Vonn ate dirt as the slain slime deflated instead of exploding. "Did you trip?" asked the scout, helping him up in turn.

"Overreacted."

They ran the rest of the way back toward the troops anyhow.

[Skill gain: Gun (Wits)], said the System. A nice side benefit. He realized he'd just figured out more about how fire Mana worked, too.

The commander was busy, sending out groups of twenty or thirty troops in several directions like a boxer throwing feints. It looked like he was trying to provoke a bigger attack. He had commandeered the little spyglass that Selen brought. "You didn't stay to fiddle with that gas bag. Good. That confirms my theory, though."

Vonn paused in trying to heal his wounds. [Health: 46/55], first time he'd been substantially hurt in a while. He said, "Sir, the monster went after us instead of wrecking the thing."

"Right. You fliers and the smallest groups have gotten the least attention." He peered through the wrong end of the spyglass and flipped it around. "So now, a small force will seal each smoke-marked vent while a larger group acts as decoy."

"Orders, sir?"

"I'm sending a team to take your balloon up. You will hang back and --"

A trumpet blast blew, a shrill set of tones that meant real trouble. Vonn couldn't see where. He took a step back.

"Backup plan," the Elf said. "Shoo." He seemed to forget Vonn as he drew his sword, and began giving rapid orders to his officers.

Vonn backed off, but couldn't tell what was happening from the ground. Worse, the wind was picking up. The other flight teams would need to land. Vonn went toward the Reeve's house to check in.

Mom was there, tending to a man from Spikes' team and two Elves who'd been hurt in early skirmishes. She ran over to hug him and said, "You've been up there quite enough for one battle. The Reeve is only letting you get involved because the Duke's man overrules him."

"I know, Mom. The good news is the monsters don't seem to care about the balloons. Maybe it's only sensing living things."

"Can't you find something to do on the ground? Your sister's busy with enchantment work."

Vonn peeked outside, and yelped. The fighting had gotten close to the village. He nodded to Mom and said, "Soon, Mom." He was out the door in a moment.

#

Something had gone wrong with Lord Taraleo's plans. He'd been keeping most of the army in reserve. Vonn scurried up from a crate beside the house and onto the roof. He gasped. Where there'd been a sturdy formation of troops in a traditional line, now a swarm of monsters had charge right into the center. The Woven army's center had fallen back. Vonn hopped down in two leaps and ran toward the right flank to look for somewhere to get in some shots. They couldn't let a whole monster horde start wrecking the town! Already a flier here and there was assaulting the temple or other outlying buildings.

The Woven moved quietly, calling out in their weird ringing tone. He heard one say "For the gods" and another "Not this time", while seeming calm. He found a gap between them and opened fire at a bone spider, cracking one of its legs. A sonic pulse shot out from two toads and he quickly countered, making the wave ripple around him and the nearest Woven with only a feeling of being shoved into a wall. He staggered and found a good stance, ready to parry magic with magic.

He was part of the army's right side, which only had a place for him because it was being drawn thinner like taffy. The left was just as bad. Lord Taraleo in his bright armor and a mass of his non-Woven troops were shouting and striking in the center, but they were falling back by the minute. His whole formation was going to get ripped apart!

Vonn dispelled another sound blast with a thrust of his open palms and a shout of "Ha!" A Woven spared him a glance but otherwise they ignored him, stabbing and clubbing their way through the horde. One of the slime beasts leaped at them and he jumped back, a second from getting engulfed. The constructs beside him lashed out but their weapons weren't ideal for this. Overhead, the airboat and balloons had left the sky and he could only hope they were grounded voluntarily. A contingent of Necromancers used their power like a shadowy wall to push back wherever they could.

"Let me touch your weapons!" Vonn said. He caught a Woven's spear in a steady moment and charged it with fire, much like he'd just learned to do by supporting another caster. The Woven hesitated for an instant but then slammed his spear into the wobbling monster, burning it from within. It recoiled, stunned, and that got Vonn the chance to hop to one side and touch three of his comrades' weapons the same way. A bone spider body-slammed him and he reeled, seeing red. He kept his feet, down to 30 Health from wounds he hadn't noticed. Not good! He breathed hard as he flung a sloppy frost spell and missed completely. Something struck him to the ground face-first. He rolled aside, feeling an acid wound on one leg that burned every time he turned over. Another 6 Health down. He scrambled upright just as the burning slime creature hissed, and this time he backed off and shielded his eyes without running. The burst was just big enough to jostle the toad beside it and spoil its attack.

Still, Woven were falling. Vonn backed away. [Health: 24/55.] Nope, he needed to get out of melee. The professionals were taking a beating too. What was the Elf lord doing? Trying to get all his construct troops slaughtered after all? The center had fallen far back and the horde had relentlessly pressed on. For all the fighting Vonn had just done, the real fury was happening over there where the commander and most of the militia had clustered. Just about the only non-Woven force he didn't see was the Centaur contingent.