Chương 109: Chapter 108- The Gates

Astra called for a break to recover from the battle as her and Winterbrook made the unanimous decision to not press into the assault freshly bloodied. Elias had tried to get up to help, only to be pressed back down as both Astra and Cooper gave him a glare before Astrid set to pulling bolts out and patching him back up.

A soft glow of white light enveloped him as she worked, and he could see his health pool ticking back upwards even as streams flowed out to seal the wounds and start working on the underlying damage. Astrid grumbled as she worked, " You're worse than Sasha, never should have let her leave the village." She gave Eli a dubious look as she asked, " I doubt you are going to stay out of the battle and recover if I ask it?" Eli snorted and shook his head in the negative, Astrid sighed and rolled her eyes, " Typical."

The soft smile she tried to hide took the bite out of her words as she finished bandaging his wounds and stood dusting off her hands fixing him a stern look, " I topped you off enough that everything should set, but come see me before we march. Can't have you charging in like a damn fool with a quarter of a health pool." Her expression softened slightly, " The Lady isn't the only one around here fond of you Elias.

The nights around the cook fire would be lonelier without you, so take better care of yourself if you can. Rest until we have to move, healer's orders." She gave his shoulder a soft pat as she swept off to see to the rest of the wounded only to be replaced by a worried Tia who insisted on checking over his injuries personally, as she chittered away giving a play by play of what he missed from the battle. She was still at it as Sasha showed up with an armload of assorted weapons, Cooper in tow just behind her. …

and sparky-two-legs…" His name is Mason." That's what I said, sparky-Mason shot lightning into the trench and all five of them fell over, but that just put them in the range of my CLAWS! Eli laughed at the morbid scene of Tia miming how she dispatched the wounded men as Sasha strode over and dumped a load of sharp implements practically in his lap.

The spare poleaxe clattered to the ground first, only to be followed by a small waterfall of throwing spikes, bolts head, and small daggers as they clinked and clanked before settling into a pile. She leaned over resting her arms on her bowstaff as she grinning at him, " Got yer stuff, what did you do? Rob a quartermaster, or are ya just auditioning for the role?" Cooper barked a laugh in the background and he walked over to join them, " Aye, Lad's like a squirrel with his nuts he is."

He dropped into a squat next to Sasha, " You all right lad, gonna pull through?" Eli nodded, " Right as rain, at least in time for the next part." Cooper clapped him on the shoulder with a smile, " Good man. Fine work there by the way, don't have to aim if you chuck the whole armory in their direction eh?" Eli laughed, " Close enough, it isn't stupid if it works right?" Cooper chuckled, " Aye, as you say. Stopped by to give you an update since the young Lady is busy."

He turned to give Sasha an apologetic glance, " Would you mind giving us a minute Sash? I've got something I need to speak with the Lad about, man to man." She flashed them a smile and a jaunty wave before sauntering over to lean against a nearby tree and begin rubbing a bit of wax into her bowstring. Cooper sighed and gave Eli a pensive look for a moment before speaking, " I reckon since Lady Blackhall isn't here so that leaves this bit up to me, as much as I would rather not speak about it.

I know you hear the song lad, same as the young Lady." Eli snorted, " Given the whispers I've been hearing it hardly seems like it's a secret, at least not anymore." Cooper nodded, " Aye. One thing to suspect and another to know, and something entirely to have seen what it does to young men and women, ya ken?"" The song can be mighty, it can make you feel powerful, and in the right hands it can make you be powerful. It can polish a dull knife till it shines, or it can take the same blade and shatter it."

He leaned forward lowering his voice, " Worse it can tempt a man, lure him in, cause him to drink deep at that poisoned well." Cooper's eyes drifted into the distance a faint ripple of anguish remembered crossing his face before he turned back, his gaze sharpening into stern glare, " Today you drank deep Eli, I know the signs so don't try denying it, and you need to know the dangers you're flirting with."" There is a beast at the bottom of that well, one that relishes in blood and slaughter.

If you dwell too deep, it may not be you that climbs back out. You understand?" Elias gave him a wary nod as he considered his words, " I do Coop, and thanks. It's a part of me, and I doubt I can keep up with you all without it, but I'll keep your warning in mind." Cooper smiled as he clapped Eli's shoulder, " Aye, see ya do, we can't disappoint the young Lady now can we?"

He blew out a breath, " So on a broader note, we found the Watch at least part of it, you probably cut through a quarter of a shift on your own in that bunker. Winterbrook suspects the whole crew is less than a third of the Viscount's forces, but every bit counts." Eli nodded, " Casaulties?" Cooper grimaced, inhaling sharply, before blowing out a deep sigh, " Better than they could be, I reckon. A half dozen sent to the Ancients, and just shy of a score wounded.

Not many are as cut up as you are, but there are at least a dozen who will need to hang back out of the fighting. Orders from the Lady are to keep them with us, but only as a reserve to handle prisoners and the like, unless fate drops us in the chamberpot." He thought for a moment before continuing, " The patrol did a little better, only a few busted wings that should heal in time." He grinned, " You missed it, those clerks did some fine work.

Nothing fancy, but they actually have a few confirmed kills shared amongst them, who knew Skills for stabbing inkpots can work for stabbing guts?" Eli gave him a deadpan look, " Sure thing Coop, and you're just a chef right?" Cooper boomed out a laugh as he stood, " Aye, and best you remember it!"" We move in an hour, make sure you drag your leaky carcass down to the road ten minutes prior, but try not to bleed out on the way down, yeah?"

Eli nodded, chuckling as he waved the man off and watched the pair go, not missing the way Cooper mostly kept one eye on Sasha as he went about his rounds, nor the appreciative glances she sent his way when he wasn't looking. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes to meditate and recover what mana he could before they set back out, we all have our reasons to fight.

There were no more ambushes as they approached the valley, but with an abundance of caution the formation slowed and scouts were sent out once more. Especially now that it was apparent the cult was expecting them and there was no need for subtlety. Elias had topped up his health pool once more before they set out thanks to Astrid, and he and Tia had reloaded their ammunition from the spare supplies stashed in the saddlebags of Eli's ridgeback.

As they rode along at a steady canter, Eli nervously thumbed the edge of the axeblade on his second spare, as Cooper ribbed him about the 'Quartermaster' cheating on number three by lavishing attention on number two, and scolding him about how he should take better care of his steely harem.

The steady stream of dad jokes did help ease his nerves over the course of the ride, but the tension in Eli's shoulders returned as he caught the front of the formation milling about the edge of forest up ahead instead of riding down into the valley. The banter died as Cooper and Elias shared a look, before nudging their mounts to follow Astra as she rode to the front of the formation, pausing at the sight of the valley before them, the same as the rest of the men.

Eli looked down at the scene in confusion as he leaned over to speak to Astra in a low voice as she swore under her breath, " The translation magic isn't acting up, harvest is in late summer or early fall right? I'm not sure if the seasons are different here but isn't it a little early for snow?" Astra grumbled a hint of frustration creeping into her voice, " By all the Ancients blessings… No, Eli. Your magic is working just fine, there should be no snow for months.""

They must have an ice mage, and a powerful one." As they looked out over the expanse of the valley, gray clouds had gathered above, and a light flurry of snow drifted through the air, not quite reaching the treeline. The magic had clearly been in effect for a while as the ground within a few hundred feet of the forest was clear, a light dusting drifted over the majority of the valley.

As the low granite mound below the fortress of the Viscount's estate rose in the distance, it was ringed by an area of heavy snowfall with drifts piling into several feet in some places. Astra sighed looking to the sky in worry, " I would give nigh anything to have Mira here with us in this moment." Winterbrook sidled up next to them with a heavy frown on his face as he took in the scene himself.

He gave a dissatisfied grunt before speaking, " Small blessings that we arrived with mounts, climbing the approach in this muck on foot would have been a disaster, even mounted it will slow the charge."" I expect a mage powerful enough to maintain a cloud pattern this widespread will probably be able to generate some strong winds to throw projectiles off course. I suspect we are probably seeing the result of their anti-siege planning." He gave a soft hum of appreciation, " A good choice, really.

Winds to deter siege weapons, cold to weaken the troops, and water is a decent counter for a fire mage which, given our allegiance, they would have to expect we would be bringing a few." Astra frowned as she glared at the castle ahead, " I do not much care for intelligent foes Captain Winterbrook." He barked out a laugh, " Aye my Lady, neither do I." He eyed her with a sideways glance, " Does our plan need to change, can you still fell the gate?" Astra turned to give him a confident look, " Aye Captain.

The Viscount is about to learn the difference between a simple fire mage and a child of the First Flame." Sasha quietly chuckled in the back as Astra turned to look back at the fortifications with a fierce grin, " Her paltry wind will matter naught, those gates will fall, you can count on that."

Elias and Astra slowly crawled up the back of a low hill as the formation sheltered behind it. Eli found himself oddly grateful that his armor closed up to the neck as he pushed through the snow as they approached the crest of the hill. Astra had borrowed a cloak from one of the scouts to cover the dull gleam of her armor, but Eli was able to pull up the hood and mask and test out the natural effect of the armor for the first time.

As he sent out a thin trickle of mana to connect to the leather of his armor, and watched in wonder as it slowly shifted into a soft gray over the course of a half minute or so. Even more so when he laid down into the snow to begin crawling slowly shifted into a dirty white to match. Elias shook his head in wonder at the memory, with all the crazy bastards and monsters roaming out there, it's easy to forget just how amazing this world is sometimes.

They reached the crest of the hill and as they settled into watch a third form, silent as a whisper settled in beside them. Cooper and Mason had refused to allow them to go ahead unaccompanied and had sent Sasha with them while the rest of the guard waited behind at the foot of the hill, mounts in hand for them to finish their work. Astra pulled a small tube from her belt, a spotting scope she had borrowed from the same scout that had given her the cloak, as she joined Eli and Sasha in surveying the fortifications.

Eli triggered [Eagle's Eye] and panned his gaze over the ramparts as he whispered, " No alarms at least that's something." The gate was closed as expected, and as they watched the patrols along the wall there was a casual alertness but no sign of preparations, no rush of soldiers racing for battlestations.

Winterbrook had proven right as there were more troops on the wall than would be expected for a standard watch, including one giant bastard of a man that had to be at least seven foot tall on top of the gatehouse. Astra whispered back, the cadence of her words having the feeling of a lesson passed down by Mira, " Aye, snowfall is a double edged blade. Protects your position, but absorbs sounds and shortens visibility.

However, one should always assume that one of the watchmen has an optical Skill and maintain proper stealth protocols until you are sure that your cover is fully blown." Eli snickered quietly, " And are you planning on utilizing stealth?" Astra snorted in amusement as Sasha shushed her, " No, that is your specialty, fire and fury is mine."

She slipped the telescope back into her belt and shuffled back from the hill crest a bit before rising into a low crouch, her stance wide as she braced for the recoil and cupped her hands at her waist as she lined up the shot. The gate stood almost a quarter mile distant, yet nothing but confidence emanated through the tether, well nothing other than a faint tremor of rising excitement at the anticipation of the thrill of battle.

Taking one last look at the battlements, Eli and Sasha shuffled backwards until they could rise in a low crouch while being hidden from the crest as they turned to watch Astra charge her attack. Elias flicked on his [Mana Sense] to watch the flows, not wanting to miss a chance to see an honest to god bunker buster in action.

As he watched the energy flow and gather in the air between her palms as she crouched on the top of the hill, for just a moment a thought flashed through his head as her stance reminded him of a certain monkey tailed warrior from a cartoon he remembered from his childhood. Eli smirked to himself as he suppressed the ripple of mirth from traveling down the tether, man my life is so frigging weird these days.

As the brilliant crimson of the fire mana condensed into a large pointed lance, covered in faint runic etchings glowing in a soft orange yellow glow, Eli could not resist rising just a little higher to get a better view. He figured that in a few seconds stealth would hardly matter anyways, and out of the corner of his eye caught Sasha shrugging before standing to join him. He arched a brow as the flows grew heavier and denser, a low whine filling the air as the construct vibrated with barely restrained power.

This was his first time seeing such a dense construct, and definitely the first time seeing Astra cast one, his excitement rose in anticipation, as he felt a measure of pride in the strength of his partner. Eli almost missed the spectacle. Astra gave a strained gasp, parting her hands at the construct rocketed outward in a flash, a pressure wave rippling outwards from its passage that was only visible in retrospect as the event was over in the blink of an eye.

One moment the construct was in her hands, and the next a brilliant streak leapt forth connecting with the gate as Eli blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blue-white after image burned across his vision. The shock froze him for a moment as he took in the scene of destruction, but the wild cackling laughter from Sasha brought him back to the present as Eli watched wooden gate shatter and rocket back into the courtyard, and the portcullis that had been lowered in front of the gate slough to the ground.

A hole had been punched through the center as if a massive comet had blasted through it, and the surrounding metal had been heated to a brilliant reddish white hue that was slowly dripping and falling to the ground. A wild grin spread across Eli's face to mirror Sasha's laughter, ok so my girlfriend is a walking talking railgun. As panicked shouts sounded in the distance, and the cooling pieces of metal pattered down into the snow, steam billowing to the sky in their passage, a horn sounded from behind the hill.

Mason led the charge up the rise, Cooper and the rest of the guards following in his wake as they brought their mounts so the trio could join the charge. Elias's excitement tamped down slightly as he steadied his nerves for the battle ahead, the drums in chest uncoiled, picking up a low beat as the faint sound of hymnal chanting drifted along the tether from Astra. They shared a glance as they turned to race down the hill to their mounts, it's time to put these bastards in the ground.