"We need to step in," Taverous said to King Melidarius, emphasizing his words. He pointed out across the battlefield. "The eyes of the Talurian people have turned from you. Their fight is against Balar. The same enemy that threatens to unleash certain death against your army once he finishes with them."
The two men, along with the rest of the Merkadian Army, watched as the Talurian fortress had come to life, struggle erupting within their own walls. But, now a sudden silence—an ominous lull.
"They regroup now, but he will destroy them," Taverous continued, "And once he has gathered energy from their deaths, he will have enough power to attack," He motioned to his three Tearanei companions, "And collectively, we still, will not have enough power to defend against it."
Melidarius remained silent, squinting at the eerie Talurian stronghold. General Vyker, along with the chieftains and the royal children, all stood waiting.
"Your command, Majesty?" Vyker asked.
Melidarius let out a long sigh, "Ready the troops."
Vyker clapped his hands together and yelled for his officers. The chieftains scramble to gather their forces. Taverous nodded his approval and herded in the Tearanei for counsel.
Prince Kaillum approached his father. "It is the right thing."
"I know, son. Another labor of leadership." Melidarius clasped his eldest son's shoulder. "One day my son...one day."
Kaillum smiled and playfully nudged him. "One day...far, far from now."
Dageros butted in. "What are we all talking about?"
Kaillum laughed, "Nothing to trouble you, my little brother."
Dageros flashed multiple copies of himself, all of which stood cross-armed glaring at Kaillum. "I may be young, but I am many."
The three laughed.
* * *
"Fall into formation!" Vyker yelled out over the lines of troops.
Shaymesh and Arclite were leading the two companies. Vyker had stayed with the King. Taverous, along with Lasal and Mathis, had taken position along a mostly-intact section of tall housing, gaining them a vantage point for any needed magical assistance.
Vyker raised his voice higher to address his forces. "We have a need to fight alongside the Talurians. A greater enemy is before us and, if the Talurians fall, so shall we." A wave of negative comments flowed through the ranks. They didn't comprehend. The Talurians were the enemy of the entire continent—the longtime evil among the tribes. "I don't expect you to understand this. I expect you to trust in your leadership and follow orders. We know what is needed." Vyker motioned to Shaymesh, who proceeded to relieve the General and take up the pre-battle rallying.
As the old Captain shouted barbaric war cries at the men, Vyker turned to find Kaillum standing a way off, splendid in his royal platemail.
Kaillum met Vyker's gaze and walked to him. "I'm taking command of one of the companies. You can choose."
Vyker started to form an argument, but Kaillum's eyes showed fierceness that the aging General had not seen. The boy Prince was becoming the man who would one day rule. "Very well. Take Shaymesh's forces. He will be honored to secede to you."
Kaillum nodded. "Alright."
A sudden fury of noise broke the silence of the battlefield. It came from inside the Talurian Keep. Taverous relayed a message to Arclite with some kind of unspoken communication the strange magic users had. The fighting had started again.
It was time.
"Your highness?" Vyker cocked his head.
Kaillum smiled, understanding. "Attack!"
The wave of soldiers fanned out across the battlefield making for the gaps in the wall that had formed during the first bout between Balar and the Talurians. Arclite's forces ran along the left and Kaillum's down the right. They expected confusion on the part of the Talurians when first entering the Keep. They will assume more enemies to fight. The Merkadians will have to quickly make a show of action against Balar and his forces. If obvious sides were not drawn, the casualties would escalate uncontrollably.
Kaillum calculated their distance from the walls, taking care to add time for navigating the twisted wooden palisades. Nearing the entrance to the outer defenses, the air seemed to thicken.
Kaillum's feet slowed.
He looked to his left and to his right. The whole line of forces was slowing. Not moving less, but stuck running in place. A few soldiers stopped and took a step back, and with a foot's distance behind, normality returned. Kaillum tried the same, then lunged forward again, but hit the same sort of barrier.
Arclite looked in his direction and then both looked back to Taverous, who was already working a counter spell with his companions.
"Balar," Kaillum mouthed the name. Arclite nodded. "At ease! Kaillum shouted out over his soldiers. "There's no way to force our way through. Save your energy."
* * *
Thandril and Arteus ran at the wall of undead, remnants of the Talurian army steps behind. This was their last attempt. Thandril watched his creations run ahead of them, showing a speed unknown to humans.
Balar's undead waited, poised with their swords held high.
Staffwielders aimed their weapons. Once in range, their staves unleashed bolts of death magic. The forest beings took the brunt of the assault, losing limbs and chunks of their torsos. The advantage of being a creature of life and not of death was the ability to re-grew missing pieces.
By the time they reached the undead, they were once again whole.
Thorns the size of broadswords grew from the Forestials' arms, landing in the chests of the undead. Thandril was next, and barreled through, splitting the line into two sections. Arteus' blade fell upon four of them before they could regain their footing. The rest of the Talurians troops entered the battle. They fought with the strength of a force triple their size, but that would still not be enough.
Balar roared, sending a ripple across the courtyard dropping the Talurians to their knees.
The undead lashed out with the advantage and drove their blades into disoriented troops. The surviving warriors managed to deflect the blows but were pushed back further. An unexpected, mental hiccup occurred throughout the undead. Something had caused their controller to lose focus.
Balar was distracted.
The remaining Talurians regrouped. Shouts could be heard coming from outside the Keep.
"The Merkadians?" Arteus breathed heavily. His left arm limply hung at his side. "They sure know how to take advantage of a situation."
"They are coming to help." Thandril grabbed the Captain's arm. "You alright? Let me see."
Arteus laughed. "They are helping themselves to our remains."
"I've an understanding with their leaders."
"What?" Arteus pulled his arm away. "Was that where you were when I couldn't find you?" He glared at the druid. "Have you delivered us into the hands of our enemies?"
"Balar is the enemy," Thandril said, "He created the disease that threatens us. It gives him power, and he will use that to unleash an attack on the Merkadians. The man Balar seeks to destroy is his own brother, whom he will sacrifice anything to defeat. We will all be dead if he is not stopped. They set up a temporary alliance with me, to kill Balar." He scanned the crowd, looking for the dark magician. "Things have become more complicated."
"And when were you going to tell me all this?" Arteus asked, looking sincerely hurt.
"I'm sorry. I should have brought you in on it. We had limited time." Thandril shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. If we still stay alive until the Merkadians arrive, we might stand a chance."
"I'm not so sure they will make it." Arteus pointed through one of the broken segments of the wall. The Merkadians were rushing at the invisible force field, unable to penetrate it. "I guess Balar thought they might do that."
Thandril gritted his teeth. "He seems to keep doing that."
Balar rebalanced his attention and again the undead were taking the offensive.
* * *
"Damn it," Sweat beaded on Taverous' forehead. "I can't break it."
Mathis and Lasal added their strength. "He planned every bit of this." Taverous squeezed the words through gritted teeth. "The ward is too strong to be an immediate spell. He worked on this for some time!"
"Steady," Mathis said, "You can break it. You'll find a way."
Taverous shifted through the intricate weave of magic, pulling strand after strand, with no progress. "Wait. I have an idea." He followed along the path of the shield until finding the end and then moved his mind across the back. "It's strong at the front, but there are weak spots behind. One more minute. Hold on...Got it!"
A hum echoed over the battleground and a weight in the air dissipated. Taverous smiled and then slumped down to his knees, exhausted. "This brother will be the death of me."
* * *
Kaillum reacted instantly, sprinting for the Keep. His soldiers right behind. He saw Arclite and his company approaching from the far side, some of the faster runners were already picking their way through the debris of the wall. Renewed, he let out a howl and moved even quicker. This day would be theirs—one way or another.
In moments, Kaillum reached the perimeter. He jumped and climbed over the crumbled masonry. The inner yard was overwhelming to the senses. He tried to take in the situation. Groups of undead soldiers under Balar's command dotted the court while strange, treelike people fought alongside the Talurians.
The scale was tipped in Balar's favor, but they were there to change that.
"Form up!" Kaillum shouted to his arriving soldiers. "We move on my mark." He saw Arclite's forces grouping to the north of them.
Then, in the chaos of soldiers ahead, Kaillum saw Thandril. The man fought with devastating strength, yet held a chilling calm on his face. Kaillum was glad they were the same side today.
Kaillum saw Arclite start to charge.
"Now!"
His wedge of soldiers slammed into the line of undead, giving the Talurians a moment to breathe. They struck out in unison, dropping the front line to the ground. Kaillum noticed some of his troops exchanging friendly nods to the scattered Talurians. A shadow crossed over Kaillum. He turned to find Thandril standing next to him.
"Glad you could show," Thandril said, passively.
Kaillum grinned, "Sorry it took longer than we expected."
A shrill whistle shot through the air and, as commanded, the undead retreated to their Master. Arteus joined Kaillum and Thandril, and together, they watched the remaining undead huddle back into the far corner of the courtyard. Behind them, were the Staffwielders, followed by a circle of the six-armed warriors, and at the center was Balar. All stood at ease, but Balar was hidden from view.
Kaillum, Thandril, and Arteus started to inch forward.
Kaillum saw Arclite moving out of the corner of his eye. The Tearanei was carrying what looked like a spear and shield, but they were made entirely of shimmering energy—another spell. The use of magic caught the eye of a pair of Staffwielders. With a flash, they hurled two bolts at Arclite. Their projectiles were blocked and absorbed by his magic shield.
This gained him more attention.
"We might be getting some distraction courtesy of my friend," Kaillum said, "This could be our chance to attack and push our way into Balar."
Thandril put his hand out to stop Kaillum. "No. We are too late."
Balar started to float from the circle, his staff twisting in the air. Unheard words dripped from his mouth.
A hazy green fog started to flow from him.
Kaillum heard Arclite yelling to his troops to retreat.
This is it. The attack that Taverous had feared; the attack that would kill them all.
"No!" A shout rumbled the courtyard, followed by a bright dart of light. The object sent Balar crashing into the wall.
A quivering Taverous stood over his body, cradling a bloodied fist.
The small amount of fog dissipated as quickly as it had started to spread.
Balar stood to his feet. A stream of blood trickled from the side of his head. "Almost brother. I was this close to having the incantation done." Balar held his fingers apart. "Now, I'll have to kill you and do it all over again." He spat. His tone carried annoyance more than anger.
Taverous took a deep breath, stood tall, and pushed his shoulders back. "I am as ready as I am going to be."
And with that, Balar launched himself at his brother while his undead charged the Merkadian and Talurian army.
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