The group fanned out even more, almost into a straight line. The ball of fire continued to grow, but slowly, deliberately. As the Ridgerazers faced the gatehouse, there was movement up above.
“There’s someone up there!” Dolnila shouted.
“Shift that dome!” Porzivis directed. “Do you have it extended to the ground?” He looked up and saw the city’s defenders trickling back to the top of the gatehouse. A chill of panic ran through his body, but he focused on the task.
“Damn it! They must see something. Release in three… two… one!”
The two conjuring the dome timed its release to coincide with the attack. The Ridgerazers summoning the projectile instantly shifted their focus from containment to propulsion. In a coordinated effort that took less than a second, they ceased growing the sphere of fire and shot it towards the gatehouse.
It flew across the hundred or so yards and detonated against the door with a violent slam and a splatter of fire. The gate absorbed most of the force, but bits of flame shot out and latched on.
“Prepare a new assault, and get a new dome up!” the Grand Ridgerazer shouted. “Move with me; let's keep them guessing.”
The group of witches and warlocks shifted forward and swung back together in their square, uniting again to summon another blast of fire. A new dome draped into place above them. As the group began manipulating another fire sphere, Porzivis stepped away, focusing instead on the straggling defenders.
“Keep going!”
He spread his arms wide and then violently slapped his hands together. With enough experience, knowledge, and power to only focus on the top of the gatehouse, he latched onto the battlements, and squeezed the highest sections together, sealing any crenels through which arrows could be fired. Once the gaps were closed, he then crouched down and pressed up against the resistance of his magic, raising the height of the battlements by a few feet. The Torgurian sight line from the top of the gatehouse had been obstructed.
But just when the threat from the top of the gatehouse ceased, a small group of Torgurian mages unleashed a volley of energy bolts in the direction of the hidden Ridgerazers.
The swarm of bolts flew towards them. Many missed and melted into the ground, but most struck the cloak dome. Some that struck were deflected, but there were too many. They began to strike and stick. The dome quickly became visible as it fizzled and cracked, before finally shattering out into nothing. The waiting Torgurian archers nocked and loosed arrows the moment the dome disintegrated.
An archer’s arrow from the left of the gatehouse found its target, striking Porzivis in the chest. He fell to his knees before immediately stumbling back to his feet. Dolnila stepped out of the square, picked up a stone the size of a fist, and launched it at the archer with the same magic used to fire the spheres at the gate. The stone struck the archer and knocked him off the wall. Dolnila scrambled over and helped Porzivis rejoin the square.
“Come on!” Porzivis screamed to the group before grimacing from his wound. “Faster!”
The next sphere was just about ready, but valuable time and momentum had been wasted. Brinnock’s defenders were returning at a troubling rate.
The sphere grew, and the casters leaned in. Again, the square split and fanned out. With another violent shove, the second fireball shot towards the gate. The doors trembled and groaned beneath the barrage. Chains and wrought iron rattled. Wood split and creaked as more fire took hold.
“Another! Go! Go!” Porzivis shouted.
Yet again, they came back together in a square. The Ridgerazers panted and sweated, grunted and groaned. The size of the group and the energy required made them good for only one, possibly two more blasts.
Once more, a pebble of light sparked into existence. The area inside the square began to glow, and the Ridgerazers latched on and fed off the result of their focus. Their focus grew. Their power multiplied. Another devastating ball of fire swarmed and swirled. Flames licked up to the sky from the center of their square as more archers returned to the nearby sections of wall.
“Hurry!” a Ridgerazer shouted.
The group split and began to fan out a third time, but this time, a half-dozen archers released their arrows, catching one ‘Razer in the neck and another in the leg.
The Ridgerazer with the arrow to the neck went down immediately. Struck in the jugular, he fell to his knees before slumping onto his side, dead. The woman with the arrow in the leg cried out from the sting but maintained her focus. With the lost energy from the dead Ridgerazer, the group struggled to exert control over the mass of flames in their midst.
But the group reached their release posture once again, and unleashed the blast of their third sphere of fire. As it struck, the gate snapped and split, but still wasn’t completely compromised. The compounding fire would help with that. Still, it was too slow. The Grand Ridgerazer barked out a passionate rally after reaching up to snap off the arrow’s shaft close to his body.
“Shouldn’t we focus on some of these archers?” Dolnila suggested. Her voice bordered on insolence.
“There’s no time!” Porzivis reprimanded. “They can’t be allowed to brace that gate. Once more! Now! For your queen! For our people!”
After shouting, Porzivis heard shuffling feet behind him. He turned to see a row of friendly archers nocking arrows to provide some support.
He looked back to his ‘Razers and watched the exhausted group swing back together. He saw their legs shaking under the strain. He knew their vision must be blurry from weakness. They must be thirsty. Ormaybe that’s just me. He coughed wetly, his lungs burning with the heat of exhaustion.
Despite his assumptions, the Ridgerazers focused. A fourth pebble of fire popped into existence. The pebble grew into a bulb, and then a fist-sized orb of fire. They had one more in them.
But
