I fired my last arrow at one of the two final wyverns, these higher and larger than the rest. It sunk into the creature’s hind leg as it flew over the gate and landed in the courtyard behind us. Its fellow was less lucky and crashed on top of a building within the town. A quick glance told me that the armorers would need to build a new workshop.
Examining the wreckage before me, I winced as the proud wyverns tried to hobble forward, blood already leaking from their eyes and spewing from their mouths. One managed to reach the gate and sent out a sickly plume of fire, dousing the gate in flame. But the boards had all been soaked in water, so the fire it sparked was quickly put out again.
I counted no less than fifteen of the potent beasts writhing in death, and I felt my stomach churn. Feeling glad that I’d saved the Ichneumon’s poison glands, and that we’d fashioned arrows just for this moment was somehow not possible. It was good that the people of Taelman’s Pond might live, but to see the creatures die in bloody fits just made me want to vomit.
I heard the screech of the wyvern who’d made it over behind me, and then they went quiet, despite their bodies continuing to shudder with whatever nerve toxin was in the poison.
The archers murmered around me, and someone said in a low voice, “A fair deed most foul.” I turned and saw Liam, a few tears on his cheeks as he watched the wyverns with me.
I nodded, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. And though Liam was a far younger man, I thought of Alysand as I stood beside him. The gunsinger wasn’t even a part of the battle, not yet at least. Quinn was still vulnerable, so Alysand had decided to remain at his side as a personal guard. It meant not having his pistols in the battle, but it was worth the payoff.
We stood a moment and waited for the marching troops to catch up, another desperate fight waiting to happen. A squadron of trow monstrosities ran forward in pairs, one holding a shield nearly six feet tall and three wide, the other unarmed. They began systematically pulling the wyverns off the road, making room for more invaders. After perhaps ten minutes of this, the army sent forth another column of soldiers to attack the gate.
The trow monstrosities split up then, some moving to pick up the battering ram, the others running to the front of the column to hold their impossibly large shields up.
A few dozen arrows were shot out at the incoming attackers, but Dandre called them off. There was no use.
No, it was time for the second nasty surprise of the day. This one, at least, hadn’t been my own. One of the players had thought of it—a woman with a peryton as a pet, a fantastic beast straight out of lore. It was good that she’d been part of the first wave of players to come the day before, or else we wouldn’t have had time to pull it off.
Liam squeezed my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “It’s time now. I’m sorry, but it is time.”
I drew back the arrow, invoking the Fire affinity and using Vital Aim. My vision improved as the skill counted down, and I aimed for the base of one of the trees that stood to the side of the road. As I released it, the fiery energy burst against the target and exploded the tree. Corell himself had hacked out a large wedge into the trunk, and we’d packed it with gunpowder.
The tree shuddered then fell forward. Alysand had showed us how to take the gunpowder, which he’d produced from his satchel, and wrap it in oiled leather to keep it dry.
And though a few of the troops were knocked down, some killed outright, it was the fruit we’d hung in the branches that did most of the damage. The archers all lit arrows wrapped in cloth, which had been soaked in the quick pitch, and fired into the fallen branches.
For a moment, little happened other than the shouts and fury of the ratkin soldiers. I was afraid our plan wouldn’t work, as the tree had fallen far enough away that the battering ram was being picked up again by the monstrosities who’d made it to the front. But then a whoosh of fire bloomed in the center of the tree, causing a chain reaction. In a matter of ten seconds, the dozens of waterskins we’d filled with quick pitch ignited, splashing fire in all directions.
A concert of screams made me cover my ears. The attack at the gate all but ceased as the enemy burned.
My head swam as I tried to ignore the smell of thousands of pounds of burning meat. It proved too much, and like so many other around me, I retched.
Whatever commander the ratkin had at their head was not so easily dissuaded, though. The cruel being knew how to expend lives casually. A larger force had been deployed at the same time, these mostly leather-clad fighters, quick on their feet.
Liam shook me, pointing to the woodline to the north of town. “Hana, pay attention. This is not over.” I looked where he pointed; hundreds of combatants were running out and crashing into the northern wall. We’d set up six small towers to protect this area, a handful of archers in each, and a couple spearmen. Those forces were being quickly overwhelmed, and a few enemies were already dropping into the center of town. Our reserves ran over to meet them.
I bit my lip, not wanting what was to come next. But the ranger said simply, “It’s okay. It must be
