Glory to the Brave (Ascend Online Book 4)
Page 88
“Which makes that our cue to get ready,” I said, pitching my voice just loud enough so that both Amaranth and Ameron could hear me, the elven gunner and his crew having been making continuous adjustments to the siege engine with every step the siegebreaker took.
“Right, that it is, sir,” the elf replied as he reached into a belt pocket to pull out a green-tinged battle potion, quickly thumbing it open and shooting it back in a smooth motion. “Æthertouched bolt locked and ready to go soon as the sparks finish their next cast. We’ll make you a good landing spot for your trip.”
“Perfect,” I said, my hand moving in a similar motion as the scout’s in also pulling free a pair of potions from my belt. But where his had been a pale green in color, the two that I’d selected were a dark rust instead, identifying them each as a Battle Potion of Strength. “We’ll see you all when we get back.”
“Right you will,” Ameron replied, offering me a final nod before I turned towards Amaranth.
“Okay,” I said as I bent down towards him, pausing just long enough to feed him the strength vial before standing back up. “Now this is the part where the fun really begins. Are you ready?”
“Great,” I said as I too drank down my potion, feeling my muscles tighten and grow in response. “Because it’s too late to change our mind, they’re about to cast again.”
Shifting towards the casters as the magic began to build in the air once again, Amaranth and I made sure to follow suit with our own spells, casting Jump on ourselves in preparation for the next step in our plan. Then as they had just a few seconds earlier, the mages unleashed the torrent of magic that they’d be been conjuring and flung it at the siegebreaker once again turning the air into a blistering storm of energy. This time, however, I wasn’t able to watch the result of their efforts, instead drawing Savagery and activating Alacrity before moving to sprint towards the wall’s end as fast as my feet could take me. Taking what only felt like a pair of seconds to reach it, my foot touched down on the palisade’s edge at the same instant that I heard a peal of thunder echo out from the coming storm above.
Here goes nothing, I thought as I stared ahead towards the now not-so-distant siegebreaker, feeling my legs coil and tense beneath me.
And then with a mighty leap, the next thing I knew, I was airborne.
Chapter 68
Wind and rain greeted me as I sailed through the air towards the siegebreaker, feeling the first telltale drops of the oncoming storm as they splashed across my face. Fortunately, though, neither at the moment were strong enough to affect my trajectory as my momentum carried me towards my target, the creature having been temporarily blotted from sight by the magic that Halcyon and the others were throwing at it. But as I reached the apex of my leap, the elemental storm rapidly began to wane, finally giving me a clear view of the massive monstrosity and the two groups of orcs standing on top of it.
Just in time for me to see a speeding bolt of dark metal streak through my vision.
Slicing through the air almost faster than I could make out even with my Alacrity-enhanced senses, I saw the projectile shatter the orcs’ protective magic, causing a flare of power to erupt in the middle of the rearmost group and sending them all to the ground. Continuing onwards as it pierced through the shield, Ameron’s shot then arrived at its target, the bolt lancing through the group of spellcasters that had been standing on the siegebreaker’s head, instantly killing a pair of them and wounding a third before flying out of sight. Yet despite ravaging their ranks, that wasn’t all that the attack did, the siege engine’s special ability then afflicting the group and filling them each with terror. Scattering from their tightly knit group, the orcs instinctively scattered in every direction away from the bolt, one of them going as far as to even leap off the siegebreaker in a panic.
Well, this looks like a promising start, I thought as watched the scene unfold, feeling gravity begin to reassert its hold on me and pull my body back down towards the ground. Aided by both my magic and the strength potion I had drunk, I’d been able to clear well over a hundred feet in my leap from Aldford’s palisade towards the siegebreaker, crossing the majority of the distance with little effort. But that still left me just short of being able to reach and safely land on the creature.
Or at least it would have, had I not had other tricks to extend my leap.
Taking my eyes temporarily off my target, I eyed the air above me for a split second as I tried to gauge my timing, eventually fixating on a spot and triggering Blink Strike. With the world blurring as I shifted locations, I suddenly found myself both higher in the air and closer towards my goal, having gained the needed altitude and distance I’d needed to clear my leap. With that final adjustment done, there was nothing left for me to do but brace myself for the landing that I saw rapidly coming before me.
A landing that by virtue of their panicked flailing and running around, happened to be directly on top of two Heralds of Riius.
Passing through the dissipating haze of magic that was the remains of the orcs’ shield, I crashed into both the heralds simultaneously feet first, my weight and momentum serving to knock one of them straight off the siegebreaker while driving the other to the ground beneath me. Gasping from the brutal impact, I felt the air rush out of my lungs as I finally came to stop on top of the hapless orc that I’d crash-landed on, the sound of his bones cracking under me filling my ears. Wheezing as I shook off the collision, I didn’t hesitate to make the most of my landing, delivering a vicious openhanded chop to the herald’s throat and caving it in, courtesy of my battle potion enhanced strength. Choking and gurgling from the blow, the move bought me enough time to shift my weight off the orc before delivering a powerful shove with my foot to his side, sending him sliding off the siegebreaker to join his companion.
That’s five down and however many left to go, I thought while scrambling back up to my feet, retching slightly in the process as I sucked in a lungful of the tainted, rotting stench that emanated from the black-grey mud that was the siegebreaker. Pushing myself up, I found my balance on the lumbering creature’s back just in time to hear Amaranth land somewhere beside me, the cat letting out a loud roar to announce his arrival. Glancing in the direction of the noise, I saw that he’d chosen to arrive similarly as me, landing directly on top of the wounded orc spellcaster I’d seen struck by the bolt and promptly tearing him to shreds. And now that makes six.
Knowing that we only had seconds before our arrival was noticed, neither of us wasted the time to enjoy our kills, instead rushing towards the next pair of heralds closest to us who had also been affected by the Beast’s terrifying magic. But where the others had been compelled to flee by the death of their comrades, these appeared to have just been merely shaken by it, their mental defenses strong enough to partially resist the magical fear.
Not that it saved them in the end.
Still enhanced by Alacrity, we both managed to cross the distance separating us faster than either of them could even begin to react, their reactions dulled just enough for Amaranth and me to have every advantage that we needed to end the fight before it could even begin. Arriving simultaneously on top of our flat-footed opponents, we hit them without remorse or reservation, Perfect Strike allowing me to deliver a flawless cut to the orc’s throat before his eyes could even finish widening in surprise. Similar was Amaranth’s attack, the cat electing to strike with a punishing swipe of his paw that struck his target’s head with enough force that I heard its spine audibly shatter from the impact, sending it twisting at an unnatural angle.
It was then, at that point, just as Amaranth and I claimed both our seventh and eighth victims, that the other orcs on the still-moving siegebreaker finally discovered that they were under attack. Reacting with a loud shout of alarm, we had just enough time to realize that we’d been spotted before we abruptly found ourselves being seared by a blast of magical fire.
“Lyrian! I was starting to wonder when you’d show yourself!” he exclaimed the second he saw me, his spear thrusting out in my direction by way of greeting. “But I have to say I wasn’t expecting you to come all the way out here! Did you decide you wanted to get a front-row seat of us taking your little town apart?”
“Why, it’s nice to see you too, Carver!” I called back to the man doing my best to bury my surprise at his sudden appearance, barely managing to check my run and bring Savagery downwards to block his attack. Connecting with the weapon’s haft solidly, my temporarily enhanced strength allowed me to easily deflect the spear out of the way before it could hit me. “But actually, I came by to ask if you got my message. Because that was some leak that you had there with the feed the other day. I mean, damn, stabbed right in the back like that without any warning. It really sucks when it happens to you, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, I really appreciate your concern there, Lyrian,” Carver replied in a dismissive tone despite his eyes widening in surprise at the unexpected strength behind my parry, his stance shifting into a more defensive one as he continued to speak. “But I think you’ll be happy to hear that thanks to your help, I was actually able to plug that leak rather quickly. I always knew that you were a hard man—when you needed to be, at least—but I never thought you of all people would do poor Ignis so cold like that. But after I started looking, I found what I needed to know.”
“What can I say, Carver? You and yours just bring out the best in me,” I replied, seeing his defensive shift and taking that as a cue to press my attack, delivering a pair of brutal strikes to his shield and carving deep lines across its surface. As I did, I couldn’t help but ponder his words, wondering just what exactly he was talking about.
Does he actually think that Ignis and I were working behind his back? I asked myself, just barely having enough time to form the thought before my eye suddenly caught sight of a flash of violet magic from behind the man. Adjusting slightly as I took advantage of Carver’s defensive stance, I peered past the man in hopes of getting a better look at exactly what was going on, only to find myself cursing as I spotted the other group of orc casters. Shit! They’ve already recovered and are starting to recast the shield! How did they manage it so—
I never had a chance to finish my thought as it was abruptly interrupted by a bright bolt of electricity that lanced past me on my left, the white-hot magic scorching a deep line across the mud that was the siegebreaker’s flesh. Realizing instantly what the bolt meant and what was following behind it, I snapped my attention back towards Carver just long enough to plant a heavy kick directly in the center of his shield, sending him staggering backward away from me. My next move after that was to throw myself flat against the war beast’s back while shouting at Amaranth to do the same.
Just barely managing to get the words out before the world around me erupted into chaos, Amaranth and I were then treated to another round of Halcyon and the other spellcasters’ magical assault on the siegebreaker.
Except this time instead of watching their efforts from a distance, we were able to experience it firsthand.
Slamming into the war beast with a palpable force, we were thrown forward as the tidal wave of destructive magic arrived, sliding several feet across the siegebreaker’s spine as it staggered from the impact. But before either of us could slide too far, Amaranth was able to dig his claws into the mud beneath him and anchor himself, so that when he caught my arm in his jaws, I came to an abrupt stop, instead of continuing what I was certain would have been a fatal journey off the side of the siegebreaker and into the horde of orcs below.
Damn, that was so close! We could have been rid of him without needing to fight! I cursed as I saw the man save himself at the last second, quickly twisting my body so I could grab hold of Amaranth’s armor to anchor myself, the cat releasing me from his jaws the moment I was secure. Scrambling from there, I used him as leverage to help get my legs under me and into a crouched position as the magic continued to rage, blasts of lightning, fire, and ice spraying the air all around us, but leaving us relatively untouched. It seemed that Halcyon and the other casters had managed to keep their aim fixated mostly on the war beast itself, reducing the chance that they’d accidentally strike us if we kept low enough on the creature and didn’t move any more than we had to.
Not that their consideration is going to do much if the orcs manage to get that shield up again, I said to myself, recalling the last sight I’d seen before their attack arrived, immediately shifting my focus to glance towards the rear group of spellcasters. Spotting them easily, I saw that they stood not only completely unscathed by all the magic flying through the air but also with a brightly glowing violet orb between them, it having substantially grown in strength in the few seconds since I’d last seen it. Wondering if I’d be able to disrupt it from this far, I reached out with my hunger and sharply yanked on the magic empowering it, feeling a surge of energy shoot through me a second later. Unfortunately however, the effect wasn’t enough to destabilize the spell that the orcs were casting, the sphere wobbling under my ability’s effect before stabilizing itself. Feeling my heart fall as I stared at it, I returned to my earlier truncated thoughts, wondering just how they’d managed to begin casting another shield so quickly. But this time, however, instead of being interrupted by a hailstorm of magic mid-thought, I was able to see firsthand how the orcs had empowered their spell as a familiar figure stepped into view.
“Zhul,” I whispered, instantly recognizing the tall and powerfully built orc as he stepped around the glowing orb and into view, my earlier suspicions of him being on the siegebreaker proving to be true. Continuing to move as he came into sight, I noticed he was carrying a limp figure—a robed herald if I wasn’t mistaken—in one of his arms, along with what looked like a long-bladed dagger in the other.
Confused by what I saw, it was all I could do to keep staring at the warlord as another round of particularly intense magic arrived, its effects pinning Amaranth and me in place as it splashed dangerously close around us. That then gave us a perfect vantage point to see Zhul shift the herald that he’d been carrying until he held them at arm’s length by the collar directly in front of the spinning orb. As he did, I was able to see that he was muttering something that I couldn’t make out, his words ending with a sudden plunge of the dagger into the herald’s chest.
“What?!” I exclaimed, my eyes widening in shock as I saw Zhul stab the orc, causing it to writhe in sudden pain. “What the hell is he doing?”
“What he has to,” I heard Carver growl in an acidic tone in response to my surprise, prompting my eyes to flick in his direction and see that he’d managed to twist himself into a crouched position, the same as me. “What you’ve forced him to do.”
“What the hell are you
talking about? I haven’t forced him to do anything!” I called back to the man as I shifted my gaze back towards Zhul and the struggling herald in his grasp, seeing the orc reach at the weapon protruding from his chest.
But before he could make contact with the dagger, his fingers suddenly began to turn to dust, followed quickly behind by the remainder of his hand and arm. Continuing rapidly, the next thing I knew, whatever magic that Zhul had afflicted him with had caused the orc’s entire body to completely disintegrate until all that there was left of him was a cloud of shimmering flakes billowing outwards from his tattered robes. Swirling through the air for a heartbeat, the dust was then absorbed by the violet orb, causing it to flare with power.
“Haven’t you, Lyrian?” Carver asked as the orc’s sacrifice caused the sphere to more than double in size. “You’ve been meddling from the beginning and constantly sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong. Did you really think that we wouldn’t do something about it? Even now, I can smell the Naffarian magic on you. I’ll tell you now that it won’t work and save you the time from trying.”
Save me the time from trying what exactly? I thought with confusion as I was forced to pull my eyes away from the orb’s sudden brightness. This wasn’t the first time that Carver had referenced something that he clearly thought that I knew about the Nafarr, enough so that he and the orcs had apparently based all of their decisions off it. But what the hell could it be? The only thing that I know is what the memories showed me this morning, and even then, there was barely anything involving the orcs. They were only in the first—
My eyes widened in sudden understanding as several pieces abruptly clicked into place in my mind, the fast start to the morning and subsequent fighting having kept me from fully processing the memories that’d experienced.
He thinks that I can dominate the orcs the same way that the Nafarr used to, I realized, recalling how the one Nafarrian woman in my memories had somehow taken control of the orc warband after killing the magelord. It’s the only thing that would make sense given what I know and saw in the memory. But I can’t do that…can I?