Alternate

Chapter 10

Captain Trez stood on top of the battlement and eyed the sight unfolding before him. The edge of the forest was far, but not too far to hide what was coming their way. He was having a hard time deciding what was the greatest concern. The approaching mass of lizard like men - though calling them monsters was a lot simpler - was certainly at the top of the list, but there were details that caused further worry.

Like the fact they were carrying weapons. Wooden clubs, sharpened spears, some even had the beginnings of simple armour around their scaly bodies.

None of these would have been much to worry about were it not for the size of them. The monsters were huge, ten feet or higher, knots of muscle, and the weapons they wielded were big enough to cause harm by themselves if dropped on someone, much less swung with the force the beasts could put behind them.

And there were already hundreds of them assembled on the field. As Trez continued to watch, more and more appeared from within the forest.

Ever since the suspicious group had rushed to the city, revealing just one of the monsters, there had been great concern amongst the leaders of the city about the implications of it. Even a single one of them would have been enough to put a damper on the frontier explorers that kept the city's economy going. Preparations had been made to hunt down the beast, none had taken credibly the claim that the group had been chased by hundreds of such things. Indeed, the patrols that had gone outside had not seen any sign of them. How could so many creatures of that size hide like that?

There had been no preparations to face off an army like which was coming their way now.

"Captain, the gates have been closed and fortified," came a report from a nervous looking young man. He had the armour of a city guard - scale mail that was polished enough to reflect the sun like a mirror - covered by a blue overcoat. A sword hung from his side and a long spear occupied the hand he was not using for saluting.

The alarm bells still rang all through the city. When Trez turned to look behind him, he could see people rushing in the streets. Women hurried home with their children in tow, some had their husbands helping, while other men were rushing home to get their weapons.

It was a frontier city after all. The people there knew they lived near constant danger. Everyone was prepared to defend their home and loved ones.

As the captain glanced back at the enemy he could not shake the doubts he had. The people would fight, of that he was certain, but he feared losing was the only thing they'd be able to accomplish.

"Have there been any sightings of the monsters on the southern side of the city?" asked Trez and turned to face the young soldier.

"No, sir. So far the enemy activity has been confined to the edge of the northern forest."

Trez nodded. There was still a way out for people. Would it be too risky to let people out? Out in the open the monsters would be able to hunt them down easily. Still, that was a better chance than being trapped by the very walls that were supposed to protect them. The more time the defenders could buy, the better chance the people would have to escape.

The captain shook his head. How easily had he given up? How little did he trust the people of the city and his own men? But when he took another look at the army that had continued to grow all the time, he could not find any reason not to feel the despair that was swelling inside him.

Still, that decision was not his to make. Even though he had a lot of responsibility for someone with the mere title of captain, it was the lord marshal that held the final say in the city defence and almost everything else that went on in the borderlands.