They shouted for readiness. “Enemies approach! Alert—enemies approach!”

As soon as Lowe and his men cleared the bend, necromancers began cursing as a small contingent of zombies formed an approaching wall of discolored, rotting corpses at the bottom of the cobbled upslope where their masters presided above.

The Banishers invoked protective wards against most of the oncoming curses, but some still made it past their defenses, forcing Lowe and the other knights to use the sigil-etched flats of their swords to deflect the oncoming spells.

Magic hissed and cracked as it deflected from them. The line of zombies was beginning to close the distance, and dead flesh was expendable. Once the knights were forced to fight in melee combat, they wouldn’t be able to protect their banishers from the oncoming curses.

“Archers!” Lowe shouted as men growled and screamed battle cries amidst the babel of invocations. The cursed flinging their way added to the uproar of the pitched fight.

The Order archers, trained in specific combat against various foes, did not waste their shafts against the zombies, since disembodiment—preferably decapitation or fire—were the only ways to stop zombies effectively, and aimed for the necromancers.

Shafts flitted through the air above their heads, but the necromancers ran, jumped, and ducked for cover in every direction. “Archers! Archers! Archers!” Lowe bellowed as the line of zombies made contact with their blades.

The Lord Summoner’s personal guard of necromancers was well trained in Order combat. Lowe sliced the head off of the first zombie that came at him, then kicked the second in the chest to stall its approach before bringing his sword back and thrusting forward into its sternum.

By this time the men-at-arms with their shields, short swords and pole arms began to converge on the line of zombies from both flanks, slicing off body parts as they bashed others aside with their shields.

The flesh wall was thinned to the point that Lowe pushed forward, shafts still flitting above his head to keep the necromancers at the front entrance to the Spire Keep busy. He brought his sword down and split a zombie’s head in half, and then slammed it out of his way using the pummel of his sword before advancing on the necromancers.

Most of them began a hasty retreat into the Spire, but some few weren’t quick enough and took arrows to the back. Lowe threw his sword, knocking one more necromancer to the ground. He cried out as arrows gave him the distinct impression of a quilbeast.

At the stepped approach, Lowe yelled, “Men-at arms! Forward!”

The men formed up, their large sigil shields held forward for protection as the rest of the company formed up behind them.

Nivin kicked over a dead necromancer. “Look,” he said, his tone mildly astonished. “They’re wearing armored breast plates.”

That’s not normal for necromancers. These men must be well trained indeed.

“Move forward!” Lowe commanded, and the company marched into the vestibule. The space was empty, except for various clay vases and other broken ceramic pieces, as well as furnishings that were hundreds of years old with rot and decay, sunken as to be mere scraps of petrified wood covering the stone floors. They had several inches of dust and other scree that had built up over the years. Above were ornamental terraced balconies that skirted the edges of the large, concave space that connected several levels of the Spiral Keep.

The structure was… magnificent.

Lowe regarded the floor, saw the markings of dozens of footsteps leading to a set of wide steps leading upward to the next level.

“Banishers,” Cuwin said, breaking his muttered invocations, “be weary from above.”

Lowe moved to the front of the company and began to traverse the stone steps that followed a circuitous spiraled path along inner walls and gradually quickened his pace.

Surely the Lord Summoner knows his forces are under attack by now.

“We need to hurry.”

And then the rapid verbalizations of necromantic curses echoed ponderously through the hollow space and Lowe turned, readied to deflect incoming spells meant to kill him.

Cuwin and the other Banisher’s persistent invocations suddenly became more clamorous as curses smited with loud cracks against their warded berries, which rippled and fluctuated, but held firm.

Lowe was outside the barrier. He deflected an incoming curse and lunged behind one of the fluted supports in front of him. He beckoned for two of the men-at-arms to come forward. Once they were with him, Lowe and Cuwin positioned themselves behind one man and his large shield while the other held his toward the open hollow to deflect flanking curses.

They ascended the steps with alacrity, archers loosing shafts between supports as the other Knights and Banishers and men-at-arms deflected or warded against their attacks. At least on the steps, this battle was a stalemate.

So far…