Chương 16: Chapter 15

"Quickly now! Only take what you can carry! Your lives are more important than some trinkets!" Thoradin shouted over the noise of the evacuation.

"You know not all of them will make it." Lordain said quietly. It was sobering that the most hopeful and faithful of his friends was the one to point it out.

"I know. But we have to try. We can't leave them to the trolls." Thoradin replied somberly.

"They're going to be here in less than an hour, and I'm not going to leave my people to the savages. Did you know the Amani raided and cannibalized an entire tribe when the elves were shutting down their supplies? I'm not letting the same to happen to my people. To Ignaeus' people." Alterac was their friend's homeland, and these were his people. Lordain was quiet for a long moment.

"There is a way to save more of them." He finally said.

"Some of us stay here to delay the trolls." Thoradin looked at his friend in shock and surprise. He knew Lordain meant to lead the rearguard personally when making the suggestion.

"You know I would never ask that of you." He finally said.

"I know. That's why I offered. We both know it must be done, even if you're too damn noble to ask." Lordain allowed a small smile.

"I already put the word out and some of the others, the older folk and those without family, will be staying with me." Thoradin looked on the man that had become one of his closest friends and most reliable allies for several minutes before speaking. They both knew anyone staying to delay the trolls would not be surviving.

"Die well brother." He vowed to honor his friend's sacrifice when he got the chance.

The ragged and tired refugees dragged themselves through the gates. Thousands of civilians, women, children, and elderly. There wasn't a single man of fighting age in Alterac that hadn't already joined the army.

"Thoradin! I was getting worried." Ignaeus bellowed as the huge man strode closer, picking up an old crippled woman that had dragged herself to the gates but would not be able to get any further, the last of her strength having left her body at the idea of safety.

"The troll scouts have already started harassing our own."

"I know." Thoradin grunted, bone-tired.

"I personally killed many of those that tried to attack us." Ignaeus looked around the refugees.

"Lordain?" He asked, his voice telling Thoradin that he knew the answer.

"Stayed behind to delay the trolls." Thoradin confirmed, too tired and too numb to muster further emotions.

"I suspected. Stubborn old bastard." Ignaeus looked towards the guards.

"What are you standing around?! Help these poor people in!" A pair of stout guards lifted off the three children Thoradin had been carrying, the kids so quiet that he'd almost forgotten they were there. The kids were too stunned and in shock to really react.

"Not as many as I hoped." Ignaeus said quietly, gesturing towards the refugees.

"We didn't get to all the villages in time. Luckily some had been smart enough to evacuate even before we arrived. Some stubborn holdouts, but not too many." Thoradin shook his head. His warriors had been enough to keep the troll scouts from overtaking the refugees they saved. They were not enough to reach every village before the troll scouts though.

"Not too many soldiers." Ignaeus said grimly.

"And many of those that we have here are either too old and past their prime, or too young. Some haven't even shaved or felt the touch of a woman yet."

"Too many of ours in Silverpine. The trolls caught us with our pants down. We have our forces split, while they don't have that problem. We've had to send too many of ours to spread around to defend against those trolls that could simply bypass us as well." Even if they holed up in their fortress, they weren't closing off a strategic pass, so there was little stopping some of the trolls simply marching past them, which is why they had to send some troops south and west to stop such strays.

He noticed one of the elves walking towards them. It still struck him how every elf seemed almost supernaturally graceful and beautiful. They also tended to be smug and full of themselves, though not entirely without reason. You could learn a lot when living potentially thousands of years.

"Look sharp. One of the Quel'dorei is coming our way." Thoradin whispered. Ignaeus turned to look at the incoming ambassador. A representative from one of the most important families apparently, and a friend of the Queen's.

"King Thoradin. I'm pleased to see you yet live." The man of indeterminate age sounded genuinely relieved, although Thoradin knew it could be fake. The elves were quite adept at pretending.

"Barely. And not necessarily for long. The trolls are right on our heels and will have us surrounded by tomorrow." He was rather direct in his response.

"Well, I do bring some good news on that front. Your one hundred have been returned and are stationed in the fort, though kept out of sight for now. Their education is far from complete, but they should be an asset in the upcoming siege. I also bring supplies to make things easier." The ambassador from House Salonar said, and that did sound like good news.

"Supplies?" Thoradin asked, looking towards Ignaeus, who nodded.

"Yeah. They apparently have these magical bags that are much larger on the inside than outside. Explains why their warbands can travel so light. He brought several such bags, filled mostly with food and medicines. They should keep us going for a week and a bit. A bit further if we ration things." The old chief of the Alteraci tribe explained.

"On that note." The ambassador interjected.

"The Autarch has a question. How long do you estimate you will be able to hold the fort?" Thoradin frowned.

"Why? I was under the impression that your people wanted to wait until spring and avoid a direct battle?" A decent strategy until the trolls pulled a fast one.

"That's exactly why. The Autarch is leading relief forces towards us, but many of our troops have already spread out to cause maximum damage with raiding. The longer you can hold the fort, the more time she has to gather those scattered forces to march here. In addition, the more spent the trolls are from the siege, the more effective the counterattack." The ambassador explained.

"Also means more of our lives lost in the siege." Ignaeus growled.

"True." The elf acknowledged without any break in his composure.

"But arriving here with too few troops wouldn't accomplish the goal either and if we lose during the attack, then we're all in trouble. The good news is that our new camp at the border of what you call Eastweald isn't too far from here, and we already sent a quarter of our forces to cut off troll reinforcements from their temple cities in the southeast. Those forces can quickly be picked up while on the march. It's our cavalry and Farstriders scattered all over Westweald that are the problem."

"We do not have excessive experience defending sieges either, so I can't make solid promises, but if you really did bring us supplies aplenty, then I can promise a week. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to finish construction on the place, and that will leave weak spots. Fortunately, the trolls don't seem to have much experience in sieges either." Thoradin finally gave an estimation.

"Yes, we discovered the same during the siege of the Thalassian Pass. We also made sure none of them escaped to teach what little they learned to others." The elf gave a wicked grin at the thought. The Quel'dorei really seemed to hate the trolls, and he now shared the feeling, even if he didn't derive quite at much pleasure in their destruction. Maybe his attitude would change with how many of his people had been lost.

"Any tips to share?" Ignaeus asked.

"Not too many that can be implemented at this point. Two warnings. Keep their dire trolls away from your gates, and keep in mind that they have magic that allows them to scale the walls, though not in great numbers. They sent their strongest up our wall, though not with too much success as the Autarch cut down their chieftain in single combat." It was quite obvious the elves were all proud of this Autarch of theirs.

"The more I hear about her, the more I want to fight her." Ignaeus joked, though he was only half-joking. He really did enjoy challenging other warriors in combat. The elven ambassador got a sort of odd smile.

"Ah, well, my brother has fought the Autarch several times over the years, and from what I can tell, he did not enjoy his time. He described it a frustrating experience."

"Ah. One of those." Ignaeus huffed.

"Well, if we want to be rescued by you in a week, we need to prepare for the siege."

Thoradin had been right in his estimation. The troll forces arrived the next day, spending most of the first day of the siege setting up camp in the valley. Alterac Fortress was constructed in between mountains in a roughly Y-shaped valley. A large river ran though the valley, down from the Westweald 's Darrowmere Lake going south, eventually winding through Hillsbrad Foothills, and eventually letting out in Southshore.

On the other side of the Y was the western road towards Strahnbrad and the heartlands of Alterac. The fortress itself was located between the paths to south and west. The location of the fortress was not an accident. Even if it didn't cut off any roads, the fortress itself closed off a path into a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides except the path cut off by the outer wall. The valley itself was quite large, leaving plenty of space for buildings like the keep and barracks, as well as supplies and people.

Even with all the refugees, there was no danger of running out of space. The wall was built into a curved shape that offered as little space for attackers as possible, while allowing any archers on one side of the wall to shoot on the opposite side of the curve, leaving no dead angles for defenders. Thoradin would've liked to build another defensive wall just in case, but they didn't have time. The wall also wasn't as high as he would've hoped, but they had run out of time.

The keep, stationed just beyond the wall, loomed over the wall, allowing anyone stationed in the keep's towers to shoot over the wall. And at least the wall was thick and sturdy, at least mostly. There too their work had been unfinished and in certain places the wall had been reinforced with large log struts just because they didn't have time to finish reinforcing it fully with stone and mortar. The trolls made camp at the bottom of the valley.

Another reason this location had been chosen was because the trolls would be forced to attack uphill to reach the fortress, and eventually any allies striking the troll in the back would be able to attack down a rather steep incline. Wisely the trolls had camped near the river and outside of the range of the walls. That was the downside. The valley was large enough that the entire troll army could comfortable camp inside without getting shot at. And there were a whole lot of trolls.

"They brought almost their entire force, didn't they?" Thoradin asked rhetorically.

"There has to be at least ten times as many troll warriors than we have soldiers." They had about forty thousand soldiers defending the fortress.

"Considering they lost a third of their forces attacking the elves, yeah, that should be most of 'em." Ignaeus retorted.

"You might've been a bit hopeful when promising a week."

"I'm banking on the fact that they have even less experience attacking fortified positions than we do in defending them." Thoradin explained with a small shrug.

"That, and I hope our new mages can help us."

"Just remember the elf's warning." Ignaeus grunted.

"They have more experience in these kinds of things."

"I know. I just hope that when we do go through with our plan, we'll be able to seriously cut down on the troll numbers." Thoradin nodded. The ambassador had told them that if the hundred combined their magic into a single powerful attack, the results could be spectacular, but the trolls would also quickly make sure they wouldn't be able to do it again. The elves had more experienced in such combined spellcasting, including several ways to make such things impossible.

There were always counters to counters, but the hundred were not yet capable of such finesse. They had learned to deal death in the few months they'd been trained, but not yet the complex knowledge required for a magical arms race.

"The only good thing is the fuckers don't have too many of the bat riders. We'd be screwed if they did. Apparently the bat Loa isn't really that big among the Amani." Ignaeus commented.

It was the second day of the siege that the trolls made their first attempts to truly take the fortress. They tried to rush the fortifications with simple numbers, and with 10-to-1 odds, that might've worked if the trolls had known any siege craft. But they didn't. The trolls simply tried to climb up the walls, with some limited success. Any that did make it up the walls were quickly repelled, and the withering hail of crossbow bolts took their toll on the troll numbers.

Unfortunately for the defenders, they did not have the advantage of weapons enchanted to counter regeneration, so any wounds that were not lethal were often able to be recovered from. A crossbow bolt through the chest might've killed most humanoid races, but a troll would recover eventually if the bolt was removed.

There were some losses among the defenders as their walls were not high enough to stop the trolls from throwing their spears, but the walls still offered protection, and most of the defenders used shields, so the losses were fortunately limited. The third day of the siege saw the trolls test some ideas to deal with the walls. The troll shamans summoned elementals that did manage some damage to the walls, though nothing that was decisive. They had also constructed some ladders throughout the night.

The basic idea of using ladders in a siege was not a bad one, though the execution left something to be desired. Some of the ladders were too short to really reach the top of the walls, while others couldn't take the weight of several armed trolls trying to climb them at the same time. Others were broken by the defenders by dropping stones on them, courtesy of the unfinished construction, while others were pushed back. For a first attempt, it was a mediocre experiment.

The defender losses were similar to the previous day. The ladders returned on the fourth day, or night as it were. The trolls attempted to attack during the night, hoping the cover of darkness would protect them from both arrows and the destruction of their ladders. To an extent they were right. Shots that might have been lethal otherwise turned into wounds that could be regenerated from.

On the other hand, the defenders were more than happy to light the night using fire, tossing flaming bales of hay on the outside, and the trolls really didn't like fire. Not something that could be regenerated from by most trolls. On the other hand, more of the trolls made it on the walls, and thus increased the casualties among the defenders. The elementals also managed to break a section of the wall that had been unfinished.

Attacking over the debris wasn't much easier than scaling the wall, but it still became a hotspot for both the defenders and the attackers. Thoradin had to focus his most heavily armored forces on that part of the wall, and Ignaeus spent most of his time there as well. Thoradin decided to spring his trap on the fifth day.

As the trolls mostly bunched up to attack the collapsed section of the wall, the hundred mages joined their magic to create a huge firestorm just outside the walls and in front of the broken wall segment. The results were spectacular. Tens of thousands of trolls, perhaps up to sixty thousand by Thoradin's estimation, were suddenly incinerated in the conflagration, and the entire troll army pulled to a safe distance to reassess the situation.

The siege had not gone great for the trolls so far, almost a quarter of their number having been lost, though not without losses among the defenders as well.

Thoradin sat on the wall, his back against the battlements. His exhaustion was obvious. He knew he should've tried to hide that exhaustion, to be an example, but he didn't have it in him. He was too tired. For too many times, it was just his or Ignaeus' presence that had kept the trolls from taking over a section of the wall or the breach. Despite the easier day yesterday, thanks to the magic of the Hundred, he was still spent, and he wasn't the only one. Everyone was.

They might have the advantage of the walls, but the trolls had numbers. And they couldn't properly sleep because the trolls might repeat their attempt at a night attack. Ignaeus was resting close to him.

"Think the green bastards will try again today? Or did the magic-show yesterday give them a big enough black eye?" They heard the staff of the elven ambassador tap against the ground as he got close.

"I wouldn't rely on today being as simple as yesterday. The trolls might not have the magical training of Quel'dorei or even the training we've managed to give to your mages, but they're not stupid either. I can already sense the wards in the area against merging magical powers. They're crude, but effective. Anti-magic isn't as rare or complicated as most magisters would like it to be." The elven man stood over both exhausted humans.

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"Could you bypass them?" Thoradin questioned, sitting a little straighter but not bothering to get up, even if it was impolite. He was past caring about such things.

"If I had a dozen of my fellow magisters to join forces with, yes. But not alone. Besides, your mages are not going to be able to repeat yesterday's performance even without the wards. I'm sure the trolls are at least somewhat aware of that fact." The elf managed to look elegant, even if he too was tired. He'd been supporting them in the siege, even if not by using his entire magical repertoire. He'd mostly been conjuring things they were running out of.

Apparently he wasn't really a battlemage, but he might've been the only reason they hadn't run out of crossbow bolts, which might've been even more important.

"What do you mean?" Ignaeus asked with a frown. Thoradin already knew. He'd asked the Hundred if they could do it again and got an emphatic no.

"It's a little-known fact but casting magic places a burden on mages just like fighting does to warriors. The difference is that the burden is more mental, although not entirely. If you burn your entire mana pool, the burden can be rather intensive. It's not just about recovering the lost mana. The mental strain is hard to recover from. And just like with warriors that strain themselves when exhausted, trying anyway can result in permanent injury. Of the mental kind. It might be a bit more subtle, but it's there.

You don't want power-mad mages any more than burnt out ones. On that note, you shouldn't expect too much from your mages today. They can cast a spell or two, but any more risks repercussions. Use them when and where their magic will matter the most." The magister explained somberly.

"I got the same impression when I talked to the mages." Thoradin confirmed.

"They couldn't quite agree on the recovery time they need though."

"That's because it depends on the individual. You can be trained to get over the mental strain more quickly, though with a couple of exceptions, even our most highly skilled magisters would need several days to recover from something like yesterday. The good thing is that they burnt their mana in a single spell instead of constantly casting over the entire day. The mental burden should be easier to recover from. I would still estimate at least a week until the most gifted of them have made full recovery."

The elf looked thoughtful, his gaze looking over the battlements and into the valley beyond, though not really seeing anything.

"You mentioned exceptions?" Thoradin asked, mostly out of curiosity.

"Ah, yes. Our king is so gifted with fire magic that the burden on him is very minimal when using almost entirely that type of magic. The Grand Magister seems to defy most conventions on what's common. And then there's the Autarch. From what I've heard, she has trained to practical exhaustion daily since she was able to cast her first spells. From the sounds of it, she has little problem with recovering from mental exhaustion." That made sense.

As with anything tiring, constant training was usually the answer, and starting early made all the difference. Thoradin himself had trained as a warrior since young, and that showed. He could achieve feats most others could not. By the sounds of it, this Autarch had started even earlier, so it made sense she would be a similar exception. It also made sense the king and the leader of the magisters would be other such exceptions, especially in their specialty fields. Ignaeus frowned.

"Returning to the trolls, how are they stopping the combining of magic? You said they aren't very knowledgeable in the Arcane arts." The elf sighed.

"Unfortunately, you don't need to be. The combining of magic is inherently very delicate. It's also risky. Some of our greatest Spellbreakers could tell you a dozen different ways, and if the rumors are true, they could also use the connection formed from combining powers to strike at every mage involved, potentially even killing all of them. Even though you can do great things when combining your magic, it's very risky.

We're fortunate the trolls are so unskilled, or they might be able to retaliate in a much more dangerous way. And as I said, the sad fact is that you don't need skill in the Arcane to stop someone from casting magic. I suspect it is the troll witch doctors who are cutting off your mages from working together. They have rituals for many purposes, and all it takes is slightly disturbing the ambient mana if done the right way."

"Then why didn't they do so before?" Ignaeus asked what was really bothering him.

"Why wait until they lost so many?"

"Because while stopping your mages from repeating yesterday isn't difficult, it doesn't come without a price. Price they didn't need to pay before yesterday, because they didn't know you had the capability. That's why I told you to hide the mages. The trolls don't even use the ability against us most of the time. There's a simple reason for that. The price they pay is too high. For one, their witch doctors are tied to maintaining this ward, so you don't need to fear elementals today.

They likely also have to sacrifice something else, like the totems they are using as foci for wards. I'm not sure of the exact price since I don't know which method they are using." The elf speculated, his voice making it clear he was just speculating. Ignaeus continued frowning.

"But if they're aware our mages are out of the game today, why waste effort on the wards then?"

"Because they don't know if we used all our mages yesterday." Thoradin realized.

"They didn't know we had the capability in the first place, so they can't know we can't do it again. And they're betting on being able to finish this in a couple of days."

"And they're right." The elf nodded in agreement.

"We just have to hope the ending isn't the one they hope for. Either way, this ends tomorrow. Assuming we can hold today, of course." He looked towards Thoradin.

"On that note, did you manage to get word to your outlying forces?"

"I did. They can be ready tomorrow, though they'll get slaughtered if your people don't arrive tomorrow." Thoradin had pulled the forces defending Hillsbrad from any trolls trying to go south and the forces in Alterac closer to the valley. They'd managed to bring over many of the defenders of Silverpine over the lake separating Silverpine from Alterac. Not all of them, but a significant force. They'd be utterly slaughtered if no elven support came though.

"Good. Then we just need to hold today, and tomorrow morning. Our forces will be ready around midday." The elf revealed.

"You seem to be certain." Ignaeus stated more than asked.

"I'm in constant communication. The Autarch hates having her hand forced, but recognized the need for decisive action. And when she decides on something, she can be very effective." The two humans once again watched the Quel'dorei grin in a way that was more than a little unsettling.

"I hope your Autarch will be here soon. We won't survive another day like yesterday." Thoradin stated, watching over the valley as the trolls geared up for another attack. They had lost a large part of their heavily armored and trained troops defending the breach yesterday, when the enemy had thrown the dire trolls at the gap in the wall. The giant berserkers had not cared about the spells flung their way by the exhausted mages, nor the armor of the men defending against them.

They'd only gone down due to sheer attrition, the defenders losing ten of their own for every one of the monsters. And the worst part was that those had been the battle-hardened part of their forces. Now they were mostly left with just those that were too old and the ones too young. Those too injured to participate beyond holding a crossbow and pulling the trigger. If the trolls attacked today, Thoradin would have to order the civilians and the refugees on the wall to hold the line.

And he knew that would not end well. Only thing that would accomplish was a few more trolls dead before they all died.

"Perhaps a week was a bit too much to promise after all." Ignaeus showed a bit of gallows humor.

"It's alright." The elven ambassador didn't seem bothered.

"Look. It has already started." He pointed at the trolls milling about in their camp, as the order to attack seemed to be delayed.

"What's going on?" Ignaeus couldn't help but ask.

"Their scouts haven't returned." The ambassador explained with grim satisfaction.

"They can't decide if they should be worried enough to halt the attack, as they know they could win today if they push hard enough."

"You are certain?" Thoradin asked, staring at the ridgeline marking the border of the valley in the northeast. He couldn't see any sign of elven reinforcements.

"Don't worry. The Autarch is waiting for the right timing. She likes to make an entrance, and the best moment is to arrive at a timing where the trolls will have to fight uphill with the sun in their eyes." Came the clarification. The whole valley seemed to stand still, waiting for the right moment, before the trolls finally arrayed to attack the walls once again, apparently not worried enough about their missing scouts to halt the attack.

As the trolls started moving towards the walls, Thoradin could finally see a lone person cresting the ridgeline. He couldn't tell any details, but he soon heard what that was about. So did everyone else in the valley. A deep bass note of a horn being blown suddenly echoed off the walls of the valley, as if picking up in power and volume as the sound bounced off the mountains around them. And then they could hear the arrival of the elves.

Until now, something had muffled the sound of their approach, but now that something had been removed. The sound of armored feet hitting the ground in unison. The perfectly uniform ranks of elves crested the ridgeline and started to march downhill in their gleaming armor. The elves were arrayed into perfect squares of about a thousand soldiers per square, though their formation baffled Thoradin. It was like every other square of troops had been pulled back to form a second line of troops.

He didn't know the term for it, but he later learned that he was looking at a checkerboard formation. To his eyes, it only looked like there were unexplainable gaps in the formation. All the squares were formed with several ranks of soldiers armed with spears, swords, and large shields on the front, sides, and back, with archers in the middle of the square.

The squares in the frontline, and at the sides maintained this same stance, while the squares in the second row, plugging the gaps, only had their front ranks with their swords and spears out, while everyone else was holding a bow, with their melee weapons at their back. The army was also hugging the mountains on their right side, preventing any flanking maneuvers from that direction. Above them, hundreds of dragonhawk riders flew overhead, flying directly towards the bat riders of the trolls.

How had he not seen them before? The trolls let out a fierce warcry, before their forces wheeled around and started charging back towards the elves. Because they'd already been moving towards the fortress, they now had to go back downhill to their camp, ford the river separating the two sides of the valley, and then attempt to charge up the rather steep hill the elves were marching down with deliberate slow pace. Apparently the Autarch planned on using the higher ground to full advantage.

As the trolls reached some invisible line while charging uphill, suddenly dozens of huge stones were hurled over the ridgeline and into the charging trolls. These were not just small stones. They were huge boulders that kept rolling downhill, crushing trolls that were not quick enough to move out from under them, and as the trolls were surrounded on all side by their kin, dodging wasn't a simple affair. The boulders left huge gaps in the ranks of the charging trolls, as well as hundreds of dead.

"What in blazes?" Ignaeus muttered. The elven ambassador grinned.

"Just because the Autarch waited for the optimal timing, that doesn't mean our forces were idle." He said simply. As the trolls got closer, they suddenly had to contend with a deluge of arrows. With the majority of the elven forces pulling out a bow, even if all the shots didn't hit, shooting downhill at the gathered mass of trolls had a rather predictable effect. It didn't help that the trolls had already lost some of their speed after running such a distance, much of it uphill on uneven ground.

Eventually though, the troll ranks came into contact with the elven lines. As they did, the idea behind the formation became obvious. The 'gaps' were in fact no such thing. They were kill-boxes where any trolls that entered would be attacked from three different sides. And as the exposed sides of the squares were just as heavily equipped and armed, they weren't actually a weak point. In fact, they were formed with this kind of fighting in mind.

To these squares, it didn't matter which direction you attacked from, it was as if you were attacking from the front. There were no real flanks or rear. Of course, this placed a heavy burden on the corners of the squares, and the frontal squares were all under heavy burden as they were attacked from three sides, but that's where the whole formation showed its brilliance.

The formation offered clear lines of fire, maximizing the effectiveness of missile fire and magic, which in turn focused their fire on those exposed spots, taking away some of the burden that would've otherwise made things difficult.

"What are those people in golden armor?" Ignaeus asked, drawing Thoradin's attention to the elves in question. Every square seemed to have at least one at its center.

"Those are the Autarch's hand-picked force, paladins of the Light. They wield magic that both protects and supports those around them. They can also heal wounds, and most of them are formidable fighters on their own right. They are both the helping hand and the mailed fist of the Saint." The elven ambassador replied, with a tone that sounded a bit like some of the nature worshippers of Gilneas to Thoradin. Were the Quel'dorei religious in some form? He hadn't heard much about that.

He couldn't really see details from this distance, but he could tell that injured elves were pulled into the center of the square, and afterwards they either returned to the line or were sent back through the whole formation towards the ridgeline where they went out of sight.

"They can't heal everyone." He pointed out.

"Indeed not. They are skilled combat healers, but the worst injuries require the help of our priests and priestesses, and while they could heal some injuries, it would take too much mana, so they just stabilize those with too heavy injuries, so that they survive long enough to reach where the dedicated healers are located. And no one has figured out how to heal death." The ambassador explained grimly.

As the squares in the front inevitably suffered casualties, the squares in the center supplied those at the front with reinforcements. As Thoradin watched, one of the front squares was pushed heavily, the troll's focusing their ire on a single group of enemies. As it happened, the squares in the second line stepped forward as that square was pushed back, relieving the pressure, while the square that had been pushed hard rotated with one of the inner squares to move fresh troops into the frontline.

As the new square was in place, the two that had relieved the heavily pressured one stepped back into place in the second line, while the new Square pushed forward to take the vacated place with sudden heavy magical support clearing the way. The same thing happened in other places as well, seemingly with perfect synchronization.

"That's... I don't think we could manage something like that." Ignaeus admitted, not sounding happy about the admission.

"Even if we drilled for it, I don't think we'd have the coordination."

"Well, as it happens, the infantry has taken a rather minor role in our efforts so far." The ambassador explained.

"They've had plenty of time to train, and once they heard about the battle, I think they wanted to show what they'd learned. They wanted to prove that they were not just some ancillary force as our battles have so far been mostly fought by our rangers and knights, as well as magisters of course. They want to prove themselves."

"Well, they are getting the opportunity. And they're putting up a show." Thoradin stated. He could see that enough of the trolls had managed to get up the hill that the squares at the side of the elven army were now under attack.

"I suppose that's our cue to make sure the trolls are defeated today." He signaled at a very particular mage situated on the highest tower of the keep, who in response launched a fireball that exploded in the air. It was very showy, and it was also the signal they'd agreed on. The reinforcements he'd called from Hillsbrad and Alterac started moving in, attacking the now exposed troll rear.

Those reinforcements would not have been enough to challenge the trolls on their own, but with the intervention of the elves, hopefully they'd be enough. They didn't arrive immediately of course, and their arrival was noticed long before they made contact with the enemy, but at least they put some pressure on the enemy. As they watched some of the trolls move into position to meet these new arrivals, Ignaeus suddenly pulled on his shoulder plate.

"Thoradin. Is it just me, or does it seem like the troll leadership suddenly looks rather unprotected from this direction?" He narrowed his eyes as he confirmed what his friend had said. Indeed, the new arrivals had pulled out most of the forces that had been protecting what they'd identified as the leaders of the troll army.

"You're right. I believe this is our chance. Let's show everyone that we aren't just damsels in need of rescuing." He declared. Thoradin quickly gathered what was left of their experienced forces. He'd rather lead a smaller group of proper soldiers than a large group of people that would be nothing but a burden in a battle like this. They slipped out of the breach in the wall, and kept silent, moving as quietly as possible as they half-ran towards the trolls.

It was inevitable that they'd be spotted, as you can't really hide several hundred people even on a battlefield like this. Luckily the attention of the trolls was drawn by the sudden arrival of the elven mounted force plunging into the exposed flank of the trolls, left wide open by the way they'd tried to attack the side of the elven infantry.

"For Arathor!" Thoradin let out a rallying war cry as they were spotted, before leaping forward and plunging his blade into the heart of the nearest troll guard, his fellows picking up the war cry and attacking anything withing reach. The whole thing turned into a chaotic mess, as the trolls were clearly not prepared for yet another flanking attack, this time on their leadership. On the other hand, these were some of the best fighters the trolls had, even when caught by surprise.

Somehow Thoradin found himself close to the female troll clad in robes and a tiki-mask that he identified as the leader of this entire troll host. He drew deeply on the reserves inside him that sometimes allowed him to go beyond what he should've been capable of. With a ferocious cry, he leapt over the distance separating him from the troll warlord, intending to kill her in a single swing.

Before he could though, and enormous green hand seemed to materialize from the thin air and almost contemptuously smacked him from the air, sending him careening into a nearby rock. He couldn't help the grunt of pain as he felt something break inside him, and he could feel the stream of blood suddenly leaking from his lips. He grabbed the hilt of his faithful sword, and looked towards whatever had struck him, and was shocked to see the largest troll he'd ever seen.

The dire troll was almost twice as big as any he'd seen before, and it was covered in eerie tattoos that glowed with dark purple power. The creature's tusks alone were longer than he was tall, and its arms and legs were like tree trunks. He could tell the damn thing had been there the entire time, simply made invisible by the female troll's magic. Was that a tentacle on its chin and an extra eye on its forehead?

"What foul magic is this?" He managed to choke out. The troll leader walked closer to him. He couldn't see her face, but he could sense the smugness in the way she moved. As if the whole thing had been a trap. And perhaps it had been. A final fuck you before the trolls were wiped out. Suddenly streams of dark purple energy flew from the troll's arms towards him, and his world was filled with pain!

It was like his entire body was on fire, every nerve burnt with the worst pain he'd ever experienced, and he could feel the corruption seeping into his body. Defiling him. He could hear someone screaming in pain, and only vaguely registered it was his own voice. Then the pain stopped. For a moment. His eyesight had blurred, either from tears of just damage to his body and head, but he could see the power still focused around the troll's hands, and he could hear her laughing.

They didn't share a language, so no discussion was had, but he could tell the contempt of the woman in front of him, as she blurted out something that was no doubt an insult, before she raised her hands again, intent on repeating what had just happened. And suddenly that power just vanished. The troll woman just stared dumbly at her hands, and the large creature behind her screamed in what he assumed was pain and confusion.

The dark purple patterns on its skin seemed to go dim, and that didn't appear to sit well with the creature. He could blurrily see behind both of the trolls as figures in golden armor came closer, and one clad from head to toe in an ornate golden plate sheathed one of their two swords, flicked up a troll spear that had been dropped on the ground with one foot, before chucking the spear right through the head of the troll witch.

That seemed to get an even larger reaction out of the huge creature that was now trashing around in obvious agony. The golden figure got closer to him, coming to stand over his stooped and broken body.

"Get up, king of the Mon'keigh. Your story does not end on this miserable field. Time to make yourself useful." Despite the tone that was far from sympathetic, it was the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard. As he was about to attempt a protest over his inability to acquiesce to that order, he was filled with energy that seemed to heal all his pains and drive away his exhaustion. Even the old nagging pains of spending his life mostly fighting were suddenly gone, and his sight cleared in a way it hadn't in years.

He could see better than he ever had. First he noted that the person in golden armor looming over him was very, very obviously female, something even her full armor did little to hide. Only her eyes were visible from the gaps of her full helmet, and they were like nothing he'd ever seen.

Secondly, he noticed Ignaeus and the elven ambassador getting up nearby, having also been struck down earlier and getting support from the other people in golden armor, some similarly helmeted as the one that had helped him, while others, like the female one with black hair with white streaks that was helping Ignaeus, were fearlessly displaying their visage. Thirdly, he noted the battle was still raging around them.

It seemed the elven mounted soldiers had pushed through the trolls with a similar idea to his own, and were in the process of eliminating the troll leadership. Those in golden armor were healing their fellow elves and humans alike, while those in standard armor were forming a protective circle around their current location, striking at any trolls getting close enough. Apparently the death of their leaders took some fight out of the trolls, and they didn't seem too eager to approach.

That or the trashing monstrosity in the middle of the elven perimeter was something they didn't want to get close to either.

"Autarch. Your timing couldn't have been more appropriate." The ambassador greeted the woman in golden armor that had seemingly both saved and healed Thoradin.

"I couldn't exactly stay away when I smelt the stench of the Void." The woman replied in a stern voice, that somehow managed to still sound musical and almost poetic. The ambassador glanced towards the creature that seemed to slowly pause its trashing before starting to get up.

"Yes, I believe I know what you mean. We still have to deal with that creature, even if the master is gone."

"Sallah! Fa ishnu fallah'nah!" The woman, apparently the famed Autarch, issued commands in Thalassian, and the people in golden armor wordlessly spread around the creature as it got up. It seemed they were not afraid, as they had not struck it down while it was still trashing in pain. And he quickly got to see why. The golden armored warriors dashed in and out of reach, usually striking while the creature's back was turned.

The golden light surrounding their weapons seemed to burn the creature, leaving wounds that didn't seem to regenerate. Due to the thick hide of the creature, they struck at tendons and joints in perfect coordination, systematically dismantling the creature despite no words needing to be exchanged. Instead of fear, the golden warriors seemed eager instead, as if finally facing a foe they had been anticipating for a while.

One particular paladin, a female with pure white hair, had a grin on her face that was almost unnervingly eager for the battle. The Autarch herself was the most impressive. Unlike the others, she fought the creature from the front the entire time, bending and twisting around every swing of the thick arms of the creature, sometimes somersaulting acrobatically over the blows as her twin blades took out large chunks of the monster.

Finally, when the monster was spent, her blades were filled with a golden glow as she beheaded the creature with a twin strike from both of her blades, killing the thing without seemingly breaking a sweat.

"Alright, one voidbound creature less in the world." She commented simply after delivering the final blow.

"We still have a battle to win, and the trolls likely won't be nice enough to kill themselves. You know the drill. No surrender, no survivors. I don't want any of the troll army to remain by the time night is over." Every soldier surrounding them simply struck their chest plate with their fist, acknowledging the order. She was right. The battle was far from finished.

STATUS: Level: 10 5000/10000 EXP (+) 9 Base Points/2 Advanced Points/1 Mastery Points Body: 5/11 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Athletics 5 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Iron Lungs Heavy Weapons 4 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Cleaving Strikes Durability 3 Immovable object Reflexes: 5/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) (+) Light Weapons 5 (+) (1 Unspent Perk Point) Swift Strikes Nervous System 5 (+) (1 Unspent Perk Point) Keen Eye for Hidden Subtlety 3 Arcane Shots Charisma: 17/17 (+2 Max due to Eyes) (8 Unspent Perk Points) Politics 17 Competent Underlings Superior Subordinates Shared Vision Intelligent Improvisation Unleased Potential Unlimited Potential Above and Beyond Inspiring Loyalty Social 5 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Pleasure 1 Crafting: 2/12 Magical 1 Creation 1 Nature 2 Eye for Errors Eye for Improvement Bonesinging 2 Discipline: 6/12 (+2 Max due to Past Experiences) (1 Unspent Perk Point) Commander 6 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Battlefield Awareness Ambush Expert Cavalry Tactics Squad Leader 2 Sensei Soldier 3 One With Your Steed One With Your Steed II Magic: 6/13 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Light 6 Severe healing Baptism of Light I Baptism of Light II Arcane 6 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Massive Spells Master Conjurer Spellbreaker 5 (+) Magic Sight Anti-Magic Zone Projected AMZ