Altiris Knights:The Fall

Chapter 16:Siege

The uriaks scrambled up the walls, and many were shot down with waves of fire, ice, earth, light and dark energy, forcing them to slow down. The winged uriaks were another story, however. Most of them made it to within a dozen feet, before many were finally taken out.

With their feet glued to the platform by Akron's earth wielding, they only faced the danger from the winged uriaks. The rest of them simply could not scale the portion of the wall Rokal covered with ice, and were easy pickings for Irma and Reaza. Meanwhile, Akron and Rokal kept them covered from the winged uriaks, with moderate difficulty.

Some of the uriaks took to the other walls, which were completely free of ice, in a wide flanking attack. Rokal and Reaza turned on them, combining fire and ice. Many of the uriaks went down, but the rest kept going, and slowly, the two pincer attacks progressed, as more and uriaks were arriving faster than they were being shot down.

"We shall have to resort to melee soon!" Rokal said, unleashing another barrage of ice shards, taking down the frontal wave of uriaks. "And more are coming in through the doors! We have to collapse the entrance!" Reaza added, drawing her energy sword, cutting through a winged uriak.

"Cover me", Rokal said, as he rushed to the entrance, bypassing a wave of stunned uriaks, too startled to pursue him. He covered the wall with ice as he slid on it, climbing higher, until he reached the ceiling over the doorway. Gluing himself to the wall, he pressed his hand against the rock. Water seeped into the tiny cracks in the construction, and expanded throughout the area.

At this point, a portion of the uriaks had turned on him, but the closest were struck by volleys of fire balls, and went down. The rest moved at almost a snail's pace, and he felt his power growing. He smiled, as he realized Reaza's mind wielding was slowing the uriaks down, and enhancing him. They locked eyes briefly, and she smiled encouragingly. He returned the gesture, and moved away from that area, satisfied that it was saturated with enough ice. He retreated back to the others, and unleashed a wave of ice shards, but limited the energy investment, keenly aware of his ever decreasing reserves. He cut down the nearest uriaks with his saber staff, and managed to return to the platform safely.

"Hit that wall. I saturated it with enough ice so that all the cracks have expanded. Once that ice breaks, the structural weakness will cause that entire section of the wall to collapse, and seal the entrance. We can worry about everything else later", he said.

"Cover us, then", Irma said. She and Reaza generated swarms of fire, light and dark energy disks, while Rokal and Akron warded off the uriaks. They directed the concentrated energy at the wall. Indeed, as the ice cracked on impact, the structural weaknesses prominently showed themselves. Small parts began breaking off at first, further weakening the wall, and a cascade of rubble followed, collapsing on the uriaks that came to reinforce the rest, and completely sealing the entrance, ensuring no reinforcements would be able to get through for a while.

The crash distracted the remaining uriaks, giving the Knights a moment to rest. They attacked again, but were now demoralized, and their actions hesitant, uncoordinated. Still, the battle had taken a toll on the defenders' stamina. They prevented reinforcements from coming in, but were still severely outnumbered, and were at a significant risk of getting ground down by attrition. They would have to end the fight now, before exhaustion finished them off.

Akron began working on the walls himself, managing to alter the earthen construction just enough to destabilize it slightly, disrupt the uriaks' footing. Many fell down to their deaths, and all but the winged uriaks started taking steps back, towards relative safety. Unsupported, the winged uriaks could only evade, as Rokal, Irma and Reaza launched ice, fire, light and dark energy at them. Any attempts to close in were immediately stalled, while Akron worked at the structural integrity of the walls, breaking off chunks and taking down wingless uriaks with them.

"This is not enough. Melee is unavoidable if we are to get anything more than a stalemate", Rokal said. "What do you propose?" asked Akron. "Build a bridge across, while they are occupied. They shall have no choice but to split their forces", Rokal replied. "Do what you must", Irma said, downing another winged uriak with a wave of light.

The two combined earth and ice, creating a bridge across to the other wall, where the rest of the uriaks were gathered in their perceived safety. They raced across swiftly, keenly aware of how weak the bridge was, due to their unwillingness to invest too much of their low energy. Once across, they sucked the earth and ice back into themselves, replenishing some strength for physical combat.

The uriaks attempted to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, but the sheer speed of their attack left the creatures uncoordinated, and within seconds, many were cut down. Akron carved through a group of them. Rokal ducked under a strike and pushed the creature off the platform. He risked freezing the ground under several more, and the nearest uriaks, caught off guard, and severely restricted in their maneuverability by the narrow ledge, fell down as well, leaving only 20 or so.

Akron and Rokal advanced on the survivors, and with the help of Irma and Reaza, who by now had taken out the remaining winged uriaks, pressed their advantage home. Within the next few minutes, it was all over, allowing them to finally rest. All the uriaks in the chamber were either dead or dying, and neither of the Knights had sustained any major injuries. Anything else was immediately tended to with Irma's light healing.

They went back to the central platform, expanding it and reinforcing it with rails, and lay down for a much needed rest. They had defeated the first attack, but the siege of their position had only just begun.