Eight Intertwined

196 - Werner

The world around Olberic slowed to something close to a stop. The archers at the top of the platform had nocked a fresh set of arrows and were preparing to let them loose. Cyrus, Tressa, and Primrose were straining against the weight of keeping the barrier intact. Alfyn and Ophilia were bustling around trying to heal whoever they could out of the victims of the arrows. H'aanit and Therion were fighting to find a strategy that would defeat the archers in the face of their height disadvantage and failing numbers. For a moment, the battle seemed as if it was lost. 

And when Olberic blinked, he saw Hornburg. On the day of his home's fall, Olberic had been given no choice but to sit back and watch as the people he cared about most were torn apart. Erhardt had murdered the king just a few too many paces away, and Olberic had no chance of making it in time. In the aftermath of Hornburg's fall, the people of his city had been forced to scatter assuming they hadn't outright died in the invasion. Hornburg had been a proud, powerful place, but even all the pride in the world couldn't save them when they were backed against the wall by Werner's forces. 

Olberic had run from the destruction in Hornburg, and he hated himself for doing it. Realistically, Olberic knew that he wouldn't have been able to stop the fallout with his army destroyed and his ruler dead in the dirt. He couldn't undo the damage of the invaders, and even if he tried, he would have lost his life and the only hope Hornburg ever had in the process. Olberic still wished he could have stayed and done at least something to help those who needed him most. How many people had hoped he would be there to pull them from the chaos only to give up in the end when Werner's men arrived to put their homes to the torch? How many hearts had pinned their belief in the future on Olberic only to fall to pieces in the end?

Olberic couldn't let Werner defeat him this time... But how was he supposed to win the battle when Werner had already taken the upper hand? No one could survive an onslaught of arrows like that, and Cyrus' shield wouldn't last for too much longer even with Tressa and Primrose there to reinforce it. They needed a plan, and they needed it now. They couldn't let Werner win again, but what were they supposed to do when the danger before them seemed impossible to overcome?

Cyrus let out a pained cry as another barrage of arrows lodged against the barrier, and a few particularly strong arrows managed to break through the weaknesses in the shield. Harald barely had the chance to gasp before an arrow embedded itself in his shoulder. The force sent him staggering to the ground, and H'aanit swore under her breath before crouching to tend to his wound with what little apothecary experience she had gleaned from Alfyn. Olberic couldn't even bring himself to glance over his shoulder at Harald. He knew the sight would have ruined him, and he was on the verge of crumbling even without that little push toward destruction. 

Werner held up a hand to stop the archers, and Tressa quickly mended the damage in the shield. Werner didn't seem to care much for her though, instead glaring through the icy barrier at Olberic. "Ah, the Unbending Blade in the flesh!" Werner greeted with a chilling smile, and Olberic's blood ran cold, but it had nothing to do with the ice around him. Olberic had never met Werner before that moment, but Werner knew exactly who he was even without that. Werner had done his research before the fall of Hornburg, and Olberic wondered distantly if Erhardt was the one to tell him. Olberic didn't have the time to entertain the thought though, and Werner's lips twisted up into a grin that sickened Olberic even more. "The Unbending Blade of... Where was it again? Your sovereignty escapes me."

"Silence, you cur!" Olberic snapped back, and he was certain Werner could hear him even through the wall of ice between them. "I have sworn an oath to defend these people from your treachery!" He couldn't let the silence fall around him for longer than a breath. If it did, Olberic knew something inside of him would have snapped. He was right back where he had been on the day of Hornburg's fall. Even after all the work he had put in to try and save as many people as possible, Olberic had failed. He and the travelers had saved countless people, but it wasn't going to amount to much as long as Werner had something to say about it.