Dust and blood in the air, the distinct metallic odor of alchemies burning flesh and stone hung rancid within the confines of the castle walls. Through the breach poured the forces of Cabina, their vanguard an arrow of human flesh biting deep into the outer courts of the castle. Amid the destruction he rode, an apparition of war given breath, storming through the debris and chaos, Tare Erathos charged his war mount onwards. The scene before him was expected, the defenders were scattered amongst the rubble and wreckage of the southern gate. Those present on the battlements had been hit the worst. Bits and pieces of body parts strewn grotesquely across the court gave testament to their previous existence. The surviving defenders were already rallying to an organized defensive position. They would advance at any moment, the telltale signs of a capable commander present.
Any hopes of widespread panic amongst the ranks of the defenders quickly faded. Someone had assembled them into squads, there would be no disorganized march to engage his troops as they poured in from the breach. No, they meant to make this a war of attrition. They would yield no quarter. From the dusky gloom between the streets he could make out barricades on the pathways and figures darting amongst the rooftops, the occasional glint of metal caught his eye and a thin smile split his features.
'Guerilla tactics' he grunted
A fair strategy surely, he had come seeking a war, looks like he had found one.
Sword in hand he steadied his mount, guiding the beast around with a tug on the reins as a trio of riders arrived.
T'roll, Klaus and Nep pulled up along his right flank. The young warlock's face was flushed, his eyes briefly scanning the destructive aftermath of the alchemies, he seemed to struggle with something then sighed.
'Arfa would have been.....cleaner'. He fixed his stare on T'roll who shrugged and absentmindedly picked at his nose.
'The path is open Nihel, follow the main streets from here to the inner gates, we cannot aid you further, whatever resistance you encounter will be yours to deal with. I will join you at the inner courts when I see to this' Tarey said, lazily gesturing at the the rallying defenders.
With that, the commander urged his mount onwards, promptly joining up alongside his men who were now mostly through the breach and preparing to engage the defenders.
Nep grunted and followed in his wake, some incoherent curse trailed the warlock's departure.
T'roll smirked, his face bunching up as he made faces behind the man. Klaus sighed, realized his sword was still in his hand and sheathed the longblade.
'Okay Klaus, that was the easy part, I fear we are tasked with the most dangerous of missions'
The warrior looked bored but said nothing earning his irritation.
'I would not fault you if you had an urge to turn away now and ride to hide between the fleshy thighs of those heavyset pig women you often frequent at that despicable Horer's tavern.
Klaus turned, a bemused expression on his face
'For all you say, it was you who recommended those heavyset pig women'
A wicked smile flashed at him from T'roll 'and how did you find my suggestion?'
The warrior's face flushed heavily and he sighed deeply 'by the gods man, I almost made one of them a countess'
T'roll smirked triumphantly
'Oh ho? You did now!? You'd think damned old Horer would give me some discount seeing how much business I bring him?but no! Stingy old miser!'
'Perhaps if you stopped trying to steal peeks at his other customers during their err...transactions, he'd reconsider' countered Klaus as he kneed his mount forward.
'I wasn't born blind G'arroukin, its my god given right to see what I want, when I want and stop riding ahead of me I'm the damned leader here!
The warrior tensed at the name but said nothing.
Together they rode into the main street that led away from the outer courts and into the inner walls. Behind them a cacophony of roars erupted as Tare Erathos and the Dark Brigadiers charged the Wildonian forces.
The main street was deathly still, the iron shod hoofs of their horses echoed loudly on the granite cobbles as they made their way towards the inner gates.
T'roll ground his mount to a halt, his breath fogging in the chill that had descended since the breach.
'I don't like the looks of this' He turned around peering into the gloom. Torches burned slowly between the buildings casting lazy dark shadows into narrow alleyways.
Klaus grunted his ascent
' too deserted, surely they would evacuate the citizens once our war banners alighted on their horizon but this i fear has a feel of a town deserted for years'
Dismounting, T'roll walked to a building. One hand on his sword, he edged up against the wall to the front door his free hand found the knob and turned slowly.
The door gave way with a creak that tore through the silence of the street.
Edging forward into the doorway he found his path blocked by a thick skein of webbing. An arm through it met sufficient resistance to suggest that the doorway had indeed been unused for quite sometime.
'You are right Klaus, this was long before us, I fear we may have come too late'
Wiping down the webbing, he approached another house, the doorway yielding the same result. A bitter metallic taste now lay at the back of his tongue and he spat to rid himself of its presence.
'We must make haste my friend, I fear the .....'
A lengthy roar tore open the silence of the night plucking at heartstrings of the horses and drowning T'roll's words, Klaus an experienced rider was mounted and so struggled to gain control of his steed as it shied and bucked. T'roll could do little to stop his as it tore away into the gloom of the night.
'What on bloody Aertha was that!?' Klaus had his sword out and an arm wrapped around the reins of his mount. Eyes fixed on T'roll as he stood facing the direction his horse had fled.
Staring into the gloom he said sotto voce ' You told me there would be no sorcery at play!'
'Actually I didn't, the witch did, why does everyone try to blame me?
'Because you brought her here and assured us she could hold the Wilde's sorcery at bay!' He stated accusingly
T'roll sighed as he stroked his beard, 'I guess you have a point but so do I!' Lazily he pointed at himself, do you think I'd ride a mere horse on any day without enchanting the beast?
Klaus frowned not getting the point.
'Argh, that sound, whatever it came from that scared of my mount would never even make it lift an eyebrow if I had my enchantments working. Do you see my point?'
Klaus accepted the argument, 'That still doesn't explain whatever that thing was'
Haven't heard the likes of it since your last experiment with nethericths' he swore making the sign to keep evil at bay.
T'roll paced for some moments, stopped and swore slowly.
'That nether-tainted bitch!, she summoned and bound some netherspawn on these lands before we arrived, so they went under Deejah's arfa negation. My guess is this was done before the Cabinian threat of invasion!'.
Klaus frowned deeply, amber eyes blazing bright 'So what you're saying is that we are stuck in the outer walls with whatever demons the Wilde's Queen has released without the hope of fighting it with sorcery?
T'roll glanced at Klaus and seemed to look past him, 'We must return the way we came, I fear the commander might be in for more than he bargained for'
In the darkness of the wild, another roar rent the stillness of Castle Wilde
..........................................................................
