Chapter 33 - Under Assault

"A war may only be deemed just if it is waged by a legitimate authority, not in haste or for conquest, but as a grave responsibility to uphold justice and order. It must be fought with a just cause, aiming to right a wrong or defend the innocent against aggression. Above all, it must be propelled by right intention, seeking to restore peace and harmony among sovereigns, rather than sowing the seeds of future strife. In this delicate balance of authority, cause, and intention, lies the moral compass guiding the just war."

- Augustine of Hippo

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Aina shivered as the growling proclamation of the gnoll ended. It had been amplified by the magic of the shamans, and had echoed across the town as if the speaker stood right next to the listener. If they meant to scare people, Aina had no doubt it was working - at least by judging how much the words of those monsters terrified her. She had watched from her perch at the top of a roof, pressed against a rough chimney, as the gnolls butchered those three scouts. She’d recognized one of them as a hunter who had been in her hunting party. He’d been civil to her, and had a fair hand at cooking the nightly stew when in camp. Now he was dead.

She turned her attention briefly down to the Stormlord and his retinue - her fellow armsmen. Aina could hardly believe it still. Despite everything, she had a place and a purpose. Lord Taliesin had not only forgiven her, he’d also understood. She had very quickly realized how much that mattered to her. Aina would not let him down again.

Aina scrutinized the surroundings from her hiding spot, watching for any who might approach. More importantly, she had a clear line of sight to the north gate, and to the Sheriff's men. Much like the retainers below, the militia at the wall looked terrified. She saw one even drop his spear, he was shaking so much. 

Satisfied that no one was attempting to sneak up on the Stormlord and his varingjar, Aina looked out over the wall. The fancy gnolls in the middle had retreated, carrying away their big chief in his weird chair as the ranks of the gnolls closed in front of him. In the back, she could see other shamans start chanting something, and the yeti moved forward. Each towed a wagon full of rocks with them, until they were near the front rows. Aina frowned in confusion.

The yeti began to grab stones from the wagons, each monster putting their rock into a length of cloth easily long enough to cover a draft horse. Then she watched as they spun once, twice, then thrice. At the end of the third spin, the yeti released their load, and stone missiles began to whistle through the air.

The artillery bombardment slammed into the wall, and Aina saw the Stormlord’s new magic shield glow blue in a rippling circle where stones struck it. Other pieces slammed ineffectually against warded parts of the wall. In other places, the stone fell short, while more still overshot the wall and slammed into the unprotected roofs of buildings. I need a better place to watch from, thought Aina in a panic as she rushed to slide down from the roof. 

The crack of stone hitting wood nearby only hastened her steps.

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Jarl Gunther stood on the wall next to the East Gate, watching the woods as groups of gnolls wandered through the trees. A small creek separated the eastern walls from the farms and thin copse, where young willows that had already been harvested for the season hibernated for warmer weather. The creek was more of a runoff ditch, deep enough to be inconvenient rather than a true barrier, and drained down into the southern creek down a steep embankment that children of the town had dubbed “The Waterfall” so many years back that even his grandfather had still referred to it by that name. Of course, it was a scant eight foot drop and never truly “fell”, but such was the fancies of children playing pretend.

The gnoll warbands were few and small, likely scouting for easier ways into the town. The young Jarl let them wander unmolested, for sending out a sally in deep snow against a force of unknown size was foolhardy. Most of his scouts had returned already, and the size of the enemy force was horrifying. A full fifteen hundreds of gnolls and thirty-one yeti had gathered to raze the town of his birth. 

The Jarl was no natural warrior. To the contrary, his Forgings had encouraged him into a more scholarly caretaker mentality, with a preference for healing injuries rather than making them. Inclinations aside, however, he was still his father’s son, and the legacy of his forebears. Gunther had spent many long hours learning the arts of war, and the expensive armor he wore was not for show.

“The enemy has gathered at the North Gate,” reported a runner. “The gnolls had three of our scouts, and sacrificed them before the walls before they made their speech.”

Gunther shuddered at the thought of the cruel pronouncement that had rang in his ears moments before, but focused on the loss of his people. A moment of regret passed over him. Those scouts died following his orders. “May Odin recognize their valor and feast with them in Valhalla.”

“Do you have any orders?” asked the runner.

“No, we must stand ready to defend this wall. The reinforcements I sent to the Stormlord will have to suffice. Any word from the South Gate or the River Gate?”

The captain of his House Guard, at his side as always, shook his head. “No news. Last report, no gnolls sighted from either direction.”

“Then we must watch with care. The East Gate is their next easiest target.”

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Taliesin watched in frustration as the yeti bombarded the walls. He’d tried a few targeted [Lightning Strikes], but the shamans had put up some sort of totems that drew in the lightning and released it into the ground. They were outside of arrow range, thus outside the range of his [Ice Darts], and his most powerful spells needed the right moment for maximum effectiveness. If he wasted them against their army now, when they were spread along the front, he’d hit a few dozen or even a few hundred if he were lucky. An army that size could absorb such a loss. The battle needed to happen, so that the town militia could help whittle down the numbers.

Finally, the gnolls charged under cover of the artillery. Hundreds of gnolls streamed forward with ladders and ropes, bellowing savage war cries. Gnoll slingers paused every now and then to whip stones towards the defenders at deadly speeds. Between the artillery and the slingers, the defending archers didn’t get as many shots off as Taliesin would have hoped for. But now, at least, he could act.

“[Ice Darts], [Ice Darts], [Ice Darts], [Elevate], [Ice Darts].”

The flurry of spells came through the focus at the top of his Empyrean Staff. Bolstered and focused with a proper wizard’s staff, the spells came out at maximum strength and accuracy. Dozens of ice darts flew out at the speed of well fired arrows, and the gnolls nearest him staggered back under the sudden assault. He left another dozen swimming in mid-air, unable to move other than to flail around - easy targets for the archers on the walls.

The gnolls recovered swiftly, aiming shields his way instead of towards the archers, before resuming their charge. Slingers began to fire more in his direction as well, forcing Taliesin to duck behind the wall between each casting. He also reinforced his [Phantom Armor] when a stone ricocheted off one edge of it. 

Then, off towards the Sheriff’s section of the wall, a team of yeti burst into view. Hidden behind some sort of shamanistic magics, they’d been able to sneak close under the cover of the gnolls’ charge. The giant monsters rushed the wall, standing nearly as tall as the top. The archers focused their fire on the giant creatures, but the yeti ignored the sting of arrows as they gathered up gnolls and shoved them over the parapet as fast as they could.

First one, then another, yeti began to falter. Even monsters as large as them could only take so many arrows. The yeti stopped tossing gnoll warriors over the wall and fled instead, leaving behind a handful of grievously wounded fellows collapsed in giant heaps before their foes. Taliesin managed to fire off a [Lightning Strike] at one of the fleeing yeti, dropping one more before they could get back to the protection of the totems.

But the charge was relentless. Now ladders and ropes were being flung up at the walls, while defenders hacked away at the now concentrated foes. The artillery and slingers could no longer attack the walls without hitting their own, which freed the militia’s archers to redouble their defense.

Aina materialized at Taliesin’s elbow and tugged on his sleeve.

“Yes?”

“Gnolls behind the walls. Setting fires, killing!” Aina signed as swiftly as she could.

“Runolf, grab ten men and come with me. Aina, stay hidden. You’re on rearguard. Take out any convenient targets.”

“Broddi, command the wall. Sven, you have the recruits. Bjorn, with me…” Runolf rattled off the names of the rest of the varingjar to join. A scant few moments later, Taliesin stormed away from the walls.

A few blocks away, as they neared the North Gate, smoke became obvious. Buildings were on fire, and screams could be heard ahead. A half-dozen refugees fled their direction from an alley, followed closely by two gnolls carrying clubs and makeshift torches. Taliesin slew them with [Ice Darts] without even breaking stride.

More and more buildings were on fire as they approached the loudest screaming.They broke between buildings into a courtyard area with flaming buildings around it. At least twenty gnolls were gathered before a crowd of townspeople angrily wielding farming implements, pitchforks, and makeshift cudgels.

The ground was bloody and more than a few of the men had deep cuts on their arms. Bodies littered the courtyard of men, women and children who’d been caught out by the invading monsters. None of the gnolls showed any serious injuries.

This group was different from those Taliesin had seen charging the walls, or even the torch bearing pair he’d slain moments before. These gnolls wore metal armor with crude symbols drawn in blood and ichor. One of them carried a strange spear with a wolfskin stretched most of its length, and most carried heavy, one-sided falchions that looked like oversized butcher blades.

The townspeople, despite their bravery, were close to breaking under the concerted assault of the elite gnoll force before them. The fires were raging in the nearby buildings, casting the courtyard in a smoky haze as Taliesin strode forward confidently.

“That’s quite enough of that,” said Taliesin to the gnolls. “[Ice Darts]. [Ice Darts].”

Two dozen darts formed and corkscrewed away from him unpredictably before screaming towards the the gnolls. For their part, the gnolls flinched away, ducking behind each other, behind crude shields, or holding up their butcher-bladed swords to provide some measure of protection to unguarded faces. 

With a frown, Taliesin realized these gnolls were tougher than the average foot soldier. A scant handful of minor casualties were the result. Their temporary pause, however, allowed the townspeople to retreat behind Taliesin and his varingjar and clear the courtyard-turned-battlefield. Taliesin quickly followed up with a quick [Lightning Strike].

The gnolls gave wide, dog-like grins as the magic bolt of lightning veered away from Taliesin’s intended target and instead struck the spear totem. The wolfskin burned away, but the deadly lightning grounded itself harmlessly into the ground.

“Mmmmagic man. We werrrre expecting yourrrrr spells. Our shamans arrrre rrrready for you!”

The gnolls cheered and ran forward with their weapons raised.

“[Plasma Arc],” said Taliesin as his only reply, and a wide horizontal arc of white-hot lightning blasted toward the enemy. “Try grounding that!”

The smarter gnolls ducked the wide arc of plasma, not relying on their shaman’s totem. The spear wielder gave Taliesin an arrogant grin, just before the plasma cut him in half. The spear grounded the lightning that struck it, before clattering to the ground. A handful of gnolls got caught obliquely by the arc and were shocked into temporary immobility. Most ducked under the deadly magic, but a few like the spear wielder were slain or severely injured.

Taliesin shouted, “Kill them all!”

An answering roar came from his men as they charged. Runolf and his men crashed into the gnolls with a vengeance. He stayed back as the men fought, watchful for an opportune moment. Then the townspeople who’d retreated stormed back in. With Runolf’s men holding the line and Taliesin blunting the gnolls’ charge, the beleaguered men and women of this part of town were ready to get their vengeance on the monsters.

Suddenly, the gnolls were severely outnumbered and being pressed back despite having better equipment than most. With a precision born of years of war and raiding, the varingjar cut a swathe through the enemy line. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, blood and wet fur.

For his part, Taliesin chose his targets carefully. Instead of mass bombardments of [Ice Darts], he would send a handful of darts to unbalance or injure any gnoll that seemed to be getting the upper hand or attempting to rally against the defenders. He spotted Aina several times, appearing long enough to stab a gnoll in an unguarded neck or back before vanishing into the smoke once again, while Runolf raged with wide, powerful strikes that kept the gnolls from reforming their line. 

Then the enemy broke, and tried to flee. Taliesin was able to capture a few with [Elevate] and slew others with judicious [Ice Darts]. The townspeople quickly chased down who was left.

“Let’s tend to our wounded,” said Taliesin.

“And the surviving gnolls?” asked Runolf as he wiped blood and sweat from his face with a rag.

“No quarter, no mercy,” said Taliesin coldly. “We need to get back to the wall. This isn’t over yet.”

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The damage from the temporary breach was extensive. Dozens of homes were in flames, and the townspeople and refugees worked frantically to extinguish the blazes as quickly as they could. Aina watched from her perch near Lord Taliesin. Her main focus was keeping an eye on anyone who came near their position to give the varingjar early warning. She even watched the recruits from amongst the Lord’s villagers. 

But at the same time, the battle raged on. The gnolls retreated to allow the yeti to throw more stones and for the slingers to try and pick off any who kept their head over the walls for long. Aina took up a position on the wall where she could watch the enemy as well, so that she could keep an invisible overwatch while the gnolls licked their wounds from their first wave of attacks.

The day wore on, and casualties piled up. The gnolls came in waves, but Aina was able to spot the yeti as they approached the wall to try and throw gnolls into the town. Taliesin killed most of the yeti with lightning before they approached, and archers got another. Only a few managed to escape with light injuries.

As day turned into dusk, the gnolls retreated out of sight, vanishing as dark shapes amongst the trees. Distantly, Aina heard howls. Was it over? She was exhausted, both in body and in spirit. Blood coated her hands, becoming unpleasantly tacky between her fingers as it dried.

“Well done, men. Let’s get some food. I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving.” Then Taliesin turned to Aina, who was still invisible. “Well done, Aina.”

Aina dropped her stealth. “Is it over, milord? Will they return?”

“They may have failed today, but they are far from broken. I’ll be meeting with Jarl Gunther and the Sheriff’s pet mage soon. This battle is far from over.”