ANGEL OF JUSTICE (2014 revised)

Chapter Forty Nine - Attack on the Wall

Attack on the Wall

Captain Baras of the Citadel Guard shook his head in a vain attempt to throw off the fatigue that gripped him. The enemy had been relentless in their attacks on the citadel wall for weeks now and his casualties were growing. The war priests were tiring and the time the ward over the wall remained intact had begun to shorten every day. He cursed. Sooner rather than later the ward would be down permanently. He silently feared the moment that happened for the enemy would flow over the parapets like a waterfall and there would be nothing he could do about it. He knew he had not the numbers to quell the surge when it came and he knew it was a matter of when not if it would happen. It was one of those inevitable facts of war. The soldiers on the wall already fought a desperate battle day and night to push ladders brimming with warriors aside under the rain of flaming arrows and boulders from the catapults below. The wall was filled with holes and dents from weeks of constant barrage from heavy boulders and in places it was blackened and charred from the concentrated sorcerers attack. Then there were the platform machines that raised their loads up to the parapets where they opened iron gates out to the wall and delivered hundreds of men at a time.

Baras shook his head again and wiped the sleep from his eyes. It was a perpetual nightmare and he wished an end to the war like every man under his command. He looked along the torch lit wall, the flickering flames cast deep shadows over the broken pieces of stone making it look like a giant had taken several bites of the wall. He felt delirious from lack of sleep and a shoulder wound that had bled profusely. Baras knew he should be in the hospice resting, but there was no one else to spare in command, everyone was stretched tight as it was. He yawned. It was close to midnight and most men were catching as much rest as they could. Intermittently the ward would be down during the hours after midnight and often it lasted through to till the dawn but no one knew from day to day if it would happen again. Thus the soldiers slept where they could be quick to the defence when the attack came. Like last night and the one before, the enemy would come again, soon. The only thing that had held off the enemy from complete take over was the wizard Arc and his display of fireballs. He took the lives of hundreds every night but still they insisted on returning to watch more of their young men die. Whoever led this battle was nothing short of a lunatic.

"Sir. Do you think they will attack again tonight?"

Baras blinked aside thoughts of sleep and turned to the red headed young officer. With an effort he managed a half smile.

"As always, Jonas. Ultimately we will know if the ward is down when we see the wizard Arc show up."

"Then I hope not to see him."

"I also but he is handy to have around, especially with those fireballs. It does a fine job of taking out the men in those platform machines quite well don't you think?"

Jonas grinned. "I have to agree but also I would say that to be burnt to death is not my preferred way of dying."

Baras nodded. "How are the men?"

"Almost as tired as you are sir. But our bellies are full and our supplies are good. The healers are doing a great job getting some of the men back on duty a lot quicker than would normally be the case."

"We can't ask for more than that now can we Jonas?"

"No sir, except for a quick end to this bloody war."

"Well most probably not tonight. Take your place with your men, Jonas, we should expect our friends to come a calling any time."

"Yes sir." Jonas replied a sigh before turning and walking back to his place on the wall a hundred yards away.

The attack when it came an hour later caught every soldier on the wall by surprise. The buzzing sensation of magic being used brought most men to attention but those that did so were only expecting to see the wizard Arc and the other magicians to appear before them. Instead the flaming torches fluttered madly as small groups of black robed warriors randomly appeared. A drum sounded the alarm but more than a dozen soldiers had been killed before the majority of Cardinian swords were drawn.