Escape through the Sacred Forest: Lich Lord Wars Book 2

Chapter 12

"Focus on Lord Teanas, if killing him can generate as much death magic as we just felt, killing him could win this battle."

Teanas knew he was out of time. He had used up all the magic in the area that he could use. Now he only had enough to change the form of Mimic, his magic ring, to whatever weapon he needed.

He had burned and cut his way to within sight of where Lord Gidon and the other refugees had fortified themselves.

The undead army seemed to have halted their attack on the humans and were focusing the whole might of their army on him.

He was was striking down multiple enemies with each swing and evading blows with each step. Exhaustion would cause him to make the mistake that would end his life at any moment; which came when he moved just an instant too slow and took a deep cut to his leg.

He fell to his knees and with Mimic taking the form of a halberd he swung it in a circle around him cutting all enemies within its range in half. Teanas knew that would be his last action. He would be overwhelmed in an instant and soon be with his son in the next world.

"I failed you and your son my Lord Mundial," would be his last words

Yet the killing blow never came. It was replaced by and enormous crash all around him. Three trees had fallen practically on top of him crushing all enemies around him and creating a wall of tangled branches around him. For a short moment he was safe.

"Ulec?" Teanas whispered.

In answer a songbird landed on a branch in front of him and chirped Ulec's signal that he was alright. A sob of relief erupted from Teanas as he stood hardly noticing the pain from the gash in his leg.

He didn't know how but his son was alive; not just alive but he was okay now. The forest was coming alive now as large wolves, bears, and elk charged from the forest. Big cats sprang from trees and birds of every sort dived from the sky.

Teanas, feeling a surge of energy, sprang over the wall of branches and began cutting through the undead ranks again.

With the help of Mundial's creations, the plants and animals heeding the call of Mundial's heir, Teanas made quick progress towards the hill where Gidon's people were taking refuge.

Suddenly a large group of revenants preparing to meet him disappeared in a flash of golden light. He looked ahead and saw Lord Gidon riding his dragon mount towards him, swinging a bardiche at any enemy that dared come to close.

"Get on!" Lord Gidon called as he rode up to him.

Teanas grasped the arm being extend to him and swung himself behind his human friend.

Gidon told Teanas to hold on as he turned his mount back towards the hill, the dragon's tail swinging out and smashing a group of revenants to the ground as it turned. The undead were forming line to block them but with a swing of his weapon a golden arc of light flew from the paladin's bardiche destroying them at contact. They rode past the remains of the enemy and quickly made it to friendly lines.

Both Teanas and Lord Gidon leapt from the dragon mount and Gidon issued several orders to his men to ready them for an attack before turning his attention to Teanas.

"Almas and Cady?" Gidon said with a hopeful questioning tone.

"Both made it to me safely. I left them inside the borders of the forest with Ulec," Teanas answered as he knelt down from exhaustion and pain.

Lord Gidon knelt beside and placed a hand over the wound on Teanas' thigh; his hand emitting a gold light as he began to heal him.

"I wouldn't have thought Ulec still had the strength to do all this," Lord Gidon stated.

"Something must have happened. Ulec was unconscious and minutes if not moments from death when I left them. He sent a message that he's fine. I don't know what to make of it."

"What I make out," Lord Gidon said with a smile, "Is we just might make it out of this now."

Izybel tried to watch through the dense trees with an ever growing sense of foreboding as the undead army regrouped and prepared to attack once more.

She sat atop her husband's forest dragon mount, which had just been brought to her. With her were the few other mounted warriors, the dragons and horses not being very effective in the dense trees, along with those who were too injured for the front line.

They were to be the last line of defense for the non-combatants. She glanced back and took in once again the terrified group of children, elderly, and women tending the young; they had each been armed, everyone that could pickup and use a weapon.

Her own son, Giddy, sat on the ground with a group of children. He sat with his legs crossed holding the hilt of a short sword nervously on his lap. Izybel swore to her self he would never need to use it.

Her attention snapped back to the front line when she heard some one call out a warning that they were coming.

She couldn't see much through the trees but she saw the archers in sight begin pulling arrows back on their bows and releasing. Also see saw flashes through the trees that could only be her husband attacking with his paladin magic.

Soon the sound of metal striking metal filled her ears; as did the sound of branches falling and various animals locked in combat. "Keep alert," she ordered all those around her.

"With Lord Teanas here we might have a chance."

Izybel looked down and to the right and saw that Lemuem had approached her and had spoken. He continued, "The enemy is looking for weak points in the line. That elf is able to move quickly enough to reinforce any points the find before they can take advantage."

From what she could see it seemed to be true. The line was holding.

"I assume your tracking everything out there?" Izybel asked Lemuem.

The ranger smiled a mischievous grin at her and answered, "Only those on our side. I can't track anything I haven't been close enough to..."

Lemuem's voice trailed off as his attention returned to the battle.

"We might have a problem. We have a gap appearing on both the left and right sides of the line. The elf is moving to reinforce the right side. I think they might breach on the left."

Izybel signaled to the other defenders to be ready. Lemuem pulled out two daggers and said, "Here they come!"

Revenants began to pour out of the trees on the left side of the tree line. Izybel pulled her blacksmith hammer and hatchet and pushing a button on their thick handles, extended them into an elegant war hammer and war axe.

"Mounted warriors with me. Rest hold the line here," she ordered before commanding her mount to charge at the growing group of undead rushing towards them.

Her forest dragon ran into the enemy at full gallop, smashing revenants under its feet and picking up and crushing others in its jaws. Meanwhile Izybel's hammer and axe took out more on either side of the charging beast.

Eventually her mount slowed to a stop and the other mounted warriors formed up on either side of her to protect her flank. Now the battle became a flurry of snapping jaws, slashing claws, and flashing weapons.

Soon the flow of enemies emerging from the trees slowed and stopped as the warriors on the front line managed to close the hole in their line. As the number of enemies shrank Izybel risked a glace behind her, where she saw the few revenants that had made it past the mounted warriors were being cut down by the few guards on foot charged with protecting the refugees.

"Form up and get ready for the next wave," she ordered.