Siren's Reach - Fallen Lands Book 3

Chapter twenty-four

A Clash of Pawns

Evelyn

With the rush of battle leaving my system, the exhaustion of keeping a storm raging for so long caught up with me. It wasn't just summoning a storm, that much was kind of easy. But putting so much focus into keeping it right in a specific place and forcing it into such an unnatural level of severity was mentally draining, and the non-stop control needed to keep it from returning to a normal storm pattern for so long had consumed a huge amount of mana. One look at my status made me wince. I was almost down to seven hundred mana of my maximum two-thousand ninety. That was still a lot, but it was below a third of my maximum. When the gates slammed shut behind us, I had dismounted as soon as it was reasonable and just leaned my back against the wall to catch my breath. I could feel my mana refilling abnormally fast with my crown on, and I was sure it helped a lot in how easy it was to control that storm as well, but I was going to need to take a break before doing something like that again. Of course, no one else knew that, and I covered it up by watching Sibylla somehow leading around all those warhorses like a fairytale princess. Not one had disobeyed any of her orders or tried to bite or kick her as she calmly moved from horse to horse, removing their tack and checking them for injuries. I took a moment to review my notifications, but other than the deaths and two points in [Exotic Riding], they were lacking. Just like the last few battles I'd been in. This wasn't enough of a challenge to really help me progress. I wanted to move on and do things that mattered, not deal with this nonsense. And worse, for some reason, even with Edgar dead, I didn't get any war updates. I had kind of been hoping that would end things. I sighed and went back to watching Sibylla working with the horses to help me clear my head.

After several minutes of this, I heard some activity above, so I finally stood and took the steps up to the top of the wall to find Septimia. She was already standing with several of her advisors and watching the field below. Just as I approached her, I heard a command somewhere down the wall for the archers to "Loose!"

"What's this?" I asked, following her gaze to watch several arrows falling into a group of the Drolian cavalry who were already fleeing away from the wall.

"On the way back in, Sibylla suggested I allow them to come to collect their dead, so we set the flags to notify them. They came to check for survivors, but they made it obvious they didn't intend to gather their dead. Then, two of them even fired their bows at the wall, so I used it as an opportunity to give them a poor impression of our numbers."

I looked around, seeing most of our defenders still behind the wall, and shook my head. "It wasn't very smart of them to betray her hospitality like that… but you keeping up that ruse is a great idea. Do you think they're going to attack without Edgar to lead them? I had sort of hoped the war would end when he died."

"The war should have ended with him since you have Sarah sworn to you now, but perhaps her claim is in contention. As far as their attacking goes – I'd say yes based on their indifference to Edgar at the parley. It is becoming increasingly clear that he was nothing but a pawn. Even if that were not the case and the war had ended, I suspect a mercenary army like that one might consider attacking just to pillage more treasure for their trouble. Fortunately, it seems many of the fleeing nobles took their conscripts with them under cover of the storm, but there are still a good number of them down there, milling around leaderless. I suspect the Drolians may try to use them as fodder to test our defenses."

I looked at the disorganized soldiers. They were well out of any sort of formation, scattered around the field. Several had wandered back toward their heavily damaged camp and were gathering up blown-over supplies and tents as they went. Some were stripping out of their clothes and armor to wring the water out. Generally, they looked like a lot of lost, confused people milling about and deciding if they should try to flee after the other men escaping in the distance.

"Yeah. I have a feeling you're right."

She turned and looked over everyone below, "I think it will take some time before they'll sort out their leadership and work out a new plan, but we've been projecting weakness here, and they likely don't realize that we've not been dealing with the poor weather as they have. We should expect an attack before sunset. If I were them, I'd try and overcome the wall before we can summon reinforcements or recover from the perceived exhaustion. We should let our soldiers rest while we can. We want to hurt them as much as possible in their first attempt."

I nodded, "Then I will do the same. Have you seen Lilith?"

Septimia looked down the wall, and I followed the gaze, "The last I saw her, she was sitting on the battlements and watching the soldiers below."

I nodded and started walking in that direction, "Thank you, Septimia."

I pushed into my spiritual senses, and it only took me a couple of minutes to find her. She was sitting in a small shadow where no one without some kind of high-level skill or ability would be able to spot the shadow fox. When I stopped and leaned up against the crenulation beside her, she only gave me a short glance before turning back out to face the field.

"You did well, Evelyn. I felt a little helpless up here, unable to fight."

I ran my fingers through her fur while we watched the soldiers toil in the distance, "Yeah, I understand. At least if they get closer to the wall, they'll start getting in range of your shadow magic."

She let out a little huff but, after a moment, nodded. "It has become far less strange over the past couple of days. All the little lessons the two of you have shown me. It will be weird going back to being human when the elixir wears off."

I smiled, looking down at her, "Who knows! Maybe you'll learn to shapeshift a little – Or perhaps Sibylla could make something for you. I didn't realize you were enjoying being a fox so much."

She slowly turned her eyes on me before sneezing in my direction, "Let's not push it. I just said that it would be strange, not that I didn't want it to happen. Being a fox isn't so bad, but I'm looking forward to having my bow back and being able to talk to the people around me."

I chuckled, "Okay, okay. But it has been fun." I turned my attention back to the field, "Septimia still thinks we'll have a full-scale battle today closer to sunset. I was really hoping to have this all over with. We have so many more important things that need our attention."

Lilith gave a slight nod. "Yes, we do, but Septimia is correct. These mercenaries don't care about the war. They are here for something else. There are too many for such a small conflict, and with everything else going on, I am beginning to suspect that we stumbled into a bigger incident than we expected when you won that duel."

"What do you mean? I was thinking that Count Alexandros guy was embarrassed about losing our duel and was just trying to find a way to get the land back. He seemed petty enough for it, and no one denied it when I said he was paying for the mercenaries at the parley."

"Yes, I'm sure you are partly correct, but I've been thinking about it for a while. It would not have been easy to march a thousand heavily equipped Drolian mercenaries all the way out here. First, every noble in the path would need to give them permission to cross their lands, and they'd need a Baron at minimum to sponsor them to be permitted to operate in the kingdom. The Baron here is of Drolian descent, as was Lord Edgar, so there isn't a lot of mystery there. But for them to bring so many soldiers here, they must have had several others, either from a few other Baronies or perhaps even a Count granting them permission to travel."

I raised an eyebrow, "You think they've got some kind of plot, and I somehow stumbled into the middle of it?"

Lilith nodded, "Yes, I do. There is no way that such a large force should have been moving around the Spires without the king or one of the Dukes knowing unless the lords of every piece of land they've crossed were intentionally not reporting it. And I can't believe for a moment that if they knew, they wouldn't order the force to be turned around, especially with all the tensions between the nations over troop movements right now. I'm not sure what they are up to, but it could even be something as serious as working on a land bridge toward Lihume."

"That sounds.. really bad. And how mad is this Baron going to be when I take Blackstone and all the fiefs it controls? That's really not going to work well with any ambitions of marching an army toward Lihume or anything else he might be thinking of."

Lilith barked a little laugh, "Oh, Evie. Even if he's not plotting something against the kingdom, he'd still be plenty mad. Losing all the taxes from those lands will hurt. The mines around Blackstone make a lot of money."

I sighed, "That's true. Well, there isn't much to be done about it, I suppose."

Lilith didn't reply right away, weighing her response. After a few seconds, she said, "Well, you could always take Edgar's vassalage instead of outright claiming the land by conquest."

"Absolutely not!" I shot back with more force than I'd intended. I took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm not even sure who that Baron is, and all I know about him is that he's either Drolian or part Drolian. His decision to allow Edgar to march all these soldiers here to wage war on Siren's Reach is more than enough for me to reject him. This is as much his fault as Edgars."

"Agreed. Then I suppose the only thing left to do is survive until nightfall so we can work on relieving him of part of his barony."

I nodded, scooping her up into my arms, "Yes. And we should go rest before this battle… but why until nightfall? The way you said that makes me think you expect us to roll over them in the morning."

She settled into my arms, chirping back, "I don't know what Sibylla was burying under their campsites out there, but the smile on her face when she returned was anything but friendly. I'm a little worried, but I suspect we'll have a much easier time making them surrender in the morning."

"Maybe I should ask her about that," I ventured, but she only snorted.

"It wouldn't get you anywhere. She's very determined to keep it a secret."

I was a little amused with how well she was already beginning to understand Sibylla, and I left it at that. I was sure that if it were something I needed to know the details of, she would tell me. More than likely, her plan didn't need any help from me at all, and she was going to proudly announce whatever she'd done the moment it became obvious just to gloat. How bad could it really be anyway?

When we reached the central bastion, Septimia had already retired inside, sleeping in one of the bunks in the officer's quarters. When I looked for Sibylla, I found that she'd done the same, so we joined them. It was only a few hours later when a bell atop the wall rang out, waking all of us. It only took a few minutes for everyone in the room to be back in their equipment and hurrying topside. Several more soldiers than before were making their way onto the wall, keeping low and away from the battlements where they might be spotted. I also noticed a few younger pages moving with buckets along the walls, spreading out the illusion stones I'd made to simulate soldiers. They weren't activated, but it would only take a moment to change that. I joined everyone as the officer in command explained to Septimia what was going on – which was exactly what we'd expected.

The Drolian mercenaries were using some of their light cavalry to corral as much as command the conscripts that were abandoned on the field while also forming their own soldiers a little differently. Now, they had clearly separated their heavy and light cavalry, put together units of infantry and archers to spread out, and set the conscripts to carrying tall ladders in groups. Somehow, they'd set up several catapults and looked to be building a covered ram, but they were still behind their lines, well out of range to be used.

Septimia stepped away from the briefing to look over the field, and we moved with her. "It looks like our predictions were correct." Her tone was sad but resolved. With a shake of her head, she called back to command staff behind us, "Let's get everyone in position, out of sight but ready to defend."

"Do you still think they're going to use the conscripts by themselves?" I asked, still trying to figure out how to avoid killing them.

"It's hard to tell for certain just yet. I suspect they're going to advance them as shock troops to try and disorganize us while looking for weak spots in our defenses. They will, at the very least, advance their heavy infantry enough to protect their archers and provide supporting fire."

I sighed, "So, no chance we can just…I don't know, kill them and ignore the conscripts?"

She patted me on the shoulder, "I wish that were possible. If we let them put those ladders against our wall, they will come right up here and kill us without a second thought. They have no reason to trust us not to kill them, and they know very well that those mercenaries behind them will kill them if they don't follow orders."

I nodded, "Alright."

She put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Lady Evelyn. We will do our best to harm as few of them as possible."

I believed her, but that didn't mean I couldn't try to discourage the Drolians from sticking around. I pulled my pack off and once again strung up my longbow. A wry grin settled on my face as I worked, thinking that maybe this time, I might even use it. I took out a quiver of arrows to wear on my hip before sitting down to leaf through my spellbook. I barely started when Sibylla pulled a chair into existence beside me.

"They'll probably have assassins looking to take you and Septimia out, too. Don't do anything stupid like die, alright?"

I smiled and lifted my eyes from the pages, "I'll do my best. Besides, I'll have you to watch my back."

She hummed noncommittally as she pulled out the two swords she'd grabbed back in Darkwater Downs. They were oddly squared in their grips and the shape of their black lacquered scabbards but had a slight curve that made me think of samurai swords. "I guess I can't let you get too beat up. Amélie would never let me hear the end of it."

As she spoke, she took out the longer of the two swords, and much to my amusement, it really did look a lot like I'd expected. "Maybe. Maybe not. Hey, don't you think it's kind of weird that you found a pair of samurai swords here? And what're you even going to do with them?"

Sibylla paused mid-examination of the blade, then turned to me and laughed. "Oh, Evie. This isn't a samurai sword. Let me expound my half-baked samurai lore upon you." She flourished the blade dramatically before continuing, and her handling of the weapon was far more fluid and experienced than I'd expected. "So, real samurai carried two swords – the katana and the waki-stabby. Okay, I might be a little iffy on the actual name of the second one, but that's not the point. The katana's blade was usually around three feet long, single-edged, and a bit curvier. But this sword? It's at least six inches longer, double-edged at the tip, and has a second blade running down the spine for two-thirds of its length. The other sword's the same design, just with a blade a little under thirty inches long. Both have fourteen-inch grips, more like a greatsword than a katana." She spun gracefully, taking a very ninja-esque pose with the sword held above her, parallel the ground before making a graceful sweeping swing of the weapon. "And, why are they here? Pfft. Isn't it obvious?" She spun the sword in her hands with an excited grin. "Just look at these things! They're awesome!"

Her excitement was a little infectious, and I couldn't help but grin back. "Okay, that's fair. They are really cool. But I had no idea you knew how to use a sword. I've only ever seen you use that giant scythe!"

She snorted and sat back down, "Oh, that thing. Yeah, I stole it from some grim reaper-looking thing in the spirit world because it was really cool, too, but it's super impractical. Like, that sneak attack on that knight-looking guy was a great use for it because I needed to peel his armor off like a can opener, but other than as a wall decoration, it doesn't have a lot of other uses. Maybe if I level the skill up one day."

"But, you do know how to use those?" I asked with my eyes on the swords, my skepticism significantly reduced after her little display.

She nodded, "In theory. I have edged weapons leveled up quite a bit. I've never used swords like these before, but they already feel very natural in my hands. I'm going to give them a shot."

I blinked at her, "Uh. Wait. You have one skill that covers any weapon with an edge? That seems a little unfair.. and didn't you just say you need to level up your ability to use your scythe? Doesn't it count as an edged weapon?"

She sighed, making her not-samurai swords disappear as the scythe appeared in her hands, "No, it doesn't – which is weird because I'm pretty sure I see a giant edged blade on it. But it's categorized as a magical focus for some reason."

I peered at the weapon in confusion when I heard several horns blast across the field. I quickly placed my spell tome back on my belt and stood to see what was happening. My face appearing between the crenulations was a signal of some sort, and almost the instant I saw the army moving, I caught the motion in the field much closer as two skill-infused arrows launched toward the wall. I barely ducked the one aimed for my face, only then registering the other was aimed for where Septimia was standing only a few feet away. With a gasp, I spun to see her sitting on the ground, Sibylla in front of her, holding a black shafted arrow and looking it over.

"I guess they are using some kind of heavy crossbow," she said before tossing the arrow back over the side.

I blinked at her, "Do you have some kind of weird arrow-catching skill, too?"

She raised an eyebrow, "No, you dork. Get your [Slight of Hand] leveled over thirty, and it's super easy."

Septimia stood, checking herself for injuries before saying, "Thank you, Sibylla. For that, I won't even ask what you did to get your [Slight of Hand] skill so high level." As another pair of bolts flew up at other targets on the wall, she called out, "Activate the decoys!"

I thought it was a little bit of a waste at first, but most of the people up here weren't classers, and the two shooting at us certainly were. In just a few seconds, more than a hundred illusionary guards appeared on the wall, aiming fake weapons down on the field, ducking in and out of cover, and generally creating a lot of fake targets and movement all along the wall. There were only a few different ways that they were set to move, but anyone who was going to stare at them long enough to try and sort out the real guards from the fakes was probably going to stay exposed long enough to be shot. Speaking of which, I drew an arrow aimed at the small camouflaged little redoubt the two rangers had snuck close enough to open fire on us from and fired. My arrow thudded into the wood as one of the men ducked behind it, but that was fine. I had a lot of arrows. As I drew the next one, Sibylla cleared her throat.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I stared at her for a moment, and when I didn't answer, she sighed exasperatedly. "Channel magic, you goof."

I blinked, "Why? I'm not touching them, so I can't zap them through the arrows."

Stolen story; please report.

"Have you tried? And what about [Channel Wind]? Have you tried using it to boost your attack power and aim?"

… I had not. With a thought, lightning coursed across my body, and the wind picked up around me. I knocked my arrow, peered around my cover just as my sphere of wind sent an incoming bolt flying up and over me, and loosed the arrow directly at the ranger who'd fired on me. As expected, he ducked. Not so expected was how a thread of lightning stayed connected between me and my brilliantly sparking arrow as it slammed into his cover with twice the speed and power. The six-inch bodkin point punched clean through his cover, and a small burst of lightning cracked like thunder. The ranger was thrown out from his cover by his own jerking legs and left twitching on the ground in the open as he struggled to regain control of himself. It didn't take him long, but just as he tried to pull himself back to safety, three more arrows slammed into him from different angles. The second ranger must have seen what happened because he decided it was safer to stay in cover than risk opening himself up for a shot.

Sibylla came to lean against the crenulation next to the one I was using for cover. "That worked better than expected."

"Yeah, no kidding. That didn't even use any more mana than just keeping the channeled abilities up normally does. It was like a free lightning bolt."

She grinned, but as we were speaking, I heard Septimia giving commands, having all of the hidden archers on the wall form up to volley. I turned to watch, and the few guards who had been showing themselves stayed up against the wall as I was, peeking out to take aimed shots at the now advancing infantry and archers. Septimia's orders hadn't been for them, and they knew their role in keeping up the ruse as long as possible. Their compatriots behind them lined up near its far edge, out of view from the ground, all putting arrows to their strings and waiting for commands. I wanted to see how she handled the battle and made decisions on the orders she was giving, but there was still another ranger on the field. I didn't think they'd just stay in cover for long, and I didn't want them taking any more opportune shots when someone important got too close to the edge. Speaking of which, I moved slowly in the shadows behind the wall to another spot a dozen feet away. If they were waiting for me to pop out again, I didn't want to make it easy for them. I took a deep breath, put a new arrow on my bowstring, and then popped up to quickly aim. Only, he wasn't there at all anymore. He was sprinting toward the oncoming marching soldiers for their protection. I hated the idea of shooting him in the back, but I hated the idea of him shooting Sibylla or Septimia far more. I let my arrow fly. My aim had been a little off. It was a very long shot, and he was running much faster than I'd expected, but it was only a small push to guide my arrow to him. His armor didn't even slow the shot as it burst through his chest.

"Nice shot," Sibylla said from beside me.

"I cheated," I confessed with a sigh. "I was going to miss, so I changed the arrow's path."

"It's not a game, Evie. You did what you had to do. Without Lilith using her bow, I don't think anyone else around here can make those shots. Perhaps you should wait for their officers to get into range and start plugging them full of holes, too."

Septimia stepped over to join us, "That is a fine idea, but hold off on that until the irregulars charge. It will give them some separation from the mercenaries and more of an opportunity to flee the field entirely."

Sibylla tilted her head to the side, "Won't the Drolian Cavalry just ride them down?"

Septimia nodded, "Yes. That is the idea. They will send their cavalry to chase the levies down, either to kill them for deserting or to round them up. While they are busy with that, we will have an opportunity to attack their infantry outside the walls. We have the majority of the Silver Talons here now, and they're ready to ride out the gates as soon as they're needed."

I grinned, "That's a good idea. They'll be faster than the mercenaries, and they're all skilled horse archers."

We watched for a few minutes as the army advanced, the far less organized conscripts in the front, with a slow and organized line of Drolian soldiers following behind. Their officers were pretty easy to pick out with their more ornate armor and helmets, but even without them, they all had a standard bearer following them around, and many of them were even mounted. The heavy cavalry was split into three units following behind. I wasn't sure what the purpose of them was supposed to be. What were they going to do? Charge the wall with their lances? But as I watched, I began to suspect they were likely trying to use them for intimidation. If the people on this wall had never seen an army, seeing heavy cavalry on the field would certainly look scary, even if they were useless. Their light cavalry began to form up into small groups behind the conscripts and ready bows, so it was no surprise when they circled around the light infantry to ride past the wall from either side, firing arrows up toward the guards to try and suppress their fire as the infantry approached. They weren't half bad, and I saw arrows fly through several of the illusions, but shooting at them now wasn't our goal. Septimia was saving our arrows for the heavier infantry and archers behind them.

After two more passes of the light cavalry, a short series of horn calls blew, and with several screaming orders, the conscripts let out a roar and charged the wall in a mass. They were still pretty far away, and I was sure they were going to be very tired when they arrived, but it wasn't really a bad idea. Our wall was pretty high, and they were definitely in range of our bows and siege engines. Running might have helped them if we were going to fire at them at all. Instead, we waited. They were nearly on the wall when the Drolian infantry reached some mark that Septimia had chosen. She wanted them well within bowshot before she opened fire to ensure that even if they withdrew, they'd still be hit. She blew a whistle, and in a chanting cadence, one of her officers began a simple song. On his fourth word, the bows of the waiting archers all rose, and they began to take up the song as well. As one, over a hundred longbows thrummed, and the air filled with a wall of arrows. They soared clear over the charging conscripts and into the line of mercenaries following behind. Some skill must have been at work because it seemed like every arrow found a mark. They didn't always kill their target, many thudding heavily into shields or deflecting off armor, but enough hit to stagger their line. It didn't stop them, but a sense of confusion seemed to go through their leadership.

That was fine. I lined up my first target. A Drolian captain leading the conscripts. I don't think he even saw me aiming until the flashing arrow was already flying his way. My wind and lightning-infused arrow blasted him right out of his saddle, sending him tumbling across the ground. He didn't get back up. I started looking for my next target and then the next. As I worked, another full volley went out from the archers on the wall, and a third was preparing when another call went out below. The units of mercenary infantry and archers started to break apart into more spread-out squares. I sighed, knowing that would make it more difficult for our archers. The next volley went out with many of the arrows, killing only grass. But then, the archers on the wall began splitting into groups as well, with their captains organizing them and assigning targets. At the same time, the conscripts got close enough to the wall to begin firing up with their much smaller bows to give cover to those attempting to set up ladders. They had split, half going to the curtain wall on the left side of the bastion and half going to the right. I was surprised they were making no effort toward the gate at all, but I guessed without some kind of siege weapons, what would they even do there?

As the first ladder hit the wall, I saw one of the Dalen Dragoons in their heavy plate armor reach over, grab the ladder, and shake it. It was only three quick up and down motions, each one more violent than the last, and then he yanked the ladder up. In just a few tosses, he had the whole thing up and over the wall, setting it down on the other side. I let out a small, disbelieving laugh. When I'd first gained control of Siren's Reach, Grandfather had insisted on sending twenty "Men At Arms" to secure it for me and support Septimia, and I'd agreed. I hadn't known at the time that each of them was a variant of Dragoon, a tier three class, and that "Men at Arms" were a sort of special combatant trained to fight everywhere and everything. They all had massive war horses below, wore heavy ornate armor, carried a small arsenal of weapons, and even had powerful repeating crossbows. Ten of them were patrolling the wall now, and ten more were below, ready to charge the enemy should the need arise. They were intimidating to see walking around, but that simple action, shaking several men from a ladder and just taking it away as if they were misbehaving children fighting over a toy, really made their strength stand out.

I shook my head, hearing the clatter of another ladder against the wall on my other side, and I turned to see a ladder with two men already near the top. It was ridiculous that they'd ride the ladder up to try and take the wall on their own, and I could only shake my head as I raised my bow. Just before I let my arrow fly, I had an idea and instead aimed at the rails about halfway up the ladder instead of the top climber. My arrow hit with a sharp crack of exploding wood and a burst of lightning. The rail I'd hit was obliterated, and the far rail bent as the ladder began to tip in what felt like slow motion. The weight of the men on top seemed to pull the top half of the ladder in the opposite direction of the fall, and after only a moment, the second rail snapped, sending the whole thing and everyone on it tumbling down. I was about to go back to looking for targets when I heard Septimia call out.

"Captain, all archers forward. Get shots lined up on that charge!"

The song of the archers stopped, and they all rushed forward a moment later. I looked out over the field, confused about who could be charging when I saw the heavy cavalry in the rear of their formation. There were thirty of them forming up in the center, right down the open path the infantry had been leaving for them directly to the gate.

I turned to Septimia, "What are they doing? They're not going to try to use their lances on the gate, are they? That sounds stupid."

From behind me, Sibylla answered, "They are stupid, but their front row is all classers. I think they are planning to use a skill on the gate."

Septimia nodded, "She's right. They've got two Iron Riders and two Juggernauts. If we ignore them, they might break through the gate in two or three charges."

I blinked. "I've never heard of those classes before."

"I'm not surprised. There aren't many of them in the West. They're best at this kind of warfare. Both are tier two classes and quite powerful, but enough arrows will put anyone down."

Sibylla almost seemed to ignore us, just watching them form up as they casually cantered toward the gate, but after a few seconds said, "Try not to kill the horses."

Septimia sighed, "The rider's skills protect the horses as much as themselves. The archers will aim for the riders, but no one is perfect."

I saw the ballista crews starting to aim for the first time as well. When Sibylla noticed them, she spun, "Wait! Don't do that!"

Septimia raised her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation, but Sibylla had already spun back to watch their approach. With a sigh, I waved a hand, "I think she has a plan. You said it would take more than one charge anyway. Let's see what happens.

As she began giving more commands, I walked to stand next to Sibyl and watched the riders approach. Behind them, the rest of the Heavy Cavalry was forming up in a column, and near them, the light cavalry also began to form up. Their plan was pretty obvious but impossible to do much about from where we stood. They'd use the classers to break down the gate – something I think they expected might happen in a single charge, and then they'd rush in behind them, getting their heaviest units behind our wall to overwhelm us before we could respond properly. It wasn't a bad plan, really. There was only one small problem.

Sibylla had already set up her cauldron beside her on the wall and was mixing random powders and monster parts into it. Somehow, she was directing a massively oversized spoon to stir it as she worked. I carefully stepped a little further away as they continued their charge. When they closed in, the lead four riders surged ahead of the others, and a hailstorm of arrows rained down on them at once. One of the riders raised his shield, and a dome erupted into existence above them, shunting every arrow fired askew and deflecting off of it, or burning up as they tried to penetrate. I expected Sibylla to do something at any moment, but instead, when they were just twenty feet away, all four riders surged forward in the blinding speed of a skill, slamming their lances into the gate. The whole wall shuddered with the impact, and even though they'd been stopped dead, all of the horses and riders seemed fine. Before another concentrated rain of fire could begin, they spun their mounts and circled back to the riders they'd been charging with. The whole line turned and followed them as they lined up for another run.

"Sibylla, you missed."

She shot me a glare, "Did I? Look at the gate."

I stared at her for a moment, but when her annoyed, defiant eyes stayed locked with mine, I leaned out and looked. The gates looked completely wrecked. Another hit like that, and they were going to shatter entirely into kindling. It was also entirely an illusion. The damage to the gate was even less than Septimia told us to expect. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh," She mocked, giving me a teasing grin. "This'll be good."

I heard a skittering, scratching sound to the side and looked up to see where two ladders had been raised to the wall but somehow had missed and fallen far short. How could you miss an entire wall? But that wall also wasn't there. A shadow image of the wall some ten feet out was distracting the siege teams below and confusing them about the angle and distance. It wasn't just an illusion, I could see the magic bleeding out to affect their perception, and behind it all, was a very exhausted looking Lilith the Fox.

That made me grin, but pounding hooves distracted me, and I looked down to see the next charge coming in from below. This time, the whole company was coming, not just the four leading them. As I watched, Sibylla reached up, pulling my glaive out from where it was sticking up over my shoulder before putting it into my hands.

"Don't hurt my horses."

I blinked at her, "Okay…"

But before I could ask what was going on, She lifted the massive cauldron as if it weighed nothing and dumped it over the battlements and onto the road below. It was less than I expected, spreading out like a few dozen gallons of brown paint across the ground in front of the gate. The riders activated several abilities and magical items in response, sending up shields around them and their mounts to protect from attacks both mundane and magical, but they didn't slow at all. I wasn't sure what Sibylla expected me to do – until everything suddenly changed. The horses closed in on the gate, and the sudden blur of speed from the rider's skills kicked in. They burst forward – and then sank. It was as if the road were made of water, and they'd tried to run across it. In an instant, they'd gone from a blur of motion to collapsing into a pit of mud four feet deep. Somehow, the horses didn't break all their bones, but their riders were still sent flying over their heads. None of them stood up out of the mess at first, and it was a couple seconds of screaming, panicking horses trying and failing to jump out of the mess. I watched in stunned confusion until the first man's helmet broke the surface. He was gasping for breath but slowly finding his feet against the sucking mud. Soon, another man joined him, and then another, each of them completely disabled and struggling to find their way out or back to their horses.

"There. Your turn." Sibylla said, nudging me toward the wall.

"What am I supposed to do in that mess?"

She snorted, "We don't sink in mud, remember? And that outfit doesn't get dirty. Now go get those jerks away from my horses before one of them gets hurt."

I looked down and back to her, and it took a moment before I could speak. "Ok. To be clear, I'm jumping off this perfectly good wall to fight a bunch of people twice my size in a pit of mud just so you can steal their horses?"

She nodded, "That's the idea, yes."

I sighed, "Of course."

And I jumped. I didn't bother using [Heroic Leap], I just fell into the middle of the group using [Slowfall] at the last second just to be safe, but my glaive still came down hard on the head of the closest soldier as my feet landed on the weird, bouncy mud. And then, I began to move. I made it as quick as possible. Of the men who were thrown into the mud, less than half found their way back to the surface. They tried to defend themselves, but they were chest deep in sucking, sticky mud, half blind with it in their eyes, and injured from their falls. The mercenary soldiers had begun to advance, but they'd been called to a halt when the charge had so catastrophically failed, and before I was even done my work in the mud, they were already slowly withdrawing under the continued volleys of arrows raining down on them again. I used [Heroic Leap] when I was done, landing lightly back on the wall in what must have been a horrific sight for the withdrawing soldiers.

"Nice work!" Sibylla said without even looking my way, already dumping another large dose of something over the side. When I looked, I could see the ground slowly solidifying. The horses were stomping their way up and out of the mud as it rapidly dried, and Sibylla called out encouraging words to them. I didn't think anyone else survived down there, but if they did, they were buried alive now, and it didn't matter. As she rushed down to the gates to gather her new horses, I retook my spot on the wall, picking out captains among the conscripts and putting arrows through them.

It was only a few minutes later when they finally began to break. With the majority of our archers focusing on the Drolian infantry with only enough fire going into the conscripts to suppress them and knock away their ladders, the mercenaries had withdrawn entirely out of range. The sun was beginning to set, and this was not a good position for them. Only when they were entirely safe did they sound the retreat. The conscripts kept at their attack at first, but when Septimia had several arrows shot down into their ranks, they finally broke. They didn't even attempt an orderly withdrawal. In ones and twos, they fled. Not back to their camp but toward the road. Then, like a dam breaking, all of them turned tail, dropped their weapons, and ran. They stripped away armor and shields as they went, just to make it easier to flee. Without guidance, they went exactly where they wanted to go – back toward their homes.

It was almost like watching a prophecy unfold as first the light cavalry, and then all of them moved to give chase. The troops had a head start, and the horses were tired from a long day even if they didn't see a lot of battle, but there was no way the levies were going to outrun them. We watched for about two minutes before Septimia gave the command. Our gates flew open, and the Silver Talons poured out. They didn't yell or woop or give any warning at all. They just all stood up in their stirrups and charged, fanning out as if they were encircling the great monsters of their homeland and unleashing a storm of arrows and skills into the withdrawing mercenary infantry. They never charged directly into the infantry or engaged in melee; that wasn't how they fought. Instead, they sped past, firing as many arrows into them as quickly as possible. Horns sounded an alarm before they were close enough for their first pass, but the cavalry the soldiers depended on to protect them from this exact situation was off chasing down conscripts. They turned back immediately, of course, but the Silver Talons made three full passes before withdrawing back to the gate. They'd taken a few shots in return, but even those who looked to be critically injured maintained their saddle until they were back inside.

It was a good trade. They hadn't actually done as much damage as it looked like, but I suspect they outright killed nearly fifty of the mercenaries, and plenty more were walking wounded. Even if the mercenaries managed to heal them, that was going to have a huge impact on their resources. They lost a lot when Sibylla had destroyed their wagons in our raid on Blackstone, and we seriously doubted they had a lot to spare. One thing was clear, though. They were completely done with this fight for the day. The conscripts looked like they were going to escape, and that really uncomplicated the rest of this battle.

Sibylla, Lilith, and I walked with Septimia as she reviewed reports, gave feedback and assistance where we could, and even used our skills to help ensure that the enemy truly was settling into their camp for the night. This had been a complete disaster for them, and we'd only lost six soldiers. There were a few more injuries from pushing the ladders away from the wall and lucky arrows, but that was it. As we excused ourselves for the evening, Septimia gave us one clear warning.

"This is not over. Sleep in the officer's barracks where it's safe, and get as much rest as you can. They were bloodied today, but there are still plenty of them, and they will be back in the morning."

We didn't waste any time taking her advice. I was out of my equipment and asleep in a bed within minutes. And that was fortunate because it was only a few hours later, well before sunrise, when I woke up again. There was no alarm on our end, but everyone was rushing around, and it was more than enough to wake me up. I jumped out of bed, quickly getting dressed, when Sibylla casually stepped up beside me with an expansive yawn.

"Evie, you don't need to rush. There's no alarm."

I shook my head, "I know that, but something is wrong. Can't you hear the screaming?"

Her ears perked up, and she blinked a few times, but then she shrugged, "It's coming from outside the wall. Those are good screams."

I let out an exasperated sigh, "They're good screams for now, but whatever is making them scream outside the wall isn't us, and that means it might be something that will become our problem."

She only yawned again and started to shrug back into her gear. "I guess."

Lilith didn't wait, rushing outside and back up the wall, and a minute later, we were following. When we stepped outside, it was still fully night, the ground around us lit only by the waning moon and stars, a few torches set up along the paths and the wall. We followed them to the stairs and up to the top of the bastion, only to see the Drolian infantry camp was barely starting to wake up. A couple of men were running across their camp in a panic, but mostly, the few sentries were trying to find the source of the screams. And I understood that. Twice, I saw someone turn and start to run, only to lock up and collapse before going silent. It took me a minute to notice that the other camp, the one above them, was entirely silent. It was the camp where the cavalry and officers were set up. Their fires had all gone out, and their camp was entirely still. …And it was the camp where Sibylla had been laughing about them setting up.

"What... is going on...? Sibylla, what did you do?"

"Hmm?" She tried innocently, but I just pointed to the dark camp. "Oh! That."

"Yes, that! What happened? Why is that entire camp sleeping through this while random people look like they're losing their minds?"

Sibylla surveyed the chaos below and shrugged. "I think they're acting perfectly reasonable."

"I'm going to need more than that."

She tried to keep a straight face, but her barely contained glee betrayed her. Finally, she burst into laughter. "Okay! Fine. You got me." She grinned. "I had this great plan – genius, really. I was working on a compound that could be aerosolized. My idea was to put it in fragile mines, right? We bury them, and they step on them while setting up camp, and poof. They breathe it in. The compound bonds with their blood and acts as a powerful alchemical chelation agent, and over the next few hours, it strips all the calcium from their bones and teeth. By morning? They collapse into boneless sacks of flesh. Instant army wipeout."

My jaw dropped. "Wha—What?! Sibylla! Don't tell me you actually did that?! Oh, gods… Then why are they still screaming?!"

She balked. "What? Oh, no. It was a great idea, but figuring out the exact reaction time was a pain, and I wasn't totally sure it would work. I gave up on it pretty quick and went with something more practical instead."

"Sibylla." I took a slow breath. "What did you do instead?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. I decided I could just curse the hill so that anyone who slept there would have their bones turn into carnivorous centipedes."

I stared at her in stupefied horror, slowly raising a hand to my mouth, "...What."

Sibylla blinked at me, utterly unconcerned. "Don't look at me like that. I was annoyed that their bones had nearly escaped my plot. Also, arguably? Less painful than my original idea."

"IT DOESN'T SOUND PAINLESS!" I gestured wildly at the screams below. "WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! AND HOW ARE THEY STILL PANICKING IF THEY HAVE NO BONES?!"

She hummed in thought, watching the camp curiously. "Huh. Yeah, that is interesting. Oh! But the idea wasn't actually mine. I read about it in one of my favorite books ages ago. They mentioned it as a hypothetical thing a witch might do, and I thought, 'Oh hey! I'm pretty witchy. I should look into that!' It was so easy to figure out!"

"Sibylla!"

She held up her hands. "I did the math! It turned out to be a terrible idea, so I gave up on it, too."

"A bad idea? You think?!"

Sibylla peered at the camp. "Yeah. Their bones would turn into centipedes, but, y'know… normal centipedes are tiny. They wouldn't kill them quickly at all. They'd die as much from suffocation as from any actual damage, which means they'd writhe in horror for minutes. Also, fun fact? I've never actually seen a centipede in real life. That makes basing a curse around them kinda tricky. So, it was back to the drawing board!"

"That is not making me feel better."

She waved off my concern. "Anyway! I decided to work with something I was more familiar with. So, instead, I thought, 'What if I base the curse on the giant Mukade from the Spirit World?' I mean, I have seen those. Even fought a small one once!"

I just stared.

She huffed. "They're like… monster centipedes in the Spirit World. Huge jerks. Grow ridiculously big. But their larvae? They're only two inches long, venomous, super aggressive, and grow fast with a good food source. Which, conveniently, they now have." She gestured toward the writhing mass of horror I knew was waiting below. "Oh! And the best part?" she continued excitedly. "They're cannibalistic loners – So they'll clean up the mess by eating each other when they're done!"

I felt my soul leave my body.

"Oh!" Sibylla suddenly perked up. "I see the problem now!"

"There's a problem?" I asked weakly.

"Yeah!" She pointed down. "Those screams aren't from the sleepers. It's the sentries!"

The realization hit me like a thunderclap, "...The Mukade are getting loose in the camp."

Sibylla beamed. "Oh, definitely. Guess I should've seen that coming."