“I am not greedy too. You and Kobu can have a large one each. I’ll take four or five of the stunted ones,” replied the ranger.
Stunted? They’re the size of a horse!
“Agreed,” he heard Kobu’s consent.
What’s with these guys? It’s as if they’re going on an ordinary hunt!
Then he backed away from that line of thinking.
Considering everything they have faced, singly or together, from Wilan’s temple up to now, this is but an ordinary encounter to them.
He sighed.
“Tell you what, warriors. You can have whatever is left after the ballistae have thrown their nets. I’ll just make sure none of the men are hurt. I’ll eliminate some,” Tyler finally decided and then added, “Only a few, don’t worry.”
He walked back to where the jarl was positioned, well away from the edge of the platform. The mage could hear Kobu giving orders to the ballista crews to leave the big drakes alone. Though he understood the reasoning behind the command–avoidance of wasted nets the big ones could easily rip apart–Tyler could only shake his head.
“Your men sound eager,” remarked the jarl as the mage stood beside him.
“Kids. In adult bodies,” came Tyler’s terse reply.
***
As they were waiting, Birki came back to the staff.
“All done, First Mage, including the front.”
Tyler stared at the unbroken field beyond the thick and overlapping barricades, stakes, and other fieldworks of the immediate layer of defense protecting the ramparts.
“You sure? I don’t see any change in front of the fortress.”
“Learned a trick last night. How to create channels with just a thin cover of topsoil. I told you the practice would come in handy,” responded the entity, clearly pleased with himself. “Quite a good job, if I may say so.”
“It is, Birki. An outstanding job. Please give Vathys and Apulli my thanks. I am proud of you all,” praised Tyler.
Birki might be the guardian, but in the scheme of things, he was also a very young being just learning about his powers. Approval of the mage in the things Birki did was needed not only to confirm the task was done right, but more importantly, as positive reinforcement. The mage didn’t forget that small but vital detail. His concern about Apulli’s training could be discussed later with Birki.
Finally, the bony undead avians came into view of the fort. The rising hubbub, marked by loud cries of consternation and curses, revealed the defenders had never seen anything like the predatory monsters coming at them. The mage had to admit the size of each arrival was dangerously impressive. A live drake was frightening enough, but an active, skeletal one carried terror with it. Yet the companions made it a game.
Tyler expected the show, but the jarl and the other warriors didn’t. As soon as they arrived, the skeletal creatures increased their speed and dived toward the three towers of the North Gate, led by the two large ones. The ballistae near the bastions fired as soon as they were in range, but a lot of weighted nets missed or entangled the same target. Those caught crashed to the ground, but with their skulls still intact, tried to rip their way out of the metal lattices. Three beams lanced out of the mage, blowing apart the craniums of a trio of the smaller ones. Tyler had to give specific instructions to his guides to avoid the two bony leaders and leave some of the rest for the companions.
Habrok’s shafts destroyed another three and then suddenly, the two largest were upon them, having outflown their smaller companions. Even the mage was amazed at their speed. Then he realized the attack was made with a dive, increasing the velocity of the monsters. But he also noticed with distaste that the creatures also had the same green glow in their sunken skeletal eyeholes. Tyler was started to dislike that particular shade of green – a sickly and repugnant hue, in his opinion.
Kobu swiftly appeared standing on the neck of one and with unbelievable speed, crushed the head with his kanabo. Shards of bone flew through the air from the explosive blow, dropping the monster and showering the onlookers with cartilage fragments. Some hit the outer energy barrier of the mage, and others clinked against the grouped shields of the warriors deployed in front of the jarl. The mage saw the ranger destroy two more at the rear of the formation and considering the speed of his targets, he was again awestruck by the man’s phenomenal accuracy.
Then Tyndur entered his field of vision. The einherjar had used the edge of the platform to jump off, meeting the other large monster head-on. But the warrior was not employing his battleaxe, Tyler could see it strapped to Tyndur’s back. Instead, he had a huge maul, and the mage could only guess he borrowed – hopefully – the weapon from the dwarves. The large hammer-like head of the maul smashed the head of the creature, violently shattering it to pieces. Then the einherjar also vanished and quickly reappeared among the downed drakes, crushing skulls one after the other at a run. In the middle of it was Kobu, disappearing and rematerializing among the remaining smaller ones in the air, leaving a shower of bony fragments in his wake. Tyler was impressed by the teamwork among the trio, noticing that after Habrok got the last two in the formation, he put away his bow.
It was all over in less than a minute. The watching dwarven and human warriors of the fortress were dumbstruck. Silence reigned for several seconds. Then a thunderous and deafening roar erupted from every throat on the battlements.
An impressive show for morale, believed Tyler, relief flooding through his mind. The good Lord knows we all need the boost. Fighting such creatures at night, in vast numbers, will be a pain.
Chapter Twenty-Six
An Ocean of Repulsive Green Eyes
Then came Thor forth, and
