He raised his bow, lit another quick pitch arrow, and fired it high into the air, back over the town itself. Then we waited for Dandre.
The marshal screamed to the defenders of the northern barrier, “Fall back and guard the town center! Fall back.”
Most listened, but a few were fending off attackers or unable to hear the command. Liam only waited a few moments, though, before he jumped down the tower and touched a torch to the ground, lighting a trail of gunpowder. It hissed away, running along and entering each of the homes that were a part of the barrier. And each home, soaked in our quick pitch, ignited eagerly.
Within a minute, a few of our troops, and as much as a hundred of theirs, were caught in a raging inferno. Almost a third of the town was on fire at once, and the flames reached over forty feet high.
The forces that had gotten into the town were being engaged, perhaps fifty more fought on, and dozens still screamed as they burned to death. Those that didn’t make it in fell back in terror, some breaking away and abandoning the fight altogether, others heading back toward the army’s encampment for new orders.
For a short while, the fight paused while everything burned. Our plan had been a desperate one, but at least it had managed to take most of their army. The fight was not over, though, not yet. And as the flames slowly died down, more invaders could be seen outside, waiting for their chance to storm through once more. Even though the quick pitch burned off quickly, the northern ring of fire continued to roil, the logs in the houses too substantial to burn away so quickly. Instead, it seemed the fire would go on for hours.
Enemy troops began to march toward the gate again, and though our archers aimed true and dropped many of the trow monstrosities that wielded the maldrille tree battering ram so deftly, the sound of splintering wood soon told us that our main defense was gone.
Dandre screamed with mad intensity, “Fall back! Phase two! Phase two! Everyone to your positions.”
Though I was already exhausted, and I had had my fill of killing, I did as everyone else did. I listened to my orders. I only waited on the gate long enough to feel a modest gust of wind at my back. My final duty was to use one very nasty skill. Thankfully, a westerly wind had been blowing all day.
Cinders of the Past (Active): When invoked, a cloud of cinders envelopes the enemy, granting 100% chance of causing Blindness and Choke to all enemies in the Area of Effect. Choke saps enemies Stamina by 2% every 3 seconds and lasts for duration of spell. Area of Effect changes due to local wind conditions with a maximum area of 1000 square feet. Elemental attacks used on affected enemies increased by 25%. Duration: 2 minutes. Cooldown: 24 hours.
I watched as the plume of fell smoke and sparks extended from my hands like a plague. The heat was almost overwhelming, but my HP didn’t drop. The wind picked up the cloud and pulled it along through the crowd of enemies, all vying to push the broken gates open further.
The results were immediate. Trow and ratkin alike began rubbing at their eyes, and they clutched their throats in fits of hacking coughs. Some even fell to the ground and were trampled by their fellows.
It wouldn’t be enough to stop the invasion, not by a long shot, but the skill had just bought us two minutes to fall back to our secondary defenses. I hoped it would be enough.
A ring of archers was formed around the great tent in the middle of the town square, and I found my place facing the gate. All the best archers were to face the oncoming attackers, but we needed to protect against all sides now, as many of the enemies that were already storming through the gate were spreading out to flank us.
In front of the archers, we had three squads of spearmen: one to guard the western approach toward the gate, one to the north, and one to the east. The Doondane rangers set down their bows at last and stood at the head of each column, swords or spears in their hands.
Quinn’s shop and the building beside provided sufficient cover for our southern side. A contingent of players had agreed to guard the alleyway between the two buildings.
The rest of the players formed smaller groups to act as reserves, running between the frontline troops to support them as needed.
We’d found our places and watched the few ratkin who were spilling through when, with a loud crack, the gate finally burst open. A mad rush of mindless trow charged first.
I aimed my bow and prepared to release when a presence behind me made me pause. I looked back to see Quinn tottering up to me, a smile on his weary face. “Look to your business, child.” Despite being confused, I looked back to the oncoming enemies and drew my bow again. “Continue to channel earth.” Quinn’s small hand pressed between my shoulder blades.
I did as he told me, the green energy surrounding my arrow again, but this time, the power was amplified. A stream of magic poured into me through Quinn’s touch, and when I released the arrow, it flew forward, slow but heavy as the green energy at its tip seemed to thicken and congeal until it was bigger than a fist. It fell among the first rank of trow and exploded like a meteor.
I shook off the sense of awe that touched me and focused on drawing and firing again. The hole in the oncoming enemies had already begun to fill in again, though at least five of the trow had fallen. My next arrow took out a clump of ratkin slinking forward behind shields. Only a few died, but their defense was ripped
