Battle Royal

Gelden's forces begin their assault of Windhaven's main tower.

18.

Battle Royal

 

 

 “Hurry up, come on, quickly!”   Gelden yelled at them, gesturing wildly as the Queen Eioldth slowly descended toward the floating city of Windhaven.    Two of his men had been killed in their aerial battle, but the wizard was still almost giddy with excitement after they had neutralized the catapults and set the two opposing airships on fire.

“You did very well,” He spoke to Syndi and Muld, as well as those impersonating the Faesidhe guards, and thankfully he didn’t seem to notice (or maybe he just didn’t care) that one of his men was missing.   He pointed to the city below, “Behold, Windhaven is ours for the taking!    The roof of the tower is too unstable to attack as I had hoped, so we’ll have to land on the docks.   We first must dispatch the pirates when we land, but after that, the prize is won!”

His men cheered, while Syndi and Muld just stood stoically.

The wizard noticed their somber mood and grinned - a frightening image that revealed it did not come naturally for him, nor grace his face many times, “Come, come, Master Muld!   Cheer up Princess Synthaeia!     You had a key role in destroying the defenses.    Now your second task is nearly complete.    All I require of you now is to join with my men in finishing off the pirates and their minions that will protect the city.    Most will offer a token resistance, but I intend to allow any who surrender to leave the city alive.   Most will take this offer when they see we have the upper hand.”

“Do we have the upper hand, sir?”   Muld dared to ask, “We are still outnumbered.”

“That is why we will rely on magic, Master Muld, and I expect you to perform as well as you did taking out those catapults.    Your future in-laws’ lives depend on this.”

“I understand,”   Muld replied with a sympathetic side glance at Syndi.    She stood there seemingly unmoved, but Muld knew the stress of worrying about her parents and their well-being was slowly draining the life from her.

“Good!”  Gelden turned to his men, “We’ve lost several of our own, but I expect the rest of you to do your best.   Remember the training you’ve received.   This is what we’ve labored so long and hard to achieve, so do not fail me.”

His Faesidhe guard began making last minute preparations as the airship came ever closer to the docking area.

*I wish you had a wand or something*  Muld said to Syndi telepathicly, *You could cast spells quickly.   Do you have any ready - we’re going to land soon.*

Syndi closed her eyes as if to steady herself for a moment, *I’m ready Muld.    Do you remember the spells that I’ve taught you?*

*I remember them, but I don’t know if I can cast them, however.    You use Qi; I require precise wording and hand movements.*

*Magic Missiles and Burning Hands don’t take long.*

*They take long enough if someone is charging at you.   These pirates aren’t going to play nice, Syndi, and Gelden and his men won’t assist us.*

*You’re forgetting - we have ‘friends’ amongst them.*

*Thank Yesh for that, but they’ll still be seven men loyal to Gelden - we can’t count on them.*

 

The Queen Eioldth had reached the docking area of the artificial city by then and all on the airship could see the panic that their arrival caused.    Not knowing who was attacking them, but having experienced their arcane magic which had destroyed their catapult defense as well as setting two airships on fire, the residents of the pirate haven were greatly alarmed.    They ran back and forth, watching the Queen Eioldth as it docked.   Clearly they expected a large group of soldiers, knights or even wizards to rush over the gangplank of the ship and attack.

But when it became clear to the defenders that it was only a small band of elves that threatened their city, they began to rally, yelling to their fellows to meet the attackers with force.

Still Gelden’s band rushed toward them, with Syndi and Muld in the middle of the pack.

Gelden released a bolt of energy, electrocuting one of the pirates that were rushing to intercept them.

Legech, who ran along side his master, engaged a pirate with his sword.   They battled for just a few seconds before Legech dispatched him.

But behind this pirate was a magic-user with a staff which he was twirling around and around, over his head.   Two of Gelden’s men rushed this man, but his spell was launched at the same moment and suddenly a tornado like column of spinning air appeared.  

Gelden’s two men tried to leap aside, but the cyclone scooped them up, spun them around half a dozen times and flung them high into the air, off the side of the artificial city.   

The Faesidhe wizard responded by casting a cone of ice that shot forward like a horizontal icicle, piercing the chest of the cyclone spell caster like a lance.

Then some of the pirates were upon them and Syndi and Muld had to focus on their adversaries.  

 

Syndi was ready and had a Magic Missile spell prepared.    She sent the bolt of energy square into the chest of the first pirate that was rushing her with a curved sword raised to chop off her head.

She ducked under the next pirate’s attack, casting a Push Cantrip against his knees.    It sent him crashing forward, his knees broken by the force of the spell.

Muld cast a similar Repel Cantrip, but he cast it upon his right hand, temporarily giving it a reverse magnet-like effect against anything he pointed at with his palm.

Holding his hand up as if it were a shield, he threw his first adversary backwards into the two behind him, knocking all three down.    Another pirate was attempting to flank Syndi, who was slightly ahead of him, so Muld repelled this pirate against an airship mooring post, breaking his back.

Syndi cast a Glue Cantrip and touched the cobblestone in front of her and pointed it forward, which caused a five yard square in front of her to be affected.

Three pirates tumbled down as their feet stuck fast to the cobblestones due to the spell.

Muld had a novel idea and cast the Harden Cantrip, touching the area just in front of where Syndi touched and pointing forward.

The spell was used to solidify anything liquid or semi-liquid and it caused the glue of Syndi’s spell to harden to stone, imprisoning the men stuck there for several hours, until the Harden Cantrip wore off (or they thought to take their boots off)

“Thanks!”  Syndi said to her fiancé with a smile as they both went around the area of effect.

Gelden and Legech had pulled further ahead, and Muld and Syndi’s companions, wearing the disguises of some of Gelden’s captured men, were off to the right, fighting their way toward a guard station at the airship docks.

“I guess we’ll follow our favorite wizard,”   Muld suggested to his wife-to-be and she nodded, pulling a dagger from her belt as she surveyed the opposition ahead of them.

“It looks like they’re retreating into buildings,” she said.

“They’re seeing that we’re stronger than they imagined, so they move to shelter - it is easier to defend.   Good, that means less to fight at once.    They may just think this is a raid by rival pirates and so rather than risk their lives, they’ll just withdraw until we leave.   Let’s just follow Gelden’s lead, so he’ll see we’re complying with his demands.”

 

Not far from the airship dock area was a raised platform, reached by probably forty steps that in turn lead to a large square tower with arrow slots and a parapet top that had been Hobnail’s fortress.     It’s high point in the center of the artificial floating city drew one approaching toward it, and it was clearly the strongest fortification here and the headquarters of whatever pirate now had control of Windhaven.  

It was the same building that they had attacked earlier, collapsing most of the roof, yet somehow there were pirates standing on something - perhaps a part of the roof nearest the parapet wall that had not collapsed with the center part, or maybe they were standing on piles of collapsed rubble.   There were still probably two dozen men stationed up there.   

 

Gelden and Legech, along with two of their Faesidhe followers, were racing toward this stronghold.

Drake, Carn and Alvis in their Faesidhe disguises had overtaken the dock guardhouse and were now making their way across a parapet wall that connected the guard house to the stronghold.

*Nine of us can’t take this tower!*   Syndi sent telepathically to Muld as they hurried up the steps to join Gelden.

*Maybe Gelden has something up his sleeves that we don’t know about.*   He sent back, adding *Don’t use telepathy when we’re close to him, sweetheart; we don’t want him to know.*

“Alright,”  She answered verbally.

 

When they reached the top of the stairs, they found the wizard and his three men shielding themselves behind a low wall.    From the parapet roof edge where the guards stood and through many arrow slots on some of the lower levels of the tower came arrows, crossbow bolts and other missiles.    Muld and Syndi paused and went back down several steps to give them cover.

Gelden saw this and yelled for them to join them, but when they hesitated, he cursed loudly and suddenly stuck his hand straight up from behind the wall, his fingers stretched wide.   

“What’s he doing?”  Muld mumbled as he and Syndi peeked over the top step.

There was a blue twinkle from one of his fingers, and then suddenly a huge ghostly hand appeared in mid air between the stronghold and their position.    Gelden made a slapping motion straight forward and the ghost hand slammed hard into the stronghold with a deafening boom that shook the ground.

“Hey!   I know what he’s using!”  Syndi shouted, standing up in surprise, “That’s my mother’s magic ring!   My sister had one too!   He stole it!”

Muld pulled the angry girl back down, “Easy, my dear, we’ll get it back, but right now he’s using it to assist us, so let’s just let him ‘borrow’ it, okay?”

Syndi frowned, “I don’t like that at all, Muld!”

“He’s making it easier for us to get into that tower.”

“Well, he’ll be giving it back after we finish our ‘tasks’ for him, that is for sure!”

“Come on, let’s join them; Gelden’s stunned those in the tower for the time being.”

Syndi didn’t protest and the two ran up the steps and sprinted to where Gelden and his companions squatted.

“What took you so long?”   Gelden hissed, and Syndi had to bite her tongue not to give him an equally hateful reply.

 “The tower is damaged from our aerial attack, but clearly it is still structurally sound.    The reinforced walls have kept the section of the roof along the edges still intact, so they’re able to stand up there and fire upon us.”

“We need to smash through that gate,”  Muld pointed to the keep’s entrance, which was a heavy metal gate that would take probably twenty men to raise.

“My ring might open it,”   Gelden said and Syndi grabbed Muld’s hand so tightly at his comment that he nearly cried out in pain.

“Use the ring and Syndi and I will cast Open Portal spells at the same time.    Together, all three might push that gate open, but we’ll still have to run the gauntlet of arrows to get there.”

“First things first, Master Muld.    Began your spells; I will reactivate my ring.”

“My ring…”  Syndi mumbled, but Gelden didn’t hear her.    Muld squeezed her hand to get her to focus and then looked at her.   She smiled weakly and nodded.

“On three,”  He said to her, “One… two…three…”

They began chanting the Open Portal spell together.    It was a spell used to open locked doors or windows and would not have worked on the portcullis gate, even when cast together.   But with Gelden using Queen Synthaeia’s Ring of Magic Hands, perhaps they’d have a chance of success.

Just as they finished the spell, pointing at the gate a distance away, Gelden used his stolen ring to bring forth the giant transparent hand, which he slammed against the gate at the same moment that they released their spells.

The gate gave way with a terrible screeching sound, followed by a crash.

“Excellent!”  The wizard proclaimed proudly, “The way is clear!”

“Not exactly,”  Muld corrected, “We’ll never make it to the gate with those archers shooting at us the whole way.”

Before the wizard could snap off a rebuke of Muld, he continued, “I have something that might help.”

“What?”   Gelden demanded impatiently.

“I’ll cast a Continual Light spell on this retaining wall that we’re cowering behind, and Syndi will use the Amplify spell to increase the effect to a brilliant light that will be as bright as the sun.”

“How will that help us?”

“Once we’re in front of it, running toward the keep, the bright light will blind the archers and they won’t be able to target us.     Some of your men are up on the parapet wall moving toward the roof of the keep, so maybe they can keep them occupied.   Hopefully those standing on the partially collapsed roof won’t be able to descend quickly to meet us when we enter the keep.    We might have a chance.”

Gelden considered this and grunted approval.

“Don’t look at the wall once the spell is cast or you’ll be blinded by it.   Syndi, are you ready?”

She nodded wearily and began chanting the Amplify spell as he cast the Continual Light.   Gelden and his three men waited and watched as the pair chanted the spells while arrows and bolts whizzed overhead or bounced off the retaining wall.

Finally the spells were cast, Muld first touching the retaining wall, then Syndi following suit.     It lit up as if the sun was held within it.    They looked away, but the brilliance of the wall was still nearly too much.

“Hurry, it will only last a few minutes, we’ve got to run now,”  Muld told them and Gelden grunted an answer again.

Without another word, he simply stood up and ran around the retaining wall, then sprinted toward the gate.      Those defending in the keep and on the roof were too blinded from the glare to see him.    Legech and the other Faesidhe stood and with a bit of nervous hesitation, left the shelter of the wall and ran after their master.

Muld beckoned to Syndi and taking her hand, they too rushed across the courtyard.

Their footsteps betrayed their movement and a few archers fired blindly toward the sound.     Only one arrow found its mark, hitting one of Gelden’s men in the leg just above the knee.   He fell flat to the pavement, but his companions just ignored him and ran on.

Syndi and Muld slowed down, considering helping him, but he was actually one of their adversaries and his wound wasn’t life-threatening.   If he lay still , the pirates on the wall would probably think he was dead.

Just as Syndi and Muld reached the entrance of the keep, the light spell ended.

“That was close!”   Syndi said with a sigh of relief.

Gelden and his men had already entered the keep and were heading for stairs leading upward.

“He’s so reckless,”   Muld said to Syndi as they ran to catch up with the others.    They were halfway across the room when, from somewhere on the floors above, someone dropped what sounded like a handful of pebbles down the stairway.    They bounced several times, stopping on the landing that Gelden and Legech and his last remaining guard had just reached.

“What-“ Syndi had just started to ask when the rocks seemed to pop loudly and suddenly there were four strange creatures standing there.    They were only slightly humanoid in shape and were clearly elementals of some sort, one from each of the four elements:   Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.

“Elemental Stones!”   Muld exclaimed, pulling Syndi back from the bottom of the stairs, “I’ve heard of them- they’re rare magic items and whoever has them has dumped all four upon us.    Hurry, follow me!”

He pulled her back toward the entrance to the Keep, all the while watching as the arcane creatures glanced around and began their attack against the Faesidhe wizard and his minions.

 

***

 

“This is ridiculous!”  Alvis said to his two companions as they stood on the parapet,  unable to cross over to the half-collapsed roof of the keep due to a heavily damaged section of the wall, “That wizard is going to get those two killed, along with himself and his men!”

“What should we do?   Keep up the charade of being Faesidhe guards?    I could help them out more if I could cast some spells,”  Drake said.

“Well, whatever we decide, we need to make a decision quickly - those men on that roof won’t see spots before their eyes much longer now that Muld’s bright light spell has faded,”  Carn told them as he monitored the pirates standing on the edge of the roof.

“I think you’re right, Drake - it is time we end this,”  Alvis replied, “Gelden is going to get himself killed without our help and that won’t help the Losasidhe King and Queen any more than it would help Muld and Syndi.”

 

As he was still talking, there came a popping sound from somewhere within the keep ahead of them and a few moments later, far below them, the figures of Muld and Syndi raced through the entrance that they’d labored so hard to gain access to, pursued by a pair of huge forms that shocked Alvis, Drake and Carn.

It was a huge Air Elemental and a Water Elemental.

“We’ve got to get down there now!”   Drake yelled, beginning to chant a Placement spell so they could come to the couple’s aid.

 

***

“Mother, we’ve got to go help them!”   Allea complained, pacing back and forth on the deck of the Queen Eioldth.

“Patience, my dear.    Wait until Amala returns,” Zeatt responded to her daughter.

“She’s been gone too long,”   Allea turned from her mother to her aunt, but both Drow ladies remained unmoved by her plea.

With an exasperated sigh, the girl returned to her post, staring up at Windhaven’s main Keep, nearly a mile away.   No sounds of battle could be heard, and that worried her more.     She had to know what was going on.

Sudden movement caught her attention, she squinted in the morning light, but was able to make-out the dark form of  Amala running toward them.   No one was pursuing her, but from her quickness, something urgent was in the air.

They all raced to the gang plank, but Amala just gestured for them to disembark.

“Come on, they’re in trouble!”   She shouted to them.

“I knew it!”  Allea exclaimed as she joined her mother and aunt in racing after Amala, who had turned and was leading them up from the docks toward the keep.