Siren's Reach - Fallen Lands Book 3

Chapter twenty-two

Sibylla's Guide to Tactical Horse Theft

Evelyn

I walked beside Haunt as we approached Vaelmar's Gate. Between my new dress – or rather, battlegown – and the arsenal I was carrying, I felt a little overloaded. Zoila's staff stayed firmly in my grasp, which made keeping my control over the local storms even easier as I kept [Control Weather] channeling in the back of my mind, but I also had my sabers strapped to my sides, and even my sorcery tome attached to a belt around my waist, accompanied by several potions in little loops that made me feel like a gunslinger, and a small, hardened leather case holding a few scrolls. I didn't expect to need my glaive just yet, so I was keeping it in my pack, but to be safe, that was on my back with the end of the polearm sticking over my shoulder. I'd tested it a bit, and even with so much more equipment, I didn't think anything would get in my way in combat, but I felt a little ridiculous.

I looked up and took a deep breath when all the soldiers and workers in the area seemed to notice us at the same time. Many of the wall's defenders were behind it, hidden from sight of anyone on the other side. It was part of a simple strategy to make our adversaries unsure of our forces and, hopefully, overconfident.

"Just keep your head high and keep pace with Haunt. No need to be nervous now," Lilith chirped at me from the saddle on his back.

Sibylla grinned from where she was walking on Haunt's other side, wearing her giant, ridiculous witch hat and shimmering black cloak as she guided her horse by its reins. "Don't tell me you're going to get stage fright after you made me stand in front of all these people and announced we were [Heroes] with such conviction."

I sighed, "No, it isn't that. It's this whole mess. It's going into combat again. I'm going to have to kill a lot of people today."

Kira, walking beside me, put a hand on my shoulder, "My lady, you could stay on the battlements."

I let out a bitter laugh at the idea. "No, I don't think I can."

Sibylla shrugged, "I thought you liked killing monsters… or at least, didn't mind it. Didn't you just slaughter a horde of goblins?"

I shot her a glare. "No. I mean. Yes, I did. I killed literal monsters. This is different. These people are led by a monster, but those levies he brought with him are just conscripts who'd probably rather be at home taking care of their families or farms or whatever. It isn't right."

"It isn't just his levies out there," Lilith helpfully reminded me, and Sibylla was quick to agree.

"Yeah. It's been made very clear what those mercenaries would do if they got past this wall, and they're the majority of his force. I fully intend to focus on them."

That was true, at least. I nodded in resignation. "Maybe if they break, the others will flee."

Lilith gave a little foxy huff of agreement, "Let's hope so. Evelyn, this could become a very difficult battle. Make sure you go over your status sheet before we begin and prepare. Refresh your mind on what abilities you have and how you can use them in different situations. Be ready."

I nodded and took her advice. I glanced over my status as I began going up the stairs to the top of the bastion. I was so much more powerful now than the last time I was in a real battle. I mean, the fight on the sea wall was a real battle, but this was going to be far more direct. There would likely be several elites of a power level I didn't know, a whole army out for my head, and enough enemies to keep the fight going for days if I didn't find a faster way to end it. These people would be depending on me.

I had enabled all of my traits again, and I had no intention of disabling any of them until I absolutely had to. I also stopped hiding any of my titles. I wanted Sir Edgar to know his mistake and understand what he had just walked into the moment he had an opportunity to use insight. But there were certainly some changes in my sheet I was still adjusting to, and that is what I needed to focus on. I had gained eight levels after the battle with Kar'gozag to liberate West Peak, primarily from my part in the death of her entire army in the eruption of the volcano, but plenty from the death of the Greater Demon herself. While that had given me plenty of attribute points, primarily focused on my mental attributes, it had also pushed me past the level twenty-five threshold that granted me a new Trait, Skill, and Spell. Those were what I really needed to focus on remembering and integrating into my combat style.

My new trait was hard not to abuse. It was called [Windbound Resilience], and its primary purpose was to keep me in the fight. The short of it was that any time I was surrounded by fast-moving wind, regardless of whether it was a storm, moving at high speed, or even just the barrier I generated from [Channel Wind], I would recover stamina and health. The faster the wind, the faster the recovery. With so many of my abilities triggering the trait, it would be like having a constant low-level regeneration.

It worked well with my new skill, which I'd practiced just enough to get to level four, [Wind Walking]. Basically, I could step on the wind. I figured out pretty quickly that the higher level the skill, the more steps or complicated maneuvers I could do with this. I also learned pretty quickly that if I lost concentration, it wouldn't work, and I'd just fall, but I'd really rather not talk about that part. It made the battlefield around me much more three-dimensional, but I was still very nervous to use this in actual combat. It would level up faster, but if I messed up, it could be very bad.

And lastly, my new spell was, I think, the system showing me some kindness. It was called [Stormbloom], and despite its name, it didn't create a storm. Instead, it caused the rapid growth of storm-touched flora. It wasn't just one kind of plant; rather, it could respond to my needs, most commonly creating a tangle of wild vines. It was also able to create a dense bramble or even wildflowers. No matter what I used it for, however, the plants would always be highly reactive to the weather. For example, right now, with the thunderheads rumbling above us, those vines would whip about as if in a strong wind, surging with the occasional shock of electricity. At first, I could summon little more than a tangle that might trip a person. Now that I was up to level three with the spell, I could likely trip half a dozen people.

I, of course, had more spells in the tome I wore at my hip, but using Sorcery on the frontline wasn't something I was up to doing just yet. If I took a break on the wall, I could definitely pull it out and use a far wider range of magic, but for something this important and with how inexperienced I was with sorcery, I would be sticking to the abilities I was familiar with.

Septimia was waiting for us on the battlements overlooking the field outside our gates, and we all moved to join her. She gave us a brief nod before turning back to watch the army ahead of us. They were a mix of soldiers standing in formation, more soldiers and camp followers setting up tents and unloading supplies, and even a few in the distance who looked to be making siege equipment. All of it would have likely been more intimidating if they'd not been setting up in the mud and pouring rain. With the wind at our backs and the edge of the storm ending several feet in front of our wall, it was almost funny to watch.

"Lord Edgar had his Auxiliary Forces lined up guarding against an attack all morning while his retinue and mercenaries set up camp over on that hill there." She indicated the one spot that looked to be high enough to stay dry, and I could see the many tents and soldiers milling about there. "He only recently brought out his light cavalry and frontline infantry to form up so the levies can set up their own camp. His commanders are forming up, so I expect he'll try to put on another show of force soon. Based on what I see, I think he'll try to scare us into surrendering without a fight, and otherwise, he thinks this will be over within two or three days."

I nodded, but Sibylla spoke, "Wow, Lilith. You really called it. They really did set up camp exactly where you said they would. What a bunch of morons."

We all looked at her, standing there looking entirely too amused, and Lilith sitting on her shoulder with a foxy grin. I shook my head, "I don't even want to know. So. What are we supposed to do, just watch them setup? Can this trebuchet reach them?"

Septimia shook her head with a faint smile, "It can, but that isn't how this works, and we should let them finish setting up before we show them what this thing can do. It will be a very lovely surprise if they go to sleep in those nice fancy tents of theirs, and we drop a thousand pounds of stones coated in alchemical incendiaries on their heads. First, however, we have to give them an opportunity to come parley. If they ignore us for an unreasonable amount of time, then we can open fire on them. Lord Edgar is no idiot, and I'm sure he realizes that. Even if he is underestimating the defenses we have here, he won't want to let us have the initiative, and he won't miss an opportunity to try and bully us into a surrender. It would save him a lot of money."

A horn sounded, followed by rapidly beating drums for several seconds, and his entire army jumped into movement – some faster than others – moving into formations.

"I guess we jinxed it," Sibylla said, and I sighed.

"Yeah."

As we watched, his entire combined infantry formed up into a broad formation about two hundred yards away, with their archers forming up just behind them, spread out and avoiding bunching up. It was more organized than I'd expected from his local troops. His mercenary infantry moved to the front, standing in a more loose formation. It was an obvious attempt to make the force look larger, but with their more makeshift equipment after everything Sibylla had destroyed, it was hardly intimidating. It took them several minutes to get into position, with Sibylla's typical dialog ongoing in the background as she mockingly narrated their actions. That really took the edge out of the situation.

Moving with precision, the Drolian cavalry came around the army from either side, riding in a practiced maneuver to form up closer to the road. Their commanders, twenty men who were obviously nobles from their coats of arms and heavy armor both on themselves and their mounts, formed up in front of the force. It was all a nice bit of parade ground nonsense that I might have enjoyed watching as a child with some popcorn, but now, it just seemed pompous and arrogant. After what I was sure he thought was a tasteful delay, Lord Edgar and his entourage rode to the very front of the formation. He led ten other heavily armored knights like some conquering hero on a great white stallion, lance in hand. Each of his men carried a flag with the Blackstone coat of arms emblazoned across it. After a moment to allow them to posture, ten of the mercenary commanders rode forward to join him, as well as several of his other vassals who led different contingents of his army. All in all, it was a company of twenty-five mounted nobles who slowly rode forward and stopped about a hundred feet from the wall before planting several of the flags. Lord Edgar himself turned his lance point down and planted it in the ground.

I waited for a few seconds, but when no one else moved or said anything, I asked, "What is he doing?"

Septimia snorted, "He thinks we're idiots. He's lined up his entire army and formed up for a parley, even putting his lance down as custom dictates, but he's done it far enough away that we have no choice but to go down to meet him in the field."

I shrugged, "I assumed that was how things were done already. What's the big deal?"

She gave me a faint grin, "You see all of those house banners they've set up to make this look official? He is using them in the most dishonorable fashion possible. They are a distraction from the fact that he hasn't actually set up a truce flag. If we rode out there to meet him now, he could order every one of those heavy cavalry to attack us, and it would be perfectly legal. No one could even say he broke a truce."

"You're not serious? Is he stupid? What would stop me from just opening fire on him from here? Okay, I know I'm supposed to give him a reasonable amount of time to set up a truce, but an obvious trap is an obvious trap. And worse for him, what if I actually do go down there?" The thought sent a spike of anger through me. I knew the answer. I remembered the last time I had to deal with these Drolian clowns.

Sibylla had an entirely different outlook. She giggled madly, "Oh, that's such a good idea! Let's go!"

I turned to look at her, but she was already halfway to the stairs, so I rushed to catch up. I heard everyone else moving behind me a moment later, and though there were several objections, Sibylla was right. She was already mounted when I got to the bottom of the steps, so I stepped right over to Haunt. He was more than ready to go.

"My lady," Septimia said as she gathered the reins of her own horse, "I must object. This is very dangerous, and we're not even certain of the strength of their forces."

Sibylla turned with a malicious smile, "You're right. This is very dangerous. Just not for us."

In the end, Septimia was able to round up ten heavy cavalry to escort us before the gate opened and even moved to lead the procession out beside me. With Haunt's first stalking step toward Sir Edgar, the storm around us began to open up to a sunny circle that encompassed our party. We took our time, just as he had, and I could see the nervousness several of his men and all of their horses felt at the presence of Haunt. Good.

As we approached Septimia said, "Perhaps I should lead these negotiations to begin with so we can feel out his intentions."

I nodded, glad to have her begin things. I wasn't as nervous as I might have been in the past, but… "I would appreciate that, Septimia. It will be good for me to see how someone who knows what they're doing handles this."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She nodded in return, but I could feel the relief and approval in the simple motion. I fell back slightly to let her take the lead.

As we closed within speaking distance and the outer ring of my sunny weather reached them, I could see a look of annoyance spread throughout their group as some of them put together my attire, the change of weather around me, and the storms that had been harassing them for days. My crown of sparking antlers and battlegown that rippled like a storm made it hard to miss, and the looks of smug superiority on some of their faces sank ever so much. I had no illusion that these people feared me, not yet, but at least they were starting to understand things weren't going perfectly to their little plan. Of course, they didn't even know who I was yet, either. Septimia was leading our precession, and as much as I'd stolen some attention, it all quickly moved back to her.

"Septimia," Sir Edgar said in a sonorous tone. I'd been kind of hoping he might have a terribly annoying voice because now that we were close up, I wasn't so certain that Sarah only got her good looks from her mother's side of the family. Even seated on a horse, I could tell he was a tall man with dark hair long enough to fall into his rugged, chiseled face. Even his expression of arrogant disdain looked like it could fit on a magazine cover. I huffed in annoyance and used [Insight] on him.

[Lord Edgar Batanero - (Obscured) Skald, level 21]

I stared blankly at him for several seconds, completely unsure how to process this. A Skald? Really? So far as I knew, all classes had some kind of combat potential, so he couldn't literally just be a poet. He must be some sort of bard. Maybe Skald was a tier-two bard, but did that mean he was a warrior poet? Or perhaps the translation wasn't perfect. No matter what, though, I wasn't going to laugh at him. Probably. Annnd, I just missed whatever Septimia said to him.

He barked a laugh. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that your lady sent you out here to negotiate on her behalf." Looking over his shoulder, he said a little louder, "I wouldn't want to come out here and face me, either."

Septimia gave a small shake of her head, "I'm sure that is a sentiment you've been hearing from women your entire life, but someone must come out here to accept your surrender."

The insult brought a quick end to his laughter, and several of his men looked offended on his behalf. He only raised a hand to stop their comments, "That posturing isn't necessary. I can see less than a hundred soldiers on the wall, Septimia. Your mercenary mage was unexpected, but if she survives the first skirmish, she'll only be buying you a little time. We both know how this ends. You just have to decide how many deaths will come first and how my men will treat the people of Siren's Reach once they're inside."

Septimia pretended to wavier for a moment, looking over his forces, and asked, "What terms are you offering, Edgar?"

He relaxed ever so slightly into his saddle. "You will fetch the so-called Lady Evelyn of Siren's Reach and turn her over into our custody." One of the mercenaries behind him loudly cleared his throat, and after a quick glance back, Edgar continued, "And the one responsible for poisoning the mercenaries. Can I assume it was your young mage here?"

She gave a glance toward the ill-equipped soldiers in the distance but kept a straight face, "No, it was another. And why would I do these things?"

Edgar gave a half grin, "If you surrender and hand her over, I will pay you an appropriate ransom for someone of her station, and I will keep you on in your current position under my command. It is more than a fair offer, especially to save the lives of your people. There is no reason to let them die for the actions of a stranger that you hardly know, wouldn't you agree?"

Septimia gave a slow nod as she listened before asking, "And if I refuse?"

He snorted, "I didn't bring this army here to stretch their legs and have a picnic. If you refuse, we will pull down this wall, and you and all of your people will be killed on the battlefield or the gallows. I will let Captain Alvaro here lead his men down into the farmsteads and town to pillage what loot they may and take what prizes home with them as they see fit. I don't think I need to explain that to you in detail."

I'd been amused until this point, but that was too much. Anger filled me and before I knew what I was doing, I'd nudged Haunt forward and moved beside Septimia. "Is that so? You are so confident that you're going to win here that you'll flaunt the laws of the Spires and assume there couldn't possibly be any repercussions? And how will you pay Septimia? You already owe these mercenaries so much for the loss of their equipment, do you not? How will you even pay them?"

He finally looked at me with more than a passing glance, and I could see the contempt pouring out of him, "Be silent when your betters are speaking, girl! You may be important in whatever little hovel you rode out from, but you have no place speaking in my presence."

I snorted, "You certainly think highly of yourself." My eyes moved to his mercenary commander. "Captain Alvaro, has he paid you back for your losses? Your men appear to be wearing borrowed gear. Did you know not even three full days ago, Blackstone Keep was raided and stripped bare? Even his hidden vault – it was behind a wall in the closet of his bed-chamber, by the way – was completely emptied. From what I hear, he even lost a pair of very old enchanted sets of armor he had hidden away in there. He has nothing to pay you with. Does your company work for free these days?"

As I spoke, one of the younger nobles nearly fell out of his saddle in the back of the group. I recognized him as one of those who'd been leading the local levies. Some of the others turned to check on him, but with a look of absolute terror, he spun his horse and rode away toward the road as quickly as he could, and I grinned. Captain Alvaro seemed unfazed, however, and I only shrugged.

Lord Edgar focused back on me with a look of outrage and panic on his face, "I don't know how you heard about that, but no one would believe such a fanciful story. That was a very weak attempt."

I grinned as I noticed another of his local minor nobles slowly edging away from the group. "I see. Alexandros is paying the mercenaries for you. I suppose he's also paying for their losses. That's fine. I'll offer you better terms, Edgar. If you surrender, I will let you flee back to Drolia with your tail between your legs as a landless noble. I will be keeping Sarah, though. She asked for my protection, and I intend to keep my word to her. After she witnessed you throwing her mother from the wall of your keep when she refused to let you illegally sell her sister into servitude, no one can blame her."

Another of his local nobles staggered in shock before turning to flee, but Edgar was red with rage. "That traitorous little whore! Did she feed you all this information? Don't worry. I'll be sending word back to the keep to have my son deal with her as she deserves. You can have that on your conscience as well. I don't know who you think you are, but I know exactly where I'll be sending you when this is over." As he finished speaking, the last two of his local vassals turned to ride away together, and he finally took notice. "Where in the hells are you cowards going?!"

I just grinned, "They're smarter than you. They know exactly who I think I am. And if you haven't figured it out yet in your arrogant stupidity, that's your own fault. So, what? You plan to murder your daughter now? I don't think that'll be as easy as you expect. She's safe in my town, far from your reach."

Before I could continue, he latched on to my last sentence, "You? You're Lady Evelyn? You're barely old enough to be called a woman. Is this some kind of joke?"

I gave him a flat look, watching as he slowly reached for the sword strapped in his barding. "Yes. I am Lady Evelyn of Siren's Reach. It is one of my many, many titles. Actually, I will change my terms, I think. In light of your insistence on wanting to murder my newest vassal and your crimes against the kingdom, I don't think I can let you go. You will face justice. I will let any of your men here flee back home, but your mercenaries will need to stay in camp here until I can find an appropriate way to escort them back to Drolia. I do not trust them to roam free unsupervised."

He finished drawing the sword as I spoke. With a sad, condescending shake of his head, he said, "You're mad. I don't care what title you give yourself, girl. And no, I have more important plans for Sarah that are none of your concern. Perhaps you haven't noticed, but you are severely overmatched here. Get off the wolf and surrender, or we will butcher your people here and now."

I laughed, and Sibylla joined me, "I don't think this idiot gets it, Evie. How dense do you have to be to ride into a fight so blind? This guy's got two brain cells fighting for third place."

That made me laugh even more, and I shook my head before turning my attention back to Edgar. "No, little Skald. This is stupid. You know, I have so many more important things I should be dealing with instead of this nonsense. There are sea monsters destroying entire towns and pirates raiding up and down the coast, but here I am, forced to deal with you – Some petty lordling trying to line his pockets." I looked him up and down, remembering the people he'd already killed, both in my lands and in his own home, and I felt my heart harden. "I'll take your words as a no. That's too bad. You shouldn't have tried this nonsense coming out here without a truce flag. Captain Alvaro, direct your men to drop their weapons, or I will treat you all as hostile. I will not let any of you leave this battlefield alive if you fail to follow this command."

Edgar almost lunged, but one of his guards grabbed his horse by the reins and pulled him back behind them as they formed up, ready to defend their liege. I could see in their eyes they'd figured it out as well.

Alvaro, for his part, huffed in annoyance. "It's a neat trick, child, but no one will believe it for a moment. A little girl [Hero]? What a joke." He looked to the rest of his men, "You all know your jobs. Kill the wolf and her troops, but keep the girl alive. Break her legs if you have to, so long as she doesn't escape."

Sibylla gasped dramatically, "Oh no, Evelyn! These big, strong men are getting all scary! Whatever will we do?" Suddenly freezing, she snorted, raising a finger in the air, "Oh! Right! I know!" – and then she vanished, leaving behind a slowly fading shadow image of herself.

The Drolian horsemen all moved at once to fan out and surround us in an attempt to cut off our retreat just as our own escort began drawing weapons and moving to intercept them. Everyone had barely begun to move when Sibylla reappeared, jumping into the air from Alvaro's own shadow, her massive war scythe grasped in both hands and already in motion. Something must have alerted him because he started to look back in her direction just as the point of the weapon slammed into the top of his helmet. The armor sparked with some enchantment, but it didn't slow her strike at all. The dark metal divided like paper as the heavy blade plunged through his skull, split his neck and spine apart and stopped deep into his torso. She released the weapon and fell back into his shadow like it was a pool of water, letting the weight of the oversized polearm drag the former commander's corpse from the saddle.

My attention was still on Edgar and his entourage. I had no intention of letting him flee. I raised Zoila's staff and, with a pulse of [Channel Lightning], let loose a cascading wave of electricity. His guards knew their business, though, quickly moving in front of him the moment I raised the staff to block the attack. They succeeded in preventing him from being hit, but blocking lightning is always a bad idea, and three of the men and their horses immediately collapsed to the ground in convulsions. Alarmed, the rest of his escort pulled his horse with more urgency, ignoring his objection and trying to flee back toward the enemy lines. I looked past them to see the mercenary cavalry quickly getting into lines to charge. We didn't have a lot of time. If I wanted to keep my word and finish off the mercenary commanders, I needed to move now.

I raised Zoila's staff, pushing my mana through it, and reached out to the storm overhead. Within seconds, the constant gentle breeze became brutal, howling gusts, and the mild rain turned to a torrential downpour so thick I could hardly see the army. Webs of lightning filled the churning clouds overhead without my prompting, and a nearly unending rumble of thunder filled the air. That was more than enough to disorganize and slow down the forming cavalry for now. Better, Edgar's flight was interrupted within moments by panicking horses. I saw several of them go down as the tropical storm force winds and sudden surge of water spooked their mounts. They tried to keep in their saddles, but the already muddy ground failed to support them, and many of the horses fell, taking their riders with them. The whole group had to stop and recover, and I felt confident that between the terrible footing and poor visibility, I could come back for them after we finished off the mercenary commanders who stayed to fight. Just to be sure, though, I quickly wove an illusion to send them wandering in circles. It was far easier than expected in a storm so thick any direction looked like another.

Just as I finished, I felt Haunt tense up under me and barely had the time to grab the saddle's pommel and put my weight into my stirrups before he lunged to the side, right across the path of a charging horse. I looked up into the eyes of one of the Drolian commanders just as Haunt's jaws closed on his ankle. The horse didn't slow, and we were jerked forward as the man was violently ripped from the saddle. On instinct more than with any intention, I stabbed forward with Zoila's staff, cracking it into the back of his helmet. I doubt it did any real damage, but I was sure it made me look a lot more competent than I felt at that moment. He rolled across the ground for two seconds before my mind caught up with me, and I saw a perfect opportunity. "Stormbloom!"

His roll came to a sudden stop as several storm-grey vines grew around him and began to tangle him up. He started struggling to break free of them almost immediately. They were only a nuisance at first, the thickness of a pencil, but they grew quickly, spreading across him as he tried to tear free, growing up under and inside his armor as their thorns began to sprout. They rapidly thickened to the width of his wrists as the influence of the storm took hold, and flashes of electricity surged through them. I was already turning to advance on the fight as the screams began behind me.

My escort was clashing with the rest of the commanders, but it was obvious from the beginning that they were overmatched. Several of the Drolian commanders were definitely classers and only a few of the guards were. Two of our soldiers were already on the ground, but as I watched, Sibylla seemed to appear from nowhere, arms spread wide as moonlight rained down over the line of fighting cavalry. I looked up and saw an eclipsed moon fading from the sky overhead, and as her spell ended, the Drolian soldiers began to scream. One by one, they tried to strike a blow, only to drop their weapons and cry out in pain. Soon, nearly their entire line was cradling their arms and trying to back away as our soldiers continued to press them. Only two of them seemed to resist whatever it was that she'd just done, and they were both occupied fighting Septimia. Seeing her fighting alone, I urged Haunt in their direction. She was pressing them both hard, moving in a storm of blades that anyone would find impressive, but I wasn't going to let them gang up on her like that.

As I closed, I raised Zoila's staff and called out a "Sunray!" at the more dangerous-looking of the two. His armor was enchanted and protected him from taking the full brunt of the spell, but it wasn't so strong that it could completely resist. The metal plates began to glow, and smoke started streaming out of its gaps. His coordinated attacks faltered as panic set in, and he began trying to disengage and rip off his armor at the same time. I wasn't going to give him time for that, and Haunt already understood what I wanted. He sprinted to close the distance, filling the air with a terrifying growl that I'd never heard before as he danced around behind the man's horse. It was a warhorse, but even then, there was only so much it could take, and it began to buck wildly. The man hung on, losing the battleaxe he'd been fighting with, right up until I swung out with the staff, a strong surge of [Channel Lightning] running up its length. The impact might have knocked him loose on its own, but that blinding surge of electricity went right through his armor and launched him in a twitching heap to the ground. A moment later, his own horse stomped across him, and a notification of his death chimed out. Unencumbered by the second attacker, Septimia wove her sword around her final opponent's defense and right into the narrow gap between his gorget and helmet.

As he fell lifeless from his saddle, we both turned back to the fight only to see the last of the Drolian commanders being bodily thrown from his saddle by Sibylla from her perch behind him on his own horse.

Septimia turned to face me, "My lady, we must get behind the wall before they organize and rush us."

I looked out into the storm and the army didn't look much closer at all, but there were forms rushing around, trying to organize them over the cacophony of the wind and thunder. Before I could reply, though, I felt my illusion break, and my attention swung to Lord Edgar. It looked like he was singing into the storm while also berating the guards around him. His eyes met mine nearly the moment I focused on him, and the shock on his face when he saw he was still so close by nearly brought a smile to my lips. I stood in my stirrups and raised my staff, reaching out to the storm overhead. Just as he and his retinue turned around and started urging their mounts through the downpour, my [Control Weather] pulled together a ridiculous charge in the clouds above, and [Lightning Control] finished building the perfect path for it to discharge. I didn't need to do anything else, and the thunderstorm took its natural course.

The lightning strike sent a wave of thunder that rocked me in the saddle and made my ribs vibrate in my chest. Even as the flash turned my vision white in a moment of near blindness, I saw Edgar and, much to my dismay, his horse explode. The bolt was even stronger than the one I'd dropped on Az'immon in West Peak, and as close as his retinue was to him, they hadn't stood a chance. Those closest to him shared his fate, and those further away were caught as the electricity violently arced between them. The most fortunate died immediately, the rest hurled from their mounts, many of which landed on them and their comrades as they seized up mid-gallop. I nearly urged Haunt forward, half in shocked awe and half in horrified guilt, when Septimia put her hand on my shoulder.

"Lady Evelyn. We must go."

"Uh… Yeah. Okay." I turned around as she did, only to come nearly face to face with Sibylla, sitting astride her horse once again, every charger of the Drolian commanders following her around like lemmings.

"Those poor horses," was the only thing she had to say before she turned, leading her new herd back toward the gate.

I blinked at her back as Haunt moved to follow but used the opportunity to take in the battlefield. Three of our men were dead or hurt so badly they were slung across their saddles and their horses led by comrades. All of the bodies of the Drolian commanders were missing their weapons, armor, and even clothing, and I was really afraid to ask. I urged Haunt on, eager to get somewhere that didn't smell of death and to let the storm wash away anything left of this mess.