“Minx, where's the amulet?” demanded Alla. There was something strange in her expression—a certain fear or reluctance that was difficult to read. “Do you have it?”
The Fae huntress lowered her bow and took a few steps toward Alla, frowning. “What about the amulet?”
Alla gulped, her already pale face seeming to go chalk white. “D-Do you have it, or not?”
Minx pulled the amulet from her pocket and held it out for the half-Fae to see. “There. Take a good look.”
At sight of the thing, Alla visibly startled. She blinked her cloudy eyes confusedly and lowered her sword. “So, you do have it. Why... Why isn't it working, then?” She glanced back toward the battlefield. “If you have it, then why is everyone still following Torrent? Shouldn't it have stopped working? Shouldn't... shouldn't they all be free to disobey him now?”
Minx smirked. “If this amulet were the real thing, then perhaps they would mutiny.” She shook her head and tossed the trinket over the side of the wall, into the trench of flames. “But it's not. It's a fake, Alla. The hunter only told you about it so that I would try and take it. It was a lie to lure me into their camp—to make me a prisoner. It doesn't have any power, though.”
The half-Fae began to shiver, her eyes widening in seeming terror. “It's... it's a fake?” She struggled to sheath her weapon and then took a few shaky steps back. Gripped with fear, she hastily returned to the edge of the wall and began climbing back down.
“Oh, no, you don't! I'm not finished with you!” Minx sent another arrow after her, but the shot clipped the edge of the stone wall, missing her target by a few degrees. Alla fell completely out of sight, and by the time Minx strode to the cobblestones where the half-Fae had stood, she could find no trace of her below. She'd climbed back down and was long gone.
In the interim, the tide of battle had seemingly turned in favor of the Fae. The Pandling Grounds defense forces were still clearly outnumbered, but they'd done marvelous things with their small force, repelling wave after wave of attackers with their archers. Furthermore, Kaleb's attacks had thrown the dark army violently off-balance, leading them to break formation and fall into disorder. The army as a whole, despite boasting a numeric advantage, seemed to give up. The existence of a dragon on the opposing side all but robbed them of their will to fight.
We may pull this off yet! declared Minx. They don't know how to handle Kaleb. If he can just keep pestering them from above, the archers and I will clean up the rest!
I guess we owe dear old Kaleb a nice meal after all of this, don't we? replied Mau from down below. Save the back-patting till the end! They haven't retreated yet, and Torrent could still be among them.
Minx looked past the roaring flames, studying the enemy lines for signs of the mysterious spell-caster. Torrent... From where she stood, there was no sign of him—though that didn't keep her from feverishly searching, the hairs on the back of her neck standing upright. Minx had met him only once, but that single encounter had left a lasting impression. Torrent was immensely powerful, and that he was a calculating general was not up for debate. He would present himself in battle when the time was right, and not a moment sooner. A chill ran down her spine at the prospect of facing Torrent again.
Forget about him for now. You're winning this battle, after all. She launched a few more arrows into the disorganized mob below, but couldn't help feeling strange as she did so. There was something about the enemy force that baffled her. It's odd. Usually, they fight harder than this. Why aren't they trying to branch off and find other spots to attack? They're almost telegraphing their errors, making exaggerated mistakes. Is it possible that this is a part of their plan? Was this attack pre-planned, or is it just a distraction? Minx puzzled over this a moment. But what could they be distracting us from with this battle?
With almost uncanny suddenness, the dark army began to retreat. The warriors reassumed their earlier formations and began a swift march away from the Trading Center. Leaving behind the simmering trenches, the Wuffs and Krah did not offer any return fire as the Fae archers picked off a few more. Cheers went up throughout the Trading Center, but Minx was unnerved by this sudden retreat. What's going on? Just a second ago they were running around in a panic. Now they're making an orderly retreat?
No matter the celebrations, Minx couldn't shake the feeling that she and the Fae had made a critical error. Below, as the Wuffs began fading into the smoky distance, her father gave the order to disengage and congratulated the archers. “Well done! We've repelled them!” She offered him a nervous smile, unable to join in the revelry.
Kaleb returned to the camp, landing near the edge of the wall where Minx was still standing. “Something isn't right,” began the dragon, his long neck stretching over the uppermost cobblestones. “That wasn't a very long fight. We hit them hard, but it almost felt...”
“Too easy?” asked Minx.
“Yeah,” replied Kaleb.
Minx fell into deep thought. But what could be their end-game in all of this? They threw a large force at us and suffered substantial losses. Why would Torrent sacrifice so many warriors? Unlike the other archers, the Fae huntress didn't relax. Instead, she refilled her quiver and peered down at Mau. Something's wrong. Do you feel it, Mau?
The Faelyr, rushing about the square with the
