Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Fortress (II)

From the monitors in the command room, they couldn't see their hated enemy, but they could see the earth opening up. Losts diggers emerged from it in order to open tunnels to let an army of corrupted beings through.

Around the city gate, a multitude of corrupted beings specialized in ranged attacks were concentrated. Now, they knew where the others were.

Their enemies had hidden them underground, as they had been waiting for the moment to emerge. Since those didn't need to eat or breathe, they could wait there indefinitely. Now that they had been called, and were advancing menacingly towards them.

The fortress was designed to face powerful enemies. Therefore, they could even face an enemy of such magnitude for a time, and delay them until reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately, it was designed to face an enemy from outside. The corrupted beings came from within, from the plain between the fortress and the city that it was supposed to protect.

It wouldn't have been easy for such a small group of guardians to handle the numerous defensive weapons. Many of them would have been left unused, but they would have still killed a lot of enemies. The biggest problem was that the weapons, still intact due to the fortress's seal, were pointing in the other direction.

It wasn't an easy task to relocate them, nor were there many suitable places to set them in the opposite direction. It had been a deliberate design decision, to avoid the possibility that the garrison could turn against its people. Something like that had happened in the past, so it had been decided to hinder it happening a second time.

All they had was the tough structure of the fortress, but it would undoubtedly end up falling under the relentless assault of their enemies. Perhaps, they could flee if they went out the other side, but they feared the worst. There were no enemies there, but it wasn't inconceivable to think that they were also hiding underground, or waiting in another hiding place. Not to mention that there was no place to flee. In addition, there were no flying losts in sight, so they didn't know if there were none there, or if they were waiting nearby.

"There's no time to waste! We can hold out for a few hours! Prepare the catapults!" Menxolor ordered.

As intimidating as the scene was, there was work to be done. They had come here precisely for that. They were willing to sacrifice their lives.

It was almost impossible to move the fortress's catapults. It was also not easy to dismantle and reassemble them in the right place, since they weren't designed for that. That wasn't what they wanted to do either.

From their multiple backpacks, they took out the huge pieces of the catapults. Of course, those weren't normal backpacks, but ones that had a separate dimension inside, although it was much smaller than the visitors' inventory. They could have kept them whole.

As the group had practiced on many occasions, they began to assemble them, as their companions formed up on the wall. Some of the losts had already arrived, and were attacking the fortress's shield. The bulk of the forces would soon arrive as well.

The fortress wasn't designed to be defended from behind, but it was possible to redirect the shield that was meant to protect the outer walls. It wasn't an orthodox procedure, and under normal circumstances she would have been subject to criminal charges for even attempting it. However, these weren't normal circumstances.

"Who would've thought that the actions of my idiot brother would now be useful," the commander said to herself, with more nostalgia than reproach in her voice.

It had been an eternity since she had seen her brother, and she didn't even know if he was alive. In the past, he had precisely manipulated the shield, to show off to a newly arrived female recruit.

The commander had ordered his arrest, and had sent him to the dungeon. She had even been stricter than she should have. Her brother had taken advantage of his sister's position to carry out his feat, and that had angered her.

She had kept him there for almost a week, although she had avoided a file that could have expelled him from their force. His sister had been angry and had wanted to teach him a lesson, but not hurt him. Despite all he had done, he was still her brother, and she had protected him as far as her prerogatives had allowed her.

The memories didn't stop appearing in her mind, while now she was carrying out what she had ordered to prevent. Therefore, some extra protections needed to be removed. They had been installed to prevent something similar from happening again, and wasn't too difficult for her to do so. After all, she was still the commander, which meant she had certain privileges in controlling the fortress. Also, she knew exactly what and how to do it.

"It's harder than it seems. Despite being dumb, my brother is a genius," she smiled.

She preferred not to think about whether he was still alive. The commander had to concentrate on controlling the shield, something that would have been much easier if it were in the front. Several interferences in the different mana circuits were necessary to switch its position, and they had to be constantly maintained.

"Fily, take care of the flow of mana. The shield is going to need more when it's attacked, and less during the pauses. It can't be overloaded," she ordered.

"Yes, my commander," she nodded, as she smiled and called her as she hadn't done in years.

"Cohngyor, redirect the mana to the weakest points. I'll keep it in its place."

"Yes, my commander," he also answered and smiled, as his wife had done.

They had married during their escape, despite not knowing if they would have a future. Now, the couple had children waiting for them in the elven village, although they didn't know if they would see them again. At least, they had enjoyed a peaceful life for years. Now, it was time to fight for their people again.

"I'm glad to have you both with me again," the commander smiled.

"It's an honor to be under your command again, my commander," Fily saluted militarily.

"I say the same, my commander," Cohngyor also saluted.

"The honor is mine," the commander greeted them.

They allowed themselves to look at each other and smile for a moment. In the past, they had been her subordinates. Although she had appreciated them as such, they hadn't had a relationship beyond the professional one.

The escape and their lives in the elven village had changed that. In fact, it had united all the Guardians of the North who had lived through that experience, despite the tension during the last few years, when they had almost given up hope.

Now, they were working again for a common goal, for the future of their people, and of those they had left behind. Fily and Cohngyor's children. The commander's husband and her daughter.

He was a civilian, an elven craftsman, who at this moment was looking at the sky while wondering if he would see her again. He had received the news that they were safe, although he knew nothing about her in particular. Besides, the elf was aware that the greatest danger was yet to come.