The Brazen City

by Torsten Weitze

  They had arrived in the early afternoon and the Brazen City had resembled a hornets’ nest as the citizens sought out safety and more and more of the soldiers of the 17th Legion arrived, dividing themselves up into the different streets and setting up barricades to secure various parts of the city. Even Ahren could see that the narrow alleyways and tightly packed flat roofs made a defence more difficult, as the Low Fangs would be able to scale the walls with ease and avoid the obstructions below. This would make things more difficult for the crossbow men and women on the rooftops, having to deal not only with the Swarm Claws in the air, but also the Low Fangs on the roofs. Each of the crossbow soldiers had a spear carrier for protection, and Ahren felt nauseous when he realised how chaotic everything would become as soon as the fighting broke out in the inner city. At least the civilian population was safe. The Brazen Clan had once again opened up their halls to the people, and fifty determined warrior dwarves, armed with heavy axes and broad shields, were protecting the heavy gate from attacks by Dark Ones.

  Torches were lit as the evening drew in and visibility worsened. Rillans like blue-white moons flew through the dusk air. Jelninolan was sending these magical messengers as missives were sent from one commander of the defence forces to the next. The elf was responsible for smooth communications during the battle now that Uldini’s normal tactic of having an overview from above was impossible to implement due to the imminent arrival of the flying Swarm Claws. And so, the magical lights delivered the elf’s commands as she sat in the middle of her powerful Charm Net, ready to pick up on the enemies’ movements.

  Ahren looked doubtfully up at the heavens and thanked the gods that at least the sky was clear on top of the mountain and the moon was shining brightly. He and the crossbow soldiers would have no chance against the Swarm Claws if it were totally dark.

  A heavy silence fell over the streets as the defence forces waited on edge for the arrival of the servants of the dark god. Ahren kept catching himself out, looking with concern over at Khara, and he scolded himself for not staying fully concentrated. The young woman was in good hands, with Trogadon and Falk on either side, and she was well capable of looking after herself – or so Ahren told himself again and again.

  The first cry of alarm echoed from the other side of the city, and even before the first Rilllan whizzed in their direction, Ahren knew that the battle for the Brazen City had just begun.

  Chapter 24

  It was sheer torture for Ahren to remain at his post and listen helplessly to the sounds of fighting and screaming coming from the southern side of the city. The young Forest Guardian knew he had to stay put and support his friends – that there was no point in running around like a headless chicken. But that made things no easier when it came to listening to other people fighting and dying.

  He sighed almost in relief when at last he saw a dark cloud of black birds with leather wings rising above the shelter of the northern mountain ridges, a manifestation of blood and claws swarming towards the city with the mission of destroying its defenders. He drew an arrow from his quiver and deftly shot a Swarm Claw that had come too close, and watched it tumble to the ground. The crossbow men and women left and right did the same, and a part of Ahren’s brain took great satisfaction at the admiring glances he was earning as he systematically shot one Swarm Claw after the other out of the night skies.

  Tragically, however, for every one of the murderous birds he killed, another three made it safely to the narrow city streets where they were far enough to be safe from the arrows and bolts, and from where could be heard the screams of pain as the razor-sharp beaks and claws of the Swarm Claws ripped into the soldiers fighting at ground level.

  His face the picture of concentration, Ahren redoubled his efforts and emptied his first quiver in double quick time. As he was placing the second quiver against the battlement, he saw in the distance the first squat figures of the Low Fangs springing over the roofs, every one of these misshapen creatures deformed by the Dark god into its own unique form. They were still far enough away for Ahren to continue concentrating on the Swarm Claws, but once he had emptied the second quiver he noticed that the centre of the city had been transformed into a witches cauldron, with the defenders caught up in a maelstrom of claws, beaks and spurting blood, trying desperately to distinguish friend from foe.

  Ahren began a new quiver and sought out his targets among the intensive single combats that were playing out on the surrounding rooftops. Wherever he thought he could help, an arrow shot into a Low Fang or a Swarm Claw. Few of these shots proved fatal, but most tipped the balance in a heartbeat. And yet on three occasions he saw soldiers he was trying to assist tumbling to their deaths under the claws of the Low Fangs, and every time it tore at his heart.

  Enraged, he was just peppering one of the creatures with three arrows dispatched at lightning speed when he heard a hoarse cry of terror behind him Ahren spun around and saw what had horrified one of the pike men so much. The massive figure of the Glower Bear was pushing his way up the mountain, a smoke and muscle force of nature, his contours barely visible through the bubbling black smoke that constantly rose up from him. Several of the crossbow men and women shot instinctively at the shadowy beast who promised death in smoke and darkness.

  ‘Cease fire!’ barked Ahren in a commanding voice, and to his surprise the soldiers followed his order. ‘The bolts are simply ricocheting off him. You’re wasting your ammunition while your comrades are being torn to pieces by the Swam Claws. Direct your projectiles to the heavens and put your faith in Baron Falkenstein.’

  There were low cheers all around him as the archers gained renewed courage, and they recommenced their targeting of the birdlike Dark Ones.

  Falk looked up towards Ahren and saluted him, and his eyes were glowing with pride. Then the old Paladin turned back and barked out an order of his own. The Pike Carriers raised their weapons and now there was a forest of steel pike-heads in position facing the Glower Bear, who was forty paces away and sniffing the air. His glowing red eyes looked curiously at the soldiers ranged against him. Then he stood up on his hind paws and let forth an earth-splitting roar, which shook Ahren to the very core. The sound echoed powerfully over the soldiers who crouched down.

  ‘Stand your ground!’ roared Falk and drew his sword. ‘If the Speer Wall doesn’t hold, the beast will cause carnage in the city!’

  The figure, almost five paces high, went back down on his four paws again and began trotting towards them awkwardly. Meanwhile the Pike Bearers resumed their upright position and resumed their formation, and Ahren could see Khara and Trogadon taking up their positions on the flanks. Selsena scraped the ground with her hooves and lowered her horn as the Glower Bear picked up speed.

  Ahren was so caught up in the action that he forgot his own advice, and it was only Culhen’s warning that saved him from a plummet attack of a Swarm Claw.

  Watch out! roared the wolf, and the apprentice instinctively ducked his head, and escaped with just a few bloody scratches on his scalp as a Dark One brushed past him.

  Ahren raised his bow and shot the creature out of the sky, but suddenly there were two dozen more Swarm Claws heading directly towards him and the crossbow soldiers. Ahren’s fingers flew into action as arrow after arrow raced from the bowstring, cutting a swathe through the small swarm. His comrades defended themselves bravely, but in this single heartbeat he saw two of them fall victim to the natural weapons of the murderous birds. His bow in his right hand, Ahren drew Wind Blade with his left, and swung it above and below in a defence parry so that he was standing in a glittering copula of razor-sharp steel, which injured three Swarm Claws before they could get through to him.

  He was about to help one of his fellows when he heard an almighty crash behind him, so loud that he almost fell off the wall. The young Forest Guardian recovered his balance in a crouching position, and Wind Blade continued with its complicated patterns above his head, while he risked a look downwards which took his breath away.
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  The Glower Bear had crashed his way into the phalanx, snapping the thick spears as if they were straws and not pikes as fat as a forearm. Here and there was a spearhead sticking into the smoking skin, but to his horror, the only thing Ahren could see that slowed down the creature was the bodies of the soldiers hopelessly wedged together, which the Glower Bear rampaged into with swipes of his paws, every one of which tore off limbs or sundered bodies apart.

  Ahren turned away with a feeling of nausea, still fighting off the oncoming Swarm Claws, when a Rillan came whizzing past and Jelninolan’s ghostly voice sounded above the city gate: ‘Keep your eyes peeled – a High Fang is diverting a swarm towards you!’

  The young Forest Guardian hurriedly looked around him until he finally spotted a pale figure watching both him and the crossbow men and women. Ahren could see three eyes in a white-hued face that looked quite human, and it dawned on him that this was the High Fang in question. The unearthly creature cowered one hundred paces away on a flat roof and coordinated through commanding arm movements the focused Swarm Claw attack on their positions.

  Breathing heavily, Ahren tried his best to ignore everything around him: the screams of the dying pike bearers and archers, the bloody chaos in the streets of the Brazen City, and the increasing panic within his own heart that he couldn’t slay them all at once. The young man sensed that he needed to act, or he would be trapped in this deadly paralysis.

  Give me cover! he transmitted to Culhen and leaped from the wall onto one of the nearby flat roofs, where he rolled up onto his feet with a gasp. The wolf leaped after him, simultaneously plucking a Swarm Claw out of the sky with his mouth and preventing it from slicing Ahren’s neck with its beak. Tastes like rotten rabbit, complained the wolf before spitting out the cadaver in disgust.

  Ahren’s manoeuvre meant he was no longer a focus of the swarm for a moment and he quickly used the opportunity to turn his bow towards the High Fang, who was still directing the birds on their bloodthirsty mission. A magic fireball was burning above the Brazen City – thrown undoubtedly by Uldini in the direction of the furious cloud of Swarm Claws, from which the winged Dark Ones launched attack after attack. Now that there were fewer crossbow men and women, the first of the animals were gliding down towards the defenders before the destroyed city gate, who were risking their lives in their attempt to push back the Glower Bear. There were screams from the wedged in pike bearers as they saw the harbingers of death approaching from above.

  Ahren pulled an arrow from his quiver and banished the wolf, who was springing into the air again and catching another Swarm Claw, from his thoughts. For a fraction of a heartbeat he attained the peace of the Void, and Ahren used this moment to let his arrow fly. The tip of the projectile flew in a low arc over the houses of the Brazen City before landing in the throat of the High Fang, who with a look of surprise toppled backwards off the building and smashed down onto the darkened street below.

  Ahren suppressed a scream of delight and spun around to see if his action had brought about the desired effect, but there didn’t seem to be much of a change. And so, he remained where he was, targeting the Dark Ones that were tormenting the crossbow soldiers that remained above the city gate.

  At some point his quiver was empty, but so too was the sky above the fourteen remaining soldiers who ranged above the gate. They waved over at him in gratitude, then turned their attention towards saving the pike bearers from the onslaught of Swarm Claws. The death of the High Fang clearly had clearly ensured no further attack on the crossbow men and women, temporarily at least.

  Ahren observed how Falk and Trogadon attacked the Glower Bear on either side of his flanks, who reacted furiously by swiping left and right, almost casually tossing another four pike bearers aside, where they lay on the ground, lifeless and bloody.

  Trogadon smashed one mighty hammer blow after another on the raging Dark One, but if the beast felt anything, he certainly wasn’t showing it. Falk, for his part, was thrusting his sword repeatedly at the creature’s neck, while Selsena was using her horn to keep the bear at bay. The area before the gate was a mass of dead, wounded and terrified pike bearers, the latter nevertheless stabbing at the Glower Bear from every possible angle, trying to stop the smoking figure of fire and claws.

  Ahren had no more arrows to intervene, and his way back to the wall was obstructed by individual close combat fights and corpses, the area now swarming with Low Fangs. And so Ahren drew his sword and pointed towards the city gate. We should help the others, he said to Culhen, and jumped off the roof, landing with an unintended crash and rolling forward. The drop was further than he had calculated, and Ahren realised that pride did indeed come before a fall, sometimes quite literally. Culhen landed gently beside him, and the wolf’s eyes blazed defiantly out into the darkness, while he mercifully refrained from commenting on their contrasting landings.

  Ahren used the animal to pull himself back onto his feet and together they forced their way to the gate, where a horrifying sight presented itself to them. Trogadon was down on his knees, his chainmail top of Deep Steel was still intact, but Ahren could tell by the dwarf’s tell-tale slumped posture that he had several broken ribs. At least two dozen pike bearers were helping Falk to contain the Glower Bear, but with every swipe of the paw there were fewer, and Selsena’s flanks had tell-tale signs of claw marks from which deep-red blood was seeping. Falk had lost his helmet, the sweat was rolling down his back, and Ahren could see that the thrusts and parries of his master no longer exhibited their familiar panache.

  He saw all this with a troubled eye, but one realisation caused his heart to miss a beat. Khara was nowhere to be seen, and he hadn’t seen her since the first Glower Bear attack. Terrible visions raged through his head as he raced towards the bear and the surrounding piles of bodies. What if Khara was one of the lifeless forms scattered about in the weak light of the torches? Or what if she had been tossed down the mountain like so many unfortunate souls that had been swept aside by the Glower Bear’s paws?

  With tears in his eyes, Ahren came to a halt beside Trogadon to take up his position at the flank of the smoking monster. ‘Where’s Khara?’ he asked breathlessly as he evaded a swipe of the paw, which was almost the size of his torso.

  Trogadon didn’t answer, but only shook his head. Ahren could see that the dwarf’s neck was shimmering a deep-blue colour, and so bruised that the squat figure was only still alive because of his incredible robustness.

  With all the willpower he could muster, Ahren pushed aside his fears for the swordswoman’s safety, and indicated to Trogadon that he should pull back. Then he stabbed wildly into the smoking skin of the bear in the hope of giving Falk a break as soon as the Dark One’s head would spin around to the apprentice.

  Ahren almost wet himself when his plan worked and he was looking into the bear’s ferociously blazing red eyes, which loomed above his fangs, the length of a forearm. The mighty animal howled at him, his mouth wide open, and the sheer power of the noise almost knocked Ahren off his feet. This was followed by a quick bite, then a downward paw-strike intended to pin Ahren to the ground, and the young man seized his chance. He threw himself to the side – not to the safety on the right, but to the left, directly under the beast’s chin and within reach of his fangs. He rolled into position and plunged Wind Blade with a triumphant grimace straight up into the animal’s throat, intending to put an end to the destructive power of the monster for once and for all.

  The steel slipped through the skin and muscles deep into the flesh of the neck…and snapped when the Glower Bear shook his head, tossing Ahren away.

  Completely dumbstruck, Ahren was thrown against the city wall, just at that moment when he expected to be the victorious hero. His right foot broke under the force of the collision, and his vision was blurred even before he hit the ground. Dazed, he tried to make out Wind Blade’s broken handle, which he was still holding in his left hand, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest as he tried to come to terms with what had
just occurred. None of his daring deeds had ever misfired so badly before, and as Falk frantically stabbed at the Glower Bear, the massive creature trundled ever closer to the young Paladin, who tried in vain to pull himself up. Culhen threw himself into the beast’s path with an almighty howl, but was flung casually aside into Selsena’s flank, the horse tumbling to the ground with a whinny and landing on top of Falk in the process.

  The last remaining pike bearers dropped their weapons and fled back into the city as the Glower Bear loomed over Ahren.

  The feeling of having been betrayed by the gods overwhelmed Ahren as he looked death in the face and prepared to breathe his last. The only glimmer of hope for the future without Ahren was that he could sense Culhen was still alive. Then something happened behind the Glower Bear. One of the soldier corpses was pushed aside and an arm peeked forth from under it. With lightning speed and unerring accuracy, it swung Wind Blade and sliced the Glower Bear’s right Achilles tendon.

  The young Paladin was certain he heard a snapping sound as the tendon was sliced in two, and then the Bear roared and began to sway.

  Khara pulled herself up out of the hiding place she had been lurking in for a considerable time and sliced at the other leg, causing the massive figure to fall directly forward.

  Ignoring the scraping feel in the bones of his foot, Ahren threw himself sideways with all his might to escape the collapsing colossus, which would have crushed him to smithereens otherwise. Dust and earth were thrown into the air as the Glower Bear crashed into the city wall, and Ahren crawled painfully away from the monster, who could only shake his head in bemusement. Khara leaped gracefully onto the creature’s back and with two quick movements she was at the Glower Bear’s neck, before he had a chance to find his bearings. She grasped Wind Blade with both hands and drove it with all her might in between his cervical vertebra. A grinding sound could be heard, and the gigantic creature shuddered. Then the Glower Bear rose up to his full height once more, and Khara leaped off in a graceful arc only to land unceremoniously on a heap of bodies which broke her fall. The enormous Dark One on the other hand, completely stunned, fell with a thundering crash onto his side, trying desperately to soften the fall with his claws.