The reptiles dropped like flies.
"Bam, did you see that?" The Fire Witch asked with a satisfied grin on her face. She took them out effortlessly, waiting for my praise. She had to hold on to the sides of our carriage though, we still traveled at neck-breaking speeds. "I'm back in the game, Bullhead."
"About damn time you are!" I yelled, handling the reins. The raptors got tired and wanted to veer off to the side, I struggled to keep them on the road. Avalon still rode next to us.
"Can you slow them down a bit?" He asked, pointing forward into the distance. "The scouts reported that there is a deep canyon ahead. The only bridge across is the one we are heading towards, if we reached it before they caught up to us, it would provide defendable terrain."
"Defend? I thought we were to cut across the lizard's land, not to make a stand..." Ember complained, then changing topic, she threw that crimson crystal at me. I could barely catch it with my hands busy. It didn't help that the stone was surprisingly hot. "I couldn't figure out what it does after all. It did try to take control of my mind though. Maybe it has a domination spell on it or something telepathy-related..."
The way she announced it casually almost made me drop it.
"Are you kidding?" I asked, holding it as far away as I possibly could. Maybe the lizards were following this all along... But then, they attacked us before we got our hand on their crystal. "Are you all right at least? Can't lose our last spellcaster when they are this close..."
"I'm better than ever. These things can only work on the weak-minded." She claimed confidently. As she held on for dear life, it didn't make her too convincing, but we couldn't afford to slow down.
"Then do something about these reptiles," Avalon demanded. "We won't make it if they keep coming like that. The canyon is still ten miles ahead, but it's a hundred yards across and a hundred feet deep."
"Their numerical advantage won't matter on the bridge," I added, trying to run some calculations in my head. "We'd get at least a day if we managed to block it... They'd have to descend the cliffs, ferry over the small river, then climb back up on the other side..."
"Why bother? I can just burn it down for you..." Ember offered with a devilish grin. She was so young and had a cute face, but those eyes scared me. The flames dancing in them were way too intense. "We'll just take a different route on our way back."
"I wouldn't mind it this time, but it's a stone bridge and a massive one at that." I shook my head. I couldn't take out the maps but clearly remembered the markings. "It will still for a millennium."
"Oh, you wanna bet, Bullhead?" She challenged me. I didn't even feel like correcting her about my name anymore. "I have just the spell for that."
"Do as you see fit, just ensure we can reach it," Avalon warned her. The pavement was in a pretty bad shape, and the solid wheels jumped over them occasionally. We didn't include any dampening, these vehicles were as crude as it gets. And with the lizardmen hot on our tails, we couldn't afford delays or mistakes. "They are doing something."
They indeed were. Without a warning, dark clouds gathered over our heads. Considering we were cutting through arid highlands in the late summer heat, they appeared from thin air. A moment later, heavy rain started to pour down. The broken pavement of the imperial road became slippery in no time flat. I was worried, we'd collide with the others...
"Change the formation, travel in a zig-zag pattern, and leave a large enough gap to maneuver." I gave out the order and waved Avalon to ride ahead. "I think we should let the others overtake us and fight from the end of the convoy. Send back the archers to provide us cover too."
"Aye, Captain!" Avalon yelled back, nudging his raptor into a faster gallop. I pulled back on the reins. While I wanted to slow down anyway, it happened just in time to avoid running over some of our men.
The wagon right in front of us jumped into the air. It ran over a big trunk, growing from the middle of the road, then landed on its side, the orcs falling off and scattered across the road.
"Watch out!" I shouted and with my quick reflexes, reached one of them. I dragged one more onto our carriage, and two more pulled themselves up. I couldn't stop completely though, since these things had no breaks. Fortunately, the ones behind us managed to pick up the rest before they overtook me. I yelled after Avalon. "Make sure they avoid those obstacles!"
"Come on, just how many shamans do these lizards have?" Ember complained. Surprisingly, she pulled up someone too, although it was just a goblin. He was at the reins of the other cart and looked flabbergasted. They both grabbed onto the side now.
"Sir Gorgon, Captain, Sir!" He shouted desperately. "That thing grew out in front of us in a single moment. The road was clear, I swear."
"So that's what they were up to!" The Fire Witch yelled too. "This is no ordinary rain... They used it to promote quick growth in the roots between the cobblestones. They try to throw our wagons."
"Can't you dispel it?" I asked, picking up the pace again. We were now at the end of the column, from here, I could already tell that the lizards were too close. Soon they could have caught up to us, and the bridge was still too far. "They are on to us."
"I could try, but it's too much..." Ember shrugged, turning back to face me. "I need to keep my mana to deal with that bridge. This is not one shaman's doing, keep an eye out for more."
At least the old imperial road was wide enough to fit three carriages side by side, even if it would have been a very tight fit. But if we traveled in the formation I suggested, we'd have enough space to maneuver and avoid similar collisions. I saw the trunks grow out in front of us at impossible speeds, but so far we managed to drive around them.
The archers arrived to give us some cover too, and the Fire Witch seemed to have a plan. The road behind us was covered by a thick layer of water from the rain. I wished they would slip on it, but we weren't that lucky. They approached fast, running on all fours in a closed formation, and I couldn't waste any time.
"Fire at will. Aim for the middle, you can't even miss." I gave them the order, and I was right about that. They lobbed arrows into the tight lizardmen formation and hit a few. This still didn't stop them, the rest just stomped on their fallen comrades like it was nothing.
And there were so many of them. In the brutal first encounter, they had maybe five hundred from three villages, now I couldn't see the end of their column. Territorial or not, this seemed excessive. And to make things worse, the second wave of arrows harmlessly bounced off an invisible barrier short of them. The witch didn't mind.
"Found you!" Ember yelled and shot her magical missile at the crowd. I had no idea if it was a hit or a miss, but she sent a few more for good measure. A thunderbolt came down on us next, barely missing the carriage, but she deflected it at the last moment. "You're not the only ones who can cast a barrier. Take this."
Nothing seemed to have happened. Just as I thought, her spell was a dud, the first row of lizards suddenly stopped, or rather, they looked like they got smashed against an invisible wall. It soon shattered, only slowing them down for a few seconds, the sheer pressure from their formation was too much to handle. But the next batch of arrows hit true.
"It's at least four shamans near the first row." The witch claimed, firing off more of her attacks. "I wish I could burn them all in one go, but it's impossible in this heavy rain... The good thing is that it requires them to concentrate on it the entire time, so as long as you can avoid the obstacles, they can't do much else. I managed to take out two of them just now."
"Good going, keep it up." I praised her, knowing, that's what she expected. "We'll reach the bridge soon."
The archers could fire at them unopposed now. After two more volleys, their formation thinned out at the front, gaining us a few more seconds. No idea, how many arrows we have left though... The witch sent off firebolts, but she was uncharacteristically holding herself back. She used precision, rather than brute force, but it was working. The dark clouds slowly cleared up.
I could already see the bridge too. The highlands were effectively cut in two by the deep chasm. All that for a small river running in the depths. It was a serious obstacle, the front of our column just started to cross it, and the lizards were still about twenty yards behind us.
The massive stone arch was right ahead. We sped over it, but I could not imagine, how she was to deal with such a grand structure.
"Stop the cart on the other side. I'll need to concentrate on this one."
"What? They are too close." I protested but couldn't say no to those flames in her eyes. "You sure? The bridge looks pretty strong..."
"It will be great, stop right here." She demanded as soon as we reached the other side. I pulled back the reins, and the raptors came to a halt. The archers released their last volley of arrows, and I ordered the men to jump off. They formed a shield wall around us, finishing no sooner than when the lizard formation reached us. They rushed us on two legs now, spears prepared in their hands, but the Fire Witch stood confidently on the carriage, surrounded by the swarms of our enemies. She drew a large circle with her hands and started chanting...
"My name is Ember, the Fire Witch." She claimed. The air started to glow around her. "Remember this day, if you survive it. I'm the one who destroyed this bridge. I command the most powerful flames, shaming even the strongest spirits. I call upon Backfire!"
I couldn't hear anything after that. The blastwave and the air pressure burst my eardrums. I watched in silent awe how a massive fireball appeared from nothing. It wasn't just my eardrums, the expanding wave of pressure swept away friend and foe and threw gigantic boulders into the air. The bridge was unscathed in one moment and completely gone in the next, along with all the lizards, trying to swarm across. The fire turned into black smoke, shaping a mushroom in the sky...