Two more of Tortho's scouts joined us after some time. They had hurried our way as soon as the giant wyvern had crashed into the hilltop. Of two more there was no sign however. They either had been caught in the crash of the beast or they had fallen victim to the cursed bloodsucker before she came after me. Against such foes losses like these might seem light. Some might even call them acceptable. I still wished we hadn't lost them. These scouts had faithfully fought at my side for some time now. It probably was no exaggeration to say that we probably wouldn't have gotten here without their hard work. Right now I could only hope that we would still find them alive amidst the wreckage once things had calmed down some.

I climbed atop the dead wyvern once more to get a better look at the plains below us. The storm my sister had unleashed was still going strong. Thankfully it hadn't moved our way though. Instead the terrible, dark twister was moving towards the south and the west, roughly in the direction of the largest enemy camp and force. I had no clue if Kaele had set it on this path or if the Maidens guided it to wreak havoc among the servants of their fallen sister. Maybe a wizard from the kings host had taken control of it. It could be just plain, dumb luck as well. There simply was no easy way to tell. Whatever was the case, the wide funnel of the whirlwind left a wake of destruction behind wherever it touched the ground.

Even as I watched I could see part of the enemies ranks that had been moving at my king's host in an orderly fashion only a short while ago break and run as the storm drew closer. The ranks formed by the king's war host retreated as well, but in a much more orderly fashion. So far, so good. I moved my gaze towards the hill and the camp surrounding it, where the storm was born. There was nothing left there but death and destruction. The field fortifications had been torn apart. Their remnants as well as the remains of torn tents lettered the ground far and wide, together with the bodies of dead men and beasts, most of them horses. That part of my gamble had worked out as well.

We still had to deal with the regiments marching towards our lines at the foot of the hill though. They hadn't reached us yet. Maybe because they had stalled as their king atop his flying mount headed our way. I couldn't fault them for not wanting to be caught anywhere too close to that beast. They hadn't broken though as we dealt with that menace. Of course, it would have been too easy to defeat the greater foe by just cutting off the head of the snake. If I had to guess, I would say that someone hoping to pick up the crown of their late king was keeping that particular force together.

I squinted to get a better look at them but stopped as Tortho joined me atop my vantage point. I pointed at the still approaching enemy. “How many? What do you think? And how long until they reach us?”

He squinted as well and the slight drain upon the ambient Mana let me know that he used a spell, probably something like Eagle's Eye, to enhance his vision. I let him study the enemy. Rushing your scouts was a sure way to get inaccurate information after all. Finally he nodded. “Probably a little closer to two thousand than three thousand. The heavy infantry with the pikes is mostly human. The archers at their back are elves, but there aren't a whole lot of them. The skirmishers screening them are a mixed bunch. It will probably be another hour before they will clash with us.”

I grunted in agreement. “The rain has softened the ground. It is slowing them down some. Especially the heavy infantry.”

He frowned and turned to face me. “I don't see any dwarves though. That is something that has been bothering me for a while now. There weren't any at the pass. There were non among the army that assaulted your home either.” He paused briefly before continuing. “I really thought that we would see some here, among the ranks of their heavy infantry.”

I nodded. “Unless they are with one of the other armies further south and west that is a lot of well trained warriors left unaccounted for. I have a suspicion though.”

He raised an eyebrow but let me continue without interrupting me, so I did. “I bet we will once again find a lot of arms and armor of dwarven make among the enemy. I'm almost certain by now that the dwarves are sitting at home, save and sound, in their mountain strongholds, counting all the coin they fleeced off their nominal allies.”

Tortho blinked in surprise at first but nodded soon after. “I wouldn't want to bet our lives on it yet but it sure would make sense. It certainly would fit the greedy little buggers.”

I snorted. “And once this war is over, no matter how it ends, they will make even more profit rebuilding what has been destroyed.”

I started climbing back down from the dead wyvern, avoiding blood and other liquids, as I did so. My captain of the scouts followed me as I rejoined my sister and our harpy friend. Kaele looked a little better now that the healing spell she had cast on herself had had some time to work but she still leaned onto one of the scouts. “We should get down to the rest of the troops. Arngard and Yath'zur have set up a solid defense but they are still outnumbered ten to one. I'm sure that plenty of our men and women are worth more than ten of theirs but our friends down there will need all the help they can get anyway.”

No one protested thus I kept going. “Quu'za will lead the way. I bet she has found just about the quickest route already.”

The harpy nodded and let out a happy little chirping noise.

I pointed at the two scouts next. “You will support and protect Kaele.” Then I turned to my sister. “If you can't keep up, call out. We have to be quick. I will carry you if I have to.” She didn't look exactly happy but nodded anyway.

“Tortho and I will bring up the rear, unless I have to carry Kaele. In that case I will switch with one of the scouts.” I bit my lips. “We will stay close together just in case that vampire is still around. That thing is a menace. It probably could take all of us individually but as long as we fight as a group it won't stand a chance.”

I was already about to signal our departure when something else occurred to me. “Ah, give me a moment.” Under the watchful gazes of the others I headed to the spot where Quu'za had last fought the bloodsucker. I eyed the ground warily but there were no signs left that the creature of the Devourer had ever been there.

What was left there was the head of the ghoul king with its jagged Arkanium crown. I jabbed one of my hunting knifes into its mouth as it hissed at me. That shut it up nicely although it immediately tried to chew through the blade, at least until it realized that it did more damage to itself than the weapon despite its nasty teeth. Curse that wretched creature! I unclasped my cloak and wrapped the gruesome thing up in it, now that it couldn't chew through the cloth. I still didn't like the idea of carrying it like that but I had no proper strongbox to lock it away and I couldn't exactly leave it here. That thing needed to be properly dealt with.

Finally I rejoined the others with the terrible package tied to my belt. The looks on their face let me know that they didn't like it anymore than I did but once more no one protested. None of them would leave it here either for the enemy to recover. No one wanted to fight it a second time.

I looked everyone in the eyes, gripping the shaft of my weapon tightly, as we stood gathered there. “Is everyone ready?” I received a round of nods. “Then lets get going. Quu'za, lead the way!”