The sky was dark, though cloudless, the moon's rays flooding and creating ghostly shadows on the lake's surface as she flew the most direct route towards where Lorna would be. The ideas or choices given by Nexis's direction hung heavy. It wasn't just the choices they may have to make defending Killic, but what his specific words meant to her. She would have to decide. Decide what, though? She did not know what it meant; it felt like a ball and chain had been placed around her neck, dragging her down.
As SJ neared the forest, a scent she never wished to smell was drawn to her by the light breeze that caressed the night. It was the scent of fire. She turned, looking towards the valley where the gnolls had encamped, and saw the first flickers as flames rose above the canopy tops.
'They are setting fire to the forest!' SJ thought.
"It's one way to flush your enemy out, but it's a vast forest to try and burn through," Dave said.
SJ's heart leapt in her chest at the thought of the forest being burned. Zigferd's plan was bad enough without the gnolls adding to it. It was part of the town as much as the mines and the lake were. It was what gave the plateau its charm and draw. She sped up as she flew to get back to Lorna. The make-shift camp that they had set up in the clearing was a hive of activity. Beings hurried about as Lorna stood talking to a group of mages. SJ spotted Fran at the front as she came into land.
"I have sent water mages out with the scouts. They are soaking the trees and ground to prevent it from catching," Fran said as SJ grew and walked over.
"I just hope it's enough," Lorna said. Her face was covered in dirt. Her usual fiery red hair looked unkempt. There was also a large rent in her leather armour.
"Lorna," SJ said, reaching her. "How has it been going?" Fran had turned and was walking away. She smiled as she passed SJ, talking to the mages who accompanied her.
The look on Lorna's face told the story as she turned to see SJ.
"They continued to send in small parties until thirty minutes ago when the first signs of a fire started. We have kept them at bay so far. Darren has been leading skirmishes against their encampments. If they had stayed in one location, it would have been easier to contain them, but they have split up across the plateau edge. We have troops surrounding the entire area in the forest, but they have been told only to scout and report any movement. These gnolls are so strong," Lorna said, her face twisting in anger.
"Darren is here now?" SJ asked. Darren was the only other Legionnaire in Killic. He also had an AI companion, but his wasn't as advanced as Dave was. It didn't freely converse, and, from Darren's explanation, had no personality. Dave's unique code-breaking gave him significant advantages over other Legionnaires' AI.
"Yes. He and Cristy have been causing chaos."
"What happened to the group that Jay was chasing down?"
Lorna's face turned grim. "A further six of the guard gave their lives. Jay was injured, but survived after killing the last of them. Thankfully, only three had got past. If any more than that, I doubt Jay would have returned to us."
Panicked, SJ looked around for Jay.
"He is fine; the clerics healed him. He was more upset about the loss of the others than about any injuries he had sustained. I'm not sure what he is made of, but any normal being would have fallen to the wounds he received. He is currently resting. There is a clearing three hundred feet from here we are using as a rest point."
"And you?" SJ asked, noting her armour.
Lorna half-smiled. "I got a little close to a blade, that was all. I'm fine."
Lorna didn't look fine. She looked tired. SJ took the bottle of rejuvinatus from her inventory and handed it to her. "Here, take a drink. We can't have you fading on us."
Lorna took the bottle and sipped from it. She closed her eyes as the liquid coursed through her. When she opened them again, some, although not all, of the weariness had gone. SJ believed that was the burden of leadership and not something physical that a potion could remove.
"Thanks," she said, passing the bottle back.
SJ lowered her voice. "Zigferd has an idea, and Nexis was involved," SJ added after looking around briefly to make sure no beings were too near. Only those under the Oath knew of her relationship with the god, and the last thing they needed now was for it to become open knowledge.
"Come," Lorna said, moving over to the side of the clearing, away from the bulk of beings.
"What's the plan?" Lorna asked once they were alone.
"They want us to assault them and push them back from the plateau, then collapse the track completely. Destroy it by any means possible. I am guessing that the earth mages will be our best weapons to complete that task. Anything that will slow their progress. I doubt they will sit and wait, and I expect they will send more tomorrow. While you do this, they are working on the town defences."
Fran was still talking to the mages she had been with as Lorna called over.
"Fran. Can the earth mages damage the track to the valley?" Lorna asked.
Fran turned and looked at Lorna thoughtfully. "There is no reason why they shouldn't be able to crumble the cliff face if enough mana is concentrated on it. Why?"
"Just a thought," Lorna said, turning back to SJ. "You mentioned defences?"
"I don't know the full details, but it involves constructing spike pits, oil troughs, and similar features across the fields bordering the town, all the way to the mountain edge. It will take most of the town to construct them quickly enough."
The distance from the edge of the lake to the mountainside was significant. The plan was to create a nest of traps that stretched its width. It would be the easiest solution among all the plans they had come up with.
"That could take days, even with everyone working on it."
"That's the problem. There were only really three options open to them. Attack, defend or retreat. Attacking is not viable, as they hold the ground at the base of the track. The only way we would even stand a chance is if every one of the guards and volunteers were able to reach the bottom at once, which we know they can't, and then again, the losses would be huge facing those lizards."
"Can't Nexis help us?"
SJ sighed. "He is doing what he can." The statement was flat and with resignation.
"If we are going to try and push them off the ridge before dawn, we need to get moving now."
"I'm going to go and see what is going on in the valley. There isn't much I can do here," SJ said.
"Understood," Lorna said, turning and walking to a small group of beings sitting around a hooded lantern. There were no bright lights where they were positioned, only a few hundred feet from the gnolls at the plateau edge.
"Come on, Kibble," SJ said, turning and seeing him being fed rations by a ratkin guard member.
He squeaked as he hopped over to her. SJ shrank and was about to take off when Kibble lowered his wing.
"He wants you to ride," Dave said. "He says he is faster than you."
SJ looked at Kibble and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not tired from today?"
Kibble puffed his chest out, standing tall on his two legs and opening his wings to their full extent.
"Okay then," SJ said as she climbed onto his back.
In moments, they were rising above the canopy of the tall trees. Kibble didn't seem to be affected at all by the low light levels, and his eyes glimmered, while small crackles of electricity surrounded his snout.
Nearing the plateau entrance, thick smoke was now drifting from the trees, where water mages must have been dousing the fires the gnolls had set. There were shouts and cries from the gnoll encampments, as they obviously communicated with each other. The gnoll language to SJ just sounded like a pack of dogs barking at each other.
"They are just calling their status, nothing more," Dave said, answering her thought.
Kibbles had lifted above the smoke trails from the trees, and as they flew above the track's location, SJ noted that the number of gnolls now positioned at its mouth had increased. The initial forty had almost doubled. There was also a group of ten or so fcorpoid gnolls, accompanied by several scorpoids. Not all of them, thankfully, but half a dozen.
As SJ watched, the holding ring was released beneath the scorpoids, and they immediately tore into the forest.
"Damn," SJ cursed. Since she knew Cristy was out there with Darren, she quickly used her communication stone.
"Yes," a low voice cut through.
"Cristy. They have released scorpoids into the forest. I don't know where you are, but be warned."
"Got it, thank you," Cristy whispered back as the gem went dull again.
A screeching sound like nothing she had ever heard erupted from the edge of the forest with an explosion and a flash of light. The wailing was not that of a being, but rather a scorpoid that someone had successfully hit.
"One down," SJ said.
Only moments passed before there was a sound of splintering wood, and SJ saw the canopy shake, followed by a shrill cry. It made SJ shudder. That had been a being.
'We need to get rid of these beasts,' SJ thought.
"The only way you could take them out is in melee," Dave said. "It's a shame that Kibble's lightning doesn't affect them."
Kibble let out a low growl in annoyance as he circled above, his frustration clear.
They hovered high above for several minutes, watching the gnolls. All those who had come to the plateau were positioned ready to advance. None looked to be resting.
'I think they are going to enter the forest again,' SJ thought.
"Looks like they may soon," Dave replied.
It was SJ who was contemplating what she could do to distract them when the moon suddenly flicked out of existence as though a light switch had been turned off. It was instant and momentary but enough to startle SJ. As she looked up, her stone vibrated.
She called it to her hand and pressed the gem. "Carlito."
"I'm here. Just seeing what's going on. Meet me at the clearing five hundred feet to the North on the west side of the lake. It is shaped like a heart. I will be there shortly."
SJ surged with hope. With Carlito here, things may go in their favour.
'You heard him, Kibbles,' SJ said.
Kibble let out a low squeak and turned north along the lake's western edge. It didn't take long for SJ to spot the clearing Carlito had mentioned, and Kibble swooped down, coming into land. The grass was long and wild in the clearing, taller than Kibble, and SJ climbed off him before growing. She could hear shouts and cries in the distance, being carried in the night air. Another piercing scream filled the night.
They only had to wait for several moments, and then the moon disappeared again. SJ looked up to see Carlito descending. As he neared the ground, SJ covered her eyes as dust and debris were thrown into the air, and she braced against the downforce he created with his wings. She had never seen Carlito in his dragon form up close before, only seeing him high above Asterfal previously, and he was an impressive being.
Compared to Bob, he was small. From snout to tail tip, he was probably forty feet. His scales, where the moonlight caressed them, glinted with the colour of jade, and each scale appeared to be edged in silver. Where the moonlight didn't strike, they were almost obsidian, with colours that were the deepest forest green. Even with her improved night vision, he was virtually invisible against the backdrop of the surrounding forest. Although his scales looked as smooth as polished glass, as SJ looked, she could see the sharp, almost serrated edges, and as he moved, they created a low, grinding whisper. It was the ominous sound of a predator.
SJ watched in amazement as he transformed, shrinking and limbs reforming. His tail shrank into his body, his wings appeared to fold up and absorb into his back, neck, and head, quickly changing as he took on his new form. Within moments, the elf she recognised as Carlito pushed himself upright from all fours; the front legs of his dragon form became his arms.
"You really do have a problem, don't you?" Carlito said, smiling.
SJ realised her mouth was open and closed it with a snap. The dragon's beauty transformed into a normal-looking elf. His elven appearance wasn't bad-looking, but it was nothing compared to his draconic form.
"Yes. The town is seriously outmatched. The levels of the attackers are much higher than our own, meaning that their skills and experience will match."
"So, what did you want me to do?"
"We need to clear the gnolls from the plateau. If we can do that, we will then destroy the track from the valley. That will hopefully give us time to work on the town's defences."
"Even I can't do that alone, even in my dragon form. Eighty beings of that level could overpower me even as a dragon."
SJ knew that the number of gnolls would be the biggest hurdle to overcome. "Is there any way we could try to thin them down? There is a group moving from the forest to route them, but can we help and reduce losses?"
"There is something I can do, yes, but using it causes exhaustion in dragon form. I would be useless for several hours. I am a dragonling, not a full-blooded dragon."
"What's that?"
"My poison. I can either spray it as a jet or create a poison cloud. If I use the cloud, it is likely to carry into the forest by the wind, the way it is blowing, which if you say your friends are there, could endanger them. The spray is direct, but I can only do so much. Either way, using my dragon's breath will leave me requiring rest."
SJ thought for the briefest of moments. "Would rejuvinatus refresh you?"
Carlito nodded his head appreciatively. "Yes, that would refresh me. It wouldn't refresh my poison, though. Once it is fully expelled, it takes at least eight hours for my glands to refill. It also makes me very hungry."
"Acid burned gnoll any good for him?" Dave asked.
SJ shook her head, not even contemplating the comment.
"There is also a rather significant problem that I need to make you aware of."
SJ frowned. "What problem?"
"I can't attack the draconians, or lizards," Carlito said flatly, staring at SJ.
"What? Why?"
"I would have thought the name gave it away. They are both dragonkin. They aren't full-blooded like me, but they are still my kin."
"The lizards are dragonkin?"
"Dragonkin originate from the reptilian beast line. Our kind has evolved considerably compared to reptiles, but we are still related through ancient bloodlines."
"Why can't you kill dragonkin or reptiles? I thought you were an assassin?" SJ asked, amazed by his revelation.
"I may be, but on accepting Brotuliosteryi..." Carlito stopped himself. "Sorry, Bob's gift. I also am bound by his laws."
"So, because you became my guardian, you can no longer kill dragonkin?"
Carlito rocked his head. "I never usually did, anyway. It would only ever be in rare or exceptional circumstances that I would ever kill a dragonkin of any kind."
"Well, that's us thrown into the mage's fire then," Dave said.
"If you can't help with the draconian, what can we do against them and their lizards? I assume you saw the beasts?"
"I did, and I have a solution, but that solution isn't something you would find here."
SJ heard a loud cry in the distance, followed by another scream, cutting through the silent night.
Carlito turned to look in the same direction from which the sound had come.
"They released scorpoids into the forest. Only a few, but enough to cause problems."
Carlito nodded his head in understanding. "Violent beasts," he replied.
"You mentioned a solution?"
"It means going into the desert region. There is one beast above all others that is the enemy of the lizards the draconians have, and that all dragonkin bar one variant fear, and they live there."
"What?" SJ asked with a mix of hope and fear, unsure what, if anything, Carlito could be afraid of.
"Gila beasts," Carlito replied.
"You are saying that to battle the draconian and the lizards, we would need a Gila beast?
"It would be the easiest solution."
"How do you know all this?"
"I have lived in desert regions," Carlito shrugged.
SJ had forgotten that Carlito was over five hundred years old.
'Why did Nexis not tell me this?' SJ thought.
"Probably because it's suicide," Dave replied. "Gila beasts are seriously ill-tempered behemoths. They even put scorpoids to shame with their anger. They live as single beasts and, to my knowledge, only mate every fifty years or so."
'How old do they live if they only mate every fifty years?'
"Ancient. Obviously, the desert's level cap will restrict their levels and size there, but you should see some of them in higher territories. They would even give Bob a fight." Dave whistled.
"You mentioned that dragonkin, bar one kind, are fearful of them. What kind?" SJ asked Carlito.
Carlito smiled before turning and looking at the miniature wyvern that was standing at SJ's side, peaking over the top of the grass at them.
"Kibble?"
"Yes. Miniature wyverns have no fear. They can't fear it is a racial trait. They also have a very uncanny ability to influence those of lower intelligence."
Now that was something that SJ had never heard of, and she stared at Kibble in amazement. "Kibble, can mind control?"
Carlito laughed lightly. "Not mind control. Influence is more a matter of the power of suggestion. If he could direct one here from the desert region."
"So, Kibble could influence the lizards the draconians have?"
"If he tried or knew how he should be able to, I don't know precisely. The thing is, most miniature wyverns aren't very intelligent themselves."
Kibble squeaked, an indignant look on his little face.
"I think here, though, you have one who is quite bright," Carlito chuckled.
SJ wasn't about to confirm to Carlito that they could communicate, but from what Dave had said, Kibble could communicate, even if in simple sentences, through his symbiosis.
"Do you know how?" SJ asked, looking at her companion.
Kibble nodded his head as he squeaked a reply.
"He said, 'I think so.'" Dave said.
Carlito smirked. "If I didn't know better, he just answered you with a yes."
"Can you influence multiple lizards?" SJ asked, feeling hope slowly rising.
"He doesn't know," Dave answered after Kibble replied with a low growl.
"Do you think we should try?" SJ asked Kibble.
Kibble nodded his head vigorously, his eyes reflecting the moonlight like silver saucers.
"He's sure," Dave said as he translated his thoughts.
