The storm of falling ice cut down their numbers quickly, leaving all in the center of the formation dead. A half-dozen or so recovered from the edges of the spell and charged our center again.
The reprieve in battle was short-lived as a wave of huge, black forms bounded forward, pouncing on our front line. The Unfey spiders were officially in the battle.
I used Dodge as one of the great spiders stabbed at me with a pronged leg, then screamed for all I was worth, “AOE spells now! Casters and ranged, all out!” Oliver was not so lucky, and he caught one of the spear-like appendages in his throat. His following scream was bloody, and though he was dying, he still activated his halberd and threw an energetic form of the weapon through the spider, dropping it dead.
Several more cries of pain issued from our forces. Thankfully, a few more AOE spells came to our aid. The one that helped the most was Muddy Bog. The same deep mud formed before us, pulling the spiders into its grasp and causing them to slow and stumble. Tejón used Gravel Storm again, and a few new spells landed, making the bridge a site of total destruction.
Still, there were more of the spiders than I’d realized, and they pressed their attack ruthlessly. Our fighters continued to fall, and the frontlines began to weaken. Tejón roared in frustration and charged out into the mass of piling bodies. I yelled at him to pull back, but the rage in his eyes was apparent. I watched as he used Lava Burst, the glowing ball of magma forming around him and expanding, all attacks thrown at him being scorched away.
Then it burst, splashing the spiders with molten earth. They howled in pain and fell back from the bear. He pressed his attack, using Mauling Frenzy a second time and cutting down several of the spiders with his huge claws. Their barbed legs had trouble penetrating his armor, but many still managed to cut into him. I saw him absorb several attacks, draining his HP.
I used Companion Mend just in time, and the bear managed to escape their midst. He retreated to the ground behind our front line, paralyzed by their poison.
Some beefy caster launched a sphere of power into the remaining spiders, killing many more of them and frightening the rest. What was left of the Unfey Nightmares retreated, their awkward forms skittering away. Perhaps whatever discipline they possessed had finally been broken.
The ratkin were a different story, though. Fifty fresh soldiers crashed into us, and the battle became desperate. Players and guards alike began dying in quick succession.
Then a horn rang through the air, and the gates opened behind us. A familiar voice called out, “To the front! Relieve the front!” A dozen city guards rushed forward, pushing between us and shoving the ratkin back with their shields. More telling was the addition of twenty more archers, who dropped the ratkin soldiers in a ruthless series of volleys.
In another few minutes of pitched battle, the last of the ratkin fell dead. The Battle of the Bridges had finally ended, and though our losses were many, the day was officially ours.
A shout of victory rose from our allied forces, but it was lacking conviction. Too many had been lost. Yet if the force we’d just faced had broken into the city itself, it would have been horrific. Instead of dozens dead, it would have been hundreds.
Miles shouted orders and the wounded were triaged, the dead carried away to be counted and dealt with. I saw Akira push a huge, dead spider off of Xiao Pang, and openly sob on the body of his beloved companion. An apothecary could surely be found to revive him, but outside of the magic of the arena’s wards, Xiao Pang’s very soul would forever be changed.
I was about to lead Tejón away from the fight to find a place to collapse for a couple hours when a lone figure caught my eye.
Standing in the middle of the road, out of reach of our forces and, for the time being, unnoticed, stood a single enemy. His tail whipped around him in fury. I ran around and through the mess of the battlefield until I stood at the beginning of the second bridge, with Tejón bounding beside me. I stared at the ratkin, his armor shining brightly. He had a massive, curved sword at his hip.
The figure was too far away for me to inspect, but I knew that this was not an enemy who would go down lightly. We stared at each other for a while until rage pushed me to raise my axe. I screamed at the ratkin, wishing I had the strength to chase him down and kill him.
Instead, he turned and sprinted away from the city, heading for the countryside. And though he was no longer an immediate threat, it was not at all lost on me that the commander was headed for Taelman’s Pond.
3: “Defense is the best defense. Everyone knows that.”
— Wardeen Sevenhalls
HANA
The first thing I wanted to do was find a place to store our gear and get some food in both of our bellies. Thankfully, as soon as I left Quinn’s shop, Pachi handled one of those tasks for me.
“I’d say she’s grown, but that would be an injustice,” Adalee said as she stroked Pachi between the ears. The enfield was dining on a skinned deer the hunter must have brought for her. Seeing the questions in my eyes, she explained, “Abra found me and said you both were probably hungry. Here. This is an interesting type of food one of the travelers has told us about. It’s bread with meat and a slice of
