Reyland shoved the corpse of a strange, hare-like creature back over the wall, nearly slipping in the pools of rain and blood under his boots. The swarm of beasts outside the wall still seemed to have no end, their shifting, rolling masses eventually fading off into the darkness and rain. Every now and then the flashes of lightning illuminated the landscape, and each time it made Reyland’s stomach drop a little lower.

Was there truly no end to these things?

His mouth was a grim line, his brow furrowed in concentration as a cat-like beast climbed over the wall before him. He thought back to the injured wolf he’d fought by the waterfall, and how quickly it had moved, and he silently thanked whoever had built the walls of the keep. The beasts being forced to climb over its edge slowed them enough for even the soldiers to hold back, if only barely. If the Blighted managed to overtake the wall and begin fighting inside the courtyard, though… it would be a different story.

“Reyland!” Maeve yelled, snapping his attention over to her. That moment of distraction cost him.

The cat, some unholy blend between a cougar and a scaled lizard, lunged for his throat the moment his eyes were averted. He caught the blur in the corner of his eye, cursing his own stupidity as he leapt backwards on instinct.

The jaws of the cat snapped closed on the collar of his armour, instead of his jugular. He felt its hot breath on his neck, and the scraping of its fangs against his tunic before the cat ripped him off his feet.

He cried out in pain as he was yanked by the collar forwards, then whipped from side to side, uselessly pushing against the beast in a futile attempt to break free. Its jaw was like a vice, and with a shudder he heard the crumpling and cracking of the scales in his armour as teeth punctured the metal.

The cat let him go with a screeching hiss, and Reyland dropped to the ground. He looked up to see Maeve’s spear embedded in the cat’s side before she ripped it out in a twist, sending an arc of green-tinted blood into the air. Reyland hurried to his feet, lunging at the cat’s neck with a vengeance. His sword carved through its throat, and as it gargled on blood and turned back to swipe at him Maeve struck again, slaying the beast.

“You hurt?” Maeve asked, panting.

“Just my pride,” Reyland lied. His neck ached in a way he knew would catch up with him later.

A pair of boars breached the walls, eyes mad and wild with bloodlust as they shrieked a war cry. Reyland steeled himself again, meeting Maeve’s eye with determination. They nodded to each other, then returned to the fray.

Sorry Griff, Reyland mentally apologised. Shoulda been at your side a while ago, but things are a bit busy.

The soldiers on either side of him and Maeve were thinning. Too many were falling to the beasts that breached the wall, too many were being slain by the quills that punctured armour like it were cloth. Worse yet were the ones dragged over the edges, their screams of pain lasting far, far too long. Reyland tried to put it all far from his mind.

The clanging of a bell broke through the chaos of battle, just as Reyland and Maeve dispatched their respective boars. Around him, the soldiers began to mutter amongst themselves, and then to shout.

“Retreat!” One yelled, his voice shaking.

“Back to the inner wall!” Another ordered, waving his spear to gesture backwards.

They were interrupted as the entire wall underneath them shook. All went silent except for the cracking of thunder, the cries of beasts and the pounding of the rain. Every face upon the wall had gone white, looking about in confusion. A moment later the wall shook again, rattling underneath them like an earthquake had struck the keep.

“Th-the gate!” Someone cried.

Reyland turned towards it, then recoiled in horror.

“What… what the bloody hell is that?” He whispered. Maeve stepped next to him, an identical expression on her face.

There, just in front of the gate, was the largest monster Reyland had ever seen. Its back was hunched over, yet was still almost as tall as the wall itself. It was covered in a pitch black fur that turned aside the countless crossbow bolts that struck it. It would have resembled a bear, perhaps, if its upper body weren’t so distorted. The forelimbs were too long and thick, and the head set back against the shoulders without any visible neck. From its mouth curved too upwards tusks, and from its forehead protruded horns like a ram’s, curling over themselves into a sideways spiral. Its eyes glowed a vivid purple, filled to the brim with a maddening bloodlust as the beast reared back on its hind legs.

Then it rammed itself into the gate, and the entire wall shook with it. The metal bars of the gate itself bent inwards, already on the brink of breaking.

“It's a living battering ram,” Maeve muttered back. “The… the gate won’t hold, will it?”

“Shite,” Reyland cursed, grabbing her by the shoulder as he started backpedalling. “The inner wall. We gotta go, Maeve, we gotta go.”

She resisted for a second, frozen in place, then shook herself out of it as the soldiers around them began to scream and flee in terror. They ran together with the crowd, retreating from the gate as quickly as they could. In front of them now the gates to the inner wall had been opened, and the remaining soldiers sprinted through as quickly as their feet could carry them. Reyland could see ballistae and oil pots being readied, soldiers already quickly filling the empty spaces atop the inner wall. It was much smaller than the outer, thankfully… had it been the same size, they would’ve been spread too thin. They’d lost too many already.

They were among some of the last to enter the gate, only a few stragglers coming up behind them. The moment the last man ran through, a soldier released a clasp far above and the metal grate slammed down to earth.

“Get those ballistae aimed at the outer gate!” The familiar voice of Lord Aubrey called from above. Reyland looked up to see him standing right overtop of the gate, calling out to the soldiers. “And have that oil at the ready! If it gets close, make it pay!”

“Odd to see a highblood standin’ right up front,” Maeve muttered as she seemed to try and collect herself.

“He’s one of us,” Reyland replied, patting her on the shoulder. “Ya think some Kasin-born blue is gonna be up there?”

She laughed dryly, stopping abruptly as the horrible, creaking groan of sheared metal and crumbling stone came from beyond the wall. Through the bars of the inner gate they peered, following the sound to its source.

The outer gate had fallen. The twisted, broken scrap that was once the gate itself lay trampled on the ground, much of the wood and stone of the doorway around it now in ruin. Through the opened way poured a tide of black, shifting bodies, nigh indistinguishable from each other through the rain and darkness. Behind them, lumbering forwards with a roar of triumph, came the great beast. Scraps of metal and wood still stuck to its horns and tusks, and each thundering footstep shook the ground as it marched forward.

“You think the inner gate’s any stronger than the outer?” Maeve asked quietly.

“I’ll choose to believe so,” Reyland said with a nervous laugh.

As the swarm of Blighted met the gate, Reyland quickly lost his humour. He didn’t like the way it shuddered like that.

“You ever imagined that we’d be in a pinch like this, back in Initiation?” Maeve asked. Reyland turned to look at her.

Her straw-blonde hair was cut short like a man’s, and plastered to her forehead from the rain. She had green eyes, like emeralds, but darkened by a weight that had settled behind them. He wondered if his own looked the same, now. Her freckled nose was slightly crooked from too many breaks in the past, and a number of small white scars littered her face, the largest of which was on her lower lip. There were a few more scars than Reyland remembered, now that he looked closely.

“Can’t say I did back then. After being Griff’s apprentice for a few years, though… aye, the thought had crossed my mind,” he said back jokingly.

“Good to know he lives up to his reputation,” Maeve said with a hollow laugh. “You’ll have to share some tales when this is all over. Haven’t seen ya in years, after all.”

“Aye, I guess so.”

Lightning lit the sky above them, and their moment of reprieve came to an immediate close. Reyland’s gaze hardened into a cold, dangerous mask, and Maeve hefted her spear. The full swarm had reached the wall, and already the soldiers at its top were shouting and battling back against the horde. The ballistae fired their first bolts, both landing into the shoulders of the great beast. It roared in pain, loud enough to rattle their chests even from the other side of the wall.

“Rested up yet?” Reyland asked.

“Never better.”

“Watch my back,” Reyland said as he started running for the stairs to the wall. He heard her chase after him, just on his heels the whole way.

“Lord Aubrey!” Reyland yelled as he reached the top of the wall. The baron turned, looking around for a moment until his eyes landed on Reyland with a look of relief.

“Reyland!” He yelled back. “Good to see you alive, my friend.”

“Where do you need us? And have you seen Griff?” Reyland asked firmly.

“Griff is on the wall, just to the right of the gate,” Aubrey responded. “The man’s doing the work of a half dozen soldiers on his own. He’s fine, lad.”

“Aye, I wasn’t worried about him,” Reyland replied.

“That’s for the best, then. Save your worries for yourself, and a few for me if you’ve got any left over.”

“Lord Aubrey, was it?” Maeve interjected, stepping forwards. “This is your keep, I take it. If you want it to remain that way, we need to know where you need us. Quickly.”

“R-right,” Aubrey stammered. Reyland felt a pang of pity for the man. He was clearly no seasoned warrior, let alone beast hunter.

Before he could answer, the sounds of screaming interrupted them. Two soldiers had been pulled over the edge of the wall, tethered spikes through their chests. The wet, gnashing crunches and snarls from where they had gone over were stomach churning.

In the wake of where they had been, a black, serpentine head slithered its way up onto the wall. It looked like a python, and it hissed viciously as spears struck against its scales. In a flash its head shot out, fangs puncturing through a soldier’s chest as it picked him up, then swallowed him whole.

“Think we found our place!” Maeve yelled, sprinting toward the snake without a second thought.

Reyland spared a single glance back at the lord of the keep, and the pale, hollow expression on his face.

“Good luck,” Reyland said, and the man nodded in return.

“You… you as well.”

Then Reyland took off after Maeve, and the dance resumed once again.