AA3 51 - Pressure III

The Thralls continued to attack as Kai organised the strike force, dozens of them coming at a time on an irregular basis.

Verdan didn’t believe that all of them were being made there and then by the corpses being retrieved; if the Gormagyr could make these Thralls with such speed, they could conquer the world.

No, he was confident that there was a greater force hidden in the trees and that the Gormagyr were working steadily to replenish it.

This was a battle of attrition now, and such a contest would favour the enemy by far.

Killing the Gormagyr would change the nature of the fight, but the first step was dealing with the Bonecallers, and for that, Verdan needed a little help.

“Are you ready?” Verdan asked Gwen, looking over at the Storm Witch with a touch of concern.

Gwen’s blue eyes were almost sparking with lightning, and her hair floated in winds around her that never quite stilled, but she was looking tired.

Wielding the power of a storm for so long was taking a toll on her, and it would only grow as time went on. If they were going to act with her assistance, it needed to be soon.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Gwen said with a hint of a tired smile.

“Then let’s be about it,” Verdan said, raising a hand to catch Kai’s attention before giving him a nod.

Kai, Jarn and Maeve would be leading a strike force of fifty thearns and shieldguards down to try and kill the abyssal giant before it could retreat.

It was a risky plan, and there was a lot that could go wrong, but the Kranjir were eager for the chance, and Verdan couldn’t blame them.

Thunder boomed overhead as the clouds above darkened, and Gwen tightened her grip on the storm, cold rain coming down in thick sheets on the section of woods where the enemy was hidden.

“Garec sia,” Verdan intoned, gathering large masses of rock and bringing them up to the surface as a torrent of lightning struck down at the Bonecallers.

A rolling cadence of thunder began as Gwen hammered the Darjee, and though their shield held against the attack, the Bonecallers were blinded and deafened, which was the real aim.

“Garec sia,” Verdan gathered the rock he’d brought to the surface and shaped them into large boulders before letting them roll down the muddy hill toward the Darjee.

Working quickly, Verdan formed a dozen boulders while the lightning raged, the first arriving a mere instant after the last strike.

Verdan had been careful not to strike at the Bonecallers with anything physical, and with the amount of lightning getting thrown at them, it was no surprise that the Bonecallers had built their shield to defend against magic.

The first of the mundane boulders struck the shield, part of it being scoured away by the shield before the rest got through and clipped one of the Bonecallers, knocking them down.

“Garec bel,” Verdan gathered the remaining rock into an oversized boulder that he launched with a weave of Aether around it, protecting and guiding it.

Half of the boulders that Verdan had sent rolling down the hill missed the Bonecallers completely and instead ploughed into the woods, spreading chaos among the Thralls and Darjee hidden within.

The other half, however, managed to crush two of the three Bonecallers, with the final boulder that Verdan had launched landing directly on the third.

Wasting no time, Verdan reached out and felt for the main concentration of abyssal energy now that the Bonecallers had been dealt with. “Grym disir ceis!”

An orb of brilliant light shot down from Verdan’s staff, flying around the trees and through the chaos so strike its target, marking it for the strike force that were charging forward out of the gates.

With the Bonecallers dead, the dark clouds began to move, no longer being held in place by Gwen’s magic. At the same time, Gwen dropped to one knee, breathing heavily and waving off the concern of the nearby Kranjir.

The Hex Witches were likewise tired from their efforts, but not quite as much so as Gwen, and Verdan gave Hedda a respectful nod as he saw her move to the edge of the wall to watch for more attacks.

As uncomfortable as he still was around Hex Witches, Hedda’s determination was impressive, and Verdan had only respect for her.

The gates of the town had opened when Verdan cast the light spell, and he moved over to the edge of the wall as Kai and the rest of the strike force emerged.

In response, a small horde of Thralls came boiling out of their hiding places while a horn rang out from deeper in the woods. The few Darjee that Verdan could see immediately stopped moving to engage Kai and the others and instead turned back toward the trees.

“They’re running,” Verdan muttered, his eyes flicking over to where the ball of light he’d conjured was slowly moving away from them. The loss of the Bonecallers must have been a breaking point for the force.

The Thralls were expendable and would slow down Kai’s group enough for the rest of the enemy to retreat in safety. It was frustrating, but it was still a victory for the defenders.

Verdan hesitated, unsure whether to help Kai from the wall or to join the force and try to push for the Gormagyr. The decision was made for him a moment later as a dart of abyssal energy shattered the globe of light.

“Thanr laif,” Verdan pointed his staff at one of the remaining Bone Thralls and let out a lance of fire, burning deep into its chest.

That dart meant there was at least one more Bonecaller, and without knowing where it or the Gormagyr were, their counter-attack would be as likely to lead them into an ambush as it would hunt down the Gormagyr.

Around a hundred Thralls had emerged in response to the defenders sallying forth, including three Bone Thralls. Verdan was killing one of those with repeated fire lances, but the other two would reap a bloody toll on any Kranjir they encountered.

Casting a message spell, Verdan relayed the information to Kai, making sure he knew that their tracking attempt had failed.

If the Darjee hadn’t been quite so quick to retreat, they could have done more, but Verdan didn’t have the Aether to spare for a long-range duel with a Bonecaller, and that is what further tracking attempts would become.

Verdan got a non-verbal acknowledgement from Kai, and a few moments later, the strike force stopped their charge and instead let the Thralls come to them.

Stopping the attack would guarantee that any surviving Darjee and the Gormagyr would escape, but it would also allow the archers on the walls to bring down the majority of the Thralls before they got into combat.

It wasn’t as satisfying a victory for them, but there was something to be said for whittling down the numbers of the Gormagyr.

-**-

In the end, the strike force they’d sent out secured the area around Dunkirn but went no further. In the process, a number of the thearns picked up minor wounds, but well over a hundred Thralls were destroyed.

When added to the numbers that had been thrown against the town, it was a not inconsiderable amount. In fact, according to Ciaran, that was as many as a Gormagyr could field by themselves, so while they could expect to fight some more, they would be few in number.

With the immediate threat repulsed, Verdan turned his attention to healing the wounded and helping to prepare for future assaults. Which in this particular case meant recharging the Aether expended on the weapons he’d previously bound constructs to.

Sebastian decided to give Macha a full day to deliver any results, which gave Verdan time to get some more training done with Dirk. His apprentice had done well in the fight, and was making good steps in improving the efficiency of his air blades.

“Master, I had a question about fighting styles,” Dirk said hesitantly as he finished an Aether manipulation exercise.

“Ask what’s on your mind,” Verdan said, giving Dirk a good portion of his attention as he actively gathered Aether, replacing what he’d used during the fight.

“Chosen Merkstan was asking about how our magic worked, and it made me wonder about fighting with weapons like the Chosen do. Have you ever done that?”

“Yes, and it is part of why I do my best to stay physically fit as well. It's all too easy for Wizards to become reliant on magic and then fall to a physical threat. Personally, I have some training with the staff, but it will never be my main method of fighting.” Verdan patted the staff that Elliot had made him appreciatively. “Why, what have you been considering?”

“Well, Benlen and Kai have both offered to teach me how to fight with a spear, but I wasn’t sure if you would think it was a bad idea.”

“Not at all, in fact you could use a spear much like I use my staff. I knew of some Wizards who took a more mixed approach to combat, but that was never my style.”

Dirk’s eyes lit up as he considered Verdan’s words. “Yes, I could do both. I can almost picture it.”

“Just ensure you don’t get carried away,” Verdan said, thinking about the foes they’d seen recently and how frail his Apprentice was against such threats.

“I won’t, Master!” Dirk nodded firmly, but Verdan could see the sparkle in his eyes and made a note to watch him carefully in the coming days.

“Good. Now, you mentioned Osran asking you questions. What was he asking?”

“Well, he wanted to know about how we met and then about if I truly had been tested to be a Chosen or not. I told him the truth, but I kept it straightforward and to the point, like you’ve said in the past.”

Verdan nodded approvingly before rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “That was the right move. Don’t lie to anyone about how Wizardry works or what I teach you, but try not to say too much.”

Dirk nodded and started his exercises once more, but Verdan’s mind lingered on their conversation. Osran had been at the table when they’d discussed Dirk’s status. Had he just forgotten, or was this something else?

-**-

A larger watch than usual was maintained overnight, just in case, but there was no sign of the Darjee or any Thralls. The enemy was on the back foot, which only added to the pressure Macha was under.

If they waited too long, the Darjee would return, no doubt in greater numbers, or perhaps with a more insidious plan.

Shouting broke out deeper in the town, and Verdan instinctively reached for his Aether before realising they weren’t panicked.

Gathering his things, Verdan was barely at the door before a young Kranjir came running up. “Message from the Keeper for you, Wizard. The Witch Macha has found the enemy camp!”