B2 – Chapter 35: An unexpected siege

Tristan woke with the sunrise and to the sound of shouting far off in the distance. The morning was already warm as they were near the end of the hottest Season of the year. Felicity had moved up next to his head on the pillow adjacent to him and was kicking slightly mid-dream.

Tristan sat up and looked around. Obadai was gone, his bed a disheveled mess. “Felicity,” he whispered, slightly shaking the fairy dragon.

“Fwah,” she muttered as she rolled over, off the pillow, and onto the bed proper. Lazily stretching like a cat, she licked her chops and then looked up at him. “What is it?”

“Obadai is gone, and something is going on.”

“He probably got breakfast,” she replied as she yawned, showing off her sharp canid teeth. “I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“Get my gear out,” Tristan ordered as he stood up. Felicity waved her paw, and the storage dimension opened next to her. He quickly put on his armor and equipment, spun up his essence crucible, and activated Lucky Instinct by tapping his Starmetal Maul and imparting some of the powerful energy coursing through him. He rapidly incanted the spell phrase and performed the gesture for Near Miss as well and finally pushed essence into the ear-cuff to activated Spoken Message: Half-Realm. “Obadai, you still here?”

The Archon’s voice came back a second later, “Yes. I’m on the city walls. Events have transpired in a way that were not anticipated. The battle should not unfold anytime soon…but we have to change plans.”

“What do you mean?” Tristan asked as he rushed downstairs, saw the few guards who were standing at the bottom of the steps, and nodded to acknowledge their presence.

One of the guards stood up a little straighter, “Lord Tristan. To the walls. Your ally is already there. We…our commanders are at the front, and the garrison commander is in the fort with Prince Merrill. We need your prowess on the walls.”

Tristan was about to reply and explain that he wasn’t as experienced as they thought he was, but it seemed better to keep his mouth shut and just get more information from Obadai. They formed up around Tristan and began to escort him through the city streets. There was rushed movement as soldiers went towards the walls, and civilians headed toward the main keep and the moat.

I’m not that experienced, Tristan thought. But, they must believe I have the wisdom of ages given the fact that I’m an Elf Lord of another Realm. They’re assuming quite a lot about me based on appearance alone.

Obadai was talking to him the whole time; and his voice was terse and analytical. Cold, even. “Prince Roland has someone crafty advising him on matters of military. They also have an Archon – or several essence-weavers – capable of casting grand illusion spells. Prince Merrill’s scouts thought that the hostile army was taking up shape on a battlefield a week’s march from this fortress. That was a ruse to lure this army out. The enemy force marched here, circumventing Merrill’s army.”

Tristan felt a pit form in the bottom of his gut, “We’re surrounded, aren’t we?”

“With siege weapons – the whole city is going to come under siege. And the army of Prince Merrill? Far out at the battlefield, still facing a phantasmal army. I found that out thanks to divination – but we have no way to send messages to them. I’d need to know someone on the front to talk to them.”

The spell cut off, and Tristan felt Felicity land on his head. Her tail flicked down in front of his vision for a split second, showing the characteristic shimmer of her invisibility. “Sounds like this could be dangerous. We could hide and wait it out,” she stated.

Tristan shook his head and looked to the guards, “Prince Roland – would he kill the citizens living here?”

The guards nodded, and one of them spoke up. “Yeah. Piece of work. A real jerk.”

Hopefully Obadai’s spell can scare them off, Tristan thought. Then maybe we can push for negotiations and avoid more bloodshed. An idea popped into his head, and he started to jog toward the city walls; the guards flanking him picking up pace with minor cursing.

He got to a set of stairs and ascended the wall. What he saw from the battlements shook him to his core – a massive army, easily twenty-thousand strong – arrayed around the city walls. He could see siege weapons being prepared; trebuchets, covered battering rams, and ballistae with ropes attached. They were being loaded with the type of bolts that were not meant to kill – instead, it was akin to an enormous grappling hook. Ropes could be threaded through loops on the back to enable the rapid placement of siege ladders.

The sounds of preparation echoed around Tristan, and he scanned around for Obadai. Felicity tapped his temple and pointed with her tail alongside his head – and Tristan spotted his ally standing in front of a crenellation. He headed over, “I had an idea!”

Obadai glanced over and him with a grim, taut expression. “Oh? Do share. My spell could take out a large force, but I had considered teleporting us away.”

“Thrice Command,” Tristan replied. “I can make them run away for up to a minute – but I need a way to amplify my voice. Can you do sound elementalism spells?”

“I can, but I don’t know any,” Obadai replied. He cracked a slight smile, “Inventive thinking, though.” The man faced the arrayed army once more. “You get a choice, Tristan; either I use Ring of the Forgotten Flame, or we teleport back to Rigger’s Cove. I don’t have the essence for both.”

Tristan was torn. On the one hand, he did not want to see harm come to these civilians. On the other, they were about to be in a very under-defended fortress assaulted by a massive army. And if Obadai couldn’t break them, then the odds of the duo surviving were slim should the walls fall. “I’m open to other ideas,” Tristan stated.

Felicity cleared her throat, “If I may offer an idea – I’ll fly to Prince Merrill’s army and get them headed this way. They’re how far away?”

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“A week,” Obadai replied. “Maybe the cavalry could get here in a few days, but they’d be pushing the horses to their limit.” He grimaced, “I had another idea…but it would cause a lot of issues.” He glanced over at Tristan once more. “I can use a realmwalking spell, and create a rift, an artificial Incursion. It will cause those Sympathetic Incursions afterward…but it would give me enough essence to teleport away if needed.”

“That’s risky,” Tristan replied. “That may lead to more suffering.”

“Another thought,” Felicity said as she raised her paw. “I go get that army, you both pull back to that central keep and get the rest of these defenders back there as well. Hole up, make it a real siege.”

“Lots of options,” Tristan replied. “What do the commanders here say?”