Rik did not know what good it would do against fifty tons of winged reptilian fury but he drew his blade. Runes glowed along its length as they caught the eddy currents of magical energy. She had gifted him this weapon on his return from the Serpent Tower. It was an ancient blade brought from her homeworld, Al'Terra. He presumed it must have some power.
All around them the cannons roared. The dragons dropped lower as they began their long, looping approach sweep. The armoured figures of their riders were clearly visible now.
What must it be like to ride on of those things, Rik wondered?
Fires billowed from the dragons' nostrils. Alchemical eggs dangled from the chains on their chest. The colours of their harness were the green and yellow of Kharadrea, not the red and black of Talorea. On banners fitted to the back of the riders’ saddles, the dragon symbol of Halim fluttered in the wind.
The Skywatchers opened fire with their rifles, aiming at the riders and the explosive fire spheres they controlled. Just one of those things could wipe out their position if it was on target. There was a lot of gunpowder around here. Even locked in brass bound barrels marked with the Elder Sign of ice, it might explode. There had been such failures of warding before and they had turned the course of battles. The stored gunpowder of an entire artillery battery would make a terrible mess if it went up. Whoever had directed those dragons to this position knew exactly what he was doing.
Bullets tore at the dragons' scales, smashed into the metal spheres on their necks. One dragon rider keeled over. His thick sorcerously reinforced plate armour made him all but immune to bullets but it looked like the straps holding him into his saddle had come undone and the force of the impact sent him tumbling out of it to hit the ground a hundred feet below. Not even his armour would let him survive that. His dragon, out of control, lifted skywards, unable to decide what to do next.
The Skywatchers were on form today. Another storm of bullets detonated an alchemical egg hanging from the second dragon's chest. A chain reaction erupted as the second and third eggs went up. Rik bit back a moan of fear. For that to happen he knew the devices must have been armed. Things were getting very close. The second dragon plunged down. The ground shook with the impact as it ploughed into the fortifications. Wooden palisades give way and trenches collapsed as it skidded forward.
The third dragon released its freight of incendiary death. Rik saw three silver spheres tumble towards the ground spinning as they went. On impact they exploded. A wall of acrid, stinking flame roared towards him. He heard the screams of dying Skywatchers, the explosions of loaded muskets and then a curtain of flame obscured his sight.
Chapter Two
Sardec rushed forward into the gap between the tumbled walls. Powder-reek and blood-stench filled his nostrils. The whole area was a shell-smashed abattoir. The mangled bodies of men sprawled everywhere, gore bespattered, clammy and missing limbs. Some had been caught beneath falling masonry. Others had been blown apart by cannonball and mortar shell.
Above them a man kicked part of the loose stonework, obviously intending to tumble it onto the fighting beneath. He did not seem to care that he might hit his own fellows as well as any invaders.
Sardec gestured to Weasel and pointed up. The tall, skinny bald-headed Forager grinned, a mad fearless grin, raised his long-barrelled rifle to his shoulder and snapped off a shot. The would-be demolitionist’s head exploded.
Under perfect conditions it would have been a difficult shot, but here amid the screams and howls of battle and the drifting clouds of powder smoke, it was an awesome one. The former poacher deserved his reputation as the best marksman in the company.
The Foragers plunged into the gap. Sardec fought alongside the Barbarian, a huge northerner with a walrus moustache and a head fringed by long blonde hair, his bald crown visible now he had lost his tricorne hat. He grasped a hill-man fighting knife the size of a short-sword in one hand, and bayonet in the other. Moving with a terrifying controlled fury, the Barbarian cut a brutal red swathe through the melee, carving a path for the rest of the Foragers to follow.
Behind them came Sergeant Hef. Beside him Handsome Jan, dapper as ever even in the midst of this howling maelstrom, carried the company flag. The bullet-riddled banner depicting a naked dragon-winged female on a black background fluttered proudly. Sardec moved towards it slashing with the hook that replaced his right hand, keeping his pistol ready in his left.
'Onwards, lads!' he shouted. 'Carve up these bastards!'
Two massive elementals fought above the nearby rooftops. A whirlwind locked in a death battle with a column of fire. The winds of the battle sent all manner of trash flashing down the street. Clouds of dust obscured Sardec's vision and brought tears to his eyes.
Suddenly they were out of the breach and into the rubble-filled streets beyond. Sardec felt cobbles beneath his boots. He glared along a narrow alley between tall burning tenements. This was not good. Those building might come down at any time killing Talorean and Kharadrean alike. The alleys could easily become a death trap. They needed to get into the clearer streets beyond. He caught Handsome Jan's attention and pointed forward. The soldier understood and waved the flag.
They raced onwards, flames burning all around.
Rik flinched, expecting to feel the wave of heat pass over him and his new dress tunic ignite. The wall of flame parted, lapping around the circle of protection like tidal water around a rock. The temperature increased but not by as much as he had feared. A halo of light played around Asea's head as she used her magic to protect them.
An enormous shadow passed overhead. It was the third enemy dragon. Was it turning to make another attack run or had its rider decided to return to the city in the face of such determined opposition?
The wall of flame died away, and Rik caught sight of the carnage it had left in its wake. All of the grass on the hillside below was gone save within Asea's circle. Oily black covered the area where it had been. Dozens of Skywatchers lay dead in their trenches, skins scorched by the alchemical fire. Still more sprawled nearby, screaming in agony.
The enormous body of the dragon lay in the furrow it had ploughed. Its tail twitched and its long neck snaked upwards. It shook itself and drew itself erect. Its titanic wings, larger than the sails of a galleon, snapped open. Rik could tell by the way they did so that something was broken. The great ribs over which leathery flesh stretched poked out through the skin. This dragon was not going to fly again. It was hurt and very angry.
Hissing like a huge kettle it staggered forward. Greenish blood splattered its scales. Its dead rider lolled in the saddle, his broken limbs moving in a parody of a cheerful wave. Standing on its hind legs, balanced by its enormous tail, it was at least ten times Rik's height. He stood there frozen, feeling like a rat confronted by a tiger.
'This is not good,' said Asea, revealing what Rik thought was a great gift for understatement.
Sardec led the Foragers into an open square. In the centre a fountain played, water emerging from the mouth of a statue of a river dragon. All around were more corpses, their faces purple, their skin blotched. Sardec sniffed the air. It still held a hint of the bitter scent of poison gas. It must have happened some time ago, he thought. The elementals passage had blown the gas away. The Foragers had been very lucky not to emerge into the cloud themselves.
A few terrified women and children milled in confusion. Already some of the soldiers were starting to pull the women aside, tearing at their skirts.
'That's enough!' Sardec bellowed, grabbing the nearest man. He put his hook against the man's groin. 'Any more and I'll have your nuts off.'
The girl looked at him gratefully and raced for the nearest doorway.
'You heard the Lieutenant,' shouted Sergeant Hef. 'There will be time enough for raping and looting when the fighting is done.'
That was not exactly what Sardec had meant but it would have to suffice for the moment. He glared around trying to work out what to do now. They were in the city and seemed to have hit a temporary lull in the fighting. If
