A quarter of the arrows missed, falling down on the sand. Of the rest, half struck the shields and the armours of the army while the other half struck down the unfortunate. The fiery arrows set ablaze the furs of the iteys and the clothing of the hesh and the humans. Those hit with the poisoned arrows would feel the effect soon.
“Again!” yelled Almecho.
The archers fired again.
About a hundred more were struck with the arrows. Not enough, thought Almecho. Those poisoned could still fight for another twenty minutes or so and the ones who had been burnt had rolled and extinguished their fires in the sand. Only the iteys had been severely burnt by the fire.
“Aim for the horses!” It was Xalo who had climbed back up and was surveying the incoming force. “The ones riding at the front; you cut their means of transport and at least they won’t catch up with the villagers if we lost here.”
With that, he jumped back down and started lighting the ball of clothes that the guards below had readied on makeshift slingshots.
“Those with the poison arrows, aim for the horses! Those with fire, aim for the Iteys!” Almecho commanded.
The archers let loose their arrows as instructed. The horses headed straight for the wall were larger targets moving in a linear path and thus easier to hit. The Iteys too, given their large figure, were easy to attack compared to the rest of the army. The hit rate was almost at a hundred percent.
Riding against the sunlight, the archers of Rachhas’ army could not aim properly amidst the arrows falling on them and the glare of the sun and sand. Almecho was thankful that they had come from the west early in the morning – this little advantage meant they had no casualties on their side. Yet.
A sudden flash of red light illuminated Almecho and the archers as the ball of clothes, set on fire, flew past over them and unto the unsuspecting troops in the desert. Most of the fireballs missed, however, they succeeded in causing chaos amidst the troops. The ball of clothes unfurled when they hit a soldier or the ground, covering a sizable area in flames. The fire would die out quickly but they bought Raganad’s forces precious time in the form Rachhas’ troops’ hesitation and confusion.
The assault with the arrows continued. Almecho saw a sizable portion of the army branch out and head over to the west-gate some distance away.
“They’re headed for the gate!” he yelled down to Xalo.
Upon hearing Almecho, the red haired knight shouted for the soldiers to continue slinging the fireballs over the walls before taking off immediately for the said gate. He had helped barricade the wooden gate with furniture from the nearby homes. They wouldn’t hold long unless he kept the enemy distracted.
“Shoot anyone who gets past me,” Xalo yelled to the guards hiding in the pillar columns. “Do not come down and engage them directly. You will be needed for the fight inside should they manage to enter.”
They would not succeed in stopping the orcs or the iteys break through the gate and enter the village. The orcs … he had not expected Rachhas to send orc reinforcements. Each of those orcs was as strong as himself and the only advantage he had over them was his agility and his fire powers. Could Almecho fight them? Possibly - Almecho was agile too and as long as he could avoid the grasp of an orc, he could engage them.
Xalo jumped over the furniture stacked against each other, leapt over the metal gate and landed on the sandstone on the other side in a hunched posture with a dull thud. He held his dagger in his hand and set it aflame, heating it until the blade glowed red. It was made of a special metal his master had found for him; it would not soften or become brittle until it was at least white hot. He could use it comfortably while it was red hot, cutting easily through armours and through flesh, dealing unhealable damage as the hot blade seared and cooked the meat it cut into.
He ran head on into the incoming troops, targeting the orcs. He swung his fist and sent out a wave of fire to distract the troops before attacking them. He ran around stabbing the soldiers in their chests and necks and set the iteys on fire if they approached him.
On the wall, Almecho saw Xalo dive into the mass of enemy running for the gate. There were frequent flashes of light as Xalo threw a fireball at the enemies. Almecho longed to join him in a direct confrontation with these soldiers that had come to destroy this village. However, he was needed here to direct his archers and guards.
He hoped that the Twelve had finished doing what Xalo had told them to do. They would be needed soon here when the enemy would inevitably break past the gate. They may be only second Order and weaker than Xalo and Almecho but their battle prowess would contribute greatly here.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a hesh – orc- get past Xalo’s assault. It ran to the gates but was swiftly struck two flame arrows. Almecho had no time to breathe a sigh of relief as the orc was followed by several others. Xalo was getting mobbed by a group of humans on horseback; they must have realized that the knight was targeting only orcs and iteys. The archers posted at the pillars next to the gates tried their best to fell the beasts but the rate at which they surged forward overwhelmed the rate at which the archers could fire.
There was a metal clang behind him. He turned around and saw a couple of archers struggling to remove a harpoon stuck between the stones. The rope attached to it was taut and fell over the wall. The army had reached the wall and was attempting to climb up it. More harpoons followed.
“Focus on firing your arrows!” Almecho ordered as he ran along the perimeter, cutting off the roped with his cuff blades. The archers saw what their chief was doing and focused on attacking those who were attempting to scale the wall using the rope.
Harpoons followed one after another. An archer yelled as a harpoon bored straight through his chest and pulled him down to the sand. A dozen harpoons. Fifty. Hundred.
“Cut the ropes!” Almecho yelled.
The entire plan was going to shambles. They had hoped the enemy would focus on the gate. None of them had expected them to try and scale the wall.
Xalo saw the humans on horses firing harpoons with rope attached to the walls above. No, no, no…
He had to keep them focused on the gate. With a roar, he slammed his fist down on the sand. A burst of flames erupted in a circle around him, frightening off the ones trying to kill him. The sand beneath him hardened as it turned to glass from the extreme heat. The horses neighed in pain as his flames burnt them. Amidst the confusion, Xalo pushed through them surrounded in flames, sprinting straight for the large group attempting to climb the wall on the ropes.
He summoned all his strength and thrust both his fist forward. A giant stream of fire erupted from his fists, travelling parallel to the wall. The enemy screamed in pain as they burned alive. Others screamed as they fell when their ropes burned and snapped.
Xalo stopped. He was breathing hard and quick and drenched in, having exhausted himself. He had never attempted a manoeuvre this large in scope. How far had his flame travelled? Five hundred feet?
“Watch out!”
A man dressed in silver armour tackled an orc to the ground behind Xalo. The orc immediately overpowered the soldier and was about to swing its club down on his head when Xalo’s fist covered in flames struck its head.
The orc fell back howling in pain and it was silenced by a sword through its head. Another man had joined the fight.
Miall and Nayez. Two of the soldiers from the Twelve.
“To the gate quick!” Xalo exclaimed.
He must have wounded and killed over a hundred attempting to climb the walls. He had also burnt their ropes. They must have more rope, Xalo thought, and more than enough troops but, after seeing what he could do, had probably decided to try breaching the village through the gate instead. They were all dull inbred brutes after all.
Almecho had promised to himself to not be surprised at any new displays of Xalo’s power. But after what he had just seen, he could not help but be frightened at what the red knight could do. What if it had been him last night instead of the girl? The village would have been in ruins by now.
The Twelve had arrived mere moments ago. He had ordered Miall and Nayez to go aid the red knight as he seemed exhausted after that awesome display of power.
“Everyone, head to the gate!” Almecho barked.
The Twelve had already run off to help the knight and two of their own at the west gate. The archers seemed slow and clumsier in comparison and they stood up and rushed along the perimeter of the wall towards the gate.
Almecho jumped down inside the village and approached Amy who was busy treating the archers who had been impaled with harpoons and enemy arrows.
“Amy, they have reached the west gate. I need you to head north. If we fail to stop them in the village, I want you to ride without looking back and join the other villagers,” he said and ran off before she could answer.
How many had they managed to kill? A few hundred? Hardly a dent in the enemy population. He had counted about two dozen injured being treated by Amelia. And that was without any direct confrontation.
Would they really succeed in stopping the army?
“Was that fire, sir?” asked a guard.
“The assassin, she is wreaking havoc!” another exclaimed.
Gauld looked across the vast desert at his village in the distant. He could see a swarm of dark figures rushing towards the walls. And amidst the swarm he had seen flashes of red fire. The assassin had indeed returned.
The villagers accompanied by a hundred guards had finally reached the swamp after an hour of trudging through the hot desert. The sand had given away to dirt, and the dirt to mud as they had approached the deadly swamp right at the foot of a giant hill. Ahead of the group, Nidala was dividing the villagers into smaller groups to cross through the swamp safely.
The soldiers had become anxious seeing the attack on their village.
“Our village, what is going to happen to it?”
“Shouldn’t we go help our Chief?”
“We’re but a hundred men and are needed to protect the villagers in the hills.”
“What if the army catches up with us?”
“They don’t know we’re headed this way.”
Gauld snapped to attention at the comment. The army could be seen easily from this place, their darkness a stark contrast against the glaring orange of the desert. But from the village, could the villagers be seen against the green swamp and the hills?
He sprinted to where Nidala was, speaking to a group of elderly.
“Nidala! I need to talk to you,” he said.
The large man looked at Gauld and frowned. “Are they headed this way?” he asked.
“No, but I have a request. Can you take the villagers across this swamp and to Goldwall with only a few soldiers to guard you along the way?”
“What have you got in mind Gauld?”
“I am going to take our soldiers and charge to Raganad and see if we can provide aid to Almecho and those who were left behind. Can you and the men of this village, along with a few trained soldiers defend themselves in the hills beyond?”
“You’re going back to the village to fight?” Nidala examined Gauld’s face. “The assassin is back, isn’t she?” he asked with a soft voice.
“Yes.”
“Then I will go with you.”
“You are needed here.”
“There are others here of my age who know the old route to Goldwall. They can lead the villagers.” Nidala stepped forward, looming over Gauld. “If you go, I go.”
Gauld could see blood in Nidala’s eyes; he thirsted for revenge against the assassin that had killed his son.
“What of your wife?” Gauld asked.
Sharla was halfway across the swamp, awake but weak from shock, riding on a horse that carried children with her.
Nidala hesitated.
“I know you wish to avenge your son. I wish to avenge my old friend Ilalka as well,” Gauld said. “But I am not going back for vengeance. I am going back to help Almecho – your son’s friend and our current Chief – and those that remain in Raganad fight for their lives and escape the village.
“Yes, the assassin is there but she killed Ilalka, our greatest fighter and managed to escape the clutches of Almecho, our second best fighter. What hope do you have against her and her army?”
Nidala kept quiet.
“We will have our vengeance Nidala but to do that we must survive for now. And for that, I need you here to guide these villagers to safety.”
Nidala grunted, frustration clear across his face. “Fine.” He turned to leave. “Gauld, if you do get a chance at that bitch who killed my son, take it.”
“I will.”
The gate shuddered as the army pushed against it. The black iron gate was large and heavy but it would not withstand the force of a thousand pushing against it. Not even with the furniture they had stacked against the cold metal from the inside.
From the pillars at either side of the gate, archers continued shooting arrows down at the army directly below, trying to force their way in. They were trying their best but Xalo knew their efforts would be useless in stopping the blood hungry Rachhas’ force.
The gate budged a little.
“Get down from the pillar and the walls!” Almecho ordered. He too knew that the gate would open and the army would come flooding in a few minutes.
The gate budged a little more.
“Archers, station yourselves on the buildings surrounding my home,” Almecho said. The ones with bows took off running to follow their Chief’s order. “Foot soldiers, you stay here with my and the Twelve. We will lure them to my home.” He turned to Xalo. “I hope your plan works.”
“So do I. You might want to step back a little,” he replied.
“What for?”
“These furniture have been doused with oil.”
Xalo was intending to light them on fire, Almecho realized. The army might get the gate open but they would have a hard time getting through.
The gate scraped; a few furniture fell down between the metal doors, their balance having been disturbed. A few humans screamed as the wood hit them.
“Go now!” Xalo exclaimed.
The Twelve rushed forward towards the gate and started climbing the pillar column. Xalo had planned something with them that Almecho did not know. Six men appeared on the top of the pillars on either side, holding a bucket on their hands.
They poured the oil down on the unsuspecting army below.
Xalo took a step forward and threw an accurately aimed fireball between the gate cracks.
The army lit up in flames.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
