The Old City

0.8: The First Stronghold

"Where the Hell is squad four?" Firkaan shouted. "Pernita, get those assholes to the front line!"

His group should have included both the fourth and fifth squads while the first worked toward the northmost stronghold. But the fourth as nowhere to be found. The streets were desolate but chaotic. Bodies were strewn about like rags. Windows and doors, parts of roofs and walls had been blown off the disheveled buildings and now littered the streets as well. There were small fires everywhere.

This first stronghold was located at the southwest corner of the Verusian Square. It was the tallest building on the perimeter but also boasted a deep basement where food and weapons were in great supply. With its height, every corner of the Square was visible and any would-be trespasser was fodder for their cannons and arrows.

"We don't need them," she hissed, taking a step toward the first Black Phoenix hideout. Before she could take her second, Firkaan pushed her against the wall and darkened.

"That isn't your decision to make. Stand down and get me the fourth squad. I need you for later."

The look she gave Firkaan was poison but the look he returned was steel. Everyone else in Silver Bear was afraid of her, even the other squad leaders. But Firkaan was hard, and Pernita didn't like the aura he threw off. It was foreign. It was feral. Uncontrollable. Something whose attention even she, for all her thirst for conflict, did not want to attract.

She grunted her displeasure and turned around, rushing to find the rest of their party.

Pernita came upon them engaged with a group of Black Phoenix north of the stronghold. By her quick count, six of the Silver Bears already laid limply, dead upon the ground.

"What the Hell is takin' so long?" she screeched, drawing everyone's attention toward herself. "Firkaan needs you by the first stronghold. Get goin' before I gut you myself."

From behind her, a voice rang with a familiar joy. "There is nowhere to run. I have you surrounded."

She didn't recognize the man who spoke, but she knew his grin. She knew the excitement in his eye, the way his muscles were tense with anticipation, not fear. The way he occasionally whetted his lips, hungry.

"You don't get to make that decision." Pernita bit into her hand until a trickle of blood flowed. She whispered some words beneath her breath and the blood took shape, forming a sickeningly sharp, curved blade. Glistening crimson even in the dim sunlight, it screamed for more blood.

The mysterious man looked at her as though examining a new toy. His smile widened and he brought his hands forward so that his fingers interlocked. "Erolios!"

***

Back by the first stronghold, Firkaan reviewed his options. Without squad four, his chance of taking the stronghold plummeted. The loss of life among the Silver Bears would be too great to continue their campaign. He could bring the first squad west from attacking the second headquarters, but their success also depended upon Black Phoenix not consolidating its resources. By attacking in two places at once while Marek invaded from the south, they would be spread thin in any one place, giving Silver Bear a chance to mitigate the disadvantage of numbers.

"Do you know where Marek is?" Rhys asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "He was supposed to draw their attention away from us!"

"I think he did. Lucien just kept more of their garrison here to support the north. But Larson can't find Marek right now – their team is too far east. We just have to push through here and meet them."

"And how do we do that? We were supposed to have that building surrounded and hit it with cannon fire from all sides. Without squad four, we can't set up our position without gettin' blown up ourselves."

Firkaan chanced another glance at the large tower they were trying to siege. An arrow flew inches to the right of his face but he did not blink. He traced its trajectory and locked eyes with its archer.

"I'll go. I can draw their weapons away from you all. Their arrows aren't a problem and as long as I dodge the cannonballs, I'll be fine."

Rhys looked at him with disbelief. "You're insane! You're not impervious to weapons, Firkaan. And weren't you supposed to wait for that freak Granada? We can't afford for you to throw your life away like this."

Firkaan put a powerful hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I will be fine. As long as they don't enchant their arrows, they can't hurt me." The hand grew heavier on Rhys's shoulder. He felt Firkaan's nails biting into his skin and winced from the pain. "I'll go right down this street and draw their attention to the east. Take five men and drag that cannon to Mirkwood Street, then open fire from the North." Firkaan barked at the others by his side. "You all stay here and get this cannon ready as well. After they start their barrage from Mirkwood, you open fire here. Aim for the entrance to the stronghold and don't stop. If Pernita makes it back, have her loop south and get on the roofs. I want three more siege stations set up between the south and west corners of the building.

"If this works, it'll draw out Granada. At that point, you all need to run. If you're within five blocks of the stronghold, you'll die. My brother and I will take care of him."

Rhys looked at his shoulder and jumped backward in fear. It had transformed into an enormous grey paw and Firkaan's entire arm had grown a coat of thick, scruffy fur.

"What the Hell are you?" Rhys whispered.

"I'm your godsdamned squad leader! Now get movin'!"

His new look struck fear into his subordinates and they shuffled with an urgency they had not known until today, loading the cannon back onto a rickety wooden cart and sprinting away.

I guess the wolf's out of the bag, Firkaan thought. He cracked his neck and turned the corner. He raised his arm to receive the arrows, which stuck in his fur before coming close to his skin. Firkaan continued to look down the sharpshooter and was pleased to see an increasing look of fear in his eyes. He grinned toothily basked in the scent.

***

On his way to Mirkwood, Rhys tried to process what had just happened. While dragging the cannon as fast as he could, his mind was on the battlefield of Verusian Square. What would this conflict look like, with monsters and nightmares coming out of the shadows?

He struggled to make sense of his two new revelations: the second-in-command of the Silver Bears was a werewolf...and he had a brother no one in the First Ring knew about. Now he ran even faster. He wanted to see what this clash would become.