore.”
“I’ll pass that along,” agreed Terleman, who closed his eyes to do so.
“What about the skyriders, Master?” asked Tyndal. “They can’t keep raining down berserker balls – we’ll be amongst them soon enough, and the last thing I want to see is Magelord Azar acting without restraint.”
“An excellent point,” I agreed. I contacted Dara again. Can you get your squadron to turn its attention to any command centers for a moment while we interrupt their assault?
I think they can do that, she agreed. There’s an actual canopy on the south side of the island, surrounded by worms and comfortably away from even Alkan arrows. There’s a lot of magic happening there, too.
Have them snatch up anyone who looks important and dump them on the island . . . from a couple of hundred feet in the air. Can they manage that?
Just like hunting rabbits in the Westwood back home, she agreed. Oh, I’m about ready, up here.
Now would be a good time to deploy, I agreed. I could see the line of worms distinctly enough to count one of their. I had minutes. Yes, go ahead and do it. Good luck . . . and I’ll see you after the battle, Dara.
“The skyriders are going after the gurvani headquarters,” I announced. “That will keep them out of the way, and hopefully interfere with their command structure.” I glanced around. Everyone had that tense anxiety on their faces that you get when you’re about to face your own violent death. “Everyone, it’s been an honor and a pleasure,” I offered. “When we get there, don’t just be content with killing your own siege worm and moving on. Help your comrades with their siege worms, too.”
“Plenty to go around,” added Lorcus.
“Duin’s blessing on us all!” bellowed Sire Cei, who got a little more religious, I’d noticed, when he was going into battle. Which reminded me of something . . .
I summoned a flame cantriip on the tip of my finger, and the tiny curl of fire danced in the cold wind.
“If you’re listening,” I said softly into the fire, “now would be an excellent time for some divine intervention.” I waited a moment, added a childhood prayer to the Bright One in my head, and let the flame go out. Just in time, too.
“Trolls ahead!” Sarakeem called out from the bow. I took a look. Sure enough, a ragged line of the massive Hulka Alon warriors, slaves of the Dead God all, had brought their table-sized bronze shields into a crude wall to protect the battle line. It would not stop us, I figured, but it would make things very interesting.
“Everyone read
y!” I shouted, and then summoned Blizzard’s short spear point. Twilight hung over my right shoulder. I had wands and a dagger at my belt. My armor was keeping me warm, for once, instead of making me sweat my ass off. And I’d barely killed anything at all, yet.
I smiled. I found I was looking forward to this battle. I’d been a commander so long that I felt a tremendous need to indulge in some cleansing violence. And if there was ever any time for such an indulgence, it was facing such ridiculously overwhelming odds.
I just hoped the dragon didn’t get involved too early. That might complicate things.
“Ready!” my apprentices, Lorcus, and everyone else within earshot agreed. The line of trolls grew closer and closer . . . a hundred feet . . . fifty . . . twenty . . . ten, and close enough to smell them . . . and then Sire Cei was standing in the prow, swinging his new warhammer like Duin himself.
The meteoric iron head hit the center of the nearest troll’s shield on one edge so hard its entire body was spun around, its great arm broken and its shield bent with the force of the blow. The dogs slowed a bit as we passed by the huge defenders, but then sped up as they saw the rest of the foes beyond.
When we got within fifty feet, the Kasari drivers untied their clever knots and let the dogs slip free, not just of the barge but of their harnesses. With the loosing of two knots the entire team of giant dogs was suddenly free and independent . . . and it didn’t take them long to notice that. They quickly spread out in a wide line in front of us, actively trying to get at the huge worms ahead. Before they managed that, the Kasari replaced their reins with weapons and were as ready to fight as I was. You cannot help but admire the Kasari adeptness at such feats.
We all held our breath as the barge slowed, but still carried enough momentum to put us into their lines. Ours was one of the first to hit near the front of the line, close to the flank of their active assault. I had some of the best warriors with me, and I wanted to put them where they would do the most good.
High Mage: Book Five Of The Spellmonger Series Page 58
