Chapter 34: The Walls

Ricky and his two companions caught their breath at the stone outhouse, and for a moment they stood watching the fury of the attacking army from a new vantage point.

The outhouse appeared to have been abandoned long before Roker Bridge had attacked. It smelled strongly of urine, and had nothing of any value in it, but there was a pile of straw at one edge and a few empty wine bottles.

More usefully, its single opening pointed towards the city gates. Leaning forward, they could see the renewed attack on the walls of Imperialis.

If anything, it was now going even worse for the defenders than had been the case before. The walls were still largely manned, but Ricky could now see that many of the defenders were only partially armored. Most were no soldiers; civilians had been pressed into service. An increasing number of skirmishes had broken out on top of the wall itself now, too, as attacking hordes began to establish footholds, and there was a stench of death filling the air.

More worryingly still, the ogres had now been unleashed. Ricky could see at least fifty, and perhaps as many as a hundred of the monstrous humanoids. Each were twice the height of a man or woman, and they were marching towards the walls, many holding a giant-sized ladder and all apparently unconcerned by the number of arrows that they were taking from the city. It was clear that if they, too, gained the top of the wall, the defense might break down completely.

The only positive sign from the defenders’ perspective was that a large number of the goblin archers had now fallen – perhaps three quarters of their number overall. Large rocks were being propelled onto the battle field from within the city and crashing down onto the remaining goblins. Somehow, Ricky doubted whether anyone from Roker Bridge would care about these disposable slave troops, even if every last one ended up broken and bloody on the battlefield.

And to be frank, he didn’t care about the goblins either.

Guide – status!

Time: 23:55

Location: Outskirts of Imperialis

Hit points: 75

The slightly-higher level of his hit points was not new information to Ricky – he had seen two more restored due to natural healing since transforming, and knew that he was not far off his maximum now. He would surely need them all in the battle to come.

More importantly, he and the others were only five minutes away from being able to use their shapeshifter powers once again.

But now, looking further towards the south, Ricky began to have new doubts about the plan of transforming into beast form. For the elephants that had pulled the wagons had already been affected by Ajaxis’s spell. They were beginning to charge around among the attacking army, some crashing through the hordes of chained slave warriors and others causing havoc among the green-cloaks. One smashed directly into the siege tower that it had previously been pulling, destroying the machine and sending multiple attackers flying to the ground, screams ringing out.

Another pair of elephants reached the Rokerian cavalry, which did their best to maintain their position and formation. They were largely successful at first, perhaps due to the horses’ training and the skill of the riders. But then the horses, too, began to succumb to the magic. Soon they were fleeing in every direction, disappearing into the dark. Some riders leapt from the saddle before their steeds had gone too far, but others were being taken far from the battle against their will.

“It’s working,” he whispered with a wicked grin.

Gabriella nodded. “Your companions did well,” she said.

“Aye,” said Xarok. “I take it back. Now let’s make sure that elf druid’s work is not wasted. We need to get back into the city.”

“Go!” cried Ricky. Gripping his shield tightly, he leapt through the opening before looking around at the others, who were right behind him.

Together, they ran. Ahead, the attacking army was now in chaos, but there were still hundreds of troops blocking their way to the city. Several ogres had taken the opportunity to break free; three were running up the main road to their left, but one was now coming straight for them, waving its huge club above its head.

“Mine,” growled Xarok, and flung one of his fireballs at the monstrous humanoid. Soon it had stopped in its tracks, screaming in pain and flinging itself to the ground as its rude fur clothing ignited. At almost the same time, from the right, a band of goblin warriors approached, but Xarok clutched his magical necklace and motioned with one hand, and the goblins found themselves frozen, rooted to the spot.

The companions ran on. “We should go for one of the siege towers,” called out Gabriella, pointing to the closest one as they ran.

*Achievement: Battle is joined! You have entered an active battlefield. +10XP

Their job had certainly been made easier by the animal rampage having cleared away the last vestiges of the goblin archers. The Rokerian cavalry was still in chaos, too, but as elephants and horses alike had fled the scene, some semblance of order was returning to the main ranks of slave warriors. Three of the four siege towers were still intact, and although the archers on the wall had added considerably to the Rokerians’ losses, the force was still enormous, and the defenders still beleaguered.

It was surely only a matter of time before the great city fell...

But now, Ricky could see, something was happening near the Rokerian command tent. The flightless dragon, previously having held back, was again on the move, a figure in white ringmail armor on its back. At first his heart sank to see Amora-Kush, before he remembered that this must surely be Channia mimicking the general.

Now he could only hope that she could pull off the deception for long enough to make it count.

The huge lizard-like drake was now marching powerfully to the walls, and as the three guild members closed in on the nearest part of the slave army, it smashed into the furthest siege tower, and then moved along the foot of the wall, knocking down one ladder after another and crushing soldiers underfoot. Its tail lashed out, too, causing further casualties.

“Hurry,” called Ricky sharply.

“As soon as we are inside the tower, we transform,” replied Xarok, panting.

This time their progress was eased by the distraction caused by the dragon rider, as the nearby slave soldiers paused, gazing in terror at the approaching creature – and perhaps shocked at the apparent treachery of the general. The slave-driving Rokerian warriors responded to this latest setback much more pragmatically, forming defensive clusters with swords at the ready.

Close by, a ferocious demonkind slave warrior lunged towards the trio with an axe held high, but Gabriella stepped forward to parry the blow, allowing Ricky to run on. Now they had to turn and fight their way to the tower, Ricky pulled the gladius sword that Gabriella had given him, and impaled a nearby goblin warrior.

*Combat event: You have slain a goblin. +5XP.

*Game mechanics alert: your mighty strike bonus (+4) has made the difference between success and failure.

He turned to fight another, this time sustaining two wounds in quick succession before making the kill:

*Damage report: You have lost 7 hit points (68 remain).

*Damage report: You have lost 6 hit points (62 remain).

Followed by:

*Combat event: You have slain a goblin. +5XP.

How had the slave soldiers realised that Ricky and his companions weren’t on the same side as them?

Ricky pondered this question only for a moment; the answer soon became all too clear as he parried another blow, only to see two slave soldiers stab one another in front of his face.

It was a free for all. The slaves were rioting, one species turning on another. Everyone would be a target for any number of chaotic warriors.

The Rokerian guards were now engaged in an all-out defense, forming circles with their green-clad backs to one another as one group of slave soldiers after another turned on their former masters. And the dragon, with fake-Amora on its back and the disguised druid just behind, turned away from the walls and began to target these clusters of elite troops.

At last – more through evasion than skill at arms – Ricky reached the base of the nearest intact siege tower. But just as he was about to follow his companions inside the structure, one of the ogres that remained on the battleground caught his eye; it was lumbering fast in his direction, swinging a huge spiked club and knocking slave warriors aside in both directions as if it was threshing wheat. Ricky crouched down, clutching his sword and preparing to change to beast-form.

But before he had time even to mentally utter the command, the ogre took another stride towards him, staggered, and then swung out.

Ricky ducked.

*Achievement: Superlative dodge! You have used your experience in new ways to dodge very effectively in combat. +20XP

It had been a close call; he knew that. Now he swung at the monstrous humanoid’s leg, close to the knee, hoping to at least slow it. But his blade just bounced off. He then rolled to the side to avoid another blow that came crashing down upon the ground just where he had been standing.

Just then there came a flash of gold in the dark. Snakelike skin, enormous muscular legs. It was the dragon.

Picking himself up, Ricky saw that the ogre had been lifted from the ground, dropping its club, and was now struggling inside the creature’s vast jaws. Channia, now returned to her usual appearance, looked down from the saddle, eyes wide.

“Go, Ricky!” she called out. “This is your chance!”

Inside, the tower was surprisingly well-lit. Ricky looked around for the light source and made out a series of glowing rings at the corners, on his way up the first set of wooden steps.

*Achievement: Siege warfare! You have made use of a siege weapon on the field of battle. +10XP

Well, yes, he thought.

Sort of.

Gabriella and Xarok were up ahead, and nobody had followed after; clearly the slave warriors were too busy fighting one another and the Rokerians to even consider climbing up the siege tower at this point.

Why strive for death on the walls, when they could fight their way free on the ground and then run for their lives?

On the other hand, Ricky reflected as he reached the third flight, it could make their own job a lot more difficult if the influx of attackers to the walls of Imperialis had slowed to a trickle or stopped entirely. The number of surviving attackers must be dwindling, meaning that he, Gabriella and Xarok would be prime targets for the people of Imperialis.

At least they were unlikely to be hit by any stray goblin arrows. From what he had seen, the goblin archers had been wiped out almost entirely.

No great loss to anyone.

As he reached the final flight inside the tower, Ricky saw the city wall up ahead. There was a gap, larger than he expected, between tower and wall, and as he looked on, he realised that there should be a gangplank of sorts, but that the defenders had managed to knock this clear. Worse – at least a dozen archers on the wall had bows at the ready.

Xarok and Gabriella had both transformed to beast-form already. They leapt the gap and then engaged the defenders, laying out human warriors all around themselves with swipes of their great clawed hands. Ricky saw Gabriella (he assumed, for she was still partly armored in beast form, and retained her gray fur) bite into a defender, and then fling the man screaming from the wall, blood spraying out.

“No, stop!” called Ricky.

But his words only drew the attention of the defenders. An arrow whistled past his head, and it was all he could do to scurry back down the siege engine and away from danger.

He was left with little choice, it seemed, and could only hope that the druid’s magic had either expired or did not affect werewolves. He sheathed the gladius sword, then pulled out his remaining potion, drank it down, and then focused on the required command:

Guide – transform to beastform!

“You wish to use the gift of lycanthropy and take on the wolf beastform – please confirm.”

Yes, I do.

Again, there came a feeling of his skin peeling and a jarring buzz through his skeleton and nervous system, but it was much less severe than before.

*World event: You have transformed into beastform (wolf).

And whether due to the benefit of the potion or thanks to the adrenaline of the battle, Ricky found himself able to focus on what lay ahead almost immediately.

He gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and began to run back up towards the top of the siege tower.

*Achievement: The warrior’s mind! You have overcome adversity to continue with battle. +10XP

Ahead the wall seemed easier to reach now, and he leaped over without a second thought, barreling into a defender as he did so, and sending the partially-armored man screaming down to land on the inside of the wall.

An axe blade then swished past his face, and he felt another blade – a sword perhaps? – penetrate his shoulder.

*Damage report: You have lost 13 hit points (49 remain).

*Health update: You have taken a severe wound and are now suffering from the following condition: heavy bleeding (-1 hit points per minute)

Without attempting to fight back, Ricky turned and began to sprint along the wall, looking ahead and down as he went. He couldn’t see his companions. Nothing looked familiar below, but beyond, he could see the large open marketplace. He thought he could remember which way to go... and although the drop down from the wall was surely too far, the roofs of the nearest row of houses might be reachable.

Just.

He leaped.

*Damage report: You have lost 6 hit points (43 remain).

*Quest 026 complete: Return to Imperialis. +80XP

But now, someone was shooting at him now, no doubt mistaking him for a Rokerian slave soldier. No – several were shooting.

*Damage report: You have lost 6 hit points (37 remain).

“Damn it!” he muttered.

Again there was no reasonable choice. He leaped, his legs clawing at thin air for what seemed like an age before he crashed down upon the thatched roof of the house across and below. He scrabbled, nearly overbalancing and falling backwards, and then took another arrow.

*Damage report: You have lost 5 hit points (32 remain).

*Achievement: Jumping like a cat! You have managed an unusually large leap without sustaining major injury. +10XP

But now he had found his balance. He scrambled over the peak of the thatched roof, let himself dangle down the other side by both hands, and finally let go, falling heavily to the paved ground below.

*Damage report: You have lost 4 hit points (28 remain).

*World event: You have sustained falling damage.

And straight after:

*Damage report: You have lost 1 hit points (27 remain).

That would be the bleeding. And certainly he could feel and smell it, blood flowing from a wound low on the back of his right shoulder, to add to the multiple other wounds he had just sustained.

In an instant, Ricky was back on his feet, and moving rapidly along the dark streets. As he ran all of the aches and pains of multiple wounds began to be felt much more acutely. He again felt tremendously, painfully hungry, too, and there were at least two arrows sticking out of his right leg.

Soon he had slowed to a walk; gripped with agony, he couldn't bring himself to run any further. The best he could do was to limp along the nighttime streets of Imperialis, licking sadly towards a shoulder wound that was just out of his reach.

But this never was going to be an easy task. He was wounded and in pain, but it had been a victory of sorts. Now he stood inside the city, while outside, the Rokerian attackers were in disarray.

He just needed to find his companions and make it to the gate alive.

Accumulated XP: 2430 (unspent: 430)