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[[FrivYeti/CalinPg22/Calin | Table of Contents ]]
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CHAPTER 4: FIRE AND RUIN

"Hold the line! Jaris, there's someone climbing on the wall over there! Look out!" Bryce was racing back and forth, stabbing outwards as hobgoblins tried to climb the walls. For a fraction of a second, Hervan Pannai watched him in awe, and then spun and fired another arrow into the horde swarming towards the fort. Somehow, miraculously, the guards hadn't fallen yet, and it was almost solely due to Bryce's presence. He was a calming presence, although when the golden light around him began to glow, more than a few guards muttered darkly that they were damned either way, now. But the fae feared him; they gave him a wide berth when possible, and his presence on the wall made them reluctant to charge it. The pause was helping thirty-seven embattled guardsmen - eleven were already dead - hold off hundreds of fae.

But it couldn't last. The Fair Folk had reached the wall, and they were climbing it with their claws. No scaling ladders were needed, and they were fast and vicious. The guards kept stabbing down, but there were just too many, and they were spreading to the other walls, pulling the guardforce even thinner. As he slashed down, taking the hand off of a feathery monster and sending it falling into the throng below, he saw Jaris, a fellow guardsman, grabbed by the monster Bryce was racing towards. The hobgoblin laughed, its silver axe slamming into Jaris's arm, and the guard screamed in agony. Bryce reached him, stabbing down, and pulled Jaris back. The guard slumped, and Bryce yelled out. "Medic!" He took Jaris's place in the line, his spear flashing with sunlight, and cursed under his breath as another guardsman took a javelin through the throat and fell from the wall.

He'd been hoping that the Fair Folk was lying, and that Lani had been correct when she said that there were only hundreds of hobgoblins. However, he guessed that at least a thousand hobgoblins had been sent against the guardforce, and barely over a hundred had died. He speared a hobgoblin, slamming it into three others as he waved his spear and knocking them all down, and came to a decision.

"Fall back! Everyone group together, we're going out the north gate!" Guards turned to stare at him, and he barked. "Now! The wall's lost! Back to town!" With gritted teeth, he fought back tears. "We can't win this fight..."

Soldiers fought their way off the walls as the hobgoblins continued to advance. Pannai kicked a hobgoblin in the head and ran for the south gate, as the guardforce grouped. A few guards failed to run, trapped in battle - Bryce cut down one hobgoblin, letting Guardsman Sarem break free, but saw more coming and realized with a sickening sensation that he couldn't reach the others. Pannai arrived at his side, quickly forming a wedge as the hobgoblins reached the top of the wall all over. "Can we fight our way out, Bryce?"

"Sure. I'll give you the distraction you need, you get out quick." Bryce smiled grimly. "They're going to remember this fight. Sarem, take charge of Jaris. Kilar, watch over Tyra. Pannai, with Seargent Oliem dead, you're in charge. Good luck. Open the gate, and charge." Pannai stared for a moment. He hadn't realized that the seargent was dead, and he gulped, then nodded. Turning to the great spoke that controlled the drawbridge, he kicked its control, sending the drawbridge crashing down, and the remaining guards charged together.

The hobgoblins were caught off-guard by the charge, many of them still climbing the walls and filling the area behind the troops. As the troops ran for the town, cutting at anyone that got too close, the Fair Folk organized, and started in pursuit. Bryce, bringing up the rear, stopped, spinning to face the horde. "No farther. You will not follow." He let Essence flow into him, speaking loudly towards the fae. "Hear me, warriors of the Fair Folk! I say to you that you will not pass me! I am Garamond Bryce, Solar Exalt of the Zenith Caste, guardian of Calin, and incarnation of Marcaeus Spearstriker! The Unconquered Sun watches over this town, and you are not welcome here. You are nothing but shards of Chaos before the steel of the world; leave now, and trouble the world no more, or face death on the haft of my spear."

The Fair Folk army staggered to a stop, uncertain of how to proceed. They listened uneasily to his speech, and murmered to one another. All were aware, in theory, that there were far more of them than required to destroy this interloper, but that the first ones to reach him would die.

Then the impasse broke. With a dark scream, the star-winged serpent burst from the hills, flying towards Bryce. Gritting his teeth, he realized that it was going to fly right past him and into the retreating guards, who were already starting to break in panic. Thinking quickly, Bryce ran for the nearest tree. Leaping upwards, he slammed his spear into the side of the tree, sending it curving, and then leapt as it snapped back, sailing through the air towards his foe. His anima coiled around him, a leaping tiger with fangs bared, and he drove the spear in front of him like an avenging arrow. The serpent started to turn its head, just as Bryce's spear slammed into its side. Black blood spurted in all directions, and scales scattered onto the gathered fae. Screaming in shock, it started a spiral downwards, with Bryce hanging on for dear life as it thrashed and spun through the air.

The hobgoblin army watched as the serpent flew eastwards, crashing through the trees. For a few moments, the entire army was silent. Then the whispers started. Kutth, who thought he might be in charge right now, was very concerned. He turned to the hobgoblin next to him. "What do we do now? The Lord said nothing of a golden hero. And if he killed Siruvi... whoever caused that will suffer greatly. The Lord loved his serpent."

"He did." The other hobgoblin, Vratcch, was equally concerned. "He will flay us alive if we are responsible. And what is our next path? Go to the town, as we were to when the battle was won? There are many soldiers fleeing. Is the battle won?"

Kutth sighed, nodded. "Where is Takash? The skin-changer was to lead us. He is our general. He knows what to do."

"He is not here." The hobgoblins considered this for a moment, and then Vratcch shrugged, with a canny expression on its beaked face. "It is his fault that this has gone wrong, yes?"

"Yes. Yes, Takash is responsible for this." The two hobgoblins looked happy. Problem solved. Vratcch wandered off to start explaining to the hobgoblins that everything was Takash's fault, and that they didn't know what to do next. Gradually, the hobgoblins broke into groups. A few went back to the fort, to look for survivors. Others started towards where the serpent had gone; if it was alive, those who recovered it would be rewarded. Still others started into the woods after the fleeing soldiers, hoping to catch them, and more headed towards town in search of new prey. Some just stayed where they were, waiting for orders as they chewed on the bodies of the dead. Kutth looked over them, and smiled. Yes, this was best. No one could claim that he had done wrong if he didn't do anything.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Bryce shook his head, looking down at the serpent. It had crashed through a tree as it landed, lying lengthwise along the ground, and a single heavy blow from his spear had split its head, stopping its thrashings. He coughed quietly, tasting blood, and shook his head. He was still glowing strongly, and was feeling the effects of the battle he'd fought. As he heard the sounds of beings approaching through the trees, he began to jog towards town. The first battle was lost, but they'd done better than he'd feared, and the war wasn't over yet. He prayed that his father and Lani were doing as well...

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