Bojan wasted no time in setting to work preparing to face the forces outside as the cave walls around them rumbled and shook from Keld's continuing onslaught. Neither Jevrem nor Senka voiced their support for fighting, but both began to quietly aid in Bojan's efforts. This was where they were needed. Jevrem had been present at the start of all this. He would be there to see it end.
The general extended an offer to the displaced miners to bring them out safely on Goskar's side of the mine, but it was politely declined. They were distrustful of Goskar, certainly, but it also seemed most of them were feeling the sting of Keld's betrayal and wanted to help fight back. Now they were all caught here between Goskar and Astansuria.
Mostly the work involved bringing weapons and stockpiling them in the cave as quickly as they were able. Senka was working with Bojan's engineers and machinists who were discussing the engines of war that could be used and how to transport them through the narrow openings of the cave. The bug-like crawlers like the one that Jevrem had previously seen in the Astansurian woods were available of course, but their limited firepower and relative fragility made them a risky option. Machines with heavier firepower, however, were far less mobile.
Jevrem busied himself with helping carry supplies as it allowed his mind to wander. There were two things that were bothering him about what they faced, and he couldn't focus his thoughts elsewhere until he puzzled out some kind of solution.
One was the superpowered magnet Keld had created. It was a dangerous thing to make use of. Astansuria may not use machines as Goskar did, but they still used metal weapons and armor. Why make use of something that would be just as dangerous to his own men? Still, there had to be a reason he was intent on making something like that, he must have some sort of plan for it.
The other problem that was overwhelming his thoughts was the very idea of fighting Astansuria at all. He would never call himself a pacifist, there were some situations where he felt violence was inevitable, but this wasn't one of them. It felt so pointless, Keld and Bojan could've negotiated for what they wanted ages ago, but that would've meant giving something in return which would apparently have been a step too far. With his new found respect for Astansuria, however, Jevrem found the thought of killing their armies disgusting. There had to be some other option. If Stian, one of the most ardent proponents of war with Goskar, could be made to see reason, then surely the same was true of every man who was standing by Keld's side. Killing them would never give them the chance to try.
Jevrem's heart sank as he thought of Stian. He felt ashamed now at having just left him there, held prisoner by the man he had looked up to for so long. What had become of him? Was he okay? Without any way to really know for sure, Jevrem couldn't help but imagine the worst...and it was all his fault.
He couldn't seem to look at it any other way. He had been at the incident that began this whole mess and had caused enough worry that Arvid had felt it necessary to use magic to locate him. He had given Bojan reason to escalate his troop movements in Astansuria. He had goaded Keld into a panic that had led to the situation they were in now. Whether directly or indirectly, he had helped to guide everything to this point, and he felt a responsibility to do something to help.
The problem was then figuring out what exactly he could do. He wasn't a fighter or a tactician. He didn't have much in the way of skills he could offer, but he did have an idea for something he could do. He wasn't entirely sure it would work, but he knew where to go to get the information he'd need.
It wasn't terribly hard to find Arvid alone. The mage didn't have much way to help with what the groups or workers were currently doing so he spent most of his time in an empty shaft off to the side of where the others were working, studying his book and eyeing the barrier for signs of weakness.
"So," Jevrem said, sitting on a rock next to where Arvid had propped his book, "this is where you mine magic, is it?"
"Ah...yes," Arvid said somewhat distractedly, though it seemed to Jevrem he was a bit grateful for the excuse to talk to someone for a moment.
"Are there any stones left in these walls that are of any use, do you think?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.
Now he had Arvid's full attention. "Jevrem," the mage said flatly, "you had better not be thinking about anything too drastic. I've told you already. Magic is too dangerous for the untrained to use freely. You've experienced it first-hand more than once. Acting so recklessly could kill you! I'm sure if we looked we could find something here that would be a devastating weapon, but in the end it would do more harm than good and I'll not hear another word on it!"
Jevrem held his hands up, "No, no! Nothing like that! It's just that I could use something to calm my nerves a bit, and Aina told me about one that soothes. I just thought if there were something like that here that I could carry it for luck."
Arvid looked at him critically for a moment before relaxing a bit and sighing, "Of course. I'm sorry. I'm a bit on edge. None of this has gone exactly how I expected." Jevrem tried to ignore the guilt he felt about lying to Arvid. "I think I know exactly which gem she might've meant," the mage went on, reaching into a pouch at his side, "No need to hunt the mines for it when I've got my own collection right here!" The cheerfulness in his voice was painfully forced, but Jevrem didn't comment. After some hunting, he pulled a familiar pale blue stone out from among the more brilliantly colored gems. "Here," he handed it to Jevrem, "please take it. I think you've earned a little calm." He sighed and looked towards the barrier, "and who knows how long it will last..."
Jevrem took the stone gratefully. Glad that it seemed to be the same as the one he'd seen Aina use and pleased that he was able to get it without much fuss. It was a bit hard to hear the strain in Arvid's voice, however. Keld's betrayal seemed to have hit him hard. Arvid was a manof reason, but Keld could not be made to see it. "We'll be all right," he said as reassuringly as he could, "they don't actually have us cornered. We can run if we need to."
Arvid stood. "But we'll stay," he said quietly, "because he needs to be stopped."
The mage walked away, not even glancing back at Jevrem. He took no offense, it didn't seem an intentional slight, Arvid's mind was simply elsewhere. The mage's determined expression reminded him of Aina's. Both of them were too angry, too hurt by all this, too wrapped up in finally resolving it.
He clutched the gem Arvid had given him tightly. If his plan worked, maybe it could all finally be resolved. He had no way of knowing whether or not it would, but there was no time to run proper tests. He owed so much to them, both Aina and Arvid, not to mention Runa and Stian and Senka most of all. If he could even just break things up just for a moment, just enough time to change the momentum, didn't he owe it to them to try?
His mind made up, he pocketed the stone and made his way to where the plans were being drawn up for the moment the barrier fell. He needed to know how to adapt it to a plan of his own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There wasn't time for anything too complex. Even someone as magic-illiterate as Jevrem could practically feel Arvid's barrier weakening with every hit. Keld's forces were breaking through.
Once they did, however, the first thing they would meet would be the crawlers. Nimble, agile, and quick, these machines would be able to make their way into Keld's ranks and hopefully cause enough chaos to allow Bojan's men to follow them. The third line was to be made of anew machine. Wheeled cannons, slower but much more powerful than those mounted on the crawlers could them be moved into position and deal damage to Keld's heavy-hitters. Each cannon was built with a thick shield surrounding it that could be locked into the next cannon over, creating a protective wall of firepower. Perhaps not the most clever or complex plan, but given the time they had available to form it and gather the needed components, it would have to do.
Senka had been tasked with overseeing the cannon wall and Jevrem tagged along with he to help her make her preparations. He had no real interest in manning the cannons himself, but he noticed that each cannon came with a scope that allowed them to see far into the distance in order to spot their targets. A handy way to survey the battlefield from a place of relative safety.
Ashe was contemplating that thought, a particularly violent burst shook the cave and sent rocks and dust raining down on the assembled defenders. With no shouted orders, everyone scrambled into their positions, understanding that this signaled the end of Arvid's barrier. Jevrem stepped aside to allow those operating the cannons to take up their positions, but remained close by, tightly gripping the stone in his pockets and steeling his nerves.
For the briefest moment all was still, then a final loud "crack!" sounded and the wall before them crumbled, flooding the cavern with light. The resulting hole was far larger than the original cave entrance, a testament to just how much destruction had been thrown at the slopes around them. Jevrem blinked as the sudden light and dust filled his eyes, but did his best to focus on what was happening.
The crawlers didn't hesitate. They were out on the field before the rocks had finished falling. The line of Keld's soldier's visibly hesitated when they saw the mechanical monsters burst out from the smoke and dust allowing most of them as well as Bojan's soldiers to exit the cave before the mages began throwing spells again. The cannons began firing then, retaliating against the magic attacks, executing the plan just as it had been drawn up.
Everything descended into chaos almost immediately leaving Jevrem's senses reeling. There was too much to take in, he wasn't sure where to look. Instead he closed his eyes and reminded himself of his plan. All of this was just distraction. He needed to focus!
Opening his eyes, he stepped resolutely up to the nearest cannon, shoving his way past the gunner who barked out a protest. He ignored the man, instead taking the machine's scope and extending it to its limit in search of his target.
It took some time to sort through the lights, debris, and and chaos in the field, but at last his view fell upon Keld himself. The man was far out of range of the mobile cannons, but the scope gave Jevrem a view of where Keld stood and what was immediately around him. He was not at all surprised to see the metal block that had been in his base at the camp erected behind the Astansurian lord, but was a bit dismayed to note that it was not the only block visible there.
He took a deep breath, trying to decide if he could still do what he'd originally intended now that he could see the reality of it, when a hand coming down on his shoulder jolted him back to reality. "What do you think you're doing?!" the irate gunner demanded, yanking him back from the cannon, "if you don't plan to shoot it, then get out of my way!"
"You're right," Jevrem said, holding up his hands, "Sorry, I'll leave this to you. I know what I have to do."
Without another word he turned and ran out into the battlefield.
He regretted his choice almost immediately. Through all the smoke and grit and noise it was difficult to see where anyone was or what was happening. The explosions – both from the guns and from magic –sounding all around him shook the ground and made him lose his footing. He'd never been in a situation like this before. He had no idea what to do, how best to move, or how to protect himself. The best he could do was awkwardly cover his head in an attempt to protect it and keep stumbling and crawling as best he could towards his goal.
He made it miraculously far in this manner. He wondered if the soldiers from both sides saw his ridiculous scurrying and classified him as not being a threat. After all, they had far more pressing things to worry about than some idiot out where he didn't belong.
When he reached about halfway across the field, a blast struck the ground directly in front of his left foot. He had no idea what side it came from. The shock of it threw him onto his back. As he lay there, stunned, it took him a moment to realize that no real damage had been done. He sat up slowly, painfully, and looked down. It was a weak blast, but it striking near his left leg was a stroke of luck as it still would have been enough to have shredded flesh. The metal limb, however, only sustained some scratches.
He shook his head to clear it, then scrambled to duck behind a well-blasted rock, hoping it provided him adequate protection while his head stopped spinning. As the world around him came into focus once more, he looked around to get his bearings.
It wasn't hard to find where Keld was. The Astansurian lord had positioned himself on a hill to get a better view of the battle. Even through all the chaos around them it was easy enough to spot. As open as he was it was surprising that Goskaran missiles weren't finding their target more often. Certainly he was out of range of where the wall of cannons had been set up, but he still had the fire from the crawlers to contend with, didn't he? Then he recalled the metal slabs that stood around Keld.
So that was their purpose. They were never meant to capture enemy soldiers. They were meant to capture enemy fire. The magnet was strong, but it hadn't disrupted the camp when Keld used it on them, just the room they were in. That meant it had limited range. He cursed himself for not realizing it at the time. Each time a projectile approached, it was immediately pulled aside to one of the slabs. Standing here, Keld would be safe from Goskaran attacks while he threw out magical attacks of his own from relative immunity.
This realization made Jevrem feel both better and worse about his plan. Regardless, he was in the middle of the battlefield, there was nothing else but to continue on and hope for the best. After readying himself for another moment, He waited for what appeared to be an opening in all the fire - though who could be sure in the midst of a battle? - and began running once more.
Ashe moved, the tumult around him began to clear. Likely the result of heading out of the center of the storm rather than into it. His goal clearer with every step, he put his head down and ran for all he was worth.
Mages positioned near Keld began to take notice of him as he approached. They were more scattered than he might have expected them to be considering who it was they were protecting, but there were still many more of them than he would like. They raised their hands as he neared and began to recite words much like Arvid. Keld glanced his direction too and he thought he saw a smile spread across the man's face. Jevrem ignored all of them, he just kept running for all he was worth. If he could just get close enough...
His heart skipped a beat when he felt the magnetic pull of the nearest metal slab take hold of his arm. There was no turning back now. He braced himself as he was hauled bodily forward by the invisible force and slammed hard into the metal wall, pinned on his left side.
He stayed still, gasping for a moment, stunned by the blow even though he'd been expecting it. Before he could move again Keld came into his view, the man's face studying him with a strange sort of smug curiosity. "What are you doing here?" he asked, "There's nothing you can do. You survived once, you should have let that be the end of it. You should've realized your luck wouldn't hold outa second time." He knocked on the wall, "That arm of yours has left you helpless."
"We have to stop you," Jevrem replied in a low voice.
"Stop me?" Keld laughed, "You aren't in a position to do that. And why do you care so much? You aren't Goskaran and you don't seem to know Astansuria. None of this affects you any more!" He turned to look out at the battle. "I'll rid the world of a few of those iron-hearted Goskaran savages you seem to love so much and gain more power in the process. There is nothing you can do, but since you came all this way, I suppose I'll allow you to watch." He waved off the anxious mages who'd run up behind him, so certain that the matter had already been resolved by the magnetic force, and resumed spell casting.
His demeanor so careless that Jevrem felt his ire rising. The man wasn't even gloating, he was simply stating what he saw as fact, and that was all the more infuriating. But this moment of carelessness came with a price.
Jevrem hurriedly reached into his pocket with his free hand and fished out the gem Arvid had given him. One of the mages cried out in alarm, but he wasn't quick enough. Lord Keld only had time to turn and look as Jevrem jammed the gem into the casing on the back of his metal hand. A hand which, though held by powerful magnets, was frozen in a position that aimed generally in the direction all the mages stood.
Keld's eyes widened in surprise, but it was all he could manage before the gem activated, flashing a brilliant blue light that blazed across the battlefield. Time seemed to slow as Jevrem felt the familiar jolting pain of the magic shooting through his body.
Out of the corner of his eye, a flash caught his attention. It was the blazing light of the gem reflecting back off of metal, an axe to be exact, spinning through the air directly towards him. Even if he could move he wouldn't have had time to react, especially since the axe's speed increased once it entered the magnet's field. All he could do was watch as it whirled through the air towards him.
The axe struck true, driving blade first at a tremendous speed directly into Jevrem's outstretched left arm. Both the arm and the axe were obliterated by the impact. Jevrem reeled backwards but was unable to get away from the blow with his shoulder still stuck to the wall. He could only watch helplessly as bits and pieces of Senka's greatest work flew apart and plastered themselves to the side of the iron wall.
The moment he was cut off from the arm, the pain of the magic coursing through his body ceased. The gem, however, didn't show any signs of deactivating. The small bit of the hand that remained was still glowing fiercely. Light radiated off it in all directions until at last the power released in one enormous wave that crashed over everyone and everything on the battlefield and beyond and as it passed, everything collapsed to the ground and all fell to silence.
There were no sounds for an interminably long time after the magic's release. There were no shouts, no explosions, no roaring engines. The wind did not blow. Rocks did not fall. Smoke did not rise. Not a single living creature stirred. All was so still and peaceful it was almost terrifying.
Jevrem would've sworn that even his heart stopped beating for a moment.
Slowly, the soldiers from both sides began to stir, climbing awkwardly back to their feet in a daze as though they'd just woken from sleep. Murmuring rose from the battlefield as everyone attempted to regain their bearings.
Lord Keld was one of the first back on his feet, trying to rouse the mages that surrounded him. "What are you doing?!" he hissed, "Get them! They're helpless now!" The mages in response simply looked around in confusion. None of them looked terribly interested in attacking a helpless foe.
"Enough!" a voice bellowed from the battlefield below. Jevrem shifted himself somewhat painfully to see General Bojan standing in the middle of the carnage. Taking full opportunity of the quiet and confusion, his deep voice carried even to their ears up here on the hill. "We will not surrender to you now or ever!" he shouted, "You have attacked your own people and I will not see them slaughtered for your petty gains! These miners are under my protection! You will need to get through Goskar's finest warriors in order to harm them!"
Asif on cue, one of the crawlers' engines roared to life, the machine rising to back the general. More machines and Goskaran soldiers hurried to his side. The Astansurian soldiers, in comparison, seemed to fall to disarray.
Jevrem could only stare at the scene before him. It seemed almost surreal. His only intent had been to silence the magnets in order to give Bojan a fighting chance at stopping Keld, but he hadn't anticipated the power that the gem held. When he had used such gems in the past, he hadn't remained conscious long enough to witness the effect it had. The gem hadn't just stilled the magnets, it had stilled everything a tremendous radius around them, including it seemed, the passionate rage that fueled the fighting. Both Keld and Bojan were still prepared to fight as they each had something to fight for, but the soldiers had been under orders and when that drive dried up they were now forced to look at the situation with fresh eyes. Bojan's words had motivated his own men back into the fight, whereas now Keld's men had to question why it was they were fighting so hard to destroy their own land and people.
He wondered briefly if Bojan had actually realized this had happened and was taking advantage of the moment, or if he'd just reached a point where he genuinely felt the words he said. Either way it seemed the tides had turned. Many of Keld's men began to back away or outright run from the battle. Plenty still stayed, but their movements were hesitant, their faces confused, clearly their heart was no longer in it. Keld spent a moment more attempting to rouse his men to fight, but with their passion dimmed and terrifying machines of war bearing down on them, his words did little good.
Keld stood in disbelief, fuming, as his men scattered in all directions. He let out an enraged yell before suddenly whirling furiously around to where Jevrem lay sprawled on the ground.
Jevrem felt a flash of panic as suddenly the man's rage was focused solely on him. He attempted to get up, to run, but found it a lot more difficult than he'd anticipated. The gem hadn't knocked him unconscious like it had before, but it had still done enough. In the shock of what they'd just witnessed he hadn't noticed the pain running through his entire body, sapping his strength and making it difficult to move. He struggled in vain as Keld stalked forward, picking up an ornate golden sword from the base of one of the metal slabs and unsheathing it before holding it out towards him with a face full of rage.
He raised the sword high over his head and with a cry began to bring it down. Jevrem recoiled, but the blow was stopped midway. He looked up to see that Aina had appeared in between them, meeting the sword with a hand axe - much like the one that had severed his arm - gripped tightly in her fists.
He could only stare up in shock, wondering how she had made it here. She was suddenly such a confident, imposing figure. How had she crossed the battlefield without struggle? Perhaps like him she had been fully focused on her goal.
"You are becoming annoyingly predictable," she muttered at Jevrem over her shoulder.
"Sorry.." he said weakly, trying to hold back a laugh of relief.
Keld stepped back at the sight of her, but his expression betrayed nothing but anger. "You two," he growled, "I allowed you to live and this is how you repay me?!"
"If you're expecting me to thank you for the life you've given me, you're going to be waiting a while," Aina replied.
Keld barely seemed to hear her, bringing the sword down on her and yelling, "All this time! All this effort! You think it can all just be stopped?! You think you have the right to stop me?!" He began swinging the sword wildly directly at her head but there was no real thought behind the blows. They were pure rage. The axe Aina held was not as flashy as Keld's sword, but it was sturdily built and could block his blade easily. She didn't reply to his ranting.
As they fought, Jevrem attempted to kick his legs to push himself out of their way. Aina didn't need a distraction right now and the pain and weakness he felt made him rather useless at the moment. The remaining bits of his arm trailed across the ground as he scrambled for cover. He doubted Senka would be terribly upset that the limb had been lost once the truth of what happened was known, but Jevrem couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt and regret looking at his mangled appendage.
Keld didn't seem to notice that Jevrem had removed himself. He didn't seem to notice much of anything. His erratic attacks were only getting more chaotic and desperate. He was clearly stronger than Aina, but rather than attempt to fight back she let the axe take each blow, moving backward to lessen the force. At a glance it may have looked as though he were winning, driving her back, but he was the one who was showing the wear. His breathing was labored. His arm raised a bit slower with each blow. His steps began to drag. His wild swinging was wearing him out.
At last he heaved a mighty swing at her, missing entirely, which sent him stumbling to the side. Aina deftly stepped out of his way, finally bringing the axe up for an attack of her own. Keld's training allowed him to block her attack, but due to his fatigue he only just barely made it. Aina sliced at him with the axe again and again he blocked it, but one of his legs gave way and he dropped to one knee.
Aina struck again and for a third time he managed to block it, but instead of withdrawing, she pressed forward, forcing his own blade back until it was at his neck. Fear finally began to show on his face. "What do you want here?" he asked, "Will revenge really help? Killing me won't change anything."
She leaned in and finally spoke, "My parents died protecting me. Their fate was a terrible one, but they endured it to ensure I'd live. Maybe I didn't keep my life together very well, but I'd never have wasted it on thoughts of revenge. You brought this back up, not me. But I'll be damned if I let it happen again."
She pulled the axe away suddenly then brought forward again to knock the sword from Keld's hands. "Get on the ground and stay there!" she commanded. Keld hesitated a moment, but when he saw her grip on the axe tighten, he dropped to the ground.
Jevrem stared in awe. Lord Keld was subdued. The battle was done.